Them Crooked Vultures

Ok, I had heard that this band was going to happen awhile ago, but I didn't get too excited about it. Too often, when members of different "supergroups" come together to make a new "supergroup" the results are disappointing. Not with these guys! All I can say is "Holy shit!" With John Paul Jones on bass, Dave Grohl from Foofighters on drums, and Josh Homme from Queens of the Stoneage on guitar and vocals this band has tons of potential and they really have some great music. Anybody who knows me knows what a huge Zep fan I am; and I love Foofighters too. My brother once said that if Kurt had stayed alive and Nirvana had stayed together the world may never have known who the really talented member of that band was, and I agree with that whole heartedly. I'm not familiar with Queens of the Stoneage, but I'm impressed with The Crooked Vultures, so Mr. Homme gets points from me there. The album won't be out til Nov. 16th, but there is a pre-release song on the website called New Fang. Even better than that they did a couple of surprise shows in Europe, and I have watched video over on youtube for the last hour, which has only whetted my appetite. In spite of the not great video, it's worth watching. The band has some Zeppelinesque moments, especially in the song Elephants, and at times Dave's resounding rhythm has a bit of White Stripes feel to it. All in all though I'd say they are just some really talented guys who got together to do what they do best, and they do it excellently. This is one of my favorites, called Scumbag Blues.

Siobhans New Pants

I made these pants for Sio late last week. I originally wanted to make different ones, but she rejected my original idea and so I came up with these instead. She certainly won't get lost in any snowstorms!

Finished Mittens! Next Project Elizabethan Embroidered Coif

I finally finished Siobhans mittens. For a first pair I think they came out ok. I had some trouble with the thumb gusset and I sewed it closed a little at the base of the thumb, but I think they are pretty good for a first effort. They took almost a full ball of yarn.

I feel a bit of a costuming fit coming on and since I've found it's best to just go with it I decided to make an embroidered coif. I can make this entirely by hand in the evenings when I'm watching tv or whatever.I drew the embroidery design right onto the pattern and then transferred the whole thing to fabric. I am going to do the embroidery in DMC cotton rather than silk because it's cheaper and because if it ever does get worn (although I don't know by who) it can be washed easily.

Ah The Internet

Occasionally it comes back to me how much I love the internet. It's hard to remember what I did without it! No matter who the band is or how obscure, somebody, somewhere will have put up a youtube video. Not that the Mediaeval Baebes are obscure in the realm of ancient music, because they aren't; but I can safely say that they aren't mainstream music. Anyway, this video is from 2002 at the Festival of Immortality. The immortal creatures that the ladies have decided to be for the event are perfect for the upcoming holiday. I'm not a big Halloween fan, but I couldn't pass this up. Vampires singing a 15th century carol that we have come to associate with Christmas. What better way to kick off the fall/winter season?

