Now, for something different

 Tonight I worked on a quilt square. 

I am a pinner!

This is the sixth out of 12 squares. I'm halfway there!

The rest of the squares will have the bear paw-looking bits turned inward. 

After spending so much time lately on cross stitch and knitting it was nice to work on something different. It took a long time and I made a boo boo towards the end, despite having the pieces all laid out. 

Earlier today I was half-watching the birds while I was feeding my sourdough starter. 

I finally figured out a way to have suet out for the birds and the squirrels aren't knocking the holder down and taking off with the suet cake. 

I also put out some dried pieces of bread for the squirrels and the blue jays. 

The blue jays liked the bread.  I'm sure they would have rather had corn or some kind of seed.  Beggars can't be choosers. 

I managed a photo of one of the squirrels enjoying the bread, but the window was all steamed up so it didn't turn out. 

Yup, it was a happy crew out there. 

My sourdough starter ...  I'm struggling this time around. 

It gets a lot of the "hooch" going.  Which I read is okay. 

It's not behaving like I expect it to. I don't see the massive amount of bubbles or growth.  I've been reading a bit on The Pantry Mama's website.  I feel so invested in this now.  Maybe it's the time of year?  Not as much wild yeast floating around? 

And then I ask myself "Why am I doing this?" Cause I read that sourdough can be better for you than regular white bread and I want to test this out. 

Oh yeah, and I managed to eek out another ornament this evening. It took like no time at all. 

Wednesday works in progress update #9 for 2023

 It looks like it's been a bit since I've done a WIP update.  I've had something in mind, but keep backing out of doing it, so that's why ... Yes, I'm mysterious. 

I've had the last few days off work and have been enjoying them.  House stuff has been caught up so that means time for vegging out and watching Fr. Brown and working on my knit and cross stitch projects a bit. 

When I'm not napping.  

Just kidding, I don't nap that much.  

In the last couple of weeks I've started a few new sock projects, a new cross stitch project and I've kitted up a few other projects, so to speak. 

My handspun.

Definitely a work in progress, despite my finishing it up this past weekend. Last night I decided I'm going to use it to make a cardigan. Specifically, the Bly cardigan by Berroco yarns. 

Photo is from Berroco's website. 

I decided I wanted to make something on the more easy side.  This seems perfect. 

Picture this pile of squishyness in a cozy cardi. 

I'll start this as soon as I get a few skeins wound up in to yarn cakes. Wish me luck! 

First sock project is my Monkey socks by Cookie A. 

Project Name: Monkey Socks
Started: Nov. 12, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: knitty.com

Yarn: Forbidden Fiber Co.

Colorway: Tale as old as time, on the Fortitude base.

Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm

Made For: myself. 

Yarn is a pleasure to work with. 

Next up is a vanilla sock

Project Name: Vanilla sock
Started: Nov. 13, 2023

Finished: 

Yarn: Patons Kroy sock yarn

Colorway: Amythest stripes

Colors: dark purples.

Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm

Made For: myself. 

I started this project up for the times where I want to knit, but don't want to think of a pattern repeat. You can see I've got a LOT done on this sock so far. 

Up next is another Vanilla sock

Project Name: Vanilla sock
Started: Nov. 18, 2023

Finished: 

Yarn: Patons Kroy sock yarn

Colorway: Coastal stripes

Colors: variations of blue and some white or grey.

Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm

Made For: myself. 

I started this sock on a 9 or 11 inch chiaogoo mini twist. I recently started watching the Knitting Traditions podcast on Youtube, and she mentioned making socks on the small circs and I thought I would give it another try.  So far it hasn't been as tough as I remember. 

Cross stitch ... 

I started a new cross stitch project. A few weeks ago I saw Javagirl Stitches pop on with a new youtube video and an announcement of a new stitch-along and I fell in love with the Quilted Cross Stitch charts, despite my already having christmas charts to work on. 

*sigh* I was SO enabled. 

So I went to walmart and picked up some 18 count adia and dyed it myself.  I wrote about it not long ago. It turned out so lovely. 

Started: Nov. 15, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Emily Call Designs

Fabric: Charles craft aida cloth 18 count I dyed myself. Purchased at walmart.

DMC floss in called for colors

Blanc, 168, 469, 3712, 3045, 816, 310

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself. 

