Weekend Photos, finally!

                                         Lucky Dog, chief of security!

                                         Some of the alpacas we saw.

Alpaca Watching

This weekend, my daughter and I went up on the mountain, to Virginia, to see the new baby alpacas (crias), and to visit the fabric shop where we used to spend so much time. It was a very pleasant day, and it felt like you could almost touch the clouds. One certainly does feel closer to God up on the mountain! We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant at the Hillsville exit of I-77. After returning to my house, we decided I'd spend the rest of the weekend at her house, about an hour's ride from here. It is always a pleasure to spend some time with her "critters", and her dog , Lucky, always does the "twist" when she sees me!! It is so funny to see.  Her illusive cats are impossible to photograph.  In the middle of the night (about 3am) Lucky heard something outside and began her "Hound-Dog"  barking. Next morning, upon examination of the flower bed out front, it appeared that a deer must have come up to the house and Lucky knew about it. I had a nice time, and I always enjoy cooking in her kitchen (we made lamb stew), things always taste better away from home, don't you think? The Fall colors are not very brilliant this year, but nice anyway.  I have tried repeatedly to add two photos to this post, but blogger won't cooperate!!  Very frustrating!!  I'll try again later. Have a great week!  God Bless!!

New Hexie Books!

Lately I have been obsessed with hexagons!! I have loved the hexagon shape since I began making hexagon quilts in the late 1990's. I've made SEVERAL, believe me. There is something about the shape itself, about the way they fit together, just trying to get along. There are several ways to put them together, and there seems to be no end to the new ideas these days (the Hexagon Star Rose in the last post being the latest). I highly recommend both the books shown above, both arrived this week from Amazon.com .The Outside the Box book refers back to the Kansas City Star patterns from the 1930's to 40's. These old patterns never really grow old, eh? The Pieced Hexie book has lots of new and unique ideas for pieced hexagons.  Anyone else out there Hexie-crazy?  God Bless!

Penny's Kite

AKA, Hexagon Rose or Star. It is my current fascination! I ordered the pattern from ComeQuiltWithMe.com and really didn't know what to expect. I found a tutorial of this block on the internet, but preferred a plastic template. I still prefer cutting fabric with scissors, and miss the old quilting magazines that gave templates, rather than rotary cutter instructions. The pattern that came in is a one-piece kite shape. The block turned out 22 inches across. I sure won't need many of those if I decide to make a quilt! I pieced this block by machine, and it really didn't take any time at all.  I have a LONG HISTORY of making hexagon quilts by hand. This one is just the latest, only I'm doing this one by machine! Now to decide whether to make all the blocks alike, or use different fabrics and colors for a "scrappy" look. I'll sit on that one for awhile. God Bless!

Earl in the wool!

I try to spin some every Sunday evening. Just a long-time habit, I guess. Well, recently I opened a new bag of some wool and mohair mixed roving to spin. It is tricky stuff....full of veg. matter and sand spurs!! Those of you who have spent any time in South Florida know what those cussed sand spurs are....OUCH! Well, Earl Grey discovered the open bag and "slithered" inside. At first, only his tail was showing, so cute! When I finished, an hour or so later, he was still in the bag (even though I checked to see if he had enough air quite often), and I had to lift him out. He protested! I use "Irish Spring" soap bars to fool bugs. Who knows, maybe he likes the smell of the soap, maybe he's just a Spinner's Cat.  It's nice to have a cat that shares my hobby. My son took the photo...Earl is "his cat".  God Bless!

Dr. Watson's Aran

Every year about this time, I start an Aran type sweater for someone's Birthday. This year I had a lot of searching to do for a new and interesting pattern. While on Ravelry, researching teapot cosy patterns, I found reference to the "Dr. Watson Cabled Crew Neck" sweater, and I think it is perfect!! Not too hard, but interesting to work on. I pick it up every time I sit down in my rocker. The yarn is "vintage" Germantown wool, by Brunswick Yarns, long since out of business. The pattern is chevrons (barely visable in this photo) in between cables. You may click on the photo to see better detail.  The original sweater, inspired by a PBS program called "Sherlock", which I'm not familiar with, is done with off-white wool. I'm using what I had. Oh yes, I should not forget to say that the pattern was written by Trudi Brown & Ashley Harp. It was a freebie on Ravelry.com.  We have had gobs and gobs of rain from hurricane Isaac and I have had a lot of knitting time because of the rain! It has been fun to watch DVD's of "Rosemary and Thyme" while knitting. It has been hot out again, and humid enough to make it miserable & hard to breathe (yuck). Hoping Fall will be here soon, I am so looking forward to it this year!!  God Bless! 

September First

Yesterday, my daughter and my son and I went to the big city (Winston-Salem). My daughter thought it was high time for an early Fall outing! We were downtown, in the Arts District, and were planning to eat at a restaurant called Sweet Potatoes, when we happened to see a small store that specialized in handmade African items. The lady had some beautiful imported goods and some clothing she had made herself. (All in support of African women and children on Kenya.) My daughter bought a skirt, and also bought me this piece of fabric. It is supposed to be cut and sewed into a shirt, but it is BIG. My son said that it looks big enough to be a quilt. Hmmmmmm......   Sounds 'bout right to me! Shizuku-Chan is checking it out, as is normal for her when there is something new in the household. You can see parts of Earl Grey on the entertainment center (top right, top photo). Cats rule, don't cha know?

It's a finish!

I first showed the beginnings of this oval rug last May. (Yikes, it's been a year ago!!) I put it away over the summer and kind of forgot about it, but a couple of blogs that I follow have mentioned Toothbrush Rugs lately, and I found it & began working on it again. It turned out 18" by 30" and I am pleased with the way it looks. I have made several rugs over the past 10 or so years, but this time I used "clothesline" as the filler. It is cotton and I would never use it as a clothesline, but it did okay as the filler, instead of another strand of the 2" strips I used. That way, I could make the rug bigger!  I must say that it did make the rug stiffer and heavier, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Time will tell as to whether it wears better, and one drawback is that you can see the clothesline thru the rug, if you really look for it!

It is cooler here now, and nights are quite comfortable also. Fall is on it's way, and I am very happy about that. When this North Carolina heat and humidity would get too much for me, I would let my mind take me to a place on Lake Huron, watching the 1000 footer's (cargo ships). They are so beautiful as they silently go by, trying to reach their destinations. Keeping busy...looking forward to the leaf change. God Bless!