Sew I See!

We had a major home repair done last week.  Monday, we found yet another leak in our pipes.  This has been an on-going problem, and it turns out that this particular type of piping has been discovered to be prone to problems. Rather than continue to patch leaks as they happen-- never knowing when or where the next one will pop up or how much damage it might do (especially if we're away from home at the time)-- we'd already decided to have the whole house re-piped.  But you know how that is. You make the decision, but one thing and then another gets in the way, and before you know it, oops, here's another leak! Anyway, we went ahead and had it done, and it was finished in a couple of days.  Well, except for the holes the plumbers left behind.  We'll eventually deal with those ourselves (complete with some repainting).  In addition to the plumbing distraction, we've been working outside a lot.  I'm continuing to mulch and pull weeds-- and now plug...

Spring is here in full force, with highs in the 80s already, so I'm trying to get things done outdoors.  Despite plans to get big things done during the winter, most of it is still unfinished.  (Isn't that how these things usually go?)  Mostly my Need-to-Do List is mulch-mulch-mulch and weed-weed-weed, but there are also seeds to start, seedlings to tend, raised vegetable beds to prepare for planting (we moved them this year, and they need more soil), and "rustic obelisks" to build.  Also, we went to a plant show late last week, so there are a few new plants to place.  (Yay for new plants!  I've blogged about this elsewhere , if you're interested.) Maybe it's as a result of spring that I'm feeling the urge to set aside the cool-weather crafts... Thread crochet is sounding better by the day. - - - - - -  Though I've yet to take photos, I finished the second Meret .  (...Did I even mention that I was starting a second one?)  I made the s...

I just found this draft version of a post. Oops! Here it is, albeit late: I weaved in the two tails on the Meret, today.  It still needs washing and blocking (not sure how much I'll block it), but here it is, fresh of the needles. I tried it on to see how it fits me, for future reference.  It did turn out a little small for my tastes.  The brim fits, but it's snug, and the body of the hat was much less loose and beret-like than I'd like.  I think it would work well for someone with a smaller head, though.  Maybe a child.  If I were to make this pattern again (and I might) for an adult, I'd go up to the large size and work at least two extra repeats.  (This time, I worked one extra.  Without that, I think it would look very odd.  But then again, I don't usually like tight/small hat styles.)  Fit aside, I really enjoyed this pattern.  It's just complicated enough to keep it from being boring-- great for knitting while you...

The "Be of Good Cheer" Samplerghan is in its new home tonight (with my mother, in celebration of her birthday), so it's time to write the final blog entry about that particular afghan and bid it a fond farewell.  This one has taken its time.  I started the first block just before Valentine's Day in 2013, finished the last block in June that same year, then put it into a heavy hibernation until early 2015. After putting off the dreaded joining for a year and a half, it came together fairly quickly with a flat braid crochet join .  (I like that joining method.  I'd like it even better if the blocks to be joined were more uniform in stitch count.) For the border, it was the perfect time to try out a pom-pom edging .  The pom-poms were fun to make, but it did take a while to crochet.  And then the skein of yarn I was using ran out!  With only eleven pom-poms left to make!!  (Fortunately, it wasn't a rare, one-of-a-kind, impossible-to-match ya...

I finished weaving in the ends on the Be of Good Cheer Samplerghan! ~streamers and confetti~ Some of them were problematic to hide, because there was no handy good spot, but they're all tucked in there, somehow, and with any luck, they'll stay relatively put. I'll share some photos of the completed afghan soon. - - - - - I wanted to start something new, after the press to finish that afghan, so I cast on a fresh knitting project.  The pattern is "Meret (Mystery Beret)" .  There are over six thousand versions of Meret on Ravelry, so I guess you could say it's popular.  ;o) I'm using a skein of Patons Classic Wool (Jade Heather) from the stash, and because I really wanted to try one of my new (from months ago) fixed circular needles, I moved up one size from what's recommended.  Instead of size 7s, I'm using size 8 Hiya Hiya Sharp needles. Technically, I don't think that many (most?) knitters feel this type of pattern calls for ...

