I've gathered together a variety of handwork projects so I can be nearer to my husband until he gains some strength and gets back on his own two feet. Just like my quiltmaking - I like to multitask and don't usually work on any one thing from start to finish.
One of my projects is the applique of coneflowers to my background for the Bramble Blooms QAL.
I'm doing needle turn applique with freezer paper. I actually had a roll of freezer paper on hand from a few projects in the distant past. I was not looking forward to hunting for my applique pins and applique sharps in my unorganized mess of all things crafty but I must be more organized than I thought because it did not take long to find them. Gosh, those applique pins are sure a lot smaller than I remember...I can hardly pick them up. There might be a few scattered here and there now where I work.
So I've finished all the stems and the two big coneflowers. Now I need to cut out and applique a few small ones and then I will be ready for the next step of the QAL (whatever that might be).
I've also been working on this little cross stitch. I have a little stack of old cross stitcheries I made in the distant past and never framed (somewhere around here) as well as some cross stitch kits I've been given or picked up from thrift stores. I've decided to use some to make baby/toddler quilts. When this one is finished I will use it as the center of a Courthouse Steps baby quilt. I had been working on the green dress and was almost finished with that area but needed to thread my needle one more time. That's when I noticed the last bits of green thread disappeared. I searched high and low, low and high and could not find two strands of green thread. So I went to my floss box of greens and although I did not have the exact same color (by number) I did find one that matched so I could finish the green area. That night when I took off my sweater I found my two strands of green thread on the back of my sweater.
Then a long long time ago when knitting socks was all the rage I bought some sock yarn and a couple of books on how to crochet socks. (I do crochet a bit now and then but have not knit anything since I knit my one and only sweater way back when I was a sophomore in high school which was a very long time ago.) Well, I knew crocheting socks would take a bit of concentration so I've never gotten around to concentrating enough to try to crochet some socks. When hubby is asleep I have a bit of quiet time so decided to try to concentrate and crochet some socks. I found the correct size crochet hook, my books and my yarn as well as some stitch markers and made my swatch which looked pretty good. I could tell right away that the first pattern I wanted to make had an error so decided on "Painted Desert" which I thought might be fun. The patterns in this book are made "toe up". So I set about crocheting my sock. I did not get very far when I thought it seemed like it might fit Big Foot. How frustrating. And after all that concentration!
So I looked at a different pair of socks in the same book that started out with the same number of stitches in the beginning rows and the same sized crochet hook. I found different yarn and made my test swatch to measure gauge. All good. Then I set about crocheting Rose Quartz socks.
When I got to the point in the pattern where the stitches changed to double crochet clusters I compared the size to the Painted Desert socks and sure enough Painted Desert sock I started is for Big Foot. So for now I will proceed with Rose Quarts and Painted Desert is a UFO. I will probably see how the Rose Quartz socks turn out and if I am satisfied they look and wear like socks I will probably pull out all the stiches from Painted Desert and try again or use the yarn to try a different pattern.
I'm working on clearing all the medical supplies as well as end of season gardening stuff from my dining room table so I can bring my sewing machine upstairs to the table temporarily. I'm not sure I can only do Slow Stiching.
18 comments:
Love your coneflowers!!!! Happy Sunday to you and hub on his daily rehab progress :-)
I am so glad you are sewing Audrey's QAL and can't wait to see how it evolves! I'm playing with ideas in my mind and still not doing anything. I love the idea of a cross stitch centre in a baby quilt - that is the perfect design! And oh my goodness about those socks - that's PhD level stitching! Thanks for linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching and hoping for a quick recovery for hubby now that he's safe at home.
Your coneflowers are awesome! They look like Royalty in their gold crowns and purple robes.
I hope your husband gets well soon.
Love your coneflowers, and the color of your yarn! Hope your husband is better soon.
I have had that happen so many times - looking everywhere for that piece of floss that should be right there, only to find it much later stuck to me in some odd location! Your coneflower applique looks beautiful, too. Enjoy your stitching today - hope your husband is improving!
Your cone flowers are great! I’m still playing with flower ideas for my centerpiece.
Louise
You are so speedy with your Bramble Blooms flowers. They look great! I have applique pins (from maybe a box of sewing stuff at a yard sale?) but have never used them. They are too tiny for my fingers!
I hope your crocheting goes well and the socks turn out just the way you hoped.
Lovely purple coneflowers...you are moving right along with this QAL;))) nice work.
Very pretty sock yarn colors--hope you can find some solace in your hand work hugs Julierose
Loving your coneflowers!
You tell Big Foot to make his own socks! I love the yarn you have chosen for the second pair, very pretty. And I love the idea of a cross stich incorporated into a baby quilt.
Your coneflowers look great. I like the touch of orange in your background.
Your Bramble applique flowers are beautiful! I usually have a knitting project on the go. I just finished four Christmas stockings for a grandson and his family and just started a new hat. I have knit socks but have never tried crochet ones, I always have trouble with my gauge in crochet. I sure hope your husband is better soon!
Luv the cornflowers,I'm doing the QAL as well ,I keep wanting to change the fabric colors in my stacksš¤£
Lovely coneflowers, good luck with your hand applique and dealing with the fine needles I'm looking forward to seeing these with the extra smaller ones. Such a good idea to gather up a few projects to sit and work on in quiet time with your husband.
Good for you for working to clear off that table and move your sewing machine upstairs for the time being! And honestly I admire you knitting socks - I knitted one sweater for DH and we named it the wearable afghan (it was enormous and so floppy). After that I stuck to afghans. Your coneflowers are fabulous! My QAL flowers are still at the pinned to the design wall stage.
Those little hunks of floss do seem to go astray, don't they? I've found them stuck to my shirts often, and once I noticed my I-looked-everywhere-for-that stuck to the side of the cat walking by. Tricksy bits, they are!
Love those pretty purple coneflowers!
One of the reasons I prefer patchwork to counted cross stitch is that I can mix up colors and prints without throwing off the design. (And of course I can't see closely enough for much stitchery.)
I'm so glad you have a variety of projects to work on while your husband is recovering. They are all very pretty. Enjoy your stitching.
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