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All Blog Posts Tagged 'books' - Knitting Community 2016-05-03T14:25:12Z http://community.knitpicks.com/profiles/blog/feed?tag=books&xn_auth=no High Fiber—New Inspirations tag:community.knitpicks.com,2016-03-14:1984936:BlogPost:584337 2016-03-14T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Vintage Stitchers met at Barbara's on Thursday. She showed us this great Dresden Plate quilt top:

She had a quilt pattern that had big, empty squares in it. She substituted the Dresden Plate blocks for the big squares. What an interesting setting! Carol also had a finished quilt…

Vintage Stitchers met at Barbara's on Thursday. She showed us this great Dresden Plate quilt top:

She had a quilt pattern that had big, empty squares in it. She substituted the Dresden Plate blocks for the big squares. What an interesting setting! Carol also had a finished quilt top:

This is a fairly simple design, starting with a snowball block, but Carol's pairings of fabrics (some of them from Kaffe Fassett's collection) makes it stunning.

Barbara had also finished this appliqué for a quilt she had inherited from a friend who passed on.

No truer friend can be had than one who will finish your UFO when you're no longer able. The pattern was "Apricot Preserves" by Ann Danzig's Granny's Attic. She found some mistakes in the instructions that led to making the blocks too small. She'll have to buy more fabric. Oh, darn!

I'm still knitting Doll clothes. The second "Kiltie Combo" outfit is done, this one in blue. It will go to Daphne Jr. in May.

You may remember from last week's post that the inspiration for this outfit came from the shoes, sent to me by mistake instead of the pink and gray shoes. (I ended up buying them anyway, because they're so cute, but the store sent me the correct pair, seen on Dolly, below.) Here is the Ravelry page for the project.

I snapped a photo of both "girls" together, so you can see them with the hats:

I caught them discussing where they could get their hands on a jumprope.

The blue version is from machine-washable yarn, just in case it ends up in the laundry hamper. This is the pattern I'm using for a pullover to go with it.

Here's my progress:

I'm not crazy about the yarn, although it's soft and machine-washable. The strands cling together with static electricity, making the colorwork difficult. (I had no trouble with it during the making of the rest of the outfit, though.)

In other doll-knitting news, someone else on Ravelry used my Everyday Play pattern to make this cute dress. I love the creative changes she made to my simple little design.

Rehearsals for The Messiah Project continue. We expect to have Maestro Griffith back again to help us rehearse beginning on Thursday. I'll try to get some photos.

What's on my needles: The Argyle Pullover for Daphne Jr.

What's on my Featherweight: Fiber studio is under construction. Can we say, "Spring Cleaning?"

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listened to "The Silent Girls" by Eric Rickstad (fascinating and creepy) and now listening to "Magnificent Devices" by Shelley Adina and narrated by Fiona Hardingham, a continuation of the series from the Steampunk genre, which I find interesting. Also reading "A Lady of High Regard" by Tracie Peterson on the Kindle app. I think I would have liked this one as an audiobook.

What's in my wine glass: Fisheye Pinot Noir. Always nice.

What's my tip of the week: A little late for this, but the time change isn't as bad if you gradually move your sleep and eating schedules over to the new time. Better yet, just keep them at the time you normally do these things if you can. For instance, if you normally eat lunch at noon during the winter, wait until 1:00 PM after the time change. It works for the pups. Even better would be if they would leave Daylight Savings Time all year.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—The Pitter-patter of Little Patterns tag:community.knitpicks.com,2016-02-22:1984936:BlogPost:583537 2016-02-22T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
I've published a pattern on Ravelry, the first I've actually uploaded myself.

It's for a doll, hence the "little." Here's the back:…

I've published a pattern on Ravelry, the first I've actually uploaded myself.

It's for a doll, hence the "little." Here's the back:

It took me longer to write the pattern and post it on Ravelry than it took to knit.

This was my prototype, which I knit flat except for the sleeves:

I realized after finishing the skirt that the sleeves needed to be finished before joining the body, if knitted flat. This is the back, showing why I decided to do my second one in the round.

The self-striping works out well in the round, but the seam is very obvious when knit flat. The pattern now has directions for knitting in the round (using your method of choice: dpns, two circulars or magic loop) and flat. Although I have written directions for knitting the whole project with straight needles, I have only knit the sleeves in the round. I guess I should try knitting the sleeves according to my directions to make sure they work out. Now I'm working on a knitted jacket to go with each dress. I'll probably publish the pattern when I get done, now that I sort of know how to do it.

Common Threads met on Thursday at Karan's. Lynda is working on a Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) for a friend's baby.

Lynda is an experienced knitter, but she keeps remarking on how weird the BSJ is. Karan is making a scarf using cotton yarns in Easter colors.

The pattern is from from Vogue Knitting, Winter 2013/2014, the cover pattern.

Friday night we went to the ballet. Free tickets. Free tickets to the ballet is like a free kitten. You have to consider the additional expenses: gas, dinner out, parking, etc. Still, like a free kitten, the expense has its rewards.

Of course, no week would be quite complete without a trip to the emergency room. DGD1 dropped her hair dryer on her foot, ripping a gash in her little toe, requiring four stitches. Good news: I have my car back. Bad news: We have to drive her to work and pick her up.

What's on my needles:  Jacket to go with the dress. The Trickle Socks, waiting.

What's on my Featherweight: Still doll socks, tights and undies. Will start on Regency outfit for Dolly soon. (I know: promises, promises!)

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Watcher by Jo Robertson, a crime novel, another Audible "Deal of the Day." Then read The Curiosity Keeper by Sarah Ladd. Now Listening to The Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen. Still reading A View to Die For by Richard Houston on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Glen Ellen 2013 Merlot. Nice.

What's my tip of the week: Wear shoes while you're drying your hair.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Crossing Threads tag:community.knitpicks.com,2016-01-25:1984936:BlogPost:581489 2016-01-25T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Dolly's bed is finished:

I used a Sterilite Underbed Box 28 Qt., Model #1846 DH found at Walmart for $4.38. To keep the mattress from sinking into the depression when Dolly lies down, I cut a piece of an old political sign the same size as the mattress, which is 16 X 23", 1" foam (left over from…

Dolly's bed is finished:

I used a Sterilite Underbed Box 28 Qt., Model #1846 DH found at Walmart for $4.38. To keep the mattress from sinking into the depression when Dolly lies down, I cut a piece of an old political sign the same size as the mattress, which is 16 X 23", 1" foam (left over from Dolly's chair), and put it in the mattress cover at the base of the foam. I put the seam of the mattress cover in the middle, so it wouldn't show. Dolly doesn't sink in, but the mattress is still nice and soft, so she can sleep well.

The dust ruffle is four 7" WOF strips of quilting fabric sewn together and hemmed 1/4" and an additional 1/4", gathered at the top and sewn with a 1/4" seam to a piece of muslin cut the shape of the lid of the storage box.

The "fitted" bottom sheet was a simple sack, similar to a pillow case, as I showed in last week's blog post. I used some nice quilting fabric to trim the top sheet and pillow case. The blanket is a piece of fleece, cut to size and trimmed with satin doubled over (like quilt binding) and zig-zagged along the loose edge, to replicate the look of a real blanket.

The quilt was the last item to finish:

It's a simple 9-patch with sashing. I used some fabrics from my stash collected when a quilting buddy brought out some fabric sample books given her by a relative who was a fabric distributor. I thought Daphne might like the bright colors, which are not really my style. I'm not a machine-quilter, and I don't have a walking foot for my Featherweight, but this project was small enough I decided to have a go. I sewed in the same direction for each vertical line of stitching, starting with the middle, with pins to hold the three layers in place. Then I sewed all the horizontal lines of stitching, also starting with the middle line of stitching and always sewing in the same direction. When I finished, I pulled the top threads through to the back of the quilt, tied it together with the bobbin thread and used a needle to thread them through to the inside of the quilt.

So Dolly didn't need to sleep in her clothes, I sewed some pajama bottoms and knitted a camisole top.

…and a robe. I used McCall's 2506, now out-of-print, for the pajama bottoms and the robe. Sewing the fleece was a job. I had to use a lot more pins than usual when setting in the sleeves. The fleece kept sliding to the side.

The shopping ensemble is finally finished. You may remember (or not) that I started this outfit right after I bought all the yarn for it and the Valentine's Day ensemble, beginning with the skirt. January 1st the KAL started, so I made the top that went with that outfit, so Dolly could wear it with the finished skirt. Dolly gradually changed clothes as the other items were finished. The white top goes very well with both outfits.

A bonnet pattern was given for free to each person who completed the KAL. I had yarn left from the shopping ensemble skirt and the same yarn from some socks I made a few years ago, Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

Here's the complete outfit, including Dolly's new shoes, roomy enough to get on over her socks without too much effort:

Common Threads met at Karan's on Thursday. Margareth brought her new Jakob doll wearing the outfit she made for him.

Margareth is expecting her first grandchild, a boy, so this doll will be for him to play with when he visits her. She has plenty of time to outfit him completely. She also showed us this diaper bag she made. The base is a changing mat that comes out, and the straps can be positioned to fit over one shoulder or used as a backpack.

The pattern is Simplicity 3031os. (See photo in comments, below.)

Sundance has started. I had my first shift on Friday. Before my first shift, I met up with fellow fiber fan and Aloha Blu Fiber Shoppe owner, along with her husband.

She brought me this lovely swag:

That will probably be the only swag I get from Sundance this year, but you never know. It was undoubtedly the best, though. You can only use so many oversized T-shirts.

Spinners, don't forget, we're having a Spin Along on the Knitting Community if anyone wants to join in.

Where? Right here, in the Knitting Community Spin Along.

When? Noon on Friday, February 5 - noon on Monday, February 8, 2016, in whatever time zone you're in.

Equipment: Spindle or wheel. (If you want to use the pencil method to spin, that's OK, too.)

Materials: Any spinable fiber. (Dryer lint, anyone?)

No prizes, no pressure, just spinning together and sharing what we're doing.

What's on my needles: A cape for Dolly. The Trickle Socks, waiting.

What's on my Featherweight: Finished Dolly's quilt. Still a few things for make for the doll.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Final Empire by Bandon Sanderson. Got a special deal on it, along with the next book in the series. Still reading The Other Harlow Girl by Lynn Messina on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Crane Lake Malbec, a good wine for the price.

What's my tip of the week: I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but here's a tip I've shared with my local quilt guild. It always surprises me that more people don't know about this, so I'm sharing it here.

To reduce bulk where four or more seams come together, you can often fan them out in opposite directions. You have to take out a few stitches in the seam allowance. (See photo.) These seams are sewn over, so the seam doesn't become weaker when you do this. This is especially useful when working on miniature quilts, smaller-scale quilts, or quilts that have very small pieces.

Here is a 9-patch block (five of one fabric and four of another fabric sewn together in alternating order) from the doll quilt. The intersections on the lower part of the block have been "treated." The intersections on the upper part show the stitches that are being removed. I use an awl, but a seam ripper (sharp side away from the thread) may also be used to undo the threads from the seam allowance.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

 High Fiber—The Power, Light and Heat tag:community.knitpicks.com,2016-01-04:1984936:BlogPost:580942 2016-01-04T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
We've had very cold temps, hovering around 0°. Squeekers found some sun to warm up in on the back deck.

Sunny's flat screen had good reception until it got dark. (It's mostly bird and squirrel shows, but she enjoys them.)…

We've had very cold temps, hovering around 0°. Squeekers found some sun to warm up in on the back deck.

Sunny's flat screen had good reception until it got dark. (It's mostly bird and squirrel shows, but she enjoys them.)

We're set up for cold temps, but the evening of New Year's Day the power went off.

It was already dark. Stuff for dinner was in a.) the gas oven, which doesn't work without power, b.) the electric oven, which, obviously, doesn't work without power and c.) the microwave oven that doesn't…well, you get the picture. Of course, the TV went off during the Rose Bowl game. (Did Stanford win?) DH had to trim the oil lamps by candlelight. With no power, we had no heat for the house other than the gas stove downstairs and the fireplace in the living room. I had washed the tablecloth and set the table with the good dishes, but we weren't going to be able to eat in there, because it was already getting cold when we were ready. The bright side: the bread was already baked (I use the bread machine to mix the dough and bake in the oven) and sitting on the cooling rack. The salad was made, and the salad dressing and the butter were already out on the table, so we didn't have to open the fridge. The stuff in the ovens was close enough to being done that we could just leave the doors closed for a bit. We just had to wait until the power came back on to heat up the asparagus in the microwave. It made a nice dessert. Dinner turned out OK, even if we couldn't really see what we were eating. I tried to knit by candlelight, but gave up and settled down with my iPad and the book I was reading on it.

I had finished the "Dolly Does Dinner" outfit for Dolly. Here it is with the bolero. I think Miss Daphne and Dolly's counterpart, Daphne Jr., will enjoy it when it arrives for her birthday in May.

I was ready to start on two new outfits, using the patterns "Crossover Cardigan Set" for "Dolly's Out for Shopping" and "Girly Tank Top Set" for "Dolly's Valentine Set" both from Ravelry designer Jacqueline Gibb using this yummy stuff I picked up at Wasatch & Wool on Wednesday. (The ribbon came from Michael's, where I stopped before going on to the yarn store.)

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in White, Ultra Marine, Yellow and Butter and Frog Tree Ewetopia with the romantic color name "1251."

