Knitting project planning

I have been knitting another baby jumper at the moment, this will be a present for my work colleague who is due her first baby in June. I am pleased with this as I started it on knit night on 31st March and I have now completed the back, both fronts and one sleeve. I started the second sleeve at knit night last night. I am pleased at how quickly I have made progress on this and it has been helped by knitting on my lunch breaks at work. I do get some interesting comments from people though!

The reason for the focus on knitting recently is because I have had some problems with my sewing machine, I spoke to my cousin about it over Easter and decided to check it in to the sewing machine shop to be sorted out. They say it might take two weeks.

Therefore I have been knitting and making patchwork more at the moment. I have been using some cotton thread for my quilt which is better than the polyester I was using on holiday, and at the weekend I bought some gutterman hand quilting thread which I am keen to try out.

My sister saw my infinity scarf when I was at my parents for Easter and requested one in purple. So I bought some lovely king Cole 100 percent merino in a lavender colour. However last night I saw some Knitcol trends and thought it was so bright and colourful I am now considering making it in that. 

King Cole - merino

Knitcol trends

I  have also discovered the Rowan knit along and I am going to join this. I was looking at the new rowan wool in the shop at the weekend and heard about it then, having read more about it online I am thinking of buying a few balls this weekend to start it. They are releasing small square patterns every week for about 10weeks. I really like the idea of the small squares and think they will be great to do on my lunch breaks, I just need to think more about what colours, do I go for multicoloured or a colour theme?

So it is safe to say I have lots of things planned I need to make sure I carry on with them, and try not to read about any more things I want to start for a while!

UFOs

I have been doing quite a bit of crafting lately but am getting to the point where I need to get some projects finished. Other things seem to get in the way.

I have also started to learn to knit about a month ago and it is going surprisingly well. I have tried to learn to knit before and never got very far, but I decided this time I will make sure I learn. This has been taking up most of my time, but I am pleased with my progress.
I picked it up quite quickly and am able to do alot more than I remember. So far I have knitted two practise squares and I am now knitting a cardigan. I have done the back and one front section, and currently working on the other front section, I would love to get this finished by Christmas to show my mum what I have made.
I am getting quite a bit of knitting done on my lunch breaks at work and have been doing it when watching films or TV, it is a bit easier to do than sewing or quilting when watching with someone else.

I have lots of ideas for projects and things I want to do, so have set myself a target to get my UFOs completed before starting any other projects.

Quilt - This is a work in progress for a Christmas present. needs to be done by Christmas. This should be ok, as I just have to cut the wadding and backing, quilt and bind it. DONE

Knitting - Cardigan for myself. Aim to complete by Christmas, or finish it over the Christmas time so mum can help me stitch it all up.

Cross stitch wall hanging- Not much to go on this, one image and then the boarder, I might need some more stranded cotton though. I want to have this finished by end of January. DONE

Liberty cushion - I have the back of the cushion to complete. I have hand paper pieced small stars, which seemed like a good idea but now I'm not sure how to join them at the moment. End of January.

1 Christmas present - I have not decided on this yet, but will possibly be a patchwork cushion. Will be finished by Christmas.



Quite a few things to fit in as I work full time and doing overtime most nights until Christmas so I mainly have the weekends. The quilt and the present are my priorities to complete.

I want to get these projects completed so that I can move on in new year and start to work on my projects more regularly.
 

My sewing machine is no longer naked!

My sewing machine lives on my desk next to my laptop and it is quite happy there. However I am fed up that every time I start sewing I have to dust it off, it just seems to attract dust. 

Dusty sewing machine :(

 This could be a hint that I need to clean more, however I decided I would make a cover for it instead. I found this lovely linen on fabricrehab.co.uk and decided to give it a go.

 

Firstly I made a practise cover from calico which I drew on and could unpick and move the seams without worrying about waste. This worked out well as I only had my sewing machine as a guide for the size. Essentually I started with two large rectangles and two thinner ones and adjusted the seams until it was a good fit.

calico with pins.

Then I cut the pattern fabric based on the calico cover with a seam allowance.

I had some issues with the cutting as I didn't quite have enough fabric, I had not ordered enough. Therefore one of the panels (typical that it is the front one!) is 3 sections stiched together. The square pattern on the fabric was useful for this and made the joins hander to see.

Front panel with sections

Next  I sewed up the four side seams, ironed and sewed the hem at the bottom.

Top section before sewing

Now for the top. Originally I was going to sew on a fifth panel as the top piece, however once I had cut the fabric I had cut it tall enough so that I could fold over the two sides and sew in the middle to complete it. This does mean that my sewing is rather visible, but I kept it as even as possible so it should look ok.

Finished cover

Cut away area for plug

My happy and tidy looking desk hurrah

I'm pleased with this and my desk looks alont neater now. Hopefully my sewing machine is pleased it will no longer get covered with dust!

New skills and materials used

• Cutting fabric for a pattern. Need to take my time doing this and not rush it. The first attempt was the wrong way round. 
• It is important to think hard before ordering fabric and double check measurements.

Shopping list

• Linen www.fabricrehab.co.uk
• Thread Gutermann green and orange