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.