Puppy Love

My sample yardage of “I Love Puppies” arrived a couple of weeks back and I’ve been busy planning projects to make out of it.

 

So far I have three quilts finished and bound and one more that is waiting for border fabric before I can go any further.  This is the one that I have photos of –  The rest will have to wait for a day when it’s not so windy.

 

Here’s a shot of the entire quilt.  It’s called Puppy Love and can be found in our Little Quilts for Little Kids book.

 

This one goes together really fast.  I had it pretty much put together during one of Carter’s naps – Which is usually about 2 hrs.  That includes the applique, which I do my machine.  I love when something comes together quickly!

 

Some of you have asked, and the fabric will be in stores in July.  I will also be offering some bundles and kits on my website.  I will keep you updated on when they are available.

All for now!  I’ll be back with my puppy quilts shortly.

 

 

 

Clear Creek Pullover

Finally!  A finished knit project.  I really got out of the knitting mode for a while.  I’m not sure what happened, but it was very unlike me not to have a knitting project always at hand.  Not to worry, the obsession is back and once again I am wondering when I get to start a new project!  I just finished a sweater for myself and one for Carter, so now there is another one for me started, and one for the new baby.

 

Here are a few shots and details of the one I finished for myself.  You will just have to image the fit, as my big pregnant belly doesn’t currently fit very well in it.  I can get it on, but the front gets completely stretched out and it rises up about 3″ in the front.  You can’t help but laugh when you see it, it looks so ridiculous.

The pattern is the Clear Creek Pullover, from Interweave Knits.  It’s a very quick, easy knit and I really enjoyed working on it.  I love that there are short rows across the back of the neck, so that it doesn’t hang down in the back (which is something I have complained about here in the past when I have made top-down sweaters).

 

You can see the short-rows a bit in this picture.  The top band is a bit thicker in the back.  It’s only a few rows, but it’s just enough.  This photo also shows the sleeve detail.  I love Raglan sleeves – again something I have mentioned in the past.

 

The yarn is made by Claudia Hand Painted Yarn.  It is hand dyed linen, so it has wonderful color variations and beautiful drape.  In person, it’s actually a darker, richer color, but I had trouble capturing its true color with my camera.  I was really impressed with the linen – which I am having to switch to for my summer sweaters, as I am running a little hotter since having Carter and being pregnant.  The linen is much cooler than cotton and way cooler than wool, my preferred fiber.  It feels almost crusty in the skein, but after washing and drying this, it is much softer and has beautiful drape.  I didn’t even block it, just pulled it out of the dryer and laid it flat to finish drying.

The bottom hem here looks a bit ruffled, but it goes away once it’s on.  I did notice that for some of the projects on Ravelry, this did not go away.  Something you could easily adjust for by using smaller needles for that part of the sweater.

You can find more details on my mods by checking my Ravelry page here.   My next project for myself is using another linen yarn, that claims to be the softest.  Will report on that as soon as I am finished.   Does anyone else have a prefered linen?  If so, please share in the comments.

More Runners . . .

I mentioned a couple of blog posts ago that I was working on finishing up a bunch of runners from the new book, “On the Run Again”.    I’ve got the photos ready on two more that I will share today.

This one is called Fresh Connection.

It only takes 12 Charm squares, and a little bit of background and contrast fabric.  It’s perfect for those random Charms squares that are leftover from previous projects  –  Or you can get three runners from one Charm back.

The fabric is from Bonnie and Camille’s April Showers fabric line.  It’s looks so cheerful on this beautiful summer day!  The original runner in the book is below, just to refresh your memory.  It would work nicely with many different fabric lines – the key is to make sure that the contrast fabric (shown in red or navy) is a really strong contrast so you don’t lose the pattern.

 

The second color option today is of the Divine runner.

It works perfectly in my dining room – though I have had to send it off on the trunk show circuit and won’t see it for another 6 months ;-(   At least I got to have it out for a week before I had to ship it out.

 

The fabrics are again from Bonnie and Camille – though this is an older line called Modern Vintage.

This close-up shows the quilting a little bitter.  As I was working on it, I was worried I was ruining it, as the quilting wasn’t looking right to me.  Somehow it looks much better a few days later!

And a shot of the original from the book –

This runner takes just 16 – 10″ squares and a bit of yardage in cream and grey.   This pattern also takes this ruler.

 

That’s all for today – Click here if you are interested in seeing more from this book.  Thanks for stopping by!