springy table topper

Last weekend I had a hankering to play with some more scrap sewing. I am really enjoying the stash of “precuts” I made for myself and squirreled away (this reminds me I should do it again with the growing stash of scraps from recent projects). I wanted to make something to grace my dining room table for spring/March so I pulled a quantity of greens and found myself a neutral linen (not surprising for me) to cut to match for patchwork improvising. 

 

I wanted to make simple four patches and combine them to make a sparkly patchwork panel. It was a lot of fun on my design wall moving things around for a couple of days. I bordered it with a great plaid that I think just takes it over the top straight to St. Patrick’s Day. That gave me a goal, to finish it before the holiday today. 

I used this pretty linen-ish garden print for the back and, as has been my habit lately, decided to hand stitch the binding down to the back. It took me a little bit longer, but I finished it by Friday the 13th! I’ve actually been enjoying the slower approach to binding. The hand stitching without need for a pattern or planning is meditative. 

I chose to do crosshatch quilting, in the light gray thread that was already on my machine. It was quick and simple, pretty much the same as the patchwork. This is not an overthinking project. 

It took me a few days to actually “style” the table so it looks festive, but here’s my springtime table scape! Shopping around the decor and things I recently organized was satisfying and fun. I love how it turned out, and I am really pleased with how the handmade items I’ve been pulling out and creating new have made my home cozy and full of personality. 

couldn’t wait

I couldn’t wait - I have several projects going right now that are really quite fun, but I kept thinking about this sweater. I just got done playing around in the yarn stash finding appropriate colors to combine with the green I recently bought. Lo and behold, I sense a movie theme! This should be fun. The dark pink even has some gold sparkles on it. Perfection. 

2026 yarn crawl

Well that was fun. It’s been a weekend full of lots of different things so this seems like it was forever ago, but in fact it was just Friday. I’ve got some vacation to burn, so I took the day off to have breakfast with a friend after which we moseyed over to the local yarn shop for the first day of this year’s Bay Area Yarn Crawl. Ahem. This is the chaos that resulted. The bag on the left is mine, the pile of books and the basket is hers. We certainly did some shopping!! 

I also snagged a couple of pattern books (free!) but I admit I didn’t have a whole lot of patience to sift through them all. I did, however, do a great job picking through the sale yarn outside and here’s what I got. It’s all cotton or cotton blends, which is something I appreciate so much about this shop - she carries great non-wool options. The four colorful skeins on the right, and possibly the hank, will be headed to my mom. The four neutral balls on the bottom are going to be great for gnomes, particularly the white and gray for beards and noses. I wish I had just one more ball of that fluffy yellow because then I would know exactly what sweater I would make, but as it is I might be a bit too short to want to play yarn chicken. Still, it’s so soft and I’ll find something to make with it. 

 

Once we managed to get inside, it was really fun to look around the trunk shows Kristi had displayed. She ordinarily has a great selection of yarns but boy these indie dyers did not disappoint! The whole bottom row of skeins is from those trunk shows. The left, highly variegated yarn is from Forbidden Fibers Co and will be my first (brave!) foray into a super variegated sweater and learning to alternate skeins. The rest of the bottom row is from a dyer with moody colors I just loved called Dragon Hoard Yarn. I limited myself to tonal skeins for projects I had picked out otherwise I would have come home with many more of her beautiful variegated works. The set of four purpley red will be a sweater, likely an Amrum. The dark slate blue will be an Architexture scarf, and the other one? Well that was kind of a compromise impulse buy. I think it might make a nice second Architexture, if I like knitting that pattern, or I will find something to do with it. I have many fingering weight shawl patterns, and it was too pretty to pass up. The bright green at the top is going to be a Geddy tee, the Noro (another sale yarn) and navy might end up as a sweater or vest - definitely a garment of some sort. And the last skein was a total no plan but I kept walking by the cubby and picking it up. There were many more so I could have gotten another sweater quantity, but this one seems to say accessory to me.

