Stitch Along with Me

Lucky Me!

2012-01-27T20:38:00.000-08:00

The other day, after all the snow stopped and the mail person finally made it up our hill, I got a wonderful package from Sue B , who was my partner in the Dragon Swap hosted by Kathy B. Not only did she find some lovely Sleeping Dragon yarn, she included not one but three dragon-themed patterns. (Now I have to decide which one to do first......) She somehow figured out that I like cats and mysteries and found a new-to-me mystery writer. (Gotta be good and finish my bookclub book first though before delving in.) And there was a very tasty dark chocolate bar plus some wonderful smelling soap. Thank you so much, Sue! (And thank you, Kathy, for hosting a very fun swap.)

Meanwhile, after practicing the Cretan stitch, I found a place for it on my SBS block, her shoes! With a bit more stitching, I finished up block #1 and am all ready to move on to the next one. 1 down, 11 to go!

We spent a lovely afternoon, playing with Max....even took a walk in the chilly sunshine!

Happy Birthday, David!

2012-01-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but the SUN's out here after a week of snow, ice, rain and heavy winds. There's lots of yard cleanup to do, but we've been busy catching up on more pressing things. I had to get these mittens finished up and in the mail to David who is turning SEVEN tomorrow. Time sure does fly; it seems just days ago when he was the size of Max.

Have a happy day, David, and a great year! We love you.

Just heard that this little guy has gained a couple of pounds and a couple of inches since he came home from the hospital. And Opa caught him awake!

Opa is the major photographer in our family, so this is a rare shot, but a good one, don't you think? Now I've got to get to work and figure out how to add the cretan stitch to my Sun Bonnet Sue block. See ya later!

Still Snowy in Seattle...and Bellevue~

2012-01-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

Looking out our window at the moment, I see snow coming down HARD and our rhodie which appears to be pouting, not without reason.

We seldom see icicles.

Max isn't worried.
This is great knitting weather! Where shall I begin?

Snowed In!

2012-01-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to the promised snow, not as much as the pundits predicted, but enough to close the local schools, including the UW, and to keep us homebound for the day. Our son had things to do, so he was inspired to do some shoveling. Don't know whether he'll make it back up our hill except on foot though.
We've been trying to keep up our normal walking routine which has been a challenge, especially on Sunday when it was snowing. I tried to brush the snow off before we went inside, but it took a while for my coat to dry out! As you can see in the first photo, there's a lot more snow in our frontyard today. (No walk today either!)
On Monday we braved a trip down our hill and across town to meet an online friend. Becca and her husband will be moving here soon and certainly got exposed to the "real Seattle" on this visit.
Meanwhile, Max hasn't let a little thing like snow interrupt his schedule!
And Opa took this picture for Sophia. (Mocha wanted equal time on the blog with Ginger and Max....)

Buttonhole Stitching and Baby Cuddling

2012-01-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

This week flew by with a bit of stitching, a bit of knitting, our usual volunteering, and a bit of time with Baby Max.

This week's TAST stitch was the buttonhole stitch, which after a bit of doodling, seemed just right for the birdbath. Debra challenged us to make one of her flower-creations, and a little one just popped up next to the birdbath. I also had fun stitching in person with Tahlia and some other CQers at a nearby mall!

Then yesterday, we spent much of the day cuddling Max and learning how much fun it is to have a grandchild closeby.
Mommy looks pretty happy, doesn't she?
Bliss!

TAST #1 Fly Stitch

2012-01-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

To practice each week's stitch, I found a piece of evenweave fabric in my stash and created a sampler or "doodle cloth" as Debra would say. This verse seemed like an appropriate reminder and can be found at about.com as part of a free band sampler pattern by Connie G. Barwick. As I was stitching it, I noticed Dick had stuck a post-it onto the pattern before the word "and" with "temper" written on it. He knows me too well! I'm trying to sort my colors by the ROYGBIV instructions for the TAST Beginners but am perplexed as to where purplely red and brown/tan would fit in. Any suggestions? Also, I am wondering whether anyone has suggestions on how to keep a detached chain stitch/lazy daisy stitch open; mine invariably collapse as you can maybe see where I tried to nail down the fly stitch with a detached chain. To me, the counted fabric is a bit inhibiting, and you can see where my stitching rebeled and started downhill. (These old eyeballs ain't what they used to be, that's for sure!) If you're curious to see how I used the fly stitch on my "real" TAST project, check out the Tuesday Stitchers' blog. You'll find lots of pretty stitching there.
Meanwhile, life goes on. Max is settling in at home and keeping Mom and Dad on their toes, and Ginger is hoping we won't return these car seats.

And this Oma's just plain happy everything went well.

Welcome, Baby!

2012-01-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Max!

Max and his Opa.

(And Happy Birthday, Cousin Keith!)

Phew!

2011-12-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

These three are on their way back to Chicago as of this afternoon.

And these two are recovering from all this week's loving.
A cap
A cowl
Fingerless gloves
In between giving hugs, reading stories, and cooking, I finished up a few quick projects. It's been a very busy and happy week~~~BUT no baby! Maybe he's aiming to be number 1 of 2012?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Still Waiting~~~~~but BUSY!

2011-12-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been busy ones, filled with last minute shopping, several projects, baking, an extra long choir practice~all the good things that lead up to Christmas.
Yesterday, I attempted to make something from all these pieces!

Can you even believe this little guy was lurking in all that "mess"?

Way last spring I promised to make this for my young friend's American Girl doll and finally finished it in time for her birthday last week.

This cute pattern is available on Ravelry and knits up pretty fast. It takes a bit of patience to put the pieces together, but I think my little herd was worth the effort!

And then there was the washcloth with the Christmas yarn from Hobby Lobby that I started a while back. (That is really soft cotton yarn, by the way!)

Meanwhile, we are still waiting for a certain plane from Chicago and a certain baby who seems determined to arrive on schedule along with the New Year. We have some serious wrapping to do before then as well as a bit of decorating. Look at these cute ornaments and jewelry we found at the UW hospital this week, all profits to benefit cancer research. "Jewels of Hope" has an online shop at Etsy, too!

Oops! Gotta run and check on my cranberry bread; I think I hear the timer dinging.

PS: If you care to tune in, you can hear our choir on Christmas Eve at 6:30, 8:00, or 9:30 PM (PST). (All services are streamed live.) Merry Christmas!

Waiting.........

2011-12-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

Last year at this time I was waiting to have gall bladder surgery just a few days before Christmas; this year we all are waiting for much more pleasant events. Just a week ago, we learned that "Chicago" is coming! And arriving on Christmas Eve!

Here's what Daniel's doing to pass the time:

And I've been finishing up some projects. This jumper was supposed to be for Sophia's birthday last August but life intervened. Now I just need to find a little shirt and some tights to go with it.

Depending on when Baby arrives, these will either be a Christmas gift or a welcome gift.

Meanwhile, we're all still waiting.......

WHEN???

2011-12-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

This December we two grandmas are reliving history through our Catherine. It seems like yesterday but wasn't, and we didn't know each other then. One December long ago, I was expecting Catherine, and another December a bit longer ago, MaryAnn was awaiting Catherine's husband, Brent. And now Catherine and Brent are waiting. Baby S. is due to arrive with the New Year, but will he keep us waiting that long. We don't know. But we all are waiting none too patiently...... Catherine arrived on December 28 and Brent held out until January 10. When, Baby, when?

Brent requested a "coming-home" hat, and as you can see there was enough yarn left to make some matching socks.

Last summer I used a pattern from Churchmouse Yarn and Tea to make this blanket.

My blogging friend Linda made this wonderful diaper bag. I suggested some colors, and she found perfect fabric. (How did she know that Catherine spent weeks in Africa with her former job ? You will see lots of other beautiful bags as well as pictures of her pretty California garden at her blog.)

And I made this hat "just in case!"

We are ready and waiting and praying for a safe arrival. Whenever, Baby, whenever you are ready. Godspeed!

Women's Christmas Dessert

2011-12-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday was the night my friend Debbie and I decorated a table for the annual Women's Christmas Dessert. (This event takes place on two evenings and one afternoon with many different decorators partcipating each time.) This was our table, number 25, so you know there was lots of looking to do!

I loved the simplicity of this centerpiece.

The pale green lace overlay on this table was stunning!

Who'd have thought of chosing a black tablecloth?

Doesn't this table look wintery?

For some reason the red and white striped placemats don't show up well on my photo but what a fun use of candy canes!

Here's one with a beautiful poinsettia as the focal point.

What a fun way to cover those wooden letters!

It's always fun at this event to see the creativity that surrounds the season, but we also enjoyed a special presentation of Christmas carols by Ross Hauck and Alicia Lewis as well as "The Birth" as presented by Tap Root Theater. Mostly, though , it was just a gathering of women, celebrating the beginning of the Christmas season together early in December in preparation for the Nativity.

If you care to tune in on Sunday at either 9 or 11 in the morning (PST) you can join our choir as we worship through music. Till then may you be enveloped in the love and anticipation that surround these days of December.

Where Has All the Stitching Gone?

2011-12-04T17:15:00.000-08:00

Spurred on by Debra, I've been thinking of my stitching life over the past year and realized that since we began remodeling our kitchen last spring, I've not once picked up an embroidery project! And there are quite a few unfinished projects waiting patiently for me to get going, so with that in mind, and a gentle push from Debra, I signed up for TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday), hoping to learn some new stitches and hoping to finish some long neglected ones. Lots of WIPS are waiting for me:
The Christmas Sampler
The Christmas Quilt
CQ Purse Front
CQ Purse Back

And that's just a few WIPs that come to mind. Lately I've been doing lots of knitting, and yes, there are some unfinished projects of that ilk also. But I have finished a number of things including this shawlette for my sister.

So, in 2012 I am going to finish as many of these projects as possible, but first I have to think up a TAST project, something for all those new stitches. Any ideas? And just in case you wondered, the kitchen is finished....except for a new light fixture.

But then there're all those Christmas projects......... waiting patiently!

Out and About~

2011-11-28T18:16:00.000-08:00

While my sister and Ted were still here, the sun came out, so we hopped in the car and went to Discovery Park. Lots of trails wind through the park, and we took the one that goes down to the beach and light house. Since we were there last, the light house has been painted and looks great! I think there are also plans to refurbish the inside as well. As you can see, the mountain (that's what the natives call Mount Rainier) is out. It's not really that close though; Dick was using the zoom lense on his camera.

After all of our company left, we took a long postponed walk with our friends Denny and Dianne in the Nisqually National Wildlife Preserve . We'd been there a number of years ago with them, but in the past couple of years the area has been upgraded with wooden boardwalks and a visitor center has been added. Can you see what's in this tree? The sign says that eighteen eagles live in the preserve.

One whole field was full of Canadian geese. And what a racket they were making! Every so often a group would take off and move to another spot, squawking as they flew.

I don't know what this snowy egret was looking for....lunch perhaps?

We could see the Tacoma Narrows bridge!

This Great Blue heron entertained us as it waded around in the shallows. As we left the boardwalk the tide was going out, and it was very interesting to watch. It was also very cold and damp which reminded me that December is coming and that I had some Christmasy yarn to use.

Two more dishcloths for the holidays....and lots more projects underway. Stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

When my Christmas cactus starts looking like this, we know that the holidays are quickly approaching. This is the first time though, since we received it as a gift from Montsic and Janet a few years ago, that both colors have bloomed at once like they did then! Maybe that means it's going to be an extra special Christmas? Don't know about you, but I've got lots to do before then!

If you're looking for something different and very tasty to serve on Thanksgiving, here's just the thing: Apple-Cranberry Cake on Jules Speaks Gluten Free . Don't be afraid of the gluten free part; you can substitue wheat flour. In fact, I forgot to add the melted butter, and it still got a "thumbs up" from Dick....and me. It's DELICIOUS! (And easy!) We've taken to eating it at breakfast.

