Tiled nine-patch block

Lots of you know I've been going on and on about my idea of brightening up my front porch. Since we moved in almost nine years ago, I've always felt the porch needed a little something to look more welcoming. As soon as you walk up the steps, one looks at a blank wall. This was improved a few years ago with a lovely handmade mailbox by Fred and Ethel (sorry, can't find link), purchased at the Bowen Island Craft Fair. We also changed the walkway from orange brick to country stones and tile to blend in a little more with the house. Still, the wall was mostly bare and was calling for attention.

I wanted some kind of outdoor art. I looked around at garden stores and admired much, but nothing was ever quite right. I wondered if I could make something, but I didn't know what. Out and about one day, I saw some tiles set in a pattern that reminded me of a quilt block. Keeping things as simple as possible, I thought I could set tiles in the humble nine-patch design. At Bullnose Tile and Stone, I found what I wanted: handcrafted tiles in beautiful earthy colours by Seneca. I thought a wood frame built around the tiles would make a great finish, like a border of a quilt.

I enlisted Joe's help when I got the tiles. I set them on moisture-proof gyproc using silicone, and tile spacers. Doug helped me trim the edges, then yours truly got to try her hand at grouting. A new experience for me, one I'm not so keen on trying again too soon! Anyway, I did it, then Joe and I worked on a couple of design ideas for the frame. I was happy when I got to hand it all over to him and sit back while he did his woodworking thing....

...and he did it in a big way. Gorgeous!



Looks great with the mailbox and new door paint:



Nice details in yellow and red cedar, with a splash of door paint in the middle border (all Joe's idea)





Each time I open the door or walk up to it, it reminds me a quilter lives here! I love my new artwork, and I love the way it enhances the entry to my home.

More sockies

This is Dream in Colour's sockweight yarn: Australian merino wool, hand dyed in the U.S. One skein of Smooshy has 450 yards on it....I'm liking that a lot! This colour is nice and muted, does not draw attention to itself. It's a quiet, understated, good-looking colourway. Some people consider these values quite important in a sock!



These socks were knit on 2.5 mm metal dpns and cruised along pretty smoothly, no knitting disasters to report.



Knit from the toe up, I used Cat Bordhi's foxglove method where I put the increases on the first stitch (LRinc) and last stitch (LLinc) of the sole every third round until I reached 96 sts total for the arch expansion (I started with 64 sts for midfoot st count). I then used my favourite reinforced heel turn.



I knit for about 3.5 inches up the leg, then thought I would switch to 2x2 ribbing for a completed leg length of about 8 inches or so from the top of the heel flap. I cast off using Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind-off which is my favourite method to finish them off. It never fails.

Forest Canopy Shawl - how it all blocked out

Done!

I cast off this baby very, very carefully to keep the edge sufficiently stretchy. I admired my work in its pre-blocked state: but it didn't look like much. Kind of bubbly, and it was hard to see how it would be a triangle with pretty scalloped edges.



I used blocking tips from Stephanie and Eunny. I wove in the ends but did NOT cut them off yet. I threaded some clean hemp garden string through the top of the shawl, with lots of extra on either side for stretching room.



Then a nice SOAK for about 15 minutes.



After I transferred the shawl to a thick, thirsty towel for a roll to squeeze out excess water, I found it was almost dry. I set the shawl on fresh bed sheets to start pinning (with rust proof applique pins). First I anchored one side (the string) to a few pins, pulled the string straight, and anchored and pinned the other side. Then I carefully arranged the stitches so they looked even and slightly pulled so they opened up the design nicely. (sorry for the blurred photo)





Once I was happy with the straightness of the top of the shawl, I pulled the bottom point into place. From there, I pinned each side, alternating between the two, and measuring along the way so that things looked close to even. Here it is all pinned into place (on my side of the bed).





I knit this pattern exactly as written by the designer. I wouldn't have known what to modify anyway, since this is my first lace shawl. First of many, I hope! I'm quite pleased with the colour distribution of this yarn, there's no excessive pooling going on. The finished shawl (46" x 21") is a little smaller than what the pattern dimensions are (52" x 23") - (perhaps because of my blocking?), but very pretty nonetheless. After it was all dry (about 4-6 hours), I did one more weave in of the ends, then snipped.

Here's how it turned out!



Love those edges.

Old stash, new stash, and tiles

Can't cast off without planning what to cast on next!



More Cherry Tree Hill supersock merino I had in my crystal bowl since Christmas. I really wanted to use this for something other than socks, so back to ravelry for more ideas. Here's what I found, the Forest Canopy Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence, using one skein of sockweight yarn! I love shawls, and I love one skein projects - a perfect match.



I may switch to metal needles, these bamboo points are not the greatest for working lace but I was so excited about starting I just grabbed what was handy. This is my first lace project and I'm liking it a whole lot. I keep playing with the knitted fabric and am thinking about how to block and pin this out. This shawl is worked from the top down, working towards 195 sts. It does require a lot of focus (for me) to keep the pattern. I have not inserted a life line yet which is recommended by many lace knitters, I will use satin floss for that job. The centre stitch is marked, and so far that is all I've needed. I have already learned the hard way that I should move up that centre marker every row or two. A small coil-less safety pin does a good job.

And for when I'm socialising, here's what I have to work on! I have been very curious about this yarn and finally get to try it. Dream in Colour's Smooshy, in Cocoa Kiss, recently puchased in a weak moment. Dark and manly colour, hmmm? There are some very nice subtle variations in colours which are not showing up well in this picture.



As for my non-knitting endeavours, I present my quilt block tile art! These pretty tiles with their natural imperfections caused me some grief in setting and grouting, but now they are well on their way to beautification. This simple nine patch block will be framed in a border of yellow and red cedar which is being made by Joe. The completed artwork will hang on a wall on my front porch. Can't wait!



To round out my day-to-day creativity:




Our first garden strawberry of 2008! Picked by Daniel for his mom.