Catch-up

So, I haven't shown any pictures lately of what's in the works, so here's a little catch-up:

A new sample from my own pattern, Hocus Pocus, to be a class at Bear Patch.  Made with Rowan fabrics by Kaffe Fassett, mostly.  The first photo shows half of the quilt, I don't have anybody home to hold it up for me to get the whole thing.  One thing I really need to come up with is a better system for hanging quilts for pictures.  I quilted it with a pantogram called Flower Power.  The colors in the pictures look a lot more faded than it actually is.

Some knitting highlights:  a simple scarf using Noro Silk Garden yarn and a pattern from Ravelry

Socks for Leisl, a BD present, they are on the back burner at the moment while my impulsivity makes me do other things

Another scarf from a pattern on Ravelry by Yarn Harlot, the yarn is a synthetic and nice and soft, I bought it at a place in Spooner,WI.

Finished a quilt of Nancy's--

Just sent off a package to Dan with a stocking cap and scarf, among other gifts.  Yesterday we got to surprise him with a gift card at the service counter of the grocery store he goes to, that was fun.  Thank you to Vons for arranging that!

And now I am on my way upstairs to work on star blocks for a new Block of the Month class.  Beautiful fabric!  The fire is burning hot in the woodstove, the Christmas lights are on, a little music and -20 outside.  Poor Bob, had to go to work!  I thought I might have to go out to get a couple more stocking stuffers, but that plan might change unless the thermometer makes a recovery!

Cap and gown time

An event that just doesn't happen very often--siblings in one room together!  Gathered for the occasion of Nora's graduation...

shown here with proud parents Mary and Jarry following the ceremony in Frost Arena on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD.  Very fun and we are all proud of her for making her way through all the fun and not-so-fun moments and now she will be another in our family of nurses!  It also was fun to be back at my own alma mater, as just a scant 32 years earlier I graduated with the same degree in the same building (which happened to be new at the time!) with the same hopes and fears, relief and trepidation.  I did have the bonus of Bob to hold me a little bit steady over the rough spots, it does help to have someone else who knows what it's like to be put in the spot of holding someone else's life in your hands, and then go home and act like nothing happened because if you talk about it you are breaking every confidentiality rule in the book and besides they just don't get it and that's OK because I just don't get the essence of what they do either!  So it was very good to meet Nora's good friend, Abby, and see that they will surely be there for each other over the next few months.  Nora is getting set to move to her own place in Sioux Falls and go to work for Sanford Medical Center (lucky for Sanford) in the near future.  Best wishes!  Kudos!  Congrats!

Missing Denny

In memory of our friend and cabin cousin, Denny Arnold

just one of those nights...

Having one of those nights...wake up at 2:30, not sure why, can't find a comfortable spot, can't get back to sleep, think it might have something to do with all the very rich food I ate at our Bear Patch Christmas party last night!  It was a very fun holiday event, 21 of us met for appetizers at the store then over to Ingredients for wonderful food.  My choice was the walleye, preceded by a delish salad which contained poached pears and greens and nuts.  The pan fried fish fillets were done perfectly, nestled on top of a mountain of yummy mashed potatoes, drizzled with lemon sauce, and topped with finely shredded strings of beets that must have been deep fried or something to make them curly crispy.  The presentation was awesome.  Dessert was a chocolate present--literally, a chocolate brownie and molten chocolate wrapped up in pastry, escorted by ice cream and nuts.  Lovely in so many ways!  Then we returned to the store for our gift swap/exchange, and time to visit together unimpeded by customers!  Debbie and Laurel always give us very thoughtful gifts, in addition to our own private sale, we received personalized tote bags with the cutest labels and our 2009 calendars.  All-in-all, a good way to celebrate the season with my co-workers.  Did I mention we also brought toys and toiletries for donations?  We had one whole cutting table full of good things to give away.  The fresh snow wasn't enough to stop us all from attending, although we did see several cars off the road, hope they weren't missing any fun parties like ours!

you know it's a good day when...

I don't require a lot to make me happy, a day spent at home is one of my favorite treats, and last Thursday it was especially nice because I got to sew on all 4 of my machines in one day!  What makes a good day for you?  

At the moment, I am in the recliner with my feet up because I have been on my feet all day at Bear Patch, we had a sale today and it was well-attended, to put it mildly.  We had 5 cutting table and 2 cash registers up and running almost the entire day, a lot of yards of fabric went out the door!  We collected food for the local food shelf and toys for the Lions Club, too, and many boxes of that went out the door.  It was a fun, upbeat day and I saw so many people I know.

I am so happy to report that I have had some good sales of my patterns, lately the most popular has been Chill Pill, which is kind of surprising to me.  I thought that it was almost too simple to justify putting it into print, but I am learning that there is a place for that, and simple doesn't mean without value.  I liked it myself, but didn't think it would attract much attention when there are so many patterns to choose from.  It helps tremendously that I can have the quilts on display prominently in the store, and being there to tell people about the pattern and myself is also a bonus.  I'm having fun with it!  And a huge thank you to Dan for his help with the pattern cover designs, it is so crucial to have an attractive and appealing cover to gain the attention of the looker.  He is doing an awesome job!  He also has had a very busy period at work so it's not easy to pin him down on a deadline for my patterns!  

I completed a quilt for a customer yesterday and got permission to share it with you, it is different because it is hand embroidered and then colored with crayon.  This shows one of the 9 different blocks--

I finished knitting a helmetliner to be sent off to the military, I was going to post a picture here but the uplink isn't working right.  It's like a hoodie-hat, and the picture of me wearing it is just something you are going to have to live without, believe me, you aren't missing much!  Cast on a sock that will be for Leisl, I was thinking about trying out the 2-at-one-time method on the "magic loop" needle, but didn't have the right needle so doing it my regular way.  That's all for now!

Not dead yet!

As the title states, I'm still here, just taking a break from some things to take care of other things!  Doesn't mean I haven't thought about you, but just in my own little world for a bit.  A good chunk of my recent time was spent at Nancy's new house, very conducive to concentrated sewing and creating but no internet so I had to struggle along without my daily fix of on-line time.  We went out a couple days for lunch and shopping and so I could get a wireless signal and at least read emails.  Cell phones didn't work reliably there, either, so there was some peace and quiet to be had.  She does have very good satellite TV so we could watch something other than political commercials!  And, of course, take in the beautiful lake and scenery.  What a great house for sewing and crafting!  And what is it about a new kitchen that makes cooking so much more fun?  She has a kitchen island about 5 or so feet long, perfect for measuring and cutting long borders!  Some might think that is just a lucky coincidence, but I'm thinking Nancy had that in the back of her mind when she made the floor plan just for my convenience!  I thank you, Nancy, from the bottom of my heart, for your thoughtfulness and hospitality!  

In your honor, I have decided to name a new pattern that I put together on your counter the Chill Pill--you know what that means!  Nancy's words of wisdom for whenever we get in a snit, just take a chill pill!

Patterns:  Square Pair, Hocus Pocus and Chill Pill.  Soon to be released!  As soon as I get the final changes on the instructions, photos to Dan, time for Dan to get the covers together and back to me, then to the print shop.  So a bit of time but the end is within sight!

Can you believe that Dan went skiing yesterday?!!  Mammoth Mt. opened Monday for the season, they were the first CA ski area to open this year after some good snowfall, and he is psyched!  He was in San Fran last weekend for a trade show and a couple weeks before that for pleasure, and it warms my heart to know that Dan and Brita and Ben can all be together.  I miss you guys!!  Brita ran a half-marathon--YAY!!  I remember all those days of running cross-country at St. Francis, just think of all the miles those little legs have run!  And now she is doing charge nursing on her station, I predict that she will be "VP of Excellent MN Nurses in CA" shortly!

The clock just struck 11 so I am going to see if I can get a few minutes of Y & R before bopping downstairs to my machine.  Have a great day!