Inspiration from the Sewing Expo

My good friend, Pat, and new friend, Sonya, and I did a one-day rendez-vous at the Atlanta Sewing and Quilt Expo this weekend. The temptation at Laura Murray's booth of hand-dyed kimono and paint stick creations was too tempting for Pat and I to pass up. Here's my souvenir from the show.
The fabrics are over-dyed kimono silk panels and the two buttons were in the sale basket. A lovely combo: hand-dyed silk, buttons and sale.

Wearable Art Vest workshop
Saturday, March 19

I'm teaching my Yarn Fabrication Wearable Art Vest workshop this coming Saturday, March 19 at Chattanooga Sewing. With my recent purchase, I'm inspired to combine the yarn technique with the silk panels—somehow.

I'll have to let this concept germinate... Ideas??

There are still a few open spaces in the class, so come and join in the creativity! Call (423) 899-3664 to register.

First Blocks

I'm really enjoying teaching a Beginning Quilting class! The second session of the 5-week class was very productive as my students completed their first quilt block for their Churn Dash quilts. Yay! Applause, applause.

 

You can see the wonderful combinations of color, print and value in these quilt blocks.

They have lots of homework this week: completing all 9 blocks for their quilt. Next week we'll have a Show and Tell of everyone's accomplishments. Then, on to the sashing, borders and backing ...

Fingerless Mitts Success

They did it! Ribbing, cables, a gusset and mattress stitch... all combined in a pair fingerless mitts. Do these women look excited, or what???

The students in my Knitting II class at Chattanooga State added several techniques to their knitting repertoire in this class. There was a lot of info packed into this two-session class, and they all a did great job. Working on cables while increasing for the thumb gusset is akin to patting one's head and rubbing one's tummy.

Several students completed one or more mitts, but what I am most proud of is their ability to "read their work" (this is major!!) and identify and quite often fix mistakes or missed stitches. Well done, knitters!

I'm looking forward to the Lace Knitting class coming up on March 28.

Shalom before the storm

Shalom Cardigan/Vest

I took these pictures of my latest completed knitwear piece, the Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane of "Involving the Senses," before the tornado and storm ripped through Chattanooga last Monday (and left us with downed trees and no power for a day). You can see the early pinky-salmon color blooms of the quince bush in the background.

This was a quick knit for which I used Classic Shades and one ball (down to the last 2-3 yards) of Marathon Sock yarn (both by Universal)— held together—to achieve gauge.

This piece is knit from the top down and after the easy but somewhat slower-paced twisted rib collar, the rest was a breeze. Several knitters have knitted this cardi and have added their own variations. See Sophy's version and Ishi's version that incorporate a short sleeve and additional buttons, and a funny story from Stitch1Peta on her experience. 

My specs and mods are as follows:
2+ balls Classic Shades (color 706) yarn
1 ball San Francisco Marathon Sock yarn
sz. 10 circular needles
Added 2 extra stitches to the underarm cast-on row. Included a garter ridge at the underarm to minimize curl. Eliminated all body shaping. Used the "Tight One-Row Buttonhole" as described in The Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe.

Shalom Cardigan—back

A future version might include using a smaller needle for the garter hem or an alternate reversible stitch pattern. I also might change the position of the arm holes as they seemed to be shifted somewhat toward the back rather than at the sides.

Detail of vintage button closure.

I've worn this vest 2-3 times and have gotten several compliments. Oh, and pockets might be another variation for the next version!

Here is the book with the buttonhole technique. It has a plethora of info in an easy-to-read Q and A format. A great addition to any knitter's library.