Category: Uncategorized

I've really been a bad blogger this summer, but it has turned out to be an incredibly busy summer and something had to give!  It's a shame when you're so busy with things to blog about that you don't have time to blog!  It doesn't help that many activities have taken me off the island and away from home.

Last weekend I took the bus down to the ferry and my sister picked me up on the other side.  We drove into Seattle for the Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters Show.  Talk about sensory overload!  There were so many incredible quilts.  I took a ton of photos, but here are two of my favorites:

This quilt is Summer Afternoon by Connie Ayers and won Best Hand Workmanship (deservedly so!)

Hanging by a Thread by Bonnie Keller won Best Use of Color.  This quilt was mind boggling!  All of the shading in the women's faces was done with the use of fabrics, not thread painting.  Of course, I came home incredibly inspired and determined to create something to enter in their next show two years from now.  However, I had a deadline to finish a current quilt that has been promised for a show next weekend and really had to put my nose to the grindstone – or fingers to the frame as it were.  I finished it last night while watching the Olympics and it's in the washing machine soaking now.  Next weekend is our local guild's show and I should be able to get a good picture of it for you then.

Sis and I came back to the island on Saturday and were treated to a whale watching cruise by hubby.  It was actually my sister's Christmas gift from hubby, but I got to go along for the ride:

The day turned out to be on the drizzly side, but the Orcas didn't mind the wet and came out in force.  At times we didn't know which side of the boat to look on, there were so many!  However, for big creatures, they're pretty quick and it was almost impossible to get a good picture.  This is the best that I managed – I'll never be a nature photographer!

As a special treat, we did get to see a mock battle between the Lady Washington (featured in Pirates of the Carribean) and another tall ship:

And a fuzzy photo showing that knitting was indeed accomplished on the cruise:

Unfortunately my driver's license was a casualty of the trip.  I think it now sleeps with the fishes at the bottom of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Just to show that I have indeed been creatively busy, here's a photo of a quilt top that I completed for Quilts of Valor – an organization with the goal of giving a quilt to every wounded soldier:

And last but not least, yesterday I paused at the end of my driveway to chronicle the road construction (yet a whole 'nother story!) and was greeted by this little visitor:

This was one of a set of twins, but I couldn't get them both in the same picture.  He (or she) was quite inquisitive and let me get pretty close.  I didn't see mama, but I'm sure she was close by.  We've seen them up in my yard and have provided them a tasty meal with my rose bushes (sigh!).  Hope to have more quilty pictures next week from our local quilt show!

For a summer that has yet to show it’s face, we’ve been very busy!  So far we’ve struggled to break the 70 degree mark and most days it’s been a guess whether we’d even break 60.  Not that I’m complaining too much – I hate hot weather and if a cool summer is the trade-off, I’m game.  But that hasn’t stopped us from being really, really busy. Hence, the lack of blogging.

Last weekend was our annual knitter’s picnic that we host for the group on the adjoining island.  The company was warm, even if the weather was not.  More than a few wool sweaters that were brought for show and tell were quickly donned after being shown:

And we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful venue:

This past week was busy with company from Southern California – hubby’s sister Wendy, and her son Miles.  This picture was taken at a local lavender farm where hubby is participating in an arts and crafts festival with his airplanes.

Needless to say the dogs, especially Maggie, were thrilled to have 14-year-old boy to run them ragged:

They left this morning and Maggie is now crashed on the floor where she will hopefully sleep peacefully all weekend (and stay out of trouble).  I think she has entered the terrible two’s of dogdom and has really been keeping us alert lately – as in, if she’s quiet, she’s probably in trouble!

I have been able to officially finish a project:

These are the Coriolis socks from New Pathways for Sock Knitters.  You can check out the specs in my previous post.  Lorette has dared me to wear the pair in the last post, but I’ll probably pass – at least until we have “Tacky Day” at work.  This is a terrific pattern!  It takes a little concentration for the first sock, but after that it’s really a piece of cake.  I highly recommend it and my next pair will definitely come from that book.  If nothing else, just so I can do Deb‘s Turkish cast-on!

