My Blog's Artsy-Fartsy Table of Contents

Quilt Patterns

     10-Inch Heart Square from Pin Cut Sew

     11 Different Patterns using leftover/scrap 2 1/2 inch strips by The Quilted Forest

     16-Patch Delight by Lori Dickman

     Arkansas Crossroads

     Color Wash Scrap Quilt by Terry Rowland

     Crumb Blocks into Crumb Quilts by Merry Mabel Market

     Fold & Sew SIMPLE Square-in-a-Square

     Fresh Start Quilt by Agilejack (scrap/crumb strips - gorgeous and easy!)

     Hidden Trails Table Runner from Charm Pack by Moonkin Stitchery

     One Charm Pack Table Runner by Sew the Distance

     Paper Pieced Mini Houses

     Potato Chip Blocks (using 2 x 3 1/2 in. blocks or 2 1/2 x 4 1/2)

     Scrap Strips Diamond Trip (Donna / Jordan Fabrics)

     Spring Season Quilt Block by Beth Shibley

     Sweet & Salty by Charisma Horton

     Unallocated by Michelle McKillop

Gifts to Sew

     Tissue Holders (TOO easy) thanks Ronda Winstead

     Easy, EASY Simple Fabric Bookmarks thanks to Jona Giammulva

Yarn Projects

     2022 Homeless Blanket Project (through Charles Bruce Fdtn.)

     Kim's Magic Blanket

Yarn Patterns

     Amigurumi Octopus 

     Linen Stitch Dishcloth

     Bathroom Mat using leftover yarn tied together

Knitting Book Reviews

Picture Books About Knitting and/or Yarn

Yarn Bombing

Art Techniques to Try

     Neurographic Art

Artists

     Blair, Mary (Disney Artist)

     Gaudi, Antoni (architect)

     Haring, Keith

     Kahlo, Frida

     Kandinsky, Vasily

     Kusama, Yayoi

     Lewis, Maudie (Canada's Grandma Moses)

     Matisse, Henri

     O'Keeffe, Georgia

     Pippin, Horace

     Rousseau, Henri

     Sumner, Kae (6' 3" Disney Artist & Founder of Int'l Tall Person's Clubs)

     VanGogh, Vincent

     Warhol, Andy

Amigurumi Octopus

Well...I have three buddies who are all learning to crochet.  All are super animal lovers and want to learn how to crochet little animals.  So I told them I'd teach them!

On Ravelry, I looked for a simple pattern that wouldn't frustrate anyone, and found this adorable octopus pattern by Sarah Hearn, found free on her blog!  Her blog is Esshaych.com and the pattern is found there. 

It calls for double knit, or light worsted weight yarn and a size E hook.  Easy peasy!  Our lesson/get-together will be a week from Tuesday, and hopefully I'll have some photos to show afterwards!  All I need to find are the buttons for eyes.

PICTURE BOOK - Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Illustrated by Jon Klassen
A Caldecott Honor Book

2012 Balzer & Bray

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.08 - 13,707 ratings

My rating:  5

Endpapers a darkish sage green

1^st line/s:  "On a cold afternoon, in a cold little town, where everywhere you looked was either the white of snow or the black of soot from chimneys, Annabelle found a box filled with yarn of every color."

My comments:  Start with a great story....about yarn! ....and knitting! ... and doing for others! ... add great illustrations ... make the protagonist a YARNBOMBER! ... and you have one happy knitter/reader/picture book enthusiast .... me!    I've read this over and over, but this is the first time I've written about it.  I think I'll take it to my "stitcher's group" next week and read it aloud to them.  Good idea, huh?

Goodreads:  This looks like an ordinary box full of ordinary yarn.

But it turns out it isn't.

2016 Summer Trip w/Dede

Day 1

Manchester, NH to Bennington, VT
July 9, 2016

It rained all day.  We ate a bagel & yogurt continental breakfast at the Econo Lodge in Manchester before we took off for the day, Didn't get to eat again until dinner.

Boscawen, NH - Bittersweet Fabric Shop

     Very cute cabin set back a bit, their RowByRow was a beautiful "Home In New Hampshire" which came all cut AND prepped with iron-on fusing!  Love it!  They didn't have any new license plates for this year, and I didn't like their plate for last year, so I passed on it.

Henniker, NH - Quilted Threads

     FANTASTIC Fabric shop, one of the best I've seen in awhile.  A little bit of everything and VERY up-to-date with contemporary, cutting edge fabrics, styles, and patterns - including clothing and woolies.  Purchased a super-cool advent calendar pattern with pieced daily 4" paper-pieced pictures for each of the 25 days.  Row by Row Plate:  GO NUTS 4 BOLTS

Hillsborough, NH - Franklin Pierce (14th US President) Homestead

     Dede took the tour in the house, while I watched the DVD about the area and Pierce's childhood in the area.  Beautiful place, so glad we stopped.

Wilmington, VT - The Vermont Bowl Company

      Years ago, when I worked at the Kimball Shop in NEH, we sold gorgeous wooden salad bowls made by John McLeod.  So as I was cruising along through Vermont and saw the sign, we stopped. Gorgeous, gorgeous bowls.  Drool-worthy bowls.  

Bennington, VT - The Scarlett Creation

     Small quilt shop that had yarn, too.  It was pouring cats & dogs when we got there, and I had to take off my shoes, roll up my pants, and wade through calf-deep raging water to get out of the car and inside (fun!)  I bought the first fabric for Charlie's quilt here, small pink hearts in a haphazard pattern on white.  RowByRow plate:  GOT QUILTS

Bennington, VT - Bennington Pottery

     I remember coming here with Steve years ago, and it was fun to bring Dede here. Such beautiful pottery!

Dinner:  Bennington Pizza Plaza - Delicious pizza, spaghetti, and salad.  Inexpensive.  Huge drawback: Dede left a bag with most of her pattern purchases and when we went back an hour later, they were not there.  Someone must have taken (stolen!) her bag.  I can't imagine that happening, especially in Vermont....

Autumn Motel, Bennington - run by a 3-generation Indian family, who were very nice.

Day 2

Bennington, VT to Cooperstown, NY
July 10, 2016

Same kind of drizzly day as yesterday EXCEPT bright sunshine mysteriously appeared several times. Skipped breakfast

Bennington, VT - First Church Graveyard:
      Robert Frost Grave
      Letterbox #1 (my first VT)
      Letterbox #2

Bennington, VT - Bennington Monument
     Elevator to the top!  Great, friendly, funny elevator operator, super sweet high school girl at the top.  Gift shop.

Bennington, VT:  THREE (3!!!) Covered Bridges
        1 - Silk Road
        2 - Papermill (we walked down a path through the woods to see it a bit down the river, with the dam water falls....exceptionally cool.
        3 - Henry (there was a picnic area and bench here, with lovely views)

Lunch at Subway

Bennington, VT - Bennington Museum
         GRANDMA MOSES!

Arlington, VT - Sugar Shack Norman Rockwell Exhibit
         15-minute DVD and lots of memorabilia.  Great stop.

Cobleskill, NY - The Yardstick
         First of all, a welcome rest from rainy driving and open on Sunday, which really pleased us.  Purchased two fat quarters for Charlie's rag quilt and their kit, which uses a panel with bird prints.

Cooperstown, NY -  Terrace Motor Inn on Route 80
Dinner at Mel's at 22 in Cooperstown, delish!

Day 3

Cooperstown, NY to Seneca Falls, NY
July 11, 2016

Beautiful, sunny day.  Breakfast at little sports bar/cafe on Main Street in Cooperstown.

National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Awesome.  Well worth a bit of an out-of-the-way drive.  It's beside Ostego Lake, which is lovely.

Lakeview Cemetery - a really old one that, unlike yesterdays in Bennington, has not been cared for very well.  It's huge and built on a very high hill.  Steps are built into the hill at various points.  I found a letter box there, and although there were others, we enjoyed our ride through the cemetery and then hit the road.

Utica, New York -Tiger Lily Quilt Shop - another favorite!  We spent a couple of hours there.  I was so overwhelmed, I didn't purchase any of the Christmas fabrics that I was looking at for my Advent calendar.  Lu, the manager, was a hoot.  We discovered it's less than 5 hrs from Mt. Holly Springs, so I'm going to come up and take a class.

