Sew easy

While the girls are back at home, getting ready for the new school year, they did have a very productive with with Grandma.

Miss Pee has become quite the little sewer. A few years back she got a sewing machine for Christmas (and not one of those little kiddie machines - a real one) and she's put it to good use. (She's probably already a better sewer than I am) And last year, her and Mom picked out some fabric for a quilt, so on this visit, she was determined to make one.

Mom had found instructions on how to make a Rag Quilt, and figured that would be a good quilt for the time they had available.... and Miss Pee set to it.

And yes... she is looking like quite the little Miss! She's growing up too fast.  It didn't take long and she had a completed quilt

And a fantastic sense of colour (just like her Aunt!)

And of course, whatever the big one does, the little one wants in on the fun...

Miss Ro working away on an antique Singer mom picked up just for the girls to use. As basic as a machine can get (and really cute too! I want one!)

While Miss Pee's was made of quilting cotton, Miss Ro's was made of a wild mix of flannel; Some new, some from the craft cupboard, and some from pajamas we found on our thrift day.

Wild and crazy - just like her. And no... I did not make her put in Hello Kitty fabric - I merely pointed it out like any good aunt and she wasn't leaving the store without it.

And the rag quilts turned out so good, both Mom and I agree we each need to make our own. Mom is busy amassing some plaid flannel, and I'm trying to decide if I want wild and crazy like Ro, or coordinated and sophisticated like Pee. 

Decisions, decisions...

Golfing, reading, knitting

Sorry for the couple days of radio silence. Just been trying to make the most of every last little bit of summer.

Friday was mini-putt with the girls (a last blast before they headed back home).

This little one plays mini-putt like she's playing hockey...

Saturday, I had plans with a friend from the big city, but she had to cancel last minute, so I was suddenly faced with a Saturday empty of any obligations... what to do with all that time???

Well, I slept in. Then I stayed in bed for the rest of the morning and read with the boys.

And with a lazy afternoon stretching out before me, I decided to finish up Sherlock. I'd been steadily adding inches to that last sleeve, and I only had five or six more to go. I figured a couple of hours and it would be done....

Famous last words.

But.... by bed-time...

Good ol' Sherl was on the blocking board!

Temps are on the rise again (after a very cool week) so it will be a bit before I can wear it on a regular basis, but I'm sure Mom and I will sneak in a photo shoot before then.

Cotton rainbows

I'm sure some of you are wondering about whatever happened to that bear paw quilt I started.... well.. I was going pretty well...
That is until I got my squares done and lined them all up together... only to discover that some of them are a full inch smaller than others... sigh.
I have no idea how I managed it. There is a way to fix it, but it involves a lot of stitch ripping to fix, and I just can't face it right now, so it's in a time out.

To console myself, Mom and I took a trip to another local quilt shop, and I got some charm squares. I figure since they are already cut, it's that much harder for me to mess it up.

I got a couple packs of beautifully rich batiks (I have a real soft spot for batiks.)

I had just got them all laid out the way I wanted to, then a wind came up and blew them all over the place... but this picture of one corner gives you an idea of how pretty they are. I hope to get started on it soon.

But that's not the only quilting project in the works. I picked up another jumbo pack of charm squares

 A rainbow of solids to make a very special project for a certain little Miss... but more on that later. Stay tuned!

Man sock is manly

Things are going nicely on the man sock

Although I usually get bored with mindless knitting, I do quite enjoy a nice plain vanilla sock with some fun yarn.

I've just started the heel on this one and it's making nice lunch-time knitting. A few more lunches and I'll be well on my way down the foot!

Slipping away

August is almost over and there are definitely signs that summer is coming to an end; the geese starting their southern journeys, the mums are out at the grocery store, and by the time I get home from work, I've only got about an hour of decent daylight left.

That said, the gardens are still going strong

 

The Thai Pink Egg tomato has been a fabulous producer

I have this many ready to go up to Mom's, as well as a bowl full of cherry tomatoes. The tomato output hasn't been as good as the last two years. Apart from couple short weeks or sweltering heat, we've had a fairly cool summer. I don't mind though, I really just grow the tomatoes for fun.

These are a much more more enjoyable reward for my toils

Only six blackberries this year, but I got them before the birds! (And I even shared them with Dave!) Next year should be a decent harvest. And I still have lots more raspberries to look forward to this year

There are four branches like this, just covered in berry buds.

And while there's not much left yet too bloom in the garden but the Sedum (and the slow blooming Nasturtiums), check out the butterfly bush!

That coffee made a huge difference! I'm going to have to try it on the Navy Lady rose out front, as she's looking like she could use a boost.

EDIT:
Guess what happened last night... I was upstairs running my bath and turned around to grab a towel from the linen closet, only to see a certain someone climbing into her scratcher all on her own...

 "Meh... maybe it's not so bad...."

And she stayed there all night until bedtime. Told ya so, DAVE!!!!

April in August

Sunday was nice and lazy, so I was able to finish up the last sleeve on April.

And I did order some buttons, though not the ones I showed you a little while ago. As much as I liked them, the idea of paying more than $10 in shipping for something that can be sent in a bubble mailer... well...

Instead I found a much more reasonable Etsy seller in Halifax who had these lovely vintage ones

With the sleeves done and the buttons on hand, I was itching to get the bands done too. So after dinner, I set to it, and by bedtime...

... she was on the blocking board. Sadly, those beautiful buttons are too big for the button holes, but I've got some back-up buttons that will do just nicely.

A proper FO post will come when Mom and I get a chance for a photoshoot. With the girls down, and summer wrapping up, it might not be for a few weeks - but stay tuned!

Thrifty

Mom's got the monsters for the week, and she's got big plans to keep them busy with some sewing projects. So yesterday, we set out on a mission

While Mom and Miss Pee were hunting down flannel pajamas that could be cut into quilt squares...

Rowan and I were in search of fashion! Though we agree on a lot of things like sparkly shoes and twirly dresses, we discovered we disagree on one fundamental thing

The importance of faux fur leopard print (can you guess which of us didn't like it...?). Oh well, we did find fab shoes

and a hat

And that twirly dress

I even managed to nab a pair of sunglasses for a quarter.

And while all those finds were great, we didn't find quite enough flannel for the quilt, so we took a little side trip to fabricland... and we might have got distracted by the shiny fabrics...

Oh yeah.... Mom's got her hands full this week...

Half a Mermicorn

Thank you for all your suggestions on how to get Peno to love her scratcher - I'm going to give them a try and let you know how it all turns out. (right now, she's making sad faces at Dave who's ignoring her for the computer)

While Peno's been sulking, I've been knitting. I've got half a sleeve done on April, and the leg done on Man Sock (more on those in the days to come). I've also finished up the first Undine sock.

I'll probably cast on for the second one this weekend. How are yours coming?

Oh - and I've ordered some fun fabric for the Winner's Kitten Kaboodle

with a matching green print for the inside.  As soon as it arrives, I'll get sewing... and maybe dye some yarn to match!

Oh, Peno!

When I went to buy little Miss Ezra her Curl, Petsmart had a sale on - buy one scratcher, get one 50% off. And Peno was in sad need of a new scratcher

I bought it for her when I first adopted her almost 10 years ago (hard to believe it's been that long!). The saddle on top is her favourite place to hang out. We've always kept the scratcher in a dark corner, and it gives her just enough height to smack her brothers in the face if they get too close. But as you can see, it's in pretty rough shape - she's not just down to the wood...

But almost right through it.

When I told Dave of my plan - he told me not to bother - the current one is just fine. But he's not the one getting splinters in his feet every time the cat hair needs to be swept from the corner...

So, I went ahead and got one as close to this one as I could. Peno was ahead of me as I was carrying it up the stairs, and when we got to her corner, she turned around and HISSED at it (Peno never hisses!).
Of course, Dave was standing nearby, so he let out a smug "Toldya!"

Not to be deterred, I covered it in catnip. No luck. I figured she'd go in it eventually, but night after night, she's downstairs on the couch, looking depressed. So I finally got fed-up, picked her up (which she hates!), carried her upstairs and put her in it.

 "What is this thing? Where's my other one?!?"

"Fine... I'll sit in it..."

"...but don't expect me to like it."

She stayed in it for a couple hours, while I read my book, keeping half an eye on her from the bedroom. but tonight..... tonight she's back on the couch looking depressed...

...sigh....

Planting

The visit with Sam on Saturday didn't just include kitten cuddles... but presents!

Sam found a companion pot to the one she'd given me earlier this summer (now full of Nasturtiums that are taking forever to blooms!). I found a nice happy Aloe plant to put in it. I seem to be doing quite well with succulents, so I figured an Aloe was a good (and practical) choice.

Sam also dug these beautful pots up at her Mom's

The are stamped with "Mexico" on the bottom and are most definitely handmade. Very lovely. The smaller one has a pretty little Kalanchoe in it now

 

I found it at the grocery store - I've never see one with double blooms before. Depsite what I said about succulents, I've never had much luck with Kalanchoes... but  I did a little more reading on them, and I think I can keep this one going.

For the larger pot, I chose a little red mini-rose

It's small now, but it's got lots of room to grow in that pot. I managed to keep a mini-rose going for almost a year. I'd bought it the first summer we were here, but I by mid winter, I'd killed it off (forgetting to water it).  We'll see how long I can go with this one. Fingers crossed!

Perky

Mellow Yellow has bloomed!

We are in the middle of another heat wave and the roses are just loving it!

 

They really perk up in the sunshine.  And speaking of perking up...

The coffee grounds appear to be working.  The Butterfly bush isn't as robust as she should be, but she's definitely doing better!

Undine Monday

Have you joined up with the Undine KAL yet? We're getting more people every day - it's going to be fun seeing all those socks come together.

I'm making good progress on mine

Because, the recipient, like me, prefers shorty cuffs, I've already moved down the heel and completed the gusset. She does have longer feet than me though, so there's a little more work to do on the foot. But that's okay - they are still going to go quicker than these ones

A pair of man socks for Samantha's husband. It is sport weight yarn and slightly larger needles... but man feet are just so darn big! It's going to become my travel project.

What's in your travel bag?

Welcome, baby!

Yesterday, Dave and I loaded up the car, put the top down, and headed out to meet the newest member of our extended family.

This is Ezra... the sweet little kitten who has recently joined my best friend Samantha's family. She's quiet the little handful (as she should be) so I brought her a present to help divert some of that energy

You can only see part of it, but that is a Curl, the best cat scratcher ever invented. I've never met a cat who can resist it - and Ezra was no exception.

But the visit wasn't just about cats...

There were dogs...

and cannon balls...

...and butter tarts.

But now I'm pooped... think it's going to be a lazy knitting day today!