Hello Internet

Sunday morning I found my desktop computer had left the world of connected things. It was a sad day.

So sad I felt compelled to open up the case to see if I could find that invisible door and figure out why it wouldn't open. A trip to YouTube helped met open the case, and remove a few pieces so I could find the wireless adapter. 

Such a little thing, with such a big impact. Dell was more than happy to sell me a replacement. A replacement that will be here in about three weeks.

My Darling Husband got me back up and running with a USB network solution. That should keep me going until the replacement part gets here. Otherwise, there might be a new desktop in my future. 

Charity Quilts

I here are a couple charity quilts for Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

Both of these were pieced by Mary. I couldn't resist replicating the swirls from the gray fabric in the quilting. Now the little planes can fly around in those currents.

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 24

What I'm Working On

As many of you know, I always have more than one thing going at a time. This is partly because I get an idea and I have to give it a shot before the idea gets away. The muse can be fickle.

This poncho is that kind of thing. I wanted to make an asymmetrical poncho based on the Dotted Rays shawl by Stephen West. This is my attempt to make that idea a reality. I grabbed some of the yarn from Aunt Betty and cast on.

Until the piece is big enough to be a collar, it's just a Dotted Rays. Then, I used the Kitchener stitch to join the i-cord edging and kept going. I'm using short rows so I can keep working in garter stitch. I have no idea if this is going to work, but so far it's going rather well.

I'm still working on this small fans shawl from last week. It's slow going, but it is my grab-and-go project. Which means I only work on it intermittently.

I caked up this Cascade from Aunt Betty because I have an idea for a crochet poncho and I needed some yarn to work with. This may come to nothing, but the yarn sure is pretty. I'm hoping my Top-Down Crochet Sweater book can help me crack this project.

Then, there is this crazy idea. Right now, it's just a really bit print out. The mermaid design is the hand embroidery design Midnight Magic - Mermaid. I have big plans for this. Very early stages, though. We'll see how it works out.

What have you been working on? Anything really fun with fabric or fiber?

Hydrangea Quilt

The mother of one of my co-workers found out I am a quilter. She is a very new quilter and wanted some help quilting one of her quilts. After some back and forth through email, we agreed on the quilting and she sent the top, batting, and backing along to me.

I loaded the quilt up and looked at the great piecing and grabbed a couple colors of thread that I thought would work with the front and the backing. 

I liked the cream-colored thread better, and she agreed. I recommended an all-over flower design found in Angela Walter's book Free-Motion Quilting.

It is a really great design because it works on so many prints and results in great texture.

I was worried about the quilting showing too much on the dark blue fabrics, but now that it's done I think it looks great.

 The texture shows up better on the back.

A great quilt!

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Panasonic Cordless Iron

Charity Quilts

Well, almost.

I picked up this stack of quilt tops and backings last week at the Annapolis Quilts for Kids. The meeting was a week early so it wouldn't cut into the Easter weekend. I'm hoping to make some progress on these over the weekend. Wish me luck!

Crochet Faster!

I picked up this fun yarn last year at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. We're quickly approaching the next Sheep and Wool Festival, so I figured I should get hooking. This is a free pattern on Ravelry (linked below). You can read about what I picked up during the 2018 Sheep and Wool Festival.

They yarn is from yarnhygge. It is a very nice fingering with such fun color. 

I don't know if I'll finish in time for the Sheep and Wool Festival (first weekend in May) but I'm going to give it a go.

Pattern is Small Fans Shawl (free on Ravelry). 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Crochet hooks: Clover Crochet Hook Set (10 hooks)

What's in a Name Tag?

To help people get to know each other, the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild coordinated a name tag swap.

I decided that I want to do some tiny paper piecing to make sure I got it right. I designed a stack of tiny flying geese. I used Electric Quilt 8 to design the paper piecing papers. There is an option to print as many as will fit on a page, so I went with it. There was a printing problem (the user) so I ended up with two pages of these.

I grabbed my bin of scraps and make a couple units. They came out rather nice, I think. 

I added some sashing so I would be sure not to trim off any of those carefully made points. I paired the piecing with an embroidered panel. 

I free motion quilted this on the Juki. It was my first time using the Juki to free motion quilt. It was a great experience! I left loads of room for pins, too. I have two pins attached to my current name tag and I wouldn't want to keep anyone from having room for their flash.

I added the binding and made it into a lanyard. I really hope Marcia likes it!

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q
Creative Grids 6.5" Square Ruler
Quilt design software: Electric Quilt

Quilting Love

I shared this fun paper pieced mini love quilt with you last week. I quilted it up but it isn't quite finished. Pattern is paper pieced Love Stamp Quilt by Sam Hunter.

