BACK TO QUILTING

Remember that top?! Well, I decided to finish the quilt which it was supposed to become sooner or later. As the top was an attempt to reduce my 80´s /90´s fabrics, I chose to piece the back too:


Then I added some prairie points (that uses up some fabric too!)

And now I am quilting it. I hope to finish it soon.


The problem is that I still have yards of that kind of fabrics. But I tried some experiment with some of it. More of that next time!

On my commuter train I can´t quilt so I knitted some more socks. These are made of my own spun yarn with that pattern.
They fit really well which is just perfect as it is freezing cold over here.

I wish you a nice time in early spring.

STILL SNOWING

A long week-end was put to good use. Because of the snow, we can´t do much apart from sewing and knitting!

I finished the confetti top. The frame looks a bit boring right now, but I intend to do some machine quilting with variegated thread to bring more colour into it.


Then with the yarn I had spun and showed last time, I knitted a jacket and a hat for a friend of mine who is expecting. Actually the clothes are for her baby! They are the baby surprise jacket and the ganomy hat from Elisabeth Zimmermann. Fun patterns.





I even found the perfect vintage buttons in my stash:
I did some dyeing as well so that I can have something to spin for the next days.
More of that next time.

I wish you a warmer and nicer weather than we are having here!

A LOT OF SNOW

I could say that I did not blog in the last 3 weeks because of the snow. But no, even if we have (had) a lot of it, the reason is just lack of time and more work than usual.


Anyway, I finished at last the center blocks for my confetti quilt, and a good thing too!

It should not take that long now to add the sashing but I still don´t have a clue what kind of border I will sew. We will just see how it develops itself.

Of course I spun a bit too. I MUST learn how to use that wheel, right?!
From some merino/alpaka top


I spun some thin yarn:
And from 2 different merino tops which I mixed,

I tried to spin some rustic (!) yarn. I mean that I wanted a yarn with some thinner and some thicker parts with character. At least it is a very soft squashy yarn and with 250 gr. I should be able to knit something bigger out of it.


That´s all for today. I will go and have a look outside now to see if the snow is still falling.
I can´t say I am a fan of snow!


Have a nice time and try to make the most of the weather!


Gwen

WISHES

I wish you all a very happy new year 2010. May it bring you health, inspiration and joy!

For my part, my family and I had a very nice Christmas with my parents.
My DM brought her latest quilts for me to see and of course I show them here too.
The first one is a present for my aunt.

And the second one was a quilt along project in my DM´s quilt group.
My mum hand-appliquéed the border. I especially like the use of the purple/white fabric for the binding. It is just like another frame.

As it was freezing cold here lately, I decided to knit a cloche for myself ( after having knitted hundreds of hats for my sis!).

I like it so much, I knitted another one for my mum which she took away so sorry no picture!




P.S.: I bet my sis will make a comment and beg for another hat!

4 WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

I know, the post title is not original! Just to remind you and me that we don´t have that much time left to make presents.
Today I will show all the steps from rovings to shawl.

First the two wool braids, dyed by me.The left one is blue faced leicester and the right plain German domestic sheep.

Then the one ply on the spinning wheel.
And then the finished object, a shawl with one detail below.
It was an enjoyable project and I learned a lot during the spinning.

Next is a small shawl I knitted from a sock yarn that I had dyed some time ago.


Maybe that one will become a Christmas present for someone (dear sis, don´t worry not for you!)
I will go back to my knitting now as I have had some special requests ( not only from my sis but from my niece too, like mother, like daughter I would say!)

I wish you a peaceful first Advent.

GWEN

7 WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Things are getting repetitive here:

Yet another picture of my confetti blocks. I want to add one more row and then I can start thinking about the border.


These are the second pair of mits I knitted for my sister as she lost the first ones!



And this afternoon I made some jam like last year at the same time. This is pumpkin, vanilla and caramel (that´s just because the sugar burnt a bit!). It tastes nice though.
I ordered some wool from the UK so that I can dye and spin more. So expect some colours in the next post!

I wish you a nice week.

KNITTING, KNITTING AND MORE ... KNITTING!

It is mid-term over here and we used our free time to spend some days there.
It was fun, especially for my DS and we had wonderful sunny weather if only a bit too cold.
In the meantime, I knitted and knitted and ...
First I made a bolero thingy. It is very light (only a bit over 50 gr or 2 oz) and a nice blend of kid mohair and silk. Pure luxury!

Then I knitted a wrap out of wool which was given to me (always the best!)
It is the right thing to wear right now as it is very chilly in the mornings when I go to work and it fits well over a suit.
Then with the yarn I had shown last time (the thick one), I knitted a bowl which I felted. It is practical to put some more yarn and if the weather gets really cold I can wear it as a hat! ( it reminds me, my sister wanted a hat, I wonder if ...!)

In the two free days I still have, I intend to spin, to dye and to sew more confetti blocks. I wonder if I will manage all that.

I wish you nice autumn days with sun , sewing and knitting.