When we went to the North Coast, I also brought along this scarf, which I discussed before. I only had a few rows to knit before I was ready to bind it off.
I knitted a few rows and started to bind it off. When I had about 10 more stitches to bind off, I realized that I didn’t have enough of a tail to finishing the binding off. I was in a patient mood, so I unbound what I had done and unknitted a row, then bound the scarf off.
This was a really good reminding experience. I have knitted a few things and once I get going, I am ok. I liked the stitch, especially since the edges don’t curl. It is no great masterpiece, but I enjoyed working on it.
I didn’t measure it, but you can see the approximate length (25″??) because the charm pack is 5×5″.
I would like to get more yarn and make another scarf. I don’t think this one is long enough, so perhaps I will use 2 skeins next time. Perhaps I have a knitting needles roll in my future?
Thanks to Michele and Ginny for getting me going on this project.
I finally buckled down this past weekend and got some of my ‘rote’ sewing out of the way. Rote sewing is stuff like making backs, putting on bindings, etc. I usually consider it to be stuff that I have to do at the machine, but isn’t very creative. I often have a hard time getting started on it. The good thing about rote sewing is that it usually goes fast once I buckle down and I can often cross a lot of tasks off my list after a rote sewing weekend.
Fluttering Hearts Test
This time I worked on backs and tossed the Fluttering Hearts into the mix. Above you can me trying out the Fluttering Hearts. I have had 3 on the piece on my design wall since November or December. I really wanted some at the top and decided that Saturday would be good day to try it out.
Fluttering Hearts Appliqued
I spent a lot of time sewing carefully around the hearts with the satin stitch. I am out of the thin Maderia embroidery thread so I used a spool of Robison-Anton that seemed relatively new. I love the sheen of that thread. It is also thick like quilting thread, so the satin stitch looks pretty full on the hearts.
Tarts with Fluttering Hearts
Above is the Tarts with the Fluttering Hearts appliqued. I thought I would be done, but I am thinking that I need to applique’ something to the tea kettle (lower left), some steam or stars to the Chocolate Pot, like I showed in this post.
I think I might be getting too mired in the layering thing that is going on in my head. I have to remember that I put the label on the back and it says I finished this quilt in 2010, so I have to finish it!
Tarts Back
Here is the Tarts back, another bit of rote sewing from the past weekend. It went together really fast! I was shocked. I guess I really do need to finish this quilt!
Give me your opinions about more bits of applique’ of it you think I should just wait to embellish with buttons and beads and embroidery.
Yes, boys and girls, I finally finished Beach Town. You can read about starting it in the post about the Pamela Allen class from last year. I liked looking at the piece in that post (one of the things I LOVE about blogging!), because I could see the differences including all of the handwork I have added.
Beach Town Back
I made a smaller version of the Robbi Joy Eklow sleeve (from her book Free Expression) for this piece. I don’t know if it will ever be hung using a rod, but it is ready if someone wants to hang it that way.
One of the things I need to think through when I use this technique in the future is the back and the label. I like to include the label as a part of the back. As you may have noticed, I often piece the back and include the label in that piecing. This allows me (or my quilter) to quilt over the label so that it cannot be removed if the quilt is stolen. Jill, one of the creative prompt participants, talks about this in her recent blog post.
Another reason I piece the back is that I have the fabric, so I might as well use it.
Smaller quilts, and particularly this Pamelala technique are free form and quick. The maker usually lays down the back and batting first with no opportunity to piece the back or make a label. When I take a Pamela Allen class again, perhaps I should just put down the batting and work on the back later?
This word wasn’t planned at all and I was contemplating how I would fit a whisk into one of my drawings when I saw this display! Whisks on the Wall
Lucky me!
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
We spent the weekend on the North Coast. I wasn’t excited about going, but, for various reasons, agreed and was glad I did. The North Coast is beautiful and I found as the car left the City behind and my eyes took in more green than concrete and metal, I felt calmer and more relaxed than I had in awhile.
