Arts & Quilts

J is for Job

2008-06-24T20:39:00.003-05:00

This is my desk. As of Friday, it will no longer be my desk. Before Friday, that pile of papers to the left of my computer needs to be gone. Processed, completed, filed, given to someone else, or otherwise dealt with in some manner. Some of it I'm sure will be relegated to the circular file...

Monday, I'm starting a new job. Same agency, same general job description, but a new boss, new desk (hopefully clean) and a new building. Closer to home and a quicker drop-off on our family carpool. I'll be spending more time waiting to be picked up but will have less overall time in the car. I'm thinking it will give me time to knit, write, or read.

I can't wait!

Swallowtail Complete!

2008-06-13T10:29:00.002-05:00

I would like to propose a small correction in the binding off instructions of the Swallowtail Shawl. Instead of saying simply “Repeat from * until all stitches have been bound off”, it should say something like “Repeat from * for-freakin’-ever, until your eyes are ready to fall out of your head and shrivel up on your dog-eared copy of this magazine. Then put it down for a few days to recover before coming back to bind off the other half of the shawl. Then have a little lie-down before blocking. Do not under any circumstances consider blocking this at 11 o’clock at night.”

So after I returned from the beach, I bound off the remaining stitches. I waited 24 hours to recover before blocking and then there was the payoff… the magic that is blocking lace. If you’ve never done it you should try it sometime, if lace knitting is your thing of course. It took me some time to really get my lace knitting mojo flowing, but now that it is I have several other lace projects in mind.

The shawl came off the needles vaguely shawl shaped, but without much detail visible. Geoff’s comment was “is that it??” It was tiny and smooshed.

But during blocking, it reached it’s fully stretched out size and showed off its pattern beautifully.

My co-worker saw it and practically began drooling immediately. She knits basic beginner items on large needles. She wants me to show her how to do it and help her get started… *gulp* ummmm….. help?

I is for Increasing

2008-06-06T09:21:00.002-05:00

The stash, that is...

Last weekend there was a huge inventory reduction sale at my favorite LYS and I managed to score some fantastic deals. I got laceweight on a cone (it's bright orange, but I'm planning on overdyeing some of it and mixing some of it with different yarns as an experiment) for next to nothing, and a winter jacket's worth of yarn for playing with design. We'll see how that comes out.

Meanwhile, this week has been busy getting everything ready for our trip to the beach. We leave this afternoon and will be back Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Anticipation

2008-06-02T13:55:00.002-05:00

Last night I was knitting frantically to finish the last few rows of my Swallowtail Shawl, but finally it got to be too late and I went to bed. I have 8 rows to go. I’m so happy that I’ve stuck with it this time and am looking forward to having finished something. Especially a complicated piece of lace scarfness.

I probably would have finished it yesterday if I hadn’t had to deal with a particularly nasty bit of yarn vomit that was not only tangled, but a tad felted as well. Why does the center of a center pull ball become a tangly ball of yarn spaghetti? Is it a yarn nightclub in there?

In the end, a small amount of yarn surgery became necessary. A bit sad since I am so close to the end and nerve-wracking since I’m not at all convinced of my ability to spit-splice correctly. If I start blocking the scarf and pieces start unraveling, I think I will cry.

Tonight is the Austin Quilt Guild meeting and Pamela Allen is our guest speaker. I’m really looking forward to seeing her quilts up close and personal. Hopefully I’ll also find something really special on the guild’s free table and be able to snag a ride home with my GMIL.

Later I’ll try to post on this weekend’s stash enhancement, as the pictures are all at home on the camera. And then I’ll probably knit like the wind, only to wear out and go to bed exhausted and with two rows to go. Se la vie.

F#%king Nupps

2008-05-25T17:40:00.003-05:00

I knew that when I got through the first 14 repeats of the Swallowtail Shawl, I was going to have to face the nupps. I'd read many variations of blog posts like this or this where someone posts their gorgeous photo of the completed shawl with a mention of the absolute hell that are nupps.

I thought I could handle it. Let me just say, I was not prepared. After completing two rows of nupps, I am in desperate need of a refreshing beverage...

and a short break.

Before I started I warned Geoff that I was going to be starting the nupps section, and if he heard cursing, to not be alarmed. He thought I was joking... so did I. It was nearly impossible to get the needle into the 5 stitches needing to be purled together and after struggling through two, I got creative. I got out my tiny crochet hook and used it as a substitute needle for the nupps.

Working that tiny needle through those tight stitches wasn't too bad. But the most important part was making sure the needle was under exactly 5 stitches. Four wouldn't work; neither would six. And the stitch right after each nupp was more than willing to jump onto my crochet hook, while the 5th stitch was much more shy about the whole operation.

Tinking back halfway through a row when the count doesn't work out at the end of the row? Oy vey. Let's just say I'd rather lick dirt.

I'm halfway through the first Lily of the Valley Border chart, but I'm really not ready to go back in there.

A few more rows of nupps, and it may be time for desperate measures...

H is for Halfway

2008-05-22T10:58:00.001-05:00

Last night I picked up my Swallowtail Shawl after a long haitus. I remember putting it down because it seemed like it was taking forever, I hadn't gotten very far in it, it was going to take me months to finish, etc...

Turns out, I was about halfway done with it. I don't think it had taken me all that long to get that far with it, and I feel hopeful I can complete it quickly (don't quote me on that!).

Garden Update

2008-05-20T13:33:00.003-05:00

While we're starting to think that the dirt we bought for our bigger garden bed is not the wonderful stuff we were led to believe, things are growing in all corners of our backyard farm.

Here's Geoff weeding between the green beans, which are flourishing...

and in the garden box we have evidence of a tiny green pepper and tomato beginning to grow.

Pretty soon we should have lots of good veggies straight from the garden to the table. If the squash bugs don't get our zucchini plants this year, I hope to have plenty to freeze. Also, I recently saw an interesting recipe for pickled zukes that might be fun to try.

In further garden related news, we just got word the blackberries are ripe and ready for us to come pick... yay!

Is it snacktime yet?

2008-05-13T09:51:00.000-05:00

Today I started my diet. I think it will be successful, because it has morning and afternoon snacks (my weak times), and the way it cycles low-calorie weeks with higher calorie weeks makes sense to me. Sounds like just the thing to jumpstart my sluggish metabolism, which is the whole point.

I woke up early and took the time to eat my (pre-planned) breakfast in a leisurely manner. It was wonderful. I felt satisfied, not overly full, and we even managed to get out of the door on time. (We ended up forgetting something and had to turn around, but still, I count it as a major accomplishment.)

Now I’m going through my bloglines and trying not to think about my morning snack. I realize I subscribe to a whole lot of food bloggers. Orangette has a yummy post about pasta with onion sauce this morning. I can nearly taste it just looking at her pictures. MMM… pasta.

Another thing “they” always say while dieting is to drink more water. That sometimes your body thinks it’s hungry when it’s really thirsty. Except that drinking water makes me hungrier. And I spend the morning running back and forth to the bathroom.

*sigh*
Is it snacktime yet?

G is for Generous

2008-04-24T16:02:00.003-05:00

First off, I'd like to say a big Thank You!! to everyone who has contacted me about donating fabric, blankies, their time, good thoughts, and everything else in regards to the blankie project. I really appreciate everything that's coming this way from near and far.

One of the first people to contact me was Karrin, who said she'd be sending me a box filled with mainly quilt blocks leftover from other projects and swaps she'd been in... I don't know what I was expecting exactly, but this is what I got:

and these:

and my favorite:

A total of 82 (okay now that I'm writing this, I can't recall if my final count was 82 or 86, but either way, WOW!) blocks to be made into quilts for CPS kids. I'm in shock, in awe, in utter amazement.

Not only that, but Barbara's letter reached me the same day -- she said that while she's just getting started knitting and can't do a blankie just yet, she'd love to contribute to the cause and sent a gift certificate to Jo-Ann's! Another wow!! You guys are just great!

I know there are others out there who are diligently stitching away and a big thank you to everyone who has offered to help.

