There are no babies in the works here (that I know of, anyway), but I can’t seem to stop making baby quilts!

This one started with a charm pack (the grey and white fabrics in the middle). I still wanted to try some more pinwheels, and I had a good chunk of the lime green leftover from the binding on Rowan’s quilt. It just so happened to match the little lime bits on the flowers in the fat quarter pack.

But as you can see, I still didn’t make those pinwheels. As soon as I got the HSTs done, I started to wonder how they’d look in the Starburst layout. And well, once I went down that path, there was no turning back.

You may be wondering about the blue and red borders… well it’s hard to see (I should have gotten better pictures) but those shades are in the white and grey fabrics as well. I  promise close-ups when it’s quilted.

That will have to wait a bit though, I don’t have a back for this one, and I’m trying to refrain from shopping. With no babies in the making, there’s no rush to finish this one.

After casting of Rowan’s Undines, I turned my attention back to the Mojito socks instead of casting on for something new. Being that they are worsted weight, it didn’t take long to finish them up.

Nothing fancy here… just basic sock math and a 3-1 garter rib. The colours are so bright and cheery though. The simple rib really lets the yarn shine.

First…. I’m sorry I didn’t debut Rowan’s socks in my shoes… Her feet are just a bit smaller than mine so the socks are tight. I didn’t want to stretch them out before I gave them to her! But I promise… as soon as my pair are done, I will model them properly!

Now.. onto business!

Yep… it’s another “where did that come from FO?”!!!

What can I say? Baby quilts are fast! I can cut and sew a top in a couple of hours, and it’s only another hour or so to sandwich and quilt her on Mom’s machine.

This one if from another charm pack with some peach stash fabric thrown in.

All the prints were directional, so I had to get clever with the piecing, and make sure all those little critters were pointing in the right direction as I sewed.

I had a chunk of pink dotted flannel from the clearance bin in the stash. And a dark blue floral for the binding tied in nicely with the navy blocks.

As soon as Ursa was off the needles, I cast on for something new. I could have turned my attention full-time to the Mojito socks, but a ball of Rowan’s yarn was calling to me.

The “Mermaid” skein was a favourite for both of us, so  I decided to see if I could make us both a pair of socks from it. Our feet are almost the same size, so as long as they are both anklets, I should be able to manage it.

This pair is for Rowan. It’s my Undine pattern, because I just love the waves it make in striping yarn. My pair will wait until all the gift knitting is done. In the mean time, let’s take a closer look at Rowan’s dyeing.

I just love those those subtle shifts in shades. I need to get her back here to dye up some more!

September is here, the kids are back to school, and the signs of fall are everywhere…

 

On the strawberry leaves…

And the Columbine.

 

You can see it in the petals of these beautiful sunflowers that finally bloomed!

The fall raspberry crop is coming in. It’s looking to be better than summer crop – I didn’t get many in July.

 

The honey bees seem to have all left for the season, but the Bumblers are still out there, working away to get the last bit of nectar from anything they can before the real cold sets in.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has been dropping rabies vaccine baits from a plane and I caught this pic of the low-flyer against a glowing golden autumn sky.

I’m not a huge fan of Winter, but I do love the slow, colourful progression of Fall!

Have you ever started doing a project one way, and then halfway through, realized there’s a MUCH better way to do it?

It happened to me recently. I was working away on the blocks for A Fish Called Rhonda, trying to get the triangle pieces to line up (and getting frustrated, they are fussy.)

I was adding the outer triangles so that the fish would swim “straight” not on a diagonal. But suddenly it dawned on me… when I laid them all out in rows, four of those triangles would come together…

And four triangles coming together make a square. So why the heck am I sewing on these stupid triangles???? I can just cut squares and lay the quilt out on an on point layout (like my scrappy nine patches, or my bear paws, or my stars… or any of the other on point layouts I’ve done.)

I did some quick calculations to make sure I had enough of the teal fabric for the squares (I did) and I got out my seam ripper and took all those triangles off the fish I’d already completed! Then I got to sewing some more fish.

