FNSI Rocks!

Have I mentioned recently how much I love FNSI? Wendy at Sugarlane Designs hosts this wonderful sew-along every month. It is so much fun to catch up with my international friends each month to see what they're working on. So many beautiful projects. So much inspiration! Thank you, Wendy, for this wonderful opportunity!

So what did I work on this month? My Clam Shells by Irene Blanck! Here's my picture today.

See that red shell with the cute little sheep on it, 5th row, 2nd from the right? That's where I started my FNSI. Those shells needed to be appliqued down and I went straight to it. Since you sew from right to left, I finished that row and then the entire  next row above! So happy with the progress! Actually so happy that I finished all the way to the top on Saturday!

Next step: Figure out what to do with the borders. I'm thinking about putting a touch of applique on the borders. What do you think? I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what to use for the  borders themselves, but I'll figure it out ... eventually!

Also recently finished were my Anthology Socks by Very Busy Monkey over on Ravelry. They turned out beautifully. The yarn is Pagewood Farms and the color is Fabulous Fall. I'm ready for some cooler weather so I can wear these fabulous socks!

One other little thing I managed. Here's the before picture of my cutting table. UGH!

Here's the after:

Look! You can see the mat again! I put all the fabrics away by color and have discovered I need three more bins. One for purple, one for pink, and one for black.I also discovered that I shouldn't ever, ever, EVER have to buy neutrals again! That bin is on "overload"! Anyway, I sure do hate putting away all my "FUN" but it's a necessary evil to allow the inspiration to come through! Haha!

That's what's new here. Now to go raid the stash and figure out borders for my Clam Shells!

Rhapsody Shawl, Scrap Dance Two-Step, & Upcoming KALs!

Not exactly where to start but I know I need to post. I've done a lot lately but not finished a lot. I guess this will be a wishy-washy post.

Here's my Rhapsody Shawl which I completed yesterday. It was a knit-a-long that ended today. Whew! Made it just in the knick of time! When I logged into Ravelry to post my finish, I discovered that I had a message from Mary-Ann Lammers, the shawl's designer. She was contacting me to let me know I was the winner of some stitch markers! Yay!! They are beautiful and I'll share a picture when they arrive!

I also had the opportunity to sew at a couple of retreats recently. I signed on to a Mystery Quilt-a-Long on one of the blogs I follow, From My Carolina Home. You can visit Carole HERE . The MQAL was called Scrap Dance Two-Step and it was fun because each month you got a two-part clue. It finished mid-July and I've been scrambling to get my blocks done. Here's a picture of 5 blocks I got done at one of the retreats. My fabrics are mostly Kim Diehl fabrics but I threw in a few "twinklers"!

Since then I've finished up 18 of the alternate blocks and I'm working on getting all 17 of these blocks done. Of course I'm making a queen-size quilt! I'll be sure to post a picture when I'm done.

Apparently I'm a sucker for new projects. I'm anxiously awaiting for August 1. I'll be participating in a mystery socks knit-a-long through Very Busy Monkey on Ravelry. Four clues starting August 1 and published every Tuesday through August 22. Project must be finished and posted by September 30. Doesn't sound like too much, right? But wait! I'm also on board for a knit-a-long with The Loopy Ewe. I've got my yarn and I swatched to be sure everything will size up correctly. I've chosen the pattern Colorful Wedges Baby Blanket. You can check it out HERE . This one also starts August 1st but must be finished & posted by August 31st. Wait until you see my yarn choices ... so pretty and yet gender neutral!

Both of these upcoming knitting projects will keep me busy but they won't keep me away from my sewing! I'm making very good progress on Mosaics but will have to share that another time.

May Day! May Day! May Day!

Definitely a distress signal for me. April completely disappeared off my calendar this year. I guess between wrecking my car and the scramble for a replacement in March followed by Easter and then taking my mother to her 65th high school reunion in New Jersey in April, it just did me in. Whatever! Let's move on ... As I recall I promised to share my latest knitting projects.

The first shawl is Boneyard Shawl with Mara Shawl's ruffled edge. I used the yarn I got with Warm Woolies club through The Loopy Ewe. It's a nice weight and size and should keep me warm in cooler weather ... or in the house while the heat is off. The middle picture is of my Reyna Shawl, also using yarn from Warm Woolies Club. It's a lighter weight yarn and the pattern is lacy. I've used it several times already wrapped around my neck. It's beautiful and I wish you could see the sparkles in the yarn! My socks are a fun pair knit with Inversibles yarn. The yarn was dyed in opposite colors so where you see light silver on the one skein, there is dark silver on the other. The yarn is dyed by Fibernymph and you can get all kinds of double-color combinations from The Loopy Ewe. Think team colors or school colors! The pattern is Cadence and it's a freebie from Very Busy Monkey. (All of these patterns can be found on www.ravelry.com .

As for quilting, I have some sharing on that today too! But first the disappointing news. The APQ 2017 UFO Challenge selected #11, which was my Winter Snowmen. This project has been sitting for years and needs to be quilted. It is exactly the same, never touched this year. For May we are to work on #2 which is my Alex's Stars Round-a-Bout. Can't remember the official title to this quilt top but that's what I called it to refresh my memory. So far I've gotten it out to measure so I can purchase my batting. It's already MOSTLY marked for quilting so I need to finish that up then I'll be good to go!


Remember this project? I not only finished the big-stitch quilting but got my sleeve AND label on. I pretty much copied my friend Katie's and my sister's ideas for personalizing and made it my own! I am thrilled to cross this one off my list!


