More Brioche, Adventures in Publishing and Easter

The adventures with brioche knitting continue. Here's how it looked on Friday.

By Sunday, it looked like this.

 

It has been an adventure so far. I misread Row 52 and didn't discover it until I was ready for Row 80. I had to frog back and pick up the stitches from Row 49, to get them all back on the needle correctly. A lifeline wouldn't have helped, because I would have moved it to above that spot. However, it was a good lesson in the structure of the stitch, as was my next mistake. That came when I thought I had a mistake a couple of rows down from where I was knitting. I tried to fix it. It turned out not to be a mistake, but then I couldn't get the stitches back the way they were and had to tink back two rows. The rows are getting longer, so I need to be more careful. I put in a lifeline yesterday.

The cap I knitted for myself a year ago was too big. It came down over my eyes. I had been thinking of shrinking it, but it wasn't until a friend, who had the same problem with a cap, gave his the treatment. Encouraged by his success, I resolved to give it a try this past week. Here's what it looked like before.

And here is the result after washing in hot water with soap and rinsing in cold.

The shrinkage was a lot more vertically than horizontally, which was what I needed. It's still a bit big, but at least I can wear it now. It's much better. I wore it when we went to the dog park on Saturday.

It was a big week for The Doll's Storybook. I managed to do photo shoots for the three stories I had already written, so I'm scheduled through April 23rd.

I learned that as of April 2nd, the book had sold 135 copies worldwide and earned more than $200 for pediatric cancer treatment and research. That doesn't count the books I've sold from home. I found out also that the royalties from Book Baby's bookstore is much greater than from other book sellers. They charge about $5 for shipping, so if you don't get free shipping from other book sellers, it's better to buy from them. Barnes and Noble has it in stock online now, and they have free shipping for members, or you can pick it up in their stores.

Our local yarn shop has decided to stock the book. I gave the owner/manager three copies on consignment along with links to the patterns for the sweaters the dolls are shown wearing in the book. Her idea was to market it to customers to go along with doll clothes they would knit for a child's doll. Now I'm thinking of including a pattern in the next book.

I still have a box with about 50 copies at my house. When most of those are sold, I will put out another book. I'm already working on Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook.

We're starting to see the beginnings of some tomatoes in the AeroGarden. DH uses a small artist's paintbrush to pollinate the flowers. I don't know if this is needed, but we're getting tomatoes. This was Wednesday.

By Sunday, the tomatoes were more obvious and easier to see.

I worked on tidying my fiber studio a bit and managed to get through all the papers. There is still a lot to do, however. 

Here's Sunday's service on YouTube. Our piece is at about 1:01, but there is other lovely music as well:

For this week's cuteness, here are the Oregon grandsons. They are back to in-person learning now.

What's on my needles: Brioche Shawl Feathers.

What's on my sewing machine: Dust.

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

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Jolena lets Pippa watch her make bread in "Rising to the Occasion." 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Black Madonna by Stella Riley. It's a very long book, but I have less than four hours to go.

What's in my wine glass: Sishaye Shiraz 2019 from South Africa. "Sishaye" is Zulu for "Splash." It's the result of a partnership between winemaker Pieter Carstens and Splash Wines.

What's my tip of the week: If you're using interchangeable needles, you can use the little holes in them for putting in a lifeline. I like to use dental floss. Just tie one end through the little hole in the needle you're knitting with. It will carry that end through to the other end. Then cut it off, leaving enough hanging from each end that you don't have to worry about the stitches slipping off, or you can thread each end through a button and tie it. The button will keep it in place. If you find a mistake you can't fix, you can remove your work from the needles, rip back to the lifeline and then pick up the stitches from the lifeline, leaving it in place as you work, just in case. You can either leave it in place until you've finished the project or remove it to reuse higher up, if you're sure everything is correct. It's good to have two, so you can leave one in place while you put in the other.

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.

Out and About

Common Threads met at Wasatch & Wool on Thursday.

It was inspiring, sitting with our knitting while surrounded by lovely yarns of all types. Margaux provided us with some delicious munchies.

Lynda wore the hat she just finished:


I wore my Sandy Beach Scarf, which took one skein of Manos del Uruguay Lace alpaca, silk and cashmere. (Yum!)


I finished my hat during the meeting. The yarn is Manos del Uruguay Maxima, 100% merino.


Then I swatched for my new cardigan, using the yarn I bought on my birthday. I'm calling it Brick because of the color. Here's the project page. The ladies at Common Threads helped me decide which pattern to use. This is the one I'm using.

I cut the bottom ribbing in half, because I'm so short-waisted, and I'm using a tighter gauge to get a size that will fit me the way I like.


My other choice of pattern was this. I probably will use Andes Del Campo for this second pattern. I have enough in "Brass Heather" to make it. Here's the project page for that, although I haven't started it yet.

I'm making good progress on the cardigan, now that I've settled on the pattern:


In the meantime, quilters, I'm playing around with these fabrics:


I'm starting to have more energy again, so I should be back to quilting soon. (I find quilting to take more energy than knitting.)

What's on my needles: Sandy Beach Scarf finished, then Wasatch Cap done. Now working on my Brick Cardigan.

What's on my Featherweight: Still put away in its case, but calling to me. ("Let me out! I want to play....")

What's on my loom: Some warp for another scarf, but still folded up.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to The President's Pilot by Robert Gandt, a recent Daily Deal from Audible. Also reading And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander, not on the iPad for once but a paperback version I picked up at a rummage sale.

What's my app of the week: Sundance 2015, which should come in handy this week as I help patrons of the Sundance Film Festival get information and wait-list tickets.

What's in my wine glass: Big House Cardinal Zin Zinfandel 2012, 3 L Premium Wine Cask (basically a octagon box). Shockingly good!

What's my tip of the week: When piecing pieced strips, run them through the sewing machine with the seam allowance of the top strip toward the presser foot, if possible, so the seam will nest automatically.


If one side is bigger than the other, though, put the bigger side on the bottom, so the feed dogs will grab it and ease it in. (In the photo, you can see my little stack of sticky notes that guide the fabric through to the needle to give me that 1/4" seam allowance I need.


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.

Giving Thanks for...Local! Yarn! Shop!

Wasatch & Wool just opened up near me, about five minutes by car.

It's the first yarn shop in Park City in many years that wasn't in a corner of another store. We have had a Michael's for several years, but if you wanted the nicer, higher-end yarns (not to mention classes), you had to drive down to Salt Lake City. The nearest one is 15 miles of road that's treacherous, especially in the winter.

Wasatch & Wool has a nice place to sit and knit, and fairly well stocked shelves with some favorite knitting yarns. Classes will start in January, and they plan to carry some spinning and weaving supplies. The high shelves are accessible by ladder, so they can maximize the storage space. It will be fun to see what else they stock once they get going. Here's what it looks like from the outside.

DH and I stopped by on Shop Small Saturday, after Breakfast at No Worries and a visit to Davidene's Quilt Shop.

Here's what I bought on Saturday, all stuff for me, as I haven't really started shopping for Christmas yet:

The "Reflections of Butterflies in Lemonade" quilt is on the bed:

I still have to sew on the label. Davidene printed the label for me on Saturday, as our ink jet printer isn't working. (I did buy the fabric sheets for the labels from her, but she doesn't really have to print them for me. She wouldn't let me pay her for the printing, either.)

It has been a little cold lately, so Rocky has been wearing his sweater most of the time that he's in the house. I need to wash it fairly often, and since I don't like to put it into the dryer, he really needs a spare. Here he is, wearing his current sweater.

I've started another one for him out of leftover Swish DK from this and other projects. I'm using the same pattern, but with the sheep motif from "The March of the Fibers," which I plan on starting soon. This will give me a chance to practice one of the motifs from that project. I'm also making a plain crew neck, instead of the turtle neck. I've been making good progress. (If I have enough yarn left, I really should make myself a hat with the same design.)

The Oregon boys participated in the Turkey Trot with their parents Thanksgiving morning. 

Can't wait to take their mom and their auntie to our new yarn shop in a few weeks, assuming the dads will babysit.

What's on my needles: Besides the Johan socks and Mr. F's clothes, the new sweater for Rocky. Still hand-quilting my Spring Flowers quilt, two appliqué blocks done and about 1/3 of the entire quilt finished. Ready to sew the label on the "Reflections" quilt.

What's on my Featherweight: Still silently waiting for the next sewing project.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listened to Dean Koontz's Twilight Eyes, then Georgette Heyer's The Corinthian. Now I'm on Jodi Taylor's A Symphony of Echos, the second volume on "The Chronicles of St. Mary's." All of these were from Audible. Still reading Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel, from Book Bub on the iBook app.

What's my app of the week: We had Thanksgiving Dinner music on all day Thanksgiving, while we cooked and cleaned. Then we switched to soft classical music when our company arrived. We used the iTunes Radio app, which is great, and free if you don't mind commercials. You can pick from their selection, or you can pick a type of music, a composer or a performer, and they will make up a custom radio station for you using music of that type.

What's in my wine glass: Crane Lake Malbec, 2013, nice and fresh, and one of our favorites.

What's my tip of the week: Have company coming for the holidays? If you're cleaning the toilet, and you want to get most or all of the water out of it to give it a good scrub, dump water from a bucket or big bowl (a goldfish bowl will work, but move the goldfish to another receptacle first) into the toilet all at once. This will push out the water, and it won't fill again until you flush. It doesn't take a lot of water, but you have to dump it all in at once. My toilets take about 1/2 gallon, but I suspect that elevation plays a role.

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.