Hello strangers

Hello there. My poor little blog has been suffering this year, but a lovely email from a special bloggy friend has prompted me to post. My blog might be quiet but life has been going on at its usual rapid pace. I have been knitting socks and shawls, English paper piecing diamonds and a little applique. 

Some exciting things have happened too. This little favorite of mine won second place in the Miniature category at the Sydney Quilt Show in June. I have wondered for ten years if a quilt of mine would ever be exhibited there, let alone win a prize. What a great experience it was. I loved doing my white glove duty too, and spending a crafty weekend in Sydney with the Cassilis Quilters.

It was also exciting to see my own design, Doing The Rounds hanging at the show. It didn't win a prize, but it's my favorite quilt ever. From the scrappy original sketch to every single hand stitch, it is my own work, and a personal goal achieved. The icing on the cake was being approached to make a pattern for my quilt, and it will soon be available to purchase from De Quiltster in the Netherlands. Hats off to all the wonderful designers who do this for a living, pattern writing is hard! If you're interested in a copy, please email me.

I hope everyone in blogland is well and happily stitching away. I'm more often found on Instagram as Thimblestitch1 these days, so pop over and say hi.

Take care,

Susan

Hello there!

Long time no blog! 

Scarlett Ribands is finished and at the framers. I am SO excited to see how it will look.

 

I've been quilting Doing The Rounds a little in the mornings when it's cool enough. It's been way too hot for it most days. This is how it's looking from the back.

 

I knitted a pair of Honey Badger socks for my MIL birthday. It was a personal best, I finished them in less than a week!

 

After my shawl disaster last year I'm trying again. This pattern by Curious Handmade comes with a workshop and support group! This photo was taken about 25% in, and now I have six very long rows left. It feels very naughty, but I'm planning to sit under the air conditioning and finish it on my day off today.

 

It's proving quite difficult to balance quilting and knitting lately, if only there were more crafting hours in the day. I hope you stay cool or warm this weekend, depending on where you are in the world. I will be bunkered down in the air con, with fingers crossed for no blackouts. Autumn.......you can come anytime!

Susan x

Happy Friday

I love knitting socks. I don't know why I love it so much. I have dabbled in knitting on and off for years without much success but socks have me in their grip. They are such a neat, fun, portable project, and it makes me feel super relaxed. I really like wearing them too, and will be kind of sad when the weather gets too warm for them!

How good to start the weekend with a finish. A pair of socks for my husband! 

 

I'm still quilting and cross stitching, because I love doing that too, but progress is a little slower. I haven't started anything new. I'm really desperate for a new applique project, but I'm also realistic about how much less time I have to sew these days. I hate it when I have lots of things to work on and not as much time as I'd like, so I'm being SENSIBLE and restrained.

 

The end is in sight for Scarlett Ribands. I have finished page 8 of 12, so just the bottom row to go. I am really keen to get this finished, framed and on my wall. (I may or may not have another Long Dog Sampler waiting in the wings). 

 

I think being able to knit in the car is one of the reasons I'm enjoying sock knitting. This is the next pair on my needles for weekend travelling.

 

Happy stitching (and knitting),

Susan X

Hexagons and socks

I have been playing with some hexagon graph paper to come up with a star layout for my little 3/8 hexagons. I started the centre diamonds a while ago and Hilda has inspired me to get them out again. I love little hexagons but they're not exactly stash busting! Rather than working only in red, I'm hoping to add another colour in the next round. I find colour selection the most challenging part of quilting!

 

It would be fair to say that sock knitting has been added to my list of addictions. My purple tweed Petty Harbour socks from the last post are finished and my best pair yet. So, so comfortable and soft. And the next pair cast on......although it has become my first sock fail. I fell into a trap for new knitters when I purchased the grey yarn. It was called sock wool, the skein looked a full skein, but as I was knitting, and just before the heel, I thought the ball of yarn was starting to look a bit small. A quick check of the very fine print on the label to find that it was 65g not 100g. Not getting two socks out of that, so I unraveled it all and put it aside for something else, maybe a beanie. A little disappointing, but we live and learn.

And the very next day, these lovelies arrived from Sharon at Woolarium. The red and blue are both Admiral Druck tweed, absolutely lovely to knit and wear. The blue will become a pair of socks for the man of the house!

 

 

It was been a rainy, rainy winter here, and last weekend our river flooded. Some roads were closed but no houses flooded like in other areas. Always a shock to see a familiar walking track covered in water. Our dam and tanks at home are all overflowing, so that's a great way to head into Spring and Summer.

 

I also got back into some hand quilting yesterday. I've been putting it off for a while.....too busy knitting......but made some good progress yesterday.

 

Hope you find some time to stitch over the weekend.

