On The Needles - Jan. 17, 2014

It's been a bit since I've posted anything about my knitting since I've been busy quilting and piecing lately. But I have made progress on my 3S Shawl and the end is near.  I'm up to 10 inches and I think I'm going to stop around 14" or 15" if my yarn lasts that long.  Then it will be decision time to decide what type of edging to do -- a picot  or a crocheted lace.  Those of you that have done this shawl, which did you do and why.  Any suggestions would be appreciated. What is the easiest for a beginner. I want this to be done ASAP! I'm ready to tackle socks, but have held off until I finish this.  I don't want lots of UFOs in my knitting bag like I have on my quilting shelves.

3S Shawl

I'm also using up my stash of cotton yarns for dish cloths/face cloths that I got hooked on last year. They go so much faster than shawls because the needles are larger and size is so much smaller plus they are easy.  I need to have a finish to keep me motivated whether it be knitting or quilting. 

A couple of finishes this week in the quilting category.  These were not my UFOs, but they do count as finishes on my To Do list. 

To see more knitting projects, check out Patchwork Times. 

Stash Report - Week 2 1/12/14

Nothing added or used this week.
Used this week - 0 yds
Added this week - 0 yds
YTD used - 0 yds
YTD added - 0 yds
Net used in 2014 - 0 yds

I spent a lot of hours working on more Celtic Solstice blocks. Last week I had completed 6 blocks and I'm up to 21 finished blocks tonight.  Slowly but surely I'm getting there.

Next week I will have something to report in the used category.  Stay tuned.

Go over to Patchwork Times to see what others did this week.

DWM, No Knead Bread and Celtic Solstice

Brr !  It's cold outside.  Our outside thermometer reads minus -2 and there is almost 10 inches of snow on the ground, but the sun is shining brightly.  It's a good day for staying indoors and sewing and baking. I love to heat up the house with good smells coming from the kitchen.  How about some homemade bread the easy way   

I came across an easy No Knead Crusty Dutch Oven French Bread recipe on the internet and decided to try it. I've put it under the Recipe Tab at top of page. I couldn't believe how well it turned out for such little effort.  You mix it up the night before, set it in a big bowl to rise overnight, punch down in the morning, let it rise another hour and bake for 30 mins. in a dutch oven or heavy pan with a lid.   Ta-Da

Right out of a 450 degrees oven

It was very good. Very crusty outsdie and soft inside with big holes to soak up whatever you desire - butter, jam or the broth from homemade soup. The texture reminded me of sourdough bread, but without the sour flavor. I'll be making this again real soon.

Now on to the sewing room.  I'm betting there are a lot of design walls today that have some of these blocks on them.  These are the two blocks that make up Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, Celtic Solstice. I'm putting them together in between working on other things, but wanted to see how they looked. 

 You can see more design walls over at Patchwork Times. 

Stash Report- Wk# 1 - January 5, 2014

The first week of the New Year is almost over and I'm still on track for my new goals in the stash department.  I haven't added any fabric to my stash.  Amazing! Since we are having a blizzard,  I think it's safe to say that my goal will stand at least another week. :)

Fabric Added - 0
Fabric Used - 0
YTD Added  - 0
YTD Used - 0

I didn't do so well on my 2013 goals for stashbusting. My goals were use 200 yards (used 98), add no more than 50 yards (added 95), finish 10 UFOs (finished 3) and make 50 pillowcases (made 60).  In my defense, I did finish tops of 5 UFOs, but they are still waiting for me to find time to quilt them.

Since Christmas, I have finished quilting 2 quilts and 1 tablerunner, sewed bindings on 3 quilts, hand stitched one to the back and finished all the Clues for Celtic Solstice. I'm on a roll   I can feel that 2014 will be a better year for finishing things.   Here's a look at the quilt that I put the binding on (pic taken before binding was added).

Purple Log cabin - 84" x 98"

Stop by Patchwork Times and see how other stashes are being busted.  It's sure to inspire you to get moving and start sewing your stash.

Last Stash Report for 2013

Well, here it is at the end of the year and I'm a little short of my goals!  So what's new? I used almost exactly what I added, but that was not my original plan.  My goal for 2014 will be to use twice as much as this year. Or use double of what I add, either would be reducing the stash, right?  I'm running out of room to hide store it, so it has to happen sooner rather than later.

Added this week - 1 FQ (for Celtic Solstice blues)
Added YTD - 95.39 yds
Used this week - 1 yd - for binding .
Used YTD - 98.36 yds
Net Used from stash in 2013 - 2.97 yds. Almost 3 yds.