New Hartford, NY
    Subway - late lunch (ha!  really late....)
    Sew Wilde - unimpressive shop with TWO different rows to choose from.  Both were cute.

Seneca Falls/ Waterloo - Microtel
       Walmart provided us with salads, dip, crackers, chips, soda, and a red velvet cupcake for Dede.

Day 4

Seneca Falls, NY to Rochester, NY
July 12, 2016

Bkfst at Microtel

National Women's Rights Museum - CLOSED!!! We couldn't believe it, two or three days each week!

Victor, NY - Ivy Thimble Quilt & Gift

LeRoy, NY
     Jello Museum at the LeRoy Historical Society
      Barn Quilts
      Letterbox - great story:

Webster, NY - Cafe Sewciety

Rochester, NY - Jackie Lynns Fabrics & Discount Sewing Center

Rochester, NY:  Ontario Beach Park - we waded in LAKE ONTARIO!

Rochester, NY:  Radiance Inn & Suites

Day 5

Rochester, NY to Niagara Falls, NY

July 13, 2016

Rochester, NY - George Eastman House - Dede went in and toured, enjoying it greatly.  I staying in the car and wrote postcards.

Brockport, NY - Country Treasures (a gift shop and quilt shop with a totally country theme).

Brockport, NY - Lunch at Jimmy Z's Texas Hots, where I enjoyed a unique lunch:  a layered basket of macaroni salad, french fries, and tater tots topped with a cheese burger, fried chicken strip, mozzarella cheese and gravy.  YUM!

Lockport, NY - A ride down the Erie Canal through a set of double locks.  Cool!

Niagara Falls - drove around a bit, getting acclimated.  Went into an information center/gift shop where we purchased a "tour" for tomorrow that included a night at the Sheraton at Niagara Falls  for $139.  Couldn't pass it up!

Dinner at Rainforest Cafe - a Chinese chicken salad that was light and yummy and perfect.

Day 6
Niagara Falls, NY to Jamestown, NY
July 14, 2016

Day 7
Jamestown, NY to Fishkill, NY
July 15, 2016

Day 8
Last Day
Hyde Park NY to Peekskill Train Station (& Grand Central) AND Mt. Holly Springs, PA
July 16, 2016
   

Bay Area Knit Shop Hop August 2011

OOOO-EEEEE, What fun.  Three days of leisurely browsing in a number of yarn shops in the Santa Rosa/Sebastapol and South Bay areas of northern(ish) California.  Beautiful weather, really nice people, the best sidekick ever, and wonderful privately-owned yarn shops.

First stop: 
Balls and Yarns
899 Gravenstein Hwy South
Sepastopol, CA 95472
Service & Friendliness:  5
Yarn Quality:  5
Yarn Variety:  5
Knit Samples:  4

There was a cozy sitting/ knitting area and the owner/ proprietor was super friendly, helpful, and encourag- ing.  There was some frilly black yarn that I didn't get and now wish I had.  I did get some really cool slippery lime & cranberry rayon ribbon yarn (Gelato made by Fiesta Yarns) to make a long, horizontally-knit scarf.  Wonderful shop.  Will happily return.


The next stop, also in Sebastopol was an unfriendly, unforgettable shop, so I won't even mention it here.

Shop #3:  Cast Away
Santa Rosa, CA
Service & Friendliness: 4
Yarn Quality:  5
Yarn Variety:  5
Knit Samples:  4

On a quiet, tree-lined main street sits this inviting yarn shop with a seafaring decor.  The windows have white paper-mache birds wearing brightly knit scarves, and as you enter the shop you're greeted by an old wooden dinghy heaped with colorful yarn.  There was lots to drool over and lots of beautiful project ideas.  I tried on a beautiful, draping scarf that I would have never picked for myself in a zillion years...and it looked really, really good on me.  The pattern was designed by one of the employees, Ramona Gaynor, so I splurged and bought not only the pattern ("Ruffle Scarf"), but the yarn to go with it, Rowan's "Kidsilk Haze" in a deep aqua color.  What a beautiful sheen it has!

