December Rose

Golden Glow

Quilting in Progress





I am getting close to finishing the quilting. If I hop on it, the quilting will be done before bed! (And I might have a plan for the binding, which is also rather exciting.)

Table in Use

The last couple times I was down on the floor basting a quilt -- taping and then pinning the sandwich together, I got rather whiny. So when a local store had banquet tables on sale I bought two, to use together for making the quilt sandwich.

It is not a perfect solution, due to manufacturing flaws the two tables are not exactly the same height where they meet, but the height difference doesn't seem to pose a big problem and I think it is faster than working on the floor. I pinned my first quilt on the two tables at standard height -- and that was a bit painful -- all that leaning over and down.

So, with a little help (actually a lot of help) I found fantastic way to raise the table -- sections of pvc pipe.



Now I think it is a little too tall. It is perfect at the edges, but it is a long high stretch to reach the center of the table, nonetheless the raised tables are a big step forward.

Here's the first quilt I pinned on the new improved table (photographed in bright afternoon sunshine, a good reminder that it is not always grey).



And here's the one I started pinning last night.

Black and White

Yellow and Blue Quilt, when the work was in Progress. It is pretty much done now and a photo the finished piece should follow shortly.

In this photo the quilting is all done, but with the black and white I had a great deal of difficulty getting it to show in a photo. There are lots of random zigzags.


Then sewing on the binding




The quilting on the other Black and White Quilt is also done, but I still have a whole lot of ends to sew in.

Flying Geese on Grey

Work in Progress



This quilt top is nearly finished. If only I can walk away from the computer, I can get on with sewing the borders, already partially cut, on. Then, of course, I will need to get thinking about what to do about the quilt back.

Yet More Red

I've been working on the mostly black and white quilts and planning others, but I think I need a break for a return to colour.

Beginnings

I've started a new quilt.


And now I am about to put it aside for a bit. I know I am now at the point that I want to introduce blues and purples but I am not exactly sure how I am going to do it. So time to think, draw and colour.

In the mean time, I have begun to quilt one of my two black, white and yellow quilts.

More Red

Kids' Caps

At a knitting evening a couple of weeks ago a friend showed me what looked like a pretty easy cap pattern, but I have no idea what it's name was/is or where it came from. I think it seemed a bit historic, from the 70s or even earlier. It looked like you cast on an appropriate number of stitches divisible by three and then knit for a while -- the specified number of inches were appropriate for adult hats -- and then did a decrease row, knit one knit 2tog to the end of the row. And then...

Well, and then I am not sure, because I had sort of forgotten by the time I got around to knitting the hats. I knit a plain row and then a decrease row three times and then did some kind of decrease row every row until there were few enough stitches that I could just gather them up.


It is not my favourite hat, but on the other hand neither is it my least favourite. I have been thinking of trying a few more (I'd love to get my eyes on the pattern at least one more time). I think it might be fun to add a few beads to the yarn for a bit of bling.

Finished Quilt Top -- Golden Glow

Last night I finally finished this quilt top. I always, or at least often, have trouble with borders. Luckily I kinda like quilts without any silly borders, but some of them simply scream out for one.



The first couple layers of this border were a snap -- the fabric choices were so obvious, but then the choices got more complicated -- nothing was perfect, but I think it works pretty well and the dark outer band of the border helps to contain and finish the piece.

My next project is another border -- I have sewed a boarder on one end of the quilt, but I am going to try a different version on the other end, because the first one makes my stomach clench in pain.

My Design Board

This is my design board after I had taken the service quilt off -- although as you can see, what with the one remaining star from the service quilt still hanging on the board, this was taken before the service quilt was finished.

Uncovering the board seemed to change the tenor of the room. Colourful chaos now reigns everywhere.



Since I turned the service quilt in, I have been working on completing some unfinished projects, but I have yet to tackle any of these on the board. The red place mats are already quilted. All I need to do is pick a fabric for the back side. Actually that explains why I have yet to tackle that project; choosing fabrics for the backs and to use for the binding is not my favourite part of any project.

Round Robin Service Quilt

Well my round for this service quilt is done.

I think my design works -- it looks like one, more more or less unified quilt top -- but I am afraid the quilt is a bit off kilter/wonky. You can see the warble in the fabric as it hangs. The problem is a bit exacerbated by the fact that I don't have it hung quite straight and it is laying over a nail, but it really is a bit wonky. I had a small accident with my cutting and the light blue fabric had a propensity to behave as it wished rather than as I wished.

One More Red Flower

Works in Progress

A few of the projects I am most actively working on.

Fighting Fishes


The beginning of two blocks, photographed on my ironing board. This block, "Fighting Fish," was my guild's block of the month, back in March, for Pisces, but I didn't get around to making one then, barely thought about it even, but somehow it sunk into my subconsciousness and I've been thinking about for the last couple months. That little 3x3 block was one of the hardest I have ever made. The complete 12 inch block calls for four of the pairs of fish and for the rest of it to be made of the background colour. I haven't finished them off, because I don't think there will be enough contrast -- somehow I am going to add contrast in the middle.


