QAL--Let's Dance!

Just Quiltin' has a QAL (Quilt Along) for you!  

It's called Barn Dance but it's Hole in the Barn Door quilt blocks in all different sizes,

colors and positions on the top.

It's also a stash buster!

Dig into that box of fabrics, cut and sew!  

Wednesday--Yarn Along

I'm working away on FLG (Fingerless Gloves).  Somehow, I've misplaced one of my favorite pairs.

This pattern is "Leaves" by Valentina Georgieva 

I have one almost finished

For some reason, I hate doing the thumb, so save it till the very last minute

I've begun the second mitt--still haven't done the thumb on the first mitt!

The fiber is wool that I overdyed-it was an ugly color that I would never use,

so into the dye pot it went--good solution in my book!

Marly's Shawl KAL--

A SHAWL! Something that is rather simple, uncomplicated and gauge isn’t something that is super important. The project for this KAL is a rather easy shawl but it packs a lot of punch. There are many learning opportunities learn while you make this garter stitch shawl.  The official start date is March. 30, 2016 – April. 27, 2016. There will be one video released each week along with the pattern instructions for that section.  Here is a link to the introduction video #1. 

You will be able to find all the videos at: Marly Bird

Crochet To Your Hearts Content

Isn't this the most gorgeous crochet wrap?

Check out Expression Fiberarts for this pattern

Learn to finger crochet this fanciful necklace--looks like fun neckwear!

And this wearable shawl--oh my!

I love finding these interesting websites--

here's to the hook and needles!

Easter!

Easter Sunday

brings forth Spring, Bunnies, Easter finery and bonnets,

Question: "What is the origin of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs?"

Answer: It is thought that the word Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. A festival called Eastre was held during the spring equinox by these people to honor her. Of interest is the word’s relation to east (ost in German). The name for a celebration of the sunrise and a change of season was eventually applied to the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ and the new era He heralded.

The goddess Eastre’s earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also known as a symbol of fertility. Since rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, it’s understandable that the rabbit is the symbol of fertility.

The legend of the Easter Bunny bringing eggs appears to have been brought to the United States by settlers from southwestern Germany. The German tradition of the Easter Bunny or “Oschter Haws” migrated to America in the 1800s, likely accompanying German immigrants, many of whom settled in Pennsylvania. Over the past 200 years, the Easter Bunny has become the most commercially recognized symbol of Easter.

In legend, the Easter Bunny, also called the Easter Hare and the Spring Bunny, brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy, and sometimes toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter, in much the same way as Santa Claus is said to deliver presents on Christmas Eve. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house or garden for the children to find when they wake up in the morning, giving rise to the tradition of the Easter egg hunt.

Should Christian parents allow their children to participate in traditional activities that refer to the Easter Bunny? This is a question both parents and church leaders struggle with. There is nothing essentially evil about the Easter Bunny, unless it is used to promote the goddess of spring or fertility rites. What is important is our focus. If our focus is on Christ and not the Easter Bunny, our children will understand that, like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny is merely a symbol. As with Christmas, Easter should be a time to reflect upon and celebrate the incarnation, the resurrection and the risen Christ.

Just Had To Try It.

No matter how old I am, I love dyeing Easter eggs!  I do the standard dyes that you buy at the store;  I've used cake dyeing stuff; marbling techniques, but when I read about this, I just had to try it!

Does it work?  I'll see for myself.

It takes silk ties--so, I hurry to my hubby's tie selection (he doesn't bother to wear ties anymore) to see if he has any silk ties.  There are plenty to choose from but here are the four I chose.

I'm thinking these will be more colorful for this experiment

These don't look too bad either

So, I take 6 fresh eggs, wrap the tie portions around them tightly.

And not to let the silk dyes run onto the other eggs, I tie up with plain muslin.  Put the eggs into a pan, cover with water, add 1/4 cup vinegar and set to simmer on the stoves for 20 minutes.

Here's the outcome after letting the eggs cool and dry.............

Not bad, not good either

I liked this one

I thought this tie would give more color, so did two eggs--it's okay

Here is my favorite--I was right, this Beatle tie covered the eggs with color!

Okay, I tried it and it sort of worked--it was fun to experiment; now,

back to getting out my store bought dyes--

Amy Is Turning 60--

Amy is turning 60 this year and she is doing something very special to celebrate and we are invited to come along on this adventure.  Amy is knitting socks, creating a series of socks using each of the divisors of 60. 

This is February Sock.  Amy is using this set of rules:

All of these socks will be knitted from cuff to toe.

