My knitting is in time out ~

I haven't posted any knitting for a couple of weeks because my knitting has been in time out as witnessed by this giant ball of Noro Kureyon yarn.

Now it didn't start as this giant ball, in fact it began as 3 separate skeins of Noro Kureyon
colorway  170 and it was knitted into this shawl, a free pattern called Be Simple that can be seen here.

However after knitting these 3 skeins I couldn't convince myself that I really liked this shawl. I didn't like how wide it was getting and it was very dense, which is my fault because I used Noro Kureyon when I should have used Noro Kureyon SOCK - a much lighter weight yarn. Oh well, at least with yarn you can re-knit it. I had purchased this yarn with this pattern in mind - The Original Half Granny Square Shawl - another free pattern you can see here. I think I'll try this pattern instead.

And then there is my Pamuya shawl - here's a link to that pattern but it isn't a free one.

This one is also in time out as I need to frog several rows to get back on track. I haven't been in the mood to do that so it has been sitting in a basket next to my chair for weeks. It isn't the shawl's fault, it is mine. Bad knitter!

I really should just stick to socks like this pair I knit with Opal yarn. I forget which line it was, sorry.

A lovely pair of fraternal twin socks, my favorite kind to knit... mindless... but always come out great.
I think I'll go cast on another pair of socks. I need a project that I know will work out.

happy knitting -
carol fun

Oh my its Fall on WIP Wednesday

Oh a couple of cooler days and I am so into FALL!!! I had started these disappearing 4 patch blocks a while ago but I just got the idea for this design layout the other day. Just two more rows to sew together.

The print fabrics are from a collection by Sanae called Oh My! and that golden yellow is my favorite Grunge fabric from Moda. Originally I thought I would set these blocks one right next to the other but that was almost vertigo inducing - way way way too busy, even for me. Adding the alternate blocks calmed this down and gave me a much larger quilt. This should be about 58" square when I'm finished. A nice size to throw over the back of the couch.

The next time I do a disappearing 4 patch I will use a constant fabric in every block. I really like how disappearing 4 patch  blocks look set right next to each other but in all the examples I looked at there was a constant fabric which gave your eye a chance to rest and I think it needs that.

And speaking of rest, isn't this the life?

Big Dude  head on his favorite pillow, napping in the sun, maybe I'll have some time this afternoon to join him.

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced again today - enjoy all the pretty WIPs on that blog.

happy stitching-
carol fun

Fall in pieces on Design Wall Monday

Well I'm back today with something to show for my week. I have been doing a bit of this and that but my blogging mojo has been lacking. I think I'll chalk up my sluggishness to the 90 degree weather we had for the past couple of weeks and I hope that the glorious weather over the weekend will spur me on updating more often.

So I got all the blocks together on my Fall Birds quilt and all the pieced sashing using the Tranquility fabric from Sandy Gervais. I think I've created a bit of Fall...in little bitty pieces.

I rearranged the position of the birds since I showed this last Wednesday. I like this arrangement better, more balanced to my eye.

And this is what I have planned for the outside border - an inch of the pumpkin and a couple of inches of the olive green. I'm still contemplating how I'm going to quilt this one.

Last week my younger son assembled a little cabinet for me that I've had in the garage for eons. He did a great job on it and it looks so pretty in my living room. I'll show pictures when I put out my Fall decorations, hopefully later this week. The little cabinet cried out for a cute table runner... really it did, I heard it very clearly.(Hey along with my eyesight fading I may have a hearing issue but we aren't going to discuss it right now....LOL) I used fabrics left over from the Fall Birds quilts and one of my favorite patterns, the disappearing 9 patch.

However I've never made one with as small a starting block as this one - 2 1/2" squares for a little 6" finished nine patch. Oh my goodness, is this tiny. The penny is for scale. So I made even more Fall in little tiny pieces... I must be nuts!

The runner measures about 12" across and not quite 29" in length - a perfect fit! Now to drag out my pumpkins and leaves and scarecrows and acorns and squirrels and whatever else is in those boxes in the basement.

happy stitching-
carol fun

Flying by with WIP Wednesday

I know it is cliche but, boy where has the last week gone? Nothing really exciting has been going on here but the days just flew by. The three day weekend was much appreciated  as we all just took it easy. And our outlook has improved since I last posted. Classes are continuing and we are taking it a day at a time.

So last week I had my Soho Chic Ziggurat top on my design wall. You can see it here. I spent some quality time with that top last Wednesday evening, and got the borders on it, and on Friday, I dropped it off to Terry to quilt. She had some great ideas for the quilting. Can wait to see it!

Which left me with an empty design wall - horrors! LOL! As I was pawing through one of my numerous plastic storage bins I came across a panel of birds from Sandy Gervais' Tranquility collection and they chirped in unison that it was time I did some thing with them, and so I did.

Here's where I am so far...

I'm making improv pieced blocks for the alternate squares and for the sashing I'm doing random length 2.5" wide pieces of fabric.

