Friday, March 30, 2018

A New Sweater for Dash

During the winter Dash was wearing an Alpine sweater that's too big for him. I gave that sweater to Pedro and decided to draft the color pattern on graph paper. I also wanted to see if I could design a sweater in a smaller stitch gauge so it would fit better, at the same time giving me a chance to practice some colorwork knitting on some thing small. This is Pedro wearing the sweater I used as a model.


Charting the color work stitches.


Recreating the sweater for Dash, size 2 needle and sock weight yarn.


Before sewing up.


It's cute and I like the color work, but I miscalculated and it's too tight on Dash, he looks like he's wearing a hand-me-down.



It's spring and he's wearing his light-weight sweater now, so it doesn't matter.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Finishing Another's UFO Block

I was given this unfinished Trip Around the World block and additional pre-pieced strips to go with it. Sometimes I enjoy finishing another quilter's patchwork because it gives me a chance to work with colors and fabrics I don't usually. And sometimes as I work with the pieces I discover why it was abandoned. I took it home and laid it out.


Can you see it? The block is 9 squares by 9 rows. The pre-pieced strips are five fabrics each. I pieced the upper half using the five-fabric strips, then removed one square from each pre-pieced sttrip to complete the pattern.


Too bad there wasn't additional fabric for borders.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

2019 Opportunity Quilt Blocks

I joined the Op Quilt committee this year. I figured it was something I could do to help out. The pattern is called Pie in the Sky, which looks like this.


The committee chair chose Civil War era prints. Not my favorite pallet of prints, because they tend to be dark, but I do like the cheddar orange and brown combination.


Everyone on the committee was asked to make nine blocks. Here are mine.
 
 

Monday, March 19, 2018

Pedro Bunny

Mom and I started a Little Cotton Rabbit for her during my visit in 2016. But he's still unfinished. Since she's been recovering from a broken hip, I thought she might like some company and decided to finish him for her. If I did all the knitting it would take a month, but a friend from the knitting group agreed to help me. Lotus did most of the knitting and I sewed, stuffed and assembled him.



Mom named him Pedro. When someone asked her why, she said, "Because that's Peter in Spanish." Ha, I love it!


Here he is with Dash. BBF.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Double Nine Patch Quilt

This was my leader and ender project while working on the donation quilts. I love little Nine Patch blocks, the color combinations are endless.


The setting is inspired by this favorite of mine.