Top Down Red Sweater

I surprised myself by actually managing to complete this sweater.  I am very pleased with how it turned out.  My only regret is that I didn't invest in a nicer yarn as I was afraid I would screw up this project.  This yarn is on the scratchy side.  The yarn is Lion Brand LB 1878 in dark red (or Razorback red).  The pattern is Alina Top Down by Lankakomero.

And the back

Purple Stars Lap Quilt

The purple stars lap quilt is done.  I have mailed it to my friend.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 42 in square.

A close photo

Another close photo

Two Works in Progress

Currently I'm working on two projects.  This first one is a knitting project.  It is a lace sweater knit from the top down.  A challenge to me.  I made myself do a swatch to try to decide which size needle I needed to use to obtain the correct finished garment size.  Gauge swatches are something I still don't feel completely comfortable with, but I did two using both size 3 and size 4 needles.  I choose to use the size 4 needles.  The pattern is Alina Top Down by Lankakomero.  The yarn is  Lion Brand LB 1878 in a dark red.

The other project is a quilting one.  It is a lap size quilt using purple fabrics, the ones from the Memory Lane quilt and others from my stash. I have basted the finished top and have begun machine quilting.  The finished quilt will be 42 in square.

Here is a close up to show some of the quilt marking.

This is the stencil I plan to use for marking the border area.

Fingerless Gloves and Surgeon's Cap

Two small projects recently finished.  The first one is another pair of fingerless gloves using some leftover yarn from an old project. The yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and the actual color is a darker blue, more navy than seen in these photos.  The pattern Light as AIR Fingerless Gloves by Nathalie O'Shea.  I altered it slightly by using the cuff detail at the thumb and palm edges too.

Here you can see the detail I little better.

The second small project is another surgeon’s cap.  It was made using Dr. Seuss cotton fabric.  The trim was harvested from old bow ties.

There are two inches between each whole number on the trim.