No Negative Waves, Moriarty...

In an attempt to stay positive, and also keep my head busy, I will speak to the accomplishments of the last month, and not that I have been out of work for exactly that long.

Oops.

There has been a whole lot of knitting going on.  And none of it is being worn by me. Which I think is absolutely out of this world. My people are knit worthy, and I am so grateful that they are so grateful.

Eldest took these socks that I finished on the plane on the way to see her right after I was let go. (Yep, I got a trip back east for a consolation prize...deets will follow.) Crosshatch pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks, by Charlene Schurch, out of Araucania Itata Solid.  This is a great pattern for a solid color that I will knit again.

A shop sample knitted up for a local LYS. Knit Hedgehog by Purl Soho, out of Cascade 220 and Eco Cloud.  That Eco Cloud was divine to knit up.  Too bad the project was so small!

Class examples for an upcoming class on felting/embellishing techniques. Felted Woolly Eggs, by Marie Mayhew, out of  Red Heart Wool among other things.  All that Red Heart I got from my aunt's stash in vintage colors were perfect for this.

A seamed sweater for the expressed purposed of practicing seaming. Pattern: Even Daniele Did It Again, from The Yarn Girls Guide To Kid Knits, out of Pingouin Acrylic I found at the thrift store.

Bartered felted mats for Precious Niece's new NY digs. The 40-Years Felted Platter by Katherine Vaughn (Rav link) out of Patons Classic Wool, my go-to workhorse felter. Also an above shot of the hedgehog, which was a really cute little guy.

Bartered felted slippers for Dearest Sister's cold midwestern toes. Duffers, 19-Row Felted Slippers by Mindie Tallack (Rav link) out of Bear Brand Four Seasons, another bit of Aunt Cissy's vintage haul.

And a simple hat to replace the one Only Step-Son has worn since 2008 and lost this year.  He felt very bad, but I say hey!  If you weren't wearing it, you wouldn't have lost it!  He was very impressed that I could make another EXACTLY like the one he loved.  Thank you, Ravelry, and my compulsive note keeping. My own beanie recipe out of Patons Classic Wool.

On the needles right now are 2 projects... a pair of socks, and a circular scarf out of handspun (another barter effort with Precious Niece I will speak to later), along with 'decorating' the last of Woolly Eggs.

My mother would be proud!

See, It's Like This

About a month ago, I was told, 'the company was going in a different different direction, and the 28th (of February) would be my last day.'

One would think there would be ample opportunity to write posts, wouldn't one?

One would be correct, and yet, what does one say about it and remain even-handed? It takes time.  This is the second time I have been laid off...in February...at that place...by those people.

Today, I have bread baking, and cookies dough in the fridge...ready to eat.  I will exercise later, keeping the phone close by.  I had a couple of screening phone interviews last week, and thought I had a real chance for a call back from one.  Today is probably the outside of the timeframe, so it behooves me to stay busy. Busy keeps the mind from dwelling.

In the past month, I have gotten through the unemployment maze, organized my kitchen cabinets, cleaned my  own house, cleaned out my closet, and made a run to GoodWill as well as many more things off 'The List'.  I have more things to do.  There in the neighborhood garage sale in June, and the basement is calling.  As is the home inventory.

I have tried to look at the opportunity in this.  I am going to teach a class at an LYS in May, and have offered to knit some shop samples.  I am also considering offering some of my award winning handspun skills for sale in the dormant Etsy shop, but haven't made that progress.  I have been able to demo those spinning skills for the pre-school and kindergarten classes of the grandbebe girls, which I think was awesome to do.  In addition, the Sheep To Shawl team I have been asked to participate with has ramped up their organizational duties.

I have made myself a DIY lightbox to play with my fancy camera, too.  I would really be enjoying myself if this had happened on my terms, and the financial piece wasn't an uncertainty.

Going forward and onward and trying to see that it's all going to be just like it's suppose to be.

Drum Roll, Please...

Presenting...

Grandbebe Quilt Number Four!

In Blue and Red vintage (mostly), fabric collected (mostly) by Dearest Sister.

Embroidered by DSis.

Patches cut and assembled by the both of us.

9-Patches machine pieced by me.

Handquilted by me.

Supervised every step of the way by Boy Kitty.

Quality tested by the Cousins.

Made with all the love grown-ups have for their little ones.

Strange and Stranger

I have mentioned that I have been going through a stack of old quilt magazines forwarded to me by Dearest Sister.

The first several I looked through were from the 90’s and had some interesting articles and patterns, and I found some things that I flagged with post-its.

The next several were from the 70’s. These were…interesting.  Paper quality not near so good, and aging poorly and rapidly.  Very few color photos, and the black and white photos were taken with less than stellar care.  I imagine some copywriter being told to ‘get the camera and go take a photo of so and so and their quilt’…not professional at all!

Apart from how far we have come in the publishing sector, the articles and columns are enlightening.  There is poetry submitted using patterns in the poems. Quilters write in wanting to be penpals still in the 70’s, and wanting to exchange patterns.  One wrote complaining that she takes time to copy neatly and exactly her patterns to exchange, with labels, etc, only to receive in turn slipshod efforts.

I feel chastised.

But today, I looked through some from the 80’s, and the post-its came back out.  In just two issues, I came across articles about the LQS where I took my first class (Quilt Country), and about the quilting lady at Shakertown in Harrodsburg, KY, where I use to take my Brownie Troop, and everyone else whoever came to visit me when I lived in Kentucky.

And also this, which I may just have to try.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

More Found Objects

Super Bowl Sunday, Wonderful Guy and I got the heck out of Dodge, our guys being knocked out of the running a few Sundays earlier and all. I probably could have stayed home and made some progress on some projects, but I could tell he needed to get beyond the four walls.

I suggested a drive towards Lyons, where there is a quilt shop.  Works for me!  Apparently it worked for him, too, because that is what we did, and while he went for a cuppa’ joe, I looked around Quilting Hands.  Found some fat quarters on sale, along with a book (of course), then met up with him across the street.  As he was finishing his coffee, I said I am going to run through the thrift shop next door, as he usually isn’t interested in such places, but he chose to come along.

There wasn’t a whole lot there, but sometimes that is okay.  Stuffed full can be overwhelming.  I saw yarn, some mohair and some acrylic, which I passed over, and continued through the store. As I came back to the front, the Guy was still there looking at books, and asked if I saw the knitting needles?

Huwah??

There were a few pair of pretty neat vintage straight needles for $2/pr, and one was 10” sz 7, of which, for some reason I seem to have gone completely through. So …I NEEDED those.  As I was finding out how much the needles cost, the yarn was mentioned, and I succumbed to 3 balls of acrylic.  It was very nice for acrylic, and also foreign.  And very inexpensive.

 Enough for a baby sweater!

We then moseyed down the street to the next place which is a consignment store.  There was lots of fun stuff there  (more mohair!) and we each went our own ways looking at what interested us, then showing each other the stuff that catches our eye.  And what caught my eyes was a very nice quilt.  As I looked it over, though, I got very confused.  The top was obviously old, and handquilted, but the backing was a bit off.  The shopkeeper came over, eager to tell me about it. She said she had it appraised, and the top was from the 1880’s, but it was quilted in the 70’s.

Her story rings true. The top fabric is old (but in excellent shape), and there is attached documentation relating to the quilting of it (and the price for materials and services!) from the ‘70’s.  Regardless, I think it’s a great quilt, and I got it for what I think is a good price.

When we got home with my booty, we had ham, beans, and corn bread I had fixed that morning, and saw the most interesting half of the game anyway.