I came across this pattern and yarn in late September/early October and I knew they'd make perfect Christmas gifts, but that I needed to get working or I'd never finish them in time. I have a rule about my craft projects. I'm allowed one knitting project and one quilting project at a time and I can't buy NEW supplies until I finish the projects I've started. It keeps me moving forward and stops me from having piles and piles of supplies for projects I never start because the excitement passes before I can even start the project.
So, even though that's my rule, and I still had a blanket on my knitting needles, I put that aside for a few months so I could work on these mittens. They turned out great, and actually knit up pretty quickly. I made a total of three pairs - one for Mom (blue), one for Jennifer (purple) and one for Sue (green).
The pattern and yarn are by Purl Soho (one of my go to brands). The pattern was called Celestial Mittens and had the option for fingerless (which I chose) or a full glove. The colorwork is beautiful and keeps you thinking (and counting) as you knit.
I finished these sets just a few days before Christmas so they were ready to gift without me having to give out one glove and an IOU - but, this year I'm starting earlier! In fact, against my rule for the second time, I just ordered 4 skeins of yarn for what just might end up being Christmas presents for next year. We'll see how the first one turns out but I sure will feel smug if I've already got hand made items tucked away 10 months before Christmas.
And, on the quilting front - above is the first quilt I've made since 2020! In 2020 I quilted soooo many things that somehow I lost my steam. I remember that it took me a long time to find an inspiring pattern and fabric, but I bought the kit for this quilt back in the summer of 2021 and it sat in the basement waiting for a moment of inspiration that just never came. Back around Thanksgiving I started cutting fabric and then I packed up this project for the holidays (because my quilting table became the train table for the Christmas season). But, in January I finally decided I was in the mood to quilt and honestly, this might be one of my all time favorite quilts! The pattern is made almost entirely of half square triangles (HST) which are a relatively easy block to make. It's the layout and the wide array of colors that makes the quilt so interesting. I liked it so much that I actually just placed and order to make another, in a totally different colorway.
The pattern for this quilt is called Begonia and the fabric is from a line called Speckled by Rashida Coleman-Hale. The finished quilt size will be 72x72 - PERFECT for a lap blanket.
But, before I can start on that I have to finish this second quilt I had planned (see, I've been breaking my one project at a time rule quite a bit lately and the guilt is pushing me to finish some things up!). This quilt will eventually be for our bed in the summer time - our second bed quilt. I love the colors (light greens and creams) and while it's really hard to see in the pictures below it's a mix of solids and prints. The block themselves are pretty slow going. Each color combo makes 2 blocks and it takes me about an hour to piece together a color set. The entire quilt has 30 something blocks in it and right now I'm about 1/3 of the way through them. The good news is though, once the blocks are done it'll be quick from there. Each block is around 16 inches so I'm working through the time consuming piecing now, but once all 30 blocks are assembled it'll turn into a big queen sized bed quilt pretty quickly.
I'll fully finish this quilt before starting on the second Begonia quilt I have on order.
And - last but not least...the knitted blanket I've been chipping away at since we returned from Yellowstone. And, guys, it's not like I haven't been working on this! Other than the few months I took off to knit up those Christmas gloves, the blanket has been my crafting focus for nearly 6 months! It's going to be perfect for summer. It's light, knitted on size 3 needles, I'm currently in that stage where it feels like you knit and knit forever and the blanket never grows and the yarn doesn't disappear. But, I think I'm about to turn the corner where all of a sudden you're nearing the end and you can see all of your hard work coming to life.
It's admittedly slow going, but come on! It looks amazing! I'm really proud of this one.
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