Finished...

...and it fits!!! Woo hoo!!

Fun Finds and Sock Update

I got this fun gingerbread wallhanging at a Sisters, Oregon antique shop.

The wonky houses I got at a Goodwill for $2, couldn't pass that one up!

I am moving along with the sock! I had to rip back a few times during the heel turning, but in the end I made it! Will try that long tail cast on with sock 2, sounds highly recommended.

My next crazy quilt round robin is due on January 31, I better get a move on! I also have a valentines wallhanging in progress, so hopefully some quilting news soon!

A Thrift Store Score and A Sock

Here is a cool thrift store find...the push pins are actually spools, very cute...and there is room behind for storage of papers or something. Cost: $10 a bit pricey for thrift store but it is heavy and cute.
I finally started a sock and got somewhere with it! This yarn is called Lorna's Laces and is very yummy!! I'm not very happy with my casting on. Anyone have a favorite way of casting on for a nice finish?

Home Again Home Again Jiggety Jig

Can you believe this view from my parent's deck (brought a bit closer by my new camera's telephoto lens!) They can see 5 mountain peaks from there. We had a great time visiting Nana and Pappa in Bend, Oregon. I shopped every quilt shop and one excellent knitting shop there, tons of thrift stores and ate way too much and drank just a few, lol, margaritas, a drink I cannot get here in the Emerald Isle without importing (and with liquid restrictions these days, ugh...not worth it!).



We played dominoes, the current family game craze for our extended family in Maryland and Oregon, every night, the kids loved days of playing pretend with nana while mommy had a few shopping excursions and Daddy got to ski a few times. Dave and I went to Sisters for the day, check out this cool quilt mural on the side of the public bathrooms, lol!! Can't wait to make it to Sisters for the Outdoor Quilt Festival one year. We had a great time!




Look at this beautiful waterfall, Multnomah Falls, just outside of Portland, beautiful!!

















I did a little shopping, lol! I got some great knitting project goodies (socks and moebius baskets!) at a great knitting shop. I got Lorna's Laces for some nice socks, Manos de Uruguay for a felted basket. And some silk Noro for a shawl, yummy yarny goodness! I also got a set of Denise interchangeable needles, which are very cool!













Since I am a scrappy quilter, I didn't go crazy on fabric, but picked up a lot of scraps and FQs (lots of pink ones for Aine, lol!) I got some cool retro Amy Butler prints, but those will be for bags. I still love my repros for quilts, and check out the left part of the photo, all those were part of a 1 dollar scrap bag of repros and some osnaburg, very nice!






I've got lots of tales of thrift store scores, are you interested in hearing some? I'll save my next post for some photos of cool quilts I got while thrifting! I wish I had been more organized to blog while on holidays, but the days just flew by!!

This is my year of family quilting, and I feel my aunt needs to be added to this list after the beautiful gift she gave me and Dave for Christmas. She is from Pendleton, Oregon and gifted us with this beautiful native american wool blanket from the Pendleton Woolen Mills. This is my aunt whose daughter, my cousin Chrissy, is still slowly recovering from her accident where she received a severe brain stem injury in May. We were told that Chrissy smiled at her little baby over Christmas, what a great sign!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I do know when I'll be back again...January 6!! Here are some of my little ornaments. I found the perfect wired trim to make life easier rather than beading them all! People seemed happy with them... I've got my pay it forward swap blocks mostly done, so look in your mailbox soon!

I have a feeling that I will be posting a few purchases from the States, so you might be hearing from me soon enough!

Have a Merry Christmas! (just in case I actually don't make it back to post by then!) 

Moving Along...

I've been working on some Christmas project lately...scrappy strippy Christmas tree ornaments (I plan to add some bead garland to them to make them a bit more interesting) and my Dear Jane block ornaments for the pay it forward swap!
If you are on my pay it forward swap list and would prefer a tree ornament instead, let me know...

I managed to finish one of each ornament... my hand applique and quilting aren't perfect, but that just makes them have more character, right?? I hope my swappers and friends like them !

I also got some more blocks done on the ocean waves in my "spare time", lol.
And a hat for my dad for Christmas, got to love that knitting ring being able to do a hat in a few hours!!

We bought a "new" used car this week, a Citroen Xsara Picasso mini van...yup a proper momma shuttling car, lol! No more foggy window fiascos, cars that stop running in the rain (which we seem to get a lot here in Ireland, hehe). Might help with all the suitcases and boxes that I plan to return with from the States (we have4 full fares = 8 suitcases allowance, lol, not that we'll use all of that!)

Can't wait to get to Oregon, not looking forward to the long trip with 2 and 4 year olds and the 8 hour time difference adjustment, but can't wait for the visiting, shopping, food, lol!!

Productive Day!

When I woke up yesterday morning, I was thinking about Christmas presents. I hadn't thought about what to do for new friends I've made here... I decided I wanted to a little gift for the ladies in the patchwork and knitting groups, they've really helped me feel part of the community here so quickly! I will do some patchwork Christmas ornaments for them. I also decided to do a knitting needle roll for one friend who really helped include me in things here to get to know people. She just started knitting this year and loves knitting!!

I started this roll yesterday morning and got it done fairly quickly... It was based on one I saw in Stitch-n-Bitch book by Debbie Stoller, and I just used my knitting needles as a guide, very much done on the fly. I was happy to finish a Christmas project so quickly. I think I'll leave a few knitting needles in the roll as well!

I also got 8 ocean waves blocks done now. I will stop working on these till next year, as I want to focus on the Dear Jane blocks for the swap, and the patchwork ornaments, I think I'll focus on those today in between looking after a little sick girl and playing hide and seek with her crazy younger sister.




I also finished my mom's scarf for Christmas. Yesterday afternoon I pulled out a knitting ring I got in Sweden (Barbara has made a hat for her DH with one on her blog). I started late afternoon, and by the evening I had done this hat, so now mom has a hat and scarf and some slippers for Christmas this year. She is hard to buy for, and appreciates handmade gifts, so she is one of the few recipients of handmade gifts this year. My friends in Waterford, my old area, love my chocolate chip cookies, but we plan a January visit to bring those (life just flew by at the speed of light, no time for a road trip now!)

I've started reading a lot lately, finishing Round Robin and Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini, will have to get some more in the States! I read the first one already, and find them quick fun reads, filled with interesting relationships... I also started on our January book club book, House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. It isn't as light but is absorbing reading as well. I finished this month's book a while back: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, a book told from the view of a high functioning autistic teenage boy, very interesting to understand how an autistic person sees the world.

As well as crafting and reading I managed to get the house clean, play with kids and cook dinner, a rare day for me, non-stressful, productive day!!