Two Totally Different New Finishes and a Rainbow Wearer ~

For quite a long time now my quilt group has made Christmas stockings for the local Ronald McDonald House each year, and I have always participated.  For some reason, I also always procrastinate this project until the very last minute, even though I only make two stockings.  So this past week since the deadline for turning them in was coming up, I did my two and here they are, front and back. (My first grade teacher told Mom that I was a procrastinator, and I guess she was right!) 

Here is something I did finish in a timely fashion.  I showed DD#2 the pattern called Brooklin Vest; she liked it and bought the yarn.  It's finished, she's worn it THREE times and just sent me this photo! (She cut her head off because she said she looked too tired.) The yarn is Berroco Vintage Chunky, so it was a relatively fast project and the first time I ever knit something side to side, which kept it interesting.  And there were NO seams to sew together!

This is what the back looks like.  The color is more true in the above photo, and you can also see that it looks much better on.

Then DD#2 sent this photo yesterday which was taken last month when we were in the Midwest and I delivered the Rainbow Sweater. (DD#1 is in the middle of the back row, and my sister is on her right.)  The sweater is plenty long and should fit GD#1 for a while. I'm sorry you can't see the buttons as they were a real find: golden suns! Just perfect for a rainbow, don't you think?

Have a great week!

Two Finishes and a Get Away ~

This week has been fairly busy, but I did finish a couple more projects.  A while ago Dee found a great free pattern for some yarn in my stash!  Shocking, eh? The Interrupted Cowl is fun to knit, so fun that I ordered two more skeins of Bamboo Bloom in different colors.

In a recent email, DD#1 mentioned that Sophia would really like a nightgown.  That inspired me to find a quick pattern (Thank you, Center Diamond Fabric Shop in Cannon Beach, OR.) and crank up the sewing machine for the first time in ages.  It took 45 minutes in line locally to get the fabric cut, but the wait was worth it; next time I'll get the fabric with my patterns.

It's way too warm in the Midwest for a long nightgown, and the pattern had a shortie version complete with bloomers. Sewing is so much faster than knitting, at least for me.

Speaking of Cannon Beach, we had a great weekend there a while ago.  Both of us really enjoy walking on the beach, and the tide was especially low when we were there this time.

This was the view of Haystack Rock at high tide from our window. This was a minus tide, and we were able to walk out past the rock which we'd never been able to do before. (And yes, we are wearing jackets at the end of July !)

We saw lots of anemones but only one starfish.  I guess they were particularly hard hit by the starfish wasting disease this year.  This anemone looks hungry.

And these are all closed up because some kids couldn't resist poking at them.

Someone left this sand castle village on the beach for everyone to enjoy.

The bunny population at Tolovana has increased dramatically since we were there last fall. They seem to come out in the afternoon and entertain everyone.  Here's three of the many.

Our time at Cannon Beach flew by all to quickly. I never tire of being at the ocean at any season of the year! ( And when you're reading blogs, check out Judy's to see what's being knitted this week.) 

It's Getting Longer!

The scarf is almost twice as long as it was! With the exception of the game on this past Sunday, the Scoreboard Scarf is up to date! (Each game is separated by a grey row, the dark blue represents our score, and the green is our opponent's score. Each row = one point.) It's about time for more yarn!  I'm thinking there's way too much green, and I need to get crackin' as there's another game on Thursday and 50 rows to add before then.......

Here I am working away before the game turned "sour".  Dee asked for a photo of the cats, and you can see how excited they are by football.

Not only did I catch up on the scarf, I completed two Christmas stockings for our local Ronald McDonald house.  Each year our group makes over 80 stockings, so my contribution isn't much, but at least I do something.  Right in the middle of this project, my sewing machine started making horrible noises and quit stitching correctly.  I fiddled around with it, but it wasn't till DH watched my fiddling that it started behaving.  Guess that's what happens when you're confronted by an engineer!?

The other day when we looked out our bedroom window, we saw this wonder.  Spiders must be the ultimate lace makers!  It's more filled in now and reminds me of a lace doily.

We are going to be spending time this weekend with these two.  Don't you just love how they are concentrating?  

Hope everyone has a great week, too.  Happpy Stitching!

Snowy Surprise!

Yesterday morning, much to our surprise, we woke up to this

and this.

Then our Chicago daughter sent us this, taken of their backyard:

Now that's real snow, isn't it?  Check out the swings; I don't think anyone's going to use them anytime soon, do you?  The ice on "their lake" is said to be 22 inches thick!

Despite the snow on our hill and theirs, we made it over to our local daughter's house no problem.  Here's Dad and Max examining their neighbor's frozen Seahawks fan.  It's hard to see but there are lots of little snow people at its feet.

It fits!  She does NOT like it tied, however.  Have a warm and cozy week!

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!

