The Sweetie, Kidlet, and I recently went back to Wisconsin to visit family. It's a crazy bunch but we always have a great time.
My mom said nothing was blooming in her garden.
Can't you almost smell the peony?
A new riding mower arrived. Yards are larger and houses are much farther apart than in the city. Notice the instruction manual. Now that's something you don't see every day.
And there's always a gathering in the garage.
There was a field trip to look at aging barns. At my request, 'cause I think they're cool.
This was the best find on my barn adventure...
And later in the evening there was a big thunderstorm. The lighting flashes came so frequently sometimes it seemed like daylight. I love a good thunderstorm.
Still and all, as much fun as the visit was, it's also good to be home again.
I was one of four children growing up. When the oldest of my two brothers was nearing graduation my mom asked what he would like. He said an Izod quilt. This was back in 1983 and Izod was a big deal in high school, along with Sperry Top Siders and Levis Straight Leg 501 jeans. Izod was the 'it' clothing item when we were in high school. At one point three of us were in high school at once. Rough time for mom.
So she made a quilt. Appliquing hand made alligators. We all thought it was pretty cool. My brah wanted a thick batting which was a pain to work with. I don't even know if they make that stuff any longer. So the project started, then sat. And sat. And sat. For 28 years.
So my brah is a bit of a teaser. And when the opportunity arose he would kid my mom, "... yeah, and when am I gonna get my graduation gift?' Versions of this went on for years. Zingers, but always with a smile.
When we surprized my mom on her birthday this year, it came up again. So she and I conspired to finish the quilt. Living life with no regrets. It had been moved a gazillion times and at one point it was damaged by water (life can be complicated sometimes). It had mildewed beyond salvage. All that work - gone. The plan was that Mom would remake the top and I would quilt it. It wouldn't seem like such a large undertaking that way.
We had the perfect venue to give him the quilt. In June we were all planning to get together to celebrate milestone wedding anniversaries, a graduation, fathers day, and some birthdays. Big doings. The entire family.
Mom remade the quilt top, and I made the back and quilting. Lots of mailing back and forth, photos, and emails to work out the details. Then Mom made a pillow of the left over scraps. My brah birthday was in April and she had promised him a present which she had not yet delivered.
So the big day arrives. Mom gives him the pillow. It was super cute. And almost on cue he starts to raz her about the quilt. She askes him if he even remembers what it looks like. He says no. She goes back to the house and brings out a brown paper grocery bag. She hands it to him. He opens it. And for a brief moment... before the teasing begins again... he's quiet. We got him!
It was a hot, muggy day in the mid-west. The kind of stickiness that happens before it rains. He wiped his eyes. It was hot and very sticky. I wiped mine too.
P.S. On the drive home, his youngest daughter borrowed the quilt. He has not been able to get it back. Each day he askes, "Dani, can I have my quilt back?" Each day she has replied, "Tomorrow daddy."
Wasn't it just yesterday I said I was going to finish WIP's before beginning anything new?
I stretched the truth a bit.
I decided to teach myself to knit. I was at the store because I needed a 1.5mm hook for the Lace Crochet Scarf project. And there were all these books, and knitting needles in the next isle and yarn. Recipe for disaster.
I thought, how hard can it be? I'll just look it up on You Tube. And off I went with my new crochet hook.
and some needles...
and yarn.
Then before work one morning, I wandered around the web until I found a couple of videos that made sense to me. The ones by Cyberseams fit the bill. The images were clear, the instructor went s l o w. There was no talking, just music and a little bit of text here and there. They demonstrate the throwing and continental methods. I chose continental as you hold the yarn in your left hand similar to crochet.
Sunday morning I decided to give it a whirl. I was able to cast on - for the first time EVER. That has been one of my biggest roadblocks. Not being able to cast on means your project is not going to anywhere - at all - ever.
And I learned the knit stitch. I played it over and over. I started, I backed up, I almost have the music memorized. They have a video for the continental version of the purl stitch but I am still working to get my head and hands around the first stitch.
My piece looks all wavy, but that's because I should have used longer needles. Yeah. That's it.
I showed my friend Lisa this morning. She knows how to knit but she's a lefty, so I would be even more turned around if she showed me how to do it. She laughed at me saying I was the only person she knew that used expensive yarn on a practice piece. She's right. But it gives me incentive to do a good job.
I chose Eco Duo by Cascade yarns. It is 70% baby alpaca (my fave) and 30% merino wool. It is super yummy wonderful soft. Maybe being soft will compensate for my uneven tension. That's my rationale at this point anyway.
So why learn to knit? It seems the manly men in my life just aren't into all the lacy crochet stuff. Huh, wonder why? Knitting seems more adaptable to making to manly men things.
The things I do for my manly men.
Hiya.
I January I went to Nancy's Sewing Basket on Queen Anne. It is a wonderful fabric store full of silks, brocades, wools, cashmere, linen. Definitely not a shop geared toward quilters. They have an entire room devoted to ribbon, new, antique, European. All yummy. Needless to say, when I go I seldom walk out empty handed.
On that visit I fell in love with this lovely silk/wool blend. It's baby blue. Soft, fuzzy wool on one side and smooth, satiny silk on the other. It was super wide - something like 72". I lightened my wallet by a yard.
I planned to make 3 scarfs each with a lace crochet trim. I began by turning the rough edge with a blanket stitch in a lavender wool/silk yarn (Zephyr). Then distractions snuck in. Quilt projects, other yarny projects, so it sat. I would pick it up from time to time, but mostly it sat.
The silk side is dreamy to run your hand along.
I've decided to finish most of my works in progress before I head into new adventures. (That's mostly true, but that's a different story). Over Memorial Day Weekend I finished the blanket stitch I began the crochet part.
The first two rows... I'm using a 1.50mm hook, which is bigger than hooks I've used on some other projects. I had hangnails larger than some of my crochet hooks. You can see just the tiniest bit of the fuzzy wool side of the fabric.
I've completed about 25% of this final row. I love my new Macro lens.
I think it will be super cute when I finish.