Enjoy! And have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Birthday Bash!

2011-11-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

If you thought I seemed a bit distracted recently, you were right. The kids and I were very busy working out the details of a surprise birthday party for Dick. His extra special birthday very conveniently fell on the weekend this year which helped us get lots of the family together, all unbeknownst to him. It was SO fun. On Friday night the festivities began at an Italian restaurant near DD#2's house. Doesn't he look surprised?

His brother and my sister and their spouses came from San Francisco and MN. Isn't it great they were able to join us?

Then on Saturday night our supposed "pizza party" turned into a special dinner with a few of our long time friends as well as the family. And who showed up then? DD#1 from Chicago which was a surprise to all of us except her siblings. We are SO fortunate to have such a wonderful family.
Here's a rare photo of our whole family together. DS left last Monday for Asia!

Meanwhile, I was busily trying to sneak in a few minutes with my knitting needles before our Sunday afternoon event, but more about that the next time.

What a great weekend it was! And best of all, Dick is back to the good part of the year when we are both the same age.....

It's Getting to Look a Lot Like...........

2011-11-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

While I was knitting purple hats and helping to plan a very special birthday party, the members of my quilt group were working on 80 Christmas stockings for the local Ronald MacDonald house. I managed to finish these two, not a big contribution, but at least I participated, right?

And then DD#1 requested some new Christmas hats for the GK, so who could refuse? The fourth hat is just in case a certain someone decides to make an early appearance...

More about the certain someone, and the party real soon!

Happy 11/11/11!

2011-11-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

It's rainy and chilly here, but if you happen to be out tonight and the sky is clear, be sure and look at the moon. It was so pretty last night, and Dick took this photo the night before.

We just got back from our daily walk. Leaves were raining down and
making huge piles in the middle of the streets and along the curbs. We were glad to have taken these photos earlier in the week because these trees look very different today. (That tall skinny tree in the second picture is a ginko. They turn the prettiest yellow each fall.)

I thought these were the last two purple hats, but then I found some leftovers from one of Sophia's sweaters, so I'll probably make a couple more. I am, however, very tired of lavender yarn! Can you see how little was left from the original skein?

Hope you've had a nice Veteran's Day. Many thanks to those who have served!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.....

2011-11-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

The weather people keep predicting rain, and we have had some, but lately we've had some beautiful crisp fall days, just perfect for walking. Last Saturday, as we trekked up and down hill, we stopped for some photos as the fall color was very nice. Since then it's been raining leaves, millions of them with lots more to come.

Even the moon was out that afternoon!

We've been meaning to get a photo of this tree for ages and finally remembered. Nothing, not even a chain-link fence, can stop a determined tree!

Our beauty berry in the backyard is nice this year also with lots more berries than last year.

I also finished a challenging KAL called the Seaside Shawlette, yarn and pattern from the Knitters Brewing Company. Besides learning a lot about lace, I got to witness the magic of blocking. Just off the needles, the shawl was a lumpy looking mess! Just a little water made it straighten out and shape up. No Socktober socks though.....

More on some other projects later as we're off to volunteer at the UW hospital. Have a great afternoon!

A Fun and Different Project ~ a Necklace!

2011-10-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

One of the projects that I finished this month was from a kit that I purchased through Earth Faire, a great source for patterns, yarn, and beads like these. (They are called mushroom buttons, and I had no idea they'd fit together like this.) This pattern by Sivia Harding is also on Ravelry.

This little tool which was also new, thanks to Earth Faire, was crucial to attaching the beads...much easier than stringing them. Basically, the whole thing is an I-cord with beads attached and a fairly quick finish. It was fun!

Three little someones also had a fun project recently. They harvested their sunflowers. David took one flower to school, maybe to feed the resident hamster? (Rex visited their house last weekend!)

Do you think she's going to take up modelling?

That must have been one huge sunflower. Ours never got that big!

Knitting on the Road

2011-10-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

October has been flying by, but we did manage a little getaway this past weekend to Port Angeles. Even though it was a bit rainy, we enjoyed the scenery and learned that Sequim and Port Townsend really are in the "rain shadow," and usually have sun when it's rainy elsewhere. Actually, the weather was pretty nice in Port Angeles, too!
As we were cruising down the highway,I got all excited and made Dick turn the car around because it looked like an eagle was perched above a slide on a dock. Closer inspection proved my "eagle" to be a fake owl, but this heron wasn't a bit afraid!

Long car rides are perfect for knitting (Dick likes to drive.) as well as scenery-watching. I was able to make some real progress on a couple of projects. Thus far this month, I've finished two more purple hats and a necklace. Someone asked me how come I'm making so many hats when I have only 3 grandkids. These hats are for the Don't Shake the Baby campaign and will be given away during November.

More about the necklace later. It was fun but definitely not a car-project!

Sweater Weather? Hardly!

2011-10-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Somehow despite the balmy weather in our nation's mid-section, Jill managed with a little licorice-help to get this photo:

Here's Sophia celebrating the good weather.
It's even been warm enough in the Midwest for wading in the pool
and bike riding.
David took this photo. Not bad for a first grader, eh? Even though the weather is warm, it looks like the trees are starting to show their fall colors.
Oh, and here it's been rainy and in the fifties. Sigh....... (But I do remember what winter in the Midwest is like and am really glad they're enjoying their Indian Summer.)

Hats and Leaves, Sure Signs of Fall

2011-10-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that it's Socktober and I should be finishing up all those second socks that are waiting in line, I'm still knitting hats. Purple baby hats. To add a bit of interest after knitting 2 plain purple hats, I decided to knit one using a mock cable pattern. The pattern is fairly stretchy, so even though the finished hat looks kind of pointy and small, it should be fine. This is a fun stitch to use on socks also. Now I'm on to hat #4. Looks like Charlene might be right, that 5 baby hats were lurking in this skein. Must say, though, I'm getting a tiny bit tired of purple.....
Dick came in the house yesterday with this sign of fall. The Big-leaf maples are starting to lose their leaves....... This baby measures 18" across! And there are at least a zillion more just like it on every tree.
There will be lots of raking in our future!

Summer Finishes~

2011-09-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

Finally it's finished! Started in 2009 for the Central Park Hoodie KAL, this sweater was completed at last when I quit procrastinating the seam stitching and sewed on the last button in time to mail it off to DD#1 for her birthday. Sure hope it fit!
I also turned in another purple hat this week, using the same pattern but with an I-cord top. There's still more yarn, so I started hat #3 but am using a different stitch pattern, a mock cable, to keep from being totally bored.
Tomorrow is the first day of fall, but we are still having roses! Just a few weeks ago one of our rose trees looked like this:
And just this week our hydrangea had its first bud. Last winter took a terrible toll on our hydrangeas, but they keep trying! Happy Autumn! (in 12 hours or so~)

You're Right, It's September! Time to Get Back to Knitting and Sewing....

2011-09-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that earlier in the month we had 9 straight days of temperatures in the eighties and set an all-time record, it is September and will soon be officially FALL. This week though, temperatures are back to normal, and the skies are grey. But during Labor Day weekend, the weather was wonderful, so we went with our friends Denny and Dianne to Flaming Geyser State Park. Located along the Green River, it is south of Auburn off the road to Black Diamond. Apparently lots of people either come to the park to float down the river or to fly model airplanes. We saw both!
The flaming geyser isn't as big as it once was, but nonetheless it's still interesting. The sign said at one time the flame was 6-8 feet high! The trail to a more conventional geyser is closed for repair.
This next photo is for those folks who think moss only grows on the north side of trees. Do not get lost in Washington state!
And yes, I've finally gotten back to knitting and am tackling some long term UFOs. More on this one later.
That's not to say there have been no new projects. This purple hat is the first one I've finished to donate to the "Don't Shake the Baby" campaign at the UW hospital. We'll see how many hats "hide" in one skein of yarn!
That's it for now; I'm off to make some soup for the first time since last spring.

The Rest of August

2011-09-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

The last few days of Jill's visit were kind of grim, thanks to "the bug," but Uncle Carl came to the rescue and took the gang to the Seattle Aquarium. At that point I was laid low. Because Sophia caught "it," early on the day of their planned departure, the leave-taking was postponed to the next day when Dick got sick. Again Carl came to the rescue did the airport run. I'm sure they were glad to get back home. Oma and Opa were wiped out!
The rest of August went more smoothly. The Sunday after the kids left was our anniversary, and by Friday we had recovered enough to take our planned weekend in Cannon Beach, OR. The first day was delightfully sunny, and the second day was unbelievably foggy. We had fun anyway. It was interesting to see how sandy the beach was; the Ranger said the sand had begun moving in at the end of July
There's always lots to see at Haystack Rock during low tide.
We saw lots of starfish of all sizes.
And lots of kids making sand castles, even in the fog.
This time we didn't see any elk, but we did spot some of wild domestic rabbits that roam Cannon Beach. Never before have we seen them close to where we stay. Do you suppose it was mowing the lawn?
We came back home to find our hoya in full bloom! The buds go from this
to this.
And then we cut them off because they smell cloyingly sweet at night which our niece, the plant biologist, told us is to attact the insect pollinators. (Not in our house!)
The remaining weekend in August found us at a wedding of a good friend in Clinton, WA, which is on Whidbey Island. It was a perfectly beautiful day, and the good weather has persisted into September. We also enjoyed another trek around Green Lake one afternoon late in the month. Some of our favorite turtles were out and had a surprise visitor. I hope herons don't eat turtles!
And on the very last day of August I finished a scarf using the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf pattern, a nice easy pattern for a very busy month.

The Lazy (Crazy?) Days of Summer~Part Two

2011-09-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to Seattle with all the grandkids and their mom, but it was somewhat of a miracle. Our plane was very late leaving O'Hare, and then late getting to Denver where we had to change planes. We didn't miss our connection thanks to the kind man at the gate who made them OPEN THE DOOR of the plane for us. We'd never experienced anything like that, and no one we've told our story to has either! Daniel added to the excitement by throwing up all over Jill mid-flight, and this was the first appearance of the mystery bug that worked its way through the family that week. It didn't totally spoil our time together but it sure kept things interesting.

The next day we spent the morning relaxing, and then in the afternoon we took the ferry to Winslow on Bainbridge Island. If you ever happen to go there, be sure to have ice cream at Mora's. I highly recommend the sorbet called Tango. YUM!
On Friday, Jill's high school friend Susan, who lives in Sequim, came to visit and stayed for lunch. That evening the whole family gathered at our house for a barbecue.
During the night, David woke up complaining of a tummy ache and was very lethargic, so he and I spent the morning reading stories together.
Meanwhile Sophia and Jill went with Auntie Catherine and her other two nieces to Build a Bear to celebrate Sophia's fourth birthday.
Later that day, Catherine and Brent hosted an all-family picnic at Carkeek Park, which is right on Puget Sound and a great place for a gathering. Everyone had a wonderful time, even David, who still wasn't feeling that great. (Then during the night, Daniel got sick again which made for lots of bedding to clean up and many loads of laundry.)

Much of the next day was spent at Remlinger's Farm. It's a great place to get fresh produce and also has an amusement park that is just perfect for small children.

Every had a great time, and even Uncle Brent sampled one of the rides.

Well, I hate to leave right in the middle of things but have spent way too much time fiddling with a new version of Blogger. I switched back to the "old" version only to discover it's been changed a bit too, so my learning curve has been challenged once again. Sigh..... Happy Labor Day everyone!

Blueberries, Anyone?

