First Bloom of the Season

I've been doing some work in the garden - mostly weeding. The first Siberian iris is in bloom.

The rest are in bud but this one is right against the bricks of the house so the extra warmth must have encouraged it to bloom early.

I've decided not to plant any vegetables this year. I did not have success with the tomatoes last year, probably because I didn't fertilize at all. I'll buy a peck in the fall and make my yard sauce from those. I do, however, plan to plant some cilantro seeds and one basil plant. I have tons of oregano and chives. So much oregano that I've had to rip it out by the handsful. 

While going through some of my yarn stash I discovered some balls of sock yarns that I've had for a long time - by that I mean at least two decades. Austermann Step yarn has been treated with Aloe Vera and Jojoba oil. 

It is lovely to work with. I'm not thrilled about the colourway (01) as the repeats are very long so it's almost impossible to do identical twins without wasting a lot of yarn, pulling until you find the same spot where the first sock was started. I'm not even going to try.

Last night I finished the first one which I had only started two nights before.

Using a 2.5mm needle I cast on 68 sts and did K3, P1 ribbing for 8" (20cm). Then an Eye of Partridge heel on half the sts, continuing it on the bottom of the heel until the gusset decreases were finished (as I had done on the previous socks). Then stocking stitch to the toes and usual toe decreases.

I knit three little stealth projects which I'll have to wait to show until they can be revealed.

I have So. Much. laceweight yarn. Not sure what I'll knit with it. Same goes for sock yarn. Like I did a couple of years ago, I'm going to keep a sock on the needles. They're great to knit whilst watching TV.

A Lid for an Altoid Tin

Jen1 and I have talked about putting stitching on top of an Altoid tin for quite a while. I have an empty one and a couple with the mints still in them, ready for the task.

Vonna Pfeiffer has a tutorial here with some good tips. I will use it as a guide when I go to finish mine.

Last week, I stitched a couple of pieces that would fit on a lid - basically anything the size of a business card would do.

I designed the top piece and stitched it with DMC115 - my favourite variegated DMC floss. The bottom one was adapted from 'Spring Sampler' by Whitley Quimby of Sugar Maple Designs. It appeared in the current (Spring 2025) Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher Magazine.

The cardboard on which I'll attach the stitching is cut out. I'll use a bit of padding between the stitching and the cardboard before I stick it in place. However, I don't have any braid in my stash so will have to go in search of some for around the lid's edge.

I'm in the process of doing the decreases for the toes on my latest scrappy, striped, two-at-a-time socks.

Also this week I tackled some of the piles of stuff in my office. There are still some piles but they're more organized. I'll be putting several bags of trash out on garbage day this week, Today I took 4 bags of Skip's clothes to the donation place. There is lots more to do but every little bit helps.

Paulette, her husband, and a couple of buddies came on Wednesday and removed the fridge from my front hallway. They'll be taking it up to their cottage. Another thing off my checklist.

The weather has been so cold and rainy. I turned the furnace off last week and was determined not to turn it back on. I lit a fire the other night. It was very cozy.

Unfortunately, the temperature in the house had dropped to 15C (59°F) by yesterday so I caved and had to put the furnace on again. 

One good thing with all the rain - it makes pulling weeds in the garden much easier to do. I didn't get out there to do that today. Oh well. They'll still be there when I get around to it.

Update...

I finished the scrappy socks last night. The legs and feet are 68sts and I used 3 x 1 ribbing on the leg for 8" before starting the heels. I switched yarns every 6 rounds and knit the tails in as I went.

Zooming in, you can see I used Eye of Partridge stitch (EOP) ** on the bottom of the heels to the ends of the gusset decreases.

This is a slipped stitch technique so a double thickness of yarn results, hence reinforcing the heel where most of the wear occurs. I've never had to darn a pair of socks on which I've used the EOP on the bottom of the heel. If you tend to wear holes in your socks at other pressure points like the ball of the foot area, you could also use EOP on the sole stitches in that area. Once you are finished the heel flap, and are knitting in the round again, simply execute the staggered slipped stitch rounds alternating with a plain knit round.

**

Eye of Partridge stitch 

Row 1: *Sl 1, K1 repeat from to last stitch, K1

Row 2: Sl1, purl to end.

