current things going on

Hey,
I'm in Utah for Thanksgiving and such...
Brought some knitting with me,
and I have been working on it...
(the socks I started for myself.)
I have also been working on something
my grand-daughter said she was wanting.
I also like shopping at the Deseret Industries Thrift Store
while I am here in Utah,
and I found a large bunch of yarn (12 skeins)
at 50cents a skein.
It's Lion's brand "Wool Ease"
but again I don't want to state the color
or the project I've started with it...
Both things above mentioned
excluding the socks
will be Christmas gifts
so hope you understand the reluctance to go into details.
I will list the details
including yarns, colors,
patterns, and such after Christmas.

Meanwhile,
the other day we drove up the
canyon where the Timpanogos Caves are located,
(they're closed for the season),
the drive was nice -a bit cold-
but the scenery was lovely...
going to spend the day today with my daughter.
We'll be going to the Southe Town Mall in Draper/Sandy
for the free Christmas concert.
Sponsered by FM100.3 lite.
It's most tues & thurs till Christmas
and features local artists.

Wed. night my husband and I are going
to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra
in downtown SLC, at the Energy Solutions Center
(The home of the Utah Jazz)
If you've never been to Salt Lake City,
winter is a great time to see it.
Bundle up and head down town,
Temple Square is lit up beautifully,
with thousands of Christmas lights,
nativity scenes...
The lights are delightful,
and great restaurants abound.

this week

sorry this is a short blog this week,
I just wanted to post some pictures.

I did work on a few things this week,
but they are items I have already mentioned in previous blogs.
I did finish the knitted scarf using the Debbie Mumm yarn.
And I did start a pair of socks using a lace pattern
from the book "Knit Socks" by Betsy Lee McCarthy
I have only tried a lace pattern once before
in a knitted dish cloth.
By the way,
Dish cloths are a good way to try out new knit patterns...
They're small, fast, and it doesn't matter if they're not perfect.
But if it matters to you-
well, they're small and quick.

I found some older quilts I had made and wanted to post them.
I also took a photo of the quilt my grand-daughter is making.

She'll be 8 in december...
She chose the colors and placement,
She sewed all of the blocks together,
and she sewd the borders on the quilt.
As I mentioned before-
She did the blocks in a four-patch style,
then layed out the four-patch blocks till
she was happy with the look.
I really didn't do a whole lot other than
give her pointers on how to do the sewing.
At almost 8, one is pretty fearless with trying new things.
At least this one is,
but then she's one who wants to go on all the big
roller coasters at the amusement park,
and laughs in the caverns when they turn out all the lights.
(And her cousins are screaming to turn them back on)
I am leaving out her name and photo
for privacy reasons...
(Can you tell that I'm a very proud grandma.)

that's about it this week-
the photo's are labeled with what they are.

So...
I have been playing with my 4inch squares.
I cut them with leftover pieces-
that don't fit in with my measured stacks.
I keep my quilting stash in six measured groups...
a. one yard pieces
b. fat quarters
c. large pieces for backing/borders, etc.
d. pieces for children's quilts
e. 4inch squares
f. bits and pieces (pieces for string quilt, bits for applique)

I cut all the pieces that don't fit into the other categories,
into the 4inch squares.
Sometimes I come across a piece that is u-u-ugly...
A "What was I thinking" piece.
That I cut up,
sometimes they aren't that bad when put in small pieces with other things.
Then I lay them out on the table in rows by color ways
and I randomly choose 100 different squares-
and package them up.
Then sell them on ebay,
or gift them to another quilter.
Whatever...
It's a lot of work,
but kind of fun,
and a way to reduce the stash a bit.
I have way more than can ever be used.

The fabric with the children's prints,
I eventually plan to use for charity work,
Such as "Project Linus,"
or something similar.

Meanwhile this week...
My grand-daughter was allowed to pick out some of the 4inch squares,
and she has gotten them all sewn together.
We used matching squares to do some simple 4-patch blocks.
It will be a quilt for snuggling in front of the tv
or napping, or whatever.
It's not quite twin sized,
but larger than crib sized.
She's got the squares all sewn together,
and now we need to add borders
and put it together with a back and batting.
She wanted to learn to sew...
so she is learning to sew.
I will post a photo of the finished quilt.
Her deadline is dec 7...
It's her day for sharing at school.

