Weekly Update

I've finished Parts 5 & 6 of Forget Me Not, a sew-along by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts.

I started sewing a couple of sections together on Around the Town by Dawna Baker.

 

I also did a little bit on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

 

Weekly Update

Quilting:

I finished sewing row 8 of Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs to the rest the top, pressed it, and made a good start on row 9.

Swedish Weaving:

I made some more progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Weekly Update

It's been a hectic week, so this post is a bit late, but here's what I had done on Wednesday.

Quilting:

Deanne Eisnenman of Snuggles Quilts posted the July installment of her Block of the Month (BOTM) series, so I've been working on that. It's a Broken Dishes block, a Kansas City Star block originally published in the newspaper in the 1930s.

I'm surprised at how fast it went. I'd figured that with all those pieces it would take me much longer than it did. I'll post the finished block today or tomorrow.

Swedish Weaving:

More progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly:

Weekly Update

Quilting:

I did 2 more rows on Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs. I now have 7 rows completed: a little over halfway done.

Swedish Weaving:

I did a little more on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. I'm finding that it's a good project to work on while watching videos.

Weekly Update

Swedish Weaving:

I finally got the last motif done on the first half of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. Now I'm ready to turn it around and work on the second half.

Quilting:

I sewed the first 3 squares of the 4th row together on Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

Cross Stitch:

I made quite a bit of progress this week on Brilliant Butterfly Celebration from The Gold Collection by Dimensions.

Crochet:

For my crochet project, I pulled out the Morning Glory afghan designed by Michele Maks again. You can see what I'd got done last time here.  This week I finished one of the blue flowers, so I now have 12 blue flowers out of the 28 needed, 2 of which have been sewn to the 1st panel, and 2 of which still need the ends woven in.

I also crocheted the first square for the 3rd panel and started a second.

I didn't get my knitting and blackwork projects out yet. I had planned to, but illness and jury duty got in the way. Hopefully I can get started on them this week. Also, I hope to be able to get to the store this week to buy supplies for the finishing project I have in mind.

Weekly Update

I'm getting bored working on the same one or two projects all the time, so I've decided to try something new.  Since I do so many different types of needlework, I figure that if I keep one project for each type of needlework out I should have enough variety to keep from getting bored and still actually finish things occasionally. It should make the blog a bit more interesting to look at as well. So, I plan to have one each of the following types of projects going at all times: crochet, cross stitch, knitting, blackwork, Swedish weaving, quilting, and finishing.

For my Swedish weaving project, I'm still working on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. I got a little bit done on it this week.

My current quilting project is still Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.  I got the 3rd row done and sewn to the first 2 rows.

For my cross stitch project, I pulled out Brilliant Butterfly Celebration from The Gold Collection by Dimensions again. You can see how far I'd gotten on it last time here. The first square section is completely done now, backstitching and all.

I haven't pulled out any crochet, knitting, or blackwork projects yet, but I have plenty of UFOs to choose from. I have a finishing project in mind, but I have to wait for next payday before I can buy supplies.

Weekly Update - Feathers To And Fro Afghan & Batik Cascade

I got the first 2 rows sewn together on Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

I'm still working on the last big motif on this half of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Weekly Update - Feathers To And Fro Afghan & Batik Cascade

I've finished the first 2 rows of Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

Speaking of Karen Combs, she was travelling recently and someone stole several of her quilts out of her car.  Please visit her blog, keep an eye out for her quilts, and spread the word. If we can get the whole internet looking for her quilts, they'll be found.


On a happier note, I only have one more motif to go on this half of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. When I'm finished with this large motif I'll be able to turn it around and start the second half.

Weekly Update - Feathers To And Fro Afghan & New Project - Batik Cascade

I made a little more progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

My quilting has been calling me, so on Friday I started Batik Cascade by Karen Combs.  At least that's what she was calling it when it was published in the Oct./Nov. 2009 issue of Mark Lipinski's Quilter's Home.  It's now for sale on her website under the name Batik Go-Round.

I've already finished the 1st row and part of the 2nd. I've also got a bunch of patches cut and marked.

