Mug Rugs for Swap

Here are the 2 mug rugs that I made to swap with my partner in Washington State.  This swap was sponsored by Quilting Gallery and Mishka's Playground.  You might have noticed the great quilty looking backgrounds at the Olympics last month.  I only watched the indoor skating events and the blue patchwork around the rink looked so good to me.  Can fabric be far behind?  I have already seen photos of a pattern for a batik quilt inspired by the Russian Folkart theme of the Olympics.

They are actually nice and flat and straight, not at all how they look in these photos.  They will be in the mail tomorrow.

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March 2nd, stash report

Yesterday, I attended a Tea and Downton Abbey Trunk Show put on by Andover Fabrics and one of the LQSs in Phoenix.  It was awesome.  I am a fan of the show on PBS but not really of the fabric line (so far).

The presentation was so interesting.  Dennis told us about the history of his company and a thumbnail sketch of how the fabric is made.  Andover oversees every step of the production and purchases their cotton in the US.  Unfortunately, the rest of the process is completed out of this country.  He told us how the company obtained the license to produce the fabric for Downton Abbey and the future of the collection.

Dennis showed lots of clips from the show as well as photos he had taken when he visited the set.  He said the program is set to film for several more years and the fabric line and patterns will be expanded each year.  He said that NBC actually owns the rights to the show and they are being very hands-on about the fabric line and patterns.

Dennis told us to watch for quilts in the show next year made from their fabric.

Anyway, it was an informative and fun afternoon.  We each received 2 FQ's of Downtown fabric and a spool of Sulky thread and a small seam ripper in our goody bag along with a 25% off coupon for the Downton fabric purchased that day.  I also won a charm pack of the fabric (37) pieces.  I gave the charm pack to my friend and I don't know why I didn't give her the FQ's as well.

This was the 50th show Dennis had done and his last for this year.  If you are interested, you might ask your LQS to look into hosting a trunk show for the new additions next year (starting in January along with the new episodes).

I also purchased a 1/2 yard of faux leather to use in making purse.  I think I will use a 3 yard pack with zippers that I purchased at the Houston show several years ago as accents.

I finished my mug rugs and they will be in the mail tomorrow to my swap partner.  I used about 1/2 yard in the process.

Fabric added this week       1 yard

Fabric used this week          1/2 yard

Fabric added this year      2 1/2 yards

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On the Needles February 28,2014

I haven't done much knitting lately but  I have started this pair of socks.  The pattern is ZigZags by Elaine Anderson.  It is free on Ravelry.  I started this pattern once before but ripped it our since the leg portion is larger and looser then I like.  I am making this pair for a friend who needs the extra room.  The yarn is but Opal.  The pattern is pretty easy and the pattern shows up well in this yarn.

Laundry day earlier this week.  So many socks, so little time left before it gets too hot for socks!

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Design Wall Monday February 24, 2014

This is going to be a mug rug for a swap with Quilting Gallery and Mishka's Playground.   The theme was celebrating the Winter Olympics.  This little cutie is supposed to look like one of those Russian Nesting dolls.  She still needs a heart (in her tummy) and she needs to be fastened down and quilted as well.

The second swap mug rug is a winter peace dove.

This needs to be fused in place and a stem embroidered between the beak and the leaves.

The deadline for mailing is March 3rd so even though I feel behind, I know I will easily finish by that date.  However, my swap partner lives in Washington and she is ready to swap-so there is a little pressure!

I hope you have all checked out the Traveling Stash Box which I mentioned in this blog yesterday.  Get your name on the list and you could be the next lucky winner.

Take some time to review the other design walls at Patchwork Times.

Stash report

I have been negligent about posting lately and I want to change that.  I have been pretty good about not adding to my stash!

I attended the quilt show last month in Tucson with friends.  We took a bus from one of the local shops from Phoenix.  It was great fun, there were snacks and contests and prizes and none of us had to drive.  The show was wonderful and those lassies not only know how to quilt but they also know how to put on a show.  I won a FQ on the trip home and I also received a free FQ at a shop we stopped at.

I am currently working on a mug rug swap sponsored by the Quilting  Gallery and Mishka's Playground.  The rugs are based on a set pattern and the theme is this years Winter Olympics.  I am a little behind but hope to have completed enough to post for design wall tomorrow.

I had some Arizona State fabric in my stash and I wanted another Arizona fabric to include in the mug rug.  I purchased a yard of fabric with saguaro cactus and Native American symbols.  I also found a batik that had Thunderbird symbols on it, so I purchased some to send with the mug rug as a bonus.

