Packing It In

I've been trying to finish projects I'll need for the trip we're taking next week, like the Navy iPad Tote Bag. 

I've put a small hole in the side, right below the top stripe, to plug in my earbuds, so I can walk around with my iPad while I'm listening to music or an audiobook. I added lining to this one. It has pockets for the power cord and plug, and the earbuds can go in there when not in use. The logo is needle-felted.

For the lining, I used a fat quarter from my stash. I cut it big enough to allow for a seam all the way around, then cut the leftover piece so the edges were even, to make the pocket. I sewed the pocket, right-sides together, all the way around leaving a small opening to turn the pocket right-side out. Then I sewed it to the larger piece, about where I wanted it,l eaving the top open. I added another seam vertically down the middle,not divide the pocket in two. Next I sewed the lining, right-sides together, leaving the top edge and a few inches of one seam open, then pressed the seams and the open edge folded over. I started sewing the lining in by hand right where the hole was, to make sure the hole wasn't obstructed, then continued around the top, using an appliqué stitch and leaving a little bit of the top edge exposed.

My pattern is here.

I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Navy and Bare, along with some of the Wool of the Andes Worsted in Blue Ink I had left over from the iPhone cozy, but held double.

The weather has been nice here: sunny, 80° and perfect for dyeing using the sun-tea method. I did some dyeing, and you will be able to read about it in my July 13 post. However, the lace-weight yarn I dyed with Kool-Aid and food coloring called to me, and I succumbed to temptation. (Who wouldn't have?) I CO another lace shawl, this time Enzian, another free Ravelry download.

You'll be happy to know I finished a few rows before pouring myself a glass of wine. The shawl is moving along nicely. I've named it The Coral Reef, because of the color. (On my monitor, the top photo seems a more realistic color. The photo below is a little too pink.)

I'm also still working on Shaina's Busy Bee Throw from Knit Picks' The Well Made Home pattern collection. I'm using the City Tweed DK in a variety of colors. It's very portable. I can keep the hook and a ball of yarn in my purse, and I have a couple of hours of fun if I need it.

I got a little more done on my Spring Flowers quilt. Here's an old photo of it just to refresh your memory.

And a few more inches on the Multi Scrap Scarf.

Now that it's warm enough, the pups have been swimming.

It's finally warm here in the mountains of Utah—just in time for us to go on vacation.

What's on my needles: The Coral Reef Shawl and the Fair Isle Flower Socks.

What's in my hoop: Hand-quilting my Spring Flowers quilt.

What's on my wheel: Still Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon." No progress there.

What's on my loom: Still the Multi Scrap scarf, 36".

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Just finished listening to The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen from the library using the Overdrive app. It was an interesting mixture of strange and everyday. Definitely worth a read. Now I'm listening to Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger, also from the library on the Overdrive app. Finished reading Death by Cashmere in iBooks and haven't picked a new eBook yet. Also Ann Budd's Sock Knitting Master Class on Kindle.

What's in my wine glass: Frontera Concha Y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, the big bottle. Nice!

What's my tip of the week: Need a bobbin winder for weaving? A power drill holding a regular wooden pencil works great. My plastic bobbins fit snugly on the pencil, so when I turn on the drill, I can wind the bobbin easily. The wooden bobbins also fit, but not as easily. A dowel can be used in place of a pencil; see what fits your bobbins.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Fits and Starts

The Echo Flowers Shawl is finished and in use:

Here's a closeup of the edge detail:

The yarn is Bare 100% Merino Lace Weight yarn from Knit Picks, now called "Bare Shadow." I had tons of it left over from Daphne's Gown, made for her naming ceremony, now five years ago. I bought way too much. This only used one hank of the lace-weight yarn. I'm probably going to dye what's left different colors using KoolAid and the Sun-tea method.

The pattern is "Echo Flower Shawl" by Jenny Johnson Johnen. It was a free pattern on Ravelry.

I had a major case of startitis this week. First I made a new iPhone cozy for my iPhone, using Wool of the Andes Worsted in Blue Ink.

The other one has been wearing out at the corners, so I decided to line this one. I had the fabric left over from the quilt I made for Rocky when he was a pup.