I'm participating in a KAL (knit along) on Ravelry in the American Girl Knitters group. We have to make a project between January 1st and 31st that has a heart and/or kiss somewhere on it (for Valentine's Day). It has to be either a sweater and hat, or a dress, and it can be knitted, crocheted or hand-woven. We can use any colors we want. We get a free hat pattern if we finish, and all qualifying finishers will be included in a drawing. On top of that, several designers in the group have offered special deals on their patterns. I wanted to start something, but had to wait for January 1st to start the Valentine outfit, so I CO the houndstooth skirt from the other outfit (which doesn't meet the qualifications for the KAL). It was done the next day, a quick and fun knit, especially if you pay attention to the pattern instructions. On Friday, when it was legal, I CO the "Skinny Rib Top" from the other pattern, which fortunately also goes well with the houndstooth skirt. Dolly really wanted to get out of her party clothes. Here they are together.

We also ordered Dolly and Daphne Jr. "wig brushes," which have metal tines or spokes set in a rubber base, recommended for both American Girl and Madame Alexander Dolls, which is what Dolly and Daphne Jr. are.

What's on my needles: The "Dolly's Valentine Set" and "Dolly's Out for Shopping" outfits for Dolly, working on the second skirt. Still the Trickle Socks, of course.

What's on my Featherweight: Still waiting on the last two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt, as well as some underwear and other stuff for Dolly.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor, then started The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley, both from Audible. Finished reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app, then started the The Other Harlow Girl by Lynn Messina on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, the one with the frog on the label because I ended up having to frog the houndstooth skirt a couple of times because I misread a couple of lines in the pattern. (Not the designer's fault. It was very clear.)

What's my tip of the week: If you live where the power goes off in the winter, it's really good to have an alternative form of heat. Keep flashlights with fresh batteries, candles and matches and possibly oil lamps. More important, know where all this stuff is so you can find it by the light of your phone. Speaking of phone, keep it and other devices charged. It's a good idea to have a backup power source. Ours has a plug like a car cigarette lighter that we can plug our charger cords into. You can also use it to start your car if the battery is dead. It's a good idea to be prepared for power outages no matter where you live. Tornados, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes can all leave you without power. Be prepared.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Working for Santa tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-11-30:1984936:BlogPost:580424 2015-11-30T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Thanksgiving cut into my play time this past week. However, I was able to get this doll sweater finished.

The pattern is "Very Easy Cardigan for American Girl or 18" Doll" by Ceci…

Thanksgiving cut into my play time this past week. However, I was able to get this doll sweater finished.

The pattern is "Very Easy Cardigan for American Girl or 18" Doll" by Ceci Riehl. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll in "Dogwood Heather," left over from my Pink Monkey Socks. My Ravelry page for the project is here. I don't have the actual doll yet (probably tomorrow, delivery was delayed because of a blizzard...here), but this Madame Alexander 18" doll is the one coming for a visit. (Photo from Madame Alexander website.):

The name of the doll is "Let It Snow," appropriate for this time of year. She has a soft body and vinyl head, arms and legs, similar to the American Girl Dolls.

I'll be making her some clothes before sending her on to Miss Daphne (but shhhh...don't tell) for Christmas. I really enjoy making clothes for dolls, as I reported on in this blog post and this one. (Links go to Blogger, just to simplify things.) I spent some time during the week tearing my fiber studio apart, looking for my old doll patterns. I was successful in finding all my doll patterns, but it left my studio in a mess. This gives me a chance to reorganize. I also spent some time reading posts in the American Girl Knitters Ravelry group, which features discussions about various 18" dolls, not just American Girl dolls, and clothing, both knitted and sewn. One of the nice things about sewing and knitting for dolls (or babies, for that matter) is that you can finish a project quickly, so it's almost instant gratification. I bought some shoes and other goodies for the doll at Michaels. You can make shoes for these dolls, but the shoes made for dolls this size will fit nicely, and I'm trying to save some time.

Watch for photos of more doll clothes next week. (Wish me luck!)

We also had no minigroup meeting last week because the day we meet is Thursday, and everyone was otherwise occupied. DGD1, my BIL, DH and our next-door neighbor enjoyed a nice dinner on Thanksgiving. Cleanup was easier this year because I used dishes that could go into the dishwasher. It helps that some family members are more than happy to do the pre-wash on the dishes, and pots and pans. Here's a photo of my pre-wash specialists, resting up from all their hard work getting the plates ready to wash.

DGD1 left us about 5:30 PM to work all night for "Black Friday." She has been working at two fashion retail outlets at the local outlet mall, but will start next week working at another one full time with benefits for more pay. With luck, I should be able to get my car back. Someday my guest room, too.

What's on my needles:  Still hand-quilting the Delectable Pathways (aka "Peggy's Sistine Chapel"), knitting the Trickle Brick Socks and dishcloths, no progress this week, but almost finished.

What's on my Featherweight: Kaleidoscope Quilt, still two blocks to go, as I didn't get any quilting done this past week.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch, a Deal of the Day from Audible. Then listened to Georgette Heyer's first Inspector Hemingway mystery, No Wind of Blame. Both were excellent, but very different. Now I'm listening to Signature Kill by David Levien, another Audible Deal of the Day. It's a crime novel. Seems good so far. Still reading The Murder at Sissingham Hall by Clara Benson, a murder mystery set in 1920s-era England on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Columbia Crest's Horse Heaven Hills (H3) 2009 Merlot. Yum! One of my new favorites.

What's my tip of the week: If you find your back, shoulders, neck or arms get tired while knitting or doing embroidery or appliqué, try using a small pillow in your lap to hold your work. This is takes the strain off muscles during hand work.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

 High Fiber—Keeping in Stitches tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-11-09:1984936:BlogPost:579932 2015-11-09T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
The Busy Bee Throw is done.

I blocked it after it was sewn together, which was a challenge. I didn't have enough…

The Busy Bee Throw is done.

I blocked it after it was sewn together, which was a challenge. I didn't have enough blocking mats, so I used what I had to make a frame and put plastic lawn bags in the middle, so it wouldn't get the rug wet.

The throw is going to come in handy this winter, and it was dry just in time for our first snow of the year. I used City Tweed DK in most of the colors, using "Obsidian" for edging the hexagons, sewing up and a final sc border around the whole thing. The designer is Shaina Scott.

The Kaleidoscope quilt is coming along. I have all the fabric cut and completed two more blocks this past week.

Most of the fabrics are from Connecting Threads' Kaleidoscope line. The pattern was inspired by "Fresh" from Simply Retro with Camille Roskelley: Fresh Quilts from Classic Blocks. I removed a lot of the seams. It takes a little more effort to assemble the blocks, but as my background is in hand-quilting, I'm always looking for ways to eliminate extra seams. I'm having to take some care with bias edges, and some of my fabrics have a direction (one way is right-side up, like having a nap), so I'm having to pay attention to how I put those fabrics together if I don't want the seam to be obvious.

I needed a small project to take with me when we went to the theater during the week, so I CO the Trickle Socks by Katie Douglass. There's not much to show yet, but it will be easy to keep in my purse. I'm using KP's Stroll Tweed in "Firecracker Heather."

Finally (and I mean finally), here's the third (and final) quilt shop in St. George visited with Vintage Stitchers a few weeks ago: Scrap Apple Quilts.

144 W. Brigham Rd. #23

St. George, UT 84790

(435) 628-8226

(800) 994-0097

Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday thru Saturday

https://www.scrapapplequilts.com

Thanks for giving me a reason to revisit these great quilt shops.

Oh, and one more thing: I'm still out a car. DGD went to pick up her new car on Monday, and over the weekend, someone decided she needed to come up with $1,000 as a down payment. We were trying to work it out, but later in the week they wanted $2,000 down with no change in interest rate, which was exorbitant. She scrapped the whole thing for now. Fortunately the two jobs she works are very close to each other and not far from our home, so we can take her and pick her up when DH and I both need cars. But still. [Sigh!]

What's on my needles: Hand-quilting the Delectable Pathways and Trickle Brick Socks.

What's on my Featherweight: Kaleidoscope Quilt, four blocks finished.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Just Deserts by Jinx Schwartz, then listened to Sea of Stars by Amy A. Bartol, the second in the Kricket series. This book was left up on the air, so I immediately downloaded the third book, Darken the Stars. (All of these were from Audible.) Still reading Three Silver Doves by Deborah Garn on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Rex Goliath Free-range Shiraz. Yum.

What's my tip of the week: When making socks, if you find yourself with "ladders" where you switch needles, try switching one or two sts at the end of one needle to beginning of the next needle (whether dpns, two circs) every so often. It's easier to avoid ladders if the new needle starts with a K st. Just be sure you put in a marker for the beginning of rnd, so you don't get your pattern off.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

 High Fiber—Fall Projects tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-10-05:1984936:BlogPost:578501 2015-10-05T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
The Pucker Up Socks are done:

I wore them to Common Threads on Thursday. It's nice to wear bright socks when it's cold and rainy outside.

Georgette had finished this drop-stitch scarf, which Lynda is holding up. …

The Pucker Up Socks are done:

I wore them to Common Threads on Thursday. It's nice to wear bright socks when it's cold and rainy outside.

Georgette had finished this drop-stitch scarf, which Lynda is holding up.

The sock sitting on Lynda's knee in the photo above is the one she's knitting from the yarn I brought her from Germany. Georgette is currently working on the Vertical Stripe Throw and Afghan. (Hers will be the afghan version.)

Julie is working on a long vest from Malabrigo, the same yarn I used for my Steampunk Shawlette.

And Karan brought this quilt to get opinions on hand-quilting designs.

Margareth is making this Fair Isle sweater. This is the back. It's Aspen by Marie Grace Smith.

He is also making herself a mink sweater. Yes, the yarn is actually mink.

Now that the socks are done, I've moved on to the Busy Bee Throw. I've crocheted more than half of the hexagons needed to make the throw. I love that I can keep a crochet hook and a ball of City Tweed in my purse to work on if I get tied up somewhere while I'm out. However, now that I'm actually making progress, I'm also working on it at home.

My fabric from Connecting Threads has arrived in Park City and should be delivered today. I'll post a photo of the yummy stuff along with the half a bolt Kona Snow fabric I bought from Julie. (She gets a discount because she owns a quilting business.)

Meanwhile, Sunny continues to lose weight slowly, in spite of the occasional treat from Daddy. It's a good thing he didn't teach her to beg...or Rocky, either.

 Her diet has worked so well, I've recommended it to my friends who want to lose weight. Here it is: 1 1/4 C kibble a day (brand not important, but stay away from the really cheap stuff), and an occasional piece of carrot, banana, potato peel or other fresh fruit or vegetable. (If you catch a mouse, you can chew on it, but you have to spit it out when you're done, because it might have consumed poison before you caught it.) I guarantee you will lose weight if you follow this diet.

 What's on my hook: Working on hexagons for the Busy Bee Throw.

What's on my Featherweight: First Ladies Quilt. Still.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, based on Rumpelstilskin. Now listening to The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey. A new take on the zombie apocalypse, not something I usually choose, but the description of this intrigued me, and it was an Audible Deal of the Day, so I have it a try. I don't want to put it down. It sort of reminds me of some of Dean Koontz's novels. Finished Cut from the Same Cloth, by Kathleen Baldwin, from Kindle, the last of the "My Notorious Aunt" series. I want to read more from Baldwin. Now I have Miss Goldsleigh's Secret by Amylynn Bright on my Kindle app, good so far. I've been sticking to free books from Book Bub, and it's keeping me in reading. You can sign up to get daily mailings of eBooks that are free or very inexpensive in various categories. (You get to choose.) The books are available in various apps. I usually choose Kindle, because often the free book will give you the option to buy the WhisperSync version very inexpensively.

What's in my wine glass: A Pinot Grigio from Glen Ellen, vintage 2013. It doesn't keep well, so...drink up!

What's my tip of the week: Children grow in length more than width. When making a sweater for a growing child, choosing a top-down pattern (starting at the neck and working down) makes it easier to lengthen the sleeves or even the torso by undoing the BO sts, picking them up as you go and adding yarn. Then you can knit a few extra inches to get more use out of your sweater.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Giving in to Temptation tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-06-08:1984936:BlogPost:575331 2015-06-08T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
I couldn't keep from casting on the "Echo Flower Shawl."

I thought it might actually be useful this summer. I'm using Bare 100% Merino Lace Weight yarn from Knit Picks, and putting beads in where the…

I couldn't keep from casting on the "Echo Flower Shawl."

I thought it might actually be useful this summer. I'm using Bare 100% Merino Lace Weight yarn from Knit Picks, and putting beads in where the pattern has twisted sts. It's going fast, partly because I'm finding it very entertaining.

The pattern is "Echo Flower Shawl" by Jenny Johnson Johnen. The yarn is left over from Daphne's Lace Christening Gown. (I really overestimated the amount I needed for that project!) There's a KAL for the project already on the Knitting Community.

Soon I hope to start the Busy Bee Throw, a pattern just issued by Knit Picks. It's a Granny-square-type crochet throw designed by our own Shaina Scott, EdwardRad on the Knitting Community and YumiYarns on Ravelry. If a KAL (CAL?) doesn't appear soon, I plan on starting one. I'll be using City Tweed DK, which will make the hive "cells" a little smaller, but it should be a great use for the yarn.

On Saturday the Mary Megs Atwater Weavers Guild stopped to see my fiber studio as part of a "Park City Tour" to see how we were set up for weaving and other fiber fun. One of the ladies took photos of my bench. She's going to ask her DH to make her one like it. From my house, they went on to Karan's and then to Margareth's, where they had lunch.

My Multi Scrap Scarf is going well. I'm up to 32".

Part of the week was very nice. By Wednesday the ground had dried out enough to hike on the trails above our house. Friday it started to rain again. At least we got good hikes in on Wednesday and Thursday.

