Two-colour Biscornu

I found some white 14ct Aida in my stash to use for the other side of the faux sashiko biscornu I designed. It was very stiff and the gauge looked slightly larger than the blue fabric so I washed the white piece to see if it would shrink down a bit. That worked. I did iron it to dry and it was still pretty 'crunchy' but I started in stitching anyway.

As on the blue piece, the stitching went pretty quickly. However the sewing up was challenging because of the stiffness of the white Aida. I persevered and finally got it stuffed and sewn.

The design is somewhat reminiscent of caning used on seats of antique chairs. Again, with the counted fabric, it wasn't possible to go in straight lines. Basically it was a diagonal over two squares, then directly vertical two squares.

Because the scrap of blue fabric was so small, the chart was only 48 stitches x 48 stitches but the pattern could be easily adapted for a larger piece of fabric. 

Scooter came out for a visit yesterday - the last one before he flies to Osaka tomorrow. He plans to study Japanese in Kyoto for 6 months then he'll be assigned to teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) somewhere in Japan for a year with the option to renew for another year. 

It was so nice having him staying here this spring. We got along well, spent time together in the evenings, and did our own thing the rest of the day. He appreciated the quietude of the place - not a lot of drama here - and set up his dad's office for his online teaching. 

I dropped him off at the GO station on my way to band last night. I got very emotional and cried most of the way to the rehearsal.  I hope I didn't upset him when I got choked up. I did tell him a lot of things I didn't want to go unsaid. I am very excited for him but I'm really going to miss him. I wish only the best for him and hope to visit him there next spring. Band was a great distraction but I still get choked up when I think about him leaving.

I'm somewhat packed for our stitching retreat that starts tomorrow. I'm bringing Jen1 with me. I just need to throw my clothes in the suitcase. Tomorrow morning, I'll roll up the duvet and foam bed pad and take them and my pillow downstairs. Most of my stitching is packed and at the front door. Between her bedding, suitcase, and projects as well as mine, we'll definitely fill the trunk of the car. 

I am bringing several UFOs to work on in a rotation on Friday. Snacks are packed. I don't have anything for lunch tomorrow though, so may stop into a grocery store en route and pick up something quick.

I thought I'd try and get Skip's iPad 2 working. I've been using it as a coaster but seeing folks using them for band music intrigued me. This iPad dates from 2011 and I suspect won't update beyond iOS 9 but I'm interested in seeing if I can make any use of it. 

A few minutes later...

It turns out Apple quit supporting it back in 2016. It won't even connect to the Internet, however it can be used as a photo frame, clock or calendar, offline video or audio player, or use for static .pdfs like kitchen recipes, etc.

When I went to fire it up (it has the old, wide 30 pin connector, and I actually found one in my pile of defunct electronics), I was able to connect to Apple (I have Skip's passwords) but it sent a 6-digit security code to one of Skip's devices. I had to locate his old iPad mini and it is now charging so I can retrieve the 6-digit security code for the old iPad2. I have his iPhone 8 somewhere but not sure where it is right now. It would have also been 'deader than a mackerel' (as Skip used to say).

Stay tuned...

I Was Inspired

After stitching the blue, sashiko biscornu, I was motivated to find other patterns to stitch. I happened upon this kit on Etsy and thought it would be cool to stitch and attempted to chart it myself.

I tried to chart it with straight lines  It worked for the horizontals but not the diagonals on this counted fabric. The pattern in the photo above was just printed onto the woven fabric and stitched. Flouting customary sashiko straight lines, I made the pattern more or less fit the counted scrap of 14ct navy blue Aida in my stash.

The actual stitching was much faster than the charting and counting. The strip of fabric I had only accommodated 48 stitches. While I was finishing stitching this, I thought I'd stitch the same pattern on white Aida on the other side.

Back into my stash I'll go.

Scooter came out for a visit from The Big City yesterday. He updated his departure to Japan from next month to next week. Eeek! I showed him the array of little bears I had on hand and asked if he wanted to take one. He picked Roscoe because he had a red sweater - like the Canadian flag. I told him he was welcome to change the name. I know he'll be glad to have a 'little buddy' while so far from home.

He plans to come for a final visit early next week. I was surprised at how emotional I became after dropping him off at the GO station. When he left for university, Skip and I knew he was just a couple of hours away. This feels so much different. It's almost like another piece of Skip is going away. I'll be OK - I'll just miss Scooter. It was so nice having him here for a couple of months this spring and again when he stayed for an extra week after housesitting for me when I was at music camp. 

On a happier note, my hibiscus plant is blooming again. I'll bring it back inside when the weather gets cooler.

Another Busy Day

Yesterday was my 4-month post-implant appointment in The Big City (gratefully north near Keele St. and Steeles Ave W).

An xray was taken of the tooth in question. 

Then the temporary was popped off, impressions were taken, then the temporary put back on. I have another appointment in a month's time.

Then the permanent cap will be installed at an even later date by my own dentist in Oshawa. 

Using the $$$407$$$ again made for a very stress-free trip across the top of The Big City and back. When I got home, I did some adulting, some goofing off, then made myself take a nap so I could make it through band that night.

I had printed all my music for band and copied and pasted the revisions we were sent by the conductor so I'd be all ready for the rehearsal. 

At the rehearsal, when I went to assemble the clarinet, the cork disintegrated on the mouthpiece of the clarinet Dunc had loaned me so Laura loaned me a spare mouthpiece for the rehearsal. I'm using a 2 1/2 reed which plays really well for me (and the borrowed mouthpiece) but I'm going to buy a couple of #2s and see if I can get through the rehearsal easier. 

Not being a clarinet player by training, and considering my 20-year hiatus from even touching one, the fingers aren't there yet. The rhythms are all there and Zoltan (my Clarinet III buddy) says I have been of help to him. I explain to all the folks around me that what I lack in technique, I make up in enthusiasm.

I informed our conductor that I could fill in for him in a pinch if necessary considering my 30-year career directing instrumental music ensembles and having been a former assistant conductor of the PCCB. I'm not sure he believed me.

I'm very excited that one of 'my new best friends' from camp, Katherine, will be coming to visit next month and will be able to sit in on a rehearsal. I mentioned it to Helen - a new PCCB flute-playing member who remembered her from camp. Katherine can sit with her. Dunc has already planned a get together at his place.

Also, Jen1 will be available to join us for some crafting chez moi that day as well. 

Scooter's departure for Japan is only a few weeks away. He's coming out for a visit tomorrow. I so appreciate the effort he makes to schlep all the way out to Whitby to visit me.

Tonight is our first Trillium Guild meeting. And next weekend (not to be confused with this weekend), is our stitching retreat at Elim Lodge. Jen1 and I will carpool. Several folks are bringing their sewing machines. Some plan to make up their Needleworker's Companion from the panel purchased last year at the Swindon event with Hands Across The Sea. I haven't decided if I'll take my machine and work up some more project bags.

I do have two retreat mats and a couple of completed project bags I'll be taking if anyone wants to purchase them from me. If I get the ambition, I can make a couple more up to take. I also want to take a pile of things to give away as we always have a 'give away' table.

Then we'll be into October already. with another guild stitch day, Thanksgiving, the wedding in Ottawa, Stitch North, the PCCB Hallowe'en concert, a Kimat stitch day, Hallowe'en, and the usual Monday stitching, monthly guild meeting, dental and medical appointments, Katherine's visit, and James' departure to Japan.

I should probably go take a nap now.

Crochet Update

 I've almost finished sewing all the lanterns onto the blanket. 

There's one column of 11 to finish and the last column of 10. Looking at the photo now, I realize I should have started a column of 10 on the left side rather than the column of 11 on the right side, as the pattern calls for columns of 10 on each side. 

Unblocked, right now it's measuring only 30" x 50" - not wide enough for a throw blanket in my opinion. There is LOTS of remaining yarn so I'll make at least another couple more columns of lanterns.

Following up on Barb's crocheted sheep,

I bought the pattern on Ravelry (Shoop the African Flower Sheep) and have sourced the yarn I'll be using.

Photo from the designer's Ravelry page.

While at Len's Mill Store in Cambridge on the weekend, I bought a ball of natural Kroy sock yarn and a multicoloured ball. I then rooted through my vast sock yarn remnants for other yarns that would work.

This sheep is not going to be very big with me using sock yarn (called for in the pattern) but it will be a good first try. There is a technique for joining the blocks while doing the outer round which I may try to master.

So far I have done one pentagon, four hexagons, and one heptagonal block.

I could have done the centres with the natural yarn, I guess. Oh well. I'm making sure the round before the outer round uses gold or yellow yarn, and, of course, the outer rounds will be with the natural yarn.

The next one I'll make will be using DK or worsted weight yarn. I also have TONS of handspun that would work very well for a project like this. 

The 2mm hook is a size larger than the pattern specifies for this weight yarn. The fabric is still pretty dense so the stuffing won't show through. I'm not liking working with such a small hook as the yarn splits easily.

They do work up pretty quickly. I haven't counted how many of them I'll have to make. If I don't use the 'attach-as-I-go' method, there will be a LOT of sewing the blocks together.

Bridal Shower

On Saturday I drove to Cambridge to attend my grand-niece's bridal shower. It was a good place for it - a somewhat central location for the attendees coming from the Sarnia area, Durham Region, and Ottawa.

I arrived at Cambridge an hour or so before the shower so popped into the Len's Mill Store just off the 401 and Hespeler Road to pick up some supplies for a new craft project. More about that in the next post.

Surprisingly I knew almost all the people at the shower: the bride-to-be, Andrea; her mother and aunt (my two nieces Rosa and Ana); my grand-niece, Melisa and her two young daughters, Riley and Remy; the groom's mother, Jane, cousin, Sam, and cousin-in-law, Amanda. The latter 3 with whom I spent Christmas of 2024 in the Dominican Republic. I also had previously met Lisa and Jo-Ann at the quilting retreat in July. I also got to meet Sarah's mother, Carolina, who had prepared a delicious Italian pasta dinner for Ana and Rosa after their mother's funeral visitation. Skip was very impressed with it. I hadn't met one of Andrea's friends who attended, nor Sarah, Andrea's childhood friend, but I had heard lots about Sarah since they were little girls and Andrea attended 'Secret Heart' elementary school.

Sarah hosted the shower at their very cute home in Cambridge. There was so much character in the place - arched doorways, natural wood trim, many-paned windows, glassed-in porch. I couldn't resist taking a photo.

The theme of the wedding is 'Til Death Do Us Part'.

What would a bridal shower be without any games? 

Dozens of 'diamond' rings were stashed around the house. The person to find the most would win a prize. The one hanging from the frame above was one of the last to be found. The young girls found most of them on their own and many of us gave them the ones that we had found. Then Remy and Riley pooled them to win the prize. Jane had donated one of her lovely pottery creations. The young girls asked who would want it. Of course, I said 'pick me, pick me'.

With the holes in the bottom and the little plate underneath, it could be used as a berry washer or even a little flower pot.

I loved how Andrea's dress coordinated with the theme, particularly since I don't ever recall Andrea dressing in any other colour than black.

After all the gifts were opened, the lovely bride-to-be modeled the hat made from bows and the pop-up card - a bouquet of flowers in a vase. 

As we were leaving, we received a favour, a memento of the event: a pair of candles wrapped with a sprig of lavender.

It was a very nice way to spend the afternoon. I'm always glad to get to visit family.

The drive home was happily uneventful, largely due to the delightful cross-country route plotted by my Apple Maps. Evidently there was a traffic snarl up on the 401 between Cambridge and Guelph that this alternate route avoided. I drove through farm country on secondary highways and county roads. Campbellville was the only major centre I traversed.  Back on the 401 at Guelph Line, traffic was not plentiful and moved smoothly to my hookup to the $$$407$$$. I got home shortly after 6pm.

The next day, I hurkle-durkled (slept in and languished in bed until mid-morning) and started another crafty project.

Sashiko BFF (Biscornu Fully Finished)

I finished stitching the biscornu and fully finished it. Because I had altered the pattern to accommodate the fabric I had on hand, I had a heck of a time determining where to put the backstiched border on the bottom fabric. I counted, pinned every 10 stitches, then in the other direction. I wanted the bottom to be centred. Finally I decided to start stitching the outer border. I had to pick out and redo entire sides to make sure I had it centred. 

Then came the task of sewing the top to the bottom. Because I had made sure there were an even number of stitches each side of the centre, this was a fairly easy task. However, the fabric was not totally square - the warp was wider than the weft so I had to make sure I had the correct sides together.

All the being said. I stuffed it on the last pass of sewing it up, found a pearl bead for the top and a small, pearl-coloured bead for the bottom.

It was a LOT of stitching but not difficult and pretty fun.

Tomorrow I will be attending the bridal shower of my grand-niece, Andrea, in Cambridge. Of the 13 attendees who RSVPd affirmatively, I know her mom and aunt (my two nieces),  as well as the mom, sister-in-law, and cousin of the groom whom I spent Christmas 2024 with in the Dominican Republic. 

I hope to leave here in time to have an hour or so to have lunch and possibly pay a visit to Len's Mill Store before moseying over to the shower.

Getting Inspired

When stitchers get together, they like to see what others are working on and share what they're working on. Judy and Bev have been working on a sashiko biscornu designed by Atelier Pin & Needle.

The pattern is available on Etsy.

From my stash, I found two darker blue squares of 22ct evenweave fabric that had already been surged on the sides. They weren't quite big enough for the whole pattern so I made the pattern smaller. I was too tired to count carefully from the centre so just started in the corner, knowing I'd have enough room for the smaller version (right piece). 

I got this far on the other piece before heading to bed. 

Because the design has an odd number of stitches per side, when I did the backstitching around it, I went out three threads from the design edge instead of two. Now the backstitching is an even number of stitches. This will make sewing the two pieces together easier as the corner of one side starts at the edge centre of the other piece. 

This pattern is really sashiko-esque because the Japanese technique is usually done as surface embroidery, that is, stitched from the design drawn onto the fabric. This counted method, although very neat and tidy, deviates from that a bit. However the result will be quite striking.

On the first square, I did the horizontal lines down to the open part, then the verticals. I just wanted to see how it would look in that corner. Then I filled in the rest. It involved a LOT of stitching using 2 strands of B5200DMC and a #26 needle. I should be able to finish the second square today between adulting housework. 

One chore I don't mind doing is laundry on a nice, sunny day like today. Everything is going out on the clothesline passive solar dryer. The bedding will smell great when I crawl into it tonight.