Office Productivity

I was able to finish the free-motion quilting on Aisling's quilt during the day today while the kids played nearby...in my new spiffy cool office! I did the hearts freehand and then just did a meander...one of these days I want to try those peacock feathers Tazzie described!

I have also gotten to the construction of the cable cardigan...button band, collar and buttons left!!

I got a commission for two more children's name pillows...people keep telling me I should sell them...might just try to do that with a few other kid related fabric items...there is a local Sunday market here that I've been wanting to do something at...just trying to find the right items...

I've been tagged twice for the 5 inspirational blogs meme, gonna have to have a good think about that and do them on my next post!!

I received a lovely package this week from Elizabe...

I received a lovely package this week from Elizabeth at Forgetmenot Quilting! I had sent her out a Pay it Forward swap goodie and she very kindly sent these along! I had admired the chicken pincushion she'd done before, and she filled this lovely one with lavender, it smells heavenly!

She knows me well as she included two gorgeous CW fabrics and some crazy quilting fabrics, as well as some nasturtium seeds!

I have a bit of a fun adventure tomorrow. I will be meeting Pat Sloan in Killarney, Co. Kerry! I emailed her last year after following a link about an Irish quilting trip she was leading last year. They were going through a town where I knew there was one of the maybe 3 quilt shops in the whole country, lol, and wanted to tell them about it. She kept my email and sent me a note to ask if I wanted to meet up with the local quilt guild at her hotel this year, and to bring my Dear Jane, lol!! I don't know her stuff well, but what an honor to meet such a talented quilter! Guess I better learn how to applique more now!!

My friend Kathleen's parents live in Tralee, nearby Killarney so her mom, bless her, will watch the kids for us while we go for a quilty excursion...we may even leave early for a movie (Becoming Jane...we are both Austen fans!) A bit of a mommy break and quilting at the end of it, cool!

Sorry I don't have much crafting to show...we've been in London since last Thursday. My friend Katy and I are Bob Dylan fans from a long way back (well as long as you can go back if you discovered him in 1988, lol!!) We've probably seen a half dozen of his concerts together now in the DC area, Ireland and now the UK... Funny how we met due to a few guys at college in Maryland and because of liking Dylan, and now we are both quilters living in Europe...

How wonderful it is to have real and cyber friends to meet with this week!

I've finished all the parts of my cardigan now, jus thave to construct it and knit up collars and button bands...cool. Dave is heading to Germany next week, so sense some more sock wool coming to my stash soon!

More crafting next week I hope!

Group Projects!

I did this Irish landscape with needle turn applique (except for that tree, I'm not that crazy... a little fusible web for that!). It will be part of a banner for a Brian Boru festival held here in Killaloe/Ballina (one side of our town, Killaloe, is in Clare, where I live, Ballina, is across on the other side of the Shannon River in Tipperary). Brian Boru, a great ancient warrior was supposed to have ruled over this area, so there is a festival every year. I started it at my patchwork group on Wednesday and got so into working on it that I finished it that night... My applique is slowly getting better!

The other project is my next crazy quilt round robin block. The quilt is beautiful in creams, whites, and pastels... I had fun putting some lace and my little spider on it.

My ocean waves are growing slowly...have finished 25/80 now, and have decided to make this bed quilt a duvet cover...possibly using some thin flannel for quilting it and then using muslin or another sheet for the duvet back... we have duvet covers here, not layers of blankets, and my bed is a sleigh type one that a quilt doesn't look right overhanging, its edges really need to be tucked in... has anyone ever made a duvet cover/quilt?

Moving Ahead

I can't believe that I've finally started quilting on my Dear Jane... I've also got the small DJ wallhanging to work on in the living room if I feel like it. I will be a slow learner with the rocking stitch, but find I'm very fast with the stab stitch...with all the seams in the DJ, stab stitch is a good thing to use!

Here are two blocks the first from my DJ and the second from the wallhanging.

Barbara has also been obsessed lately with the ripple crochet blanket making its rounds in the blogosphere. She pulled me in and I dug out grandma's crochet hook and some of my dishcloth cotton to make a ripple crochet dishcloth, lol!!

