Leaf Swap Blocks

I've been working hard yesterday and today trying to finish my Maple Leaf swap blocks. I think they came out very nicely. Here's a photo of each of the 4 colors I am sending (3 different cream backgrounds). Now, the advantage of the pattern is that each and every square is guaranteed to be 3.5 inches before sewing together the final block. The gal at Quiltaholics does biannual Mystery Quilts, so has to have things very exacting. Lots of fussy work. I would normally just use an Easy Angle. Would have been done a week ago. But, I'm a team player, so just followed the instructions as given. Below the photo is a link to the pattern that we used.

http://www.quiltaholics.com/bom/maplf.htm

Speaking of Quiltaholics, she has a Mystery Quilt going on next weekend. I have to select some fabric from my stash and fill-in, if necessary, to participate. This one also uses the TriRecs tools. Last time I used them was for a Mystery Quilt 2 years ago! I rarely join Mystery Quilts, but I've liked the results of most of Deb's quilts, so once again, I'm participating. If you are interested and have nothing planned for next weekend, feel free to join us. http://www.quiltaholics.com/mystery.htm

I have one more swap to finish, and I'm caught up. I had to pull out about 5 inches of shawl. Went wrong somewhere, so hopefull can get that fixed this time around. I also need to get cracking on my socks again for the Sock A Long. Busy, busy, busy...when am I going to mow the lawn?

Here's an important reminder. Back up your digital photo files! Do it this week! Don't be the person who discovers that she has lost all her photos of her 2 year old (who is now 5). Remember, when your hard drive fails, which it will, you will either lose everything not backed up or have to pay a lot to have someone try to recover what you lost. Currently, I'm going through my files to purge that which is unworthy of data bytes. Then, I'm backing up to both a removable HD and disc since either potentially can be corrupted. I'll admit, I only back up files about once per quarter. I may have to do so more often and get more things off the computer as it takes so darn long for the Ad Aware and virus checkers to run! Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Still working on the shawl. I'm up to 137 stitches and something has gone awry. I seem to be dropping stitches somewhere and will have to pull out about 6 inches worth of knitting to figure it out. My slope became a stairstep. Not good.

Also received my order from Maggie's Crochet. Yes, another ladybug afghan!! Also bought a bunch of patterns that are just fun such as more afghans, toilet toppers and a rug. Doing a couple of rows everyday on the Winnie The Pooh afghan as well (I have added a link in the sidebar that includes the graph). Tomorrow, I have to spend a while working on my car and figuring out what projects to take for housesitting. Yes, I get to take care of the kitty herd again, but only for a week (and another week in August). At least one quilt will be quilted. I'll also be going to the Minnesota Quilt Show, held in St. Cloud, next week as well. I will likely go on Friday since there is a lecture I'd like to attend.

Disney Out-Of-Print

I've been working steadily on my sock project. I've finished the leg of one sock and hopefully will complete the other tonight.

According to the Newsletter from www.maggiescrochet.com (Maggie is my favorite crochet designer-do look at her site if you love making afghans), Disney is not renewing their contract with Leisure Arts. This means that if you want any of the Leisure Art's Disney book/booklet products, be they knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch or sewing, now is the time to get them. This includes the Mickey, Princess and Winnie The Pooh collections. Our local Hancock's and Joann's quit stocking most of the Disney books more than a year ago, so availability may be limited to online sources. I'm still debating whether to get the Pooh pillows (crocheted) book. No kids really to make them for, so I may give that a pass. I did get the Disney Princess Afghans mostly because I wanted to know how to do that lovely ruffled edging that was featured. I plan to make one of these for my cousin's daughter. Please note that the images are included in the cross-stitch Princess book (more easily available) and can be done in either Afghan Stitch or single crochet.


Example from book of afghan with ruffle.

I also purchased 50 Crocheted Afghan Borders book. My old edgings book was for thread crochet and oftentimes the patterns just didn't work for me on a large project.

Startupitis Has Stuck Again!