With out those triangles to fuss with, the remaining fish did not take long!

This isn’t the final layout, I just wanted to get a sense of the size. Isn’t that a great looking school? I still have to cut the teal blocks (I’ll do it at Mom’s where I have more room), but I think this one is looking just fishtastic!

 

“Are you going to sit there and sew all day, or are you going to play with me?”

This is a common sight when I’m sewing. If you look closely, you’ll see a little pink sparkle ball by his belly. He will lay under my sewing stool with it, waiting for me to get up and throw it down the stairs for him. This can go on for hours…

Here’s the last FO for the week!

Yep, I finally sucked it up, got the Happy Camper top together and quilted that bad boy!

If I’m honest, this is not my favourite quilt. There’s nothing wrong with the pattern – it was well written and easy to follow. I think it’s just too busy with these fabrics. Were I to do it again, I’d mix in some plainer fabrics. There’s just too much going on in this.

I did change things up a bit on the quilting – opting for what Mom calls “squiggle meander” instead of loops. Loops just seemed a little too feminine for this one.

For the back, I used a nice chunk of green checked flannel. Some nice blue binding from the stash finished it off!

Despite my fabric choices, one thing is certain, it will certainly make the campfire that much cozier!

In plenty of time for the cooler weather, I completed Ursa!

This will be no surprise to any of you. It’s a chunky, cropped sweater, it was never going to take very long!

It was a super fun knit and a nicely written pattern. I did make a few mods…  I changed the half  brioche stitch to ribbing (my brioche was just looking messy), I changed how the increases were done, I opted for 3/4 length sleeves as I usually do, and I echoed the ribbing pattern from front and back on the sleeves.

The result is a cozy, warm sweater that’s just perfect for throwing on over top of my maxi dresses. I have four of this style (different fabrics) and all four will work with this colour. I’m tempted to knit a longer version to wear with my leggings… though if I do, I’ll rejig the pattern to work with a lighter yarn – even cropped this one has quite a bit of weight to it.

As I mentioned before, the yarn is Knitpicks Biggo – colour is Brass Heather. I don’t do a lot of chunky knits, but if I do, I’d buy this yarn again in a heartbeat. It’s a 50/50 Superwash Merino/Acrylic blend that’s wonderfully soft to knit with and wear. It blocks well, stands up to frogging, and has just a touch of halo, amping up the cozieness of whatever you knit. I’ve got a few skeins left, and I’m thinking it would be awesome for a hat/mitt set.

And as always, thanks to Mom for always photographing my best side…

It’s a week of finished objects so buckle up…

Furry Forest Friends? What FO is this, you must be asking….

Well, the other day, I found myself with a free afternoon, so of course, I wanted to sew. I really should have put the Happy Camper top together, but as I’ve said before, piecing tops isn’t really my favourite part of quilting. I wanted something small to work on. I had an empty project box, so why not start something new?

I’d been eyeing up my Chocolate Covered Pinwheels quilt the other day… it was one of my first quilts, and it really shows. I knew I could make much better pinwheels now. So I pulled out a fat quarter pack I’ve been itching to play with…

But as soon as I ironed out those woodland creature prints, I knew I couldn’t chop them up into itty bitty pinwheel pieces.

Just look at those cute characters! So instead, I kept those blocks large, chopped up the accent fabrics, chopped up some pink solid, and turned them into four patches. And before I knew it…

I had a top for a baby blanket done!

I didn’t intended to quilt it so soon, but I took it up to Mom’s when I went to quilt Honey Patch. I wanted her opinion on how to quilt it. In the end, we both agreed, diagonal lines would look cute, so while I was quilting Honey Patch on the long arm, Mom put a walking foot on one of her smaller machines and got to work.

The result is a sweet little baby quilt that’s stunning in it’s simplicity.

It was such a fun, fast little project.

Made even better by the fact that I was able to use up the last of my Holly Hobby flannel on the back!