In the Making...

Finally put the finishing touches to my latest quilt this month. Unfortunately it's been one of those projects that has stuck around for far too long. The inspiration came from Scrap Quilt Sensation by Katharine Guerrier, which I bought from the Festival of Quilts after seeing the beautiful display of the quilts from the book. The colours were fantastic and I just had to have a go too. The whole quilt was both hand pieced and hand quilted which is why it took such a long time to make. It was the quilting that took the majority of the time. I think i was quite ambitious to quilt a double bed size quilt by hand, as well as the fact that I used feathers as part of the quilting so it wasn't a simple design either. The below photo shows some of the quilting detail. I made the quilt to keep for myself and it's large enough for two to snuggle underneath comfortably in the cold months. I used all my favourite pieces of fabric from my stash and it's been quite a good sta...

I had a bounty of Elizabeth Zimmerm ann books for Christmas and my birthday - Knitting without Tears, Knitter's Almanac and The Opinionated Knitter. I've thoroughy enjoyed the many hours I've had perusing them. Not only are the patterns innovative - even now, but the advice and "opinions" (as in the Opinionated Knitter) are absolutely wonderful too. With my friends are having their first baby , it has given me the opportunity to delve into knitted babywear for the first time and why not start with Elizabeth Zimmermann's wonderful designs. I have completed the February Baby Sweater on Two needles from the Knitter's Almanac. I'm in the process of completing the Baby Surprise Jacket and it definitely was a surprise. Initially I couldn't get my head around which part of the jacket I was knitting but about halfway through I twigged and it is just genius. The handspun I had made unfortunately ran out about 6 rows from the end; I suppose I could have u...

Oh boy! It's definitely been awhile since I updated my blog. Not entirely my fault our brand new PC decided to throw a permanent tantrum and we've been computerless (probably not a word!) for quite a few months. Thankfully it was still under warranty so we exchanged it for a different make. Though that's not been without pitfall; s ince all the hardware that worked with Vista didn't work with the new Windows 7 - so with Christmas and splashing out on new router, printer etc. it has been a rather expensive month. All seems to be working now! I've done a lot of knitting and spinning. Finally finished the Liquid Gold shawl and seemed to have been received well at Chri stmas. I've also started a new hobby; probably not a wise decision since I already have dozens of other hobbies. My friend who taught me how to quilt kindly showed me the very interesting art of Tatting. I must say it's very relaxing and the results seem to be quite quick. I had a bit of ...