Off for more culture this weekend.  My sister and I are going to see “Aida“.  I’ve heard it’s very thrilling and am very excited.  I’m so glad I have my sister to expose me to these things.  ‘Til then!

Look!  A pair of socks!

Ok, so they don’t match.  At this point I’m not getting picky but am declaring that my knitting mojo has returned.  On the left is a simple top down sock using a stitch pattern from Sensational Socks.  Yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in the Chinatown Apple colorway.  On the right is a Coriolis sock from Cat Bhordi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters.  It bears closer inspection:

Is that not a lovely short row heel? 

And the cuff, showing the spiral and a picot hem with sewn bind off.  This was actually my second attempt at this.  The first time I got as far as the heel and just could not wrap my brain around the instructions.  The second time I concentrated a little better and it was far simpler than I thought.  Cat’s books are not for the faint hearted, but I really did enjoy this and will make more.  This was toe-up using a Turkish cast on with Deb’s excellent tutorial.  Yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Squooshy in the Anna Grace colorway.  You can get your own at Sonny and Shear.

I mentioned that last weekend was spent with my sister ferrying her to and from some medical tests and celebrating her birthday.  I’m happy to report that she received a clean bill of health – especially comforting since she is a cancer survivor.  For her birthday we decided to act like children and went to Build-A-Bear and made ourselves some teddy bears.  She even got a sticker proclaiming her the birthday girl:

I also made her a little video with pictures of us as we were growing up.  Here are two of my favorites:

Oh yeah – did I mention she’s OLDER than me??  Happy Birthday Sis.  I love you!! 

I’m off to Seattle again.  This time I will be doing a lot of sitting around.  I’m taking my sister for some medical tests – nothing serious, but she needs someone to drive her back and forth and wait, so that’s what I’ll be doing – waiting and knitting.  I’ll also help her celebrate her 60th birthday!  Happy Birthday Sis!!

Caution:  Actual knitting content follows:

I know, pretty pathetic after three weeks!  I don’t know what’s happened to my knitting mojo, but it really seems to have flown the coop.  For the record, Dream in Color Smooshy holds up well to multiple frogging.  This must be the 4th or 5th attempt at socks with this yarn.  Nothing just seemed to work.  I tried top down, toe-up and everything but sideways (well, Cat Bhordi’s socks could fall in that category and I tried those too!), but nothing just felt right.  This particular attempt is my classic top down sock with a stitch pattern from Sensational Socks.  This may just be the ticket for a simple success story that will get me over the hump.  Even this was not without its perils.  I was about an inch past the ribbing when I realized that I hadn’t allowed for how much the cables would pull in and had to start over with a larger needle.

Last Friday my best friend Jan and I were the guests of my sister for a guided tour of the Starbuck’s headquarters in Seattle.  Of course, I forgot my camera, but managed to get a rather fuzzy shot with my camera phone:

It was a  grande latte full of fun and we were treated like royalty.  We got to see new ad campaigns that won’t come out for a year and even new products that haven’t been released.  I’d tell you, but then I’d have to shoot you.  At the end of the tour we had a coffee tasting (where we learned it’s ok to slurp) and we learned how to make our own espresso drinks.  I don’t think I’ll quit my day job!  And we received a pretty cool gift bag full of goodies, including my very own Starbuck’s apron:

Other than that, not much to tell.  I’m hoping by next week to have more knitting content, maybe even an FO!  In the meantime, the doggies are telling me it’s time for dinner.  Gotta run!

We're home safe and sound after a fun trip to Portland.  We went to the Pacific Northwest Micro/Mini Car Show.  Before reporting, I must first correct my previous post.  Hubby's car is a 1930, not a 1931.  A grievous error, to be sure.  My apologies to Malcom (the car).  There were some pretty amazing cars there, but it was quite gratifying to see that in a show of very rare cars, hubby's car drew many admiring comments.  There was even a car broker there who asked all kinds of questions and then put in a quick phone call saying, "I found one!"  So who knows if we might get an offer.  Malcom is not really for sale, but as hubby says, almost everything has a price.  While there I got to ride in some pretty unusual cars.  First up, a 1955 Messerschmitt:

And a 1980 Mine – yes it is that small.

The guy that owns it is a professor at UW and says he occasionally drives it to work.  In Seattle rush hour traffic.  I think he has a death wish.

But by far my favorite was this:

A 1952 MGTD:

Don't you think I look pretty good in that?  The guy that's driving has owned the car for 31 years.  He bought it and restored it while he was still in high school and drove it to his senior prom.  I'm sure the girls were lining up to date him!

Six hours up and six hours back with lots and lots of sitting around at the car show provided plenty of knitting time (when I wasn't trying to keep warm – it was cold!).  Although I didn't manage to get a pair of socks and two toddler sweaters done, I almost completed one toddler sweater:

I probably would have completed it but for the miles and miles of garter stitch on the lower half of the sweater.  This one will be for Ivy.  Forgive the little critter in the picture – she was trying to help.

Speaking of helping, here she is helping hubby assemble our new glider rocker set:

We decided to do our bit for the economy and spend our tax incentive.  We're sprucing up the backyard and fixing up the sunroom.  We built this on about 10 years ago, but it has had limited use in the summer because it gets too hot.  So hubby has built heat reflective screens for the top panels and we bought the glider set so we can sit out there on summer evenings – or any other time for that matter.  I've taken some before and after pictures and will post them when we're done.

Next week I should have some fun stuff to report.  Last year at a charity auction, my sister won a package from Starbuck's.  Next Friday, she and I, my best friend Jan and another friend will get to attend barrista school at Starbuck's in Seattle!  I think it's going to be a blast.  The funny thing is that my sister doesn't even drink coffee.  But I do!  I'll probably be in a caffeinated buzz big time by the end of the day.

Hubby and I are off on a road trip this weekend.  We're headed off to Portland for a micro/mini car show.  We'll be towing his 1931 Austin.  Should be lots of fun and between the time on the road and sitting around at the show, I'll get in lots and lots of knitting time.  Do you think this is enough yarn to take?

Ok, just kidding.  This was the pile I was auditioning for the trip.  This is what I'm actually taking:

Still a lot, I know, but I always have this irrational fear that I'll either run out of things to do or will have the wrong things with me.  I always, always overestimate how much I'll get accomplished, but I know I'm not alone in that little quirk.  Projects for the trip include a new pair of socks and sweaters for the girls for Christmas.  You never know, I might actually finish two toddler sized sweaters and a pair of socks in a weekend.  Ya think??

I had mentioned before that there were more graduation gifts to come.  This beautiful rose bush was given to me by friends at church (it smells lovely):

This plate was made by my friends at work:

And best of all was the gift from hubby:

A class ring!  It has my name, year of graduation and degree.  He came up with the idea all by himself and said that I earned it.  What a sweetie!

I've spent part of this week working on organizing my stash.  It all started with moving a cedar chest out of the sunroom.  We're hoping to do some redecorating out there with our tax incentive.  We'll be looking for some kind of seating arrangement.  The chest has held my stash, which I moved to a plastic storage unit we bought at a garage sale.  I bought some space bags at Walmart and started inventoring my yarn on Ravelry.  I'm also cleaning out and took a huge bag of acrylic baby yarn to the ladies at the Methodist church who knit for the Pregnancy Care Clinic.  I still have more to do, but I'm feeling a little better organized already.  And I was able to find yarn for Isobel's and Ivy's Christmas sweaters instead of rushing out and buying more.  I feel very thrifty.

Maggie has found a new toy – the treadmill.  She loves walking on it as long as I'm willing to stand there and give her a Cheerio now and then.  I don't get much exercise this way, but she certainly does.

And speaking of Cheerios – guess what Izzy calls broken Cheerios?  Cheeri – U's!  The kid's a genius.