I used one of my rulers to help me quilt the background with a coordinating gray thread. 

The square meander in the letters was done free-hand. so were some of the straight lines in the background, but most were done with a ruler. I trimmed it up and all it needs now is binding and a label.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q
Wool Pressing Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Creative Grids 6.5" Square Ruler
Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle

Relaxicon 2019

Last weekend we joined friends old and new in Pennsylvania for Relaxicon 2019. The event is put on by Wilmark Dynasty, a gaming group that has been around for decades. Yes, I said decades. Looking back over the big live action games they hosted over the years, it looks like our first game with them was way back in 1998. We haven't participated every year, as we have moved more than a few times since then, but we do like to go when we can.

There won't be a bunch of pictures, since I spent more time playing games, or socializing with friends than I spent looking at my phone. Which is to be expected. This was one of many games of Space Base we played. I even managed to win once. 

We had some trouble getting a dog sitter for the weekend, so someone had to go with us. That meant loads of trips outside to play in the sun. Pet-friendly hotels are great when you need one. 

I also managed to convince my friends to play a couple rounds of Rise of Tribes. I didn't manage to win, though.

A small selection of the games at the convention (affiliate links):
Space Base
Rise of Tribes
Mysterium
Splendor
Eldritch Horror
Codenames
Machi Koro
Catan
Sparkle Kitty
Bears vs Babies
Exploding Kittens

Mossy Crochet Shawl

I've been working on this simple, asymmetric shawl for a few weeks. It was perfect for when riding in the car.

This is yarn from Aunt Betty. I didn't have much, so I mixed a couple colors. 

This is a super-simple double crochet design with some double crochet/chain one edging for a little visual interest. This is pre-blocking. 

And here it is after washing and blocking. The shortest edge is around 36", the longest is about 70" long, making for a nice size. 

See how that edging opens up? A great finish! I see more asymmetric crochet shawls in my future.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Crochet hooks: Clover Crochet Hook Set (10 hooks)
Blocking mats: Balance From Puzzle Exercise Mat with EVA Foam Interlocking Tiles
Blocking wires: Knit Picks Lace Blocking Wires & T-Pins
Knit blockers: Knitter's Pride Knit Blockers & Pin Kit

Charity Quilting

I quilted up a couple more charity quilts for Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

Both of these were pieced by Trudy.

If anyone is local, and wants to learn how to make one of these little quilts, I have a few kits and I would be happy to help you learn to make one. Use the contact form in the sidebar to drop me an email and we can discuss.

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 22

Comfy Orange Shawl Finish

A couple weeks ago I shared my progress on my Comfy Orange Shawl. I had some time to work on it over the last weekend and managed to finish. Well, unless you think it isn't finished until the blocking.

I used up a bunch of orange yarn I received from Aunt Betty. The majority of the yarn is Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in the color "carrot". 

The textured yarns are from Dancing Leaf Farms called Biggie.

The finished shawl is big, and cuddly, and heavy!

Now I need to find it a home. This was a great project to use up loads of yarn and create a great finish. Check out the Moss Stitch Shawl pattern on Ravelry.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Crochet hooks: Clover Crochet Hook Set (10 hooks)

Paper Piecing Love

Sam Hunter is a quilt designer and a great advocate for knowing your worth. I have had a copy of one of her patterns in my collection for a while now. In truth, I have several of her patterns. I decided to do some paper piecing and make up a version of her paper pieced Love Stamp Quilt.

I basically learned to paper piece using her book Quilt Talk. If you want to make your quilts speak, and aren't afraid to learn something new, I recommend her book. If you buy it directly from her, she makes a little more than if you buy it through Amazon and she autographs it for you. I grabbed this gray print for a background (from one of the many fabric challenges I thought I was going to participate in and then didn't) and several reds from my collection to make this mini quilt.

I found some scraps in the bin that would work for this and add a  little more interest to the piece. One of the magical things about paper piecing is that you can piece with a little extra and still come out with a great block. 

Here they are all trimmed and ready to assemble. 

I didn't capture a picture, but there was a moment where LOVE was going to be spelled LOEV, but I caught it rather quickly. Me and that seam ripper and our love/hate relationship. 

I pulled some leftover backing fabric that was just the right size, a piece of leftover batting and got it loaded onto the frame.

In my next post, I'll share the quilting. Until then, if you want to use a well-written pattern, check out the selection over on Hunter's Design Studio. Plenty of great designs. One of them is sure to be right up your alley.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q
Wool Pressing Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Creative Grids 6.5" Square Ruler
Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle