Sweater Progress

I know it has been forever since I posted. It seems like there is always something going on, or that I have to do. I have been slowly working on the 2 remaining boy's sweaters and a HUGE stack of pot holder/dishcloth sets for the boutique this fall. I also finished two pairs of socks for me and started a pair for Nathan. If you can't tell, I have to admit that I am getting bored with the sweaters. My battery in the camera died this morning. It is charging and so tomorrow I will upload the pictures of all of these projects.

Working on the third sweater, of the exact same design, I am ready to be done! I sewed the shoulders and the sleeves into the red one tonight at knitting. I have to block it before I go any further. I have the back, sleeves and half of one side of the blue one done. If I can just make myself sit down and knit I can get done!

Baby Afagan

We got to see my youngest brother this weekend for the first time in several years. Since we saw them last they have adopted the cutest little girl that they have named Jasmine. She will be turning two this month. Even though she is not a "baby" anymore, I felt I wanted to do a baby blanket for her. I started it Sunday night and managed to finish it Friday night in time to give it to her when we met her. When she came in she came right to me and started to say "Blankie" several times. She knew it was for her.

Let me tell you, there was a lot of furious needle sounds this week! LOL The pattern was one that I found on the internet. It is a version of a dishcloth pattern that is done in garter stitch and on the bias. You then do a lace border around it. I used sport yarn and doubled it and knitted it on a 9. I think next time that I will do the same pattern, double the yarn, but do it on a 10 1/2. I think it will go faster, and it won't be quite so dense.

I used a varigated baby yarn for the middle and then did the border in a solid. I think it turned out really nice.

It's Done

I finally finished the sweater and skirt set. They turned out darling even if I say so myself. If I had to do them over I would charge double. I grossly under estimated the work. I'm just glad they are done though. Now all I have to do for this order is the 2 remaining boys sweaters and I will be done. They will be a breeze. I just have to make time to knit!!

Here is the sweater, and below is a close up of the stitching.

Here is the skirt.

And here they are together!

Quilt Show

Today I went to my first quilt show. Carole and I loved the quilts. There were so many styles and variations on the same pattern. There were also techniques that I had not seen before. I thought that I would share some of my favorites.

This is the quilt that was hanging in the entrance when you came in. A variation on log cabin. It was all kinds of homes. It was a bit whimsical and I loved it.
These next two I really liked for the pattern. The first one is called spinning star. I didn't get the name of the second one, but I think that I have seen the pattern before.These next two were done by a lady that specializes in applique. She was doing a demonstration and she was amazing. I was totally awed! If I was a quilter I would want to do something like this. The first one is all kinds of flowers, and the second one was Halloween. I would have liked to buy it for a wall decoration. It was absolutely fun! The picture isn't close enough to do it justice. There was a lot of detail.The next two I just liked the color schemes. I actually wouldn't mind trying an easier version of the stained glass one. Okay, let me restate that! I would like to do a version without the "lead look", just the piecing of the different shapes.These next two were out of this world in the way of small detail piecing. The first one was done with thousands of 2" hexagons. The information paper said it took her 5 years to finish it. This one was thousands of 1/2 inch squares. It was mind boggling that she didn't go nuts doing it. The information sheet said it took 18 months. She said she didn't do much else! I can imagine!

Here is a close up so you can see some of the piecing.This one was done by two people. The first lady put the pattern on and did all of the quilting, and the second lady water colored it with fabric paint. This picture does not do it justice. It was beautiful.This last quilt is the one that won the Grand Sweepstakes. It had quite a few different techniques on it.I did learn something new though. One of the ladies in a booth was knitting with fabric. She was making a scarf. It was really fun. She said she uses batik fabric because it has a tighter weave and does not ravel. She cuts it 1/2 inch wide on the bias and then knots it into a long strand and knits. I so want to try it. I think I will for the boutique.

Of course, after going to a wonderful quilt show it got me to thinking. About 9-10 years ago I made all three of my children quillos. Twin size quilts that fold into a pillow. They have loved them and taken them everywhere. The boys quilts are literally falling apart. They are to the point that there is no way to fix them. They were my beginning attempts to piece. I didn't quilt them, just pieced. Here is a picture of the boy's.
As you can see, very simple. I would like to make them new quilts for Christmas. They would definitely be pieced, but I would not have the time to quilt them. Maybe I could do some basic machine quilting along the piecing lines. A new friend of mine at church is a quilter. I will have to ask her advice. There's always another project down the road!!!

Sweater Set

I have been spending a lot of time in my garden and doing household things. I have been working on the sweater/skirt set. Wathching LDS Conference this weekend gave me good opportunity to knit as I listened. I have both sleeves done, the left side and about half of the right. It is going to be so cute made up. I decided to give you a sneek preview with a picture of one of the sleeves.I am hoping that this won't take too much longer!

I am excited for tomorrow. There is a huge quilt show at our convention center. My friend Carole and I are going to go. I can't wait. I love looking at quilts. Going with a friend just makes it more fun. I wonder if we will be able to take pictures. I would like to take pictures of some of my favorites.

Boy's Sweater

I almost had this done when the yarn for the skirt/sweater set came in, so I went ahead and finished it. I think it turned out really cute. I haven't done a double cable before. It was a bit intricate at first. After doing several repeats, I got it. After that it was a breeze. It knitted up really fast.

I am starting the skirt/sweater set tonight.

Sundress

I finshed the sundress last night. It turned out really cute, despite the amount of times I had to start. The yarn for the skirt/sweater isn't in yet, so I guess I will start one of the boys sweaters while I wait.