Socks and Sock yarn

I started this blog when I began knitting after a hiatus of many years. Socks have been a major knitting obsession for me these past few years. I tried knitting socks at first because commercial socks hurt my feet. Most commercial socks seem to have a big hard seam across the toe that I find quite irritating.

Of course a second reason I decided to make socks was because I really love sock yarn. It comes in glorious colors. A single skein can usually make a pair of socks or even a small shawl. Each skein is like a small delightful gift.

But, all sock yarns are not created equal, and quite a few "sock" yarns are not entirely suitable for socks.

Socks are often knit from fingering weight yarns. These yarns might be of different fibers and blends of fibers. Most often they contain 75-80% wool and some nylon for strength. They are often "superwash" meaning they should stand up to frequent washing, at least by hand in cool water. Better yet if they can take some machine washing, at least a cool wash.

My first favorite socks yarn was Tofutsie. It was made from a blend of wool, soy fiber and chitin. They don't make Tofutsie anymore. I know why. It really did not stand up to wear. The socks I made from it were wonderfully comfortable, but sadly, not for long. I have darned most of the socks I made from Tofutsie until there was nothing left to darn.

Very basic Tofutsie socks

Another once favored sock yarn that is no longer on my list is Knit Picks Stroll. It comes in a lot of colors. It is supposed to be "superwash". I have some skeins of it that are felted before they are even used. It shrinks and felts unless you care for them very carefully.

But I did make some interesting socks from Stroll. These might be my favorites, but they are a bit felted now.

The next pair of socks may be the ones that took the longest. I had a lot of difficulty with fit when making them. Stranded color work is less elastic, less stretchy than plain knit socks, so one must reach a balance between snug enough to wear and loose enough to get on and off.

These socks use a number of colors and quite a few different sock yarns. I tried to stay with yarns that are specifically made for socks and that contain some nylon for strength.

I have made nearly 40 pairs of socks. I am still learning about them and trying different yarns. I will may never make socks from 100% Merino, thought I have some in my stash. It will be great for shawls.

Butterfly and Turk's Cap complete

This is the quilt I made in September 2015. It began as a photo I took several years ago. I thought it would make a good subject for a pictorial quilt, but was stalled when it came to the execution. I started this in early September and finished it on the last day of the month.

Often the hardest part of making a pictorial quilt is deciding on the subject and taking those first steps. This went together without too much difficulty once I got started. Of course there are always things one might do differently but that is the nature of art and of craft. We are always learning.

I am very happy with the end result.

Note: I tend to call these flowers tiger lilies but I believe they are known as Turk's Cap. 

A Butterfly's progress

Work continues on my butterfly quilt. Seems there is always something that is a bit more urgent than sewing. I work a little at a time, sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes an hour or two. Right now I am finishing up the edges.

Just getting started with satin stitch edge finishing.

The applique process that I use leaves the edges raw. The edges could unravel or pull away from the stitching if they are not secured. I use zigzag and satin stitch in this step to finish the edges.

For this edge finishing I have found the fastest way is to work free-motion. Most quilters understand free-motion sewing with a straight stitch, because for many of us it is how we do most of our quilting. But quilters are sometimes surprised to learn that free-motion sewing can also be done with a zigzag stitch.

I cover or encase most of the edges with free-motion zigzag stitching. This prevents raveling.

This process changes the look of the quilt. Before the edges are secured with satin stitching, the edges are softer. The whole quilt does have a more painterly quality, but is extremely fragile. After the stitching, there are visible lines that delineate each piece. The soft painterly edges become stronger lines.

Most of the stitching is done, just the butterfly left to go.

As I was working through my finishing stitches, I found some areas that needed changing. The values needed adjusting on some of the petals. Although the contrast in the original photo is rather high where the light is striking the petals, the light yellow I used to try to create this effect in my quilt was too intense and the transitions were too abrupt. I softened the contrast, and worked on creating softer transitions. I am much happier.

Butterfly and Tiger Lilies

More than a few years ago I took a picture of some Turk's Cap Lilies while a butterfly was sitting on it. I always thought it might make a good quilt. In the photo below, you can see the original photo, a line drawing of the photo and the beginning of the quilt.

The techniques I am using to make this quilt are essentially the same ones I use to make most of my realistic pictorial quilts, whether they are floral, landscapes or architectural. I start with a photo. I make a detailed line drawing of the photo and use that line drawing to create my pattern. My construction method of choice is a particular applique technique that I call "Upside-Down Applique".

The process involves careful fabric selection to capture the values from the original photo. Often translating the image from photo to fabric results in a more dynamic finished image as I increase the value contrast and color saturation. In the picture above I have begun the applique, using a variety of mostly batik fabrics.

Value helps to define objects.Value contributes to the illusion of dimensionality.

I use mostly prints and batiks in my quilts. Prints and batiks have the benefit of visual texture. They contain value changes within the fabric that add life to the composition. In contrast, solid fabrics tend to look quite flat and lifeless.

Prints or batiks also help to visually blend edges. When working with applique, it can be very difficult to achieve what artists call a soft edge. It is the nature of fabric art to have hard edges where one fabric stops and another begins. In order to disguise the hard edges and make smoother transitions, use prints.