I'm not sure if I've worked on my snowflake cross stitch since I last shared it. So I'm sharing again, possibly. 

Project Name: #723 Snowflake

Started: Jan. 1, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Tiny Cross Stitches

Fabric: Aida cloth 14 count Hobby Lobby Zweigart. Aida has silver threads running through it. 

DMC floss in called for colors

747 ; 964 ; 995 ; 996 ; 3756 ; 3761 ; 3843 ; 3846 ; B5200

Colors: blues

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself. I've decided I'm keeping it for myself.  I told my husband that when it is done, I'm putting it on display year-round. 

It looks like I have done a smidge of work on it. 

Quilty stuff ... 

I haven't done any actual sewing on the two quilts I've had going. I'm cutting fabric.  If you are a quilter you know that cutting and prepping the fabric can take a good long time.  

I feel like I've been working forever on cutting fabric for my Dancing Stars quilt. I really need to make a hashtag for this one. 

I didn't look to see how many more fat quarter bundles I need to cut up.  Feels like a hundred. It's probably four or five.  Each bundle takes about an hour to cut.  I've been working on a bundle at night while watching "The Mindy Project" or "Burn Notice." 

Last night I decided to switch over and cut up some fabric for the sandpiper quilt. 

Project Name: Sandpiper quilt

Started: Jan. 21, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: It's Sew Emma / Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Fabric from the Solid Fat Quarter Club

Colors: A different color palette each month.

Made For: Myself

I think I have four more squares to cut for on this quilt. Then I can start assembling.

I have a feeling January is when these two quilts are going to see a significant amount of love. 

Future projects ... 

I decided I'm going to make another Harvest cardigan.  The last one I made I made using carons simply soft. That yarn, combined with my lack of knowing how to care for big handknits like this, cause the cardigan to stretch out. It looked awful.  

I'm going to use acrylic again, but this time I'm using a hobby lobby yarn, and I won't be throwing it in the dryer. 

I purchased this yarn about a year ago. I think it's going to look great. 

Started: Soon

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Tin Can Knits 

Yarn: Hobby Lobby "I love this yarn"

Colors: Cinnamon Cedar

Needle Size: US #6 / 4mm & US #8 / 5mm

Made For: myself. 

This pretty yarn is going to be made in to something very soon, too. I saw a amigugrumi in a facebook group and decided I had yarn in stash that would be perfect for it. 

It will be a gift for someone.  Not saying who just yet. 

That is all in my bag of tricks, friend. Tomorrow is the big turkey day. We are planning on smoking a turkey (so yummy). My son will be working.  My hubby will be working on some projects he's been wanting to do for a while, and I'll likely be puttering in the kitchen and knitting when I'm not in the kitchen. 

So, until then, happy Thanksgiving to all of you! 

Wednesday works in progress update #8 for 2023

I've made some really nice progress with my crochet cardigan.  I have all five pieces complete and am now working up the muster to seam the pieces together. 

The back

The front pieces

The sleeves

I was rewatching one of the videos on the craftsy class, to see how to sew all the pieces together.  The instructor shows a method that seems a bit more involved to me.  I'm not looking forward to this part of the project.  

And then ... I have to add ribbing on the edge, collar and wrists. That part looks way more complicated.  Or, maybe my mind just couldn't wrap my mind around it because I wasn't trying to work the stitches while I was watching how to make them.  If I was any other kind of crocheter (i.e. really lazy) I'd be tempted to leave the ribbing off, but then the cardigan wouldn't look complete. 

This is what I have left for yarn. For the fronts and the sleeves, I used a fresh yarn ball. I figure I can use the leftovers for seaming everything together.  

Project Name: My first crochet cardigan

Started: Sept. 30, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Craftsy or Lionbrand. 

Yarn: Lion Brand wool ease

Colors: Grey heather

Hook Size: H 5.0 mm

Made For: myself. 

Yesterday I shared about my snowflake cross stitch.  You can click here, if you missed it. Thank you to all who complimented my progress and my fancy new bling. 

I sewed up one of the blocks I had in progress for my sandpiper quilt. 

That's five down. Seven more blocks to go. 

Project Name: Sandpiper quilt

Started: Jan. 21, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: It's Sew Emma / Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Fabric from the Solid Fat Quarter Club

Colors: A different color palette each month.

