Summer Smitten Blanket and other crafts

I started this in the middle of June thinking it would make a great summer project. Well I was right.  It went with me to my mom's chemo appointments, on the train to Portland last month, and any time there was a road trip.  In fact this thing has been practically living in the car.   Since it was one color,  and you crochet one square at a time, it was quite portable and there weren't many ends to weave in!
I used Knit Picks organic cotton worsted which was amazingly soft, not anything like the kitchen twine I've struggled with when making dishcloths.  The pattern was free over on byHaafner, and there's a handy little chart you can print off if you like that sort of thing.  I found it helpful, although it was easy enough to memorize once you made a few squares.  All the details are on my Ravelry page.

   There hasn't been much sewing going on around here.   I broke down and bought a quilting hoop and a nimble thimble and am trying my best to hand quilt, but it's slow. The leather nimble thimbles are a great idea, but I seem to be in between sizes.  The medium was too big and kept slipping off.  When it finally flew across the couch and hit the dog, I decided to order a small.  Now that one is too tight.  This is a bit like Goldilocks testing out the beds.

I bought some goodies in Portland at Knit Purl and have started knitting the Farmhouse shawl, and it's so fun!  Probably another reason why the quilting has taken a back seat.

 

Anyway that's my summer so far. Hope you're enjoying yours. Seems to be wrapping up doesn't it? Bring on the Fall.   Can't. Wait.

Progress

I'm not sure if you want to call what I'm doing "progress" or quilting myself into a corner.  When I make a visual list of everything I'm working on/want to work on, it's kind of overwhelming. I actually left 2 other quilt projects out of this post, and will talk more about them later.  This is enough even for me.
Last week I drove about 45 minutes into Sacramento to visit the Quilters Corner fabric store.  I don't get there very often but when I do, you can bet I make it worth my while. I bought some neutral backgrounds, a few Karen Kay Buckley tools, 2 Quiltmania magazines, a handful of fat quarters to feed the stash and a Kaffe Fassett bundle (last picture). They didn't carry a lot of modern quilting fabric, it was heavy on the reproductions and batiks, but they had some fun classes going on, awesome samples hanging up, a large supply of Aurifil thread and other notions, even wool for applique. It was a great couple of hours spent by myself, and I stopped on the way home for an iced tea and a sushi roll from Mikuni's (I love their Marilyn Monroll, yum!)

The snowball quilt now measures about 27 x 29 and I think I'm going to add a border of flying geese next. I'll just keep going until it feels like it's done. The dark blue fabric was pulled because I want to make an indigo quilt, maybe with some sashiko stitching.  I'm still dreaming about that one.
I also received 2 little hangers from Temecula Quilt Co.  They're perfect for mini quilts.

Sadly the Killdeer eggs from my garden disappeared 2 days after I posted about them.  I'm not surprised, since the nest was sitting out in the open, unprotected.  There are a lot of cats, hawks and raccoons around here, and I discovered a hole in the ground just a few feet from the nest (snake?) Could have been any of them. There wasn't an egg shell or feather left behind.  Just, Poof! Gone.

So today it's going to be 97 degrees, and like usual, I'm trying to outrun the heat. Everything has been watered early this morning, and I just finished vacuuming and mopping floors. Soon the air conditioner will kick in, and that's my signal to start sewing. I've got lots to do, some of it I like, some of it I don't.  I'm not complaining.  It could be worse.  I could have been born as a Killdeer egg.

Plans

This morning I went out to run some errands and ended up at the grocery store.  Now I don't know about where you live, but the food store where we shop has trained their young employees to smile politely and then launch into the standard question game while bagging your groceries.
Here it comes.

Hello, how are you doing today?
Did you find everything you were looking for?
Would you like paper or plastic bags? (this one is so automatic, they don't even notice the pile of bags I've brought from home)

You can tell they are somewhat uncomfortable with this interrogation, and I don't mind all that much.  I feel kind of sorry for these kids,  coercing customers into small talk.  It feels weird.  What manager thought this was a good idea?  Anyway most of the time I chat back, but sometimes I just want to get my groceries and go.  Like today.  I'm trapped at the counter, the basket slowly emptying, lost in my own thoughts, mentally ticking things off my list, and then...