I finished joining all the blocks in the Be of Good Cheer sampler.  The flat braid join worked just fine, and despite the difference in stitch counts among the blocks, it seems to have evened out well enough.  I'd definitely use the flat braid join again.  In between joining blocks, I considered what to do for the edging.  I bookmarked a few borders in Edie Eckman's Around the Corner book...  Then I happened upon this neat edging that mimics the look of the flat braid join:  Reproducing a Braid Join Around an Edge .  (I'd give better credit, but I found it on Pinterest and am uncertain of the designer.  The site that hosts the PDF seems to have nothing to do with crochet at all, so it's a bit of a mystery.)  In the end, I decided to stick with the cute pom pom edging I mentioned last time.  The flat braid join left the "unfinished"/unjoined sides of the blocks with all these chain-space loops, so I'm using them as places to anchor ...

Quilting first? I've pieced together a few more blocks-- enough for one strip across the width of the quilt top. There are already one or two spots where my points definitely aren't perfectly lined up.  From a distance, I don't think it'll be obvious.  Especially if I quilt the top.  (I'm not sure yet if I'll try a simple machine quilting or stick with "just" tying it.) - - - - - - - Crochet. I've started joining the Be of Good Cheer Sampler using Muggins' (Margaret MacInnis') Flat Braid 3-Chain Crochet Join .  There's a photo-heavy tutorial on Ravelry, if you're a visual learner.  I'm really liking it, so far! Joining will probably take me a while, because the blocks are all over the place in stitch count.  Then there will be 40 new ends to deal with, all due to the joining.  (Bleh.) But when that 's done, it'll be time to choose an edging.  I'm thinking something open and lacy... I recently d...

We've had a couple of days of perfect weather.  Dry (i.e. not humid) with highs in the 70s weather.  Open the windows and air out the house weather.  Sit back and watch the white, puffy clouds drift gently across that bluebird sky weather.  It's felt like spring.  Winter is returning tonight, but that taste of spring was refreshing-- and a reminder that there's no time like the present to get some things done, outside.  It won't be long before spring is here for more than a day at a time, and our spring gives way to summer with alarming rapidity.  (And I'd rather finish the heavy lifting before summer, because our summer weather makes me miserable.)  ...Spring isn't exactly prime blanket-making season, but when you love making blankets, there really isn't any wrong time to do so. A long while back, I crocheted blocks for a sampler afghan, using those bright, happy "Cath Kidston" colors.  My "Be of Good Cheer" afghan, I called it.  I...

I've cut out the neutral fabric for the half-square triangle quilt.  It's just about equally split among three fabrics-- slightly different shades of pale cream/ecru with unobtrusive white prints. Last night, I finished a few of the HSTs to see how they'll look.  Here are the trimmed HSTs: Of course, when I lay out the actual quilt, I won't put the same prints so close together, but that photo gives you a rough idea of the plan.  I'm using a two-at-a-time method.  (Here's a blog entry with a photo tutorial of the process, though I'm doing things a little differently-- drawing two lines instead of one and sewing directly on those lines.)  There's also a method where you sew around all four sides of the square, then cut it along both diagonals.  In that method, you get four identical HSTs.  I'd like to try that, someday, but this time, I'd already planned on using this 2-at-a-time technique, and it seems to be working well. Here...

I've started cutting fabric for my first-ever from-scratch no-kit-involved non-rag-quilt quilt top! I'm making a quilt of half-square triangles. This won't be news to anyone who quilts, I'm sure, but gosh , there are a lot of neat things you can do with HSTs (as the cool people call them).  So many fun looks from one little square.  I'm really drawn to this star pattern ... But pinwheels are fun, too-- both the simple style and these with the 3-D effect ... And that's just the tip of the iceberg for what you can do with half-square triangles!  I think that I'll keep it simple, this time, though, and go for this style .  I'm not sure where the photo came from, unfortunately, but I like the quilter's "restrained scrappy" aesthetic.  Using two different prints for each rhombus, yet toning down the scrappy look by keeping the paired fabrics in the same color family.  I'll be aiming for something similar. The first step is cutti...