A quilt off the frame

I finally finished quilting the Star Sampler quilt which has been on the frame since the end of November.  It took a long time because I was doing continuous curve quilting around every piece and meandering in the borders, aiming for a vintage look.  Some of my quilting is pretty wonky but I quite like the overall effect of the stitching on these traditional blocks.  After taking this picture I ran the quilt through the washing machine which has brought out all the texture, and it's drying now. Once it's fully dry I will steam it and then sew on the binding around the edges. 

When I got to the end of the quilt I had to roll back and unpick some of the terrible quilting at the beginning (tension problems and general wonkiness) but not as much as I feared so it didn't take too long to repair.  I've now loaded on the next quilt which is the Blue & White China Quilt.  This is an ancient project which I think actually pre-dates this blog so prior to 2007.  I've never quilted it because it's a framed medallion style quilt and I always felt to do it properly, it should have special border quilting in all the panels and as it is enormous that would take the rest of my life. It's been on my guilt list for years and I've finally decided to just bung it on the frame and quilt an all-over panto pattern and then it will at least be done.

On the knitting front, I've done a bit more on my Latvian Mitten.  I'm getting on alright with it now but still unable to achieve an even texture while stranding four colours in a row, so it's a bit lumpy.  I'm sure once it's blocked and gets worn, it will look better.  It's sure going to be warm because it's so thick with all that stranding. These aren't my colours, they are what came in the kit.

Swooze asked to see my progress on the twisted rope border for my GAA Afghan so here you are.  I'm just finishing the third side then I will have a final long side to complete.

I've started building the next little scene-in-a-tin kit, this one is called Countryside Notes and is a summer scene.  It has fewer elements than the winter scene I did first, so is an easier build. It's a similar theme: a building with furniture, in an outdoor setting with trees and flowers.  This one has a little garden scene which will go on the right of the building.

I finished the little Bliss dollshouse I posted about last week and it looks fine, just not quite like the picture on the kit due to the issues.  I've put it in a room box scene for now but may find a way to feature it more prominently in a future project.

I took my Bucks Point hexagonal edging to the Nene Lacemakers today and got on fairly well with no reverse lacing required.  I'm about a third of the way around now. I hardly ever have to look at the working diagram now as I can generally figure out what to do next on my own. It's actually nice to see what I've done in this picture: while working on it you only see the little bit under the pins so you don't see the whole pattern.

I've finished my Opal Sock Yarn Advent Calendar, so I now have 24 cute little goodies waiting to be knit into something.  I'm thinking of a pattern called the ZickZack Scarf on Ravelry which is a sort of bargello multicoloured stripe. That can be commuter knitting once I finish my doll.  The doll is underway, I've knit the head and two legs and I'm almost finished the body.  The cotton yarn is very unforgiving of my tendency to 'rowing' (to knit purl rows looser than knit rows) so I often have to stop and tighten up my purl rows so the knitting looks more even.

I received a belated Christmas present in the post today: an exquisite handmade tapestry box from my friend Pauline.  She is a skilled embroideress and stitcher and has made me some lovely things in the past such as tiny lace knitted items.  This box has a scene on the opening lid in full coverage tent stitch, then floral designs picked out on four sides in tent stitch on open canvas.   It would take a normal person ages to make but Pauline is just constantly productive.  I am thinking it's about the right size to be a hassock in a 12th-scale dollshouse. I feel very lucky to receive such a lovely item. It looks very antique, like an old-fashioned thimble keeper.

And that's it this week.  I put in an hour or so of cold and wet gardening, hacking back dead things and weeding - we are overrun with creeping buttercup and I realised there was more of that in the strawberry bed than there were strawberry plants.  

I hope you've had a productive and crafty week!