Mary Keasler

You may remember me talking about Mary Keasler when we got together over the Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild. Here she is looking at the finished top of her newest dazzler, Lantana. Breathtaking, isnt it?
So Mary and I have met twice for lunch on Wednesday while I am in town for my knitting group.
Yesterday one of the knitters was asking me about the CMQG and art quilting and art quilters. She asked me what I meant by 'art quilter' and without a pause I blurted: Someone who fearlessly designs their own work, and tries to be original. Which is why I am bringing up Mary. She is a perfect example of an art quilter. And I am the lucky gal to have found her.
Our lunches are just the thing for us artsy types eager to discuss arty topics, and undo 'slumps' and review projects that we are considering. It is a real shot in my quilting arm, and since I got momentarily (2 weeks) distracted from my current fabric work, I got reinspired by talking with Mary and am all zoomed up to get back to work.
Needless to say, but I am gonna say it anyway, this is JUST WHAT I NEEDED.

Rain Rain Rain

I am not complaining. I love the rain and the excuse to stay indoors and knit. And the garden loves it too. Except that a few days ago we had a big hail storm and now my large leafed plants like hosta and lily pads look beat up. Boo Hoo. But with all this warm weather and fresh water from the skies I am sure they will be looking good again shortly.
I am working on Drawstring Scarf #4 and will be going to knitting today, so here is a little garden slide show, before the hail got to it.

Drawstring Scarf V.3

For this version I used the Mistake Stitch, size 8US needles and cast on 181 sts in delicious Malabrigo Silky Merino and used every last inch of it or 150 yards. I chose to place the eyelets off center to make the scarf edge stand up better, as this is very slinky yarn. The color is Arco Iris.


As you can see, it worked! This cowl version can be worn with the tie in front or to the side. The tie is a 4 stitch I-cord in pima cotton.



The wider side can be turned to the outside while the narrower side is underneath. Or as in the last view, a looser version worn as a gathered collar.

Version 2 Drawstring Scarf

I am really having fun now. This knit may be the all purpose scarf, neckwarmer, cowl, collar, everything a cold shoulder needs to be glamorous. So many ways to wear it and still not have to pull it over the hair-do.
This time I used Baby Zarina merino yarn and it is so much lighter (sport weight) than the red worsted version, which is perfect for outer wear. This lighter yarn works for a fashion statement indoors. Same size needles and same directions. The Zarina was more yardage (181 yds) and I just used two skeins with a bit leftover, including the I-cord. Directions for this scarf are here.

I then got an email from the designer Bjorn Coordt, who has made a similar scarf, only using a silk scarf in combination with the knitted one. So fabulous that I simply must share these with you. First, the current cover!!! of Love of Knitting features the scarf.

My name is Bjorn Coordt, a designer, weaver, knitter .... came from Germany 12 years ago and started 6 yeas ago with my partner Rex Tannahill "Hand Painted Knitting Yarns", now HPKY, LLC.

The "Family" grew into: Scarf-in-a-Shrug, Scarf-in-a-Shawlette, Scarf-in-a-Dress, Scarf-in-a-Tunic and "La Scala" jacket.Our web page is www.hpkyllc.com/  there is a store locator, where to buy.

Drops Videos

Weaving in ends from Garnstudio Drops design on Vimeo.

This is a genius way of changing colors and not having to weave in the ends later. A real timesaver.

Drawstring Scarf Pattern

Yarn: Really, use anything you like. For my red version I used a light worsted weight merino and silk and size 8 needles. About 400yds. For this version I am using Baby Zarina DK and size 8 needles. 180yds per ball and I think I will use 2.5 balls. This is a much lighter weight yarn and therefore a much looser gauge for a summer weight scarf. Make a test swatch to judge for yourself.
Note: a ridge in garter  stitch equals two rows, just an easy way to count.
Cast on 2 sts.
Row 1: Slip 1, yo, knit to end
Row 2: Repeat row 1.
Continue in this manner until 35 stitches are made.




Knit in garter (knit every row) for three more ridges to start eyelet row.




Knit 16, k2tog, yo, knit to end of row.



Knit in garter for three more ridges.



I used a marker to show me where to k2tog, yo. After the marker(to the left)  are the two stitches that will be knit together, and then do a yarn over. Knit to the end of row, and repeat this every three ridges. Look at this photo to recognize the third ridge. Three purl bumps...



When the desired length is reached (try it on for size) begin to decrease for the end.
Decrease row. Slip 1, k2tog, knit to end of row.
Continue until two stitches remain, bind off.
Make an I cord: video here
Directions http://www.stitchdiva.com/custom.aspx?id=196

Make the I-cord long enough to tie in a bow through eyelets.
PS. For this red version I did a gather at the end of the scarf. I did Not include it in this pattern, as it is pretty much unnecessary.

Drawstring Scarf

 My good friend Ellen models my new scarf. Isn't she lovely? This is a fun knit to do while you're waiting for the cable guys to show up.

I think this looks so festive, and is just one of many looks one can do just by sliding the scarf up on the drawstring.

The collar up to keep away drafts, or to work as a stand-in for Ming the Merciless (only us old gals will remember him).

Anyway... I will be writing up the directions, and will post them when I do.

