Moving Ahead

I can't believe that I've finally started quilting on my Dear Jane... I've also got the small DJ wallhanging to work on in the living room if I feel like it. I will be a slow learner with the rocking stitch, but find I'm very fast with the stab stitch...with all the seams in the DJ, stab stitch is a good thing to use!

Here are two blocks the first from my DJ and the second from the wallhanging.

Barbara has also been obsessed lately with the ripple crochet blanket making its rounds in the blogosphere. She pulled me in and I dug out grandma's crochet hook and some of my dishcloth cotton to make a ripple crochet dishcloth, lol!!

I'm still knitting away on my cable cardigan...working on a sleeve now...also doing some ocean wave blocks...

Now I've got to get to work on a tight deadline for my next crazy quilt round robin!!!

Gone...but not forgotten

I've been away, but haven't forgotten my blog!! I am a bad blogger...been taking photos of things to blog about since the day after my last blog, lol, but too lazy or something...to actually sit down and write.

Done a lot of different projects since my last blog... Did my first few cotton knit dishcloths... I wanted to try lace knitting, but it really isn't my style to do a lace sweater or shawl, so tried a bit of lace knitting with my dishcloths, with the apparently extra advantage of lace dishcloths drying a bit faster than others??!! I hear good things about them, and they are good for the environment, they seem to work great so far!

I'm also moving along on my cable cardigan, only sleeves and finishing touches now!

Dave went to Germany for work (will be going there fairly often over the next few month...she says greedily!) and he found a yarn shop near the hotel he usually stays at near the factory he visits! Woo hoo Trekking XXL, Opal and Lana Grossa sock yarns...guess I'm gonna keep him! I'll get a ball or two each visit, he says, so I imagine many pairs of hand knit socks are in my future!!

I haven't stopped quilting either!! I have finished the top for Aisling's double 4 patch quilt (my final one made from a block swap ages ago!)

I've also made 4 name pillows for the girls cousins and for them...

I've basted my Dear Jane wallhanging to hand quilt without a hoop, and also put my big DJ on the frame...

In between it all, Aine has marched in her first St. Patrick's day parade, and I got a lovely breakfast in bed this Mothers Day (different in UK/Ireland from US)...got a few hours alone on mother's day so what did I do? QUILT of course!!

Airy Fairy

After Aine's pinkwork stitchery for the girls room, I thought I'd take one of her pictures and turn it into another stitchery. I was hoping to make another pretty one, but she wanted to decorate the fairy with some of my beads, all colors of the rainbow, sequins and glitz, not my style but hey... she is my girl, so gotta do it! Here is the original drawing and the start of our sequin and bead dress. I plan to outline it with colors in the original drawing.


I have started piecing Aisling's I Spy quilt. It is the 3rd quilt I've done with these novelty double 4 patches from a swap years ago. I made 5 more to complete the amount I need. I'll do a scrappy border then another plain one to finish it and I will try to quilt some motifs in the center of the plain areas, I'll probably hand quilt the motifs and then stitch in the ditch for the rest on machine... I also made free pieced names for future pillows for Aine and Hannah her friend. Daniel and Aisling are next...

The sweater is coming along great. I'm nearing completion on the back. Then will have a short interlude to knit a cotton dishcloth! Got myself some Peaches and Cream yarn back in the States to try out these dishcloths I've seen around the blogosphere...

I've started back swimming and even did aqua aerobics today...was more strenous a workout than I expected! Here's hoping I can get in the right place to start losing weight again!!