Wyoming Breezes

Zeke & Maria July 2020 My nephew's wife brought Zeke (her grandson and my great-great nephew) and some flowers over for my birthday. I haven't seen Zeke since his first birthday party in early March, and he's turned into one busy, little guy. It was such fun to see him and Maria again. Zeke was spending the week with Maria (his TuTu) while his parents celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary.   Seeing him was the best birthday present, but the flowers were lovely, too. 

twining on the patio July 2020 I haven't done a lot of twining lately, so last week I tried to work at least two afternoons on the patio. One of the days, I called a friend to come over and visit while I worked. We chatted (social distanced) for a couple of hours, and I made progress on the rug.  seven inches to twine July 2020 Saturday, the temperatures were in the mid-70s, and it was very pleasant to sit on the patio and work on the rug for an hour or two. I now have only seven inches remaining to twine before the rug can come off of the frame. 

Ritzy Cracker blocks July 2020 In an effort to keep the 5 inch scrap bin under control, I pulled out some blue and red squares, cut some background fabric, and began making a stack of Ritzy Cracker blocks .  I have the pieces all cut and ready to sew together. Yesterday's FaceTime call helped me to get a good start on the blocks, and I put them up on the wall once they were pressed and squared. This quilt will have eight blocks across and nine blocks down.  nineteen completed blocks

from Facebook This graphic sums up my feelings perfectly.  Please wear a mask when in public to help stop COVID-19 from infecting you, your family, friends, and community. 

Carpenter's Star 60 x 70 inches Quilt of Valor #185 June 2020 Carpenter's Star was made with backing scraps from other Quilts of Valor. 

placing HSTs in the correct position June 2020 Here's a sneak peek at my current sewing/quilting project. The dark fabric looks black in the photo, but it is actually dark navy. Both fabrics were used for backings for previous Quilts of Valor and are the same print, only different colors. At this point the pieces haven't been sewn together. This is the first Carpenter's Star quilt that I've made.  According to Wendy Russell at Patchwork Square , "The Carpenter's Wheel quilt block has been around for a long time and is also known by a few other names ... Star of Bethlehem and Carpenter's Star. Most of the time, this block is made using squares and diamonds, but I have chosen to make this pattern using half square triangle sets, rather than the diamonds, to bypass distortion of the bias edges from the frequent handling, and also this method avoids the dreaded set in seam. My view is why do it the hard way, when you can choose the easy way? Now the down side o...

close up of stitch pattern June 2020 Marilyn brought several balls of Sugar and Cream when she and my BIL stopped by a couple of weeks ago. She's been cleaning closets and storage spaces and found the yarn.  After knitting several pair of socks on size 2 needles, I needed to shake things up with larger needles for a bit.  A quick search in the pattern binders unearthed a favorite pattern with a nicely textured stitch pattern.  The project requires size 8 needles. I cast on 50 stitches and began knitting.  Here's the stitch pattern (it makes a nice towel, dishcloth, or even a blanket) if you want to make something with it:  Rows 1 and 2:   Knit  Rows 3 and 4:    Knit 2, *Knit 1, Purl 1* until the last two stitches - Knit the last two stitches Repeat these four rows until you reach the desired length.  Note: the edges do not curl or roll because of the knit edge stitches. 

women's size 10 June 2020 Yarn : Trekking (XXL) color #160 I didn't try very hard to match the stripes because I ran into a knot mid-way through the cuff on the second sock and knew at that point that it would be futile to try, especially since I found another knot while knitting the foot of the second sock. I've never found knots in Trekking before, so I'm sure this skein was given to me by a yarn sales representative. The samples are often "seconds."

American Symbols - Red 57 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #183 This is the fraternal twin of the "Blue" version that was posted last week . Pattern information is on that post.

