Dark Water Socks

This is what happens when I buy sock yarn because it's on sale and looks good in the skein. It's pretty, but there's no way I could have predicted those triple blue stripes. And there's no picture of socks knit up in this colorway on Ravelry or anyplace else I could find...not that I actually bothered to look before I started knitting. 

Yarn: Premiere Serenity Sock Yarn, Dark Water 

They were meant to keep my fingers busy and they'll  definitely keep my toes warm. I'm just glad I knit them in plain ribbing and didn't have some sort of plan for how they'd look once they were done! 

Nail Polish Bottle Zipper Bag Tutorial

You know how they put displays in the checkout line so that things will jump into your cart? The Dollar Tree had glittery red vinyl pencil cases and as soon as I picked one up I knew I wanted to cut it apart and sew something with it. It came home with me. 

It took half the drive home for me to figure out that I was going to make a zipper bag shaped like a nail polish bottle, and another couple of days to figure out that I'd need a second red glittery pouch and a black one for the lid, and maybe some clear vinyl for the air space because if I'm going to do something like this I'm going to make it as complicated as possible.

Except for the zipper. I was able to cut the bag apart in a way that let me keep the zipper in place and not add one from my own stash.

The plan was to take still pictures and write up a tutorial, but I forgot to tell my fourteen-year-old camera man so all we've got is video and one progress  picture -- and I know most of you can figure it out from there! Cut the two red bags so that one has the zipper running down the center and one is a plain piece. Cut a clear bag into two rectangles for the air place and a black bag into two smaller rectangles for the lid. Tape the zipper so it doesn't fall apart until you've got things sewn together. And, whatever you do, please please please leave that zipper open so that you can turn the bag once you've got the front and back sewn together!

{I've Been Reading} The Body in the Attic

The Body in the Attic by Judy Lynn

A trio of house flippers finds a skeleton in the attic of their newest purchase and Jazzi immediately recognizes the engagement rings and locket it wears. Her mother's sister didn't run off to New York all these years ago...she's been tucked away in a trunk close to home. 

I really enjoyed this one. It's the perfect read to escape your own day into someone else's life for a few hours. Every Sunday, Jazzi hosts a meal for her extended family. She also makes lunches for herself, Jerod, and Ansel during their workdays, so there's a lot of yummy sounding food to read about. The characters are actively working on the house, so you get vicarious renovations. There's also a strong romance and if I have any complaints about this book it's that that relationship moved so  quickly and easily into place. Years of romance reading must have have left me expecting complications.



Fashions Fade, Haunted is Eternal by Rose Pressey

Cookie Chanel spends a lot of time talking to ghosts so it doesn't surprise her when she picks up a new companion while providing vintage clothing for a fashion shoot in a graveyard. What does surprise her is when a gunshot leaves the photographer dead.

As much as I hate to say it, because I really enjoyed the first books in this series, I didn't get caught up in either the murder mystery or the story of Minnie, the ghost of a 1920s flapper. The rules around the ghosts are suddenly changing and there was one new twist thrown in near the middle of the book that really intrigued me, but I didn't love this one.

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review  copy. 

Starting New Things

This week, I've got new things I want to start -- a shawl to replace the one I couldn't bring myself to donate, a little sampler to try out a different brand of thread, and this Riolis scene that was part of my new Christmas stash. 

I'm also thinking of some bright red socks for Valentine's Day, but I need to dig out the yarn for those.

Art Nouveau Pie Crust

One of the members of our local stitching group has been posting her amazing antique finds on Instagram. Her Habitat for Humanity is so much better than ours! (And, because we drive to the meetups from opposite directions, it's way beyond my reasonable day trip range.)

One of her finds,an antique frame with an intriguing rattle under the backing paper, got me thinking about this print and its frame and wondering if maybe it had a fancy name. Google did not answer my questions but, according to Lori, it's an Art Nouveau Pie Crust frame. 

