Another Quaker Round Robin Update

I forgot! I had every intention of posting last weekend and here we are at this weekend. Here's the motifs I added to Cari's quaker sampler.
Cari chose coordinating Vikki Clayton's Hand Dyed silks in Embers, Cranberry, and Dark Mauve. You get a nice full coverage using the premium weight on 34ct Legacy linen. I'll have to remember this for the future. I love the Legacy linen and have used it several times in the past. This one is the Cafe au Lait, but of course the color is off in my photo. I don't know why I have such a hard time getting a color true photo. It would have helped to lay something underneath it. Cari mentioned she especially wanted floral motifs so I obliged with two I chose from the Ackworth Pattern Book.

My First Sock. I Did It!

hehehe.. I really should have at least swept first and moved that broken pot out of the photo. What can I say? I was just in too big of a hurry to get a snapshot of my very first completed knit sock! Hurrah!! We have some of the same terms but I'm learning a lot of new acronyms. I think they, I mean we, call it a FO. (Finish Off, I think). Yes, that's my pajama laden leg even though it was early afternoon. What about it? Anyway, it fits perfectly and nary a hole to be found. It's not very soft though, but the yarn was the right price for a beginner sock. I will cast on it's partner after I take a shower. LOL... I want to keep the momentum going.

I'm working on a quaker round robin. I should have another post before the weekend is over.

Quaker Pinball Flies Across the Sea

It turns out some of my work needs to be in the UK. I guess that sounds fair. LOL.
Have you seen this? Being a new knitter, I am very interested in this lovely book, Tokens of Love, Quaker Pinballs, by Erica Uten. It's very fine work, as they are knit with very tiny needles of the sort used for miniature work. It'll stay on my wish list for now, but that's what steered my choice for the item I stitched for the Redwork Exchange on SBEBB. It combines both my love of redwork and quakers, and as usual, trying a new technique of some kind. The quaker pinball was an easy stitch, but it's rarely the stitching that commands my time, it's the finishing. It looks easy enough, and it is, nonetheless I fussed with it for many an hour until I pronounced it good enough. I modified the back, using only the border and then adding personalization and the year. The receiver called it exquisite, thus I'll call it a success. Karoline has photographed it with her Merry Cox' Swan Lake Mending Bag. Isn't it a sight?! It does coordinate quite well, I think. Gosh, how I would love to stitch that piece.

Designer -Historic Stitches
Chart - AY's Necessities
Fabric - 40ct Sand
Fiber - Vikki Clayton Hand Dyed Fibers - Heartwood
Silk Ribbon - Vikki Clayton Hand Dyed Fibers - Heartwood 7mm
Interior - Wool yarn wound into a tight ball, roving would be better

Circular Needles and Socks

Here is my first sock in progress. Actually, this is round two. I started it months ago but ran into a problem when I was only using 4 dpn's instead of 5 dpn's. (The cheap set of needles I bought only came with 4 dpns. Now I think it's a crime they even sell them like that.) I kept making errors in counting and wasn't quite sure where the rounds began. I think I got it going ok again but I didn't like the very top of the leg and knowing how many errors it had in it I knew I would not feel any satisfaction if I ever finished it. So... I finally pronounced it dead and ripped it all out. I think I will do fine the next time I use 5 dpn's but this time I decided to try another method. I checked out Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, from the local library. Sounds good, I thought, and I've set out to see if that is true for me. It's working out quite well! I've gotten past turning the heel and the gusset and now I'm just travelling down the foot. I am just using the first pattern in the book which is just a basic sock. It's ribbed in k2 p2. It's a bit snug around the gusset for me. If I had more confidence I would have adjusted the numbers, because a womens medium I think is a little small for me, but a men's medium is too big so I couldn't use those numbers provided in the book. I think I need a women's medium and a half. LOL.. The first attempt was with size 3's but I went down to size 2's with the circulars. I'm still learning and trying to remember everything I've been reading. I'm a little foggy on it but I think changing needle size would work, and if I just knit the same pattern with size 3's that I might get a better fit. But then the fabric would be looser too. I think that the tighter fabric is more comfortable. Right? Maybe I want a 2.5 needle. Hmmm. I guess I can ditch the stitch markers since I'm passed the gusset but they are just there for the ride. One is a big needle with a string of yarn on it and the other is a big safety pin with a loop of floss on it. Fancy, aren't they? The yarn is Lion Brand Magic Stripes I bought at the Tall Mouse here in Irvine.

Royal Mail from the Land of Paisley

I love it! I got another exchange via "Royal Mail". Paula, Celtic Stitcher, stitched me this adorable set for the SBEB Redwork Exchange. The needlebook is already employed with the Quaker round robin I am working on. The other piece is a fob with a magnet attached to the back- a very handy touch, good for needles or for sticking to my Lowery frame. Fabbo! I love the natural style of linen she chose, as I think it adds a sort of rustic/ethnic touch. Oh, and I think she used one of those finishing forms for the fob. I've been wanting to try them, now I know I need to buy some. I also got a cute cut of fabric with butterflies and some assorted Mill Hill beads.

Check this out. Paula also enclosed a postcard of the town she lives in. The caption on the back reads

Paisley, Home of the Paisley Pattern. Paisley has a wealth of the Victorian and Edwardian architecture, much of it gifted by the owners of the town's great thread mills, the Coats and Clark families. Its Medieval masterpiece is Paisley Abbey.

