What is hand quilting?

What's this? What are you doing? People kept asking me this week, on my breaks and lunches. Hand quilting I said. What is it, why are you doing this?

                                   I'll probably use this fabric to make myself a little pouch to carry some of                                                my current patchwork project pieces, to sew a little on the go.

I started quilting a bit of printed cotton and synthetic felt together as a practice before making a real piece and I kind of got hooked haha. But really, what is quilting and what are it's uses?

Quilting is a sewing technique, that can be done by hand or by machine, that serves to join usually two or three layers of fabric. Generally, you would have a top layer of decorative fabric, sometimes a patchwork of colourful cottons, sometimes just a plain piece of fabric. Underneath this one, you would find a layer of insulating material called "batting" (it can be wool, cotton or synthetic material). Finally, there would be another layer of plain fabric to "sandwich" the batting.

These layers of fabric would be put one over the other and sewn together either by machine or by hand. If the piece is quilted by hand, it would be mounted on a quilting frame or hoop (this is what I'm using right now, because I have a really small piece). Lots of people seems to be hand-quilting using the "running stitch" method, which means that the stitching is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric (producing many stitches at a time). For the moment, I prefer the "stabbing" method. It takes longer, because it produces only one stitch at a time (you have to stab your needle down the fabric, pull the thread and start again but stabbing it up etc) but I prefer the look of it. It feels like I better control the size of my stitches and their direction.

Now, where would you use quilting? Often it is find in quilts, either whole cloth or patchwork blanket as I mentioned earlier. From middle age through 19th century quilting was used in clothing and bedding. Quilting is used to keep layers of fabric together. Instead of lets say, three thin blankets, you would have one thicker, warmer blanket  (easier to handle than three layers...). While quilting, one would often use patterns for the sewing lines. Instead of plain lines or waves you would find on a commercial bed cover, quilting can follow any design you'd like. So not only does it make you blanket warmer and sturdier, It also make it more elaborate and pretty. Finally, we could also say that it serve as an heritage. Passing on a quilt, to someone you love, is giving your time, love and efforts along with a beautiful and useful object.

8 things I'd like to knit in 2014

January is the time of resolutions for most people. Many won't keep them all year and many others won't even bother making any... Actually I don't make resolutions myself. Not because I think it's stupid or impossible. In fact, I absolutely believe you can take and keep as many resolutions as you want. Sure, one would need to be motivated, organized and disciplined to do so, but I do believe that people can do whatever they want if they really want it and if they trust them-selves. Why then, didn't I made any this time? Because this year I did something else. This year, instead of taking resolutions to change a habit, I decided I wanted to set myself some goals.

You know, I'm a lists person. Nearly everyday, I make lists. At work, at home, in the bus, I write lists. Often in my agenda, on my hand or on the hundred little bits of paper lying around my desk. Lists of movies to watch, recipes to test, vegetables I want to sow in the spring and all sorts of crafty ideas I want to try. You see me coming? I made myself a list of goals haha! Crafting, gardening, blogging objectives for the next 12 months to come. Like, to go buy myself a new camera, build a nursery box for my baby veggies plants and try myself at quilting.

Other than that, I also listed 8 knitting patterns that I'd really like to try this year! Here they are:


1- The fabulous Jeweled Cowl by Sachiko Uemura.
 I already bought some Shadow Lace Yarn from Knit Picks in Midnight and Vineyard and can't choose between the 2 super rich colors! I'll have to find assorted beads though.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jeweled-cowl    

2- The super cute Pink Lemonade Socks by Alyssa Lynough.
 Just to contradict the title, I might knit them in yellow (which is actually also a lemonade color! haha).
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pink-lemonade-socks

3- Stippers slippers by Ashley Knowlton.
They make my think of Robin Hood or maybe Peter Pan! Anyway, they look really comfy and would be a great addition to our slippers basket.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stippers

4- The Double Heelix socks by Jeny Staiman.
 They've facinated me for a while now... A good way to use 2 colors of the same yarn, when you can't choose only one!
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/double-heelix

5- The Woven Diamond Socks by Alexis Winslow.
Have I told you I like to knit socks? Haha! Actually I already tried this pattern but I gave the socks for Christmas. They did look great and I would like to have a pair for myself.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/woven-diamond-socks

6-The Hand Springs Fingerless Mitts by Micol Day. I must admit I've doubts about this one. They are absolutely cute, and I have some lace yarn in bright lime green that I could use for them but I don't wear fingerless gloves a lot... I will think about it, anyway they would be more of a spring time knitting project.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hand-springs-fingerless-mitts

I cheated a little... these last 2 are actually projects I already started but intend to finish this year.
 

