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.