The Clover Doily

by Eileen Stafford

I used DMC white in size 30 thread and a bobbin filled shuttle (many times filled)

It blocked to 10 lovely inches.

Fun and still challenging for this self-taught shuttle tatter.

Some knitted things for grandsons...

 Blue and green for Joey

  Grey and yellow for Kayden

I knit them in the round and added a shoulder opening so they would go over their heads but still keep the V-neck close to the body.

Both vests were knit with superwash worsted weight wool.

Thank you.....

....to all the generous donations for my mom.
It was enough to send for some of her things so she could feel like she did not leave all 45 years behind.

Thank you, thank you!

Moms place before and after the fire

North is up.

All the property you see in the above image is moms.  There is more to the north and west.

North is bottom leftish corner.

If you wish to help, please see the November 27 post for donation details.  No amount is too small and mom and I would be ever so grateful.

I have one of my shawls (handknit by me) in my eBay store, knackful-knitter,..all proceeds will go to my mom.

Yoder, Colorado fire destroys my moms property

I called my mom, Tuesday morning, for our regular chat.  She was looking forward to getting into the Thanksgiving Salmon I sent her from MadeInWashington, some delicious goodies I send her every year.

It was about 1-2 hours later that I received a call from moms friend, Esther.  She was frantic and told me she had my mom...mom was safe...but not her house and 40 acres.

You can read some of the news and see the photos of my moms house and outbuildings here.
Mom is 81 and was in shock and will not have her routine back for some time.

If you are wanting to help with expenses, you can send your donations to:

Twin Star Credit Union
1020 5th Ave SE
Olympia, WA 98501

Account # 61927-10 "Margot Paul Emergency Fund"

Thank you for any help.

Zen Machine Embroidery with Sue Hausmann

The two fun-filled days came and went too quickly.

Here are some of the many projects that we completed:

A very useful carry all....

An beautiful dish towel....

Very lacy pocket....

Hummingbird and flowers on a nylon bag.....

3D Butterfly sewn onto the top of this little circular bag.....

Zen pocket and Scissor holder (which still needs to be trimmed).....

The best part of the whole experience was meeting the wonderful Sue Hausmann!!!

I've watched Sue, on TV, for years but never thought I'd ever meet her.

Sue is a down to earth and genuinely nice person.

Thank you, Billie's Designer Fabrics, for bringing Sue to us!!!

Doin' some sewin'

 August BOM - the 12th block for the year

 Keep the sun out hat and "take me fishin'" hat

 Nice, bright flannel booties

Newborn bibs backed with flannel

A crocheted doily and a Herbert Niebling doily

 You, too, can crochet this doily.  It is the July Member's Choice at DOM and

is FREE.

I used sz 10 crochet thread and US sz 4 hook.

This beautiful doily was designed by Glenda Hunt and can be purchased at DoilyHead's Blog.

I test knit this twice because I knit it with sz 10 crochet thread the first time and was 

reminded it needed to be with larger thread for the size of a baby blanket.  

It was a wonderful knit and there are no errors.  :)

A few Amish inspired quilt blocks

.....from the Block-of-the-Month group.

I am looking forward to this Friday's get together for the next block.

A sad thing....

.....for the Robin family.  After sitting on her eggs for over 17 days, she left the nest.  She came back the next two days to sit for about half an hour each time.

I checked the eggs.  They were cold.  I opened one, then two and then all three.  They looked as fresh as if she had just laid them.  They were not fertile.

It was so sad to see her come back and try and try.  Even Mr. Robin landed on the nest, the 15th day, with a worm in his beak.  I watched him look at the inside of the nest.....first with one eye and then turned his head to look with his other.  He ate the worm and left.  He knew.

The nest is still there waiting for a family.  Maybe, just maybe, we'll still get to see some baby robins in it this year.

How many eggs will Ms. Robin lay this year?

 After the nest was built, Ms. Robin went away until today, March 25th.

The first egg in the nest at 11:14 a.m.  I happened to look out the kitchen window

to see her panting, stand up and lay the egg.

 March 26th after 12 noon.

 March 27th after 1 p.m.

 Ms. Robin.....will there be a 4th egg tomorrow?  

She turned her "back" to me.....leaving me to wonder.

The nest building from start to finish

 March 14

 March 16

 March 17

March 18

There was no work done on the 15th.

So Miss Robin decided to build her nest on the same ladder rung as last year.

I feel honored that she likes the house so much.

Slytherin Scarf my way.....

Since I am unable to knit without a lot of pain in my left wrist, I decided to weave the scarves 

to finish the Harry Potter Scarves left to do.

 The camera captured the colors nicely in this photo of Slytherin beginnings.

Slytherin after washing and hemstitching.

Ingredients for this scarf:  Cascade 220 Superwash and an 8 dent reed.

Two more to go.

Here's what happened to me, today...

 This coop and run was delivered to us in June 2013.  Nice, right.  Picture it without grass inside.

Well, it wasn't today.  See the latch on the long side of the 4'x8' run that is only 3' tall?

I was wanting to take a really good look inside so I took the spring hook off, did a squat and closed the door behind me.  Yup, you got it.....I locked myself inside the run.  Stop laughing so you can read on.

 See this lovely, clean inside with such a beautiful brand spanking new ladder....all untouched by Le Poo?

You got it.  