I plan to knit most, but not all, on double pointed needles, my choice will depend on the stitch pattern I choose.

The main part of leg and foot of sock must be 60 stitches around.

There will be no shaping of leg, so the leg on all of these socks won’t be terribly long, likely all under 7 inches from cuff to beginning of heel.

The main part of leg must contain a stitch pattern using the chosen divisor; the foot must contain part or all of the same stitch pattern.

The cuff, heel, and toe can stray from the divisor rule.

I must use a yarn that is already in my stash; it does not need to be “sock yarn”.

Here is March's pattern--join in this year long celebration of turning 60, even if you aren't 60!

SYNC Is Coming....................

Every year I write about this absolutely wonderful adventure in reading--all free, delivered to your door step--but, you must sign up to get each week's book.  It's all audio for the young and old alike.

SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+.

The 2016 season is May 5th - August 17th 2016.
SYNC 2016 will give away 30 titles - two paired audiobook downloads a week!

What I like about this program--I can enjoy the books right along with the YA group--some books I would never have read or listened too.  So, head to the the home page and sign up.

Wednesday--Yarn Along!

Come Along on the Yarn Along!  Each Wednesday, post a photo of your yarn project.
I'm liking this idea--will keep me motivated to keep yarn on my needle, fiber on my wheel and maybe, reduce that stash that is lingering in the closet and aging.

This week I'm taking the brioche knitting workshop on Craftsy

!

I've learned how to knit (brk!) and purl (brp!) 

You can see where I changed from knit to purl in this sample

Then, I learned how to increase--notice the branch off on the left.

This has been a good learning experience.

It's About Time

Yes, it's about time I picked up some knitting needles and began work on the 2016 Lace Shawl designed by Elizabeth Ravenwood (found on Ravelry).  This will be the third shawl I've knit with her directions and patterns.  Of course, I was little behind--well, three months behind isn't too bad.

I rather enjoy knitting along on this type of thing--only small portion of the pattern is revealed each month and by year's end (if you keep up!) you will have a completed shawl to wear to that end of year party.

This year, I needed to spin my yarn so that took some time--wasn't too sure which fiber I wanted to use--finally decided on this wool/silk blend

This month's pattern is called Tides of March or Water on the Moon

Easy knitting, even adding beads along the way.

Let's hope I can continue to keep up--now, that my fiber has all been spun.

Short on Time And/Or Money?

If you are like me and short on time and money, then this Mini quilt along is just right for you!

Quilt Addicts Anonymous is sponsoring this summer sew along and it's FREE!

Just hop over to her website to sign up to receive each month's patterns.

She also has other interesting tidbits she shares on occasion.

Weave a Plaid? Knit a Plaid?

Franklin Plaid Collar--knitted!

Read the article and then tell me

would it be easier to knit a plaid

or weave a plaid?  

of course, if you are a knitter--you'll save knit

but if you are a weaver--you say weave

Color My World!

3900-pages-of-paul-klees-personal-notebooks

I am loving this website--Open Culture--free movies, free audio books, free books of all kinds and then this wonderful personal notebook on color by Paul Klees!


Ultimate Color Combination Cheat Sheet

Combinations of individual colours

• White: combines with everything, especially blue, red and black.
• Beige: combines with blue, brown, emerald, black, red, white.
• Gray: combines with fuchsia, red, violet, pink, blue.
• Pink: combines with brown, white, mint green, olive, gray, turquoise, light blue.
• Fuchsia (dark pink): combines with gray, yellow-brown, lime, mint green, brown.
• Red: combines with yellow, white, fulvous, green, blue, black.
• Tomato-red: combines with cyan, mint green, sand, creamy-white, gray.
• Cherry-red: combines with azure, gray, light-orange, sandy, pale-yellow, beige.
• Raspberry-red: combines with white, black, damask rose.
• Brown: combines with bright-cyan, cream, pink, fawn, green, beige.
• Light-brown: combines with pale-yellow, cream-white, blue, green, purple, red.
• Dark-brown: combines with lime-yellow, cyan, mint green, purple-pink, lime.
• Reddish-brown: combines with pink, dark-brown, blue, green, purple.
• Orange: combines with cyan, blue, lilac, violet, white, black.
• Light-orange: combines with gray, brown, olive.
• Dark-orange: combines with pale-yellow, olive, brown, cherry.
• Yellow: combines with blue, lilac, light-cyan, violet, gray, black.
• Lemon-yellow: combines with cherry-red, brown, blue, gray.
• Pale-yellow: combines with fuchsia, gray, brown, shades of red, yellowish brown, blue, purple.
• Golden yellow: combines with gray, brown, azure, red, black.
• Olive: combines with orange, light-brown, brown.
• Green: combines with golden-brown, orange, salad green, yellow, brown, gray, cream, black, creamy-white.
• Salad green: combines with brown, yellowish-brown, fawn, gray, dark-blue, red, gray.
• Turquoise: combines with fuchsia, cherry-red, yellow, brown, cream, dark-violet.
• Electric colors: combines with golden-yellow, brown, light brown, gray, or silver.
• Cyan: combines with red, gray, brown, orange, pink, white, yellow.
• Dark-blue: combines with light-lilac, cyan, yellowish-green, brown, gray, pale-yellow, orange, green, red, white.
• Lilac: combines with orange, pink, dark-violet, olive, gray, yellow, white.
• Dark-violet: combines with golden-brown, pale-yellow, gray, turquoise, mint green, light-orange.
• Black is a universal colour — it looks elegant in any combination, especially with orange, pink, salad green, white, red, mauvish, or yellow.

