A Mermaid and A Shawl

November 4, 2021 My Time Stitching17 Comments

Hello, friends! So today I am going to chat about what is on my needles now; both knitting and cross stitch. Let’s start with the knitting. When my Mother-in-law visited in September, we went to the local yarn shop. The shop was having a Berroco Trunk show, and MIL found a shawl that she loved. She asked if I would knit it for her. Of course I agreed. I already had the book that the pattern was in, and she purchased the yarn. Last week I started it.

The pattern is the Marit Shawl and is in Berroca Book 428 – Topaz. It is also available on Ravelry. So I started it and it is the weirdest construction I have ever done. I am told it is Entrelec knitting. It is a little confusing at first, but I have learned that if I look ahead to see whether the next row is knitted on the right side or the wrong side, I am good to go. I think I just start second guessing myself and then confuse myself. The diagram included also helps. So I started knitting away on a 7 US needle.

I was getting the hang of the pattern and enjoying the knitting. I am not so sure about the yarn. It is Topaz from Berroco. It goes from thin to thick, hence the lumpy look in many spots. I need to grow to love this yarn as I purchased quite a bit of it in another colorway for a cardigan for myself. And then I happened to look up the pattern on Ravelry (I don’t even remember why) and noticed that my squares were a bit smaller that the picture. So I started looking at the stats and the Ravelry pattern suggests a size 9 US needle. What?? The book pattern suggests a 7 US needle. Oh my gosh! So I had to rip it all out. Yep, frogged the whole thing, and it was not easy. This yarn is a bit fuzzy, so it took me quite some time to try to carefully rip it all out. OK. On to start number two.

So on Tuesday I re-started the shawl. My squares are definitely bigger and it is going faster this time around.

This is where I left off last night. I will say that this pattern is so fun and at times, I say to myself, “one more block.” And then I have knitted 3 more. I just want to keep going with it. But usually I knit in the morning while having my coffee. I didn’t get to do that this morning, so I may be knitting “a few blocks” tonight. But evenings and nights are usually reserved for cross stitching. Which brings me to talk about what I am stitching X’s on these days.

When I finished The Dark Queen, I immediately went to my WIP stack and pulled out Pearl, of The Orient Seas from Bella Filipina. I started her in August of 2019.

This is what she looked like when I picked her up in October.

This pattern is very heavily beaded and has lots of Kreinik threads. So there is going to be lots of holes left for adding many, many beads in the end.

She has a very skinny body leading down to her tail. Oh good, that should go rather quickly. And then there is beautiful tail! Here is where I am at now.

She is coming along nicely and I am determined to stick with her until finished. I am stitching her on a one of a Kind 16ct aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

So, that is what I have been up to. What are you working on?

cross stitch · Fairies · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Passione Ricamo · yarn

Catching Up With Some Finishes

November 3, 2021 My Time Stitching11 Comments

Hello friends! Today was a lazy day and I didn’t get much done. It looks cold and gloomy outside, maybe that explains my mood today. Anyway, I promised a photo of my finished 20 Year Celebration piece.

Please excuse the wrinkles. It was on the scrolls for a long time. I can’t tell you how happy I am to finish this piece. It is so beautiful in person. I love the Round Robin feel to it. A little bit of 12 different designs by Passione Ricamo. I am still looking for a framer, but this piece definitely has to be framed. Another one out of the WIP pile!! I stitched this on 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky from Fabrics By Stephanie.

While I was finishing up the Jolie shawl, a local yarn dyer, AJHC Wools, posted a picture of her yarns in a pink to black fade that I absolutely fell in love with! So I checked my stash and ordered what I needed to make the Grevillea Shawl by Ambah O’Brien. Here are the yarns in all of their gloriousness:

Isn’t it just fabulous? I couldn’t wait to get started on it.

With every repeat of this pattern, I fell more and more in love. The pink section was so long. I was so happy to have added my first mini skein, Blizzard. And did you happen to see that adorable progress marker? A Starbucks coffee cup from my Best Stitchy Friend ❤

The colors are looking so awesome together! Four out of 10 so far!

Almost finished! Just one more mini skein to go!

I am so in love with this shawl! I love the long section of the light pink and the fade is so perfect! Just the blocking left to do. This shawl is the perfect example why blocking is necessary. The pattern is so blocky and lumpy. Here is a close-up.

The pattern is broken up into puffy squares and the lace pattern is barely visible. Blocking allows the fabric to lay flat and opens up the lace pattern. And here is the finished shawl, which I have already worn and LOVE it!

See how that lace opened up and the pattern isn’t puffy anymore. Love how this one turned out. Again, the pattern is the Grevillea Shawl by Ambah O’brien. Yarn is from AJHC Wools.

So that is it for my finishes from over the summer. Stop back again soon to see what is on my knitting needles and what I am cross stitching now. What are you stitching?

Autumn Lane Stitchery · Fairies · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Passione Ricamo

November??

November 2, 2021 My Time Stitching12 Comments

Hi! How can it be November already? The last post I made was in July! Everything is fine, just busy I suppose. I spent part of the summer getting the spare bedroom ready for my Mother-in-Law’s visit in September. That was fun. I turned it into “The Mermaid room”. My MIL really liked the room. She visited for a month and we had lots of fun. We visited the zoo, went to a wedding, went up north, did lots of shopping, knitting and I taught her to do Diamond Painting, which I think she really enjoyed.

So, let me back-track and see where I left off over the summer…Oh yes. The Jolie Shawl. I finished it and it turned out very nice. So soft and sparkly.

The pattern was from the July 2021 Seed Club from the Yarn Garden in Charlotte, Michigan. I don’t think the pattern is up on Ravelry yet, but you can contact the shop if you are interested. The yarn is from Britty Rae Knits and is just scrumptious.

I have also finished a cross stitch I was working on.

The Dark Queen is finished. I did leave off the corner elements and the crown. I also left off a ton of back stitching on her tentacles. Lots of gold lines and symbols. I thought her tentacles looked fine as is and that would have been way to much backstitching for me. I am not a fan of backstitch, so the less, the better 😉 Design is by Autumn Lane Stitchery. Fabric is 16ct Aida Iris from Fabrics by Stephanie.

I also finished these:

I have a few more finishes to share next time, including the full 20 Year Celebration.

So what have you been up to the last few months?

cross stitch · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Passione Ricamo

Rainy Days and Stitching

July 16, 2021 My Time Stitching15 Comments

This summer has been such a rainy summer so far. It is raining again today. Rainy days are perfect for being inside and crafting or snuggling up with a soft blanket and a good book. I usually spend mine crafting or cleaning. Today I did a little knitting and a little cross stitching. I will show you what I am cross stitching on, but first let me show you what I finished last week.

Well, she is not actually finished, but I finished section 11 and am now caught up. The 12th and final section will come out August 1. I am assuming it will be backstitching and beading. I did skip 2 elements; her crown and the corner ornaments. I am for sure leaving off the corner elements. I haven’t fully decided about the crown, but I am leaning towards leaving it off also. II think she looks fine the way she is. The fabric is 16ct Aida Iris and is actually purple and blue, but with all of the rainy days, I haven’t been able to get a good photo. Hopefully the next time I photograph her, I will capture her true colors. So now what am I cross stitching on?

I have pulled out the 20 Year Celebration from Passione Ricamo. I have the block I am working on to finish, and below this row, there is another row of 4 blocks to do. And then beading on all of the blocks. This is such a fabulous design and I will be so thrilled to finish it. The fabric is 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky. So perfect for all of the fairies.

Here is my progress on Jolie. It is a relaxing knit and the yarn is so nice to work with.

Can you see the sparkle? The yarn band says it is Gold Stellina, but it is clearly silver (which I prefer). I love it! This is going to be a light and airy shawl, so delicate. Yarn is from Britty Rae Knits.

So that is what I have been up to on this rainy day today. What do you like to do on rainy days?

Knitted Shawl · Knitting · yarn

What Is Off and On My Needles

July 14, 2021 My Time Stitching4 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! I hope all is well with you and that you are finding time to craft. A couple of weeks ago I was inspired by a post on Woolly Wednesday’s blog about making a Market Bag. I have had a pattern and yarn in my stash for a market bag for a couple of years now. So I pulled it out and got started on it.

The pattern is the Eastern Market Tote by Tanis Gray and it is a FREE pattern on Ravelry. The yarn I am using is Berroco Modern Cotton in color 1665 Wetherill. This pattern starts out using the Provisional Cast-on, which is a first for me. I crocheted a chain with the pink yarn, adding a few more stitches than I actually needed. I flipped the chain over and skipping the first chain, I inserted my needle into the “dash” looking stitch and knitted a stitch. I repeated that for the number of stitches I needed for the bag. Then I started stitching the pattern in the round. One thing I will note: The pattern called for a 36″ circular needle, but there was no way I could make 90 stitches meet in a circle, so I used a 14″ cable, added to the 5″ length of my tips to make a 24″ circular. This is the 3rd time I have run into this problem with a pattern. Am I figuring something wrong? The width of this bag will be 10 1/2″ laying flat, so doubled will be 21″. Not even sure how I would have stretched 21″ around a 36″ needle?? The 24″ circular worked out perfect.

