on and off the needles

 On the needles and fresh snow! Is there anything better than knitting and watching the snow come down? This is a spool of matching striping yarn, the lady in the store said to separate the yarn and wind it into two balls. I started to wind balls and decided it had the potential to become a tremendous tangle so I inserted long knitting needles for an axle and it sits a little wonky on my basket as it unrolls as I knit.

 Snowblower mitts for hubby dearest. They were about 16 inches long before felting finished they are 12 1/2 inches long. This last snow was not heavy enough to require the snowblower. Maybe next week.

 Sport weight yarn for boot socks on 2.75mm needles. If I'm going to knit on a solid I'm going to learn a pattern, this one is from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. I missed a couple yarn overs so I slid the left sock onto another cable while I unknit and then I will re knit to the same point on the repeat then I'll get both socks back on the same cable.

 Son was pleased with felted slippers, they were 18 inches long before felting. I shrank them down to 12 inches in length. I did not trace around them each time through the wash. And I neglected to take a picture of the finished slippers. They are at his house where they belong now. He thought the toes were too pointy so I turned them inside out and sewed a seam and cut the end off. They fit much better now and he doesn't look like an over sized elf.
I foolishly left my first pair of hand knit socks in the heavy duty cycle while felting these. The socks still fit but are anklets instead of crew length so everyone who got hand knit or smart wool socks for Christmas also got a lingerie bag for socks in their Christmas sock.   link to Judy's  on the needles






  Glory to God in the highest heaven, 
Who unto man His Son hath given; 
While angels sing with tender mirth, 
A glad new year to all the earth. --Martin Luther  
Happy New Year and Happy New Projects  --Ann--

 

Merry Christmas

Christmas Blessings to all  --Ann--

On the needles

On and off the needles. I started the grey socks last Friday afternoon and placed a marker everyday to see my progress. Knitting on solids is so boring. Last Friday the brown socks were to the last couple rows of binding even though the photo last Friday was just past the heel. Socks for hubby and son will be done for Christmas. Yippee!!! then on to stripes.
I thought the 12 pairs of socks in a year was an absolutely crazy goal but I made my first pair in September and this is my fourth in December  so I am on target and considering it was May when I picked up the needles for the first time in decades.

I showed second son a pair of mittens I felted but they are for another post and these slippers with the red trim I had just finished. (first pair click) He said my four favorite words "I would wear those" fortunately I had yarn so I knit him a pair and threw them in the washer yesterday. They look a bit okay a whole lot like muppet feet, they were over 17 inches long before felting, so 5 or 6 more times through the wash and they should be wearable. I drew around the prefelted slipper to measure how much they shrink and after 2 times in the wash they are about 2 1/2 inches shorter. I should have used a fatter marker to draw around them so you could see how much they have shrunk. Take a peek at Judy's on the needles.  Happily knitting and watching Christmas movies.--Ann--

Yesterday when I stayed home all day it turned into dough day I mixed up 9 different kinds of cookies, mostly half recipes. I used 3 pounds of butter now I can bake at my leisure. College girl comes home today so she can help me bake. --Ann--

I get to stay home today! I spent a delightful day shopping in Sioux Falls, lunch with a girlfriend from high school and we haven't changed a bit we are both still fabulous and neither one of us is lying. Then Christmas shopping and still time to check out the new larger Bernina sewing machine but it won't fit in my sewing table so I looked at the Sweet 16 table machine which suits my needs best so a little more research before I buy one. I also spent two days substitute teaching at the Hutterite colony which  is just  like going back to country school for me. They played Thumbs Up Seven Up and one little boy tapped his friend then squatted down to see if he was peeking, I couldn't help but laugh. Then a little girl told the other teacher she was a witch because she was wearing her witch shoes--black shoes with a good heel and a nice click when she walked.  My quilt friends came over one day last week, it was marvelous to catch up with each other. I served warm gingerbread: 1/2 c. butter, 1/2 c. sugar cream together add 1 large egg and 1/2 c. light molasses beat some more, sift together 1 1/2 c. flour, 3/4 t. salt, 3/4 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. ginger, 1/2 t. cinnamon add alternately  with 1/2 c. boiling water, beat after each addition. Bake in a 8x8 pan 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. I used a nine inch quiche pan. I served with whipped cream and a peppermint square. Then we reminisced about our mother's and grandmother's lemon sauce and  buttered rum sauce on gingerbread. What's your favorite topping for gingerbread?  ~~Ann~~

On the needles

My first slip stitched heel

 I was sitting at the table a couple days after Thanksgiving picking up stitches because the heel of the striped socks was off center, why don't patterns say place a marker x number of stitches from each side?!? I have trouble counting  oldest son asked what I was doing so I showed him the socks I was knitting for his Dad and he said "I would wear those" my four favorite words!! I told him they were wool and could be washed in the machine but need to dry flat, he said he already does that with his smartwool socks. He is a smart boy! so 5 minutes after he left I was on the internet ordering more yarn for socks just for him. Happy knitting--Ann-- check out all the wonderful knitting projects at Judy's.  P.S. its snowing here!!!!

