Well weeks and weeks (and weeks) of work have finally culminated on this weekend! The truck is packed to the gills, I have my woolies (looks like it could be chilly on Sunday) and I am ready to go! If you are in the area this weekend come by and visit me at the Fall Fiber Festival in Montpelier Station VA. It is going to be a wonderful show (and from what everyone has told me, the food at this festival is second to none). I have help in my booth this weekend (thanks Laura!!) so I am hoping to step out and check out the sheep dog trials for a minute or two.
My booth will be overflowing with the stuff I have been working on for the last while. I hope to see you there! (Tent 2, Booth 1). There is lots more information right here. Have a good one!
I’ve made more progress on my list of ongoing things that were causing me to feel overwhelmed, so I felt the need to do an update to keep myself on track.
Quilting:
DWR – I have the pieces sewn together in pairs, now I need to put those pairs together to make curves of 6 pieces each. I plan on working on this at my Sew-In for the Modern Quilt Guild on March 3rd.
I also have the plans drawn up for a quilt for my living room, and all of the fabric in house. I don’t think this one will take long, so I am going to work on this next week. I would like to get it finished before I host part of a progressive dinner at my house on March 10th.
Cross Stitch:
I finished my sewing machine cross stitch!
I framed it and used some fabric from my stash as a matte. I cut strips to fit each side, and then folded them in half, using some spray starch. Then I attached them to the actual cross stitch with some double sided tape.
I did this last year for an interior design client and liked how it looked, so I thought I would try it for this too. I am pleased with how it came out. I even got it hung up!
That leaves me with just the Dessert of the Month, which I am looking forward to seeing on March 1st.
Weaving:
You saw yesterday that I did get my warp done and on the loom. What I didn’t tell you is that I actually wove a scarf off that warp too! I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, so I thought I would wait to tell you so that I could hide it in a deep dark corner never to see the light of day again if it was terrible. It actually turned out ok! I will take some pics this weekend and post them next week.
As for the scarf exchange, I have picked my pattern finally. I need to measure my warp first thing next week and get it on the loom. It is due March 11th.
Knitting:
Mint Julep is coming right along. I had lots of time in the evenings after class this past weekend to work on it. The back and both fronts are done, and I am just about done one sleeve. A friend of mine is coming over to knit this afternoon so hopefully I can get started on the second sleeve.
I finished the socks I was working on, and have started a little test knit. I need different needles for that though, so we will see how far I get.
Thanks everyone for helping me really pair down the stash. I feel a lot better about what is down there now. I have a goal in mind for the end of this year as to how much yarn I will have in the stash. I am hoping to stick to it, but no stress if I don’t. Mainly I want to shop the stash first before I buy anything new. The same should be said for fabric, but I am not very good at that.
This weekend I am going to Ikea for some more storage pieces, so I will show you what I have done to update the organization in my studio sometime next week.
Sigh. I am having one of those weeks when I am overwhelmed by the number of projects that I have on the go that seem to be going nowhere. I want everything to be finished RIGHT. NOW. So, the first thing is to make a list, right? Right? Somewhere else out there has to be as list obsessed as I am (btw – 2Do for the iPhone? The one app I could not live without. Best money ever spent).
Quilting:
I went downstairs yesterday and got all of the pieces cut out for my DWR quilt. All 696 wedges and 140 corner squares. Yes, 836 pieces. Not exaggerating.
This afternoon I worked on sewing them together in pairs, which is taking a very long time. I am going to try to work on this for an hour or so a day, just to keep it moving.
I also have all the fabric on order for my living room quilt. This is going to be a very quick quilt top to put together, so I am hoping to knock it out pretty much as soon as the fabric comes.
Cross Stitch:
My dessert of the month for February is done! This is really going to be a cute sampler.
My sewing machine pattern though has not been touched since Florida. I am going to try to do a bit of that each night on the couch while TJ and I chat.
Weaving:
I am taking a class next weekend, and I need to measure out a 7.5 yard warp with almost 400 ends. That has to happen in the week coming up or I can’t do the class. I picked up a loaner loom yesterday, so I will get started on that this weekend.
I also have a scarf swap coming up that I need to get started on. I have picked my pattern, so now I need to do the planning and measuring and what not.
Knitting:
I am almost done the back of my Mint Julep. It is going pretty quickly when I do sit down and work on it because I am doing it in Eco Wool. I am hoping to get that well on it’s way to being finished by the end of the month.
