Have I Finished Anything?

well yes I have. This week I finished a couple of hats for charity - and I took photos of them. And I completely used up two balls of yarn so that is a nice addition to yarn out.

The first two hats are the same pattern except one was knitted from the top down to make sure I used up every little piece of yarn and it did work out very well as there was just a few inches after the bind off row. (I finished the first one way back in January.)

The pattern is Barley, a free pattern from Tin Can Knits.



The other hat was crocheted and I used the Tulips hat pattern again. Having made it for charity last year.



For someone who doesn't like to knit the same pattern twice because there are so many patterns available, I certainly seem to like to repeat hat patterns.

I was hoping that I would also have a finished shawl to show off. The one shown here, because I was very close to finish the border. Problem is it is a sideways knitted border and I had estimated incorrectly how much yarn I needed. It was worked in a second colour so I pulled it all out and am just working a few rows of stocking stitch before the border. No timescale now for when it will be finished. This is what it looked like before I pulled the brown out.



On the sewing front, I finished a quilt, no photos as it is a gift, and I made good inroads into another one.

Jelly Roll Quilt Finished

Remember this? I am happy to report that it is now a fully completed quilt.

After finishing the Jelly Roll Race, I knew I wanted to make mine bigger. I started by adding narrow borders in contrasting colours and then added a fancy border in the same fabric as the main quilt. (I had purchased two jelly rolls.) I added the squares at each corner so that the diagonals did not run into each other. Although I hadn't planned it this way, there was just enough of the lighter orange fabric for the binding.

I am glad I made it bigger so that it gets used as a throw also the additions make it more visually interesting. I like the idea of the Jelly Roll Race as a fun sewing day with friends but without the border details my quilt is pretty blah. I won't be making it again but if I did I would want a range of fabric with a lot of contrast.

A Binding Glitch

There's a saw that says "measure twice, cut once" and my situation wasn't as bad as that but definitely a case of check before you sew.

I have been (slowly) making a quilt and it is now ready for binding. A few weeks ago I made the binding which involved cutting the required number of strips sewing them into one length and then folding and pressing them in half. So this week I was ready to machine sew the strip to the quilt. I started with a large roll of fabric, of which, of course, I don't have a photo, and merrily started sewing. As the roll quickly got smaller I started to think there wasn't going to be enough and as I got closer to the end I wondered if I had ever checked the length of binding against the actual perimeter of the quilt.

I certainly hadn't checked before starting to sew and I ended up with more quilt than binding. But oh so close.



This wasn't a huge problem but as the quilt is queen size it is a bit unwieldy. I had plenty of fabric from which to cut another strip which I pressed in half before joining to the end already on the quilt. It was just a pain stitching the small seam and supporting the weight of the quilt. I managed it and finished the edge. Now it just needs to be hand sewn on the back. I am very excited about this quilt as it is a surprise gift, so no full photos yet.

Successful Vacation Knitting

The last time I wrote about knitting while on vacation it was a tale of wow about unsuccessful projects and I was mindful of this as I set off for a trip to visit family. I needed an easy pattern suitable for working while chatting I also thought if I limited the yarn I took, I would have to make it work, also if the worse came to worst I could buy yarn and needles.

I had seen a mystery knit along on Ravelry for a shawl knit out of DK weight yarn. I have some nice DK weight yarn that I had no idea what to make so this was the opportunity. I wound one skein before I went and took needle tips in two sizes but still living dangerously no swatching before hand. I did take a skein of sock yarn and needles just in case.

I am pleased to report that this time the knitting was a success. Not only do I like the pattern but yarn has been used up. I have used two full skeins in the same colour and started the third skein in a different colour. The day before I was due to come home, I got to the border. As it is a sideways knit border I decided to wait until I got home before starting. the problem is that now I have two shawls waiting for sideways borders to be added; although not hard, they are not social knitting. The skein of sock yarn was not needed.

This is the shawl after two clues.



A little bit of souvenir shopping went on. Before I left I ordered some yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners and it was waiting for me. It is their Signature 4-ply in their Country Birds series and I chose Kingfisher. This will self-stripe and I am going to be patient and wait for the challenge before starting this yarn.



I also took a crochet project for the flights and started a Tulips Hat.

My WIPs are creeping up and I want to cast on a pair of socks or two for April's challenge. Nevermind that I'm not even at the heel on the first sock for March's challenge. Although I did finish one of the cardigans before I went away, it needs to be blocked and sleeves sewn in before it is a finished object. And having completed that I will work on the other cardigan that is on the needles.

But they are all projects I am enjoying working on.