It is finished!!!

Ready for the big finish? I am SO glad to have this all finished and in the mail. I got to open my own package today. It is incredible! Here are lots of pictures.



It's way too big to hold up, even if I had someone here at the time. That's our king sized bed it is spread out on. Six of us added borders to Judy's center of purple bowties. Mine is the last border of roses.







Gonna be a gorgeous quilt! I could hardly bear to pack it up and mail it. Well no, that's not true. I was glad to have it done, so I could see mine!



Isn't it gorgeous! I was just speechless when I first spread it out to look at it. There are wild geese flying in the sky, wonderful bears all over the place, really neat pinecones, happy fish swimming up a waterfall, goofy seagull hieroglyphics that seem to spell out my name, even a beautiful mariner's compass as a north star. Everything is just exquisitely done!



Mariner's compass/North star.



Happy fish swimming up stream.



Wild Geese in the night sky.



Very cool pinecones.



Fishing bear.



Silly seagulls.

So what do you think? It's been quite a day for me. Judy is now counting the hours until her package gets there. I can't wait to hear how she likes it! I'm tired and need to knit! G'night friends!

Roses are growing!

Just a quick little post for progress watchers. Two pictures, the second one is for scale. See how big it is!

Bloomin' Crazy!

All quilters are crazy, you know that don't you? I mean, they buy big chunks of perfectly good fabric, cut it up into little pieces and sew the pieces together again. Crazy!

Well, sometimes a quilter has got to do whatever works. See, I had this perfect fabric for the rose leaves. And I cut every little bit of it. This fabric has been in my stash for at least 20 years and I owed it to myself not to waste any of it.

I'm down to piecing the last little unit I need to finish the rose blocks. Had some problems on one of the bud blocks before and had to do some cannibalizing, but I thought I was being careful not to cannibalize any of the pieces for the big roses. Well, looks like I made a big booboo with this last piece for the last leaf. It's not the right size or shape. I don't have anymore of this fabric and I can't afford to buy more even if I could find a match. What to do??

It's supposed to be a 1-5/16 inch square. What I have is a bunch of 1 x 1-1/8 inch rectangles. But there are more than 24 pieces so I decided to sew the pieces together and see what I could get out of it. What I got was 24 pieces that were 1-5/16 inch on one side and 1-1/8 inch on the other, 3/16 short on one side. This square is for a sew and flip corner. Since some of it will be cut off after it is sewn I can afford to fudge the seam a little and make it work. So, one little piece has a seam. There are already a bazillion seams in these blocks so one more won't hurt. Here's a pic of the back.



And here's a pic of the front.



And here is a pic of the TWO blocks that are finished so far. Only 22 to go!



And lastly here are my 2 roommates, at peace with one another, asleep in their cozy beds and within my reach if they need a little loving. I love a peaceful night!

Coming up roses!

Hope everyone had a nice Easter and/or Passover. Ours was quiet. We did brunch with a few family. Enjoyed the day. But I couldn't stay away from the roses!



This is where I am as of tonight. You're looking at 24 half roses, 12 are mirror image. So far (knock on wood) I've had very little trouble with the mirror image thing. Here's a close-up.



Still to do is the other half of the rose and leaves and stems underneath.

Going to bed early tonight (for me). Step brother Greg is coming over tomorrow to brush up on his sewing skills and learn to piece a quilt. I have just the machine for him and hope he will end up taking it home. He is even willing to learn to knit! He wants to make an afghan. I told him how my Dad used to knit socks, argyle no less. He misses my Dad nearly as much as I do. Gone 4 years last month. Greg's visits are always so relaxing and comfortable. We can chat about anything! He says I'm a lot like my Dad. He's so nice.

Anyway, lots to do tomorrow so I have to (ugh) get up early. Anyone want to come over and help me move sewing machines around? :o)

Getting It Together

Now you can see how the upper buds are coming together with the lower buds. Just a few more to put together and I can start on the large roses that go in between. The odd thing is that the left facing lower buds are behaving very differently from the right facing buds. No, really! See on the right facing buds how the stems line up? So far I'm having no luck to speak of getting the left facing bud stems to line up. The right facing buds just fit right together with very little fuss. Not so the left facing buds. They just seem to have a mind of their own. At this point, I don't care! Some of the buds will just have to have an attitude!

And now I am going to take a couple days off to do my taxes. Ta ta for now! :o)

Tired, but blooming

I can't believe March is nearly gone. Except for a break or 2 I have been working, eating and sleeping with my sewing machine and thousands of little pieces of fabric. I never in a million years thought that this one border on this last round robin quilt (the biggest of them all) would be such a HUGE undertaking. I've learned certain things about myself that were a bit of a shock.

1 - I can't design in a hurry anymore. This border has 2 different rosebuds. The second one was designed so badly it just couldn't be pieced. So I redesigned it but then I couldn't use most of the pieces I had already cut, and I had used most all of the fabrics that were appropriate. Ok so I am canabalizing other pieces to make do. But none of the fabrics match in the second bud. Hopefully, using the person-on-a-galloping-horse criteria, it will be alright.

