TUSAL: July 2011, Second of Two

Greetings, everyone, from the last day of July, 2011.  My goodness, how time has flown by!

I did a bit of research and found that the second new moon in a given month is referred to as either a black moon (according to this article) or a dark moon.  This list of moon folklore said that two new moons in one month predicted a month's bad weather.  Taken along with another tidbit from the same list (a new moon on a Saturday (as it was yesterday) supposedly brings 20 days of wind and rain) and we should be in for some lousy weather.  Believe if you wish, but I don't think that will be the case.

What are all the bits of colored fluffiness?

I've been a knittin' fool this month and the little bits of color are the trimming from the pom-pom that went on the hat I knitted.  Yes, you read that right: I knitted a hat!  And a scarf to go with it.  I've learned to knit in the round on cables and also on double pointed needles.  Both of those were an interesting experience.  The double pointed needles were difficult to maneuver when completing the crown of the hat.  I'm not sure I want to go through that again.  Perhaps it would be easier with smaller needles.  I used Size 10us.

The original pattern for the scarf called for three skeins and for it to be 65 inches long.  Well, I used all three skeins and mine turned out to be 78 inches (2 m) long.  It's alright, though, since I'm tall and like having extra length to wrap around the neck and over the face, if necessary.

The bright sunshine really brings out the beautiful colors in the yarn.  (It's Lion Brand Amazing yarn in colorway Mauna Loa.)  Hard to believe I'm taking pictures of knitwear when it's 100 degrees outside.  Ugh.  C'mon winter!

Ready for cold weather!

This is Ginger.  She's been a member of my feral cat colony for three years now.  Ginger showed up when she was just a tiny kitten, but already too wild to tame.  She has been spayed, though, so she's not adding to the cat population.  This was such a great picture of her, I just had to share it.

Here's Jack on the run.  (He really does have all four legs.)  And Bob looking a bit grumpy.  Pardon his rumpled fur but he got a bath on Friday and can't do a thing with it.

Nikki and the Binder, and a New Kitty

I got email from a nice lady named Nikki who actually made a binder from my tutorial.  This gave me a big happy!  And she sent pictures, too!

I gave this to my 14 year old son for his birthday. He is an aspiring writer, and puts all his works in the binder.  He loves it. 

I sew quite a bit, and I was asked to visit my daughter’s sewing class (high school) with some of my projects.  I brought the cover, and the teacher liked it so much she asked me for the website, and of course I obliged her.  She is considering using your tutorial for one of her class projects next fall, I believe. 

Doesn't that look like a great fabric for a teenager?  How nice to hear that a teacher thinks my tutorial is worth using! Hope I didn't do anything wrong in there.  Please, Mrs. Davis, I'd love to see pictures when your class completes their projects!

In early to mid-June we noticed a very vocal, little black cat hanging around the house.  He responded to "kitty, kitty, kitty" by meowing loud and often.  He acted afraid and didn't want to come close, but would run up on the porch and furiously nom the kitten chow left there for the ferals.  Eventually, he did warm up to us and started flopping over for belly rubs.  Upon closer inspection it was apparent that this was a young cat (about 7 months) who still had all his equipment.  He would often show up with cobwebs on his face so we figured he was living in the neighbor's crawlspace.  After getting to know him for a week and earning his trust, we put him into a cat carrier and took him to the vet so they could run him up on the rack and give him a tune-up and all the shots and neuter him.  We brought him back home to the house and he was happy as could be, even with the doxies and Bob.  Bob, on the other hand wasn't too delighted with the little cat - Jack, as he is called - and stomped around the house complaining loudly to everyone and no one in particular.  It took about a week, but Bob and Jack are now getting along together and Bob's got his sweet disposition back again.

TUSAL: July 2011 - First of two

This month is rather unique in that we will have two new moons in the same month.  When there are two full moons that second is refered to as a blue moon.  Anyone know what you call the second new moon in the same calendar month? (Other than the obvious, "rare".)

Stitching with tiny needles and fibers still doesn't hold any appeal for me right now so there hasn't been much added to my ort jar.  But, unlike the last two months (or so) there actually are some new orts in the jar; they are yarn orts, but orts they be!

I've managed to knit three things.  The first started life as the second incarantion of my learning swatch.  It turns out I was knitting with a twist.  Wish I could remember the actual name of the stitch I was doing, but it wasn't the garter stitch.  Once, that got sorted out, SH showed me how to do decreases and at a good enough time to turn the practice piece into a little buttoned pouch.  The yarn reminded me of water and there was a cute fish button in my stash waiting to be used.  This little pouch will be about the right size to use for credit card, ID and a bit of money to tuck into my pocket.

The next two projects (which were actually finished before I did the finishing on the pouch (confused yet?)) were the ubiquitous knitted wash cloth.  It's a nice learning project for several reasons: (1) you learn yarn over and knit two together; (2) there are plenty of repetitions to reinforce the motor memory; and (3) you've actually got something useful at the end.

The first one had some problems.  I tinked and reknit and tinked some more.  In the end, it was a good learning experience.  The second one had fewer problems and looks better than the first. 

My current project is a scarf; it shouldn't be a big deal and will be completed unless I get bored.  There's a pattern for a matching hat.  I'll believe it when I see it.   Actually, it's kind of exciting learning a new craft.

TUSAL for June



Here it is, my friends, my TUSAL bottle for June.  Not a lot, well, nothing actually, different from last month.  Still in a stitching slump.   :(

Lately, I've been trying knitting when I feel the need to do something with my hands.  Back and forth on the same 20 stitches.  The owner of the LNS showed me this could actually be turned into some thing useful:  Stitch a long-ish narrow piece.  Stitch two short ends together.  Do a running stitch around the top and bottom of the tube.  Gather and sew it shut on both sides.  Ta-da!  A dish scrubbie.

If I get around to makeing one of these I'll post some pictures and label it a tutorial.

Actually Finished Something

This weekend I got to be a Parrotthead for the first time.  One of the friends of my youth came to town and went to the show with me.  A grand time and mucho tequilla was had by all.

This friend is one that I owed a handmade craft some time in 2011, so I fulfilled this promise with a book safe. This Spanish text book was rescued from a by-the-pound bin at a thrift store. The safe compartment was lined with maps taken from an atlas that was rescued from the same situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still haven't gotten the stitching mojo back yet. But I have started something new: knitting. Dear friend SU is teaching me how to knit Continental. I'll pause a momment to let PP recover from this shock. ... So far, my knitting looks a lot like my crocheting: way too tight. Why is my tension so tight when working with yarn but I can do just fine with thread and floss and silk and tiny needles?

TUSAL: May 2011

Here's my TUSAL bottle for May's new moon.  If it look suspiciously like the shot from April, there's a reason.  Due to being very busy at work and allergies and a sinus infect yada yada yada I've been in a crafting slump lately.  Here's hoping this is just a temporary thing and I'll be feeling crafty and productive again in May.

TUSAL: April 2011

A half-gallon size Ball jar stepped up to become the new TUSAL bottle after the minor disaster that claimed the original apothecary jar. This one should be a bit more forgiving if it slips from my hands, but I'd best be quick to get toes out of the way since this jar is rather hefty.

Friend SU had a birthday recently. I made a book safe and a tin and scissor fob set for her. The book safe, at first, didn't go over well; I believe she really would have rather had the single volume from the 1957 edition children's encyclopedia. When I explained the original condition of the book (dirty, sooty, broken spine, pages tearing from spine etc), I think she understood why I did what I did with it. I promise I do not destroy any books of value when I make book safes. SU really loved the repurposed Altoids tin with the cute sheep on the front. The tiny scissors made her happy too since they are too small to use for anything other than snipping yarn or embroidery threads. She said she's infamous for ruining scissors by using them as screwdrivers or cutting up paper or tough fabrics like denim.

TUSAL: March 2011

Looking down on TUSAL for March's new moon.

Lots of orts of all sorts added during February.

Moments later... uh-oh. And, yes. The bottom part landed right side up.

The lid survived but the orts are currently in a one quart zippy bag.

More later. I've got a Randy Rogers Band concert to go to.

TUSAL: February 2011

Greetings. Here we are Groundhog's Day as well as another new moon, which means it's time for another picture for the TUSAL hosted by It'sDaffycat. There is a lot more to show this time than last.



