The weekend gave me a chance to try out one of my birthday presents.
Unlike mom, I’m not all “Gotta have all the gadgets!”, but every once in a while, she does find one I have to have.
These triangles are just the thing to make HST making better. I love using HSTs in my quilts, but I really hate making them. Well, trimming them mostly. That’s because I sew them (in multiples of 2s, 4, or 8s), then I have to get up from my machine to cut them apart. Then I go back to the machine (where the iron is) to press them open, then it’s back to the cutting table to trim them up.
But with these triangles, you trim them before you open and press them.
So I sew, then cut apart and trim, all at once. Then I go back to the machine and press them all open. So much more efficient.
In no time, I had 48 little HSTs trimmed, pressed and ready to go!
Next thing you know… Bear Paws are just flying out of the machine!
And seamingly with in moments… and entire top for a baby quilt!
There was one Christmas present I was hoping to get done before the big day, and I’d completely forgotten about it. Fortunately, I was reminded of it when the order with the needle to finish Paisley’s cardigan arrived.
In with it was yarn I purchased just for this present.
It’s Cascade 220 Wave – the colour is Woodsy.
It was for a pair of thick socks like I make my Dad. But they aren’t for my Dad. They are for his friend Ray. Ray and Dad worked together. They retired around the same time, and now they hunt, shoot and do all kinds of things together. When I join my dad at the shooting range, Ray is always there. He always lets me shoot his guns (he has a very nice collection), gives me tips to better my accuracy, and on occasion, even provided me with ammo so I can keep on shooting. If that’s not worthy of a pair of warm, wooly socks, I don’t know what is.
The first one fell off the needles pretty quick, and was immediately claimed by Burton.
While he kept it warm, I worked on the second one.
And by Sunday night, I had a completed pair!
The 220 wave is the heavier version of the yarn I made the Lava socks out of. This version is just as soft, and I love the subtle colour shifts! I think they will keep his feet nice and warm on the shooting range! (It’s outdoors, so it can get mighty cold out there!)
Back at the start of my journey with the blockheads, one of the weekly blocks inspired a quilt idea.For the last few months, whenever I’ve been cutting up leftover fabrics for my scrap boxes, I’ve kept this block in mind, and have cut pieces just for it.
I’ve been diligently tucking them away in an old bead organizer. But now I’m ready to start putting them together.
There’s nothing complicated in the pieces… just squares and rectangles, but they come together to create a dazzling whirly-gig block!
I’ve got enough cut to make 15 blocks, though I have a feeling I’ll end up making more! They are just too fun to make!
After casting off Dave’s socks, I still didn’t have the needle for Paisley’s cardigan yet, so I decided to focus on getting on a new pair of socks on the needles. I have a few pairs planned as Christmas gifts, but they dont actually have to be done by Christmas, so I decided put them off for a little while longer and cast on a pair for myself
I haven’t knit myself much this year – just a poncho (which I ended up giving away,) and a pair of fingerless gloves. I think I deserve a little something.
The yarn is more Kroy – this time Kroy FX in “Seashell Colours). The pattern is Winters Frost – a freebie that I think pairs quite nicely with the yarn!
I do have to set this aside though… Paisley’s cardigan is calling.
Like many of you, Dave and I aren’t doing any family dinners this holiday, We are going to pop in for a brief, distanced hallway visit with his Grandma on Christmas Eve, but otherwise, it’s going to be a quiet one at home.
It’s not a huge deal – I see my parents almost every week. I will miss seeing my brother’s family, but I’m sure we’ll be together in a month or two. We aren’t skipping Christmas, just postponing it a bit.
So, I wondered if I should bother decorating. Dave’s not big on Christmas. I bought a turkey breast to roast for the two of us, and I’ll do a little baking, but other than that it will be a quiet day. But the other day after getting groceries, I noticed my hanging pots out front were looking pretty sad.
Last year I filled them with pine boughs and birch logs my Dad gave me. I still have the birch, but the pine boughs naturally dried out and fell apart. And I forgot to ask my Dad to get me some more when he built his deer blind this year.
So instead, I hit the dollar store and got a pile of Christmas flotsam to spruce up the front of the house.
I particularly love the snowflake I found to hang from my Welcome sign. I can leave it up all winter long!
For the baskets, I stuck with simple poinsettias and over-sized bows.
I have a larger swag for my front door, but it has seen better days. The dollar store had this cute little pinecone hanger that was just the right size – I added the balls for a little more sparkle.
This cute Cedar gnome wasn’t from the dollar store – but the grocery store beside it. They were marked down to half price, so naturally, this one followed me home!
The only thing that would make it look better is a little snow…
And wouldn’t you know… we got some the very next day. I doubt it will stick around until Christmas, but a girl can dream.
While Mom was snipping all those seams on the rag quilt, I was quilting away on the last of my blockhead blocks.
The result is a sweet little sampler quilt – about 47″ x 55″ so a nice lap size.
I only had enough of the yellow cats for a thin border, and nothing at all from my other prints, so I had to get creative. The stash yielded up just enough of the blue and black paw prints for a thin border of each. I was hoping to get some more paw print fabric for the binding, but Lens didn’t have anything, and I wasn’t about to wait for an online order when I was so close to the finish line. Mom had a nice black and white polkdot piece that did the trick.
