Snow in Oct?? … and Crafting adventures

My friends and I had quite the adventurous trip this weekend.  As many of you know, we are friends with three families that went together and bought a cabin up north.  The cabin is named BuGaDu (bug-a-doo)after the first initials of each family :).  Two of those friends (the women only) were heading up to the cabin this weekend for crafting and invited me along.

We left Friday night.  It was raining back home, but before we got to Eau Claire it was snowing pretty hard with approx 1.5” on the ground.  And it was that wet, slushy stuff that makes for nasty driving.  Between Bloomer and Chetek was the worst … Colleen didn’t go much above 35 mph in most places.  Because of the weather, instead of taking 2 1/2 hours to get there – our travel time was almost an additional hour.  We pulled up to the cabin at 9pm, tired, stressed and happy to have finally arrived, only to find:

No electricity.

That wet, heavy snow that was not only making travel hazardous was also pulling down tree branches, and apparently breaking power lines somewhere close by.  After making a few phone calls (thank God for cell phones!), we decided to drive back to Birchwood and spend the night in a motel.  Even then, we didn’t get to bed until 11pm.

The next morning arrived as a cold and dreary day – but at least it had stopped snowing.  We left the motel, picked up our caffeine so we wouldn’t growl at each other and headed back to the cabin.  Fortunately, this time there was electricity … and heat … and full use of bathroom facilities (the well pump won’t work without electricity).

We dived right into our crafting and didn’t even bother with breakfast.  Gail and Colleen were working on a Christmas purse pattern that they modeled after one they picked up at Stone Lake Cranberry Fest.  After a full day of sewing, they had … one whole purse done.  Ok, to their credit – they were making up their own pattern, it’s not a simple one (lots of pockets and zippers), and they learned a lot in that first purse.  The second one went much faster, but we ran out of time for much more.

I spent the whole time crocheting – with a brief change over to knitting (maybe 30 min).  My right arm is sure feeling it today.  I primarily worked on the Walden shawl and am getting pretty close to being done.  Gail said she preferred shawls that cover your arms more, so I’ll keep going for a few more rows before edging it.

I also made a few snowflakes.  For me, the hardest part about making a doily is the center – because it’s so constricted.  Since snowflakes are so small, you spend most of your time in that “tight zone” – but they’re still fun because you can whip one or two out and you have something to show for it.

Here’s a couple of snowflakes all finished. I plan on using these for my Secret Santa in December:

On Sunday, we had a different type of adventure.  We woke up, had a little breakfast, and did a bit more crafting before we had to leave.  As I mentioned, it normally takes 2 1/2 hours to get (to their) home.  It took us 6 hours!  Not because of snow.  It’s because these women can SHOP!

First we stopped, at my request at a discount store (Bargain Bills).  Last time I was there, they had all kinds of yarn for around $1.  They still had some, but the selection wasn’t as great.  Still, Gail and Colleen found plenty to buy.

Then we stopped at a couple of thrift stores in Rice Lake - mainly looking for costumes (request to dress up in costume for a Halloween wedding).  I found thread at both places - some is stained/"yellowed", but I'm hoping it will clean up ok.

We also stopped at Joann's in Eau Claire.  Now that's a CRAFT store - none of that household decorating stuff Hobby Lobby is full of!  Tons of fabric and sewing materials (that's why my friends wanted to stop).  I picked up some purse handles and magnetic closures for purses.  They had a great selection of handles – better than I’ve seen elsewhere.  I also had to look at yarn of course.  Lion Brand was buy one, get 2nd 1/2 off, but didn't get any.  Instead I found that they had knit/crochet books for 40% off.  That's one of the few items we can't use coupons for at Hobby Lobby & Michaels, so I bought a couple of doily books.  I didn’t spend nearly as much as some people :).

I wish I had pictures of our trip – we all forgot to bring cameras.  The snow on the trees in northern Wisconsin is quite a sight to see!

I can knit … sort of

Hurray! My very first knit item!!

Ok, so it doesn’t look the greatest.  The stitches aren’t even and there’s a slight hole in the middle … or is that called Lace?!  But I’m learning.  It’s rather fun to switch between knitting and crocheting – they both give me satisfaction, but in slightly different ways.

On the crocheting front, I finally finished getting the border on the Truffles Blanket I started (and was supposed to finish back in Aug!)  I really like this color combination.  I was worried about not having enough of the lighter color, so I changed this from a two-color to a three-color pattern and added a few extra rows in the middle to make it slightly wider.  I love the colors.  I’ve now used the dark brown (Coffee) and medium brown (Cafe) colors in a couple other items, and the Aran Fleck gives it a nice balance so it’s not too dark.  Not sure what I’m going to do with it now that it’s finished.  I have thought about a couple of people that might receive it as a gift … or maybe we’ll end up using it.

