Posts

Memorial Day - 2023

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Cheyenne National Cemetery  Cheyenne, WY Wyoming’s first national cemetery was dedicated in October 2020

Stash Knitting

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May 2023 This month I’ve been focused on fabric scraps and stash knitting because I hope to get both under control. Since April, I’ve knit four pair of socks - all knit with Patons Kroy Socks, so that’s EIGHT balls of yarn (a pair of socks requires two 50 gram balls) out of my yarn stash.  This pair used Brown Rose Marl (#55017) and I had 28 grams remaining (13 grams for one sock and 15 grams for the other). I love the colors and of course, I love the stripes! 

Stacks of Scraps

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Last week I tackled the 2.5” scrap bin. I pulled all the smaller pieces and short strips and began making strip sets to be cut into two-patch units and then sewed into four-patch units. After two days of sewing, pressing and trimming, I had 180 four-patches — enough to begin assembling a Quilt of Valor kit started at Marilyn’s earlier this month.  Unfortunately, all this sewing barely made a dent in the scrap bin. 

A Mystery - Patons Kroy Socks

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Recently, I finished a pair of socks for my sister knit with Patons Kroy Socks yarn. I had 36 grams (out of 100 grams) remaining. I just finished another pair of socks knit with Patons Kroy Socks, using the same pattern, same number of stitches, same size, and the same needles. I had 9 grams (out of 100 grams) remaining. I finished another pair in April and had 28 grams remaining.  Why the difference? I’m uncertain, but the yarn for the most recent pair (the Grey Marl) does seem to have more “ body or bulk” to it.  I’ve never run out of yarn when knitting socks for my size 10 feet, but this time, one ball was pretty close.  Of all the sock yarn I’ve knit, Patons Kroy produces the more substantial product, and it wears extremely well.      Yarn :  Patons Kroy Socks (two balls — 100 grams total)              Grey Marl  #55045 Needles :  US size 2 — 64 stitches Remaining Yarn :  9 grams total              7 grams from one ball              2 grams from the other ball I know some of you

New to Me Technique - Flying Geese

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ten 12.5 inch star blocks April 2023 The Stacked Stars quilt posted on Monday required ten star blocks, and the pattern introduced me to a “new” technique to make quick and accurate flying geese with minimal waste. I’m sure others are familiar with this method, but it’s the first time I’ve made such accurate and easy flying geese. I took photos of the process, and I’ll link the instructions at the end of this post.  It seemed odd to begin with two different sized squares. Once I marked the diagonal lines on the squares, I sewed on the stitch line and cut down the middle. The resulting HSTs were pressed with the seam toward the larger triangle.  The pressed HSTs were placed on top of each other and marked again on the diagonal and stitched, Note that the seams DO NOT nest on these HSTs. Once sewn, the pieces are cut apart.  I snipped to the stitch line so the units can be pressed.  The snipped seam allows the units to swivel, so the seams can be pressed AWAY from the flying geese.  The

Stacked Stars

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Stacked Stars 61 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #237 Stacked Stars was made using Lisa Sutherland’s Huzzah #4 pattern. I used a cheater fabric for the center column instead of piecing the red/white stripes called for in the pattern. A lot of the fabric used in this quilt was donated by Ann D. in February of this year. Thank you, Ann for making this QOV possible.