Joining Carole & friends for Three Things on Thursday...

1 -- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's snowing! I don't know what that's going to mean tonight... but I don't have any candy, anyway! That's what happens when Halloween candy is promoted on the heels of "back to school," and I think I have all the time in the world. I don't want to buy too soon because, y'know...

There was a collaborative effort in making the Halloween decorations for the coffee shop this year. I just love that smiley pumpkin. And that's a preschool Kate as Raggedy Ann!

2 -- RE-PURPOSING.

The plants have all been moved inside, including the ones that were on the porch of the apartment. Airbnb guests really seem to enjoy the plants! (See the snow on the porch roof? You can see just a bit of the kids' playhouse, and the lights on the pergola, too.)

Among the amenities we provide are tiny jars of Bonne Maman preserves (to go with the English muffins). When I remember, as I'm cleaning up, I pull them from the recycling bin and... lookie there, they're the perfect size for a couple of tablespoons of the Alabama Chanin Silver Fox beads+sequins mix to go a'travelin'! I forgot that I had that mix and I think I want to use some of those elements (probably not the gold) on my Car Jacket.

3 -- READY, SET...

I can't believe it's only going to be 77F tomorrow when we arrive in Arizona. Hahahahaha!

I may or may not be blogging while we're away... we'll see! If not, I'll be back on track a week from today for another 3 Things on Thursday.

Joining Kat & the Unravelers today, sharing what I'm knitting and reading.

KNITTING:

Without photographic evidence, I have finished a pair of Maize Mittens for Junah... that fit Ginny! He actually wanted fingerless mitts (as he reminded me), so I've begun again... sized up this time!

That kid has paws, so these are Adult S! I added a few rows between the ribbing and the start of the thumb gusset on this pair... I think they'll fit the hand better.

I'll get at least another couple of pair of these from the hank I'm working on... it'll be my travel knitting!

SEWING:

The beading has begun...

Every once in a while, I realize the enormity of this project... and, before I'm paralyzed by that thought, I quickly shift my focus to THE.THING.I'M.WORKING.ON.RIGHT.NOW. In this case, one of the back pieces. This will not be travel sewing. For that, I've grabbed the pockets, pocket flaps, and collar.

READING:

Still somewhat stalled, partly because of getting a new phone! I've finally downloaded The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich (audio), and really need to reacquaint myself with my Audible queue! I hope to have some listening time while on vacation.

I like to bring an actual book along, too. I'm about 20 pages from the end of The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs and, even if I don't finish before departure, I'll want to bring something else along... and it'll be this:

I became aware of Allison Moorer because of mutual friends & interests... namely: Kay Gardiner, Alabama Chanin, and music. I followed on IG for quite a while before I realized there was much more to her story... so heartbreakingly inconceivably much more. Kay wrote a wonderful post about Allison and her new book & music the other day, and there was a lovely story yesterday on CBS This Morning. Anyway, Blood: A Memoir landed in my mailbox yesterday and will be coming to Arizona. (TBH, it was all I could do to NOT start it yesterday.)

A favorite picturesque tree, located across the street from work... in a very non-picturesque location. I can see it from my desk, and sometimes it GLOWS.

One of my hostas... I love that plant at every stage!

Heavy wet snow overnight was stuck to everything this morning.

It was long and late and the kids got restless, but for the most part, THEY LOVED SWAN LAKE! Ginny fell asleep just minutes before the ballet ended.

And did swan dances (on tippy-toes) all weekend. Junah seemed very intrigued by the sets, the crossbow, Baron Von Rothbart (who reminded me of a former tenant)... the costumes were incredible! We were in the second and third rows, Right Front Orchestra, so the kids really had a pretty good view. And they would go to a ballet again (Ginny said that she wanted to go "every morning")!

Our high school is doing Peter Pan this year, and we'll go to that for sure!

The kids (and their mama & papa) were over quite a bit this weekend. I had an abundance of celery & leeks from our CSA, so Ali helped me slice & dice and we made a double batch of homemade Cream of Celery Soup. Mmm, it was SO GOOD! The kids even ate it... after some cajoling.  :)

I'm just waiting for Ginny to decide that she doesn't want her picture taken anymore (like her brother). Malina is wearing a pullover that I made almost 8 years ago! She's the third to wear it and it's held up pretty well, considering that the yarn was fairly inexpensive -- but washable and that's my priority for kid stuff!

She also modeled some mitts that I made a while back, but I guess I never added them to Ravelry. I'm sure I made them for Junah or Gin...

