Baby Raglan

I did this project to knit a top-down sweater with no sewing.

I finished this last night.  It turned out okay,  the sleeves are a bit short and that makes me want to knit another one to do better.  I think I will ignore that impulse.




But now I have leftover yarn and need to find a hat pattern that will go with it so I have another project to do.  I am knitting with much smaller needles than I usually do.  It also took more than a week as I was also knitting on my afghan.  No sewing done at all.

What I learned:

1. The small needles didn't bother me.

2. The top down knitting is really easy.

3. No seam sewing is great!!!!

4. I would repeat this style for babies or children's sweaters.

5. I don't think I would like it for myself though I am considering it for "My Mom's Yarn" project.

Ph.D Undertaking

I'm working on my Ph.D's today.  Yes, I have several going on at once.  I love it!!!  Of course, Ph.D stands for "Project Half Done".  Some creative mind out there thought that one up.  I have to blog about it so I remember it for longer than two minutes.  No more UFO's--just Ph.D's.

Knitting

Here are two pics of my new knitting project.  This is so much fun and I think it is really cute.
I don't WONDER why I'm knitting this, but do wonder who is going to wear it.

This is as far as I got on Saturday.

Here it is Sunday night!

A Baby Raglan sweater, knit with 100% Acrylic yarn on #2 and #4 needles.  And I got 12 rows done on my afghan also.  Sometimes it helps to just do what you are so anxious to do.  I feel guilty starting a new project, but I am restraining from buying more skeins of yarn to knit a dozen of this little sweaters.

Lego Fun!

Here are pics of Miss M.'s and my work with a Christmas gift.  We worked on it off and on over a couple of weeks.  At first, because she put all the pieces together in a baking pan, it was really difficult to find what we needed.  But we persevered and finally one was finished, then another, until they were all completed.  She lost the stickers, so we are going to have to make our own.

We set it up on a white towel to create our scene.

The lighted Bakery filled with goodies: cupcakes, loaves of bread and more!

I didn't get a picture with the door open.

Horse, wagon driver and boy with apple.  The wagon holds a  cut tree for Christmas.

The snack shop (which still needs the sign and a homemade sticker).  This was the first one we put together.

The ice rink with a skater, a guy snapping a picture and one scrounging in the garbage can for something.

A closeup of the two guys at the ice rink.  Notice the hanging lanterns.

The baker exiting to deliver cupcakes to the snack bar.
See the door open and inside a counter with more baked goods,  a cash register and money.
They have everything!  It's amazing!

Another view

View of the top of the bakery and the baker with bread and cupcakes

Closer view of the baker with his creations

We need a better picture of the wagon and tree in it

Had to get the owl on the post by the ice rink.
He was easy to find in all the pieces.

This was tedious, but fun to put together.  Her Mom bought her a Post Office to do next.

I would have loved to have a set like this when I was a kid.  My brother had Meccano but I wasn't allowed to play with it.

Another New Project

Okay, I did a big No! No!  I am making good progress on my afghan, am totally stuck on the designs for the sweater redo's and really want to try to knit a sweater with "no finishing".  So, I bought more yarn...
It will be a baby sweater and I am knitting on it,  #4 needles, and the afghan, #9 needles for a change of pace both directions.  I'm loving it.  Sometimes you just have to set the problems aside and go forward with something you really want to do.

Here it is: a baby sweater!

100% Acrylic so it can be given away...

I had to buy #2 circular needles to do this tiny thing.

Some Finishes...

Finished are the table runners that were made from the 2010 tree skirt I didn't like or finish.  These I don't like much better, but they are finished and available for something. I actually finished two of them in January but didn't get pictures.

The squares were quilted with the walking foot while the area around the tree was done with free motion twirls and swirls.  I liked doing it and it looks pretty good, I think.

I sewed more twirls and swirls on the tree with metallic thread and again had no trouble which is surprising.  I like the way it turned out.

Here are the other two.  They have pointed ends because they were that way on the tree skirt before I took it apart.  I used strips of fabric for the backs and did not like that one bit.  I like the fronts and might actually keep them for myself.

It's important to try and figure out exactly what it is about the finished product that makes me not like it, in order to try and avoid that in the future.  Some things I need to remember:  1. Use smaller squares, nothing bigger than 2 inches, 2.  Avoid pieced backs, 3. Make binding 2.25 inches only  4.  Choose fabrics that are really pretty and coordinate and 5.  Don't begin without a plan.  Avoid the desire to start sewing until you are sure the fabrics and design are right for each other.  I really have to heed #5....

I finished another table runner from 2010 that I had to force myself to finish.  I am still waiting for the air erase marks to erase and then will post a pic.

Sunshine Row

Sashings cut and attached to three blocks.  I am not that experienced with sashing and cornerstones, so I take it one small step at a time and, if it works, I'll cut and sew the rest.  Here is the first half row.  I discovered that I had to lay it out carefully to avoid sewing sashes on the wrong side.  It looks pretty plain to me and I hope I will like it more when it is finished.  Won't be a quilt to "post" anywhere on line, though.

Have work to do on the four center blocks.

More Sunshine

Squares, squares, squares!

Stacks of squares!

And I didn't have to buy more yellow to get to sew these... I like that.  There are eight with white for around the center blocks, eight with blue and yellow centers and 16 others.  This is a planned scrappy and I had to lay out all the blocks carefully to avoid same fabrics touching.  I also had to "rescue" some squares from my leftover "Leader/Ender" project partials.  Which was an okay thing.  It worked, it worked, it worked.  I am happy and making progress.

Here is how I match many of my squares.  A drop of glue, strategically placed and ironed, makes sewing these opened seams easy.  I put the drop below the sewing line, about 3/8" and, after sewing, it is very easy to pull apart the two pieces for ironing.

I love the glue method for binding also.