Pieceful Moments

Soft Memory Cards

2012-01-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

Did you ever play the Memory game, using a standard deck of 52 playing cards? Any number of people can play. You place all cards, face down on the table. Each person turns over two cards, one at a time and leaves them in their place. If they don't match, they are turned face down again. If they do match, the person gets another turn. The one with the most matched pairs at the end of the game wins.

I saw the idea for fabric memory cards at Purl bee. If you want to make these, please read those instructions. I changed the directions a little to make them easier.

You will need 42 - 2-1/2" squares, two each of cotton fabric, medium weight fusible interfacing, 8 ecru felt squares 9" x 12", a small amount of clear template plastic, a black permanent marking pen, a craft knife, a sewing machine, ecru thread to match the felt and rotary cutting mat, cutter and rulers.

I chose 21 fabrics for a set of 42 memory cards, but you could make more or less if you want. Cut the squares 2-1/2". I went to my scrap box of 2-1/2" squares and pulled pairs.

Instead of cutting squares of the fusible interfacing and fusing them to the fabric squares one at a time, I placed the squares on a sheet of interfacing and used a pressing sheet to keep the bottom of my iron clean, fused all 42 squares at once.

Cut the squares apart using your rotary cutter and ruler.

Yes, these instructions are left-handed :)

For both the front and back felt squares, you'll need 42 cut 3". Cut 21 from the felt, these will be for the fronts, set aside. Before you cut 21 for the backing squares, fuse the 9" x 12" felt pieces to the interfacing, then cut 21 squares for the backs.

Next make a 3" keyhole template from the clear plastic. Mark the inner square with a fine tipped Sharpie or other permanent marker, 1/2" in from the edge, making a 2" square. Carefully cut this out with a sharp craft knife.

Place the template on a 3" felt square that does not have interfacing on it and mark the corners with a pen. I tried pencil, it didn't show. I also tried a water soluble marker and it spread out too much on the felt.

When you cut out the center, cut on the outside of the pen marks. This is the wrong side and will be face down when you assemble your squares.

To sew them together, place a fabric square right side up on the wrong side of a backing square. The backing squares have the interfacing on them. Lay a top piece over and pin at the top.

Adjust your stitch length to allow for sewing through two layers of felt. On my Janome MC, that was 3.3, instead of the usual 2.3 I use for patchwork. Sew a quarter of an inch around the outside of the square first, pivoting at the corners and taking a back stitch at the end. Cut the thread, lift the presser foot and move the square over to the edge of the opening. Top stitch a scant 1/8" in from the edge around the opening, pivoting at corners and back stitching at the end. Remove from the machine and trim threads close to the front and back. I found the Janome thread cutter made this part of the project go fast.

Using your rotary cutter and ruler, trim the squares a scant 1/8" on all sides, squaring them up. Now you're ready to lay them out.

This is a great game to play with your kids or grandkids. It's also great for anyone working to sharpen their memory and visual-spatial skills. Try it, just for fun!

The Not-so Felted Slipper

2012-01-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

I put the slipper in a zipped pillow case to catch the lint and washed it FIVE times in hot water, with a little bit of detergent and the wash cycle set on heavy-duty. I checked it after each cycle.

Here's about half of the lint. It's better to catch it somehow than to let it clog the washer's drain pipe.

It shrank and felted but as you can see, not nearly enough to make a size 8; or even a size 13! I'm willing to explore and experiment if I learn something along the way; in this project I got better at the Kitchener stitch used to seam the bottom. And I learned if I'm going to veer from an established pattern, I can expect mixed results. More swatch testing was probably in order for this project. So I guess it's back to the drawing board.

Someone Has a Sense of Humor

2012-01-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

Another Virginia Cowl

2012-01-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

Once I finished the Virginia cowl for my Mom's gift, I began one for myself using the reclaimed merino.

It seemed too tight on size 8 needles, so I changed to size 9. But when I blocked it, it grew an inch in width. I think that's because the reclaimed wool relaxed. This is a good lesson for me, always prewash your reclaimed skeins to get the kinks out!

It's soft and fun, but cashmere is definitely snuggier than merino. :)

I Think We All Feel This Way...

2012-01-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

... from time to time.

Felted Clutch Ball

2012-01-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

Last fall, during all the fiber exploration and experimentation I was doing I got interested in felting too. I wanted to make a clutch toy for my grandson from a pattern I saw in a book. But the pattern was vague and incomplete. I followed it the best I could using trial and error, lots of error.

Working with little bits of different colored yarn I knit a shape that looked like this.

Since I didn't have six different remnants of colored yarn, I bought natural wool and Kool-aid dyed small hanks. I wanted blue for the sixth side but after trying six stores in town I settled for repeating a color. I guess blue raspberry Kool-aid isn't that popular.

I got it most of the way knitted, using the recommended 40 stitches but it was turning out really big, even for something that was going to be felted. So I decided to do a pattern search on Ravelry. There weren't a lot of people that had made it, but their notes were very helpful. One said it didn't shrink that much and was the size of a basketball. She was using hers as a back rest. That's not what I'd envisioned! I wanted a small, child-sized ball. So I frogged what I had and reduced the number of stitches by half - 20.

Once it was knit, I sewed it together into a cube, stuff it with wool and a jingle bell and sew it closed. I placed it in a zippered pillow case and washed it in hot, hot water, using the heavy agitation cycle. The pillow case catches the fiber that sheds and helps save your washing machine from clogs and burn out.

It was still bigger than I wanted. I decided to make it again and reduce the number of stitches to 10. In the meantime I'd found some blue Kool-aid and had my sixth color.

Ta-da, I love it!

And according to the pictures Christmas morning, so does Evan.

Greetings From Planet Yip Yip

2012-01-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

My sons are in their late 20's and early 30's but they still get a kick out of the Yip Yip aliens from Sesame Street. YouTube has a whole library of their skits. The one where they meet the clock is a favorite of mine. So when I saw this pattern on Ravelry I just had to try it!

I had some fingering yarn left from socks that was perfect. And crocheting the tentacles was fun. Because this one's on the small side, I used white DMC floss to wrap the straw that makes the eyes, then embroidered the iris with black floss.

DS2 opened it Christmas morning and hadn't had it two minutes before his fiance' asked if she could see it. Yip, yip, yip, yip. :)

It was a little tricky using the small dpns on the first one so I used dk yarn for the next one.

Every programmer, computer geek has his executive toys; my sons have these on their desk.

Knit Wear

2012-01-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

Now that Christmas has come and gone I can show you what I've been working on. I knit my way through September, October, November and December. It was great! Read books on the subject, trolled Ravelry, learned a lot of new skills and techniques, found left-handed knitting tutorials on YouTube. I was as happy as a clam.

You might remember this watch cap made last year. I got the idea to make it again and use self striping yarn for the center band. Crofters DK is perfect for this. Most of the patterns on the site use the yarn for the entire garment, but I paired it with cream to enhance the Fair Isle effect.

It looks so much more complicated than it really is. I love the way it turned out. I made one for my DIL and then had to make one for me! The pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry.

P.S. I changed my font because the new blog editor makes 'normal' sized font appear too small. A new look for the new year. ;)

Felted Slippers

2012-01-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

I got this Men's tall lamb's wool sweater at a thrift sale for less than a dollar. It's sooo soft, I've been enjoying reclaiming the yarn. I frog the yarn, skein it to a niddy noddy, hand wash it to get the kinks to relax and when I'm ready to knit with it, wrap it into balls.

