The latest projects

For the past month I was in England visiting my youngest daughter and helping her with the twins and 3 year old Atticus. Her husband had to go away to take a course and since I was there, I extended my visit for a bit. I am now close to completing my self isolation in the basement of my home. Luckily, I have everything I need here - including my crafts.

I started this blanket when I was in England. I got the yarn from Aldi and purchased it because it was a good price and also, it had a certain amount of wool content. It's 20% wool but it's also washable. The label says it's Knit & Purl Rainbow Yarn in the Nougat colour. Each ball or cake was 200 grams.

I used up two balls of yarn for the blanket when I was in England but when I came home, I added to it and used up another ball of yarn. There are still three left in England. I crocheted it using the shell stitch.

I made the blanket so that my youngest little granddaughter, Aurora, had something that kept her legs warm when she was in the stroller. This photo shows the colours better.

I started this last night. It's a hat for my other granddaughter, Severn. I had made a rainbow hat for her mom and it was her mom who suggested I make one for Severn. It seems that Severn keeps wearing her mom's hat. The pattern is free on Ravelry and it's called Bankhead. I have used that pattern for about a dozen or more hats so far. The yarn was purchased last year or the year before from Walmart.

Once the hat is finished, I am planning on using up these little balls of leftover yarn for another hat.

This is the yarn. Patons Decor is no longer being made since it's not readily available anywhere. I did manage to get some from Lens Mill store a while ago but it was in the clearance section. I like it because it's variegated and also because it too has a certain amount of wool content - 25%. I have made many hats with Patons Decor yarn and my grandchildren are still wearing the hats I made. I think my new 'go to' yarn is Lion Brand's Wool Ease but it's not all that easy to find. It too has a percentage of wool content. Hopefully, I will be back in my sewing room next week. There is a whole big list of things that I have to make. I'll try to remember to take photos of things I finish. 

Until then, stay home, stay safe.

Something new

 But not quilt related.

Cross stitch kits.

I treated myself to some kits. Most of them are not that big at all. I don't need any fabric and since I am currently in England, I thought I would save the international shipping charges. Once I am home, I will be in isolation so I will have something to do to keep me occupied. I have done some cross stitch before but they have all been small things. I thought I would work at smaller kits until I feel like doing bigger ones. I think all of these are a 14 count. My friend has a problem with vision and so she uses 11 count. I have seen some of the cross stitch that she does and she has incorporated some of the designs into her quilts.

Testing again

This is another quilt pattern I tested. It's called Bluebird Song by Phoebe Moon Designs but I don't know if she has released the pattern yet.

It was a fun block because I just chose fabrics from my scraps. They just had to be dark or light.

Some of the measurements didn't work out as you can see from the point of the ruler.

The point gets cut off but that's about the only thing that didn't work out in the pattern.

As you can see, once you put the blocks together, they make a sort of trellis. It was a fun project and the block didn't take long at all. It finishes at 18.5." I would like to go back and make more blocks but I don't have that much time right now.

Today

 I hope you all have a very Merry safe Christmas.

Please, take care.

Testing a pattern

I am a pattern tester for a few designers. It's interesting and my forte is editing for clarity and comprehension. In November I tested a pattern called Morning Sun by Melanie Traylor of Southern Charm Quilts. She has had a few quilt alongs and I have been working on one on and off for a while now. Morning Sun was released as a pattern on November 20th and Melanie wanted to make sure that there were no errors and that all her calculations worked out. 

This was my starting point. These are actually the outer corners.

I then added the quarter Dresden plates. My colour palette is very much different than the original.

This is the centre of the quilt.

I thought this photo would show the fabrics better. There is no central circle to cover the middle because each petal has been sewn into a point at both ends.

Here's the whole quilt put together with the border. The directions were very good and the measurements all worked out. If you want a different kind of quilt, then check out Morning Sun by Southern Charm Quilts. Check out this link to see Melanie's version.