Soothing Myself

I started a new, little stitching project. It's something I've had kitted up for a while. It's the Heartstring Samplery "Queen Bee Pincushion".

The pattern calls for a mixture of DMC, Classic Colorworks, and Weeks Dye Works threads. I'm using the called-for threads I have in my stash and supplementing with DMC equivalents. The linen is 36ct R&R Weathered Shingle.

Beth (Twist - the creative brain behind Heartstring Samplery) provided DMC equivalents for all the hand-dyed threads in the pattern - very convenient.

I am really bad at tackling piles of stuff in my office. I chip away at little areas. As Skip would say, I am just 'transferring the lint ball from one pocket to another'. However I did grab my linen stitch project a couple of weeks ago that had been sitting on my desk for months, and have been working on it whilst watching our daily regimen of YouTube videos. 

How it sat on my desk for months...

I am using a big ball of my handspun and it should be just enough to complete the project. Lord knows I need another linen stitch scarf. I did misplace my favourite one knit from 3 colourways of  Koigu fingering yard and have another in greens all knit with just the fringe to twist. But I digress.

Linen stitch yields a very nice texture that almost looks like it was woven. This is the knit side.

The purl side is a very nice texture as well. As such, the scarf is reversible.

All those slubs near the bottom are inconsistencies in my spinning. I am an enthusiastic spinner but not as accomplished as others of my spinning friends.

I got last Friday's Blackwork SAL done this week. It is nigella - a flower that I had to Google to see what colours it came in. I did use the DMC colours suggested by someone else in the Facebook group. 

Earlier this week I made a batch of 'yard sauce' - roasted tomato sauce from the tomatoes from Skip's garden. Since it has been so hot this week, I didn't want to heat up the oven/kitchen/house for over an hour so I roasted it on the barbecue. The neighbourhood smelled great.

It's really yummy when the onions start to carmelize.

The tray is a cheap, disposable, catering tray from the Wholesale Club. When I drizzle the olive oil in the pan, I smear it all over the bottom and a couple of inches up the sides. After everything is roasted and I've emptied the pan, it cleans up very easily.

The original recipe is from Priscilla on FlossTube. In her family they call it yard sauce. One great thing about his recipe is not having to peel the tomatoes before roasting. Just quarter them. The skins will get chopped up in the blender after the roasting is done. You can also roast other veggies with the tomatoes and sneak them into your family's meals. This tomato sauce can be put in soups, reduced for pizza sauce, used as a basic pasta sauce, or the basis of any other recipe using tomatoes.

This batch yielded 4 bags of the sauce - approximately 2.5c of sauce in each. They lie flat in the freezer. More tomatoes are ripening so I'll be doing another batch soon.

Teresa gave a sneak peek of the little Halloween piece I stitched for her and that arrived back to her in the mail last week. I think she wants to release it for the Needlework Expo next week.

On Wednesday evening, we received word that the 27 year-old daughter of one of our friends was killed in a hit and run accident while she was visiting a friend in Chicago. She and the friend were walking down the street in Wrigleyville when a car that was being driven erratically hopped the curb and crashed into them, killing Sophie instantly and injuring her friend. The occupants of the vehicle then took off on foot and as yet have not been apprehended. Hopefully with the aid of videos and tips from people in the area, the murderers will be caught soon. By the way the car was being operated, alcohol/drugs were likely to have been involved.

Sophie Elizabeth Allen was diagnosed with breast cancer last October and had just completed treatment which involved chemotherapy, radiation, surgery for double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and radiation in May. She was looking forward to getting married next summer and was a few years into a very successful corporate career after graduating from Duke University in 2016.

Skip and I had met Sophie on a couple of occasions while visiting her parents when she was 4 or 5 in Raleigh NC and again 10 years ago when she was a senior in high school. Through her dad we have followed her schooling, career, and life with great interest. On our first visit, her dad, Nick, Sophie, Skip and I attended a Durham Bulls baseball game. Sophie gustily sang, "Take me out to the ball game" during the 7th inning stretch. Such a bright, precocious little girl. 

The shock of this loss of such a young, beautiful vibrant person really hit us hard. Partly because our own boy is the same age as Sophie, she had survived such a horrendous health crisis this past year, her life and future was just snuffed out, and possibly because I lost my brother when he was about that age and lately have been feeling that loss and wondering what our lives would have been like had he been a healthy survivor of juvenile diabetes. I cannot even imagine how her loved ones are coping with this shattering loss.

Thursday I didn't do much of anything. I think I was just numb. Yesterday I was able to run a couple of errands. But for a while, a cloak of sadness has covered our home.

Hug your loved ones and tell them you love them. Don't put important things off. Our lives can change in an instant. Carpe diem.