Quilting Projects

When we went on our mini-trip about a month ago, I saw a little quilt that I loved. I didn't have $54 dollars to spend on a tiny wall hanging ,so I studied it carefully and determined to make one myself. This is my rendition.

I cut out the triangles over a week or so, with scraps from our fabric stash. Yesterday I sat down to sew them up. It only took a few hours to sew, from start to finish.

I'm quilting circles in each of the squares composed of four triangles. In the corners of the quilt I'm probably going to do a feather stitch.

Here is the first quilted circle. I have a thing for quilting circles, I'm not sure why. :) I find them quite appealing. The batik quilt that I made two summers ago is also quilted in circles.

Oh! I don't know if I ever showed you a picture of this quilt! It is my almost-queen-size bed quilt. I sewed it up late summer 2008, but haven't quilted it yet. I was waiting on the batting and then it got put on the back burner as other projects were started. The batting I use is the all natural, cotton batting which tends to be expensive. It was half off at the fabric store a month ago so I finally was able to get my batting. I still have to applique a vine all around border #3. I thought I was supposed to do it after I quilted it, but when I glanced over the intsructions recently I realized I read it wrong and need to do the vine and leaves before I start quilting.

I didn't have any fabric that I liked for the applique so I stopped at my LYS yesterday and picked out a few options. There was a sale going on, which was lovely. I was able to pick up the fabric for my binding as well. Now I have everything I need to complete my quilt! I'm pretty excited about it. I was helping a friend work on her quilt a few weeks ago and it put me in the mood to pull out my quilt and finish it. Now everything is falling into place and, Lord willing, I can soon have it ready to quilt! I am planning on hand quilting it, which will take awhile, but I'm looking forward to it.

Well, I'm off to drink a cup of tea and quilt some more circles.

Have a lovely evening my friends!

Hand Painting Yarn

I hand painted a skein of yarn about 2 weeks ago. This is the bare skein of wool that I purchased with my Knit Picks order. Now I wish I had bought more! It was so much fun to dye this up! I took a few photos to show you the process I follow when dyeing yarn.

First I soak the skein in lukewarm water for a half hour, or until it is thoroughly saturated. Meanwhile I mix up my dye colors. I use the Greener shades Dyes for all my fiber and yarn dyeing. I don't have a scale for measuring the powder out, so I can't reproduce exact colors of something I have dyed in the past right now, although I can come close. Greener Shades has a group on Ravelry that has lots of useful information if you are interested in trying out these dyes. There is also quite a bit of info on their webpage.

I seem to be missing my photo of the dyeing itself, so we'll skip on ahead to the steaming. Once I have hand-painted the yarn, I spray it down with either white vinegar or citric acid. This, along with the steaming, helps to set the color. Then I wrap it up in plastic wrap and pop it in a pot of hot water. I normally steam the yarn for about 8 to 10 minutes.

After taking it out of the pot I lay it on a towel and peel the plastic wrap open so the yarn can cool. Once it is cool to the touch, I rinse it out in lukewarm tap water then put it somewhere to dry.

This yarn turned out beautifully, and looks quite stunning knit up!

It's A Snowy Day!

Making Valentines

I'm spending the afternoon with Grandma today. She wanted to make up some Valentine's so we pulled out all her card making gear and got to work.

A little bit of ink, a few sheets of paper, 2 colored pencils , some glue....

.....and voila...Valentine Cards!

I still have a few more to make, but that can wait until later this week.

What projects are you working on for Valentine's? Anything knitting or sewing related? Whatever it is, I'd love to hear about it!

Sadie, In A Thoughtful Mood

I've been meaning to blog about Sadie, my Siberian Forest Cat, more often. But it seems like I am always in a rush. Today I have a little more time on my hands so I thought I'd show you a picture I took of her Thursday.

I am not sure what got into her, all of the sudden she climbed up on to the piano and sat down in the sunshine. She looked quite solemn, and seemed to have a reason for being up there. I normally don't let her on the piano, but I was trying to figure out what she was up to! Maybe getting some vitamin D??

Happy Saturday Everyone!!!

I just though I would pop in with a quick update on my knitting progress in the last week. I did something to my toe last week, fractured or broke it, I'm not sure which. But to be on the safe side and give it a chance to heal I've been trying to keep my foot up as often as possible. I'm not sure how much it's helping, but it sure has been giving me more time to knit!

This is how far I have got in my "Bleeding Hearts Stole" It's about 14 inches or so I believe, and growing slowly.

I try not to check it's length very often, otherwise I feel like I am not getting anywhere!

I am definitely not going to have it done by the time I was hoping too. When I finally came to my senses and realized that, then I slowed down abit. No need to knit myself to exhaustion!

I started a pair of socks this past Friday. They are the "Pavo Slipper Socks" by Chrissy Gardiner, from Interweave Knits: Winter 2010, page 94.

It's a toe-up pattern, which was a first for me. I am not sure how I feel about it yet.... I still need to make the 2nd one. It's not that I DON'T like it, I just don't know if it's something I'd want to do on a regular basis. I don't have any problem with picking up stitches and doing the kitchener stitch on cuff-down socks.

But if you are wanting to try a toe-up sock, this is an easy one to start out with. It is made with worsted weight on US#4 dpn, so it is a thick, cushy sock.

Perfect for our house where the wood floors always seem to be cold. :) I want to make up a lot of handknit socks and slippers for next winter. I'll keep you posted on how that project goes.

I have a few spinning projects in the works but I'm not sure if I have any recent pictures, so we'll save that for next time. :)

Have a lovely week end, my dear friends!

Casting On For A Stole

The first project I started with my new stash of yarn is not one of my own design. Instead I am knitting up a lace stole called "Bleeding Heart Stole" by Anne Hanson of Knit Spot. I am hoping to whip it up in a couple weeks time. Our church is having a Valentine banquet and I need something to wear with my satin dress to keep my arms warm.

The pattern seemed to go slowly at first, but now that I have the hang of the charts it is going more smoothly. This is how far I was as of this afternoon. I've since done about 12 more rows. It's looking quite wonderful I think, all lacy and elegant.

I still have 14 rows to go on the hem charts, then I switch over to 9 rows of the transition chart before coming to the main body chart.

I look forward to showing you further progress.

That's it for now my friends. Cheerio and I'll see you next time!

Yarn Galore!!!

Isn't all this yarn simply scrumptious? My parents generously gave me a gift card for Christmas and I used it to purchase yarn and a book from Knit Picks. I am planning on using most of this yarn for designing. I already have quite a few projects in mind, nothing solid yet, but some vague ideas. You know how those vague ideas go. They tend to blossom into whatever they want, and often something quite different from what I intended. I'm excited about the possibilities though. The last time I saw this much yarn together in one place was at the fabric store! Unlike many knitters, I don't have much of a stash right now. Well, I didn't. Now I do. :)

This lovely skein of Alpaca Cloud is SO soft. I have no idea yet what I will do with this one, I just like to hold it and imagine the possibilities. It should have a beautiful drape when knit up.

I had a hard time deciding what to order. And when I say hard, I mean HARD. Just ask my sister-in-law. She was siting there while I was hemming and hawing. And just when I thought I had my mind made up, all the certain I was unsure and rethinking my options. One of the yarns I wanted was not available until February, so I switched my order around a little. I certainly couldn't imagine waiting until February to use my gift card!

The Palette yarn has SO many options, 100 colors in all! I am pleased with everything I ordered, and Knit Picks was very prompt about getting my order to me. I ordered on a Thursday, it shipped the next Monday, and I received it on Thursday. So it was only a week wait, I was expecting it to be longer since I did they're free shipping option. It was a lovely surprise to come home and have it waiting for me.

I also order a workshop on lace knitting. That has me excited to no end! It is quite thorough, and I believe I will be able to learn much from it. It will be like taking a class, which I find quite wonderful. I'll let you all now how it goes.

Well, I'm off to look at my yarn. ;)

I have a couple new projects in the works right now. Some might be offered as free patterns, so stay tuned! The project pictured above is kind of at a standstill because I am not sure if I have enough yarn to do what I want. It is my own handspun, so I'll have to pick up some more roving and spin it up before I get any further on this design.

