Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern

Pattern by Nancy Bush, from Knitting Vintage Socks book 3.0 mm needles Yarn Tausendschön Handgefärbte Sockenwolle Colorway Engelstrompete I only had 300metres of this yarn, so I had to make them a bit shorter than the pattern suggested. 5 pattern repeats of Row 1-10

May Xmas Ornament

Here is the May ornament that our cross stitch group are working on each month (from the Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2007 magazine)

I chose the Erica Michael's Design. 

I have a lot of these aida strips, and trying to use them up. The design was too large for the width of the fabric, so I adjusted the pattern a bit.

The yellow thread that I used, should have been white, but I don't have any coloured fabric at the moment (that I want to use for these ornaments), so that had to be adapted too.

Fancy Silk Socks

Fancy Silk Sock by Nancy Bush, from Vintage Knitted Socks book

needles: 2.5 mm  Yarn : Fyberspates Sock yarn

Once I finally got the hang of this lace pattern it was fun to do, but I struggled with Row 9 every time I did this lace pattern. It shouldn't have been that hard, but I mucked it up every time on the first sock, and then finally got the hang of it for the second sock!

Calendar Month: April

Here are the latest monthly designs I am working on. April is finally finished!

I don't know why these are taking so long to do (something with my sock obsession I think!). Once I start one, it only takes 3-4 nights to complete.

The top three are Lizzie Kate Flip Its, the next 2 are from Rainbow Gallery and the last one is Bent Creek. I changed the wording on the Bent Creek one, it said "April Glooms", which didn't really sound right when it isn't going to be displayed with the other Bent Creek designs. So I changed it to April Showers, which was most suitable this April, we certainly had a lot of rain in April!

Here are the current finished pieces.

2008 Quilt #7

Here is a blue tumbler block quilt finished. I am stunned with how many more blocks I have of these, and have no idea how many more quilts I can make from them all. This one is for Michelle McLeish.

April Xmas Ornament

Stitched but not sewn into anything yet.

Mosaic Maker

Testing Mosaic Maker , Hey that seemed to work! (Thanks Pennie for helping me out!)

2277 tumbler blocks transformed

All the strips I previously sewed have now been cut down to 3 3/4" strips. That took me ages to cut them all to size. I managed to watch 5 episodes of Desperate Housewives Series 3, whilst cutting ( I set up my cutting board in front of the TV). 

Then I sewed all the strips together. I love Post It Notes. I had labeled the strips in order. There were only a few strips where I had miscounted the pieces, and needed to unpick a bit, but nothing too frustrating. Only once they were all sewed together and ironed flat, did I look at the final top. 

I am thinking of using these 2 as a front and a back. I need to think about the quilting before I make this decision. I will probably want to do the same with the 3rd one, and need to make a 4th top. No problem, I have so many of these pieces left to sew! The above quilt top goes from yellow in the middle to blue on the edges. The bottom quilt top goes from blue in the middle to yellow on the edges. I think this would work well as a double sided quilt. I am not sure about this quilt top below.. When I look at it in the photo, to me it looks like I have sewn the 4 large squares the wrong way. I have to think about this one a bit more.

Clapotis

I finished the knitting of my Clapotis (pronounced Clap-Oh-Tee).

It has been sitting in the basket waiting patiently for my to block it so I can wear it.

Today I found some coated stainless steel wire for 1.40 euro each (bargain! proper "knitting wires", I priced at 30 pounds today on google)

Now I am waiting impatiently for it to dry....I love it!! :)

2277 tumbler blocks

2277 tumbler blocks sewn together into strips = 3 larger than lap size quilts.

I have no idea how these will look yet, I haven't spread them out side by side. I have just been following the colour layout I played with in EQ5, and hope for the best! I will wait until I have all the strips sewn into a top before I look at the finished top..hopefully I have sewn the colours in the correct order.

Here is the "left over" tumblers I still have to play with...I have already made 7 quilts out of these, there must be enough for another 3-4 quilts there!

You should see what a difference I have made in the stash pile though...it is a great way to clear out the "what to do with this" fabric! 

March Xmas Ornament

There are so many things wrong with this ornament, that I am reluctant to actually share it. However, if you don't know what it was supposed to look like, then it probably looks OK. It's from the Just Cross Stitch Chirstmas 2007 magazine A good lesson from this one, is that I really should read the instructions before I start a project, not just look at the picture and graph!

Current Projects

This is what I am working on at the moment. 3 more Tumbler Block Quilts in the strip stage.  There are still enough tumbler blocks for another 3-4 quilts I think). Clapotis, in Noro Silk Garden Yarn. This is lovely to work with! I love the colourway. Fancy Silk Socks, by Nancy Bush, from Knitting Vintage Socks. Look how cute the edges are..I have never done this before! (It took me 3 tries before I got it right!)

