From A - Olive Basket Cardigan

It's been quite the unintended blog hiatus for us. Kelsey has been working like crazy and I've been busy working and moving house. It's been hard to start blogging again as the list of things I want to post gets longer and longer and it's difficult to know where to begin. Often it's simpler not to post than to figure out how to collect my thoughts to draft something.

That said, I've missed this space and I've missed the longer discussions that arise from posting about my creative process here on the blog. As much as I love Instagram, it's hard to do justice to something you've spent months making with one photo, a few lines of text and a hash tag or two. So with these reflections in mind, I hope you'll forgive the glut of "old" projects that I'll be sharing over the next few weeks as I stumble through the pics on my SD card and share those that mean the most to me.

In that vein, I've been meaning to share this cardigan that I finished back in November. I started it back in July but did most of the knitting on our trip to New Zealand and Australia in August of last year. In true Amanda-style, it took me another three months after getting home to seam and block the pieces I knit so that I could finally wear it.

The pattern is Amy Miller's Olive Basket Cardigan. I happened upon it on Ravelry one day and decided it was the perfect basic for a California winter. I'm really pleased with how it came out which is a treat since I haven't knit a sweater since about 2008 and was long overdue for something new.

I managed to use some long hoarded Rowan Felted Tweed for this which makes this finish all the more exciting for a girl who recently had to pack up and move her rather voluminous stash.

Although I've made quite a few handknit sweaters over the years, this is the first one that I've really gotten much wear out of. I think the fact that it's a simple cardigan means that it's easy to just throw on when I leave the house. You can find some more details on my Ravelry page if you need them.

It feels good to be back. I'm looking forward to spending more time in this space again soon!

From K - Finished Sundottir Sweater

Just two months ago, I was very genuinely over the moon with excitement to show you my very first hand knit sweater, my Grace Cardigan. Today, just a few months later, I'm back to share my second ever knit sweater - sqeeeeeel! *excuse me while I do a little happy dance!*

Sundottir wooed me from the beginning, and continues to woo me every time I put it on. I made minimal edits to the pattern, which included lengthening the body and arms, as well as sizing down two sizes on the arms (all of which give this sweater a practically perfect fit).

I found this project to be a perfect balance of quick (hello stocking knit body!), and fun (colour work yoke for the win!). All in all it took me just over five weeks to turn five skeins of yarn into a wearable sweater!

I picked up the Malabrigo Rios (worsted weight) in the colourway Plomo from my LYS for the primary colour, and paired it with a simple natural wool for a contrasting yoke. I've worn this sweater more than a dozen times since finishing it in early November, and it wears like a dream.

I'm still hooked on the fair isle / colour work band wagon, so don't expect this to be the last sweater you see me whip up this winter. I foresee a few more cozy knits in my future, maybe even another Sundottir!

To read more about this project, check out my Ravelry page for more details.

 

From K - Finished New Wave Quilt

Two years ago, when I had only just started quilting, I fell for Elizabeth Hartman's blog, Oh Fransson!, followed quickly by my love of her New Wave Quilt pattern. As a novice quilter with only three other quilts under my belt, I thought this was a good next step.

This quilt marked my first foray into quilting with a more modern design, and was the first time I ever tried free motion quilting. Simultaneously, it also happened to be the first time I had ever ordered fabric online (Fat Quarter Shop to be exact!).

While I'm not traditionally a crayola colour scheme kind of lady, I feel hard for the little owl prints! I think this is a timeless treasures line, thought the name escapes me.

The bundle I purchased came with a panel featuring various forest scenes, so I fussy cut them, framed them in gray and white, and then used them on the back.

This poor quilt has been sitting neglected in my fabric wardrobe for a few years, and recently had a wee run in with a metal drawer slide. After trimming down the bottom of the quilt to cut off the hole, I debated cutting some off the top as well to recenter the quilt back. In the end I decided the future recipient (who is 3 and ADORES both owls and the colour green) won't mind the back one bit so I left it as large as possible.

