Sock update

And so, I will be casting on for the FOURTH time. (note to self...double check the cast on stitches before beginning the leg. k2p2 after 76 stitches should end in a purl...that was my first clue!)

A good spot to take a break

Progress is being made on my alpaca vest. I hope the stripes line up a bit better once it's seamed and blocked! A year has passed between the first and third panel, and I *hope* my knitting has improved in that time, so maybe that accounts for the variation! One more panel, a back wedge, and the edging. Maybe by February it will be done?!?

I thought this would be a perfect stopping point, since it is now SOCKTOBERFEST! I picked up the Jaywalkers that I started at Stitch-n-Pitch a few weeks ago. After about 8 rows of ribbing, I decided to try them on. They seemed waaaaaaay to big around my leg. So, I ripped them out and cast on my usual 68 stitches (usual...hahahaha, I've completed one pair of socks in my knitting history!) Then I adjusted the pattern for fewer stitches. I worked for a couple rows, then decided to see if there were any notes online for the pattern. I found messages from last winter's Jaywalker Knit-along, and Cara noted that she usually knits socks with 68 stitches, and the Jaywalkers turned out fine as written with 76 cast on. RIIIIIIIP yet again! So here it is, the first day of SOCKTOBERFEST, and instead of having a head start, I am just joining the stitches to begin my second-ever pair of socks.

Here is my angel baby, sleeping sweetly this morning:

There won't be baby pictures everyday anymore, the grandparents are back from their vacation now! I'll post pictures occasionally, probably the monthly bunny/growth shot, but we're back to regularly scheduled crafty posts from now on!

More pictures for Grandma

Cuddling on Daddy's lap. It's great to have Mommy and Daddy home all the time!

Just too cute!

No fiber content today...I've been working on my challenge quilt for the longarm group. It's turning out ok, but I've done alot of picking out stitches! Good thing I'm in the ROOKIE category, it certainly shows! I tried some "wineglass" background stitching...think of a double wedding ring pattern, that's what it looks like. I had fun with that!

back in time

Grandma called yesterday and she has been checking out the pictures. Baby K says "Hi Grandma and all my other fans!!"

Pantographs are wonderful. I can get a twin size quilt done in about 3 hours. This is a Linda V. Taylor pattern "Feathered Roses" that I used on the Hugs and Kisses quilt (from Tonya's Xs and Os). I have two quilts done that are ready for binding. They are both charity quilts, and I think I will attach both sides by machine. I usually machine stitch the binding to the top and hand-stitch the back, but I don't see myself getting that done in the next few years!!

Back in Time...we are waiting for the phone company to come and install regular land-based telephones todays. Ever since we moved into this brand-new subdivision, we have used only cell phones (long story about bad customer service). Last month, with all the baby news, we ended up going over our free minutes. This large cell phone bill inspired us to take a close look at our plan, and realized we were being lazy uninformed consumers who deserved to pay three times the going rate! So. we took the big step of switching cell phone services (yay - new phone!) and getting a land line. This should save us money because the regular phones will be bundled with our internet and cable service for a minimal price increase, and the cell service is much cheaper. Anyway, we have taken a step back from being a progressive wireless-only couple to a normal family with a home phone number!

One last shot of the happy baby...

Prewash!

I am usually too impatient to prewash my fabric before starting a new project...especially with these strip club quilts where I have 30 2.5 inch strips. I always imagine the nightmare of frayed edges and go straight to the sewing machine! So, I have a bunch of finished quilts that have never been washed. (Now would be the time to invest in Retayne or Dye-magnet stock!!)

As I showed you yesterday, the next quilt will be made from batiks. I took the plunge (haha) and spent the morning handwashing the strips. Good thing! That focal fabric bled a pretty purple color, and the greens and yellows I'm using also turned the water various shades of the rainbow.

Next comes the OTHER reason I don't prewash...ironing!

Daily Baby Fix:
Baby K's favorite position...we call her "Superbaby"! She's really starting to fill up the crib.

Daily Fiber Content - I used this batik as the focal fabric for the last Strip Club quilt. I want to get this done before I go back to school in three weeks. (ha...ever the optimist!)

Daily Baby Fix - on Daddy's lap this weekend. My parents haven't checked in yet...they went to Ireland for the Ryder Cup. If they find an internet connection I hope they leave a comment to say hi!

Moody Blues

This is almost a king size quilt, and I didn't have anywhere to lay it out for a picture. So, you get to see the top left corner, LOL. It's a sampler with great border details. We will donate it to a local charity and hopefully they can raffle it off for lots of money! One of the cool design features is that half the setting triangles are white and half are dark blue. It really makes your eye move across the quilt. The longarmer is thrilled with all the open space...she loves to do heavy quilting and this gives her room to play.

