This Week's Motivation

I have high hopes for this week. 

School:  I am caught up on my readings from the past weeks, so this weeks goal is to stay caught up.  I think that should be doable!

House: Gwen got some new toys yesterday.  My goal is to unpack them and get them integrated into our current toys.  I even have some progress!  The Lego is now sharing its table with this marble run.  Gwen begged and begged and begged for me to put it together.  I started working trying to follow the picture on the box.  It would collapse and I would rebuild.  Then it would collapse and I would rebuild.  Then Gwen would "help" or drop a marble in and it would collapse.  I needed about 6 more arms.  So, I just made my own tower.  Then she sobbed because I hadn't used all the pieces and refused to even look at it for a good hour.  Kids!!!  Luckily, after a nice snack she decided that she would deign to give it a try and really liked it.

 

 Knitting: I am finally making progress on my sweater.  The yarn is soft, the color is perfect and I like the pattern.  I'm hoping to knit 2 of the tiny little yarn balls on it this week.  I bought 14 (I think I will need 12 - but the balls were cheap, so I didn't want to run out).  If I finish 2, that will take me to 3/14 or just over 20% finished!!!  

And finally, I want to sew at least the last 2 green blocks for the table cloth.  Ideally, I would like to also cut the squares for the blue blocks, but lets not get too ambitious.  

Anyway, lets see how I do putting my weekly goals out for public consumption and accountability.

Fill-The-Gap Cowl

I love the look of cowls.  I love how they are scarves that don't have annoying ends that come unwrapped or are bulky under my coat.  But, I've never really had luck wearing any of the cowls I've knit.  They are either too bulky to fit nicely under my jacket, or they are too loose and don't actually stop the wind from going down my jacket.  After trying to knit a bunch of different patterns and not having them work, I finally put a bunch of them together and came up with the Fill-The-Gap cowl.

This cowl is constructed from the bottom up.  First you knit the garter stitch bottom band.  Then, using decreases and short rows you shape the body of the cowl.  Once you have reached the size you want, you finish with a matching garter band.

Please join us on Ravelry and add your project!  Fill-The-Gap Cowl

Here's a bad pic.  Hopefully I will get a better picture with my jacket so you can see the full effect.

What you need:

Needles: US 7 - 4.5 mm

Gauge:  21 stitches/4 inches

Yarn: 100/150 yards of DK weight. 

Glossary: 

S2KPO: Slip 2 stitches together knitwise, knit 1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over the knit stitch. (This makes a centered double decrease.) 

Bottom Edge:

Cast on 131 stitches, place marker, join to work in the round and purl 131 stitches.

Round 1: K64, S2KPO, K64  (129 stitches)

Round 2: P63, S2KPO, P63  (127 stitches)

Round 3: K62, S2KPO, K62 (125 stitches)

Round 4, P61, S2KPO, P61 (123 stitches)

Round 5: K123 stitches

Cowl Body:

This section is worked using paired decreases and short rows. First you are going to just work short rows until the cowl measure 3 inches from the beginning tip.  Then you are going to start doing decreases on the knit side. Here is a good tutorial on short rows: The Purl Bee

Short Row 1: K63, wrap and turn

Short row 2: P3, wrap and turn

Short Row 3: Knit to the wrapped stitch, knit the wrapped stitch making sure to pick up the wrap, K1, wrap and turn.

Short Row 4: Purl to the wrapped stitch, purl the wrapped stitch making sure to pick up the wrap, P1, wrap and turn 

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until the cowl measures 3 inches from the tip.  End with a purl row.  Each row will increase the number of stitches you are working.

You are now going to decrease every second knit row. The purl rows will remain the same as row 4.

Short Row 5:SSK, knit to 2 stitches before the next wrapped stitch, K2Tog, knit the wrapped stitch making sure to pick up the wrap, K1, wrap and turn.

Short Row 6: same as row 4

Short Row 7: same as row 3

Short Row 8: same as row 4

Repeat this 4 row set 6 times.

