Current projects

Red Heart yarn has a great site for patterns for knitting and crocheting. For the 12 weeks leading up to Christmas they feature a couple of projects each week and they also give the instructions to make them. Here's the link to all the pattern offerings so far.  A mini hat and mitten garland and a crocheted wrapper for sweet treats is the latest. Last week, which was week seven, there was the cutest little sweater ornament and a crocheted raccoon.

The instructions say that I still have to crochet the front edge. I may add a flower just like the original but I will not be adding the pocket.

I'm adding a bit of outline embroidery on my Christmas Quilt Along challenge. It's coming along and should be finished in time for the big reveal.

There are some other things that I am knitting but since they are supposed to be a surprise, I won't show them until they are completed and gifted.

Blogathon Canada

It started yesterday.


 Go check it out. You will find many quilters right across this wonderful country. Click on the button to the right and it will bring you to a list of blogs that are featured for every day this week.

Go have fun exploring new quilting blogs. Thanks goes to Sew Sisters Quilt Shop for putting it all together.

Taming bias edges

Quilts are nice when the blocks are set on point.

  In Aunt Alice's quilt, the 16-patch blocks are set on point and the outer, border blocks are either half square triangles or quarter square triangles. 

This navy blue polka dot fabric is what I had decided on to use for the edge triangles. It's a cotton and I wanted to make sure that I didn't have a problem with the bias stretching.

I cut my large squares as per the pattern instructions. These are supposed to be then cut in half for the side triangles.

What I did was first draw a line from corner to corner. I drew on the reverse side but it really didn't matter if the line was on the right side of the fabric. This will be the cutting line.

Then I sewed a line about 1/8th of an inch away from the line...

 on either side of the line - from corner to corner...

using a long, basting stitch.

Since I also needed four smaller, corner triangles, I drew a line from the other corners also and sewed on either side of that line too.

 Then, the squares can be cut either in half, for the side triangles or...

in four triangles for the corners.

For those of you who have never sewn clothing, this is called stay stitching. It helps to stabilize the sides so that they don't go all wonky before the quilting is done and the binding is put on.

I hope this helps someone out there who wants to use half square or quarter square triangles for the edges of their quilts but were afraid of working with bias edges.

Tuesday Treat

Just photos.

COWBOY COUNTRY - how can you tell?

Christmas Quilt Along - November Part two

Here they all are, 25 little socks. They fit. That's all I wanted to make sure of. Now they are packed away waiting for the 1st of December.

The pattern was from Red Heart and the little socks are just ornamental. The original pattern shows them decorating a knitted pillow but there is no way I am going to knit a pillow cover and then put these little socks on it.

 More yarn to make more little socks but in Christmas colours this time to decorate the wreath I showed yesterday.

Some little boy is getting a horsey for Christmas. Handmade from a vendor at one of the craft fairs.

These little critters came home with us too from the fair.

 Just a bit of fabric was purchased. Remnants.

 I also picked up lots of nice, washable wool for gifts.

I'm off to make more little socks in Christmas colours. See you next month for the last installment of the 2013 Christmas Quilt Along. I'm linking up with Hazel this month who is the hostess for the quilt along.

Christmas Quilt Along - November Part one

I've been out and about today so tomorrow will be another QAL post. Today I attended a Christmas craft fair with my daughter and her two little boys. We went to one yesterday too. There was some lovely stuff at both locations. I'll take a photo of some of the stuff that was bought and show you all tomorrow since it's already dark out and I know the photo won't show up too well. BTW, the boys were both very good - especially little Patric. After all, you can't get into too much trouble when you're strapped into a stroller. I also got to a nice little yarn shop and bought some superwash wool.

I started this little Christmas project sometime last month.

This was the beginning. Believe it or not, they are little socks approximately 5 inches long.

This is how many I got done by 23rd of last month. Altogether there 14 here.

 And these were numbers 15 and 16 on the needles.



These little socks will become an advent calendar for my little grandsons. All are different in colour.

                                                          

Mack and Mabel had this cute wreath on their blog and I thought those little socks looked so familiar. My daughters liked it too and now I will be making some red, white and green socks. 

Tomorrow I'll show you the finished little socks - maybe all hung up.