Great Big Sea in Glen Ellyn

Well I have to say that what could have been less than a good performance by the by's turned into one of the best shows I have seen them put on. The show was at the MacAnnich Arts Center at the College of Dupage, a place where I'd never been before. The theater holds about 850 people and the sound there was really good, especially when compared with the sound at House of Blues last March when they were here. The only thing is, the crowd was a bit strange for a GBS show. More refined and less rowdy. There are a large number of big money donors who get free and/or discounted seats and probably go to all the performances put on through out the year. Put that with the probability that most of them probably live in Glen Ellyn, Oak Brook, and some of the other more affluent suburbs and that would explain why the crowd was a bit more subdued. I think some of them may have had no idea what happens at a GBS show. Siobhan and some other people stood up to clap and dance pretty early on during the first set and they were told to sit down; that's never happened at any of the 6 previous shows I've seen them at. It's impossible to stay in your seat when Alan Doyle is constantly telling people to "Make some noise" "Clap your hands" and saying "Come on every body up". Any GBS fan knows that this band is a full out audience participation band. Which after seeing them 7 times still amazes me. I mean, these guys are a group of folk singers from Newfoundland! Anyway, the problem of the more wet blanket audience members in the balcony was solved by those of us who wanted to dance crawling over the wet blankets (and I mean over, as in hopping rows of seats with people in them rather than walking around) to the back of the balcony where you could stand and dance and sing without bothering anybody too much. And I have to say the show was excellent. They started almost right on time; maybe 10 minutes late. They played 2 sets. The first was shorter and it included some songs I haven't heard them do in awhile like The Chemical Workers Song and Ferryland Sealer. They ended the first set with Run Run Away. There was a short intermission and then they came back and really outdid themselves with a longer and even better set. I think they were trying to get all of the audience involved and they did a fine job of it. There was the usual comedic banter; at one point Alan was saying how they had been picking on Murray so much that he was a little sorry for him. Siobhan yelled out "We love you Murray" and Sean made up a little impromptu song right on the spot. It went something like "We love you Murray cause you're cuddly and furry". We'll never hear the end of that from her I'm sure. The encores were great too; there were 2 of them and they played 7 songs. I don't have a set list but this a list of what they did in no particular order. Captain Kidd, Jack Hinks, Sweet Forget Me Not, Charlie Horse, Gideon Brown, Donkey Riding, Tshialuk Girls/Billy Peddle (they opened the 2nd set with that), Scolding Wife, Paddy Murphy, When I am King, Straight to Hell, Here and Now, John Barbour, England, General Taylor, Helmethead, Ordinary Day, Chemical Workers Song, Ferryland Sealer, Run Run Away, Bob did a solo of the old Irish tune Butcher Boy (I wonder if that will end up on a new album?), Consequence Free, Mary Mac, I'm a Rover (this was preceded by Sean doing a lead in of "Oh What A Night"), Old Black Rum, Lukeys Boat, Excursion Round the Bay/Fortune (part of the encore like it always is) and they ended the night with Rant and Roar. I may have forgotten something, but this list is pretty close to complete. All in all it was a great show, especially the second set. The two times I've seen them at the Metro were a little better I think, although I think that was more the crowd than the band. And by the end of the second set it was a lot better. If it hadn't been for the crowd, this could have been better than the Metro shows. The energy was there and the band was doing their damndest to get everybody up and into it. I said to Siobhan on the way home that some of those people who had no idea what kind of show it was going to be walked out of there GBS fans last night.
Being the fans that we are I did something that I've never done before; even in my heydey of seeing rock bands in the 70's. We had located the bus before the show, and as soon as we got out of there we went and stood in front of the drive where it was parked. It was cold and windy and a little rainy and at 51 years old I stood there in the weather with Siobhan and some other people, hoping for a chance at a picture or an autograph or whatever. After about 20 minutes there started to be a little activity, and then maybe 15 minutes after that they started loading equiptment. A nice man from Halifax came out and asked if we were waiting for autographs. He said the band was already on the bus and they weren't really inclined to come back out in the cold and wet,(although compared to some of the Newfoundland weather I've experienced I'd say it was almost balmy) but he would get us autographs. There were programs printed up (that was a first, too) they had a nice picture of the band so the few of us who were brave enough to stand out in the crappy weather got them signed. I actually had misplaced mine (I think it got lost when we crawled over the seats) but Sio had hers and that was more important anyway.

Another Hat

Boy has it turned cold! And it was super windy yesterday; I was out riding my bike and it was not fun riding into the wind! It's supposed to be cold but not so much wind today.
I finally got the Fair Isle hat finished. I unravelled it once and redid it using a different yarn for the pattern. The ribbing looks ruffled but I think that's because the grey yarn I used was a bit thicker than the blue and because Fair Isle knitting just ends up a bit tighter. It's a little too small for me. If I make it again I'm going to use yarn that's all the same and a needle that's a bit bigger for the body of the hat. I used a size 6 this time. Next time I'll use a 6 circular for the ribbing and a 7 or 8 for the rest of the hat.
I also finished a scarf which I'm not posting pics of because it's a gift. And Sio brought me two more balls of the Classic Worsted Tapestry yarn from the yarn store in Dekalb. I'm not sure what I'm going to make yet; maybe some arm warmers or mittens.

Cabled Hat

This hat was pretty easy and looks nice. I used Naturally Nazareth yarn that i had bought a year ago at Wool and Co. in Geneva and the pattern is here http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt11.htm. I can say that cables are not nearly as intimidating as I thought they were. I think I will make this hat again; it only took a couple of days and it looks really nice. I think I'm going to try a Fair Isle hat next. I also found another pattern I want to try. It's a ribbed hat made with chunky yarn and some of the yarns that were used by people on Ravelry have some really nice colors. I just unraveled a 100% chunky cream colored wool sweater and I'm going to dye 100 yards of the yarn today. I'll have to buy a 10.5 16 inch circular though cause I don't have one.

Knitted Hat! and Other Stuff

I went to visit Siobhan in Dekalb on Saturday. I took the train into Elburn and she picked me up and we drove back to Dekalb. It was a really nice afternoon, and I really like the yarn store. It's a lot less foofy than Wool and Co. in Geneva, and the prices are less than Wool and Co.'s too. They have lots of good, basic, usable yarns and everything is sorted by weight and easy to find. Carla bought me some yarn at a shop in Evanston a couple of years ago that was really nice to work with. Have Ewe Any Wool in Elmhurst used to carry it, but they closed and I had to order it online if I wanted any. Well, they carry it in Dekalb. They also carry a really nice acrylic/wool blend by Universal Yarn; it called Classic Worsted Tapestry and I bought a skein for a knit hat. I started it in Dekalb at a park where Sio and I stopped and finished it yesterday; it came out so nice! I have not quite a half ball left.
I also started hooking the pillow, I got the roof of the house done and I'm probably going to work on it today. I am still kind of reorganizing the basement a bit, too. I got half the wool washed, but I think I'm going to leave it for today and go back to it tomorrow. I realized i had never posted a pic of the finished striped scrap mat, so here's one. Sio is getting this one, she really likes it.
John and I went out to Blackwell yesterday and Chris met us out there. I caught a nice 16 inch bass, and a 21 or 22 inch northern. The pics are on my new phone and I haven't figured how to get them off yet. As soon as I do I'll post them.

House and Boat Rug

Ok, this is another Deanne Fitzpatrick design. It's small, about 12x 14 inches, so will make a nice pillow. I am going to look through my wools and plan colors today, and then see if I'll have to dye anything.
I also got 2 big bags of unwashed, straight from the sheep, fleece which I am going to start washing today. I picked through some of it yesterday and got the sticks and grass out. I looked up the Fine Line in St. Charles yesterday to see if they have any spinning classes, but they don't. They do sell Louet wheels, but I still haven't found a better deal than the Ashford Kiwi I was looking at yet. I think I'll probably end up with that wheel. I can buy add ons to spin fine or chunky yarn so it will last me a long time. I need to find some place that I can get to easily where there are classes though, because I really want to take one.

Nathan Rogers Northwest Passage

I just found this video over on youtube. Anyone who has heard Stan Rogers sing, close your eyes and listen to his son. It's amazing how much they sound alike! Sorry about the clip, it's not the whole song.



Such a great singer/songwriter/teller of stories was lost to Canada and the rest of the world in Stan Rogers. It's good to see this.

Dyeing Day!

I got 350 yds of a wool/nylon blend sportweight yarn I recycled from a sweater dyed today. I didn't squish the dye around quite enough and I have soem white spots, but not too many. I used Cushings silver grey green, blue, green and maroon and steamed it in a roasting pan in the oven on 150 degrees for about an hour. The skein I laid on the very top has colors that are a little more vibrant than the other 2 bottom skeins. The top picture shows the yarn soaking before I squeezed the water out and poured on the dye; the next pic is the yarn with the dye on, ready to go in the oven, then there are the drying skeins on the line, and 2 of the finished skeins after they have dried.
We went fishing yesterday, and while the lake by Chris and Richards has sucked pretty much this year, it came back with a vengeance for John. We decided to stop there before we picked Chris up because we hadn't been there in awhile and John caught this 17 inch fat guy on a pumpkinseed plastic worm. We picked Chris up and went to Hidden Lake, and then back to Chris' pond, but there were no other fish caught the rest of the day.

Spinning and Other Stuff

Siobhan came home Friday and spent the night here, and then we went to Mom's and baked, knitted and spun. I got a nice drop whorl spindle at Wool and Co. in Geneva a few weeks ago. It is much nicer and easier to use than the smaller bottom whorl spindle I have. Since I had 8 ounces of merino that I had cleaned and carded I have been working on spinning that up. I have most of it done now. I also have 8 ounces of wool that Sio got me from a lady who raises sheep in Newfoundland. I carded just a bit and spun it up, too, and it's very nice. I might dye the merino, I haven't decided yet.

