Denim and Red Mitered Diamond Jacket

 Just made it to the finish line without running out of yarn. The leftovers are tiny, and pictured here. This Jacket was made without a client in mind. It would fit someone 5'6" to 5'8" tall, with about a 44" to 48" bust/hip measurement. The yarns were Araucania Toconao Multy, 100% merino, and Plymouth Boku, 95% wool, 5% silk.  I just got the red/orange Boku in December and had to make a swatch to try it out. One thing led to another and now I have a finished jacket. $100 plus postage. Email me. SOLD

Making Adjustments

 
Here's the new version of the jacket I was making for a reader who changed her mind about taking it. It was designed for a much taller person and the sleeves were super long and wide, so I unknit them and now they are the right length for the body of the jacket. I also made a different collar, with a ribbed undercollar and then a nicer garter knit foldover top collar. I also changed the button from a metal one to an abalone shell button.

 The cuff is also different, since I decreased 7 stitches to make it fit better when I began the ribbing. Here's the size numbers:

The yarns are Malabrigo Rios 100% Merino, and Noro Silk Garden, 45% Mohair, 45% Silk, 10% Wool. It fits me perfectly, but as you know I have too many knits. I am 5'4 1/2", with 38-40" bust.

Now available for $130 plus shipping. Email me. SOLD

Lemon and Lime

I think it's time I made some new pieces for our house. Yellow seems to be the 'it' color in the living room, so this Lemon is staying put. Hand dyed cottons and silks, hand embroidered, fused and machine quilted. 12" square painted wood panel. 

 Then of course a dash of Lime becomes necessary. This one is mainly hand dyed cotton sateen with some silks thrown in. The sateen has a tendency to fray so I must be careful to cover the edges with adjacent less fraying cottons or silks. Fuse and machine quilted. 12" square painted wood panel.

Nearing the Finish Line

It took a year but we are nearing the finish line on the living/dining room decorating. The new remote control ceiling fan was installed last week and yesterday the new dining room fixture arrived. 

So much smaller and nicer than the ones the builder put in which have that dark bronze color. Not our style.

We had these cheapo ($8) floor lamps which I got just to bring some light into the dark corners, always thinking I would replace them with nicer ones when I could find them. But after several days of shopping online and in stores, we couldn't find the right fit for us, so I said, if they were bright red I would keep them. Dave said, no problem, he would paint them. Ha!

  

 And once he had the spray can in hand he updated the metal table and stool. Now we're talkin'!

Never did post the new dining room rug, again from Overstock.com. Plenty of red in the busy bargello pattern. Excellent for hiding drips and spots. 

There are lots of quilts and art on the walls and altho we still haven't painted, the beige paint doesn't seem as bothersome to me. Most amazingly, we actually gather in the living room for morning coffee, music and internet browsing, both of us with our laptops and the dogs between us on the sofa. So cozy. 

Now that the dogs have me trained to walk them in a timely manner, I have less issues with them making interior design mistakes. 

Taking a deep breath and enjoying the moment, my mind wanders to the garden season which is just around the corner. Yesterday it was in the high 60's and I walked the dogs coat-less. Dave is golfing again today, and I might have to drop by the garden center and buy some dirt. Never got my tulips and daffodils bulbs into the ground, but they have been chilling in the garage and I have a big empty planter ready to fill with them. Won't that be nice to have a bunch of flowers popping up in a few weeks?

Sunny and Warm, #2 and #3

 Sunny and Warm #2. Hand dyed cottons and silks, fused, machine quilted, 10x10" before mounting on yellow painted wood panel which will make it 12" square.

  Sunny and Warm #3. Hand dyed cottons and silks, fused, hand embroidered and machine quilted, 10x10" before mounting on yellow painted wood panel which will make it 12" square.

 Here they are side by side.

 It's a challenge to work in a limited palette. On the other hand, the variety of yellows is larger than one would think. Both of these pieces are sold, but I still have lots of yellows to play with on my worktable.

Runners

I never make runners.
Um. Er, I never make runners intentionally, but it turns out I have made a bunch. This is Sorbet, a pieced quilt from my pastel hand dyed cottons. It has been hanging in the closet since 20I0 when made it. But now for the first time it is being used!

 It's about the same size as the yellow desk and the colors are close enough to make it go together. Plus it covers up the chipped paint, so that makes it perfect.

 I got this ceramic egg tray at World Market after seeing a really expensive one at Anthropologie.  This one holds 12 eggs vs the other one that held only 6.  It may be early for Easter, but it's yellow and ties in with the rest of the yellow in the room. The eggs are papier-mâché from Joann's. 

This pieced and machine quilted 'runner' was also unused and hanging in the quilt closet. All the colors echo the rugs and other quilts and set off the whiteness of the dining table. I won't actually serve food on these pieces, but just use them for decoration.

Same color scheme as on the wall quilt. Turns out that my long and skinny quilts are just the right shape to add personality to the room.

Limehouse

Limehouse

Hand dyed cottons and silks, fused, hand embroidered, machine quilted. Mounted on painted wood panel, 12x12". $100 Email me. SOLD

 
I am trying to stretch myself by keeping to a single color palette. Today was lime green, everyone's favorite neutral, ha! But as you can see, I found I needed just a touch of a few other nearby colors. It's the VALUE (stupid!!!!) with which I must contend. I have a real lime here...
 lots of different shades within. Lime peel is different than lime sections. Whatever...it's all good in a Margarita!
+++++++
 I got my friend M**** to model the newest knit. I promised not to show  her face.

New Finishes

Sunny and Warm

Hand dyed cottons and silks, fused, machine quilted, mounted on painted wood panel.

12x12" $100 Email me. SOLD

 

  

 Just finished my lucky 13th jacket for Shelly B. Silk Garden and Malabrigo Rios. It was so scrumptious to knit, that I am sad that it is over.