By lee | February 13, 2010
I’ve been knitting up a storm and have finished a couple of projects in the last two weeks. One project was Liza’s Goth Socks, but I forgot to take a picture before I mailed them to her. I made her promise to take a picture soon so I can post it. The socks turned out great and the yarn was really soft and easy to work with.
The other project I finished was the Thorpe hat for Rick. The pattern is available free on Ravelry. I used a chunky Malabrago and it worked up easily. Rick says it’s super warm and he’s been wearing it all the time.
Here’s a close up of the top. I love the color.
I cast on a new project to work on during the Olympics. I wanted to make the Zigzag Mitts by Jen Hurley but the pattern is really funky and I was hating it. She has you make the thumb separately. You work the mitt from the top down instead of starting at the cuff and then you have to graft the thumb to the mitt. I was not having fun.
So I ripped it out and started “Mitt Envy” instead. This pattern starts at the cuffs, you increase to create the gusset for the thumb, put those stitches on some waste yarn and then finish the thumb after you’re done. It’s much easier. The mitt has a nice cable on the front to give it some flair. It’s only day two of the Olympics and I’m already half way done with the first mitt.
I think I’ll start a new pair of socks for Rick after I finish these mitts. Pictures to come.
By lee | February 9, 2010
I did finish the elf shoes in time for the Groundhog’s Day party. They turned out so cute. I sewed a pompom to the tip of each toe before wearing them to the party.
I agitated them too long when I was felting them and they came out a bit small. I had to put them on my feet and walked around a bit in them before taking them off to dry. Believe me, it was not fun having cold, wet, felted shoes on my feet, but one must suffer sometimes to achieve that perfect accessory. And they were just perfect for my outfit. The theme for the party this year was Dr. Seuss, can you tell?
Last Thursday at knitting, Lynda brought her new felted slippers to show off. The pattern is called “French Press Felted Slippers” and is available through ravelry. I think they’re adorable. But look at that beautiful bag! Lynda made that too. She took a class at A Common Thread with Victoria Jones called “It’s a Wrap: Bowls, Baskets and Bags.
It looks like great fun but I’m going to have to tie my hands behind my back and say NO, NO, NO. No more projects until I finish some of those unfinished ones. I haven’t forgotten them.
Posted in Knitting, Misc. |
By lee | February 6, 2010
Wednesday night I went up to Scappoose, Oregon to speak at the Columbia River Piecemakers Quilt Guild. They are a really nice group and it was a lot of fun. I was very impressed by the community outreach at their guild. The members had been challenged in September to bring donation quilts to the February meeting and here is the pile of quilts they brought.
This is a small guild and the members brought 32 quilts for donation. And they weren’t just any old thing thrown together, these were nice quilts. There are going to be some very happy recipients out there. Here are just a few of them.
One of the members, Carrie Shields, had taken my Cascade class at Quilt Camp back in October and brought her finished quilt to show at the meeting. I always feel like a proud parent when I see finished quilts from classes. I love teaching this class and Carrie did a great job.
By lee | February 3, 2010
I was going to say that I’ve been diligently working on finishing those UFO’s but that really wouldn’t be truthful. My most important project of late is coming up with a fabulous outfit for the Groundhog’s Day Party. This is a BIG deal and the theme this year is “Green Eggs and Hog.” So I’ve been channeling Dr. Seuss and having lots of fun with that. I’ll be sure to post pictures.
That being said, I have been working on this UFO and have managed to finish the top and piece the backing. So now it can officially get crossed off the UFO list and move over to the unquilted list. I do love my lists.
This pattern is called Building Blocks and I made it up when I made this baby quilt for Adrienne and Paul when Ingrid was born. I cut this all out so I would have blocks to make when I taught the class. Since I probably won’t be teaching this anymore, I decided to go ahead and finish it. I think I’ll just hang on to it until it’s needed. There are always babies coming along.
By lee | January 31, 2010
Jasper didn’t come to craft day with me but he’s just so handsome I had to put his picture here. Like many other people, I take way too many pictures of my pet. How can I resist?
But I digress. Every so often I get together with my good friends Meara and Therese. They are super crafty and do completely different kinds of crafts than what I usually do. We get together at Meara’s house, throw a lot of stuff on the table and just have at it. There is also wine to help get one’s juices flowing. Here’s the table. It’s hard not to be inspired by all the antique papers, stamps, inks, transparencies, different size slides, it’s just amazing.
Yesterday, we made pendants using glass slides. We created a collage the size of the slide, put a slide on the top and bottom, and then soldered around the edges. The little collages were fun to make, mine is three layers with paper, transparency and some stamping. We added a ring to the top to put the chain through. I really enjoyed the soldering and am ready to rush right out and buy all the tools. Somebody please restrain me!
Posted in Misc., collage |
