Stars and Striped

 The Cardinal Quilt was off the frame and I needed to load up another quick one and lighten the to-do pile!

This quilt was on and off the frame in a flash because I used a simple stipple pantograph!

 The binding is finished and it should be completed in no time!

While I was working in the Studio, Bill was painting that sheetrock and giving it some color to match.  The wall turned out great but the ceiling is too new looking-it sure doesn't take many years to yellow a kitchen ceiling;  I need to burn something and make some smoke! lol 

 When I was ready to sew on the binding, I didn't like the red after all!

I will wait and get some grey when I go to the store on Thursday.

As much as I want this finished, I don't want to make it less than it can be just to complete it!

I want to gift this to my daughter (shhhh!  don't tell her!) and I want it just right!

I am also adding a scrap block using the same LeMoyne star Accuquilt die as the center block of each row of the RSC2017 quilt.  I had to dig in the basket to find some scraps to make the purple blocks!

I'm glad the trash wasn't emptied in there so I could! 

 And then I cut out pieces for the 8 blocks I will make in the color-of-the-month, Sea Greens!

During Tuesday's knitting, I started a pair of shorty socks for Marsel in the same yarn I used for mine;  one nice thing about making these is that I will be able to get two pair from one big ball!

Does anyone else use the cardboard form with stats for making socks?

I have a new idea to try with these but more tomorrow on that!

Fresh Start for the Week

 I wore them all day and they stayed put!  No slipped heel, no twisting-what a wonderful fit and surprise for me as I had a very low expectation for them!

I will be making more, just watch!

This morning Bill finished spackling and texturing the sheetrock so we can paint tomorrow! 

 We moved the cupboard away from the fridge (so he could work and so we could get a visual on my idea) but we aren't sure it is going to work for us........stay tuned.

If all goes according to plan, we will be ripping up the floor when we are done with the painting!

 I traced the outline for the snowflakes from one of the Accuquilt dies (ran a piece of cardboard through to get a stencil!) and then loaded up the cardinal wall hanging and got right to work!

It didn't take too long (1 1/2 hrs) to get it finished-very exciting!

I will bind it tomorrow in between the remodels! lol

This is what supper time looks like at our house.  We have two more cats but one isn't social and eats quite solitarily and the other won't touch canned food!  There are dishes of dry food throughout the house/garage  but these four are regulars for the canned food feast twice a day!

Lena likes being part of her posse!

Finishes and Feline!

 Shorty sock number one off the needles.

This style is still dubious to me but I am going to give it a try.

 The design wall is completed!

It is such a wonderful space calling for quilt blocks and ideas and incredible quilts to come!

 Each edge is wrapped and tucked so it is like a great big canvas waiting for me to fill it with color!

 Tools of my job this afternoon!

I Swiffered the floor under the frame where all the spray adhesive had fallen;  the good news is that it all came up easily!

 I placed the last projects that were up before the remodel and placed that back on the wall;  just right!

(One nice advantage now is that I can pin into the foam board which I couldn't do before.)

 I can sure appreciate the clean lines and years of creativity this wall will see!

 Lena helped and sniffed at each move as usual but all this work was very tiring...

in fact, it was just a matter of minutes and this little face was sound asleep!

Design Wall Upgrade!

 Once upon a time, I used flannel backed tablecloth for my design wall-it originally lay on the bed because my sewing room was a spare room without a spare wall!  So I laid things on the tablecloth on the bed so I could roll it up when I was done for the day. 

When I moved into my super duper Studio, I used the table cloth stapled to the wall.

It worked well until I needed more design than the 40 x 60 tablecloth.

I bought cotton batting and stapled that to the wall!  It has been a wonderful upgrade until the batting sagged and it looked like swags and what was I thinking putting it all the way up to the ceiling?!  The top two feet of the 9 foot wall were just a waste!

Now my neighbor, Millie, and I have been working on this new design wall idea.

We have used Liquid Nails to 'glue' the heavy duty foam (not the beaded white stuff!)

to the wall and then we will cover it with the batting and tuck it in around the edges so it will be very neat and professional looking!

 We each had one outlet to work around but have both glued our sheets of this stuff to the wall and let it dry!  The board at the bottom is so that I could keep the sheets level for placement.

We don't have baseboards yet so this will allow room for them.....someday.
Tomorrow we use adhesive spray to attach the batting to Millie's wall and Friday it will be my turn!

(I ended up cutting one foot from the 8 foot length of these so that I could leave room at the top to bring back my shelf and also hand a 12' pvc pipe across the bottom hardware for displaying the quilts for photos!)

All in good time!

 Lena was a great help during this 4 hour process today-she keep the batting still for me so I could walk around it all the way!

 By afternoon, I was ready for some recliner therapy and finally finished my second pair of socks for the year!

This is Stroll fingering in Gumball on size 2.5mm.

 I like the look of the leg in that k3, p1 rib and especially the fit-it really hugs unlike plain stockinette all the way to the top cuff some patterns use.

And there is no need for additional rib at the top.

And because the evening was young, I cast a new sock as soon as that last tail end was woven in!