I finally invested in a yarn winder and can make my own center-pull yarn 'cakes' now. This is the U-Nitt metal jumbo winder. It has metal gears and can wind up to 9 ozs. It's a gas to use.

I tried using the Boye electric ball winder but it just didn't do the job, the least amount of tension on the yarn and it bogged down. I returned it to Michael's.

So I started a pair of slippers using this pattern on Ravelry. I've changed it a bit to allow me to work with three strands held together on size 13 needles. I knit and felted swatches using two strands on size 10 and three on 13 and liked the thickness of three better; but it's all an experiment. I'll let you know if it turns out.

Virginia Cowl

2011-11-28T12:12:00.001-08:00

I love it! I love everything about it. The fiber: cashmere. The source: reclaimed yarn from a favorite sweater belonging to my Mom. The pattern: a design original. The purpose: a birthday gift for my dear Mom on her 85th. Happy Birthday Mom!

The lace pattern is called Feather and Fan and is a lot easier to knit than it looks. The Virginia Cowl pattern is available as a free download here.

The Comforts of Home

2011-11-28T12:03:00.001-08:00

I've really been enjoying the entries in the Wovember gallery, celebrating wool and all it's wooly comfort. This one by Chantelle Jelley hit the spot!

Her caption: “Ancient Comforts In a Time of Smartphones and Fast Food.”

Photo used with permission

She Said Yes!

2011-11-28T11:52:00.001-08:00

We had the family up this past weekend for our Thanksgiving. We enjoyed a couple of firsts.

Hollin and Kim announced their engagement. We're thrilled and so happy for them!

And baby Evan joined us at the table.

Our family is growing. We are blessed that they all live close enough to get together and that everyone wants to spend time together!

Bird Watching

2011-11-24T11:16:00.001-08:00

I think he realized he was being watched!

2011-11-24T11:13:00.001-08:00

Image courtesy of Pam's Clipart

Where Does Wool Come From

2011-11-16T07:57:00.001-08:00

Photo by Joe Snyder

The month of November is Wovember, celebrating that real wool comes from real sheep. You might want to check out Needled’s blog. The textile industry is advertising garments made from cotton and/or synthetics as ‘wool’ when there’s little or no wool in the garment. If you think this should be addressed, there’s a petition. Check out the gallery at Wovember too. Wow! The page took awhile to load, but was well worth it.

Autumn Gold

2011-11-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

The autumn sunshine just keeps pouring down. Day after day of glorious, golden glow.

Love what it does to my neighbor's poplars about 3:30 every afternoon.

Live and Learn

2011-11-16T07:19:00.001-08:00

I continued on with my lace swatching. I didn't like how small and tight it was on the size four needles the pattern recommended so I did another swatch on fives. I also read this great Lace 101 tutorial. That made all the difference in the world. Suddenly my lace was looking like something. You can teach yourself most things by trial and error but what I didn't know about reading a lace knitting chart was that the rows read right to left and then left to right.

Makes a bit of a difference in the outcome. =D

It's All One

2011-11-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Once morning chores were done and the fire was built, I sat down with the four-ply merino to knit a test swatch for a lace pattern.

Lace knitting is new to me so three rows into the chart it became clear that a magnet board might be useful. I think I have one around here somewhere.

Twenty-something years ago, when my sons were in grade school, I used to be an avid counted cross-stitcher. It was creative, colorful and portable. I never went anywhere without a cross stitch project. But as my sons got older, quilting gradually took over where cross stitch had been. Now where was that magnet board, it has to be here somewhere.

I went into the sewing room to look for the magnet board and saw all this quilting stuff - fabric, notions, books and patterns, quilts yet to be made. But I was looking for a tool from two hobbies ago, to use with my current love interest - and I wondered - is quilting going to go the way of counted cross stitch, displaced by knitting; why does that bother me? Because I have a *whole* lot of quilting supplies in that room! I found the board and returned to my knitting.

More than a little time later I had a 2 inch swatch of lace that worked up pretty good despite my lack of experience knitting from a chart. But really, it wasn't that different from following a counted cross stitch pattern, maybe I could knit lace after all. I'm glad I made a swatch though, turns out I didn't like the look of the pattern after all.

But I learned a lot.

Creative Juice

2011-11-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

I'm still recovering from the dizziness and fatigue that I've had since early August. Some days are better than others, but I find sewing and quilting just aren't happening right now. I go into the sewing room and just stare at the current quilt in progress on the design wall, move a few things around, and leave. I love quilting, it's seen me through good times and bad for almost 30 years. Where's my creative juice?

I saw a physical therapist for a seemingly unrelated jaw problem, which got us talking about my neck injury two years ago. Come to find out neck and jaw problems can cause ear stuff and dizziness. He thinks he can help, which is more than the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist had to offer. I have new hope I'll recover sooner than later.

In the meantime, I found out you can BUY mojo. I'm gonna get me some!

More Reclaiming Yarn

2011-11-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

Thrifting can be so satisfying sometimes.

I found this 100% Italian merino sweater for $1.00 at Salvation Army.

I use the power drill to wind a bobbin as I frog the ultra fine yarn.

These two are from the sleeve and a 1x1 rib cowl. The food scale I ordered from Amazon helps me estimate grams, and from there yards. These two weigh nearly the same.

I used a hand cranked ball winder to ply the two together. Now I'm ready to cast on. I'm beginning to think I'm really a spinner at heart!

Out Like a Whisper

2011-11-08T09:16:00.000-08:00

Lila Roberts. August 1995 - October 2011
She came into our lives at a gallop.
She left us like a whisper.

I loved the way she would appear out of nowhere whenever I was stash diving in the sewing room. She would weave in and out against me as I sat on the floor in front of the fabric tubs pulling out colors and trying to decide. Thanks Kittygirl.

Local Harvest

2011-10-11T19:34:00.001-07:00

A scene from our daily walk.

Casting On

2011-10-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't found anyone that casts on for knitting the way I was taught many years ago in junior high. So when Kim asked if I could send a YouTube tutorial reminding her of the way I'd shown her, I decided to try and make my own. This is the left handed version of the method. :)

I searched YouTube's casting on videos and found the two needle method. Wow! that looks so easy. I should probably break down and learn another method because you don't have to estimate the length of your starting point with the two needle or long tail cast on. But for now, I still use this because it's what I know.

Gray Puma

2011-10-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Who's that huntress in the tree?

I don't think I've ever raised a cat that was such a climber. Spunky will dash across the yard, straight up the 6 foot fence and leap into the tree without missing a beat. I have come across her eating finches, so I guess occasionally she bags her game.

Family Visit

2011-10-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

DS2 and his girlfriend came for a visit last week. It was in honor of my birthday in September. Don't you love it when birthdays last days or even weeks?

She brought a beautiful bouquet that was 360 in design. The fragrance filled the house for days.

She said she loved the knitting I was working on and had always wanted to learn. I pulled out a pair of needles and we gave it a whirl. She did really, really well - especially since I was showing her how to cast on left handed. She translated my actions and took to it like a natural.

Happy new knitter.

What's Your Favorite Flavor?

2011-09-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

My first effort at Kool-Aid dyeing was so much fun I wanted to try other colors. But I didn't have anymore reclaimed wool. That didn't stop me. ;) This is Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool.

I borrowed a niddy noddy from a spinning friend and found making skeins with it much easier than the lap board. I measured 50 yards for each color.

