Bound , Washed and Dried!

The binding is finally sewn on the two quilt! 

 I like using the clips to hold thee next little bit in place.

Completed!  41" x 53" for a lap quilt.

And the same quilt with the lighter background.

A nice experiment in color play!

 All washed and dried and ready to deliver.

The back of the darker version is in a batik-like colored backing.

And the back of the lighter version.

The quilt was cut out with the Accuquilt die called Flowering Snowball 

which doesn't even begin to do anything for me

but there you go!

Nice to have them done!

They are going to the cancer center this week!

Eyes

Do you know what this is?

I learned today;  it is an Eyed Elater.

A clicking beetle.  It will also 'snap' upright if it is turned on his back-pretty impressive!

I bet you would jump if it popped at you, too!  I certainly did!

Hardware

 I hardwired this foot pedal into the cord of my....

 Ashford Electric Spinner!  I had read that the new models are sold with a foot pedal to turn it off and on without having to let go of the fiber to use the switch on the spinner.  My husband said it was easy enough to add that feature with the  purchase of this very inexpensive foot pedal!  It was a very easy job to splice the wires and wow, is it easier to spin by using your foot to slow or stop as we are used to with a regular spinning wheel!  So nice to have an electrician for a dear husband!

 The new part came to replace my broken walking foot!  I had the old one for 30 years so I think the dollar a year part gives a lot for its value!  On to the bindings at last on the latest two quilts!

And lastly, Bill used his muscle to help me raise the level of the quilting machine 

to a better height for me to use it! 

 (I've only had it for a few years;  why did I wait to do this?!)

 I found the hunching posture as I stood at the frame was just too miserable.

I  am good to go now for hours, I am sure, if I can get healthy enough to stay in there for a few hours! lol

 Look at the lilies!  Such beautiful and sweet aromas, too.

Rain lilies in the forefront, tiger lilies in the back!

I bought just a few bulbs several years ago and they have multiplied and matured

-these plants are 48" tall this year!

Moan and Groan

Here are half of our cat residents-they engage a truce when it is time for the community cat nip dip!

To the doctor's office today-Bill had to drive me because I couldn't stand up straight;  

I thought it was pleurisy;  dr is treating me for inflamed bronchials-whatever. 

 I am ready to be put on hold and awakened healthy!

At least I woke up without a migraine and without dizziness.  I'm trying to be positive here!

As for knitting, I knit the dark half-hexagon on the baby blanket.

It's hard to knit when you can't see!!!

PSA #2

And she is now down for the count with a migraine.

Job, I am feeling your shadow.

Comatose...

A Public Service Announcement:

I woke in the wee hours of the 29th with vertigo and severe spinal pain.

Slept for 27 hours...

I am upgraded from near death to impaired.

VERTIGO.

Such an interesting word to describe such a miserable state for the human body.

And

I missed my oldest son's birthday; 

first time I haven't spoken to him on his birthday in his 38 yrs.

Jerry Rigging....

 The longarm machine I have (APQS Ultimate I, 20+ yrs old) uses a stylus to trace a pantograph.

I have a hard time keeping my view consistent so I wanted a laser light for more accuracy.

 I had to find a laser light with an on/off switch, used a bit of electrical tape to narrow the size of the light on the paper and then taped it onto the stylus!  Now as for the skewer -it is helping to hold the laser light mounting bolt in place-the apparatus that held it in place inside the housing of the machine came apart many years ago.  This way is not ideal mechanically but it works!  I can happily quilt for an hour now and it is a dream even if it doesn't look shiny bright! lol

 Yes, it works just fine-so nice to make a mile and see the progress when you don't have to keep stopping to fix your equipment!

 In fact, one down.......

and one to go!

On the sewing front, I finished the other 'row' of frogs and am now working on the individual ones.

I leave some of the tear away stabilizer on the wrong side-those frog toes just won't let go!

Take a Walk!

 In my front yard, we can take a walk by the ground filler called caterpillar plant,

 past my cactus rose which is in full bloom,

 stop to admire my staghorn fern in the cedar table,

 along the Egyptian irises,

 and then linger at the rain lily which has a wonderfully fragrant bloom!

On my potting table is this plant which was given to Bill,  it has a very cool stalk, a big leaf and an orange bloom-my favorite color for flowers!

 Another plant he picked up that was unknown, now has a bloom so we know it is a passion flower!

It is covered in blooms that are really pretty, too!

And look at the new addition in the pool patio;

an incredible orange canna lily in an incredible pot-

thank you, my Georgia peaches for this beautiful reminder of your love!