Then start decreasing every knit row (so alternate Short Row 5 and Short Row 4) until there are 10 stitches left between wraps which you have not yet knitted.  (So - as you knit the short rows, the number of stitches you were working increased, and the number of stitches that were left alone decreased.)

With the knit side facing you, knit to the marker picking up the wrapped stitch as you go.  Then knit another round picking up the other wrapped stitch (you are knitting the entire round including the 10 stitches that you haven’t knit since the border). 

Knit until short side (where the round begins) measures 2 inches.

Top Edge: (3 garter ridges)

Round 1: Knit 1 round

Round 2: Purl 1 round

Repeat these two rounds 2 more times.

Bind off using Jenny’s “Surprisingly Stretchy Cast Off”

Weave in ends and steam block. 

Postage Stamp Table Cloth Take 1

Monday's request for motivation was to start my new table cloth.  Using the directions from Oh Fransson I got started. 

For my tablecloth, I need it to be bigger than 30" by 48".  (Love how exact I am?) That's the table top size.  I have been finding everything from 2" to floor length overhangs.  I've decided that it doesn't really matter and I'll make that part up as I get there.  Oh Fransson used 100 2"X2" squares for her blocks and ended up with blocks that are roughly 15" square.  So - going with 2 of those across and 3 down, I will cover the top of the table.  Add in some sashing between the blocks and a boarder, I will have a good sized table cloth.  Right?  ?  ? 

So - if I need 6 blocks (3 green ones and 3 blue ones) then I need 600 2" squares.  That's alot of squares!  I need 300 in each color scheme.  I have 6 fabrics in each color scheme which means I need 50 squares in each color.  If each square is 4 square inches (2"x2" - remember way back to junior high math...), and I need 50 - then I need to have at least 200 square inches of each fabric.  You can break 200 into 20x10 - which means you need a piece of fabric which is 20"x10" (or many other combinations of numbers which multiply to 200).  I quickly measured my washed and ironed fat quarters and they happily met those measurements.  So - I was good to go.

The first challenge was to figure out how to cut 2" strips without going crazy.  I did some thinking, I did some googling and I finally remember what I learned in Geological Mapping and Cross Sections and used 2 rulers!  I need to get a second ruler that's long enough to cut the strips because I still had to move both rulers and line them up each time.  That's OK though - it's just motivation to figure out which width of long ruler I need to buy next!

To cut each strip into 2" squares, I used 2 rulers.  This time I was able to keep the top ruler stationary, and just slide the bottom ruler along each time.  You might ask why I didn't just use the grids on my cutting mat...  That would be a really good question.  The main reason is that I have a really hard time keeping my fabric aligned with the grids for some reason.  Anyway, if you do it my way, then just make sure that the long edge of your fabric stays lined up with one of the lines on your moving ruler.  Then cut in 2" increments. 

 Then I needed a pressing board.  I took my warping board (used for dyeing yarn) and covered one side of it with 2 layers of home dec weight fabric.  Oh Fransson used batting, but I didn't have any that was wide enough and it seemed like way too much work to cut and piece batting so I decided to see what would happen.  It seems to work well.  I have no complaints.

 Next I needed to make my grid.  I thought I'd get clever and use a print out of 2" squares.  Truthfully?  It wasn't worth it.  I used it to make my first time (with my long ruler) and that was it.  After that I just used right angles and my long ruler to draw parallel 20" long lines which were 2 inches apart. 

 Here it is.  At first I spent alot of time trying to get all the lines perfectly straight.  But the muslin stuck to the pressing board fabric and it was a HUGE PITA!!!!  So I stopped...  I figured I'd come up with something after. 

Here are my 6 nice stacks of squares ontop of the fusible interfacing and you can see the muslin grid showing through.

