Route 66 Socks

Here's my last finish of 2017 -- 

Yarn: Patons Kroy, Route 66

If I'd really pushed myself, I could have had these bound off before the clock struck midnight on the thirty-first. But there were other things I wanted to be doing with that time and these aren't part of a group project or challenge. They count for 2017 because that's when I did all but a couple of inches of the knitting.

I'm starting 2018 with what's pretty much a clean slate. There are unfinished quilts and needlework projects, but they've been unfinished for so long that they're deeply within UFO territory. It's the projects that just sort of halfway straddle the years that I can never figure out how to classify.

2017 Year End Totals

This has been a fun year! The family took a trip to Hawaii and we got to sort of see a total eclipse of the sun and I made things. I made a lot more things than I made the year before or the year before that.  Some crappy stuff also happened, but when I look back the good stuff definitely overshadowed it.

One of the most exciting things I did was to start cross-stitching again. After packing my supplies shortly before we moved into this house, I'd thought I was done with it for good. I'd picked up a couple of kits and patterns in the ensuing thirteen years, but I didn't do any actual stitching until I found a cheap little Halloween kit at the thrift shop. While I was still working on that, I stumbled across an estate sale where I found a ton of cheap kits, including that lighthouse, and then I stitched the little tiny Mona Lisa pattern I found in a library book, and the village scene which had been packed away for years in the sewing room...

They're relatively small projects, but I stitched them. And, at just about the time I was realizing I still enjoyed counted cross-stitch, I saw an ad for the estate sale with all the cross-stitch kits. Two months later, we visited the thrift shop and someone had donated all the other cross-stitch kits. And then I went up to my sewing room and dug around until I found all of the kits I'd packed away when I thought I gave up cross-stitching. Then the same store where I found the first batch of kits had all of the vintage crewel kits. (If you're thinking I'm out of my mind, the new-to-me kits I bought this year ranged in price from seventy-five cents to two dollars. You can't buy the fabric for that.)

Clockwise from upper left: the first estate sale, the second visit to the same estate sale after they'd marked prices down, the thrift shop haul, the second thrift shop haul, and my own stash from the sewing room

I made twenty-seven pairs of socks. That's a record for me, three more pairs than I made in 2014, which was the year hubby was laid up and I kept my nerves steady by knitting endless pairs of socks.

It's ten more pairs than I made in 2016. I've stopped questioning the socks. They just happen without my planning for them or thinking about them and periodically I buy more yarn so that they can keep happening. They make me happy. 

That last pair in the collage may or may not be done by the time the clock strikes midnight.

I made fifteen new bags. Vinyl is fun and projects bags are fun and I can always use more bags, especially the big tote bags which I planned for and didn't get around to. There will be more bags, probably lots of them, in 2018.

Do we have to talk about the quilting? This is the same picture I used for my mid-year totals and, except for some block I added to the pink churn dash quilt, not much has been added since then. I lost my will to piece tops at about the same time my machine lost its ability to free-motion quilt.

What's in store for 2018? I plan on getting the sewing machine fixed so that I can finish quilts again. Hopefully that will give me the motivation to piece the quilts. I've been snuggling up in the Snoqualmie Wrap since the weather turned cold and I found out how amazingly useful it is. Now that I realize how warm and cozy it is, I'm digging out a bunch of acrylic that was originally intended for sweaters and adding a ton of shawls to my Ravelry queue, along with all of the socks and other projects that were already there. 

Village Serene

I know I just posted about this project a couple of days ago, but we're down to the wire here and I'm getting stuff finished and posted before New Year's Eve. 

Take a look at Village Serene...

The wagon finally has wheels!

This was much more fun to stitch than Safe Passage, with its sprawling expanse of sunset with no landmarks in sight. I like buildings. Those give you nice straight lines to navigate by.

Remember two and a half months ago, when I'd finished my project and didn't have anything else ready to go? I'm in that same situation again, but I really did think that I'd be pushing myself to get this one done before the end of the year. 

