New Work Revisited

This is a work-in-progress of the start of my buildings and ladder series.  I had started it before I left in June for QSDS and now that I re-visit it, I want to finish it!  It is an abstract of a ladder against a building.  I have done tons of sketches in my sketchbook recently of buildings and ladders.  So, hopefully, I can get this one done soon.  All the fabric is my hand dyed and then screen printed pieces.   

Knitting Insanity

I have been knitting a lot lately.  Maybe because I traveled a lot this summer and I like to take a small knitting project along with me.  Or maybe it all started when we suspected our cat had used the internet to order cat food.  (We had cat food waiting in our mailbox when we returned from our trip to OH)  You have to do something to maintain your insanity.  Just like quilting, I can't settle on one thing to make and always have several projects brewing.  The one above is going to be a throw using my yarn stash and sock yarn.  One strand of any kind of solid color held together with one strand of sock yarn using size 13 circular needles. (29").  I love how the sock yarn adds surprises of color.  It's a "scrap quilt" type of throw.  I will just keep adding colors and yarn until I like the size.  After it is done, I will crochet an edging to keep it from curling (it's done in stockinette).  I like these kind of projects when I am watching TV.  Funny thing is, I can knit in my sleep.  I wake up and see some good stitches and a few bad ones that I have to redo. 

This one is a scarf I started in a rib stitch using size 10 1/2 needles and chunky wool yarn.  I must be expecting a blizzard this winter because look at the hats I knit below!  I made two hats in two days.  I love to knit hats and find them easy peasy. 

This is my new tote bag to be knit from Noro Kuryeon yarn.  It is wool, so the above picture is after I felted it.  As you can see, I am using wool to knit I-cord for the handles.  I hope to line it and use it for toting my knitting when I travel.  (Or it will make a really warm hand warmer for winter on the metro).    The picture below is before it was felted and shrunk so much.

Here it is knit before felting in stockinette using circular needle.  It is called The Boogie Bag and the pattern is free on Ravelry.  Time for me to end this post, the cat is eyeing me...I think I see a tiny credit card in her paw. 

Machine Quilting designs and Other Important Stuff

I have been thinking of making a whole cloth quilt using some of my machine quilting motifs. I keep samples of machine quilting designs and stitches (each about 12" sq. or so) pinned together. When I can't decide what stitch to use, I quickly flip through them to find something I want to use on a particular quilt. Lots of times, I start to quilt and end up with a totally different design. The design above is done on muslin using yellow thread. My inspiration for designs usually come from nature. There are so many intricate lines and curves and swirls in leaves and flowers or even the bark on a tree. I must get back to work on my art this week.

When I was in California, I bought Emma a yellow rain slicker at an Old Navy store. She looks so cute in it and even got to wear it once. This is a picture of her dad taking her out in the rain. (He reluctantly did so because any dog dressed in clothes is embarrassing to him). LOL! But she wore it and never tried to pull it off. She loves to wear her sweaters in the winter, too.

And if you can't get enough Emma pics, here she is in our back yard at our other house in Columbus, OH. It's a huge back yard and has a fence. She loves to run and chase her ball. I do miss having a back yard here...at this house, there is no fence and it's very small. So, we call the house in Columbus our country house.

This Quilt's For Me!

My New Quilt

Quilted details

Quilted Details

Back of quilt

This is a lap size quilt that I made using Fresh Air by Chez Moi for Moda. I had bought a few packets of the 5" squares several years ago while visiting the Bernina shop across the way from Mary Jo's in North Carolina. I decided it would be my vegging out quilt...nothing but squares sewn together. I managed to piece it between art quilts and finally machine quilted it last month. The thread is variegated Star thread by Coats and Clark. I quilted it on my Bernina and loved the way the thread blended with the colors. The fabric design reminds me of the crazy 70's. I swear I had dresses that looked like this quilt. Of course those dresses were double knit or polyester. Maybe that's why I made it my own. It will be nice to snuggle in while watching TV and knitting. Hmmm...now if I could just find my pep squad pom poms...

What I did This Summer...

Traci & me (in California) 3 Leaves (quilted)

3 Leaves (detail)

I did have a very busy summer! In fact, it was a very productive summer with lots of new work. I am now back from my whirlwind trips with a new mindset to keep my blog updated. I have way too many new things to put in one post, but I will start with the finished "3 Leaves". (I see I have to yet again update my photo lighting. The overall pic seems a bit off in color. )

In August, I gave a lecture/trunk show at The Tavern Quilt Guild in Heathsville, VA. What a nice group of quilters! It's too bad they are so far away...they do so many fun things! I gave them my "Top Ten Machine Quilting Tips" and showed them some of my quilts.

I visited my daughter in California and had a wonderful time! We did so many things! We took an open air jeep tour of wineries in Santa Barbara. We stayed at the luxurious Canary Hotel and the jeep tour guide picked us up. We took an old stagecoach road through the mountains to 4 different wineries. Fun!! I will have to post pics on my flickr site because there are way too many to show here. Paradise Cove was fun, too! It's where the movie "Gidget" was filmed. We even encountered rattlesnakes on a hike in the Santa Monica mountains!!

We also too several trips to Ohio to work on our house there and visit our son. I feel like I've been gone all summer!

OK, I'm off to take more pics of the new work. I will post again tomorrow!