Over our family vacation I was working on these wristlets. The design is out of the Spin Off Winter 2007 issue, page 46. They work up pretty quickly, but I would definitely lengthen the cuff.

In fact I have another pair in progress for myself and I am doing that very thing. I only added an extra inch to the cuff, just because I want to make sure I have enough yardage to finish them both.

The yarn is Ramboulette wool that I dyed as roving and then spun into a fingering weight on my top whorl spindle. It is lovely, and very soft. It should make excellent wristlets.

Aren't these mittens so cute? They are the tiniest things ever, and whip up in no time. The only problem is this is the only size they come in. However they are a perfect gift for a newborn. I worked mine up in a soft, Cascade cotton, on size US7 needles. You can find the pattern "Baby Mitts" on Ravelry.

Well, I am spending a couple days with my sister-in-law. We are doing all kinds of fiber related things. She also did some sewing this week for the first time! We worked on a neat floor cushion and also a heart, accent pillow. She did an amazing job, I was pleased with the results.

I would love to hear what you are working on. Please feel free leave me a comment and let me know what knitting/spinning projects you have in the works, it's always fun to see & hear what other people are working on in the crafting world!

Have a lovely week my friends!!!!

A Bit Of Christmas Knitting

Recently we were able to go on a short, but lovely, family vacation. I'll have to share the photos with you some other time.

The place that we stayed was absolutely chock full of antiques and beautiful pieces of furniture, perfect for doing photo shoots. I was wishing I had brought a whole suitcase of knitted items to photograph! The area was a blogger's dream come true.

I also received a new camera for Christmas, which was wonderful! Now I can share a few projects with you and, Lord willing, keep things updated better.

I made this lovely little scarf as a Christmas gift for my Mother. It is made with handspun angora/merino yarn. In fact it is one of the earlier yarns that I ever spun. I was saving it for something special. Unfortunately I can't tell you where I got the pattern from, I don't even remember where it is from! It was a copy I had floating about in my pattern binders.

It's a VERY soft scarf, and I was quite pleased with the way it turned out.

I only have one picture of this shawl, and it's not a very good one at that. This pattern I found on ravelry. It is the "Age of Brass and Steam" Kerchief. I only used about 230yds worsted, handspun, merino yarn. It is a fairly simple shawl, it worked up in two days. Personally I wouldn't mind making this one for myself, but with twice as much yarn so it ended up a lot longer. This, however, was a perfect size for the little lady who received it. She had been dropping hints that this yarn would make a nice shawl for her.

I also made two more pairs of the "Sweet Fern Mitts" from the Knitter;s book of Wool. I didn't photograph the other. This pair here was for my Mother. I also made some lovely blue ones for my sister. I have several other gifts waiting for their photo shoot, originally I wasn't planning on doing a Christmas knitting post, it just kind of happened. And I wasn't completely prepared. Just hang in there, and one of these days I'll post the rest of my gift knitting.

I'm very excited, & pleased to introduce you to...... Jillian! She was by far the most fun gift to make, although I loved making them all. Jillian is the little rabbit out of the "Last Minute Knitted Gifts". I really wanted to make her, but was unsure what yarn to use for her body. So I had the slightly crazy idea of carding together alpaca & white angora rabbit fur, and then spinning it up on my top whorl drop spindle.

Yes.

Well, it was rather ambitious. But thankfully I had enough time to accomplish the spinning as well as the knitting before Christmas day. And she was well received by her new mommy. :)

Jillian is SO soft and fuzzy, and completely adorable. I want to make another rabbit just like her for myself. In fact, almost everyone who has seen her wants one! Her ears are made out of angora yarn. Her facial features are embroidered on with embroidery floss.

And I thought Jillian need accessories, so I made her several little shawls. Since then her wardrobe has been increased with both blankets and more shawls. She is quite the well dressed rabbit!

And I'll leave you with a close up of that sweet, little face!

Until next time, my friends!

New Free Pattern: Seaweed Stole/Scarf !!!

