Tearing Myself Away...

I have been obsessively crocheting octagons. I finished the second one this morning and spent most of the day doing another. 

Each one is 11" from side to side. 

I love the seeming randomness of the colours. Most normally wouldn't go together  but the overall effect will be wonderful.

There are a couple of options for borders once the elements are pieced together. More rounds would yield an even wider afghan. Being acrylic, blocking won't be that effective for pulling it wider and longer. However, I am really liking the feel of this acrylic yarn - not 'crunchy' at all.

I'm getting the hang of reading what I've crocheted and correcting any counting errors I may have done. The third octagon has even fewer errors from the first two. I'm also learning to check for mistakes in the round just completed before I cut the yarn. It's easy to miss crocheting through the long chains or not doing the right number of treble crochets in a cluster. I know this because I've had to splice the yarn a couple of times after correcting something.

I've also been trimming the ends as I go. Most of them get worked over a new colour so are well buried and only a small tail needs to be trimmed off.

This project is not difficult. The videos helped a lot, although Janie skipped over some of the rounds she thought were very straight forward that I found not to be the case. However, I persevered and figured out the issues. Accurate stitch count is important. 

Oh, and this is what I'm hoping it will look like when I'm done. I've done the first 3 octagons on the top row.

3 down 13 to go. 

Octagon #1

Yesterday I finished the ninth granny square.

I really love all the random colours! 

I then started the first octagon. I made a couple of mistakes but I defy you to find them. The overall artistic impression is a 10 out of 10, though.

I'm really getting the hang of accurate stitch counts. I realize if one wanted to make the afghan bigger, a neutral colour could be picked and then crocheted around all the triangles, squares, and octagons, then used for the border. Alternatively, extra octagons, grannies, and triangles could be created. From what I've read, there is enough yarn to do this except for the 'buttermilk' colour. I looked into seeing if there was a Canadian source for the Stylecraft yarn and there isn't so I'm definitely on the hunt for a substitute with similar colour and weight (light DK). Otherwise I'll just order from Love Crafts and pay the $14 shipping. 

It's hot again today and the A/C went on yesterday. I ventured out into the garden and caught a bee enjoying the bachelor buttons. (click the triangle twice)

Today's yellow flowers:

California Poppy

Golden Tickweed aka Coreopsis

Yesterday was our fifth and final Zen Stitching installment. It involved doing a running stitch around the design, 1/4" out, then weaving the thread through the stitches on the front. I'm trying to decide if I'll do that or some other appropriate stitchery for the border.

I have nothing scheduled for today and got the shopping done yesterday so I guess I'll do more crocheting. 

Sashiko Stitching Complete

Today was the fourth day of our Zen Stitching online class. I did today's stitching during the live Zoom meeting. The diagonals crossed the crosses.

Front:

Back:

Tomorrow the instructions will be to wash and press the finished item. I still need to do the backstitching all around 1/4" away from the stitching; shown by the white drawn line on the front.

My range hood finally got installed and the two tiles grouted. That completes my kitchen renovation. I was too involved in my crafting to wipe the fingerprints off the range hood and tidy up the kitchen to take some photos. Perhaps tomorrow.

What I did work on most of the day was 4 more granny squares on the Persian Tiles project. 6 down, 3 to go.

I should be able to finish the last four tonight and tomorrow and start in on the octagons. I did a practice one and got as far as the fans before abandoning it when the actual yarn arrived. Once the crocheting is done, sewing everything together will be a herculean task. I'm thinking of doing a hidden join - kinda like the mattress stitch or ladder stitch which will pull the edges together but not make a ridge. 

Reposting from Yesterday...

 After drawing the grid lines yesterday, we began stitching our sashiko piece. First we did the dashes in one direction

then in the other direction, creating little boxes.

Because we stitch through both layers of fabric (except when changing rows) the back looks like this:

The email with the instructions in .pdf format comes in the morning accompanied by the corresponding video. Later on in the day, there is a live Zoom event for folks to ask questions. I mostly do stitching and listen during these Zoom sessions. Tomorrow we'll start the diagonal stuff I think or maybe the crosses. So I'm all caught up with the over 1000 people from around the world who are working on this project.

