The Sky Is Falling! pouch

One of the patterns in my Color Blocks, Volume 4 free (for now) class is The Sky Is Falling!  That is one of my Top Ten Favorite Color Block quilts and I *might* have just made another one.*

I wanted to make a dear friend a present for her October birthday so I made a single acorn block and turned it into a zippy pouch with clear vinyl.  (Sorry, no pattern for the pouch.)

I didn't write a pattern for the pouch but here's, in short, what I did.

1. Make the block
2. Layer and quilt the block
3. Cut vinyl to 11" x 11"
4. Stitch 4-fold binding to one edge of the vinyl
5. Stitch a zipper to the bound edge
6. Cut a 3" x 11" piece of fabric and press it wrong sides together
7. Stitch the other size of the zipper to the folded fabric
8. Layer the quilted acorn with the vinyl / zipper / fabric panel and stitch around the edges
9. Bind

This present is winging it's way through the USPS to my friend.  She's already seen a photo of it, so this won't ruin her surprise.

Head on over the Color Blocks Volume 4, enroll for free, download the The Sky Is Falling! pattern, and see what you can make of it!

____

*I totally just made another one.

Trick or Treat or Dishpan Hands?

Both my mother and my mother-in-law know that I'm a quilter and can make amazing things.  The things they most want me to make for them, however, are knitted dishcloths, like I did when I was a little girl.  Every few years I make a few dozen for them and that satisfies their dishwashing needs.

Last week I saw a free dishcloth pattern from KnitPicks.

I immediately knit one up for each of the moms and popped them in the mail.

If you want to download the pattern and only see how to buy the yarn, click this button:

While I just bought luxury yarns for five projects at Pick Up Every Stitch in Mt. Kisco, NY and three specialty socks yarns at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, I bought the yarn for these dishcloths at WalMart.

Reading is Fundamental

 Last week was New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY.  Quilters know that Houston hosts the largest quilt show in the US; knitters know that Rhinebeck hosts the largest sheep and wool fest in the US.  I happen to live near Rhinebeck and I also happen to knit.  What a great combination!

My daughter and her wife are both avid knitters so this festival is an annual tradition for us.  They come and stay for several days as we enjoy all things knitting.  This year was even more special because this was my grandson's first visit to my house!

I made sure I had foods my girls liked and had to make a non-food treat for my grandson.  I made him a fabric book so that we could read it to him and so that he could shove it in his mouth.

I bought the panel from Sue's Fabric World (sorry, she doesn't have an online presence) and she recommends Pellon Craft Fuse for baby books.  It worked great!

I *might* be expecting another grandbaby this winter and *might* have another book panel to stitch together for grandbaby #5.  I will definitely be buying more Pellon Craft Fuse for the next book!

But Do Your Socks GLOW?

 I visit Yarn Bits and Bobs when I'm in Pittsburgh hanging out with my mom.  When I was there in September, I saw this display of Yarn.Rehab from Meadowcroft Dye Works.

The really bright one is called Black Light Elvis and it followed me home.  I had no idea what I was going to make, but it was sooooooo bright I just had to buy it.

Look at all that loveliness!

I downloaded Easy Peasy Socks for First-Timers from Ravelry.  I'm not a first-timer with socks, but I won't turn down something easy.

I started knitting, but when I read the pattern calling for size 5 knitting needles, my brain mixed that up with size 8 knitting needles.  Why, brain?  WHY?!?!?!

My first attempt at the sock was GINORMOUS!

Once I switched to the proper needle size, the socks were done lickety-split.  I needed a FaceTime video conference with my daughter to talk me through the Kitchener Stitch to finish the sock, but I love them!!!

I get very cold feet in the winter thanks to an autoimmune condition, so wool socks are a NECESSITY!

These are supposed to glow under black light.  I haven't tested that theory yet, but will report back once I do.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

 In August I attended a Boo-Cation sewing retreat in Connecticut with quilting friends, old and new.  My friend Maria runs these retreats and does a great job.  She put together several Halloween kits we could choose to make during the weekend.

My eyes spied a kit containing Daiwabo fabric and I immediately knew which quilt I was going to make:

I finished the top at the August quilt retreat, but didn't start machine quilting until September's COVID hit.  COVID hits me like a nuclear warhead (we've been through this three times now) but I was bored, so I asked my husband to help me to my sewing room and to help me as I prepped this little quilt for machine quilting.  I hoped I could handle sitting, coughing, and doing some simple walking foot quilting without his assistance, and it paid off!

I used my FabuLux Meditation thread for the quilting; it picked up on the taupes in the Daiwabo fabrics beautifully and the sheen of the thread makes my heart go pitter-pat.

I finally bound the quilt and it's living on my sofa for the month of October.

My Halloween-loving daughter-in-law is coming to visit in two weeks, so I'm not sure if I'll still have possession of this quilt after she departs.  If she does commandeer it, it couldn't possibly have a better home.

