And my sweater is done!

Another knitting finish! This sweater looks very shapeless - it's not really that bad! However the neckline is more of an oval than a circle - I need to learn how to change that. I wish I had made the bottom ribbing a little tighter. I'm learning....

I used Plymouth Yarn Encore Tweed and the pattern Beginner Cable Pullover by Diane Soucy. I made some changes - I removed the cables in the front and the back and I changed the sleeve cables so they both lean the same way.

I'm happy with the way it fits and love its warmth.

Baby Quilts and more

The dehydrator is working great. I rehydrated potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, onions, and celery. I'm very happy with everything. I like the blanched carrots better than raw. The onions - raw and cooked - were equally fine. 

I used the rehydrated vegetables to make a really good potato soup. There verdict is in - more dehydrating of vegetables! Now I'm trying fruit. Blueberries take a long time!

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Yesterday I spent all day at the Buzz and Bee held at Lucky 2B Quilting. There used to be a Day Camp each month but a new year has brought a new idea. 

The Buzz is 1/2 hour of new things and ideas. We saw a really neat ruler, the Perfect Adjustable Square. One came home with me! If you click here, you can see a demo on youtube. 

The Sewing Bee is a time to sew with friends. It was a great way to spend a Monday.

I was working on baby quilts and I managed to get three tops put together. Have a look-see.

Both of these need a good pressing and they'll be ready to be sandwiched and quilted.

I managed to get this one pinned today. Later today I finished quilting it too! Just the binding to go.

All three of these have Minkee for the backing. I just love working with Minkee. Ha! It's really messy and kind of a pain but I do love having it on the backs of baby quilts. I have found that serging the edges cuts down on the mess. One of these days, I think I should make a quilt for me with a Minkee backing.

Catching Up and Drying Out...

I'm here. I'm healthy. I'm busy! 

I've been quilting but I have no finishes to show you although five of the seven, yes FIVE, of the twin-size quilt tops are finished! 

A peek at numbers 4 and 5

This week I've been working on baby quilts. I need them in February/March so I thought I'd better get moving!

Blocks from 2 of the 3 quilts.

We are also planning a trip in late spring and early summer. Looks like we'll finally get to Banff, Alberta, Glacier National Park, and the Oregon coast. We both spend hours looking at places to rent (me) and places to see and photograph (Ray).

But mostly I've been experimenting. 

Background:

Marlene over at StitchinByTheLake was talking about dehydrators. I'm not sure why but something clicked - I need to learn to dehydrate things! I own a very old Ronco dehydrator - it has a bottom fan. I used to use it to make the best beef jerky (yes, the best - ask my kids!). It wasn't exactly calorie-free so I pretty much quit making it when the boys left home. I also dried apple slices. I recently learned (from Marlene and others) that dehydrated food keeps for years and does not require freezer space. 

Our 1990's Ronco dehydrator

Rational in no particular order:

• My freezer is full - I need other storage OR another freezer.
• I'm tired of wasting food - example: I never use the whole bag of potatoes and I'm tired of throwing out the rotten ones. I could just dehydrate the extra ones.
• I'd love to save money - We eat LOTS of fruit and vegetables. If I could buy in season and dehydrate, I could buy at the best prices and have food for months. Or I could have a garden and dehydrate the surplus.
• I would always have certain things on hand if I dehydrated vegetables. Don't you hate getting ready to fix something and not having an onion?
• When we travel, I could carry produce with us without the need for cooler space. (We often stay places where we can cook.)
• There's more I'm sure but that's all I can think of for now!

Process:

I continue to research dehydrating foods. I am now dehydrating various vegetables to see how this all works. I have done the following.

• purchased frozen hashbrowns (straight from the freezer)
• sliced potatoes (cooked first but not cooled)
• carrots (raw)
• carrots (blanched first but not cooled)
• celery (raw)
• cauliflower (blanched but not cooled)
• onions (raw)
• onions (cooked but not cooled)

My current stash of dehydrated vegetables.

This does take time. Of course, I can do other things like quilt while the drying is taking place. I've pretty much dehydrated each vegetable separately. There are many more to try but I just need to get a handle on all of this so I've only used vegetables I have on hand.

Next on the agenda is to rehydrate and use these vegetables. I plan to do that tomorrow and make potato soup.

Then it's on to fruit. I think blueberries are first on the list.

Let me know if you dehydrate. I'd love to hear about your resources. If this all works, and I have great faith that it will, I'll be looking at a new dehydrator with a side fan and a temperature setting. 

