I miss you so much, Piccolo

Log Cabin Addiction

Another log cabin quilt, gifted to a friend that's having a baby girl later this summer.  I was going to knit a sweater, but the friend is a knitter with lots of knitting friends, so I thought a sweater would be one of many.  There are few in this circle of friends who quilt.  I had all of the fabrics in my collected fabric stash, so the only real expense was the quilting.  You can't see in the photo, but the long arm quilting is hummingbirds feeding on flowers.  I love it.  I have a big log cabin in progress for me, along with a monster scrappy trip along, also for me.  I'm thinking that I owe some married couple in my family a wedding quilt.  I'm starting to do the cutting for that quilt now.  I had to make a compromise for the setting color based on availability and my JoAnn's 50% off coupon, but in my world, green is a neutral, so I'll make it work.

Old School

I don't usually complain about my health, but today I have the worst cold ever.  It's actually day two, and I've done nothing that I've wanted to.  Just laying on the sofa, and using tissue.  So, here is a flashback to a few months ago.  The Seasons Hat, by Jared Flood.  I used Rowan Felted Tweed in three colors.  I love the deep ribbing, just like the Tayberry hat in a previous post.  I'm moving towards having a different hat to wear every day.

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Feeling Quilty

In the last few weeks, there's been more and better light at the studio, and it's made me feel like sewing again.  I was inspired by all the photos I've seen posted by the quilters I'm following on Instagram.  There are two pieces in progress in this photo.  One is a little cross pattern that uses high/and low volume prints.  The original block pattern I used is from Quilty magazine.  It's going to be a small quilt for Madeline.  She's been using Piccolo's old quilts, some of them are starting to show wear.  She should have some of her own, right?  The other one is called Scrappy Trip Around the World.  Google it for the tutorial, but basically it's this:  Cut and seam six 2.5 X 16 inch strips, press the seams, then sew together into a long tube.  Cross cut the tube into 6 2.5 inch pieces.  Open one seam on each piece to make flat, and sew the six strips together so they make a diagonal arrangement.  The finished block is a 12 inch square.  I assembled 16 squares into a quilt for Madeline, that I've dropped off for long arm quilting.  I'm working on a big one for our bed--64 blocks.  It's going to be a monster.  I'm using as many fabrics as I can.  It's going to be a color explosion.  Hashtag scrappytripalong on Instagram if you want to see some really good examples.   I'm working on another curved log cabin for us, and I'm thinking I owe a family member a wedding gift.  I was at the fabric store today purchasing setting fabric for the wedding quilt, and had to make a compromise with the color.  But, green is a neutral, right?
There's new equipment in the house--I'm working on a little laptop that I purchased a few weeks ago.  I love that I'm not tethered to the pc that's in my office/workroom.  My new place for writing is going to be the little sun porch off the kitchen--with a lovely view of the back yard garden.
This summer, I'll be making some changes to the Lucky Penny site--I traded knitting services with a designer.  His original impression of the Lucky Penny Hand Made page was that he didn't know that I sold sweaters on the site--time for a change.  I still dream of making Lucky Penny a known brand.

Earned Every One

I stopped having my hair colored about three years ago.  Partly to save expenses  on hair care, but mostly because I pined for the glorious salt and pepper colored hair that my contemporaries were sporting.  I said, "it's the new blonde, and  I want it!"  The hair stylists looked at me as if I was nuts.  I only saw a few little grey strands.  The other day, finally, I detected a little grey frosty top layer!  Every strand has been earned!

It's hard for me to find a hat that looks good on my round face, but I like this one.  It's a free pattern, called Tayberry, by Cirilia Rose. I knit it in Cirilia's yarn, Kenzie,.  The yarn has been flying out of the store.  I'm working on two more projects in it, and I want to do a sweater for La Mad.

My Instagram Addiction

If I'm not doing anything else with my hands, it's very likely that I'm working the I phone. Facebook, email, Ravelry, and more often than anything else, Instagram.   I love that it has photo editing software. At first, I just posted some photos of my cooking, or things that the few friends I was connected to would find amusing, like the beaver taxidermy vignette I found at Bass Pro Shops.
Then I discovered others on Instagram. People who posted cool photos of their dogs, mostly Pekingese. I'm certain that there is an Instagram community for every breed. If I ever find myself in a situation to add to my dog family, I may consider a Brussels Griffon. Lots of cute ones on IG, some of them in New Zealand, which I am wildly curious about.  My interest in New Zealand is also fueled by music I like (Crowded House and all things Finn Bros.), Top of the Lake, and yarn that I'm knitting with currently.
I follow a number of quilters, and as a result, have gathered a lot of ideas for future quilt projects.

Every so often I get inspired by a dog that doesn't live with me.  A few years ago, I fell in love with Duke, who lived in Chicago, and I knit him a sweater.  The little dog in the photo is Beasley, who I fell in love with on the internet.  I was moved by her adoption and rescue stories, and with her coloring and little pirate face, she reminds me of my Gidget.  Her mom and I connected on Instagram, and I made the offer of a sweater.  This one is knit in Briar Rose Fibers Buff Beauty.  I plan on writing the pattern for this for publication in the near future.

Fail

Happy failure. No more raw diet for Madeline! Of course this happened after another seizure, and the recent purchase of a box of frozen raw dog food, which I can't imagine is returnable. She may end up on a canned dog food that is readily available.
I made this sweater for her a few weeks ago, and find myself obsessed with fair isle. This was a rewrite of an existing pattern, so I could knit it top down and completely in the round. To accomplish this, the leg and lower body openings were steeked! More construction photos to follow, or if you want to see them on Instagram, my name is luckypennyknits .

The Raw and the Cooked

I'm still working on getting Madeline established on a raw diet, which for some reason, her vet thinks will solve all problems.  I'm not convinced.  I tried a raw diet years ago on Gidget, and she loved it, but it was so disgusting to me.  The food I'm getting for Mad comes in frozen patties, individually wrapped, so the gross factor is contained somewhat.  Right now I'm working on her eating 1/3 of a patty for each meal, and her cooked detox diet.  Which, I think is a wholesome diet, and I've gotten the preparation down so it's easy.  The last time I gave Madeline more than a 1/4 patty of raw at a meal, she got sick, so I backed off for a day, and tried again.  I'm giving her another opportunity to fail on the raw diet.  I think I should have some multiple attemps to present to the vet.  There are so many things that I have to restrict for Madeline that I gave to my other dogs.  She's only eating from new Fiestaware, as the vintage has lead in the glaze, that can exacerbate a seizure.  I can't let her taste a lot of what I'm eating, because some of the ingredients can do the same.  With all the scares about dog treats these days, I did a little Google search looking for a grain free dog cookie.  I found one on the Cozy Kitchen blog.  Four ingredients (I left out the oatmeal called for in the recipe), in this case, mostly orgainic.  They taste pretty good.  The dough is really sticky, so rolling them out and using a cookie cutter doesn't work for me, so we have these little nuggets.  Completely wholesome.