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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

{I've Been Reading} Macgruder's Curiosity Cabinet




Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet by H. P. Wood completely immersed me in the world of 1904 Coney Island. The story begins as Kitty Haywood sits on a bench, penniless and alone. Her mother has vanished from the hotel they were staying at, her belongings are gone, and she has no one to turn to for help. She finds herself at Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet, a museum of oddities. I don't want to say more about the plot than the publisher gives away in the book's description, because I don't want to spoil it for you, but if you're even a little bit interested in sideshows and dime museums, pick this one up. The  cast of characters is absolutely amazing and I was in tears by the end. The author includes an afterword where she explains which elements of the book are historically accurate and which are fictional. (I'd always wondered if flea circuses were a real thing!)

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review copy by the publisher. All opinions are my own.  

We're All Set to Make a Mess


Years ago, the library had a selection of books with instructions for making different doughs and clays and goods and slimes. I kept checking them out over and over, always meaning to buy our own copies.

Now there's Pinterest and I don't need the library or a book. A quick scroll through my Pinterest or Facebook feed will show me the possibilities of exploding ivory soap in the microwave and then using the soap to make ghost mud or mixing white glue and borax to make silly putty or the million and one other things that I've pinned to try when my boys are bored.




I've got a whole board of things pinned. These days, my problem is pulling together the supplies. So many of these projects claim that you can do them with what you've already got in the kitchen, but if I use up all of my dish soap or corn starch making fun projects, I'm going to paint myself into a corner and not have what I need for actually making dinner or washing the dishes. It's a twenty mile drive to Walmart, so I try not to do that.

I bought corn starch and baking soda from the bulk bins at Winco, which left me with leaking platic bags of I'm-not-sure-what-this-is.  Not the best plan. A couple of weeks ago, I finally pulled out some big mason jars and filled them with baking soda and borax and corn starch and put actual labels on them.  Now it's all here when we need it and I don't have to worry about pilfering the kitchen or identifying mystery bags. I also had a big bottle of cheap dish washing detergent, but I used that up when we ran out of the stuff that's actually suitable for washing dishes.

Monday, May 30, 2016

It's Probably Time to Come Up With a Plan


I thought I'd seen some vintage anatomy charts with decorative borders, but after searching online and coming up with nothing, I guess those were just in my imagination. I'm going to have to translate those fuzzy memories into an actual sketch on a piece of graph paper. I've still got the ribs, a foot, and the lungs to stitch, so I can keep procrastinating for a while longer.

Someone asked where I'd found the pattern for this project. It's the Anatomy Design Pack from Urban Threads, which comes in two versions, one for hand stitching and one for embroidery. There's no pattern for assembling them into a quilt, just the embroidery patterns. I usually wind up doing my own thing, so that works for me. The pattern is cheap -- $4.00 for the entire set -- and it's on sale until Tuesday night. (No affiliation, I'm just a happy customer who bought my own patterns and is trying to resist the urge to buy more before I get some of my other projects done.)

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Not Taking Care of My Fabric Scissors

You know all of those memes and infographics showing the rules for use for good fabric scissors? We don't follow those rules in this house. My scissors cut paper and other questionable things and, more often than not, I'm the one doing the cutting.

This has to take the cake for the stupidest thing I've allowed to be cut with my sewing scissors.



Floor mats for the truck.

I don't know what else we had that would cut through that rubber without snapping. Experience has taught me that my 88 cent Harbor Freight kitchen shears weren't up for the job and I couldn't imagine the school scissors surviving the job, even if I did buy the better ones. So I grabbed my oldest set of fabric scissors and handed them over.

Maybe Hubby can fix them with that fancy knife sharpener my folks got him last Christmas.

What's the worst thing you've cut with your good scissors? Or are you a purist who really never uses them for anything but quilt shop quality fabric?

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Cable Left, Cable Right


As much as I love cables, I've always been intimidated by them. If I follow the chart carefully, I can make them happen, but I've never understood exactly how it is that they work.

Cable Left, Cable Right: 94 Knitted Cables solves the mystery, explaining how he same exact four-stitch cable can be abbreviated eight different ways - no wonder I've been confused! The book contains a wide variety of cable charts, which explain how the cables do what they do.  It also explains how to make them even more involved by using textured stitches within the cable, multiple colors, and beads. It also gives tips for designing with cables and how to work increases and decreases into the pattern.

