cosmicpluto knits!

Done and done

My quilt is all done, including its inaugural trip through the washing machine. I’ll be honest, I was expecting a seam or two to come undone, but it seems to be intact!

It isn’t the most photogenic quilt, but it feels great. Finished dimensions are about 40″ x 76″ / 102 x 193cm – so it’s narrow, but that’s what I was going for.

Front fabric is from the workroom (I don’t remember what line it’s from though, oops), as well as the cotton batting. Back fabric is an old duvet cover from Ikea, and the binding is cotton from the Textile museum sale. It was a really nice project to do, though the large pieces of fabric are certainly trickier to wrangle than my knitting!

I’m really pleased with this one and I think for my next step I’m going to try some half square triangles.

2013 Summer Sale!

I’m still working away on a few new things for summer and lots of things for fall!

But to tide you over, how about a summer sale?

All my self-published patterns and ebooks are 25% off a total of $5 or more on Ravelry!

No coupon code needed, the discount should be automagically applied to your Ravelry cart of $5 or more. Sale ends at 11.59pm EDT June 30, 2013.

nearing the finish

First off, thank you for all the kind comments and notes on the passing of my grandfather.

I’ve been trying to power through some projects both as a distraction and to clear things out of my workspace, and my quilt is nearly done. I just finished attaching the binding (some areas had to be re-done, and I screwed up the corners pretty royally the first time) so now I just need to sew down the binding to the back.

The binding fabric is a remnant piece that I got at the Textile museum sale, and I think it goes quite nicely with the muted tones of the other fabrics. I’ve made a LOT of mistakes with this project and sticklers for quilting perfection would be horrified! But I really loved the process, and I’m totally fine with a quilt full of learning experiences as long as I can put it on my bed!

That said, I would like to make my next one better! What are your favourite quilting resources? Books, blogs, websites, inspiring quilts, anything really. I don’t have a sewing machine so I’m doing everything by hand. I’d love to check out some examples of great work!

Season

My grandfather passed away last week in hospital at the age of 90, surrounded by family. It’s been a tough time but we all know that now he’s no longer in pain. He lived a good, long life, worked hard to provide a good life for his family here in Canada, and was able to see adorable great-grandchildren. I didn’t speak the same language as him, but we understood each other anyway. He was an awesome cook.

I’ll miss him.

Sauble

Sauble is a light, comfortable cardigan perfect for layering. The short sleeves and V-neck are easy to wear over your favourite T-shirts and dresses. The Wildflower Knot stitch is elegant and fun to knit, and this cardigan is a great way to use just a few skeins of sock yarn.

Sauble is knit from the bottom up, with the body worked flat in one piece to the underarm. The set-in sleeves are knit flat and seamed for a great fit.

Meant to be worn with 0-2” / 0-5cm ease at the bust. For the best fit, measure a sweater you like the fit of, and make the size closest to it.
Shown in size 39.5” / 88cm with 1” / 2.5cm ease.
Technical Editing by Alexandra Virgiel

Sizes
Finished Bust, closed, with 1” overlap:
30.25 (32.5, 34.75, 39.5, 41.75, 44, 46.25, 48.5, 50.75, 55.5, 58.75)”

Materials
Fingering weight yarn, 905 (972, 1039, 1114, 1125, 1249, 1316, 1383, 1450, 1518, 1660, 1757) yds
Shown in Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk, 3 skeins in colour 5631 for size 39.5”

US 2 / 2.75mm circular needles, 32” / 80cm or longer
waste yarn
tapestry needle
7 buttons, about 1/2” / 12mm diameter

More Info
7 page PDF pattern includes measurements in Metric and Imperial, schematic and abbreviations. Payment through Paypal and electronic delivery through Ravelry (no accounts required).

$7.00 CAD

Queue Sauble on Ravelry!

fabric hunting

Every May the Textile Museum holds its “More Than Just a Yardage Sale”, which is like a giant rummage sale, with all the goods having been donated to the museum throughout the year. There’s tons of fabric, yarn, craft stuff, patterns, and household textiles, and it’s super fun! I was there on Friday morning when they opened – there was a line the length of a municipal parking lot waiting to get into the tents when I got there. It’s free to check out, so there are lots of people. It gets crowded in there but I managed to pick up a healthy amount of stuff that I’m really excited about. I didn’t really even go into the yarn tent at all!

The big pile – I added up all the yardage, and I got nearly 30 metres!

Wools – I didn’t realize at the time but the thick fabric on the bottom left is actually a bundle of about five 1m cuts. The others are 2-3m continuous yardage.

Clockwise from top left – red wool, chambray, jersey, and something that feels like maybe a wool/rayon blend. There’s 3m so I’m thinking maybe a nice skirt or two for the fall.

From the quilting section of the sale. I might use the yellow or the green for the binding on my current quilt.

Lastly a few boxes of tapestry wool – I think it would be perfect for edging and/or embroidering on wool fabric for a blanket!

If you don’t get along so well with crowds or having to elbow your way in to see things, I’d suggest going in the afternoon – the first shoppers are done and there’s a bit of breathing room. The truck just keeps unloading stuff throughout the day and on Saturday, so it’s not like you can really miss out on anything! I’m very inspired for my summer sewing this year.