Safe to say I have supported my local yarn shop, and I have plenty of projects planned for the year! These of course are all in addition to the ones I already have queued up from my stash. My I’ve gotten ambitious. There may not be enough hours in a day. I did decide I don’t need to do anymore yarn crawling over the next week. I have a trip down to Pacific Grove next weekend, so I will certainly come home with something fun from my other favorite yarn shop, but other than that this is plenty of yarn to keep me busy for a good while. 

neapolitan, finished

Fastest sweater ever. I finished this sweater 3 and a half weeks. I even blocked it the same day I bound off. Can you tell I am excited about it? I was intending on writing some in progress posts, but this just flew off of my needles. I did not want to put it down. This is the Coloring Book Raglan by Aimee Sher and I would highly recommend the pattern as an easy and fun knit. I like the twisted ribbing at the neck, arms, and hem, and I really enjoy the wide 3/4 length sleeves. I realize the colors are a slant rhyme to Neapolitan ice cream, but I can't not think of it when I see the stripes. The whole sweater feels a little cotton candy-esque to me, too. 

The stripes are from yarn that Dave got me on one of his trips to visit our friends in Bend, Oregon (before we separated, obviously). He met the alpacas, which is pretty cute. He brought me back four skeins of beautiful yarn that I have not known what to do with since. (The fourth color is white and is a slightly lighter gauge). I thought about different types of projects with one or two skeins in combination, but nothing really excited me. I did want to try to keep them together if at all possible because they actually look really beautiful together. When I saw the pattern for this I decided using them in this way was a great idea. I debated adding the brown in the mix with the pink, purple, and robin egg blue, but its actually my favorite part. It adds a maturity to the overall mix so it doesn't look so little girly. 

The main color is a yarn I will definitely use again in a sweater. It is Woolfolk Luft, and I "met" it on yarn crawl last year. I forget which shop had it, but I remember picking up a skein and thinking it was so very soft and I could probably wear it next to my skin (which I usually don't do with wool yarns, itchy). That particular skein was black, so when I went looking for a color to use in this sweater I wasn't really sure which way I wanted to go. Gray seemed fine but unexciting to me, and a natural would have looked great with the alpaca colors but likely would have washed me out. The blue was a risk on a couple of levels, first computer screens are notoriously bad at translating real life color and second it's kind of an odd choice, but it's a color I really love on its own so it felt worth giving it a shot. I'm so glad I did. It's a beautiful shade. 

The sweater feels like a cozy old sweatshirt already. The heft of the Luft yarn is just REALLY satisfying, especially in the twisted rib sections. The hem hangs great and, surprise surprise, I really like the neckline. I would definitely make this pattern again in other yarns, maybe in the same one (!) and I'm interested to try out all of the various options for sleeves, length, etc. I'm happy that I have plenty of the alpaca left for other projects, maybe some mitts. I'll have to wear this a few times to really know for sure, but I think I may have just met my favorite knit so far. 

blanket knitting commenced

I finished knitting on my Coloring Book Raglan on Monday and I found myself still wanting to knit. I've been pretty good about planning projects out of my stash lately and this has been sitting in the queue for a bit. I had the yarn wound already and the pattern in my Ravelry library. It was pretty quick work to find the right needles and dig out this super cute stitch marker to match. 

It will be a large circular blanket, which is something new for me. It's been a while since I've made a non-quilt blanket and I have never done circles. It's delightfully simple and requires very little attention aside from making sure the increases are in the right spot and the stripes are the right width. It has grown fairly quickly already! I'm sure it will slow down as the rounds get longer, but this is just one evening of progress and it's looking quite smashing already. 

floral fun

Finishing up the baby quilt and clearing off the card table felt like it deserved a palette cleanser. I was watching a favorite YouTuber the other day and she whipped up one of these drawstring bags in like a half hour so she could put a new sock project in it. I have used this particular tutorial (from In Color Order) before, so it was kind of fun to reconnect with it. 

These lovely zinnia flowers are from a Pacific Grove trip with my folks. They are so bright and happy! I also got the coordinating print on the same trip (accidental coordination, I'm pretty sure they are not related fabric lines) and I just love that greenish yellow combined with the electric pink. I used a very old print for the inside - it's curios in light grey and white. It's girly and bright and I just love it. And it was SO FAST. I plan on making more of these in different sizes for project bags. The Firefly Totes have been fun to make, but sometimes something simpler is most appealing. 

No zinnias outside yet, but my favorite daffodils are blooming! 

girly quilt for a colleague

A coworker is expecting, and I know her well enough to feel comfortable asking if she would a) enjoy having a small quilt from a coworker and b) if girly colors and patterns were ok to use. Happily she said yes to both so I got to have a lot of fun putting this piece together. Pulling fabrics was, of course, the best part. I started out thinking I was going to use an entirely different cat fabric with bright colors, but as I pulled both from my bag of scraps I've precut into charms plus some of the pinks and floral fabrics in my stash, I gravitated more towards the softer palette here with purples, yellows, soft pinks, and neutrals. 

I knew I wanted to make something relatively simple because I didn't have much time (said coworker was going to be in town for just a week). Some creative googling led me to a tutorial on the Diamond Chain pattern at Missouri Star and followed that (loosely) to make the center panel. It looks the same, but I didn't follow the specific sewing instructions since I wasn't starting from the precuts that were shown. 

Despite including lots of yellows and purples, it was still feeling VERY neutral and kind of washed out, so I played around with some of the prints and decided to add stripes at the top and bottom. That really changed the character of the whole quilt. The purples popped much better and the yellows sparkle around the pattern instead of blending in. Very pleased with that decision!

I had exactly enough of this wonderful ric-rac stripe print for the binding. If that's not the universe saying "great choice!" I don't know what is. Aaaand it's pretty perfect. I'm finding that working with fabric collections is fun, but my real joy is in these types of projects where I can assemble something cohesive from different fabrics I've collected over time, even better if I use scraps! Some of these are offcuts from trimming quilts after quilting, one is a blender my mom sent from her stash (so quite vintage!), and of course because it's me there's some unconventional texture in there in the form of flannel. Usually it's linen, but here there be flannel kitties. 

The backing is just a couple of large leftovers of a couple of the prints that are pieced together. I quilted it with gray thread and a simple cross hatch in the center panel and "in the ditch" along the stripe seams on the top and bottom. It ended up being 32" x 44". It was a gorgeous morning today, so I snapped a couple pictures outside before heading to work with quilt in tow. I'm pleased to report that it was well received. 

octavia glamour shots

Behold Octavia in much nicer lighting! I should explain the name. Last year's Bay Area yarn crawl "mascot" was an octopus named Octavia. This yarn was the largest purchase I made on that fun crawl, with the explicit intent of making this sweater. I must have subconsciously had the octopus in my head picking out these colors because they are definitely a call back. 

I am impressed with myself that I finished it so quickly, even with the month and a half or so languishing in the corner once I bound off. Fingering weight sweaters are not for the faint of heart! I have another worsted weight one on the needles right now and boy those may be my jam. But the nice drape and lighter fabric that can be achieved with fingering weight is so different, it is probably worth the effort to keep trying some more patterns. This one is seamless and has very little in the way of stability in the upper parts which may be my least favorite thing about it besides the neckline, but the a-line shaping and the fun hem are elements to keep in mind.

What else can I say about her? I love the colors. There's a small part of me that wishes I would have made the entire thing in this beautiful tonal navy, but I can't resist a fun color combination at the yarn shop. Also, I really enjoy coral as a color but it's tough for me to wear, so this nautical pairing both makes sense in terms of the yarn crawl theme and makes the coral wearable for me since it's farther from my face. 

Being totally honest, I'm not 100% satisfied with how the underarm end-weaving-in went, but I expect that to sort of work itself out over time and with wear. I'm looking forward to seeing if this merino/linen/rayon blend is one that I can tolerate well against my skin. The person at the yarn shop suggested it may be, so it felt worth a shot. It's fitted in the upper body and arms but not so much that I couldn't put a tank top on under it if I needed to. Probably not a T-shirt though. Hopefully something to enjoy wearing this spring! May it not get too hot too soon. 

sedona, finished

I finished this in mid-February and have already worn it a few times, but it's taken me a bit to get some nice pictures! Having less focus on the cataloging and photographing is actually pretty freeing, though somewhat unusual and a bit uncomfortable when it comes time to write about things. Regardless, here she is! The colors ended up reminding me of Arizona, and I have enjoyed pairing this with copper jewelry I got in Sedona on my last trip there. The aqua is reminiscent of the patina copper gets out in the elements, and the reds blues and oranges are the sunset, rocks, and sky.

