On the needles

A little bit of blue sky peeked through the clouds yesterday as I came out of the eye doctors office with extra dark glasses on and I couldn't enjoy the moment.  After so many grey days I expected to hear the alleluia chorus with the blue sky.  There's more blue sky today hallelujah!  but that means its going to get cold again.  Its winter in South Dakota its supposed to be that way and it does no good to whine or complain.  Its good weather to knit!
It looks like a need a knitting intervention with all I have knit in the last couple weeks.  I knit a couple more pair of the duffers slipper pattern  I love that pattern but I need to remember to bind off really loose or the cuff can be too tight after it is felted.  The other pair are Monique Rae's slipper pattern for guys.  Only a couple more inches and the socks will be done in plenty of time for son's birthday and four fingers and thumbs left on the gloves.  Linking to Judy's OTN staying warm in hand knits. --Ann--

TaDaDone

Double nine patch done!  We haven't seen blue sky here for over a week and didn't get much snow.   Its good to have indoor hobbies on gray and windy days.  --Ann--

auditioning binding

 I have four possibilities for binding on this quilt, turn the camera to make the fabric narrow like binding and turn it again.  My first impulse was the upper left brown with the tiny pink flowers but looking at it in the photos I like the large floral on the lower left right below my first choice.
The weather has turned to ish here the sky is foggy grayish and the snow is slushy as it melts and recedes revealing squishy brownish greenish grass.  It feels like March here with the dirty tired looking snow.
Saturday darling daughter and I were sitting in the sun room when the family next door came out with their little boy to build a snow man.  I don't think the man grew up with snow because he was having a terrible time getting a snowball started.  The mom knew exactly what to do and was making her second big snow ball before he had anything stuck together. She was lifting it to carry it over to the first snowball, daughter and I were saying the second was bigger than the first so they should put the first snowball on top of the second anyway he took the snowball and plopped it on the first pretty much smashing the base but he patted and sculpted until it looked like snowman body as she rolled the head.  He wanted to do the honors and place the head but she turned as if to say remember how you put the first two together.  The little boy was just making tracks in the snow.  Then they picked up a box with a carrot and coal or black rocks and a hat. I suppose if all you ever buy is ready to eat petite carrots you wouldn't have a long carrot in your refrigerator fit for a snowman nose.  Daughter and I looked at each other a snowman kit!??! It even had little short sticks for arms that fit in the box and looked ridiculous so she broke some branches off the maple tree for arms. Then they took some pictures but missed the best shot because they were trying to get snow out of the patio door, their little boy bending over looking the snowman straight in his coal black eyes.  It was adorable.  Missing the days of making snowmen with my kids......they grew up and left home.  --Ann--

quilt basting and power sewing

I basted two quilts over the weekend.  The first challenge was to find the four old kitchen chairs that I set the quilt frame on.  Two were in the guest bedroom and one in the closet but where was the 4th????  I looked in every room of the house twice and no chair.  So I made the rounds again there it was in plain site in the family room downstairs with the fan positioned to hit the elliptical.  I use it everyday well I did take a week off because I had a cold and just didn't have the energy.  I finally found the obvious.  After putting away all the chairs and frame parts it was on to power sewing.  It is warming up here temps in the upper 20's and 30's  I'll have to go for a walk outside today.  --Ann--

On the Needles

More socks on the needles imagine that! The grey socks are for son with a birthday in February.  The red, yellow and grey are for no particular reason except to try a slip stitch pattern that would be much more interesting on a narrower stripe.  I did a slip stitch heel not knowing how the stripes would change when I was knitting in the round again, I got little black dots! The left sock had one row of black before the yellow and the right sock had 2 rows of black.  Belated reveal of secret Christmas knitting...........

 The gloves are locally grown and spun Alpaca yarn, I'm going to be getting more of that yarn they felt like a dream.  The mittens are alafosslopi yarn and I used a double strand because it was not as bulky as the Swedish Lovikka yarn.

And sweater for darling husband,  always the goof in front of the camera,  I got the deer in the headlights look instead of the turning his head or if we had been outside the slipping his cap down look.  It wasn't finished before Christmas but I put it in a box and wrapped it anyway.  The kids gave him a hard time about knitting it himself.  He has worn it everyday since I finished it and we are not disagreeing  about the setting of the thermostat.

There are snowflakes in the air again.  The weekend forecast is perfect for hunkering down to knit a little, quilt a little and read a little or a lot.  Everyday is a snow day here on the prairie --Ann---
 Linking to Judy's OTN

snow day

I sat in the sunroom with my coffee and felt warm and cozy as the snow blew around me.  The swirls of snow came up the steps of the deck then danced a litttle until she got tangled in her train of snow and fell, sometimes she would start on the deck and pirouette across then descend the stairs to vanish as quickly as she came. And then far too quickly my coffe cup was empty so I vanished to my sewing room.  --Ann--

Design Wall 9 patches

After all that relaxing.......... a couple days of putting the pedal to the metal for some power sewing.  Piles of 9 patches, more 9 patches than I need but then I don't think there can ever really be too many 9 patches there are so many fun ways to arrange 9 patches.  Then there are double 9 patches and 9 patches with sashing.  Back to the sewing room for more power sewing, the gentle roar of my machine is so relaxing until I get a cramp in my foot.  --Ann--  Linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday