Sew I See!

I've finished two more blocks for the spring-themed sampler afghan.  That brings the total of finished blocks to twenty, which was my goal-- but now that I've laid them all out together, I've decided to make four more, for a 4 x 6 layout instead of the 4 x 5 I was originally planning.  So I need to make four more blocks, on the double! I've started the first of the Final Four, and I've also begun considering the joining and border. Since each block has its own border, I'll probably use a simple slip-stitch join.  As for the whole-blanket border, I've marked several possible options in Edie Eckman's Around the Corner Crochet Borders .  (These are affiliate links, by the way, as are the clickable book-cover photos.) Side-ramble:  I love that book, by the way, and highly recommend it to anyone who crochets many afghans-- and you can use the patterns for edging any project, of course, not just blankets. While looking up that link, I just saw that Edie...

I have two more sampler afghan blocks to share today! Maude in Spring : Pattern:   "Maude" , by Polly Plum (paid pattern, available on Ravelry) This felt like a fairly complicated pattern, in places, but as usual with Polly Plum patterns, the instructions are extremely detailed, which helps.  The "woven corners" (Rnd 8) are particularly tricky, but it's possible to leave them un-woven, if you prefer. I changed things slightly to get my block to the right size to match my other sampler blocks.  (Details on my project page, linked above the last photo.) Tons of scope for playing with colors here. - - - - - - - Springtime Victor : Pattern:   "Victor" , by Polly Plum (free pattern, available here on the designer's website, everytrickonthehook.com ) This is a pretty block-- and it's free!  When it was first released, it was only a 9-inch block, but the designer has since added a free 3-inch border, which was a h...

I've completed my first "real" quilt! (Though I like them, "rag quilts" aren't the same, in my opinion, as a REAL quilt.  I've made a few rag quilts, but this is the first blanket I've sewn with a pieced top, a backing, batting, quilting, and binding.) I don't want to admit how long it took me, from start to finish-- so I won't!  Mom put together the kit for this string quilt years ago, as a birthday present.  It sat for a while until I decided I was brave enough to start working on it.  It's been a big learning experience, and as I approached each new step (joining blocks into strips, joining strips, making the "quilt sandwich", pin basting, machine quilting, binding), it went into time-out until I could muster up the courage for whatever came next. No wonder it's taken so long! But now that I have this little quilt under my belt, I feel much more confident and excited about turning my other quilt top into a finished...

Two more blocks done for the sampler !  That makes a total of sixteen. First, it's the one I "sneak-peeked" last time: "Lise in Spring" Pattern:   Lise , by Polly Plum (pattern available for free on Ravelry) The clever construction is easier than it may appear.  There's lots of opportunity for color play, as well as good textural interest. I left off a round or two to get it to match my existing sampler blocks in size.  Fortunately, all the most interesting parts of the original pattern fit into this slightly smaller version. Second, it's "Floral Dimension of Spring" : Pattern:   Floral Dimension , by Laurie Dale (pattern available for free on Ravelry) There are quite a variety of stitches and techniques in this one!  I particularly like the "bumps" (Rnd 3) and the scallops.  I made a few changes (see my project page link above for details), but kept the central motif as written. At this point, ...

Here are another two completed blocks for the on-going sampler afghan ! First, up, "It's Spring in June Somewhere..." : (I'm giving all my blocks names with some reference to spring, since springtime pastels were my inspiration for this sampler.  Technically, June is  considered part of spring, in many parts of the world, but around here, it's usually feeling more like summer by June-- hence that silly name.) Pattern:   June , by Polly Plum (paid pattern, available on Ravelry) I really like the starry look of the overlapping front-post stitches.  Puff stitches still aren't my favorite to make, but I think these turned out well enough.  I like the look  of puff stitches-- particularly when other people are the ones who have to make them. ;o) I made a couple of small changes from the pattern as written, detailed on my Ravelry project page. Next, "Springtime Sun-Catcher" : Pattern:   Sun Catcher , by Julie Yeager (availabl...

After completing the ogee-motif afghan (no new photos to share, yet), I pulled the spring-hued afghan back out of temporary storage. It is  fun to work on, though I don't love trying to get all the blocks to the same size.  When I lay them out, it's clear that I've failed in that goal, once or twice.  I hope they'll work together well enough, once joined, but there have been times when I've left off rounds that it now  looks like I could actually have used, after all.  (Oops.) That little difficulty aside, I enjoy making samplers.  There's no risk of getting bored, and you can work with more complicated, involved blocks without worrying about how you'll manage crocheting a whole blanket's worth of them.  All you have to do is make it through this one time, then you're off to the next pattern.  Of course, that also means that you can't ever completely relax-- not in the way that you can when you're making dozens of the same small motif a...

What's that in the little glass jar on my sewing table? So colorful... Could it be hard candy? Well, it could  be candy, but it's not. It's a hundred little plastic and metal clips!  In a variety of colors (red, blue, yellow, pink, purple, and green)! Let's pour a few out for a closer look...  (For reference, the larger grid underneath them marks inches.) Ok, very nice-- but what are they for ? They're Embroidex "Sewing Quilting Craft Clips" .  (That's an affiliate link to Amazon.)  If you're a quilter (or someone else who sews), you've likely seen them before, but if not, the brief explanation is that you can use them in place of standard straight pins to hold layers of fabric together for sewing. Here's the bag they came in.  It's resealable and fairly sturdy, but I wanted them in something more permanent, thus the glass jar. These clips are advertised for use in other crafts, too, but so far, I...

The Ogee Afghan is finished-- unless I decide to go back and add a wider border.  That seems unlikely, because I'm not sure what kind of border I'd even add... and I'm kind of tired of working on this afghan, as it is... and the thin border seems to want to flip to the front, so I worry that a wider border would only do so more noticeably... Without further ado, here it is: I'm afraid I can't link the motif pattern, because it turns out the document I originally found via a link on a Ravelry forum was not really meant for the public (or something like that-- still not really clear on the whole story).  In any case, it's no longer available, but there's information about a very similar pattern here: Mystical Lanterns Blanket . Information about the hooks and yarn I used are on the project page on Ravelry, but the pared-down version is that I used worsted-weight acrylic (in a variety of brands), a 4.0mm hook for the motifs, and a 5.0mm hook fo...