plugging away

 

i didn't do as much crafting on my vacation as i had thought i would. i feel like i'm much more constructive with my time if i have less of it, if that makes sense!  i guess i get lazy, or maybe i just needed a break!

i did get a few more blocks of my x and + quilt done. i have realized that i love pink. pink!  too much pink!  i am trying to stay away from it more on this quilt and use darker colors. i love that block in the bottom photo with the aqua flowered plus in the center. then i have moments when i think this quilt is one hot mess! but there are examples i've seen on flickr here and  here that i love....i'll keep it up-28 more squares to go!

lots of riding last week meant lots of crocheting. i'll be making LOTS of these for crocheted garlands at the craft fair.

 loved this!

happy tuesday!!!

vacation is winding down.......

we had a lovely drive along the kancamagus in new hampshire's white mountains on a bit of an overcast day, but still amazingly beautiful!

brian loves the trout tank and the viewing bubble for "children"

a quick trip to l.l.bean!

and we went to pemaquid lighthouse on an absolutely gorgeous day!

a great staycation! we're so lucky to live in such a great, diverse area. city, mountains, ocean all only an hour or two away.

happy weekend to you all!!

friday and a full moon

tonight is a full hunters' moon, and oh, what a big, bright moon it is!

we spent an extraordinarily warm day at pemiquid lighthouse-what a gorgeous day! we really lucked out weather wise on our vacation-only a bit of rain last night when the prediction was rain wednesday, thursday and today!

too bad vacation has to end!

north end

we love to go to the north end for dinner. yes, i did eat all of that, and it was delicious!

too bad robert deniro was not actually there.....

treasure time!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

i found some good stuff yesterday!  i love that sweet bunny needlepoint. i'm going to use the boxes for my craft fair display, and how about the omnigrid ruler for only $3.00!?  i've been needing one of those and what a great deal!  i couldn't get a very good photo of the little bobblehead deer, but so cute!

the vanilla box says it is good for making blanc mange.  that should come in handy!

happy tuesday!

weekend in rhode island

this weekend we visited friends in rhode island and did lots of wandering and window shopping.  we went to the risd alumni craft fair which was  fun and inspirational, and as i have a craft fair coming up that i need to be thinking about, that was good!  it was very exciting to see adam reid there, the kitchen gadgets guy from america's test kitchen!!!  working for that show would be my dream job, so i was very geeky and yelled "we love your show!!!", and he seemed genuinely happy to be recognized. very cool!

i also taught my 7-year-old friend, stella, how to crochet, and she picked it right up! it's so awkward starting to crochet or knit and can be frustrating even for an adult, but she was so patient and spent the whole rest of the weekend crocheting! i loved that!!

these photos were taken in warren, ri, a great little town with lots of junk shops and funky buildings.

today we hit the flea market, and i have lots of new treasures to show you. i know you can't wait!!!

hope you enjoyed your columbus day!

vacation!

 

we're on vacation this week. yay!!! i'm looking forward to crafting, reading and some day trips.

i finished my knit rag rug and  i love it!  i think i'll work on making some more "yarn" for another. so much fun to knit!

have a great columbus day weekend!

there was a frost last night

possibly the last zinnias of the summer.......

this is so much fun!!!!!

 

i have always wanted to make a rag rug and after seeing this ,

i decided to try my own!

this is the greatest project to use up every single bit of scrap fabric that you have. you can use anything, any pattern that you're not too crazy about, fabric that is faded or stained, fabric that has been sitting around your house for years saved carefully for a special project. old pillowcases and sheets are great because there's LOTS of fabric there. if you don't have a ton of scraps, you can go to saver's or a thrift shop and get sheets for cheap! this project takes a huge amount of fabric!

 just get out your rotary cutter and a straight edge and cut strips. i made mine from 1/2" to 2" wide. no need to measure or be careful at all (except for not cutting your fingers!). lots of my strips are jagged and frayed. it's a rag rug after all!

then knot all the pieces together randomly and knit them up with plain old garter stitch. i'm using size 17 circular needles that i found at joann fabrics pretty cheap, and i cast on 60 stitches. i can't wait to finish it-it feels great on your feet!

happy weekend!!!

birthday/anniversary quilt is FINISHED!!!!!

my brother's 50th birthday is today(happy birthday, andy!!!), and i wanted to make something special for this occasion and also for he and my sister-in-law's wedding anniversary, which is right around the corner. so, time for a quilt! i wanted to make them something a little more modern looking, so i thought i'd stick to solid colors and a very graphic design. i'd seen this pattern  
on several blogs and on flickr and thought it would be perfect.

i hand quilted it with a 3-inch grid which looks pretty good!  my stitches could be a bit smaller, but i wanted to get this darn thing done in time!

one thing that i really like about making a quilt is that you take all of these little separate pieces and sew them all together, and after everything is quilted and washed and dried it becomes one whole quilt, no longer the little pieces, but its own thing. it's very satisfying!

oh, and violet gave it a test drive and the cat seal of approval ;)

that's my secret project and i'm glad it's done and delivered!!  now i can work on my x and + quilt. hurray!!!

a vermont wedding!

our friends emily and israel were married this weekend on top of mount mansfield in stowe, vermont. what an absolutely gorgeous setting for a wedding, and perfect warm weather!  the foliage was peak, but the colors this year don't seem quite as brilliant as in other years, kind of rusty. but it's still beautiful!

i have an exciting finish to show you very very soon, so stay tuned!!

happy hump day!