Accelerating Towards Halloween

Vintage Stitchers met at Barbara's this week. Her home was already decorated for Halloween.

Diane was working on a scarf. The pattern is called "Lacy Leaves." She just had a copy with her, and there was no source, but she said it was from a booklet with four or five patterns.

Marilyn has been busy embroidering with her machine. She made some dish towels, like this:

and this:

She also had finished this wall hanging. Just the binding to go.

Rebecca showed us this framed cross stitch.

and this table runner, using hand-dyed wool.

We talked about our upcoming quilt retreat in Washington, Utah. DH and I will be taking the trailer down, so we can sleep in our own bed. Others are staying in local hotels. I think most people will be taking hand work, but I may take my Featherweight.

I picked up my Pine Burr quilt from the quilter on Friday. Just the binding to go. (You can get a glimpse of the backing at the upper corner folded over.)

The pattern was "Pine Burr Made Modern" from McCall's Quilting, May/June 2012, but it looks completely different because of the fabric/color choices and the fact that I elected to make the background scrappy.

Remember the Kaleidoscope fabrics I was expressing my admiration for last week? I ordered 12 of them for a new quilt. I'm leaning toward "Fresh" from Simply Retro with Camille Roskelley. It's sort of a quick and easy version of a block that looks like the LeMoyne Star.

In knitting news, my first Pucker Up sock is finished and the second started.

The pattern is Cookie A’s ”Wanida” from Sock Innovation. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Brights in “Pucker.”

What's on my needles: Pucker Up Socks. Still hoping to CO the March of the Fiber Animals Cardigan for DH. Finished a few more hexagons for the Busy Bee Throw.

What's on my Featherweight: Binding for the Pine Burr quilt.

What's on my wheel: Languishing, but I have some yummy spinning fiber to inspire me.

What's on my loom: Multi-scrap scarf, no progress since before the trip.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen on the Audible app. Now listening to A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. This book is an award winner, and I can see why. Finished Blood Red from the library, an actual book. Delightful. Now reading Cut from the Same Cloth, by Kathleen Baldwin, one of my new favorite authors, from Kindle. This is the last of the "My Notorious Aunt" series. Funny.

What's in my wine glass: Foxhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Nice value.

What's my tip of the week: I save all those ends of bread no one wants to eat and keep them in the freezer. When I need bread crumbs, I thaw them, break them into pieces and grind them in the blender to use as topping on casseroles or any time I need bread crumbs.

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.

Bright and Cheerful

It was another busy week in the mountains of Utah. The leaves are turning and Park City Singers has begun practicing again.

Practice was Tuesday evening, the same day as out 50th wedding anniversary. DH picked me up early at practice, and we went out to dinner. Several people knew it was our anniversary and called out good wishes. My answer: "Throw rice."

Common Threads was cancelled because Joanie and I were the only ones available besides the host, but we managed to meet at Joanie's on Friday afternoon. Joanie's helper, Anna, had crocheted a little sheep for Joanie last week.

(I think this may be the pattern.) This week a little mouse joined the sheep. 

I found this pattern on Ravelry. It might be the right one, or at least similar.

August is always a hard month for our groups, with so many people traveling. Watch this space for more inspiration, though. There will be other meetings soon, and the quilt retreat coming in October.

My "Hermione's Not-So-Everyday Socks" are finished and ready to wear. 

This is the pattern I used, Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder. The yarn is Stroll sock yarn in "Dandelion." 

I couldn't wait to CO a new pair of socks. I've been petting and admiring this yarn as I finished up the yellow socks. It's Stroll Brights in Pucker. I'm calling the new socks "Pucker Up," in honor of our 50th wedding anniversary.

The pattern is "Wanida" from Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation. 

I found this in my mail box this week, just like this, with this side up. I think I'm in love!

I want to order some of it as soon as I figure out what my design will be and how much I need. The fabric line is Kaleidoscope from Connecting Threads. I want to make a quilt with these fabrics and a white background. Any suggestions?

What's on my needles: The "Pucker Up" (Wanida) Socks. Still hoping to CO the March of the Fiber Animals Cardigan for DH. Finished a few more hexagons for the Busy Bee Throw.

What's on my Featherweight: First Ladies Quilt. Still.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen. Now listening to Under Different Stars, both on the Audible app. Still reading Blood Red from the library, an actual book. It's turning out to be a good story.

What's in my wine glass: Liberty Creek Pinot Noir. Yum!

What's my tip of the week: Book Bub offers eBooks from many publishers for minimal cost, often free. Some of the low-cost or free books on Amazon (Kindle app) have an associated WhisperSync version (Audible app) for less than buying the book on Audible. You can sign up to get suggestions, personalized for you, in daily emails.


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.

Passing of Time

The Fair Isle Flower Socks are finished and on my feet.

Thanks to Raveler Blackberryb for the inspiration. You can see her socks here. The pattern is Fair Isle Flower Socks by Candice DeWitt. The yarn is Lang Jawoll Aktion and Stroll Sock Yarn "White."

I couldn't resist casting on more socks, partly because my Stroll Dandelion was calling to me, and partly because...why not?

I wanted something semi-mindless to work on. Also, I was inspired by this great sunflower, here juxtaposed in front of the tar buckets DH is using to refinish our driveway before the snow comes.

Vintage Stitchers didn't meet this week, because so many people were out of town, but some of us showed up at Joanie's on Friday to keep her company and knit some, so I now have this:

The pattern is Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder, but with this bright color, I'm calling mine Hermione's Not-So-Everyday Socks. 

Sunny's diet has been paying off. She's about the right weight now, all thanks to smaller portion sizes, ladies. Here's a glamor shot of her:

The hiking is still good, but most of the hummingbirds have left and the leaves are starting to turn. With a week to go until the Autumnal Equinox, the sun has moved noticeably to the south and is making its appearance later each day. Here's what Sunday's sunrise looked like.

Enjoy the nice weather while you can. We will be!

Finally, Happy 50th anniversary to my adorable DH tomorrow, September 15th.

What's on my needles: Hermione's Not-So-Everyday Socks. Still hoping to CO the March of the Fiber Animals Cardigan for DH. Finished a few more hexagons for the Busy Bee Throw.

What's on my Featherweight: First Ladies Quilt. Still.

What's on my wheel: Languishing, but I have some yummy spinning fiber to inspire me.

What's on my loom: Multi-scrap scarf, no progress since before the trip.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Jodi Taylor's A Trail Through Time, on Audible, then L. A. Meyer's My Bonny Light Horseman from the library on the Overdrive app. Now listening to Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen on the Audible app. Good so far. Read Mistaken Kiss by Kathleen Baldwin on the Kindle app. Humorous and fun. Now reading Blood Red from the library, an actual book. I think it will be a good read without the narrator.

What's in my wine glass: Foxhorn Merlot. A good value if you like merlot, and we do.

What's my tip of the week: If you need to remove a label or sticker, the easiest way is to use your hair dryer to heat it up. Usually it will peel right off. (Just make sure you don't melt the item you want to keep nice if its plastic.) Any adhesive residue can usually be removed by using the sticker itself or some tape to stick and pull off repeatedly over the spot.

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.

Love's Labors Found

This week Common Threads met at Janet's. She asked us to bring suggestions for gifts to make for neighbors or friends. Julie brought this book, Gifts from the Kitchen by Debbie G. Harman. It includes a CD with tags you can print out.

It's full of cookie recipes and other gifts suitable for neighbors, such as bean soup mix in a jar, which Karan also recommended. She made a bunch of these, with the jars all lines up on the counter. She said she felt like a chemist. Janet was making lace lid covers like this.

I brought the pattern for the scrubbie I like to crochet out of nylon net, nicely paired with a knitted washcloth.

We also had show-and-tell. Bernadette brought us this finished crocheted alphabet baby blanket.

Janet had finished another pair of convertible mitts.

Carol was working on this great embroidered chicken for a quilt wall hanging.

My Pink Monkey Socks are finished. Here they are on the blockers:

And on my feet:

They were a fun project. The pattern was Cookie A's Monkey Socks. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll fingering yarn in "Dogwood Heather."

We had a great hike with the pups on Rocky's birthday, and I took them on another hike on Friday, because DH wanted to take the car to get the oil changed instead of going to Silver Sneakers. 

Happy Labor Day! Hope you can spend it doing something you like.

What's on my needles: Fair Isle Flower Socks. Still hoping to CO the March of the Fiber Animals Cardigan soon for DH. 

What's on my Featherweight: First Ladies Quilt. Still.

What's on my wheel: Languishing, but I have some yummy spinning fiber to inspire me.

What's on my loom: Multi-scrap scarf, no progress since before the trip.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I gave up on Mercedes Lackey's Blood Red and returned it to Audible. The narrator was butchering the German language on the few words she needed for almost every other sentence. In its place, I downloaded her Steadfast, which was excellent. The main characters in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series are almost always repressed by other characters in some way, but this was the first one about an abused wife. Fascinating. Just started Jodi Taylor's A Trail Through Time, the next in the "Chronicles of St. Mary's" series, funny, full of adventure, all about historians who time travel. Finished Restless Hearts by Mona Ingram on the Kindle app. It was excellent, too, about a young woman who must survive in San Francisco's early days. Just started Mistaken Kiss by Kathleen Baldwin, also on the Kindle app. Good so far. (I plan to get Blood Red from the library. I think it will be a good read without the narrator.)

What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw Shiraz (aka "Two-buck Chuck" or "Three-buck Chuck," depending on where you buy it, because it's produced in California, and shipping costs to locations outside the state affect the price), one of our all-time favorites.

What's my tip of the week: When I have a series of regular decreases on a knitting project that are supposed to end with a given number of stitches, I put a stitch marker right where I'm supposed to stop, so I don't have to keep counting sts. When I get to the last stitch (or a few sts before, if there's a vertical row or two of sts before it that are included in the final st count), I have to move the marker, but by then it's easy to keep track.

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.