Yes, folks, as though I don't already have enough projects, I started a couple more!

First, I have wanted to make socks and just keep putting it off. So, I joined a SockALong for June. We are all making the same sock (see button on sidebar). Me, having lots of experience with UFOs, followed the suggestion of starting both socks at the same time. I happen to have plenty of size 2 and 3 needles for doing sweater cuffs. I've finished the ribbing on both socks and expect to work about an hour most days to complete this task.


My second new start is a MOEZ afghan using a Winnie the Pooh graph. The MOEZ hook is a large mm, long wooden afghan hook manufactured by a guy in Oklahoma. The stitch is Tunisian Stitch which results in an evenweave making it easy to do patterns from cross-stitch graphs. However, you do the graph within the afghan, not cross-stitch it after the fact. After a few bad starts, my fabric now looks like the photos. Here's part of my 10 rows prior to starting the actual graph.


Yes, I did finish something. Here are the examples of the finished swap blocks for the 1930s Churn Dash Swap. All done and ready to package up and mail. I'm still working on the Maple Leaf swap. I need to cut more fabric, but by the time I get to it, it is later in the day and my sunlight is gone.


I am also working regularly on the shawl. I'm up to 115 stitches now. Still going strong.

Buy! Buy! Buy!

Yes, with money I was going to buy new shirts with, I had to go a buy more craft stuff! So, here's some of it. Of course, I needed more afghan books. All of these flower afghans are take-a-long projects. I always need a selection, you know. I also talked myself into the little bottle poodles. I think they are so cute. Dumb. But cute. Since I have a new teapot, I felt I needed a tea cozy. I thought these cable ones were cool, so got that. Also got a Log Cabin quilting book, several roll stitch crochet hooks (for squares in my Crochet Calender) and a future RAK gift during the next sign up. I've been working hard on my swap squares and have finished one swap up. Photos later!

Quilter's Night Out

Went to my Quilters Night Out at one of my LQS. Hardly anybody came either due to the holiday or the heat. In any case, I managed to get a lot done. Nothing finished. I affixed the solid triangles to the Halloween Hexes. I don't have enough Hexes yet, so will have to cut some and sew them up before I sew all the selections together. Also finished more pyramids for the 1000 Pyramids Charm Quilt. Lots more to cut!

Finally, last night, I worked most of the evening on the first set of swap blocks for the Churn Dash Swap. I was very pleased with the final result and will work on the rest during the weekend. Cut out all the background pieces for the Leaf Swap as well. It will be too hot to do anything outside tomorrow (I'm so wimpy), so more sewing will occur!

Shawl Progress

I've been hard at work on my shawl and have the painful hand to prove it. I don't know what it is about working with large needles, but they do give me a problem. As you may know, in a triangle shawl, you start with 4 stitches and increase 1 on each row. I'm up to 108 stitches on the needles now. Pattern indicates 138, but I'm sure I'll have to go a little further than that. My goal had been June 1, but I may have to give my hand a longer break. I also stopped by Hancock's and bought what was still available for the Flying Afghan. All but one of the colors was clearanced. They may get more in the Fall, but I'm just going to mail order the rest. Happily, this project isn't dependent on a specific dye lot.

I joined several quilting swaps and have all my fabric washed and dried and ready to cut. I can't help it. I love swaps. Swaps include:

• Eye Spy 6.5 inch squares
• Churn Dash blocks in 1930s repro fabrics
• Leaf blocks on cream

Next UFO - The Shawl

I don't know if I'm a shawl person or not. They are very popular among knitters and crocheters and some of the patterns are gorgeous. So, I decided to make an inexpensive shawl and try it before tackling more difficult projects (my family members prefer sweaters). I chose a traditional triangle pattern, which is very easy. It's just knit 1, yarn over, knit across. Repeat. Simple, huh?