This is my second Shift and it went much faster than the first. My favorite part happens to be this little corner section with the neutral background and the bright color gradient. In retrospect it would have been nicest if that was the main middle stripe rather than the section that ends up being the back. But when I did mom's version the green that was in the same place as this cream really took over the look, so it was a deliberate choice to place the cream there. I guess in this case it just doesn't compete in the same way! The dominant color to me is definitely the aqua. Which is ok. I just wasn't expecting to like the cream nearly as much. 

It should be a nice shoulder season accessory, and I may even enjoy wearing it in the summer when it's warmer since it's all cotton. I think it will be good winery wear :) 
 

in the lineup

I needed to wind up some more of my sweater yarn, so I also took the time to set myself up for a couple more projects. I have just two things on the needles, both garments, and that just doesn't feel right! (Though it does actually feel kinda good....) 

This first set is yarn I got sometime last year at my local yarn store. I am pretty sure it was an anniversary sale of some sort because I remember buying a bunch of this beautiful cotton yarn on a whim because it was very reasonably priced. At the time I was thinking 'blanket' but wasn't sure what kind. I've picked out what I hope will be an interesting round throw blanket project. 

These lovelies are from a stash dive I took when I saw a recent Wool & Company newsletter featuring the Clint shawl. As both a knitter and a quilter this feels like something I would really enjoy making and wearing. I am feeling inspired to use my stash yarn whenever possible right now (thanks knitting YouTube), so I sorted through my skeins, assisted by Ravelry helping to tell me quantities, to find this combination of colors that I think is unusual but will be effective. My main color will be that bright saffron yellow! 

I have these all tucked into project bags and am happy that I'll have something to cast on when the mood strikes me, no planning necessary. 

octavia sweater, finished

Yesterday I texted my mom the photo below with the caption: I have a plan.  

This sweater has been in Time Out since New Year's Eve when I bound off the last stitch. I tried it on and was dismayed that despite fixing my gauge I still wasn't thrilled with the neckline. Still just kinda too big for my taste. I used every last inch of the navy yarn so I didn't have the option of continuing on or ripping back and expecting any adjustments to be smaller - conservation of mass being a law of the universe and all. I soaked and pinned it out on Monday, so yesterday it was plenty dry to try on and decide that a) the rest of the sweater actually fit way nicer after blocking (it was Not Very Nice before, another reason for Time Out) and b) the neckline isn't terrible, it should be fixable. 

I purposely wore the green version of this sweater one day this week to remind myself of how that neck turned out. It was Pretty Good, actually. I was comfortable all day and didn't really have issues with straps showing or anything feeling too stretchy. So I decided to use the same crochet chain stabilization approach with this sweater that I did with the green one. The one snag is that I had to use the coral yarn because I was out of navy, but if it peeks it just looks like a nice intentional facing detail. The neck is still a little wonky looking even after blocking (just the rolled neck) again, but it will do. I skipped the raglan stabilization I did on the green one. I can always go back and make that adjustment if I feel I need to but this version actually was at gauge so it isn't that saggy through the arm circle. 

For reference, the picture on the left is both sweaters folded the same way. I have to say I do like the 'baggier' fit of the green one quite a lot still, but I'm looking forward to wearing this one and seeing how the correctly sized garment treats me. I love this coral color in combination with the navy, and once again the striped pattern modification is very fun. Proud to have it done! 

Note: more photos to be added in a post to follow once I get some nice shots outside..

a crafty day off

Monday was a day off for me, and I spent quite a bit of it letting the creative juices flow. Before they really got going, though, I felt the need to address a couple of knitted objects that have been sitting around waiting for their final steps. On the left is my Shift cowl which needed blocking before seaming up and weaving in ends. On the right is the sweater I have been mad at since January and unsure how to address it. What I decided to do was block the entire thing to see if it improves the fit and to examine how much I need to address the neckline. I have my notes from the first one I made, so if I need to I can just try the same adjustments I made there. Here's hoping! 