I'm keeping Feathers To And Fro out since I know there will be days -- like the last two -- when I just won't feel like messing with the iron.

Weekly Update - Feathers To And Fro Afghan

I'm nearly halfway done with the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. It's getting harder and harder to get the whole thing into the picture at a distance from which my camera is willing to focus on it.

Weekly Update - Feathers To And Fro Afghan

More progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Weekly Update - Feathers To And Fro Afghan

Here's my progress so far on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. It's coming along well.

Weekly Update - Feathers To And Fro Afghan

I made good progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. I'm still hating the monk's cloth, but I'm loving the stitching process and the design.

Weekly Update - New Project, Feathers To And Fro Afghan

I actually started this project last Saturday, but I've been sick with a nasty cold and haven't been up to posting anything. Sorry about the poor quality of some of the photos, but I was dealing with light and space issues.  Hopefully next week I'll be over this cold and be a bit more organized.

I finally finished preparing the monk's cloth I've been working on now and again, and I started stitching Feathers To and Fro from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly. If you've been reading my blog for a while you may remember that I did a towel using the smaller motif from this pattern. This time I'll be using the entire design with these yarn colors:

I'd already squared off the ends of this monk's cloth, basted temporary hems, and washed it. Saturday, I undid the basting along one of the long edges, and cut the selvedge off, carefully following one line of the weave.

Then I folded the edge over 3 squares and pressed it.

I folded it again over 5 squares, pressed it and pinned it.

Then I sewed the hem down.

I did the same thing on the other long edge, then on Tuesday I was able to FINALLY start stitching. Here's what I had done on Wednesday:

 

Monk's cloth

As I mentioned in my last post, I finally got the monk's cloth washed. I washed it in cold water in a nylon mesh bag to keep it from being ripped to shreds by the agitator, then took it out of the bag and threw it in the dryer with the towels.

It really shrank. I didn't think to measure it before I washed it, but whereas before I couldn't get the entire piece of fabric in a picture, now I can.

Monk's cloth before washing

Monk's cloth after washing

It looks and feels like an entirely different type of fabric, and it doesn't feel nearly as soft as it did before washing it.

Before washing



After washing

I've measured the width and estimated how much yarn I'll need to stitch my chosen design, and I've ordered some cotton yarn. I still need to remove the basting from the long edges and hem them properly before I finally get to stitch. Not sure when I'll get to that as I'm in the middle of both an afghan and a cross stitch project at present.

Weekly Update - Bright Feathers & Barefoot Summer Days

I've been too busy to write a post the last couple of days, but here's what I had done on Wednesday.

I made a little progress on Bright Feathers.

I got quite a bit done on the first strip of Barefoot Summer Days, a scrap afghan designed by Kathy Wesley.

Also, I finally got around to washing the monk's cloth today, and it's in the dryer as I'm typing this. They weren't kidding when they said it would shrink: the weave's already a lot tighter after just having been washed in cold water.

Weekly Update - Bright Feathers, Coasters, & Monk's Cloth

I finished basting the monk's cloth over the holiday weekend.

I did the scraps too.

Now I have to wash it. I'll put it in the machine in a mesh bag with cold water on delicate cycle. After that, I can finally measure it and determine how much yarn I'll need. Before I can start stitching, however, I'll have to remove the basting along the long edges and press and hem them permanently.

I'm never buying monk's cloth again.  There's entirely too much preparation, and the stuff doesn't look very durable. My next big Swedish weaving project will be done on an afghan-sized piece of aida.

I did a bit on Bright Feathers.

I finished the George and Ringo coasters.

I got the top and bottom binding strips done on Paul.

And I basted John together and started the quilting.

Also, thanks to an article in the Jan./Feb. 2012 issue of Just CrossStitch about Lynda Keske of Keslyn's I now have a name for the type of needlework in my Web design. It seems that I've reinvented symmography, a.k.a string art, except that I'm stitching it on evenweave rather than wrapping thread around nails. Lynda Keske stitches her designs on fabric too, and she calls her technique sym-stitching. I think I'll just call mine symmography so as not to co-opt her term.