My original plan when I found this in the bins at the Goodwill outlet was to use the frame for a sampler or something. I'd design a whole project just to fit that frame with those gorgeous corners....but it seems wrong to take out the print when they've been together for so many years. And the print is growing on me a bit even if it makes me feel cold just looking at it.

There's also the poor condition to maybe consider. There are some big chips of wood missing, but that's probably what landed it in the bins and let me find it in the first place. I can be happy with damaged antiques that I otherwise would never own. As much as I adore this frame, I wouldn't spend antique shop prices to have it in my life.

I also love having knowledgeable friends who can help me identify things.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {1/25/19}

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.

Inlinkz Link Party

Girl With Cosmos

I love the way Girl With Cosmos turned out. She's kind of huge and in hindsight, maybe I should have stitched her on 18 count aida instead of the fabric that came with the kit. I've got two other Janlynn projects with this same little girl waiting for me to stitch them, so remind me when I start talking about starting one of those. And remind me when I start another project with this much white shading. The effect is totally worth it, but that was way too much white and almost white to keep track of. 

This was a Janlynn kit I found as part of that huge thrift store haul summer before last and she's cheap stitching at its absolute best. The aida was crunchy, but softened as I stitched, and the floss probably wasn't the absolute best quality...but I'm not that picky. Cross stitch doesn't have to be an expensive hobby.

If you want to stitch her yourself, the Girl With Cosmos kit is still available on Amazon.

{Thrift Shop Temptations} I'm Contemplating Wall Space Again

For all of its many faults, our last house had quite a bit of wall space. This house has windows and a huge fireplace and lots of doorways. I love all of that, but it also means that I don't have many big empty places to hang things.

And then I fall in love with ridiculous things like this...

I love still lifes, especially when they've got details like this one. There are so, so many reasons something like this wouldn't look right in my house. The ceilings probably aren't high enough.  My husband would hate it.  Maybe I'll stumble across a smaller version one of  these days. Since posting about The Fairy Tale, I've been seeing  that one everywhere.

Wanting huge things to hang on the wall must run in the family. Back in November, I had to stop my middle son from spending all of his birthday money on this one. I'm not even sure it would have  fit in the van.

I didn't buy a ginormous still life and I also managed to resist these antique school desks.

I keep hearing that between New Year's resolutions and that new Netflix series that the thrift shops will be filling up, but the shelves at my local stores are pretty bare. Are you finding anything good in your neck of the woods?

{I've Been Reading} The Alchemist's Illusion

The Alchemist's Illusion by Gigi Pandian

Guys, I love absolutely everything about Gigi Pandian's Accidental Alchemist mysteries. The books  are filled with characters I want to spend a lot more time with. The historical elements woven through the books are absolutely fascinating. And did I mention that there's a living gargoyle? Just in case the alchemy wasn't enough of a hook to get you reading there's Dorian, a gargoyle who was originally carved for Notre-Dame and is now an extraordinary chef.

Zoe Faust has taken great pains to conceal her true age and to hide in plain sight. Most recently that's in Portland, Oregon. When she finds herself face to face with a painting of her mentor, Nicolas Flamel, then the painting and records of its existence are stolen, Zoe fears the worst. Could he actually be imprisoned in the painting itself? She finds herself in a web of murder and art forgery and it becomes increasingly hard to keep her secrets out of the official police investigation.

If you're as fascinated by the idea of alchemy in art as I found myself, you'll want to click over and take a look at  The Art of Alchemy exhibit at the Getty Research Institute  You can also find more information about the series at Gigi Pandian's website. I'll be watching closely for updates -- the series is being developed for television.

On My Needles and Q-Snaps

It looks like I'm spending January finishing things that maybe I could have or should have finished in December. I don't regret any of the last minute projects that I started instead, but it's leaving me with things that don't feel like they should count at 2019 finishes and weren't done to count as 2018 finishes...and that's really a ridiculous thing to worry about. 

