This is the way I do my strings...

I use any old phone books or yellow pages. Some of you recycle. I cut mine up. The pages are very thin and perfect for foundation. I cut mine into 6.5" squares. Use an old rotary cutter (not the one you use for fabrics).

I sew on the strips (any scraps)onto the paper diagonally, like this. The first strip in the middle is right side up. I do the flip and sew.



Press the irregular squares with the paper intact. I usually do 5-6 squares at a time.


Turn the squares over and cut. Use the paper as guide. You now have a 6.5" square of diagonal strings. You can remove the paper at this point. Be careful that you don't unravel the stitches.





Sew 4 smaller squares into a bigger 12.5" square, like this:



And this is my semi-finished quilt (without borders yet).



This is going to be a baby quilt. You can do it in all blue fabrics or fall colors (my fave) or any colors you want. Use your scraps, use your stash, use your Japanese fabrics, or batiks. Have fun!

Well, ya know, I haven't blogged but I finished 3 baby quilts! I also finished quilting my Dad's quilt. My mom pieced the top and I did the quilting on my Janome. The 3 baby quilts are orders from my sister in law. I'm also knitting some baby booties and hats for baby shower gifts.

Here are some pics of a top I did in one of the local classes I've attended, hosted by the Country Sewing Center, "Gracie's Night Out". These are some of the possible layouts.

Layout #1

Layout #2

Layout #3. This was the teacher's suggested layout.

Can you guess which one I picked?

Update 3/3/12:

I have re-knitted this pattern as written and did not see any errors. Here is the latest picture:

I've been racking my brains as to why others are not able to get the same fabric as pictured. The only thing I can think of is in row 2.

There is a K1 in the beginning of row. You don't repeat this K1. The repeat is from *YO, k2tog* to the end of row.

Another thing I'm thinking of is that I knit Continental, with the working yarn held in my left hand. I'm not a thrower. When you "throw" your yarn with the right hand, it is easy to drop or miss a Yarn Over.

Pattern Freebie, Big Net Lace Scarf pattern

All of a sudden, I've had requests for this pattern from my old, now defunct, website. so, I'm putting it up here:




I used a skein of Chunky weight Baby Alpaca, about 100 gms, 108 yards, and US size 15 ( 10 mm) needles.

Abbreviations: K – knit; tog-together; SSK-slip, slip, knit; YO-yarn over

Big Net Lace Scarf:

Cast on 17 stitches (must be an odd number of stitches)

Row 1 : Knit

Row 2: K1, * YO, k2tog * ; repeat from * to * to the end of row.

Row3: Knit

Row 4: * SSK, YO*; rep from * to * to the end of row, ending with K1

Row 5: Knit.

Repeat rows 2-5 until you have just enough yarn to bind off. Make sure you end with row 5 and bind off loosely.

I’m sure you can use any type of yarn, worsted, sport, lace weight. Adjust the number of stitches, make it narrower or wider. Play with it.

The pdf link is here on Ravelry.

© 2005-2008 Vicki Suan for Suanknits.

Oh, so, speedy spinner here has finished spinning her Merino/silk roving from yesterday and here is what the yarn looks like. About worsted weight, 147 yards of super soft yumminess!



I am also knitting the Ballerina Tank top using SWTC's Bamboo yarn.The picture is HERE. The blue tank top which really looked good on the model.

I bought the yarn from Babetta's a long long time ago (about a year or so) and got the freebie pattern. There are some errors in the pattern. I googled for erratas but found none, checked SWTC's website, Soysilk.com and again, no errata. So, I emailed them and found out that they are aware of the errors and have since pulled the pattern from circulation because of that. Oh good, so I can play with the pattern as much as I want.

But what if I was a novice knitter? How do I get help? If I was the designer, knowing that the pattern has been distributed, at least post the corrections on the website! What the heck?!!!?

So, here I am, attempting to help, hoping that someone, under the same predicament I'm in, will somehow google this.

