Spring Quilting

It wasn't until I was editing the photos for this post, and trying to decide on a title, that I realised how well the colours of this quilt fit to Spring. The beautiful, bright rainbow really brightens up the room, and when you look at it, you can't help but feel light and happy. Perfect for a little girls room.

There's very little frugal about this quilt, it's made from (almost) all new material, and didn't come cheap, although the main body of quilting is made from material I have had in my cupboard since before DD was born. I didn't even buy it myself, my mum saw it in her local quilting shop, and couldn't leave it there. 24 fat quarters, hand dyed, all in carefully arranged shades through the rainbow. (Although we only used 23, several of the pinks were so similar I took one out, as the quilt was going to be very long anyway). I have put off cutting up this material, trawled through many quilting books and magazines for the perfect design, but eventually it was time to just give it a go, and we decided on a really simple design, that would show off the beautiful shading without any fancy patterns detracting from the simple beauty.

First step was to cut the material, not into squares, but into strips. We were going to carefully measure each one, but in the end, we just cut along the fold lines, giving us 4 strips very close in size to what I wanted.

I worried for a while about how to keep the colours in order, as some of the shades are very similar, and in the end we decided to lay them down in order. We pinned each colour (4 strips of each) at the top to prevent them blowing away. (This is on my mum's veranda, you can see the grass in the top left hand corner, so it was a little windy.)

This type of quilt is much easier (and quicker) to sew with two people. My mum sewed each strip together as I handed them to her in order. If I had been on my own, I would have had to constantly get up and down to get each piece, and I'm sure some of them would have ended up out of order.

I was a little concerned about how to keep track of the order anyway, as so many shades are so similar, but came up with this simple strategy to keep it in order. Each time I took a strip off the pile, I turned the pin the other way. That way I could quickly and easily work out which strip to grab next. It worked too, not a strip out of order.

Once we had joined all 23 strips, we then sewed the first strip to the last one, making a continuous loop like this. I hope the photo shows what I mean, as this is the step that made doing the staggered pattern so simple and easy. We made 4 of these loops.

Each loop was then folded into quarters, and cut into strips the same size as the origional strips (so that the patches would be square). As you can see here, there was a small bit at the end left over that wasn't big enough to make another strip, but those will get used later.

Then I unpicked one seam on each strip, moving one square through the colours each time, and sewed these together (as we went). This was a little tricky, as some of the colours were hard to tell apart, but in those cases I looked back to a strong colour change, and worked from there. Again, I did the unpicking/arranging, and my mum sewed. I deliberately arranged it so that the pink colours were around the middle of the quilt, as my DD loves pink. We picked out a pink border at the local quilting shop, and found some bamboo wadding for the middle. If you haven't heard about bamboo, it's a wonderful new alternative to cotton, which is grown with far less pestasides, making it far more gentle on the environment. And it has a wonderful, silky soft feel. Seems almost a shame to hide it away in the middle of a quilt!

Of course, the quilt isn't entirely new material. The backing is a white sheet I bought at the local op shop for $4! And the bias strip around the edge is the end bits left from cutting out patched strips. It was almost exactly the right size to go around the quilt, only 4 squares left over. Quite an economical use of material really.

Doesn't it look beautiful on DD's bed? She loves it, and has been sleeping in her bed again since we bought it home. She had had a run of bad dreams, and moved back in with us full time, and I was hoping this would make a difference, which it has. Not that we mind having her in with us, in fact DH and I both sleep better with her nearby, but I also want her to enjoy her own room, which she is now doing. We bring her in with us when we go to bed, so that she isn't waking up alone in the dark.

For anyone who is thinking of trying their hand at quilting, but is afraid to give it a go, don't be. My mum and I aren't perfect quilters. We don't measure things terribly carefully, and if we make a mistake, we don't let it stop us. For example, we cut off the edge of one of the last strips by acciden, so that it was about 5mm shorter than all the other strips, but carried on anyway, and in the end, you can't even tell which one was the shorter square. I also accidently bought about 2 inches less batting than we needed (I forgot to calculate for the wider border), so that it doesn't go right to the edge, and had a similar problem with the backing, but we just fix those up, and keep sewing. In the end, these little mistakes are unnoticable among the larger quilt, a quilt that never would have been finished if we'd let ourselves be deterred by simple mistakes.

Happy Sewing!

Warm Slippers

I've been knitting slippers for our family since I went searching for a new pair, and couldn't find any that I liked. I originally started out with a self-designed pattern for a sock style slipper, but couldn't quite get it right. On top of that, they kept wearing out faster than I could darn them, possibly because of the acrylic wool I was using. So I took a leaf from my mum's book, and used a simple rectangle pattern, knitted with two strands of wool.

I started knitting this pair for DH with some leftover pure wool I had, but since they were a little too tight for him, I wear them. I do love the way the two different colours combine in these ones though. Unfortunately I ran out of wool near the end of the second slipper, so had to finish the toe in black acrylic. You can definitely tell the difference, on a cold day, that toe is a little colder than the other one.

The pattern is very simple and easy, perfect for a beginner. Basically, using two strands of wool, you cast on 30 stitches. Knit in garter stitch for a bit less than the length of your foot (they tend to stretch, so don't worry if they seem a bit tight at first). Then in the next row, knit 1, knit two together to the end of the row. The final row is knitting two stitches together all across the row. Then break off the thread, thread it through the remaining stitches, and pull them up. Use the rest of the thread to sew up the top, and the casting on thread to sew up the heel. Repeat for second slipper.

It doesn't really matter what ply you use, or what size needles. I used 8ply and 6mm needles for the first, and I think the green wool was 10 or 12 ply. For the 8ply, two 50g balls weren't quite enough, so you'll probably need three, or two and some scraps. For the thicker wool, I used nearly 2 50g balls for just one slipper, since obviously you get a shorter amount for the same weight because it's thicker. Of course, experimenting with two tones, or even stripes, could be really interesting. I use wool I've bought second hand, or have already, making them very frugal. The blue/black slippers were free, since I made them from leftovers, and the green slippers cost about $4 for the pair, from wool bought for $1 a ball at the markets.

I can knit one slipper in about 2 hours, but I'm a pretty fast knitter. Even so, they are comparatively quick to make, and they certainly are warm!

Homespun Beanie

I finally finished DH's beanie last night. It's knitted from my homespun wool, the first I plyed. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, although it took a little more wool than I expected. I used up 2 of the 3 balls I spun, and a little bit of the 3rd.

It was pretty easy to make. First I cast on 20 stitches, and knitted a few rows of stocking stitch to get a gauge. Then I measured the length of those 20 stitches, divided that by 20, and multiplied it by the measurement around DH's head. In order to do a k1 p1 rib, you'll need a number that is divisible by 2, so round up or down depending on which way the wind is blowing.

I then cast that number of stitches onto my double point needles, and knitted in k1 p1 rib in the round until it was the length DH wanted. Then I did a few rows of alternated knit 2tog decreasing and plain knit rows, until there were only a few stitches left, then threaded the tail through the remaining stitches and secured the end.

If I was doing it again, I'd probably cast off a bit more slowly, as this was a pretty quick and not as smooth as I would have liked. Overall though, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Kitchen Knitting

I've always found knitting quite relaxing. As a child, I used to knit while reading a book, now I often do it while watching TV. This won't work with complicated patterns that require you to count stitches or rows though, as you risk loosing track (although that doesn't always stop me). That is why I like my kitchen knits. This is my replacement for what we always called 'green scratchies' in my house growing. I think some people call them scourers? Anyway, they're the rough scratchy things you use to do the washing up with.

I made this one a week or so ago, and have been using it instead of my scratchie since. It's made from 8 ply acrylic, 20 stitches on size 8 (4mm) needles, and just knitted until it seems the right size. I wasn't sure how it would go, but I've been surprised at how well it works. Although I still sometimes reach for the scratchie for really baked on grime, I suspect I wouldn't even need that if I soaked things. It does a great job of cleaning glasses, plates and cutlery, and is actually more pleasant to use. It doesn't wear away like a scratchie does, isn't hard and unbendable, and best of all, when it gets dirty, I chuck it in the wash and reach for the next one.

I've posted pics previously of my knitted dishcloths, well I have 2 now. The second, knitted in garter stitch, was much closer to a square shape, and I use both often. Again, they're really pleasant to use, feel nice on the hands, and do a good job of wiping down the benches and tables.

Guess I'd better get back to knitting!

Look what hatched!

I made this little cutie last night while watching a movie, and popped him in the incubator to surprise DD when she woke up. She was thrilled, and has been carrying him around all day.

She even painted this lovely picture of him.

It's very simple to make, and can be knitted up in a few hours using ends of wool if you have them. I got the pattern from a book of patterns my mum cut of of magazines and stuck into a scrapbook 15-20 years ago!

Knitted with 8 ply yarn, on size 8 (4mm) needles.

Body:
Cast on 7 sts
1st row: Knit, inc in each stitch
2nd row: Purl
3rd row: Knit, inc in each stitch (28 sts)
Work 19 rows stocking stitch
23rd row: K2tog to end
24th row: Purl
25th row: K2tog to end (7 sts)
Cut yarn leaving 30 cm
Thread through remaining stitches, pull tight and secure. Join seam, stuffing as you go.

Head:
Cast on 4 sts
1st row: Knit, inc in each stitch
2nd row: Purl
3rd row: Knit, inc in each stitch (16 sts)
Work 5 rows stocking stitch
9th row: K2tog to end
10th row: P2tog to end
Cut yarn leaving 30 cm
Thread through remaining stitches, pull tight and secure. Join seam, stuffing as you go.
Sew head to body

Wings:

(make 2)

Cast on 6 sts (just realised I only did 4 sts!)
Work 4 rows stocking stitch

5th row: K2tog at beginning and end of row

6th row: P2tog at beginning and end of row

7th row: Inc at beg and end of row

8th row: Inc at beg and end of row

Knit 3 rows stocking stitch

Cast off.

Fold in half and join sides leaving bottom open.

Sew to either side of body.

Beak:

(my own addition)

Cast on 2 sts.

Knit 10 rows stocking stitch

11th row: K2 tog

12th row: Inc

Knit 9 rows stocking stitch

Cast off.

Fold in half, wrong sides together, and sew around outside edge. Fold in half, and sew to duck's head, catching a stitch at either side to keep the beak together.

Embroider eyes, and he's done!