On the homefront

I had grand plans of quilting all day while B. was a work and K. was at daycare. Then, K and I got sick, so she has to stay home. It's a day and night regimen of Tylenol and Motrin trying to keep her fever under control. She is in good spirits today. There was one period yesterday when her fever went up above 102.5 and she got pretty lethargic. We try to sponge her off continually, and she enjoyed playing with the washcloth!

Yes, she's going through a "stripper"phase where she takes off all her clothes. Yet another reason I'm thankful to live in Phoenix with the balmy winters!

Tonya came up with the idea of a housewarming party for Bonnie, who just moved. Here's my first attempt at a wonky free-pieced house. It was a fun, quick block, but I didn't pull out my whole scrap bin to work with, which limited my options. On the next one, I'll make the roof wider and make the door and window out of different colors.Another suggestion from Tonya was to send Bonnie any orphan blocks we have from the patterns that she offers. (If you haven't visited Quiltville, go now! Bonnie has terrific suggestions for organizing your scraps and she has put together an extensive library of free patterns using those scraps. The gallery is full of inspiration!) I'm sending one of my boxy star blocks.

Perfect!

Happy Valentine's Day! Hubby came through like a champ...flowers on the counter when I got home and chocolate, my favorite flavor:Although a girl at school gave me a new flavor of Hershey's Kiss. Have you tried the CHEESECAKE ones??? Yummy filling!

Last weekend I was able to get some quilting done. I'm hoping to teach Karla Alexander's Aurora Aura quilt next month. I put wavy lines in the "ocean" part and flame/vines in the Aurora Borealis sections. I am very pleased with the result.

Cutie Pie

I've done very little quilting or knitting recently...even though my "must-do" list gets longer rather than shorter! I had hoped to get a class sample quilted today, but I napped for two-and-a-half hours with the baby instead. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body...

Baby K didn't like the Gerber version, but she chowed down on Mott's applesauce. I am trying to expand her diet from the greens...beans, peas, brocoli, etc. She keeps our hands full as well as her own. I looked up one evening this week and she had stripped down to her diaper. Shoes and socks don't last long, especially when she's strapped in the car.
Here she is with a new sweater that Grandma Mary made. Perfect timing for our two weeks of "winter" - actually it hasn't been above 70 degrees since the beginning of December, which is a definite cold snap here in Phoenix.
Enjoy the most American of holidays - Super Bowl Sunday. I live about 15 miles north of the stadium and my mom's shop is about 5 miles west. It's fun to see your hometown on TV! We're staying home to avoid the crowds.

Sunday blues

It's been raining ALL DAY. We need it here in the drought-stricken desert, but it has sapped all my energy. B. and Baby K are napping, and I've been wasting time on the computer...mostly browsing around Ravelry, that black hole for knitters. A bunch of quilters are trying to find a computer geek to create a similar website for fabric - then I'll never get anything done!

All my projects are at a standstill. I need photo fabric to finish my aunt's quilt. I need a different size knitting needle to work on the ordination stole. Since those are deadline items, I feel guilty working on my own projects.

It's almost the last minute, so I'll start grading test papers soon so I can hand them back in first period tomorrow! At least with the writer's strike there are no television programs to distract me.

Quilt In

I know the suspense is killing you...which project did she work on?!?

I took three - the graduation quilt, storm at sea and stack-n-whack fabric. I got all the blocks done and sashed together for the graduation quilt, next step is borders. No photo yet, I'm deciding if it needs two borders or just one. Leaning towards two, which is my default style!

The storm-at-sea is from a class I took two years ago with John Flynn. Did I choose the easy option of buying a laser-cut kit?!? NO! I decided to cut my own in traditional blues. And I cut, and I cut and I cut. Came home, and the project sat in the UFO bin. Last night I took it out, and read through John's rather sparse directions. The directions show very clearly how to piece the blocks together, but there are no cutting instructions! As in, "use template A to cut the diamonds." I have lots of squares and triangles, but I am missing the diamonds. So that project was set aside until I can research what to do next.

I perused my "Stack-n-Whackier" book, but I didn't see anything that caught my fancy. It's funny how Bethany Reynolds' designs have been adapted by others. She has a quilt that is basically the One Block Wonder (hexagons) and another that looks like the Doubledipity stars. I've already done the Treasure Box style, so I wanted something new. I ended up with a different pattern called "4-patch Stacked Posies" which is an easy kaleidoscope made out of squares. I love this butterfly print by Alexander Henry (the background is a rich plum). The repeat is only 12" which doesn't make for much variety in bigger blocks, but my pattern uses squares from 2.75 - 3.5 inches so it's working pretty well.

And here are a few blocks that I finished. The best part is putting them together in their different variations!

Lists

There is a movement on Ravelry called "Mission Possible" - knitting resolutions for the New Year. I contemplated joining, but then realized that if I only finished 4 pair of socks in 2007, I probably wouldn't be able to dramatically increase that total in 2008! However, the projects I had in mind for that mission work out nicely for a Thursday 13 list:

Upcoming Knits:
1. Jaywalker socks in JanuaryOne colorway from Blue Moon Fiber Arts
2. Red, white and blue socks, pattern to be determined
3. Rockin' Sock Club kits from August, October and December 2007
4. Ordination Stole for Julie (due June 2008)
5. Baby blanket (potentially for Julie's pregnant daughter who is due in July)
6. A black cardigan, pattern TBD
7. TOFUtsies sock club kits...I think I have 2 stashed away!
8. Socktoberfest socks that were such a mess in 2007
9. Mitered Square blanket - 18 squares done, 126 to go!
10. finish striped vest...there is a little border part to do on the four main pieces, then the sewing together part
11. vest from Noro Silk Garden yarn...multicolored and self striping
12. Another log cabin out of leftover baby yarn
13. Socks from gift yarn

Of course, this list in no way resembles the order that my knitting will actually be accomplished! You'll just have to live with the suspense and check the blog frequently ;-)

And then there are the Upcoming Quilts...I'm going to a midnight Quilt In tomorrow, so I've been thinking of which UFOs to work on.
1. Graduation quilt...I need to put borders on the 20 blocks and then I'm ready to sash and assemble the top.
2. T-shirt quilt...my aunt has been having issues sending me the pictures to do the last 2 blocks. we may have to resort to the old-fashioned US Postal Service! Can you imagine?!?
3. I have leftover one-block-wonder pieces, so I could do a second quilt similar to the one I finished in December.
4. I bought a charm pack and a pattern for a new purse.
5. At Quilt Camp in the Pines 2006, I started a Storm at Sea quilt with John Flynn. I have a recipient in mind when I finally get back to that project.
6. More NY Rising Sun blocks since I am teaching that class in a few weeks.
7. A Marti Michell block-of-the-month from several years ago. I think I finished 9 or 10 of the 12 blocks.
8. Jackie Robinson's "3 P's in a Pod" mystery quilt. All my blocks are assembled, I just need a design wall and some uninterrupted time to put it together.
9. The second quilt I ever started, way back in 2004...an Underground Railroad sampler. I think I have 9 of 12 blocks done on that one too.
10. I bought fabric for stack-n-whack or one-block-wonders so I could start a whole new project!

Ok, you get the idea. I could probably think of a few more to make a list of 13, but obviously I have plenty of things to do at Quilt In. I'm leaning towards #1, 2 and 6 in case you wondered.

First Quilt of 2008

Two years ago, my mom and I took a class with Sharon Schamber, and I have been recruited to teach it at Cotton Fields next month. So, we thought it would be a good idea to finish the sample! (darker background is mine, lighter is Mom's)

Here is the backside...it doesn't really show the quilting any better since it was a batik-y mottled fabric and my camera didn't like it much.

Now to review Sharon's handouts and remember how to put it together! It's the Piec-lique method that is kind of like paper piecing with freezer paper templates and glue.

It's cold and windy here in Phoenix today - one of those rare occasions when it's warmer back east than it is here! I don't mind the variety...I have a couple sweaters that I like to put on at least once a year.

Feeling Better

Looks like it was croup...or a bad chest cold. Daddy is still in bed this morning since Baby K was so nice to share all her germs. She is up and around, almost back to her normal self.I was able to do some knitting and finish a sock! It's a local yarn called TOFUsties from Southwest Trading Company. It's the first time I've used their yarn. I had fun making the bobbles, but I find I get impatient for the next step, so these are kind of short in the leg! And the foot could have used a few more rows, but socks stretch, right?!? Last fall, I had a nice routine worked out with the television, but since the writer's strike, it's out the window. I may have to resort to regular stops at Blockbuster to get me through the spring while hubby works the evening shift. I have to say that the latest Grey's Anatomy episode was NOT fun to watch after a recent visit to the ER with Baby K! I know I could turn off the TV, but it's nice to have something on in the background while K. plays. I can knit in front of the TV...quilting is not an option while she's awake unless someone else is around to keep an eye on her!

