Another Quilt Done

This week I quilted another quilt top on the shop long arm. What's pretty scary is I'm not sure when exactly I made this quilt top.    

 

 

It is a queen size quilt.

 

I'm thinking this will be the perfect for one of the guest beds.

 



 

Strawberries

It is the beginning of strawberry season here in California. 

 

On the way home from our drive to Lodi today we stopped at a road side stand and bought a half of a flat.

 

 

Aren't they gorgeous? And as Lucy said "And tasty too!!"



Quilts A-go-go

 One of the perks of working at Sew Fun Fabric is on your days off, if the longarm quilting machine is not being rented, employees can use it to quilt their personal quilts.

 

This first quilt is called Bits & Pieces and was one of the shop's block of the month in 2012. 

 

 You started with a background fabric and one other fabric and each following month added another fabric of your choice.

 

This is the first block.

 

I found out doing this quilt I am not block of the month material.  I wanted to pick all my fabrics and finish the quilt after the second month.  I actually quit going in to pick my fabrics until November and then got all but the last pattern and fabric.  I had to wait until December for those.

 



 

This next quilt is slated to become a Christmas present.  This is a free pattern from Moda called Blueberry Crumb Cake.  I normally do not like to do a pattern in the colors it calls for but it is perfect for the intended recipient.

 

 

I am so excited to have both these quilts finished.  Now on to the next one.

Needle Case

The other weekend before the Man child arrived for his spring break visit  I headed two hours north to Chico, California to attend a workshop taught by Sue Spargo at Honey Run Quilters.  Sue Spargo creates wonderfully colorful folk art quilts using hand-dyed wool, silks, velvets, threads and embellishments. 

Before attending class I did my homework like a good girl which involved cutting out wool circles and whip stitching them down on to a base.

For this workshop we learned 8 stitches which we practiced on the back of the needle case and then combined those stitches to create the front cover.  The thread we used was a #8 pearl cotton by Valdani.

 And here is the finished needle case.

 

A sampler of stitches.
 

 

 

 

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

 

I am a sucker for Girl Scout cookies.  Rachel and Kelsey were both Girl Scouts and I was Cookie Mom for two years for both troops.  You come to my door and I will buy cookies.  Thank goodness in our neighborhood we only had one girl scout come to our door.

My favorite are the Caramel Delites and of course the Thin Mints. 

Best eaten from the freezer in my opinion. 

The other evening I decided maybe a new twist needed to be added to the Caramel Delites.

I present the Caramel S'more Delite.

 

Ten mini marshmallows - I didn't have the big ones- toasted and then smushed between two Caramel Delite cookies.

Just a little bit of heaven!



Stitches West 2013

 

When you live in California and you are a knitter it is hard to pass up the opportunity to attend Stitches West in Santa Clara. 

 

This past Friday Kathleen and I headed to the Santa Clara Convention Center.  Just down the street is the future home of the San Francisco 49er's. 

 

Does that mean they might be tweaking their name to the Santa Clara 49er's?

 

 

Anyway.

 

Friday we spent the day wandering the market.  The market at Stitches West is PHENOMENAL!!

It took us over 5 hours to go through every aisle with a cursory look, marking down where we wanted to stop back and visit again on Saturday. 

 

Friday night we attended the Fashion Show showcasing garments from the different vendors.

It is always interesting to see what the future of knitting can be.

 

This was my third year to attend Stitches West and my first to come home with as much yarn as I did.

 

 

One booth that has always been popular that I finally made a purchase at was Miss Babs Hand-Dyed Yarns and Fibers.  There is always a line at their booth and this year was no exception.  I bought three skeins in the colorway Impatiens, Clematis and Ghoulish of their "Yummy" hand-painted super wash sock yarn to make the Color Affection Shawl.

 

I also looked for sock yarn to make Jim's annual pair of socks.  This year they will be made using

 Lisa Souza Sock! in the Mahogany colorway.

I  bought a skein of Western Sky Knits Aspen Sock in the colorway Carnivale.  This will be a future pair of socks for me.

 

My new favorite yarn company is Neighborhood Fiber Company. Designer Ann Weaver was working in the booth and I feel in love with her cardigan "The Whiteness of the Whale.  Karida did not have enough of the color I wanted  so she offered to dye the skeins I needed when she got back home so I could have all from one lot.  I can't wait till it arrives! 

 

Also on the agenda was a visit to the  Namaste booth so I could purchase some more of their project bags this time in Eggplant, their name, I call it purple. 

 Kathleen and I stopped by for the meet up of the podcast 2knitlitchicks held Saturday in the bar area of the Hyatt and we each  received a measuring tape.  It is always great to see Barb and Tracie.  They are the reason I am always adding books to my wish list in my Audible account.

 

Sunday I took two classes.

 

My first class was with Chris Bylsma.  I have been wanting to learn more about steeks.  Chris is a great teacher and took all the mystery out of steeking.  I can't wait to knit and then take my scissors to the project!

 

I also took a class about intarsia.  Jim's family has Christmas stockings that were knit by his great aunt and because of marriages and babies there is a need for more.  I haven't been happy with my attempts in the knitting of these stockings and I had hopes by taking this class it would make it easier. I learned what I needed to know about the technique but would never recommend the teacher. 

 

One of the greatest aspects of attending Stitches West is the camaraderie at the event and the ability to sit down and visit.  The market place is a fashion show on its own with all the attendees showing off their knits and everyone happy to share the information on their knitwear.