Back in the saddle again!

Well, my hand has finally healed enough from surgery to knit again! YAY!!! With some great patterns and a lot of encouragement from Jackie E-S of HeartStrings Fiber Arts, I have made some fun things. Gave me the courage to do something more challenging. My beautiful 19-yo granddaughter, Jenn, found a pattern for the SwirlyGig Hat at KnitPicks.com that she really liked, so of course, this grandma HAD to make it!










The colors show much better in the picture of the unfinished hat.


Here is a picture of the wrist warmers I made from Jackie E-S pattern.

My current project is a pair of socks - for ME! Haven't cast on yet.The colors look a little washed out in the picture. Hopefully, when the socks are done, the colors will show up better.

I haven't been on for forever, but just gotta post about the 1 Choice 4 Quilting: It's the Nice List Giveaway! Click HERE to enter!

How to Make a 3-D Bow Tie Block

All steps, except #14 and #15, will be with wrong side facing.

 

1.           Using square of any size, fold in half (right sides together) and crease, either by finger pressing or iron.

 

         2.           Now fold in half the other way and crease.

 

3.     Bring fold at center right to upper right hand corner and pin.

 

        4.      Rotate counter clockwise and repeat step 3.

 
5.           Repeat step 4.

6.           Repeat step 5.

 

7.           Lay block on a flat surface and pat center down.

 

          8.           With threaded needle, attach thread to center of one of the folds.

9.           Run thread/needle through center of each fold, all the way around the block. DO NOT TACK.

 

           10.           Make sure you run thread/needle through first fold when you get back to it. Again, DO NOT TACK.

11.           Draw thread tight, whipstitch centers together. Remove pins.

 

12.           Press the folds together, 2 on each side, forming a straight line across the center.

 13.           Whipstitch folds together and tie off the thread.

 

14.           Turn block over and gently pull folds of bow tie in place.

 

 

15.      Gently press block.

It's All in the Name

Dawn from As Sweet as Cinnamon wants to know why the different blogs are named what they are.  She is even holding a contest if you are willing to blog why your blog is named what it is.  Go here to link up your post for the contest.

When I started my blog, I already had a website called KyleAnn's Kreations. I was a fledgling knit designer and showcased my new and kustom knit and krochet designs. I didn't think I could call my blog the same name (I wasn't computer-savvy enough then to know I could, but also wanted to avoid confusion), so I named my blog Knitting with KyleAnn (it's all about me, you know!)

Of course, back then I wasn't into quilting yet, but I saw no reason to change the name. Although, if someone were to come up with a name that I can't resist, then I just might consider changing my blog name! If you have a suggestion on what I could rename my blog, leave it in a comment below! Be nice, tho! This is a family-oriented site. :-)

Back from N.C. and Progress!

Tom and I spent nearly a week down in the mountains of North Carolina - just 10 miles away from the Tennessee border. We were at one of the TVA lakes (Hiwassee) at the "cabin" of Tom's cousin and his wife, Michael and Ann. They spent the weekend there as well. We had a wonderful time. It was so beautiful there, so relaxing, and the weather cooperated. Thanks, Michael and Ann!

I spent most of the drive down, during the visit, and the drive back knitting on the 3-to-2 Any Gauge Sweater I mentioned in a previous post. The back is just a rectangle - knit on the bias. And I got it down! Yay!! And I have started the front. Here is a picture of the back on the blocking mats I bought from KnitPicks.com. I can't wait for it to dry. Hopefully it won't take too long to finish the front and I can get it on the mats. In the picture, the black/white tweed looks gray. I think i will make 3/4 length sleeves for this sweater.

Almost finished with the laundry from the trip. Better go get it done!

Block Swap! and contest

Encouraged by my daughter-in-law, Mary, I joined a block swap on the internet. There are five other people in the swap. We all listed our favorite colors and our dislikes, and now we make a 12" (finished) block for each of the others. I just finished my first! And I LOVE it!!! I'm really going to hate mailing it, but I must.

I now have a few entries on my Quilt Book Club blog. If you are having trouble posting a comment, make sure your name is in your comment and set your ID as "anonymous". I now have to approve all comments, but at least they are being posted without error messages! If you name is not in your comment, I will no longer be able to approve it. And remember, you have four opportunities to win the drawing, so make sure you make a separate comment for each one that applies to you!

Hope to see tons of entries!!

Time for a New Knitting Project

Peggy Shawl by Heartstrings Fiber Arts

I haven't been knitting much because I am having to re-train my left hand. But I finally completed another Peggy Shawl that I started in February with a sport-weight yarn. Been playing a little with another shawl in a DK yarn. Now I am going to try a tried-and-true sweater pattern. It's the 3-to-2 Any Gauge Sweater by Heartstrings Fiber Arts. I have made several of these but have, (throat clearing), outgrown them. They are such a joy to make - so easy and fairly quick. You can use any yarn with appropriate size needles to create the sweater that correctly fits YOU. No worries about meeting gauge, etc. You really ought to check it out!

3-to-2 Sweater

I have no idea what the yarn is that I am going to use. It's just a HUGE cone of yarn, probably synthetic, MAYBE a blend. It's a black/gray tweed and I am using size 7 (US) needles. Don't know how long my hands will last, but I will certainly give it a try!

New Blog!

I have created a new blog for an online quilt-along! Be sure to check it out and tell all your quilting friends - there is even a give-away contest! If the "blog" link does not work, go to KyleAnnsQuiltBookClub.blogspot.com.

Great Day!

Had SO (maybe that should be SEW) much fun today! Three of my quilting "buds" came over for a sew-in. Loretta, Peggy, and my beautiful granddaughter, Jenn, brought their machines and a project or two to my house and we sat and sewed all day.

