Celtic Solstice, Part 5

I thought I was going to be finished this clue today, but that was before I sewed 50 little triangles on the wrong way. Now I'm spending the rest of the afternoon unsewing. Head on over to QUILTVILLE and check out everyone else's progress, or unprogress, lol!

50 triangles to be unsewed

50 units finished

 

On the Needles

A couple of things on the needles this week. First up is a pair of socks. Hopefully I will have them finished before my daughters birthday on Jan.17. The yarn is Opal and the colorway is Samba Sisters.

I am also working on Hitchhiker. I'm pretty sure the yarn is Handmaiden Fine Yarn Sea Silk, but I don't know the colorway as it has been in my stash for many years. I have 19 "teeth" done so far.

Linking up with Judy over at Patchwork Times. Head on over there to see what others are working on.

Celtic Solstice - Part 4

4 Patches......not too hard! Despite the busy Christmas rush, I managed to finish this week's clue in time.Take some time to look at everyone else's progress over at QUILTVILLE.

Maybe this is a block layout?

My 4-patches, red and green

 This is what my daughter gave me for a Christmas gift. She knows that I love antiques, especially old sewing machines and such. This is an antique yarn winder. There is no date on it, but I am guessing that it is from the mid 1800's to early 1900's.

I also acquired a new-to-me antique sewing machine this Christmas. My son used to drive a garbage truck, and one day he found this old sewing machine in a dumpster and took it home with him, then promptly forgot all about it. Hubby Dale discovered it in his unheated garage, sitting on the dirt floor. He wasn't even going to tell me about it, because the last thing I need is another old sewing machine, but of course I had to try and rescue it. As you can see from the picture, it is extremely dirty, and I haven't had a chance to clean it up yet, but we did plug it in and it does work. It is a White, and I can't find a lot of information about it on the net, but it has the old fashioned bullet shuttle, and it was obviously converted from treadle to electric.

Celtic Solstice, Part 3

I must say that part 3 is coming along much faster and easier than the chevrons in part 2. I need to remake about 30 of my chevrons, because some of them are just not matching up very well. The pinwheels are going great. I have 15 made, another 10 to go, and all my hst's are made. I planned to finish up today while we're getting a major snowstorm, but I got involved in making potholders instead.

15 pinwheels done

Close-up

HST's

I'm linking up to Quiltville . Head on over, there are over 150 quilters showing off their progress on this mystery quilt!

The potholders are Christmas gifts. They are going in a basket, along with a knitted dishcloth, some candy, homemade jam and pickles.

Cupcake Potholders 

We are experiencing a big blizzard today, expecting upwards of 30 cms of snow. Hubby says we have more snow now than we had all last winter!

The furbabies are snug and warm. Apparently they need my chair more than I do!

Abby, Lacie, and Buddy

Celtic Solstice, Part 2

 Wow, these chevrons seem to be taking me a long time to finish. I have half of them done, but I'm still hoping to get the other half finished before the next clue comes out on Friday.

I'm linking up to Quiltville so you can check out everyone's progress.

We had our daughter and family over for supper the other night. The kids decorated my Christmas tree for me, and when they were done, they decorated some cookies.

Jasmine,Savannah, Jessica, and Lincoln

Jasmine

Lincoln

Our tree

Jessica

Celtic Solstice, Part 1

No, I'm not doing the mystery quilt this year. Did anyone else say this? I tried to resist, but by Tuesday afternoon I just had to join in. Spent the rest of Tuesday cutting, sewed the first sides together on Wednesday, and finished them up today, just in time for the next clue to be released tomorrow! I am doing the smaller size, and substituting red for orange.

Ready to start sewing

All finished!

Please head on over to Quiltville and have a look at what everyone else has accomplished so far.. Over 200 people are making this mystery quilt!

A New Christmas Tree Skirt

I finally got a little something other than knitting finished. I've been knitting for Christmas.......socks, fingerless mittens for the grandgirls, and hats for my boys. They don't just want any old hat, they want balaclavas to keep them warm while they're working in Alberta. Good thing they're not arriving home until the day before Christmas!

I have myself a new tree skirt, and I can see that Buddy's new spot will be laying under the tree, which might mean that I will have a little room on my chair?

Buddy likes it!

Close-up of the stitching

Trying to knit with 2 dogs and a cat crowding me!

A Little Bit of Sewing

Now that I'm laid off for the winter, it's time to get back to sewing and quilting. Not a lot done so far, but I did manage to make a bag. It is called the market bag, and I bought it as a kit, from Connecting Threads. It has already been sent to its new home, as part of a secret santa exchange.

Market Bag

I am also searching for ideas for homemade Christmas tree ornaments. Yesterday I made these cute little trees.

Christmas Tree Ornaments

I also got a few blocks made for my x and + bee. These ones are heading to North Carolina, and I have 3 more to make this month that are going to the UK.

x and + blocks

On the Needles....and Off the Needles

It's time to start the Christmas knitting. First up is a finish. A hat for our granddaughter Savannah. Just need to add the ties and it's done. Think I will make her a pair of fingerless mitts to go with her hat.

Savannah's Hat

On the needles is a pair of socks for my father (Mom, please don't show him this post!). The yarn is Online Supersocke, and I'm just doing a K3P1 rib on the cuff, with plain knitting on the foot.

Dad's socks

  

 

Head on over to Judy's blog, Patchwork Times, to see what everyone else is working on this week.

Island Treasures Retreat 2013

Last week-end was our annual stitching retreat, held at Kindred Spirits Country Inn. There were 24 of us this year, and we had a great time stitching, knitting, eating, and socializing. It seemed like we just finished one meal when it was time to head out for the next one! It's always nice to have someone else cook and clean up! Some of the more ambitious stitchers were up stitching until the wee hours of the morning! We also had a tutorial on how to finish cross stitch Christmas ornaments. Here are a few pictures from our week-end:

My room...I shared with my daughter, Amanda

Jalapeno Peppers, Tomatoes, and Pumgetti Squash?

What do we do with a full  bucket of jalapeno peppers?

First we make 13 half-pints of cowboy candy

Then we fill up the dehydrator.

There are still some more peppers left, they will be frozen. After the peppers were finished, it was time to look after a few more ripe tomatoes. I wanted something easy, so I bought a jar of Bernardin Fiesta Salsa Mix. If you haven't tried this yet, it makes delicious salsa. I am impressed with the results, and all you add is tomatoes and vinegar, and crushed chilies if you like it spicy. Easy, peasy!

Salsa cooking

 

 

These didn't go in the salsa, but aren't they nice?

We picked all the squash in our garden, just in case of a frost, and Dale came in the house with a few funny looking squash, saying he didn't know what they were. After a bit of research, I came to the conclusion that they are a cross between a pumpkin and a spaghetti squash. Apparently if your pumpkin or spaghetti squash was cross-pollinated last year, and you saved seeds to plant this year, you can get a funky hybrid.

Funny looking spaghetti squash

Look like spaghetti squash inside, just a darker color than normal

We cooked it up, added butter and parmesan cheese, and had it for our lunch. Tasted the same as a normal spaghetti squash.

Even the squirrels are enjoying the bounty. They just love the sunflower seeds from our sunflowers.