A Quilt for Josh

When this pattern, designed by Pat Sloan, came out in 2015,  I was ready to sew for Josh,

our cowboy grandson.  I'd collected western and cowboy theme fabric for some time--even friends 

would give me fabric

so it was definitely time to do it for Josh!!

Patterns came out each month and I made two of each--well,

not the first month, I only made one

and now, 2015 has come to a close and 2016 has a new design 

I decided it was time to put this thing together--I'd hoped it would be ready for 

Josh's birthday in May--but time is running away from me.

I've laid it out on the studio floor (I really should get some magnet clips to use

on my design board)

Here is the complete layout from Pat.

My problem--I have four more blocks--what to do?  extend the length? or the width?

place the four extra blocks on the backing?

oh, well..................at least, I started to finish.............

St. Paddy's Day

St Patrick's Day, on March 17, remembers one of Ireland’s patron saints, St Patrick. It largely celebrates Irish-American culture in the United States.

Stories like the Leprechaun's pot of gold are shared on St Patrick's Day.

©iStockphoto.com/SharapaAndriy

Celebrate St Patrick's Day

Celebrations concentrate on Irish themed parties, drinks and food. Many people get into the spirit by dressing in green clothing and eating green colored food. Irish clubs and pubs often hold parties or have special deals. Large street parades mark St Patrick's Day.

Water is dyed green in public places in some towns. The most notable body of water that was dyed green was the Chicago River in 2005.

What's Open or Closed?

St Patrick's Day is not a federal holiday in the United States. Schools, businesses and organizations are open as usual. Public transport systems run on their regular schedules. There may be some local disruption to traffic due to St Patrick's Day parades. This is particularly true in cities with a large Irish-American population, including New York, New Orleans and Seattle. The parades may be on or around March 17, so it is a good idea to check local sources for the exact location, date and time.

About St Patrick's Day

St Patrick is one of Ireland's patron saints and many Americans with Irish ancestry remember him on March 17. Patrick's Day is fixed on March 17, but may occasionally be moved by Catholic Church authorities. This happened in 1940, so that the celebrations would not fall on Palm Sunday, and in 2008 to avoid Holy Monday, the last Monday before Easter Sunday.

Symbols

The most common St Patrick's Day symbol is the shamrock. The shamrock is the leaf of the clover plant and a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Other symbols include:

• Almost anything green.
• The green, orange and white flag of the Republic of Ireland.
• Brands of beer associated with Irish culture.

Religious symbols include snakes and serpents. Other symbols seen on St Patrick’s Day include the harp, which was used in Ireland for centuries, as well as the leprechaun and a pot of gold that it hides.

Memories

Today we are visiting my mother in her assisted living facility.  I have brought along some recipes and photos to jog her memory.  She has dementia but overall she does pretty good for a 95 year old gal--she can dress herself, feed herself and of course, give you her opinion on everything you say and do!

I found the handwritten recipes from my Granny and wanted mother to see them

and make comments, if she remembers any of these recipes.  I remember one she always made at 

holiday time--

"candy date roll"--I hated this candy!  And now to find the recipes and see my Granny's notes

certainly brings back memories--She notes that this recipe came from Iona Scott (35 years ago)

and Granny wrote it out October, 1974--I must ask mother who Iona Scott was--a friend, a relative? 

and then there is the recipe for

Green Tomato Pie from Chloe Egger (note says--mom's sister)

I really need to pull out my ancestry log and look at it again

I'm glad we reproduced these recipes and others in a family booklet that was a gift to all members.

we did this for both sides of the family

Have you done this for your family?  A collection of old favorites is the way to go--

and each member loves to tell you what they liked best in their cookbook.

