Almost Autumn

House progress!

 The last time I was home, we worked on the siding. This view is the east side. We worked on the west side first thing in the morning, while we had shade. After lunch moved to the east... following the shade. Next day, back to the west side, set up scaffolding on the porch roof, and continued up within 3 or 4 runs of siding on that side. It was hot, and we were all pretty worn, but it is such a pleasure to see the progress.

 

 

 

Handwork projects

My former neighbor and friend Tal asked me to knit him a scarf. I'd given him a sort of dressy grey one a couple of years ago for Christmas. He said 'it needs a friend' that is maybe less dressy, and requested Dr. John Watson's Scarf. I checked it out and refused (nicely) to make it from acrylic yarn, which was fine with him - he wanted to pay me to make it out of wool. We settled for Cascade 220 Washable, in colors very close to the pattern's. I'm not sure those are identical to what's in the Sherlock series, but not far off. So anyway, the scarf is finished, fringed, and steamed. I'll get a photo of it and add later.

 

I've also been working on a quilt, doing all of the cutting and piecing by hand. The blocks are 6" square, and it's "Raindrop" from the Kansas City Star book. It looks more like a beaded curtain, so that's what I'm calling it. I estimate 99 blocks for the main part (9x11), with a border, then maybe another round of blocks before the final border. So far, no print repeats, and I've asked Mom if I could raid her stash. It only takes a 6 inch square of fabric for the print. The background is unbleached muslin from stash, and if there isn't enough, I'll buy more even if it doesn't match exactly. It's scrap!