I'll have more pictures of this coming in a later post. Since I do not have the software to do a pdf file I'm going to keep pictures to a minimum for ease of printing.

The idea for this stole originated with a kayak trip. This past August my brother and I went for a 4 1/2 hr kayak trip. I didn't have a waterproof container for my camera so wasn't able to take it along, although later wished I had been able to. The scenery was stunning along the way! It was a beautiful day for kayaking; sunny, not too hot, and with a gentle breeze. While we were gliding down the river I noticed the seaweed (not sure what the technical term is, we'll just call it seaweed) that was streaming along with the river's current. It had tall, long-ish leaves, and all sorts of beautiful colors. Right away I thought it would be wonderful to dye some yarn in those colors. The main colors were shades of green, yellow, chartreuse, and a mauve-ish pink.

Next day I had the opportunity to over-dye a skein of my handspun yarn in the exact colors. I was so pleased with the results that I decided to design a pattern that went with my seaweed theme. This pattern is perfect because the waves in the design reflect not only the movement of water, but also the graceful motion of the seaweed as it ripples in the water.

I hope you enjoy knitting this as much as I did!

Yarn: Approx 300 yards of light-worsted or DK weight yarn

Needles: Size US#7 straights

Measurements:

Before blocking, 39"x9 1/2'

After blocking, (pinned measurements) 59" x 11"

Abbreviations:

k=knit

p=purl

k2tog= knit two stitches together as one.

yo= yarn over needle

Notes: Pattern repeat is worked over a multiple of 18 stitches, plus 1 selvage stitch on each edge.

Stole can be made wider by adding more stitch repeats.

Seaweed Stole/Scarf:

Cast on 56 stitches.

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Purl

Row 3: Knit 1*, k2tog, three times, (yo, knit 1) six times, k2tog, three times. Repeat from * to one stitch before end, knit 1.

Row 4: Knit

Repeat these 4 rows until stole measure approximately 39" long, or until you have just enough yarn to bind off.

Bind off.

Wet block stole according to finished measurements.

Enjoy!

I would love to hear your comments, and also see any photos of your finished Seaweed Stole!

If you have questions please leave a comment below.

Knitting Updates!

All the projects I am working on currently are Christmas gifts, so I shall have to fall back on some old projects to show you. Actually the above roving is still in the same state as you see, although this picture was taken around the end of October. Because of my health issues throughout the month of November I am further behind in things than I had hoped to be by this time of the year.

I still have much to before Christmas. My, it is only a week away from this coming Saturday! However the last five days or so I have been able to complete many of the gifts I am working on. That has set my mind somewhat at ease. I love to give handcrafted gifts, but it always seems like when Christmas rolls around I am madly scrambling to finish things.

This scarf is the Art Schooled pattern, it can be found on Ravelry. I'm making it for my sister-in-law. She purchased some yarn a year ago and I offered to knit it up into something for her. We browsed through ravelry and she found this neat ruffly scarf pattern. Well, I copied it off and got started on it. But meanwhile, during the process of knitting it my sister-in-law learned how to knit! So now she is making the exact same scarf, only in teal and gray stripes. Such fun! I was so excited when she learned how to knit! She is definitely going to town on it, and doing a fine job.

I finished my Sweet Fern Mitts a while back. The pattern is from "The Knitter's Book of Wool". They are made with Knit Picks "City Tweed". It is a heavy-worsted weight, which made my mitts a little bigger than I would have liked. (The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn.)

I still love the way they turned out, despite the fact that they are a little big. These mitts are SO comfortable and warm!

Well, I should sign off for now. Hope you are having a blessed Christmas season!

Cheerio my friends!

Holiday Baking

Yesterday a friend and I decorated all these sugar cookies. We had fun mixing colors and planning it all out. We had a mix of chocolate and plain sugar cookies, colored and chocolate frosting. There were some interesting cookie combinations going on!

I'm not sure how many cookies we decorated, but it was a lot! We enjoyed ourselves though. It's a nice time to chat and just enjoying being together as friends.

How about you? Have you been baking any special treats for the holidays? If so, I'd love to hear about it!