My goal for the day was to make a cover for my major expensive (50 cents!) pocket calendar. Used my quilting software to print off a foundation pieced pattern for the Ohio Star block - but I wanted it to be three inches square. I thought foundation (paper) piecing would be easier than cutting those tiny pieces and sewing them together. I am very pleased with the result!

Thanks, guys, for a great day!

MY chair

Sorry, Mom. It's MY chair! Guess you'll have to sit on the floor!

Love my featherweight!

Today's been a relatively quiet, yet productive, day. Had my last insurance-paid therapy this morning.  :( I will miss the therapy, but I will miss my new friends more. We all had so much fun (why should physical therapy be miserable?).

Cut fabric for the July fabric swap at Goodtime Quilters in Circleville. Cut the July mystery quilt for Always In Stitches. Then I brought out the little Singer Featherweight I just bought from a friend. It's SO cute! Nothing fancy. Only does straight stitch. But it's small and lightweight, making it easy to tote to sewing events. Got it all cleaned up (it really needed it!) and started working on a quilt.

Then prepared Homemade Gourmet Skillet Lasagna for dinner. Didn't have everything it called for so made lots of substitutions. It's tasty. Tom and I are sitting and eating it now. [Deep, contented sigh] Can you feel the relaxation and satisfaction?

Prize Winning Student!

CONGRATULATIONS to Kay Melvin, who took a first place ribbon at the Pickaway County Fair on her bag from the Felted Tote class at Always in Stitches! (Along with several other ribbons on items she made!!) Good job, Kay!

Quilting Can Be Therapy Too!

As you read in my previous post, I had a wonderful "quilting weekend." Granted, most of the sewing was done on the machine, but I had a lot of "fine motor skill" practice on the quilt pictured on the previous post.

On Monday, some friends came to my house to sew and we had a lot of fun! I did not use my machine yesterday. I did hand-sewing. I had to finish the binding on another jelly roll quilt. This quilt was done in scarlet and gray fabric, with a little white and black thrown in for good measure. I made it for the brother of one of my therapists, John. Joe, who is currently in the hospital with Stage IV cancer, is also an OSU fan. John, on the other hand, is a Michigan fan. So I had double the fun making it!

Sewing the binding on did  require fine motor skills with my left (sore) hand. With the quilt being approximately 68x50, I got lots of therapeutic practice (with plenty of breaks).

As you can see in one of these pictures, I also quilted in a cancer ribbon in one corner. The others are of John receiving, and proudly displaying, Joe's folded quilt.

Thank you, Heirloom Quilters of West Jeff

A friend invited me to join a weekend quilt retreat in Piketon, Ohio. Her mother is a member of Heirloom Quilters of West Jefferson, Ohio, and the guild had opened up their retreat to other quilters. There were a couple members from the Mt. Sterling guild there, and my daughter-in-law, Mary, went with me. These women are lovely people and they were each-and-every-one making beautiful quilts. Mary and I were made to feel very welcome and we had a wonderful time.

Before my surgery in March I had started a Fun and Done quilt named Easy Diamonds. This pattern is, indeed, an easy and fun quilt  to make. Basically, you quilt-as-you-go, sash-as-you-go, and self-bind. When you are done, well, you are done! Having said that, I didn't get it finished before surgery. I took it to the retreat with me this weekend and it is DONE!  YAY!

None of these pictures show the colors at all well. I used 3 shades of gray and 3 shades of red. The sashing/binding/backing is a dark charcoal.

Thank you, ladies, for a wonderful weekend and for new friendships.

New Project from 1 Choice 4 Quilting

1Choice4Quilting has a Quilting Book Club. Basically, they pick 3-4 projects from the book and you have a month to complete each project.  This month's selection is  Posie Patch from Modern Basics. Here is mine - ready to be quilted by next week It's not a great picture and SO doesn't show the colors at all well. But it's the best I can do right now.

Little Wallet

Always In Stitches just got in a new pattern - a sewing card - for the Little Wallet. It's so darned cute! They made up about 20 kits. I had some scrap fabric with me so I made one out of my scraps. Now it matches my Kindle cover that I made and it will hold my Bluetooth that I keep misplacing. The picture on the left is the inside, or "opened up" view. On the right is the closed or outside view.

Physical Therapy (aka Pink Ribbon) Socks Finished!

Here are the socks I've been working on! John got a preview of them on Tuesday before I was finished putting the pink ribbons on, but I will give them to him tomorrow. I had a lot of fun designing and making them. Excited that I can knit a little, though not up to my usual standard. But it's progress!!!  (Doing the happy dance!)

Something Old, Something New

I mentioned in an earlier post about making a pair of white socks with pink ribbons for the mother of one of my physical therapists. My hand hasn't healed enough for me to get the tension correct to knit the ribbons in the socks, so am using the duplicate stitch to add the ribbons. Work like this goes much more smoothly, and easier, if you use a darning egg. I remembered the one my grandmother used - doesn't look like an "egg" at all, but is perfect for this project.

My grandmother was born in the late 1800's and died in the early 1970's. So that gives you an idea how old this "egg" is. At first, all I could think of was how pleased my mom would be to know I am using it. Indeed, I wanted to call and tell her! I still have many moments like that. But I am sure she knows anyway. :-) Don't you?

Great New Giveaway

1 Choice 4 Quilting is another getaway! Go to their blog for all the details and to see their great new line of fabrics and new notions.

Quilting the Jelly Roll Race Quilt

I am having too much fun with this quilt! As you can see, I have started quilting it. I really want to finish it tomorrow, but I have physical therapy tomorrow for my hand and will probably not be in any condition to do much of anything. :( However, we'll see. In the meantime, I really like the quilting pantograph I chose and the way it looks on the quilt!