Another BIG project I have wanted to tackle since last year is a new quilt. This is going to be a complex undertaking that I'm hoping I can chip away at month by month this year. I might not finish the top by the end of the year but I hope to at least make a dent. My first order or business was to get my fabrics out and remember what I have collected. Most of these are from Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, purchased years ago along with the pattern, and some are from the stash to augment the color families where I could. 

This is Elizabeth Hartman's Desert Animals Quilt, and the way she has written the pattern, knowing which fabric of mine corresponds to the letters of hers is going to be necessary to keep everything straight. To help my sanity, I snipped little pieces of each fabric and used a glue stick to stick them on a piece of cardboard in the same kind of grid that exists in the pattern booklet. I think this is going to be a huge favor to my future self. I'm looking forward to diving into that one sometime soon. 

The last thing I did was make another Firefly Tote. I cut the canvas pieces out when I cut out the pieces for Mom's tote, and I had all of the accent fabrics chosen and piled up. It had all been sitting on the side because I wanted to make the bigger one for myself first. I was in a clean-it-up mood, so I decided that the best thing to do would be to just make the bag instead of moving the pile again!  

 

It turned out looking great. Mom and Dad bought me these fabrics on our most recent trip to Pacific Grove. I remember Mom really wanted to get us some butterfly fabric to mark the trip. This Charley Harper print is beautiful. The lining fabric is a zinnia print from Anna Maria Parry that pairs so well with that neon geometric. I'm thrilled with how this one turned out. This took me late into the night and I went to sleep pretty satisfied with the progress, planning, and clean up I got done on a relaxing day off. 

an exciting start

I spent far too many of the wee hours on Sunday getting this project started. To be fair, I had Monday off so there were very few repercussions aside from a circadian rhythm blip and one less night of solid sleep. But! I cast on my Coloring Book Raglan. I have wanted to make one of these since I saw a favorite YouTuber talk about it this fall - the boxy look plus stripes was quite appealing to my current sense of style. I showed adult restraint, though, and finished up a few things (including a new project bag for it) before caking up the yarn. 

This will be my first time working on a top down sweater (just my fifth sweater) and I am looking forward to seeing if I prefer it to bottom up. I expect the bonus of being able to try on as you go is pretty significant given my dive in and ask questions about gauge later habits. The fit also looks like it would be very forgiving in the I-don't-like-to-swatch department.

I'm using a yarn I discovered (but did not purchase) on Bay Area Yarn Crawl last year. I can remember seeing a black version, which was gorgeous, picking it up and thinking "ooh that's really soft wool. I bet I could wear a sweater out of that". This shade of dusty robin's egg blue is just beautiful and I love working with the yarn so far. I'm about halfway through the raglan increases at this point, and then it's smooth sailing down the body. I'll be combining it with some alpaca for the stripes. I'm really looking forward to seeing if that works out. 

bohemian ponies, finished

I made 10 yards of binding for this quilt. That is a lot! Though, I am amazed that 10 yards of binding can come from less than a yard of fabric. Magic. Or math. You know, same same. I was so motivated to finish this up that I spent a late evening sewing the binding on. I debated doing my usual zig zag to tack it down, but two things: 1) I was running out of bobbin and 2) I think I'm starting to prefer hand stitched binding. 

The sheer number of linear inches around the quilt did give me pause, of course, but once I started it zipped along pretty quickly. I even managed to enjoy it. Basically it's pre-snuggling under your quilt, right? I'm so glad I had enough of the border print to do the whole binding. It's not my usual approach, but I do like that it blends in on the front, and the back is framed nicely. 

Speaking of the back - that is an eye wateringly bright print from Anna Maria Perry's Welcome Home collection called London. I happened upon it online when I was cruising around Missouri Star's sales and I am grateful for the serendipity and the risk I took. It's bright and bohemian hip in a similar way to the front just like I thought it might be. I really enjoyed it while I was tacking down the binding. 

