Third Time's A Charm

I'm still working away on the crochet cardigan, but I've really been itching to start the Autumn Waves sweater using that cotton/acrylic yarn from the Danish company Hobbii - see this February post. While I've almost always had more than one quilt project going at a time, at different stages of completion, I've never tried that with my knitting and crocheting until now. I follow a vlogger, Amo at https://www.youtube.com/@PawfectPastimes, who is a well-rounded crafter who not only knits and crochets, but sews and does a variety of needlework too, while occasionally sketching with watercolors, tending a large garden, regularly golfing and volunteering for a dog rescue group. Sounds like me (minus the golfing, large garden and dog rescue volunteering!), She shows her progress mostly weekly and I am astounded at her knitting/crocheting output, even more astounded that she rarely has less than four projects on her needles, and maybe a crochet one in addition to that. They range from socks and cowls to shawls and sweaters with the occasional blanket thrown in. I commented to her about my inability (or perhaps unwillingness) to start another knit project until the current one was finished, but she assured me that I could. She pointed out that hers in progress are of varying degrees of concentration needed, and she could pick and choose deciding on how much time she had, how tired she might be and how well her brain was working. Ahhh, that made a lot of sense. Also, I've gathered over time that she has various places where she knits/crochets, unlike me who seems to always do it in front of the tv in the livingroom. This was when I made the connection that I often watch videos and interviews on-line at my upstairs computer, things that did not require my eyes on screen at all times and could allow me to "multi-task" doing other things at the same time; i.e. I was wasting time that could be spent knitting.

So when one of those videos was playing, I pulled out the pattern and yarn and cast on stitches. This pattern is worked in the round from the neck down, and to be honest, I was just a little cocky and distracted by the video working the first row. I misread the instructions and had to start over. Thinking I had it right this time, I knitted quite a ways until I realized I'd gotten the ribbing pattern wrong again. Unraveling goes so much quicker than removing piecing stitches. 😁 Now the pattern had my full attention, video off, until I was sure I had the setup right. And thus, third time was a charm. At its current stage, it is easy enough to pick up and knit a row or two at a time while I watch a short video.

Encouraged by this development, I turned to yet another sweater pattern I've been anxious to start. This is another kit from Lion Brand called Three Season Pullover and reminded me of a long gone favorite red cotton sweater I wore for years during those times of the year when it wasn't winter weather. The kit provided a cotton yarn called 24/7  that is inexpensive compared to so many other yarns and the fibers appear to be braided or chained rather than twisted together. It's not a soft yarn - that braiding seems to make it feel a bit rough - but it has the stability when knitted up that I think I will really like for this sweater. Except for that wide rib hem, it's a basic knit one row purl one row pattern, with some shaping at the armholes and neckline, the back, front and sleeves all knitted separately. So a no brain strain project where I don't even often have to look down at my hands. This one sits by the couch for times when the tv program I'm watching demands I pay more visual attention to it, something I can't readily do without totally stopping when I'm crocheting on the cardigan and doing a lot of counting. I'm really pleased with the progress I'm making on both of those sweaters.

But wait! This return to knitting has become as bad as when I was more avidly involved in quilting in terms of temptations, rabbit holes and information to absorb. As I watch two favorite knitting vloggers, check stitch instruction videos, and am bombarded by ads from yarn companies, I am learning so much about types of yarns and their weights, a new way to cast on stitches and do a ssk stitch (really, I had no idea it could be done in 4 different ways), I'm even learning how to use a chart - something I've always avoided in lieu of written out instructions. I am falling victim to buying more beautiful yarn (rather than my stated goal of using up what I have), downloading free patterns and even purchasing a few. And most recently, falling for a knit-along conducted by Olive Knits that's been going on for ten years now but this is the last one. I remember looking at last year's pattern for the knit-along and not caring for it but this year's had me weak in the knees. So I signed up and bought the pattern.

Of course, I had to buy yarn for it too as I had nothing in my stash of the right weight, but shopped the sales. Still, good quality yarn is expensive and this lovely sage extra fine Merino wool/silk/yak yarn feels worth every penny as I worked up a gauge swatch. I'm not totally sure how this knit-along works except that we got the initial info on yarn amounts and the pattern repeat for the swatch, will receive the actual pattern instructions on July 1st along with additional info about zoom calls over four days. She says some may actually be able to finish their sweaters in 4 days but that she will be checking in with weekly zoom calls throughout the rest of the month for the rest of us slow pokes - lol. I see myself spending a leisurely July working on this sweater whose pattern repeat is very soothing. 