This was one of the kits I dug out of the sewing room. The price tag on the package says that I got it on clearance from Craft Warehouse, but I honestly have no memory of that. It's something I would have bought though, and obviously I did.

Thirteen years later, I would have picked it out again.

Purple Haze Socks

Yarn: Patons Kroy, Purple Haze

I do love the wide stripes and they way they fell across the short row heels. That couldn't have worked out much better. They're very bright and very pink and I know they'll be very warm. Patons Kroy is one of my favorite sock yarns and I'm sure I'll feel better about this pair after looking at something else for a while. At the moment, all of that pink and purple is kind of burned into my retinas. 

Ever get too much of a pretty yarn? 

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Another Cake Shawl

Actually it's my first cake shawl, but that's the name of the pattern. 

Pattern: Another Cake Shawl 

Yarn: Caron Cakes, White Truffle

I've been walking past the displays of Caron Cakes for a long time now, convincing myself not to buy one because even though the stuff is gorgeous in the skein I couldn't think of what I'd enjoy knitting with it. Then there was a really good sale and I  threw caution to the wind and just look at the pattern I found!

Another Cake Shawl (a free pattern I found on Ravelry) was written to use one skein of Caron Cakes and to work with the color changes. I did some tweaking and left out the zigzag stitch and diagonal lace because the shawl as shown in the pattern has eight color changes and my cake only had six. One of my color changes didn't hit in the right spot so I added a few rows of garter stitch to make it work.

This was such a fun project. It only took a few evenings and most of the stitch patterns were easy enough to do without looking at the printed pattern. The pattern is long and looked overwhelming at first, but it's really not hard at all if you take it a step at a time.

I found a long list of Caron Cakes pattern ideas over at Jen's a Little Loopy. Some are crochet and some take more than one skein, but I found this shawl and a couple of possibilities for the other colorway I bought.

Old Fashioned Shoes and Burlap

This shoe print has been in my stash for a long time, although I looked up the blog post where I first mentioned them and it's not nearly as long as I thought it had been. It's a cute print but the fabric itself is almost like burlap and definitely not something that belongs in even the scrappiest quilt. 

I thought it would make a nice zipper pouch and set it aside until I conquered my zipper phobia. And then I forgot about it. It surfaced again when I was stash diving last year and I added it to the pile of fabric that's supposed to become bags. 

Last night,  I finally got around to sewing it up and in my tradition of grabbing whatever is suitable and closest to me I found the absolute perfect lining. I probably did have that when I first bought the scrap bag with the outer fabric in it, but it wasn't in a place where the two of them would have come together.

Sometimes waiting works out well.  

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts and Bag It.

The Socks I Finished in Mid-November

I guess that's as good a name as any. Or they could be The Socks I Took to the Retro Gaming Expo. Or the Purple and Gold Striped Ones. 

It's much easier when the yarn has an interesting name! This is Drops Fabel 674, otherwise known as Heather Mix. Neither of those names is catchy.

They're socks. Toe up, sixty-four stitches, short row heels, k2p2 ribbed cuffs... With pretty stripes.

Is She Picking Apples?

Same fabric, different bag. 

The back of the bag is a solid blue fabric that comes close to matching her gown. This image was partially cut off by the selvedge, but it still had her face and arms and the fruit. That's the only part I really need.

Miraculously, a zipper from my thrifted stash was exactly the right length for the pieces I'd cut -- and it was on top of all of the others. I regularly shorten zippers to make them work, but if one already happens to be the right size, I'll happily take advantage of that.

I really like how  this little bag turned out, and it's given me an idea for another possibility. The great thing about having a big hunk of fabric is that I don't have to worry as much about the opportunity cost that comes with my design choices. There's enough to try again and again with different techniques.

A Halloween Treat for My Readers

I was going to post this on Halloween, but then I decided that if you want to sew a spooky last minute project, you might appreciate the extra day. 

Because everyone (or maybe just me and my offspring)  needs a coffin-shaped pencil holder... 

