I am in awe of all of your amazing quilting skills- especially after trying it myself!



Made from a quilt kit bought at Joann's, except the three largest panels were my own fabric.  I used in the ditch quilting only, I should have probably quilted it a little more, but I was afraid my lack of sewing expertise would be even more noticeable if I did that.  It also came out smaller than expected (it was supposed to be twin sized, but I somehow missed the part about using 1/4" seams and used 1/2" instead.)  It is pretty wonky here and there, but it is snuggly and I'm happy with it!

I was just gifted 130 yards of Malabrigo's Gruesa thick and thin yarn.  Any pattern suggestions?  I want something that will do this yarn justice. 

For those of you that use the styrofoam heads to model your finished hats, where did you get them?

I'm working on a pattern for a hat knit from the bottom up, but I don't know how to figure the decreases.  When its time to start the decreases, I will have 66 stitches on the needles and need to decrease down to the end within 10 rows.  The hat is k2 p2 ribbing.
any suggestions?
for those of you who write your own patterns, how do you figure this out?

Anyone know if they usually have lots of yarn vendors at the fair?
I haven't been in ages, but I might be convinced to go if they have yarn!

I finally have something cute to put my knitting needles in.  (That cardboard box was getting pretty beat-up)
closed

open (with flap folded behind)

I just finished these up today.  They will go great with my matching Panta.  This was my first attempt at making cables and I was shocked at how easy they are.  If you're scared of cables, don't be- just jump on in and try them!  (PS, www.knittinghelp.co m has good videos to show you how!)

Pattern here: http://wineandneedles.blogspot.com/2004/12/wrist-warmer-pattern.html

My first hat, modeled by my super-cute hubby:

I did a really bad job seaming up the back. (Which I'm not showing you!)
Any good tips for seaming these?

I made this for my sister's birthday.  I pretty much winged the design, and the handles were a pain, but I like the way it turned out.

My husband is in a band called The Valentines and they are planning on having a Valentine's Day CD release party.  We need ideas!  Some that we have so far are:

hanging white sheets up and having projectors play silent films in the background
having red and white balloons around the stage

Oh, and if you want to hear their music, for inspiration, check out www.myspace.com/valentines