I send Poppy frequent texts with comments from the instructions or videos and photos of my progress. She's working so I hope it doesn't interfere with what she's doing for her job.

This evening I finished Clovis' shoes and the dots on their dress. That completes the stitching. 

I emptied out a few project bags and have a bunch of floss to re-integrate with the rest of the stash. One of the bags I emptied had this finished project in it.

It was my second time doing this one - the first went to my awesome neighbour who minds my house and garden when I am away. The finishing will be easy; it's just a matter of doing it.

Today I tackled a clutter project in my laundry room that had sat and mocked me for over a year. Garbage day is this week so I wanted to organize the mess and throw a bunch of stuff out before Thursday. I am such a procrastinator - having trouble tackling jobs like that, in spite of how good it feels and looks when the job is done.

Also this Thursday, my range hood may finally get installed and my two floor tiles grouted. That should be the end of my kitchen renovation that started at the end of April. It's going to be a while before I contract another job, though. I need a new back door to my garage and would like to get the broadloom in the living/dining rooms replaced with hardwood. Now that the heavy piano is out of there, it will make moving the stuff much easier.

I checked the tracking for my Persian Tiles yarn and it's supposedly getting delivered tomorrow. It will be fun to get started on that project. So many pretty colours...

Exciting Mail Today

The LoveCrafts yarn for the Persian Tiles project arrived from England today - only a week after I ordered it.

First peek into the parcel:

The scrumptious colours stacked up. These are all 100g balls. The only one missing is Vintage Peach which didn't show in their inventory. Still need to pick up a couple of Patons Astra in a peach colour.

I started crocheting the first granny square with the Lucia Dunn colourway.

It's not perfect but I have made a couple of improvements in my technique for future ones.

The pattern has a hook change for the last few rounds. This one went a little better but for one of the rounds, I grabbed the wrong size hook. 

There are even more changes of hook size on the octagons. I am going between Janie Crow's pattern, Lucia Dunn's colour changes, and the chart. The only place the hook changes are indicated are on the written pattern. I have circled those spot and hope I'll remember to switch at the right time.

Today was also Day 3 of the online Sashiko Challenge. I didn't have time to watch the whole video this morning (I hurkle-durkled to a ridiculous hour). But I got caught up during the live Zoom chat this afternoon.

The crosses are between the boxes on the front,

and over most of the boxes on the back. 

Perfection was not attained but I'm not a perfectionist so all is good. In some areas we need to wiggle the needle between the two layers but I see I caught the lower layer in one spot. Oh well.
I think tomorrow we do the diagonals. 

Something unusual happened yesterday. I got a notification from Blogger that my post was put behind a warning:

This post was put behind a warning for readers because it contains sensitive content as outlined in Blogger’s Community Guidelines.

I have no idea why this post was flagged as no specific reason was given. I assumed it was for using the Japanese term for the project - a flower cloth. The the second word in the term kinda looks like the f-word. I removed the term and updated but the warning still appears. I have no idea what could be the sensitive content. Any ideas?

I'm hoping subsequent posts will appear as normal. I tried to find out more details or appeal their decision but haven't figured out how to do that. Perplexing...

Starting a Couple of New Projects

In preparation for the arrival of my yarn for the Persian Tiles project, I thought I'd practice crocheting a granny square with scrap yarn just to get the hang of the stitches. 

It turned out OK. Much easier than when I'll have to change yarn colours every round and work in the ends so I don't have thousands to weave in when I'm done. I do need to improve my transition from the centre 4 sets of double crochets to the next round.

This light DK yarn worked well with the recommended hook size. There is a whole set of videos on the techniques for this project which were very helpful. I found this other video that shows how to weave in the tails as you go so will probably use it as Janie Crow's leaves the tails loose to be woven in at the end - hundreds of them.

Barb and Poppy are almost as giddy as I am about starting this project. I was able to make the one granny square in over an hour. Of course, changing colours every round will take longer. 

I also started practicing to make one of the octagons and I got as far as round eight.