As I mentioned when I finished the top last January, the mix of fabrics was collected over time and worked out feeling very "me" with flowers, horses, and some of my favorite colors. I am most pleased about that, to be honest. Some of the fabrics come from the same collection (the mustangs and arrows) but otherwise they are all me-curated. I can't actually believe the luck that so many of the prints have the exact shade of mustardy greenish gold. It nicely ties everything together and it's a really unusual shade that I quite like. How lucky. 

I will say, it was totally worth having someone else quilt something as big as this. I am STILL working on hand quilting a queen sized quilt (and questioning my life choices) and even if I did quilt it myself in my machine, I would have put it off so long it would be another year before it was done. It was a real treat to be able to drop it off and pick up such a wonderful thing a month later. I'm sharing another closeup of the rather perfect quilting pattern. As I was piecing the top I remember feeling like the vibe was very tribal and geometric, plus horses and this quilt pattern captures that completely. 

As predicted, it did not take me long to get this finished after picking it up. I was so looking forward to sleeping under it as soon as possible! I am really proud of how this one turned out and tickled that it turned out to be the perfect fit for my room. 

it's back!

OMG. I got to pick up my quilt from the quilt shop this weekend, and I have to say it turned out even better than I imagined. The quilting pattern they helped me pick is pretty much perfect! This little cave painting horse motif gallops along and isn't too small, as I was fearing in my worst moments. To be fair, I had no idea from the drawing in the book how big or small it would be. I wonder if they adjust it based on how they think it will look? Either way, it's awesome. 

It took only about 4 weeks from drop off to text notification that it was done. I put off going to pick up until yesterday just because of logistics. The price was also not as high as I thought it would be. I don't need to longarm quilt all of my quilts, but - 5 stars, would do again. Especially for a large one!

I am really excited to have this finished up, hopefully this week. I just trimmed all of the extra batting and backing off and have measured around the edge to see how much binding I will need (lots). I also found my extra bit of the floral border fabric and, if my late evening math is correct, confirmed that I have enough to make the binding for it with a bit to spare. How lucky is that! Cannot wait. More to come. 

firefly totes, finished

These are fun to make! I finished up a couple more Firefly Totes, one for mom and one for me. I probably have at least two more in my near future, a small one for me and a large one for mom so we'll each have a set. 

After finishing up my first one in November, I quickly cut out the pieces for this second one for mom. I didn't have enough more of the gray canvas I used, but I do have a bit of this classy brown tweedy weave on a roll, so I decided that was a good option for the outer fabric which is meant to be more sturdy. I love the green zipper with the pink polka dots - it's giving Wicked! We are both big fans. I also found an incredibly cute gnome charm for the zipper pull while out shopping for webbing for the handles. The colors were serendipity. 

  

I wish there were more options for the webbing, but I ended up coming home with a navy as a neutral because the brighter colors wouldn't quite color match. Alas, but the drawstring top done up in this bright hippy bird fabric and the shock of pink and orange inside makes up for it. I used the same thick cord for the drawstring as on my original effort. 

I was planning on making myself a project version next, but I have my eye on a sweater I want to start and I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't start it until I had this bag done for toting it around as I work on it. How's that for motivation? I also had this lightweight canvas I wanted to experiment with (spoiler alert, it worked out great using interfacing) and having made the second smaller version reminded me enough of how it went to feel confident working with a new size.  

It turned out super cute, and I definitely want to make mom a bigger one also because it's a really good size. The combination of the mushrooms with the little snails is just awesome. The colors are kind of off my usual island, but it looks very spiffy and I know I'm going to enjoy using it. I had a bit of an adventure in my stash trying to find a lining fabric. I auditioned lots of things from orange to green plaid, neither of which I had enough of, but I landed on this great Halloweeny fabric with unicorns and moons on it to add even more quirk to the whole thing. I also found a fun charm for this one, it's a little turtle with a shell made out of yarn balls and on the back it says 'slow your roll' - words to live by! 

I have already wound some of my yarn into cakes and they're tucked in this bag ready for me to start. I'm really looking forward to toting this around, I just love it. I am already planning the next ones! I have fabrics picked out and partially cut for my small one (more of that brown tweedy weave), but not sure yet what I'll use for the second large one. More fireflies to come soon!