I finished the shawl I had been working on for the last couple of weeks and got Sio to model it for me. This was a really easy pattern from the Lion Brand site, and the yarn was a wool/mohair/acrylic blend called Rainbow Wool from yarn Bee that I got at Hobby Lobby. I really liked the pattern, although it got a little pricey since the wool was $6 a ball, and I needed 4. It actually could use another repeat of the pattern to make it a little longer but I bought all the yarn in that dye lot that Hobby lobby ahd and I don't know if they orderd more or if it will be the same dye lot.

I baked bread and Sio made toutons and a cake, and brought her laundry home to be done. She was going to drive her car back to school with her but decided to do it next week instead. It's really not far, just over 50 miles. There is a train to Elburn, too, and she could drive to the station; leave her car, and come home just for the day if she wanted to, or I could take the train out there. There is a yarn shop in downtown DeKalb that I haven't been to yet and it will be fun to go there. I do miss her, and it's nice to know she isn't very far away.

Where has summer gone?

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, but it sure doesn't seem like it's been two months! The summer went so quick!
There are tons of things that have happened; the biggest being Siobhan's enrollment at Northern Illinois University. We drove her down last week, and she started classes this past Monday. She left me with 3 rabbits and 3 guinea pigs to take care. It isn't that far, just over an hours drive, and it's been ok so far. I really missed her yesterday evening though. I've gotten used to her sitting outside and talking while we both work on projects. We are going out there Saturday though, hopefully to bring her bike to her and get mine back. She's majoring in ceramics with some sort of minor in fiber arts. She seems to be really excited about her classes and I'm glad; she is so very talented.
The fishing has been pretty good all summer, mostly because it's been coolish. I caught my biggest bass at Hidden Lake two evenings ago; it was a solid 19 inches and I bet it weighed 5 lbs but I forgot to bring the camera with. Chris caught one there a couple of weeks ago and we didn't have the camera then, either. John caught a big one in that same spot, too. Blackwell was pretty good for awhile but it's slacked off. As the fall weather moves in we'll probably try there again. I also caught my first small mouth ever in the Fox River, which was also pretty cool.
I have made a ton of crocheted projects, scarves and hats and fingerless gloves getting ready for a craft show the end of October. Most of them are in my Etsy store so I won't post pics of them. I also started a knitted scarf in a feather and fan pattern and it's looking very nice I must say. It's really easy and since I'm not a great knitter easy works for me.
I am hoping to get a dye run in the next day or so; I have some recycled yarn I want to play around with. I'm in love with Noro's colorways (who isn't) and while I don't think I will ever be able to do it was well as they do maybe I can get some nice results. I will definitley be posting pics of that when I get it done. It's rainy today and supposed to be tomorrow, but maybe it will hold up enough to do a bit of dyeing.

I Feel....

another mat coming on. I found a picture online of Trinity, Nfld., and I think it might be the inspiration for my next mat. There are some salt boxes, and some flat top houses, and a couple of boats but what really intrigues me is the green/brown mix of the closer hill and the inner pond and then the far hills and ocean. I'll cut the houses down to about 4, with maybe one of the boats. This coming week is supposed to be much cooler so I think I'll start playing with the dyes, and make a pattern for the mat. I'm also going to finish the scrap star mat. I realized I forgot to post pics the other day so here is one now. I have a bit more done now but Sio has the camera with her and she spent the night over at Chris and Richards so this is the next most recent.

