Playing Catch-up...............

It is a treat to be away from home base occasionally, but

when we return it is time to play 'catch-up' on the quilt

blocks I have missed.

I  cut the fabrics for each block before I sit to sew--to me,

that's better than cutting and then sewing for each block.  The black and

white blocks are from Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge--

begin winter solstice and end summer solstice.

I decided on black and white as a challenge to myself--

it's not easy to work with these values; need to determine

light, medium and dark in these fabrics--some are

successful, others not so much!

Jacob's Ladder--a popular block--this is an

oversized block in the plan.

This is also an oversized block--goes together quickly when

you cut large squares!

Odd man out--this is year long quilt along is designed by

Sheri of Quilting A Life.  She always has helpful hints and

tutorials.  I decided on pink, green and tones of reds for

this quilt--this will be girl's charity quilt.

Anyone for bright colors?!  This is from Pat Sloan's free 2017

Mystery block "Children's Library"--this is April's block--

since this is a quilt for kids, I decided they would like

a hamburger right in the middle!

Caught up till May 1st!

Stitching Away...................

When I don't want to sew or knit, I'm usually keeping my fingers active

stitching on these snowmen letters--These are from a book

Here is the booklet--I'm about 1/4 of the way through

all the patterns!

Crabapple Hill Studio 

If You Crochet--This IS A Stunner!

I don't crochet often but when I saw this lovely shawl--I'm thinking about picking up the hooking habit.........................This shawl is a real knock-out, stunning beauty!

This beautiful Lost in Time shawl is made by Charlotta Hjortbacken (@charlottahjortbacken on Instagram) with 6 skeins of Scheepjes Secret Garden and hook 5.0 mm. The size is aprox 135 cm wing span and 68 cm over the spine.

This comes to us from Mojo Crochet

NO, Don't Tell Me--Intarsia!

It is the second pattern and tutorial for the Year of Techniques from Arnall-Culliford Knitwear

I loved March pattern!  It was such a clever way of knitting stripes without that annoying

mark of changing colors.  I so looked forward to April's pattern and when it

came out--there was that dreaded word INTARSIA!  oh gee whiz!  Will

I enjoy this pattern as much?

What is Intarsia anyway:--The intarsia knitting technique enables you to introduce areas of color in any shape, size, and number to the background. Think of these intarsia areas as islands floating on the sea of their background. Intarsia fabric is lightweight and fluid because it is only one strand thick.

There are all sorts of videos and instructional material to be found.  Intarsia just wasn't something I enjoyed doing and now this pattern pops up.

Since I purchased the kit I have the yarns so we'll begin--first, we'll watch the tutorial 

That seems simple enough, doesn't it?  print off the pattern, bring out the needles and the yarn and we'll begin...........

I Think I Need A Spreadsheet....................................

spread·sheet

ˈspredˌSHēt/                 

noun

1. 1.

   
   

   an electronic document in which data is arranged in the rows and columns of a grid and can be manipulated and used in calculations.

   
   

   "we have a color-coded Excel spreadsheet of all of our trip expenses"

   • 
     

     
     

verb

1. 1.

   use or create a spreadsheet.

My husband is an engineer--enough said if you have a friend, spouse, etc that is also an engineer!  He makes a spread sheet for everything!  and I do mean everything!!

I must say it is one way to keep track of what's going on--but I always give him a hard time about his 'spread sheets'--

he makes a spread sheet for

•  his tool collection; 
• the vinyls we have; 
• songs he likes; 
• trips we have taken; 
• wines in stock; 
• tax receipts 
• expenses
• you name it

well, now I'm thinking I need to make a spread sheet for all these projects that are piling up on my table!

Oh, I don't need one to add or subtract numbers I just need one to help me REMEMBER what projects I'm working on or have signed up to do--I need a visual listing!!

Let's see:  there are several quilt projects ++++ knitting projects--each with a beginning and ending date.  Do I have the fabric I need?  Or the yarns to use?  All that could go on a spread sheet.  

 one problem----I don't know if I want to say to the engineer husband- that I'm making a spread sheet-why you ask?

He just might take over MY spread sheet!  

Georgia Fiber Fest

Class Schedule

6th Annual GEORGIA FIBERFEST September 7-9, 2017--Columbus Convention & Trade Center Columbus, Georgia with Franklin Habit as our featured speaker & teacher  Teacher, Patsy Zawistoski, fiber spinning expert Patsy Zawistoski's classes all start at 9:00am and end at 4:00pm  Thur - Hemp, Ramie, Bamboo and Tencel: Cellulose Fibers Old & New Fri - Beguiling Blends on Hand Cards, Blending Board, and Drum Carders  Sat - Color Options for Handspinning Colored Roving  Registrations online in April

Fashions of Scientists!

I love, love this!  Fashions that feature scientists--female Scientists!  These are from Shenova!
And you can purchase one of these fashions! and wouldn't you like to wear one of these scarves?!
Hold everything!  I'm looking at my loom and seeing a scarf with LED lights woven in.......................

 here’s a list of space-themed dresses from the Shenova ‘Women in STEM’ collection that commemorate the breakthroughs in science and technology. These dresses feature designs far beyond common nebula or galaxy patterns–offering a whole new way to show your love for space, science, and technology. Each one is inspired by a specific technological advancement and is the perfect thing to wear to a conference, speaking engagement, or anywhere you want to make a statement!

The Saturn Dress encapsulates the iconic Rings of Saturn in a striking way. This pattern is inspired by images from NASA’s Cassini Solstice, a mission that has been extended until 2017. Prior to Cassini, NASA only had brief glimpses Saturn. However, the mission shed new light on the planet’s complicated ring system, discovered new moons, and made the first measurements of Saturn’s magnetosphere. Based on the revolutionary Cassini images, this sleek dress features a grayscale pattern that is feminine, powerful, and professional–making it easy to dress up or down. 

Jupiter is a highly magnetic planet with a wild, gaseous atmosphere–and the Jupiter Dress captures its distinctive and unpredictable environment in a chic, refined way. In contrast to Jupiter’s tumultuousness, the fabric on the dress is incredibly smooth to the touch and features a pattern based on NASA images of the gas giant. This crew-neck classic is the perfect garment to help you celebrate the incredible advancements in planetary imaging and is sure to be a great conversation starter!

Tired of plain old plaid? Take a closer look and you’ll see that this design is fresh take on the classic pattern. The Gravitational Waves Dress is a stylish way to celebrate the discovery of gravitational waves detected by the twin LIGO observatories in Livingston, Louisiana and Hanford, Washington. The print depicts the signals from two merging black holes, each about 30 times the mass of our sun, lying 1.3 billion light-years away. As the plots reveal, the data very closely matches Einstein’s predictions. So, next time you feel like your wardrobe is falling flat, put on the multi-dimensional Gravitational Waves Dress and wear the fabric of space-time!