Join in on the Fun!

Join in on the fun of learning an applique technique by doing this lovely Joseph's Coat Quilt Along. Visit Don't Look Now There is a super tutorial on drafting the pattern as well as the placement of petals and how to handstitch each in place. Take a peek and come join in on the fun. Whenever there is a blog that is hosting a special event, usually the link will be along the side of this blog. Another special event is the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop

where 12 designers are lined up to give a different project each day November 9-20--Wow! great American designers offering a free design--Are you going to join in that fun? The only problem--there is no certain blog that will host this, but you must visit the different designer on their day to pick up the design. Okay, it takes some time to visit but you can do it! Join in the fun by visiting their website--just gotta love the internet!!

One Mystery Solved; Three to Go!

There are never ending mysteries in our lives. A lover of mystery novels and mysteries period--the October sock mystery has been solved (yes, they are socks and darn neat pattern to boot). Mystery bag pattern is still being knitted although all the clues are there, there hasn't been time to piece together the last remaining hints to solve this one!

The toe of the handspun sock follows the lines of the sides. Hard to photograph one's toes; guess sock blockers should be one of the things on Christmas list!
This was an enjoyable pattern to solve! Easy to read the clues! We do not rest on our October laurels though, there are mysteries remaining to be solved in November--two hat patterns from Ravelry group, WoolyWormHead--hats to share with Knits for Needs
Shhhhhh, detective at work!

Stitchers Angel Indeed!

This summer there was the opportunity to join the Stitchers Angel swap, which was sponsored by Hugs from Helen . The criteria was to send at least three 'goodies'. Each week there was a wonderful pattern given that we could use. My swap partner lived in Italy and my stitcher angel lived in Tasmania. Her name is Marja. Just recently my wonderful gifts arrived! What fun it was to open each package and discover what lay underneath the bright colored paper. Here is the group of three.

Nice collection of handmade gifts by Marja!

Closeup view of stitching on wall hanging--received just in time for the holiday season!

This lovely stitchery will make a great wall hanging in my sewing studio.

And a super little bag to carry stitching supplies! What great treasures! Thank you, Marja, my stitching angel!

Knitscape Scenery

What fun it was to turn down Larchmere Street in Cleveland to find Knitscape trees! All of the trees were decorated in their finest knitting pattern.
The color combinations and yarns were the same on each tree. The pattern was a large lace stitch with large yarn. Anyone know the pattern?

There were some trees that had their top branches decorated with knitted designs! Knitting is alive and well on Larchmere Street in Cleveland! Thank you knitters.

Ohio Amish

A ride through Ohio Amish country brings serenity and peace. Clean cut fields, white clapboard houses, horse and buggy, limited hassle -- the softer side of life.
Dairy farms dot the landscape, resulting in lots of cheese production. Lines of tourist pack a local cheese shop for tastings. Many tasted. Few bought. We, however, bought cheese and more cheese.
Even restaurants display artful quilts.

Cleveland Rocks

On the annual mother-daughter trip, we journeyed to Cleveland, which was the blonde-headed daughter's choice. Here is Westside Market where we enjoyed lunch. It is an indoor market filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and breads.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum took longer than planned to view. Lots of guitars, album covers, and hand-written lyrics to see, along with an exhibit on influences of rock and roll artists.

My constant travel companion, little piggy, found some lost souls in the Southwest customer service baggage area.

The fall colors are vivid here in Cleveland, even in the rain.

Weekend Treats

Some weekends bring special treats and feasts to the sight and senses. This weekend brought just that. The weather was perfectly fall! Activities abounded in the neighborhood. Everywhere you looked there was a special event happening. After a long walk along the green belt area, we ended up at the town center to meet our son for coffee. The plaza was filled with costumed dogs of all breeds for the 'Howl-a-ween' dog walk--what fun! There was Sleeping Beauty, a lobster, a squirrel and TX University supporter and this was just a few of the canines dressed in their finest.




Later in the day we attended one of the local high school's pumpkin patch parties--lots of small, medium, large pumpkins to choose; homemade root beer, lemonade, grilled hamburgers & hot dogs along with muffin walk, games galore, a pumpkin catapult (which was a hoot!) and since this was a fund raiser for the orchestra, a string ensemble was playing (one of their songs was Autumn Leaves!)
What a grand way to spend the afternoon!
The rest of the evening was filled with football and some knitting on mystery sock. This is a wonderful pattern!

Tapestry

Today we feature one of our fellow fiber artists, who has found her calling. She loves to design and weave tapestries. These are not the large over sized pieces of art but small intricate, delicate works that measure 4"x4" or 5"x5". She works her wonders on her regular loom instead of typically using a vertical loom. Last night we attended a reception for local gallery and several of Gerry's pieces were on display. She has found some humor in one of her pieces, a pizza with a slice missing!. Her other pieces are woven homage to historical sites: Goliad, TX
There was also the earth on display in miniature. Yes, Gerry has truly created some wonderful weavings.

Spinning Day

Okay, so National Spinning and Weaving Week has come and gone. Doesn't really matter to spinners or weavers. We can celebrate our craft any day of the week! Tuesday was such a day when our group of spinners gathered to spin our tales and our fibers. We had a variety of wheels in operation.
There was also a presentation of fibers and yarns created in the past few months. The basket contains dyed fibers, some with kool-aide, some with natural dyes. The other plastic bags contain BFL (Blue Faced Leicester breed) dyed with natural dyes (purchased in Michigan). The red and blue skeins are 60% wool/40% linen. The other skeins are WINNERS! Yes, the spinner won first place on these skeins at a local spinning fair and exhibit.


As usual, any day spinning is a good day!

Fiber Garden

On a visit last week to view Texas Federation of Fiber Artists Gallery Show at Contemporary Crafts Center we enjoyed not only the Fiber Artists juried show but also an exhibit by Omar Angel Perez featuring his fabulous stilett”O”s! What fun! Not walking shoes though! We also visited with Laurie Brainerd , who was in town for the quilt festival. She had three fabric pieces on display (Prisons, Dance, Be). Of course, there are many wonderful pieces in this exhibit. In the nature garden were hanging the felted pieces designed for national felt day. Every garden should have some fiber!

Quilt Festival Weekend!

Attendance to quilt festival is what is on one's mind this weekend. So much to see! So many aisles to walk down, so many vendors to shop, so many quilts to view--what a variety--large, small, tiny, thin, chunky, textures everywhere. And that's just on the lower floor. Upstairs there are classrooms filled with anxious learners. Here are some winners:





But, every quilt that is hanging in this giant exhibit hall is a winner!