Secret sewing

Hello! I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. Congrats on all your progress, Margie!

Since July, I have:

- Finished two squares of the flower cross-stitch and made a bit of progress on others (photo below; compare the last time I posted a photo of the whole thing, in June)

- Cut up MANY (though not all) of the hexagons I'll need to make the flowers in a Grandmother's Garden quilt for my brother-in-law & his family (see initial sewing below). I realized these would be perfect for all the travel I've got planned, so prioritized them ahead of other things. And I just bought a little book light so that I don't have to turn on the overhead light (very bright and annoying to others) on planes. 

- Not made any progress on the heart quilt. HOWEVER, it was my New Year's Resolution to finish this quilt, and I have three days to knock it out. Hopefully before the end of Sunday, I'll have another post about that. :D

- Catherine

Swatching

 Well...

Where do the previous projects stand?

The hat was tried on and approved.  It looks great.

The socks for Smallest are complete.

I decided to go with the bigger needles for the armhole, but I haven't finished that, even though it would take less than an hour, I bet.

If you look at the post from earlier in October, there are two sashiko coasters.  There's a line omitted in one, and I've fixed that.

New stuff - I started some socks to give away.  They are toe up socks.  I followed the directions and they are too short in the foot.  I got frustrated (and I broke a needle while trying them on) so I have put them in time out.  Instead, I started a Savage Heart cardigan while in Colorado for our visit and the funeral.  I am mostly finished.  I sewed one of the seams last night, which allowed me to properly try on a sleeve and it seems too small.  There is some acrylic in this yarn, so I'm not sure how it will do with blocking, but I've decided to _try_ blocking it before I unravel it and start again with bigger needles.  The gauge was definitely different than my original swatch, which is frustrating and would also explain why one of the other sweaters I've made for myself turned out too small.  Swatches lie!

I noticed that when we were in Colorado, Sarah's hat (that I knit last year) was leaving marks on her head, so it's probably too small.  Perhaps I will make her a bigger one.

Other than that, I was looking at a prayer shawl that Jeff's mom had started probably early in her dementia and it's looking more like a parallelogram than a rectangle, so I need to undo it and redo it.  I really don't like working with this yarn, so maybe I'll pass it along to someone who would want it?  

I'm not sure what the next project will be.  I need to make another Darjeeling top for Smallest, so perhaps that will come after the Savage Heart re-do (if needed)?  I should finish the Lantana sweater for sure.  It wouldn't take any time at all!

Other random things - I made the neopolitan checkerboard cookies for a cookie exchange party.  They were easier than I expected and very tasty!  I tried making peanut brittle to send to my parents because Gaga used to send it to my dad every year.  Attempt #1 was a failure.  It didn't get that nice brown color and it was not brittle.  I'll try again later.  We're putting insulation up in a space above our balcony ceiling, which is part of the floor in Middle's room.  It always gets cold in their room in the winter and I suspected the problem was no insulation.  Sure enough, that space is totally empty.  Middle comes home on Wednesday, and I'm hoping we can have it fixed before they leave in January.

Look!  No insulation!

I think that's what I know!

Margie

Hats away!

 I did indeed finish the Musselburgh hat from the previous post.  Alas, I do not have a picture of it.  I'll take one soon.  It needs a bath to relax.  I'm concerned about how much it will relax and if it will still fit nicely afterwards.  If it doesn't, I'll just undo it and make it again smaller...

Speaking of baths... I have a black mostly merino wool cardigan that I have had for years and years.  I would say around 10 years?  I've always dry cleaned it, because I was worried about the wool (which, when you think about it, is a little dumb).  Anyhow, the last time I wore it, it didn't feel very nice.  It dawned on me that I wash wool all the time!  I can give the sweater a bath and it will be just fine!  I washed it last weekend and it was really disgusting.  Here's a picture of the water after the soak.  

I had to rinse it four times before the water came out clean.  That was one filthy sweater.  On the plus side, I wore it to dinner on Sunday night to celebrate our 7th Anniversary and it felt so much nicer!  The sleeves seemed longer, it was fluffier, just a happier sweater.  Note to self - wash the sweater more often.

Other than that, I've turned the heel on the sock for Smallest.  There is dread looming because her foot has been hurting for months and there is a possibility that it is a stress fracture, which would ruin her upcoming performance opportunities.  Boooo!  She was supposed to have an MRI today, but there was confusion with the doctor's orders and what is actually needed, so nothing today.  She was really hoping to know, and is frustrated and disappointed.  

