fred_mouse

I rather lost momentum on the hexagons for the display board project, but as Youngest and I had a voice chat today, I sat and did the rest -- helped by the fact that what I thought was a pile not yet done was actually a pile to be sorted.

I've started looking at layouts that work for four colours. The first one I've tried is effectively two interlocked chequerboards (so that each colour is in squares, but the bottom corners of the squares make a diamond), and while I like the regularity of it, I don't think it works for this colour set. It would probably work for a four tone set where there were different colours within tone, or a four colour set that isn't just neutrals/has slightly more variation within a colour. Or possibly one where the tonal variation is smaller? This fails because the white and the black stand out dramatically, and I don't want the background to distract from the pins

• the handful of fiction paperbacks that are not anthologies have been sorted onto the holding shelves
• the teetering mound of anthologies has been further spread across the room, as I try and make sense of how to shelve them
• a handful of small paperback anthologies have been sorted into the set on the shelf

1. Cat blanket 2 - this started life as the sleeve of a project someone else passed on to me. I've filled in the 'corner' that is needed to make it a rectangle, and started going around in single stitch. 'Tis not quite rectangular even after this, because I've overfilled the corner. Yarn is mint green lightweight acrylic, and the sleeve is done in a kind of basket weave.

1. cat blanket 1 - crochet - now four colours, doesn't feel like it is much wider than it was

1. quilt block swap (patchwork) - simplified Lone Star blocks (pink tone; brown tone)
2. fancy circles crochet-along (crochet) - I've been carrying two finished squares around, because I want to so ends in, but I've been procrastinating
3. purple skirt
4. pink sampler quilt (patchwork/quilting)
5. jacket for youngest (knitting)
6. cat blankets (knitting) - this doesn't count the above cat blanket, because that is crochet...
7. rainbow blanket (crochet)
8. Larger (yellow) Lone Star block (patchwork)
9. baby quilt with the green back (quilting)
10. scorpion quilt (applique, quilting)

1. rainbow blanket (crochet) – This is using up two variegated yarns, a rainbow, and a browns. At this point, I've finished off four ~30cm squares (15 rounds), which are rainbow in the middle and brown around the outside. Two have 12 rounds of rainbow, and two have 7 (this is because there was much less rainbow than brown, which I worked out after I'd done the centres for two). Today I'm sewing in the ends, and then I'm hoping that insipiration will strike as to What Next.
2. quilt block swap (patchwork) – there are three swap blocks (from two concurrent swaps, mostly with the same people) currently in my house. One was finished last night at a social gathering, and then ironed when we got home; it is currently at the front door to be passed on this evening. The second (blue star, hand sewing) has all the pieces cut, and about 1/3 of the sewing done—I've been working on that this morning while the kids have been skating. The third (either the pink or the brown star – one is for the swap, one is for me) is in a bit more of a mess. This is a simplified Lone Star block, and while I have the central diamonds sorted, I keep stuffing up the rest. Need to work out which pairs to sew together, and what pieces to then y-seam in. [thought – maybe I should be not trying to be fancy, but make the smaller block, and then add sashing to size. This might solve the problem with not being able to cut the pieces right, which I've now done more than once][also, I think one of the sets of diamonds is missing one where I stuffed up]
3. Lone Star block (patchwork) – this is the slightly more complicated version of the aforementioned block—those are 2*2 diamonds, this is 3*3. Also at the stage of all the diamonds are done, and I have progress paralysis.
4. scorpion quilt (applique, quilting) – finished the applique on the weekend, and started the quilting. Probably half the quilting (contrast black thread, silhouetting the appliqued abstracted scorpion) has been done. Have to take the quilting to the corners of the quilt, and then fill in some gaps in the middle. Also decide on binding, then cut and sew said binding.
5. baby quilt with the green back (quilting) – this one is upside down on the music/sewing room floor, and for the life of me can't think what the top is. Quilting is a bit over half done (worked on just before we went away, but not this weekend, but I think it still counts as active)