In the dye.

Almost all the dye has been absorbed.

Yum! The colors are so fun. I've been scouring the grocery stores for Blue Raspberry. I know it exists but so far, no luck.

Dyeing Comes On The Heels of Reclaiming

2011-09-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am completely captivated by this new fiber adventure! By now I have several different sweaters at varying stages of being reclaimed. Once I reclaim the yarn, the possibilities seem almost endless. I joined the Unravelers forum and found the members friendly and so willing to make helpful suggestions. Such as, if I don't like the color of the reclaimed yarn I can over dye it. Well... dyeing seemed like a whole other craft, but Kool-Aid dyeing makes it sooo easy! And it doesn't cost a lot to experiment.

100% worsted wool

Approximately one packet of drink mix per ounce of yarn.

The yarn completely absorbs the food coloring in the drink mix. You know it's done when the water becomes clear.

Cherry. But I bet you guessed that.

More Reclaiming Yarn

2011-09-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

I'm gradually getting better and am less dizzy, but I'm still not strong enough to go into the studio and work on quilts. So in the meantime I've been enjoying reclaiming yarn from thrift store sweaters. I reclaimed my first sweater last spring with this one because it was hand spun, 100% wool. But since that time I've found the Unravelers forum on Ravelry. Oh my, there are many knitters that are *seriously* into this. Reading the forum has taught me a lot and I now know you can find many fine quality sweaters to reclaim at thrift stores; merino, cashmere, silk, linen, alpapca, etc. Wow!

This is an Italian cotton that was a woman's large. I forgot to take a before picture. It was a challenge because it was machine knit with two strands running back and forth. Here I'm skeining the front to my lap board.

All skeined except this sleeve.

Once it's all unraveled I give it a wash with shampoo or a little dish soap. So many thrift stores treat their clothes with Febreze, the smell is just too much. I hang it with a weight to relax the 'yarn ramen', all the kinks from being knitted. I've estimated yardage from this sweater: 1275. Not bad for 4.00 a little effort. :)

One More DIY Yarn Winder

2011-09-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

At first I thought I might be able to skein around the dasher in the ice cream maker, but when I tried it, I found the canister turns and the dasher stays still. Ahhh...

It unravels as it winds, which makes reclaiming the fine gauge yarn go that much faster. I do need to help it along sometimes if it sticks at the selvage edge. But if it breaks, I can split splice it easily, since it's 100% animal fiber.

Plying

2011-09-14T16:34:00.001-07:00

More than 25 years ago I remember attending a living history event that featured tools, activities and crafts of the last century. Several women sat and demonstrated picking a fleece, carding wool and spinning yarn. I was fascinated and kept coming back to their booth throughout the day to sit and watch. But I was already sewing quilts, collecting fabric and making plans. I remember walking away and telling myself, "You already have a major hobby. Stay focused, you don't want to divide your energy."

Recently I've been recovering from a viral inner ear infection. I'm passed the worst of the dizziness, ringing in the ears and lack of balance, but I still move slowly and need to take things easy. Knitting has become my pastime while I wait for my health and equilibrium to return. The feel of the yarn in my hands is so calming.

I've been reclaiming yarn to be reworked into something new. There are tools available for what I'm doing, but I'm still not driving much due to the dizziness, so I've been 'making do'. It's kind of fun to see what you can come up with when you have to. Today I wanted a way to ply four strands of yarn into something I can knit with comfortably.

It worked! It helps if the drill has variable speed and can stand on the table. Now instead of lace weight yarn I have a nice four ply. I wonder what my great, great grandmother would think?

Searching For Calm

2011-09-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

One of the things I noticed in the garden at the Bed and Breakfast we visited, was how many meditative statues they had. At first it struck me as too much. One peaceful Buddah sitting contemplatively in a quiet nook is inspiring, but six and it starts to feel like overkill. DH and I set out to photograph them so I could blog this observation. But something happened along the way.

They're so peaceful. As we spent time photographing each one I was captivated by their facial expression. Especially this last one, just looking at her something softened inside me and let go. I teasingly named her 'Deborah', but then realized her name is more likely to be 'Milan'.

Seeking Serenity.

Another DIY Yarn Winder

2011-09-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from another blog.

I pushed a toilet paper tube onto the beater, laid the sweater out flat, turned on the power and guided the yarn along the tube. The mixer not only wound the yarn but unraveled the sleeve at the same time. I was done in no time! The mixer's lowest speed was a little too fast, but it got the job done.

Sidewinder As A Yarn Ball Winder

2011-09-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

The members of the Unraveler's forum on Ravelry have been talking about DIY ways of winding yarn. Here's my current way of doing it. The super fine yarn from the current sweater was too much to wind by hand.

Cut open a toilet paper tube. Wrap it *snugly* around a sewing machine bobbin to measure the amount of paper tube needed, butt the edges and cut to fit. Tape the seam with masking tape.

I tried both three, and four and a half inch long tubes. Three inches worked better because there was less wobble as it wound on the Sidewinder. The pictures below show the four and a half inch tube.

Hold the yarn end on the tube until the first few wraps hold it in place. I wind straight to the tube and by pass the Sidewinder's tension because the yarn's too thick.

The four and a half inch long tube wobbled a LOT, so I balanced it with my thumb. Press the green power button in short bursts and manually disperse the yarn along the tube.

Two things to keep in mind: Don't wind any yarn down at the base of the tube and make sure the keeper - see arrow in photo - is all the way to the left, otherwise it will shut off the winder.

Continue to wind slowly by pushing the power in short bursts. After about 3/4 of the way along, I took it off and wound the rest by hand. The ball above is on a three inch tube and looks smooth because I finished with hand winding. -- I probably won't do too much of this; the Sidewinder cost over 20.00. I don't want to burn it out!

Buttonhole Bag 2011

2011-09-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

I wanted a little take-along project when we went to the coast last weekend, so I started another Buttonhole bag. When I got the pattern out I was surprised that it was almost exactly a year ago that I made the first one; must've been in my subconscious.

The pattern said I could make it from 2 and a quarter skeins, so I pulled from stash to get started. These colors looked kind of fun together.

Here's the bottom before you pick up the stitches around the edge to knit the body of the bag.

I knitted a jade strip next, but it was too contrast-y. I thought I'd use the jade for the handle. But when I got to the handle, there wasn't enough jade, so I bought more purple.

Hey! I made practically the same bag as last time. And here I thought I'd changed it up. I always mean to measure the bag before and after felting, but I get so caught up in the fun of getting it in the machine to felt, I forget.

Then I found just the right button in my vintage collection. The pictures of it finished are in focus, it's just a really fuzzy bag, fun to hold! This one will be for sale in the LQG's Country Store.

Coastal Flowers

2011-08-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

While we were at the bed and breakfast, Frank got lots of time in the garden with his new lens. I'm so glad he likes to take pictures. It makes some of my blog posts a lot prettier. Again, I wish I knew their names...

Oriental poppy

Nasturtium

Daisy

Cosmos

Astromelia

R and R at a Coastal B&B

2011-08-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

At home it's been in the mid-nineties for the last week. So Frank and I were especially glad to escape to the Pacific coast for our 32nd anniversary last weekend. The cool fog and colorful gardens were such a refreshing change.

Our room had a wall of windows facing the garden and the ocean. It was so restful and picturesque I felt like I was living in a movie.

The Art of Seeing

2011-08-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

My husband says he has no artistic talent; he can't paint, color or collage, or draw a figure to save his life.

But he has a way of seeing that is plenty artistic to me.

Summer's Last Flora

2011-08-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know the names of the flowering weeds that grow in my yard. That just seems wrong somehow, they add color to my landscape. I've decided I should've paid closer attention in Bio 1A class my freshman year of college.

Oh wait, that one's a rose. One out of six isn't bad.

Following

2011-08-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm a little late learning what's new in blogland. But I just added the Followers gadget to my sidebar. So if you like what you see or read here, please feel free to join.

I know it's not a popularity contest, but it'll be fun to see who's visiting Pieceful Moments.

More Than Just Finches

2011-08-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

The finches seem to come to the pine tree in the late afternoon. Frank decided to try out his new camera as well.

It turns out they move a little too quickly to make a good photo op. But while he was looking in the tree he saw the neighborhood barn owl. We hear him occasionally at night, but rarely see him.

He sat perfectly still and sound asleep the entire time Frank took pictures. They are so eerie looking. The next day I found a breast feather on the ground, soooo soft. A souvenir of his visit.

Who's That In the Tree?

2011-08-03T10:14:00.001-07:00

Being on the fence wasn't close enough to the birds, so Spunky went up the tree. Maybe eventually she'll figure out they're always gone once she gets there.

Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts

2011-08-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Found this quilt exhibit at the New York Folk Art Museum. Wow! The image viewer is a little clunky, but check it out. http://www.folkartmuseum.org/infinitevariety

August Flowers

2011-08-02T13:06:00.001-07:00

These flowers are all within a 15 minute walk near our home. Some of them would be considered weeds, but I love how they grow without cultivation, like God's lilies of the fields, watered and cared for by His own hand.

Unknown (added later: Broomweed)

Red Hot Poker

Queen Anne's Lace

Pennyroyal

Unknown, not a dandelion

Vetch

If you know the names of some of these, please write and let me know. They live in my yard and I see them every day, I feel I should know their names!

Also seen on our walk, Miss Lila. She's pretty scarce around home, since Spunky's joined our family.

Aug 2 note: I added photos from yesterday's walk. Pictures by dh.

New Lens

2011-08-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

It's true my husband is the real photographer in the family. I do alright using the point and shoot features on the digital SLR, but more than that is a challenge. So I'm still not sure what to do with the new lens, because I have to make choices before I can take the shot.

Okay, actually? He took these too. But the subjects were my idea as we talked about focal length, depth of field and aperture. I guess like anything, it just takes practice.

August 1

2011-08-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Guess who turned one year old?

Spunky Roberts; who continues to live up to her name! I wish I could get a picture of her on the back fence as she tries to get to the finches in the pine tree. She's on their level and sooo close she can almost reach out and touch them, but not quite. So she settles for making strange chirping sounds to them in her throat. Strange cat.

Montgomery Woods in June

2011-07-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

We visit Montgomery Woods at least once a year. The beauty, grandeur and stillness always feed my soul.

New Hair

2011-07-24T11:29:00.001-07:00

I was so ready to go short. I'd been thinking about it for weeks, so when I finally got it cut it was like I'd had it forever, no big deal.

But it's the shortest I've ever had it since I've been married (32 years). The comments and compliments are still coming after two months. It's embarrassing.

"Was it hard to make the decision?!" "Wow! What brought this on?" "I've always wanted to try that, you give me courage."

Really? It's just hair.

Evan At Three Weeks

2011-07-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

I ran into a long-time quilt friend yesterday and she asked me if I was still quilting. Well... in very small fits and starts. Someone new is claiming my love.

Flowers of July

2011-07-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

What do you do while you're waiting for the grand baby to wake up so you can hold him?

Take a walk in the yard and stop and smell the roses.

Sweater for Evan

2011-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

I also made a wee cardigan for the baby. The color? Lavender of course! I modified a free pattern from Ravelry found here. It was knit in one piece from the top down, really easy.

I'd never knit with Alpaca before, oh... heaven! Kitten soft.

My DIL opened it at the baby shower and passed it around. One of the guests asked, "Do you make these in adult sizes?" What a great idea. Maybe I should. :)

Jewels for Evan

2011-07-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the quilt I made for Evan. His Mom - and Grandma (oh, that's me!) like purple, so it was great to work with such fun jewel tones.

Baby Love

2011-07-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

There's a new man in my life and I've fallen head over heels in love with him. He lives in another town and when I'm home I spend my time thinking about when I'll see him again.

Welcome to the family Evan Matthew! Born June 30, 2011, 6:22 am. 7 lbs, 5 ozs, 20.5" long.

Watch Cap

2011-06-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is probably looking less and less like a quilting blog these days. I want you to know I *am* quilting but I'm working on gifts and will show them later. In the meantime I find knitting to be so calming. Have you heard the saying, "Knitting calms the troubled soul, and it doesn't hurt the un-troubled soul either"?

So after those earlier failed projects, I decided to make a Watch Cap using remnant yarn. Since the yarn was bought at the Senior Center Thrift store, I only knew it's a wool/mohair blend, no other product information. But I loved the color! Electric blue. I searched knitting sites for information on what needle size would be best for this yarn. I found a site that talked about wraps per inch and suggested needle sizes based on wpi. Cool, this is what I need! .

Like the purple scarf, I got part way along and found I didn't have enough yarn. But this project could be 'pieced' together, so I knit with another color to make up the difference. I also made an effort to custom fit the cap, rather than following the pattern exactly. I frogged a couple of times but love how it turned out. And it feels great, snug and cozy.

I finally realized that I've been trying to learn without spending a lot on yarn or materials, because I'm afraid to invest in a project that might not turn out. But I definitely want to knit with natural fibers. It would really reduce my frustration if I would just decide my time is worth the price of yarn from the LYS and stop this piecemeal approach. More successes will boast my confidence.

Yarn Lessons

2011-06-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

Back in March I was so jazzed about knitting a sweater from yarn I reclaimed from a thrift store sweater. Once I frogged it back I had a pile of yarn to work from! But the more I knitted, the more I found thin spots in the yarn that needed to be removed and then spliced back together. I'd been excited to find out I was working with home spun yarn, but now I had my doubts! I couldn't knit a single row without having to stop and splice, slow going. And truth be told, it was scratchy; did I want this against my skin?

I had a long conversation with a knitting friend and she agreed it wasn't worth the effort. I 86'ed it.

Undaunted, I bought other remnant wool from a thrift store and cast on for a Feather and Fan lace scarf.

Loved the color! Loved the pattern! But it quickly became clear I didn't have enough yarn. I frogged the scarf and searched the online knitting sites for help. I found a chart that gives suggested yardage by project. What a great tool!

I just keep trying. I've been a quilter for over 28 years and an active knitter for three. I know how to adapt a quilt pattern to my fabric stash or draft an original design. But I don't know how to adapt knitting patterns. It's becoming clear to me that I need to get a good book of knitting patterns and *follow the instructions* as written. I shouldn't branch out until I understand the basics better. But it's hard, I'm so used to adapting something to make it my own.

Vintage Afghan

2011-06-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

I found this at the annual church yard sale in among half a dozen other afghans made from Wintuk acrylic. This one is wool in a beautiful natural color. It's so charming, it caught my eye.

I was pleased to find a note attached that said it had been made in 1915. (!) It was in near perfect condition. Such a bargin for 50 cents. I took it home, gently soaked it in the bathtub and once dry, mended a few spots with tapestry wool.

I have a half a dozen quilts on a rack next to my recliner, but this has become my new favorite for pulling across my knees when I'm cold. The note also said it was one of four made. I think about the woman who made them and what became of the others.

Knitted Kitchen Scrubbies

2011-05-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

I've been alternating my intense piece-work with mindless knitting.

Take one ball of cotton yarn, Sugar 'n' Cream works well
One leftover plastic produce bag like the kind oranges come in
and a pair of size 10 knitting needles.

These take about a half an hour each and that includes cutting the plastic into strips and tying the ends together to make 'plarn', plastic yarn. I made four as samples for the ladies at work that were going to help demonstrate ways to reduce and reuse plastic bags by making plarn and knitting or crocheting with it. This is my own pattern but there are lots of ideas for creating with recycled plastic at My Recycled Bags.com. Thank you Cindy!

Go With What You Know

2011-05-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's important to listen to the fabrics when they try to tell you what works well together and what doesn't. I've pulled fabrics from my stash for this quilt three different times, grouping and regrouping; which way do I really want to go? If I don't know where I'm going, it's really unlikely I'll get there.

So I went back to my Dating Fabric book and decided - to heck with the current interest in reproducing Civil War quilts. I don't actually LIKE the fabrics or the combinations; so why put myself through this? I decided to move the palette to the Turn of the Last Century, 1890-1910. Now I feel like I know what I'm doing!

I also decided it would be worth while to really lay out each block in Electric Quilt so I could see what it looked like before spending the time piecing! A few hours scanning the actually fabrics I wanted to use and laying out the block in EQ was much less time consuming then weeks of cutting and piecing.

I have one arm of the new third block pieced. I wonder sometimes how women of by-gone eras made such stunning quilts with so few tools. Maybe I just try too hard. I remind myself I do this for fun. ;)

Lone Star Color Choices

2011-05-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

I've been plunking along on the Lone Star blocks. After the quilt retreat in March I finished the blue variegated star and felt really good. I selected colors for the next block and dove in. Each block is 20" so I sorta feel like I'm making blocks big enough for a wall hanging, I feel like I'm making 20, 20" quilts!

These fabrics were chosen to be more like the circa 1860 fabric palette I think I'm working with. I didn't feel real confident about the combination, but cut and pieced anyway, figuring the color scheme would emerge as I went along. I liked the burnt orange, navy and red, but the brown and poison green were a challenge to use.

With this method of making a Lone Star you have to do a lot of piecing before you see what the first arm of the star's going to look like it. Meh - but still I pieced.

At this point I could now see the flow of colors around the star and where the drop outs were. I made myself continue to piece arms, hoping it would grow on me. When the kids came up for the weekend, they looked at it and gave their perspective. None of us liked the brown, it was muddy, dropped out and made the colors on either side of it look crummy. We had a long conversation about what works in the other stars and where I wanted to go from here. Nathan summed it up, "I understand you want to challenge yourself to work in a color palette that's unfamiliar to you, but do you want a quilt when you're done, or another UFO?" Frank said, "I hate to see you work so hard at it and not enjoy the outcome. You'll probably only make this quilt once, wouldn't you rather love it when you're done?"

Yes. I packed these pieces away. Lesson learned, go with your gut.

More About Yarn

2011-05-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

I've been having a lot of fun with the yards and yards and YARDS of reclaimed yarn from that sweater I bought. I've skeined it all and given it a warm bath to help it relax.

Then I took it to the LYS and learned to use the umbrella swift and ball winder. That was fun, something new! I made a couple of comments about how very right handed the swift and ball winder set-up were, but the right-handed shop clerks just looked at me. They asked me if I'd spun it myself, "No, do you think it's hand spun?" They each looked at it and agreed it didn't look like a commercially produced yarn, there's too much variation in the strand. That was fun information.

I've knit about three inches in the sweater pattern, stopping occasionally to remove an especially thin length of the yarn and splice it together again. It slows the knitting down, but I think I have more than enough for this pullover, so it feels okay to do that.

Note: I was going happily along until I went to the LYS's knit night and saw all the wonderful, *soft*, cashmerino type sweaters that were being shared during show and tell. The handspun feels very wooly and not particularly soft. Right now I don't feel like continuing. :( I'll have to sit with it and see how I feel.

Local Color

2011-05-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

One day in early April, Frank went out to call the cats in for the day. We have neighborhood dogs that aren't always leashed, so we do what we can to keep Lila and Spunky safe. This is what he found in our back pen near the compost.

It would've been fun if he'd fanned for the camera, but maybe he was feeling shy. Now I think I know who's been getting into the compost and making a snack out of it!

Stained Glass Sweatshirt

2011-05-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

This workshop was in March and is a pattern one of the guild ladies created. If you're in the Ladies of the Lake quilt guild long enough, you'll eventually make one of these it seems. They're easy and fun but look so elegant.

The instructions tell you to find the center of a cotton sweatshirt, cut it open, reinforce the fabric to reduce stretch and then sew a strip of cotton dress weight fabric ten inches wide to the outside. Then you turn it to the inside like a facing.

Next you pin a strip of quilt border paper to the outside and sew on all the lines.

When you cut out the shapes, leaving a little fabric around each quilt line, you have a stained glass look design on the front of your sweatshirt.

The variety of colors and combinations is wonderful!

Getting Ready

2011-04-04T21:06:00.001-07:00

I have a box of baby clothes in storage that used to be my sons. I've been hoping one day to share them with a grand baby. That day will soon be here.

It was fun to touch each one and remember... all those years ago.

Rayon Batik Jacket

2011-04-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

I promised pictures of the jacket I made while at retreat this year.

It's called Swing Fever.

I love the way it feels, it does *swing*. And the batik is almost the same on both sides so it worked well with the rolled shawl collar. I'd like to say it was easy to make, but the instructions forgot to tell you to cut out the collar. Then they forgot to tell you to attach the collar so I pretty much had to wing it. Maybe I should call it my Wing It jacket. ;)

Tee Shirt Art Submission

2011-04-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

The natural foods co-op where I work recently had a tee shirt art contest. I found a source picture of a child holding a seedling, being held also by her Mom and got inspired. Here are some of my steps in the process.

First I sketched it with pencil.

Then I colored it with Berols and scanned it into the computer.

My son digitally colored it.

Once I had my image, I added text. My submission didn't win - I placed second, but I had a lot of fun with it. I hadn't done anything with my drawing in a long time.

Black Licorice and Jelly Beans Quilt

2011-04-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

This just came back from the long arm quilter. I end up calling it Black Licorice for short.

I loved the bright colors so much I pieced them into the back too. That helps bust stash!

Marian's terrific quilting shows really nicely on the back. Once the binding's on it's going to hang in the hallway.

I thought the name for this quilt, which my friend Rosy suggested, was so cute and original. I was pretty surprised recently when I opened the guild newsletter and saw this quilt by Joe Wood, entitled Black Licorice and Butterscotch.

As King Solomon once said, "There is nothing new under the sun." :)

Can't Win 'em All

2011-03-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

I found a chunk of cotton homespun on the freebee table at guild and thought it would work for faux chenille scarves. Maybe I could get a jump on this year's Christmas gifts. :)

This time I used Clover's slash cutter, wowee zow! That made a huge difference. Last time I cut the channels with embroidery scissors and it took days instead of half an hour.

It didn't really turn out, it's not fluffy or soft like the ones made from flannel. Live and learn.

8 months

If the sewing room door is open, Spunky's in there. I found her napping this way, does this look comfortable?

Quilt Retreat 2011

2011-03-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Out of the blue a quilt friend invited me to her guild's retreat. It was short notice, but I jumped on it. It's about time I got back to sewing on the projects gathering dust in my sewing room!

Reba and her Ocean Mammals shaded circle quilt

Mavis and two Lady of the Lake blocks.

We had to laugh at how many times it took to piece the dark and light hst's in the right order. What an exercise in patience! She finally got it though.

Kim's Sawtooth Stars in shot cotton from Great Britain

This fabric was essentially solid, but it was woven with black threads going one way and colored threads going the other. It gave the fabric something of a nap that caught the light, making each star look different. Very intriguing.

It was Debbie's birthday so we surprised her with spur of the moment, hand made gifts at dinner that night. It was fun to see what people came up with; fusible applique letters to make a banner, 'paper dolls' out of fabric, a pieced bookmark, a 'mug rug', a needle keeper. She was so touched.

What did I work on? Well whenever I can't seem to get jump started I sew a few of these nine patch blocks from the original fabric I reclaimed from a estate sale find. They're so easy and satisfying, it gets me back in the saddle somehow. I have 25 block so far, no plan, and a bit more original fabric.

The next day I gathered my courage and pieced the next Lone star. Two down, 18 more to go!

Lookin' pretty good. :) I also constructed a jacket from rayon batik. Pictures soon.

Yarn Love

2011-03-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

Quilt friends and coworkers ask me what I've been doing lately, "Are you quilting? What are you working on?" I have to answer, knitting.

It's just so nice to come home in the evening and sit in the recliner by the wood stove after dinner and knit. It's more relaxing than going in the sewing room and sitting at the machine. :) I've had my eyes open for a thrift store sweater I could reclaim wool yarn from. On the way home from Nathan's, I found one.

It was quite large and in great condition, I figured it would give me plenty of yarn for what I wanted. The fabric was a beautiful cabled pattern that was sort of lost because the two-ply yarn has a lovely texture of its own. I picked the seams apart and began 'reverse engineering' it. I felt sorta guilty on the one hand, this was someone's handiwork that they'd put time and energy into. On the other, I decided I was giving it a new lease on life. The color doesn't show very well in the pictures. It's a medium periwinkle blue that seems to change color depending on how much light there is. Sometimes it appears to be gray, other times, more purple. Fun!

Of course Spunky had to help. :)

This is the last section of the back with all the yarn I've reclaimed. I don't know how many yards I have yet, but it seems like enough for the medium sized pullover I have in mind.

I took it to knitting guild this week and they suggested I skein the balls, soak each one and hang it to dry weighted, that way the kinks from the previous knitting will relax. I thought my Ginghers were a good weight.

While I was on quilt retreat last weekend I went to the LYS (no website) and browsed patterns. This one looks about my speed. We'll see if I can pull this together.
(Added later: *chuckling* Not knitting yet, just playing with yarn!)

Family Time

2011-03-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

There's something about your first born child turning 30. It's magic, it's fun! It's a milestone for him and for us. We had a great weekend with Nathan and Danielle, celebrating, and a nice baked ham dinner with her folks as well. Then the Roberts guys all watched "A Team".

Happy Birthday DS1!

Boneyard Shawl

2011-02-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

I struggled with the red, top-down cardigan, ripping and reknitting six times. (!) Finally an experienced knitter-friend reviewed the pattern and told me it had several errors in it. Okay, time to regroup.

Enter the Boneyard Shawl. What an easy knit! And I love wearing it, so soft, so drappy. Knit from the same red merino wool; it's like having your blankie with you at work!

Reelin' in the Years

2011-02-23T21:15:00.001-08:00

This is a cameo from a family banquet, fall, 1986. It's fun to look back and remember the good times. We were 28 and our sons were 5 and 7. That's Frank's brother and sister-in-law on the left.

Frank was into photography even then, long before computers and the digital art he does now. He always did like me better without glasses!

Knitted Rag Rug

2011-02-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

Last summer I visited the Lower Lake School house Museum with Rosy. As part of the kitchen display, circa 1890, I saw a large basket of cotton rag balls, strips of different colored fabric sewn end to end and wound into balls, sometimes 6" in size. They looked something like this.

Picture from the Internet

What are these for? In the basket was a partially knit rag rug. (!) I was intrigued. I decided to see if I could reproduce the art.

I cut the strips 1 and 1/2" using my rotary cutter. The museum had a device mounted on the kitchen table with a hand crank that rotated a wheel against a metal platform. Could that have been their rotary cutter? I wish I'd taken a picture of the tool. There were strips of fabric there for you to experiment with. It didn't cut worth a rip!

I had noted the display used size 11 knitting needles, so I cast on, figuring how many stitches to the inch and multiplying to create a rug two feet wide. This is turning out to be a great stash buster project, I can't believe how much fabric is going into it! I'm clearing out fabric from the 80's, 90's and 00's. It's great!

What was once done out of necessity and thrift is now being done for the love of color and a refreshed fabric collection.

Oh the Humiliation

2011-02-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

Spunky is nonstop lively. As I noted in an earlier post, she's adorable - when she's asleep. Oh she has her moments, don't get me wrong, when I can pick her up and scritch her under the chin and she nuzzles me along the jaw and we have a happy owner and pet moment. Then she wants down and lets me know in no uncertain terms! Things pretty much have be to on her terms.

But she needed another flea bath, so imagine my surprise when she became completely subdued, like - maybe if I go completely docile this won't last long.

Cats look so indignant when they're wet.

Six months

Wasn't it nice of Nathan to leave his soft black sweater out for Spunky to nap on?

Three Rail Fence

2011-02-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

The first grand baby is due this July, so Danielle came to sew and get the top together on the baby quilt!

Here's the top before borders. We drafted it in Electric Quilt to play with color options and liked this one.

But when we went to audition border fabrics, nothing on hand looked right. If we use the same blue in the border that's in the blocks, the design gets a little lost. We were done for the day and decided to schedule another sew day and possibly a trip to the LFS to review our choices.

Orange Marmalade

2011-02-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Maybe it was the study in orange that lead me to want to make orange marmalade. Surely I've never made it before, I've only recently decided I *like* marmalade. It always seemed too bitter to me. Or maybe it was the corner vendor I passed day after day on my way home from work, beseeching me to buy his 5 lb bags of oranges with his up raised arms full. I don't know. But I bought some, and I read up on how-to, and got the other ingredients and made a batch.

It was fun to try something new. I've made many, many kinds of jam in the past, so it wasn't that different. The most satisfying part of canning or jamming for me is the audible *pop* the jar makes as it vacuum seals. And it tastes good too!

Featured Artist

2011-01-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

There's a small collection of my wall quilts hanging at the Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op. We like to feature a local artist's work for a month at a time and my name came to the top of the list in January.

Jewel in the Night Sky and Russian Sunflower

Radiant Nine Patch

Merial of the Sea

Mariner's Compass

Summer's Heat - Oh look, Orange! - with yellow and green

The response has been so positive, almost overwhelming. The customers exclaim and admire. The staff ask me, "Are those YOUR quilts?!" Well yes...

In the first week I had three offers to buy Merial of the Sea, even after I put up a sign that said for Display Only. One customer was very persistent and didn't want to take no for an answer. I told her quilting isn't my day job, she said, "Well it SHOULD be, you're an ARTIST!"

