2012 In Review

Last year was nothing like I thought it would be, but what year ever turns out as expected?

 I intended to knit 12 pairs of socks. I knit four (five if you count the man-socks as one pair each). I knit a hat early in the year, some shawls/wraps, then didn’t finish much for quite a while. There were two sewing projects for SpaceCadet’s InterStellar Yarn Alliance. A pair of baby quilts. More weaving.

My mom died in August, and I didn’t knit another stitch for the rest of the year, although my knitting needles have gotten back into the action in the last month. In all of its less-than-expected glory, here are my finished projects from 2012

1. Dawn Gnot Socks, 2. Koolhaas Hat, 3. Sweet Tomato Foot Ovens, 4. Gaskell Shawl (name of shawl was changed from Cranford to Gaskell by designer), 5. I.B. Footsie, 6. Ginormous Man Socks, 7. SpaceCadet Notions Bags, 8. Northwestern Baby Quilts, 9. Wiggle Wrap, 10. Color Affection, 

11. Rag Rugs, 12. Rainbow Rep Weave Placemats, 13. Dad’s Doubleweave Blanket.

Go U, NU

The other sewing project I had planned for the end of August that turned into an epic mad dash was a pair of baby quilts for a college friend of the Hubster’s. M is expecting twins, and another member of their little group decided that it would be fun to throw her a themed baby shower when much of the group came together in Syracuse for Northwestern’s football opener.

 Gifts were to be either Purple or “ridiculous.”

 I chose purple.


When I offered to make these quilts (in late July), I took a look at my fabric stash and realized it was pretty light in the purple department. Two days before she died, my mom was going up to our favorite Pittsburgh quilt store (The Quilt Company) in order to buy a sewing cabinet. I tagged along both for company and to look for purple fabrics.


Mom called me from a shop in Peters Township while I was at the gym that Friday telling me that Sew Much Fun might have some candidates as well. I stopped and got a few more options on Saturday morning before my shift at Bloomin.


As I’ve blogged previously, everything scheduled for August came to a complete halt the following day. Once I finished the SpaceCadet project, I had four days to do this pair of quilts, start to finish. Game on. I started piecing the tops on Sunday night, sandwiched them on Monday and Tuesday, quilted Tuesday and Wednesday, and had the bindings sewn down Thursday and washed them Thursday night. I win.

Because I had no real plan for precisely which colors I’d use in each quilt, I decided from the beginning that I’d do a scrappy binding.


I also used my favorite technique to start/finish binding, and it worked out perfectly, as you can see above.


There’s one “Northwestern” touch that I put on both quilts. My original plan had been to quilt a “sculpted N” into a block of the quilt, but there was no time. So I added “Go U, NU” to both quilts. Since clearly, these kids will be Wildcats, just like their mom.


I had flannel in the stash, and these quilts were ditch quilted, then stippled. Quick and dirty. It’s one of the reason I love quilting. There is no way in hell I could do ANY knitted gift for twins, start to finish, between Sunday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. But with quilting, all is possible.

Parents-to-be have been instructed that these quilts are machine-wash, and should be dragged through the mud and puked on. It's one of the things I love about baby quilts. They're damn durable. Win.

Fabric is Fiber Too

Well, hello there! Sorry about the radio silence. I had lots of little things going on last week, and … brace yourself … I didn’t have one single thing actively on the needles last Wednesday, so there was nothing to show you for WiP Wednesday.

I do have two more things to show you that fit under 2011 projects, then I’ll do my annual year-in-review archive. Yeah, I’m a little late, but it’s my blog so I can do whatever I want, right?

I wasn’t sure whether or not to include this project, but then I decided I was working on it for over a year (off and on … mostly off), so I’d include it on things that I finished in 2011.

A knitting friend of mine had been given a pile of cones of Rowan yarns. Wool and cotton, all 4-ply or thinner. She is not the kind of knitter that will eagerly tackle the challenge of these minimally-labeled very thin yarns. So we made a deal.

