Last Finish Of 2013

Success!  The merino wool yarn that was frogged and refrogged is now a beautiful Chinook Scarf all blocked and ready to wear!  What a great way to finish out the year!

Silent Sunday

Sock Solutions

I received several different solutions to my query about how to make hand-knit socks last a little longer.  One suggestion was to reinforce the soles of the socks by adding a strand of Woolly Nylon while knitting the socks (which I will definitely try when I make my next pair of socks).  Another suggestion was to use two strands of yarn on the bottom and the heel of the socks. This makes them a little thicker, but they last a bit longer.  Probably a very good solution for slipper socks!  As for socks that already have holes in them (like the ones in the photo did) I found a great way to knit a patch in place at Taking Time to Smell the Roses and what is better for a quilter than knit patchwork socks?  Now if I can just convince Anya to take Jean's advice and stop working so hard while wearing her socks and just keep her feet up!

Yours For A Merry Christmas

May your heart, this Christmas Day, 

Be Filled with joy and cheer,

And nothing give you cause to grieve -

Thoughout the coming year!

Yours for a Merry Christmas

Pint Sized Pines

I found the pattern for these little wine cork pine trees right before Christmas last year.  It was too late in the season to start the project then, so I set the pattern aside and asked a couple of friends to save some corks for me, so that I could make them for this Christmas.  Normally that means that everything would be shoved into a drawer in my studio and forgotten forever, but not this time!  I actually remembered the project and started in time to make one for several of my friends AND before Christmas too! 

Silent Sunday

Scarf Pins

I normally leave the metal working to my husband and the guys down at our sheet metal and heating business, but when I started seeing pretty copper scarf pins in the yarn shops I had to give pin making a whirl.  After all, I already had a supply of beads and all the copper wire I would need was in the scrap bin at the shop, so why not?  They were very easy to make and I think they would be a nice accent to any hand knit scarf!  In fact, one pin and scarf has already been given away at last night's guild Christmas party and the recipient seemed very happy with her gift!

Belated

I guess everything about this little quilt is belated!  I pieced the top quite some time ago and promptly forgot about it.  Then a couple of months ago I found it and decided to get it finished up.  I did just that and then put it away...without photographing it or bragging about my finish!  Actually, it has worked out quite well that I haven't posted about it...with all the hustle and bustle of working on projects that can't be blogged about until after Christmas, I can show off my belated finish instead.

Silent Sunday

One Down!

I finished this top back in October, so considering my quilting track record, getting it quilted and bound in two months time is pretty fast!  My plan now is to quilt and bind at least one more quilt before starting another top.  It would be nice if I could pick up the momentum a little too, but that might be asking a bit much at this time of year.

Quilt Angels

This quilt has been hanging around my sewing room for quite some time just waiting for the perfect home.  Well the perfect home presented itself when I got an email from Gene Black - Alabama Artist reminding me that I had shown interest in helping with his Quilt Angels project.  Quilt Angels provides quilts to youth that are in a shelter situation.  The deadline for this year's collection is December 12, so if you happen to have a finished quilt in need of someone to love it this Christmas season, send Gene an email ASAP and get the mailing details.  If you don't have a finished quilt, then why not think about making one for next year's collection?

Silent Sunday

Holy Socks!

I have a puzzle for sock knitters today...
I knitted a pair of socks for my friend, Anya, a few years ago and when I noticed that she had worn holes through the bottoms I made her a new pair.  I gave her the new socks in October and they have already worn out in the same places as the old ones did!  The old socks were wool and the new ones are acrylic, so apparently fiber content isn't the culprit.  I suspect that the wear has something to do with pressure points from normal walking (or could it be that she's been sliding down the hallway in her socks a la Tom Cruise?)  Either way, can any knitters out there offer a solution to make the soles of socks wear longer?

Out Of Line

The latest assignment for my art quilt group, the Out of Line Quilters, was to make quilter's trading cards to exchange.  A fine challenge, but I had already exchanged trading cards with half the group during our guild exchange.  Not only that, but I had enough cards leftover from the first exchange for those in the art quilt group who didn't already have one.  I'm usually one to follow the rules, but I just couldn't bring myself to make more trading cards, so I decided to truly be an Out of Line Quilter and I made everyone bookmarks instead.

On The Needles...Again.

One thing that I really love about knitting is that projects that aren't going well can be easily ripped out and the yarn can be rewound to be used again.  No harm, no foul, and the only cost is your time.  Such is the case with this chocolate brown merino superwash wool.  I have lost count how many times this yarn has been frogged and rewound, but this time the pattern seems to fit the yarn and I'm past the half way point, so chances are looking good that this yarn will finally become a scarf!

Silent Sunday