Finally Finished $5 Quilt!

Way back in February I wrote about a $5 quilt group that I participated in at The Quilt Barn in Puyallup. In 2007 I went once a month a got a pattern and fabric to make a quilt. If you complete your block each month you get the next block free. Well, I finally got it all put together, quilted and the binding stitched on. It's really not a Christmas quilt. There isn't one Christmas fabric in it, but it comes off totally Christmas and it brightens the whole room. Finally finished !!! Merry Christmas!!!

A Bag Obsession

I absolutely LOVE Bags! I have several, but I have never really made a cloth one. I made several felted bags a few years ago, but this fabric one caught my eye. The class was held at The Quilt Barn in Puyallup last Wednesday night. The pattern is the Miranda Day Bag from Lazy Girl Designs. It was so fun to make and we had everything done except the handles in three hours of class time. That didn't include cutting the pieces out, but that was maybe and hour of pre-work. I would say that it took a total of five hours from first cut to the finished product. I love this bag and it went together to easy! This could be a dangerous pattern for me to own!

Just Knitting Along

There are times when a girl just wants to knit along and not really think about what she is doing. Her mind wants to wander to other topics and far off places. This is usually the time I pick up my Ann Norling Basic Adult pattern and some pattern dyed Sock yarn and my mind takes off on a journey. Pure relaxation and my fingers flying a mile a minute! I love this sock yarn I have been using by Berroco called Berroco Sox. It feels nice on the hand and the feet. I orignally bought this color way for the Husband, but I fell in love with it and decided to make the socks for myself!

Bring on the Baby!

Well talk about finishing something in the nick of time! The baby shower is in one hour and I finished last night! Whew! This project is for my friend Hanh's baby. She will be born in December but her shower is today. This was such a fun project to knit. I'm not sure if it was because of the project, or because I am so excited for Hanh! The pattern came off of a Bernat yarn label and was an easy pattern repeat. I bought some washable Plymouth Encore for this project because even though my kids are grown, I remember what kind of things happen on baby blankets! Yikes! Hopefully her little sweet pea will love this and it will be the blankey that the baby drags around to every occasion!

I LOVE this book!

I impulsively picked up a copy of this book two days ago and I love it!! When I get a new book I usually sit down with my coffee and a pad of post it notes. As I thumb through, I mark pages of projects that I would like to make. This book is so nice I have at least 12 pages marked! Lots of easy one skein projects in lovely yarn. I don't like cheap yarn so this book was right up my alley. I understand the first book from this author had lots of errors, so I hope that is not the case with this one. Hopefully you will see lots of projects from this book on my page in the days ahead.

I've Been Thinking About It

I've always been a sucker for a cute stuffed animal. Yes, yes, I'm a grown woman, but I guess I have just never grown up. I love dolls and stuffed animals and I particularily love bunnies! A while back I saw some patterns for Arigurumi. I was intrigued and thought I might like to try that "some day". Well, last week I was surfing on Ravelry and I came across this Amigurumi pattern for this sweet little bunny. I was sucked right in and now I am going to trying to figure it out. The designer is Diane who's Ravelry name is Knits. She has such cute designs and if this one works out, I will try the bee also. Has anyone done this before?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

I hope it's a deliciously sweet day for all of you!

Killed By A Hat

Well, my assassin finally got me. My hat is lovely and fits just perfect but I really wanted to keep playing. My goal was to get to the final 100 but I was in the low 200's. Not too bad out of 700+.
The Hat Attack II was an interesting experience. Would I do it again? Probably not for the game. It was very frustrating to not hear from people that were my immediate competitors. I guess I was taking the whole game more seriously that others. I spent most of my time waiting and waiting for communication. I only got to take out two people for the time I was still "alive". I did get a great pattern which I will make again AND I also got a great pink and brown hat out of the deal. So, it's onto other projets now!

I'm Still Alive

Well, I'm still in the game with Hat Attack II. I took out my target the first week but I have been patiently waiting for my next hat to complete to take out another target. The target I took out had taken out her target, so I contacted her. It turns out she has had the unfinished hat she needed to send me in her car for TWO WEEKS and she forgot about it. Darn. Hopefully I will get it and can take out one more contestant before I am assasinated.

