Busy week! (Like you're totally surprised)

I went out and bought the darn Journey books.  I have been looking through them and am convinced that these are meant to create activists out of these little girls.  The Agent of Change book is all about changing the world.  Not fixing stuff that's broken, improving community safety, or reverting back to old traditions, but changing the world.  I have no idea what these 4th graders can do to "change the world" or even make a small change to their community.  Heck, most of these girls don't live in the same zip code--they're spread out all over the county.  However, one of the items in there that they discuss are powerful women in history (although all the women they use as examples are non-caucasian).  That's up my alley, so my thought was to find a few women in history (of any color) who were powerful, influential, and respected, and I may just focus on religious women (since this is a Catholic school).  I'm starting with Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife.  She moved from Spain to England as a teenager to be wed to Arthur, Henry's older brother.  Arthur died, so she was then married to Henry.  She loved needlework, in particular a form of needlework that became known as Spanishwork.  After the divorce, it became known as "blackwork".

I started working on a blackwork sampler to use as an example for the Girl Scouts meeting we have planned for Monday.  This will also count towards an Arts & Sciences project, and is actually a precursor to another project that I have planned, which is an Elizabethan coif that is covered in blackwork.  I'm going to use linen, but I will have to see if the threads are even-weave, and if not, I can get some wash-away aida cloth stuff that I can iron on and then it'll dissolve in water when I'm done.

This is what I'll have the girls make for scouts--a bookmark!  It's also got the Celtic knotwork--the school is proud of its Irish Catholic heritage, so it's totally appropriate!  Although it looks complex, it's simple counting.  I'll have to work on the handout for it to make it simple.

I am also working on these new Turkish socks.  I started these then had to rip them back to the toenails to add a few more stitches on the sides to accommodate the width of my feet.  My ingenious idea for the yarn is barely visible in this picture, but I took the two balls of yarn and tied them into a handkerchief to keep them from rolling around and unspooling or tangling.  So far it's working really well!

I also still have to do more work on the embroidery project for the 12th century tunics.  This is done with perl cotton, not embroidery floss.  I still have the wrists and hem of the dress, plus finishing all the seams.  Right now it's got rather ugly temporary hems done.

I got some good news from Donna about a quilt that I finished for her Mom--she got a 2nd place ribbon for "My First Quilt".  Her mom celebrated her 85th birthday recently and while she's done quite a lot of sewing, this is the first quilt she ever did.

I entered a quilt challenge for my guild--it said to make a quilt (with certain size parameters) with the theme "Celebrate!"  Mine is "Happy Birthday!"  It needed to have 20 of something in each quilt--mine had 20 different fabrics used in the quilt top, and the ribbons are 3-D.  Note that the hanging tabs are candles. :)  This is something we can pull out for each birthday party to hang with the rest of the decorations.

Emma is hosting her birthday this weekend, so we have three giggling girls joining her, who will likely stay up late, eat lots of pizza and junk food, and watch movies.  Thankfully she's outgrown the need for expensive themed parties with all her classmates in attendance.  I've never been good at doing those anyway...  Meanwhile, my DH has made a wise decision and has escaped the house to attend a man-fest at the Sounders game.  It's also a friend's birthday, so they went out for celebratory eats and will likely go out for celebratory beers after. 

They also had the raffle quilt on display at the quilt guild meeting--this is a stunning piece of work that won the Best of Show award at the fair this summer.  Just awesome!!  It's a "Baltimore Album" quilt using bright Kaffe Fassett fabrics that are all the rage.  This picture doesn't do the color justice--trust me, it's bright!

Gotta go order some pizza and get ready for a night of giggling.  Wish me luck.

K

Heckava day

Today marked the first of Emma's karate lessons.  We bought a gift certificate from the school auction leftovers for a fraction of its value so she gets four private lessons, unlimited (about 8) group lessons, a uniform & belt, a t-shirt, a patch and a sticker.  Pretty cool deal!  However, I know we won't be able to afford it at full price, especially now that the other two kids want to take some lessons, too, so I'm going to look into lessons at the Y.  Looks like they started last week for the beginner class.  Maybe we can sneak them in anyway...if there's room.  I know a lady who works there.  Maybe she'll take cookies as a bribe.

Emma's bike is in for repairs.  The kick stand fell off it ages ago--was fixed, got broken, fixed again, broken again...and in the meantime, other things have broken and bent as it fell over.  The gear shifter, the breaks, the chain, etc.  Kelly took it to a repair shop where we discovered this will cost more than $100.  Getting a new bike would cost more than $400, so this is the way to go.  She's taken a new interest in biking this year and has just learned to bike with no hands.  I have no fear about this--I used to bike all over town with no hands--around corners, too--but I never had the good sense to wear a helmet.  She does.  See?  The next generation is smarter already!  They even wear SEAT BELTS!  Whew...I don't fear the future now!

Jen and I worked on our yurts for a bit today.  We got the tono glued and screwed together into a circle, then drilled holes into the ends of the poles so we can insert the pencil rod into it.  Note our very creative drilling platform, and shimmed the drill to level.  We still have to drill holes in the *other* end of the rafters that tie onto the khana (baby gate walls), and into the tono (roof ring) that the rafters will fit into.  The only part of the hardware on Jen's yurt after that is the door to put into the frame!  Then there's the software part--the roof and wall canvas.

