Bits and Pieces

Bits and pieces of projects have been worked on in the last few weeks. The green Corriedale spinning has been plied, washed, and measured.

New spinning was started last night - some lovely oatmeal fiber that was purchased from an auction last year. It was wound in a "cone" about the size of an oatmeal can, and the first step was to carefully unwind it into a laundry basket so it would feed without extra twist. It has a lovely crimp and comes off in flat ribbons about an inch wide.

Eleven placemats are finished, two more have binding in progress. They are quite fun to make, as it's so fast to go from selecting several pieces of fabric, cutting one out, cutting other versions from the scraps, piecing and quilting with a simple grid on my sewing machine. Some of the bindings are completely done by machine, and others using narrower strips are hand finished. There are five more fabric bundles stacked and each one will make at least two tops.

The next group will have more oranges and browns. I'm making 4" squares and 4" rail fence blocks from scraps - some with a basketweave pattern and others that resemble pinwheels.

I may work on some Christmas print versions for one or more of the charity shops once this grouping is complete, in sets of two or four.

The Flower Basket Quilt top is finally complete - the borders carefully added, the backing pieced, and it's ready to quilt. A small Wolf Quilt for charity went together with the leftovers from a twin bed quilt made for my son many years ago. The fabrics were from the same line and were not very compatible with any of my other stash. It was also quilted on a sewing machine rather than the longarm. It just needs binding to be complete.

Back on the yarn side, a couple more scarves for charity have been finished, one knit and one crochet. I'll be able to expand my color selection after reading about the Warm for Winter program that Pacific Fabrics supports--last year they indicated the need for darker masculine colors, but they also serve women and children.

The Daily Sweater is moving along again, one half of the lower ribbing is finished and the other halfway done -- then just the sleeves to finish. Even being a cotton blend it is still warm when it has to sit on my lap.