2011-09-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Admidst the busy-ness and chaos of the past month or two, fresh blueberries have been available at the grocery store, much to our pleasure. For some reason, maybe because it's really tasty, I've homed in on this old recipe for Blueberry Buckle. It's quick and easy and guaranteed to add a special touch to your breakfast table.

Blueberry Buckle (Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook~1962)
1/2 cup shortening
1 /2 cup sugar
1 well-beaten egg

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (You can also substitute gluten free flour.)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen should work, too)

Cinnamon Crumbs: Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup sifted flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in 1/4 cup butter till crumbly.

Thoroughlyt cream shortening and sugar; add egg and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Pou into well-greased 11 1/2x7x1 1/2-inch pan. Top with blueberries. Sprinkle Dinnamon Crumbs over berries.

Bake at 350 degrees 45-50 minutes or until done and golden brown. Cut into squares and serve warm. Makes 8-10 servings. (I tried cutting the recipe in half and used a eight inch square pan successfully also.)

Enjoy!!!

The Lazy Days of Summer? Part One

2011-08-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

It's been crazy here since the end of July when we headed to Chicago to attend the wedding of our son-in-law's brother on July 29th.

The wedding festivities pretty much took up the whole weekend and was an opportunity to reconnect with some of the folks that attended Jill and Michael's wedding in August of 2003. David did a great job as ringbearer.

That same weekend, before the wedding brunch, we attended Sophia's last ballet lesson of the summer. It was fun to watch the little girls attempt their pre-ballet steps. Then on Sunday we went to our friends from our years in San Diego, the Libits, for dinner. It was fun to catch up.

During the week Dick and I took off for a couple of days for a short genealogy expedition. We went to Morrison, Illinois, to see if we could find the old Scotchbrook homestead and some family graves in the local cemetery. We were not successful in locating the house although we did see some interesting structures. And thanks to a caretaker at the cemetery did did find the graves.

My cousin Bambi has been transcribing a Civil War diary, kept by this gentleman, our great-great grandfather. The caretaker suggested we visit the County Clerk offices which we did. She very helpfully looked up and copied information for us!

We also visited Galena, Illinois, just for fun and learned that it had weathered some fairly serious flooding a few days earlier. On the way back to our motel, we drove through Lyndon, Illinois, where the Scotchbrooks first settled when they arrived in America from England.
The following weekend we all went to the Museum of Science and industry, and if you're ever in the Chicago area I recommend it highly. It has exhibits for all ages.

On Sunday Jill and Michael's good friends came to visit as they were in town from California to see relatives and check on their house which hasn't sold. Their children had great fun playing with Sophia and David. (I think Daniel was napping during their visit.)

On Monday we drove up to Wisconsin to visit my aunt and uncle, and on Tuesday we packed to return home with Jill and the kids. More on that later.

(As you can see the blue top did fit Sophia! And David LOVED the snake.)

The Brothers and Sis

2011-08-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Jill sent us some cute photos recently. David prepared and froze this special pancake for Opa. That lucky guy!

And look how much Daniel resembles his big brother.

I'm trying to decide whether this project, a shirt, will fit Sophia. What do you think? Will let you know when we get back home.

Speaking of that, guess who's coming home with us? We are in for some busy days.

For Goodness Snakes!

2011-07-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

My project for David is finally finished and by the time you read this will have slithered to Chicago. Last March I told David to pick out an animal from Kath Dalment's World of Toys book, and this critter was his choice. I adapted the pattern for double-point needles because I could not imagine sewing up such a long seam. Do you think it'll pass inspection?

After an absolutely gorgeous weekend, we have rain today and the temperatures are back in the low sixties. Last week the paper announced that we have had 78 minutes of summer, meaning temps in the eighties. I suppose that changed a bit yesterday, but all in all our weather has been strangely cool, and many plants are way behind schedule. However, our clematis has given us a grand surprise with two beautiful blossoms and another bud that is yet to open. For a long time this spring we thought it was the victim of our weird winter, or that we hadn't planted it right last summer. Fooled us, it did!

The astilbe is very nice this year, too!

And while we're talking about "pink things," here's the latest Sophia-picture. Do you suppose that's a prince in disguise? I will let you know upon further investigation.

Meanwhile I need to finish packing. We are heading east except for Carl who is staying behind to watch the cats/house and Brent and Catherine who are preparing to move.

Escape to the Islands

2011-07-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to visit friends who live in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. (No, it wasn't warm there either!) We walked onto the ferry, and our friends met us at the landing. Even though the weather was grey and a bit rainy, it was a nice trip.
We saw this heron stalking something.

Lots of cormorants were nesting on the pilings by the ferry dock. Every time I see them with their outspread wings I feel certain this bird inspired the totem poles.

Rainer and Susan can watch whales cavoting right from their living room window!

With views like this one, I don't think I'd ever get anything done if I lived here!

When we weren't admiring the scenery, we were playing with Max, the newest family member. Their daughter-in-law rescued him from an LA freeway onramp!

He's quite a cat!

Before heading back home, I went with Susan to the Lavender Festival and bought a small plant for our yard. We've been pretty busy since we got home, preparing to head for the Midwest soon, but right now the sun's out, so we're going to walk around Green Lake. Bye!

The Rest of the Story.......and Then Some More

2011-07-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't forget. It's just been crazy around here. On our way back from Glacier, we stopped to see one of Dick's high school friends, Mary Smart, who lives in Libby, Montana. Libby is also known as the "City of Eagles" and has many beautiful metal sculptures similar to this one throughout the town.

We had fun visiting with Mary and learning how she met her husband Don. Her car broke down just outside of Libby, and while working at a local nursing home to pay for the repairs, she cared for Don's grandmother! Some things are just meant to be, aren't they?

In addition to the eagle sculptures, we saw some interesting things in and around town. As we turned up the road heading toward Libby, we noticed that the traffic was moving very, very slowly. On second look, we could see that a house was in the middle of the road! Apparently it was being moved somewhere on this particular morning and took up the entire highway. Luckily, it turned off onto a side road and its probable destination relatively quickly or we would never had made it to Libby in time for lunch or maybe even dinner!

As we headed out of town and home, these monster trucks caught our eye. Driving one of these must be an interesting challenge!

They were parked at the fairgrounds, and we had to peer through the fence to see them.

Our last stop on the way back home, not counting the two yarn shops and quilt shop, was the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge near Cheney, Washington. We didn't get to see the promised moose, but did take a little walk in the rain. I was intrigued by this lilac bush and wondered if it had been planted recently or was the remnant of an earlier homestead.

Ever since our company left, we've spent a lot of time outside, trying to reclaim our yard from the weeds. It seems that the chilly weather did not deter them! The flowers have been very slow to bloom this year. This foxglove, however, is next to a rose bush and apparently loved the rose food. It's about 8 feet tall!

I'm also realizing that the colors in our garden reflect my preference for cetain colors in general, but then that's probably not too surprising. Isn't this a pretty columbine?

We've also been getting back to our daily walking routine. Recently the waxing moon has been very pretty, and Dick caught this photo from our bedroom window when we got home.

Speaking or routine, the dryer is buzzing impatiently, and I need to run. After that I've got to get back to work on David's snake. More on that another day.

Fun in the Sun!!!

2011-07-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

Not much in the way of knitting or stitching is happening here because, wonder of wonders, the SUN is out....finally! We had more company this week, too, just after my sister and her hubby flew home. My friend Margaret from high school and her hubby were in town for a wedding in Fall City, so we spent a couple of days showing them the sights. Dick had spotted another yarn-bombing project while driving through Sammamish. It is by the same artist/s behind Occidental Park exhibit, only is a seasonal display. Here are the stumps in their spring attire:

From here we went to Snoqualmie Falls, Pike Place Market, and the International District. Thanks to our snowpack, the falls are quite beautiful even though construction is happening around them.

Both Margaret and I have read The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and wanted to see the Panama Hotel which is featured in the novel. You can actually hire a tour of it or just enjoy a cup of tea in the tea room and look at all the artifacts. (Incidentally, it's a great read!)

The next day was so beautiful that we all decided to walk around Green Lake, one of our favorite activities. Taking advantage of the sun were "our" 17 turtles. We were amazed at how much the vegetation has grown in the past several weeks, making it more difficult to photograph them.

Dick managed to get some good close ups though. I'd love to watch them crawl out of the water onto these logs and wonder how they do it.

Since we were already near Fremont, we decided to eat lunch at Paseo's sandwich shop. Margaret read about it in the paper, which probably accounted for the long line that snaked out the door and down the street, but it was well worth the wait. With full tummies, we returned home, and our friends headed off to the wedding.

We spent most of the rest of the weekend working in the yard with time out for a Fourth of July picnic with our friends the Nelsons and a close-up visit to Brent and Catherine's "new" house. They'll move in later this summer.

I hope you all had a nice Fourth of July weekend. We surely did!

A Busy Rock 'n' Roll Weekend

2011-06-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

We had a whirlwind weekend. My sister and her hubby were in town, enroute home from their Alaska trip, and we had a fun and busy time together. On Friday night we had a backyard barbeque in the rain with our kids, and then on Saturday we got up early to watch the end of the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon because our son and Erik were just two of 26,000 runners. Some of the full Marathoners finished a little after Carl and Erik, who both finished their half in a bit under two hours.
The End of the Race

Just a few of the 80,000 onlookers...
Ready for Photos

Near the end of the race, the runners headed onto the Alaskan Way viaduct, a double-decker freeway above the waterfront.
The Home Stretch on I-99

I overheard one obviously out-of-town runner complaining about the hilly route. The native runners know it was a "flat" race compared to what it could have been had the route followed the "real" hills of our city! Just ask anyone who's ever walked from the waterfront up to 3rd Avenue.
Finish Line
The Finishers
My New Friend

After the race, we all went over to Catherine and Brent's condo for a yummy brunch. Walking back to our car to drive over there, we stumbled upon at Occidental Park in Pioneer Square. It's part of the Artsparks exhibit.
It really is cold here in the summer!

Later that afternoon we went over to Magnolia so that Jane and Ted could see Catherine and Brent's new house. They will move in late summer.

On Sunday after singing in summer choir, we headed to Winslow on Bainbridge Island. It was a perfect day for a ferry ride and a perfect end to the weekend. The water tank in the distance is at the end of Catherine and Brent's block.

Magnolia

Seattle in the afternoon sun

Jane and Ted are back in Minnesota today with lots of stories to tell as they head north to their cabin on Side Lake.

Glacier National Park

2011-06-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

As you may have guessed, we've been gone this past week off to the north country. Last Monday, the day after a grand birthday (our son and me)/Father's Day (early) celebration at our daughter and son-in-law's condo, we hopped in the car and headed for Glacier National Park. When we'd gone about as far as Ellensburg, we realized that despite our checklist, we'd forgotten our camera. Turning around was out of the question, so when we got to Spokane, we stopped at Target and purchased a stand-in, not a very fancy one, but adequate for everything but closeups. As a result, we arrived at our destination an hour later than planned.

So far this summer, the weather has been unusually chilly and rainy in Glacier, like it has been here in Bellevue. On Wednesday though it was relatively clear, so we decided to drive to East Glacier. (The "Going to the Sun" highway isn't open yet, and folks were saying that it probably won't open until mid-July, about a month later than normal!) All the streams were running high with lots of cascading waterfalls along the road.

Look at all the snow!

Since 1936, these red touring cars have been taking visitors to the various points of interest in the park. Aren't they cute?

We were greeted on this trail, glad that our greeter wasn't a bear.

We saw another deer off the road at a helipad and some mountain goats off in the distance further down the road.

With our binoculars and spotting scope we could see about 15 goats perched on this cliff. They are certainly sure-footed! Oh, how we missed our good camera to take a closeup of these tiny white spots that are really mountain goats!

Despite the chilly weather, we saw lots of flowers. Fields of glacier lilies and shooting stars were everywhere along with heart-leaf arnica.
arnica
shooting stars
On our last day in the park, we hoped for a nice day to hike to Avalanche Lake which takes off right where the road is closed. Well, it rained hard, and all we managed was the nature trail.

This is my Morton Salt Girl moment!

On Friday we left the park and headed for Libby, Montana, to visit a high school friend of Dick's whom he hadn't seen for 50 years! More about that later, I need to go do some laundry!

For Your Viewing Entertainment

2011-06-20T15:33:00.001-07:00

Baby Spiders a video by jatshaw on Flickr.

I've been meaning to post a close-up look at the busy spiders. They're gone now though!

Green Lake in the Sun!

2011-06-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

A few days ago when the sun was still out, we decided to walk around Green Lake, which is rather close to the University of Washington, and this time take our camera. There is one spot where you can see the Space Needle downtown on a nice day! And nice it was.

The yellow flags were out in full force all around the lake. (Our iris are blooming here at home also and so are the poppies. Purple and orange, very nice.)

The last time we walked around the lake just a few weeks ago, we saw 17 turtles, big ones and little ones. This day we only saw two, probably because it was later in the day and rather chilly.

These were just two of the ducks enjoying the day.

And yesterday we noticed this columbine blooming in our backyard; it's a volunteer that I just couldn't pull out.

Out in the flowerbox on the front deck, these little critters were having a party on one of the little violas. They were huddled in two clumps until I bent over for a closer look; then they scattered. Little yellow spider-babies, I guess.

Not lot of crafting going on when the sun's out!

A Lucky Day!

2011-06-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we awoke to glorious sunshine and did what all Northwesterners do when the sun's out: we decided to do something outside. This time we headed north to explore Birch Bay which is just north of Bellingham and quite close to the border. Our first stop was the state park where we decided to walk a bit. The mountains in the distance were out in their glory.

And just a short way down the trail alongside the road, I glanced down and spotted this!

Since it was rather chilly, thanks to wind off the water, we changed our mind about walking and drove further north to Blaine. After a nice lunch at a Thai restaurant, we headed to Semiahmoo since we'd heard about the hotel and golf course there. Much to our surprise, we also found an historic ferry that takes folks over to Blaine! Too bad we'd just been there.

Lots of folks were enjoying kayaking as well.

And this group was having a photo shoot.

It's easy to see why people like to take pictures here. Mount Baker sparkled in the sunshine.

To top it off, in the mail that day, I received a lovely package from Kathy. She sent me some very cute scrubbies as well as a wonderful knitting pattern. Thank you, Kathy! These are my kind of sweaters!

Oh, and how could I forget? There's a yarnshop in Birch Bay called Beach Basket Yarns and Gifts! Guess who stopped?

Problem Solved: Operator Error!

2011-06-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the "missing text mystery" was solved by a very helpful Blogger-person who assured me my text was still there, just in a very light color. Somehow when I changed the color of the blog title to make it show up against the golden chain tree, I also changed the text color. Bingo! It's fixed, and I can now post the photo of our moth visitor. This little guy hung around all day long but hasn't been seen since.
Pale Beauty
In the most recent issue of Creative Knitting (July), there was a stitch pattern that caught my fancy. It was the basis for the Oyster Bay Afghan, and knowing I would never complete anything that big, I tried it on a washcloth. It's pretty, I think, but kind of slow-going at least for me.

The past few days have been just beautiful, and yesterday we abandoned everything and headed north almost to Canada to explore Birch Bay. Guess what? We found a yarn shop, too! More later, the sun's out.....

Look Who's Two!

2011-05-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Jill sent us picture this week of Daniel' birthday celebration as well as several from the winding down of the last day's of school before summer vacation. Can you guess what Daniel's favorite vehicle is?

David's class grew bok choy as part of their farm learning project. The whole school shared a lunch that included a salad made with it....kind of a nifty way to get kids to eat some greens! He's had a fabulous kindergarten experience, and that makes this ex-teacher grandma very happy.

And here's Sophia Dandelionseed. I remember chasing these fairies". Do you?

Seventy! Finally!

2011-05-21T14:39:00.001-07:00

Finally, just yesterday, the thermometer hit seventy. Today it's 54. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted, and we did have four glorious days of sunshine....in a row, no less! Dick caught a couple of Steller's jays in our backyard while trying to capture the "snow" from the cherry tree.

MOV04129 a video by jatshaw on Flickr.

It was nice when our friends the Schmidts were in town enroute to Alaska. They even got to see Mount Rainier, and I am sure have totally the wrong idea about our weather. But, I'm glad they got to see our city at its finest. Before the weather turned good, I finished this washcloth from one of the patterns I got on Mother's
Day at Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. I love this pattern so much that I'm going to try it for a small blanket. We'll see how long that takes!

Phew!

2011-05-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Wow! This has been a busy and fun week. It began on Mother's Day with a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island where we had a nice lunch with Carl, Catherine, and Brent at a Thai restaurant. While they went to the Blackbird Bakery, I slipped into Churchmouse Yarns and Teas and bought several patterns and a skein of Koigu. The nice woman who waited on me offered to wind the skein, a offer I never refuse. It turns out she was the owner! Catherine and Brent gave me these cute socks which I just had to share. She found them in January at Lake Tahoe.

On the home front, the kitchen/family room floor is done and has been thoroughly inspected by Ginger. We are doing lots of laundry today as that floor is next. Then all that remains is the backsplash and floor molding. The latter is drying in our garage, and the tile was supposed to come in Friday, but we've been to busy to check.

Friday afternoon I sewed these booties together. They were an interesting knit but seem pretty small. These are done with dk yarn and the needles suggested in the pattern....newborn size maybe or slippers for an American Girl doll perhaps?

Our cherry tree is blooming despite the chilly, grey weather. The paper noted on Thursday that we've not broken 70 degrees here since last November! However, clloudy skies have made preparing for our Elijah concert a great diversion. We had two rehearsals with the soloists this week and two exciting performances this weekend. Here's a link to some photos that were taken Friday night. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! (And now that Elijah will have quit invoking "rain upon the thirsty land," maybe, just maybe, we'll see the sun?)

Flowers Inside and Out

2011-05-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Easter with part of our family and ate in the partially finished kitchen because the dining room table is still buried with stuff that can't be put away until everything is done. But thanks to these flowers from Catherine and Brent, the table looked very nice anyway. And they're still beautiful over a week later!

We've had a few glorious days that inspired several walks with camera at the ready. If you look really carefully, you can see the Space Needle and Smith Tower which used to vie for "tallest" building in Seattle. No more.

Each spring I look forward to seeing this beautiful trillium. Isn't it amazing? Mine has only 3 blooms, but maybe some day it will look like this one.

The star magnolia seems to have been a favorite yard planting by the builders in our area.

Doesn't this one look pretty with a forsythia behind it?

Our mountains still have lots of snow; in fact we had a tiny bit of snow here last Wednesday evening. Just this morning the paper said most of our native wildflowers are 2-3 weeks behind schedule.

Our unusually chilly spring hasn't stopped these from blooming. Many people detest dandelions, but to me they are a sure sign of spring.

Forget-me-nots are another hardy plant that can grow almost anywhere. I love their bright blue flowers! Sights like these make our walks a pleasure.

Not all of our days have been this lovely for walking, but I've been gainfully employed inside and even had a bit of time to knit. This interesting pattern surprised me with a 3-D effect. It would make a pretty afghan, but I'm going to stop with this hotpad.

My last finish for the month is this prayer shawl for another choir friend who's having some health challenges. Speaking of choir, we are gearing up for our big concert next week! Elijah, will keep us very busy then.

Stashbusting and Procrastinating~

2011-04-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the photo, the day we left Chicago, it was chilly enough for our warm coats. David, though, is tough!

Since we returned home, it's been unusually cold for April with lots of hail and even some snow! However, flowers like these camelias are popping up everywhere. This bush is right outside our living room and a joy to behold.

Rather than fight with Mocha over the registers, Ginger has found a new way to keep warm. Come to think of it, there is a register down there, too. Smart cat!

Last week at my quilt group, we learned a new stash busting block that's both fun and easy. First, you sew strips together. The strips can be any size. Then you cut two squares. ( You can cut the squares from the same pieced strip like I did or two different ones. The squares just have to be the same size.) Put the two squares together, right sides facing, with the strips at right angles. Sew all around the outside of the square. Then cut diagonally X. Voila! You now have 4 interesting blocks!

Since we left Chicago, David has lost yet another tooth. He observed that he has a square in his mouth, and we have realized how quickly he's become a six-year-old.

This week I took a break from the shawls and socks I'm supposed to be finishing to try out the latest pattern from Knitting at Knoon. Peter says, "Happy Easter everyone!"

Signs of Spring

2011-04-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

This afternoon on the way to look at tile for the kitchen, we stopped to admire some of the local flowering plum trees. Each year they provide a spectacular show, especially on streets where each yard has a tree. On days like today, which was rainy and cold, they are a welcome sight. (For the first time EVER, I had icicles on my umbrella because it hailed really hard while we were on our walk!) When the blossoms start to fade, the grass and streets will be covered with pink "snow."

Jill sent us a few pictures this week. As you can see, Dick had fun with the grandkids.

Jane had fun reading to Daniel. I wonder what he's saying to her?

After we left Chicago, it warmed up enough for the kids to enjoy playing outside. David caught a toad, but I'm not sure the toad was as happy about that as David was.

I've been working on a couple of knitting projects this week, and while I worked, enjoyed watching the EagleCam.Have you seen it? It's on 24/7 and great fun to watch Mom and Dad care for their young. The nest is high in a tree near a fish hatchery in Decorah, Iowa. Check it out! You'll be glad you did.

This is April?!

2011-04-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

When we woke up yesterday, this is how our flowering plum tree looked!

Snow! On April 7th no less! This is Spring, isn't it?

Remember when you could touch your toes?

Not too much else happening here. Still recuperating from "the bug" and packing up for phase two of the kitchen do-over.

Back Home and Thawing Out!

2011-04-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Chicago was cold and even snowy one day while we were there, but we have lots of warm memories. Even though the kids were a bit under the weather with some kind of virus (which we may have brought home), we still had lots of fun. And as an extra bonus, we also got to see my sister and her hubby at Sylvan Lake and my aunt and uncle in Brown Deer, WI. My uncle turned 93 last week! We also went on a field trip with David's class on the last Friday before Spring Break. (No photos of that though)

All three of the grandkids love to hear stories, and they mostly sit still! I must have read The Baby BeeBee Bird a hundred times. Check it out; it's a fun one!

We also created some things with Crayola's Model Magic. It's like clay but dries hard without firing and can be painted. David especially enjoyed this.
While we were creating, Daniel was concentrating on his cars. How do all little boys learn that Brmm--Brmmm sound?

Daniel seems very well coordinated at nearly two. We watched him jump off a little step stool many times, landing upright each time. He even likes to dance but not with partners!

The last couple of visits we've been adopted by our grandcat Jehu. Each night and in between he took over our bed. Nice to have a warm spot waiting!

During naptime and in the evenings, I did work on a couple of knitting projects and put the finishing touches on another prayer shawl for a choir friend.

But what about the kitchen? The cupboards are in, and our weekend project will be to put things back where they belong. Hurrah! It's still not done, but the end is in sight~sort of.

Finis!

2011-03-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

No, not the kitchen; in fact, not much cooking is happening these days. We manage breakfast and lunch fairly well, but dinners are pretty much a lost cause.

Progress is happening though. And it'll all be worth it in the end. We already love the new stove!

