2016 --> 2017

Well, 2016 is coming to the end, so there's a moment to look back, and maybe also to look forward.
This year was definitely more quilting heavy than the one before.
I finished:
     - two large quilts: Scrappy Trellis and Summer in the Park
     - two large quilt tops: Goldfish Pond and the Tula Pink City Sampler (haven't shown the last one here yet)
     - one small quilt: the braided baby quilt
     - three pillows: Raspberry Kisses, Wonky Log Cabin, and Rainbow Star
     - a couple of wall hanging: Orca-stra, Rainbow Scraps, and Flowers & Butterflies

I also made a couple of bags, two upcycling Ritter Sport bags and my lovely (and constantly in use) money purse.
On the upcycling front I also made two rags using old t-shirts.

I did knit twelve pairs of socks, one baby jacket, one big cardigan (Blue Sands Cardigan), and one shawl (which was adopted by my sister when she was here on my mom's birthday).
I also crocheted the Greenway afghan, which went to my mom.

So, what to do in 2017.
First of I need to finish the two quilt tops.
I'm also working on a scrappy (no big surprise there) quilt using all those 2inch squares I've been collecting over time. I haven't decided on a final layout, though there are a couple of candidates. For now I'm sewing 9 patch blocks, whenever I have a bit of time and nothing else planned. This is a long term project.
I also want to make a HST quilt using blue and neutrals. Currently I'm making 3 inch blocks using the 4 in 1 method. This works perfectly with charm squares.

On the knitting front I do have a cardigan in the works. Body is done and half of one arm, so only one and a half arm is left plus the collar. I'm using lace yarn held double, so it's slow going.
Of course there will be more socks. There always will be more socks.
I try to work with my stash yarn and not buy additional yarn if possible. From the yarn I have registered in my Ravelry stash, I have 56km sitting around. This should (hopefully) keep my busy for a few more years.

I would like to do some weaving again, which is always good for stash reduction.


To all of you a happy new year.
Keep on Crafting!

Goldfishpond - A Quilt Top

I just finished the top for my Goldfishpond quilt.

The pattern is by Bernadette Mayr from her book 'Wasser-Patchwork' (I don't know if it has been translated into English. I checked on Amazon, but couldn't find it)

There are a total of 240 blocks in the quilt. Most of it is water, but there are also about 64 fish. Once I figured out how to get a good fish, it was super fun to make them.

A fun project overall. It won't be the last quilt I made from one of Benadette's pattern.

Let It Snow

Winter is coming.
Though no snow so far, at least not in real live.
So, I crocheted my own snow(flakes).

That snow has the big advantage that it doesn' melt.

Some of my favorties in more detail:

I'm using Coats puppets Eldorado 16 (100% cottonm 385m/50g) and a 1.25 hook.

 The patterns are from all over the place. Some I found by googling for crochet snow crystals, some I found on pinterest, some on Ravelry.

 I'm nowhere done yet. Actually, I have five more on the stretching board after soaking them in starch and pinning them within an inch of their lives.
And the next one after this is halfway done, already.

Christmas Cards

Even in the time of modern social media and instant communication around the world, there is something to be said about a real, physical christmas card you can hold in your hand. Even better, if that card is hand-made.
My mom 'orders' a set every year to sent out, and this year it was my turn to make some.
Naturally, they have to be made with fabric.
I chose two different layouts (a bit of variation is always good), but basically they are quite similar in the making.
The first set (I've made six cards each) are christmas tree baubles. I appliqued them onto the background using golden thread (well, golden colored metalic thread). The little bows almost took the most time, but they definetely were worth putting on. I should have sewed them on before sewing the fabric to the card stock, that would have been easier. Live and learn.

Second set are christmas trees. I wrapped the ribbons around the front tree before sewing it to the background and it worked more or less okay. The metalic stars on the tree are simply glued on.

Summer In The Park

The mom of my oldest best friend has a big birthday coming to her, and as she's already an admirer of my quilting works, I decided to make a quilt for her.

 I decided on the 'Summer in the Park' pattern as I had quite a few jelly rolls sitting around, the patterns itself is quick and easy, and it was on my bucket list. I added Kona Cotton White for the background and the inner border, and used a dark blue for the outer border.

 The quilt is fairly quick to make, from start to finish a bit more than five weeks. I wanted it big enough for a bed cover and so I made it 1,90m by 2,30m (75 x 90 inches)

 For the backside I used an Ikea fabric. I only managed to score 3.5m of it, which was a bit on the short side, but with some creative jigsaw puzzling and the scraps left from the front, I got just enough for a nice sized back.

Most of the quilting is a simple stiple all over in white (and a matching blue for the outer border). For the inner border I quilted a zigzag. According to the packaging the blue marked should disappear after a couple of days, but it's still visible after a week. Hopefully the wash will fix it.

I still need to make a label, but luckily I have a bit time left.

Restesocken

(aka scrappy socks)
I do have a sock knitting phase (some might call it an obsession). Within the last four weeks I managed to knit four pairs of socks, only using scrappy yarn, which I have left from other projects.
The start were this pair with blue and green yarns. The transition is 4A - 1B - 3A - 2B - 2A - 3B - 1A - 4B - 1C ... and so on.
Sadly for me they turned out a smidgen too big, so they went to a friend of mine.

Next pair is knitted in spirals using three yarns at the same time. It's a bit fiddle to manage all the yarn, but the advantage is that there's not jog when moving from one color to the next.

I then dove into my green scraps and came up with this pair. Love, love, love how they turned out.

The last pair (so far) comes from 14 different yellow, red and purples (plus a wee bit of black). The transition here is 5A - 2 B - 2A - 5B ... I did the math there before hand and with 9 rows of each color I got exactly the length I wanted.

Sigh, the next pair is already in the works.And it will most likely not be the last.

All The Colors Of The Rainbow ... And Some More

Originally, I wanted to make scrap buckets/baskets, so I can sort my scraps by color. I found those paper piecing lettering on the web (can't rightly recall where. Sorry.), and started with some colors. Soon I realized that with those color names the baskets would get huge, or at least way bigger than I would like them to be (or have space for in my sewing room).
So, an alternative solution was needed.

I added some scraps in the proper color to each of the words (well, if I use them here, I won't need the buckets anyway). Each color is seperated by a 3/4 inch wide white stripe.
I quilted around the letters and did a free motion pattern on the colored sections using the matching color threat.

 For the back I used some gray/white striped fabric and the one word I've had left over and didn't want to use on the front.

Somehow, the gray look a bit sad here, all alone.
This one is going to be hanged on my sewing room wall, so at least it gets into the room it was originally intented for.

Winter Can Come

It's been a while since I showed any socks, so here are socks.

Last pair first, those I finished just this Friday. Regia sock yarn 'Demin' with a made up pattern with slip stitches. They are a tat too big, which is fine, as they are not for me.

 These were finished in September and are made from Aldi sock yarn. No special pattern, just knit three, purl one.

Pretty much the same pattern, made from Wollmeise left overs (Wasserratz and Wolke)

 This pattern is called Paraphernalia and is free. The yarn is Spinning Martha hand dyed sockyarn (color is 'Herbert'). They have been finished in June.

And finally, Wollmeise again (Blue Ink), combined with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Socks in 'Rainbow'. This pattern is called 'Broken Seed' by Hanna Levänieme and is also free.

No surprise what my favorite color is....

Winter can come. I'll have warm feet!

And Another Pillow

Pillows are dangerous. They are smallish projects, usually not very much material is required, they are good to try a new technique, and come with a quick satisfaction as they usually can be finished in a few hours.
Only, how many pillows can one pile on her sofa or couch without loosing all space to sit on? (actually, I do sort of have a four pillow limit on my couch)
After finishing all the fishes from my gold fish pond quilt (I made a total of 72 fish) I had a lot of blue and teal scraps. Somehow I started playing with them and before I knew it I had 16 small wonky log cabin blocks pinned onto my design wall.
I added a narrow sashing, quilted some circles on the finished fabric, and had a ready front for yet another pillow.

For the back I tried some sew and slash technique that is currently the hype on the 'net (I saw some really nice, nice stuff) I wasn't particular fussy and added an open zipper simply by ripping open one of the seams and sticking the zipper in (it's the back, so I don't particular care)

On Friday I'm going to link up to Finish It Up Friday on Crazy Mom Quilts.

More Chocolate

I made a second Ritter Sport bag. This is one is much smaller, only 2 x 2. I experimented a bit with sewing the wrappers on a base first (some cheap, light cotton I had around), before forming the bag. It worked okayish, and has the added bonus that no additonal lining is needed.

The bag is a good size for a smallish knitting project (it holds socks right now)

Speaking of smallish knitting projects, I finished a stole. The name of the pattern (if you can call it that) is actually 'stole'. It knit 10, purl 10 for 360 stitches, each color for 26 rows.

I used Lang Yarns Merino 400 lace in eight different colors. After blocking it's about 45cm wide and a good 200cm long.

Purse, The Second

After the first try wasn't quite what I had hoped for, I went straight for a second 'Gerda' money purse.

 This time the outside is made with fake leather with an appliqued star made from the cork fabric.

 For the inside I chose light gray, black and a dash of gold. I went also for the option with eight card pockets.

This one came out much better than the first one, and got immediatly pressed into service. If I should make a third one (and this is a big 'if'), I'd modify the pattern to add one extra pocket for my id card. And I would try to figure out what I'm making wrong with the inner pocket zipper. For though I managed to sew it in right side-up this time, I still have some raw edge fabric on the outside of the inner pocket.

I'm going to link to greenfietsen's Taschen-Sew-Along.

Money Purse

I've made myself a purse.
The pattern is 'Grete' by machwerk. Great pattern with tons of pictures, so all mistakes are clearly my fault.
For the outside I've chosen a cork fabric, which I used once before for a notebook cover. It has a great haptic and I thought it would work good for a purse.

For the inside I picked a couple of different fabrics. Though I'm in princible happy with my choices, I think I should have chosen something else for the side panels. I used some old fabric I had around (you know, all in the spirit of upcycling) but it turned out to be not stiff enough.

Somehow I managed to sew in my inner zipper upside down and I had to rip it out, turn it around and sew in again by hand (*yuck*). Also my choice for the outer zipper was too big for the teeth, which made it un-wielding, and looks un-professional.
Finally mistake I did was to sew the card pockets too small (I managed to miss-read a 6cm width for a 5 cm width (*doh!*)
I totally plan on making a second one and labels this one as a learning experience.

That Chocolate Bag

When I saw a bag similar to the one below on the 'net, I knew I wanted to make one myself. I've read the tutorial a few times, but when the time came to do my own bag, I couldn't find it any more, so I made sort of my own thing.
For a while now I asked friends not to throw away the wrapping of the Ritter Sport chocolate bars, but instead give them to me. Over time I got quite a good number together.
After cleaning them (there's always a bit of chocolate sticking to the inside - yucky) I pressed them flat in an old atlas I don't use anymore. After a couple of days they are nice and flat and I could fold them to the size I wanted (though, I think, if I know the size in advanced, I also could fold them before pressing)
I then sewn the bag together and lined it with black fabric.

I'm pretty happy with the result and it's surprisingly sturdy and useful for shopping.
I learned a few things on this the frist try, so I think the second one will be a bit easier. I plan on a small one as a project bag for small knitting projects (not that I don't have about a million of those already)

Honour Diversity

I'm using the time I'm spending in front of the TV watching the olympics to finally finish a long term x-stiching project. I'll have to search if I can find out when I started this, but it's been a few years now.

This is it with all the cross stitching done.
I still have to do the back stitching (not my favortie part) *sigh*
On the baby front, my friend's son has been born ten days ago and all is well with mother and child. He already got his new blanket and also a new jacket, knitted following the ever popular (it's been my third one) Baby Surprise Jacket pattern.

As I used a normal sock yarn it turned out rather on the smallish side. 

I hope it fits him for more than a week.

Making Waves

I'm back to work on the Gold Fish Pond Quilt.
I actually finished making all the fish (a 72 in total, though 8 of those are going to be sorted out)
I'm now on the water and finished 34 blocks so far (out of a minimum of 124 - though I'm thinking about a few more)

Think I have to do a few more with less contrast and mix them in.

Summer in the Kitchen

Summer time is berry and fruit time. I love that time and I love making stuff with berry and fruit.

One of my absolute favorite thing is making (and drinking) syrups.

I usually start in early May with rhubarb, then in June elderberry flowers. Next, in July, is strawberries and red currant, and the last one I've made just today is blackberry.

I still have a carefully horded bottle of each (from left to right it's elderberry flower, strawberry/red currant, rhubarb and, the last one, is blackberry)
I usually just put a bit of the stuff in a glass and then add a lot of water. And sometimes ice. The perfect summer drink.
Love the stuff. Totally love it.
Yesterday I picked up some raspberry and started a batch of liqueur (on the right, basically raspberries, candis sugar and vodka), and and batch of raspberry vinegar (raspberries and white wine vinegar). The vinegar is great with a salat, and the liqueur. Hmmm.

Both of those have to sit a while before I can actually use it, but in the meantime ...
Peach chutney. Don't know yet how it came out (I used a recipe from 'Essen & Trinken' a German cooking magazine), though I have the feeling there was a bit too much vinegar. I'll know tomorrow.

As I had some of the canning sugar left and also some of the peaches, I decided to do a very small batch of mango/peach jam. 

Yummy!!!

Goldfish

It's been a while since I updated anything I've made quilt wise. Reason for this is that I haven't done anything in the last five weeks.
But at least I can show the current status of my last project.

The first 29 (out of a potential 240) blocks for a goldfish pond quilt.
The pattern is by Bernadette Mayr and can be found in her book 'Wasser-Patchwork)
The blocks are done in a free cutting technique, which is a lot of fun to do, but also creates a lot of waste (which I'm not fond of)

Greenland 2016

Greenland was, if you pardon the pun, pretty cool.
Finally, we had icebergs. Lots and lots of icebergs.
We had them looking out of the window of our hotel room in Ilulissat

Or on tours we took on a small boat toward the Epi glacier. 

 We had them during the day in bright sunshine

 And under the midnight sun.

 Very, very cool.

Iceland 2016

This was my second time to visit Iceland. First time was in 2009, when we drove the Road No. 1 once around. We did, like most tourists to Iceland, skip the West Fjords, so this time we knew we'd be going there.
The West Fjords are mostly about nature. There's loads of bird, some waterfalls and ... well, fjords.
Some pictures below.
At he cliffs of Ladrabjarg about a million birds breed every year.

Black Guillemots

Northern fulmars

And Puffins!

We also saw Terns

 And not to forget, waterfalls (this one is the Dynjandi)