To prepare for the trip, I looked up quilt shops in the area and came up with four. On the way up, we also saw a shop in Laytonville called Fat Quail Quilts that got good reviews from the other shop owners, but I wasn’t able to stop.
Fabrics from North Coast Weekend
We did stop at Kim’s Fortuna Fabric and Crafts, Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop in Ferndale, Scottie Dog Quilts and Ocean Wave Quilts, both in Eureka. The first shop I visited was Kim’s Fortuna Fabric and Crafts. It is in a strip mall (a nice one) off of Rohnerville Road and Main Street right as Main Street turns into Fortuna Blvd. I am telling you this because I had to call since I couldn’t find it by driving up and down Main Street.
It is a nice store with a good selection of fabrics at about $8.99 a yard. the woman behind the counter was helpful and friendly. They also have yarn and other craft supplies. there was a Tumbling Block class going on while I was there and the teacher has quite a selection of classes going on during the next few months. I bought 3 flannels I like to use to make some receiving blankets (top 3 fabrics, above).
Food Fabrics for Mom
I bought some food fabrics for my mom for one of her quilts and a couple of dots for myself. I saw a pink and white flower print that went with a black and white and a stripe. The three of them would have made a fabulous Anna Maria Multi-tasker tote, but I resisted. I have a full box of tote bag fabrics and need to make a few tote bags before I buy more fabric.
Famous last words, however, after I stopped in at Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop in Ferndale. Ferndale is a cute little town off the beaten path with gorgeous buildings on its Victorian Main Street. Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop had a very chatty man sitting behind the counter when I walked in. He turned out to be the owner’s husband. They had fabulous fabrics and I succumbed, including two tote bag fabrics.
The store was really bright and cheerful and I think that was part of the attraction. I think it was my favorite quilt of the four I visited. The 2 tote bag fabrics are Kaffe Fassett prints. I also bought some dots, of course. The one above will go on the inside or the pocket panels. Not sure what I will use for the inside, perhaps a black & white print? I have plenty already.
After Ferndale we went up to Eureka to see Scottie Dog and Ocean Waves. Scottie Dog Quilts was a nice shop as well. I am amazed at what quilt shop owners can cram into a small space. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t feel crowded in Scottie Dog, but it wasn’t Best Buy either. I bought more dots and a conversational on turquoise with coffee cups that I want to use on the back of the Tarts (see above on the left, 4th from the top).
Scottie Dog Quilts had 2 diamond quilts hanging on their wall. I asked if they had the ruler or template they used to make it and the shopkeeper said that they used the Accucut. I never considered that machine as an option for me, but that offhand comment opened up a whole new world for me. Cutting diamonds for the FOTY 2010 would be absolutely no problem, however. Hhmm. I wouldn’t buy that machine just to make one quilt, but I will look around and see if a shop has it and I could try it. I have a lot of questions:
do they have the sized diamonds I have started to cut?
can you put one layer of fabric and have it cut?
how large of a piece of fabric can you put in, e.g. can I cut a 2×6″ piece of fabric and cut the diamond from that or does the piece have to be larger?
Finally, we went to the Ocean Waves Quilt Shop. It is housed in an old Victorian house, which made it adorable, but also a bit dark. I bought a pack of charm squares and another food FQ for mom. I think I was tired of fabric shopping by then.
I find it quite hilarious to listen to what the quilt ladies talk about while I am shopping. In my travels this weekend, I heard about the tribulations of the world including prescription drug addiction, surgery, a sister determined to have 4-6 children though she doesn’t have the money to raise them and a multitude of Valentine’s Day anecdotes.
If you spend any time up on the North Coast, you won’t have to worry about a shortage of fabric.
I was referred to this site from somewhere and found the brief history of the company that makes my machine to be really interesting. I especially like the “Eye of the Snake” part.