The upcoming week is going to be hectic, so I'm not making a list. Maybe I'll finish the blue socks and the orange shawl because those are mindless knitting and I foresee plenty of time for that. 

Open a New Box (Daily)

This one was a kit I found at Goodwill the Halloween before last while the boys were looking for costumes. It didn't have a picture, but through the clear plastic I could see a packet of JABC buttons and those aren't cheap. I also don't use buttons often, but let's not quibble about silly things!  (For anyone who's curious, the buttons and chart are selling brand new for $15.92.)

As soon as I searched the pattern name online and saw that it was a box of crayons, I was pretty sure I wanted to stitch it. Then I saw the shop model up at Acorns and Threads and I absolutely knew. My purchase came with linen and all of the over-dyed flosses. Someone had stitched the tip of the blue crayon and I spent some time deciding whether or not to pick it out. In a perfect world, I want all the stitches to be mine (or something a friend did as part of a collaboration, or a vintage find, or who knows what else) but I worried  that the floss might leave color on the fabric underneath.

What I didn't do was double check my mystery stitcher's work. Turns out she made a mistake and I positioned my stitches based on her stitches....then made a ton of mistakes that were completely and totally my own. Happily, this isn't the sort of project that demands perfection and I was just trying to get the hang of stitching linen again.

The buttons must have slipped out of my project bag because they're not here right now. That's okay because I think I'm going to eventually stitch this piece into a bag for future projects. When the buttons turn up, I'll either add them to my stash or pass them along to another stitcher.

Inexpensive Framing?

I don't know if these frames will fit any of my current projects, but they were dirt cheap at an estate sale. Seventy five cents for the large ones and fifty cents for the medium ones...I paid $2.65 for the entire stack. 

One framed project would make the whole purchase worth it and take a look...

That just may work!

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {1/18/19}

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.

Inlinkz Link Party

{Estate Sale Temptations} Are TV Trays Really Worth That?

The ad said that they didn't think she'd ever thrown anything out. That was definitely an exaggeration, but it was still a fun sale to look through.

There were a couple of pieces of vintage needlepoint. 

I kind of wanted to buy the tomato and cut it open the way Andrea Schewe did a few years back, but my fear of tetanus was stronger than my curiosity. The velvet one looked like it had been made from canning jar rings and metallic trim.

I want one of these milk glass dishes because all of my stitching friends are buying them and putting embroidery scissors through the holes, but I hope if I can hold out until estate sale season this summer I can find a less expensive one. Or a cuter one.

I'm going to regret not buying this for two bucks. How cute would that be to organize fabric scraps in?

These TV trays keep popping up in my life. I have an identical set out in our barn that I was on the verge of throwing out until I saw them on someone else's blog last year. How can the same exact thing look so much cuter when it belongs to someone else? (And how can these things be this expensive? Even if they're half price on Saturday, that still seems like a lot of money for Grandma's old TV trays that no one wanted.)

I bought a stack of nice wooden frames for three dollars that might or might not fit any of my cross stitch projects. And had fun browsing.

A Shawl that Wasn't

I'd been planning this shawl for a decade. I had the perfect yarn picked out, and the pattern, and gorgeous dreams of how it was going to turn out...

That didn't quite happen. A couple of months ago I realized that I could use my seven skeins of Knitpicks Shine instead and I cast on and formed new gorgeous visions of the shawl I was knitting... and four skeins in something went badly wrong. Best guess is that I knit the same row of lace twice, but despite hours of picking back and re-starting that row I could not make it work.

What do you do at that point, when you're probably thirty hours in and can't move forward another stitch? I know knitters who would unravel the entire thing and immediately cast on again. I'm not one of those. I have ripped back shawls, but I draw the line at knitting the same pattern on my second (or third) attempt. Not when I'm this far in and I've done that much lace.

I could have unravelled the yarn and put it back into my stash, but I think that would have made me feel worse than just binding off everything I'd knit before things took a wrong turn. I love the drape and the way that the lace looks. I just wish I'd been able to keep going until I'd used all seven skeins.

