Another FO for the fair (I love small projects)

This time around, a Kitty Cat Hat (for the child’s hat category). You can read about the history of these hats  in our family here.

This one is for a child of about six years, and luckily, Roxy has a small enough head to model it.  I used Patons Classic wool in “Commotion” and the colours remind me of a nice, vibrant sunset.

With this, I have 10 projects done and ready for the fair. I entered 11 last year, so I’m pleased with my progress. There’s still about three and a half weeks left to complete a few more!

I am closing in on the end of the chenille baby blanket. There’s decreasing at each end of every other row now, so as long as I keep at it, this one will be off the needles soon. I’m trying to do a row or four every night, but it doesn’t always happen.

But with any luck, you’ll see an FO post sometime next week!

I’ve shown you plenty of weird things that happen in my garden, but I’ve got a new one for you.

Remember those pretty orange Coneflowers that bloomed a month or so ago…

A nice pretty orange right?

Well a few days went by and they got a little darker orange…

…that’s not totally abnormal… and they were still orange.

But then a few weeks later…

….um… okay… still a little orange around the centre, but those petals are looking suspiciously pink…

and then later still…… definitely pink. Dark pink.

And yes, those are all the same flowers – coneflower blooms last a very long time.

And if you needed more proof…

Here’s the same plant with the old flowers and a new orange bloom…

What a wonderful weird world we live in.

 

 

Mom had the munchkins this past week (though they aren’t really munchkins and more… one is 10 and one is 15… how did that happen?).

They, of course, hit the sewing machines.

Miss Paisley made this rather complicated clutch wallet.

When they showed me the pattern, I was dubious. It looked crazy difficult. But I should know better. Miss Paisley is exceedingly bright and excels at anything she puts her mind to.

Miss Rowan rummaged through Mom’s charm pack collection and made this very fashionable tiered skirt.

It’s from this MSQ tutorial, and you won’t be surprised to know that Miss Rowan did mostly  by herself. She had a little help from Mom on the gathering and waist band, but otherwise it’s all her own work.

The talent runs strong in this pair!

Because every girl is crazy about a sharp-dressed cat…

I got Relic a handsome red bowtie.

He’s microchipped, and his rabies tag has my info connected to the QR code, but I’ve been wanting to get a tag with his name and phone number for a while. It’s just a little extra protection… plus he looks so darn handsome!

Yes… another FO. I love small projects – they just fly off the needles (also, I haven’t sewn all week!)

For the Adult hat category, I whipped up my Wildwood beret. It’s a fun lacy beret that just about flew off the needles. I used our Stray Cat in Avocado for a nice, vibrant green.

Sadly, I don’t have any modeled pics -mostly because I was too lazy to trudge all the way upstairs and get my mannequin. So the best I can do is this one of it hung over my fence post.

 

 

 

Despite the weekend troubles, it’s been a productive week. The Dora cardigan is finished.

Once I got the sleeves joined to the body and started on the decreases, this little thing flew.

While the pattern is decent, were I to make it again, I’d change a few things. I’d knit the sleeves in the round – then there’s just a tiny armpit hole to seam, instead of the whole sleeve too. I’d also make the button bands two stitches wider. It doesn’t seem like much, but I think it would make them lie a little flatter, and would be a little better for the size of the button.

Speaking of those buttons – I used these little vintage crystal ones from my stash. They have just a hint of blue, which is a nice little nod to the blueberry tones in the yarn.

I love the lace pattern in the bottom – it creates a pretty little scallop, and once you get going, it’s easy to work (only four row repeat, two of which are all purl).

All in all it was a nice little knit. And while that vintage leaf/lace baby cardi may still take first prize at the fair… I think this one is good for a solid second!

 

 

Mom is rocking her new long arm machine, and just blasting through my quilt tops!

I find this quilt has a nice modern feel, which is odd, because I’m usually drawn toward more traditional patterns. But really, this pattern was the best way to showcase the charm pack. It would have been a shame to cut those pretty dragonflies up.

The charm pack was paired with a jelly roll of batiks, and a honey bun of plain “Nile” green. A bit of purple/blue batik yardage for the border finished it all off.

I found this fabulous green patterned fabric for the back at Missouri Star Quilt Co (and on clearance).

But this quilt has something a little extra. What you can’t see in the pictures is that the charm squares have little sparkly gold highlights, here and there. So when it came time for quilting…

I talked Mom into using a metallic rainbow thread. (She had some leftover from a quilt she made Miss Paisley). She used the same loop-dee-loop she used on the piggy quilt, and here it made the perfect dragonfly trails!

It’s so nice to see another one finished. I really need to go complete another top!

What a weekend of drama!

I don’t believe I mentioned it, but a few months back, I got a new car. Well not really a new car – we just decided to keep Dave’s old car (when he got a slightly newer one), and it should be enough for me to run errands in without too much trouble or cost.

But it is an old car – a 2002 Buick Regal (aka grandpa-mobile), with eleventy billion miles on it. Things are going to break occasionally. And Saturday afternoon, as I left Mom’s, I noticed a bad smell and a weird rubbing noise.

Thinking it was a stuck caliper (a problem I’ve run into on a few other cars) I got back to Mom’s and called Dave. He had just enough time to get to the parts store before it closed, pick up a new one.

Only when he got up to Mom’s and got the tire off.. it wasn’t the caliper… the spring had sheared off.  And the jagged edge was wearing a groove on the inside of the tire (accounting for the noise and the smell).

Luckily, we had an extra tire for the car, but we didn’t have a spare spring!

So we came home with the plan to get the spring the next day, and head back up to Mom’s to install it.

Not long after we got home… I heard water running onto the floor… our 40 gallon fish tank had sprung several leaks, all at once!

We spent the next hour bailing the tank, swapping out buckets that were catching the leak water, getting the fish into a spare tank, and mopping up the aftermath! What a day.

When it rains it pours (apparently literally in our case!)

Luckily, Sunday’s installation went smoothly, and while Dave was turning a wrench, I was clicking my needles.  And another fair entry is done!

For the Children’s Slipper category, I made these cute little sleepy lions.  When I decided to enter the slipper category, I went on the hunt for a good, quick pattern. I found these.

Sadly, the pattern no longer exists at that link, so I used my favourite Family Slipper pattern, and winged the rest. I decided sleepy eyes would be cuter (not to mention easier) than open ones.

The yarn is some mystery yarn from my stash. I know that it’s got alpaca in it, and I’m pretty sure it came from Mom. But the label is long gone, and I can’t remember anything else about it. But it’s nice buttery yellow colour was purrfect for these dreamy cats.

Although the heat has given no let up, it is definitely beginning to feel like we’re on the far side of summer.

The blackberries are ripening. I get a handful or more every day, and it’s looking like I’ll have enough to make blackberry jam this year.

The Sedums and Stonecrops are starring to bloom – a sure sign of late summer. This one is one of my new ones and it’s giving the front garden a lovely touch of bright pink.

The roses are starting to bloom again. They always seem to take a bit of a break mid summer then come back mid-August and show off until mid-fall. This beauty is, of couse, my wonderful Blue Girl.

I mentioned before that I’d need to bring my Burgundy Shamrock in for the winter. I found this pretty little planter at a local florist. It should keep it nice and safe inside.

My Toadlilies have also started to bloom.  In the past, they’ve always bloomed in September, but this is a new one, so maybe it blooms earlier. Either way, I love these little guys.

Of all the sunflower seeds I planted this year, I only got one to grow. (Other than my surprise Sunflower). This is a dwarf sunflower, it’s only about two feet tall. But there’s one problem… It was suppose to be crimson… not yellow. But oh well… it’s still cheery.

The grocery stores have started putting out their Mums, and I couldn’t resist bringing this one home. There’s just something about the combination of pink and yellow that makes me smile!