I had been working on this at the time of the Great Flood and during the ensuing melee to prevent loss of stuff, the remaining skeins were mixed with other stuff. During my partial reorganization, I managed to get all the parts of the project into one bag, ready to work on. I'm more than halfway done now. Here's an in-progress photo of my Shawl. I'm making this out of Homespun (very cozy) in the color Andirondack. It's a cool brown, with grey, a touch of blue and purple. Since I'm a fluffy person, of course, I'm going to be making it larger than the pattern. For a photo of the finished one provided by LionBrand, look over on the sidebar for In Progress and click on the Shawl.

Ah...the Great Flood. This happened 2 summers ago. We had a huge, huge rain and for some reason, the water didn't drain away from the house (houses settle over 25 years..gotta watch this!). Instead it came down through the basement chimney and started pouring into the basement right into my craft area. Due to quick thinking on my sister's part, I lost very little. However, it's never really been organized well since then. I am guilty of hobby stuff hoarding. Anyway, now that I'm able to get to the parts of these projects, hopefully they will get DONE, go to their proper places and the leftover yarn off to somewhere else. Oh, and the problems that created the unheard of downpour in the basement have all been resolved.

Another UFO Bites the Dust!

Yes, now that the biggie is done, I'm going right along. I had misplaced a skein of yarn and broke my Q hook. During the last reorganization, I found the missing skein and bought a new Q hook. I finished pretty quickly today. The pattern is Waterfall (crochet) by Lion Brands Yarn. I made it slightly wider and a lot longer using Homespun in Tudor (nice blends of red/blue/brown and yellow). Nice and warm and soft. This pattern is available for free at http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-watr.html?noImages=. I have previously referred to this afghan as the One Stitch Afghan, because the pattern is merely a single crochet in the back of the loop using 2 strands.

Here's the finished afghan. It's approximately 60 inches wide by 75 inches long. I know now why professional photographers show afghans draped over chairs and things. It's impossible otherwise, to keep the edges from curling in. I don't have the gift of draping fabric well, so I guess this will have to suit for now. You are probably thinking...why is it all stretched out like that? The stitch makes a soft ribbing. Hanging from a line, it stretches all out due to the weight of the yarn, but it normally has nice little folds.

I am recording Midsommer Murders for my Mom and Dad today (taking out commercials), so will likely work on the Homespun Shawl. This is another knitted project that is very simple (the traditional triangle shawl). I don't know if I like shawls, so wanted easy and warm. I have a little over a week to work hard on UFOs before the Sock-a-Long starts.

Glorious Finish To The Ladybug Afghan

I did it, I did it! I finished the Ladybug Afghan! It is so cool done. We had a dim, dark day today, so before it started to rain, my cousin's son, 7-year-old Sean was 'helping' me take a photo.

[edited to add] For a crocheted version of the ladybug, a designer copied the ladybug from my afghan and created a potholder which was included in Annie's Attic Ultimate Book of Potholders. I have permission from Family Circle to post this pattern, so as soon as I get it scanned in, it will be linked to this page.

Official Quilt Finished Photos

Today was a lovely day. Lawn all freshly mowed. Seemed like a good time to take the official completed photos of a couple of quilts, so I am sharing them with you.

First, the Bug Quilt. I made this twin sized quilt after several years of collecting bug fabrics. It was an adaptation of a baby quilt in Ursula Reikes' very first baby quilt book (no longer in print). Her methods are extremely easy. I finished the quilt December 2005. Quilting was mostly in the ditch, but I also added some freeform leaves in the inner border and meander quilting in the outer border. This block is often known as Lazy Star. I believe Ms. Reikes was the author who developed cheater corners as I've never seen a book prior to hers that had them (this one was published in late 1980s). I LOVE cheater corners!

6 inch blocks with solid red stars and inner border.

The back is pieced together from different fabrics with green in them. Yes, I know, they don't go together, but it's the back, it's my quilt, so who cares? I had a lot of older fabrics that did not go with the colors of today, which made them pretty hard to use otherwise. Using stash is always a good move! I used Hobbs Heirloom for the batting (which I use most often).

