Reading list

Ahhh relaxing after Christmas...................

1. Everything You Never Told Me by Celeste Ng dysfunctional family 
2. Christmas Bells by Jennifer  Chevarini each chapter is a character sketch of a character and their part in the events before the children's Christmas concert so ther is a lot of repetition.   The chapters in between tell the story of Henry Longfellow and writing the poem Christmas Bells during the civil war.
3. The Tour: a Trip through Ireland by Jean Grainger
4. Letters of Freedom by Jean Grainger
5. Angels at the Table: a Shirley, Goodness and Mercy Christmas Story by Debbie Macomber
6. Angels at Christmas by by Debbie Macomber 
7. Shirley, Goodness and Mercy by Debbie Macomber 

Relaxing some more........................

Happy New Year   

--Ann--

In a Stable

In a manger a child is born.......................
Peace on Earth
--Ann--

Christmas

There is my Christmas tree skirt and all the leftover yarn is now in my last needlepoint Santa.  My Santas are in front of the fireplace,  below the stair rail, on the window sills in the sunroom which did not photo well, in and on the secretary and sadly a few are still in boxes.  But this is a jolly bunch.      Merry Christmas.  --Ann--

Santa finish

Another Santa to add to the collection.  I would work on him a little bit at a time until my fingers would get sore from pulling the needle through the holes, the size of the needle eye and thread makes a difference in how easily it pulls through. I forget those little details when a project is 4 years in the making.  I was also having trouble finding a spot to sit with lots of light, I even moved a lamp closer to my chair and put in a working 3 way bulb.  But the real solution to being able to see the little holes was buying a pair of 3.0 reading glasses!  What a difference those made!!!  The fur trim is turkey work and after it is trimmed it feels almost like velvet.  I did a long and short stitch with an angora yarn in the beard.  Then I took him to my sewing room to turn and stuff.  This was first time I have had movers remorse because I threw away all the bags of batting scraps, you know the little 1 or 2 inch strips from trimming a quilt that everyone else throws in the trash as they trim the quilt.  I threw all those away.  What do I stuff him with short of cutting up quiltable pieces of batting?  Aha!! old yarn! I had yarn from a couple decades ago back when I made a cross stitch Christmas tree skirt on burlap.  Wadded up yarn is perfect for stuffing and no calories.  One skein of white was exactly the right color for the cording in combination with a fuzzy novelty thread.  Thinking about painting another Santa.........maybe next year.  --Ann--

Kaleidescope

That was fun! sewing Christmasy fabric just before Christmas.  It won't be quilted until next year. --Ann--

Kaleidoscopes

I gathered up all my kaleidoscope toys for quilting and never realized how different they are from each other. The two mirrors that are taped together are a great tool for choosing fabrics for a stack and whack quilt. The angle can be changed to see how many segments in a block.   It also reveals fabrics that might be a poor choice.  My original plan was to use the bird fabric but as you can see with the large areas of spruce green background there would be some blocks that were lacking in interest and probably very few blocks with whole birds unless I fussy cut and then I would have needed a lot more yardage. So I bought the coordinating flower fabric because the motifs were closer together.
The dragon fly eyes will repeat a motif in a side by side setting or turn it a little for an on point setting but they do not reflect the design like a kaleidoscope.  The red is a child's toy with six sided facets in the lens, the dark one has high quality glass with four sided facets.  The brass spy glass has a clear marble in the other end,  it miniaturizes the designs into hexagon repeats.  They are all fun to look through.  Sometimes I'm so easily amused.  --Ann--

Design Wall Monday

It was a snowy day on Saturday and a very good day to sew.  This quilt was started 15 years ago I'm guessing.  Sewing the kaleidoscope blocks was as much fun as sewing scrap blocks because the finished block was always a surprise.  The little parts would come together and make a new design in the center of each block. A few more seams and then to fussy cut the border to showcase the birds.
There is a good 6-8 inches of snow on the ground, today is calm and cold, the every green trees look like a Christmas card.  Another great day to sew. --Ann-- linking to Judy's DWM

