It's Chriiiiiiiiiistmas!

Which means it is time for the CtnY Secret Santa swap!
Inside the parcel i found all these shiney gifts...

The gift tag reads - "To Lukey, to help with the Christmas flatulance"
Brilliant! I wonder if it works on Blokes? :oD

Inside all the shineyness i found:
A skein of Yarn Yard sock club yarn, a campervan mug, a pretty little heart, and the cutest piece of campsite fabric.
I feel well and truly spoilt, thankyou to my Santa who, if i have guessed the clue correctly, is Jessica :o)

OH! And Lukey's gift? Some charcoal biscuits which i am sure he will love with a bit of cheese after dinner tomorrow LOL

Blogger's BOM #2 - Part 2!

So here is my finished block, the red is not as bright as this but my camera refused to believe me!

And here is Lisa's block.
I love how different they look despite being made from the same pattern!

So what with making all these half square triangles and triangulated rectangles we had lots of little bitty half square triangles left over so i spent the rest of Monday doing more sewing and made these scrappy blocks.
It took ages to do as i had to first sew and press all the half square triangles and THEN i had to arrange them all.
I am rather pleased with how they've come out though :)

That little pile of miniscule clippings and the four brown/blue pieces are all that is left from today's sewing sesh!

Blogger's BOM #2

So after a week of sitting and looking at my pattern printout i finally decided on how i would cut the fabrics for this block, here are all 96 pieces ready for some patchwork magic!

It might not seem like it but this photograph represents quite a lot of sewing, these units are now all ready to be paired up and joined.

One block made

Sweet!

This month's shawl knitting has been my Barley Sugar Twist, it's a bit more slow going than the last shawl pattern due to the wonderful cables but i'm plodding along with it and am now only 24 rows from the cast off!

I'm trying to do a bit each day as i have learned that my knitting doesn't knit itself so even if i only manage two rows at least i've done something :D
I am really enjoying knitting with my Sushi Shawl Roll and watching the colour changes come out and the subtle colour variations are working really well with the cable pattern.

Bloggers BOM (again)

This is my finished block.

Had i known i was going to change my mind before i joined the four blocks together i would have rearranged the dark and medium squares but i just love the star in the middle so i am prepared to deal with it :oD

Lisa also finished her blocks today, she's using her precious stash of Central Park fabrics (designed by Kate Spain) and i adore her results

Isn't it fascinating how two people can use the same "template" and come up with such different results.

Gotta love patchworking eh?!

At some point this week i need to cut the fabric for Block #2 as we are going to sew them next Monday, i have my fabrics picked out already ;o)

Blogger's BOM #1

I'm a little late in getting started on my blocks but today Lisa was here for sewing so we both worked on this project. I had prepared slightly in advance and all my fabric was cut and i had made my little half-square-triangles at the weekend.

Oooh bunting!! :oD

A little head start

I was having terrible trouble deciding on my layout - but i am rather pleased with how it looks after much dithering and rearranging.

Block #1 done!

Decisions, decisions

Here are the various layouts for my Blogger's BOM quiltalong

It's quite surprising how the placement of certain colours really changes the whole look of it, and it's not necessarily a good thing that, as i find it really hard to make a decision at the best of times!
I've had these photos on my phone since Sunday afternoon and i was periodically flicking through them to try and narrow it down and as today was sewing day i really needed to decide before Lisa got here.
I was all set to go with the top right and sewed the 4 blocks accordingly when i just happened to reverse the left and right blocks and discovered a star hiding in the middle!
I'm a little disappointed i didn't see it before i had sewn them as i would have arranged the dark squares differently but i am pretty happy with it and there's no way i am unpicking and resewing so i am dealing with it :oD

Happy Birthday Mummy

So, it was Mum's birthday last Sunday which meant i had to get cracking and finish her quilt, luckily for me she went on holiday so i had a few extra days to dither about it! Lisa came over for our sewing day on Monday and helped me layer it up and then i spent the day quilting it. 

I went for a very simple "in the ditch" quilting, just round the kaleidoscope blocks, i did think about doing the same round the red border as well but i decided not to in the end, although depending how much it plays on my mind i might well steal it back and do it at some point!

I used a black bias tape for the binding as i didn't have enough of the border fabric to make my own and the my original plan of using the backing to bind it didn't work out as i hated the red border, i think it looks much better with the dark border and all the red "contained".

