Diggin' It! - new gardening spot

I visited Diggin' It on Saturday and was impressed with her plant selections.  They were high quality and she carried a lot of interesting foliage which I love for my containers on the front steps.  She did not have a lot but what she had was in good shape and she was tending them.  I'll have to posts pix when the plants fill in.  I bought blue and orange pansies, Northern Lights chard, and mustard greens.  I am going to go back for some kale and more pansies. 

My great-grandmother always planted blue pansies so I feel I need to carry on the tradition. 

She also carries a line of organic fertilizers made in Dallas called Rusty Can Organics.  I bought one that was high in nitrogen that I thought would be good for my pansies and also put it on the azaleas.  I'll have to see if he makes one for azaleas or I should just mix it with old coffee grounds like I always do.

I bought an antique needlework sign and some soaps.  She had hand-painted rocks that said "UNT - Mean Green"  I bought one for my birdbath area where there is river rock.  Adds a touch of whimsy and my husband has not noticed yet.   Can't wait until he does.  My birdbath broke so I am on the lookout for an interesting alternative birdbath.  I thought of some kind of granite or concrete basin.  Any ideas?

Ribbing slog

Okay, the most difficult part for me in any sweater is getting through the ribbing.  I just lose interest.  I thought the corrugated ribbing would be better because of the constant color change but, alas, it is the same movement and my mind starts to wander to more pressing matters like paint color for the master bedroom.

I am about 2/3 of the way through the corrugated ribbing on the bottom of the paper doll sweater and the good news is that it's in the round so I am not faced with doing the ribbing again for the front.  I am slogging though away while listening to my old-time radio podcasts.  My favorite is Great Detectives of Old Time Radio with Adam Graham, Old Time Radio Dragnet with Adam Graham, and Case Closed!.  You can get all of them through ITunes.  I loved Radio Detective Story Hour with Jim Widner but he has not been able to keep up with it lately.  He would give background and historical information on the different radio detectived as well as critiques.

I would love to find a great doctor who to listen to.  Speaking of which DH has requested an episode 18 leisure hive scarf.  The original was made from chenille and he is not a chenille kind of guy.  I am thinking berroco comfort but have not selected color choices that would replicate it well.

Sore Fingers?

I am working on my paper dolls sweater with those amazing knitpicks needles but the dang things are so sharp that I have developed a pin-sized blister on the fingers I push my needles with.  I looked around at Happiness is Quilting and found two different products I am testing:

 

• Thimble-It Clear Stick on Pad - an oval stick on pad made of clear vinyl
• 
  Colonial ThimblePad  - a moleskin stick on pad about the diameter of a pencil eraser

I've been wearing them at work and around the house to see how they work.  Results later

Veronica Sweater and other fun stuff



Photo  used with permission of Sarah Barbour
and published in Interweave Crochet


I've been dying to make this sweater (in orange, of course).  It's seamless, raglan-sleeved crocheted sweater and it given me cause to love a new designer - Sarah Barbour.  Check out her blog here.

Anyway, I am going to be making this in Berocco Comfort which is one of my new loves.  You'd think a town the size McKinney would have a decent craft store and I would not have to go to Lindale to buy yarn.  Sheez.

Also, very exicted about tomorrow.  We are supposedly going shopping for tile for our master bath and getting paint.  woo-hoo.  I am excited but then that means I have to go out and paint.

I am working on a sample quilt for the shop.  It's very hush-hush though because it is for quiltapalooza.  Also, I am making a cute quilted bag (a la Vera Bradsley) for a shop sample.

I am about finished with my i-cord cast-on for the paper doll sweater (see Nov. 1 post).  I think it will be awesome and totally wearable.

October's Blocks

1. Gulf Star Block, 2. Web Sampler Celebration Fall 2007 Block 1, 3. Chinese Coins, 4. Bright Hopes, 5. Churn Dash, 6. Ladies sashay, 7. Railroad Crossing, 8. Designer Mystery BOM Month 1, 9. Blueberry Stars Month 2, 10. compass points, 11. Block 3 - Web Sampler Celebration Spring 2007, 12. Bandstand in the Square, 13. Paths and Stiles - bday block for wendy, 14. 30 Minutes to Pack, 15. 2nd Sat Sampler - MOnth 2, 16. Tempest in a Teapot, 17. 01 Pine Tree, 18. Paths and Stiles - Bday block for Judy, 19. Paths and Stiles - bday block for Laura Kay, 20. Month 1 - Blueberry Stars, 21. 2nd Sat Sampler - Month 1, 22. My own applique design, 23. Month 3 - Designer Mystery BOM 2008, 24. Cookie Time, 25. paperlantern

Thought I would share a gallery of quilt blocks that I completed in October (some I did start in September).  Some of them were real challenges and some were real joys.

Tree Skirt Update

I am making the Tree Skirt from Fast and Furious Holiday by G.E. Designs.  It is a "quilt as you go" design.  It looks really great but the "early" seams were popping open.  I increased my sea allowance to 3/8 about halfway through and that stopped later seams from coming open but I was afraid of what would happen when hung in the shop.

I asked my friend, Cindy, or Tops to Treasures, and Timi Ann what they would do.  They both suggested independently to sew crazy quilt stitches over the seams.  Specifically, Timi Ann suggested I used 60 weight thread in the bobbin and machine embroidery thread in the top.  Cindy suggested gold to make the gold tree section pop and a white or gray to make those areas recede.

I did as they suggested and it turned out really nice except for one area where the thread caught and the stitches are bunched together.  I tried to rip out the stitches and start over but the stitches were too dense.  I will just have to leave it

I am going to use bias binding.  I found really great instructions here for it at Anka's Treasures blog.

I will post a picture of the sticthes and binding when I get it done.

Paper Doll Sweater

Photo used with permission of Kate Davies

I purchased this pattern last night and am so excited.  I think I'll make it in my dale baby ull and some of my sock yarns I bought on vacation that are hand-dyed.

I decided to visit her blog, Needled, and I was impressed by her work, her shoes, and her story.  Although I have not had a stroke, I understand the long recovery process and grieving over not being able to wear cool shoes any longer.  I have a probable diagnosis of Behcet's Disease and each time I have a flare, I lose short-term memory.  After my first flare, my hands could not remember how to knit, crochet, or use my sewing machine.  I regained it in time.  One of the things I do is Sudoku to rebuild those connections.  I am not sure why that happens.  Thanks to my new medication regimen, I have not had a real flare since January.  That one was a doozy though, it took me 6 weeks to regain normalcy.  Anyway,  I kept two pairs of the shoes I loved just to keep my morale up.  I did discover Alegria shoes during this time so I am not suffering too much.

I guess I am writing this as much to encourage Kate and thank her for her courage.