Individually, these don't go together, but I love them all.

My second finished quilt is the queen sized Diamond Scrap Quilt, which I've given to my Mom and Dad. In February 2005, I started a Scrap-A-Long at QATW (MSN Groups) just to keep going on it. When going through scraps, I almost never can do speed cutting and it took months to cut enough 3 7/8 inch squares to do the quilt. However, I did empty 2 scrap boxes. I finished the top on December 31, 2005. This is a rare quilt with the whole back the same fabric (a great deal at Mill End Textiles). I tied the quilt using Cascade 220 wool and after a wash and dry, it looks great! I used a Mountain Mist Fatt Batt, which is a thick, polyester batting. My Mom made us blankets when we were kids, so her idea of a quilt is a lot thicker than what I typically use for batting. She was very happy with this, so I made a good choice. The camera actually shows a starker contrast than the quilt actually has (your brain adjusts for it). Quilt was completed in January 2006.

Quilt made entirely of 3 7/8 inch light/dark half square triangles.

I happen to love stripes on the back of a quilt, so this one has some interesting ones. Up close, they look like idealized foxes.

[edited to add]. The instructions for the Diamond Scrap quilt can be found at Quilter's Cache. I vary from the instructions by putting a light square and a dark square together and then drawing a diagonal line on the light. Then I sew a scant 1/4 inch from the line in both directions. Then cut.
http://quilterscache.com/D_F/DepressionBlock.html

The Sun Was Out!

The sun was out, the sun was out! I mowed...and mowed...and mowed. But it is done! I also did a big section of crochet on my Summer Sling bag from last year. My Dad is going to a lot of medical appointments just now in anticipation of surgery in July. So, I have to have lots of take-a-long stuff to keep me occupied. Works very well!

Last night, during commerical breaks during 24, I managed to finish the seams linking the two halves of the Ladybug afghan together. Ok.. it's not as bad as I thought. I'm just going to add on to the 3 panels to the left and everything should work. So, not too bad. I'll work on it tomorrow.

For the Sock-a-Long, I have chosen Cascade 220 Heather in denim blue and a dark blue for the heel and toe. My gauge isn't quite right--I get 22 stitches over 4 inches instead of 24. I'll have to practice a couple of times to see if I can't tighten that stitch. I must admit that I've become somewhat sloppy in my knitting. I just need to tighten up a tad or learn to use smaller needles.

Fixing Stuff

We are still on board the Ark. I am starting to be concerned about how high that grass will grow before I can mow it. The mower and I are already at odds with each other. Tough to cut grass will not help relations.

Sometimes all you read about is the success folks are having with their projects. Don't worry. That's not what you will see in this post. It is clear that I did miscounts on the white areas. Lots of extra rows. Look at this wonderful edging that I typed about yesterday.

Ok, so my fix was to knit the additional red to even it up. Looked very nice when I finished.

Then, I discovered something when I put the 2 halves of the afghan together. Yes. They are two different lengths. It's one of those days when you just want to lay your head on a ledge and bash it with something heavy. I decided to put it away for the night.

Thankfully, I already have worked out a solution. Since it involves cutting off some length, I want to think about it after a night's sleep. Having cut knitting before, it's not that hard for me to do, but it's not something to do when you are tired. I thought for certain I would be done today (wahh, sniff, sniff). Alas.

Knit A Long Socks

Just to get me going on finishing a pair of socks, I decided to join a Sock Knit-a-Long group. The group is using the book Knit Socks by Betsy Lee McCarthy (book is shaped like a sock). What I like about these patterns is that they include instructions for women's large size. Should be fun. Bought my book and need to check my needle sizes and then select yarn. The first pattern we will be doing features Cascade 220, but I want to be sure to use a superwash wool. If you are interested in joining, the book is quite inexpensive at Amazon. Here's the link to the group: http://knitsocksalong.blogspot.com/2006/05/guidelines.html

Once more, we have boarded the Ark. Rain, rain, rain for days. I am hard at work on sewing the ladybug afghan. I made an Oops. There was an error in the instructions and instead of 26 rows above and below first and last ladybugs in a panel, I did 35 rows (as done between ladybugs). So, I have had to tease out the ribbing and add a few extra inches of knitting to the red panels. Well, these things happen. At least I was consistent so the problem is easily repairable.