I promise some quilting next week!

What's on my needles: Echo Flowers Shawl and the Fair Isle Flower Socks. Ready to CO the "March of the Fibres" cardi when I get a chance. I planned on doing the CO this week, but got sidetracked (again).

What's on my Featherweight: Ready to start next month's blocks from First Ladies. Another class meeting this week.

What's on my wheel: Still Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon." No progress there.

What's on my loom: Still the Multi Scrap scarf, but up to 32".

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson and then The Void by J. d. Horn, both from Audible. Now I'm reading The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen. Still reading Death by Cashmere in iBooks. Also Ann Budd's Sock Knitting Master Class on Kindle.

What's in my wine glass: Lindeman's Cawarra Shiraz-Cabernet 2014. The big bottle.

What's my tip of the week: When traveling with a project that requires beads, putting the beads on a strip of masking tape or painters' tape will keep them from rolling away. They can still be picked up from the tape easily with the crochet hook or needle.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Done With Winter, For Now.... tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-04-27:1984936:BlogPost:570805 2015-04-27T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
The weather has warmed up a bit, and our bulbs are emerging.

We also have daffodils, as do our neighbors. The ski resorts closed after Sunday's operation. Soon they will gear up for taking mountain bikers up the hill to ride down. DGD1 brought home her snowboard and boots…

The weather has warmed up a bit, and our bulbs are emerging.

We also have daffodils, as do our neighbors. The ski resorts closed after Sunday's operation. Soon they will gear up for taking mountain bikers up the hill to ride down. DGD1 brought home her snowboard and boots to store until next year. The trails are drying out, as the snow line moves higher. We discovered a new trail on Tuesday, after dropping off the truck to be serviced. We hiked with the pups for a couple of hours. This is our version of the opening scene of "Downton Abbey."

Rocky had run up ahead. Thursday I saw and heard our first hummingbird, something that usually doesn't happen until May 1st. We have the feeder out now.

Also on Thursday was Vintage Stitchers. We met at Barbara's. (I forgot my camera, so these were taken with my phone.) Marilyn was finishing up this "1600" quilt. After seeing one Carol made using 2 1/2" squares every time she added a new strip, she decided to do the same. I think the effect is quite nice. She used only florals left over from other projects.

Carol was just finishing up this Shoo-fly quilt.

(Sorry it's blurred. Either she moved or I did.) The back is fun, too.

In knitting news, DH's socks are coming along.

I think the color is more accurate in this photo. The flash didn't go off. That sometimes washes out the color somewhat. The pattern is Ann Budd's "Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks" from Interweave's Favorite Socks 25 Timeless Designs. The yarn is Stroll Tweed in "Rabbit Heather." I'm using my 2.5 mm Sunstruck dpns. (I have finished the first sock since I took this photo and CO for the second one.)

On Thursday I realized I was getting close to the toe and would need DH's foot for size. Since I didn't think he would part with it for a few hours and I needed something mindless to work on at Vintage Stitchers, I cast on Cookie A's Kai-Mei Socks. I'm using Stroll sock yarn in "Navy" to go with my new navy dress with white polka-dots that I got for our trip this summer. The cuff is mindless 3X3 ribbing. It's the foot that provides the entertainment. I'll wear these socks with sandals, so the lacy "insert" will show.

So I didn't get DH's "March of the Fibres" cast on yet, but he won't be able to wear it until next winter, so I still have some time. We will be camping this week, so I might get it started then. I decided it wasn't mindless enough to cast on at Vintage Stitchers. I want to do the corrugated ribbing that goes along with Fair Isle knitting, because the ribbing on my Dogwood Blossoms cardigan doesn't seem substantial enough, and I'm using the same yarn.

By the time you read this, I will be camping in Moab, Utah, where it's already warm. Next week's blog post should have photos of our adventure.

What's on my needles: The second Diagonal Cross-Rib Sock for DH. Also just CO Cookie A's Kai-Mei Socks. Maybe by the time you read this the ribbing for the "March of the Fibres" cardigan for DH.

What's on my wheel: Still Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon." No progress this week

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf. No progress this week.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Mariana by Susana Kearsley, also from the library on the Overdrive app. Spooky and romantic, its about reincarnation and a sort of time travel. Very interesting book. Finished reading Jennifer Coburn's Tales from the Crib, on the Kindle app. It was filled with unusual characters. Quirky story and fun to read. Now I'm reading Ridiculous by D. L. Carter. I wish it were available from Audible or Whispersync. It's an unusual Regency romance with hilarious dialogue. A young woman cross-dresses as her male cousin (who has just died) to try to protect her mother and sisters from being thrown out on the street by his brother, who would inherit.

What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw Merlot, A.K.A. "Two-buck Chuck." Contraband from Oregon, and $3 a bottle, but very nice.

What's my tip of the week: I use my Chart Keeper for keeping my place on a complicated chart, but sometimes it's in use for another project or I just want to keep my place in the pattern. I often copy my pattern, so I don't have to carry around a book with me, and I put the photocopies in a plastic sheet protector. Sticky notes don't always stay put, so I fasten them on with a piece of transparent tape. The sticky note makes it possible to see where I am, and the tape keeps it from falling off. The tape and not can be easily peeled off together to move to a new spot. You can get special colored tape that will do the same thing. (BTW, there are replacement magnets for the Chart Keeper, sold separately)

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Short and Sweet, and To the Point tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-04-13:1984936:BlogPost:570059 2015-04-13T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
This week saw the center of Pine Burr quilt finished.

 Not too much else got done this week while I worked to put the blocks together. However, after all the work to paper-piece the blocks and larger cornerstones, it felt good to get it put together. This quilt is going to be way too big for my design…

This week saw the center of Pine Burr quilt finished.

Not too much else got done this week while I worked to put the blocks together. However, after all the work to paper-piece the blocks and larger cornerstones, it felt good to get it put together. This quilt is going to be way too big for my design wall.

Note: There are no curved seams. The curved effect is all done with straight seams.

I plan to sew a dark inner border around it (1" finished) and then the outer border using the grey fabric featured in the four blocks that run diagonally from upper left to lower right. In fact, the border strips are already cut and are folded up on the table in front of the quilt top. The pattern is from McCall's Quilting May/June 2012, "Pine Burr Made Modern." My version looks nothing like the quilt in the magazine, partly because the colors are different, and partly because most of the seams show up clearly because there are many different background fabrics, rather than the cream solid used in the quilt in the article.

I had a problem sewing the paper-pieced sections to the sashing while the paper was still on them, so I ended up taking the paper off. That left me with some bias edges, which I figured I could work with if I did it carefully. It worked fine, except that I didn't think about the crossed bars that go through the blocks. With no cornerstones to keep them lined up, some of them moved to one side or the other a bit. Out came the seam ripper! However, I found I could get them to line up if I folded each sashing strip in half, pressed a crease into it and then opened it up again. Then I pinned that crease to the center of the crossbar on the block. When I was ready to sew the next block to the other side of the sashing strip, I lined up the crossed bar of one block with the crossed bar of the one underneath and put a pin through each of the crossed-bar seams, right through the threads of the top seam, then through the threads of the bottom seam and back up through both seams, about an inch closer to the sashing. This held the crossed bars of the two blocks on top of each other. Then I put a pin through the crease of the sashing strip and the middle of the crossed bar of the block I hadn't sewn yet. I should have taken a photo, because it worked well. I had to do this with the sashing that connected the blocks into strips, and then with the sashing between the strips of blocks. Whew!

Vintage Stitchers met at Ellen's on Thursday. That was when I started picking the paper off the back of my blocks. Everyone had brought quilts to show the last meeting, so we didn't have much show-and-tell. I only got one photo. Here's Marilyn's latest quilt, all from 2 1/2" strips.

Quilters: The quilt guild meeting is this week, so I should have lots to show next week.

The April Sunshine socks have been coming along. Soon I'll be ready for the heel turn on the second sock.

If you haven't read my previous blog post, I should tell you that the pattern is Sunshine from Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation. The yarn is Regia 4 fädig 4 ply in the romantically named color "00017."

On Friday (after Silver Sneakers) DH and I went on a hike in Toll Canyon with the pups. There's still a little snow, but it's easy now to get through without boots, snowshoes or YakTrax. Here's Sunny sitting on the bench that overlooks where the year-round stream pools up to make a watering hole of sorts.

This weekend was devoted to birthday celebrations. Saturday we did FaceTime with Daphne and Zachary, so we could see Zachary blow out his candles on the cake for his third birthday. We captured some screen shots. (The happy grandparents can be seen in the upper left-hand corner, along with Rocky, who has his head on his daddy's shoulder. If he knows we are Skyping or FaceTiming, he always climbs up in someone's lap, so he can be seen.)

Because Ellen wasn't here for her birthday last month, I treated her to lunch on Sunday, and Joanie came along. Joanie missed Vintage Stitchers at Ellen's on Thursday, so she was happy to see Ellen, who just got here but will be leaving soon.

Since Ellen will only be here for another week, the three of us plan to do something together this week before she has to leave.

What's on my needles: Still working on the April Sunshine socks, with the second sock well underway.

What's on my Featherweight: Just the borders to do on the Pine Burr quilt.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon."

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Under the Jolly Roger by L. A. Meyer, and then In the Belly of the Bloodhound by the same author, both from the library on the Overdrive app. Now listening to April Lady by Georgette Heyer, to get myself away from Bloody Jack for a bit, although I can't wait to find out what happens next. (Talk about cliffhangers!) Still reading Jennifer Coburn's Tales from the Crib, on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Lindeman's Cawarra Shiraz-Cabernet 2013. Always nice, especially in the big bottle.

What's my tip of the week: If you have a set of Knit Picks' blocking mats but need more than you have, you can buy mats that fit at a hardware store or some toy stores. Just take one of your mats along to make sure the connecting sections match. (Thanks to my friend Jo for this tip.)

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Blocks and Cables tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-03-23:1984936:BlogPost:568918 2015-03-23T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
The Pine Burr quilt is coming along. Here's Block 11:

And Block 12:

I should point out here…

The Pine Burr quilt is coming along. Here's Block 11:

And Block 12:

I should point out here that this is paper-pieced. The pattern is "Pine Burr Made Modern" by Konda Luckau from May/June 2012 McCall's Quilting. I've had the pattern and the foundation sheets in my notebook since it came out, but wanted to improve my paper-piecing techniques before trying it. The "Delectable Pathways" quilt gave me a good start. A recent class and the purchase of an Add-a-Quarter Ruler made it a lot easier for me to do paper-piecing. I'm going almost totally scrappy on this quilt, unlike the one in the magazine. With all different background fabrics, the piecing of the background will show up more. I think the effect will still be nice, though.

Here's a photo of the first 12 blocks on my design wall. (Sorry about uneven lighting. I have track lights in my studio.) This isn't how they will be arranged. I'm going to play with them when I have all 16. There will be sashing, cornerstones, borders, etc., too.

Now there are more, but it's hard to get a photo of them all together because of the table in front of my design wall.

Here's Block 13:

And Block 14. Only two to go!

Thursday was a very busy day. Common Threads met at Karan's again. She's working on a hot-air balloon mobile for her first grandchild. It will be a series of little hot-air balloons with the little baskets to carry the tiny imaginary people up into the clouds. She has two of the balloons done.

She's also making progress on her "Flying South" cardigan.

Susan has been working on "zentangles," something I had never seen before.

Ginny was there, too. She's still hand-quilting her pillow shams.

Then, Thursday evening, the Park City Quilt Guild met. We were supposed to bring examples of how we worked with color or how we chose the colors.

Linda brought this great quilt top, where the border fabric was an inspiration for the other fabrics.

Several people mentioned that they often choose a fabric with colors they like together, then use that to pick the other fabrics for a quilt. You don't even need to actually use the inspiration fabric in the quilt.

Colleen blew us away with this awesome Baltimore Beauty:

She had a class a few years ago with Elly Sienkiewicz. That's when she started this. It's all done by hand. She shifted the traditional red-green color scheme off a little, to great effect.

Davidene showed how using one unifying color could make mismatched fabrics work together.

This quilter challenged herself to use orange and pink together in this great tulip quilt (Jill's sister, I think, but I've forgotten her name). :

Jill brought this Twister quilt to show:

And here's what she made with the leftovers:

Jill took this quilt top entirely apart because she didn't like how it looked. This is the new, better, version.

I took my "Thousand Years of Friendships" quilt, where I took a ball of olive-colored yarn with me as I chose the fabrics.

I also took "Antique Diamonds," made from the Keepsake Quilting Millennium Quilt kit given to me by a friend who was cleaning out her quilting studio. The color choices here were made by eliminating any wild fabrics and then matching up lighter and darker fabrics for contrast. Then I strung some colors together just to emphasize those colors.

Both of these are hand-quilted. (I didn't photograph my quilts at the meeting, because I was busy holding them up but these old photos show the colors well.)

In knitting news, the first Johan sock is done:

The yarn is Stroll Tweed in Flagstone Heather, sort of a slate gray in real life. (It sort of looks blue-green on my monitor.) The pattern is "Bavarian Twisted Stitch" from Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles," but I tightened up the gauge for my skinnier feet, didn't twist the purl stitches and used a regular flat toe.

I started these socks on the trip to Oregon last summer to meet Johan, our new grandson. Guess I've been suffering from "first-sock syndrome." The second one will go fast. I just picked up more sock yarn at Knit Picks latest sale, and I have lots of plans for socks I'm dying to make.

