this and that

Last weekend, we (Bob and I) made a little journey south.  We were hoping for a bit of warmer weather to counteract the unusually cold spring we are having, but the weather really didn't get much better.  After all, it's less than 200 miles, so we shouldn't expect to wear flip flops with our winter coats, right?!

We did get to attend a baby shower for my niece, Nora, hosted by 2 of her girlfriends.  It's Nora's first, and her mom's first grandbaby, so I really enjoyed catching up with them on how this baby-making is progressing!  Here's Nora, with her mom, Mary, and my mom, too.  This will be my mom's 6th great-grandchild and the 4th boy.

One of the shower decorations was this sign, and I love the verse on it!

Meanwhile, my own little grandson, Leo, is growing by leaps and bounds!  We went from the 20th percentile on growth curves at his 1 month checkup, to 50th percentile at 2 months!  I think he's determined to catch up with his big brothers, Ian and Jack.

I can't wait for Nora and Mary to get the chance to ooh and aah over their little guy's milestones!  Leo is starting to smile and interact in a real way, not just hopeful thinking!

I'm into baby-hat-knitting mode, and here's another one just finished!

And another cast on!

This yarn looks a lot like denim.  It's called Tenderfoot and comes from The Polka Dot Sheep out of Whitefish, MT.  The color is named Stillwater.  I've lost the name of the yarn used in that first hat, unfortunately.  I really should get better about keeping the names and care info with the yarn, but if the yarn sometimes needs to be wound into a ball or "cake", and then the label doesn't stay connected.

No sewing done here except to get the quilting and binding done on 2 quilts for classes at Bear Patch, that was on a deadline so I was very happy just to meet that deadline!  Especially since I was the one that set that deadline for all the class samples to be turned in!

Along with getting all the class samples ready for display, there is a lot of "backroom" work on the computer, which is what I have spent some time on the last few days.  If you want to see proof of my labors, just look through the class information for the store's website.  Click on any class, and you will get a full description plus details.  I'm glad that's all done for now, but I'm still looking for errors every time I look at it!  There are a lot of dates and times and requirements to include, and after awhile they are all swimming around in my head like a whirlpool!

Today, I'm swearing off computers and going outside while the sun is shining so I can pull some weeds!  Have a great day!

project report

Even though I haven't shown much proof here on the blog, I really have been continuously sewing and quilting and knitting behind the scenes.  It kind of goes in little bursts and doesn't feel like I get much traction on any one project when there are too many in the works.  But here's some updates!

This lacy scarf is a long overdue completion, using a very special yarn.  It's called Quiviuk and it was a gift from my son, Dan, as a souvenir from a trip to Alaska.  What a great son, on his business trip and he finds yarn for me!

This has had some starts and stops since I first posted about it in 2012.  Sometimes it's like that.  I was frustrated with the pattern I was working on then, and I unravelled it and tried a couple other patterns before landing on this one.  A simpler lace.  I knew I would make something lacy with it for a couple reasons.  It would stretch the little pack of yarn further, with the open stitches.  And it is so lightweight, it feels like a feather, and will be fine for a simple dress-up for a shirt or dress.  And won't be overly warm!  I love the way it turned out!

I don't actually remember where I found the directions for this stitch pattern, but it's pretty simple and therefore, easy to pick up and put down on short notice.  Here's the stitch pattern:

K4, (YO, K2tog, K2) repeat between () across the width of the scarf.

I cast on 28 or 32 stitches (can't remember which), it just has to be a multiple of 4.

Knit 2 rows at the beginning and before cast off.

 And another knit that I hope is quick:

A simple little baby hat that with a little luck will be done in time for a Saturday baby shower to go along with this blankie--

 My niece, Nora, and her husband, Shane, are expecting their first baby, a little boy.  I get to attend the shower on Saturday back in my hometown.  This blankie was made from a square of plush double-sided cuddly fabric.  The binding is about 1" wide, and is sewn on by machine.  If you have ever tried to hand stitch a binding to plush stuff, you will understand why I chose to do this one by machine.  I think my mom sewed the binding for this when we were at a retreat last fall, before I even knew about this little baby coming our way!  It's good to plan ahead!

And a fresh finish!  The binding is done on my Mini Rings quilt and it's in the bag ready to go to Bear Patch.  It will be offered as a class this summer and on display at the store soon.

So that's all for now, folks!

And let's all sing Happy Birthday to my little sis, Jan, today!

a correction and my apologies

Correction to my pattern "Ten":

On the back of the pattern cover, with the yardage requirements, add 1 1/2 yards border print fabric.
On page 1 with the cutting directions for the border print, cross off 6 1/2" x 72".  Change to 8 1/2" x 54".

I am very sorry for the errors, and I apologize for any problems that result.  If you have a problem or complaint, please contact me at myemmalinedesign@gmail.com or 612-750-1085.  I will make things right for you.  These patterns have only been sold at Bear Patch, so I can backtrack most of them via our computer database.  However, there are always some that can't be tracked down, so that is why I am putting the information here.  Again, my apologies, and I feel terrible about this since I found out yesterday.  Anything printed and sold from here on out will have the corrections made.

Sometimes the old saying, "Haste makes waste" is all too true!   Working on the Quilt MN fabrics for a pattern every year brings a firm deadline.  I am sometimes printing the patterns on the night before the deadline!  This year, I thought things were good because I was ready about 3 days early!  I do the printing myself, and collating and folding and packaging, too.  Because I am on that deadline, I never have enough time from the point that the fabric is available.  I usually have the basic ideas in mind or started on the computer, but I often change direction once I have the actual fabric in hand.  So that does not leave me the time I need to have test sewers work on the quilt.  I really like coming up with new quilt designs, and I like to be able to share them, but the part about getting everything down on paper in an understandable format is the bad part.  I can only hope that this is the worst it gets!

On a much happier note:
I completed a knitting project!  Another winter scarf, this time for myself, although the hot and humid weather makes it seem strange to be working on it!  I wrote about it in a previous post.  I like it posed on the deck railing!

 That means that I get to start a new project, and this one is by request from some young moms I know (that would be Brita and Molly!).  I'm giving it a try and we'll see if it turns out to be worthy of Miss Ada.  It's the Azel Pullover and I'm using a chunky yarn and large needles, so that goes fast.  It's multi-sized, and I chose to start with the smallest size because Ada is 1 year old.  I hope she's walking, because this would not be a good thing for a crawler!

I'm enjoying a few days with my mom and sister in Iowa.  My brother, sister-in-law, nephew and friend, niece and husband have also visited or been visited, so it's been a good time.  Jan, my sister, is returning to her home in San Francisco today, so that's no fun.  But we did something special every day, and made the most of our time back in our hometown of Lake Park together.

Mom's house is on the shore of Silver Lake, with a good place to relax on the deck and watch the lake life.  And here's a picture of her very self reliant hollyhocks, too.  They always re-seed themselves and take care of themselves all summer, too!

We took a little drive to the Round Lake Winery, (on the shore of Round Lake!) about 10 miles away.  It was a great afternoon to sit outdoors and share a bottle of their 2012 Merlot.  It was a very good year!  They are making some good wine out in the middle of the corn and bean fields!  Here's a toast to you....

not a lot of knitting

Knitting has not been at the forefront of my fiber life lately, but last weekend I did pick up a project that has been in the works since winter sometime.  

This pattern, Technicolor Scarf, and the yarn (sorry, I can't find the yarn label to tell you what it is, but the pattern recommends Liberty Wool by Classic Elite Yarns) were gifted to me.  By someone who also likes knitting, and knows that I do!  It's a fun present to open with pattern and yarn together.  It's made from 2 colors of yarn, in my project, one is lime green and the other is that purplish-green-blue mix that you see in the lower half of the picture.

The scarf is made with something called a Brioche stitch.  I've linked to a video about it.  Not sure where that name came from, but it has nothing to do with brioche bread.  Maybe because it leaves me hungry for more?  Each row I do makes me want to do the next one?!

Anyway, it's not a difficult pattern to do, just a rectangular scarf.  And the yarn looks and feels great, all soft and cushy.  The stitch pattern repeats over a set of 4 rows, and ends up making a nice reversible-looking scarf.  The stitches are basic:  knit, purl, yarn over and slip.  The yarn seems heavier than worsted weight but not as much as bulky.  I'm no pro at knitting, so some of these yarn variations in size and weight leave me wondering.

The only problem I have encountered with it is correcting mistakes.  Yes, I make mistakes!  Even though I always think I'm doing it right, I sometimes miss something and don't find it until the following row.  This project has 224 stitches in a row.  I have had to "unknit" more than once because unlike some other stitch patterns, this one is a bugger for me to repair as I go.  I get the yarn overs crisscrossed with slips and knits and purls, and it makes a mess.  Carefully removing 224 stitches takes some thought!

Here's an ugly tangled mistake that I thought looked OK on the reverse side.
Not so much.

Last weekend, I knit this while riding in the car to go to Nisswa to visit some friends at their lake home.  It's about 2 1/2 hours away.  On the straight parts I can easily knit without getting nauseous!  But it's not always the best positioning in the seat, a bit cramped, so it's easy to slip up on the pattern.  I now find myself at a mistake that I tried to fix, but it's not a good fix.  So there's some unknitting to do again before I can move on.  It probably didn't help that I also did some of this while we were playing 500 out on the deck at 9PM as it was getting dark!  I think that's where the mistake was made!

So I will have to set aside some time to focus on this in a few days.  Right now I am engrossed with a new quilt pattern that is on a deadline to be done soon, so knitting is on the way back burner!  Someday I will have a finished project to show you!

souvenirs with special meaning

One of our little side trips during vacation in Montana was to the Glacier Round House Pottery shop in the country near Columbia Falls.  We were there almost 2 years ago and liked their style, so this year we brought a few more pieces of Montana back to Minnesota!  Nice people designing and crafting their goods in a beautiful big yurt.  Actually 2 yurts, I think 1 is their residence.  I remembered that we had a common bond of Gustavus Adolphus College, too, so you know they are good people!

My souvenirs from Glacier Round House Pottery--
serving bowl, 2 glasses/mugs and a drip coffee maker complete
 with a cloth reusable filter.

 I used the drip coffee maker with cloth filter this morning, since I was making coffee for 1, and it worked just peachy!

Are you wondering what I've actually been doing for fabric fun lately?  Well, I did manage to visit 3 quilt shops and 2 yarn shops on the trip, so some fiber found its way into my suitcase along with the pottery!  But aside from that, I have spent a few evenings finishing up the blocks and assembly for this:

It was started last January on retreat and it took a bit to pull it together.  It's all paper pieced so ranks high on the list of putziness, but that's the best way to achieve these triangles and shapes without losing my mind!  Here's the pattern, available at Bear Patch--

 I used a gray "shot cloth" for my background fabric.  It gives a real nice finished look, but I have to admit I didn't like working with it so much because it ravels so easily.  But it turned out well in the end, so that's a good thing!

During downtime on our flight or while taking it easy instead of hiking, I had a simple little knitting project along.  The pattern is Sarah's Fingerless Gloves, free on Ravelry.  The yarn was Adriafil from Knitcol, an Italian company.  It's washable wool in a DK weight which is slightly heavier than sock yarn.  I finished them back at home and now they are drying after a bubble bath.

I've also started a new pair of fingerless gloves.  This is a pattern and wool yarn from the Polka Dot Sheep from Knit 'n Needle Yarn Shoppe in Whitefish, MT.  The shop is the home of Polka Dot Sheep goods.  I bought a yarn called Tenderfoot, in the Stillwater color.  It's 80% wool and 20% nylon in a fingering weight.  Would be great for socks, that nylon helps the wool last longer.  I learned early on that pure wool yarn looks and feels great, but doesn't last as long as the nylon blends when being walked upon all day!  I had great help from the woman working in the shop with figuring out what would work best for me.  They are very helpful by phone or online, as well.  This turned out to be my Mother's Day gift from Dan because he had gone to the shop and purchased a gift certificate for me.  Thanks!

I loved the chance to visit one of my most favorite quilts at Dan's!  I even got to sleep beneath it!  This is a New York Beauty quilt by Jan Stone, sewn in 2000-2001 for Dan's high school graduation gift.  He has taken very good care of it!  I just looked up the pattern so I could link it for you.  It's out of print but available on Amazon for a mere $196!  Guess I'll be hanging onto my copy!

fresh new things

A finish!  On Sunday, I was on a mission to finish up this new knitting bag for a store sample.  It's a pattern by Among Brenda's Quilts, and is named Wooly, Wooly.  It has zippered vinyl pockets and slip vinyl pockets, big pockets all the way to the top of the bag, some with divisions for tall skinny stuff (knitting needles and crochet hooks).  Inside, there are snap tabs for separating yarn strands.  There is a drawstring top closure and an adjustable carrying strap.  It has a lot going on!

I found the pattern to be pretty clear.  If I were to do it again, I would have changed some fabric placement on the outside to remove some of those chopped up apples, it's a pretty large scale print. I love the fabric, it's from a relatively new design/fabric maker, Cotton + Steel. Also, it's a heavier weight fabric than usual quilting cottons, which lead to some pretty thick seam build-up that was tough to manage.  I did some grading of the seams (trimming out layers) and even got handy with the hammer to flatten the thickest seams.  Although I love my Bernina for almost all my sewing, in this case, my Juki was a life saver.  It accommodates thicker things beneath the foot, and has a more powerful force behind the needle.  Even with that, I could feel and hear when it was really working hard to penetrate everything.  So it's perfect for something like this, but is limited by the fact that it only does straight stitching.  There are trade-offs in everything!  I'm lucky I have what I need for various sewing situations.

Now, just a pretty picture!  This English Paper Piecing project was draped over the chair to get it out of the way for dusting.  And it just looked pretty!

One of the fun things we did while Ian and Jack were visiting was indoor gardening.  The day after they arrived, great-grandma Sally and I helped them dig in some dirt and plant some seeds.  Everything but the tomato seeds sprouted, and the peas were the champs because they grew the most!  In fact, the peas and the few beans that sprouted are going to the compost heap now because they are too long and spindly, and it's not nearly warm enough to put them in the outside garden.

 The grass is ready for Easter eggs!  One thing that isn't seen in these pictures is the celery.  I think it was the first thing to show some growth.  I simply took an old wilted remainder of a celery bunch, chopped off the top leaving about 1" of root and base of the stalk.  I put it in a little pot and just barely covered the surface deep enough with dirt.  Now it's growing into a whole new celery plant!

yes, we all make mistakes

There seems to be a misconception that I can't make a mistake!  Not too long ago, I messed up on something I was making, and what I heard from the people who knew about it was that they were relieved to find out that I could make a mistake, just like the rest of the world!

Oh, yes, I have made some doozy mistakes!  I don't document all of them, nor do I even talk about them, but believe me, they happen!

Here are just a few recent ones:

I made these 2 little love bunnies for the grandsons.  But on the way to getting the parts all sewn together, I got the head on backwards on one of them!  Not something that could be overlooked, since the ears were not facing the right direction.  So out came the seam ripper, had to turn things all inside out again, but finally got the head on straight!  And if you've ever done something like this that has to be turned through a tiny opening, you know the frustration as the stitches pull and openings expand as if by magic, making it all the harder to hand stitch the opening closed.  Squeezing that big stuffed head through a much smaller opening was something like childbirth!

Then, here's a nice quilt top to admire--

what doesn't show is that the rows were first assembled in the wrong order, so again, the ripper comes out!  It was pretty confusing, due to the mix of hexagons and triangles, and I kept trying to flip the rows end for end thinking that surely there must be some easier way to make it work, but the ripper ruled!  It is finally all together and I couldn't be happier!

And my mistakes are not limited to just sewing, either!  Actually, I probably make more mistakes in my knitting, because I tend to just decide to keep working a little farther.  Somehow I think that the mistakes will fix themselves!  Here's a cute fingerless glove that ended up fitting me so snugly that it is going to end up going to my sister, Jan, who has teeny tiny hands.  (Actually, this just brought to mind an old Saturday Night Live skit of the girl with teeny tiny hands singing a Lawrence Welk tune, but that's a whole different realm of teeny tiny hands!)  Anyway, this was supposed to be a glove set for my son, and no way is it fitting him!  And I think I had a feeling from the very beginning that even though I thought I was following directions for a man's glove size, it looked like a child size!  What was I thinking?!  So now I need to make glove #2 like this for Jan, and then start over with some new directions for man hands.

So yes, we all make mistakes!

finally some sewing (etc.) to share

I haven't put up much here lately about the creative side of my life, so here goes:

A young friend of mine, Molly, gave birth to her first little baby about a week ago (or so).  I had some fun making her pretty little crib sheets for the nursery and some pennants for her name (Ada) to decorate the wall.  When I first heard that her choice of colors for the nursery was gray and green and purple, I wasn't sure how that was going to work out.  I found out that the walls were painted a fairly bright limeish green, and the purple that she was going for was definitely not lavender!  She came into Bear Patch one evening and we picked out some bolts that fit into her color scheme.  After that, it was easy to visualize how it would look.  In addition to the crib sheets, I have put together this small quilt for Ada, although it isn't finished for the young princess yet!

One more touch that I added for the nursery was altering the curtains Molly had purchased to fit the windows.  And more importantly, add light blocker lining!  We know how precious a sleeping baby is, and sometimes the darkness is so important to calming and relaxing.  In the picture above, you can see the difference between the naked curtain on the left and the lined curtain on the right.  I highly recommend this little addition for any babies in your life!  I purchased RocLon Budget Blackout lining for this, cut a rectangle to fit and topstitched it across the top and down both side edges of the curtain.  I left the bottom loose and didn't turn a hem or anything because this stuff doesn't ravel.  Do use a walking foot if you are sewing this, and plenty of pins, because it tends to not feed through the machine quite like ordinary fabric does.

Just a couple days ago, I decided I wanted to make one more thing for a Christmas present.  I went for something made with bulky yarn and big needles so I have a hope and a prayer of getting it done in time, given the fact that my knitting time has been pretty limited lately.  I made this once before, it is the Gaptastic Cowl.  I gave it to Brita and she thought it was great, so I'm game to do another!  The pattern is a freebie, so maybe you would like to give it a try yourself!

And speaking of knits, Miss Penny of Whitefish, seems to have taken possession of the scarf I made for Lauren!  I guess Penny knows a good thing!

Another knit gift that is completed and in the mail is a neat pair of fingerless gloves.  In the picture below, I have one glove that is done and blocked, and the other (on the right) is done but unblocked.  I didn't know the value of blocking when I started out knitting, thinking it was just something that the really good experienced knitters did and that I didn't have time for such fuss.  Well, turns out I was wrong.  The process of blocking is simple--just soak the item in lukewarm soapy water (mild detergent), then rinse and roll up in a towel to squeeze the excess water out.  Then lay out flat on a smooth surface, and stretch and straighten to get it looking perfectly aligned.  When it dries, it looks neat and finished, plus any little bits of dirt or oil (or cookie crumbs?!) picked up during knitting are gone.  The knit stitches lay much flatter, even though you can't really see that in the picture.  But the edges and ribbing lay smooth and even, making a much more professional finish.  As far at the soap goes, there are several types of mild detergent soaps out there (dreft, soak, soaps intended for babies, eucalan, etc.) but the one I often use is called Show Paste Shampoo from the Fleet Farm store.  It is an animal shampoo, but really good to use on textiles, too.  Who knew?!

I whipped up a little sewing project a couple days ago to try out a new design from QuiltSmart.  It is called the Gadget Cushion, and is the perfect propper-upper for our favorite little hand-held computer devices.  Works great for my phone and I need to try it for my Kindle, too.

During the fall, I got addicted to making these little bags.  I think I made about 2 dozen.  It was just so fun choosing the fabrics and zippers!  I have a few more combos already in a box for the next retreat.  And a lot of these little guys are making some fun little Christmas gifts, sometimes even with a gift card inside!  The pattern is Bridget's Bagettes by Atkinson Designs.  Go ahead, see if you can make just one!

And that's about all for today!  

alive and well

Just letting you know that I am still breathing!

I have found the answer to one of life's important questions:

How many times can a 2 year old ask "What's that"?

Answer:  Infinity

We (Bob and I) spent a wonderful long weekend with our 2 little grandsons.  And then collapsed!

There are many entertaining things to do when you are 2.

Ride on Grandpa's lawn tractor.

Look for toads.

Go to the apple orchard.

Help grandma cook something.

Build a fire with Grandpa.

Pull weeds.

Play outside with front end loaders and dump trucks in the sand.

And then there's baby brother, who likes his bottle many times a day.

And learning to eat cereal.

And work on rolling over.

And tummy time.

And holding onto rattles.

And jumping in the bouncer.

We all had a good time, and we were all glad to see mom and dad return from their trip.

Being grandparents is a good thing!

One of our weekly produce bags brought us these very pretty vegies, and I just had to take a picture.  I have never seen a purple cauliflower before!  It turned the water purple when I steamed it.  I should have used it for dying some yarn!

Remember the new yarns that I bought on vacation? I made myself leave them alone until I finished the little sweater that I had been working on.

Here it is after washing, all laid out to dry.  

The letter "B" stands for Burke, their last name.

And solves the problem of whether to put their first initial on it and then the other won't get to use it.

And now that that's done, I am figuring out my next project!

call me huckleberry hound

Yesterday Dan and Lauren took us up the gondola on Whitefish Mountain and showed us how to find and pick huckleberries.  These are a local delicacy, and folks get sort of territorial about the berry patches in the wild.  We did not witness any berry wars!  We just wandered around the mountainside a bit and didn't have to look far to find some bushes.  These berries are a little small, they do develop larger when given the right growing conditions.  We were picking them simply to eat, not collecting a bunch like a few other people we saw.  When we arrived in Whitefish last Sunday night, we were treated to a fresh huckleberry galette (sort of a rustic pie) that was delicious.  Now that I have seen how hard it is to gather any significant number of berries without eating them, I am so impressed that Dan and Lauren shared their berries with us in a pie!

Today has been spent on the road, after forcing ourselves to reluctantly leave the kids and Whitefish behind.  We did so many fun things, and have some left to do next time!

We drove east across the middle of Montana, with rain most of the way.  There had been significant rains in some areas, with lots of water in ditches, etc.

Even covering the road that we had to drive through!  There was a police-type person there who told us it was safe to drive slowly on the left side of the road, which Bob did while I pictured the car floating out to the prairie!  

I have had a chance to do some hand stitching on these wool applique samples for a future class for Bear Patch.  I did most of the preparation before leaving home.  I finished up the cornucopia that I had begun back at home.  Then today I got almost all of the candy cane done.  And tonight in our hotel I did the pressing to fuse the snowman all together so he is ready for stitching tomorrow.  I can stitch without motion sickness when the road is pretty smooth and straight, as it is in a big chunk of eastern MT as well as the rest of North Dakota that we will cover tomorrow.

patterns from Buttermilk Basin

 Before leaving Whitefish, I did make stops at a couple of shops for more "souvenirs"--

first, at Whitefish Quilts.

I found some odds and ends, patterns by local designers, a bit of fabric, etc.  I always like to find things that I won't find easily back home in Minnesota, and I really scored at this shop!  Some fabric lines that we don't have at Bear Patch, a sweet little ruler that will always remind me where I got it, some applique designs from an Alaskan woman with blueberries and lupines, both appropriate for MN, too!  The woman working (sorry, I didn't get her name) was very good at answering my questions and giving suggestions.

Then I hopped over about 3 blocks to Knit 'n Needle.  Their online presence is Polka Dot Sheep, selling both their own patterns and now their own yarn, too.  I liberated 2 skeins of yarn and one little pattern to bring home with me!  Jill was working there and was so friendly and helpful.

I think that pretty much covers the yarn and fabric shopping portion of this trip!  I did even get a little bit of sew time because I took my machine (Viking) out for Dan to experiment with.  He's interested in making some tote bags so we had a little sewing lesson.  If only I could have stayed longer, I could have taken him through the construction of a whole bag.  Instead, I left him some instructions and spare fabric to practice on.  I'm sure he can create something amazing!

a trip to the mountains

It's vacation time, and the livin' is easy!  We have spent this week enjoying the beauty in and around Glacier National Park, but more importantly, spending time with Dan and Lauren.  We have done so many fun things, and we were lucky that Thursday they could both take a day off from work.  Even though the day looked pretty dark and cloudy to start out, we did end up with a beautifully sunny day.  Our lunch was eaten on the shore of Flathead Lake, watching a few boaters drift across.

And the day would not be complete without a few stops just for me!  This beautiful muted colored yarn was purchased at Camas Creek Yarn on Main Street in Kalispell.  The shop is in a beautiful old building and they have renovated the upstairs into accommodations.  They have become known for the licensed products they create for colleges--hats, scarves, etc. with the school colors and name.  The yarn is by Raven Ridge, a local spinner/dyer.  You can see her interesting colorways on her website, all derived from the colors in nature.  If you scroll down a ways on her website, you will see the whole story of the process of dying the wool.

There was another stop in Kalispell at Glacier Quilts.  This is a great source for fabric, they have an extensive collection.  More batiks than I have ever seen in one place!  And they offer a lot of the picture panel prints that can be worked into a quilt or wallhanging.  I listened in as 2 of their staff assisted a woman pick just the right fabrics to coordinate with an American flag picture.  They were really helpful to the customer.  I walked the aisles of the quilting cotton, but what ended up going home with me were some squares of hand dyed wool to be used in some future project.  The colors were great.

We have only one day left of our visit in Whitefish, so I better get off this computer and enjoy it!

multi-tasking

While my sewing machine takes charge and merrily stitches along, I simply need to be present to change thread colors when it tells me to and try to intercept any problems that might arise.  So, of course, I need something to keep my hands busy.  This is one of the wool applique projects that I brought along--

It is a pattern by Buttermilk Basin, By Thy Hands September, and will become part of the block-of-the-month series that I am starting at Bear Patch.  This wool portion is sewn by hand and then joined with a traditional quilt block that is sewn by machine.  The best of both worlds!

Barb, one of the ladies attending the retreat with us is sporting this lovely bracelet, a gift from her lovely husband!

It comes from an Etsy shop for Blackberry Designs.  They can make them for all sorts of interests and people and hobbies and occupations.

I am loving this new project bag that my kids gave me for Christmas.

It actually is a knitting bag, and that is how I have been using it until I packed up for this trip and realized that it would be great for toting my handwork projects.  It comes from the Tom Bihn company.  Made in Seattle and co-designed with the people at Knitty Magazine, a great source for wonderful knitting designs.  There are pockets and stuff sacks and pouches and leashes to coordinate in wonderful saturated colors.  This is the Little Swift.  I thoroughly love this tote bag and all of its features.

Oh, and by the way, Tom Binh makes lots of other neat stuff, like backpacks and messenger bags and briefcases.  Check it out!

I think Ian is developing his own creative side, now using his pajamas for a hat!  Such a style icon!