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.