Planting on Memorial Day

Today turned out to be the perfect day to transfer the plants I bought into various pots and planters on my deck. Yesterday was too hot and muggy (we got into the 80's!) with little gnatty-like bugs fluttering about. And when I stopped on my walk later in the day when it had cooled a little to tighten a shoelace, I was immediately attacked by several mosquitos even though I was in the sun. I remember well most years having to fight off mosquitos while getting plants into my pots so what a relief to find today about ten degrees cooler and windy. No mosquitos except briefly when the breeze died down momentarily.

I still need to pick up, sweep and arrange the smaller pots but I am so relieved to get this done. My usual geraniums are in the big tub while the other pots hold a mix of new flowers to try along with a few that have done well in the past, like begonias and pansies. I usually stay away from marigolds because I don't like the smell, but I needed something yellow and that was all my store had. The purple one is Verbena and smells heavenly. The tall bloomless plants are ones that wintered over - the name escapes me at the moment - and they look particularly healthy. 

I even transplanted the Easter lily I'd enjoyed in the house into a big pot and we'll see how it does. I planted one once along the foundation when I lived in a place with a more moderate winter and was so pleased that it survived the winter and bloomed the next year. Not sure I'll have that sort of luck here. Oh, and one daisy-like plant went into the pot out front next to the stairs to the front door. I think I'm going to pick up some nasturtium seeds to fill in around them. Cleanup can wait until tomorrow . . .

More Blooms!

The next trees to open up their blooms are these decorative plum trees in the park behind the animal shelter.

Every year they look better and better!

And the lilacs too are in full bloom, as usual just in time for the Lilac Festival over in Spokane WA (a little more than an hour away). I've been enjoying this tree along my walking route since I moved to Ponderay.

The Torchlight Parade is this evening and unfortunately for the kids, rain is predicted to start about when the parade does. It's a long parade, honoring our Armed Forces as well as the lilacs. I have fond memories of marching in this parade when I was in junior high (playing sax in the band) and high school (out front with the twirlers).

I'm getting tired of looking at the empty pots on my deck but have been waiting for the weather to warm a bit. My store put their pony packs on sale this week though so I picked out the usual 3 geraniums for the big copper tub and a variety of plants for the other planters. Weather is supposed to be a bit better next week so I'm hoping to get motivated to make the transfers.

Nature and Knitting

Spring really is here with trees along my walking route finally showing blooms. These are on a tree in front of the animal shelter. Have no idea what kind of tree.

Bees are back and busy.

And this gave me a chuckle - pretty much it, except in drier parts of the world, my friends in Arizona remind me!

I haven't seen a moose in several years, even though I know they are wandering about the area, so I was quite pleased to run into this one as I started down my street at the end of my walk. 

And I DID nearly run into him because he came out from behind a trailer parked at the side of the road only a few yards ahead of me. I slowly backed up and and ducked around to the far side of said trailer.

You can see I peeked around the trailer to see if he'd moved on. No. He stared my way for a very long time before ambling into the trees to browse. I made my escape when a car passed by creating a suitable shield. These babies are big (although this one is actually a bit small) and can be surly so giving them a wide berth is the best option. Not the first time I've nearly walked into a moose since I moved back to Idaho. Still waiting to see one sporting his rack.

I've only worked a little on the tote bag, getting the blocks quilted and still mulling piecing sequence as well as cutting a few more pieces - trying to hide seams and create more heft without making a separate lining, I really am making this harder than it should be. However, the cardigan is coming along with completion of the back - note at the top stitches that are on stitch holders that will be joined to similar stitches on the front panels with a 3 needle bind-off, something I'd not heard of so cross fingers I can find instructions for that. As I start knitting the left front panel, it has dawned on me that this is a bigger project than I realized what with it being longer than the sweater I just knit and the two front panels having turn backs requiring more stitches. I don't know why I thought this would be a quick project . . .

Maybe they're not all humility blocks?

I knew I had one row near the bottom left where my stitching got off because I messed up with the yarn overs. But when I laid it out for the photo shoot, I spotted another row farther up on the right side where stitches are off as well. Sigh . . . NOT going to try to fix it, in fact trying to fix a missing yarn over may be partly why it is off. Instead, just thinking of it like a "humble or humility" block in a quilt. Orrrrr . . . maybe some of those blocks and any knitting errors aren't intentionally humble ones but the result of tippling while working?

On A Quest . . .

