summer flowers

summer flowers

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Holiday Season

This year we did not have the big family Christmas party.  Lots of reasons, it just didn't happen.  So each sibling had Mom stay over or come to their house for a party or such.  Since our family is just the four of us, we don't have the big groups some of my siblings have, so I decided to have her come down and see the lights at Temple Square and stay the night.  It didn't turn out as I would have hoped.

Mom, me and my DS walked around and then went into buildings to warm up.  The lights were great, they have so many lights and lots of things to look at.  We were there on Sunday, so some of the buildings we usually go in were closed, but we had a great time.  We went out to eat after, dropped off my son and came back to my house.  Mom's purse was gone!  We realized that it had been taken at the parking lot while we were seeing the lights.  So, we drove back to Mom's house, since her keys and address were in her purse, and I stayed the night up there.

The next morning, we went to all the places we could think of to get replacement items;  driver's licence, medicare card, bank (the cards were canceled the night it happened) to check on any charges...yes there were only two, and getting locks re-keyed.  I guess my sisters and I will be replacing things for the next couple of months as Mom remembers all the things that she had in her purse.  So it was not exactly the relaxing holiday experience that I had planned on.

After a couple nights of bad dreams, I got back to my crafts.  (I had taken some knitting up to her house to sit and knit while we did the waiting required with our replacement travels.)
l'enveloppe the second time
I had finished the knitting on this piece about a month ago, but it looked a little small.  So it has just been sitting.  When I checked the size, yes, smaller than expected.  Then I checked the gauge.  This pattern gives you the choice of several sizes and several gauges.  My gauge sample, yes I did one, was 13 stitches and the finished piece was 15 stitches in four inches.  No wonder it was too small.  So I unraveled the whole thing Christmas eve and started again.  That is why the ball is so large.  I had spit spliced the three skeins together so I got one big ball when I unraveled it.  I rechecked the gauge on this new version after a few inches and this time it should be OK.  (Actually, I have re-checked it several times just to make sure.)


I have also been working on finishing the warp from Joanne Hall's workshop some months ago, and I did finish the third piece.  (I plan to put them on the fronts of pillows.)  But I have enough warp on the loom to do another piece.  Do I want to be weaving on this warp for another month?  I really do not want to waste that linen warp...Sooo...I will probably keep weaving and get a fourth one done.  The last design that I did on number three was dukagang.  I like the way it worked out.  But I had to be careful, it is hard to see errors on the working side of thisl
Top, working, side of the pattern.
When ever the pattern changed, I had to double check that I did it the correct way.  I ended up taking it apart several times to get it right.  Then I put the camera under the loom, on the table and took a picture of the underside.
Front side pf the pattern.
My socks are going slow, I guess because I have been doing l'enveloppe.  I should be taking the socks with me when I travel, they travel easier (they are so much smaller).  

I have also done another 24 inches of the narrow lace on the bobbin lace.  I also found the frill that I originally started with.  It was tucked in one of my bags.  I suppose I did not transfer it when I started carrying the lace guild bag.  And the frill had a paper showing my original plans for the lace.  I know that I had started doing the lace to put on a costume to wear when I demonstrate crafts, but I usually do not wear a costume now.  I will have to think about that and how to use this group of three different but related lace pieces.  Since I want to have this narrow one about five yards long, I will have some time to think about it.








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