Busy Needles!

This past week I've made a real effort to put in some stitching time, and it's paid off.  The Amish Alphabet is coming along. (And I'm realizing my eyes aren't what they used to be; either that or 18 count Aida cloth is smaller than ever!)

Sorry that it's crooked, but, I finished the letter B and its birdhouse as well as the extras on A, L, P, U, and X, and am a little more than half way done.  It's about time! 

This fun project is on the home stretch.  The yarn is Universal Cotton Batik, the color, "cotton candy".  The pattern, Elise Dress, can be found here along with a photo of the finished dress.   I am on the third ruched section which is a good thing as the recipient's birthday is getting closer every day!

Yesterday's heat (95, which is hot for us) forced this beauty to finally open, and voila! Another thing that could be called "cotton candy;" the odd thing is that the package said it would be white!?  Not too much else to report for now.  Have a great day!

Back Home and Catching Up!

We've been back home from our family reunion in CA almost a week and have just about caught up on everything that didn't get done while we were gone. We had a wonderful time, and since I wasn't allowed in the kitchen, several knitting projects were finished!!!

I'm not telling when I started these, but the pattern is Patina and the yarn is Lorna's Laces in the color Shorewood (my high school but our color was red and gray). I love the pattern so much I've already started another pair. Maybe I'll finish sooner, but don't hold your breath!

I also finished a prayer shawl for our niece, figuring she could use it as a cover-up while nursing Ben, even though it's too hot to wear it now. I also wanted her to know she was in my thoughts the whole time I was knitting it. Hopefully knowing how much people care will help ease her pain in losing little Alex.

This is one of my favorite photos from our time away.  Sophia and I had some stitching time together, using another Hoop-a-Loops kit.  She didn't  finish it, but we'll work on it again the next time we're together. She's getting quite good with the needle and has the straight stitch mastered!  If you know a child who wants to learn to embroider, check out these kits. They are great.

To see what others are knitting, check out Patchwork Times.

Serendipity Stitching

Serendipity, that's what it was!  Just before we left for Chicago and Sophia requested that I teach her how to embroider, Susan put a link on her blog to  Hoop-a-Loops ; so I ordered the Lil' Gala kit which arrived in time for me to take along. The kit included everything necessary for the project and was a perfect and simple introduction to straight stitching. Most importantly, Sophia loved doing it. She finished it before we left, and I told her I'd make her a little pillow with it. Here's the stitched apple. The pattern was marked on the fabric with the colors of thread to be used. (All the thread, a needle and hoop were included!)

Then Mom found another piece of fabric (leftover from Halloween costumes).  Sophia had caught on by then and printed her name on the cloth.  Then she chose the colors from the leftover apple thread and stitched her own name.

Here's the front side of the pillow and.....

here's the back.  I hope she likes it!

It's heading off back to Chicago very soon. BTW, I had as much fun as she did! Thanks, Susan!

Sorting though the Stash ?!

Last week I spent some time sorting though my various stashes and found a couple of projects screaming to be finished.  Who could resist? So out they came; we'll see how long it takes! (I'm not telling when these were started either!)

Speaking of stitching projects, isn't this cute?  Dee made it for me; it's a Seahawk snowman and sure made me feel better after that last game.  She sure is a good cross stitcher!

I'm working on a secret project at the moment.  Can't tell any more than that.

Guess what finally decided to open?  The orchid.  I had a 50% success rate: of 2 buds, one opened and the other shriveled up and fell off! Why? I have no idea.  I just have to be happy with the one, right?

And no post is complete with out a grand kid photo or two.

Now off to get dinner started and who knows what else?  Have a good day!

On and Off the Needles ~~~

Last week's booties have been sent off, and the socks are done and have been worn!

The pattern is 9 to 5 and the yarn is Lorna's Laces. It has the most interesting heel.

Dee has been making socks from Knitty's Spring Forward pattern, so instead of working on my Skyp sock I just had to try Spring Forward in one of my favorite yarns, STR. (Socks that Rock) And she's right, it is a pretty pattern!

This week before the weather called me outside to the garden, I did a little bit of stitching on the long neglected Veranda Views.  Just one more block and the label are left after this one.

Dick has been hard at work power-washing the back patio.  You wouldn't believe the amount of moss out there! (You can see more in the grass.) Now the whole patio is done and looks like new. We are ready for summer!

Gotta run. Today's a qulting day.  Have a good weekend! BTW, don't forget to check Patchwork Times to see what other folks are doing.

Off the Needles and Back On Again

Well, I bit the bullet and am finished with the Downton Abbey Shawlette. It looks so different from what I imagined and should be very warm as it's quite long. 

This hat is finished, too.  It's going to a friend who's having another chemo treatment tomorrow. I hope it cheers her up!

Some how this project hopped onto my needles. It's another shawlette and has a very interesting construction.  The edging is knitted first and then the rest of the 271 stitches are picked up on the edge.   We'll see how that goes, eh?

Mama Kingfisher is the star of block 7, and you'll be happy to know that block six is all done, too.  If you wish to see what other folks are knitting, tune in at Patchwork Times; you won't be sorry!  I'm off to fold laundry.

