Next

I am finishing up another small quilt but didn't take many pictures of it along the way.  I love the stage where the top is pieced and pressed but I missed that shot.  This photo was just to mark the rough layout if I wanted to return to it exactly.  I didn't need it, though, as the arrangement of blocks was not that critical for this scrappy design.  I will post more details later and pictures of the finished quilt.

Maelstrom

I liked this sock pattern from the moment I saw it. Sometimes it takes awhile before the image on the internet becomes socks on the feet. The yarn is Dream in Color - Smooshy (color Beach Fog) and the pattern is Maelstrom.

I will send these socks to Katherine with wishes for strong knots and calm seas.

Sharp

When my interest in quilting surged a couple of months ago, I decided to move in a new direction.  Typically, I would concentrate on using materials I had on hand and so, typically, I made the first quilt from my stash of fabrics from Africa.  Then I went to the fabric store and bought all new fabric, half yard cuts of prints that appealed to me.  I ordered a layer cake online and a couple of yards of the same line.  I bought new blades for the rotary cutter, new needles for the machine, a new seam ripper and new pins.  Sharp is nice!  I had what I needed but I've been using the same tools for twenty (okay - thirty) years. 

And all these years, I have been using my mom's old Singer Slant-O-Matic.  It is a fine machine but the tension would drop spontaneously and I had to push on the bobbin winder to get it to go.  I took the old girl into a local service center and the repairs were made in a couple of days. 

I claim to be unsentimental but my sewing skills came from my mother and having her Singer has been a lifelong connection to her.  She moved in April from Assisted Living to Memory Care and the Bernina 1130 that had sat in her closet unused for three years came home with me.  She would want me to have it.  I stuck it in a cupboard for six weeks.  It took some time before I was ready to even look at it.  Now, cleaned and serviced, the Bernina is ready and I, sentimental, will sew away on my mom's machine.

Two Hats and A Head

I crossed paths with a styrofoam head and brought it home. My favorite hat model is 900 miles away and the heads that live here are all unsatisfactory for one reason or another. A fake head is always available and doesn't need to try to take the picture while modeling the hat. Hats just look better with heads in them.

Enough about that...

These are odd colors but I was using up yarn and keeping my hands busy. This hat has gone along on a few rowing trips as it fits just right and feels good.

On this fourth version of the Joni hat, I actually followed the pattern and knit in the stripes on top. I thought the colors looked a bit off balance, though, so I added a knitted ball at the end.

Music in the Parks

Ray's school participated in a music competition at a water park yesterday.  These events are held each year in amusement parks across the country.  The competition was more like a festival; I think every school got a trophy and the venues are selected to reward the kids for their practice and improvement over the school year.  The local band director expects a lot from the bands he teaches and puts difficult and challenging material in front of them on a regular basis.  The middle school choir also performed and took home first place and overall trophies.

When chaperones were chosen for the all day affair, I took two steps back but since the organizers wanted a nurse or a medical professional, I still made it on the list.  It was pretty fun and the kids had a great time. I enjoyed the music and the water park was fabulous for people watching.  I had some knitting on the bus and tried not to hear the details of Truth or Dare or "who likes who".  Even without the brass and the drums, those kids were loud.