I'm sure most quilters could knock out a tote bag in a few hours but not me. Apparently I'm on a quest for the perfect knitting tote bag. I've spent days and days and days thinking about how to put together one using those two blue and muslin orphan blocks. It occurred to me that a nearly worn out reusable grocery tote was about the size I was thinking of, and I spent some time studying its construction to come up with a game plan.

Then I spent more time mentally going through fabric on hand that would be suitable for a tote. On one of those many nights when my mind was too busy to fall asleep, I suddenly remembered some fabric I'd gotten from my late friend's stash, a heavier cotton fabric she had dyed up to make into table drop covers when vending at quilt shows. I'd not even folded them up after washing when I got the big pieces home but hung them over a hanger. Perfect!

Ok, I sort of had a plan, and I had the fabric. Time to do some figuring and get to cutting.

I'd also been thinking about how to handle the blocks, remembering times when I was sorry that I hadn't quilted a block before adding to a pillow top. I flipped each over to remover stray threads (boy were there stray threads from the muslin!) and discovered that each had a piece of paper with my name pinned to it. Ahhh - now I vaguely remembered why I made these blocks: they were for a block contest held for the Sun Prairie quilt show one year. I don't remember the contest parameters but I think it had something to do with the Temperance Movement - I'm sure I've got that info somewhere in my documentation files. I also realized that the center of one block had been paper pieced and the center paper not removed - oops!

After trimming and a good press, I decided to layer the blocks with Thermore batting and the same fabric for backing as for the tote itself. Ready to lightly quilt these with some stitching in the ditch.

Still going over sequence of sewing all the pieces together in my head, hoping my figures are correct but knowing that if they are off a bit, I can fudge things.

A Very Old Thought

I'd mentioned that I had some very old ideas for art journaling pages that I hoped to get to soon. When I said very old, I meant VERY old. It seems to be quite the habit of mine, not just for journal pages but for quilts and other creative ventures as well. I have to say it feels good to get this off my chest and onto the page - another one in a Sketchbook Revival sketchbook that went unused during those sessions and got some expended paint applied.

Here's the story behind it: I donate money to a different charity every month, so it is not unusual for me to get follow-up requests from those hopeful I will donate again and soon. I wish there was some way to assure them this was a one-time deal until next year, but I don't think that would stop them from constantly checking in case I'd changed my mind. But I have to say, when the pandemic hit and things started shutting down, the number of donation requests exploded, and all I could think of was "money grab!"; it made me not want to donate to any of them. I had this vision in my head of a stack of money surrounded by grasping hands.

I went searching for that stack of money but google searches came up pretty flat. This dog holding a sheaf of dollars in its mouth was the best I could find so I printed it out. Then for those outstretched hands: I'd used one on a different journal page and didn't think it would be so hard to find more, but it was. I kept setting this aside for easier things. Now I wanted to just finish it up so it would be off my mind and went searching through my bin of ephemera for appropriate hands. Again, surprised that I could find so few but eventually put enough together for my circle of grasping hands. 

I used green watercolor paint for a border around the edges as well as over the bills and around the dog after I'd inked in words. Alas, I was too impatient and the ink wasn't fully dry so it smudged a bit. I dug out a green gel pen to trace around the hands/arms and add a few dollar signs. The lettering is all done with a Pigma NP pen. I think that pinkish background paint is gouache used on the previous page of the sketchbook.

As for last week's art journal page, I was a bit worried that I might offend some of my readers with its sentiment. I so appreciate you who commented that you understood my preference for dogs and took no offense that I'd take them over babies. Whew!

Warming Up

While dithering over what the next sewing/quilting project will be, I've also had multi-media/art journal subjects enticing me. Some of the ideas I have are literally years old, while the one I worked on today is only a few weeks on my mind. I'd come across that photo of the Labrador in a magazine and couldn't resist tearing it out to put on a journal page. I knew I wouldn't have to add much as I intended to use a page in an old Sketchbook Revival sketchbook that had empty pages I'd expended paint on. I've often said I want to get better at collage, and this is no masterpiece for sure, but one has to start somewhere, and it got me going through my bin of ephemera and thinking about how to put pieces together to tell a story, or at least make a coherent scene.

As for the sentiment at the top, I have always been drawn to dogs; babies not so much. Puppies melt my heart, young dogs with their loose limbs make me laugh, adult dogs can always depend on a smile and head scratch from me if the owner agrees. But I've never been comfortable around babies, have never found pictures of them appealing, have resisted mothers who offer to let me hold one because past experience tells me said baby is going to start wailing as soon as it's in my arms. Guess it's a good thing I never had kids!

