ON THE NEEDLES FRIDAY

I only knit occasionally, but I've made 2 sweaters and 2 winter hats for our 1 year old grandson.  This is sweater number 3 - sized for next winter.  I had finished knitting the pieces a while ago, but since I'm a bit under the weather, and I don't feel like wrestling with the king size quilt,  I prepped the pieces for blocking.

The front and back are identical.  The design is a twist stitch that looks like a small cable.  

It has set in sleeves, and the ribbing at the neckline overlaps at the centre of the shoulders.  

 The sleeves have 3 twist bands as well.

The yarn is from Premier yarns and is called Cotton Fair Multi - 52% cotton and 48% acrylic.  I'm allergic to wool, and this is one of the few yarns that I found that was the correct weight for the pattern, and machine washable - good for little people.

The pattern is from a book called "Beehive for Bairns", which belonged to my mother.  I think she used it to knit for my brothers and for me when I was a baby.  That makes it between 60-75 years old.  

I'm linking up with other knitters at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

WORKING SLOWLY TODAY

I've picked up some kind of "bug", and I'm running at less than half speed today.  Coughing and feverish overnight left me feeling tired this morning.
As per my usual method, I plan to just plod along today - I still have more machine quilting to do, and I want to make a pot of chili, as it is a damp, dark day in Central Florida!
I knew that I'd have to give in to the bug, when I had to take a nap after returning from my regular Wednesday quilting group yesterday.  I hope I didn't share anything with others.

Our plans for a pillowcase sewing day for Ryan's Case for Smiles is firming up.  We'll be stitching madly on February 24th, trying to complete as many pillowcases as possible.  We have lots of sewers signed up, as well as helpers to pin, press, and act as runners to keep the machines sewing as much as possible.  I plan to take some pictures to share as well!

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

 I started machine quilting the king size quilt this morning.  Working in the centre of the quilt is difficult, but the extra space under the arm of my machine certainly helps.  This is my largest project to date!
Here is a picture of the quilt top.  I placed it on our queen bed, just so I could see it more spread out.  DH took the picture while perched on a ladder - the room is small and it is difficult to get a good picture.

I used more of the small focal squares in the 3rd border, spacing them by using some great "footprints in the sand" fabric, and the final border has a sand dollar motif.

I think this fills the request for an "oceany quilt" from my son and daughter-in-law......

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  0 yards

Fabric added this week  0 yards

 Fabric added year to date  0 yards

Net used 2016  0 yards

 

Still nothing to report!  DH and I headed to the clubhouse after church this morning, and lined up 4 of the long rectangular tables.  We spread out the king size backing, and used large binder clips to hold it taut.  Then came the batting, and finally the quilt top, place carefully.  We were able to baste half at a time, with only the final border on one edge to pin after releasing the clamps.  DH is an expert pin-baster - he follows my lead, and helps with every large quilt.  We worked for about an hour to complete the quilt, only moving and re-clamping the backing once.

After a quick lunch, DH headed out for his band practice.  I headed to the sewing room, and finished sorting some fabric.  One of the ladies in my quilting group had sold her house and is moving north.  She brought over some books and "unwanted fabric" to share with the group.  There was quite a bit left over after everyone had a look, so I brought it home.  She had an elderly neighbour who gave her lots of "good stuff", but it mostly was unusable.  I've saved some larger pieces of fabric, and they will go into the group bag - handy to use to test a new pattern, so not required to report as my personal stash!

Tomorrow the machine quilting commences!  My machine is set up ready to go, 3 bobbins wound and a new needle in place!  Wish me luck - this will be the largest quilt I've done on my home machine....

 

Check out all the progress at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

OFF TO MY QUILTING GROUP

Wednesday is my quilting group day.  We meet each week from 11-3, and bring a small snack.  Everyone is working on their own choice of project right now, although I do offer patterns from time to time.  Today we'll be discussing our upcoming pillowcase sewing day for the charity, Cases for Smiles.    We are planning a date in late February, and have some details to work out with the area coordinator.
I have fun, visiting each person, answering questions, teaching new quilters, etc.  I come home energized each week.

My own project - the king size quilt is coming along.  I have all the rows sewn together in one direction, having to pin where all the points must match.  I spent most of the afternoon pressing all the seams open - not my usual style, but it will help with bulk where all the points come together.  The rows in the other direction have to be pinned everywhere, and I discovered that I have enough of my favourite pins to pin 3 rows at a time.  There are 18 long seams in each direction, so I'm finally seeing the "light at the end of the tunnel".

I'm off to pack my snack and load the car......

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

Sunday afternoon, DH and I headed for the empty clubhouse, and used the dance floor to lay out all the blocks, sashings and cornerstones for my current project.  We spent about an hour and a half, rearranging parts, trying to spread out the colours, but there is really only one that stands out, so we decided to let the pieces just remain in their current order.  We picked up all the blocks in rows, and I marked each row with a number, and placed them in individual plastic bags for the trip home.

I decided to tackle the piecing today, but first I cut all the pieces for the next block in my guild's BOM project - pinwheels.

I'm enjoying my 2 colour quilt so far, and can't wait for the remaining blocks!

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times 

Now back to piecing....

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  0 yards

Fabric added this week  0 yards

 Fabric added year to date  0 yards

Net used 2016  0 yards

 

No changes for me yet, but DH and I just returned from the clubhouse.  We used the dance floor to lay out all the parts for the king size storm at sea quilt that I'm making for my son and his wife.    There were 81 blocks, 100 cornerstones and 180 pieced sashings.  I used a variety of fabrics, so we placed them according to a plan, then started shifting pieces around, to try to prevent too many of the same fabrics coming close to one another.    We finally decided to just let the pieces be where they were placed, as we could have spent a year rearranging blocks!

I have all the border pieces cut, but I do have one pieced border that I'll have to make, as well as binding.  I'm hoping to get this huge quilt machine quilted before the weather becomes too warm and humid again.  Since I'm doing this on my home machine, and not on a frame, I should have good muscles by the time I man-handle it through the machine a few times!

Check out others' progress at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  0 yards

Fabric added this week  0 yards

 Fabric added year to date  0 yards

Net used 2016  0 yards

I'm still working away at a king size quilt for my son and his wife.  She picked up the focal block print, and I found all the rest of the fabric required on our trip south in the fall.  

I have completed the 81 blocks, 100 pieced cornerstones, and I have 80 of the pieced sashing strips completed.  I've been wondering where I'll be able to lay out the blocks before stitching the top together....I think I'll have to head to the clubhouse, and use the dance floor!

I spent some time cutting all the border fabrics, so I'll be ready to add them once the top is together, although I'll still have to piece one of the borders, adding more of the focal squares.

I'm a very occasional knitter, so I may show the odd project, but I don't "stash" yarn - just pick up what I need for each project.

Check out all the reports at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.