In the meantime I have been working on Wendy Bernard's Looks Good on All Sides Scarf from her new book Custom Knits. I am using the same yarn for the Hat Attack called Therapi. The rows of the scarf are easily memorized, but it is a 44 row repeat and my brain can't remember that much so I've had to tally. This scarf is worth it though. It is SO beautiful and knit with the Therapi yarn, it is so soft and supple. There has been some complaints that Therapi has had knots, and blobs of yarn in it but I haven't had that problem at all. I absolutely love this yarn and it comes in LOTS of colors. I hope to have the scarf finished this weekend for Wendy's book signing at Renaissance Yarns. Maybe I can get a picture of the author wearing my scarf!

The Attack is ON!!!!

Well, the kick off of Hat Attack 2 started Tuesday with a great party at Renaissance Yarns. I believe there were about 16 of us that were there and a few that couldn't make it, so it was a good turnout for that shop! Nancy had some good food and lively comraderie and it was great to have all of us figuring out the pattern together and cheering each other on. I had to work the following day so I wasn't able to stay up and knit, but the next night I was up until 1 am. I finished it and it is off in the mail. My target (Louise in Michigan) will be out of the game in the next few days. Oh, my evil side is really showing up in this game! lol I did enjoy the pattern. At first I didn't like the looks of it and didn't like the pattern, but it grew on me and I actually think I would make another one at some point. Right now, I don't know when I will be out of the game or how many I could end up knitting to STAY in the game, so we'll see. Anyway so far this has been a fun event and I would participate again.

Blocking!!!!!

WEll, after the never ending bind off, I'm finally blocking! This was a great project and lots of fun, but by the time I got to the last 20 rows, I didn't think it would EVER end! lol

I used Cascade 220 (4 skeins) and size 8 needle. I believe I could have used a nine and it would have still had a nice feel. Mine measures about 45" across and will make a nice lap throw. I'm moving on to the next project!

My Newest Addiction!

This project has certainly captured my attention! This is just the beginning of my Hemlock Ring Throw. I read about it on Ravelry and found the pattern on The Rainey Sisters blog page. They offer the corrected pattern and have done all the hard work of finding the mistakes and changes to make it simpler. I am using Cascade 220 and a size 8 needle. What fun this project is and I have already ordered some cream colored wool and silk for my next one. The next one is a heavier yarn and will be on a 10-10 1/2 needle. I haven't had this much fun with a project in awhile.

Ever Heard of Hat Attack?

I've read about sock wars on the internet, but my LYS Renaissance Yarns is promoting Hat Attack. It sounds like fun, so I joined! This is all new to me but evidently everyone starts knitting a hat at the same time and you have a target that you mail it to. Once they get it, they are out of the game and they send you their unfinished hat and the targets name. The last one alive wins $500 worth of yarn from the sponser! I guess I will be knitting my little fingers off to try and stay alive!

I'll keep you posted on this new venture for me.

A VERY SPECIAL DAY;BUYING THE BRIDAL GOWN

Well, she's wearing the diamond, the venue is reserved, the dinner is booked, but now it is all real with just a swirl in a dress. How do you decide when your child just looks too beautiful in each and every one?! No, I didn't get teary eyed, but I did ask myself how I could have created this beautiful creature. What a miracle a child is. Yes, today was very special, just seeing her in a wedding gown for the first time. I can't imagine what kind of emotion I'm going to feel on "The Day"

Hmmm how did this get to my house?

Uh oh, look what found it's way to my house. (o: One clue is the Loopy Ewe's name was on the box.

Kiwi Scandal by Atenti

Just What I Needed!!

I was lucky enough to get into a class at Carriage Country Quilts with Meg Hawkey. For those of you not familiar with her, she is the creator of Crabapple Hill Designs. What a wonderful day!!!!!! The shop hosted her and hosted all of us to a fabulous lunch. I have never attended a class that put so much effort into detail. The food was fabulous, Meg was wonderful and the day was full of laughs and chocolate! Sounds wonderful huh? So, My new project (just what I needed) is a Crabapple Hill Design called Winter Wonderland. The main squares for the quilt are redwork and the pieced blocks use a variety of red fabrics. I'm going to start with the "snow angel" and a group of us that took the class are going to get together to make it. So many projects, so little time.

