Cowl for Virginia for Virginia

When I was visiting Mom in July, she gave me a mohair/silk cardigan to reclaim. I didn't finish while I was there, so I brought it home. When it was done, she said she didn't know what to do with it, so I decided to make another Cowl for Virginia for her, to replace the one she lost. I'd originally created the pattern for her, so it only seems right that she have one of these cowls. She's coming in December for her 90th birthday, so I can surprise her with it then. Cool!

Once I got the right gauge for this lightweight yarn, it was a quick knit. I hope she likes it.

Tom Sauce

My tomatoes were so slow in ripening this year, I almost despaired of getting enough to sauce. Last year I was elbow deep in fresh slicers, sauce, paste and chutney in August. Ahh well... such is gardening.

This is the way it really looks.

This is the magazine picture. *grin*

I didn't bother canning, sometimes it's more work than it's worth.

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Okay, so I hijacked the title from James Brown...

I've been carrying my knitting around in a boring book bag for months. I decided it was time for something a little classier.

Last year I got a short stack of upholstery samples from the free table at guild. It was time to pull them out and DO something with them.

Once the bag was made, I got the idea to add leather purse handles from a fiber friend who put some on her felted bag. It dressed it up a lot!

I finished the bag a month ago, but the handles had to come on a slow boat from China, literally. Five weeks after I placed the order, I was able to finish my bag. Woot! No more cotton canvas for me.

Tomato Harvest

It was going to rain, so time to harvest what was left on the tomato vines. Clockwise: tomatillos, Amish paste tomatoes, mixed heirloom slicers, Cherokee Purple and Midnight Beauty.

Today I made fresh packed salsa. Amish paste tomatoes, onion, tomatillos, cilantro, Serrano peppers, lime juice and salt.

 

Tomorrow I'll probably sauce the rest of the Amish paste and slicers, then chop the others and store them in the freezer for soups and stews. Love a good tomato!

Autumn Brings the Stag

We live in a redwood forest in Northern California. We see deer in our yard daily, morning and evening. But in the autumn we see the stag.

I was washing dishes at the sink and this was my view out the kitchen window. He just stood there and looked at me, so close I could see the whiskers on his nose twitch. No fear.

Ramie Cotton Hand Towel

I started this last summer as an alternative to the sock wool on size two, it seems to help hand fatigue if I vary fibers and needle sizes. So I tell myself.

The yarn was reclaimed from a thrifted vest, which I attempted to over dye with food coloring.

Right now it's waiting for me, while I work on the socks.

One Down, One to Go

The socks are taking a long time because I want knee-highs, but I don't mind. Working magic loop makes it mindless knitting as I go around and around, watching the self-patterning yarn unfold its magic. What was difficult has been made easy.

Wonky Stars Renamed

I pulled this out again and decided to turn it into a donation quilt. I was calling them Wonky Stars... but when I showed them to my quilting group they said they're also called Maverick Stars. I think I prefer that name.

I got the lattice strips on... with some help from Spunky, of course. I like it a whole lot better already!

It often amazes me how a collection of random blocks can come together into a nice quilt.

Pacific Coast Iris Quilt

I quilted this one on my domestic machine, working an iris blossom silhouette on the purple and green, and stippling the background areas.

It's too bad the quilting doesn't show more. 😏

Summer Flowers

These are all part of the Brooktrails Community Garden. Everyone plants and nurtures and we all get to enjoy the color and later, the harvest.

Artichokes

Black-eyed Susan

Cosmos

Ensign Royal morning glory

Dianthus

Zucchini blossom

Cosmos

Photos by my husband, Frank.

More of Those Split Nine Patch Blocks

I'm continuing to work on these. They're so quick and satisfying; I find myself popping into the sewing room and knocking out a couple each day. I love working with the array of prints, a wonderful mix from years of collecting.

I find myself thinking a bed-sized quilt for us would be lovely; how could I part with all these fabric friends? But with a finished measurement of four and a half inches, I would need a boat-load.

Two at a Time Toe-up Socks

Turning the heel. That step in sock knitting that so many find either intimidating or fascinating. After all you're taking a plain tube of knitting and creating a nifty bend in it.

Well I had a LOT of trouble figuring out how to work the heel extension using the magic loop. I searched the project page on Ravelry and wrote to Knitlynn, who has made these socks many times. She said the pattern wasn't originally written for the magic loop method. I ended up knitting the heel extension on dpns, then going back to the magic loop for the rest of the sock(s).

I'm sure I've said it before, but every knitter needs a mentor.

October BOM

 

I found a nice pictorial for this block here.

Self-Made Meme

Create your own meme at https://memegenerator.net/.

Semi-Annual Doll Quilt

My quilt guild has a doll quilt drive each fall for Christmas gift-giving. I found these squares already sewn into rows on the freebee table.

It was the work of two afternoons. I was so pleased with the way it turned out.

Dress Border

I love this dress... but it's always been a little too short.

I picked out the hem, experimented with embroidery stitches on my machine and made a border.

Yay, new life for an old favorite.

Sunflowers

Summer splendor from the garden.

38th Anniversary

Frank had the day off so we packed a picnic and headed for the coast.

We love Peter's Beach because it's off the beaten path. I can't think of a time we've gone there and found others on the sand.

It's been such a dry season, there weren't the usual flowers blooming, but Frank found these at the base of the bluff where a trickle of water came out of the rock face.

Echevarias

Close up

He takes such great macro shoots, but then I don't know what the plants are. 😏 Does anybody recognize these?

Making Headway

I got to the heel flap(s) and couldn't figure out how to work that while using the magic loop method. A quick search of Ravelry led me to KnitLynn, who has used this pattern many times. She answered my questions and I was able to motor on.

I love the knit community on the Internet. We all need knitting mentors to point the way from time to time.