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Even though the air is still thick with smoke from the surrounding forest fires, I braved it and went to the North Idaho State Fair to see how my entries did. Not bad, not bad at all. Dogwood and Hummingbirds won 2nd place. My necklace took First place. Infant cardigan won Second place. Infant set-2 pieces won First place. My Entrelac set entered as Infant set-3 or more pieces won First place. My Sporty set entered as Infant set other than listed won Second place. The KnitWits members entries did well too. I took pics so I can put them in this months newsletter, which I need to get out by this weekend. Urg! I didn't have one single asthma attack while there, at the fair. I'm quite surprised by that, and relieved. I haven't been working on anymore layette sets this week because I'm out of yarn. I don't have enough brown to put trim on the blanket for the current set, and I have no black yarn which I need for the next set coming down the pike. I'm trying to decide...

Making progress on the Mini Star Trek project. I've stitched the top words in metallic gold. Trying to decided if I want to outline it in black or not. Speaking of stitching in metallic, I did a bit of googling to see if I could find some helpful tips on doing just that. Metallic threads have been so difficult for me to work with. I found a fantastic one that is so helpful it literally has solved all the problems I've had with it. This really works! I wish I'd known this a decade or two ago. 3. Say goodbye to fraying, slipping and tangling: Use the slip knot method to thread the needle. This method is fool proof: Your thread will be locked onto your needle and there’s absolutely no risk of fraying.     Lock your floss onto your needle to eliminate any risk of fraying If you’re using two strands, cut a single strand, double the length. Fold in two. Thread as indicated above. Pull out about an inch and a half. Slip the tip of the needle through the loop formed by the thread a...

Washed, blocked, and framed. It's officially done! It's even hung on the wall. Only took 12 years to do. The name of the pattern is Dogwood and Hummingbirds by Canadian northwest artist Sue Coleman. I love it. To those who want to say "But Dogwood only has 4 petals (bracts)." This is Pacific Dogwood which can have 4, 5, or 6 bracts, all on the same tree. This is the Dogwood I grew up with. It grows wild on the Pacific coast and is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of all the Dogwoods. Live long and prosper. \\//

So, lets start July with a post about my current WIPs. I've finished the knitting on layette set 31. Just have the little things to do. Buttons, pompom, blocking, etc. I've been working on the crochet edging for the matching blanket. I've started the cardigan for Layette set 32. Using a new pattern, just for fun. I've made a little progress on the felt stocking . It has a teddy bear on it now. I've also started a new long term cross stitch project. I dug around in my stash and found this kit by Eva Rosenstand . Just a little done so far. It's going to be a challenge. There are no large blocks of color in this one. Lots of color changing ahead. My sprained knee is healing slowly. I feel like I've had it for months, but it's only been just over 2 weeks. The most frustrating thing about it for me is that I can't sleep on my side. It's just too painful. If I sleep on my back, though, with a pillow under my leg, there's no pain, except in my back....

Dogwood and Hummingbird. I've finished it! Only took 2 days. Why didn't I finish it months ago? I got frustrated with it when I started doing the back stitching on the back of one of the Hummingbirds. It was so confusing to stitch because the lines are diagonal across the squares and the back stitch thread is barely a different color than the stitches I had to stitch over. I had a hard time seeing them. I had a terrible time keeping straight which ones I'd done. I decided to put it away for awhile. Ended up being 2 years! Last week I joined a couple Cross Stitch groups on Facebook and got inspired to finish it. I looked at the pattern again and figured out a way to stitch it without getting lost or confused. It feels so good to get it done. Now I just need to wash it, block it, mount it, and frame it. I should be able to enter this one in the fair this year. Huzzah! I've also done a bit on the applique Christmas stocking. I'm enjoying it immensely. Yesterday, bad ba...

This is where I'm at on the Mini Star Trek cross stitch project. All the characters are done. I'm about half done with the names of the characters. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do for a border and I want to put something at the top. Perhaps the words "to boldly go" or something like that, and a little Enterprise ship somewhere. After a week of gorgeous weather, we are having a rainy day, which I am enjoying immensely. The cleaned gutter is working perfectly. There is no more waterfall coming down in front of the back door. It was worth the effort. The knee is healing. I have been able to sleep in my bed the past 2 nights, fairly comfortably too, for the first time since spraining my knee. I have enjoyed the sleep so much, and I think getting sleep is helping the knee heal faster. I've got times during the day with no pain. I'm also getting some energy back. I've come to terms with sweet hubby going back to school. It could end up being a ...

I found an entrelac baby bootie pattern that works for me. It's in here : The book arrived yesterday from Amazon. I've already started the first one. It looks a little weird at the moment, but I assure you, it will look like a bootie when I'm done. While waiting for the book to arrive, I knit a doll skirt for the JID girls. In real life, the purple is much darker and the sparkles are green. It will go nicely with the lavender mohair sweater I knit last year and still haven't done anything with it. I also have finished the 17th character in my Mini Star Trek cross stitch project, the Gorn. He's so darn cute! I made a change in this pattern. I made the gauntlets a little longer and the hands green instead of brown like the gauntlets, and I made the colors of his outfit closer to what they are in real life. I only have 2 characters left. The next one will be KHAAAAANN! Heh heh. Sweet hubby had 3 interviews this week, but no offers, yet. It's been almost 8 months no...

