Knit One Quilt Too

Four Seasons Quilt Swap

I joined the Four Seasons Quilt Swap for the first time for Summer.  It should be fun!  I have an idea in mind, and as I was surfing the blogs over at the main FSQS blog I came across someone else who has a similiar idea to mine.  I've got a couple of other things to finish up before I start it, but I'm developing my idea whenever I get a chance to think about it. 

Our trip to Portland was lots of fun, very busy and tiring.  The homeschooling conference was a blast and then we spent a day in Portland sight seeing.  I came home so tired!  This weekend is also full of activities, but I'll post in a couple of days to show my latest projects and do a meme that's going around.  Have a great weekend!

Lucky me!

I just got home to a fabulous prize in the mail.  A few weeks ago, through the grapevine, I heard about a blog contest at Hither and Yarn.  For the contest you had to donate to one of four charities and then be entered to win a skein of yarn.  I chose to donate to Knitters for Knockers- a team doing a Komen Race for the Cure in Richmond, VA.  Well, when Cathy let me know I was a winner I was thrilled! I wasn't expecting all the other goodies, but just look at what Cathy sent! The beautiful Doctors without Borders colorway of sport weight sock yarn from The Unique Sheep, lavendar soap, a nifty little notebook, shea butter, caramel popcorn, chocolate covered cherries and a bar of Green & Black's chocolate!  I think she has my number.  Cathy even sent one of her moo cards!  I have a few that I made, but have never gotten one from someone else.  Thank you so much, Cathy!  I'll put the yarn to good use and the goodies will disappear quickly I'm sure.  Be sure to check out Cathy's blog, there are all sorts of neat things to read about there.  I'm heading to Portland for a week tomorrow, so don't expect me back til late next week.  Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Amy & Sue & a couple of knits

It's been another busy week here!  On Monday night Chloe and I went to see Amy Butler (on the left with Valerie Wells) talk about her new book, patterns, paper goods and how she got where she is today.  It was very interesting to hear her story.  Chloe was impressed and really wanted her book, so we got that.  Amy was a delightfully warm person as well.  We were tnrilled to find out that the proceeds from the tickets for her talk were donated to the local Spay and Neuter Project- quite a worthy cause!

On Tuesday and Wednesday I got to attend a workshop with Sue Spargo.  What a treat that was!  Sue is so creative and her quilts are full of things to notice.

The best thing about the class was all the tips about embellishing.  We tried couching and various types of embroidery stitches.  It's amazing the difference between a block that's not embellished and one that is.  This next one is one that Sue is working on now.  I like the bright colors!

I had never worked with cotton and wool together so that was a new experience.  I like the variety you get working this way.

Sue's new Folk Art quilt is a favorite of mine for the animals. 

Sue is also currently working on this amazing quilt inspired by her African childhood.

Even though the class was for the Flower Bed design, I couldn't help sneaking in a horse block!  Here are the class blocks. 

If you ever have the chance to see Sue's work in person, it really is worth it.  These photos don't do them justice. 

I have been knitting a bit.  I managed to finish these socks which are not for me, and so don't fit me for a modelled shot.  This is a mishmash of sock parts from Cat's new sock book.  They are knit top down with the sky architecture.  They are made with Lorna's Laces Sock Yarn and Louet Gems (both doubled) on size 4 addis.

Finally, a hat made with Lorna's Laces Shepherd worsted in the leftover bin.  This is the Live Dangerously, Don't Swatch hat.  I added the purl ridge to give it some definition and it has the Half Linen stitch near the bottom.  It's finished off with i Cord.  This hat is knit top down.  It would probably fit a toddler, but since I don't have one I'm not sure who it would fit. This will probably go in the charity pile.

This weekend we are off to Kahneeta to camp and swim.  It's supposed to be in the 90's tomorrow and the 80's over the weekend.  Should be fun!  I'll check in next week before I leave again.

Mother's Day Surprise

Happy Mother's Day!  We had a delightful day with my parents.  We had a delicious brunch made by Chloe and my dad.  Then we played Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit.  The guys won the first one, the gals won the second!  Up above is the Kiri Shawl, finally blocked and presented to my mom for Mother's Day.  I'm glad to see this one finished because the knitting was done last summer!  Remember that? 

And now, because I know there are a few who are curious, I'm finally ready to reveal my new, short, short haircut.  I've actually had one haircut since my hair started growing out.  It's coming in rather unevenly, so I had to have a cut just to make it less shaggy.  I like having short hair right now, though would like it to be a little less boyish.  I haven't had short hair since I was a baby, so this takes some getting used to!

The bag ladies

Sorry for such sporadic posting.  May is turning out to be a crazy month.  This is what I've been doing this past week, having a great time with friends and making these cute bags.  Several of us bought fabric at the Stitchin' Post when we had our Mom's weekend away.  Then we decided to make the bags together.  This next one is Michelle's, which has been seen many times around town in the past week.

This is one of mine.  I liked it so much, I made two more.  I think these will all go into the gift stash.

I also made this one using some of my very favorite fabrics.  This one is the one I'm carrying around my knitting in right now.

Now, it's back to the quilts.  I've got some major work to do here to get ready for the quilt show and not a whole lot of time to do it in.  I'll be traveling quite a bit in the next few weeks, so posts will continue to be sporadic.  This week I'm scheduled to attend a lecture by Amy Butler (by the way, the first two bag styles shown here are from Amy Butler), and then I'll have a class at the Stitchin' Post.  More on that later!

Hooked on spinning

My spinning class last Saturday was incredibly exciting, intense and frustrating all at the same time.  It's been a long time since I've been so challenged with learning a new skill.  I'm so glad I did it though.  I came home thinking about getting a wheel and have been doing internet research all week.  It's even  keeping me up at night!  The last thing I need is a new hobby, but I've wanted to do this for years. 

I spent the days before the class trying out my hand spindle which I've had for 2 years.  I made one long strand of singles and took it with me.  My teacher showed me how to ply it on the wheel.  That's the green one up there made with Romney roving I got at Black Sheep Gathering two years ago.  After plying the green she showed me how to spin with the orange pencil roving.  It was so easy!  The pencil roving is a breeze to use because there's little to no drafting involved.  See how evenly spun it is.

Lastly I spun the white roving and, man, was that a challenge.  It has the inevitable lumpy/bumpy, thick/thin look of yarn made by beginning spinners everywhere.  By the time my two hours were done I was exhausted and really needed a break.  I spent a bit of time outside the store talking to a mom and her daughters who were there to spin in the sunshine.  The store sells yarn on commission and they were creating the most beautiful yarns.  It seemed the whole family had started spinning only recently and they were already making yarns nice enough to sell.  I hope the learning curve is like that for me too!  The mom had a Lendrum folding wheel and that's the one that I've got my eye on.  I really need to try one before buying so I'm going to do that when we're in Portland in a few weeks.  This year's Black Sheep Gathering is on the horizon in June and I hope to be able to make it there for a day.

I spent Sunday spring cleaning and reorganizing our craft storage and my studio.  It was a 10 hour job plus several more hours this week.  I've managed to open up some space in my studio by giving one of my desks to Ryan.  He loves it!  Now, he's spending hours in there drawing to his heart's content.  Meanwhile, I've got space for, *ahem*, a wheel.  Imagine that!  I'm rearranging my yarn storage and hope to also get to the quilting cabinet to reorganize the fabric.  In the past we've always moved every few years and that's how I kept on top of things. I guess spring cleaning is easier than moving, but it's still exhausting and time consuming.  Til next time...