From A - 2015 Finish Along Q3 Goals

It's that time again...time for another list of Finish Along goals.

I accomplished so few of my Q1 goals that I when I went to compile a list of Q2 goals, I realized that the list was almost identical. Discouraged, I decided that I would sit out Q2 and focus on trying to check a few things off my list so that I could get excited about Q3 with a fresh list of goals.

There are still quite a few stragglers on this list but I was able to make room for a couple of new projects so I decided it was time to get back on the band wagon.

1. Superstar Lonestar Quilt

An oldie from 2013. This quilt is all done and ready for binding. I still need to beg for some more OOP yardage for my binding but assuming that's successful, this should be pretty quick to finish up.

2. P & B Swoon Quilt

The binding has been cut and pieced. Just need to sew it to the quilt top and do the hand stitching. Totally manageable.

3. Saltwater Quilt

This quilt has also been quilted and is just waiting for a binding (you be sensing a bit of a theme here). Looking forward to getting this done. I always forget how much work goes into making a queen-sized quilt.

4. Donuts Quilt

This is the last of the almost finished quilts that needs to be bound. Looks like I'll spend most of my quarter curled up on the couch with needle in hand!

5. Big Charming Quilt

The top is finished and I have a plan for the back. Just need to piece the backing before I can send it off to be quilted.

6. Spoolish Quilt

6 of the 15 blocks needed for this quilt are finished. There are lots of tiny pieces in this quilt so it will be a bit of an adventure but hopefully I can stick with it for the last 9.

7. Meadow Quilt

An old WIP from a Lizzy House workshop I took back in 2013 right before moving to California. I worked on the blocks during the move but never actually got the whole thing wrapped up. I want to finish this by August so I can take it to Toronto with me in the Lizzy House Mystery Quilt class I signed up for.

8. Square Dance Quilt

I'm hoping this quilt will be a walk in the park, a weekend commitment at best. I already have the print fabrics cut and now just need to cut the background fabric. Really looking forward to this one since Denyse Schmidt is one of my quilt heros and I think this will be the perfect way to showcase some of my favourite prints. 

10. Two Pairs of Stripey Socks

Gearing up for vacation, I decided to cast on a couple of pairs of socks. I really love knitting with self-striping yarn and these socks are no exception. The first pair is well underway and the second one is still in the planning stage.

10. Snowfling Mitts

I started these in November 2013, just after seeing Kelsey's pair in real life. They are so wonderfully warm and cozy. I really want to get them finished before too much longer. There's still lots to do so we'll see how I make out.

11. Hiro Pullover

This sweater was on my Q1 list but got derailed when I was studying for the bar exam last winter. I really want to finish it but I've lost a ton of weight in the last few months and now it's way too big. A good problem to have but I'm still trying to work up the courage to rip and re-knit.

12. Striped Shawl

I knit a shawl using this gorgeous yarn. At this point it just needs to have the ends woven in and a good blocking. Shouldn't take too long but I am notorious for avoiding finishing work so we'll see.

It's an ambitious list but I'm crossing my fingers that I'll make some progress this quarter.

From A - Spoolish Quilt

Just over a week ago, I headed into the stash closet to dig up some fabric for the Quilt the Book insanity that Rachel talked me into joining. After not immediately finding what I was looking for, I instead grabbed a long forgotten quilt kit that I bought on a bright pink induced whim and set aside for a day when I would be crazy enough talented enough to actually take it on.

Coming in at 612 triangle pieces for a twin size quilt or 52 pieces per pieced spool block, this is the kind of project where you want take a bit of time to work out a proper 1/4" seam allowance. A lesson I only learned after my first block ended up a little wonkier than I might have liked.

Seam allowance issues resolved, things have begun chugging along nicely enough and my blocks are starting to lay flatter and be more uniform in size. I managed to wrap up block 5 of 15 this morning and am actually enjoying the process enough to be excited about the 10 remaining blocks.

Quite a change in attitude when you consider that when I bought this kit, part of me thought that I would never actually work up the courage to make it. Turns out it wasn't the scary green eyed monster in my (stash) closet that I'd made it out to be...

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

From A - Donuts Quilt

Back in the early part of this year, things were really really busy. I had virtually no sewing time and needed to find other (less time consuming) outlets for my crafty inclinations. I started pulling fabric stacks for quilts I would never get around to making as a stopgap until things eased up.

