A Satisfying Heel Turn

 I'm currently working on a pair of Geek Socks (Knitty link) two at a time (TAAT) as an Xmas present. The pattern directs you to use an afterthought heel so as not to break the stripe pattern. I've done afterthought heels previously but to date I have a 33% failure rate (socks ending up too small despite following measurements that work for other pairs). The other thing is that the point of doing TAAT was in an attempt to make the sock knitting process feel quicker, which afterthought heels feel the opposite of - two socks almost finished and then having to work two individual heels. Anyway I decided to go freestyle and use short row heels instead.

At this time I can't quite figure out how to do these heels TAAT but it was possible to do them in tandem and then continue the sock feet TAAT.

To me these heels seem to be working out perfectly, I love the slightly offset stripes. These heels do break the continuity of the wibbly stripes (they don't seem to work out in the intended zig zags with this WYS yarn) but with the little extra knitting I've done I think I can live with it although maybe boomerang heels would've been a little less disruptive. Now on with the feet.

Scratching the start-itis itch!

 So as happens to many crafters I seem to be going through a bout of start-itis.

On top of my other WIPs I just had to start a crochet project...

This will be a Molly Market Bag by Iron Lamb, so far enjoyably simple and quick although I think I probably should have considered a gauge swatch. The reason for this start made sense, I want to make a number of these bags as gifts for Xmas so as it's currently Xmas in July in my world this seemed the ideal time to make a test run. (Yarn is Drops Paris)

This is the early days of a Musselburgh Hat by Isolda Teague. Currently I'm living in two places due to working away from home during the week. With the current warm weather I was sure I would need some suitable for outdoor knitting at the weekends and the two projects on my needles at homedidn't really lend themselves to that (heavy DK wool and white yarn) so the Musselburgh Hat made sense. I also had a quiet hour to myself to try out the Pinhole cast on (Tin Can Knits tutorial) for the crown. Cast on was so fun I might need to cast on another Musselburgh! (Yarn is dyed by Felted Fusion - Black Rainbow colourway I think)

And last night I decided I needed another at work project just because so thus started the cuff of the first of a pair of socks in beautiful limited edition yarn from Meadow Yarn.

And I don't regret a single cast on. And don't feel that I'm neglecting any of my other (4) WIPs. I might regret a second Musselburgh before I've finished the first though!

Christmas in July - The Start

 Not intentionally I seem to have a spate of Xmas projects underway and more planned. The majority are destined to be presents but the cross stitch is purely for me. It's the Mini Christmas Patchwork by the Historic Sampler Company. It's already become quite addictive, I have to rememebr that I have Xmas presents that need to be ready in the Autumn to be taken to New Zealand.

The socks, Geek socks from Knitty.com in WYS Xmas yarn, are the first Xmas present. I was hoping two at a time socks would work up quickly but these are dragging a bit.

The blue tencel yarn is destined to become a Star Shower cowl. The Drops yarn will be crochet bags, if I have time.

I'm also planning a Musselburgh hat and a pair of socks as further Xmas presents. Hopefully at least one more Xmas project will be started in July but they definitely won't be finished in July (hopefully they'll be finished by December!).

April FNSI - Project hopping

 I seem to be on a roll both with FNSIs and with writing blog posts this month!

FNSI came around at a perfect time for me this month, plenty of crafty things planned and underway.

First task of the evening was to cut out out the fabric for my dress, which was achieved.

After a fairly late dinner, I had a a choice to make whether to start sewing the dress together or to practice my free motion quilting before my class on Saturday afternoon.

The free motion quilting won and I watched the instructional videos and started working on my feathers.

Not too bad and nothing a bit more practice won't improve. I've enjoyed this course (although could definitely have practiced more) it's all been online over 4 weeks and we've covered petals, leaves, spirals, flowers (which you can see to the left of the feathers) and feathers. If it had been a face to face course it would have all been squeezed into one 6 hour day and I probably wouldn't have been able to attend as it would have taken place somewhere more than two hours away from my home. For anyone who is interested the course was run by The Crafty Nomad

As it was now getting quite late and I find myself not able to concentrate on sewing if I'm tired I swapped onto knitting. I've decided that it would be a good idea to knit at least 4 Xmas presents this year, luckily if also decided to start on them early in the year.

I can't show too much in case the recipients are reading  but the yarn is Coop Knits Socks Yeah DK and the pattern is by Andrea Mowry. I'm finding this an enjoyable (and fairly quick) knit thanks to all being in knit stitch and no more than 2 colours per row. It's looking likely that I'll achieve at least one knitted Xmas present this year!

If you want to see what everyone else got up to this Friday pop over to the sign up page over at Wendy's blog  Sugarlane Designs.

Instant gratification and a slow burner

In an unusual turn of events I have achieved two sewing finishes this weekend.

The first was an Xmas Stocking which I started Friday late afternoon and had completely finished and pressed before midnight. 