1. pink sampler quilt (patchwork/quilting) – this is a completed top (1 m square), waiting on the other two quilting projects to move past the quilting stage. I have the backing selected, but not the wadding sorted (it is in a room somewhere). Once I'm ready to consider quilting it, I'll clear enough space to sandwich it.
2. fancy circles crochet-along (crochet) – this is the one where I had a go at a crochet along square, enjoyed it enough that I decided to make a blanket from it. 4/16 squares are complete, all the rest are started.
3. jacket for youngest (knitting) – last piece of progress was sewing the fronts and back together at the shoulders. I've had a couple of goes at knitting them on to then make the collar, but I'm struggling to get it to sit right, and get the stitches evenly selected (which makes me realise that I have stitch markers, and I could work it that way!!!)
4. cat blankets (knitting) – I have one done, sitting on the hall shelf, to be taken to the Cat Haven, but the plan was to get ariaflame's knitting machine up and running, and then use up some of the other unloved yarn so that I had a few to take, and got a feel for the knitting machine. I've started the set up for the knitting machine, but the instructions are not the easiest to follow. I'm going to have to allocate an hour to watching videos, and see how I go.

• dead brake light on car now has shiny new globe
• youngest child was dropped at the Rottnest Ferry on time, *and* collected from it on time, despite incompetent scheduling w.r.t. the amount of roadworks that is currently slowing traffic between Nedlands and Fremantle.
• solved the afternoon tea problem, even though the B shed cafe had a closed sign up (but lots of bustling staff)
• sorted out the payment for eldest's morning dental appointment (which couldn't be done at the time, because end of appointment time coincided with be at ferry terminal time)
• go to work. make progress on at least one of the topics eating my brain.
• all the identifiable paperwork for the next skate comp for youngest and middlest. Including printing it out, and finding the missing details.
• putting the missing details into my phone's data remembering app.
• helped youngest and friend with a bit of practice for the upcoming Big Concert. The piece they were working on tonight, they are singing for <30s of a 3 min song. At least the other song they get to sing for longer?
• printed out the missing page of music that must be learnt for Big Concert
• cleaned out the car. with assistance from some 'volunteers'.
• sprayed the spare pair of ballet shoes black (it was cheaper&faster to order a pale pinkish pair from the internet that it was a black pair, and I already have the paint)
• more reading of Books That Must Be Judged.

• get three of the work things dealt with and sent off. Because email failed me, and I spent too much effort on that. 
• paying all the bills
• working out the rest of the paperwork for the skate comp. Supposedly, I'm supposed to put in a ppc, but the ppc data isn't up on the coaches website, and the form isn't on the forms page. bah.
• worked out whether I've double booked friday, which is when I think youngest has orientation
• worked out whether I can get tickets for Big Concert.
• piano practice
• tidying my room (dammit, so close, and I haven't had time in days)
• ditto the lounge.
• sewing sekrit seriously overdue project
• writing not!nano write up.

• patchwork swap, mug rug top - finished, awaiting an address for mailing. This counts as a Finished!!!
• patchwork swap, 2 rounds of ~ 12.5" pattern (these are with the same group, so I'm doing two identical blocks, and sending one out for each rotation) - I have all the blocks of strips assembled. I have to sew them together, cut them up again, and then reassemble. By the end of August - all good.
• brown corner-to-corner crochet. Finished the square yesterday. Needs ends sewn in and maybe a border. Then blocking, and finding a home for it. 
• the crochet-along block that is now 16? All are at least at row 7. Spent time sewing in ends last night, and progressing some. Not going quickly, but not unhappy.
• half blocks using 2.5" wide scraps - have made several more of these (they are 6 strips of 4.5" * 2.5" sewed together on the long sides, and then a 12.5" * 2.5" strip sewn along one long side). 
• 'scrap vortex' - on one of the quilting blogs I read, there was a quilt called a 'scrap vortex', where you go through your scraps pile, and find pairs that can be sewn together. When this runs out, you sew pairs of pairs together, and gradually assemble blocks of assorted sizes (the suggestion was roughly finished sizes of 12*6, 12*12 and 12*18), which then get sewn into a quilt top. I've just been sewing bits together, ironing them, and sticking them in a pile to come back to later.

• knitting youngest's jacket - I've lost the damn instructions again. Next time I find them, I'm going to type them into a dreamwidth post, in the hope that I won't lose them again
• pj trousers for youngest - all cut out, and i've put the instructions to these down somewhere as well. Seriously, this one is more gob-smacking than the other, because it is an A2 sheet!
• All the 20cm blocks - I've got a stash of them, but had ideas on other projects, so making those instead. I'm thinking that these might make three single bed blankets for summer, so I need *lots*. 
• everything else. There are probably lots, but I'm doing a good job of just working on what I have.