Thursday, October 27, 2011

Need Advice

I finished stitching my HOE Stitcher's Choice ornament and will finish it today. I also finished (finally) the stitching of Boo Jack.

Yesterday I received a bunch of stash fabric in different counts and colors from Jennifer at Needlework Plus.

I haven't decided upon a chart for the HOE Stitcher's Box yet. I bought a Mill Hill kit but now think that it will not meet the HOE guidelines as it is over 50% beaded, and it is stitched on perforated paper, not fabric.  I wanted to try something different and special for this box, but now I'm thinking maybe I need to get a new chart. Opinions?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

On A Rainy Day

It's a rainy autumn day here. I am almost finished with my HOE Stitcher's Choice Xmas Ornament, but I can't show pictures of it.

My materials for the HOE Xmas Box Exchange are on their way from a supplier. I need to go to Michael's this weekend and buy a box. I'd like to buy some Halloween and Christmas buttons as well, if they are not already sold out. It's been my experience that the store only stocks a certain amount and does not reorder them.

After I finish the Xmas ornie today, I plan to start an LK "Spooky Time." I stitched one for an exchange before, but not for myself.

I still need to buy some more candy before Sunday, our local trick-or-treat day. I'm only buying chocolates that I like, just in case it does not all get given out and I am stuck with finishing it off.

I purchased two books on sale from Crafter's Choice. One is a quilting book by Edyta Sitar: "Friendship Triangles," and the other is "Two-at-a-Time Toe-Up Socks," by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.


I want to make a book cover and a tote bag right away. I have lots of fabric stashed away and these two projects only require quilt batting, which I have. I don't have 100% cotton Aurifil thread, and need to see from where I can get it. I just love the clear directions and layout of Edyta's book.

I'm not starting socks until after I finish some hand knit fingerless mitts and other knitted projects.  I am behind on Christmas gift projects and need to make a detailed daily project list, so that I work some on each gift every day, or alternate days.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Give Thanks Finished

I finished "Give Thanks," even though I've been suffering from a bad cold all weekend. Now I need to iron it and find a nice frame.
a freebie from Heartsring Samplery on 28ct. Lugana

This is the first large-count piece that I've done in quite a while. I'm happy with it and want to display it for Thanksgiving. I changed some of the colors. I like it so much that I might do one more and give it to a friend.

My Vacation Wrap-Up

Well, I was so invigorated and inspired by my brief vacation in Oregon!

My son and I walked part of the trail along the Willamette in Skinner's Butte Park. It was wonderful to see so many people of all ages walking, jogging, biking, and enjoying the outdoors. I know that Eugene is a college town, but half of the people I did not look to be traditional student age. When I walk here at home, I am the only one, except during the hours that people walk their child to the school (and they are mostly going from the car to the school).

We visited the Perkins Peninsula Park bordering the Fern Ridge Reservoir.  I was happy to see a family of quail, as well as two white egrets (or herons) in the marshy area before we reached the park. I think I may have even spotted a loon swimming. It was cold and we were the only visitors, but the lake was beautiful.

One day we traveled east into the mountains to the Blue Lake Reservoir, only to find that it had been nearly all drained since it was after Labor Day. On the way home, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at a park on the bank of the beautiful McKenzie River.

We visited Dorris Ranch and were fortunate to see the workers harvesting the hazelnuts (filberts). I love hazelnuts in any form, especially mixed in chocolates, but visitors were not allowed to pick up even a single nut. There was no gift shop on the premises but we purchased some hazelnuts from another local grower at the Eugene Farmer's Market. We enjoyed the brief sunshine and the sight of the thousands of hazelnuts under the trees and in crates.

Across the street from the Eugene Farmer's Market was the Eugene Saturday Market. Although the sky was completely overcast and the air was chill, everyone was having a good time. I watched the performance of a father & daughter violin duo and threw a dollar into the little girl's case. I purchased a gorgeous pair of delicate ss & crystal earrings by Nome May for my daughter, and a hand thrown ceramic rice bowl from Bluff Cove Pottery for her S/O.