I followed a tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew and it turned out really well; I did find that clipping the seams helped the stocking look more snooth. This could have been finished earlier in the evening but I also worked on a second stocking.

This one's taking a little longer for what is hopefully obvious reasons. I only have a fat quarter of each of the three fabrics which isn't quite enough for the size of stocking I want so this is the more time consuming solution I've come up with. 

Before starting the stockings I finished stitching the binding and sewing in the ends on a quilt that has been a WIP for about 8 years. 

Pattern is Sparkle Punch Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. I couldn't even begin to say what the fabrics are, I think most of them were purchased from an online US store. 

I do know its backed in a Tula Pink extra wide backing fabric from Sew Hot. 

This quilt is destined for my, very patient, sister and her husband. 

Fearless Fair Isle - After Seven Years!

 I'm getting through my crafting projects pretty well at the moment, I guess I'm being assisted by all the current Coronavirus restrictions meaning more timd to craft. For example as I'm working from home I can do a bit of knitting during my lunch break (I could've done that at my office and I may do in future) and rather than spending an hour in the car at the end of the working day I get another hour to myself as my partner finishes work an hour after me (he does start an hour later in the morning). I'm also avoiding adding too many new projects to the list or pre-emptively buying materials for projects that are a long way off. 

Sock yarn doesn't count.

I thought pre-emptive buying was a habit I'd got into last year. When sorting out the yarn for my next knitting project I found this wasn't the case.

Price hidden intentionally.

Luckily I still want to make the project as much as I did if not more.

Hard to tell from the photo but this will be the Reindeer Romp Xmas Stocking from Fearless Fair Isle Knitting by Kathleen Taylor. Started well but turns out 7 years ago the shop was out of stock of one of the colours, after umming and ahhing I've now ordered a ball of the correct colour from what may be the same shop I bought it from originally (same name other end of the UK). This is a daylight project due to needing to read the chart so it may take a while, hopefully not another 7 years! 

Christmas Crafted Gifts

I'm not sure how it happened but I ended up crafting four Xmas gifts this year, three quilts and a shawl. I don't really like the pressure of a deadline and have previously managed to gift a quilt top as I ran out of time to finish (I did finish the quilt a little while after). There of the items I started in the summer and one was an autumn, relative last minute idea. Amazingly all four were finished by the 20th (if I can call an unblocked shawl finished) and one even made it into the post a day before last posting date. This has surprised me as much as anyone.

And so to record this momentous achievement for posterity here are my first presents finished in advance of gifting date...

A Crochet Between the lines shawl designed by Tammy Canavan-Soldaat in Scheepjes Whirls.

Sundial by from Jelly Roll Quilts in a Weekend in Sweetwater's The Cookie Exchange for Moda

Simple Bento Boxes found at Making Scrap Quilts From Stash in Lewis and Irene's Small Things at Christmas

And finally... 

Slam Dunk by Cluck Cluck Sew in random fabrics. 

Really chuffed but must try to avoid doing so much again in future. 

The Frame

I don't know what's more amazing that I've finally used my Cotton Orchard quilting frame in anger (after having it well over a year) or that I'm actually blogging about it!

First challenge was to set it up. When I'd last taken it down I'd deconstructed everything, and those side panels were fiddly to put back together with no instructions (a sure sign they shouldn't be taken apart). 

Embarrassingly getting to the point where the quilt was loaded and ready to go took me all afternoon and into the evening. 

Nerves and a few failed test runs meant that it was then a few days before I got the courage to actually quilt. 

But with the right thread and a bit of care I was off. 

The actual quilting was quick, easier than wrangling the quilt through the sewing machine and satisfying. The end result is a little lumpy due to not always remembering where the limits of the quilting area was, but I'm happy. Just the binding to go. 

You'll be pleased to hear that loading the second quilt, including building the frame and pressing the backing, took less than two hours. 

FNSI Results - September

I was actually free to join in with FNSI, kindly hosted by Wendy of Sugarlane Designs and  I had the perfect project to work on - my second Xmas quilt.

I had left it as a collection of various sized component blocks so my first aim for the evening was to get them all sewn into big squares and plan a layout.

As I started my FNSI in the late afternoon I finished the block sewing quite early and so onto the layout. 

Which is where the 'fun' started, the picture above shows just some of the combos I tried. It took at least 2 hours to find one I was okay with. It wasn't just a case of matching the colours as the fabric also has mini Xmas characters on it. The quilt only uses 36 strips of a jelly roll, and if I went back in time I think I would have removed a different 4 strips!

Any after driving myself almost to distraction with the layout the top flew together. 

A surprising number of the seams matched up, a real shock as I didn't nest seams or use pins. I even had a little time for crocheting before bed!

Now off to find out what everyone else got up to on Friday Night. 

12 Things in 2019 - August Progess

I should really try and write these updates on the last day of the month, I always find myself trying to put the wrong month in the title. 