Links To Interesting Items

A poster asked if I could do the ladybug afghan in crochet. Yes, but the chart needs to be converted. However, Maggies Crochet does have a crocheted ladybug afghan. I am posting a link to the page here:
http://www.maggiescrochet.com/pages
/Afghans/K273_ladybug_afghan_main.htm

I have ordered directly from Maggies Crochet twice and been very happy with my service.

There are always new knitters, so I'm taking this opportunity to point out the 5 Hour Baby Sweater. There are several versions of this pattern all adapted from the original provided by Anne Stoddard, who was given the pattern by two ladies who ran a yarn shop back in the 50s. When she posted the pattern, she asked that if you made a sweater, make a second and donate it. I donated all of mine to local hospitals.
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/kp3.html
I've made Lorraine's version a couple of times also.
http://www.minidata.co.nz/major/freepatt/patt01.htm
Includes booties, bonnet and attached hood patterns.
http://www.fibergypsy.com/patterns/5hrpatt.shtml

Since I'm posting links, here's one of my favorite quilting scrap patterns links:
http://scrapquilts.com/basket.html

Oh, and not to leave out the cross stitchers, here's a link to calculators and converters
http://www.findstitch.com/resources/
Oh, and my recommendation for very cute.
http://www.sanmanoriginals.com/free.html

Continuing Operations

I finished the weaving for the Ladybug Afghan the other day and am now sewing the panels together. There is hope I will be done in a day or two! We have a cloudy day today, so working on quilting is out, anyway.

Here Comes The Sun

We saw the sun again!! It's still there! Happy dance, happy dance. Of course, the clouds then rolled in and we are expecting thunderstorms tonight. The Crab Apple flowers finally opened today. I hope the rain isn't too heavy so we can have these flowers for awhile.

Here's Brandy, my sister's dog, who absolutely detests the rain. She was very happy to be outside today.

On the craft side, I finished the weaving on the second panel of ladybugs. Tomorrow, I plan to do the pinning of the Floral Triple Irish Chain, so not much weaving will get done.

The Ark

Yes, well, it is still raining, just like the weatherpeople said. We are still afloat. So, we'll continue our Ark theme, at least until we are underwater, anyway. First, here's the cute cross-stitch pattern I bought last year in Texas. This is the Ark, Texas style. It includes tortoises, hares, armadillos, coyotes, roadrunners and some bird I don't know. Complete with Noah in a cowboy hat!


Here's something appropriate from my craft library: Ark Animals! I bought this book for $1 last year. These toys are so cute and the lucky individuals who will be getting them are children getting surgery at our local hospital. They often give toys to tots during pre-op to distract them. Later, they take them home. This was originally an Australian book, republished in CA. If you didn't already know about the book, I'm sorry to torment you. It's no longer available.


Here are a bunch of the toys that will be made. What's nice is that they all start off as squares or rectangles. Includes such unusual items as a kangaroo, mermaid, polar bear and camel and Humpty Dumpty . I may have to adapt something to make a cow.

It's Raining, It's Raining

Ok, this is day 3 of the Rain. We are still afloat. This has mostly been a good, steady, soaking rain. I found my Ark Quilt pattern. I think I will sift through my fabric to find some pieces to applique. It could be my rain project for the Summer? Yes, don't make fun of me. I suffer from Startupitus. The problem is that when it is raining, I can't work on the sewing machine. Just not enough light with the current setup.

Today, I spent a lot of time working on weaving in ends on the Ladybug panels. I can almost finish a panel during one DVD disc of X-files. Currently on the 2nd panel. By doing this by intarsia, instead of carrying all the yarn, little fingers and toes (and kitty toes) are less likely to get caught up in yarn.


