the latest.

Working on some odds and ends.   Plus trying to get a jump start on some "Christmas Crafting" so it may be a wee bit quiet around here!

I made these seedling blocks for Tracey, who is putting a quilt together for a friend diagnosed with cancer.  I am sure a quilt full of these cheerful blocks will soothe her.

And been knitting away!  A sneak peak of a gift...used a cool new "cross stitch" for this one, and some lovely Malabrigo yarn.  So colourful an soft!

I am doing a little swap with my friend Svetlana.  My couch has been wanting some pillows for ages, but I never get around to it, and she makes such lovely ones, so I hit her up to make me one in exchange for a knit cowl.  Almost done...here is a sneak peak of that as well!

Aren't I mysterious?  Hope to have more to show you, sooner or later!

Have a great day!
Kristie

because I was in a bad mood.

I had a bad day today.  Not exceptionally bad or anything, in the grand scheme of life, but enough to make me cranky.  And you wouldn't like me when I'm cranky...(as she turns green...Hulk reference).

I blame it on work.  It was a bloody, messy day.  Okay, I am a dentist so "bloody" isn't anything to get alarmed about.  But it was bloodier than necessary, in my opinion, and I just didn't like it.  On the plus side, it was a half day, so I got to go home at lunch time to sulk and eat sugary things to console myself.

I had a good shower to wash off said blood (ha ha, kidding...sort of) and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.  But I felt like I wanted to be prettier.

If some Little Folks voile can't cheer a girl up, what can?

I grabbed a couple strips that I had in my stash and got to work.  Within a half hour, I had made this infinity scarf.  Seriously, instant gratification.  If you look you can see that my hair is still wet from the shower!  It was that fast.

Feeling much better.  Thanks, Anna Maria, for never failing to bring a smile to my face!  I owe you one.

Ghastlies quilt is finished!

It's done!  Muahahahahaaaaaa!  (Did that sound evil?)

This quilt has to be the most "unnecessary" quilt I have ever made.  And the most fun!  It all just fell into place so instinctively, and I enjoyed every minute of the process.  Let's face it, normally I utter more than a few curse words in the quilt-making process,  but this one was smooth sailing!

Truth be told, I don't even really like Halloween.  But when I was introduced to Alexander Henry's The Ghastlies while at Sewing Summit last fall, I loved it, and bought a half hard with no particular plans.  I started making some wonky blocks with it last fall, inspired by Thumbelina's quilt.  I thought I would just make a wall hanging, but as the blocks accumulated, I ended up with more than enough for a quilt, especially once adding the wonky border- this thing finished at 65 by 75 inches!

Once the top was made, I instantly had visions of quilting it with a large, sprawling spiderweb. The epicentre is to the top left of the quilt (you can click on the photo to enlarge and see the quilting better).  I used a thick Aurafil thread in a yellow-orange shade so that the quilting is quite pronounced.

 I used the same thread to topstitch the binding for continuity.

I even love the back- found this perfect spiderweb fabric at Fabricland on clearance for $3.50/meter.  Score!

It was Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday, and we headed out to rural Manitoba to have dinner with The Hubs' family.  This "Haunted House" is just down the road from their farm....all perfectly rusted and falling down!  Even the day was grey and rainy and desolate...perfect for photographing a Ghastly quilt.  I have to give a shout-out to The Hubs for climbing over barbed-wire fences, avoiding the multiple cow patties, and patiently holding this up in the rain while I gleefully took photos!

Wishing you a SPOOKTACULAR day!

Shared at Quilt Story and linked up to A Ghastly Gathering at alidiza, which runs until October 28!

Beginnings, middles and endings

Beginning a new quilt....using the Linky Love pattern by traceyjay.

In the middle of some adventurous quilting.

Finished a project with this lovely Malabrigo yarn, but it's a gift for someone special who often tunes in here, so you'll have to wait for the full reveal!

Speaking of beginnings, looks like we are beginning a new season today. Not ready for that white stuff.

Seriously. We were doing this just 4 days ago.

Mother Nature sure has her mood swings!

Sunday slippers

I am working on a little swap with my friend Cherie, who I met at Sewing Summit last year.  She had requested some knit slippers.  I found this great pattern by French Press Knits for some felted ballet-style slippers, and since felting was new to me, thought I would do a test knit in my own size first.

What can I say, besides I absolutely love them.  So cozy, the perfect weight for wearing around the house on hardwood floors.

Or, for putting your feet up on a lazy Sunday afternoon :)

Deets on my Ravelry page.

Ghastlies quilt top

I had never even heard of The Ghastlies until I was let loose on a bunch of genuine quilt shops in Salt Lake City during Sewing Summit last year.  I am not much of a Halloween person, but when I saw this fabric I couldn't resist picking up a bit, just in case.  I managed to put together a couple blocks last fall and decided to pull it out again to see if I could make some progress this year before Halloween came and went again.  My intention was to make a wall hanging for our front door, but I was having too much fun and soon amassed more than enough blocks for a full quit!

 

I did the individual blocks with no rules or measurements in mind, just added fabric until I felt they were fun.  I added some purples, pinks and marigold oranges from my stash for pops of color along with the greys and blacks, and I love the combination.  I spliced the blocks all together very free form with some Alexander Henry Heath (I am sure there is an easier way to do this than what I did) and then decided to frame the collection with a wonky border in the coordinating fabrics.

Some of my favorite characters! Of course the knitting sisters are featured in there :)

Even spliced a few extra ghastly folks in along the borders.

I had fun every minute making this quilt top.  Now to decide on some fun quilting...I am thinking spider webs??

Quilt Story

My princess quilt is being featured on Quilt Story today :)  Thanks, Megan and Heather!  Be sure to pop by, and take some time to peruse some of the other awesome quilts they have featured, and the stories that make them special.