Dreaming of Feathers, and making do!

I brought my sock bag with me on the airplane when we went on vacation.  No one ever said a word about the (bamboo) knitting needles in my carry on bag!  As we sat on the runway, I cast on the stitches for a sock and started the ribbing.  We took off and I was still knitting- you don't have to put them away or turn them off or anything like you do the electronics!  So I got quite a lot done even on the short first leg (no pun intended) of our trip.  On the second leg, I was on the aisle and wasn't even distracted by the view out the window.  Soon it was time to start the cables in this pattern, from "Socks a la Carte 2 ".  But it was at that point that panic struck and I realized I had forgotten to pack my cable needle.   I could have continued on with the ribbing, but decided to rummage around in my bag since I had a LOT of stuff in there!




Ta-Da!  I found a paperclip!  Unbent the one end and it worked like a charm!  I'm still using the paperclip- mostly because I'm not sure where my cable needle is and I'm too lazy to look.

This is a quilt I pieced not long after beginning to use the "Scrap Therapy" system for dealing with my scraps. (in 2008 maybe?) I had cut so many scraps into the squares that when I found this pattern called  Squares in Squares, by Benita Skinner of Victoriana Quilt Designs  (although I didn't see it at her site the last time I checked), it seemed perfect! 

 I am trying to learn the "Dream Feathers" technique from the book of the same name by Peggy Holt.  (I really have no affiliation with Amazon, but when the authors have no website, it's the easiest place to get information!)





It's a pretty easy- and fun!- technique, but the artistry she has achieved will take some time!

This quilt will be donated along with some others I am working on.  I like using my scraps and helping someone who will appreciate it at the same time!

With the heat many of us are suffering this year, I thought my "Green tip" should be about beating the heat without increasing the electric bill- and the demand for energy!
The easiest way is one  I learned from my Grandmother:  Open every window you can at night and let the natural cooling over night cool your home, then close it up to keep it cool.  The first thing I do every morning is close all the windows and curtains to keep the hot air out.  It was 94 degrees today and my house only warmed up to 79.  With only the ceiling fan running, I am comfortable!  The cost savings alone is a good reason not to use AC!!  If you can manage with a room air conditioner- like I have in my bedroom- do!  You'll save  money there, too. Turn it on 15 minutes or so before bed and you have a comfortable room to sleep in.  ( my biggest issue in this kind of heat)  There are a lot of "green" ways to beat the heat , some are things to do when you do repairs.  On my wish list is a whole house fan, especially if I can get the one that runs on solar power!

I am grateful for:
Surviving that nasty summer cold!
"Boo" purrs when I pet her now.
The "garage raising" crew!
When things could have been much worse but weren't.
A cold washcloth on the back of my neck.

Works in Progress

How can it be November already?  I think I must be suffering from some kind of time warp.   The fact that we have been able to go outside in shirtsleeves this week isn't helping me keep track of the season, either!  (Not that I'm complaining)

So, aside from getting out to enjoy the weather, and buttoning up the gardens for the year- it broke my heart to put the pots away as some were still blossoming!-  I have been in the sewing room as much as I can the last couple of weeks.  I wish I had more to show for it!

 This is the big cutting table in the "studio".  I'm not sure how many projects are there in one form or another.  What you can't see is the piles of projects I have pushed off the table onto the futon.  There are two on the back of it that only need quilting.  The pretty green and red bit in the center is one my great grandmother made.  I'd love to replicate it some day!

 This is sideways.  It's a Christmas gift.  This is the latest I have ever started something to be given for Christmas.  I hate this kind of pressure. This one is going together quickly.  It's from the book "French Braid Transformation", by Jane Hardy Miller.  I was pretty upset when all the light blues landed in the same area- no matter which way I turn those strips- but now I kind of like it.  It looks like I did it that way on purpose!

This is a sneak peak for my Guild members.  We have been working on a new quilt to raffle next year during our quilt show.  I am the chair for the project this time.  I did not design this, just changed the way the colors were laid out and added the borders.  I got the pattern from McCall Quick Quilts.  One side of the pieced border is missing four colors (it was the only way to get it to come out right at the corners)  Can you find them? - sorry the picture is at an angle and makes it harder.
 We'll have this machine quilted.