I was surprised -- and delighted -- to notice my little "holiday cactus" is all of a sudden loaded with buds! I'm not even sure where this one came from. There's another upstairs that's healthy but there's not even a glimmer of a bud... I'm so excited!

Especially since it sounds like the scene in this photo will be whitewashed this evening... snow is on the way. yuck.

Four more sleeps and we'll be on our way to Arizona... 80F and sunshine!! I know we'll have to come back, but... lalalalala... I'm not thinking about that right now.

My earliest memory -- it's not even a complete memory, just little blips -- is from when I was about 3, on a train with my mom, going to see a ballet. Swan Lake, I think. Or possibly The Nutcracker. But I really think it was Swan Lake.

Tonight, along with their mother, I'm taking my 3yo granddaughter and 5yo grandson to the ballet... SWAN LAKE! I hope they will hold on to some memory of it... little blips would be just fine.

We were talking to them about it the other night, and Junah (a little worried?) declared:

WELL, I'M NOT DANCING!!

Joining Carole & friends for Three Things on Thursday...

1 -- This is the last photo taken with my old phone, a.k.a. Rusty's new phone!

The way it works around here is that when someone wants an upgrade, that usually means me! Rusty had a pretty basic phone and, since he's become more active on social media, mainly wanted a better camera to take photos of artwork.

Anyway, I had a hair appointment yesterday and, nope, I wasn't ready to think about going shorter. Thinned and trimmed and curled! I love a good hair day... especially when the sun is shining!

It's been awful/so rainy around here and, I know you're sick of hearing about it, but the stupid street/sidewalk project in front of the coffee shop is still not finished! It's been dismal, disheartening, depressing... weekday sales are down anywhere from 30-70%... they're trying some new things/promos... chin up & fingers crossed! 

2 -- This is one of the first photos taken with my new phone!

Portrait mode, even. I've got some learning to do!! I've been a Samsung girl for about as long as I've had a cell phone... but that ultra wide angle camera, ease of traveling and connecting with certain family members, more functionality in some apps... led me to go with an iPhone for the first time!

Rusty & I will be on our way to Arizona a week from tomorrow! That trip includes a tour to the Grand Canyon, and it sounds like we'll be driving out to Oatman with Rusty's brother & sister-in-law. I wanted a little time to get used to the new phone/camera before the trip. The Grand Canyon seems like the perfect place to use the ultra wide!

3 -- Autumn.

We had quite a storm on Monday -- sideways rain and wind from the east, then from the south -- it was crazy. Lots of leaves fell, as has the temperature since then. It's inevitable, of course, but the temps are definitely on the downhill slide toward winter. Right around the time we hit our first "high in the 30s" day, we'll be heading south...

_ _ _ _ _

Just a quick housekeeping note. The current Make.Do website expires tomorrow and I've decided not to renew. I will keep the domain and... we'll see. Many good things happened in the past year because of that site, and I thank everyone who ordered yarn or totes or Field Guides or 'zines (there are still some listed, including the sold-out "Florida" issue of Nomadic Knits). Truthfully, it turns out that it's just a bit more than I am able or willing to juggle. When it comes right down to it, given the choice of dyeing yarn/updating the website or hanging out with my kids/grandkids... um, there's no contest! I'll continue to dye yarn now & then, and sell goods at the Make.Do space within Kaukauna Coffee & Tea... you can find me there! I'll also offer up some yarn here on occasion before taking it to the shop, if you'd like.

My girlie took off early Saturday morning for a long road trip.

She's in Upstate NY now --  not far from Rhinebeck, actually -- and will soon be headed to Brooklyn for the Friday night opening of Paradeisos (art by Yulia Iosilzon, curated by Kate) at Carvalho Park.

After she left, I finished prepping The Artist's Perch for guests arriving later in the day.

Football fans, y'know.

And after that, it was time to play!! There were a couple of things that I didn't get to when I was in Michigan.

Rusty helped me set up a work surface and we brought an old desk up from the basement for all the stuff. Next time, I'll arrange this differently... for better flow and in an effort to avoid this:

The second time in as many weeks that I smashed a jar of paint on a garage floor. The first time it was on Kym's floor, with "white gold" paint... and much less of it. This time it was on mine, with a nearly full 4-oz jar of "black gold." Yep.

It sure is pretty, though.

My goal was to paint a couple pairs of Palazzo Pants. I wasn't intending to make two pair, but my paint swatching revealed that my initial plan for ochre & navy -- while a gorgeous color combo -- wasn't going to work for me for a number of reasons.

I decided to make a single-layer pair of PP from the navy blue fabric (which was already cut because... navy & ochre was the plan), painted with a dark-silver color. I am calling these my Holiday Party Pants, because I intend to have them finished for wearing to all (one or two) of the holiday parties I'll be going to this year! Haha. All I need to do is sew the seams and attach the elastic... and they'll be done! If I'm inspired and/or have time, I may do the tiniest bit of embellishment, but I don't have to do a thing if I don't want to.

The ochre layer, already cut (ahem), were painted with the ill-fated & re-mixed black gold. Those pieces will eventually become a double-layer pair of PP, with ochre on top and black (which needs to be cut) on the bottom, worked in negative reverse applique (in which all of the ochre/top layer, save a 1/8- to 1/4-inch border around each motif, will be cut away).

I also made another "rag" piece, and used up paint on other pieces/sections -- the silver on black may be used on the Car Jacket project (that's what I had in mind, anyway).

Speaking of the Car Jacket:

There were a few days in Michigan, and a few since I returned, that I didn't work on it at all; but there were other days when that's all I worked on, so things are progressing. Typepad is being a jerk today, occasionally timing out when I try to load photos, but you can see on IG as well as here (if you look closely) that I tried another new color of floss. I'd ordered both Eggplant and Teal a while back, thinking that they might find a place here. The colors were a little overwhelming, looking at a whole spool of floss, but Kym shared a tip for matching thread to a project that I thought would also apply here, and that is to unwind a bit of the thread so you can better see its true color in relation to the fabric.

I packed up my car last Wednesday -- knitting, fabric, stencils, a few patterns, paints, airbrush, air compressor... some clothes (including my winter coat & some woolens) (just in case!) -- and headed 'round the bottom of the lake to MICHIGAN and Kym's house for our own stitching retreat! 

My departure was a little later than I'd hoped, mainly because I had to paint some more swatches before I left.

I ran into some slow traffic in Chicago on the way... it never actually stopped, so I guess that's okay? My calf muscle sure got sore from going back & forth between the brake & accelerator pedals! Michigan is in another time zone, so I lost an hour on the way, and arrived in Kym's driveway at right about 6 p.m.

On Thursday, we headed north to the cabin.

Fields full of pumpkins!

We walked down to have a look at the lake, and on the walk back up (100 steps!), I photographed some mushrooms.

They'd both seen better days (or hours), but they're super intriguing popping up through all that autumnal texture. We took a little walk through the woods, too. That little nature break was really great.

And there was stitching...

I was a little obsessed with my swatches, trying to figure out a plan for my project(s)...

We drove up toward Traverse City and over to Cedar and Glen Arbor for a little tour of the northern lower peninsula and a glimpse of the lake (through raindrops) from the other side! One of our stops was at Wool & Honey... what a nice little shop. I didn't need any yarn, but I found some anyway. They had a lot of cute notions & things -- especially enamel pins -- and I sort of hit overload and had to back.away.from.the.pins! Besides a couple of hanks of yarn, I found some beautiful note cards and a small glass vial with metal hexi-shaped stitch markers. (I love that little vial.) And we had a great lunch at Art's Tavern.

We headed back to Kym's on Saturday, and on Sunday we got serious...

It was time to cut some of the things we planned to paint! Kym's kitchen island also makes a darn good cutting table.

Meanwhile, I was also working on my Car Jacket.

Trying new things, such as COLOR! An entire spool full of Eggplant embroidery floss is a bit much, but a few strands... works pretty well. (Thanks, Kym!)

I'd focused a lot on the top third of this project at first, but it's starting to fill in all over!

On Monday, we took a trip to Field's Fabrics.

Oh my, that was fun! I can't remember the last time I was at a fabric store like that -- the focus was about 100% on fabrics and sewing. I found some great fabrics for (next) summer dresses for the girls, and for Christmas gifts for the some of the travelers in my family. And other stuff.

On Monday, IT WAS TIME TO PAINT!!

That's a skirt under the Abstract stencil that I recently cut, and Kym is working on a dress panel with her June's Spring stencil.

Everything was going great and just as we stopped for a break, my compressor died. It overheated, I think, and the (inaccessible) automatic reset button never reset, so...

...we went shopping for a new one! Kym got one, too!! This is a "pancake" model, where my other one was a "hot dog" << new random knowledge, and it has some nice features (quick connect hose, a place to wind the cord, a velcro strap for cord/hose management. I'm not sad.

We did more than this, big & small, but just for an idea... some of the stenciled panels for my skirt, and the front of a t-shirt for Kym. I love that Peace stencil!!

I'll be dreaming up some ideas for this "rag," too, inspired by some t-shirts I saw online at Alabama Chanin (but that I can't find right now). It's a fairly large piece of black fabric that was in a lot of AC fabric that I purchased from a private party a while back, but it's not actually AC fabric -- close, but there's some spandex in there, too. Anyway, we used it to clean excess paint from the stencils and I love the way it looks!

On Tuesday morning, I packed up all my stuff again and headed home! It was a great drive back, and I didn't even have to slow down through Chicago.

It was THE BEST combination of relaxation + creativity + productivity + wonderful people + also great food & beer (photo above at Bell's Brewery). I met Tom, of course, though he was in & out all weekend with a curling tournament. He's as friendly & easy going IRL as he looks in pictures! Speaking of pictures, Kym & I spent the better part of 5+ days together and didn't get a single photo!

Well, we haven't change a whole lot since we met for the first time, exactly 5 years ago, at Art Prize in Grand Rapids!

ETA: As of this post, I am exactly 300 comments away from 30,000 received on this li'l ol' blog (299 now, with Mary's, and 298 with Carole's). I am sorry that I do not/cannot acknowledge every single one, but I do make an effort to thoughtfully reply when I'm able to or am asked about something specific -- not saying that things haven't slipped through the cracks now and then. Please know that every comment and interaction is truly appreciated. Anyway, that's a long way of saying that there will be FABULOUS PRIZES (tbd) for the person who leaves the 30,000th comment, possibly by the end of the year!!! Stay tuned! And, as always, thank you for reading.

...is going OK. I had a GREAT time in Michigan and have lots to report, but I also have lots of work to catch up on and that takes priority, of course!!

Well, until this arrived, and I just have to share:

HOUSTON: WE HAVE PIGGIES!!!

It's been almost two years since Kym & I met in Nashville and drove to Florence, AL, to attend a 3-Day Alabama Chanin Workshop. We've been talking since January* of meeting up again, and in April, we started to firm up plans.

Lemme tell ya, it would be a whole lot easier to do this if it wasn't for the big puddle in between us!

As the crow flies, there's about 200 miles/3 hours between us.
As the car drives, it's closer to 350 miles/7.5 hours + Chicago craziness.

We talked about "meeting in the middle," but that sort of means "Chicago," and while I LOVE Chicago, there would be challenges in finding a place that would be suitable for our activities... such as, oh, painting a bunch of fabric with stencils and an airbrush... which means using an air compressor and needing space! Heh. It could get a little noisy and/or a little messy. How do you do that at a hotel? I don't mind doing that in my own back yard or garage, but it would be tricky to find an accommodating short-term rental house, especially since we've never taken this show on the road and who knows?? (As an Airbnb host, myself, I would love to field a request like that!)

Not be thwarted, we decided to meet in Michigan; Kym's suggestion of a trip to their cottage was great enticement! We decided on dates in October... and here we are!

I would fly if I wasn't bringing a bunch of over-sized stencils, a box of paints, and an air compressor, not to mention fabric yardage and sewing supplies, along with my suitcase and pillow. I thought of driving around the north end of Lake Michigan instead of south, and even though it's a much "easier" drive it's also much longer -- 9 hours of straight-up drive time!! There are a couple of ferry services between WI & MI, but they are a) pretty pricey, b) seasonal, and c) have very limited arrival/departure times at each port.

So, driving it is. I'm on my way this morning, and hopefully my timing through Chicago will be spot-on for stress avoidance. Wish me luck!

Stay tuned for updates.

*This makes me laugh a little. Apparently, we are long-term planners... Our workshop & lodging in Alabama were booked over a year in advance!

Rusty indulges yet another big idea with a sketch over early morning coffee yesterday.

"Let's make the back porch 'wrap around' again! With a sort of greenhouse/conservatory thing... that has curved windows!"

Who knows if it will ever happen, but we sure do like to dream and make plans!

I was making other plans over the weekend, too.

I have a few projects percolating, and I cut out a pair of long Palazzo Pants yesterday.

Then I started questioning my fabric color choices... that led to painting, stitching, and cutting some small 5-inch swatches. That particular project is still percolating a bit, and I have a couple of other things to try before I make a final decision, but I think I know where it's heading. It's all in the details!

I've been diligent about #100moredaysknitorious2019 and yesterday's stitching was done while visiting with Ann, even though she was distracted by time and cooking dinner and wasn't working on her project.

In addition to all that, we changed the last of the storms & screens, washed some windows and swept off the back porch, made a pretty great beef stew, and watched a little football! I'm sure there was more mundane stuff (I'm looking at you, Laundry), but those are the highlights. I hope you had a great weekend, too!

It just seems a bit of a whirlwind around here lately. It's all good, I'm just having a hard time stringing my thoughts in any coherent fashion.

Alison to the rescue! She & Rod took the kids to a pumpkin patch earlier this week, and here a few photos she shared (photo cred for the entire post goes to Ali!). I'd have loved to gone along, but the way it's been around here (i.e., RAINING ALL THE TIME), you do that stuff when you can.

Ginny & Junah had a little pumpkin patch of their own this year, and here's their harvest (minus a few that they've already sold or given away):

They brought me a pretty big one a couple of weeks ago and Junah admonished me for picking it up by the stem!

Meanwhile, this arrived in my in-box a little while ago:

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!! Have a good weekend!

Joining Kat & the Unravelers today, sharing what I'm knitting and reading.

KNITTING:

I'm not actually knitting this yet, but I promised to share what Kate brought back with her from Scotland.

West Yorkshire Spinners, The Croft Shetland Tweed, 100% Shetland Island Wool, which she purchased on a quick weekend jaunt to the Highlands with her friend Blair -- I wish I remembered the name of the shop!

Anyway, I have one hank in the colorway Hillswick (#798) and I think I'm going to make mittens or socks -- probably mittens, and the likely candidates are Maize, Lambing Mitts, or Antler Mittens.

Kate has two hanks in the colorway Stonybreck (#759) and she's decided to make an Oats cowl.

What I am currently knitting (though I'm in a bit of a lull) is this:

A pair of Maize mittens for Junah! At least, I hope they're for him... the kid has some paws! They'll be for his sister, otherwise, and I'll have plenty of yarn to knit another pair for him.

READING:

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich (audio), The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs. The reading is also going a bit slow lately... there are a million other little things going on, I guess.

I'm going on an outing with my book club next week for a Fox Cities Book Festival event. We'll be seeing author Richard Ratay talk about his book....

Don't Make Me Pull Over! The Informal History of the Family Road Trip... and that ought to be a hoot.

The History of the Handkerchief presentation over the weekend was informal, full of anecdotes and factoids (of the factual type), and made most interesting by audience participation -- personal stories and memories -- and the presentation of several examples (including by one attendee who brought a box full)!

It will not surprise you to know that there have been books written on the subject.

I did a terrible job of documentation, but was quite taken with the appliqué on the hanky above, and with PANSIES on the "Handkerchief of the Month, As Seen In Vogue." (Though I haven't been actively collecting of late, I am still quite enamored of that flower.)

Years ago, when I managed my mother's antique mall and hankies were, um... let's say... PLENTIFUL in my world, I sewed a bunch to casings and made adorable valances for the Garden Room. Most of them faded terribly after years of eastern & southern exposure, and eventually I had to thank the whole shebang and dispose of it. It lives on in memory as one of the most fitting decorating decisions I ever made. Maybe I'll do it again...

Saturday was a glorious late September day! I met up with Ali after the market and we went to "Nancy's" (my local antique mall) with the kids -- we each found a few things, and Nancy sent us home with a couple of old table-top type games (I'll try to remember to post about them).

We came home and the discovery of my Longaberger double-pie basket (aka, picnic basket) led to... you guessed it, an impromptu backyard picnic, which the kids pretty much packed for themselves. You might notice walnuts in the grass in both the lower left & right corners of the photo. There were many, many more... and pieces... all which have led me to regret grabbing a WHITE blanket upon which to picnic. Oh well. I haven't laundered it yet...

We ended up heading down the ravine, which led to the path, which led to the road and the bridge and the river and the old football field and the discovery of a bunch of these wooden dog & swan cut-outs under the bleachers. Familiar with the site, they are most certainly placed on the field to discourage geese.

When we got home from our walk, Junah & Ginny wanted to go for a bike ride and, eventually, we ended up at the skate park. The kids ran around and up and down, they played and made a couple of new friends, and played some more. Jün wasn't too thrilled about having to head home and, just to give you a little inkling of this kid and his strong-willed personality... he threw his bike down and declared that he wasn't going to ride it home. After a little face-off with his mama, he dragged it (crying the whole while)... literally dragged his bicycle on the sidewalk for about half a block. Tiring work, as you might imagine, and it was right about then he also started to complain about the tears all over his face...

Seriously. I don't know how we all hold it together sometimes.