Ten on Tuesday:  10 Things I Love About My Home

We've lived in our home for over 28 years! There are things that I've loved from the beginning (that basically sold the home to me); things that we've improved so that some other feeling has now become love; and there are many things that we just outright created, helping to make our house a home that we truly love.

1. The front door. I didn't have to do much more than step through that door 28 years ago, take it in along with the oak staircase and the colonnade between the two main living areas on the main floor, and I was in deep, deep love.

2. The colors. It's sided with wood clapboards and shingles, so there's a lot of upkeep and maintenance, but I sure do love it. The house was light blue with white trim when we bought it, and there were black shutters on all of those windows.

3. New windows! Not all of them... Most of the windows are original with wooden storms/screens that we remove and replace with the seasons (but not all of those, either). There were only a few windows in the house that  had "modern" combination storm windows when we moved in and they were all replaced with new last week. (The three 2nd-story windows in the photo above, among them; they're a different color than the painted ones, but I'm okay with it.)

4. The garage & driveway. We built the garage from scratch and designed it to match the architecture of the house. We didn't have a driveway or a garage for about the first 10 years we were here.

And sitting on that driveway is my car, on which I made the last payment today! I've already spent a little bundle on some repairs, rather than buying new... fingers crossed that it was the right decision! (No car payment... YAY!)

5. The gardens! Once upon a time, the gardening got a lot more attention around here. The beauty of perennials is that they keep on giving. I learned to love hostas, and one of my favorites is the enormous Blue Angel (on the right in the photo above) (there used to be two, until the gas company dug up half the terrace).

6. The playhouse. Rusty built it when Kate & Al were little, and we moved it down the hill when we decided to build the garage. Junah's been in there already this summer, but he'll use it much more over the next few.

7. Our kitchen. One of the things I love most are the reclaimed cupboards. The big one once did duty in the science department of a nearby high school. We had enough height to lift the top off of the base and hang it, leaving room for a counter atop the base. The base has a few drawers, as you can see, as well as four pull-out cutting boards; we use the lower cupboards to hold recycling bins. The smaller one, my "depression glass cupboard" (with one light out) helps to block the view of the sink area from the front door (it's a straight shot!). (I'd like to replace those hot halogen lights with some LED tape.)

8. The hardwood floors. Some are new (-ish), some were uncovered and refinished, and some were always here; there's only one room in the house that is carpeted, and that's our bedroom.

9. My workroom. It's an organized mess... which is what happens when multiple projects are underway! The paper tube set across the sewing machine are a couple more Alabama Chanin patterns that I just picked up from the blueprint shop (the least expensive place I've found to have large-format prints made... cheap, really... I email the files and pick them up when ready... SO EASY). But I digress (about Alabama Chanin  stuff... what a surprise.)

10. The deck and pergola. It's very private and I love it! I agree with Katie, though, I think it's time to grow something on it... wisteria?

Bonus: The top step leading to the playhouse. Maddy was one and "squished" her little fingers into the concrete!

It seems so quiet in blogland. Summertime is busy, isn't it? And that's good!

My Alabama Chanin collection was "pressed" into alternate use last week, as Ali and I regrouped for our run to the finish on a large & overdue joint project. We spent a few good hours together on Wednesday and the end is drawing near... er. There's still a lot to do! Forward.

I spent almost all of my "free" time last week working on my Alabama Chanin A-line dress. I am embellishing the front of the tunic with embroidery, beads and sequins, and I'm really pleased with how it's turning out. I'm keeping the design/inspiration under wraps for now, but I'm almost half-way as of yesterday, so hopefully it won't be too long before the big reveal.

I'm using a combo of seed beads (clear & red), chop beads (dark grey & red), bugle beads (dark grey, satin grey & red), and sequins (dark grey & silver).

I made a beading cuff!

Here's a peek at one little motif. IRL, that's little more than an inch in diameter.

It's farmer market season again! That's where you'll find me most Saturday mornings until mid-October (and taking a little nap on after-market Saturday afternoons). This year, Ali is using her portable espresso machine to make "real" lattes and whatnot, and I'm mostly manning the citrus press and making freshly squeezed lemonade. I was called a "lemonade making machine" on Saturday, so I guess I've got it down. Ali's also baking cookies and fresh muffins everyday, including some gluten-free varieties, so we have fresh baked goods, too! It's all a little simpler... and better! As those things go.

There was a lot of sewing during my at-home mini vacation... a lot! Mending, seaming, hemming, embroidery, applique... both by machine and by hand.

I've had another attempt at a romper for Junah on my list (here's the first), and that happened on Monday.

This time, I used the same old Simplicity pattern (#5049... which I've since acquired in 2 more sizes) mashed up with a modified & upsized Simply Summer Romper, a free pattern (12-mo size) on Craftsy.

The things I love most about that Simplicity pattern are the facings (possibly my most favorite thing), the shoulder snaps, and the 2-piece back.

The free pattern offered a little guidance with shaping for the one-piece front, and I was excited to try the snap crotch.

Seven snaps total, top & bottom, are possibly a bit of overkill... haha!

The fabric came from a thrifted t-shirt.

Centering the design on the front meant that I was a little short of fabric for the straps. That happened with the giraffe romper, too, but my fix then was quite rushed and haphazard.

This time, I took the few extra minutes needed to do it symmetrically... and nicely. Top stitching even.

I also did just a bit of top stitching under the each arm to secure the facings. And, this time, I also hemmed the legs.

Forgetting to make corresponding adjustments to the facing pattern pieces, but not discovering that fault until after cutting, meant that I didn't have enough t-shirt fabric. I dug through my scraps and found some fabrics that corresponded well enough. I quite love how that worked out.

I'm so happy with how it turned out. It's at least a hundred times better than the last. There's still room for little tweaks & improvement, but I feel like I'm on track.

Baby Captain America doesn't do windows (unless you like fingerprints!), but he's happy to help sweep the deck!

Also, I'm dying over those shoes...

I took a couple of days off early this week. With the weekend and my normal day off as bookends, I had a total of 5 days off... most of them at home, often alone... and I'm not sure I can express how wonderful it was!

It was nothing short of GLORIOUS. And also quite productive!

The first day (Saturday) was actually spent mostly in the car -- driving back and forth to Minneapolis with Kate to attend the wedding of one of her high school friends. There was lots of knitting sewing time. (Truth: I don't really enjoy knitting in the car all that much.) (Y'all can kick me out of the club if you want.)

When I'd snipped the ties on the shibori indigo-dyed onesies, I also snipped into the fabric of one of them! It left a tiny little hole on the front near the shoulder.

So I fixed that.

The wedding venue was 514 Studios in downtown Minneapolis. The ceremony, dinner, and reception were all held there... it was an intimate wedding and quite lovely!

Instead of cake, there was a gorgeous dessert buffet. That "donut"? A "Chocolate O." Brownie base, chocolate glazed chocolate mousse "donut shape," caramel center, and topped with a chocolate disc and gold leaf. It was amazingly light and delicious... as was everything.

It was a long, long day but I'm glad I went along to help with driving. We got home at about 2 a.m. and fell into bed.

Junah was over for a while on Sunday (or Monday or Tuesday... I really don't remember) while Ali & I regrouped for a project day we planned for Wednesday. That boy is a flash these days, but he stopped for a sec to check out my yarn winder... wearing the repaired onesie and a cute kerchief that his mama made.

It didn't take him long to figure out how it worked! He came into the house with one shoe on, and left that way; we were all amazed that he never took it off... busybusybusy!

I started, worked on, discarded and/or finished many projects over the extended weekend. One of those projects was this Ale Asylum Hopalicious tool caddy for my workroom.

Stay tuned.

It's a year today since my mom died.

I miss her everyday... every minute of every single day.

I miss the random phone calls at work: "How do you spell ______________."

Like I'm a dictionary. And I was... for her, on demand.

I miss spending the day together... antique or garden shopping, going out to lunch, checking out this new place or that favorite haunt.

I miss her asking my opinion about things.

I miss asking for her opinion about things.

I miss talking.

I miss cooking with her, helping her prep for a big family meal or a holiday celebration.

I miss everything about her. And I suppose I always will... and that's okay. That's the way it is.

* * * * *

It was Father's Day on Sunday. We haven't seen or talked to each other in a few years... for various reasons, each our own... but I took a chance and called him on Sunday. We had a nice chat.

"We still have Dad."

Not on Tuesday's summertime bucket list, but definitely on The List was replacing the dead hibiscus tree by the garage. It was always a late starter/bloomer... and last year it was given up for dead as June, July, August, even September went by without a sign. Then, in early October, someone spotted some green sprouts, but man... that had to be one stressed out tree. Yesterday, we put it out of its misery and replaced it with a flowering pear (which we'll have to keep in check a bit in that location). Anyway, it looks great and nicely matches our color scheme.

I spent plenty of time in my workroom, cutting & tracing pattern pieces, cutting fabric, and seaming. So far, the center back seam is done, and I was thrilled to employ my new Clover Wonder Clips!

And also, the much less expensive Attmu Multi-purpose Craft Clips.

These clips are fantastic for a variety of craft purposes, but the main thing for sewing are the markings... I have those clips lined up along the edge of my fabric on the 1/4-inch mark.

The Clover clips are about $16 for 50, and the Attmu are $12 for 100. I used both yesterday and, from my experience, except for the Attmu clips being a bit darker red in color, there is virtually no difference... the Attmu clips' spring may be a tiny bit more stiff. Both brands come in a case, of sorts; the Clover is a rectangular plastic flip-top case (the operation of which took me way too long to figure out), the Attmu is a clear plastic cylindrical container with a screw top.

In the name of research, I now have 150 plastic clips and it's nearly certain that I'll never run out!

The summer bucket-filling commences today with the start of an Alabama Chanin A-line Dress!

I'm making a custom length between tunic and the shorter dress, using a single layer of Alabama Chanin medium-weight organic cotton jersey in a color called "Blue Slate."

I'll be using black thread to sew it all together.

If there's one step I'm likely to skip in this process, it's basting the neckline and armholes... but not this time.

I've plans to embellish with embroidery and beading, inspired by some photos that I ran across on the WWW last winter.

Drip, drip, drip...

Ten on Tuesday:  10 Things On My Summer Bucket List

Oh boy, there are so many things and most of summer still sits before us...

1. Dyeing. I've quite a few things in mind to throw into the indigo vat. I'll be doing a dye day with my sister and nephews one of these days, too.

2. Sewing. An Alabama Chanin A-Line Tunic is going to get underway tomorrow, I hope. I have plans to embellish! I have already begun making the pattern for another tunic, and want to make & refine at least one more square-neck. In addition to some lovely fabric, I've an overflowing bin of t-shirts and scraps to play around with -- making things for Junah is in mind for some (but definitely not all) of that.

TTL Mystery Shawl 2015 at completion of Clue #1.

3. Knitting. I'm currently working on (and enthralled by) Kirsten Kapur's TTL Mystery Shawl 2015; I will most certainly finish it this summer. I'd also like to finish my Prickly Poppy cardigan (it's slow going, but it's going) and Sophie's Rose Shawlette (it got stuck on a zipper pull in my knitting bag... I am afraid to look).

4. Day-tripping... a visit to Door County will be coming up sometime this summer; it may wait just long enough 'til those blossoms are ready-to-pick cherries! I haven't actually gone cherry picking since I was in about 6th grade.

5. Baseball! I've already been to one Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game for Stitch 'n Pitch, there's a company picnic coming up in August, and we're working on a family outing next month!

6. Cycling. I really want -- and need -- to get on my bike and ride for more than a mile at a time! We'll miss the Door County ride/beer festival out of Baileys Harbor this weekend, but plan to do the fall ride out of Sister Bay again later this summer.

7. Cooking. I've been trying some new recipes lately, with inspiration from the Whole30Recipes Instagram feed... and I'd like to continue that!

8. Tidying. Life has been busy, but I need to get back to the life-changing magic!

9. Reading. I've printed off a Bingo card, but expect it will last me far longer than the summer. I'm really looking forward to some of those squares! Currently on my nightstand is The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe, which I am enjoying quite a lot, but may have to take a break to read Still Alice by Lisa Genova for book club!

10. Time off-ing. I've arranged a couple of extra days off next week, to start... I am SO looking forward to it, and to using that time to accomplish some of the above!

Happy Birthday Karen! (Happy Birthday Sharon!) We love you!!

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Ali &Rod!

Photos by Jena @ J. Schleis Photography

Stop! Stay back, yoga mat!

Every once in a while a company called Artsonia sends me a notification that one of my nephews has had new artwork from school uploaded on their site. It's always fun to see the boys' projects and I am able to order their artwork printed on all sorts of items, from mouse pads and coffee mugs to tote bags and t-shirts.

Until now, I've appreciated their creations but never ordered anything. Then, a few weeks ago, I received notice of this:

...and my heart skipped a beat. First of all, ADDISON! Second of all, GIRAFFE!! And third of all, HAVE YOU EVER IN YOUR LIFE???

I immediately ordered as large a t-shirt as I could, with the idea of refashioning it and making something romper for Junah. Unfortunately, I was so excited that I didn't read the full description of the shirts and ended up with a shirt made of 100% polyester instead of 100% cotton.

Going in head-first, I pulled out this old pattern that was Mom's... I'm not sure why I have it (and just a couple of others), but I do. I knew I was in for it right away because the pattern has two pieces for both front and back, with shaping for the legs, and I wanted the front to be all one piece. Without thinking too hard, I made some adjustments that I thought would compensate.

I muddled my way through and posted the "finished" photo above to Instagram.

The original photo shows that I hilariously cropped both the messy top part and the terribly wonky bottom/crotch area in that photo. I wasn't too broken up... because polyester shirt. I was (and continue to be) all about THAT AMAZING GIRAFFE! If the romper didn't work out, I'd reclaim the giraffe and put it in a frame.

Experimental as it was, it would still be nice if Junah could wear it! I did a little after-the-fact research and concluded that some sort of gusset was in order. The seam ripper appeared & fixing commenced:

I had done some weird cutting and couldn't come back from that. I also had no idea how it was even going to fit him so I just did some stitching instead of hemming. The whole thing was sewn on the machine using a stretch stitch and Maxi-Lock thread.

It's not going to win any prizes, but it turned out pretty cute overall. I know what to do to fix it next time (and also found some patterns more in line with what I'm trying to do)...

And seriously, how cute is he?

Ali said that he had a big cloth diaper & cover on and there was still plenty of room; it bunched up a little around his diaper from sitting/standing, but it wasn't pulling anywhere.

It was a great learning exercise. The next one will be a bit more refined, and there will likely be a few more after that!!

Until we checked the admission price (especially as related to the time we'd actually spend there), we'd considered visiting the Biltmore Estate on the southern edge of Asheville on Saturday.

Instead, we drove a little further south to the Carl Sandburg Home, a National Historic Site run by the National Park Service. And what a wonderful decision it was!

There's a nice hike up to the property from the parking area, and soon enough the house comes into view.

Carl was born in Illinois, his wife Lilian in Michigan; they met in Wisconsin when they both were members of Wisconsin's Social Democratic Party. Strong ties to the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes.

In later years, Lilian raised dairy goats. The barn, farm, and milk house exhibits were terrific... oh, those outbuildings!

Katie made friends with the kids.

Chickens, too!

The original chicken house is enormous!

Inside the greenhouse, above.

When in North Carolina... BBQ for lunch again! This time, it was at Hubba Hubba Smokehouse in Flat Rock, and it was fantastic! We obviously loved the idea of deviled eggs as a side option! I knew we were officially in the south when I saw pimento cheese pop up on the menu a couple of times.

And, you guessed it, we hit the Blue Ridge Parkway one last time...

We made it to the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, but the very top was in the clouds! So cold and windy, too. 

I considered buying a sweatshirt, but reason prevailed... we were only there for a short time before heading back down.

* * * * *

We got up SUPER early on Sunday and made the trip home in a day.

One last breakfast.

We put our flag on the map in the cottage -- the third visitors from Wisconsin!

We said good bye to our sweet cottage.

And after a long (but pleasant) day of driving, hello to HOME!

Thanks North Carolina! I hope I see you again someday! (The end.)

