Magic Stars

You might remember back in August I sent two quilt tops to be quilted - one king size and one throw size.  I got them back, all quilted, late last week!  I immediately sat down and got them trimmed up and sewed the binding on both quilts, then I started turning it to the back and finishing it by hand.  I'm still working on the king size one, but I finished the throw size quilt!

I asked for 100% cotton batting for both quilts because I like the way it breathes, I like the way it feels, and I like what it does when you wash it.  Above, you can see a photo of the center of the quilt as it was when I got it back.  The quilting is visible, but it's still pretty smooth.  You can't feel it in the photo, but it was kind of stiff and didn't have very much drape.

After washing, the quilting has much more depth, the stars in the pattern are much more visible, and the quilt has amazing softness and drape.  This is because when you wash it the first time, the batting shrinks a tiny bit.  All of my fabrics were prewashed before I started piecing the top, and before I prepared the backings.  They had already done their shrinking, but when the batting shrinks, it pulls the fabrics along with it.  You get much more depth in the quilting and the whole hand of the quilt changes into something that wraps around you when pull it over you.

In this quilt, the stars being more visible was a happy surprise.  I had asked Sheryl (from Hedgehog Quilting) to use the Midnight Sparkle pattern to quilt both of these.  She had it but had never used it.  The stars are actually stitched twice, so they have a double layer of thread and stand out a bit from the swirling background.  Once the quilt was washed, they popped a little bit more.  I don't think they distract from the quilting or the different fabrics, they're just another layer on top of all the rest and I just love the way they add to the finished look!

I'm about halfway around the hand stitching on the king size quilt and hope to get it finished this week!

Still With The Stockinette

I've been knitting away, or actually, around and around.  I've finished the second front since I last showed you my V Neck Boxy, and I've joined the fronts to the back below the underarms.  I'm literally knitting in circles.  It's not the most exciting thing, but it is good TV knitting and I can knit it while I watch the Aggies play football.  (I've started watching football, only Texas A&M and whoever they're playing, but I'm watching football.  It has really confused Mickael.  It's good to keep him on his toes.)

I haven't measured in a while, but I'm probably about halfway between the underarms to the hem.  I'm almost finished with the second skein now so I think I'll have enough yarn to do long sleeves.  The pattern has 3/4 length sleeves, and while those are fine and I do like them, for some reason I've been thinking of full length sleeves for this sweater.  I'll have to see what I've got left when the body is finished.

Have a great weekend!  I'll be knitting this and watching the game Saturday night!

Shifting Gears With Socks

The other day I was all set to blog about a pair of socks I'd started.  I had chosen the Decathlon Sock pattern and was working them in Spun Right Round Classic Sock in Raining Cats and Dogs.  I was just about to start writing the blog post when I realized that I didn't want to knit those exact socks in that yarn.  What I wanted to do was knit a pair of footie type socks with that yarn and use the stitch pattern for the instep.  I don't exactly know where this inspiration came from, but I knew 100% that this was the right choice.  

At that point, knowing that later I would be frogging what I was about to blog and restarting something completely different, there was really no point in blogging it in the first place.  So I didn't.  But I'm here now.

This is my new footie sock with the Decathlon Sock stitch pattern (AKA garter rib).  I worked a few rounds of ribbing, did a heel flap and heel turn, and started the stitch pattern on the instep as I decreased the gusset stitches on the sole.  Easy peasy!  I don't know why I decided I didn't want full length socks with this combination, but here we are!  Sometimes the yarn tells you what it wants to be.

Brace For Stockinette!

There's going to be a lot of it!  I've started a V Neck Boxy pullover and I'm almost through with the upper body.  I've just got the left front to do, then I join the fronts and back and start going around and around and around!  I'm hoping to get to this point in the next few days.  Being a Boxy, it's oversized, so that combined with fingering weight yarn means lots and lots of stockinette stitch.  Fortunately, I don't mind this kind of thing.

I'm knitting this as part of a Flash Craft A Long ESK is hosting and I have until the end of October to finish it.  I had planned to make this at some point, so when they announced the FCAL and I looked at my yarn stash, I decided, why not?  I'm knitting this in Queensland Collection Kathmandu Fingering in Color 02 Smoky Gray.  I used this same color in the Kathmandu Aran weight last year for my Recoleta cardigan and fell in love with the yarn then.  The fingering weight is just as nice, only making a lighter weight fabric.  I think this sweater will be great for fall and winter around here, and the neutral color will get a lot of use.  A gray sweater is always a good idea in my closet!