Missing Ivy
Step 13
9 patches for the border…
7/26/2016
I was able to get step 13 finished for Missing Ivy. These are a bunch (close to 50) 3-1/2 inch 9 patches. Only 2 more official steps to get through so this top will hopefully be finished by the time I’m done quilting Hampton Ridge. 🙂
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~Melanie
Provence
Block 12
Finished!
7/19/2016
All 12 blocks are finished and now the next step is to work on the alternating blocks. I worked on them a few weeks ago and finished up these center pieces. Now I have to figure out the next steps and get going on them.
Provence
The beginnings of the alternating blocks
6/11/2016
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~Melanie
Quilting the borders of
Moon Glow
6/14/2016
I was able to quilt 2 of the borders and I’m not going to get those last 2 borders done. I wanted to spend time yesterday and do 1 border and finish off the last border today but didn’t get to it. Life happened and we’re taking care of all the last minute stuff before we head off. So sometime today I’ll be taking my Bernina off to get her serviced while I’m away.
I started knitting the “leg” part of my current knitting project, my purple socks. Here’s the pick of where I was at from last week:
My first socks
6/7/2016
Here’s a pic of where I’m at now.
My first socks
6/14/2016
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~Melanie
I prepped block 4 of Spooky Halloween and decided that all of it will be hand appliqued. I’ll be taking it on vacation with me. Everything has been traced so all I’ll need to do is cut and applique later. It’s ready to be packed.
I started working on Row 2 and took some pictures of my process. First, I took the bag and separated all the fabric:
Spooky Halloween
Row 2
All the Fabric
6/7/16
Spooky Halloween
Row 2
All the Fabric laid out
6/7/16
Then I put them all in little baggies and they’re organized very nicely in one of my project bins:
Spooky Halloween
Row 2
All the Fabric in baggies in my project bin
6/7/16
I have a binder of the pattern with page protectors to hold each block. Once all the fabric is separated, I cut all of the pieces (not the appliqued pieces):
Blocks 1, 3, and 5 are pretty easy since those are applique heavy and currently consist of 6-1/2″ squares. Blocks 2 and 4 are piecing heavy so there was a lot to cut. I’ll be working on the machine pieced portion first and then start the applique part one block at a time. I’ve got enough hand work to take with me so I am not going to rush to get this ready for hand work for my vaca.
I watched the first few lessons of “My First Socks” with Lucy Neatby on Craftsy.com. I finished the “cuff” part and now I’ve got to knit the “leg” part. I’ve got to rewatch that before I begin. Here’s the pick of where I was at from last week:
My first socks
5/31/2016
Here’s a pic of where I’m at now.
My first socks
6/7/2016
Linking with and
~Melanie
I was able to get a lot of progress on Row 1. I finished Block 3 …
Spooky Halloween
Row 1, Block 3
5/31/2016
I have all the pieces on Block 2 and all I need to do next is the embroidery.
Spooky Halloween
Row 1, Block 2
still need to do the embroidery
5/31/2016
Block 4 needs a lot of work but the background is prepped and I have to do the applique next…
Spooky Halloween
Row 1, Block 4
rest of this is to be applique’d on
5/31/2016
For my knitting this week, I decided that my next project will be socks. I’ve never knitted socks and I have a couple of sock classes on Craftsy. I’m watching “My First Socks” with Lucy Neatby. I’ve casted on, did the first couple of rows knitting until I got the handle working with DPNs again and then started the ribbing. I’m using size 9 DPNs.
My first socks
5/31/2016
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~Melanie
Provence
Block 5
5/23/2016
I did some shuffling around a few weeks ago. I took a look at my projects and revisited where I stood with them. And I relegated some over to the UFO section and promoted one to the WIP position.
I moved over Allietare, Scrapitude 2016 and Razzle over to the UFO section. Every time I looked at these projects they took up room in my working projects shelves and I would feel guilty for not feeling the bug to work on them. For both Allietare and Scrapitude 2016, I wasn’t very far along in the process. The cutting was done but not much more than that so I felt okay to set it aside. I’ll revisit these projects once Celtic Solstice is complete. With Razzle, I have some recutting to do or rearranging. I miscut somewhere at some point and I get irritated every time I look at it. So, I moved it out to the doghouse and I’ll deal with that another time.
I pulled out of my UFO bin an old BOM from 2012 offered through my LQS. The program was done in 2 colorways and that’s what I’ve called it for now: Provence and Asian. I have a lot of blocks completed in the Provence colorway. I think I have 1 or 2 blocks done in the Asian colorway. I’m going to focus on the Provence colorway for now since I only have 2-3 blocks left to complete.
And I finally got the Rosie Hat done!
Rosie Hat
Finally Complete!
5/22/2016
Rosie Hat
Finally Complete!
5/22/2016
Now I need to figure out what I’m going to knit next…
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~Melanie
I’m at Road2CA today but wanted to ask any knitters about how to stash my yarn. I’m pretty new to knitting so my yarn stash isn’t that large. But it’s overflowing now and I’m trying to come up with a solution.
