Finishing things

I love getting a project finished - and I've finished two things since I last posted. I completed my cowl, but it's been far to warm to wear it - we're having an early summer here in the UK. And I just finished the baby quilt in time for her due date, then she was 2 weeks late.
Okay, cowl pics first:

I didn't free motion quilt Imogen's quilt in the end, but did a curvy pattern using my darning foot with the feet dogs up. I'm pleased with the result and will try something more adventurous next time - maybe with more time, less pressure.

Anyway, Lucy and Al loved it and that's the most important thing.

I love listening to crafty podcasts and one of my favourites is Green Stitch. I was delighted to win one of Anne's competitions and received these lovely felted squares:

I'm not sure what to make with them, so if you have any ideas, let me know....

This may be my last post until the autumn as it's getting to the time of year when I have tons to do outside - check out my gardening blog to see what goes on there. But I will be doing some craft stuff if it rains. I'm on the home-straight with Keith's waistcoat, the next knitting project is those socks from the last post, and I'ce designed the new girl baby quilt and bought the fabric. And I will get the last wallhanging of the seasonal series done soon....

Quilt for a new baby

So, I've been working on the quilt for Al and Lucy's new baby. She is due on April 6th. I have the top pieced and the backing fabric purchased. Once I've done this blogpost, I'm going to tack the three layers together.

The idea for this pattern came from RetroMummy - but hers is much larger. But like hers, I plan to free-motion quilt it. It'll be the first quilt I've done that to, but I think I can cope. Then I'm going to make a binding by chain piecing lots of the different fabrics in it together.

My plan was to try and get a quilt for a baby boy and a quilt for a baby girl stashed away so I always have one ready. But this one is spoken for, for Al and Lucy's new baby. So I need to get straight on to another girl quilt once this one is finished. I bought a jelly roll of lots of these pretty pink and pastel fabrics, so I thought I'd try this pattern described on GreenStitch.

I've also been knitting - and going to a knitting group, KnitWits in Coventry. So far it's proved very useful as I need lots of advice since I don't really know what I'm doing. It's also made me realise that what i really like to wear are the kinds of knitting that take an age to make - not big chunky lacy knits, but slow plain fabrics with lighter yarn and small needles. Also, I've decided to try knitting patterns that are meant to go with the yarn for a while, as I think that will be more successful. I'm going to start with these socks from Easy Knits:

I've also finished this cardigan for the new baby:

And been working on a cowl for me:

Keith's waistcoat is still ongoing but I'm on the second front now. So on the home straight.

Often at this time of year, I like to make a craft plan for the year ahead - but I'm less sure this year than previous years. Still, here goes:

• finish set of cross-stitch wall hangings - just Summer Solstice to do
• new baby girl quilt
• improve quilting skills generally
• finish cord skirt for me
• blouse muslin with fba for me
• knit some fancy socks
• knit me a cardigan
• finish Keith's waistcoat
• knit me a lovely hat for next winter

Other ideas include knitting some fancy scarves inspired by Carol Klein, making a quilt for our bed (yeah, right), knitting gloves and more quilts. Well, we'll see - watch this space!

November quilting

I did actually get round to practicing the free motion quilting and managed to more or less crack it. I made a couple of Christmas stockings for me and Keith - I bought some lovely Christmassy fabric from Kisko - a wonderful shop/club in Leicester that my neighbour told me about. Then I free motion quilted all over them. It was pretty quick and I'm pleased with the results:

Meanwhile, the baby cardigan is almost finished and Keith's waistcoat is growing slowly. At Kisko I also bought fabric for a new girl quilt. Oh, and I got my new skirt cut out. The list of sewing projects by priority is

1. make cushions for our bed - need to get my rotary cutter back from a friend to do that.

2. corduroy skirt.

3=. girl quilt.

3=. blouse with FBA.

Meanwhile, knitting continues in the evenings.

October 2010

I didn't think I'd done much crafty since last post - but when I think about it, there's quite a bit.

I finished the penultimate wallhanging - the winter solstice one. I'll photograph the full set together when they're all finished - and that will be by summer solstice 2011!

The waistcoat I'm knitting for Keith is coming on well - it's a bit boring to knit, so I try to do 2 rows before I go to my more interesting project which is....

I've started knitting a baby cardigan with some lovely wool I bought at Yarn Gathering in Coventry, before that all went pear-shaped. It's in a new born size and the yarn is pink and beige - it will go into my 'Hope Chest' until someone has a baby girl. Here's piccie of work so far:

I need now to check I have the right needle for the next bit - if not, I need to find an online supplier as my new job is nowhere near a knitting shop, and there's not one in Rugby either.

I've also been doing some dressmaking - I made a skirt, but out of scrap material. It's okay for gardening in, but I'n not going to stick a photo up here. I've bought some navy corduroy to make a nice skirt from the same pattern, but that I can wear in public. My main problem with dress-making is that standard sizes don't fit me - big boobs, narrow back, no waist, skinny hips. I altered the skirt pattern and was dead chuffed with the outcome. I've also bought on Ebay, a pattern for a blouse. This will need a Full Bust Alteration (FBA) so that's the next trick I plan to learn.

I'm not sure it counts as craft, but I spent a jolly Friday creating an amazing princess bed for Maddie. There are fairy lights on the ceiling, then a canopy hung below this so the lights twinkle through it. Then Maddie had added pink Christmas decorations. It's completely OTT and very girly - but she loves it and it was fun to do.

The final thing to talk about is an idea put forward on the At The Kitchen Table podcast - the idea that the enjoyment of crafty things is something that should be shared within a community, that joining a group is a good thing. My problem is that all the groups I'm aware of are single craft groups - so there's several local knitting groups, a local quilting group etc. I almost went to a knitting group last month - but it was the one at Yarn Gathering in Coventry that I'd planned to go to. Hmmm - something to think about.

Well, that's all for this month. Plans are to finish the baby sweater, make progress with Keith's waistcoat and actually get organised to practice the free-motion quilting, because that hasn't happened yet. Maybe I could get that done tomorrow night?

September 2010

It's been a long time since my last post. I've been working full time all summer, and am about to start a new job - a full time one. I haven't worked full time since I moved in with Keith in 1991, but I think I've got used to it now. And I am finding time to knit and sew - even if it's just a few hours each week.

So, the blue green scarf I talked about last time got ripped and put away - the pattern was supposed to go with the yarn, but I bought it at a busy show and I think the woman gave me the wrong pattern because it just wasn't working out at all. Someone helpful on Ravelry, suggested that I need to use much smaller needles with that yarn - so it's gone away until I'm ready to try again.

Keith's waistcoat has also been put away - but only because it's too warm to knit in summer. I'm currently working on the penultimate wall-hanging (for Winter Solstice), but the waistcoat will be picked up again after that. I hope Keith will be wearing it before Spring. We'll see.

I did get the Multnomah scarf knitted and I'm really pleased with it. Here's some piccies:

I also finished the boy quilt. Now I need to get started on a new girl quilt so I have one of each ready for any new arrivals. My daughter in law is expecting a new baby in April, and my brother and his wife are having IVF treatment, so I need to get on with things!

I've been experimenting with free-motion quilting as I want to use it on the next cot quilt. I'm not very good, but all the tips say practice is the key to it. So I guess I just need to do more. My trouble is, I hate to throw anything away, so I keep thinking that I'll practice on pan holders, or Christmas place mats or .... Then, I think 'don't make a project of it, just get on with it'. So I need to just dig out some cheap fabric (I have some old sheets for just this purpose) and some batting and get on with it. Here's a piccie of an early attempt:

That's all for now - not many projects, but quite a lot of work. More (hopefully) next month.

February 2010

Yay - my shoulder is better and normal life has resumed. Well, kinda - I've been working full-time for the first time since 1992, so that's been very strange. I'm coming home from work exhausted - mostly because the reason I'm full-time is to get a particular piece of work done, so there is quite a lot of pressure and I'm very busy.

But the quilt has a border added now, and has been quilted. Just need to bind it and it'll be finished.

Keith's waistcoat continues to grow - I've finished the back now, and the pocket linings.

Yesterday, I went to the opening of a lovely new yarn shop in Coventry, and spent almost £50 on yarn! Some of it is intended for a Multomah shawl - I want to get better at lace knitting. So, I intend to ban myself from this simple, mindless stocking stitch project until I've finished the blue/green scarf I started month's ago. Hopefully I will have some progress to show by the end of March.

Oh yes, one more thing for February was that I finished the wall hanging for autumn equinox. I'm not going to post a pic now as I want to post all 8 together when I get to the end of this massive project - 2 or 3 still to do, I think.

January 2010

It's been a frustrating month for craft as I've developed a problem with my back and shoulder and been told by my osteopath to limit the amount of sewing and knitting that I do. I can knit for about 10 minutes but then have to stop.

So this will be a very short post.

The waistcoat I'm knitting for Keith is growing slowly - I'm up past the armhole shaping now. That's the main knitting I've been doing as it's just stocking stitch so no concentration required. Hopefully, next month I'll have the back finished and photographed.

The main accomplishment for January is that I've finished piecing the top of the boy cot quilt. It still needs the border adding, then the quilting. Not sure how much I'll get done tho' as machine sewing tends to fit in the winter when I'm not gardening - and winter is on the way out now.

Anyway, here's a piccie:

I'm going to try sewing instead of knitting tonight so see if that's any better for my shoulder. I'm still working on the set of eight wall hangings that I posted about zonks ago. I'll post pics of all eight when they're all finished. I think the one I'm working on is number six - it's an autumnal themed one to be hung around the time of the autumn equinox.

As I said, a short post.