At some point, I'll knit the full shawl as planned. Just not right now.

Still Learning to Use My Pressure Cooker

Since my last post, I've used the pressure cooker to make kidney beans, French dip sandwiches, banana French toast, unstuffed cabbage rolls, and chicken wings. Five recipes in twelve days isn't bad at all! And while I'm searching Pinterest to find out what I want to make, I'm finding things to do on the stove top or in the crock pot. (Yes, I know that the multi cooker also works as a slow cooker, but that afternoon it was easier to just stick with what I knew how to do.)

One lesson I'm learning from all of this is that I need to have a backup plan and be ready to try again. The beans were just on the edge of undercooked. If I'd brought the pot back up to pressure and cooked them just a little bit longer, dinner would have been better. Also, until I learn what I'm doing, I need to use it on nights that dinner can be a bit late. Hubby wound up eating a last minute sandwich while I added time to the chicken wings. He did get some before leaving for work that night, but I cut it way too close on that one.

Now that I've found it, I'm planning on following this step by step list from hip pressure cooking. I won't try all of the recipes, but at least I can read about the techniques and learn which buttons to push. I've got the "cook on high pressure" thing down, but there are other features to learn.

It really surprises me how angry many women in the online forums are at these machines. It's not the Instant Pot's fault that someone didn't like her spaghetti and had to order pizza. I'm wondering how bad the results had to be that it truly wasn't edible -- as awful at cooking as I sometimes am, we've almost never had a night that we couldn't/wouldn't eat dinner. There have been plenty of nights that dinner kind of sucked, but that's life.

My Days are Full of Yarn

Sometimes that's less fun than it might sound. I didn't get to the laundromat early enough on Saturday so I had to camp out and wait for a big machine to open up but that meant I made some progress on the new shawl and read a few chapters of the new book in Gigi Pandian's Accidental Alchemist series. And now we've got clean towels and socks. As much as I don't love the laundromat, getting everything washed in one thirty minute session isn't a bad thing. 

I'm still keeping my plans tentative as the bug works its way through the house, but so far so good. I'll get it or I won't and there's nothing coming up in my life that can't be rescheduled if I need to.

To Do This Week

-- set up sewing machine for filming new tutorial
-- wind second skein of yarn for January socks
-- finish Open a New Box Daily
-- make that cheesecake in the pressure cooker

I'm Going to Start Stitching on Sanctuary

After lots and lots of winding on Saturday night, all of my floss is bobbinated and in numerical order in a brand new project box. At least I think it is -- I didn't check the skeins against the chart, but if a color or two is missing I'll have them other places in my stash. Pulling this one out makes more sense than starting something else from scratch and I really want to work on more full coverage pieces.  

I know I was working on Sanctuary when I started the blog fifteen years ago, but I can't remember actually ever stitching on it. I've got a vague image in my mind of it on a scroll frame, and the way the top edge of the fabric is crimped confirms that.  Did I pack it away with the rest of my stitching, or had I already set it aside because something had gone wrong? The fabric is gridded and the gates will be easy enough to find on the chart, so I guess I'm going to find out soon. 

Erica Wilson's Children's World Flip Thru

I've been at the thrift shop again, leafing through old needlework books. There are neat projects hidden behind some of these dated covers, but I still didn't expect what I found in Erica Wilson's Children's World.

Does this book look like it would have a latch hook Fozzie Bear rug? Or a three dimensional wall hanging including most of the Muppets?

I was a bit less surprised by all of the Beatrix Potter crewel, which I'm honestly more likely to actually make for myself. This was three dollars well spent, even if the directions for the projects are extremely brief and vague.

You can see me flip through the entire book here --

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {1/11/19}

I'm so sorry that the linky party wasn't working last week. InLinkz made some changes to their site, which I ignored until the last possible moment. No, that wasn't the best plan, but I had a lot of other things on my plate. The link up should be working when this post goes live, but if you have a quilt to link and it doesn't work out, please let me know in a comment so that I can figure out where to go from here.

