You're probably thinking that it's about time that I posted something here. The month is more than half gone, and I've only updated once so far. I've been keeping busy, but I wasn't sure that you'd want to see photos of half-completed projects, especially when you can't see progress. Let me assure you, I've been keeping my nose to the grindstone!
The advent of warmer weather means that I'm spending more time outside in the garden. I've already lost track of how many times I've made rhubarb muffins this spring, and I think that asparagus has been on the menu at least as often. There are weeds to pull, and plants to move to more appropriate locations as well. Thankfully, we've had some cooler and rainy days too, and those days have been spent on my quilting projects.
I'm WAY behind on my 150 Canadian Women quilt project, partly because I wanted to make sure that I got my Hands2Help quilts done in time. I'm hoping to finish at least 2 quilts for Project Linus, and the first one is done. We'll see how I do with the 2nd one - my sewing machine needs to go the the sewing machine "hospital" for some TLC. The problem seems to be a gear in the area of the bobbin - hopefully, that's all that needs fixing! Thankfully, I have an older machine that I can use for piecing, and my quilting machine seems to be working okay, so I managed to get the quilting done on my peach / brown quilt. I used a wavy line in a grid pattern - the spacing varies a bit, but isn't more than 3.5" in any direction. I tried Hobbs 80 / 20 for this quilt - I'm curious to find out how well it holds up. I used the brown from the blocks for the binding - I think it frames it nicely... What do you think?
I have another quilt layered and ready to quilt - hopefully it will work for PL too. No pictures of it yet - hopefully in a few days.
I've also spent a fair bit of time on some knitting projects. A very dear friend needed shoulder surgery recently - and it may have cost her the job that she's done for the past 16 years. I thought she might appreciate having a prayer shawl. Her kids thought she liked purple, and I had a lovely rich shade of purple yarn, as well as a variegated purple, green and cream combination. I used the 2 yarns together and knit the shawl using the "Feather and Fan" stitch. I finished it just in time for her to take to the hospital. I snapped a quick photo of it before it went to her:
The colours are more rich in real life, but you get a rough idea of what it looked like.
And, just because I was in a shawl knitting mood, I signed up to do a Knit-Along, sponsored by Red Heart yarns. One of their designers, Marly Bird, designed a quick and easy triangular shawl. A clue is released weekly, and I've managed to keep up so far! I chose a neutral pale grey, but I'm thinking that I need to knit at least one more! This is my in-progress shot:
Again, the colour isn't very true... The shawl is getting quite wide, and I couldn't show the full width of it, so you'll have to use your imaginations a bit. The section on the needles is actually the bottom edge so far. The final section (of four) is another lacy section, and then it will be done! Quite a few of the participants are using variegated yarn, or are mixing it up with solid-coloured yarn for the stockinette sections, and variegated yarn for the lacy section. It's got me thinking of using a variegated yarn for my next one.
So, you're almost as caught-up as I am. I'm hoping / planning to have at least one more post to wrap up my Hands2Help projects. They're to be sent out to their new homes by June 2nd.
I'm linking up with
Sarah's "Can I get a whoop-whoop" and
Kat's "Sew some Love" posts.