Since my children don't read this blog, I can tell you that we are all heading up to Chicago for Middle's BFA Show and Smallest is coming also!  Middle doesn't know yet, a fun surprise!  Her dad and I think his wife and their little one will also be there.  The wife has issues with me, which I feel are unjustified, but also I understand, so we'll see how things go.

I also finished the neck and one armhole of my purple sweater.  I don't know if I like the way the arm is finished.  I may un-do it and use bigger needles to finish it instead.  Maybe I'll finish the other side with the bigger needles and then I can decide between them.  I like that plan.

We're supposed to get some cold weather next week, down into the 40s at night!  I'm excited about sweater weather!  Chicago will probably be chilly also.

Oh!  One more fun thing - Gaga used to grow blue morning glories on her fence when they moved to New Braunfels.  We thought these plants on our trellis out back were weeds, but no, they are a hello from Gaga!

That's all.  See you in two weeks!

Margie

It's been a lot.

Many things have happened since the last post.  First, Jeff and I went to California to visit his younger daughter, who is working as an intern for Cakebread Cellars during the harvest.  We ate some fantastically delicous food and drank some tasty wine also.  It was a great trip.

Second, we celebrated Jeff's birthday in a very low-key way.  He'll hit a big birthday in two years, so perhaps we'll have a larger celebration then. 

Third, we found out that my sister-in-law, who lives in CO, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had her first chemo session the previous week.  No bueno.  After three rounds of chemo, it will be surgery to stage things and then more chemo. 

Fourth, Jeff's older daughter came for a visit during a break from law school.  We had a really lovely weekend with her. 

Fifth, Jeff and I got covid.  Bleah.  The Boy seems to have avoided it.  The benefits of being anti-social! 

Sixth, my sister-in-law passed away from her cancer.  It was Stage IV, and all over her abdominal cavity. My father-in-law died two weeks after his cancer diagnosis, and we were all thankful that he didn't have to go through a lingering, painful death.  As sad as we are about my SIL, we are also glad she was spared, because there's nothing much you can do with Stage IV ovarian cancer. 

Oof.

Last night we had a vestry meeting for my church.  I am in my second year of a three year term.  I was participating by Zoom, because I'm between 5-10 days post-covid-symptom-onset and I don't want to get anyone sick.  Before the meeting, I was looking for something to do while I sat.  I thought about working on the second sock for Smallest, but happened to see the fabric for some sashiko coasters I bought a kit for (a while ago!) sitting on my desk.  I got the rest of the kit and an hour and a half later, voila!  C'est finis!  

Below are also some sock progress pictures.

Other projects... I'm working on a Musselburgh hat for Middle.  They finally responded to a question I had about colors.  I am making it with Gauge Dye Works Colorwheel colorway.  It's super fun, and I should be able to finish in a day or two.  I'm not entirely sure I like it?  I think I should have knit it with size 3 needles instead of 4, but we'll see what Middle thinks of it.  We'll see them at Thanksgiving. 

I also made good progress on my Lantana top and just need to put the neck and sleeve bands on to finish it.  Amazing how things get finished when you work on them! 

I think that's all I know.  We're heading to Chicago at the beginning of November for Middle's BFA show, and then to CO, and then back to CO for SIL's service. 

Margie

Finito!

 I have finished the cute top and have mailed it off to Florida.  Huzzah!

What Marjorie doesn't know is that I put a new green skirt like the one she made in the package also.  I am looking forward to her reaction! (hopefully she's excited about it...)

Now that the top is done, I can move on to completing the socks for Smallest that I started a while ago.  I should probably also work on some other things that are waiting, but the socks are great for carrying around.

Other things I know... Smallest has an African Violet army at her apartment and when she went back to Florida at the end of she summer, she left a bunch of baby plants that she had grown from cuttings.  I have now repotted them and they are living in my office at work because we don't have good window space at our house.  Hopefully I won't kill them.  I tend to have a brown or black thumb when it comes to plants.

We are heading to see Lauren in California this weekend.  She has an internship at Cake Bread Cellars learning about the wine business this fall.  Jeff's birthday is coming up, and I know he likes to see his girls, so this seemed like a great opportunity!  I've never been to the Napa area, so it will be fun.

I'm still doing PT for my ankle.  It is getting better, but this week's session was not enjoyable.  I'm hoping that next week will be an improvement.  There was needling this week, it was not what I was expecting.

That's about what I know.  I'll post a sock progress shot after the trip.  Lots of knitting on planes and in cars!

Margie

Moisture from the sky!

