A little knitting

Many moons ago, I used to knit cardigans and jumpers, for myself and my family. Big projects that took a lot of time and concentration. Nowadays I'm all about mindless knitting. Enter the scarf, the shawl and the cowl. Repetitive knitting that can be done in front of the TV, at soccer practice, any place where it is likely that one will be interrupted by a small child.

I'm already on to my third version of this scarf. It's an easy four-row repeat that is simple to remember - no chance of getting muddled up with where you are in the repeat. And just a little bit of a twist in the pattern to keep things interesting. Regardless of how mind-numbing you want your knitting to be, we don't need the endless monotony of acres of stocking stitch or 2x2 rib, do we?

I picked up this lovely squishy Blue Sky Alpaca/Silk yarn on my visit to Purl Soho in New York in January, and now have gifted the resulting scarf to my lovely aunt who recently celebrated a significant birthday.

I knitted this in fingering weight (4 ply), but the first version was lace weight (2 ply). Version 3 is also fingering weight. It gives a nice skinny, long scarf. Just the way I like them!

If you'd like to try making your own - here you go! The pattern came with the original skein of lace weight yarn, purchased by my Mum somewhere in deepest, darkest Canada. I'm afraid I've misplaced the info about the shop. If anyone recognises this stitch pattern please let me know so I can provide the credit!

Cast on a multiple of 4 + 2 stitches (I cast on 34 stitches). EDIT: I used 3.75mm needles to give a nice open gauge - but use whatever you feel comfortable with. It's a scarf, the gauge is not hugely important.

First row: K2, P2 - repeat to last 2 stitches, K2 (wrong side)

Second row: K2, *K1, yo, K1, P2 - repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2

Third row: K2, P3 - repeat to last 2 stitches, K2

Fourth row: K2, *sl1, K2, psso over both stitches, P2 - repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2

Repeat until it reaches your desired length (I think the rule of thumb for a scarf is knit it the length of your body!) Two skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca (total 100g) yielded the perfect scarf.

Basically, you're making an extra stitch in the second row, and an eyelet, and in the fourth row, getting rid of this extra stitch and in the process giving it a little cable effect. Clever!

Next up I'm planning on something a little more challenging - a lace-edge shawl, knitted up in Swans Island fingering weight from Suzy Hausfrau. I'm itching to get started on it! 

What knitting projects are on your sticks at the moment?

Hand Quilted with Love by Sarah Fielke

Like many of you, I waited patiently for this lovely book to materialise, having been tempted with a few sneak peeks here and there by Sarah over Instagram and Twitter. Just those few little snippets were enough to know that this book would be amazing, and it certainly is! 

Material Obsession books one and two have been staples on many quilters' bookshelves for ages. Who hasn't spent a good hour or two re-reading and flicking through, soaking up the colour? Sarah's first solo book Quilting from Little Things was just as beautiful and full of inspiration. And now we have Hand Quilted with Love, which is (to the relief of some) not just about hand quilting, although this is Sarah's preferred method of finishing her quilts, but more about Sarah's making of the quilts she's always wanted to make. Her passion for her craft shines through in the way she describes the inspiration for each quilt, and in the luscious photography.

I was lucky enough to be given a head start on one of the quilts from the book and being a big fan of appliqué I was quick to choose Millefiori. This quilt was a huge challenge for me in terms of colour selection, and this is not the kind of quilt where you want to play it safe - better to go bold or go home! And I'm happy to say I'm so proud of how this has turned out. Big thanks to Sarah for giving me the push I needed to test my colour boundaries and try some new things.

