Expedition Hats

These two hats were knit using the pattern Expedition hat by Maude L. Baril.  The two color one uses  Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in a color called Little Rock Granite and Lion Brand Hometown USA Tweeds in oatmeal. 

This one is made using only the oatmeal Tweeds.

Both are adult size.  I plan to donate them to my father-in-law for their homeless outreach as winter will be here soon.

Charm Quilt -- WIP

I was inspired by a recent article in the American Quilter magazine (November 2012 issue) -- "Building a Palette by Seeing Fabrics in a Different Way” by Weeks Ringle -- to use sample fabrics I had been saving over the years.  The fabrics were mostly 5 in X 5 in squares.  Seemed perfect for inclusion into a charm quilt (see info in post after pattern info).

The article did not give the pattern names or directions for the quilts featured, so I drafted my own (still don't know the name of the pattern).  Here's my drafted pattern and the photo which inspired me.

The pattern consists of two basic blocks.  One block is simply square A.  The other block consists of the three pieces:  square A, rectangle B, and rectangle C.  The measurements of the pieces:
square A:  2.25 in squares (finished square will be 1.75 in)
rectangle B:  2.25 in X 4.5 in (finished size 1.75 in X 4 in)
rectangle C:  1 in X 8 in (finished size 0.5 in X 7.4 in)

Here is one of the finished composite blocks:

Here are some finished blocks laid out on my design wall.  Notice the layout of the blocks, one upright and the next one rotated 90 degrees.  The single block A will sit in the “hole.”

The fabric packs I am using are two from Benartex, one labeled the Modern Mix by Jennifer Young and the other not further labeled.  Another fabric packets from Merryvale -- the Fine China Blue designed by Bonnie Benn Stratton.  Other fabrics used will be just whatever I have in my stash.

The big difference between a charm quilt and a scrap/scrappy quilt is that each fabric is only used once.   As I am using the white muslin repeatedly, mine is not a “true” charm quilt.

Here are some nice articles on charm quilts:

A Brief History of Charm Quilts by Robin Brisson

Charm Quilt History: The Ultimate Scrap Quilts by  Judy Anne Breneman

The Charming One Patch by Janet Jo Smith

Premie Hats

One of my nieces recently had twins several weeks premature.  I had not done quilts for these two as I had already made baby quilts for her first two.  I have decided to use leftover yarns to make her twins hats.  I have bought yarn to knit small blankets.  Here are three hats (the duplicates aren't shown but exist).  All were made using the small pattern/needles but different yarns so ended up slightly different in size.  The pattern is Ali's Premie/Newborn Beanie by Tajie Maxedon.

This first one is made using the Noro Taiyo yarn leftover from the swirl jacket.

This second one is made from the Artyarns Ensemble Glitter Light  yarn leftover used to make the date night sweater (which I gave to a sister who gave it to a friend).

This third one is made from leftover Artyarns Supermerino yarn used to make the undulating leaves scarf.

Finished -- My First Swirl Jacket

I finished!  It only took me two months of knitting most evenings.  It's not perfect (I can point out a few errors), but it looks good and I like the way it fits.  I am already thinking about making another one in a monochromatic color scheme (red).

As mentioned in this earlier post, the pattern for my swirl jacket is  Sheer Beauty by Sandra McIver.    The two yarns:  Noro Taiyo (color #28) and Malabrigo Lace in Damask (#13o).

Here's a front view:

Here's a side view, isn't the drape nice?

Here's the back view:

Another of the back with the arms raised (and my dog Rusty who tried to sneak into the photo):

You can see photos of my blocking  here and here.

Four Friends

Updated 3/2017--all links removed as many no longer active.

I wish I had @zdoggmd talent, perhaps I ‘d have a better title with a play on say “3 men and a baby.”  Three of these friends are women with breast cancer, the other is a man with pre-Alzheimer's.   All have/are facing their diagnosis and life with amazing grace and strength.  All are raising money for their causes.  I want to share their links.

Two are local friends who are doing the local Race for the Cure and  raising money for Susan G. Komen.

Noor Kabani, MD works for Baptist Medical Center in their eICU.  Baptist put together Team Kabani for her.  Here is the link to join her team or donate in her name.

Heather Owens is the daughter of two friends, one a local ED physician.  I went to her wedding a few years back.  She is just 29 yr old.  She is writing about her journey with breast cancer at Fighting Fancy.  She is featured in the October 2012 issue Soiree magazine.  Her Race for the Cure team is Fighting Fancy (click on link to join her team or donate in her name).

The third woman is the wife of one of our medical bloggers.  I have not meet her in person, but have made quilts for two of her children and given her one.  She is doing “Making Strides for More Birthdays” and raising money for American Cancer Society.  Click here to join her team or donate in her name.

My fourth friend, DeWayne Nash, is a friend from medical school.  He lives near Austin, TX and is a retired Family Medicine physician.  His blog is Organic Green Doctor.  He is doing Walk to End Alzheimers (click on the link to join his team or donate in his name).  Here is a  link to the video   which features he and his wife, showing their involvement at the Alzheimer's Disease Center.

My Heart Stopped When Quilt

I finished the small quilt which is a "repeat" of one I made a few years ago -- "You Melt My Heart."  It was inspired by Movin Meat’s post:  Fearful Symmetry.  As before, I took the EKG, printed it out, enlarged a small segment and used it for the quilt.  The center design was machine appliqued, the dark red fabric was then hand sewn into place.  I then machine quilted it.  When I was sewing the binding in place, I noticed that even though I had carefully zigzagged the EKG design twice, some areas were trying to come undone.  I had to then hand embroider inside of the zigzag to make sure the fabric stayed in place.  The finished quilt measures 17.5 in square.

