One of six children, I was raised by a busy mom, who instilled in me a love of fabric. Though I learned to sew and knit at a young age, it was the arrival of my first grandchild that pushed me into action. A long-time knitter, I am now ready to explore all things fiber.
Found the reference for this cutie on Newsweek and it is a Getty image. The bunny is likely a domestic rabbit, not a native one. But no matter – any baby bunny is highly suitable to grace a baby quilt.
Today’s weather is temperate, calm winds and periodic rain. Just right for me to focus on my projects. What are you working on these days?
Almost two weeks ago, I started work on a baby quilt that will be a gift for my niece who lives in Oregon. Her baby is due in August.
I have no title for this project, so for now I will call it the Oregon Baby quilt. In my first project post, I shared sketches under consideration as subject matter. They focus on animals and plants native to Oregon. This week I added two more:
Painted TurtleOregon Swallowtail
Having received a lovely bundle of fabrics from Connecting Threads, I have proceeded to cutting and sewing. Here are a couple of images of strips. They are not cut precisely, but range from 1 1/4 to 2 inches in width.
After cutting, I shoved the strips into four baggies: Solids, lights, mediums and darks. My plan is to alternate the strips, not so much by color as by value. Forging ahead, I completed the first block, which is assembled from four strip-pieced squares.
The solid 2 inch strips (In this block, the pink strips) will be placed consistently at the widest point on each square. I chose a brightly colored floral fabric to act as a mini focus point for the block. These two elements should serve to unify the multitude of fabrics that will be used in this quilt.
Moving on to the first feature block: I chose the rufous hummingbird. After making a pattern from my sketch onto tracing paper, I cut out the parts to be appliqued and fused them in place onto background fabric.
Eventually, shading and details will be painted on, the applique edges will be machine stitched and hand embroidery will create finishing touches. That’s secret code for I don’t know for sure what I will do next.
This week-end I got out the knitting needles and settled into a new project. This one has been bagged up in my yarn closet since last year. I am putting to work some Berroco Ultra Alpaca that I purchased – oh, who knows? Anyway, here it is with its two pairings.
The Ultra Alpaca is a 50/50 blend of Peruvian wool and super fine Alpaca. I have loved this yarn since my early days as a knitter when I made a skirt of my own design using a peat moss color and several teal colors of wool from another source. Today I am working it with two Knitpick yarns – Swish in pink and Hawthorne in a speckled dye. The Berroco yarn is not a super-wash, while the other two are. Since they are all the same gauge, I don’t expect any trouble from those superwashes. The main yarn should keep them from stretching inordinately.
Now- the pattern. I’ve chosen a Kate Davies design going back into the aughts, called Paper Dolls. This has been in my Ravelry favorites for quite a while.
Getting gauge was a problem. Using the suggested needle (US 4) I was off significantly. But the fabric I achieved with this needle looked and felt good, so I just cast on two sizes down. I’m aiming for 40 inch width at the bust. Since this is knit from the body up, I’m pretty confident I’ll know soon enough if it will fit.
If not, I have two fans of my knitting who are smaller than me. Holiday gift giving season isn’t that far off.
If you like the look of this design, I recommend that you check out Kate’s other patterns. This is my second time using a KDD pattern. Her patterns are well written and edited, and give a lot of very useful information. Her partner Tom takes all of the photographs, which are beautiful. He is an artist in his own right.
During the past week I had correspondence with my niece who is expecting a child in August. I offered to make her a crib quilt, and she happily accepted my offer.
Suddenly my creativity was rekindled.
The stirrings of this project began a week or so earlier when I checked out Carolyn Forster’s book, String Quilts, from my local library.
While I am familiar with this construction technique (It is one I taught to fiber arts students in 2019) Carolyn had some excellent advice and also examples of variations that helped me to envision a baby quilt.
My niece kindly sent me an image of her nursery palette.
At this point, I graphed a design. There will be five rows of four 10 inch blocks, framed by a 4-inch solid border
I must have been channeling those days when my granddaughter was expected and I was knitting like a crazy woman. Just as then, I decided on a theme of baby animals. The animals will appear on the background color blocks. They will be made using a combination of applique, paint and embroidery. Suddenly I felt a strong desire to collaborate with Amanda, my granddaughter’s mother and also a talented fiber artist.
She was thrilled to be asked. We will need ten feature blocks. The two of us will share in designing and making these.
Yesterday and today I spent an hour or two happily sketching creatures that would fit nicely into the diamond shaped picture frame of our solid blocks.
Rufous HummingbirdBaby Red FoxRed DragonflyBaby Raccoons
This is just an audition. There is much work to be done before we cast all the roles.
I have also done a fabric pull and begun cutting blocks and strips. Once the fabric I ordered from Connecting Threads arrives, I can start piecing.
Today I will comment on two subjects – fiber first. You see my latest knitted finish. This cowl is designed by Nat Raedwulf, of Wolf and Faun Knits. I chose this for a travel project that exploits the virtues of slipped stitch patterns. She says “the slipped stitch colourwork creates a dense fabric, perfect for keeping one warm…”
I say “Ditto.” It is worked in a soft yarn that is equal parts alpaca, wool and acrylic. (Knitpicks Upcycle Alpaca Blend. I would link you to the yarn on KP site but it appears to be discontinued.) Rivers and Ravens Cowl sits lightly upon the shoulders. I notice some scratchiness, so will wear it over outerwear, such as a jacket or coat.
Now about the view: Our new home is built into a bluff that is at the highest point in the neighborhood. The upper level deck wraps around three sides of the house, yielding a panoramic view. It is simply stunning, especially at sunset. During the past few days, Bill and his camera are rarely indoors. The following photos are mine.
Looking WestEast view into a tall maple tree
Rooftops and sky. This view extends from the northwest to the northeast sky.
In between opening boxes, we have been getting to know the neighbors and our new town. Dubuque, Iowa is a town just under 60,000 that supports numerous cultural organizations, abundant parks, good libraries and a revitalized downtown along the Mississippi river. We are slowly exploring. Last Sunday it was the Arboretum – I’ll likely have a post about it soon.
My creative projects have been on hiatus too long. Now that my materials are unpacked, I hope to pick up on unfinished works and also begin something new.
Daily Fiber 