Here is the back before weaving. Looks like a mess doesn't it?


Here it is after weaving. Much neater.

Little Flower Centers

We are raining, raining, raining. It's Saturday and I heard that it is going to rain through Wednesday. I'm tempted to start one of my Ark projects (I have quilting and a cross-stitch Ark projects). In the meantime, I have finished the centers of the flowers for the main motifs for my Mom's Rose Afghan. Ta Da!! I was going to stop and buy the white yarn that surrounds these, but the parking lot was PACKED. I am also steadily working on sewing in the ends on the Ladybug project.

4 Things I Did Do

4 jobs I’ve had in my life:
Cashier
Customer Service Clerk
Wire Operator (entered stock, bond and
commodity orders)
Technical Writer

4 movies I can watch over and over:
Godzilla (the one with Matthew Broderick)
Die Hard
Armageddon
Men In Black

4 TV shows I love to watch:
24
Midsommer Murders
Extreme Cowboy Race (on RFD channel)
Food Unwrapped (Food TV)

4 places I have lived:
Massachusetts (semi-rural)
Boston
Minneapolis
several Minneapolis 'burbs

4 places I have been on holiday:
West Texas
Hawaii
Maine
London

4 of my favorite dishes:
Chicken Caccatore
Steak with fries
Omellette
Homemade submarine (hero) sandwich

4 websites I visit daily:
www.about.com
www.knittersreview.com
http://quiltville.com/
www.crochetville.org (on hiatus, temporary I hope!)

4 places I would rather be right now:
Texas: at least until it gets hot.
Fishing (anywhere)
My own home
In a needlework shop (with a pristine credit card)

4 bloggers whose blogs I visit frequently:
http://yarntomato.com/blog/ (crochet)
http://thecrochetdude.blogspot.com/
http://www.doodle-head.com/blog/
http://www.nowherethoughts.net/sarpysam/ (I skip the politics, love the photos)

Sister's Choice Blocks

Yesterday and today has found me mostly working on Sister's Choice blocks. I'm rapidly running out of some scrap selections (dark green for the stars, for instance). I am not planning on a border and will be tying this. I want it thick like a comforter, so will have to research where to get thick batting by the yard. The little squares feature a lot of little novelty items, so it makes the quilt interesting.

I babysat on Friday. Yes, me!? Let me introduce you to 11 month old Samantha, the daughter of my cousin Steve and his girlfriend Kayla. Kayla has been a work-at-home Mom since Samantha was born, but now her company is requiring her to come in a couple of days a week for a few hours. So, I'm one of the babysitters and it's a blast. Samantha is so interested in everything. She is cruising and just started to occasionally try to stand without holding onto something. I can tell already that she is a future needleworker. Look at her interest in yarn already! Yes, she was within arms reach while she had this yarn. Note to others: If buying baby clothing, skip the stuff with short ties. I think I tied it into a bow 12 times over 3 hours. Strings are just way too fascinating.

To occupy her with something else when I was ready to remove the yarn skein, Samantha chose to demonstrate the completed flowers for my Mom's Rose afghan. These are baby approved.


Another helpful crafter was the kitty (Not sure of his name, I think it's Hedges). He is a very friendly cat which made taking photos mighty difficult. Look his way and he runs over for attention. He thought yarn was fun as well. He is a dark smoke color, not black.

Ladybugs Are Knitted!

This deserves a special entry all of its own. I finished knitting the last ladybug panel for the Ladybug Afghan last night. I also finished Season 3 of X-files. Now, of course, it will take most of Season 4 to do the finishing (weaving in ends, sewing), but the major part is now complete.

Quilts, Quilts and Quilts

It's a beautiful, but very windy day here in the Minneapolis 'burbs. I've been able to get a lot of things finished very recently. Must be all this nice sunny, wonderful temperature weather! In knitting, I finished Ladybug 17, so only one more to go! I'm still on Season 3 of X-files. Don't worry though. The finishing is going to take at least 2 DVDs of X-files.

