Sheila finishes one more!!

Seven Pears

This quilt is from a pattern that I picked up at a 'rummage sale' at a local quilt show. Machine pieced, hand appliqued and quilted. Look closely - there really are seven pears. Some of them did not photograph well.

Plaids and Stripes

 I have had this quilt partially finished for so long, I don't remember when I started it. At this point, I estimate that it was around 1990, because it was inspired by Roberta Horton's Plaids and Stripes. I pieced it and did most of the quilting, and then let the quilt languish around the sewing room for about twenty years. Why I never finished it, I just don't know. I like it a lot. The blues are the indigo blues that I like so much, and I am fond of the rust color, too. So here is the quilt, and a detail of the blocks.

It is hand quilted, but machine pieced.

I think that I started with eight fat eights of a line of Roberta Horton plaids and stripes, then filled in with fabris that I had on hand.



Now I can check off one Unfinished Project that has been completed in 2012

Nora urged me to start labelling my quilts, so that in the future she will know which ones I made, and which ones my grandmother made.

JT finishes the Christmas Tree Skirt!

Julie's Christmas tree skirt is ready for Christmas 2012- look at the cute covered buttons.

Christmas Tree Skirt

Fabric:  Waverly Pantry Plaid

Buttons: 1¼ inch flat

Dimensions: 54” diameter with 2¾” ruffle.  Center cutout is 10” diameter.

Christmas Cross Stitch

Julie finished theChristmas Cross Stitch, and now she needs to find the frame!

Merry Christmas #335 stamped cross stitch by Country Stitching

Dimensions: 9” x 20”

Thread:  DMC floss

The Ribbon Scarf

Yesterday, I sat down I knit this scarf from yarn bought about five years ago. I have not owned the yarn for the full five years. About two years ago I gave it away it a fit of getting rid of stuff. However, last month it reappeared in someone else's giveaway. I thought it was a portent. I really like the yarn, I had not been able to figure out what to do with it. So I decided to knit a scarf, and here it is.

It is a ribbon yarn with alternating sections of chips and solid. It is plain garter stitch.

24 hours have passed, and I really don't like the scarf. I described it to Nora as looking and feeling like rubber tires. Even though I knit it on size 15 needles so that it would look and airy, what I like about the yarn doesn't shine through. And it is much too bulky.

So, I decided to rip it out. And, I did. Then, I ironed the entire skein of yarn, which returned it to its original beauty. Yes, I ironed it. Every yard.  See photo.

Green Cotton Sweater

 After four days of blocking (blocking a cotton sweater in the cold of winter can take a Very Long Time), the green cotton sweater is dry. While watching the first episode of season two Downton Abbey, I sewed on the buttons. IT. IS. DONE. Here is a photo of Nora wearing it! 

pattern:  "Decimal", by Snowden Becker was featured on Knitty.Com in the Spring 2009 issue.

Yarn:  Knit Picks Shine Sport

The border is a variation on the Gazebo Lace from Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge. It reminds me of dragon scales. The lace itself is a great pattern - only two rows, and a ten-stitch repeat. I am including some detail below. And aren't those cute little buttons?

Completed Quilt Top

Huzzah! Huzzah!  The flannel quilt top is done! The kit was a Christmas present from my family in 2010. Leaves, stems, berries and central flower are hand-appliqued. And if you could see those triangle points... They are almost perfect.

Pattern is #1011 Timberline, from All Through the Night by Bonnie Sullivan. Finished size:  56" square.

Next step: Make the sandwich and quilt!! Because the flannel is so heavy, I plan to machine quilt this one.

Noro Tea Cozy

Another thing finished! The knitting has been completed for close to a month, I think, but today I sat down, in the spirit of Getting Things Done, and did all the sewing in of tails, clipping of yarn ends, etc.

This tea cozy was designed specifically for my Bee House teapot, which is featured in the photo. I made it with one skein ofKogarashi Noro yarn.  To make the pattern stand out, I divided the skein into halves, and alternated the halves for each section, which created the convenient stripes.

Another pair of fingerless gloves

I am happy to report that I have finished knitting another pair of fingerless gloves. These are knitted in sock yarn (one ball picked up from a clearance bin in Pacific Grove) with size 1 needles What makes the fingers work well are three rows of seed stitch at the top of each. This keeps the end tight and does not roll.

I felt that the fingers of my first pair were a little short, so I purposefully knitted this pair with fingers all the way to my fingernails.

Now I can begin knitting mittens!!

The Very Bright Quilt

Lisa worked on assembling the blocks for her Very Bright Quilt, which is destined to live in the cabin at Tahoe. Here are the first two rows, trimmed and assembled. Woo - Hoo!!

Don't forget this one

Another quilt I would like to make -- I have quite a few reproduction 30's fabric that I think would look fabulous in this design.  This original used to hang in Suzie's shop downtown.

Eugenia's Quilt

Shall we begin the blog with homage to Eugenia's quilt? My understanding is that Eugenia did not MAKE this quilt, but she BOUGHT it (and please correct me if I am wrong. Both Julie and I yearn to make this quilt. For me, it is at the end of a long line of quilts to be made and/or completed. But we can post the photo to remind us that we want to make it.

Just looking at it again makes me want to give it a try.