Camera Clean-Out

I take most of my pictures on the Nikon D90 I got for Christmas. But my Canon point-and-shoot takes better Roaming Tigger photos and is easier to bring along on “outings.” It’s been a while since I downloaded the photos on my Canon, but I did that tonight. Let’s see what RT and I have been up to!



This was a quilt shop in Salem, Va. Located basically halfway between my hotel and the field for the Division II softball championship. Great shop, and I got a LOT of fabric for an average price of $3.50/yard if I remember correctly. That was part of what I did on birthday-eve. Which was in May. No website, but if you’re in the neighborhood, it’s worth stopping by.



On my actual birthday (May 24), I managed to meet up with Zarzuela and HWJF (her fiancée) for dinner in Roanoke, Va. It was a nice coincidence that they were in Roanoke for an overnight stop en route to bassoon camp while I was in Salem for work. Great to meet them both, and it was a wonderful way to spend my birthday evening!



About a week later, I was in Norman, Okla., which is only about half an hour south of Oklahoma City, home of the Women’s College World Series. In July of 2008, I got a desperate Ravelry message from “L” of L&B Yarn Co. begging to purchase two skeins of a discontinued Noro Silk Garden from my stash. I agreed, and she sent me a VERY VERY generous gift certificate. Which I spent on my visit. Awesome!



While at the Lake on vacation the first week in August, Mom and I field tripped to The Quilt Farm in Boston, N.Y. It’s not close to much of anything, but they have a HUGE amount of fabric in that barn (website says 7,000+ bolts. I believe it!) and it’s well worth the drive. Roaming Tigger stayed at the cottage that day, which is why he’s not pictured. Beach bum!



The next day was the opening day of the TKGA/CGOA Show in Buffalo. While lots and lots of knitters were having a blast at Sock Summit, I was at this thing. RT and I got two skeins of sock yarn and two pieces of jewelry. Marketplace was “meh.” We didn’t do classes or anything else, just the marketplace.



RT wanted to play with the buffalo in the convention center lobby on the way out



We thought the colorful one was much more fun.



On the way home, we stopped to buy booze



Drove down Rt. 20, which is now the Tim Russert Memorial Highway



Which takes you past Ralph Wilson Stadium (it’s hard to take a good RT photo from a moving car)



And evidence for why I haven’t cast on the second sock for my pair-in-progress. They’re bleeding like nobody’s business. I don’t even carry the yarn with my left hand (the hand with rings). That’s the hand that pushes stitches up onto my left needle to be worked. No fun! You can see the path of the working yarn on my right – ringless – hand. It’s a recipe for SSS (second sock syndrome).

OK! Now you’re all caught up. We’ll see what bloggy things I can come up with this week.

Vacation Wrap-Up

Well, I have another full week of vacation that I’m enjoying … although I’m working a full day at the LYS tomorrow (Wednesday) … but we came home from the Lake on Sunday so the Hubster could go back to work yesterday.

Had a great beach glass day on Thursday morning

Good variety of glass, and a large quantity. But the kicker on Thursday was this:


That blue thing, to the left of the “for-scale” battery, is the largest piece of cobalt glass I have ever found in 30 years. I’m still a little bit in awe.

That night, we had a rather boring sunset

But I was easily distracted thanks to Georgia

She’s a lab-mix rescue who was on the beach with her humans. She’s named Georgia since that’s where she came from!

On Friday, I took a brief speed-walk on the beach and came up with this:


What’s not pictured are the two largest pieces of red glass that I’ve ever seen. My sister in law mentioned red glass at dinner that night, and when I went out for my walk, there were TWO big pieces of red. I hadn’t found a piece of red bigger than the nail on your pinky toe all summer. And in one walk? To find two the size of your thumb? Day-um.

Saturday and Sunday had lousy weather. Rainy and cooler. But I didn’t care. I parked here



In that front blue chair, and read books. All day. It was awesome.

There were other adventures, but those pictures are on my other camera. So I’ll blog them on another day.

Vay-Cay Wednesday

There’s been plenty going on here at the Lake, but very little knitting.

Progress has been made on the sock. Mostly while at the Chautauqua County Fair’s Demolition Derby on Sunday.

Didn’t realize I focused on the chair, not the sock. Oops.

I’ve been taking a roughly 90-minute walk on the beach every morning. And yes, picking up more glass. AA battery included for scale.

Monday:


Monday’s “theme” was blue glass. Got four good pieces of cobalt blue. That’s really unusual.

Tuesday:


Tuesday was “don’t break an ankle” day. The lake was pretty high and there were lots of rocks to keep me on my toes. Found a few big pieces, but a low “take” on the whole.

Wednesday:


Today, the lake was going down a bit so the beaches were bigger and lots of glass was exposed. I’ve now filled a 12oz Solo cup with glass and will have to start a new one tomorrow. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Just one sunset photo so far. From tonight.


Hope you're all having a great week. I'm looking forward to getting Sock Summit reports from Portland. Considering how this summer has gone so far, I'm glad I decided not to go. But that doesn't mean I'm not a tiny bit sad that I'm not there. I'm certain it will be an amazing event!

A Tiny Cute Sweater

Shortly after my niece, recipient of yesterday’s featured quilt, made her appearance, I purchased yarn for a cotton cardigan for her.

The project idea was inspired by a really awesome sweater that Michelle, the owner of Bloomin Yarns, made as a store sample to try to move some Sublime Organic Cotton DK (those are Ravelry links BTW).



The yarn is great. The pattern is great. I’m going to knit it again. This time around, I completely ignored the pattern’s gauge suggestions and just knit it on a yarn-appropriate needle. It’s a baby sweater. No matter what size I knit, it’ll fit the kid for a few weeks, then be too small.


It has applied I-cord the whole way around the edge. It was simple across the fronts and bottom because I was using live stitches.


For the neckline, I picked up a stitch as I went along on the applied I-cord. I’ll be interested to see if I improve with this technique when I try it again.

I made my Bear model the sweater, but it didn’t fit him right and he looked ridiculous, so this is the only modeled shot you get.

The one modification that I KNOW I’ll do the next time I knit this sweater is that I will skip the pattern instruction to slip the first stitch of every row. I wound up having to pick up for the “button bands” a half-stitch in from the edge since that was the only way to avoid a major “lettuce edge” where the button band and sweater body met.

Ellie’s Eco-Tulip
Pattern: Tulips, A Colorful Cardigan for Baby, by Lindsay Pekny/Dream in Color
Size: I used the instructions for 12-18 months, but that’s not necessarily the size I finished with
Yarn: Sublime Yarns, Organic Cotton DK
Colors: Peapod (green), Scrumble (pink), Rice Pudding (white), Borage (blue)
Quantity: I’m guessing about 60% of the skein for the green, pink and blue.
About 1.25 skeins of the white.
Source: Bloomin Yarns (pattern and yarn)
Needles: US 6 and US 4
Started: 25 July 2009
Finished: 2 August 2009
Mods: None, unless changing yarns counts as a mod.

Baby Bargello

After returning from my two-tournaments-lots-of-rain softball trips at the end of February and start of March, I knew I needed to get a baby quilt cranked out for the kid my brother and sister in law were expecting.

I had picked up a Baby Bargello kit at The Quilt Company on one of my previous trips up there. Karen, the owner, is an evil genius. I have trouble walking out of that store without a new kit on pretty much ANY trip to TQC. But I digress.

Right before the Hubster’s shoulder surgery, I got the kit cut out and started sewing. I vastly underestimated how much time the Hubster was going to require after his surgery, so I presented a basted-but-not-quilted gift at Erin’s baby shower.

I finally finished the thing last weekend.



Because I knew that doing a traditional binding on this quilt would leave me stuck in the land of needing to finish yet another hand-sewing project, I put a faux binding on the top (I sewed a 1” strip of an appropriate stash fabric on all sides of the top) and quick-turned the thing through a hole I had basted in while piecing the backing. Easier to show you than explain, but there you go.



Of course, I had just assumed that I had all the appropriate backing flannel in my stash. That wasn’t quite true, so there’s a square of plain white flannel on one corner of the back. Oops.

I tried to quilt this on my Brother 1500, but after roughly a week of not being able to quilt for more than about 18” between thread breakage, I resisted the impulse to throw the damn machine out the window, switched over to my Bernina 150QE and finished the whole thing in an hour or two.



It has now been turned over to Ellie, my niece. Here’s hoping it’s dragged through the mud and puked on for years to come.

Sandy Beaches

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for a good yarn club. Fiber Baristas was a bit of a tough call … it was a good chunk of cash, but I was sold both because Roxanne of Zen Yarn Garden and Catherine of Knitting Notions were involved and because it included nine unique independent dyers, so I’d get a wide variety of yarn.



This month’s offering was from PennyRose Yarns. Ruth lives in New Jersey and her favorite New Jersey expression is “down the shore” which means “going to the beach/shore.” She built her Postcards from Home yarn around this phrase.



The name of this colorway actually is “Down the Shore” and it’s in Ruth’s Shelley base, which is 4 oz/400 yards of 100% superwash merino. Her etsy shop is closed right now, but I’m certain it will be stocked with awesome stuff when she returns from vacation

Ruth was also kind enough to offer all of the clubbers free access to one of her paid patterns. I chose the Diamonds Modular Scarf (both Ravelry links) and I’m sure I’ll have fun with it sooner rather than later.



I’m off to the Lake for the Big Family Party on Saturday, then a week’s vacation with The Hubster. We’ll see what kind of trouble I can scare up while I’m in New York State!

The Yin and the Yang

All last summer, I kept walking by and fondling the Yin-Yang Bolero we had in the shop at Bloomin Yarns. It was a sample for Knit One Crochet Too’s Ty-Dy.


I picked out two complimentary colorways of the yarn, which happened to be very close to the store sample. And there was a fantastic button in the shop, so boom. Project.



That was back in September. I cranked on it for a very short period of time, and I knocked out about 80% of the sweater. Then the weather changed and my mojo on this sweater completely vanished. So I put it away for a few … uh … months.



When it started warming up again, I knew I had to suck it up and get this thing finished. So I pulled out the project bag and garter stitched my little heart out for a few nights and I was all done.

Yin-Yang Bolero
Pattern: Yin Yang Bolero #1404 by Helene Rush
Size: 47”
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy.
Quantity: 3 skeins/color, though I just barely dipped into that second skein (grrr …)
Colors: Blue Pansy and Meadow
Source: Bloomin Yarns, McMurray, Pa.
Needles: US 8 from my KA Switch set
Started: 11 September 2008
Finished: 19 July 2009

WiP it Good

As I’m sure you guys have noticed, I’ve been in “finish stuff mode” for a while now. This means there isn’t a whole lot on the needles at the moment.

Just two things, actually. And I finished quilty stuff, so I’m not exactly mid-project down in the basement right now either.

Up first is a boring little sock toe that’s looked exactly like this for two weeks.

Garter toe!

I cast on at Hurricane Knitters on “third Wednesday,” and have since finished two Everlasting Bagstoppers and a few quilty things. This has gotten next to no time. In no small part because this yarn is crocking and turning my fingers purple when I knit with it.

In other news, I’d been carrying around a project bag full of Sublime Organic Cotton since shortly after my niece was born in April. Inspired by Michelle’s shop sample (Ravelry Link), I have a cotton Tulip sweater on the needles (for my niece).

Rockin’ the applied I-cord!

So that’s what’s shakin' here. We have a special Fifth Wednesday edition of the Hurricane Knitters this fine evening, then it’ll be a scramble to get ready to go to the Lake for vacation next weekend. More finished projects to come!

A Very Special Gift

On as many “every other Fridays” as I can manage, I try to get over to the Borders near my house. There’s a fantastic group of local knitters that gather there on a regular basis (every other Friday, obviously).

One of our members, Heather, recently added a baby girl to her family. The Friday group managed to get their hands on her sock yarn scraps and Laurie organized the ModPod pattern for everyone to add a pod or two or three.

The project made its way around the group for several months. I don’t really know who all worked on it, but since Laurie and CelticQueen knew of my mad quilting skillz (HA!), they asked if I’d be willing to add a backing to the quilt.



Laurie rescued the blanket from Michelle at Bloomin (an easy drop-off point for everyone), added a few necessary pods, washed and blocked it, then turned it back over to the store, where I got it about 24 hours before Heather’s shower.



I basted quickly and took it over to the shower. Heather is a knitter and quilter, and I figured she’d understand getting a not-quite-finished gift for her shower.

I used the "loose" ends in the center of each ModPod to tie the quilt. Used pinking shears to trim the flannel within about 1.5" of the edge the whole way around, as well as clipping the "inside edges." Then I whipstitched the edge.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’ve been on a rip-roaring tear to get unfinished stuff finished and OUT of my house. This one was sent over to Heather on Saturday.

While I would strongly recommend against attempting to attach a woven backing (flannel) to a knitted object, this is one incredibly special gift that I’m certain Heather and her daughter will treasure for a very long time.

Another Bagstopper

Yep. I jumped right in and knit a second Everlasting Bagstopper. I worked a golf outing last Monday and needed some “idiot knitting” to get me through nine hours of sitting at the 15th green.


The bag hanging in front of the Bloomin Yarns stash of 2nd Time Cotton

I cast on Bagstopper No. 2 last Saturday and did just enough over the weekend to get the garter stitch square and stockingette in the round base finished and switch to the lace pattern and US 10.5 needles. Then I put it away, to be pulled out again on the course.


Base of bag with drawstring

And boy, did I ever knit on the course! I got about halfway into my second skein of yarn on the course and had very little left to go when the siren sounded for lightning and we all headed back in to the clubhouse for dinner.


I like having the bead on the drawstring. Makes it easier to close. Again, this was from stash, already in the house.

Another day or so of knitting and I was done. I used the ribbon I had originally purchased for Bagstopper #1 and took a visit to the local JoAnn’s (not the good one out in Robinson, the smaller one closer to my house) for the drawstring.


US Women’s 9 mush sandal for scale

Don’t be surprised if you see one more of these things coming off of my needles. This bag is destined to be a Christmas present for my best friend’s mom. Which is why this bag is in Ole Miss colors, and why I will also need one for Bill’s sister.

Everlasting Bagstopper #2
Pattern: Everlasting Bagstopper
Size: It’s still a bag
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too 2nd Time Cotton
Color: Claret
Quantity: Two skeins (approx. 360 yards)
Source: Bloomin Yarns, McMurray, Pa.
Needles: US 5 and US 10.5, both from my KA Switch set
Started: 18 July 2009
Finished: 23 July 2009
Mods: I used Judy's Magic Cast On to start with 44 stitches on each of two needles. Easy to pick up on the sides to get the project in the round. I also used my sewing machine to attach the handles, rather than hand-sewing them onto the bag. "Hand," when it comes to sewing, is a four-letter word in this house! (that means I don't like it and avoid when possible)

Flat FO #2: PPPPineapple quilt

You have seen it in many stages along the way. I’ve sworn over it, been impressed by the quilting, and used it for a binding demo on this here blog.

It’s finally finished.

Meet the Positively Painful Patriotic Pineapple.

Shortly after moving out here, mom and I decided to both take a Pineapple quilt class at Quilted Memories in Dunkirk, N.Y. (Mary, the owner, is almost certainly going out of business. This is extremely sad news).

Quilting motif that’s on all of the Pineapple blocks. When you’re computer-guided, it’s perfect every time!

I completely enjoyed my classmates, but discovered quickly that having to make a gross of sub-cuts (literally 144) on every stinking round of these blocks simply wasn’t for me.


The borders were also computer-guided and are perfect. Chevrons in the red, diamonds in the white and stars in the blue

But I was really glad to be finished piecing this top when that finally happened.


More detail of the quilting, as it’s more easily seen on the back. Still not great photos of the stars, but they’re there.

I had Mary from Quilted Memories do the quilting on her Gammill longarm machine. I think she did a simply fabulous job.



I went online and purchased a quilt backing-width fabric. I’d had enough grief piecing the front, I wasn’t about to piece the back!


More detail shots of the back

I recently took this quilt in to The Quilt Company to show it off a little bit, after I finally finished whipstitching the binding down. The fabulous Debi (store manager) thinks I should enter it in the Butler show this October.


Something blue bled like a sonofabitch when I washed this thing. I think it was the backing, but I can’t prove it.

What do you think?



I’m just thrilled it’s finished.