Today you get some photos! I finished the very dreaded Pumpkin kit top last night. The result is actually pretty nice. I think I put the eyes a little too close together on the upper right pumpkin, but all-in-all, I think the kit was worth it despite the many misnumbered pieces. Quilting it is still ahead!


Here it is! The March Thimbleberries Club BOM block. Whew, I'm just keeping up. I plan to stitch the center on these, but just haven't got to it. So far, this was the easiest block to do!


Oh, yes, and the flying quilt! Here it is! The Floral Triple Irish Chain quilt is already complete, only one day after my swap blocks arrived! My quilting plan is to do random leaves in the floral area and then a stylized flower in the center. Likely to hand quilt that flower. This is approximately 75 x 89 inches.

Happy Tax Day!

Yes, if you are still working on your taxes, you are welcome to groan, but for everybody else who didn't procrastinate, CONGRATULATIONS! You are DONE!

I've been working on a lot of smallish projects the past couple of weeks. Finished March Thimbleberries BOM. Worked on Sister's Choice blocks. Have nearly finished another ladybug (we had a hiatus on X-files for a couple of weeks). Working on CrochetGuy's 2nd block (first one wasn't square, so I'm redoing it). Glenda reports that all the swap blocks have now been mailed out, so I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Triple Irish Chain blocks! In between all this, I decided to eliminate most of my stamping hobby, so have been monitoring that on Ebay (seller id: StephMN). I love scrapbooking and I like using stamps for scrapbooking. I don't use them for cards, so they just don't get enough use to justify the space. OH, and I'm working on a dreaded kit with Halloween Pumpkins. Now that I have all the pieces cut out, I guess it wasn't too bad. It was a Quilt By Numbers wall quilt and all these little pieces really intimidated me. But, I used some speed cutting techniques and that part is done. Today, I'll try to make some pumpkins!

When I'm working on quilting projects, I like to listen to books on tape. My latest author was one recommended by the library. He is Max Brand. He wrote Western Mysteries back in the 1920s and 30s. The one I just finished is Timbal Gulch Trail. Great blend of humor with western culture. First western I've 'read' since the 90s (my grandmother was a fan of Louis L'Amour and had all his books). Some of the books on tape require a player with balance control. Since I don't listen to tapes in the car, I'm getting a Bookcassette Adapter for about $5. Good investment for getting unabridged reading! For regular reading, I've been reading Lazy B by Sandra Day O'Connor and Alan O'connor. This book really gives a great flavor of growing up on a cattle ranch in the early half of the 20th century. Well worth the read!

Factoid: program my parents were watching this morning reported that carrots really don't improve your eyesight. During WW2, to hide the fact that radar existed, the Brits reported that pilots were eating carrots which allowed them to see much better. Who'd of thought? They were also the ones who came up with the fake air squadron. Things that make you go hmmmm...

Swap Central Still

I have continued to work on Triple Irish Chain Flower blocks. Nine have been sent off for the swap, so I'm trying to finish the rest. This block features many of the 2.5 inch strips that I swapped in the March String Swap. The more flowers, the better the final result.

Block 1: 2.5 inch squares make a 14 inch block. Note placement of white. This can be strip pieced.
As mentioned before, the Triple Irish Chain features only 2 blocks when doing it scrappy. I did one of the 2nd block. The remainder will be strip pieced, but I just wanted to be certain I had my dimensions correct. I have enough white fabric to finish the piecing. Not sure if there's enough for the border that I'm planning. A sensible person would cut the border first, but since I need the white for another project, I'll just hold off. I have to decide if I want to feature some really nice quilting in the center or add some appliques. Still up in the air about that.

Block 2: Also using 2.5 inch squares. white 10.5 inch center with 6.5 inch strips on side.

