Finished(s)

Mother's Day gifts!

For my mother: an Emily Shawl knit in Orkney Angora Incredible.

This yarn got up my nose a little while knitting, but it produced a beautiful (and very fluffy) fabric with more body than I expected. I love the finished product; it seems like it will be warm without being heavy.














This was my first time using blocking wires, and I'm definitely a convert. I can't believe I thought they'd be more hassle than they're worth - they made pinning so much easier than it normally is! I should have used more wires for the top edge of the shawl, but I was up way past my bedtime and wasn't thinking straight. Learning curve!


















And a quilted table runner for Ilene, using the same block as this quilt I made (and did eventually finish) last year. I switched up the layout, which produced a cool laddery effect against the floral.












It ended up about 5' long and a little over 1' wide, which hopefully fits the table it was intended for. Rather than use bias tape I had (which didn't match at all) or make some myself (difficult!) I just left extra backing fabric all around the edges of the top and batting, then rolled it on over and used it for the binding. I'm sure there's a quiltery name for this, but I don't know what it is.

The floral fabrics are from Rowan and Heather Bailey, and the stripe is probably Rowan but I'm not positive.














If I had to pick a title for this, it would be The Gardener's Ladder. Not that you asked.

16 Squares

This is what I've been doing lately:













It's the top of a quilt, which I finished piecing and ironing today during reruns of America's Next Top Model. Nothing like being unemployed on a weekday.

The fabrics are of somewhat mysterious origin: all from my stash, all purchased at different times and at different stores for different forgotten projects. The pattern is of my own devising - I charted it out on graph paper, trying to make the most of the odd amounts of fabric I had (1 yard of yellow, 1 1/2 yards of blue-green, 2 yards of blue). With the sashing, it's almost 5' square, and I'll probably be adding some wide borders to try to squeak up to 6'. It'll likely see duty on the sofa rather than the bed, but the bed seemed like the best place to spread it out for a photo.