Heading South

The Pine Burr Quilt is finished. (Well, it still need a label, but it’s as good as.)

The pattern was from McCalls Quilting, May/June 2012, "Pine Burr Made Modern." Paper-pieced. Fabrics from multiple sources: local quilt shops, Connecting Threads. Quilted by Stephanie at Quilts, Etc., Sandy, Utah.

I posted a photo on Facebook, and Franklin Habit said he liked the colors. I’m feeling so honored. (His blog is so much better than mine, well worth a read.) I do think the colors would make a great Fair Isle sweater.

In the meantime, remember the Kaleidoscope fabrics? I added some fabrics from my stash.

I’ve made a mock-up of the block I think I might use.

It would be roughly a 24” block. The background is Kona Snow. The inspiration quilt (“Fresh” from Simply Retro With Camille Roskelley Fresh Quilts From Classic Blocks) had 16 blocks this size, and was made up of mostly 4” (finished) HSTs. There are lots of extra seams, so I eliminated a few. Construction is a little more complicated, but I think it’s worth it.

Also in quilting news, the last pieced “First Ladies Quilt” is pieced. It’s the Mary Todd Lincoln Block is done. 

Just the appliqué blocks to finish.

This past week Vintage Stitchers had their first quilt retreat. We met at Julie’s place in Washington, Utah, just outside St. George. We took our fifth wheel and parked a couple of doors down from Julie’s winter home. It was hot with no AC, but we had basic power (Julie ran an extension cord from her house), along with water and sewer, and the location was so much nicer than the overflow parking next to the trash bins, even though we could have used the AC.)

DH and I did some hiking with the pups, and the three of them hiked alone while I was having some quilting/knitting fun.

We did have some knitting, as well. Julie has her mother and aunt making Little Cotton Rabbits animal friends for her grandchildren. Julie is working on the kitty, with colors picked by here granddaughter. Here’s the head:

I’m hand quilting my Delectable Pathways quilt. We had some show-and-tell, as usual. Julie is also working on a wool felt/flannel quilt, a wall hanging, which is embellishing:

Marilyn has finished this appliqué block:

Julie’s mother is working on this quilt from Pennies from Heaven by Gretchen Gibbons.

Rebecca inherited this great partially finished Christmas quilt from a friend:

Remember Barbara's Poinsettia quilt? She just has the binding to go.

Here’s Julie’s witch, Hazel, well, the body, at least.

I can just see Hazel with the kitty head….

We did a sort of impromptu quilt-shop hop in St. George. Watch for my report on each of the three shops we visited in the following couple of weeks. 

I can’t go too long without yarn in my hands, and the crocheted hexagons for my Busy Bee Throw are coming along. 

One hundred hexagons done and 36 to go, and they go fast.

What's on my needles...er, hook: More hexagons for the Busy Bee Throw.

What's on my Featherweight: First Ladies Quilt, last pieced block finished. Now for the appliqué. Unnamed quilt using Kaleidoscope fabrics.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey, an Audible Deal of the Day. I really enjoyed it, although it isn’t my usual kind of book. Finished Miss Goldsleigh's Secret by Amylynn Bright on my Kindle app. Good story, but the sex seemed gratuitous, as if the publisher insisted on the author’s including it to sell the book. I would much rather the publisher had provided an editor. There were missing words from time to time and spelling errors, such as “shown” for “shone.” Very distracting.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. With the frog on the label. Of course.

What's my tip of the week: If you plan on changing the colors in a quilting or knitting project, try copying the photo in your pattern in black and white. Then choose your fabrics or yarns and copy them in black and white. The contrast shows up better, so you can see what colors to put where, while avoiding the distraction of the colors in the original.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Another Week at Home

Quilters! Finally, I have some quilts to show you. But first a little food.

Vintage Stitchers met at Janet's on Thursday. Marilyn brought this embroidered Christmas quilt center to show us. Now to put the borders on.

Barbara showed us this great train quilt for a little boy.

The back even looks like a train track.

Brenda has finished her Hop To It quilt from Edyta Sitar's book.

Janet's daughter made her this great art quilt.

The back is interesting, too. We couldn't decide whether the quilting is a pantograph or free-form.

Remember this Circle of Hope quilt of Marilyn's? It's finished.

Some of us have been knitting, as well. Janet made these great convertible mittens.

Speaking of knitting, my Coral Reef Shawl is finished.

I dyed this yarn (Knit Picks Shadow Lace Weight in "Bare") with 2 pkg each Orange and Cherry Kool-Aid and five drops of black food coloring using the sun-tea method. I left the hank in the dye bath without turning or stirring it until the dye was exhausted. Because it wasn't stirred, the yarn ended up with variations in how much dye was taken up.

