Retreat!

I don't know how so much time manages to pass between posts. It's nuts. Sorry about that.

A few weeks ago I attended a stitching retreat hosted by my LNS ... Thread & Eye.  As always it was a fun time with an informative class. I highly recommend these retreats, there is something special about a whole weekend spent doing something you love with a room full of people who love the same thing! So good for the soul.

I arrived later than usual because I had to attend my convocation ceremony earlier in the day. As I walked down the stairs I received a rousing round of applause (I blushed) and tons of congratulations from my friends. Another pretty special moment. My friend Martha had a sign taped to my chair:

What a nutter! It certainly got a good laugh out of me! I kept it on my chair all weekend and I just kept on grinning. 

During the evenings when we don't have class, I worked on some of the projects I brought with me. And I finally have a finish!

This is Welcome Sampler by Kincavel Krosses -- well, a truncated version. I started it as part of my Ultimate Crazy January Challenge (31 starts in 31 days) back in 2012. It needed to be done. This will one day hang on the wall of my office, when I get a professor job, that is.

There was lots of stitching, chatting, laughing, and finishing at this retreat (literally -- the class was about finishing ornaments). A good time was had by all.

Dishcloths?

Who knew? No really, who knew that dishcloths could be so incredibly satisfying to knit?

This one took me about a week of barely knitting on it (it often came to work with me, but few lunch hours were spent with it) and suddenly it was done!

Sugar'n Cream in Fruit Punch

It's just a super simple stockinette square (CO 32 I think?) with a little garter border.

Absolutely mindless. Absolutely awesome.

A palette cleanser after a big project finish.

On the Knitting Front

The last time I talked about my knitting, I was 12-14 points into my Hitchhiker Shawl. As a novice knitter, it was inevitable that I would screw uo somehow, and I had to put it down for a few days before I could take it in to my LYS for a little help. Dropping stitches at the end of a row = bad idea.

So what does a knitter do when a project is put on hold? Start another, of course!!  I started the Honey Cowl by Ann Maria at Madelinetosh. I used Misti Alpaca Chunky in gray and cast on the small version. It is SO soft and squishy!! Oh my gosh!

The colour is totally off in this pic - sorry!

It didn't look like much at first, but it got prettier as I went.

After my screw up with the Hitchhiker was fixed, I kept working on that and made great progress. I'm not quite done yet, but here it is at just over 39 teeth.

As motivation for working hard on my schoolwork, I bought some mentoring sessions at my LYS and today was my first one. I decided to start my very first lace shawl - Haruni by Emily Ross using Knitpicks Stroll Tonal sock yarn in Summer Blooms. Look!! You can see two leaves (kinda). Yay lace!

Once I got home, I felt a smidge guilty for having so many projects on the needles, so I hustled a little and finished my Honey Cowl.

Now I just need to wait for winter!

I love Alpaca?

I finished another dishcloth yesterday. This one was seed stitch with a garter border.

I struggled with this one. I wasn't used to switching between knits and purls, so my knitting speed slowed down considerably and I felt awkward and clumsy. It made me not want to knit. Finally I forced myself to do more than a row at a time, and I began to get into a rhythm. Next thing I knew, it was done! Yay!

I will say that I love the texture of seed stitch. It looks lovely. Almost too nice to use as a dishcloth!

Now to the alpaca situation. I didn't know this about myself, but apparently I love alpacas, or at least the yarn that comes from them. I decided to start two new projects for the summer (both are pretty big projects). The first is a double seed stitch blanket for a friend of mine using Misti Alpaca Chunky in natural. It is the softest thing I have ever touched -- 100% baby alpaca. It is heavenly! I also decided to start a lace shawl using Shimmer lace yarn by Knitpicks in Elderberry. It's 70% alpaca and 30% silk and beyond lovely!

Now … to knit!

Learning to Knit - Progress!

I was stupid in March. I let myself try something new … I tried knitting. And of course I fell in love with it. Totally stupid, 100%, head-over-heels in love with it. I'd been avoiding knitting for years because I knew this would happen …

Anyway, I took the advice of a dear friend and started small and simple with a dishcloth (here). Then I tackled a bigger version of the same pattern to make a doggie blanket for my boy Toka. I was hoping to have it done in time for it to go with him the first time he was boarded at a kennel, but no such luck. I was 3 weeks late. But … it's now finished!

Now, I have a major gigantic project planned, but it's a wedding present and I want it to be perfect. So, I needed to learn/practice the purl stitch. It made sense that the practice piece was a stockinette dishcloth.

Look at that!! I did it. Woot! :) Stockinette stitch!

Thankfully, I got the hang of it quickly. My knitting in general is a little slower, but at least I can do it without major mishaps. I got so into the swing of it that I actually finished it in just a few days! Holy crap! This one used Sugar'n'Cream worsted weight cotton in Moondance.

I'm quite proud of this one. It's pretty, has no mistakes, and was done in a flash. Now I feel like a knitter!!

I think I still have a little more to learn before I tackle my big project though.

A great idea

I have lots of those -- great ideas -- maybe more than is good for me.

A few weeks ago I finally caved and decided to learn how to knit. A dear friend kept making me put on the brakes and just practice instead of diving head first into a major project (she's pretty smart).  After several hours lost on Pinterest and Ravelry, I'd picked out a kazillion knitting projects I'd like to do and also found a really simple, small project that would be perfect for the stage I'm at in the learning process.

I decided I would make a doggie blanket for my boy Toka. He's going to be boarded at a kennel for the first time ever in May, and needs a blanket that can smell like me but is washable too. I found a pattern for a diagonal garter stitch baby blanket that I plan to do in cotton. Nothing but knit stitches and yarn overs; a perfect practice piece.

I bought a big cone of Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in Country Side Ombre.

I also bought a few small skeins just cause I liked the colours!

I had a similar pattern for a dishcloth, so I figured I should try it out on straight needles as a practice practice piece. And I'm glad I did. I ended up casting on and knitting the first few rows 5 or 6 times before I got it quite right. After that, I was good to go.

I did discover that with the straight needles I tend to wedge the one in my left hand against my body and I use my left hand just to throw the yarn as I knit with the right hand needle. Try as I might I couldn't seem to keep both needles in my hands. I did some research about needle and hand positions, I tried English style (my tension is super tight when I try to hold the yarn in my right hand) and continental style. I tried out almost every combo I could think of, but kept coming back to wedging the one needle against my body. I finished the dishcloth and it looks pretty good (I need practice with binding off) and I feel confident about my knitting tension.

However, I was nervous about attempting the doggie blanket on a circular needle. I just hoped that things would work out once I got started -- and they did! Somehow I seemed to automatically choose hand and yarn positions that worked and I got going on the circular needles quickly and easily. I am actually really enjoying knitting this thing!

Here's hoping I can keep up the enthusiasm for another 300+ rows. :)

MMSC - Week 12

I made time to get it done … a big beautiful star is born!

And my points line up pretty well too. :) It was very satisfying to finally sew the two halves of my star together. I love it! I'm very glad I chose the brown star design after all.

Now I need to get back to basting diamonds again.

This week I also found a little time for my Batik Hexie Quilt and basted 15 more little hexies. This means I've exceeded my New Year's goal of basting 100 hexies this year. I think I might have to adjust my goal -- who knew I'd be so inspired by a link party?

As usual, I'm linking up to the Monday Morning Star Count at Life Under Quilts and Hexie Friday at A Quilting Reader's Garden.

I made something!!

And by something I mean something unusual (for me) and crafty that doesn't involve cross stitch or crochet (these are the only crafty hobbies I have that I actually manage to finish projects in, everything else is just hopes and dreams at this point).

I made this … with my own little hands and borrowing the basic idea from here.

Except I didn't have a super adorable bowl to stuff it into. And the cute-from-a-distance green flannel looks rather atrocious close up. Oh well, I like it!

I did learn a few things from whipping up this pincushion. 1) Sergers are not good on curves. 2) The ladder stitch is kind of awesome. 3) All the buttons and doo-dads I bought in my previous life as a papercrafter do come in handy eventually. 4) It helps to have multiple hobbies and multiple stashes when it comes to late-night crafting. 5) I really should learn to sew ... with a machine. Like the one collecting dust on the dresser in my room, cause that's where sewing machines should be kept, right?