Art Quilting Studio Summer 2011

I am happy to report that my Treehouse Series is featured in  Art Quilting Studio magazine this summer. I haven't seen the issue in person yet, but may be able to find a copy today in town, when I go to knitting.
http://www.stampington.com/html/aqs_summer_2011.html has a link to the table of contents, and to my surprise I see that my old pard' Laura Wasilowski is also featured. I must find this magazine!

Today I am shipping off five quilts to the National Quilt Museum for a show in October.
 Parallel Paths
 Technique Rebellion III Redux
 Zig Zag #5
 Matchstick Moons 1
Matchstick Moons 2
The show is an exhibit of the work of the Chicago School of Fusing. I will announce more details when October rolls around.

Adventures at Home

Blogging rule #1: Never forecast the day's events, as they surely will not happen.

I was planning on finishing up the quilt and hoping to have a Ta-Da moment for the blog today. Ha!
However I was also expecting the cable TV guys to arrive with new cable boxes for our TV's sometime during the day so I wanted to make sure I was dressed and the house looked less tornado-aftermath-like, so a bit of tidying up was necessary. Quickly losing interest in that, I started a new knitting project to make use of waiting energy. This is a scarf which will have a string or ribbon running through it to make it scrunch up prettily. I got about half way done, ripped back ten inches, reknit it better (designing on the fly) and now it is the way I like it.

Merino and silk from Knitpicks.com
Speaking of knitting, I am still doing socks and just mailed these off to Teresa in Florida.

But I digress...
The cable guys arrived at 11:30 and installed four new boxes on our four tvs (I know!) which required ripping out old wires (YAY!!!) and going under the house and through the pantry and up the stairs, etc. Perhaps I should have made the beds.. O well. In less than an hour they were finished and gone.
 Dave came in and I attempted to demonstrate the new remote, but the TV didn't work...at all. Nor did the guestroom one work. I called the cable people and was on hold for ten minutes and when the service person finally answered, the phone began to go all static and then died too. This is all one company, Bubba's Bar-B-Que and Fone, so what's a girl to do? Luckily my laptop was working so I logged onto Gmail and made the call through the computer. Ha!
The same guys returned and made everything good again, and relief flooded into the house. Of course I immediately had to knit and watch my shows... a marathon of Curb Appeal, The Block, my fave...
Thus I never once touched the quilt. Sorry.
Moving on... I got this email and decided to do a bit of before and after.

Thank you for you great blog. I love your quilts and garden. It's fun to watch the antics of your adorable doggies too. I have wondered about something for a long time...Since you are out in the country (like I am), how do you keep the varmints (deer, raccoons, skunks, rabbits, moles, gophers etc) from ravishing your plants? How do you keep the koi safe in the pond? Raccoons ruined all of our pond plants, even without the temptation of fish. Also, I would love to see how the garden boxes are filling in along your fantastic deck. Best wishes, Maria


Answer: I do nothing to protect the plants. The deer have so much to eat around here and I haven't seen them in our yard in two years. Raccoons are frequent visitors, but haven't gotten at the tomatoes yet. We'll see what happens the day before I plan to harvest. It seems they know.
The 'koi' are just goldfish, and now the pond is so low, green and muddy that they are gathered in the
deepest spots, invisible to everyone. I doubt the raccoons could find them, not to mention the neighboring heron. We have so many fish, that missing a few wouldn't be noticed. And our mini-pond is 3 feet deep and I am sure those fish stay deep at night.
You asked about the deck flower boxes, and here is the before and after shots of one side.



Va Voom! The white liriope is completely hidden under the sweet potato vines. Liriope are very hardy and will still be there when all this dies down after the first freeze.

Another view.

These are the blue salvia which I love love love. They will continue to add blueness for the rest of the summer. With the red salvia and the underlying white impatiens, we are all ready for the Fourth of July.

The begonias, which were $.08 per plant are just growing like mad/ I am thrilled with this whole planting.

A Short Fence for Short Dogs

Dave and Mike spent Father's Day making life safer for the little dogs. Now they can run in circles like maniacs and we can just stand there watching, not having to corral them from the curb, as if there were a curb.

They are never let out alone, we always walk with them, as that is half the fun of having doggies. That and making sure their digestion is working properly, and you know what I mean. Today I was able to drink my coffee and use my camera and didn't have to wear my running flip-flops.






While I was out there I got to check up on the veggie beds, which are starting to produce nicely. Lots of tiny cucumbers are growing into big boy cucumbers. Woowoo. And there are lots of blossoms on the green beans and zucchini. Soon, very soon.










I already enjoyed my first Sweet 100 cherry tomato and I can see the second one is starting to turn orange.













The heirlooms are producing in great number, and thankfully the cages are holding everything up and off the ground. These were a great investment and so user friendly. As the plant grows up I am able to relocate the side supports to keep the branching inside, more or less.









It's hard to take a photo without the dogs getting in the picture.
Bite bite bite...

Later, Chum and Dex joined me in the studio for some R and R while I worked on the yarn inspired quilt. Here's a tiny preview. I will put it on the wall today and see what else it may need and then start on the quilting. While I used the yarn for my colorway jumpstart, it only got me so far. I had to bring out the saturated color.

PS...The gigantic lilies opened today!

Blue blue blue and pink. It thrills me everyday.