I wasn't expecting much progress to be made in August due to long weekends away and general summer stuff. But looking back I'm quite pleased.

A small start was made on Xmas quilt no. 2... 

 I continued doing bits and pieces on the Hue Shift Afghan...

Second quarter underway even though I said I'd stop and focus on some other projects. A square takes me just over an hour so it's too tempting to try and do one a night. 

And finally my Floozy cardigan went from skeins of yarn to... 

This is the colourwork pretty much complete so I'm not sure if the sleeves and body will drag now or whether the desire to wear it (and start something else) will drive me on. 

So far 2 projects completed and 5 underway,  which includes two quilt tops awaiting quilting. The stats still have time to improve! 

12 Things in 2019 - June Progress

It felt like I got heaps of crafting done this month but when I review my actual progress on the 12 Things it doesn't seem so much!

Blocks were finished and layout finalised for the first Xmas quilt. 

A few blocks were knitted fot the Hue Shift Afghan... 

I am getting quicker at these so hopefully it won't take forever, although with 100 blocks and a border who am I kidding? 

I also finished the CBTL, but I haven't blocked it yet so no photos. I definitely think I'll get more wear out of it than the knitted version. 

July's plans are the Hue Shift Afghan and another Xmas top, if I can remain focused on specific projects! 

Secret Socks

For the first time in ages I've decided to make Xmas presents for various people. So far I haven't been able to share anything on here in case a recipient sees them. My latest item, a pair of socks, I can share, my problem now is I'm having to knit themthe secret as it's for my boyfriend.

Socks on a train

Socks on a bus

Luckily there's also his work Xmas party night and I have a night away, along with a few other opportunities so they should get finished.

For information the yarn is Fyberspates Coop Knits Sock Yeah in DK, lovely to work with and makes a lovely fabric.

Little projects

After the epic knitting marathon which was the RBTL I have decided to focus on some smaller, quicker to finish knitting projects.

The first of these was another Aran square for my mum's blanket...

After which I started on a Xmas gift...

...can't really show much but the yarn is lovely to work with.

Each of these has taken no more than two weeks to finish (knitted mostly in the evenings watching TV) and I'm enjoying the much quicker gratification.

Of course I have the yarn for a number of larger projects stashed away once I feel in need of another epic knit.

And just to make sure I don't run out of big projects I've bought myself some yarn to make a Floozy cardigan by Libby Johnson.

I am intentionally delaying this one as I am in the process of losing weight and don't want the finished cardigan not to fit.  The fact that I have to hand wind all six skeins of yarn helps with the delay!

Finally

I have completed the final square in my 2012 Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket.

In the time it has taken me to knit these squares I have bought and sold two homes, two of my siblings have got married and one has gone to university. This has definitely been a long term project.

Unfortunately finishing the squares does not mean I've finished the blanket - I still have to block, sew up and knit a border. I reckon a full finish by 2020.

There is a slight issue in that I'm not sure if I still like the blanket! But I am going to sew together the strips and see how I feel then. Plenty of mattress stitch in my future; I also have to sew up the first Xmas things.

What have I achieved this week?

Quite a lot is the answer, which is surprising considering we were away until Tuesday and I didn't take any crafty stuff with me, and then this week has been busy with post Xmas return to normality.

Anyway, I've finished my first Xmas thing (although not sewn it up) and cast on the next ... don't worry I'm not going to post any more blurry photos!

I've finished the binding on my first table runner

which is lucky as I'd like to give it to my mum this weekend.

I've also completed another square of the blanket (47/49 probably).

And I've put a bit more of a dent in the blocks for my sister's quilt.

From this

to this

with another good few just needing squaring up.

The not so good news is the sizeable pile (just visible at the top of the photo above) I sewed together without reminding myself of the method (this became obvious when I found a pile of "in progress at various stages" blocks).
I need to have a good look at them but I'm hoping I'll only have to undo part of a seam, worse case is one whole seam but they shouldn't take too long to put back together.

Christmas Baking - Part 2

So after a few weeks of attempting to feed my Xmas cakes with brandy (they were fussy eaters!) I have finally got to the decorating stage.  I had forgotten quite how much time should be dedicated to this to allow for drying out.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

And finally they were popped in boxes as we're not eating them both ourselves.

I found these boxes in a local cake shop and think they're perfect for gifting.

Sunday Progress

A fair amount of progress to report this weekend.

Firstly a finish...

My magic loop socks are off the needles and on my feet.  The magic loop technique took a little getting used to but I'll definitely use it again, I didn't miss juggling multiple dpns.

Next, I've started binding the table runners...

I found the binding fabric in my stash, I was going to use plain black fabric but in reality it looked a bit harsh.  I'm glad I had a large enough piece of the spotty fabric, I still have enough of it for its original project too.

I've re-started my next sewing UFO; not a huge amount done but it's got me back in the groove.

And finally there's the Xmas things...

Enough said about that at the moment! (Although it does seem to be going a little better)