Summer Scraps for Sanity!

Hello, Gentle Readers!

Yes...it's been over a month, but I'm still here, still trying to spread light and life in 'the making' of things.

Though this weekend is supposedly the 'vernal equinox' for us here in the northern hemisphere, well...maybe it is where you are, but in these parts, in the weeks since my last post, it's been more autumnal than summer-like.  For a very long time -- April and the first part of May -- we were begging for rain as our snow-pack in the Canadian Rockies was low, and those who grow crops and graze cattle in these parts were worried about drought.  

There was even enough time for the Meadow to produce a reasonable crop of dandelions, so I was able to make a couple of batches of my dandelion jam.  Here's a photo of the first one...

Well -- worry no more! Since the last 10 days of May and right through today, it's been positively autumnal!  Not frosty; just chilly overnight and through most days...with lots of rain.  Gardens have been planted, and the more courageous seedlings have ventured forth, despite risk of drowning!  I'm happy that my lilacs and irises have bloomed, my daisies and lupines are in full gear, and my roses and peonies are in bud.  I've some green beans beginning in their raised bed, along with some salad greens, and my wee cherry tomato has flowers...so onward we go!

All that said, it's been good weather for indoor making!

The chill and the rain mean I've been focused on knitting and quilting, with some cross-stitch on the side.

The little pink-and-white pinwheel quilt I showed in my last post was finished and mailed off to the expectant grandparents, who are long-time friends -- Larry and his wife, Lydia.  Larry was our Best Man at our wedding over 50 years ago.  He called this past week to say that the parcel had arrived on the same day as the baby!  She is reportedly a sweetie and is doing well.  You can't put a price on such long and lovely friendships!  Here's what the finished quilt looked like before it crossed the country by Canada Post:

I even managed to find a sweet label for it in my stash:

This week, I've moved on to another baby quilt -- similar, but different -- and in blue and white, for a wee baby boy.  His family is part of the wider parish from which our pastor comes twice a month for services in our tiny church, about 20 minutes north of me.  He's had a really challenging start to life due to serious health issues -- so I decided he needs a quilt.

Thanks to all the hour-glass units I've made from "bonus triangles" (thanks to the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts!!) I had several in blue-and-white -- just as I had so many in pink-and-white.  So...I took these...

And made them into this, pin-basted and ready to quilt:

I hope to have it finished by our next service (June 28) so I can give it to our pastor to take to Baby C and his parents.

In other quilting?  Well, I've finished the June block (my version) for the 2026 BOM from A Quilting Life.  

It remains a challenge to balance those prints in order to get the best effect and not overwhelm the block!

Finally, in quilty news...I've decided to commit any possible quilting-related time this summer to...SCRAPS!

This means that if I can, I want to use my outdoor studio-on-the stoop for cutting scraps into usable pieces -- squares and rectangles.  This, of course, will depend on Mother Nature's buying in to the process -- not too hot, not windy and definitely NOT rainy!  I managed to eke out a bit of time for this recently, so this is what it would look like if...well...you know...

Outdoor Studio on the Stoop

In addition to all the above, I've been notified by the long-arm quilter at Camrose's newest quilt shop -- The Quilt Closet -- that the "Lupines and Laughter" quilt I sent there for quilting is *finished*!  This is a gift for my son's partner's birthday (August) so I hope to pick it up this week and get it bound ASAP.  Photos will follow!

And to continue the scrappiness...I've returned to string piecing in two formats: diagonal and straight.  

I'm using diagonally-placed strips on both 6 1/2" and 8 1/2" squares to make blocks that will eventually become...tops:

6 1/2" diagonal string blocks

And this is what the straight-string blocks look like:

6 /2" straight string blocks

It will take a while to get enough of these to put together into something useful...but no worries!  The strips/scraps breed in the night, and God willing, She'll give me the time!

Knitting is, I confess, my first love, and my coziest craft -- whether inside or out.  Of course, then, I've got a fair amount to share about it!

