Where have I been?

Where have I been? Nowhere. I'm still here, keeping busying with my usual activities - bible study, exercise, and sewing room activities, in that order. 

About three weeks ago I started a Beth Moore bible study called "Beloved Disciple." That disciple is John. Though the study was published in 2002, it's relevant. Alongside the the study, and because Beth Moore will be at Lutheran Church of Hope (West Des Moines, Iowa) September 25-26, I just finished listening to Beth's autobiography, All My Knotted-up Life. I have friends who don't care to listen to her because of her thick Arkansas accent, but I understand her and find her extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic on her favorite topic: Jesus. If you "know" Beth, have ever participated in one of her bible studies (I have many times) or have heard her speak, I highly recommend her book. The audiobook was particularly meaningful because she narrates it herself (you can hear her shedding tears) sharing thoughtful personal and experiential information.

In the sewing room, something new is underway as I've turned my focus to starting another quilt, this one for our Central Florida MQG's "2nd Chance Fabric Challenge." At least 25% of the quilt is to be from upcycled materials - fabrics that were previously "something else." In my case, these are Dad's plaid sport shirts, and a beige, pin-striped flat sheet recently found at a thrift store - "Wow! How perfect?!" - for a whole $2.75! 

The design is simple, geometric, and modern. As I've been able, I've included a little bit of transparency in the design. 

With this approximately 68" X 80" quilt top about half-way pieced, I feel confident I'll meet the October 10 due date.

You'd never guess which print was formerly boxers. :-) I backed many pieces with Pellon EK130 Easy Knit, to give them more stability.

Last Thursday I went on a day trip "outside the bubble." Having been at home/staying local all summer, I was happy to enjoy a get away with these two quilt-y friends: Barb who is the 4-H Club leader; and Karen who is also originally from Iowa. 

We went to Brooksville, Florida, about an hour away, to see what's what at Panbanged Knits and Fiber Shoppe. The owner, Christen, was a wealth of knowledge and imparted so much yarn-y information it was difficult to take it all in!

Christen has a line of hand-dyed yarns called Brooksville Fiber Company, and while I would loved to have invested in a several hanks, the price had me thinking to hold off until I'm a better knitter.

 

Christen had a garment rack of completed crocheted and knitted garments, so I tried on several shawls/shawlettes in different shapes - triangle, asymmetrical, and rectangle. For a November wedding, I'd like to knit one to wear with a solid-color dress. I bought one ball of yarn and this pattern, to knit a garter stitch shawl.

Along with green needle point covers, those were my only purchases as I'm making myself finish my Summer Soul Top before starting the shawl. I can't tell you how many times I've frogged this top! But now the back is done, including ribbing. I'm making good progress on the front. Maybe I'm getting the hang of it? 

Left: Summer Soul Top in progress
Right: new DK yarn - Schoppel Zauberball, Color 2092 "Crazy"

By the way, I'm all-in on Ravelry now. My profile is there along with pics of my projects, finished and unfinished. Let me know if I can find you there. 

After lunch at The Bistro in Brooksville, we stopped at Hobby Lobby (a larger store than locally), and then drove to Inverness, Florida.

I had intended that we shop at Fiber Arts Gallery in Inverness - another yarn store. We didn't know until we parked, walked to the Masonic Business Center, and reached the door of the third floor shop, that it was closed for summer vacation. Well that was disappointing. Wouldn't you think a business would (should) post such information to their website? In spite of that disappointment, it was a fun day. Thanks for joining me, friends! 

So I keep myself busy with all the crafty, sewy, knitty things, and even a Modge Podge project that I'll share soon. 

In the meantime, another big diamond art project (38" X 26") arrived. It's "Beachside Gathering," a Thomas Kinkade design that I won't let myself start until I finish another diamond art painting. Diamond Art Club kits come highly recommended for their excellent quality (canvas, and precise square drills) by many diamond-painting friends. Working with such a kit will be a happy change for me!

I sure have many fun things to anticipate! Linda

Hopping to Finishes - "Ignite"

In spite of my inclination to hop from project to project, I managed two finishes this week.

The big one is Ignite, the yellow quilt I made for the 2027 QuiltCon "Pick-A-Color Scrappy Challenge" sponsored by American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. That's NOT to say my quilt is a shoo-in, because it certainly is not! QuiltCon is a juried show and those jurors will have a tough job in this category. For example, what will they do if they like - say - five red quilts because they're great designs? Will they intentionally choose other quilts of different colors, so they have a whole color range to display? 

I'll put Ignite through the entry/submission process that opens September 1; closes October 31. 

This week I squared-up the quilt (not an easy task), sewed on facing with Painter's Palette Honeycomb, and then hand-stitched it into place.  

For my entry photos, I'll have to take pictures with my Canon camera, because these photos, taken with my Iphone 14, do not capture the true colors. 

Ignite is 62" X 64." 

The back of Ignite. The facing matches the sides of the quilt back. 

