Long Valley Quilters Op Quilt

Sometime during January I made four blocks for the guild's opportunity quilt. The pattern is called Kwanita.

The day we got together to assemble the blocks, we found many of them weren't true to size, but somehow they went together and the sashing helped it all lay flat.

We made ours king-sized, using primarily batiks in graduating colors. Once it's back from the photographer's, I can add a picture of it.

ETA: Here's our version, hanging at the guild's annual outdoor quilt show.

Denim Project Bag

A new knitting project asks for a new project bag. 😃 Inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest, I wanted to make this denim bag.

A quilt friend had recently given me two pairs of her husband's blue jeans, so that got me jump started. He's a tall drink of water, so there was lots of fabric. I put it together with the leftover denim from my car quilt.

I had an idea of how to make it, but I went along on intuition a good deal of the time. For example, to make the patchwork fabric, I started by laying it out in rows. It quickly became clear that wasn't the way to go. (Photo bomber)

So I searched the Internet for a pattern to determine the amount of patchwork fabric needed, then laid out an approximation.

From there it went pretty well. Except that the base in the original picture led me to make the fabric long enough to box the bottom, and the pattern I was now working with had a curved bottom with darts for shaping. I have several totes with boxed bottoms, so I cut off a good 6 inches of my carefully pieced fabric and went on.

I added a pocket to the inside, so I have a place for my knitting notions kit. It works great. It's coincidence that the bag and the sweater currently-being knitted are both denim. Ha! I don't match my project bags to my projects.

Every Day Cardigan

Inspired by a picture in a vintage knitting magazine, I decided to try and customize the front of a standard cardigan. While I waited for the LYS's annual sale, I swatched using Cascade 220 (not superwash) in a red I had on hand to determine stitch gauge. The sale was in August and I got the long-sought after heather blue. A great shade to wear with denim and just about everything else.

The cardigan waited while I worked on other projects. I cast on in October, starting with the sleeve, because I was curious to see if my stitch gauge would be different while knitting in the round. The fronts and back are going to be knit flat.

Here's the right front. It has a seed stitch button band and a 3x3 cable on a seed stitch ground. The pattern has slight shaping at the waist, which I like. And I'm enjoying the yarn, which is soft and slightly springy.

The pattern I'm using has a V-neckline, so I'll look at Ann Budd's book on customizing sweaters and see if I can figure out how to make it a crew neck. I used to wonder about design as I struggled with basic patterns. It's fun to see how my knitting skills have improved in six years.

Christmas Pineapple Mini

It was shortly after we got home from visiting family for Christmas that I decided to get the Pineapple mini out again. A semi-annual project.

That's the strip bin on the left, and the block in the works on the right.

The special ruler helped me avoid making the mistakes I've been making in the past, but man these little blocks are time consuming. One has to want this type of quilt badly. I don't know if I'm in that group...

Inlet Trail 2017

Christmas Sachets

I made several of these as small gift bags and to be used as herbal sachets. A bit of cord, a gold pony bead and some fabric that looks like knitted stitches. Fun!

Gee Gee Turns 90

The family got together to celebrate Mom's ninetieth birthday. We decided the great-grand kids could call her Gee Gee, easier to say than Great-Grandma Ginna. Cayson enjoyed helping open the birthday gifts.

 

We had a great celebratory lunch and we definitely made a memory. 

 

Another Quilter's UFOs: Part One

Mom loves to visit thrift stores as much as I do. We had a hearty browse at the local Senior Center Thrift store, where they have a large crafting department. Mom does paper craft and makes greeting cards. She found a dozen items to add to her inventory. We joked that she'd need an extra carry-on to get it all home.

Picture from the Internet

I just about came unglued when I discovered an unfinished quilt project in the sewer's corner. All the pieces seemed to be there and the instructions too! I literally scooped them up and took them to the check out.

 

When there was a quiet moment, I unpacked the two zippered bags and this is what I have.

It's called Lots of Little Pink Stars and all 336 3" star blocks have been made, many of them sewn into the diagonal set rows.

The seamstress's piecing skills are lovely, all points are clear and sharp. Here's a picture of the finished quilt I found on the Internet.

I wonder why she gave up on it. Did she have to down-size and there were just too many projects to choose from? Was there no daughter or niece that could've finished it? Lovely fabrics, careful cutting and stitching, so close to being a complete top. I'll never know the answers, but it sure makes me wonder.