We had the most exciting thing happen yesterday, it was brief, but so satisfying.  It rained!  It's been a while.  Houston has started regulating when you can water, so we can water our crispy grass on Thursday evenings and Sunday evenings.  

Several years ago, we had the hose running in the back yard to do something and we asked The Boy to turn it off on his way to his room, which is by the door to the yard.  He did so, but then we discovered the next day that he had actually turned it all the way on instead of off and it flooded our neighbor's yard.  Oops.  It was a sad yard, so no harm was done (except to our water bill).  Well, on Sunday night, we had watered the yard and Jeff went to turn off the sprinkler before going to bed.  On Monday morning, I went to put some sourdough outside to proof and noticed the sprinkler was still running!  This time Jeff is the one who turned it all the way on instead of off.  Alas.  The grass looks happy though.

I had a good weekend of project-ing.  I have almost finished a two skirts for Smallest.  I mentioned these in the previous post.  I finished the one she bought the fabric for - and I made it reversible!  I need to get elastic for the waist, but it's otherwise done.  I am very pleased with it.  I made a video to show her, I'll see if I can post it. (and I did fix that pinch on the waist)

I've almost finished the remake of the first skirt as well.  That fabric is a pain to work with, so I'm please it's gone as well as it has.  I just need to finish the hem and put in the elastic.  So close!  I'm hoping to get the elastic today, but it might be tomorrow.

The top is coming together also.  I need to do an I-cord around the edges, but it's otherwise good.  I found a mistake in a bad place (messed up buttonhole 3 of 4) and while I fixed it, it's not perfect.  I would have to undo all the straps to really fix it perfectly.  Alas.

Other than that, I don't know much else.  We're going to see Lauren in a couple of weeks.  We went to a place called Puttshack with The Boy on Labor Day and had a good time.  

I'm trying to keep up with the Vuelta bike race, I'll have to see how much we can see on Peacock.  Exciting to have someone from CO in the lead!

Here is Ginny as a Purrito, just for fun.

Margie

Packages in the mail!

 I have accomplished moments things this week - I have sent FOUR packages in the mail!  Who am I?  One was to Jeff's older daughter, who left some things when she and her lovely husband stopped by for a visit.  

The second was to Middle, who had lost a ring when they were here a couple of weeks ago.  I feel confident saying the culprit was Ginny the cat.  The ring turned up, much to everyone's delight, so back to Middle it went.  I included some cute small earrings that I saw when I was getting my watch battery replaced last week, since they have many holes in their ears and small earrings can compliment larger ones.

The Guilty Party

The third was a table that Smallest had ordered, but not updated the address for, so it came to Houston instead of Florida.  It was going to cost me $85 to ship it to Florida (the price of the table!), so I suggested that we return the table and order a new one to be delivered to the correct address.  Smallest got me a return label and I dropped it off at a near-by FedEx office.

The fourth was the cute sweater and blanket for the postdoc in Atlanta who had a baby this spring.  I sewed the buttons on and shipped it off!  Hooray!  

Now I am working on a cute cropped summer top for Smallest, since she is also in a hot place.  It's the Darjeeling Top.  I saw it a couple of months ago and got the pattern, but it was in French.  I finally got the English version just before we drove to Florida to return Smallest to their program.  I knit like the wind on the drive, since Smallest wanted to drive a lot (she is learning to road trip like a McIntosh) but I only got about halfway.  I took a little time off, as thing have been busy, but I'm working on it again and I think I might be able to finish this weekend.  We are heading to Austin for a woodworking festival, so that's six hours in the car plus some other time as well.  I'll definitely be able to make a good dent in it if I don't finish.

I think I'll take the Lantana top along with me too.  I still haven't finished and really would like to.  I think I'm pretty close on that one too?  I've finished the back and the right front, I think I'm on the left front now?  Hmmm.... definitely worth bringing that along!

I have a skirt to make for Smallest also.  Maybe two.  She made a skirt this summer after seeing some fabric I had bought, but as it was her first clothing adventure, the construction leaves a little to be desired.  I still have the fabric and might use it to make her a new skirt instead of the dress I intended it for.  It would be a fun surprise, and she wears the current skirt all the time.  She had bought fabric to make a second skirt but didn't have time, so that's the first skirt to make.

You can see how it's fraying at
the hem, but she LOVES it.

Work has been busy lately, and I had many trips this summer.  I still have the trip this weekend, then a trip with Jeff (yay!) in September for his birthday, and then a trip later this fall back home.  I think I will be traveled out!

I like your purple border, Catherine!  Colors in quilts are tricky.

Margie