Knit Meter

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

This Year, Next Year

Here we are again, a round up of everything (an exaggeration) that has happened in my life this year. Also for a change I'd thought I'd combine the year in review with plans for next year.

And for a change I am going to start by saying happy anniversary to my lovely husband and thank you for another great year.

On the knitting (crochet) front I had 46 projects on the needles; of which 7 were frogged, including a project that I mentioned this time last year. Of the remaining 39, 5 were carried over from 2012, including one that is always being carried over, and 9 are still on the needles. That is way too many, although one of those is the aforementioned never-ending project and one is a project that stays in the car and one just needs the ends sewn in. There's also the project that got put to one side as I needed contrasting yarn and now I need beads so I have decided to finish another beaded project before going back to this one. Most projects got pushed aside when I started making baby items. By year-end I have made, 1 hat, 3 dishcloths/washcloths, 5 shawls, 4 pairs of socks, 2 baby blankets, a skirt, 3 baby jackets, 3 pairs of booties, a baby hat, a sleeveless cardigan, a scarf, a baby dress and cardigan, a sweater for a teddy bear and 2 sections for oddball blankets. 16 items were gifts and 3 for charity.

As well as having a new look for my blog this year, I added 2 yarn counters. One shows the amount of yarn I have knitted and crocheted. It is from Knitmeter.com and although it looks cool I'm not sure if it serves any useful purpose. it would probably make sense if I had counted the meterage in this year. So I'm not sure if I will continue counting in 2014. Also I added a count of balls of yarn in and balls of yarn out as an encouragement to use up stash. In fact, if I hadn't had to make baby clothes and therefore had to buy suitable yarn, the yarn out would have exceeded the yarn in.

Which brings me to my plans for 2014. Which is to use up my stash. OK I know I say that every year but having gone through my stash, it is really doable. The only spanner being the babies, as I can't not knit for them and although I have yarn left over from this year's projects, it is not enough of any one thing to make something useful. (Although it will be enough for booties and hats for the next round of babies.) So knitting for the babies will cause me to buy yarn and stop me from using stash. But I would like to make a serious dent into my stash so that I can buy at the next yarn crawl.

Wishing everybody a fantastic 2014

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Presents Revealed

Now that Christmas is over, I can reveal the items I made for gifts.

Socks for my hubby. I decided to knit a pair of socks for the November challenge for Sock Knitters Anonymous. November 2012 was the last time I completed a pair on time and I have only knit one pair that fit the challenge since then. These socks that were the mystery pattern for March.

One of the challenges was designer RoseHiver. I have knitted a number of her sock designs and she has so many designs that are are free This seemed like a good time to get back into the challenges set by the group. Because I still have sock yarn.

So here is the finished pair.



The yarn is Comfort Sock by Berroco and looks way better as a sock than in the skein. I had to sneak into my husband's sock drawer to match the size against other socks I have knit for him but I was still concerned that they wouldn't fit so I didn't sew in the end at the toe - just in case - but they fit fine.

The other knitting was a dress and shrug for my great niece. I started off buying yarn according to a dress pattern and ended up designing my own patten and having to buy more yarn.



The yarn is Tecido Trico by Cirulo. It is fabric (gauze) with holes at the top. the cream yarn is Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK by Sirdar. The comments on the original pattern that I was going to use indicated that the dress was not long enough so I purchased more of the fabric yarn so that I could make the dress longer. (The original pattern had a fabric skirt and bamboo bodice.) It looked awful; too frou-frou. So I made up my own pattern. This meant I did not have enough yarn to complete the shrug. I had to order it but it arrived quickly and I was able to finish the shrug and get everything mailed off.

I was going to make 2 dresses, one for each of the little girls in my life but having to write my own pattern and complete the first one in a hurry, I took a rain check on making the other one.

The final Christmas present was a sewing project. My son's girlfriend asked if I would mind making her a "Hello Kitty" quilt. I was non-commital because I didn't want to be under pressure to make it but I decided that it would make a good gift that would be a complete surprise. The end result is about a queen bed size. I really like it and she does too,



Monday, December 16, 2013

Charity Knitting

I have not knitted anything for charity since we moved last year. Doesn't really matter why I haven't, I just haven't.

After rearranging my stash a little while ago, it is now in drawers instead of a box, I decided that I should look into knitting for charity. First stop Ravelry.