But wait again! I was back in my studio closet the other night, searching for something to send a friend venturing into adding silks to quilts, when my eye spotted something peeking out from between a little stack of . . . well I'm not sure what. Hah!!! It's that circle of batik I've been looking for - not in a bin, not in a box, but very nearby, where I wouldn't have thought to look. 

Follow the arrow to where the batik circle was hiding.

I think my muse decided to play a trick on me. I joke about how when I can't find something, I blame it on my muse hiding it. She resides in my studio, looking over my shoulder and sometimes giving good advice, other times sitting in the corner, idly flipping through a magazine and ignoring my pleas for help, sometimes deserting the studio altogether for long stretches of time. I've decided she didn't want me to work on that split-nine patch quilt back when I was deciding between it and the Venetian Tiles quilt. Nope, she decided, not time for the split 9-patch; she wanted to see that Venetian Tiles finished first. And now that it is, she pulled out a tiny edge of the batik for me to spot to let me know what she thinks my next quilt project should be. So be it, although I may finish those Mariner Compass blocks into pillows first. She can't have the last word on everything!

How I envision my muse.

 

Venetian Tiles All Bound Up

Venetian Tiles (Stack n Whack pattern) 31" x 30-1/2"

Well, I said I was going to set my mind to finishing this little quilt this week and I did just that! The half-inch binding with the seam and turnover having to fall right on the edge of each side of a stripe was stressful to pull off and left me with more turned to the back than necessary to be caught by the machine stitching done from the front. And the weight of the fabric (think Kona or heavier) made for bulk at the corners leaving me with less than perfect miters. But as I've said before, this is just for me, to toss over the livingroom trunk, and the real showcase is those beautiful kaleidoscope blocks. 

I did steam it, hoping to pull out a bit more texture, but the quilting is still difficult to make out. I'm sensing a lot of shouldas, couldas about this one: should have used a different batt, could have used more visible thread, maybe should have done a single fold binding. And maybe someone can explain to me how a symmetrical top measured a half inch shorter in one direction. But it's still really beautiful. 

NOW We're Flying!

I've been pretty diligent this week, working on my two major projects - the crochet cardigan and the Venetian Tiles quilt. You might remember that the chirpie young lady on the cardigan video promised that it would "fly off your hook", but I wasn't finding that to be true at all. But with the back now done and the first front panel under way, it does feel more like I'm flying. The front panel is 45 stitches wide vs 109 on the back so that would be one reason why. The other would be that I am now so familiar with the repeat pattern that I'm not spending nearly as much time puzzling over instructions and counting stitches.

Also felt like I was flying on Venetian tiles as I machine quilted the four big blocks and 4 of the remaining cornerstones needing a thread color change. My machine quilting does not bear close inspection, stitches quite tiny and my less than steady hands struggled for smooth lines where I wanted them to be. And again, the thinness of the batting means one doesn't even see any texture rising from those 4 main blocks that aren't heavily quilted. Good thing this is just for me and the patterns of the kaleidoscopes are really what I want seen.

And then it was time to work on the binding. This is what I had left of the fabric that bordered the blocks to make sashing, and I hoped there'd be enough to provide the same burgundy edge around the outside. 

So this required a bit of math calculations, deciding that the binding would be a half inch wide, then figuring how wide to cut strips so that stripe fell in the right place, and finally, with that figure, was there enough fabric. Yes! A lot of seams but more than enough. On the left is what I came up with and used as a template of sorts to make sure I was cutting the binding in the right spot.

I had hoped to have the binding sewn on by the end of the week but it didn't happen. I still had to do a bit of calculation to determine where exactly to trim the quilt beyond the edge of the top. That strip will actually be applied face down, not as it is seen here, but my trial had it face up so I could see exactly where it would turn to the back. All this thinking tired me out! Best to take a few days off before actually trimming the quilt top and sewing on the binding. Priority for the upcoming week.

In a break between machine quilting and figuring binding, I took the time to cover with washi tape a box that saline packets come in. Washi tape is still a mystery to me, not really understanding how to use it no matter how many times I watch videos of it being used. Still, like any good crafter, I've bought more than one spool of it and rarely have used any of it. But I am a sucker for anything William Morris and could not resist buying a roll of this wider washi tape with one of his designs on it. 

It made pretty quick work of covering the box which I will either keep my rolls of washi tape or maybe linen binding thread in. I can see now I need to put a little more tape on it to cover the inside of the lid. 

Finally, I had a surprise visitor to my deck garden. It got quite cool last week, enough for me to turn on the furnace, which may be why this little frog decided to hunker down in one of my pots. If he hadn't moved as I watered the plant within, I don't think I would have noticed him in there.