No trip to Eugene would be complete without a trip to Sweet Life Patisserie! He got a slice of decadent chocolate cake, and I chose the chocolate silk cake. We shared 1/2 and 1/2 so we got to taste both. Mine turned out to be a silken tofu cake on a crust. The chocolate overpowered the tofu, but I liked his regular (vegan) chocolate cake better. Alas, there was no carrot cake. The selections change, and it was supercrowded when we went on a Friday evening.

And I have to praise Laughing Planet burritos! They were delicious.

We visited the U of O's Jacobs Gallery at the Hult Center, where we saw the incredible photography of Katsui Shibata and the finely crafted woven sculptures of Sally Metcalf. I saw a hand-carved wooden log bench that was inlaid with smooth,black, round (ocean or river?) rocks. I've seen a lot of gallery furniture, but this topped them all. It was a nature lover's dream of a bench! 

We also visited the U of O's Museum of Natural History where I was happy to view the Susan Pavel exhibit of Salish weaving (I am a former weaver). The museum had a lot of exhibits on the native peoples of Oregon, and the building itself is constructed of huge logs and adorned with spirit carvings.

Last but not least, I became a member of REI and got some warm wool-blend REI socks.

I did not bring my heavy dinosaur of a camera, and son took the pictures. He is supposed to send them to me on a flash drive, so I hope to update this in the future.

I feel so fortunate to have seen so much of beautiful Oregon! As my son may be moving to another state next year, I probably won't get to visit there again. I encourage anyone with the time and means to travel to Oregon and enjoy its natural beauty.

Oh, and my airline ticket was free--it was a Chase bank promotion that I signed up for two years ago!  I had to take three flights there and three flights back, but I did it, sometimes with only 15 minutes to spare before boarding.


The strangest thing about my trip was that I only saw one deer, although we traveled for miles through the countryside and the wilderness. I guess the cougars keep them in check, unlike here, where they are as prolific as rats.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Oregon Vacation

I'm on vacation in beautiful Eugene, Oregon!

I'm visiting my son. Yesterday we went to Mt. Angel Abbey  and to Silver Falls State Park. We lunched at a little reservoir before seeing the falls. We were lucky to get a mostly sunny day. We hiked under the falls and sat a few minutes. There was a good stream of water rushing over and the falls were loud.

I flew here via DC and San Francisco. On the flight up from SFO I saw a wind farm, Mt. Lassen, Shasta Lake and the huge dam, and Mt. Shasta. I was disappointed not to see Crater Lake, but there were too many clouds obscuring the view over Oregon. I might have caught a glimpse of it , but not sure. 
I brought my knitting but so far haven't done any.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Petal Shawlette

I ordered some Fleece Artist yarn from Simply Socks Yarn Company because I want to make three of these Petal Shawlettes, from the book "One Skein Wonders." The one pictured is in color "Hercules."

I chose Cosmic Dawn, Blackberry, and Victoria. One will be for me and two will be Christmas gifts. This book is so awesome!

Give Thanks Progress


I made a mistake and had to frog out the entire bottom pumpkin border. Thjis is my progress as of today. I like these colors (I chose them).

Happy stitching!

Fair & Square Round 26


These are the squares that I received yesterday from Jill F. in the Fair & Square Round 26 exchange. Aren't they pretty?

It's JBW's "French Country Apple," which I have now removed from my wish list.

Happy stitching!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Awesome Knitting Needle Giveaway!

Knitpurlgirl is holding a wonderful giveaway for a set of beautiful knitting needles.

You have through 10/12 to enter. It seems as though twice as many people want knitting needles over crochet hooks. That's odd to me, because most people around here only know how to crochet. I think online yarn enthusiasts might have a different ratio.

Crochet Hook Giveaway

There's a great giveaway going on by Knitpurlgirl.

You have through 10/13 to enter. The prize is a whole set of new crochet hooks.

Special Election Tuesday


Yes, I voted in West Virginia's special election for governor. The winner will serve until January 2013, when the regular 2012 election winners take office.

I received the Lizzie Kate chart that I won from Peggy's blog giveaway.

To date, I have entered over thirty blog giveaways and won three times. I just received word that I won a
"Potted Pleasures" cross stitch kit from Marita.

Well, the temperature is supposed to get back up into the 60s but there is no sign of the sun as yet.

Happy stitching!