Here Comes the Sun

Well, sure enough they've started summer clearance sales in Seattle and we are finally seeing the sun! The sun is showing but the temperatures are still cool, so it doesn't feel like summer yet. Hopefully soon. The way I see it though, is it has given us an extra two months for knitting and not worrying about yard work! My last month has been a month of scattered knitting. I have many projects in progress, so it's been a row of this and a row of that. None of my projects have enough progress to look like they've been worked on. I purchased Charlene Schurch's Little Box of Socks and I must say I am very inspired by the purchase. All the patterns are great and I plan on knitting all of them except maybe one that had several ruffles. I may knit that pair too, but only put one ruffle and make it a short ankle sock. If you are thinking of buying this box of patterns it is on sale at KnitPicks right now at 40% off! I thought it was worth all $2o I paid for it and now it's down to twelve. There are 20 patterns in the box! That is a deal. I can see this pattern as a great group project too.
So, I haven't been locked away just absorbed in life....more later

A Bad Ending to a Wonderful Day

Well, it started off a beautiful day! My heart was pumping and I was ready to hit the trail of the LYS Tour in Seattle! I went on this last year and enjoyed it very much. I went to shops that I had never been to before and collected all my free patterns. I didn't make it to all the shops, but last year I went to ten shops. This year I only had one day so I decided I would hit seven shops. I started at Renaissance Yarns in Kent. Nancy had designed a cute lacy washcloth pattern (on website) and I bought the matching yarn to make it. She also had miniature bite sized cupcakes so I didn't feel quilty having just one. Along with that she gave out bottled water to make sure no one got dehydrated. Thank you Nancy!
Next stop was The Knittery in Renton. They had designed a cabled bucket purse that was adorable and uses one skein of Cascade 220. How could I resist?!!! They didn't serve any treats or drinks, but I think their pattern was best on the tour of the shops I visited.
I then headed to Burien to the Yarn Stash. They had designed a lariat made from one skein of silk. It had three sliding flowers on it and it was featured as neckwear or around a hat as a band. Again, no treats but I have found the owners to be friendly and helpful.
In West Seattle I visted Seattle Yarn. Their project was a big disappointment to me. It was a stuffed baseball or dangle earrings. I was regretting that I had stopped their until I spotted the cheese, crackers and chocolate. They have one particular young girl that is always helpful and sweet, so I decided even though the baseball wasn't my thing, I was glad to have visited. I then headed about twenty miles north to Mill Creek to visit Main Street Yarn. They were my biggest surprise last year. It is a nice airy store with lots of nice yarn and great books. They get the prize for getting the most of my money. Their project was a feather and fan scarf. I did take the pattern but since I already have one in progress I bought an Alpaca scarf pattern instead with pink yarn to make it in. I had three more stores to visit but it wasn't mean to be.
As I left the last shop I entered a five lane highway and got about three miles down the road, when all of a sudden my car started to accelerate to a very fast speed. My first thought was I had accidently hit the cruise control button, so I tapped the brakes to disengage it. Nope, that didn't work and I was going faster and faster. I then firmly put on the brakes and my car wouldn't stop. I was approaching an intersection with five lanes in all directions and I saw my life flash before me. I quickly got over to the turning lane, SLAMMED the car into park and pulled out the key. I then literally shook for about five minutes before I put on my hazard lights. To make a long story short, I ended up in a tow truck, then at a repair shop and my yarn tour was over. Not a very good ending to what had been a great retail high! I waited all year for this tour! The good news is that it's a week later and I finally have my car back. The bad news is the bill was $2100! Ouch! Think of all that yarn I could have bought. :o(

Another moment of weakness

Well, here's another knitting bag, that wasn't needed, but oh, how I REALLY wanted it! I found this Lexie Barnes bag to be so unique! First of all, I love pink and black, secondly, this bag is SO functional with all the pockets! It is also big enough to carry a good sized project. The thing I was really amused by was the subtle pattern. If you look very closely you can see the design is made up of little tiny skulls! Who would have thought to combine flowers and skulls? This is one of last years fabrics so I had a hard time finding it, but finally snagged it at Knitting Sisters! What a happy retail moment!

Bagaholic

My name is Lilly. I am a bagaholic. I've finally owned up to it in hopes I can be cured. I haven't counted my bags, but I know it is at least ten times more than I need. Yet, again, I found myself walking out of Renaissance Yarns yesterday with a new bag. How could I resist? This bag is SO roomy and so beautiful and it has all the textures one could hope for. The shiny silk is beautiful and the colorful lining is SO happy! This will be my favorite bag until the next one catches my eye, or until my other new bag (Lexie Barnes) arrives from the east coast!!! Yikes did I just spill the beans that I have yet bought another bag this week? Oh, well, a girl has to look good while knitting right? Just out of curiousity, how many bags do YOU have?

