Quilting At Last

The back story... or How years pass!

Once, a long, long time ago, someone got up out of bed in the morning, and said, "My, what a huge waste of fabric I have, in plastic bins, tucked away in a closet."  Yes, many of us have said this, and at least I'm proud to say mine is ALL in ONE closet.  Or, should I say that years ago my sauna became a closet?  Shame on me...

And, yes, that someone was me.  And I decided I could whip up a quilt top without shopping and OH! How rewarding that would be to diminish my fabric stash.  Do NOT be fooled, my foolish fabric friends... Today (August 25, 2018) I see NO difference in my stash.  

EIGHT years ago I pulled fabric out, intending to make quick work of it.  Here are the stories that lead up to today:

Quilt 1: Home Alone

Quilt 2: Count Down

Quilt 3: Shedding Light

Then FOUR years later:

Quilt 4: From the Past

Then Another Two years pass:

Quilt 5: Finishing?

I'm appalled that the bias binding has been hanging out for another 2 years...  and that had nothing to do with finishing at this date.  I was totally unaware of the timeline when I sat at the sewing machine yesterday and thought, I should really do something with that bias binding.

In the end, at some point, I took the whole thing with a backing, to my local fabric store and put real money with it so they would quilt it to make a coverlet.  And so I was pleased to see it when I pulled it out again.  Not so pleased when I realized that the brown bias binding that looked so promising reached exactly half way around it...  BUT, I soldiered on!  I found a section of a sheet (which I say proves I'm a hoarder) and I ripped, cut and sewed and cut more bias binding.  I intended to continue my "scrap" theme by piecing it together with the brown binding, but discovered that my new binding would be enough!  

It's a CRAZY quilt.  I started out symmetrical in the center, but lost my way and finished each side differently.   And my well-meaning idea to make it a duvet cover?  A year or so ago, I made a plain cover, so no need.  That would be just SILLY!

Interesting difference in colors, inside/outside.  Not bad for 8 years of work!

Prize winning

A Knit Nite Sensation!  Look at this amazing, lovely, delicate, Victorian lace shawl!  Great job, Jenny!

And we ALL encouraged you to take it to the fair...

It’s that time again.

Two days have gone by, I finished another project, and now it's time to take a deep breath, and cut the steeks.

Broken Needles

My broken heart! My stitches cast asunder...life interrupted...

Size isn't everything!  I LOVE this needle... The funky color, the flex,... It delights me to find a project to use this, and then, BOOM, it broke.  Inconvenient at the time, but mostly I feel I have to discard an old friend.

Knitter's Pride Marblz Fixed Circular.  Yes, most places will replace broken needles.  But I won't bother unless I think of it when I'm in Rochester again.  Hello, Village Yarn & Fiber Shop.

Some Things I Do ...

I wanted to say I have an alter-ego, which can be sinister, but really it means I live two lives.

I have a home, a great man, and activities which can be defined as hobbies and work.  Then I have this other life which happens 4,000 miles away from home, where I am a live-in grandma, cook and errand runner.  My hobbies follow me to my second life, and I feel loved in both lives. 

Rather than driving everywhere, I use public transportation.

Rather than having meals discussed and prepared for me, I fill the refrigerator with my desires for my family.  This is how the refrigerator looks when I arrive... I fill it.

Rather than sitting in my backyard, I get invited to picnics in the park and discover geocaches on my own.

Rather than listening to the occasional dog barking, and the sound of hammering on the roof of a new house, I listen to children playing, and music blaring from next door.

I get to celebrate with a nation of people who are strictly traditional, wear red, white and blue, and hope it never ends!

Rather than depend on sunshine and hanging clothes out to dry, I cross my fingers and hope that I'll be able to go outside without rain gear and boots.

Rather than fretting about my monstrous stash of yarn, I get to reward myself with new yarn and ideas.

Which can get a little out of hand...  Here's the makings of 3 pairs of socks and a sweater.  What you don't see is the yarn for another 2 sweaters, one which quickly was started and finished so I didn't have to embarrass myself (my own guilty conscience) when packing for home.

Rauma 2

I thought I was back at WEBS!  The warehouse was daunting, and of course, it's off limits to the public. (Did anyone notice I found the apostrophe key?  It says "greater than/less than" and I hit it my mistake!)

The view from their new office windows.

Japanese knitting machines that can produce complete products.

Mr. "Rauma", inherited from his grandfather, showing a Marius sweater.

A little later, getting the feel...starting our felted bag project.

Rauma, where it happens!

I lived in Norway 40 years ago, and quickly understood that the place for knitting satisfaction was a place called Husfliden.  It means Home Crafts, and was pretty much the only place for high quality wool which became beautiful home decorative and wearable articles.

Today, there are still these shops in the major cities, joined with dozens of other shops.  However, Rauma wool is the first and longest producing wool yarn mill in Norway.  (With a little luck, you can click on the link (Rauma wool) and see the whole fascinating process with scenery!)

I didn't know much about it until I took this tour, and now I know they demand respect for their traditions and their innovations.  

I don't know how they will fare in the future given that sheep farmers get so little for their fleeces, and Rauma has overhead costs (i.e. labor) that are crazy.  The best of luck to all of them!

Fleece bails, arrived cleaned

The special fleeces

Spun into thread

Through lots of machines, for plying

Ready for dyeing

Dyeing 

As in most of the manufacturing, their marketed sweaters and blankets are machine knitted and woven.  To be continued.

A Note:  I wanted to include a link to Husfliden, but their website is as unfriendly as the experience you will receive if you set foot in the shop (in Bergen).  I have wandered in every few years, the window displays are very inviting, however, if you don't have know exactly what you want, AND especially if they don't have it, you will be dismissed like an ignorant child.  I confirmed this by reading comments on their facebook page.  Comments were mostly very negative regarding their service.

Oslo visit

A 24 hour stop to see my friend in Oslo.  As you can see, she treats me like royalty, starting with photos of myself in my bedroom...  The small one in front is, indeed, a postage stamp that we had made a dozen years ago, featuring our family with Peruvian knitters, in Peru, donning Peruvian festive hats!  Somehow, a Norwegian non-knitter snuck into the background with an authentic Norwegian knitted hat.  It was January and it was cold on Lake Titicaca.

In the photo in the back is my friend doing a spoof as Pavarotti with her male friend dressed up as Kiri Te.  She does stuff like that!

Below is breakfast, fit for me a queen.  

Here is my orange suitcase with See, waiting for the tram.  This part of Oslo is unrecognisable from the eighties.  (Notice:  I am avoiding apostrophes because I am using a foreign keyboard, and it seems to be MIA.)

Record breaking weather

As I post this, we are having our second day in a row of cloudy weather, and our first rain in a month.  And by "rain" I mean, a few hours of drizzle.  Not real rain, just a few drips or a little mist.

What broke the record?  A full month of temperatures in the seventies (F)/twenties centigrade, which is a joy to all west coasters, a long dry period where watering of plants is necessary, and a shock to the usual slug population.  

Here is a day in the parks of city center Bergen.

And a quick day trip to the island of Stord.

I wished and it came true!

A few months ago, I was at home thinking about knitting in foreign locales... and there was Clara Parkes, with a lovely list of knitting events and tours.  Thank you, Clara!  

As I scanned over her list of the year, I thought, I wonder what is happening in Norway in May and June, and I saw the dream trip... Trips for Knitters: Åndalsnes, Norway!  Ah, Åndalsnes, home of Rauma yarn mill, AND home of a memorable Easter ski trip in the mountains nearby from 45 years ago.  (Startling, when I did the math... and so little remembered except the train, the cabin, the massive amount of snow and the cozy fire inside.)  

So, I wrote, and was put on a waiting list, with the caveat:  "I will notify you...though I think that unlikely at this point."

I thought to myself, well, being in the country would surely be easier to arrange last minute than from the States.  And 9 days before the scheduled trip, I got the invitation to join them.  YAY!

A 55 minute flight to Oslo (and a little mucking around with See in Oslo) and I joined the fun and scenery as a tourist.

Here's the largest/longest lake in Norway, Mjøsa.  The train follows it for over an hour.

Then we change trains and the real mountain scenery begins:

And later that night, my hotel room view, or should I say, ONE of the views.  Every direction was stunning.  And the weather continued! I'm one lucky knitter!

Now, where could that cabin be, and how did we get there?

To be continued!

Finished Projects...

In case you have a few hours, I've made a list of all (or mostly all) of my finished projects on another page.  To the right, you will see "Where in the World", and under it "Finished".  Click on that and you can see a photo and date for each of my completed projects.  I count 268 finished projects in Ravelry.

What about sleep?

My sleep habits are prompting me to write and maybe I'll even get some new ideas from my readers.

Not sleeping so well, lately, over the past few years... maybe that doesn't count as "lately", so I say that because every night is an experience.
Mattresses:  I got a new mattress.  I purchased a pillowtop, cushy, sink-into-it mattress, which I used for years.  Then I wondered if it was TOO soft, or making me too hot. So I went back to a previous mattress that was plain, firmer, and flippable.  Many years go by, tossing and turning every few hours, and I recently bought a new mattress...top seems foamy and soft, but after a month or two, it's firm. And I toss and turn every few hours.
Other: Not everything is the mattress' fault... Temperature of the room, noise from the open window, white noise from an air purifier, or humidifier... I've been trying every combination. 
But maybe I'm on to something!  I've been using a humidifier for about a month, due to chest congestion (which is thankfully WAY better now).  In the middle of the night, I wondered if the humidifier is waking me...it gurgles intermittently as air bubbles rise to the top of the tank.  I turned it off and woke up 4 hours later to my set alarm!  Four hours is a nice long time to "not check the clock".  So, maybe it will work even better tonight.  (I'll humidify before bedtime...)
Then there's time zone travel.  UGH!!  I travel between 8 hour time zones several times a year. And how does that work?  Exactly like my usual toss and turn every few hours pattern.  But this time, I'm trying to coax myself somewhere between, like pretending I'm 4 or 5 hours from my next time zone.  The jury is out, but I've been taking melatonin before my new bedtime, which is 8 pm.  If I can wake at 4 am, I'm halfway there.  Will it be good enough?
Tonight will be my last chance to sleep from 8pm to 4 pm, then the next night will be a short one...I will be rudely shown the door a little after midnight and invited to shop in Iceland for a few hours...
The answers are yet to come.
By the way, most sleep aids make me sleep soundly for an hour or two and then I wake with the jitters.  Not good.

Weaving towels

Towel A and Towel B

Definitions:  warp=the long threads that are vertical on the loom;  weft=horizontal threads inserted by the shuttle.

Weaving with a table top loom is a joy for me.  The repetition is longer than knitting... Knitting is stitch, stitch, stitch, or some variation of that, while weaving is (1) select the shed (opening between warp threads), (2) insert shuttle and "shuttle" it through to the other side, (3) grab the edge to make it even, (4) arrange trailing thread (weft) in a nice arc, (5) close up the weft thread with the beater, and (6) admire....repeat.
This warp was put on the loom last June!  As you can see by the crazy pattern, it wasn't simple.  The edges are twill, and the middle is called Cottonwood Leaf. 
I wove the above towels, and needed a gift so I cut them off and retied. (That didn't go as easily as I had hoped...so, weaver beware!)  Towel A is hemmed and Towel B has fringe.  I like fringe...takes a little more time to sew the edge to lock in the weft.

Runner

So far, this runner is (only) the third piece on the warp.  It's a discovery that by zigzagging the twill (on the edges), another pleasing design appears in the middle.  You may notice there's a learning curve that I eventually mastered called "write it down, stupid".  This will definitely be a "handmade heirloom".  (Hmmm.  Heirloom.)  As I leave weaving for awhile, this runner is at the halfway point.

Towel A

Fighting boredom?  Sometimes, admiring the pattern you are creating isn't enough to entertain me for hours, but I've discovered time flies when I listen to podcasts at the same time.  AND there are SO MANY to choose from!  Radiolab, TED radio hour, and Wait, wait, don't tell me are some of my favorites.  Or you can choose knitting podcasts, of course...Good listening, everyone!

Knitting spring

Post concert:

Putting in 3 hours a day of practice time on location, 20 minutes away, took a toll on knitting and weaving at home.  A few days ago, I sat at my loom and apologized for my neglect.  It happily tightened up, and grew 10"... still not sure what it will be when it grows up and leaves home.

This "first sock" took 3 weeks to crank out.  Stricken is the pattern by Cookie A from Knit, Sock, Love. Using a Trysil Garn, purchased at a little variety store in Bergen which is wool and nylon blend with almost no twist (no plies).  It's a bit fuzzy, but perfect for hiding my "forgetful" rows.

My NEED FOR BEADS... Always look to Laura Nelkin.  From her Just One More collection, I used a variation of her bead placement to make this little thing.  It's going to be cozy around the neck.  (Note to self: Get those ends woven in for May in Norway.)

Saw this fetching pattern in a pattern email...spontaneous purchase, and grabbed my Kauni from the stash.  Just wait! I'm purposely NOT giving clues.

Took 5 tries to get the drift of the brioche section!  I just couldn't make it come out right...because the pattern left out wyif in instructions.  Bad!  Luckily I remembered an Interweave Knits magazine with lovely brioche feature...so, yes, Lisa, Dianna and Kay, those magazines from Winter 2010 have a use.  Also, I had a look at some YouTube clips, but they didn't do the trick.  Three cheers for: yfsl1yo and sl1yof!  Brilliant stitch guide on page 90.

I'm back in gear!

A Journey

How do you reconcile months missing...? 
I had an idea, last Fall (nothing happened), and then a well deserved vacation in January (nothing happened), and at last, arriving home I put the pedal to the metal and booked a date for an organ concert.  April 15! I invited other organists, but everyone was feeling the pinch of Lent and Easter, and their own concerts... so I soldiered on alone.
What I came up with was a list of pieces I love that don't exactly fit worship services, and a lot of work!  Suddenly I was spending 3 hours a day, and that's what it took. I cut pieces, and at last I was down to 2 weeks BC (before concert) with a one hour program, scrambling for posters and programs to be printed.  The big day came, I dressed up in my sparkles and entertained myself and about 75 others with the King of Instruments.  It's a great instrument, especially the new one I'm playing now. Literally, bells and whistles included, 1,188 memories to access, a library of hundreds of sounds, and a lot of buttons to push (so many that you need all four limbs).
Now a week later, I'm ready to punish myself start again, and hopefully in less than a year, I'll have another hour of favorites to share.
Thanks to everyone who attended!  You are the BEST!

Program:  April 15, 2018 - 5 PM
Pisgah (c. 1970) Dale Wood (1934-2003)
Christ lag in Todesbanden (c. 1922)
Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
Christ lag in Todesbanden (c. 1720)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Toccata in G minor Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) 
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Andantino (1857) César Franck (1822-1890)
Suite Gothique (1895) Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897)

I Introduction-Choral 

II Menuet gothique 
III Prière à Notre-Dame
IV Toccata (RIO)

(the following with Mick Hesse, trumpeter-extraordinaire)
Ave Maria (c. 1970)
Vladimir Vavilov (1925-1973)/arr. J&L Dokter
Sing of the Lord’s Goodness (c. 1990)
Ernest Sands (1949-2016)/arr. Jeffrey Honoré

It’s time!

The mid January blues are approaching, that thing that wants to make me flee from the here and now every year, yet I'm full of optimism and looking forward!
I've taken a little rest from my usual life; yes, that is what 24 hours of travel does to me, which is exactly how much time I spend in transit from NM to Norway-time to reflect and plan.
So here's a little wrap up of the last months of 2017:
Paint-by-Number sunsets, at the winter solstice.

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We have many gorgeous sunsets, year 'round, but this one caught my eye, and I pulled over on the highway.  I noticed a circular cloud, though this photo doesn't do it justice.  Maybe you can see it, too, if you enlarge it...click on it.  It's closest to the horizon and just above the first oncoming headlights. I tried to mark it with the arrow.  

Then there was this bad boy... This spider was so large that I saw him while driving, turned around, and caught up with him.  He was hanging out near Navajo Dam.

Then there was lace.  Knitted lace!  I bought the yarn in Lerwick, Shetland, a year ago, and have tried a few patterns.  This one is a keeper, though other projects have jumped the queue, and it is now languishing in the cupboard.  I started the sleeve.

A week long visit in October from J and C from Norway.  Here I'm entertaining with my new toy, the Rodgers Infinity 361, which was scary to play in October, and now is my BFF!  The latest is that my granddaughter wants to take up trumpet!  Good grief!  What did I do to deserve that?

And lastly, the winter sun peeking over the peaks, January, Bergen, Norway.  A panorama shot where you see more than 180º of horizon. The buildings on each side were behind me.

Happy New Year, everyone!