Thimbleanna

Tonie Bags

Ohmygosh! It came and it went. And it’s over so quickly! It all happened so fast, I didn’t even have time to hop on and post my traditional Christmas morning breakfast. I did take the picture, just didn’t get it to the computer. So Sad.

Thimbleanna: Breakfast

Nothing new really. Just the traditional big three cookies — Angel Slices, Sugar Cookies and Grandma’s Brown Butter Cookies. This year I added Snickerdoodles to the mix because TheManoftheHouse loves them, although I don’t really consider them a Christmas cookie. Darn, I should have used red sugar — maybe that would have made them more festive. And, once again, I didn’t get caramels made. I love to make them, but oh, how we don’t need them! Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had our whole family here and we had a great time — we’re so lucky to have such a fun group of kids to play with!

There was also some sewing this year. My favorite project was the last minute bags that I made for the grandbabies. About 3 weeks before Christmas, I was discussing Christmas gifts with another Grandma friend and I asked her if she had any great ideas. She said her grandkids’ other grandmother had bought her grandson a Tonie Box but the oldest granddaughter loved it so much that she was using it all the time. So, I decided to investigate, and we ended up getting them for the girls. They’re sweet little devices that play stories and songs — all audio, no video. I think they’ll be amazing for bedtime. Anyway, I decided to make them each a little carrying case for their boxes and the little “tonie” characters that are used to play the stories and songs. I raided my stash of story fabrics and started piecing.

Thimbleanna: Tonie Bag

It was so fun to choose all the fabrics, but I was in a hurry (by now it was only a few days before Christmas) so the stitching seemed a little tedious. I tried to get all the characters for the tonies that I gave them. I think I was successful with the exception of Peppa Pig.

Thimbleanna: Tonie Bag

Each tonie comes with a little piece of paper that lists the stories/songs on that tonie, so I put a little pocket on the inside of the lid where those papers can be stored.  I’m sure they’ll get lost though LOL.  (Hopefully the tonies won’t get lost or end up at the bottom of a toy box!)

Thimbleanna: Tonie Bag

The boxes are all the same except for the binding color.  I also embroidered each of their names on the front of the lid, just above the handle.  Just to be sure there’s no arguing over who owns each bag ;-D.

Thimbleanna: Tonie Bag

So, that’s it for the Tonie Bags!  I also made one other project for a gift, but I’ll save that for next time.
XOXO,
Anna

Little Buds

Well, I’m back as promised, with tales of a little sweater for FinallyAnotherGirl.  It took me longer than expected to get pictures together — I guess it’s the time of year.  I really should be posting something festive, but the few projects I’m working on can’t be shown yet.  Hopefully after Christmas!

FinallyAnotherGirl is 3 now and this little sweater was for her birthday in September.  Better late than never!  Our little Miss loves purple and turtles, so Grammy did her best to deliver.

Thimbleanna: Lavender Sweater

The pattern is a loose rendition of Little Buds by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting.  This is the third children’s sweater I’ve made from her and all three have fit beautifully.  The original Little Buds pattern had buds and vines forming the pockets on the front of the sweater and more buds and vines running up the back.  I chose to leave them all off and just knit a plain sweater.  For the pockets, I used the instructions from the Sheepish sweater (also by Alana Dakos) and I lengthened the sweater by a few inches.

Thimbleanna: Lavender Sweater

The yarn is Rowan baby cashsoft merino, color 114 lavender, and it was a dream to knit.  I’m a little worried that it might pill, but it’s too soon to tell.  My local LYS had some cute little turtle buttons that I thought would be perfect for our little turtle lover.  I only bought 5 buttons though, so I need to get another one.  I’ve been back to the shop twice since I finished the sweater, but they’re keeping weird hours these days and I can’t seem to catch them open.

Thimbleanna: Lavender Sweater

FinallyAnotherGirl came to visit the day that I had her sweater ready to give to her, and just my luck, she had a pretty lavender bow in her hair.

Thimbleanna: Lavender Sweater

She calls it her turtle sweater and I think it’s been a hit.  Also, pockets in sweaters never hurt!

Thimbleanna: Lavender Sweater

At the beginning of the year I decided that I wanted to make each of our little granddaughters a sweater for their birthday. I’ve been consistently late on all of three of them. Our littlest just turned 2 a few weeks ago and her sweater is almost done — just a little more work left on the sleeves and then the button bands.

I’m off to get crackin’!

