Purple Rain Socks

 

Purple Rain Socks

The Purple Rain Socks I started back in the summer are complete. Hurray! 

I dyed the yarn sometime last year.    Or maybe here?

From my notes (to fit my foot):

     Use the CinDWood Knitted Knocker Loom

 

     Kitchener Cast-on (I like this because it feels like weaving, and leaved a seamless join)

     Work the toe box with with 9 decreases / increases

     Then start working in the round for  65 rows

     Work the heel with 9 decreases / increases on the opposite half of the toe

     Work in the round 45 rows for leg

     For Cuff: 25 rows of 2 Knit and 2 Purl

     Super Stretchy Bind off.

 

I think I need to dye some more yarn! 

 

 

 

 

Gifted to Mary Debroux, Christmas 2020. 

Quilt Ladder

I've been looking at these for a while, and even gave the plans to build one to my husband.  Prices to buy them were pretty ridiculous, not to mention the shipping -- until FB Marketplace showed me a local post from a nearby farm with reasonable prices for "Round Rung Blanket Ladders."  Hurray!

This is what they look like:

They clean up these old ladders with a power washer, cut them down to a reasonable size for this purpose, and voi la!    This batch sold for $25 each.    These set of 4 were a little small for my needs, so she presented me with the one below -- wider at the bottom and just over 6 feet tall.  Yes -- That will work!

For $30, I have a much better way to store and display my quilts!

 No more throwing my handmade quilts on the floor!

Woven Red Circles Scarf is Complete

The Red Circles Scarf is finally off the loom.  I could have finished it months ago, but I wanted to have a new warp ready to go -- otherwise, I forget how things are supposed to be strung, and -- let's face it -- an un-warped loom is a sad loom! 

 
Due to the timing and the era this scarf lived through, I almost feel like I should call it the Corona Scarf, or the Pandemic Scarf.  But the circles lack the spikes Covid has ...    Nah-- I don't think I want to give Corona any more power than it already has over us.    Let's make this scarf the protective antidote -- a strong immune system. 

"I made this!"

I am so pleased with the way this came out!  The most complicated pattern I've ever tried.  And all on a 4-shaft loom!  I definitely want to try more of these shadow weaves, perhaps in other colors?  The black makes the colors pop -- maybe green or blue or purple?  So many possibilities!

 

The pattern and kit came from Yarn Barn of Kansas.

I don't see it on their website anymore, so I don't think it's available any longer. 

 

For those of you who've been following along, or just want to learn more about this scarf and this particular pattern, here are some of the previous posts about it:

Eureka! It's Working: Weaving the Red and Black Circle Scarf on the Loom

New Video Demonstrating the Bead System for Tracking Pattern Treadles on the Floor Loom

 

 

 

Farmer's Wife - Blocks 32 Farmer's Daughter - 61 Northern Lights - 67 Pine Tree

 

 Block 32, Farmer's Daughter

My favorite block in this week's set.  Although I did this one last because I was pretty sure all those sh***in little pieces were going to cause me major headaches.  

I was supposed to cut all the squares to 1-11/16th inches square.  I don't even have rulers that mark that out, so I opted to cut them 1-3/4 inches, and then stitched a little beyond the usual 1/4 inch.  Then I tried to press the seams in the opposite directions so that I could nest them when I put the rows together.  That works really well for sharp points.

Guess I've pretty much settled on my color scheme for this project.

 

Block 61, Northern Lights

For the life of me, I can't tell you how they came up with the name Northern Lights for this block.  It's like no northern lights I've ever seen.

I played with the orientation of the 4-patch blocks before sewing this one together. I wasn't sure if I wanted the blue or the green blocks running down the diagonal.  I finally settled on the blue.  These blues and greens are scraps from other quilts.  Still love the colors!

 

Block 67, Pine Tree

Lots of little pieces, although, I don't mind making the half-square triangles.

This was the first one I tackled this weekend. Minimal paper piecing with this one.  When it came to pressing, I realized I was probably man-handling these a little too much, and stretching them out of shape.

By the time I got to Farmer's Daughter (The block at the top), I was much  more gentle and thoughtful about pressing, and the little blocks kept their shape.  Hurray! 

With the colors, I was going for more of a winter night scene, than a traditional evergreen.   

 

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 6.

See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials. 

Farmer's Wife - Blocks 108 Windmill - 17 Cats & Mice - 81 Snowball

 

Farmer's Wife - Block 17 - Cats & Mice

I really like how this one came out, even if those hour glass blocks didn't stay where I put them!

We started with oversize hour glass blocks with the idea that we'd cut them down to the required size.  All fine and dandy in theory!

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 5  [Yup, I'm doing them out of order, but I think I'm back on track now].   See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.

Here's the back of the Cats & Mice block, so you can see the paper piecing.  

Looks very orderly, doesn't it?

Farmer's Wife Block 108 - Windmill

This one was paper pieced, but otherwise a pretty simple block to render. 

 

Farmer's Wife - Block 81 - Snowball

This one was NOT paper pieced, but simple enough to make the half-square triangles and piece it together like "normal." 

Started out with 1x 2-1/2-inch square for the center.

4x 2-1/2-inch squares for blue center blocks

3-1/2 inch squares (2 blue; 2 white) to make the HTS in the corners.

Plans for the Brilliant Blues Quilt

 Sneak Peak of the Brilliant Blues first blocks.

The metallic bits are not showing up in the photo.   Believe me-- It's prettier than it appears here.

Blue Brilliance Jelly Roll from Benartex.

When I opened it up, there were almost too many strips the same, and I had to add a few more blues to get enough variety with darks and lights.

 

First Snowfall by Hoffman.  It's subtle with just a little metallic.  

It made the blues pop nicely.  It reminds me of my Grappa and Gramma's 25th wedding anniversary when I was a kid. They had a lot of silver for their theme.

On my trek to Appleton a few weeks ago, we also stopped at The Courtney Woolen Mill to pick up a wool batt. The quilts we love tend to be the big fat comforter types that are tied, not quilted.  We pile them on the bed in winter--the wool batts.  I think this one will be a nice winter quilt -- with a little bling to brighten the darker days.  

 Still need to pick something for the borders and binding, but that can come later.

Phoebe's Flower Box Quilting Tutorial

by Jenny Doan at Missouri Star Quilting Company.

I think this is the same basic pattern for Fuzzy Logic (from Strip Therapy) or the same pattern I used for the Copper Canyon/Autumn Copper Batik and Stained Glass Quilts. It's a very satisfying quilt

Farmer's Wife Blocks 6 Big Dipper and 10 Bow Tie

Farmer's Wife Block 6 - Big Dipper 

 

I really liked making this one: No paper piecing!  I

 used that method [Tutorial here] where you put 2 squares right sides together; Mark a line down the diagonal and then sew on either side of that line.  Then you cut on the line.  Open and press, then you do it again.  The nesting seams help make the points meet perfectly!  The only thing that went wrong on this block is that I made 2 of them.  I wrongly calculated I needed to start with 2 green and 2 blue squares to match 4 white.  Turns out I only needed 2 white squares and 1 each of green and blue.  No problem.  Now I have 2 of these blocks.

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 1  [Yup, I'm doing them out of order].   See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.

Farmer's Wife Block 10 - Bow Tie

Nice and easy with paper piecing, though, I think it would have been just as easy using that method where you lay a smaller square in the corners, and sew on the diagonal, then trim off the excess and flip the new colored corner up. 

The only problem with this one is that it came out too small - at about 5 inches, not the usual 6-1/2 inches.  I'll have to revisit this one at some point ....  I'm pretty good about checking to make sure it prints 100%, not shrink to fit.  Maybe I'll just sew an extra border around it to make up the difference?

Farmer's Wife - Blocks 30 End of the Day and 39 Friendship

 

Farmer's Wife Block 30 - End of the Day

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 2.   See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.

The paper piecing is going better these days.  Only 2 bits that I had to fill in because I misjudged the piece to cut for it.     Using the sky blue fossil fern along with the dark blue Stonehenge and a white-on-white filler fabric.  I really love this combination, but I don't think I have enough to do the whole quilt with this combination. 

 

Farmer's Wife Block 39 - Friendship 

 Used up some scrappy blues along with the white-on-white filler fabric.

 

My Singer Featherweight, circa 1941.

I was waiting for a delivery this afternoon, so I set up my little Singer Featherweight in the dining room, so I could see the front door.   It's still a dream to sew on!  I'm so happy I got one in excellent condition.  Come to think of it, my Featherweight was minted in 1941 (You can tell when and where it was made by researching the serial number), just a little after the era of The Farmer's Wife.