Edgewood Holiday Hunt N' Glow

Yesterday, Summerhill Stitchery had a presence at the Edgewood Holiday Hunt N' Glow Fair, held at the Chamber of Commerce in Edgewood and also at participating restaurants & vendors.

The "Hunt" part is a scavenger hunt where the hunters found the answers to clues by locating the "Rudolph card" at each participating location. They then proceeded to the other locations on the map provided them. At the end, completed entries were submitted to the Chamber of Commerce no later than 4 pm, and the winner was chosen. A single winner got the grand prize made up of gifts from all of the participating stores, worth over $1000.  For our prize donation, Summerhill Stitchery donated the red & gold felted clutch and a matching hat & scarf set.

Scarlet Ribbons Cowl

It was a lot of fun!  We got to meet a lot of people and handed out many business cards.  We also made a couple of sales.  One woman was particularly delighted with her purchase, the Scarlet Ribbons Cowl. She donned a huge smile and immediately put it on, asking those around her, "How's it look?"  She was gorgeous. I love it when my work finds a good home.

Today, I am tired but content. I thank God for the blessings he has rained down on me: a good husband, a loving family (dogs included), and a talent that brings joy to others.

If I do not post again, please all, have a very blessed & Merry Christmas.

Elaine

Time Flies...

I've heard it said that "Time flies when you're having fun!"  This is a maxim which is true when you're either having fun or are very, very busy.  It sure doesn't fly if you're doing something boring or if you're traveling, hence, "Are we there yet?"

I cannot believe how fast the past couple of months have gone by.  In the time since the last posting, I've been honing my knitting skills and have also learned both wool felting and needle felting.  I was quite hesitant to try felting and have been nothing but astounded at the results.  An entire new audience has opened up with the felting! And, needled felting...  What fun!  It allows my more creative side to come out.

Lavender bundles at Los Poblanos

Using a basic purse pattern for felting, I made a purse in periwinkle and a pinkish lavender, colors inspired by the lavender fields at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Farm, up in Albuquerque's North Valley.  Lavender, as you may or may not know, comes in a variety of colors: pink, purple, blue, and white.  For those who have not been to Los Poblanos, it is a neat place. One can feel the history, the spirits of those who lived & died there in times past.

Los Poblanos is known for its lavender and they sell lavender honey, lavender lotions, salve, etc. They smell wonderful!

With such inspiration, the purse took shape.

At the start of my learning the felting process, I was told that one never knows what the finished product will look like until it is done & dry.  This too is a very true as I learned while attempting a 2nd hat.  It is now a very nice, decorative vase about 5" across.  It's being displayed with silk flowers in it in the kitchen window.

After the crochet was done and the purse felted, it looked like a purse, measuring 16" Long (excluding the handle) and 14" wide. The handle is long enough it can be slung over the shoulder.  It was very pretty with sequins incorporated in the lavender band at the top.  The sequins sparkled like stars.

OK...  those stars needed some accompaniment, so a bit of New Mexico flare was added in the form of needle felted coyotes howling at a harvest moon. I love it!

Los Poblanos Coyote Purse

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Since the last post on this blog, it's been very busy here at Summerhill Stitchery!

Been doing lots of stitch work to prepare for Summerhill Stitchery's participation in an event, a "Hunt N' Glow" with hot air balloons, being put on by the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce and the town of Edgewood, New Mexico.

Edgewood’s Holiday Hot Air Balloon “Hunt n Glow” will stuff a $1000 Prize Package into One Winner’s Stocking on December 14, 2013

A Town wide scavenger hunt with $1500 in prizes, an evening glow parade (very cool - light up your vehicle / horse / marching band / costume and join the fun) and all topped off by an evening HOT AIR BALLOON GLOW, TREE LIGHTING, HOT CHOCOLATE AND HOLIDAY CHEER !!!

It's all free!!!"

For this event, Summerhill Stitchery will be sharing booth space with Angela's Angels, a well established local crafter who just happens to be my neighbor.  We're very excited about this opportunity!

Some of the items to be presented include...

• a gorgeous, lavender mohair scarf
• a toasty warm scarf made from an acrylic/wool blend and mohair
• a stunning turquoise and gold mobius (infinity) cowl
• a three piece set made in scarlet with flecks of gold (just in time for Christmas, 
• Christmas ornaments, and
• much,much more!

Come by and visit!  We look forward to seeing you!

