Year of the Quilter

Hello Everyone,

Here I am, back in the saddle (so to speak) and creating again. Life was not condusive to quilting, knitting, or playing in my planner much the last six months. My two sons have been keeping me busy. I am now planning my quilting and knitting in advance, which brings me to this.

----> 2017 The Year of the Quilter <----

What is this plan I've devised? Well, simply put it's about quilting with the patterns and materials and techniques I know, and trust me there's LOTS of each in my stash/head! I have planned the general things I want to accomplish this next year. It all might be too grand, or maybe be too lean, but these are things I want to do to help me find balance and clean out my studio a bit. 

There are so many yards of fabric and yarn, books and magazines of patterns, and techniques for assembly in that poor small space. I have a sewing machine I haven't touch in way too long and a NEED to sew or knit or make!

2017 is my year, The Year of the Quilter, and also my last year in my 30s. Maybe it's a mid-life crisis, maybe I just want to show my husband I do more then curate a collection of materials that border on a serious fire hazard, but this year I want to make more.

I have a manta for YotQ:

Be a Maker. Use the Stash. Practice your Craft.

So simple. This is a dedicated choice, by me and anyone who wishes to join along, to make with what I have. The patterns I have, the materials I have, the knowledge I have. Some of my work will be derivative, (hehe I have a special project for this), and some of it will be WTF? originals.

I am going to try. It may not be pretty or I may end up with some great gifts for friends and family next December, but I will make the effort. 

Who's with me?

The Denver Driving Mitts

Hello again everyone! Two posts in one month is some kind of record for me, right? I just wanted to put out there that the link to my Denver Driving Mitts pattern is live!

From the blog you can download it directly without having to go to Ravelry, though I do encourage you to go check them out. Ravelry is a yarn arts site with patterns, over 100,000 of them free, for knitters, crocheters, and yarn artists of all levels and creativity. I first joined the site almost two years ago to search for knitting patterns, and through the friends I have made and the knitting experience I gained, I am now confident and comfortable to post my own pattern. Enjoy!

Long weekends and short deadlines

Hello everyone and Happy Holiday Weekend to you all. I find myself busier this weekend then most due to the little man's Valentines Party on Friday, the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild meeting all day Saturday, swimming and LEGO Movie today, and no rest for this lady with extra days off from school for the President's Day federal holiday and a flex day out of school on Tuesday. Goodness, it's a good thing our annual quilters' retreat is fast approaching because I am going to need three days off after all this!

I have been happily knitting and quilting away since my last post at the beginning of January, completing the second Globetrotting BOM inspired by Venice. I have been to Venice once back in 2002 with my husband, though he was then my boyfriend. We did a month long tour of Europe via train, hitting cities like Paris and London, Amsterdam and Zurich, and ending in Venice and Rome. It was magical and a trip I hope to repeat with my husband and son someday when little man is older and better able to enjoy museums.


I also managed to complete a quilt of my own design for my son's PTO to sell. The funds are for the school so the children do not have to sell magazines or wrapping paper. I called it Hand Burst and will put together a quick tutorial. It's super simple and going to a good cause.


As other projects are completed I will continue to update my FO page. Right now I am thinking I might try to complete at least one quilt a month for all of 2014. Wish me luck and happy holiday to you all!

When the best laid plans go pear shaped...

It is 100 degrees outside today, no kidding, there is a storm coming but I don't think it's actually going to rain, and quilting was an epic failure. I just could not get comfortable with this mini and then my machine made noises I associate with "bad things brewing" and then I just couldn't handle it anymore. I quit, yes I am walking away from this for now, well, not right now, since I have about 1000 stitches to pull and then I think I might do some handwork on it, but I put it down to write this article and finish the knitting projects.

Just noticed the photo bomb...

First up, the Nixie Shawl from KnitScene, Spring 2012 issue. This pretty, simple shawl is jazzed up with the addition of a ruffled tail on one end. I did mine in Dark Arts Teal from A Stash Addict and limited edition Bliss from Fabric Bliss here in Denver. Both are sock weight yarns and I think they went together beautifully. Though I enjoyed knitting this and the yarns I used, I am not in love with this shawl, so it will be going into the kBear Crafts Etsy Shop sometime soon.

 Next is Wingspan from designer Maylin of Tricot Treat. Ok, this one has been out there for a while and many many people have done it. I decided to do mine out of Metallico Flint from Blue Sky Alpacas and Plie Bridgetown Brown from tilli tomas. These yarns both contain silk, either entirely [tilli tomas] or partially [Blue Sky Alpaca] so they were not the easiest of yarns to knit with, and both are sock weight. Boy are they soft though, and I just know I am going to adore wearing this shawl come this fall.

 
Finally, I cast on the Mambu Shawlette from Custom Knit Accessories by Wendy Bernard. I am using Hopper on a Flower from Expression Fiber Arts [one of my favorite people to get yarn from], which is a 4-ply Merino DK weight yarn. It is more robust than I was expecting, and though the pattern calls for yarn of this type, I think my reverse knitting style has it turning out a little denser than shown in the pattern photos. No worries, even though I have just started knitting, this is one of those keepers. If it turns out I don't need the other two skeins of this yarn for the shawlette, I'll make extras and post them for sale.

That's it for now. I am off to rip stitches out of my quilt and then I have my Adventure Block Swap to make for the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild meeting this Saturday at Treelotta at 10:00 A.M. If you're in the area stop by! We love new people in the guild or just to come say "hey".

Cheers

How wingspan looks on.

This is folded on the right side of the picture, it is actually a HST with the ruffle at one end.

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