Babies Grow Quickly!

 As I was looking forward to the birth of my grandson, I bought some yarn and fun buttons to make him a baby sweater.  

Well... he's 3 1/2 months old now and it was time to get moving on that baby sweater!

I used the Pop! Baby Cardigan pattern and Big Bad Wool weepaca yarn.

I made this as I was recovering from COVID and let's just say my brain wasn't fully functioning.  I started and Started and STARTED AGAIN.  I ran out of yarn before I could finish the second sleeve.  I raced down to Pick Up Every Stitch to grab another skein of yarn (phew!!!) and finish the sweater.

That one ball of yarn cost me about $150!!!!  Please ignore the lovely bag of yarn I brought home to knit myself a striped Tshirt.  Yes, that happens in yarn shops just like it does in quilt shops!

I tucked in the ends, blocked the sweater, sewed on the buttons, and bagged this up with a cute pair of OshKosh overalls and a gingham top for a fun fall outfit for the boy.  Wait, I said buttons.  DID YOU SEE THE BUTTONS???

How adorable are they?  My grandson has two cats, so this was appropriate.  And adorable.

When I finished the sweater and updated my project to finished on Ravelry, I saw that I originally planned to make the sweater in a 3-6 month size.  And I remembered how in my COVID fog I made it in the 6-9 month size.  And now running out of yarn makes a lot of sense!!!  And it was a great excuse to buy some yummy Myak yarn for a new sweater, too!

September Project Round Up

 September wasn't my most productive month.

I started the month on a long-awaited, restful, magnificent vacation on Hilton Head Island.  I wasn't up to much walking that week, so my sister kindly sent me beach photos from her walks each evening.

I finished my Samadhi scarf in September, just in time to show my team spirit.  Go Steelers!

After vacation, I finished quilting my Aloha Spirit Mystery Quilt.  (Watch me quilt this on YouTube)

I finished machine quilting Shining Brightly, August's Color Block Quilt (free pattern and video HERE)

Machine Quilting Shining Brightly: A Color Block Quilt

Do you see fabric scraps everywhere?

This is my fifth year of publishing monthly scrap quilting patterns called Color Block Quilts.  In short, I cut all of my scraps into 2 1/2" squares, group them into color families, stitch them into 16-patches, and then stich them into simple quilts.

This year, all of the patterns are designed for babies!  I made this decision in the summer of 2024 before I knew I'd have a new grandbaby this year (June) and another one coming December/January!  (Build it and they will come)?

My latest finish is named Shining Brightly.  All of the quilts for 2025 are grouped together in a free (for now) class.  Once you "buy" the class (for free), it's yours forever even if a price is eventually attached.

This quilt is great for my hometown sports fans (Go Steelers!) but would look great in whatever colors you choose.

I decided to custom quilt this because I was listening to a good audiobook and wanted something to do while listening.

Head to the class for the pattern and machine quilting tutorial.

Get stitching, because you never know when a baby (or two) will enter your life!

Aloha Five-0 Mystery Quilt: How I Quilted Aloha Spirit on my Home Sewing Machine

Are you quilting along with Aloha Five-0 through your local quilt shop?  I joined through Bits 'N Pieces in NH and had sew much fun stitching along!!!  

I just finished machine quilting this quilt and wanted to show you how I did it!

I love how the Graphic Circles Stencils make the quilt look like it was quilted diagonally!

It's a treat watching a quilt grow from quilt blocks

to a quilt top

to a quilt sandwich

to a finished quilt!

This quilt's forever home is with a retired policeman I know through my church.  I hope he likes it!

If you missed this mystery but still want to make the quilt, you can buy the pattern HERE.  The next mystery begins soon, so check with a participating shop and join in the fun!

Representing the Home Team -- Samadhi Scarf

When I was in Pittsburgh last summer, I stopped in at Yarn Bits and Bobs, a shop near my mom's house.  I stumbled into the middle of a Yarn Crawl (think "shop hop" for quilters).  There was a party atmosphere and a guest hand-dyer with her wares.  It was so much fun!

While there, I bought a cake of Whirl cotton in black and gold, Pittsburgh's sports teams' colors.

I knew I was going to make a scarf to dress up a plain black top.  My go-to scarf pattern is Hitchhiker but I branched out this time and made a Samadhi scarf, a sister pattern to my beloved Hitchhiker.  The pattern is adjustable, so I made it extra large until my yarn was all gone.

This scarf has a fun ruffle edge on two sides:

I knit this at my sister's house, in hotel rooms, on vacation, on a 4-day drive to/from South Carolina, and cast off (i-cord cast off, yuck) as soon as I got home from vacation, just in time for football season!

It was fun watching the colors fade from gold to yellow to white to gray to black.

The scarf is 60% cotton so it won't irritate my neck.  And it's extra big and drapey.

This was my first finish for September!