All baby, all the time

Look at me! I can hold my head up so high! I'm sure this means I'm brilliant ;-)

OK, so the title was a lie. I did some sewing this week. These are raffle blocks for my guild. The pattern is called "Crystals." Great stash buster, as long as you can find the 4.5 inch square for the center!

Baby K is such a cuddler! We're hoping she soon learns to sleep more than two hours at a time! I dropped in at school today to help the new sub get settled...it's going to be so chaotic when I go back in three weeks...it's best not to think about it!

Contest Winner

Lorinda is the winner! Guess number 11 (Kendra) was correct. Once she sends me an address, the goodie bag with magazines and yarn will be on its way. Thanks for playing!

Photo explanation - I plan to take a monthly picture with this bunny as a reference. This is Baby K at one month old. She weighs about 9.5 pounds, but she's very long, about 22 inches right now. All her clothes are loose in the body and straining to cover the diaper!

A stitching report...on Saturday I went to Sharon Schamber's trunk show. She does AMAZING work - as evidenced by her Best in Show wins at Houston and Paducah. You may have seen her Piece-li-que technique on Simply Quilts. I bought a DVD tutorial about feathers and stippling and I'm anxious to see how she modifies her machine. She described an extension table that her husband built for the throat of her longarm.

On Sunday, I met with my guild charity team to work on the borders of our quilt. I need to finish the borders and get the binding ready. When I get it laid out today, I will take a picture. We based our design on the bear paw variations in the book "Hidden Block Quilts" by Lerlene Navaril. I have so much fun working with a team to make these quilts. Just like an old-fashioned quilting bee!

Shades of Tomkitten

I was going to keep Baby K anonymous...but then my parents went on vacation and Grandma didn't think she could handle two weeks baby-free. So, I told her to check in here to see photos. And here is the little princess! She is five weeks old. She is a good baby and we know we are very lucky. She only gets fussy for about half an hour in the evening. We have carted her around quite a bit...restaurants, church, CostCo, etc. and she never makes a sound. As long as we feed her every two hours, she is a happy camper!

I mentioned last week that I'd have a contest to give away my extra goodie bag from the Arizona Diamondbacks Stitch-n-Pitch event. (drumroll, please) Guess Baby K's name! Your hints are that she is a girl and the name starts with K. Leave your guesses in my comments. The first correct answer will win the goodie bag (with all contents!) that was showcased in a previous post. Fine print...any of my friends and family are not eligible, since they already know the answer, and they were probably at the game and got their own goodie bag! If no one figures out the right answer, I will think of something else. (like, more hints, or a random number generator!) Grab the baby name book and start guessing!

Quilting on the longarm

In the first photo, you can see some of the shapes I have been working with today. Why yes, it IS a Christmas quilt! And yes, this is the last minute - it has to be done for a class on Saturday morning. Tomorrow is crunch time!! I use my computer's paint program to show you my quilting designs when I can't get a good picture. Drawing with the mouse is somewhat close to the motion of the longarm! But, luckily, the longarm designs come out much smoother!

The second photo is the next project to be loaded on the longarm. The local longarm guild is having a "President's Challenge." Everyone used the same pattern for the piecing (fabric choices were individual) and then it's up to us to showcase our best quilting. I entered in the custom category because I have some freehand designs planned. Plus, I'm a rookie, so I hope that works in my favor ;-) I have only been quilting on a longarm since March. The thread I'm using for most of it will be the PermaCore (tm) that you see in the picture. Those colors are for the borders, tone-on-tone. The black center will have a colorful design, which I am keeping secret on purpose. A) I like the suspense and B) if it doesn't turn out right, I can do something else and no one will know I messed up the first time!

Happy stitching to everyone!

Knitting is a sport

Saturday night I dragged B. and Baby K. with me to Chase Field (which will always be B.O.B. to me!) to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the St. Louis Cardinals, and to be a part of TNNA's Stitch-n-Pitch event. Reports are that over 1000 knitters were there!! (Probably closer to 500 when you subtract spouses) It was really cool to look around and see so many hands working on so many projects! Unfortunately, there weren't any announcements during the game...I kept a close eye on the Jumbo-tron waiting for them to highlight all these crazy knitters. But, they did find Baby K right before the game and broadcast her cute little face. My dad was holding her so his hand was across her adorable D-backs outfit...I'm sure they would have lingered if they saw that she was a true fan!