Made For: Myself

You can see all my posts for this quilt here. 

Friday works in progress update #7 for 2023

 I had intended to write a WIPs on Wednesday post.  Alas, ... it's been a bit of a week.  My close buds have heard me complaining about the rain putting me into a bit of a funk.  I like taking photos of my projects when we have decent outside light. 

There still isn't decent light because - shocker of all shocker-ey things - it's raining. Again. 

Last year I decided I was going to try making a crochet cardigan, after seeing a "My first cardigan" class on Craftsy. 

This year I finally took the plunge. 

Last night I finished the back.  

Project Name: My first crochet cardigan

Started: Sept. 30, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Craftsy or Lionbrand. 

Yarn: Lion Brand wool ease

Colors: Grey heather

Hook Size: H 5.0 mm

Made For: myself. 

I've got some mixed thoughts on this project because of the craftsy class. I haven't viewed all the videos yet.  A couple things I've had to look on the internet to figure out what I was supposed to do. Nothing personal against the instructor, but the more knowledgable I get with some of these crafts, the less impressed I am with some of the craftsy classes.  I remember when craftsy first came out and everyone thought it was the greatest thing.  I'm feeling kind of meh about it.  Definitely cancelling the subscription. 

The next part to work on will be the fronts.  I'm confident I'll be able to blaze through them.  What I'm not looking forward to is the sleeves.  I'm sure that's a universal feeling. 

Next, we have my snowflake cross stitch project. 

Project Name: #723 Snowflake

Started: Jan. 1, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Tiny Cross Stitches

Fabric: Aida cloth 14 count Hobby Lobby Zweigart. Aida has silver threads running through it. 

DMC floss in called for colors

747 ; 964 ; 995 ; 996 ; 3756 ; 3761 ; 3843 ; 3846 ; B5200

Colors: blues

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself. Maybe. I haven't decided yet if I want to give this away. 

I put this down a few months ago.  I got tired of working on blue.  Blue, blue and more blue.  I was pretty dedicated to it when I was working on it, and got a ton done. 

How it looked back in June: 

See, lots done since June. 

Patternkeeper is SO awesome. If it wasn't for patternkeeper I think I would have given up on this.  

I'm sure I'll make this one again, some time down the road, but I'll be using a single color rather than nine different shades of one color. 

Spinning ... 

I identify as a spinner so much, you'd be shocked at how little I actually spin fiber into yarn. It's pathetic, really. 

I've been working on the same fiber for years and years.  I bought ... two and a half pounds, maybe, years ago, with the intention of spinning enough fiber to knit a sweater for my husband.  I even picked out the pattern for an interweave knits.  Now i'm not sure I'd make that specific pattern because it's all kinds of cables and pretty bits.  

Anywho, I'm still spinning the fiber and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with it. 

I probably haven't touched this since last year ... or maybe early this year? 

I was watching Dark Winds the last time I was spinning, and now I tie watching that show very strong with spinning.  So now I don't want to work on it unless I'm watching the show. 

The other night I pulled the spinning wheel out and got her all dusted, cleaned up and pretty. 

Now to just make the point of watching the show, right? 

Maybe when it's just a little bit more "fall" out? Sitting by the wood stove, with Dark Winds on, and spinning for like an hour at a time.  I have a goal of getting the fiber all spun up by the end of the year. 

Quilty things next ... 

I started the year with such good intentions with the Fat Quarter solids of the month club.   

And then ... nothing. 

I have four blocks done so far, and two blocks in progress. 

Project Name: Sandpiper quilt

Started: Jan. 21, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: It's Sew Emma / Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Fabric from the Solid Fat Quarter Club

Colors: A different color palette each month.

Made For: Myself

The last time I shared I had finished the blue one that is in the top photo, lower left. 

I have fabric for the next few months are all ironed and ready to go. I iron it really well and do my absolute best to keep things lined up. I figured I didn't need things to be super-duper precise, so no starching. 

Project Name: Dancing Stars

Started: 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: It's Sew Emma / Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Fabric from the Solid Fat Quarter Club

Colors: A different color palette each month.

Made For: Myself

This is the quilt pattern suggestion for the 2022 Fat Quarter Shop solid fat quarter club. I had to buy a special ruler for this one. 

The fabric is being starched.  I feel precision is really important on this one. 

