Needlework Tuesday - Ruffles and Frills

Each time I see someone wearing one of these ruffle scarves it makes me smile.  I find that even the black and white ones are bright and cheerful.

Last night, I sat in front of the television and finished the black one that had been languishing for the past year, and started and completed the pink/purple one.  They are just that easy and sweet.

Quite a while back, I attended a tent sale at the Spinrite Factory outlet in Listowel and purchased two dozen or so balls of this style of yarn.  They don't have a brand band on them, but a special sale band, so I can't tell you what type they are.  I choose by colour as opposed to anything else.  They are going to make wonderful gifts.

One thing I do that any instructions I've seen for them doesn't say, is that I sew the end closed with needle and regular thread.  I would hate for a scarf to start to unravel for the sake of a few stitches.

 I'm really happy with the progress I made on the blue quilt this week.  First of all the binding.  When I pulled out the fabric for this, I found that instead of being a piece that went from selvage to selvage, it was long and skinny down the length of the selvage.  If I cut the binding that way, it would have no give at all.  Not good.  I decided to cut it along the bias, that always has a nice give, which I find helps keep the edge of your quilt flat.

 The first two photos show that I have pre-marked the fabric with a pen showing cutting lines 2 1/4 inches apart.  That is the width I like for binding.

 I then pinned the sides together matching the drawn line so I can cut in a spiral.

 starting to cut.  It is all cut and pressed and ready to be applied to the quilt.

I was hesitant to start on the border, but with the new white marking pen in hand and a roll of white freezer paper, I started in.  I figured that six inches would be a good size for the motif.  I cut a strip of freeze paper and marked the shape, then cut a couple of the arcs along one side.  I used this a template for marking.  I did have to shift and stretch the design a bit to fit, but it worked out nice as you can see.  Next step it a variation of this design for the sashing.

I've had a few new visitors leaving comments this year.  I am thrilled that you share my love for needlework and hope that you'll add a link to your current needlework post when you wish to share.  This week I had a lovely catchup message from a blogger I used to visit with all the time.  I am so glad that she is back online and doing well.

While I realize that it is unlikely that I will meet many of the wonderful people with whom I have such lovely virtual visits, I do enjoy our time together and the encouragement we so freely pass to each other.  Happy Stitching.

ps. Did you read my review of the book If the Magic Fits: 100 Dresses #1  by Susan Maupin Schmid.  It is an enchanting middle school story that I loved and can't stop recommending. With a castle, princess, 100 dresses and magic, what's not to love about it.

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you. I hope that you are having fun and making progress on whatever project is dear to your heart at this moment. 

Mister Linky is waiting below for a link to your needlework

A House without Windows by Nadia Hashimi

I read this book with rapt fascination, hanging on every word, and with raging indignation that in this day and age, women are not treated with respect and the equality of men.  Author Nadia Hashimi has painted a very vivid picture of life for women in Afghanistan.  She has made real to me what news reels could not convey.  It will take courageous women and men, like those depicted in this book, to improve daily life in that country.

A House without Windows seemed to start out as a fairly straight forward story of a woman killing her husband, but with each twist and revelation, we learned that all was not as it seemed. Did Zeba really kill her husband and why.  Would anyone speak in her defence, or would they hide behind their walls ignoring the need for justice.

As this story progressed, it pulled me closer into Zeba and her cellmates lives.  I didn't want to put the book down as the need to find out what would happen with them grew greater with every chapter. At times, her fate seemed pretty grim and pre-determined, though there always one more ray of hope that kept the story from becoming depressing.  Zeba's love for her children, her budding friendship first with her cellmates and then with the other women of the prison gave me that sense that all was not bleak. As the story continued, there were other characters who showed promise for positive change.  All of which made for an endearing read.  This story of mothers, sisterhood,  truths and appropriate justice left me feeling empowered and most of all, it left me feeling hopeful. 

Cover image courtesy Harper Collins Canada.

#IndigoEmployee

If the Magic Fits : 100 Dresses #1 by Susan Maupin Schmid

I loved this story.  It has a strong female lead character, magic, a talking mouse, lots of dresses, and it's set in an enchanted castle.

