October Journal Quilt

Cactus has once again inspired this month's Journal Quilt.

The finished quilt looks very simple and may look like a bit of a cop-out to some but it probably took just as much time and trouble as all the others.

It started with a piece of fabric I had which I think I bought some time ago.  It had been hand dyed and had the appearance of green and yellow stripes and as soon as I saw it in my stash it reminded of a particular cactus we had seen in Gran Canaria - my theme for the year's quilts.

However, the fabric was completely the wrong shape and try as I might I couldn't get it to the 11" square I wanted as the joins needed meant the stripes did not match up.  The downside of hand dyed fabric.   The only way out was to dye my own but of course my result just wasn't as good as the original!

I tried out several ideas for how to create the spikes and settled in the end for free machine quilting them.

The inspirational cactus ....

The November quilt is already to go but I've had a mind block for the final one so let's hope I have some inspiration soon.

WIPs? What WIPs?

Following on from my last post, I am pleased to say that I stuck to my plans to do a bit of each of my Works in Progress each day resulting in three finished crochet projects!

I'm really pleased with the Maid of Honour Shawl because of the way the colours have blended together.   I did have to fiddle a bit at the end as I wanted to make sure I got to the solid colour for the edge and I didn't want to chance not having enough yarn.

So pleased that I worked out how much to do each day for Hope's Blanket as it means I finished it well before her birthday later this month.

I don't want to post to much about it in case she sees it so here's a sneak preview....

My work on the Temperature Blanket has ground to a halt with seven more rows to finish September off.  I have run out of wool in the required colour so as soon as I have caught up I will post the usual monthly update.

And as everything was up to date or finished I managed a couple of extras!

I finally got a chance to start on the August Little Box of Crochet but I must confess I wasn't happy with my efforts.   It was a pattern for a little crochet purse worked in two halves and then joined and sewn in to a frame.  I worked the first side and felt I was struggling so put it to one side.   Once I had time I watched some lovely help videos that went with it and found that my initial attempt was actually okay so I did the second side and finished it last night.

I think this is going to fall into the category of "nice to do but I won't be rushing to do more just yet".

A little extra in the box was some cross-stitch which I did enjoy doing - always find cross stitch calming as it satisfies the mathematical part of my brain.

So, as I've caught up I have been able to add so projects to my list!

Works in Progress

In previous posts I have mentioned that I have several WIPs and I have to do a bit of each every day so that I get them all finished.  I thought I'd let you see just what is on the go at the moment.....

Temperature Blanket

I keep this up to date, usually once a week so I don't get behind.  This photo shows it up to the end of August.   I didn't realise how obsessive it can become watching the daily temperature and then remembering just what we did on this hot day or that cold day!   This is definitely going to be a blanket of memories.

Blanket for Hope

My granddaughter Hope requested a blanket for her 10th birthday in October so I started it last month while she was staying with us.   She wanted it in shades of blue and went through the Stylecraft colour chart choosing the colours she liked.   I had several blues left from the Last Dance blanket, picked up some off balls on my travels and them ordered some from Wool Warehouse to hopefully give me enough.

Hope then had a look at all the blankets on Attic24 and chose the Hydrangea blanket which I was pleased with as it is straightforward and works up quickly.  I've worked out that to get it finished in plenty of time I must do six rows each day and so far I have stuck to it.

The photo was taken at the beginning so it is much longer now.

Maid of Honour Shawl

I decided I wanted something for myself so I'm making a shawl.  It's called Maid of Honour and was designed by Natasha of Buttonnose Crochet.

I'm using Scheepjes Whirl in the Salted Caramel Matcha colour which is blue, through green to caramel and I'm just loving the way the colours blend through the changes.  I haven't got far at the moment as this has been number three on my schedule and only gets done if I have completed the others on the day's schedule.

Little Box of Crochet

Although technically, this is not a WIP as all I've done so far is open the box have a peek and quickly close it again so I don't get sucked in.   I know what's in there - a lovely crochet purse project and a cross stitch project so I have to call on all my often not very strong willpower and wait until I can do it with a clear conscience.   Trouble is another Little Box will be coming soon so I can't leave it too long!

Mandala

I have long been a fan of Mandalas, mainly through colouring them in one of the many books on sale for adults or drawing them as part of Zentangles - two things I do to relax and keep my fingers busy on the very rare occasions that I have nothing to do!

When Little Box of Crochet included a mandala in their May box I just had to do one, loved every minute of making it and am very thrilled with the finished result.

 It measures about 15" across so I will mount it and frame it so it can hang somewhere in the house. 

I have already bought some more yarn - Scheepjes Catona - to make another one to match the colours in our bedroom.

Last Dance on the Beach Blanket finished

Very pleased to say my Last Dance on the Beach blanket is all finished.   This is the first blanket I have made and I have really enjoyed it and learnt a lot on the way.

My main reason for making it was to learn new stitches and techniques as I felt I was very stuck in only basic doubles and trebles in my crochet projects but I now know there is another crochet world out there and although stitches are generally based on doubles and trebles, it is how you use them that counts.

I even got through the piecing together and the border - not my favourite part of any project whether it's patchwork, quilting or crochet.   I think what helped was that I have far too many crochet projects on the go at the moment with several more waiting in the wings so each day I set myself goals with the WIPs so that I can get them all finished and once the target was met I could move on to the next one.  This always works for me as I do love ticking things off on a list!

I now want to use this new knowledge to experiment with some freeform crochet, but not until I've finished a few more WIPs.

Anniversary Gift

Back in March I shared some textile art I had created based on a Workshop on the Web workshop and inspired by some Dorset buttons I had made.  Here's a reminder....

My daughter Clare loved it so I decided to make another for her wedding anniversary and as they were decorating their bedroom at the time, I made it in shades of yellow and grey to match their new room.    The anniversary has now been and gone so I can share it with the world!

The background was once again made using strips of different papers and as Clare enjoys sewing and dressmaking I included some garment patterns and instructions.  After painting, I printed some random lines using an old credit card as the new bedding they had bought had similar lines.  Again I was using Dorset buttons so decided to use the circular shapes as part of the design.   So with the addition of fabrics and lace, beads, washers, sequins, machine stitching and hand stitches - again reflecting the same linear design - the Dorset buttons finished the design.

  

  

I'm glad to report that it was well received.

September Journal Quilt

This months quilt is inspired by the many cactus we saw in and around the hotel in Gran Canaria. 

For the construction I was inspired by some videos of Hilary Beattie that I have been watching on You Tube.   She is really a great inspiration and I have admired her work for some years.  She is also a very generous artist who openly shares her way of creating not just in workshops she runs from her studio but also on the internet.

Using her methods, I printed and dyed some fabrics inspired by the spines and form of the cactus.  Using the fabrics I arranged a collage of shapes, together with photos of the cactus.  I did minimal machine quilting around the square shapes but added hand stitching to reflect the spines of the cactus.

  

I think this is definitely going to be one of my favourites this year.