First: I know I'm right on gauge (of course I knitted a swatch and I have proof too, he, he) but I doubt I can fit into this:


Well, maybe I can, if I block the heck out of it. Or maybe, if I lost some weight? hmmm....


The purl side is supposed to be the Right side. But then, this is my top, and the purl side looks ugly, so I'm making the Knit side my right side.

Second: There is waist shaping and I'm supposed to do the decreases every 4th row 11 times with corresponding increases 11 times. My problem is I am short with a short torso. Not gonna work for me. I reduced it to 8 times. Worked out good!

Thirdly, and here is the blatant error:

Knit the back for 14" from the hem and knit the straps for 4". Oookay.

Now, knit the front for 16" and knit the straps for 6". What the ....?

What I did is I knitted the back for 16" and the straps for 6". I will knit the front for 18" and shorten the straps to 4" because I don't want to reveal too much cleavage or in my case, a bony chest.

Oh by the way, there is no armhole shaping either. What fun!

The lesson here is: Be fearless. Don't be afraid to make changes. You don't have to follow instructions to the letter specially if your gut feeling is telling you it's wrong. It's your garment. Knit it to suit you. And if it turns out butt ugly, rip it out or wear it at home and enjoy!

Whoa! I'm spinning again !!

This is Merino/silk blend that I handpainted last year and never got the time to spin. Chocolate brown and Cherry red colorway.


Unspun


Spun

I bought some fat quarters from a new online store here in Elk Grove, CA TheQuiltShoppe.net. She doesn't have an actual storefront. I'm quite impressed with the service. I didn't need to buy the whole bundle and only needed 8 FQs of each collection. I emailed the owner, she got them cut for me, nicely bundled and ribboned, and got them right away! Reasonable shipping charges too. I really liked the Surf and Sand collection (I'll turn them into purses) and Sandy Gervais's Red, White and Bold set.

Here are some of the covered journals I made last Christmas, all of which sold.


Same with these calendars...


...and the checkbook covers.

New 2 Me yarn

This yarn might have been out for a while but I just purchased a batch from Ashland Bay in OR. It's called Panda yarn, fingering weight sock yarn -- 60% Superwash Merino, 30% Bamboo and 10% nylon. I searched Ebay but couldn't find it. There were several Panda brands (acrylic and wool) and some wool bamboo but nothing similar. Quite surprising (maybe I just didn't go a good search).

This is what it looks like undyed:



And here is what it looks like dyed with acid dye. It came out soft with a slight sheen to it (I'm guessing the bamboo content) and dyed really well. Each skein has approximately 430 yards, weighs 4 ozs. I'm dyeing up some more and will put them up in my Etsy shop. If you want these first 3 skeins, each is $15.00 plus $2.00 shipping via USPS First Class mail. The undyed skein (I have several) is $9.95 per 4 oz skein plus shipping. Just send me a comment and I will email you back.


purple,cherry red,Brilliant Blue

And here's a close up:



To follow- I'm knitting up a sock with Panda.

Website of the day

I came across this site yesterday (don't remember how) but she has some beautiful knitting patterns to share.

Slumberland.org

Check it out.

I'm starting to handpaint some yarns again! woo hooo!

more pics to come

Happy New Year!

My last entry was Nov 27th, 2007 and it's about time I posted a new one.

Sometimes, I feel like I have to have pictures to post an entry. I have a lot of pics but they're still in the camera. Uploading the pictures is a major pain because of my connection, yadda, yadda.

I spent the last days of 2007 sewing bags and more bags. The orders haven't stopped even with the gift giving days over. I have learned so many different techniques from patterns I bought that I'm able to use them to design my own. I'm getting better at this bag making thing. NOTE: I am not infringing on copyright rules. I know better being a knit pattern designer myself.

I also finished knitting and pattern testing a new Hand Jive knits shawl pattern for Darlene Hayes. I finished it just in time for her to take it to TNNA. I have been doing this pattern testing thing for her for quite a while now and should have learned that it doesn't work to cram. But somehow, the adrenaline rush of trying to finish something with only a few hours to spare works for me, he, he.

