Oh, Happy Day!

My Warm Cool Quilt Along quilt was finished up yesterday. Even though the next step was only for the quilting, once it was so close to being done I just couldn't wait a whole week for binding! I might have to make another one out of all red/orange & aqua/teal (my favorite color combo right now)...The lovely thing about the QAL is you can go back anytime & start the process all over just by going back through the blog posts!

Everything about this quilt is scrappy & pieced. The top, the back, the binding, & yes even the batting & most of the thread used. I love it so much after it was washed & hugged I hung it up on the wall over the dining room table. There's just something about a quilt...no matter how haphazard & hideous the piecing or quilting of fabric...in the end it is always full of warmth & love & happiness.

What I learned in the process is that I am horrible about meeting corners & patient work for perfection in my piecing. Maybe that's why I tend to create scrappy, unpatterned quilts when I work on them. I just throw things together...Hmn, that's a lot how I create in the kitchen! Who needs the tedious structure of a recipe (or pattern) when you can just take what you have mix it all together & come up with something yummy?  

While for now this cozy little thing is adorning the walls I do look forward to the day when it cuddles around our babies. Maybe it's destiny is full of snuggles & laughter. It could get dragged along to every adventure, dry tears, carry treasures, become a cape, a tent, a tablecloth, a pillow...Yeah, I'm pretty sure this little guy has lots to look forward to in it's future. I'm so excited for that.

I'm so happy I joined my first quilt along & created a little something special along with all my other QAL peeps. Who knows what futures are instore for all those delicious quilts?! You can have a peek at some of the other QAL lovlies over in the In Color Order Flickr group.

There is one more thing getting quilted up around here. Slowly but surely. That other scrappy quilt is about 1/3 of  it's way through the quilting process. Destined I think to be a fun picnic blanket type thing for the Summer. It doesn't contain traditional batting, just an old sheet as a middle & will be lovely & cool for all this hot weather we're having. It also won't be worried over for grass or ketchup stains so summer picnicing should be just right. :)

{Our Creative Spaces}

After Monday's Warm Cool Quilt Along post I got busy working on piecing the top of my quilt. I layed it out on my bed to fiddle with all my squares & try to work out the design. What I learned was that when you're working so close to the fabrics the contrast is much harder to see! I even tried to enlist the help of the hubs who said he couldn't see the contrast enough to help me. It all worked out though! Because once I did get it pieced & hung it up to admire it - there it was - all that glorious warm cool contrast! Maybe it's just meant to be a wall hanging? It looks so good viewed that way! :)

I'm also making delicious progress working with my Textiles A Mano yarn! I love it so much! I also love that with each row my stitches across get shorter. After the 300+ cast on stitches for this sweet ruffle edged shawl I thought it would take forever to see progress. I'm enjoying this knit so very much!

Some friends & I went out to Berry Patch Farms yesterday to pick some strawberries! After a couple hours of hard-on-your-back-work I now have 5lbs of those delicious little berries to create with! Strawberry shortcake, muffins, jam, pancake syrup...oh the possibilities! Do you have a favorite strawberry recipe? I'd love to find a new one!

There's more so see & love over at Our Creative Spaces!

I finished it!
I can hardly believe I finished AND managed to take photos of the pull Saturday. (Without really screwing it up that is.)
It came out so great I almost hated to give it away! Silky soft & so pretty...

I got it blocked yesterday morning & wrapped up  for gift giving to the birthday girl. She seemed to really like it, she put it on right away & pet it quite alot. Not that I can blame her! It really is so very soft. I used Naturally Caron Spa in Misty Taupe. While it was slippery & splitty (& when I started I thought I was going to have to fight it all the way) the more I worked with it the easier it was. The more predictable & manageable it became.

