lots of knitting

The only thing Ive been doing so far this break is knitting. This is a luxury I dont get very often and I am really enjoying it. Ive been working on some presents as well as my own knitted items.

What’s in this little parcel all wrapped up you ask?

A hat I knit for Chris! Im giving it to him today as an early birthday present. He’s already seen it and tried it on, but I wanted to wrap it up for him anyway.

The leg warmer knitting is getting ridiculous. This is the second time Ive knit that leg warmer and I dont like it at all. I ripped the other one back before I took a photo so I thought I’d post this one before pulling it apart. The first one was too big and kept slipping down and I just dont like how this one looks. I started another one in 1×1 rib and Ive decided to keep it one color this time. Hopefully these turn out better.

This was in the package I got today from Purl Soho. I squeal whenever I open on of their boxes! I got some bulky Blue Sky Alpaca for an ear flap hat I will bring with me to France, and Selvedge and Adorn magazines.

Im just hanging out knitting and relaxing, but should probably get to work on my other stuff soon. I hope you all are doing well, have a wonderful day!

finished travel quilt and knitting

The travel quilt is complete and I did very well in my quilting class! I think it payed off to do the quilting by hand. I love all the irregularity about it.

 

The back is assymetrical and the inside is the pink/magenta wool like this pillow. Ive worn it a few times and it is very comfortable and cozy! I’ll try to get some pics of me actually wearing it.

Ive been working on these mittens for a few weeks and its coming along slowly. They are alpaca and silk and feel so soft and warm.

Its knitted with a flap so you can pull it back and expose your fingers. I dont really like how the stitches connecting the flap and the mitten look. If I were to do these again I might knit it separately and sew it on. The pattern was way off too which was really frustrating. When I knitted the flap it came out long and pointy and it took me 2 more tries to adjust it.

This beautiful alpaca yarn will soon be legwarmers… hopefully. I dont have a lot of patience and I like quick projects so the thought of making two long tubes of stockinette makes me very unsure this will happen. But I really really want cute legwarmers to bring to France so this is my motivation!

My knitting needles were getting a little out of control and when I accidentally ordered the same size dpn’s that I already had I knew I needed to do something.

This was a really quick project. I think I made it a little more difficult then it had to be tho. I wanted to keep the wool in all one piece to fold over the needles, and the top in all one piece and just fold it over to make the pocket. Anyways, I pieced a little area with some scrap fabric and linen and wool on the inside. I really want to keep my needles nice and snug because I hate it when my needles fall out so I think the wool will keep them in place.

I used a vintage red button from one of the vintage button jars my mom gave me last Christmas. I love these jars and all the different buttons! That was such a sweet and thoughtful gift because she knew I had been collecting buttons (actually cutting them off of my friends donation clothing pile).

 

Ive been enjoying my first few days of break by knitting and Ive just started my Christmas gifts. I dont think I’ll show any until after I give them to their owners but I’ll keep showing progress of the other stuff Im making (for myself) in the meantime.

 

rest.

Something I will be needing after Thursday, but also what I am thinking about for a new series. For this sample I traced the silhouette of one of my fallen birds and made a resting quilt with the trapunto technique.

I sewed tea bags together, appliquéd it onto muslin and echo quilted. I am in the very early stages of thinking about this series but it completely relates back to my ideas and work I was doing a year ago. I want to use these silhouettes as a starting point for exploring this concept with process. As many as possible. I think I should exploit the shape and do as many things as I can think of. The only thing I am concerned about is the bird shape. Is it too played out? Too overdone? I feel like Im jumping on the bandwagon a little bit, but it really works with my concepts and I’d hate to overlook an interesting idea because of something like that.

 

We had a little photo shoot in my studio yesterday because Chris was looking so handsome in his outfit that inspired the color palette for the Autumn Harvest quilt. Look at the little baby looking up at his proud daddy!

He’s been sleeping with us every night and he always finds a way to wedge us out of the way.

They got restless so the photo shoot wrapped up quickly.

 

Im almost done with the travel quilt so I’ll be back soon with photos! Have a great day!

finals sneak peak

I know I havent been around on my blog much lately but Ive been working hard on my finals. My fingers are pricked from all the hand quilting and burned from working with encaustic wax but Im pushing through! Here are some of the things Ive been doing that I would love some feedback on. These are 4 x 7″ encaustic on wood.

 

 

 

 

The stacked circles in these pieces represent the spine and I am using collage elements with the wax in some of them.

 

This last piece was made with layered fabric and then I poured hot wax over the surface. I dont think this is very successful and the wax is way too thick. I think when I use collage elements and fabric I should use thinner layers of wax.

I made a small trapunto sample to lay this little bird on that my friend Andrea found for me. Im hoping as it decomposes it will leave an imprint on the fabric. Ive tried this before but the neighbors dog got to it. We’ll see what happens, its getting cold outside and there arent any insects interested in it yet, but it is such a beautiful little bird, poor thing.

Ive finally finished the hand quilting on the travel quilt. I may do more but for now its ok. The blue lines on the yellow fabric will disappear when it is washed and you will only see texture. I cant wait to finish the binding and sew on the buttons!

This quarter has been a little different for me because I allowed myself to make functional things without thinking too much about concept. I think I am a conceptual girl at heart because as much as I liked designing the quilts and pillows, I think I need more ideas behind it. I would love to make functional fine art pieces so I am thinking about how that would look and will start experimenting with that soon.

Even though the quarter is ending this week, I dont really think of it as a stopping period. I am still thinking of new ideas to experiment with and will continue to work over the break (most of it may be knitting though!) It’ll be nice to have a long break this time, but then I leave Jan 2nd for Paris to spend a week before going to LaCoste! I had my orientation last Friday and I am so excited! It is a mixture of emotions though because no matter how excited I am, I know I will miss Chris and Sawyer terribly, I just have to remember that 2 months will go by very quickly and I dont want to lose focus.

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying this beautiful Fall weather! We’re a little late in GA but its finally here!

weekend progress

Loop, Link and Tangle was so much fun, thanks to everyone who came out! And thanks to Cori and Jess for setting everything up and working so hard on the show. I have some more shots on my flickr page

This is what Ive been working on for my final in my art quilt class. It is a triangle travel quilt and designed so It will be easy to wear while Im traveling in France. I am hand quilting it so Its going to be a little while until its finished, but Im really enjoying getting to know it stitch by stitch. You lose some of the intimacy with the object when you use a machine (although Im definitely machine quilting my other quilts). When you hand quilt, your hands spend time with every inch. I will be spending a lot of time with this quilt this winter and I am enjoying the connection I am already making with it. As Im stitching, I am thinking of what it will be like while I am in LaCoste, and what kind of things I will make. I know I will have this memory of stitching on the couch at home, with Chris and Sawyer, to keep me warm while I am gone.

loop, link and tangle

I know this is short notice, but the opening of Loop, Link and Tangle is tonight at Dimensions Gallery on MLK and Jones from 7-10pm.  This is a juried show between the Fibers, Sculpture and Painting departments.  I have 4 pieces in the show and I saw the other work yesterday and it looks really great.  I hope you all can make it if youre in the Savannah area!