Row 3: Sl 1 (sl 1, K1) repeat ( ) to last stitch, K1

Row 4: Sl1, purl to end

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Do you ever get a hankering for some chocolate cake but don’t want a lot of muss or fuss? I just made myself some chocolate cake in a mug in 5 minutes. I’m sure there are other recipes online but here’s mine, courtesy of Vickie Hartog - a recipe she gave me at least 20 years ago:

4 Tbsp cake flour (non-rising)

4 Tbsp sugar 

1/8 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp baking cocoa 

1 egg 🥚 

3 Tbsp Milk 🥛 

3 Tbsp oil 

3 Tbsp chocolate chips (optional)

Small splash of vanilla essence

1 coffee mug

Put dry ingredients in mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Add the milk and oil and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix again.

Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes on high. The cake might rise over the top of the mug - no worries.

Allow to cool a bit and eat. Tip out onto a plate if desired.

Mine was yummy (urp!). I put whipped cream on top and ate it right out of the mug. 

A 17 Year UFO - Finally Finished!

I’ve been poking away at tidying and organizing my office/craft room. Today I found a knitting project I abandoned in 2009. I had bought the yarn in Muncie, Indiana in 2007. I vividly remember that day.**

I had one sock finished in January of 2009 and most of the second sock done. I got all that information from my Ravelry page. But I do remember Danner’s, where I bought the yarn. It was basically a book and gift store that sold yarn. I just tried to do an Internet search and it appears that it is no longer open.

What attracted me to the yarn was its colourway. Opal Rainforest in the Raupe (caterpillar in German) colourway. (I used to raise monarch butterflies)

The pattern is Leyburn by MintyFresh. 

I only had about an inch of the foot and the toe to finish. 

This afternoon I cut and sewed a couple more checkerboard things from charm packs. This is Honey Bees and Flowers Please by Riley Blake. For one of these you need 8 dark 5” charms and 8 light 5”charms which are cut into 2 1/2” quarters. Then laid out checkerboard style on light interfacing that has been gridded with 2 1/2” squares.

I sew the vertical columns first then press in one direction. When I sew the horizontal ones, I open out the seams to reduce bulk at the intersections. Using a seam ripper with the ball part inside the fold made this a much easier task than trying tu use scissors.

I had ironed the squares of this Morris Manor line onto the interfacing and sewed the seams today.

The next step will be to quilt diagonally through the light squares through batting. Maybe tomorrow.

** That time in Muncie was the first September of my retirement from teaching. We were having lunch at Subway. I took a look at my watch and noted it was 12:20. I almost wept with joy I was so happy - had I still been teaching I would have just finished lunch or hall duty. I was so happy I was retired I wept with joy. It was a very joyful moment.

Poking Away at Odd Jobs

I got the new fridge in place and the old one cleared out and moved to the front hall awaiting it being taken away.

The bottom freezer is significantly smaller than the former fridge so I have vowed to eat down much of the frozen food that is in there.

The other not so great thing about the new fridge was that there wasn't a way to store an open wine bottle or my Brita jug upright unless I removed a shelf.

I do, however like everything else about the fridge. It is 4" less deep than the previous one. Only the doors extend beyond the cupboards now.

It makes a real difference in the amount of floorspace, or at least feels different. The cupboard on the right of the fridge is only 12" deep. 

The 1980s honey oak cabinets will be removed on June 6 and the install of the new cabinets will be June 9. A new microwave over will go over the stove. I'm sure I'll manage over that weekend without the full use of the kitchen. Why not just get the cupboards refaced, you say? The particle board cabinets were deteriorating and I could no longer clean the shelf paper the previous owner had MacTac'd down. At one point, I had to basically rebuild and re-install the cutlery drawer. The whole place just needs refreshing.

I've been working in my craft room/office, trying to create some order out of the chaos. I have a TV in there so am somewhat entertained while I sort, organize, and discard. I need to get ruthless about destashing yarn. I believe there is a local group of knitters that will take it to knit for charity.

Allergy-wise, I have new prescriptions for antihistamine pills and eye drops. I'm hoping with continued use, the itchiness will calm down. My lilacs are getting ready to bloom but I probably won't bring the blooms into the house. Big allergens for me. But they are truly lovely from afar.

The one bit of yard work I've been pretty dedicated to has been pulling dandelions. I do need to start preparing a couple of the garden beds for seeds. I bought a pack of seed mix so it will be interesting to see what all emerges. I also bought a bag of potting soil but still haven't done the indoor planting I had planned to do. I'll continue to poke away at these jobs.

I planted gigantic garlic last fall and it has come up. I have no idea when it should be picked but have learned that the scapes (long, tender flower stems) can be used in many recipes. One that really appealed to me was Garlic Scape Goat Cheese Dip. I must try it sometime.

