This is going to take a while

~ Mary ~ 7 Comments

I decided I wanted to knit the next blanket but I’ve got a stressful few months coming up so I needed something mindless. Knit blankets always take longer than crochet ones – at least they do for me but I have a feeling this one is going to take even longer than usual. Typically, I usually just knit baby size blankets but this one is larger at 44 x 60. I may cut that down a few inches … we’ll see. This is stockinette stitch with a garter stitch border so I hope I don’t get bored but I really wanted something I could pick up and put down without any thought or needing to refer to a pattern. And I was ready to knit something. I need to remember that it’s not a race and that it’s OK if some projects take longer than others.

Sunday to Sunday

~ Mary ~ 9 Comments

I feel pretty happy with my week’s work! Starting last Sunday through this Sunday, I accomplished quite a bit. I even got in 2 hikes and out on the lake in my kayak! Full disclosure, the Shell stitch blanket was about 1/3 complete and the log cabin blocks were made but getting 6 tops plus a doll quilt assembled and finishing up the blanket makes me happy.

We have two days before we head home and I’ll be closing down the sewing room, running errands, doing laundry, packing, starting a new blanket, and maybe even getting one last hike in. I won’t be sewing.

Finished

~ Mary ~ 7 Comments

Thanks to the Masters tournament this weekend, I managed to finish this blanket. I’ve even got the end woven in.

I’ve decided that I’m not buying any more yarn for now even if it is on sale. Right now I seem to make about 1 blanket a month plus various hats, and the occasional scarf ….I don’t regret my purchases, I love finishing a project and having the supplies here to choose from for the next one but my yarn stash is large enough to keep me crocheting and knitting for several years (or more) and I’m running out of storage space. I’ll start with a goal of not buying any more yarn the rest of this year and hope I have the willpower to extend it into next year. Wish me luck holding firm to my resolution.

Now I’m off to find my next project!

4 patch stars

~ Mary ~ 8 Comments

I’ve had this 4 Patch Stars quilt on my website since 2013 and haven’t made it yet. It’s designed as an 8 inch finished block and I think I just didn’t want to work with the 2 inch finished HSTs.

So this morning I played around with the design. I could use either a 3 inch finished HST for a 12 inch block or I have a GO die for a 2.5 inch finished HST which would make a 10 inch block. I might eventually make it in blue AND make a scrappy multicolored version too. I’ve got a busy couple months coming up so I don’t expect to start one anytime soon but hopefully this year!

Lots of deer!

~ Mary ~ 4 Comments

There were lots of deer this week both in camera range and out. I glanced up this afternoon from my sewing machine and saw 4 or 5 but they were out of range. They’re not shy about coming up close to the house especially at night. Finn started growling the other day around 4am … I don’t know how he heard it but when I checked the camera there was one walking beside the walkway. The raccoon made an appearance too but without his partner.

Assembled

~ Mary ~ 3 Comments

It’s a rainy day here in the North GA mountains so I snuck away to the sewing room to piece a Quick Strippie. Now I’ll go up and watch some of the Master’s tournament with Keith and pull out my crochet!

Assembled x 2

~ Mary ~ 8 Comments

Good grief! These 3 yard quilts are just too fast and I’ll have my work cut out for me getting them all quilted and bound. Yesterday after finishing my Rectangle top, I cut this one out and came down today to piece the top. I pretty much do my borders different on all of these but the pattern is City Lights from the Fast and Fun 3 yard quilt book.

Close-up of the fabrics

After finishing that one, I still had half the afternoon so I cut and started … and finished another one. Using the same pattern but I used 4 fabrics on this one so I could enlarge it a bit with the borders.

And again, here’s a close up view of the fabrics.

Assembled

~ Mary ~ 9 Comments

The rectangle quilt is assembled. This was from a jelly roll and meets the April Precut Challenge. It’s a bit larger then the others I’ve done – 56 x 72 – so it’s a nice donation size.

And since I couldn’t let those stripset ends go to waste, there’s another doll quilt top. I didn’t see I had those two fabrics too close until after it was pieced and I’m not taking it out!

Assembled

~ Mary ~ 6 Comments

The Strips and Strings log cabin top is assembled. Counting this one, 9 of my 17 new starts this year have been from my scraps or string bins. With the 3 yard challenge, I’ll have to make sure to keep working in my scraps and strings if I want to end the year with more of them than ones made from yardage and precuts. Scrap quilts are my favorites but it’s just so easy to pull precuts or some yardage and make a quick quilt.

And speaking of precuts, I’ve got a good start on my April precut quilt.