I really do plan to start making baby quilts again soon, and to have new tutorials for you.  I appreciate everyone who's stuck with me since I started this linky party back in 2013.

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.

Inlinkz Link Party

{I've Been Reading} Catch Me if Yukon

Catch Me if Yukon by Maddy Hunter

Emily and her tour group of travelling seniors are touring Alaska and, as always, they're in a heated competition to see who can post the most viral photo online. The twist is that this time one of them  snaps an accidental picture of what appears to be Bigfoot and it does draw media attention, much to the dismay of the other group members. Not that Emily has a lot of time to deal with that -- as usual with one of her tours, there's been a fatality and the local authorities are involved.

This may be my favorite so far in the Passport to Peril series. The mystery is complex and intriguing. Emily's husband, Etienne, is travelling with her and the chemistry between the two of them is always wonderful. Jackie is back in Iowa, leading her own tour group and if you've read other books in the series you can probably imagine how that's going.



An Anonymous Girl by Green Hendricks and Sarah Pekanen

When she finds out about a study on ethics and morality, Jess is eager to take part. It means misrepresenting herself a bit, but she could definitely use an extra five hundred dollars and all she has to do is answer a few questions on a computer.

The  first part of the book pulled me in fast.  I found myself answering the questions in my own head as I read Jess's answers. Then the pace shifted. This one wasn't quite as entertaining as The Wife Between Us, the previous book by these authors, but it was still a suspenseful read as I watched to see how much Jess was willing to do to remain part of the survey.

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{Tutorial} Mason Jar Needle Minders

Needle minders have to be one of the best accessories that cross stitchers have come up with. Two strong magnets hold the needleminder to your project and it provides you with a secure place to rest your needle while you're cutting a new length of thread or taking a break from stitching.

They're cute and fun to collect and you can make your own with just a little bit of effort and a few supplies. I'm seeing potential needle minders everywhere and these mason jar stickers from the Dollar Tree practically jumped off the shelf at me.

I already had everything on hand because I've been picking up cute little things with the intention of making them into needle minders. You can get the glue, called E6000, at Joann's or Hobby Lobby with a coupon. Joann's doesn't carry the magnets you need, but you can find them at Hobby Lobby or on Amazon.

To see how I reinforced the stickers to make them more suitable for use as needle minders, check out the short video that I put together.

Trying to Avoid the Plague

My plans for the upcoming week are going to be extremely tentative. Hubby is on his third day sick in bed and no one else is showing symptoms yet. Barring an unexpected miracle, this might get much worse before it gets better. 

I got a lot done over the weekend, but if I catch his plague it's definitely going to slow me down.

-- bobbinate floss for Sanctuary
-- start new sampler with the Sullivan's floss
-- cast on a new shawl for mindless knitting

Stitching on Linen Again

I used to stitch on linen, but in the fifteen years since I packed up my cross stitching, my eyes have not improved. Even back then, linen wasn't particularly easy for me. 

The plan was to start stitching this project up at Acorns and Threads where the lighting is much better than the lighting at home. I can stitch on aida there without taking off my glasses and holding my project right up to my face.

The tip of the blue crayon was already stitched, because this is a thrifted kit. I wanted to pick it out so that the entire piece would be my own stitching, but didn't know if I'd have enough thread to redo it and I also worried that the overdyed thread might have stained the linen. What I just realized that I didn't do was count the previous owner's stitches to make sure they were correct.  Ooops! I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me.

Turns out this wasn't the best linen to start with. I figured that since it was a ninety-nine cent thrift store kit and an easy pattern it was a good candidate, but the weave is uneven and loose and not at all easy for me to stitch on. (If you've got better eyes or more patience than I have, I'm jealous!)