 I've knitted a few more tiny snowmen to use as gifts this year. (If you get one, act surprised, ok?)  They stand about one and a half inches tall.  Each one takes about an hour.  The little scarves are actually the hard part. 

I'm working on a Kanzashi Christmas bouquet.  The extras will be used as ornaments and "bows" on presents.










My Green Tip this time is about all the leaves we have to clean up this time of year.  Raking is good exercise,  and leaf blowers use gas, creating CO2 and noise.  If you live where they collect leaves, just pile them up, don't bag them and clog up landfills.  If you live in the boonies, like me, use them to mulch around your shrubs and tender perennials, or just add them to your compost pile.   If you don't want to rake, chop them up with the lawnmower and leave them on the lawn as mulch and to enhance the soil.

I am grateful for:
A few extra days of nice weather allowing me to take walks outside!
Friends who are willing to spend time with me.
Having a little one to play in the leaves with last week.
A chance to have my say and doing it in a calm manner.
When things work the way they are supposed to- making life a little easier!

We just got here.

Carly Simon sings a song about the end of summer, saying "we just got here". That's how it feels here suddenly. Don't get me wrong- it has been a long and rather brutal summer by my standards. I don't do heat well- don't enjoy it at all. For me, anything above 80 degrees is TFH (too "Damned" hot)! But putting away the hammock the other day was a bit sad. When the rare perfect day comes long, there is nothing like laying in the hammock under a shady tree ( which I finally have at my house!) with a cold drink!







There are other signs of Fall, of course. And not all are to be dreaded. The brilliance and abundance of the colors is one of my favorite things about living in a climate with four seasons.














I'm a bit stuck on the goldenrod and aster thing, I guess. I did some more painting with them in mind. They'll look better when I cut them up, right?











It feels like the last week flew by. I know I was busy but I can't tell you what I was doing, and I certainly have little to show for it. One thing I did finish was my "discovery sock" from Cat Bordhi's book _Personal Footprints_.
It's a very interesting process. You knit a foot, based on a tracing of your own foot. It's a tube, no openings. You cut that open and knit the leg to the foot. Last thing is to close the hole in the heel- otherwise you have on hobo socks!





I'm not sure I'll get to go to the high school football game this weekend. I guess I'll have to settle for watching the Bills instead.

I'm grateful for:
Football!
A cold night for sleeping under a quilt.
A quick chat with Guy.
Peanut butter brownies with chocolate chips.
Good news for Lucas!

Inspiration everywhere

So far I am LOVING spring! I can't work in the gardens yet, because it's so muddy, but I can enjoy the early blossoms! The bees were out in force yesterday afternoon. I always amazes me that they are there for the very first blooms of the season! I got a chuckle out of the fact that some blossoms had two bees on them, and one guy was doing his best to get into a flower that hadn't even opened yet!

We are still moving from room to room as the carpet is installed. My bedroom looks like a furniture warehouse! And I am suddenly aware of what the sewing room would look like if I couldn't use the guest room as well. Hard to believe I was once satisfied with that tiny space. I should have take a picture of it to share, but I couldn't get far enough into the room to take a picture!

I have managed to get some work done in between the packing and repacking and unpacking.
Somewhere recently I read of a woman who uses her leftover bits of sock yarn to make shoelaces. I just had to try it, but since sock yarn seemed a bit fragile I got some thin nylon twine at the Hobby Lobby. I'm going to have to make another pair for my step-granddaughter now!



I also got the quilting finished on a piece I started around 5 years ago. I never quilted it because- as usual, I couldn't decide how to do it. Last spring I layered this and was planning to just hand quilt around each applique shape. I didn't end up getting started on this for a variety of reasons, so it sat for several months. Then I found Leah Day's 365 filler stitches blog. I was inspired to make this quilt a little more interesting and try to improve my skills at the same time. This is the result.
The center designs are some of the ones Leah has shared, but the borders were my own designs. My quilting will not win awards, but I like the way it turned out.
I call this piece "Raspberry Creamsicle". The colors were inspired by a piece of fabric with these colors; but I don't think that I ended up using it in the quilt.

I am grateful for:
Sunshine and time to get out to enjoy it.
The rare times I find a true rhythm while machine quilting and it just feels right.
Sharp scissors for the times it's not right.
The birds singing, especially the mockingbird who seems to live right outside the front door.
Time spent with family last weekend.