I’m headed up north with some friends to do crafting this weekend.  They’re going to be sewing/quilting.  I’m hoping to do lots of crocheting and maybe some more practice knitting.  No internet access, so I won’t have to worry about THAT for a distraction…

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In my project bags (yes, I have more than one bag going with me! just one for clothes – multiple for crafts!!):

Walden shawl.  Testing for the designer and it needs to be done by 10/30.  I’m making this as a prayer shawl for someone.

 

????? undecided shawl.  I want to make another prayer shawl, but I haven’t decided on a pattern yet. I only have the yarn picked out.

 

Boucle bath mat from Interweave Crochet. For my sister; started last spring but have had problems getting the loops right.  This will be like the one I did last year (on left), but in different colors.  Kay wanted maroon to match her bathroom.

 

Doily number 7318. It’s about 2/3 done. I’m making this because it matched one that belonged to my aunt and I loved the spirals in it.  This pattern was probably not the best choice for my second doily ever.

 

Never Fading Flowers squares.  This is a great take-along project as it creates little squares.  I think I have 4 or 5 done so far.

 

 

I also have quite a few doily and snowflake patterns printed off.

Do you think I have enough to do??

 

Projects left at home:

Guatemalan Surprise afghan – in the Tunisian Around the Home booklet (I believe you can purchase at Annie’s Attic); I thought this was too big a project to bring since I had so many others!

Iota sweater.  It’s a short-sleeved one that I might have to restart in the spring.

 

Krochet Krystal daisy afghan. I’ve been making squares for this off-and-on.  (More “off” than “on” lately).

Crafts and a shopping frenzy

My mother and I have something planned to do together for every weekend in October, and even one or two in November!

Last weekend we went to Logan High school for their fall craft fair.  I would really love to know if spending was as high per person as it has been in past years because I tell ya … that place was PACKED!  They even added a third room for crafts this year.  I know I tried to keep my spending down (didn’t succeed), but if everyone else spent as much as usual … why is the economy so down?

We have a tradition that after leaving Logan, we always head to the mall area to Hobby Lobby and Michaels to purchase the makings for whatever craft we felt we could make better or cheaper ourselves.  That has changed over the years as we’ve seen less and less handmade crafts (Logan’s fair usually better than some other craft fairs) and as our (my?) focus has changed.  This year we spent our money on yarn … of course.  I spent too much money, but can’t talk about my purchases much because most of it is for gifts.

We even went to Good Steward and Goodwill to see if they had any yarn for sale for cheap.  (Good Steward is another “charity” place like Goodwill, but it’s run by Luther High school in Onalaska.  I believe the proceeds help go towards scholarships).  Goodwill had nothing, but Good Steward had several doilies, DMC thread, a partially made afghan kit, etc.  I picked up some nylon yarn (not made anymore) – Mom said it would make a nice hat.  Also, a ball of cotton yarn, rug yarn, sport-weight acrylic (or was it nylon again?) and size 10 thread.

And if my shopping day wasn’t complete enough … Dave called because he was checking out the antique stores in the area.  He was at the one in Winona and wanted me to join him so I could see just how big it is.  Unfortunately, I got there less than an hour before closing time, so I just had him lead me around to show me some “highlights”.  That place is HUGE!  You could easily spend hours there looking at everything.

As we were going through, of course I kept spotting fiber arts stuff – doilies, an afghan, some old crochet magazines, etc.  The only purchase we made was a bag marked down will a variety of items. There were two doily books, one tatting book (plus a photo-copied how-to booklet), two steel crochet hooks, a ball of DMC Cébélia size 10 thread, plus some size 80 thread (so tiny!) Can you believe I got all of this for $2?

Did I mention my stash closet is overflowing … some might even say spilling out…

Apples in October

This weekend was Galesville’s annual Apple Affair.  Although it wasn’t as cold as it has been some years (we saw snow flurries one year) – it was still one of the more miserable days.  Cold (mid-50’s) and misting the whole time.  Mom & Dad came up for the event.  Despite the weather, we still managed to wander through the craft fair, check out the book “sale” (donation) at the library, and have some food in the big tent.

Dave wasn’t able to attend as he was helping a friend roof their house (yep, in the cold, wet, misty weather!)  He helped again this year with the apple pie baking – nope, not the 10-foot one, but with the individual ones that the churches make to sell.  They made 181 pies this year and had only 14 left at noon when I stopped by (we already had one at home).  Personally I think the regular-sized pies are much better tasting than the big one – primarily because the big one is sweeter and more like a Dutch apple pie.  The “ladies” make the best crust and lots of cinnamon-covered apples.  (Did I mention that our pie is gone already?!)

I haven’t been entering a LOT of contests, but apparently I have done enough lately to make it worth my while!  On Saturday, the mail consisted of one advertisement, one cooking magazine, and two contest winnings!  Plus, no bills – so overall a great day!