The kudos are really nice and it feels good to be appreciated, but I've never been able to make my quilting pay. That's not why I quilt.

Orange Continued

2011-01-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

Recognize this? It's the link on Blogger's sign up page.

Once I started looking for orange I began to see it everywhere. I decided to take my camera with me to work. Wow! The Natural Foods Co-op is FULL of orange! No wonder it feels fun to be there.

Acorn and Spaghetti Squash

Tangelos, Clementines and apples

Golden beets

Carrots with tops. Man that touch of purple looks good!

Orange looks really great next to green or with blue, which is it's complement on the color wheel. So look at the packaging on these products.

Supplements in the Wellness department

Tinctures

Pasta

Oils

Flavored Pasta Dinner

Someone in a marketing department somewhere must've come up with these combinations. Orange just naturally looks terrific next to green or blue. I bet it would make a great color scheme for a quilt.

Color

2011-01-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

Rose Hughes was the guest speaker at guild yesterday. She had a fun approach to color theory and asked us all to 'study a color' this week. She said we might want to step away from our comfort colors and study one we don't work with very much in our quilts.

She asked us to look around our world and notice the color we've chosen.

Hmmm... there isn't a lot of naturally occurring orange in January.

Orange is so cheerful, I wonder why there isn't more of it around us?

From My Family to Yours

2011-01-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

click to enlarge

These shirts were made for us by DS2, an original "Tribal art" of a lion head, silk screened in his current techniques class and gifted to each of us. What a terrific, creative idea! Thank you Hollin!

Christmas Peace

2011-01-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

After dinner

Spunky at five months. She used to be the same size as this toy mouse.

Gifts for the Grandbaby

2011-01-01T18:34:00.001-08:00

I knitted a cap for the grand baby, due July 12. I couldn't show it before now. I used a lovely bamboo/acrylic blend, sooo soft!

Then I thought it would be fun to give it at Christmas. I still have one of my DS1's baby blankets, so I replaced the satin binding with new and put them together under the tree for DIL.

You never saw someone so happy! It made our Christmas very merry and bright.

Black Licorice and Jelly Beans

2011-01-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

When I started the Many Lone Star quilt I was only four blocks away from finishing BL&JB. A few weeks before Christmas I needed some no-think-um sewing, so pulled the colorful strips back out and got going.

Laid out on the design wall

Short rows sewn, thank you Lila for inspecting my work!

Before borders

That's a lot of phone book paper to remove!

The First Noel

2010-12-25T08:49:00.001-08:00

Star Over Bethlehem
by Frank Roberts

Merry Christmas to all!

Hugs

2010-12-18T07:58:00.000-08:00

I think about you and write to you in my head in odd moments as I dash to the new job, meet with the department head to figure out the next step on the new web page or create a blog entry for the store's Facebook Fan page or develop a full color poster for an upcoming event. I am creating a good part of every day and come home ready to put my feet up. My knitting is progressing, but my quilting? Not so much.

I've been in education for ten years, the public sector. Now I'm in Marketing and Outreach for a grocery store, a Co-op. Not only have I changed jobs, but I've changed careers. It's been eight weeks but I tell myself, it's going to take time, you need to find your niche.

When I was eight years old we moved from Sunny San Diego to north of Boston. Talk about a climate change! That was an adjustment. Also, it seems I was too friendly, didn't know the playground games the girls played and I 'talked funny'. We all spoke English, but we didn't always understand each other. It took a while to learn the way of New Englanders; there's a culture there that's very different from the beaches and Eucalyptus tree lined parks and playgrounds of the west.

It just takes time.

It's a Block

2010-12-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

I found the perfect background during our trip to visit the kids over Thanksgiving. It's P&B Apple Cider, love that little sprig look. The clerk at the fabric store was very complimentary when she saw my piece work. "Wow! Are those paper pieced? Look how even they are, and how flat they lay!" Well I hadn't pieced them into stars, so they hadn't been proven yet.

Y seams - need I say more? I pieced the star and thought I'd reduce bulk by pressing the seams open, but when I went to set in the background square there wasn't any seam allowance to sew to! Return and repeat. I pressed the seams closed, I set the square in again, too low. Ripped it and set it in again, a pucker. After over an hour on the same seam I got it right. They got easier after that. I have 160 Y seams to do, they better get easier!

It was great to 'piece' the block together in PhotoShop to see how it would look, but it's more exciting to actually have the block together.

The Y seams lay flat and there's a quarter inch seam allowance all the way around.

The eight center intersections come together nicely.

And the directional background fabric all goes in the same direction.

However... the pattern says it should measure 22 inches and mine is 21 and three-eighths. We'll see what size the rest turn out. Then I'll know whether to run screaming from the room!

Two Stars From One Color Scheme

2010-12-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

I haven't pieced the star diamonds together yet, still piecing a few different color schemes to help me decide what color background to use. Here's the first color scheme laid out. Every star will have the rust orange center, followed by beige, then navy.

I found out the fifth color out of nine creates the largest ring. I don't really like the yellow for the ring, though the red's okay. Wonder what it would look like if I turned the diamonds around?

The yellow is still the fifth color, but I like it better for some reason, maybe I'll piece the fourth star with this in mind. It's interesting to see the different ways the same fabrics can look.

Another Color Sequence

2010-11-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

The idea behind this quilt is to look random, using fabrics that represent the turn of the last century. But I find as I choose fabrics for each star my modern color sensibilities keep creeping in. It's hard not to create a blended color sequence, they're so pleasing. So I have to try and choose contrasting values.

Once I get the sequence figured out I tape down a sample so I have a reference sheet while piecing the strata. Even with this handy visual I still get lost. In each star I'm keeping the first three colors the same, cheddar, beige and navy, so the third sequence on the sheet doesn't have those.

For every star, you piece five strata using five fabrics. In the photo from left to right is strata one, using fabrics 1-5, strata two, using fabrics 2-6 and so on. Strata five is on the right and had been cut into subunits. Once they're pieced you press the seams alternately, the first strata goes up, the second one down and so on.

I thought color four in this diamond would read greener than it does. It looks elongated because I haven't sewn the rows together yet. Even though I've been sketching sequences with color pencils and testing color combination for these stars in Electric Quilt, I still never know what they're going to look like until the eight diamonds come together.

So far I've pieced diamonds but I have pieced the stars yet. I was holding off until I had a good way to store 22" inch blocks flat. But I think I better figure out what background I want and piece a star. I need to test my accuracy on that too. It's a work in progress.

What Can Happen When You're Not Paying Attention

2010-11-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm continuing to piece diamonds for Lone Stars. The blue, tan, blue sequence I showed in an earlier post repeats the colors rather than using as many as nine different colors. The instructions tell you to use 20" strips, but you don't use it all. So I must've just cut and pieced merrily along without noticing how many diamonds I made.

At least I found out before I pieced it into place. Look at these quilts at Barbara Brackman's site.

Preemie Beanie

2010-11-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

I found some left over cotton yarn on the freebie table and decided to make a small cap for a wee child. Found the pattern here on Ravelry, it's free. I used an apple to help model it. I think I'll donate it to the ICN at the hospital.

When I held it up during show and tell at the quilt guild meeting, the whole room went, "Awww..."