I definitely want a  copy of this book in my knitting reference library.



Friday, May 27, 2016

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {5/27/16}


Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.





Thursday, May 26, 2016

Stitchy Thoughts


Honestly, I'm running out of titles for these anatomy embroidery posts and things to say about them. I still love that I'm using linen salvaged from a thrift store skirt and the way the single strand of embroidery floss looks.


Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Swatching the New Sock Yarn

The Toasted Almond socks are only a little more than half done, but I couldn't wait to knit up a swatch with my new yarn (Drops Fabel, Texmex).


It's hard to tell from just the toe if I love the yarn or not, but I'm definitely thrilled with the colors.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Flexagons and Puzzle Balls


The boys and I made Flextangles. They're kind of a little bit like those cootie catchers we all made in grade school, but a lot more impressive. After I found them on Pinterest I made one as a trial run, then Leif made one. When Quinn made his, he decided to use the four sets of diamonds to illustrate a story. Have I mentioned that I'm amazed by my sons?

These little things are absolutely fascinating. It's a folded paper tube that thinks its a kaleidoscope! Which, of course, makes me wonder if I could translate it into fabric. I can imagine how the diamonds would fit together, but I'm not sure if interfacing would make it too stiff or not stiff enough...or what if I used fusible web and left the paper inside?

I clicked over to Pinterest and did a search for puzzle balls to see if someone else had already figured it out. I found tutorials for the traditional Amish puzzle ball...and then I found this...



The book is Amamani Puzzle Balls by Dedri Uys and I don't have a copy of my own yet, but I've got it in my shopping cart to add to my next Amazon order. I still don't know how to crochet, but this is the sort of thing that's going to motivate me to learn.

There is AN OCTOPUS! (And the pattern is free on Ravelry.)  And there's AN OCTOPUS MADE FROM FABRIC!!!  I might be getting a bit giddy at this point, but these are so cute I can barely stand it.

I'm linking up to WFMW

Monday, May 23, 2016

Crosses and Spools

For the second week in a row, I've got something to show off on my design wall... 


The Red Cross quilt top is finished and I've pieced another dozen spools.

This post is linked to Patchwork Times

Sunday, May 22, 2016

There Are Twelve Pairs of Gorgeous Striped Socks in My Future...

Earlier this month, it hit me that we've got at least three big road trips planned for the summer and I'm down to the last of my self-striping sock yarn. There's some multicolored stuff that I've decided would work better with some kind of texture or lace, there's one skein that I'm saving for a special destination, and there's some stuff I bought years ago and have fallen out of love with. I don't want to fuss with contrasting heels and toes while we're actually on the road. 

Car knitting requires exciting yarn that I'm currently drooling over. I know...I could knit plain socks in whatever solid color I pulled from my stash, but it wouldn't make the miles fly by as quickly or make me as happy.  

So I decided to order the Drops Fabel that I've been wanting since I first saw it a few years back. Guacamole, Texmex, and Red Chili. What could be more perfect for a trip to Arizona? 


When I got to their site the yarn was marked down to $2.00 a skein. It's on  sale at NordicMart until the end of May. For the first time in my knitting life, I paid for priority shipping to be sure that I'd have this stuff in my knitting bag before our first trip. I ordered on Wednesday and the bulging priority mail box was waiting for me at the post office on Saturday.


This is my first big yarn purchase in six months, which makes it completely guilt free. I went a long time without buying yarn and when I did, it was a great deal on yarn I'm excited about. Now the question is whether or not I can stay this good!

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 4 3/4 yards
Fabric added this week:  0 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 11 yards (+2 sheets)
Net used for 2016: 6 1/4 yards

Yarn used this Week: 0  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 2750 yards
Yarn added this Week: 5376 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 5526 yards
Net added for 2016: 2776 yards

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Still Slowly Stitching


Hands and spines have lots of tiny little bones -- and after this, I've still got a foot and rib cage to stitch my way through.


If the finished quilt looks like what I'm picturing in my head, it'll all be worth it.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {5/20/16}


Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.





Thursday, May 19, 2016

Sewing For the New Stove

I wanted to sew, not cut new pieces or figure out where I left off on the UFOs, so I pulled out pieces that I'd cut a couple of years ago to make another Full Blown Quilt Lust.  There was originally a plan for this, but I can't remember quite what it was.


Now it's a potholder. I'll use it up and wear it out and no one will care that my points don't match. And I got the fun of sewing 200 little bitty pieces together. Those snowball blocks and nine-patches finish at 1 1/2."

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, Keep Calm Craft On

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

{I've Been Reading & Knitting} My Best Friend's Exorcism


Somehow, this is much more satisfying than all of those endless afghan squares -- maybe because it actually looks like something while I'm working on it. Or because I've been wanting to play with this yarn for a long time. Maybe it's just the yummy, rich colors. 

Whatever the reason, I'm enjoying myself.  



My Best Friend's Exorcism is by Grady Hendrix, the same author who wrote Horrorstor, about  a haunted Ikea wanna-be.  This time, the story is about a possessed high school student and it's set during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.  The story started out slowly, but by the end I was really scared for the characters -- that awful feeling where you don't want to keep reading because something bad might happen and you don't want to put down the book because you've got to know what happens. If you like scary exorcism stories, I definitely recommend this one.



With three prospective buyers anxious to see it, Sam Turner is hoping to sell the property at 13 Aster Lane quickly.  The Victorian is in awful shape, but one potential buyer wants to develop the property and another represents a group of paranormal investigators. Maybe the condition of the house isn't as much of a problem as it might seem.  In Death at a Fixer-Upper, Sarah T. Hobart creates an intriguing mystery in a vivid setting. Some of the relationships had me wondering if this was the first book in the series. As far as I can tell, it is.

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review copies by the publishers. All opinions are my own. This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along, iknead2knit 

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

How We Celebrated Mother's Day

The Saturday before Mother's Day, Hubby took me to a bunch of estate sales. On Sunday, Teenage Daughter took me up to the Goodwill Outlet in Portland. We've been talking about a trip for ages, but now that she's working full time it's hard to find a day when her schedule and mine come together. 

We used my phone to look up the address and wound up at the wrong bins. I wasn't impressed and Teenage Daughter told me that the other one was better, so we didn't look for very long. Even then, there were interesting sights to be  seen.

I'm positive that my mom tole painted this same goose and goslings back in the 70's, but I can't remember where in the house they hung. That smiling old lady on the right? She's painted on black velvet. I've never seen anything quite like her. 


Near the cash registers were six dollar grab bags of random stuff. Like bug spray. And hotel soaps. The bag in the upper right hand corner of the picture has Mod Podge, washi tape, and lots of different glues and resins. I wasn't feeling particularly daring, but my daughter took her chances with a huge bag of nail polish. When she got it home and counted there were ninety bottles, some of it pretty high end stuff.


I found my treasures at the outlet we had intended to go to in the first place....


We've been in almost desperate need of a new trash can for the kitchen. The one that was in use until yesterday came with the house when we bought it ten years ago. It's cheap plastic and when it the house's previous owners abandoned it,  it was still in decent shape. There's been a crack growing down the side for months, but it was still functioning and I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to buy a new one. 

Unless my "new one" was what the internet tells me is a 1960s era hospital hamper. My daughter thought that, at ten dollars, it was overpriced. I didn't think it was a huge bargain, but I knew that I was spending less than I would to buy a new plastic trash can that wouldn't last.  When I got home and searched online, I saw this same hamper going from $60 (on Craigslist) to $350 (at a vintage site.) 


My other happy find was these --


Teenage Son loves this type of stuff, but by the time he was old enough to really appreciate it, Weekly World News wasn't at the checkout counter anymore. They've got a website, but it's not the same. I'd been hoping to stumble across some at an estate sale someday,  but there they were in the bins.

I also found some tops and skirts, but those aren't exciting enough to post about. Oh, and a pair of boxer shorts with Krispy Kreme donuts on them.  They still had the original paper hang tag, which I think makes them "not icky."  I've also washed them. I don't know what project that fabric will wind up in, but it'll be cute.

This post is linked to Vintage Bliss, Let's Talk Vintage

Monday, May 16, 2016

Design Wall Monday


I've been planning this quilt in my head for almost a year, after seeing some Red Cross quilts in a book of antiques and then seeing more of them at a quilt show.  Once I finally plugged in the iron and sewing machine it only took an hour to get half of the piecing done.