South West Trading Company was a partner for the SnP event and they donated the yarn you see in the picture. All the women got the cool pink bag, which is a great size for knitting projects! (Notice the awesome grommet handle.) Plus, if you had purchased your game ticket specifically for the SnP event, you could claim a yarn goodie bag. Of course, I redeemed B's bag as well, so now I have THREE pink bags, and two sets of yarn giveaways. (There may be a contest in the future..I'll get Chris to mention it when I work out the details!)

Photo details, from left. After the game, they gave everyone a team hat. Nice touch! I started a new pair of socks. The goodie bag contained an issue of Creative Knitting and Crochet!, plus some soysilk ribbon/ladder yarn, purple fuzzy stuff, and Skacel Fuego, a mohair/wool blend. My yarn stash is growing and I have NO IDEA what to make with these things!! Scarves, most likely, but it would be fun to work some of the funky yarns into a sweater. (No, not all in the same sweater! I like to color-coordinate!) Actually, the purple fuzzy stuff could go in Baby K's log cabin...that would make a neat border!

I'm up against a quilting deadline again...I need to get the Christmas Strip Club quilt finished for class this Saturday. Yikes! Especially since I need to order thread, which will be delivered on Thursday. I'll have to use that in the border and get the main part done with the colors I have on hand! I have a solid backing so it should be easier to take pictures.

Tony thanks all of you who have visited. He is enjoying the morning outside under the tangelo tree. He has been unsupervised for a couple hours and is behaving so well! We usually don't let the cats stay outside unless we are sitting out on the patio, and Tony has a bad habit of jumping up on the cinder block wall and exploring the neighborhood. Scary thought because you never know who has their dogs outside, and he doesn't have claws or a collar. So, we keep a close eye on him!

And in honor of the extraordinary, ordinary Americans who died five years ago, I say a prayer for their families and a huge thank you to all service men and women who are fighting terrorism and preserving the ideals of democracy and freedom throughout the world.

Tony the tagged

I'm Tony, and today is all about me! (as it should be every day) I am a two-year-old black and white cat with the longest, fluffiest tail you have ever seen. Chaos tagged me to share 5 weird things about me. I really don't think these are WEIRD...I'm just a cat, after all!

1. I love to lay in the grass. Note the relaxed pose in the photo on the bottom. My yard is wonderful, but the people don't spend enough time out there. They keep saying things like "It's too hot. We'll go out when it's less than 100 degrees."

2. My favorite playtoy is Raffie, a beanie baby giraffe (photo on the top). Mom likes to keep a small collection of stuffed animals on top of the piano or the TV. I love to climb up and capture them! Right now, Raffie is in my super-secret hiding place in the corner of Dad's closet.

3. I wait for my people to get out of the shower by sitting on the bathroom counter. One of my most adorable kitten poses was in the sink. People need supervision in the bathroom, you know.

4. A special treat is when my people put me on top of the refridgerator and I roll to the back under the cabinet. Then I attack fingers that creep up over the sides. This game is more fun with Dad, because Mom is too short to see me when I'm up there! But people must stay in the kitchen for this game...I don't like to play alone.

5. Dad taught me to climb a ladder. He keeps it under the ficus tree in the backyard. I don't have front claws, so I can't climb up the trunk of the tree, but I like to sit at the top of the ladder hoping for birds to come close.

And bonus #6 - I love knitty things, of course! Mom has learned the hard way to keep her knitting in zippered bags or shut up in the closet. She gave me a small swatch last year, but I put it away in my other super-secret hiding place...or maybe it just got lost outside.

If you have four legs and/or fur or feathers, consider yourself tagged! And please leave me a comment. I am adorable, you know ;-)

Challenge Complete!

I finished Tonya's challenge...here is my Hugs and Kisses quilt! Trying to get big borders from my meager stash is a bit difficult. I needed to make it at least 60x70 to donate to a senior center that is our longarm group charity for the year. From now on, I think I will keep the letters in the border as titles, but I definitely enjoyed the process!

Next up...more borders and bindings on two other projects!

Baby Knits

Here are some lovely hand-knit gifts that Baby K received...a Petal Bib (a One Skein project), the square bib from Mason-Dixon, Baby Bolero from One Skein and a variety of burp cloths. They are almost too pretty to use! Luckily, Baby K has not been much of a spitter-upper yet, just dribbles as she eats.

The Intarsia and Beading class yesterday was lots of fun. We were laughing so hard when we got to the differences in language! Debbie calls American football "the game with big shoulders and masks" and she had never heard of the term "bangs" to talk about hair...the British call that "fringe."