PS. The little bag in front is a matching notions bag. I HAD to buy that right? Right?

The Girlfriend Scarf

This is my adaptation of the Koigu Ruffled Scarf. I loved that scarf, but I wanted one just a bit longer. Why do I call it the girlfriend scarf? Because you would be crazy to knit it without the benefit of talking with a girlfriend during the process. This project has a cast on of 696 sts and is very boring. That tells you how much I love this scarf. It's warm and very fluid. This is a no brainer project that you can knit, laugh and drink while knitting.

Here is my adaptation.

The Girlfriend Scarf ©
Size: 6"x40"
Gauge: 4-4.5 sts per inch
Materials: One skein Collinette Jitterbug sock yarn. You will use every bit of this.
My color: 159 Morello Mash 291m
Needles: 40" #6 circular needle. I used a Knit Picks Harmony Needle. This should not be knit too tight because you want it to drape nicely.
Cast on 696 stitches. (Yes, you read that right.)
Work 4 rows stockinette stitch beginning with a knit row.
Ruffle Row Decrease Repeat:
Row 1: (K1, K2tog), repeat to end of row
Row 2: Purl
Repeat these two rows four times
Work 22 rows of Stockinette Stitch ending with a purl row.
Ruffle Row Increase Repeat:
Row 1: (Knit 1, and knit and increase in the next stitch.) Repeat to the end of the row.
Row 2: Purl.
Repeat these two rows four times until original 696 stitches are on the needle. This can be approximate.
Work five rows Stockinette Stitch ending with a purl row. Bind off.
Weave in ends.

Ahhhhh Lenore!

This was one of the offerings from the Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Rockin Sock Club. When I received it in the mail last fall, I wasn't feeling well and just didn't feel like working on a dark color through Seattle's drizzly winter. Well, the other day, the sky was blue and my daffodils were blooming, so it was time to start Lenore! I really enjoyed this pattern and I even found it a little sexy (if a handknit sock can be sexy) The pattern was easy to follow and even though the yarn is a dark charcoal, the little hints of pink made it very fun to knit with. I will definitely wear these socks a great deal and will probably knit them in another color. Maybe red? Then they can be Red Hot Lenore!

Month 2 Quilt Club

Month two of Emilies Raspberry Truffle is finished. This is an online project using charm packs from Connecting Threads. It is an easy quilt so far and paced at two blocks of the same design for that month. It's fun to see it grow and see how different fabrics look in the same block. I look forward to seeing the finished project. It is a great project for a beginner who wants to give quilting a try.

A Belated Valentine

Well, here are my beloved Valentine Socks! I'm not sure if I was supposed to WEAR them for Valentines Day or just knit on them for Valentines day! So, I opened my kit on February 14th and starting knitting. The kit was purchased from Woolgirl and she just does a fabulous job with her kits. You get an original pattern, a cute little knitting pouch, an appropriate stitch marker, special indie yarn and of course, CHOCOLATE!! The chocolate was long finished before the socks by the way. This yarn is from White Oak Studio TV Yarn and the colorway is Be My Valentine Charlie Brown. The pattern was so much fun that I finished the pair in a week! I can't wait for the Charlie Brown Easter kit!

Go with it

Okay, we've let Lilly down for too long and I can't stand the guilt of not posting, not knitting, and being a total lame brain with this whole blog. I have no excuse other than knowing if I promise to do something, I don't deliver. Period. So, I'm not going to talk about finishing socks or any of my umpteenth projects overflowing from my knitting bag(s). I will just start something new. Maybe. If Lilly will help me. I've been into photography lately and after I saw the fingerless gloves Lilly knit up, ever so beautifully I might add, I decided they would be the perfect companion for my photography especially on these cold mornings and nights. Not that I get out much in the morning, or night. But I plan to. See, I bought myself a new camera and I'm totally in love with it but it is way over my head with buttons a go-go, and I'm struggling with this and that and trying to wrap my brain around custom settings and all. Just too much information for me to take in and sort through and comprehend. The perfect solution is to start knitting because I know the power a couple of needles and a ball of yarn can have on a person. Just the simple process of creating, or attempting to create, something beautiful out of a little ol' ball of yarn is enough to get me excited. Jo decided she wants to make the same gloves so we are planning to start together. This is probably my first mistake since I cannot keep up with Jo and her disciplined regimen of knitting a project and finishing it. I won't even try. I will go with the flow (get it?) and see where I end up.

