Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June. – Al Bernstein
June days are simply magical. The light gently wakes me, inviting me to greet the new day. The birds fill the air with their melodies and the low buzzing of the bees join to make the loveliest of harmonies. The lavender is full of velvety purple wands that dance in the breeze. The morning in the garden is my favorite time of the day. And, this morning I was greeted by the first Stella d’Oro daylily – a bittersweet sight because it means the deer will soon be here to snack on the blooms. But that first bloom was a glorious to see!
Triumphing!
Yesterday afternoon I finished the last sleeve of my Marsa Alam and this morning it is enjoying a Spa Treatment and will soon be laying out to dry. Pearl buttons will be sewn on this weekend (thank you all for your input!) Pre-blocking this is perhaps the best fitting sweater I have ever knit! The sleeve/shoulder fit is incredible – and can I just gush about Holst Coast yarn a minute? It might be my favorite yarn ever! The stitches are beautifully even, the ribbing looks nice, the hand of the sweater is incredibly inviting, and it is next-to-skin-soft. And, lets talk about value – I purchased a 500 g/3800 yd cone for about $24. Shipping from Denmark is not bad, and it only added about $10 to the cost of the yarn – and you get the most wonderful updates from Holst and PostNord. (Also, PostNord got the yarn to the USA in less than 24 hours, but it took the USPS more than a week to deliver it to my door…) My Marsa Alam used 324g of yarn – so yes, I have more than enough left-over yarn to use to make a Screen Door, which I cast on last night and flew through 8 repeats of the easy to memorize pattern! Knitting wins are such a good feeling!
Getting Ready!
I have a stack of fabrics that have been patiently waiting for me to begin cutting and assembling them into this quilt. Why that quilt? Genevieve is turning 4 next month and my plan is to make that for her birthday! With my new sewing set up, I think that I can manage to do the machine quilting myself. And while I love the overall stippling effect on the linked quilt, I think that will be a bit beyond my very-beginner abilities. However, I think that concentric circles might be lovely… sort of like the stitching I did for this piece:
Inspired by…
Something I saw on Pinterest last night, which made me go to see the original post on IG. Oh.my.gosh. I have the tamrack pattern – I picked it up in Grainline’s pattern sale earlier this year but had not been inspired to make one, thinking it would be a good fall project. And then I saw the magic that cjoy2 did with her tamrack (also her artwork…) WOW!! It is not bulky, I love the length, and it is incredibly creative – yet simple! She hand-stitched around the butterflies in the most wonderful way! And, her binding around the edges… it is brilliant!
Flattened!
I absolutely LOVE the MBR’s Rose Pants. They are wonderfully easy to make and to wear. I want to make a pair from a light denim – but denim and pleats or gathers seemed, well – bulky in an area I don’t need any extra bulk! So I had been wondering how hard it would be to remove the pleats/gathers from the front… well, wonder no more thanks to this post, which led me to this post. I have enough fabric to make a muslin trial run pair of shorts with a flattened front! Wish me luck!
And, that is all I have to share with you all for this first Friday in June! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
Can’t wait to see your finished Marsa Alam and glad to hear such a glowing review of the yarn!
Looking forward to seeing Marsa Alam and your inspired sewing!
Those are good Friday things! A little advice, if I may, on the quilt? Stippling is easier than you think. Those concentric circles would be hard if you’re machine quilting. Just my thoughts.
Happy Friday-can’t wait to see what you sew-up. I’ve been exploring patterns and such this week, and am hoping to put the machine to work. I did manage to make 2 play skirts so far, and I’m pleased with the results.
Just bookmarks that quilt because it would be perfect for a retreat sewing project. I also have the tamarack pattern and hope to make one this summer. And that yarn – sigh.
So many GOOD making updates! YAY for Marsa Alam (I agree – it is an amazing fit for seamless!) and Coast (also Tides). I love that we can double it for DK and knit single for a lovely light fingering.
Have you made the Owyn Shorts? they have a flat front and elastic around the sides/back. I bought a really lightweight denim at Joann’s to make a pair. (I had to lengthen the rise and grade two sizes to get a good fit … but it was pretty easy)
I too am looking forward to Marsa Alam. Your stitching project is eye candy for me!
Your daylily photo is so gorgeous. You could make a great art quilt based on that photo.
And I love the boro embroidery in the other photo! Truly original and beautiful!
can’t wait to see your finished knitting project, it’s fun to be done! I await the photo shoot big reveal. I love the stitching (quilt) that you did and look forward to your new project!
Oh my, I love that quilt!! I am itching to do some machine sewing. I’m also completely in love with your stitching (again).