I'm a little overwhelmed with this outpouring of support, and just want everyone who has contacted me about donating to know that ya'll are all the best of the best and I appreciate each and every one of you. I know that when we make these donations to the Rainbow Room, the coordinator is going to be just as amazed as I am right now... (mainly because when I first contacted her about donating I had 2 people ready to help me, and I phrased it as "a few crafters" who wanted to donate. lol)

Now, off to the sewing machine!... :)

I Could Use a Little Help (Long Post but Worthwhile)

2008-04-15T20:09:00.002-05:00

I work for the Family Protective Services Agency, but I am not directly involved with the Child Protective aspect of our agency. I process invoices and push papers around. People always ask if it's difficult to work here, and I always said no because I really didn't see all the bad stuff. I don't think I could handle some of the things people see in our line of work.

I've also felt the need to give something back, in general, to the greater good. I think crafters have generous natures, giving away their labors of love to friends and family, as well as responding to calls for help, prayers, contributions, and hugs when needed. I've knit hats for preemies, sent items to auctions, and done what I could when I had the resources, but no particular cause has ever really resonated with me. I saw people who were passionate about a cause and hoped to find a cause I felt as strongly about. And last week, at work, I found that cause.

You may have seen on the news the raid of the polygamist compound in Eldorado, TX. Normally this wouldn't have popped up on my radar, except with it being the biggest child removal operation in at least 50 years it has affected FPS personnel statewide. People are scrambling to make sure these women and children are protected, save, and well cared for. I've seen the workload on people that work in close proximity to me double as their support personnel are re-routed to other areas.

While discussing this with a co-worker, we talked about how scared and uncertain some of these kids must be and other removals she's witnessed with kids who don't have anything to call their own. This struck a chord with me when thinking of my daughter, who until she was nearly five would not go anywhere without her precious blankie that had been made for her when she was born. As a quilter and as a mother I feel that every child needs a blankie like that, to feel secure in a strange situation.

So I would like to provide quilts or blankets to the children that our agency assists that are in difficult situations and might be comforted in knowing someone made a blankie especially for them. This is a big project and I'm hoping for some help from you, if you're reading this and feeling called upon to help like I am. I have a few quilters, knitters and crocheters who are willing to lend a hand here locally but we can't do it alone.

Right now we are requesting donations of fabric, batting and thread so we can make quilts for these children. We'll also accept quilt tops, crocheted or knitted afghans, or completed quilts (any size, but 42 x 48 inches makes a nice size for a young child).

Depending on the response we get, we'd like to be able to make regular donations to the local Rainbow Room, which provides clothing and personnal items to children that don't have those items. Ultimately we'd like to provide a hand-crafted afghan or quilt to every child that passes through the Rainbow Room, who has just had their life turned upside down, and who just need some comfort and love.

If you can spare some supplies, a little of your time, or just want to be involved in any way, please email me (ritabelle73 at yahoo dot com). I'm working through our agency's Rainbow Room Coordinator to find out specifics of ages of children, preferred sizes of blankets, and sheer number of blankets that could be used, but all items sent will be used to support this worthy cause.

F is for Finished

2008-04-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it. The quilt is finished. Last night I showed it off to the Quilt Guild (oohs and aahs all around), and tonight it goes to Parkside Community School to be a silent auction item in their scholarship drive.

While I do hope the scholarship drive raises lots of money and is very successful, I'm not being entirely altruistic in giving the quilt away. This quilt was being made as a test subject to see how long it took me, so when someone commissions a quilt, I can price it accurately. Also, I'm hoping the advertising in the auction program will bring a few inquiries my way. Slowly but surely, I'd like to grow my quilting into a little business on the side. I'm also planning to make some more purses and put them up on etsy. I'll be updating when I get those done, so stay tuned!

E is for Earth

2008-04-07T13:48:00.003-05:00

This weekend we worked on clearing out some grass to get our garden started. We had a small garden last year and decided to go full force this year. Geoff and I were using the bigger tools to break up the sod and get the top layer of grass off, while Emily was using a small mattock to remove any little clumps of grass we'd missed.

