A Window Panel to Match Quilt

Back in 2009, my best friend Val made me a quilt for my bed that I absolutely love.  Here are some photos of the quilt.

She even had a panel on the back of the quilt noting the occasion.

A little while back, my 13" Sony TV died after 20 years and I had to replace it so I went with one of those new flat screen deals.  It is a great TV and the picture quality is so extremely better.  I guess technology has come a ways in 20 years.


Anyways, I have a small window above my bed and now I can see a reflection of the window and the view beyond in the TV while watching during daylight.  I decided I needed to cover the window for daytime viewing so I cast about looking for a solution.


I should also note that the wall which the window is set is a fire engine red so off the shelf window dressings would be kind of strange.


While visiting Val earlier this month, I asked her if she had anymore of the fabric she used on my quilt and she dug out the bins and we pulled every scrap available.  I brought it all home and spent the day piecing fabric scraps and trying to make the combinations large enough to cover the window.


Here is the panel that will fit.

Here is a close up of the center panel.

I taped the panel on the window and determined that I needed another layer of fabric or something.  I plan on hitting the local fabric store to see what I can get for the back.


I also need to look around for something to attach the panel to the window or the wall.  Something small and unobtrusive and easily detached so if I'm not watching TV during the daylight hours, then the panel can come down for more light into the room.

Tunisian Crocheted Wash Cloths

I purchased some CotLin from Knit Picks to make a few three colored wash cloths from the Tunisian Crochet Craftsy class.


I chose the colors sprout, Nightfall, and Linen.


I was able to get three wash cloths from three skeins of yarn.  Here is one the cloths.

Val's sister liked them so much that she picked three colors of CotLin for me to crochet some for her son.  Here is one in progress.

Here is a finished one.

Now they need to be washed and blocked.

Doctored Pizza

The local grocery store was having a special on buy and bake pizzas and I bought two - pepperoni and sausage.  I decided that I needed to add some vegetables to the pizza and got some broccoli crowns as well.


I steamed the broccoli and then added it to the top of the sausage pizza and then baked the whole thing.


After adding some red pepper flakes, it was delicious.

Neighborhood Farmer's Market

I think my neighborhood has finally come up in the world and we have a new farmer's market.  I went by to check things out with Carol from my knit group.


The market also has a CSA - community supported agriculture weekly box in small and large for a 9 week commitment.  The difference between this CSA box and others I have participated in the past is that the stuff in the box comes from different vendors instead of one farm.  You also have the option to trade out things that you don't want or like.


I wanted to see what kinds of farms were represented as well as what was up for sale.


The market was made up mostly of prepared food vendors and arts and crafts.  There were flower vendors and scents and soaps.  It was a good crowd turnout for the first market and the plan is to have a year round market.


I purchased some eggs.

And some pasta.

With some white flesh peaches and some rainier cherries.


Carol and I also had some seafood tacos from the fish/shell fish monger.  Very tasty snack.


The market is on Tuesdays between 3:00 and 7:00 at the Petco parking lot on Morena Blvd.

Cotton Plants

Well, it has been a couple of weeks and my cotton plants are starting to bud.  I got a positive result from the white cotton, pima and acala.

However, only one sprout of the green cotton.  That is 25% since each pot had two seeds each.

I think I might push another couple of seeds into the pot and see if some were just duds.

Tour de Fleece - miniSpinner Challenge

This year on the Hansencrafts miniSpinner group, the tour de fleece challenge has two components - fractal spinning and getting into shape.


The first part I decided to use some dyed fiber that I got in a trade.  The colors are bright and is perfect for summer.  Fractal spinning is to end up with a 2 ply yarn with the colors varying as you go.  First you start with the fiber braid.

Then you split this braid into two equal parts - I ended up with a 50 gram half and a 49 gram half.

The 50 gram half.

The 49 gram half is then split into thirds.

The fiber is then spun continuously - half on one bobbin and the other three parts on another bobbin end to end following the color scheme.


You end up with one single with long color repeats and another single with shorter color repeats.  When plied together, you will get a cool variegation in the color.


The start of Tour de Fleece this year is June 30 which coincides with spin group so I'm ready to get started.

Colorado Food

Of course, I have to highlight the food in Colorado.


At the Back Porch, I had a regular burger and I had the Colorado burger at Smash Burger.

Val had some kind of iceberg lettuce special with bacon.

Mostly we ate at home.  There was the chicken rice salad on sewing day and Val made a chocolate sheet cake for the fiesta which we canceled due to the smoke.

We also had corn beef with mini potatoes, carrots and cabbage.

Of course, no visit can go without taquitos and guacamole.

Crazy Weather in Colorado

It was a full weather experience while I was in Colorado.  There was wind, rain, hail, outstanding lightning storms, and big fire.  The NOAA alert radio kept going off with warnings of extreme weather and around the state there was ping pong size hail and a few tornadoes touched down.


The High Park fire was the big event.  We noticed the start of the smoke plume while we were at Estes Park and from Val's front porch, the plume was very apparent on Sunday.

We headed out for some lunch and noticed this.

The fire was pretty far away but the winds were circular so by Monday, the entire sky was full of smoke.

Estes Park 2012

On Saturday, we headed up to Estes Park to see the wool market.  We arrived early to beat the traffic and get a good parking spot.  It was a smaller venue than some of the other festivals I have been to but it was great.


We hung out at the Paco-Vicuna and Angora tent for a bit and also saw some goats, bunnies, and paco-vicunas.

Here is Sirius Black.

We then hit the market place and I purchased a few things.

Supported spindle from Bristlecone - beautiful stuff and it was hard to choose. This one is called the Glindle.

Three prints from Charisma and I also picked up the festival bag with her art work.  I got Wool Gathering, Black Sheep of the Family, and Stashed Away.

Angora yarn from Woodlake Woolies - oreo for Val for the Emperor's New Scarf and a blend of Finn and Ky.

Roving - camel/silk and yak/silk from Your Daily Fiber.


Raw fleece from Hickory Ridge Farms in two colors.


Cashmere fiber from Jabberwocky Farms.

Glass knitting needles from Sheila and Michael Ernst.


There was also a cool display of sheep for sale.  I thought it was the cutest thing.

We also saw the leapin' llamas and the llama limbo and were able to meet and greet the llamas.  It was great fun.

I also met Diane of the Knitabulls podcast at the llama meetings.  She gave me a podcast button.

We also witnessed the start of the High Park Fire which got larger as the day progressed.

Fiber Shopping in Ft. Collins

No trip to Colorado is complete with some fiber shopping.  We had a late lunch at the Back Porch and then hung out at Lambspun.  I bought some buttons for my Tea Leaves Cardigan and the new Jane Austen magazine.


We then headed to a quilt store and for some ice cream and then went by Your Daily Fiber.  Most of all their stock was already being transported to Estes Park so not much to see but we found a shop sample of the Emperor's New Scarf made out of angora and I purchased the pattern plus a used weaving cloth book.


We then headed to The Loopy Ewe which is really close to Val's house and the shop was amazing.  At the back of the store is this cool display.

I purchased three skeins of yarn and a cool messenger bag from Namaste.

 Studio Jane Yarn

 Three Irish Girls

Original Bugga