Susan x

Last day of winter

Today is the last day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and I must say it has ended beautifully for me! A very rainy and overcast day off work, with not a lot of housework needing to be done. I love miserable wintery weather! Today, I've spent the afternoon knitting, and sewing a few hexagons together, and thinking about getting back to my hand quilting. 

 

The sock you can see here is number two of the Petty Harbour sock, and I am very keen to have it finished so I can wear them. The pattern makes these socks even cosier. I am more than a little sock obsessed at the moment.

 

I did a check on some works in progress over the weekend. The bunny hexagons are coming along nicely, nearly time to start sewing I think. 

 

Even the foxes came out to play. I have all the remaining fox pieces cut and ready to sew, they've been like that for over a year...........I just dread sitting at the machine for so long. I just need to make a date and get on with it (don't I Hilda?). 

 

And to finish off, a photo of our sweet girl..........still going strong twelve months after a grim diagnosis from the vet (and yes, she does have four legs hidden in that bean bag). 

 

Happy Spring (or Autumn) for tomorrow.

Susan x

Big reveal.....

I'm feeling a little bit pleased with myself this week. I have made the last stitch in my quilt "Doing the Rounds". From a rough sketch made in the car last Christmas to a finished quilt top, this has been a fun experience. Just have to find a backing and I'm ready  to start quilting. 

 

That's my very frosty lawn underneath, even the bird bath was frozen this morning. The worst thing is that now I have NO applique to work on, really must try to fix that over the weekend!

In other big news we are having a trip to the US later this year. So I thought I should make a little USA pincushion for 4th of July, and found the closest thing I have to a red, white and blue quilt.

 

I'm having a day off work to spend with my littlest boy today. Hope you have a great weekend.

Susan x

Reality

Hmmmm.......so it would seem that working full time does dreadful things to a girls sewing time. Hence the lack of posting, and not really a great deal to show. It's all about priorities though, so I have been squeezing sewing time into my day. And a fair bit of knitting time too, although I wish I had the courage to pull my knitting out at lunchtime at work. My first sock is going pretty well, but I'm scared of the heel that is coming up, and of second sock syndrome. I'm following the pattern by Winwickmum, with wool from The House of Wool, and a 30cm circular needle (2.75mm). Quite fun but slow going. 

 

I've also spent hours days agonising over the corners of Doing The Rounds. After seeking many opinions, I have decided to go with my engineering consultants suggestion (DH) and add some smaller petals. Thank you also to Hilda at Everystitch for finally helping me decide and let my poor mind rest. 

 

It's another lovely rainy weekend. Not so great though for my Mr 14 who is turning 15 tomorrow and having a bonfire party tonight. Fortunately he has a very positive personality that a bit of rain will not dampen.......and his mum thought to cover a smaller fire before the rain started. Here he is patiently modeling the beanie I knitted. 

 

Very happy that Mr 19's end of semester coincides with the Sydney craft show, so that's where I'll be on Wednesday. I'm really hanging out for some retail therapy, but I'll try to leave some fabric behind for those going later in the week! 

Happy weekend,

Susan x

Chookshed birthday

I'm joining in for a weekend of virtual sewing to celebrate the Chookshed's fourth birthday. And what a beautiful cold, rainy weekend it is. 

I've been doing a bit of knitting lately.......two beanies, one too big and one too small......one more go before I give up!

 

After seeing a very similar large size quilt on the cover of Quilters Companion I thought it was time this little mini was quilted. I'm so tempted to make a full scale one in just navy and white. Yes the blue pen will wash out. I have heard some horror stories but it always washes out for me.

 

Still going on Doing The Rounds. Lots and lots of circles to applique. Just have to decide what to put in those spaces either side of the main flower......

 

Hope you're having a wonderful sewing weekend too.

Susan x

Doing The Rounds and knitting

I'm trying Doing The Rounds as the name for my quilt. I am enjoying working on it so much. I can't wait til it's finished, but at the same time don't want it to end. The corners are coming together, I spent a lovely afternoon sewing circles in the Autumn sunshine yesterday.

 

 

I haven't braved the sock wool yet, but my cowl from the last post is finished. I also side tracked to make this little baby beanie for a work colleagues baby. I've never knitted a beanie, or used double pointed needles, and this was finished in less than two evenings. You can learn ANYTHING on YouTube! It's not perfect, but it is made with love and I could really feel the brain cells firing as I worked out how to use four needles at once. Now I've got a beanie started for one of my boys.....if only there were more hours in the day. 

 

The pattern was a free Ravelry download from LoveFibres or you can visit Julie's Etsy store here. I noticed she has a pattern for adorable bootees that look like gum boots if you're interested.......

I have an unexpected couple of days off so I'm going to race through all my housework so I can get back to my sewing and knitting!

Happy creating,

Susan x