On the Needles

Just a couple little projects on the needles other than the super secret projects.  Another Baa-ble stocking cap (scroll down to an earlier OTN for the link to the pattern) and a pair of Lovikka mittens that I'm knitting with Lopi yarn from Iceland.  I think Lovikka mittens is a bit of a misnomer because Lovikka is a brand name for a bulky Swedish yarn typically used for knitting mittens.  The Icelandic yarn I have is too thin so I am using a double strand of yarn to bulk up the mittens. One done, I'll knit the thumbs when the second mitten is done.
This morning was dough day.  I mixed up 8 different kinds of dough in one mess then I will bake them at my leisure.  Hope you are staying warm the woolies feel so good.  --Ann-- Linking to Judy's OTN

Kaleidoscope

A very productive day in the sewing room yesterday, half the blocks sewn. I sewed one block at a time so I could keep each set of eight triangles together.  A little slower going but I was enjoying the process.  No two blocks are the same so far,  just like turning a kaleidoscope.
I remember my mother making a kaleidoscope for me when I was a little girl. I kinda remember begging for one I saw in the five and dime store and not getting it but she made one that was so much better.  She had some narrow strips of mirrors but I remember them being dark and not at all like a real mirror.  Anyway she taped these three long mirrors into a triangle then slid them into a sturdy cardboard tube that was exactly the right size because the long triangle did not rattle around, then she fastened a circle of stiff plastic inside the tube and we put some sequins and other little trinkets in and topped the end off with another piece of plastic that she scuffed up with steel wool so it was translucent.  She cut an eye hole in a piece of cardboard and taped it to the other end.  Light could get in but it was cloudy enough that I couldn't see things around the house. It was better than a store bought kaleidoscope and it kept me busy for hours,  she made another one for my brother because she knew we would fight over it.  My kids even played with it.

Every turn or tap of the kaleidoscope and the design would change. Cherished childhood memories.
--Ann--

New Project Old project

There hasn't been much going on in my sewing room lately.  The Christmas decorations are up and condensed from past years because this house is lacking in display space.  But it works and didn't take nearly as long to set a tasteful amount of decorations as it did in the past house.  Tasteful is the key word there sometimes less is more.
I need to work on something new.  This stack and whack project has experienced three moves so it is time!!  Everything was bundled together; the cut stack and whack triangles, the background fabric, sashing fabric and even fabric for the backing.  Everything except the book which is no where to be found anywhere.  I can figure this out!  How did our grandmothers quilt!?!  They didn't have all the books we do now.  The background triangle needs to be the same size as the focus fabric plus whatever that measurement is you add to cut the square into 4 so you have straight grain on the outside edge.  Its easier to put the 4 triangles into a square and measure across.  7 and 5/8. Round it up because its easier to trim than try to stretch the blocks to fit so cut 7 3/4 inch squares.  Then sew those triangles together and figure out the short strip.  It needs to be 2 1/2 inches wide and the short side needs to be 4 1/2 inches.  Perfect!!! now to sew the rest of the blocks.
I don't think I have ever made a quilt with this few fabrics which is probably why it has sat for so long.  I have a red fabric to use for sashing, the cardinal fabric will be for borders and the focus fabric for setting triangles.
Our snow is gone again, there is a cold wind blowing from the north its a good day to sew.  --Ann--

Off the needles

A couple finishes this week now all my Christmas socks are done!  And my scarf is finished, the stitch pattern was simple enough but my short term memory was struggling to remember the sequence of the stitches. I was referring to my paper for every row and any little distraction I was looking at it again and again.  Do I yarn over before or after the Knit 2 together???  The knit stitch is always in the yarn over in the even rows, the purl rows but is the purl through the back loop before or after the knit stitch?????  aaarrrghhh finally after about 20 inches I changed my thinking by moving the parenthesis I was able to knit the 4 row sequence without looking at my paper.  I started thinking of the purl through the back loop as back door,  purl side door  and knitting the yarn over became front door.  Back door, side door, front door, back door, side door, front door, back, side, front, try all the doors, back, side, front was easier to remember than ptbl, p1, k1.  Then row 3 became sneak in the back for ktbl,  2 at a time for k2tog, and jump for a yarn over.  Row 4 after the first back door stitch was go around the other way front door, side door and back door. And Row 1 sneak in the back, jump, 2 at a time and sneak in the back, jump, 2 at a time....... The scarf is finished and now I need my winter coat instead of this lightweight between seasons jacket.  Super secret projects on the needles.  --Ann--  linking to Judy's OTN