I did get some more work on that batik strips quilt,
have more to do...
got side treacked by the grand-daughter.
But I can't think of a more delightful way to be sidetracked.
Don't we want to encourage another generation of quilters?

I did get some more knitting done on my scarf
using the Debbie Mum Yarn.
I can work on that while watching a movie in the evenings.

My trip back to Nampa, Idaho from Canada
was without incident (thank goodness)...
However, it was raining near our home by the lake
snowing when I got up near the turnoff for "White Water" Ski Area,
and there was snow untill I got across the US/Canada Border...
It finally turned to just rain when I grew close to Metaline Falls.
And... it rained most of the way home.
It was a wet trip.

I did something on my way down 95,
that I'd been wanting to do for quite a while.
I stopped at "Quilt Something" in Moscow, Idaho.
I liked this shop,
it was quite large,
and had a lot of fabrics and stuff in it.
I didn't have a lot of money to spend
(or I probably would have)
but I did pick up a couple of little things.
And... it was my lucky day
as they were having an anual fall cleanout sale.
I bought a pattern for a quilt hanging on the wall I just fell in love with.
The pattern was 8$, and they went in the back and printed it up for me
because they were out of the ones on the shelf.
It is called "Pushin' Up Plaidsies."
So cute with lots of plaid fabrics,
Kind of Masculine looking, with all the plaids,
but very Feminine with the "Plaidsies."
Oh and by the way the "Plaidsies" are flowers appliqued on the quilt.
I think it's one that would please both spouses.
The pattern didn't give a name for the designer,
But it was published by the shop I purchased it at.
The shop's email address is http://www.quiltsomething.com/
I also picked up what is called a charm pack
called "Look and Learn" by American Jane Patterns, Sandy Klop for Moda.
(Sorry, no pictures to post right now)

Since I've been back here in Nampa,
I've been busy with catching up on things I needed to get done here.
I did decide on how I would make my entries in that craft journal,
I mentioned in other blogs.
It will go as follows
type of project, ie., Quilting (knitting, etc.)
Materials used, (kit, yarns, fabrics, etc.)
Pattern and Author, or my own design
Purpose (for self, gift, charity, etc.)
Date Started
Date Finished

I think I'm pleased with this format,
I guess if there's something I decide to never finish,
I will have to put that in leiu of date finished, and maybe why I decided to not pursue it.
Trying to decide on photographs,
because it would add a lot of bulk...
And the book wouldn't close properly anymore.
But it would be nice to document the items I've got done.

I have nearly finished the book bag.
The main body of it is done, It's on Sz 8 (US) needles,
The Yarn color is actually called "Falling Leaves" From Red Heart.
I cast on 36 stitches, and knit it to 20" in length.
I will sew up the sides,
and line it with a fabric that will match it well,
Haven't picked that out yet.
It will probably be a cotton in one of the autumn colors from the yarn.
For the strap, I am using one of those plastic hollow tube things,
that has 4 nails sticking out of one end,
that you wrap the yarn around the nail posts, and
pull the bottom loop over the top loop, and continue going round and round
until you get it the length desired.
I think it's called an I-Chord?
It will be stitched up both sides of the bag
and be long enough to put the bag over your shoulder
to carry your book.
The bag works out to be about 8" in width and 10 inches in length (once doubled).
It's not supposed to be able to carry all your school books,
just one or two reading books you want to bring with you.
(depending on the size of books you read)

I was wanting to do some quilting,
so today I got out a roll of strips...
It wasn't calling itself a jelly roll,
but it was from "Quick Cut Stripz"
Some lovely Batik printed fabrics called "Sherbet."
I sewed two strips together, untill all of the strips had been sewn into pairs.
I still need to press them open, and Then I think I'll cut them into squares,
and sew them in a split rail fence style pattern.
Or I may put them together like a four patch,
and use something for lattuce inbetween the four square blocks?
I'll have to take a photo and post it when I have
the strips cut into squares and have at least begun sewing them back together.

Well, I'm anxious to get back to it...
So that's it for now.

