Category Archives: knitting

Hey, are you still out there?

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Hello, yeah, it’s been awhile.

Not much, how ’bout you?*

We’re into Day Five of rainy weather. If you’re in the Mid-Atlantic area of the USA, you probably have the same weather. We had a bit of a reprieve yesterday with just dampness but the clouds just couldn’t hold it in all day and night. At least we don’t have to water the vegetables and flowers! How did Noah do it with forty days and nights of rain?

You’re not here for a weather report but where to start?

Let’s begin with January.

Last year ended and this year started with cold/flu/the bat-poop virus. After ten days of dealing with it, I finally got in to see the doctor. He wasn’t sure what I had but started me on the road to recovery with medicine. I lost eight pounds when everyone else was gaining from all the holiday goodies. I lost my sense of taste, so why eat when I couldn’t taste anything?

I finished a sweater for Pepper with odds and ends of acrylic yarn. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft and it is super, super soft and stretchy. I knit it twice as it kept growing and growing. Ripped it out and got a better fit the second time. She still hates anything that goes over her head but we managed.

Coats from old/new quilts has been a “thing” for a few winters. I bought a pattern (from See Kate Sew) to make one and finally decided to give it a try using one my my M-I-L’s quilts. When she died, Mr. Aitch and his two brothers found her quilt stash and started tossing them into three piles without looking at any of them. Ten made it to our house. Some beautiful, some not so much. I used a not-so-much pretty quilt to test out the pattern.

I made the large and it fit perfectly!

Even though it is not much to look at, I did manage to match the seams and finish it, though these pictures are not of the completed coat. I used snaps for closures but one kept falling off so I made a buttonhole and sewed on a button. It’s warm enough to take Pepper outside. That’s about as far as I’ll go in wearing it.

With that success, I was ready to make the “real” coat to actually wear in public!

Shannon Fraser Designs

My first idea was a total patchwork quilted coat. After I got the back pieced and quilted, I threw that idea out the window. The back was perfect for the patchwork and the rest would be a solid. Red.

See my inspiration to the right.

iPad Aunt loved reds and purples. I used fabric scraps from her, my mother-in-law, my BFF, and me. Plus I had enough solid red for the front and sleeves. I wanted the inside to look just as nice so I pieced one large quilt block from some of the reds and grey from my stash for the back panel.

I quilted each piece before assembling it all together.

I LOVE it! I get lots of compliments on the coat.

  • Fabric from stash = $0
  • Batting, leftover from another quilt = $0
  • Buttons, from a top I made in college = $0
  • Thread from stash = $0
  • TOTAL COST : FREE (except for my time and electricity)

I will definitely make another one of these coats…Not sure if I will use pre-quilted fabric, a quilt, or start from scratch.

On another note – Today is Memorial Day in the US. A day we honor and remember our fallen soldiers. We must remember that our freedoms are not free. They were bought with people’s lives. Thank you and God Bless America! 🇺🇸🪦

Patti nona

*England Dan and John Ford Coley

four things| thirty-eight

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I spent last weekend cleaning for our book club meeting on Monday at my house. As it turned out the meeting was postponed until this coming Monday. With only four of us in the club and two members not able to attend, it just seemed like a good idea to reschedule. So the house is clean except for the usual touch-ups and I can do other things.

Like get a post ready.

what I’m reading

I just finished rereading The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan. When I say I reread it, I read it three weeks ago and had to reread it to refresh my memory. I usually take notes when reading for book club and I did until I got towards the end and was too interested in the story that I just read the book. Notes be damned!

The book is written as letters or journal entries by the various characters. Not every character but enough to know most of the people in the town of Chilbury. The story takes place from March to September 1940 in Chilbury England during WWII. The Vicar decides to disband the church choir as most of the men are away for the war and you can’t have a choir without men. The women decide to ignore this and continue singing with a new director who teaches music at a local college.

I remember hearing stories of how people had to sacrifice during that time and it amazes me how we have gotten so far from the “make do and mend” lifestyle to the throw-away society we have become.

what I’m watching

Mr. Aitch and I watched Soylent Green this week. The movie was made in 1973 and showed how the United States evolved by 2022. Most of the technology was the same as in the 70s, no cell phones, dinky showerheads, no new clothing fashions.

Of course, how could you go wrong with actors Charlton Heston, Edgar G. Robinson, and Chuck Connors?

what I’m loving

Last month we visited my brother, his wife, and my sister at his lake cottage. I took some rocks, paints, and brushes. The three of us women spent one evening painting rocks. My sister is so talented!

She continued her rock painting adventures at home and left this one in the parking lot this week while she was meeting a friend for lunch. When she returned to her car, the rock was gone. She was very excited to have brightened someone’s day.

what I’m doing

Now that Fall is here and the temperatures have gone down, I needed to build up my mini pumpkin bread stash in the freezer. I baked six mini loaves, wrapped then individually and froze five of them. I had to sample one! I can grab one and quickly thaw it to have with breakfast or a snack during the winter.

Next week is Thanksgiving in the USA. Enjoy your week!

four things | thirty-seven

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I’m still adjusting to the time change. Here in the United States, we turn our clocks back an hour in early November and then turn them forward again on hour in the spring. I know lots of other countries do this, too.

“Gaining” an hour of sleep the first night is wonderful. But It’s dark outside by 5:00 in the evening. I’m so ready to abandon this policy. How about you?

what I’m reading

I’m not exactly “reading” books this week but rather listening to some. Our local library participates with Blackstone Unlimited and has free audio books available. I started a new-to-me series “The Needlecraft Mystery” by Monica Ferris. The first book is Crewel World which is the name of a store where knitting supplies as well as crewel, needlepoint, cross-stitch, and other fiber arts are offered. It’s great to hear about the projects the staff and customers are working on. I would consider this a cozy mystery which is an easy read.

what I’m watching

Nothing different than our usual shows.

what I’m loving

Well, Mr. Aitch is loving his new 1898 hat. And just as predicted, I found the one that was misplaced. It was in plain sight…as usual. This new hat is a better fit and super warm.

I held DK and fingering weight yarns together to get a worsted weight. I like the marled look of the two blues. I thought a stripe would make it more interesting. Since I was playing yarn chicken with the darker blue, the stripe allowed me to stretch that color.

There is a front and back to the hat and it’s difficult to see that before putting it on. I wove some of the white yarn inside the back to make it easier to get it on right the first time.

what I’m working on

I started knitting this Oat Couture Village Vest for me with yarn I frogged from another project. This pattern was released in 1996 and I knit it way back in 2002. I like it because it buttons rather than pulls over my head.

After knitting about 5-6 inches of the back, I realized I was knitting the wrong size. Mr. Aitch helped me rip it out and I’ve started over. The Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Papaya Heather color isn’t quite that intense.

Pepper decided to help herself with a ball of Red Heart Sparkle yarn she found. I got it away from her but untangling it will be a project for daylight hours.

Enjoy your week.