Cleaning and Keeping Clean

I knew you'd rather see this than watch me washing floors:

Those are my Banana-oat Waffles. I've shared the recipe before. It's a good use for bananas that have passed their prime.

Now that I have your attention, here's a rundown of my week, other than making waffles.

The Doll's Storybook was scheduled through the time we were gone on our trip, but I had another one in the works. I needed to be written, though, and then photos taken. It's called The Cruise That Didn't Happen. In it, Veronika was going to go on a cruise to the Bahamas before a hurricane destroyed her dream.

Of course, she was disappointed, but Veronika being Veronika, she was philosophical about it. The dolls talk about how to deal with negative emotions and Mandy gives a short lesson on how hurricanes form. I had to clean up my fiber studio before I could take photos.

I'll be cleaning up the knitting docket soon. I'm coming to the end of my "Sunshine in the Rain Shawlette" after all the extra knitting time during our trip. Just one more pattern repeat to go, the bind-off and blocking. I could be wearing it this week.

Friday was the Climate Strike, and our little town of Bend put in a good showing with "hundreds" of people showing up, according to an article in the Bend Bulletin. The local event was run mostly by high school students, and the participants were predominantly young people, but we noticed a lot of other grandparents turned up. It was a good reminder to be good stewards of Mother Earth.

After the demonstration, we stopped in at the Bend Brewing Company for a beer.

On Saturday, I had a visit with my friend Eevi, who came down from Tualatin with her parents to visit her aunt for the weekend. I picked her up and we went to BJ's Quilt Basket. We met online at the Knit Picks Knitting Community about 2009 (?) and stayed in touch after the Knitting Community folded (due to the assault by spammers), primarily through Facebook and Ravelry's The Frog Prince and His Knitting Community Orphans group.
We went to the Old Mill District for a stroll and stopped in at Flat Bread Pizza for lunch, where our wait person took this photo.

After lunch, we went back to Eevi's aunt's home and picked up her dad, before coming to my house for coffee and pulla, an old Finnish tradition. Eevi's dad is Finnish, so we had lots to chat about dealing mostly with Finnish food and our favorite dishes.

Sunday I got to sing with the new choir for the first time, having missed the choir's first time to sing for the new year last week. We have a few new members with the start of the new year after being off for the summer. It was fun singing with a larger group. On Wednesday we had cleaned up the pieces we were singing, so they went pretty well. I think everyone was pleased.

In other news, Zachary has lost his third tooth in nine days. At this rate, he'll need some choppers soon. He says that his doll Zachary Jr. has also lost some teeth, although it doesn't show. The Tooth Fairy had to reward the doll, too. I guess you could say the two Zachary boys cleaned up, money-wise.

The Oregon grandkids participated in a 5K run/walk/skip/jump event on Saturday to raise money for local schools. It was put on by Reed College with a number of sponsors. They were joined by their cousin and everyone's parents. The boys are, from left, Soren, Leo and Johan. Leo's parents are in the middle.

The cast of The Doll's Storybook will be welcoming a new member this week if all goes well. We needed a second boy, so this doll (called Emilia) will get a haircut and become Emil. I'm going to try to do the haircut on my own this time. I hope it will look neat and tidy when I'm done, Otherwise I will have to order him a wig. If he's ready, he will be introduced this week, as he's due to arrive on Wednesday. I think this face will work well as a boy.

He had already left Los Angeles when I got up yesterday morning, so I'm sure he will arrive this week, even if there is a delay.

What's on my needles: "Sunshine in the Rain," a shawlette from this pattern. Also still making some dishcloths to have something mindless to work on.

What's on my sewing machine: Clothes for Emil.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt, but no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Cruise That Didn't Happen.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still A Scandal in Battersea by Mercedes Lackey. Not much progress this week.

What's in my wine glass: Phigment Red Wine Bland 2017 vintage from the Notso Wine Company. Lovely!

What's my tip of the week: You don't have to buy those expensive single-use Swiffer pads for your Swiffer (if you have one). You can make a reusable one. It's a simple knitting project. There are a lot of different designs available, but this is the one I like. Just spray on your choice of cleaners that doesn't need rinsing, or dip the Swiffer into the solution, and you're ready to go. When you're done, you can throw it into the laundry or wash it by hand, if you need to use it again. I plan on having several, so I can try to keep my floor clean, a never-ending job.

It takes 60-70 yards of cotton worsted yarn, such as Sugar 'n Cream, which also is good for dish cloths.

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.

Spinning in the RAK

We had a spin-in this past week in The Frog Prince and his Knitting Community Orphans.

That was the first bobbin. I’m close to finishing the second one. I’ll try to remember to post a photo of the two together, plied when I reach that stage. The spinning fiber is Knit Picks Full Circle in "Fawn."

Life got in the way, as sometimes usually happens, so I didn’t get as much done as I had planned, especially because we were getting ready for the convention and the commute to it in Salt Lake City, as well as getting the dogs ready to be boarded at Camp Barkalot in Salt Lake City overnight.

I also spent a few hours this week selecting recipes from our "Rather Spin than Cook" thread on the Knitting Community, which is going away May 1st, and moving them to the new thread of the same name on The Frog Prince and his Knitting Community Orphans forum on Ravelry. Often there were photos included. (What's a recipe without a photo?) This new thread is for quick, easy recipes, to save you time not just for spinning, but for knitting, crocheting, quilting, weaving and dyeing.

Made some progress on the Vicenza Lace Shawl at the convention.

The yarn is Knit Picks Hawthorn in “Lovejoy.” Nice to work with. I think I might have some left over. Someone at the convention asked to take a photo of my new knitting bag, which contained my shawl project (Remember from last week, when I got RAK'd the first time?)

When we got home Friday, I found out that I had been “RAK’d” again.

Lucky me. What a surprise! I received some lovely Waimea Rooster, already an object of much admiration by me; spinning fiber (Merino/Tencel blend, the colorful one); some Teal Carded Targhee/Polypay and some Dark Teal Carded CVM/Romeldale: a coloring book and pencils; some lovely tea and some scissors I will never lose because they have a magnetic holder. Grapes! How appropriate (see above knitting bag)! Thank you, Christina Rowell/AlohaBlu!

I missed the quilt guild meeting because we had an impromptu soprano sectional for Beethoven’s Ninth, but here are a couple of quilts from long ago to show you quilters just to keep you reading my blog. This was an antique quilt my friend Tina Lewis restored, called Broken Dishes:

Here's another one, a Log Cabin:

I was hoping to be able to spin on the front deck during the week. I made a valiant effort, but when it was nice (60° in the sun) it was so breezy I was afraid I was going to lose my roving. 

DH said it was the front moving in. Front? What front? It was supposed to rain and then snow! Well, it did, and then was cold (48° max in the sun) through Sunday. Just when our daffodils were coming up. When we picked up the pups in Salt Lake City (about 2,000' lower elevation and much warmer), the person in charge at Camp Barkalot said that Rocky and Sunny had spent a lot of time outdoors, even standing in the rain. Spring! And then they had to come home...to winter.

What's on my needles: Still hand-quilting the “Delectable Pathways” quilt. Working on the the Vicenza Lace Shawl. Still have Aran sweater for Daphne Jr. and socks on needles.

What's on my Featherweight: Ready to start on Dolly’s Regency outfit when I get a chance.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listing to the Beethoven’s Ninth choral practice recording is cutting into my audiobook time. I have downloaded a new audiobook, but I couldn't even tell you what it is. Still reading A Love That Never Tires by Allyson Jeleyne on the Kindle app. Good thing it never tires.

What's in my wine glass: Bohemian Highway Merlot. Described as a casual, free-flowing spirit. Sometimes I can manage that.

What's my tip of the week: Of course, you know to run the garbage disposal whenever you put something in it, but do you have family members who forget to do this? You know the type: they come in to make a sandwich, sweep bits of this and that off the counter and into the sink, and then walk off with their sandwich. (Crumbs in the sink are a giveaway.) If you don’t need to run the garbage disposal yourself in the process of meal preparation, it can sit there and take on a life of its own. You know what I mean. I run mine every morning as one of my morning chores. There’s always something in it.

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.

New Life

Here’s Rebecca’s version of a wool appliqué design Julie recently finished.

This was a week to contemplate death, but also resurrection. I see some parallels to my life, even if on a smaller scale. True to our theme, Rebecca has added a butterfly, long considered a symbol of resurrection and new life because it “dies” as a caterpillar and emerges from a tomb in a new form.

Here’s Julie’s wool appliqué wall hanging based on the same design. You may recognize it, as I included it in a blog several weeks ago.

Rebecca also had finished this lovely cross stitch for her daughter’s new house (I believe).

Another project you might remember: Barbara’s appliqué quilt. Marilyn redrafted the block so they would come out the right size, and Barbara managed to get the pieces out of the fabric she had left.

She was not happy with the directions, so it’s just as well the pattern is out of print. If you wanted to make one like it, you would have to reverse-engineer it. It's a very nice design, thought, and lovely fabrics in the kit. Here are the border fabrics that came in the kit.

The pattern was Apricot Preserves by Ann Danzig’s Granny's Attic. If you remember, this kit was left to Barbara by a dear friend who passed away some time back. She had started the appliqué, so some of her work is in it. See how this quilt fits into the resurrection theme?

Brenda has been busy. She finished her Ribbon Quilt, but packed it away, as they are moving to a new (local) location. She was happy to send me this photo for my blog, though.

The pattern is from “Strip Your Stash.”

She also had been working on this quilt, pattern by Sweetwater and fabrics from the “Noteworthy” line.

After eating and having show-and-tell, we sat around and worked on various projects.

A minigroup is a good place to share ideas about how to do things. We all learn from each other.

I’ve been hand-quilting my Delectable Pathways (AKA “Peggy’s Sistine Chapel”) quilt. Just to jog your memory, here’s the finished quilt top on my design wall:

I hope to get it up on the wall over my stairs this spring, but don’t hold your breath. The final knitted doll outfit (for now) is finished. The pattern, sort of spun off from the simple "Everyday Play" dress I designed, is now available as a free download on Ravelry.

Some of you may be aware that our DGD1 moved in with us January 2015. She has been driving my car ever since, first to look for work and then to get to her job, putting a crimp in my independence, as DH and I have had to coordinate our use of his car. Thursday evening DGD and DH went to a Salt Lake City car dealership and they found her a nice, high-mileage, pre-owned Nissan. (Hers is the one in front, and she's paying for it.) So I finally get my car back.

I'm checking into getting my car detailed. It deserves it. Again, fitting the theme of new life. One step toward getting my fiber studio back. Not exactly new life, but it feels like it.

Finally, you may remember my lament from last week regarding the impending loss of the Knit Picks Knitting Community. I can announce (for those of you who don’t know yet) the grand opening of the Ravelry group: "The Frog Prince and His Knitting Community Orphans."

We already have more than 30 members, as of the time I'm writing and scheduling this post, and it has been great to “see” some of our Knitting Community friends who haven’t been as active lately in the Community. One of the nice things is, some orphans of the Knitting Community have also been active on Quilt With Us, and we can have a quilting thread in our Ravelry group, because our group is mostly knitting, etc.

What's on my needles: Remember the Trickle Brick socks? Also back to hand-quilting.

What's on my Featherweight: Still working on cleaning fiber studio.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor Also reading A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Corbett Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon. I couldn’t find a vintage on the bottle, but it’s nice, and a good value.

What's my tip of the week: If you’re hand-quilting and get too many stitches loaded onto your needle, a hemostat comes in handy for pulling it through. Just be sure when you pull, you don’t twist your wrist--just pull out in the direction the needle is pointing, so you don’t break your needle.

 

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.

Angels' Wings

In place of my regular blog post this week, I decided to hold sort of a celebration of life for my dear friend, who passed away early Thursday after a prolonged illness.

I invited a few people to share their memories of Susan. Most people online who knew her are on The Knitting Community. However, if you're here, and you have memories to share, you can add them in "Comments." 

While you're thinking about that, please enjoy some of the cheese ball Susan made for my cast-off party when I was recovering from thumb surgery. (It's still tasty and calorie-free!)

Jenny, from the Knit Picks Knitting Community, had this to say:

"Susan was an integral part in making the Knit Picks knitting community the wonderful place that crafters have come to know and love. Her support for her fellow crafters was incredible, and it was clearly a passion of hers that she loved to share with others. Susan was a very special lady and she will definitely be missed by all of us here in the community."

One of Susan's early friends on the Knitting Community was Carol, who actually managed to meet up with Susan in person:

"I remember how Susan encouraged me as a new knitter to just keep knitting.  And although she liked doing intricate patterns (and thought just knitting was boring) she said it was the knitting itself she wanted me to pursue. (I still am just doing the old knit stitch and nothing else) and when we met in Ohio, Susan's generosity of spirit showed when she gave me some gold yarn she had created and I gave her some wonderful curly fleece I had gotten at a local wool and sheep festival." —Carol Meissner

Some of us who probably knew her best never got to meet her in person. Cherylbwaters and I had a special bond with Susan:

"In the fall of 2007, I broke my wrist. Shortly after that my mother-in-law fell ill and came to live with us. Then in early 2008, one of my sisters was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. So by the end of 2008, I was extremely stressed out. So, I was puttering around Knit Picks desperately looking for something new to knit. About that time, the first Mr. Foster kit came out. So I ordered the kit, but I knew I might need help. Although I had been a long time customer of Knit Picks, I had never joined the Knit Picks Knitting Community. I became a member in order to join in the Mr. Foster KAL. At first I lurked around and didn't say anything. Soon I became hooked and started making comments and once I made a few comments, I found that I couldn't stop. I quickly joined several other KALs. I had joined Ravelry but found it quite intimidating. But the knitting community here felt comfortable. It was better than my local guild and the small knitting group I belonged to because the time was flexible and the people were very helpful and friendly.

"Then Kelley Petkun decided to interview some of us for one of her pod casts. She happened to choose Peggy Stuart, Susan the Blue Lake Knitter and myself. Although we knew of each other in the community, we certainly were not close at the time. But the three of us started corresponding in anticipation of our interviews. Then we had to wait quite a while for the pod cast to be released. So we kept corresponding in anticipation of the pod cast. This created a long lasting friendship between us. We have messaged each other almost daily since then. We didn't talk just about knitting, but also about our families, any problems we had, just about anything. And when Susan would discuss us with her sweet husband, we were known by the states we lived in: Utah (Peggy) and Texas (me).

"I cannot say if we would have become such good friends if we had met in person, but there was something about our correspondence that allowed each of us to open up and share our joys and our miseries.

"Susan was the baby among the three of us, in age and knitting years, yet she was a very guiding light. We always had to tease her because she would always describe herself as a newbie. Susan was never afraid to try new techniques. This made her grow rapidly as an experienced knitter. We had to constantly remind her that although she may not have been knitting super long, she was experienced because she wasn't afraid of knitting. She soaked up every thing she could about knitting. Then she and Peggy took off spinning. They had to drag me into it, kicking and fighting all the way. I can never forget how much they have made me blossom in the world of fiber.

"I cannot believe that Susan is gone. She will always remain in my heart. Thank you, Susan for being such a wonderful friend and being a shoulder to lean on when needed, for all the encouragement you have given me, and for all the laughter you brought into my life. I'm not sure what I will do without you."

—Cherylbwaters

Cheryl has pretty much told the tale. I remember getting the email from Knit Picks in September 2009 inviting me to be interviewed by Kelley on the podcast and noticing that the email had also been sent to Cheryl and Susan. We began communicating through emails and personal messages. ("Are you going to do it?" "I'm so nervous!" "Just imagine everyone in the audience naked.")

Soon we were "talking" virtually every day. Over the following years, Susan brought in one or another of our Knitting Community friends to participate in our "talks." These people would stay for awhile and participate, but mostly it was just the three of us. If one of us found out that someone in the Community had a fiber issue that one of the others could handle better, or we thought it would be good for the others to put in their two cents' worth, we would share that information. We popped in so often that we became known as the Knitting Community's "Fairy Godknitters." We made Baby Surprise Jackets, Cookie A Socks and Entrelac together. We explored spinning and even weaving together.

While we didn't agree on everything (who does?) we shared an obsession with fiber and what we could do with it. Susan and I shared our love of dogs, nature and red wine. We had grandbabies at the same times (more or less) and rejoiced over each other's new additions. Susan and I had the same drop spindle (Golding Tsunami), spinning wheel (Kromski Sonata) and, until Susan broke hers, camera (Canon PowerShot A1000 IS).

Sometimes the three of us would pass messages back and forth until late in the night, always finding something to laugh about or cry over and sympathize with, such as when we lost a person close to us or we had a medical problem, or I would take the wrong meaning because of a typo or ambiguous wording.

We even planned to get together in person, but somehow it never happened. However, I think Susan's message to the two of us--shortly after we found out about the podcast--sums it up. In fact, it was prophetic: "Well, one thing for sure," she wrote, "the three of us will know each other a little better when this whole thing is done. --S"

Some of us are making Susan's family an afghan. If you are interested in participating, please let Cheryl know (Cherylbwaters). The squares can be knitted or crocheted, earth tones or neutrals preferred, washable wool if possible, plain or complicated, and 6" blocked. She will put it together for us. If you are in the UK, send your squares to Mrs. K, and she will send them to Cheryl.

If you want to take some time to remember her, here is Susan's page on the Knitting Community and here is Susan's Ravelry page.

Somewhere in Heaven there's a new angel who has gained angels' wings in place of Fairy Godknitters' wings.

If there's no knitting or quilting in Heaven, it isn't Heaven. Share your memories in comments.

My regular blog will be back next week. I'm working on a quilt and my sock monkey, and should have something to share by then.