It's fun to look back at a quilt that challenged me in so many ways, but also really opened my eyes to a whole new world of modern quilting. While my colour palette has matured over the years, and my FMQ has improved, it gives me a lot of joy to pull this quilt out from storage, and to gift it to someone I know will love it.

From A - Frog Pond Quilt

This quilt started as part of my September square cutting marathon. After more than 5 weeks away from my sewing machine, I was desperate to start a few new projects and tried to pick some simple ones in the hopes that they wouldn't become long-term WIPs. This strategy was obviously a good one since a little more than 2 months later, I'm proud to say that this little baby quilt is done and off to its new home.

The pattern was really simple and quick to put together. In about a week of leisurely sewing, I had a completed top. I didn't do anything too fancy with the quilting, opting to stick with stitch-in-the-ditch and adding another quilting line in the middle of each round of sashing to highlight the patchwork squares.

I backed it using some Lotus Pond yardage I had originally picked up to make a crib sheet and used a AMH voile scrap to make it wide enough. The effect is simple but it adds a bit of interest to an otherwise plain backing. I also like that it adds some extra softness to the quilt. A little gaffer wrapped in this quilt might find a bit of comfort holding this soft strip voile up to his cheek.

The label is a leftover bit from the Red Letter Day quilt we made for my cousin's wedding in July. It's not a perfect match but I like how it echos the coraly pink in the binding.

Finished Quilt Stats:

• Quilt Name: Frog Pond

• Finished Size: Crib (45" x 45")

• Fabric: Lotus Pond by Rae Hoekstra

• Pattern: Storytime Squares Quilt a free pattern also by Rae Hoekstra

• Quilting: More Stitch-in-the-Ditch

Linking up to Finish it up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts.

From A - Infinite Infinity Scarves

Many moons ago, I took a half yard of Liberty tana lawn and a half yard of chambray and made an infinity scarf for a friend.

The finished scarf was so elegant and easy that I decided I should make 10 more using various chambrays from my stash and a half yard bundle of Liberty that I had purchased during a slip of the credit card. Possibly a moment where I had taken leave of my senses but I figured I could have them on hand as gifts and maybe set a couple aside for my own wearing pleasure.

Although I had them cut and serged into tubes within days of planning this project they sat unfinished for months afterwards while I distracted myself with life and newer, shinier projects. I picked them up again when the occasion of another friend's birthday demanded that they be finished immediately.

I'm quite happy with how they came out and love how the mix of prints and chambrays gives each one a distinct flavour and personality. Perhaps the best part is having a treasure trove of beautiful handmade gifts on-hand and ready to go. Hopefully this will rehabilitate my reputation as a perpetually late (handmade) gift-giver.

From A - Finished Baby Love Quilt

Back in June, I was busy studying for a big exam and had almost no free time to sew or really do anything enjoyable. After a couple of weeks, I started going a little stir crazy and decided that I would let myself work on a baby quilt for a friend.

I spent an afternoon picking a fairly straightforward pattern and laying out a couple of charm packs and some scraps from my "light neutral" drawer. From then on, I let myself make one block per day until I had a finished quilt top.

Trying to avoid adding yet another WIP to the pile, I whipped up the world's simplest backing from stash and basted it in early September. I spent a few weeks trying to figure out howto quilt it before finally opting to stick with boring old Stitch-in-the-Ditch.

Although it's not too exciting I think the quilting actually highlights the blocks quite nicely. The quilting and scrappy low volume background prints minimize the secondary square-diamond-square pattern between the the blocks that I was trying to avoid. The Dream Wool batting I used gave this quilt just the right amount of puff.

I used a remnant strip of pink voile to make a bias tape label and bound it with another print of Acacia yardage that I was hording.

I think my favourite part of this quilt is the fact that the squirrel print on the back is perfectly centered and symmetrical on the back of the quilt. Definitely not planned but a welcome surprise after I trimmed up the quilt top.

