Silkquilter's Threads of Life

Socks and Water

2011-07-27T19:14:00.001-07:00

I have been following the directions for my sock knitting very carefully. It was amazing when I realized I had a HEEL!!!! I really just don't know how that happened!

Here's a close up of the heel.

Then all of a sudden I had done the gussett decreases...

Next think you know, I had to try it on to see
if it was acting like a sock! It DID!!!! I had to be careful of those knitting needles when I was getting my foot into and out of the sock This is just so exciting for me. Now on the foot and the toe!

Yesterday I noticed that the koi pond waterfall was nothing but a trickle. I tried changing pumps, but still only got a trickle. I took the hose off from the pump to the TetraPond bio filter, it was not blocked. Then I stuck my finger up the intake spout of the TetraPond bio filter. I found a small rock blocking the intake valve. That is one strong pump to get that rock sucked up and traveled uphill about 10 feet. All was well! Then when I got up this morning, this is what I found!

I went into panic mode, thinking I had a predator that damaged something. Ha Ha, silly me.... I didn't get the overflow tube back where it belonged and I was draining the pond all night long. Oh well, I needed to do a water change anyway. LOL

Rescued Toads

2011-07-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Sarah, posted on her Facebook that she saved a toad from death by lawnmower. When I got home from the pea fields, I was able to get a couple of pictures of him in the Koi Pond. He seems to like it there.

Peas and Socks

2011-07-16T21:40:00.001-07:00

I am working for Smith Frozen Foods
this summer as a shuttle driver for peas. The combines harvest the peas, a loader in the field drives the truck around to each combine to fill it and I am one of several drivers that shuttle the peas back to the processing plant. It has been quite the challenge to relearn to drive truck. I got my Class A CDL two years ago, but have not driven truck since then. I am getting better. The trucks are old and sometimes hard to shift with or without using the clutch. Early in the season (June) I got my truck stuck in the wet, soft sand when we were harvesting along the Columbia River in Irrigon, Oregon. Today, we are closer to the Blue Mountains. One of the combines got stuck in the soft mud of a "dry" creek bed. It was dry on top and there was peas to harvest. It was NOT dry underneath. It had the consistency of chocolate pudding. 30 tons of combine mired up to it's axle!!!! When I left for the day, Little (the combine's name) was still mired. Rumor has it that a crane will have to be brought out to pull her out of the mud.

I am learning to knit socks!!! I have only been knitting for 3 years. I learned from a book by Leisure Arts: "10-20-30-minutes-to-learn-to-knit " I have made the dishcloths and the baby blanket from that book. I have been following Judy L at Patchwork Times for several years now. She knits beautiful socks and waves them in front of our collective faces. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer and when I was at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA this year, I bought two skeins of really pretty sock yard in a purple variegated heather that is self striping and needles. It took me several months to find an instruction book. I finally found 3: American School of Needlework's "Learn to Knit Socks" by Edie Eckman; House of White Birches' "Learn to Knit Socks -- Three Easy Methods" also by Edie Eckman; Leisure Arts' "I can't believe I'm knitting socks" by Cindy Guggemos. Mostly I am using "I can't believe I'm Knitting Socks" with reference to the other two books when I get stuck. This teaches using 5 dpns. I am using Clover bamboo size 5 which is 3.75mm I also got a book on crocheting socks. I think I am set for awhile. There is some minor laddering at the junction of each set of needles, but at this point, I can live with it. After all this IS my first pair! I also picked up a book on crocheting socks. I have had several offers from various people I come across in the community who said they could help me when I get stuck. Even struck up a conversation with another grandmother waiting for her grandson at karate. LOL

Grandkids and Rainbows

2011-07-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today I bought my grandchildren new journals to write about their summer adventures. They are 9 and 8 so are ready to start journaling. They are visiting this weekend. Last night their Mom, took them and her youngest brother to see the new Harry Potter movie and Cars 2 at our local drive in. I stayed home and enjoyed the silence. I keep forgetting how noisy two small children can be. Their funny faces were caused by the little pink guy!

I had to go to Milton-Freewater, which is 10 miles away to deposit my paycheck! YAY!!!! On the way home, I saw a full half circle rainbow. I was only able to photograph a small portion.

I'm a Very Bad Blogger!

2010-09-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

I just realized that it is getting close to a year since I did a blog post. I think that I am a better blog reader than a poster. But I really want to make this part of my life so I will keep working at it.

I sort of have been busy these past few months. Lots of trips to Seattle and Fort Lewis, a trip to Fort Stewart, Georgia and trying to get my koi pond built and most of important.... a NEW JOB!!!! YEAH!!!!!!

So my next few posts will be catch up... Stay tuned!

Introducing my Family

2009-12-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's time that I introduced my family:...

