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My goal this week was to stitch the words on the center panel of the Stitching ABC sampler. I stitched "Handcrafted" at least four times because it didn't look right. It's going downhill. A lot. My brain kept saying this can't be right but....
...it is. I'm not going to argue with the designer. I think it will look better when the outline is stitched. That will be this week's job.
Dear Jane gave me fits this week. I'm thinking that Elmer's must have re-formulated their glue sticks because I can't get the paper pieces out of the triangles. I have to shred the paper and use tweezers which is not good because it also shreds the material. Usually the papers pop right out. Not with the new glue sticks I picked up during the Back to School sales. This is a real problem going forward.
I'm on the next to the last big block of the Patchwork quilt and I feel like I've come full circle. It was two years ago this Halloween that I started it and by this Halloween I should be working on that border. I still can't believe that this random idea actually came into being. I'm very good at planning things but never finishing them. I've got boxes and bins of abandoned ideas to prove it.
The Vuelta de Espana doesn't have the same importance in spinning circles as the Tour de France but I'm never ready to give up my daily dose of fiber when the Tour ends so it's always on to the Vuelta. I love seeing the beautiful Spanish countryside go by and hear all the tidbits of info from the announcers about the historical sites. It's the best of armchair tourism and I look forward to it every year.
That's a pretty big pile of finished things since, for its first few hours, it's usually just background noise while I go about my morning chores.
I can't wait to get that newly plied skein of Shaniko Tweed washed and dried so I can get it on the needles. I've decided it will be yet another Pimpelliese. I've made this so many times that I have my own cheat sheet for the free pattern. It's a great pattern with an unfortunate name that can make even the wonkiest of yarn look like it was meant to be. Pimpelliese? According to Google it doesn't translate to anything but the AI feature thinks it's an adolescent skin condition. I really don't think that's what the German designer had in mind.
And excuse me for calling this Shinook fiber on Friday. It's is SHANIKO. My brain can't seem to handle that new to-me-word so I've been calling it everything but. Shaniko is a Merino/Rambouillet cross that's between 19 and 21 microns so it's as soft as Merino but retains some of the Rambouillet loftiness. This is the second time I've spun it. Both were tweeds so I'm now very interested in getting my hands on some that isn't tweedy.
We have to get down to the Farmer's Market at the beach when it opens at exactly 8:00 so The Mister can stock up on his oatmeal whoopie pies from the Amish stand. He's in a competition with another elderly gentleman to see who can get there first and clean the place out. It's hilarious. Pup and I go along, make our selections and then go sit under a shade tree while The Mister stands in the lines to pay. I didn't need to sit under a tree yesterday because believe it or not.....there was finally a cool breeze.
Exhibit A. Watching this guy try to control that sail was very entertaining. He was getting blown all over the water. That breeze plus the cloud cover made for a decent morning to be out and about. It wasn't quite window opening weather but it was a marked improvement.
The good thing about being at the Farmer's Market when they open is that I don't have to fight the crowds to get some photos. The gourd bin was very pretty but I never know what to do with them so I never buy them.
It's apple season so I brought home a small basket of them.
The multi-colored mums are back. I'm always tempted but know I would have a pot of dried sticks before fall even got here. It doesn't show up here anymore until Halloween or later.
It was a good year for corn. I've been making chowder at least once a week all summer.
Along with the corn and the apples, I bought another beautiful cauliflower that I roasted with garlic and a single zucchini and red pepper that became a dinner frittata. By afternoon the muggy, buggy weather had returned but it was good to get a glimpse of what's to come.
Woo hoo...my new drive band is here for the bobbin winder and I've been winding like crazy and putting more inches on the towel.
The gold wool also arrived this week and I've been cutting it up. I think this is my favorite part of the rug hooking process. There is something so satisfying about cutting up wool.
The color is off in this photo but I think that it's going to work well with the other colors I want to stripe it with. Thank goodness football is back on TV. I've got a lot to do and without The Mister always getting in the way, I just might get some of it done.
This was the last full week of the Vuelta d'Espana and I was surprised that I'd finished up that Shinook fiber it seemed that I had just started. I haven't decided how to ply it yet because this is so pretty that it has to BE something. It's going right from the skein to the needles.
Speaking of needles, the Unicorn Barf pi shawl is now on a 40 inch circular and I could still use some more length. This will probably be packed away until next summer since all the cycling is done for now. I'll work on it again during next year's Tour.
As soon as the weather cools down I'll be pulling this out to work on again in my spinning corner. My poor handspun Garter Squish has been sadly neglected since last winter. The last thing I remember is that I was ripping a lot of it back.
I also managed to fill up three drop spindles this week with one of the new Cormo minis. I never felt that I gave that much attention to the Vuelta this year but it seems I did accomplish quite a bit.
The Mister went to Annapolis on Monday to visit his ailing sister who is in the hospital. I had most of the day to myself so I cleared the dining room table and rolled out Zig Zag sandwich attempt #2. It went really well. I need to remind myself that when you take things in small steps it is usually a much nicer experience. I always try to do it all in one day and never enjoy the process. This time I had all the pieces measured and cut before hand.
Back in the sewing room I had a senior moment when I couldn't find the Juki. You can barely see it peeking out of this pile of sewing debris behind Dad's old Brother. I had to spend yesterday cleaning and sorting so I could pull it out and get it up and running again.
It needed a good cleaning and oiling. It's been so long since I've used it that I had to get the manual out to figure out how to thread it. I thought it would be a good idea NOT to practice on the Zig Zag. I made a bunch of little practice pieces so I can get this machine quilting thing back down again. It's never as easy as it looks so it may take a few days.
My hair stands on end whenever I read in the instructions that I have to increase while staying in pattern. I managed to avoid it completely with the sleeves on Bon Ami by just going up needle sizes but couldn't manage it with Chestnut. I've been tying my brain in knots all week but finally have something going using a very enlarged chart and a bright pink marker. I'm no fan of colorwork in a small circumference either. Just look at all those color changes hanging out the end. Ouf....it's been rough going.
When it's all too much I have the Doodle Cowl to fall back on. I finished the gray zig zag pattern this week and started on another small snowflake section.
Hue Shift is going green this week. After all the different reds and blues, I was surprised to discover that this is the only green in the whole thing. The next row is yellow.
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