Off the Needles

It's taken me a while to get organized after the holidays, and it's been fun picking up where I left off before the grand kids arrived. It's been fun picking up some long abandoned projects like this dish cloth. I really like the waffle stitch although next time I'll include a border as it looks kind of wonky without one. (Thus the close-up...)

Catherine requested a plain cream colored hat, and here it is.  The yarn is Posh by Classic Elite and a combination of silk and cashmere. It's pretty soft.

You've probably already seen Stella wearing the hat, but here are the matching mittens. I'm hoping to get booties out of the remaining yarn. One down, and one started. Stay tuned.

This is the second cowl I've made using Berocco Brio. It's so soft, has a fun sparkle, and a great selection of colors. This pattern I found online at Darn. Knit. (Anyway); it ranked as a store favorite. It sure knit up quickly!

Here's another shot of Max's play mate. If you're trying to find a specific fabric, I found the website missing fabric.com a great help.

And this is now in the mail on its way to the chilly Midwest. David turns NINE on Monday!

For those of you who may be curious about the tiny baby I wrote about earlier.  She now weighs well over 4 pounds and is wearing the hat I made. She still has ups and downs, so keep her in your thoughts, OK?

Happy Stitching!

Seahawks Sunday

Yesterday was a busy day!  We sang at two services, sorted music, visited with the grand kids, and came home and watched Downton Abbey.

Stella seems happy with her new hat, but she wouldn't hold her hands still to try on the matching mittens.

Max entertained himself for quite some time, driving cars on the play mat I made for his birthday. Long ago I made a similar one for his cousin David and found this fabric with help from a neat website called "missing fabric.com."  I posted a query there and got 2 helpful responses within 24 hours. The fabric isn't the same as what I used for David's mat, but it's perfect for Max who loves construction projects.
                                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, and Max learned to say "Hurray" every time the Seahawks made a good play.  His dad and uncle were at the game, so we kept Catherine company and listened to/watched the game. 
GO SEAHAWKS!!!

More Stitching and Knitting

Brrr!  It's unusually chilly here in this part of the Pacific Northwest, and it's dark early.  Today the sun set at 4:18 PM! However, the dark and cold makes for good stitching and knitting time.

Have you ever tried the linen stitch? It's different and not too difficult. The free pattern is Quick Slip Cowl and is made with Berroco Brio which is bulky and has a bit of sparkle.

Four of the five alpaca hats are done. Yea!  I will even have enough leftover yarn to make a scarf, I think.  Speaking of leftovers, I've made another cup holder.  That really is a quick project!

My biggest project this week, however, was this recycle task dreamed up by DD#1. She sent the jeans and pattern~~~ It's for a certain someone who loves Tinker Bell.  A quilting friend suggested making a vest from the legs.  We'll see as there are some other projects in the works first.  Boy, these days are flying by! (If you want to see what others are knitting, check out Patchwork Times.)

Oh, and last night we learned that our two group quilts each won third place ribbons, "the dogs" in traditional piecing and "the farm"  in the juvenile division! How fun is that?

My friend Becca of Patina Moon took the photos. Thanks, Becca!  Well, it's time to get back to the needles. (This will be a very busy choir weekend with a rehearsal tomorrow morning and two services  on Sunday.  If you care to tune in, it will be streamed live at 9 and 11 AM PST.)

Friday Ramblings ~~~

I just got home from a morning at the Block Party Quilters' annual show.  Becca and I went together, and we ran into a few others from my quilt group.  Pictures to follow soon. Meanwhile, here's what was on my needles a few days ago.  Since then that pair of mitts is done,  and a second pair in a different color is on its way.  The pattern, a fun and interesting one,
is Point Reyes from the Classic Elite newsletter a while ago.  The mate of the little mitten is one of what's on my needles right now. Check out Patchwork Times to see what others are knitting today.

These Christmas stockings were finished and turned in. Our group along with some others makes the needed 88 stockings each year that are filled and hung on  the door of each family's room at the local Ronald MacDonald House.

Not long ago on a foggy morning, I looked out our second story window and thought my eyes were tricking me. A very crafty and determined spider had spent who knows how long spinning its web way up high. It was only just barely attached to the string from a plant on the patio below that ran up to the second floor.  Don't you wish you could weave like that?

For those of you who've been holding their breath, wondering what Daniel and Sophia wore on Halloween. Here's the answer: (Rumor has it they wore different outfits for their school parties but no photos to prove it!)

Back when we were in Illinois a few weeks ago, Dick and I made our teaching debut in David's classroom.  I read part of a story about the Wright brothers

and Dick talked to the kids about how airplanes fly.  Everyone then had a lot of fun trying to fly their paper airplanes out in the hallway.  One plane went 34 feet!

Ginger could care less about all this.  Ah, the life of a cat!