Stocking Up

 My needles have been rediscovering socks, and I had forgotten how much fun they could be. The pattern this time is Vilai from Cookie A's Sock Innovation.

My preferred method for knitting socks is to use two circular needles, rather than a set of DPNs.

The July knit along in the Goetz Doll Lovers forum on Ravelry continues. A designer has offered four new patterns. If you buy two of them, you can get the other two for free, one for each one of the others you knit and post in the group. A project page is required for each completed project. Since I'm one of the moderators, I'm trying to support the activity in the group, so last week I made one of the projects. This week I set aside my socks to make another project.

The yarn is left over from this year's Mystery Knit Along from the Rose City Yarn Crawl. It has little bits of dark hot pink in it, so I put some hot pink buttons on the back. The pattern is called Dandelions and it was designed by Sharisse Dunn of Sugar Grove South.

It was a lot of fun to knit with some interesting features, including a crocheted connection of the sleeves at the underarm, easy to do, thanks to the photos showing before and after the process. My model for this top is "Pam," Götz Little Kidz Springtime. In my stories she plays a doll character who lives with a little girl who is diabetic.

The shaping gives the top a nice fit.

I've been harvesting the basil, but it's growing back. Not enough to make pesto, though. The Madroña Vineyards pop-up group is considering doing something with a pesto recipe for one of our meetings. I would have to buy some to have enough to make pesto, but these plants are enough to produce a few leaves for when I'm in the mood for a little basil.

We had some mushrooms that needed to be used, so I made my tuna casserole (cream of mushroom soup, peas, egg noodles) but added a bunch of sautéed mushrooms and onions with a little added salt and pepper. I think I'll have enough to freeze for camping.

We needed the weekly loaf of bread, of course. I use my sourdough starter, which is made using unbleached flour, so I add 1/8 cup each of gluten flour, wheat bran and oat bran, and then the rest whole wheat flour.

I've been going over the music for the Summer Choir. Monday's practice went well, I think. I was disappointed when it was time for us to stop. I'm looking forward to tonight's practice.

The dogs and I walked each day this week. Charlie joined us when he could, but he skipped a couple of days because of other things he had to do outdoors before it got too hot, like mowing the plants in the front and back of the house. (I wouldn't exactly call the stuff "grass.") Most of our walks were along the Larkspur trail and some off-leash time in the woods, but on Saturday, we joined the Trinity Episcopal Church's "hike" (really a nice walk) at Alpenglow Park. We made two loops in opposite directions and ended up with almost 1 3/4 miles.

Some folks were giving out "Watchtower" brochures at the park, and we recruited one to take this photo of our group.

We followed up with lunch at Cascade Lakes Brewing, which was on our way home. 

We drove by Jim's old house after lunch. Charlie wanted to get a photo of what the new owners had done to the front yard for inspiration and ideas for what to do with ours.

We've also been watching the FIFA World Cup. The last two games were especially fun to watch. Sandy wasn't all that excited about it.

Alexa and Johan are still in France. Here's Johan singing a duet with a busker at the 

Sacré-Cœur. How much fun is that? They should be on their way home today.

Sandy is storing up energy for the next walk/hike.

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry, BlueSky or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon or B&N and search for Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". 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 any of our books, including Emil, Mariah, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses, More Classic Tales Retold or Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, 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: Took some time off from the Vilai socks to make a new top for Pam (see above) and now back to the socks.

What's on my iPhone: Finished Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan on the Audiobooksnow app. Now back to Wildwood by Colin Meloy.

What's on my sewing machine: Still put away until the next project.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Jolena has come back from Australia, and the boys want to see her photos. The dolls from the ski team got to go to a special zoo in Sydney where all the animals native to Australia are on exhibit. How much fun is that? Back from Down Under.

What's my tip of the week: There are special water dishes or water bottles you can get to provide water to your dog on walks/hikes. I don't have anything special. The dogs and I share the water bottle. I serve their water in a little Tupperware bowl that fits in my pouch. The lid will go back on for a leakproof seal, if they don't drink it all, saving water for the next hydration break. I don't have to throw any water away, which helps when the hike takes longer and the weather is hot.

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

Book #7 is in the works.

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, only 8%, because the vendor gets a cut. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your local library to order the books.

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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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.

Short and Sweet, and To the Point

This week saw the center of Pine Burr quilt finished.

Not too much else got done this week while I worked to put the blocks together. However, after all the work to paper-piece the blocks and larger cornerstones, it felt good to get it put together. This quilt is going to be way too big for my design wall.

Note: There are no curved seams. The curved effect is all done with straight seams.

I plan to sew a dark inner border around it (1" finished) and then the outer border using the grey fabric featured in the four blocks that run diagonally from upper left to lower right. In fact, the border strips are already cut and are folded up on the table in front of the quilt top. The pattern is from McCall's Quilting May/June 2012, "Pine Burr Made Modern." My version looks nothing like the quilt in the magazine, partly because the colors are different, and partly because most of the seams show up clearly because there are many different background fabrics, rather than the cream solid used in the quilt in the article.

I had a problem sewing the paper-pieced sections to the sashing while the paper was still on them, so I ended up taking the paper off. That left me with some bias edges, which I figured I could work with if I did it carefully. It worked fine, except that I didn't think about the crossed bars that go through the blocks. With no cornerstones to keep them lined up, some of them moved to one side or the other a bit. Out came the seam ripper! However, I found I could get them to line up if I folded each sashing strip in half, pressed a crease into it and then opened it up again. Then I pinned that crease to the center of the crossbar on the block. When I was ready to sew the next block to the other side of the sashing strip, I lined up the crossed bar of one block with the crossed bar of the one underneath and put a pin through each of the crossed-bar seams, right through the threads of the top seam, then through the threads of the bottom seam and back up through both seams, about an inch closer to the sashing. This held the crossed bars of the two blocks on top of each other. Then I put a pin through the crease of the sashing strip and the middle of the crossed bar of the block I hadn't sewn yet. I should have taken a photo, because it worked well. I had to do this with the sashing that connected the blocks into strips, and then with the sashing between the strips of blocks. Whew!

Vintage Stitchers met at Ellen's on Thursday. That was when I started picking the paper off the back of my blocks. Everyone had brought quilts to show the last meeting, so we didn't have much show-and-tell. I only got one photo. Here's Marilyn's latest quilt, all from 2 1/2" strips.

Quilters: The quilt guild meeting is this week, so I should have lots to show next week.

The April Sunshine socks have been coming along. Soon I'll be ready for the heel turn on the second sock.

If you haven't read my previous blog post, I should tell you that the pattern is Sunshine from Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation. The yarn is Regia 4 fädig 4 ply in the romantically named color "00017."

On Friday (after Silver Sneakers) DH and I went on a hike in Toll Canyon with the pups. There's still a little snow, but it's easy now to get through without boots, snowshoes or YakTrax. Here's Sunny sitting on the bench that overlooks where the year-round stream pools up to make a watering hole of sorts.

This weekend was devoted to birthday celebrations. Saturday we did FaceTime with Daphne and Zachary, so we could see Zachary blow out his candles on the cake for his third birthday. We captured some screen shots. (The happy grandparents can be seen in the upper left-hand corner, along with Rocky, who has his head on his daddy's shoulder. If he knows we are Skyping or FaceTiming, he always climbs up in someone's lap, so he can be seen.)

Because Ellen wasn't here for her birthday last month, I treated her to lunch on Sunday, and Joanie came along. Joanie missed Vintage Stitchers at Ellen's on Thursday, so she was happy to see Ellen, who just got here but will be leaving soon.

Since Ellen will only be here for another week, the three of us plan to do something together this week before she has to leave.

What's on my needles: Still working on the April Sunshine socks, with the second sock well underway.

What's on my Featherweight: Just the borders to do on the Pine Burr quilt.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon."

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Under the Jolly Roger by L. A. Meyer, and then In the Belly of the Bloodhound by the same author, both from the library on the Overdrive app. Now listening to April Lady by Georgette Heyer, to get myself away from Bloody Jack for a bit, although I can't wait to find out what happens next. (Talk about cliffhangers!) Still reading Jennifer Coburn's Tales from the Crib, on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Lindeman's Cawarra Shiraz-Cabernet 2013. Always nice, especially in the big bottle.

What's my tip of the week: If you have a set of Knit Picks' blocking mats but need more than you have, you can buy mats that fit at a hardware store or some toy stores. Just take one of your mats along to make sure the connecting sections match. (Thanks to my friend Jo for this tip.)


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.