What took so Long?

I was going to post about a trip in late October to northern Michigan but seems a little late for that.  It was a great trip with great Michigan color, bike riding, pretty sunset and then a stormy day with lots of waves on Lake Michigan

What I have been doing is a lot of knitting and only a little quilting (Nothing picture worthy yet). I started and finished a pair of socks.  Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. But at 8 stitches per inch they are really tight. I hope this will extend their life as the recipient is very hard on the bottoms of his socks.

Then there was the bear project. I needed a bear for the Lansing Comfort Bear Project (bears are placed in police cars for when there is a distressed child event) I started with a commercial pattern and actually followed it - sort of. Then for bear # 2 I made some significant modifications, #3,4,5 more modifications, then finally wrote out a new set of instructions to share with my knitting friends. This was a really challenge and I don't think pattern writing is for me. Design part OK, but I don't like the process of writing out the detailed instructions for someone, who probably can't read my mind. Anyway I made 11 bears total - 5 for grandkid's Christmas presents and 6 for the Comfort Bear Project. Even thought I have enough yarn for many more bears I think I'll move on to something else for a while.

Hats, Hats and More Hats

As a way to use up lots of left over stash yarn ( and I have a BIG stash) I have been making hats for several charities. Our knitting Guild donates hats and mittens to the school system that lets us use their conference room with no charge. This is our way to say Thank You. Then there are chemo hats for a local hospital. One of our members brought it to our attention that their are few donated caps for men. So I raided the stash and made several for this cause. All total so far 31 hats. These I will keep making because it's easy to keep a tote bag stocked with hat yarn, and they really don't require a lot of thinking for a basic hat. Great waiting in line knitting!

Should have some quilting projects in the next update and the Search for the Perfect Tote Bag.

Still Trying to Catch Up

WOW  I'm still trying to catch up from a week in North Carolina. Over 2,100 miles (47 on bikes), 40 hours of driving.

Cades Cove, TN



Cades Cove traffic jam



We started the trip with a few days in the Smokey Mountains and rode our bikes through Cades Cove. There are signs all along the road about not stopping and not approaching or feeding the wildlife.

So coming around a corner we come on a traffic jam.  Got off our bikes and worked our way through the stopped cars hoping it was not an accident. Nope, a bear and 2 cubs in a tree and all these people were rubbernecking. There was a ranger there trying to get things going but she was not having much success. Tried to take a quick picture and get out of the area. 

Look carefully, there's a bear in the tree.

Found this cute guy along the road. Hay Bale Art!

Next got to Topsail Island, North Carolina,  and it was great. Great weather and a wonderful time with the family and grand kids. But after getting back to Michigan I can really appreciate our weather. North Carolina beaches are very humid. Everything is sticky and damp. But great place for a vacation.

  

Sun rise from our ocean front deck







Family Picture (Baby Teak is sleeping under an umbrella)









 I planned on several knitting projects and I did accomplish a lot on my husband,s sock.
But still only one sock still on the needles and no progress at all on the other 3 projects I took.


What I did do is repair the "Wubby" And what exactly is a Wubby?  Have to ask the 3 year old about the name, but it is a knitted cotton blanket that is permanently attached to her. No naps, no car trips, no sleep without the Wubby. I tried last year to knit a replacement but no go. This time her mother asked it I could fix the Wubby. So that is what I did on my fall vacation. This was a real challenge of knots, fraying cotton yarn and trying to knit in high humidity. But although I did not use up all the original yarn and had a pile left over I think it is a success.



Wubby Before

Wubby After, with pile of leftover small pieces

So got home safely after 9 days. Lots of laundry, not much quilting but lots of new ideas floating around.

Started a knitted bear marathon and will post info on this challenging exploration soon.

Vacation Time

  




Sun rise in St. Ignace



View from our room in Marquette

 After sticking close to home all summer we have been to the Michigan upper peninsula and in 2 weeks will travel to the North Carolina coast. Not sure how many miles, but it's a long way on the map.

 




Noro Project

  

I took 2 knitting projects on the UP trip. Made some progress on a Noro summer sweater, but still not sure I like it. Maybe it just needs a "time out" again for a while. This is the 3rd project with this yarn, so it's a tough one to figure out.

   




Bike trail in Marquette

    But we did get some great bike riding weather in Marquette and Ispheming  (33 mile day). Iron Ore Heritage Trail.  Then we went to Charlevoix and rode the Little Traverse Wheelway to Petoskey (42 mile round trip) This was our best riding so far.

 



Garden Fall 2011

 

Garden Fall 2011

  
   

Tomato and Morning Glory Tower

   

Also came home to an over grown lawn and our best fall flower beds yet. The tomato tower was taken over by volunteer morining glorys. I have a hard time pulling out any sucessfully growing plant. All summer we battled the woodchuck family that took up residence under our front porch. We relocated 4 of them and the same afternoon of the 4th relocation there was another one just sitting on our front porch. He seems to have moved on because the petunias and looking pretty good. I think they like the cooler weather.

But now it is time to do some retaining wall redesign. We tried to grow German iris, but when mixed with other plants they quickly get crowded out. And they have very different soil requirements. So we are building a separate terrace layer just for the iris and will be filling it with sand. Each block weighs about 25 pounds so this is just like a weight exercise session.

 

So not much on the sewing and quilting front. My studio area is filled with suitcases, tote bags and  clothes to be washed and repacked for the next trip.  Maybe some shopping in local yarn and quilt shops along the way will be in order.