Lighthouses and Bridges, oh, my!

The quilt is off the frame and through the washer and dryer;

I am glad to see it come through to the end because I was not happy with my idea of a mariner's compass as a design for each block.

Skill not idea is to blame.

I will have to work on ruler talents to get a better line next time! 

 There are so many interesting landmarks;  I really like having this quilt  ready for use!

 Even the borders and bindings are a nice restful color and accents the whole.

I did buy this as a kit to set off my blocks.

The designer did a great job.

I did add the extra blocks I collected to the backing so there is a nice surprise if the quilt gets flipped over!

Where to Begin....?

 Last week, Wonder Boy was here with his Mom and brother for a while!

I worked a bit on the afghan blocks but not too much else!

I call his one year old brother a Tornado-he runs and wreaks damage in his wake.

Hopeful this stage won't last too long!

 Wonder Boy likes the outdoors, every few hours he needs some one on one time outside-he is into climbing right now.  He turns me into a nail biter but I let him climb.  He needs it.

 The LeMoyne Star blocks are completed for the month!

Nice to see them lined up on the design wall!

 After they went home and I slept forever, I woke to some creative quiet time in the studio.

This little rocker was mine as a child and it needed a bit of repair so I gave it some glue and dowel to re-attach the rockers and armrests.

Nice to see it tighten up for some more good years of use!

I wish I could get a good fix like this for my joints, too! lol

I got that monkey off my back by finishing the last row and a half on the lighthouse quilt so I could take it off the frame and put the binding on.  

Sissy was grateful for the non-children home again so she came to help me sew.

Unfortunately, she weighs a LOT and her ballast wasn't helpful at all!

Maybe I will have the energy to finish it after I do dishes.........

Yarning!

 This was the scenery for our weekly gathering for knitting together yesterday. 

 Isn't it stunning?  

Her home nestles next to Lake Como and provided a wonderfully restful view for us from her living room!

This is my friend, Linda, my Mom and me!

We get together every week rotating homes and having a wonderful afternoon.

And became very silly when trying to take a selfie!

I did work on this-a sock out of Gumball colored KnitPicks Stroll.

I am using a new cuff of k3p1 which is not intuitive for me but I am sticking with it so that the leg looks like stockinette but has some hug of ribbing!

Crochet?!

Youngest son said he really misses having an afghan to cuddle under for a nap.

He has lots of quilts from me and from his wife's grandma but he forgot how nice a roomy afghan could be after napping after mine.

(I will admit, mine is a relic made when he was about 9 or 10 years old and he is now 30!)

Mom and I took that old one and figured out how it was made since I couldn't find the little pamphlet I used to make it!

After a bit of trial and error, we have the medallions in working order!

We bought 5 large skeins of Red Heart yarn which is good for afghans, split them up by winding up cakes for each of us to churn out these squares-I figure we each have 70-75 to make!

(The colors are all the colors the ocean appears and we bought sand for the color to crochet all the squares together at their completion!)

An Accidental Remodel!

 The two little Striped Aviator Hats are finished for my two little misses in Washington State where they are experiencing - WINTER!

(Size 4 and 2)

I decided to go with ties on their hats because it is cold and they would need to secure their hats better than my Florida grands.  I love this little machinery to crank out the I-cords in mere minutes!

 After the leaking pipe ordeal, the flooring all looks and feels like a scrub board.  Since we have to pull it all up and replace it, we talked over a little thing we wished we had done 4 years ago when the kitchen was totally overhauled and didn't think of then.

 And that was to rip out this partial wall dividing the kitchen and the family room.   Since it wasn't a  support wall, it could go and now it has!  Of course, all of the walls in the old part of the house are cement block which makes for an interesting removal.  Dad and Bill are well acquainted with the challenge and made fast work of it!

 The sheetrock was stripped and the sledge hammer work began!

 No, more like piece by piece they carried each block out after Bill nudged them off their mortar!

 By early afternoon  we were looking at this-open and roomy!  What a great way to make the kitchen a better place to work in! (We are going to be adding a small island counter on wheels to place it wherever it would be needed!)  Bill has to change the placement of the water lines to the refrigerator and fill in the sheetrock on the ceiling and the wall behind the cabinet-he likes the wall knocking out kind of project, not the finishing work kind of ones! Tough shanoogies, says I!  Oh, yes, we have to replace the flooring, too! lol)

 The cats all gave the new arrangement quite a going over-different is not always acceptable to them!

Baby Lena says her world has been turned upside down but she would like it anyway as long as there is food and milk!

Look Up!

This was an accidental photo.........I like it a lot.

"I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

                                                                     Psalm 122:1

Birthday Fun!

 Early morning work.

 We enjoyed a birthday scavenger hunt around my parents train house!

 The kids had so much fun following their map!  

We had fun following the kids!

Ella needed a new Elsa dress since she outgrew her last one!

 Eli liked being on his new trike using the ground instead of the pedals for now!

After the party, we went home and did some treasure hunting-

Bill is grateful I am cleaning up his yard!