Add a Star

I'm glad to say the addition of the next row went off without an unforeseen hitch!

I am easily able to long tail cast on my stitch count

and then pick up the two sides of the hexagons below to complete my required number of stitches.

Since these are knit from the outside in,

I use the magic loop like I do for socks-no dpns for me!

A Long View

Abigail and I took some time for art work while little one napped.  It is so nice to pull out the watercolors and have a partner to work with on the canvases. 

And just like that, my GA peaches are headed back home.

We filled up our days with laughter and language and languishing by the pool......

The boys will miss them as much as I do-they had doting cousins to keep them entertained all of their waking hours.  We will spend the day slowly adjusting to the emptiness.

On the Way to Quilted

 And the boys are diverted a bit from my constant attention

 so that I was able to load a new quilt from the queue to the frame.

And I loaded the newest panto from WillowLeafStudios for this quilt!

Delightful Diversions!

 My Georgia peaches stopped in for a quick visit-what a wonderful belated Mother's Day gift! 

We started a sewing project during naptime;  a bucket organizer for the sewing table.

 And we finished it today!  

Just waiting to hold all the sewing job essentials! 

 Marsel, my daughter, had the bright idea to add a ruched fabric cover to the plastic handle 

(this is an ice cream plastic tub) .

Now it really looks finished!

And this wonderful little treat kept us energized through the process! :')

Another Pair!

The colors look like candy stripes-

I thought of the old Fruit Stripes gum 

but my daughter said it reminded her of the candy Sprees. 

 I think it depends on your generation!   lol

STATS:

2 Ancient skeins of KnitPicks yarn called Simple Stripes in colorway Partie. 

 (I think it was a forerunner to the Felici line)

#2.5mm needles over 60 stitches.

Simple stockinette

short row heels over 60% of stitches

2" of 1x1 ribbing at cuffs.

1 1/2 skeins used for perfectly matched socks

Frog Jump!

I started happily sewing the blocks together and when I finished the second row,

I realized I had skipped a BIG step-

doing the applique stitch with invisible thread on each and every block! 

 It was not so much fun to try and stitch around all those fingers

 with all those other blocks still attached!  

But I persevered and have one row done.....and I ran out of my sewing time!

At least now I know what I have to do - 

and each one needs to have stabilizer which I know I do not have enough of--

good thing I have to take the boys for a visit today so I can get some more from WalMart during my wait!

Polygons

And another modular knitting project is on the needles!

I whipped this first of its kind off the needles in a surprisingly short amount of time.

It will have a hexagon shape once this polygon is joined to its neighbor.

I picked up stitches to join block 2 to this one;  the pattern is not written this way;

directions instruct you to knit a pile of these shapes and stitch them together after the fact.

Not for me!!!!!

I colored in a 'map' so I could know where I was going with the leftover DK yarn I have.

It works out in my head so I will let you know how this genius way to attach each block
works when I reach the second row!

A New Vintage Heirloom!

 The stamped cross stitched quilt my neighbor made from the 12 blocks her Mom had made decades ago, is now an almost completed quilt! 

 Millie does her own binding in short order. 

 This is going to be a treasured quilt, I'm sure.

I used a pantograph from WillowLeafStudio called Mikaela.

In the choosing of a quilt design for a top you always have to weigh in balance the design,

 space and either subtlety or accent by the stitching.

So for this quilt I wanted a less dense pattern that would be subtle (I used an off-white thread which is also very traditional!)

 so the cross stitching wouldn't be overshadowed. 

 I also liked the occasional heart

 because this is filled with the love of stitching by both Millie and her Mom.

I am glad I could add life to this tribute to both women!

Still Raining!

We've still been having a lot of rain-4 inches over the last few days!
 I'm really enjoying the modular knitting!  

These scallops move right along in a reasonable amount of time, 

especially the time allotments I have available!

 A bowl of promise-another skein of silk, this time in sport weight. 

 Another cowl is going to happen with this skein, too.

After a visit-blowing off some energy throwing rocks at the wide river!

Storm with Smiles

 After picking up my yarn and fabric at JoAnnFabrics,

 we grabbed some lunch and headed to the beach.

 It was stormy looking....cloudy and blustery but that didn't inhibit the boys at all!

It was to moist to knit on the beach! 

 I couldn't believe how sticky everything became within minutes!

So I knit on the way home instead-after a using a wipe to clean the beach's salty air from my hands! 

Such a long day but a wonderful time for all of us!