My Poncho

I made this one for myself.  Ponchos are coming back (or maybe never went away).  They were popular when I was younger though I've never had one.  I have mixed feelings on the yarn I chose.  Part of me wishes I had gone with a neutral solid color, but the colors of this yarn drew me in at the shop.The yarn is Berroco Boboli in color #5340.  It took 6 skeins.  The pattern is Hugo by Gosia Grajdek.  Here I am modeling the finished poncho.

The reason I sort of wish I had used a solid is this yarn doesn’t readily show the detail in the center front/back and along the edge.

Here’s a view of the back.  The poncho isn’t asymmetric, it’s just the way I’m wearing it.  I’m ready for the cooler weather of fall so I can wear it.

Scrappy Baby Quilt for T.A.

I made this baby quilt for my niece who is due to have her second child and her first daughter this November.  Her son was born two years ago.  Here's the quilt I made for him.  For this one I made 6.5 in X 9 in rectangles sewed together using cotton fabric scraps in a "crazy quilt" fashion.  I then sewed strips of gray flannel dog print to each rectangle.  A darker gray cotton was used for the strips with a red print used for the squares on the outer edge.  The finished quilt measures 40 in X 45 in.

 

As with my other scrappy baby quilts this one has many items of interest to make up stories or just play “I spy” – dog, bone, feet, angle playing a horn, steamboat.

 

And in these – motorcycle, dog, car, fireflies, cat.

 

In this photo find the cow, the football player, the owl, the girl, the cat.

 

In this one – giraffe, robot, car, dog.

 

The back is an old-fashioned flower print.

H's Baby Quilt

I want to make it clear right up front -- I did not make this quilt.  I only had the privilege of sewing on a sleeve so it can be hung up.

This lovely quilt was made by Connie Coenen in 1989 for H who was born in 1988.  She is the daughter of a friend and colleague.  This quilt is done using both hand and machine work.  It measures 58 in X 68 in.  There are many different type of fabrics used giving it a tactile feel in addition to the visual picture.

Here is a closer view of the center scene.

 

 

This photo shows the sun and the ocean waves.

 

 

These trees are made from a fine wale corduroy.  They have a lovely feel to them. 

 

This flower is embroidered.  I wish the photo was better so you could really appreciate the work.

 

Rather than sewing on a label, Connie embroidered her name and the date here.

Forget-Me-Knot in Vase

I made my friend @organicgreendoc a small "bonus" quilt for his auction.  It is machine appliqued and quilted.  The glass beads are sewn on by hand.  It is 10.5 in X 12.4 in.

I used the applique forget-me-knot pattern from the book Mountain Mist Quilt Favorites, page 68.  I used my quilt stencil (the one used in the memory lane quilt lavender blocks) for the heart-shaped vase.

And here's the back.  I used the “quick triangle” method for the “sleeve” to allow hanging.

Memory Lane Quilt Finished!

The "Memory Lane" quilt is finished!  As you may recall I made it at the request of my friend & medical school classmate  @organicgreendoc asked me to make a quilt for a silent auction.  He has early Alzheimer’s and blogs about it here. 

I named the quilt “memory lane” as a play on the quilt pattern I used called country lanes from the book Mountain Mist Quilt Favorites, page 121.I added 3-dimensional leaves and forget=me-knots after I finished the quilting.  My first layout meant to represent a path did not work.  I ended up placing 42 flowers around the border.  It works much better.  The finished quilt measures 54 in X 72 in.

I added 3-dimensional leaves and forget-me-knots after I finished the quilting.  My first layout meant to represent a path did not work.  I ended up placing 42 flowers around the border.  It works much better.

The quilting is difficult to see over the lavender squares, but it's three tulips, leaves, and hearts.  Easier to see in the photo in my earlier post.

Here are two photos to show the three dimensional forget-me-knots and leaves around the border.  Instructions for making the flowers and leaves can be found here (pdf file, 3/2017--;link no longer active) and a photo of one being made.

And at one corner

Asymmetric Tee in Black

This tunic took me a month to knit.  It is knitted using the pattern Sugar Maple by Carina Spencer.  The pattern is actually an easy one to follow.  The yarn is  Lana Gatto Silk Mohair which is a very soft lace weight. I gave the finished sweater to my sister.