So - I forgot to take a pic part way through of laying out the fabrics.  What I did was to take 100/6 = 16.66667 and decide that I was going to need 16 or 17 of each fabric.  I counted those out.  Then I picked one and started putting them down randomly.  This is where the squares on the muslin were REALLY useful.  I wouldn't try this project without some kind of grid.  I roughly followed the movement of a Knight from chess.  And that seems to have worked well.  I did keep back 1 or 2 squares from each fabric to use to fill gaps later on so that I didn't end up with 2 of the same fabric next to each other. 

Once it was filled, I took my time and carefully adjusted each piece so that it was in line with it's neighbors.  I think this step was vital. 

 Here it is after sewing my first set of seams, cutting them open and then ironing them. 

And my super excited picture of my "rectangle" block.

And it's all done.  The second set of seams went well.  Cutting them open got faster.  And it was so gratifying to iron it open and then turn it over to see my creation.

I'm really enjoying the modular nature of this project.  I now have 1 finished block and the squares to do 2 more.  But, I don't have to do them right away.  I can store the squares in bags and work on it more in awhile.  I am getting alot of hope for quilt plans.  I like the idea that I could put together a block when I have scraps available and not have to do the whole quilt at once. 

Motivation Mondays

I don't know how long this will last, but I figured that I will give it a try. Unlike 'Work in Progress Wednesdays' I figure that Mondays could be a day for the stuff I want to start this week. 

I have recently fallen in love with 2 things.  1st, the idea of tablecloths to cover my cheap stained kitchen table.  I grew up with placemats for daily use and tablecloths for special occasions.  Those table clothes were always fancy while/offwhite kinds of things.  I remember seeing bring happy ones for sale and wondering when you would use them.  I finally figured out that, as the ADULT in this situation, I can use whatever kind of tablecloth whenever I want!  For some of you, that's not really a special revelation.  But, for me, it was super liberating. 

My first one was inspired by alot of different things.  I meant to post about it on it's own, but I don't know that I will have time...  In the end I used 7" strips of light green and light blue semi-solids and then appliqued my special fabrics on top.  I really like the effect.  I backed it with muslin.  The only sadness I have is that I think the cotton thread I used to quilt it shrunk...  the muslin on the back is also puckered along the quilting lines, so that seems like the only thing.  I am strongly considering ripping out the quilting and redoing it. 

The second thing I've fallen in love with is the look of small piece scrap quilts, especially postage stamp quilts.  I found an amazing method on Oh, Fransson which makes it look easy enough that I might actually be able to make a quilt this way.  I immediately began dreaming of a huge king sized quilt made in a rainbow of colors.  But, I figured it was probably prudent to do it on a small scale before going all the way.  I already have a couch quilt, the girls already have quilts...  Then, if a flash of brilliance, I realized I could combine my two new loves.

So, I dove into my stash.  I found two little bundles of fabric that I bought at Walmart (shhhhhhhhh) when I first started sewing that were on massive sale.  Then I found and added a few other pieces to them and before I knew it, I had the bases for two color blocks.  I'm planning to do 3 green blocks and 3 blue blocks with white between them.  I will alternate them in the only way I can think of to do a 3x2 pattern :)   So far I have ironed them and folded them neatly.  My motivation need for today is to figure out how to neatly cut 2" squares without wasting fabric and then how to store them so that I don't get all mixed up.  I also need to make a pressing table which involves locating the staple gun and staples and deciding whether or not I want to cut down the piece of wood I have available. 

  

Motivation Monday!!!!!

It's not that Skylar has been replaced....

It's that Skylar has been replaced!

Before Christmas, during the insanity of student teaching, I went to spin.  Nothing I did worked, and I finally realized that the drive wheel had warped or something.  I'd been storing the wheel next to an exterior wall of the house.  I spent far more time on it than I should have, and got it to spin a little bit, but it made me sad...

Maybe I should backtrack for a moment...  In the world of doing things like spinning your own wool, rather than doing the sane thing of buying it pre-spun in the store, it is customary to give your spinning wheel a name.  I haven't figured out yet if this is to make it easier to talk about your wheel with people who will ask after it by name, or to have something to call it while you're sweating at it for eating your fiber...

So the idea was born of getting a new wheel for Christmas.  With the incredible generosity of family, I became the proud owner of my very own brand new Ashford Kiwi on Christmas morning.

I was playing Santa, and it was so very very hard to leave this one until the end.  I knew that once I opened it, I would be lost to Christmas morning.  

The girls got Lego, and this was like grown-up Lego.  It was awesome.  So many pieces, so much fun...

Adding the oil!  It's very particular work.  And, it wouldn't be crafting in this house without a kid audience.

Getting it started.  I believe that Gwen was giving me tips...

And, just so that none of you feel bad, Skylar stands guard against child muggles and protects the new, yet unnamed, wheel.  

That leaves me with only needing to name it.  For some reason it reminds me of our car which is named "The Little Car That Can!" What do you think?

The Rainbow ZigZag

After my 1st two quilts I had a dream of making a rainbow quilt.  I'm drawn to rainbows for alot of reasons.  Like with my previous quilt, I found a fabric on day that was the motivation for this project.  It was the yellow print on the right hand side.  It was the only one the fabric store had, but luckily the internet saved me once more.  I think I had to order the other colors from 3 different stores, but I eventually collected them all. I went back and forth alot on what color to use between my stripes.  I wanted to use white, but that seemed silly for a quilt that was going to be used by a small child who sufferes (suffered?) from nosebleeds.  I had finally settled on a cream when I went to the store for their annual solids sale.  Then I got lucky and they didn't have the right kind of cream and so I bought white :)

This pattern was pretty sane with the amount of cutting.  It started with strips of each color.  It was at this point that I finalized the rainbow layout.  The purple doesn't photograph very well - but it is a VERY intense purple and so I decided to just have one stripe of it.  

For some reason, I got so caught up in sewing this quilt that I failed to take pictures of it at each stage like I'd planned.  Here it is part way through being pieced  It's the best I have....

All pieced.  I was in love.  

So then I sat with the top in my "in progress" basket for months.  I had the back (flannel I got from a destash), I had the batting (an old very thin duvet from my MIL) but I could not figure out how I wanted to quilt it or bind it.   For awhile I thought I wanted to free motion quilt.  So I ordered a foot for that and waited.  Then I decided that would kill the wonderful lines I'd worked so hard to make line up.  I considered buying thread in each color to quilt the color zigzags....  I waited for awhile until there was a sale on nice quilting thread.  But then that seemed ridiculous.  I finally settled on quilting the white sections in straight lines 1/4" in from the seams.  The result was a wonderful slightly puffy top.  The color stripes really pop! 

The binding was the next issue.  How to bind a rainbow quilt!  Should I make a stripped binding?  Should I alternate colors?  Should I try to have colors line up somehow?  I thought about pink along the top and purple along the sides...  Would that work?  Would it look silly?  Should I order more of the green and blue (I'd accidentally ordered the wrong amount the first time - so I didn't have leftovers...   :( )  I really wanted a wide binding and I didn't have enough fabric to make that happen.  So, I went for the best I had.  I settled on using the purple flowers in a thin binding. 

And the rainbow quilt came to life.  It is a truly cozy soft quilt and it is well loved.  

Well, this is embarrasing

I cannot believe it's been this long since I've posted.  I guess the crazy took over for awhile.  I am finally back in charge and ready to get back to work on creating wonderful things like quilts, yarn and 3yos who don't make me want a nice padded room.

Here are the things that I have been working on that I would like to blog about:

Natalie's Quilt - a rainbow zigzag extravaganza
More spinning - the new wheel is making me so happy!
My Tablecloth - I will say what I need to say in that post...
The Awesome Cowl - journeys like this are the main reason why I keep crafting.

Well - tune back in soon to see these in detail!