A Mat and a Knit Scarf

I finished one mat! It finishes around 20". I'm hoping it will make a nice gift this holiday season. I plan on making another one before I quilt it. I'll load 2 mats at a time. It should be quicker, I hope. I really love this fabric. It doesn't scream Christmas but is a bit more subtle.

I've made some great progress on my daughter's scarf. It measures close to 12" now. I really love this pattern even though each row takes me awhile! Those cables take time but they look good! There are about 8 different cables in this scarf. I really like the outcome. It already looks warm!

Current Projects Updated

Today was such a cold day! After having a warm and humid day yesterday, our high was 49 degrees today! Huge difference. At least, my hair was more manageable today! I've been making good progress on my scrap quilt. I have 3 rows done, 5 more to go! I decided to cut new scraps for the dark side of the next row. I wanted to get more diverse fabrics in this row. I'm enjoying working on this project. I really like going through my scraps. There are so many fabrics I forgot I ever had!

I've also been working on my Christmas Mat. I just have the top and bottom left to make. I plan on making another one before quilting them. I find it faster to quilt 2 mats at the same time. They'll be great gifts for the holiday.

Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

 

Christmas Mat

Although I'm still working on sewing my strips together for my scrap quilt, I decided to start sewing a 
Christmas table mat. I've already made one and would like to make a few more so I can gift them on the holiday. So, in between sewing my scrap strips together, I'm also working on this mat. It makes my sewing a little more interesting. I'll keep posting until it starts to look like a mat!

I thought I'd share the flowers my daughter got for her birthday. This is a mix of red and orange roses. I'm not sure I've ever seen orange roses before but they are gorgeous! Her boyfriend is very thoughtful!

Celtic Scarf

My daughter asked me to make her a nice thick scarf for the winter. I found this pattern in one of my knitting books. It's a celtic scarf full of cables. I was following the pattern and noticed an error so I fixed that in the book. Other than that, it's a pretty straight forward pattern. You just have to follow those different cables to get that nice Aran effect. That's my version on the bottom of the picture. 

This is the yarn I bought from KnitPicks. That's a great site to buy yarn at really good prices. This scarf is supposed to be 81" long according to the pattern but I doubt mine will be that long. I think this one will take me a little while! It's a nice project to work on during this cool and crisp Autumn days. 

New Quilt Project

 

I've been working on this scrap quilt designed by Victoria Findlay Wolfe. I have one completed strip and about 2/3 of another. I thought I'd set them up the way that they'll be sewn together so you can get an idea of what the quilt will look like.

There's a light side and a dark side. However, the directions say to change them up a little to add a bit of interest. I like the effect so far. I think this one would be a great candidate for a pantograph when it comes time for quilting. I have to make a total of 8 strips so there's plenty of time to decide what sort of quilting I'll be doing! It should measure 84" X 88". 

Current Fun Projects

I'm almost done sewing down the binding on my Whiskers N Catnip quilt. I decided to get the bindings on these two Girlie Ghosts quilts. The directions recommend a black binding but I don't have enough black. I decided to use the border fabric to bind them. I think it works fine! These should be quick to sew by hand. They're not too big. (16" X 30")

I'm almost done my first strip. It measures close to 60" in length and about 10" in width. All these seams are left open so the next strip can be sewn on. I've never done that before but I'll try it! I love using up my scraps. I'm trying not to have any duplicate scraps near each other. It's recommended to make all your strips first and then decide what strips to sew together. I need a total of 8 strips so I have a ways to go before I start sewing them together. 

Have a great weekend!

During the Storm

The night before the nor'easter landed in Massachusetts, everything looked orange outside. I took a few pictures of the sky. It was so colorful! It looked like the apocalypse was coming soon but it just ended up being a lot of rain and wind. The rain is tapering off but is not expected to stop until some time overnight.

I didn't do any quilting or sewing over the weekend. I was afraid the power would go out and screw up my machines. I finished quilting one of the Girlie Ghosts on Friday and had the second one all ready for quilting whenever the storm was over. 

I started a new scrap quilt this morning. I had cut a bunch of strips months ago but I never got around to working on it. It's a pattern by Victoria Findlay Wolfe called Lavender Walls. She used a lot of darker purples but I'm using anything in my stash. This is about 1/4 of the whole strip. I'll need 8 strips to make the size I want which is about 84" X 80".  I'm using partial seams so it will be interesting to sew the strips together. It's a fun way to use up that pesky stash!

I'm hoping the sun comes out soon. I miss it!