When adjacent fabrics share some hues and values, they create a smoother transition from one to the next. The seam or join is camouflaged by the common elements the two fabrics share.

I am just getting started with this quilt, but it is going well so far.

Cleaning Up, Cutting Machine and Another New Hobby

I have spent the last few weeks cleaning up and rearranging my sewing studio. There are several reasons for the big clean-up. The whole room was a disaster area. Fabric, patterns and supplies were everywhere. It was not conductive for thinking, working, sewing or finding things, and I wanted to do some quilting.

One reason for the big clean up was because I added an Accuquilt Go-Big cutting machine to my studio. I needed to make a space for it. Although it is a significant investment, there are a few reasons for buying the cutting machine. Last winter I decided I wanted to make a simple quilt from largish squares that would put the focus on the fabrics instead of on a complex pattern. Night after night I cut squares until I felt like I had enough to start piecing. By that time my wrists and hands were feeling quite sore. It took some of the fun out of the project, and of course I needed more pieces.

A small part of the quilt

Not too much later, I was looking through a magazine, and came across some information about the cutting machine and the idea took hold.

I should mention that although I am known more for my pictorial quilts than for geometric ones, I have always enjoyed playing with color and fabric and working with scraps. It is what I like to do when I don't want to think too hard and just want to enjoy sewing with colorful fabric.

Electric Cutting Machine and some Dies

The cutting machine has allowed me to take control of my scraps and turn them into useable patchwork pieces. It has also gotten me working on a North Wind quilt. North Wind is a light/dark geometric pattern that kind of sparkles with color once the blocks are put together. It's not a particularly difficult pattern but as much as I have always liked the look, the idea of cutting so many half square triangles for each block had always stopped me in the past.

Some of my North Wind blocks

And finally, during the big clean up, I have made a space for oil painting. My husband has been doing water colors for years. Although I have never been a painter, I have studied art most of my life. We recently started taking some oil painting classes at a nearby arts center and decided to try some at home. I fully expect my first attempts to be rather horrible, but iti s kind of fun to have actual easels in the studio.

Flowers in Winter

One of my crafting loves is making realistic Flower Quilts. I began making them in 2003 as part of the Journal Quilt Project. I made a small flower quilt each month for six months.
This Mountain Laurel from June 2003 is one of my very favorites:

The devil is in the details, and in this quilt the details are machine embroidered (hand guided, not programed).  

Tiger lily is another of my flower quilts, done on a larger scale. 

I begin my flower quilts with a photo. 

Then work with the photo to make a line drawing, and finally, use a special applique method that I call Upside-Down Applique to construct the quilt. Once all the fabric is in place, I add embroidered details and quilting to complete the work. 

I use a number of techniques in addition to applique to create my realistic flower quilts. I emphasize light and shadow, or stated a different way, value and contrast. Contrast can elevate and define our work. The use of value can create an illusion of depth and the skillful use of contrast can take our textiles from folk art into the realm of fine art.

 

I teach my methods at the Academy of Quilting in a class called Flower Power. Many of my students have created spectacular quilts using these methods. You can see them in this Student Gallery. Join me.

Knitting and Quilting

Some may wonder why you see a lot of quilting on a knitting blog. The answer is, this is more of a craft blog, named for a favorite pastime, knitting. 

I have done crafts all my life for as long as I can remember. I was hand sewing and doing embroidery from the time I was very small.

When I was about 11, my mom signed me up for a sewing class where I learned to sew clothing. I made a most horrible bright orange print dress as one of my first projects. But I did learn to sew and put in zippers and do hems and all that good stuff.

Somehow I learned to knit, though I don't remember how I started.

This is a recent hexipuff, knitted from a chart I used for a vest I knitted,
probably in the late 1980's.  I still have the pattern, but the vest was given away long ago.

 

 

For most of my adult life I have been a quilter. First I did clothing, then I started making fairly traditional patchwork quilts from scraps and fabrics I raided from my mom's stash.

One of my clothing projects was an Afghani Nomad's dress, made from a Folkwear Pattern. I spent so much time on the embroidered and quilted yoke of the dress, that by the time I finished, the dress no longer fit.  

I dabbled in lots of different crafts for awhile. I tried fabric dyeing and marbling. I made a lot of beaded earrings. I knit several sweaters and vests, lots of hats and scarves. I bought plenty of materials for crafts I barely tried.

At some point,  I decided to devote my time exclusively to quilting. No more dyeing, because even with a respirator, dyes made me cough and sneeze. No more knitting, since obsessive knitting had given me a bad case of sciatia.

I quilted. I learned lots of techniques. I created some techniques of my own. I taught quilting. 

And then I rediscovered knitting and the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup on Ravelry.

When I first started playing, I made this Harry Potter inspired quilt, based on a tale from Beedle the Bard.

 

Now, I knit as much as I can. I try not to aggravate the sciatica or totally wear out my hands. I can crochet in a pinch, and I still quilt. If you see a mention of Quidditch or Hufflepuff, it has to do with knitting games. But I will always enjoy playing in my scraps and making things with fabric and thread.