Design Wall Monday and Stash report

Two big finishes this last week: Jack's Chain is now a top awaiting quilting, 67"x94".  I am working on a tutorial for it but that may or may not happen this week because I have a graduating senior!  But in any case, stay tuned if you want a tutorial, it will happen!  (For now I'm re-using these photos from last Wed. and Fri.)

And the "Make it Blue" Framed In quilt is finished and bound... 63"x79".  My only fabric usage this week came from the binding: about half a yard of scrappy binding.  You can see more about this quilt in Friday's entry.

Stash Report:

Fabric used this week: .5 yards for binding
Fabric used year to date: 47.3 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date: 27.2 yards
Net used for 2012: 20.1 yards

Yarn used this week: 0 yards (working on 2 shawls)
Yarn used year to date: 2506 yards
Yarn added this week: 0 yards
Yarn added year to date: 492 yards (all handspun, not purchased)
Net used for 2012: 2014 yards

Also linking up to Design Wall Monday.

Framed In Quilt - Finished!

This is Framed In, the gateway drug that started me off in the quilt blog world.  Just a little over a year ago, I stumbled on the pattern and pretty soon, I was following lots of quilt blogs, joining quilt-alongs and linkup parties, and the madness hasn't stopped yet.  Now it's a finished quilt.  63"x79", made entirely with scraps and stash fabric according to some self-imposed guidelines.  This is a really great pattern for quick piecing and using up scraps, as long as you have plenty of solid white.

 I backed it with a vintage sheet and quilted it with an allover squiggle-loop-star pattern.  It's pretty much everything a scrappy quilt should be.  Fresh and pretty, not at all pretentious, and with lots of memories stitched in.  (Scraps from old aprons, curtains, Quarta's big-girl quilt, Tertia's Easter dress, and so on).  I'm naming this one "Make it Blue" and it's the 3rd in a series of all-scrap quilts based on the old quilter's creed, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

I finished hand-stitching the binding down last night while watching the spelling bee.  I had an extra block that I cut up to make the label.  The quilting and finishing was my May UFO project for Judy L.'s challenge.  (June's will be interesting... it's a felted wool patchwork blanket made from patches of old sweaters... stay tuned.  Also stay tuned for the how-to/tutorial post on my Jack's Chain top.  I took a lot of photos for it but it will probably have to wait until after graduation and grades).

WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along - Jack's Chain edition

Jack's Chain is a completed quilt top now!  I overcalculated the number of blocks needed and have enough extra for a small baby quilt too.

It will be interesting to figure out an appropriate quilting pattern and then the binding will be like binding a double wedding ring, but those are both in the future.  Also in the future is a big "how-to" construction post, because I kind of would like to record that for posterity.  This is an obscure pattern but it deserves more popularity.  And it totally is not that hard and doesn't require any special construction techniques other than set-in seams (and a lot of them).  There are always some spots where the points don't perfectly meet, but a good pressing makes it lie flat.

I'm working on the binding of the Framed-In quilt.  This is the first time I've used a vintage sheet for a backing and it went pretty well.  The higher thread count does mean it's a little harder to stitch down the binding.  I should probably change to a finer needle than I'm using.

In knitting, I've succumbed to the Color Affection virus going around.  I'm using various yarns that have been in my stash for awhile; both of these are reclaimed from thrift-store sweaters I unraveled, and the third color will be more of the alpaca from my Traveling Companion shawl.  Henle Latin book 1 is my reading material for the week because I am still in the midst of all the year-end craziness.  This is the text I use for 6th and 7th grade.  Final exams this week!

Projects:

Jack's Chain Quilt - finished top!

Framed In Quilt - binding

What will be my next quilt project? I'm honestly not sure.

Black Roses Stole - maybe 55% done 

knitting cotton bath rug - no progress

knitting argyle-fest - no progress

spinning - working on blue laceweight Wensleydale - Halfway through another bobbin

Linking up to Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday and Small Things for the Yarn-Along.

WIP Wednesday and Yarn-Along

Considering the fact that this is the most stressful time of year for a teacher, and that I have a son graduating in just a few weeks (why yes, he was just named valedictorian yesterday, and yes, I'm just a little proud!), the WIPs have been rolling along rather nicely.  This is Jack's Chain, just past the halfway point.  It's all about a billion little set-in seams from this point on, so smooth sailing.

The Framed-In Quilt came off the machine yesterday.  It just needs a binding and label.  This was my UFO for the month of May.

