Charity Quilting

A couple more quilt tops constructed by other members of the Annapolis Quilts for Kids got quilted last week. I like the coins quilt.

This beginner quilt was a breeze using a large flower motif.

2017 Charity Quilt Count: 37

Quiltville Mystery Quilt 2016: Quilting En Provence Part Two

It took me more than a little time to finish the quilting on En Provence. I went with this all-over swirl design. Like all of my quilting, this is exclusively hand-guided work. No computers for my long arm. That means all the errors are my own. Quilted using Superior Threads So Fine! #50.

I've pieced the 400+ inches of binding. I'll attach and finish this binding by machine so I can be finished with this quilt. I'll be ready for the next mystery quilt.

You can buy En Provence as a digital download directly from Quiltville.

Quiltville Mystery Quilt 2016: Quilting En Provence

It has been months since I worked on En Provence!, Bonnie Hunter's 2016 Mystery Quilt. I participated the last couple years with Grand Illusion and then Allietare and really enjoyed the process. I've shared my progress on clue #1, clue #2, clue #3, clue #4, clue #5, and clues #6 and #7. 

I created my embroidered label with my embroidery software, 5D Embroidery. I couldn't find an online source for the software. If you are interested in embroidery design software I recommend you ask your embroidery machine retailer about it. Many shops have classes you can take to learn how to design your own embroidery.

Like most of Bonnie Hunter's quilts, this one is no slouch when it comes to size. I spent the majority of an evening quilting and only managed to finish about half the quilt. I decided to quilt with an all-over swirl design. The piecing is busy enough I didn't want to compete with detailed quilting.

My goal with the mystery quilt is to finish before the next mystery quilt comes out. We still have a month or more before the colors are announced and another month after that before the clues begin. I'm looking forward to another great mystery quilt in November.

You can buy En Provence as a digital download directly from Quiltville.

Charity Quilting

A couple more charity quilts got quilted up last week.

Like many others, these quilts are pieced by members of the Annapolis Quilts for Kids. Then I load them onto the frame and get them quilted.

After that? I fold them up and drop them back off with Annapolis Quilts for Kids for another member to attach the label and binding.

2017 Charity Quilt Count: 35

Aunt Betty Strikes Again

Aunt Betty dropped off a bunch of yarn again.

I'm still knitting through the last batch she dropped off.

 This was made from some of that yarn.

This crochet shawl is also coming along nicely from some of the gifted yarn.

I may never have to buy yarn again!

Another Quick Shawl Finish

I couldn't find a free, shawl pattern to make this shawl so I ended up writing my own. I don't think this is the final version I would want to share with others, so I'm going to make another, with a slightly different technique.

I really like the little points, but they aren't quite right. I'll do it again, and let you know how it works out.

Charity Quilting

I managed to get a couple charity quilts quilted the last couple weeks.

I need to figure out how to work in a couple of these during the week so I can get more accomplished.

I think I'm falling behind on getting these done. Maybe I need to hunker down and just get to work.

2017 Charity Quilt Count: 33

Not Following the Directions

Like with many written patterns, I sometimes have a problem following the directions. Not because I can't understand them, or they are bad. Just that they don't fit what I want to do. This is one of those projects. The pattern for this shawl is called Longwing and you can find it on Ravelry and on Knitty.

I wanted a simple-ish shawl to make up with a single ball of Noro sock. I picked this pattern because of the shape. I like it when designers do something unexpected with their design.

I'm a big fan of knitting in public. You should check out the tag on Instagram sometime.

I finished it up and gave it a good bath before blocking.

This is another small shawl that plays nicely as a scarf.

Another fun finish made with some of the loot from Aunt Betty.

Bulky Yarn Makes for a Quick Knit

This is some bulky yarn I received from a friend. I started out with the size needles I thought would work. I was wrong. The fabric was entirely too stiff. I ripped back and started again.

This simple triangle shawl is a great quick project. I finished it in about 10 days. You can find this pattern on Ravelry as Medhel an Gwyns.

I liked it because it seemed like a quick project with bulky yarn. You could do this with other yarns and just keep repeating the eyelet and garter sections until you got to the length you were looking for.

I gave it a wash and a good stretch. It isn't as big as most of my shawls, more of a neck warmer than a proper shawl. Still a great finish, though.

Nature Post

Back to work this week meant I was super busy all week and didn't get much chance to do crafty things. You'll have to be satisfied with some photos collected over the week.

There was my friend the buck. He rarely moves off when I walk by.

This pretty flower. I have no idea where I came across it.

This one, along my side yard on a tree that should be removed before it takes down part of my fence.

 Another encounter with that buck. I'm not kidding, he barely looks up when I'm less than a dozen feet away.

The heavy rains this week made for a great crop of fungi.

This one was my favorite and only took about a dozen tries to get a good photo. I love my Samsung phone. The camera makes it look like I know how to take a picture.

Sorry about the brief post. I do hope at least one of the images is to your liking. I'll try to do something interesting this weekend to share with you next week.

What I did on my Summer Vacation - Jonestown, PA

Our last stop of the trip was at the Jonestown Hershey KOA. Someone in the RV Quilters group on Facebook asked how you pick a campground. This is where the reviews really paid off. This one is where people either love it or hate it. We really liked it. Easy off and on to the highway. The site we were assigned was right on the creek and easy walking distance to get some Broaster Chicken and ice cream.  

If you aren't afraid to try some delicious fried chicken, you should give it a try. If you're coming in later in the evening it could be a great way to feed the family without too much effort. You can follow with some equally delicious soft serve or hand-dipped ice cream.

This cabin was next to our back-in site. I took a photo to let friends know there was room for them too.

This was supposed to be a photo of a fawn. The fawn did not wait for me to get the camera open on my phone before it turned and headed into the woods. We did go on a nice walk after that chicken.

What I did on my Summer Vacation - Dalton, PA

On the return leg we stopped in Dalton, PA, at Highland Campground.

Very quiet park but we were only there for the night. We didn't even unhook the trailer. We connected water and electric and put down the stabilizers. We were not level at all. But we got our night of sleep and pumped waste in the morning. The night was cool and I had to break out the emergency quilt. The rate was very reasonable even if there was some breath holding driving up the mile or so of steep, gravel road to the campground.

I did manage to get some knitting done along the way.

What I did on my Summer Vacation - Rhode Island

We made our way from Pennsylvania to New York where we stayed at the U.S. Army West Point campground run by MWR. I took very few pictures so you'll just have to believe me that we spent the night there.

The site was very quiet with a nice pond. A pond that seems to be frequented by turtles.

Then we made our way to Rhode Island to visit with friends and family.

We stayed at Whispering Pines Campground in Hope Valley, RI. This is the second time we've stayed at this park. It is great if you have kids. There are loads of things to do with the kids.

There is even a train that goes around the park in the morning. There is a pond, with fishing, a pool, shuffleboard, and likely a dozen other things we didn't even ask about.

We did have family over for some toasted marshmallows. Because, nothing says fun like catching your dessert on fire.