Laura Kate

Fun Friday Finished Blocks

Posted on July 25, 2025 by Laura Kate

The Oregon Baby quilt block creation phase is ju……..st about done. Today I want to share two blocks that I finished and two images of blocks that my daughter finished.

Let’s start with sketches: My first attempt at rendering a painted turtle didn’t work out very well in the applique process. It was too complicated.

While I loved the drawing, I decided to start over. Here is my revised sketch with some colored pencil enhancements.

and here is my block complete with applique, machine stitches and painted details.

(there is a little smudge of paint that rubbed off my hand. I’ll have to find a way to cover it up before sewing this block into the quilt.)

Next I sketched a fish common to the northwest: coastal cut-throat trout.

This was easy to applique, and required very little paint to render the fishy details.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to receive two photographs of blocks completed by Amanda. During the preliminary phase of the quilt design, I had shared two sketches with her.

She took these designs and interpreted them in her own style. In addition to applique and paint, she added some expert hand embroidery touches to these blocks. Her results really bring these cute animals to life.

In the meanwhile, I have sewn up all of the strip pieced blocks. There are only two more feature blocks to finish before the quilt top can be assembled.

I’m pretty happy right now, and feel confident the quilt will be ready to send when my goddaughter’s baby arrives in August.

knitting

Unraveled Wednesday with Kat – 7-23-25

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Laura Kate

This photograph introduces both subjects for today: knitting and reading.

First the knitting.

I am progressing on the KD Designs Paperdolls pullover. At this point, I have attached the cap sleeves and done all the reductions needed to set up for the chart.

Last night, it seemed all was well, so I carried on with the first row of the yoke chart. Upon reaching the end of the row (over 300 stitches done), I discovered my stitch count was off! In despair, I dropped the work and went to bed.

Morning always helps my brain function better. After assuming I would have to tink back three rows, I figured out that I could make my corrections with only one row unknitted. That was accomplished before I finished my morning coffee.

Now I’m wondering if I will have enough pink yarn for the rest of the yoke and the neckline ribbing. Not wanting to take any chances, I will dive into my stash to find a fourth color that will work with the ‘dolls chart. More to come.

The book I just finished last night is newly published, co-written by David Attenborough and Colin Butfield. Ocean, Earth’s Last Wilderness is just as fascinating as Attenborough’s nature documentaries. What sets the book apart from his documentaries is the ability to include lots more descriptions of both the exploration of the ocean and the research about its changes. Spoiler alert: the ocean’s ability to recover from man’s destruction is far more vigorous than one expects. While the effects of climate change on this recovery are unknown, there is, as Attenborough frequently says, much room for hope. And if David Attenborough feels hopeful, there is no reason for anyone else to feel otherwise.

Readers will also enjoy two sections of gorgeous color photographs and numerous black and white drawings throughout. I easily finished this fascinating read in a week.

Linking to As Kat Knits Unraveled Wednesday.

drawing, painting, quilting

Another Friday, More Finished Blocks

Posted on July 4, 2025July 4, 2025 by Laura Kate

This week was moderately productive. I finished several more blocks for the Oregon Baby quilt, including two feature blocks. There are now four features finished, except for any finishing embroidery touches.

I made the western meadowlark and baby rabbit blocks.

Beginning sketch for meadowlark:

Progress photos and finished block:

Beginning sketch of rabbit:

Some additional remarks about the rabbit: The original photo was of a hybrid rabbit – white fur and brown patches, pale blue eyes. I’ve been observing many wild rabbits that hop about the garden here in my new home. Their coloration is more earthy and the eyes appear jet black. So that is how I made this rabbit. Also, the poor bunny has no nose or mouth yet. Those details will be added with embroidery floss. And maybe a few whiskers to boot.

Now when I line up the completed blocks, the quilt looks like this:

Two rows out of five. The big picture is coming into focus.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are enjoying your long week-end (U.S. readers) Please drop me a word or two about your current project. I’d love to know what feeds your creative impulses.

painting, quilting

Friday Finish: Baby Quilt Feature Blocks

Posted on June 27, 2025 by Laura Kate

Hi, friends,

I’m thinking that it’s time to reveal the first finished blocks that I made for Oregon Baby quilt. As I described in earlier posts, these would be various animals found in the baby’s home state.

I started with the rufous hummingbird and the Oregon swallowtail butterfly. Here are photos showing the steps to completion:

Hummingbird:

Butterfly:

Oregon Swallowtail pencil sketch, a little color added

Slight exaggeration here: The butterfly needs its antenna . I will hand embroider this detail before I assemble the quilt.

Some of you may think that I omitted showing all the steps in the process. And you’re right. I had to turn the pencil drawings into pattern pieces before I could convert the design to fabric. Without going into tedious details, this work was done using tracing paper and photo copies. I also did zigzag machine stitching around the butterfly and straight stitching on all the edges of the hummingbird.

Now here is an photo of how these panels look next to the string-pieced blocks.

My apologies to those who are bothered by the wonkiness of the strips. Yes, it was deliberate. So sue me.

The fun will continue over the weekend as I translate more of my sketches into quilt blocks. Which will I choose next?

knitting

Unraveled Wednesday 6-25-25

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Laura Kate

Following along with As Kat Knits, I am posting this progress update on the project I cast on June 2nd.

This is Paper Dolls, a pullover by KDD & Co. As of today, I have knitted up from the bottom about 12 inches.

This is the point where the body is set aside and the cap sleeves are knitted on separate needles. The technique is reminiscent of Elizabeth’s Zimmerman’s Fair Isle Yoke Sweater as published in her 1st newsletter. Eventually stitches for all three parts are loaded onto one long needle and work continues for the yoke.

First sleeve cap complete and waiting for its sister before both join with the sweater body.

A design feature added by Kate Davies is the corrugated rib stitch worked in contrasting yarn for the hems of body and sleeves (as shown in my first photograph.)

This part of the project has been great for television watching, since no stitch counting or pattern checking is required. The next section will require undivided attention, and I work the very cute paper dolls while simultaneously decreasing the yoke stitches. (That makes it sound harder than it really is.)

I must add a shout-out to knitting blogger Alissa Makes who made and gifted me the cute Mer-people project bag.

I love using it – Thanks, Alissa.

As far as reading, I just finished a biography of Salvador Dali’s wife, Gala. It is titled Surreal and written by Michele Gerber Klein. I had no idea how crazy those early 20th century artists were. If you like soap operas, and are not easily shocked, you may enjoy this book. My main complaints are that it is a bit long, and could have used more photographs.

That’s it for me. During this hot sticky heat wave, I hope you, my dear readers, can remain cool, calm and knitting onward.