Wednesday, February 29, 2012

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.