If you have the materials handy, it won't take long at all to make. While I was putting mine together, I kept thinking of ways to make it more fun like adding a red lining or trapunto and free motion quilting. But Halloween is tomorrow.  The clock is ticking and now is the time for something quick and easy.

You'll need:

two 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangles of coffin colored fabric
one 7" zipper
one 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangle of paper
matching thread

About that zipper -- These instructions don't explain how to install it. Let me know if you need a separate zipper tutorial and I'll put one together. The zipper I used was labeled 7" and measured the same as my 8 1/2" cut of fabric. You can always shorten a longer zipper from your stash. That's what I'd do if I hadn't gotten lucky with the one I grabbed!

Start by folding the piece of paper in half lengthwise with the fold on the left. Along the top and bottom edges, measure in 1 1/4" from the fold and make a dot. Measure 3" down from the top edge and make a third dot on the side that isn't folded.

Connect the dots and cut along the lines. When you unfold it, you'll have a coffin shape. Don't cut your fabric into that shape yet!

Using your rotary cutter and ruler, cut one of the fabric rectangles into two 8 1/2" x 2 1/4" rectangles.

Install the zipper and top stitch along either side.

Now's the time to cut the zippered rectangle and the plain rectangle into the coffin shape that we just created. Doing it this way means that even if the seam allowance on your zipper isn't perfect, both pieces will be the same size. (Or, if your seam allowances are perfect when it comes to zippers, it means I don't have to figure out how to make oddly shaped pattern pieces that will come out the proper size.)

With the zipper open, place both pieces right sides together and sew all the way around the outside edge. You'll be using the open zipper to turn it open.

Turn and press and fill with nice pens or yummy candy for your favorite little monsters.

Be sure to check out  my other free Halloween Tutorials -- Halloween Parlor Quilt , Haunted House Potholder, Potion Bottle Mug Rug, Pumpkin Carving Wall Quilt To be notified when new tutorials are added, follow my blog or like Michelle's Romantic Tangle on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.

This post is linked to Bag It! and Crazy Mom Quilts. 

A Five Hundred and Two Piece Project Bag

Months ago, I was standing in line at the grocery store and caught a glimpse of a yellow and white quilt on a magazine cover. It was a home decor magazine and the quilt was barely visible, but the idea of yellow and white stuck with me. I thought I'd do something with that color combination once Bag It! rolled around.

By the time I was ready to get started, I had no idea what pattern that original quilt used. I knew I wanted a lot of blocks so that it would look like a quilt.  Nine patches and snowballs are easy to make, and I'd already worked out their measurements for this project, so I went with that. Each block finishes at 1 1/2".

The front and back of the bag are identical, with thirty-five blocks on each. My piecing and quilting are a disaster, but I really like the idea. And it's definitely good enough to haul a knitting project around in.

This project used up every last scrap of solid cheddar from my bow ties quilt. So in addition to being cute and sturdy, it's a happy reminder of one of my favorite scrap quilts.

If I had more solid cheddar, I'd think about making a strap and turning it into a purse....but I don't so I'll think about making something similar, but a little larger and with inner pockets. 

Want to make one of your own? I didn't have the time to photograph and write up the steps for a tutorial, but it's easy enough to figure out. Use the measurements and piecing instructions from my Full Blown Quilt Lust mini quilt to make thirty-six nine patch blocks and thirty-four snowball blocks. (The color placement in this one is reversed, but it'll look nice either way.) Each side of the bag is seven blocks by five blocks, with a two inch border. I quilted the front and back to a piece of scrap batting, then assembled them into a lined pouch. Easy -- as long as you don't mind piecing those seventy-five little blocks!

This post is linked to Bag It! and Crazy Mom Quilts. 

I'm Not a Fan of Fussy Cutting

Now that I've gotten more comfortable installing zippers, it's the fabric giving me fits. The piece of yardage I used for this bag was on the freebie table at our quilting group, deemed "not suitable for charity quilts." (On the same day that I picked up the fabric I used in my last bag.)  It was pretty, so it came home with me and I decided to make a project bag or two while I try to figure out why classical artwork isn't suitable for charity quilts. 