It Bugged Me

Have you ever worked on a project and something just bugged you about it? Then have you gone ahead and finished it anyway hoping it would be alright? That's what happened with my first months block of the Raspberry Truffle pattern. One of the fabrics in each block just bugged me but I kept on going. I finally decided it wouldn't quit bugging me until I changed it, so yesterday I took the one fabric out and put another one in. :o) I like the block better now. The one on the top is the changed one and the one on the bottom is the old one. Can you see which fabric bugged me? At some point I will change the other block also to make me happier. The lesson learned is, listen to your inner voice. I made great progress on my $5 quilt sashings yesterday. I am half finished! Hopefully I will be able to get a picture soon. Happy Sunday!

A Quilting Kind of Day

Today is a quilting kind of day. I'm going to pull out my sewing machine and add the sashings to these blocks to make a quilt. This is all twelve blocks from the 2007 $5 quilt club that I joined at the Quilt Barn. It was such a fun group and I liked the idea of just sewing one block a month that would be a total surprise. Even the instructor didn't know what the finished project would look like! A member pays $5 the first month for the pattern and fabric and then each month if you bring the completed block of the month back, you get another one for free. So, it is possible to make a quilt top for $5!!! Never mind, what I spent when I went there every month! lol Anyway, I'm excited to get this put together since I have never made a red and white quilt.

Brach's Sox

I really love these socks!!! They were so much fun to make with the yarn doing all the work. It is a Trekking sock yarn (color #126) which I have found to be great sock yarn. I machine wash my socks AND put them in the dryer and they come out fine. Now, I must confess I bought this yarn because it really reminded me of the Brachs candy I used to eat when I was younger. Well Ok, maybe last week too. They are coconut, caramel and chocolate. YUM all my favorites. So, while knitting I was getting an imaginary candy "fix".










The other activity this week was my first two quilt blocks from the Connecting Threads quilt club. Easy, easy blocks to do. It is an online quilting group with a blog to discuss the project. So, for this week, socks done and month one of the quilt. Yippee!!!

Stitch Markers !!!!

I love, love, love stitch markers! I have way more than I need, but to me they are like collecting charms. I can remember what shops I bought most of them in and what kind of a day it was! So, my friend and I decided to make some. I love beads, but I get frustrated with wire. It just won't do what I want it to do. It takes control and bends the way it wants to. So, as a result they aren't perfection, but I thought they were a pretty fair attempt. My friend traded me the bottoms ones and she will pick from my pink and green group at our next get together. I would love to be able to trade at classes I take or even trade online! So, enjoy the newest endeavor!

Happy New Year!

Wow, where did November and December go? It seems like I never even lived through them. I guess that's what the holidays do to us. I was busy with projects though as you can see from the photo.

The quilt block in the center is from my $5 quilt class. It is the last block and now I'm working on the sashing. I should have another finished quilt in the next month or two. It was a fun group and I have signed up for the 2008 club. I also purchased a nice kit from Connecting Threads called Raspberry Truffle. They have an online group that I plan on participating in.

In the foreground is a pillow case that I made for several members of my family and friends. It is the neatest pattern and so quick. I made all of them of flannel and I am able to make one from cut to finish in a half hour!

The little wrist warmers are from the Knitty site. It is a free pattern called "Fetching" and uses one ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. I made one pair in the aqua color and wanted them tighter so I made another pair in Burgundy. I think I made a pair in two days.

The socks I had shown on an earlier post in October, but I only had one done. They are Halloween socks. I was bound and determined to finish the second one before my Valentine Kit arrived. I got these from Woolgirl. I heard a package hit my door and I had four rows to go on the second sock! Talk about timing! So now I have a Valentine kit to work on and I've signed up for the Easter kit.

The last item is a ruffled scarf made of Koigu yarn. I thought it looked like a quick and easy. Easy maybe but not quick. The pattern starts with 660 stitches! I do love it, but I wish it was a little longer. If it was though, that would mean MORE stitches. ARG

I am currently working on a childs pinwheel sweater. I have the pinwheel part done and now I need to work on the sleeves. Hopefully a picture will follow soon.

So, I have been busy, just not communicative. Hopefully all of you are having a creative year too!