My Traveling Companion shawl (made from estate sale fingering weight alpaca) is finished and blocking on the guestroom bed.  It will need its own post in a day or two, but I was excited to finish it!  Debating whether/when to start a Color Affection, or just continue with Lady MacBeth.

I started spinning more of my blue hand-dyed Wensleydale yesterday, and I made a discovery:  if you start spinning using the Scotch Tension set-up and realize partway in that you really wanted the double-drive set-up instead, you can't switch midway through the bobbin, because they wind on in different directions.  I've been spinning almost 10 years and didn't know that.  But then, I never claimed to be a technical spinner.

And I'm supposed to say what I'm reading, but right now it's mainly grading papers.  Boring!

I'm linking up to Freshly Pieced and Ginny's Yarn-Along today.  There's also this amazing collection of giveaways going on at Sew Mama Sew, (I was too busy to come up with something for that this time around, but that doesn't stop me from entering!) and there is the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side, in which I do have a quilt entered (#265, just in case you wanted to vote for it).

The Long Dark WIP Wednesday of the Soul

Yesterday was one of those days.  When I decide I don't really like 6th grade all that much.  When I want to remind one of my children in a not very gentle voice that yelling "Calm down!" to his parents will have the opposite effect.  When my knee that I banged falling on the ice back in April is still swollen and painful, and my neck is becoming too painful to ignore.  When I'm convinced that all my work is going completely unappreciated when someone else gets to hand out the EIGHT gold medals on the National Latin Exam and I don't even get a mention.  When I am depressed by the dawning realization that Primigenitus is graduating and going off to college soon and I will be left with only the remaining three, very unfinished, kids.  When I make homemade bread and potato leek soup with shrimp for supper and no one comments other than to ask what's for dessert (and there isn't any because I spent the time on the bread and soup).  So last night, feeling that no good deed ever goes unpunished, I was pretty sure I was not going to be able to get to sleep easily.  One of the curses of middle age for me is insomnia.  So I just stayed up and sewed on Jack's Chain.

After a little more sewing this morning (because Steve didn't let me pull an all-nighter), I now have ALL of the units (wheels and apple cores) needed for a twin-sized quilt.  I had made a lot of progress over the weekend that I reported Monday if you want the details of how it goes together.  The remaining units besides the ones on the wall are in the stack to the right of the iron in this picture.  Now I just need to lay them out, piece them into rows and piece the rows together.  That always takes a lot of stamina, but one more sleepless night would probably do it.

The Framed In quilt is on the machine now, about half done.  I could finish it in an afternoon if I could stick with it for more than 10 minutes.

Here is what I've been knitting and reading.  The Traveling Companion Shawl: I'm just starting the final lace border and the third ball of alpaca yarn.  I'm reading The History of the Ancient World to Steve at bedtime, but of course the disadvantage of reading ancient history at bedtime is that it's very easy to fall asleep and miss an entire chapter.  Of course, last night that disadvantage turned into an advantage, and Steve read to me about the Hittites and 19th Dynasty Egyptians and their marriage alliances and wars until I actually was able to fall asleep.  Don't get me wrong, I love this book!  It makes ancient history come alive.  Just maybe not quite so much after 11:00 p.m.

Oh, and I kind of like the 6th graders again today.  (The 8th graders, now that's another story.)  I'm giving myself the afternoon off - no grocery shopping - so I can rest up and maybe sew a little more before I have to go back to pick up the kids.

Projects:

Jack's Chain Quilt 

Framed In Quilt

Black Roses Stole - I finished the first half!  Now I'm starting the long boring part of the second half.  Not that boring is bad!  I like boring!

Traveling Companion Shawl - about 75% done

knitting cotton bath rug - no progress

knitting argyle-fest - no progress

spinning - working on blue laceweight Wensleydale - 2 bobbins full and probably another 1 or 2 to go (but this has been over several months so far!).  And I let Joyce learn to spin on it last Saturday.  I have a feeling she'll be buying a wheel sometime soon.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday and Small Things for the Yarn-Along.

WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along

Time once again for the midweek progress report.  For the first time I'll be linking up to Yarn Along at Small Things, as well as WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

My Framed-In Quilt is on the frame and being quilted!  I'm using an allover squiggle-loop-star that has become something of a signature quilting pattern for me; it's easy, quick, and a mix of traditional and whimsical, so it seems to work with many quilts.  And the Megaquilter is behaving itself, which is always nice.