I wanted a bag that showcased one image without having chopped off bits of the others along the edges. That was easier said than done and involved too much fabric waste to make me happy. I'm not a fan of fussy cutting when it involves taking a hunk of the center of the fabric, but to get the ladies I wanted, I had no choice...

What would you do with this hunk of fabric? I could see using it as a quilt back, or maybe someone using it to make a skirt. Or apron? Whatever it is, it's going to require either a big stretch of uncut fabric or some seriously wasteful fussy cutting.

The other side of the bag has a different image. In my head, I wanted it to be bigger, but that wouldn't have looked right. Now I'm thinking of two different ways I could have worked with this fabric...happily I have two yards of the stuff so, even if I'm being wasteful, it'll go a long ways.

This post is linked to Bag It! and Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Safe Passage

Look what I finished! 

I've stitched projects that were a lot larger and had four times the colors, but that was years ago. I'm kind of proud of what I managed to do with a fifty-cent estate sale find. It's not my best work. What it is, is permission to get into those other cross-stitch kits I recently dug out of my sewing room or picked up dirt cheap at the thrift shop.

A couple of the large projects are calling to me, but I think I'll do another small one first. I'm still refining half-forgotten techniques and learning new tricks. And the little kit I've got in mind is really cute.

I did leave off a lot of back stitching and some French knots because I decided that the trees were find as-is and the rocks in the foreground didn't need flowers.

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Mesa Socks

I worked on this pair in the Costco tire department, and at the pumpkin patch, and at the library... They're not interesting, but they got a lot of knitting in public time. 

This is Knitpicks Sock Landscape, in the Mesa colorway. It's some of the oldest sock yarn in my stash and I'll be sad to see my last two skeins go. It's soft and squishy and very nice to knit with. I was afraid the colors would pool and they sort of did, but not as badly as it's been with other pairs. It's more obvious in the photograph than in real life. 

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts. 

The Most Suitable "Unsuitable" Fabric

At the quilting group a couple of weeks ago, there was a table full of fabric up for grabs. Someone had deemed it unsuitable for our donation quilts and I guess if I really think about it I can understand why this print was on the table. 

It might not be a good choice for the quilts we're putting together, but it made a pretty fantastic project bag!  

I was always one of those stitchers who carries around her project in whatever's handy. That was a clear Zip Loc on a good day and a slightly torn plastic grocery sack on the rest. None of the lectures about how "Your work is worth better than that" or "Something will get thrown away by accident" made any difference.

These project bags, especially the ones with the clear fronts, are curing me of that. They're nice and pretty and if I actually use them on a consistent basis I'll need to make more.

How about you? Do you carry your projects around in something nice -- or whatever's handy?

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Charlie McGee

I won!

After I explained to my son how yarn chicken works, he wanted to know if there's a prize for winning. Absolutely -- you get a pair of socks that doesn't have an inappropriate contrast color at the top of one cuff. And a huge sense of relief.

I went into this project fairly sure that I'd be playing yarn chicken by the end, but the colors of the yarn were perfect for the pattern, which called for 350 yards. Hawthorne comes in 357 yard skeins, so I knew I'd be cutting it close but was willing to take the risk. Just before finishing the first sock, I glanced at the yarn requirements again. The large size calls for 375 yards. Oops.

For my non-knitting blog readers, yarn requirements aren't the same as fabric requirements. You know exactly how many 2 1/2" strips or squares you can get out of a yard of fabric. With knitting, it's not that exact. Slight differences in gauge will use up more or less yarn. A skein may have a few more or less yarns than the label says it does. Having big feet doesn't help either.

Knowing all of that, I gambled and I won and I'm happy. I could have left off one repeat of the lace patterns but this is for a knitalong and  I'm pretty sure that would (or should) have disqualified me. My half inch of ribbing along the top edge is definitely a scant half inch, but I finished the pattern as written. And did I mention that I managed it in five days?