Unraveled

2010-11-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

In September I found red washable merino at the LFS for 50% off. I just had to make something from it! I'd recently joined Ravelry and searched for a cropped cardigan. I found one that needed slight modifying and asked a friend to help me adjust the pattern. Then I cast on for a top down cardi with raglan sleeve shaping. I've been knitting on it for two months and got up to 209 stitches as I worked the fronts, sleeves and back all at once.
The next time I met with my knit friend she pointed out that I was supposed to be working front increases at THE SAME TIME as the raglan sleeve shaping. Yup. I ripped. Six inches worked on size 6 needles. She was so apologetic, she acted like it was some how her mistake. No... I just don't understand knitting patterns that well. So I've put the merino aside and am knitting a cotton preemie cap, worked on size 4 dp needles.

It's a good thing I'm a process person and not a product person. :)

Pacific International Quilt Fest

2010-11-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

My LQG offered to provide overnight accommodations at PIQF in exchange for two hours of white glove service. What a great deal!

I have sooo many pictures, I haven't even scratched the surface as I crop, resize and compress, but here are a few of my favorites.

Perle Cotton display

Maui Escape

1900 Lone Star from San Jose Museum collection

Costa Rican Cart

Tatiana

This one was made in honor of the Belgian tiger that was put down at the San Francisco zoo for attacking a visitor after they teased and yelled at her.

Canopy

Rose of Guinevere

Through Ancient Portals

Natural Wonders, Bernina 1st place award

Guatamalan Cathedrals

L-R: Anne, Reba, Leslie

And when I got tired, I could always go to the Ladies of the Lake opportunity quilt table and take a break. It was an incredible two days. I came home completely saturated with color!

Lone Star Continued

2010-11-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

I've been at my new job three weeks, not a lot of sewing going on as a result. This weekend I made time to get into the sewing room, I wanted to get back to my Lone Stars. I have three out of eight diamonds in this color scheme pieced.

I love the way the blues fade in and out. My cutting and piecing has improved since the first few diamonds were pieced, so the diamonds are coming out flat and true.

But this one, what happened to the color sequence?? I must've been too tired. I should've put my feet up instead of making myself try to sew on a Friday night!

She's So Cute When She's Asleep

2010-11-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

Spunky is about three months old now. When she's asleep, she's a little sweetheart, when she's awake she's a complete terror. It's been 40 years since I've raised a kitten, I didn't remember this stage! She jumps at shadows, climbs the front of the stereo speaker, tears plants apart and if I try to stroke her, she bites. I know she thinks we're her litter mates and she doesn't mean anything by it. But MAN! knitting has to be done in rare moments when she's not in the room.

I keep the sewing room closed when I'm not in there and when I open the door, she runs from wherever she is in the house and dashes in. I think she's saying, "Playground's open!" I went for a cup of tea and when I came back, my sewing machine was unthreaded and the current patchwork pieces scattered across the table, chair and under the machine. She's always helping! But when she's asleep, what a charmer. I can stroke and scritch her as much as I want.

Lone Stars

2010-10-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

Like a lot of quilters I collect magazine patterns and instructions into a binder. I have several. Some of the patterns are 'someday' quilts. You know the ones, Mariner's Compass, Russian Sunflower, Broken Star. Will I ever make those? I knew it would take time, effort and energy, just the opposite of my 'no thinkum' sewing. So I decided recently, while I'm between jobs maybe I have the time and energy, maybe today was someday. Here's the first one I came to, I didn't stop to consider whether I 'should' or not. Just DO it!

I went to Electric Quilt 'to begin to start to commence' as we say.

Queen, 94" x 116"

I worked a lot on the color scheme. The colors in the quilt are so soft and beautiful, but I knew I'd never be able to reproduce that, so I chose turn of the last century; indigo and cadet blue, chrome yellow, shirtings, no black or purple, poison green, vintage brown, you get the idea. Drafting blocks in EQ helps.

But EQ drafts can only take you so far, at some point you have to start cutting.

First group

The stars are 22 inches, made from strips cut 1 and 3/8". I decided it would be helpful to stablize the fabric to minimize stretching, so I starched the strips after they were cut.

The first unit is pieced from fabrics 1-5, the second, 2-6, the third, 3-7 and so on. This way you don't have to cut and sew diamonds and worry about the bias edges stretching as you sew.

Trim the strip set at a 45 degree angle.

Then cut eight strips from each strip set.

For each arm of the star you take one strip from each strip set and sew them together. *phew* what a lot of effort!

Once I finished the first arm, I felt like I'd accomplished a whole bunch. But I have to do this how many more times?? I scanned the first arm and 'pieced' the star in Photoshop. I was too impatient to see what it's going to look like.

This is a photo composite, that's why the center is off. Not too bad for two days worth of sewing. Oddly enough, I received a job offer the next day. I begin my new position October 18!

More String X Blocks

2010-10-06T18:24:00.001-07:00

I've been piecing a few of these every once in awhile, no plan of action, just enjoying the easy way the blocks come together; but I decided I should figure out how big I wanted to make the quilt. Oh don't bother me with details, I'm just having fun sewing...

I created the block in Electric Quilt and played around with a pieced border.

It's fun, I like it...

... but in the end I decided on a simple, solid black border, it lets the eye rest. This size will also allow the quilt to hang in the kitchen where I rotate wall hangings. My friend Rosy saw the blocks and said it looks like Black Licorice and Jellybeans. I think that's a great name for it!

Shampooing An Eight Week Old Kitten

2010-10-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

Spunky had fleas, but all the literature said not to use flea powders or collars on a kitten less than 10-12 weeks old. At the same time, the literature (Googled kitten care) also said fleas can cause anemia in young kittens. Dilemma, do I try to shampoo her? I prepared for the worst, imagining all sorts of yowling, scratching, clinging to everyone and everything within reach in shear terror. I filled the kitchen sink with a few inches of tepid water and braced for battle. This is what happened.

It was a non-event, she was completely docile as I wet her down, rubbed soap into her fur and used a ladle to rinse.

9 weeks

A good rub with a warm towel and a comb through and she was free of fleas and smelling like the dawn. I've had a number of cat owners tell me some cats grow up liking their bath. I had no idea.

Beach Break

2010-10-06T17:46:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago the late September weather was over a hundred in our valley. We packed the car and headed to the coast. Once we crest the ridge we can see the fog sitting off the shore and know it's going to be cooler.

It's nearly impossible to quilt at the beach, but I found knitting can be done. We went home refreshed by the sights and sounds.

Streak of Lightening

2010-09-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's done! Top created August 2009, bordered, May 2010, finally quilted! It's amazing how long some things can sit, but when I get down to it, it doesn't really take that long.

I did the meander and thought it was 'okay', but once I washed it, the quilting really added nice texture. I should get out of my comfort zone more often. This quilt was made as a donation, but I haven't found a home for it yet. Usually as I make the quilt, it lets me know where it should go, but this one's not talking. That's odd, guess it'll have to sit on the quilt rack awhile until it decides.

Aid to Machine Quilting

2010-09-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

I recently used some of my husband's car wax and put a coat on the bed of my machine and the surrounding table. Not only does it look great, but now quilts move with ease when I machine quilt. I read about this in blogland, can't remember where. Thank you for the suggestion!

Candy Box Flimsey

2010-09-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

When I originally made the blocks for this, I envisioned the outer border from a bright, multi-colored print that echoed the colors in the top, but when it came time to put on the border, the quilt asked for something a little more classic.

It doesn't matter what lightening you see this quilt in, it *is* bright; I love how cheerful it is.