Now,would you look at all that extra space on my fabric shelves!  :)  NOT

I WILL reduce my stash in 2014 and only add where absolutely necessary.  In fact, I'd love to get through the whole year with just using stash. Wouldn't that be amazing?  I'm trying the power of positive thinking to see if it helps. lol   Keep watching this report in the coming year to see if it works.

Check out Patchwork Times and see how others ended their year of stashbusting.  There are some really champion stashbusters in this group.

Thank you, my blogger friends, for all the encouragement and support you've given me during the year. I love getting comments and look forward to hearing from you on any subject.  It has made a difference in all my projects, whether they be quilting, knitting, cooking, or life lessons and I so appreciate the time you've taken to comment on my ramblings.  Soon I'll be celebrating my 2 year blogaversary (Jan. 2). and it seems as if it were only last month.  Maybe a giveaway is in order. This means I'll need to learn another blogger skill - Mr. Random Man.  I've learned so much already, thanks to many of you, but still have much to learn. I still can't remember how to put things on the side bar correctly and some linking and posting pictures don't always work right the first time.  Maybe with more practice these will be easier in 2014.

Here's hoping your Christmas holidays were wonderful and that 2014 will find you healthy, happy and prosperous.  Please be safe on New Year's Eve and I look forward to talking with you soon.

On The Needles - December 27, 2013

This is the last 'On the Needles' for 2013.  You are probably getting tired of seeing the same project on my needles.  I know I am.  I was hoping to finish my 3S shawl by the end of the year, but it doesn't look like that will happen.  But there was a little progress made on it this week-- it now measures 6.25 inches from neck edge to the lower point, which is about a third finished.  Maybe by the end of January, 2014 it will be ready to wear.

I also spent some time on gifts and finished a couple more face cloths.  The lighter ones are used as "face cloths" and the darker ones dish cloths.  These face cloths and a bar of homemade soaps are little thank you gifts for friends.

3S Shawl

To see more great ideas for knitting projects and some beautiful finishes, go to On the Needles at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday and Celtic Solstice

Well, I finally got caught up on Celtic Solstice (Thank you Bonnie for a quick part 4 during the holidays).  Here are all my little 4-patches sewed and pressed awaiting their turn. Each stack has (10) 4-patches in them.

On my design wall this morning are blocks for my block exchange.  These little 4 inch bow ties looked so lonely up there all by themselves, I thought they needed some company.  

So I played around with the CS mystery blocks like I've seen on other blogs earlier.

I tried it with the 4-patches turned with the green inside/orange outside then reversed it.  To tell you the truth, I cannot see much of a difference either way.  I am using a bit darker rusty orange in place of Bonnie's bright orange on most of the blocks.   

I'm linking up with Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday and Quiltville's Celtic Solstice.  Go check them out to see more of what's going on in blogland this morning.

Stash Report - # 51 and More

Nothing was added to the stash this week, but I used about half yard for our Christmas party game. This year we brought blue, green or purple strips cut 2 1/2". We play the LRC dice game (left, right, center) and somene goes home with a bunch of 2.5" strips. This year we had two winners. We hope to see a finished top or quilt by next Christmas.

Fabric Added - zero; Added YTD - 95.34 yds
Fabric Used -  .5 yd;  Used YTD -  97.36 yds
Net Used for 2013 - 2.02 yds  - No wonder I don't see any more space on my shelves.!  Next year I hope to do better.

I've also been reducing some of my scraps on the Celtic Solstice mystery quilt, but can't count any yet. Speaking of Bonnie's mystery quilt, here's my progress so far.  This shows Clues 1 and 2 finished (in the blue tins) and Clue 3 partially done.  Since this picture was taken, I have finished all of Clue 3 pinwheels (25) and the 100 HSTs and they are just waiting to see what role they play in the quilt.

Today I pulled lots of my scraps and finished cutting and pairing the 4-patches for Clue 4.  Now they are all ready to sew and press.

I hope to get that done before the evening is over.  I want to be able to link up with Bonnie's CS Mr. Linky tomorrow.  I've missed the last 2 weeks.  I'll have pics of my finished Clue #4 tomorrow. (How's that for positive thinking?)

One of the reasons I've gotten behind on the mystery is that I was working on my 3S Shawl.  It has grown by another inch and a half.  It's very slow moving with these Size #2 needles.

Check out more stash reports over at Patchwork Times.

On the Needles - 12/13/13

Knitting time has been very limited this week because of Christmas luncheons, guild parties and sewing all those small pieces for Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt.  But I did manage to make a little more progress on my 3S Shawl.  It's very slow going.  I figured out that two complete rows of knitting only yields a quarter of an inch in depth from the top of the center stitch.  That means I have to knit 8 rows to gain one little inch.  This becomes even slower when you realize that each row gets longer and longer -- but I'm getting some good practice, right?? 

