Fire

After failing too keep up with Project Spectrum last year, I decided that this year, with only four assignments it would be much easier...
Well, it has been *almost* finished for quite some time, if that counts!

Project Spectrum is all about celebrating the colours around us, and this year it has been tied up to the elements, and as you can probably guess from my pictures, Fire was the first one. I decided to focus on one craft this year, so I'm making four small quilts, 8 x 12". After a few quick sketches I ended up with a concept so the four "quiltlets" will tell a story together. I've chosen a poem as my starting point, and snippets from it will appear in all four pieces.
I wasn't quite sure about adding a binding - I thought the small format might be overwhelmed by it, but I decided to go for it, using a new technique I saw in a friend's quilt and that I have been eager to try: I stitched the binding on from the back, and sewed it on to the front by hand, adding a bead with every stitch. Not something I would like to repeat for a large quilt, but doable for this little one. I quite like the effect. It looks a little crooked and uneven in the pictures, but it is quite straight in "real life"!
We are way into April and the next element, which is Earth. My schedule is not as full now as it was in March, so I should be able to finish it by May. I have the idea clear in my head, so it's just a matter of getting those green and brown fabrics sorted and then there is that lovely Bronze Paintstick I just bought. "Next week", I promise myself...

It's been a while...

-so long that I had trouble remembering my password there for a second...


It has been all work and very little play recently, but things are looking up. I have managed to make my mind up about that quilt - a white border with some black in it and a wider border in black with white. The fabrics are waiting next to the sewing machine as we speak. They will have to wait until Tuesday, though, as we are off to a family event this weekend. The Confirmation party of the young girl I'm making the quilt for, in fact. I realized I'd be killing myself trying to finish the quilt in time, so we'll go for the true and tested method of giving the promise of a gift... A photo-collage of the making of the quilt and all the decisions to be made along the way and the reasons for the delay, and hopefully she'll forgive me for not getting it ready on time!


I have been so stressed out lately that I have just collapsed in front of the telly in the evening, but at least I have managed to knit this pair of mittens for a little toddler friend. Yarn: Sirdair Aran - leftover from a previous project. Hopefully they'll keep those sweet little fingers warm when his dad straps the carrier to his back and brings him along on his daily hike. Dad's protest that "he hasn't complained" didn't convince this "auntie" - some needle action was definitely called for!

There's a promise of spring in the air again - so no more snow now, thank you! - Did you hear that, King Winter? I've had enough! The plants on my balcony are tentatively showing their little green ears and I'm looking forward to sitting there ever so quietly gazing out. I manage to ignore the surrounding buildings and focus on the sea and the mouintain in the distance. Somehow I never get tired of this view!