The pattern is called Scarf With No Name found on Ravelry. I only needed 21 repeats of the lace for the length I liked. I thought at first that I would never get through knitting lace. It seemed so hard to keep track, so loose & awkward. But, as I worked the repeats I found the rhythm of the pattern & in the end it was going pretty fast & really much easier than I could have hoped. I LOVE the way this turned out. This is one of the best projects I've ever done! Now I just hope that my sis-in-law doesn't mind if I make one for myself & we are all matchy matchy. :)

I just love projects that are such confidence builders! They add a couple of different stitches to expand your knowledge, but they also keep a level of simplicity for an inexperienced knitter. This was just that kind of project. When something goes so well & comes out to lovely it adds to the addiction to create the next thing! No sooner than I handed over the gift I was casting on the super delicious & just for me yarn I picked up at the Wool Market from Textiles a Mano.  This time a pattern called Grey Ruffle - a shawl with a sweet ruffly edge!

What are you binding off? Casting on? Stitching up?
Do you have a favorite pattern or yarn you like to recommend for spectacular results? Tell me! I'm a knittin' fool these days & would love there hear all about it!

It's being made, I promise!
No, really...

After all that choosing & cutting I got the half square triangles sewn, ironed & trimmed. I'm ready for the next step in the Warm Cool Quilt Along! I'm enjoying this so much I wish I had joined a QAL much sooner. That seems to be my modus operandi - to be too nervous to do/join something I think sounds fun & then after I finally go for it I discover I enjoy it & should have just went with my initial "that'll be fun" feeling. Ah, the trials of being a shy kid.

I'm also making lots-o-progress on the lacey scarf! Thank you SO very much for all your words of encouragement! I'm about 75% done & since today is a pulling day I plan to finish it up & get it blocked tomorrow morning before the birthday party! Whew!

The pull this weekend is a bit of a road trip (we're getting on that road at 6am) & so it seems like a time when I should opt to stay home. But, it's out at some friend's home (as opposed to a fair or other event) so the day should be nice & relaxed & I'll have the ability to nap in the truck should I so choose. Hurray! :)
AND it's my guy's birthday! Double Hurray! !  Sometimes being there is all that matters. :)
{Happy Birthday, honey! Love you!}

Are you making progress on your projects this week? Or, maybe you're adding a few to the list?
I am doing both at the same time. Is this counter-productive? I still have that quilt to finish, & after the Wool Market a new something special to cast on just for me! I mean it this time, too! It's not a 'for me' project that is ending up as a gift. I also just got a giant order of fabric in from Connecting Threads - I simply could not pass up the stash building potential in the clearance section for a $3/yard average! What to make, what to make...I seem to make one thing & add three more to the list. I think maybe that's just the nature of being a crafter, don't you? :)

My first time knitting lace. Although I'm enjoying it, I feel like it is taking FOREVER to get through. I'm only a little over a third of the way done & I needed it finished & blocked by Sunday. My hands just can't seem to move fast enough! I am excited to see it blocked & all opened up to reveal the beautiful lacey pattern though. I think it will be lovely. This Caron Spa yarn is so silky soft, annoyingly splitty, but such lovely fabric.

As always, there's more to love over at Our Creative Spaces!

I had the most wonderful Saturday!
I went up to the smallish mountain town of Estes Park to check out the Wool Market! I was a little weary at first - going alone, worrried fancy yarn would be WAY out of my price range, not sure what to expect...
Turns out, I had a GREAT time!

Have you ever been to a fiber festival? If you haven't, hunt one up right now! Even if you don't knit, or crochet, or spin, or weave, or felt, or care anything about the production of yarn & fibers. The animals alone will delight you!
Sheep, Goats, Alpacas, Llamas, Bunnys...seriously, ALL adorable! I just fell madly in love with the Angora Goats, & I even learned that their hair is used to produce mohair! How can you not love all those curls?!

OK ok...really all the animals were pretty wonderful! And, most of the animals are quite inquisitive & want some attention. They are willing to be cooed to, chatted with, & loved on. Here are a few more of my favorites:

And they aren't all just waiting around in pens to be squealed over. There are competitions, & demonstrations galore. I saw a sheep dog demo, & a sheep shearing demo (much faster & less traumatic than I imagined), & Llamas on an obstacle course!

What goes along with all these great animals? Oh, yes, you know it! Fiber & yarn in every color, texture & blend imaginable. Delicious & all wanting to be stroked & squeezed & oohed & ahhed over.

I limited myself to a $40 budget for this trip. Since I am not a very advanced knitter I didn't think this was the year for me to be going crazy buying yarn. Now, next year might be another story. I could dream up all sorts of things to be made out of all that eye candy! I took a TON of photos. But, I posted just a few of my favorites here, & a few additional ones over on Flickr. There was so much to see & love & try to capture it was a little overwhelming! I LOVED it!

I hope if you get the opportunity to check out a Wool Market or Fiber Festival in your area you'll jump at the chance! I also hope you had a wonderful weekend as well. What fun things have you been up to?

I've decided to do it!
I've joined Jeni over at In Color Order & begun the Warm Cool Quilt Along!

I chose to make the baby sized quilt. I had two charm packs from Connecting Threads & some stash fabric already cut to the five inch squares needed, so I didn't have to cut much of anything to get started. Choosing went pretty fast as well, since I don't have much by way of a stash in many of the colors to pull from. Orange? Green? Thank the Lord I had those charm packs!

The Warms.

The Cools.

The stacks ready for the next step.
I'm so excited to work on it I have to take a deep breath & remember that it's a quilt ALONG for a reason! :)

{Our Creative Spaces}

It was one of those many summer weekends where I had to share my hubs...
With his work on Saturday morning & pulling prep. Saturday night & an all day pull on Sunday.
Unlike last time I opted to stay home...er, I should say my nausea led me to opt to stay home. :)

So, I did some sharing.

I shared some sewing with a Swap-bot friend in a fun little swap called "Sew me." A sweet flannel pouch & a fun bunting card made their way to the post office.

There was also a swap called "A friend loves at all times" that was sent out as well. I love wrapping up swap items & letters to new friends all over the country. Giving gifts, no matter how small is so fun!

*Please forgive all the phone photos lately! :)

I also shared my laundry with the neighbors as I finally got around to re-stringing our clothes line, mostly the hubs socks & tees so no excitement there!

I shared a jet of water spray from washing down the back porch with a pesky yellow jacket that thought we needed to make acquaintances. Uh. No & thank you.

I shared the couch with not 2 but 3! fur babies this last week. Cousin Annie was staying with us while her parents were on a trip. And, when sharing the couch (or bed, or walking space, or your lap) with several fuzzy kids you inevitably share lots of hugs & kisses & snacks & belly rubs with those kids.

I was going to share all about my adventures in sock-making with you today. But, after starting, frogging, starting again, frogging again (rinse & repeat)...what I'm sharing is a dislike for tiny thin yarn & tiny thin needles & clumsy hands. Maybe next year. I've got plenty on my crafty plate to do without struggling into sock knitting right now. Heck, I don't even LIKE socks in the first place. I'd wear flip-flops in the snow!

I'll share with you instead the beginnings of a simple, knit corner to corner, garter stitch blanket. Beginning with a dark rose color I'll eventually work my way through the rainbow to create a yummy Christmas gift for a special someone on our list.

I'll also share with you my discovery of the Creative Couture Yarn Clutch (the lime green thing in the photo above) & that I love it SO much! I found 2 of mine on clearance at Hobby Lobby but have also seen them in the store at Michaels. It keeps my yarn clean, snag free & makes it so much easier to pull from the skein. Love them so much I think I need another! 

Lastly, I want to share a super fun quilt-a-long I'm thinking of joining...
The Warm Cool Quilt Along over on In Color Order. I'm thinking of making the mini quilt. I think the play of warm & cool colors might inspire me & help me when making future fabric choices.
Although, I'm a tiny bit nervous...I've never done a quilt along before, have you? I guess it can be a go-at-your-own-pace kind of commitment, right?

Hope your weekending saw lots of sharing going on too!
And, that your week is starting off with beauty...
Blessings!

A bit of fantasy fun knitting here in my space. Roar!
For many more creative lovelies & to add your own go here!