Fleeced

(affiliate links to my designs)

I've been crocheting in the evenings while listening to inspirational podcasts. I've purchased several of my Spoonflower designs on polar fleece through the years when an awesome sale hit, and I typically would just hem them and stick them in my Etsy shop.

I can't remember when I decided a crochet edging would be more special, but I've been doing it for a while now, and I guess because I so often use thread (for snowflakes), crocheting with yarn seems more relaxing.

The above fleece probably is the final patriotic item I'll be able to finish before the 4th of July, but I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

All the snowflake fleeces are created with my own photographs of my own crochet snowflake designs. I have really enjoyed collaging the images I've shot over the years to create what, to me, is beautiful snowflake artwork. I'm still kind of in shock that I just finished my 913th snowflake design!

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Vote!

(affiliate links to my designs)

You really have to scroll to find my entry, but you might find others you like along the way, too! The quality and variety of entries has really exploded since I last participated in the Spoonflower challenge. I had a very difficult time choosing only three. I needed about 90 votes!!! I think I hearted more than 120 designs I would love to use in a quilt. Basically every snowflake design, every blue design, every polar bear design, every religious design... Boy, if I had the money and the time, everyone on my Christmas list would get a quilt from one of the challenge fabrics!

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No Flake Monday

Still in the same time crunch as last week; hope to have things under control in July. I'll try to get a new snowflake pattern worked up soon. Just burning the candle at both ends right now, and there isn't time for things I love most.

I did try to create a "pandemonium snowflake" in AI for today, and I was shocked when it actually created two (out of eight) with six sides! I plan to crochet both of these flakes, one perhaps as soon as things slow down. (Update: I actually crocheted the AI flake above yesterday after church while Lizard slept! Now I just have to write the pattern!)

For your visual enjoyment, I also have one more digital snowflake temperature quilt that will be complete in the next six days. This is going to make a GREAT fat quarter on Spoonflower! See how fast we went from comfortable to way too hot, literally overnight?!? I may have to start a new half-year digital quilt for the second half of this year. You can never have too many digital snowflake temperature quilts, right?

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Eclipsed

I didn't incorporate an eclipse block last year into any of my digital temperature quilts, and I didn't do anything special with the eclipse day motif in my 2023 crochet temperature project. We had less eclipse this year than we had last year, and I was working, to boot. But I got it in my head I needed to do an eclipse block, and I just couldn't let go of the idea. I'm pretty happy now I played with my projects. I like most of what I got!

My 2024 digital batik temperature quilt is sort of a mockup of how I plan to use up my stash of leftover charm squares in a real quilt one day when I have time to make a real quilt. After last year's digital rainbow temperature quilt, I wasn't sure I wanted to do another rainbow. I didn't like the red and orange in the project. The finished project is growing on me now. I had a Zazzle T-shirt printed with the design, and it's a real hit when I wear it in public.

I definitely love the 2024 digital batik temperature quilt a lot more now than I undoubtedly will like it once we hit orange and red temperatures this summer. But I'm hoping this project will slowly worm its way back into my heart once it's done, and then I'll know it's okay to make a real fabric quilt with a rainbow temperature scale.

I was certain I had created a snowflake to commemorate our 2017 eclipse adventure, but I apparently did not. I thought maybe I could substitute my 2022 event horizon-inspired snowflake, which I've now discovered I never actually worked up, even though I had a great idea when the singularity was first photographed. I searched my snowflake stash and decided my Seek Snowflake would suffice.

My 2024 digital batik snowflake temperature quilt uses the same color scheme from my 2023 crochet temperature project, and I still absolutely adore it. I have a collection of turquoise, green, rose and purple batiks I plan to use in a real quilt one day, and this digital project is sort of a mockup of what that might look like. I'm even tempted to appliqué real crocheted snowflakes to make the most fabulous real quilt ever. My digital project makes me yearn for the day I can get back to sewing on a regular basis.

I decided to try something a little different this year with a different color scheme for each season in one digital temperature quilt. I was so happy when the first day of spring fell on the first block of a new row.

I wasn't so sure I liked the idea after the first four or five spring blocks. Now I'm into my second row of spring, and I think the summer palette is going to knock this thing out of the park. I'm no fan of hot weather, but I can't wait to see what the next color scale will look like next to spring. And I'm a little anxious for warmer overnight temperatures right now, not only for my garden, but also to see how the spring rows will look when they begin getting a bit darker.

My favorite 2024 digital temperature quilt, of course, is the blue one. I really think this would be an outstanding real fabric quilt. Expecially with appliquéd snowflakes!