PerBarbara's suggestion, I've replaced cooking with sewing and knitting---and actually finished several things: socks for David and Daniel, the tutu quilt for Sophia, and a hat for Jill! The fun part will be delivering them in person as we are headed to Chicago soon. (Jill and Michael have a working kitchen!)

Something tells me I could use a better model for my hats than stuffing them with a pair of pjs!

The quilt was hard to photograph, so Dick took a closeup of one of the tutus.

Mocha is a pretty tough taskmaster but tires easily.

Sewing the binding on this quilt gave me time to think. Earlier this week the newspaper, in addition to the tragic news from Japan, carried an article about the Iditarod which reminded me of the story of Balto and the Great Race. Have you read it? A statue of this dog is in Central Park in NYC; we searched it out a number on the way to a family wedding. (It snowed, then too?!)

I also thought about watching this elk herd just outside Crescent City,CA, about a week before its harbor was destroyed by the tsunami that originated in Japan. According to the news on NPR, tourism and fishing are the major industries in this town, and fishing was all but wiped out. The effects of that quake will be felt for a long time in this small town and, of course, on a much, much larger scale in Japan. It sure has made me rethink our family's earthquake preparedness!

UPDATE: We saw the moon on our walk last night! For once we didn't have our usual cloud cover.

Chaos in the Kitchen

2011-03-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

Not too much knitting or sewing is going on in these parts. We are updating our kitchen which until a few days ago looked like this:

Gone is that hanging cupboard where everyone has bashed their heads! (One daughter called it the "Shaw initiation.")

Now almost everything else is GONE, and we can't find anything, but progress is happening. Stay tuned!

I've been meaning to post a couple of recent photos from Jill. We are looking forward to seeing them all soon. Here's David all dressed up for something at school. Can you tell he chose his own outfit?

Sophia loves Red Bear which was given to her by our neighbors long ago and is holding up quite well.

Daniel has his own bear. Don't you wish you could sleep this well?

Can't believe it's time to "spring ahead" with the clocks and wish everyone a very Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

Followed.............. (Image Heavy)

2011-03-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Why is it that every time we head to California or meet my sister, it snows? It happened last May and again in November, and this time our destination, Point Arena, California, had snow for the first time in TWELVE years. Are we snow magnets or what?

The snow we left behind you can see in the last post, but who knew it ever snowed this close to the Pacific Coast? While it was just a little on this huge rock, the lady at the yarnshop in Bandon, OR, said they had four inches even though most of it had melted by the time we stopped there. Despite the snow, rain, and unusually chilly temperatures, we had a fun time. We even detoured to drive through this redwood tree. (That's not our car, but it was a tight fit!)

Appropriately, a lighthouse stands on Point Arena but is no longer manned. You can climb it though, for a fee, but we didn't.

It does have a top!

More interesting to me than the lighthouse was this huge rock that was a sunbathing spot for 15 seals. After we left, my sister said the seal population tripled and thought they might be headed up the coast to the spot in Oregon where they give birth.

If you've never driven along Route 1 in California, you've missed an exciting ride. The roads aren't straight for very long and the scenery is spectacular. I wouldn't want to do it in the dark or on a foggy day!

Right after this photo, we hopped in the car and headed for home. (Dick had fun taking this one automatically.)

Before we left California, we stopped to take some flower photos, just to prove that spring really is coming. We've seen lots of daffodils on the roadsides but never calla lilies.

All that riding time meant that several knitting projects were completed. A choir friend is having chemo treatments for lymphoma, so I made her a hat from a pattern called "No-hair Day Chemo Cap." It is indeed "hairy," and our 4-legged hat inspector had to make sure it wasn't alive.

Another completed project is this prayer shawl for another friend who's had a really tough time with the after effects of her chemo regimen. This is a free Lionbrand pattern called Easy Triangle Scarf and is my "go-to" pattern for prayer shawls.

Ginger finally lost her patience with me. I think she means for me to quit typing and pay some attention to her, don't you?

Just Another February Day?

2011-02-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

Our son called this morning from the Phoenix airport where it was 55 degrees and sunny, and I had to tell him that our frontyard looked like this:

Yep, we got about 8 inches of snow during the night, the most for this time of year since 1989, according to the paper. Welcome home, Carl!

Since almost everything was cancelled, including choir tonight, I had time to do some quilting this afternoon and also finished this hat that Jill asked me to make for a friend. (Her friend is adopting a toddler from Russia.) Apparently checking out the hat was exhausting, for the next time I saw Mocha, she was sound asleep.
And in another room, Ginger was also resting. I guess it was just that kind of day.

Spring, where are you?

Catching Up.....

2011-02-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we took time off from packing up the cupboards in our kitchen for a quick drive into the foothills. We've had several clear and crisp days in a row, and the mountains were beautiful. How'd you like this view from your backyard?

We drove as far as Darrington and then headed home, taking one last shot of the scenery behind us.

I got a good chuckle of this photo from Jill. Apparently in the Midwest, the art of shoveling is taught early! Good work, Daniel!

Finished up one mystery sock and am heading up the toe of #2. (I did remember the cast-on luckily.) It fits!

I also made a cowl, using a pattern link Janet's website and a second pair of rainbow socks, knee-highs, this time. As you can see sock#2 is bigger than sock one for some mysterious reason.

At the moment on the sewing front, I am trying to make a quilt "sandwich" on the Tutu quilt, but it's fighting me, and while I should get out my sampler, I'm heading out for lunch with a friend. Oh well. Catch you later!

On to the Cuff and a Little Stitching... Finally!

2011-02-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

We still have some reminders of Christmas at our house. This lovely planter arrived at the end of November all ready to grow. It's been blooming constantly since December when the "Stars of Bethlehem" popped open. (That little flower was our troop crest in Junior Girl Scouts years ago. How did Janet know this?) Just when we thought the plants were all done, one last amaryllis appeared with a blossom in time for Valentine's Day! How fun is that? Many thanks to Mike and Janet for such a long-lasting and beautiful gift!

My Christmas Sampler serves as a reminder, along with the Advent scarf, that some holiday projects remain uncompleted. This week I did do a little stitching as promised on the reindeer. Now I'm wondering why I started with the end of the alphabet?

Starting from the end gets to be a habit, I think. Anyhow, the mystery sock began with the toe, a skill I wanted to learn. The last clue, the cuff, was posted yesterday. Another 17 rows and this sock WILL BE DONE! Then the challenge remains, sock #2. Will I remember the magic cast-on? Time will tell!

But wait you say, "Isn't anything new happening?" Well, yes, the cupboards arrive next Friday, and the old ones are slowly being emptied. We are even getting rid of a few things. Shocking, isn't it? And on our walks we are noticing that the moles think spring is coming. Destructive little buggers, aren't they? We are SO glad this isn't in our yard.....yet.

A Bit of Stitching/Knitting, a Skeleton, SNOW and a Recipe

2011-02-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

Last week was pretty crazy. We are getting ready to update our kitchen and spent quite a bit of time trying to decide exactly what we wanted to do before ordering the new cupboards. That left little time for blogging or stitching. I did, however, make a little progress on my mystery sock. Actually I have finished clue 3 which includes the gussets, but this photo only shows clue 2. This pattern requires some concentration, and I ended up doing some ripping on the third clue because I hadn't read the row numbers correctly.

Certain felines were somewhat interested in my progress on clue #3. Too bad they couldn't give me any advice! Their catnaps take precedence over absolutely everything.

Even though we were busy, we managed to keep up with our walking. One afternoon we noticed something quite intriguing near the sidewalk under the pines: leaf skeletons! Neither of us had seen anything like this before and later brought some more home to put in a vase. We think they are rhododendron leaves.

While we were merrily taking our walks in the sunshine, DD#1 and family were experiencing the great Chicago blizzard, and DS was feeling quite good for barely missing it. (He returned home from David's birthday weekend late Sunday.)
Check out the neighbor's garage door!
Hours and much shoveling later, the same driveway looked like this:

Last night I finally picked up my Christmas SAL, having put it away in November to concentrate on the holidays. At that time, it looked like this:

Here's the promised recipe for those of you who were interested. It freezes well, too! As for me, I'm off to work on letter "R," that reindeer.

Cranberry Nut Bread (I used gluten free flour and dairy-free margerine.)

1 cu. coarsely ground cranberries (Mix with ¼ cu sugar and set aside.)

Sift together:
1 cu. sugar
3 cu. flour
4 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 T. grated orange rind

Blend in:
1 cu. milk
3 T. melted butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ cu. chopped nuts

Fold in sweetened cranberries and pour into large greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool and remove from pan.

(Will make 3 small loaf pans but you have to adjust the cooking time.)

Quilts, Socks and Such

2011-01-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

Last fall one of the local quilt guilds had a show where one of our group's joint projects was displayed. This past week a friend sent me a photo to share; each of us made a dress (mine is the one on the top right), and then two others put it together and quilted it. The quilt was donated to the local Ronald McDonald house.

Lots of vendors were also at the show, and I found a kit from one of my favorites: Hummerdog Quilts. Her kits, in addition to being accurately precut, are always cute and beautifully packaged as well. One of 15, this little widget was correctly identified as a tutu, first by Susan and then a few others.

One tutu will be attached to each leotard after the quilt is quilted. The top, which has a total of 6 rows, is all ready to be "sandwiched," and only 4 more tutus need finishing. I am aiming to have it finished to take along on our next trip to Chicago. (There are two other quilts that need to be finished before then also!)

One of my goals has been to learn how to knit a sock from the toe up, so when I saw this mystery project at the Knitters Brewing Company, I joined. To my delight, I finally figured out how to do "Judy's Magic Cast-on" after a few false starts and finished the first clue. Hopefully, I'll be able to remember for sock #2!

The other item that was completed this week was a pair of socks for David. He requested a pair of wool socks a few weeks ago, and when asked for a color, replied, "Rainbow". Luckily I had some Crystal Palace Mini Mocha in that very color. The two don't quite match, but I don't think he'll mind.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the cranberry bread turned out great. I used my regular recipe plus Gluten Free flour from Jules Gluten Free as well as some non-dairy "butter". Maybe I'll include the recipe on my next post; it's one I've had so long that I don't remember its origin.

Oh, the Weather Outside Is Dreary.......

2011-01-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday evening we had our "snow event" which had been predicted for more than a week. According to the forecast, the snow was to begin during the rush hour; thus, on our way home from volunteering at the hospital that afternoon, we saw buses decked out in chains but NO snow. No snow, that is until about 7:45 PM, when I glanced outside to see lots of fluffy flakes, falling hard. In no time at all, the view from our front door looked like this:

And outside looking in, like this:

Dick thought our neigbor's house looked especially pretty. However, during the night, the temperature began to rise, and rain began falling so that by morning, all that was left was a mere trace and a few strangely parked cars that had been abandoned during the height of the snowfall. Today the thermometer reads 55 degrees!

In case you're wondering whether I've abandoned my stitching and knitting, I haven't. I've been taking stock of bags of UFOs and trying to decide which one should be finished first. I also joined the Mystery 220 group and am for the moment caught up...at least till Saturday when clue #3 will be posted. Mocha is quite curious as to what this will be. I think I know....we'll see.

Another project I started before Christmas and had hoped to finish. Life got in the way, and I spent about a week like this: (Mocha and Ginger liked the new routine!)

Fortunately, I am fine now and back making 15 of these these little widgets:

Can you guess what they are? They are to be attached to something I'm making for a certain little gal who loves pink and knows how to defend her territory. Doesn't she look like she's saying, "Hands off!"

Maybe in the next post I'll reveal what these are. Meanwhile I'm going to go make some cranberry bread. I am trying to relearn how to bake gluten and dairy free, a real challenge. (Oh, and in case you are curious, that strange looking flower in my header is witch hazel. Every January it begins to bloom, and it's right on schedule.) Happy January!