I also know, now, why I was so confused when I bought my machine about whether I had a New Home or a Janome – that was they year they officially changed the name! Yes, I have had my machine for 15 years.
Finally, the article gives a little teaser about what is to come in Janome machines.
Craftsmanship Born In The Days Of Horse And Buggy Leads The Way In The Computer Age
In 1860 technology was on the verge of opening up huge new possibilities to the American way of life. Already, a new kind of high speed sailing ship called the clipper could cross the Atlantic in less than 14 days. An instantaneous form of communication called the telegraph was about to cross the U.S. continent. And an amazing device called the home sewing machine was allowing Americans to sew clothes for their families at a huge savings in time–a shirt that took 14 hours to sew by hand could be sewn by machine in 1.5 hours.
Because the shape of these bobbins reminded people of a snake’s eye, the company was given the new name of Janome, which means “eye of the snake” in Japanese.
I found this guild via FB. I liked the site, because it pointed me right away to a local group. The local group has a Ning with photos, discussions. I joined right away and found that people are trying to organize meetings in my area. YAY!
Check out the site and see if there is a group in your area.
I am thinking of using this combination of fabrics for my next pencil roll. I will center the main part of the back around those two feathers and the teal and chocolate will be the inside and the pocket piece. I thought I would start this the first weekend in Feb, but kind of tanked and didn’t do it.
The upholstery fabric is another FabMo fabric. I already pried off the tags and removed the staples.
I often sit down at my sketchbook and wonder whose dumb idea the current word is? Then I remind myself it was mine and resolve to find a better word for the next week.
This one actually formed in my head pretty quickly. I wanted to look up an actually picture of Big Ben and Parliament, but was, ultimately, too lazy.
OK, girls and boys, I am here to announce the winner of the one World One Heart blog go round/ blog project/ whatever it is called.
First, my goal was to get new blog readers, so I hope some of you will stick around and join our little community here.
Second, I appreciate everyone who actually took a look at my blog and followed the requests that I had about entering . I really wanted to know where everyone was coming from.
Finally, I also really liked it when people said something about my posts or a post. I was tempted to toss those who didn’t follow the directions out of the drawing. However, I was persuaded otherwise and everyone stayed in.
TA DA!!! The Winner is:
Bonnie
from
Southern Style blog
http://nanbon44.blogspot.com/
You can also make your own Over the top bag. The pattern is from All People Quilt. You can read about my bag in my August 26th post. Lisa put up a list of all the OWOH participants in alphabetical order. Great list if you are looking for some blogs to read!
In addition to this post being about a creative prompt response, since it has hearts, it will also be a Valentine’s wish for you!
Heart in Hand CPR#51Sketching #51 Study #1
Here are some of the designs I was working on. What I wanted to draw was a Baltimore Album Quilt in the window of the shop I have been drawing. I started to test the basket design and just didn’t feel the love. I have been feeling a little impatient lately and I think my inability to settle on these last few drawings is a symptom.
Sketching #51 Study #2
I did this study after the main part of the hand drawing. I was trying to see if I could add more detail and make the piece look better.
Definition: A whisk is a cooking utensil used in food preparation to blend ingredients smooth, or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as whisking or whipping. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end. The wires are usually metal, but some are plastic for use with nonstick cookware. Whisks are also made from bamboo.
Etymology: Middle English wisk, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse visk wisp; akin to Old English wiscian to plait
Date: 14th century
2 a: a usually wire kitchen utensil used for beating food by hand b: a flexible bunch (as of twigs, feathers, or straw) attached to a handle for use as a brush (from Merriam-Webster)
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
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oss the Atlantic in less than 14 days. An instantaneous form of communication called the telegraph was about to cross the U.S. continent. And an amazing device called the home sewing machine was allowing Americans to sew clothes for their families at a huge savings in time–a shirt that took 14 hours to sew by hand could be sewn by machine in 1.5 hours.
