from Pixels to Patchwork: April 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

Caffeine Overload

I was going to wait until I quilted this to post about it, or at very least iron it, but I am excited to have this quilt top done! Yesterday, I got motivated (my motivation stems completely from espresso) and hunkered down in the back room to finish this top. I'm renaming it Charming Stars because a) that is what I keep calling it by mistake and b) florals are no longer the focal point.

Charming Stars: 66inx84in. Based off Charming Flowers Pattern in Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts by Pam Lintott. This is a beautiful example of the original pattern. Using 3 Sisters Etchings for Moda.

A few changes I made.
1) I moved a couple of the stars, because the way they touched the border made me anxious. In hindsight, I think I might have added another column to each side to keep the stars from lining up the way they do now.
2) I made the stars all white, because I love stars and I wanted them to stand out. I tried Bella Solids Stone originally, but it made the whole top look dull.
3) I wanted to keep the size but not the chunky border, so I divided it into 3 sections: 2.75 inch white border, .5 inch border out of leftover charms and then another 2.75 inch white border.

It is a very romantic top! It makes me want to curl up on the couch and read some Jane Austen! I'm going to make my husband help me baste it tonight.

Last time I posted, I was very proud that I was sticking to my moratorium on new projects until I finished Charming Stars and X's and O's. Well...since then I have started The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. Don't judge me. I had been wanting to work on it and then Sunni's Farmer's Wife in Your Life Series made the anticipation too much to bear! So, here are my first four blocks. I usually have a hard time taking the pretty ribbon off Fat Quarter bundles, but the Hello Luscious bundle was just begging to be cut! No matter where I went in my sewing room, I could feel it staring at me. I have completed Attic Window, Basket Weave, Autumn Tint and Bat Wings. Basket Weave is my fave and Bat Wings is my least favorite so far.

Another exciting thing (to me anyway), is I got my Hawthorne Threads Scrap Pack! They had them 50% off for $6.99(approx 2 yards of fabric), so I bought double the amount I was going to buy. I am a retailer's dream. The exciting part is that I was hoping there was going to be some hedgehogs and mushroom houses in the batch and...THERE WERE HEDGEHOGS AND MUSHROOM HOUSES IN THE BATCH! I felt like I had one the scrap pack lottery!

Now I am off to Walmart to get envelopes to mail off my charm squares for Kelsey Sews Aqua and Red Charm Swap! I'm hoping this caffeine high will last through my shopping trip!

Copyright © From Pixels to Patchwork 2012. All rights reserved.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Diamond Lace Shawl Finished and No-Tie Bow Ties

I'm still plugging away at pinwheels for the X's and O's Quilt and borders for the Charming Flowers quilt, but I have completed a couple of other things in the meantime. As an aside, I am so proud of myself for not starting any major projects while I got a few in progress. But I am also disappointed in myself, because I have still been buying fabric for FUTURE major projects. Oh well, baby steps!

I FINALLY finished the Diamond Lace Shawl from Learn New Stitches on Circle Looms by Ann Bipes. The shawl is 19" x 61" and so, so soft! I have no idea what I would actually wear this with and I don't exactly live in a climate where cover-ups are ever really necessary, but I do enjoy looking at it! It's lying on my couch looking all pretty at the moment. I am absolutely in love with this yarn (Noro Kogarashi #9). I spent part of the morning on Ravelry, looking at all the projects it shows up in.

The Diamond Lace Shawl is labeled as experienced in the book, but I had an okay time with it once I got going. The hardest part was making sure that I was working with the correct part of the diamond. I had to redo a couple of rows because I skipped a stitch and was ending up with a Square Lace shawl! I also had to start over after about 20 rows the first time I attempted the pattern, because I didn't read the instructions correctly (WHAT, that's never happened before ;)!) and missed that the difference between the alternating rows was the location of one knit stitch! Overall, fun project! I feel almost ready to work on a blanket!

How fun are these no-tie bow ties!? My antiestablishmentarian husband had to wear a tie for a work picture and of course wanted to wear the most ridiculous tie he could get away with on picture day! I found the Martha Stewart tutorial, but it required more of a time and fabric commitment than I was willing to commit to for a joke. This DIY No-Tie Bow Tie tutorial turned out to be perfect! I used Amy Butler Lotus Dots in red for his because big 'ol polka dots on bow ties amuse me to no end. I ended up making one for a co-worker too and that one is in Amy Butler Lotus Dots Slate.

I'm linking this to Try New Things Thursday, because the Diamond Lace stitch is the first non-beginner stitch I have done on the loom. It was also my first experience with blocking. It was way easier than I expected and my first knitting loom project could have definitely used some shaping!!!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

WIP Wednesday - I have progress!

I ended up sewing my finger last week and was a little terrified of my sewing machine for a few days. My finger is fine now. I think the tetanus shot hurt worse! I'm one of those people who reads every single side effect on the sheet that comes with vaccinations and I come down with the symptoms as I read them. I'm terrible! I'm going to try to keep my finger away from the needle from now on!

Anyway, progress! I finally have some! Last time I had an update on these projects was February 27. I finally got some forward momentum going after a very slow month.

In Progress

X's and O's Quilt from Olive Tree Designs (Using Bonnie & Camille's Ruby) - About 30% done with this top. I was totally regretting doing a quilt composed completely of HSTs after the first row, but around row two I finally got consistent with my points. I love the negative space on this top!
Diamond Lace Shawl from Learn New Stitches on Circle Looms by Ann Bipes - I'm loving the striping in this yarn! I seriously have 5 inches left on this shawl, so I should be done by now. I don't watch as much TV when the husband isn't home, so I haven't sat down to finish it. This project inspired me to break way from the loom and learn how to knit for real, so I signed up for the Craftsy Knit Lab course. I hope I come out of the course with something wearable. I'll let y'all know!
Charming Flowers Quilt from Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts by Pam Lintott (Using Etchings By 3 Sisters) - About 70% done. I made a few minor changes and I like how it is turning out. While I thought I was good and read the directions on this one, I actually just glanced at the page and assumed I knew what was going on. Guess what! I didn't! I ended up having to get some extra supplies and having a bunch of leftover triangles. Lesson learned: It is important to read the introduction and the instructions (and the supply list)! There's some good information in there!

No Progress

I'm racking up quite the collection of unfinished quilt tops! I have all the supplies, so I expect to have the first two complete this month. I'm tired of walking around them, so that should be motivation enough! I'm not ready for the big one yet!

Completed

Hootenanny Quilt

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