Boyfriend Hat and a Giveaway Winner

My husband doesn't like to wear hats. It was a great surprise to me when he started talking about maybe needing me to make him a hat too. He has started thinning (a lot) and his head gets very cold when he is in his workshop in the unheated barn. I decided to try the Boyfriend Hat which has some really fun decreases at the top. I used the recommended Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 100% merino superwash but chose a tricolor called "Granite." I was hoping that the name of the color alone would help him to like the hat.

He is still trying to decide if he will wear it or not. He likes it but is trying to get past the not liking to wear a hat hurdle. Even though I told him that this style doesn't cover the ears unless I add an inch, he decided to go with it as the pattern was written. Now he says to me, "Since it doesn't cover my ears, they might still get cold, and until I lose all of my hair, it might be redundant to wear a hat." I rolled my eyes.

And last but not least, the little house potholder giveaway goes to:

Lauranie who said...
So now I feel TOTALLY behind...here you are cranking them out and I have yet to cut mine!! It is sooooo cute, now I may want to change mine, hmmmmm!!

I am very happy to send this little gift to Lauranie as she is a faithful reader who always has something nice to say. Lauranie, it will be in the mail as soon as I can get to the post office. You know how difficult that can be sometimes!

Trucking Along

I'm continuing to work on the Cathedral window quilt, in between 7th birthday party preparations. I have completed 8 blocks of 4. I haven't stitched them together yet because I want to have the bulk of them done first so I can play with the layout. I cheated a bit and stitched the bottom centermost blocks together though. I wanted to stitch a couple of the empty windows to see how the diamond layout looked when finished properly. My game plan is to prepare and then sew rows of 4 blocks of 4 at a time.
Here is the next row ready to go. I best get started! Nap time is almost over.

Little House Potholder for You!

Ever since I saw this little potholder on Flickr, I wanted to make one. Little houses are just so sweet and it looked like a fun project. I would like to offer it as a giveaway for you! All are welcome to enter the giveaway but if you are a member of the Potholder Pass, you may enter twice. If the sight of all these potholders is making you think that you'd like to make some, due to popular demand, there will be a Potholder Pass Round 2 in the next month or two. I will be working on getting a button and sign up ready.
This giveaway will close at the end of this month. I will draw a random number but leave me a comment that is fun to read anyway!

Alexander Henry Apples and Pears Potholders

Here are the potholders that I sent out for the Potholder Pass. I drew Lydia's name. I hadn't "met" her before so I checked her blog and her flickr choices. Of the potholders that she chose to show her partner for inspiration, there were two using the Alexander Henry Apples and Pears print and one with a large apple applique. She had asked me to use dark brown paired with other colors. She specifically mentioned red and yellow as possibilities.


Taking these things into consideration, I decided to use the Apples and Pears material to back the potholders and to create an applique inspired by the red and pink pear on the material for the front of the potholders. I made the appliques mirror images of each other just to make the two potholders a little bit different from each other. I freemotion quilted around the pears and then bound the potholders with a dark brown polka dot. I really like polka dot binding. I added the hanger with buttons as a fun little detail.

I used two layers of Thermolam inside the potholders and they feel nice and thick. I am sure that they will hold up to the heat of a pan.
Lydia wrote to me today to let me know that she had received them and that they match her kitchen perfectly. I was happy to hear that! I had fun making them and picturing the kitchen where they would be living as I sewed.

Cathedral Window Quilt Progress

I made a little progress on my cathedral window quilt. It is slow going. I am making blocks of 4 at a time and then I will arrange them and sew them together. I am thinking of keeping this diamond arrangement where diamonds of colorful windows will alternate with diamonds of empty windows. They will be hand sewn like the other windows but without fabric inside the openings. I have a little quiet at the moment so I am going to finish up the last window on the fifth block and start the sixth!

"His" Version of the Wool Noggin

I finished my son's hat. Thank you Pomona for the advice. His hat does not have the pointy top which, although cute for his sister, would not be quite as cute for him. If you are scared to attempt to knit in the round with double pointed needles (as I was until I gave it a try on these hats), you have to go read Pomona's post on the topic. She took lots of pictures and has great directions. She also links to a great starter's pattern that I now want to try.
Again I followed the Wool Noggin pattern and used Lamb's Pride wool. He picked out the yarn for his hat, as did his sister. I think it matches his coat perfectly and it reminds me of butter and sugar corn on the cob. He liked the embroidered star on the pattern so we added one of those too.
I have to remember to stop buying wool for projects because I am allergic. I don't seem to have a terribly strong allergy but I was tested positive for a wool allergy as a child. If I wear wool, I can only do so for brief periods. Handling it while doing the laundry doesn't phase me. But knitting with it does. I think that little fibers scatter about as I knit and that is what does it. My throat gets very uncomfortably scratchy and my eyes itch too. But wool is so appealing. What a shame!

