Can you believe it’s March? I think that our constant state of being connected is warping our notion of time. Hours pass in front of screens. I find it maddening, but I am guilty too. Can you say Raverly? That is my problem. That and booking flights and working on teaching arrangements.
So the shortest month of 2017 has come and gone.
What happened? The maker hi-light for me is that I finished two sweaters. My original goal was to simply knit one sweater to see if I could do it. I now have countless patterns, three storage bins of yarn, and have dribbled away hours trying to figure out what to do next in this two needle world. This is a screen save of my Raverly project page. Ridiculous.
In the beginning of this knitting adventure, I wrote a blog post called The Perfect Beginner’s Top Down Sweater which has now surpassed Fleece Flannel Blankets as my most visited blog post. I find it so weird that my most popular posts have nothing to do with quilting.
Sweater #1 is my first ever top down sweater. I used Fancy Tiger Craft’s My Favorite Sweater for the pattern, and I used Rowan Cocoon in the color Mountain paired with Dale Garns Baby Ull color 83 Black. I wanted a uber thick sweater—and I got one.
Sweater #2 is a seamed sweater which was the original sweater plan. When I purchased the supplies for this sweater, I couldn’t visually grasp how someone could knit a sweater from the top down without seams! I now understand that you put stitches on holders and you add and subtract stitches to get the sweater to grow and shrink in the areas you want it to. It is fascinating really.
The pattern was written by Yankee Knitter Designs in 1992. It reminds me a lot of the 1980s J. Crew roll neck sweaters. The yarn I used is Kenzie made by Hikoo by skacel in the color 1008 Kale. I love the yarn. It was great to knit with and color is amazing.
I also started several new quilts. Chairs in Space may get bigger.
I am still trying to decide on a name for this one. The quilt block is called Flowering Snowball, so I might name it Snowball Fight. I will know when I get the other three quadrants done.
I managed to make a bunch of bits.
And turn them into a SAQA Benefit Auction Quilt.
I have quilted it, but I still need to face it before the middle of March.
I call this one Dots in Space. Which is weird. Chairs in Space. Dots in Space. Maybe I am going to have to rethink that.
I was hoping for more time in the studio this past month, but I have spent most of it righting my life after writing a book. So many little bits needed to be picked. I am almost there.
I added some teaching gigs to my 2017-18 schedule. You can see the complete list here.
East Bay Modern Quilt Guild, San Fransisco, California
Workshop- Piedmont Arts Center
Saturday April 22 12NOON – 6PM
Memphis Uncommon Threads Quilt Guild—Memphis, Tennessee
July 25 – 29 Exact Dates, Workshops and Lecture to be determined
Quilter’s Connection—Cambridge, Massachusetts
Workshop: Making Prints out of Solids
Saturday, September 9 9AM -4PM
Workshop: Making Prints out of Solids
Sunday, September 10 9AM -4PM
Lecture: Traditional, Art, Modern—Notes from the Field
Monday September 11 7PM
International Quilt Festival and Market—Houston, Texas
Thursday, October 26 — Sunday, November 5
While I was in Houston for last year’s Quilt Festival, I was interviewed by Ricky Tims for the Quilt Show. They published the talk this week. I should have done a better job of combing my hair, but the quilts look great. I am going to blame the hair on my scarf. I don’t know what else to say. Every time you do something, you get better and now I know what I will be doing before my next interview and it involves a hand mirror.
Anchorage got 23.8’’ of snow in January. That makes it the second snowiest January on record. We thought it might melt off in February, but it all seems to be sticking around. It is currently cold and beautiful. It is truly a welcome sight after the last two boring brown winters. This is trail I hike almost daily.
Abstract: The Art of Design on Netflix is GOOD watch.
I am listening to What is the What by Dave Eggers right now. I can’t believe I waited so long to do this. It is incredible—a wonderful listen.
What you are doing as we head into the spring? I hope it is good.
Maria! I am always happy to hear from you. I am obsessed with knitting the mitered squares blanket right now, so I know what you mean. I am interested in the stitching on your Saw s piece. It looks like it could be hand stitched, or maybe you did some kind of double stitching by machine?
Thanks for the movie and book recommendations!
Each little unit in the SAQA quilt is stitched twice with Aurifil 28wt thread, so it does have a bit of hand stitched because of that. I think you will really enjoy Abstraction. Good to hear from you too!
Abstract is wonderful!!! I’ve watched three episodes and can’t wait to watch more!
I know it. It is the perfect combination of ideas and visuals. Thank you for stopping by Jane!
Congraulations on finishing both of the sweaters! They look beautiful and warm and comfortable!
I like Snowball Fight and Dots in Space very much. I think having both Chairs in space and Dots in space is perfectly reasonable. Maybe it’s your Space series?
I am working more on machine quilting and improvisational design. Mostly I’m working on not walking away when I get stuck on things. I’m also thinking about fostering kittens. Because, not enough to do in my life already.
Carrie- thank you for the great comments. I was thinking about Space as a series. It could be a fun idea. I think it would be awesome to foster kitties. I love cats. But I get what you are saying. Every time I commit to something new, I think, WHY did I do that????
You’re chairs remind me of Color Forms. You’re probably too young to remember them…
Yes. I love them! Thank you.
Whew, you are so busy! I have to laugh to think this is how you recuperate from writing a book! Dots in Space is off to a very exciting start!
Robin, I am trying so hard not to just sit around knitting. I have more travel coming up in May and July, so this is my chance to get things done. I hope your time has been productive too.