Putting Stuff Together

Remember the iPhone pouch I was making for our veterinarian's mother? She's a big Nebraska fan, so he asked me to put their logo on it for her. I couldn't figure out how to do it with needle-felting, which was how I made the Apple logo on mine, the one our vet saw me wearing. I found the logo as an embroidered patch at The Patch Collection. They had several sizes, so I picked the size that fit best. I found some fabric in my stash for the lining.

I basted the lining fabric halfway down a piece about twice the length I thought was needed and took it to the vet's office, so he can try it on her phone when he visits her. I gave him a pin, so he can Pin it smaller where it's basted, or pin it together to the right size where it isn't basted. The lining won't stretch, but the outer part of the pouch will. If the lining is too loose, the phone can fall out. If it's too tight...well, obviously, that won't work. (I used my free pattern.) I'm just waiting to get the lining back from our vet.

Pauly doesn't have much in the way of clothing, so I decided to make him one of my Wonderland Turtle pullover/cardigans. I used the smaller size, of course, but there is a larger size for the slim Happy Kidz dolls or the plumper American Girl/Boy dolls.

Tuesday, we had our Madroña Vineyards Zoom "pop-up" meeting/party. The plan this time was for us all to make the same recipe and pair it with different wines to see how the wines went with them. Everyone got this link to start with for the recipe. The daughter of the Vineyard owner said she recognized it as the "TikTok Pasta" recipe, so that's how I saved it in my The Recipe Box app (See my recipe in photo below). I made some changes, the main one being using feta crumbles instead of a block of feta, because of availability, and sliced salad olives...just because. It worked fine, we thought. The recipe calls for roasting the feta cheese with olive oil and seasonings first.

While it's roasting, you cook the pasta. Then you mix the cooked pasta in with the roasted cheese and tomatoes, along with basil and garlic. Some basil leaves decorate the top and then the sliced olives. We used gemelli pasta, and the grooves collected the juices from the tomatoes nicely. 

It was delicious, and we'll make it again! We had a Terra d'Oro Barbera 2016 with it. I thought it was great with every bite, but Charlie thought it was better with a bite of the pasta and cheese but not as much with a bite of mostly the tomatoes.

The greenhouse demolition is coming along. The floor was poorly and cheaply made. Charlie will build a new floor.

With his part of the bathroom closet done, Joshua is working on our front porch/deck. He found the front posts placed directly on the ground, which is not to code. He believes the house was probably inspected before the porch was built, as that often happens. Then it may be expedient to build the porch without abiding by code. It will be up to code when he finishes with it. The bannisters were wobbly, and that will be fixed, too. He is replacing the wood that rotted as a result of coming into direct contact with the soil.

Joshua set up his workshop between where our trailer is parked in the trailer driveway and the fence to the back yard.

The books are starting to go out to friends and family first and our first preorders. I was excited to learn that another check with royalties from the first two books had gone to St. Jude. They have now received a little over $325 from the sale of the books in two years, with more of it coming in the second year. It's good to know that as little as it is, that support will continue after I'm gone, as long as people still buy the books.

This week's cuteness is Miss Daphne, reading my latest book. (I got a kick out of how she texted me, asking when the book would be out. She seemed excited to get it.)

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's books. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of our other books, Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Hinterland Pullover (some more very slight progress made) and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating). Cast on Pauly's Wonderland Turtle and finished the collar. The pattern is Pippa's Wonderland Turtle.

What's on my loom: Dust, but I still plan to make some placemats.

What's on my sewing machine: Still ready for back of T-shirt quilt.

What's in my hoop: Whole Cloth quilt, still no progress..

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Fall Is for Falling came out October 14th. Pauly sees trees that have turned red or yellow and thinks they're changing their clothes. Mandy and Emil help him understand how leaves change color and fall to the ground.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to Plan for the Worst, Chronicles of St. Mary's, Book 11 from Audible.

What's in my wine glass: Sinfonia vinho tinto from Portugal. Nice enough.

What's my tip of the week: My recipe for TikTok Feta Pasta––Enjoy!

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

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 or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Led Astray But Still Fun--Mostly

Well, this first photo is just to show I've made a bit more progress on the Hinterland Pullover. Just a little less than two inches to go before the bottom ribbing.

On Monday, we drove out to the coast to visit my BIL, Jim, in his new digs in Florence. I thought I might get a lot done on this project during the trip, but it was not to be. (I did get a few more rows done while we Zoomed with our daughter on Sunday, though.)

I worked on another project (a sweater for Pippa) for part of the drive, but I had to help navigate, and then Rocky became stressed, so I had to comfort him. We ended up going way out of our way to the north on the way there. It took an extra two hours, including stops for us and the dogs.

We followed Jim's directions to his new home. It's a manufactured home in a gated community. The house was a real mess when he bought it. It was covered with some kind of black moss, as were the statue, wishing well and bench out in front. He pressure-washed the outside of the house and the other things. Then he had the house repainted, a new back deck put on and the house reroofed. The landscaping was also a mess, of course. He spent a lot of time on that, as well. Inside, he needed to do a lot of repairs and pull up old carpeting in the great room. I think it looks nice on the outside now, and he will get the inside in shape with a bit of time.

Monday's supper was a simple but tasty meal, with a bottle of bubbly to go along with it.

Here's a look at mine. Some salmon, a wild rice dish and three-bean salad, all prepared by our host.

Tuesday, we went to the beach, but it was "blowing up something fierce," as they used to say in the old movies. Not exactly gale-force, but too strong for the beach to be pleasant, so we put the stroller back in the car and drove in to Old Town Florence. We took the stroller out again and strolled up and down the main street. We saw the RV campground where we plan to stay in August, if we can ever figure out how to get there more directly than by going almost to Portland. (More about that later.)

On Wednesday, we took the dogs to an open area near Jim's home so they could run. The houses are built on dunes that have become compacted over the years. The trees and bushes seem to have really deep roots. Dusty loves chasing a ball. 

This is Rocky's idea of "going for a run." He seemed enjoy it. New smells and feeling the sun on his back were undoubtedly pleasant.

On Thursday, the wind had died down enough that it was pleasant on the beach, at least during the morning. The guys (two-legged and four-legged ones) enjoyed a walk on the beach, and Dusty got to chase the ball a bit more.

I was surprised that Dusty didn't chase the birds, but he was happy just going after the ball.

My main objective in going to the beach was to get some photos of Pippa and Pauly on the beach. Even though the wind had let up a lot, there were still gusts that gave me problems. Pauly seemed to know how to keep his hat on, but Pippa's hat went flying several times, and I had to chase it down the beach. I also had to chase the bag I used to bring the dolls in, along with the two plastic newspaper bags I had them in to protect them. The angle of the sun was still fairly low, so I had to deal with my shadow when taking photos with the sun behind me and the bright sand causing the dolls to be backlit when I took photos from the other direction.  The photos are pretty much OK with some editing, however.

We came across this empty crab carapace when we were walking back up the beach to where we were parked. I think it's a Pacific Rock Crab, but you really need the legs and underbelly to identify it for sure. (It found its way into the story.)

Friday we drove home. We tried to go a different way, but somehow missed a turn without realizing it and got off the road we planned to use. I asked Siri for help, and she directed us from there. Again Rocky was unhappy, so it wasn't a pleasant trip. It was better, though, than it was for someone. We passed this wreck. I've been trying to find out what happened to anyone who was in this car. No snow or ice at fault, so I can only guess it was either the driver's negligence or another vehicle (now gone) was involved.

This is where we were when we encountered the flipped-over car, on Hwy 58. This road brought us back to the main road through Bend, but we got on it quite a ways south of town. We think we have our mistake figured out for our trip next month with the trailer. (Fingers crossed.)

I'm planning on asking the vet about Rocky's distress. Maybe he was car sick because he can't see where we're going, but he never threw up. If his ears hurt from the elevation changes, they stopped when he got out of the car, so maybe not that. It's puzzling. He has always been a good traveler.

For some cuteness––or maybe some silliness––here's Johan, ready to go to PE camp. Not silly, you say? Just give him a few minutes.

This week's plan is for a partial bathroom remodel in our master bath. This shower stall is going to be removed and made into an additional closet. The workers will just rip this one out, and we will hire someone else to finish it as a closet. My plan is for cedar lining.

Where will we shower, you ask? We're having the big soaking tub removed and replaced with a classy new shower stall. Here's the "before" photo:

The piece of tile broken off is from the asbestos test, required by state law. The person who removed it also drilled a couple of holes in the wall to test other places around the existing tub. Apparently they found no asbestos, because they are ready to go (we think). It's costing us extra to use this space instead of the existing shower, but we think it will be a much nicer shower, especially with the window. Stay tuned for updates!

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of our first book, Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, it would help if you left an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: The Hinterland Pullover, Pippa's Seattle Sweater and again no progress on the emPower People Kerchief this week.

What's on my loom: Still the Trailer Rugs, no progress this week.

What's on my sewing machine: Maybe a bathing suit for Pauly is needed..

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In The Balancing Trick, Veronika shows Billy and Jolena how The Writer fills out a check and keeps track of the checks she writes.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: We finished listening to The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. We started it when we drove up to Beaverton in February. We didn't have too much trouble figuring out where we were. It was a great book! Still listening to The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone on the Audible app. I'm a little closer to the end of it. It's good, too.   

What's in my wine glass: Arriccio Merlot 2019. Pretty good!

What's my tip of the week: We often use olive oil in place of butter on our bread, sometimes mixed with a little granulated garlic and some herb mixture like Penzeys "Justice" seasoning, a little salt and maybe some pepper. It's great for dipping, but it can be messy if you pour it on. I like to mix it up first in a small jar, then put it into the fridge until it solidifies. Then you can spread it nicely. You have to leave it refrigerated until you need it, then put it back in the fridge, though, because if you leave it out, it will "melt" (or return to its liquid state).

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is now available for preorder from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

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 or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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High Fiber—April Fool for Fiber

I've given up all my fiber fun so I can spend the time doing housework and keep my home spotless. Not!

The big quilting news for this week is that Julie finished quilting my Hexagon Quilt. I'm going to use it as a table topper for the little table in our living room, which is currently shoved out of the way to make room for the loom in its temporary home. (Wouldn't you know, the pathway to the sliding-glass door downstairs, through which the loom must pass, will be the last to give up its multiple feet of snow.)

Speaking of the loom, I managed to warp it all in one day, as I said in last week's blog post. However, when I got ready to start weaving the two denim chair mats, I discovered a sleying mistake.

It was fairly easy to fix, though, so soon I was weaving the border for the first mat:

The borders are a basket weave using carpet warp, the same as the warp thread. The thinner, darker threads are just there to spread out the warp threads. They will be removed. I'll machine-sew along the outer edges of the borders and then hem them.

Now I have the first chair mat finished. I have a lease stick placed in between the two mats, and I'm ready to start the second one. No need to cut the first one off. There's plenty of room for a bunch of mats on my loom.

I have a good start on Daphne's Bunny Suit sweater:

This is the back. It's time for the neck shaping. I'm using Swish DK in "Squirrel Heather" and "Lava Heather." I originally planned on using "Dove Heather" for the bunnies, but there didn't seem to be enough contrast. I had plenty of the "Lava Heather" from DH's sweater.

Speaking of which, as I mentioned in last week's blog post, I frogged the Christmas Waffle Cardi. The lovely yarn was pretty kinked up, so I gave it a nice bath. Here it is hanging in the downstairs shower to drip dry:

Then I balled up the yarn:

I'm ready to go on the new sweater, which is the Texture-striped Pullover by Jon Gilliam. I will rename the sweater, but it has a waffle stripe, so I will probably keep the "Christmas Waffle" theme.

I picked up some yarn to make a chemo hat for an acquaintance who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I'll be making this hat with this yarn.

