The Quilt

You may remember that I mentioned I was making a quilt - my first, in fact. I've always wanted a patchwork quilt, so much so, that I've spent all this time deliberating about what sort and how to make it. And then suddenly, a few weeks ago, I decided to just get on with it (always a good idea). I'd seen Alicia's quilt last summer and thought it look superb, and also pretty straight forward to make. I was right on both scores really, although I hadn't bargained for the amount of time it would take. However, it was totally worth it and I have learned alot about making quilts (her pattern, by the way, is an absolute joy to follow). Here is my attempt at an Alicia-style shot ...


... as you can see, I have a lot to learn about photographing things. To get the lovely rumply, crumply look you have to wash it and then dry it on a high setting so that it all scrunches up. It's quite scarey putting it in the dryer! I had visions of opening the door and finding a little doll's quilt inside. Anyhow, I am quite proud of this first attempt at quilting and I do think I will make another, at some point.


Last week, to make up for my rather crappy birthday, you may remember that I ventured into town and bought some books and some wool. Well, the cardigan I picked to knit is this one ...


... which comes from Rowan's Classic Alpaca Book (13) by Martin Storey. I thought it had a 1940's feel to it and would perhaps look good in the summer with a nice dress, or a pair of wide-leg trousers. The yarn I got is not Alpaca - the tension stated is the usual DK tension ( 22sts and 30 rows to 10cm), so I was able to pick any sort of DK yarn. I wanted a nice light cotton for the summer, so I ended up with Sirdar Calico which is 60% cotton and 40% acrylic, and machine washes at 40 degrees (hurrah). Luckily, the tension was spot on.


The colour is actually a sort of very, very pale lemon, rather than a cream. It's very nice to knit with - it's almost like the yarn has been moisturised - it's sort of creamy to the feel. This is my first attempt at cables and as you can see, the pattern only has one little bit of cable to cope with and is really quite easy once you get going. It's an 8 row pattern, so nothing too taxing, and I'm really enjoying knitting it.

Meanwhile, the boy and I did a spot of baking on Monday. Some delicous Spicey Apple and Prune muffins from Rachel Allen's new book Home Cooking. Yum blinking Yum. And healthy too! (oh dear ... look at the state of those finger nails - boys!!).

Well, it's my weekly Sewing Class tonight, which I love. I'm going to take my red tunic, which I started to make last week (to relieve a little of the tedium of quilting) and, of course, my lovely new machine!!