The first prize was one that I wasn’t sure if I’d see.  I’ve had problems with my email address getting marked as spam, so when I didn’t hear back that she had received my address – and when nothing came in the mail for a couple of weeks, I assumed she awarded the prize to someone else.  I guess I need to be more patient :).  Shannon at The Mommy Files has lots of great contests each week, including August’s contest for Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon”!

 

The other contest I won is an on-going weekly contest called “What's Old is New Again". It’s organized by CrochetPartners Yahoo group and is “sponsored” by people that have crochet items that they no longer want – yarn, hooks, booklets/patterns, etc.  I won this contest last summer –and received mostly yarn.  This time the sponsor, Kathleen, sent me a package of booklets (you can click on the picture for a larger view).  At least half of these are thread books – so I am thrilled to get them!  And if you notice, there’s even a thread ANGEL book – Awesome!  I should really go through my stash and sign up to be a sponsor again…

 

I just finished a project tonight.  Testing, of course!  He’s called “Completely Fierce Dragon” and the pattern is available for purchase at Ravelry from “StarKnits”.  He's supposed to have a cat toy in the middle – for either a pet or baby rattle, but I didn’t have a chance to pick one up.  Isn’t he cute?

Crafting in September

Still not much progress on crafts – at least it doesn’t feel like I’m making much progress.

I’d like to start off by showcasing something my sister-in-law made. Like me, Jane has tried many different crafts in the past. She used to do a lot of cross stitch, but her current favorite craft is quilting. While her mother makes dozens of baby quilts each year (no exaggeration!), Jane has concentrated on making just one or two quilts – in grown-up sizes, and with more complex designs. I had admired this quilt one of the last times we visited – and possibly mentioned that it matches the dark greens we have in several rooms in our house. Jane became seriously ill earlier this summer – so I don’t know if her gifting us with the quilt had something to do with facing her own mortality or if she had decided earlier, but I am quite grateful for it!

Most of the crafts I finished in September were ones that I had to finish because I was testing for someone. Each time I finish, I say … “No more testing!” so I can get some of my older projects finished … and then along comes another project I really want to do.

The first project I finished this month was an afghan (actually, it’s not quite finished, but "Shh” … don’t tell! It still needs a border).

This one is called Truffles Blanket by Maggie Menzel. I tested for her once before (Basic Doll Body). This is a free pattern on Ravelry. Her version only had two colors. Of course, I can’t follow a pattern anymore – just like making recipes. It’s a compulsion to change something. In this case, I wanted to make it a bit wider than it called for, and was concerned about running out of yarn (will that ever happen in my house?), so I went with three colors and added a few more smaller stripes in the middle. I really like the colors – an aran “fleck”, cocoa and dark brown.

The other pattern I tested and finished this month was Autumn Leaves Tote Bag by Linda Permann (http://www.lindamade.com). The crochet part was pretty simple, but the pattern also included sewing instructions. As you probably know, I am not a sewer! But her instructions were clear, so it took me less time to sew the lining and handles than it took to crochet the bottom.

The pattern is available for $5.50 on both Ravelry and etsy.

The only other project I finished was an “emergency” one. We were invited to a neighbor girl’s 3rd birthday party. We weren’t able to attend, but I felt she should still get something from us. So in approx 24 hours I whipped this together. This is the same lion pattern I used for my sister’s gift back in January (Lion Brand pattern# 70580AD). Is a green lion? Mint Monster? Kayla can decide what type of animal he is .

If you’ve read back, in a previous post, I mentioned that I attended a Ladies’ Craft weekend in mid-Sept? Well, during that time I had Mom teach me Knitting 101.

I can now cast on, knit and purl. I won’t say my stitches are even … or that I don’t occasionally drop stitches … or the problem this week: forgetting whether or not that row is knit or purl after I pick it up again! But I’m learning. And it’s FUN!

And you know what’s even better? Around the same time, I won an online contest (PhatFiber) and received these cute bamboo knitting needles with sheep on the ends! I haven’t tried them yet, but I’ve heard bamboo needles are a DREAM to work with. Aren’t these cute? The prize came from Designs by Tami. She has other cute knitting needles and stitch markers.

I’m off to crochet … or knit… whatever it ends up being, Dave thinks I’m addicted … could it be because I like to get a “hit” in the morning before leaving for work or church?! Nah.

Threshing Bee 2009

Last Saturday, Dave and I spent several hours at Norskedalen for the annual Threshing Bee (just like last year).  For those that don’t know what that is… In the fall, farmers would separate the grain from the chaff before storing for the winter.  In the “olden days” threshing machines were expensive, so neighbors would gather together to use the one local machine.  In this case of these pictures, they’re separating oats:

The men would work in the fields, and the women would put together a large spread of food to eat when they were finished.  Norskedalen served up a big meal at noon, but we didn’t participate this year – sounds like it was pretty good, so we may have to consider for next year.