With the deck all set up, I hope to spend more time out there now that the weather is fabulous. 

We are coming up to the one year anniversary of Skip's death. Thank goodness the sunny days have lightened my mood. I was getting worried for a while there when I was so fatigued and unmotivated to do anything. I miss the big lug terribly but life goes on. I am very fortunate to have so many good things going on and good people to spend it with.

Grinding to a Halt

The fridge and microwave were delivered this morning. This will stay in the front hall until I swap it out with the old one.

The delivery guys removed most of the packaging (styrofoam and cardboard) before wheeling it into the house. I haven't peeled off the plastic, organized the shelves, nor even plugged it in yet. 

Then I got a call from the cabinet person only to learn the cabinets will NOT be installed on Monday as originally scheduled. They haven't even been built yet. Apparently he was supposed to confirm with me the dimensions of the appliances I selected and that was never done so the manufacture of the cabinets was not started. 

So I have about half my cabinets emptied into my dining room and will need to put most things back in the intervening month or so until the actual installation will take place.

The bright side? 

• I don't have to clear the rest of the stuff out yet
• I have lots of time to dispose of the excess kitchen stuff
• I don't have to spend my weekend doing all this
• I can resume my normal slothful or creative activities

On a completely different tangent, I spent a bit of time online trying to find where I can buy sugar-free or light tonic water. Today would be a great day to crack open the gin I purchased on my way home from Iceland.

I must remember to get some limes while I'm at it.

Millbrook Needlers Quilt Show 2025

This morning, Jen1 and I headed up to Millbrook for the annual Needlers Quilt Show. On the way we stopped at DooDoo’s Bakery in Bailieboro. They are always on the Butter Tart Tour and have won many prizes at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair over the years in the butter tart category. Jen1 was hoping to buy gluten-free items to take to her mom for Mother’s Day but it turns out they have to be ordered ahead of time. I bought a couple of butter tarts to take home.

We then headed directly to the Cavan Monaghan Recreation Centre for the quilt show. Marilyn, Barb, and Jeanette arrived shortly after we did.

I love seeing all the quilts. Many are simply works of art with wool felt, beading, and embroidered embellishments. I’ll devote another post to some of my favourites.

I managed to restrain myself shopping-wise. I recently had a good look at my stash. It was very humbling. However I did fins this fabric

This charm square pack appealed to me as well.

It has a nice balance of dark and light fabrics - perfect for a checkerboard project.

One of the shops sells fabric from people’s stashes. They had some accessories. I have been interested in getting a 2 1/2” wide ruler and they had one! And the price was right.

Jen1 headed home early as she was heading to her parents’ place later on. Marilyn chauffeured Jeanette, Barb and I to her place. Then we piled into Barb’s car and dropped Jeanette off, then she dropped me off. 

Just as I arrived home, my lawn-cutting guy was finishing up - the first of the season. It looks great.

I emptied a couple more cupboards, played with my Bee kit, and made supper. I'm taking it easy tonight. the microwave oven and fridge will be delivered tomorrow. I’ll continue emptying the cupboards.

Bee Kit Has Finally Arrived

At the beginning of April  ago I saw an interesting ad for an embroidery kit on Facebook. I can’t even remember how much I paid for the kit it was so long ago. 

I was very intrigued because of all the specialty stitches that were involved. 

Every few days I would receive a tracking email. Finally today, the wee package arrived. 

This is what was inside:

I was so happy to see it was originally from Ukraine.

 

There is a 12” x 10” piece of fabric (not sure what count yet but it looks tighter than 40ct), 18 skeins of 6ply cotton floss - supposedly DMC, two Madeira silk metallic coloured threads, one Tela Artis thread, two vials of beads, a vial with two needles, the chart (which I will definitely need to enlarge on my printer),

and detailed instructions for the 15 specialty stitches.

All this was contained in a 6” x 6” x 1” box.

First thing I’m going to do is figure out what count the fabric is and decide if I’ll use it or something that might be a bit easier on the eyes. Then I’ll read through all the instructions (provided in English and Ukrainian) and determine how and where to start.

Update… I just measured the fabric and it is ‘uneven weave’ with 54ct across the grain and 44ct with the grain. I will definitely be checking my stash for some nice 32ct or 36ct linen. I’m not too bummed out about the faulty fabric that came with the kit. I’m guessing embroidery supplies are hard to get in Ukraine right now. 