Nelson

I thought I'd share some photo's of Nelson, British Columbia,
and talk a little about the photo's and quilts already posted.

The bottom photo I believe is the Coke Quilt.
(It was made in 2002)
That was made out of liscenced Coca Cola fabrics,
(sorry don't know who made them.)
This quilt was made as a Christmas gift for my father-in-law.
He and his friend at the time collected Coca Cola Memorabilia.
They were thrilled with the gift.
Since they're not together anymore
I don't know who has custody of the quilt.

The next one up I believe is John's Quilt.
(It was made in 2003)
I hadn't intended it to look so western.
One of the fabrics in the quilt, has a golfing motif on it.
It was made for John's wedding.
He is my husbands cousin.

The Irish Chain Quilt...
(made also in 2003)
It was also made for a wedding gift.
When asked about colors the bride liked
I was told that she loved the dark reds...
I had always wanted to do a double Irish chain quilt,
thought this was the perfect oportunity.
Even though it comes across as a red and white quilt
the reds are very scrappy.
I used a lot of different reds in this quilt.
This one was for my niece Malissa.

Heather's Quilt
(made in 2000)
The year we moved from Boise, Idaho out to Nampa, Idaho.
I let my daughter Heather have some say in decorating her new room.
We went shopping to pick out fabrics,
She picked out a couple of great Japanese prints
I stirred her towards some lovely batiks for fillers...
I had to talk her into a couple of the pieces,
she was in love with many of the prints...
She tells me she still loves the quilt and wants it
when she's done with University and ready to set up house.

A side note...
I get things done quicker when there is a deadline
such as a birthday, wedding, Christmas, etc.
I tend to think I have plenty of time
and so take plenty of time
when I am doing things for me
or for fun- so to speak.

The new pictures added-
Current Projects...
Include the items I am working on here.
I did talk about them in a previous blog.
I did label the items.
A-is that book bag I was making- in conjunction with teaching my grand-daughter how to knit.
B-is that sweater I started-in which I was leaving out the bobbles.
C-a greatsock yarn, Wisdom Yarns "Chicago" color 232. It's 75% wool 25% polyamide
I picked it up here in Nelson at "That Craft Store"
address- 534 Josephine Street email- thatcraftstore@telus.net
to me the yarn has a denim look, I was thinking about making something for my grand-son
the brother to the one who's learning to knit. He's a bit envious of the time I'm spending with
his sister. Of course if I make the one something, the other will want something also.
So we shall have to see. The yarn has enough to make a pair of adult socks. So who knows.
D-is that cross stitch picture, but you can see there's not much done yet.
it's harder to work on in front of the TV. It needs more concentration, and I need a lot of
light to see the pattern correctly.
E-Some really great batik's I picked up at Shannon's Fabric's
tiny little fabric shop, but a great sellection of batik's. They're located at 562 Baker Street.
which happens to be the main down town street in Nelson. They didn't have an email address
listed.

I included photo's of the shops, both "Shannon's" and "That Craft Store."
The top photo is looking up Baker Street in Nelson.
The building on the corner was built in 1900.

This town was featured in two movies that I know of, maybe more.
One is "Roxanne" starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.
The other is "Gold Diggers, The Secret of Bear Mountain"
with Anna Chlumsky and Christina Ricci.

