Crewel Embroidery

When I was reading an article about William Morris in the latest Spin Off magazine,

it reminded me of a kit I have had for decades.  Sure enough, I found it and worked on it.

While I have a considerable amount of trouble with hand sewing, the wool thread covers more area with fewer stitches-more bang for my buck, you know?!

I worked on it for a half hour and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I have a quote to share with you from William Morris;

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

I am living this motto and didn't know it was spoken 150 years ago!  Cool!

Clearing the Table

The vest back is completed so I cast on a pair of socks!  Ahhhh, it's like coming home after a long trip! 

Zigzagular socks and a skein of KnitPicks Stroll Fingering in Inverness Tonal.

The quilting is DONE!  I was so over this project.  The binding will be on it by next week and it will go in the washer for it's final processing step!  (Then I will love it again!) 

A Knit and a Snuggle!

I've been working on the 'new' vest.  I am glad I went with this instead of the other one.  Life is too short to hang in there with something you just can't stand! 

I like the linkage up the front! 

Here is a long term project-we woke up early and headed right to the sand box.  He lined up all these sticks and called it his man box! 

By noon the water had heated up enough to take a good dive with Grandpa.  He even took his bath in there! 

After a shared dinner with his great-grandparents he had a rousing good game of beach ball catch!

What a wonderful few days we enjoyed together!

Saturday's Sewing

Another project bag....I have to get some more interfacing before I can make any more!

this one went much faster because I had worked out all the steps and in the right order! 

The shaped top is the only different area and I have that all noted on the pattern so I won't have to invent the wheel each time I make one!

I added a row to this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  The colors for March are purple and light yellow. 

It reads as more browns in the photo but they are definitely purples!

The rest of my Saturdays for the month are not going to be of the slow sewing kind so I went ahead and got all 9 blocks finished today!

Another Shawl!

The Cormo Nurmilintu is finished!  This hand spun , hand dyed yarn is so soft, when I went to my next knitting project made of merino/alpaca yarn it felt coarse!

This blocked out to 66" x 36'. 

I did a loopy bind off to five a bit of pizzazz to the edging. 

This green/blue/beige section is my favorite! 

Although the blue and hot pink section really sings!

A Quilt Show

When Mom and I were at the quilt show last week, we had a discussion about the embroidered quilts we saw displayed.  I told Mom I remembered a quilt that her mother made for me when I was a baby. 

She said I had the story almost right, but the quilt I was talking about was made for my mother and then it went to me!  Wow, I thought it was old before but now we know it to be at least 80 years old!

(The color is somewhere between these two photos;  the fabrics have faded but the embroidery is in exceptional condition.)

The quilt has no filler or batting and isn't tied or quilted at all.

The outside blocks have been reduced because the seam allowance has reduced them considerably.

It makes me wonder if this has been cut down from a much larger quilt.

The embroidered squares are very 1930's. 

Sunbonnet Sue is still popular! 

Isn't this guy a handsome fellow?! 

Some of the blocks are very complex and others very simple-did some of my Mom's older sisters add their embroidery to the pile?

This quilt has such a story to tell and still so much is unknown!

Out to Lunch

This morning I played with some pretties to make some new stitch markers.

These are stones, jewels, glass leaves and fima clay.

I'm knitting on the Nurmilintu shawl and the new vest-I wanted new stitch markers to brighten the experience! 

We joined my parents for an enjoyable lunch at Corky Bells 'al fresco'!  

It was followed by some games on the pool patio.

Can you say a great day?!

Surprise!

Baby Surprise Jacket that is!

This is the famous pattern by Elizabeth Zimmerman.

I used worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles because I wanted it to fit a larger person, like Ella!

I think it will be a perfect 4T size!  

Since it has been quite a few years since I knit this, I got turned around and almost didn't believe it would work but all of a sudden, there it was-a body and sleeves all in one piece! 

Gratefully, I even had buttons in the stash-I sewed them on with a crossed yarn knot.

I like the shabby chic look!

We're Zipped!

Project bags!  We had a sewing morning but this is the results of our labors! 

It is about 10" tall and 12" at the top and 9' at the base.

I've seen so many of these on different podcasts, I wanted to give it a shot myself. 

It was fun to construct them together!

Since we have several projects on the needles right now, this would come in handy! 

It didn't take us long to fill them up!

Before you can do any sewing, you have to do some 'figuring'! 

Then we drew the pattern pieces, cut out our fabric pieces and then we interfaced each of them.

What fun!

On the Fence

I've been working on this for months;  or rather I worked on this and since November, it has been languishing.  I quit when I got fed up with all the 'at the same times' in the instructions.

I could probably have this done in  a week.  I have lost the love. 

Another pattern has sent its siren song.  

To rip or just start the new pattern and see if I love it as much as I think I will.

I want a vest, not a summer tank.  It takes DK yarn-just what I am using.

You see my dilemma!??

Cast On

I love how changing the yarn creates a whole new shawl with the same pattern!

I am knitting with my own hand dyed/hand spun Cormo in the Normilintu pattern on size 7 needles.

I finally reached the first patterning area!

Quilting Adventure!

We enjoyed a visual delight at the AQS Quilt Week in Daytona.

We topped it off with lunch at Applebee's afterwards and for dessert, we went to JoAnns.

What a great day!

Little Bird

Another shawl hit the finish line! 

There are so many ways to wear it! 

It is light weight and drape-y.  Just right for a Florida accessory.

The Nurmilintu wasn't as hard to block as I feared!

The yarn is a thin cotton/acrylic boucle' .

It was knit on #5 needles with Queensland Collection Uluru yarn.

It was a great knit.   

I got a bit nervous on the bind-off because the yarn was getting short!  I ended up with only 30" left!

That was too close for comfort! 

The pool warmed up enough for Bill to take his first swim of the year!

(80* is too cold for me to join in!)

A Done Deal!

Off the needles and flung to the floor in exaltation! 

I soaked it with citrus acid so none of those colors would run and run the color definition! 

Yes!  One shawl off those needles and in the finish queue!

Stats:  Hansel Half-Hap Shawl

Hand spun and Hand Dyed Coopworth Yarn

Size 8 needles

Slow Starts

I am knitting again on the Nurmilintu shawl.  It is pretty easy knitting so it works great for knitting while chaos is going on with family here! 

Kai enjoyed taking a bath in the sink-he is so cute to watch dip his head under water and he thoroughly enjoyed himself and so did we!

Endurance and Expectations

It was a grueling week of health tests in Jacksonville M-T-W this week.  The drive was hard, the testing was barbaric and the drive home exhausting.  (Thank you, Bill, for chauffeuring me, and keeping me emotionally supported through this hurdle!)

No, we did not learn anything new.  I am done talking about my health with 'HealthCareProfessionals'  just for the record.   

We did like being by the ocean each time but it was too cold to enjoy any up close and personal beach time. 

I did finish the hat for David.  What a good knit.

UNLIKE the Mystery KAL shawl....I ran out of yarn 4 critical rows before finish.

When I get done being mad at it, I will rip back the hundreds of stitches several rows to make my own grand finish because I can't just bind off now;  it would look horrid after all my hard work.

Oh, well. 

My little orchid that got attacked by some pest while it was outside for the summer still managed to produce three lovely blooms right on schedule!   I so enjoy them and it was just the kind of beauty I needed right now! 

This is another great therapy-Georgia Peaches!

(Bruce flies in later on Sunday!)