Here’s my yarn stash…
So the top of that stash is the yarn I used to buy at the big box stores before I discovered yarn shops and better yet – yarn clubs that automatically delivered boxes of yarn every month. The bottom of that stash contain the yarn I got from those clubs. That basket used to be tucked in the shelf to the right that is barely visible. Every month I would get my box from the yarn club and put the yarn in the bin. When we went through the garage on New Year’s Day, I found a bin of my knitting stuff: ball winder and swift, more needles, more yarn, and more books. The books went to the shelves, the needles to my needle container, the winder and swift – anywhere it would fit and the yarn went to the top of this bin and it is now overflowing.
I want to know how yarn should be stored. I’m assuming it’s pretty similar to my fabric… plastic bags and bins are not a good idea. Light deteriorates the color, pay attention to dust, pests/insects. We do not have pets anymore so I don’t have to worry about that. Is that pretty accurate? Everything I’ve seen online has yarn on display and while they look very pretty, I worry about long time storage. I am not a fast knitter so it will take me years to finish up this stash. Similar to my fabric issue, I’m not planning on buying anymore yarn.
And I was able to get a good pic of my Rosie Hat
Thank you!
~Melanie
I hope everyone had a great break! We’re back to the regular schedule – for the next few weeks anyway. These next few weeks will be very busy as we head into Christmas.
This coming weekend I will be going to a tea festival in Downtown and then ending it with a Clipper Game. It’s my first tea festival so I’m excited to see how it goes.
Next weekend, the family and I will be going to Las Vegas for the weekend. Bad planning because my sister and her family will be coming down that same weekend to spend at Disneyland. We’ll stay in town for them to visit Thursday evening and will head off to Vegas Friday morning when they leave for Anaheim. Then we’ll head back to see them Sunday evening. I still need to coordinate timing and all that. But my mother will be planning on coming down too and will go to Vegas with us.
There’s a short respite the following weekend and then it’s Christmas. I’m taking one day at a time.
Yesterday, I was able to knit while watching basketball. I finished a beanie that I started while the boy was still playing basketball (I think May). I took a break from knitting during the summer but now that basketball is on, I plan to knit while I watch the games. The beanie was really for the hubby but the boy claimed it. I started a new hat for me or the girl. It’s the Rosie Hat in the Craftsy class – Hats Four Ways with Stephanie Japel. After this class, I think I’ll start a sock class. I’ve been hearing how great knit socks are during the winter and I want to learn how to knit them.
Here’s all my accomplishments this weekend:
I got step 7 of Missing Ivy done and put it away to play with other projects:
Missing Ivy
Step #7
11/28/2015
I cut more scraps for Scrapitude 2016. I finished cutting all but the background. Since the first clue comes out January 12, I’m taking a break on cutting this week.
I got two leaves on for Raining Cats and Dogs. I meant to put a third leaf yesterday but spent more time on knitting than I meant to. It’s so fun to start something new.
Raining Cats and Dogs
2 leaves on
2 leaves left
11/29/2015
A few HSTs for Allietare:
Allietare!
Step 1
11/28/2015
More stitches on the old Welcome cross stitch project:
Cross Stitch
Welcome Project
11/29/2015
And here’s the finished beanie:
The boy’s new beanie
11/29/2015
I didn’t get to work on Hampton Ridge so the plan is to get Border #2 and Border #3 on Hampton Ridge, quilt Tell It To The Stars and clean the quilty closet. I’ve been keeping the quilty stuff somewhat organized but there are a few items that got put in the closet when we first moved in that needs to be relegated elsewhere. It’s difficult to reach (because I’m short) so in order for me to get to them I need to remove the stuff at the bottom so I can reach the shelf at the top. I know I could ask the hubby to get it for me but I want to go through the stuff at the bottom anyway.
I’m looking forward to a great week!
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Have a great week!
~Melanie
Happy Wednesday!
I was able to get a lot of little stuff done the last few days.
Missing Ivy
Step 7
11/25/2015
I need to make 20 pieces and I’ve got 1 done. 🙂 Actually I have the right sides all pieced and I just need to do the left sides. And then I’ll press and trim. I’ll be doing the left sides tomorrow and working on pressing and trimming over #BFSI (Black Friday Sew In).
Cross Stitch
“Welcome” project
11/25/2015
I’m continuing to have the Cross Stitch bug and filled in more of the pink rose. You can’t tell in the picture but the gold welcome sign has bits of metallic gold to help it shine. This piece is very dated but that is probably one of the reasons why I remember my grandma when I stitch on it.
Knitting project
Dad’s beanie
11/25/2015
And finally I’ve been knitting. I generally knit during basketball games so this project has been going by quicker than usual. It’s almost done and I hope I’ll be ready to finish it off by the end of tomorrow night’s game.
I was able to quilt Tell It To The Stars for a bit but I had to stop when the game started. Hopefully I’ll be able to get more done during the Thanksgiving holidays. Between all my current projects, this is the only one that needs to be done by Christmas so I really should prioritize getting this done. ;0
For those checking in from Freshly Pieced… Thanks for stopping by!
See more WIPs at … 
~Here’s to a great week!
Melanie
