Friday’s FO’s May 22, 2009

This week I’ve been working hard to finish projects that have been around for awhile. I’ve finally finished the feather & fan lace cashmere scarf that I started in January. It was a great travel project because it could fit in a small zip-lock bag and it was a simple four row repeat with only one row of lace work. I’ve worked on it in many waiting rooms.

I also finished the Handknit Heroes Issue #1 POW! Hooded Scarf that is a shop sample for A Likely Yarn. It’s a simple pattern that is fairly quick to knit. I’m hosting a knit along at the shop for this project. If anyone is in the Abingdon, Virginia area and wants to join in, we will be meeting Thursday June 11, June 25, and July 9 from 5:00-7:00. The first meeting is a meet, greet, & cast-on. The second is a sit, knit & chat. The third is the reveal. You can reveal your finished project, in progress project or your secret identity and bring your favorite snack to share. I’ll be starting the shop sample for the Handknit Heroes Issue #2 Net of Justice Bag soon and the KAL for that project will start in mid August.

I received a commission in January from a family member of the person I made the stockings for last fall. They wanted one more for their family and I happily accepted. Unfortunately, tax season doesn’t really allow me to work on things like I want so I had to wait to start the project. I finished the stocking this week and I’m happy with how it turned out.

I’ve also started sewing together the books I’ve been working on. These are two that I completed yesterday and will be available in the shop soon.

This reminds me of a little boy’s bedroom curtains from the 1950’s or 1960’s.

This one is a simple green book. Green polka dots with green parchment type paper inside.

One last bit of info, if you are in the Abingdon area this weekend, A Likely Yarn is having a Moving/Memorial Day sale Saturday, Sunday & Monday. The shop will be closed Tuesday-Sunday of next week during the move but will reopen on June 1st at the new Pecan St. location.

Busy Bee, That is me… May 17, 2008

I’ve been getting so much done…

This is my newest project, a Baby Blocks quilt in red, white and blue.  This is just part of the first two rows.  I cut enough pieces tonight for seven or eight more rows.

Two knit wash cloths for a friend that’s having a baby girl. 70% Tanguis Cotton 30% linen.

Four new needle books. I haven’t listed these in the shop yet because I haven’t had enough sunshine to take decent photos of them.

Blackberry Winter May 12, 2008

I had planned on walking to work beginning today…. but Blackberry Winter put a stop to it.  It’s currently 45 degrees and very cold drizzly rain.  Oh well, I suppose that I can wait a few more days.

I bought fabric to begin a Baby Blocks quilt from one of the pattern books that I got yesterday.  It’s cream, navy, and a dark red.  I can’t wait to get started on it!

First Quilt Finished May 6, 2008

As promised, here are the photos of my finished quilt.

Hand Quilted. Machine and hand pieced. Blocks are: top left – Ohio Star, top right – Ohio Rose, bottom left – Chicken Scratch or Amish Embroidery hearts, and bottom right – Log Cabin Heart. The Ohio Star is machine pieced. The Ohio Rose is needle turn appliqué. The Log Cabin Heart is Paper Pieced. The patch on the back is embroidered muslin that I appliquéd on.

Visit my flickr page for detail photos of the quilt.

I’m so excited that my quilt will be on display at the AAC during the Portfolio Resume Exhibit this Friday.  I’m not a part of the portfolio resume class but Robyn has asked our quilting class to include our quilts for the exhibit.

Quilt Update May 4, 2008

Fingers hurt….. back hurts….. wrists hurts…. arms hurt….

But I got the entire thing quilted and the binding has been sewn to it.  I just have to fold it over and attach it to the back.

I’m planning on having it 100% completely finished by Wednesday.  I’ll post some photos tomorrow… I’m too pooped to do it now.

My Quilting Buddy April 27, 2008

Raisin has now become my quilting buddy. She likes to huff and puff at me because something else is taking up my lap space.

She did decide to at least taste the quilt. So I suppose that she approves now that it has passed the test.

Here’s what I accomplished today (through all the puppy huffs and puffs). You can’t see all that I did but it just continues in the same pattern for a bit so you’re not missing anything.

Raisin can happily sit in my lap now that I’m finished quilting for the day.

Grandma’s House April 24, 2008

I had dinner tonight with my dad, grandma, and 2 of my uncles. Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs…. yummy! I had such a good visit. My grandma told my dad earlier in the week that she was giving me her quilt rack but he couldn’t find it in the loft. My grandma is one that will not send you home empty handed. She sent me home with just about every sewing related thing she owns.

She had me bag up everything in her sewing chest which was a lot! This included a ton of thread, needles, gadgets, and a few crochet hooks (I was really excited about those).

She also gave me this dress which she made some time in the late 60′s or early 70′s. It’s such a tiny dress. It’s hard to imagine my grandma being that small.

The most awesome thing about today… She gave me her dress form. I could have cried. I’m so excited to have it!

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On to something a little different…..

I started the quilting process. I’ve only gotten this small square done but I’m pleased with it.

Sampler Quilt Top April 20, 2008

I finished my quilt top for class today. I also made the quilt sandwich. Here’s a photo of my quilt top pre-sammy.

My little fingers hurt I bought a thimble last night but I haven’t mastered the technique of using it yet.

Embroidery and getting my life back… April 16, 2008

Ok, those two things have nothing in common. This post just happens to be about two different things.

Yesterday was April 15. Tax Day. End of Tax Season. Hurray!!! I’m Free!! I feel like I’ve been in prison for four months. I haven’t really been able to craft which has been driving me nuts. I feel like I can go back to a normal life. Classes are almost over. Girl Scouts is almost over. I’m not taking on anything else so I can have time to focus myself on my art.

Tonight in quilting class we began putting everything together and were shown how to start hand quilting. We also got a demo on embroidery. Here’s my sample for tonight. I’m pretty pleased with it.

My First Go At Appliqué April 8, 2008

In my quilting class we recently learned how to appliqué. This is the quilt square that I made. It’s an Ohio Rose. This is what I have been looking forward to all semester. We’re getting ready to start the other two things that I really wanted to learn: Embroidery and Hand Quilting.