The list

 

Last week I started a list of all the things I wanted to do today because hubby is away for the day.  My scatter brain likes to have several things going at once and it always involves a mess that extends beyond the sewing room.  Sometimes it nice to get away from that mess.  Then the list became the I need to get all this done before the kids come this weekend list and became a little overwhelming.  Start small just to get something crossed off the list.  Like put away my winter boots.  Done! Make that phone call to change the day done! Bring the ball winder upstairs and wind a ball of yarn, done! Hang quilts. Break the hook off the stick on hanger.  Take off all the hooks and pound nails in the wall.  I broke a hook last time I changed quilts too.  Fold the quilts and put them on the shelf. Refold all the quilts so I can get more on each shelf, cover with a tea towel so they don't fade, add that to the list. Done!  Take some pictures, write a couple blogposts and schedule. Done.  That makes 5 dones and one check for partially done!

That little hammer was my grandmas. I put the teaspoon beside it so you can see how small it is.  It doesn't pull my pants off when I crawl up a ladder.  Grandma had it with a small piece of partical board that was soft and crumbly that I could hammer little wooden pieces to. The wood pieces were varying sizes of  triangles, squares, long rectangles, short rectangles and circles so I could make a picture.

happy memories.  --Ann--  back to the list.

yellow cardigan

 The yellow cardigan I finished late spring or early summer last year. The yarn is denim revive by Rowan, the pattern is Fine Sand by Heidi Kirrmaier.  I have knit this pattern a couple times and just love the way it fits and how easy it is to knit.  I knit it longer so it is more like a jacket or a coat than a sweater but great to wear with skinny leg jeans.  Looking for the next big project.  --Ann--

And done

 Finished I just need to trim some yarns and give it a spa day. I’m sure there will be a few more chilly days to wear it before summer —Ann—

March to March knitting madness

 

Thirteen months of knitting and probably about 6 miles of yarn.  There are 1760 yards in a miles I definitely used that much yarn in the sweater for hubby and the yellow sweater.  Most long sleeve pullovers for me have 1300-1600 yards of yarn.  Thats a lot of yarn!! It was time well spent in front of the television I don’t often just sit in front of the tv my hands need to be doing something.  Top sweater is so close to done. Red linen is a t shirt style sweater, yellow cotton cardigan, orange sweater, yarn gift from son and daughter-in-law, cream knit twice because first time it looked frumpy. I don’t like to look and feel frumpy. Bright blue is Kenzie yarn same yarn and  pattern as top sweater but a different cable. Bottom sweater is pullover reknit for hubby from a cardigan I knit a couple years ago. I must have been hard up for yarn when I decided to rip that sweater.  --Ann--

A basting day

 

I had a quilt basting day over the weekend.  I pin I don't really baste because it is easier to take pins out as I machine quilt than to untangle the foot from the basting threads.  This sky scape is the backing for the splat quilt DD picked it out and it was not what I was expecting when I unfurled it.  A New York City skyscape with sky.  And the piece of fabric was so big I had no place to spread it out for a picture without a lot of work, so you will just have to take my word for it until it is machine quilted.  I crawled underneath because I had to get a good look at it and then my mind wandered to when I was a little kid making forts out of quilts and blankets and chairs and tables and my kids making forts then I thought about how someday my twin granddaughters will have fun playing under the quilt frame as I am basting them and then making a complicated fort with dozens of quilts and the quilt frame and chairs and moving the table and..............--Ann--

Snow day Sew day

 

It’s not an oficial snow day because school is in session here. But we do have snow and a good excuse not to go anywhere like that is a choice these days. It is a good day to sew.  The piano key borders are complete. One of the borders got turned around on the trip from the design wall to the table because I would have noticed the arrow pointing in. Fortunately it points where the yellow triangles are, start at the arrow and follow the yellow brick/ triangle road across the quilt. That zig zaggy line was planned.  Studying the stash for what I should make next. Happy stitching --Ann--

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

 

May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet, enough trials to keep you strong, 

Enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to keep you happy, 

Enough failure to keep you humble, enough success to keep you eager, 

Enough friends to give you comfort, enough faith and courage to banish sadness, 

Enough wealth to meet your needs and one thing more; 

Enough determination to make each day a more wonderful day than the one before.

an Irish Blessing

Happy Saint Patrick's Day --Ann--

More progress

 Progress on my sweater I might be able to wear it the way spring is teasing us here on the plains. 

This is what it looked like outside my window yesterday morning.  Spring and winter seem to be in battle of the elements. 60 degrees one day and a foot of snow a few days later.

Winter says to Spring, " You are always in such a hurry to get here, always in a rush, always early. " 

Spring says to Winter, " Why are you so stubborn, you big bully.  You looked so tired two weeks ago I tried to comfort you with my warmth.  People came outside and they were so happy."

Winter: " Yes with my early demise but I make them appreciate you more."

I'm knitting the sleeves before finishing the body of the sweater because I'm afraid of running out of yarn and I would rather adjust the length of the sweater instead of shorting the sleeves. I could be wearing this by the end of the week. --Ann--

A little progress

 

We had unseasonably warm weather here for a week.  I did what any sensible person would do.................. I sat outside on the deck and read for hours.  The sun felt so good!  The birds were singing their happy songs it just felt good to be outside in the sun.  Then the weather changed overnight and it rained all day then turned to snow.  Ah a good day to sew.  I just couldn't waste those lovely warm days in my sewing room even though it has big windows that let in lots of light.  Just isn't the same as sitting or walking outside.  Now we are back to normal March temps the snow is almost gone again but more is coming.  Its March!!  I got this much done on the angle iron quilt, piano key borders next.  Spring has been teasing us --Ann--

An epic finish

 It feels like an epic finish.  I started this quilt in 2004 maybe at least that is when the Kim Diehl book was published.  I made this with a group of friends, we each made our own but most followed Kim's directions for half square triangles in the spools.  I did them with the y seam. (click for step by step how to)  I started hand quilting this because that was the overwhelming consensus to hand quilt.  So I did until a couple moves ago when it ended up in a box and then on the top shelf of my art materials closet.  I pulled it out this winter and studied it for a while.  Finish hand quilting this or just finish it?!?!   Only 3 spools left to quilt but all those geese.... .....and then somthing traditional in the plain borders. Will it ever get finished if I hand quilt it? In all honesty, probably not, then it will end up on a rummage sale when I am gone.  I really love these colors and the pattern.  Its my quilt..... finish it by machine and finish it.  So I did and I feel so go to finish a quilt that I started 17 years ago.  --Ann--

Quilt seeds

 

I always cut too many parts when I make a quilt.  I put those leftover bits in a bag, sometimes I add a note to identify the block or measurements and because those little bits are too good  to just throw away. They are frequently the inspiration for another quilt.....seeds. Earlier this year I pulled out my pile of plaids then I dug through my box of quilt seeds, I had a dozen or so of these blocks and parts for a couple dozen more. I have always called this block the angle iron because it is so simple and versatile. Sew a few more blocks and decide how big I want to make this quilt and what colors I want to add, then cut some more parts. Sew, cut, press, cut, sew, count, cut some more, I need side triangles and border strips. Now  it’s time to play with the blocks.  --Ann--

Reading list #1 2021

1.  The World Starts Anew:The Star and the Shamrock Series by Jean Grainger 
2. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline  Winspear book # 9 of Maisie Dobbs series 
3. Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear #10 of Maisie Dobbs series 
4. Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner another great story modern day story about a woman who owns an antique store in Manhattan and her troubled marriage and a 16th century dressmaker and  Lady Jane Grey.
5. The Sister of St Croix by Diney Costeloe WW2 France 
6. The Throwaway Children also by Diney Costeloe sad sad story about children mostly orphans, sent to Australia after WW 2
7. The Exiles  by Christina Baker Kline takes place in mid 1800’s about women sent to Tasmania south of Australia as punishment for crimes committed in Great Britain also an Aboriginal girl being raised by an English family.
8. Welcome to the World Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg I needed something upbeat and funny after the last three books.  Published in 1998, the story takes place in the mid 1970’s but is very relevant to today.
9. Standing in the Rainbow also by Fannie Flagg another goodie, delightful characters
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte published in 1847 a love story, lots of words, writers had a vocabulary and they used it. I don't know if we as a society have digressed or evolved with simpler words and language. There were long descriptions of settings, characters and feelings but I read every word and frequently highlighted for a definition, so oftentimes with contemporary writers I skip over the long descriptions especially if it is a present day story. I read this book many years ago and loved is as much the second time .

I found these wonderful book fabrics last summer so I made a little table topper.  I may cover some notebooks with it also because cloth covered books feel so wonderful.  Happy Reading  --Ann--