WIP-it Wednesday #10

Feels like another slow week. I'm really sleep-deprived right now so that might have something to do with it.

Finished this week

1. Custom Pillow Cover
2. June do. good stitches: We did the antique tile block in sunny oranges and yellows. i stitched mine in strip sets rather than explicitly following the directions. once again the Stash Stack Club comes in handy. i've used the fabrics i got from the club so much this year.
   
3. May do. good stitches quilt: i finished my rolling diamonds quilt. more on this one later.
   

In progress this week

1. Haruni: I'm almost finished with repeat #3 of chart 1. it took me a little bit to get back in the groove of lace knitting, but it's going smoothly now.
   

Idle projects

1. Xmas quilt
2. superwash merino handspun
3. HST value quilt
4. sampler quilt
5. granny squares qayg
6. log cabin qayg
7. bearpaw quilt
8. scrappy trips
9. medallion
10. wonky bee #1 quilt
11. herringbone quilt
12. yo yo pillow
13. hexagon mini
14. polaroid blocks
15. embroidery mandalas
16. cross stitch family
17. triangles quilt

New starts

None. I'm hoping to work on some older projects this week.

Yardage progress

FYI: I'm rounding to the nearest 1/8th of a yard to keep the math simplified. i only count yards used per week from finished projects. Scraps don't count, because...well, they're scraps.
Used this week: 5.25 yds
Yards acquired: 0 yds
+/-: +12.535 yds

there's always money in the banana stand

I got a custom order for an embroidered pillow cover reminiscent of this one. The client wanted to use yellows, blues, and purples. I dug out my Anna Maria Horner floss that I won ages ago. I knew that yellow wouldn't show up very well, so I substituted green for the embroidery. the background is white cotton couture, which is a very nice base for embroidery.

Next, I picked out a fabric for the backing that coordinated with the embroidery colors. This field study fabric was a perfect match (no surprise there). I pulled coordinating scraps for the patchwork on the front. The cover is 16" square.

I tried out matchstick quilting on the patchwork with white 50-wt aurifil thread. these narrow strips were fairly quick to quilt. I can imagine that this technique would be pretty time-consuming on a larger area though.

The cover has been shipped out to the recipient. This was a fun one!

Déjà vu

I was contacted by a client who liked my nautical stripes quilt but wanted a larger size. i used white and aqua mm cotton couture and a free spirit solid in navy for the top. the dimensions are approximately 36x48.

The customer picked out the fabric for the backing and binding. It's a line called "Ahoy Matey" by Michael Miller. I hadn't really noticed it before but it has several cute prints perfect for a nautical-themed nursery. i thought that the large panel would be perfect for the backing but it wasn't quite long enough, so i added a strip of navy to the top and a teal kona scrap that was in my stash. it happened to be just the right size and although not a perfect match, it was pretty darn close to the color of the water.

I did wavy line quilting with my walking foot and white 50-wt aurifil. the binding is cut on the bias and handstitched to the back. i love simple minimalist quilts. this one came together very smoothly and i really hope my client likes it!

WIP-it Wednesday #9

Has it been another week already?

Finished this week

1. Spicy's socks: Finally!
   
2. Nautical Stripes II: Check back for more details on Friday.
   

In progress this week

1. Xmas quilt: I finished all of the blocks and have begun assembly. it's really busy. i'm starting to regret my decision to use all prints. i'm hoping it'll grow on me.
   
2. Superwash merino handspun: I forgot to take a picture, but I did spin for an hour or so this week.

Idle projects

1. HST value quilt
2. Rolling Diamonds for do. good stitches
3. sampler quilt
4. granny squares qayg
5. log cabin qayg
6. bearpaw quilt
7. scrappy trips
8. medallion
9. wonky bee #1 quilt
10. herringbone quilt
11. yo yo pillow
12. hexagon mini
13. polaroid blocks
14. embroidery mandalas
15. cross stitch family
16. triangles quilt

New starts

1. Haruni shawl: I felt the urge to knit some lace. Haruni has been on my list for practically forever. i wound my 2ply jacob handspun and got through Chart 1. it's going smoothly so far, but i have some other things to finish first so this will be put aside for awhile.
   
2. Custom Embroidery Pillow Cover: It's been awhile since I've done any embroidery. I'd almost forgotten how enjoyable it is. I bought some frixion pens at my LQS last night. on my test, the ink did disappear immediately when ironed but came back faintly when i stuck my sample in the freezer. it went away again with another iron. I figure it's pretty safe for embroidery, since the ink will be covered by floss anyway, plus a pillow cover is unlikely to be out in the cold for long. i'd be more hesitant to use it on clothing or quilts.
   

Yardage progress

My LYS is having their anniversary sale this week. i got some yarn to make my niece a cardigan, hat, and mittens, some sock yarn for Spicy, 4oz of local shetland, plus a skein of madtosh pashmina just for me.

In addition to the yarn and quilt shops, East Rochester is basically Craft Central. There's also a bead shop, a weaving shop, and a tapestry shop all in the same complex with the quilt store, and the yarn store is across the street. i should really go more often. At the quilt shop, I got a yard of rainbow stripe cotton couture to use for binding and a half yard of a crossword fabric. i wanted to pat myself on the back for my restraint.