The pattern is so cute and very easy. I must say, it is a very relaxing knit. And the Berroco Modern Cotton is a dream to work with. This is my first time using it, but it won’t be my last. So I knitted the pattern for 4 repeats and then added the garter stitch border at the top and then bound off. Then it was time to unravel that cast on. I was a little nervous at first, but it was pretty easy pulling the cast on pink yarn one stitch at a time and picking them up with my needle. There are wonderful videos on You Tube about this cast on. I then knitted the pattern until the decreases made it too small to continue with the circular needle. I switched to Double Pointed Needles. Not my favorite way of stitching, but sometimes you have to do it.

I started with 4 needles. It looks like crazy knitting! So chaotic!

Then I went to 3 needles. It took a little bit of finagling, working around stitch markers and the pattern and the decreasing, but I did it.

I was so happy to be done with Double Pointed Needles. Seeing the finished bottom of the bag made it all worth it. It looks so cool! I just love it! I added a knitted handle, making it about 2″ shorter than called for, wove in my ends and it was finished!

I love how it turned out and can’t wait to take it to the vegetable tent to get some fresh fruits and vegetables. Aside from the DPN’s, I loved this pattern and the yarn I used. I already have a few requests to make more and I will get to them eventually 😉 And while I had a nice evening to take pictures of my bag, I remembered to take some photos of my blocked Merfolk Fade Shawl.

This shawl turned out really beautiful and I can’t wait to wear it this fall. So, now what is on my needles?

This is the Jolie pattern by Lindsay Potter and was included in the July 2021 Seed Club Packet from the Yarn Garden in Michigan. The yarn is Britty Rae Knits and is so gorgeous and so soft! I think this Seed Club Packet is my favorite!

This is my first time using this dyer’s yarn. It is so soft and squishy and has some silver sparkle in it. The name of this yarn is “A Visit to the Nursery”, as in gardening.

I casted on last night and look forward to all of the knitting on this one.

So what is on your needles?

Autumn Lane Stitchery · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Queen · Sunny Dyes Fabrics

Two Finishes For June

June 18, 2021 My Time Stitching10 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! We are over halfway through June already! The days are just flying by. The last 2 months we have had some work done in our back yard, so maybe that is why the days have gone by so quickly. But I am still filling my days with crafting. In fact, I have 2 finishes this month so far. On June 1, I finished Mermaid Perfume! Yay!

Please excuse the wrinkles. I was just so excited to finish her and get her photographed on a beautiful sunny day. Sadly, I still have not ironed her. But, having her on the Qsnaps for beading did help pull the fabric and she does not pucker in the middle anymore. That makes me very happy.

I am really pleased with how she turned out. Again, she is Mermaid Perfume from Mirabilia. I stitched her on 16ct Aida Hidden Cove from Sunny Dyes Fabrics. I am still searching for a framer, so it may be some time before I can get her framed.

My other finish is only a partial finish, but a finish in my book.

Yep, on June 3 I finished this beautiful shawl. I still need to block it and weave in the ends. The table I use for blocking has been covered with all of my cross stitch fabrics for reorganization. And now it is covered with a very large Diamond Dotz I have been working on. So, I hope to get that table cleaned off and get this shawl blocked soon so I can really call it a finish. This shawl was a joy to knit. The pattern was easy to follow and the yarns wonderful. The stats on this one: Merfolk Fade Shawl by Jennifer Owens. The yarn is from Cape May Fiber Co. all in DK weight. Colors are Nessie, Mermaid Mane and Sea Swords.

So right now I have nothing on my knitting needles, but I am going to remedy that soon. And as for cross stitching, I have picked up The Dark Queen of the Seas and am trying to catch up before the next section comes out on July 1. I neglected her while working on Mermaid Perfume exclusively for 14 1/2 weeks. Here is where I was when I picked her up a couple of weeks ago.

And here is where I am now:

I am working on section 9 at the moment and still have section 10 to do before section 11 comes out on July 1. There are a couple of sections I have decided to leave off; the crown and coral on her head and the top left and right corner ornaments. I like the way she looks without those things. And she is definitely not a mermaid. While I am disappointed in that, I do like her. And I love her face. So, again, she is the Dark Queen of the Seas Mystery SAL from Autumn Lane Stitchery. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Iris from Fabrics by Stephanie.