Jack's Chain is the other active quilt project at the moment.  I have a quilting day this Saturday at church and I hope to make a lot of progress then.  Also looking forward to Friday night, which is the Cedar Tree auction.  I have 3 quilts donated to it, and the signature quilt is in the live auction!

In knitting, I have finally gotten to the pretty lace part - with beads! - of my Black Roses stole, also known as Lady MacBeth.  Another 30 rows or so and I'll be at the halfway point.  I have been reading back issues of National Geographic.  That was my Father-in-Law's Christmas present from us; he always enjoyed them.  Now they are coming back to us.  I'm always amazed at how fascinating the different articles are.  I liked the special issue on China from before the 2008 Olympics, and the story of all the archeology behind identifying Queen Hatshepsut's mummy.

All my projects:

Framed In quilt - on the machine now.  It's my May UFO project

Jack's Chain quilt - plugging away a little at a time

Black Roses Stole - using Oral B superfloss to attach beads on the lace border.  I'm enjoying this part.

Traveling Companion Shawl - I'm past the halfway mark, I think. 

knitting cotton bath rug - no progress

knitting argyle-fest - no progress

startitis for both quilting and knitting continues to be a big temptation as the school year winds down and stress is everywhere

spinning - almost finished filling the second bobbin of Wensleydale.  I'm planning to take my wheel with me to quilting on Sat. so Joyce can try it out.

Design Wall Monday and Stash report

Once again it's Monday, that day when I take a picture of what's on my design wall and report any stash usage for the week.  The fun reports are over at Judy L's blog.

It's still Jack's Chain.  I met my goal for April of piecing half the units and decided to keep plugging on.  So this is representative of what I've done since last Monday; not a whole lot, but I keep piecing more small units when I get a chance.  It's going to be fun to see this come together.  I need to spend an evening cutting the white hexagons and then I can go to town.

Stash report

I now have May's UFO project, my Framed In quilt top, mounted on the Megaquilter frame and I've started quilting it.  It occurred to me that I had finished the top last year, before I started tracking fabric usage, but it's been sitting in my stash area taking up space while waiting to be quilted, so I might as well count 4 yards for that top now that it's moved onto the frame.  And another 5 yards for the vintage/ thrift store sheet I am using to back it.  There! I have yardage used!  And about time, too!

Fabric used this week: 9 yards
Fabric used year to date: 40.8 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date: 27.2 yards
Net used for 2012: 13.6 yards

Yarn used this week: 0 yards (still plugging away on 2 shawls at once)
Yarn used year to date: 1956 yards
Yarn added this week: 0 yards
Yarn added year to date: 492 yards (all handspun, not purchased)
Net used for 2012: 1464 yards

WIP Wednesday - the migraine edition



I have progress to report but I'm rehashing some of my older pics because I have had a headache for two days, grades were due today, and I didn't feel up to taking new pictures.  So Jack's Chain is at the halfway point.  I have lots and lots of cute little 9-patches:

I think I have almost enough for the whole quilt top.  But a few extra cute 9-patches wouldn't be a problem to have lying around, so I keep making more when I get a chance.

This is the Framed In quilt top that I made last year.  Its number was picked by Judy L for the UFO project I need to work on in May, and I was going to have it loaded onto the Megaquilter today if it wasn't for the migraine, the grading, etc.  I do have a vintage sheet tentatively picked out for the backing:

It's the second from the bottom, the only one large enough with any blue in it.  Because it has to have blue in it if it goes in this quilt!

Other WIPs:

Farmer's Wife Quilt - finished top blogged last week, now it goes into the quilting queue to be quilted after the Framed In quilt.

March UFO knitting bag - no progress, shame on me (ditto from the last 2 weeks)

April UFO Jack's Chain quilt - met my goal of half the blocks pieced, now I'm going to keep going

startitis is still a big temptation in quilting but I'm sticking with Jack's Chain for the moment

knitting Black Roses Stole - finally ready to begin the lace border on the first half.  I have beads ready to go and bought a teeny crochet hook which is still too big, and so I'm following a tip to use Oral B Superfloss instead. 

Traveling Companion Shawl - small progress

knitting cotton bath rug - no progress

knitting argyle-fest - no progress

startitis in knitting: I want to cast on for at least one more shawl, maybe the viral "color affection."

spinning - small progress on blue Wensleydale

Freshly Pieced has the linkup party.