WIP Wednesday and 100 Quilts for Kids!

I've been busy doing what I do best--teaching and crafting, working on my masters, hanging out with my dear husband, posting to Instagram, but not blogging :)

But it's time to link up with 100 Quilts for Kids--so I'm back on the blog!

I did manage to use some layer cake scraps to make this little quilt for charity:  It's the first quilt I've made start to finish in 5 days!

So glad I could participate in DC Modern Quilt Guild's cause--these quilts are all going to children living in the DC General Homeless shelter--I just wish it was more than one quilt...

Also on the sewing table is the JeliQuilts Triple Goosed pattern that I started over summer vacation:

That's all for now...I'm off to prep for Back to School Night :)

**Linking up with WIP Wednesday and 100 Quilts for Kids (see the link for more details on how to participate!)**

100 Quilts for Kids

Each summer our guild, the DC Modern Quilt Guild, hosts an annual charity drive gathering up quilts we've made together or individually to donate.  Check out more about 100 Quilts for Kids here!

When I joined the guild three years ago, I started this quilt with fabric inherited from my dear grandmother-in-law.  It's been sitting, waiting for binding, all that time.  (I really hate binding quilts...it's sort of ridiculous.)  Well, there was no "I'm new to this school" or "We just bought a new house" excuse this year--so may I present...the finished quilt!

I've also been busy knitting and sewing up a storm--including teaching knitting classes!  Hopefully many pictures and posts to come soon, but here's a shot of my quilting on one of our group charity quilts :)

 

Knitting Tips: Blocking your Finished Work

There are many great tricks to having beautiful finished knits.  One of the easiest is blocking.

When your piece is finished, soak it in cool water.  You can also throw in some "no rinse" soap, like Soak.  (Soak is also great for washing all kinds of sweaters!)

Gently squeeze out the piece and roll it in a towel to remove the excess moisture.

Lay flat to dry.  If it's round, try to move it a few times so that you don't dry a crease into it.

The difference is sometimes remarkable.  Here's a few examples:

Before...the orange is unblocked...note the ripply edges from the loose bind-off.

After...nearly as long as the teal cowl.

Lace Ptarmigan cowl before blocking

Smooth, open lace after blocking

You can use blocking to:
-stretch pieces to a desired length
-open up lacework
-straighten funky edges
-get a better sense of gauge by blocking your swatch (nothing worse than a sweater that doubles in size when you wash it!)

Reflection and Peace Quilt

I'll tell you right off the bat that this is a very personal quilt to me, and it is the first finish I've ever kept for myself.

Ever since reading an airline mag article about labyrinths and their meditative purpose, I've been incredibly intrigued by them.  The whole notion of turning a quilt into a labyrinth started fall of 2013.  An old college roommate is going to seminary here in VA and she and I got to talking about labyrinths.  She has a beautiful little cloth that is a hand-held labyrinth, and I thought, "How great would it be to trace your hands across a quilt as you meditate?"

I should pause here and say that while prayer has always been a part of my life, it has never been such a part of healing and peace to me as it has been in the past year.  Getting married, moving to VA, and finding a job that really seems "perfect" for me came with more challenges than I expected.  Literally crippling stress led to headaches that became so severe (right before I sought help) that I nearly got violently ill in front of students on a field trip that I was supposed to be chaperoning…It was a turning point.

I've been making a concerted effort to stay calm and trust that God will take care of more things than I often give Him credit for.  That, plus an amazing husband, family, and friends has led me to feel an incredible sense of peace during hectic, stressful situations.  I've certainly had moments when stress got the better of me, but they are much less frequent, and much more under my control.

All of these thoughts and hopes went into the quilt…and they are the reason I included various religious symbols.  I hope to continue to find happiness and peace where I used to find stress and frustration.  And I hope this quilt serves to remind me to take some time to pause, think, and give thanks for the blessings in my life.

I started the design by drawing out a labyrinth on some graph paper.  