These socks were fun.

The pattern is Charlie McGee, inspired by Firestarter. I've seen the movie once or twice, but I really loved the book, which I read shortly after it came out. Another family member had checked it out from the library and I could only read it when she wasn't reading, which stretched out the suspense like you wouldn't believe. We were out on the boat, so it was probably only a couple of days from start to finish, but I was so hooked by the story that it was torture to only be able to read it in chunks.

Great Lakes Socks

At least I think they're Great Lakes. I still stink at hanging onto the label until the project is done. Whichever recently discontinued color it is, the yarn is Knitpicks Stroll.

Nothing exciting here, just pretty yarn that kept my fingers moving while I hid from the  pair of socks that I should be working on right now.

Lazy Little Roses

It seems like every time I bind off a new pair of socks,  they become my favorite. I'm not going to apologize for that because it means I've got a bunch of socks that I absolutely love and that is definitely not a bad thing! 

These are my Lazy Little Roses...

 Pattern: Lazy Lace Socks, modified and combined with  Little Roses 

Yarn: Knitpicks Hawthorne, Belmont 

The plan was to cast on a pair of socks and work on them until the first Super Scary Sock pattern was released on September 1. I wanted something easy, something that I wouldn't abandon forever if I got caught up in Scary Socks (which is the goal), but not something so easy that I'd hate working on it if I didn't like the first Scary Sock pattern and had to wait another ten days. I wanted to knit it from something in my DIY sampler that didn't seem appropriate for horror movie inspired socks....

That left me with the Hawthorne Belmont. Little Roses was in my Ravelry queue and looked like a good match for the yarn, but I wasn't sure I wanted to do an allover lace pattern... so I lifted one column of flowers and plugged it into Lazy Lace Socks.

I can't even tell you how much fun these were to knit. I love the color, and the little flowers were way easier than I expected them to be. I'll definitely go back and knit the pattern as written. Or closer to as written. 

Six days of knitting while doing other things. And it wasn't even six full days of knitting while doing other things.

Convoluted Clues

It's time for the Super Sock Scarefest! I've knit several pairs from previous years and made it through the first pattern of last year before life got in the way. 

Pattern: Convoluted Clues 

Yarn: Drops Fabel  

This time the "preshow pattern" is Convoluted Clues, inspired by the movie Zodiac. I've never seen it and thought I'd watch it on Netflix, but the knitting went quicker than I expected.

There are rows of twisted stitches going up the leg, with different charts for the front and back. That's not something I've done before.  And I don't I've ever done toe up socks with a gusset and heel flat. I definitely haven't done this style of heel.

The socks fit,  they were a fun challenge, and -- probably most shockingly -- the twisted stitches and blue stripes of the yarn show up in pictures. I can't wait to see what they've got in store for us next. Do I cast on something new to work on for the next few days while I wait for another scary pattern?

Knitting Socks While Waiting for the Eclipse...

I thought I'd be knitting away on this pair the whole time I was counting down to the eclipse. Instead, I finished them seven days after casting on. That's not a problem -- I immediately cast on another pair of "eclipsey" socks to keep me busy. 

Pattern: Lazy Lace Socks (modified) 

Yarn: Knitpicks Hawthorne, Burnside

It was  the perfect combination of great yarn, a great pattern, and plenty of time to sit and knit. That lace panel that runs up the side of each sock was just fiddly enough to make me happy. The pattern is easy to memorize and easier to read just by looking at the row. So I could put down the socks at any point, even in the middle of a round, without struggling to figure out where I'd left off.

I'll absolutely be knitting this pattern again, and looking for more stockinette socks with a pretty decorative bit running up the foot and leg.

Grey/Brown Mix Socks

Not the most creative name, huh? Maybe I should call them "The Socks That Went Swimming and Bowling a Lot"?  But that won't work either, because I hope the next pair is going to be out and about with me just as much. 

Drops Fabel 547, Grey/Brown Mix