Coming Along

In between quilt art projects, while ideas are percolating in my brain, I turn to my knitting. The other day I cast on the front of the "Climbing Vines" pullover from the Winter 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. It was about time; the back had been finished for about a month!

Now I have finished through the 1st row of my second go-round with the 24-row chart, and here's the result:

It's a very pretty little piece of knitting and fun, too, because with every row I can hardly wait to see my progress -- and progress shows up fairly quickly, because I am working with 4.5 mm needles and "Sierra" from the Peruvian Collection at elann.com. It feels good in my hands, and I love this colour (#1526) (gosh, d'ya think?!) but don't know if they still carry it, as this yarn's been in my stash for over two years now (blush). I am hoping to actually finish and wear this piece by mid-April, when we can still get some pretty cool days around here.

What are you doing with your Saturday?

Ready to Send Off

Earlier this year, those of us who'd submitted a piece in the "Synthesis" exhibit, organized by SAQA - Canada Region, were invited to submit a second piece. This was due to the fact that a gallery in Ottawa wanted to show the exhibit during the dates it was being displayed in Nova Scotia!

I couldn't turn down this opportunity, and I had some items given to me in my art quilt group's Christmas Brown Bag Exchange...items that were calling to me. The result is a 16-1/4-inch square piece entitled In the Beginning:

The first two shots are front details; the third, a full front view. You'll note that I still have to work on my photography skills! The colour of the background piece is closer to photo #3, while the colour of the smaller 'striated' fabric is closer to that of photos 1 and 2. The centre photo shows the piece of leather scrap appliqueed on, as well as the millefiore beads and a bit of other beadwork. The piece is not heavily quilted; the background quilting is done by machine with either silver metallic or invisible threads. The beads are sewn by hand, and there is hand quilting along the striations of the centre piece of fabric, using a perle cotton. I had fun doing it, and almost didn't want to let it go.

Ash Wednesday*

Today is "...the seventh Wednesday before Easter Sunday...the first day of the Season of Lent. Its name comes from the ancient practice of placing ashes on worshippers’ heads or foreheads as a sign of humility before God, a symbol of mourning and sorrow at the death that sin brings into the world. It not only prefigures the mourning at the death of Jesus, but also places the worshipper in a position to realize the consequences of sin. (See Reflections on Ash Wednesday). Ash Wednesday is a somber day of reflection on what needs to change in our lives if we are to be fully Christian. "

"In the early church, ashes were not offered to everyone but were only used to mark the forehead of worshippers who had made public confession of sin and sought to be restored to the fellowship of the community at the Easter celebration. However, over the years others began to show their humility and identification with the penitents by asking that they, too, be marked as sinners. Finally, the imposition of ashes was extended to the whole congregation in services similar to those that are now observed in many Christian churches on Ash Wednesday. Ashes became symbolic of that attitude of penitence reflected in the Lord’s prayer: “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us” (Luke 11:4, NRSV)."


*Once again, thanks to Dennis Bratcher, the same source I turned to at Advent.

Socks and More Socks

Yep, I've been on a sock 'kick' lately. First, I finished my "Caribbean Sunrise" socks -- made from a sock blank from KnitPicks that I dyed last summer.



Then I started a pair of "Hope" socks from The Eclectic Sole by Janel Laidman. I'm making these from Berroco's Ultra Alpaca Fine yarn, colour #1281.



I'm making these for a girlfriend who's been battleing breast cancer. The left photo is the front view, with the 'fight cancer ribbon' pattern in view. The right photo shows the back of the sock down to the heel. After you turn the heel, it's plain knitting on the back, but the lace pattern continues down the front of the foot.

Concurrently, I needed some plain sock knitting to carry around with me, so I decided to make the 2nd of another pair of hand-dyed socks -- also from a KnitPicks sock blank. The 'Caribbean Sunrise' pair were given away; these "Spring Green" socks are pour moi. :-)



I've got three art quilting projects underway, and just finished a fourth to send into a competition. Till all are on their way, I'm afraid that photos won't be available for sharing. Stay tuned!