Mountain Magic

2011-01-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

Late Monday afternoon, at the spur of the moment, we jumped into the car and headed to Snoqualmie Pass which is about 25 miles east on I-90. That's the same I-90 that ends around Boston! We were surprised at the amount of snow because there is no snow at our house at all.

Even more surprising were the pink snow-capped peaks, thanks to the setting sun.

We had heard about "pink snow" connected with Mount Rainier but had never seen it ourselves. How fun and how magical!

Here's a plane taking off, we hope to somewhere warm. Wouldn't it be great to capture these colors in yarn or fabric?

In no time at all the pink had faded into a dusty blue, and it was time to head home. For me it was yet another reminder to take joy in the moment. These beautiful minutes are all too fleeting and can escape entirely unnoticed! Carpe diem!

Cheerio says, "Happy New Year!"

2011-01-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

Since we don't have cardinals here and love them, I decided to create one using the Penguin pattern. (Next up, maybe a bluebird, robin, or since I have left over penguin-yarn a crow?)

Today I've been playing with my new toy! Instead of this,

I can now do this.

Oh my, what fun! I did 5 skeins of yarn this afternoon in no time at all. Dick loves my toy also as he did NOT enjoy holding the yarn and DOES like to use that chair....that is if Ginger doesn't get there first.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! May this year that began with 1/1/11 be filled with wonder and joy for you and your families!

Update and Two Scarves

2010-12-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

Update: Surgery went off without a hitch, and I was sent home that very evening. Except for a day's worth of nausea from the anesthesia, everything was fine until early Christmas morning. Apparently my heart decided things were boring and went dancing off on a rhythm all its own. Yes, I had a very stubborn case of atrial fib. that didn't resolve despite the Urgent Care team's best efforts until I got back home. That meant yet another trip back to the hospital to make sure that said heart really was behaving, and now I'm happily on the mend. Hallelujah!

So, we had our Christmas feast yesterday in the true spirit of Boxing Day. And then we learned that it really was an historic day. David lost his first tooth! We were a witness to the new gap, thanks to Skype, and all I can think is, "How did this child get to be almost six already?" Here's a photo of the DD#1's whole family, enjoying the snow at Lake Geneva. All that snow makes me shiver!

It's a good thing I finished this little sweater since it seems to fit just perfectly at the moment.

And then there's this little guy who seems to grow before our very eyes. Here he is, watching our choir concert, thanks to modern technology and the fact that all services are streamed live. (Wouldn't our parents be amazed? Horrified?)

Only a couple of knitting projects haven't been shared. This scarf is made from Trendsetter's Soleil yarn and was FUN to knit.

I tried the same pattern (Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf)in Cleckheaton with equally good results. I love this pattern and am so grateful to have found it on Stitches of Violet's blog. It is so easy and looks great in any yarn!

Having observed David's teacher standing outside daily to help the children find their parent's cars, I decided that she needed a hat to survive the Chicago winter. I well remember playground duty days with a lot of sympathy!

That is my update for now, except for a report on the Advent Calendar scarf. Needless to say it is not finished, but I am well ahead of the game for next year as I'm almost done with Day #7! Yeah! (It's about time to get back to the Christmas SAL, don't you think?)

The Waiting Game

2010-12-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

What have I been up to this month? Not a whole lot. At the moment I'm trying hard to wait for gall bladder surgery without going nuts. It's scheduled for this Wednesday, which is rotten timing, but we did get to sing in the choir concert last Sunday, the gifts have all been mailed, the cards almost done, and I've been working on the Advent Calendar scarf which is guaranteed to keep one's mind (and fingers) occupied. (See the sidebar for the link. Almost all of the days are there, and you can join me in being behind!) Fortunately I was able to help decorate a table for our Christmas Dessert event at church. It's always a fun way to begin the holiday season and time out from the hustle and bustle to focus on the real reason for celebration.

This is a dark and rainy month for us in the Northwest. Even the cats are noticing. The "Register Wars" are in full force.

We haven't figured out why this is the favored register, but it's almost always occupied by one or the other of our furry felines.

Lots of projects have been finished. I made a another companion for Mr. Popper. A cardinal is awaiting another wing; maybe that'll happen tomorrow.

Lots of knitting happened during our Thanksgiving trip. The Mystery Socks are finally finished. I just love the yarn color, hydrangea, and unfortunately it's no longer available.

Sophia's sweater is complete and fits. Hurrah.

David requested a "Ginger Hat" when he saw the "Mocha Hat" I made last fall. It's kind of big, but he deemed it "perfect" which makes this Oma very happy.

We must have mailed our packages too soon because some have already been opened, but that means I can share them. That'll be another post because my scarf is calling. I'm only just starting Day 6, and this is day 19. Yikes!

Outrunning the SNOW! (Image heavy)

2010-12-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

We set off for California last week in what became a big snowfall in Seattle that cancelled school and delayed traffic for hours. Luckily we outran most of the snow as we left early in the dark before things got too interesting. Even so, we had snow almost to the WA/OR border and were glad we had already decided to cut over to the coast at Eugene. Besides being a last minute way to avoid the snowy mountain passes in the Siskyous, that road is a great place to see elk. We weren't disappointed.

The coastal route is slow but beautiful. As you can see, it wasn't clear and sunny there either!

The highway goes quickly from 4 lanes down to 2 in spots where it wends its way through the giant redwoods. We had never seen this place before. Can you imagine living there?

Our destination was San Luis Obispo and the memorial service for our friends' dad. He was a professor at Cal Poly and a very nice man. Following the service, we joined the family for their traditional Thanksgiving celebration; we made the total attendees, 30! It was great fun to reacquaint ourselves with all the family members, including grandhildren we'd never met.

All too soon it was time to head north. We again decided to travel on 101 and were glad we did. With all the rain on the coast, the mountains more than likely were difficult driving. Even though it was Black Friday, we had no problem getting through San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

We "hurried" home but managed to see a few interesting things on the way. At one place we stopped for lunch, we saw lots of white cranes in an adjacent field.

Since this is the beginning of the holiday season, we took a mistletoe picture. This holiday symbol is actually a parasite that is spread by the birds and seems, at least in California, to prefer the liveoak trees.

At the Ca/OR border we saw a huge herd of elk.

I'm not sure what this guy is saying, but it must have been important!

Do you have any idea how much knitting can be completed in 2400 miles? I can't share that yet though because most of it's holiday related; you'll just have to take my word for it. The snow was gone when we got home, but we returned with many pleasant memories of a Thanksgiving that was both joyous and just a little bit sad. It was definitely a memorable trip.

A Friend for Mr. Popper

2010-11-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Today's headlines include this cheery news: "It may be fall, but this weekend, it'll be winter." Our garden hasn't quite gotten the message. We still have hydrangeas, pansies and have even seen some roses on our walks. Our beauty berries are also in their glory. The holidays are sneeking up quite quickly, and it's time to speed up the knitting and sewing.

Mr. Popper was lonely, so he now has a friend named Nick. What with the threat of winter, it seems like a good time to show these Arctic pals. Next I'm going to try to use the leftover yarn to make a chicken.......

Back in the Midwest, Miss Sophia has found a new look, and the boys are modeling some of Oma's wares.

Gotta run. Have a great weekend!

Playing and Projects

2010-11-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

November seems to be marching right along these days. We got a good reminder of the impending holiday last weekend at our choir workshop, spending most of the day practicing Christmas music. (We also learned that a CD of our spring concert featuring Haydn's Creation is being released next month!) As usual I have lots projects and ideas in the works. We'll see how many actually get completed!

The stitch in this dishcloth is really fun. The pattern can be found at Lily Sugar 'n Creme and is called The Twist Knit Dishcloth. I think the stitch would be pretty in a scarf although it is a bit stretchy. I really needed these needles for another project which hastened the finish!

A couple weekends ago we went exploring in the Magnolia neighborhood because that's where Catherine and Brent are house-hunting. I am sitting at the base of an old madrona tree; the early settlers thought they were magnolia trees, and thus the name of the area.

We had fun in Discovery Park, hiking down to the water and this old abandoned lighthouse.

You can also see Mount Rainier from this trail. That mountain sure gets around!

I didn't work much on the Christmas SAL last month and will be putting it aside until after the holidays. The sleepy Santa was my focus this time. Maybe it'll get done by next Christmas?

This little project caught my eye. It was a free pattern on Webs. Besides the penquin, there's a very cute polar bear.

Gotta run. It's a sunny day, and we're going to walk around Green Lake. Catch you later!

Farewell, October!

2010-10-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

Leaves are falling steadily, here and in the Midwest as well. When we were visiting last month, David was anxious to play in the leaves but only acorns were raining down. Times have changed!

Here the sidewalks and gutters are covered with leaves thanks to recent wind and rain. Our area has a variety of maple appropriately called the Big-leaf Maple. Can you see why? Some are even larger! What we can't figure out is why we get these leaves in our yard since no trees of this type are in it!

Not too many projects to show at the moment although I did complete this scarf. It's made of Bee Sweet Magic Ball, just one of an African brand that returns part of the price to the women who make it. The original project, a shawlette, was driving me crazy because I didn't like the fishnet look from the size 36 (!) needles which were awkward to use. So I switched to this simple garter stitch pattern on 112 stitches which was in the Webs Winter Catalogue. It shows off the yarn changes much better although frogging mohair is NOT FUN!

This past Friday my quilt group had a work party. We ended up with 72 partially finished stockings, just 8 short of the number our local Ronald McDonald House requested. Here are my most recent contributions. (The green is the backing for both Felix and Bugs.) Next time we are adding a white fleece cuff, and they'll be finished.

Another indication that the holidays are sneaking up on us is provided every year by our mixed up Christmas cactus plants. This one is a combination of two colors, and it's the first time both parts have bloomed at once since Janet sent it to us. None of them bloom at Christmas anymore, and this year they're out for Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween, no post on this day would be complete without photos of the GK in costume. Even Daniel is participating this year, and Sophia may be living in her outfit which just happens to be her favorite color. Remember the tractor? This girl loves anything PINK!

Happily, Jill and Michael keep us well supplied with photos since we can't be there in person. David's class had a grand celebration. He's the NASA guy, waiting for Mom who arrived wearing her old chicken costume. Wish I could have seen that!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Fall!

2010-10-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

Not too much going on here except lots of walking since the weather has been so nice. The days are noticably shorter at both ends, and we know the winter rains are coming soon. Apparently the Midewest is having a wonderful fall as well. Doesn't Daniel look as if he's enjoying being outside?

This morning's paper had a surprise. President Obama visited the home of the UW hospital volunteer coordinator for one of his "backyard chats"! Not a word was mentioned when we volunteered there this week, but recently one of the patients in the antepartum unit wanted to make thumbless mittens, so I had to find a pattern that would work. First I made a plain one using fingering yarn on a regular 2-needle mitten pattern and omitted the thumb. Then I searched for another patter online and found something prettier. Unfortunately the woman had gone home before my next visit, but at least I have a couple of new samples in my stash of projects.

SueR recently showed a photo of a Halloween dishcloth that she made and included the link to her pattern. I decided to see whether I could change it from a lacy pumpkin into something slightly different. Remembering the huge ball of orange yarn left from Daniel's hat, I decided to make a hotpad. Don't know if this thick enough to be a good hotpad, but Dick immediately recognized it as a pumpkin! Hurrah!

Sidetracked~~~Again!

