On and off the Needles

As usual, lately, I'm one day late with this. But I have an excuse, really I do. This is a long armers' busiest season, getting gifts ready for people for Christmas, and that's what I've been spending a lot of my time doing. The rest of the time seems to be spent sitting and either sewing or knitting to get my own Christmas list done. I have some knitting finishes.

 This little baby boy sweater is finished, except for sewing in the ends. I don't seem to be able to find my large needle that I use for this task, so it will have to wait until I can get out to a store. But since I need to get buttons for this, and also fabric for making pajamas, I can do it all at once. But not today. There is no way I am going near any stores or malls today, it's way too insane out there. Much better to stay at home, get lots done, hopefully, and have a jammies day.

The alpaca hat and scarf for Noel is done. I really hope he doesn't turn out allergic to this, since he is allergic to wool.















And I have enough of the alpaca yarn to do another hat up, so that is what  is currently on the needles.
The ribbing section is done, and I'm just starting on the main part of the hat. It's really bulky yarn, so it should finish up in the next day or two. I've used this Dad's Work Hat for the pattern for both hats. The first one knitted up a bit large, so I've cast on less stitches for the second one, and am doing the ribbing as knit one purl one, rather than the knit two purl two as given in the pattern.The scarf was a basic stockinette stitch, with a garter stitch border.
Today's task is to start working down my list of things I have to get done in the next couple of weeks, starting with making some pillow cases to go with the Road to Brenham quilt. Binding that quilt is also on that list. And I have to get a start on the colour challenge project for the guild that is due in less than 2 weeks. So, after I link up with Judy's On the Needles, I'm going to start on those pillow cases. The fabric has been washed, but needs to be ironed, and then I'm good to go.

Design wall Monday Nov. 25, 2013

We had a sew in day for the guild on Saturday. It started at 9 am and went to about 8:15 pm. Although, I must confess that I didn't get there until about 9:45 am.  I worked on this quilt all day. It's coming really close to being finished. I had hoped to get a couple more borders done yesterday. I have about half of the components for the 60 more leaf blocks that I need finished. I still need to make 60 more leaf blades and about 40 more stem units. I did a lot of sewing yesterday, during our snowed in day, but by the time 6pm came around, I stalled out. So, I put a movie in the computer, since the TV was occupied with football all day, and spent the rest of the day knitting. I'm making a cute little baby boy sweater as a Christmas gift, and got the yoke section completely done. I'm currently taking a break from working on a customer quilt, and having a can of Ensure to drink, since I can't be bothered taking the time to make lunch..... I know, that's the ultimate in laziness....
However, I'd best get back to work. I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday. 
I should mention the pattern source for this quilt. It is from a book by Judy Martin called Patchwork Among Friends. This is the third quilt I've made from this book, and there are several more in it that I'd love to do.

Stash Report week 47, 2013

This was the view from our door when we got up this morning. Winter has arrived. We had a guild sew-in day yesterday, and those of us who stayed to the very end had to drive home in this. There was a snow squall warning issued, but those warning so often come to nothing, that we ignored it. Surprise... this one actually had some punch to it. I sure hope everyone made it safely home. It was a very scary drive in mostly white out conditions, and that was in the city. I made a lot of progress on my Thanksgiving Leaves project, a pattern from Judy Martin's book Patchwork Among Friends. Unfortunately, all the fabric for that quilt has already been counted, so my stash report remains unchanged. Only 3 more pieced borders left to go. I have to figure out a new picture taking spot. My old one from the side of the deck has been filled in with snow. Maybe I'll have to talk to Matt and Becca about using their front hall floor.


Used this week:                              0 yards
Used this year:                            121.25 yards
Added this week:                            0 yards
Added this year:                           165.55 yards
Balance:                                            44.3 more yards in than out.

I have a placemat to make for the colour challenge for the guild that needs to be finished before the next meeting. I might start on that this week, so that will add a little out. But with my focus on finishing quilts, rather than starting any more, I'm not sure whether those numbers are going to change much more before the end of the year.
I'm linking up to Judy's Stash Report, and then I think the rest of the day is going to be spent in front of the TV and the sewing machine. Maybe I can get the last of those borders finished.

Design Wall Monday, Nov. 18, 2013

I now have ten leaf blocks done. I put them up on the wall, and added the sashes and cornerstones to get a more complete idea of what it is going to look like. I think I am going to swap out the blue sash and the blue cornerstones for neutral ones. The blues are dragging my eye right to them, and I want to focus to be completely on the leaf squares. I like the little bit if blue that is in the squares, but not any more. I have a lot more of the leaf parts ready to be sewn up, so that is what I will be doing this evening.
I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday

Stash Report Nov.17, 2013

I've been sewing and quilting like a mad fool for the past couple of weeks. I missed posting a stash report last week, so I'll combine them today. I'd think, for all the sewing I've been doing, I'd have larger numbers to show for it, but all the stuff was cut at the beginning of the quilt, so it's already been counted. I have the borders for Lazy Sunday that I can count, and the fabric for this weeks scrappy browns, and that's pretty much it.

Used this past 2 weeks:                          1 yard
Used this year:                                          121.25 yards
Added this past 2 weeks:                         0 yards
Added this year:                                     165.55 yards
Balance:                                                    44.3 more yards in than out.

I'm linking up to Judy's Stash Report, and then I'm going to do some more work on my Thanksgiving leaves project, and wait for a Skype call with Avery later on this afternoon. He is so cute! Whenever I answer the computer, that sounds rather weird, saying that rather than answer the phone, but anyway, when I answer, the very first thing he says is "Where's Grampy?". Scott and I both talk to him, and it may only be for a very short time, depending on Avery's mood and attention span, but it is always wonderful to see him. Have I said recently - it must have been at least a couple of weeks - I Love technology!

Scrappy Saturday

 Another Saturday, and another week of playing with brown scraps. I'm planning to do eight of these blocks from every posted colour. These three complete my eight blocks, and there's another saturday left yet to the month. I'm actually ahead of the game on this one. There is a sew-in day for the guild next Saturday, from 9am to 9pm, so I wanted to have the day clear for finishing at least one other project, hopefully the Thanksgiving Leaves.

 
I missed posting on the knitting post for yesterday, so I thought I'd do that today, as well. I started this hat yesterday evening. It is a really bulky fiber, 100% alpaca. It is so very soft and cuddly. I'm doing this hat, and a scarf for our son for Christmas. Considering he lives in northern Ontario, and is allergic to wool, these should be perfect.
I'm linking up to On the Needles and Scrappy Saturday .

Design Wall Monday, Nov. 11, 2013

 I have my next UFO project up on the wall today. It's a pattern called Thanksgiving from a book by Judy Martin called Patchwork Among Friends. I have 8 blocks done, and 8 more to do. Then there are the border units. It actually goes rather quickly, once I set my mind to it, and work at it steadily. I'm not going to set myself a time limit on this, but at the same time, it would be nice to have this one done by the end of the year.

And now, I'm, looking for some opinions. I've had my Grandmother's Diamond Ring down off the racks where my quilt tops are stored, and I'm trying to come up with a design for the quilting. I've got something laid on top of the quilt in this picture to the left. What do you think... is it too much for this quilt? Do you like it or do you have any other ideas? There would be continuous curves in the piecing. I'm not sure about the borders, yet.
I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday