oh deer!

Yesterday I woke up, wandered to the kitchen to start the coffee, not really awake yet.  Until I glanced out the window and discovered that I was being watched!  

I know there are deer wandering around but this is the first time that I have seen one bedded down on our lawn!  He/she slowly got up, continued to stare at me, then ambled off into the bushes and trees.  I wonder what was going through that head?

I've been cooking up some new sewing projects and patterns for the new Quilt MN fabric.  Nothing far enough along for pictures, but I'll get some of the work-in-progress soon.

In the meantime, I wanted to share something else that I learned in the finishing stages of this scarf.  I started to do the usual standard bind off, but wasn't happy with the look of it.  I think it was due to the fact that every other stitch was a slipped stitch and made a funny little loopy edge instead of the nice smooth edge that I wanted.  So, I consulted my favorite local knitting guru, Thora Lee.  She is the best knitter I know, so I wasn't at all surprised when she referred me to Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind off technique.  Although it took more time, it turned out fine.  And then I had all the loose ends to deal with, and decided to turn it into a braided fringe.  Finally, all done!

Mini Mania

If you are curious about the size of this, you might like to know that I cast on roughly 300 stitches, used size 6 needles and sock weight yarn.  It measures a little over 1 yard long, not including fringe.  I quit at 4 1/2" and barely made a dent in the yarn remnants!

One more thing to share--I caught a portion of the CBS Sunday Morning show (one of my favorite shows) and saw a very interesting segment about the Royal School of Needlework.  That place takes hand embroidery to a whole different level!