I searched the groups to see what was out there as I liked the idea of knitting for a purpose. I joined one group and felt bad because I was welcomed by name to the group, my intention was just to see what the group did before getting involved. I was careful for the next group and put it on watch. This means I can see what is going on in the group but am not a member. In effect I can do that with any group on Ravelry, (as an aside I don't know why people set up private groups on Ravelry that can be read by anyone) but by putting it on watch the group is marked and easy to find.

Finally I decided to join a group which made oddball blankets similar to the group I belonged to in Canada. There are some slight differences with this group. For example each person only has to knit 4 inches.

Here is my first contribution. The name of the blanket is Anchors Aweigh so this pattern I found in one of my stitch dictionaries was very appropriate. I wasn't too sure how it would come out but it is showing up better than expected. The yarn was left over from the blanket shown in this post. So nice to be able to use up yarn.




I was the last person to work on the main blanket - the next person will work the edging so this group likes the last person to use the needles and cast on a new blanket. So I did. Also using yarn leftover from that blanket.

There have been some finished projects but nothing I can post about yet as they are presents.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Not Secret Knitting

There are two or three things that I have made for other people for gifts, so I am not going to post pictures here yet just in case they are looking. But I did knit a dishcloth the other day. Although it was knitted for someone else it is not a Christmas or birthday present.

A dishcloth. I still have a small amount of dishcloth cotton in my stash; in fact less than I thought I had as I nearly bought yarn for this project. the only thing that stopped me was that Michael's did not have the right colour of blue so I decided to go ahead with brown.



Sunday, November 24, 2013

Something For Me

This item was finished a while ago but photos were only taken last weekend. Not very exciting photos either but at least there are some. Photos were uploaded to my laptop today and then I put off the update here until I was in mid-row and decided that the time was right.



The yarn is Biography by Fable Fibers. I had three skeins and used all three, although the same colour, they are quite different. The pattern is Aléantine which I found courtesy of Ravelry, of course. As I had a limited amount of yarn, I did not complete the full number of rows from the pattern, also, I did not thread ribbon through the eyelet holes. I did when I first finished the top but did not like the look. I'm not keen on the picot edge on the armholes but not a lot I can do about that now. If I was going to make this pattern again, I would decrease some stitches on the row before the sleeve cast off row so that the picot edge did not stick out so much.

The mother of the baby who received the items in my last post was very pleased with them, especially the booties as she said they stayed on.

I still have a few things on the needles but a couple are for Christmas presents, so I will either have to finish some non-gift items pretty quickly or post about something not related to my knitting.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Part Two

I mentioned two babies. That means knitting everything twice. These items are for baby A and have been mailed.

I enjoyed the little jacket so I made one for the other baby, in a different yarn. This time I worked the borders in seed stitch and included buttonholes.



The yarn is Snuggly Baby Speckle DK by Sirdar, a cotton/acrylic mix which felt soft and smooth as I knitted. I used exactly two balls.

Then there are the booties which are exactly the same as the ones I knitted for the other baby (baby E).



And another pair of booties, almost the same pattern, knitted to match the hat. I only have a really bad photo but there is a section of lace pattern to match the hat. I should have checked photos before mailing. And I'm pleased to report that I have used all this yarn.



Saturday, October 19, 2013

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

because I have some finished items. Two babies were born into my family this summer (hence the two baby blankets here and here) which means plenty of opportunity for quick projects. But the photographing of said projects is not so easy.

With yarn left over from the baby blanket I made a jacket for the other baby. I found the project on Ravelry and it can be found here. It is knitted from the hood down but I made a few changes. I cast on with Judy's Magic Cast On so that I didn't have to seam the hood; I didn't like the ties on the front so I added buttons and loop buttonholes made by working a single crochet foundation chain.



Using the same yarn, I knitted two pairs of booties. I have the pattern but it can be found on Ravelry under Christine's Stay-on Baby Booties.



There was yarn left over from the baby top I showed you in the last post. It is a pattern that I made a few years ago for charity and, of course, I originally found on Ravelry. I worked with the yarn doubled so it was a quick knit. This hat and the baby top are for Baby A, the jacket and booties are for Baby E.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Finally I Finished Something

My last two posts have been a little whiney in that I am commenting on how close I am to finishing items but haven't managed the final part to produce a wearble item. But last week I had success and I had buttons in my stash that fitted colour and size wise the baby jacket. They were sewn on, photographs taken and then it was mailed off in the hopes that it fits the baby.

