Scrappy Trip Around the World Finish!

 I finally managed to stop cuddling under my quilt to take some photos of it to post here.  It's been a problem and I've wanted to bring it everywhere, just in case the Polar Vortex attacks again.

 And see?  I'm not the only one who loves it.  How could I possibly take a quilt away from this girl?

This is the first quilt I finished at my guild's retreat a few weekends back (there's a great write up of all the fun we had here).  I've had the top done since forever and I knew how I was going to quilt it, but it just lay in a pile.  I don't know why it took so long, but I'm glad it's finally finished.

It's the Scrappy Trip Around the World pattern that got really popular about a year back.  I pulled out all of my scraps (then had a moment of shock at how many there were since it was my first time really digging into them) then started just cutting one slice of fabric off most of the fabrics in my stash.  The result is a snapshot of what I was sewing with at the time, and it's very different from the state of my stash now.

I quilted it in the Dogwood pattern from Elizabeth Hartman.  I've wanted to try it since first seeing it on her blog, but never really had anything that would work.  The second I started making this quilt, though, I realized it would be perfect.  The two inch blocks are a great size for the first time trying the pattern.  You don't have to travel really far, so the arcs don't get too distorted, and since there's so many of them, the mistakes disappear.

I made the back scrappy too, using a couple pieces of leftover flannel from quilting previous quilts.  It's not been washed yet (too hard to get it away from the couch), but it already is super soft and perfect for cuddling under and watching TV or knitting.

Linking up with Blossom Heart Quilts for Sew Cute Tuesday and Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday!

      

WIP Wednesday!

The Seacoast MQG and Boston MQG retreat was a major success!  I managed to quilt two quilts (one that's been lingering for about a year) and got some serious work done on Pinkie Pie.  Pinkie is back on the list, and close to the top since I'm not dreading pulling her out to sew.  

But the big WIP is to put away all that stuff.  Packing was so easy, just toss stuff in a bag and go, but the unpacking looks awful.  I may just leave stuff in bags and projects and supplies out as I need them.  Not pretty, but better for my brain.  And besides, all the projects I never got to are packed with the supplies I need to finish them.  Why break up such awesome organization?

And while I was procrastinating from the pile of stuff, I decided to bite the bullet and rip out these socks for the third (fourth?) time.  I got mid foot and realized that I didn't like working the complicated cable pattern (I like patterns I can remember and don't need to constantly be looking at the book to get right) and they were probably going to be too big on me anyway.

So I ripped out until I was down to just 60 stitches on each sock (instead of the 68 I had), and put those back on the needles very carefully.  I restarted them using the Seagrass pattern from the book (Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time) which is just a staggered pattern of knits and purls over six stitches.  Way easier, and I can knit them quickly in the continental style, which was impossible with all the cables before.  Hope to have socks before it gets too warm to wear them!

Last on the short list of WIPs is my quilt for do. Good Stitches.  I picked the Pyramid Scheme block by Quilt Dad, and I got the last set of blocks on Friday.  I'm going to just piece them together without sashing, but I need to decide how to orient the blocks, all in the same direction, alternating so the big colored triangles match up, or something else entirely.  Now that I have them all I can really play.

And, speaking of do. Good Stitches, my circle was featured on Stitched In Color, so everyone should check it out here!  The pink quilt in all the pictures was the first quilt I worked on with these women, and I love how it turned out!

Linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday!

Friday Finish: The Fastest Raglan Sweater

This sweater is proof that I can't let my hands rest for even a minute.  I was supposed to be knitting up a baby blanket for a friend.  It was going well until I realized the pattern was off an entire ball of yarn on it's supplies list.  So while I waited for my order to arrive (of course, the one time I order yarn online) I made this sweater.

I let the boy pick the yarn and I love the color he chose.  It's Jade Heather from Patons.  It looks green from afar, but close up it has specks of yellow and blue.  And knitting with it was really nice.  It has the right combination of slips off the needles so you can knit fast, but doesn't just slip off the needles and you drop stitches.  Makes sense?  Who knows, but I liked it.

The pattern is an oldie.  I went to ask my knitting partner-in-crime for her Elizabeth Zimmerman books, and she busted out this crazy raglan sweater chart where you just measure the person you're knitting for and follow the column of numbers for your cast on stitches, increases, length of stockinette, etc.  It's kind of amazing.  I've already bought more yarn to use the pattern again, but this time with a few variations.

The one bummer with the sweater is that the sleeves aren't really long enough for him to grow into next winter, so this is probably just going to be worn for a few months before getting sent to his sister's drawer.  I swear I measured and then had him try it on before I added the ribbing, so he must have had a growth spurt overnight.  It's the only explanation.

But he loves it, so I don't care about anything else.  Also, he's a goober who just wanted to eat snow the entire time I was trying to take his photo.  At least he wasn't cold!

Friday Finish: Economy Block Top!

I'm so happy with this quilt.  I started making the economy blocks at the January Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild meeting.  We had an open sew, and I decided to bust out a few instead of quilting my Riley Blake quilt.  Procrastination at it's finest, but I did need to make some for the guild's block lottery.  Of course, I hadn't read the tutorial, so those blocks had to be scrapped and more had to be made.  Then I just didn't stop making them.

