I-Beams

I found some free time this past weekend to sew up another quilt top! This is I-Beams by Purple Pineapple Studio. I found this pattern at my local fabric shop and loved that it used only 1 fat quarter/beam. The background was quite a bit of yardage, but I certainly got a lot out of each of the six fat quarters!

This was also the first time that I selected the colors/patterns myself. In hindsight, I think that I could have gone with at least one more bold (darker gray? tan?) color between the coral and multi-color far left beam. I am learning!

I hope to drop this top and the batik top off with my quilter later this spring - I'm excited to be building up a nice stack of homemade quilts for our family. When these last two are complete, it will bring the grand total up to 6! I figure I will need at least 3-4 more so I won't miss them so much when the girls take one with them as they grow older.

"Once more with feeling!"

One of our local craft stores is going out of business later this spring. I am sad about this and have been stopping in to pick up a skein of sock yarn here and there while I still can. What I loved about this yarn store was the huge selection of yarns! They carried yarns from most of the big companies, but also many local Wisconsin producers and small batch dyers too.

This is "Once More with Feeling" by Brew City Yarns, knit up in the Hermione Everyday Socks pattern.

As you can see, I was still working this sock with DPN's - maybe I'll give the second sock a try with two circulars?

From the toe up

One of my New Years resolutions was to learn how to knit a sock from the toe up (with a bonus of learning how to knit a sock using two circular needles). I'm proud to report that I have tackled this project and also learned Judy's magic cast-on.

This book has been a huge help, and I am following the ribbed ribbon lace pattern for this first pair. The yarn is "The Upside Down" by Leading Men Fiber Arts - I love that I am learning how to knit this pair of socks "upside down!"

I have been playing around with different circular needle lengths too - I found 9-inch to be too short, 16-inch to be comfortable, but a bit unwieldy, and 12-inch to be about perfect. I am enjoying these 12-inch driftwood needles by Lykke for the time being.

Milet mittens

These gorgeous mittens and kit were a Christmas present to myself. I LOVE how these turned out. As with most of my mittens, I lined these with cashmere from a thrifted sweater. They are perfect for the 10-25F degree days we've been having this winter. It's been comparatively mild so far this winter.

Christmas Socks (for me!)

During that same trip to the craft store, I was inspired to knit up a pair of holiday socks for myself. I did the striping with two different yarns and worked on making jogless stripes. I also learned how to make clean stripes while knitting rib stitches. Pretty cool!

With the exception of mis-matched toes (one is two rows longer than the other), I think they turned out really well. I'm not sure how that happened (probably just not paying attention) but once they are nice and worn in, it won't even matter.

 

Socks in secret

My youngest daughter got to complaining about not having any hand knit socks since she grew out of her last pair. I picked up this super wash yarn at the local craft shop and knit up this pair for her in secret, mostly after she went to bed in the evenings. I finished them in time to wrap them up and put them under the tree for her. She's going to be surprised - and they'll be perfect for the ice skating and sledding yet to come.

Hat for Mara

With the holiday socks finished for my husband, I had some time on my hands and dipped my toe back into stranded color work. This gorgeous pattern and kit came from Ysolda. It knit up in no time. 

Once it was blocked I put it in the mail to my friend in Seattle. I love the holidays!

Stormy Sky Socks - "They look just like his other ones," she said.

Here are the holiday socks for my husband for 2019. Each year I knit him a pair and tuck them in his stocking. This year I went with Felici yarn from KnitPicks in Stormy Sky. They turned out great! These were done in late October, but the photos were added in early 2020.

When I showed them to one of my daughters she remarked, "they look just like his other ones." True, true (but not really). He does love brown, navy and gray and all of his socks have been one of those colors, so she has a point.

Cross Stitch Projects

Midsummer sprigs by Posie gets Cozy,

and a completed Halloween sampler by The Prairie Schooler.