 

Crochet Update

Haven't gotten back to quilting on the Venetian Tiles top yet, diversions including a weekend of multiple motorcycle races to watch, but I was still making progress on the crochet cardigan. I bought this as a kit which included 4 skeins of yarn, so when I finished up the first skein before I thought I was half way up the back panel, it worried me. Roughly, I figured two skeins for the back, and one for each front panel, with enough left for the cap sleeves. Will I really have enough? I figured out I'd be making 15 repeats of 4 rows (or less if I wanted to make it shorter), so counting and holding my breath. It was a bit of a relief when I paused to spread this out to measure it and see that the remaining few repeats left would bring it up to length and I should make it on that second skein of yarn.

Still feeling iffy about this yarn. Yes, very drapey, but crocheted up, it's making a fabric that is quite weighty. I can only hope that the finished cardigan hangs the way I anticipated from looking at the picture. I so want to be done with it and get back to working with regular wool and alpaca blend yarns.

A Little Gardening

How was your Memorial Day weekend? The day itself here in northern Idaho was unusually warm - 80 degrees! We generally are cold and rainy with those who go out camping relegated to their tents or campers playing cards. It was perfect though for me to get the plants I'd picked out put into their containers on my deck and the big pot out front. 

But first, the neighbor girl who frequently brings me a bit of her baking showed up with not just a yummy still warm chocolate chip cookie but also added a rose blossom to the plate. Oh my! It reminded me of the sort of thing my late husband might do. My mother would call this a wild rose, although it is growing next to the duplex next door.

So beautiful with that big yellow center of stamens that I had to pause and try to draw it in colored pencil while I feasted on the cookie.

But times a wasting! I knew that tall plant with the purple flowers was destined for the pot out by the front steps. It already has some beautiful volunteer violas that have been coming up for several years.

I'd been giving thought to where what I'd chosen would go. Always, three geraniums go in the big copper washtub. This year I picked a red, white and kind of tangerine colored one.

I'd been pleased with the marigolds I added last year so picked up another pony pack with two going in the same pot as I'd used last year (you can just see it to the right of the geraniums in the previous photo). The third one went in one of the long planters in between the two dianthus plants toward the back that have wintered over. I'd picked up a pony pack of lobelia and decided to put two in the front of this planter. They are already blooming lovely purple blooms. The other two went in a separate small pot.

I also picked up some dahlias. I remember having some one year and really liking them. We shall see how they do and what colors they are. I'm protecting them at the moment from the possibility of our rampant feral cat population deciding to dig around in the freshly turned soil to use it as a litter box. They had done that last fall when I'd dug up the begonias in it to bring them inside. I'd quickly taken these same lattice pieces to cover the ground to keep them out. Once they are more established, I'll remove the protection.

Finally, I pulled the weeds out of this big barrel tub that sits on the ground at the corner of the deck. Long ago, a woman that lived a few houses down gave me some shoots of snow on the mountain plant she'd thinned out. I'd seen this plant in a nearby park so knew how big it could grow - too big for my deck containers. However, I'd never really put anything in this tub that I'd grabbed when the next door tenant moved and did not take it with them. This seemed a good place for this plant. To be honest, I've not been very good at keeping it watered and weeded. Some years I think it has totally died out only for it to come back in spring. This year it looks mighty healthy so I'll strive to take better care of it and enjoy its blooms which I see are coming on . . . a first!

So there you have it. I'm all set for some deck time to enjoy my flowers, and also to view them through the patio door as I sit on the couch. A lot of bending over that I'm not used to so I am paying for this with some stiff muscles! 

Traveler's Journals Done!

When last I posted, I had the outer covers of the Traveler's journals done and had started working on the actual journals and pockets to slip under the elastic that will hold them in place. I didn't want to put just plain paper in the journals, so printed up some papers with lines, others with dots and a few with graph paper. All had to be cut down to fit, which a guillotine paper cutter makes quick work of. I also used this to cut the scrapbook paper I used for covers.

It was suggested to use a running stitch to bind the signatures with their covers together if your signatures pages were not all the same height, i.e. incorporating leftover papers from other projects or sources, but even though all my papers were the same size, I still used this stitch. So easy starting at the top going in and out to the bottom, then working back up to the top, all gaps getting covered by thread.

Here are the journals ready to go into the covers, two for each.

And yes, just like in quilting, I dithered over the right color of thread to bind each journal. 

Now for pockets. Awhile ago I saw this nifty way presented by Karen Abend to put together a group of envelops to make a pocket booklet. You can use as many envelops as you want, but I chose 4 for each booklet. Start with two envelops, flaps open, pointing at each other, with one face down. 

