Doing my part to help clear off the dining room table

See how the only project next to Old Faithful is the quilt for the monkey? I was inspired by Ashley, who is cranking out lovely quilts like nobody's business, and also by Happythings, who had an interesting post about strip piecing. (The one with the diagonals is fabulous but I need to get over the foundation piecing hump. I suffer some disbelief over the technique.)

While DH got La to take a nap, this is what I worked on.



It's about the size of a prepackaged crib quilt sized batting.

Thanks for all of the input on what to use for the back. I went wit hthe striped seersucker. I liked how soft it was after it was washed and how "Florida" it felt (like something to wear to the beach), how the colors matched the front very well, and that the seersucker reminded me of a pair of overall shorts my mom made me when I was 10 and the front reminds me of a whole-cloth quilt my Great Grandma Lanning (dad's grandma) made me when I was little (sentimentality goes together). Somewhere in there I must have decided that I was the target audience - I was the one who needed to like it.

A close up of the quilting pattern in a place where it's not so wonky looking. If I were thinking more clearly, I would have made the quilting only in one direction, so that the seam allowance vagaries wouldn't be so noticeable. I still sort of like it's jauntiness and how each of the colors pops against the grey.

I've got another major project in progress. Here's a hint.


Those are maternity pants that I just hemmed. Apparently, the Gap means it when they say "Long." They were a really good sale, though. And they fit. Worth turning under. Things should be pretty interesting around here in December.

Here are the accompaning new projects:

1. A garter-dishcloth baby blanket in Cascade 220 supersoft. Red and Orange. I really liked it in theory, now I'm not so sure about it. It's a little ketchup and mustardy.

2. The Debbie Bliss cardigan in a recent Vogue Knitting. In Socks That Rock heavyweight. Color: Mustang Sally. I just couldn't get into the Baby Cashmerino colors. Too smooth.

3. EZ Surplice Jacket from the same issue of Vogue Knitting. STR Heavyweight in Lemongrass. Hopefully both of those little sweaters really are one-skein projects.

Um. And I just washed 7 fat-quarters that I had been hoarding to try the strip piecing with.