...MonkeyKnits... A Knitting Blog

DQS2 Sneak Peek

DQS2 (with flash), originally uploaded by monkeyknits.

Here's a preview of the doll quilt I'm working on for this swap. I'm making my first attempt at hand-quilting, and I'm actually enjoying it. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't like it -- I thought it would be too futzy for me. So I'm pleasantly surprised at how fun (and relaxing) it really is.

Who knew?

fabric

fabric, originally uploaded by monkeyknits.

 

I played with fabric last weekend... I started my doll quilt for the second round of the Doll Quilt Swap. So far it has been fun, but I must admit that I'm slightly intimidated. There are some doll quilt heavy hitters in this swap! I feel like I'm in a bit over my head, truth be told. But I'm loving the fabrics that I'm working with, and I'm keeping optimistic!

same photo - just "auto adjusted", originally uploaded by monkeyknits.

 

This is the same photo, just "auto adjusted." The top photo looks better on our MacBook and the bottom one looks better on my PC... Click on either photo to see more fabric photos in my Flickr set.

Doll Quilt Swap - round two

DQS I gallery, originally uploaded by losabia.

There's still time to join the second round of the doll quilt swap. Go to the swap's website to sign up before June 17th.

I'm hoping to receive something that I can hang in my studio for inspiration. I love the idea from Wee Wonderfuls of making several and using them to decorate a room. I haven't made any doll-sized quilts, yet. But I'm excited to get started!

Fabric-o-Rama

My fabric/quilting stash is growing, slowly but surely. When I first started knitting, I fell into the "if I don't buy this yarn right now, I'll never get a chance to buy this yarn ever again" routine. I did a lot of impulse buying, and since I didn't really know what I was doing yet, the initial stash acquisitions weren't always winners. Lots of those initial purchases live in a big blue Rubbermaid container and haven't seen the light of day for several years. Some of it has been sold or donated. And, to be fair, some of it has been used.

I'm trying to be cognisant of that fact as I begin to develop a quilting stash. I'm trying to choose colors and patterns with a specific project in mind. The fabrics above represent a few different projects, none of which have been started yet. Unlike knitting, where I always have several projects on the needles at any given time, I seem to lean towards having only one sewing project going at once. So, when I finish my first quilt, then I can dive into that lovely pile of fabrics.   

My friend Amy came over this weekend to help me finish my first quilt. She showed me how to do the binding, and I'm well on the way to the home stretch. I think I got about one and a half feet stitched onto the back (the front was done on the machine). Let's see... At the rate I am able to hand sew using the blind stitch, it should only take me about 42 weeks to complete the thing! Thanks, Amy, for sharing your expertise with me! Next project: the quilted handbag from Amy Butler's new book.

It rained all weekend here. That means that fall is on its way... Or maybe it's here. The leaves haven't started turning, yet. But the weather is cooler (I turned off the AC yesterday). And the daylight doesn't last as long. I actually really like fall. Fall means knitting with wool again, wearing wool again, and not having to shave my legs as often. I hope fall lasts a long time this year.

Quilty Goodness

You may remember that several months ago I took a quilting class. Today I got my quilted quilt back from the quilters. I'm in love...

Yes, I sent it away to be quilted. Someday, when I have more time and patience (yes, that day will come) I will hand quilt my own quilt. But for this first one, I just wanted it done and done well.

I did an "art back" of my own design. John said, "Is it supposed to look like that?" Yes, it's supposed to look like that. It's an art back. The class instructor got it.

The woman who did the quilting (on a long-arm machine) did a great job. I just asked for something fun, but not flowery, and this is what she came up with...

Swirly, whirly, fun and fabulous. Now, I just have to find those instructions for doing the binding. And teh courage to tackle that task!

What kind of Blog is this?

I may have to change the blog name to "MonkeyQuilts" pretty soon! Actually, I'm done with the top of my first quilt, and our final class is tomorrow. Then,  I'll get back to the knitting. I have been knitting a bit, but I've just been photographing the quilting. So here's a photo of the finished top:

It's a bit crazy, huh? But I really like all of the fabrics I chose, and all of the colors. I made it a bit bigger than our instructor told us to - I put in another border between the sashing and the real border. I wanted my quilt to be a little bit larger.

It's still a bit Holly Hobby for my taste, but I knew it would be, what with it being a "sampler" and all. I knew that this quilt would be a learning tool for me. And I am happy with the way it turned out, but it's just not really my taste.

My next quilt will be more my style - modern, simple, chic. I picked up the Denyse Schmidt book and one called "The Modern Quilt Workshop." Both books are fantastic (in my extremely novice quilter opinion) and my next quilt(s) will be from one of these books.

And I'm going to do an "art back." I guess it's a quilting thing, but I think it sounds so fun. Instead of a plain ole back, you do something a little funkier. I'm going to do a strip of crazy quilting off-center on my back. I need a little guidance tomorrow at class, and then I just need to decide if I'm going to try machine quilting at home, or sending it out to the professionals.

Quilting update

Here are blocks number 3, 4 and 5 for my quilting class. These were the ones I finished for last week. I have three more done - the ones that were due last night - but no photos, yet.

During the first class, the instructor talked a lot about how to select fabrics for a quilt. We dicussed value and scale and design "rules." We even did a fun little exercise where we had five minutes to find a main fabric and four coordinating fabrics in five minutes. My partner and I did not excel at that exercise. We were the class rejects. She picked the main fabric, which I actually liked a lot. Then we picked the other fabrics together. I think our instructor thought we were mental -- too busy, they all said. Turns out they were probably right, and I probably should have listened to their criticisms...

We picked out all of our fabrics after the first class. We were told to pick an "inspiration" fabric, four to five coordinating fabrics, another fabric for the sashing, and one more for the back. I picked all of my fabrics eagerly, with the help of the instructor's daughter. All of the fabrics are fun and fabulous - Amy Butler, mostly. I had fun using them all in my blocks. But last night in class, when I put them all together with my sashing fabric, I nearly had a seizure when I looked at it. It was crazy busy!

So the instructor, kind woman that she is, stayed late after class and helped me pick out a new fabric for sashing and for the border and for the back of the quilt. And now I think it will be okay. Actually, I think it will be better than okay... I think it will be fabulous!

More photos to come... I have all of my blocks finished and I will be heading back to the quilt store for some one-on-one help with the squaring up of the blocks and the cutting of the sashing strips. Wish me luck!

Yet Another New Hobby.

Yes. You read that correctly. Another new hobby. Call me crazy - I don't have enough time to get to all the knitting projects I want to do, but I dive right in to yet another new hobby.

I used to work with a woman at a bridal boutique who had a great motto. Her favorite wedding invitations were made by Crane, and they were on the higher end of the pricing spectrum. She would ask customers who weren't so sure about spending that much on wedding invitations, "If not now, when?" So that's what I say about quilting. I've always been interested in it. I tried to teach myself once and failed miserably, so when the opportunity arose to take a class, I said to myself, "If not now, when?"

The class meets on Monday nights. Here's my homework for tonight:

We had to do a nine square and a rail fence. The class is five weeks long, and we're going to end up with a nine square "sampler." I'm not really a huge fan of this particular quilt - too country bumpkin or something - but I picked really fun Amy Butler fabrics, which I hope will cut down some of that bumpkin-ness.

Here's the fabric I will post a photo of the fabric I chose for the back of the quilt. It's not an Amy Butler, but I just loved this little print. That's actually kinda strange considering my deep-rooted disgust with all things bird in real life -- I guess I'm finding that I like bird prints on fabric and canvas.