A Little Buddy

I don't remember how I learned about these but a while back I knit what I call a pocket buddy. I had trouble sewing him up so I left the project for a while.

Feeling the need to finish yet another UFO, I fixed the issue I had with it and finished it up last night. I'm not sure what to name him yet.

I had trouble embroidering his facial features and resorted to Hot Fix jewels for his eyes. I love how he looks like he's just standing around with his hands in his pockets.

The pattern is Izzy Teddy Bear Dolls by Esther Braithwaite and is available for free on Ravelry. The pattern includes the basic doll pattern with the striped sweater plus three options for cabled sweaters. I had difficulty stitching the 'arms' evenly on both sides which was my big sticking point initially. 

He's 26cm tall (5 3/4"). I used sport weight yarn from my stash and knit him in the round as per the pattern. He's a bit wonky but I think he's really cute.

The pattern is available for charity knitting. Here's the info about its history and where to donate (screenshots from the website):

Here's how it all started (again, a screenshot):

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! It has been a beautiful, warm fall so far and this weekend did not disappoint.

I decided I'd only do stuff I wanted to do this weekend - no onerous tasks from my 'to do' list. However, yesterday I did a 'tidy up' as I hosted my Monday morning stitchers here this morning. Due to popular request, I made white chocolate-covered cranberries.

I first learned about this recipe at the first JingleBall two years ago. I forget which designer shared the recipe but it's very simple:

• 1/2 bag fresh cranberries - washed and dried
• 1 200g bag of white chocolate chips

Wanna use all the cranberries? Just add a second bag of the chips.

Wash cranberries and dry them. I just roll them around on paper towels.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. I use a metal bowl in a saucepan with some boiling water in it. Microwaving the chocolate would work too but careful not to overcook the chocolate.

Dip each cranberry in the melted chocolate and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, foil, or plastic wrap. Refrigerate. Once the chocolate has re-hardened, the delectable items can be stored in a container ready for eating.

I don't have any big plans for the rest of the day - just noodling around the house doing little jobs, some crafting, and generally kicking back and relaxing.

I'm also taking time to be thankful for all the wonderful people and things in my life - good friends and family, creative hobbies, generally good health, absence of chronic pain, ability to sleep soundly (the last two items are apparently rare commodities among many in my demographic), a comfortable home and plenty of food to eat. Life is good.

I hope you all are having a relaxing, enjoyable weekend!

Catching Up With A Punch Needle UFO

I'm doing a little workshop - an introduction to punch needle - with some of my Saturday morning stitchers in December. When I rounded up all the stuff last Saturday to do a little display, I remembered I had a UFO to complete.

It's Pumpkin Bouquet from The Old Tattered Flag. I bought it as a kit a few years back

 and got this far on it before abandoning it. 

Since it had an autumnal theme and I really only had the background to finish, I did some more work on it last night and this evening. Punch needle is pretty fast.

I finished the neutral background using all six strands of floss. This is the back.

and this is the front. 

The kit had 5 skeins of the background floss but I only used 2 of them. I have no idea how I'll fully finish it but I have some sense of accomplishment getting this much done. Next will be the darker part.

I use a Morgan hoop. It's a double-decker, lap stand. A regular hoop can be used but one must be careful to prop it against something and not just lay it across the lap. The punch needle is very sharp and could easily impale. This hoop has two diameters - 7" and 10" and the mechanism to grip the fabric to drum tightness. It is very expensive, though. 

I just checked Amazon and it's available there but I noticed  another brand (probably a Chinese knockoff) that has square hoops (like the Nurge hoops) about the same diameters at about half the price. In both cases, the hoops can also be used individually.

I popped into Kimat Designs today to pick up the rest of the floss I needed for my Smitten project. More work was done on it. I could have used DMC equivalents instead of the hand-dyed Gentle Art threads but for the large areas (red mitten and cuff) I like the look of the variegation.

The one colour I decided on the spot to get after seeing it in person was Gentle Art Cinders. It's the dark colour just inside each circle.

I'm not going to lie, stitching this is quite tedious. Because of the dyeing, the linen has bloomed so the holes on this 40ct (20 stitches per inch) are not very open. I generally use the sewing method of stitching - down then up in one motion - but on this project I really need to use the 'poke and pull' method. This is much slower than I am accustomed to. However I'm really liking the colours and I poked and pulled while listening to an interesting - yet depressing - audiobook. 

It's John Grisham's collaboration with Jim McCloskey called "Framed - astonishing true stories of wrongful convictions". 

Before DNA testing, many innocent folks were convicted of horrendous crimes based on bad police investigations, poor eyewitness accounts and testimony, and unqualified 'expert' witnesses. Several of the folks in this book were on death row and sadly, not all of them were exonerated before dying in the electric chair. Texas has put hundreds of people to death in their prison system at the penitentiary in Huntsville TX. I actually attended Francey and Rich's wedding in Huntsville 45 years ago. Some of the places cited in the book are places I either drove through back then or on one of the trips Skip and I took to south Texas for the winter - Palestine, Corsicana, Longview, etc.

Another thing I accomplished today was to wash the exterior, downstairs windows. I had been waiting for a sunny, cool day and today was the day. I had ordered microfibre covers for my Swiffer mop and they arrived yesterday. They fit perfectly on my Swiffer.  

I thought one of them would be really good for giving my windows a good scrub. I used hot water, about a cup of vinegar, and a small squirt of Dawn soap. The awesome thing was using the new 16" squeegee I bought at Canadian tire today. 

Screwed onto the extension pole I already had, it did a fabulous job of squeegeeing the soapy windows. It's much wider than the previous one I had used. I completed the task in about 3/4 of an hour. I hired the job out last year, mostly so they could do the upstairs windows but they didn't do a very good job and I didn't get around to hiring them again this summer. With winter coming on, I like the maximum amount of sunlight coming in during the day so the windows needed to be cleaned.

When I got home and after finishing the windows, I had some WhatsApp chats with Barb and Poppy who are in London. They attended the Knit + Stitch Show at Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace) and had lots to show and tell about. Jen1 and Jeanette head to join them this weekend, leaving tomorrow and arriving on Sunday morning, UK time. I am thoroughly enjoying living vicariously and look forward to more chats by text and seeing their photos.

Getting a Few Things Done

I did a lot of puttering around the house today. Not sure I got much accomplished but I did neaten up a couple of completely disorganized areas.

My big boneheaded move today was completely forgetting to attend my first yoga class of this session. What a dope! I'll be there the next couple of weeks but will probably miss one class when Barb and I attend the Pastime Pieces retreat in November.

Jeanette came over so I could help get her various devices synched to her phone for her upcoming trip to England: ear buds, headphones, and headphones. The instructions that come with the devices are very sketchy and I had experience synching devices like that to my iPhone so it was just a matter of going step by step and getting it done. 

I'm having the ladies at my place for stitching on Thanksgiving Monday so have started making the dining room (aka downstairs craft room) somewhat presentable. Still work to do on that front.

I started putting out the autumn and Hallowe'en décor in the front hall downstairs.

Quaker Pumpkin by The Stitcherhood

A Mill Hill kit on perforated paper from 25 (!) years ago. I was fortunate to find the autumn-themed frame. It might be from Mill Hill, too.

I don't remember the source of this pattern. Snorri likes to wear his happy jack o' lantern sweater this time of year. 

Up in my office I noticed the Hallowe'en humbug hanging on my bulletin board. It's going downstairs to hang up somewhere for the rest of the month.

(this is an old photo - I have since restitched the seam to match up the colours)

The pattern is a freebie from Cathi's Stitching Blog. Although she no longer operates her blog, you can try sending her an email for the pattern.

I stitched it on 14ct Aida many, many years ago. Each edge is only 2 1/2" long.

While rummaging about on my desk, clearing up some paperwork, I found an embroidery kit that I bought 3 years ago at the Toronto Guild of Stitcher's event at the EAC's Seminar's Market Mall and Stitcher's Boutique.

The design is printed on the fabric so all I need to do is separate the threads and start stitching.

It was the same event where I first became acquainted with Pastime Pieces and purchased 'Smitten' from All Through The Night which I just kitted up and started last night.

The fabric is darker than this but you get the general idea. I need to pop out to pick up a couple of the flosses I'm missing but will do what I can for now. The fabric is 40ct so I need bright light, magnifying glasses, plus the magnifier on my lamp. Very 'squinchy' work.

Blogger has a new feature that adds additional links to my posts. Not sure I'm a fan but will go with it for now.

It doesn't look like I accomplished much today but I did make some order out of the usual chaos around here.

Daisy's New Blanket

After Aunt Patty made Daisy a quilt and pillow at our Elim retreat, I thought Daisy also needed a blanket. It was also a good excuse to crochet some African flowers.

As I stated in the previous post, I used yarn remnants from my stash. After doing a round with some Malabrigo green laceweight, I finished with a round of the some more off-white sock yarn I round in my stash. Good thing, too because there wasn't much Astra yarn left to split.

Daisy finds it to be very cozy.

I also dug out my geraniums and potted them in some fresh potting soil. I scrubbed the pots clean last night. I trimmed the foliage back and will bring them in the house tomorrow. It's nice having them blooming in my kitchen all winter. Most of these plants are at least 10 years old. I have one small one that I'm going to try the dry root method of keeping it over the winter. We'll see how that goes.

I also need to bring in the hibiscus plant after I repot it some new potting soil as well. Fingers are crossed it'll do OK in my sunny kitchen over the winter.

My cosmos finally bloomed!!! And not a moment too soon - we could get a light frost any time soon. A bee was already enjoying it when I first went out.

The odd bachelor button/cornflower is still blooming. Gardening is not a passion for me but I deadhead as much as I can when I'm out there. 

The calendula are still blooming as well. 

Barb and Poppy are off the England today to begin their holiday which will culminate in Nicola Parkman's stitchery retreat. I am very excited for them and I know they will have a cracking good time.

More African Flowers and Ode to an Iron

I finished the hexagons for the wee African Flowers blanket I'm crocheting for Daisy.

I used remnants of sock yarn and just enough to complete the sparkly gold parts. I ran out of the white though. Hmmm. What to do. I still had some Aran Astra yarn left but it was thicker than the sock yarn. It is, however, a 3-ply so I figured if I could remove one of the plies, it would bring it down to the correct weight. My plan worked very well. I can't even tell which hexagons were done with the Astra yarn and what ones were done with the sock yarn.

I watched this video on how to make the half hexagons. This project worked up quickly with the 3.25mm hook. To sew the blocks together, I used the remaining ply of Astra that I pulled out. It shredded at times so I'd just use more. 

For the border, I'm deciding whether to use a contrasting sock yarn or more of the Astra yarn with one of the plies removed. 

Yesterday was our stitch day. I mostly worked on the Merry Christmas Greetings designed by Kathy Barrick. I purchased the pattern and threads (WDW Seaweed and WDW Bee's Knees) at Colorado Cross Stitcher when I was visiting Francey a year ago September. I bought the fabric at last year's Pastime Pieces Simply Stitching cross-stitch retreat. It's 40ct 'Weatherstone' from Atomic Ranch Fabric.

I had admired Judy's and was pleased to acquire the chart myself at Colorado Cross Stitcher last fall. Judy used the words on the bottom in a pillow and omitted them from the framed sampler. I think I'll probably do the chart as written - with the words.

The reason my project is all wrinkled is my beloved craft iron has ceased to heat up. It was a T-Fal steam travel iron. If I recall correctly, I bought it with my PC Points many years ago, when they could be traded for merchandise from a catalogue. 

It was a compact design like this one:

The water reservoir was in the handle which folded down for stowing in the little canvas travel bag. I used to take it when Skip and I spent part of the winter in Texas. Unfortunately it got dropped one too many times and cracked the handle so it would no longer hold water. It continued to heat up, however, and I used it several years more. It was dual voltage but I don't think I ever used it when traveling in Europe. But it worked great with my 13" x 13" wool ironing pad for my craft projects. 

I tried to take it apart because I think the cause of the problem was the wiring but I couldn't get it apart. 

Checking Amazon, I now have to decide what I'll replace it with. I do have a regular-sized iron which I use upstairs but I really like having the little one for my crafting in the dining room. I'm not too concerned about it being able to switch voltage. The only clothes I iron any more are my cotton shirts and I don't really care how rumpled I look when I travel. That is one thing I enjoy about being older - I really don't feel the need to impress strangers.

I also can't justify paying a lot (i.e. over $50) for an iron I'll only use for crafts.

Also at our stitching day, I brought a bunch of punch needle things to display and answer some questions. I'm doing a little workshop at our stitch day in December where we will make a little poinsettia pin. I delayed locating all the stuff to take until late Friday night but fortunately I found everything I wanted in fairly short order - phew! Among the items were an unfinished project (no big surprise).

Seeing it again has motivated me to get it finished up and framed. I really like how the variegated #8 Valdani perle cotton looks. 

Here's the back: 

And the front:

There are a couple of other kits in my stash that I could work on as well. So many crafts - so little time.

Several of my stitching 'peeps' are heading to England fthis week for 'Mrs Parkman's Academy of Needlework - workshop and stitching retreat' in Swindon. Some are attending the Knit + Stitch Show in London first. Others are spending some time in the Cotswalds. Although a trip with my girlies would have been lots of fun, I really had no interest in the classes. I will live vicariously through their texts and photos.

African Flowers and Upcoming Jingle Ball

Now that my Persian Tiles blanket is finished I'm itching to do more crochet while I watch TV. I happened upon this YouTube video  and became very intrigued with making the hexagonal blocks in the African Flowers pattern. There are several permutations - some with 6 petals, others with 8. Some with added embroidery, most others not. 

I'm using sock yarn so mine will be quite small. I used double crochet for the last round instead of single crochet like most patterns called for.

I'd have to make a zillion of them for an afghan for me but I think one for Daisy would be perfect. I'm not sure I have enough of this sparkly gold yarn for enough of them but I do have other yellow and gold sock yarns I could use. They stitch up very quickly. Stay tuned.

I missed the Jingle Ball, online stitching retreat, last December because I was enjoying my European Christmas Market Tour with Marilyn. However I plan to participate this year. 

Class listings are now up on the website. Tickets are $15US and entitle the bearer to participate in the Meet and Greets, shopping mall, purchasing of exclusive patterns, etc. All patterns are available in .pdf so if our postal strike is still on, we still have access. Kits are only available in the US but with the class information, we can kit them up ourselves.

Two that intrigue me are  Hello From Liz Mathews' Snow Globe class.

and Annie Beez Christmas Pears.

I scored some beautiful green evenweave at Elim last weekend which would be perfect for these. I'll have to check my fabric stash to see if I have any red fabric, too.

I have several of her pear patterns and actually completed one set last year.

I have another set underway but haven't worked on it for a while.

I also have a UFO from the 2023 Jingle Ball when I took the Hello From Liz Mathews class - Santa's Night Ride. I must haul it out and do some more work on it.

Tickets for the Jingle Ball go on sale on October 17. As it is a virtual retreat, the tickets won't sell out.

From past experience, it's a fun, Christmasy, stitcherly event you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. 

Keeping on the Christmas theme, I remembered buying a Christmas mitten pattern several years ago from the Pastime Pieces booth at the Toronto Guild's BMO event. I've been hunting for it and yesterday I found it!  It's 'Smitten' by All Through the Night.

I need to get it kitted up, too. I doubt I'll do it on black or dark navy fabric but I'm sure I have something in my stash or something at Kimat Designs that would work.