Granny Square Quilt and another thimble or two

This Autumn I have been working secretly on this project:

 

 

I saw Granny Square blocks at the Blue Elephant Stitches blog and knew it was my thing. I had looked at the grey and pink floral summer dress of my own Granny so many times, trying to figure out the best pattern for the fabric. I had almost all of the dress left, so I knew I could make it the main colour in this quilt.

 

Other florals and solids to match were easily found in my stash. I had been cutting 2½" squares of white leftovers for a long time every time I made a Unicef doll. Well, I needed to cut quite many more to get the 360 white ones to make 30 blocks, but I enjoyed it. Putting the blocks together was, as usual, almost addicting. I made a rule: every time I pressed the seams open for 5 blocks I was making at one time, I also ironed five pieces of laundry.

 

I wanted to stitch the quilt in a grid so I figured the width of my sashings accordingly. Then I added wide borders. All the white is recycled bedsheets, the good parts around the edges.

 

The stitching took a while but was not too difficult. Finishing this quilt also gives me my third thimble in the Craft Olympics organised by Melanie. Only two more crafts to go, and there is time until the end of the year.

 

Over 8 metres of binding (light grey and white stripes) meant two evenings in front of the TV. This is taken after I washed and before I ironed the quilt. Every bit of fabric was from my stash, most of them recycled.

 

 

It was a birthday gift for my sister P. Her husband's starry birthday quilt is on my header at the moment. I hope it will keep her warm at their new summer cottage.

 

This morning I took a picture of the sunrise just before 8.  We had a sunny day, but windy and cold. The snow is gone so we spent almost two hours raking the leaves in the back yard. I'm still feeling a bit chilly, after two cups of tea and all. It takes time to get used to the colder temperatures again.

I decided to frame the little stitchery for now to finally earn my second (because I finished the framing before the quilt) thimble in Melanie's Craft Olympics. I can unframe it and use it for something else later, if I find the perfect use for the fantasy bird.

The first snow is here

This morning we woke up to a sstarry clear sky and the second cold temperature of the Autumn, -5C or 23F. By the time we had read the newpapers and finished our morning tea there was snow on the ground.

                           


I had to wait until the sun was up behind the clouds before I could take the photos.

                    


The snowing had stopped but the temperature has stayed the same.

The leaves are waiting under the snow.

Stitching and knitting

 

This little stitchery is something DD gave me for last Christmas as a kit. It required some new to me stitches such as long and short stitch and satin stitch over large areas, and stem stitch. This will be one of my Craft Olympics projects once it is all finished. I don't know what I will use it for. Any suggestions? The kit included framing instructions, but maybe it could be something more fun. The circle is about 6" in diameter.

 

We are enjoying the last splashes of colour. Rose bushes by the road

 

 

and maples in the village. 

 

 

  

My begonias are learning to swim. It has rained lots and lots lately.

 

 

 

Our aspen about a week ago - today half of the leaves are gone already.

 

 

 

 The rowan tree has only its berries left. They can be gone in one day when a flock of waxwings finds them in the winter.

 

This weekend I knitted one more blue and one more grey sock from toe to top. I knitted the first blue and grey sock a year ago when I tried to learn this new method. Now I have two pairs of nice socks for some child with feet this size. I have knitted a few pairs of socks this way, and some the usual way but two at a time on a long circular needle, and I like it. It helps me get the heels the same. And I just noticed this will be another project on my PIPS 2012 list!

Busy weeks

September is such a short month. I have been busy making apple sauce, 91 jars in all. That ought to be enough for the year, anyway I can't squeeze any more jars on the cellar shelves.

 

 

In the evenings - the days are getting shorter every week - I have knitted the last squares for this little blanket and crocheted them together.

Then I have knitted a secret gift which is also my first Craft Olympics project. I'm sorry I can't show more!

I made new curtains for one of the new windows we had installed this Summer.

The trees have started to change their colour, some birches have even dropped their leaves already.

 

Our garden must look a bit like a witch's garden with so many poisonous toadstools

 

 

and berries. Lily of the valley - Convállaria majális - is also poisonous.

 

 

The open college sewing group I have attended for many years already was too small to start this Autumn, only three of us wanted to join. We decided to have our own group without any fee, and tomorrow will be our second meeting at Mr. K's conference room. It is a "bring your own sewing machine" night, but I think I will bring my own light box and start preparing for my next Craft Olympics thimble.