So what do you have planned for the rest of your day?

Ugh. I thought we were done.  In my head I'm saying...
Really?  Do you really want to know?  I doubt it. You're 18 and I'm 57.  Nothing I could possibly do today would be remotely interesting to you. (No kidding, I once had someone ask me what I had planned for the weekend.  On a Monday.  It literally stumped me for a second, as it was a week away and I had no clue).   Instead I usually murmur something about chores or going for a swim, walk, etc.
But I wonder what they would do if I answered their question honestly?
Maybe like this...

Well I need to hurry and get home because our new rider mower is being delivered.  The old mower finally broke and the grass has grown so high we loose sight of the little dog when he runs after the ball.  The yard is looking very furry indeed.  Maybe, instead of a new mower, we should get a horse like our neighbor.  It would be a good deal quieter than a mower and much more pleasant to look upon. Plus I could use their poop in my garden.  What do you think?  Hmmm.   But, as soon as I get home, I'm going to put all these groceries away.   Then whip up the sauce for the fish tacos we're having for dinner.  When that's done I'm going to make a fruit salad.
While all these delicious flavors are coming together in the fridge, I'm going to kick the dogs outside so I can pin baste a quilt on the floor in the living room.  Then next comes the quilt binding, cut and pressed just so.  I need to start quilting immediately, because it has to be completed for my niece's birthday party this weekend.  I know! Not much time left right?
Then I have to finish sorting through my books in the sewing room and tidy the shelves.  When that's done I might add a few rows to the blanket I started crocheting with Knit Picks organic cotton yarn.  The weight of it is lovely and I can't wait to use it this spring.
I'm also going to try and get a picture of a hummingbird that sits at the tip top of our tallest redwood tree and sings for a mate.....
What's that?
You just got called to another checkstand?
You're not going to help me out to my car?
But don't you want to hear about my plans for after dinner?
Smile politely.
Maybe next time then.

Baseball and Yarn

At Scottsdale stadium

Buster Posey (catcher) and Tim Hudson (pitcher)

Brandon Belt signing autographs before the game

We're back from Spring Training in Arizona.  The weather was beautiful, the hot dogs plentiful and we had a great time (even though the Giants lost all 3 games. Pooh).
The hotel was amazing too!

We rented one of those cabanas for the day and hung out by the pool...

Every evening between 6 and 7 the bagpipes were played on the golf course.

There was shopping and restaurants all within walking distance, and if you ever find yourself in Scottsdale, I highly recommend you splurge on a dinner at Mastro's Ocean Club. At first I thought how can you dare call yourself "Ocean Club" in the middle of Arizona?  I should not have doubted.
 I had a delicious piece of blackened Halibut and they serve a decadent side dish of lobster mashed potatoes that will make you weep, it's that good. I wish I had some right now.
On the way out of town, the family was kind enough to indulge me in a brief stop at Jessica Knits, where I picked up some souvenirs.

These two skeins are produced by local Arizona artist Mary Gavan.  On the top is a lace weight raw silk, in the color Pewter and was made up in the store into this shawl.  The drape was beautiful. The bottom skein, which is actually more of a pink than it looks here, is a sport weight rayon/cotton in Sandcastle.
I'm also in a Ravelry group which is making a scarf using the colors of your favorite baseball team. The pattern is called Crackerjack, and these are the colors I bought for the San Francisco Giants.
The idea is to knit 2 rows using the color assigned to wins or losses.  For example a home win could be orange, and a road loss, white. There are 4 possibilities, therefore 4 colors are chosen.  The striping would be determined by the wins/losses of the season and you never know how it's going to turn out. Sounds like a fun project to work on all year long doesn't it?
I'm unpacking, washing clothes, grocery shopping, and cutting the grass this week.  Next time around I'll show you the hand pieced quilt blocks that are making me jump out of bed in the morning.
Until then, here's a little crochet and Charlie.  The dogs were very happy to see us come home.

 

When the sun comes out

The fog has finally left the area and we have sunshine once again!  The good weather gave me a burst of energy to run a few errands and do a little shopping.  When I came home I spread my goodies on the table, made myself a decaf cappuccino, and thought about what I would sew/crochet next.  I still have to finish my knitted slouch hat (on the decreasing part now, almost done), and add borders to the goose tracks quilt you see up there, which I'm making up as I go along.  I really hate thinking about what to quilt in all that white space. I just stare at it with a dumb face, then walk out of the room.  Oh well, no hurry.
The oven mitt was a Target purchase, to which I added some Liberty fabric yo-yo puffs.  It was the last stripped mitt they had, and I wish I could have bought more, because I think it turned out kinda cute. 
The wine cork plant marker is a Pinterest idea.  You just write the name of your plant on the cork with a permanent marker and stick it on a wooden skewer.  I have a pot in the backyard that's still full of thyme and chives, so I plopped it in there. After I took the picture, I forgot all about it.  Then my daughter found it a half hour later on the lawn chewed to smithereens. Apparently wine corks also make good doggie chew toys. Guess I won't be making any more of those.

Luna checking out Pinterest for more things to eat.

Street Faire

Last weekend I went to the Lodi Street Faire with my daughter and sister.  Two weekends a year in May and October, they close off the streets in the center of town, and it's filled with antiques and collectibles, and other crafty type stuff.  We arrived in the morning and started out with coffee and chocolate croissants at the Dancing Fox.  The weather was warm, the shopping was plentiful and the people were interesting.  That little Bulldog puppy was getting a lot of attention, with everyone wanting to take a picture of his cute smooshy face, including me.
Around lunchtime we popped into a cheese shop to taste samples, and came away with a delicious hunk of Dutch Gouda and some salami. We brought it with us into a wine tasting room to rest our feet and drink Mimosas.  We ended up Champagne tasting, and hung out there for quite a while (hiccup). Never did make it to the craft street.

Anyway, I bought those pastel colored pickle dishes, (I want to make a pickle dish quilt
  It's been on my bucket list for a while now), a pink 40's apron, and two small curtain panels of navy and white which will eventually find their way into a quilt.  Speaking of buckets, isn't that little woven bucket bag cute?  That was the first thing I bought, and I carried it around proudly the entire time, loading it up with my goodies. I plan on lining it with some calico and using it for a sewing basket.
 I also bought the colorful rag rug in the second picture.  It was calling to me, or maybe that was the champagne?
And yes, there is a pile of yarn in the picture above.  I've started a big bright ripple.  There are so many colors picked out for this thing, it might get ugly.  Hand quilting a mini is also in the works, so I'm definitely not bored at the moment.

 Go make something!

Fall field trip

Every fall I try to visit Phillips Farms in Lodi, also home to the Michael David Winery.  Outside, I usually grab a wheelbarrow and load it up with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. Then it's on to the cutting garden (see my header pic), where you can pick your own bouquets.  Inside, they serve lunch and have a wine tasting bar (this is why my daughter decided to join me.)  I made her pay by posing for a picture.

Besides pumpkins and flowers, we left with a bottle of wine, heirloom tomatoes, a hunk of raw milk cheese, and the best ever blackberry/peach pie, which we ate that night for desert, and finished off the next morning for breakfast.  I keep thinking about that damn pie. I want to go back and get another one.  I'm having pie withdrawals.  Pie dreams.  Please sir, may I have some more...pie?
The first three letters of my blog spell Pie.
Good grief.  No wonder my jeans are getting tight.
Afterwards we went into town and stopped at a lovely shop called the Antiquarium.  I bought a few handmade decorating goodies.

Check out this pumpkin.  There were so many to choose from, all made using home decorator fabrics and embellished in the most creative ways.

This one is made from a linen blend material and has a champagne cork for a stem. Kind of sophisticated for a squash wouldn't you say?

Despite all this galavanting about, I did manage to finish a small embroidery piece.  It's a free pattern from here, as seen on T.V.  Pinterest.

I trimmed the finished square to 8 1/2 inches, and added 2 1/2 inch triangles to the corners, creating a snowball block. Then I sewed on 3 1/2 inch borders.  Whoopie!  Christmas pillow in October.  Done.