something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

something old:

I made this quilt for my boss's daughter ~8 years ago, and when I was at their house for Thanksgiving to my delight she still has it on her bed! She's in 8th grade now and I thought for sure she would have re-done her room in some trendy style but nope it's still there. And even better it looks worn and well-loved.

something new:

I decided to make a lap quilt for my friend that was recently diagnosed with cancer so I emailed her daughter to find out her favorite colors (peach, dark reds and greens) and these are the fabrics I came home with:

I'm making a triple irish chain quilt with the floral in the center similar to my blue and white quilt. Over the weekend I cut the first set of strips so I'm ready to start sewing:

something borrowed:

This is the best I can come up with. . . it's a photo of the my boss's wife's Thanksgiving table arrangement. Her table is always beautiful and this year I finally remembered to take my camera.

something blue:

Inspired by a friend's Vodka Gimlet sweater, I decided to make one too with yarn I already had in my stash. I'm getting married in February 2012 and while I won't be wearing it with my wedding dress, I thought it would be fun to wear around on my wedding day as I get my hair and make-up done. I made a lot of progress on it over Thanksgiving so am hoping I can get it done before the wedding. Working on it also so helps relieve some of the wedding planning stress :) The color in this shot is terrible because I waited until last night to take it so had to use the flash. In real life it's a very pretty pale blue.

And after the wedding, I'll post what I wore for my something old, blue etc :)

Thankful

As Thanksgiving approaches I have so much to be thankful for:

1. I'm 44 today

I was thinking "oh man 44, that sounds so old" but then a really good friend got diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and that knocked some sense into me. I'm so thankful to be celebrating another year and I aim to appreciate that every day.

2. Finding the love of my life!

I waited 43.5 years for this sweet man and he waited 46 for me. Neither one of us has ever been married but after dating for only 3 weeks we both knew it was the real deal :) He was definitely worth the wait and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!

3. My family

Here is a photo of my sweet family (minus my dad and brother-in-law) taken at my recent bridal shower. They have been so excited and supportive in helping me plan the wedding. I'd never have be able to do it without them! I love them all dearly.

4. My health

I'm extremely lucky in that I get to swim in this beautiful pool 3 times a week.

5. My friends

I have awesome friends that make me laugh, cry and who love me unconditionally. And they are the ones with whom I share my love of knitting and all things Carolina. I am blessed.

6. My job

I am so grateful that I get to do something that some day might make a difference in someone's life.

Back to School Giveaway

No knitting photos today because the Hey Teach sleeve I made over the weekend is a tad too small so I'm re-doing it but at least I figured that out before I knit the 2nd :)

Caffeinegirlknits has a great giveaway going on - check it out to win some really great stuff!

Hey Blocking!

After languishing in the U.F.O. pile for nearly 2 years, I finally finished the left front of Hey Teach and a mere 2 weeks later I finished the right front. Now it's on to the sleeves, seaming, then the button and neck bands. I'm not sure I'll get this sweater done before it's officially fall but at least I'll have another F.O soon!

Summer of U.F.O: Finished Object #3

My boyfriend's manager got married last May, so he thought it would be fun to make them a grocery sack holder, using fabrics representing each of their interests, as a wedding present. Of course, I ended up making it but he did help and did a great job choosing the fabrics. I thought it would be really hard to find fabrics that matched their interests, but my local quilt store had a fabulous selection.

Her likes: Boston Red Sox, cooking, Eric Carle books [The Hungry Caterpillar], and purple

His likes: NY Yankees (and yes he did wonder how they made it past date #1!) and space.

Here are the fabrics sewn together:

And the finished bag:

Summer of U.F.O: Finished Object #2

For some unknown reason for ~8 years all this quilt needed was the binding hand stitched down on the back. I finished it up on Saturday! This quilt was going to be for a friend's baby, but I realized (actually it was my mom that noticed) that it matched the colors in my house so I decided to keep it. I did make a blue and white double irish chain quilt for her son and he's now in 3rd? grade but was ~6 months old when I finished it. This quilt is likely going to be a wall hanging. Hopefully it won't take 8 more years to get that done.

Summer of U.F.O: Finished Object #1

Since the number of U.F.O around my house is staggering (last count I had 5 quilts in progress and 7 projects on needles) so I decided that this summer I would not start anything new, but I would work on the project closest to being done then go on the next closest etc. Even though it's nearly August and I've only got 1 finished object to show, at least I haven't started anything new!

