Tasty Salad....and a new pet

Cauliflower, carrots, plumped raisins, spring onions/scallions, lemon juice, olive oil, little bit of honey/sugar...

and then lastly chopped cilantro.  Mmmm, mmmm! 

Finally!  A pet that is quiet, feeds himself and isn't a pest for affection!

;o)

Handstitching, week 3 & 4

 The Lafitte Shawl (test knit for Denise) is showing off the front of my Needle card using pearl cotton and kraft paper fabric.

 Our teacher, Rachel, had us back it with felt to hold more sewing needles. for. handstitching.  The shawl just wouldn't let me take a photo without it.  :)

My sewing machine is resting during my classes but I let it help out with modeling my handstitched headband.  It's really, really cute.....I am going to make more of them.

Knitting Delight

Literally.  Knitting Delight's yahoo group is in German but the KAL's and Mystery Knits are posted in 5 (yes, five) different languages.  Once those are over, the files are up for a bit longer and then gone.  The patterns can be purchased, though.  This stole is called Summer Queen.

This was a KAL as Cardigan Malibu.  I made mine a V-neck pullover with shorter sleeves and a collar.

A knitted coin purse for me

This is knit with Berroco Bluefaced Leicester in a beautiful eggplant color from a pattern in Piecework magazine.
It finished up at 5" wide by 4" tall.
I even lined it and put a zipper in.  There is a first for everything!

Suncatcher by Nancy Tracey

A little time to shuttle tat.  I used size 10 crochet thread.....and I'm a beginner who is self taught.

This is a really nice design by Nancy Tracey.  She has a monthly newsletter, too.

Handstitching with Rachel

The top two pictures are of my "workable" Eyelet Needlebook.......Love it!  The 3rd picture is my Dogwood Blossom to go in a quilt.  I used the light pink embroidery thread to stitch the reverse applique down with a semi-blind stitch.  I am now ready for Week 3 of Handstitched Premium with Rachel!

I've been Flocked!

   Mind you, now.....I am out of my comfort zone here.....and LOVING it!  It all started with just taking a look at a quilting blog called Stitched In Color.  This reverse applique is called 'Flocked'.
   I sewed my tee months ago, started this Handstitched Premium On-Line Class recently and thought I'd use it to do the embellishing on.  I got lots of Ooo's and Ahh's.  Yes.  Handstitching is a good thing.

Kornblume

1

2

and WaLa!

Oh, I love this doily.  I used what the pattern suggested, sz 100 thread (DMC Cordonnet) and US sz 000 needles.  It finished up at 25" x 17".
Now what will I start next?  ;o)

My Retro Flower Quilt

Start like this...

...and add a few other things and you have a quilt!

I joined a Quilt-Along (QAL) called Retro Flower.  You can find the pattern at The Sometimes Crafter.  I first saw this block at Rachel's.  How did I get to Rachel's blog and why did I look around and see SO many things that I wanted to learn and make.  

This one is going to my mom, for Father's Day, and it is supposed to look like Cornflowers.....Retro Cornflowers.  

Now I'm back to doing some test knitting for Denise at LostCityKnits.

Knitted Eye Candy

I can Spin..........

.....fingering wool AND worsted wool!

There are 1025 yards in the fingering weight and 275 yards in the worsted weight.  Both are 2-ply.

It seems once you learn to spin, you spin thinner and thinner or skinnier and skinnier.  I wonder why.

A pair of socks and some quilt blocks

All things EZ

A new wallet in town....

 .....for my son.  The choice was Houndstooth.  

I found it in an upholstery fabric.

The inside was made with linen.

 I like it and what's MORE important is my son loves it!

You can find this FREE tutorial at Noodlehead.

Making things, instead of buying things

Made this years ago at a Super Saturday.  If you are LDS, you know how much fun those are.

This Ascot (by E.V. Zygas) from Knitter's Magazine, Summer 2010 K99 page 77,

is a gift to my mom.

I used Plassard Meri-Cash8 in color 155 and pink ribbon for the trim.