7- The Boldly Colored Plaid Afghan by Patons, which I've been working a lot on lately, while watching my new favourite serie, Call The Midwife <3 !!
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/boldly-colored-plaid-afghan

8- And finally, I definitely want to knit more awesome Christmas Balls!!! From this book which I absolutely love:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/55-christmas-balls-to-knit
I made 8 different ones last December (5 for my Christmas decor and 3 as little gifts) and they are all pretty and fun to make.

So, this is my top 8 for the moment (more will certainly be added to my list as the months pass). Now, what do you wish to knit the year?


Pssst, you can now follow me on Facebook :)  www.facebook.com/sweetteasoftskeins

Warm socks for Christmas

Last night we've receive nearly 25 centimetres of snow. It makes me happy because every December, at least for a couple of years now, we are wondering if we'll have a white Christmas. But this year, I think we're good! All that snow shouldn't melt in 9 days ( Yes, only 9 days left before Christmas!!). Plus, there is still a light snow falling as I'm writing and looking through my office window full of lovely frost.

My Christmas projects have progressed a lot, but I've had a hard time taking pictures lately. I have an old and no-so-good camera (a situation that I should resolve in early 2014...) but the real problem is the light. I'm not yet equipped with a light box, and it's dark outside every week night when I come back from work. But hey, I'm here to learn and share my progress as I go, that's why I will post my pictures anyway!  :)

I don't know if I told you, but I love knitting socks! They're super useful, comfortable, make good gifts and aren't that long to knit, especially if you knit them in chunky yarn. Worsted yarn make really nice socks. If you've never knit socks, try with worsted first. They knit faster, are really cozy and warm.

I tried a new sock pattern recently and it's awesome! The socks look elaborated with they're diamond pattern, but aren't that complicated to knit. Plus, the extra wool from the yarn that goes in front of the slipped stitches makes them hot without being too thick. Perfect to wear in your boots!

Here is the link to the free pattern I used :
 http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/woven-diamond-socks

This is my take on the pattern, I used Knit Picks Swish in Bordeaux. I wish the diamond pattern would show more on the picture... I will give them to a friend of mine who I know walks a lot, even in winter.

Also, I've started a pair for Le Barbu. They are probably the simplest socks I have knitted so far. Still, I think he's going to love them. The colors that we've chose are pretty (Solstice and Dove heather in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash) and the socks already feel nice and cozy. This way, when they are finished, he will have another option than his old, felted, nearly transparent cadet socks haha.

Again, the link to the pattern :
 http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Boot_Socks_Pattern__D50529220.html

This is where I'm at so far. They knit really quickly.

It's the first time that I try knitting the two socks at a time. I've heard it's a fantastical method for those who have what is called the "second sock syndrome". This is when you like knitting the first sock and then don't feel like finishing the second one because there is no mystery in the pattern anymore. I've never really experience the syndrome, but still, it's nice to see the two socks growing at the same time. Another good thing with this technique is both socks have the exact same length. The only down side I see so far: you need to slit you yarn in half at the beginning of the project, and you have to carry twice as many balls of yarn. Personally, it's doesn't bother me.  I'm eager to see how it's going to be after the heel flap, with all the stitches on my 32 inches cord. I'll try to post a picture as soon as they are finished!

Frosty Jar Cozy

I'm eating my first clementine of the season right now and it delicious. What does this means? It means that the holiday season has officially started! It also means I can listen to Christmas music all day long on Star 92,9 and I'm already using their web player a lot. My mom and I used to listen to it in the car when she picked me up at school or when we went Christmas shopping. When I was in college, I picked-up the "tradition". At the end of fall semesters I would turn on the web player on my computer while working on my final projects. The Christmas songs really help me get through the long hours sitting in front the screen. It reminded me that the holidays were coming fast and I would see my family soon. Some people say November is too early for Christmas music, but as I don't seem to ever get tired of it, why not start right now?  Plus, when you're a crafty person, Christmas preparation starts early.  