So that is what I have been up to. Join me next time for some organization updates 🙂 What have you been up to?

Knitted Shawl

My Merfolk Shawl is Growing

May 27, 2021 My Time Stitching6 Comments

I usually spend some time in the morning knitting on whatever project I have going. It is my new normal during Covid this last year. I am really loving stitching on the Merfolk Fade shawl. The pattern has been easy to follow and the patterns are pretty easy to pick up and remember without too much looking at the pattern. I did run into a minor snag the other morning and I couldn’t get the correct number of stitches on one side of the stitch marker. So I messaged the designer and she was quick to respond and corrected the pattern and messaged me back. She was grateful that I brought it to her attention and even gifted me the pattern in my Ravelry. The pattern that I have was included in the Merfolk Fade kit that I purchased from Cape May Fiber Co. So I am really happy to have it in my Ravelry forever. So here is where I am with the pattern so far.

These yarns are really out of my comfort zone, but when I saw them as a kit, I instantly fell in love with them. And I am loving how they are knitting up together. I could have never put these colors together myself. Soon I will be adding the third color, which is my favorite. It has a lot of pink in it and I can’t wait to see how it knits up. Here is a close up of the patterns in the shawl.

Even with all of the colors in the yarn, the patterns are easy to see. I love everything about this shawl; the pattern, the soft, squishy yarn and the colors.

So what is on your needles, knitting, cross stitch or even crochet?

Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · yarn

Knitting Another Shawl

May 18, 2021 My Time Stitching6 Comments

I just have to have something on my needles. So when I finished the You Are Enough Shawl, I immediately started the Merfolk Fade Shawl by Jennifer Owens. The Yarn is DK Merino Superwash from Cape May Fiber Co. and comes as a kit with a few goodies and the pattern. The pattern is also available on Ravelry.

*Merfolk Fade Kit from Cape May Fiber Co.*

My very small start. And no other stitch marker would do except for a sweet little mermaid! It was included in a bag order I placed with Firerweed Studio. The yarn huggers on my yarn cakes are also from Fireweed Studio. She has cute knitting accessories in her Etsy shop.

This is my first shawl using DK weight yarn. The yarn is soft and squishy. It has a bouncy feel and I like the way it glides through my fingers and over my needles.

The color I am currently using is called Nessie. It really reminds me of mermaid scales. All the beautiful greens with splashes of Pink, Blue, Purple and Aqua. The other two colors in the fade are Sea Swords and Mermaid Mane. I will talk more about those two colors when I get to them. For now I am enjoying the beautiful Nessie.

So far the pattern is well written and I am enjoying the knitting. I have added a few rows of the lace pattern and it looks so pretty. I am loving the way the splashes of color pop up on my needles in between the beautiful shades of green.

So that is what I am stitching this afternoon. What are you stitching on today? Drop me a comment and tell me all about it.

Knitted Shawl

There Is A Light At The End of The Tunnel

May 15, 2021 My Time Stitching8 Comments

The CDC announced that we can unmask in most situations if we are fully vaccinated. This is great news, but still scary or awkward. My husband and I just had our first vaccine about 10 days ago. We will get our 2nd dose in a few weeks. Maybe then I will feel a little better about going without a mask, but this has been our normal for 14 months and I am feeling a little uneasy about unmasking. I won’t go into it all, but I am hoping this is a good sign of getting back to some normalcy.

So, I am still keeping busy by crafting. I am also trying to get myself into some kind of routine since hubby will probably being going back to working in the office soon. And that includes making sure that blogging is in my routine again. So where did I last leave off…Oh, I finished the Fairies in the Snow shawl that I was working on.

It turned out really nice and I even had a chance to wear it. I love it and can see myself making another one in different colors in the future. The pattern is available on Ravelry and the designer is Lena Matheson. The yarn I used is from The Speckled Finch.

Since then I have made another shawl. This one was a kit made especially for Local Yarn Shop Day April 2021.

When I started this kit, I wasn’t really sure I was going to like it. The directions were not very specific as in when to change colors and how many rows to do. I am one of those people that pretty much follows a pattern. So having to make some of my own decisions was a bit scary. But, I dived right in.

The pattern is You Are Enough by Sarah B. Abram. I met a very sweet gal on Ravelry who reached out to me about something I had placed on my project. So glad she did, as we chatted together throughout and she made some wonderful notes about her project and took some great photos. She was a big help when I had questions and she cheered me on to keep going.

Here is where I was working on the Picot edge bind off. I had never knitted a picot edge nor did I ever bind off this way. Be prepared on this one. It took me about 2 half days to get this bound off. But it was so worth it.