It's five quilt blocks for each month, and the pattern calls for all 12 colors in the monthly bundle. 

This project has been at a bit of a standstill.  Lots of ironing and making sure none of the colors are out of place. 

A couple weeks ago I had the great idea of using the liquid starch to starch a lot of the fat quarters at once. 

I used a jug of the sta-flo liquid starch at a 50/50 mixture and used almost all of the mixture.

There was hardly any left. 

 I starched 108 fat quarters in like half an hour.  It was amazing! 

Then, it wasn't so amazing. All the time I saved on starching I'm making up for in the ironing.  The fat quarters are SO wrinkled from my squeezing out the excess starch.  It's probably taking three times as long to iron because I need to steam and spray extra water to get all the wrinkles out. Ugh! 

The project is slow going due to my desire to iron all the fat quarters before I start working on it again. 

This quilting project I started ... oh who knows ... and it stalled almost right away. 

It's a project from the January 2022 sew sampler box from, you guessed it, Fat Quarter Shop. 

I have all the pieces cut out and almost ready to sew. I wanted to make the smaller size that is a wall hanging, and make it for my bedroom.  Since there's no pressure to get it done, it hasn't been worked on. 

Oh, I take it back. I did blog a bit about this when I first started it. 

Project Name: Daydreams lap quilt

Started: Feb. 5, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Beautiful Day collection by Corey Yoder

Made For: Myself. 

Since I basically cut it and forgot it, I didn't remember it! Heh, funny how that works. 

*ahem*

And as I type this I remember that in the spring time I decided I wanted a pretty spring-ish project bag.  I got as far as ironing the fabric.  No cutting for pieces, though.  Would it count as a work in progress if it's only been ironed? 

Works in Progress Wednesday #2 for 2023

 I haven't worked on as many things this past week. 

I worked on my Inspired by Joy blanket.  

It's at row 44 or 45, in part 3. 

Progress has definitely slowed down.  There's a stitch in particular that takes me a while.  It's where you skip a stitch, do a treble crochet, and then do a double crochet in the skipped stitch. 

I put a marker where I last took a progress photo. It doesn't show up well in the other photo.  

Last week's image

Project Name: Inspired by Joy

Started: Dec. 26, 2022

Finished: 

Designer/Source: The Crochet Crowd

Yarn:

Color A - Red Heart - White

Color B - Caron One Pound - Rose 

Color C - Caron Jumbo - Rosewood

Colors: white and rose colors with hints of green.

Required Amount: I purchased two skeins of each color

Needle/Hook Size: 5.5 mm /  I/9

Gauge: beats me ; pattern calls for 13 dc x 6 rows = 4″ [10 cm]

Made For: Myself, maybe

Dye Lots: Will find that out later.

I had visions of this cross stitch pulling together a lot faster than it is.  I haven't touched it since this past weekend.  I was holding the q-snap in my hand, and stitching.  Then I decided to set it up on my Hope stand and started stitching with two hands.  That was a lot faster. I was hesitant to use my Hope stand because it was set up just right for a different project that is on lugauna. 

Last week's photo: 

Project Name: Month to Month - February

Started: Jan. 15, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: https://www.etsy.com/shop/stitchinghousewives

Fabric: Aida cloth 14 count Hobby Lobby Zweigart.

Floss: Using called for Classic Colorworks fancy floss

Colors: Black, pink, red, teal, green

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself

The first Sandpiper quilt square is complete.

I am happy with how it looks. I thought I would not starch the fabric for this quilt.  Now I'm wondering if I should have. There's a bit of waviness to some of the fabric that I know wouldn't be there if I starched. 

In progress shot: 

I'm using my new Janome Memory Craft 6650. I didn't purchase a quarter-inch foot for this machine.  I'm still debating on if I should get one. In the meantime, I've got painters tape. 

There was one boo-boo that resulted in my ripping stitches and reassembling.  I accidentally put the center bit on the wrong end of one of the pieces. I have started  shortening my stitch length to 1.5 so it was a bit of a pain to rip those stitches out. I thought I took a photo of it before I realized what I did.  Turns out I did not accidentally record my mistake. 

Project Name: Sandpiper quilt

Started: Jan. 21, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: It's Sew Emma / Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Fabric from the Solid Fat Quarter Club

Colors: A different color palette each month.

