March 2014 – Thimbleanna

Wee Wander

46 Comments / March 30, 2014 May 17, 2014 / Quilting, Store

Poor, poor little blog. I would say I can’t believe it’s been 2 1/2 weeks since I’ve posted, but I can believe it. We’ve had another little event with BigDaddy and we’ve had lots of hospital time in the last few weeks. This time hasn’t been as dire as last time, but it’s still been worrisome. After 16 days in the ICU, BigDaddy was finally moved to a regular hospital room today and hopefully he’ll be able to go to a rehab hospital sometime this week. Just like last time, we’ve been lucky to have a visit from our Aunt Ann to help keep MeMum occupied. Unfortunately, she’ll be leaving tomorrow and we’ll be on our own. We’ll manage, just like we did last time, but it’s a full time job for MyDadLovesMeBestSister and I, and it leaves little time for anything else. We’re thinking BigDaddy’s recovery will be a little easier this time, so that’s something to be grateful for!

In the meantime, just before this latest hospital marathon, the Wee Wander fabric line arrived here in ThimbleannaLand. I LOVE this adorable fabric line. Each night I came home from the hospital and had about an hour before bedtime, so I stitched a few blocks at the kitchen table. Sewing is a great way to pass the time when you’re worrying a LOT. All those nights added up and before I knew it, I had a new little quilt top (it looks like it’s crooked, but it’s not — it’s on a design wall that leans back, so the top is farther away from the camera):

I LOVE this sweet fabric line. Sarah Jane has once again captured some of the sweetest moments of childhood. I love the horses and those super cute lightning bugs. I have such fun memories of catching lightning bugs in glass jars when I was a little girl.

And the Deer! The deer are what really sucked me in to this fabric line. You know how people always ask if you remember where you were when President Kennedy was shot, or when the space shuttle blew up? Well, do you remember where you were when Bambi’s father told Bambi that a hunter had killed his mother??? DO you??? I remember sitting in a movie theater, looking up at that huge movie screen in the dark, with tears running down my face. It was such a tramatic event in my over-protected childhood.

And then there was The Yearling. I loooooved that book. What a tear-jerker!!! So, I love deer. Here’s my favorite block in my little quilt:

Yup, that’s Bambi, right there! Here’s another favorite — look at that cute little girl!

In case you feel the need for some Wee Wander fabric, I have some in my little Etsy shop. Unfortunately, the cute blue border fabric is already sold out.

In addition to yardage, I have some half-yard bundles that also contain some coordinating Moda Bella solid fabrics. I wanted to add some yellow for the lightning bug glow and some green to coordinate with the pretty green leaves on the horse print.

Posting will probably be a little sparse around here while we help BigDaddy get better. One good thing about all this hospital waiting is that it’s good knitting time. I’m betting my next post will contain a finished knitting project. ;-D

XOXO,
Anna

Adventures in Drapery Making

41 Comments / March 12, 2014 April 12, 2014 / Chat

Yipee! We got more snow today and it’s a winter wonderland out there. Old Man Winter is going to go out scratching and clawing all the way. I love that we’ve finally had a real winter this year!

Anyway, there’s been some sewing happening here. A few years ago when we redecorated the kitchen, I chose some fabric for the kitchen curtains. I’d let someone talk me into doing things in red and black and gold, and while that would have been just fine, I didn’t love it. One day, SweetiePie was here and I was whining to her that I didn’t love the new fabric (fortunately I hadn’t purchased it yet) and I thought it was possibly because there was no blue anywhere in the new plan. SweetiePie jumped into action and in about 3.5 seconds, she found this post on the internet. It made me start thinking and even though my walls aren’t white like those in the “model” picture, I decided that look might work for me.

I bought some fabric and then procrastinated because there were complications. Our window is 150″ wide and the longest curtain rods are only 120″ long. I knew I could probably custom order one, but I started thinking about alternate plans. I finally decided I’d like a fabric covered valance. And then I procrastinated more because I really didn’t want to build said valance. Finally, when we had the bookcase built, it occurred to me that I could have the cabinetmaker build me a valance. He did such a beautiful job, I hated to cover it.

So, a few weekends ago, I moved the machines up to the kitchen and started sewing.

Of course, I had some help. Paulkitty really did try.

And he was much more helpful than Scruff who just wanted to kill himself in the plastic bag that came with the roll of fabric. Don’t worry, no kitties were harmed in the making of these drapes.

The sewing went well and didn’t really take very long. Even covering the valance wasn’t particularly difficult. But, hanging it on the wall was a jumbo pain in the rear end. Two people, a long valance, and two poor quality stud finders meant that the hanging process almost took longer than the sewing.

Anyway, I’m very pleased. We’ve been in this house over 14 years and it finally looks like we actually live here! Extra special thanks go to SweetiePie — without her, I’d probably be complaining about my black and red curtains to anyone who would listen. ;-D

One last thing … Attention Stripe Lovers! You’ve probably seen the diagonal stripes from the April Showers collection. Bonnie and Camille’s stripes are Perfect for quilt bindings. Not to mention any other stripey needs you might have. In case you need some and don’t already have them, I’ve added some stacks to my little Etsy shop.

XOXO,
Anna

Kilmory

40 Comments / March 9, 2014 April 12, 2014 / Knitting

I have a finished sweater that I’ve been meaning to show you for a few weeks. After the 10-year sweater, it seems amazing to me that I can finish a sweater in a reasonable amount of time. I started this sweater the week between Christmas and New Year’s and after three weeks I had the front and back finished but it was apparent that I would run out of yarn, so I had to wait a few weeks for some yarn to arrive from overseas.

By the time we went to Utah, all the pieces were done and I’d started to sew it all together. It was apparent that it was going to be too big, so I tossed it aside while I debated what to do. Finish it or tear it all apart? Hmmmm.
A week or so after we returned, I decided to just put it together and see what happened. And Guess What?

It’s still too big!

Bummer!!! (Apparently, I’m not as giant as I think I am LOL.)

So, I’m thinking I might get it wet and throw it in the dryer and see if I can shrink it a little bit. Have any of you knitters out there tried that? Do you think it would work???

The pattern is Kilmory in the book Aran Knits by Martin Storey and the yarn is Silkroad Aran Tweed by Jo Sharp in the Beach colorway. It was really fun to knit, in spite of redoing the front yoke three times due to careless mistakes!

(Btw, I loooove those pockets. That may or may not be why I couldn’t tear the sweater apart.)
Anyway, if you think of any other ways to shrink my sweater a little bit, let me know!

XOXO,
Anna

Honors

47 Comments / March 5, 2014 April 12, 2014 / Family

Well, that was an unplanned absence. We’ve been away for almost a week — or what should have been 4 or 5 days but turned into a week because of bad weather and flight cancellations that resulted in a 16 hour drive home. But, my little rant about the airlines is the subject of another post.

Sadly, TheManoftheHouse’s father passed away a little over a week ago. He was a career Army officer with a long and distinguished career, so it was only fitting that he have a service with full military honors.

We were very lucky for the end of February, and the weather was beautiful on the day of the funeral. It was so nice to see all the friends and family gathered together. Why is it that we only get together for weddings and funerals? The passing of time and of a loved one is such a sad occasion, but there’s also a sense of relief that he’s not suffering anymore. He was a hard worker and always made me laugh with his funny little jokes. And as hard as his illness was, my MIL said he had a little smile up until the end.

RIP dear FIL.

XOXO,
Anna

Month: March 2014