If you're like me, you might be planning on making some of your christmas gifts yourself this year. If so, you will like what I have for you today. This week, I've been working on a new pattern for a mason jar cozy. I say new because I made a couple of these over the past years. I used them a lot in school because I used to carry teas in mason jar. In fact, I'm totally in love with mason jars. They really are the safest way I know to carry soups, stews and drinks (hot or cold) in a back pack! And they are so pretty <3. So, if you like to drink tea or coffee from a jar you, should make one for yourself.  It insulate the jar, making it way more comfortable to hold and it also keep your drink hot (or cold, if it's an iced drink) for longer. 

Frosty Jar Cozy

An other use for this cozy, as my friend Chloé mentioned to me, would be a gift wrapping. Let says you made jam this summer, you could cover your jar with an assorted cozy and offer it as a hostess gift. And if you don't have jam jars, you could put tea bags or some hot cocoa mix in the jar and cover it with a red and white cozy to fit the Christmas decor! Anyway, I'm sure you can think of many other possibilities of filling for the jar and colours for the cozy. So here is the pattern for a plain version of the jar cozy:

Material: 35 yards of medium weight yarn (I used Bernat satin)

               US 6 double pointed needls (or cable needles if using magic loop)

               3,5 crochet hook

               An assorted botton

Instructions:  The cozy will fit a 500 ml standard-mouth mason jar. 

CO 40 sts

Row 1: Purl all sts. (40 sts)

Row 2: Knit all sts. (40 sts)

Row 3: Purl all sts. (40 sts)

Row 4: Knit all sts. (40 sts)

Row 5: Purl all sts. (40 sts)

Row 6: *k1, kfb, k6, kfb, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (48 sts)

Row 7: Join. Knit all sts. (48 sts)

Row 8: *k1, kfb, k8, kfb, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (56 sts)

Row 9: Knit all sts. (56 sts)

Row 10: *k1, kfb, k10, kfb, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (64 sts)

Rows 11 to 25: Knit all sts. (64 sts)

Row 26: *k1, k2tog, k10, k2tog, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (56 sts)

Row 27: Knit all sts. (56 sts)

Row 28: *k1, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (48 sts)

Row 29: Knit all sts. (48 sts)

Row 30: *k1, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (40 sts)

Row 31: Knit all sts. (40 sts)

Row 32: *k1, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (32 sts)

Row 33: Knit all sts. (32 sts)

Row 34: *k1, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k1* repeat from*to* until the end of row (24 sts)

Row 35: Knit all sts. (24 sts)

Row 36: *k1, k2tog* repeat from*to* until the end of row (16 sts)

Row 35: Knit all sts. (16 sts)

Row 36: * k2tog* repeat from*to* until the end of row (8 sts)

 

Cut yarn and thread it through remaining stitches. Pull tight and close the opening. Weave in ends.

Finishing: Sew a button near the opening pf the cozy. Using a strand of yarn and the crochet hook( starting at the corner of the opening, on the opposite side of the button) chain enough stitches to fit the size of your button and close the loop with a slip stitch. 

From that, you can make plain jar cozies or you can create your own pattern using different colors. If you'd like to get the frosty jar cozy design, it's in my ravelry shop right here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/frosty-jar-cozy

Pssst, you can now follow me on Facebook :)  www.facebook.com/sweetteasoftskeins

                 

To unravel or not to unravel

Recently, I've notice that we don't have that many blankets in the apartment. It's getting colder and I'm feeling more and more like cocooning while listening to Christmas music. Knitting in a nest of blankets seems to me like a must of the season!

Most people have a legacy of blankets at home. You know, that quilt your grand'ma made you or the old throw that as always been around in your family... we mysteriously don't have any of these. Well, I have a blanket that my mom crocheted for me, maybe 15 years ago, but it only fits a single size bed. As for Le Barbu (aka my boyfriend) he does have a large velvet-like blanket but he often uses it in his office. That's why I came to the conclusion that we need more blankets. I searched through the massive amount of pattern on ravelry for a while and I finally chose this one: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/boldly-colored-plaid-afghan

I started it, planning to make it larger than in the pattern. Instead of seven stripes of nine squares I'm probably going to knit ten stripes of thirteen squares. This way, I will obtain a blanket big enough to cover our queen size bed.

