whackadoodle coconut

I didn't finish my quilt yesterday.  kind of bummed about it, but I am really close.  I have 1 1/2 sides remaining on the binding and hand sewing it is a huge improvement compared to the speedy machine.  the biggest issue that I have about it, is that there is a second set of sewing on the back side that looks funny.  I don't like it.  and the front facing side gets wobbly if you aren't super careful. anyway, I will do the binding by hand sewing it in the future.  now hand quilting, I'm still up in the air about.  I don't have a long arm machine to free quilt at home and it would probably cost a fortune for someone else to do it so those aren't really an option.  on the other hand, it does look nice, but not handmade.  it lacks the character I think hand made items need.  even when someone is so good it looks like a machine, I believe there should be some indication by looking at it that it was done by hand.  the work and effor...

so that sherbet yarn I spun, I washed it and wound it at betty's on quilt day.  I also chose a pattern. yay me! the pattern is the sea lettuce shawl, where I will be redesigning it a bit to make a cowl with the yarn over section and not finishing it with a lace border. here's the pattern images - I think it will be really cool looking, I haven't done a gauge swatch or anything yet.  I've been working on another project (knitting and quilting).

this latest quilting class I was resistant to doing it and it was a push from my husband to "make" me sign up and go.  I thought it would be too hard and wasn't sure if I could do it.  yeah I know really, after looking at the last quilting post, you wouldn't believe it.  I don't anymore.  but I was really apprehensive to doing the class and didn't think I had the skills or ability to do it. if you didn't know I like to live by, trying it and practicing until I get it right.  because really, who gets it right the first time. everything takes practice and you have to work at it to get the hang of it.  think about it, who do you know gets everything new they try perfect the first time?  name three. anyway, I have learned a few things in the latest class and I've stretched my skills set beyond what I thought I could. 1.  sewing takes time, you can't just sew like the wind, and still be accurate. well at least I can't.  I'm not a good sewe...

my latest adventure in quilting...and it's good...really good. the first choice in fabrics. not a bad mix of batiks.  by the way - these are pricey at around $13 a yard. I had a few that were only $10, but with about 5 yards to buy, it wasn't cheap.     quilted pieces together - they are all laid out and the backing basted in place.     getting ready to start the quilting process.  in the end, I haven't finished yet and I only have the borders remaining, it's taken 4 days on almost constant sewing.  actually, my hands kind of hurt, but I'm almost done. a few samples of the stitching - remember this is my first attempt, so it's far from perfect, but I wanted it to be neat and not look like a kinder did it and I think I achieved that much.     here's the end product, before the borders are done and the final finishing is completed.  so I still have a little more quilting and binding. ...

yesterday I just wound the new batch of sherbet colored yarn and have determined that it was the fastest 4 ounces ever.  the last batch of red I did took FOREVER and this was done in a week.  just need to give it a bath and knit it into something really awesome.  I'm thinking noro's scarf? I need to review the pattern to see if that's what would work best with my new yarn... there's about 250 yards there.

june gloom...in our area at least.  we always have such icky weather during this time. anyway, what better way to brighten the day, then to spin some sherbet colored yarn. what's great about this yarn, is that I am blending the fiber without any equipment, just varying the amount of color in each pre drafting section.  so far I'm half way through the little bit I'm experimenting with and it's turning out really well.

a lot has been happening in the crafting world and life in my tiny world. I just took the photos off the camera to start organizing it all and I have 14 photo folders to pull from. so let's get started. I cleaned the garage and my knitting/spinning stuff.   the new botanical knits pattern book by Never Not Knitting arrived! I began a new quilting class called storm at sea. I knitting a pair of socks that took just about 2 weeks to work up. I fed the birds our leftover and stale bread.   and I worked in my herb garden that had a few sprouts pop up. I finally finished spinning a batch of fiber that I started about 4 months ago this weekend. a pretty successful month if you ask me.