Sometimes an hour at the sewing machine is ridiculously hard to come by.

This post is linked to  Patchwork Times

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Buttons and Zippers



When Hubby and I were at estate sales last weekend I found these. I almost passed them up because I thought it was going to be another case of leftover prices from whoever the person selling them now bought them from a decade ago.  Fifty cents for a bag full of obviously old buttons seemed too good to be true.

But it wasn't. The lady wanted things gone and she sold me all four bags for a dollar. Aren't they pretty?


I might have enough zippers already, but that didn't stop me from looking. New zippers at the store are expensive and thrift store zippers aren't much better.  One of the estate sales had a shoe box of them, divided into baggies for a dollar each. The ones still in packages were a quarter.


I can't remember if they charged me a dollar or two dollars for the entire box and that's driving me nuts. Either way, it was a great deal for sixty zippers. There are lots of different styles here, everything from newer plastic coils to heavy metal teeth intended for jackets.

I'm loving my growing zipper stash. I probably have enough to last me forever at this point, but if I find another box for a dollar I doubt I'll leave it behind.

Many of my new-to-me zippers, including the ones I've used, were obviously salvaged from something else. The needle holes and bits of thread are proof of that. I've been thinking that I'd never have the patience to remove old zippers.

Now I've got these and I'll have to decide if I've got the patience or not...



Weekly Stash Report

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 4 3/4 yards
Fabric added this week:  0 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 11 yards (+2 sheets)
Net used for 2016: 6 1/4 yards

Yarn used this Week: 0  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 2750 yards
Yarn added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 150 yards
Net used for 2016: 2600 yards

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Itty Bitty Chips


This may just be a printable and some packing tape, but I'm pretty dang proud of it. My first couple of attempts at little things for the dollhouse didn't turn out nearly as well.

I followed the Miniature Doll Chips and a Bag of Chips Tutorial from Yolanda Meow. I cut some corners and left out the bit that allows the bag to be resealable. The rest of the project was fiddly enough to challenge me, but I hope practice will make my fingers more nimble.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {5/13/16}



Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.





Thursday, May 12, 2016

The Spine and The Brain


When I finally get that skeletal hand done, I've got more blocks ready to stitch. I love the way the finished embroidery looks on the linen, but the lines are hard to mark and harder to see.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Contrast is a Wonderful Thing!


This is working out so much better than my original attempt at these socks. They're plain stockinette, following my pattern that isn't a pattern. That should be happy mindless knitting, but on the first try my needles were a dark color and I couldn't see the darkest stitches against them.

The contrast between yarn and needles is even more helpful for me than good lighting and, since I do most of my knitting late at night, I rarely have great lighting.

This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along, iknead2knit 

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

This Weekend's Estate Sales

I love estate sales and the glimpses they can give you into people's lives. Living where we do, we sometimes find those neat sales where a couple has obviously lived in the same house for fifty-plus years and raised children and grandchildren and happily collected things along the way.

And then there were the houses we saw this weekend. They were time capsule houses, but not the happy kind. I hope I'm wrong and that the people who lived in these houses spent many wonderful years building memories that their children and grandchildren will cherish forever. But these houses had a feeling of sadness to them (and creepy, but I'll get to that later.)


I almost deleted this picture when I got home, because it looks like such an odd angle. But that's half the room. I was standing against the far wall. My 1920s farmhouse has those same plywood panels on the ceiling. Ours are all one color, not an irregular pattern of pink and green and white. This house wasn't sad, just very old. There was a fantastic range in the kitchen, not for sale because the grandkids were keeping it.


Different house, worse picture. The camera on my phone doesn't do well in a room with entirely black walls. The ceiling was red. That floor is the same stuff that I uncovered in the boys' room, in a much less obnoxious pattern. And the piece of paper next to the box springs? That's a typed drive test report from 1977.

We saw more medical equipment on Saturday than you would believe -- wheelchairs, walkers, crutches. Three sets of crutches just in this room. Back when we actually needed a wheelchair, there were none to be found. I don't think I'd have been able to use one of these (better to find one in a thrift store and not guess about its history.) Between the two of us, Hubby and I have two pairs of crutches and a walker tucked away in the attic for the next time a knee or ankle twists the wrong way. So maybe I shouldn't be talking.