Darling Dimple was orphaned at birth, left to be raised by the under servants of the castle in the Kingdom of Eliora. She led a relatively carefree childhood, though now, at the age of ten, she has to find a job to earn her keep.  She is quickly moved from washing pans to pressing the linens for the princess.  Just days into that new position, she finds a room full of dresses, one hundred of them to be exact, and soon learns that they are enchanted.  When Darling tries on a dress, she is transformed into one of the women in the castle.

While roaming the halls in one of these disguises, she learns that all is not well in the kingdom and that Princess Mariposa is at risk.  Can Darling and the dresses save her before it is too late.

I fell in love with this book after reading the first few pages.  I knew it was going to be a special story that I wouldn't want to leave after the final pages.  Thank goodness, author Susan Maupin Schmid is writing Ghost of a Chance, the second installment in the 100 Dresses, due out Summer 2017.  It is bound to become a favourite for young readers, one that they'll want to read again and again.


*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review* 

#IndigoEmployee

Needlework Tuesday - Knitting in Support of Women

This week, I find my self pondering the treatment of women in America and around the world.  Why do men continue to dictate what women can and can not do with their minds and bodies.  We have brains and we know how to use them. We know what is right for us. It is time to stop them from passing laws that diminish us.

I eagerly watched and cheered for the women in the United States and in over thirty countries around the world, on every continent, marched to show their displeasure disgust that a man who acknowledges publicly that he has groped women and that has shown his disdain and disrespect for women is now the president of the United States.

Taking power from his horrid comment that you just grab a women by her pussy..., women have been banding together to protest and show their strength.  The Women's March of January 21, 2017 was a wake-up to many.  We have a voice and we're not going to turn our cheeks and take it anymore.  You can visit the Women's March website to learn more about their plans for future activities.

As a visual sign of sisterhood, many woman wore pink pussyhats to the marches.  I didn't attend a march, but I was there in spirit and I am now knitting a pink hat for my daughter.  It is just the first of many I plan to stitch.  Information about the Pussyhat project are available on their website along with several patterns for knit, crochet, and sewn hats.

 It's finished. My shawl in a ball is blocked and drying.  I am amazed that it knit up to the correct dimensions as I thought it was going to be too wide and short, but surprise, it worked beautifully.  I have a couple of metres of yarn remaining.

Now that the Christmas tree is down and the decorations put away, it's time to start on my Christmas quilts for the end of the year.  Actually, I am hosting a layer cake swap with my local guild with a winter/Christmas theme.

The ten inches squares on the left are for the swap.  I have no interest in purchasing a layer cake from a fabric manufacturer, too boring to just have one fabric line for a quilt.  This way I will have the same theme of fabric from many fabric lines.  much more interesting.

Since I was cutting fabric anyway, I might as well cut for multiple quilts.  Next are 3 1/2 inch strips for a star quilt, 2 1/2 inch strips for a strained glass type quilt and finally 1 1/2 inch strips for a log cabin.   My plan is that I have a Christmas/winter quilt for each bed by the end of this year.  (she says sheepishly).

I am sticking with my To Do list and am using stickers to indicate my successes.  It cheers me on to see the stickers increase of the course of the week.  I am still lagging on a few projects, but notice I said lagging, not totally floundering.  I like the idea from the guy on the Bullet journal site who states that you re-write your to do list each week as you then are forced to evaluate each item and ensure that you have given it it's proper priority.  This afternoon, I'm working on the binding for a quilt.  It is on the to do list for the third week running and each week I have done a wee bit toward completion.  So far so good.  I hope that you are also seeing success this week.

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you. I hope that you are having fun and making progress on whatever project is dear to your heart at this moment. 

Mister Linky is waiting below for a link to your needlework

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

This is a fun and lively book that should have big appeal to young readers who enjoy any sort of game playing. 

A new library is opening in town, and the benefactor, Mr. Luigi Lemoncello is sponsoring a contest for twelve students to attend the gala opening  and then stay overnight in the library for an assortment of fun activities.   When morning arrives, the children find they are locked in until one of them finds the clues to solve the puzzle of where is the secret exit.

I enjoyed listening to this audio book and following the students as they found and sought to understand the varied clues.  The story line helped illustrate that libraries play important roles in many peoples lives and that they are not just limited to school research projects.  To solve the puzzle, they had to explore the many different facets of the library from the high tech displays to the traditional printed books.

I can imagine a high level of appeal to the target audience of 9-12 year old readers.  Adults shouldn't get too hung up on the extremes of what is possible or feasible for a library.  Author Chris Grabenstein continues the tale in Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics.

I listened to the unabridged audio book as read by Jesse Bernstein. Six hours 19 minutes.

Cover image courtesy Penguin Random House Canada.

#IndigoEmployee

Needlework Tuesday - I knocked one item off my list

 This is Cally. She belonged to my son when he was a wee little guy.  Sadly, she's been having tummy trouble for several years.  Notice how caved in her tummy appears to be.  I have intended to give her some loving care, but never seemed to get around to her.  Last week I made a new 'todo' list for the week, with just a few items that I actually felt I could accomplish.  Cally was number 1.

 It took some searching, but I did manage to find a seam from her original assembly.  Turned out there were only about six stitches to remove.

 She used to have a flexible tummy which was nice for cuddling, but over the years it turned hard.  When I opened her up, I found this rigid thick balloon.  I removed it and re-stuffed her.

 If you look carefully you can see that she now has a nice plump tummy.

Successful surgery and Cally is now ready to go live with my young nephew.


I am so happy to have marked off the first item on my todo list.  Tomorrow, I'll write up a new list for the coming week and then set to stitching.

It took me a bit of research to decide what type of list would work for me.  I visited with Elaine at the blog Crazy Quilter on a Bike and read her post on The Task Master.  I like some of her ideas, but she lost me when she got to the second colour of highlighter.  Then watched this video on bullet journals.  Interesting, but not quite what I want.




Finally, I visited GeekDad and learned about the Midori Travel Journals.  They look like terrific books and I love the sticker idea.  At present  decided to continue with the hardbound book I have, but I will definitely be using sticker to note my successes.

Thanks to everyone for your great suggests to help me stay on track this year and to keep my work space usable.

My focus for next week will be the blue quilt once I find a method for marking the sashing.  The white pencil refills I purchased don't fit the pencil they are supposed to fit.  Hmmm, 0.7mm refills that are much too big for a o.7 mm pencil.  tomorrow after the ice melts on the road, I'll be back to the quilt shop to rectify this issue.

I hope that you are making progress on whichever (needlework) project finds itself at the top of your todo list. 

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you. I hope that you are having fun and making progress on whatever project is dear to your heart at this moment. 


Mister Linky is waiting below for a link to your needlework

Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

As I finished the closing words of this book, a single word escaped my lips, WOW. Wow, in a very good way.  When I started this story, I had no expectations of what I would find, but chapter upon chapter, Libby and Jack found their ways into my heart.  I was totally rooting for both of them and wanting them to triumph over their individual challenges.

After having to be cut out from her house, Libby has been labelled as America's Fattest Teenager. Not something easy to live with during the difficult high school years.

Jack finds that he has to employ a lot of bluff and bluster to hide the fact that he can't recognise nor remember faces, even those of his family members.

After a prank gone wrong, the two of them must address their aggression  toward each other.

Both of these teens have to deal with self acceptance of their physical limitations as well as the mental ones they have imposed on themselves.  They also have to learn to cope with how others respond to them and we all know that kids can be mean whether it is from spite, ignorance  or to make themselves feel better about their own issues.  Yes, there is romance in the story, but what YA book would read as realistic without some level of budding relationship.

I would recommend this for all teens as an excellent way toward understanding what your family, friends, and classmates might be undergoing.  Bullying is far too wide spread and has very serious consequences.  It is not acceptable to make fun of someone just because that person doesn't live up to your expectations.  Our young adults need to learn not to blindly follow the crowd, but to use their intelligence to guide their actions.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book fromPenguin RandomHouse Canada in exchange for an honest review* 

#IndigoEmployee