Not having a baby to use as a model I tried it on a teddy bear and it shows the back fairly well. The yarn is Bernat Baby which I got in a yarn swap and the pattern is a Sirdar pattern that is nearly 30 years old.

Monday, September 30, 2013

I Made Another Bag

But this time it was because I needed a new bag. I have an old drawstring bag that gets used for outings when I need to carry water, sun screen etc but don't need the usual stuff that I carry in a handbag. It is at least 18 years old, the draw string is frayed, support wires are coming out and it is grubby and smelly despite laundering. But it is useful so I decided to make a new one. I couldn't find a pattern on the internet and as it seemed like a bunch of rectangles, I made my own pattern by measuring the original bag. A couple of changes I made are that I lined the bag so that there were not exposed seams, the seams in the original bag were finished with plastic, and I added a pocket. The one thing I don't like is not being able to find keys which have disappeared inside the bag somewhere.

I wasn't sure how to make the pocket. I knew I wanted it zipped and I wanted all four sides attached to the inside of the bag because I do not like bags where the inside pocket is just attached to the top, and I didn't want exposed seams. I cut fabric the width of the pocket and twice the depth plus seam allowance, turned under 1/4 inch on all sides, folded in half width wise and stitched around the three open edges. I made another piece the same width with a final finished depth of about one inch. The zipper was place between the folded edges and then the pocket was sewn onto the lining.

I wasn't sure what to use to give support to the base of the bag, but I found some binding which is rope inside fabric with a seam allowance, I have no idea what it is called but the rope gives the bag stability and being already encased in tape made it (relatively) easy to sew with the base of the bag. I was not sure how to join the ends as I sewed them into a circle so had to guess. I unpicked the stitching on the tape, this wasn't hard as the stitches were big, and cut the rope at the right length to abut the start, folded the cut end of tape to cover the raw edge and then overlapped the start. This covers the start and finish without there being a double width of rope.

I am really pleased with the end result.

Here is a picture of the original bag.



And here is a picture of the new bag.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

An Update

Or is this a pointless post?

So things have improved a bit since my last post. The baby jacket has had its ends sewn in and buttons sewn on. Now just needs to be mailed off before the baby is bigger than the jacket.

I bought an "Easy Attacher" (their quotation marks) Kit to attach the snap fasteners and it worked. Just one little problem. After much deliberation as to where the fasteners were to be placed, I decided I didn't like the result. This meant the fasteners had to be removed from the knitted item without damaging it. I managed to remove one and DH removed the other without bending the snap - I squished the one I removed. Attaching new ones to the knitted object did not go so well as the first time the prongs did not all go into the socket and this stopped the snap from snapping so it had to be removed and a new one added which took two attempts as nothing attached to anything at first.

An easy project was started that is suitable for knit meets and sub-titled films.

And a sewing project was finished.

Much better outlook than yesterday.

Friday, September 20, 2013

So Close and Yet........

It feels like I have so many projects on the needles that cannot be finished for various reasons.

I have two shawls that are at bead stage except I don't have any beads. One of them is the shawl mentioned in this post. I have looked at beads. OK it was only one shop but at least they are ruled out for having the right type.

And then there's the project being lovingly protected it is so close to ready and I thought yesterday was the day. It needed ribbon and snap fasteners. Do you think I can get the @@$$!! snap fasteners to attach to the ribbon? No. I tried on scrap fabric and no success apart from bending the pointy things. Argh. (Because it was talk like a pirate day yesterday.) So no project to show off.

Finally, last night I finished a baby jacket and that just needs the ends sewn in and buttons sewn on. And knowing my luck all the buttons I have in my stash will be the wrong size or wrong colour.

Anyway what this all boils down to is that not only do I have stalled projects but I have nothing to take to knitting group today. Yes I do have projects on the needles but I have nothing suitable. It has to be something where I can carry on a conversation and when I get home I don't have to undo everything I did. A shawl with lace on every row just isn't going to cut it.

The criteria for this morning's (hurried) pattern search:-

it had to be easy all the way through so no future knitting stalling
I had to have the yarn
it had to be something I wanted to make, in other words not knitting for the sake of knitting.

I found a pattern for a baby jacket where I can use the yarn left over from this baby blanket. I hope it works out as it will be nice for this yarn not to be in the stash for ever as happens with most of my left over yarn.

