cross stitchin' away

I started this sometime in early May, just around the time of horse show distraction I think, and haven't shared it yet. I'm in the midst of a fun and sassy cross stitch project that I found in one of the books I checked out of the library this Spring. Most of the stitching has been in the latter half of June. 

Getting through the lettering and one complete plant feels like I am no in the homestretch. The problem is that whenever I want to work on it, it's evening, and I can't see the stitching as well as I can during the day. I used to wonder at my mom when she said "I can't do light colors at night". Ummmmm. I get it now. Darn.

blocking shift

Some of the sections felt like they would never end, but it's finally off the needles! 

I am blocking it to the measurements in the pattern, which looks a bit long in the point to me, but I'm going to not deviate from what I'm told. It should all work out in the end. Given the cotton yarn, I don't think doing the seam up after this is dry is going to be too much trouble. I think the pattern even tells you what technique to use, which is a bonus. 

Now to wait for it to dry!

half birthday eve finish

Last night I put the last hand stitch in the binding of the friendship braid quilt that's taken a very long time to come into being. Better pictures to come in not-evening light, but suffice to say that it's really gratifying to have this one checked off the to-do list. And just in time for my half birthday! 

Gnarley

This guy is pretty rustic looking. I bet he likes to camp and makes a really good bonfire breakfast. Meet Gnarley, my April gnome for the Year of Gnomes by Imagined Landscapes over on Ravelry. 

This was the first pattern I made out of the Gnomes of Grimblewood book I got at the gnome workshop in February, and it was pretty fun. It did take me until the very last day of the month to get everything stuffed and assembled. Somehow I thought this would be a quick one, but I think I am just slow on double pointed needles with tiny yarn. This may also mean I am not going to do a gnome a month - I need a break to work on other things (like so. many. concerts. coming up). 

I used leftovers for this guy. The body is "Jamie Fraser" from Honey Girl Farms and the beard and nose is "Adawehi" from the same. The cabling on the body may be a bit lost in the variegation, but I am pretty pleased with how he turned out. He looks very outdoorsy. Like I want to give him a log to chop. And who knows? Maybe he is channeling a bit of the Jamie Fraser vibes. He'll have a Scottish accent, for sure. 

still going...

I started this knitting project in early January - Epiphany, to be exact. I cast it on as something simple to take to my first foray into the local yarn store's knit night. It's another design from Melanie Berg and another epic journey through an ombre cake of fingering weight yarn that is more than 1000 yards long, similar to my North Sea Ombre wrap that took me two year to finish. 

 

This is where it was when I pulled it out this weekend in the front garden of the place we stayed in Petaluma. I've got a ways to go yet, but the blue has started to shade into purple! The end is in sight, but the rows get longer... it may never end! 

Petaluma

This past weekend brought a getaway trip to Petaluma, which is a charming place in a beautiful part of the Bay Area. I liked it so much I wondered if it was a mild place to live during the summers... worth considering for the long term daydream!

One of the great things about it was the small town feel, made even better by the presence of a great quilt shop. Quilted Angel was a small but mighty space, as so many quilt shops here are, with a wide array of beautiful fabrics, lots of patterns, and a bunch of lovely quilts on display. It also looked like they had a classroom space in the back. The shelf above was my favorite, full of Ruby Star Society fabrics. I also have to mention that the folks there were very friendly. The woman who checked me out gave us a great recommendation for a day trip out to Bodega Bay complete with directions to a delicious crab and lobster themed lunch spot. 

Our last day in town found us at the local yarn store, Fiber Circle Studio. This was a great space with lot of beautiful things. I took these pictures below for my friend Sam who was interested in what kinds of options there were for loom-compatible yarn. The colors are just gorgeous. 

I of course struggle to leave any quality crafty establishment without purchasing something, and I was on vacation so the excuses to splurge a little were abundant. I did not intend to get thematically matching items, but here we have it. I was in a poppy, plum, and teal mood. Quite a nice combination, actually! 

Bay Area yarn crawl

Oh boy did we have fun! Sam and I cavorted all around the Bay Area, from Morgan Hill all the way out to Livermore and back through San Jose, picking up yarn as we went. I think in the end we went to 5 or 6 shops, most of which were new discoveries and some of which I expect will become regular (if infrequent) spots for me. This came at a time when I definitely did not need more yarn, more projects, more ideas, or anything of the sort. But what a fun chance to head out with a friend for a day of crafty bonding and mutual enabling. 

I think I picked up something at each spot we went to, and with one exception (those gorgeous purples) I do have a project in mind for the yarn I chose. The cottons on the left may combine to be a Shift cowl of my own, the browns I hope might make a summery top, the bundle of lovely minis is a kit for a color work cowl, and the navy and coral I intend for another Hold Sway sweater. See? Justified. :) 

One of my favorite spots was In Between Stitches out in Livermore. It was also a quilt shop! Rather than buying fabric with no plan, I got myself a pattern for some really great totes they had on display. I am hoping this will help me with my goal of sewing smaller-than-a-quilt things this year, and the construction was quite unique so it was different enough from anything I already had. 

I think I have my work cut out for me for quite a long time at this point. I always feel slightly guilty after a stash infusion such as this, but also excited for the enjoyment of stitches to come.