I’d take this pile of her mother’s tablecloths …


… and turn it into a pair of twin-size-ish quilts. One for Mary, one for her sister.

I got one top finished for last Christmas. I had intended to have both tops done by then, but the first of last winter’s debilitating colds hit at an inopportune time, and I managed to sew a strip wrong-side-out on one top, so I focused on finishing the absolutely-required lone top.

Because I am a bad friend, was overloaded with writing assignments and barely had time to breathe the first six months of 2011 … and because nearly all of my crafting spaces were out of commission for nearly all of the summer months … the tops weren’t finished until September. At which point I high-tailed it up to the Lake to drop them off with my fabulous and wonderful machine quilter.



Mary (different Mary … the quilter and owner of these quilts are both named Mary) did a fabulous job with the quilting, as always. This was not the time to try someone new. I wanted a quilter that I was sure would do a great job. Which she did. The backs of these quilts are extra-wide bleached muslin, so they are seamless. The backs look like wonderful whole-cloth quilts.

I picked the quilts up at the Lake in mid-December. When I bought the backing, I was lucky enough to find a pre-made bias binding at The Quilt Company that matched the green damask on the long sides. Two evenings of hand-sewing and they were finally finished. The fronts?

If I remember correctly, the more-scrappy quilt is going to be Mary’s


and the less-scrappy quilt will go to Mary’s sister.


I hope both sisters are pleased with the final products. I handed both quilts off to Mary’s husband on Christmas Eve, and haven’t seen her since delivery. Here’s hoping they will be enjoyed for years to come.

Me? I’m just happy they’re finished.

Warm All Winter

I finished the top to this quilt ages ago. Sent it to my machine quilter many, many moons ago. Got it back last spring. Like spring of 2010.


Hanging to dry off of the amazing and wonderful new deck, hence the binder clips so it wouldn’t fall.

I machine-sewed the binding last summer (yes, 2010). It sat around like that for a year.


I love my machine quilter. She does fantastic work.
A month or two ago, I needed to do some hand sewing to finish the rep weave placemats that are handwoven and currently on my kitchen table. So I kept my hand sewing kit out and buckled down and sewed down the binding on this quilt.


This is my first time using a wool quilt batting. It also has a flannel back, which makes it unquestionably a winter quilt. The fabrics are the Bali Strips, purchased with a pattern at The Quilt Company. Very simple sewing.


Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind about whether or not it is actually winter yet. Add that to the fact that we just insulated our attic, it’s been tough to tell when to change over to the winter bedclothes. But it’s on the bed now, and I’m quite pleased with the finished project.


Huh. Maybe I should get back to the quilting thing more often!

A Full Weekend

Yeah, I know it’s not Wednesday, but here’s what I’ve been up to.

After work on Saturday, the Hubster and I watched a few minutes of the Steelers disastrous first half, then headed downtown. We watched the second half (fun!) at the Sharp Edge downtown and when we walked outside to head for the Benedum, we could hear Heinz Field from over a mile away. Very, very cool!

Side note: If the “Mary Poppins” musical comes to your town? Go out and have a nice dinner. Then come home and watch the movie on DVD. That, you will actually enjoy. The musical was below-average and very slow. We were both bored.

Since I last checked in, the mittens are zipping towards the finish line. I’m pretty certain I’ll have a FO post for you later this week.


Mitten Guts!
I got this quilt back from my machine quilter back in June, and it still needs binding. I’m hoping to get started on that in the next day or two.


It’s a queen-sized quilt with a wool batting and flannel back. I want it on our bed post-haste, since it should be very warm.

I also got the loom out of the corner and warped. Yesterday, I figured out some of the differences in rep weave and knocked out the first mug mat. A few more hours of productivity today, then I’m hoping to put a few more mats on the “finished” list. Here’s the first one:


My next weaving project is waiting in the wings. I should really start winding the warp now, as I know many people have had problems running out of one of the colors. If I’m gonna have that problem, I should figure it out soon so I can get the additional rug warp on its way.