But at least I have something to take to knitting.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Feeding a Vegetarian


I am a vegetarian. There are probably many people who do not know this about me as I do not make a big fuss. it is a choice I have made and it is up to each individual to make their own food choices. If I’m at someone’s house I do not expect them to cater to my needs, after all I will not become sick if I miss a meal or eat meat. But when I am paying for my meal I expect to be able to eat an enjoyable meal.

I do all the cooking at home and find it no problem to provide a variety of meals with no meat so why is it so hard for some restaurants to come up with one meal. We go out to eat once or twice a week and although we both have input into where we eat, a return trip to a restaurant will depend on MY experience.

I have found that Italian and Mexican restaurants are reliable choices as they have plenty of non-meat options on their regular menu. A number of times we have been to a new restaurant and my husband will ask me if there is anything I can eat, which is a good indicator that he hasn’t spotted anything without meat. Sometimes this isn’t a problem because the options are in a different section but quite often there isn’t a choice. Why is this? To me it indicates lack of imagination by the chef. So in those places my husband better stick to a burger as that is about the level of the kitchen.

I was pleasantly surprised when I went to a pub further inland expecting the only option to be a veggie burger – as an aside I hate veggie burger offerings at restaurants, they are usually dry and cold because they haven’t been heated properly – yes I'm paying for something you can't be bothered to cook properly - anyway at this particular pub there were two vegetarian options and a vegan option, not one of them a veggie burger. I asked the wait staff to pass on to the chef how impressed I was that there were choices.

I have had a couple of bad experiences. At one local restaurant I asked if they had anything without meat because there was nothing on the menu, their option – a grilled cheese sandwich – I do not go out to dinner to eat grilled cheese. Interestingly this place was quite empty, I believe it caters to the early crowd and they have not considered changing their menu to draw in patrons in the middle of the evening. This is a nice restaurant but I’d rather eat at the dive bar which has good food that does not contain meat.

In conclusion, my message to chefs, if you wish to attract customers by your menu include vegetarian options, not only will you attract the non-meat eaters but you are showing that you have imagination in the kitchen.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

A Sneak Peek

In my last post I mentioned two finished projects. The second one has been blocked and needs the ends sewn in and maybe buttons.

In the meantime it makes a perfect cat blanket - apparently.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

More Socks

I like days like Friday. It was the end of the week and I started the weekend with two finished projects. One needed blocking so no photos yet but one project was a pair of socks so I got the camera out yesterday and tried to take some interesting photos. Usually when I finish a project I quickly take photos as a record so there is not much thought to their composition. Mostly I check there isn't anything in the background and that the light's OK. But unless I have made a gift, there isn't usually a reason to rush to take photos.



The pattern is Tea and Scandal Socks by Very Busy Monkey and is available for free on Ravelry.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Shawls Being Worn

Just a post with photos of the shawls from these two posts.






Thursday, July 25, 2013

Two Projects Finished

Last week was fruitful as I finished two projects – one knit, one crochet. I finished a pair of socks I started in March as the mystery pattern. The construction is different as it starts with a knitted strip in a cable pattern for the back of the sock, then stitches are picked up all around to add width perpendicular to the back and then another cable strip was added for the front. I used Sockenklecks Edition Tausendschön by Schoppel-Wolle. This is my third and last “ball” of this yarn and it worked just right for this pattern. You can see my previous projects with this yarn here and here. There is no reason that these took me so long and in the end I just wanted them finished.




The other item finished was a baby blanket I crocheted. Usually I crochet blankets as they are quicker than knitting but it wasn’t the case with this one. At the start it felt like that I undid all that I worked. But once I got into the flow it was easy to see if I was making the stitches in the wrong place. I think this is the largest baby blanket I have made and should serve the baby for many years. The yarn is Bernat Baby Coordinates as baby blankets have to be made from a good washable yarn. And the pattern is from a Leisure Arts publication - Our Best Baby Afghans.




And I was so happy about finishing these that I persuaded hubby to take photos of the shawls I finished recently so there’s likely to be another post this week with photos.

And I couldn’t be content with finishing two projects and reducing my project count so another pair of socks was cast on. Although they are progressing much faster.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Two Pink Shawls

It may appear that there has just been sewing going on chez moi but, rest assured, the needles have been clicking away and two shawls were finished in June. Both from sock yarn that just so happened to be pink.