I would have posted this earlier this morning, but I was having computer problems. My virus protection software disappeared. I spent all morning figuring out what happened to it. Apparently, a virus got on my computer that was blocking the virus protection program. Thankfully the company that makes my virus program had a little program I could download and run that fixed the problem, but it took me a long time to figure out that was my solution. Sheesh! Time flies when you're busy. Here's an update of the current WIPS. In knitting, I've finished knitting all the cardigan pieces. It's time to sew them all together. (The cat ears are Merino laying in the window bed soaking up sunshine.) I tried sewing the first sleeve on yesterday, but I was not feeling well which made everything I tried to do end in disaster, so I put it away for the day. Cross stitching went much better. On the Mini Star Trek I've finished 4 more characters since I last posted about it. All of Mudd...

Another WIP post. I needed to start a knitting project that would be easily portable. I decided to make a scarf for a male acquaintance. I bought some Universal Yarns Bamboo Pop in black and granite. I picked one of the scarf patterns from my new knitting book,  Seed Stitch Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1 . I have been enjoying it so much. It's a 4 row stitch pattern easily memorized. It's knitting up fairly quickly despite the size 5 needles and thinner yarn. I worked on the entrelac cardigan sleeve but didn't make much headway because I frogged it and started over. I've just gotten back to where I was before frogging. It's looking much better. I worked on my Mini Star Trek a bit too. I have a good part of the Mudd's woman wearing the green dress stitched. The pattern has a very different green. Almost a teal color, and I was going to use it, but then I thought I'd google a pic and found out her dress is more this limey color than what the pattern has. The third lad...

Hello! It's WIP Wednesday again. It's also me and sweet hubby's 36th wedding anniversary.  I can't believe it's been 36 years. He's the best husband a woman could ask for and I'm super thankful he married me. So, I was working on the Mini Star Trek doing the backstitch outline on the pink dress Mudd's lady and I thought to myself that things would look much better with more outlining than I've been doing. I've just been outlining the outside edges. That kind of looked weird on miss pink dress lady. So I outlined everything and she looked so much better. Then I spent the next couple hours doing the same thing to the whole project. Didn't take very long and it all looks so much better. 10 characters are done. 9 to go. I've started number 11, the green dress lady, with her arm. ('Scuse the shadows. The sun is shining.) Someone told me they didn't like this cuz it's "too cartoony". I said "Duh. That's what I lov...

Happy Valentines day!  I'm doing a WIP Wednesday post today. First we have the entrelac baby cardigan. I've finished the back and working on the left front. It's going very nicely. I am at the place where I start decreasing for the neckline. It's the weirdest way of decreasing. Starting on the right side, you're supposed to knit across to the last 3 sts, then bind them off, cut the yarn, then retie it on and knit the next row. Why didn't they stop on a wrong side row and start with the bind off? It's kind of a stupid way of doing it, adding 2 unecessary ends to weave in. I'm not doing it like that cuz it's too ridiculous. I'm gonna do it my way. Sometimes I wonder just what the designer was on when they wrote their pattern. Last night I finished the 9th character in MiniStarTrek. This is Mudd from the episode "Mudd's Women". The next character will be one of those women. UPS delivered a new knitting book to me this morning. It'...

Thought I'd do a WIP post today. First, we have my current counted cross stitch project, MiniStarTrek . I finished the Romulans today. Eight characters done, 11 to go. That red thread is the center of my fabric and right where the next row of characters go. It will be Mudd's Women. I've also been working on another sweater for Zoey. The light for this pic is terrible. Should have done it in daylight. You can't tell, but the wide orange stripes are supposed to be dark pink, and the collar is purple. I am now at the point where I put the ribbing around the bottom edge of the body, and then around the leg holes. Both will be purple like the collar. I've been looking very hard for an entrelac dog sweater pattern. So far no luck. One is listed on Ravelry, so I bought the book it's in only to find out it isn't actually entrelac. It's modular knitting , which is a whole 'nuther animal that involves a lot of ends to weave in. I also found some hand made entr...

I'm gonna blog about cooking. For Christmas, my daughter and son-in-law sent me a Kitchenaide Stand Mixer. I am very greatful for it. I've wanted on for a long time but could not justify the expense. I had a hand mixer that worked perfectly fine. So when a huge heavy box with my name on it was delivered by UPS, I was mystified and completely surprised when I opened it. It's not just a Kitchenaide, it's PURPLE! I wanted to try it out right then, however, we had a large quantity of Christmas baked goods to eat up first. It would be silly to start baking cakes with all that still needing to be eaten, so I waited. We finally finished it all off. Last Saturday there were 2 very brown bananas in the fruit bowl, so I decided to try out the mixer. I made a banana cake. Wow! Is it ever nice. The mixer, that is. Well, the cake was nice too. It was delicious. But I'm talkin' mixer here. It was so nice to not have to hold on to the mixer and the bowl and it was so quiet. I ...

I had a wonderful Christmas. Everything went so well. I got the gifts bought/made and wrapped early, got all the Christmas baking done a couple days early, and got to have a very relaxing time on the actual day. Yay me! We had Christmas Eve dinner at my brother-in-laws house with family. My nephew cooked the Prime Rib and it was unbelievably good. Best I've ever had in my life. The young man has a good talent for cooking. It was a very relaxing evening. I enjoyed it so much. On Christmas day we went to my best friends house for dinner and played cards until the wee hours of the morning. Lots and lots of delicious food and fun was had by all. I have been a busy bee though. This year I made 8 loaves of Italian Christmas Bread for gifts. They turned out beautiful! My arms and shoulders ached the next day from so much dough kneeding. Fun times! I also baked several dozen dog cookies for all the dogs in the family. Zoey was my official tester. I did 2 different recipes, both of which sh...