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Showing posts from January, 2009

The Beauty Shot...

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And here it is, in all its glory! Amazing how hard it is to photograph this color. It's not actually quite this red, but a rich mahogany browny russet. Hard to photograph, too. I stood on the bed to try to shoot down on it, and then scraped a huge piece of skin from the back of my heel when I tried to step down without standing on the blanket. The trials of photography! So now, I need to get serious about what's next. Nothing too complicated, since I only have a few days before I take off for California.

Finito, Benito!

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Another FO, off the needles! Doesn't look very promising, does it? Still very blob-like. Turned out to be 41 inches (about 100 cm, I think?) fresh off the needles. Took 3.75 skeins of Bendigo 12 Ply rustic, and I used 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0 mm needles, depending on what I had available. Looks kind of like an amoeba, doesn't it? As you can see from this picture, taken on the (very bright) foam blocking mats, I gave it a pretty agressive blocking...up to 64 inches (160 cm, if my in-my-head math is correct). Not a very good picture, because I'm blocking it in the laundry where the light isn't very good, and the dark mahogany/redwood brown doesn't photograph very well anyway, and it's competing with the brilliant hues of those kids' foam mats. I'll post a pic of this in a more salubrious setting once it's dry. But I'm really happy to be finished. The binding off was extremely boring and time-consuming!

Keepin' On Keepin' On...

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Woo-hoo! Finished, and aren't they wonderful? This was SUCH a fun knit..and very fast, too. Yarn is Pagewood Farms Chugiak Merino in Grape Juice, and the pattern is the Cable Twist Socks ...using that wonderful left twist: Following the example of Pat , I knit these with sock yarn, rather than sport weight, and they fit like a dream! So, I'm making good progress on the Hemlock Ring Blanket, following the charts from The Rainey Sisters and Brooklyn Tweed . This is knit with Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12 Ply , in the color Russet, a rich mahogany-redwood color. I'm approaching the end, although you can't tell from this picture: it just looks like a big blob...a common failing when trying to photograph a circular shawl while it's still on the needles. Only 4 more plain rows to go, and then the final border. AND...today I finished piecing the blocks for Katie Rose's Big Girl Quilt: These blocks are 9", and the sashing will be 2" with the cornersto

Stop Me Before I Quilt Again!

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What is this big pile of fabric and scraps, you may ask: Some you may recognize from the 10 Wishes quilt, but others are new. Yes, I've made a start on the Big Girl Quilt (i.e. queen-size) for Katie Rose. I've been so inspired by the lovely quilts Mary and her Heartstrings group have made that I decided to make one for Katie. Here's where I am -- two rows of string blocks made...four rows still unmade. I will sash these blocks with 2" sashing (don't know what fabric yet), making stars from the cornerstones (ditto). You can't really see the EQ design very well, I know...sorry. Here's a close-up of the first four blocks: Second four: Third four: It's really fun doing these. I love the colors...wanted them to be "girly" but not too bright. I will add a wide-ish border of some gorgeous fabric, yet to be discovered, I think. I'm also ratting through my WIPs and getting inspired to finish up the As Time Goes By quilt pretty soon. Of

I'm On A Roll...

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OK, so there is not JUST quilting going on...there's also knitting. These socks are called Hedgerow, and the yarn is Cherry Tree Hill in a gorgeous dark turquoise blend. 2.25mm needles, as usual. Pretty, no? And I couldn't resist also casting on this pair of Cable Twist socks after I saw Pat's (the green ones in the pic). Original pattern calls for worsted weight yarn, but Pat did hers in that gorgeous sock yarn, so I rummaged through my yarn stash and lo, what did I find? This beautiful Pagewood Farms merino, in the colorway Grape Juice. Again, 2.25mm needles. AND...can you believe it? I finished this WIP...started in California before we moved Down Under, where it languished mostly, until last week. In the wake of the fast finish on the 10 Wishes quilt I decided to forge ahead and wrap this one up. Here it is in all its glory: queen-size, quilted, bound and on the bed, at last. (But not washed yet...just didn't have the energy or patience to wait for it t