allstitchedup: A journal.
Finished DD's socks - spent all day doing the second one as the pattern wouldn't match so wasted a lot of wool breaking winding off and rejoining yarn! Nearly got them the same but was loosing the will to live by the toes - never mind they'll be inside her shoes!
Now back to some real sewing...
Remember the Noro hat? Well, here's hat number 2 to the same pattern. I thought the Noro one was a little too big so I went down a needle size. I do knit loose - well everything comes out big *shock, no really* This one is in a very old stash find in nylon yarn (which yarn would admit to that these days? I think you'd say Acrylic) and in 1oz balls. The model is my middle DS, Liam, who is only ever photographed juggling - because he is permanently juggling *rolls eyes* it's his 'thing'. Don't ask me I just feed them!
Hat looks like this 
when it's not on his head.
I have finished my crochet 'sampler' - I made it out of dishcloth cotton so it will have a new life in my kitchen :) 
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Now to dig out some fine crochet cotton and have a go at some doilies :) Have given up on the US crochet terms altogether - old dogs and new tricks :) but beginning to get used to the crochet charts *wonders will never cease - shock, horror!*
Look what I got! :) Now if this doesn't get me back to my SharonB block nothing will, LOL. Templates are lovely, can't wait to try them out, but the accompanying literature is scarey! Very detailed and technical and not at all easy reading - however nothing worth having is easyily won or however that saying goes ... not one of my usual mottos *rolls eyes, shrugs shoulders and puts shoulder to unfamiliar wheel* Anyway - more cq to follow.
While I'm here couldn't resist this link to what not to crochet. Made me smile. I have been crocheting (sp?) this weekend to practice my stitches before trying to make some lacey edgings and motifs for the cq stash - just wish I could follow a pattern. Recently bought the 
Happy Hooker to brush up on my skills and there are some doable patterns in it - but oh dear, US crochet terms make my head ache, so now I can't follow patterns in two languages ROFLOL guess I'll just have to wing it - wish me luck.
Leeanne asked about the pattern for the hat - it's from 'Simply Noro' which I bought on eBay. I would print out the pattern (it's easy) but that'd be infringing copyright and all that *shrugs*. Anyway Leeanne you could work this out yourself, go on you can do it - can't be any worse than my 3 fingered glove. Cast on the correct ammount of stitches to go round the head size you need (work it out from your tension will depend what yarn you use) and then knit ( a rib for elasticity) straight for about 6.5 " for an adult head - adjust for kids- than decrease evenly across row and pretty rapidly over about 8 - 10 rows, pass thread tail through few remaining stitches and pull up tight then seam up the back. If not then try a google for 'free knitting patterns'+hat and get yourself a coffee, there are loads!
Bit of a cheat, knitting flat hat and seaming up the back, but here it is :) Could have found a knit in the round DPN kind of pattern if I'd tried but this took just one evening and was easy peasy.
Pattern is from 'Simply Noro' and it is made with left over Blossom from my Booga Bag. Just one skein of the Blossom left to find a use for and then that bit of stash is used.
DS said it's good but he doesn't want pink! So this is my hat now :) I thought he'd want navy or balck but no "White" is what has been ordered! So white it is. Will use smaller needles as this came out a little loose (well, it might tighten up a bit when I wash it but may have to hold onto it in a high wind).
Sadly I look stupid in hats. Yes I do. It's no good telling me otherwise - I know I do - it's the glasses *rolls eyes* but I'm not wearing contacts again just so I can put on a hat *stomps stubburnly (sp?) to the corner and pouts*! However, on a positive note, the colours are lovely - a bit richer than the flash makes them look - and it's really warm. Just the thing for when DH insists on bragging me up a mountain to look at the view. There wont be anyone else to see how I look up there. Well, apart from DH, and he already knows I look stupid in a hat, and, he doesn't care because clothing is entirely utilitarian for him and if it keeps you warm when it's cold then that's the end of that! Sensible man. Until you want him to tell you how lovely your new hat is, of course. "It looks warm."
Look! I got a postcard! Wow!
I was in a fibre postcard swap on the craft forum. But due to other pressures and a general lack of organisation *rolls eyes and shrugs shoulders* I pulled out before the end of the preperation period. So I wasn't expecting to receive a postcard this time. I watched everyone else revealing theirs tho' and felt not a little annoyed with myself for missing out on the fun, But I need not have regretted pulling out because my dear Belle made sure I wasn't left out. This beautiful needle felted postcard arrived yesturday morning. thank you, thank you, thank you!
It shows the track Belle walks down to the beach near her house. If I did one of out local beach right now the sea would be grey, the sky would be grey and the beach would be COLD! So this was just the tonic I needed and especially lovely for being unexpected. Isn't the internet a wonderful thing and aren't the people you meet via it wonderful too?! I shall look at the sun and think of summer and feel warm and loved. One to treasure! Thank you, Belle :)
PS must have a go at needle felting :) I think Belle has found her forte.
Okay so this is a little fuzzy - the photo I mean, we know the booga bag is fuzzy, right? The finished size is about 8 1/2" x 8" x 3". I deliberately made the straps shorter than the pattern, i cord was 5 ft before felting. Didn't measure the bag pre-felting but the photo on my first post has an unsharpened pencil in it to give you an idea of scale.
Love this bag - will try again with the kureyon yarn after I finish my yarn fast ;)
Heart sewn down. Basted over paper, slippstitched to background (which I got back to front *roll*) slit in the back to pull the paper out closed with a ladder stitch across the back. Wrapped up and off to Oz in the morning, signed for international post. Pleased with it until I look at it on the screen now and see a very strong seam across the top, hmm, note to self - remember to look at things on pc before deciding they are finished, but hey, near enough... right? Happier with the SRE roses this time - used a wider ribbon 13mm variegated. Now I am wondering if I could have done another bead trail from the flowers at the bottom up into the centre, could keep going forever I guess :)
Basted onto a paper template ready to be apliqued onto a white on white background square.