What day is it?

This post is full of bad news, so move along or grab some tissue!

2008 certainly had a rough start. I developed a terrible rash on my legs around Dec. 30th. I thought it was a reaction to some new lotion, but it got worse even after I stopped using the new stuff. I saw a doctor who gave me antihistamine and prednisone, which has helped a little, but I am going slowly insane from the constant itchiness.

Monday was our first day back to school and it was cold and rainy. Perfect setting for the announcement that a terrible bus accident in Utah had claimed the lives of three students from our school - all well-known and involved in multiple activities. Please keep the Sheffey, Rasmussen and Bowden families in your prayers, along with the whole Deer Valley High School community as we deal with these losses.

During my last class on Monday, my husband called to say that Baby K had a fever-induced seizure at daycare and was taken to the ER. This happened back in September also, and luckily she bounces back quickly. We were in the ER for about 6 hours, and the doctor wanted to admit her overnight for observation. The only available pediatric bed was across town, so we spent a long night trying to get her settled down in a strange place. We only got about 2 hours sleep before we were discharged with an inhaler and antibiotics for a respiratory infection. I'll take her to our regular pediatrician here in a little bit. Nothing serious, just a hassle trying to juggle babysitters and substitutes for my classroom!

While baby K naps this morning, I need to finish up the binding on the Commission quilt. I put some stitching in the ditch, and the plan is to have people at church tie it while they say prayers for the recipient. Then I have a few more deadline projects - a t-shirt quilt for my aunt, a class sample for Mom's store, a graduation quilt, and a knit ordination stole for a seminarian friend. Plus, I have my for-me knitting projects like socks and the mitered blanket! So, if I get anything done, I'll try to start taking pictures again!

Happy New Year!

I worked on a quilt that is being donated to charity. I am starting to enjoy meandering, but I need to practice my leaves more to get a consistent shape.


Every day baby K can do more amazing things...such as balancing a Lego block on one finger ;-) Man, she goes one hundred miles an hour all day long. Parenting a toddler is exhausting...which means I am strict about bedtime!

I had a fun day working on a t-shirt quilt with my mom. We got borders on all the blocks, so the hardest part is done. Baby K came over to play in the scraps and made a little nest for herself.

Christmas Recap

Baby K had a wonderful time. She got to cook with Grandma:

Grandma and a friend made this beautiful quilt:

Some of her new toys - the stroller was better than the baby doll! She loves to talk on the telephone. But, she spent ALL DAY walking around with Mommy's new spatulas!

I am using some of my free time to work on a quilt for a friend's graduation in May. He is a soccer player and the school colors are green and yellow. There will be another round of yellow and green on each square, then black sashing.

I put the miters away for a bit and cast on for a pair of Tofutsies-brand socks. I am about halfway down the fold-over cuff. I have heard this yarn is wonderful. It's very thin, but friends say it "blooms" after washing.

With all these projects, I think I need a schedule: Monday = socks, Tuesday = quilt...

B. wants to use our vacation time to get rid of some of the clutter around the house. I have "issues" with this. I appreciate the end result, but the process is rough. I have actually had meltdowns when B. empties the closets for re-organization. My limited self-analysis links this back to all the moving I did as a child and young adult. Now that we have been settled in this house for five years my reaction tends to be "Don't touch my stuff!" But I am going to soldier through and try to simplify in 2008. Wish me luck!

On Vacation

Just had a few duties at school this morning and we are officially done with first semester! Those last few days always seem endless.

I took advantage of a quiet afternoon at home to finish my One Block Wonder:

It's about 50" by 60", which makes a nice bulletin board cover in my classroom! I think my students will enjoy the kaleidoscope aspect. I meant to use some of the original fabric in the border, but I didn't buy extra...oops. And the eternal dilemma of a quilting design. Stitch in the Ditch sounds like the easiest, but it's really a chore. I may just do some large meandering to really let the fabric shine.

As Christmas approaches, I thought I'd dig up one of my favorite kitty pictures.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Time flies!

Baby K loves her green vegetables! First it was your ordinary green beans and peas...but we have now progressed to broccoli, lettuce, cucumber and asparagus. She has started walking, but came down with another ear infection this week...just days before her scheduled surgery to insert tubes in her ears and get them cleared up! I am hoping the antibiotics work fast so we can get this taken care off. And I'd also prefer not to miss any more school this semester...my students start to panic when they see a sub just days before final exams.

