Free Pattern Friday: Velvet Morning

I'm working on the cardigan Velvet Morning by Knitted Bliss JC, a free patten from Knitty, the on-line magazine.  The stranded cardigan is knitted from Aran weight yarn, so I'm using Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool for the background, and some fairly random balls of contrasting stash yarns for the rest.  It's a very satisfying, non-fussy knit for a stranded project, and I'm looking forward to having a heavy sweater jacket for the winter.

I got this good photo of my progress so far, because even though I got gauge in stockinette with the background color, the stranded work was looking a little small.  I put the project on a strand of waste yarn, soaked and blocked it, and was relieved to find that the size is coming out perfectly.  I would've hated to have had to find a skinnier person to give this sweater to.

Snowball

A friend of mine just became a grandmother, so I decided to knit a little sweater for the new baby.  The pattern, The Garter Yoke Baby Cardi by Jennifer Hoel, is available free on Ravelry.  It's a great, straightforward pattern, made fancy by some lady bug buttons that I think came from Debra. 

But then I started think, don't I have some lady bug fabric?

Sure enough, I did.

This adorable Reversible Sundress, pattern by Sew Baby, which I bought at JoAnn Fabrics,  sews up really easily.  The dress and lining are each one pattern piece, and the bloomers are made from 2 pieces.  It sews up in an hour or so.

The sweater is now an outfit.  Sometimes projects develop a life of their own and snowball into something a bit bigger than expected.  But I knew I was saving that lady bug fabric for a reason.

X and Plus quilt

I've gone back to work for the new school year, so I'll be returning to my spotty pattern of posting.  In the meantime, I've started a fun quilt using the popular X and Plus block.  I've gone through my scraps and stash and I'm using some bright clear colors and black and white.  I'm also incorporating some text prints I've recently collected.  I look forward to sitting down and fussy cutting and sewing a couple of blocks when I have a bit of free time.

The dimensions I'm using:  The center piece is 2" x 5", and the small squares are all 2", including the squares that are halved for form triangles.  The black and white corner squares are 3.5".

Here's a few of my favorite blocks so far:

I finished my Diamonds quilt, and it's bound and waiting for cooler weather.

I used every inch of the fleece remnant I picked for the back.  I had to add a small strip of coordinating cotton to cover the printed selvage edge.