Here’s hoping my time management continues to improve and I can get done as much as I want to get done this week!

WiP Wednesday

I haven’t touched the Musique socks.

I haven’t touched Nonpareil.

No weaving is happening … I finished the commission stuff so I could put the loom away and get a Christmas tree.

Oh yeah, the tree!


Tree is in the house, in the stand and sucking down water like there’s no tomorrow. But it’s not decorated yet. We’ll get there. Eventually.

I desperately need to buckle down and do some commission sewing. But I don’t wanna. Which means I’m getting a gold medal in procrastination.

But I have been putting in some good time on my last scheduled piece of deadline knitting. Bagstopper #4 is well into the second skein. Yay, quick knits!


Since it’s Weaving Wednesday and the loom is on the shelf until after the first of the year, I’m going to lock myself in the dungeon and sew. All. Day. Or until I’m done. Whichever one comes first. Gotta turn these into a pair of quilt tops.


Send cookies.

One Year Ago

Lots of people are talking about what happened 30 years ago today. Under normal circumstances, that would be at the front of my mind as well.

But it’s important to me that I tell you all about something that happened one year ago today.

I had been running around like a crazy person for the previous few weeks doing work stuff. Worked a normal Saturday at the store and spent my Sunday enjoying a Quilters University type thing at The Quilt Company.

I knew there was an M&Ms meeting scheduled at Sandy’s house in Monrovia, Calif., the following day (Monday). When I got home from the quilting thing, I had an email from Sandy saying that the meeting was postponed indefinitely because our good friend Carol was in the hospital. Nothing serious, but the group would wait until Carol could attend.

Photo courtesy of mehitabel. Taken at Asilomar in the spring of 2008.

I hunkered down with my work laptop and started compiling the week’s softball scores. And watching the Oscars. I was leaving in three days for a two-week trip to administer a pair of softball tournaments, so I had lots of stuff going on. I fired off a “feel better soon” text message to my friend, then got down to work.

At one of our first block exchanges for the M&Ms group

I had finished my work and was waiting only for the Best Picture Oscar to be announced. Just as Steven Spielberg (I think?) stepped to the microphone to read off the nominees for Best Picture, my cell phone rang. When I saw who was calling, I looked over at Chris (the Hubster) and said "This is not going to be a good call." Sadly, I was right.

It was Sandy. She was sobbing. Carol had passed away earlier that day.

L-R: Carol, Lisa and Sandy helping me pack prior to our move from LA to Pittsburgh. Only the bestest friends will come and help you pack your stash for a cross-country move, especially when you have dueling quilting and knitting stashes!

This obituary ran in the Pasadena Star-News on Friday and was sent to me by mehitabel. I met Carol’s husband, Ole, several times and he was one of my few blog readers during the early days. He said it was one of the best ways to see what kind of mischief Carol was up to. He was very quiet, but always had a smile. I can’t imagine the depth of his loss.

Living on the other side of the country from where I met and got to know Carol, it has been hard for me to really believe that she is gone. And yet, I see the effects. If the M&Ms group is still intact, it has fractured from its original form. I believe that the group has continued without me this year. I understand that – I’m 2,500 miles away, I was a nightmare last year with all of my crappy summer stuff, and Carol was always the one who kept me in the loop. Carol was the glue. Without her, the pieces are separating.

Carol Jacobsen was the happiest, most giving and generous person I have ever met. Everyone was busy the last night I was in California, and several people dropped out of our planned final dinner. But not Carol. It wound up being just the two of us at Outback for dinner. She had some going away presents for me and we had a great visit before I headed east.

I don’t have the right words to express what an amazing person Carol was. And I know that no matter how much I try, I won’t be able to do her justice. So I’ll simply close by saying that I loved her very much and my world is not the same now that she is gone.

Godspeed, my friend. You are missed.

Many Different Herring

It’s been lots of little different things around here lately.