Summerhill Stitchery & Angela's Angels

Edgewood, New Mexico

          Saturday, December 14          

 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tank Tops...

The trip to Newport, Rhode Island was way too short but it was very sweet. It was nice to catch up with old friends and hubby's shipmates.  It was nice to meet new ones. It was just nice.

While there, I got to wear several of my new tops.  I wore the yellow tank and took 2 orders on it and then I took an order on the moss green one.  I've completed both tanks, one in teal and one in navy blue (what else?).  

Navy Tank in 100% Acrylic Yarn

 

Teal Tank - Linen Blend

I'm starting work on the moss green one, which will also be in navy blue.

More Finished Items

Since my last post, I've finished another two items.  The previously mentioned top by DROPS design and also a top that was published in the most recent issue of Crochet Today!

The first item is the completed DROPS design, pattern #99-4.

Drops Design Short Tunic - "Mussel Trim"

This is a modified version of the original pattern in that it is shorter.  I also modified the bottom rows a bit, leaving the picots out of the first row and using them to finish the bottom hem. This is a fairly easy pattern, if someone has some experience in crochet.  Cannot wait to wear this over some shorts!

The 2nd one that I finished is this yellow tank.

100% Pima Cotton Tank 

This too is a modified pattern in that the original pattern found in the September/October issue of Crochet Today calls for a ruffled trim. This is the red shell on the cover.  The pattern calls for a worsted weight yarn and I made this with a Pima cotton thread for summer.  This is Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima.

This has been worn already and I really, really love it!  Light...  cool... airy...  It washes well also.

Busy... busy... busy... Stuff for Me!

It's been a busy time and right now, summer, I'm finally getting a chance to crochet some outfits for me.  I need some outfits as we're going on a short trip later this summer and I want something new to wear...  something I made....

In the past 2 weeks, I've completed two, crochet tops and I've at least three others in some state of construction.

At left is a picture of one top that is completed.  It's a cute  DROPS design from the Garn Studio.  The design was slightly altered to fit my fancy and I made it a bit shorter thn pictured with it falling just below the hips rather than, as shown, mid-thigh.

Also, rather than using the suggested yarns, DROPS Alpaca & DROPS Cotton Vicose, the top was constructed using Cascade Yarns, Sunseeker, which is a cotton acrylic with a metallic thread running through it.  The top used just over 3 skeins...  about 730 yds.  I made it in white.

I'm thinking if I make another one, I'm going to lengthen the mesh torso portion, having it stop just above the hips rather than above the waist and then the pattern portion stop just above mid-thigh.  I find myself ALWAYS messing with patterns...  altering them to suit myself.

By the way, I really like this top!  It is so light & airy!  Perfect to wear over a bathing suit or a camisole.  I'm looking forward to wearing it.

Another one that I recently completed was found on someone's blog, Flamingo Bay.  The pattern is called Banana Bay.  Many thanks to the blog owner for posting this lovely pattern.

Banana Bay Top by Mary Lacy Stratton

The pattern calls for a cotton yarn.  However, I made it using a lovely bamboo blend, Prima by Debbie Bliss.  The Prima yarn is a bamboo vicose / merino wool blend.  This yarn was ordered for a project that wound up being made with a different bamboo yarn, since the company I ordered this from was tardy in shipping it.  Rather than send it back (got it for a very good price), it was stashed.  Very happy that I stashed it!

Since bamboo yarn stretches, I made this using the "I" hook in the "small" size.  It fits.  I'm not a small, but an XL.  This top is lovely and very comfortable.  Again, it's another one that I'm really looking forward to wearing.

Oh...  if anyone decides to make this, something I'd change is I'd add a couple of extra chains under the arm, especially if, like me, you make the size small to allow for yarn stretch.  Rather than 30 chains under the arm, I'd use the number recommended for the large size - 36.

For all my loyal fans out there...  Don't fret...  I'll be back to crocheting your favorite items soon.

Happy hooking!

I'm Learning to Knit...

Knitting....  something I've never done, but something I've been learning to do for the past couple of months.  It's very different than crochet and while I'm pleased I'm learning something new, I sure do wish my efforts looked better. I'm not pleased with most of the results of my efforts.

So far, I've knitted a hat, two wraps (these I like), and several scarves.  Right now, I'm working on a pair of fingerless gloves.  The jury is still out on them.  But, I'm learning and I hope to eventually have efforts that are good enough to offer to my friends.

Stay tuned!