This is the first time that I washed my stitching after it was done. I like how it softened the fabric and the iron took care of the wrinkles. Now to get them both framed...

Wings Cowl

What a labor of love! But I adore this Wing Cowl.

The question remains about whether to block it - is is super-cozy as is and think that I will give it a trial run this winter without blocking. I adore the colors; far out of my comfort zone.

Co-worker socks

One of my colleagues is leaving our office to attend graduate school full time. I knit up these Eternal Spring socks for her in our school color: UW Badger red. They turned out great!

New Quilt (brown tones)

(ETA photo in February 2020)

I was so excited coming off the flannel quilt that I immediately got to cutting another quilt top, this time in brown batiks. Since I really struggle with selecting fabrics and patterns, but love to sew, quilt kits - and a good relationship with a local long-arm quilter - are what allow me to continue down the path of creating beautiful and functional pieces for our family.

This one is a discontinued boundless batiks kit from bluprint. I love the way it is coming together!

Flannel Quilt - quilted and bound

This one is going to be a favorite for the girls, I just know it. It's warm, and just heavy enough to get your cozy on in front of the fireplace (or reruns of Parks and Rec).

This is the Marcus Fabrics Blue Boxes Flannel Quilt Kit by Craftsy, quilted by Heather of Blue Turtle Quilting.

Glenfidditch Hat

I needed a quick project that was challenging, cute and quick. The Glenfidditch Hat kit by Barrett Wool Company fit the bill.

Sun Salutations Quilt Top

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ETA (2/8/20)

What an absolutely lovely quilt. I am so happy with how this one turned out - and it came back to me in February, right when we need some respite from the gray and white snowscapes all around us.

The quilting was done by the extremely talented Heather of Blue Turtle Quilting.

Darning Mushroom

Never used one of these before, but a hole in the bottom my my husbands sock meant I had to try. I think it went pretty well - I opted for the woven technique since the edges were pretty frayed. The repair has been holding up nicely and doesn't seem to bother him too much - success!

Socks for Daughter #1

I started these back in the fall and finished one sock. I had just completed the first cable sock for my husband and needed a quick break. But that meant that the second sock waited until I finished the second cabled sock.

But not matter - I finished it up today while waiting at the orthodontist for the twins to have their braces tightened.

I love these socks. They are simple, colorful, and the distribution of the blues is perfect, IMO.

My three oldest girls (all whose feet have likely stopped growing) now have teenage-appropriate socks.

Flannel Quilt

I surprised myself with some extra time this holiday break and cut and sewed another quilt top! This one is made of mostly blue flannels and was a joy to cut and assemble.

This is another quilt kit - my preferred way to sew quilt tops these days - this time from Bluprint (Craftsy). It is the Marcus Fabrics Blue Boxes Flannel Quilt Kit.

I was a bit nervous after reading some of the reviews. Lots of folks talked about crooked prints and running out of fabric. I had just enough and not much to spare (I didn't run out) and I also wasn't too bothered by prints not lining up exactly. I can see how this might annoy some quilters, but I am not a perfectionist. I am more of the 'let's see if we can even pull this off' kind of sewer - so I was thrilled with the final result.

The finished top, batting, backing, and binding is already with Heather at Blue Turtle Quilting. She thinks this one might be done by mid-February!

Mittens

This sweet pair of mittens is off to a fourth grade friend. I have made a couple pairs for her mom over the years and she always takes them during our cold winter months to warm her hands. So her mom asked if I would make a pair just for her.

These are slightly different - they don't have the rolled cuff - but they are buttery soft with purple lambswool on the palms and polar fleece linings. I used the ribbed edges of the sweaters for all the pieces so they were already nicely finished at the lower edges.

I used upcycled silver buttons from the original thrifted vest to keep the two layers together. They add a nice surprise and fancy touch I think.

Socks for Daughter #3

This pair came together quickly and have been on her feet ever since. Time to get them in the wash though...hand knit socks and 5th grade gym class don't make the best companions.