Not Quite an Instant Pot, but Close Enough

I've been wanting an Instant Pot. A few years back, I mentioned it to my husband and he reminded me that we already have several pressure cookers I don't use. Those are his toys, not mine.

 Something must have changed, because for Christmas he ordered me a Zavor LUX LCD multi-cooker. Its not an Instant Pot, but his research convinced him that it was a better option. I don't know why. I just want to be able to dry beans and make a roast in a hurry and make a cheesecake. This will do all of that, plus a bunch of other things, so I'm happy.

In the week since Fedex  abandoned the box on my doorstep, I've used it to cook a batch of rice and to cook dry beans that I then used in taco soup. Next on my list of things to try are baked apples and French dip sandwiches.  I used the Kohl's Cash that we got when we purchased the cooker to buy a bundt pan and a spring form cake pan, which increases my options even more.

The only thing I don't love is that I can't find an online forum  or any videos about this particular multi-cooker. I want someone to hold my hand and show me which buttons to push. Do any of you have a Zavor brand multi-cooker? Or, regardless of what brand you own, do you have a recipe or technique I should try? 

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {1/4/19}

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.

Inlinkz Link Party

{I've Been Reading} The New Maizie Albright Book

NC-17 by Larissa Reinhart

I waited what felt like forever for this book to come out, then life got busy and it took me almost a month to find time to read it and I loved every page...and now I'm back to waiting impatiently for the next book to come out.  I can't tell you what I loved most about the book without spoiling the plot. It has almost all of the things I loved about the previous books (and the one that's missing is missing for a good reason) and it's also got teenage Youtubers hunting for Bigfoot and their missing friend and a slightly sinister wellness retreat with way too much barbed wire around the garden. Poor Mazie is not doing well at all, but she's trying her absolute best to solve two different cases and deal with her difficult mother and not violate the terms of her probation.




How to Knit a Murder by Sally Goldenbaum

All the Seaside Knitters really know about Rose Chopra is that she entered the yarn shop at the right time to save the inventory from a broken pipe. She's silent about her past, but she's a competent handy woman  and they all like her. Even when a member's husband turns up dead at a house Rose was doing repairs to, they want to trust their new friend.

I didn't realize when I picked this one to read that it's the thirteenth book in the series, but I wasn't left wondering what was going on between the characters. Even though there's obviously backstory involving the relationships and details I didn't know, I was able to thoroughly enjoy the mystery without wondering about what I'd missed in the previous books. There isn't a whole lot of knitting on the pages, but the details of the coastal town made reading it a vicarious beach trip. I'll be looking for the earlier books in this series once I've pared down my to-be-read list a bit.

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review  copy of How to Knit a Murder. I bought NC-17. 

Safely in My Comfort Zone

Looking back, it turns out that I spent 2018 hiding out in my comfort zone.

I didn't get the sewing machine fixed, mainly out of fear that I could spend the money and still be stuck right where I am right now. I didn't pull out one of the vintage machines and figure it out. There was barely any sewing.

My socks were all stockinette and k2p2 rib, except for one pair which barely counts and Finding the Yellow Brick Road, which I've been avoiding as much as humanly possible. Those closed cables aren't even hard, they're just fiddly.

I got more adventurous with the shawls and I successfully cross-stitched a couple of things without gridding my fabric first, but basically I spent 2018 doing lots of things I'd done before. Without realizing that I wasn't trying anything new or different.

So there's my goal  for 2019! And I've already started in on something very new and different and maybe a little bit intimidating. I'll tell you about that soon.

What are you working on in 2019?

{Thrift Shop Temptations} The Organ

I want it. There are probably dozens of legitimate reasons why I can't have it (including the great big red SOLD tag) but I can still want it. My husband was with me and I think he wanted it, too. 

I didn't want this little stitched piece, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that it's absolutely perfect. The stitching couldn't be more simple, but it works so well with that frame.

I like Holly Hobby, too, but I've got one just like her that my mother stitched when I was little. Someone else can love this one.