Happy New Year

I haven’t been a full-time student for 10 years now, but September still feels like the beginning of a new year.  September is when I look back at the goals I have achieved, and make plans for the future.

And I will be going back to school in a sense.  I’ll be teaching my favourite class at Quilty Pleasures in October…fabric covered boxes.  If you’re available on a couple of Friday mornings next month, and you enjoy hand sewing, why not join me?  The class details weren’t available on the web site last time I checked, but should be posted there soon.  It will be October 17th and 24th, from 10 a.m. until noon.  The box is a six-sided construction, about 4 inches tall and 7 inches wide.  The fee is a very reasonable $35, and includes pre-cut cardboard pieces for the box frame.

I know a visual would help here, and once the batteries charge up for my camera, I’ll post a photo of my favourite box.  I’ve also finished the Halcyon socks, and am eager to show them off.  They’re the best-fitting pair I’ve ever knit, due entirely to switching to the 2-circular needle method of knitting them, which allowed me to try them on at any point during construction.  Neat!

 

Busy Monday

For the paving contractors next door, at any rate.  Here at home, not so much.  I’m doing something I haven’t done in a long time…reading fiction.  My taste in books is usually limited to craft books and true crime, but I’ve heard so many good things about this novel, I decided to read it.  This rainy weather is perfect for curling up with a good crime novel:

I haven’t read much of it, but there’s already been one exciting plot twist, and it’s a very entertaining read so far.  Like my bookmark?

Progress on the latest sock has been better than the photo would suggest…I started out knitting it too large, so had to rip it and reknit.  I’m doing a lot of that lately!  The yarn is Fleece Artist merino.  I believe the colourway is Rose Garden, but that could be wrong…it wasn’t marked when I bought it.  The pattern is Wendy Johnson’s Halcyon, a freebie, and it’s my first sock knit on two circulars.  I’m usually pretty loyal to dpns, but thought I’d venture into some new knitting territory.  I must admit to being envious of knitters who knit two socks at a time on circulars, and I’m slowly leading myself into trying that.  Back to my book…

 

The Sun Shines Over the Frog Pond

I heard on the radio that we had 22 days of rain in June.   July was pretty humid as well.  Every time the sun shines, and we’ve had a bit of sunny weather lately, I get out with the dog to enjoy it as much as possible.  The rain has given me plenty of time for needlework, so it’s not all bad.

That Patons sock yarn was calling me.  I cast on a toe-up sock and started knitting.  Oh, dear:

It looks like pink camouflage.  What a disappointment.  The yarn itself is so springy and soft, I love the way it feels.  Maybe I’ll try again later with another colourway.  I will be frogging this one, and pretending it never happened.

Working on the crazy quilt block has been unexpectedly difficult.  I painted some lace and began attaching it to the block with french knots.

 

I didn’t realize that stitching through the fabric and fused interfacing on the back would aggravate my tendonitis…I could hardly sleep that night from the pain.  I am finishing this block with great attention to how much stress I’m putting on my fingers, and the next block will not be interfaced!

Luckily, knitting uses completely different hand movements, and I knit loosely, so I can still enjoy it.  Trying to get the recent sock disappointment out of my mind, I grabbed some Fleece Artist merino from stash and cast on.

Ahh, that’s much better.

Oh, have you seen the Twist Collective?  Very stylish, and nice sock patterns are available.  Not a freebie site, but the prices are reasonable.

 

The Quilt Drought Has Broken

Finally, I stopped dithering about which quilt to start, and pieced this crazy patch yesterday.  It will become part of a small wallhanging.  There will be 12 crazy blocks, and an embroidered centre block, probably roses or some other floral design.

This quilt is going to be heavily embellished with beads, buttons and charms, so before I do any of the hand stitching, I’ll iron on some fusible interfacing on the back of the block.  This will help keep the finished quilt from sagging under the weight of the embellishments.  This block is more than 10 inches square right now, but will have a finished size of 9 inches.  I’m making the block larger because I tend to stitch at a tight tension, and I expect shrinkage.

There’s also progress on the knitting front:

I’m knitting an actual fitted garment!  This is Noro Silk Garden #244, and it will be a polo-style pullover for my husband.  I’ve finished the back, and have started the armhole shaping on the front.  Those of you who know my knitting habits, please sit down:  I knit a gauge swatch and washed it and measured it before I started the sweater. 

My dog just wants to know when Mum will get off the computer…it’s playtime!

 

Mmmm, pink and cotton

Recently, I bought 2 skeins of Noro Taiyo, just because I couldn’t resist the colours (it’s #4). I love that crunchy cotton texture! Didn’t really know what I wanted to do with them.  I’ve knit this basic scarf pattern a couple of times before and I really like the way the different colours came out. 

It’s a K1P1 rib, left unblocked so it looks like stockinette.  This is an idea that I stole shamelessly from the Brooklyntweed blog.  I wish I could figure out how to bind off so that the cast-off edge doesn’t splay out. 

I’m still pondering the start of a new quilt.  I pulled some fabric from the new Fig Tree Quilts fabric line, Dandelion Girl.  Can’t decide between starting that quilt, and getting going on a crazy quilt.  I want to do both!  At the same time!  And have finished quilts in two weeks.  Is that so unreasonable?

 

Maybe I’ll Be Hungry Again Tomorrow

I finished the quilt for my secret sister!  And ahead of time, which is just not my style at all.  The label was stitched on the back on Monday night, and Karen received it at our quilting group pot luck dinner last night.

There is simply no member of Quilters’ Workshop without cooking skills.  I ate a ridiculous amount of food.  Whoever made that cherry cheesecake is responsible for the fact that my jeans are a bit tighter today.

Next project!  I scored some gorgeous Tahki yarn at a Webs closeout a few weeks ago.  It’s a soft-as-butter silk and merino blend, and it demanded to become a shawl…command and I shall obey:

 

It’s the Cherry Leaf pattern shawl from Victorian Lace Today.  I found this book at Chapters (Silver City) a few weeks ago, and discovered a lifetime of shawl and stole patterns that I want to knit.  In real life, this yarn is a bit darker denim blue than the photo shows (the tablecloth under the shawl is bright lime green in reality).  I don’t know why this camera washes the colour out so seriously, and I am camera-skills deficient so my husband will probably have purchased a new one before I figure it all out.

Now I get to choose a new quilting project for the summer.  There are two quilts demanding to be made, and I am trying to resist the urge to start them both.  Especially since I have two unquilted tops waiting for attention.

 

It’s War!

A Sock War, that is.  I signed up this year, and even though I am the World’s Slowest Knitter, I actually managed to finish a pair of socks.  Haven’t even been eliminated, yet!  Too much fun, and I really like the Tofutsies sock yarn, which I hadn’t used before.

Also, you can’t tell from the photo, but I actually found the patience to teach myself how to do Kitchener Stitch properly.  Thanks to Interweave’s “Favorite Socks” book, which has an excellent illustrated glossary.  Hope my target enjoys them.  She’s in the UK, so she won’t get them until next week sometime.