-->

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

50 for 2011 - #7 -finish up the cat quilt

Wow, I'm really behind on this... I haven't updated this list since May!

Looking over my list, I see a number of things I've no idea what I meant by them... Two things I'm working on at present.  And at least one thing I finished, but didn't mark down.

Anyway: the cat quilt's done! Let's take pictures.

taking pictures of the cat quilt
Say "Cat!"

I finished this before my, um, illness, two weeks ago. But just now getting around to posting it.  I completed the top before my now 5 year old daughter was born, and then procrastinated on doing the quilting and binding... until now.

the whole quilt
And, no, it's not this shape, it's a fairly good rectangle.

obligatory backing shot
and the backing...

I'm not happy with the quilting, frankly, I find quilting on my machine to be kind of nerve-racking, and the stitches go from being super close together to being super far apart without warning.  I'm not sure I'll ever quilt anything so large again, and for all that, it's only a baby sized blanket... There's something to be said for just using ties.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Crafts of the Past: knitted doll - Beatrice in "Much Ado about Nothing"

Or is it a knit doll?

A lot of my early knitting was dolls, dolls and finger-puppets. I knit most of them flat and then seamed, because I didn't know how to knit in the round.  Though knitting in the round makes life much easier.

This one was knit when I knew better, and was knit in the round; her shaping was very much informed by sock knitting, with which I was and still am much enamored. I am especially impressed, looking at it now, 3 and a half years later (!) at how feet-like her feet look.

Beatrice doll
Sigh no more, Ladies.
Anyway, this is based on Emma Thompson in the Kenneth Branagh film of the play.  I tried to take notes of my method, but quickly stopped, as usual, when it got complicated, which is sad, it would be fun to have a pattern. I do remember knitting it while waiting at the mechanics' for the car to be repaired... more than that, I don't know.

Her dress is in two pieces, and sewn on my lovely Janome, which can make such fine stitches as to make a doll proud.

Beatrice's clothing
Dress and shift

I made her for a swap, a Shakespeare themed swap, and in making things for the swap, I sort of destroyed the house... Our washing machine broke after felting a bag (since then, I have eschewed felting) and the (rented!) videotape of "Much Ado About Nothing" I watched for details about the dress I had to make for the doll got lodged in the VCR, causing us to have to have the thing repaired... I think we managed to get it out in good condition, in order to return it, but it was a tense night.

If you want to check out the Craftster.org post, it is here.  There are a few more details on the knitting, as I wrote it when it was more fresh in my mind.

In other knitting news! I have a knitting pattern - for fingerless gloves - in the newest issue of Craftsanity magazine. You can order it here. And you should! ;)

Thursday, September 1, 2011

At last, temari

So, it was about 6 weeks ago (it must have been!) since I took the temari class, because I was working on this temari at the Spinner's Flock meeting before the last one.

my temari
ta-da!

I did take a picture of the other side, but it did not turn out. You'll have to imagine. It is very similar to this side.

It's a neat craft, but not for me. I mean, having done one, I can safely stop, and say, yes I've done that, now the mystery is solved, and yet not be compelled to do another one. Actually, I look at mine and think, well, this could use some more work,  (in fact, my friend would tell you it is incomplete because it doesn't have an obi band) but I can't even get up the enthusiasm for that. There are so many other more exciting things to work on out there! I'm sure I only got as far as I did with mine because I discovered that I'd messed the cable up on my knitting project, and was putting off ripping out half of my progress, by working on my temari.

But I also want to show you the awesome one my friend made for me (my friend who is a temari teacher, and led the class I attended).

her temari
isn't it amazing?

They are lovely, provided other people make them for you...