Back at the sewing machine again

For the first time in ages I have started a new quilt. It looks like little huts at dawn, doesn't it?

But it isn't, it is paper dolls holding hands! I used some vintage children's fabric for this, some summer frocks and nighties saved because of their pretty fabrics. Some fabrics are new, I didn't want to use the same fabric more than twice and there were not too many old fabrics available. My favourite is the yellow Moomin fabric in the bottom right corner, it used to be my summer frock before I went to school.

The Paper Dolls pattern is by Stephanie from Loft Creations and available here. I just made it a bit bigger. Apple sauce cooking came in the way and the quilt is still waiting for the batting and backing to be cut and layered and the rest.

Someone I know is getting married and I just heard about it last week. I wanted to get her a little gift, and as she is a fan of Harry Potter and the Moomins, I decided to make her some mug rugs and get her some Moomin tea bags, as I'm sure she has several Moomin mugs already. I had seen some great paper pieced Harry Potter blocks on Terri's blog, and she always linked them to Fandom In Stitches.

There I picked the easiest patterns and managed to make a Hogwarts Robe, the Golden Snitch, Sorting Hat and the Cauldron. For the backing I used my yellow Moomin fabric so she can use that side with her Moomin mugs.

End of Summer

Two weeks and more have passed without a blog post, but it doesn't mean I have been idle (all that time). First I made some new bibs and used up some leftover bias tapes.

Then I knitted a bear cub beanie but it turned out to be newborn size and not grandchild size.

I finished the luxury yarn scarf I was struggling with last time. No big unraveling was needed

and I even figured out how to make the lace edge wider to use up all my yarn.

This is the same pattern I used for my beige scarf last year. this time I used bigger needles and the yarn was little heavier too, but both are from one 100 g skein.

In my enthusiasm for lace knitting I decided to use one of my daughter's leftover yarns. The curly skein on the left in front of the green yarn used to be a tightly crocheted wrist warmer. She didn't want me to crochet her a pair for it with the ball of unused yarn, so I washed the curly yarn and it straightened perfectly.

I knitted a cowl in the same lace pattern I used for the Kidsilk Mohair shawl this Summer.

The 3D effect disappeared totally when I damp stretched this one, and it grew in length too, but I just wrap it one more time around my neck or let it hang more.

It is time to replace the Summer flowers with Chrysanthemums. The cooler Autumn air feels SO refreshing after a too hot Summer.

New projects, old patterns

Young boys sometimes want to work like big men, and when they do, it helps to have the proper kind of clothing as well as the necessary tools. Many jobs require hanging pockets, both front and back, and that is what I have sewn for some special young men I know. The pencil pocket can take a carpenter's pencil, and the hanging pockets are big enough for a very small notebook. I used soft denim used for shirts, as the boys are still little. I used the pattern of a regular children's vest and figured out the pockets from Mr K.'s vest. The back seam can later be opened if the boys still want to wear their vests when they have grown a year or two.

After the big and warm blanket knitting I have moved to finer yarns and knitted another baby hat using up the two rest balls of soft blue yarn.

Then I had some yarn left from Miss Purple's socks and knitted her new wrist warmers for the new school year.

Now on the needles is a luxury yarn I got for my birthday months ago from a dear friend. Right now the lace pattern is being checked and rechecked before I start unraveling to find out why the row doesn't end like it should. I will show you the result when I have knitted to the end of that yarn.

Flower corner once again

I almost forgot to show you this year's "flower pots" in the ugliest corner of Järvenpää. The local businesses and organizations have used their imagination for the sixth time: in 2017 they used rag rugs, in 2016 chairs, in 2015 bicycles, in 2014  old bags and in the first year, 2013, rubber boots. This year they have attached mail boxes for the flowers in the fence

and added little painted houses.

Today there is a big building site across the street. The old buildings have been torn down but since then nothing has happened. Maybe this side is no longer the ugliest corner after all!

I managed to sew together the 30 knitted squares, one row is hanging on the other side. Somehow I mixed the arrangement and the less striped blocks are not together in the middle like I meant them to be.

I crocheted two rows around the blanket to help keep it in shape.

My next project will be something cooler!

End of Tour ...

...de France and my own Tour de Knit. I could wear a Yellow Jersey too, because I'm a winner as well. Last week I found these blueish sock yarns in a little plastic bag in my sock yarn box, and used them for the last couple of squares needed for the blanket. Without these I would not have met my goal.

This is what is left of my sock yarn rests for 3.5 mm needles now. 

And this is what I managed to knit with the rests I had plus some new balls. 30 squares, all ends sewn in by now.

This week I need to arrange them nicely and sew them together. That will be the warmest part of the project! We have tried to keep cool with the sound of water from our new garden pond. Too bad is is too small for swimming!

Sock Yarn Challenge taken

In June I collected information about knitting projects for different charities to share with other knitters on WWKIP Day. In my own stash I found some squares I had knitted for what we call Mother Teresa's blankets. Originally they were sent to her organization in India but today most blankets are sent to the Finnish Red Cross and delivered to victims of catastrophes all over the world. One blanket is made of 30 squares, and they are a perfect way to use rest yarns from other projects. My friend Melanie has challenged herself to use up her sock yarns, and I decided I could do the same, limiting the challenge to the heavier yarns with 75 % to 100 % wool.

I have now used almost all my heavier rest yarns, trying to scatter the colours so that the last squares would not all be grey with beige.

When the small balls were nearly all used, I took some bigger ones from my sock yarn box, and bought a couple of new ones when they were on sale.

Here I used the tiniest bits, just enough to make two rows in a corner. My challenge is also to get all 30 squares knitted while the Tour de France lasts and we spend a lot of time watching TV, as usual in July every year.

This Summer has been the hottest I can remember. Lovely for the flowers, but very tiring for elderly people like me ;o).

New finishes

Remember the treasures my daughter sent me and I just found recently? The light beige knitting with needles sticking in was a beautiful lace scarf in the making, and the yarn lovely Rowan Kidsilk Haze. The reason it had remained a WIP was the complicated pattern with a hickup neither she or I could trace. I didn't want to waste the beautiful yarn so I unraveled her knitting as far as I could.

Because it is a mohair yarn, it was rather difficult to unravel, and I had to leave some of it as it was. Then I rinsed the skein I had made and dried it, and thinking of cobwebs on grass in an early morning I looked for a lace pattern I could keep track on.

Then I found this pattern, bought a number 4 circular needle that is as smooth as can be, and started knitting. I used all the yarn there was and was surprised to see how big the shawl finally was. light like a cobweb, a little over 60 grams I think it is.

Then I finally quilted the Windy Day quilt I made for our grandson number 2.

Detail of the fabrics.

Today I'm fighting with a puckering backing of the next quilt I'm trying to quilt on my machine. Rip, rip, rip ...

Blogger has stopped sending me the comments by email. It makes answering back more complicated, and I'm trying to change back to receiving them on my email again.

Edit: Now the comments are coming to my email again. Thank you for your help, Radka!