May was an extremely fruitful month! Here's the recap:
My Triangularity Quilt is finished! It is absolutely stunning, I am so happy with all the work I put into it.
I finished my Cute Little Houses calendar and it is everything I was hoping it would be. It was with much exertion, brainstorming, and research, that I was able to patch together a solution to my linen calculation error, and the result is far from perfect.
This project got a frame, a custom mat, and a prominent place in my home, because it truly brings me so much joy.
Completed this month are a pair of socks I knit on request, these are Fairy Maiden by This Handmade Life in English Lavender Socknado by Ancient Arts. I have passed the socks to the requester and heard that they were then passed along to the recipient, who's feet they did indeed fit.
More hand-quilting, I can see the finish line here and it's very exciting!
Lots of sock knitting this month, the pattern I chose was Traffic Island Socks by Nicola W and this Sweet Clover Candy by Candy Skein is perfect for March.
How cute is the Halloween Cute Little House!? I am humming Thriller and wishing to skip right over the impending Summer to Fall. Alas, unfortunately I am not a time traveller, yet.
This month wrapped up my 2 Cubed Tea Towels by The Rogue Weaver and they turned out better than I could have hoped considering the new challenges that the double heddle introduced! I love them and have already put them to work.
This month I cast on a new pair of socks. This is a made-up pattern but I'm fairly certain the yarn is called The Wicked One in 80/20 Merino nylon from Crafty That Way.
In the spirit of old projects, I decided to tackle one that got abandoned, poor thing, during the pandemic of 2020. I actually made a massive calculation error and had to ponder how to rectify the fact that I did not initially acquire a large enough piece of linen to house my houses on. Of the three houses going across, in a grid, the rightmost house and that entire column going down are hugging the fabric edge so tight you'd think they were in a Abby Jimenez novel. I love these houses so much, that I am going to continue stitching and pretend I didn't notice. I'll deal with the problem later, or maybe it will magically go away.
Plugging away on my two monthly cross-stitch calendar samplers. I have the cutest little May house with lilies and blue bells and a Llamay with, I dare say, a bit of attitude.
I completed my The Daily by Andrea Mowry and fit and function are great and I think I quite like it.
For fun I knit up a little hacky sack with some leftover scrap yarn. I am no good, but it went to someone who has a desire to skill up.
In other news, this month I got bit by a crochet bug and decided to start making granny squares with no real plan.
This month I decided to cast on a new sweater, I feel determined to knit something I might actually wear sometimes. The sweater I chose is The Daily by Andrea Mowry, it's just so popular, how can something be popular if it's not great for the masses, right? OK so since the So Faded I made didn't have enough ease for me, I am going for extra large to be super roomy. Fingers crossed.
As there was a discount code offered, I also picked up the pattern Comfort Fade Cardi by Andrea Mowry and I have selected some yarn colourways that make a fade that I hope apply the lessons I learned when attempting the So Faded pullover. I studied everyone's Ravelry projects like it was homework, determined to understand why some work and some don't.
I have Cute April House and a little Harepril completed on my two ongoing calendar cross-stitch calendars. I'm really really not sure about having enough contrast on the Cute Animals. Stop now and cut my losses? Try again on another fabric? What to do.
Both calendar cross-stitch samplers I am working on got completed this month. I am loving the Cute Houses one and I am a little nervous about the Cute Animals sampler because seeing the white thread against the project linen makes me believe I didn't select a colour with enough contrast, I find the (made-up) work Pumarch hard to read. I'm going to give that a ponder.
This month I finished my Magpie Tendency by Skeinanigans. This was a very fun knit with clever construction and I enjoyed knitting it, but again my own lack of understanding of my own taste has bit me again. This is not a garment I would wear, I came to the realization at some point that I hate wearing t-shirts for whatever reason (one of the reasons that Summer is so hard for me), so why did I think I would enjoy wearing this? Maybe it was more that I knew I would enjoy knitting it. The yarn I used was Crafty That Way in the colourway Blue Razzleberry Process knitter over Project knitters, raise your hands (to the frog pile).
I finished stitching my Cute House for February, so I'm on a hot streak! I also was enjoying stitching so much that I decided to purchase another yearly, originally time-released but I'm late to the party, pattern from the same designer. I got caught right up and got both Jaguary and Owlbruary complete.
My sock needles were empty and that just wasn't right, so obviously I cast on yet another Crazy Zauberball. I just find the marled gradients so enchanting and the finished socks bewitchingly reliable. I'm knitting these toe-up, two-at-a-time, and making use of my trusty Sock Sack by Ramona Rose.