Next stop,
Knitterly
#1 Fourth St.
Petaluma, CA 94952
Service & Friendliness: 4.5
Yarn Quality: 5
Yarn Variety: 5
Knit Samples: 5

I've been here before, it's a really special shop.  It's on a great side street with a tree-lined parking lot across from it.  The store is older, dark wood, comfy sofa, huge oak table to knit at.  Great books and patterns....and they even sell stuff that comes in the packages separately.  In other words, if you want one stitch holder instead of the 20-in-a-package, it's yours!  Now that's customer service!

She had samples of an "Improv Scarf", where you hold two yarns together, gartering and putting in a couple of lacy/eyelet stitches in any way that you desire to create a pattern.  I loved it....so of course I went hog wild and bought enough yarn for three scarves!  One of the yarns was Koigu KPPPM by Koigu Wool Designs.  It's 100% Merino Wool.  I got a cranberry with touches of orange, an aqua/green with touches of orange, and a beige with touches of aqua and pink.  Debbie Bliss' "Angel" Super Kid Mohair & Silk yarn is the second yarn in each sweater.  Delightful, huh?

I also bought some Denim Blue Cascade 220 worsted weight yarn to felt myself a belt -  I'm tired of my capris falling down after I've worn them for a couple of hours.  This was her suggestion.  She's says that after it's felted you can even cut it!  Sounds like the felting shrinks it about in half....can't wait to get this one done!

The next morning we headed west from Novato to
Black Mountain Weavers
in Point Reyes, CA
11245 Main Street
Point Reyes Station, California   94956

Although they have a small amount of gorgeous hand-dyed and locally spun yarns, needles, and pattern books, this is a coop of knit and fiber artists, who show and sell their crafts.  It was ultra-inspiring, the creativity, the elegance, the, the, the.....glory! ! of the beautiful works in this shop.  I wish I'd taken some photos of some of the items.  It was a very small shop, and the woman who was holding down the fort was just lovely.

(We ate lunch just down the street at  the Station House Cafe --  I'd LOVE to go back there, mmmmm.) and also did a bit of Christmas shopping next door in ,which carries handmade goods from all over the world...for incredibly reasonable (inexpensive) prices!

Yarn Bombing!  I've finally seen it with my own eyes!  In the middle of Point Reyes Station, on Main Street!  I've GOT TO DO THIS MYSELF! ! !

After leaving Point Reyes, we headed to south Marin Country and
Bluebird Yarn & Fiber Crafts
328A Pine Street
Sausalito, CA  94965
Service & Friendliness:  5
Yarn Quality:  5
Yarn Variety:  4
Knit Samples:  5

What a darling shop!  It's just off the main street and a little half-door greets you, allowing the clean ocean air to flow in with you.  The shop has a little entry way with displays of  yarn and samples to greet  you, then goes quite a ways back.  There are overstuffed chairs to sit in while reading the pattern books, and dark shelves filled with all sorts of yarns.  The lovely girl working today, Chiaki, was helpful and so very nice.  She had designed the felted clutch pattern that I couldn't leave without.    She has her own website, chiakiknit.com. Both Dede and I bought yarns to make a beautiful cowl that was on display, it looked terrific on both of us. (We both started on the knitting of it that night -- Maggi's Mist Slub (100% Viscose) was a very frustrating yarn to work with.  The colors Dede chose....blues....made a beautiful cowl.  I'm not so crazy about mine, but I couldn't get the second yarn with a sparkle in it, like Dede did, so mine was without sparkle and is probably why I like it less than hers.  



 Still in Marin County, we headed a little north to
Atelier Marin
217 San Anselmo Ave.
San Anselmo, CA 94960
Service & Friendliness:  5
Yarn Quality:  5
Yarn Variety:  5
Knit Samples:  5

 Dede's taken lots of classes here, and I've been here before, too.  The gal that owns and runs the store has terrific taste and has set up the quite-large shop in a very appealing way, putting all the baby yarns, fingering yarns, sport-weight yarns, aran-weight yarns, worsted, bulky, chunky...all together with their like kinds along the perimeter of the room.  In the middle are samples, yarn displays, needle racks, chairs, and a big table in the front.  Wonderful shop (she has one in San Francisco, too, although the floor space is smaller, the shop is crammed with yarns of every type and variety...been there before, too.)  I didn't buy anything at Atelier today.