ME AND MY SHADOW

We enjoyed a relaxing time first thing in the morning listening to the birds and watching the day emerge.

She napped while I put the finishing touches on the C2C blanket-

but woke up for supervising my work.  

The blanket is 36" x 48", made of Lion Brand Mandal Bonus Bundle yarn in the Chewy colorway except for the top right corner where I used some other DK yarn where I ran out! lol

 

FABRIC PLAY

The large pieces of these blocks made this a quick top to gather---I still have to stitch all of the pieces into a top.  

I thoroughly enjoyed sorting and pairing the layer cakes 

before cutting them.

And now they are cut and organized into their box 

to await stitching!

Lena was looking out the window like a statue;  I didn't center her too well in the photo but in just a few seconds,

 she had jumped down!  

 

A BOUNTIFUL GIFTING

I had a wonderful time with my quilting friends for lunch yesterday!  I was given two kits from one lady to make for the kids quilts we do--doesn't this look like fun?!

This is the second one--

all of the pieces are cut and ready to stitch!

There is also a layer cake of kitties!

With very nice coordinating fabrics--I think I will make the slices I did for the QOV but it will look very different with the cat prints!

And she even gave me several yards of batting for them all and some extra!  A bonus!

 

MONDAY GOALS

I am heading out to lunch with several quilting friends--an old group that no longer meets but these friends still do!  Afterwards, I have a table runner to complete on the frame!

And some roving to dye so I can continue with the Tour de Fleece!
 

SLOW ON SUNDAY

Another paint-by-number is ready to be hung on the wall! 

To tell you the truth, I am running out of space!

I'm on the last bit for this C2C blanket but I think I will run out of yarn first!  I am hoping if I do run out, I can use some dark gray I have from the other blanket and use that since the first corner is a dark gray!  I will know in the next day or two!  This is what I will be working on after we get home from church today!

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED

The Liberty box quilt is completed!  A very enjoyable kit.

The Layer Cake blocks is also ready to turn in at the next QOV sew day.  I hope to load the table runner and get that quilted today.  Then I will be on the hunt for the next pattern to piece.  
 

SOME STAGES OF FINISHED!

65" x 78" will result in a nice size quilt for QOV!  I need to sew a label on the back before I throw it in the washer and dryer so it isn't  a final photo but it is a finish--mostly!

I also stitched mitered borders on the posy table runner ! 

 Now to wait for the quilting frame to be empty so I can quilt it!

This will be 24" x 48" when finished.

 

MAKING MORE YARN

Another bobbin of the Superwash Merino finely spun wool.

And now there are two skeins with about 225 yards in each.  I've ordered some more of the Stroll Bare Roving so I can dye some in a solid color to match these skeins.

Oh, and look at the beautiful new orchid blooming; 

 this orchid sits on my bedroom window sill

 so it brings a smile each time I see it!  

 

PLAYING WITH COLORS

The first QOV is off the frame and I hope to get the second one done over next week!

I rearranged the layout for the table runner blooms--

now to stitch the idea together!

And I finished another lap blanket and have just one left to work on now!  I had 5 going at one time over the last few months which is totally out of character for me!  

 

BEFORE AND AFTER

I got all ready to head out to a dr appt and realized I was ready an hour before the time I needed to go!!!  So what do you do--head to the studio!  I started new table runner and I want you to note how clean the background is on the design wall!  I spent almost an hour cleaning the whole 8' x 12' space and went through almost a whole roll on the adhesive lint roller! lol  

But now the wall is clean and better able to hold my new ideas!

I have two more fabrics to make the last posies for the runner and will figure out the borders, too.

I'm almost done with the quilt on the frame--I like it when I can see the end in sight!

I'm using a new to me panto called Fireworks by Urban Elementz and I like it so well, I am going to use it again on the next quilt that's ready to load!

