Finished and Unfinished March

It's time once again to do the UFO challenge and to celebrate successes (and to confess to what is not really failure, but perhaps an opportunity to experience how things can go astray).

1.  WIP - The granddaughter dress revision - done and sent
Once I got over my fear of not knowing what I was doing and just started putting needle to fabric, it finished up pretty quickly.  Put a matching fabric bias trim on the opening, added some matching bias trim fabric to the neck trim, and put in a snap (couldn't find a button that looked right).

 OK, so I had to do the snap several times since first, I sewed the second part of the snap  upside down (with the bump up instead of the hole) and had to re-do it, and then, I found I had neglected to leave a tab to grab onto to undo the snap and had to re-do my neck trim extension, and then I sewed the second part of the snap on upside down (again!).

And I probably should have made a little bow to cover the snap tab, but the dress has been mailed away already, so that will only happen if mom and dad request it.

Fabric is by Lida Enche (a local artist/fabric designer)

2.  WIP - the "Journey" Challenge Quilt - slow progress, not what I had hoped for this month!

Here's the challenge fabric (only photo I can give until after the guild meeting in May).

Since the study I am doing is a design process, everything is taking much longer than I thought it would, so instead of my 12 unit goal, I have only completed 2 and a half!

I still have hopes for finishing by the deadline, since I can always do the quilting and finishing in May (yeah, last minute, I know, but still an option) and I have a new plan for progress - 

Instead of working so hard to make each unit perfect, I'm going to be more intuitive about it (I've got all the fabrics, they just need to be "arranged") and crank out a lot of units, and then select the most successful ones to assemble into the challenge quilt (the rejects can still become a lap quilt or something).

This will also give me more opportunities to make mistakes and take more risks, and in doing so, to learn more from my study!


3. NewFO - Fingerless Mitts - done and I love them (I think these may be for me)

Pattern is "Fluency" by Silvia Harding- in the fingerless mitt variation.  
Yarn is Mini Mochi merino sock yarn by Crystal Palace Yarns
Beads are Toho Metallic Nebula size 6/0

4. UFO - The giant flower quilt - top is done (though I may still add a stem and some leaves) and is now a WIP 

Unscheduled March finishes!
1. NewFO - Beaded Cuffs!

Pattern is Aquitaine by Silvia Harding and uses both prestrung and hooked bead techniques.
Yarn is Malabrigo Sock superwash Merino color 871 Playa
Beads are Toho Metallic Hematite megatoma 3mm, round 6/0, and cube 4mm, and Toho round 8/0 Matte Opaque Gray.

2. NewFO -Color and Weave scarf!

 (the color is not quite right in the finished scarf photo above, but is good in the process photo below)

I wanted another color and weave sample for the beginning Rigid Heddle Weaving class I was teaching, so did a houndstooth and variations (fun). Will blog this later.

3. NewFO -Warp emphasis scarf!

My Rigid Heddle Study Group is doing a study of unbalanced weaves (where the warp and weft are not the same number of threads per inch), and my beginning weaving students saw this novelty yarn and asked if it was possible to weave with it, so I had to give it a try and combined two experiments in one!

It turned out to be a lovely, soft, drapey scarf - and fun and pretty too!  Will blog later.

April Goals

1. WIP - "Journey" Challenge Quilt - crank out those study units so I can quilt and finish this in May!


2.  WIP - Giant Flower Quilt (see photo above) - Quilt and thread sketch
I'll have to whip together a fused quilt practice "sandwich" since I've never done any thread sketching before (I like a good challenge)!


3.  NewFO - beaded fingerless mitts
A friend of mine saw my Fluency mitts and asked for a pair, so here they are. 

They just need the thumb gussets finished, yarn ends woven in, and a nice bath and blocking.
Yarn is Mini Mochi merino sock yarn by Crystal Palace Yarns (color 108)

4.  NewFo - Wyvern Wrap Sweater
Have been wanting to make this for my daughter-in-law, but haven't found the right yarn on my little island (and I don't buy internet yarns unless I know what they feel like and look like and smell like).  
Goal is to make the big shopping trip to the mainland and search for yarn (and get it cast-on if I find the right yarn)

And that's it for now!