I thought I might have to order a back for this one, I couldn’t think of anything in the stash that would work, but then I remember that the fabric line is called Day Dreamer… and I had the perfect piece of flannel.
Pretty blue clouds! From the clearance bin of course! (As an aside, I was in Lens on the weekend, and that clearance flannel bin was 100% EMPTY!!! This is the first time I’ve EVER seen that happen! I’m so glad I’ve snatched up pieces when I could).
Now this beauty is finished and available in the shop!
I’m not sure I’ll join another sampler quilt-a-long anytime soon, but this one was definitely a new experience!
So yesterday, you saw the pillow for Dad for Christmas… that’s just a “bonus” present. Today is the “real” one.
My Dad is notoriously hard to give presents to. He’s a very practical man (would prefer something he needs over something silly/gag gift), but he also needs very little. I always make him socks for Father’s Day and his birthday, so socks for Christmas would be a bit much.
Over the years, I’ve knit him a couple of sweaters, a few hats, gloves. He doesn’t wear scarves (at least that I’ve seen, but I hate making them anyway.) Normally, I get him a manly gift card (for a hardware or outdoor store). But as Dave and I hope to be house hunting this spring, I’m trying to squirrel away every extra penny.
My first thought was to make him a quilt – something similar to the one I made my brother (but NOT flannel). But, Mom’s already got a quilt in progress for him (it’s very lovely too!) So what’s a girl to do?
As I was cutting up the leftovers from my brother’s quilt, I realized I still had a fair bit of woodsy flannel leftover…. what about a flannel Rag Quilt? It’s different enough from the quilt Mom is making him.
I ran it by her, just to make sure it wouldn’t step on her toes. She thought it was a great idea, and even sent me home with a bag of flannel plaids she’d been collecting for just that purpose!
Sewing a rag quilt is much easier than piecing the bear paws I did for my brother. Though it did get bulky at times. Each of those squares is three layers of flannel.
With all those exposed seams, it’s not the most attractive quilt when you first get it together…. but then the magic happens….
You take the scissors, and carefully snip into all those seams (about a half inch apart – that’s A LOT of snipping!!!). Mom did it ALL for me (under the watchful eye of Mr. Tibbs), while I quilted another project. Then I came home and threw it into the washing machine** and then the dryer, and it transformed!
All those raw seams become fluffy, chenille-like goodness!
How neat is that? And won’t it go just perfectly with his pillow? I couldn’t have planned that better if I’d tried!
And that’s the LAST Christmas present I have to SEW! I still have things to knit of course, but now my sewing time can focus on the shop.
** I washed it in my own personal washing machine, because we were getting a new one the next day. However, I, and most tutorials recommend doing the first washing at a laundromat. All the little bits that come off can clog up your machine pretty good. I almost had a flood as they clogged the utility sink where the washer drains – but I caught it in time!
I know, it’s not usual for me to have a Tiny Needle Tuesday post. But you may not know, that long before I was a knitter or quilter, I was a cross-stitcher. In fact, it was my very first needle craft. I picked it up when I was about seven years old, and did it on and off until my early 20s.
Now… I haven’t been cross stitching – at least not recently. But the other weekend when I was up at Mom’s, quilting, she was cleaning out the craft closet. And she came across and old project of mine…
While it may look finished… it’s actually not. It was a from a pattern in a cross stitch magazine, circa 1993. It’s supposed to have a border around it, and the word “DUCKS” stitched across the top. Then it’s supposed to be made into a pillow. I started it when I was about 14 years old, intending to give it to my father as a Christmas gift.
But at that age, I was notorious for starting projects and never finishing them. If I remember correctly, it took me several years just to finish those ducks. Then I gave up on the border. I think I planned to make it into a pillow, but it must have gotten stuffed in a cupboard, and forgotten about. Now, about 25 years later… Mom found it again. After a good laugh, we both decided it was time that I made that darn pillow.
So, I brought it home, and a few days later, I got to it. It didn’t take very long.
The green fabric was leftover from the Pick-a-Pocket purse. And what do you think about that oar fabric? Could it be more perfect? It was just hanging out in the stash. I bought it eons ago with no plans (another remnant bin find).
I did another envelope back, though you can’t really tell because that oar fabric camouflages it pretty well. This is going to get wrapped up this Christmas for Dad, along with his other present (which I will show you tomorrow). I hope he gets as big a laugh out of it as Mom and I did.
It’s another week of FOs here at Chez Wandering Cat…. so buckle up!
As predicted, the rest of Dave’s pair of Christmas socks fell off the needle pretty quick.
Here’s a funny fact – Dave wears mostly black (and occasionally very dark grey), except when it comes to his socks. For some reason, he loves colourful socks. I’m definitely not complaining – I wouldn’t knit him nearly as many pairs if they had to be all black and grey.
These were a fun pair, but they are nothing fancy. I just let the yarn do the work. I didn’t even use a different yarn for heels and toes as I normally do with stripers. Last post, many of you asked about the yarn – it is Kroy. And you’re all correct – it wears wonderfully. Dave has many pairs of Kroy socks (mostly made by Mom on her sock machine) for just that reason!
And now, I’ve got to get back to Paisley’s cardigan, though I have to cast on another pair of socks. I hate not having a pair ready for travel knitting.
Wandering Cat Studio 