joelle hoverson

My current obsession: Patchwork quilts!

I spent an afternoon at my parent’s house over the weekend and got inspired by seeing and touching the lovely patchwork quilts my mother has made over the years. I think she has more than 30 completed large scale projects, some hung proudly on the living room walls while many slept in her closet.

I had no interest in anything needles and fabrics while living under my parent’s roof but I have a deeper appreciation for her mad skills, now that my sewing and patchwork antennas are way, way up. It took me thirty-some years but I’ve finally arrived at the door of the quilting world, and I’m now ready to open up the door and walk right in!

(I hope the world will be kind to this newbie.)

fabric stack 2

After looking through patchwork books and blogs for inspiration, I decided on the Color-Wheel Quilt from the book, Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Purl Soho’s Joelle Hoverson to be my first project. It was a perfect time to give the fabric bundle that I picked up from my favorite yarn / fabric store in New York City a go after a few years of being completely ignored and forgotten.

I was incredibly pleased to find that putting the color wheel together was a piece of rainbow-colored cake. I think the most time-consuming part was actually washing, drying, and ironing each of the 52 fabric pieces! I was able to cut and sew together all the pieces in just a few of hours. I think the more difficult part will come in a little later when I put the whole thing together (which I’ll do, as soon as I order a white fabric and a batting) but until then, I’m going to enjoy the fact that my first quilt project is finally in the works.

color wheel photoshop copy

By the way, the fabric bundle cut specifically for this project is a real steal! Each fabric piece is large enough to make at least two of the color wheel wedges, and still have a plenty of stash left for other smaller projects. I cut out an extra set of wedges and am currently using them to make patchwork bags. I’ll post some pictures once they’re done!

I’m so happy that tomorrow is Fridaaaaay!

I am so delighted that December has arrived!

We welcomed the new month with the delivery of the aromatic Christmas wreath! We enjoyed having a Christmas tree last year, but the cleanup was a hassle so we passed up on it this year and settled on the wreath. It’s small compared to the six-foot tree, but it’s still very lovely hanging on our living room wall … and it smells wonderful. Aaah, how I love this time of the year.

I just finished knitting a pair of leg warmers, inspired by Joelle Hoverson’s Super-Easy Leg Warmers pattern, from the book, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I used two skeins of Cascade 200 Superwash yarns in black. Just like the name indicates, this is easy and knits really fast — perfect for a beginner knitter. I was able to knit this in two evenings while watching a few movies and enjoying Pon Pon’s karate kicks.

P.S. I read this morning that the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) is pregnant! I’m so happy for the lovely couple! YAY!