reading list

1. The All Girl Filling Station Reunion by Fannie Flagg again, this time for book club. I enjoyed it as much the second time.
2. Yours and Mine by Debbie Macomber
3. Make Quilts not War by Arlene Sachitano the story would be so much shorter if the  characters didn't spend so much time making tea and coffee then having a cookie. They have tea or coffee in every chapter.
4. Inferno by Dan Brown  he never disappoints
5. Dewey by Vicki Myron about a cat that lived at the library
6. David and Goliliath by Malcolm Gladwell audio non fiction
7. The Walking People by Mary Beth Keane

I'm on my way, one of these books is the setting of where I am going to spend the rest of the week.

Where did these books take place?  Some books take place in more than one setting,  two books are set in the same area and one book doesn't really have a setting.
Alabama            New York          California                 Washington state           Ireland

Florence, Italy                Spencer, Iowa       Texas        Wisconsin          Istanbul, Turkey

How do you pack your bag?  The night before? or does it take all week?
It usually takes me all week, I wash all the clothes I might want to take after I have ordered some new clothes, and checked the weather of my destination. It is good to be prepared, then I try all my garments on again and mix and match all the possible outfits, then I hang them together in the closet so I won't forget anything.  All week long I am adding or subtracting items as my fashion whims change with the weather forecast.  The day before I lay out my first days travel clothes then fold everything and make neat little stacks of like items and slide everything into zip lock bags and sit on each to get all the air out. I just hate having  airport security handling my clothes. It's amazing how much stuff one can stuff in a suitcase if there is no air between things. I clean and polish my shoes a couple days before then fill them with toiletries and other stuff that fits nicely in shoes and so my shoes aren't crushed. Then I see if I can lift my bags if not I better let some air back in.  Seizing the day and I'm off--Ann--

Design Wall

My design wall has been bare for a couple months, so many ideas swimming in my head for the next quilts, a commission quilt in pink,  need to find more pink fabrics, a queen size quilt for son with a hunting fishing theme and more shopping required for his quilt. As I look for fabrics in the stash for those quilts other ideas come to mind for a couple throw quilts.  So I pulled out these greens that were a gift from a cousin in Ireland.  Sometimes the best ideas come when I am doing something else.  The pink and green quilt still needs to be quilted but I thought the Irish greens would work beautifully in the same pattern. More Celtic Rings for Saint Paddy's Day. Linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday --Ann--

On and off the needles

Just little projects I have been working on the last couple weeks. The blue reading mitts are the last of 2 balls of opal yarn, I made 2 pairs of socks, daughter has one pair, one pair of gloves and reading mitts with just a little yarn left over. I'll toss that in with the other scraps for some stripes in mismatched socks or gloves. And I'm knitting another pair of gloves from the Blossom Street yarn.  Shouldn't every coat and jacket have either a pair of mittens or gloves in the pockets?!?

Some fun colors in this yarn to brighten the long brown/grey winter we are having here on the prairie. I'm ready to start the heel gusset. The stitch pattern is p2, k4 for 4 rows, k2,p2,k2 for 4 rows, and k4,p2 for 4 rows and repeat the sequence.  The pattern suggests a cable that is moving diagonally up the sock.  Linking to Judy's OTN its been a great winter to knit--Ann--

Playtime to finish

 My afternoon of play turned into an evening of work as I turned my machine quilting samples into covers for my mini iPad.  The flap on the first cover was bulky so I trimmed the second cover and moved the band down a little. I have a little sleeve for the stylus so I can sketch with the "paper 53" app. I have a hard case with a keypad but sometimes I don't want the extra weight when I am on the go and it is easier to read a book without the keyboard attached.  I didn't see how sloppy my bias edging was until I looked at the photos, then I stitched around it one more time so it looks better now. --Ann--

Playtime

Just an afternoon of doodling on my sewing machine. I even practiced writing my name with the needle. The color washed out on the closeups.  Another cold day on the prairie. 

Hope you are staying warm.--Ann--

On and off the needles

Sweater for oldest son is done and he loved it! there are yarns hanging because I wanted him to try it on before I wove in all the ends, so much easier to rip if there is less to unweave. Just need to knit a couple swatches so I can tell him how to care for it. So much better to shrink a 4 x 4 piece than a whole sweater.  And progress on socks one more band of color then the ribbing. Then find some new yarn from the stash for the next project. --Ann-- Linking to  Judy's OTN

Out of the Cupboard

I haven't done an out of the cupboard post for a long time. This was a quilt guild challenge to use orange and do it in miniature. The quilt is 16 inches by 13 inches, the  4 patches are 2 inches square. I have always thought a little orange in a scrap quilt is like turning on the lights and a little orange goes a long way. --Ann--