The project to reclaim my sewing space is about halfway complete, now to find the motivation to finish and drag out the machine and all the accessories! We are waiting for the baby's dresser to arrive, and then the organization process will be alot easier...right now Baby K is sleeping in a cradle in our room, so the nursery just has piles of clothes and toys all over the floor. And I need to get birth announcements and thank you notes in the mail! Sounds like a good job for - tomorrow :-) Just call me the Queen of Procrastination!!

Introduction to Intarsia

I am going to a class with Debbie Abrahams today! We are making a small beaded three-color bag. So exciting! I am feeling guilty though, because I am leaving B home with Baby K all day. She's all of 20 days old and I'm runnning off to a knitting class...what a bad mother! OK, enough of the guilt trip. B is a fabulous father and a wonderful husband and they will be fine. This is just a test for when I have to go back to work in 6 short weeks!

Log Cabin update...Mom loved her finished quilt, she said it was my best yet! The project for this weekend is to clean off the table so I can get my sewing machine out again. I need to finish the Strip Club quilt (borders and quilting). And work on some more Xs and Os!!

Quilting designs

This is my quilting sketchbook. I took a class with Gina Perkes this summer...she is an Arizona Longarm quilter, and she has won Best in Show at our state quilt show several times. She showed us this "squiggle" design for free-motion quilting...basically a question mark. (Please excuse the flash on the white paper!)

I am using this design on the infamous log cabin quilt. The quilting won't show up in a photo because it's cream thread on cream fabric! Kinda tricky to quilt in places, too! I love crawling under the machine to look at the back side...it looks like tin-punch artwork with the light shining through the needle holes and outlining the design.

If anyone has good photography tips for photographing quilts and getting the quilting to show, I'd love to hear them! I am using a Kodak digital camera.

Word of the day

Tension causes tension.

Can you say FROG?!?!?!

I told you this log cabin quilt had me intimidated!!!

Progress

We'll get to the quilts after this BREAKING NEWS ALERT - that is actual rain in Phoenix!! In the morning! In August! It was wonderful - I sat outside on my (covered) patio for about 30 minutes, and it continued for another 30 minutes after I came inside. Just what the parched desert needed: relaxing, soaking rain.

August is our monsoon season and we get lots of late afternoon thunderstorms. Watching the clouds build up all day is part of the beauty of the desert, and I always think I should grab my camera and join Saturday Sky. But this year, the storms have missed my corner of the city...until today!

We followed the recommended desert landscape plan...pink bouganvillas, a ficus tree, small patch of grass and lots of rock. B. is in charge of yardwork, and he enjoys sitting outside in the evenings. I am usually driven inside because of the bugs, and my desire to play at the sewing machine! The ladder is for our cat Tony...we taught him to climb it so he can pretend to be up in the tree (he's de-clawed) rather than getting up on the fence and carousing through the neighborhood. (It blew over in a windstorm a few days ago, and we're too lazy to pick it up so far!)

On to the quilts...that's called Good Gyrations, a Cara Gulati (sp?) pattern. I used a Linda V. Taylor pantograph called "Geometric Pinwheels"...it actually photograhed pretty well! Now I have to tackle the free-motion intimidator...which will probably be fine as soon as I get started. Darn Newton and his laws of motion! Laurie was talking about inertia today...I'm right there with you, girlfriend!

Fiber Content

Here is a preview of the September Strip Club quilt for my LQS. I used 12 fabrics, and it was a bit of a challenge to organize the blocks in a "scrappy" fashion. The overall effect works though. I have one more horizontal seam, plus borders, then quilting. Projects go much faster as you approach the deadline! I'm usually putting on the binding the day before the class! Luckily I have just one more of these Strip Club quilts and then the series is over. That is the worst part of working in a quilt store - you are always under a deadline to get samples done, and they do not always fit with what you'd really like to be working on!

Longarm update...I pinned on the pantograph quilt, and realized I didn't have the right size batting. My mom is going to drop that off today. All afternoon I debated pinning on the second one (the intimidating freehand quilt) and of course talked myself out of it. I did purchase an extra set of zippered canvas leads, so I can just unzip the first quilt and put on the second. I worry that I will pin it wrong and get the canvas in the wrong place, so I haven't used that option yet! Plus there's the whole intimidation factor that makes it easy to put off...

Kitty report...B got up early this morning and the quilt I was piecing and had left on the table was in a pile on the floor. Oops. And I found one of my corsage pins from the longarm on the floor as well! I forgot to put them away yesterday!! What is it with cats and round-topped pins??? We fell in love with the open floorplan of our house, but it makes quilting a challenge, since I can't shut the cats out of my sewing areas!