It felted nicely, and when it was dry, I needle-felted the Apple logo on one side with wool roving and then inserted the lining. (I have a stencil I made by tracing the Apple decal that comes with all Apple devices.) Complete instructions for knitting and felting the iPhone cozy are in my notes on the Ravelry page for this project. The lining is just fabric slightly bigger folded over than the iPhone, sewn right-sides together with the bottom corners rounded and the top open. Then I folded the top edge over toward the wrong side and inserted the lining into the felted cozy, catching the edges with a matching thread. (I used an appliqué stitch, but whipstitch would do.)

Then I started Shaina's Busy Bee Throw, using the City Tweed DK I had originally planned for another project that turned out to be very tedious. (And did I mention boring?) This one is fun, and it goes really fast, as crochet often does.

I have more yarn coming for edging the hexagons in Obsidian, a deep charcoal. I hope I have enough of the City Tweed DK in the colors. The pattern is designed for HW, so this throw will probably be slightly thinner and smaller.

Well onto the Busy Bee, I decided I needed a new iPad tote. I CO with Wool of the Andes Bulky in Navy. I'm also using WotA Bulky in Bare and some WotA Worsted in Blue Ink held double, which I had left over from my iPhone cozy. I will be lining the iPad Tote as well.

Common Threads met at Karan's this week. Karan is expecting her first grandchild. She has finished the mobile:

The instructions are available to buy as a Ravelry download.

Karan also made this cute sweater using self-striping sock yarn and bought some cute baby clothes to go with it. The baby is due next month, and they already know it's a girl.

Besides being Fathers' Day, Sunday was also the Summer Solstice. This was my view at 5:00 AM, when the light woke me:

We've been taking advantage of the warm days to hike. On Saturday we hiked on the trails in our neighborhood. There were lots of lovely windflowers, and their scent was everywhere, mingling with the scent of the fir trees.

Because I've been busy with fiber fun, this past week, I've also listened to some audiobooks, including my first WhisperSync novel, Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina. I get free eBooks through Book Bub, usually from Amazon (Kindle), and sometimes they are available with WhisperSync, which allows you to read for a while and listen for a while, but you can listen from start to finish if you want. It's a regular audiobook. If WhisperSync is available for the book you have bought, you can add the audio for a small charge. If the book was free, and the WhisperSync is $1.99, you get the eBook and the audiobook for $1.99. A regularly priced book with WhisperSync may be more than the audiobook from Audible, so if you only want the audiobook, check there before you buy. This week I learned that you can access WhisperSync audiobooks through your Audible app if you combine your Audible account with your Amazon account. I needed some hand-holding from an Audible techie for that, but it wasn't difficult. However, my listening stats disappeared. They are trying to get them back for me, but I recommend you write down what they are before you combine your two accounts, just in case.

What's on my needles: Navy iPad Tote Bag and the Fair Isle Flower Socks . 

What's on my Featherweight: Lining for the iPad Tote

What's on my wheel: Still Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon." No progress there.

What's on my loom: Still the Multi Scrap scarf, 32". No progress there, either.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina, a book in a new genre for me: Steampunk. Still reading Death by Cashmere in iBooks and Ann Budd's Sock Knitting Master Class on Kindle.

What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw Chardonnay, chilled, for a nice summer change.

What's my tip of the week: Felting (or fulling) a knitted item can be accomplished in a top-loading washing machine. I like to put the item into a zippered pillowcase, zipped up with the zipper tab fastened to the pillowcase with a safety pin. I throw in a pair of worn-out jeans to add agitation and wash in hot water with a little laundry detergent, followed by a cold rinse. 

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Finishing, Fulling and Phones.

My favorite project for this past week is still my woven bag, now with lining and in use as my handbag:

There’s even room for a small knitting project and my iPad, but the bag itself isn’t heavy. The handles came from Joann’s. The homespun lining came from my fabric stash.

Common Threads met at Julie’s this week. Julie showed us her woven placemats:

Here’s the yarn she used (and the same thing in white):

Lynda’s baby sweater is coming along. This is the back. The back and fronts are worked all in one piece:

She used the white fleece from her angora bunny “Chablis” for the sheep.

“I couldn’t just leave it there....” That was Julie’s justification for buying all this $3/skein silk yarn on sale at a yarn store:

Now that she’s a weaver, she goes through yarn a lot faster.

Karan made this coaster set:

Here are some of the individual coasters:

She uses a “stack-and-whack” technique, so all the coasters are different.

I finished the knitting on the top to Daphne’s Bunny Suit:

I still have to sew the underarm seams, darn in the ends and sew on the buttons. Then off to the pants to the suit.

The big family event for this week (maybe for this month) is the expected arrival of my new iPhone (4S 16G). Of course any expected arrival requires a knitting project. I made this cozy on Friday out of some wool worsted from my stash, to felt/full and let dry in time for the iPhone’s arrival later today. It also works for my ancient iPod:

The yarn is Wool of the Andes Worsted in Coal from my stash. I have been wanting an iPhone for some time, partly because our land line has become a playground for solicitors, some of whom are ignoring the "Do Not Call" list. If I lie down (with the pups on top of me) I can count on the phone ringing just as I'm dozing off. Or I'm sitting, listening to a nice audiobook with a dog in my lap, or counting sts, or at my sewing machine a room away from the nearest phone. Or we sit down to dinner and the phone rings. I told DH I'm just not answering it anymore. The kids and my close friends know to call my cell phone. That means I'm going through more minutes on my Tracfone, which is loaded with minutes up front. I also want to be able to use the phone to navigate around town when I have to find a place I didn't know I needed to find before leaving home, or to take photos and send them directly to my various social media without having to wait for Internet, then load them onto my iPad and send from there. The phone had to be ordered, but it has made it as far as Salt Lake City and is due to be delivered today. Yaaay!

My Craftsy class project is coming along. Here’s a look at my class project:

This is the first of three pillows, all from one warp. Lower right of the photo shows where I learned to add new yarn. I’m waiting to see what the teacher is going to have us do with the tails. Upper right is adding-machine tape that helps me keep track of how far to weave the various patterns. I’ve been having trouble keeping the twill even, but I'm sure it will improve with practice. Because it goes over three and under one it doesn’t take as much beating as the plain weave, and certainly nothing like the weft-faced rugs I’ve been weaving, because they require extra beating. The cloth will be fulled when finished, so the loose places should close up a bit. The yarn is Wool of the Andes Worsted in Hyacinth, Camel Heather, Currant and Bare.

In quilting news, here’s my progress on the Delectable Pathways second appliqué panel.

You can see, I have to sew the stems down first, and in the right order (stems that are covered by other stems go first), before I can sew down the leaves and other images that go on top. I like to start at one end of the applique and finish everything in that section before moving on, but you could just as easily sew down all the stems first, then all the leaves of the same color (saving time threading needles). I prefer to work from one end to the other, just as I prefer to knit one sock at a time, rather than two at once. I find watching the progress more enjoyable that way. I'm also enjoying sitting out on the deck, now that it's sometimes warm enough. A good place to knit, sew or spin.

I’ve started watching Mary Sorensen’s “Learn to Love Needleturn” DVD and enjoying it. A good reminder of what I learned several years ago in her class at the Quilt Fest, although I have no doubt I'll learn a few new things, perhaps the tips from her advanced class, which I was unable to get into.

Tour de Fleece starts on Saturday. I’ve signed up for Team Knit Picks Lovers 2013 and Team Kromski 2013. My plan (in case you’ve missed earlier blogs) is to spin up all my Full Circle Roving in all the available colors to weave a blanket.

I should have a report and a photo or two next week.

What's on my needles: Daphne’s Bunny Suit.

What's on my loom: Class project for Craftsy class “Floor Loom Weaving.”

What's on my Featherweight: More pillows for my deck furniture.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle Roving, “Espresso.” Gearing up for TdF.

What's on my iPad: Just finished The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey from Audible. Sort of Beauty and the Beast meets Jane Eyre. Also various podcasts. I’m looking forward to reading more of Lackey’s novels. Now I’ve started Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire from the library. I enjoyed the first of the trilogy and the two films made from it, so I’m looking forward to this novel, and it's interesting so far. Also various podcasts, including the Knit Picks Podcast and the Fiber Hooligan Podcast.

What's my app of the week: With a new iPhone, I may be adding some new apps. Watch this space.

What's in my wine glass: Lindeman’s Shiraz-Cabernet 2012. The big bottle. Very nice.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad for photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.