I love stars

Here is a small wallhanging/sampler I designed for Christmas.


3 of the stars are from the spiral bound calendar called 365 Quilt blocks a year and each measured 12 inches. The center block and the one on the bottom right are from Marcia Hohn's Quilter's Cache website, another favorite of mine.

Last shop hop, I won a set of 5" Christmas charms and didn't know what to do with 36 squares. So, I made a table topper.

There was no specific design in mind. I just made hourglass blocks, sewed them together, added borders and appliqued stars on the corners.

With the ton of 5" charms I've accumulated, I figured I can make a quilt out of them. Another fave star block of mine, the sawtooth star. Each block measures 16". This one should go fast.


I'm making crumb squares out of scraps.


more later...

I have bags coming out of my ears...


This little make-up case below,is the result of sewing together 1.5" squares. Yeah, I don't throw scraps away. I use them as "leaders and enders". By the way, Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com, one of my favorite websites, ever, has a tutorial on crumb piecing. Don't forget to read her Leaders and Enders tutorial as well.



PinkChalk Studio has a pattern for a NoteTaker folio (for sale). It was very easy to follow. The big one's for me, and the little one is for Emily.


Inside the big NoteTaker


and here's the smaller one


HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

Here's the banner of the month for November from Pearl Louise's club at Thimble Cottage.

And here are more bags




some little make up purses

Currently working on...

and this, The La Borsa bag


and the Purple Patchwork purse


and some knitting:


my own design


I'm off to sew some more.

Here's the progress of my Dutch Treasure quilt, a design by Jacqueline DeJonge. It's coming along. Notice the masking tapes? I've found that the white closet doors are perfect design walls. I have to figure a way to put up white flannet without making it look messy.

more later.

Here are some other stuff I'm working on. This is the Sept BOM at the Carol Doak group in Yahoo. This is paper-pieced. I find myself now leaning towards paper piecing than doing the traditional rotary cutting process, even if the block can be rotary cut.



This is my X string quilt project. The pattern is from Patchpieces.com (for sale pattern). I'm finally making good use of my strings and scraps.

This kept me busy the whole month of August. Hubby and I replaced the carpeting with hardwood flooring. Pergo, that is. People said that it's a weekend project and that it's as easy as snapping on the planks. They lied.

Snapping on is not that bad but they didn't mention the measuring and the cutting and making templates to fit around the nasty old doorjamb to the closet, or our weird shaped and slanted walls. They don't make square or rectangular rooms anymore.

I also discovered that my husband is a perfectionist and I'm not. My motto is " Do it right the first time AND do it in the quickest possible time".

We finished the family room, living room and dining area. Whew! Even my craft room is done and all my fabrics and yarns in their own shelves and containers.

I also found out that I enjoyed going to Home Depot, Lowe's and Ikea. It was scary. I started hanging out at such places and actually loved every minute of it. My husband worried that I might take over his favorite stores. I tell you, I didn't visit any quilt stores during this period.



Here is the picture of the mystery quilt class I took at Country Sewing. The name of the quilt will remain a mystery.

I have always been a voracious reader. But I've neglected reading since I got hooked on knitting and lately, quilting. I started reading again. I remember reading the DaVinci Code in one day. I've gone back and checked out lots of books from the library that some of my librarian friends were surprised to see me--lol!

Here are my fave authors:

Sandra Brown
Linda Howard
Dick Francis
Dean Koontz

Some of the books I refuse to read:
All the Harry Potter novels


I used to love Stephen King but I find his newer novels freaky and weird.

The library is also a good source of quilting and knitting books.

My husband and I are almost finished putting in Pergo flooring in the family room. VERY HARD work but we saved lots of $$ in labor cost. Next stop is the living room and then, my craft room.

Thus, I've neglected my quilting.