That said, I didn't mention much in my last post, but since then, I finished another cozy, scrappy pullover.  It was meant by the designer to be a strictly-striped tee-top, but no!  I didn't want that.  I had a number of bits of scrap fingering yarn to use up and wanted a top-down pullover.  I chose the "Bustleton Tee" and then proceded to follow the instructions...well, let's just day that I followed them "loosely".  

First, I didn't go for fixed stripes.  I was using left-over fingering-weight yarn and when a colour was done -- well, it was done

Second, I wanted long sleeves, so I planned for that.

Third, I wanted "top-down" -- and that's as close to the rules as I got!  That said...here's what I ended up with by doing so:

It looked well enough BUT the neckline was far too wide so...I picked up stitches around the neck and created this:

And here's a closer look:

It fits well, and I've worn it several times in this unseasonably chilly weather, so all's well that ends well, eh?

In addition, I've made plans for this summer:

 - Give main attention to my 'Warm Things Box' for the fall of 2026:

FIRST: the mitred square blanket, long under construction, has been taken up again. It's currently closing in on 11 x 11 squares.  Made of left-over fingering-weight yarn, at about 2" per finished square, I've some distance to go yet!

SECOND: another LOSY Hat (Left Over Sock Yarn Hat) -- barely started, so no photo. Sorry.

After that...whatever calls to me...but there's still the Sea Haven pullover to work on (stockinette 'round and 'round for the body at the moment) and a new pair of socks: the "Cock-a-hoop Socks" from Nancy Wheeler, which I'm knitting in a gorgeous yarn from stash, given to me some years ago by a non-knitty friend:

The colour-way is *very* variegated -- not really what I expected -- but it's making a gloriously mixed-colour fabric. I'm on the foot of the first sock and will show photos in a future post -- stay tuned!

Yes, there is also a bit of rug-hooking, but it's been slow and quiet, on the back burner.  I did finish my "Daisy Cottage", which is my adaptation of one of Deanne Fitzpatrick's patterns, "Starfish Cove" -- adapted because I am nowhere near an ocean or starfish.  Here it is while still on the frame. 

"Daisy Cottage" - a DFS pattern adaptation

I'm not sure how I'm going to finish it, so it's simply stored away for now.

I've joined Deanne's 10-Minutes-a-Day challenge, though, which kicks off on June 25 -- and plan to work on the kit I won from the "Makers' Meetup" at the end of March.  I seem to be drawn more to patterns these days, rather than original work.  My brain appears to need the rest!

There is, of course, also some stitching...but I'm woefully short of photos.  I've been focused lately on the "Little Acorns" SAL from Modern Folk Embroidery, and on "Disagree" from Rebel Stitcher.  The latter is almost finished, but the former -- ah, well, I've a long way to go even to catch up!

I will tell you, though, that my June 1 fabric from the Evertote/Roxy Floss 'Traditional' club arrived -- and along with it 2 skeins of the spectacular "Maritimes" variegated floss (Roxy Floss Co too), which I want to use for Jacob's "Fast Frisian" SAL starting in August. I've pre-ordered the pattern, so I'm all set!

I think that's all the energy I have for this post.  I confess that I continue to struggle with maintaining a certain nonchalance about the state of the world -- especially for friends family and everyone else in Canada's neighbour to the south.  Staying creative, repeating the hand-over-hand work of knitting, cross-stitch, and rug-hooking, cutting and piecing strips and units of fabric, and digging in the dirt of my flower and veggie beds...all of that is an attempt to keep my heart, soul and mind from losing hope for you, dear readers, who may be caught up in the mess, and for those of us being swept along for the ride.

This week Nina Marie suggests that being 'weird' might be an asset, so perhaps as we head toward the end of yet another month, we should all try to be weird...in a creative way, that is!

Linking to her post, then, I bid you a fond farewell, with thanks for reading...and until next time, a bientot!

 

'M' is for March

Mmmmmmm....SO many 'ems' in March this year! 😁

First off, my rug-hooking art inspiration, Deanne Fitzpatrick has declared, "March is for Makers", and created a month-long, Monday through Friday Zoom "hook-in" for all willing and able. For $31 CAD a slew of us from all over the globe have joined in.  Some show up every day. Some -- like me -- are Monday, Wednesday, Friday folks.  ALL of us are having the time of our lives and getting lots of hooking done in the hour we share together.

So...in the last week I've blocked, bound and fully finished two small hooked pieces, and sketched out, designed and drawn out a new, larger piece -- all of which I hope to show at the local Art Show/Sale in April.  (I await notice of acceptance; it's a juried show. Though I've been in it most of the past 17 years, and was Featured Artist in 2023, that's no guarantee of anything!  That keeps my halo from pinching my ears, as my mother would have said! 😉

Duo - 12" square, framed
Assorted yarn and fabric strips 
hooked into burlap

And...

Holly's Bouquet - 9" x 12"
Mounted on stretched canvas
Wool yarn and fabric strips hooked
into burlap

Once those pieces were done and dusted, I had to put a new one on the Cheticamp frame, and so..."Pussy Willows, Cat Tails" has come to be. It's inspired by this Gordon Lightfoot ballad: 

I started with a sketch, and then...this outline on the burlap:

I began yesterday to hook an outline of some of the leaves for the cat tails (bull rushes, so-called, where I grew up in Quebec), and have now filled in more of the leaves:

The vision is coming together...

Meanwhile, the 2026 "Piece-by-Piece" fundraiser opened at the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre on the evening of March 4.  It was dark and snowy, so I didn't attend the opening but dropped in yesterday afternoon when I was running errands in town, and took this shot:

The blue arrow points to my piece, "Under a January Moon", mounted on stretched canvas, which I mentioned in my last post.

The smaller pieces (i.e., not the requisite 12" x 12") were contributed by youngsters aged 10-12, whose parents are artists and who also participated in the exhibit.  For more information or to call in a bid, check out this section of the LPAC website -- with thanks.

To round out my good 'hooking' news this week, my dear friends at the gallery at Curiosity Art & Framing in Red Deer informed me that recently they sold THREE (!!!) of my hooked pieces in one day!  Gobsmacked?! You bet!  Gone are 2 small pieces ("All That Blue, Green and Gold", "Slough View") and a larger piece, "Tree Island".  To say that I'm 'over the moon' about this is missing the mark. Having been known for a long time as an art quilter, to find that these hooked pieces have found homes is a surprise, a delight and a blessing!

But there are other 'ems' in March...

In the stitching world, it's "Monochromatic March"! Who knew?!  Folks who cotton on to this theme are stitching one-colour projects.  A favourite is the 2026 Stitch-Along (SAL) from Jacob at Modern Folk Embroidery, of which I spoke in my last post.  Here's my progress as of February 28th:

While I'm about to start the narrow section just below all that I've done so far, I'm also -- given The State of the World Right Now -- working on another quasi-monochromatic piece.  I say "quasi" because the thread I'm using is a Sulky 12-weight "Blendables" thread and so is variegated with a blue and a green.  You'll see what I mean when I show you this bit from "Disagree" by Rebel Stitcher, to which I've returned after a few months "away":

Of course, other forms of stitchy commentary aren't monochromatic.  I'm not fussy.  If I like the sentiment etc., I'm happy to stitch along -- including this piece -- a free pattern -- from Ellen Reid of Maximum Cross Stitch, entitled "Go Show Love".  I introduced it in my last post; here is where I am now:

In the quilting world -- or, at least, in my corner of it, "M" is for the ongoing Mystery -- Bonnie Hunter's 2026 version, "Lupines and Laughter".  Though the last clue and the Big Reveal happened in January, it always takes me some time to get it all together.  As of now, I've prepared all the blocks for the size I'm making (75% of the full size in the pattern), which means I have 6 rows of 6 blocks each, and I'm starting to assemble them, row by row.  Here's my progress so far -- three rows assembled, but (NOTE) not yet attached to each other:

Of course, before I could lay them out for the photo, one of my trio of Studio Supervisors had to give her stamp of qualified approval!

Miss Sylvie, trying not to look the
least bit interested!

The other bit of a quilty 'mystery' -- the Block of the Month from A Quilting Life -- has a March block out too, but all I've done thus far is print out the pattern!  Stay tuned for that in a later post.😊

Knitters, not to be left out of this 'em is for March' trend, have ongoing Make Alongs (MALs), a Lenten Mystery Knit Along (MKAL) and at least one group focused on using an M-yarn, declaring it to be Malabrigo March. 

I'm participating in the Lenten MKAL, but as it's not over until Easter, I really shouldn't spoil the fun by posting a photo.

I'm not active in any MALs this month -- but I did finish my February socks on time for them to be included in the Socks from Stash February challenge:

Pattern: Fancy Rib Socks
from Patons & Baldwin book #37
published in 1947

This month, that group's challenge theme is "Folklore and Fantasy", and while I have a suitable pattern in my library -- from the Hobbit et al -- it's another richly textured pair and my brain is too full to take it on at the moment! LOL!

That said, besides the Lenten MKAL, I'm continuing to whittle away at my mitred-square blanket, the Bernie sweater, another plain top-down raglan pullover, and the Sylph cowl, which will be for my 2026 Warm Things box:

This photo is from December; it's now about 11 inches long.  As my 'out-and-about' project, it's not getting a lot of love, so it's slow going, as the pattern calls for it to be 26" long before seaming the ends together!  I'm using 2 yarns held together and have only 1 ball of one of them, so will knit until that one has only enough left for a cast off.

All that aside, what's a new month without a new start -- of something? 

A few weeks ago, I won a pattern prize from Karen of "Recreational Knitting" on YouTube.  I really get a kick out of her, her sense of humour and her outlook on life these days.  Anyway, it was a prize related to a key word in the comment section for one of her January posts -- having to do with the "12 Cast-ons of Xmas", I think.  I got to choose a pattern I'd had my eye on, and I picked the Sea Haven pullover from Jennifer Shiels Toland, a designer to whom I'd been introduced on yet another podcast: "Ruth Loves to Knit".  

It's gorgeous!  It's a top-down sweater with a textured yoke, and you can knit it with long or short sleeves (I prefer long).  Karen obliged, I received the pattern in my Ravelry "mail" and this past week I cast on, using deep stash: Elspeth Lavold's "Silky Wool" in a textured grey called "Stormy".  Here's my progress thus far:

I've had this yarn for at least 20 years, having bought it at my favourite LYS back when I lived in Calgary.  I've no idea if the LYS is still there -- it moved locations after I left the city in 2008; it was a great shop!

When Deanne put together "March is for Makers", she was thinking about how March is often a 'lean' month in much of Canada.  The stack of firewood is dwindling, the veggies and fruit that are in cold storage have nearly run out, and it's too early to plant anything but a few seedlings in pots in a sunny spot in the house or -- if you've got it -- under 'grow lights' or in a green house.

March can also be messy underfoot -- snow melting and refreezing for treacherous sidewalks, puddles of water with ice hiding underneath, or maybe even the start of Mud Season.  

And this March has become messy for other reasons, of which most of us are fully aware, by which we are appalled, about which we are more than simply worried.  And so, Gentle Readers, let us remember our role in this: to bring light, comfort, and caring into our small corners of this world -- working with our hands to create beauty, tranquility, warmth and firm, clear, unexpected resistance.  As Nina Marie has posted over at Off the Wall Friday: creativity is the way we can hold on to our own sanity and help others hold on to theirs.  As we are children of a great Creator, and created in love, let's remember our call to bring that to others every day.

And so, my friends, a bientot!

Knitters! Gear Up!

Happy February!

Whether or not Balzac Billy sees his shadow tomorrow (Groundhog Day), this month tends to be one of 'puff and blow; fill the ditches full of snow'.

The World Wildlife Fund here in Canada is reminding everyone that there's more than one way to stay warm.  February 9th is National Sweater Day!  "Pick up your pointy sticks -- it's time to Cast On!" -- Brenda Dayne.

Grannies around the world know best!