Five on Friday

Well, since it is obvious that I've neglected this blog for way too long, I'm going to strive to post at least once a week and see how that goes :)

Since last Friday,
1) I've had to put my dear cat Starkitty to sleep. He had been battling diabetes for a long time and had been on insulin for over a year. We had 12 good months with just a few setbacks but he began to decline this month and when he stopped eating and drinking over the weekend, I knew it was time. We spent some time together saying goodbye late Sunday evening and I sent him on to better things on Monday morning. He was and will always be my "heart kitty".

2) I actually embroidered 2 things! Small things .. LOL. One was a small cross that I digitized on a piece of church linen and the other was an apron for our church's cook. I did work on digitizing an applique but could never get it right so a co-worker had to show me how. I learned some new things!

3) I persued a new serving opportunity at church. I can't talk about it at this point because there is still some people I need to discuss it with but I'm excited. I've been praying about it and hope that I'm discerning God's voice correctly. It is still in the very early stages but I'll keep you informed.

4) I found a china pattern I *LOVE* and put it on my Amazon list .. OK kids - have at it! It is totally not something I would have normally picked but I find it so appealing. It is called "Chirp" by Lenox. I have china that I received when I was married but never really have loved it like I do this stuff. And I never have the need for china .. but you know, it is a girl thing :)

5) Lastly, I got to talk to my daughter in Thailand. She had called on my birthday about 2 weeks ago but then she called again to relay her sympathy about loosing Starkitty. It is so good to talk to her and realize that she is OK half way around the world. I am so glad she is going to get to come home for the wedding in October and I'll get to spend some time with her.

OK .. small start to posting :)

till later ~~ Dene

View of a Room

My sewing room just got crowded with the addition of a new machine. I am now the owner of a HandiQuilter 16 with a Pro-Stitcher on the Studio Frame. I only have it set up for 8 feet right now but eventually I'll have to find the room for the last 4 feet of frame.

So here is a peak of my sewing space:

















This is just half of the room - the other half is my office which is too messy to photograph right now. If you need a legend of what is what, click the following picture to embiggen:

















And some detail photos:
This is my new machine - HandiQuilter 16 with Pro-Stitcher computer. Yes, another windoz machine has invaded my sewing space. This machine was a store demo that I purchased - I've actually been demo'ing this machine at work for 7 months and I finally bit the bullet. I've sewed one small quilt on it using the computer. It was made with old fabric and is now a "dog quilt" - Curley loves it :)











This is the wall where I expanded the shelving to accommodate all my magazines, UFOs and other stuff. The drawers have fabric and yarn in them. Please note the sleeping cat in the box. Also of note are the fridge and coffee pot. I may never go downstairs again .. well, yeah I will - no shower up here :)















Said sleeping cat (CH Denebir's Xandria aka Andi):














Every quilt room needs an empty box for a cat. I also have a quilt on top of the Isacord cabinet for the cats to lounge on in the afternoon when the sun hits that window.

Now I'm waiting for my Bernina 830 to come in. I have the table, all the accessories, etc ... but no machine yet.

till later ~~ Dene

From Little Green Men to UFOs

In the process of cleaning up my crafting area(s), I keep finding UFOs (Un-Finished Objects). My goal for the last 25 years of my life is to finish all projects and start fresh.

:::: Pausing for those of you who know me to stop laughing ::::

I won't even go into my quilting projects but some of the knitting projects that were started were painfully close to completion so I had a good short-term goal to aim for.

First off are the Seaweed socks that lacked only ribbing on one sock and a cast-off for both socks. Since these were toe-up, I had been looking for a cast-off that I liked. I settled for EZ's sewn bind-off edge and it seems to work better than others I tried. I'm still not totally happy but I'll keep searching for a favorite toe-up cast-off. The socks fit wonderfully and I'm looking forward to wearing them soon.
Specs:
Pattern: Seaweed Socks by Wendy Johnson - WONDERFUL pattern :)
Yarn: Madelinetosh Sock in Alabaster colorway purchased at The Hook and Needle in Bryan, Texas
Needles: Size 0 double point
Notes: toe up using Turkish Cast-On and EZ's sewn bind-off

Second were the Leyburn's that I actually started in January. I joined the Socks That Rawk group on Ravelry and this pattern was the current project. I used a skein of lightweight Socks that Rock that had been languishing in my stash since I don't wear much green. Plus it was a colorway that hadn't been claimed. I probably would have picked something else but for that last fact. But it is good to get it used.
Specs:
Pattern: Leyburn by PepperKnits
Yarn: Socks that Rock by Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the County Clare colorway
Needles: Size 1.5 double points
Notes: Cuff down using 72 stitches, 35 on flap heel, 18 pickup on gusset. I modified the pattern so that is came to a point on instep and did not repeat on the foot of the sock. I like smoother fabric on the foot section.