Irish Wool

We found some wool shops on the way around Ireland. I really wanted to get green hand dyed sock wool spun from Irish Sheep, in Ireland, but to no avail! I did get these gorgeous yarns though! Aran Wool in green, purple and orange. The green and purple screams out to be 2 Clapotis. Orange is enough for a jumper or cardigan..not sure yet. The green sock wool is Araucania, hand dyed in Chile. The bright skein at the front is Collinette Jitterbug "Jewel". I will keep looking for my green Irish sock yarn, and try and order it from the internet...I loved Ireland, and hope to go back again. 

Monkey Socks

I love this pattern, and I love this wool, unfortunately both together don't seem to work. Perhaps it is because I didn't read the pattern properly, and read the chart wrong! I will try this pattern again, this time correctly with sock wool that doesn't have such a distinct colour change. But I still love them, and will wear them heaps! Monkey Socks by Cookie A. Needle 2.5 mm Tausendschön Sockenwolle - Schlangengift

Little Pumpkin Socks

I am really happy with these socks! "Little Pumpkins" Socks by Sabine Ruppert 2.5 mm Needles Tausendschön Sockenwolle - Goldener Oktober

2008 Quilt # 6

The green tumbler quilt is finished today. Here are my 2 helpers! Tricky to photograph when it is really windy outside! The other tumbler quilt and this one I tried some meandering stippling quilting. I really enjoyed doing it. There are no "toe catchers", and I only crossed over a few times! Even though this takes awhile to quilt, and I need to have a break every now and again. I really like the effect, especially on the tumbler quilts! This one is for Anne Allen

2008 Quilt #5

Another quilt from tumbler blocks...I love playing with colours....I have the next one all planned out on EQ5. I hope to start that next week....but first I have the green tumbler to quilt (back to the sewing  machine now) This one is for the BBS Summerfest raffle.

2008 Quilt #4

This Churn Dash quilt was the 4th quilt I managed to complete this week.

I have been collecting these black and white fabrics for many years. I love the variety of the prints.

Both boys need new quilts to take on the plane when we go back to Oz...the quilts that I originally made them 3 years ago are too small. Their legs hang out the end of the quilts (they are warmer than the plane blankets). So I am thinking of doing another churn dash, but maybe with some extra triangles...I need to have a play in EQ5 to see what I think.

edited: darn it, I have just picked up a mistake in my quilt, just by looking at the photo. It's far too late to fix it. I am sure only quilters will see the mistake! (to the quilters who see it...shhh, don't tell anyone, this is a gift for Phil's 10 year old nephew, Ryan!)

2008 Quilt #1 #2 & #3

This disappearing 9 patch quilt is a great way to use up stash. It's a very addictive pattern. This week I set my machine to quilt the 7 tops I have ready to quilt.  I have 2 friends who are due to have babies soon. Both have been told they are having boys. The 3rd one was from the left over blocks I had made. I only needed to make 2 more blocks to complete the smaller quilt. This is a great stashbusting pattern, and I used up lots of "boy" fabric. One is for Liam McLeish, one for my hairdresser's baby, Enno. The question that puzzles me the most is "Why do I have so much chicken fabric in my stash?" I don't like chickens, and I have never bought chicken related fabric...but there is quite a bit of it in my stash.

Quilting progress

just tops from my stash at the moment....next month I will quilt and bind them all(hopefully). Black and White and a touch of green...(the greens I had to buy this week, but the black and white fabrics I have been collecting for awhile) Pattern is Churn Dash. I love this pattern!

2 baby boy quilts, using that fabulous Disappearing Nine Patch method....all from stash (I love playing with this pattern too!) I cut up all my "ugly" fabrics, and am playing with these tumbler blocks....I am sewing these in between projects, when I am not sure what to do next. I have a huge basket full of them cut out. Instead of cutting the thread after I have sewn a block, I sew 2 tumbler blocks together, and snip the thread in between the blocks. This saves on thread, and I am sewing extra blocks for the next tumbler quilt! Lots of ideas for these Tumblers, that I have been playing with colour patterns on EQ5...stay tuned for more!

Here are 3 I am working on at the moment.

Madder Ribbed Socks

My finished "Madder Ribbed Socks" by Nancy Bush Fyberspates Superwash Merino Sock yarn Size 2.5 needles.

Tagged

So here are 7 things about me... 

