Loving all the stitching

It's a cold, rainy bank holiday weekend.  Well it was ok yesterday but today (Sunday) it is pouring down.  I thought I'd blog today before the house awakens fully.  I love Sunday mornings because I still get up early but I have a couple of hours complete peace and quiet to stitch.  This morning I have been adding more rows to a jumper for Max.

It's a lovely shade of baby blue.  I'm doing this in the second size so he should be wearing it by Christmas. I love this knitting yarn - it has a lovely soft drape. Also on my needles are some bootees:

I think this is the third attempt to get them the right size.  They are made in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino but when I knitted the first bootee I missed out some of the rows (note to self - READ the pattern properly) The second attempt would have been big enough to fit an elephant. I consulted my friend and expert knitter Barbara, from Ring-a-Rosie and she suggested smaller needles (although I do knit quite tight anyway). This rendition is on 2.5mm because I didn't have any smaller. they look better so far.

We had the Baby Shower last Saturday in the conservatory of a local pub.

This is Steph (33 weeks) just about to cut the cake.  It was delicious but I have to say the design was quite weird.  It was half a baby lying on the cake. The only way to cut it was to either chop its legs off or to cut it through its little bot. In the end Steph dismembered it by removing the legs. Totally bizarre! Lucky it tasted so good.

Of course I have done the usual and given away a quilt without doing final photos.  So here is a quick look at the detail and I'll get Steph to photo it in situ.

When I'm quilting in the Durham Style I usually use multiple needles.  I find this keeps the back from getting annoying ripples.

I used the fabric as inspiration for the appliqué panel - there are four elephants - this is Daddy. The elephant fabric has a lovely soft sheen and is perfect for a baby quilt.  I have done a pattern for it which I will publish when Max is born. Squeak - a grandma for the second time.

On my hoop at the moment is the start of a nine block Durham Quilt for my Thursday night class.  Hilary showed me a nifty way to sew pre-quilted blocks together.  It's a technique I don't normally use but it works well this way.  The front is a soft grey green and the back is a lovely gentle floral.

This block will be a simple feathered circle with cross-hatching (or if Lilian Hedley is reading I'll wash my mouth out with soap and water - Durham Quilting calls it Square Diamonds).  Each block will measure 18" and the quilt will measure 54" finished.  I'll keep you up to date with the progress.

The Thursday night class is just about full now. I'm going to have to be super organised as one of my team at work is going to be off for an extended period and we are going to have to take on extra tasks to cover.  She does a a fantastic job on some very confidential matters and is one of those people who works quietly away without complaint.

Baking - well I have been baking away - I think a chocolate sandwich (family favourite) will be on the cards today.  Again I'm bad at taking pictures - partly because the kitchen looks like a disaster scene when I'm done on a Thursday night.  Here is a raspberry and white chocolate cupcake from a couple of weeks ago.

Yum. We had cheese scones this week - I'n not the greatest scone maker in the family.  John makes much lighter scones than I do. I thought it would be a change from sweet stuff and I was low on caster sugar anyway.

So for the rest of today I'm going to be doing some work I have brought home - fuelled by my little pot of sweeties and plenty of coffee.

I'm afraid the tumble dryer is going to be working overtime today.  I want to get everything cleared so that I can have a day of peace and stitching/gardening depending on the weather tomorrow.

Wishing you a good bank holiday!