A little attempt at something "arty" on Design Wall Monday

I didn't get as much time to sew this weekend as I wanted to, but then is there every really as much time as we want? I spent over 7 hours - no joke - assembling the TV table from hell for my studio, which drastically cut into my fun time. I'll show pictures of this table later in the week. I like how it looks but it gave me even further admiration for IKEA. This was NOT IKEA and if it had been the first piece of DIY furniture I'd ever put together it wouldn't have gotten put together. Oh...I got sidetracked there..

Here is what I did get sewn. My little attempt to make an "arty" table runner for a small shelving unit in my studio. This is only 12 X 21 - a slightly oversized placemat- LOL!

This is the piece in action. I moved my tower of pincushions over on this unit and I want to put something decorative on the wall above it- another sampler or a quilt or who knows what. More decorating options - I LOVE that!

I started this piece with 2 Disappearing 9 patch blocks with 5" squares. I used a selection of black and white prints showcasing stuff I love- sewing stuff and chickens - and a variety of polka dots. I didn't measure well and the blocks were too big so I randomly sliced off length and width - very "arty" - right?

I quilted this in semi-parallel lines with a shiny variegated Sulky thread and every once in a while I threw in a section of zig zag stitching - another attempt to be "arty". LOL I like how it turned out and it adds a nice touch of color to this unit and covers the ugly scratches I unintentionally inflicted on it.

So this will be a crazy week. I need to go to the store for my Thanksgiving dinner shopping, but I'm not having Thanksgiving at my house till Friday to accommodate every one's schedule. I plan on going to Costco tomorrow since I want to avoid the crowds on Wednesday but they are calling for yuckky weather Tuesday. Too bad they won't want pizza for Thanksgiving dinner... I'd give lots of thanks for that!

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Off and on the needles this Friday

I found this pair of socks tucked into a bag earlier in the week. The first sock was done and the second sock was almost to the toe. A little knitting time later....ta dah! Another pair of scrappy socks!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE making socks like these. I collect little bits and bobs and balls of leftover sock yarn, group colors I like together, divide what I have in half -- I have one of those little diet scales to weigh the yarn--- and start knitting. Now I try very hard not to make them match in any way but this pair has two sections - one on the leg and another on the foot where I used the same yarn in the same place. Totally accidental, as I didn't have the first sock with me when I was knitting the second sock. This the third pair of these scrappy socks I've made and there will be lots more to come.

On the needles is another pair of BIG black socks for my oldest son. I won't bore you with a picture. And the socks I want to start is this pair - check it out here on Ravelry. It is a free pattern - don'tcha love free? I've never done mosaic knitting before but my friend, Cathy, is going to show me how. I can't wait.

Happy knitting -
carol fun

Quilty Fun on Thursday

Have you seen the Quilty Fun Sew Along? You can find out more here. Well I purchased Lori Holt new book, Quilty Fun and there are so many cute ideas packed inside. I was thrilled when I saw there was going to be a sew along as it gives me the chance to play with the blocks on a manageable weekly pace. These are the first 3 weeks.

I'm using my sizable stash of American Jane fabrics from Sandy Klop. I love the prints and the colors. So far I've worked in a couple of prints that have alphabets (you know I LOVE alphabets - I have over 50 samplers hanging in my house at the moment), and there are some tape measure prints, and there is even a print with little chicks! (It is the green piece in the middle of the first courthouse steps block). Now how could I resist that? LOL I have 3 yards of that dotty background fabric and I'm crossing my fingers that it will be enough.

I'm really trying to stay current with the sew along and so far it has been pretty easy to do. The courthouse steps block took longer to select and cut the fabrics than it did to sew together. And I am enjoying pawing through the plastic bin of American Jane goodies. A feast for the eyes.

So far this week I've been a bit more productive. I hemmed the sleeves on a new jacket my oldest son bought, so he won't freeze when the temperatures drop this weekend. I got the binding on the BIG batik quilt (you can see it here), and I washed it and he already scooped it up and took it home. I forgot to take pictures so I'll have to trek over to his house (not really he only lives 2 short blocks away) and get some shots when the sun decides to return. I trimmed my Christmas twister quilt and it is ready to be bound and I added some machine appliqued stars to this Christmas quilt (here's a picture) and it is ready to go to the long arm quilter. It feel good to get some things finished cause I really want to start several new projects. Somehow there are never enough hours in a day.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Krazy for Kaffe Kontinues on Design Wall Monday

I had the best of intentions of getting lots of sewing/knitting/quilting done last week, but the reality was very little happened, which explains why I haven't posted for a week. I did get a bit of sewing time here and there and finished another 8 blocks of my Kaffe Pineapple Blossom quilt.

This is all the blocks I'm making for this one. I'm going to assemble it just as it sits on the wall right now and then add a small inside border and then a wider border of this fabric which you can see here. Yeah more cheddar - yummy!

This Pineapple Blossom pattern from Bonnie Hunter is a lot of fun. Another quilt that I want to make again.

Last week was filled with a lot of hurry up and wait time which puts me out of sorts. It seemed like every time I had the motivation to do something productive, I had no time. I did have some interesting conversations with my sons which left me feeling OLD. They both commented on the commercials on TV about the upcoming anniversary of the assassination of Kennedy. It was the first time I can remember EXACTLY where I was and what I was doing when I heard tragic news. I was 10 years old, I was on the back playground of my elementary school, St. Therese School, Southgate, Kentucky. I remember Sister Caritas and Sister Lawrence crying. I had never seen a nun cry before. I remember being sent home from school early and we didn't come back for days. We went home and sat in front of the television and watched the events replay and unfold.

It was fifty years ago...fifty... where does the time go? It certainly drives home the fact that life can change in an instant and we really should make the most of the precious time we have.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Krazy for Kaffe on Design Wall Monday

It happened again. I started a quilt because the fabric talked to me. Really it did. There were some chatty Kaffe Fasset fat quarters on my ironing board. These are from the newest Kaffe Fasset collection. I bought them here at Fabric Shack.

And a cheeky piece of cheddar left over from another quilt called out from my shelves and so I introduced them and ended up with these blocks.

This is the Pineapple Blossom pattern from the talented Bonnie Hunter. You can find it here. These blocks are quite large and loud and I like them that way - LOL!

I'm using 2 1/2" strips and the blocks are 12". My plan is to do 16 of these and add a border. And you get bonus pieces with this pattern!

I trimmed these HST to 3 1/2" but I think I'm going to make them even smaller and work them into some placemats. The brights would look good with my collection of Fiestaware dishes. At last count I have 14 different colors so when I set the table it looks a lot like my quilts - lots of different bright colors.

Hope you have a productive week. I always start Monday with the best of intentions, but don't usually get everything done I plan. but that is okay. I figure every thing you do get done, no matter how small contributes to getting something finished... someday!

Happy stitching-
carol fun

WIP Wednesday

So this is the strippy Christmas quilt I was working on Monday. I decided that I like it oriented this way rather than vertically - don't know why I just do.

Now when I started assembling it I didn't like how narrow it was. Having only 4 pieced strips just wasn't making me happy and I don't have any more of this jelly roll. But I did have some other cuts of fabric from this line. I really like the diagonal stripe fabric..

but it wasn't long enough for the quilt, so I ended up cutting it and matching the pattern and piecing it back together. I don't mean to toot my own horn but I did a great job on this - you can not find the seam on the front as all - at least my 60 year old myopic eyes don't see it - LOL! Adding a strip of this top and bottom beefed it up and then I added the border. It ended up about 74"wide and 60" long. I want to have the quilting pattern run horizontally across the strips and I think I will hang it over the back of the couch in my living room, or over the end of my bed with my yellow Christmas quilt from last year. You can see it here.

Just have to get the back together and then I can give it to the long arm quilter. Two new Christmas quilts this season -- that is a record for me that will never be equalled - LOL!

Hope your week is going smoothly -
happy stitching-
carol fun

Visions of Christmas Past on Design Wall Monday

So I got my Christmas Twister finished and off to the long arm quilter and decided that I perhaps I should visit a project from Christmas past - this strippy quilt that I started about 6 years ago!

I found this project in one of my many ziploc bags. All of the fabrics had a note pinned to them telling me what I planned on doing with them - inner border, outer border, binding. But no where did I write down what pattern this was or what book it might have come from. Arghhh!!!

Then when I was moving and going through my library I came across the book that the pattern was in. Strip Delight by Suzanne McNeill. The copyright on this book is 2007 and you can see it here. An oldie but goodie!

The fabrics are a collection from Sandy Gervais called Holly Jolly. I love the turquoise and yellow in this collection.

It shouldn't take much to get this one finished as it will barely be a throw. I'm not use to making such small quilts - it is new territory for me. My history is to start what should be a small project and it end up being a queen size quilt. No, really - once I started a pattern that was suppose to be a potholder and I ended up with a twin size quilt! LOL!

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Slow Stitching on Sunday

Right now the sun is streaming through the windows of my house and I have my butt firmly planted in my stitching chair -- a perfect way to spend my afternoon! I am still plugging away on my Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart and it is sooooo close!

This is the last section -

I worked on that little blue house this week and it required some re-stitching as construction was underway. I ended up changing the color of the house to Gentle Arts Dungarees which didn't have enough contrast with the Tin Bucket I has used for the roof, so then I had to tear it off and re-roofed with Aged Pewter. It is just like real construction - one step forward and two steps back. I told myself I would finish this one before the end of the year and it is doable if I just keep at it. I have been tempted to start several new pieces and so far I've resisted but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out -- so many cute pieces I can't wait to stitch!

Hope you are having a slow Sunday -
happy stitching!

carol fun

It is good to have friends to blame ...

So this week hasn't had much sewing time but it has had plenty of knitting time and I finished this pair of socks -

This is from the newest collection of Opal yarns called Little Prince and it is colorway 7766 which you can see here. Now I blame this pair on my friend Cathy who works in a local yarn shop. One day she texted me a picture of a ball of this yarn - no words, just the picture - to which I texted back - BUY IT!!! and she did and delivered it to me - my own personal yarn shopper - LOL! So this pair is ALL her fault.

I love love love love self striping Opal yarns and this one is a beauty - thick stripes, thin stripes, stripe that look Fair Isle-ish. And the colors remind me of a tie dyed shirt from the 70's - I'm not sure why that's what it reminds me of the 70's but it does. I'm happy to add another pair of Opal socks to my bulging sock drawer. It has gotten cooler here in Ohio, properly Fall-ish and I am enjoying wearing my hand knit socks.

I also worked on another pair of BIG BLACK BORING socks for my son. I started knitting him socks over a year ago and thought that I had done enough pairs to keep him in socks for the work week, but the year has seen some of the pairs get downright yuckky - pilling, felting, shrinking - NOT good. So I have re-evaluated my choice of yarn for these socks. The first pair I did was with some inexpensive yarn from Joanns. It is nice but doesn't hold up to weekly washing and the abuse my son gives them. Then I used some yarn from Knitpicks and also had felting problems with that yarn. Then I tried Cascade Heritage which seemed to be the best choice until it hit me one day - Opal sock yarn!!! Opal is known for its striping yarns but it does have a collection of solid colors and for my son's socks I'm using black, black, black and a dark gray that is almost black - such variety- LOL! Anyway I think this is going to be the perfect yarn for the BIG BLACK BORING socks. I have numerous pairs of Opal socks that wash and wear beautifully so I have high hopes for his socks.

Hope you have a great weekend. I'm hoping for lots of sewing/knitting/stitching time.

Happy stitching-
carol fun