XOXO,
Anna

A Marker in Time

Oh dear! How can we be on the cusp of Christmas already? October and November have flown by and, apparently I was too busy to post about it. Actually, I was only too busy in October and then, halfway through November, I had a little time, but the blog was on vacation. I hate it when some of the many tools used in the process of keeping a blog get updated, because something is always out of sync and things get broken. Hours on the phone to support people and many weeks later, a solution was found and, crossing fingers, we’re back in business. ;-D

We had an especially exciting October. I had a plan to visit TheSecondChild in Peru during the third week of October, but then, his plans changed and he wasn’t going to be there the third week of October, so with only a day notice, I had to move everything up. I was amazed that it was even possible to arrange a trip on such short notice (in this day and age of Covid and required Covid tests), but everything worked out and I suddenly found myself in Lima the first week of October. We had a great time and managed to see Peru’s star attraction along with a few other interesting sights.

Thimbleanna: Machu Picchu

I LOVED Peru! It was a really interesting trip and everyone was so friendly and helpful. I’ve written all about our week in Peru and posted it HERE.  If you’ve ever thought about going there, now is a good time as the crowds are smaller than normal.  You have to wear those pesky masks everywhere now, but I’ll gladly trade crowds for masks, any day!

Since the trip, I’ve just been busy catching up, wrangling the annual leaves (thank goodness for leaf blowers), and sewing and knitting a little.  I finished a sweater for FinallyAnotherGirl (which should have been done for her birthday in late September {sigh}), and as soon as I get some pictures, I’ll post them.  I also made a Christmas gift, but, well, pictures for that will have to wait until after Christmas.  After all of that, Thanksgiving was upon us.  Ours was quiet this year — TheFirstChild and his family went to the in-laws.  And MyDadLovesMeBestSister and her family went out of town.  We were invited to go with them, but luckily we declined,  thinking it might be hard to travel with MeMum.  It turned out to be a good decision, as they all ended up with Covid (they all seem to be doing well).

So, it’s been a good two months although, we did have a little sadness the week of Thanksgiving.  Our little Scruff (aka TheEmptyNestChild) passed away.

Thimbleanna: Scruff

I would say our sweet little Scruff, but I don’t think anyone (except maybe TheManoftheHouse) would have described Scruff as sweet. I think he bit everyone he ever met — except the grandbabies (we were always very careful when they were around him).  He was 17 1/2 and I’d say he had a pretty good life.  He was a fun cat and he kept us entertained. I was surprised at how many pictures I had of him (thank you blog). And also surprised that they were all before the grandbabies came along. I guess between the time the boys left home and the grandbabies, the only thing I did for fun was to take pictures of the cats LOL. Anyway, it made me happy that I had a few good ones so that I could give TheManoftheHouse one to put on his phone — he’s missing that grumpy old cat terribly.

On to the next big event.  Are you getting ready?  I’ve started shopping a little and hope to decorate this weekend.  Always plenty to do — which is a good thing!

Have a great weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

Playful Stripes

It’s sweater weather – Yay!  I can’t believe fall is here already, but I’m ready for it.  We had a wonderful summer — it went by in a flash, it wasn’t too hot, we had lots of playtime with the grandbabies, and we had some fun family time.  But now … falling leaves, pumpkin everything, cozy sweaters and lots of project planning.  The change in weather (and ok, the looming holiday haha) always make me want to plan new projects — especially knitting projects.  Before I run to the next project though, here is the latest little sweater that I made for FinallyAGirl:

Thimbleanna: Playful Stripes

It’s the Playful Stripes cardigan by Alaina Daikos of Never Not Knitting.  I love her children’s sweater patterns.  This is my second Never Not Knitting pattern — you may remember when I knit Sheepish for FinallyAGirl a few years ago.  The yarn is Merinoull, a superwash yarn by Sandes Garn, and it’s just the right weight for this sweater.  Choosing how often to change the stripe colors was a little stressful, but I loved knitting this sweater.  It was a fairly quick knit and it just felt so cozy while knitting.

Thimbleanna: Playful Stripes

I changed the button band a little after looking at other Playful Stripes cardigans on Ravelry.  The original pattern called for a 2×2 rib button band, but someone on Ravelry did a garter stitch band and I think it looks better on this cardigan.  I backed the button side of the button band with the Acufactum Children and Sheep ribbon to give the buttons some extra stability.  FinallyAGirl really likes the cute ribbon too!

Thimbleanna: Playful Stripes

My favorite part of the cardigan is the sweet little scalloped hem on the sleeves and main body.  It was fun to knit and I think it’s just so pretty.

