Birds in the Air Blocks

I've been collecting the cut aways from half-square triangle units for decades. I had a shoe box full. I decided it was time to see if I could make something out of them and took it to quilt retreat.

This is what I came up with. I generally had enough of each color combination to make a Birds in the Air block. They finish at 3 1/2". How many was I going to make? I didn't have any idea. I just sorted, grouped, pieced and added to the pile. I like the play of light and dark. But the collection had sat so long, I'd fallen out of love with most of the fabrics. This is as far as I got while on retreat. I thought I'd finish it at home.

 
But I've completely stalled. It's been on the design wall for more than a month. I decided I like the square layout better, and I won't have to make that many more blocks before I can piece the top. But if I don't love it, why finish it?

Knitting for the Red Scarf Project

I've been collecting red yarns for almost a year, in hopes of knitting a red scarf for the Red Scarf Project. What a great opportunity to practice machine knitting at the same time.

I wish I'd taken a picture of the basketful of red yarn in different shades and varying textures. There were 10 yarns all together and each one showed me what it would look like machine knit. Fun!

I hand-ribbed the stitches in a 1x1 pattern. I learned that ribbing narrows the scarf, so my carefully planned 7" wide scarf finished more like 5 1/2", which is just under the requested 6" the Project would like. Maybe they won't measure. 😉

Adult's Machine Knit Hat

This hat is similar to the child's MK hat, except I tried to decrease the number of stitches near the crown so there'd be less bunching. I didn't know what I was doing, and created a row of eyelets instead. More skill building took place. It took three sittings, instead of the months it would've taken me if I'd knit it by hand.

Child's Machine Knit Hat

I decided to try to make a child's hat on the knitting machine. I'm still figuring things out and sometimes it's slow going, but the fun keeps me interested. I thought I'd use some of this tapestry wool from my collection.

Playing with stripes of color added interest.

 

I made a rolled brim, which was easy. I haven't learned to rib yet. It's cute, but it turns out the yarn isn't very soft.

Casting on Two at a Time Socks

Since the Atwood cardigan for Frank didn't turn out, I offered to make him socks. "Sure." He's getting used to me trying to foist knitting on him. 😊

Green, of course. The variegated yarn was originally yellow, orange and green, that I over dyed. I don't quite have enough, so I'll knit the heels and toes in a solid sage green.

ETA: Wouldn't you know it? I got gauge with the variegated yarn but didn't swatch the solid yarn. I got this far and the yarns don't play well together. I can tell the socks are going to be too baggy. Argh! Never assume yarns are the same without doing a gauge sample. Time to rip.

Baby Afghan

It's finished! And what a fun knit. I often think I don't like knitting with bulky yarn on large needles (size 10 1/2), but this was very enjoyable.

ETA: Once our new grandson was born, I shipped to my son and DIL. She said her Mom loved holding Caulder in 'it's buttery softness'. From one knitter to another, that was nice to hear.

Savannah Nights Wall Hanging

I finished another UFO from my quilt friend's collection. When the project came to me, it contained strips and pieces, which I made into sixteen patch blocks. Then I decided on a layout and chose fabrics for the set triangles and borders.