I am currently in Nelson, British Columbia.
Drove up here from Nampa, Idaho.
I usually come up the back highways, (95) as I like the scenery.
This time of year it was quite lovely seeing all the Autumn colors.
I listened to the book "Pursued" published by Covenant out of Utah.
Sorry I forgot the author's name Lynn something.
Great action thriller, involving terrorists and kidnapping.
I brought a knitting project with me.
It will be a bag to carry books in,
The yarn is a simple Red Heart/verigated with Autumn colors .
When done I will probably line it with a piece of cotton fabric.
And use some purchased cording to make a strap for carrying.
I'm doing this because my grand-daughter wanted to learn how to knit,
and I wanted to start her with something simple that wouldn't take forever,
but would actually be something when she gets done,
that she can use and show off to whomever she wants to show it off to.
She's using a ball I found in my scrap box,
which is a verigated white with greens and purples.
No idea who the manufacturer of the yarn was
but it was probably Red Heart.
My grand-daughter is 7, will be 8 in December.
I do have other projects back in Nampa started
with some fancy yarns, one yarn is about half silk...
But it's in Nampa- and I'm in Nelson.
I also have a Sweater started for me this time.
It's a great red with a hint of Brown in it called Paprika.
From Red Heart also. (Their "Soft Yarn")
The pattern I'm using for that one is from a little booklet
published by Coats called "Crochet & Knit Easy Style."
I've chosen to do the pattern (#5) on page 15 called long & lean tunic.
But I've decided to alter the pattern just a tad.
Like the color, original was a dark chocolate brown, and also...
When I picked up the booklet in the store (Michael's)
I didn't notice that it had little bobbles all over the sweater.
I didn't like the bobbles, I liked it better when I saw it in the store,
but I'm liking the project without the bobbles.
No offence intended to anyone, it's just my taste-
I prefer simplicity in the look.
Not to worry,
I also have a cross stitch project with me
in case I need a change from the knitting.
It's a kit I purchased a while ago...
also at Michael's (it's a favorite haunt)
It's from Dimensions Gold Collection
and it's called creekside Deer.
I'll need to get my camera out and take a picture of the three projects
however there's not much done at this time to photograph.
To mention the photo I have as my profile at this time-
That's my daughter with me,
we're in front of the Multnomah Falls,
which is near Portland, Oregon.
In case anyone wanted to know.
I love being in Nelson,
Have a lot of good friends here.
It's peaceful and quiet.
And I do see deer nearby now and then, as well as other wildlife,
though the bears are very scarce this year.
I didn't bring my project journal with me,
I still haven't begun recording there what's going on...
Still trying to decide what format I want to use in doing so.
I will want to maintain the format throughout the journal,
which is why it's taking me so long to begin that.
I will try to get photo's going of the things I talk about here
and post them with my blogs.
Maybe later this week,

I've decided to put aside some of the boxes for a while,
and get things cleaned up and organized a bit around here.
I am begining a project journal,
purchased a nice bound journal (black bound)
with grid pages, rather than lined (or blank)
and it has a ribbon for keeping your place.
I want to list every project I have going on,
and approximately when I started them
and be able to put a completion date in as well.
For instance, the quilt I'm making for a wedding gift,
a quilt I'm making for a Christmas present,
the cross stitch- projects I have going,
the knitting project's I have going.
(I probably have about a hundred started things)
the problem is where to begin with the list...
I don't know how I could possibly start with the oldes one,
because I may find an even older one somewhere...
meanwhile...
I'm taking off for my home in Canada for a week...
don't know that I'll be able to do anything till I get back.
My home is in Nelson, British Columbia...
one of the prettiest spots in the world.
By lake Kootenay, in the Selkirk mountains.
We weren't rich enough to afford lake front property,
but we can see it through the neighbors across the street from us.
We are below the Kokanee Glacier about 9miles outside of the town of Nelson.
Have made some really good friends there,
so I'm heading up there to see them
as well as winterize the house.
There are year round neighbors
who keep an eye out on things-
we hope to retire there and be year round residents one day.
We found the spot,
because my husband was born there in Nelson,
and still has a few relatives left there.
So maybe we are odd people,
but we dream of mountains and lakes
rather than sand and sun
as our ideal place for retirement...
I find it easier to bundle up than to find some way to cool down.

Thought it might be fun to keep an account of my escapades...
that is, my hoped for projects in crafting and quilting.
at this time, I am going through boxes that have been waiting 6 years
(yes I really mean 6 years) to be sorted out.
They're full of crafting and quilting projects and materials.
I long to have a sewing/craft room in my home,
but the rooms get filled as soon as they get empty.
One kid leaves and another needs to come back.
What am I to do, let my grandchildren live in a cardboard box under a bridge?
I don't think so...not when I really do have space for them to come home for a short time.
I have found several projects I want to finish, several I want to start,
and a bunch of things I will probably sell on ebay.
as things get going, projects and ideas for projects, maybe eventually the sewing room,
I hope to post pictures. If people want to follow my blog, great...If not, it's theraputic for me.
meanwhile, I also spend a lot of time traveling, and will post thoughts and info about that.