Tulip Festival

I've heard that the Tulip Festival in Washington is eye-popping, but it's true that seeing is believing. Wow! It was a perfect day weather-wise and the blossoms were at their peak while I was visiting my son and DIL. What a great outing.

 

 

 

Baby Uggs for the Newest Grandchild

I've made this pattern once before and thought it was cute and fun. Fun to make and to give. So when my DIL told us they're expecting in September, I decided to make them again.

As I got the yarn and needles together it occurred to me I could make them in natural alpaca with white angora trim; Ugg-like.

I'll be visiting Mom in Washington this week, so I'll be able to give them to my son and DIL in person.

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.

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.

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.

 

 

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.

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.

Sockalong Finish

January 20.

February 22.

I love 'em! They are thick and there are only some shoes that fit when I'm wearing them, but they're really warm. The week I finished, the weather turned cold and I was glad to have them.

Nightgown Extension

It all started when my favorite 100% cotton nightgown was in the laundry, so I wore a long sleeved cotton tee top (and flannel PJ bottoms) that had ribbed cuffs that.stayed.down. while worn as sleepwear. I remembered my son telling me he likes the tee tops he has with ribbed cuffs better than those with straight cuffs, so I decided to add solid black ribbed cuffs to my favorite black patterned nightgown. Win!

 

Then I bought another 100% cotton nightgown at the Fire Survivor’s Thrift store. It’s soft and pretty, but too short by a l –o – n-g way, doesn’t even cover my hip when I lay on my side in bed. DH said, “You could sew on an extension, like Nathan’s tee shirts.” So I went to the local Senior Center Thrift store and found a 100% pima cotton tee shirt in a solid color close enough to the print that I could live with it. I went home with plans to lengthen the body by as much as the black one is long. When I sat down to begin, I found that the tee shirt was long sleeved with ribbed cuffs. Ah ha! I used the sleeve and ribbing to lengthen the sleeves and decided, as long as I was making the gown longer, why determine the length based on the black one? Why not make it as long as I really wanted?

 

A Total Win-Win! Now this is my favorite and sooo much warmer than the others that are three-quarter length. This one not only covers my hip when side-lying, but also my knees. Total spent: $4.00.

 

 I thank my son for the inspiration.

Atwood Cardigan Redone

I've finished the back and one front and sleeve of my husband's cardigan. Before I cast on for the second front, I had the bright idea to sew the pieces together to see if they fit so far. Better to find out now than after the entire sweater's knit and assembled.

Well as fate would have it, the whole thing is too small. It's too tight across the shoulders and too snug around the arm. Argh. I know I measured him last year when I started the project. Could he have grown?

With some out of the box thinking, he said, "Can't you insert a panel somehow to make it bigger?" What a great idea! I called the knitting group expert and she came over and reviewed the math with me. Instead of having to rip the whole thing out and start again, we decided I could add an inch to the front and back, which would increase the armhole and then knit a one and a half inch panel to be sewn into the side seam. Then I'll just add stitches to the second front to increase it as well.

I love this yarn, I'm enjoying my new square needles and it's all knitting, which I love to do. So why does it feel like such a set back? I remind myself I'm a process person, not a product person.

Woven Heart Baskets

An annual favorite of mine. These are made very much like woven paper heart baskets. But first fuse the fabric to Heat 'n' Bond front and back, then follow the instructions for cutting out and assembling.

Annual Doll Quilt

The pieces came from the free table at guild, the border fabrics came from a quilty friend who's down-sizing her fabric collection. If I hadn't gotten those prints from her, I might never have finished it. These aren't my usual colors.

Fabric Buckets

I can get lost watching YouTube videos of DIY projects. Today I made fabric buckets in three sizes, sort of a gift set.

They might be nice to hold notions or hair accessories.

Accordion Clutches

A fiber friend showed a cute, handmade clutch at the meeting recently. I went home and made a bunch over the next week. I had so much fun coordinating the fabric and searching in my button box for just the right button.

Floral.

Stargazer.

Black satin.

I made eight all together, but you get the idea. The pattern is available as a free download from Shabby Fabrics.

Sock Yarn Makeover

I found this skein of sock yarn at my favorite thrift store for fifty cents. I didn't love the color, but I couldn't pass it up.

I still have the forest green acid dye from before, so I gave it a whirl. I like it much better now.

Mitered Knitting

Remember this?

 I finished and blocked all the pieces, but I wasn't sure how to sew it up due to the color changes.

This is the front. I don't like the little bips of yellow yarn on the red at the seam. But we are often our own worst critic.

And the back. It makes a good hot pad.