Ripple Wave Afghan

Thanks for listening to me vent about my sore finger. I'm hoping it will feel better quickly!

Thanks also for the kind comments about the afghan and I'd be glad to share the details.  Here's a link to the pattern, which is available for free. It's called the Easy Ripple Afghan, and it is really is easy and fast too.

I'm using Lion Brand Cotton-Ease and a 4.5 mm (G) hook.  I really like Cotton-Ease. It's 50% cotton/50% acrylic, but it feels like cotton. It washes beautifully and holds up well. I bought every bright color I could find locally and then ordered the other brights from Knitting Warehouse. I think I'm using about 14 colors in a random stripe.

I love the weight and hand of cotton blankets. To me, cotton almost feels cool to the touch. Perfect for spring! 

I'm a clutz sometimes.

This post doesn't have much to do with crafting. I'm typing with three fingers on my right (dominant) hand. If you are remotely interested in my tale of woe, here's what happened.

I detailed my car this morning inside and out to get it ready for top-down weather. (I'm a bit of a German car freak.) Top-down season in my part of Texas is almost too short. It gets so hot here in the summer that I feel like a piece of sizzling bacon in a frying pan without a roof covering my head and the air conditioner blasting.

Anyway, I put a gushing gash in the first finger on my right hand just under the nail while washing my car. Something sharp on the windshield wiper had it out for me. After almost passing out twice (I ate a chocolate cupcake to raise my blood sugar and it seemed to help tremendously!), it has finally stopped bleeding.

I feel like such a clutz. Last April I had a run-in with my rotary cutter and sliced into the first finger of my left hand all the way to the bone. If you are brave and like gore, you can see the photo of my frankenfinger here, but I'm warning you, it's graphic! Click at your own risk! I had to have five stitches, but the ER doctor was relieved that I didn't cut into the bone. And, yes, he could see my bone. Please be careful with your rotary cutter. And your windshield wipers.

So, my hand hurts and I can't make hexagons, but my car is really clean.

And so this post isn't all car and frankenfinger related, here's the image I used for my new blog header. We've had some beautiful weather lately and have been outside enjoying it! I hope you are having some lovely weather too.

Hexagons Thoughts :: Week One :: Trimming Hexagons

In a recent hexagon post, I received a few questions regarding hexagons and the way I planned to finish my hexagon quilt. Since the hexagon charm quilt is going to be a fairly long process, I'd like to post at least once a week with some hexagon tips, thoughts, trivia, or inspiration to keep us motivated. I will answer all the questions over the next few weeks. 

This week, I've been thinking that it's not too soon to think about the quilt binding. Grandmother's flower garden quilts can be finished in a number of ways, but I'm planning to straighten the edges of my hexagon quilt. This means that some of my hexagons will be trimmed and some will actually need to be cut in half. 

Why think about this now? Because if you are working on a charm quilt, you'll probably want to avoid using your favorite prints in one of those positions that will be trimmed in half. After binding, those little hexagons will be almost hidden on my quilt. If I decide to sew my hexagons together as I go, I'll want to place my least favorite prints in those positions.   

I'm still undecided about the layout for my charm quilt. Part of me just wants to continue what I started with the totally random and scrappy layout, but part of me thinks I would be happier in the end with a color spectrum layout. There's also the little voice I'm trying to ignore that says just do the random layout this time and do the color spectrum layout next time. Next time!?!

I asked my daughter what she thought and I didn't really like her no-nonsense answer. It went something like, "Keep making hexagons, but don't sew them together yet. Then, when you finish the first quilt you started hand quilting [referring to the Color Wheel Quilt], you can sew the hexagons together in a rainbow." She just had to go there. Ouch.