... and here it is with the hand sewing completed. I just need to cut it out and sew it onto a white on white square and then it's off to Aus for maureen to make it into a present for a friend who is having a hard time at the mo. Another symbol of the wonderful connections made thorugh the world wide web :)
Pretty pleased with how it came out - maybe i could get into this heart thing - i even managed to do all the 'slow' work in one evening - the heart is 4" across. Spiders web ribbon roses, mother of pearl buttons, beaded flowers etc.
Time is pressing so I reached for my cq fabric stash and of course the fabrics from Sharon's class were to the top - as this project is a heart they seem appropriate :) Here it is before i began the hand work...
Here's a piccie of the Booga Bag drying over a cereal box (Special K, if you're interested!) Blocking should help it keep it's shape. The pattern uses Kureyon but I had Blossom in my stash and it has a high natural fibre content so I thought I'd go for it and it has been successful so far. Besides I'd have to wait until after the stashalong if I wanted to buy new yarn! Wait? Pah!
This will probably be a present for my niece (who has a bag thing going on) but don't tell her as it is my first felted bag so I might change my mind and keep it myself *shock*
Pattern for boogs bags here Boog Bag
Started this CQ RR today and added this lace to the bottom corner
While I was organising myslef over on flickr I realised I haven't posted about the 'All That Jazz' quilts now that they are made up.
Do visit Annie's blog to see the wonderful job she has done of making all the beautiful blocks into 3 marvelous quilts.
Annie has also generously given the additional time to blog the whole process - invaluable to those of us who have only ever made a few CQ blocks and have yet to make them into anything - erm - that would be me. I only hope I can do half as good a job and I am sure it will be on a much smaller scale when I do get around to it.
I am stunned to see my work like this, (that's mine top lefthand corner), isn't the quilt great? Aren't the colours brilliant? Sorry there aren't enough superlatives in my vocabulary *rolls eyes*.
When I was making my block I felt as if it was not in the same league as the others. As Sharon Boggon, whose idea this project was, put the pictures of the blocks on her blog I felt that mine somehow didn't 'fit' with the others. But look! Annie can do miracles. My block doesn't stand out like a sore thumb at all! It even looks to me as if it belongs there with the others *blushes*. How clever is that? Very clever indeed!
Thank you Annie so much for all your hard work and for making me feel as if I 'belong'. VBG
A little more progress on the class block - i am still working on lesson 3 adding motifs - did some more on the SRE to balance it up a bit - will add beads next - also did a 'blackwork' rose on the other side.
Started on my lesson 4 work - adding lace seam embellishments. There isn't any ribbon or cord on this block so decided to add beads to the lace which has started to take the attention round the block from the SRE. Lots more to add to the blackwork yet this is just the beginning :)
Can't believe it's a week since I was last blogging! Where did that week go? I have been so busy and with the kids all ill and then me catching the bug when they got better my evenings have been spent zombied out in front of the tv.
So back on track at last and back to the cq tonight. Not very confident about the SRE but it gets better as it gets busier so I guess this is a snap shot of where I am so far. i will add some more embroidery and some beading to the flowers. The scan squashed the larger peachy coloured flowers so imaging thenm a little more perky, if you will :)
Any advice on the SRE welcome definately not a strong point for me :( As you can see I did decide to go with the contrast of the green for the foliage - well, it was hard to stick with the pinks and purples when leaves were a possibility. I intend to go back to my cream on cream pieces after this and get the rest of those christmas decorations done.
Also I was pondering while i was not sewing last week. I find it very difficult to have more than one project on the go at once. Sometimes I can get away with a sewing project and a knitting one as they fulfil very different needs for me. My knitting is a relaxation occupation, definately not something I like to have to struggle with. I am a competant basic knitter but find anything more challenging than a few cable patterns too much and I am not good at reading patterns so find learning anything new difficlut. maybe that is why socks appeal to me. they look difficult with all thse DPN but really it's just stocking stitch - just round and round and round :) and joy of joys no sewing up.
My sewing is different, here I enjoy a challenge. I like to try something new. learning new stitches, working on a new patterns for a traditional quilt, thinking about fibre art postcards, oh it is a joy. But that sort of stitching is very difficult when you are tired and everything else in your life seems to have priority and everyone else gets to call on you before you are able to find time for what you want to do. At 10pm m I really wanting to get out all my bits and bobs ad start experimenting with heat guns and confetti? No. At that time of night I need something I can sit down with and that I can become medatative with. Seam treatments are a possibility if I have had the chance to plan which stitches I am going to use earlier in the day but I am not up to beginning the process after a long day with a three year old snapping at my heels (bless!)
So I have been contemplating giving the cq a rest and going full out on the knitting. After all thanks to Nancy I have a stash that would keep me in Aran jumpers for the rest of my life (the kids too *rolls eyes*) CQ is so time consuming for so little product. Not in terms of quality but if you measure it in inches. Hours and hours of my limited and precious time and what do I achieve? Well, the photo above shows what 5 weeks of all my sewing time has ammounted to and frankly, it's not a lot, is it? So is this why it is crazy to do this quilting? how many sane quilts would I have made in thsi time? How many jumpers?
But there is something satisfying about it, something that keeps me stitching into the wee small hours and keeps me wondering. What is it about crazy quilting? VBG :)