FYI: I'm rounding to the nearest 1/8th of a yard to keep the math simplified. i only count yards used per week from finished projects. Scraps don't count, because...well, they're scraps.
Used this week: 4.5 yds
Yards acquired: 5 yds
+/-: +7.285 yds

building blocks

I managed to stitch all of the blocks for my Xmas quilt. it was quite the slog and i was relieved to be finished. naturally when i got through that part and was ready to move on to the fun stuff, i needed to put this aside and work on a different project. but i'm sure i'll be back to this one soon.

Linky Loo Friday

My niece's birthday is in August so I'm currently in research mode for gifts. I like to make her clothes a couple of seasons ahead, so i'm aiming for fall/winter stuff. She'll be a tall 2 year old, so if anyone has suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!

• I have the pattern for the Antler Cardigan, but i'm having trouble coming up with a yarn choice. i was going to buy madtosh vintage, but then i realized that fairy-fart yarn and toddlers don't really mix. so now i'm thinking of using cascade 220 superwash. but what color? my only restriction is no purple. i can't decide if i should go for a practical neutral or a bright fun color, or whether light or dark would be best. since this is a heavier sweater, i think i would add a separating zipper and have it function as a light jacket.
• i was also thinking about a lighter weight cardi since my niece lives in a warmer climate than i do. i think that yoked sweaters look adorable on children, so maybe something like a tiny tea leaves, playful stripes, beear, or circle line. i have a bunch of cascade 220 sport in the stash but it's not superwash. it is really hard to find a decent superwash yarn that has all of the properties i'm looking for. i don't really want to use acrylic and cotton can be too heavy. i've been debating various yarns for a few days and it's definitely a goldilocks problem. i would say that i'd spin something but i'd never finish in time and i'd still have to buy fiber. apparently over the years my stash has become anti-superwash. pretty much the only thing i have with enough yardage is Wollmeise in a navy blue color, and see aforementionedness with fairy-fart yarns, plus it would take forever since it's fingering weight.
• i have the ice cream dress pattern, but no fabric. more accurately, i probably have fabric i could use but i haven't taken the time to pick anything out yet. and i think it might be too much of a spring/summer dress. but maybe it would work ok with a coordinating cardi (see above)?
• I was also thinking about buying the geranium dress, though now that i see them side-by-side, it looks fairly similar to the ice cream dress. i'm thinking part of the problem is that my mom was super into the frilly girly dresses when i was a kid, so my brain rebels against them. (plus my mom is still in the picture and i wouldn't be surprised if she had that particular area covered in regards to her grandchild). i think that this dress is really cute but i don't know if it's too twee. i feel like this kid's parents definitely own thick oversized glasses with no frames and are people my brother would make fun of.
• or maybe i should just stick to a place where i'm more comfortable, the land of pants and t-shirts. i already have the t-shirt pattern and a lot of cute knit fabric from girlcharlee. i probably will make at least a couple of shirts. many of the patterns i've purchased have a range of larger sizes so it would be practical to reuse them. i have the urban unisex hoodie, a bunch of basics from sewing for boys, and the lucy top.

i still have a little bit of time to figure it out, but not having kids myself makes the options overwhelming at times.

WIP-it Wednesday #8

dragging this morning. the cleaning lady is super chipper and i don't know why.

Finished this week

1. Grocery bag holder: I actually made this last week, but i completely forgot about it. i used a fat quarter of walk in the woods and some of the twill tape moda uses to tie their bundles. i made a french seam, which is clean-looking but a bit fiddly with the elastic and probably ultimately unnecessary. my only druthers is that i should've made it a tad longer because it's completely stuffed. but it functions quite well.
   
2. Star table runner
3. Holiday stockings: I made 4 of these. i used mostly red/green/white scraps plus one with selvages and quilted them to fusible fleece. the linings are plain white cotton with a print for the cuff/hanger. these were fun and fast to make and there will probably be more.
   
4. Holiday Coasters: I used the leftovers from cutting out my stockings to make coaster sets. bonus project and less waste.
   

In progress this week

1. Spicy's socks: again with the socks. i'm getting closer, i swear.
   

Idle projects

1. HST value quilt
2. Superwash merino handspun
3. Rolling Diamonds for do. good stitches
4. sampler quilt
5. granny squares qayg
6. log cabin qayg
7. bearpaw quilt
8. scrappy trips
9. medallion
10. wonky bee #1 quilt
11. herringbone quilt
12. yo yo pillow
13. hexagon mini
14. polaroid blocks
15. embroidery mandalas
16. cross stitch family
17. triangles quilt

New starts

1. Xmas quilt: Because i'm a Scrooge, I had very little holiday fabric in the stash. i went on a bit of a shopping spree. i didn't realize there were so many non-tacky seasonal fabrics out there. i immediately pulled a stack with coordinating stash fabrics to make a quilt. i started with this bundle but i will be adding more for variety. probably some b/w text prints.
   

Yardage progress

FYI: I'm rounding to the nearest 1/8th of a yard to keep the math simplified. i only count yards used per week from finished projects. Scraps don't count, because...well, they're scraps.
Used this week: 5.625 yds
Yards acquired: 8.5 yds
+/-: +7.785 yds