Making out with BOB - week 2

AND log-cabining is done, and one half of the blocks has been stitched together.

... this is going to be a cutie of a quilt, even if I say so myself :-) Who would have thunk that BOB hid such cuteness. Not me, that's for certain :-) but it seems it did.
Onward and forward!

More Knitting while waiting

Still at it with log-cabining and joining of pieces.
SO, here's another finish from my 2012 list of finishes.
Pattern is Rivendell Smoke Ring, from Sunflower Designs.
Yarn is Silkie Socks that Rock, in the colourway 'Stormy Weather'
Stripey effect is completely happenstance!

There is a gorgeous lace-pattern in there, but, unfortunately, it disappears completely in the stripes. Oh, well, it is warm and lovely to wear, and that was important.
I'll try knitting it up in a different yarn, one where the lace-pattern is actually visible.

Waiting for the log-cabining ...

While I get the rest of the blocks log-cabined, and start getting them together, here's a picture of a finish I haven't shown before.
The Hana-shawl.

Now, I do love the design of the floral border.
I don't mind short-rows at all either.
But I don't get the 'fad' for shawls that are almost scarves. Very slim, half-moon shaped ones.
Oh, well. If I knit this one again, I'll be experimenting on how to make it so that the centre of the shawl becomes long enough to actually cover my back.

I used Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend for it, and ... yes ... it is a lovely yarn, but ...
I always compare prize to quality, and there has to be some correspondence between the two, and on this one, in my opinion, the prize is simply too high when compare with what one gets.
I get it that it is artisan-work and kettle-dyed.
I get that the dyeing is not completely even.
I still do not care for a yarn that has decidedly white spots when knitted.

SO, all in all, yarn, pattern and prize:
I like it, but I love it not.

Making out with BOB - week 1.5

The first eight 4.5" (and 5") blocks have been log-cabined, setting squares AND setting triangles have been printed and cut, and the mock-up is on the design-wall.

 And the Yep's have it.

Oh, and I've been asked if the cross that is formed by the larger blocks was by design (seeing that this is my personal challenge for lent), and the answer is, that it is happenstance (or serendipity). There were 10 blocks that were 6" square, and this was the way they looked the best (to my eyes).

Making out with BOB - week 1.4

And then I remembered the mostly pink batik with butterflies. Whatever block colours that are not found in the mottled blue, are, most definitely in the pink.
And I remembered that Linda Franz has two collections out with HST (Half Square Triangles) and QST (Quarter Square Triangles) the size that works with 4.5" and 6" blocks set on point.
I'll use the 6" On-Point Triangles for this one.
This too will work.

Making out with BOB - week 1.3

I think this blue batik (which was bought to go with Sunflowers, but seemed too washed out when it arrived and said Sunflowers were laid upon it for scrutiny), will play nicely with all the blocks.

Most of the block-colours are in there anyway :-)
But since these blocks are in all sizes I'll start by log-cabin'ing them.
Log-cabin / border strips, cut at 1.25" wide should work.
... or I could just print them with Inklingo. I've got the 0.75" wide Log Cabin collection that will make the 4.5" blocks into 6" ones.
Yep. Inklingo 0.75" LogCabin collection will do the trick.
... I'll cut the squares, all on my own.

Making out with BOB - week 1.2

10 Dear Jane and Dear Hannah blocks, all 6" finished size.
2 Jeanna Kimball applique blocks, both 5" size
A single Heart and Hand applique-block, 4.5" size
17 Dear Jane and Dear Hannah blocks, all 4.5" size
... now, if I can find the right fabric with which to set them, this could become an ... interesting quilt ... I think ... hope ... um ... well ... I'll go looking through my stash.

Making out with BOB - week 1

Lent starts today, and lasts until Easter (April 4th)
Well, it does in my corner of Christianity.
And traditionally, one 'gives up something' for lent. The eating of certain food-stuffs. A minor (or major) indulgence one usually allows oneself.

So, what about a quilty lent? I used to be a proponent of not buying any new quilty stuff during lent, but really, the economy can do with our business, so I won't suggest that. But seeing that lent is also about being frugal, about meditating on what has and has not been done, about facing one's failings and shortcomings and trying to do something positive about it, that is what I plan to do.

In a corner of my sewing-room, I have a bag, which is bursting at the seams. Really. Bursting!
 

It is full of odd blocks. All different sizes, fabrics, styles.
And for a short, mad, moment, I considered making a list of all of them, and publish the list here.
I gave that one up. When I hit 30 different styles/types of blocks, I stopped counting.

BUT, here's a small selection:
Quite a few of them are Dear Jane and Dear Hannah (and similar) blocks. Christmas-swap blocks (25). Signature-swap blocks (123). Various "I'll try making this a different way" blocks (42). 6" mostly-Jane blocks made with batiks (10)

There are Quilted Diamonds (28) that never made it into "The Advantages of Natural Folly" or, indeed, into the "Two inches wide" quilt-let.

There are Nearly Insane blocks (5), which were made to test if I could do them on a sewing-machine (I can, but I don't like to) ... there is just about any and every style, size and colouration block you can think of.

SO: My challenge to me, this lent, is to make something of as many blocks as possible that are currently languishing in BOB. Finish something from it !
And I'll be using my sewing-machine to do it.
I will.
Really !
Wish me luck.

Out of Commission

I'm down with a cold ... or the 'flu ... or whatever.

Which is why I have been silent this past week.
I did, however, finish a knitted coffee-cozy yesterday. Mindless knitting, from the head, with yarn in colours I no longer love.
BUT, it is a finish, and it is useful (and DH likes the colours, it turns out), AND I had something to do with my hands while feeling sorry for myself.




Edited on February 23:
No, I am not an evil knitting genius :-) and yes, it was mindless knitting.
I have been doing two- (or more) - colour knitting for 40+ years; knitted my first many-colour project the summer I was 13 and recuperated from mono, and at age 15 I knitted a long skirt, using cotton-yarn, and about a zillion 'happy colours' of the very bright variety, using as many as 4 different ones on a row. So, really, knitting with two colours is pretty mindless to me.
The thing is knitted from the top, and as you can see, the patterning becomes increasingly exiting (or at least less weird) as it progresses :-)

Hexagon Alphabet

I have finally moved on the Hexagon letters that I published on the Inklingo Sampler blog in 2011
(see here). There will - in the fullness of time - be better directions for putting it together than is now up at the Sampler-blog, but ... here are the pictures to tide you over :-)

The front, all pieced together and with the border attached.

Backing, pieced from left overs, miscuts and other scraps of the two fabrics used in the top.

Marked up! and with the thread ready to roll.

Gratuitous kitty-picture

In time for Valentine's Day

 I really wanted to show you pictures of the finished Passacaglia (yes, it is finished !) but the weather is behaving dreadfully, and the helper/s I need to hold up the quilt, out of doors, in daylight, leave before there's enough light outside, and do not come back until it is too dark.
The blessings of living in Ultima Thule (well ... not quite, just in Copenhagen)
SO, here are pictures of another finish. Pictures I could take without any helpers around.

I finished another shawl!

Yes, I am on a knitting roll here :-)

 Pattern is free on Ravelry, is made by Sylvie Beez, and is called 'Valentine's Hearts'.

I made a few modifications of my own, added another row of hearts, and the row of diamonds to the outside of the thing. Easy-peasy :-)

And I'll get back to you with the Passacaglia.

Det er koldt derude ...

... kyndelmisse slår sin knude
Og der er isblomster på køkkenvinduet. Filigran-fine og forskellige. En af glæderne ved at bo i et gammelt hus med gode forsatsvinduer :-)

And for the English-language readers : The header and the first line of this post, are a quote from a Danish mid-winter song.

But there are frost-flowers (and ferns) on the kitchen-windows. Filigree fine and varied.
The joys of living in an old house.

The challenges of buying on-line

Picture from web-page

So, I bought some yarn on-line, at String Theory Hand Dyed Yarn. As always, when shopping on-line, I based my choice on the picture on the web-page.  (I've slurped the picture on the left from said web-page.)

Then the yarn arrived.

Picture taken with flash

And I wrote the shop

And they could see my point (that the picture and the actual yarn do not really look like they are even remote cousins), so they offered to take the yarn back.

Picture taken in natural light

But, having pondered that, I don't think so. I love the feel of this yarn, and am adjusting myself to having something in my yarn-stash which seems to be actual chameleon yarn;  showing new colours depending on where you take it :-)

And I assure you, the two pictures on the right are both taken on my porch, within 1 minute of the same day, the only difference being that one picture has the yarn held in my hand, and the flash going off, the other has yarn further away from me than arm's length, and no flash going off.

Same skein, same place, same setting of camera.

Anyway: I kind-of like the idea of having a yarn which is this different in colouration depending on the light. And even though I do think it shows up somewhat too brown in my indoor light, I like the look of it outside well enough.

... and it does feel gorgeous in my hand, so ... I look forward to knitting with it.

So is this a diss of the yarn-dyers?
Far from it. Having taken a flash-picture of the yarn, I can see where their picture comes from. The yarn feels delightful in my hand. And they reacted promptly, courteously and with due diligence to my mail on the colour-issue. So, other than getting something I didn't think I ordered, I'm a happy customer :-)

... oh, and the quality is Caper Sock, 80% merino, 10% cashmere and 10% nylon, colour "Earthquake".