2010-10-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

How could I forget about Socktober? Last year I knit Kirsten Kapur's very fun Mystery Sock, so when I realized she was doing another one this year, all my good plans of finishing a couple of sweaters got derailed in favor of following along with the socks. (This year's pattern is just as pretty but can't be shown till they're finished.) And then along came my quilt group's latest project:

The local Ronald McDonald House requested 80 Christmas stockings, and guess whose group jumped on board? Our last meeting was spent cutting out lots of stockings from some prequilted fabric one member brought, and then I took home some different fabric to quilt and made 4 more. The next step is to sew the pairs together and add a white fleece cuff....probably at tomorrow's meeting.

And then there was this cute project that I stumbled on at the Spin a Yarn website. It looked like a perfect bootie for the antepartum moms, so I had to give it a try. The way the ears are made is quite clever, and the pattern is free!

And then there's these three little gremlins. Time to get a Halloween box in the mail. Oh my, when will I ever get back to those sweaters?

Ladybugs and Pumpkins

2010-10-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Dishcloths are a relatively quick knitting project and a good way to practice stitch patterns, following a chart or written instructions. Interestingly enough I've been told many times that these cloths are too pretty to use. Why do we think dishes should be washed with something ugly? This time I knit the bug in a more realistic color, but DH asked me if it was a pumpkin. Oh well. (Details and pattern link on Ravelry)

Speaking of pumpkins, this pattern was on the Lionbrand website and included booties which I didn't make. This ought to keep Daniel's ears warm, don't you think?

Speaking of Daniel, here's the latest photo from Jill. He's a big boy now!

We've been seeing lots of gold and red leaves on our walks lately. Just the other day we were very excited to see SIX quail, the first ever in our neighborhood. They are so cute, but unfortunately we didn't have our camera. Happy Fall!

One Dishcloth, Some Stitching, and Something PINK!

2010-10-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

The month of September got away from me. We were gone for ten days, and I didn't do a whole lot of knitting or stitching. I did work on a couple of sweaters but need to make a button run for both, and a sleeve and front for one. I did finish this little dishcloth though, summer's last butterfly.

The backstitching on the letter "V" is finally finished on the Christmas SAL, and it's done except for the beads. I've been saving that part for last but have been wondering if I should do them as I go. I'm afraid they'll be in the way of the hoop. As you can see, I've started a couple of new letters. Wonder how long they'll take? It's certain that this project won't be done this year!

Did you know that tractors come in pink? That just happens to be Sophia's favorite color for the moment. Doesn't she look happy? (I know this has nothing to do with either sewing or knitting, but hey, what's a gramma to do?)

Catching Up~

2010-09-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

We've been home for a week already and are getting caught up after being gone for 10 days. It was so busy in Chicago that after we got home, we realized we took very few pictures. Jill and Michael sent a few though which we can share. (While we were having fun in the Midwest, my sister and Ted were roaming around Europe with the Passion Play in Oberammergau their destination. Now they are headed to Prague, but this photo was taken in Heidelberg.)

What kept us so busy? Well, we went to kindergarten with David one day and watched his wonderful teacher in action. We also helped by painting some rocks blue and white; these came home the next Friday as "peace rocks" as the whole school did a presentation with that theme. No photos unfortunately.

Can you see the baby?
Isn't he a stately fellow?
We went to the Brookfield Zoo. (Does anyone remember Marlin Perkins and Zoo Parade from the Lincoln Park Zoo?) It started out very rainy, but that was great because it kept the crowds away, and we had a grand time. Dick got a couple of great animal photos, and I got to ride the Carousel with Sophia. We had read about one together, so I was delighted to see one at the entrance to the zoo. She was thrilled to ride a pink flamingo, and I had fun too.

We also celebrated Jill's birthday over two days. On the "real" day we all went up to Milwaukee to visit my uncle and aunt; they are the only surviving relatives of that generation so we try to see them every time we visit Chicago. Then the following day we celebrated for real, thanks to Jill's in-laws.
The Party Givers and Helper
Chocolate cupcakes, yum!
The week passed very quickly, that's for sure. Time flies when you're having fun, right?

Summer Memories

2010-09-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

Summer slipped away while we were in Chicago. The weather was unseasonally warm there, but we arrived home to cold rain, a sure sign that fall has arrived. We are about to put away the tables, chairs, and water feature until next year. A few flowers are still blooming and will do so till the first frost, but it will soon be time to bring in the plants that I like to overwinter in the garage. Before we left, we took a few photos, just to savor in the days ahead.

This little flower always reminds me of Mom Shaw. She called it the pin cushion flower, but it's "real" name is Scabiosa. The Gerbera daisy that she bought me years ago and has survived many winters in our garage didn't bloom this year. I was just happy that it had leaves and made it though the cold week that killed many of its companions. Maybe it'll bloom next year?

This past summer will always be the "Time of the Very Blue Hydrangeas". For some reason the hydrangeas were the bluest they've ever been. Would you believe they started out pink ten years ago? Thanks to all the pine trees, we have very acidic soil which turned them blue almost right away, but this year they outdid themselves.

We also had a few flowers on the lacecap hydrangea that's in the front yard. It would probably bloom better if it got a little more sun. But, hey, this is Seattle, right?

Even this little one, my retirement "rocket" hydrangea, finally after 3 years had flowers that gradually became more blue as the days went by.

No, this isn't in our garden. It was blooming just outside the fence at the hotel in Roseburg, Oregon, and intrigued me. Sitting close by our computer desk is a vase of dried flowers, and right among them is this same "flower" dyed red! I have no idea what it is, perhaps a type of grass that in its natural state spelled
F-A-L-L. It's here full blown which means winter isn't far behind. Time marches on, doesn't it?

Fun at the Fair

2010-09-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we "did the Puyallup" for the first time in years. In Washington-speak, that means we got up early and headed to the fair with friends in time to watch the cattle down the main drag at the beginning of the parade. Notice the two princesses pretending that it's a hot and sunny day....NOT!

It was fun to watch the different horse-drawn wagons and the bands marching down the street to the fairgrounds.

Inside we saw lots of things, including beautiful quilts and knitted items that were not supposed to be photographed. This pumpkin carver caught our eye. He is certainly prepared with different carving tools. How much do you suppose this baby weighs?

We looked at the bunnies, cats, cows, and these funny chickens. I would have named this one Elvis. It was quite comical to watch him try to drink water.

But what I enjoyed most (next to the quilts and knitting) was watching the drivers maneuver their wagons through the orange cones and then back them up without tipping over.

At the very end of the show the Shetland ponies, which looked absolutely tiny next to the Clydesdales, zipped around the ring at breakneck speed and cut some very tight corners with no mishaps whatsoever. The driver was controlling the horses with six reins, most impressive. (The announcer said that the Spanish Conquistadors rode these ponies which I found interesting.)

It was a fun and interesting day with hardly any rain!

Socks and More

2010-09-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

Socks are fun to knit, at least the first one of a pair is. I always have a hard time completing the second sock, for some reason. But, I was determined to get these done so I could start some new ones.

This pair is made from Kaffe Fasset yarn (Regia). I love his colorways in yarn and fabric too.

Socks That Rock has the best color choices~~~too many to choose from, that's for sure. This one is called Dutch Canyon and is Anne Hanson's pattern for Port Ludlow socks. The name intrigued me because that is where our daughter's former Girl Scout leader retired, and it turns out that there was a big knitting confab in that town last year.

Dick likes all cotton socks, so I thought I'd try knitting some. It was harder than I expected, and I'm not thrilled with the way they turned out, but Dick's a good sport and says he likes them.

What would a month be without a dishcloth? This yarn color is called Gumdrop. Isn't that fun? Ever since a friend told me about the "mistake rib," I've wanted to try that stitch. So I cast on 45 stitches (multiple of 4+1)and gave it a whirl. It's not square, but I like it.

That pile of knitting UFOs is getting smaller! (Never fear, there are UFO quilts and cross stitch projects waiting in the wings......)

Fall Knitting Frenzy

2010-09-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

Whenever these spiders show up, we know that fall is on its way. Actually this guy's not really as huge as this closeup makes him look, but he is large! And hasn't been seen since his photo debut; perhaps he's shy?

With the advent of the spiders, I was reminded that I had some projects to finish before we go to Chicago to see the grandkids. Besides Sophia's birthday sweater, I'd also been working on some other things that needed finishing. And finish them I did. Can you guess who gets what?

Dee had the link to this pattern on her blog. I tried to make it look like Mocha because Sophia always wants to see Mocha whenever we Skype with her.

Mocha's not too sure about this next project but it's a great one for using up odds and ends of yarn. The rings are, too. (The pattern links can be found on my Ravelry page at jatshaw.)

Yes, I've been having fun!

I also tackled some longstanding UFOs this month but will save them for another post.

The Week that Was......Wonderful!

2010-08-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

Last week was a very special week! Besides our anniversary, David started kindergarten! It's so hard to believe he's that old already.

Sophia turned three and likes the furry sweater I made for her.

And Daniel started to walk! These kids are growing up way too fast!

We also had a fun day in Anacortes and LaConner with friends who live on San Juan Island. This is their ferry, the Elwah, arriving, and we were too busy to get anymore photos.

It was a GREAT week!

Pin Cushion and Painted Buttons Giveaway

2010-08-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Gerry has a most generous Giveaway on her blog as well as a wonderful tutorial on how she makes her amazing painted buttons. Check it out; you won't be sorry!
Aren't they beautiful?

Staying Cool at Mount Rainier

2010-08-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

A week ago yesterday, the sun was shining when we got up, so we hopped in the car and drove up to Mount Rainier. Much to our surprise, that particular Sunday was a free entrance day, so we were not alone!

We decided to go to Paradise and hike up to the point on the trail where you can see several other mountains as well as Mount Rainier.

In one direction you can see Mount Adams and in another Mount Saint Helens. The latter used to have a beautiful peaked top that disappeared during the eruption in 1980.
Mt.Adams
Mt. St. Helens
Serious hikers aim to reach the summit, but that takes special training and the right gear. The little specks in the snow on this photo are actually brave souls that appear to be skiing!

The wildflowers were blooming and were beautiful. The mosquitoes and horseflies were persistent, but we had a great trip. Only after returning home did we learn that our younger daughter and husband spent the whole weekend on the mountain! Wouldn't we have been surprised to run into them?

Today's a Special Day!

2010-08-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Forty-five years ago we stood before God in the presence of family and friends and promised to love each other. We still do! Like all couples, we've had good times and not so good, weathered a few crises even, raised 3 wonderful children, welcomed 2 great sons-in-law and 3 beautiful grandchildren. Life has been very good to us. And today is our special day! I hope yours is special too.

Stitching and Knitting on the Road

2010-08-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Last week we visited two National Parks in two different states! We had a grand time exploring a bit of Oregon.

First we went to Mount Hood which was only accessible with chains when we were near there in May. (That was after spending the night in Portland and having breakfast at one of our favorite spots.) We drove to Timberline, an interesting lodge built in the thirties, and also hiked to Mirror Lake which has great views of the mountain.
View from Timberline

Mirror Lake

We were so happy to have some sunshine because every other time we've been to this area, Mount Hood has be totally hidden by clouds. It was even sunny on the trail!

Next we headed for Roseburg, determined to see Crater Lake sans snow. We stopped to see a few waterfalls on the way.

Isn't this an interesting trail? We didn't go any further......

Crater Lake is so beautiful. Can you believe that it is nearly 2000 feet deep?

Of course, no trip would be complete without a stop to look for yarn. We found the Twisted shop in the Portland area, and right next door we saw this amazing bonsai in front of a Japanese restaurant. (And yes, I got some yarn.)

Lots of knitting happened in the car while Dick was driving, but I can't share it until after Wednesday which is Sophia's birthday. In the evening I worked on the letter "V" of the Christmas Sampler. It's done except for the outlining. That was one detailed letter!

