Here I am...

Just checking in. It did not SEEM like it has been a week since my last post, but it has. So what has kept me busy?

Olympics... I watch every night, while sitting in my Lazy Gal chair, propped up, knitting socks. I am almost done with my second pair... I'll post pictures as soon as they are completed.

Gussie Fay.... I think the mystery is almost solved! (I watched some more NCIS. "Jethro" taught me everything I know.) I redid the timing of the rocking finger and we are MUCH better. I see an occasional tug on the thread but I am not finding loops on the back. A little fine tuning and I should be fixed. YYYYAAAAHHHH!!!!

New dog.... a stray, although I really think it belongs to someone close by. It is an older dog and appears to be part collie and part Catahoula curr... just picture that. So that would make it a.....
coll-ahoula! But DH says it would be a catahollie. Either way, it is a large, long-haired dog with a very sweet disposition. It is all DH's fault. He mentioned about the pretty dog hanging around. When I went to investigate we fell in love with each other... he really wants lots of petting. NOPE... we did not plan on getting another dog, but PJ (our doberman mix?) is really enjoying having a playmate. I'll post pics soon. I need to take pics to post to see if we can find the owner of "Laddie", and if not, we will probably keep him. I see lots of dog grooming in my future.. UGH! I certainly hadn't planned on that! I guess it is the price we pay when a dog is so sweet you can't bear to THINK of it going hungry and being cold.

TAXES: YUCK! Today is the day... DH informed me the time has come to "get it all together", so that is what I am doing today and tomorrow.

Quilt Show: Friday daughter Jenn and I will venture to West Monroe, LA (weather permitting... they are saying snow AGAIN for Friday!) for their local guild quilt show at the West Monroe Convention Center. It will run through Saturday, also, if you can make it over that way!

Must run... the TAX man cometh!!

Be blessed! And I hope you are having the beautiful sunshine we have here today!

Kat

Amish Coin Quilt

This is Barrett’s beautiful quilt… an Amish Coin quilt.  Isn’t it gorgeous?!  It was lots of fun to quilt on.  I love doing feathers, and that fit well on this one.  (Click to enlarge pictures.)

 

I’m Hooked…

On hand-knitted socks.  I’ve never worn them before, and thought people were crazy for spending that much time and money on something they could buy at the local store for a tiny price.  Now I understand.

I have finished my first pair, and I LOVE them!  They are so cushy and comfy… I take them off long enough to wash, then put them right back on.  Yesterday I wore a “regular” pair… my feet froze.  I hurried and retrieved my blue socks from the dryer and put them right back on!

Actually, my feet usually look like THIS when I am around the house… regular socks and slipper socks at the same time.

My first pair of socks was a slipper sock made from regular knitting worsted.  I did this just to get the hang of knitting socks, but I am going to make some more.  They are a little too small but I wear them anyway.  My feet stay so cold, that the 2 pair together are heaven.

I have started on another pair of socks, this time working 2-at-a-time on one very long circular needle.  I’m making a few adjustments on # of stitches and tension as the blue pair are a little too large.

I LOVE the self-striping yarn, and I am also enjoying working 2 at once.  OH… if I could only knit faster!  I do know that I am going to knit socks year-round so when NEXT winter comes I will have a complete wardrobe of hand-knitted socks!

REBEL PARK PROGRAM:

3 brave souls ventured from Natchitoches  out through the woods for the program. 

Why only 3?  Well, it could have had something to do with this…

We had 6” of snow on the ground Friday morning!!  This is Louisiana, people… 6” is rare!   The roads were clear on Saturday (day of the program) but there was still lots of snow around.  This is a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence for us… I can only remember a few times before that we got this much snow.  We get excited over flurries in LA, so you can imagine the excitement over all of this!  It was beautiful, but I am glad to say it is now gone.

But it did not leave before DH and I built a snowman… or so I thought.  I came back into the house to get fashion accessories for the snowman and discovered that DH had added some rather voluptuous boobs to it….  HMMMM… not a snowMAN any more!!  I would post pictures but I don’t want to embarrass anyone (especially me)…  Not to be outdone by him, I added pink buttons in the appropriate places.  Thankfully we live down a dirt road with very little traffic, the snowgal fell over rather quickly, so no one else ever noticed our PG-13 rated snowgal.   Live, LAUGH, and love!  (Be careful what you ask for… I prayed for a man with a sense of humor… I got it!)

I do plan on getting back to “quilty” posts soon, but it may be after the Olympics before I do much blogging.  Please keep checking back… I have lots of ideas of things to post, but no time to do it right now!

Stay warm, and be blessed!

Kat

PLEASE COME!

OK… does it sound like I am begging?  (Maybe I am!)

Saturday, Feb. 13th at 10:30 I will be presenting a program at Rebel State Park.  Topics:  Improving Your Quilt-Making Skills and 21st Century Quilting.

I would LOVE to see you all there, and you can enjoy the FREE quilt show while at the park.  If I promise DOOR PRIZES will you come?  OK… door prizes are in. 

Do you have some “show and tell”?  PLEASE BRING IT!  After the program we will have a time slot for you to share what you have been making!!

After our coming-2-days of possible snow, the weather is supposed to be WONDERFUL on Saturday, so please come support your local park.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all!!

Kat

Mark Harmon, WHERE ARE YOU?!!

Where is “Jethro” (Mark Harmon, NCIS) when you need him?  Perhaps he could get to the bottom of Gussie Fay’s “issues”.  His critical-thinking mind, his keen sense of observation, his knack for solving crimes, and his general-easy-to-look-at-self.  (Sorry… I’ve been a big Mark fan for many years.)  With skills like that I just KNOW he could figure it out!

Where are McGee and Abby?  They could just run some computer diagnostic and Gussie Fay would spill her guts, telling them exactly what is wrong.  Abby would take oil samples and stick it under a microscope… AHA!  A strange loopty-A virus is present!

Maybe if I watch their shows another gazillion times my skills will be so improved that I can figure this thing out.  Even if it doesn’t work, at least I’ll get to see Mark a gazillion times.  (Um… Sorry DH… Ignore those last few remarks!)

I had to change back to a smaller needle because the huge-honkin’-size-5-size-of-a-toothpick needle was shredding the fabric on a regular woven fabric… although it was fine on a batik.  Loops are back.  I’m using my powers of investigation and out-of-the-box thinking to explore causes OTHER than Gussie Fay… like my bobbin winder.

Perhaps SOMEDAY I’ll look back at all of this and think, Boy, was I stupid… I should have KNOWN to check the blah-blah-blah.  But right now I’ll just keep plugging along, fixing loops and trying to figure this thing out.

And if you should see Mark on the streets somewhere… tell him there is a REAL crime to be investigated at my house, with a really LOOPY suspect involved!

Have a great week!

Kat

What Have I Been Up To?

A picture is worth a thousand words…

 

Every spare moment is spent knitting (when I am not quilting, of course!).   I never thought I would want to knit socks, but I have really enjoyed this!  It is such a portable project and I can knit while riding in the car.  I tried the “2-at-a-time” method but decided I needed to get the regular technique down pat before I could do 2… the yarns kept getting all tangled up as I was turning it back and forth trying to figure out how the 2-a-a-t works. 

I’m S-L-O-W at this, but getting faster with practice.  My tension is so variable that the 2 socks probably will not even be the same size… the first one is a little large on my foot, and the second one appears that it will be closer to the size I actually need.

So what is next?….  see for yourself!

 

I got a little carried away when I ordered yarn from Knit Picks!  I really think the 2-a-a-t method will be best for me (because when you finish with one, you are finished with both of them!).  I am so anxious to get started on the striped and hand-dyed yarns that I considered not finishing the blue pair.  But I can’t stand the thought of wasting my time and materials, so I will persevere!  My next pair WILL be made using one of the 2-a-a-t methods (either 2 circular needles or one really long circular needle).

Gussie Fay and I will be working hard today.  I hope to get 2 small quilts finished today.  And if you are looking at the time of this post you are thinking… “GEE… what’s she waiting on… It’s almost 11AM!”  I have a little laundry to deal with and then I am off to quilt.  I’m also hoping my thread order from Dallas Threads gets here so I can soon start on a really neat custom quilting job…  More about that later!

Be blessed!  Enjoy your Friday!

Kat

My BMFF Again!

(BMFF = Best Mechanical Friend Forever)

Gussie Fay is back in my good graces… NO LOOPS!!

A HUGE batik quilt was quilted today… NO LOOPS!!

(Panto, “Climbing Rose” by Sophie Collier)

Did I mention that Gussie Fay is leaving NO LOOPS these days??

I’m sorry… I’m so excited about this development that I just can’t contain myself!  After wrestling with her  for a L-O-N-G time now, I am thrilled that this issue is finally figured out.

What fixed it?  A larger size needle (I traded in the size 4 for a 5, and the planets moved into alignment.).  I knew all along that the loops were caused by the thread hanging somewhere… I just thought it was in the bobbin area (and really, it probably was hanging there some before her trip to Vicksburg).  Actually, due to thread inconsistencies (thick and thin spots on the threads, little “donuts” of fuzz called “slubs”, etc.) I have decided the thread was hanging at the eye of the needle, then releasing a wad of thread when tension finally pulled it free.

Is that TMI for you?  Sorry… I’m just so excited… I had gotten to the point I actually dreaded walking in the room with her.  Now I am again excited about quilting.

YOU GO, GUSSIE FAY!  You still rule as my BMFF!!  So stay tuned for more great quilts coming up.  I think I will give Gussie Fay an extra drink of oil as a treat for her good work!

Kat