Unto Us A Child Is Born

Happy Christmas

A Picture for Sunday - Tiny Toadstool

Standing not much higher than an inch above the soil, this tiny golden brown toadstool really stood out against the bright green leaves all around it.

Knitting a Shawl Collar

So nearly finished!  Now that I am on the last few rows I am confident that I will have my winter cardigan ready for Christmas.

There is a ridiculous number of stitches on the needles, which is unavoidable when kitting the button bands and collar all in one go.  I started off by using one circular needle, but it was all too crammed and I needed to buy another one and use them just as if they were two ordinary straight needles.  This way I could lay the cardigan out flat and work out exactly where to place the buttonholes. 

Also I can see how the collar is progressing.  There is still a little more shaping to do to get it to fold back nicely.  Three more evenings' work or so...

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 166 - Camera Case

Easy as pie - why did it take me so long to get round to making this?  Probably because I was thinking I needed to make a specially shaped case for my camera, whereas a simple pouch does just as well.  

The quilting shows up really well, which I am pleased about...

...and on the inside the print fabric makes a surprise appearance every time.  I have never been sure whether I like the colours of the print, but I love the pattern and it worked a treat as a guide for the quilting. 

As for the brown with cream flowers, that is probably one of the ugliest fabrics I have ever allowed in the house, yet somehow it works as the binding. 

And while I'm having a good moan, the green reminds me of the PE knickers we wore at primary school.  In my mind's eye I am transported back to being eight again, when doorways were bigger.

It's surprising how many unpromising elements can be brought together and work well.

Here goes for Week 166.

The project that caught my eye in Week 165 was Kerry's Provence quilt.  If you haven't seen her Flickr page yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

A Picture for Sunday - Spanish Tiles

Last week's palm tree is at the centre of the courtyard in the cloisters at Alicante cathedral, and on the wall beneath the arches is a beautiful tiled panel.  This charming detail shows the traditional costume of Alicante, known as the traje de Alicantina.  Totally sumptuous.

Winter Cardigan

Bring on the winter knitting challenge!

I have enjoyed myself (so far) with this project.  Not only is it the first item I have knitted for myself for over two decades, it has also amply demonstrated the rule that it is impossible to bust a stash without buying more.  Mixing yarns is just as much fun as playing around with fabrics.

The random yarn brought out the control freak in me.  I wasn't convinced by the way four black stripes ended up bunched together in the ribbing at the front.  The black is perhaps a little too black, looking smudgy like coal dust when you have had a careless moment making a fire.  But I can live with it.  Once the button band is on these stripes should blend in better.

The plan when I started was to make set in sleeves and shoulder seams.  Then I changed my mind and decided to do raglan shaping and knit the whole lot on a circular needle.  I am really pleased with the way the stripes change direction with the shoulder shaping.

Perhaps it will be finished by Christmas, but if not I should have it in plenty of time for February, which is often when winter finally decides to hit us.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 165 - Binding Scraps

Ever noticed I'm a slow starter?  For the third week running I am showing what I am going to do, but with zero progress.  This afternoon I chose two strips of left over binding from the scraps tin, and decided that I am going to make a simple rectangular shaped pouch for my camera.  But as for sewing... no, I'm still feeling far too sluggish as a result of the virus.  All my energy has gone into knitting.  And laundry.  And other things far too tedious to mention.

Here goes for Week 165.

The project that caught my eye in Week 164 was Dione's strawberry quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Trimmed Palm Tree

How can a palm tree look so much like a giant pineapple?