On my Needles, Aug. 29, 2014

I have really fallen off this blogging thing lately. I've been rather busy with summer and customer quilts, and doing the publicity for the quilt show for our guild coming up in October. Something had to go, and unfortunately, blogging was it. I have been busy doing all kinds of quilty and knitty stuff, but I simply haven't had the time or the energy to actually sit down and write about it. But, I am mostly caught up on the quilts, although not on my own, and most of the time consuming stuff for the publicity is done. So, hopefully, I'll be able to get on more of a schedule again with the blogging.
First off, is what is off my needles, finished and blocked and with the zipper sewn in! Flyaway Hoodie is done. Here's a pic of it, with me in it. This taking pictures of oneself is quite difficult, I have discovered. This was the best of the bunch, and it's not great, but it will do.
I changed to pattern from a buttoned to a zippered fastening. I was a bit concerned about putting in the zipper, because I wanted to do it using the sewing machine, rather than by hand, and I wasn't quite sure how well it would work. But, after I had it all blocked and at the right length, I pinned it well to the separating zipper, trying very hard not to stretch the knitted fabric, and then used my walking foot to do the stitching. I used a variegated thread with the same shades of green as the sweater, and used two lines of stitching on each side, by moving the needle position on my machine. It wasn't hard at all, which was quite a relief. I'll probably continue to do this with cardigans that I make, since I much prefer zips to buttons. The yarn I used for this sweater is Malabrigo worsted, and it is every bit as soft and comfy and warm to wear as I thought it would be.

Now, on my needles is another sweater from the same designer who did the hoodie pattern. This one is called On the Grass, using Malabrigo Rios yarn. This is a really fun yarn to knit with, since each skein is different in the colour concentrations, but similar enough to go together. The shein changes are visible, but not in a bad way, I don't think. The colour in the picture is quite close to the real thing. I love it! I will be buying more of this yarn in different colours.

I've managed to get a lot done on this sweater in our last few outings in the car. It's an easy pattern that doesn't require any counting or charts or anything complicated. Scott and I went on a mini road trip and quilt shop hop today, delivering flyers and bookmarks to 3 quilt shops in our area. I think I got 2 or 3 inches done on it during the drive. Just a couple more inches, and I can start the ribbing for the bottom. And, of course, I didn't come home empty handed. I added some fabrics to my neutrals collection while we were out. That means I'd better get some backings made if I want to keep my stash in the positive numbers for used, rather than added. I'm going to link this up to Judy's On the needles, actually on the right day, even! And then, I'm going back to get some more work done on Meteor Shower. It's almost there. I just might have a picture of the finished top to share come Monday. At least, that's what I'm working towards.