ANOTHER TRIP AROUND  THE MOON

or is it around the sun?

No really sure

 but what I do know is I just finished another baby sweater from

Alexandra at Two of Wands of Season 8 Knit Stars.

I love this demo pattern she shows and I had some left over yarn 

from another project,

so why not try it again?

The only bummer I encountered

 was that I ran out of yarn when knitting the first sleeve.

Oops!!

So I went thru my stash and found another similar yarn from Malabrigo.

But it was a slightly thinner structure and a slightly different color way.

Nooo!

So what to do?

I ripped out the entire sleeve that I was halfway thru with,

then alternated every other row with the thinner yarn.

If you have never knit with two yarns simultaneously,

I don't recommend it.  

It's constant Yarn Barf (tangles)

I also ran out for the collar and waistband.

So for those I swished to smaller needles and just knit them with the other yarn.

You can totally see the difference in the pix for the collar and waistband,

but I kind of like it.  

They are slightly darker in value which I think is a nice subtle contrast,

 and pleasing to the eye.

So now I need another baby to gift this to.

Whose going to be next?

Got my fingers crossed for my son and his wife.

A NEW HOBBY

EASTON'S AQUARIUM

Back in November of 2023

 I was visiting with my son and his wife admiring their aquariums,

 especially Nicole's Freshwater one. 

 My son's is a Salt Water tank and too huge & difficult to manage.

But I thought I might be able to try a Freshwater one on a much smaller scale.

Tah Dah!

So the kids set me up with a 10 gallon tank when I was visiting,

putting in the dirt, rock and water.

I left it with them so they could monitor the progress of it getting all settled in,

and they brought it to me for my Xmas present,

along with a few snails, shrimps, plant life, and a piece of wood.

And I'm in love with it.

Since Xmas I've very slowly added 5 guppies, 2 neon tetras, 

and 3 other cuties that I forgot what they are called.

They are white with black and white checkered tails.

So cool!

I also added another piece of wood that I unburied in my son's backyard

(of course I cleaned it completely before I planted it in the rocks

and it has a very beautiful arch to it),

an Asian pagoda, a couple more of Nicole's snails that I adored

 because of their unusual coloring, 

and some multicolored baby rocks for more interest.

I've lost several other fish in the process 

who just didn't survive for one reason or another.

Probably at least 5 now.

One actually jumped out to his death.  :(

Oh,

 and my most recent addition were 2 catfish for eating up all the fish poop.

And the last time Nicole was by

 she brought me another piece of wood 

along with 2 really cute natural ball thingies.

They kind of look like tiny unopened pine cone balls.  

The snails love them and climb aboard and roll them 

around the bottom of the tank.

Everything has been relatively inexpensive,

 which I love, 

and so pretty to look at in our front room.

So you might be wondering why I call it Easton's Aquarium?

Because when he is old enough,

my plan is to take him to the fish store

 and buy whatever his heart desires to put into it.

And of course he will be in charge of feeding the fish when he comes to visit.

And perhaps when he gets even older,

and it's ok with mom and dad,

the aquarium can go into his sweet little bedroom.

But I have a funny feeling it will never be ok with them

Ha ha

VINTAGE ON DISPLAY

I love my button boxes and sometimes I find real treasures.

But for some reason I can't remember where this one came from.

Was it on a card someone sent me?

Or something I bought at an Antique Mall?

Did I frame it with the white surround and then stitch around it?

Sadly,

 I have no clue.

Aging sucks!

Anyways,

whoever sent it my way or wherever I found it,

 I love this treasure which now hangs in my little house/studio entry alcove.

I was just chatting with Nancy of Pomegranite Trail

and she was telling me how she has saved all her Mother's sewing things 

for many years,

 but is now ready to find new homes for them.

I bet there are some real treasures there!

Over the years I have parted with several of my mother's things,

but lately,

 I've started putting more of her things on display throughout our home.

I've got her favorite perfume bottle that I adored as a child,

 as well as her last pair of reading glasses with a pair of her earrings

displayed on a nightstand at the little house.

I just love seeing little vignettes of her scattered here and there.

I dedicated an entire bedroom to her up at our cabin.

I could have sworn I posted about it,

 but I looked thru at least 100 posts of the Crestline cabin and still haven't found it.

Maybe next time we are up there I'll reshoot it.

I even recently found an old but perfect pink chenille bedspread

covered in a floral pattern that reminded me of her

that now rests on the Crestline bed.

XMAS IN SPRINGTIME

 

I woke up to this surprise today when I opened the patio door.

These gorgeous amaryllis blooms that must have been buds yesterday.

I must admit they were partially hidden beneath some other leaves

 that I pulled away to get this shot.

What's funny is I don't remember planting this variety,

 but I'm thrilled that I did.

And usually my indoor amaryllis bloom at Xmas time, right??

Maybe this is a spring bloomer?

But who cares,

these would be lovely to capture in watercolor.

One day.

Ha!

ANOTHER SWEATER FOR MOLLY

KNIT STAR ALEXANDRA TAVEL

of  Two of Wands 

created this sweater pattern for her Knit Stars Debut in Season 8.

Her course is called the Duality of Knits and Crochet.

So she demos her pattern in both styles of handwork.

It has become one of my very favorite patterns to knit up.

It looks a bit difficult in it's textural Andalusian Pattern Stitch,

but it's super easy!

I like it so much that I'm almost done with another one.

Will I ever do an adult size of this pattern?

Probably not because I'd be scared I wouldn't finish it.

Baby/child size are more doable for me.

In Season 8 of Knit Stars,

 Alexander demos on a baby sweater so I just followed her demo.

and changed up the neck a bit.

It's supposed to be a full turtleneck

 but I thought it would be a bit uncomfortable for a baby,

so I altered it to a half turtleneck with a stockinette roll over finish.

This baby demo will probably fit up to 12 months.

I also learned a new bind-off called a Tubular Bind Off

 which is super stretchy and so much fun to do.

This photo is a truer example of the colors 

even though I took both pix at same time in same light.

Weird??

Can't remember where I got the yarn but it's a worsted weight 

in a super soft Merino wool.

And it washes up in the sink (wool wash) and dries beautifully.

And I felt the colors could be worn by either a girl or a boy,

although I'm not even sure if that's a thing anymore??

Ha ha

COMING UP HEARTS

After seeing my recent post on watercolor and woven hearts,

fiber artist Liz Ackert and dear blogger friend in Texas,

wove one for her granddaughter's birthday.

I sent her my little demo heart  (above left) I used to teach with,

along with a piece of the background fabric middle) she had admired.

And another blogger superstar and fiber artist Deborah Lacativa sent her 

that gorgeous embroidered heart that she sells in her shop.

I adore Deb's hearts so much that I've already purchased two.

Plus Deb dyes her own embroidery threads that she calls "Dirty Threads"

and sells those as well.

But they go fast!

Many of us here in blog land and elsewhere use her threads in our projects

because they are stunning and add so much to our beauty to our work.

Here you can see that Liz used hand dyed fabric strips to weave with.

And she stitched them together for a longer weft.

It's so colorful and happy.

Your granddaughter is going to love it Liz!