I tried something new (to me, anyway) with this sock. I always wear out the bottom of the heel, so I knitted with two strands across that area, cutting the extra strand when I reached the gusset/instep stitches. Here's how it looks on the inside:

I think the extra strand will stay put. Watch this blog for a report on how this works in practice!

I'm ready to start March of the Fibres sweater, but I decided I needed more gray Palette yarn, so I have some on the way.

On Saturday, the pups and I went for a short "hike" in Toll Canyon, an area adjacent to our neighborhood. It was a nice day, and we met other people along the way. There wasn't enough snow for snowshoes, but my Yaktrax would have been welcome.

Sunny and Rocky have 4X4, so they were able to run. I just had to be careful.

Sunday was church, the opera and practice for The Messiah Project...performance this coming Sunday.

What's on my needles: Working on the Johan Socks, one sock done. Also still working on the second Martha Washington's Wreath appliqué block for my First Ladies quilt, not much progress this week, and worked some more on hand-quilting my "Spring Flowers" quilt.

What's on my Featherweight: Pine Burr, ready to start block 15.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon."

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Music from Park City's Messiah Project. Finished listening to An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor, then Breakfast With Buddha by Roland Merullo, both recent "Daily Deal" offerings from Audible and both very enjoyable and beautifully written. The second book is a novel about a road trip a man takes with his sister's guru. It's about the nature of religion, anger and joy. Very special. Now listening to The Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L. A. Meyer, the second in the Bloody Jack series about a British street urchin who disguises herself as a boy so she can work on a ship as a cabin boy. This one was available from my library as an audio download, so I'm listening on the Overdrive app. Finished reading Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry by Amanda Hughes on the Kindle app. It was an interesting story, but the writing didn't flow. Just starting Jennifer Coburn's Tales from the Crib, also on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Corbett Canyon Merlot. ("You had me at Merlot.") Always a decent wine.

What's my tip of the week: When tracing templates on fabric or otherwise drawing on fabric, place the fabric on top of a piece of sandpaper. The sandpaper will keep the fabric from stretching as the pencil moves across it. Slight pressure on the template helps. You can glue the sandpaper to a stiff surface, like a piece of wood, plexiglass or heavy paper to keep it from sliding around.

I found this item all ready to go at a quilt store. the plastic can also be used for glueing, but I don't do that very often.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Fun with Friends tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-02-09:1984936:BlogPost:566692 2015-02-09T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Common Threads met out in Midway on Thursday.

Ginny is making progress on the hand-quilting of her pillow shams, and Lynda modeled her latest chapeau (another project for a friend).…

Common Threads met out in Midway on Thursday.

Ginny is making progress on the hand-quilting of her pillow shams, and Lynda modeled her latest chapeau (another project for a friend).

Janalee, our host, was crocheting a chemo hat, and Georgette had a small needlepoint project to work on.

DGD1 brought her garter stitch scarf to work on.

Julie's working on this sweater for her DGD1:

She had already finished this BSJ (Baby Surprise Jacket) for her DGD2.

For something a little different, Angie shows off the Dream Catcher she finished at Common Threads.

Angie is the author of the novel Copper Descent, which I just picked up from Kindle.

Ginny showed us how to make an apron from a pair of old jeans. She cut the front off, leaving the waist band and the seat down to where it starts to curve for the crotch. You use the front closure to fasten in the back.

Here Ginny shows the finished apron, which she presented to me.

I've been collecting fabrics mostly in these colors.

I'm planning on using them in the Pine Burr quilt from McCall's Quilting magazine, May/June 2012.

I think I've learned enough about paper piecing that I'm ready to start on it. However I have a class at Davidene's on Wednesday from 11-1, so I'll be starting that first, although I may try just one block, just to see. The class at Davidene's is based on Tales of First Ladies by Eleanor Burns. They're making a stack of fat quarters in Civil War fabrics available at a great price, so I plan on using those.

We've been walking the dogs on the street, because it's too muddy on the trails and there's very little snow. I think the northeast got all of our snow this year. The local resorts have snow, though. (They can make it.) We try to get out and walk on the days we don't have an exercise class.

DGD1 brought home a new friend to knit with. While DGD worked on this scarf with some new (to her) stitches, I taught the friend how to use two circular needles to knit in the round. She did some stash diving in Grandma's little yarn store and came up with some yarn for a hat. During the times when they didn't need my help, I organized my fabrics for the Pine Burr quilt, so it will be ready to go. I also tidied up my studio a bit and put away a bunch of interchangeable needles I had just lying around.

What's on my needles: Brick Cardigan, second sleeve coming along well. (It looks the same as in last week's blog post, except that there are now two sleeves.)

What's on my Featherweight: Mending, but I'm ready to start a new quilt on Wednesday. I have a class at Davidene's at 11:00 AM, so will have to pack up my baby and include some supplies and equipment.

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf, but still folded up.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished In the Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotsen. Now listening to The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen from Audible. Just started Angie's book, Copper Descent, on the Kindle app.

What's my app of the week: Virtuoso Piano from this website (there are several other piano apps), for figuring out what notes I'm supposed to sing in a piece were singing Sunday at church.

What's in my wine glass: Woodbridge Zinfandel 2013. Always nice.

What's my tip of the week: This tip came from someone in the Just Us Quilters group on Facebook. She cuts up her larger leftovers into squares and triangles, and keeps them near her sewing machine. When she's piecing a quilt and needs to start or finish sewing by using a small scrap of cloth, she sews together two squares or triangles instead. When she has enough of them, she uses them in a quilt.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Annie Get Your Knitting Needles tag:community.knitpicks.com,2015-02-02:1984936:BlogPost:566736 2015-02-02T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
It has NOT been a quiet week here. First, there were the Sundance shifts, but I had some knitting time during some of them, so here's my progress:

I'm on the first sleeve, but this photo was taken before the Super Bowl game, so it's a little further along…

It has NOT been a quiet week here. First, there were the Sundance shifts, but I had some knitting time during some of them, so here's my progress:

I'm on the first sleeve, but this photo was taken before the Super Bowl game, so it's a little further along now.

I had three shifts at the Sundance Film Festival, which is over, but I have one shift (today) left to work, "The Best of the Fest" for locals, to compensate them for having to put up with the Festival.

The piecing of the first quilt top of the new year, "Seeing Stars," is done.

The pattern is "Clara's Journey" from Connecting Threads.

As you can see, this quilt is too big for my design wall. The finished quilt is 91.5" square. Now I have to decide how I want to have it quilted.

The big news, though, is the addition to the family (at least those living in the house), DGD1, who has come to live with us. She made a great addition to the church choir, which was in need of altos. We sat where the altos and sopranos meet, and I took a selfie of us:

She went with me to Common Threads on Thursday, CO a scarf, and had several inches done by the time we left. We're going to have fun knitting together. I had to help her make room in the guest room for her clothes, which took some time. I think she's pretty well settled in, though. She's been here before, but just for a week at a time.

We watched the Annie Awards Saturday night online. For your weekly cuteness, here are DS2 and DDIL2, sitting in the audience:

DS2 and his team were nominated for "Animated Effects in an Animated Production." They didn't win, but the film he was nominated for, The Boxtrolls, won two awards. There are five people on his team, and they would each have won an award. Too bad they didn't win, but not bad for first time out, and it was exciting that they got to go to the awards. Their boys were staying with the other grandparents. The lucky ones who live near them.

What's on my needles: Brick Cardigan, first sleeve started.

What's on my Featherweight: "Seeing Stars" quilt top done.

What's on my loom: Some warp for another scarf, but still folded up.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to In the Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotsen. Finished And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander, paperback. I've decided I want to read more by the same author. This was the first of the "Lady Emily" series. They are mysteries. I have several books from Book Bub on my iPad, but haven't started one yet.

What's my app of the week: iBooks, which allowed me to download and keep the Annies program.

What's in my wine glass: Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 vintage. Very nice.

What's my tip of the week: A quilt batt that stays together well (such as Warm & Natural) makes a great design wall. I sewed a hem at the top and bottom of time and ran a batten through each, to keep it flat. I have hooks at each side of the top of the closet in my fiber studio, so I can rest one of the battens on it. If I had to, I could roll up quilt blocks and all to store. I can put blocks and pieces on the design wall without using pins, but strips and bigger sections stay put better with pins. I think an old blanket would work, and I've heard of people using the back side of a plastic tablecloth, the kind with a flannel backing.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Cutting Up and Getting Out tag:community.knitpicks.com,2014-09-01:1984936:BlogPost:557446 2014-09-01T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
The main activity for this week was my "Reflections of Butterflies in Lemonade" quilt top.

I started this quilt on Tuesday. It's the Disappearing Hourglass block from Missouri Star's Quilt Block magazine, the latest issue. There's also a video of how to make it on…

The main activity for this week was my "Reflections of Butterflies in Lemonade" quilt top.

I started this quilt on Tuesday. It's the Disappearing Hourglass block from Missouri Star's Quilt Block magazine, the latest issue. There's also a video of how to make it on YouTube.

In the magazine, they show you how you can rotate every other block 90° and end up with a secondary design, and that's what I did. The instructions called for using layer cakes (precut 10" squares), but I realized that this would yield a block with bias edges...not my favorite thing. You put a light square and a dark one together, sew around the outside and cut diagonally twice, corner to corner, which gives you four half-square triangles (HSTs). I figured out that 7 1/4" squares would give you two HSTs about the right size, and you can fit them onto a fat eighth, of which I had several I wanted to use. It takes two of these 7 1/4" squares each of the background and foreground to make a block this way. You sew the HSTs together to make the hourglass block, then cut into 9 patches, which you rotate and sew back together. Fun and easy, with a few precautions. Here's what I learned about making this quilt:

1) Don't listen to an audiobook when you're first learning how to sew and cut the blocks. If you cut one wrong, you either have to start over, and the waste the fabric, or you have to resort to templates [shudder] or do some serious math and cut pieces out of scraps.

2) When you sew the blocks together always have the light triangle in the same upper corner.

3) When you repress the seams that don't fit when you sew the block together, always press them in the same way.

My Delectable Pathways is coming along. I'm appliquéing the leaves that cross over seams into the pieced blocks. The first panel is done, and I'm working on the second. Julie tells me that her store, where I bought the background fabric, closed in 2004, so I've actually been working on this quilt for ten years! So I've decided to rename it "Peggy's Sistine Chapel."

Vintage Stitchers met at Diane's last week. Marilyn and Brenda are working on the same machine-appliqué birds.

Barbara has finished her "Witches in Stitches" quilt top. We discussed how to have it quilted. Julie, who is a professional quilter, says you can quilt right over the embroidered parts if you use the background color.

Here's the fun back:

Marilyn was working on this batik appliqué:

And here's Rebecca's appliqué:

Daphne and Zachary are now in the same day care, which, for Daphne is preschool. They go to the University of Wisconsin. (Why not start at the top? This way, when they want to go to college, their parents can say they already sent them to a top university.)

This is Zachary, showing off his new backpack and his haircut. (Yes, his hair was longer.)

Our newcomer, Johan, occasionally opens his eyes now.

Finally, our sweet Rocky turned 10 yesterday! (That's 10 in human years!) We took a hike to celebrate. He's in good health, so I have great hopes that he will be with us for 6-7 years yet. Rocky is the most human dog we've ever had, and we love him to bits! (This photo was from last spring, but it was the best recent portrait of him.)

The weather was nice, and we made it to the Fairy Tree in Toll Canyon with friends. (Rocky's the one with the fancy beads, which we left at the Fairy Tree.)

What's on my needles: Still Cat Bordhi's "Bavarian Twisted Stitch" socks from her book, Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, aka the Johan Socks. Someone in the Knitting Community reminded me that I also have Mr. Foster on the needles. I should really give "the elusive Mr. F." (from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin) priority. Still sewing the leaves on my Delectable Pathways.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness, also from Audible. Also still reading Joseph Lallo's The Book of Deacon from Book Bub.

What's my app of the week: Public Radio. You can select your favorite PBS station and listen to it in real time.

What's in my wine glass: Amberhill Secret Blend 2010. One of my faves.

What's my tip of the week: Did you know you can use your iPhone as a hotspot for your computer or iPad? Go into "Settings," tap "Cellular." Select "Personal Hotspot." Follow the directions. Of course, this will count towards your data usage, if you have a plan that has limits.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Off With Her Head! tag:community.knitpicks.com,2014-05-12:1984936:BlogPost:554027 2014-05-12T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Like many of the victims of Henry VIII, I seem to have misplaced my head. I'm having so much fun with the Mary Tudor cardigan, I can't put it down.

Mary Tudor was the sister of Henry VIII and did not lose her head but led an adventurous life and apparently died of natural…

Like many of the victims of Henry VIII, I seem to have misplaced my head. I'm having so much fun with the Mary Tudor cardigan, I can't put it down.

Mary Tudor was the sister of Henry VIII and did not lose her head but led an adventurous life and apparently died of natural causes.

The pattern is by Alice Starmore, considered by some to be the Queen of Fair Isle knitting. It's one of a number of beautiful knitting patterns found in her book Tudor Roses, which has been recently published in a new edition with all new photos and versions of the patterns. The Mary Tudor is a favorite. That checkerboard pattern that goes down the front is the steek, where I will cut it open when I get done knitting the body. First, I'll sew two rows of machine stitching down the center of the steek. I'll cut between the rows of stitching. It sounds pretty scary, but it works, and it allows you to knit with the right side facing you all the time.

We arrived back from our camping trip late Thursday, and Friday was spent doing laundry and putting stuff away. On Saturday it started to rain and snow, so no hiking over the weekend. This is what we woke up to Sunday morning.

It's still a winter wonderland here. I'm wistfully remembering the warm desert. It was nice to get away from the cold for a while.