Robotic Baby Steps

This quilt is based on the steps block pattern used in this earlier quilt.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  It uses the step pattern from block lotto blog.  It measures 38 in X 44 inches.

These next two photos show the robots better.

The quilting is circles.

The back is plain Kona cotton fabric in white.  I gave the quilt to a “B” who happens to be the daughter of two friends whom I made a baby quilt for when “B” was born.  I loved that circle.

Memory Lane Quilt–WIP

A couple of weeks ago my friend and medical school classmate @organicgreendoc asked me to make a quilt for a silent auction.  He has early Alzheimer’s. 

The request included the following specifications:  purple color and forget-me-knots  as the official color and flower of the Alzheimer’s Association, lap-size.  The auction is the first week of September so it’s needed by mid-August to have time to advertise it.

I fortunately had just finished a baby quilt (will show it next week) and was just beginning to work on a new one for a niece who is due in the fall.  I put it aside, pulled out my quilt books looking for a pattern that would be interesting but piece quickly.  I settled on a pattern called country lanes from my book Mountain Mist Quilt Favorites, page 121.

The next day I made a trip to a local fabric shop, purchased the fabric, washed/dried/ironed the fabric and then began cutting out the pieces. Over the last few weeks I have managed to piece it, marked, and quilted (as my right neck/trapezius would attest) quite a bit.  I found two patterns for appliqued forget-me-knots.  I will be adding them when all the quilting is done.

As with the block pattern, I tried to pick one that would be interesting but go quickly.  The solid blocks have hearts and tulips.  The pieced blocks are cross-hatched.  In the language of flowers, both forget-me-knots and tulips convey love.

Pale Pink Claire Stole

This stole took me months to knit.  To be fair, it was often put aside to do other projects (this baby sweater, sew binding on quilts, etc).  I used the pattern Claire by Lynn Anne Banks.  It took 3 skeins of Lana Gatto Silk Mohair in a pale pink called Seta.  The finished stole/shawl measures approx 18 in X 78 in.

It is very soft.

Finished -- Crazy Baby Quilt

Actually finished this quilt a couple of weeks ago.  In  fact, @purplesque has already received it.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  She has promised to write a story or stories using the details in the quilt.  I am looking forward to them.

The finished quilt measures approx 38 in X 42 in. 

The back is a combination of two yellow fabrics.  It shows the “Baptist fans” quilting.

Here are some photos to show some of the details.  Silly story:  The tabby cat drove the race car to the shore to see the fish and seahorse.  Along the way she stopped to admire the butterfly flittering around the flower.

Silly story #2: Holly Hobby sit among the trees thinking of monkeys and hippos she had seen at the zoo.  She looked forward to going to the football game later.

Silly story #3:  Two best friends lay in the sunshine taking of ballerina bears, pet rabbits, and riding in their aunt’s little red sports car along highway 66.

Silly story #4:  A dog, giraffe, and roster took a drive in the BelAir to hear the pink bunnies band.  What a grand time was had by all.

Silly story #5:  The skier slide down the hill on his bottom while the dogs looked on.  Pooh Bear tried to interest Holly in catching fireflies with him in the moonlight.

Dress and Surgeon’s Caps

This child’s dress made using patriotic fabric given to me by a friend was made for a niece who recently turned 3 yrs old. See photo here on instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Zy0bduOlpl/?taken-by=rlbates

These surgeon’s caps were recently made on a very rainy Saturday.  Not sure who will receive them. See photo here on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/aB9CcWOlk6/?taken-by=rlbates

Baby Crazy Quilt--WIP

My blogging/twitter friend @purplesque is pregnant with her first child.  I have had a lot of fun piecing this crazy quilt top for her baby.  It is machine pieced.  Now to mark it and do the machine quilting.

As our mutual friend @scanman suggested, a chocolate frog (well, a batik fabric with chocolate background and tan frog) was included.  Also, note the owls, the moon, a giraffe, Tigger & Piglet, cats, and dogs.