San Francisco

We took a trip into the city to enjoy the sights and meet my niece and her husband, Matthew and Melanie.  It was quite a fun day.

 We went into the city through the Golden Gate Bridge.

 We went to the Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch at the Fishermen's Grotto.

Sights of the city that I enjoy.

And we went to a 4 story fabric store with many unusual and very expensive fabrics (besides normal fabrics)

 

Today's a day for the pool and relaxing, what a vacation really is to be.

Vacation Time

Since summer wasn't really coming to us, we went to it.  We are in Windsor, California enjoying the warmth and flowers.

Today my daughters and I went exploring the neighboring towns.  This one is Windsor.

 We went to an antique store.  That is one thing we enjoy doing.

I would have loved to buy this for Eloise, but he would have had to come down a couple of hundred dollars for me to spend money on it.  You actually steer with the reins and the legs move also.

 A Street in Healdsburg.  Actually I'm standing right in front of the Quilt shop in town.

At Bella Boutique, trying on hats.  Doesn't Veronica look good in this one?

 How about Victoria.  Maybe they could have worn these to the Royal Wedding.

At the Mercantile.  It was really a candy shop.

I also bought a prize for my front  porch for Eloise to use (and any other future grandchildren and friends)

I didn't take a picture, so I'll show that one later.

Works in Progress

I finished the flowers on my Heart's Desire blocks and am now doing the yellow circles.  I may even get them all done this evening.

 See those little yellow circles.  It takes a bit of work to make sure they are round.

Eloise is another work in progress.  She is just starting to really crawl.  We missed her last week when she was on vacation and that week makes a big difference in her progress.  It's amazing.

Here she is with Uncle Chris helping him clean up his shop.  She is a big help because of the joy she gives, without even trying.

 And here she is with her dad in their garden.

 Her name is Eloise Joy.  Isn't she so aptly named?

This post is linked to Esther's WOW.

Fruity Potholders

I bought this fabric at Fabric Depot.  I love it when I find fabrics like this that I can just whip up into potholders because that is what it seems to be made for.  These make me think of Tuscany.  Now I've never been to Tuscany so it must be images I see on TV or in magazines.

The back fabric is of  the same line also and very fruity.  I put the whole piece before cutting on my longarm to quilt.  That made it so much easier that the way I have done it in the past.  All the layers are together and straight.  I normally do them individually.

I do have leftover fabric.  I think I'll make a table runner with it to match.  I just need to get a design brainwave.

Naomi's Doily #6

I decided it was time to do another doily as it's been a while.  I was thinking it was an easy thing to do when I'm between things during my day and have a few minutes to spare.  It worked. It took a few weeks but I got one done.

 It's a nice rectangular one to go on something longer. It's done in a cream color.  I can see where I need to do something in my photography without a flash.  Rather bright, isn't it.

I always like pineapples.  You can see it here on Ravelry.

Nola's Quilt

Look at this bright one.  I did feathers and flowers freehand all over it.  You can't see the quilting well on front or back as both are busy.  But it is a pretty quilt.

It has lots of fabrics in it.  There is one I recognized that I'm using on my Heart's Desire quilt.

Lattice Cardigan

Daisy is posing for us now in a lattice cardigan.  I have made this one before and really liked the pattern, so this time I made it in a larger size.  I used the same yarn, which is a Caron that you can get at Joann's because I really liked the sheen and the way that it lay.  The yarn was a little splitty to use which I didn't like.  I don't usually buy my yarn at Joann's either, but this one I liked.

 I like the buttons I bought for this sweater also.  The pewter seems to go nicely with it.

And the lattice is not difficult to do.  Even Daisy's mom could do it.  The instructions of the pattern were more clear than the example they said you could go to.

 Daisy did a great job for us.  Ravelry link is here.

Are you living in a heat wave?  Are you looking for a way to escape because the hot weather is just too much for you?   Just come to western Washington.  Here we have cooler temperatures and even rain showers for your refreshment.  

Today we are actually going to have some sun and 72 degree weather.  My daughters are planning a tea party on our lawn.  We have to take advantage of every relatively nice day to enjoy the outdoors. Enjoy your day also.

Pumpkin Tunic

I have been knitting sweaters.  Every evening.  But I've only liked to show them with models and that sometimes takes me a while.  But now I have one for you today and one tomorrow.

This is a tunic modeled by Daisy.  It is one of the Sirdar patterns that I enjoy doing.  It seems when you get good at reading a type of pattern, you can do all of them easily that are written by the same person.  I've got the knack of them down.

 I knitted it from a cotton blend yarn that is very soft. I chose this color because I hadn't used it before and wanted to try one that I wouldn't naturally pick.  Even when knitting it, I wasn't sure if it was a good choice, but it does look very nice on this pattern.

 I like how the spotted sunlight comes in on these photos.

 I think eyelet sweaters are some of the nicest.

It must be time to go home now.

3 New Blocks - Ode to the Thirties

Over the last week, yesterday and a day last week, I did these blocks.

This first one was pretty easy.  I had cut the pieces for all these blocks a few weeks ago but didn't write down any special instructions to remember about them.  This block I had cut the triangles for paper piecing, but them pieced them in the ordinary way, and they were way to big.  So I ripped and cut them down.

This block had so many pieces it took a while to figure out what was what.  I must say I'm getting Eleanor Burns' method of Flying Geese down.  It's simple and your sew twice and you about have it.  It's a great way to do them.

And the spools.  I have done Y seams before and these came together very quickly.  I am seeing that for pictures I need to use a straight edge to keep the edge of the square even with the edge of the lens.  Or stand straight on top of the picture so there's no angling.

This is linked to Esther's WOW  and Freshly Pieced.

T-Shirt Quilt

I was commissioned to make a jeans quilt and now the same person has asked me to make a T-shirt quilt for her.  Her husband passed away about a year and a half ago and she is having several quilts made from his clothing for his children.

This is my first T-shirt quilt and she knows that, although I think it shouldn't be difficult.  I have interface the shirts to stabilize them, so they should sew together fine. 

Bonnie gave me a blanket to use for backing, just as I did in the jeans quilt, so that tells me the size of the quilt.  The red will be the sashing.

The wedding we went to on Saturday had a western theme, so Eloise wanted to be dressed as a cowgirl.

The dress was custom designed by Bella Jean Boutique.   The horse did stay home.

The Wedding Quilt Continues

The young couple were married Saturday.  But a quilt lasts a lifetime, so I don't mind them getting it late.  When they do get it, it will be a treasure.

Here's the squares put together.  I have just started putting the rows together.

 And the borders are pieced.

Now I've had a double strip sitting on my table this weekend deciding on quilting patterns.

I have a roll of newsprint that I cut and draw on.

 I think I'll keep doing that as I see ideas that I like and put them in a folder all in one spot.  I really like having ideas close at hand.  I've been scouring the internet and going through books.  And trying my own variations like the one below.

 The block here is a variation of the silver fabric.  You can see a close-up of it here.

If you have any good block designs, you can e-mail them to me.  I'm still looking for more ideas.

We're supposed to have a day of summer today.  I sure hope it comes.

Eloise Reads

I've decided to enter a photo contest.  Who knows, this may be my new realm.  After all, in college I was a photographer.  I took many photos with film and spent hours in the dark room.  I loved it.

This is happening at Renaissance for Rebecca's  Foto Friday.  The subject this week is books.

I think Eloise is reading out loud.  It is a crochet book.  So maybe she's learning to crochet.  What do you think?  Look at that little finger.

Have a great day!

Carolyn's Quilt

I love this quilt.  It's for her beach house.  Wouldn't you like to decorate using this quilt?

 I did an overall of apples and pears on it.

A Knitting Challenge

A customer sent me a picture and said "Can you knit this for me?"   I did have to explain that a handknitted sweater is not going to have the fine look of a mass produced machine sweater.  The yarn I use is thicker, therefore a different look.

She then asked me if I could make up one and if she liked it she would order two of them.  I decided that would be fine with me as I knew  that I could sell it in the store if she didn't want it.  I also thought this would be a great opportunity to come up with my own design and maybe make it a sellable pattern.

The body of the sweater was pretty basic. This is a toddler size 1-2 and I have many patterns that could help me to size it.  I did start the neckline a little high for what I like, so maybe the next one should start lower.  See how the top button (on the above pic) is almost halfway up the armhole.  Most V-necks start at the bottom of the armhole.  That's what I would do next time.

The collar was my real trouble spot. So I made a muslin mock up to see how it would lay.  I wanted some rollover.  That really helped in the knitting of it.  The next one I'm going to add more cream rows to make it roll out a little more. 

The finished sweater.  She did order them.  The second one will have faux pockets and will hopefully have a larger collar.  She is buying them for grandsons that live a distance from each other, so she doesn't mind having them a little different from each other.

I don't know if I will turn it into a sellable pattern.  Realizing putting it on paper and making sure there are no mistakes, plus doing other sizes, is quite a lot to chew off.  If I find I have some spare time maybe?

I can't get enough of Eloise.  Aunt Naomi is blowing bubbles for her.