swatch1

swatch1
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

This is the first ever swatch to check my tension prior to knitting a garment :) It is for Debbie Bliss' cardi pattern here. I am knitting it in Cotton Angora so I thought I had better check my tension. It had to happen sooner or later, I've been knitting since I was 6 so it's about time I made a tenson square. The pattern tension is 18 x 28 the swatch is 20 x 27 so now I am stuck, do I use a bigger needle or a smaller needle or shall I just revert to type and knit it whilst hopeing for the best? LOL VBG, off to knit a jumper.

PS might get round to finishing the Colinette cardi I started last year sometime, only need to do the button bands and sew it up! Languishing in a corner!

Naughty non-finishing knitter woman!

ETA cotton angora is from my stash - I haven't been buying agin. Will show you what I bought which isn't in the stash photo tomorrow :) Last of the buying until September - on a stashalong - again! But this time I am sticking to it - honest :)

maureen's seam & those berries again!

maureen's seam
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

Finally finished my additions to Maureen's autumn themed cq blocks.

The first additions were the blackberries and then tonight I added a seam treatment which started out as a simple double herringbone in oranges but I added some french knots to represent seeds and then decded to widen out the seam and spill the seeds across the edge of the fan.

Also please note how the photo of the blackberries is better when i am trying to photograph the seam than it was when I was trying to photograph the berries themselves! Sods law! Click on the picture for a larger photo.



Here is the other doodle on the other block.

This block really stumped me, all the pieces are small and the colours are very strong with lots of pattern on most pieces. I umed and ahed and was just about to chicken out and not add anything to the block when I spotted this little patch.

The material is textured so i made the blackwork stronger by using two strands of thread for the outline. Something quintessentially (sp?) English for you Maureen, acorns.

Autumn, love it! Mists og mellow fruitfullness. I hope you like what I have added to your block. I found your blocks rather difficult to work with but in the end I am happy with what I have acheived and I enjoyed the challenge.

In the post back to Aus in the morning. :o)

Is this craft?

yarn
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

Here is the other thing I have been doing! Spending money! Does that count as craft?

The stash photographed has only one ball of each, but I have lots of the DB cotton Angora (caramel), lots of the other angora (dark green) more of the fairytale (white) 4ply, a couple of the DB pure silk (light purple) and a couple of the fibrespates (varigated purple/blue and red/orange). If I had photgraphed it all it would have looked much more out of control (remember the yarn fast? No, me neither!) this way with one ball of each it's almost respectable VBG Special mention goes to the posh yarn here seen on the right ofthe photo 2 x 100g hanks - about to learn to do laceweight knitting. Well, when I say about to - I mean "one day i will..." :o)

So that is 3 shawls, 1 stole, 1 cardigan (nearly finished), 3 pairs of socks, a bolero, a jumper, a jumper for little miss 3, and something as yet undecided with the silk.

Hmm! Think I need to sell off some of my back stash to make room for this lot!

Oh and I also bought the whole Rajmahal threads collection too and some DB Cathay - well, it was on sale! So I had to. Profligate consumption. Will be knitting for ages, no more yarn, i keep filling my virtual baskets and then emptying them now, surely that little lot is enought, right? Yeh, right! VBG

Guess it's back to buying books from now on - anyone got any suggestions? Oh, knitting books? You think so? OK!

blackberries2

blackberries2
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

Maureen's cq has an autumn theme so I chose to bead some blackberries. The photo fails to show the different colours of irredescent beads used, but does give an idea of the 3 dimensional nature of the fnished berries.

The stems are sewn in stem stitch (!) which is then whipped with a gold thread and the leaves are satin stitch with a gold central vein.

The staples (?) are a detached chain stitch.

Enjoyed doing these, it was nice to be sewing again. I will add a seam treatment tomorrow evening and then it's off to Aus for the blackberries. Haven't decided whether to use my other idea for Maureen's second block or not, the pieces are so small, I might do it over more than one seam but I'm still pondering that one as the patches are all quite strong colours and I am not sure the motif i have in mind will be able to compete. i need to have another look at the block.

This was my 1st attempt at any 3D stitching so i am quite pleased with myself. "Give yourself a pat on the front, you won, you won, you won... give yourself a pat on the side, you tried, you tried, you tried." I watch too much toddler TV VBG

spooky's row

spooky's row
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

Here's my most recent work. I am in a row by row swap on a craft forum and the person I am sewing for on this row has a seaside theme and a bright colour palette. The row is suposed to be 'baskets' so i adapted this to make a row of little bckets for making sandcastles on the beach.

I made the handles from gold braid couched onto the dark blue fabric - they show up really nicely in real life having a little sparkle to them :o) I enjoed stitching this row and using the bright colours I might not normaly choose.

Waiting for the next bok to come, without going to look it up I can't remember who I am sewing for next nor what he instructions for the row are. This is one of the nice things about a round robin - you get to different things. The last row was paper piecing (foundation piecing) and I didn't get on so well with that but this row was any tecnique so long as it was baskets and i played it safe ad did a straight forward pieced patchwork row. I think I might have some applique coming up son and I will need to allow a little extra time for that - I was a few days late with this row as it was.

It's been a really busy week and I am looking forward to a little calmer time in the week coming up- famous last words. I have some cq to catch up on and then a christmas ornament to make. After that the next row will be due and I still have some other projects I want to work on. That's not to mention all the yarn I've been buying recently - please don't mention all the yarn I've been buying lately! No time to knit though :o)

pc from Belle 2

pc from Belle 2
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

Remember the fibre postcard swap? Well, this is what I got from my mystery partner.

The mystery turned out to be my good friend Belle, and here is the reverse of the card.



Notice the stamp and the hand franked mark, aren't they just right?

I love the card, it is exuberant and free and ust gorgeous, lovely colours and excellent machime embroidery stitching (makes mental note to practice same).

What I need to know Belle, is how was it stiffened? It is slimmer than the last one and sturdier. Anyone got the 'perfect' material for stiffening postcards? What do you use?

This is the pc I sent to Jo



It is needlefelted with embroidery and taken from a piece in Stitch with the Embroiderer's Gulid.

One of the things i like most about Belle's pc is that they are her own invention. This is my first one and definately copied from someone else's idea. The needlefelting was a little fragile (needed more needleing) and so i posted it in an envelope. Belle's also arrived in an envelope but she had the foresight to get it franked first, which I did not :o(

I like these little pieces of art and I will be making more :o)

Happy Birthday Grandma

teacosy
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

Tomorrow my grandma is 90 yrs old, happy birthday Grandma.

Here is a phot of the tea cosy I made for her. She is the oly person I know who uses a teapot!

So use your imagination - I don't even own a teapot so imagine the photo in focus (might help!) and with handle and spout.

The pattern is from the latest issue of Simply Knitting magazine - one of the Uk's 2 hand knitting mags. The cosy is a 1 x 1 rib gathered together at the top with a ribbon tied in a bow and the flowers are crochet. All in Double Knit from my extensive (I think it's breeding *shock*) stash.

I really enjoyed the crochet - must do more of this and get over my crochet pattern phobia.

Next back to the row by row quilt, this months row is 'baskets' and Spooky has chosen really brigth fabric so that will be very jolly to do, looking forward to it, have some patterns picked out just need to get on with it!

CQ RR second round arrives today.

M's fan
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

Maureen's blocks are here!


I have to admit to being a little surprised by my reaction to them arriving.

I have been waiting for at least a week, hoping the postman would bring them every day. I have watched with interest and delight as other people have posted their progress on other blocks while I waited. I fretted a little that they were a casualty of transatlantic mail travel.

Finally i have the prized items in my hot little hands and ... nothing ... flat ... uninspired. Sad :o(

Maybe it is because i was so excited about the prospect that the reality is a little disappointing.

Now, before I offend anyone (or by way of appology if I have), it isn't the blocks themselves which have disappointed and floored me. Infact Maureens choice of an autumn theme is a good one for me as autumn is my favourite time of year, mists of mellow fruitfullness and all that :o)

I think it is that I expected to know what to stitch on them immediately I unwrapped them. I wanted the place where I will stitch to sing out to me "over here, your bit goes on this patch, across this seam!" Sadly, no. That would, perhaps, be too easy VBG

So now I will pin them on my design wall and wait for something to come to me. Is that an idea lurking around at the back of my brain, hiding behind my childhood memories of kicking leaves up along grass verges? Hang on while i go and prod around in there a bit and see what I can find ;o) Hang on Maureen, it's a work not yet quite in progress.

Still here

I have had the worst head cold - excusesexcuses! And, I have been sewing secrets! Things for swaps that cannot be revealed, so you will have to wait and wonder. But my CQRR block has put in a brief tantelising appearance on CQCrazy, so pop over there and have a peek at what is going on. Scroll down and look at all the blocks as they begin to be embellished.

I will be back with some pictures tomorrow as i am feeling much better and ready to talk again - not like me to be quiet :o)