Thimbleanna: Playful Stripes

FinallyAGirl is 5 now and I knit the size 5 which is just perfect — it’s a wee bit big so it should last for a year or two.  She’s such a little pill — the years are flying by and it’s hard to believe she’s old enough to wink back at me!

Thimbleanna: Playful Stripes

Next up:  a cardigan for FinallyAnotherGirl.  Luckily for me, a Grammy’s work is never done!

Have a great week!
XOXO,
Anna

May You Be Blessed With Love and Happiness

Yipee!  The summer is almost over and we’ve had our long-anticipated little family wedding.  MyDadLovesMeBestSister’s oldest daughter was married in a gorgeous wedding ceremony in Maine.  The groom’s family owns a little cabin in the woods and they were married next to the cabin, overlooking a beautiful lake.  Everything was was absolutely perfect (well, not everything — something always goes wrong — but if you weren’t in the family you wouldn’t have know about the little glitches.)  We were asked not to take pictures during the ceremony (so that the pro photos wouldn’t show everyone with their phones in the air LOL) so there’s not much to show now, but I can’t wait to see the official photos.  Our three little granddaughters were the flower girls and they were cute as can be.  SweetiePie did a fantastic job of finding the most gorgeous dresses with some amazing beadwork on them. We need to have another occasion so they can be worn again!  I LOVE this cute photo that SweetiePie shot of the girls as they were getting their pep talk from Daddy before the ceremony.   Everyone is paying attention!  ;-D

Thimbleanna: Flower Girl Talk

We’re back home now after our 16-hour each way drive (MeMum was a champ!) and I can finally share the wedding quilt that I gave the bride and groom.  Unfortunately, the only place I could find to take a picture where the quilt wouldn’t drag on the ground, was in mottled sunlight.  So, use your imagination and pretend those bright light spots aren’t there LOL.

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

CuteNiece1 is a flower farmer, so this quilt was mostly about flowers.  I appliqued a vase of flowers with a man and wife, initials and year of marriage for the center panel.  Then, I surrounded the center panel with a Rifle Paper Co. print that turned out to be the perfect size.

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

My favorite thing about the quilt is the Always and Always print by Bonnie Christine that I used for the background of the center panel and the sashing around the star blocks.  The quote says “I must have flowers … always & always — Claude Monet”.  When that print first came out, I knew I would have to use it for the quilt — because I imagine CuteNiece1 says that daily.  The 2021 in the center block used to say 2020 — the wedding was originally scheduled for last year, but Covid delayed it a year.  Fortunately, I wasn’t to the quilting stage yet when plans changed, so it was an easy fix.

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

I really struggled with what to put around the center panel, but finally decided to just use traditional star blocks after I saw a picture of a quilt with a big applique center, surrounded by similar stars.  I machine quilted the quilt on my domestic machine and I think it took about 6 weeks working in the afternoons to finish it.  This quilt is queen sized and finished about 90″ x 99″ which was a lot of wrangling under a domestic machine.  The center applique is outline stitched and stippled, the Rifle Paper Co. border has a cable, and the outside border just has straight lines spaced about 2″ apart.  The stars and sashing are all stitched in the ditch and I did a little free form flower in the center of each star — those were really fun to do after the tedium of all that stitching in the ditch.  

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

I had to take a picture of my favorite star block below.  For some reason I LOVE that fun fabric — I’ve used bits and pieces of it on several recent quilts and I’ll be so sad when it’s gone someday.  This might be why I hoard fabric — I love so many of them and I’m afraid I’ll run out!  ;-8

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

For the back I used a Cathe Holden Flea Market Mix floral and CuteNiece1 loved it.  It was the first thing she saw when she opened the quilt and she said “Dahlias!”.  She had the most beautiful dahlias in her wedding — when a flower farmer gets married, you know she’s going to have beautiful flowers!  The binding is an American Jane polka dot — it doesn’t really “go” with the quilt, but I ended up loving it — it just adds to the quirkiness of a traditional star quilt with a funky flea market-ish back.  I also added a little tag to the back of the quilt.  I don’t usually name quilts, but if I were to name this one, I think it would be the sentiment I put on the tag – “May you be blessed with Love and Happiness”.  

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

So, all done with this one!  The newlyweds are honeymooning in Canada and will return to Ashville, North Carolina to start their new life.  (If you need fresh flower bouquets, CuteNiece1 can hook you up!)  Rumor has it CuteNiece2 will soon be heading down the aisle, so I need to start planning a quilt for her.  It’s going to be tougher to nail down a “theme” for her — wedding quilt suggestions gladly welcomed!

Thimbleanna: Wedding Quilt

Have a great weekend!

XOXO,
Anna