Aren't these great birds? I LOVE Sandy Gervias' style and I think she does the most amazing collections of Fall fabrics.

.

And here are some close ups of my improv blocks. I started with a layer cake of the Tranquility collection and added in a charm pack of her latest Fall line, Hello Fall, and sprinkled in bits and pieces of other Fall collections she has done.

I have enough yardage of the olive green print from the Tranquility line to do the border and I think I'll add a small border of that pumpkin fabric from the Hello Fall collection.

Now I'm off to finish that last improv block and get this top together...

this little bird says don't forget to check out all the other interesting WIPs over on Freshly Pieced!

happy stitching!
carol fun

WIP Wednesday

Got in some sewing time and was able to assemble this part of my Soho Chic Ziggurat quilt! This is how it photographs under the fluorescent lights in my basement...

and here it is on the floor of my living room next to the big picture window. I had hoped for more natural light but as soon as I was ready to take this picture the sun went behind the clouds.

That background is so hard to capture. I called it acid pea green the other day. It some light it looks more mustard-y and in other light it looks more chartreuse. It does look good up in the living room which is where it will reside once I get it done.

Another look a the background in different locations - here is the basement...

and here it is in the living room.

As the cliche goes, it is what it is, and I'm good with that. Now to measure and get the borders on. Perhaps a project for after dinner. I need to work on something that will go more smoothly than this day has gone.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced -- go look around - lots of cool stuff!

Warning - rant of tired mom ahead...feel free to exit now.  Okay, I think a lot of you  know that I have an adult son with Aspergers. He's pretty high functioning in some areas but as most people with autism his skill set is uneven. In fact if I had to describe him in one word "uneven" would be at the top of the list. College classes started Monday and he takes a couple of classes each semester. He attends the class and then I add a lot of time, attention and hand holding at home for him to complete the work. Monday started okay, Tuesday wasn't bad, but today the wheels got loose on the cart. He totally misread what the homework assignment was for his class today. In fairness, he said that at least a third of the class misread it too. I looked it over again as I did when he was doing the homework, and I still would have interpreted it the same way my son did. This makes me annoyed that this instructor, of an English Composition class, didn't write a clearer description of the assignment and wouldn't give him any credit for the work he did do.

Now, you're probably thinking this isn't a big deal, but it is for him. He has now started off on the wrong foot. He has blown the first assignment of the entire semester. It is easier to build success on success than on failure. He doesn't have a ton of confidence in his abilities and navigating these classes is a struggle for him. I know that the instructor has no clue about this, nor would I expect her to. This is our problem, but at the moment I'm tired of fighting these battles. It is one of those days when I question why we are doing what we are doing and I know there isn't a definitive answer. I remind myself, as I remind my son, things will look better tomorrow or the day after and right now I'm looking forward to Friday.

Gonna go sew at bit -

carol fun

Soho Chic Ziggurat on Design Wall Monday

Oh I am so entranced with this new start - the pattern is Windspinner by Prairie Grass Patterns which you can see here, and the fabric is Soho Chic by Sandy Gervais and you can see the whole collection here.

I told myself I would just put one block together to see how it looked but I couldn't stop at one. I love the palette of this collection - olive, teal, chocolate, plum - so yummy! The background fabric can best be described as chartreuse or acid pea soup green - it kinda puts your teeth on edge when you see it. Not your ordinary background choice but it called my name.

And while I was putting these strips on my design wall the word "ziggurat" popped into my head. I had a vague memory of it being a stair step kinda design and according to the great authority Wikipedia it is defined as "having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels". I think that is a pretty good description of this design.

My favorite fabric in this Soho Chic collection is this large scale print - simply gorgeous! Love those big plum blossoms, the olive green swirly leaves, the teal flowers and those tiny pops of orange.

My plan is for a 2" border of the teal and then a nice swath of the large scale floral.

This week looks like it may have some quantity as well as quality sewing time in it. As of this morning I have no appointment on my calendar for the entire week! Now my son does start college classes but that is a manageable schedule of dropping off and picking up. And the weather continues to be hazy, hot and humid - perfect for hunkering down in my basement sewing studio with the AC and fans cranked up!

happy stitching-
carol fun

Modern Charm Pack Cherry on WIP Wednesday

I was really liking this Charm Pack Cherry quilt as I was sewing these batiks. But then I got all the rows together and I felt it still needed something... a border! I knew I didn't have enough of the turquoise batik to do an unpieced border and then inspiration struck - I could add squares and rectangles of the batiks  I used in the center of the quilt and extend the design. Now I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I think it looks quite arty and modern!

Sorry again about the color of this picture - I just can't get it right when I try to get the whole quilt in the shot.


Here are some close-ups of some of the squares and rectangles I added to the border strips and the color is truer.

I still need to sew the borders on, but that shouldn't take too long. I cannot wait to get this one off to the long arm quilter!

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced today. Check out all the inspiration!

happy stitching-
carol fun