I haven't posted any cuteness lately, so here's a photo of Miss Daphne in the car on the way to Texas for her paternal great-grandmother's 100th birthday party.

DD says the iPad was a godsend on the trip. It kept her occupied and content during the long hours of travel. I'm so happy that my old Original iPad is having a new life of usefulness.

What's on my needles: Mary Tudor Cardigan, two pattern repeats done, 83 rounds done, 32 to go before the armhole.

What's on my Featherweight: Still waiting for Delectable Pathways to be ready to put together, although I'm itching to start one of the new quilts I have planned.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to Georgette Heyer's Sprig Muslin, a very funny and adventurous story, which put me in mind of Shakespeare's comedies. Now listening to A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick and reading Vivienne Fagan's Hilda Hopkins, Murder, She Knit on the Kindle app from Book Bub. Still watching "Stranded Colorwork, Basics and Beyond" from Craftsy.

What's my app of the week: FirePlace. I may have mentioned this app before, but it continues to be useful in helping me feel warm when DH is too lazy to light a fire and I'm in the middle of something. It's very realistic, and creates a nice ambience, even if it doesn't give off much warmth.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Merlot, the big bottle. We also took this on our trip and found it to be very nice. The jumping frog on the label is a nice touch for knitters, too.

What's my tip of the week: When cutting vegetables that roll, like carrots, radishes zucchinis and cucumbers, if you slice them once lengthwise, they will lie flat for you while you slice crosswise. Of course, this gives you little semicircles, but in my opinion, those are just as pretty as circles, and it's much easier to control the slicing.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

 High Fiber—Back to Whatever is "Normal" tag:community.knitpicks.com,2014-02-03:1984936:BlogPost:550018 2014-02-03T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Lynda has finished her Dogwood Blossoms!

She's the first one in our group of four or so to finish it. She wore it to our Common Threads meeting on Thursday. Mine is close to finished (has been for a long time), and I plan to get it done during the Ravellenic Games.

Here is the…

Lynda has finished her Dogwood Blossoms!

She's the first one in our group of four or so to finish it. She wore it to our Common Threads meeting on Thursday. Mine is close to finished (has been for a long time), and I plan to get it done during the Ravellenic Games.

Here is the sweater Margareth and I were trying to resize to fit her at our meeting two weeks ago. She says that she has tried it on, and it fits perfectly.

The pattern is the Bayside Pullover from Hannah Fettig's Coastal Knits.

Margareth is adding subtle stripes, because she didn't have enough of the main color yarn. I love her color choices. It's going to be worth all the math we had to do.

Now Lynda's working on this great shawl. It's called "Dream Bird," and was designed by Nadita Swings.

Lone is working on felting and paper projects.

Here's Ellen's garage-sale find from several years ago. The circles are yoyos, appliquéd down. She's thinking of using this piece as the center medallion of a quilt.

My first I-spy quilt top is finished. This one is for Zachary's second birthday in April. I have another one virtually the same to make for Soren, who will be two in July. I picked up the border fabric for both quilts on Tuesday at our local quilt shop after a sewing session at Ellen's. Because I'm using the same fabric for both quilts' borders, I have enough fabric to get the length of all borders without piecing them.

And...the endless Christmas Waffle Sweater is coming along. The second sleeve is finished.

You may remember that I wasn't happy with the top-down sleeves. These were much easier to make, and I like the way they look better. Starting on the yoke.

I've been enjoying the new slow-cooker book I bought when I was in SLC with Ellen and Brenda. (Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just for You by Kathy Hester.) I made the "Pumpkin Polenta" overnight for breakfast, and it turned out great. I used water instead of nondairy milk and real cheese instead of the faux cheese. (I don't eat meat, but I'm not vegan.)

The other "excitement" for the week was Rocky's injury. We think he did it playing Frisbee in the snow a week ago Saturday with some other dogs. We didn't notice anything until Monday, when he got up unable to turn his head to the left. Our vet had us try aspirin for several days, but it was taking a long time to get better, so we took him in on Friday. Pulled muscle was the diagnosis. Now he's on two different medications to relax the muscle and reduce the pain, and seems to be recovering significantly. Never a dull moment with the pups!

Finally, the local groundhog saw his shadow on Sunday. Six more weeks of winter. I wish it were only six more weeks. That would be unusual for us.

What's on my needles: "Green Tea" socks for me, second sock, and Dogwood Blossoms holding, and Christmas Waffle sweater moving along, with the second sleeve (second version) finished. Starting the raglan decreases for the yoke.

What's on my loom: Christmas present scarves, a few more inches done.

What's on my Featherweight: Piecing the second I-spy quilt, this one for Soren.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Phantoms by Dean Koontz, from Audible and started Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey. Still reading Pemberly to Waterloo by Anna Elliot in iBooks, bought through Book Bub. Also listening to the Fiber Hooligan podcast and the Knit Picks podcast, as usual.

What's my app of the week: I'm really getting a lot of use out of The Recipe Box. I'm adding my favorite recipes, so I can find them easily. It even let's you include a photo.

What's in my wine glass: Proximo by Marqués de Riscal Rioja, 2009, from Spain. Nice! It says "Alc. 135% on the bottle. No wonder it tastes so good! (No, that has to be a mistake.)

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

 High Fiber—Quilt Shop, Quilt Show and Fun With Friends tag:community.knitpicks.com,2013-10-14:1984936:BlogPost:543491 2013-10-14T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Big news! We finally have a local quilt shop with the opening of Davidene's Quilt Shop just a few minutes from my home!

One of the great things about this quilt shop is the fact that they sell Connecting…

Big news! We finally have a local quilt shop with the opening of Davidene's Quilt Shop just a few minutes from my home!

One of the great things about this quilt shop is the fact that they sell Connecting Threads thread! It's a little more expensive than in the catalog, but really handy when I find I need a color I don't already have.

It will also be nice to be able to take classes nearby. Ellen, Karan, Margareth and I stopped by on Thursday to pick up some goodies and check out the facilities after visiting the quilt show.

This week the Utah Quilt Guild held its annual Quilt Fest, this year at the Zermatt in Midway. I was unable to take any classes this year, but it was fun to go to the show with friends, and then to lunch at the Spin Cafe in Heber City. Of course, I can't show you all of the quilts in the show in this little blog, but you can see all the photos I took here. Here are a few that especially appealed to me. I'm always drawn to quilts made from scraps (or look as if they were), like this one:

I really like this one, too. The cattails are appliquéd.

And then there was this one.

They also had the vendors' mall, with some really great quilting supplies for sale, along with some goodies that quilters just naturally like, like chocolate!

Joanie's birthday was Tuesday, but she was busy all week, getting ready for her annual "Spooktakular" (garage sale kicked off with a party the night before). Ellen and I got to treat her to breakfast on Saturday. We went to a little cafe connected with a local gas station, where they have great food.

This week brought some progress with knitting, spinning, appliqué and weaving, but most of it you've seen before, and it doesn't look much different. The big news, though, is in weaving. I warped on Monday for a scarf for a friend:

The warp is Knit Picks' Palette (one of my favorite yarns) in Green Tea and Edamame. The weft is Koigu hand-painted merino. I ripped it out after I had about 10" done. I was beating too hard, I guess, because the warp threads were sitting tightly against each other, making it almost weft-faced (all weft and no warp showing). It was pretty, but I had wanted the two shades of warp threads to show through, and I was going to use up the weft too fast, meaning I would run out of weft yarn while the scarf was still way too short. I had worked out the weft for 12 picks per inch (12 weft threads per inch), and this about twice that, so it was going to make it take much more yarn than I had. Here's what I mean:

See the two different colors in the warp? The only place you would see the warp was in the fringe. After picking out the weft and starting anew, here's what it looks like:

I've made more progress on it, but it looks about the same as in this photo. When it's finished, it will be a gift for a friend who gave me a lot of quilting fabric she wanted to get rid of, and a big box of yarn for charity projects and weaving practice. The Koigu was in the box. It's expensive yarn, and she must have liked it, so my weaving practice will also provide her with a scarf for the winter.

On Sunday Rocky and Sunny took me to the Park City Community's annual Blessing of the Animals, held to celebrate the feast day of St. Francis. This year it was at my church, St. Luke's Episcopal. The rain stopped about an hour before the event and started up again as we were on our way home in the car.

I haven't given you a gratuitous baby photo for a while, so here's a cute shot of Daphne after the family got home from the Children's Museum. The "Cat in the Hat" she's sitting on is the back side of her "I Spy" quilt. She had her face painted at the museum.

What's on my needles: Dogwood Blossoms, Christmas Waffle and Green Tea socks with a few more pattern repeats finished.

What's on my loom: "Scarf for a Friend," nearly half done.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle Roving in "Wolf". I'm still on the first bobbin.

What's on my Featherweight: Delectable pathways, appliqué panel #3, more than half of the stems done. Still need to sew the blocks together for the pieced strips between the appliqué.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I really enjoyed The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson-Burnett (author of Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden) on Audible. I guess I need to read more by this author. Now I'm listening to Icebound by Dean Koontz on the Overdrive app. The eBook The Hannover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner is still on my iPad Nook app for bedtime reading. Listening to the Fiber Hooligan podcast and the Knit Picks podcast.

What's my app of the week: MLB, the free version. When I can't watch my beloved Red Sox on TV, I can still keep track of the games using the scoreboard in the app.

What's in my wine glass: HRM Rex-Goliath Free Range Red, nice for a change of pace. "Sweet and juicy," although it isn't really what I would call a sweet wine.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.
 High Fiber—Learning New Things tag:community.knitpicks.com,2013-10-07:1984936:BlogPost:543449 2013-10-07T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart

In Common Threads this week, we had a special meeting to view the video, "Learn to Love Needleturn" by Mary Sorensen.

We gathered at our usual start time at Janet's to have a bite to eat before the meeting. We had eight people, in spite of our first real snowstorm, with…

In Common Threads this week, we had a special meeting to view the video, "Learn to Love Needleturn" by Mary Sorensen.

We gathered at our usual start time at Janet's to have a bite to eat before the meeting. We had eight people, in spite of our first real snowstorm, with accumulation on the roads (see photo, below). Some of our members are new to quilting.

Here we are, watching the video.

We started by watching a segment, then practicing what we learned, but we could see we weren't going to be able to finish in the time we had allotted, no surprise to me. I had wanted a full day, but some of our members who wanted to participate couldn't spare the time all at once. "Plan B" was to get everyone started, then watch the remaining segments. That way, we got through the 2-hr. video. Each person will be able to borrow the DVD to finish up at her own speed. Some people are going to work together, and some may end up buying their own copy.

I continue to be amazed at how many tips and tricks there are to learn on the DVD. I've watched it several times, and I've learned something new each time, as I pick up on things that escaped me in earlier viewings, and that, in spite of having had the class in person with Mary Sorensen several years ago, which was wonderful. This is a great DVD, so worth the price! Mary's a good teacher, with a good sense of humor.

We finished up our meeting with a potluck lunch. It was a fun day. Ellen has to go home to Florida soon, but we have decided to work on our appliqué block together when she comes back next month.

Update on the llama fleeces: Lynda and I prepared a little of the fiber, pulled out guard hairs and junk, washed it, ran it through our drum carder and spun it up, just to see if it was worth all the work. Lynda has knit up a swatch. I still need to do mine. Both of us found there was more dirt to wash out with the finished yarn. Here's a photo of my share of the llama, spun and plied:

I got 19 wraps-per-inch (WPI), 43 g and 56 yds. It's very soft, but I'm not sure about next to the skin; it might be a little itchy. We may have left a few of the guard hairs in. It took several hours just to get less than 100 g ready to spin, but I think it's worth the effort. Now if the weather will cooperate and give us a few days to get enough done to do something with. Here's a closeup.

We had a special get-together to be able to spend some time with an old friend who isn't available on Thursdays. Susan came and showed off her jacket.

She wove this from Tencel and Silk thread. She says the weaving was easy, but the sewing was a challenge.

Remember that winter storm I mentioned? I wasn't kidding. This is what greeted me Friday morning when I looked out our back windows. That's our hot tub under all that snow. I can't remember ever having "real" snow this early. Most of it has melted now.

We had new technical problems this week, related to iOS7. DH had a return of his username/password problem. Also, about the beginning of the week I lost Siri. (I was afraid she had been furloughed, although I thought she was a contractor, not a federal worker.) We had to stop by the Apple store anyway to help DH with his problem (finally resolved, I think), so I got an appointment with one of the cute geniuses at the Genius Bar. It turns out I had turned her off. (I have that effect on a lot of people.) I wonder where she went while she was gone?

Speaking of computers, this came in from the cold:

I didn't want a computer bug, so I showed him the door (window, actually). My laptop is a MacBook, but I didn't want to take a chance.

What's on my needles: Dogwood Blossoms, Christmas Waffle inching along, and Green Tea socks with a few more pattern repeats finished.

What's on my loom: Hoping to warp soon for a scarf. (This week got away from me.)

What's on my wheel: Full Circle Roving in "Wolf," barely started.

What's on my Featherweight: Delectable pathways, appliqué panel #3, half of the stems done, but not very pretty yet, so no photo. I've been using my machine to hem pants, etc., but I may have to sew my Delectable Mountains blocks together, just to take a break from appliqué, knitting, spinning, etc.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson-Burnett (author of Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden). Excellent book. The eBook The Hannover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner is on my iPad Nook app for bedtime reading. Listening to the Fiber Hooligan podcast and the Knit Picks podcast.