After lunch on Thursday, we did a little shopping in town -- a resale shop, a used book store -- and stopped at a local pub to buy a gift certificate for our phone-finding bicyclist!

By then, it was time for Kate to head to the local coffee shop to meet up with Adam Void and Chelsea Ragan, two artists she's connected with in various ways over the past several months, all with similar interest in BMC. It was a big bonus for us that they had the opportunity to meet.

While that happened, I went to the Black Mountain Yarn Shop!!

I found these three beauties -- Traveller by Dragonfly Fibers (from left to right: Black Pearl, Cherry on Top, Dragonberry) -- to make Range by Andrea Marquis. The shop sample was intriguing!

And this: Folktale by Fable Fibers... the gorgeous colorway is called Black Mountain!

Just before I could get into any more trouble at the yarn shop, Kate popped in and said that Adam & Chelsea were taking her to the BMC sites at Blue Ridge Assembly and Lake Eden, and would I like to go? Hell yeah.

The former Robert E. Lee Hall, now known as Eureka Hall.

Adam and Kate heading toward the Gymnasium.

Camp was in session!

I insisted on another "tourist" photo.

The campus at Lake Eden is now privately owned, so we didn't galavant much; we were able to see the iconic (and nearly faded to obscurity) frescoes painted on pylons of the building by muralist Jean Charlot.

Adam & Chelsea invited us to their house, and the cyclist called just as we arrived. I went to meet him and retrieve the phone while Adam, Chelsea & Kate visited, took the tour, looked at artwork, and discussed future plans. (Yes, future plans!)

After all that, we stopped at a local grocery and added olives and avocados to our provisions, and had dinner in (as we did most evenings).

It was a busy day!

* * * * *

We made the short trip to Asheville on Friday.

We visited the Asheville Art Museum where, among many other things, there's an installation by artist Sharon Louden. People are encouraged to take selfies there and post them on various media sites, which I did (on Instagram). I tagged Sharon (but not Kate) in the post; Sharon happened to be attending Super Script in Minneapolis -- a conference fabulously captioned by none other than Norma! Sharon immediately responded to my post on IG, and then responded to a completely unrelated Facebook post of Katie's in a #Superscript15 group. Katie, who would have been in MN had we not already had plans for NC, was following along with Super Script (all weekend), and I told her that my friend Norma from VT was doing the captioning! It was just the weirdest set of small-world circumstance, taking place in the background in about 3 minutes, connecting us all.

We had a very tasty lunch at Farm Burger. Strolled and visited some shops...

Home Crafts, located within the Historic Grove Arcade, was full of all sorts of fiber goodness! I walked away with a hank of local alpaca.

Swannanoa is a community located between Black Mountain and Asheville and we traveled through there a lot, passing by Okie Dokies Smokehouse every time! The smoker was right out front and there was always something cooking!

So Friday night was Barbeque night! Kate had ribs, I had chicken and pulled pork... and hushpuppies. (When in North Carolina...)

And up the Blue Ridge Parkway again for a lovely sunset!

To be continued...

On departure day (Tuesday), Kate was off of work all day and I was off at noon. I finished packing and we loaded the car and were on the road by about 2 pm.

Just like tourists! A photo with a cheesehead-wearing fiberglass cow!

We righted a wrong on our way south by stopping at the Mars Cheese Castle -- a Wisconsin landmark for as long as I can remember, just north of the WI-IL border (the original store opened in 1947). We stocked on up cheese, Italian meats, and some of the best artichoke dip I've ever had (it was made in Greece and wasn't creamy, just lovely chopped artichokes and olive oil). (Not that there's anything wrong with creamy artichoke dip!)

From the road, we made an overnight reservation in downtown Indianapolis. We thought we'd make it there by around 9 p.m., but it had been raining hard and there were accidents and backups galore in Chicago-land, so we didn't arrive in Indy until after midnight.

Up early on Wednesday, we drove all day... through the rest of Indiana, Kentucky (via Louisville and Lexington)... with plenty of stops!

William Whitley House - Stanford, KY (south of Lexington)
The first brick home built west of the Alleghany Mountains.

We continued south through Tennessee (Knoxville... Nashville will have to wait), and finally...

...arrived in North Carolina!

With lots of curvy roads through the mountains (and stops), we didn't arrive at our destination -- an adorable little cottage a mile from Black Mountain, NC -- until around 9 pm but found the lights on, and this:

I had mentioned in early correspondence with our airbnb hosts that the main reason for the trip was because of Katie's interest in Black Mountain College (it was the subject of her Masters dissertation last year in Scotland). (You can read Kate's related posts at Young Space here & here and, for the curious or interested, there are lots of links within those links!) They'd made a trip to the library and checked out every available item on the subject of BMC! Kate already owns them all, but the gesture was so incredibly nice, and set such a nice tone for our visit! We watched the DVD before heading to bed.

* * * * *

On Thursday, I woke up to the sound of chickens (aka, providers of our breakfast)!

The view from my bedroom window (through the screen).

We did a little exploring after breakfast, stopping in at the Visitor Center and also at the Swannanoa Valley Museum. SVM had a nice display about BMC, and some very interesting local history exhibits and displays.

Among the things that turned my head was this blanket at the BMC display.

And a Clevenger Sox machine!

It was fascinating! There was also a nice fiber arts-related display -- looms, wheels, winders, etc.

We also took a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time.

It's so beautiful -- and such a lovely highway. It is very well cared for, with limited access points, a reduced speed limit, and gorgeous views.

It was such a gorgeous view that Katie needed to take photos with all of her photo-capable devices. Turns out, she left one of them -- her phone -- on the back of the car and we drove off without a thought. After discovering that it was missing, we tore the car apart (at least twice), backtracked and retraced our steps, walked a ways along the highway...

...and by the time I took the photo above, I'd called her phone a half-dozen times, we'd stopped in at the local U.S. Cellular location, and had made a couple of stops in search of disposable cameras (which we obviously found). Having lunch and drowning our sorrows at the Black Mountain Bistro (fantastic seafood chowder!) and planning the rest of the day, Kate asked me what time it was. I reached for my phone, which was ringing, and I said, "You're calling me!" By the time I'd fumbled around, I'd missed the call, but eventually connected with a man who said that he was bicycling on the Blue Ridge Parkway and found a phone! He'd randomly stopped to fiddle with his water bottle and saw the phone when he looked down. "It's in pretty good shape!"

And, indeed, it was. There was just a little "smush" of the glass screen protector on the lower right corner... doing just what a screen protector is supposed to do!

She was without the phone for most of the day, though, as I didn't meet up with our cyclist friend until he returned in the early evening from his ride.

To be continued...

I found myself on Saturday morning with just enough time to soak & block a shawl before running off to meet Annie for lunch.

I used three blocking wires, threading one down the center of the shawl, and the other two at the top. I folded the shawl in half, anchored the sides with the wires, and pulled out and pinned the points.

For one thing, it's a big shawl and wouldn't fit on my Block 'n Roll mat; for another, it's arguably a little less work this way; and, lastly, both sides turn out the same!

• Project:  Romi's Mystery Shawl 2015, by Rosemary (Romi) Hill
• Yarns:
  
• Sophie's Toes Merino Cashmere Blend  by Emily Parson in "Indigo" colorway
• Make.Do Dream Fingering in a cantaloupe-ish colorway
• Needle:  US 5
• Start to Finish:  April 3 - June 6, 2015

Rusty took the glamorous FO photos modeled by yours truly. (Dirty garage door!)

Isn't it a beautiful design? I love it. Here's another photo...

...I'll upload the rest, including some more detailed shots, to the Ravelry project page.

...run amok. I have posts in the works/on my mind about North Carolina, a new dress, a romper for Junah, a new shawl... and I'm held up by photos. I transferred a bunch off of my phone to the computer yesterday and, well, I'm just a bit photo-challenged at the moment!

Here's one from the weekend, though.

I'll try to make some sense of the rest tonight!

I didn't exactly take a photo everyday, but I took and posted a photo for every day and, mostly, it was actually on the day. Sometimes I ran out of daylight... or energy!