Third is a charity project that I also started in January. I had seen the Shedir cap pattern on Ravelry but didn't want to have to buy that expensive skein of Rowan Calmer to do the hat. So I tried it with Cascade Fixation with great results. I can stand doing a bit of cabling ... this hat was just pushing my patience when it was done so perfect. This hat will go to a local hospital as a chemo cap for a cancer patient.

Specs:
Pattern: Shedir by Jenna Wilson
Yarn: 1 skein of Cascade Fixation (used almost entire skein) in Red (3628)
Needles: Size 3 circulars, knit using the magic-loop method
Notes: On the small size - would go up to size 4 needles if I knit again with this yarn. The cap is soft and very stretchy.


Next up .. a shawl that is almost long enough to bind off.

Specs:
Pattern: Lacy Ripple Shawl by Cathy Hardy - I received the pattern from Debbie Macomber
Yarn: Berroco Comfort (color 9807) purchased at Twisted Yarn in Spring TX
Needles: Size 8 bamboo straights
Notes: I love the color and feel of this yarn. Very fast knit. I'll post final pictures when done.

That's all (whew!).

Till later ~~ Dene

Little Green Men vs Cats

The carnage on the window ledge:

The culprits:

Nikki (CH. Carriag's Unique Etoile of Denebir) and Andi (CH. Denebir's Xandria) both seal point Birmans

The verdict? The cats won.

Till later ~~ Dene

Powerful message

Invisible Woman:



till later ~~ Dene

Nothing but "no net"

I'm infatuated with the summer Olympics! I love it all except for an sport that involves a net. I started reviewing which sports I'm watching and realized that if the sport involved a net, I wasn't interested. Very strange. No basketball, volleyball (beach or otherwise), hockey, badminton, or table tennis.

I love the swimming (except for water polo which involves a net)! Go Michael Phelps! I'm amazed at his accomplishes and hope he can win the remaining 3 golds he is going for. And wasn't Cullen Jones just the cutest?

I love the gymnastics although I think China's gold in the woman's team event is tainted because there is no way these athletes are 16 years old. Shawn Johnson is amazing and so positive about herself and her team. And I ached for Alicia Sacramone when she fell off the beam. The guys were amazing! I was upset when Raj Bhavsar didn't make the original team but cheered him on as the guys won the bronze against all odds.

I love the equestrian events and was thrilled that Gina Miles won a metal. And even the Kayaking and Canoeing events are super - Love the Togo kayaker that won the bronze - the first for his country.

So that is what I'm doing these days - watching the world compete against each other. My Olympic knitting is a pair of socks that I ripped back half way last night after realizing they were too long (toe up). Have I mentioned that I don't like knitting toe up *sigh*.

till later ~~ Dene

Egads!

It has been over 2 1/2 months since I've updated the blog. Life comes at me fast sometimes.

Let's see - biggest news is that I'm no longer episcopalian. On April 20th, about 80% of my church family (over 500 people) took a stand against the national church's abandonment of Biblical principals and walked out of Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Tomball Texas. We quickly formed St. Timothy's Anglican Church and this is where most of my time has been going since then. Since we left all of the church's physical property, I've been working on sewing new things for the church including acolyte albs. I've also embroidered over 100 polo shirts to sell for the building fund. It has been a very busy time but also very fulfilling to see God's hand working in our church family and the community of Tomball.

The other big news is that I just returned from vacation. I'll post vacation pictures once I get them uploaded to Flickr. We went up to Mt. Rainier for a few days (in the middle of a snowstorm) and then on a 7 day Alaska cruise (in the middle of unseasonable clear weather). It was a great cruise and we managed to pick great excursions this time and saw amazing things.

But .... what the heck???? We were on the Celebrity Infinity which was decorated in modern art everywhere.

On the stairway landings there was art stuck in a little nook - each stairway was different. Example - there was this and this:









And then there was this!

Let's look closer:

Art of a guy holding a Pfaff sewing machine? So much for getting away from sewing machines on vacation!

But on the other hand, I found quilt shops in 3 of our ports and came home with fabric for several quilts and small projects. I also found yarn in 2 ports and bought lace and sock weight yarn dyed by local artists. Stash photos to follow.


Till later ~~~ Dene

New project to add to the list

I'm weak....

While browsing around on fabric sites, I spotted this project and my credit card suddenly started to vibrate which meant that I *had* to buy it. What I'll do with the wall hanging afterwards, I have no idea but I'm sure it will find a home.

I saw 2 of these quilts stitched up at the Dallas Quilt show - one in red and one in blue. I purchased the kit to do the red version. They are cute and the motifs can be used on other things. I'm not sure I will set it together the same was as illustrated but probably will. It is redwork so will stitch out quickly.