Now, how cool is that! I think it an apropos place for a needleworker to live, wouldn't you say? Now when I see paisley prints I'll think of Paula from Scotland. Thanks for everything, Paula! I'd love to visit your land someday.

Quaker Motifs and Symbolism

Here's my latest quaker round robin finish. I stitched this floral motif on Carrie's sampler. I love the pomegranate Gloriana silk she chose. It's such a pretty rose color so I thought I'd add something rose-like. I thought this flower looked a bit like an opened rose. As I was writing in her journal and documenting what I stitched I noticed that this motif is actually a Passion Flower. Upon further investigation, I found that the passion flower is symbollic of the Passion of Christ (His crucifixion). The flower has three stamens that symbolize His wounds and the petals symbolize the apostles. Also the ring of corona represent the Crown of Thorns. The Spanish call this flower Espina de Cristo or "Christ's Thorn". Interesting. I'm very intrigued by the symbolism in samplers and it's interesting to learn the quaker ones have their meaning as well. You'll see this motif on Sarah Tatum 1800 and on Beatrix Potter's sampler, and I'm sure on many others. I actually stitched it from the Ackworth School Pattern Book. I am so glad I purchased this wonderful booklet as it's now out of print. This motif is one of the largest, I think there's only one larger and that one is the swan one I used for the blue/white quaker pinkeep I did. I also added the small rosebud taken from a larger motif. :)

Happy Birthday, Kajsa!

Poor Kajsa had to wait a bit longer for this gift. I didn't want her empty handed on her birthday so I did send a phase-one gift on ahead to tide her over. The first package included my second knitted dishcloth, some overdyed threads, a small candy tin with a victorian scene on it, and a card. She seemed to enjoy it and I'm hoping this phase-two, the actual stitched gift, will be a little more of a "wow" for her.

I thought I'd show you the Scissor and Needle Keep I constructed. The stitched design is a freebie from Sharon of Crescent Colors. I used R&R Dye Pot linen and all the Crescent Colors with one unintentional substitution. When I stitched it, way back in July, I added a couple of personal touches, the sheep got french knots in some Whisper to make him wooly, and the grass is done in long arm cross stitch. I called it into action for a birthday gift for Kajsa. I just had to figure out what type of finish to use. The fabric it was stitched on was not that large and my placing of the design on it didn't leave me many options. I really wanted to make some sort of pocket and include scissors with the gift. I also wanted to use the same fabric for the inner lining. The way it ended up, I literally had about 1/2 inch between the pieces and less than that on one side. I really learned my lesson and will stop being so stingy about fabric allowances from now on. Due to the size of the design/fabric etc I had to improvise a way to house the scissors. I came up with this diagonal slip and it seems to work just fine. If I had enough fabric I would have made a little fob too, but I seriously did not have even more than an inch wide of fabric left over. I just tied a bit of ribbon on the handles and added a needle threader too.

My stitching deadlines are colliding on me lately. Now I am quickly trying to finish up a round robin, and then on to another exchange which I'm fearing will also be a bit tardy. UGH... I hate being late with these things. Then, I have another birthday gift to do next month. I predict some late nights ahead. Good thing I'm a night owl.

Oh.. the sheepie in the pic is just hanging out there checking it out. He's not part of the gift. He was a gift to me actually. I included a couple of small charts though but they didn't jump in the pictures. The gift will go out Tuesday since the post office is closed for President's Day tomorrow. I told Kajsa not to look here if she wants to be surprised. LOL... If it were me, I'd totally look!

Eliza Jane has landed.

Finally. Oversees mailing can be so disconcerting. I was a bit late in mailing but I really thought it would have arrived in Finland before now. All is well though and Leena has received the item I stitched for her for the SBEBB Needlework Smalls Exchange. It's always feels nice to know someone appreciates your work. I really enjoy exchanges and the international ones add another dimension of fun for me.

I've had this Eliza Jane's Needlekeep and Scissors Flat "kit" from Brightneedle for quite a while and I was happy to finally put it to use. This "kit" simply included that chart and two colors of wool felt for the needlepages. I enjoy stitching over one and I seem to be collecting a good number of Brightneedle designs because of that. This was a fun stitch even with the hundreds of smyrna crosses for the borders. I found that the design was lacking when it came to the finishing though. The instructions simply call for a long piece of ribbon to be stitched to the inside center. That simply will not do the job if you expect the scissors to stay in place. I came up with a modification that I think worked out pretty well. I just used that same piece of ribbon to form a loop for the scissors tip to sort of harness them in place. Tacked it down some more and wallah.. a much sturdier attachment after you weave through and around the thumbs and tie a bow. I'll put a plug in here for Vikki Clayton's silk ribbon at Hand Dyed Fibers. I have a few colors on hand as I love to use ribbon in my finishes. Her prices can't be beat. I can't remember if this is turkey red or garnet.

For those who wondered at my bit of consternation with Eliza, it wasn't really the scissor attachment problem. I think I got the better of that part. My goof was forgetting what I had learned from previous finishes when I've used skirtex. I have quite a bit of skirtex a dear friend gifted me, and I try to use it whenever I can. I like the body it gives to a project. What did I forget? Was it to cut the piece just a smidgen smaller than the size of the piece? No, I remembered that. What I forgot is that it is better to use two pieces rather than one and try to score it and fold it for a book. This time I should have used three pieces and butted them up next to each other. That way it would have laid flat when tied shut instead of trying to spring open. I learned that. I remembered that I learned that right about the time I was fighting irritation over this little beauty not staying shut as I would have preferred. Just you wait, I'll get it right next time.