I've had a busy couple weeks of getting ready for the Lewis County Fair. I dropped off my items this morning. I got a better picture of the Hollyhock Mittens.
Mal Rios in Sunset
Mal Rios in English Rose
This was a fun pattern; not difficult but still engaging and easy to memorize. The inside looks nice too. I need to remember to take a picture of it. I also made a Sunburst Potholder.
I also sewed a tote bag: 
Peaches & Creme cotton
I used fabric from my stash, all stuff I'd gotten from Joann Fabric over the years. I have a box bag in this alpaca/llama fabric and I tried to use a similar batik for the inside pockets so they'll "match" since this tote bag is for me. I used the same pattern that my swap partner used to make me a bag in that last swap I participated in. I use that bag all the time. The bag construction was not too difficult and the pattern is very well written. I plan to make some more of these. It's very large and therefore uses quite a bit of fabric; if a nice roomy tote is what you're looking for, this is it. I interfaced the outside fabric but when I do this again I might use either a heavier outside fabric or heavier interfacing. I'll also do a welt pocket for the inside zipper pocket instead of what's in the pattern. It was very fiddley and doesn't look as nice as I think a welt pocket would. Here's a link to the pattern: Laola Patterns Project Bag.
My garden is doing okay. A deer or something has found it, so every day something new has been munched on. It ate the peppers right off my little plants. It had munched on them earlier and they were starting to bounce back. I don't think I'm going to get any peppers now. It found my peas and tomatoes last night. Of course it went after the tomato that was doing the best. It's really gone after the beans, carrots and the cucumbers. Despite the decimation I've been able to harvest a couple handfuls of peas and I have quite a few zucchini coming along. In another week I'll probably be swimming in zucchini.
I took these pictures at least a week ago, so what hasn't been eaten by the pesky deer is much bigger. We're going to try a few deterrent tactics and see what happens. I'm trying not to be too discouraged by this. I suppose I should take it as a compliment that this creature has found my garden tasty enough to come back every night for over a week.
Work has been busy. We're going live with the new Atellica in two weeks, so its been a whirlwind of testing all the components to make sure everything communicates as it should and getting everyone trained to use the instrument. Our last big training/testing session is this coming week. I'm excited to go live, but I think I'm the only one. I'm the only one who has worked on the larger version of this instrument and am therefor comfortable working with the software and middleware, so I understand everyone else's trepidation. This thing is a complicated beast and it takes time to get used to. Wish us all luck.
That's it for me. Until later, happy crafting.
-Q
Agree. Really like your beanie pattern that you used for the fair. Sorry to hear some animal ate your garden. We have moved our "gardening" to deck pots because of animals eating the tomatoes before we got them. They don't seem to be bothering our cucumbers thankfully as we did plant them near the house not in deck pots like the tomatoes and peppers. Ironically, they don't seem to eat cherry tomatoes so those are doing well. Hubby dehydrates cherry tomatoes using them in recipes that require "sun" dried tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteAwesome projects. The hat looks so soft and cozy. Such a pretty pattern. Pot holders are always needed at my house. I like the thickness of yours. The project bag.. wow! Nice and big with pockets. Every knitters dream bag. Good luck on the new launch at work.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your garden and all the hard work I'm sure it has taken to getting everything to grow. I hope your deterrents work. The beanie turned out great and I love how your project bag finished up. The pattern looks so roomy and ideal as a tote or project bag.
ReplyDeleteI love the stitch on the beanie pattern, it’s so pretty and such a lovely yarn colour too. I’m sorry about the local wildlife thinking you’ve opened a buffet for them to munch on. Are you able to fence off part of your garden for the vegetable patch? We have far less vegetable munching wildlife in the UK but if mine wasn’t fenced in then the deer from the woods would definitely be at it I’m sure. Liz (Highlandheffalump)
ReplyDeleteWe plan to fence in the area next year. The raised beds were an expirament, but now that I know they're successful I'll put in a few more and fence the area around them.
DeleteAll of your projects look lovely- I really like Malabrigo Rios - I just haven't used it for a while! Sorry about your produce - I guess that's part of the circle of life, but I still hope your deterrents work!
ReplyDeleteOh no, it is so frustrating when something eats your hard work. We get voles here and they burrowed under my garden beds and would pop up and eat everything. I finally quit trying with the veggies. I think I might try an herb garden somewhere else. All of your work is fantastic but I just love the colors you chose for the mittens and the beanie.
ReplyDelete