Knitting Projects Finished

You know I always have multiple projects in progress, usually working smaller, or easier bits while on road trips, and sometimes I finish one.  This time I have several finished knitting projects to show you, all of which were fairly quick and fun to knit, but still need to be washed and blocked!

Months ago, when I took the Aquitaine Cuffs class with Sivia Harding, she was wearing her Harmonia's Rings cowl (same as in the pattern picture).  I liked it so much that I bought the pattern and this beautiful yarn before I left the shop.  It's a fun knit, although I did end up searching my bead stash for larger beads, because the ones I had planned to use were too small.

The Seaweed Scarf pattern really shows off the varigated yarns!

My friend Cathy taught us this scarf when we were in Sisters - thank you Cathy!!!

Cathy had shown us another scarf she was working on, but we didn't see the yarn in Sisters.  When we went to the stitch 'n pitch, at least two booths had it made up and we had many color choices.  This one is mine, although I think it looked better in pictures and samples than it does on me, so maybe it will become a gift to someone who likes it????

Gardening and Sewing

This year's garden is quite productive, especially when I think how much cooler and wetter our summer has been!  Of course, those heat loving fruit and veggies are a bit behind when it comes to growing and ripening, so I've got my fingers crossed that our tomatoes and pumpkins will have time to mature before it gets too chilly for them!  Looking at the veggies in the baskets, I really didn't think I had as much as I did, until I started bagging them.  There were about 2 gallons of beans, 1 gallon of white cucumbers, and probably at least 1/ 3 gallon of the green cucumbers.  Only a few carrots were pulled, because I'd rather pull them when I want them, and we've got plenty more continuing to grow!

When we were in Sisters, OR, my friend Ellen gave all her housemates a kit for a Peek-a-Boo bag.  I love the way mine came out and am happy my larger than normal sewing kit fits inside!  Thank you Ellen!!!

Shawl Pin

This heart is from one of the books in my library.  Although it isn't exactly like the one in the book, I'm still practicing my wireworking skills and happy with the way it came out.  Now I need to get around to mix up some liver of sulfur to blacken it (and some of my other wirework projects), so that the design and hammering shows up better!

Dyeing Reed

When I was in Sisters, OR I did a little dyeing.  In the past, I've purchased some hand dyed reeds for basket making, and it always seems to bleed (at least a little), and most of the books and patterns suggest special basket reed dyes or Rit dyes, but I have been wanting to try dyeing the reed with Colorhue dyes that I already had for other projects.  The first thing I did was soak some scrap reed, rinse, and wipe with an old towel to see if it would bleed.   As long as I made sure to rinse the excess dye off, and other than one color, it seems to be permanent (right now I'm not saying which one, because I plan to do more testing here at home - I was rather limited without a sink outside).  It's an expensive dye, so I didn't waste any, whatever I didn't use on the reed came back home with me in wide mouth canning jars.

As you can see, I space-dyed the reed that will be weavers after using Velcro to hold the bundles together.  Each bundle was squished into the cup and held there until the reed was as dark as I wanted, and of course it changed a bit as it dried.

The stakes were dyed in solid colors, because they have been pre-cut for tiny baskets .

Whidbey Island trip

Yesterday, we took a family trip to Whidbey Island and had a wonderful day!

One of our stops was at the Captain Whidbey Inn, in Coupeville.  In looking at the building, I think the original building must have been much smaller, and it had been expanded more than once, but I'm just guessing.

When we were walking near the water, I saw this table and chairs, and thought how nice it would be to sit and eat right by the water.

I love this old boat, it has so much character!

The inn looks out on Penn Cove.  If you've ever had Penn Cove mussels, this is where they come from.  Between the inn and the waterfront shopping and restaurant area of Coupeville is where they grow the mussels.

Another place we stopped was at the top of Mt. Erie, where you can see for miles!  Lake Campbell is the body of water in the foreground with the small island.