I have been sewing.....

.....the Eleanor Burns, of Quilt-In-A-Day, way.............AND I CAN'T STOP!!!!

Surprise from Down Under.......

 Look at all the wonderful colors!  The floss, crochet/tatting thread, different squares of fabulous fabric, hand painted cards, a heart key chain, buttons, lavender sachet, embroidery embellishment and then.............

............................................THIS.  I love.  This.
All this from my wonderful friend, Shirley, from Australia.  We have been blogging friends since way back when.  She's a wonderful and very talented friend.

Footies and a Sweater

Ahh, footies!  My son has received a pair of these almost every year since he was a wee lad.  He loves the strange ones and even better if they don't match.  Yes, those are them.....the ones with all the colors.  The other 3 are just one of each of three additional pair he asked me to knit for his friends.  No sense in putting them all in since they look just like the ones shown.  :)
I used 2 strands of Cascade 220 Superwash and US sz 6 dpn's.

Then there is this sweater I knit without a pattern but it was EZ.  Yes, easy to knit with what I learned from EZ (Elizabeth Zimmermann).
I did learn the Channel Island cast-on from Meg Swansen with split welt on the sides.  I kept the side stitches in purl and took in the waist a bit for an hourglass figure.  I kept knitting in the round setting in the sleeves and only doing a 3-needle bind-off at the shoulders....the rest is seamless.
Mom sent me the yarn (a little heavier than worsted) and I used US sz 7 needles.

Two of the saddest things I know......

.....when my needles finished the last round of knitted lace on this delightful-to-knit Herbert Niebling design,

.......and when my spoon got to the bottom of this super delicious Bengal Chutney made by Julie.

Herbert Niebling knitted lace never looked better

The title says it all....when you have beautiful stitch markers by Marilyn.  I only used 3 of one set and one green (to mark the beginning of the round) even though there were 8 repeats to start.  You end up with 32 repeats at the end.

This is one of many from "Knitted Lace Designs of Herbert Niebling".  A picture of it is on page 48 and the charted pattern on pages 50-51.

I used #30 DMC Cebelia Crochet Thread with US sz 0 circular needles. 

This lovely knitted lace traveled with me to Canada on Holiday with Julie and caused many a conversation on the Clipper!

My excellent adventure......

…with Julie.  Of course, there was Robert and Arban, too.  I was just there in July when I received an invite to come for another visit.  So soon?!  Oh for sure, eh!  I was delighted!

Julie picked me up and as soon as we arrived, we left again.  Supplies were in and we had to pick them up.  We were back and quickly went to work making……dill pickles!....40 pounds of pickles!  I knew it!  That’s why she asked me up for a visit!  ;o)

Then came Tuesday and my hair appointment with Greg.  I had been dreading it.  I mean…..REALLY dreading it, sweats and all!  I was trying to get him to hear my concerns about my curly hair but he only heard, “Blah, blah, blah”.  Greg escorted me to get my hair shampooed, then to THE chair and he asked me in a soft voice, “So what do you want people to say when they see your hair?”  Wow!  I had never, ever been asked that question by a hairstylist.  Never.  “I want them to say, Look at that curly thick hair”.  Something like that.  I was still thinking about his perfect question!   Pictures?  Maybe later.

Needless to say, Greg was finished with my new do and I was super happy.  I was Glamorous!....so Julie said.   I Love it!

I thought all the stress and excitement was done.  I thought she was all surprised out.  Wrong.  Julie had one more up her sleeve for Wednesday, the day after my Glam hair day…..we were going to Salt Spring Island via the Ferry!  To visit Marilyn!!!!  

After a delicious lunch on the Wind Walker (Marilyn and Michael’s boat) Marilyn took us to Fulford  

where we walked and got acquainted with some of the shop owners.  It was over before we knew it.  We boarded the Ferry, were home in no time and then we rested.

I think I ate and talked a LOT!  It’s just not fair we all don’t live closer together.  As it is, my excellent adventure is just a drive and Clipper-trip away.