Christmas is Coming

If there seems to be a lack of 'new' images coming on the blog posts, 

just understand that Christmas is coming, 

and if I show pictures of a current project, 

the Christmas recipient will know what's going on!. 

I could ask you what YOU"RE making for Christmas, 

but then we're back in the same predicament.

;)

Wrist Warmers

Okay, get out some yarn and cast on for Wrist Warmers!

 

I think I casted on about 48 stitches, worked in a 2 x 2 rib for about 10 inches.  That's 2 knit and 2 purl, worked in the round, on double pointed needles.  Make them as long as you wish, but just make some!  They are so handy for draft-free computer work.!

Emmett's Fall Sweater

Our little buddy, Emmett, recently had his first birthday and received a knitted sweater from his

'Uncle Nate and Aunt Heidi".  Here he is after church, ready for a nap, but also enjoying his Zipper Critter!  I keep the critter in my purse, so when he sees us behind him  in church, he wants to come over the pew and sit with us.  Well, that's the plan anyway.

 This sweater is the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Sweater Pattern.  I added a garter stitch collar of about ten rows and also ribbed stitched cuffs.  They really make the sweater last longer as the baby grows a bit. 

This sweater was made for DaMarion, another little one year old.  He's a little bigger, so I hope it fits for a little while!. 

Photo Collage

Collection of photos I took this weekend at the Apple Farm. Some of these really need to be quilt art.
If you'd like one for your desktop background - send me a comment or email. I can share!

There he is again!

Zipper Critter Appears for Fall!

There's a nifty little Zipper Critter hiding among the pumpkins!.
He's only about 4 inches square and was easy to sew.
Thanks to a small box of old zippers, he will have some friends very soon.

Firewood Tote

Here's a new firewood tote I made this week. Yes, those posts about firewood really did have a purpose.
From an online pattern, I bought an upholstery remnant (1 yd) and about 3 yards of a duck cloth. This tote, however became much larger than I imagined. The directions wrote it would be 26 inches long, but mine became closer to 30 inches long. You can easily put a small child in here and carry them!
The decorative center panel isn't even necessary - it's just top stitched onto the larger main piece of brown duck cloth.
The straps are not what was written for either. I used a black strapping that was about 2 1/2 inches wide. The 3 1/2 inch wide Jute strapping(for upholstery seats/webbing) was far to expensive.

We like it though; it holds a full evening's worth of wood in one trip!

Log Splitter Video!

Here's the (stubborn) video of the log splitter.  I found it simple yet fascinating.

Add your own ooh's and ahhh's and an occasional "that's amazing!". 

Lumberjack Nate

This is going to have nothing to do with 'pins and needles', but it'll be fun entertainment, just the same.

A few weeks ago, we arrived at a cozy log cabin only to find a mere four pieces of cut firewood to heat the place.  So we set out to remedy that situation!

 Here's an early picture of the space we were aiming to refill with firewood, after our first few loads.

Lumberjack Nate and the fabulous log splitter!

The end result was a completely filled firewood stack!  

I have a video, but am having trouble getting it to load correctly. I'll add it later...

 

If you want to save money - CONSUME WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE!

This advise is appropriate for many areas in life.  If it's food - eat what is in your cupboard; make some creative foods.  If it's fabric or fiber, use up those odds and ends.  This is where today's note has its beginnings.

I've been putting yarn into two drawers as storage.  One for acrylic and one for wools and cotton blends.  I had a 'travel weekend' planned and I needed a few options for carry along projects.  I turned to a hat pattern that looked interesting and selected some yarns that  were occupying my house for a few years.  I don't even know where they came from and they had no labels.  I'm sure you have a few skeins of unidentified yarns!

Here is the pattern I chose;  please ignore the lime green paper!

It's an interesting textured knit designed by Erica Jackofsky and published in the Creative Knitting Magazine.  "Stringtown Hat"

You can see the odd skein of twisted wool.  Running through the wool was a super soft mohair and a gold micro thread that adds just a bit of shimmer.  The mohair creates a very thick halo effect.  As I was knitting, it held its shape so well, I thought I was knitting myself a lovely crown.

I was so interested in this pattern that I made two hats!  This rarely happens!  The hat gently shapes itself because of the gradual increase of needle sizes.  This created a not-to-tight fitting hat, that does not squash the hair style.  Quite an ingenious design.  Below are Rachel and Taylor modeling the hats.  You'll see that the top of the hat pattern is a constant decrease which will make it lay flat and have a nice swirl.

Go grab some unidentified yarns in your stash and knit until you run out, then change colors.  The second hat is purple and gray.  Enjoy the process!

Thanks for your Opinions!

We're busy here in WI watching all the championship sports events this week!  Currently watching the first game of the NLCS. 

 GO BREWERS GO!!!

Thanks for all the comments and voting (wasn't that fun!).  I think I am now inclined to get a double bowl sink with one side smaller for the vegetable washing/garbage disposal drain. 

It's going to be so exciting!

There are some current project pictures on a flash stick that I left at work - sorry about that. 

I had some girls at school 'model' hats for you to see. 

That's what is coming up.  Stay tuned!

GO GREEN BAY PACKERS!

Everything INCLUDING the Kitchen sink!

I'll soon be choosing a new kitchen sink!  I know it will be stainless steel to coordinate with the appliances, so the big question is:

single bowl or double bowl???

Please have fun by taking the survey to the left. Let me know what you'd prefer if you were choosing today. 

So many details to think about...

The Zunker Wedding Quilt 2011

 This quilt was created for Tyler and Heidi Zunker's wedding gift from our group of college families: the FF.  Tyler is a high school history teacher, so I thought this bookshelf quilt would be appropriate.  The titles of the books are memories from all the camping trips our group has done - making it a history quilt!  You may not understand the one-liners used as titles, but be assured, they all hold great meaning to us. 

God bless your life together Heidi and Tyler!

I used this pattern from Quilts and More Magazine, 2010.
The Design is called: In The Stacks from Designers Chloe Anderson and Colleen Reale of
TOADUSEW CREATIVE CONCEPTS.  toadusew.com

 Freezer paper was ironed onto the wrong side of the fabric.  I created the phrases/images using Word Publisher program and printed it right through my home desktop printer.  There were layout issues and lots of planning, but I was very pleased with the results.  To set the ink into the fabric I peeled the freezer paper away after printing, and steam-set the fabric with a lot of heat.  I think the inks will last a long time.