I can't begin to express how glad I am that this quilt is finished! It was a tough one to put together. I learned several lessons through the making, primarily that a quilt designed by AI may not be easy to create. 

Moving right along, I am happy to share finish pictures of a knitted prayer shawl. I used this free pattern. No doubt it knitted-up relatively quickly (as compared to the summer top I'm still working on!) because it used chunky yarn and large, size 13 circular needles. 

This shawl is triangle-shaped, starting at the bottom point, and increasing in length to the long long side that is 50" across. I have in mind to gift this to someone special. 

I appreciate those of you who weighed-in on my question about what to do about kinky cotton yarn. I had a large ball of it, unknitted (tinked) because I wasn't happy with the inconsistencies of my stitches, and my increases were clunky. 

After receiving several different suggestions and viewpoints, I decided to contact the pattern designer, Julia Piro (she lives in Prague, Czechia). Since I used the same brand of yarn she did, I figured she would know. It took only a day for her to respond! How nice is that? She said yes, I should wash the yarn, and sent a link to a tutorial. 

So, I wound the kinky ball of yarn around legs. She suggested chair legs, but my TV tray ironing table has those legs. 

Then, I tied each hank in several places.

This is what it looked like before wetting.

After soaking the two hanks in water for about 15 minutes, I squeezed out the excess water and draped them across a hanger. I hung the hanger from my golf cart, in the hot garage, for two days! 

The yarn looks much better now. 

Because I'm making good progress on my Summer Soul top, I'll be using this yarn as soon as I wind it into cakes.

My Bible study friend (Lutheran Church of Hope) from West Des Moines, Iowa who visited me in June, surprised me with a package this week. This tea towel made me tear-up with a smile. Me too, Rondelle!

Linda

Too Much Hopping

Per usual, I have been madly project hopping. Here's a recap of where things stand. 

Ignite, my single hue quilt is done except for facing.

My latest enhancement was to big stitch a large asterisk at the end of all 16 points/rays of the design. Then I stitched roving yarn at the tip of each point, felting and fluffing it into a small puff. I learned this technique from Laura Loewen @quiltfortco in a 2023 QuiltCon workshop.

I have been unable to capture any good pictures of this quilt because, as I've learned, yellow is a very difficult color to capture with an IPhone 14 camera. I will face this quilt today.

My affection for working with yarn has not begun to wane. So I find myself working on three different projects. Of course, making round loom knitted Tiny Dolls never ends. In fact, friends are donating excess yarn to me to use to make dolls! I guess that's a good thing. 

It's knitting that remains my focus. I am determined to learn to do it well! 

I've been knitting a prayer shawl, thinking to give it away when I'm finished. I found numerous free prayer shawl patterns here, and I'm making Easy Triangle Shawl Pattern. Unfortunately, I bought only four skeins of yarn, so when I reached the end of skein four with nine more rows remaining to be knitted, I had to make a special trip to Hobby Lobby for one more skein. I was surprised to find the same dye lot number! 

As for my own Summer Soul Top, the one I've been working on forever... I completely took it apart. It was looking lumpy and I was lost, so I unwound the whole thing and restarted from the beginning. I'm much more pleased with the smoothness of my knitted rows, so I guess that means I am improving. 

When I restarted, I picked up a fresh ball of yarn. Sadly, the already-knitted yarn ball looks wavy and unkempt. Do any of you knitters know... will it look okay if I reknit with this yarn? Or do I need to steam it or something to remove waves (it's 100 percent cotton) before knitting it again? 

Hoping to enhance my knowledge and perhaps improve my skills, I've registered for another "summit" that's this coming week. This summit focuses on garments - knitted and crocheted. I'm doing the free version as I've learned I can watch most of the videos by increasing the playback speed - like to 1.5 X or more - and take notes. This is sponsored by Hortense (Amsterdam) of Knitting With Chopsticks. 

Sewing-wise, I've continued to piece my littlest shoebox scraps using the "leftovers" technique taught by Debra Jalbert. The largest piece is 8" squarish with smaller pieces 6" or so.

I have an abundance of small pieces to work with. To the aqua bits, I'm adding an occasional piece of green.

Each Friday, I continue to attend diamond painting club for several hours. Being there is mostly about socializing; I've gotten to know many people. For ease in transportation, and to not take up too much table space, I've been painting Christmas cards. Early, I know, but I'll be ready to mail them. 

I can paint two cards during club time. For the time being, I'm keeping my big projects at home. 

It's nice when diamond painters share their finished pieces because that gives all of us ideas about how to finish larger designs.

I just had to take a picture of this one because the painter finished it so perfectly. She bought a small, thin piece of board and painted it black. Then she glued the diamond piece to the board. Around the border she glued a strip of stretchy black sequined trim that she found in her stash. The sequined fabric is like dance costume edging. Doesn't it suits her design perfectly? Everyone was admiring it, include me who isn't fond of Halloween.

Also, here's a picture of the quilt our 4-H club leader, Barb, recently finished. It turned out so good, and will be offered as a fundraiser for the club. 

Have a great week! Linda