I also (as always) have a pair of socks in progress. One of the pair is done and the other is halfway through the foot.
I did a huge knitting stash clean out and organization yesterday, and I have realized that a lot of my stash needs to go on to better homes. I am not knitting as much as I used to, because of my other ongoing crafts, so I want this stuff to go on to someone that will use it! I have some stuff up for sale on Rav if you are interested. Everything on the left hand column is for sale, plus more that I have moved over since I took this pic.
It is nice to get things organized, but I hope the frustrated feeling passes soon. One of the main things I need to do is craft instead of spending so much time with the computer on my lap. I am so bad for that!
I know Christmas isn’t even here yet, but I am already starting to think of things that I would like to do in the New Year. 2011 has been a great year for my crafty-wise, and I am really hoping that it continues into next year.
I think one of the most productive things I did in 2011 (other than starting my business of course) was the 12 in 12 challenge. Although the end of the year has been a struggle (I will do a post after Christmas about what all I managed to finish), it definitely make me knit more.
What I did notice about this year was that I did not get a lot of quilting done, and I really missed it! So this year I am going to issue myself a challenge of doing 6 quilts in ’12. I know 12 quilts finished isn’t realistic for me, so 6 it is. Does anyone else feel like joining me? It doesn’t have to be 6 – it can be whatever number you think is appropriate for you. If there is any interest out there, I would definitely be willing to host an “along”. Just let me know in the comments!
Another thing I am hoping to do in the new year is a lot more tutorials on the blog. I am thinking I will start with one every other Friday, and see how that goes. I have three lined up already, so that is a good start! Anything you guys would like to learn?
For now though, I am going to spend a couple of weeks with my family and friends, finish up some crafting, and generally eat too much. I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday, a safe New year, and a crafty 2012!
(PS – want to see what I am up to on a more regular basis? Follow me on Instagram! I’m knitty34)
Grey is one of my favourite colours, despite the fact that I grew up in the Toronto area, where grey is a permanent fixture in the outside world from Nov 1st-April. The right kind of grey can be warm, inviting, and cozy. It can be soft and rich, heathered and earthy.
TJ’s Mom asked me to make some twin quilts for the two beds in her guest room, the one often used by my parents when we all get together. (Yes, my inlaws and my parents get along and we all hang out on holidays. Yes it’s unusual. Yes I love them for all being so awesome. Yes I am the luckiest woman alive). She had seen the quilt I had made for my friend Amanda, and she loved the Aviary 2 line of fabrics that I used. She wanted to design her whole room around the mustard and grey colours in these fabrics.
A wee bit grainy, but here are some before shots of the room.
It was a pretty, soft green, quite feminine.
Lovely leaf prints on the wall, some satin-y spreads on the bed, a very well put together room. But she was tired of it, and wanted something more modern and masculine.
With the room emptied out, a coat of Benjamin Moore Pewter went up (in their Aura paint. That stuff is the bomb. One coat baby! I am seriously in love with this paint. Worth every penny of the cost. A tip though, check the BM website before you buy; they often have a $5 off coupon).
Once the painting was done in the room, I worked on painting a small side table that we had found in a great second hand store. Then I made a set of tab back curtains from some great Ikea fabric. One the room was loaded with the new bedding, it looked like this!
(Don’t forget that you can click to get a larger photo). What do you think? Here is a close up of the quilts:
One side of the room has yellow sheets,
and the other side grey. Sort of a “his and hers” theme. You can see on the quilts that I used the Aviary 2 fabrics, but also some other fabrics as accents.
The back is Anna Maria Horner’s voile, in pastry line. I missed snapping a picture of the actual backing, but this is what it looks like.
I’ll tell you one thing, I will certainly be using voile for the backing on my next quilt. This stuff is amazing! It is soooooo soft. It’s almost like a satin. I am not sure that I could imagine making a whole pieced quilt top out of it, as it is quite slide-y, but as a backing it just makes you want to bury yourself under it and never come out.
T’s Mom also painted out this great vintage dresser in Benjamin Moore Stuart Gold. The key to painting out furniture like this is to put a coat of water-based polyurethane on any surfaces that will have things sitting on them. This keeps them from sticking to the paint and leaving marks.
This little chair was in another room in the house, but it fit perfectly into this spot AND already had the right colours (both in paint and fabric).
There are a few things that need to be done still in the room, like some more decorative items, but I think it turned out really well. I think I need to make a quilt like this for my living room!
What favourite colours have you been working with a lot lately?
