BOM-paper piecing!

Well, I am not totally 100% happy with this one, some of the points get lost but paper piecing is not my best technique, so I think I did pretty good. In the background is what the finished quilt will look like. It is on the cover of Brenda Henning's book "Mariner's Compass Quilts~Reach for the Stars". If I could do it over, I would only purchase the CD which has the same info as the book but lets you print the blocks and stuff but not the half square triangles, there is another disc for that. I was not impressed with her directions on paper piecing but I do like the top. If you only buy the book you will need to have it spiraled from the TOP so you can use a copier.
I finished all the 12" WOW blocks. Taking to the sr. center to marrow and put some tables together, a sheet on top and lay them out. I cannot wait to see them all together and then i am going to sew like a maniac to get it done. The thought of going back to the 6" ones kind of freaks me out but I wan to finish that top too.
I go to my knitting class to marrow. We just have a little bit to do to finish the bag before we felt it. I have to put the rubber bands on the other scarf I finished today and will felt that also tomorrow. Kool huh.
We are supposed to leave for our little road trip to Ohio Tuesday morning, so I will miss a Wednesday and a whole week without any knitting. Kind of bums me out thinking about it but when I get back I get to start on a really kool afghan. I am taking the pattern with me, just in case we come across a really kool yarn shop.
The weather has been cold and nasty. So windy, makes it seem colder than it is. The wind feels absolutely artic. Just goes right thru your clothes. The snow is almost all melted in the yard. But the ground is still frozen solid. The daffodils are coming up in the front yard around the choke cherry tree. Going to have to put stakes where there are after they fade cause we really need to spread them out this next fall. The two lilac bushes are getting buds, so they made it thru the winter...end of season on super sale from wall mart so wasn't sure they would make it. This will be the first time they blossom. Better get back upstairs.

April Fools.....NOT!

trying to show how much it snowed last night.

yesterday morning the front yard was pretty much snow free and the little spruce was completely visible.

the snow plow was by this a.m. we have almost 6" already and it is still snowing! oh well, off to quilt group. my knitting class was canceled this a.m. cause she had to take care of her sick grandson. i will finish up my bag next week. i am one third done with another scarf and am waiting for two more skiens of yarn to arrive from ewen. maybe i will photo my two works in progress tomarrow.

Scarf "before" being felted

Okay, so here it is...after I took this photo we went into MaryLynn's and felted it. I made the baubles too big...now I am going to go back, retie each one smaller and the re felt just the bottom areas. I really like the way the alpaca felted so I do not want to change the main section of the scarf. I am now working on a bag using two colors at the same time on curved needles, boy, are they weird at first but I like them. I stayed up Wednesday night and knitted the 22" I needed for the bag. While we were up in Ewen yesterday, I bought some very pretty yarn...70% wool and 30% soy...sure hope it felts well. It s Patons SWS (soy wool stripes) the color is "natural plum"...will be part of another bag I have in mind....yikes!!!! now I am buying wool and alpaca and different yarns and needles and.....Yikes!!! is all I can say. I am pretty beat, was Mark's sister in laws 49th birthday, we went up to Ewen but they partied hard. Sheri, Richard and Mark left for the bar at 1230 and didn't get home until 5 a.m. ... they went to one of Sheri's friends they met at the bar, sooooooooooooo glad I didn't go with them because I wouldn't have been a very happy camper. Needless to say, Mark feels like dodo today.... big smile. He is up in bed. I am going to take a shower and read a book I bought on different surface design techniques. My dye group wants another class but something different. Oh well, I am a bit pooped out myself but I don't drink, so I am just tired.

Progress in the kitchen

This is how the cupboards where(are), the windows were painted shut, this is only one that opens after much scraping. The counter top was from the fifties and the floor, was, well, horrific with a seam in the center that was volcanoing, a real trip factor!

This is a totally new addition, the drawers were where the counter top attaches to the other one. I love these black hinges and handles, we put theses in the house in Kauai. The floor looks like sandstone, beautiful.

This is the new sink and counter top with sanded and repainted cabinets and drawers. Notice the three hinges on the larger doors. These are real hardwood cabs and are heavy and two hinges just don't cut it. They didn't fit properly, so Mark cut them 1/4"

It is hard to tell, but the kitchen is painted a very pretty pale yellow. You can tell it is not white due to white stove and vent. I am so happy with what Mark has done so far. He attacks one side at a time. He has to smooth the walls out with drywall mud before he can really get going. He still has the uppers to deal with. I am lovin' my new kitchen.

We didn't really change that much but that additional counter top and new floor and fixing those old doors makes such a difference. Plus he replaced the door from kitchen to back porch which lets alot more light into the kitchen.

