Something Old, Something New – November edition

October was a mixed bag (both good and not-so-good) for me, with not much sewing got done.

First I was away at the beach with my mum, sister and her family, as well as DD and the Grandboys, for a few days. When I came home, it was a long weekend so WM spent some time together and I also found a little time for sewing.

On the Monday of the long weekend, I got hit with some kind of gastric attack which lasted five days. I didn’t feel like doing much except reading or watching YouTube videos. One can still be inspired and taught, even when one is feeling poorly, right?

We were supposed to go away for ten days on 21 October but our friends were unable to host us on the planned weekend – she had been offered a last minute chance to go to India on a missions trip – an opportunity not to be missed. WM was on annual leave and we had nothing planned for the weekend coming up, so we caught the train to the nearest station to their place (a seven hour trip), stayed for two days (three nights), then caught the train home again.

We were at home for one day (two nights), before we took off again: this time to visit my mother for a few days then to Woolgoolga, the town where DD and the family live. We returned on Friday with three hours of October left! I will write a separate post about our time away; this is not the time nor the place! ;-)

My sewing time amounted to a few snatched hours on the long weekend, plus two three hour classes. It’s my experience that one achieves a lot less in class than at home with the whole sewing room to oneself! Because we were away most of the month, my sewing machine also had a ‘vacation’, she has gone away for her annual service. I hope she’s back when I go to LQS for my Monday morning class.

So, all that to say: neither of goals for October were met, nor were they even touched.

For some reason, I thought my “Something New” project was learning how to join my braids with every other braid inverted.

 

See how the braids line up on withwer side of the sashing? That was much more complicated than I thought and I managed to join just two lengths of sashing in a three hour class!

My goals for November, therefore, remain the same as those for October:

Something Old is to unpick the stitches that were previously quilted into my Country Houses quilt and, perhaps, even get started on the applique to replace it!

Something New is to make at least one snap bag following this video (the same video I embedded on my previous Something Old, Something New post. I include it here for those who missed it last time).

So, what about you?
How did you do in October with your Something Old, Something New projects?
What are your plans for November?

Link up here with the URL of your specific blog post so we can visit and see what you're up to!

Yes, I do knit, why do you ask?

It’s hard to believe this started life as a knitting blog. I dare not even check when I last mentioned knitting on these pages, let alone talked about something I made myself.

But there are a couple of “advantages” in being too ill to do much. The greatest advantage, of course, is quiet time. And quiet time, for me, means reading and knitting.

My last post talked about my reading so I’m here to talk about knitting!

Yes, you know, sticks (albeit very short sticks joined by a plastic cable) and yarn.

On Christmas Eve, in response to the horrific bushfires (not far from here) that destroyed 200 homes and damaged at least another 200, I began another knitted blanket. I quite often have a knitted blanket on the go – there are many charities that will take them, especially at this time of year. The blankets most often called for around here are 70” x 40” so I chose to design my own. It is inspired by the Moderne Baby Blanket (Ravelry link) from Mason-Dixon Knitting (Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner) which I had just finished a few weeks before. I particularly like the two rows of white yarn I have used to do the first part of each section.

The knitting is finished but I have lots of ends to sew in. There’s also a safety pin hanging from the large brown section to the right where I dropped a stitch more than 40 rows back and didn't notice. I will use a crochet hook to deal with that! when I crochet a border around the whole thing. I tried to use yarn from my stash to complete this blanket, hence the different shades of brown and green. Speaking of green, the colour here is way off: the green across the top is bottle green; the other green is a deep forest green! I tried to adjust the colour but this is the best I could get.

In retrospect, I don’t think I would cast off each section then pick up the stitches on the next round – I think I’d leave the stitches live on some waste yarn (or a spare “cable”). For some reason, my blanket won’t lie flat – I think it’s a combination of tension problems (caused by casting off then picking up the stitches) and using different brands of DK weight acrylic yarn – they all knit up to a different gauge even though they’re supposed to be the same ‘weight’. Fortunately, bodies are not flat so blankets with a bit of ”curvature” aren’t too much of a drama and I may be able to block it (if it bothers me too much – all that mucking around with the steam iron to block acrylic is not my favourite activity!)

I have also knitted a very basic beanie – it’s DK weight (tencel/acrylic) yarn knitted on 4mm needles using 120 stitches – it will fit somebody with a very big head (you can see that it is way too big for me)! What was I thinking when I cast on? The tencel blend (now discontinued Moda Vera “Jaclyn”) is such a soft yarn; I’m sure the new owner will find it warm and comfortable! The colour should be cream not the soft grey shown here; what is it with taking photos outside on a sunny Sydney winter’s day?

 

Although I gave some yarn away before we moved, the amount of yarn that moved with us had shocked me and goaded me into some knitting action’', even before I got sick. While I was away at my mother’s, I worked on and almost completed the first of two scarves; the second I finished last night. Both are knitted in a (now discontinued) DK weight, 50% tencel/acrylic blend (Moda Vera “Cynthia”), in a simple, slipped-stitch pattern on a garter-stitch base making them quick to knit, and ideal for conversation, listening to audio books or watching television in low-light levels.

I knew three 50g balls of black yarn wasn't enough to knit a scarf but I wasn’t sure how far one ball would go so I started with a provisional cast on and knitted one ball. This resulted in 152 rows, so I then planned 30-row stripes from the remaining two balls plus the two balls of ‘forest’ green I also had in stash. The result is a scarf of a good length and the combination could be worn by either a man or a woman. Come to think of it, I’m sure I saw it around a certain man’s neck on Saturday when he realised he was coming down with something (which the doctor confirmed yesterday was likely to be bronchitis!).

 

The black and green scarf was knitted on 41 stitches using nearly 250g of yarn and came out at 7.5” x 75”. I had only 200g of grey yarn but still wanted a scarf of a reasonable length so made it slightly narrower – 37 stitches. The resulting scarf is 6” x 70”.

Unfortunately, that is almost the end of my stash of Moda Vera “Cynthia”; I have just six balls of ‘brown’ and one ball of a “natural mix” left; plus some leftover from the green and black scarf. I say unfortunately because it was a lovely soft yarn, both on my hands while knitting and in the final product. I still have several balls of Moda Vera Jaclyn (same DK weight, 50% tencel/acrylic blend) but I’m not overly fond of the boring cream colour. I think I’ll wait until summer and see how it takes dye; it’s not like I have no yarn to work with in the meantime! Meanwhile, the boring cream will be used as a background for a stranded colour-work hat using the leftover green, black and a small amount of the brown.

In case you’re wondering why I have to wait for summer (apart from the fact that downstairs is not completely unpacked and sorted yet), my “dyeing studio” is in a room under the house – it’s freezing down there in winter, it’s like a cool room without the need for electricity! No wonder the previous owner used some of the area down there as a cellar!

In sewing news, I’ve had a huge hiccough in my progress with the Country Houses quilt which was (but, sadly is no longer) on track to be finished by the end of the month. There’ll be a post about it soon; but right now I’m off to cast on for that stranded colour-work hat!

What are you working on at the moment?

bronchitis and books

Since I came home from mum’s late last week, I have been knocked about with a bout of bronchitis. Yesterday was the first day that I felt able to do more than sit in a chair and cough!

Today I have plans and the first of those is to write this post!

The past twelve days have given me a chance to participate in a hobby I rarely indulge: reading!

It started while I was at my mum’s. I received an email from my second cousin, who told me that he had just published his first book -- “a golden age mystery novel”. Of course, being a fan of mysteries, I went straight to Amazon and bought An Echo and a Light for my Kindle; which I read through the app on my iPad (poor Kindle, it rarely sees the light of day now; in fact, since we moved, I don’t even know where it is!)

Richard (his nom-de-plume) has even included a character with our mutual family name – Loder! What fun!

The fictional town of Chadfield is based on the town of Lichfield where “Richard” lives. Here is a video he created of photographs of his town as a promotion for his book.


After reading Richard's novel, which I enjoyed, I set off on a quest to find more books to read – this time from the digital collection of my local library. In a week I have borrowed five ebooks and two audiobooks. I enjoyed all but one of them and would recommend them to you if you are a fan of the mystery/suspense genre. (The one I didn't enjoy I have not included here.)

They are seen here in the order I read them. Some I enjoyed more than others (as is always the case) but I have no qualms in letting you make up your own minds. Because of my own particular tastes in books, none of these books has erotic scenes, all have at least a hint of romance and only one (Seven Kinds of Death) has repeated use of “foul” language. The Prayer Box is not a mystery/suspense novel although there are several mysteries that are unravelled through this gentle story.
   

What have you been reading lately?

And so that was Christmas!

Christmas is all but over for WM and I. All that's left to show for it is a tree that was still growing in a paddock last Friday, a fridge full of left-overs, a tray of untouched lollies, about a kilogram of cashew-nuts, half a tray of glacé fruit, most of a large Christmas pudding, about ten mince pies…

And a very bad cold (and infected sinuses) which has knocked me right out of action -- an unexpected and unwanted present from my grandsons!

For the first time in thirty-six years of married life, WM and I will spend Christmas Day without family.

For the first nine years we had Christmas lunch with my family and spent Christmas evening with his -- I am very blessed to have in-laws who didn't expect us for Christmas morning and lunch!

Then along came DD; and my family came to us for Christmas. That lasted until my sister started having children, then we alternated who was hosting.

After her second divorce, my sister moved away, closer to our parents, but we continued the alternating years until WM started working shift work and we couldn't get away. Then began many Christmases with just the three of us. Mum and dad would join on 27th December and stay until 2nd January.

Now DD and family have moved away and we had to find new ways to be together. WM had to work today (Christmas Eve) and be back at work on Friday so we can't travel to them for Christmas.

Instead, we've had three family celebrations where DD and the family have been present.

The weekend before last we went away to Ebor, in northern NSW, about two-and-a-half hours from where DD now lives and a 1600km (1000 miles) round trip for us. We went there to share Christmas with my sister, her children, her sons-in-law, her 8-month-old grand-daughter, and my mum. What a great weekend we had. My sister booked accommodation for all fourteen of us and we had a wonderful time.

L to R: Sister, OG, N2H2S, SIL, DD, YG, Boyfriend #2, Niece #2, WM, great-Niece, Niece #1, Boyfriend #1, Mum, Nephew

On Tuesday, DD and family arrived here. Mum arrived on Thursday. On Saturday, WM and I hosted Christmas (ham and turkey with salad followed by a choice of Christmas pudding or fruit salad) here with my brother and his family, mum, mum-in-law, DD and family. Hence the fridge full of leftovers mentioned in the first paragraph. The photo shows my youngest niece (mum’s youngest grand-daughter, aged one month younger than my Older Grandson) opening the first present of the day.

L to R: DD (under hat), YG, OG, SIL, niece, DSIL, N2H2S, DB, MIL, Mum (WM is taking the photo)

Yesterday WM and I took mum to Strathfield station to make the trip home, went to church then went to WM's extended family get-together. He's the eldest of six and his mum has seventeen grandchildren (all but one with partners or spouses) and thirteen great-grandchildren. Unfortunately, a lot of them weren't able to make it. It was extremely hot and incredibly noisy. The cold my grandsons shared with me had hit with a vengeance (colds in summer seem worse than those in winter) so we only stayed about four hours. I hope I didn't share too many germs, I tried to stay away from as many people as possible!

a sweaty boy reads a new book

one of the best places to be when the temperature is 40°C (104°F)

four of my mother-in-law's six great-grandsons; she also has seven great-grand-daughters

DD and the family left at 10:30 yesterday morning. There were so many things that I should have been doing and so many things I could have been doing but what did I do? Went to bed and slept for another two and a half hours!

It's bizarre sitting here looking at the tree. I'm still waiting for Christmas feelings to arrive but they seem to have gotten lost even more so than usual! I haven't felt at all like Christmas, despite all the hoop-la we've been through! It's also bizarre seeing ads for Christmas on television because, in my head, Christmas is already over!

So how will we celebrate the day itself?

We were going into the city to see the Christmas lights but I’m not feeling well enough to brave the crowds. WM is secretly pleased, after all the excitement of the last couple of weeks he’s looking forward to a couple of quiet days! Tomorrow morning we will go to a low socio-economic suburb not too far from here where we've volunteered to help serve lunch to homeless people. After that, we've been invited to afternoon tea at our friends' house.

Boxing Day will be spent quietly at home before WM heads off to work on Friday and "normal life" resumes for us.

January is summer vacation time in Australia but WM won't have his annual leave until next October. With all my classes and most of my other activities (quilting group, Bible study) closed until February, I guess I'll have plenty of time for my own crafting activities!

Whatever you're doing, and whoever you're spending it with, I wish you a peaceful and joyous Christmas. There’s only one reason why we’re having this holiday (holy day): “peace on earth and good will toward men”.

the scene above our garage

shingles are for roofs

But not for backs!

Unfortunately, I have somehow contracted the dreaded virus so please excuse me if I'm not posting for a little while.I don’t feel inclined to do any crafting.

I am, however, keeping myself busy with family history research.

I'll spare you photos of my back!

See you soon!

a last minute finish

After all the trauma of remodelling my quilt (and getting it wrong), it is finally finished.

I wanted to have it finished when I hosted “Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday” two weeks ago, but family circumstances and ill health (an upper respiratory tract infection)  got in the way.

I attached the binding and sewed it down on Wednesday. It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would – I allowed six hours for the hand-stitching, it took four and a half!

So, may I present Scrappy Strings, which measures 57” x 68” (the size our group aims for is around 56” x 64” so I’m not too far out!)-- a last minute finish because it was done on Wednesday for submission to the Airing of the Quilts this weekend, the quilts were needed at the museum by Thursday.

Taking photos in direct sunlight is not really good; the breeze shifts the quilt and creates shadows as well as washing out the colour. But no one was home so I had to peg it to my washing line and, although I’ve made some adjustments in the editing process, it’s still not a great photo!

Here’s a close up of my choice of binding – I was going to use some more of the backing fabric but I thought the quilt needed something bright to lift it. If you look closely, you’ll see that this fabric is also in two of the quilt blocks.

In these two photos you can see my quilting: in the ditch around the sashing and then a simple horizontal and vertical line through each block. Not quilting through the sashing meant dozens of ends to sew in! (Hey look, there’s the binding fabric in that block! LOL)

And now my favourite view – I just love the back!

Inserting a panel to make the backing fabric wider has been a signature on quite a few of my quilts!
Linking up with Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday over at Quilt Matters.