Still Quilting ...

It's been a while since I've blogged much, but I've always got projects in the works! 

Every now and then, I realize that I should start a blog series on the topic of "Quilts I Forgot to Blog About!" Or, better yet, "Projects I Forgot to Blog About," since there are plenty of not-quilty projects that are always happening. 

Anyway, just to get started, I thought I'd share some quick photos of my recent and current projects. (After all, where does one start to blog again after an 18-month break?!) Pictures are important to a blog post, so here are a bunch. Any of these may turn up in a longer post soon, but this will be a good way to get back to it. 

In no particular order, here are some quick looks at things I've been doing in the past few months.

Quilts remain a perennial favorite. Each of these projects was special and fun, and I finished all of them in the past year. (Two of them were started long ago, and two were started and finished in just a few months.) I'm hoping they'll each become a blog post soon, but for now, here are some sneak peeks:

 

 

Crochet projects have kept me busy. There's a crochet group at my church, and we always have several charity projects going. Here are a few of the things I've worked on during the past few months ... a few baby items and lap-sized afghans. It's a great way to put my yarn to good use!

 

 

As always, there are plants ... some early spring flowers, a few vegetables, tiny succulents in pots, and some summer blooms.

 

 

 

 

In other news, I usually have some knitting going, and now and then, I remember that I started a massive cross-stitch project two decades ago ...

 

So, that gives you a quick glance at the crafty, quilty stuff I've been up to. As I said, I'm hoping to update the blog more often than I have lately.

Purple Socks

Knitting these socks lately ...

  

I find that it works well for me to have both socks going at once, so they both kind of get done at the same time!

UFO Progress this week

This past weekend, I made some progress on another elaborate quilt back. Lately, in an effort to use what I have instead of buying more, I've been coming up with some really fun quilt backs.

Actually, by piecing a quilt front AND piecing a quilt back: both will be interesting, and both will use LOTS of scraps!

So, here's what's going on with this one. I've been needing fabric for a back to my pumpkins quilt. My favorite thrift store has recently had a "Free" box outside in front of the store. Occasionally, there's free FABRIC in that box, which is pretty awesome.

When this plain brown fabric was there for free (5 yards!?), I was delighted. Even though I thought of having a plain, solid brown quilt back, that felt boring. Besides, I've got lots of scraps.

ALSO - I've been wanting to try a quilt from this book: Country Girl Modern (written by Jo and Kelli from Jo's Country Junction!) ... See the quilt in the upper-right hand corner of the book cover? That one.

The quilt design is called Connect Four. Since I needed big blocks with small scraps, I changed up the size/construction of the blocks to work with the scrappy pieces I mentioned at the end of this post. Similar idea to Jo's design, though, and it's my inspiration. 

In other news, I'm making progress on the latest sock-knitting!

So, that's my UFO report for the week. I'm linking this post to the weekly UFO Challenge at Jo's Country Junction.

Things I've been working on

Napkins ...

Kitchen Towels ...

 

A toddler blankie ...

A new pair of socks ...

Knitting sock toes and heels

I have discovered the Three-Needle Bind-Off. This was eminently helpful in my sock-toe knitting last week. (I'm just not very good at Kitchener and Grafting methods of closing up toes, and those always turn out weird for me.)

Turning the sock inside out for the event was odd, but I managed.

 

Next came "afterthought heels", which were new for me, but worked out just fine. Actually, it was just like knitting the toe.

So, my latest new socks are finished! Last I checked, I've knitted something like 9 other pairs of socks; so this makes at least number 10!

The pattern was Geek Socks from Knitty ... I love the variation from the usual "plain" stripes in my self-striping sock yarn. The yarn is Spring Stripe from Red Heart "Heart & Sole". 

Self-striping sock yarn is my FAVORITE, but one of these days, I'm going to try some traditional stripes.

Knitting finish and start!

About a week ago, I finished these socks ...

AND I started these socks!

It's always fun to knit with self-striping yarn! This is a new-to-me pattern called Geek Socks from Knitty. 

Knitting a little ...

Every now and then, my hands are free, so I knit!

I've recently had the time to knit the heel flaps and finish the heel shaping on this fun pair of socks:

Next up: heel gussets and then the foot. Moving right along. Football season should help. Maybe. :-)

Knitting socks

I'm knitting these blue mock-cable socks.

Because there's a football game, and knitting and football go well together. :-)

Socks, again

I've been making occasional progress on this pair of socks. Blue, with mock cables.

I'm knitting both socks at once, and the hard part of the heel is done on each, so I think I'm on the home stretch!

Knitting Socks

For several months, I've been knitting these awesome fall-colored, striped socks. Last week, I finished them - just in time for Fall weather!

Have I mentioned how much I love self-striping sock yarn?! Watching the colorful (predictable) stripe patterns emerge just keeps the (repetitive) knitting process so interesting!

These are made from Heart & Sole's "Razzle Dazzle" sock yarn. Washable. Partly wool. Super-soft. These are now among my favorite cozy wintertime socks!

Still knitting ...

I've been knitting this pair of socks for a few weeks ... I mentioned this pair in an earlier post. 

I've just gotten to the part where the heel increases start ...

Self-Striping Sock Yarn

I love self-striping sock yarn!

It's so fun to watch the patterns and stripes emerge, without any extra effort.

I'm knitting these socks from the toe up ... Like I did with a previous pair (see this post and this post).

Socks!

There's nothing quite like hand-knitted socks.

This pair is finally finished!

Actually, as sock-knitting goes, this pair was faster than my usual.  

According to this post, I started this blue-green pair of socks in mid-December; they're done before the end of March. Not bad!

 

 

So. I've already bought enough yarn for TWO more pairs of socks!

Up next: Self-striping Heart & Sole "Razzle Dazzle" sock yarn. I love it already!

 

Socks ...

In case anyone was wondering, I'm getting a lot done on those socks I mentioned last week. I like the idea of working on having two sets of knitting needles, and knitting both socks at once ... it's working well. Between a couple hours a week of sitting at kid-basketball practice, and the occasional knitting-during-a-movie, I've gotten lots knitted.

I love the stripes. These stripes are more predictable than the ones in the other striped socks I made (below), but they're still fun! And, I'm loving how fast the "just knit" stitch goes. My lavendar socks had a fun mock-cable pattern, and my favorite socks (below) are nice and snug with ribbing all the way, so this "just knit" seems like a breeze, and it's going fast!

My favorite knitted socks (below) get a lot of use ... they're partly wool (washable!) so they're super warm, and great for chilly days, and I love the color combination! (I knitted these a couple years ago from Heart & Sole "Berry Bliss" yarn from Red Heart). 

I figure, with so many colors, these socks go with everything, right?! :-)

I love them.