This week I got around to blocking it. Just look at how that lace opened up!! Knitting the lace was my favorite part of this pattern. I left out one of the repeats in the burgundy/gray section. So I added a few rows of garter stitch and that also brought my stitch count up to where it needed to be for the lace section. Yep, I added my own element! This pattern also suggested to add 2 rows of the next color, then 2 rows of the current color then continue with the next color. This meant lines of color in each pattern section. I knew from the beginning I did not want those lines of color, so I just switched colors when I was ready to. This really is a forgiving pattern.

It really turned out beautifully. It was finally a nice day out so I had to take a photo outside. This photo shows the true colors, too. I was a little leery about the colors together, but they have grown on me. I can’t wait to wear it in the fall.

The colors in this photo are off. But it looks so pretty hanging like this. In the end this was a really nice pattern and I really enjoyed it. If you have this kit and are looking to knit it up, be sure to check out the projects on Ravelry as there are some really good note takers there. I learned a few new stitches with shawl, and for that I am grateful. I am happy I knitted this one.

Next time I will talk about my cross stitch. So what have you been up to? Drop me a comment and tell me about it. I have missed you so much and I would love to hear about what you are up to.

Autumn Lane Stitchery · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted scarves · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Queen · Sunny Dyes Fabrics · yarn

Time To Catch Up

March 6, 2021 My Time Stitching11 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! It has been a long time. Not sure why, other than while crafting, time just got away from me. I can’t believe that just about 4 months have gone by since my last post. But I am doing well and still crafting away.

So, where to begin…How about I share with what projects I am currently working on? A couple of weeks ago I started stitching on Mermaid Perfume by Mirabilia.

I couldn’t wait to get everything I needed to get started on her. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Hidden Cove, a hand painted fabric from Sunny Dyes Fabrics. I can’t wait to see how she emerges on this fabric.

I found this fabric on the Design and Fabric Viewer. This is a site where you can see what fabrics would look good with a particular design. If you have never been, you should go and check it out. You will have to create an account (just an email and password) and then you can play with the designs there along with many fabric dyers’ fabrics. And if you haven’t visited this site in a while, I urge you to check it out. It is all new, with a subscription level to allow you to save more than 3 picks. The first 3 are on the FREE viewing. And with a subscription, you can upload your own fabrics so that you can see how your favorite designs there will look on your exact fabric. It really is a great tool for cross stitchers and I encourage you to check it out. You will have so much fun matching fabrics to designs.

The other cross stitch project I have worked on is the Dark Queen of the Seas MSAL (Mystery Stitch A Long)

This MSAL is by Autumn Lane Stitchery. It started in September 2020 and each section is released on the 1st of the month until August 2021. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Iris from Fabrics By Stephanie. This photo was taken after I finished section 6 a few weeks ago. Section 7 just came out on March 1, but I am not a fan of the added pieces, so for now I will leave them off. I may add them later when I see more of the design, but for now, I am leaving them off. I hear that next month we will start working on the lower portion of the design. I can’t wait! She is such a beauty! Just look at her face!

The designer has done a great job designing her. That face is so awesome. And those eyes! The shading is fabulous, too.

Last month I started knitting on Fairies In The Snow Shawl MKAL (Mystery Knit A Long) I have really been enjoying this knit.

This MKAL is by Softyarn Designs and is on Ravelry if you want to join. The last part, clue#4 just came out on Thursday, March 4, but there a lot of people in the group that are on different parts of the pattern. There is a chat group on Ravelry, too. The yarn I am using is from Speckled Finch Studios in colors Kismet 4 Magic Stone (the darker color) and Champagne Wishes. I love how these 2 yarns look together and the yarn is so soft. I should finish the last clue this week, and then decide if I want to add another section to use up yarn, or leave as is.

Last month I finished a scarf that I started in January. It turned out gorgeous and I have to say it is now my favorite scarf and have worn it several times already.

I call it my rainbow scarf, but the actual name of the pattern is The Adventurer Scarf and Wrap by Ambah O’Brien. I knitted the scarf version in Basic Sock Mini’s from AJHC Wools. I love everything about this scarf; the yarn, the colors, the weight, the knitting, the pattern.

I have many, many more knitting projects and cross stitch projects I want to work on, as well as stamping and scrapbooking that needs tending to. For now, I am enjoying whatever it is I am working on. I have missed all of you and I hope that my blogging mojo is back. I look forward to hearing from you and catching up on all of the blogs I have missed in the last few moths.

So, what have you been up to? What are you working on today?

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