Finished Quilt Stats:

• Quilt Name: Woodland Walk

• Finished Size: Crib (36" x 48")

• Fabric: Two Tula Pink Acacia charm packs and various low volume scraps.

• Pattern: Baby Love by Camille Roskelley in her book Simply Retro (with an extra row of blocks since I'm not a fan of square quilts).

• Quilting: Ol' Faithful Stitch-in-the-Ditch

Our lobster-dog wishes you a safe and happy Halloween!

Linking up to Finish it up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts.

From A - Tinsel Treeskirt

About two days before Christmas last year, I started a tree skirt for my sister-in-law using the Tinsel Treeskirt pattern in Issue 11 of Fat Quarterly. Realizing at the last possible moment that it wasn't going to get done unless someone gave me a time-turner for Christmas, I shoved it into the long-term planning box hoping that I would get it done in time this year.

Sometime last spring, I pulled out the top and basted it using a Marimekko print I picked up from my local Crate & Barrel outlet for about $2.00 a yard for the back. It continued to sit while I thought about how I wanted to quilt it until I saw how Kelsey chose to quilt her camping quilt.

This was my first attempt at free-motion quilting and although I was a bit scared. I had a ton of fun with the freedom it gave me. It really forced me to let go of my perfectionist tendencies and even though it's far from perfect, I really love the effect.

I opted to cut a smaller tree hole than called for in the pattern (only about 3.5") to account for the fact that the intended recipient uses an artificial tree. I used some purple double fold bias binding tape that I found in my stash to bind it and make the ties. Love finding exactly what I need in the stash!

I'm really glad I managed to finish this with more than 2 months spare. Now to tackle the rest of last year's Christmas gift list. Wish me luck!

From K - Finished Constellations Camping Quilt

Last month I shared an update on the retro camper that my hubs and I were busy working on over the summer. While he was labouring over custom woodworking, plumbing and electrical work... I prioritized the important glamping details... a camping quilt of course!

I had been slowly collecting prints from Lizzy House's Constellations line for months and when we purchased our Travelux Pearl, I knew instantly that this line was perfect for a camping quilt.

To round out my Constellations collection, I added various bits of other Lizzy House fabrics including some Jewels and Pearl Bracelets.

After trying out a few shades of pearl bracelets for the background, I landed on a dark gray with metalic shimmer to add some dreamy moodiness to the quilt.

This quilt turned out to be larger than I had anticipated, so I had to get a bit creative on the backing as a result. To compliment the front, I used a small scrap from each print to replicate the purple-to-white gradient shown on the quilt top.

I tried a new-to-me FMQ design on this quilt since stars just seemed like an obvious choice. I love the crinkly texture that appears between the stars, and hope that with time it will continue to emphasize their shapes.

Final Quilt Details:

• Quilt Name: Constellations Camping Quilt
• Finished Size: Somewhere between double and queen (75" x 90")
• Fabric: this entire quilt is exclusively Lizzy House fabric, largely composed of prints from her Constellations and Pearl Bracelets fabric lines.
• Pattern: designed by Kelsey using TouchDraw
• Quilting: chains of stars by Kelsey

You can read more about the making of this quilt here, here and here.

From K - Finished Directions Quilt

I recently decided it was high time I started to finish up some of the UFOs that have been slowly piling up in my craft room. My Directions Baby Quilt top seemed like the perfect opportunity to practice some FMQ so I whipped up a back and began stitching.

After a few minutes of deliberation, I started by stitching an orange peel design on the half square triangles to give the quilt some motion, and then later added pebbles along the sashing just for fun.

I used 100% of the materials for this quilt from my stash, and it was a fun challenge.

For the quilt back I pieced a few gender neutral prints together.

When choosing binding, I didn't have enough of any one print to work, so I added three prints that complimented the backing.

This project reminded me how fast and fun making baby quilts are.

I think I need to make a habit of making these types of stash busting, no rules, baby quilts in the future.