Here's what it looks like so far.  I've inserted one eyelet row about 4 1/2" from the top.  The whole shawl has grown about 1.5 to 2 inches since the first photo.

3S Shawl

I also finished another face cloth for gift giving.  I decided to call them face cloths instead of dish cloths because I'm going to put a special handmade bar of soap with them. This one is too soft for doing the dishes. lol

face/dish cloths made w/ Cream & Sugar cotton yarn.

To see more projects, visit Judy's blog HERE.

Design Wall 12/9/13 and Celtic Solstice Part 2

These were the blocks on my design wall last week.  Actually they are on my dining room table in this picture.  They are blocks for the block exchange group I'm in. This time the fabrics were provided and we put them together as instructed.  Everone got 2 different florals and center colors. The pattern is called Radiance.

The other block is one I made for our Christmas party tomorrow night.  Each participant bought a square of fabric for $1 and was to make a 12.5" block.  It could be any pattern or technique. I went simple because of time contraints, but the red will be the common thread that makes all the blocks go together with each other.  We should have several lucky winners because lots of packets were purchased.  Hope I'm one of the winners, but I won't hold my breath.  I've done this for 20+ years and haven't won any yet. lol

Christmas block

Celtic Solstice blocks would be up on my design wall if there are not so many. After taking so long to finish Clue #1, I decided to get better organized so I could keep up this week. Here's  where I am on Clue#2 - ALL 600 pieces cut, marked and sewing.. I have about half of the cute little Chevrons put together and will easily finish the rest before the next clue releases. 

Here how I set up my work space for Clue #2.  I sew 10 pairs together then get up to iron.  This keeps me from sitting too long and helps with the repetition.

You can see my greens, yellow/golds and neutrals that I'm using.  I also have a 200 fine grit sandpaper to put under the 2" blocks for marking diagonal lines, scissors for trimming off the triangles and do you see that little red bobbin holder above the instruction sheet? That is a section of  plastic from a spiral bound notebook that someone showed on Pinterest for carrying extra filled bobbins to retreats or classes. Isn't that a clever idea?

Here are some of the chevrons put together.  I'm clipping 10 with red binder clips. 

When I was searching for greens in my stash, I came upon a piece that was way back in the closet. It must have fallen off the crowded shelves. I know it's at least 10 years old.  But look, it was meant to be found and put into this scrap quilt. It has horseshoes, shamrocks and pots of gold.  If this does say Ireland, nothing does.

I am linking up with Patchwork Times and Celtic Solstice Linky#2. Take some time and have a look at both places for lots of eye candy.

Stash Report - Wk 49 & QOV

Nothing added to the stash this week or used that I can count.  I am using some stash for piecing Celtic Solstice, Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, but it won't get counted as used until the top is finished. So, my numbers remain the same as last week.   However, I did finish quilting a Quilts of Valor for a friend.

Fabric Added - 0
Fabric Added YTD -* 93.94 yds.  95.34
Fabric Used - 0
Fabric Used YTD -* 95.61 yds  96.85
Net Used in 2013 - *1.77 yds  1.52 yds in the blk.

*Updated to correct stash totals and add information about quilt name. 

Here is the QOV that will be given to a special veteran. The pattern is called Mirror Mirror by A Quilter's Dream. The website is www.aquiltersdream.com. It's quilted with an E22 called Star Dance by Barbara Becker of Four Paws Quilting. 

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times  so go on by and see what others have done this week.

Just Under the Wire - CS - Part 1

I'm playing catch up already and there have only been two clues so far!  Here are my finished units from the first clue of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, Celtic Solstice.  I did finish all the blocks right before she released Part 2 although I had to stay up way past midnight to do it!

Celtic Soltice - Clue 1

I was going to do an entirely different colorway based on what colors were abundant in my stash, but decided at the last minute to go with Bonnie's color scheme.  The oranges I'm using are a bit more to the rust and darker oranges, otherwise it follows Bonnie's color families.

In between the CS blocks, I'm using 1.5" squares for my leader/ender project.  These little 16 patch units will measure 4 inches finished when they are in a quilt - yet to be decided what pattern to use them in.

16 patch units of 1.5" squares

Now it's on to Clue 2.  I plan to get better organized from now on and have my fabric washed, pressed and ready to cut - something I did not have done when this started.  I was still searching in my sewing room for possible candidates!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?

Since it's very cold here today, I'm keeping warm sewing and pressing the cute little chevrons in Clue 2.  I plan to make it to the Linky Party on time next week.

Hope you are all keeping warm if you are in the cold, winter storm areas.