This is Vermont!

This is what it looks like as you drive through Vermont on Rt. 89. They don't allow any billboards so you can really savor all those green hills and mountains. My DH drove, so I worked on my knitted Bohemian Scarf Blanket. 

This is Lake Champlain from the Marriott in Burlington, Vermont. Across the water you can see New York state. I think those are the Adirondack Mountains. The ferry goes between VT and NY.

 

This photo was taken in the bathroom, looking through the bedroom/living room, and out the window to the lake. There was a big balcony too. At first we had a room on the third floor which was fine, and we could see a little bit of the lake. My DH called the front desk to see if there might be a room available on a higher floor, and this is what we got...at no extra charge! 

Tomorrow I'll show you the photos from the Vermont Quilt Festival which was wonderful. 

Ah, Starting a New Quilt!

Here's my sewing table. Pink chair (cheap from Staples), Russian dolls in the window, waving hand (wearing the sleeve of a shirt that I transformed into a short-sleeved shirt) and holding a selvage ornament from selvage-quilter Elena, and two pincushions that look like sea urchins with all the pinsies. The gray thing on the windowsill is the docking station for my phone so I can listen to music and charge my phone. The sewing machine is a Juki 98Q. It does just the basics (not even zigzag) and I love it.

 Big turkeys walk through the woods now and then. And they have 12 babies too. 

The silk fabrics on the table are auditioning for a new quilt. They'll probably all get chosen.  :)

Intermission: I'm off to the Vermont Quilt Festival today. I'll report back to you with photos.

Boho Scarf Blanket Progress

Here's the progress on my Bohemian Style Scarf Blanket. Only the scarf on the left is finished. When I'm riding in the car I can't measure the scarf accurately, so I just pull the needles out and start another. Yes, I have loose stitches exposed there, but if they get messed up I'll just rip out a row or two.

The Basics: Size 8 needles, Acrylic yarn medium weight (about 23 colors), 26 stitches, each scarf is 62" long, all Knit stitch.

Quilt Inspiration

Remember the Red and White Quilt exhibit in New York City last year that featured a quilt similar to the one above as its logo? Well, there's a pattern for it for sale on Etsy by "Collector With a Needle."

Here's a TREASURY of 16 beautiful quilt patterns to inspire you. Happy Quilting!

Space Hotel

Want to really get away from it all? This is the space hotel. 

The "room" accommodates up to 7 people. That way you can split the bill because a 5-day stay will cost $1,000,000. You can have a vertical or a horizontal bed. With no gravity, you don't really need a bed, right? You could just hang. This is the creation of a Russian company and is expected to be open in 2016. I wouldn't do this, even if it wasn't so expensive. Too far away from earth.  Would you?

See more photos and read about it here.

Meet Catherine Hawkes

Catherine Hawkes is from the UK, now living in Sweden. She made this adorable sock dog who has such a winsome smile! Maybe that's because this doggie likes to eat croissants. Read more here.

Offspring Teapot (and 15 More)

"Offspring Teapot" was made by Kazem Arshi of Orange County, California. What a creative idea!

Want to see more amazing teapots? Here's my new teapot treasury. Enjoy!

Teatime Wind Chimes

This is the creation of Teatime Wind Chimes from Indianapolis, IN. She likes to go antiquing and incorporate antiques into her life. I wonder what these wind chimes sound like...and if we normally have enough wind to get these pieces chiming. She has about 15 in her shop now selling for about $40-$70. 

Happy Father's Day!

 

I'm so lucky to have had a wonderful Dad! I hope you are too. 

One of the things that my Dad taught me was not to worry about what people are thinking. He said, "They're not thinking about your (insert worry); they're busy hoping you won't notice their (insert worry)." 

He said, "Never make fun of anyone's name. Ever."

Also, if you are in a car accident, "the first thing to do is get your carcass off the road" to stay safe.

He made the best apple pies, played a fierce game of Scrabble, would help with term papers, and always had time for us. He was a math/engineering genius. His name was Jack. My siblings and I should write a book about him. 

Enjoy the day!

Monster Pincushion - New Today

Hahaha! I'm having so much fun. When the knitted front and back pieces came out of the dryer I knew these tentacles weren't going to be tucked out of sight inside this pincushion. No sir. When you accidentally make a monster pincushion, you just go with it, right? Here it is. 

Red and Yellow Pinsies

Here's the first batch of pinsies in my Etsy store. Aren't they pretty? 

Sea glass green collection is on the way. Also yellow and gray. Stay tuned. 

My Knitted Bohemian Scarf Blanket

This is my current knitting project. I take it with me on road trips and work on it while watching movies in the evening with the hubs. I know how to do grown-up knitting, but it's so much fun to keep the knitting real simple and just play with the colors.

  PATTERN: Cast on 26 stitches. Knit across. Repeat. 

Change colors now and then.

Make it the length you want your blanket to be. Knit a bunch of "scarves" until you get the blanket width you want. I plan to crochet the scarves together, probably with black yarn (enclosing the tails). Then I'll crochet a border of some kind. I'm using 4.5mm needles (Size 8), and Vanna's Choice 100% acrylic yarn, medium weight. It comes in so many beautiful colors and it's easy to find at JoAnn, Michael's or A.C. Moore. Priced at about $3/skein. And like a scrap quilt, if you run out of a color, so what? If you discover a new pretty color when you're half-way through, add it in! Liberated knitting. One nice thing about making this in "scarves" is that you don't have to carry a half-blanket around with you all summer. Short needles are convenient too. Care to join me? Send me photos of your project and I'll feature them here. I told my husband that I'm knitting him a pair of pants and a vest. Haha. (He's the L.L. Bean/Brooks Brothers type.)

Patchwork Pillows

While taking a look at patchwork pillows on Etsy, I found this pretty one by Lillyville.

And this one by Lisa Jane:

See the whole treasury of Fabulous Patchwork Pillows.

Ikat

These pretty Ikat pillows were made by Ginette from Bali. She's made a huge collection of pillows; you can see them here: Ikat and Batik. Look at all these interesting patterns! Ginette is originally from New Zealand. She moved to Bali to be near her daughter. She likes the vibrant arts and crafts scene and her favorite activity is shopping for fabrics in the markets. Oh Ginette, we'd love to come with you!

These pretty gray pillows are by Jessica in Portland, Oregon. See more here.

And here's a beautiful Ikat painting by Jennifer Moreman in Tyler, Texas.

Fabulous Selvage Quilt by Liz Borajkiewicz

Look at this gorgeous selvage quilt by Liz Borajkiewicz of Bristol, CT. I'm so excited about this quilt! She embroidered the design on the black border. And I love those black and white stripes. Bravo, Liz!!

Natalija's Blue Treasury

Natalija from the Ukraine made a treasury of beautiful blue items and she included my blue Fenton glass hat pincushion that I just listed today! That was fast. 

Here are two more of the images from her blue treasury. See the treasury here.

This cute elephant is one of the felted items in her store: Tasha Toys.

Cute Sock Monsters

Is this a cute little monster or what? Her name is Ginny by beezmiller in Chicago.

Read more about this little monkey by Linda Snelson from New Hampshire here. 

See all 16 monsters in my new treasury.

Personal Helicopter Car

This is the first car that transforms into a personal helicopter, made by PAL-V. It's expected to be in production in 2014. See a short video here. Wow!

Memorial Day 2012

Today we remember our fallen heroes and pray for God's blessings on their families. 

To all our armed services, "We deeply appreciate your service. Thank you."

String Quilts in the Works

String quilts are so much fun to make. This is another of the design wall auditions for the "Tracks, Combs and Ladders" pattern. Today I'm making some string baby girl quilts with lots of florals in bright colors. I'll show you soon.

New String Quilts! Pattern Too!

This is my latest publication, a 17-page pattern and idea book about string quilts made with rectangular scraps. One of the many designs is shown below. I've made a bunch of these quilts. They're fun because they're fast and easy, and the design possibilities are endless. No measuring, matching etc. 

Perfect for new quilters, or for quilters who are new to string quilting. This is what I was working on when Eileen visited on Tuesday. It was easy to talk and sew; no concentration necessary to do this quilt! See "Tracks, Combs and Ladders."

My Sister Eileen

My sister Eileen and I spent the day sewing in my quilt room yesterday. What a great time we had.

She made a rainbow quilt for a young friend's graduation gift. I'm working on a series of string quilts. 

She's moving from RI to the Lansing, MI area next month. So we were visiting while the drive is still easy. But a 13-hour drive won't stop us! We had fun remembering things from our childhood while we sewed. 

She showed me how to make the most delicious chicken dish. Measure 1/2 cup of each: mustard, molasses, and cider vinegar. Marinate for 30 minutes or more. Bake for 1 hour at 360 degrees. Eileen can whip up a dinner for any number of people without missing a beat. She has a big heart. You can probably tell from the photo, right?

Guesthouses for Your Feathered Friends

Are these charming little birdhouses or what? Check out this treasury of birdhouses.

My sister Eileen is visiting today and we're sewing all day! Ya-Hooo! I'll show you photos tomorrow.

Hahaha

I had to think about this one for a second! Haha. See Rocket Surgery by Fit to Print in New York.

You'd have to pay attention to which ear you put each earring in so it reads from left to right. In One Ear, by Carol Ann in San Diego, CA.

And last, "Find X." I love this. Haha. Over 4,200 people looked at this ad. I guess I'm not the only one who likes it. 

Thousands of Dolls

Did you know that there are over 13,000 doll patterns on Etsy? Yikes! After browsing through a ton of them, here are my favorites in a treasury.

Galactic Quilt by Bruce Seeds, Treasury Too

 

This big quilt "Galactic" is the creation of Bruce Seeds of Wisconsin. He has it listed on Etsy for $4,300. He made it using just one fabric! This is one of the quilts in my new treasury of Father's Day quilts. 

String Quilts Rock!

This string quilt by Southern Belle is so cheerful. It's part of my new treasury of string quilts. Take a look. Warning: It will make you want to drop everything and make a string quilt.

Here's another link, String Thing Along, from Brenda at Scraps and Things in Canada.

New Sewing Baskets

Take a look at my treasury of creative sewing baskets. 

The beaded fringe in the bottom photo is a nice touch.

Nifty Quilts

This is one of my favorite quilts! It was made by Nifty Quilts from Washington last year at a retreat in NYC that we both attended. Some of my scraps are in this quilt. I thought I was a marathon quilter, but she started before me in the morning, and was still going strong when I went to sleep! I want to make one of these.