At least I found a use for some of the pearle cotton I have laying around.

Turtle Trot - February

It's time again for the Turtle Trot SAL -- working on a list of 10 WIPs that need some love and that I post about on the 10th of every month.

I only worked on 4 of them in the past month:

Catch a Falling Star (HAED)

On January 10th

On February 10th

Ciara Blue (Blackwork Journey)

On January 10th

On February 10th

Damask Square (Ink Circles)

On January 10th

On February 10th

Wise Wisdom (Stoney Creek)

On January 10th

FINISHED!!!

One down … nine to go. :)

First Finish of 2014

Sleep won … I was trying to have my first finish of the year be in January, but I decided sleep was more important. So I finished Wise Wisdom by Stoney Creek this morning.

This was a wonderfully simple, easy, and quick stitch. I enjoyed it, even though it is not typically something I would stitch.

It feels good to have one less WIP in the pile. No plans to replace it quite yet. :)

Done in Time

I spent the last week working on the crocheted scarf for my dad whenever I got a spare moment (which were few and far between). I managed to finish it and block the fringe yesterday!

This morning I trimmed up the fringe and got the rest of it all blocked. I'm really quite pleased with it.

And I was especially pleased that I finished it before heading to my Dad's place for a pre-Christmas visit. However, the weather (an impending ice storm) has squashed my travel plans. Now it looks like I won't be able to visit until early January. Guess I didn't need to rush after all. Although it does feel good to be done. No more crocheting for a while though ... I need a break!

Thankful to be done

I did it! I gave up a little bit of sleep and ignored a few chores and I finished Metamorphosis 4.0. I think it looks smashing!

As a refresher -- this is stitched over 2 on 28 ct cornflower Jobelan using Carrie's Creations silk in Periwinkle. I think the tone-on-tone with just a hint of varigation looks fantastic. I do love blue!

It's already at the framers … I can't wait to see it all done up.

I am very thankful to be done this piece though. Four times is too much for one design, especially when you stitch the last two versions back-to-back. Ugh - won't do that again.

I'm trying very hard to resist a new start (goodness knows I have enough stash to have a dozen new starts at least). I did however pull out Elizabeth by Mirabilia and put her back on a Millenium frame. She got a few stitches Thursday night and I enjoyed them all! Pics of her next week. :)

Thread & Eye Stitching Retreat

Last weekend I went to my LNS' stitching retreat. The first day and a half was spent just chillin and stitchin, and then on Saturday I spent the day (and most of the evening) working on the counted canvas class project. After a little extra work once I got home, I managed to finish it.

The design is by Needle Delights. The class was wonderfully organized and everyone was able to pick a colourway they liked with an array of different floss types. As an added bonus, a finishing method was provided too. It isn't simply a frame for the stitching, but it's actually a trivet/mug coaster. How cool is that?

Another happy dance!

It feels so good to have another happy dance! I finished Metamorphosis by Ink Circles for the third time.

I changed the colours for this one a few times mid-way through the project, and I'm so glad I did. I think the progression from yellow to orange to red works really well. It's all ironed and ready to go to the framers later this week.

*dancing*

An unexpected happy dance

I went to visit my parents briefly this weekend and of course I took a few projects along with me. Mostly I did schoolwork, but I did find a few late night hours to put into stitching. Lo and behold, I made progress. A lot of progress!

So much progress, in fact, that Birds of a Feather by From Nancy's Needle, my very first counted canvas piece, was finished!

I am delighted with how it turned out though. And yes, I will stitch another canvas piece, but I've decided not to start something right away. I'd like to make some more progress on the size of my WIP pile before I start more projects (and there are already a few new planned starts in the pipeline).

I'd like to frame it and put it on the wall, but I'm undecided how I want it framed and what colour mats to put with it. Any suggestions? I think this one might require some prolonged thought before it goes to visit the framer.

Life gets in the way

Seriously, I had such high hopes for blogging this month. I even took my camera and cords with me when I went travelling for two weeks. But nothing happened ... I stitched, that almost always happens, but the blogging thing got pushed to the side. Sorry about that.