The first shawl was really using up the stash as I used the pink yarn shown in the first photo in this blog post. I had about 85 grams left from the pair of socks, so it was hard to consider them as leftovers. Then I saw a shawl pattern that seemed just right. In my post about the socks I commented on the variation in tone of the yarn. I didn't like it for the socks but it suits a shawl pattern just fine. The pattern is Summer Flies and can be found on Ravelry. The only photos I have of these two shawls are of them blocking so you'll have to take my word that they look really nice with summer dresses.



I am really excited to tell you about the next shawl as it used the last skein of yarn I bought on the Calgary yarn crawl - Merino Superwash Fingering by Indigo Moon. Although it is sock yarn, I just couldn't get my head into knitting socks with it and I did try earlier this year. I am sure it will be worn more as a shawl than socks.



The pattern is Kuuru and available on Ravelry or here. I left out one pattern repeat as I didn't have enough yarn.

I am a little concerned that despite my good intentions, the stash is not decreasing as much as I would like. I have one project close to completion, after that it looks like it will be a little while before I have anything to show off.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

More Sewing

Yes here is another sewing project. If I am not careful my fabric stash will exceed my yarn stash. I blame the sales and coupons at Jo-Ann’s.

I have already posted about the bags I have made from fat quarter bundles and I just had to buy more. This time it was a pack of baby flannel. On the same blog as the bag pattern, I saw a star quilt pattern and decided that would be a good design for the FQs.

Here's a close-up photo to show that some of my joins came out well.



After the quilt top was finished, I needed fabric for the backing and binding. I considered sewing FQs to make a backing but Jo-Ann’s no longer had FQ packs with the same fabric. So I waited for baby flannel to go on sale and bought some for the backing and binding. I already had plenty of batting in my stash. Although I had given away most of my fabric, I kept all of the batting. I machine quilted in the ditch using invisible thread in the top. I’m not over happy with how it came out and am not sure I will use invisible thread again but maybe it works better on cottons.







Not perfect but overall I am pleased with the end result.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Yarnover Truck


It started with food trucks. Those vans that pull up to the side of a road or parking lot and sell food. Hot dog stands were a regular corner feature in most towns, now food trucks are becoming more popular throughout the country. The reception to these is mixed. Hungry people think they are a great way to be fed quickly without having to resort to a burger from a chain. Other food establishments feel that it is a threat to their business. There is also a concern of noise and mess.
 
What I love about food trucks is that, if there are a number of them in one place, everybody in the group can find something they like.
 
So what does this have to do with yarn you ask? Well it’s just a preamble to other trucks. What started as mobile eateries has developed into a variety of mobile emporiums. The difference between a food truck and a non-food truck is that instead of being served through a side window, you actually enter the truck to view goods.
 
I believe that the first non-food trucks sold clothes, but now entrepreneurs are using the format to sell all types of goods.
 
I heard about the Yarnover Truck when one of my Calgary friends linked to a report in the LA Times. I had been to food trucks (love the row of them in downtown Portland) but had not visited any other types, and, of course, I was interested in anything that sold yarn. Except they were based in the LA area and there was plenty to keep them busy up there so they didn’t need a freeway journey to other areas of Southern California.
 
I was very pleased when over Memorial Day weekend they visited two wineries in the area. Especially as I had a gift certificate for one of them. But alas it was not to be. Oh well it was just a place that sold yarn, right? There are bricks and mortar stores in North County where I can buy yarn.
 
So I was excited when they came to San Diego on 30 June as part of the West Coast Mobile Retail Road Trip.  Now, believe it or not, I did actually need some yarn. I had started a shawl, designed by a good friend of mine, that was worked in two colours. I used one colour from my stash and now needed another colour, although there was no rush as I had plenty of other things to make. (If I wasn't in public I'd be rotflmao right now, did I really write that with a straight face?) I took the project with me and was really happy to immediately spot yarn that would go with my project. And, it is the same weight the only difference is it is 75% wool/25% nylon whereas the original yarn is 100% wool.
 
I was very well behaved and didn’t really look at the other yarns. I don’t need any more yarn on spec even though there was some lovely dusky pink lace weight. My impression was that the truck mainly had lighter weight yarns although I did see some heavier weights. But that makes sense as in their market area you do not really need heavy weight yarn. Also, I don’t know if this was part of their business plan but thinner yarn takes less room. In other words you can stock more.
 