I thought the construction paper crown and the braids left over from the morning's ballet class were an elegant touch. Also note the hot pink work gloves. She really knows how to garden in style!

What Ever Happened?

2008-04-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

For my mom, and whoever else might have wondered what ever happened to the quilt I'd been working on...

It's ready for quilting!

If you're wondering what happened to the rest of the block tutorial... well, I got distracted. That's me, The Distracted Quilter^TM.

Anyway, I got a call from a gal about town who's putting on a silent auction, so I offered her up this quilt. So I've got to get it done this week.

And I've been having some very severe heartburn the last two days, so I took today off. Wanting to get the quilting done on this quilt had nothing to do with it. Really.

D is for Dyeing

2008-03-22T23:57:00.001-05:00

Here we are finishing up dyeing the eggs for the Easter bunny to hide tomorrow. Lately my energy levels have been bottoming out, so between work and doing just enough laundry to go to work, hooking the camera up to the computer has become a big, hairy deal. But I've decided to make the effort in order to share with you our artistic endeavors in the field of ovum decor.

Yaaaaawn!

2008-03-10T09:36:00.000-05:00

Hopefully everyone is recovering nicely from their Daylight Savings Time jet lag. I love the concept of DST but the first three days of it just kill me.

This weekend Geoff and I tackled half of the garage clutter. What started out as a whim (just clearing out enough space to put in some utility shelves) turned into a major project with a big pile of stuff to throw out and a small pile of things to keep. After the stuff in the keep pile got moved back into place, we have a big clear area in the garage and even the other side piled high with boxes and bins looks more organized. Geoff wanted to keep going, but we’re already overloading our trash guys this week.

A couple of the boxes we unearthed had some of our china and glassware in it, so those got put into the china cabinet. I guess since we’ve been in this house 2 years, it’s about time we unpacked a few things.

Random Thursday

2008-02-28T12:31:00.002-06:00

Thank you to everyone that commented on the last post – Geoff was very excited to see how many comments “his” post generated. I’ll be sure to post updates as he gets further along in carving.

Although I do think it’s rather funny how involved Geoff gets with my blog… does anyone else’s mate/spouse/SO do this? He’s living life right alongside me, but if I don’t post for a few days, he’ll ask “when are you going to post?” He claims to want to know what my mental processes are. He also gets excited about things that he doesn’t care about because he knows I care about them, which is really sweet. He was nearly overwhelmed with excitement when Yarnmaven posted a comment, because he thought it was Yarn Harlot. He was sorely disappointed when I told him otherwise.

Craftiness has been put on a short hiatus while dealing with a humongous project at work, but I’m hoping for some progress this weekend. I not only need to finish that quilt I’m working on, but also need to start making awards for our quilt show this fall.

And for my MIL, who emailed last week, “enough with the quilting, we want to see what you’re knitting”… I’m testing out a new design for an illusion scarf that I think will be pretty cool, but you’ll have to wait for a little bit longer til I figure out if it’s going to work or not.

C is for Crazy

2008-02-18T21:09:00.003-06:00

Geoff is always very supportive and encouraging when it comes to my creativity. If there's a project I want to start or a problem I need to solve, he's right there to brainstorm, help as needed, get me back on track when I hit a dead end. Seldom does the creative urge grip him, but when it does, it's a doozy.

Last night, while I was having a midnight snack and he was having a well-lubricating dose of rum and coke, lightning struck. He became obsessed with the idea of carving the edge of a wall-length shelf with a celtic knotwork design. Inspiration (his) wanted to begin right away. Wisdom (mine) suggested that perhaps he sober up before trying to wield sharp instruments and possibly cut his thumbs off. Wisdom prevailed.

But this morning, after a quick test carve on a piece of wood not currently bolted to the wall (wisdom wins again), carving commenced.

Currently he has about 6 inches carved (and yes, he's done this most of the afternoon). The shelf in question is in total 14 feet long.

And in case you're wondering, the shelf is about 3/4 inch thick.

Why, yes, he is crazy, thanks for asking.

Sewing: Step Three

2008-02-12T21:29:00.002-06:00

I took a bit of a break from sewing over the last week, but now I'm ready to continue on with the baby quilt. In the last step we ended up with two piles of each type of block (white, color, white; and color, white, color). I took one pile (1/2 of the white, color, white blocks) and cut them in half:

and then sewed these rectangles to each side of one pile of the color, white, color blocks.

I planned ahead just a little bit so I wouldn't have any squares with matching sides and began to pin them together. Since I was careful on the last step to press my seams towards the colored pieces, my seams lock together and I only need to use two pins per piece.

And once the sewing is done, a quick press and half of my quilt blocks are complete.

Next time, we'll do the rest of the blocks and begin sewing the quilt top together

Sewing: Step Two

2008-01-30T21:21:00.001-06:00

Okay, back to the baby quilt. Our next step is to cut half of the colored blocks in half and sew them on either side of the remaining white squares.

Since I'm going for a scrappy look, I mixed up the rectangles as I was sewing them to get an even distribution and not have any squares with both sides the same color.

Once these are all sewn and pressed (seams towards the colored pieces), I'll divide the blocks into two stacks of each type of block.

On the next step, we'll see the pattern start to emerge.

B is for Buttons

2008-01-30T21:02:00.000-06:00

This is barely a double handful of my grandmother's buttons that have been passed down to me. I have a huge ziploc bag of them that must contain every single button that was on any piece of clothing that my grandmother owned, sewed, or wanted to sew. I could craft with nothing but buttons for a whole year and hardly make a dent.

And yet, I don't really use them. I look at them, scooping them up and letting them trickle out of my hands as I watch their colors and shapes fall back into the bag. I use them for inspiration. Occasionally I'll put one or two on a quilt, an art piece, or I'll pick out two or three special ones to put in a bowl on my dresser. They are my talismans.

Sewing: Step One

2008-01-28T20:58:00.000-06:00

The first step in sewing these blocks for the baby quilt is to take half of your white squares and cut them in half:

Then sew those rectangles to each side of the colored squares with a 1/4 inch seam allowance:

I like to chain piece my squares, so I don't have to deal with very many hanging threads. It saves time and thread, plus keeps all your pieces attached so they can't slide down behind the machine where they're hard to reach.

When the white rectangles are sewn to each side of the colored squares, press the seam allowances to one side. Pressing towards the darker piece of fabric is the norm, and I comply at this point because it will make the pieces go together more smoothly. Later in the block you'll see this will not always be the case.

Here are my baby block pieces, all pressed and waiting for the next step.

One thing I would like to mention is how to figure out what size square you'd like to start with -- I was trying to figure out a simple mathmatical equation for you, and when I ran in on my size squares, I kept coming up with a 7.5" finished square instead of 6.5" like I was anticipating. I was doing the math right, but had read the chart I'd been working off of earlier wrong. Se la vie. I'm not going for a precise size in this quilt, so it isn't crucial, but if I'd been going for a larger quilt it might have been disasterous.

So the mathmatical equation is:
(if you want to use a specific size square, and just want to know how big your finished block will be) ** 2 x square size - 1.5 inches ** That's the finished size, your square will be a half inch bigger before you sew it into the quilt (1/4 inch seam allowance on each side of the block).
If you know what size you want your finished block and want to know how big to cut your beginning squares, the equation backwards is:
** finished size of block + 1.5 inches divided by 2 **

If this is at all confusing, feel free to comment or email me and I'll go over it again. I'll be back with the next step tomorrow.

Prior posts in this project:
Choosing the Fabrics
Cutting the Fabrics

Cutting the Fabrics

2008-01-21T23:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday at my quilt bee meeting, I cut all the fabrics I chose for the baby quilt into 4.5" squares. 84 blocks of white, and 84 of various colors for 42 blocks. (2 squares each per block)

I've decided I want to make uneven nine patch blocks, and this will give me finished blocks of 6.5 inches. I'll be using a quickie piecing method to save from having to cut tiny pieces, and it will be easy to mix up the pieces for a scrappy layout.

