Back, with Sparse Posting

A souvenir from our vacation was the fabric and pattern for this quilt. I cannot find a link for the pattern but I bought everything here: Common Threads in lovely St. Louis, Michigan....the official center of the mitten. A very cute shop with more creative quilts and ideas floating around than I have seen in a long time. My only complaint was I found it to be very dark inside. Maybe it was just such a bright, sunny day that I was blinded by that but I doubt it. Still, they had a nice selection of fabric and patterns. The quilt is called California Dreamin', a very quick quilt to piece indeed!



The second quilt pieced last month is this Album quilt. Yes, there is a mistake in the picture but it's been corrected. Directions for this quilt are found in Scrap Frenzy, among other places I'm sure as this is actually an old block. I am debating about adding borders to this one to enlarge it. I love the way everything came together with this one.





And lastly, the current work-in-progress. This lovely fabric has warmed the shelves of the china closet for 2 summers now. I just could not figure out what to do with Gracie that would really make me happy. There are still about 4 rows of blocks to finish piecing (I ran out of black!) and borders to add yet. Another instant favorite! I normally steer away from black in quilts as I tend to drift to the brights and pastels which call for whites but this one needed the black to make it work. Planned for the stopper/inner border is a lovely fleshy or salmon color. The outer border is still up in the air but I think something will fall in place once the blocks are finished.


Very little knitting has been happening as my right wrist is very tender. Hopefully, more rest will allow whatever is hurting to heal and knitting can resume. There has been, however, much reading. As a young girl, it drove my mother to distraction the number of times she would have to call me for dinner, chores, whatever because my nose was buried in a book. Didn't matter if I'd read it a hundred times already, I was still lost in my own world. Living miles from the nearest library meant new books were hard to come by so now that we live just a mile from the main branch, we make daily visits most weeks. I need to keep a reading journal so titles aren't lost to me.

Don't expect regular posting anytime soon. I plan to enjoy these last few weeks before school outside, reading, working on quilts and putzing around the garden. 2 tomatoes and 2 peppers have been devoured already with promises of many,many more!

PICTURES!!

First up, for Christy's peace of mind, a shot of my first attempt at the HSP'07 sock. I was unhappy with the first 2, yes 2, attempts so I've switched patterns and am to the heel turn now. After frogging this one twice, I realized that all I had to do to make it fit properly was add 8 stitches but after the second one, I was too p.o'd to try that pattern again. Besides that, I think the pattern I choose ( Brainylady's Basic Cable Sock) might appeal to my partner more anyhow. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Burgundy and let me say that is some YUMMY yarn!

Now for some actual finished work, (no more teasers in this post, I promise!). A summer top for E. from Simplicity 4208, view B. 100% cotton print from Joann's with ric-rac trim at the bottom above the ruffle. She now has 3 tops from this pattern and loves them all. Very cute, easy and fun, especially now that I have a gathering foot for Athena.



Next up, summer pjs and/or a top. E won't wear shorts outside to play, only skirts but she likes to sleep in shorts. Weird, I know. The top is from McCalls 5419, view B. I modified the straps after she complained of the bows coming untied on a dress from this pattern. I simply measured the straps of the below dress and used that number to create a bias strap/binding. The shorts are from Kwik Sew's Sewing for Kids book. Both have bias binding in place of hems, the top even sports a size tag while the shorts have a bias loop in the back to help her remember which side goes where. Very easy trick to use in children's clothing. Short version: take a piece of bias tape or soft ribbon about 3-4 inches long. Loop in half, insert cut ends into casing OR back center seam, stitch and presto! No more pants on backwards. A Sharpie marker can be used to mark size and pattern number if desired (a ballpoint pen works but fades after a while in my experience)






Now the dress that nearly drove me to drinkin'. Simplicity 5641, view E minus the ruffles on straps and bodice. First of all, pattern envelope sizes, actual piece sizes and measurements do not add up. I have had this problem with several patterns this spring and well, it pisses me off royally. This dress does not fit E as I would like but she loves it so I'm letting it go at that. The zipper took 5 tries to get in correctly thanks largely to screwy directions and not having done a zipper in years. Again, 100% cotton print from Joann's, ric-rac braided for straps.



Blurry close-up of braided ric-rac straps. E wanted ric-rac on this dress so badly but I felt the print was busy enough so we compromised on the straps. She choose the colors from my box of ric-rac and I braided them together followed by a straight stitch down the center to keep them braided after washing. This is one of her outfits for vacation in July. She refuses to wear it before then for fear it will get stained before Gram sees her in it.


And finally, for Thicket Dweller, the Rugters tomatoes I started from seed. I've tried for years to do this with no success. Being a hard-head has advantages at times. I really don't know why it worked this time but these are about a month old now, in need of repotting for a short time before I plop them in the ground. ALL but 1 seed germinated, I've thinned them twice now. Can't wait to taste them come late July/early August.