Aww, geesh, it has been over a month since I last blogged. I've missed reading what everyone's been up to.

I finished a Mystery Class at Country Sewing Store in Elk Grove and what a blast it was. It's a Debbie Caffrey mystery quilt called Monkey'n Around, or something like that. It's a 6 hour class done in one evening, from 5 pm to 11 pm. And they provide dinner too as part of the class.

There were about 25 quilters in all, plus 6 or so ladies doing the pressing. Some run around picking up sewn blocks and squares, dropping them off at the pressing stations and bringing them back to the quilters. All we had to do was sew, sew, sew. We ran out of time but still got to see the finished mystery. I ended up finishing my quilt at home.

I wonder if I can show a picture?? It's a mystery quilt and I'd hate to spoil the surprise for those who might be doing it elsewhere. Debbie's mysteries are sold nationwide to quilt stores. I'll find out.

Knitting season is coming back and I will soon be doing items for Yolo Wool Mill. The owner has just sent me more yarns. Yummm.

Quilting Anniversary

I started quilting last July, 2006. So, how far have I come along? I remember starting with totebags and purses. I still have my first attempts. Eventually, I progressed to Traditional quilts, rotaty cut and machine pieced. My first and second quilts weren't perfect but we're still using them.

I have taken lots of classes. They're not cheap but oh so worth the investment. You can tell yourself that you can learn them from books. Or you might be quilting for years and therefore don't need take classes. But.... there are so many "new and improved" techniques that you can pick up. I say, don't get stuck in a rut. Classes are so much fun to take.

I crave new things. I want to learn more. One of the quilting techniques along the way was Applique. Thought it was hard. Not!

Another one that scared me was Paper Piecing. It is a little hard and fiddly but I love it now. You can definitely say it's addictive. Like potato chips.

Just last week, this was what I was working on:



A watercolor quilt, quilted as you go. I found this quilt book at the library called AWASH WITH COLOR by Judy Turner. The blocks were quilted as you go, and used lots of strips. Then, the blocks are sewn together with sashing. Lots of handsewing. You have to know how to put the colors together, though.

Next, I want to learn Landscape quilting. There's this Nancy Zieman book called LANDSCAPE QUILTS that I just bought. I will soon be painting with fabrics.

A new obsession

Paper piecing or foundation piecing. A new technique I learned by myself. I am not surprised that I am once again addicted. It's all I've been working on these past few days. I do plan on taking a class on it because I know there are a lot of tips I can pick up and learn. But I know some of the rudiments and basic steps. Here's a sample I'm working on.



These are still just bits and pieces and blocks with tiny post-it notes with numbers pinned on them. The pattern is by Jacquelin de Jonge of the Netherlands, called DUTCH TREASURE. It's from the Summer 2007 issue of American Quilter magazine.

Here's a real stashbuster: I made a little table topper out of leftover triangles, squares, strips, etc. Made some pinwheels and framed them.



...And made more pincushions. The latest Quilts and More magazine has a cute square one.



The one with the pears went to Frieda and the flowers went to Angela, my best quilting buddies.

Quilt Rush 2007

It's been a month since I last posted! whew! Life got busy. My best friend from college came for a visit for a few days. I haven't seen Norie for about 25 years with her being in the Philippines and me here in the US. How do you cram 25 years of memories into 3 days? Seing her again brought me back to the late 70's, four memorable years of dorm life together and the hectic studies at the University of the Philippines. Those were some of the best years of my life.

Following Norie's visit was the Quilt Rush here in Sacramento. My first time to experience one. I dragged my hubby and 2 younger kids and we visited 14 quilt shops here in Sacramento all the way to Chico and south to Modesto and Stockton.
Here is a before picture of the quilt blocks from each shop. It is now finished and quilted (picture to follow).



I picked up some pincushion patterns along the way:



And finally, a wallhanging from a pattern from the Pincushion Boutique, one of my favorite quilt stores. This is called Wanderlust.