 

Lot of antique tractors on the grounds – for display and used as generators for the threshing machines. Mostly John Deere and Farm-all.  My favorite was this little Ford 8N. (Dave hates that he’s in the picture, but I wanted to show you the size of this tiny tractor! )

 

There were several other demonstrations during the day – corn husking, threshing by hand, cream separating, etc.  Plenty of samples to be tasted too – hand-cranked ice cream, homemade cheese, and freshly churned butter.   Oh, and lefse – cooked on the stove; it had a slightly smoky flavor to it, but when compared to some she had made on a griddle – it was far tastier!

They also had someone that was spinning wool into yarn - guess who I spent a great deal of time talking to?!  (In my defense, I also spent a lot of time with the cheese maker).

 

Dave’s big thrill of the day was that he got to harvest tobacco!  He was tickled pink! – he hasn’t done that in 30 years.  Said it was a lot of fun (but I think he’d have a different story if he had to do it all day instead of just 10-15 min worth of work!)  They only plant two rows of tobacco – about two dozen plants.  It’s just to give people an idea of how it was – and still is! – harvested and hung to dry.  (He picked the right color shirt – he’s camouflaged in the tobacco leaves! LOL)

Did I mention that we spent FIVE HOURS at Norskedalen this year?!  There was a forecast for a chance of rain on Saturday, but it was nice and sunny and upper 60’s.  Completely gorgeous fall weather.

It wasn’t until we started heading home that we saw the clouds moving in.  And then we were about even with Drugan’s Castle Mound that it started POURING.  The funny part? … the rest of my dept was at Drugan’s for our annual golf outing!  They were on the 7th hole (of 9) and didn’t think it would last long.  Not surprisingly, they all ended up soaked!  We met them later at a coworker’s house for a potluck dinner.  Not only did we not golf with my coworkers this year – we pooped out early.  I guess it was all that fresh air, sunshine and walking.  I was ready for bed at 8:30pm!

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On a slightly different note, if you’ve talked with either of us recently, you may have noticed that we’re becoming more and more enamored with the idea of a self-sufficient lifestyle.  The plan is, next spring we hope to get some chickens (mainly for eggs).  We’ve said almost from year #2 in our home that our current house it too big – that we’d like a much smaller house, but with more land.  Dave has been spending his online time looking at tractors and other farm equipment (instead of airplanes – which was last year’s fascination).  It’s also why we spent more time at the Threshing Bee this year – to learn some of the techniques.

Dave came home from our weekend experience and made butter for us, using store-bought cream and our mixer.  Turned out just fine – but not really cost effective the way he did it … one pint of cream $3.00 + electricity = approx one STICK of butter.  Not when I can find a full pound of butter elsewhere for $1.60-$2.40.

Oh well.  It was a learning experience (now we either need to get a cow or make friends with a farmer!)

Something happened to my September

I think someone stole my September – it can’t possibly be October already!  What’s even more amazing is that I went an entire month without posting anything!  I may have to split up all my ideas, just to make it more readable.

So, what did we do in September?  The first weekend (Labor Day) we spent at Dave’s parents for the annual Nuland reunion.  I think this one was the most successful (at least by the number of people attending) since we started having them a few years ago.  Per usual, there was LOTS of food … see this table?

That’s just the before-dinner snacks!!  We refilled the table with salads and other dishes to go along with the beef and bbq pork sandwiches.  And then the table was refilled another time with about a dozen desserts!  The Nulands are celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary (beginning of Oct), so I decided to treat them by making a Kransekake (Norwegian wedding cake) as you see in the center.

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In the middle of the month, my mother and I spent a couple of days with a great group of ladies at First Evangelical Free Church (Onalaska).  They sponsored a craft “weekend” – Fri night and most of Sat.  They had a large room set up with tables.  We had a variety of crafts going on – beading, quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, card-making, knitting, crocheting, punch needle … and probably a few I missed seeing.  The whole weekend cost only $15* – for that we had as much room as needed to spread out, snacks, drinks, lunch on Sat, workshops – including the supplies to make the craft, and of course, lots and lots of fellowship!

* I heard that some complained that there was a fee at all since it was sponsored by the church.  I know for a fact that they didn’t even break even on the cost of the food and supplies.  And where else are you going to be able to have that much crafting time for just $15?  I’ve seen similar groups – usually quilting or scrapbooking that can range from $20 to $70 for just one day!!

They do a similar Ladies’ Craft Night on the last Friday of the month for several hours.  I’m hoping to make it to the next one in October.

 

I think that’s probably enough for this post… don’t want you to get bored reading!