Unraveled Wednesday & Other Stuff

March 18, 2026March 18, 2026 VickiLeave a comment

I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday!

KNITTING:

Progress on my Farfalle Cardigan!

A partially completed knitted piece featuring a textured pattern of multicolored motifs on a maroon background, accompanied by two balls of yarn: a dark maroon one and a colorful one with green, orange, and brown hues.

There are several more inches to go on this, the first sleeve. I already did the ribbing for the second sleeve, though, so I’ll just be carrying on. It’s been AGES since I knit with Noro, and it’s just as fun as ever. It’s hard to see, but there’s some very bright pink in the recently completed rows, and I can’t wait to hit that gold section!

Now for fun little follow-up. You may recall that three years ago, I Made It With Atlas… and knit a 5 Point Bomber for the kids using MDK’s lovely Atlas yarn. How’s it fitting/holding up?

Well, first, it doesn’t fit Junah at all. He’s only about a half-inch shorter than me & will probably be two inches taller next week.

A young girl with wavy hair is smiling while wearing a colorful knitted cardigan over patterned pajama pants, standing in front of a wooden background.

A smiling child with long brown hair, wearing a cozy blue sweater with a colorful collar, standing in front of wooden paneling.

It’s getting a little snug on Ginny!

A young girl with shoulder-length hair smiles, wearing a dark cardigan with colorful buttons and accents, paired with pink pants, standing in front of a wooden backdrop.

A smiling girl with medium-length hair, wearing a colorful cardigan, standing in front of a wooden background.

It fits Malina quite nicely and she really loves wearing my knits. The sleeves are a little long — always have been. (FYI: that top tooth is barely hanging on.)

A young child wearing a colorful knitted cardigan, smiling while holding a game controller, standing in front of a wooden cabinet.

Davy! Look at how much he’s grown in the past three years! The sweater was like a full-length coat on him.

The sweater has been washed a few times & is holding up pretty well overall. It’s still one of my favorite projects ever!

QUILTING:

I finished the last quilt block on Sunday morning. (I’m pretty sure it’s the last one.)

A colorful patchwork quilt composed of various triangular fabric pieces in vibrant patterns, including polka dots, swirls, and abstract designs.

Scrappy triangles in a loose “flying geese” arrangement. Sometimes the lights are light, and sometimes they’re dark — and vice versa. I had a different order but messed it up on the way to the sewing machine, so this is what it is.

On one of the snow days, I photographed all of the blocks so I could play around with layout & maybe even audition some colors for sashing & cornerstones… and, eventually, border(s).

A collage of various colorful quilt squares featuring different patterns and designs, arranged in a grid format.

Here’s v.1. This is utilizing an Excel spreadsheet, which is one of my favorite things. There will be changes, but it’s a start! I might stop by the quilt shop later today to scout some other color possibilities. I’m considering using all scraps for cornerstones, or using a variety of the polka dot fabrics for those… or using polka dot for one of the borders, and maybe a stripe for the other… or more flying geese (bigger). So many possibilities…

THE BEST WAY TO GET THROUGH A BLIZZARD…

…is together!

A young boy wearing a red Skittles-themed blanket as a robe stands in a kitchen, looking back at the camera.

A child wearing a colorful winter coat and gloves lies in a snowy yard, making a snow angel under a wooden pergola while snow falls around.

Ann & Brian came up on Saturday morning & we all convened for the girls’ afternoon dance recital at the high school. The weather was quite nice/okay, but the storm was looming. We planned meals & did a big grocery shop on Friday afternoon, knowing that Saturday morning would be crazy! I made lasagna on Saturday & Chili All Day on Sunday, and between us, Ann & I came up with enough for a really good chicken soup on Monday. I knew it was going to be snowy/stormy (we even had thundersnow), but I did not anticipate that almost everything would be closed on Monday, and many places still closed on Tuesday, too, so yay for a pretty well stocked pantry.

And we had a party! One of the things we bought at the store was a big birthday cake on which we had written, HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYONE! Maddy is rarely here for birthday parties, so we decided to have one. We sang & blew out candles, and it was really fun.

My house was the hub, but there was plenty of movement between Ann’s & Ali’s, too. Between shoveling stints (at all locations), hanging out, and cooking/eating, we watched some movies/shows & played games. Brian taught us how to play Euchre, which taxed our brains a bit; Kate & I taught Maddy how to play Azul (it had been a while for us); Skip-bo & Sequence, sometimes with a kid or two; Nerts & Liverpool Rummy (a new-to-us game that Maddy taught us). There was some crafting here & there; and Junah worked on a big school project. I stayed up late to watch the Oscars (which I recorded).

It was the most fun we’ve ever had during a blizzard. 10/10. Highly recommend.

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This is what it’s come to…

March 16, 2026March 16, 2026 Vicki6 Comments

We’ve had some snow the past few days. Blizzard conditions, lots of snow, very cold wind chills — schools, stores, banks & even some gas stations are closed. Road crews are doing what they can, but some people are at their wits end.

Today on Facebook:

As you can see, there are a few comments. One of my favorites: On a scale of 1 to “laying in the road,” how ready are you for Spring?

We’ve been keeping up with it, with humongous thanks to Kate & Maddy! Maddy wanted to see a little snow while she was here, but this is way beyond! 😂

Unraveled Wednesday

March 11, 2026March 11, 2026 Vicki8 Comments

I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday!

KNITTING:

My knitting time has been limited, but I have been plugging away on my Farfalle Cardigan! Unfortunately, with the changing of the clocks, I didn’t have an opportunity for a picture in daylight. I’m just about to the third increase on the first sleeve, and then it’s straight mosaic garter stitch until I reach the specified measurement. I’d be a bit further if I hadn’t sailed right past the second increase… I had to rip out & redo about a half-dozen rows. Così è la vita!

QUILTING:

The quilting has been a bit slower, too, but somehow I’m only one block away from the required number. Here are the latest two:

A patchwork quilt featuring bright, colorful patterns, including polka dots and circles in various sizes and colors.

This is a block I found online called Sunset Trail (the sample looks more like a sunset).

A colorful patchwork quilt square featuring various geometric patterns and vibrant colors, framed with a purple and blue polka dot border.

This is the one I showed last week as a concept of a block. It’s made from all of the corners that I cut off (and saved) while making previous blocks. I sewed the cut-off triangles together to make half square triangles & then arranged them in a way that I liked (it reminds me of the Economy block). The squares are small, so I had to do some math to add a border to make the finished block the correct size… and I did it wrong, so there are two borders. Quilter’s Math is different than Knitter’s Math, but my biggest mistake was thinking I could do it all in my head!

The last block will also be made up of half-square triangles — some of these & some others — I’m using scraps! I sewed & pressed a bunch of them at class last night, now I need to trim them. I’m sure I have enough for three blocks… choices, choices! Most everyone else in class had their quilt tops assembled with sashing & cornerstones, and were working on the border — it was so fun to see them all coming together! Soon… I’ll be there soon!!

READING:

No change… (bedtime pages): No Time on My Hands by Grace Snyder. I think I’m at the point in the book when she really starts getting into quilting… she just got a sewing machine!

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Spring Forward

March 6, 2026 Vicki6 Comments

M’girl has arrived! Maddy was sitting at the kitchen table when I got home last night. We all had a fun evening together — chatting, playing cards, catching up, and laughing our heads off. Merriment will continue tonight when Ali & the kiddos come over!

I’ve been seeing more squirrels & chipmunks running around, and also this…

A groundhog sitting on the ground surrounded by dry leaves and twigs in a natural setting.

…in the yard a couple of times, on a little perch/ledge just below the garden bed at the edge of the ravine. I thought maybe there was a burrow there, but I’m not so sure… at least yet. After rummaging around the yard & sitting on the perch, they take off down the hillside (amazingly fast) — through the little stick structure that my kids/grandkids constructed down there almost a decade ago — to who-knows-where?

An alarm clock surrounded by white daisies in a grassy field, with the text 'Spring Forward' above.

Don’t forget to “spring forward”! I still have a few clocks that I need to physically change — a couple of alarm clocks & the wall clock in the kitchen most importantly.

Happy Weekend!

Quilting · Uncategorized · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday: Sophie

March 4, 2026March 4, 2026 Vicki10 Comments

I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday!

KNITTING:

Don’t faint!

A colorful knitted item resembling a coiled cone, resting on a wooden surface with a window in the background.

A close-up of a colorful, hand-spun yarn roll resting on a wooden surface.

Ravelry Project Page: I haven’t made one yet
Pattern: Sophie Scarf by PetiteKnit
Yarn: Ewetopia Pashm, Tapestry colorway
Size: Large
Needle: US 4
Start to Finish: February 6-ish to February 27, 2026

And, as promised, I’ve also resumed kitting on my Farfalle Cardigan… it took me a minute to figure out what my notes, scratches & numbers meant, but I’m back on track (and those notes will be helpful going forward). I’m just about to begin the third repeat on the first sleeve, so it’s slow going but, hey, I’m not in a race with anyone (it’ll be nice to have a finished sleeve though)!

QUILTING:

Oh man…

A grid of twelve colorful quilt blocks arranged on a wooden floor, featuring various patterns and designs in vibrant colors.

A colorful display of various fabric quilt blocks arranged in a grid pattern on a wooden floor.

I had to do some laundry at Ann’s the other day. I took all my quilting stuff so I could lay it out on that large, unobstructed expanse of floor she has over there. On the left, 12 finished quilt blocks, per the pattern. On the right, 13 finished quilt blocks + some ideas for combos for the others I’ll need to make it big… really big! I want it to not only cover my bed, but have a good drop, so I’m probably going to do a double border & I’m considering doubling or even tripling the sashing, too. It’ll take a lot of playing around to figure it out.

But, first, I need to finish all these blocks. I’ve lost count, but these were finished yesterday/last night.

A colorful patchwork quilt square featuring vibrant floral patterns in pink, purple, and teal hues.

A patchwork design featuring colorful fabric squares with a variety of patterns, including circles, dots, and a central blue and purple pansy flower on a pink background.

The one on the left is one of my new favorites… which makes up for the one on the right, which is my new least favorite. It’s been suggested that the last favorite block be positioned in the lower left corner — mostly in terms of a wall hanging, I’m guessing — but that would be my side of the bed… so whichever one is in least favor when it comes time to put it all together, it’ll go on the lower right. heh.

I spent some time the other day trimming all of the half square triangle blocks that I made using the cut off parts from previous blocks.