What's my app of the week: The Recipe Box. There are several apps for keeping your recipes, but this was one of the ones where you don't have to pay extra to get the iPad, iPhone and Mac version of the app. It's $3.99. You can copy and paste your favorite recipes and include a photo if you have one. It will help you make a shopping list. I'm transferring my recipes as I cook them. I especially like that it doesn't turn itself off while you're trying to cook. I've been viewing my recipes in Pages and always hate to have to touch my iPad screen with messy fingers. Note: A couple of weeks ago, I chose a flashlight app as my "app of the week." I've now deleted that flashlight app, because iOS 7 gives you a flashlight, and it can be accessed from the Control Center. One of the amazing new features!

What's in my wine glass: Glen Ellen House Concannon (Glen Ellen Reserve) Merlot, vintage 2011. As in, "You had me at Merlot." Nice wine with flavors of cherry and plum with a touch of spice. Think I'll have another glass....

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

 High Fiber—Cold Weather, Good Life! tag:community.knitpicks.com,2013-09-30:1984936:BlogPost:543008 2013-09-30T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Snow arrived in Park City last week. That's Sunny, checking out the snow on the front deck.

We usually get a light snowfall in September. This year it was unusual, though. We had five days of light to medium snowfall with some accumulation on rooftops and shady areas. It's gone now, but the temperatures have stayed…

Snow arrived in Park City last week. That's Sunny, checking out the snow on the front deck.

We usually get a light snowfall in September. This year it was unusual, though. We had five days of light to medium snowfall with some accumulation on rooftops and shady areas. It's gone now, but the temperatures have stayed unseasonably cool at higher elevations...like our house.

Vintage Stitchers met at Ellen's, in spite of the snowfall. The ladies from Salt Lake City braved the canyon to get to us.

Show-and-tell included Rebecca's wall hanging, all finished except for the binding.

Here's the back:

Ellen's Hawaiian quilt is about done, too. She purchased the kit when she was in Hawaii on vacation with her daughter.

Ellen also showed off this quilt made years ago, origianlly intended as a back for another quilt. Her son's girlfriend liked it just as a quilt top, so Ellen bought enough fabric for two backs, and this one is going to the girlfriend. Lucky girl! (Brenda did the quilting on her longarm. She does a very professional-looking job!)

I've started Appliqué Panel #3 for the Delectable Pathways quilt. I just have a couple of stems and a leaf done so far. It isn't really enough to show off yet.

During the week, I found myself in need of a take-along project, something that would fit in my purse. Socks are always a good project of that type, so I went to my stash and picked out this Panda Silk sock yarn, 52% bamboo, 43% Superwash merino and 5% combed silk. For a pattern, I dug out (I didn't have to dig far) my two Charlene Schurch "Sensational Knitted Socks" books and picked out the "Broad Spiral Ribbing" pattern from the newer book, More Sensational Knitted Socks. I took them along when we went to the theater Wednesday evening. I'm calling them my "Green Tea" socks.

The Christmas Waffle sweater may be done by this Christmas. I've finished the body to the armholes, and I took my needle tips off the cable to use for the first sleeve.

I'm doing the sleeves on two circular needles. I found it a bit tricky getting started, though. The pattern calls for a provisional cast-on. I used the invisible cast-on, which is a type of provisional cast-on. Using two circular needles makes it difficult to tell if it's twisted after you join to work in the round. I had to knit several rounds before I could tell that it wasn't twisted. What a relief! (I get to do this all over again for the other sleeve, though.)

The llama seems to spin up nicely. I'm plying my share of what Lynda and I prepared. Here's what the singles looked like:

It has been too cold to work on the raw fleece further. The first step (cleaning) has to be done outside. We expect it to warm up again, though.

One big event this week was dealing with DH's new iPad. Years ago, DS1 gave us an iPod, and that started events in motion. DH used his name, password, etc., to set up an iTunes account. He never did anything with it, though. I was the one who always loaded up the iPod with audiobooks when we were getting ready to take a trip. When I got my iPad 3 1/2 years ago, I synced to the iTunes library we already had on his computer, and then moved it to the old gimpy laptop when DH gave that to me so I wouldn't have to touch his desktop. When that died, DH bought a netbook for me to use (although it was still his) to sync my iPad. Two years ago I finally had enough money to get my own computer, a MacBook, so I opened my iTunes on it. (Are you still following me?) It was my iTunes, and I had added lots of stuff to it over the last few years. However, Apple never forgot that it was his originally, so when he set up his own account with his own new iPad, all the stuff in my library showed up. He deleted it several times, but every time he opened up iTunes, there was my stuff, including all my PDFs of knitting and quilting patterns. I also noticed that all my PDFs were missing from my iPad iBooks library, except for two knitting patterns and a weaving book. We called Apple together on Saturday and talked to a nice technical support person named Dave, who walked us through our "separation." There were two things he couldn't fix for us, though. One was the organization of my PDFs in files. My files are still there, but all the documents are in one folder. I'll have to sort that out myself. The other thing was all my stuff in DH's iTunes library. He will have to keep it or delete it, as he sees fit, but nothing I add to iTunes from now on will go into his library, and vice versa. Whew! I'd like to give Dave a gold star!

What's on my needles: Dogwood Blossoms, Christmas Waffle and Green Tea socks

What's on my loom: Hoping to warp soon for a scarf.

What's on my wheel: Plying the llama.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Peter West by D. E. Stevenson from Audible, one of my favorite authors. Now I've started The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson-Burnett (author of Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden). Very good, so far. The eBook The Hannover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner is on my iPad Nook app for bedtime reading. Listening to the Fiber Hooligan podcast and the Knit Picks podcast.

What's my app of the week: Apple Radio! I discovered this little gem since updating my iPhone to iOS7. Love it! You can put in the name of a performer you like, and Apple will make you a radio station with that performer and similar ones.

What's in my wine glass: Foxhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. The big bottle, which I thoroughly deserve!

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

 High Fiber—Beautiful Bears, Bigger Blankets, Beautiful Ballads and Budget Books tag:community.knitpicks.com,2013-09-09:1984936:BlogPost:541575 2013-09-09T15:32:56.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Joanie has finished another bear for the Mother Bear Project:

You can just see the petticoat with a picot edge peeking out from under the skirt. (Joanie is a fantastic designer.) These bears go to children who have HIV/AIDS, mostly in African…

Joanie has finished another bear for the Mother Bear Project:

You can just see the petticoat with a picot edge peeking out from under the skirt. (Joanie is a fantastic designer.) These bears go to children who have HIV/AIDS, mostly in African countries. Each one has a tag with the name of the person who made it. Ravelry has a pattern for an in-the-round bear for Mother Bear Project. Whether you get the Ravelry pattern or buy a pattern from the Mother Bear website, the cost is $5, which goes to help offset the shipping costs of the bears.

Common Threads met at Margareth's lovely new place. She has a wonderful place for her loom. Right now she's working on a doubleweave blanket:

You can see the two selvedges on the weaver's right (lower part of photo). The finished blanket will turn out to be twice the width using this method. It looks like a 2/2 twill. I can't wait to see it finished!

Julie is making this knitted dress for her granddaughter. I'm tempted to make one for Daphne.

I'm plugging along on my appliqué. Panel #2 is nearly finished.

The Waffle sweater is also coming along. Dividing my time between projects really slows down the progress.

While working on various projects, I've been listening to A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, which I just finished. Very good book, 24 hrs. of listening entertainment, and there's a sequel, Shadow of Night, which I've put on my Audible wish list. I've just learned that it's a trilogy, and Book #3 (as yet unnamed) isn't out yet, but I plan on spacing these books apart anyway. Book #1 is primarily about the relationship between members of three "non-human" groups: witches, vampires and demons, and the long-standing tensions between them. It seems to be sort of an allegory about racial/cultural prejudices and how those tensions play out when people of various groups get to know each other personally. It's far more than that, though, with love, adventure, suspense and fantasy. Sort of like grown-up Harry Potter meets grown-up Twilight, but more.

Hiking in the late summer in the mountains around our home is wonderful. We've had a lot of rain lately, but we try to get out as much as possible to give the pups a good run before winter comes.

Another big event this week: Our landline telephone finally went bye-bye. The very last message on our answering machine said, "This is your final notification." Little did they know! I look forward to naps, stitch counting and quilting without the interruptions from telemarketers.

Daphne's taking dancing lessons. You can tell she really loves it!

She also loves school. She can't wait to go and doesn't want to leave at the end of the day.

Finally, we went to the James Taylor/Utah Symphony/Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert Saturday night. It was awesome. I was so tempted to sing along!

What's on my needles: Waffle sweater and Dogwood Blossoms.

What's on my loom: Warm colorway placemats.

What's on my Featherweight: Waiting to piece the Delectable Mountain block strips, when appliqué is done. The second appliqué panel is almost finished.

What's on my wheel: Still the Full Circle Roving in Caramel, bobbin #2. Making slow progress.

What's on my iPad/iPhone (books): Finished A Discovery of Witches. (See above) Now listening to David Baldacci's Hell's Corner from the library through the OverDrive app. Also finished the eBook mystery Stranger in Town by Cheryl Bradshaw on the iBooks app. I purchased the book from BookBub for $.99. I'm looking forward to more by this author. Just started Imperfect Pairings by Jackie Townsend on the Kindle app, also from Book Bub. I believe this one was free. So far, it's a good read.

What's on my iPad/iPhone (podcasts): Fiber Hooligan, Knit Picks podcasts.

What's my app of the week: Netflix. I've had it before, but when they separated streaming from the DVDs, DH and I couldn't agree on which to get, so we cancelled. Now we're trying out the streaming version.

What's in my wine glass: Concannon 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon. Very nice!

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad and iPhone for photos and photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.
 High Fiber—Cloudy Days; Bright Colors, Kids and Pets tag:community.knitpicks.com,2013-09-02:1984936:BlogPost:540605 2013-09-02T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Have I been busy? Isn't it Labor Day? The placemats are coming along:

The yellow is the center of the placemat. I'm using Dishie worsted in Fiesta Red, Conch, Clementine and Creme Brûlée, with just a touch of Swan.

The Waffle Sweater is…

Have I been busy? Isn't it Labor Day? The placemats are coming along:

The yellow is the center of the placemat. I'm using Dishie worsted in Fiesta Red, Conch, Clementine and Creme Brûlée, with just a touch of Swan.

The Waffle Sweater is seeing some progress, too:

The yarn is Swish DK in Lava Heather. The pattern is Jon Gilliam's Men's Texture-striped Raglan.

Here's a closeup of the Tunisian knitting. It's accomplished by a round of (YO, sl 1) all around, then K2tog tbl all around. It gives sort of a needlepoint-stitch look, interspersed with rounds of stockinette. The waffle pattern is a type of lace, but more manly looking than most lace patterns.

Here's a look at the appliqué progress

Two flowers, a stem or two and a few leaves to go.

I renewed Knitter's Magazine, one of my Zinio subscriptions, and got a call from my bank, which manages my credit card. Apparently Zinio is in the UK, and they got concerned because I had a charge from my dairy in Utah and Zinio in the UK on the same day. They wondered how I could be in both places at once. Nice to know they're on the job!

Rocky's birthday was Saturday. I can't believe he's nine years old! Both dogs get a present when one of them has a birthday. Rocky got a toy raccoon, which he promptly disemboweled. It's nice he doesn't eat the guts. Fiber is good for you, but....

Sunny got a toy squirrel for Rocky's birthday. She promptly took it into her "cave" and looked out as if to say, "This squirrel is mine! My precious!"

The pups and I went to the pond in the afternoon, where the pups had a swim and played in the water. It's nice to have a friend to play with!

There were some big dogs to play with, too, and Rocky had fun running around with them, but Sunny was a little intimidated by their size and activity level. Both dogs got in some swimming, though, and came home worn out.

Daphne and Zachary think it's nice to have someone to play with, too! (Or are they working?)

Here's Zombie Soren, after his parents finished the Portland to Coast race last weekend, on team Walking Dead.

What's on my needles: Waffle sweater and Dogwood Blossoms.

What's on my loom: Warm colorway placemats.
 What's on my Featherweight: Helping Joanie with her paper-pieced pine-tree blocks, ready to piece the Delectable Mountain block strips, when appliqué is done.

What's on my wheel: Still the Full Circle Roving in Caramel, bobbin #2. Making progress.

What's on my iPad/iPhone (books): Just finished Comfort Food, one of the Friday Night Knitting Club novels by Kate Jacobs, this one from the library through the OverDrive app. Then listened to I, Alex Cross, by James Patterson and Rose Harbor Inn by Debbie Macomber also on the Overdrive app. For bedtime reading, I finished the eBook Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber, one of the Blossom Street novels, also from the library by way of the OverDrive app. Now I'm reading Stranger in Town by Cheryl Bradshaw on the iBooks app. (I found this one for $.99 through Book Bub.) Finally, I just started A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness from Audible.

What's my app of the week: Public Radio Player. We discontinued Sirius, so I bought a Satechi transmitter that fits into my iPhone or iPad. With the Public Radio Player app, I can transmit live streaming from my favorite PBS radio station to our stereo. (We can't receive any radio up here in the mountains.) The transmitter can also be used in the car and for transmitting music from my music app or an audiobook, either while driving or in our living room.

What's in my wine glass: Amberhill Select Blend 2010, which we discovered a year ago and is now one of our favorites.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad and iPhone for photos and photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

 High Fiber—Close Calls tag:community.knitpicks.com,2013-08-19:1984936:BlogPost:539342 2013-08-19T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
As always after a trip, there's lots of laundry and cleaning to do. I managed to make some progress on my appliqué project, though.