I'm still knitting away on my cable cardigan...working on a sleeve now...also doing some ocean wave blocks...

Now I've got to get to work on a tight deadline for my next crazy quilt round robin!!!

Gone...but not forgotten

I've been away, but haven't forgotten my blog!! I am a bad blogger...been taking photos of things to blog about since the day after my last blog, lol, but too lazy or something...to actually sit down and write.

Done a lot of different projects since my last blog... Did my first few cotton knit dishcloths... I wanted to try lace knitting, but it really isn't my style to do a lace sweater or shawl, so tried a bit of lace knitting with my dishcloths, with the apparently extra advantage of lace dishcloths drying a bit faster than others??!! I hear good things about them, and they are good for the environment, they seem to work great so far!

I'm also moving along on my cable cardigan, only sleeves and finishing touches now!

Dave went to Germany for work (will be going there fairly often over the next few month...she says greedily!) and he found a yarn shop near the hotel he usually stays at near the factory he visits! Woo hoo Trekking XXL, Opal and Lana Grossa sock yarns...guess I'm gonna keep him! I'll get a ball or two each visit, he says, so I imagine many pairs of hand knit socks are in my future!!

I haven't stopped quilting either!! I have finished the top for Aisling's double 4 patch quilt (my final one made from a block swap ages ago!)

I've also made 4 name pillows for the girls cousins and for them...

I've basted my Dear Jane wallhanging to hand quilt without a hoop, and also put my big DJ on the frame...

In between it all, Aine has marched in her first St. Patrick's day parade, and I got a lovely breakfast in bed this Mothers Day (different in UK/Ireland from US)...got a few hours alone on mother's day so what did I do? QUILT of course!!

Airy Fairy

After Aine's pinkwork stitchery for the girls room, I thought I'd take one of her pictures and turn it into another stitchery. I was hoping to make another pretty one, but she wanted to decorate the fairy with some of my beads, all colors of the rainbow, sequins and glitz, not my style but hey... she is my girl, so gotta do it! Here is the original drawing and the start of our sequin and bead dress. I plan to outline it with colors in the original drawing.


I have started piecing Aisling's I Spy quilt. It is the 3rd quilt I've done with these novelty double 4 patches from a swap years ago. I made 5 more to complete the amount I need. I'll do a scrappy border then another plain one to finish it and I will try to quilt some motifs in the center of the plain areas, I'll probably hand quilt the motifs and then stitch in the ditch for the rest on machine... I also made free pieced names for future pillows for Aine and Hannah her friend. Daniel and Aisling are next...

The sweater is coming along great. I'm nearing completion on the back. Then will have a short interlude to knit a cotton dishcloth! Got myself some Peaches and Cream yarn back in the States to try out these dishcloths I've seen around the blogosphere...

I've started back swimming and even did aqua aerobics today...was more strenous a workout than I expected! Here's hoping I can get in the right place to start losing weight again!!

The Post(wo)man Cometh

Oh my goodness, look at what deliciousness landed on my doorstep yesterday! It is my swap with Ruth in South Africa! We did a swap: Irish yarn for South African shwe shwe fabric. It was postmarked December 1, and we'd given it up for missing, so I was over the moon to see it arrive. It is so beautiful, thank you so much!!

I also had this beautiful artwork arrive from another exotic locale, from Jo in New Zealand. I wish I had half your talent for embroidery. It is beautiful!!

My socks are done...I still have lots to learn about them...have found a nicer cast on to use, have learned how to graft after my failed attempts here, and I've realized that worsted weight socks are great to learn with, but I think lighter sock yarn is on the cards for future pairs...something I can wear with shoes!! All in all I am still happy with my fraternal twin pair of socks, my first ones of many I am sure... I can feel the addiction growing...

Here is another pillow I started and finished today, I love how fast these go together... This is for... Holly how did you guess? Sister of the infamous Conor, Aine's best buddy from Waterford, who we are off to visit tomorrow. Better pack up some knitting for the trip...and maybe my apple core quilt hand piecing...