For me, I have to make sure I have enough rafter pieces, then drill those on both ends.  I also have to buy the pencil rod, the cable to go around the outside, drill the holes in the tono, and figure out a door.  I might just use a cloth flap instead of a door if I run out of time.  Next Tuesday we're going to have a Yurt-a-thon to try to get it done before July Coronation.  I'd like to make a fabric door with my coat of arms on it.

In further Emma news (apparently, it's all about Emma today!), her Kindle is broken.  It's not even a year old and the screen pooped out on it.  Or shattered.  Or something.  This guy's eyes and forehead never go away, eerily staring at you while you try to read, but the bottom of the screen works normally.  It's really hard to read a book when half the page is always missing.  I don't know what we can do about it--I would bet fixing it would cost as much as replacing it, so we might have to do that.  The cover that it's sitting on was made by her Grandma and has been living in that protective cover for several months.  I don't know if it got dropped or stepped on (more than once), but I'm disappointed that it's not working anymore.  She's gotten a lot of use out of it.

I've been knitting away on this Turkish sock and have now come to the brutal conclusion that it's too narrow for my Duck Feet.  I can hear Jean saying, "But I've got Quad-A feet!  It'll fit ME!"  Well, sorry, darlin--I really had my heart set on having this alpaca on my own feet.  However, that said, I *can* be bribed/commissioned to make you a pair of long, skinny Turkish socks. :)  I have a book of patterns and you can choose your favorite!  And pick your colors, too!  Or I can give you a copy of whatever pattern you want, and you could knit your own!  We could start at the Pitt Camping Adventure!  Next month!  Woot!

Ben taking a break in the back yard, eating a Skittle Rice Krispie square.  I had made RK squares with M&Ms before, but the two littler kids don't like chocolate that much (weird), so they asked if I could make it with Skittles instead.  "SURE!"  I said.  Right after you mix in the rice cereal, you put in about a cup of the candies and fluff them through before dumping it into the 9 x 13 pan.  I usually lightly butter my hands and press the squares into the pan a bit so it's a little more smooth on top.  Yes, I handle worms and toads just before handling the butter, so it's all good and natural.  Mmmm!  Note that they also discovered the age-old tradition of wrapping the swing once around the cross-bar so you have a higher swing.  This whole swing set may have to go, unfortunately--Kelly discovered earwigs all over the grass around it, which are attracted to rotting wood.  We already replaced the slide which was cracking and the supports under it were completely rotten.  I don't know what we'll do to replace it--these things are expensive! Maybe we should just get a trampoline.

Some flowers I took a picture of in the back yard.  I don't know what these are, but they sure are pretty!  I love that the stems are all fuzzy and the flowers themselves are screamin' pink!  These grow back every year along the rock wall.  Behind the wall is a line of trees which work great for a visual barrier, but the dog next door (some variety of Australian shepherd, I think) discovered that he can just burst through it, run across our yard, and dig under our fence to make a great escape.  I joked with Bob that those Australians...bunch of criminals...always looking for a way to escape!  Or maybe he just wants to go on walkabout?  In any case, we have to fix the hole under the fence again, though I'd much rather have Bob build a real fence between our properties.  

Finished a quilt block for next Monday's meeting.  It's...ta-da!  A frog!  It still needs eyes, but I don't know what I'm going to use for eyes yet.  The directions suggested just using polka dot fabric on a white background, cut around two of the dots and using those as eyes.  You can even cut them out kind of crooked to make them into googley-eyes.

K

What I did over my Summer Vacation

OK, summer vacation hasn't officially started yet, since the youngest isn't out of school until Thursday, but this is what I did over the weekend.

On Saturday, I pulled out my completed yurt frame and set it up in the driveway.  The finished size for this structure is 5' high and 12' across.  This is one of four main parts of the structure.  Jen and Darby came by and we worked on finishing their khana (which will finish at 18' across to house their family of five) and putting the door frames together.

We cut the 1 x 3 boards to 5' long and then did some fancy woodworking on the 2 x 4s to fit the 1 x 3s into them.  I was able to get one board fitted with hinges for the future door installation, and got that board attached to the 2 x 4s--glued and screwed; Mike Holmes approved--using clamps and a 90 degree tool.  The door frame is just shy of 5' high, which means that nearly everyone will have to duck to get in, but that's the way this was designed.  Once inside, everyone should be able to stand up straight--maybe not right next to the wall, but bedding and boxes will likely be on the edges anyway.  Despite his best efforts, Kelly's been helping a lot with this project; he's finding us tools and adjusting the equipment, making sure that we're using things correctly (mostly me) and not getting injured.  I'm really grateful for all his help!!

Father's day was a rather laid-back affair--I did get Kelly a Wii game (Big Game Hunter) and went to the store to get supplies to make his favorite dinner (beef stroganoff) and got him some fresh blueberries and some peanut butter cups.  I don't know a single man who doesn't like peanut butter cups--I think it appeals to their youth and satisfies a sweet tooth, but in a very manly way.  They wouldn't want to admit they like things sugary or sweet, but when it comes to Reese's, the answer is, "Hell yeah!"

Cammie's idea was to give him a gift in scavenger hunt form.  She woke Kelly by placing a note by his bedside that read, "Today you can feed my fish" and contained instructions on how to do it.  Next to the fish tank was another note that instructed him to go downstairs for a surprise.  She had made him a bowl of cereal and set out a piece of fruit for him.  It was very sweet and thoughtful.  She also had a present for him--a plastic cup that was labeled, "#1 Dad.  #2 Pencils".  I think we'll have to go to the paint-it-yourself pottery place and make a real one--that was just awesome!  She's so creative!

Ben made a ceramic gift at school. It was a container that was about as big around as a soup can, but only about 2" high.  He said it was a vase for very short flowers.

Emma saw him come down the stairs and said, "Hey."  She's a teenager.  Later, they went shopping together--a little Daddy and Me time.

I put the next American Heroes quilt on the frame.  I've had this sitting around for far too long, so I decided it was time to get it quilted up, along with the two or three others, so I can get them back "home" by Tuesday.  It's a goal, anyway.   I was given batting for these quilts, but it wasn't working well with my machine, so I let Susan know (the gal who was organizing it for this guild) and she said she'd get some new batting for me.  After a few months of waiting, I thought I'd just go ahead and use my own batting so I can get them out of my house.  I think I can use the other batting (which is WOOL) for something else--either tied quilts or costumes.  

I've also been working slowly but steadily on the new Turkish socks, adding just a few more rows.  I finished the one repeat of the sock and figure I'm about half-way or maybe 1/3 way up the foot.  The back has a basic chevron (red and yellow V shape).  I love these patterns and I think I'll be doing quite a number of these socks in the near future.  Summertime seems to be Turkish Sock time.  I remember making some at soccer camp last year...

I didn't get much more work done on the tunic during the weekend, I did get a bunch of work done just before the weekend.  I cut out the pieces and sewed them together into a tunic shape.  I intend to finish all the seams so that it doesn't have all the bits unraveling, which also strengthens the seams and helps the piece last a lot longer.  There are three more pieces of linen waiting to be turned into tunics after this one, and then mailed to Tyrssen in Middle Kingdom (that is, Chad in Ohio).

Hope you had a great Father's Day!

Karen

Summer's (almost) Here!

Last day of school!  The girls finished up the year in fine form!  While Cammie's grades are not the traditional A-B-C--they still use the "satisfactory" check mark system for 3rd grade--she did improve in a number of areas (still needs work in math).  Emma, on the other hand, in 7th grade, they use the traditional A-B-C grading, and she improved a great deal for the end of the year and pulled out a 3.2 GPA for the end of the year.  Her lowest grade was a B-, and I'm so thrilled that she pulled it together for the end of the year!

The yurt is coming along.  For the 12' diameter structure, it requires 62 pieces of 88" long 1" x 1" (which is actually 3/4" x 3/4") with 11 holes drilled in it, each 8 1/2" apart.  I was able to get the 60th piece tied on with one piece of lacing before I ran out, so I made a quick trip to Tandy this morning and I finished tying on the 62 long strips, then add the short strips to finish the ends.  I hope this is what it's supposed to look like... Saturday, Jen and Darby are coming by to do the door frame building.

I started this pair of Turkish socks, then set it down for a week.  I'll have to pick it up and work on it a bit more when I have the chance, although I have no idea when that will be.  It takes quite a bit of concentration, so I can't watch a movie while I work (unless it's a movie I've already seen a dozen times), and I often find other things that I want to (or have to) get finished.  The yarn is the Drops alpaca sock yarn from Norway that I picked up in Portland last year.  It's SUPER soft...I hope I'll actually want to wear them once they're finished!

One of the other things that will get some work this week are some tunics that I will be making for my friend, Chad.  I haven't seen him since about 1985, but I recently found out that he joined the SCA and he is in need of some clothing.  I made a mock-up tunic, which I mailed to him, and he wrote back with some minor adjustments to the fit.  The linen just arrived this morning, and he's anxious to see them develop into tunics.

Also expected shortly are several balls of grey and white wool to make the Sounders scarf.  I had purchased some "edemame" colored yarn from KnitPicks but discovered that the color was too dark; I really needed Kool Aid green, a color that I achieved using another batch of yarn.  Since I hadn't liked the edemame and the next closest color still didn't look right (and the description was "grass or new leaves"), I decided to just get bare and dye it myself.  Kool Aid is 10 cents a pack at Winco, so why not?  The grey, on the other hand, is to replace the black that I had originally bought.  It was brought to my attention that the Sounders have changed their color scheme from blue, "rave" green (aka Kool Aid Lime), and, black to blue, "rave" green, and ash grey.  The unfortunate bit is that thanks to a Washington state law, I had to pay tax on it twice when I returned it.  I don't know if that's just from internet sales or what...but it's totally stupid to pay tax on the same thing twice.

Lunch break!  Then I get to decide what project to work on next!  Or maybe I'll just sit and read for a bit.
K