The newest of the houses we stopped at was probably built in the 60s or 70s. The kitchen was partially restored and had The Most Gorgeous Sink Ever.  A copper farmhouse sink is not in my budget, but I'm going to do more research into concrete countertops.

The bedroom at the far side of the house was an obvious addition. There was a painting on one wall, a portrait of an older man. I don't know if it was poorly done or just creepy. I was trying to figure out my reaction to the painting and what the smell in that room was. Not dry rot. Not mildew. Not cat pee. I'd smelled it before in other old houses, but I couldn't put a name to it.

Then hubby came up behind me and whispered "Someone died in this room. That's what the smell is."  It's now driving me nuts that I can't remember exactly what we bought at that sale. I know there was a lawn chair for dragging down to the river and an unopened bag of lava rock for the barbecue. I'm almost positive I didn't buy my box of zippers there because I remember paying for those inside and the lawn chair outside.

We went to a bunch of different sales and bought some odds and ends and when Hubby handed me the pink box along with some hose attachments, I didn't even wonder what was inside it.


Now I'm wondering...just a bit. I guess it falls into the category of "neat and old and cheap."



And it came with the original prescription.


We also found another styrofoam cutter, also "neat and old and cheap." This one doesn't plug into the wall. And this one  came home with us. Hubby had a theory for how it might use batteries, but it scared me. I shouldn't be at all surprised that there's a You Tube video proving him right. And I still have no plans for cutting styrofoam anytime soon.


It was a fun afternoon. I did find some sewing goodies, but those will get their own post in a few days. 

Sunday, May 08, 2016

Bolt to Blocks

When Hubby was getting new work boots and I was waiting in the car because shopping for steel toe boots at the boot store is one of the least exciting expeditions I can imagine, I saw a sign down the street for what looked like a quilt shop. We were headed for dinner after the boot shopping was done, so I told myself I should go back later and check it out.

That was a while back. I finally made it in to Bolts to Blocks and I will definitely be back. They had Legendary by Elizabeth Hartman hanging in the front window. With my boys, I've been wanting that pattern since I first saw it. (And as if the pattern wasn't cool enough as written, Cheryl from Dining Room Empire has made the sasquatch block life size!)


The shop is so full of  gorgeous patterns that I was too dazzled by them to even notice the fabric. I also bought Paper Trail because it was love at first sight with that one. I think I'd rather make mine with embroidery or pieced letters instead of the applique, and I'm not sure what I want it to say. But I know I want to make that quilt!

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 4 3/4 yards
Fabric added this week:  0 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 11 yards (+2 sheets)
Net used for 2016: 6 1/4 yards

Yarn used this Week: 0  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 2750 yards
Yarn added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 150 yards
Net used for 2016: 2600 yards

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

Saturday, May 07, 2016

Yoko Saito's Houses, Houses, Houses!

When I posted about my stack of new birthday books, Debbie asked me to tell you about Yoko Saito's Houses, Houses, Houses! first. I've been dragging my feet because although the book is fabulously gorgeous eye candy, it has me thoroughly intimidated.


This is not the kind of quilting book that I'm used to, one of those books that shows you pictures of pretty quilts and gives you easy instructions to follow so you can make your own. There's actually a note at the beginning explaining that "in many countries, rather than learning from various books, quilters study under a single master, spending years progressing from simple techniques to the extremely difficult...This book was written in its original language, Japanese, by a master quilter....We have done out best to make the directions for each project easy to understand if you have some level of quilting experience..." Then it goes on to suggest that "intermediate or advanced quilters will be more comfortable working on these projects." Did I mention that I'm intimidated?

The book was ordered sight unseen after I'd seen an online preview that showed several of the bags. I LOVE the bags! One is inspired by Mrs. Olseson's general store from little house on the prairie. Another features rooftops like the ones in the chimney sweep song from Mary Poppins.

The pouch in the middle of this image zips up one side... I knew that learning to install zippers was going to come in handy!


The quilts take my breath away. There are just so many houses with sooooo many amazing little details. As if that isn't enough, there's a section on how to convert your own photographs into applique house patterns.


Don't expect me to make any of these projects soon. I'm currently so frazzled that I'm not tackling anything harder than nine patch blocks from 1 1/2" strips. One of these days, I'm going to want a bigger challenge and when that day comes I'm going to be very glad that I have this book in my quilting stash.