Surprisingly, the act of planning the quilt was enough and by never aiming to actually make the planned quilt, I avoided the stress of overloading my to-do list. A few of the stacks got posted to Instagram but that's really where things ended off.

Now that I have a little more time, I keep thinking about actually making some of these "planned quilts" and have finally started doing just that.

The first stack I grabbed started from one of my favourite prints in Liberty of London's Bloomsbury Gardens collection, Lytton in Magenta.

The mix of magenta, chartreuse, teal and navy in a varied bouquet of flowers just makes my heart sing but when I started pulling fabrics for my quilt, I ended up substituting the magentas in the original print for corals. The final stack of prints is reminiscent of the original print but definitely stands on its own.

A couple of weekends ago, I got to cutting out my fabrics and perfecting my Donuts Quilt layout.

 

The quilt top got finished last weekend and I sent it off to be quilted earlier this week. I'm hoping to share the finished quilt soon!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

From A - Finished Chevron Quilt

Kelsey's brother was engaged last year. As soon as Bree's wedding quilt was gifted, we agreed that we would make another joint quilt for Kelsey's brother and his new wife.

Predictably, months passed, we got busy with other things and we never actually took the time to plan anything . In about March of this year, I asked Kelsey whether she thought we still had time. A few text messages later we had a plan.

We had agreed that blue was a good choice and that it would make sense to keep the quilt mostly monochromatic, moving from white to black through shades of grey, aqua, teal and navy.

Kelsey pulled three different fabric stacks from her stash to find a range that had the feel we were looking for. The first selection ended up being the winner since it had the most contrast while still shifting nicely between the different colours.

Since I was mid-move, she Kelsey cut all of the fabrics into squares and grouped them by colour family before popping them in the mail with her half of the quilt and some short instructions scrawled onto a scrap of paper.

A nerve wracking week later, the fabric arrived and I got my half of the quilt laid-out and sewn together before sending it off to be long-armed by Sarah of Crinklelove.

The quilt came back from Sarah a few days before we left for the wedding. I happened upon the same fabric I used to bind my White Star quilt while digging through the stash and decided that it would be perfect.

It took me a cab ride, two flights, a pub lunch, the tail end of a late-night Harry Potter movie and the drive to the wedding to get the binding stitched down and a label attached. Luckily, the quilt got done on time and I even managed to talk the Mr. into holding up the quilt for a few quick photos on the way to the ceremony.

Finished Quilt Stats:

• Quilt Name: Chevrons

• Finished Size: Large Lap (78" x 68")

• Fabric: Various prints in white, grey, teal and navy

• Pattern: 5.5" squares inspired by this quilt by Bonjour Quilts

• Quilting: Retro Graphics design by Crinklelove

Linking up to Finish up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts.

From A - Olive Basket Cardigan

It's been quite the unintended blog hiatus for us. Kelsey has been working like crazy and I've been busy working and moving house. It's been hard to start blogging again as the list of things I want to post gets longer and longer and it's difficult to know where to begin. Often it's simpler not to post than to figure out how to collect my thoughts to draft something.

That said, I've missed this space and I've missed the longer discussions that arise from posting about my creative process here on the blog. As much as I love Instagram, it's hard to do justice to something you've spent months making with one photo, a few lines of text and a hash tag or two. So with these reflections in mind, I hope you'll forgive the glut of "old" projects that I'll be sharing over the next few weeks as I stumble through the pics on my SD card and share those that mean the most to me.

In that vein, I've been meaning to share this cardigan that I finished back in November. I started it back in July but did most of the knitting on our trip to New Zealand and Australia in August of last year. In true Amanda-style, it took me another three months after getting home to seam and block the pieces I knit so that I could finally wear it.

The pattern is Amy Miller's Olive Basket Cardigan. I happened upon it on Ravelry one day and decided it was the perfect basic for a California winter. I'm really pleased with how it came out which is a treat since I haven't knit a sweater since about 2008 and was long overdue for something new.

I managed to use some long hoarded Rowan Felted Tweed for this which makes this finish all the more exciting for a girl who recently had to pack up and move her rather voluminous stash.

Although I've made quite a few handknit sweaters over the years, this is the first one that I've really gotten much wear out of. I think the fact that it's a simple cardigan means that it's easy to just throw on when I leave the house. You can find some more details on my Ravelry page if you need them.

It feels good to be back. I'm looking forward to spending more time in this space again soon!

From A & K - Book In Stitches Giveaway Winner

True Random Number Generator picked Kathy Davis to win our Boo In Stitches Giveaway.

