The Mermaid

Part 2

It's been a month since I first shared this project with you. You can read the May 1st post here. I finally decided it was time trace the design onto my background fabric and start gluing pieces in place. I use Elmer's Liquid School Glue to attache the applique pieces. Full list of supplies at the bottom of the post. 

I wanted to break up the tail into several sections and work through several colors. 

Here is the tail cut and laid out before gluing. 

I would pick the one pieces I wanted to be in the background and glue those down first. 

Working from the background up is like working with layers in a graphics program. You can add more over the top but getting the effect right the first time is so much more satisfying. 

The traced lines aren't as important as the applique. I drew them more for keeping everything lined up than anything else. I use Crayola Ultra-Washable Markers when marking fabric. They wash out very nicely with nothing more than water. In truth, just using the glue erased some of those lines as I worked.

I added fins in greens and blues.

The tail was mostly blue and purples

I saved the hair for last. I'm sure that's when she will really come alive. I'm sure I will add more details as I go along. This past week was about getting the majority of the pieces done. 

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
Cheryl Ann's Quilting Design Wall - 72" White
Reynolds Freezer Paper Plastic Coated 50 Sq Ft
Elmer's Liquid School Glue, Washable, 4 Ounces
Crayola Ultra-Washable Markers

Charity Quilting

I picked up another stack of fun charity quilts from Annapolis Quilts for Kids on Saturday. I spent some time quilting some up during the long weekend. 

This one was quilted with the humble meander. 

I moved into the flower motif for the second quilt of the day. I love these big petals!

These will be joined by a few more over the next few weeks.

Here is the EpochConverter for 2019.

2019 Charity Quilt Count: 32

Toe Up Socks

For some crazy reason I was compelled to start knitting a pair of socks. I wanted to try a toe up version so I did some poking around and found the Trusty Toe Up Socks pattern (free) over on Ravelry from Tanis Fiber Arts.

Casting on for a toe up sock is always an adventure. I was on YouTube for a little while until I could get my stitches cast on correctly. As for going toe-up, I'm not afraid to Kitchener, and even have the directions printed up for my travel knitting kit, but I wanted to try something new.  I carry the Kitchener Stitch cheat card from the Tricksy Knitter. I printed four to a page (you do this when you print from adobe) so I could slip them into different project bags.

I knit socks two at a time on two 16" fixed circular needles in the appropriate size for the work. I'm not going to have a second sock problem. I bought these needles from Knit Picks. Two at a time isn't for everyone, but I really like it. I've knit socks one at a time and they never seem to be the same size. This fixes that problem. And, when I finish, I'm finished with the pair.

There were some questionable increases going on, but I don't think it really matters in the end. I have the correct number of stitches now.

I'll be working on these for a while. A great take-along project for summer, though. The yarn is Knit Picks Felici. They regularly come up with new color options. This colorway is called Time Traveler and is no longer available. I bought some a couple years ago when they were getting ready for the new colorway.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Knit Picks Fixed Circular Sock Knitting Needle Set (appropriate for magic loop sock knitting)

Black Cat Cowl

I picked up this fun yarn about a year ago (who is counting these things?) and finally found a pattern that I thought would be perfect. I don't often buy DK or sport weight yarn because I just don't know what to do with it. I mostly buy fingering yarn. I also mostly make shawls, which can be knit with as little as 100 grams of fingering yarn, though a 200 gram shawl is an amazing thing. The yarn is the colorway Black Cat and I bought it from Brediculous Yarns. You can find her great yarns on Etsy. You can also find Brea on Instagram. If I spend too much time looking at her sock kits I'll end buying a couple. 

The pattern is the Cottage Faded Linen Cowl, a free pattern on Ravelry. It is a very simple and straightforward design. If you have a single skein of DK and want something warm that isn't a hat, I recommend you give it a try.

I finished in a little over a week. 

I worked on it while riding in the car on the way to the supermarket, or out to dinner.

At some point I tightened up my gauge and ended up with some pooling. I relaxed a little and got back to the more random look. I would like to try this one in another variegated and play with color pooling. 

Finished yesterday. I didn't block it because as a cowl it should be more squishy than flat. I'm really pleased with this finish.

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