Here is a close up of the center heart.   Notice the Victorian window fabric behind the black with the “rose” in the upper area.  The Torsades de Pointes featured in the EKG is a beautiful but deadly rhythm.  I tried to do a play on the beauty of the EKG and the Victorian fabric when I named the quilt:  my heart stopped when (you walked in the room).

This one shows the chalk quilt marking before the quilting was done:

Here is the back before the sleeve and label were added.  You can see a "ghost" of the quilting but not as well as in the above photo.

Progress Notes --- WIPs

I'm making progress knitting the Swirl jacket I began over a month ago.  It's either going to be wonderful or a big mess.  Not sure at the moment.  Here's what it looks like now

Also working on a new quilting project.  It's a "repeat" of one I made a few years ago -- "You Melt My Heart."  It was inspired by Movin Meat’s post:  Fearful Symmetry.  As before, I took the EKG, printed it out, enlarged a small segment and used it for the quilt. 

The first one never sold on Etsy, so I donated it to my old medical school for the silent auction at my 30th medical school reunion.  Then I ran into a cardiologist friend, the conversation somehow turned to quilts and I showed him the photo of the quilt (based on an EKG).  He commented that he would like to make a bid on it, so I "won" the quilt at the auction and gave it to him.  I almost ended up in a bidding war with a young hospitalist who liked the quilt.  I apologized and told her why I wanted it back, she gave in.  I promised to make her another. 

Since I no longer have the same fabrics as the first version, I laid out some fabrics trying to decide on how this one should look.  I ended up choosing the two on the left for the heart.

I like this for the background but don't have enough to do the binding as well, so will need to make a trip to the fabric store and try to find something that will work as well or better.

One Pink Heart for Baby

Earlier this year I made "one pink heart" quilt for a young friend recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  She asked me to make another one for her pregnant friend who has been with her along the journey and is due to have her baby in October.  It is very close to the first one, but not an exact copy.  This one is 35 in X 45 in.  Because of the smaller size, I machine quilted it just a bit differently.  Both have the center area with 5 X 7 "white blocks" and the outer striped white-on-white border.  Both have the one pink heart.

I find white quilts difficult to photograph, but this one shows the two different white fabrics used

This one shows some of the quilting

The back is simply white muslin.

Please, check out my friend's blog, Fighting Fancy.

Another Scrappy Child's Quilt

I recently finished this scrappy child's quilt.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 38 in X 50 in.  I gave it to a colleague for his grandchildren to use.

Here are some photos to show some of the fun details that can be found in the quilt.  In this one you can find a fairy, a volcano, flowers, and a snail among the colors (red, purple, yellow, blue, orange).

And in this one:  Piglet and Winnie-the-Pooh, a station wagon, a zebra, houses, trees, and fireflies.

 

This one:  dogs, dragonflies, horses, pottery, and dots.

 

This one:  red owl, skiers, and race car monitor gauges.

 

The back is just white muslin, so I pieced the label:

Old Log Cabin Quilt

Here's the other quilt my paternal grandmother made.  It isn't dated as the autograph one was, but I think it must have been pieced in the mid-to-late 1960's as the other one was.  It was was quilted by my mother and sister Cathy.  It measures 68 in X 83 in.

 

Here is a close up

And here

This one shows the damage done when I took it on a camping trip at the end of medical school.  I was wrapped in it to get warm after floating down the Buffalo and caught a couple of sparks from the campfire.  I regret the damage, but have good memories of the trip with DeWayne Nash, Ken Carpenter (deceased), Joe Cloud, and Gene Hardin  (those guys were like brothers to me).  Sure hope the ones who can will be at our 30th class reunion this weekend.

 

Here's a picture from the camping trip.

Two WIPs

I have two projects I am currently working on.  One is another scrappy child's quilt.   This one is for a colleague who saw another one I had done.  It will be used for his grandchildren.  I pieced twelve 11 in blocks (so when sewn to the sashing will finish at 10.5 in square).  The sashing is 2.5 in wide, so when sewn to the blocks will measure 2 in wide.  Here are some photos of some of the fun details.  This first one shows robots, flowers, skiers, a red convertible.

This one shows a cat peeking out, a razorback, Tigger, a steamboat, stars.

And in this one you can see the owl in the connecting 2.5 in square, a dancing cat in a hat, a race car, carolers, trees.  

The other is an ambitious knitting project.  I’m making a swirl jacket using the pattern Sheer Beauty by Sandra McIver.   

Here I've stretched out the knitting so you can see the two yarns:  Noro Taiyo (color #28) and Malabrigo Lace in Damask (#13o).

Two Pairs of Fingerless Mittens

Here are two different pair of fingerless mittens I recently finished knitting using "left-over" yarn from other projects.  I think they might make nice gifts, especially since we all love to text/etc with our smart phones these days.   

I love the lace pattern on the lighter blue but it isn't quit as form fitting as the darker blue.  Perhaps in the future I can combine the two patterns.  For the light blue one I used the pattern Swan Maiden Mitts by Holly Terrell and left over Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine yarn. 

For the darker blue ones I used the pattern Pianissimo Mitts by Becky Herrick and the same yarn (Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine) in a darker blue, left over from the same project.