Hitting the Road

Soren's I-spy quilt arrived, and he is clearly enjoying it!

The top for the quilt for his baby brother (due in August) is almost done. Only the embroidered eye on the horse to do, and then off to the quilter.

The pattern is based on "Twin Stars" from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.

One of the little tricks I've learned for making flying geese blocks is to match up the corners of the square I've sewn onto the rectangle. Then I press it in place.

I can then cut the extra fabric off the back, and my flying geese block will be an exact rectangle.

There has been progress on the first sleeve for the Mary Tudor. I'm now working on the cap of the sleeve. I elected to make it with a steek, rather than knit back and forth.

Common Threads met at Kay's on Thursday. Karan was working on this shawlette:

Janet finished this lovely quilt, with Minky on the back. Here's Kay playing Vanna White with Janet's quilt.

We hiked on Saturday to wear the pups out, so they wouldn't mind staying at home on Sunday, while we marched in the Pride Parade in Salt Lake City. 

Some of us skipped church to participate in the Parade. (Next time, I'm going to try to stand next to a shorter person!)

We had a great time. It was amazing how many people showed up to watch the parade.

In other news, our reward for putting up with months of snow is an abundance of beautiful wildflowers in our yard and along the hiking trails. This choke cherry has the most delicious aroma!

What's on my needles: Mary Tudor cardigan, almost done with first sleeve.

What's on my Featherweight: Back to Delectable Pathways, still waiting to finish hand appliqué.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished A Kiss before Dying. Now I'm listening to Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber on the Overdrive app and reading Pursuit and Persuasion by Sally Wright from Book Bub on the Kindle app.

What's my app of the week: Vtok for Google Voice. I call from my Google Voice number if I know I'm going to be on the phone for a long time. It's free, you just need an internet connection for it to work.

What's in my wine glass: A Greek wine, Agiorgitiko Nemea 2010. Great with Greek food, which we love, but good with other cuisines, too.

What's my tip of the week:  Brush your dog's teeth, the outside edges. It saves them exposure to anesthesia, not to mention saving you the expense. 

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.

High Fiber—Summer Here at Last!

Wow! What a week! Monday we shopped the Memorial Day sale at Hancock Fabrics and got the fabric to recover the seat cushions and pillows for our porch furniture:

The fabric on the seat cushions and two of the pillows is UV outdoor fabric, so we can leave them out. The plain brown is not designed for outdoors, but I can take the pillows in at night. I should have taken a before photo of the old cushions, but I guess I was anxious to get the sewing done. Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted to the sewing, including hand sewing the pillows closed on one end.

It went fast, because Dean Koontz's Deeply Odd came out on Tuesday. I had preordered it from Audible. All the time I was sewing, I was either laughing out loud or had the hair standing up on the back of my neck. One of his best!

Wednesday I started my "Absorba the Petite, Bath Mat" and finished it Thursday after our special Common Threads meeting to welcome Kay back from her cruise. (We had a fifth Thursday in May.) The bath mat is a small version of Mason-Dixon Knitting's Absorba the Great, Bath Mat.

I have some Dishie in Linen ordered to make this project, but it's back ordered until August, so I picked up some Sugar 'n Creme in a dark brown to make this while waiting. I don't think I picked up the stitches exactly right, because it looks as if the middle is twisting counter-clockwise. It will do for now, though, and was quick to make, being...well...petite.

Everyone at Common Threads was just starting a new project, but Barbara brought a pair of finished socks for show-and-tell:

My Fiji socks are coming along. I'm to the heel flap on the second sock:

The pattern is Scrolls from Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. The yarn is Stroll Glimmer in Fiji.

I need to decide what I'm going to knit for World Wide Knit in Public (WW KIP) Week. I may be finished with the socks by then. Maybe back to the bunny suit?

I've been making progress on my appliqué. I'll try to post a photo next week, but the first panel (of three) of Delectable Pathways is done except for the embroidering of the smaller stems.

I've been making some progress with my current spinning project. I hope to finish it during the Tour de Fleece, which starts June 29th. I'll be "competing" On Team Knit Picks Lovers and Team Kromski.

The fiber is Full Circle Roving in Espresso. I'm well into the second bobbin.

The rug for the master bath has been consuming my attention. I'm at the half-way point now, but I discovered I needed more yarn to finish it, so I ordered Wool of the Andes in Porcini, Masala and Bare. I think I have about enough of the other colors.

I also signed up for the floor loom weaving class from Craftsy, thanks to a half-price sale, so I had to order the yarn to make the three pillows that are the class project.

Saturday was cool, but sunny, so we took the pups for a hike. The wildflowers are really gearing up now.

Here's DH and the pups, enjoying the trails above our house.

Sunday our church participated in the Gay Pride Parade, along with some other Episcopal churches and our bishop. The LDS contingent was much bigger, but they way outnumber Episcopalians in Utah. It was good to see such a great turnout from both groups. The Episcopalians had a church service in the courtyard of the SLC Public Library beforehand. The pups got to participate in the parade, too.

Daphne, Zachary and their family have been visiting their other grandparents in Texas. They had a rather hair-raising trip back home to Wisconsin on Friday, passing through the heart of Oklahoma just a few hours before more tornadoes hit. We were very grateful when they called Friday night from their motel to tell us they were north of Kansas City. The call Saturday evening that they were home was likewise welcome. The kids had a great time visiting Texas. Here's a cute photo of Zachary:

He doesn't look like a baby anymore! His other grandfather calls him "Sir Grabs-a-lot!"

What's on my needles: Fiji Socks, Bunny Suit and Dogwood Blossoms Cardigan.

What's on my loom: Bathroom Rug #2, more than halfway to the 60" approximate length of the finished project.

What's on my Featherweight: Delectable Pathways, first panel of applique finished except for embroidered stems.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle Roving "Espresso," bobbin #2.

What's on my iPad: Just finished Dean Koontz's Deeply Odd, and now into Alexander McCall Smith's The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, from the library, as well as various podcasts.

What's my app of the week: the Knitter's Handbook, like having a knitting resource book with you on your iPad all the time.

What's in my wine glass: Foxhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. The big bottle, after a big week!

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad for photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.