Here are a few photos of the Blue and White quilt completely done and on my bed!

And a few photos without the flash (this room faces north so it's hard to get an accurate representation of the colors):

I have a lap quilt that just needs one side of the binding sewn down (it's been that way for far too long!) so I hope to post photos of it soon!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Spring 2011

Welcome to all who are visiting from the Blogger's Quilt Festival and a big thanks to Amy for hosting it! This is my second time participating in the festival and this time I choose a quilt I finished a few years ago.

It's called the Elizabeth Quilt because that is the name of the pattern design by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. I bought the pattern and fabric when I was with my mom (Elizabeth), her best friend and my best friend at the Houston International Quilt Show in 2004. I debated a while about buying the fabric but my friend said it is so "Laura" you must get it so I did. The designer named the quilt Elizabeth because the fabric line is named Wuthering Heights from Moda's Three Sisters line. Since my mom is also named Elizabeth and was with me when I bought it we've always called it the Elizabeth quilt.

My fabulous machine quilter Margaret did a super job machine quilting it with variegated thread:

Here is a picture of the back:

hats, hats, hats

I've been in hat-making mode lately:

I finished up the 2nd snowflake hat

made another umbilical cord hat for a friend's grand baby

and I started another hat for my niece, in light blue of course.

I'd originally planned to use a different yarn even though I didn't think it was quite the right shade because I'd used the same brand (Cascade Bollicine Baby Night) to make her several pink hats. She is, after all, related to me and is very particular about the shade of blue she likes [that's a UNC vs. Duke reference for all you non-basketball fans]. My sister said she liked it but she wasn't too excited so I'd been looking for something else.

On a recent trip to Williamsburg, I went to the fabulous yarn store Knitting Sisters with my mom and found Plymouth Select worsted merino in the perfect shade of blue. I sent her a piece of it and my sister emailed me today that she said: "Let's write her back and say I like the blue. Please make the hat". So cute. I'm on it.

Problem Child II

After I reknit the ribbing on a smaller size needle (size 2!) and had about 5 " inches done, I decided I still didn't like it so I went to Ravelry to see what other hems had been used with this yarn (why I didn't do that initially I have no idea). I found the pattern Grapevine, by the same designer as Peasy, and that several people had added the lace trim to the hem and sleeve cuffs which looked fabulous, so I cast on yet again - hopefully for the last time but the way this project has gone who knows:

Problem Child

This sweater was supposed to be my easy/winter project but it's been anything but. After I started and frogged two different cardigan patterns, I called my mom (which I clearly should have done to begin with) to get her thoughts on what to make and she suggested a pullover because this yarn tends to stretch after blocking.

I found a simple V-neck pullover pattern in a Patons book and I thought I'd add the Peasy lace pattern to it to dress it up a bit, if it's not too hard but the at the rate this project is going I have my doubts. At last I thought I have a plan so I swatched and I knit the ribbing only I really don't like it. It looks too loosey-goosey so I've decided it frog it and go down a needle size. By the time I get this thing going it will be spring and I'll be in the mood for spring colored yarn. . .

And ironically my Dark and Stormy sweater, which requires more concentration, is going along smoothly:

F.O. Sampler Quilt

Some quilt projects (like the blue and white triple irish chain quilt) go together easily and quickly. This one did not. It was the quilt with issues. I bought the pattern at Tennessee Quilts 2 1/2 years ago and glanced at the size and thought "oh that's close to a double bed size". It was not. Thankfully before I added the borders I laid it out on my bed to check the size and discovered it was several inches short on the sides. After racking my brain for a while as to how to fix it, I called my mom in a panic - what to do??? Add more blocks? Another border? In about 2 seconds she came up with idea of adding the half square triangle border and whew problem solved! She is SO good at that it's unreal. Note to self: next time just call her right away.

This quilt top also had several more trials along the way: blocks sewn together in the wrong order, borders sewn to the wrong side, etc. But at last it's done and out of my house and is now at my fabulous machine quilter's house! The back will be a flannel that's very similar to the outer border and the batting will be wool, which I've never used before so am anxious to see what it's like. Margaret is going to custom quilt each block to match the block pattern. It's going to be gorgeous and warm!

People at quilt shows always seem to come up with really clever names for their quilts, but all I've come up with so far is The Pink and Brown Sampler Quilt which is really lame. Maybe by the time I get it back from Margaret I'll have come up with something else. . . I'm also open to suggestions. . .