What I'm Working On Wednesday

I bought this pattern a while ago because it's designed right in the town I grew up in, Topeka, Kansas, It reminds me of the Little House on the Prarie books I would read over and over and over.

I can RIPPLE!

Attic24 has lured me in again. I could not resist the colorful ripple blanket she is making. And since I've sort of forgotton what I bought 9 different colors of yarn for:

I started it late last night when I was too mentally tired to keep up with cross stitching, but wasn't ready to nod off yet. I "measured" how wide I wanted it by throwing the chain across us on the bed to make sure it would cover two people comfortably. Then I started the long, long journey back down that chain to make the first row.

When I got up in the morning, I wondered what I was thinking. Thank goodness I didn't finish that first row (I probably still wouldn't be finished) as it draped way over the sides of the bed and would have taken 14,000 skeins of yarn to complete. I figured out how to un-crochet from the end at which I began and took out several inches. It's still really, really wide, but now I do have a chance of finishing it in this lifetime.

I'm planning to use the same interlocking stripes Attic24 is using. Looking forward to the color changes seems to make it go faster. I am only on color #2 and I am loving watching it grow.

Dog-O-Rama

Ellen and Patrick went to the city's Dog-O-Rama over the weekend and Lola was a huge hit. She got second place in the kissing contest, although Patrick and Ellen said she was definitely the crowd favorite.

Ellen did a wonderful job on the costume. The book doesn't have any patterns to trace or cut around, just some diagrams.

The final product:

Finnegan is not amused.

Block Talk help

I am soooo excited. Gerry of "Block Talk" fame evaulated the crazy quilt block I did for the HGTV Message Boards Crazy CQ Summer Challenge. See the great advice she gave me here:

http://blocktalkwithgerry.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-two-cents-worth-for-angela.html#comment-form

Nuts About You

Patrick and I celebrated our second anniversary earlier this month. He loves things that are "nutty" and make him laugh, so when I saw this on Etsy, I knew I had to suprise him with it!

I stitched it on my hand dyed cotton, and cotton happens to be the traditional second anniversary gift. Happy coincidence! Er, I mean, Happy Anniversary Honey!

Parrot Finish

I finished my green parrot cross stitch into a little pillow. This was the first time I had made cording. I thought that if it were a little smaller, it might look better with the scale of the photo, but then I would have killed myself trying to sew it in, so I decided this was not bad for a first attempt.

The backing is the same fabric as the cording. It's a pretty blue and green paisley.

Smocking finish

After seeing this I had to try out smocking. I have a friend who kept telling me how easy I would find smocking. I'm not sure I agree with her yet, but I definitely want to try it out some more.

I made just enough to make this little pouch, which is also lined with gingham.

I backed it with some recycled wool herringbone from my huge vat of wool.

Not everything is bigger in Texas

As Patrick and I were enjoying the gorgous South Texas October weather this evening* he found the tiniest acorns on our patio table.

Then we played a little with my new photo editing app.

Countdown to Halloween

Patrick and Ellen have been talking about Lola's Halloween costume for months now. We found a book called "Dress your Dog" and tonight Ellen went through her fabrics to see what she had. Based on her materials, they decided on this:

Their first no-sew version was this:

Then out came more supplies and a photo shoot commenced. These are the best we could get from a very wiggly dog.

Ellen has now cut out and begun sewing all the pieces for the real costume, so stay tuned. She's hoping to finish it for the city's "Dog-o-Rama" this weekend.

Since we're on the subject of blankies...

I finished the border on the crochet afghan that was more than a year in the making. I began the project last summer when I was inspired by Attic24.

Doesn't everyone craft at the lake?

Then all the little daisies went into craft storage until spring rolled around this year. I completed it just as this summer was ending and am looking forward to cuddling under it during the first cool front to hit South Texas.

Lola approves.

Back in the saddle....

Yea! My iPhone has been delivered and today it had it's maiden craft photo shoot. I've got to get a couple of small quilts mailed, so those were first up:

My little brother has a baby on the way and it was long past time to quit hording the I-Spy squares I exchanged with a group so long ago that my now-teenagers each had their own little I-Spy blanky.

When my father passed away several years ago, I brought all his jeans back to Texas and made quilts for my brothers. (Mine is still in the works. I really need to finish that last border.) I had lots of scraps of patriotic fabrics left after those two quilts, so I pieced together some crumb blocks and set them on point. I quilted stars in red, white and blue thread. This quilt is destined for the Vetran's hospital that helped my dad finally find peace.

iSuspense

So just after I get all motivated and decide that I am starting a blog... I start having all kinds of camera problems. Well, not actually problems with the camera but very very very irritating problems with getting the photos out of the camera and into the computer. You know, into any kind of usable format at all.

 

But now .... one of my greatest hopes, ever, has come true. Sprint is getting the iPhone. Aside from the fact that Sprint has the absolute best coverage in my area... (if you've ever wondered who in the real world cares about that, it's people who live as close to the American border as I do. As in... my colleagues with other cell phone services simply cannot use their phone in some parts of my workplace without paying international roaming charges)... also my entire household as well as my extended family in another state are all on staggered Sprint contracts, so dealing the kind of customer service calls that switching over would entail would be the end of me. Seriously. .... What was I saying?

 

I am getting an iPhone! I am ridiculously excited about this. I have not upgraded my phone in ages based on rumor after rumor of Sprint iPhone release dates. In fact, my daughter pointed out to me the other day that I have had a longer relationship with my current phone than my husband. It's true. I had my phone before I even met him. And my phone has almost no memory, so on my morning walks, I listen to the same 20 songs month after month, which leaves me NO room for photos. Oh yeah! Photos! 

 

I admit that my expectations are seriously out of whack. Because when the pre-order ad for the iPhone says "It just might be the only camera you'll ever need. And if you think that's amazing, wait until you see your photos.", I have expectations. Come on! I am suddenly having photo issues and you're promising me that the iPhone will have the only camera I'll ever need? Sold!

 

So ya'll just wait until after Friday or possibly Saturday and we'll put it to the test. How the internet has lasted this long without updates about my fabulous Johnny Boden shirt make-over, my agony over whether I've chosen the right shade of orange for my cross stitch kitty Halloween ornament or my first crocheted hot pad(wherein I use a giganto yarn for the project) is a mystery.