Here are also a couple pictures of the back so you can see my label and some of the quilting.

My guild has a quilt show every other year and this is the year of the show! It's really motivated me to having my labels done and sewn on. I may put this one in the show.

Here is a "teaser" picture of my Winter Wonderland quilt. I finished it quite some time ago but never made the label. It has been entered into the quilt show so it was time for a label. You can see I did a fancy-schmancy label here too!

I machine quilted it on my Bernina and I love it.

I also entered my Dresden Stars. I don't have a picture yet of it finished and I also don't have a label for it yet. That'll be done this weekend.

This is a photo of my Witch's Boot which is also entered in the quilt show. I changed the border up instead of the called-for one. I like my version much better. Not sure if it has a label on it. Better dig it out & check!

In other news, we've had an awful amount of rain here in the St. Louis area.  So much so that I thought I'd share a picture of our dock on the pond. Ridiculous amount, wouldn't you agree? I thought our paddle boat was going to float away!

Thankfully the water is going down. Which is a good thing because the International Quilt Market - Spring is going to be held here in St. Louis in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to helping out with it ... signed myself up yesterday! I hope to see some of the ladies whom I follow their blogs!!

A last couple of pictures: Gracie was thrilled that the rain was gone this morning and the sun was shining brightly. She was doubly thrilled when she pulled a treasure out of the pond -- a potting bucket! What a happy pup runing with her new prized possession!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Mom should be here any minute now to go to lunch with me. We're headed to Catrina's in Edwardsville, a favorite Mexican restaurant of ours! Have a great weekend! Ole!

FNSI and More!

Good morning! I'm going to try to do this all in one day. Don't have time this morning to finish because I get to go to the dentist for a cleaning (♥) after I vacuum this morning. Just got back in from a walk with Gracie (1.71 miles per Runkeeper app) and need to put the warm compress on my nose for 20 minutes. This is because I still have a stitch lodged inside my nostril from my November 23rd surgery! Yoi! Guess that's why there's discomfort and a little redness still. Enough of my non-fun news. Let's get to business!

First off, this Friday evening is FNSI! You know I love the 3rd Friday of the month for just this reason. It's so exciting to see what others are working on. It's also a good reason to sit back and relax with your own project and make some progress. Even if you don't touch it until next month ... you can put a few stitches in place Friday night! Wendy at Sugarlane Quilts hosts it. You can find out more about it and sign up by clicking the link under the FNSI button here:

CLICK HERE

I plan on sitting in front of my sewing machine mindlessly sewing oodles of straight lines. I hope to make 3 more faux chenille kitty blankets. I made one for my kitty this past weekend while at retreat, only lacking the binding. My daughter has two kitties that would love a blanket and my sister has one kitty. Perfect project while enjoying the tennis being played at the Austalian Open! Love watching the four major tennis tournaments!!

Now let's get caught up on Loopy Academy. My knitting has really been going full steam ahead lately. As for Loopy Academy Junior Year 1st Semester projects:

The gloves you've seen in an earlier post. It was a requirement -- a pair of gloves (NOT mittens!)

These socks fulfilled the "Bobble Stitch" requirement. Sometimes bobbles are called "Popcorn Stitches". Regardless, I knit bobbles at the top of the cuff. This pattern, Cableship, can be found HERE on Knit Purl Hunter's Knit-a-Long. Her socks did not include the bobbles. I just threw them on to fulfill a Loopy Academy requirement!

Our last requirement for the semester was to knit a toy. This pattern can be found on Ravelry HERE . What a fun project! In case you're unfamiliar with The Loopy Ewe (a yarn store in Colorado that used to be here in the St. Louis area), this "toy" is the mascot for the store! It was a quick knit and practically seamless, which is what made it appealing to me. Hate that seaming stuff! Anyway, I think it turned out awfully cute!

Here's one of my projects I'm knitting on right now. These are Cadence Socks by Very Busy Monkey. You can find the pattern HERE . These socks have joined two Knit-a-Longs ... one with Very Busy Monkey (I have until March 31 to finish these) and one with The Loopy Ewe (My 2017 Sock Challenge which requires one to knit a pair of socks each month). The yarn is comes from The Loopy Ewe and is called Inversibles. It is 2-color yarn and they are dyed exactly opposite. The Loopy Ewe has loads of color pairs. Check it out if you like HERE. So many pretty choices!!! Polly practically blends in with the silver & black!

Before you think this is only a knitting blog, Let me share a couple of quilty finishes with you. My Jamestown Sampler, which is #6 of the 2017 UFO Challenge, has been pieced together. I'm showing you the before & after photos here:

The first picture is all the blocks laid out on my kitchen floor. The next one is the blocks sewn together at retreat. Let me tell you my furrows were not always straight. Had to resew three different blocks to get it right! UGH!

       

 

How do you like my piggy pillow? It's called Farmer's Market. I bought the pattern from Norma Whaley who publishes under Timeless Traditions. I love her stuff!!! It was a fun project and I love the way it finished. Check it out! I used a leftover quilt block from another project for my pillow label!

"Love One Another" pillow is another Timeless Traditions pattern. I've got this one in the works and I actually sewed the green stems & leaves on already. Will be working on this periodically and would love to say I'll have it finished by Valentine's Day!

Currently I'm also knitting a shawl with my Warm Woolies December yarn. I just saw that the January yarn is ready for shipping. Whew! And I haven't even broken out my cross-stitch yet! High hopes!!!

I hope you get a chance to stitch to your heart's delight!

(PS I started this post yesterday morning ... so much for getting this done in one sitting!)