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Pacific Northwest, United States

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I've been crafting things for myself and others since my teen years. Designing and creating is not just what I do.....it's Who I Am. Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, August 30, 2013

On The Needles, August 30, 2013

While on the hunt for new (to me) knit washcloth patterns to try, I found "The Hive" by Jill Swensen.  You can find her pattern Here.


I jumped right in and began knitting before I realized that this pattern is a smaller, "Scrubby" size.  My finished cloth measures 5-1/2" square.  I used US size 7 needles and Peaches & Creme variegated Lilac Ombre 100% cotton yarn.  I'm not unhappy with the size because I can always use a small cloth and it gave me a chance to try out the pattern.   I think I've figured out how to make it bigger.

Have you knitted this pattern before?

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Be sure to check out Patchwork Times for more "On the Needles" blog post links.  There are some awesome knitters out there!

Happy Knitting,
     ~Diane

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Free-Motion Quilting–August 29, 2013

Back in March of this year I completed piecing the top of a baby quilt, “9-Patch Posies”.  This flimsy sat in the WIP pile for several months but has now moved to the top of the stack.

Swirl_quilting


Quilting these swirls is a first for me.  I’ve practiced a few times but this is the first time I’ve actually stitched them on a quilt.  Things are going well so far and I’m liking the outcome.  All my quilting is done by me on my domestic machine so there are some quilt patterns that I just am not able to accomplish.

I have to say that deciding on the quilt stitching is one of the most difficult choices to make – at lease for me.  Picking blocks, colors, and fabric is fun; but when it comes to the actual quilting, I tend to stumble a lot.  All the choices I’ve made up to this point have created a certain “look” and “feel” and I want to be careful and deliberate in choosing a stitch pattern that contributes to that “look” and doesn’t distract or work against it.

How do you choose your quilt stitching patterns? 

I'm linked to the Free Motion Quilting blog.  Check it out!

Have a great quilting day and thanks for stopping by.
   ~Diane

Monday, August 26, 2013

Design Wall Monday, August 26, 2013

Years ago I found an eagle block in an old quilting magazine and sketched a copy for future use.  Unfortunately I don’t have the information about the source of this block otherwise I would give credit where it’s due. 

DWM-082613

I'm planning on using this block as the center square for my next Quilt of Valor quilt. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out Patchwork Times for more Design Wall blog posts.

Happy Quilting,
        ~Diane

Friday, August 9, 2013

On The Needles, August 9, 2013

It’s getting harder to find new washcloth patterns that I like.  There are a lot of really creative washcloths to be found on the web, but I tend to prefer the square or rectangular styles instead of fruit or vegetable shapes.  Recently I saw a video produce by knitpurlhunter.com that looked interesting.

The stitch pattern is called the Closed Star Stitch and looks similar to another one that I tried and failed at producing.  This pattern is a four-row repeat and uses two contrasting yarn colors.
OTN-080913
I used size 7 circular needle and Peaches & Crème 100% cotton yarn.  The pattern is a multiple of three stitches +2 so I cast on 38 stitches which is yielding a width of just slightly over 8”.
I really like the look of the stars.
CSS-front
But I also like the pattern that is created on the reverse side.  It looks like cross stitch.
CSS-reverse
I’m not sure which side I like best. 

I'm linked up with Patchwork Times, On The Needles.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.  Happy Knitting,
     ~Diane

Monday, August 5, 2013

Design Wall Monday, August 5, 2013

I'm a little behind on accomplishing the quilting goals I've set.  Now that company and friends have gone home from the lake I have time and space to get sewing again.  One of my goals this year was to do the Craftsy Block of the Month each month.  Well, I finally made progress on the June block, LeMoyne Star.


I used left-over fabric from the QOV quilt top I recently made.  After assembling the four-patch diamonds, I realized that I had placed the light colored diamonds where I wanted the dark ones to go.  I would prefer to have the center star the dark blue so that the outer tips would also be dark and better contrast with the background corners and triangles.  You can be sure I will be more careful with placement in the future.

This has been a good exercise in doing "Y" seams and working with diamonds.  I still have to sew the four sections together to complete the block which is supposed to measure 19-inches square finished.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit Patchwork Times for more Design Wall blog posts.
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