This is my youngest son who is 15. He is the Zorro in my previous post about Halloween. He has informed me that he doesn't want his blog name to be Zorro, he wants to be called Wolf. He has adopted the wolf as his spirit totem (and we don't even have native American blood in our ancestry. We are mostly Dutch, Norwegian, English and Irish.)
Next up is my husband. We have been married for 30 years now. He is a retired Army Master Sergeant nurse. He current employment is as a mental health nurse, which he enjoys a great deal. The Man will do as his moniker. This is not the best picture of him, but the best of what I currently have. The Man hates getting his picture taken.

And this is me, Silkquilter. The hand you see on my shoulder belongs to my sister.

The Man and I have two other children and The Man has an older son. I don't have permission to post pictures, but I can tell you a little about them.

My Stepson is in his mid-thirties and carries the same name as his father. I don't have a nickname for him yet.

Our oldest daughter said we could call her Sharptongue, as that is what we called her in when she was in high school. She just recently turned 29 although she only admits to 25. Her spouse is an Army Sergeant and is currently deployed to an area of increasing conflict. I am going to call him Torch because of his red hair and he is just the best. They have two school-age children, Care Bear, 7 and Sparkplug 6 (he also has red hair).

Middle son is 23 and also in the Army. He returned from his 1st tour in Iraq last February. We have called him Forklift for a number of years. He got this name because of the way he would lift each end of the riding mower out of gopher holes as a teenager. He is married to a really wonderful wife that I love dearly. Her name is Sweetpea. The Man has called her that since son and her started dating in high school. They have two little girls 4 and 2 who go by their initials: RAT and TNT
Here is a recap:
Silkquilter - Me
The Man - Husband
Stepson - The Man's oldest child
Sharptongue - Oldest Daughter
Torch - Son-in-law
Forklift - Middle Son
Sweetpea - Daughter-in-law
Wolf - Youngest Son
Care Bear - Oldest Granddaughter 7 years old
Sparkplug - Oldest Grandson (and only grandson) 6 year old
RAT - 4 year old Granddaughter
TNT - 2 year old Granddaughter. I understand that her Daddy calls her Mean.

And there you have it, me and my family.

Here is one more picture of The Man and I. This was taken in spring of 1979 shortly before we got married.

Peace
Carolyn/Silkquilter

Red and White Snowball Challenge

2009-12-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

I've got all my swap strips now. They a just wonderful. Below is what I sent out. Okay, but kinda "meh". At least one of them was a little more "white" than I had wanted.

But..... add them all in together and you get a thing of beauty that was unexpected.
I have never done a completely scrappy style of quilt before because I haven't done very many quilts yet. Just hoarded lots of fabric. LOL

Gratuitous kitty picture.
This is KC, my son, Zorro's, cat. She is just as grumpy as she looks. Shortly after this picture, she snagged the side of my hand with her claw because I got to close too her.

So this is what I got from whom:

From Chris Thomas. One of her strips was sparkly. I really like it.

From Shontelle all the way from Austrailia. Shontelle included a beautiful handmade Christmas card. I love it. Her fabrics were also wrapped in a cute striped ribbon.

Gael Tino's fabrics were also wrapped. In tissue paper and a paper ribbon with my initial on it. This reminded me of my mother. Often Christmas presents had our name or initial written directly on the gift paper or on a ribbon with glitter glue or fabric puffy paint. Gael included an extra 2 1/2" strip.

Christi's fabrics are next. Like me, this is her first swap. Her fabrics are very nice. They help blend in my too white fabrics.

From Laura. Laura included a little gift; a bundle of 2 1/2" squares from Moda. They are darling.

Mary's came in last, along with a long letter about why (she had a death in the family) and some extra strips to make up for it.

All the fabrics were just great. I am looking forward to getting this quilt started. Going to be after the new year. I am still trying out Reds. It seems that I have a group (not many) of reds that are more orange and a group of reds (not many) that are more maroon/burgandy. AND they don't play well with each other.

I'm Home!!!!

2009-11-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

DH and I returned to our home yesterday (Sunday) about 1:30pm from Seattle. It was a very long trip. Fabric Damage was done in Phoenix. No pictures yet. Sister's house was packed. It took 2 trucks; a 26 footer and a 24 footer, 2 auto transports and a 5x8 Uhaul pulled behind Sister's Honda CRV. One auto transport had our Mom's 2007 Mustang and the other had Sister's F150 4x4 Pickup. Lots of adventures just getting on the road 12 hours late on last Tuesday. We got to Seattle Thursday night about midnight. Friday and Saturday were spent unloading the trucks and getting them turned in. I did get some pictures of Mount Shasta in California. I will post them later.