winter is here

The ground was green, the ground was white, the ground was green. The ground was white and green again. The snow flakes come sideways and then disappear, I hear something hitting the windows and then I don't.  Sometimes the snow comes without making a sound.

I finished putting this together with our first snow over a week ago.  I'm ready for some brighter colors.  --Ann--

Happy Thanksgiving

Gobble gobble --Ann--

On and Off the Needles

The wind came yesterday then rain and the snow late last night. Today my world is white with blowing snow.  I sat in my spot in the sunroom drinking my coffee and knitting and pulled all the blinds open to let in more light and to watch the snow.  The snow swirls differently in town surrounded by buildings than it does on the open prairie where it just blows with nothing to interrupt  its course.  In town the snow comes in whirlwinds when the wind hits a building and flinches back hitting the next incoming gust. The little snow twister spins until a bigger gust pushes it away.  The evergreens are flocked with white as are most of my windows.  I'm wearing my sweater from Iceland today, it feels so good.  I finished another Baa-ble stocking hat and my reading mitts so I started a scarf to match the pattern is Different Breeze.  I will knit until I run out of yarn.  Its a good day to knit.  Linking to Judy's OTN --Ann--

November Walk

Another glorious sunny day here in South Dakota,  I have met my 10,000 step goal almost everyday since the beginning of November.  There is an established neighborhood not far from my house that has sidewalks that wander through the neighborhood backyards instead of in front of the houses, in fact there are no sidewalks in front of the houses.  There are 2 places where the sidewalk goes under the street.  Its almost like walking through a park, well there is a park with a playground and a pond and lots of trees and beautifully manicured yards. The serenity of walking a path with grass on both sides and not a narrow strip of grass followed by an asphalt street.  Anyway I walked one of the paths from the other direction I hate to get in a rut and always walk the same route except in the grocery store when it saves time to go the same direction all the time until they rearrange the aisles.  Walking the other direction I saw some beautiful red roses blooming! in November!.  Another day I walked on the streets and saw some snapdragons in bloom! in November! There are a few leaves still clinging to the trees, the carpet of leaves has been raked or more accurately pulverized with a mower and bagged. The photo is from my file because I didn't take my camera along because I prefer to walk without any baggage which is also why I have no interest in taking up golf.  Walking without baggage.  --Ann--

On and Off the needles

I finished the sweater over the weekend and love the way it feels,  I may be ordering more of Mrs. Crosby's Train Case yarn.  It is always interesting how the colors pool together in a variegated skein of yarn, the yoke has subtle stripes and the sleeves have no stripes just texture then the body of the sweater has definite stripes and look how they changed when I decreased or increased for the waist.

Socks for son are coming along. I had him try them on and they fit just right.  He asked me something about the socks for his brother so I showed him those socks which have 2 x 2 ribbing because he has skinny chicken legs the 2 x 2 ribbing makes them stay up.  Then I said to oldest son that he has turkey legs, domestic turkey legs.  He laughed and laughed as he likes hunting wild turkeys. There is a huge difference between domestic and wild turkey legs, wild turkey legs hang over the edge of the roaster and have all those tendons which are as tough as bones and a bugger to separate from the meat. 

 I started the reading mitts for my new jacket, there have been a few mornings or evenings when I have gone out that mitts would have felt good.  Our sunny warm days are numbered and coming to an end.  It is always interesting how the colors change after a skein is wound into a ball and then knit, the blue that matches my jacket has melted into the purples.

The first stocking cap is finished except for the pompom. I have a couple more of these to knit before Christmas.  I'll see how much yarn is left to determine how fluffy the pompoms will be.  Happy knitting.  --Ann-- linking to Judy's OTN