Fiddling

I have been working on this quilt on an off for years and would really love to see it completed. I have been messing around with photoshop to refine the foreground fabric placement and then I will add some fiber embellishment and finish it.

On the Deck

I finally remember to snap a few photos of Abby in the tunic top I made for her....

It is a bit big, but maybe I will get lucky and it will fit next summer too.

Finding my muse

I go through a creative funk every year. I finish up a few major quilting projects and hit a period of low productivity and lack of creativity. I am trying not to be bothered by the lack of art work being completed but I inevitably am.
I am attempting to tackle my slump with trying out a technique that is new to me, a charted knitting pattern. I am making the Sipalu Bag in warm tones from Knit Picks.

What I have learned so far...

Charted knitting is not nearly as difficult I had imagined....

I have the pattern repeat memorized just as I am ready to change

I enjoy the purl rows with the color work.

Even with a mistake, the pattern still looks good.

Madison Bag

Digging through a pile of unfinished projects, I came across this bag. I love the Kaffee Fassett Fabric and the Amy Butler Maddison Bag Pattern is such a great design.

I did a few modifications. rather than using boning that the pattern called for, I used a combination of Decor Bond and Peltex to give the bag a very firm structure.

Date Night Purse

I have had this pattern in my head for awhile and finally got down to creating it and writing up the pattern.

Vast and Open Plain

Have you ever been to North Dakota? It is different from many place as there are few trees and just a vast and open plain.... It is quite green this year. And yes that is a nice big thunder storm we are heading for, just south of Bowman ND.

I am always in awe of the great openess of the plains as we zip by crammed in the car. Could you imagine walking the entire distance? One young man is doing just that actually walking from NY to OR and he recently passed through ND and MT. Check out his blog, I'm Just Walking, it is full of great photos and observances as he walks across the country . Amazing.

New Front Door

We recently replaced our front door. The old one was nice, but had issues in the winter of letting too much cold air through. Still adjusting to the change but I do like how much more light the added glass in the door adds to the entry way of our house. .

Commission Quilt

I recently finished a commissioned quilt. It was a gift for a gal who reads my blog, so I have not been able to share much about it. It is very similar to my 2009 Alliance for American Quilts entry Crazy for Beads with a few changes.

Summer Fun and Reading

We spent the 4th of July weekend at my parents house in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It usually the hottest weekend of the year but this year the weather was pleasant with temps in the 80s with a few thunderstorms throughout the weekend.


The kids had fun playing in the wagon full of rain water..





Between the crying and fussing in the car I did a little knitting...no picture, but lets be serious in progress knitting photos are not nearly as good as in progress quilting photos.

The local (small town) library where my folks live, was having their yearly sale, all the books you can fit in a bag for $5. I picked up an eclectic group of reading materials including

A Brave New World, Brant has never read it and I would like to read it again...






The Passionate Vegetarian, I picked out some great recipes to try. I think it would be great to have a few vegetarian dinners a week beyond just a salad. The first will be a Spicy Thai Tofu...(and yes by hubby said he would give the tofu a try)



throw in a little historical reading....





I am currently reading A is for Alibi, hasn't really excited me. It is an ok story, but I doubt I will continue on to the next in the series.

And the next book on my list is...