Parallels

I recently had the opportunity to knit a cardigan called “The Old Man & The Sea”, designed by Mel of Single Handed Knits.  Which you can purchase from her website  here or from Ravelry, here.

A group of us participated in a RAL/KAL, where we read “The Old man & The Sea”, which was the inspiration for the cardigan. I have a copy of Hemmingway’s book in both digital and audio format, which made it very easy for me to listen to the book on my commute to and from work. I must have listened to it at least a dozen times. The book begins to feel like an old friend after about three or four times through. What treasures there are to be found!!

As I was reading and knitting I tried to jot down any little tidbits that the yarn and the word chose to reveal to me. Some profound only to me, but still here they are:

My little notebook is red with the word “Parallels” printed simply in white on the front cover. How appropriate!

The yarn I chose, Dream in Color Everlasting Sock in club color Posy, reminded me of the beautiful sunsets we get to see on our Pacific coast.

One of the skeins was darker and richer, so I chose to save it for the top portion of the cardi since this would emulate the darker skies as you look up at the sunset.

Tuna, Marlin, Dolphin, Shark, Heavy Rope, Gnarled Hands, An Old Man at the End of His Life, His Rope, His Strength, How He Copes With and Endures His Age, Both in Strengths and in Weakness.

What I enjoyed most about knitting this garment is the way Mel, the designer, encourages you to think, to expand, to create, and to allow your work to ‘happen’.

The natural progression to this process is to continue on and learn and grow…through Manolin and now Makai

May I be worthy of the journey…

-Kelly

Return?

Sometimes it is hard to comprehend how quickly time passes and how much things change. While things have been left behind but not forgotten, others have been renewed. 

I am simply making an effort to enjoy what God has given me and to praise Him for blessings bestowed. 

Wow It’s the Middle of May!!

May is flying past without hardly a pause to say hello. I cannot believe it is already the middle of the month. While I have been busy trying to adjust to my new job my projects have been piling up. I’m glad it’s Friday!!

I do have some pictures to post…I remembered to take a few.

First, some Chimney Sweep blocks in Civil War fabrics for a swap:

Next a second Quilt for Kids quilt:

Oh and some Silly Cars for swap with Sindy of FatCats. I plan to make “City Street” quilts for my grandsons when I get my new cars:

And last, some fabrics I’ve pulled for Cath’s Raggedy BOM:

Now I’m actually hoping to get to do some more quilting. We will see if I can manage my time well enough to do that!! LOL

Be blessed!!

I haven’t forgotten…

I know it has been several days since I posted last. I have a good excuse…really!! I just started a new job and between working longer hours and battling the exhaustion that comes with learning a new thing, I am trying to reorganize my life and figure out where things fit.

One of those things I am trying to fit in is that trip to the post office!! I have 3 little packages all ready to be sent to their new owners, they just need postage. I have not forgotten! But they may not get into the mail until Saturday.

I hope everyone is having a truly blessed week so far!

Trying to Contact...

Tracy of Fiber Babble, I hope you're out there!! I've been trying to reach you. Please send me an email.

Have a great day!!

A Little Surprise!!

The other day in this post, I wrote some instructions for my 4-to-9 block. I had one name picked out but wasn’t sure which layout I preferred for that name. Gene left a comment saying that he really liked the first layout best because of its symmetry. Tracy said the second block was her favorite and that it looked like little people hugging each other. So true, I had not even noticed it!!

So here they are -

Sliding Number Puzzle

AND

Quilt Fulla Hugs!

Now that these two patterns are OFFICIALLY named I want to thank both Gene and Tracy for helping with the process. But I cannot leave out Pat! Thank you Pat for being the first to comment on the original post and for sending Gene over to have a look.

Now if the three of you would please, please, please send me your snail-mail addies, I would like to send a little gift out to each of you!!

Be blessed!!

Project Progress…

My April UFO may remain a UFO for a bit longer. But I can say that it has officially become a flimsy and is no longer a pile of cut pieces waiting to be sewn together. This is an older Joann’s BOM that was sold in pre-cut monthly kits. I forgot to buy binding and backing at the time, so had to go and pick that up today. Here is a picture:

Earlier I mentioned that I had finally started cutting out hexies and here they are:

Aren’t they cute?! I am using the hexagon ruler from Fons & Porter. My strips are 2-1/2 inches wide and I have quite a bit of 30’s fabric left over to use for this project. This post has the link to the tutorial I plan to follow for sewing my hexies together.

FQ’s from the Sew Mama Sew FQ swap are starting to come in. I will share a picture once they’ve all arrived. There are definitely some beautiful fabrics showing up here!!

I’ve also made some progress on the Chimney Sweep swap being hosted by Nancy at Patchwork Penguin. Here is view of the piles by my sewing machine:

But all of this progress has come at a price…my controller pedal has decided to develop a short. I’ve ordered a replacement. But since I don’t know how long it will take to arrive I have pulled out “old antique”. After a bit of crud removal, oiling, adjusting, and replacing of the needle, I fired her up. SHE RUNS!! No fancy stitches and everything is manual…but SHE RUNS!!

If anyone knows anything about this machine would you drop me a line? I cannot find a date on her, she’s a Belvedere Adler, De Lux Family Sewing Machine, made in Japan. She has her own little sewing cabinet/table and only knows how to sew a straight stitch. Her colors are green and cream. Later I will post a picture of my other old antique…she’s a Singer.

So with “old antique” put back into service, progress will continue…

Be blessed!!

p.s. later I will reveal the results of the quest for pattern choices and names for the 4-to-9 block.