And as there was a food truck at the event, we patronized that too.

Oh, and as for the yarn I bought, no I have not used it yet as my next outing is to a bead shop,









Monday, June 24, 2013

Another Bag

I know it appears that I am sewing more than knitting. But that is just because the items I am sewing are small enough and easy enough to become a finished object in a small amount of time. My knitting has not been abandoned.

The last bags I made were as a result of a link on Ravelry so, of course, when someone else posted a photo of a bag she had made I had to find the instructions:- reversible purse. This is a simple bag to make but as with most things there are a few changes I would make for next time. And I am sure there is going to be a next time.

I would press the seams at each stage and not at the end; I would mark a 1/4 inch line around the outside handle edge before joining the pieces as this was the only fiddly part of the whole project. There is a video to show this bag being made, which I did not see until after I had made my bag. There are also comments which are helpful for those with home printers which print on one size of paper only.

I used "home décor" fabric for my bag, (on sale at Jo-Ann's) which gives it a bit of stability. I am trying to decide if I want to use this as a project bag or a regular purse.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Another Quilt

After the last post, I realised I hadn't posted about my latest completed quilt. I had made all the projects in "I Can't Believe I'm Quilting" but that didn't mean my career as a quilter was over. Hubby had given me another quilting book and from all the fabric my mother-in-law had sent me, I was able to make a quilt top. The backing fabric had to be purchased.

I have no idea when I started this quilt or how long it took me or if I had any breaks between each section before stopping after the binding was machine sewn to the front. I know that it was sewn when we were living in Calgary and the backing fabric was purchased in 2009 and all I had to do was sew the binding to the backing. So I finally sat down and sewed. It didn't take long.

I really like this quilt. It is nowhere near perfect but it is not a gift nor a competition entry so the small mistakes do not matter as they are only noticeable if you look closely.




Just a quick note on the knitting front; yesterday I finished a sock. I still have the other one to knit to make a pair but at least it's a sock with yarn from my stash. This is the first sock I have made since the socks I showed off in this post. It is going to take a long while to use up my sock yarn at this rate.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Let's Make A Jelly Roll Quilt

This is not a post about how to make a jelly roll race quilt. There are plenty of instructions and videos available; just Google jelly roll race quilt and take your pick. Rather this is a bunch of photos of three women (and one onlooker) who decided to spend some time together and each make a quilt.

I was the only one who actually bought a (or bought an actual) jelly roll. After much deliberation I bought this one from Missouri Star Quilt Co. By coincidence this was also the company where I had first watched how to make a jelly roll race quilt.



My two compadres cut their own 2 inch strips from their own fabric supply. (OK one of them had a nice mother who did it for them.)

I decided to just sew my strips together as they came off the roll as had been suggested in one video. I also joined my strips with a straight seam as suggested in another blog. These two methods made it easy to align strips. Originally I chose the straight join as I liked the look in the one I saw on-line. Also it would have taken me for ever to join the strips on the diagonal. The other two chose strips at random and joined on the diagonal. This meant I "won" the first part of the race.

Here are my strips waiting to be sewn together and then after they have been sewn together but before cutting the threads.



Jenny sewing her strips. We knew it was serious when Jenny put her headband on.





After sewing together, I pressed open all my seams and smoothed out the wrinkles in the fabric, folded the strip in half and folded it in my lap to keep it under control while sewing the first seam.

Here it is sitting nicely in my lap and coming off the machine.



Elizabeth wrangling her first long strip all 1600 inches.



And Jenny with hers.



As each seam gets shorter the sewing time should get shorter but I didn't feel that was the case and I soon fell behind. Elizabeth showed Jenny how to wrap the strip around the newel post to ease the folding in half.




Elizabeth won the race.



(She was in a hurry as she had to pick up her children.)

Then Jenny.



And finally me.



And here is our onlooker, Lisa, concentrating on the sock she is knitting.



And the obligatory cat photo.



And now we all want to make another one, except we should finish these completely first. I am going to add borders to mine before backing, binding and quilting as I would like it to be bigger.

The things that I have learned from this first one: I do like the diagonal join but I would need much more time to ensure every strip lined up correctly; joining the strips as they come off the roll produces a nice enough quilt but the colours are spaced too regularly; don't eat a chocolate chip muffin and sew at the same time; you can sew with friends and produce something and have fun.