Since this post is getting awfully long, I will save our visit to Mount Rainier yesterday for another post.

Decision Portrait

2010-08-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last month I was contacted by Susan Lenz after a comment I made on Plays with Needles' blog. Susan had discovered my non-fabric related passion: adult literacy. To my surprise, she asked if I would submit a photo of me and my student so that she could create a decision portrait concerning illiteracy for her upcoming exhibit. My student was a bit reluctant at first, but then he agreed upon the assurance that his name would be kept private. Susan did a wonderful job, and hopefully this portrait will do a tiny part to spread the word that it's never too late to learn to read.

You can read more about Susan and her project on her Decision Portraits blog, or better yet, if you live in the area, visit the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, September 10-October 10, in Charleston, SC, to see her wonderful work for yourself. You can also read more about adult literacy at the ProLiteracy website.

Blooms, Butterflies, and a Bird~

2010-08-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Right at the moment, the garden is looking pretty good. This year the hydrangeas are bluer than usual for some unknown reason. (You might have already noticed them in my header.)

After almost four summers, this "retirement plant" has finally had a blossom. It's called a "rocket hyydrangea" because of the way the flowers shoot out into the air. Isn't it funny looking?

We don't have too many white flowers in our garden, but this one is kind of interesting. It's a balloon flower, and that is exactly what the buds look like. It's fun to watch.

Every summer I love to plant a blackeyed Susan vine because it has such interesting flowers. Since Dick took this photo, several other buds have opened, and the flowers are more pinkish than orange.

When I saw these butterfly rings on the Spud and Chloe blog, I got busy and made a couple for last Sunday's birthday party, interestingly for a little girl named Chloe and her brother. Now I need to get cracking and make some to take to Chicago next month!

This little red-breasted nuthatch is very shy, and wouldn't you know it? The very time he landed in a good spot, the camera focused on the screen. We'll try again. Meanwhile, I need to go deadhead a few plants. Hope your day is going well!

What's Red When It's Green?

2010-07-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Do you know this old riddle? The answer is blackberries, only right now they are very, very green! This year we appear to have a bumper crop unfortunately. Lots of people love them~me not so much. They are a real nuisance in the garden and very hard to control.

As Marguerite said on her blog, you almost need body armor to get rid of the canes. Some of those "little" buggers are nearly an inch thick! And wicked! Kids used to cut through our yard from the schoolbus stop; they don't anymore.

Bees love them. We are quite sure blackberries make up the infrastructure of our state. Little did we know when we had our backyard cleared of the cottonwood trees that blackberries were lurking beneath the soil, waiting for some sunshine. And now the battle continues. They don't die back in our winters either; they just rest until it gets warm, gathering strength for the next season's assault. It's a losing battle. Every fall the people from the neighborhood come and pick a few thankfully, but not me. I'm chicken....all those sharp thorns. No thank you. I'll stick to apple pie!

On a positive note, I do like the blackberry color and found some yarn to make another dishcloth, this time for a birthday gift. The party theme is ladybugs and thanks to Dee, I found a great pattern.

Now while I've been grousing about blackberries, the folks in my former hometown have a real reason to complain. Last Thursday they had around 7 inches of rain in a very short time, flooding the whole village. We only heard that the airport was closed for 24 hours. Yesterday's email from a friend included a link to a video that showed what happened, and Dick found another link to some photos. Perhaps you read about the floods in southern Wisconsin? Take a look; you'll be as amazed and humbled by the power of nature as I was. (I'm not sure though whether these guys used their best judgment in taking this video; however, I'm glad they did.)

Into the Woods~City Style

2010-07-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day, and we decided to find one of the trails in our Footloose Around Puget Sound book instead of spending the whole day working in our yard. We didn't find Goldilocks or Red Riding Hood, but we did find the trail from Cowan Park to Ravenna Park and marveled that we were really still in the city! In the early 2000's the city decided to "daylight" Ravenna Creek, and let it out of the sewer pipes with wonderful results.

We ambled down the service road which borders the creek and then explored the North and South Trails. We saw lots of people walking and cycling but no wildlife except for a squirrel and this wasp nest.

The woods were filled with swordferns,

tall evergreens, reaching for the sky,

and hollow trees. Believe it or not, this one still had leaves at the very top!

The trail passed under two signs of the city like this one.

On the way back to our car, we decided to try and find the "green bridge".

Success! It's no longer a thoroughfare, but rather a walking path, high above the trail.

What a nice way to spend a summer afternoon!

Twenty-five Years Later.......

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

Normally we can forget our ages, but not so this past weekend. Our older daughter's Girl Scout troop had a 25th reunion of their trip to Europe in 1985. And it was just before the event, that it hit me: the girls are now about the age we parents were then! Here they are sans cell phones and laptops, heading off for several weeks in Scandinavia and England. We did not hear from them while they were gone. No one could even imagine that now, could they?

And here they are in the same order last Saturday, approximately 25 years later. Three girls, er, young women are missing, our daughter one of them. She was here in April for her sister's wedding and couldn't make another trip now.

Can you find her in the first photo?

Oh, and by the way, all we parents agreed, only the girls have aged! ;)

Ramblings~~~~

2010-07-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

Once in a while a trek in the woods turns up something unusual. These aspen leaves are covered with what looks like insect trails, what kind, I don't know. Interestingly enough the trails were only on the topside of the leaves, but they were on lots of trees in that area. I wonder what that means for the health of the forest?

This is probably the most perfect example of a "nurse log" that we've ever seen. Occasionally a seed sprouts and grows on a dead log, and the log usually decomposes, leaving interesting results. When this stump rots, I wonder whether the tree will be able to support itself? In the meantime, lots of kids will have fun exploring its nooks and crannies.

It always amazes me that tall trees have such tiny beginnings. I love Douglas fir pinecones and the way the seeds peek out like little tails.

The perpendicular lines of the strata in this area were intriguing and so was the explanation. These rocks have been pushed up from the ocean floor! Can you even imagine? The trail here is probably around 5000 feet above sea level. Wow!

Despite our wanderings, I have finished a few small projects. I'm also working on a couple of sweaters which I hope to have done by September. We'll see.

A UFO scarf of Moonlight Mohair that had been languishing in my knitting bag.
Dishcloth
Inspired by the Fourth of July.
Dishcloth
Small but challenging..... I did not do it in the car!

Flora and Fauna in the Olympic National Park

2010-07-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Last Friday the skies were beautifully blue, so we dropped everything, hopped in the car, and went to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park near Port Angeles, WA.

As you can see, we saw lots of deer and, for the first time ever, several sets of fawns. Black-tailed deer of all sizes were strolling around everywhere, even in the parking lots!

We also saw this guy. It's not a crow on steriods; it's his relative, a raven, and if you think crows are loud, you should hear his screech.

Summer is slowly coming to our mountains, and the snow is melting. (We just heard that the snow is still deep at the lodge on Mount Rainier.)

On the trail we took up Hurricane Hill, the path was mostly clear, and flowers were blooming everywhere. This was our first time to see purple violets, creeping phlox, and stonecrop blooming in the wild.

We didn't quite make it to the top of the "hill," but as we headed down and back to the car, we had some good views of the lower part of the trail as well as the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Once again we were reminded of the diverse geography of the Evergreen State!

Flowers in the Woods

2010-07-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Tucked amongst the undergrowth in the Canadian wilderness, waiting to be discovered, were lots of wildflowers, and we enjoyed finding them. Lupine added a lovely touch to the already spectacular scenery.

We also saw bunchberry, which is a relative of dogwood, spirea, twinflower, columbine, pine-drop, paintbrush, and yellow lilies.

The roar and splashing of the waterfalls are hard to ignore, but just as lovely were these little spots of color tucked in along the paths to the falls!

Back from the Wilderness

2010-07-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

We came home late yesterday, all the way from Clearwater, B. C., too tired to stay up for the fireworks. Actually explosions and booms were going on all around us in the neighborhood which was terrifying the kitties. Our trip to Canada was great! The weather cooperated, at least on Saturday, so we could actually do a little bit of "hiking" in the Wells Grey Provencial Park where there are an abundance of beautiful waterfalls. While the nearby mountains are somewhat flattened due to being formed by volcanic eruptions under glaciers, the forested area is sliced by deep canyons and dotted with impressive waterfalls that were filled with rushing water. The sound of roaring water filled the air.

MOV00794, originally uploaded by jatshaw1941.

In addition to lots of water, we saw all sorts of wildflowers, and I will post more of their photos soon. Dick had a tough time catching this foraging butterfly but managed quite nicely, don't you think? We spent the first night of our trip in Vancouver, B.C., with the intention of visiting Granville Island on Thursday to see Kirsten Chursinoff's work at the Craft House Gallery. What we didn't expect was the volume of traffic onto the island, complicated with a Canada Day parade. So, we decided to visit the gallery on the way back home and did so yesterday. By then most of her pieces had been sold, although luckily they were still on display. We had fun admiring her work as well as that of other artists. Thanks to the folks at the gallery, we also found a yarn shop, and I came home with a skein of cotton and silk in my favorite color: red! For our return trip, we decided to cross the border at Blaine rather than Lynden, and that cost us over an hour. However, we did get to see the wonderful Peace Arch as well as a beautiful floral flag, a grand conclusion for a fun-filled getaway. I hope you enjoyed this holiday as well!

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Since we'll be heading back from a few days in British Columbia, I wanted to be sure to wish everyone a grand celebration on the Fourth. Speaking of grand, what plot do you suppose these two are hatching?

Wouldn't it be nice to sleep like this? (Thanks for the photos, J and M!)

One of our quilting friends is having a tough time at the moment as her DH is very ill, so we decided to make her a caring quilt. Here are my contributions....all with fabric from my stash. The prints were a group of precut 5" squares. We weren't given any colors except off-white for the background and no reds or pinks. Hope these are OK! The pieced heart pattern is from Your First Quilt Book or It Should Be and a good reminder what accuracy means. Accuracy is NOT my strength unfortunately, so this one is my second attempt.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Tackling Some UFOs

2010-06-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Shocking isn't it? I finally dove into my bags of UFOs and actually finished a couple of things that have been languishing for all too long.

Our quilt group makes quilts for the local Ronald McDonald House, and this one has been half finished for a while. My rationale was that it's a summer quilt....with all those beach houses. (For some reason, the black-looking border didn't photograph well. It actually has the same colored dots as in the outside squiggly border.) But, it's done now and ready to turn in.

Sometimes we use fleece on the backs of our RMD quilts which I did here. It's a fun piece but was hard to center.

Then I found this half finished dishcloth and realized it's not good to stop mid-pattern. Luckily the multicolored yarn covers up my mistake, but it's finished now, too. Hurrah!

While I've been busy, the "girls" have been diligently guarding the house. We have a cheeky little squirrel that visits often to beg for peanuts. (Our daughter calls this "kitty TV".)

Good thing there's glass in this window! Don't you wonder what they're thinking?

There's always next time, Mocha.

Summer, Where Are You?

2010-06-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our days are longer and the roses are trying to bloom, but, as you've heard already, the outside temperature still hasn't reached 75 degrees here yet this year, a fact that delights the radio hosts, judging from their constant reminders. We recently planted a new rose tree which is trying valiantly to bloom and which now has weather-related evidence in the form of "black spot".

Lest you think me a complainer, it's true we did have one nice weekend recently when we jumped in the car and headed to Bellingham. You could even see Mount Baker in the distance!

June also marks many passages, including high school graduation. Our neighbor girl, who was less than two when they moved in, is headed to the University of Montana (and blue sky country) in the fall. I think she may need this, come winter.

So here we are at the Summer Solstice. Can summer be far behind? We are tired of running the furnace and temperatures in the fifties!