I also missed posting for IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend), even though I did hermit quite a bit last weekend. I'm hoping the structure and schedules of September will help me keep on top of things. Again -- sorry!

There will be lots of update photos coming in the next week, but today I have a framed finished for you!

After much bitching, whining, and grumbling, I finished stitching the all-white hardanger piece Frozen Flower by Mabel Figworthy's Fancies.

This piece was stitched as a gift for a dear friend who defended her PhD dissertation earlier this week. I am happy to say she was successful and is now a doctor!! I chose this design for her because she writes a blog called White Cabana -- unsurprisingly it's about all things white, including interior design, decor, art, and architecture. Over the years I have sent her links to stitching and cardmaking sites featuring all-white projects. Every year I make her birthday and/or Christmas cards in all-white. (Not as easy as it sounds!) So I could do nothing less than an all-white piece of stitching to mark this great occasion.

I knew I had to choose a design with style, elegance, and texture. This piece had it all. (Though it was a much more challenging stitch then I had expected. Not that the stitching was particularly difficult, but the tedium of all those woven bars (approximately 280 of them) made my mind melt. It was a challenge to stick with this piece. However, the look on my friend's face when she unwrapped it made all of those hours so worthwhile.) I can't wait to visit her in her new house and see it in all its glory!

Updates on progress, finishes, framing, and a new start

I have a bad habit of not updating on projects when I only do a tiny bit of work on them. Over the course of a month or so I might work on a project several times, but only minor progress occurs each time. However, that progress adds up. :)

Today's post is full of updates -- most of the work took place over the last month and not just since my last post. I sadly can't spend that much concentrated time on my crafting.

Alright, let's get on to the good stuff! Pictures coming up ...

Birds of a Feather got some zig zag added:

Elizabeth has more of her poofy pink skirt:

Rules for Life came home from the framers:

My granny square lapghan is finished!! It is currently being blocked. (This is my first time ever blocking something, so it isn't perfect, but it's a huge improvement from before I blocked it.)

And I started something new ... Metamorphosis (by Ink Circles) in a "fire" colourway (think yellow-orange-red ... eventually):

It always feels like I never have much time to craft, but looking at this post makes me think I manage just fine. Yay! :)

I know the Rules ...

That is, I know the Rules For Life because I've stitched them all! I finally finished this piece by Kincavel Krosses that I started as part of my Ultimate Crazy January Challenge in 2012.

Stitched on 18 ct Royal Purple aida by Sassy's Fabbys using white HDF silk by Vikki Clayton.

Now I just need to iron it and take it to the framer's tomorrow.

A finish but no happy dance.

I did it. I finally finished Cirque des Carreaux by Ink Circles. This is stitched 1 over 1 on 25 ct Nightfall lugana by Sassy Fabby's using Epiphany silk by Carrie's Creations.

I adore the pattern. I love the fabric. I swoon for silks.

I hate the finish.

One of the skeins must of been from a different dye lot (my fault) and it is glaringly obvious to me. I do not have it in me to rip it out and restitch it. At least not at the moment. So it'll go away into the done pile and I'll look at it again in a few months. Maybe.

I'm glad I'm finished, but I wish I loved it.

Not up for a happy dance.

Bits of progress and a finish too!

My attention has been kind of scattered this week -- very busy with school, so I don't have big chunks of time to stitch. That tends to make me project hop!

First up, is my newest project Birds of a Feather by Nancy's Needle. I am really loving working on this piece, and the progress attests to that. I've managed to finish the inner octagon already!

I can't bring myself to work on Cirque des Carreaux again quite yet, so I pulled out another piece that is a simple, mindless stitch - Rules for Life by Kincavel Krosses. I think I made some great progress on this piece too. (Maybe doing a quick rotation is the way to go for me ... who knows?)

And finally, I started and finished the April design for the Song of the Weather hardanger SAL hosted by Mabel Figworthy's Fancies.

And the first pillowfront for my nieces is fully stitched. Now I just need to find the time, fabric, and motivation to make the actual pillow.