Needlework Tuesday - Prep Time Required

 I've had my fill of turkey this weekend though I could eat another slice of dairy free pumpkin pie.  Yes, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada yesterday.  My brother in law invited us to family dinner on Sunday and sent us home with ample left overs.  You might consider this overkill, but we had five pies (3 pumpkin, 1 apple and 1 blueberry) for dessert, but we found it was barely enough.  When I wasn't having dreams of turkey and pumpkin anything, I did do some stitching.

Instead of starting a new project, I added three more rounds to the afghan I have been crocheting.  I'm not very good with my tension, so the sides are getting a bit wonky.  It takes much stretching and prodding to get it to almost lie flat.  At this point, I am going to add some more black for an edging and call it big enough.

I ran into a slight problem with the scarf I have been knitting.  There was a knot tie during manufacturing. Unfortunately it interrupted a long colour repeat.  What to do. I couldn't continue as it was tied, it would have been an abrupt colour change.  Instead, I took the outside end of the ball and tied it to the cut end where i was working.  That's where the slightest bit of yellow shows near the middle of the photo.  In the end, it looks fine and no one will really care that the colour repeats on itself.

 Not sure where this one is destined, so it will sit in the scarf basket till a recipient is found.

I also spent some time prepping the materials for two projects.  First I washed and pressed all the cottons for the new quilt that I talked about last week.  It always takes longer than expected.  I like to wash all the sizing out and check for colour fastness. I have had some surprises with  magically shrinking fabrics as well as with serious bleeders. I'd rather get the surprises out of the way before I cut and start stitching.  I don't want to finish a quilt and then wash it and find the fabrics shrink unevenly or that the whites are now pinks.

Second, I washed the fabric for a new blouse.  I found a commercial pattern that accommodates larger bust sizes. Hopefully it sews up nicely and fits.  I'm tired of buying huge sizes so they are big enough around, and then end up with oversized neck and arm openings.  I haven't done much garment sewing in the past decade, so am  little out of practise.  It seems to take me ages to get the prep work done.  I'm sure it will be worth the effort so I don't mind.

It may seem like the prep work keeps you from starting a project, but in reality, it's what keeps a project flowing along nicely.  I do the same thing when cooking.  I read the recipe, get out and measure all the ingredients.  I line them up on the counter in the order the recipe calls for them and then I am ready to cook. It's so much easier when everything is prepared ahead of time; no last minute missing ingredients.  It works the same way with needlework.  Once I get everything ready, then I can enjoy the stitching.  There are some projects that I dive into and sort out the bits and pieces as I go, but they are the exception.

Do you plan and prep or do you dive right in???

 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 post.

The Prophet by Amanda Stevens

 Within pages of starting this book, I was caught back into Amelia's life even though it had been more than a year and half since I read the earlier books in the series.  I still find her job as a cemetary restorer fascinating. 

 I can see the need for such a profession when I walk past my local church and see the grave stones that were broken through the years, some by falling tree branches.

Some damage is much older and has been repaired.  I wonder whether some of the ghosts following Amelia are wanting her to tend to their memorial stones.

I like that author Amanda Stevens hasn't made the behaviour of all the ghosts the same.  She has maintained some aspects of their personalities and also allowed them to develop different levels of, shall we say, haunting skills.  I particularly like the ghost of Robert Fremont.  His haunting of Amelia takes a different tone than that of the others who trail her.

Once again Amelia is threatened from the other side.  All her life she has followed the rules her father established for dealing with ghosts, but now she questions whether this is the best approach. Perhaps it's time to engage rather than ignore.  I like of this change in approach and feel that it opens up so many more possibilities for story lines. Time to embrace the creepiness and make use of her eerie talent.


The Graveyard Queen Series:

0.5 The Abandoned

1. The Restorer
2. The Kingdom
3. The Prophet
4. The Visitor
5. The Sinner - released September 27, 2016
6. The Awakening - due out March 2017 

#IndigoEmployee

The Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Ella Harper is finding it tough to transition from a struggling orphan to the reluctant member of an extremely wealthy family whose sons  rule the private academy that they all attend.  She had intended to keep her head down and immerse herself in her studies, but she is distracted by Reed, one of  her gorgeous new brothers, and by the various bullies at her new school. 

Ella may be beautiful, but she is made of steel.  She is tough and knows how to take care of herself in most situations.  A ritzy school and an overbearing bunch of brothers may be overwhelming at first, but she has worked in tougher places and has come out fairly unscathed.

Reed and his brothers have no idea what to expect of Ella, and are confused as to why their father even brought her to live with them.  They are still hurting from the death of their beloved mother who was the glue that had held them together as a family.

What really stands out in this story, is the distrust between all the members of this expanded family.  They are all so wrapped up in their own dramas, that they don't communicate with each other.They rely on their own suspicions instead of having honest conversation with one another.  It's interesting to see how they slowly start to break down these barriers.

Due to the sexual nature of some passages, I would recommend this book for older, more mature teen readers.  I hope to learn that they become more of a family in the next book, The Broken Prince.

The Paper Princess is the brain child of authors Elle Kennedy and Jen Frederick writing together as Erin Watt.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Indigo Books & Music Inc. in exchange for an honest review*

#IndigoEmployee

Needlework Tuesday - The start of a new quilt.

 Throughout the summer, I went on a few shop hops with friends looking for the perfect fabrics for a quilt along.  I found a few fabrics but didn't find enough selection.  I gave up on that assortment and went in another direction.  That left me with several fabrics with no project to call home.  Then I went to my local guild meeting last week and they announced a block of the month program for the upcoming year.  With creative adjustments, I'd have enough for this new quilt only having to purchase a 'light' fabric.  The aqua and brown together will be a perfect fit in my bedroom.  I purchased a duvet cover at Ikea last year with just those colours.

I'm not sharing any hints as to the pattern yet, you'll have to wait until I do some sewing, but I can already tell you that I'll be making some small changes to the assembly method. Hope I have some time to sew over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. I'll be sure to take photos of the changes.

I have been knitting away at the scarf and am so close to finishing.  The skeins are mere skeletons and keep tangling as I put the yarn.  So exciting to be this close to done.  Pictures next week.

I wonder if psychologists have ever studied the effect on the brain of starting a new project.  I know that I am a serial starter.  I love the planning process and the selecting of supplies and making the first blocks/rows/sleeves (what have you), but I am not a finisher.  There must be some sweet chemical released in my brain when I start something.  I am quite capable of finishing, but I prefer starting. Or it could be possible that I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head, that the only way to get them out or calm them down is to start.  Even if scientists have studied this, it probably wouldn't change my behaviour, that's up to me.  As soon as I finish that scarf, I am going to pick up that almost completed one sitting by my feet and spend the hour or two and get it done before moving on to something else.   Okay, at least I think that's what I am going to do, but don't quote me on 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 post.

The Fireman by Joe Hill

Humanity is being challenged by a deadly new plague.  A spore, commonly referred to as Dragonscale, infiltrates the body eventually resulting in the afflicted going up in flames.  Everyone is afraid that they are going to catch the scale  The knee jerk reaction is to round up the sick, kill them and burn their bodies to stop the infection.  That sure says a lot about society when the experts don't even know how the spore spreads.

Author Joe Hill follows the lives of Harper, her husband Jakob and a man known as the Fireman.  The three follow diverse paths during the course of this epidemic.  I feel that each of these people are essential to the story even if I don't like one of them from the very first time we met.  They represent the very different ways in which people respond to tragedy.

This is a well constructed story.   I particularly like that a huge back story on the characters is not needed.  We learn about the dragonscale and how it affects people in the present and then move forward.  It doesn't matter what they did earlier in their lives, only what they do after the plague starts.  I find the descriptions of the flames compelling.  I can imagine them as a living being and not just a result of combustion.

This is a long book and it took me a while to read, though  I didn't feel it was too long and that things could have been left out.  I would have preferred a few events not to happen, but then again, I am an optimist and like my stories being happy. 

#IndigoEmployee

Cover image courtesy HarperCollins Canada.

Needlework Tuesday - To Join a Guild or Not

I have belonged to my local quilt guild since it's inception 15 or so years ago.  They are mostly residents of a small town and fairly conservative. Not a problem, but it is a challenge at times.  I do my best to shake them up and get them to stretch by trying something new.  Regardless of that, I do enjoy the friendship and sharing.  They are kind and generous people and I enjoy the time I spend with them.

Every meeting we have show and tell which involves story telling about the item being displayed.  That is an added chance to learn about my fellow quilters and for them to share what they learned while working on that particular project.

One good thing is that they stay true to use being a quilt guild.  Many years ago, I belonged to a smocking guild.  It was a great learning opportunity, but after a year or two, they changed and started doing all sorts of other crafts and no more smocking.  Not what I wanted, I left.

I am wondering if any of my readers belong to in person guilds for their stitching? or other artistic endeavours?

 I did have time to do some knitting this week.  I have started the colour repeat in the rainbowish yarn.  Due to the stitch arrangement, the repeats in the two colours of yarn don't match up.  I think that adds to the appearance.  The first time the yellow shows up, the contrast is a grey-green and the second time its a deep blue.

As I go along, I am minding less that it is curling in.  Now to see how long it will get.

I also spent some time doing some machine quilting.  This is a photo of the back so you can see the stitching. I played with the contrast so it would show a bit better.  Yes, you guessed, it's the castle I was working on early in the summer.  I'm happy with how it's turning out.  I'd like to get it finished so it can go to it's new home.  It would look better on my young friend's bed than on my sewing table.

Please leave a comment telling me about your experiences in an artistic guild.

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 post.

 

Needlework Tuesday - A new Scarf

 I don't need a new scarf.  I absolutely, positively don't need a new scarf.  I started a new scarf this weekend.  It really is pretty, but I still don't need a new scarf.  Actually, it's not that bad.  I bought the yarn several years ago and then didn't get around to making it up.  Late last week, I was looking for a new knitting project that wouldn't take long and I found these balls. One is a rainbow long repeat and the other is a dark long repeat.  They are Bernat Mosaic which is no longer available.  The pattern is from the ball band is no longer on their website.

 It was the pattern that first attracted me. I like the idea of knitting with two different variegated yarns.  I am going to tease and only show bits for now.

However, it does have a major downfall, due to the stitches, it rolls like crazy. I'm guessing that bunched around the neck would be very thick and help keep out any wind, but I would have preferred it to me flatter. ah well, I'm not ripping it out and doing something different.  I have about 20 inches completed and the pattern suggests I'll have enough for 58 inches.  It does knit up rather quickly and is quite thick.

After saying I have enough scarves, I'm sure you'll   understand when I tell you that I bought yarn for two more scarves.  For gifts when done. Honest.  I like to knit scarves, I can use  one ball of special yarn and it doesn't cost a fortune which knitting a sweater would.  I end up giving away lots of scarves as I have so many I could probably go a month without a repeat.  oops, shouldn't admit that in public. I do think it's time to wash some up and send them to the thrift store for others who need them more than I do

Do you have one item that you like to make more than any other?  socks, bags, scarves...  What do you do when you have too many. Do you give them as gifts, donate them, use them as a fund raiser for a charity.

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 post.