The machine embroidery designs and the fabric were purchased from Lollipops Designer Bindings. This company packages their premade quilt binding as a "lollipop" that is very creative and cute.

You can see a better picture of the project here.

I've not accomplished much in the past 2 days - maybe the weekend will spark my creativity :)

till later ~~ Dene

Roof Kitty

This month we celebrate the 14th year of living in our home in the woods NW of Houston. When we bought this house and the surrounding 4+ acres, our family consisted of 2 adults, 2 kids (12 and 15 years old) and a dog, Abby. The lady selling the house had 2 outside cats that she couldn't take with her so we inherited them with the stipulation that the owner have the cats tested for leukemia and vaccinated. One of the cats was positive and the owner chose to have it put down (it was aged) and the other, Sylvester, came to live with us.

I had 2 cats when we married in 1975 - my beloved Rigel and Deneb. Perceus joined us within months. After the last of these loves passed on, my dh declared that there would be no more cats in our house. Having Sylvester, though, opened that door and what an opening that became.

Within a month, we obtained Tweety. My son and I were buying catfood one afternoon and there was a lady outside with a box full of kittens. The typical "Mom! I'll feed it! It can stay in my room! You won't have to do anything!!" arguments followed and a little, yellow striped girl kitten came home with us. Well, of course the kitten didn't live in my son's room and I ended up feeding it and changing the litter boxes but a new member of the family was welcomed. She was an inside/outside cat and got along well with Sylvester.

After Tweety came to live with us, Goofy, Stella, Sandy, etc. along with a parade of other animals including Sugar the horse, Curly the dog, Daffy the duck, Oreo the pig, Frisky2 the hampster (don't ask about Frisky1) etc. came to reside at our abode. Over the years, all these animals have either disappeared (in the case of most of the outside cats) or passed on... except for Curly the dog. And the other group called the foo-foo kitties joined us starting in 1997 - I started raising and showing Birman cats. After 4 years, I stopped but still have 4 Birmans as inside pets.

So recapping, we now have in this house 2 adults, no kids (yeah!), 13 yr old dog Curly, 4 inside Birmans and believe it or not, Tweety the little orange cat that is now 14 years old. After the show cats came to live in the house, she moved perminantly outside. How she survived being attacked by all the critters in these woods can be summed up in one phrase - she became a "roof kitty".

Whenever the weather is not too terribly hot or cold, you can usually find her on the roof of our house. There is a tree growing along side that she is very adapt at climbing and that is how she gets up there. From the loft, I can access the roof over the den and she is usually there next to one of the skylights. She loves for me to open the window and give her a good scratching. We do feed her in the garage and leave it open for really cold weather but this little scrapper of a cat is our sole survivor of all the outside cats. Love this little girl. The last picture of her was taken a couple of days ago at age 14.

till later ~~ Dene

Klutz and Christmas Pillows

I was such a klutz last week. The day after I sliced off a bit of my thumb I got my middle finger of the same hand caught in the bobbin of my machine.... don't ask ... dumb mistake. Anyway, I had 2 fingers bandaged and then singed a third on that hand using the pressing sheet with the iron.

Did I give up? NO! (call me stubborn!)

Result of the last 4 days of sewing (and also don't ask why I'm doing Christmas in March/April!)

These pillows are designs from the "Star of Wonder" embroidery set by Nancy Halvorsen of Art to Heart. They are put out by OESD but I've not been able to find them on the internet. They were available at my local sewing store It's a Stitch.







Close ups:

Bethlehem - the first and probably the hardest one to do in my megahoop due to the constant repositioning of the hoop during stitch out.







Wise Men - I had a little trouble on the color of the final camel. The design called for Isacord thread but because of a delay in shipment by a company that won't be named, I had to use my collection of Medeira thread. The software converted the colors but somehow the final camel translated into a not-so-lovely green color. I had to change him back to brown.





Shepherds - this was by far my favorite of the pillows - wonder if it is because I love sheep?








Nativity. So sweet with the cow and sheep :) Joseph turned out a bit greener than I wanted though.











Gloria - can't have a heavenly event without at least one angel. There are 2 more in the set but 5 pillows is probably enough to round out a set.









I have more fabric and may do some more pillows for gifts once my Isacord thread arrives. It will be interesting to compare the stitch translations between the 2 brands.

I've been learning more and more about the embroidery machine as I use it. I had to laugh because at one point, I set up my Bernina 153 machine and was sewing pillows together as the 730 stitched out designs. It was quite a production.

I stitched out a "Welcome" bouquet design that was part of a class - will photograph once I get it made into either a pillow or a small quilt.

till later ~~ Dene