Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Time for an Adventure

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scout

Ah, demanding Scout. Do you think she’s ready for our little adventure? I keep calling it an adventure because I’m hoping she will think this little trip to Hartford is a neat idea. One never knows, of course. She’s 14 and set in her ways. I’m 60 and set in mine. Sounds like a recipe for the butting of two heads. We often do that, my little girl and I. She digs her heels in and demands. I do my best to hold firm.  That look you see above? That’s her demanding look, her I-mean-business look. Oh, little girl, let’s try to remain positive and have some fun – it’s just for a few days.

This post will be short as I’m going to have to start getting everything packed up. I’ll leave you with this pretty sunset. I took the picture through the window on my kitchen door.

sunset

Happy Wednesday.

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Ready to Begin

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I had one of those strange early morning dreams in which I was trying to get somewhere and was terribly late (I have this one a lot) and every decision I made further delayed my arrival. I was sleeping so deeply that I felt like I had to push my way to wakefulness. An hour and a half later, I still haven’t woken up and the whole thing left me feeling off and slightly edgy. Do not like.

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The quilt is sitting on my little desk in the corner of the den. I’m ready to begin the hand quilting process. I had to finish a special Obsession Scarf order first, which I did last night. I know it will take a little time to get back into the rhythm of hand quilting. It always does.

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Luckily, I had a lot of my supplies in a drawer here in the den from the time I started hand quilting a little throw I made (at the same time I made this quilt top) but never finished. Note to Claudia: Finish it. I had to gather up my hoops and decide what color quilting thread I wanted to use. I’ve had this thread a long time. I can tell from the price tag that I bought it at Rosie’s Calico Cupboard in San Diego, my favorite quilting shop in the world. I miss that shop every day. I used to spend hours there. It’s huge and they have everything. I was so lucky to have that shop within spitting distance of my home when I lived in San Diego. The nearest quilt shop to me now (that I like) is over an hour away. Years ago, when I mentioned to Don that I would like to learn to quilt, Don went to Rosie’s and in his charming way, asked the staff to recommend all the tools a beginning quilter might need. Those tools, along with a beginner’s class, were my Christmas present that year.

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This is the fabric I decided to use for the quilt back. I’ve only done 2 queen size quilts and both times I ordered special quilt backing fabric that was either 108 or 110 inches wide. I know a lot of quilters like to hand piece the backing and I so admire them for that, but by the time I get to the backing I’m in no mood to piece anything. I decided on this rich paisley pattern which I ordered from Keepsake Quilting.

Maybe I’ll do a little hand quilting this evening.

We, and by that I mean Scout and I, are getting ready for our little adventure tomorrow. She doesn’t know about it, but tomorrow is the day we travel to Hartford. Keep your fingers crossed for us. It will be strange and challenging for her since this girl is nothing if not a creature of routine. I have arranged to have two apprentices sit with her in the evenings while I’m at the theater. That doesn’t cover the afternoons, when I might have to be at rehearsal for a while. My aim is to walk her in the park for a long time so that she’s simply so tired that she zonks out. I wonder if it will work? I feel like a mom who has to pack up all the things a baby needs. In this case: a bed, her favorite pillow, her food, her treats, her bowls, her leash, some chopped-up carrots for her evening snack…..and that doesn’t include my stuff!

Happy Tuesday.

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Ripple-y Satisfaction

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Afghan? Throw? Blanket? What the heck is the correct name? I don’t know, but it’s finished.

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This is the closest I will ever get to a chevron. As you know, I’m not a fan of the chevron craze. But for a ripple blanket/throw/afghan, I will make an exception. I’ve done one other ripple throw and it lives upstairs on our bed. That particular ripple design has a gentler curve:

sunbedafghan

sunchair

This one has a more angular ripple and it skips two stitches, creating the charming little opening in the design. I have to say I really like this sort of scrappy look. I had a basic color scheme in mind, inspired by the red and tan in our den, but I added purples and greens and grays and creams as well. Each time I came to the end of a row, I made a spontaneous choice as to the next color and went with it. I also used various yarn weights and textures which can result in a wonky edge, which is why I crocheted a border around the whole thing.

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It’s about 4 feet by 6 feet. Perfect for Don and I when we sit together on the sofa. Perfect to nap under. And for me, solo – I used it the other night as I watched “The Rifleman.” I love Lucas and Mark McCain. Ripples are addictive; I may have to start another one. How many ripples can one have? And now I’m reminded of that dreadful Ripple wine we drank in college. I prefer this ripple.

By the way, I used inexpensive yarns from Michael’s and Joanne’s. A crochet project of this size is a huge yarn-eater. The more expensive yarns would be cost prohibitive for this gal.

Drum roll. The obligatory photo of Scout with the throw:

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The whole thing has left her in a state of exhaustion.

Yesterday was a big day for the kitchen floor. Not only did I spread the afghan/throw/blanket out on it so that I could get a photo, I moved the table and chairs out of the room so that I could pin baste my quilt:

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Lots of ironing, lots of cursing, lots of moving around on my knees (not so fun at my age). But, surprisingly, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would.

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I have a quilt frame out in the shed that I’ve used for basting purposes in the past. I took a moment to venture out there and briefly considered using it again for this. But it’s really long, it’s in the back of the shed and it’s icy out there, so I went with the floor method. This is the perfect thing to do when Don is away. Keeping Ms. Scout out of the kitchen, however, was another story. There were a few sneaky attempts to walk on the quilt.

And I crocheted another obsession scarf for a customer. Where the heck did I get all this energy? You’ll notice I didn’t use it for cleaning closets, organizing drawers, sorting through paperwork and…shredding.

Can you blame me?

Happy Sunday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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