American Symbols - Blue 57 x 72" Quilt of Valor #182 Pattern : American Dreams pattern by Beth Logan (Henry Glass & Co.) I added the wide blue borders to meet Quilt of Valor size requirements.

women's size 10 (June 2020) This pair will definitely add some spark to my sock drawer! Yarn : Crazy Zauberball (color #2095) Stitch count :  64 stitches - ribbed cuff                         60 stitches - foot Want to see what my world looks like this morning? June 9, 2020 Laramie, WY Snow began falling about 8 PM and continued through the night and temperatures plunged into the 20s. snow-covered trees began to snap Sometime in the night, the trees began to snap. This morning broken branches litter the ground and continue to fall. Tops have been broken out of many trees, and it's still snowing! Life is never boring in Wyoming

FaceTime Chats 61 x 75 inches Quilt of Valor #181 May 2020 FaceTime Chats came together during Sunday afternoon social distancing chats with my sister and niece over the last month. I used a Missouri Star Quilt Company video tutorial (Sunny Skies) for inspiration. Since I have an abundance of 16-patch blocks, I plan to make another quilt with this pattern,

stash enhancement May 2020 The last three months, I've noticed that a LOT of the socks in my sock drawer and a LOT of the sock yarn in my stash are boring and lifeless. The most common color or base color in both locations is blue. Obviously, I like blue, but staying at home to avoid COVID-19 has sparked cravings for color. I began knitting with any color (other than blue) in my stash, but my choices were extremely limited. Desparate, I searched online to find brighter colors at a reasonable price and found some great colors and yarns on Etsy. You'll notice that three of the skeins contain blue, yet it's not the dominant color. My needles currently contain three pair of socks, so I'm going to just admire these great colors for the time being. Just seeing them is helping to satisfy my craving for color. What cravings have you had while practicing social distancing?

ninety-six HSTs and trimmings May 2020 Another Quilt of Valor is in the works: this one using the four-patches I posted last week. I'm using a pattern I saw on a Missouri Star Quilt Company video tutorial. The video directions did not use half-square triangles. The tutorial's method created a LOT of "waste" or "bonus" HSTs. I wanted to avoid creating even more scraps, so I decided to make the secondary block with HSTs, making eight at a time. Using this method easily created the necessary 96 HSTs for the quilt. The final step which I dread when making HSTs is trimming; however, I was happy that eight at a time method created only slivers of trimmings to make them square and accurate. sneak peek at two blocks for the new QOV

one by one scraps become blocks May 2020 Weekly FaceTime calls have resulted in scrap busting, and the results is adding up. I've been making four-patch blocks, and eventually turning those units into eight-patch blocks, and then finally into sixteen-patch blocks. The sixteen-patch units will be used to make another Quilt of Valor.

close-up of twining May 2020 Last week, I had some quality time with the twining frame and surprised myself with how much I got accomplished. twining on the patio Since twining is messy (strings and lint), I set up camp on the patio. A couple of neighbors dropped by to check out the process and to chat a bit. eight inches completed at the top and at the bottom of the rug frame May 2020 By Saturday afternoon, I had nearly half of the rug completed. I work from both ends for several reasons: it helps control the tension, it is motivating, it is easier to finish the rug away from the end of the frame. I do not attempt to match the top and the bottom. When I start twining, I pull colors and separate the strips into two grocery bags (one for the top and one for the bottom). The bags contain the same colors and quantity of strips per color; however, when I'm twining, I pull the strips out randomly.

I do love to knit with self-striping yarn!

women's size 10 I'm not one to purchase bright-colored yarn, so I think this skein was given to me. I do love how cheerful these socks are, and I know I'll enjoy wearing them. The socks were knit with Opal sock yarn, and the color way is Sweetie Rainforest.

small rug frame with UFO rug May 2020 Friday I worked in the garage labeling the plastic totes on the shelves. I've been meaning to do it for over a year but kept procrastinating. I discovered the small rug frame in one of the bins, and decided to finish the long neglected UFO. finished placemat and/or rug May 2020 Finishing the mat did not take very long - probably two or three hours. It's the perfect size for leaving my shoes when I come in from outside. I rarely wear shoes in the house. The larger rug frame was also unearthed in the garage. I grabbed a ball of prepared denim and loaded the warp on the frame. I haven't twined for nearly five years and look forward to sitting outside on the patio to twine. Previous twining posts can be found here .

antelope on the prairie wearing a mask May 2020 The new mural in town reflects the COVID-19 pandemic with wildlife wearing masks to maintain social distancing.  The Boomerang, the local newspaper, reported that this mural was painted on a Free Wall meaning it was not commissioned and can be changed or added to at any time. Over the course of a week, more animals were added. jackrabbit wearing a facial mask May 2020 By the time, I went out to photograph the mural, it contained four animals, each wearing a mask. masked bee or a monster hornet May 2020 Did you notice the small animal at the bottom? May 2020 (click image to enlarge) I don't know if more animals will be added to this mural or if the wall will be covered with something entirely different the next time I see it.