2 - Mirror images really throw me for a loop! The buds pointing to the left all came out just fine the first time. The ones pointing to the right, on the other hand, always seem o get put together upside down and backwards, no matter how careful I try. And being careful and still having to undo and resew takes too much extra time! (Yes, I am whining!)

3 - I don't know if I'll ever design anything with teensy pieces again. That's sad because I was a miniature quilt specialist once upon a time. The second bud has 30 pieces, The smallest, with 1/4 inch seam allowance, is 11/16" square. I used to have eyes!!!

So, here is what is done and what still needs to be done.



Four corner squares.



48 upper buds. 24 pointing left and 24 pointing right.



24 lower buds, waiting for canabalizd pieces to make their 3rd leaf and stem, with mis-matched pinks (gallop, gallop) pointing right.



Pieces for 24 buds facing right, waiting to have some corners undone and resewed to the opposite corner, and waiting for canabalized pieces too.



And lastly the roses that go between the sets of buds. The pieces are cut and waiting. And (I think) I only have to make 24 of them! Fingers crossed and knocking on wood, they should go together just fine.

Bless Judy for her unbelievable patience!!!

Oh, and I had a really nice visit from Treadleonion Di from Tennessee. Alex made us a wonderful breakfast and we wandered around the house looking at machines and petting kitties. She had to leave WAY too soon!



She sent me the cutest cloth postcard. It has a kitty making a quilt on a treadle and there are all kinds of miniature quilts in the background and a spool button and a teensy gold scissors attached. And on the other side is a sweet message from her and the addresses and postage. Really neat! Pics later. I'm too tired to get up and take pics. Gonna pick out the stitches on these darned corners that need to be moved for a little while. Then snuggle into my wonderful bed. Nighty night!

Frisky Kitties

I've been taking breaks from working on stuff to take down and pack all my knitting machines. Baby steps you know, 15 minutes at a time? Well, they're finally all cleared out and I vacuumed my room today. The kitties have been spooked by all the changes but tonight they were delighted with the new space and feeling frisky.So I started waving around one of their favorite fishing poles and Merlin just started being SO cute! He has the cutest face when he is trying to be fierce!




His eyes get all wide and bright and his ears and whiskers are forward focussed. Adorable!

And then Rufus had to come see what all the frivolity was about and had to get in on the action.



Couldn't catch him in mid leap, darn it! And when he sees the camera he always gets this "What?" look on his face. But he was having fun, honest!

Well, back to work. Seeya later! :o)

It's February???

Wow! I can't believe it's the middle of February already! I spent January racing a knitting deadline. Got that done and discovered I have another one in mid March. But I long ago blew a deadline on the last round robin and the very nice quilter waiting for it has been so understanding and kind. This one has been SO hard!!! And if I try to rush I make the dumbest mistakes. Once this is finished I think never again. I have too many things I need to get done. For the first time in my adult life I have too many knitting UFOs!

I took down all my knitting machines this week. The poor things just aren't being used and take up so much room. And I need to set up my quilting frame and eventually start quilting a top that was given to me last year. The only reason Mom let me have it was that I promised to hand quilt it.

Anyway, I really apologize to what few readers I have for being silent for so long. I can't post pictures of the knitting-for-deadline projects because they will be published in 2 new books by Sirius Knitting (Laura Andersson) and of course she doesn't want to give anything away. As soon as I make some good progress on the round robin I'll try to come up for air and take some pics. I am dying to see how mine turned out but I can't open the package until I send this one to Judy. So you KNOW I am not procrastinating!

See y'all later. :o)

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's hoping it is happy and healthy for all of us.

I've decided to take the Knit From Your Stash 2007 pledge. God knows I have enough yarn to keep me going for a few years. And He knows I can't afford to buy anything. Here are the rules. Number 3 is my favorite!

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?

2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.

2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.

2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.

I am going to try SO hard!

Gonna go toast the New Year now. It's 11:57pm. See you next year!

Christmas goodies!

Here are some pictures of the wonderful gifts I received from my family. This first was next to my stocking and is very appropriate. LOL!



I was sure this next gift was a mistake. My sister is the self appointed "purple person" of the family. But Mom must've noticed that I like it too. Plus this one has MY color in the border. Pink!



My SIL Mary gave me a bag full of knitting notions and the little scissors and nippers. Not bad from someone who professes to know nothing about knitting. The movies are from my nephew Seth. Just the ones I wanted!



The Cat Who book is also from Mary and the Redwall cookbook (which I love!) is from nephew Alec. The basket and muffin mixes are from him too. Last year's basket was full of hot chocolate mixes. He does wonderful basket gifts!





The knitting books are from Santa. :o)



At last a timer I can actually hear when I'm not in the kitchen! I can even bring it into the studio if I want to. Til now the only kitchen timer we had was in the microwave.



In this last one look at the egg and the tea light lamps on either side. The Santa and angel and reindeer are from Christmases past. They all have different quilt designs painted on them and are so beautiful!