Potholder Pass Assignments Out

I just finished sending out everyone's assignment. If you did not receive one, or have any problems, please get in touch. I am petrified that I messed up somehow! If I did, I will happily make extra potholders to make up for any mistakes. I think it all went smoothly though.
I'm off to start planning my potholders!

Potholder Pass Closed

The Potholder Pass swap has now closed. We have 33 participants (plus 2 more with incomplete information--if you get back to me asap I will try to accommodate you). As soon as I have time, I will randomly draw numbers to assign each person a recipient. The person you are sewing for will likely be sewing for someone else. In other words, you will not be paired off. We will keep assignments a surprise. You may post pictures at any time. It's up to you. Just don't say where you are sending the potholders. When you receive your potholders, make sure that you post on Flickr and your blog if you have them.
Let me know if you have not heard from me by Monday evening.
Thank you all for joining. Have fun sewing!

Conquering the Middle Child Syndrom, One Hat at a Time

My middle child, newly so after the birth of her 7 month old sister, seems to be having trouble finding her place. In an effort to make sure she feels equally loved, I knit her a hat since her baby sister just got a few hand knit things. Of course, now her brother wants a hat and since I haven't made him anything in ages, I am making one for him too! This project allowed me to try a slightly different picot cast on and was my first dpn project. In college, I did knit some socks using dpn but it was so long ago that I really don't remember. I used Lambs Pride wool and followed this pattern for Wool Noggins. My hat is a bit pointy at the top and it is not in the pattern picture. I am now thinking that I pulled the stitches too tightly when finishing it off. Can those who knit confirm that for me? In this case, I really don't mind because I think it makes the whole thing look pixie-like which I like. However, it won't do for big brother's hat!

Potholder Pass Mosaic

1. Little House Potholder, 2. Japanese quilt fabric Pot holders, 3. for craft swap, 4. New potholders, 5. Potholders!, 6. Teapot trivet, 7. PEAR trivet, 8. Pot holders in pink and green, 9. Bird and Polka Dot Pot Holder
I made a mosaic of potholders that I found on Flickr and liked. This was suggested by one of the pass members, Kirsten (find her at Flickr: threedancingmagpies). If you have joined the swap, maybe you'd like to make one to serve as inspiration for the person who will sew for you. This isn't required. Do go to Flickr and sign up though. Only half of the members who signed up for the swap have joined the Flickr group. There is a discussion there concerning international shipping, as well.
There are still a couple of days to sign up!

Make Your Own Texture Plates for Preschoolers

I had an "Ah ha" moment this morning as I was about to throw away a large scrap of nonskid rug pad. The other day, I was trying to show my left handed preschooler how to hold her paper still over a plastic texture sheet and color with her crayon. I think that due to her age and to her left hand preference, she was having a lot of trouble keeping things from shifting. The idea of the rug pad is that it doesn't move. So I got out my scissors and cut some shapes.



I made letters. I made simple shapes like a fish, a house, the moon, a car, an apple tree, a pine tree, a heart, and a tulip. I also made some basic, building block shapes like a long rectangle that could be used as a stem, squares and triangles that could be made into buildings, etc. The kids can assemble pictures on the table, place their paper on top and even tape the paper in place if helpful, and rub with the side of the crayon. It works like a charm! And of course, rug pads come in all textures so collecting scraps of different types will yield different effects. I thought I'd throw the idea out there in case anyone wants to give it a try!

Cathedral Window Quilt Beginnings

I've started something new! My suggestion was taken and my husband stuffed my stocking with a bag of Anna Maria Horner scraps. I am using them along with some other fabrics that have geometric prints in a cathedral window quilt. I don't know how big it will be yet. I am just going to work on it until it looks done. The backing fabric is Kona cotton in white. I'm currently waiting for some of my fabrics to arrive so I am busily cutting and ironing and folding, over and over and over again. It is a bit tedious but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Those of you who have signed up for the Potholder Pass, don't forget to join our Flickr group. I have started one discussion topic with potholder tutorials. Please feel free to add your favorites. There is still time to join. Sign ups end this Saturday and I hope we are all sewing by Monday!

Potholder Tutorials and Binding Talk

It seems that there are many who are intimidated by binding and I fear that it is holding some back from the potholder swap. I thought I would talk a bit about binding in hopes of getting some of you to give it a try. Potholders would be perfect to practice on!
I learned to bind using two tutorials: Heather Bailey's and Amanda Jean's
Recently, there was a new tutorial posted at Happy Cottage Quilter for a different type of binding. In this case, you use the material from your backing and fold it over the front of the quilt to create your binding. Perhaps that would be less intimidating for beginners and the end result looks the same everywhere but the corners.

I also hunted around for a few potholder tutorials to get your creative juices flowing. I have to say that I really love the doll house ones! Also take a look at these and these.

If you are interested in the Potholder Pass send me an email with your information. We will get started in about a week.

Knitting Needle Roll

I've been wanting to make myself a knitting needle roll for awhile now. I made one about 8 years ago but that was before I knew how to bind the edges nicely. It was also too long and too tall. Since then, I have made two for gifts and keep thinking that I would like to replace mine. I finally got around to it last night. The best thing about my new knitting needle roll is that my son carefully chose the fabrics as my birthday present. He gave me two fat quarters of the same print, one in yellow and one in pinks. When he came downstairs this morning and saw it he said, "Mommy, this is beautiful!" I thanked him and asked if he knew what made it special. He asked, "You made it?" I said, "I did, but that isn't what I was thinking." Then it hit him and he excitedly asked if that was the fabric that he gave me. He feels very proud of his choices now. He asked to help put the needles into my "new holder that I gave you the fabric for."

Picot Cast On!

I had some yarn leftover from the knitted top that I made for Penny and found a hat pattern that I dared to try. This is my first knit hat and my first attempt at a picot cast on. I just love the look of picots, though I had no idea how to make them. I read about them in my Knitting for Dummies book but it was a video that I found on line that really made it click. It's so simple once you know what you are doing! I thought that this pattern, the Beanie Hat from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Moms, was the perfect match for the top. It is a touch on the big side but I am happy about that because the top is too. Hopefully she will get lots of wear out of both pieces before she outgrows them. Now my yarn is all gone so it is back to sewing I go!

Sashiko Embroidery Pillow

This pillow is a birthday gift for my children's godfather. He enjoys Japanese animation and toys and such. I brought the embroidery kit home and my husband felt that it was just perfect for his friend. The fabric that I bought for the pillow edge is from Andover Fabrics. It was fun to work on. It's the sort of thing that I enjoy but it doesn't really fit with our home decor. It will settle in nicely at its new home where it will fit right in!

Churn Dash Potholders

My Mom just had a birthday. She asked for some potholders to coordinate with her newly renovated kitchen. It is mostly decorated in blues and yellows with a French provincial style tablecloth. I used the Churn Dash quilt block style. This was my first time trying out this design and I really like it. These potholders, and those that I made for my friend for Christmas, led to me to host the Potholder Pass. If you'd like to join, see my post below and send me an email message!

Potholder Pass!

Would you like to join my Potholder Pass? I thought it would be fun to have a potholder swap. If you would like to participate, please leave a comment or send me an email with your name, mailing address, and color preferences. Include your blog address or Flickr photo stream if you have one. You may sign up until January 16, 2010. Once I have every one's information, I will send out email messages to each participant, assigning you to another member of the group. You will have a month to create your potholders and get them in the mail.

This would be a fun way to try out new quilt blocks, material combinations, etc. with little commitment and little stress. Hopefully, the recipient will love the potholders but if not, they will serve their purpose and eventually get spilled on and burned. So, you need not stress too much!

The rules:

1. Potholders should be a minimum of 6", preferably 7-8".

2. Please use Thermolam or like material in the potholder-at least one layer, preferably two.

3. Try to accommodate your recipient's color requests and their taste.

4. Send a set of 2 potholders. They can be identical or coordinating.

If you'd like to join, grab the button above and post it on your blog!

Also, join the Flickr group where you will post pictures of the potholders that you create.