Wyoming Breezes

On the end of the kitchen counter and next to the garage door is a pottery yarn bowl where my keys live. I don’t have to search for misplaced keys because they are placed here when I get home and grabbed from the bowl when I leave.  I also place any important papers or reminders on top of the bowl.  Do you have a designated place for your keys? 

Albany County mobile library August 2022 Before the pandemic, the public library purchased a used mobile library from National County. It was refurbished and painted to identify it as the Albany County book mobile. The library posts its schedule and travels to areas that contain apartments, frequently visited stores, and outlying areas. A couple of weeks ago I found the book mobile in the Middle School parking lot about three blocks from my apartment. How cool is that! 

vertical garden  between First andSecond Streets on Garfield  Laramie, WY August 2022 Parts of the garden have done better than others this summer. The garden has vegetables and flowers tucked in between the slits in the metal columns. It adds a bit of green to downtown Laramie.  violas and lettuce flourishing side by side

auditioning fabric for a new quilt August 2022 Connie H (Far Side) sent me panels and fabric in February to make some Quilts of Valor. I've been kicking around some ideas for the panels, and finally settled on a plan. Actually, I'm going to try and make two similar QOV at the same time with two different panels: it may be a crazy idea, but then it might actually work.  I pulled fabric for the two quilts and asked my niece for her opinion. We both agreed that the beige fabric (third from the right) did nothing for the other fabrics, so it was eliminated from the group.  Life has been crazy the last few days, so it may be a bit before I actually start the quilts. 

Waiting Room Spectacles painted by Favian Hernandez north wall of Laramie Vision Clinic South Second Street, Laramie, WY August 2022 This new mural is in an area called Laradise Lane on South Second Street. This open area between two buildings was created when a fire destroyed the building that stood there. The space contains picnic tables (many with umbrellas), large outdoor games (Connect Four and Jenga), and large wooden planters with flowers that separate the area into private spaces.  The mural was commissioned by Laramie Eye Clinic (whose building on which the mural is painted) and the Laramie Public Art Coalition.

nice variety of fabric scraps from Susan D. in PA August 2022 Susan D. (central PA) contacted me and asked if I could use some small fabric pieces/scraps for making Quilts of Valor. I readily accepted her offer because I prefer to make scrappy quilts and its the variety of fabric that make the best quilts.  note that accompanied the fabric The fabric arrived last week, and I was delighted with the fabric pieces and the variety. Thank you, Susan! These fabrics will definitely be useful. After ironing the pieces, I cut them into the sizes that I use the most: 2.5 inch strips and squares, 5 inch squares, 6.5 inch squares and 10 inch squares. It's handy to have the fabric cut and in bins, and I often search the bins for a particular size/color when making a quilt.  When working with scraps, organization is paramount. 

Redcliffe City Sock August 2022 As soon as the toe was grafted on Sunday afternoon, I cast on the second sock. I hope to have this pair finished by the end of the month if life cooperates.  This ball of Perth yarn is very splitty and is not particularly enjoyable to knit. I'm ready to work with a softer and more knit-friendly yarn for my next project.

Glorious & Free 59 x 68 inches Quilt of Valor #223 The panel for this quilt was donated by my good friends, Sue and Bert O. I used the pattern Center of Attention by Pine Tree Country Quilts which was the perfect pattern for this panel. Thank you, Cindy M. ( Delighted Hands ) for bringing it to my attention.

Saturday afternoon the sky opened up, and it rained, and rained, and rained. The stormed seemed to park on top of Laramie and dumped nearly 3 inches in less than an hour. It was reminiscent of the typhoon rains I experienced in Japan.  I grabbed my phone to take photos but decided a video was needed to capture the unusual sight. I didn't think of turning my phone to take horizontal video.  This scene is from my patio: it shows the sidewalk between buildings J and K and then the street to the west.  Here's the view out of my kitchen window.  Bunny and Sue patiently wait for me to stop filming the flooded street and play While it was raining, Bunny (a neighbor) and Sue (a friend from Riverton who was visiting) and I played Five Crowns. Between the heavy rain and the enjoyable card game with friends, the afternoon passed quickly but will be forever memorable.  a drift of hail from the storm August 13, 2022 Sunday afternoon, the drift of hail beside my patio hadn't melted much

spotted in Cheyenne, WY August 2022

Friday, I pulled some fabric from my stash and began cutting pieces for the next Quilt of Valor.  I still have a couple of large patriotic panels that Sue and Bert donated . It's difficult to come up with ideas of what to do with the large panels, so when I saw a recent post of Cindy (Delighted Hands) , I knew the pattern ( Center of Attention ) was perfect.  Once I located the pattern online (there are a LOT of patterns named, Center of Attention), I quickly ordered it.  The fabric is all cut, except for the border, so I am ready to begin sewing.

Julie's Gems 60 x 68 inches Quilt of Valor #222 This quilt went together so easily that it was just meant to be. Julie sent the pieces to make the light blue stars, and the dark blue came from my stash. Last week, I posted about the need to make a franken block from the extra squares that Julie had sent. That block is shown below.  Since the light blue fabric is so busy, I don’t think the franken block will be that noticeable in the quilted top.  franken block Admit it, you scrolled back to the photo of the quilt to search for the franken block.  Hint: it’s the last star on the right in the third row from the bottom.  Thank you, Julie for inspiring this Quilt of Valor. 

Redcliffe City sock July 2022 This sock was started in June, but finishing older projects in the knitting queue was a priority. Now, the Redcliffe City socks are my lone knitting project, so they should progress much faster.  I like the Perth yarn, but I consider it a "very light fingering" weight. I'm knitting with size 2 needles, but probably should have used size 1 for a tighter fabric.

carefully matching seams July 2022 I pulled some dark blue fabric from my stash to make star blocks to complement the light blue blocks I received from JulieK.  Julie sent 10 light blue blocks, so I made 10 dark blue blocks, but once I had them on the design wall, I realized I needed 21 blocks - 11 per set. Making an additional dark blue block was not a problem, but I had to get creative with the extra fabric squares that Julie sent.  "franken" quilt block July 2022 Making the star points from the extra squares was easy as they just need to be cut to 2.5 inches. The center square, however, needed to be 4.5 inches, so I made a four patch with the extra squares and cut it to size. Since the light blue fabric is busy, I don't think this franken block will be that noticeable once the top has been quilted.  This top has a LOT of seams, so I pressed the connecting seams open to eliminate bulk for the longarmer. I still need to add a border, so I'll show you the finished top

 pair of shorty socks Women's size 5 July 2022 This pair of gift socks has been on the needles for over a year. I intended to send them to the recipient last summer, and then this spring, and now a year later, they are ready to send on their way. Since the recipient has tiny feet (size 5), the socks don't require a lot of yarn, making them are perfect for leftover sock yarn. The knitting queue has one final project in progress. I hope to finish that project before the end of August.