Beware The Ides of March!

The Ides of March

Just one of a dozen Ides that occur every month of the year

by Borgna Brunner

The soothsayer's warning to Julius Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March," has forever imbued that date with a sense of foreboding. But in Roman times the expression "Ides of March" did not necessarily evoke a dark mood—it was simply the standard way of saying "March 15." Surely such a fanciful expression must signify something more than merely another day of the year? Not so. Even in Shakespeare's time, sixteen centuries later, audiences attending his play Julius Caesar wouldn't have blinked twice upon hearing the date called the Ides.

The term Ides comes from the earliest Roman calendar, which is said to have been devised by Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. Whether it was Romulus or not, the inventor of this calendar had a penchant for complexity. The Roman calendar organized its months around three days, each of which served as a reference point for counting the other days:

• Kalends (1st day of the month)
• Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months)
• Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months)

The remaining, unnamed days of the month were identified by counting backwards from the Kalends, Nones, or the Ides. For example, March 3 would be V Nones—5 days before the Nones (the Roman method of counting days was inclusive; in other words, the Nones would be counted as one of the 5 days).

Days in March

March 1: Kalends;
March 2: VI Nones;
March 3: V Nones;
March 4: IV Nones;
March 5: III Nones;
March 6: Pridie Nones (Latin for "on the day before");
March 7: Nones;
March 15: Ides

Used in the first Roman calendar as well as in the Julian calendar (established by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.E.) the confusing system of Kalends, Nones, and Ides continued to be used to varying degrees throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance.

So, the Ides of March is just one of a dozen Ides that occur every month of the year. Kalends, the word from which calendar is derived, is another exotic-sounding term with a mundane meaning. Kalendrium means account book in Latin: Kalend, the first of the month, was in Roman times as it is now, the date on which bills are due.

Brioche Knitting--Well, Trying.......

Okay, I'm at it again......................................................!  Stephen West came up with a selection of Brioche knitted patterns and I was right there with my charge card--what was I getting into?  I wrote a blog about brioche (What is Brioche Anyway?, Sept 22, 2015).  I just can't resist Stephen's patterns--so creative, colorful and wearable!

I found my fiber--been using this fiber for multi projects--start, rip out, don't like, so the fiber is well aged, that's for sure!

it's a nice fiber and I like the colors and this pattern (Briochevron Scarf) uses two colors.

I began--I cast on--looks like one big mess to me!

okay, go watch some youtube videos--I'm on the right track--just need to 

concentrate for awhile until I've got this stitch under my belt.  After several attempts of

getting this right, I decide to sign up for Nancy Marchant's lessons on

Craftsy--perfect--on sale too!

Doesn't this look so cool?  Maybe, I should have stuck with one color brioche knitting 

before tackling two colors?  

Cyber Fiber '97

Many moons ago, as social networks were just heating up the internet, I joined an internet group of fiber artists that discussed everything from dyeing to weaving, etc. 

We were an eclectic group.............

and a fun time for us as we ventured through the wide world web learning the 

ins and outs of fiber art.

Then, there was the chance to do an art apron challenge

The other day while cleaning out my fiber closet,

I found my apron! 

There was an catalogue with all the aprons, photos, reviews from the

judges and artist statements for each apron.

Here is my artist statement--I know--it's hard to read, but now if you have a 

smart phone or reading from an Ipad, you can enlarge--

we had no such thing in 1997.

My apron was titled--"Mother--still attached"

Our aprons were displayed at International Quilt Festival, Fall, 1997 and

the collection went on tour in various states.

My apron was selected as one of the ones that

was presented in lectures----aren't we all still attached to our

mothers--even though we try to cut those apron strings time and time again.

There is always a way we are mending those ties......

Still Attached to Mother!

Almost There..........................................Bonnie

OH, yes!  It's almost there--just need to add a few touches to call it a complete project!

I'm talking about Bonnie Hunter's 2015 Mystery,  Allietare .  The pattern was free for a few months but now it's a digital download--well worth the $8.

So the final pieces to the puzzle are these corner blocks

one star block with gold centers and the red center blocks were shown in a previous post

The little 'fishy' blocks were used in the red center blocks--I think I could use these in another

quilt with water as the background...................hmm, I'm thinking.............

sorry--did a little aside there

Here it is laid out on the floor.  I always have trouble with diagonal layouts,

so, doing each row at a time is helping and starting from both sides to meet in the middle

is the best for me. 

Yelp, we are almost there................

just a couple of more seams, borders and

it will be off to the quilters!