So I have added 2 yards to my stash this year and I have not used any-I can only improve from here.

I wanted to remind you about the Traveling Stash Box as well.  It is currently in the hands of the Cynical Quilter and she is looking for someone else to pass it on to.  Check out her blog.

http://thecynicalquilter.blogspot.com

Check out the other stash reports at Patchwork Times too.

On the Needles 2014

I have not been doing much knitting lately but I have some photos of work I did since the last post.

I am making a hat, cowl and fingerless gloves for my niece.  I used free patterns from Ravelry after seeing these patterns knit up on other quilter/knitter's blogs.

The hat is a basic stocking cap but baggier-  Sockhead Hat.  The cowl pattern I used the Irish Mesh Cowl and the fingerless gloves uses the Susie Roger' Reading Mitts pattern.

The cowl did not come out as wide or as long as I would have liked.  I can't decide whether start all over or maybe just add another repeat to make it wider???  The hat was quick and easy.  My Niece can roll up the ribbed part or wear it the way I am modeling it.  I sure wish I had finished and sent it to her in time for this past weeks poor weather on the East coast.

I am having problems knitting the gloves.  I make lots of socks so I am familiar with the technique.  However, using larger (fatter) needles has proved awkward-practice will solve that problem.

I have knitted sweaters with 2 different strands of yarn but with both strands being knitted from the right hand.  I am eager to try the Continental Method with a strand in each hand.  A few weeks ago I saw a sock pattern on Ravelry and I just knew I had to make it.

Aren't these fantastic.  I ordered the kit and pattern from ETSY.  You can get the pattern from Ravelry too. It is Starry Starry Night Socks by Suzanne Bryan.  The yarn is awesome and my photos don't show the true colors in the blue yarn.

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EOY Needles December 27, 2013

I treated myself to a swift and winder on Black Friday.  I purchased them from KnitPicks at a nice discount.  I thought it wasn't a big thing to wind balls by hand but this is nice-especially since my husband did most of the work!  We quickly wound 3 hanks of yarn into cakes.

I am working on a sockhead hat (pattern free on Ravelry).  About half way through, the yarn had a knot and the yarn on either side of it was not dyed a tweed.  I knitted a few rows to see how it would look but it was too obvious.  I ripped out several rows and eliminated that part of the yarn.

This is yarn from Herrschners that I bought on sale on Ebay.  I have made a cowl and I intend to make some fingerless gloves as well.  I'm sure my niece will like them.

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Black Friday On the Needles

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  My husband and I have so much to be thankful for and we try to discuss that often, not just on Thanksgiving!

Have you seen these cute little solar toys?  I just love them.  I found this turkey while I was in Florida visiting my brother.  His little wings flap and his head bobs-so fun.  They are from a dollar store.  My brother has quite a collection but I have a hard time finding them here in Phoenix.

I have been knitting quite a bit and my fingers are letting me know it is time to take a break.  I am about 1/2 way finished with this cowl/scarf for my niece.  It is a free pattern from Ravelry, Irish Mesh Cowl.  I bought this yarn on line from a destash sale.  It is Herschners sock yarn, Tweed Twilight.  It is soft and thin, I think it will make a great cowl/scarf but I don't think it would be suitable for socks.  I have plenty so I think I will try some fingerless gloves or a hat too.

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Needle Friday 11/22/2013

I'm trying to catch up with my posts.  We returned last night from Florida where we were visiting my brother and his wife.

I crocheted these two spool doilies while I was visiting.  The purple one was for my SIL and the orange one for our friend, Donna.  The pattern is Shelvy's Spool Pin Doily from Bonnie Hunter's website.
I used these bonbons from Lion Brand.  I also got the variegated yarn to try too.  I purchased it all in Florida at Joann's

Here is my finished Coco's Pearls cowl/scarf (free pattern on Ravelry) that I made for my niece.  I used City Tweed yarn from KnitPicks which is a lovely soft yarn.  The photo does not do the yarn or the pattern justice.

I am also working to finish this pair of socks.  This is a Lion Brand Yarn-Sock Ease and so far I am not real pleased with it.  The yarn splits and seems on the thin side.  I was making them for a gift but I will keep them and see how they hold up after a few wearings and washings.  

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Design Wall Monday

I was at a group retreat the weekend before last.  We had such a good time and everyone accomplished so much.  I have been going on retreats with this group for 10 years and I cherish my quilting friends.