Getting ready

 I pulled out all the Christmas quilts then I wasn't in the mood to deck the walls and halls and beds. We haven't celebrated the first Sunday of Advent yet, which is all about getting ready. So instead..... savor my coffee,  write my do list, mark things off last weeks list, read The Lost Symbol,  knit a few rows, look through my file of Santas, gather paints, look for scroll frame, tidy up work space in sewing room so I can paint, find scroll frame, get out box of finished Santas, look through file again, heat up lunch, knit a few more rows, look for a shiny paper plate to use for a palate, get out light box, find light, plug in light, begin painting, squeeze more paint on palate, time for coffee, finish painting, get out box of yarn, pick colors, wait for paint to dry. Tomorrow I stitch.--Ann--

precarious

Son with the wind towers invited us out to his little world on top of the hills to see the crew repairing the blades. They dropped cables down from the top then the lift went up the center cable, when they were as high as the blade the pickup on the ground pulled the lift to the blade so the guys could do the repairs. The tip of the blade is about 20 feet from the tower.  Damage to the blades was caused by lightening strikes. Thankfully son only goes up the tower on the inside.  --Ann--

pre car i ous  1. dependent on circumstances beyond one's control: uncertain 2. dangerous because insecure or unsteady.

Winter Trees

 Winter trees are finished! I fused the trees to the background then sewed around each tree with the buttonhole stitch on my sewing machine. I practiced drawing snowflakes without lifting my pencil then I practiced a few free motion with my machine on scrap fabric. I also tried a couple different threads, I decided on a silver metallic (coats and clark)  that I'm sure is 20 years old. I just stitched vertical rows with snowflakes they are far from perfect or being symmetrical only God can make a perfect snowflake. As I was stitching I came up with variations to my basic snowflakes by connecting points with peaks and valleys and curves. It is always so pretty and peaceful when the snow comes down vertically. Here it usually comes at a slant or horizontally and none in the forecast.
Linking up to off the wall Friday Nina Marie, thank you for inviting me. ~~Ann~~

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle

listed on etsy

The colors of this quilt make me think of a rich decadent dessert with chocolate and raspberries. I used Darlene Zimmerman's 30 degree angle triangle to cut these blocks traditionally called Tippee canoe or hummingbird. Darlene's ruler makes it so easy.
the inspirations click color  click   click pattern  the beginning click DWM    By turning the sharp points out with every other pair it created the twister shape in the negative space. I free motion machine quilted it by swing an arc from point to point using a pink and brown thread.
00 calorie Enjoy!! --Ann--

small wonders and reading

 Small miracle these flowers were blooming up until Saturday when we got rain then snow and much colder temps.  The hardiness of violas always amazed me. These took root in the rocks next to the house, they got the morning sun and were just around the corner from the northwest wind.

1. Leaving Home 3 short stories by Jodi Picoult
2. To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Key
3. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosney   book club  WW2 story of how Jews in France were treated
4. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself  by Harriet Ann Jacobs
5. This Child Will be Great by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf   book club  non fiction about the first woman president of Liberia. I found it interesting because my son was in the Navy and his ship was diverted to the coast of Liberia to evacuate Americans if the change of power did not go smoothly.
6. This Matter of Marriage by Debbie Macomber
7. Ape House by Sara Gruen also wrote Water for Elephants
8. Zeitoun  by Dave Eggers  book club  hurricane Katrina story
9. True Irish Ghost Stories by St. John D. Seymour
10. Ready for Romance by Debbie Macomber
11. What the Dormouse Said  Lessons for Grown-ups from Children's Books by Amy Gash
12. Call for the Dead  by John LeCarre'
13. Snow Falling on Cedars  by Dave Guterson  book club
14. The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
15. The Wilder Life  My adventure in the lost world of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure The author visits all the places Laura lived and tries making many of the foods Laura described.  I have been to 3 of the sites so I enjoyed her impressions of the DeSmet area and Walnut Grove.
16. The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak
17. The Personal History of Rachel DuPree  by Ann Weisgarber  book club about a black couple who homesteaded in the Badlands of South Dakota
18. starting a new list--Ann--

Design wall Monday

 I'm working on a small quilt to hang in my kitchen window. A ready built house has been moved in beside me, so now I see a house with windows. I will be making lots of quilts to hang in my window. This will go up right after  click Thom Turkey comes down.

I used to see an alfalfa field and grain bins, not that it was a fabulous view but it was a view and I frequently saw pheasants strutting by and  I could always gauge the snowfall by the grain bins. If they disappeared I should stay home and quilt. The view at Patchworktimes is fabulous!  Enjoy! --Ann--

On the Needles

 Mittens for daughter are almost done I plan to get them in the mail tomorrow another midterm hug for her. Colder weather seems to be here to stay.  And another pair of socks. Those are real glasses, trifocals. And I am not adjusting well. The computer screen looks convex and blurry to the sides. I have to point my nose directly at what I am looking at I've turned into my mother rest her soul and turn my head rather than just moving my eyes. I went into the quilt store yesterday--that was a kaleidoscope trip! bolts to the sides were blurry and moved in swirls of color. I was feeling queasy as I left and not from giddiness from fondling the fabric. They did work really nice for knitting and glancing at the tv but I couldn't even read a page on my kindle without turning my head.  As long as I was looking directly down the highway they were fine but my peripheral vision was a mess.  I missed a lot of scenery driving home. It was kinda fun to see the control panel clearly and to know how fast I was really going and to see the name of the artist and song on the radio but I missed all the scenery! My distance correction is minimal so I'm not a threat to others on the road. I have a new appreciation for my sight. --Ann-- looks like lots of warm things are being knitted at Judy's. take a peek.

Quilt Show

Quilt show at my church on Saturday.  Old quilts, new quilts, big quilts, small quilts,  hardly been used quilts, and loved to shreds quilts. We had almost 50 quilts and not enough pews to spread them all out flat. Bed size quilts work best on the pews.  A few men enjoyed more than caramel rolls and coffee. A good time was had by all. --Ann--