February Furtling

 Blimey, the end of February already.  I’ve only posted two posts this month, but I’ve not been idle. I’ve been busy with knitting and sewing this month, even digging out a UFO which may be finished the beginning of next month.  David and I have even managed a break away last weekend after Storm Eunice blew over.

I’ve knitted Flo not one, but two cardigans.  This blue one finished at the beginning of February, this was a combination of using an old Sirdar pattern, which a stitch pattern from a hat on the bottom of the cardigan.  She loved that cardigan and it fitted well. 

So I started on the next one, with rainbow yarn from Poundland which she chose herself. I bought another Sirdar pattern, with the parts being knitted individually and joined together at the yoke.  I finished that on Friday.  The colour changes worked out really well, and I found enough buttons in my stash.

In trying to clear unfinished objects (UFO’s) I got out a pair of socks, of which the second sock’s toe went wrong and the pair hibernates for a while. I think they were abandoned in November, which when I last posted about them. I finished these yesterday.

The pattern is Winwick Mum’s Easy Lace socks, but instead of an all over pattern, I used 2 sections down the side of the leg and one along the outside foot. 

I started knitting another small shawl.  I’ve had some yarn for 4 years now to make a shawl that didn’t work out, so I frogged that and started a Spindrift Shawl by Helen Stewart (a free pattern by signing up to her newsletter) as the first one I made is worn a lot.  Here’s the start

I’d taken this as travel knitting, so it’s grown a bit now,

Another hibernating project has been the black/orange quilt.  I originally started the quilt way back in 2018.  I’m not sure who will be the recipient of this but I really liked the thought of doing a teenage quilt.  It’s a 16 patch quilt and I quite simply wanted to machine stitch across the quilt with serpentine stitch.  I don’t know why it hibernated for so long, but last week I decided it had to be finished.  I made a border from the remnants of the fabrics used and I also used another fabric to prepare the binding.  So the pic below is how it was the week before last.

Today I’ve quilted the quilt at long last and will share as soon as it’s finished.  

Away from the knitting and sewing, I go out for walks on a daily basis and couldn’t help but notice the spring flowers popping up in my neighbourhood. The image below were from photos taken at the beginning of this month.

Even in the garden there are small daffodils, and in this pot hyacinth buds are getting fatter

David and I managed to get away for a couple of days to Gloucester, though the place he wanted to visit was closed.  We managed to see the cathedral, military and town museums, and the former church where Sunday Schools came into being,

The canal comes up from the River Severn and is quite a wide canal to bring goods up to Gloucester and although the warehouses are no longer used, it’s now turned into apartments, shops and restaurants now.  But one morning we came across a lifting bridge actually lifted. This looks almost like what would be seen on European canals,

There was some textile interest here at St Mary de Crypt as there was a collection of quilted wall hangings by a group of makers 

The church was the site of the first Sunday School and was run by Robert Raikes.  

So that’s it for February.  March will see a new cast on but continuing to try and finish those hibernating projects. 

Joining Mini Archie’s Furtle Around the Blogosphere.

Mid February Musing

 I was going to sort out my room, but I found a quilt top (which has been on previous years’ finish along lists) and decided it needed sorting.  

I already had the backing (the orange swirl fabric) but the quilt top needed a border, binding and wadding. I made up border strips of remaining black and orange/yellow fabrics from making the quilt top. Sunday was a rainy day and and ideal day to do that. I was able to get some wadding from my local quilt shop, Seahorse Quilting.

Yesterday I sandwiched the quilt together and tack it.

So after a few years hibernation it’s ready to be quilted next week.  

There’s also been progress on my granddaughter’s latest cardigan, joining the pieces to knit the yoke.

But not satisfied with getting this done, I’ve started a new knitting project.  I really like my Spindrift Shawl that I made a couple of years ago, so I thought I’d make another. This time I’m making it in yellow from yarn I bought back in 2018.  The Spindrift shawl is by Helen Stewart, of Curious Handmade, a free pattern by signing up to her newsletter.  The yarn is Crocus which was a hand dyed yarn by Lay Family Yarns as part of the Flower Power Fund fundraiser for Marie Curie charity. I only started this yesterday so it doesn’t look a lot. Apart from patterning at the beginning and end of the rows the rest of each row is stocking stitch and ideal for travel knitting as (hopefully) we’re away this weekend.

On my walks locally there have been signs that Spring is on the way

Crocuses and catkins.  Daffodils are starting to flower too but I’ve not been near to take photos.

The photo below was taken outside the local library

And finally on a trip to Salisbury I found a couple of postbox toppers.

February Finishes and Beginnings

 

The above marker is my Crazy Patchwork piece that I started at West Country Embroiderers and is still a work in progress and fun to dip in and out of.

It’s February and somehow for me it seems a time to sort stuff out.  Sorting out the airing cupboard and spare bedroom and tidying.  Three bags of things to take to the charity shop and one job done. I’ve got a folder with recipes collected over the years and they’ve been sorted too.  I have knitting/crochet patterns that are all over the place in my room, so this morning they were gathered up and sorted into categories and now put into two files.  Old patterns that I’m never going to make have been removed and gone into the recycling bin.  So what’s next?  I’m sure I will think of something.

Anyway, I have a finish 🎉. Flo’s blue cardigan is done and on Friday started another.

The pattern is an old Sirdar pattern and omitted the stitch pattern going up the fronts and instead put in a stitch pattern from a magazine hat pattern.

 Now I’m making another cardigan with yarn Flo chose in Poundland. She liked this rainbow yarn

This is another Sirdar pattern, which I bought from Wool Warehouse as a pdf pattern. In fact I bought 3 girls cardigan patterns as I also have Cecily to knit for too.  The hand thing about pdfs is that you can print one good pattern and write notes all over another print out.

I’ve also been sewing (Shock, horror) and made a couple of blocks for the Siblings Together Bee.  These are Pop Art blocks which is a pattern from Jo Avery’s book Patchwork and Quilting Basics, for which Jo had given the Block Mama permission to use.  There is a picture of the quilt on the cover of Jo’s book.  Anyway here’s mine. Fun to do and loved the bright colours and they are winging their way to the Mama.

Something that has gone by the wayside is my reading so I’m back onto my half hour read, putting the timer on my watch to read a chapter or two.  It’s good discipline for me.

The coming week will see me getting my haircut.  That’ll be another thing sorted.  You can see how my February is shaping up!