This year we have been working on a mystery quilt.  Three of us worked on the last clues at the retreat. This one is mine and the colors are brighter then this photo shows.  This is a large lap size.  There are more borders in the mystery to make the quilt a twin.  I haven't decided if I am going to stop here or make it a twin.  I like the mystery's additional borders so maybe I will expand the quilt-time will tell.

 This bright one is Cheryl's.  She did not intend to make a Christmas quilt but it certainly could be one.  She put smaller borders on it in an attempt to make it less Christmasy.

 This one is Joanne's and the photo does not do it justice.  These are all batiks.  She was short on material to make the last two borders and was going to see if she could get more.  If not, she had enough fabric to piece the last two borders.

I will try to remember to post the finished products and the other members tops when I see them.

I also worked on my UFO from 2005 but I apparently forgot to take pictures.  I will try to work some more on it and get a picture for next Monday's report.

Here are some of the other projects being worked on:

I am lucky to have such talented friends.

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Design Wall Monday

I have been rummaging around in my UFO box for 2 projects to take to Quilt Retreat this coming weekend.  My group is headed out on Thursday for another great weekend!  We are lucky to have a wonderful place to go, Tonto Rim View Lodge.  Ron and Maggie treat us so well and make us feel very comfortable.  We were there last March and we were snowed in for a while-coming from Phoenix, we all enjoyed the change.  

I found this UFO that I had completely forgotten about it.  It was a block of the month from our locally owned Craftmart (like a Ben Franklin).  Unfortunately, they went out of business about 10 years ago.  So, I guess this UFO has aged enough.  There were 6 different blocks and each block had 2 choices, an easy block and a more challenging block.  My friend and I were going to do this together.  She lost interest early on and gave me her blocks.  Actually I think she gave me her kits and I made all the blocks myself.  Since there were variations for each block, I made each variation so it looks like 12 different blocks.  

They are already put together in a staggered arrangement that I copied from a tile floor layout.  Even with the additional plain blocks, the quilt is small.  I have lots of fabric left over so this weekend, I will be adding multiple borders.  I have Judy L's border book all packed and ready to help me complete this quilt top.

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On the needles

I have two projects underway.  More socks-these are pretty pink ones for a friend.  This is Lion Brand Sock-Ease yarn which I haven't used before.  It is soft to use and feels nice.  I'm using my old stand by pattern, Simple Skyp, free on Ravelry.

I am also working on a cowl for my niece, Tara.  Tara lives in Brooklyn and can use some warm outer ware.  She wears lots of black.  This is Knit Picks yarn in City Tweed.  It is a soft yarn in a soft grey with bits of brown and beige woven in. The pattern is CoCo's Pearls by Lovely Little Knits, a pattern on Ravelry.  The pattern is pretty simple but I found it was even easier after I added stitch markers every 20 stitches.  

Check the other needle reports on Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

I have not been doing much sewing lately.  I really missed it and I'm enjoying getting back into it.

I did help a friend make her first small quilt.  She is making it for her soon to arrive great nephew.  It is almost finished but I haven't seen it lately.  Here is the top when I last saw it:

I did finish a scrap quilt for a wedding present.  I am really enjoying using my scraps and long collected  stash.  I had fun using the true scraps-great memories.

This was based on Bonnie Hunter's Oklahoma Backroads.

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On the Needles 10/18/13

I have been out of the blogging business for a while.  I have not been knitting or sewing for ages.  Now I'm ready to get back into it.

I did do some knitting this summer and some reverse knitting as well.  Both of these pairs are from the Fluted Banister Sock pattern which is free online.  I used yarn from Grant Creek Yarns for both of them.  The second blue sock is almost finished.

I had originally tried the blue yarn for the pooling sock challenge but it didn't appear to be pooling.  Now that I have a photo, I can see some "flashing".

I am ready to branch out and make something other then socks.  I have been lurking each Friday and checking all the patterns everyone who posts have been using.  I surely don't need scarves or cowls or mittens since I live in Phoenix but luckily, I have a niece in New York who will be glad to have any I make.

Off the needles

I have been absent for a while, lazy I guess.  We are in our summer RV park and enjoying checking in with friends we only see in the summer months.  It is also quite a bit cooler here then in Phoenix right now.

I finished these socks that I was making as part of the pooling challenge.  None of the socks I made or started for the challenge cooperated but that's ok I still like them.

I don't have the yarn label with me to tell you what this yarn is but they are so nice and soft.  The yarn was hand dyed so each sock is different-one much lighter than the other.

Check the other yarn projects at Patchwork Times.