I am about 8% done with my mitered blanket - no, I did not forget the zero! I measured my queen size bed, and my original plan of 144 squares will be just right. Here is the "nested corners" layout that I want to use. And I think there is a holiday coming up, right?!? I dusted off my rubber stamps and got some Christmas cards done while baby K was napping today. I was thisclose to going store-bought this year, but I had delusions of crafting time in October and bought all the stamp supplies. I can't let it go to waste... Someone told me once that the Christmas season lasts until Epiphany, Jan 6th, so at least that gives me some time when school's out to get everything in the mail.

We still have a playpen set up where our Christmas tree goes, so rather than fight with a large tree in a small space, I just got out my Santa collection. Several are Jim Shore figurines, and there are lots of cats too.
I inherited a "dancing hamster" from my grandmother...one of those obnoxious drug store toys...and it has become one of baby K's favorites! She dances along and hugs it to her chest...she can even hum Jingle Bells now. I've got to get her performance on tape. DH and I said our present to each other would be a video camera, and I need to go get it BEFORE Christmas! Maybe I'll brave the mall this weekend.

Quilting

Table runners...perfect for instant gratification! I haven't had time for much quilting on the longarm, but I helped my mom make Christmas presents for a friend. Plain backs let my quilting show beautifully. There was a center panel, and then two borders, as you can see by the three designs. Simple curves and swirls in the border, and ribbons in the center! The idea for ribbons came from Cindy Roth, a longarm teacher who was just featured in the longarm magazine "On Track."Baby K is babbling up a storm. Last night, she pointed to the TV where her "growth" bunny sits. Here she is loving that bunny:

Miters

I saw my friend Connie today at our LY/QS and she hinted that I should post more pictures of my mitered squares. I am obsessed with this project! I spent my free time this week (while my students were supposedly doing homework - ha!) planning color schemes and calculating sizes and quantites of yarn. I started blocking today:

In this photo you can see my project box too! I'll clear space in the sewing closet for the blocked squares and keep the bits of yarn in the box. I am making sets of 3 of each color scheme. The layout will be similar to the "card trick" quilt pattern...kind of nested corners is the only way I can describe it. I started with the teal and blue (center), then made the blue and white (on the right) and I'm currently working on the rust and blue that you see on the left. I am leaving long tails on the cast on and bind off - theoretically to help me sew all the squares together! Every set will have some blue - either of the two shades you see, plus a navy blue I bought today. I am going to alternate starting with blue or the contrast color.

Daddy and Baby K are enjoying their day off. Too bad we don't have a football game on in the background to complete the holiday portrait!

Giving Thanks

Enjoying the day with family and friends...

Happy Thanksgiving from Baby K and her mom and dad!

Sunday Sewing

I've been working on The Commission. My original idea was a Trip Around the World pattern, but I wanted a lap quilt with 6 inch squares. I decided on 10 by 12 squares, which will give me a 60 by 72-inch quilt. The traditional "trip" pattern hasa single square in the center, which didn't work with the even numbers in my layout. I like the corners in this design because it gives it a little Southwest flair. I am working on my 6th mitered square for my knitted blanket. Visit Cara's blog and search for her "Miter Madness" - that was my inspiration. I decided to use blue as one of the colors in each square, and I have a different layout in mind. When I get enough squares done to showcase the design, I will take pictures.

Baby K gets cuter every day...if I do say so myself! She is starting to use some words, like "baaa" for ball and "nana" for banana. If she wants to eat, she just points to the kitchen and grunts. Such a lady!

WIP Wednesday

Did a little bit of sewing today! No photos of the Commission, since sewing six inch squares together doesn't look much different than the layout of the fabric I showed last time!

I finally dug into my copy of Mason Dixon Knitting. I started with a Ballband Dishcloth. If I had more time, everyone would be getting these for Christmas! Fun to knit and QUICK. My gift idea was to tuck them inside coffee mugs. Maybe next year!!

Then, I knit my first miter! Another fun quick knit. Although getting enough squares for a whole blanket may take years...And Baby K got some quality cuddles with Grandpa tonight:

When I made my project list last weekend, I forgot a few things. I am going to put together a t-shirt quilt for my aunt, and I am quilting some table runners for my mom. I have Monday off (Veteran's Day) so I hope to be at the longarm most of the day. The table runners should be easy enough to get done in a day.

Reults from the Shopping Expedition

Baby K got the chance to show off her Halloween sweatshirt. She loves to visit Grandma's shop!

Here's what I found for the challenge. The paisley print is the actual challenge fabric. I think I will use the blue and white for the checkerboard and add the green somewhere for a zinger. It's not very clear in the photo, but in the paisleys there is a hint of green, I promise!

And for the commission...
I changed the layout a bit to fit the size I want, so it's not a true Trip Around the World. The yellow fabric will be the center and then it moves out until the top and bottom rows are the black. It should go together quickly, and I'll share pictures when there is progress.

Two more repeats on the dishcloth, then I can join the miter madness! These are my first selections of Tahki Cotton Classic.
I want to use this on my bed eventually, and Hubby and I love blues, so that will be the focus. The yellow and orange are there to brighten things up a bit!

In the Queue

After the Socktoberfest disaster, I needed some instant knitting gratification, so I went to the stash and grabbed the Sugar-n-Cream that I bought to make the Ballband Dishcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting:
Tomorrow I have a big shopping list for my trek to my favorite store.

1. Fabric for the Trip Around the World (to be known as the Commission)

2. Fabric for the checkerboard background of the Challenge. Kay Gardiner talks about color choices in the mitered blanket section of MDK, and she said neutrals such as beige and grey can make colors pop more that a black or white background. I originally though a b&w checkerboard would be the way to go, but I will make a point of auditioning other choices with the reddish/purple challenge fabric.

3. Tahki Cotton yarn for a mitered blanket. This is another pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting (MDK). I fell in love with the one over at January One. I'd love to make the squares from sock yarn like Shelly Kang does, but I need more info on the measurements. (Duh...she has a tutorial on her blog. I guess I can start the sock yarn version sooner than I thought!)

Hmmm...I guess 3 things isn't THAT big of a shopping list, but since they are all brand-new projects, it's kind of daunting. I mean, I do have a full-time job and a 15-month old...when do I think I'm going to get this stuff sewn up?!? It's easier when I keep the due dates in perspective. The Commission is going to be presented in January 2008, so obviously that's first. I just need to turn off the TV after Baby K goes to bed and sew for a couple hours. The Challenge is due in March 2008, so that can be the focus of the school holidays in January and February. And the miters are just for fun...we certainly don't need blankets for warmth here in Phoenix. It's forecast to be 90 this weekend. Craziness!

October 31

Baby K and I went to a potluck at our church. We did a little bit of trick-or-treating in the parking lot.

The end of Socktoberfest 2007:

Yep, that's about where I started. I saw pictures of someone else's socks using this yarn and my were awful in comparison. I figured it was better to start over than have a finished mess. Better luck next year!

Here is my latest idea for the challenge fabric I got at MQS back in June. I'm thinking of using Ricky Tims' "Caveman Quilting" techniques to piece the focal fabric into a checkerboard background.

Almost to the end...

This is the progress on my Socktoberfest sock. I'll consider it successful if I finish one of the pair by Wednesday! I'm thinking it needs about two more inches of color, and then half an inch or so of black ribbing to match the heel and toe.

Unfortunately, I am not completely happy with the way the yarn is knitting up. It's 100% superwash merino, very lightweight. I made a feeble attempt at swatching and got 8stitches to the inch on US 2 dpns. As I started knitting the toe, it seemed large, so I switched to US 1s for most of the foot. It fits, but I think I am stretching the yarn too much, which of course distorts the fabric. So, for the leg, I went back to US 2s. I have some modifications in mind for the second sock...perhaps re-reading the Yarn Harlot's generic recipe would help! I'd rather not frog this one, but we'll see when I get done with sock #2. I should have plenty of yarn, which is a small blessing :-)

Another contributing factor is the length of each color. You can see how the black kind of lines up in sections, but the orange and purple are always single rows, which lets the other stitches show up too much, if that makes sense to anyone!

Oh, and to make matters worse, I have huge holes where the short row heels join back to the main sock! grrrr. I know there are suggestions online for preventing that...more research before sock #2!

Edit: Ravelry is wonderful! I did a quick search for the yarn, and someone else was making socks with it. I much preferred hers, of course! So, it looks like my Halloween socks will wait ANOTHER year. I need to rip these out, find a matching weight solid yarn for the heels and toes, and start again on size 1 needles. Oh joy. I think I will dig into a Rockin Sock Club kit instead ;-) Obviously, I am not ready to venture out on my own into the wild world of sock design!