A Picture for Sunday - Violet Rose

A very unusual colour for a rose.  I have seen pictures of violet roses before, but until this week I had never seen one.  I really can't make up my mind whether or not I like it.  Perhaps we should have a vote, and I will go along with the majority view.

Update 7th July
The score stands at 4 - 1, so I shall do my best to like it.  It just seems a shade too sombre.

Holiday Stitching

Having tried bamboo needles and hated them, I had to find a way to take my knitting on holiday without having to worry about knitting needles.  So here is the latest little baby jacket, all finished except for the seams.  If my bodkin is picked up on the X ray machine at the airport it won't be too much of a tragedy.  If, however, I were to have a pair of metal knitting needles confiscated, especially with knitting on them, then I fear there would be an international incident.

I couldn't resist sewing the buttons on in advance.  When I sew this little jacket up it will seem like a magically quick finish. 

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 235 - Machine Maintenance

Once in a while, in other words not often enough, I remember to clean and oil my machine.  When I took off the needle plate I was slightly horrified.  Every time I change the bobbin I poke a needle sideways under the plate and fish out the fluff, but the stuff further underneath stays there until I get round to taking the needle plate off.

This interesting little mat of rubbish took on the shape of a dolly waving to the camera.

After getting the fluff out I gave the machine a generous oiling, and will now leave it for a couple of days with strategically place kitchen towel to catch the drips.

I own up.  I'm not in a quilting frame of mind this summer.  Too much going on...  So glad that I have the linky so I can see what everyone else is doing!

Here goes for week 235:-

Many thanks to Margarita for linking up last time with her beautiful deer.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more.

If you have no free motion quilting to show, feel free to link up and show any project you like.  Here are the usual rules, but feel free to ignore them.  To keep the original emphasis, however, preference will be given to free motion quilting when featuring projects from the previous week.

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.

  
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 - Midsummer Sunset

How I would love to see another sunset like this!  This photo was taken in June 2015.  At the moment were are having very cloudy days., so I was glad I came across this photo to remind myself of what could happen when the skies eventually clear.

Increasing Stitches in Fisherman's Rib

When increasing stitches when knitting in fisherman's rib, this is the method I like best.

The increases are made on a right side row, where the knit stitches are worked in the usual way, and all the purl stitches are slipped, with the yarn at the front of the work.

When increasing at the beginning of a row, to keep the edges neat, the first stitch is slipped, the second stitch is a knit stitch, and then the increase is made.  The yarn that stretches between the second and third stitches is picked up...

… and in this picture can be seen on the right hand needle...

… then the left hand needle is passed through the front of the picked up stitch, and it is worked as a knit stitch through the back of the stitch.

Here you can see the increased stitch on the right hand needle.

Now the yarn is brought forward and the next stitch is slipped purlwise to continue the rest of the row.

To increase at the end of the row, when three stitches remain, bring the yarn forward and slip the purl stitch.

Next, the yarn between the stitches is picked up, and the increase made in the same way as shown at the beginning of the row.

Then the last two stitches are both knitted.

With the extra stitch at each end of the row, this means that there are two knit stitches side by side on a right side row, and two purl stiches on a wrong side row, until the next increase needs to be made.
 

The next time it is straightforward.  The yarn between the two knit stitches is picked up in exactly the same way as shown above, and knitted through the back of the stitch.

On the next row the new stitch means that fisherman's rib can be worked as normal.

Houses in the Distance

Stitching houses on a tiny scale can be extremely tricky.  I needed to start with some landmarks in the landscape, so first I stitched the roofs, then the walls.

As I am working from a photograph of a scene only ten minutes' walk from our house, I am trying to keep as close to reality as I can in the face of obvious limitations.  

The thread colours cannot convey the subtlety of the different shades of green, so I am mixing threads in the hope that the eye will mix the colours to the right shade when standing a few feet away.  This carries the risk of puckering the material and overworking small areas while the greater part of the landscape is still blank.

I have already managed to overwork the larger house on the left.  On the photo the white walls stand out, so I thought stitching them in white would be the best approach.  It wasn't.

I should have left the walls blank, as I did with the smaller house.  Now I know.

Free Motion Mavericks this week is at Andrée's blog Quilting and Learning and I'm linking up!

A Picture for Sunday - Chartres Cathedral

Undoubtedly the most beautiful cathedral I have ever been in, Chartres Cathedral is magnificently tall, airy and light.

Having walked nearly 100 kilometres in three days to get there, all the weary, footsore  pilgrims who crowded into the cathedral last Monday felt blessed and privileged to be there.  God willing, I shall do it again next year.

Tweedy Blue Baby Boy Cardigan

Really dinky, this one.  This is the smallest size cardigan that I am making for my forthcoming pattern.  It is two sizes smaller than the toddler grandad cardy that I finished a few weeks ago.

Apart from the plain blue for the rib, I used two random yarns: one, a combination of blues and cream, and the other, navy, pale blue and white with a little bit of brown.

With the cardigan being so tiny, there was only just room for five buttons down the front.  These cream and beige buttons were the perfect match.  For some reason I didn't spot them until I had been through the button rack about five times.  I hope I'm not losing my knack!

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 233 - Resting

Once in a while you need a rest.

I came home on Tuesday at midnight from France, having been away from the previous Thursday.  It has been an unforgettable trip, walking for three days with a group on pilgrimage, all the way from Paris to Chartres.  As you can imagine, I needed a bit of a rest when I came home.  Unfortunately, a sore throat has made its appearance, so for the past two days I have been feeling rubbishy.  As a result, the linky is a day late and I have no sewing to show.  To make up for the lateness, the linky will stay open until Tuesday, and I am looking forward to seeing your projects.

Here goes for Week 233:-

This time I am torn between two projects, so rather than feature just one, I shall feature both!

Many thanks to Vasudha for linking up last time with her modern circles quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more.

And also many thanks to Margarita for linking up with her feathers quilt.  Her blog post is here.

If you have no free motion quilting to show, feel free to link up and show any project you like.  Here are the usual rules, but feel free to ignore them.  To keep the original emphasis, however, preference will be given to free motion quilting when featuring projects from the previous week.

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.

  
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.