So far, I really like the pattern. It's fairly easy to knit and to memorize since the pattern is created by only four rows of knitted stitches. Normally, by knitting all the stitches, you would obtain garter stitch, but the secret of the alveolar texture you find on this blanket is that every other row is composed of "knit 1, knit 1 below" repeats. This means you knit one and then you knit the second one by inserting your needle through the centre of the stitch below the next stitch. I like this idea because it's nearly as easy as a normal knitted stitch but, because it gives a lot of texture to the afghan, I believe it will make it really hot and comfy.

Sadly, after I had nearly finished my first stripe, I realized my first square was longer then the others. After a look on the pattern, I understood that I was one pattern repeat short for every square except for the first one! That is when the ultimate question stuck me: To unravel or not to unravel?

This is where I was at when I unravel 80% of it. See the nice texture!

You see, projects without any mistakes are to me, the exception. Sometimes because I choose to leave the mistakes there, sometimes because I didn't even see it before the garment was blocked. The reality is, when I think my mistake won't affect the final look of the piece, or when I know that no one except me will see the difference, I might very well leave it there (especially if I notice it only a couple rows later). However, if my mistake is going to affect either the shape or the global look of the work, I will unravel the problematic part. That was the case of my first blanket stripe. That's why I decided to unravel it, because the squares were uneven and it would have shown against the other stripes. I'm always a little sad when I unravel something because I know how much time I've put in knitting it. But on the long run, I know I will be happier with the final result and so, it's worth the couple hours more to knit this stripe again especially considering the lifespan of a hand-knitted blanket.

My first baby shower

Yesterday, I went to my first baby shower. My older cousin is pregnant! She's having the first baby of the family and everyone is really happy and excited. Soooo, since a couple of weeks, I've been knitting little baby things here and there between my other projects to give her on that occasion. 

What I find fantastic about baby clothes and accessories is that they are small. Not only do they are quick-knits, they're also easy to carry with you in your purse or backpack. I find that they also are a great opportunity to learn the basics of a new garment. For example, if you've never knitted socks, a simple baby sock pattern is a good way to start. They are fast to complete, so if you miss something, it won't be that long before you notice the anomaly and you can start over or unravel a part of it without loosing days of work.

 Plus, baby things are so cute! Everyone loves them. I often knit at work, at lunch and on my breaks and I've notice that people want to see and touch them even more then my other projects. They're a perfect excuse to use super soft and colourful yarns too. 

So, if you don't have babies yourself, find some friends who do and start knitting cute clothes (especially with Christmas coming!!). Also, if you don't know where to start, here are the links to the awesome patterns that I used. They are all free, well written and relatively easy to complete. 

The blue  cardigan: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-sophisticate---free

The green vest: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hunters-vest

The little baby blanket:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/newborn-baby-blanket

The tiny socks: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mock-cable-baby-socks

And if you want to see my version of each more clearly they are all on my Ralverly projects page : http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sweetteasoftskein

Winifred and my little UFO

Oups! I've been so busy in the past two weeks that I didn't finish my third pattern before Halloween. It was the first goal I fixed myself when I started the blog, finish my three little dolls and their patterns before October 31st. Maybe I wanted to do to many things at the same time. That's me, I get excited about all the things that I want to do, especially holiday crafts and time catches me up... Nonetheless, I'm really happy with the final result. Winifred has always been my favorite of the three Sanderson sisters, with her rich dress and her pretty curly red hair, that's why I kept her for the end.

 

You can now find her on ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/winifred---hocus-pocus) and I've also created a pattern collection so you can get the three pdf files together ( http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/sanderson-sisters-dolls ).

And in case you were wondering what else I was doing last week, here a picture of my halloween costume.

 

We voted for a costume theme at work and sci-fi won. As I'm not a big fan of light sabers and transformers, I opted for a more vintage version of science fiction and built myself a little UFO to fit with my 50's inspired outfit. I'm really happy with the picture, they took the time to make a professional set up and I think it was really worth it!

I hope you've had a wonderful Halloween and that you still have some candies to eat! I should be posting a bit more regularly in the next weeks as I will start knitting some Christmas presents and some home decor projects!