January 2023 is blue (Blue Jay)

Made For: Myself

My vanilla sock.  I've made it down to the heel flap and I've got six rows in, I believe.  I've been trying my hardest to not be tense or feeling stressed when I work on them.  The last few pairs I've made I've had an issue with ladders on the sides because I've been pulling the yarn too tight. I learned a LONG time ago that when I'm feeling really stressed or anxious that I shouldn't knit socks.  

Project Name: Vanilla socks

Started: Jan. 7, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: My own pattern

Yarn: Patons Kroy sock yarn

Colorway: Mexicala stripes

Colors: oranges, red, purples and a smatter of blue and white

Required Amount: Two skeins of sock yarn. 100 grams

Needle/Hook Size: U.S. 1 (2.25 mm)

Gauge: beats me

Made For: Myself

Dye Lots: WL238520

Well, that's all that I've been working on since the last WIP post. I decided to take a break this evening.  It's been snowing and I know I've got snow moving/removal in my near future.  It usually wreaks havoc on my hands and wrists. Not to mention the wood I carried in to the house yesterday.  My wrists need a break. 

Quiet-ish weekend and a good mail day

Is it possible to forget what happened a day or two later?  

Not that I had a lot going on this past weekend. It was a fairly quiet one.  We drove down to Rice Lake for some chicken feed. Stopped at Menards and picked up a few things. The usual. My friend Dawn is probably laughing if she's reading this. 

My husband did some snow chores and rotated my tires while I was busy doing other household stuff. 

I didn't previously mention that I had taken time off the latter part of last week. I have vacation time to use or lose. There's always something going on lately so I don't feel like I got a lot of crafty stuff done.  People assured me that I have got a lot done. Okay. I will go with that.

I spend some time on my Inspired by Joy blanket. 

 I got a start on my Sandpiper quilt. 

And I have one portion of the square complete. 

Exciting! 

It feels good to be quilting something. 

This weekend we did have something exciting happen. 

Turkeys! We've lived out here for 10 years and never had turkeys consistently come through our property.  They usually made a beeline to the neighbor's property via the cedar swamp.

They've showed up every day now, and cruised on through. I love watching them. 

Last week I took a walk through the back 20 and saw the deer have been making a tidy trail. 

Deer aren't small animals. Yet they make such thin game trails.  I hadn't been back there since we snowshoed back there to collapse the hunting blinds.  Slowly, but surely, the deer are making their little highways to who knows where. 

I hope they make it til spring.  Last year we saw so many fawns, twins and even a few triplets.  Which, I did not think triplets were possible. 

They use the trails in our back yard too. 

The weather was pretty grey this past weekend.  Thankfully warm enough to be able to do work outside without freezing.  

Today we had some snow and then the sun popped out for a bit.  Once again, the area looked like Narnia thanks to fresh coat of snow.

I wish I had my phone with me when I went out to get mail. The sun poked through the clouds and everything looked so peaceful and bright. 

Can you see the tidy snow cleanup job my man did? Meanwhile, in some of the areas we are running out of room to move snow to. 

 

Just enough snow to cover the solar panels.  Our area is supposed to get a cold front moving in later this week, or the weekend. 

Now I'm going to bare my calendar soul.

I ordered the Needle Worker's Book of Days. 

Look at my January.  I started out with such good intentions.  Then before I knew it, it's almost the end of the month and I've written notes for ONE DAY.

I'll be going through my camera roll and see if I can sprinkle some notes on these two pages. Maybe put some doodles so it's not completely bare

So ... speaking of that good mail day. My Sew Sampler box arrived. 

At the beginning of 2022 I signed up for it through Fat Quarter Shop because I wanted to do something fun for myself.  I've enjoyed most of what I've received.  I haven't sewn any of the projects yet.  I want to change that this year. 

If you are signed up for the sew sampler box, and don't want to see it yet, then I suggest stop reading now.  ... Or not. ... 

Just keep scrolling if you want to see. 

Fun!  

I do love Lori Holt's stuff.  She has such cute fabrics. I rarely buy "fancy fabrics" for myself.  If I do, I need to have a project in mind and it has to be a good one. 

One of these days I'll have to give the paper piecing a try.  However, I'm LOVING the reader glasses.  They arrived at just the right time, too.  I wanted to get more readers for the she shed and the craft room.