There's a little knitting and sewing, much flora (though not always flowers). All of the photos were taken with a Samsung Galaxy S6 and a Photojojo Phone Lens (Macro). Most of the photos were taken at home or in my yard in Wisconsin, but some were taken in North Carolina... not that you'd ever be able to tell! More on North Carolina soon!

The photos (and descriptions) can all be found in my Instagram feed, and viewed larger in the Flickr set.

Have a great weekend.

On Memorial Day, another men's 4X t-shirt was on the block (aka, my new worktable). I used a favorite Eileen Fisher tunic to make a pattern template, drew some chalk lines, and started cutting!

The length was perfect, so I kept the already finished t-shirt hem.

I sewed the new side and shoulder seams by machine, using a regular presser foot (since my walking foot blew apart) and Maxi-Lock thread. The thread cone doesn't fit on the machine's spool holder, but it worked just fine to set it on the table right below; I think I knocked it over only once. I felled the machine-sewn seams by hand, a la Alabama Chanin.

It's a "pretty simple" tunic -- square neck, two main pieces, front and back exactly the same.

I finished the cap-sleeve armhole edges with binding attached using a plain parallel stitch.

Then, there was that "simple" square neck to finish. I probably spent twice as much time working on that neckline as I did on everything else! I decided to finish it with a mitered edge and used the instructions given by Nancy Snell, "Miter Corners for a Smooth Finish," included in A Primer on Sewing Knits on the Threads magazine site.

I sewed the corners and attached the binding to the body by machine

Mitered corner neckline detail.

Then I smoothed and basted -- very loosely, because I was flying by the seat of my pants and the possibility of a re-do was looming large -- on the right side, about 1/4" or maybe 3/8" from the edge, hoping for it to nicely curl. And it did.

Very loose basting!

My eldest (rather fashionable and stylish) daughter has coveted my new tunic, so I know it's a good one! It's been washed and worn a few times already (we did not depart for NC until the dryer buzzed)! I love it and will definitely make another one or two.

It's black, so terrible to photograph -- I doctored every single one of the photos above in order to actually be able to see something!

Trust that I'm wearing it here, last Friday, at an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at sunset.

I am still working on my Endless Summer Tunic! I brought it along to NC, and even worked on it... it won't be long. I love that thing!

Ten on Tuesday:  The First 10 Songs On My Favorite Spotify Playlist

We listened to a fair bit of music on the way to Black Mountain, NC, and back, and all of it was on Spotify. The playlist we listened to most was BOXER SUMMER JAMS by The Boxer Rebellion. (I've been listening to that playlist since it was called WINTER jams!) It was perfect for a road trip.

1. Think Of England - Bear's Den

2. On Your Own - Fryars

3. Don't You Find - Jamie T.

4. First Mind - Nick Mulvey

5. Every Other Freckle - alt-J

7. Bring Back The Wolf - Submotion Orchestra

8. It Takes A Lot To Know A Man - Damien Rice

9. Fur Hildegard von Bingen - Devendra Banhart

10. Diamonds - The Boxer Rebellion

None of us ever tired of the vacations at the lake. In fact, even as I write this, 68 years after my first visit to Bear Lake, we are having a family reunion at the Turtle Flambeau (Flowage) this September weekend in 1999. All of our six kids and their families including our 9 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren will be there.

The early vacations at Bear Lake were just one week, and usually our reservation was in June when the fishing was good. The big 2-story log cabin 29 miles from the nearest town was well furnished and comfortable. This was at the end of the road and there were no neighbors around the lake then. So it was quiet and isolated.

In those early years, electricity had not yet reached that far and that presented a refrigeration problem. Grandpa Blum and Uncle Paul tried various ideas to generate power. Because it was not always successful, we packed accordingly and pioneered it for a week with canned goods and a crate of live chickens for fresh meat!

Our packing list for just one week was enough to fill a trailer -- especially the years when we needed diapers (no disposables then).

Did I say "vacation"? (It got better!)

excerpted from my grandmother's 2001 memoir, "A Look Back"

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The Blum Cabin at the Flowage viewed from the island

It's June 1st and I've been thinking of my grandparents. June was their month at the cabin! We would usually visit sometime in June, too.

Vicki and Great Grandpa Sutton near the boat house on the island

...to be continued.