This morning DH and I were putting MIL's tires in her car to take to Les Schwab for the seasonal switch. I threw my back out and am in absolute misery. No sewing for me for a couple of days. It even hurts to breath. LOL. I know that I will be better in a couple of days. The last time this happened was in 2003. Took a couple of weeks to fully heal. This time I will see my chiropractor as soon as the pain subsides a little.

Zorro was happy to have Mom and Dad home as were all the cats.

Pictures later. (I keep saying that, but it hasn't happened yet.)

Out of Service/Out of Time

2009-11-10T01:34:00.000-08:00

I got my strips mailed out for the Red and White Challenge Swap today(Monday actually). No notes in with it, no fancy wrapping. Sorry Ladies. Maybe next time. I have run out of time.

It is 1:30 am and I am scrambing to get out the door by 2am to Seattle then to Phoenix. I will be off the air until Nov 23. Helping sister move back to Seattle.

Pictures when I get back. We plan on doing a little fabric damage during the trip.

Be safe everyone.

Fort Hood, Texas

2009-11-08T23:29:00.000-08:00

I am not sure I have the words to express my feelings about the recent events at Fort Hood. Mostly, I am just stunned. Stunned that a soldier that has NOT even been deployed would run amok and kill fellow soldiers.

The names of the 13 were read and lifted up in church today along with their families.

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Grant Cahill (Ret.) (62), Cameron, Texas
Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo,(52) Woodbridge, Virginia
Army Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow, (32) Plymouth, Indiana
Capt. John Gaffaney,(56) San Diego, California
Spc. Frederick Greene, (29) Mountain City, Tennessee
Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, (22) Tipton, Oklahoma
Sgt. Amy Krueger,(29) Kiel, Wisconsin
Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka,(19) West Jordan, Utah
Pfc. Michael Pearson,(22) Bolingbrook, Illinois
Capt. Russell Seager,(51) Racine, Wisconsin
Pvt. Francheska Velez,(21) Chicago, Illinois
Lt. Col. Juanita L. Warman,(55) Havre De Grace, Maryland
Spc. Kham Xiong,(23) St. Paul, Minnesota

May you rest in peace in God's great mercy. Amen

Halloween Costume

2009-11-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am very late getting a post on Halloween. I seldom decorate the house for any holiday. But... I do make my kids' Halloween costumes. My youngest son is 15. He wanted to be Zorro for Halloween. So Zorro he was. A Zorro costume needs a fancy shirt, cape, hat and most of all a mask. The mask was probably the easiest to make and was the very last item I made at 3am Friday morning October 30. Yes, I pulled an almost all nighter getting my son's costume made so he could wear it to school that day.

First the Hat. I used McCalls 4805 and made view C without the feather. I used a bit of gold braid instead. For some reason, it took me 4 days to make it. Of course I have never made a brimmed hat before. Felt, really stiff stabilizer and satin lining with wire in the brim

Next I worked on the blouse. Another renaissance type shirt, this time Simplicity (3758). Slippery satin and lots of gathers and I shorted the ruffles some due to not paying attention to cutting out the main body of the blouse so didn't have enough width on the ruffle. The grommets were fun. I used very old buttons on the sleeves. Zorro picked them out because they looked like ying yang to him. The pattern went together easily, but had a strange way of doing the underarm. It is possible that I just plain screwed it up. But, I kept telling myself that it is just a Costume.

The cape turned out just plain gorgeous. Black velveteen and fully lined with a heavy satin. The cape is very full and swings and twirls nicely. I used another Simplicity pattern (2499). I still need to properly finish the hems as I just serged them to get it done.

For the mask, I did a search on line for half mask patterns. Found one for kids to color and cut out. I simply changed the size of when printing and made a couple of other changes and cut it out of left over felt from the hat. A couple of ribbons sewn to the ends and I was done in 15 minutes, at 3:15 am. Sewing all that black was very hard on the eyes, but don't you think he is quite dashing? Check out more photos at my webshots account:

A New Journey Started and a Challenge Quilt

2009-11-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to start a blog for a couple of years now. Many things got in the way, but mostly I was just scared. I actually had to get my sister to help walk me through the set up. She blames her learning to quilt on me, so I will blame starting a blog on her. :)

While I have lots that I want to talk about, I need to talk about the challenge that I entered. Allyson over at Fat Cat Quilts really likes this red and white quilt that she saw on a recent trip. Nicole from Sister's Choice Quilts also really likes this quilt. The two of them collaborated and come up with the idea of a challenge quilt and a fabric swap to boot. I fell in love the quilt also and decided to join the fun; Quilt and Fabric Swap.

I've got my fabrics bought and washed. I now need to get them ironed and cut to send out. I'm excited. This is my first swap. I also had to purchase the book that the pattern is in, 40 Fabulous Quick-Cut Quilts, by Evelyn Sloppy. There are a lot of quilts in that book that have serious potential as I like scrappy quilts best.

Next time I will tell all about my family, vocation and my 10 cats.