Another couple of years have passed....

Being a grandparent is the most deliciously indescribable time of life!  Number four came along last February and he's a cutie.

I have moved from knitting, to finishing a dollhouse and furnishing it for my grandchildren, to making miniature furniture from kits, to sewing curtains for the dollhouse and now to making bedding sets for dollhouses.  A woman makes Dollhouses for Kids Battling Cancer and her work and that of the "Delivery Angels" who take them wherever they need to go in the country inspire me to make these tiny things.

I had to buy a sewing machine.  Had sewed most of my life, but after my kids were grown, I didn't do much of that.  Then I bought a Viking/Huskvarna machine and for a bit had some fun.  Put it away when I grew frustrated with adjusting tension - and Mom came to live with us.  So I purchased an inexpensive Brother - marvelous! - and began sewing again.  (My now-old hands just were not able to do much hand sewing - I learned this from making little curtains - so the machine was imperative.)  

I made dozens of bedding sets for little twin and full sized beds, stopped a while to make a t-shirt quilt.  Never made any quilt before - and it was a big project - but I like the way it turned out.

So now I am back to making little bedding sets.  I began by using some linen guest towels that had belonged to Mom.  For years I had been enjoying them, but in recent years the ironing was not so much fun; they were all clean and dry, and placed in a closet, unironed.  But such marvelous fabrics and delightful designs...these would make perfect bedspreads for doll beds.

So began a truly enjoyable hobby.  Vintage handkerchiefs also have lovely lace edging, or dainty embroidered flowers - both work well on a tiny scale.  I have retrieved my Viking sewing machine from the attic - it is now a 20-year-old machine, but in near-mint condition.  It has a computer for a great variety of stitches and it's challenging me to learn how to use it, all over again.  

With our holiday time approaching, the dollhouses are going to fundraisers and auctions and so I am busy making them with holiday colors - not specifically with Christmas or Hanukkah icons, but with those colors - trying to make them so they can be appropriate all through the year that follows as well.

When I figure out how to get my pictures into something I can get into this blog, I will post a few of the tiny creations.  Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy your family and a hobby as much as I do mine!

Beth 

Still alive, still knitting, but far less than last time I wrote here.  Three grandbabies now, so three times as much fun!

This little one arrived second and he's a real character - full of fun and fearless to boot!

His sister arrived two years after he did and she's a busy little one as well.  She's two now and building her vocabulary, learning everything she can.  Should I say she's the only little girl, so doted on by siblings, parents and grandparents alike.  What fun!

Beth

Ryan's Garden

We had a delightful day with our grandson, Ryan, this spring!

He was a natural at careful handling of the root balls before planting.

Great work with the trowel! Watered and mulched; the results below! This is Ryan's Garden; it is growing nicely!

SPRING, AGAIN!

It's always fun to return to the yard after the last (we hope!) frost and poke around beneath last year's leaves to find the ferns. Their graceful journey upward is almost a dance.

Thanks to Martha, we have this Wisteria on our back fence; it was frozen just a day or so after blooming last year. There is never enough blue in the garden for me, so this is a special pleasure.

Our grandson's first birthday came in February, just two days after Mom died. Then Spring, and Easter! The rebirth that cannot be denied is all around, reminding us of the joy of the cycles of life.

I will soon show you that I am back to the knitting; in fact, am working on two ruffled blankets for sisters as well as a little stroller blanket for a baby. My sweet husband is making great progress on a lovely wool blanket of blocks - more later on all those. Meanwhile, I hope spring works Her magic once again! Enjoy!

Beth

On the Fence: Parting Shots

We finally saw a bit of sunshine today, so I took the blanket outside for a picture. Here it is hanging on the fence. Below, it's on the gate.

I tumbled it in the dryer to remove bits of debris from the yard before trying it out on the guest bed.
The next pictures I hope to see of this will be as it covers a family snuggled up together on the sofa. If I get one of those, I will share. Now, as my friend Diana says, onward and upward!

Beth

Hooray! It's finished!

This has taken a year and seven months, from its beginning. Of course, I have completed several other projects in the intervening time. This has been a learning experience and a real joy!

Yesterday, I tumbled this in the dryer on air fluff (no heat) to remove lint and cat hairs. I washed it this morning in cold water and Woolite on the delicate cycle; dried on lowest temperature.

The colors remained vibrant; the wash water was not colored with dyes. There was a bit of shrinkage, but nothing alarming.

This big project is completed and I am happy to be able to give this to my daughter-in-law on her birthday in a few days.

Now, I am looking forward to spring and new projects for my needles! I hope you are, too!

Beth

Learning By Doing

This blanket has been a true learning experience and I have loved it all. I had to re-place this rectangle (with the diagonal center) from the bottom edge, to the row above. Then I knit another to put where it had been. That left two spaces to fill in next to it, and another at the bottom edge.

Below the white, circular stitch marker is a tiny rectangle that I filled in with background color. The space above required I create another log cabin rectangle. Below, those spaces are filled in, and lying at the front edge of the pillows, one row from the left end of the blanket.
The wise ladies at The Yarn Nook in Candler suggested the border be the same as the background, and not deep blue as I had at first thought. After deliberation, I concluded they are right. I wanted to put on an applied I-cord border, but this yarn is not conducive to that which calls for a bit of tugging to get it right. This yarn is easily broken - basically, it's roving with a thread around for texture - and has very little elasticity. So I have opted for a double seed stitch. Have not begun yet; I am working on the many, many long ends to weave in on the wrong side.

Anyway, I continue to learn and enjoy as I go. I hope it's ready for her birthday in February!

Beth