All weekend plans are up in the air...or stuck in a snowbank, if you prefer! I'll probably try to go out and shovel some of the white stuff later today, but that will depend on how Mother Nature plays it over the next few hours.
Thus...I thought I'd share some of what I've been doing to add light to my days as we edge closer to the Solstice, still a month or so away.
I've been knitting a *lot* -- but not on "all the things" I started in my last 'making' post from 3 weeks ago. With Xmas coming, I wanted to make some real progress on the [Not So] Presto Vesto for my daughter.
I took it from this
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| Left Front Progress (Nov. 2-2024) |
to this
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| Left Front Finished -- and armhole trim - November 22, 2024 |
Yes -- the major sections of the vest have been knit, the shoulder seams sewn, and the armhole ribbing completed! Next up: the collar!
I also started a pair of "Downton Abbey Gloves" for a friend of mine who is positively obsessed with that television series. I've lost track of how many times she's watched it -- every single episode. It's not my cuppa, but the gloves are pretty. Here's what the start looked like:
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| Pattern: "Downton Gloves" Designer: Ceecees Stringer Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend Colour 3049: Rose |
My friend's not a big wearer of wool, but I figure she'll be fine with merino blended with silk, in one of her favourite colours...right?
You might notice I'm using a long dpn (Double Pointed Needle for you non-knitters out there 😉). Even though these are knit flat and seamed, my 'regular' straight and circular needles are far too long for the 38 stitches called for; hence the switch to a pair of long double-points!
By the time I went to bed last night, I'd finished the first one, complete with picot edge, and just have to sew it up. The second one will be finished later today. 😊
I've also started a 'give-away' box. I want to fill it with small, warm wearables -- made from stash yarn -- that need a good home with people who don't have the where-with-all to buy them. Last week I finished a little pair of mittens (child-sized):
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| Pattern: The World's Simplest Mittens Designer: Tin Can Knits Yarn: Schoeller & Stahl, Limbo Mexiko Color |
And earlier this week I finished and adult-sized hat out of left-over sock yarn, two strands held together. The first time I made this hat (some years ago), I used 2 strands of blue -- one darker than the other -- and it was okay, if but a bit 'ho-hum'. This time I decided to play with self-striping and/or variegated yarn left-overs. The result? Much more fun to knit and -- I hope -- to wear!
On the stitching front, I must admit I'm rather proud of myself: I Fully Finished the little "Precious Friend" stitch -- another Xmas gift:
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| "Precious Friend" Designer: Bent Creek |
Look at that! It's in a 7" hoop! And I covered the back with craft felt, so it's all neat and tidy! I'm so thankful for a couple of YouTube tutorials -- particularly one from Helen D (Eastcoast Crafter) -- though I chose not to use glue, and stitched around the back instead.
In the end it wasn't as finicky as I thought it would be, so I'm rather pleased with m'self!
I've continued to make progress on "Remember Me" -- my Black Sampler November stitch from Jacob at Modern Folk Embroidery:
Even though it's a complex pattern, I actually find it a rather restful break from other stitching, as I never have to change colours!
Speaking of 'complex', having finished the 'Precious Friend' I dug returned to the tiny stitch from Jeannette Douglas -- designed to wrap around a spool that's going to be a scissor holder:
Since this photo was taken, I've added the year and watched Jean Farish do the "Nun Stitch" so I can fully finish it...soon!
And...I've started yet another Christmas Gift Stitch:
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| "Don't Bug Me When I'm Stitching" Designer: Sweetheart Tree |
I got the kit for this some time back (who knows when?!) and decided it would work as a studio door "notice" for a stitching friend. It's tiny, and involves 1/4 stitches (!) plus a fair amount of back stitch, and will be embellished with beads and even a teeny-weeny lady bug charm...eventually! I'm doing those wee bumble bees 1 over 1; they don't look like much until the back-stitching kicks in. 😄
Pretty much every afternoon has found me doing some quilting. I love to turn on Tom Allen's "About Time" on the CBC music station -- it's a classical music show for 3 hours -- and just go into my happy place in the studio. As a result, I've been piling up the Disappearing 4-Patch blocks and Easy Breezy (Bonnie Hunter) blocks (sorry, no photos), as well as strip-piecing 2" x 7" rectangles to cross-cut for more postage stamp blocks.
Sherri of A Quilting Life is nearing the end of her 2024 Block of the Month, which I've enjoyed immensely. A couple of weeks ago -- after my last 'making' post -- I did up the November blocks:
I'm continuing to use up left-over Thimbleberries fabrics, and I've been making two of the 8" (finished) blocks per month. I'm really looking forward to what the December blocks entail, as I think Sherri will include ideas for setting them. I'm thinking sashing and cornerstones, myself. I'll have 24 of these, which sounds plenty, but they're small...