There was a lot of laundry to do when we got back, especially with the extra towels for the kids. Our ancient Maytag washer has taken to only liking to run one load…

As always after a trip, there's lots of laundry and cleaning to do. I managed to make some progress on my appliqué project, though.

There was a lot of laundry to do when we got back, especially with the extra towels for the kids. Our ancient Maytag washer has taken to only liking to run one load within several hours. The motor heats up if I do the back-to-back, so I was doing laundry almost all week, one or two loads a day.

Wednesday, Ellen and I took Joanie to Salt Lake City to get her hair done and run some errands. Common Threads met at my house on Thursday. Joanie's making her third Mother Bear bear:

The one with the tutu "netted" her a personal note from Mother Bear. I was upset with her that she sent it off before I could get a photo of the finished bear. She promises not to do that again. I will get a photo of this one before she sends it off. Carol (from Vintage Stitchers) is also working on her second bear. She isn't really a knitter, but she's really enjoying it, and catching on to how to knit one.

Joanie also made a needle-felted bear as a present for a friend. Here's the front:

(The photo isn't blurry; the bear is just fuzzy.)

Here's a view of the bear from the back, showing off his tail:

Margareth is working on a petitpoint piece:

I think it might be a Grandma Moses work, but I'm not sure. It looks like her style.

I finished the "Fenway Pahk Sox." Now if my team can get into the World Series, I'll have something special to wear while I watch.

The yarn is Fortissima Socka 6-fach, color 2210, dye lot 35611. Pattern "Embossed Stitch" from Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. I picked the pattern because it looks like little diamonds. I used eye-of-partridge heel, my favorite.

Thinking about the World Series and seeing Margareth's petitpoint scene reminded me that it's getting close to the end of the summer. The leaves are starting to change, as usual toward the end of August up here at 7200', but the big surprise is how beautiful the rose hips look:

I may actually be able to make some rose hip jam this year!

We had several exciting events this week. The first one was the arrival of Soren's first tooth...then his second one. He may have a full set of choppers by next week! Another item of excitement was not so happy: our wildfire. Fortunately, it never got near us, but a number of very nice homes were destroyed. Then yesterday we discovered a leak in the drain pipe under our sink. It apparently has been leaking for some time, and could have damaged the subfloor. (We didn't do this on purpose to protect ourselves from wildfires.)

I also got a sneak peek at the projects from a new knitting book: Wrapped In Color: Stranded Knitting in the 21st Century by Deborah Tomasello. The projects look really interesting!

What's on my needles: Dogwood Blossoms, finishing up, and have been swatching for the Waffle sweater, now ready to CO.

What's on my loom: Haven't warped yet. I'm still trying to find out if we can move it to my fiber studio, but probably not. Look for Christmas gifts to be on it soon.
 What's on my Featherweight: Still working on the second panel of hand appliqué, but my machine is waiting to finish the Delectable Mountains block panels. Also will be helping Joanie piece her pine tree quilt this week.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle "Fawn." Second bobbin, for a woven blanket.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Enjoyed Mercedes Lackey's Reserved for the Cat from Audible.com. I'm happy to have discovered this author. Still listening to The Mists of Avalon by Marion Bradley, Book Two. Also just finished Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear, from the library via the OverDrive app. Now I'm Listening to The Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer, another one from Audible.com.

What's my app of the week: At Bat Lite, for keeping track of my team's progress.

What's in my wine glass: Cocannon Cabernet Sauvignon. Unique in a good way.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad for photo processing and the iPhone for a camera and some processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

 High Fiber—Back from Wyoming. tag:community.knitpicks.com,2013-08-12:1984936:BlogPost:538675 2013-08-12T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
Important things about Wyoming:

Yes, there are buffalo (bison, a great fiber animal). It's The Equality State, the first to give women the right to vote and the first to have a woman governor. We lived there when we were young, and our first child was born there.

It's also the home of…

Important things about Wyoming:

Yes, there are buffalo (bison, a great fiber animal). It's The Equality State, the first to give women the right to vote and the first to have a woman governor. We lived there when we were young, and our first child was born there.

It's also the home of Knit on Pearl. It isn't on Pearl anymore, but on Gill Ave. in Jackson, Wyoming. They specialize in whatever the owners/employees find interesting currently. They had a BSJ made from a Zauberball. It was really cute!

I picked up a Zauberball and some Addis, just in case. (The join in one of my 2.75 mm circs was pulling out.)

After leaving Jackson, we drove up to the Bighorn Mountains and found our campsite at Sibley Lake. No hookups, but it was beautiful!

There were sites with electricity across the road, but it wasn't nearly as pretty. Also, we needed space for two tents. Yes, we had two tents, but we were far from too tense!

Daphne brought her family to visit. They arrived a few hours after we did on Thursday. They had one of the tents.

Daphne was the big girl of the outfit. She enjoyed playing "Zoo Train" on my iPad for a few minutes each day. She got to be very good at it, but there were lots of other things to do outside! We also got to enjoy the new canopy, which we got to put over the picnic table. It has mesh sides in case of bugs, but they weren't too bad, so we didn't use them.

On Saturday, the other family arrived. I was happy I had picked up books at the library. (In case of the feared rain, but the weather was mostly nice.)

The books were put to good use, though. Soren, who doesn't walk yet, has always sat patiently and enjoyed being read to. Zachary (with the curly hair) walked early, but is just now learning to sit still to be read to. How different they are! Of course, Daphne enjoyed the books, too, and Sunny enjoyed listening to the voices of people she loves.

We did some hiking.

Zachary started out riding in the baby carrier, but by the end of the camping trip, he was walking most of the way during our walks.

Of course, Daphne is a great hiker now! She especially enjoyed using the extra leash, so she could help guide Sunny.

The pups enjoyed some time off-leash where they were allowed.

The last night before we left, DD and her family took down their tent and slept in the trailer with us. It was a crazy night. First, we thought we smelled something unpleasant...sort of sulfurous. Coming from the black water holding tank? Strange...it wasn't as strong in the bathroom. From the running generator? Strange...it wasn't as strong outside. Suddenly I recognized the smell: gas!!! A quick inspection of the stove indicated that two of the burners were on but not lit. Yikes! We opened every window and door, and quickly aired out the trailer. We didn't see it happen, but we're pretty sure Zachary was the culprit. He must have turned the knobs, and of course, they don't light unless you turn the special lighting knob. I took the knobs off the stove until we felt certain he couldn't turn the burners on again. That was act 1.

Act 2 involved some middle-of-the-night crankiness on Zachary's part, which woke up his parents and sister. There was a lot of writhing and gnashing of teeth before everyone was settled down again and quiet.

Act 3 was the killer: DH's Tracfone and my old cell phone both started beeping every 15 minutes or so. Mine was a failing battery. DH's phone was receiving a text message with an offer of a great deal on more minutes...and inevitably...more late-night interruptions.

All the adults hit the coffee pot first thing on waking up the next morning.

After breaking camp, saying good-bye to the kids and moving on, we drove back the way we came.

On the way into Thermopolis, this sign caught my eye: Lucy's Sheep Camp.

 It was just outside town. They weren't open the day we were there, but they have an Etsy shop. (More sources of yummy spinning fiber and yarn, hee-hee!)

We found a whisky distillery, Wyoming Whiskey, outside Thermopolis, and unlike Lucy's, they were there and open. They make a nice bourbon whisky using locally grown grains. I didn't think I would like bourbon, but it was very nice, so we bought a bottle.

We had a couple of tires on the trailer changed in Thermopolis and then moved on, stopping in Lyman for the last night. We gave the trailer a cleaning while we had the slide-out out and power for the little electric vacuum.

Note to self for next family camping trip:

1. Use paper plates. If you want to protect the environment, you need a lot more plates and a bigger holding tank for the dishwater!

2. Don't take enough food for the 7th Fleet. Babies don't eat much.

3. Don't forget to take the dog crate and suggest protective custody for the pups when there are two toddlers running around. (They appreciated it, especially Sunny. Good thing we had it!)

4. Frozen bread dough worked out great! It takes up less space, thaws nicely during the day and tastes great freshly baked!

5. Take a project to work on that's light-colored. Nothing is worse than being stuck with nothing to work on after the kiddos are in bed and the light is dim. Maybe I should have taken my wheel after all!

I worked on my appliqué a little bit, but it was hard to do in the truck because the ride wasn't very smooth, and when we didn't have hookups, our lighting was limited. (I need good light for appliqué!) However, I finished two projects: Daphne's Bunny Suit:

The pattern is from Better Living Collections Kids' Knits and Crochet published by J.B. Fairfax Pty Ltd, Sydney. The yarn is Swish DK in "Squirrel" and "Lava." The cuffs have been turned up because it's slightly too big for her...it was finished in August, too warm to wear now. I had to finish it to avoid having to put it in the mail, and it was fun to have her try it on.

Also finished the Lantana Socks:

The pattern is from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks, the "Waterfall Rib" pattern. The yarn is KP's old Essential Sock Yarn in "Lantana," from my stash.

My plan after finishing the socks was to swatch for DH's new Waffle Sweater, which I did, whereupon I discovered that my needles were too big to get gauge, and I needed a US size four, the only size I didn't have with me. (My fault: I thought I had all the sizes in the set I grabbed.) Plan B: I CO for my Fenway Pahk Sox with red Fortissima Socka 6-fach, color 2210, dye lot 35611. The pattern is the "Embossed Stitch" from Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. I picked the pattern because it looks like little diamonds. (Get it? Baseball diamond?) I'm hoping the Red Sox will get into the World Series. The yarn is sport weight, so it's going fast.

I've been wondering if we'll still be finding Cheerios (Zachary's first three-syllable word) in the trailer when we get it out again in the spring. Maybe, unless the mice get into the trailer. But I think I'd rather find Cheerios than mousie poopies.

What's on my needles: Fenway Pahk Sox, back to finish up Dogwood Blossoms and CO Waffle sweater, as soon as I'm satisfied with gauge.

What's on my loom: Ready for next project...placemats or more rugs, or a scarf?
 What's on my Featherweight: Still working on the second panel of hand appliqué, but my machine is waiting to finish the Delectable Mountains block panels.

What's on my wheel: Full Circle "Fawn." I didn't take my wheel, so I'm still where I was with the spinning for a woven blanket.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Where do I start? DH and I listened to A Cold Dish by Craig Johnson while driving (Thank you, cherylbwaters for the recommendation! From the library, but downloaded to my Mac and then to the iPhone.) It's a mystery and takes place in the Bighorn Mountains, so appropriate for this trip. The humor was unexpected but delightful, and the story was spellbinding. DH is a Tony Hillerman fan, and Johnson's writing and topic of choice are similar, so he enjoyed it especially. During the time we were alone, I listened to Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson on OverDrive from the library. Not his usual, but very intriguing and a good listen. Then I listened to the second book of The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley from Audible.com. I'm finding it easier to follow when I don't try to listen straight through. Now I'm listening to Mercedes Lackey's Reserved for the Cat from Audible.com. I'm happy to have discovered this author.

What's my app of the week: Zoo Train. Educational and absorbing...if you're three.

What's in my wine glass: Redwood Creek Pinot Noir 2011. Or the Wyoming Whiskey bourbon...whatever!

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad for photo processing and the iPhone for a camera. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

 Knitter's Home Companion by Michelle Edwards tag:community.knitpicks.com,2012-02-24:1984936:BlogPost:486112 2012-02-24T23:17:53.000Z jbarr http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/jbarr
knitter home companion book trailer

A Heartwarming Collection of Stories, Patterns, and Recipes

Love knitting as much as I do reading a book, so combining these two things puts me in…

knitter home companion book trailer

A Heartwarming Collection of Stories, Patterns, and Recipes
Love knitting as much as I do reading a book, so combining these two things puts me in heaven.
If I read a book on my pc I can also do charity knitting for the hospital or other local charity.
This book starts out when she got married and how knitting has always been in her life one way
or another. The birth of a new baby she made a zigzag baby blanket from the wool she got from her
honeymoon trip. The pattern is included.
Next was to teach her daughter how to knit, but the daughter had a surprise for her.
Other books and how they can relate to a knitter's struggle and triumphs.
Playtime Cape is another project for the children.
Many references to her mom and family in helping her with the knitting process when she started out.
Very good tips if you read the book through. Very nice heart warming stories about what brings knitters
together.
A favorite knitter's chair is essential.
Knitter to the rescue around and outside of the house. Precious memories.
Loved the section on becoming a master knitter. I once wanted to and had started some swatching, not
knowing what was all involved. I know I can do the work. I still do challenge myself by working with 000 needles for
knitting period costumes for a settlement in the 1800's.
Brings knitting into today's world of Lion Brand Yarn Co. site and also Ravalry.
Glossary and how to make certain stitches is at the back of the book, very informative.
Love the simple yet complex patterns for different items. Always like to test them out for myself and
then I can give the item to the local nursing home for their Christmas bazaar.
Love sections on charity knitting and for a cause as I've knit for several of those and many others. It's just plain
fulfilling. Love how she got her daughters to become involved also so they can teach it to their children as well.

 High Fiber—Happy Holidays, Part Two tag:community.knitpicks.com,2012-01-02:1984936:BlogPost:475737 2012-01-02T16:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday! I did! A few of us also had a birthday. This was my birthday haul:

Not in the photo are a gift card from Barnes and Noble, a bud vase that looks like knitting and a share in a Knitters Gift Basket from Heifer International. It includes a llama, an alpaca, a sheep and an angora rabbit. What a great gift! There is also…
 I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday! I did! A few of us also had a birthday. This was my birthday haul:

 Not in the photo are a gift card from Barnes and Noble, a bud vase that looks like knitting and a share in a Knitters Gift Basket from Heifer International. It includes a llama, an alpaca, a sheep and an angora rabbit. What a great gift! There is also another card that got passed around and laughed over. I couldn't locate it for the photo, but when I find it, I'll show you. One of the cards speaks of cave birthday greetings in my handwriting, from DS2 and his DW. They wrote in something about still looking for the fossil evidence! Ha-ha!