The pattern is Enzian by Sue Berg. The instructions are minimal. I redrew the chart, because I had difficulty with the right- and left-slanting triangles for K2tog and SSK. I knit 11 vertical repeats of the pattern before doing the border. I couldn’t figure out how and where to start the border pattern, but I went through all the Enzian projects (and there are many) on Ravelry until I came across "Cupani," who mentioned in her project notes that the border pattern starts at row 43 of the regular pattern. It also helps to know that the border is a substitution for part of the pattern, not a whole new one.

I didn’t do the crochet edging to finish it off, but instead, BO on the wrong side in K, holding the yarn double. I ended up needing slightly more than the 100 g ball of yarn, but I had extra left over from another project, which I had dyed at the same time. Ten repeats of the pattern could have been knit with plenty of yarn left for the border and BO.

This seems to be the summer of the shawls. I decided to CO the Washington Park Shawl, since I had the pattern and the yarn. Why not?

The Pink Monkey Socks are coming along:

My First Ladies Quilt class ran into difficulties. I had cut all my fabric for the blocks, but forgot to put them into my bag. When when I got to the store, there was a large group of people having a class that started late. I talked for a few minutes with the teacher about the Lincoln block, and we decided I would have no trouble finishing the blocks on my own. Watch for photos of them next week.

Just the appliqué blocks to go!

In other news, my crocheted Busy Bee Throw is moving along as well. Forty-two hexagons finished out of 136 needed. Very portable project that fits in my purse.

As you read this, we are camping in the Uinta Mountains, just a few miles east of where we live. I hope to have some lovely photos of scenic views and hikes with the pups for next week...along with the usual fibery goodness.

What's on my needles: Pink Monkey Socks, Washington Park Shawl, Fair Isle Flower Socks.

What's on my Featherweight: First Ladies Quilt

What's on my wheel: Languishing.

What's on my loom: Multi-scrap scarf, no progress since before the trip to Europe.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Julie Klassen's The Maid of Fairbourne Hall. Now listening to The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd, both from Audible. Reading James Patterson's Private in iBooks.

What's in my wine glass: Copper Ridge Merlot, the big bottle. Very nice.

What's my tip of the week: The family dog is more than willing to prerinse your dishes before they go into the dishwasher. (Just don't forget this last step.)

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Giving in to Temptation

I couldn't keep from casting on the "Echo Flower Shawl."


I thought it might actually be useful this summer. I'm using Bare 100% Merino Lace Weight yarn from Knit Picks, and putting beads in where the pattern has twisted sts. It's going fast, partly because I'm finding it very entertaining.

The pattern is "Echo Flower Shawl" by Jenny Johnson Johnen. The yarn is left over from Daphne's Lace Christening Gown. (I really overestimated the amount I needed for that project!) There's a KAL for the project already on the Knitting Community.

Soon I hope to start the Busy Bee Throw, a pattern just issued by Knit Picks. It's a Granny-square-type crochet throw designed by our own Shaina Scott, EdwardRad on the Knitting Community and YumiYarns on Ravelry. If a KAL (CAL?) doesn't appear soon, I plan on starting one. I'll be using City Tweed DK, which will make the hive "cells" a little smaller, but it should be a great use for the yarn.

On Saturday the Mary Megs Atwater Weavers Guild stopped to see my fiber studio as part of a "Park City Tour" to see how we were set up for weaving and other fiber fun. One of the ladies took photos of my bench. She's going to ask her DH to make her one like it. From my house, they went on to Karan's and then to Margareth's, where they had lunch.

My Multi Scrap Scarf is going well. I'm up to 32".

Part of the week was very nice. By Wednesday the ground had dried out enough to hike on the trails above our house. Friday it started to rain again. At least we got good hikes in on Wednesday and Thursday.

I promise some quilting next week!

What's on my needles: Echo Flowers Shawl and the Fair Isle Flower Socks. Ready to CO the "March of the Fibres" cardi when I get a chance. I planned on doing the CO this week, but got sidetracked (again).

What's on my Featherweight: Ready to start next month's blocks from First Ladies. Another class meeting this week.

What's on my wheel: Still Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon." No progress there.

What's on my loom: Still the Multi Scrap scarf, but up to 32".

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson and then The Void by J. d. Horn, both from Audible. Now I'm reading The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen. Still reading Death by Cashmere in iBooks. Also Ann Budd's Sock Knitting Master Class on Kindle.

What's in my wine glass: Lindeman's Cawarra Shiraz-Cabernet 2014. The big bottle.

What's my tip of the week: When traveling with a project that requires beads, putting the beads on a strip of masking tape or painters' tape will keep them from rolling away. They can still be picked up from the tape easily with the crochet hook or needle.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.