Distracted by Knitted Handbags

I haven't started any new art quilts lately, as I've been distracted by the fun of creating knitted handbags.

This is a repeat of the knitting tote bag that I made in an olive green for my sister.

In this version I added some pockets to the lining - one large one for a kindle, some chocolate or whatever, and then 2 narrow pockets for knitting needles.

Love making these tassels!

This is the other one just finished. The purple yarn is by Crystal Place (I think) and the brown yarn is by Berroco.

I used a magnet sewn into two short flaps as "lite" closure for this bag. The magnet was not as strong as I would have liked, but it still works.

Today I clear away the handbag stuff and set up to do a new art quilt.

More Blueberry Peel Pieces

I'm still working on the Blueberry Peel quilt. The main portion of the top is finished.

This is a shot of a portion of it.

I'm now piecing some more peels for a border treatment. The peels are in white and pale blue patterns and the background will be the darker blues and gray/black.

Finished another knitting project - a bulky yarn shrug. Perfect for keeping warm at the sewing machine when you want your wrists and arms free but still have your shoulders and back warm.

Studio Update - Jan. 10

Obviously all my creativity has been soaked up in my studio and I have none left for creative blog titles.

I'm still working on the paper-piece Indian Orange Peel. I've made it to the stage of piecing and preparing the centers for the blocks.

I'm using a tone-on-tone white fabric paired with a light blue. The four-patch is first pieced in 5" strips and then cut into 5" sections, that are then pieced to create the final 4-patch.

Next the freezer paper templates for the centers are ironed on the four-patch and excess trimmed away. I'm saving the trimmings for potential use in the borders.

This is a example of what the finished block will look like, although these are not yet sewn together.

On the knitting front, the sock block has been broken! All of last year I had this particular yarn on my needles that I just did not like. But the practical side of me just would not let me pitch it out, even though I had no motivation to work on the blinkin' socks. So that one pair of socks took me about a year to complete! Now that they are done, I'm a happy sock knitting fiend once again.

These are the latest off the needles and I already have another patterned pair almost finished.

So let this tale be a lesson to you - sometimes you should just pitch the uninspiring project/materials!

Knitted Knitting Bag

I've been trying to finish up all the unfinished projects laying around my studio, preparing for winter when I can work on some new larger scale projects. As I work during the year, some projects general a lot of "stuff" that get stacked all over the studio, so that by now I and barely see my cutting surface (the floor with a large cutting mat).

Then there are the projects that sit around waiting for some missing part or motivation to finish them.

One of these is this knitted tote bag that I must have started several years ago. It had been waiting for the bamboo handles, but I got those over a year ago. It was the motivation that was lacking! I think I was intimidated by the process of attaching the handles. So silly, since it turned out to be quite easy.

The tassels were fun, too! I lined it with a light weight denim fabric.

Finished a Sheep Sweater

I just completed my first sweater that used more than one color of yarn. It was certainly a trial managing the different balls of yarn all at once and maintaining an even tension. I was pleasantly surprized with the finished sweater.

I like whimsy and this design fit the bill. It is by Fiber Trends and is called Sheep-Go-Round. The yarn I used was Valley Yarn's Goshen, a cotton/modal/silk blend. Very nice to work with.

(I just found out that they also have a really over-the-top design of a sweater with a fuzzy sheep's face making up the entire front of the sweater. I'm tempted but would anyone admit to knowing me if I wore it? LOL!)

Pinwheel King Quilt

It's been a while since I've blogged, but I've been busy doing blog-worthly work so that I'd have something to blog about!

I finished the top for the second King Quilt. It is a scrappy pinwheel pattern. Using white fabrics for contrast really made those bright fabrics "pop."

This will go off to be quilted by Eileen Keane on Monday and she'll be bringing back the first King Quilt ready for binding and putting on a guest room bed at our inn, Greenville Arms 1889 Inn.

It has been a snowy winter with some impressive icicles forming on buildings all around town. Here is a shot of the ones outside my studio window.

They were quite beautiful when the sun shone through them.

In between quilts, of course, I'm knitting. Here are my latest pair of socks. These are the first lace patterned socks that I've made. They are knit in Summer Sox by Classic Elite - 100% cotton.

More Strip Blocks for a Queen

I finished another quilt top towards my goal of 5 done this winter. I have just one more to go.

Sigh, what I wouldn't give for a longarm machine. I currently send all bed quilts out to someone else to do, but would love to be able to do them myself. Not because these other longarmers don't do a great job, just because I'm a do-it-myself kind of person! Well, I can dream.

Today I'll start the final quilt top.

In between, quilting and WORK, I've been knitting, of course. We recently took a trip over to Webs, in Northampton, MA. THE best yarn store I know of. I gave my husband a certificate for a knitted sweater for his birthday, so we had to pick up some yarn for that and I also stocked up on sock yarn - my favorite thing to knit when my brain is too tired to think of anything else.

This is the yarn for the sweater.

and a couple of the sock yarns.

All of the yarn came from the extensive discount yarn room/warehouse at Webs. This is the best feature for the budget-minded knitter who still wants top quality yarns.