Janie's photo

My challenge for the octagons will be to remember to change hook sizes when required. I'm going to be crocheting from the pattern and then referring to Lucia Dunn's colour changes for every row. I may have to do a spreadsheet to keep it all straight.

The other project I'm starting today is a sashiko project/stitch along. Poppy is also going to do it. I happened upon a video this morning before heading off to stitching and got as far as preparing the fabric for drawing the grid. The live lesson will take place in about an hour via Zoom. There are over 500 of us participating this afternoon and about that many this morning in those time zones.

I'm more of a holistic thinker so am not that comfortable being fed steps without seeing the end product but I think it will be very similar to the stitching I did for the triangular needlebook. 

Today at stitching at Judy's, I took some pics of her lovely stitched pieces hanging in her kitchen.

I love these two. I have done the top one (Hello from Liz Mathews' 'Token of Fall')  myself and I was Teresa Kogut's model stitcher for the bottom one, Kindred Spirits.

I may do Home of a Needleworker at some point. I have a spot in the kitchen that would be perfect for it.

This photo of Teresa Kogut's 'Come to the Garden' does not do it justice. The frame is just perfect for it.

In consultation with Google Lens, this is called 'Beloved' by Running with Needles & Scissors. 

Google also tells me this is 'Egyptian Tower' from the Vickery Collection.

Judy has some other stunning, framed stitchery pieces in other areas of her home. I'll get some shots of them sometime.

Also at stitching this morning, I got more done on Clovis the Badger. 

I have the legs and feet to do and all the dots on the dress. I'd like to do them (not sure if Clovis is a he or a she or non-binary) as a standup and have Miss Hazel 

still to do that way plus the Autumn Cat I stitched after last year's Pastime Pieces retreat. 

I have a vast number of projects that need fully finishing. I will probably never get them all done but will commit to finishing one per month - if only to show at the guild's Show and Share segment of their monthly meetings.

A little later...

I just sat in on the Zoom meeting with the designer of the sashiko project. Most of the information was sent as .pdfs in emails so the Zoom meeting was just an opportunity for folks to ask questions. Many folks hadn't seen the setup video linked in the earlier email so there was quite a bit of confusion. Also the stating of the dimensions wasn't consistent. Some folks were confused about what the final product of today's work would look like. Fortunately I have a wee bit of previous experience so I was able to extrapolate the salient details from all the kerfuffle. 

I had cut and seamed the fabric and turned it inside out so during the Zoom meeting I drew the reference lines:

This is what the front will look like when we're done:

Because we're stitching through two layers of fabric, this is what the back will look like:

These embroidered cloths are found in traditional Japanese households and can be used as placemats, covering teacups, drying vegetables and storing them in the fridge, extending freshness. Our project is a mini Japanese flower cloth.

I'm glad I had all the required materials on hand and was able to get started right away. Hopefully tomorrow we'll start stitching - my guess will be the horizontal and vertical dashes creating boxes.

Cottage Trip

Sue invited me up to the cottage this week. Even though the visit was only going to be overnight, it was surprising how much stuff I took 'just in case'. 

After the 2.5h drive I arrived and unloaded. We relaxed and chatted for the rest of the afternoon out on the deck in the shade. Thankfully our heat wave had broken and the outdoor temperatures were tolerable. It was a very pleasant time getting caught up.

I met Sue when she moved into my sorority house back in university days. We have kept in touch over the years (as explained in my previous post). After a lovely swim in Nottawasaga Bay

we ventured into Midland for dinner at The Boathouse Eatery on Midland Bay.

After supper we headed back to enjoy the sunset on the beach.

We had a very relaxing time reminiscing about days gone by and chatting about lots of things that have gone on in our lives over the past 50 years.

Thank goodness we had no activities planned for this morning as I slept in until 10:30! After coffee and breakfast, I packed up the car and started for home at about noon.

 

My first stop was at Thimbles and Things quilt shop near Orillia.

Being a sucker for precuts, I found a charm pack and two mini charm packs plus a fat eighth of a dark blue fabric.

After a quick lunch at Arby's, I then made for the Kimat Designs pop-up shop in the garden shed at Myrtle Station Wool just north of Whitby. 

There, I had a chance to look through many of the new patterns offered at this year's Needlework Market in Nashville. I saw a couple that would be fun to do but first, I must finish a bunch of UFOs and fully finish some in the stack of FOs.

Poppy and Barb are all in on the Persian Tiles quilt and have been watching the YouTube videos on the subject. I'm really looking forward to starting it when the yarn arrives in the next week or so. 

At Judy's on Monday, she had all her finished Animal Crackers critters on display. Some of them are stand-ups with flat bases and some are little pillows. I love the crown on the frog and the little doll in its hands.

I still need to fully finish Hazel the squirrel and finish stitching Clovis the Badger. When I go to our guild's retreat at Elim Lodge this fall, my plan for Friday is to spend an hour on one of my many UFOs like I did at last fall's retreat.

I'll also be taking my Persian Tiles crochet project to work on when I need a bit of a break from all the stitching over the 4 days.

These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity for me. I'm glad to be home now and not have any major things on the docket for a few days. I need to catch up on my rest. As fun as it is to pursue enjoyable activities and visit great friends, it's good to relax and plan what projects I would like to undertake next.

Adulting - Ugh!

A week away from home was a very welcome break in the routine. I really enjoyed having others direct my day, feed, and entertain me. It was great not having much responsibility other than for myself for a few days. Now that I'm back home, I'm still recovering from camp's frenetic activity.

After breakfast yesterday I went back to bed and mindlessly watched YouTube videos on a variety of subjects. I had a couple of errands to run which I forced myself to do then scurried back home to my 'cocoon'. 

This morning I had a call to make then puttered around here. After lunch I headed out to pick up a few things only to find the pharmacy hadn't received the prescription refill order from my doctor that I had called earlier. I called the doctor again but the office was closed so I left a message for them to please fax the order to my pharmacy so the prescription could be refilled. I then did some shopping and went home. 

I made a Chefs Plate meal which was very yummy and added a cob of corn as a side. 

I usually make both servings and freeze the extra one for another meal. This order had 8 potatoes, which were way more than I needed in addition to the red pepper, onion, and zucchini. I only used 4 of the potatoes and still the mixture completely covered the cookie sheet I baked them on. I still only ate about a third of the veggies that were prepared, plus the fresh, sweet corn. My version:

I didn't cut the veggies exactly like the recipe called for and buried my meatballs in the garlic dill sauce. Yummo! 

After supper, I had an online meeting then had to whip over to Poppy's to take her birthday gifts. I'm heading to a cottage tomorrow for two days (one night) so won't be here for the auspicious day tomorrow. Our stitcherly 'gang' will celebrate her birthday at brunch on Sunday at a local eatery.

The big task that had been hanging over my head and that I accomplished while out today was to buy yet another range hood to complete my kitchen renovation. Initially the plan was to have a microwave oven over the stove with the built-in range hood, but it hung down too low over my gas stove so I exchanged it for a range hood. The one I ordered was backordered for over a month, then a couple of weeks went by before the installer cold come to put it in. When we held it up to the spot, I didn't like how far it stuck out over the stove and how deep the unit was below the cupboard above the stove so I returned it and decided to get a more appropriate one elsewhere. Then I went away last week and did nothing about getting another one.

Long story short, I have ordered one that still sticks out farther than I liked but is shallower. It's stainless steel to match the fridge and stove, has LED lights, and the filters are mesh metal and can be washed in the dishwasher. It is not returnable so it better be right. It is being delivered on Saturday. Then it'll be another couple of weeks before the installer can come and put it in. This will involve cutting into the bottom of the new cupboard above the stove to connect it to the vent that goes outdoors. So that will be the last week of this month. As of right now, I don't have too much on the calendar for next week. Yay! All this running around is a lot for me right now. 

Tomorrow, I want to get an early start for my 2.5h drive to my friend's cottage just north of Wasaga Beach. It will be nice to visit with Sue (another long-time friend and sorority sister from my university days) and her daughter, Erin. Sue and I have kept in touch all these years. Early on we'd carpool to our weekend retreat with some of our other Gamma Phi Beta friends. We have been through a LOT of life events together. I remember at our weekend 'retreats' in our late 20s and early 30s we speculated that we'd still be getting together when we were senior citizens. And here we are - still getting together.

Another thing I spent a ridiculous amount of time on last night was deciding to buy the crochet pattern for the Persian Tiles afghan. I'd been eyeing it online for a while and had the opportunity to buy a kit at Mary Maxim in Paris (ON) last month but the colourways weren't really grabbing me. So last night I did a search on Ravelry for ones other folks had done and came across a colour variation by Lucia Dunn.

So I bought a .pdf of the pattern from Janie Crow and the variation formula from Lucia Dunn. 

Then next task was to decide what DK yarn I would choose. Someone on Ravelry had used Michaels' Impeccable Solid DK. My local Michaels had all the colours and quantities I needed but the balls only have 50g and the called for Stylecraft DK yarn comes in 100g balls. Also the Michaels yarn was more expensive even for the 50g balls. I went on the LoveCrafts website and found all the Stylecraft DK yarns I needed and even with $14 CAD shipping from Berkshire England, it will be less expensive than buying it all from Michaels. So the order is in and Canada Post should deliver it within about 10 days. 

The octagons are quite intricate but there are several videos online which will guide me through the process for the octagons, granny squares, and both kinds of triangles (side and corner). Also the pattern has line by line instructions and big charts to follow. I have the hooks ready to start as soon as the order comes in. 

3.5mm, 4mm, and 4.5mm (depending on what shape is being worked on)

Only one colour wasn't available from LoveCrafts. Michaels offers several DK yarns but I needed a light DK (3) rather than a regular DK (4). I did the math and Patons Astra is a light DK and almost exactly the correct weight as the Stylecraft. I also may make the afghan bigger depending on how much yarn is left over after doing the required blocks. Each octagon has 10 or 11 colours so I will be mastering burying the yarn ends as I go. There are additional instructions available for the outer border so I'll probably need to use more Astra yarn for that.

Poppy and Barb have afghan projects on the go, well UFOs, actually, from two years ago, so maybe I'll inspire them to get going on them again. 

Now I must throw some things together to take to the cottage and head to bed. I'd like to be out of here by 8am tomorrow at the latest.

Home From Camp

Camp was a lot of fun. Once I realized 95% of the people there had a lot less musical training and experience than I did, I relaxed, knowing I wasn't going to have to work to hard to get the rust off my musical skills that had lain dormant for over a decade. This was the daily schedule which shows all the classes that were offered:

Our individual schedules were written on the back of each of our nametags. This was a very handy feature because classes started at different parts of the hour and I always had to remind myself if I needed to go to the 2nd floor or the 4th floor.

Rifka had warned me not to sign up for a class for each of the 6 periods and I'm glad I didn't. I really needed the rest in the middle of the day.

After waiting around a lot after breakfast the first day for the first class to start, I timed how long it would take me to get to the dining hall from the dorm (about 5 min) and set my alarm accordingly to make it there before the dining hall closed at 9. My first class, Choir for All didn't start until 9:20. 

There were about 70 of us in this group. this is only part of the first couple of rows. Because we were such a large group, we rehearsed in the recital hall.

Then the ukulele singalong class and vocal jazz (with the same instructor in the same room) took us to 12:50 and lunchtime at 1pm. Since lunch was served until 2pm, I often would find a practice room to practice my vocal parts for about 20 minutes before going for lunch. Sometimes I'd practice on the electric pianos set up in the lobby of the recital hall if no one was using them.

To learn my vocal parts, I'd find a recording on YouTube and on my iPhone and plug my earbuds in. Then I'd put the piano's headphones on over them and play my alto part on the piano along with the singers on the YouTube video. It really helped a lot. You've gotta love technology. If I wanted to sing along, I used a private practice room in one of the rooms upstairs. 

Then I'd go down for lunch, then back to the dorm until my next class at 3:50. 

During this break in the day, I would usually lie down to rest and listen to an audio book, setting my alarm for 3:30 so I could compose myself and walk back to the music building (5 min) for Concert Band. Last period was Celtic music - basically a lecture series about Celtic culture in Cape Breton Island. I brought my knitting to this class and on Thursday finished the second, striped Kroy sock and grafted the toe closed.

Dinner would be served in the dining hall from 6 to 7. Then a long time to kill before the recitals would start at 8. Some evenings I'd sit outside in the shade as it would be a bit cooler then and I wanted the fresh air and a change from the frigid air-conditioning. One night, due to the misplacement of one of the critical instruments, a recital didn't start until 8:20. I usually did knitting or caught up on correspondence during these lulls.

There were lots of performing groups at each recital. We would get the programs earlier in the day so if we were performing, we knew to go to the 'green room' three acts ahead to be ready to go on. This was the weekend schedule for final rehearsals and concerts:

I got an action shot of Debi performing in a percussion ensemble. 

It was a total surprise to see her there - we just happened to sit in front of each other in the dining hall the first day. I joined the same sorority (ΓΦB) she was in 52 years ago. I had seen her a couple of times since - at both of Lorna's weddings, and most recently back in 2019 when she was performing in a handbell concert near Christmastime. From that concert:

Debi inspired me to want to try handbells but I signed up too late for that class at camp this year. It had very limited enrolment and filled quickly.

I also took a pic of Rifka (in the light shorts) and some of the altos performing in one of the vocal  ensembles. 

Recitals usually ended between 10:30 or 11pm followed by snacks (chips and fizzy water) back at the dorm. Wednesday night was Cabaret night in The Terrace - a reception hall in the building next door. Instructors and others entertained us with various acts and the bar was open for beer, ciders, coolers, and wine. I didn't want to be hungover the next morning so I only had a vodka cooler. 

Then right to bed until the next morning when all this would start again. 

Concerts by the groups that rehearsed all week started on Friday night. Two of the groups I was in performed: Concert Band and Jazz Choir. The performances went well. I was able to clear out my locker afterwards as I only had my Choir for All music to tote for the concert the next night and the ukulele group wasn't performing in a recital.

The ukulele in my locker. I also stored my backpack with my oboe and music stand in there.

Back at the dorm, I finished the toe decreases on the first Regia Yak sock and grafted the toe.

I'm not really fond of the colourway but the yarn is deliciously soft. I'll cast on the second sock tonight but it definitely won't be an identical twin since the colour repeats are so long.

Saturday morning was our last Choir for All rehearsal after which I had the rest of the day free. I probably should have gone back to the dorm to start packing but hung around the music building and practiced my alto parts after lunch until the next recitals at 3pm. They ended about a half hour before dinner at 6 then it was time to get ready for the concert at 8. Choir for All was in the second half of the program followed by the Musical Theatre group doing some solo and chorus numbers from 'Anything Goes'. Then it was back to the dorm again to grab some snacks and finish packing.

I skipped breakfast yesterday, got the car packed up. turned in my keys, and hit the road by 9am. I stopped en route at an ON Route near Cambridge for a bite to eat and a coffee and got home by 11am.

I'm really glad I did a variety of musical things - singing and playing the ukulele and oboe. I'm not sure I want to be in a small ensemble next year but would definitely consider orchestra as well as concert band. There was a suggestion to offer the next level for ukulele which I would take but if only a beginner's singalong is offered I would probably take that again, too. I'd also be interested in handbells. Lots to think about.

After all the activity last week I'm pooped. Yesterday afternoon and evening I just sat and noodled on the iPad and watched TV like a zombie.  The only unpacking I did was fish my charging cables out of the suitcase. 

This morning I went to stitching and then home to rest and do laundry.

Creating music was such a large part of my life for so many years. This week was a really great way for me to get back into it again. I have so much training and experience it's been a shame that I haven't done anything with it for so long. All that being said, I'm not sure I want to commit to anything that would require much effort on my part. I'd consider playing oboe in an ensemble of some kind but I don't want to have to schlep into The Big City for evening rehearsals. In the meantime, I can plink along with my ukulele and sing along with YouTube videos. That might just have to do for now.