Mini Quilt


This little piece is mainly made from left over pieces from another unfinished object. I am not quite sure how I will finish off the top and bottom borders. I kind of think I need to extend an orange triangle into one of the borders -- probably the top as that will leave the blue star on the cream fabric slightly more visible than if I were to extend the orange triangle in the lower right.


Service Committee Round Robin



My goal here was to increase the size and to increase the scale. If I maintained the scale of the six inch nine patch blocks I felt the whole would become chaotic. I wanted to add an element that would allow the small blocks to read as one area of playful blue and yellow. So I am adding a large blue and yellow box around the smaller box. It might be working although a slip with the rotary blade which has made one side is a bit short has me in a bit of a snit.

Late Summer Colour

Two -- Almost Completed Quilt Tops

This is my second pair of (almost) completed quilt tops that are very similar. There is a third pair, but in that case I completed one quit, but have not yet put the blocks for the second quilt together.





The first time I made two similar quilts, it was at least partly out of need, I had made enough blocks for one quilt but they simply did not all go together. So I quickly made enough for two. In all three cases the blocks were quick and simple to make. The process has been rather educational.

This time round I have a few extra blocks and I have plans for a very different third quilt made from these same fabrics, but I suspect it will take me a bit of time. I am puzzling over a zig zag form, which probably won't be completely regular.

Service Quilt Round Robin

One of my guild's, The Mary's River Quilt Guild's, on going projects is to make quilts for local people in need. One of the Service Committee's newer tactics, designed to increase the production of service quilts, is to do round robins.

I picked this one up to work on.



I am not sure how many people have worked on it to date, but I guess two.

I enjoy working on these round robins because I feel free to work with the design constraints of the piece without worrying about the aesthetic sensibilities of the owner.

The packet of fabrics they gave me for the next step seems to be mostly fairly dark blues, but I sort of think I should give it one more band, in a light fabric to tie the two parts together.

I have a sort of plan, which includes putting this on point. Over the next few weeks we will see if it works at all.

Clematis

Highlighted in the late afternoon sunshine

Work in Progress - Black and White and Yellow

Here's some pieces from my newest work in progress. I think the inspiration for this one came from two dispirit sources . I saw an interesting quilt on Tumblr and some almost toile fabric -- a large sort of pictorial print in black on white with some yellow highlights. I did not end up buying the fabric and I think my blocks are completely unlike those making up the quilt I saw on Tumblr. I guess that is what I get for not going back and looking at the quilt, when I made my cuts.

First, I took a couple of photos of blocks laying on my off white table.




Then I took some with a darker background. I think that worked better.




I ended up sewing a sort of sashing to the blocks for two reasons, obviously it solves any problems I might have with distortion over the length of the sashing, but also because it makes it easier for me to move the blocks around as I try to decide on their placement.

Here's my first try laying the blocks out


I think the final quilt will be 4 blocks by 4 blocks, or about 36 by 48 inches and I am pretty much committed to trying it again with a few blocks that include a blue and white fabric (committed as in I have made several of the blue blocks) along with the black and white and yellow.

One Red Flower

A little more intense colour.

Kid's Cap

This is my most recently completed cap.

Work in Progress

The Courthouse Steps again. This is my second attempt to quilt it -- the first was a complete bust, which I completely ripped out, to start afresh.

Just One Rose

Walkabout

So it looks like once again I have been on walkabout, absent without leave, whatever, for almost exactly one full month. The good news is that I have been working -- tutoring as well as knitting and quilting, and even taking the occasional photograph.
So...
Here we go again, photos will follow over the next few days.

One Red Tulip

Golden Circle

Golden glow in lilacs and blues, this quilt like the bright courthouse steps quilt was based on a quilt in Best of the Best Quilts by Leslie Beck, a book I checked out from the public library, and like that quilt I changed the colours substantially. In the book this one's name in some way references autumnal colours.

This is not yet a finished top. I have sewed on one round of the border, so that I can now think about what should happen next.

Court House Steps

Now with a border!



I toyed with the idea of doing something a bit fancy with the back, but when I started thinking colours and binding colours my brain collapsed and I am going to go with a plain splotchy green print.

Two Hats

Here are two more hats based on the Grow With Me Baby Hat I found at Hither Yarn blog. Or at least I hope by the time I get around to publishing this post I will have two photos. These dang blasted hats are not easy to photograph -- I swear they are harder to photograph than the admittedly terrified mice my cat releases into the bathroom -- even hiding behind the toilet and sitting on the pipes, they are easier to photograph and capture than these hats -- maybe it is just practice and eventually photographing hats will be as easy as knitting them.

Knit with acrylic and bamboo

Knit with a lilac heather acrylic I bought years ago

Taken almost from above

From a bit more to the side

I really like the way this hat decreases in 6 sections -- the cute little star shape that forms at the top, but then I like the hats that increase or decrease in eight segments too.