Speaking of cancer, our own Knit4Many is walking the Relay for Life on April 5th, an all-nighter! Here's her donation page, if you want to help with the cause. Donors of $5 or more will be entered in a drawing for a $25 gift certificate to Knit Picks!

On the home front, the chute part of the laundry chute was finally finished and installed in the laundry room.

Clothes dropped into the chute in our bathroom closet floor are deposited directly into a laundry basket in our laundry room. No more carrying the laundry basket down the stairs!

And...the pups are enjoying the disappearance of the snow. Here they are enjoying being able to smell the new life in the bare ground:

I thought you would like a gratuitous baby photo, so here's a recent photo of Soren. Enjoy!

I hope everyone had a great Passover and/or Easter celebration!

Don't forget to tune into the Fiber Hooligan Podcast later today.

What's on my needles: Daphne's Bunny Suit, back almost done, and Dogwood Blossoms. Ready to CO for Christmas Waffle Sweater, Part Deux, and the Not-Just-For-Chemo Reversible Cloche.

What's on my loom: Ready to go on the second chair mat.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle Roving, "Fawn," just a little bit done.

What's on my iPad: Finished His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik from Audible.com, then listened to Golden Days by D. E. Stevenson, also from Audible. (The first book is an imaginative tale about the Napoleonic wars in a world where all sides have access to dragons. The second book is the further adventures of Mrs. Tim, written like a diary, and very funny. It's like being able to visit people in early-mid 20th Century England.) Now I'm listening to another Audible audiobook, Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

What's on my Featherweight: No progress on Delectable Pathways this week. It's too hard to go up and down the stairs. However, I hope to be able to get the machine work finished soon.

What's in my wine glass: Lindeman's Bin 50 Shiraz 2011, which made it into the 50+ Best Buy Best Value Awards. 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.

High Fiber--Progress on All Fronts

We've had some progress on all fronts here. First, we finally got our first snowfall of the season. This was my back yard:

The resorts are happy. Now if it will stay cold enough, maybe they can keep some of it to form the base they will add to when they make snow. (All of our local ski areas made it into the top 10 ski resorts this year.)

The cold weather, even temporary, is hard on our wildlife. Not that Squeeky is wild. He depends on his "welfare check" to get him through times when food is hard to find. We have watched him put some aside, though, just in case. His favorite handout is peanuts, which come pre-packaged in squirrel take-out boxes.

We were glad to have our bathroom remodel progressed to the stage where we don't have to worry about ventilation or being warm enough to dry out the materials. The tilework is almost done. The grout still has to go in (today), but you can get an idea of how it will look.

The floor of the shower is pebbles, so we will get a nice foot massage while we shower. The old shower stall was smaller than the shower in our little trailer, so this is an improvement.

The political campaigns will be done soon, too. I'll be glad to be free again to knit, quilt and spin! (Once I get the house cleaned up, though.) I completed my mail-in ballot on Friday. Rocky made sure I filled it out properly. 

If you haven't voted yet, be sure to do so, regardless of the candidates you support. The important thing is to inform yourself and vote!

You may have noticed Rocky's sweater. I finished it for him nearly a year ago, and he has been enjoying it tremendously! It's great that it can go through the washer and dryer and still look nice when it's done.

The pattern is Biscuits and Bones by Patons. The yarn is Knit Picks' Swish Worsted in "Hollyberry."

Progress has also been made on my Dogwood Blossoms cardigan:

In case you're seeing this project for the first time, I made some changes to the sweater. I threw out one color and added several others. I also changed the design to drop-shoulder. You can read what I did here.

The grandkids are coming for the Christmas holidays, so I will be cleaning up and getting ready. Both grandsons are expecting to see moose! Here's Soren's request, received Saturday:

Then Zachary seconded the motion on Sunday:

We're ordering salt licks!

Everyone who's in Sandy's wake, please stay safe!

What's on my needles: Dogwood Blossoms.
What's on my wheel: Full Circle Roving in "Pigeon."
What's on my iPad: Just finished Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz, from Audible. Great book, as usual!
What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw (Two-buck Chuck) Shiraz. One of our favorites!

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.