7 million stitches

Seven million…..7,000,273 stitches on my sweet 16 machine.  I bought it in January of 2013.  How many miles of thread would that be? How many spools of thread? Those would all be interesting numbers and bigger numbers than my brain can handle.  How many quilts have I quilted on it since 2013? That was a number I could find, I went through my blog and counted 135 quilts! Those are the quilts I pieced because I took pictures but I quilted a few for friends that I don’t have pictures of proof.
 By the time I finished the square in a square quilt my counter was 7,016,824 stitches.  The just swing an arc from point to point in the squares and stars.  Simple but effective free motion quilting.  —Ann—

Friendship stars

 

We got it together!  My girlfriend’s granddaughter was born early mom and baby are doing great. She went to help and stayed for a few weeks.  It didn’t take long at all to sew the triangles together then the fun of arranging them—random placement of the black prints or pair them up?  Pair them up! Mix the colors up but don’t put two of the same close together or the same blacks side by side. So many things to think about and so many ways to arrange things. We were just playing with blocks like when we were little.  I have had so much fun helping her put this together and she got more excited as each step progressed from strips to squares to 4 patches to triangles to friendship stars to blocks to a quilt top and then the borders. Tummy time will be fun time with these bright colors and black and white prints.  —Ann—

Pasque flower

 One day last week I looked through my old sketchbooks, I have a pile. This page sparked memories of the day I sketched the pasque flower. One of my PEO sisters had been out to the ranch and picked a bucket full of pasque flowers, we each took one home so I sketched it the next couple days. I think it was 2007.  Sadly so much native prairie has been tilled or over grazed that finding a pasque flower in the wild is a rare sight.  The top pic is a print I did 30 some years ago when I was doing a lot of calligraphy and trying to sell it at art/craft shows, I might have broke even on my printing costs. It is hand painted and I still have a stack of them.  We are having the same kind of weather as in 2007 I wonder where the pasque flowers are blooming. —Ann—

This stocking cap was finished in time to wear during the last snowstorm. Not that I went out during the storm. It is cozy warm with the white alpaca yarn in the brim. 

Stay warm—Ann—

Just one thing........

It was that kind of a day........a day I just needed to accomplish one thing........the blizzard warning dudded out in our area we were on the outside edge of the snowstorm, we got snow but not with the viciousness that was forecast.  I had a stomach bug but we don't need to go into any details--not polite conversation --I'm better now but certainely didn't do much for a few days other than read and knit a little then fall asleep.  Monday was a new day with fresh snow, I wasn't going anywhere so do something..........

 

This quilt has been lounging in the sewing room for more weeks than I care to admit the only thing left was the binding which was also lounging by the sewing machine.  I went downstairs to get to work before lunch and sat for a while I usually start by tidying up but my table was clear—when did that happen!?! Just one thing...... my jeans were laying there by the machine….fix those first. Then it was time for lunch. Back to the sewing room the one thing was done but I had the rest of the day…….finish the quilt…..the snow put me in a festive mood. I bought the plaid fabric for a skirt 30 some years ago. I think the quilt wears it better.—Ann—

A little knitting

Just a little knitting and coffee in my new favorite mug from darling daughter.  My little granddaughters were intrigued by the socks I was knitting for me……so the next time we went to see them I was knitting socks for their little feet. I used a cotton and bamboo yarn called Bamboo pop sock. It’s very soft and stretchy and machine wash and dry.

As usual I couldn’t get them to stand or sit together for a picture. They are very independent little girls.

—Ann—

On the needles

 Just a new stocking cap on the needles. I found the pattern Churchill Avenue at the lys by a local knitter and is available on ravelry. I’m using an alpaca yarn called Tinkerbelle named for a pretty white alpaca.  The producer names all of her yarns after the animal who grew the fleece. Alpaca yarn is soft and silky, no itchy ears under this stocking cap when it is finished. The blue and yellow yarn is by Yarn Love from Simply Sock yarn company I bought 2 skeins one for the cowl and the second because it was blue and yellow and I can never stash enough blue and yellow yarn. My math skills were not such that I could get the colors to pool on a stocking cap so I’m knitting this stocking cap and should have enough yarn for mittens too. The snow comes and goes the cold wind blows.  Ann