Two Finishes and a MYSTERY!

I finally finished a small quilt that was started a very long time ago and quilted by a friend last summer.  It's a design by Lynette Anderson, and I learned the hard way that when you print out a pattern it's not always the correct size. That I found out after all the stitching was done, and I started putting it together.  So with a bit of pattern modification, the piecing was completed and my friend quilted it for me.  I really don't enjoy binding quilts and tend to procrastinate that detail.  Well, a certain young lady asked me to embroider something for her birthday, and, bingo!  I knew just the thing.  It's done early, no less, and I hope she will like it.

The dress for the other little August birthday girl is also finished.  I measured her yesterday, and it should fit for a while.

We spent the rest of our weekend sorting through lots of old pictures and our genealogy stuff after a short break for church and dinner out with the kids.  When we got back home, we decided to take a short walk before getting back to work.  When we left for our walk, one of our newest blooming plants looked like this:

When we got back, it looked like this:

See the empty stalks in the right corner of the photo? Even all the buds were nipped off and a few blossoms were lying on the ground.  This morning I also noticed that whatever the critter was, also sampled a few tastes of lily.  Wonder who the guilty critter was?  4-legged perhaps?  That'll teach me to brag about my crocosmia!

On the Needles and a Bit More

Here's a fun and free pattern if you have a big stash of cotton yarn. It's a pattern for a market bag, and after the somewhat fiddly first row, an easy  way to use up that yarn.  I'm about half way done.

It's mostly an easy to memorize mesh pattern which is supposed to be stretchy and has a "solid" bottom.  There's more than one of these in my future!

This week I bit the bullet and tackled a quilt block for the first time in a while. (My accuracy sure needs some work.) There were some choice words and ripping, but it's done.  The next task will be to put the other blocks together as this is a group project with fabric I brought back from Aachen, Germany, last fall. Everyone's block is different, so it should be a fun quilt.

As you may have already heard, it's been hot (by PNW standards) here lately, very dry also. Look who's claimed the fan!

And look which deceptively cute critter thinks our garden is its own private salad bar:

And last, but not least, look who would like to claim the neighbor's dog as her own:

Big brother's not so sure. Have a great weekend!  And oh, check out Patchwork Times to see what others have on their needles.

A Finish, Some Stitching, and a Couple of New WIPs!

This prayer shawl was finished last Monday and is on its way to its new home, hoping to bring comfort to someone who needs a bit of extra love right now.

Finally, this quilt is going to get its binding.  It's been so long since I've bound a quilt, I almost forgot how to do it! There are several more patiently waiting also.

There are lots of other WIPs screaming for my attention, but I couldn't resist a couple of new projects. The Knitters Brewing Co. is having a very interesting and fairly challenging, at least for me, KAL. It's a top-up (not my forte) sock in a pattern called Snow Dancer. So far I've got one snowflake done, we'll see how far I get on the rest!  (It's got beads on the cuff, too.)

Mere's been knitting lots and lots of beautiful dishcloths lately, and I found a link to this fun pattern on her blog. It's called The Almost Lost Washcloth. (Seems like there should be a story there, doesn't it?) Check out her blog, and you'll be glad you did!

Now I need to get back to the Christmas Stocking that's been misbehaving or something. At any rate, I've been making negative progress (frogging) and would really like to make two more along with some other stuff before you know when.  See ya!  And oh, don't forget to check out Patchwork Times for some more ideas. 

Ta Dah! Two Finishes!

Two finishes!

The Little House Shawl (details on Ravelry) and

the quilt block!  Yesterday was a rainy day (and my birthday) and a perfect day for stitching/knitting.  We are celebrating 2 birthdays and Father's Day today at DD#2's house. (And we went out to eat on Friday and last night!!)  Hope your weekend was fun, too.

Almost Done.......

Just seven more rows and my June Camp Loopy project will be finished except for the blocking! It's the Little House Shawl in Malabrigo's Archangel.

Our quilt group's next joint project is an applique with lots of animals.  Are you surprised that my block has cats?  Just a lot of hand embroidery and it will be finished, too.

The African violets have been blooming their hearts out for a while now; this is the only non-purple one, but it's happy, too.

One of my favorite house  plants is about done blooming, too.  Can you see why it's called the goldfish plant?

Today is Stella's 10-month birthday! Wouldn't it be great to be this flexible?

Now she's all done stretching and wishing you a happy weekend!

Check Patchwork Times to see what others have on their needles.

