Night Flight

Anyone who was quilting back around 1999-2000 and was active on the internet might remember Jane Kakaley's website, "Quilts: Not Just for Beds". Jane made pictorial quilts of flowers using hundreds of small squares, from which she created patterns for sale. She also did 6 or 7 mystery quilts that she presented on the web. I really liked her website, but one day there were some strange messages on the site, like someone disappeared or something, and Jane never posted another thing.

A couple weeks ago after I finally remembered who it was that designed this quilt, it occurred to me to google Jane L. Kakaley. Turns out she has a Facebook page now, and a few of her quilts that I remember were in the photo section. Oddly enough, I visited her old webpage just a few days ago, and now it seems not to exist.

Anyway, this was one of Jane's mystery quilts, and it actually turned out okay, only because Jane put up samples of the fabrics she used. There's still not as much contrast as I might have preferred among the dark blues, but I like it anyway.

Because the quilt is so busy, I used a pantograph called Inkblot by Willow Leaf, which is just a fun meander. The variegated blue thread added some interest. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and I'm feeling more confident on the longarm after a long hiatus. I still have to put some binding on here, and I'll try to get that done this week so I can have another finish for March.

March Finish

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We were going to have a nice Irish potato soup for supper; but I was busy quilting, and my husband was busy outside, and nobody wanted to cook. So we had pizza, and Shamrock Shakes from McDonald's for dessert. I had a Shamrock Shake once three or four years ago and then forgot about them 'til this year. They're so darn good that it's a good thing they only offer them for a few weeks in March.









Tesselating Leaves is my finish for March, a small quilt top I finished about 12 years ago and never quilted. It's a good example of why I don't do mystery quilts anymore. I liked these fabrics very much when I chose them, but the tan fabric blends right in with the peach, and the leaf pattern is lost. Overall, I don't think the quilt has much impact, but it will make a fine little lap quilt for someone in a nursing home. I'm happy to have another UFO finished and out the door.

Orca Bay Part 4

I finished all 128 string triangles a couple weeks ago. They took a lot longer than I anticipated, but I really liked making them. In fact, I like the idea of string piecing part of a quilt block so much that I'll be using this technique again.

I've jumped ahead to Part 6 and started making cute little Ohio Star blocks. 56 of those to do, and I'm loving them!

February Socks Finished

I finished these a week or more ago, wore them today in fact. This is my February finish for the 12 in 2012 challenge. I've made so many socks from this same pattern now that I can just about knit the pair without looking at the directions.

I have two more pair started--another pair for me and one for my sister-in-law. After that I have some gorgeous variegated red yarn, and I'm going to dare to try a new pattern with some texture in the leg. Just have to find one I like.

I think this yarn was Stroll from KnitPicks in the color "County Fair".

First Finish for 2012

It's nothing special, but it's finished and out the door.

This is my oldest UFO, and it's probably 22 years old. Can you tell by the calicos? It was the first quilt I ever started, and I was learning with Eleanor Burns' Trip Around the World book. A clerk at the store helped me pick out the fabrics; and by the time I had constructed half the top, I disliked them so much that I threw the whole project in the closet, bought a new set of fabrics, and started over.

The second quilt eventually got finished, the first one never did. Every now and then, I'd come across the half finished top and throw it back in the closet. I cannabalized a few of the fabrics to use in other projects. I lost track of some of the rest of the fabrics I needed to finish it.

Late last year I came across it again when I was emptying out my sewing room to begin renovations. I made up my mind that it was not going back in the closet, so I picked apart some of the seams (quite a few actually) and sewed it back together in this much smaller arrangement.

I was unable to access my longarm for several months, and we finally got it set back up again in January, I think. I felt like I'd lost my proficiency on the longarm, and this was a perfect little top to practice on to get back in the groove. Freehand meandering went pretty well, so I loaded another small UFO and tried a pantograph on it. That quilt is now waiting for binding and will be a finish for March. I'll need more practice before I attempt to quilt a good top, but I'm on my way again.

Baltimore Christmas

I've always wanted to make a baltimore album style quilt, but I knew I'd never do one because hand applique is just so slow for me. Then Pat Holly and Sue Nichols came out with their book on machine applique, and I knew it would be achievable for me.

Three of us bought this set of patterns last year for "Baltimore Christmas", and because we all had a lot going on already, we decided we'd start it in 2012. It is available as a 12-month block of the month program with fabric packs, but I bought a complete set of patterns only, because I have plenty of scraps to make this with on my own.

This is what Block 1 is supposed to look like.

These are the fabrics I've chosen for my first block. The pieces for the first angel are fused, and I'll add the pieces for the other three before I start any sewing. I'd like to do a machine buttonhole stitch, but some of the pieces are so small I may end up using a tiny zig zag.

There is a small amount of stem stitch in some of the blocks, so I'll have to achieve some proficiency with that too.

I hate to trace onto my background fabric for anything. In the past I read of a method where the pattern is traced onto template plastic or something similar, then it's pinned to the background fabric, and you can place the pieces under the template plastic with a pair of tweezers and line them up.

Wax paper is cheap and readily available, so I traced one complete angel on my wax paper; plus a few places from the other three angels, like the wings and feet; and a few registration marks to mark the quarter points and center of my pattern.

Once I fuse all the pieces for a complete angel, I can simply rotate the wax paper, line up all my markings, and I'm ready for the second angel.

Because each angel is not symmetrical, reversing the design for tracing is necessary to maintain the same orientation as the original pattern. Of course if there were lettering (and there's not), reversing the design would be crucial so the letters would read correctly. Tracing my design on wax paper allows me to flip the wax paper over and trace my actual pattern pieces onto the fusible. I traced my design onto the wax paper with a sharpie, so it shows up well through the fusible.

First Finish for 12 in 2012 Challenge

I went back and counted, and I knitted 10 pairs of socks in 2011, so 12 in 2012 shouldn't be a big stretch. I wouldn't mind trying to get some other knitting done too, but the challenge will keep me on track with the socks.

These lime green anklets are for my daughter-in-law. I finished these the other day. After they're blocked, they're going in the mail.

This pair is already in the works for February. I loved this yarn when I saw it, but I wouldn't have guessed it would knit up like this. I guess I thought the striping would be more distinct, and I'm not sure if I like it or not. The other thing that bothers me is that the colors look nice and bright in the skein, but they seem dull in the actual sock.

I like to work on two socks at a time, switching back and forth; but I can't start the mate for this pair yet because I only have the one skein of yarn. So next up will be a pair for my sister-in-law.

These are the only socks I made last year that I actually kept. The others were all given away as gifts, and I only remembered to take pictures of a couple pair.