bestitched

Done

Pattern: A Buncha Squares from Denyse Schmidt's Quilts

Fabrics: Kona Cotton in Butter, Turquoise and Salmon, Heather Ross Tadpoles and Heather Bailey florals.

Yarn for tying:  Tahki Cotton Classic in Turquoise

  I learned a lot about making quilts, or rather my limitations in doing so. I am not precise and the quilt is as quirky as my finishing techniques. I made the back piece too small and had to tack in some more fabric at the end. And I now understand the importance of thimbles, especially when hand sewing a binding.

The good news for me is that sewing a quilt isn't that hard after all. But the biggest payoff? She loves it. And I can't think of any greater reward.

A gift for my favorite cupcake

She's coming to visit this afternoon, so I whipped up a little gift for her.

Pattern: Needle book from Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts (I heart this book so!)

Fabric: hand-dyed wool felt, Alexander Henry Loteria fabric, and cotton flannel.

If I thought tying knots went slowly....

then I don't know shit. * Hand sewing the binding trumps tying knots. I'm about half done with the binding and hope to finish up this weekend. Wish me luck!

* PS - Thanks to my dad for teaching me (at far too young an age) the ever-useful catch phrase: "If you thought _____ was ______, then you don't know shit." So applicable to a variety of situations!

Tying a quilt

It's going slllooowwww. And the kid laying on the top of it is not helping. I'm using the directions from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted gifts (love this book!), but still, so slloowww. Any suggestions?

checking in

Sorry for the radio silence these days. Things are busy here and posts will be infrequent for a little while.

Sadly, a busy life means that projects are languishing in various states of completion. The stag bag lacks a back, the buncha panties blanket hobbles forward, the ruffle scarf lives somewhere at the bottom of a pile in my bedroom, LL's quilt is still unfinished, and birch only gets some love on the bus. Except for yesterday when I had a quiet 10 minutes with birch by the harbor.  

Ah, nothing better than a little sea air and some knitting as a companion. I wish more days could be spent doing this!

stag bag progress

Things have been far too busy around here. The semester has started and I picked up a little extra work teaching a night class at a local university (because I clearly don't have enough to keep me busy). But last night, after some delicious Indian food, BL watched the little one and the stag bag and I got a little quiet time together. Extra bonus: they were playing some Rock of Love eps on VH1.

So, here's the progress thus far. The main body and side panels are complete  and I just picked up stitches for the top chevron panel. (Oh, and Brandi M was sent home on RoL.). I really like the results of the stranded knitting, but the process? Me no likey. Although I can eat it with a fork long enough to finish this bag.

Ah, and if any of you are local to the Boston area go check out Maritza's fab work at the South End Open Studios.

You made me love you stag bag

When I first say Norah Gaughan's Intricate Stag Bag in Knitscene's Fall issue, I thought, "nope, not for me" and  turned the page. Days later, I found myself picking up the magazine again to look at it. Then I was on flickr and saw Not Hip's version and then these two.

Let the obsession begin.

I'm not the best at intarsia, but so far, it's not too bad.

willow complete

Pattern: Kim Hargreaves Willow

Yarn: Rowan Handknit Cotton in Spanish Red

Needles: US 3 + 6

Buttons: Came with the kit

Overall, I'm pleased with the results. No really mods on my part, expect that I fully seamed the sides. The bottom bands are to be left open and the buttons used as closures. Not for me and my biscuit. So the buttons here are simply decorative. And  if I were knit this sweater again, I would make it longer (the size of my boobs impacted the length) and adjust the sleeve length and cap size.

I also had a bitch of a time seaming the sleeves as the size seemed to be all wrong. So, I ripped and reknit them a bit, but I would do them differently next time.

Also, the bottom band is not that stretchy (kelp! is working on Petal from the same collection and is having similar issues). I screwed up the needle sizes and knit the band on a size larger. I'm glad I screwed up because the fit on the band was much better. And, in full disclosure, I totally screwed up the directions in some parts. So, the mistakes I complained about before were fully my own. Sorry Kim!

And the fit?

Pretty good. I feel v . schoolmarm in it, but in a good way. 

JMB turns 29 + I got a package of goodness from Nova!

The one thing every 29-year-old needs is a new tea towel apron.

From Bend the Rules Sewing (the directions were so simple even I couldn't mess it up...too much).

Tea towel from Crate + Barrel, turquoise twill tape, a nd a square from Alexander Henry's Loteria fabric (inspiration from Affiknitty's burp cloths - genius).

I kinda screwed up sewing on the patch, but I still love the apron. Happy Birthday B!

And my package from

Nova came today. She sent fabric in exchange for  maracas for Little Sir. Holy cow!  Check out all the fabric she sent and she included some cotton yarn. You rule!!!

yeah, no thanks

Since there's a new baby in town, I felt the need to knit her a little something. Feeling frugal, I decided to knit a little kimono sweater from the stash. The result?

Super fugly. This would be the gift that said I don't give a crap about you or your baby. Here's your gift, now stop whining already. Jeezus, what was I thinking when I bought that yarn? Straight into the trash with that one and back to Willow who never fails to disappoint.

[although there are some mistakes in the pattern, which makes me a little sad  since I spent some of my birthday loot on this and it's so frickin expensive]