Decorating finished

 I was a little late this year but I managed to finish my Christmas decorating. Whew!
This year the log cabin tree has ornaments! I designed this in 2009. If you want to whip one up before tomorrow, click HERE for the pattern.

My sons and grandsons visited me this week so I am feeling content and cozy. Now that I have the decorating done I can sit back and read with my new Kindle.

I'm also weaving a collar for a sweater to use in the forthcoming Knitters' Weaving Projects book.

Where should it go?

I've been working on this book cover today.

 I'm thinking of self-publishing it in an 8.5" x 11" format. The manuscript has been in my file drawer for years. There are lots of knitters nowadays and I think the time might be right to get it out in the market. It combines knitting and weaving using very basic materials -- a "loom board," and a tapestry needle. You can make knitted and woven pieces, such as woven mittens with knitted cuffs, or a sweater with a woven collar.

After I finished the cover mock-up I began wondering where to put an apostrophe. Should it be Knitter's Weaving Book, or Knitters' Weaving Book, or (skip the apostrophe) Knitters Weaving Book? What do you think?

Ghost of a needle

"The needle is among the oldest of artifacts, and its usefulness is without question. ... Needles can be thought of as headless pins with a single eye meant to pass readily through anything from the hem of a veil to the hide of a camel, leaving behind only a thread of a clue to their presence. When fully sewn into a garment, a piece of thread can be thought of as a continuous and flexible ghost of a needle. ..."
From The Evolution of Useful Things by Henry Petroski.

Fiber fondling

I’ve been working on a reprint edition of my old spinning booklet, Spinning with a Drop Spindle. It will be the 40th anniversary of its original publication in 1972. I can hardly believe it has been such a long time. I dug out some old spinning projects. My grandson, Victor, took some photos for me. I think they look better today in his photos than they do in real life. The bottom photo is one of mine from an old dyeing book.

I also found an old manuscript called “The Knitters’ Weaving Book.” After I’ve re-published the spinning booklet, I’ll see what I can do with it. Years ago, when I submitted it to a publisher I was told there was no interest in such a limited subject. However, there has been a resurgence of knitting and yarn spinning.

Waiting for my muse

This new year is off to a slow start. I keep thinking, “Any minute now I’m going to get inspired and get busy.” I’ve just been mucking around and I don’t have much to blog about. I’ve been reading. I read my old journals from 1979 through 1999.

 Talk about a story with no plot! I have a complete log of the weather, details of house cleaning, gardening, and good meals that Robert cooked. There were some highlights, of course, but they are not for publication. If my children ever read them they might be surprised. The journals start with our arrival on the island and starting the Bethel Island Beacon weekly newspaper. They skip six years (because you don’t need a journal when you have a newspaper) and start up again in 1990 when we sold the newspaper and opened our bookstore, the Island Book Galley. After that, they cover my years at the island levee district and my excitement discovering quilting – page after page after page about quilting. They stop abruptly in March, 1999. It was really strange to read the journals all in one sitting.

I’ve also read some books: Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton, Threadbare by Monica Ferris, Alpine Vengeance and Alpine Winter by Mary Daheim, The Table Comes First by Adam Gopnik. I’m reading The Obamas by Jodi Kantor right now (about 1/3 of the way through and nothing exciting so far).

 I’ve cooked some delicious things.

And I’m finally binding the little quilt pad. My daughter-in-law Toni quilted the hearts way back in October. I’m feeling a little guilty.

Soft Star Trek baby book

A blogger named Julie has made a super little soft baby book about Star Trek. Click on the picture above to go to her blog and enjoy this clever thing.
My grandson, Victor, sent me to the site. Thanks.

Carrickmacross lace

I know a little about Carrickmacross lace. It’s all book learning, not hands-on experience. When Robert and I published fiber art books in the late 1970s we put out a title by Mary Doyle with instructions for making the embroidered lace. Some of her Carrickmacross lace pieces were placed in my hands when she brought her manuscript and examples to our office. Her book told of her experience learning to make the lace at the Convent of St. Louis, Carrickmacross, Ireland. She said the technique originated in 1820 and was still being made there.

The world saw a beautiful example of this delicate art at the royal wedding on Friday. The bodice and sleeves of Kate’s dress were done in Carrickmacross lace with motifs including a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock to represent England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The lace work was done at the studios of the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) at Hampton Court Palace. Carrickmacross is done by appliquéing organdy shapes on netting with decorative stitching. It was reported that the needleworkers for Kate’s gown were required to wash their hands every 30 minutes.

In the neighborhood

Ron and Nancy’s cottage on our cross-street always has banners flying to mark seasons (and sometimes just for fun). They put their Santa banners up recently.

This large mysterious package is securely tied to a big pine tree in Judith’s yard. I wonder what in the world it is. I hope I am watching when she opens it.

The barrel collecting toys for island-area children is filling up at the Post Office.

I’m in for a treat this afternoon. I picked up Monica Ferris’s newest needlework mystery at the post office this morning. I’ll pour myself a cup of hot chocolate and snuggle up with Buttons & Bones for a while. I buy most of my books for reading on the Kindle, but some books I just must have in hardcover when they first come out. I have quite a stack of Ferris’s books and often re-read them. If you are interested in the series, start with the first one – Crewel World. Her detective, Betsy, is a mature woman and I enjoy her adventures and can relate to her. I don’t do needlework (except knitting) and it is not necessary for the enjoyment of these cozy mysteries. Needleworkers are fiber fondlers, just as quilters are.

Today I bought a Qur'an

With all the controversy in the air, today seemed a good day to buy a Qur’an. I’ve never read it. I’ll try now, and then I’ll put it on my shelf here:

Stuff

We’ve all got stuff. Miscellaneous stuff that does not fit in a special category – things such as an emergency radio, pruning clippers, screwdrivers, pliers, vacuum bags, a carpenter’s tape, protective gloves, a backup coffee pot, WD40, wasp spray, a hammer, etc. Every so often you need one of these items in a hurry. The sliding screen door starts sticking, or someone asks you how wide a wall is, or the shower curtain rod slips a screw. You don’t want to go all the way down to the basement, or out to the garage or storage shed. You need a tool right now!

I think many people keep a collection of miscellaneous stuff in the house. We stored our stuff in our pantry on a lower shelf. It was very handy spot, off the dining room and near the kitchen.

Back in April when Robert was sick, we needed a downstairs bathroom. Our son, Davis, hired a plumber and a carpenter, bought fixtures, and had it constructed in a week. (What a blessing.) The perfect place for a powder room was the pantry. That meant we had to clear the shelving out of the room and stash our goods elsewhere. Our living room and kitchen looked very strange for a while with shelving standing here and there. Gradually, some order was restored. But there was no convenient place for the household tools. They just didn’t fit anywhere in the kitchen.

I tried to figure out what to do. I gave over 800 books to the Friends of the Brentwood library. Then I had some empty shelves and stored the stuff in plain sight. I began to look for attractive storage boxes so I could put the stuff in them on the shelves and get it out of sight. This did not turn out to be a pleasing solution.

It is funny how long it takes to come up with a practical idea. I went round and round until I realized I had too many bookcases. I offered an old bookshelf on FreeCycle and received many inquiries and offers to take it off my hands. One person was a no-show, but the next day I contacted the second person on the list. She came right out and loaded it in her SUV.

Now I had space but no closed storage. I finally thought about a cupboard I had upstairs. I was using it to store quilt batting. I figured quilt batting could be squished and condensed and stuffed in the closet in my sewing room.

Let me tell you, those white laminated storage cupboard made of particle board are heavy. I tipped it up on its side and slid it across the floor on a utility towel. Very smooth, until I got to the stairs. It looked like a long way down.

One step at a time. I eased the cupboard down the stairs on the wool runner. It went fine for about four steps and then it swerved, pinning me to the wall. I carefully straightened it out and slid it down two more steps. Another swerve, straighten it out, down a couple of more steps, swerve, straighten, slide, all the way down. Once at the bottom, I made a cardboard slide from a large carton and pulled the cupboard across the living room and into the dining room.

Now all my stuff is hidden away.

I have to get started on my next project. I want to decorate the powder room. It is plain white and very boring.

It is a very small room. I’ve been pondering a weeping willow mural or finding some scenic wallpaper or perhaps a nice cheerful paint color. I’ll need to find a mirror, a towel holder, and some sort of storage for bathroom tissue and soap. If you have any clever ideas, let me know. The floor is beige tile. There is a 2-foot square window high on the wall next to the loo. If you click on the graphic below you can read the room’s inside dimensions. The fixtures are not to scale.

Flashback Friday -- old ideas

Where do our “original” ideas come from? I spent my early childhood in this building at the corner of 18th and Jefferson Street in Oakland, California. It was my father’s printing plant. I sat at the feet of my father’s graphic artist, Hank, and watched him work. He leaned on his drawing board and drew with his rapidographs. I wanted to grow up and be just like Hank (or marry him). He didn’t mind my watching. He wasn’t a very talkative fellow.

The building is still there. Here is a Google street view image.

I grew up and took many graphics classes in college. I became a graphic artist, book designer, and a printer. I had my own set of rapidographs. Thanks, Hank.

The building, I realize now, had a profound influence on the other choices I made later in life. Our house, which I designed with two architect friends, has a round window. It is straight and boxy with sharp angles and a flat roof surounded by a parapet; obviously influenced by the images I formed as a child.

Ha, I thought I was so original.

My Kindle Karrier

I made a carrier for my Kindle.

Kindle Karrier Copyright © Christine Thresh 2010

There are a lot of Kindle clutches, Kindle cases, Kindle sleeves, and Kindle covers on the market.

I thought about buying one or making one from ideas I saw on the web. But none of them appeared to have a place to carry the power cord for recharging. It seemed that it would be a big bother to carry the Kindle in a case and then carry the cord and adapter in a separate case.

My Kindle Karrier holds both the Kindle and the cord and adapter. Slip the cord in the pocket at the bottom, then slip in the Kindle and fold the top triangle down.

I made some sketches.

And I drew a pattern.

The Karrier starts with two base triangles. You can print one out by clicking on the small graphic below.

Add strips around both center triangles (just like making log cabin blocks). Keep measuring by placing your Kindle and the cords on them to make sure they will fit inside. After you are sure the triangles are large enough, sandwich them both with batting and backing fabric and quilt them as little mini quilts. Cut the top off one triangle at about 10 inches up from the bottom. This will be the pocket. Put a narrow single-fold binding across the top of the pocket piece.

Place the pocket piece on the tall triangle with their wrong sides facing. Round off the bottom corners of both pieces. Round off the long triangle point. Make some double fold bias binding and sew it around the edge.

Pack up your Kindle and go on your way.

I’ve been distracted

A Kindle is a dangerous toy for a book addict. We found this little white device under our Christmas tree.

I’ve been reading since Christmas day. Kindle books will save space in our house, but I am going to have to set a strict book budget.

Reading material

Books, books, books – we have too many, but this weekend I made three more. We have books piled up in corners. I love books. We even owned a bookstore a long time ago.

These are small 4-inch fabric blocks so they don’t take up much room.

This project started when Joan Samuelson sent me a little sketch for a possible paper pieced block for my ongoing block-a-day series.

Her sketch looked easy enough, but it wasn’t. I tried all sorts of maneuvers to make a single foundation for piecing a little book. Finally, I came up with a two-foundation block that calls for some gluing.

If you have some fabric with words printed on it you can use it for the spines of your books. I printed some words on fabric to use for my blocks.

Here is the two part foundation for a paper pieced small book. Click on the graphic to print it out for your own personal use.

Here is a picture of the gluing:

Take it easy

Sometimes it’s best to just sit back and read and take it easy. This weekend was stormy with thunder and lightning so it was good to be indoors curled up in a comfortable chair.

I finished reading Silks by Dick Francis and really enjoyed it. I’ve been reading Dick Francis novels ever since my mother-in-law, Madeline, introduced me to the writer sometime back in the 1970s. I have absolutely no interest in horse racing and have only been to one race in 1966 at Golden Gate Fields. However, I feel I am practically a racing expert because I’ve read so many Francis books.

If you would like to make a 4-inch paper pieced Easy Chair block, click on the small graphic below and you will find a three part foundation pattern for constructing the block. You can print it out for your own personal use.