“Eight Stars of Gold…”

Now where was I…  Oh yeah, I finshed the Iris Quilt.

To recap, the project is from “Pieced Flowers” by Ruth B. McDowell.  Now I just have to make a slat for hanging the quilt.

I also finished spinning some 3 ply BFL/Mohair 85%/15% sock yarn.  I blended the fiber on my drum carder and the resulting batts spun like a dream.  This was for my guild’s challenge celebrating the 50th anniversary of Alaska becoming a state.  We were to (weave, spin, knit, crochet…) something with blue and gold.  Blue and gold being the colors of the Alaska state flag.

I didn’t want to have a solid blue for the sock so I hand painted the yarn with shades of blue, purple and turquoise.  I loved the result.

I choose the Sidewinder Sock  pattern by Nona.

With this design, the sock is knitted lengthwise.  I believe its shows the blue variations off better and creates a sky look to the sock.

After the socks were knitted, I spun a silk single and dyed it yellow for the stars.

I embroidered the eight stars on the socks to depict the Big Dipper and the North Star.

I really like the results, though this pattern wasn’t my favorite to knit.

And if you’re interested, the YouTube link is to the Alaska Flag Song which starts with “Eight Stars of Gold on a Field on Blue…”

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day, I will be at a workshop with Galina Khmeleva.

Out of the Deep Freeze

A few years ago a dear friend left Alaska, and for a parting gift I was to make her a quilt wall hanging of an iris.  I got 70 % of it done before she left, but alas I haven’t finished it yet even after all this time.  My rationalizing has included, “She’s moved a lot since she has left so I didn’t want to add to her packing.”  Pretty lame, huh?  The real reason is that I procrastinate when I’m not sure how to proceed and I rather do nothing than screw it up.  So I have decide to take a very deep breath, dig the project out and finish it.  I am a stronger person now… I have cut steeks.

The project is from “Pieced Flowers” by Ruth B. McDowell.  (A fabulous book to drool over peruse.)

I choose the asymmetrical straight seam iris pattern on the left.
I still have 40 % of the hand quilting to do, and I have yet to figure out what I have done with the thread I was using.  I also need to find the remaining fabrics so I can decide the border and how I want the quilt to hang.

Wish me luck.

As for knitting, more lace is in my future.  I have decided to give Mystery Stole 4 a try. 

The yarn is Jagger Spun, Zephyr, Blueberry .  I made some simple stitch markers, the thin wire doesn’t seem to affect stitch spacing as the plastic store bought ones do.

In 15 Days

Phew!  That was the fastest I have ever completed a lace anything.  I had planned on having the month of August and half of September to complete the stole in time for the original reception date.  But due to the incident in Germany, the reception was moved up a month. 

None of my girls were interested in modeling the stole so I snagged one of their friends. Thanks Cat.

The Stole for Laura.

Pattern:  “Scarf or shawl with a center pattern” from  “Victorian Lace Today” by Jane Sowerby.
Yarn: Artyarn’sSilk Mohair, colour “snow”, 2 skeins
Needles:  US# 5, Addi Lace Circular
My variation:  For the center panel I used the repeat section of Chart B from “Scarf with the No. 20 edging from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, 1850“.

Though it was a fast knit, I am very pleased with the results.

The bunchkins start school next week, so I have some serious back to school shopping to endure.