I delivered it at Quiz Night on Thursday and she loves it :oD

Mummy and her new quilt

Swatching for crows

For The Crow Waltz shawl i am going to use the delicious Nimu Sella that i have bought at two different shows this year

The only problem was that the blue skein was REALLY badly tangled :(

It took just over 3 hours to wind it into this lovely yarncake!

So i made a couple of little swatches...

But i can't decide which way round i prefer the colours!!

So it's gone on hold while i decide and i've cast on the Sugar Barley Twist shawl instead :oD

BOM - #2

The second block is out! I must get cracking, i haven't even cut the fabric for the first block yet!

Blogger's Block of the Month, it's my turn! - Field Trips in Fiber - Adventures in quilting, hand dyed fabric and fiber art.:

'via Blog this'

Let's Twist Again

Well, not really "again" as i haven't made this shawl before but you know, it fits lol

I am really loving watching the colour changes of the Sushi Shawl roll and it suits the pattern really well :o)

The whole pattern is charted and not written out but i am coping OK with it, i've highlighted the right side rows so it's a bit easier to follow but i still have to keep referring to the key, hopefully i'll get the symbols memorised soon though!

I do have one gripe about the printed pattern that i bought though and that's because the charts for the left side are on the reverse of the page for the right side, i know i can scan and print the charts again but it kind of defeats the object of buying the printed pattern in the first place (for me anyway)

I coped OK with the first chart as it was easy to reverse but the second chart is a little more challenging so i think i am going to have to give in and do that today or my progress will be too slow and i'll get frustrated and chuck it in the corner!!

Autumn Cherries

The Shawl-Fest is progressing well and i have finished Cherry Surprise :)

Shawl Soup!

Some of the yellow colour came out in the water while it was soaking but it doesn't seem to have affected it overall

Blocking

I'm really pleased i managed to block the edges straight - it did take a lot of pins though!

Gratuitous close-up

It's just the right size to wear with the point at the front and the ends wrapped round and it's lovely and warm. Hopefully i have enough left to make a pair of mitts to go with it :oD

Crow Waltz

Another member of my Shawlfest is the Crow Waltz
I bought the turquoise skein from Nimu at Unravel back in February which i appear to have not blogged about which is a shame as i had a fabulous day and bought some lovely goodies :oD

So, anyway, for the Crow Waltz shawl i need two colours and i obviously don't have anything suitable in stash (that i want to use anyway!!) so i went back to Nimu at Ally Pally and bought a contrasting skein. Admittedly my choices were rather limited as i wanted the same yarn but i think they will look FAB knitted together :o)

All i have to do now is decide which colour will be my edging...

Cherry Surprise

a burst of autumn colour

I've set myself a knitting task!
There is nothing set in stone and if i change my mind that's fine, but i want to tackle my ever-increasing "want list" of shawls so i am gradually adding them to my project page with my yarn choice as a gentle reminder.
I saw this shawl hanging at the Yarn2Knit stand at Ally Pally last week and realised i had a skein of something similar at home - lucky for me it was a free pattern so all i had to do was remember either the pattern name or the name of the stand! I failed to do either so i had to go over the exhibitor's list when i got home and work my way from there!

It's a bit annoying as i had taken my notepad with me but left it in the car in my knitting bag for some reason and i never think to make notes on my phone!

Anyway, i tracked it down, found the wool i was thinking of which is Opal Herbstmelodie dug out my needles and got stuck in! I have downloaded the pattern on to my Kindle which was an exciting adventure and SO easy! Plug in the USB, open windows explorer (or in my case xplorer2 lite) and then drag n drop baby! :oD

I'm about halfway through the main body now and had memorised the pattern by about the second repeat, it is lovely and simple, even the *p2tog, k2tog* in the same stitch isn't that hard to do, although a sharper point on my needle would help with the first on the row as the YO is a bit hard to pick up but other than that it's going swimmingly :oD

Lovely texture

gratuitous close-up!

