Elinor wanted to see it on a t-shirt and I am nothing if not accommodating when it comes to cheeky shirts, so voilà!

I set up a spreadshirt shop for them, so you can pick up one for yourself!

Behold, Knitting it Old School!

It’s up for pre-order on Amazon now, so we can finally let the cat outta the bag. Lookit! Lookit!

Stitchy and I made a book! And it’s GORGEOUS.

I’ll end up gushing about it a lot over the next few months and you’ll see plenty of sneak peeks here but I’m so excited to finally have the cover out there! In the real world! On Amazon and everything! In a post with way too many exclamation points and all-caps!

We pulled together an incredible lineup of up-and-coming and all-star designers and the projects are freaking amazing. (That’s Marnie MacLean’s sweater on the cover. ) There’s knitting and crochet and sewing projects. One even combines sewing and crochet or as we like to call it, “sewchet.”

I can hardly wait to start putting project photos up on Ravelry. Of course we have to wait until the book comes out in September. HOW CAN WE WAIT THAT LONG?)

You know how Stephanie and Tina from Blue Moon have been organizing those knitting retreats in Port Ludlow?  Ok, maybe you didn’t know, so I’ll tell you now.  They planned an entire weekend for 45 of us to learn about silk. Knitting, dyeing and spinning with silk. Three glorious days on the Olympic Peninsula where we had the entire hotel to ourselves. It was ah-may-zing.

I flew up to Vancouver, hopped in a car with Mum and we drove down on Friday to the Port Ludlow Inn. We spent Friday evening getting acquainted with some of the other retreaters, (KT, I still think Cayennes are silly!) had a great night’s sleep and then dove straight into the silky goodness the next day. We spent Saturday, Sunday and all day Monday surrounded by the stuff in classes with Steph, Tina and the amazing Judith McKenzie McCuin.

Next time one of these retreats comes up, do not even hesitate to get on the list to go.

So far I have 6.

I figure between bee blocks and baby quilts for all my procreating friends, I should be able to get close. Maybe? Maybe not.

Care to join us?

Remember how I went to Philly that time? And then the girls came to Boston? And then we went to DC? We did that, except we rented a giant fishing lodge for the Memorial Day weekend. Just three nights for 8 of us, but we packed in a lot more relaxation than you’d ever think.

We knit,

we embroidered,

we gossiped,

we made food and mixed drinks,

and we enjoyed each others company. A perfect weekend. I would have loved to have stayed another day or three.

On my flight out, the guy in the seat next to me asked what I was going to be doing in Michigan. I told him I was headed to Grayling for our annual knitting retreat. He half-snorted and shrugged his shoulders. “Uh, ok. That sounds…fun?” Why do people mock knitting retreats? Because dude, it was amazing.

No trip to Vegas is complete for us without a trip to the Pinball Museum and Hall of Fame. It’s just down the road from the MGM Grand in a huge facility filled to the brim with pinball machines young and old. The machines are all open for play and it’s easy to lose a couple of hours chasing the silver ball. Cheaper than losing money in the casino, even with the cab ride there and back.

You can’t go to Las Vegas without indulging in some great food and one of our first stops was Hash House a Go Go. They’ve just opened a new location in the Imperial Palace and while I love the vibe out at the Sahara location I have to admit that the new one is super convenient to The Strip. My favourite is their chicken and waffles.  “Two sage fried chicken breasts with hardwood smoked bacon waffle tower, hot maple reduction and fried leeks.” Seriously. There’s bacon IN THE WAFFLE. The portions are huge, but so deliciously tasty that you’ll never eat again.

We’re always sure to head downtown to Fremont Street for other adventures. We popped into the Mermaid Casino for our traditional late night people watching snack. The casino is not one I would ever play in, but if you wander in, there’s a food stand in the back that sells deep-fried twinkies. Now, I would never eat a Twinkie normally (there’s no food in that food,) but when you deep-fry one it becomes magical. Deep-fried crusty goodness on the outside and the inner cake gets all warm and melty and delicious. We only ever order one to split and we almost never finish it, but it’s worth it for those first few magical bites. Paired with a white russian from the casino bar? That’s good times right there.  I think I’m still full from everything we ate and that was two weeks ago!

I’ve always been taught to double my thread for handsewing. I’m not sure where that came from, but I can’t stop now. My guess is my mum taught me and she’s the expert so I continue to do it. I work with an arms length of thread doubled at a time. Very manageable. Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end. Pull it through from the backside of the binding where it will be hidden and trim the end off.

I use binder clips to help hold the binding folded over. I generally keep them about 2 inches from the spot I’m sewing down. Faster than pins and way less pokey.

Put your needle through the backing layer just below the machine stitching line where you sewed the binding to the front side. I generally take a 3/8s of an inch bite.

Directly above where that stitch came out, fold back the binding slightly and take another 3/8′s inch running stitch. I like to do this just under the fold slightly to the underside of the binding.

This way, when you pull the thread tight, the stitches will simply disappear. Just like when you mattress stitch a seam in knitting.

Continue in this manner (quilt top, binding, quilt top, binding) always keeping the entrances and exits directly in line with each other.

(apologies for my crappy MS Paint illustration.)

To miter the corners, tack down the binding on the side you’re working on well into the corner finishing on a stitch into the backing.

Stitch your way back to just past the machine stitching line, right up close to the now tacked down binding edge.

Flatten the binding out wide, then fold back the remainder and it will make a nice crisp diagonal.

Turn your work and keep sewing it down as before.

Some folks like to sew down the miter too, but I’ve found it’s not really that necessary since you’ve tucked it down so neatly already.

That’s it! Ain’t it pretty?

While digging through the Quilts and Quilting group on flickr last week, I came across a really simple quilt of sample squares with a dark sashing. My mind started turning and something tickled the back of my brain. With a loud clunk, the brain wheels started turning and I remembered that I had a set of Kona samples that I’d bought in 2005.

When I bought the so-called sample card of Kona squares, I thought they’d be mounted on a card. You know, so that a person could easily refer to the colour numbers with the swatches right there. Sample card. What I received though, was a stack of squares and a piece of paper rubber banded around it. I suppose they were in the right order, but to be of any use I would have had to label them all or make my own card. Pfft. Not likely. Into the stash they went.

Once I remembered the squares, I pulled a chunk of Kona Charcoal out of the stash and started tossing the sample squares on top.

Within about 10 minutes I had a layout I liked and I started chain piecing them together. 3 hours later, the quilt top was finished. Unfortunately, so was the weekend.

Thursday afternoon post-shop update, I pieced the backing.

Friday night I basted and quilted. Saturday I parked in front of the tube and handstitched the binding to The Music Man and a couple zillion episodes of Brak.

A quick trip through the washing machine and by Sunday morning she was finished and photographed.

A week start to finish. Sure beats my last quilt that took 3 years.

It’s not very big, only 36″ by 36″. I think it’s just the right size for a stroller quilt or a blankie to chuck on the floor and plop the baby on.

It will be packaged up this week and mailed up to an old roommate in Whistler. I hope your first born will like it Malcolm! And if not, dude, don’t tell me, I’d prefer to stay in the dark. I might even make another one of these quilts to keep me company while I’m there.

Happy Mother’s Day Mumsy! Wish we could be there to take you out for tequila shots or something!

Get out there and do whatever blows your hair back today.

Everybody else, go call your mother!