Falling Leaves

Cheryl over in the Kingdom of Coco created a pattern for a shawl, that she calls "Falling Leaves". She allowed me to take it for a test drive, and put up with my daily (or somedays, hourly) questions.

After much angst, my shawl is complete.

I had a hard time taking the picture, the camera did not want to render the colour properly.

The colour is somewhere between these two, but neither is quite right. the yarn called "soft grape" and is a sort of greyed purple. 

Okay, the really neat part! It has beads!

Another version of the purple, but you can see the beads better.  The beads are a mix of metallic purple and amethyst glass beads with a few silver lined clear beads, because they look like dew on the leaves.




I am not sure who will receive this work of art. Somebody special, considering the work.


Thanks, Cheryl, it was a wonderful challenge.


That is the first item I have completed on my Ten Things for Summer List.

Blockin'

I have finished my second shawl (the first item on my 10 things list to be completed). So today, I decided to do some blocking.
I have read the instructions for blocking and I discovered that they missed a few things.

They usually tell you to start with a sink of warm water.
They missed the steps that come before that:
1. Empty the dishwasher.
2. Move the dishes that were left in the sink, because the dishwasher hadn't been emptied.
3. Clean the sink, removing the tea stains.
4. Fill the sink with hot water.

I have seen it advised that you add a bit of hair conditioner. Off to find the conditioner. Which do you think, the volumising or the colour guard? I decided on the volumising.

Next soak for about 20 minutes. Of course, if you have already put the coffee on, you can have a cup of coffee, while you wait.

Gather some towels to squeeze out the water.
1. Go to the linen closet to look for towels.
2. Discover that your adult children helped themselves to the thickest of the big towels, as they were moving out.
3. Double the number of towels required, since none of the available towels are very thick.
4. Note to self: Pick up some bath sheets, next time I am at Costco.

Spread the knitting out on a flat surface and pin into the desired shape.
1. Find a space in the house that pets don't consider they own.
2. Cover with a foam mattress pad to protect the hardwood.
3. Find more towels to cover that mattress pad (see above).

Finally, stand back and admire!
Here is Wingspan, completed.

There is a second shawl, but I am waiting for it to dry before the big reveal!

Wingspan - Part 1

Number 5 on my Ten Things For Summer was to knit a shawl. This isn't it! I am still planning to knit a lace shawl, just to prove to myself that I can do it.

However, I was looking for patterns suitable for my beginners, and I thought this one might appeal to the Moms. Just to make sure it was doable, I had to make one myself.

I found some yarn in my sock yarn bin, that I thought would do the job. The yarn is not my usual colour palette but I think it followed me home from a sale bin.

I am using 3.75 mm needles, since the pattern didn't specify a guage, but I think it is a bit loose, so I was not going to have enough yarn. I was trying to be very frugal and shop my stash, but I had nothing that would go with this yarn, so, off to the store.

I wasn't sure the green was exactly right, but it looks pretty good in the picture, so I guess it will be fine.

This is not my colours, so I wonder who will end up with it. I am sure it will find a home.

Ten Things This Summer

Pam, from Mad About Patchwork, has inspired me to create a list of goals for the summer. so Here goes:

1. Finish my Tipsy Socks.  I am nearly finished the first sock, but I suffer from second sock syndrome. I was feeling the pull to cast on something new, last night. Must finish both socks!

2. Get Ahead on My Reading For My Book Club  I have a list of 5 books, all good literature, I am sure, but I am prone to read cozy mysteries and the like, during the summer. I have started "The Imposter Bride", but it isn't backyard, under a tree reading, in my mind.

3. Actually Quilt One of my Many Quilt Tops I have a pile of them that need two more layers to be complete. I think first up should be the last one finished (LIFO), so I will put my Maritime Beauty first on the list.

4. Clean Up My Office, and Get the Filing Done I am so far behind in my filing, that you can't see my desk, for the filing pile. If I can get this all cleaned up, I have promised myself a new desk, with room on it for my computer and my printer. I have it all picked out, at Ikea, but I am not moving my mess onto a nice new desk.

5. Knit a Shawl I have been wanting to do this for awhile, and summer seems like a good time to knit one. A little elf gave me some yarn and beads, so I just need to get out my needles and go. (after completing #1)

6. Get to know my Vintage Singer Machine A lovely old Singer (I think it was built in 1939) followed me home one day, 2 years ago. I took it to the sewing machine hospital, to be cleaned, and otther than sewing on it for a brief time after it came home, I haven't really used it. I think it might be great for quilting, so I need to pick a quilt that needs straight line quilting, and give it a go.

7. Find My Sewing Room, Again. I am embarrassed to show you a picture of what it currently looks like.

8. Visit Mrs Pugsley's Quilt Emporium  This is a new quilt shop, scheduled to open sometime this summer, in Amherst, NS. I expect to be down that way, in early September. More information can be found here.

9. Write a Pattern for my Halloween Placemats  Some of my friends want to make similar placemats and asked me for the pattern.

10. Make Another Bra I made some mistakes on my second one, so I need to make another one (or two).

An ambitious list, I hope I can get through it all. Of course there are about 10 weeks of summer left, so I have a chance.