I heart Ally Pally

I had my annual pilgrimage to Alexandra Palace last Friday for the Knitting and Stitching Show, it's one of the highlights of my year, i just love it :D
This year i saved my birthday money so i could spend guilt free and i have to say i thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Having a budget meant i didn't overspend or buy anything i wasn't really sure about and i will make sure i do the same thing again next year. Due to Lisa starting a college course we weren't able to go on our usual Thursday so i missed meeting up with Noo and Jessica which was a shame, i do enjoy their company but they had a great day out too by all accounts ;o)

So, on to my spoils!!
Firstly the birthday pressies...
Bottom right is a small quilt kit, the fabric is all hand-dyed by Starr Design Fabrics and the quilt is made bargello style, i absolutely fell in love with both her fabrics and her quilt designs and it took me a while to settle on just one kit to bring home!
The two middle pictures on the grid are the same skein of Nimu Sella, i bought this to contrast with the turquoise skein that i bought at Unravel and i will use them together for a Crow Waltz shawl (Rav link)
In the middle are some supplies for making Kumihimo cords. There's a Kongo Kumi disc for making round braids, 2 little packets of various threads to make into bracelets and a couple of packs of bobbins for when i make long braids. The patchwork bags that i made need drawstrings for the handles and i have had no luck in finding anything suitable so i am going to attempt to make my own! Fortunately i have had a couple of goes at making Kumihimo and i really enjoy it so that'll help when i have to make a couple of metres!!
Hmmm, what else? Oh yes, see the little "samosa" of colour up there in the corner? Well they are small pieces of Starr Fabric, i am going to make a mug rug or something similar with them, i had intended to go back and get some more but unfortunately we ran out of time :(
I'm really hoping she will be there again next year, i am going to save up especially for one of her bigger kits :D
There's a ball of James Brett marble DK lurking int here, it's become a traditional purchase now! No matter which show we go to i seem to always end up bringing one home. This one will go with the three pastel squares i have already to make a lap blanket - i'm not entirely sure who the blanket is for but i have loved making it so far! I also have a lime green square currently on the go plus a purpley-blue ball so i expect i will end up buying another couple to go with them for another blanket :D
I also bought the rest of the fabric for the Kaleidoscope Quilt, i will edge it with the black and back it with the red and gold and the pale pinky fabric is for a quilt for my mother-in-law. The floral will be made into hexagon kaleidcopes and then backed with the swirly pink.

All i have to do now is find the time to play with it all!!

Another QAL!

This one features a block a day for 16 days - i don't know when i will get round to it but i like the half square triangle and log cabin theme so i am saving all the instructions to my computer and will work on them in my own time :)

Kindle Cosy Part Deux

This one is less "patchworky" but i just adore the fabrics and as a second attempt i have managed to iron out the wrinkles in my pattern and think i've got it sorted now. It's not much of a pattern admittedly but i've got the sizings right now and am happier with it than the first one - not that i mind the first one, it's for me anyway so any faults don't matter, i know they are there but i also know it was my first attempt so i appreciate them for what they are - lessons :oD

This is the front of the cosy

This is the interior

As is this, but with the Kindle pulled out a little - it actually goes all the way inside the pocket now whereas the Japanese-y one came up a little short ;o)

Paranoid!

Bloke bought me a Kindle for my birthday earlier this month and i am very paranoid about smashing the screen so i decided that wrapping it in a wolllen hat was no longer a suitable solution and decided to make a patchwork cosy for it :D

There's a particular quilt in the Japanese Quilt Inspirationsbook that i really like so i decided to base my Kindle cosy on it. Unfortunately the quilt block in the book comes out at 10" so i had to downsize using my maffematikal skillz :oD

It was actually a bit easier than i thought it would be and i soon had all the pieces cut out and ready to sew. Still on a part sewn seam kick i used them again for these blocks.

and then i sewed them all together...

And HEY PRESTO! I have a squishy double-fronted Kindle cosy which will hopefully protect it when it's in my handbag and stop the screen from being smashed in!!

That's the front, i really love the fabric with the cream background, it's so pretty <3

And that's the interior - the stripy fabric is from the same range as the Kaleidoscope Quilt that i was going to use as a border but once i saw the quilt top in progress i knew it wouldn't be right!

It's a very snug fit when Kindle is wearing it's silicone skin but i am very happy with it :o)

Almost there!

So it is slowly coming together :)

The blocks with the borders and vertical sashing...

And the whole top with the horizontal sashing and the cornerstones...

As you can see i have just two more rows of sashing to make and attach and then the top is ready to have borders added! I haven't rushed with this project because i am hoping to buy the border fabric at Ally Pally next week when Lisa and i head off for our annual pilgrimage to the Knitting and Stitching Show :D