And just yesterday I finished the top for the throw quilt I want to make up for my son's 40th (in June!):
Here's a vertical view
and here's a horizontal view:
It's from the book "Batik Beauties" by Laurie J. Shifrin (Martingale & Co., 2001) that I got second-hand somewhere however long ago; so far, this is the first and only pattern I've made from it!
In my last post, I showed you all those pieced bits for the sashing -- I'm thinking all that work was worth it, eh? The only non-batik in the mix is the very narrow inner border, which is a dark purple cotton print. AND I decided not to go with the colourful, 4 1/2" finished outer border. Too much of a muchness (plus I'd have had to piece it as I didn't have the sort of fabric called for)! So...I went with a narrower -- 3" finished -- outer border made from the batik background fabric. The top at present is about 56" W x 65" L and will be just right as a throw for comfort, for TV watching, and book reading...or at least that's what I hope!
And yes...there's been art-making. Lacombe's Annual Under $100 Art Market is next weekend, and I hope to get all seven pieces delivered there for set-up on Thursday morning -- if Mother Nature behaves herself after this weekend!
In my last 'making' post I showed you five pieces that needed to be mounted. Here are the four on canvas, all stacked up and backed with brown paper. (They now have wires for hanging, too.)
A fifth one looks like this, mounted on the "wrong" side of a wooden board/panel, which I painted black:
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| All That Blue, Green & Gold! (c) 2024 Hooked art mat, 6" square (panel = 8" square) |
And...this week I finished two more that will also go "inside" black-painted panels. Here they are, fresh off the frame:
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| Top: Autumn in Aspen Land Bottom: Slough View 6" square - (c) 2024 |
They're now blocked and ready to finish -- I have to sew down the edges on the back, and then mount them in their 'panels'.
As for other hooked art, some time ago I finished "Little Yellow Flowers", one of Deanne Fitzpatrick's designs, which I bought as a kit on burlap. Earlier this fall I had it framed, with the idea of giving it away -- but in the end, I've decided to keep it and hung it up over my couch in the living room. It measures 17" W x 6" long before framing:
What you also see in that photo is the ceiling fan in my kitchen. Yes; there's a cut out in the wall between the kitchen and the living room -- and in the cut out I've hung a vintage glass window, rescued from a house down the block when it was being renovated several years ago. 😊
Now, my friend C. saw the 'Little Yellow Flowers' piece and asked if I'd make a coaster for her out of a 'slice' of it -- the bottom right corner, full of flowers -- so I did, and gave it to her when we had lunch together last week:
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| Snippet of "Little Yellow Flowers" Approx. 4" square |
It was a bit tricky to hook, as I was trying to use up a scrap of burlap, but I jerry-rigged a 4" embroidery hoop, clipped it to my stitching station, and managed it that way!
I've got some ideas for a new hooked piece -- one that is larger and more abstracted (maybe) but for the time being I'm taking a bit of a break and will ponder just how to do it, while keep on knitting, quilting and stitching.
Maybe I'll take some inspiration from the work of Nancy Crow, whose pieces are on exhibit at the Kent State University Museum, on now through December 15 -- or so reports Nina-Marie over on her Off the Wall Friday blog post for this week. She went to see it -- and I'm glad she did, and shared photos. Some of those linear pieces from Ms. Crow might need further study for my next hooked work...
So, having caught you up, Gentle Readers, and hopefully shared some colour and light with you, I'll leave you with a link to that blog post and bid you adieu. For my American friends and readers, I wish you less chaos, safe travels, and times of fun, food, and comfort with family for your Thanksgiving Holiday next week. I am thankful for you -- and for all of my Gentle Readers, wherever you may be.
A bientot!
5 comments:
I just watched a video by Deanne Fitzpatrick on Making Zen, (free course retreat), now finished. A pleasant surprise to have a Canadian presenter, beautifully done and to realize she received the order of Canada for elevating the art of rug hooking.Marian
I think my comment may have posted as unanimous so I’m redoing it. I cant believe all your little projects. I really like the quilt. I downloaded the gloves, the mitts, and the hat. I have lots of scrap wool that will do.
Thanks for the links!
So much to look at and admire. You certainly are a very busy person. I especially like your hooked wall art. Your presention is wonderful. Good luck....I hope you sell them all.
The snow has not come our way yet. I'm sure it is only a matter of time. I love that mitten pattern. I've already knit multiple pairs and I share the pattern with anyone who asks how to make mitts.
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