Since I could only work with two colors, I wanted them to shine.  Kaffe Fasset's shot cottons were a no brainer.

Then I figured out simple blocks that could be strung together using 2.5 inch wide strips of fabric.

The blocks were sewn into strips and then quarters.

And then halves...

Until finally a finished top was born!

I added quilting to both colors.  Straight lines along the edges of the dark color and a free motion quilted edge for the light.  I made a test swatch for the quilting.  (Photo to come soon…with some detailed quilting pictures too!)

And my favorite part of the quilting…a microstippled "stained glass" medallion in the center :)  It's modeled after the North Rose Window of the Chartres Cathedral in France.  I want to walk their labyrinth someday...

The label, complete with the Hail Mary in latin…an homage to my faith.

And a few finish photos…

More photos here.

Awesome weekend…Much needed...

I spent the Friday and Saturday with these amazing people…

And may I say that the world needs more people like these folks.  Some of them have known each other for years and years and yet they welcomed friends new and old in the same incredibly loving way.   God bless them all.

We were out on the Northern Neck of VA.  Beautiful…but COLD!

Fortunately, there was lots of knitting taking place indoors...

In the spirit of the Olympics, knitters everywhere pull out their unfinished projects to try to make some progress as we see amazing feats of strength, endurance, and speed on TV.

I REALLY enjoyed having some knitting buddies!

I also got to spend some time taking "art" photos of my newest quilt finish.  I've never had a finished quilt long enough to take it to a scenic place. (I tend to finish them right before I need to give them away, AND I don't get out to scenic places NEARLY enough…it's a double whammy!)

This quilt has already traveled with me a bit since I carried it to various social gatherings while I stitched the binding on.

More info to come about the quilt in a later post…but here are the photos! :)

Definitely my favorite…I really loved it out on the river…

Knitting finishes...two gifts given, three to go...

It has been so nice to spend this week with family.  I got to celebrate my Christmas birthday TWICE which is just about unheard of...my birthday normally gets absorbed into the holiday season.

AND...I've been knitting up a storm!  Most of my December was spent working on knitted gifts once I realized that my Dad was in need of a warm scarf.  I already had an ambitious project underway for my sister so that meant "much knitting" for me. 

The Leftie scarf by Martina Behm was for my sister.  I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this project (I'm normally not a fan of garter stitch), but don't attempt it unless you're ready to weave in LOTS of yarn tails!

 I wove the tails in as I went.  It helped keep me motivated.

 

Dad got the much more masculine Cinder by Jared Flood.  This was a total treat to knit...I used Ella Rae superwash chunky and the project flew off the needles (and thank goodness for that!)

  

 The Ptarmigan Cowl (also by Jared Flood--I am absolutely in LOVE with all his patterns!) has yet to be given away...but it is so lovely that I snagged yarn for three more next year when MissBabs put Sojourn on sale.  It's an amazing yarn...cashmere and silk...so soft that no one would dare call it  "itchy."

 

 More photos to come of this one with its new owner...I still have three or four hand-knit gifts that need to meet their new owners post-Dec. 25.

Next up will be quilting...so much sewing and quilting.  I'll have to share the haul from my favorite SC fabric store a little later...it's already packed for the trip home.  But I picked up some great patterns for knitting needle cases :)

The last crafty stop of the trip will be Quilting Adventures in Richmond, VA on the trip home...my plan is to match a few of my new prints with some solid shot cottons for a new circular needle case...yay!

I'm off to knit some while reading a book...it's my newest crafty trick.  eBook plus knitting equals doubly-productive downtime.  Happy crafting y'all!

Barbados bag

Well, I guess the pockets-to-go tote really got me on a pattern kick for sewing small, useful items.

Tuesday I started this:

And now, I have this:

Pockets!

The pieces--ready to be joined.

I was happy to see this mangled mess disappear.

Finished!!! :)

From the back

Inner pockets

I finished it last night and was able to wear it to work today.  So fun to be finishing things!

Linking up with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.