Weekend socks

I found this http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/knitting_pattern_weekend_socks_2.php pattern to knit socks of all things. I say 'of all things' because I'm not a knitter, and the best knitter I ever knew (my darling mum) never knitted socks to my knowledge. When we were children she knitted all sorts of things for us. I hardly ever saw her without a pair of knitting needles right up until I left home at 18. 

But stuck for something to occupy my hands at night, I thought I'd give these a go. Spotlight in Canberra didn't have cable needles - they said they didn't stock them - and a lady I spoke to at our local markets said I'd probably find them in an op shop. So, off to St Vincent de Paul's I went. A good half hour later, having sorted through hundreds of knitting needles I managed to find four size 4 needles. Armed with these and a couple of balls of cheap acrylic wool from the Reject Shop I started knitting. 

Took a short while to figure out how to manipulate the four needles, but I managed somehow, and I'm reasonably well into my 
first sock. But, this is 5 hours work!  Hmmmm.  It will take more than a weekend for my socks. If they turn out well I plan to buy some real wool and knit a pair for Julian and a pair each for the boys. 

Apparently if a girl knit a pair of socks for a boy it was a sign that they were an item!

I'd just like the men in my life to have a warm pair to wear around the house. 

I feel comfort knitting as my mum once did, and I'm thinking about her and how much I miss her as I knit. 

Modern One-Quilt Blocks Book Review

"We are crazy about quilting."

Natalie Bonner and Kathleen Whiting have written easy-to-read, step-by-step instructions for 22 projects with options to create the quilts in baby, lap, or bed-cover sizes with a modern twist to traditional blocks.

All are easily pieced and aimed more at the beginner quilter, or for experienced quilters looking for a quick and easy introduction to modern quilting. I liked the way Natalie and Kathleen took a traditional block and made it asymmetrical simply by, for example, removing the usual sashing on two sides so that the blocks, once joined, appear to float randomly in the background. Great use of only two or three colours in each quilt too. It's so easy to use lots of fabrics and forget the simplicity and impact that 'less is more'.

I would have liked to see a bit more attention paid to quilting designs/techniques to finish off the quilt tops and there is no indication whether the designs in the book are completed with a long-arm or domestic machine. I suspect the former.

There is also no indication of the type of batting used. My understanding is that 100 per cent cotton is best if the quilt is to look as crinkly as the ones pictured.

Anyway, I'll be speaking from experience soon as I plan to make the American Stars quilt in lap size for someone very special. She loves all things cream!

A new book to relish

I love using my iPad to browse the Internet, and especially to look at the work of sister quilt bloggers and designers, but sometimes only a book will do. I am a voracious reader of all kinds of books, and I love the feel of a book in my hand. Bookshops are also a favourite haunt so on our last day in (a very windy) Brisbane I went to Dymocks.

I spent a very enjoyable time sitting on the floor in the craft section browsing the quilting books, got talking to a man who goes to Dymocks to browse and listen to their in-house music (he reckons it's the best anywhere) and only got stood on once!

I settled on this lovely, fresh, gem and brought it back to the hotel. I'll review it another time, but for the moment, I notice that it doesn't give yardage in metres. This might be a bit nit-picky and, in Australia we do have that anomaly of cutting and piecing in imperial measurements, yet buying fabric in metric measurements. But I think if you're writing a book for the international market you should research what measurements potential readers will use and include metric/imperial conversions.

For now I will relish reading it!

First modern quilt

I found a modern baby quilt by Andie Johnson http://www.andiejohnsonsews.com and thought I would make it as a wall hanging using black as the neutral. I love the way you can see different patterns with this basic block, for example elongated stars or bow ties. I used part of a moda jelly roll to create the triangles in warm and cool colours. The quilt is called 'Boss-eyed Bulls-eye' because the bulls eye is deliberately off centre. This quilt is my first ever entry into a quilt show!

I'd like to make this again and turn it into a bed quilt with white or grey as the neutral.

I have two other wall hangings to finish and enter for the show by the end of the month!

Finally ... A blog gets off the ground

I've been promising myself that I would start a blog for the last 18 months - since I retired and remarried in fact - and couldn't figure out how to do it. Sad for someone that worked in engineering and computing, hey?  Anyway, on holiday in Brisbane at the moment, time on my hands, and I managed it!  Just about to run out of battery, so I will finish this tomorrow.