Another Quilter's UFOs: Part Two

During the same visit to the thrift store where I found the Lots of Little Pink Stars quilt pieces, I found another unfinished quilt project; probably by the same quilter. There was something about the collection of prints and the quality of the workmanship that seemed to say this too, was from the maker of the Little Pink Stars.

I brought it home also, feeling like I was adopting orphans and in some way wanting to keep them together. This one is a Double Nine Patch quilt done in blues and whites.

Lots of fabric and LOTS of pre-cut strips. But from what I can tell the quilt maker didn't speed piece the nine patches, each square was cut and sewn individually. Bless her heart.

 

I went through it all, grouped, sorted and counted, and then packed it all neatly into a project box. It's been added to my UFO shelf. But at least it has a home.

Winter Garden

Mom's visiting for a week from Massachusetts. We decided to see what the Brooktrails Community Garden looked like on a wintry day in November.

We went early enough that the sun was still on the plots, and late enough that the deep chill of the morning was fading away.

 

We found a sunbeam and sat together, enjoying the calm. There were sparrows and quail fluttering and peeping about. It was lovely.

 

 

She looked around and said she could tell it was a wonderful garden during the summer. I told her it took another gardener to appreciate it in November. "Well, I can see the potential." That's one of the things I like about gardens too, the potential.

Make it Your Own

I love the look of this wool sweater I found a few years ago, but it's an XL and too big for me. After putting up with the sloppy feel, I decided to try and alter it. I was ready to get rid of it, so I had nothing to lose if it didn't turn out.

The fullness under the arm was just too much to be comfortable.

I laid one of my favorite sweaters on top of it to get an idea how much of a seam to take. Then I turned the sweater wrong-side out and sewed it on the machine.

Here you can see the difference between the left side and the right side, which has been taken in.

I love it now! And such an easy fix. It really is okay to sew and trim knitted fabric.

Upcycled Lawn Chair

I was inspired by a fiber friend's lawn chairs, redone in brightly colored macrame' cord. That looks fun, maybe I could try something new...

Example from the Internet

I spent time going to all the second-hand and thrift stores in three towns, looking for aluminum lawn chairs. Nothing. Then I went to a  handful of rummage sales and flea markets. I think the style is passe', all I found were collapsible canvas camp chairs.

Not to be deterred, I posted a request for used aluminum lawn chairs on Freecycle.org. After months without a reply, a woman offered me hers. Well they looked like they were one stop away from the dump, but that didn't put me off. This is an upcycling project after all.

I hosed them down, removed the old webbing and worked away at cleaning the aluminum frame.

It was going along fine until I discovered the rivet that held the leg to the body was snapped. Project stalled.

I continued to spend time on Google searching macrame' lawn chair DIYs and videos. It just looks so cool. But if I can't find a frame to start with, it's all moot. I did discover you can buy new aluminum chair frames, but they're nearly 30.00. That sort of defeats the purpose for me. It's really about making something old, new again. I'm still intrigued by the idea, but I haven't had the heart to check out the second frame yet.

Slipper Socks for Anybody

I love this pattern! That's becoming obvious to me as I make it again and again. This time I thought I'd create a pair to keep by the front door for visitors. We have a no-shoe house in an effort to keep the forest debris from coming inside.

I wanted them for Thanksgiving week, but after three days of knitting, I had to quit. My hands were too unhappy working the two strands of wool. I know I need to pace my knitting, but I was just too excited to be making these again.

ETA: That was over three weeks ago and my hand still hurts, though it's getting better. 😕 Maybe it's time to turn to all that reading I say I never have time for.

Four Patch and Friends

When I was on quilt retreat in October, one of the ladies was making a Four Patch and Friends quilt.
I got all excited by how easy it looked and got the pattern information from her for "Someday".  It's made from Four patches and Snowball blocks, simple.

The day I couldn't deal with the Boston Common quilt anymore, these are the fabrics I pulled from my collection, thinking to start something new. When I get the urge to 'start something new', it's a good tip off that I need a break from the current project. The fact that the color palette was the opposite of the blue-green of the Split Nine Patch blocks was also clear to me.

I like to create a layout in Electric Quilt so I have a game plan as I work. But once I created the layout, I wasn't inspired anymore. Huh, well that saved me a lot of work. I shelved it.