On the Needles - Aug. 28, 2015

I can't remember the  last time that I did a knitting update, but I've got a project on the go right now, and I thought that blogging about it might motivate me to keep working on it.  It's a baby sweater set that I saw in the Mary Maxim catalogue.  It looked interesting, and I was looking for a new pattern for a baby set, so I ordered it.  It sat in my sewing room for at least a month before I even opened the bag that it came in.
I picked it up about a few weeks ago, thinking that I'd like to start something quick and easy - and it was definitely NOT this pattern!  I had a really hard time getting the pattern established - until I realized that I had it right all along - it just didn't look right until I had about 4 or 5 rows of the pattern established.  Now I've got it down, and it's going well!  (I'm even thinking of going to their tent sale to get more yarn so I can knit it again!)
I know of at least 3 babies "on the way" and I like to have a baby gift on hand - sometimes the need for a gift comes up unexpectedly, and having a set like this will come in handy!  This one is done in white, but I might pick up some pink yarn for the next set.  I'm still trying to decide if it's too "girly" for a baby boy...
I'll be linking this up to Judy's On the Needles post:

I'll be posting my August ALYoF project in a day or two...

August's progress so far...

If I recall correctly, I mentioned that I'd try to update my progress a few times if possible this month. Obviously, I'm not posting weekly, like I'd hoped to do, but this post will bring you up-to-date.
I had a lot of triangle blocks made for my Scrappy Mountain Majesties quilt, but they needed to be cut up and reassembled before being sewn into the blocks for the quilt.  I've been keeping busy with that, as well as cutting up fabrics for what felt like 5 or 6 additional scrap quilts (it's really only 2!), so I'm not as far along with the assembly of this quilt as I hoped to be at this point.  But, I do have the first 5 rows put together, so I'll show you that picture:

This is my second SMM quilt - the first one I made was all red and tan / beige, so I'm really enjoying this more colourful version!  And now I'd better get back to work!

A change of pace...

I mentioned that I'd try to post update pics of my quilt-in-progress, and I'm still hoping to do that (soon!), but I wanted to share this before I forgot.  A young couple in our church is expecting their first baby, and we held a baby shower for her earlier this evening.  I made a few gifts for them, mostly based on the gifts that my daughter got a lot of use from when she had her baby.  They "know" that the baby is a girl, so I used some pink, but also made some unisex gifts in case they have a boy down the road.
First off is a receiving blanket, made from the Missouri Star Quilt Company directions.  I then found a tutorial online for some very practical baby bibs (I made two), and finally made a "taggie" toy - it's made of 2 layers of fabric, with a "noisy" layer in between, and has numerous loops of ribbon extending from the edges.  Babies love to play with the ribbons, and the crinkly inner lining creates a noise that seems to fascinate them!
Of course, I took a picture of the goodies - and here it is for you to see:

Jen seemed pretty happy with the gift - and I hope her baby will someday be as well!

August's ALYoF project

I had to make a tough decision this month - which of three important projects did I want to focus on?  I have a scrappy Churn Dash quilt cut and ready to assemble, as well as Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Mountain Majesties.  I also have a wedding quilt to get working on, but that's a little bit down the road yet, and I don't actually have all of the fabrics for it yet (which will hopefully be remedied this afternoon!).  In the end, I chose the SMM.  I've done this quilt before, in all reds and tans, from my stash, but I wanted it scrappier this time.  It will eventually be going to a 3rd world country as a donation quilt, and I've heard over and over that the men are usually the first ones in line when new afghans and quilts are available for distribution.  Their goal?  The most colourful "blankets" in the pile!  Their existence is often more dire than day-to-day, and any little bit of brightness that they can bring into their lives gives them just a little boost - and this quilt is going to be colourful!  (I may even have gone a little overboard with the blocks I cut, and I may have enough for more than one quilt...).  My goal is to complete this quilt - from piecing to stitching on the binding.
The picture I took doesn't really show the range of colours, but it gives you an idea of how the blocks start, with the pink one, then how the block is cut up, and then reassembled at the top (which is actually two blocks together).  I hope to share a few pics along the way of the progress - so you'll get a better idea of the range of colours.  It also helps that hubby sees that I actually use up all those fabrics that I insist on buying!
So, here's the start of the quilt - and I'll try to post weekly progress (note that I said try!):