by Sarah

Today in the garden...

This morning was really busy for me in the garden. The zucchini plants started to get that gross white mist over all the leaves and then just looked wilty and gross. Honestly, they have given and given all summer, and really didnt owe me a thing, so I ripped them all out (there were 4), and then too the remnants of a delica squash that produced 2 and then died. When I pulled all these ground covering plants out, it revealed a couple of small bean plants i had forgotten about, each with a couple of green beans. I picked/ripped out those too. Then I picked some peppers. Then I hunkered down to pick a lot of cherry tomatoes. When I looked up, I saw this:

Even though he has had the ability to jump the knee high fence all spring and summer, today was the first day Murph decided to come into the garden (he was never being kept out, the fence was for bunnies).

Here he is again, protecting the strawberries.

Bonus pictures - Lace Triangle Shawl all blocked out!

i-Cord Cast-Off...

Tonight I was reminded that an i-cord cast-off takes up a lot more yarn than you think it will.
I don't think my substitution for the last quarter of this shawl is noticable until the last few stitches.

Either way, the shawl is going to be lovely when blocked.

#13 Lace Triangle Shawl from Spring/Summer 2012 Edition of Vogue Knitting.
(My second version of this pattern.)
Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in color #23 - a lovely dark purple.

More pictures after I block it!

Another quilt top...

Bento Box quilt top - fabric purchased I think in 2006 from Joann Fabric in Maryland.
I just had a fun trip skimming through the blog and as near as I can figure:

The construction began here in August 2008.
Then another update in August 2008.
September 2009.
A second September 2009 Update.
And then again in September 2010.

There were probably more updates. Anyway, I have worked on this top on and off for apparently 4 years. I think it stalled due partially to my usual attitude of thats for me, where I put it aside and work on gifts instead. And partially because at some point, after I had sewn a bunch of brown fabric in, i decided I didnt like the brown and ripped it out. I then had to collect more fabrics. I'm glad its completed, I still really like it. Now I need to decide on a backing. It's for my house, and as usual, there's no rush. I am considering machine quilting it myself throughout this winter.

By the way, Morgan approves (see lower left hand corner of quilt):

Crafting update...

I finished the top for wedding quilt #2:

And I even put together a couple of throw pillow tops, as well as the binding:

I also finished crocheting a lovely cowl. Its Noro Kureyon sock yarn, in the pattern Bellflower Infinity Scarf from Caron. I used a much larger hook to yarn ratio, the hook was J or 5.0 mm in size.

I won't be rushing to crochet anything again soon, but it did come out quite lovely.

And, don't worry, I'm still working on those mini central park hoodies, and the update is still coming soon.

Summer Lace Report...

This summer, I've been working on other lace projects besides that blue shawl from a couple of posts ago.

This one is Through the Loops Mystery Shawl 2012.
I gifted it to Jen after I completed it the last day of June:

This is a hand spun blanket I'm working on in between other projects. But only in the air conditioning, as the wool is thick and quite warm. The pattern is Norma, from Knitty First Fall 2012.

This is a recently completed Clapotis, made from my own hand spun cashmere yarn. It was originally a birthday gift for my mom. Instead she traded me for the blue Lace Triangle Shawl, and I was glad to be able to keep this. The lace triangle was fun and easy to knit, and I won't be spinning more cashmere anytime soon. It is beautiful, but really pricey.

Another project I am intermittently working on is this BEAUTIFUL lace shawl from Designs by Romi. The pattern is called the Brandywine Shawl. The yarn I am using is from Ball and Skein, a sock yarn in a beautiful variegation of reds. I am enjoying all the bits of knitting I am doing on it, and I'm sure i will enjoy the finished product so much when it is completed.

That's my summer lace report. Still to come soon, an update on my Mini Central Park Hoodie knitting, also known as, wow, I am knitting a lot of kid sweaters this summer.

Summer Quilting...

Sorry I've been away so long, I spent about a month of time traveling and hosting guests this summer, with limited time for blogging and crafting, so I chose to spend it on the actual crafts. I've been up to a few larger projects, here's the first...

I was invited to two weddings this year. Both are marriages where one person is a close family friend, or family. I decided for gifts, I wanted to make each couple a throw quilt for the back of their couch. Both should be modern and fit the couple, but still cozy for winter. I dived into my stash, and found two amazing sets of fabrics that I have been saving/collecting for years. Each with the intention of making a quilt. I decided these were the perfect couples to use the fabrics.

I decided to make both quilts in the Candy Bar Road pattern, to simplify my cutting. I only had to make two trips to the fabric store, one for a couple more fabrics to augment each quilt, and one for the batting (a thin warm and natural cotton blend) and flannel backing to make them cozier.

Quilt number one, for a wedding on June 8th, got finished up last week. I know I'm a little late, but I don't think they will mind.

Here's the quilt, hanging out on the rocking chair on my porch, pre-delivery.

Here's the entire front, all completed after quilting and binding.

Here's a close-up of the flannel backing and also my quilting:

Here it is all folded and wrapped up with an organdy ribbon. I folded down the part of the binding where I embroidered their names and the wedding date, so they would see that first when opening:

Quilt Pattern: Candy Bar Road - pleaase note I did not use layer cakes or jelly rolls
Fabrics: a bunch of stuff from my stash with a nice flannel backing and lightweight "warm and natural" batting added in for finishing. The binding is just leftover scraps from the quilt fabric, NOT cut on the bias.
Quilting Style: I machine quilted it on my regular sewing machine using a walking foot I just did tons and tons and tons of vertical lines, which looks really nice with the geometry of the quilt.
Time Spent: It took me about 14 hours to do the machine quilting. I forgot to pay attention to how long it took me to do the pieceing, but only a couple of evenings for piecing, and a couple of hours for cutting.
Size: It would have been good if I had noted a finished size, but it is a generous size to throw over your lap on the couch - bigger than twin but not quite full.
Recipients: Bob & Sherrie - happy wedding on July 8, 2012

The next quilt is all cut and ready to be pieced:

I can't wait to see how it comes out.