This is a bit of an epic quilt to make, being as it is almost 100 per cent hand-sewn (appliqued and quilted). But in the scheme of things, it hasn't really taken me all that long to make - working mostly in the evenings, I started this around three months ago and it's almost finished. Even the hand quilting (using Perle 8 thread) has been quick - I'm nearly done and started less than two weeks ago. I really do encourage anyone who's been put off by the idea of hand quilting to think again - using Perle 8 thread makes everything go much faster and it's really satisfying to see the quilt come alive with each shape being outlined in a different colour thread. The book provides lots of tips and tricks on both hand quilting and needleturn applique, and you can see Sarah's hand quilting technique in action (and how to make perfect applique circles) thanks to the wonders of YouTube on her blog.

Incidentally, I also made a version of the fabulous Whirligig from Sarah's previous book, and it is still awaiting its hand quilting moment in the sun. After this experience with Millefiori, I'm well and truly inspired to take it out of the cupboard and finish it!

But back to the book! I'm already daydreaming about what other projects I'll make. While the Made to Measure medallion quilt from the book's cover is definitely a contender (I love Lynne's version, and there are quite a few others popping up now), I think I'll tackle this fabulous checkerboard design with its applique border. I have been hoarding stacks of Kaffe Fassett and Keiko Goke colours which would be perfect for it.

And this teapot and cup one takes my fancy too! Just to name a few!

Be sure to visit the other stops on Sarah's bloggy book tour and see what other beauties have already been whipped up. You can pick up a copy of the book from Book Depository or direct from Sarah's website.

SewTake a Hike - 4th May

Belinda Stitches – 5th May

True Up - 6th May

LilysQuilts (UK) - 7th May

Creative Dabbling (Australia) 8th May

Mrs Schmenkman Quilts (USA)9th May  

I'm A Ginger Monkey (UK) - 10th May 

Petits Elefants -(Australia) 10th May

Prints Charming (Australia) - 11th May

RedPepper Quilts (Australia) - 12th May

HandMade by Alissa (USA) - 13th May

Meet Me at Mikes (Australia) - 14th May

Sew Mama Sew (USA) - 15thMay

Adventures in hand quilting

One thing I've noticed about the projects I'm taking on now is my determination to just get. them. done. I have so many quilts on my 'bucket list' that if I don't get wriggling, I'm going to be 98 before I've made half of them. In my mind (I'm too scared to write too much of this down) there's a list of the quilts I can do this year, and next year. And a list of the quilts that I'll think about at some point. Most of the quilts on the first list I have the fabric for, give or take. I suppose technically this should mean no more shopping, then hey!

Anyway, I digress. I started Millefiori around the time school went back this year in early February, and have been working on it fairly solidly most evenings. Now the top is finished. And rather than let it languish in the pile of unquilted tops, this time I'm going to finish it! And it deserves the full hand-quilting shebang, don't you agree?

This process may look like it's not for the faint-hearted, but it's really not that bad! The basting is a bit of a palaver, taking place as it does hunched on the floor for several hours. But it was finished well before I thought it might be. You take long stitches, working from a gridline at the centre out (use a new piece of thread each time, starting on one of the centre lines and working out to the edge). Secure the end of the thread in the batting with a couple of little stitches. The rows are around 6 inches apart.

Working flat on the floor, it can be a little hard on your hands and wrist. You can use a little teaspoon to  help 'lift' the needle up as it comes through. I used this technique on and off throughout the process and it worked quite well but I found I didn't need it all the time. Perhaps that had something to do with how tired my hand was feeling! Speaking of which, don't expect to get this done in one go! This quilt is around 60 inches square and I estimate that it took around three hours to baste, in sessions of half an hour or so.

And since Sunday I've been quilting merrily away, using Perle 8 thread. This is also going faster than I had imagined and so far I'm loving the process! Once again, a little hard on the hands, and I need to remember to take some breaks (including all of today)!

So there you have it, I'll be back with some more progress pics soon! And I'd love to hear about your hand quilting adventures, please leave me a comment! Do you love it, hate it, haven't tried it but want to?

This doesn't happen too often (but maybe it'll happen more often from now on), but my blogging actually coincides with Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day, so I can link up for once. Hurrah! If you've come over from Lynne's, thanks for popping in!