I had more bad news last week that kept me hunkering down and stepping back from the world and anything creative other than my knitting but thankfully, I've turned a corner on that these last few days. Working on this page felt good; more soon to come I think. How have you all been?

A Little Uplifting Please

I have to admit that the craziness we are living through is starting to wear me down. I don't have Democratic representation which makes it even worse and don't have much faith that my e-mails will break through the Trump loyalty that does represent me. But we persevere, and it was rather helpful to run across the above a few days ago. Helen Hallows who is in the UK included it in her recent substack post on Slow Growth, not referencing anything political but her own energy drain as a business owner and artist and subsequent creative block, saying "I’m accepting that maybe encouragement isn’t always a ‘you can do it’ pep talk. Perhaps like me you’re not in your best place right now. Perhaps the encouragement is to stay small and curled up for a while longer." Yeah, that's the point I have reached in general, and a death in the family is also contributing to the feeling this past week so this was just the kind of encouragement I needed. I think this link will get you to the free part of her post.

However, there's the cardigan sweater waiting for me during various parts of the day when I take a seat and watch a little TV. I've nearly used up the first skein of yarn as I've knit about 8 inches up the back. It's a good distraction. And I've been organizing and straightening things up here and there, post tax preparation and post last studio project. Still thinking about those orphan blocks and have just about talked myself into making a really big tote bag with those two blue and muslin blocks. The many skeins of yarn needed for that sweater are hanging out in the brown paper bag I brought them home in. As pieces of the sweater are finished, they'll need to wait somewhere and I don't like the idea of them going back in that bag, yet all my cloth totes are actually a little small to hold them. Looks like I have a project to attend to.

New Project and a Little Local Art

I saw a sample of this cardigan pattern hanging in my local yarn shop and was immediately smitten by it, couldn't take my eyes off it. The owner took pity on me and printed off the directions from an on-line site. I envisioned wearing it around the house when I needed a little extra warmth and those eyelet stitch panels really caught my eye. I almost immediately went over to my other local yarn shop to buy yarn for it - that same inexpensive mill end wool/mohair yarn by Brown Sheep Company that I made the lavender sweater with, that comes in the worsted weight that this pattern requires. I've been itching to start on it but wouldn't allow myself until The Simple Thing scarf was done which, frankly, I was getting a little bored with as it only required using the knit stitch on every row. This cardigan would be more of a challenge and require more of my attention which I was ready for.

I've knit lace patterns before where you do yarn overs between decreases to create the openwork and I was kind of expecting the same here. But no, it is called Eyelet Cardigan and it does indeed create eyelets while staying very firm. Also of interest, you might notice that the knit stitches angle across the panels on either side of a central seed stitch panel - the left side angling to the left, the right side angling to the right. I hadn't seen anything but the front of the sample cardigan and didn't notice this detail which surely was on the front panels as well. I do have to pay attention while I knit but can still watch tv while I do it as long as the program doesn't require me to do constant watching. I'm pleased.

As for the local art, on a recent trip to the library, I was greeted by a new display in the foyer, some pretty impressive gradeschool art. This signage explains the van Gogh inspirations. What a cool idea! Click on the pic for a readable size.

The same applies to these pics, where clicking on any of them will give you a larger picture so you can see which grade is responsible. This first group is kindergarten through 3rd grade.

I was so impressed with what those kindergarten kids did with those sunflowers. On close inspection I spotted some pencil lines outlining petals so this may have been more like a coloring book exercise but with paint but boy, they seemed to have done a great job.

And here are the fourth through sixth grade efforts. Apologies for the reflections on the glass case, could not get an angle that would not show them. These kids must be so excited to have their work displayed here. Bravo!

It's Done!

Gosh, I had no idea The Simple Thing scarf would take so long to knit, especially since I thought I was knitting pretty consistently on it. Granted, the yarn itself is a much thinner yarn than the worsted weight yarn used in the sweater, so yes, progress would be slower. Still, it took forever to get to the halfway point where I'd start decreasing stitches. I even started the decreases before I'd reached the length of the pattern's sample, both because I was concerned I wouldn't have enough yarn if I kept going and because I'd already exceeded the width at the center as suggested in the pattern example. The pattern does make suggestions for altering the pattern for narrower or wider finishes so I went for it.

I'd had some of this yarn left after knitting that first cowl that I ended up unraveling to make this scarf. I initially didn't think I'd need it but I sure did. You can just see in the upper left of the top photo how little of the "extra"" yarn is left. When you unravel yarn, its memory leaves kinks in the strands, and there are ways to relax the yarn back to straight, but I hoped just leaving it wound in a ball for awhile would be enough. It certainly was better than when first unraveled, but you can sure see the difference between the unraveled yarn and the unused yarn in the photo above. The knitting on the left is tight and flat while the knitting on the right is less defined and a bit fluffy. I will be soaking and blocking this so I'm hoping that helps make the two sides look more the same. If not, the join of the two is far enough off center that it won't show when it is worn.

And this is the coat I will be wearing it with - the colors such a perfect match.

What To Do With Orphan Blocks

Today I fired up the sewing machine and completed piecing a block I'd used for demonstration in a class I taught when I still lived in Wisconsin. This was not just to show the sequence of sewing pieces into sections but also which way to press seams for an easier and flatter joining of those sections into the finished block. I think I've put off sewing the block together because I really didn't know what to do with it. The quilt itself that was the sample for the class is done and on my bed. I don't need another patchwork pillow, which is a popular way to use up single blocks, not to mention the color doesn't fit any room decor except maybe the bedroom, but I no longer can wedge a chair into that room on which for it to sit. I'm not into table runners either, another way one sees lonely blocks fleshed out into something usable. I've added a single block onto a ready-made tote and also have a tote a friend made from a block I'd appliqued but didn't care for but suddenly looked good on that tote, but I have so many totes, I hardly need to make another. So what to do with this orphan block? I do have a printed panel (to the right of the block) that I bought from Angela Walters which I plan to use to practice her quilting designs (true confession - I was taken with the color as well as the design and also purchased a coordinating print) that is close in color but it doesn't feel quite right to pair them up into a wall hanging, for that is what it would be. I do have quite a bit of paisley and other fabrics leftover from making the top; surely I could come up with something. Any suggestions?

I found this little piece folded in the stack of that leftover fabric. This isn't exactly an orphan block but another result of a class I taught showing how to use ruler templates to cut pieces for Drunkard's Path blocks, then how to sew those curved seams. When arranging blocks, I was intrigued by this arrangement that looked a bit like Indian architecture. I did add a narrow border around the outside, thinking I could make a small wall hanging but it obviously has never happened. And look at how the blue fabric has faded. It must have happened when it was up in the shop where I taught - I had a sample quilt's back totally fade out where it was hung against wood paneling - or it might have been displayed in the shop's window. At any rate, it's hard to get excited about finishing it. What to do? 

This all got me thinking more about the orphan blocks I have stored away in a drawer, knowing that there were two problems with finding a way to finish them off (besides what I've mentioned above): 1) some are quite large, and 2) they are too diverse to be worked into a single quilt (although I do have a memory of making a rather wild charity quilt from different sizes of leftover blocks). The one above is one of the larger ones that if memory serves was from a block exchange where I ended up winning the blocks. Again, quilt made not needing this block, but I still really love it.

Now we're getting way back into my "origins" of quilting. I had a limited amount of the blue fabric but it reminded me of a shade of blue I'd seen in antique quilts and I made up these two blocks. No recollection of why I chose these patterns, but I'm pretty sure if I'd had more of that blue, I would have made more blocks to make a sampler quilt. Now that I have them out again, maybe I should reconsider making them into a tote bag for my knitting. Hmmmm . . . 

Nearing the end of single blocks, here are two that again, I have little recollection of. I used to cut up leftover scraps into what I then considered usable sizes and saved off-cut triangles as well. I'm pretty sure these were just me playing around with leftovers.

This one though is a real treasure in my book. After we moved to Wisconsin and I wasn't working anymore, I'd gotten serious about learning how to quilt. Quilting magazines at that time ran ads in the back for quilt shows and block contests you could enter. I got very into making blocks for various contests, even winning a few awards. This one came out so well that I took them up on the option to have it returned. It's a state block (Michigan Star) and I soon found myself dreaming of making a quilt with a block for every state in it. I went so far as to start researching and printing out patterns for state blocks (which is how I ran across my signature Idaho Beauty block) and collecting fabric in this same green, rust and peach palette, squirreling it away with this block in that same drawer where I started keeping the various orphan blocks. I find the palette a bit outdated now and I've lost interest in making a full state block quilt but I still love this block. And again, what to do with it?

This last one isn't exactly an orphan block but it IS a single small block that needs a home. I got the chance to see a lot of Hmong textile art when I lived in Wisconsin, so intricate and finely made that I knew I could never replicate it. So I bought a few small zippered bags with different types of applique and embroidery work on them and then this one 5 x 5 inch block. I'd totally forgotten about it, buried so deep in that drawer. It needs someplace special for sure. But I have no idea where that might be.

So help, my good friends! Any ideas?

Just Using Up Some Things

I finally got around to making the last coiled fabric basket I had in mind before putting all those supplies away. The picture above shows how the two I sent to my friend who winters in CA were quickly put into use to corral feet and thread spools under her acrylic sewing machine extension table. What a brilliant idea, I realized, as that area under my own extension table is where packets of needles are scattered.

I wanted mine to be oval though in order to stack the packets upright and not too big. I had the tail end of  the package of clothesline I'd been using that looked to be exactly the amount I'd need. And it was!

I surveyed the strips on my worktable and decided to see if I couldn't use up 3 or 4 short teal ones plus a single lighter teal print strip I hoped would cover the starting center line. Yup, worked pretty well. Then it was add the raindrop fabric strips as I worked up the sides and top it off with strips of the weird floral I'm not keen on.

I've made at least one oval version of these baskets and remember them being trickier than the round ones and this one was even trickier because of its narrow base. However, I persevered and it came out pretty well, nicely holding all my needles under the extension table. I still have quite a bit of the rain drop fabric strips and even the floral I don't care for but it's all going back into the big bag of coiled basket supplies. Time to move on to other things.

On a side note, we've been going through a bit of a warming trend which makes one wonder if spring is closer than one thinks (but the weatherman is quick to remind that this is March and we still could get some more snow). Could ducks along my walk paddling and feeding in a swale be a sure sign?

My camera couldn't catch it but that is a very bright green-headed mallard and his mate. She barely came up for air while he seemed more in protection mode, staying close and only occasionally ducking down to eat. They didn't seem to be too concerned about me pausing to watch. I haven't seen them since, although the swale is still full of water. Are you seeing any signs of spring in your area?

 

Finishing Touches

So that Valentine Palooza book with the heart stitching on the spine that I mentioned might need something more? Well, picking it up after I hadn't looked at it for awhile made clear I was right about adding a closure. I auditioned several buttons from my button jar and ways they might be attached with some kind of ribbon or thread wrap until I settled on this simple button and loop closure. That's another one of those silver metal buttons that I used on one of the Little Library Challenge books.

But before adding the closure, I added a printout of a gifted heart of flowers design by watercolor artist Ann Butera. She knows how this time of year it is easy to let the weather and lack of real greenery get us down so she shared this with her readers to be printed out and displayed wherever we might need cheering up. I was still a bit worried about the stability of the handmade paper cover even when doubled and I thought that heart would be a perfect addition inside to provide strength and continue the heart theme.

Yes, I cut it in half so that there would be a half heart on both the front and back inside covers. I had my final lunch yesterday with the friend who is moving out of town and presented it to her, hoping she will put it to good use and think fondly of me when she opens it. Hoo boy, we were both pretty unsettled as we parted even though we have every intention of keeping in touch through e-mail and maybe even zoom.

After I got home, I definitely needed a distraction and decided it was high time I block that lavender sweater. I'd ordered up a bottle of the Bath Fiber Wash recommended by OliveKnits in her blocking tutorial but was dragging my feet about actually using it. Even though you don't have to rinse it out after your sweater has soaked in it for 30 minutes, it's still a bit of an operation to squeeze out excess water after draining the sink, then get it laid out to dry - the sweater was pretty weighty even before getting wet. But I'd put it off too long with my usual worrying about an unfamiliar process and how it would go, so I got to it. Before draining the water, I pulled back the sweater to see if I could notice any change in the clarity of the water. Yup, it looked a bit murky.

I placed the sweater in a tub to take it upstairs where I would be laying it out to dry. I soon realized there was quite a bit of water still being held in that yarn so did some squeezing. Oh my, OliveKnits did not lie about what might be lurking in yarn you might otherwise think is clean. This looked part dirt/part dye to me and that part of me that questioned not having to do a rinse jumped to the fore. I ignored it and started the process of arranging the sweater on a large pressing pad I've had forever, checking the measurements given in the pattern and scrunching up those arms I think are too long. It's still pretty damp today and I've added a fan to help it dry a bit faster. Then it will be another case of holding my breath as I try it on, crossing fingers it still fits well and looks/feels more relaxed as OliveKnits suggests it will.