One Hat

Finally a hat post.

I have been making progress on my 52 Hats Project, but unfortunately I have not been finishing the blasted little things and even less have I been successfully photographing them. I think I am more or less on target, except for the finishing touches. I just cannot seem to get around to making the pompoms or knitting the flowers -- actually I am quite keen to try knitting the flowers, but I did not find appropriate yarn.


This hat is based on the Grow With Me Baby Hat by Hither and Yarn



This version, probably sized to fit a six month old, was knit in an acrylic bamboo blend by Caron. I knit this with the left overs from a scarf I knit for my aunt. The yarn is quite soft and pleasant to knit with and I have a couple of balls in other colours, so I will undoubtedly use more of it for baby hats.

A Couple Potholders

Months ago my neighbour gave me a cute little stuffed mouse toy for my cat. The Mousie arrived wrapped in a piece of fabric. She told me that she had bought an entire bolt of the fabric to cover a chair, when she was done with that, there was fabric left over. She could not bear to throw it away, so she was using the left overs for gift wrap.

On the same principle -- I could bear to throw away the bit of fabric she had given me, I decided to use some of it to make potholders to give to her -- theoretically for Christmas, now a few months past. I am not yet done, but I am making progress.

One of the two potholders with the first layer of quilting worked through four layers -- its usually three, but because the weave on the upholstery fabric is a little loose, I added a thin muslin fabric to prevent the batting from escaping.




The other potholder -- this one is a little further along in the process. The first four layers have been quilted and the fifth and sixth layers have been basted together and quilted. The basting thread is still very visible.


The center area is quilted through four layers and only the outer most row of quilting is through the whole thing. I try to limit quilting of all thicknesses to a small portion of the outer area of the potholder as the sewing holes are a perfect avenue for heat to travel.

Coasters

Honestly I haven't been doing much creating in the last month or so and hardly any quilting. I am beginning to feel a bit depressed and stressed about my lack of progress. It is a bit of a chicken and egg problem, I am not really sure which came first, the stress or the depression. What I do know, is that I have got to get back to work.

In my defense, I have been doing a fair bit of tutoring and somehow when I get home I am just not up to much. Further in my defense, I have several quilts worked to the point that they need borders, a stage which seems to require immense quantities of thought and mental dexterity. I've laid the quilts out on all kinds of fabric, but I am not yet, quite ready to cut. I promise I will get on with it.

In the mean time, I clearly have not met my minimum goal of one blog post a week, but I am getting close to being up to date on my one hat a week, or 52 hats in the year, knitting project. Knitting hats, children's or otherwise is the prefect project when you don't have the mental energy to do much thinking. I will take a few photos later in the week so I can post some evidence of my progress.



What I have completed are these four coasters. I made them from partial bits of blocks, which turned out to be unnecessary for use in a wall quilt I finished months ago. A friend bought the quilt, and I think I will go ahead and ship these coasters off to her -- doesn't every body need coasters to match their wall quilts?

Couthouse Steps

I think I am kind of addicted to working on on log cabin, or variants of the log cabin quilt. This is my first go at the Courthouse Steps block and I just absolutely have to say, I like it!

As I was pressing the blocks of this quilt I kept thinking the back side is lovely. There is an extra stripey effect caused by the contrast of the subtle wrong side of the fabrics contrasted with the bright right sides visible in the open pressed seams.



This quilt is based on something I found in a book, Best of the Best Quilts by Leslie Beck, which I checked out from the public library -- but her quilt is in palest pale pastels and has more fabrics and more rounds.

I don't think I realized how bright my quilt was going to be until I began to lay out some of the finished blocks. Not only are the colours bright, which I had noticed, but they appear even brighter enhanced by the diagonal push of the pattern.



Now, I have to think about what to do about the border. I have fabric laying all around the outside of the pieced portion of this quilt top, but nothing is speaking to me. I will definitely need to think about it for a bit.

New Year's Resolutions

Okay, so I am a little late with my resolution, but the idea for my first resolution only just came to me last week.

I am teaching a knitting class this term, and in preparation I went to the public library and checked out a couple of knitting books, one of which was Hip Knit Hats by Cathy Carron. In the process of working on one of the patterns, so that I could help a student, it came to me -- I could and should knit 52 hats this year, basically one a week except that I am starting a bit late so I will really need to get my skates on. I have a simple go to hat pattern, which is infinitely variable, and which knits up quickly and almost always produces a satisfying result, but I think I will use this resolution as an excuse to do a little stretching. I plan to make a bunch of new hats.

This book has several very cute patterns, which I plan to make for kids rather than for adults. I have one hat knit -- except for the pompom and another hat well on the way. I think it is a bit small, so I have a wonderful excuse to make it again, in a slightly larger size. Plus I am not completely satisfied with the cast on and crown, so I may want to make a few more variations.

And since this whole hat project involves what is essentially a weekly task it occurred to me that I should also commit to at least one post a week. I can do this! I will prove it to you.