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.

Koolhaas

Mmmmmm.....Malabrigo merino worsted, the 2nd most popular yarn on ravelry. Finally, I get to use this luscious thing. The colourway is called "little lovely," but when I work this in my hands, it is all raspberries and cream. Total yum. Unfortunately the pictures are nowhere near the true colour.



A couple of days and I'm done.



Koolhaas is written by Jared of brooklyn tweed, where cabling is done every other row. The look is impressive, and made so much easier (and waaaay faster) by cabling without a cable needle. This technique saved me from fiddling with an extra tool. and I felt quite clever each time I did it! I knit this pattern exactly as written (5 mm needle), with four repeats of the chart before starting decreases. Love it.

Working through my ravelry queue

Last weekend we had a great trip across the border! The Aldergrove/Lynden crossing worked out well for us. We were all prepared for a long wait: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on 23 CDs. And of course, something for me. Here's what I made over the weekend.



Odessa, from Grumperina (free as a ravelry download). Working from my stash, I used a ball of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK. I thought it would be good choice, but the plies sometimes separated and then I got a little confused when I was doing the SSk and YO. I ploughed on, though, since this was all I brought. I had to rip out the first couple of inches two or three times before I got my rhythm and feel for the pattern and yarn. The hat enjoyed some time at the pool and golf course at Semiahmoo.




This was a nice small project that I just barely finished before coming home. The line at the border was almost a little too short (about 30 min)!

At home and only a few hours passed with nothing on the needles, I couldn't stand it. I knew what I was making next. From Leigh Radford's book One Skein, I started the Baby Bolero. Again, working from my stash, I chose another ball of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (I have one more ball to use up, please, someone, take it off my hands, I'm ready to move on). This was a quick one alright, and what they said on ravelry is true: the finishing did take longer than the knitting. But it's all so small, it didn't matter much.


This is sweet. Not blocked yet, but it'll be all ready for a newborn baby this summer. For now, Ginger the bunny is enjoying a summer cardi!

Well, that's just swell!

See pattern details on previous post.

Next!