Off the Needles and More~~~

This week I was inspired to work on two somewhat neglected projects.  Now each one is half done.  The sock was started  for the Loopy Ewe Spring Challenge (I should know better!), using a pattern called 9 to 5.  It was supposed to be done by March 31, I think.  Oh well.  The Mitt was a January Mystery pattern and is now called Epiphany Mitts.  Now to do the other halves.  But first I am going to tackle a really long time UFO, the 2010 Advent scarf!  We'll see how that goes.

Stella  is busy "reading" and getting ready to move.

Who me?

Oh, and we found a great hangar and place for the Sunbonnet Sue quilt!

Meanwhile, outside, signs of spring appear daily.

The flowering plum and forsythia are looking  pretty good,

and this pink camellia, just outside the living room window,  is filled with buds once again. 

I'd forgotten all about this little guy.  It's a pasque flower, I think, and disappeared without a trace when summer arrived.  Don't you just love surprises like that?   Now I have to go check out what that is that's sprouting in the lower left corner, and then get back to that Advent scarf. Have a great weekend! Check out what others are knitting at Patchwork Times. You won't be sorry!

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!

On the Needles

My various sock projects have taken the backseat to life.  Several things happened that required some knitting projects for gifts, and gifts can't wait.

One of our choir members has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, so I decided to make her a Prayer Shawl using one of my favorite patterns (Easy Triangle Shawl) with Homespun yarn.  That yarn is so soft and has a wonderful selection of colors, just the thing to provide a little comfort.

Then we received notice of the arrival of our great niece Kaitlyn and the opportunity to try out a new pattern using Sublime yarn, a blend of bamboo and baby silk.  The pattern is from a book of baby patterns by Sublime.

A baby shower for a choir friend is happening Sunday, so I used some more Sublime for Saartje's booties and another favorite hat pattern called Rolled Brim Beanie with Flower.  I added a touch of bling, too!

Last week at our quilt meeting we were examining our finished group project for one of our members, who's been having some medical challenges, when much to our surprise she stopped by.  As you can see, she was delighted. 

So, there you have it, the reason my socks are languishing on my needles. I'll get back to them soon after I finish the shawl.

On and Off the Needles + Sue Update

Among the things that are on my needles this week are this scarf which is a one-row pattern using a Trendsetter yarn called Bohemia  (The beads are already on the yarn.) and

the infamous Knitters Brewing Company sock KAL.  I am a little behind thanks to our vacation trip, but I hope to have one sock finished by the end of next week.  It's a fun pattern but requires concentration! (I had to rip out most of what I did while watching the final episode of Downton Abbey. If you saw it, you'll know why!)

These booties were finished and mailed off before I posted them. If you're looking for a quick and cute baby gift I'd recommend Saartje's booties.  The pattern is on Ravelry. Mocha, at least found them quite interesting but was probably wondering how come there were only two.

Two pair of socks came off the needles, this one in Florida.  Both, however, got the finishing touches this week.  

I really found knitting the gusset on this pair very interesting as I'd never seen a pattern that did it this way before. The pattern is called "Weeping Angels" and is also on Ravelry.

Sunbonnet Sue finally got her borders yesterday.  I am going to have a quilting friend quilt her since I spent so much time on the TAST embroidery stitches. 

Now if it were only sunny instead of rainy and windy, I'd go prune the roses. I'm sure there's something else waiting though!

Knitting and Stitching ~ Off and On the Needles

Our frosty weather is gone, and the rain has returned, allowing time to finish some projects and revisit others. The April Showers sock is growing! I caught up and am ready to start Clue 3 which includes the gussets and some rain drops, as if we need any more. LOL

This week I finished two scarves, another ruffly one and a long-standing UFO. This is the second black sparkly scarf, but this time I was very disappointed in the yarn. It had a 30" piece right in the middle of the ball that was defective, all raveled and without sparkle. The end result was a shorter scarf. :-(   I was upset enough to email the company, and they nicely offered to send me a replacement ball.*

The other scarf is from a very fun Ann Norling pattern and made with Tonalita, a Trendsetter yarn. When I finished I realized that I'd added 2 stitches and that one end is a bit bigger than the other. It hasn't bugged me enough to rip....yet. But it's a good lesson to remember to check the stitch count frequently, even on a scarf!

Lastly, I'm happy to report that all of the blue embroidery lines washed out of my Sunbonnet Sew blocks, and I have half of them sashed. Yay!  Now back to work.......

*UPDATE:  My goodness!  They sent me a package with 3 balls of yarn, a tape measure, a wonderful knitting bag and several patterns for projects using that yarn.  What amazing service!