missouristar

At last!  The second ladybug sweater is finished:

I couldn't believe the amount of finishing on such a small sweater.  They were delivered to the girls on Saturday and I think they were a big hit. 

Mei-Mei's sweater fits with room to grow, but alas I think Isobel's sweater will only be good for one season.  While I'm certainly not sorry I tackled such an ambitious project, I think their sweaters for Christmas 2011 will be much simpler.  I'm eyeing the Tucknernut Cardigan from Interweave Knits Winter 2010.  I think after all that colorwork, I'm ready for some cable work.

In other FO news, I finished the Lullaby afghan:

Just in time!  Little Julianne arrived last week.

I finally started work on hubby's Cambridge Jacket.  He had so admired my son's that I wanted to make one for him.  However, I ordered the yarn from our LYS and it took over two months to come in.  I was just about to give up and order it online when it came in.  I'm using Cascade 220 for this as well, but in a pretty (or is that handsome?) heathered grey.  Pictures later.

I also received my copy of Cookie A.'s new book, Knit Sock Love.  Completely appropriate name, because what's not to love about this book!  Lots of luscious eye candy and most of the socks look reasonable to knit.  I joined the KSL Knitalong on Ravelry.  The goal is to knit every sock in the book and there are prizes to boot.  I joined in a little late and missed the deadline for the first one – Hedera.  So I will not be eligible for the grand prize.  We are allowed to substitute another Cookie A. sock up to four times in the KAL.  I only found one (the knee socks) that I will probably substitute.  First up are the ubiquitous Monkey socks:

I lost the ball band for the yarn, but I think it is Opal.  Cookie A. is coming to our area and I've signed up for a couple of classes with her.  One is on bias knitting and I forget what the other one is, but the price was reasonable, so I thought it would be fun to hang with her for the day and get a look into her design process.

And lace continues as well.  We're on the third clue for In Dreams and thank goodness the beading is a little less on this one.  I do so love the beads, but it slows me down considerably.

Spring is really starting to peek out here in the Pacific Northwest.  Early daffodils are blooming and the weather is warming up some.  Early Daylight Savings Time will also help – at least make us feel more like spring, anyway.  Lots of excitement coming up in the latter part of the week.  I'm going with my sister to San Francisco.  She has a conference and invited me to go along.  I've never been and am excited about seeing all of the sights, especially Alcatraz.  I'll be taking my computer along and will probably have some down time while she's in conference, so I'll try to post some travel pictures.  Any one out there familiar with the city know of any yarn shops within walking distance of the financial district?

I guess it's only fair that we finally get our share of the snow that's been sweeping the country.  While certainly mild by East Coast standards, this was pretty extreme for us and we have been staying home.  Overall, we got about 10 inches total.  Usually when we get snow, it melts quickly, but it is down near freezing, so this will probably stay with us for  few days.

Maggie absolutely loves the snow.  I tried to get a picture of the pure joy on her face as she races through the yard, but this is the best I could get:

This has been the perfect excuse (as if I needed one) to stay in and sew.  I'm really feeling the love for finishing projects and completed my Mexican Star quilt yesterday.

I actually did some free motion quilting in the plain squares and it didn't come out too badly at all.  I'm still not excited about showcasing it on plain fabric, but will probably continue to practice on any quilt that has areas of printed fabric.

Before the great snowfall, we did manage to get down to Snohomish to deliver the girls' quilts.  Mei-Mei was thrilled with hers and kept telling me "Thank you for my quilt Nana!"  Isobel – well, not so much.  We laid out the quilts on their beds and she very politely informed me that she only liked one blanket on her bed.  Obviously the quilt was not the chosen one and she very gently folded it up and put it away!  Later I asked her if she was going to snuggle under her quilt and she said, "When I want to."  Obviously she has a mind of her own and will do things on her own schedule!  I did manage to get some pictures of the quilts on the beds, along with at least one delighted granddaughter.

As usual, I brought my knitting with me and at one point in the day was knitting with Isobel snuggled next to me.  I asked her if she would like to learn to knit.  She said, "No, I want to be a scientist."  I told her she could do both, that there were a lot of knitting scientists.  Her reply – "Knitting is for old grannies.  You're old, right?  But you can still walk."  A few minutes later a little neighbor boy who was visiting came up and watched me and asked what I was doing.  I explained and he said, "Why do you do that?"  I told him it was because I liked doing it.  His reply – "That's what old persons do."  Obviously it was my day to be humbled on all fronts!

On the way down, we encountered migrating snow geese.  These are such a magnificent sight every year, along with the trumpeter swans that stop by for a visit.

I can't remember if I mentioned that our knitting group is doing the Advent Scarf as a year long project.  The goal will be to do two patterns a month.  A couple of us who are experienced lace knitters are trying to stay a couple of patterns ahead so we can help out with any questions or problems.  So far I am up to pattern #6.

I've also been chugging along on In Dreams.  Man, there are a lot of beads on this thing.  It's already starting to get a little heavy. 

It's slow going and I have to be careful of dropping stitches.  I'm using Knit Picks Shimmer, an alpaca, silk blend.  If you drop a stitch it immediately makes a break for it and slithers down several rows.  With all the yarn overs and decreases, that can be a bear to try and pick back up.  I've already had to tink back a few rows.  I still stubbornly refuse to put in lifelines.  I think they take up as much time (or more) than tinking and would have to be put in fairly often to do any good – at least for me.

We're probably facing at least one more day at home and I'm really looking forward to spending it in my sewing room.  I'll be working on an American Hero quilt for wounded Iraq soldiers and possibly an in-the-hoop project on my embroidery module.  Good times!

The quilts are done!  The quilts are done!  I just put the finishing touches on Isobel's and Ivy's quilts:

I have so enjoyed working on these quilts, but it's always nice to see the wrap up (literally) of a project of this magnitude.  Some people would say there's an awful lot of work in quilts that are (with any luck!) going to be loved, washed, dragged around the house and generally used to tatters.  But I enjoyed doing it and I know the girls are going to love them.

In fact, Ivy felt the love before they were even done.  Every time she saw the quilts in progress, she would ask, "Is that quilt for me?"  They stayed at our house this weekend while their house was being painted and she stood right by the sewing machine while I sewed and kept asking, "Is it done yet?  Is it done yet?"

  At one point, I had to declare it done enough for use:

She really didn't care that the quilting wasn't done and the binding wasn't sewn on.  The observant among you may notice that I did not free motion quilt the borders.  In the end I wimped out and did three rows of decorative machine stitching.  About 1/3 of the way through, I realized I could have gotten away with only one row, but by then I was committed.  I think I need a lot more practice free motioning before I'm ready to put it on a quilt that I really care about.

I finished binding them yesterday and made the labels for them today:

As I was sewing on the labels, I realized that I had put in the WRONG YEAR!  Doh!!  However, I am NOT doing them over.  We are just going to chalk it up to a senior moment for Nana and move on!

After doing the Evenstar KAL, I said that I would not do another.  However, I have caved and joined the "In Dreams" KAL.  I'm hoping there won't be quite as much drama with this one and I do so love her designs.  And I certainly don't have to "join" in the discussions (which I probably won't).  I'm still waiting for my yarn – Knit Picks Shimmer in white, but I got my beads yesterday – 5,000 of them!  Off to start stringing them on dental floss.

Far be it from me to complain about our weather, especially considering what the rest of the country is experiencing.  I think we must be the only region that is not having extreme weather.  However, we have had days and days (and days) of gloomy rain – not unusual winter weather for us.  It was absolutely glorious when we experienced the sun for a few days this week.  I was going to get out and get some pictures, but got side tracked by other things, so you'll have to take my word for it. 

The major project I've been sidetracked by is finishing up the girls' quilts.  Machine quilting has never been my strength and I was kind of dreading that part of the project,  However, once I put my mind to it and got started, I found I didn't mind it (much).  I think part of the reason is that the results were actually quite decent:

All that's left are the borders and I think I'm going to bite the bullet and free motion quilt a heart design:

I experimented with using a design drawn on tissue paper and pinned on the quilt sandwich and it came out acceptable.  With any luck the quilts will be finished by next weekend.  Mei-Mei got a sneak peek and gave the quilt (especially the lamb) the stamp of approval:

It's a good thing I'm going to have a couple of FO's, because I have a serious case of "startitis".  I've found at least four or five projects I could cast on today, but I'm trying to be disciplined.  On the finishing block were the Sunshine socks I was making for myself – they've already been washed and worn twice.  I love them!

Not too much is being accomplished this weekend because we have the girls.  Ben and Abby are having their house painted and decided the project would go much more smoothly without two little inquisitive girls around.  On Saturday, Grandpa and Isobel went to a kid's workshop at Home Depot and Isobel make a cute little heart shelf:

And, of course, one can never get tired of hearing, "Nana, will you read me a story?"

Even Aunt Claudia got in on the act with a double dose of love:

We are immersed in that time of year in the Pacific Northwest when it seems as if we will never see the sun again.  While I remind myself that at least we don't have to shovel rain, it does get a little wearing.  We need to keep lights on in the house during the day and yesterday when I was driving at noon, I felt I needed my headlights.  On the bright side, as I was walking Maggie during a rare break in the rain the other day I saw some bulbs poking their little heads out of the ground.

Also on the bright side, I am so enjoying my new, improved sewing room.  Being able to see all of my projects, I am determined to put a dent into the huge pile of UFO's.  I finished sewing the tops for the granddaughters' quilts and got them spray basted.  I'll start machine quilting them on Monday (pictures to follow later).  I'm also enjoying having the space to spread out and handquilt:

As you can see, I have my little nest with coffee cup, thread, scissors and remote controls handy.  My ancient little TV bit the dust during the transition, so yesterday I got a new small flat screen so I can watch my cheesy disaster movies while I quilt.  Truly my little bit of heaven on earth.

On the knitting front, I'm also trying to finish some UFO's before starting new ones, although my unfinished pile there is quite a bit smaller.  First up is finishing Isobel's Dale of Norway sweater.  Last night I finished the first sleeve:

The body is done, so as soon as the other sleeve is done I can start putting it together.  Toward the end of the sewing room project I finished the pair of Sunshine socks I was working on and found myself truly bored for the first time in a long time.  Hubby was putting in the floor, which is really a one person project.  I couldn't clean because my sewing room stuff was scattered all over the house.  I obviously couldn't sew.  I couldn't work on Isobel's sweater because it was at the bottom of a pile somewhere.  I finally found a stray skein of sock yarn toward the top of the pile.  It was left over from my Landscape Shawl and there seemed to be enough for some socks, so I was able to cast on.  I had told Marguerite that I would make another pair of Sunshine socks, but probably not right away.  However, I was in such doldrums that I couldn't even drum up enough energy to look through the mess for another pattern.  The pattern for Sunshine was sitting in my knitting bag and I had memorized most of it, so that's what I cast on.  First sock is already done:

The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy, color Into the Mystic, pattern Sunshine by Cookie A.

This afternoon I get to go meet with my dear friends in my Round Robin group.  I do so love this group of ladies and we always have such a wonderful time!  Next week I'll try to get my act together and show you what we're working on.

Woo Hoo!  The sewing room project is officially done.  It is so nice to have things clean and organized and all of my sewing "junk" back in its proper place.  For your viewing enjoyment, I offer a guided tour.  But first, a "before" picture:

And now, after:

Work table – hubby built this work table for me years ago and it is wonderful!  It's at a nice height for standing and there's a stool if I want to sit down.  All of my fabric cutting is done here.  Although I use a MacBook for my every day computing, I use hubby's old PC for my embroidery and sewing programs that only run on a PC.  I could use Boot Camp, but this is handier.  I have my good photo printer to the left and to the right are my quilting rulers, right at hand when I need them.  Above the table is a print by one of my favorite artists, Charles Wysocki.  We have several of his signed and numbered prints.  Although the table is constructed so that it can fold down, we've never had it folded down!  And I use underneath for yarn storage bins.

Bookcase – I did some weeding out of books, so the bookcase is not as crowded as it used to be (believe it or not!).  They are roughly sorted by knitting/quilting/other, but probably more weeding out and organizing needs to be done.  I'd like to get the knitting books organized on Ravelry.  The corner unit holds my "entertainment center" consisting of the TV/Tivo/DVD player.  I often have recorded CSI and Law and Order programs going on in the background while I work.  To the right is a hook holding my large quilting hoops and more yarn storage bins.  To the left is my cart of embroidery threads.

Sewing Center – I have an old and yes, a little ugly sewing cabinet, but it was free and is really a great piece of furniture if you get beyond the looks.  For one, it's terribly sturdy – no wobbling or shaking, even when I put the pedal to the metal while sewing.  It's got storage drawers on the left, which really need to be sorted out.  It also can pull out from the wall and has a table that folds out, giving me a very large surface for machine quilting or when I just need more room.  My serger is on the floor to the right and can easily be put on the fold out when needed.

Ironing Center/Doggie Relaxation Center – My iron and ironing board are handy, just a few steps away from the sewing machine.  I could lower the board so I could just roll over from the machine, but I find the getting up and down actually is better for my body.  Whenever I'm in my room, Maggie is usually there with me.  Since there is no longer carpet, I thought a doggie bed would be comfortable for her.  She hasn't yet claimed it as her own, but I'm sure she will once I start working in there.  On the wall above the ironing board is a wonderful quilt – Quilter's Heaven – made by a dear quilting friend.  I had always admired the quilt and was constantly talking about it.  One day she offered to sell it to me.  I was envisioning hundreds of dollars, but all she asked for was a pittance.  I gave her twice what she offered and said if that bothered her she could donate it somewhere, which I think she did.  I love this quilt and especially the connection to my friend, who will be moving to Florida this year.

Fabric Stash Closet – here you see my fabric stash.  The wire bins come in handy for sorting by color.  I've also found that the clear plastic containers that our salad comes in are great for holding small pieces such as fat quarters.  The white cardboard boxes hold projects.  My goal this year is the get some of these done and the boxes emptied for new projects!  The hook on the left holds all my tote bags (you can never have too many tote bags).  On the floor is room for magazine storage and assorted sundries. At times my magazine collection has threatened to take over the house, and in all honesty I must admit that I have a whole shelf of them in our master bedroom closet.  But I have already cleaned out a ton and will continue to destash them through the year, tearing out articles and patterns, filing them in notebooks and recycling the rest.  My goal will be to have no more magazines than will fit on the floor of this closet!

So there you have my room.  I did notice that because of the flash, the color looks a little washed out.  It is really a nice, warm, sunshiney yellow.  It is such a refuge for me and I really love that I have the luxury of this space.  Technically, it's not finished because I still need to make curtains.  Believe it or not, in the 25 years we have lived in this house, that window has never had curtains!  I think it's about time.  The fabric you see on the sewing table should find itself on the window within the next week or so.

I don't know if you can see out the window, but there is a light dusting of snow.  We had pretty heavy snowfall this morning, but it was warm and didn't stick too much.  However, the weather pundits here have predicted a major snow "event" for later in the week.  We made a trip to the grocery store this morning to stock up on a few items, so we are well prepared.  A perfect excuse to hunker down in my beautiful new room.  Bring it on!!

 

 

We're approaching the home stretch on the sewing room project!  In fact, it should be finished today – then comes the hard work of sorting and moving everything back in.  We finished painting yesterday and this morning hubby finished the floor:

It's really hard to get a panaromic shot of the whole room.  I love the cheerful yellow walls!  In fact, as I was walking down the hall this morning I wondered if I had left a light on in the room.  I hadn't, but the walls were reflecting the rather weak light coming in through the window.  It's been so grey and dreary here the past few days and the sunshine yellow walls made me happy.  All that's left is for hubby to put down the molding and we'll be done!

I've found myself really at loose ends today.  Up until today, I've been busy on the project – cleaning out and painting.  Once he started on the floors, there really wasn't much I could do to help.  I can't clean the house because there's sewing room junk scattered through just about every room.  I finished the socks I was knitting and can't start new ones because my sock yarn is buried, to say nothing of my swift and ball winder.  I did find the yarn and pattern for the sleeves on Isobel's sweater, but I changed the colors on the chart and did not mark the chart.  So I need the body in order to match the colors.  I have no idea where it is right now!

Speaking of socks, the Sunshine (appropriate name, eh?) socks are finished:

I should name this "Still Life of Socks with Thread".  Still can't find the ball band so I can't credit the yarn yet.  I did run across it during the cleaning out, but who knows where I put it??  This is the first pair of six for my sister's "Sock Club" this year.  I'm rather proud of myself that I am so far ahead.  We'll see how long this lasts.

Less than an hour and I can start moving things back!  I can't wait to be able to sew and find things again.

 

It's got to get worse – a lot worse!  Hubby and I have been putting off a remodeling project in my sewing room.  We want to put in a new floor and while we're at it texturize two walls that were never done when the house was built and repaint.  Because we knew it was going to be a HUGE hassle, we have been procrastinating.  However, the time has come and it is now.

This is what my sewing room looks like now:

But this is the guest room:

That doesn't include the floor to ceiling bookcases in the bathroom and dining room, or the piles of stuff in the sunroom and our bedroom.  I'm not sure how in the world I fit everything in there!  I did do a lot of cleaning out and have boxes to give away, plus a box of books I sold at Cash 4 Books and some stuff that has  gone to the thrift shop.  I'm already having withdrawal – I really want to sew!  But with a lot of hard work, by this time next week I should be moving stuff back in.

Here's hubby hard at work!

I did get a little sewing done before the big move.  I made a case for my Kindle:

This was the second attempt.  The first was a pouch with some really strange directions.   So far I have to say I love the Kindle.  It took a little getting used to the navigation, but I love how lightweight it is and the ability to store so many books.  I find myself spending way too much time playing word games on it, but I justify that by reminding myself it staves off dementia.  Right?

While hubby is prepping the room for painting, I've been in the kitchen putting together some freezer meals.  A couple of years ago we went to a store called Dinners Ready.  You could go there and put together meals for the freezer.  Then, when you found yourself standing in front of the cupboard wondering "What's for dinner?", you could just pull a meal ready-to-cook out of the freezer.  It was a little more expensive than home made, but not quite as expensive as eating out.  The downside was your choices were pretty limited and the store closed after only a year or so.  But recently I found the site SavingDinner.com.  She has recipes for freezer meals.  After trying a few during December, and being really impressed, I am ready to go for broke.  I put together  15 meals this afternoon! 

Of course, we may end up with take-out tonight because I'll be too tired to cook, but it should keep us in good shape for the next few weeks.  And I'm starting to look at my own recipes with the idea of preparing them ahead of time and freezing.  I'll keep you posted on our progress.

 

 

It really came home to me this year how much fun Christmas is when there are children in the house.  For so many years we've had an "adult" Christmas, and while it's certainly fun, it doesn't hold a candle to the excitement when there are children around.

We've always opened our presents on Christmas Eve, but with the girls we needed to change things around a little.  We didn't want them up late and tired and cranky the next day.  So they drove up to the island for Christmas Eve and we did our stockings:

The next day we drove down to their house and opened gifts and had a wonderful brunch cooked by our dil.  As is our custom, we read the Christmas story before opening our gifts.  This year the story was read by our very own Isobel:

Mei-Mei announced that she did not want to hear the Christmas story.  Thankfully, lightning did not strike.  It was so much fun watching the girls open their gifts.  Their parents are raising them with such an attitude of thankfulness and they were so grateful for everything they received.  Here they are modeling hats and scarves given to them by Uncle Allen:

At least there were some knitted gifts under the tree!  Our gift to Mei-Mei was a little pink fairy costume and it was a big hit!

On my end, yarn and IOU's were gifted!  Hubby received a box of yarn for a Cambridge Jacket.  He liked Ben's so much that he needed one of his own.  I wasn't sure of the color and he requested something different than was in the box, so it has been returned and a nice charcoal grey heather has been ordered.  I gave my sister an enrollment in the "2011 Sock of the Month Club", which entitles her to one sock each month for a grand total of six pairs this year.  I'm already ahead of the game!

This is Sunshine by Cookie A.  I seem to have misplaced the ball band, but as soon as I locate it I will update the information on my Ravelry page.

Hubby came through big time with a gift certifcate for our LYS, along with a post-it note informing me of a big after Christmas sale.  My original intention was to get yarn for a sweater for me, but there wasn't enough of any of the yarn I wanted so I splurged on sock yarn!   This should keep me occupied for a long time!!

 

As usual, at this time of the year I start thinking about resolutions.  I think this year I will look at them more as goals.  Resolutions can carry such a negative connotation.  Several of my goals include:

1.  Dejunking and destashing.  I really seem to be a pack rat when it comes to magazines.  I've been collecting Quilters' Newsletter since the 70's and it's time to bid them adieu.  I'll be selling the earlier editions, which have some collector value, on eBay.  The rest I will go through and tear out any patterns I want and file them in a notebook.  Then off to recycling they go!  This is a HUGE step for me!  This is also part of a redecorating and clearing out of my sewing room, which includes a new paint job and wood floors.

2.  Read more.  I do read a lot now, but I like rereading books and I've gotten into the habit of only reading books I've read before.  I need to branch out and vary my reading diet.  I think this will help:

Hubby questioned why a Kindle when we already have an iPad.  There were several reasons:  The price has come down considerably.  Even books are getting cheaper.  I got a New York Times best seller for only $5.00.  The iPad is definitely much better as an all around tool, especially for web browsing and playing games, but the Kindle is much, much lighter.  I can even throw it in my purse.  I don't have to share.  The iPad belongs to both of us and often when I want it, hubby has it.  I can be selfish with this! 

Of course, there are the usual diet and exercise goals.  I think I'm going to approach it a little differently this year.  Each month I'll set a different diet and/or exercise goal for the month rather than trying to look ahead for the entire year.  I don't need any drastic changes; I just need to instill a few healthier habits.  For January my goal will be to add more fruit to my diet.  Hopefully this will help replace my unhealthy attraction to sugar!

Off to spinning group today.  I haven't really done much spinning in the past few months.  With my sewing room out of commission, it will be nice to have something besides knitting to turn to.  Happy New Year to all of you!!

Christmas is all about preparation, but I think we've come a long way from the initial preparation that announced Christ's birth.  Usually I don't get too crazy, but I've had to keep reminding myself this year to put on the brakes and not try to "do it all"!

A fun part of preparation this year was having the girls to help us.  We had them over the weekend so that their parents could have some much needed R&R.  Earlier in the week hubby had gone out and picked out a tree at our local Christmas tree farm and put their names on it.  On Saturday we ventured forth in the cold, biting wind.  The girls were told we needed to find a tree with their names.  They were very excited to find it.  Isobel shouted "Timber!" as we cut it down.

You can see from Mei-Mei's face how cold the wind was.  When we got it home, hubby got it all set up and the lights put on and then Isobel and I decorated it.  Mei-Mei was supposed to help, but when I looked around, she was gone.  I found her in her bed, fast asleep!  Picking out a Christmas tree is hard work.  After a good nap, she was content to play quietly with the Nativity Set while Isobel and I made turtles.

Later in the afternoon we went to the local Christmas village.  The highlight for both girls was feeding the animals.  Mei-Mei especially liked the alpacas.  She giggled every time the alpaca took the grain out of her hand.

At one point in the weekend I had left my sock knitting on the couch.  Mei-Mei very gently picked it up and brought it to me.  "Here Nana – you need to put this in your knitting basket so I can't find it." 

We're so looking forward to having Christmas with them and their parents again this year.  We try to keep the gifts to a minimum and instead focus on Christ's birth and the importance of family.  Every year before we open gifts we read the Christmas story.  A different family member reads each year.  This year will be a highlight because it will be Isobel reading the story!

Merry Christmas to all my readers.  I really do this blog for myself and my family, but I so appreciate all the friends (real and imaginary!) that I've made through blogging.  May God bless you all this coming year.

In closing – a new scrapbook page featuring an upcoming new artist: