OTN

On and off the needles  I am always knitting socks because they are a good go bag project and I have knit so many over the years they don’t require my undivided attention. I recently finished the shorties and have learned that if I knit 6 short rows after I finish the heel they don’t slide down into my hiking shoes. The best way to avoid blisters with the hiking shoes is still to wear 2 pairs of socks. 

I’m using the leftover yarn from my most recent sweater in the socks with the blue toes. I weighed my yarn and then weighed a  finished pair of socks  to guess how much yarn I would need. Then to dig in the box of small balls for something of similar fiber content and color that would look nice together.  —Ann—

Reading list #3

1. The Trouble with Secrets by Jean Grainger takes place in Ireland and Wales in 1950’s and early 60’s, German and Jewish immigrants, unwed mother, a love story and a mystery.
2. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict fiction but real life mystery of the disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926. Very good
3. Taste by Stanley Tucci his life through food. If you have watched Searching for Italy series about Italian cooking you will enjoy this book. Delightful 
4. When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor WW2 China children and staff of an international boarding school are relocated during Japanese occupation. Inspired by actual events.
5. West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge based on the actual events of the cross country trip of two young giraffes in 1938 from Africa to New York harbor through a hurricane then by truck to the San Diego zoo.  Feel good book very good.
6. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny murder mystery 
7. The Orphan House by Ann Bennett England 1930’s and a modern day search for birth parents
8. The Last Ship Home by Heather Webb immigration story Ellis Island 1902
9. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey for book club homesteading in Alaska in 1920’s and a folk tale about a childless couple building a girl out of snow. Fun story but hard to read about winters and snow when the air conditioner is running. It was not a mental vacation like reading a summer story in January.
10. George Washington and the Irish by Niall O’Dowd how the Irish helped Washington during the American Revolution.
11. Knitting by Ann Bartlett takes place in Australia about loss, dealing with deadlines and baggage, making yourself and others crazy with deadlines and finally dealing with the grief.
12. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny Murder mystery #3 of the series 
13. The Restoration of Celia Fairchild by Marie Bostwick  a writer from New York inherits her aunts house and yarn stash in Charleston, South Carolina a feel good book just for fun.
14. Prairie Son by Dennis M. Clausen for book club non fiction about a boy adopted in the 1920’s in Minnesota. Very good but tough to read because he was mistreated by adoptive parents.

I have spent a lot of time reading this summer……my favorite thing to do all summer — Ann—

The watercolor was done with an app.

Wonky Churn Dash

 This was so easy........it’s been together for a week........Its a Buggy Barn pattern from the book Certifiably Crazy. Stack the fabrics cut, shuffle and sew if the intersections of the churn dash don’t intersect no big deal. It sewed together fast sometimes I need an almost instant gratification project.  Add it to the stack to be basted. And we are almost halfway through summer. I wish summer would slow down. ~~Ann~~

Hand Dyed

New project on the wall.  I pulled out all my hand dyed fabrics from almost 20 years ago with thoughts of another quilt.  I sorted the brightest fat quarters for that project and I was left staring at the pile of earthier colors. After looking through a couple books this wonky churn dash by Buggy Barn was the perfect choice. Begin by stacking the fabrics and tracing the pattern on freezer paper, pressing again and cutting..... its onto the sewing.  I'm just past half done with the blocks.  Happily sewing on these hot days.  --Ann--

More quilt labels

 

More quilt labels sewn over the last couple days and the order of pushing buttons has been downloaded into my brain for the time being, I didn’t need to watch the video again. Now I need some chilly days to sit with a quilt on my lap to sew them onto the quilt.  Ann

Quilt labels

 

I’m way behind on making labels for my finished quilts mostly because I need to learn how to use the memory features of my new (last summer) sewing machine. That was part of the  class last fall but that was last fall. And I usually can’t remember what was yesterday’s wordle  word was. I watched the sewing mastery videos  then tried to touch the pad in the right order then watched the video again.  I finally got it right!  Then I made a list of all the quilts that need labels…..I made a couple more because repetition does reinforce memory… four more to sew. Ann

Sweater finish

 

A finish while hubby was off fishing and I had complete control of the remote. What did I watch? Downton Abbey again! I went to the new movie a couple weeks ago when the neighbors were jack hammering and removing their patio, I couldn’t get away from the noise. The series is as good the second time as it was the first time I watched it. I only got part way through the third season. Back to the sweater.....the pattern is Autumn Square by Hinterm Stein, I have knit the pattern before and I skipped right over the square design feature again!  The yarn is Bamboo Sock Pop, 53% bamboo, 37% cotton and 8% PBT which might be recycled plastic. The yarn felt wonderful as I knit and finished it feels like a well loved t shirt.  My swatch and the finished sweater look like two different yarns, the difference between short rows and long rounds of knitting.