Alexis is blocked and ready to be seamed (once I un-pin the pieces from the basement floor)



Second gumdrop sock is on the needles



The sky looked cool while I was chauffeuring the Hubster back from work on Monday



And yesterday (Tuesday), getting home really sucked because of this. No pics of my own, but yeah. More photos on this link.

I had a little yard work to do on Monday and noticed that the bulbs my mom planted along the back fence are a little confused



Here’s hoping they make it to spring!

In other news, I need to start sewing again, and I’m taking suggestions. Option #1 is to make a quilt (probably queen sized) out of these squares:



They’re 6” squares, all different batiks, and there are enough to make a queen sized quilt.

I also have kits from The Quilt Company for:

Daybreak Quilt
Diamond Mine
French Braid (queen sized again)

Help. I need someone to tell me what to do next ‘cause I can’t decide.

2009 In Review

It appears that it was a rather prolific year of crafting here at chez DPUTiger. The mosaic maker can only accept 36 photos for the mosaic, and I was just under the wire with 35 finished project posts!

There are two additional projects that have been sent out for some level of finishing. You’ll see those again in 2010. Meanwhile, I was able to sew more in 2009, which is a good thing and something I hope to continue into 2010.

The final tally includes four scarfs (Noro Scarf II, Bright Stripes, JC’s Moebius, Stealth/NU Scarf), nine pairs of adult socks (Leyburns, Cloning Anemone, Holidazed, SB09, Smurf Killers, Erin’s Socks, Calvin & Ripple, Christmas Class, Holiday Holidazed), three pairs of hand coverings (Knucks, Postwar Mittens, Lychee Mittens), five quilts (Picnic Plaid, Pineapple, Baby Bargello, Pumpkinstein, Quilt for Tiffany), three bags (Bagstoppers 1, 2 and 3), five adult sweaters (Cabled Vest, Yin-Yang, Mondo Vest, Side-to-Side, Big Thaw), four baby items (Ellie’s Eco Tulip, Nephew Tulip, Baby Bobbi Bears), two Christmas Stockings, one cowl (Christmas in the Country) and a Hippopotamus.



1. Noro Scarf II, 2. Leyburn Socks, 3. Knucks, 4. Cloning Anemone Socks, 5. Holidazed Socks, 6. Cabled Vest, 7. Postwar Mittens, 8. Softball Socks 2009, 9. Picnic Plaid quilt, 10. PPPPineapple Quilt, 11. Everlasting Bagstopper, 12. Bagstopper #2, 13. Yin-Yang Bolero, 14. Baby Bargello Quilt, 15. Ellie’s Eco Tulip, 16. Nephew Tulip, 17. Smurf Killer Socks, 18. Erin’s Socks, 19. Mondo Cable Vest, 20. Bright Stripes Scarf, 21. Side-to-Side Vest, 22. JC’s Moebius, 23. Calvin & Ripple Socks, 24. Christmas Class Socks, 25. Pumpkinstein, 26. Bagstopper #3, 27. Baby Quilt for Tiffany, 28. Big Thaw, 29. Baby Bobbi Bears, 30. Lychee Mittens, 31. Christmas Stockings, 32. A Hippopotamus for Christmas, 33. Holiday Holidazed, 34. Stealth/NU Scarf, 35. Christmas in the Country Cowl

Links go to the finished object blog posts for that particular project. Thanks for playing along here at Have Projects, Will Travel and we will look to continue with more of the same in 2010! (Minus the Craptastic Summer of Suck ™ I hope. I admit to being happy that 2009 is just about in the rear-view mirror.)

I've been participating in a Ravelry STASH KAL since Labor Day, and I've used 40 skeins and 7,180 yards of stash yarn in finished projects. The KAL is re-setting on January 15. I don't plan any additional yarn purchases between now and the start of the KAL and my weakness seems to be sales (hi, Mom!). If I can stay away from sales, then a tiny bit of club yarn should be all that enters the house between now and the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival. Here's hoping I can stick to that plan!

Happy New Year everyone! Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2010 and thanks for reading my blog!

Small Things for Small People

Some of you may remember this pile of color that appeared a few months ago on this here bloggity blog



One of the Thursday Night knitters at Bloomin Yarns was due to have a baby girl at the end of August and the whole group wanted to do something for Tiffany. Since we had a wide range of skill level and experience among our knitters, we picked the strip-knit blanket “invented” by Denny at Lettuce Knit and blogged by the Yarn Harlot about two years ago. (it’s most of the way down that link.

I did knit a strip for the blanket and was tasked with putting it all together. Tiffany’s daughter arrived on August 31, and the group presented the blanket shortly thereafter. Here it is spread out on a bush outside the store



We used various colors of Kollage Yarns Cornucopia. Tiffany has been very impressed with the yarn (corn! Who knew!) and recommends it for anyone knitting for a baby.

Way back during the Craptastic Summer of Suck™, you probably remember that my Jetta died and was replaced by my new Rav4.

Well, Tiffany’s husband got us set up at the dealership and buying that new car was easier than I ever could have imagined. Completely painless! Tiffany and her hubby refused any kind of thank-you on our part for their assistance, but I figured out a way around that. Baby gift!



This is a kit from The Quilt Company for Karen Montgomery’s “Oh Baby” pattern. All of the non-border strips are already cut for you and it went together very quickly! I liked it enough that I bought it again in blue for my nephew – I’ll unveil that one once it’s gotten its bath.

Meet Pumpkinstein

You’ve seen this quilt in various stages of unfinished, from the very early days of this ‘ol bloggity blog, and more recently as a just-pieced top.

It was unearthed about a month ago, and finished on Monday. Photographed with my D90 just before I shipped it out for repair, then immediately up on the wall. I figured Halloween would be a good day for the “big unveiling.”



I probably started this thing shortly after the magazine was published. In the fall of 2005 (September/October 2005 Quiltmaker, if you’re curious). I remember seeing the sample at Bearly Stitchin. I know there was a class that (I think) I couldn’t take because of my work schedule. I don’t think I bought a kit, but I know several of my running buddies and I at least started doing this quilt.



I have a template plastic cutout of the half-pumpkin. I’m sure I used that to trace the shape onto fusible web. The blocks were laid out, photographed digitally in a long-lost photo, and pressed left or right so they would nest properly when it came time to piece the quilt. When I pulled out this quilt last month, I was certain I had more zig-zagging to do, but I didn't. So the blocks were trimmed down and the top was pieced in a morning at The Quilt Company.



The quilting pattern on the border was in the magazine with the quilt. I traced it onto Golden Threads paper, needle-punched as many copies as I needed, and was off to the races.



Did my now-standard computer-printed label, made a hanging sleeve out of the backing fabric and went on a hand-sewing mini-marathon



Craptastic photo just to show you where this quilt is hanging. I was standing in my front doorway to take this picture



All in all, I’m very happy that it’s done. I love seeing it on my wall and will enjoy it (seasonally) for many years to come! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wednesday Again!

Wow. Where have the last seven days gone?

So it’s been fairly crafty around here. I finished my Calvin sock, but you don’t really get to see it until the pair is finished. I did cast on the toe for my Ripple sock last night



Yep. I’m knitting the top-down Ripple sock toe-up. Yes, I have the designer’s permission!

Once again, there’s equal-if-not-more quilting going on versus knitting.

The Nephew Quilt is finished and just needs a bath


It’s not officially finished. Still needs a bath!

I finished off the Bali Pops-A-Lot quilt. Got the borders on it on Tuesday morning at The Quilt Company and found a great purple flannel backing for it yesterday afternoon at a new-to-me store, Sew Much Fun! in McMurray. I’ll get the backing pieced today, so it will be ready to send north on Sunday with my mother.



The parentals are heading up to the Lake on Sunday to close the cottage for the year. The wonderful longarm quilter who did my Pineapple quilt has two quilts of my mother’s finished, so hopefully mom can pick up her quilts and drop mine off in one fell swoop.

That Pumpkin quilt from last week? It’s now pinned and ready for quilting. If piecing the Pops-A-Lot back doesn’t take too long today, I’ll start quilting on that.

So that’s about it from here. Not all that exciting, but I’m enjoying myself!

A Working Wednesday

I’m pre-writing this blog post and will drop in photos in the morning. We’ll see if this plan works at all, or if it’s a gigantic failure.

I went up to The Quilt Company yesterday (Tuesday) and sewed! With a group! For nearly three hours! The two California quilty friends who still read my blog may remember this quilt, since it was quite popular about three years ago.



I got it totally pieced yesterday and am going to sandwich it today and get quilting. I’m also gonna sandwich this one:



It’s gonna be for my nephew. He’s scheduled to arrive around Thanksgiving, but is making noises about showing up sooner rather than later. Here’s hoping he waits a few more weeks before he makes his big arrival. (Sister-in-law is on bedrest. UGH!)

Today is a mini-oasis in an avalanche of finished projects. I have two more still to show you! But there is still knitting being done. Namely, my Calvin & Ripple socks for the Q4 Socks that Rock KAL over on Ravelry.



There’s also some super sekrit knitting going on, but you’re just going to have to trust me on that one (or go peek at my Ravelry projects if you are so inclined.)

I’m hoping for a big sewing day today, then some knitting tonight. Fingers crossed, I’m off to the races!

Camera Clean-Out

I take most of my pictures on the Nikon D90 I got for Christmas. But my Canon point-and-shoot takes better Roaming Tigger photos and is easier to bring along on “outings.” It’s been a while since I downloaded the photos on my Canon, but I did that tonight. Let’s see what RT and I have been up to!



This was a quilt shop in Salem, Va. Located basically halfway between my hotel and the field for the Division II softball championship. Great shop, and I got a LOT of fabric for an average price of $3.50/yard if I remember correctly. That was part of what I did on birthday-eve. Which was in May. No website, but if you’re in the neighborhood, it’s worth stopping by.



On my actual birthday (May 24), I managed to meet up with Zarzuela and HWJF (her fiancée) for dinner in Roanoke, Va. It was a nice coincidence that they were in Roanoke for an overnight stop en route to bassoon camp while I was in Salem for work. Great to meet them both, and it was a wonderful way to spend my birthday evening!



About a week later, I was in Norman, Okla., which is only about half an hour south of Oklahoma City, home of the Women’s College World Series. In July of 2008, I got a desperate Ravelry message from “L” of L&B Yarn Co. begging to purchase two skeins of a discontinued Noro Silk Garden from my stash. I agreed, and she sent me a VERY VERY generous gift certificate. Which I spent on my visit. Awesome!



While at the Lake on vacation the first week in August, Mom and I field tripped to The Quilt Farm in Boston, N.Y. It’s not close to much of anything, but they have a HUGE amount of fabric in that barn (website says 7,000+ bolts. I believe it!) and it’s well worth the drive. Roaming Tigger stayed at the cottage that day, which is why he’s not pictured. Beach bum!



The next day was the opening day of the TKGA/CGOA Show in Buffalo. While lots and lots of knitters were having a blast at Sock Summit, I was at this thing. RT and I got two skeins of sock yarn and two pieces of jewelry. Marketplace was “meh.” We didn’t do classes or anything else, just the marketplace.



RT wanted to play with the buffalo in the convention center lobby on the way out



We thought the colorful one was much more fun.



On the way home, we stopped to buy booze



Drove down Rt. 20, which is now the Tim Russert Memorial Highway



Which takes you past Ralph Wilson Stadium (it’s hard to take a good RT photo from a moving car)



And evidence for why I haven’t cast on the second sock for my pair-in-progress. They’re bleeding like nobody’s business. I don’t even carry the yarn with my left hand (the hand with rings). That’s the hand that pushes stitches up onto my left needle to be worked. No fun! You can see the path of the working yarn on my right – ringless – hand. It’s a recipe for SSS (second sock syndrome).

OK! Now you’re all caught up. We’ll see what bloggy things I can come up with this week.