Knit One Quilt Too

Cozy

I am finally knitting a bit again and my wrist is doing pretty well.  I do have to be careful and not go overboard with the knitting, but I can do it for an hour or so with no problem.  So, a few weeks ago I really wanted to use some of my handspun in an easy project.  The yarn was too scratchy for anything on the neck and the thought of another pair of fingerless mitts made me yawn.  I found a sweet pattern for this tea cozy on Ravelry.  It's called "Tea Mitten" because the tea spout part is created just like a mitten thumb.  It's a little loose at the bottom because I didn't actually try it on the tea pot until I was about half way done, but I did do some adjustments to the top half to fit my pot which is much more tall and slender than the original.  I just love it though and I love that I was able to create some long color changes in the yarn.  The stripes are created with one length of yarn rather than made with changing colors.  And now I'm all set for the week ahead which will be rainy and somewhat dreary.  It's been a difficult spring here.  I can't wait to see some sun and warm temps!

In other news, the raven babe seems to be doing well with its family.  The whole lot disappeared into the woods on the other side of the fairway yesterday because the golf course was simply crawling with golfers.  However, we have seen the parents feeding the young ones and did see one we thought was our little guy attempting to fly.  He got a few feet above the ground.  I've been researching ravens and it turns out the parents provide food and care for weeks or even months after fledging.

Lastly, my favorite downtown hangout, Dudley's, had a scare last week.  The owners have had a very hard time this past winter and were just about out of money, when the community swooped in to help.  I just heard that there are plans in the works to try to save it and I'm so relieved.  Dudley's is a real treasure in a downtown that's full of great, local shops and restaurants.  It would be so sad to see it go.  

Raven Chronicles

We've had a raven nest in our backyard for several years now.  In the past, they haven't had very good nest success.  Last year, 2 babies were found dead below the nest.  This year, 3 fledged and we've seen them flying all over the golf course behind us.  Yesterday, however, we found this one just walking around.  I didn't interfere because we had a busy day.  

Today, it spent most of the day in the front yard and several times would just lay down in the middle of the road.  Finally, we decided a little intervention was best. 

 

We gave it some water and then moved it to the back yard again to keep it away from the street.

 

 

Mom and dad were looking on with interest the whole time and cawing to the baby.  The young one seems to not be injured, but it's tail feathers are not fully grown in and it may just not be ready to fly.

 

 

 

We'll see how it does tonight.  I'm a little worried about neighborhood cats and the occasional coyote at night.  We do have a protected courtyard we could bring it into and mom and dad would still be able to get to it.  For now, we're just leaving it alone and hoping for the best.  More later...

Collaborative Chicks # 6:: Jen's Garden is done!

Jen's Garden is done!  I'm so pleased with the finished quilt.  This one is a lot bigger (72" square) than I normally do and seemed to take forever.  I'm so glad I sent it out to be quilted.  

 

 

 

 

My favorite part is that surprising bit of Suzani on the back!  This quilt will be offered for sale at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  Photos of the sale quilts will be available to see starting June 1.

Quick minis

In our homeschooling group, we recently had two families announce that they were moving away.  Their moves came up rather suddenly, but we managed to pull together a wonderful Mom's Night Out and a group potluck this week.  On the morning of the potluck I decided I needed to make something special for each of the moms who will be greatly missed.  I found a couple of wonky log cabin squares and added a bit for a border and finished them with machine quilting.  It was a quick and easy project!

 

 

I think they will appreciated by Becca and Tammy (who are both aspiring quilters!) and I'm glad I had those few extra hours to get them done.  We wish them all the best on their new adventures!

Wohelo

Scrapbooking design made with Smilebox

Chloe will be honored in a ceremony next week and she will be receiving a letter from President Obama.  She's very proud of her accomplishment!

Zentangles

How does a room full of unschoolers manage to be so calm?

 

What can bring together friends and family in quiet contentment?

 

 

 

 

It's the magic of Zentangles!  If you haven't heard of this wonderful art form, you can read about it here and here.  There's a wonderful Flickr site filled with Zentangles too.  I first heard of it last year, but didn't pursue it.  Then, this January I took that machine quilting class with Ann Richardson and she talked about them again.  I figured I had better learn more about it.  I ordered a kit and was blown away by the beauty and simplicity of this technique.  I took it to a Mom's Night Out and hooked all of them.  Chloe took the idea and totally ran with it.  She has no problem coming up with ideas, so she prefers to make it all up on her own rather than following any directions.

 

For all of these kids, this was the first time they tried it and the results are fabulous!

 

 

One of the benefits to doing a Zentangle is the meditative practice.  Everyone who has tried it has really enjoyed the calming effect.  I've heard from several parents that their kids are now enjoying the act of making Zentangles in their free time.  

 

 

The above is Chloe's.  She follows her own muse.  I am in awe of her creativity!

PS- The photos are taken inside Dudley's, the shop mentioned in the knitted tree post.  In fact, this big table is where the knitting group meets.

Quail in the Courtyard

 

 

Quilts nearly done!

Yarn Bombing in Bend

Actually, yarn bombing is generally done in secret, so this doesn't qualify, but that's a catchy title so I went with it.  This is our very charming and oh-so-fabulous downtown shop called Dudley's Bookshop Cafe.  It's where our knitting group meets on Wednesday evenings (stop by if you're ever in town!) and its just a general community gathering place.  Plus they have fabulous used books and espresso drinks.  Anyway, our knitting group decided to decorate this little tree a few months ago and everyone brought something to add. It's been getting more and more decorated as the weeks go by.  I wish I'd gotten a photo back before the tree leafed out, but you can see how pretty it is.  Apparently, it's all the rage downtown and gets many favorable comments.  Chloe made the brightly striped section at the very bottom. 

 

 

I made the section at the bottom in the photo above.  I was having my carpel tunnel problems and not able to knit, but I found a fun swatch in my yarn bins and just used that.  There are lots of knitted ornaments, birds, leaves and flowers.  Even a mini zine (paper)!

 

I think this swatch is my favorite.  I've always wanted to do a Kaffe Fassett poppies pattern on something.  I hope you'll look for this tree if you ever visit downtown Bend and don't forget to stop in at Dudley's for a little refreshment and a book!

Big Stitch

Big stitch hand quilting has saved the day for my Gee's Bend quilt.  I despaired over getting it done in time for the show, but it's coming along so fast since I made the decision to go this way.  I'm using DMC Perle Cotton size 8.  

 

 

The quilt is signed by the Gee's Bend ladies who were here last year for the show.  I'm afraid to wash it, but it's quite linty so I will probably go ahead with that when it's done.

 

This quilt is made with different solids combined with old clothes from my kids and husband.  Those are Chloe's old shorts (love the pockets).  Ryan just adored the soft plaid flannel pants below.  Marks jeans are in the outer border, not shown here.  They are so thick that it may take a while to get that last border done, but I know it's doable since I started some of it tonight.

 

 

Isn't that just the coolest fabric for the back? 

Piper shot of the day

 

Equal time is only fair.  Miss Piper is Chloe's cockatiel.