My daughter returned from her mission to St. Louis, MO. So we took off on a trip to visit with friends and family before she went back to school (BYU). Unfortunately we ran into some difficulties in Nelson, British Columbia (Canada). The car would not turn off and shut the motor down, so we had to have the ignition replaced. The car happens to be a Saturn which is no longer being made, so we had to wait about 2 weeks to get the part in and get it replaced. We ended up being in Nelson 2 weeks longer than we intended. So we left there and went to Utah instead of going to California... We had intended to go and visit my parents in California... We didn't get to because of the car problems. Now it's December and it just isn't possible to get over to California to see Mom and Dad. I'm quite dissapointed in that. After the new year (Jan 2) The girl will be back at school in Utah.
I did get the quilt done for my nephew... but things are being difficult here right now, so the picture will have to be uploaded later. I also started a quilt as a Christmas gift for one of my son's. It was inspired by the autumn leaves seen around town there in Nelson, B.C. I took a guide book on plants of the Rockies and selected 3 different leaf shapes, an Oak leaf, a maple leaf, and a leaf from a shrub (gooseberry)... drew them to fit the size of the blocks (10 1/2" unfinished). I went through fabrics and scraps of things I had laying around, with no 2 leaves being the same color. I then machine appliqued them on the background fabric. It was quite fun and a great way to use up scraps and things... It's sort of like a charm quilt in being that no two leaves are the same color. However, then I will put in some lattice work using fabrics I did use for a leaf, and there will be some borders, so the charm quilt ends there.
While I was in Utah, we stopped in the local "Michael's" and while browsing through some of the free project sheets posted around the store. My daughter picked up a project sheet for a knitted sock monkey. Which I decided to give a try as a gift for the new grand-baby we're expecting in our family (the same son who's getting the "Autumn Leaf" Quilt as a Christmas gift.) I didn't like some of the proportions shown on the little Free Project Sheet, so I did tweek the pattern just a wee bit. Also the project sheet said the finished monkey should be about 4 1/2" tall....LOL, there is no way that monkey would ever be that small... not possible with the directions given. I didn't bother with the swatch for knitting to fit the measurments... but I don't think anyone could have gotten that monkey that small. So with my tweeks for proportion, my monkey is about 8" tall. Which I think is just about perfect for a gift for a baby.
I have also started another knitting project as a Christmas gift for my Mother. The pattern comes from the magazine "Knit 'n Style" December 2011 issue. The project on page 84, project number 35 Woven Square Wrap. It's a knitting method I've been wanting to try, and I thought this would be a fun way to try it out. I'm using "Heather Blue" fuzzy yarn from Lion Brand, that came in a 12 oz size... The label says "1, 2, or 3 Kids in a Jiffy". I found 3 large balls of this yarn at a thrift shop for for 1.50$ each ball. I think this project will use just a little more than one ball.
I do love to browse thrift shops and yard sales... I consider the finds there as recycling-rescuing, things some one else would have thrown out. I quite often pick up fabric, and yarn, notions, and more stuff to use.
Welllllllll, for some reason I was unable to load pictures up this afternoon, so I'll add them as soon as possible. I do want to show off all the things I've been up to. I haven't gotten the Winter mini quilt done for my Calander holder yet, but we have an idea waiting drawn by my grand-daughter. I plan to have it done before the 1rst day of winter. Hopefully I can get the photo's of everything I've mentioned uploaded soon. Look for part 2 of this post. It will be the photo's.