 

From A - Finished Carnival Quilt

More than two years after it began, I can finally say that this quilt is finished. Most of that time was spent debating how I wanted to quilt this one. In the end, I kept things pretty simple by stitching in the ditch around each block and the first border before adding a simple but sort of fancy border that I can only describe as marquis.

I marked the border by tracing around a kitchen pot lid that happened to be the right size with my trusty blue chaco liner. It actually worked out pretty great and created beautiful smooth curved lines that I would never have been able to manage freehand.

I am especially pleased with how the border quilting worked out in the corners, creating smooth pointy bits that didn't interrupt the flow in the border.

Although I was originally planning something a little fancier for the main panel in the quilt, I'm glad I kept it simple. I think that the simple quilting creates a sense of calm that works perfectly with the overall feel of this quilt.

I backed the quilt using one of the clothesline prints from the same collection that I absolutely love. It was a little too narrow to get the job done so I added a leftover strip of AMH voile. It is so soft. Definitely adding "back a quilt in voile" to the ol' quilty bucket list at some point.

I of course bound in orange plaid since I am powerless in the face of plaid. A pretty big part of me wishes I could bind every quilt in plaid but until someone releases a collection of plaid fabric in every colour, I'm going to have to restrain myself.

Final Quilt Details:

• Quilt Name: Carnival Quilt
• Finished Size: Lap size (a.k.a. 43" x 51")
• Fabric: Various prints from Lucy's Crab Shack by Sweetwater and some Kona White
• Pattern: Carnival Quilt by Jaybird Quilts
• Quilting: Stitch in the ditch with fancy border 

My art director came along for the photo shoot and seemed pretty pleased with how this one turned out. And with that, another baby quilt bites the metaphorical dust. Only 80-billion more to go!

Happy weekend friends. Hope it's a good one!

From K - 241 Tote

During my last modern quilt guild meeting, I stumbled across some new woven Lecien prints in my LQS that I immediately swooned over. Without much deliberation, I decided I suddenly neeeeeeeded some of it in my life.

Enter Noodlehead's 241 Tote (and my new love!).

While searching for a good pairing for my bag, I kept coming back to a print from Sarah Watson's new line Arcadia that I just adore. Herb Garden in Multi, - I might need this print in an obscene amount of yardage.

With some help from great quilty friends (ie. enablers), I chose two Sarah Watson Arcadian prints for my primary and lining fabric, as well as two Lecien wovens for side panels and straps.

Noodlehead's pattern is so extremely well written and easy to follow, I would recommend it to even the most novice bag maker. I love the finished size, and how easy it is to customize. I am already narrowing options down for a second 241!

Also the lining has little mushrooms. I mean how can it get better than that?! So much whimsy, and I'm lovin' it.

From K - Simplicity 1877 Catnap Dress (the 2nd)

Nearly six months ago when Lizzy House announced her Catnap Dress Contest, I immediately dreamt up a Simplicity 1877 dress using a lavender coloured catnip print from her new line. After quickly realizing the contest required use of an actual cat print from the line, I switched gears to make this dress... but not before tossing this lavender catnip print in to my shopping cart.

Months passed but I still couldn't shake the dress idea from my mind, and my desire for a new dress for the Calgary Stampede was growing. So in typical last minute Kelsey fashion, I finally whipped up this dress 48hrs before my first stampede event of the season... even stitching the hem on my commute.

Since I had previously used the pattern and had the yardage on hand, I was able to sew this up in two (long) evenings, no alterations required.

For stampede I paired it with a brown leather belt, cowboy boots, and of course a hat, similar to how I styled my handmade stampede dress last year (shown here). Sorry I didn't seem to get any stampede pictures this year.

Last month when Amanda and I were back in Manitoba for a wedding, we both sported handmade dresses to the rehearsal supper and she took some photos for me afterwards.

I honestly can't say enough about how much I love this pattern. I wear my original catnap dress a lot, but this one is getting even more rotations in my wardrobe already. Great pattern, original fabric, what more could a girl want!