Seahawks Quilt

My nephew has very specific preferences when it comes to quilts. Years back he asked me for a quilt based on Marvel Comics characters. It was a challenge then because I hated the licensed fabric and after much thought settled on a version I could stomach. However he loved it and uses it to this day. Did I tell you he is my favorite nephew. :)

When I moved to Seattle I decided to make him a big boy quilt now that he is much older and my quilting skills are a bit more advanced. He immediately said he would like a Seahawks quilt. Deja vu all over again. I dislike the Seahawks licensed fabric. I bought some but it just lay around as I could not think of anything that I'd rather make. Finally I decided to ditch the idea and go a different route. In the meantime I gave him a raincheck. He did not know what a raincheck was but looked it up and reminded me ever so often that he is still waiting for his quilt!

Finally three years later I am ready to give it to him on his 11th birthday. I started with a small coloring book image of the Seahawks logo and enlarged it  by 400% at Kinkos. Then I used that to make the image. The Kona cottons that match the Seahawks colors are:

• Navy
• Cadet
• Chartruese
• White
• Ash

Took a lot of patience and accurate X-Acto knife skills. :)

I ironed the fabric on to Pellon fusible interfacing, which made it easier to handle and could be cut with a lot more accuracy.

Once I was done with the logo had to think of what to put it on. I happened to see a banner during one of the football games on TV and decided that was the way to go. Needed to quilt the background first and then stick the logo on it. The navy fabric is really hard to photograph indoors so please bear with the off-color pictures, in some cases.

For the backing I used up all the Seahawk's licensed fabric and the leftovers from the front. Abby was having a field day helping me!

For the quilting I got a bit ambitious and decided to quilt little footballs. Experimented with a few versions of the ball and finally settled on one. I made a little template so I could quickly draw it before quilting. This took a while especially since the quilt is 80" x 86" in size.

I only quilted the Navy blue sections with footballs for the rest I used a meandering square pattern. I even quilted his name and no. 12 in one section. Once again the blues are really hard to photograph from up close, not to mention the Navy really shows all the lint from the batting.

Finished it with Chartruese binding, a label and an encouraging message for the true football fan!

Thanks for reading along. It has been a while since I have finished a quilt, it feels good to get this one done!

Granny Stripe Blanket

Finally finished the Granny Stripe Blanket from Purl Soho. I have been wanting to make this blanket the minute I saw it but they did not have the pima cotton pure yarn in stock. Finally after months of waiting I finally managed to get my hands on the heather gray spool of yarn. The blanket is fairly easy to make. The texture is absolutely awesome.

I paired this with a purple skein of Peruvian pima cotton from Cascade yarns. Finished this just in time for spring. This one is definitely for me.

Making Socks

Since my foray into crochet last year, knitting was a natural progression. However I have enough scarves and beanies so decided to go for the next most useful thing socks. I know a beginner knitter rarely starts with socks but in my opinion it was the most useful thing to make. Something that I would use regularly.

I began to look into how to knit socks and what was the simplest way to knit up a pair of socks. I inquired from sock knitters at the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild and Jaci Bartol pointed me to the book Socks From The Toe Up by Wendy Johnson. I would not say this was the easiest read but I stuck to the simple sock pattern. 

For the supplies I got some expert help from my local yarn shop Tea Cozy Yarn. Jean is extremely helpful and set me up with some Addi Rockets in size 2mm and 1mm. She recommended that I start with 2mm circular needles and once I am comfortable for the next pair switch over to 1mm circular needles. I picked Perfect Pair Regia sock yarn by Arne and Carlos for my first pair. I must say it was not the perfect pair of socks but wearable and I loved them.

After the success of the first pair I decided to make a second one. This time I felt brave enough to use the 1mm circular needle and try making two socks at the same time so that I have two socks the exact same size. I picked this lovely aubergine hand dyed yarn from Tea Cozy Yarn. The advantage of having a LQS a short walk away. It felt absolutely luxurious. This time I decided to add a bit of texture to the sock and followed a diamond pattern.

I absolutely love this pair. Purple is my favorite color and I seemed to have embraced it more in yarn than I ever did with quilts. With this pair done I decided it was time to up my game a little more and quickly started on the next pair, cable socks this time. Once again Jean hooked me up with a cable needle and I see cable socks in my near future.

Operation sock drawer is in the works for 2018. Maybe it is time to upgrade my skills and knit a cardigan perhaps. I would love one in ochre.