Monday, July 30, 2012

Amish Quilt Auction

my bidder number














This past Saturday there was an Amish Quilt Auction in southern Wisconsin, near the communities of Brodhead and Albany.  We are lucky to have relatives that live down that way and we spent part of our weekend at the auction with friends and family.

one of ten racks of quilts and quilt tops for auction














There were hundreds and hundreds of quilts: finished quilts, King-size quilts, antique quilts, pieced quilt tops, baby quilts and everything in between.  And that was just under the quilt tent.  There was another tent devoted to Amish furniture and other goods, as well as a farm equipment auction, food, cold drinks and a horse that made ice cream (by pulling on the hand crank).

under the quilt tent



















We had a fantastic time - there were a couple professional auctioneers that kept things lively - and I came home with two quilts. One is a double-wedding ring quilt in very bright colors, and the other is red polka-dots on a tan background. These are bright and modern looking quilts; they are not a good representation of the traditional designs, historic quilts, antique quilts and solid colors that dominated the auction. But they are in keeping with my personal aesthetic. 

double wedding ring quilt, queen size














All the quilts went for good prices and I hope will provide for the kids of the Clearview school, and all the members of local Amish communities, in the coming year.

red ball quilt, full size
And if you are interested to attend in the future you are in luck.  It is an annual event.

detail of double wedding ring quilt

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

FO: Current

Thanks to a much needed gift of a night 'off' from my husband, I curled up in a quiet corner of the house last week and worked furiously on the last sleeve of my sweater.  And by mid-morning the next day I finished it!

And would you believe that last little bit of yarn was the end of my third ball?!  I didn't even have to break into the fourth skein, not even a little.  As I worked on the sleeve I kept rolling over in my head things like, "when will this ball run out?" or "I can't believe that I just might squeak this one out!"  And at the end of my final row, I came to the end of the skein. 

I'm not terribly superstitious, but I am enough to wonder what it might mean when two ends come together in such a perfect way.

The sweater fits beautifully, but I have yet to find buttons, weave in the ends, and decide whether I want to block it.  I might give it a whirl to even out some stitches and give the whole sweater a more polished look, but I sure don't want to lose any of the fit.  It's a great pattern, a lovely sweater and I'm so happy the result.

And not more than 30 minutes after binding off that last sleeve my daughter snapped the photo below of me working on my 'strawberry and pineapple' socks.  Not sure if these are destined for me, or as a gift, but they are fun to work up.  Interestingly, it is one of a few rare photos of me actually knitting.  There's plenty of my work product and process, but not too many action shots (smile). 














More photos of the finished sweater to come...after the last details are sewn up and placed.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Suddenly Socks

globe trotter socks














The weather here is hot.  Not as hot as some other places in the United States, but hot nonetheless.  We are experiencing drought-like conditions and the crops here in Wisconsin are suffering.  And all this heat means that I don't want to knit anything that could make me the least bit hotter.  So the sweater has been set aside for two smaller projects that can be held in my two hands without the discomfort of a pile of wool/silk on my lap.

The globe trotter socks are for my husband - it is the first pair that I have ever knit him.  They have a nice seed stitch rib pattern which I think that are simple enough, but still have a unique look.  He tends to prefer black for work, and white cotton for around the house, so we'll see how he likes these.  The second pair are for me.  Basic Ann Budd top-down socks using my own handpainted yarn! 

Yeah for socks - although it will be quite awhile until I care to wear socks again!

simple rib socks