I was planning on starting to piece my blocks today (since I'm off for MLK Jr. Day) but instead I got started playing a game on the Playstation 2, and my evening got sucked away trying to beat a particular level that I need oh-so-much practice on.

Tomorrow, it's back to the grind... ;)

Choosing Fabrics for a Baby Quilt

2008-01-20T12:30:00.000-06:00

The first thing to decide when designing a quilt is either the fabric choices or the quilt pattern. For baby quilts, I like a scrappy look without too much of a controlled pattern, so I usually start with the fabric.

Choosing fabrics can be a very personal decision. Some people like more muted tones and others like crayon bright colors. I tend to gravitate toward bright, serbet inspired colors for baby quilts. So when I went to the store, I started with these two:

I chose the turquoise because it seemed such a happy color and I really liked the swirl design. For the second fabric, I wanted something that was opposite as a contrast, and the yellow stripe fit the bill perfectly.

Since I've made several baby quilts in the last few months, I knew I had leftovers in the right color range. I brought those two fabrics home and looked in my stash to round out a good collection of fabrics for this quilt.

The rosy pink and dotty purple were naturals for this color group. The orange might have been a little bright, but the yellow angular designs on it added a layer of interest I wanted to include. I decided to choose a lighter green to balance out the bright orange.

Combine these fabrics with a plain white, and this is going to be a great baby quilt!

Now to throw the new purchases into the wash*, and I'll be ready to iron and cut.

*There is a debate among quiltmakers on whether pre-washing is necessary or not. I usually decide based on how the quilt will be treated after completion. For a baby quilt, I know it's going to get lots of washing, so I wash fabrics. That way I know if a bright color is going to bleed color onto the white pieces and all the fabrics will be pre-shrunk. For a wall quilt or small project, I probably wouldn't pre-wash.

Rushing By

2008-01-15T21:27:00.000-06:00

It already feels like January is rushing by. Mostly due to the getting back into the routine and a short bout with food poisoning, but I already feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Meh. Hopefully the wheels will gain traction pretty soon.

I sent a knitting pattern submission in to Sensual Evening Knits, but I guess it took me just a wee bit longer to get my glove submission in than a bunch of you out there, because they apparently approved enough for the book right before mine came in. Oh well. I still plan on writing up the pattern. I may send it in to Knitty or offer it on the blog. We'll see.

Meanwhile, Wendy over at WendyKnits is having a blog contest. Pop over and enter.

Soon I'm going to be starting a new quilt, so in the next few days, fabric may be making an appearance and I may document the fabric choosing process. Should be fun. I've had several people dropping by looking for quilt layout ideas, so perhaps we can document a quilt from start to finish.

Well, I'm still not feeling 100%, so I'm off to bed early tonight. Take care!

A is for Arby's

2008-01-07T15:25:00.000-06:00

Spell with Flickr

Connect Four toy from Arby's

This weekend I went to my folks house to pick up Emily and we decided to go to the craft store in San Marcos to see what sales we could find. Afterwards, we decided to eat at Arby's and as we were waiting for our sandwiches a woman came over.

She said she didn't usually approach strangers, but she and her grandmother had gotten kid's meals and they didn't need the toys that came with it, would my daughter like them? I looked up to thank her and we both laughed -- we weren't strangers, after all! It was my manager from my former job, who had come to San Marcos to take her grandmother shopping at Wal-Mart.

We only had a few minutes to exchange greetings and no time for a lengthy catch-up but it reminded me how much our circles of friends and acquaintances shift when we change small bits of our lives. People we'd like to keep up with get lost in the shuffle yet sometimes a random event can shift people back into our lives, if only for a moment.

I quite regularly see people I went to high school with or former co-workers. It helps that I live and work less than 40 miles from my alma mater, and yet I've had the same experience when working halfway across the country. It also helps that I have a photographic memory for faces -- It may take me three days to remember where I knew you from, but I'll know for a fact that I knew you. (This causes much grief when I sit bolt upright out of a sound sleep and exclaim, "THAT's where I knew her from!" Geoff does not appreciate it.)

Does this happen to anyone else?