Congratulations Kathy! Please contact us to receive your prize. Many thanks to all who took the time to enter. I know that Shannon and Colleen are really thankful for all of your support.

From A & K - Boo In Stitches Giveaway

You know we love it when family gets crafty together. You can probably imagine how excited we are to hear that our friend Shannon of Little Luvins combined forces with her graphic designer sister, Colleen of Pinwheel Print Shop, to bring us Boo In Stitches.

"What is Boo In Stitches?" you ask. Well, in their words it is a collaboration between ink and thread. In ours, it is an awesome new company that sells funny sewing related art prints that are hand drawn and hand lettered by Colleen.

They even have some fabricy pirate humour for those of you who, like us, are into that sort of thing.

I know you must be thinking that your sewing room needs at least one of these gorgeous prints. Well fret not, we've got you covered. The Boo In Stitches team has graciously offered to send one of their beautiful 8" x 10" print to one of our readers. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment telling us which print is your favourite.

Contest Rules:

• One entry per person.

• The contest will stay open until 11:59 pm MST on February 2, 2015.

• The winner will be announced on our blog on February 3, 2015.

• International entries are welcome.

If you are a no-reply blogger, a wordpress blogger, or do not have a blogger account - please leave your email in your comment so we can contact you if you win!

Want to increase your chances of winning? Visit some of the other blogs and Instagram accounts hosting the Boo In Stitches launch party to enter again!

From A - 2015 Finish Along Q1 Goals

After taking a bit of a blogging break, I'm ready to tackle my WIPs head-on. I have so many half-finished projects on the go at the moment that it seemed like an excellent idea to join Adrianne for the 2015 Finish-Along in the hopes that I'll get some stuff off my plate before a guest succumbs to a batting avalanche while sleeping in our "guest room."

1. Oh What Fun! Christmas Quilt

 

Intended as a Christmas 2014 gift, it didn't quite make it. I'm determined to get it ready for 2015. The top is finished and I just got this bad boy back from the longarmer. Now it just needs a binding and label.

2. Superstar Lonestar Quilt

An oldie from 2013. I'm still working on piecing the background fabric to the star for this one. Once is finished it will need borders and backing before it can head off to the longarm quilter. I love this quilt and really want to get it finished.

3. P & B Swoon Quilt

Another oldie from the opening days of this blog in July 2012. It's been basted and ready to quilt since then but I keep putting it off since I'm intimidated by how big it is. I'm planning to unbaste it and make the backing a little bigger so I can send it off to be longarmed. Done is better than perfect at this point.

4. Flannel and Voile baby blankets

I've made a few of these in the past and have five more that only need a satin binding sewn on. I'm not sure how many of these I'll get through this quarter but with another influx of babies due shortly, it would be great to get them all finished and re-homed!

5. Cutting Corners Quilt

This is a small lap quilt that I worked on last summer. It's been quilted and just needs a binding before it can replace the down comforter on my couch as my go-to TV blanket. 

6. Saltwater Quilt

I started this as a bit of a stash busting, palette cleanser when the pressure of holiday sewing was starting to make me twitchy. The top is still in pieces so this will need a fair amount of time before it's ready to rock.

7. Big Charming Quilt

I've convinced myself that this bad boy is a weekend commitment. Hoping I'm not too far off in my assessment.

8. Square Dance Quilt

Another quilt that I've decided will be a walk in the park. I already have the print fabrics ready to sew and now just need to cut the background fabric. Really looking forward to this one since Denyse Schmidt is one of my quilt heros and I think this will be the perfect way to showcase some of my favourite prints. 

9. Dreamweaver Quilt

This Tula Pink fabric has been cluttering up my stash for far too long. Looking forward to actually enjoying some of it by getting it made into a quilt I've long admired.

10. Cerys Baby Blanket

This is from my January 2013 list so I'm pretty serious about getting this one done. I've finished knitting this one. Just have some finishing work (weaving in ends, stitching the picot edging down, blocking) left.

11. Snowfling Mitts

I started these in November 2013, just after seeing Kelsey's pair in real life over Thanksgiving. They are so wonderfully warm and cozy. I really want to get them finished before too much longer. There's still lots to do so we'll see how I make out.

12. Hiro Pullover

This sweater was a bit of a last minute add-on but now that I've started knitting it, I'm having a hard time stopping. With worsted weight yarn, knit in the round, this one is just flying off the needles.

Phewf! That list seems a lot longer written out than it did in my head. It should be an adventure!