Excited to get back to stitching this month! I found a charming calendar style pattern that I adore and absolutely could not resist. In the year this pattern was made, it was release month by month by the designer as a monthly stitch-a-long, but as usual, I am slow and late to the party but still an enthusiastic participant. I have started out with every intention of doing one of the Cute Houses a month, but know that something will inevitably derail me in my pursuit.
I started a new cross-stitch pattern! I actually bought a kit for this one because I was having trouble sourcing a similar fabric and I really wanted to try something different. This is 38 ct Crystal Cashel Linen in Chablis from Picture This Plus, which is glittery *gasp* be still my heart.
Hey I love a good challenge, I tried out brioche knitting this month, choosing a very simple pattern and pairing a light grey with pops of the darker contrasting colour, so I could really understand what was going on and wowza, brioche has pop! One day I hope to knit Stephen West pattern.
For socks this month, I had a gorgeous skein of blues and teals and the pattern called Maya Socks by Nina La Fountaine with its gentle waves really seemed like a match made in heaven. And the result is so good. This is an outstanding pattern that I hope to knit again.
The cross-stitch pattern I started last month has been completed and even framed. The pattern was called Autumn Harvest Festival by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
I finished my mittens using the pattern Thrummed Mittens, Stuffed Mittens ...or Fluffies by Joan Janes and they really are divine. They will for sure ward off the evil cold and keep my hands toasty warm, unless they end up getting gifted away. Which is very likely to happen. I've had a few people mutter interest in snatching them.
I had an extra couple skeins of yarn leftover from my Mama Vertebrae and went searching down the rabbit hole that is Ravlery. The result is that I successful found a pattern that both appealed to me and used the yarn up. And now I have a toque on my needles, which is Molly by Erin Ruth.
I made a GAP-tastic Cowl by Jen Geigley for someone who requested a scarf that could also double as a hood. This was definitely a bit of a slog, lots of repetitive knitting in the same colour without any changes happening and not really something I would chose to knit for myself, and to be honest, I'm not sure the recipient it even that thrilled with it. Oh well, I tried.
On the bright side, I think I got the hang of this drop spindle spinning technique and I'm quite enjoying the process. The drop spindle that came with the kit leaves a lot to be desired and the hook at the top keeps popping out as there seems to be a small crack in the head. I think I can remedy this with some online shopping!
This month I received a very exciting parcel that was actually a collaboration of a few brilliant minds. The package came with a huge project bag made with fabric designed specifically for the collaboration, an exclusive yarn dyed for the collaboration, and a special sock knitting pattern released only as part of the kit. The whole package is even better than I could have hoped. The yarn is to dye for gorgeous, the bag will be used for, basically ever, and the pattern, since I have it, I definitely will knit again. I love it all so much.
I started another new cross-stitch pattern. The new pattern is called Autumn Harvest Festival by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
Cast on and finished a sock that really felt uninspiring to me. It happens. The yarn I used was Sockittome Impulse from Estelle Yarns.
I've seen thrummed mittens before, but this was my first time attempting to make them. They are much easier than they appear to be and it was enjoyable to play with the fibre. I especially love how the hand dyed fibre create it's own gradient against the neutral charcoal of the main body of the mittens. I used the pattern Thrummed Mittens, Stuffed Mittens ...or Fluffies by Joan Janes.
Having recently acquired my first Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball® Crazy I was very excited to knit up some socks and I am not surprised that these worked up so quickly. The quick changes is the marled colourway really made me want to knit faster and faster to see what colour was going to be popping up next. I will absolutely be knitting more Zauberballs.
And because I finished two pairs of socks. My sock needles were empty and I had to rectify that immediately by casting on another sock. I've decided to knit one sock at a time, just to try it out.
My Color Affection by Veera Välimäki has been soaked and blocked and it ready to parade around town in this fall. Watch out trees, I'll give your leaves a run for their money wearing this showstopper.
Oh! And I ordered a kit. Apparently I am going to teach myself how to spin fibre with a drop spindle. (wish me luck ★)
I have another finished quilt under my belt! I am really proud of this one, I think it turned out just stunning and I really think the Liberty of London fabrics takes centre stage.
Finished the cross-stitch project I started last month. Were you able to recognize the characters? They are from the series Arrested Development! This is cross-stich pattern is literally so clever and so cute, I love it.
I cast on and knit another pair of socks, this was yet another challenging skein of yarn, the colour is as bright neon as neon comes, so much fun! But what pattern would pair well with this epic neon pink? I found one! And this pattern is truly a keeper, what a wonderful stretchy fit, the pattern is Vestigial by Beata Jezek. The delightful yarn is suitably named Pink Panther by Lynai Yarns.
Finished knitting and blocking my Mama Vertebrae by Kelly van Niekerk!
Newly cast on shawl, I've always wanted to knit one of these and that is a Color Affection by Veera Välimäki. I chose to knit mine in Red, Orange, and Grey.
Lots of progress on a project I started last month which is Leaf Stole by Annie Rowden. It is a stunning scarf/stole that is absolutely wonderful to knit with the lace chart it is not necessarily intuitive knitting, but engaging knitting that is keeping me on my toes.
Another cross-stitch project in progress! This one is very unique, can you identify the characters? The pattern is from Little Wee Stitches.
Apparently I can't get enough of sweater knitting and cast on another new sweater. This time I chose the pattern Mama Vertebra by Kelly van Niekerk, I'm using Malabrigo Yarn Rios in the colourway Indecita.
Another new pair of socks off the needles, this pair is not knit from a pattern, I made is up and call it Chain Link and the yarn is, of course, another Candy Skein and the colourway is Robin's Egg Malt Ball and I love it.
A second pair of socks I finished this month is in a very interesting yarn colourway. The fun part about participating in mystery clubs is you definitely get yarn in colours that you wouldn't necessarily gravitate to, and that's what happened in this case. The yarn is from The Wacky Windmill and the colourway was called Schrodinger's Cat, inspired by the dyer , Kim, by The Big Bang Theory. The yarn kept reminding me of snakes or maybe Slytherin from Harry Potter, so I decided to knit a pattern that had a snake-like feel. The pattern I chose was Nutkin by BL. I think the only downside was that the pattern doesn't allow for much stretch. These socks were gifted as they ended up being a bit too snug for me.
Well this month I finished an entire sweater! It's cozy and snuggly and warm and oversized, not at all appropriate for July, but I can't wait to layer up in the winter months. The sweater is Antrorose by Shannon Cook from the collaborative book with Jane Richmond called Journey and features a unique funnel neck.
Cast on a new pair of socks. This pattern is called Papillotes by Yvette Noel, only I knit them toe-up. I love this subtle muted pink and purple in the yarn I chose from Black Market Wool called Please Don't Tease.
Also from Journey, I knit up a pair of wrist warmers using the pattern Spate by Jane Richmond, using my leftover yarn from my Antrorose sweater.
In an impromptu desire to cross-stich something, I stitched up another pattern from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery called Sweet Tooth.
I got a grand start on a new quilt, using my precious Liberty of London fabrics. I really wanted to use big fabric blocks to show off the delicate patterns of the fabric and I think I picked a really great option.
Another pair of socks on and off! I decided to make up a matching pair of socks for my Antrorose sweater, so I used the same chart, just stuck it on the insole of a sock. The yarn I used for these socks is by Candy Skein and the colourway is called Watermelon. These socks are extra squishy because I knit a garter heel and toe.
New on the needles is a scarf pattern that I am really excited about in a colour that is on the spectrum of my favourite turquoise colour, which is also by Candy Skein and the luminous colour is Blue Raspberry.
Firstly, I completed my Garter Rib by Charlene Schurch and surprise, surprise... got right to casting on a new pair of socks. I absolutely love the fit of the garter rib, they really hug my feet and offer wonderful stretch without being loose.
The socks I cast on this month are in a fun and challenging colourway by Candy Skein called Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich and the pattern I picked was "Ein Hauch von Nichts" Socks by Melly A. Mathews.
This month I was also charmed by the sweetest wrist warmers by Fiona Alice, the pattern is called Foxy Friends. It was honestly hard to chose, because Curious Cats and Wild Wolves were just as darling.
I bound off and blocked my finished Neon cardigan and then patted myself on the back for achieving something that I never thought I would be able to do!
In fact, I was so inspired by my success knitting my first cardigan that I purchase another sweater's quantity of yarn (splurging and indulging in gorgeous yarn from Quince & Co. for it) knit my first pattern from my new book, Journey. The pattern is Antrorose by Shannon Cook.
Cross-stitched the month away and finished my Donut Pals project by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I thought it was so fun, that I decided that I could make the finished fabric into a project bag, so that it could have function as well! I used up some scraps of fabric and sewed a nice big box bag with a handle. I very much love how it turned out.
I finished knitting my Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku, these glittery babies fit so well and I love having them on my feet.
In other knitting news, I knit a Nightlock shawl by Lisa Mutch in Northbound Knitting yarn in colourways Midnight and ISIS.