I'm working up a digital fat quarter, as well as a yard, to print via Spoonflower. The yard will be the whole year. The fat quarter segment will be finished faster. Perfect for the low-patience level I'm running right now drooling over this project. I estimate the fat quarter will be done in about three months, and I think I may have to make a dress or coat out of this fabric once printed!!!

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A Whole New Fab

(affiliate links to my designs)

Spoonflower had another fat quarter sale, so I had to make some new fat quarters.

I'd made a valentine card with six weeks of heartflakes on pink in digital temperature quilt style.

If I made the blocks three inches wide, I would need only a handful more to complete a fat quarter panel.

The pink version turned out so well, I decided I should do the same thing with the blue digital snowflake temperature quilt blocks I've been doing each day this year to see how an all-blue temperature quilt would look. I LOVE IT!!!

I most definitely will crochet a blue temperature project one day using my own hand-dyed blues. Yes, I have enough, and now that I know I don't want to use up all my hand-dyed thread, I don't have to ration my hand-dyeing anymore. I just have to make time. I. CAN'T. WAIT.

Gosh, I made the coolest greeting card, too. I could do a whole series of these and never get tired of them.

I cannot wait to begin sewing these new fat quarters. I might have to add them to last year's digital snowflake patchwork fat quarters for perhaps another quilted jacket!!! I would have the coolest jacket in the galaxy!

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Flaky Flimsy

(affiliate links to my designs)

I know. Last thing I needed is another unfinished quilt. But I'm going to be an aunt again any minute, and for this particular baby, nothing in my UFO stash seemed quite right.

Meanwhile, I finally printed my final 2023 digital snowflake temperature quilt segment, and it was itching to be made into something.

First, I finished the mini panel crafted from entire month-long segments printed on fat quarters. Then I put on a black sashing to make the center stand out from the planned border.

Then I cut off the extra rows on my five-inch, full-yard panels and used them to create the border. The 11 already-printed fat quarter panels were already cut and pieced. The rest was all completed in one night. All I need to do now is layer it, quilt it and bind it. I am one super happy camper. I think this might make a perfect baby quilt!

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Winter Blues

One of my 2024 digital temperature quilts so far is one of my favorite digital creations to date. It's the first thing I think of each morning when I get up, and each day, I can't wait to do the next block.

I've been saving the individual blocks so I can create other digital art with them. I sometimes have fun playing with them on my phone.

The color scheme for this segment initially was a test to see if I'd like a real crochet temperature project worked with just my hand-dyed blues. I came up with the idea last year, before I realized I don't ever want to use up all my hand-dyed thread.

I had started another digital temperature project using the colors of my charm square stash in a different layout than the one I used for 2023 to see if that would help me learn to love the color scheme. Before January ended, I was already sick of that color scheme again. So I redid the entire month in all blues, another test of whether I could live with a whole year of blues. Oh, my gosh, so far, I absolutely LOVE the look!!!

I should have known I would love an all-blue hand-dyed crochet project.

So now I've created this HUGE dilemma. I would LOVE a lacy temperature scarf created from all (or most of) my hand-dyed blues. I have more than enough colors to create an all-blue temperature scale! However, I don't want to use up all my blues!!! I LOVE my blues. I actually love creating new blues. I love creating gradient snowflakes with my hand-dyed blues. The last few days, I've been really, really, really tempting myself because I just don't have time right now, but...

I can dye MORE blues!!! I can dye again!!!

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to be done, or not to be done...

That is the question. It could be done. Or it could go another 31 days.

What to do. What to do.

If I make Tuesday's motif, I'm committed to two more rows, or 30 more motifs. I probably run out of three or four more colors. I continue to pressure myself with daily motifs through what has been a very challenging fourth quarter. And I perhaps nix any ideas of doing another temperature project because I don't think I want two overlapping crochet temperature projects. And if I decide not to do another one, I cheat myself out of another masterpiece like this, perhaps in an even better color combination.

I keep telling myself deadlines won't be as crushing come January 1. But I can't stop thinking about next November and December. Part of me really doesn't want that part of the repeat. I could do a 10-month crochet project. Or I could dig my heels in and do the actual fabric quilt I wanted to do this year.

Oh, man. I hate decisions like this!!!

On the very bright side, another month of digital snowflake temperature quilt is done!!! Man, this is going to be a beauty when I finish the next panel, which also will run into January. But digital isn't as much of a time hog, and oh, how I adore this project!!!

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