Charity Quilting

A couple more quilts made by other members of Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

I really like this one. 

If you want to contribute but don't have the time or skills, you can support the national Quilts for Kids by shopping through Amazon Smile. I don't earn anything from this link. This link lets your purchases support Quilts for Kids through Amazon. I don't add affiliate links to my charity quit posts on purpose. I donate my time, my machine, my thread, and my skill to the cause. 

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 66

Holiday Baking

The fall and winter holidays are upon us! That means I get crazy ideas of baked goods I want to try. This is my first attempt at stollen. I grabbed my favorite baking book, the Fannie Farmer Baking Book, made my list and went shopping. I did some improvising with the recipe. I didn't have any nutmeg, so cinnamon had to do. I also didn't spend much time looking for candied angelica.I think my kitchen is a little cold, and I was on a time crunch, so it didn't get a chance to rise as much as I had hoped.

I didn't get a photo before I had to cut it up and share it with friends. It was tasty. I'm sure I'll try this one again, maybe giving it more time to rise and serving it with too much butter. Be adventuresome! Try something new.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Fannie Farmer Baking Book
Baking sheet
Measuring set (don't have this set, but I do like the look of it)

Knitting Up Leftovers

I learned about the Helix Hat pattern on Instagram. Someone had made one and I was intrigued. I needed an easy to take along project and hats always fit the bill. I cast on and got stitching. 

I grabbed some of my leftovers and just kept going. This is a very scrappy project. Perfect for using up those worsted weight leftovers. I failed to follow the instructions so my hat is going to be much pointier than the pattern intended, but I'm going to keep going with it. As my son would say "One's head can never be too warm."

Find the Helix Hat pattern free on Ravelry.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Knit Picks Fixed Circular Sock Knitting Needle Set (appropriate for magic loop sock knitting)
Knitter's Pride medium sock blocker

Charity Quilting

This week my car had to go in the shop for some unforeseen repairs. Because it was easier to take a couple days off, than it was to coordinate a ride, I took a couple (yes, that means two) vacation days. Without going into details, it was a frustrating couple days. Yesterday, I got busy with some charity quilting so my time wouldn't be wasted. 

Both of these were pieced by other members of Annapolis Quilts for Kids. I quilted them up and after trimming I'll hand them back to Quilts for Kids for binding. 

If you want to contribute but don't have the time or skills, you can support the national Quilts for Kids by shopping through Amazon Smile. I don't earn anything from this link. This link lets your purchases support Quilts for Kids through Amazon. I don't add affiliate links to my charity quit posts on purpose. I donate my time, my machine, my thread, and my skill to the cause. 

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 64

Machine Embroidery

I've had my eye on this machine embroidery design for a while now. I have plenty of gamer friends that would use one of these fun and easy to take along dice trays. 

Two layers of durable vinyl and some fun embroidery make this a quick and durable project, perfect for gift giving. The design is from String Theory Fabric Art. Direct link.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Fiskars 4-inch Curved Craft Scissors
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Magna-Glide bobbins (absolutely the best for my embroidery machine)
KAM snaps
Pellon Stitch-N-Tear

Geeky Sewing

I've been thinking about adding an applique Gengar (you can do a Google search for Gengar Pokemon to learn more) to a small project bag for a while. Over the last few weeks I've been working on the machine embroidery design. Creating your own applique designs can be both rewarding and frustrating. 

It took four tries for me to get to a point I thought it worthwhile to stitch one of these onto anything beyond muslin. It still isn't perfect, but I was going to end up throwing it all in the trash if I didn't stop and finish the project.

I trimmed around the best one and auditioned the design on several background fabrics. 

In the end, this fun heart print won. 

I added a contrast piece to the bottom and quilted it with some wavy lines. 

After some pretty questionable trimming, I had the panels to make a pouch using the Open Wide Pouch tutorial offered free on the Noodlehead blog. I cut my panels into squares instead of rectangles because I like a deeper bag. 

I'm not going to show you the wonky seams. Just be confident they are there. I don't care, though. It is an awesome bag and I can't wait to fill it with yarn and needles so I can carry my winter gift knitting in style.

Tools and Supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Multipurpose sewing clips
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron

Charity Quilting

This week in charity quilting I have two panel quilts made by Mary for Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

Both of these were quick to finish. 

Since I didn't drop off quilts last month due to other obligations I have quite the stack to drop of tomorrow. Here are twelve quilts ready to go.

If you want to contribute but don't have the time or skills, you can support the national Quilts for Kids by shopping through Amazon Smile. I don't earn anything from this link. This link lets your purchases support Quilts for Kids through Amazon. I don't add affiliate links to my charity quit posts on purpose. I donate my time, my machine, my thread, and my skill to the cause. 

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 62

Crochet Crazy

We took a short trip up to New England to visit with family and friends in advance of the holiday season. We got to catch up and share food with our friends and family. I say short trip, because we were only gone four days, but it meant hours and hours of driving. I worked on this crochet shawl along the way. 

There was also coffee.

This shawl is based on the  Cakes Two to Tango shawl. But, when you get to about 30 repeats (60 rows) you begin to work back and forth on the bias. It results in a slightly different shape. 

It's the same great fabric and color fun, but with a long shawl instead of a triangle shawl. 

Since I finished that one, I picked up some more yarn at the local big box store and got to work on another shawl. This one is loosely based on Stephen West's Dotted Rays (knit) shawl. I'll share it when it's done even if it looks a hot mess.I fear it won't look as good in execution as it is imagined.

Find the original pattern on Ravelry: Cakes Two to Tango. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Crochet hooks: Clover Crochet Hook Set (10 hooks)
Lion Brand Mandala is available on Amazon, though you might be able to find it cheaper locally.

So Many Socks

After getting the 72 slot cylinder for my circular sock knitting machine I have been working on holiday gifts. The 64 slot is perfect for socks for my small, narrow feet, but I know so many people with human-sized feet. This is the pair of monster socks I knit up. It's nice to use up those little odds and ends leftover from making matching socks. 

There was some coffee along the way, too. 

I even finished up this tiny sock knit on the machine. This sock is worked bck and forth on about 24 stitches and is seamed up the back.

I finished these fun socks made with Uneek Sock from Urth Yarns. 

Lastly, was this pair knit using some very affordable yarn I bought from Erlbacher Gearhart when I ordered the 72 slot cylinder.

You can create your own knit and crochet survival kit using this post.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Size E crochet hook
Paper Mate Ink Joy pens
Clover Locking Stitch Markers
blunt tip scissors
Large eye needles 
Knit Picks Interchangeable knitting needle set
Clover Yarn Threader
clear makeup bag

Charity Quilting

The simple meander again makes quick work of charity quilts. 

Both of these were pieced by another member of Annapolis Quilts for Kids. I'll trim them and send them back for binding. 

If you want to contribute but don't have the time or skills, you can support the national Quilts for Kids by shopping through Amazon Smile. I don't earn anything from this link. This link lets your purchases support Quilts for Kids through Amazon. I don't add affiliate links to my charity quit posts on purpose. 

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 60

Quilting Up Leftovers

Way back in February I shared this little quilt made using the leftovers from last year's mystery quilt from Bonnie Hunter. I finally got around to quilting it. To keep with the modern theme, I went with a modern all-over quilting design. 

Now I just have to remember if I made binding for this little quilt back in February.

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
4.5" Easy Angle Ruler
Creative Grids 6.5" Square Ruler
Cheryl Ann's Quilting Design Wall - 72" White

All Things Yarn

Since the last yarn flavored post, I've cranked a pair of socks using my new 72 slot cylinder. 

I've started on another shawl using the fun colors of Mandala yarn from Lion Brand. This one is still a work in progress. 

And I started working on a design to make a stunning shawl, assuming I can sort out the math required. This is just my stitch counting sample. Assuming I manage to make it work, it will be much more colorful and exciting than this early stage appears.

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

Charity Quilting

Last Saturday I loaded up the machine and quilted a couple more quilts for Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

The meander never lets me down. 

This fun little quilt has fun foundation pieced blocks. Both of these were pieced by another member of Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

If you want to contribute but don't have the time or skills, you can support the national Quilts for Kids by shopping through Amazon Smile. I don't earn anything from this link. This link lets your purchases support Quilts for Kids through Amazon. I don't add affiliate links to my charity quit posts on purpose. 

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 58