New socks on the needles this month are Anastasia Socks by MintyFresh and the yarn I am using is from Candy Skein.
I knit a shawl start to finish! These gorgeous yarns are Honey and Midnight Mousse from Candy Skein and I knit the pattern Cameo by Paulina Popiolek with them.
Made a quilt sandwich for my Bear Paw quilt, did some free-motion stippling, prepared and did the binding, and it's not off to its new owner, my uncle. I just used this free pattern for the bear paw blocks and improvised the rest of the quilt top.
Started another new cross-stich project. Inspired by the beautiful fall weather and upcoming seasonal festivities, I decided to participate in the Halloween Spooky Sampler by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I used this gorgeous hand dyed 32 count aida and am totally thrilled with the results.
Made some progress on my current socks which are being knit with yarn from The Wacky Windmill in a colourway called Salt Water Taffy. I am knitting a pattern called Hummingbird from a book called The Knitter's Book of Socks by Clara Parkes, which I borrowed from my local library.
Got another project completed from Aneela Hooey's book Little Stitches, he's the sweetest little fox who has become a needle minder that I was able to assemble using a very strong magnet I found in the auto section of the hardware store.
Received some happy mail that will become future knitting.
I also made some headway on the second mitten for my pair of Horatio and Oren mittens by Barbara Gregory.
July came and went so fast, here is my crafty recap.
Worked on my Seaweed Socks by Wendy D. Johnson, the colour is Pumpkin Pie by Candy Skein.
Made massive progress and completed my Insects cross-stitch sampler by Johanna Masko.
Participated in a Summer Stitch-A-Long with Wild Olive, embroidering adorable summer themed characters onto hexagons with the intent of a surprise final project.
Started a new cross-stitch project of course.
Went way out of my league when I found bundles of rhubarb at the farmer's market and ended up canning some Rhubarb Chutney out of my Food In Jars cookbook by Marisa McClellan. Oh my word. This stuff tastes AMAZING.
All In A Row by Amanda Jennings took me one day to make and has been bringing me joy as a coffee table runner every since.
Cut, pieced, and completed an entire quilt! Just the binding needs to be done to finish it off. My mom requested a quilt for my aunt with her favourite colours which happen to be turquoise and orange. I put together a Sparkling Cider quilt, because I've always wanted to make one.
I finished the binding on the Girl's Best Friend quilt I improvised out of the cutoffs from the half square triangles of my Pow Wow quilt. It's been in the wash and dryer to get that divine crinkling installed.
Found a fun new sew along that involves embroidering on hexagons. More to come...
Made a Teapot Cozy and whipped up a little hexagon mug rug with scrap fabric to give as a set to a friend.
There is an adorable pattern that I've been tempted to try for awhile now and had some time to put it together and it was so much fun, but also really hard to commit to a colour palette. The project is The Have It All Wallet by Straight Stitch Society.
May was an incredibly productive crafting month. Here is the run-down.
I bought the book Little Stichesby Aneela Hooey and quickly became enamored with every single detail. This book is amazing and I am thrilled. I sewed and embroidered a little needlebook and a little baggie to hold clothespins and am thrilled with each item.
Also from Aneela Hooey [huge fan over here], I made her Project Book Pouch and immediately put it to use.
I sewed a set of flannel baby blankets and hand crocheted around the edging, when I had my first baby, someone gifted me a used version of this blanket, very pre-loved and it lasted so well and was so very hardy that I reverse engineered the design and have started making my own versions. I find it very fun to pick out the flannel and chose a coordinating or contrasting thread for the crocheted edging. I love challenging myself to come up with creative crochet designs.
These cute teacups got my attention and I decided they had to be stitched up right away. I almost always say yes. Fancy a Cuppa by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
A huge project, way out of my comfort zone and knowledge circle was a piece of freakin' luggage. That's right. Luggage. This is The Weekender Bag by Amy Butler. Admittedly, the fabric probably wouldn't have been my first choice, but the heavy fabric require was a out of my budget and because there is a decent amount of notions required, I chose the lesser of all the evils from a hugely discounted section of the store. I can not believe I successfully made this durable, useable, perfect bag. The lining, the pockets, the heavy duty zipper, and even the Pellon interface stuff that is very stiff.
Cast on a new pair of socks this month.
Sewed a little Coffee Mug Rug and learned how to paper piece, a bit of a learning curve, but I can see how it opens up so much in terms of sewing.
Got even more miles on my sewing machine by whipping up a SockSack by Ramona Rose. I already love how this sock sack keeps my yarn from getting tangled. Probably my favourite feature is the snap buttons to feed the working yarn through.
