Not a stitch was knit .........

Yes, 'tis true! I did not pick up any knitting all week until yesterday. I had mountains of marking every night from school tests and by the time it was finished, I was too pooped to do anything other than watch a bit of TV before bed. But I have made up for it this weekend, with knitting and sewing both high on the agenda.

Yesterday I made the quilted patchwork panel into a cushion cover. I love it. I used the same envelope cushion pattern that I followed when sewing the Ho Ho Ho bauble cushion before Christmas. It's dead easy! I took the cushion outside this morning to make the most of some bright winter sunshine.

Florence thought it was made for her, naturally! Here she is , about to test it out!!

I carried on with some more sewing today while Mr JK was off running a 10 mile race! Last year I went on a free motion embroidery workshop, and have been itching to have a go at home ever since. Now that my craft room has a dedicated desk for my sewing machine, I can potter about up there and not worry about leaving things out. Previously, I used the dining table in the lounge and of course Flo thinks that anything on there is fair game. She snuck off with my pin cushion one night, which was rather worrying! Thankfully, she didn't swallow any pins! Anyhow, I have a few ideas for things that I was just playing around with today. Take a look and see what you think.

If you want to see some amazing examples of this kind of textiles work, go and visit Poppy Treffry's website. It's just brilliant! I probably won't get the chance to work on these again until next weekend, but ideas are bubbling away!

The plain vanilla socks are progressing, I have just finished the heel flap of the second sock. They ought to be done by next weekend......... (I know, I said that last week too!)

The classes are now for sale at this year's Fibre East - my dear pal Snoopydog and I are going to have a go at spindle spinning. I like the idea of having a more portable way to spin - although I probably won't be showing off that particular skill on a Greek beach!! I am also signed up to a class exploring spinning techniques for luxury fibres. If you fancy taking a look at what else is happening at Fibre East this summer, take a look at the website. I just need to knit up the yarn I bought last year now!! Simple! Only 180 days to go! Here's hoping for more knitting time this week. xxx

Galloping ahead on the sewing front!

Goodness, hasn't it been chilly this weekend? We even had a few flurries of snow on Saturday morning. Thankfully, nothing settled for long, but the biting wind has hung on.

The gnomes (yes, I did say gnomes! They appear to have multiplied since this blog post!) will no doubt be demanding scarves if the cold weather continues!! 

The snow gave a festive feel to the day, added to by the fact that we were dining chez Snoopydog in the evening, and exchanging Christmas gifts. Snoopydog gave me a gorgeous bag from ThreeBagsFull, a skein of yarn from the Kettle Yarn Company and a really useful book packed full of sewing know-how. The print on the bag is such fun, I want to get my pens out and do some more colouring! 

The sewing book is excellent and just what I need to fill in lots of gaps in my knowledge. I have done a number of classes in Norwich, and have really enjoyed each one. I'd like to spend more time practising my new skills and this book is perfect to refer to. On Saturday I did a quilted patchwork class. To start with, we had to choose a combination of fabric patches and piece them together on some interlining. I went for some quite muted greeny-blue fabrics and decided to quilt in a green thread. 

The fabric pieces are joined and quilted one at a time. I experimented a little with the stitches and eventually settled on a straight stitch and a wavy stitch. I am really delighted with how it's turned out, and have some fabric cut ready for making it into a cushion. (Hopefully next weekend!) Here's the quilted panel........

I finished a pair of socks over the holidays. I had test knitted the first one way back last summer, but put its partner on the back burner until recently. The pattern is the Pink Pony Sock designed by Kim Swingle. I love the braided cable up the back of the leg. Of course, you would be disappointed if Flo hadn't made an appearance during the photoshoot, wouldn't you?!

A plain vanilla sock has taken its place as my 'no-brainer' knitting, now that school has begun. I have also started a jumper for Mr JK. It's in a chunky yarn, so in theory, I might get it finished this winter. We'll see! Added to that, an Attic24 crochet blanket is calling out to me. Will I succumb to hooky temptations this week? Come back next weekend to find out! xxxx

It was inevitable ........

I finished my cushion this week. Last November, I spun up a braid of rainbow Corriedale fibre from Woolfest. The fibre, from EasyKnits, was one of my few purchases there. The colours just called out to me; I don't know what it is about rainbow colours. They get me every time!

I knew that I wanted it to be a cushion, so started knitting a panel based on a knitspot pattern. Although I loved how it looked, it was much too small to be a usable cushion. See for yourself.

So into the frogging pond it went while I began the search for something else. I had favourited these socks on Ravelry some time earlier - I like the contrast of the black with the bright colours. The cogs starting whirring in my head as I thought about how I could use this idea with my yarn. I had a skein of Malabrigo worsted yarn in black, left over from a football scarf for Mr JK. The Wurm pattern was another pattern I liked, and so I used it to cast on. Initially I thought about knitting a cheerful cowl, but changed my mind part way through and went back to the original cushion plan. You can read more about the changes I made as I went along on my project page if you're interested. I used some bright buttons to close the flap and I have to say that I am really pleased with how it turned out. It has given my the idea of perhaps using some of my other handspun yarn to knit cushion covers too.

I put it on the floor to take some more photos. Big. Mistake!

Sigh! What's mine is Flo's, I guess! At least I know it's nice and squishy! Pop back soon for some more finished knitting! xxx