Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

     I didn't get any crafting done this week.  I did receive my swap package from the My Favorite Things swap.  Here's what I received: An ample stack of fabric squares.  Most are knitting related, the rest coordinate well.  A book that looks interesting, The Vampire Knitting Club, one of my favorite candies, a skein of Alpaca yarn in a glorious color and cat chair feet.  My daughter commandeered a couple of them already.  I'm going to put a set on the clothes chair in the bedroom.  All in all it was a fun swap.  I also signed up for the Halloween Mini and got my partner assignment.  I've got some ideas brewing for that one.      Since my knitting mojo still hasn't returned despite the change in weather, I picked up a book (kindle) series instead.  About two years ago I read an excellent science fiction romance; The Viridian Priestess.  I know I talked about it.  It was my favorite boo...

    Not much to report this week.  I didn't do much crafting.  I finished the swap, got it packaged up and mailed out.  It should have arrived to my recipient yesterday.  I'll share what I made.  The theme was Favorite Things.  She likes the colors pale yellow and deep dark red and dragons, so I went all out with the dragons.  I chose  Dragon Scale Mitts  for the handmade item.  I used Madeline Tosh Sport in the Tart colorway.   My camera doesn't really do this colorway justice.  It has more depth in real life.  I think they came out nicely though. I was able to find dragon fabric at The Quilt Shop.  I made a reversible project bag. I paired each dragon fabric with one of her favorite colors.  Liara really liked the dragon fabric as well.  I'm probably going to get some more when I go again.  I also sent some stationary items and a bunch of Swedish Fish, which were also things she had req...

     I did some crafting this week, but it was all for the swap.  I was nearly out of interfacing so I ran over to The Quilt Shop in Watertown.  I'd been there once a couple of years ago and thought their prices were very good considering they are independent and Joanne and Hobby Lobby were both in Watertown at the time.  They have really expanded and have a tremendous selection.  They have more novelty type fabrics now, which is what I prefer for my bags, so I will be going there much more often.... probably too much.  I got interfacing and I found two prints that were perfect for my swapee.  I really wasn't expecting to find what I did.  I sewed a bag with those two prints and two of the fabrics I picked up from Walmart.  The Walmart fabric was acceptable.  Not groundbreaking, but decent enough that if I find cute prints I'll probably grab them.  I finished the handknit earlier today.  I want to steam block it yet, ...

    I didn't do a whole lot of crafting this past week.  Its been very busy at work and very hot outside, so I've had little motivation.  I'm working on a project for the current swap I'm in so I can't show pictures yet of that project.  I did sew up a project bag for my "work daughter" whose last day with us was Friday. She's a knitter with cats so I went with cat prints and her favorite color green for the fabrics and stitch markers.     I pulled quite a haul from my garden yesterday.  I've been blanching and freezing green beans every couple of days and this is what I picked yesterday: The peas are really coming to an end.  The beans are out of control at this point.  We've gotten a few cucumbers, they tend to be odd shaped but taste good according to my husband.  Pictured is my one and only eggplant.  I'm going to make eggplant parm tomorrow.  The cherry tomato plant in the topsy turvey is nearly done now and pictured ...

    We spent a week in Virginia.  My closest cousin lives down there with her husband and their two girls.  Their youngest has a medical condition that makes traveling difficult so its been several years since they've been home for a visit.  We decided to go to them.  While we visiting we took in a few local attractions and just spent time together and caught up.  It was a very nice trip.  We visited the Luray Caverns. The formations were spectacular.  The kids even enjoyed it and it was nice and cool inside the cavern.  We also toured the Heritage Village, Car and Carriage Museum and the Toy Museum.  The Car and Carriage Museum had a steam powered fire engine that was built for the Watertown NY fire department.   We had to travel all the way to Virginia to see something that had previously been in "our own back yard."  I had read about the steam fire engine before our trip but had no idea it had come from Watertown t...

    I finished the tote bag for my co-worker.  It turned out awesome.  I seriously thought about giving her the original one I made for myself and keeping this second one.   I had shown Nancy a selection of fabrics and let her pick which ones she wanted with the alpaca print.  I think her combo came out so nicely.  I finished everything up late in the evening, so the pictures are dark.  I also neglected to take a nice closeup of my fancy new tags.  I have two or three more bags planned out to do in the next couple weeks so hopefully I'll get a little better pictures. I finished the dishcloth I was working on yesterday and started another.   Revenge of Dish Rag Lizard Ridge I'm changing colors for each short row section.  I'm going for a rainbow.  I need to find more black for the ridges in between.      I have another project I should really be doing instead.  I need to dig around and find the yarn...