Still Stitchin"

Even though my wayward yarn arrived, I've not made a lot of progress with the Downton shawl.  It takes forever to get across a row, and I was easily distracted by some very good news. My daughter told me that little Audrey had been approved to come home! (Many thanks to those of you who prayed for her.) I think she weighs over seven pounds now, which is amazing considering how very tiny she was when she was born.

So, I ordered some bright angora yarn and made some "welcome home" booties.  Catherine picked them up this morning when she and Max paid us a visit, so Audrey will get them tomorrow.

This week I also finished two more of the Veranda Views designs.  Just three more to go! That's good because our quilt group decided on a new project, one that will take some time. Now, back to work on another row of those 400+ stitches; it's slow going.

Off the Needles and More

Whew!  I had plenty of yarn to finish booties to match Stella's hat and mittens.  There was even a fair bit left!

For the first time in quite a while I got out my sewing machine to make something new, a little hat for Stella. The kit was from the Purl Bee  and contained everything I needed including matching thread.   Sure hope it still fits her!  Ginger looks mighty interested, doesn't she?

My other finish this week is something that kept being put at the end of the list. I finally sewed the binding on Sunbonnet Sue.  Hurrah!

Close-ups in case you're interested:

Mocha doesn't need a quilt to keep warm. She just heads to the nearest vacant register.

And here's Stella wearing her Ugg booties.  They finally fit!

Countdown to Christmas Begins.......

Yikes, it's December third already!  But that is what comes after December second, isn't it? You'd think one of these years I'd get smart and start the holiday projects earlier.  Oh well, there's always the late December, early January birthdays.....   We had a nice, but quiet, Thanksgiving and enjoyed 4 days of "leisure". Sunday night  we topped off the holiday by seeing the 5th Avenue's presentation of Oliver. It was great!  A quilting friend's grandson was among the 48 kids in the cast.  Now I have to find out whether he performed that evening. (He did!)

Last night I actually picked up my embroidery and finished the fence on this block-to-be!  There are quite a few stitching projects waiting in the wings, including one which I have to redo because I messed up on cutting it for a block. Sigh.  I need to be more careful!

If you're looking for a fun and quick project, a cup holder might just fit the bill.  It's a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn also. (My pattern is over 40 stitches and from the Loopy Ewe, but you could use any stitch pattern, I think.) Now, it's time to head off to the UW hospital for an afternoon of knitting with the Antepartum ladies.  Have a great week!

A Little Stitching and a Little Knitting.

A little bit of stitching happened this week on block #3 of Verandah Views.  I haven't finished the second block yet, but I did fix one spot where I used brown instead of green.  That's a very large frog, isn't it?

Today I finished up the cucumber sweater.  Soon I'll know whether it fits.  It looks kinda iffy to me, but I have my fingers crossed!

Look who's modelling one of my summer projects!  It does fit with room to grow. Yeah!

She's eight weeks old; can you even believe it?

Stitchin' in the Rain!

Today's paper declared September 2013 the wettest ever, the recent 6.16 inches beating out the 5.95 record set in September 1978.  And guess what?  It's still raining!  Besides that, there was a tornado early yesterday (very rare here) in Pierce County and snow in the mountains!  So, what to do, but stitching and knitting? (Of course, I could do some housework. Not!)  At the moment, I am stitching on a Block of the Month started in 2009.  It's called Verandah View from Willowberry and  will eventually be a small quilt.  Block one is all stitched.

And  I've got a good start on Block two with only eight more, plus the rest of this one, to go!

From our veranda (er, patio) all you can see besides raindrops and soggy plants is our fall blooming clematis, which has finally produced some blossoms and

the strawberry-like fruit of the Korean dogwood.  The birds and squirrels usually make short work of them, but I guess they are taking shelter from the rain also.

On the knitting scene, I'm part way up the right front of the cucumber sweater and hoping to finish that soon.  It's about time though to head to the UW hospital to knit with the Antepartum patients.  Have a nice afternoon!  See ya later!

A Couple of WIPs and a Couple of Finishes.

I am still slogging away on Sothia and down to the last few rows.  It takes for ever to get across those 793 stitches, and I think my yarn is running out.  I do have a plan: either switch to a darker blue-green or go back to the beige.  What would you do?

Another recently uncovered WIP, the Brandywine shawl has jumped into the lineup.  Figuring out where I'd left off was a challenge, but the life lines sure helped! The yarn has a bit of sparkle.

This was a really long-term project!  I started it in 1971 for our second daughter and just finished it now for her daughter.  Life got in the way of my earlier plan, I guess, but it's been framed and delivered.  (For those of you old enough to remember such things, it was a kit designed for Paragon Needlecraft by Julie Nixon Eisenhower.)

This is probably one of my favorite bootie pattern, knit with a smaller needle.

Max just loves his truck.  Can you tell he's serious?

Guess who's one month old today?  Looks like she's having a happy dream, doesn't it?

We're off to see her now!  See ya!  Take a minute to visit Patchwork Times to see what others are knitting.