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth – I'm still here!  Just the busyness of life.  I've also been doing a lot of quilting lately.  There have been times when I've worried a little bit about the blog.  It's been mainly a knitting blog and I've wondered if I would lose readership if I started blogging about quilting rather than knitting.  But then it occurred to me that adapting my life to fit the blog is a little like the tail wagging the dog!  So you'll get quilting and knitting and I hope you all stick around.

I do have a quilting FO to share.  Our quilt group had a guest speaker – Jodi Barrows.  She demonstrated her Square in a Square technique.  I was so excited about it that I came home and made this little quilt just in time for the upcoming July 4th holiday:

Although there's been precious little knitting going on, I do have modeling photos to share.  Doesn't my mother look gorgeous in her Flutter scarf?

My brother not so much!

In August our knitting group is hosting another group for a picnic.  We always have little gifts for them and this year it's felted clutches.  Here are mine before:

And after felting:

Next up is embellishing.  Some are embroidering, others needle felting.  I'm going to give a whirl at machine embroidering them and see what happens.  The good news is that if I ruin them, they take about an hour or so to knit up.

I have a few male readers (hubby, my son and my father to name three) who may want to walk away from the post at this point.  I'm going to rant about a certain article of lady's intimate apparel.  Ok, hubby can stay – he's heard it all.  Bras!  What sadistic monster created them in the first place??  Certainly a man!  Lately I've come to the conclusion that comfort is what it's all about and I just can't seem to find a comfortable bra.  Does it even exist?  I've probably spent a fortune looking for something that doesn't pinch, prod, poke or cut off circulation.  I've even gone as far as to start reading blogs that tout the joys of going bra-less.  Don't think I'm going to go that far, but I've certainly been tempted.  Any suggestions out there?  Tomorrow I'm going to drive over to the mainland to Macy's and attempt to be fitted.  I'm not holding out great hopes, but miracles do happen, I suppose. 

Did you ever have one of those times when everything you touched turned to worms?  Well, not literally, but it seems like it.  That's where my knitting has been going lately.  A list for your perusal:

1.  Yartini Cardigan – I reached the armholes and was merrily knitting away when I realized that if I knitted the pattern as written, the armholes would fit me!  Yes, I could have figured out my row gauge and the required measurements, but that would have involved actual thinking.  Frogged!!!

2.  Socks for hubby – I figured it was about time I knitted some socks for hubby.  I don't think they will replace his favorite Worlds's Softest Socks, but he needed at least one pair from his loving wife.  I picked out a pattern and was merrily knitting away and halfway down the cuffs when I realized I was knitting 11 1/2 sized men's socks on size 0 needles.  WHAT was I thinking?  Frogged and restarted, this time my own pattern using size 1 needles, Dream in Color Smooshy in Chinatown Apple and a stitch pattern from Charlene Schurch's first book.

3.  Shetland Faroese Shawl – Ok, so nothing else seems to be working.  How about picking up some tried and true lace?  I'm on the last chart, piece o' cake, right?  So . . . I'm knitting merrily away (cue ominous music here) and start the last chart only to discover that I have about 20 excess stitches.  How could that happen??  I was dead on in the last chart and I've only done four rows of stockinette since then.  So I tink back, try again and now I am 4 stitches short.  Rinse and repeat about four times with 400 (YES) stitches and I'm starting to sing, "The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms pay pinochle on your snout."  That and giggling hysterically.  It's not a pretty sight.  Placed in a bag in time out.

My knitting mojo may have flown the coop, but my quilting mojo is hanging in there.  I've finished two quilt tops this week.  This one is for Quilts of Valor.  Their goal is to present every wounded soldier with a quilt.  At our last quilt meeting they read a really heartwarming letter from a mother.  She said her son had been really disconnected from everyone until he received his quilt.  He wanted it with him every minute, only giving it up at the door to surgery and making them promise it will be there when he returns.  It's only since receiving the quilt that he's started to talk about his experiences.  I'm proud to be able to contribute and incredibly sad that there is even a need.

I'll end on a lighter note and a picture of Maggie's new favorite activity – chasing  bubbles!