A New Sweater for the New Year

Happy New Year!

It was a quiet Christmas and New Year here ... since we got colds and were both sick! We did enjoy our big gathering Christmas Day and also a gathering the day after Christmas. Then the sickness came again - ugh! But now it is a new year and we seem to be well! Ray still has a cough but we hear that might hang on a while.

During the last couple of weeks, we didn't do much but every so often I did knit and I finished Ray's sweater! He wore it to church this morning. Not only does it fit, he likes it!

The color is correct in the photos but you can't see the small detail - there is a muted stripe across the chest, both front and back.

The pattern is # 991 Neck down Pullover for Men by Diane Soucy. That stripe detail is my addition to the pattern. I used Plymouth Yarn Galway Worsted (color 760) that I bought at Wall of Yarn in Freeport, Illinois.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I'm sharing a painting of my oldest brother which looks just like him. Yes, I grew up with Santa!

Hope you enjoy your day!

December Retreat - Projects

This Quilt Retreat at Prairie Star Lodge was a wonderful break for all of us. We did listen to some Christmas carols and K wore her fantastic necklace.

There were MANY projects and I want to share a few. K's reversible apron was adorable - chickens on one side and eggs on the reverse.

K also made this pretty table runner.

B made some great tree skirts. 

P worked on her double wedding ring quilt. She is making progress but there are so many pieces...

P took a couple of breaks and worked on some small projects like this neat little table mat.

Our second B made some great small projects before tackling a large quilt. The snowmen in the snow globes are adorable on this table mat.

B also did this cute little runner. It's a good thing that we had comfy swivel chairs because B was behind me and I could easily turn and visit with her.

Our third B made this neat snowman hanging. He just needs button eyes.

B also made this darling, little Christmas hanging.

And a cute wreath that she's had in kit form for maybe 30 years a long time!

Our second P made this great bed runner. She is a quilt shop owner and sponsors one of the bedrooms at Prairie Star Lodge.

P also finished this beautiful quilt.

M worked on a gorgeous paper-pieced quilt. It is slow-going but going to be so worth her time and effort.

It was so much fun watching the parts go together.

update: M sent me an updated photo with more parts done! I can't wait to see it finished.

 G was doing some cute placemats. I love that border fabric.

I made this little 15" pillow cover. My echo quilting really showed that I haven't quilted in a while.

Then I made a doll quilt. By the time I had this quilted, I felt a lot better about my free-motion quilting.

I finally finished all 48 blocks and put them together. This is my disappearing pinwheel - friendship star/Illinois road quilt. It just needs borders, batting, backing, quilting, binding, and it will be done!

update: K sent me a better photo of our group:

December Retreat - Prairie Star Lodge

Photo from Prairie Star Lodge website

I just spent 3 days quilting at Prairie Star Lodge, a fantastic retreat center!  It is definitely the most exclusive retreat house that I have ever been to! Now, don’t get me wrong – there are other great places. It’s just that this one has all of the extra touches of elegance! It is very close to my home, too!

You can see photos on their website but I'll share a few too. I'll concentrate on the lodge in this post. 

We each slept in a queen-size bed with luxurious micro-fiber sheets and soft, cozy blankets. Each bedroom has a quilt shop sponsor that makes the bed runner, pillows, etc.There are two bedrooms on each of the three levels. My room was on the main floor - it is the only room with just one bed. 

When I looked out my window, this was the view - a beautiful in-ground pool! We will try that out when it is much warmer!

The master bedroom is on the 2nd floor - beautiful! There is a full bathroom on each floor. The one on the 2nd floor has a 2-person jacuzzi and the one on the lower level has a sauna.

The lower level was set up with 14 six-foot tables plus couches for relaxing by the fireplace.  

This was my area, along with a small side table.  

I was right next to the sliding doors going out to the hot tub and the pool.

Here's another picture of the work area. To the right are three couches and a large fireplace.

The sitting area was a great place for a little hand stitching, surfing the Internet, or just relaxing and visiting.

We enjoyed our meals at the dining room table near the fireplace on the main level. We took food and had a couple of husbands bring in the evening meal. We never left during our three days! 

Dining area from 2nd floor landing

Behind these ladies is the main living room.

The doorway at the back left goes to a large kitchen. The wide opening on the right goes to the sun room.

There were many wonderful touches. This tractor was one of my favorites.

We had a wonderful time and are already planning another retreat - at the same place!