During the last month, I made nine scissor fobs, took a needle work class in Florida and worked on several smalls for a project that's still in the works. In addition to orts from stitching, there's also the label and empty spool from a ball of #12 black perle cotton, an empty spool of Krienik #4 very fine braid, scraps of handmade cording and various and sundry scraps of linens and felts and velvets from finishing projects. Yes, it's been a busy month!



The needlework class I attended is an annual event taught by Susan Greening Davis. The attendees lovingly refer to it as Pirate Camp since it is held in the St. Augustine area - and they've had more than their fair share of pirates in the day. The beaches are beautiful in this area.



I like to make favors for my table-mates and hosts of the class and, this year, decided to make scissor fobs.



A little piece of needle work from JE's late mother inspired the black-on-black stitching on the front. The fabric is 22 count Hardanger stitched with #12 perle cotton.



In keeping with the pirate theme, I found a cute Jolly Roger rubber stamp and used it to make emblossed velvet for the back of the fob.



Joining the two pieces was a bit of a challenge. The velvet was crawly and evil and didn't want to stay put to be sewn together with the stitched piece. There was a lot of cussing involved. I made the tassels from #12 perle cotton, and the cording was made with #5 perle cotton and red #4 Krienik braid.

I'd been to St. Augustine several times but had never visited the lighthouse. Right before taking our afternoon break, one of the ladies at the class asked who was going to be climbing to the top of the lighthouse. At the time I thought to myself, "Not me!" But a while latter, driving down A1A, there was the lighthouse.



I turned off the main road to get some pictures of it and one thing lead to another. Oh, did I mention my mom was with me? Yuppers, she'd come to the stitching class and here we were at the lighthouse.



Now, understand, I'm afraid of heights and Mama had a total hip replacement a year ago last Christmas. Neither of us were great candidates for doing this, but I knew we could. All 219 stairs up to the top.



I kept my eyes on the wall when going up the stairs; the holes made into the stairs offered too much of a view to look down. Mama, on the other hand, was watching the stairs to make sure she didn't make a misstep. We'd rest on the landings, and Mama wanted to quit a few times, but I kept egging her on.



And we made it to the top! It was a glorious view and I wish I'd been able to step away from the safety of the brick wall to look around more, but I was terrified. Going down was a lot faster than going up for Mama. It took me a bit longer because I had a death-grip on wall mounted handrail (with both hands) and had to hand-over-hand my way down - looking at the wall not the steps. I was very happy to reach the bottom but could now brag I'd actually made it to the top. Three cheers for me and Mama!

Pookie had also made the trip, but we left him in Jacksonville with our friends B and TM and their bird, Gus.



Here's a book safe I made for B for her hospitality:



It's the best book safe I've made to date and she appeared to be please by it.



While there, I saw the scissor fob I'd made for her last year. It's a Lori Birmingham design. Don't you love them? They're all so delicate and beautifully feminine



I'll leave you with a shot of the good ship Bob sailing along the carpet.

TUSAL: January 2011

Happy 2011, everyone! Hope all got though it safe and sound and are back in the swing of things.


Along with the new year, we've got a New Moon and that means a TUSAL post. Being so early in the year, I haven't much in the way of orts to show off. The strange picture above is shooting down the apothecary jar that will be my TUSAL container for the year. Yes, that's three waste knots and three pieces of #12 perle cotton. Wooo! What a stitching session that was. :P

Here's a more recognizable shot of the jar.

And a close-up pointing out the tiny bits.

Here are the 2010 TUSAL that I continued to use, though I fell off on posting pictures toward the end of the summer. The 2009 bottle is also in the picture, but that only accounted for May through December, as I started late.

Many, many thanks to Daffycat for continuing the TUSAL project started by Yoyo (who I miss bunches). If you want to join in the 2011 TUSAL with Daffycat click here to sign up on her blog. It really is loads of fun!


I didn't do very much in the way of creations for Christmas this year, and some of what I did managed to get away from me without pictures. Oh, well. The covered matches (there were two additional boxes with different designs that got away sans picture) made a nice gift paired with nice candles.


Friend SU does tiny knitting and has had some problems keeping with her tiny needles, so I made a needle book for her so they wouldn't go astray so easily.

The interior was finished with leftovers from the fabric I used to cover her stitching basket. She really loved this and it made my heart happy to delight her so.


Happy stitching, everyone. I'll leave you with a picture of Bob sleeping. Notice all the paws curled up. Isn't he adorable? Ok, I'm biased.