Pieces of Mind

Barbara hosted Vintage Stitchers again on Thursday. She had just finished this quilt top:

Barbara used It’s Sew Emma’s Fat Quarter Style: 12 quilts that never go out of style, by Kimberly Jolly, Jocelyn Ueng and  Sarah Price, but she used totally different fabrics from the quilt in the book.

Then she showed us this redwork quilt she had made as a gift.

Remember the redwork quilt that cost her an arm and a leg for the quilting?

The quilting is gorgeous, but she couldn’t afford to do another one like that, so she asked the quilter for less heavy quilting. It will looks lovely, though.

Marilyn was sewing the binding on this machine-appliqué quilt.

…and Brenda was doing the same with this machine-appliqué quilt, a pattern by Edyta Sitar.

We had to go outside and admire Barbara’s beautiful back garden. What a work of art!

Ellen is back in town for a few weeks. I picked her up and brought her to Barbara’s. I hope we can do something else fun together after we get back from our camping trip next week.

I managed to get a little more spinning done, but not much. I finished Mandy’s French Back-to-school Cardigan, started last week. The yarn is Knit Picks Palette in “Custard.”

Then I made a comparable one for Carter using Palette in “Tidepool Heather.” 

 It’s a very quick pattern, once you figure out what you’re doing. I’ve made enough of these now that I can do one almost without looking at the pattern, which I’m rewriting to include an increase that doesn’t show up in the seed stitch and markers, to keep track of where the other increases go.

I did more doll sewing, too. I just heard that the Habitat girl will be a blonde, and she's on her way, coming to join Carter. This will go into her wardrobe:

Then this will be put aside for Daphne's dolls for Christmas.

We went to the Deer Valley Concert on Friday night, outdoors, and all lovely Gershwin music. People take blankets and quilts, and bring food and drink, so it’s a picnic, too. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain at the house when we left. It wasn’t too bad during the first half of the concert.

Then during intermission, the sun came out, and we saw this:

We’ll be camping next week, and I’ll be out of internet range. (Even out of cell range, I suspect.) I have a special blog post set to appear on Monday morning at 8:30 Pacific Daylight Time, but I won’t be here to remind you, so set your alarm! It will appear in the same place as this one. Next week’s blog post is about doll faces, and how they express emotion, in spite of being fixed. There’s a little game, so you’ll want to see it.

I’m hoping to be able to show photos from our camping trip in July 31’s blog post.

What's on my needles: Ready to CO another doll project.

What's on my Featherweight: Still doll clothes.

What's on my loom: Still waiting.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is out and at work. I had planned to take photos, but I’m writing this right after learning that the cleaning lady I’ve been trying to get for a one-time cleaning is coming the next day. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to Between Heaven and Texas by Marie Bostwick. Now listening to Apart at the Seams, the next book in the Cobbled Court Quilts series by the same author. On the Kindle app, still reading Undeniable by Laura Stapleton.

What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw Shiraz (Two-buck Chuck). Always a good value.

What's my tip of the week: Cleaning copper or brass? A cheap and effective tarnish remover is white vinegar mixed with salt. You can put the vinegar on first with a sponge, sprinkle salt (sea salt or cheap salt, it doesn’t matter) on and wipe gently with the sponge.

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.