 In the photo are two bumps of spinning fiber, a hand-woven distaff for spinning, a handmade row counter (already in use) a video "Pure Country 2," the eBook version of the Yarn Harlot's latest book and a gorgeous hand-knit cowl, which I've also been using.

 We went to No Worries for breakfast with my friend Joanie. Later we went to Silver Sneakers, our exercise class, and DS2 and DDIL2 walked on the track. It's wonderful to spend a birthday with family! Most family members are in other states, but we managed to Skype with them over the holidays.

 Miss Daphne is in Texas with the other grandparents. We will see her in April, when her little brother arrives. In the meantime, we have Skype. Here she is with Daddy and Blondie.

 Tuesday, DGD1 arrived for a vacation sleeping and snowboarding. She's also getting in some knitting: her first hat. DDIL2 and I helped her find this hat on Ravelry. She's using the yarn I spun from the Gaywool merino and silk. I had her start a baby hat first, so she could learn how to work with two circular needles. She picked it up very quickly. I can finish the baby hat if she doesn't want to, but it got her started. If she isn't done with her hat by the time she has to leave to go home, I will give her the needles and buy more.

 I've been working on a Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) for our first DGS, Zachary, due to arrive in April. Here's my progress as of the time I was writing this. I'm probably done by the time this posts. If so, you can see a photo of the finished sweater in my photos.

 The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Sport in "Cork" and "Bare." It's great for babies, because it's machine-washable and dryable.

 DDIL, DGD1 and I visited Joanie during the week for a knitting session. She showed us the baby sweater she had made. The zipper has yellow and white checked ribbon covering the edges on the inside. She does such a beautifully job of finishing. I could learn a thing or two!

 I hope to have a lot more for quilters this year, but in the meantime, here's a look at the yummy fat quarters DS2 and DDIL2 gave me for Christmas:

 They came from Sharon's Attic, which I reviewed when I was in the Portland area for Sock Summit. (The review is here.)

 I'm finally getting back to spinning, now that the Christmas knitting is done. I've started on the "Autumn in Park City" superwash blue-faced Leicester (BFL) from AlohaBlu (see link below in "What's on my wheel," which was based on a photo I took on an autumn hike. Here's the fiber:

 And here's the inspiration:

 That's it for this week. Here's wishing each of you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

 What's on my needles: If I'm done with the BSJ, the "Dogwood Blossoms" sweater, which I'm doing as a cardigan.
 What's on my wheel: The "Autumn in Park City" superwash BFL from Christina/AlohaBlu . I'll try to get a photo of the singles soon.
 What's on my iPad: Still Anne McCaffrey's The Skies of Pern from Audible. I didn't have much time to listen during the holidays. Also the aforementioned book from the Yarn Harlot and a few other books and magazines.
 What's my app of the week: Skype, of course!
 What's in my wine glass: Montavina Barbera 2008. Yum!

 Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad. (I used the Notes app to write it.) No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.
 High Fiber—Family Visits, Part Two tag:community.knitpicks.com,2011-10-31:1984936:BlogPost:463345 2011-10-31T15:30:00.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart We have been having a nice visit with Daphne and her family.

The Bees' Knees cardigan fit just the way I wanted: a little big, so she can wear it for a long time. The socks fit about the same way:

 …

 We have been having a nice visit with Daphne and her family.

The Bees' Knees cardigan fit just the way I wanted: a little big, so she can wear it for a long time. The socks fit about the same way:

We came for Halloween, and there was a party for Daphne's friends at someone's home. Daphne was cute as a bug in her bug/witch costume.

We had a lot of fun things to do together, including walks and bath time. I'll try to post some photos next time.

The big fiber event this week was the presentation of the Floral Bouquet quilt to DD and DSIL. Here's the quilt:

 My friend Ilene, who used to live across the street when we lived in California, sent this quilt to Daphne:

 What's on my needles: Making progress on the kilt hose. I'm ready to start the foot.
 What's on my iPad: Listening to Dean Koontz's Relentless in the car while traveling, and still All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot on my own. Our speakers broke down on the way to Indiana, so we picked up an FM transmitter at DS1's store in Kokomo, H. H. Gregg.
 What's my app of the week: The Notes app that came with my iPad. It never crashes, never fails, and my info is saved until I delete it! (My iPad has gone wonky this week. I need techie help, but have been too busy with family, wonder why!
 What's in my wine glass: Ambiente Mendoza Malbec 2010.

 Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.
 High Fiber--Elevating Knitting and Quilting to a Whole New Level! tag:community.knitpicks.com,2010-12-05:1984936:BlogPost:320328 2010-12-05T22:56:13.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart The rush to finish projects is on! Here's the scarf just finished Saturday:

It's 100% alpaca, so should be nice and warm! It's for a family member who might see this, so I can't say, but I'll try to post a photo later on its new owner.

I have never made so many presents for friends and relatives as this…
 The rush to finish projects is on! Here's the scarf just finished Saturday:

It's 100% alpaca, so should be nice and warm! It's for a family member who might see this, so I can't say, but I'll try to post a photo later on its new owner.

I have never made so many presents for friends and relatives as this year! I have another knitting/crochet bag partially done. Here's before felting:

...and here's after felting:

I'll post a photo when I have the lining in and the handles on. (I ordered the handles and am waiting for them to arrive.)

I have started another hat:

(If you noticed that I'm using two different needle tips, it's because I will have to go to two circs when I start decreasing. The needle I knit off with is the right size, and the other is a size smaller. It works!)

My friend Julie has finished the machine quilting on the second quilt:

I still need to sew on the binding and label, and give it a good wash to make it pucker up.

The Baby Surprise Jacket is still waiting to be finished. I can do that when Daphne is here if I don't have time before.

The weather hasn't been very good for hiking or snowshoeing, so we have been walking on the street. Squeeky often appears on our back deck. He has been busy storing peanuts for bad weather. Otherwise, no wildlife other than birds has turned up at our home lately.

Holy Cow! Was that a sale, or not! I hit both KP and CT for sale items, mostly for gifts. Thanks for helping me make a nicer holiday for my family members!

Today the pups get groomed, and we will take photos for our holiday cards. That should be interesting!

My iPad app of the week: Zinio, provider of eMagazines, like Knitter's--

This is a free download and is great on the iPad! Or you can choose to subscribe. Just click the box of your choice. This is a BIG issue. I weighed the paper version (I have the subscription), and then weighed my iPad. The magazine was only 2 oz lighter than my iPad in its case, but the eMagazine didn't add anything to the weight of the iPad. One nice thing is, I can print any patterns I want to use (once I get a wireless printer, of course)! I was able to get Vegetarian Times as an eMag, too. I'm looking forward to seeing other eMagazines appear.

What's on my wheel: Still the pacapoo. Making progress, but slow.

What's on my spindles: The Ashford merino and silk and the Louet corriedale aqua.

What's on my iPod: A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters from Audible and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll from Librivox, podcasts Sticks and String, The Knit Wits, Cast On, Yarnspinner's Tales, The Spin Doctor, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, The iPad Podcast by Macs Future, Electric Sheep and looking forward to the next Knit Picks Podcast, of course.

What's on my night stand: Color in Spinning by Deb Menz. I'm learning all the things I could have done, LOL!

 Oh! No! Mo' Snow! tag:community.knitpicks.com,2010-06-17:1984936:BlogPost:265645 2010-06-17T23:14:02.000Z Peggy Stuart http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/PeggyStuart
It never fails! June comes, we're ready for summer, and then the snow! Last night the June snow fell.

Not that it was a surprise. Yesterday afternoon, Sunny and I went to Camp Hobe, outside Toelle, UT, to participate in a therapy animal activity with 120 young cancer patients and several other dogs and their handlers. I dressed warmly, but it was cold in the open pavillion. (I'll try to post some photos at a later date.) Sunny…

It never fails! June comes, we're ready for summer, and then the snow! Last night the June snow fell.

Not that it was a surprise. Yesterday afternoon, Sunny and I went to Camp Hobe, outside Toelle, UT, to participate in a therapy animal activity with 120 young cancer patients and several other dogs and their handlers. I dressed warmly, but it was cold in the open pavillion. (I'll try to post some photos at a later date.) Sunny shook paws with each child, danced her little hind legs off, sat up demurely, gave kisses to all who wanted them and received petting from everyone. We belong to Therapy Animals of Utah, a Delta Society affiliate. My knitting in public consisted of knitting in the car on the long trip out and back.

This morning, my Common Threads group met at Kay's house. This group is made up primarily of quilters and/or knitters, but any kind of stitching is acceptable. I brought along my KP catalog. (Forgot the CT catalog at home.) Here's Kay perusing the catalog:

Almost everyone was knitting. Kay is working on a shawl. Here's Karan, working on a wrap, and Ginny, working on a doll for our Daphne:

The doll is going to be very cute!

Ginny is a very generous person. She's always doing things for other people. I know little Miss Daphne is going to love this doll! Here's Norma, working on a scarf, and Barbara knitting a sock using Navajo yarn, her specialty.

I don't know if this counts as knitting in public, but here we are!

We can't get through a week these days without a gratuitous baby photo. I have posted this photo elsewhere, but here's Daphne in her bonnet and sweater:

It's the Dolly Sweater from Martin Storey's Jaeger Handknits. The bonnet and socks aren't in the book, but I just took a generic pattern for each and added the pattern and scalloped trim. It's a little big yet, but Daphne will grow!

About a week ago, I had a request from Zina Lee, who is on Ravelry as Globaltraveler. She had seen my Continental Knitting Tutorial on Flickr and wanted to use my photos in her blog, which you can see here. It appeared on Monday. Zina's blog page contains lots of good information, so check it out! (There was even some discussion of knitting apps for the iPad! I'm back to check for updates as soon as I post this!)

In knitting news, those of you who have been watching my progress on the lace gown for Daphne will be happy to know I'm almost done with the skirt back and expect to zip through the bodice back quickly and be off to the sleeves. Check last week's blog for a photo of the front. The back is almost identical. I managed to find a slip to go under it from One Small Child.

Animal lovers will be interested to know we've had a lot of wildlife visiting our little plot of ground. A few nights ago a racoon got Sunny's attention on the back deck, standing at the sliding glass door and wanting a handout. The next day, Rocky started going nuts, barking in the back yard. He wouldn't come when I called him, so I went after him. Before I could see Rocky (other than the black brush that tops his little tail), I discovered a porcupine tightrope walking on the fence. The thing must have weighed 30 lbs.! He was missing some of his quills, which gave me a fright, until I reached Rocky and saw he was unscathed! What a relief! I was worried about poor Rocky, and think of how much knitting time would have been lost during a trip to the vet! I think the canyons have been temporarily flooded by the rain, because we've had a lot of animals we don't usually see in our neighborhood.

What's on my iPod: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, having just finised Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz.

What's on my iPad: Pretty much everything these days, but I'm reading Conviction: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by Skylar Hamilton Burris. It' an interesting story, but very poorly edited, with typos, extra hyphens here and there and lots of extra lines between lines of type, often not at paragraph breaks. I wonder if the hard copy is any better.

What's on my Wheel: Still the Louet wool/mohair/rayon/bamboo top in "Juniper," but if it isn't done by time for the Tour de Fleece, I'll switch to the project for that activity. I have until July 3rd., after all!

No quilting done this week, but I plan on starting the Double Wedding Ring quilt as soon as I finish the entire lace gown and bonnet outfit!
 Dangerous Combination tag:community.knitpicks.com,2010-04-06:1984936:BlogPost:248854 2010-04-06T21:31:50.000Z mae http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/mae I've been listening to Kelly's Knit Picks Podcasts mornings at the gym. I went all the way back to the beginning and downloaded topics that sounded interesting. I love hearing all the book reviews and author interviews. So I've been hearing about knitting books I'd love to have and now they're all on sale - dangerous combination! I really must pare down the wish list and order.

I finished knitting my Pyrifera scarf last night. I'll post some pictures after I get it blocked,
 I've been listening to Kelly's Knit Picks Podcasts mornings at the gym. I went all the way back to the beginning and downloaded topics that sounded interesting. I love hearing all the book reviews and author interviews. So I've been hearing about knitting books I'd love to have and now they're all on sale - dangerous combination! I really must pare down the wish list and order.

I finished knitting my Pyrifera scarf last night. I'll post some pictures after I get it blocked,
 Wish List Opinions? tag:community.knitpicks.com,2009-12-01:1984936:BlogPost:202069 2009-12-01T19:30:00.000Z Elegant Economy http://community.knitpicks.com/profile/Maria210 I'd like to pu a book on knitting sweaters on my wishlist to help me design my own... here are the few in the running:

 Custom Knits - Wendy Bernard
 Knitting Around - EZ
 The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns - Ann Bud
 The Sweater Workshop - Jacqueline Fee

 Any opinions from more experienced knitters than myself?

 Thanks! I'd like to pu a book on knitting sweaters on my wishlist to help me design my own... here are the few in the running:

 Custom Knits - Wendy Bernard
 Knitting Around - EZ
 The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns - Ann Bud
 The Sweater Workshop - Jacqueline Fee

 Any opinions from more experienced knitters than myself?

 Thanks!