I was quite obsessed.  I combed through all my fabric looking for fun centers.  I'm really glad that I had so many scraps and charm packs from other people's stashes.  I found fabrics I didn't know I had!

Soon I had about 85, and I had some decisions to make.  I was set on this layout, just put a bunch of blocks together and let their crazy reign, but it just didn't look right.  All those cool prints that I had carefully cut into just got lost in all the noise.

(A little in the shadows, but the sun is a hike through three feet of snow.)

So I decided to ground that crazy in solids that I'd already used in the blocks.  The purple is Kona Berry and the green is Grass, two of my new favorite colors.  And plenty of black.  I've not used a bunch of black before, but all the black prints I used looked so awesome I knew I needed more.

I'm hoping to get this quilted up this weekend.  I'm so in love I want to cuddle with it right now.  I'm going to comb through my pile of flannel to see if any will work for a backing.  Or I might just back it with minky for extra cuddly-ness.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday!

Catnap Bolero... Ole!

Is there anything better than making something and having your kid absolutely love it?  It does get a bit complicated when you weren't making it for your kid.  Oh well, she's too cute and I can't take it away.

This is really an adult bolero.  My crafty partner in crime wanted to enter the Lizzy House Catnap Dress Contest (now closed, but check out all the entries on the Flickr page!)  She made an adorable Washi Dress (the best dress pattern!) but thought she needed a little something extra.  So she bought this Lamb's Pride yarn in Roasted Coffee, and handed it off to me.  I love how this yarn is chunky and fuzzy, but still shows all the stitch detail.  I wish it had a little less debris, but it adds character.  

I used the Bazan pattern from Jane Richmond available on Ravelry.  It knitted up really fast.  I think I spent one week of evenings getting this done.  The method Jane came up with is pretty genius.  You knit the whole thing (minus the ribbing along the edge) as a single panel, then seam the arms.  Then you pick up stitches along the edges and knit the ribbing in the round.  It made it pretty fast with few opportunities for failure, which is what I look for in a pattern.  

And just in case you don't believe that toddler cardigan is really a bolero, here it is on my friend Jess.  All that mesh on the back lets it really stretch.  Also, check out that cute dress!  I might have to make one for myself in the print behind her, and the little girl should get a Geranium to wear with her newly stolen cardigan.

  

Linking up with Blossom Heart Quilts for Sew Cute Tuesday!

Adventures in Sock Knitting

Behold, the most exciting pair of socks I've knit.  I've been going by patterns and doing as I was told, but these were the first that I felt confident enough to go off book.

I really set out to make those bigger socks.  They're a Christmas gift for my grandmother, but because Christmas is such a crunch time for handmade presents I didn't have time to knit them.  Instead, I gave her the yarn, then asked for it back so I could immediately cast on some socks.  I made them with a really great pattern from On The Needles.  It's the best pattern for just learning how to do it.  And when you use the sock number method, the socks really do fit without any guesswork.

When I finished with Grammy's socks I had leftover yarn that I figured would be enough to make a second pair for Isaac.  And since I had a finite amount of yarn, I did a toe-up sock.  I've had a pair of socks in the works from the book Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes, but that meant my super-long circular needle was in use, and all I had was my double points.

So I just combined the toe-up method in the book, with the sock number method of the On The Needles pattern, and voila!

The other bit of excitement was with the rib knit.  I've never been able to get it to look nice.  See that gaping knitting on the right sock?  That's how it always looks, but I learned the secret to nice ribbing... twisting and untwisting your purl stitches!  The left sock turned out much nicer, and is so much stretchier.

So that's my last Christmas present crossed off the to-do list!  I might start working on some generic handmade presents just to have them on hand for next Christmas.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday!

Sending My 241 Tote Into the World

So a last minute make gets some last minute photos.  I wasn't even going to bother, but the kids were so excited to get their pictures taken that it had to happen.

I made up this little tote as a going away present for a really great friend.  We only just started getting crafty together, when a new job mean moving pretty far away.  Everyone is bummed, and I'm sure this little girl is going to be asking for her friend (my friend's daughter is the same age)  for a while before she understands what "moved away" means.

So I whipped up a little 241 Tote from Noodlehead as a going away present.  It was the first time with this pattern, but the Super Tote and Open Wide Pouches worked so well, I just jumped right in.  I love Anna's patterns!  They're really easy to sew up, but they have fun details that make them look more involved than they really are.

I left off the zippers because I was chicken, but the rest of it came together really quickly.  I dipped into my pile of Echino to find a fun center print, then picked a nice solid to coordinate and put them together with some black linen.

I love when I don't have to go anywhere for supplies to a project.  I had everything for this already in my stash, including some piping for the inner pocket to make it stand out, interfacing (which I never have!), and the magnetic snaps.  I'm going to have to put in a bulk order of those snaps; they're super easy to install and are the best closures ever.

The bag was heavily twirl tested, and stood up to all the G's the little girl could give it.   Now it's on to it's future home, and hopefully we'll be able to visit it, and our friends, soon.

Photo Bomb!!!

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday!