Episode 16- Special Guest!

This week I had a very special guest. My mother! My mom is an avid quilter, and she mostly machine pieces and quilts. She is very creative in her designs, and innovates many of her creations. She doesn't often work from a pattern, and freehand quilts most of her projects. I hope you love her as much as I do, my mother.

Thanksgiving was this week, and I made stuffing and rolls for the dinner. I cooked at my grandma's house, and they both turned out really good. I'm not sure of the recipe for the stuffing because I made it up with my grandma's help as I went. The rolls I got the recipe out of a Better Homes and Garden cookbook. 

This week I focused mostly on Thanksgiving, because it was the main take-away of the week. Being thankful, focusing on family, all that cool jazz. But this week did not start out that great for me. I got so stressed out, just from working on an extra project at work that I came home early because I felt like I was going to throw up! It made me feel like a miserable employee, but now that I have had a couple days to rest without thinking or worrying about work I feel much better. I even had a dream about my work last night! I was working, and then got fired, but I appealed and they kept me on because I showed how much passion I had for what I do. I think that is a good sign, if even in my subconscious state I really want to work at my job.

I think the kids are really what does it for me. I worry about them, and want to help them to achieve the best that they can. It's a different world when you may not have a stable home, but still come to school everyday. I miss the kids when I am not there, and keep trying to work at making sure that they have a good experience when they come into the program.

This week I finished many things. I finished two pairs of slipper socks to give as Christmas gifts, and two washcloths that are also Christmas gifts.

I also finished a cowl that I will hopefully wear sometime this week. It's longer than other cowls that I have made, but it was flat instead of being a tube, so I think that's why the yarn went further. I made it out of Purl Bee Laceweight, which is the Hobby Lobby brand of yarn, in the Sun Valley colorway, and I held it double with cream sockweight yarn that is acrylic that is from Fabric Recycles which is a crafting consignment store, so I'm not really sure of the brand on it. I made up this design in my head, and completed it without looking at any pattern, but then I watched Amy Beth on the Fat Squirrel Speaks, and she showed her cowl that she made out of handspun using Foolproof by Louise Zass-Bangham. Seeing her explain the pattern I realized that I did almost exactly the same thing, but I didn't buy the pattern or even look at it, so I'm not sure if I really ripped off the pattern, or just had a weird synchronous moment in the universe or knitting patterns.

My mother showed her pumpkin that she made for a pumpkin contest at work, but they didn't really let her enter the competition because it wasn't a "real" pumpkin. So she set it on her desk, and then brought it home and set it up in the dining room. The picture I took is where it is sitting in the dining room, just to get at idea or what it looks like set up. She appliqued the pumpkin pieces onto the background, and then machine quilted it freehand. The pattern was 100% her own creation. 

I am currently working on two blankets for Project Linus, a charity that makes blankets for children that are sick in the hospital, or have endured another type of trauma. I am working on a Tunisian crochet blanket that is orange and black. I bought a Tunisian crochet hook that has a cord connecting two hooks, but I don't like doing that long of a row. My mother thinks that it is partly because of the color, and the yarn, and if I had different yarn I would like doing it better, which I think is mostly true. Working on a bright orange blanket is hard to stay focused very long, but the action of Tunisian crochet becomes very rhythmic and addicting. After I finish this panel of Tunisian crochet however, I am going to switch to regular crochet and just do borders until it is an appropriate size for Project Linus.

The second blanket that I am working on for Project Linus is the Nuts for Neon competition blanket, and it is coming along nicely. I am using different colors of Red Heart Super Saver and working different panel and sections to create a crazy quilt look with knitting. I like how it is coming along, and hope to win the prize this May.

My only other project is my Christmas socks that are just plain vanilla socks that I am making to wear on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I hope to make a second pair to wear on the other day, so my feet will be very festive.

My mother is working on finishing the binding on her fall quilt that is a couch size throw. She used a gradient and put the colors in an order, working out from the center, that represent that different colors that leaves change as they transition from Spring into Fall. I think it looks really cool. It is a French braid pattern, and it was machine pieced and quilted, and she is hand stitching the binding on.

I also showed my next Project Linus blanket that I am going to tackle, which is going to be to finish a blanket that I got in a bag from a thrift store. I am just going to keep adding crazy colors to the granny ripple pattern until it is big enough to be a blanket. The yarn will be all old acrylic from donations and other random places.

I also got some spinning done this week, both on my wheel and on my Turkish spindle. I finished a skein on the wheel, it was a 50/50 blend of alpaca and wool, in grey and white. Then I am spinning a 50/50 blend of mohair and wool on my Turkish spindle to be plied with another single of handspun that I spun on my wheel. 

Thanks for watching and I'll see you next week with more progress on more projects!