Moisten the glue on the flap of the envelop on the right before slipping the flap inside the left hand envelop. You can use a little glue stick if necessary.

Now fold that right hand envelop back to the left so it lies on top of the first envelop. Press the fold with a bone folder or something similar since the flap is now folded in the opposite direction from where it started. Repeat with another envelop, slipping the flap into the opening of this second envelop. When you've added all the envelops you want, the flap from the first envelop can now be flipped over and tucked into the last opening, securing it all together.

I'd been giving a lot of thought to what I'd be putting between the covers and I wasn't particularly happy with the way the instructions wanted you to add a third item by tying a piece of elastic around the signature and then working that elastic over the center of a signature already under  one of the two elastic loops already attached to the cover. The eyelet holes were plenty big to accommodate another length of elastic so I added one - now I had 4 pieces of elastic to slip things under.

This works well and helped to fill up the space in the spine once I added everything. The pocket envelops went in the center between the two signatures. The fourth elastic could hold a memo pad or some other item one might want to add to the book.

Here's a look at the center of the pocket book where the blue elastic runs to hold it in place.

As you might imagine, as much as I really liked how these were turning out, I was so ready by now to be done with this project that I nearly skipped adding closures.

But a traveler's journal like this really does need a closure to hold everything together and I defaulted to my favorite soft journal closure that I learned from Michele in Wisconsin when we were trading books - see hers here. I found perfect buttons in my grandmother's collection and made simple loops from elastic. Really pleased with these.

 

Time For Bookmaking

I put the quilting aside last week in order to meet a deadline for a bookmaking project to get in the mail. I'm turning these two books from my library's "free" shelf, books that have been removed from the catalog or donated books Friends of the Library sell that haven't sold over time, into Traveler's Journals. The blue one is a volume of Reader's Digest Condensed books which takes me back to my youth. My parents had quite a few of these that I would occasionally page through. The other is a Scholastic title geared toward the younger set. Both are in good condition for this project.

A Traveler's Journal is a book where the signatures are not sewn in but can be removed, either for ease of use or to switch out with different signatures. By using old books with good covers and spines, not only does this score points for recycling but should make the process easier and faster. Step one is to remove the text block by slitting the end papers where they join with the block. My books were partially glued to the spine making them more difficult to remove than the book demoed in the instruction video. A lot of tugging and careful application of a sharp blade finally released them but boy, did my hands hurt the next day. Still, easier than cutting bookboard.

The spine now needs to be covered up with fabric, not only for aesthetic reasons but for increased durability. Because mine were pretty rough, I opted to make quick bookcloth by fusing a lightweight sketch paper to the back of the fabric.

These are trimmed to extend beyond either side of the spine but about 1/8" shorter than it. I used PVA glue to adhere them into place.

I realized that I could use the lovely yellow I'd cut away from the end papers to glue as new end papers trimmed so that they just overlap the book cloth. For the other book, it was the opening pages to the last story in the Reader's Digest as the recipient is a lover of cats. It was suggested that, depending on the sturdiness of the papers, it might be a good idea to cover them with some kind of sealant. The cat ones definitely needed this, but I sealed the others too with Acrylic Varnish.That yellow could easily get scuffed up or dirty removing and inserting signatures. The Digest cover is very sturdy with a smooth surface so no additional sealing was necessary, but I did use the varnish on the outside of the red book which has a standard cloth cover.

Once these had dried overnight, it was time to add some holes with eyelets top and bottom on the spine. I don't have many opportunities to use this Crop-o-dile combination hole punch and eyelet setter but every time I do I marvel at what a wonderful tool it is. It's only drawback is that there's a limit to how far from the edge you can punch a hole. However, they do make a giant one that has a much longer throat but it's definitely an investment.

The last step is inserting elastic through the holes. These will hold the signatures by opening them to the center and slipping under the elastic. I did putter a bit with printing lines on 8 x 10 drawing paper, something on hand that will run through my printer and need minimal trimming for what I need for the cat journal. The red one is slightly bigger and I'm still working out what paper to use.

I truly thought I could get these done in a week. If I were only making one, no problem; I sort of forgot that two would take longer. I also didn't really factor in the time it would take to make 4 signatures - 2 for each journal. As I finished up the outsides, I had that same sinking feeling I get after I finish the quilting on a quilt - elation at being done, then despondency when remembering there's still binding to do. There's still a lot of fiddling left to make the signatures but I've picked out cover papers and know what size the signatures need to be for each. Just have to get down to it and not dawdle. I gave myself enough lead time that I think I'll still meet my deadline.