Crochet Calender Afghan Begins

I have this years Crochet Calender from Accord Publishing and decided to do CrochetDude's Flying Afghan. Various blocks are featured throughout the remainder of the year. The afghan uses Lion Chunky yarn, which I found rather nice to crochet. Fortunately, this project is periodical and completed on December 29th, so I can still keep my goal of finishing all my knitting and crocheting projects before the end of the year.

Flying Afghan

I made the very first block. However, my block came out at 6 3/4 instead of 6 1/2. Given that the center seems to want to pop up a bit, I might redo it and use 2 different size hooks to get that gauge. Otherwise, a 1/4 inch difference doesn't make a lot of difference since the blocks are connected with a sashing anyway. This block features an easy to do double puff stitch. What wasn't easy to do was figuring out how to space the stitches with the stitch count from the previous round. I adapted.


I am currently working the 16th ladybug on the Ladybug afghan! Progress, progress. I ran out of white Red Heart, bought another and discovered that the new stuff has a sheen the original yarn didn't have. Darn it. I'm just going to keep using it, however. Nobody but me will ever notice it. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to doing the next batch of blocks for the Triple Irish Chain swap (I wanted to send 9 and I have 6 done).

Here are links for the Pattern A Day calenders which include pattern corrections.
Crochet Pattern A Day Calender: http://accordpublishing.com/crochet/crochet.htm
Knitting Pattern A Day Calender: http://accordpublishing.com/knitting/knitting.htm

Triple Irish Chain Swap

It's really grey and dreary out there today, but inside, I've been accomplishing plenty of knitting and quilting too! In knitting, I've finished my 14th Ladybug! Only 4 more to go!

I LOVE swaps, but hadn't participated as often as I would like. I already finished my 2.5 inch floral strip swap (just waiting for them to arrive). My latest is a Triple Irish Chain in Florals swap where I'll be using all those strips. Here is what the finished quilt looks like. This quilt top can actually be finished in two weekends.

With random florals, you don't actually need a pattern. You can calculate everything out from the diagram itself. We are using 2.5 inch strips, so the resultant blocks are 14 inches finished. These rows are strip pieced then cut into 2.5 inch strips.

Here's my finished block! They go together very quickly once the strips are done and the correct width! My seam ripper and I are very good friends.

The result is very Springlike. As soon as my 2.5 inch floral strips swap arrives, I plan to finish the blocks that aren't being swapped and plan my quilting.

Springing Into Ladybugs

It's Spring! It's Spring! We still have 6 inches of snow on the ground, but not for long! Although I haven't posted much this month, I have been accomplishing. I have finished another panel of ladybugs and have just started my 14th ladybug on the final panel. Here are the finished rolls. It's going to take a long time to sew this up, so I'll buy a new CD to listen to (something country/beeboppy) while I do all that tedious sewing.


In addition, I've been doing a little quilting. Here's Month 2 of this year's Thimbleberries BOM project. I had to wait until my March meeting because one of my fabrics was wrong in the kit. I'll try to get March done this week.


On a concerning note, my Uncle had cancer surgery yesterday (colon cancer). He came through it well, so perhaps I will see him on Saturday. My Aunt says that the doc is pretty confident that they got all of it, so other treatment may not be required. Cancer is very uncommon on any side of my parent's families. In fact, only one case in all of the 20th century that was actually a blood relative. My Uncle's cancer was discovered during a routine colon screening, so folks, this is just a reminder that even if you don't have it in your family, screenings are important (he is just shy of 63).

Goodbye Kirby

I'm still saddened by the sudden death of my favorite baseball player, Kirby Puckett. I didn't regularly go to baseball games until after Kirby couldn't play anymore, but I did see him play once. My Dad was at the Dome the day Kirby hit his very first Grand Slam. So, goodbye Kirby. We'll miss you.

On the knitting front, I have now finished 10 ladybugs on the Ladybug Afghan. Another 8 to go. Tomorrow, I'll be crocheting lots of those little flowers for my Mom's Rose Afghan. I'm was hoping to get to a little quilting on Saturday, but I guess that will be waiting until Monday. Ah well.