Major Knitter

Best Childhood Quilt

My favorite quilt at the 10th Anniversary Fabrics and Fabrications Quilt Show at the Southport Congregational Church last week was the dollhouse quilt by Mary Julia Skwar.

Wonderfun - 2010

This bed quilt was machine pieced and quilted, hand embroiderd and appliqued.  It was inspired and adapted from Rosalie Quinlan's pattern "It's a Dollie's Life."  I hope the view can have a little laugh looking at the "The Day the Stuffed Animals Came Alive and Decided to Have Some Whimsical Wonderfun."  It was professionally quilted by Sandy Morawsky of Sew Inspired Quilt Shop and Studio.  - Mary Julia Skwar

I love the whimsy and the mischief the stuffed animals concocted.  Let's take a closer look at each block.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the details.

How cute is this quilt?  I think the sock monkey (first picture) is one of myfavorites, followed by the teddy bear and the rabbit making carrot cake in the kitchen; and the bathroom scene is simply too much for words.  When did you ever think you'd see a toilet on a quilt and find it adorable?

I'm not really a quilter... but after going to this quilt show, I know I'm going to give it a try.  I'm drawn to children's/baby's quilts, so that's probably where I'll start.  It also has the added advantage of being smaller.  Do you have any patterns you might suggest for a beginner?  I really like the whimsical.

Christmas Quilts

My friend Betsy is so very talented across many crafts.  If you're her friend on Ravelry (rryan3), you know what a talented knitter she is.  But it doesn't stop there.  She sews like there's no tomorrow.  She also does the most beautiful petit-point Christmas ornaments.  But today I want to share with you her fabulous Christmas quilts that were displayed at the 10th Anniversary Fabrics and Fabrications Quilt Show last week in Southport, CT.  The pictures don't do the quilts justice since they were on the church pews.  I had to lean as best I could to get a decent picture.  

A Sampling of Santas - 2009 - by Piece o' Cake Designs

"I have always loved Santas and thought this would be fun and a challenge.  Each of the blocks were hand appliqued using scrap fabrics.  The quilt was machine pieced and quilted.  It was my first time to try the free motion quilting" - Betsy Ryan.

Once Upon a Star - 2009

"This is a McKenna Ryan pattern.  This pattern was so much fun to make and was also very challenging.  It was my second free motion quilting attempt and challenging to get the effect.  This is one of my most favorite quilts"  Betsy Ryan

These are truly spectacular quilts and I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I did.  Kudos to Betsy on a job well done!

 

The Quilt Show

Last week my crafty friends and I went to the 10th Annual Fabrics and Fabrications Quilt Show at the Southport Congregational Church.  It was amazing.  There were so many wonderful quilts exhibited it was hard to pick a favorite.  

There were quilts on every pew in the Church, many showcased on the altar, more in the chapel and even a special Reduce, Reuse, Recycle theme room in the Parish Hall.

I think I'll take you on a tour and let you decide which one you like best.  Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.  You'll notice that while there are many antique and traditional quilts, my eye tends to go to the young student's first quilt, or a child's t-shirt quilt, or other unusual quilts.

  

 

 

 

There you have a sampling of some of the more than 120 quilts that were so beautifully displayed.

And this is my very own quilt made for me by one of the Scout moms - Cyndy Moyer.  It's absolutely beautiful and I love looking at all the wonderful Boy Scout material - some new, some vintage.  It's such a treasure!

I have some more quilts to showcase tomorrow... but I hope you like the tour as much as I did.

Oh, and the frosting on the cake is the wonderful luncheon they serve.  My friends and I had a lovely morning viewing the quilts and topped it off with a delicious lunch with good food and good company.  Could life get any better than that?

 

 

That's What Friends Are For

My Marine Corps buddy Julie and her family were making a whirlwind trip from Rochester, NY to Quantico, VA in 4 days... and I offered them a place to stay on their first leg of the trip.  What a great time we had.

Julie was part of the original knitting group at Headquarters, Marine Corps - with officers, Staff NCOs, NCOs and civilians - learning how to make dish cloths (still one of my favorite things to teach basic knitting).

This was in 2002.  We were all admin staff at Headquarters Marine Corps, Manpower & Reserve Affairs.  Once or twice a week we'd find time to knit.  Since 75% of our group worked in the general's office and had phone watch, we always knit there.  The general wasn't quite sure what he thought about a knitting bee in his office!  You can tell how old the picture is by the old style woodland cammies.

We've stayed in touch over the years.  I visited them in Virginia.  Their daughter stayed with me for a few weeks one summer in 2004.  They visited when they came to pick her up.  I stopped by their new home when they moved to upstate New York on my drive back from Toronto.  They came again this past week.  It's great to stay in touch with friends... even if it's here and there across the span of years.  That's what I like about my Marine Corps friends.  You can pick up where you left off.  The funny part, is that the purpose of their trip was to go to a baby shower for another member of our original group's first grandchild!  See how it's all connected?

Anyway, you can read a much better description of our fun times together on Julie's blog.  Check out her two-day posts HERE and HERE. 

I'm so glad you came.  Let's continue to stay in touch, K?

 

Wilma on Wednesday - Sleeping on the Stair

If you come to my house, you'll hear me describe Wilma as "hours of entertainment" - and she really is.  Even when she naps, she provides fodder for conversation.  Check out today's nap for instance.

Oops!  The beep of my camera caught her attention.

But her eyes are already getting sleepy again...

ZZzzzzz.  But seriously - how can that be comfortable with her paw like that?

Yup - she's already out like a light.

Mini Cashmere Socks

Every time I make a pair of cashmere socks for BF (birthday, Christmas, anniversary), I make a mini sock, too. So last night I cast on for a mini brown sock, and when I was finished, cast on for a green one (remembering that I had never got around to knitting a mini green one). Then I decided to take an inventory and discovered I had been remiss in my mini sock knitting… so a total of 4 mini cashmere socks were knit.

These hang on the mantle of the fireplace in my Knit Nook during the holidays. If I ever need to darn the socks and don’t have any more of the remnant yarn, I could always deconstruct the mini socks. Or at least that’s the theory…

 

Finding Normal

Thank you all for your kind comments, thoughts, and prayers.  I really appreciate it.  The boys are nearly 100% back to normal.  No phys.ed class for three weeks... but then they have NO restrictions.  Isn't that fantastic news?  They're back to school.  I'm trying to get back to my routine.  We were on the road for eight days - with little-to-no internet connectivity, so I feel so far behind.  Of course, I came back to my 100-mph schedule, so catching up is taking longer than I would like.  We spent a lot of time driving - the Children's Hospital is a 10-hour drive from home - and I got little knitting done.  I was overly optimistic and took way too many knitting projects with me.  I didn't finish a single one.  Not even the easy one.  I did work on it during the trip though and can happily announce that BF's cashmere anniversary socks are complete!

Here are the details

• US Size 5 Turbo Addis (for Magic Loop method)
• 2 skeins of Jade Sapphire cashmere worsted weight in Mahogony
• CO 48 sts for a basic top-down sock
• Basic heel flap

He loves them of course!