Almost on my last skein on scarf. When I went to class MaryLynn had made one this past week and felted it and it turned out really really nice. I cannot wait to get mine felted. I plan to have it all knitted by Wednesday and then we will felt it at her place. Better get back to work upstairs. I am cutting out more pieces for my black and hand dyed WOW plus I try and do a bit of knitting everyday.

Rainbow Farms

This about sums it up for these cute critters. They can spit at you if you really really annoy them but they tend mostly to spit at each other.

This guy always has alfalfa on his head...he likes his food. These are the GUYs

Another cutie, one of the girls I think.

Some more of the girls. The yarn I am using to make my shawl is alpaca but is from Peru. I am going to buy some of Mary Lynn's when it comes in. I am going to buy white, then do the "Shibori" scarf again, but after binding with the rubber bands and before felting I will hand dye the scarf. I think it will turn out awesome!!!!!! Mark took these pictures while I was inside talking with Mary Lynn; he thinks they are really kool.

I am really stoked with the knitting I have done so far. I know you are supposed to wrap the yarn around your fingers and then with the index finger wrap around needle, but my fingers will not cooperate, I have found a method that works just fine for me. I will try and photo what I have done so far tomorrow and then post it. We have been enjoying some very nice weather, it was up to 42 today and I was outside without a coat or gloves but Mark says we will still get another two feet of snow. I just hate this part when things are melting and it is all brown and muddy. The gas company really tore up my yard, terrible! I am calling them Monday to complain. I hear they will be back in the spring and they will lay new sod and fix whatever they screwed up...but I am going to call and make sure. It is a real mess out there!

The kitchen is coming along. Mark got the built in cabs done today. He just has to shorten the drawers tomorrow. Then I guess he needs to paint and put down the rubber base along the floor. He can only work on one wall at a time. He has to remove the old wall paper before he can paint. I am very happy with the results so far. Yeah Mark!

February 23 2009

I will try and upload a better photo tomorrow, but this is what I made in my felt class I took on Saturday, the gal teaching is named Janell and is the receptionist at my Dr's!!! Anyway, it was a fun class and instead of using the expensive roving for the whole thing, she had this great, dense, "raw" wool that we made the bodies out of and then felted the nice pretty roving on the outside. A way better technique and much easier. Now I just need to find a nice fat bag of raw wool somewhere...
We went to Green Bay today, stopped at this neat ol dinner for lunch in Beecher and then back on the road. Cheech and Chong were great! Alot, well mostly, their old stuff but updated. At the end when they had everyone sing "up in smoke", they yelled to the audience, pull out your cell phones, so instead of lighters or candles they were waving over their heads with the music their cell phones open and there were all these little lights...it was so funny.
On Thursday, Sue and I completed the whole Shop Hop in one day...six shops...three in Michigan and three in Wisconsin...by the time we got to the last one I couldn't think straight...today I went back. The owner was there and remembered me from Thursday, so she let me scratch off a card, got 25% off, and bought a "paper piece" pattern for this cardinal wall hanging. Its a kit that has most of the fabric and one set of the papers, I thought you would get enough to do the whole thing but I need to copy more...was a little confused with that one...it did say on the package that you got the papers you needed for the project...anyway....maybe I will work on that this week just for the sheer fun of it. I love cardinals!

February 10th, 2009

Victoria went to one of my guild quilting Wednesdays and learned how to baste a quilt. She really did a super job!

My friend Sue beside Tori as she takes a stitch.

Tori is still stitchin' away and having good conversation with the other ladies around the frame too.

Tori is holding the frame underneath as they stretch it after it has been rolled. She had such a wonderful time and the ladies really enjoyed her company too. We didn't go the rest of the time she was here, and the ladies who showed up the following week were disappointed Tori wasn't there. But she will return this summer and we will go to at least one gathering.

I am upset with the post office, i sent three boxes on Jan 14. One to Max in SLC and he got it in three days but the box to Mikko and the other to Victoria are still lost in space. I went to the post office and was told tough titties since I didn't buy a delivery confirmation. It is so weird that BOTH packages to Hawaii are missing. One I could maybe understand, but BOTH!!!!!!!! Hopefully they will turn up soon.

It is 42 and rainy and everything is slick as glass. But it is supposed to snow in the next day or two so all this yukky brown slush and ice will get covered up with a pretty new blanket of snow. The new squirrel preventers are working like a charm 4" x 5' sheet metal heating duct material. They cannot get their little fingernails into it and cannot wrap their arms the 4" width...yippee... nothing makes me smile more than a yard of frustrated squirrels.