Even more of an update… it occurred to me that the vendor may have been one of those unscrupulous pirates who steal others’ designs, package with inferior materials, and sell as their own. I was able to find my receipt and indeed it was someone in China. That really explains the inferior quality of the fabric. I even wonder if the floss is DMC. I suspect it is a polyester blend using DMC colours and numbers. I did contact the actual designer (her name was on the chart that came with the bogus kit) via her Etsy shop and I am not the first person who has alerted her to this situation. I felt bad for her so to support her (especially since she is Ukrainian), I purchased the .pdf download of this pattern from her Etsy shop - rizobarvna. The charts are MUCH easier to read - full page rather than 8.8cm x 7.6cm. 

A Good Start on Some Major Tasks

On Monday, my kitchen cupboards are being ripped out and replaced. This afternoon, I started clearing them out. Then I realized I still needed to order a couple of appliances. It’s possible all the demolition and installation would be completed on Monday so the microwave oven for over the stove needed to get ordered and delivered by then. I ordered the fridge at the same time but it can be installed at any time. One of my friends expressed an interest in taking the old fridge so if she doesn’t commit to that, it’ll be sitting in my front hall for a while until someone else comes and gets it. The appliance guys could take it away (for a fee) but it still works perfectly so I didn’t want it just to go to a dump.

The sales person was able to give me the delivery date of Saturday (two days from now) and kindly gave me ‘free delivery’ by knocking the value of the delivery fee off the price of the appliances. On the bill of sale, the delivery fee will still show so the deliverers will get paid and it will look like I got a deal on the microwave and fridge. I much appreciated this.

I’m taking it easy this evening but will continue emptying the cupboards on the weekend. Most stuff is going in the dining room - on the table with all the leaves inserted, and on the floor. I’m also taking the opportunity to get rid of stuff I haven’t used in ages, either to the recycling bin, donation box, or garbage. 

After the cupboards are installed, measurements will be made for the countertop. It’ll be a couple of weeks before it is manufactured and installed. In the meantime, I won’t have a sink or running water in the kitchen but can do dishes in the laundry tub. My laundry room is just steps away from the kitchen on the main floor. The fridge will be plugged in somewhere and I can prepare food with my current microwave or use the toaster oven. I think I’ve got things most of the logistics figured out. 

I watched the announcement of the new Pope with interest this afternoon. I am not a theist but it is a historical moment and very important to over a billion Catholics worldwide. The TV announcers didn’t figure out his papal name when it was announced in Latin but with my high school Latin, I thought what the cardinal said was ‘Leo XIV’. After a few minutes the TV announcers confirmed it. I hope Pope Leo XIV will continue to be as accepting as he predecessor.

On the craft front, I started another pair of two-at-a-time, scrappy, striped socks. Only a couple more inches to go on the cuffs.

Last night, I also gridded some very light fusible interfacing. I quartered some of the 5” squares into 2 1/2” squares, laid them out, checkerboard-style on the interfacing, and pressed them into place with a hot iron.

As I’ve done previously, the project bags I like to make are 7 squares wide and 6 squares tall. Finished size is about 13 1/2” x 11 1/2”. I add three more rows of squares for the front of the project bag. Two go above and below the zipper and the third goes below the vinyl ‘window’.

I’ll use the coordinating fabric I bought for the lining. Not sure when I’ll be able to do the sewing - the house is in chaos - but all I need to do now is cut the lining and batting, cut the vinyl, and pick a zipper.

One of the table gifts I received at the Hobby House retreat was a scissor fob. I’ve been using it as a zipper pull on one of my project bags and it broke the other day. A quick task will be to re-string the beads with sturdier wire. I’ll make a couple more zipper pulls while I’m at it. A couple of my stitcherly friends want to make some beaded zipper pulls/scissor fobs so we can discuss when I’ll give them a tutorial.

Tomorrow 5 of us are meeting in Millbrook to attend a quilt show and go for lunch. Again, I certainly don’t NEED any quilting supplies but it will be fun to have a nice day out and look at beautiful handiwork.

And finally, today is World Donkey Day! Francey texted me this morning to make me aware of it. I have no recollection of this but I did a blog post on last year’s World Donkey Day. You can read about it here.

A Wee Shopping Trip

I had lunch this afternoon with my friend, Paulette. We sat and gabbed for almost 3 hours. After leaving her place, I stopped into the Quilter’s Cupboard to see what all they had that might entice me. My existing stash is quite vast so I certainly didn’t NEED anything but I was quite drawn to this Moda line of fabrics by Barbara Brackman:

Quilter’s Cupboard sells 5” square packs with all the fabric in the line - 42 in a pack. It is much more economical for them to cut and collate the squares from yardage than order the 5” charm packs from their distributor.

My plan is to make more quilted, checkerboard projects. For that I like a balance of light and dark fabrics. This line - Morris Manor - didn’t have enough light fabrics so I bought some yardage of the companion light fabric.

I still have a bunch of lightweight fusible interfacing left over from making masks during COVID so will spend my evening gridding lengths of it into 2 1\2” squares. 

Lunch with a dear friend, fun shopping, and beautiful weather has made for a really enjoyable day.

I Actually Fully Finished Something! 😮

 I finished the last little bits on the Spring Floral Sampler yesterday. This afternoon I fully finished it.

I wrapped the piece around a piece of foam core. Then found some yellow fabric in my stash for the border and mounted it on some cardboard.

I covered the back with a piece of Bristol. A couple of buttons were hot glued onto the back, anchoring a piece of ribbon for the hanger.

I ran the gift right over to my neighbour, Susan’s,  house. I thought of her immediately when I saw the pattern at Hobby House last weekend. She is a talented photographer and recently a prolific artist and likes to come over and take photos of flowers in my garden. Skip was the gardener extraordinaire and the perennials he had planted over the years continue to beautify our landscape. Susan particularly likes our irises.

Getting (Some) Stuff Done

I’ve been enjoying knitting while watching TV. And I watch a LOT of TV. Last night I binge-watched the new Tina Fey/Alan Alda production of ‘The Four Seasons’ whilst knitting away on my TAAT, striped socks.

And I finished them!

I maintained the 6 rounds per colour pattern, even to the toes. Any variations are due to the variegation in the sock yarn I was using.

I tried to sew in the yarn ends as I went so snipped the lengths off at about a centimetre. I did my usual ‘eye of partridge’ heel and continued the pattern on the sole until all the end of the gusset decreases.The socks are warm and snuggly - perfect for cool nights or wearing next winter. It hardly made a dent in my sock yarn stash, though. I guess I’ll knit some more.

Yesterday at my guild’s stitch day I got a bit more done on Clovis..

This morning I finished the last little bits of the spring sampler.

I added a couple of leaves, too. So just a bit different from the original.

I’ve done the measurements for the finishing so will FFO it sometime soon.

I also started watching the Netflix series on the Vietnam war. So much ‘bad intelligence’ (cough - lies) contributed to the US getting involved and the conflict going on years after the US knew they could never win. So many young men’s and women’s lives were lost as a result. I believe that and the Watergate scandal were the beginnings of a widespread ‘crisis of confidence’ in the US government.

I was only a youngster when I became aware of the conflict which actually started in 1955. The war escalated into my teenage years and even impacted me tangentially as a young adult. My brother and sister attended university with many draft dodgers in Mexico City and I dated an American while I attended university who was concerned he’d get drafted. Fortunately he had a deferment because of still being in school and then in early 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed. Then the accords were broken and fighting continued until mid 1975 until the fall of Saigon. The North and South were reunified in 1976. Then China invaded Vietnam and border conflicts lasted until 1991.

I also remember Vietnamese ‘Boat People’ and a couple of them registering at the school at which I taught, sometime in the 80s. It is so interesting to see it all laid out in a coherent, chronological manner.

The documentary highlights the many complex issues involved with this conflict and gives insight as to how the cultural fibre of the US developed in its aftermath.

Some Modification

Jen1 was over for some stitching today. She works on Saturdays so we won’t be seeing her at our guild’s stitch day tomorrow. We had a very pleasant afternoon chatting about our respective retreats attended last weekend. 

At the Trillium Guild retreat, Jeanette organized a stash sale. Jen1 picked this up for me.

And the tin is part of the kit! Thanks, Jen!

While we chatted, I poked away at the Spring Floral Sampler. It’s going to be a gift for a non-stitcher so we discussed omitting the alphabet. I thought I’d chart ‘Welcome Spring’ and stitch that below instead.

I charted it with my really old Cross Stitch Design Studio program and stitched the words this evening.

Since the alphabet is gone, I’ll add a leaf onto the left  of the tulip and right of the daffodil. That will be my primary task tomorrow at our stitch day.

To finish it, I’ll mount it on some foamcore and mount that onto a slightly larger piece of cardboard covered in fabric. I’ll add cording as a hanger. I want to get it done and given to the recipient before spring is over.