 

1. Mum has always tried her hand at different crafts. She tried to teach me to knit when I was little, but she is a left handed knitter, and didn't want me to be the same, so I would sit in front of her and watch. I started quilting when I was about 17 or 18 years old. I picked up a book and cut worked from that....it was years later before I did a course, and learnt lots of great tips. now I have picked up my knitting again, and learning how to knit socks, and do cool patterns, next I need to learn how to do cables properly. I love to do cross stitch, and it's what I enjoy doing when the kids go to bed (they say the sewing machine is too noisy). I have taught myself to "listen" to the TV, and stick my head up when something interesting happens...hubby has learnt to fill in the gaps when I miss the important story line when I am stitching. One day, I hope to learn how to crochet. I am willing to try almost any type of craft, and one day I would like to get back into drawing, when more than 24 hours in a day has been invented! 

 2. The best thing to happen to me: My family, the kids help keep my sense of humour, and "keeping it real" 

 3.I love living: in Australia. As much as I have enjoyed my experience here....the "day to day" stuff can be lonely as an "expat wife". I am trying to fill my days, but I am an Aussie girl through and through! But I love the amount of travelling we can do here, and I have met some amazing friends.

4. I miss: Australia, and anything to do with Oz! I listen to Nova radio via the computer, and get my Aussie music, and traffic reports! LOL. I miss my family in Melbourne, girlfriends in Melbourne and Sydney. I also miss my 2 Nanna's and Great Nana, Brenda and others who has sadly left this world. 

5. Pre children I was: a trained teacher, but after having children of my own, I am less tolerant of "naughty" children. One of the teachers at the school says there are no naughty children, just children with challenges. Well, I am not keen on challenging children either! Office work is what I did as we moved around the country, easier, leave work at the office, and anything that needs to be done after hours was on overtime pay! I am not sure what I want to do when I get back to Oz.

6. My favourite pastime besides quilting is: reading, listening to music, knitting, Xstitch, beading, hopefully scrapbooking soon, and lately I am loving Facebook! I love making lists, and I make lists for almost everything I do, shopping lists, a list of book I have read from Jan - Dec, lists for UFO's, and the latest monthly lists on what I want to complete for each month. Some people would say I am a bit obsessive compulsive, or a bit anal. I have to agree. I hate sitting doing nothing. I doodle with pen and paper while I am on the phone. I keep my knitting in my handbag for when I am on the train, or waiting for the kids, in a playground anywhere. When I bought my new handbag, it had to be big enough to fit in a ball of wool and my needles! 

7. My favourite colour is purple and yellow together. I never know what to do with blue and green in a quilt, and have a huge pile of both colours, and just no idea how to use it! I love bright colours, stripes and black and white fabrics. My stomach churns at the sight of pastels in my stash! I love playing with colour waves in my quilting. As a kid I loved my 72 set of Derwent pencils, and they always had to be in the right colour order...not just stuck back anywhere!

Lizzie Kate April

February Xmas Ornament

February Xmas Ornament Challenge.

Peyote Beaded Bracelet

This one was made in one evening....the tension still isn't great, but I am getting  better. I think I need to change the thread I am using. It's using the peyote stitch with rectangle beads. I really liked doing this one. I especially like the toggle bead fastener! 

Peyote beaded bracelet

I finished my first peyote stitched bracelet. I need to get smaller jump rings, and find a soldering iron to keep it from pulling apart. It's not bad for a first attempt...but I am hoping to get better at tension. I haven't quite mastered that yet!

Lizia Kate April

One of my goals is to get at least one of these designs done every month....by 2009, I should be able to hang them up.

January Xmas Ornament

The Aussie Cross Stitch Internet group I belong to are doing a challenge this year, from the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament 2007 magazine. Each month we vote for our favourite 2 ornaments from 8-10 ornaments. Once the voting is over, you can stitch one of the top 3 designs.

Here is my ornament from The Sweetheart Tree, called Noel Xmas Bell pull. I don't know anyone called Noel, so I changed the name in the middle ;)

The design calls for beads as well, but I am trying to use what I have, and not buy any extra stash for these projects, using left over fabric, and threads I have. So I used french knots instead(white...hard to see in the photo)

It's a very late Xmas present for my friend Anne, I hope she likes it!

Tumbler blocks

playing with Tumbler Block pieces...using up ugly fabrics, and fabrics I want to remove from my stash. I need to add a few extra rows to each quilt...currently they are a bit narrow! Note to self :- Iron quilt tops before taking photos of them!

Swirly Girl Socks

This is the first skein of wool I have used from Tausendschon, and I will be back to buy more! It is lovely to work with, and the colours are fabulous!!



Needles:2.5 mm Yarn
Indian Spices from Tausandschon, Saarbrucken, Germany

The Pattern is from an Australian magazine called Yarn.
A swirly patttern without using cable needles, pattern designed for Tofutsies Yarn, Southwest Trading Company.
I really love these ones, and they are great on my feet!