Heart Crazy Quilt Catch Up

This week I am playing catch up with my Straight From the Heart Crazy Quilt.

Here are three weeks worth in one post (is that good value, or what?)

Week 11

Machine work - haha - something you don't see very often from me.

Playing (experimenting) with free-motion quilting and also practicing with metallic threads.

Pink and purple satin fabric, only the purple one is the shiny, slippery little devil.

Hand stitched to the black rose fabric with buttonhole stitch.

Week 12

Reverse applique heart with a fly stitch decoration and a fabric 'ruffle' flower for the centre.

Week 13

Two more 'ruffle' flowers (just because I was enjoying doing them) and a Suffolk Puff flower (I am English so that's what I call them, you may know them as Yoyo's).

The stamen are made with Cast-on stitch.

The Suffolk Puff looks somewhat black in this pic, but it is actually a deep aubergine.

I may add some hand stitched embroidery in places on this, I'll just have to see what time I have spare.

 Quilt Show Photo Album 

The quilt show photos that I mentioned last week are on Flickr - all 108 photos.

You can catch them here

....and don't be shy, say hello over there...

There are too many to post to this blog sorry, but here's a taster for you....

Crochet White Wrap Progress & That "Eureka" Moment

The White Wrap/Shawl is progressing along nicely now.

I have a lot of scrumbles joined together and it is really starting to take shape.

Lots of lovely texture...... I love texture.

Some lacy delicate dainty parts.

Waves ruffles bobbles and fluffles.

Loose threads still to weave in, and more scrumbles to join up.

It's fun.

And now.................on to the other title of this blog.............

 THAT   EUREKA   MOMENT 

Yes, I have had a 'moment' of that description this week.

I have learnt to knit.

I am able to knit.

I CAN KNIT

All my life I have admired knitters but never been able to master it myself. My mother tried teaching me, my school teacher tried teaching me, various friends over the years have tried teaching me. I even had a 98 years young lady try to teach me.

I couldn't understand how to cast on, and even when someone else did the casting on for me, I still couldn't get the knitting bit right.

I could never get the hang of it and gave up trying in the end. 

I was Doomed to call myself a NON-KNITTER for ever.

Until last week that is.

I have been so inspired by the creative knitters on Tuesday Stitchers:

Debra

Deborah

Judy

and

Barbara

I spent two whole days watching youtube video's on how to knit.

I've lost count of how many video's I watched, but it was definitely A LOT.

And NOW, just look what I can do...... I CAN KNIT......

A tentative start after the cast-on.

Still a bit unsure at this early stage.

 The ribbing starts to appear.

I lost half a row of stitches about half way through this ribbing, and although I managed to recover the loops without dropping a stitch, I think I put the loops back onto the needle the wrong way around, hence the midway 'bumps' along that row.

Oh yes, I think I've got the hang of the ribbing now, so I tried a different stitch.

Hah! So that is how stocking stitch is made, lol. It's all becoming clear now.

More rows dropped, damn it's annoying when I do that.

More care needed, but at least I managed to pick up the loops the right way around this time.

WooHooo look at me go.

I CAN KNIT 

excuse me while I shout louder

I CAN KNIT

That was my eureka moment.

Can you tell I'm excited about being able to knit. 

I'm sure my mother is looking down on me at this moment with a big smile on her face.

Perseverance, see, that's all it needed.

____________________________________________

Lessons learnt this week

• You can teach an old dog new tricks
• If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again
• It doesn't matter if I knit slow and clumsy, as Iong as I DO it somehow
• Slippery needles are, well....... slippery (duh!)
• If it doesn't work one way, try it another
• Check each row for mistakes before moving on
• Big Boobs and a deep cleavage make a great needle grabber in emergencies
• Knitting takes about 30% LESS wool than crochet does
• Relax and enjoy the ride

Crazy Quilt block update

Work on the crazy quilt is ongoing.

Trying hard to catch-up and get the last couple of blocks completed during the first half of January, so that I can then stitch them together into my wall hanging before the end of January.

Progress has been made on the October block over the last two days.

Here is where I am at the moment - almost complete. 

Freestyle Rhodes Stitch

Dice - inspiration for this came from the silver dice that was in my Christmas cracker.

The Crochet piece for this block. With a row of Chain Stitch at the base.

An Invented Stitch - probably been invented before I created it, but it is not in any book of instructions that I know of. Starts as a 'sort of' ladder stitch but with a knot on each side that 'pulls the stitch into a 'blocky' looking zig-zag.

Cast-On Stitch in a variegated mercerized cotton.

Royal blue ribbon couched down with thinner black ribbon. (beads have been added since this photo).

The central butterfly needs finishing. Then on to the next block. 

I'm hoping to get both blocks completed in the next one or two weeks.

Got to give myself this goal so that I can bite away at it and finish it in time to start the next one.

Here are the (almost) complete block pics.

I might add a little more bling after I've done the next two blocks.

Wahoo! the end is in sight now.

Happy Stitching

TAST Week 32 - Cast On Stitch + other stitching

..TAST Week 32 - Cast On Stitch..

I must have had a premonition about this stitch because I actually looked up how to do it on Monday and started practicing it even before Sharon announced it as the TAST stitch for this week.

Sometimes I just amaze myself, lol.........

Cast-On Stitch - freeform style.

I like this stitch.

And a little cluster of Cast-On's

And I have also stitched some more Algerian Eye which was last weeks featured stitch.

CQJP August - The Naked Block

I also managed to get my naked block for August stitched together.

I actually like the large scroll fabric wedge towards the bottom, and I am half way through stitching a very nice crochet piece for that long seam.

While I was crocheting I was thinking how lovely it would be to create a whole Crazy Quilt with only crochet trims and doily's that I make myself (I love to crochet). That sounds like a BIG project. I wonder if I should start planning it for next year's main project. Crocheting small trims etc. is an excellent project that can be done while touring with the caravan (which is planned for late next year too).

So that was my week of stitching.

Hope you had a great week too.

Happy Stitching