Finally!

The loom is actually in use for weaving!

I'm using 1 1/2" wide bias strips of quilting cotton for weft. That takes a lot of washing, ironing and cutting, but this will give my body something different to do for a break from knitting, and we do need some throw rugs.

Speaking of knitting, I picked up the Brioche Shawl Feathers shawl again, now that the Kevät is done. The first two rows I worked after starting up again were easy, as if I hadn't put it down for nearly eight weeks. Then I hit the br4sts_dec and couldn't remember how to do it. It was frustrating, because I had struggled to learn it when I first had to do it, but then it was almost automatic. It was a little easier to learn to do the second time, but I had to resort to watching the YouTube video again. It isn't the first thing in this video. She had to get into the row a bit, but then it gets complicated:

Soon she had me on my way again. Here you can see the decrease made to the right of the needles and more needing to be made just to the left.

The rest of the rows were easy, and soon I was working the I-cord bind-off. (The pattern recommends a slightly larger needle for this BO.

The marker is where the right end of my lifeline is fastened. I'm not taking it out until I'm done with the BO. Here's the video of the BO, although I finish each set with SSK, rather than K,sl,psso.

You may remember from last week that I had taken the curtains in the fiber studio down so I could add tabs to go over the planned curtain rod above the window. The tension rod I was using kept falling down whenever I raised or lowered the shade. Friday we pulled out the trundle, then the day bed, and installed the curtain rod, with much moaning and gnashing of teeth. (It wasn't easy to get in behind the day bed.) We finally got it up, and I added the tabs to the top of the curtains, fastening them by sewing a button onto each tab. This is working much better.

The fiber studio is much tidier, but I still have a pile of "pressing business" on the floor.

All this fabric is left over from other projects. It's been washed and dried. Now it needs to be ironed and cut into 1 1/2" bias strips for weaving.

Our chard has been enjoying the hot weather. We harvested some on Saturday.

It was tasty, stems chopped and sautéed with mushrooms and peppers, with the leaves thrown in at the end.

I'm happy the loom is finally functional. I'm happy to be binding off the Brioche Shawl Feathers Shawl. I'm happy to have the fiber studio straightened out and the curtains up. Finally!

Where's my blog: If you have been following my blog and want to continue following, I recommend you go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Brioche Shawl Feathers shawl.

What's on my sewing machine: Now that the curtains are done, the cover is back on the machine. It was great for sewing all those buttons on!

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Actually a little more progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "The Dolls' Request." The dolls are enjoying the summer weather.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. Very interesting story. Very well written. Just starting Florence Grace by Tracy Rees.

What's in my wine glass: Primi Soli Sangiovese. I love this one! DH says it's because it's actually from grapes grown in Italy.

What's my tip of the week: When you're busy doing any kind of repetitive activity, schedule breaks, so your body can do something else for a while. You'll be glad you did. (Or, more likely, you'll be sorry you didn't!)

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

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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Things That Grow.

More mushrooms are sprouting. Here's Sunday afternoon:

They started becoming visible Saturday morning. This morning they looked like this.

I spent a good part of the week working on my book from The Doll's Storybook. Here's a screen shot of the cover in the Pages layout.

I'm planning to include three stories featuring Mariah: "Being Little," "Besties" and "Distraction." I think the book will be about 60+ pages. I'm looking into self-publishing. The tricky part will be how to get the proceeds to go directly to a charity that supports pediatric cancer. I've approached another charity. I hope to hear something soon, because I would like to include the wording about which charity is getting the support.

Because of the work on the layout, I didn't get much knitting done, but the Jenny Cable Jumper for Jolena is coming along slowly. I had to frog the yoke three times (not all the way back, but just a few rows) because I dropped stitches where the increases were made and couldn't figure out how to pick them up again.

Church services are still online, and I found out Sunday morning that the bishop has decided that we will stay online until after Labor Day, which is probably a good idea. However, the choir met (via Zoom) on Wednesday evening. We are going to try to do a virtual choir performance that can be shared as a tribute to our local first responders.

As you know, mushrooms and sprouts aren't the only things we're growing. Our strawberries are coming along.

The peas are about 6" high now. DH built a lattice of string for them to climb.

We've always had good luck with zucchini. (The hardest part is picking them in time. You go to bed one night thinking they are almost big enough only to wake up to zucchinis big enough to use to beat off a bear.)

The blueberry bushes are thriving, but we won't have a big crop the first year. Still, they will be a nice treat.

I'm really looking forward to the chard, though, and it isn't in the ground yet. 

We also have winter squash (butternut, I think), eggplant, tomatoes and pepper plants. They are growing slowly. The nights are still pretty cool here.

What's on my needles: The pullover for Jolena, Jenny Cable Jumper by Tanya Dubinina.

What's on my sewing machine: Put away for now.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Another week with no progress.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Cats and Dogs," in which Freckles and Marmalade talk about the dolls.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, which was excellent. I have another book by this author on my Audible wish list. Now listening to The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J. K. Rowling).

What's in my wine glass: Another Colossal Reserva from Casa Santos Lima. We have several bottles. It's pretty good.

What's my tip of the week: An old pair of pantyhose or nylon stocking can be used to make a great yarn sock. I pushed my newly-wound ball of yarn into the foot of the pantyhose, then cut the foot/leg off the right length (as for the two on the left). For the third ball of yarn, I knotted it first (right).

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.