Monday, August 23, 2010

Summer happenings

Summer just started in SF. July and August had been unusually foggy and chilly, so I ended up spending more time indoors working on projects. Sorting through my fabric storage I came across a few yards of Kona cotton in bright greens and blues, destined for a quilt I was no longer interested in making. But the longer I looked at it I realized that one of my best friends, who also happens to be my cousin thrice removed, loves these colors. Though we live thousands of miles apart we are very close and I decided to make a quilt for her, big enough to cuddle under on the sofa, or take outside for a picnic. Using five colors total, I paired each dark or cobalt blue triangle with a green, jade, or light blue one and put them together randomly. Unfortunately I discovered the awesome half-square-triangle (or hst in quilter's lingo) technique after I was done cutting my squares into triangles. I read somewhere that triangles aren't maybe the best project for a novice quilter because the bias edges can stretch, and yes, my resulting squares don't all line up perfectly. But she won't care, and I, despite my perfectionist tendencies, don't really either, and love how the quilt turned out, crooked squares and all. For the back I used what was left of the green and jade Kona cotton, divided by a band of blue. I machine-quilted it with turquoise cotton thread and diagonal lines, and applied the binding using this awesome technique by turning*turning. VoilĂ !
Triangle Quilt front
Triangle Quilt back
It felt good to use supplies I already had that were perfect. I started the quilt in July and completed it just last week.
Back in July I also won this beautiful owl softie in a give-away hosted by Emma, creator of the wonderful blog the marion house book.
iBeastyou owl
I recently cleared out a lot of style blogs from my reader, because I got tired of looking just at stuff. The marion house book though has a wonderful mix of interior design (love the hello! neighbor house tours), recipes, art, and diy projects, and every post is inspiring. The beautiful owl is one of a kind made by artist Becky Lane, you can see and read more about her work at i beast you.

Gina asked after my last post what ever happened to the Aaren dress I was knitting last year. Hmm. So this is what happened: I knit both the front and back up to where I needed to decide on the neckline (didn't feel like the crew neck, didn't want a turtle neck either) and then totally lost steam. I know it wouldn't take that long to finish it, but at this point I'm not even sure if I still want to make and wear a knit dress, even though the pattern is so pretty. So I plan to wait until it gets cold again to get in the mood for cozy knits and revisit the dress. Finish or frog, that'll be the question.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Catching up and starting again

Well, hello, I missed this spot! It's summer, and though I'm not taking classes two very awesome internships are keeping me busy. One more semester to go and I'll have my degree. Unbelievable. I've been able to make time for crafting though, now I just need to get the blog going again. If you're a flickr contact you've probably seen some of the things I've made since I last posted.

First, a pair of Bella's mittens. Practical me didn't quite understand why I needed woolly mittens in a mediterranean climate. But I loved how cozy and comfy they looked, and they knit up very quickly. Perfect for winter beach walks. I used less than two skeins of Plymouth Yarn Galway Worsted, held double, and US 8's.
Bella_mittens1

A new favorite, the Cousteau hat, knit with two skeins of Louisa Harding's Kashmir Baby in a rich dark navy. It's super soft and not itchy at all on my wool sensitive head.
Cousteau1

I made a necklace with Thai silver beads I've had for ages and dark gray embroidery floss, which I crocheted with a tiny hook.
Orb_necklace

And a small bag, perfect for carrying essentials when going out for breakfast Sunday mornings. I pieced this together from leftover fabric used for my messenger bag, but used the reverse side, which has more texture.
Breakfast bag 1

I also made a shirt with all the trimmings (cuffs, collar, button band, still need pictures) and joined a quilting bee with some very talented ladies. A quilt for a dear friend is currently in the works. More to come soon!