I liked my first embroidered flour sack tea towel so much that I decided to embellish two more! Both embroidered images were templates from Wild Olive.
Unfortunately had to do some major ripping back on my second attempt at a sweater. Not sure where I went wrong, but my Antrorose sweater by Shannon Cook was going to be about four sizes too big for me.
After petting my Liberty of London fabric for as long as I desired, I finally started cutting it up with plans for a new quilt project.
I dabbled a bit in handmade children clothes, sewing up a couple of Pleated Spring Skirts and Bubble Pocket Shorts by Elegance and Elephants.
Broke out my Little Stitches book by Aneela Hooey, I really, really love this book. I completed the project Cherry on the Tree Swing and am SO HAPPY with her. Aneela's book really makes embroidery approachable for a beginner like me.
Another pair of socks was cast on and finished this month in a colourway called Starry Trails by one of my favourite independent dyers, Lynai Yarns. I love the yarn so much I decided to just knit a plain stockinette sock that let the colours in the yarn shine.
Ok so... almost always, after knitting socks, I am left with two small balls of leftover yarn, so when I saw that there was a Monster Sock knit along, I jumped right in to participate. Monster Socks essentially are just a plain stockinette sock but the yarn used is uncoordinated and used, in my case, in a random order to kind of Frankenstein them together. It was pretty cool to see everyone's completely different versions.
If you are familiar with me, you may know that I made a sampler style quilt using Katy Jones' 25 Patchwork Quilt Blocks and when she published volume 2, I had to jump on it.
I cast on two new pairs of socks this month. The first is Garter Rib by Charlene Schurch using Candy Skein's yarn in a Caribbean Cocktail colourway and the second pair I cast on is Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder in The Wacky Windmill's colourway named Scarlet which has glitter in the base :-)
Also, had to hop on Bunny Nuggets by Rebecca Danger and knit up the sweetest little guy with some leftover sock yarn.
I participated in Wild Olive's Winter Seasonal Stich-A-Long which was embroidering adorable characters onto hexagons which when all sewed up together made a delightful table mat.
I soaked and blocked my completed Anastasia Socks by MintyFresh. I like how the diagonal lines continue from the back of the sock to the front in continuity.
After casting off socks, I immediately cast on a new pair. This month I cast on Socks on a Plane by Laura Linneman in yarn from Candy Skein called Sugar Snap Pea.
Instead of feeling left out, I opted into a knit-a-long that was very popular and had an interesting twist. This knit-a-long was called Follow Your Arrow Mystery by Ysolda Teague and was a a choose your own adventure style, which meant every participant had ended up with a completed different shawl, with the clues being released every week and the option to chose to knit A or B. It was really fun to take part in.
Another quick project I knit this month is the Upper East Side by Joji Locatelli and it might be my favourite toque ever. The fit is absolutely fantastic. I used a colourway from The Wacky Windmill called Peacock Feathers.
In addition I cast on a new shawl this month called Great Divide Shawl by Michele Zatarian. I chose to use three skeins from The Wacky Windmill in the colourways Teacup Elephant, Cosmic, and Pumpkin Spice.
This month I finished up Wild Olive's Fall Seasonal Sitch-A-Long and got a very cute pillow cover out of it!
Tried out some hand-piecing for a potential quilt using some scrap fabric. I found it enjoyable but I struggled a bit using paper. Even the cardstock I used, which was nice and heavy, I just had difficulty with the process. I'm sure practice makes perfect but for now, I might investigate using some light plastic instead of paper and maybe even acrylic templates so I can use my rotary cutter.
I made a second Have It All Wallet by Straight Stitch Society but used a some of the alternative options for fun. This wallet is will be gifted.
I soaked and blocked my Candy Corn socks and they are delightful.
New socks were cast on new socks, which I am using the pattern Paper Moon Socks from Knitty, Deep Fall 2011. I am using a skein from The Wacky Windmill in a colourway called The Hofstadter Insufficiency.
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.
Cast on a new pair of socks. This yarn is extremely pleasing and it's my first time using yarn with some ★ glitter ★. I am attempted an asymmetrical toe for fun.
Completed the Summer Stich-A-Long with Wild Olive and the project is seriously the cutest.
Started on a Hitchhiker!
Used Wild Olive's generous free template to embroider a flour sack tea towel. This really brings me joy and brightens up my kitchen.
My mom request that I make a quilt for my uncle. I think, to go more masculine for this one, I ended up purchasing a flannel fat quarter bundle and used a tutorial to create these gorgeous bear paw blocks. Since I had some cutoff scraps, I decided to add sashing and cornerstones and completed the entire top of this quilt. I think it turned out awesome and I am pleased as punch.
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.
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.
