More Sew Alongs

If these don't keep you busy during the year--I don't know what will!

Quilt Doodles Doodles will begin the new year on January 15th

with a new Block of  the Month--Grandma's Attic-- traditional

sampler quilt--maybe a stash buster but two colors would be

nice also--a main color and white/cream background.

There will be 12 blocks

Another quilt that begins January 15--Moda Block Heads 3!

It will launch with 14 Block Heads (Designers) and total of 56 blocks.

Take a look at Block Head 2

Make A Scrappy Quilt began January 1-runs through Jan 16

• Jan 1 to Jan 16 we'll make a Scrap Happy Quilt!
• Dig through your fabric
• Decide on Colors
• Get ready to Sew blocks on Jan 1
• Jan 8 we'll sew more blocks 
• Jan 16 show off a top and enter in my quilt show and I'll have a giveaway!! 

Childhood Games Mystery

• Starts Jan 22
• Runs 19 weeks  to May 27
• Several block sizes
• Pieced blocks 
• ALL EASY to do! 
• Fat Quarter Friendly
• Fun and Happy just like a Childhood game should be!

From My Carolina Home   

charm packs and 5" squares will make this delightful quilt

beginning January 17th!

Roc Day--Treadling On!

Distaff Day, also called Roc Day, is 7 January, the day after the feast of the Epiphany. It is also known as Saint Distaff's Day, one of the many unofficial holidays in Catholic nations.
Many St. Distaff's Day gatherings were held, large and small, throughout local fiber community. The distaff, or rock, used in spinning was the medieval symbol of women's work.
In many European cultural traditions, women resumed their household work after the twelve days of Christmas. Women of all classes would spend their evenings spinning on the wheel. During the day, they would carry a drop spindle with them. Spinning was the only means of turning raw wool, cotton or flax into thread, which could then be woven into cloth.
Men have their own way of celebrating this occasion; this is done through Plough Monday. It is the first Monday after Epiphany where men are supposed to get back to work.
Every few years, Distaff Day and Plough Monday falls on the same day. Often the men and women would play pranks on each other during this celebration, as was written by Robert Herrick in his poem "Saint Distaffs day, or the Morrow After Twelfth Day" which appears in his Hesperides.
Some modern craft groups have taken up the celebration of Distaff day as part of their new year celebrations.

And since January 7, 2020 falls on midweek day, our Roc Day celebration will take place the weekend before--January 4 or the weekend following, January 11.  We gather our spindles, our wheels, fibers and food (food is always encouraged!) and meet at a central location.  

luscious fibers to spin.............

a chance to try a new fiber or spinning technique

an opportunity to see how one spinner uses her wheel

questions answered and topics discussed

Oh, yes, a chance to spin on a flax wheel

and see what exactly a distaff is and how it works

Always a spindle or two in sight--this one spinning silk hankies

Ah, yes a chance for the spinners and weavers to get back to their wheels and looms after a long holiday sleep--treadle on!

This is a repeat of post from January, 2014

Twelfth Night Becomes Mardi Gras Season

As the twelfth night of Christmas rolls around, I should be finished with my 12 days of Knitmas--well, not...................I pooped out about 5 days in--it's become another UFO in my stash!

You can bet your bottom dollar, I will participate in Carnival season with King Cake!  Oh yes, the delicious once a year 'bread' that lasts for the whole of Mardi Gras--which means bakeries will be producing lots and lots of King Cakes until Fat Tuesday eve, February 25, 2020.



Here is a video on how to make your own King Cake--but, I'll be visiting many local bakeries to pick one up for our enjoyment.  For our January Spin-in, the person who receives the baby is asked to bring King Cake the next day--as we meet for five days--we have lots of King Cake!!

"Epiphany" or twelfth night is known to Christians--the word comes from Greek that means "To show" just as Jesus showed himself to the three wise men and to the world on this day.

• The king cake is a tradition brought to New Orleans from France in 1870.
• It’s an oval shaped cake that tastes like a cross between a cinnamon roll and a french pastry.
• It is decorated in the colors green, gold and purple. Green is meant to symbolize faith, gold is power and purple which represents justice.
• It is supposed to represent the crown of the three wise men who visited Jesus.
• A plastic baby is hidden in the cake to represent the baby Jesus. Whoever finds the baby in their cake, is named “king for the day” and is supposed to host the party the next year.

Maybe, you'll have King Cake at your festivities this year!  

Book of Psalm 23 in Stitches

What a lovely way to begin January 2020--stitching one of my favorite

Bible verses?  Jenny offers these free patterns to all that would

come to her website and partake.

You have the opportunity to complete all thirteen stitcheries; one on the cover and twelve inside on the pages. Nine of the pages are the complete passages from Psalm 23 and the other three are pretty 'extras' without scripture.

Here is the first page of the book--Jenny has numerous tutorials on her

blog to assist you with your stitching--this stitch along runs from January

to October.  

I'm thinking this will be a great gift for my mother, who is turning 100--

there isn't much you can give her,

but this would little book would be perfect!

