Monday, August 29, 2016

July 2016 in Review

This summer has been full of sunny days and outside activities, which doesn’t leave much time for crafting. Even so, I managed to finish a few things and make progress on several more.

Finished

Seneca Skirt: At the beginning of the month, I whipped up a Seamwork Seneca Skirt. It was a super quick, fun sew. Seneca has served me well this summer, as I tend to wear skirts and dresses when the heat rises.

Hayden Shirt: I also made a Seamwork Hayden Shirt out of Essex Linen. It wasn’t nearly as quick as the Seneca Skirt, but it was worth the extra time, as I wear it constantly.

River Song Honey Cowl: My River Song Honey Cowl is my third knit finished object. I liked it when I started it in April, but quickly lost interest. I used bamboo needles because I read they were good for newbies. However, the bamboo needles combined with this lovely single-ply yarn made the knitting super slow. The finished product is full of mistakes. Since I didn't swatch, it's an odd length and not very wearable. However, I do like the look of the pattern. I may try the one skein version at some point, but will make sure to do a swatch.

Cuzco Crosscut Mini Quilt: I wanted to participate in my mom’s Crosscut Quilt Along, but didn't have time to make new blocks from scratch, so I used blocks I had on hand. I started sewing with this Cuzco fabric back in 2013, so it was high time I finished something with them. (Keep reading to hear what I did with the rest of the blocks.) I really enjoyed participating in the quilt along and will use the sew-it-together-and-cut-it-up-differently technique again.

Started

Motion in the Ocean Skye Cowl: After working on the Honey Cowl for three months, I wanted to knit something I could finish quickly. Using Motion in the Ocean bulky yarn from Spun Right Round, I cast on the Skye cowl. The yarn is super soft and reminds me of a Monet painting. In July, I knit my way through the first skein and joined the second skein. I had barely started and was already halfway done!

Existing WIPs

Baltic Boneyard Shawl: My Boneyard Shawl is my current favorite WIP. In July, I finished the first skein and added the second skein. The pattern is simple enough for a beginner to tackle, but has enough complexity to hold my interest.

Chaos Quilt: Earlier this year, I took a workshop from Libs Elliott. It was a lovely day, and I finally finished the top of my Chaos Quilt in July. I look forward to quilting it and hanging it on my wall.

Cuzco Days Baby Quilt: After finishing my Cuzco Crosscut Mini Quilt, I had enough blocks left over to make a baby quilt. Since this WIP has been languishing for several years, I knew I was never going to make it into a lap quilt. I capitalized on the momentum I had built up with the mini quilt and threw the remaining blocks together into a finished top. With this top, the Chaos Quilt, the SEAMQG BOM Quilt and the Glam Clam Quilt, I now have four tops that need quilting! I’m going to try to finish one or two before I start any new quilts.

Scrap Vortex: I love all the Scrap Vortex quilts that I've seen on Instagram and the blogosphere, but I have to force myself to work on mine. The process takes up a lot of space, and it's hard to tell how much I have left to do, which is disheartening. Thankfully, I had a sewing day at my mom's house and using her design wall helped so much! I managed to sew together three columns/rows and plan to make two more. It's so nice knowing that I'm over halfway done with the piecing.

Temperature Blanket: My Temperature Blanket didn't get much love in July. It's the perfect project for a rainy day, and we had precious few of those lately. I managed to finish a few rows, but ended the month about seven weeks behind.