There is also a big box of lace bolt ends from my Sis but every time I go to take a picture it is occupied by a cat. But you will see the curtains the lace will become. Most edible gifts are, um, no longer photographable. LOL!

That's it for now. My hands are hurting from 2 days of no knitting. So I am casting on tonight! See everyone next year!

Christmas dinner

It was a wonderful Christmas day! I'm too tired to take pics of gifts until tomorrow. But here are a couple from dinner. Dinner went very well. The prime rib was perfect, the cabernet gravy came out lovely, the veggies were roasted just right and Mary's lemon cheesecake was the best ever. Someone hid the pecan pie before it could be cut. :oD



From left to right are my sister-in-law Mary, my Mom, my dear Alex, and nephews Seth and Alec. We call him Zander so he and DH don't both turn around when someone says Alex.



That's Mary's scrumptious lemon cheesecake and the pecan pie that is now mine, all mine!

That's it for tonight. More tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I am still doing a little wrapping. Was up all night baking and making candy. I am filling jars with peanut brittle right now.



My brother and his wife were just here for a visit. He has several acres of almond and walnut trees and Angie is working on a plan to market the nuts and almond flour. They brought me a sample for Christmas. We rounded up all the gifts we've had for them for the last few Christmases we haven't seen them. They got a kick out of that!

I hope y'all have been able to see "Christmas in Yellowstone" on PBS's Nature. Truly beautiful, wonderful and awesome! I've only been to Yellowstone once in my life. I was a teenager in 10th grade, traveling cross country with 2 Girl Scouts, 1 Boy Scout and the troop leaders (Mr. & Mrs. Cicacci). It was an awesome trip with many wonderful memories.

Well my fudge didn't set, darnit! It's a microwave recipe using marshmallows and chocolate chips. Always use FRESH ingredients! Old chocolate chips don't like to melt. Didn't get my cookies made either. But Mary always makes plenty. I'll make mine after Christmas.

Well, time to make a better batch of fudge before bed. Merry Christmas to ALL and to ALL a good night!

Almost ready!

Finished Alex's fingertip-less gloves finally. I borrowed a not-quite-cable stitch from a sock pattern for the back of each glove so there would be a definite right & left, and they don't look so plain. It was a fun project but there has just got to be a way to join the fingers without leaving that hole between them! I really don't like sewing up at all. So, here they are!



Now it's time to make cookies and a fruitcake for mom and some nut brittle and maybe even some caramel corn. And I have to go out and find some stocking stuffers. And I need to quick mail a package to my cyber twin Laura. And... and...

As soon as the tree is all decorated I'll post a picture. Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!

And then there were...

Two! Seth's pair of socks, finished one by one.



And Zander's socks. Twins! Born at the same time on the same needle. How cool is that!



And now on the circular needle, thumbs and pinkies for some finger tip-less gloves for my dear gardener. Can you say marathon knitting? :o)



Ok. Duty done. Off to bed! Hugs y'all!

Sock(s) for Seth

This is the blueberry waffle pattern in dk weight. Took 2 days and I am starting the second sock tonight. Hope he likes them!

Felting!

I almost forgot to take a before picture of the oven mitts, Some were already in the washer. But here are the rest of them.



Here they are after felting. The mitts are all standing up in a little forrest so I would still have room for the pot holders, which refuse to lie flat anyway. And they all need a good shave.



I wonder if there are any rules about pressing a felted item with an iron? I'm going to try it on the pot holders. I'll let you know if it helps.

Next? Socks I think. Need to knit some gauntlets, fingerless gloves and crochet some coasters too. Then there's the kitchen stuff. Oy!

Is it getting chilly?

I am knitting like mad! I will show some results in a post tomorrow. In the meantime thought you might enjoy this. This is Alex, all comfy and warm in my chair. If it's a 3 cat night in the living room with the heat on then I guess it will be a 5 or 6 cat night in bed. :o)



And of course Percy, my little golden eyed shadow, had to come out and see what Mom was up to.



More later!

Pre Thanksgiving update

I've been beavering away at the round robin. Confessed to the group that I had designed myself into a black hole and now considered myself certifiable. I begged them not to send the men in white coats with butterfly nets. I got permission from the end recipient to put the project aside so I can make gifts for Christmas. And you know what? She isn't finished with hers either!!! She says she will have it in the mail after Thanksgiving so I will still be last. But I am relieved that I am not alone for now.

These are the only rosebuds you will see until next year. The printout behind them is what I am aiming for.



I was all ready to put the final leaf on the rosebuds when I discovered I had sewn part of the rosebuds together wrong. Moan! Groan! Drat! Drat! DRAT!!!

So I took 2 of them apart and fixed them so I would at least have two I could show. Now the whole project is neatly packed away in baggies, and all baggies in one big baggy. I am SO glad I did the press&seal packages for all the piles of pieces.

Now to get organized and start on gifts. Oh and clean up the house for Thanksgiving too. For my Canadian friends who celebrated last month, I hope it was a grand feast! And for my American friends and our valiant troops overseas, may you enjoy and find much to give thanks for.

Love and hugs until later...