After I yelled for help, it dawned on me that I could be in here with the chickens for hours!  I wasn't

the only one not happy with me in there.  The girls were tilting their heads and following me around talking to me.  At that moment, I was very happy it wasn't a puppy who would be ALL over me!

I assessed the situation and saw a possible escape route to the left of the ladder and under

the roost that is about 18" high.

Never mind that I had "to town" jeans on.....but luckily I had the "feed the chickens and clean the roost" jacket on, so I got on my elbows and felt like I was crawling under barbed wire telling myself to keep my head down (yes, I told myself to keep that part down, too).

This is another early photo of one the girls getting used to the coop.  See that feeder in the far back?  The

water container wasn't in there so I could finish crawling through the mud and poo around the feeder.

It was really tough on me with the painful tendinitis in my left wrist but I persevered.

No one my age should have to experience that!

I hope I learned my lesson.  

Don't go where the chickens go!

Bibs. Will they stand the test?

Check out these infant bibs I made as a request from my beautiful DIL.

 The Fronts of the Fantastic Four.

I used some wonderful 100% cotton fabrics.

 The Backs of the same Fantastic Four.

The backs are waterproof and 100% Nylon.

In the middle is some prewashed double-sided flannel.

 Here, my grandson, Joey, is wondering if these will rip off as easily as the velcro ones.

Mom and Dad laughed as Joey tried with all his might.

The face of defeat says it all....the bib won't budge with those snap closures.

The pattern can be found here.

Sheep Heid Tam for me....

....and knit by my dear friend, Denise, of LostCityKnits.  The irony of this is

that I test knit for her and she knit this for me.  She knew I would

not be able to knit it for some time as I have DeQuervain's Syndrome in my left thumb/wrist.

Ouch is right.

Not being able to knit, sew, tat, crochet and other daily activity is making me not so happy.

I DO have a question about my hair and would love input from you all......should I leave it the length it is

or cut it short.  I look forward to your opinions!

Hope everyone else is doing better than me.  :)

Caviar for my Chickens?

Slug Caviar....that is.

This picture was borrowed from Ask website.

The Frank Tree.

I made this up as I went along to make The Frank Tree.

This special tree is a countdown to his birthday.  

I loved the Christmas Paisley as the background to the Silk Dupioni tree and ornaments.

The Moose was recreated out of wool felt.  

He made that with his bare hands and foot when he was almost three.

The back has a huge Houndstooth pattern (with wings).

Next time, I'll sew this a little different.

Again, no pattern, just my imagination and knowing my son will love the back.

There is also a dowel pocket at the top.

I made this for him because it was to be all about Frank.

A Christmas I'll never forget....

It was 1990.  I graduated from the Reserve Police Academy that summer as an Officer;  money was tight as I worked for minimum wage to make a living for my one-year-old son and me; and I was going through a divorce.
It was December 24th and I was finishing up a sweater I was knitting as a gift for my son when I got a late phone call from one of the office gals at the PD.  She said someone left some boxes of presents in my name and asked me to come get them.  I looked at the clock and saw it was after 10 pm but told her I would right away.
I got my son and bundled him up and we drove the 13 miles to town.  When I walked into the PD, no one was there but the 2 big boxes full of presents for my son.  I packed them into my '87 Toyota pickup and we drove back home.
After tucking my son back in bed, I hauled the boxes into the house and placed them under the tree and finished up his sweater.  I cried and cried with the thought that someone cared enough about us to do this.  I still had no idea who did this.
Morning came and my son (about to turn 2) jumped around with excitement at the colorfully wrapped gifts under the tree.  I soon found out they came from the Radio Shack store that was owned by Keith Mercer and his wife.  Keith was a police officer there.  I did not think of Keith this way as he was very serious about his work.
This was the most memorable Christmas ever and I reflect back on it every year.
I am ever so grateful to him and the PD for giving me so much.....not only the gifts for my son but the gifts I learned as a Reserve Police Officer.
Merry Christmas to all.....

The chicken named Princess Pea

Princess Pea in the roost

I just came in after locking the three girls out of their huge run so I could dig up some carrots.  They wanted in badly because I had the tool that digs up worms.  Oh, yeah!
I caved and let them in  and dug up some worms and such.  Princess Pea ran to the roost and I thought, Ah, an egg will soon be here, and went back to digging for #1 and Tattie.  Lo and behold, Princess Pea was back.  Hmmm, I know she didn't have enough time to do her job.  She must have thought, I have a few minutes before I have to.
Never mind, I thought, and went back to digging.  Oh!  There goes Princess Pea running to the roost, again!  This time she didn't come back.....not even for worms.  I'm still laughing at how she thought she could squeeze in one more worm before squeezing out one more egg.  LOLOL

Leftovers? Easy way I put mine to work!

First, prepare a piroshki dough you make the night before.  Don't have a good recipe?  Email me and I'll send one to you....Check my profile for that.

Then chop up your leftover turkey and place in one bowl, stuffing and mashed potatoes in another bowl, vegetable of your choice and some grated cheese.

 The assembly line is ready!

Filled pastries are ready for their egg wash.

I used parchment paper for easy clean up.

Last time I used the piroshki dough recipe, I used cooked sausage and scrambled eggs for the filling.  It's a great way to start the day by taking one out of the freezer and placing in the microwave for only 30-45 seconds.  Yum!