Happy stitching!

INside Out--Challenge for 2020!

Happy New Year!  Welcome 2020!  I love the sound of 2020--it means each day is a new adventure--a chance to make a difference in my life or someone else--to be kind--encouraging and feel blessed!
And best of all--to learn new skills--e.g. like:

the challenge of knitting inside out!  Say what??  fascinating knitting term--

This is a mystery sock beginning today!! and it's free!

Designed by KnittyMelissa, who has her own Youtube channel

and you can find the pattern on Ravelry

Below is her instructional video Knitting Inside Out

The name is inspired by the Robert Frost poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.” These socks would be perfect to wear as you take a moment to stop and watch the woods fill up with snow.

Materials:

• Fingering weight sock yarn – 48 (52, 56, 60) grams main color (MC) and 38 (40, 42, 44) grams contrast color (CC). The charts are written for a darker MC. It is recommended that MC be solid. The CC can be solid, speckled, tonal, or very lightly variegated. There should be good contrast between the yarns and no overlapping colors. Note that yarn usage is dependent on gauge and foot length. For tighter gauge or longer-than-average feet, you may need more of each color.
• One US size 1 (2.25mm) circular needle, 32” or longer
• One US size 1.5 (2.5mm) circular needle, 32” or longer (optional for colorwork)
• Locking/removable stitch markers & tapestry needle

This pattern is written for magic loop but can be adapted to your preferred needle type.

Four Sizes:
Small - 60 sts (Medium - 68 sts, Large - 76 sts, XL – 84 sts)

Gauge:
8 or 9 spi (stitches per inch) in 2-color stranded colorwork

• At 9 spi, the sock will be 6.7” (7.5”, 8.4”, 9.3”) in circumference.
• At 8 spi, the sock will be 7.5” (8.5”, 9.5”, 10.5”) in circumference.

Preparing for 2020

How do you prepare for a new Year?  Make resolutions?  Goals?  Challenges?

Here is my goal for 2020:  to finish at least two (yes 2) UFO's before I begin a new UFO!

My UFO's are known!  Here is another new UFO to begin--I've gathered my reds, pinks and whites
for this fun sew along.

Fort Worth Fabric Studio has a Valentine adventure beginning 

Monday, January 6--and I love the fabric colors

I have a bunch of reds ready for Valentine hanging--they are

UFO's for another project that I didn't manage to do--I'm covering

two goals with one-- :-)

And to begin the twelve days of Knitmas, I'm knitting along with

Nomadic Knits--they had two choices of yarn groups--naughty or nice--

believe me, I have plenty of those yarns.  

Each day for 12 days after Christmas, we receive a clue--

I'm happy to have something else to work with my hands while i

wait for January to begin....

January--knitting adventures begin

Sometimes January can bring on the blues--

and you go into a slump after all the festivities

of the holidays

Not when you are planning new knitting adventures!

Find at Ravelry!

Key Features

• This cowl is a tubular shape, knit from the bottom up with fingering weight yarn.
• Heather’s sample measures 24” (61 cm) circumference and 14” (35.5 cm) tall.
• Stitches Used: Most stitches are based on knits and purls with some variation to challenge you (nothing super hard!). There are videos for stitches that can benefit from further explanation.
• Difficulty: Adventuresome Beginner through Advanced Knitter
• Clues will be sent to your library as automatic updates on January 1, 5, 11, 14 & 20 by 9 AM EST (-4:00 UTC)

Materials Needed:
Yarn: Fingering weight yarn, 400 y (366 m).
This cowl has been tested with single ply & plied fingering weight. The cowl will look best in solid, soft tonal or gentle gradient yarns. Variegated, self-stripe or speckled yarns will hide the beauty of your creation. Lace weight yarn held doubled may be a bit of a challenge. Using multiple colors of yarns or scraps may compete with the stitches in the cowl.

Needles: Size 3 (3.25 mm) circular needles (16 - 20”/41-51 cm length)

Gauge: 26 sts = 4” (10 cm) in stockinette stitch, blocked—Exact gauge is not crucial, but it will affect the size of the cowl & yardage requirements.

Notions: BOR st marker, tapestry needle, optional beading tool.

Optional Beads: 68 6/0 seed beads.

Another great year of knitting by one of my favorite designers--

Toni Lorenz--4th year "Knitting in the Loft" Ravelry group

Never mind I didn't complete last year's Japanese knitting--

I'm still in for this one!  Always a learning time!

Another favorite!  Yes, Elizabeth Ravenwood designs

awesome patterns.  This is a year long knitting adventure

This pattern is found on Patternvine

Finished Size: Approx. 9"/ 23 cm wide and 75" / 190 cm long Materials: 460 yds / 421 meters fingering weight yarn Size 5US / 3.75mm circular needles Size 5US / 3.75mm double-pointed needles or short, straight needles (optional) 2 stitch markers Size 8/0 or 6/0 beads (optional) – the number of beads will depend on the glitz you want