 

THE POINT OF ALL THAT SPINNING

I plied the two singles into yarn and then I prepared the roving to spin the next two singles.  The fluffier roving on the left is the same length/weight as the one on  the right but I have stretched or attenuated the roving which opens up the fibers after being compacted by dyeing and drying.  I love how it makes the fibers light and airy and it calls me to be spun!

Here is a close up of how the yarn looks on the bobbin right after plying the two singles together.

And here is the skein of 230 yards of 2ply yarn, 

about a DK weight of superwash Merino.

 

SPINNING WHEEL SPINS

First I dyed some roving.

Then it dried overnight.

In the morning, I had two 3.5 oz of roving ready for me to spin!

And spin we did!  Lena slept for hours like this while I made singles and today is plying day!

 

TWO TOPS TODAY!

I stopped whining and sewed those two borders onto the center section--the top is ready for loading onto the frame! 

Since I was on a roll, I finished stitching the rows together and added the one wide white border to this Liberty Box quilt.  

Now I will have to eenie-meenie to see which top I load 

onto the frame first! 

PLAYING WITH YARN

The rest of the Gulf Native wool was spun up and I even plied the two bobbins into yarn--330 yards of worsted weight yarn!

This yarn is very soft and will join the skein I made a while ago but I don't know what exactly I will be making from it yet!  So often, I spin for the pleasure of spinning and not because of a specific project I want the yarn to be!

I also have a finish in the granny squares realm!  

This is now 48" x 60" which is a good snuggle/nap size. 

 The colorful blocks are from the Red Heart yarn made to make the granny squares with its own color changes preset for you. 

 It mostly works out! lol  

I already took a nap with it so it is approved!  

I will most likely gift this or maybe donate it. 

 I have been making a lot of blankets lately! 

 In fact, I have the pleasure of teaching a mom and her daughter how to crochet today but we will start out with a dishcloth 

to learn the basics first!

 

PROGRESS

I have all of the blocks sewn together and have rough cut the borders which I will be finishing up today!

I also had to make some changes to my front door area--the clothes pins I had glued to the wall to hold up my quilts didn't have enough grip and each time there was a gust down the front porch, my quilt went with it!  Bill helped me attach the base board to the house with mega screws (the house is cement block with stucco so no easy wood screws!) and then I pinched the quilt between the back and front boards!  Looks nice and it very secure now!  I also had to make a bigger base for the welcome sign because it kept being blown over, also!  Sometimes you have to make improvements and I'm glad I could do that for these 

because I enjoy the display and am already

 working on a different set-up for next month!

 

DIPPING MY TOES IN THE TDF

I don't think I even attempted to play with TDF (Tour de Fleece) which coincides with the Tour De France; a fun way to inspire and motivate me to get back to spinning!  This is some Gulf Native sheep wool that I cleaned and dyed myself.  I will finish up this fiber that has wanted to be yarn for several years!  It is very relaxing and I enjoyed the few hours I spent spinning.  

 

HOME PLEASURES

After church and a nap once home, I had made plenty of the granny squares are laid out on the floor for me to see if there are enough and the size they make altogether--I am satisfied and will be crocheting them together today!  It's a yarn quilt!  

Bill had the pleasure of seeing the greater egret yesterday--

they sure are beautiful!

 

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

There was a lot of red, white and blue on display 

on our ride to the southern tip of Amelia Island.

We drove through marsh/bog land and  many bridges over islands scattered between the bodies of water.

We saw so many different ships on our drive--old freighters,

and even a decommissioned Navy ship which was very cool!

Finally, this bridge brought us to

 the entrance to Amelia State Park.

And then we drove through sand roads 

that were only accessed by 4 wheel drive vehicles! 

And then we found the rest of the family and enjoyed a lot of fishing, crocheting, talking and laughing and eating!

The view was unbeatable.

Bill caught and released a baby shark,

and this needle nose fish was fascinating to see up close!

The beauty of the day was a gift from God.