Catching Up

I haven't blogged in a really long time. It's been pretty much the same things as I always do. We were fishing a lot til the weather turned really hot; John had almost a week off because they were slow at work. He took vacation days and we fished almost every day; mostly at Blackwell, but we tried Deep Quarry Lake too. It was right after a front though, so there wasn't much happening. I finally caught a couple of northern which was pretty exciting, and a smallmouth in the Fox River in Batavia. We are planning on going to Bass Lake as soon as the weather turns cooler again, maybe Sunday. It's been really nasty the last couple of days, in the 90's.
I've been working on various projects, too. I'm about 2/3rd's of the way done with the star scrap mat. I really do like this mat. I will be listing it in my Etsy store in a couple of weeks. I also made a couple of purses, a pair of random patch shorts, and a really cute top that I don't have any pics of yet. The string star quilt has become my take with project since all the squares and triangles are being set in by hand and it's taking a pretty long time. John and I need a bigger quilt NOW, we're fighting over the little one a lot, so I am in the middle of another quilt made from some homespuns I had a lot of recycled fabrics from other things. I'm sashing it with a white cotton sheet from the resale shop and I'm going to back it with a flannel sheet, again from the resale shop. It will be tied rather than quilted.
My garden is doing well, too, although between the rain and then the heat I can't keep up with the weeding. I've had a problem with something eating my beans so I went over to Pioneer Feed in Villa Park to talk to someone over there. I hadn't seen what was eating them, but after I described what was going on the man who was working knew exactly what it was and what to do about it. He recommended some stuff to sprinkle on the leaves. I tried it and it worked for awhile, but the bugs seem to be back again now so i put some more on yesterday. I love Pioneer Feed, those guys always give great advice. We had a salad fro dinner the other night made with fresh lettuce I picked earlier in the day, and I've had some strawberries too. My tomaoteos are big and have blossoms, and so do the cucumbers. The cabbage is forming heads, and the peas are growing nicely too. All the herbs are doing pretty well except the basil and the savory. They aren't dying, but they aren't looking really great either. Anyway, I am getting tomato cages this weekend, and mulch to at least put down between the plants to keep some of the weeds down.

Hoochie Coochie Man

Here's the video I took of Tahoe Sky Hoochie Coochie Man. Again the sound is not very good, plus the bouncing around is me kind of dancing a bit. This is not the main singer, this is the drummer singing.




We also did some fishing today; John caught 5 bass and I caught 3 and a crappie. We're picking Chris up at 6 and heading back out unless it rains.

Tahoe Sky

Chris' band, Tahoe Sky had their debut today at the Palatine Harley Davidson dealership's open house. Conditions were not very good; it rained a bit, it was windy, and really cold, and they stopped playing after two hours. However the two hours they did play they kicked ass! They played a couple Eric Clapton songs, a couple of blues tunes, some Allman Brothers, some other stuff and a couple of original songs. I don't know everyone in the band yet, just Chris and Ricky. I got some video, and here's a bit from an original song called Union Road. I got Ricky and Chris's solos in this bit. Were going to have to get a video recorder so we can get whole shows. The sound is pretty bad with just a regular camera.

More Northern

John, Sio and I went to Blackwell again on Sunday, and John caught another northern. I still haven't caught one, and I really want to. We both caught bass, and I caught a little crappie. The weather has turned pretty cold for this time of year so we haven't been back out there. I was hoping to get back out there today when John gets home, but I don't think we will. Our heat just kicked on! In June!


Black Forest Theater did their last performance at the Peter Jones Gallery on Saturday, and Sio and I went. I have to say that I enjoyed this more than almost anything else I've seen of Jimmys stuff. They did almost all music, and showed a film that was done by the lake. It was really good, especially a song that I think was called Inner Light.


I got another two squares finished on the scrap mat. Melissa and Sio both didn't like the stars so I took them out except for one. Melissa thought leaving one would add some interest. If I decide I don't like it I'll take it out too. I was looking forward to sitting outside and spending the afternoon hooking but it's too cold. I get a lot more done outside, the table is the right level to prop the frame on. I'm working on a quilting project today, I have several in process. I was thinking of sewing the string stars into a throw quilt, but I don't have enough of anything to use for sashing.

I also got all the plants planted. I have quite the herb garden this year, in addition to all the flowers and veggies. I planted basil, rosemary, sage, savory, lemon verbena, chamomille, thyme, lavender and mint. The savory isn't looking too good, but everything else is fine. I have so many lettuce seedlings! I also got a watermelon this year; I just bought one vine. Sio wanted eggplant, so we have those, as well as tomatoes, peppers, cucmbers, cabbage, pickles, peas and beans. Not all of the beans came up so I am going to plant a few more. The strawberries are looking really good this year, too. And I planted flowers in the front for the first time since we came here. The front flower bed section needed a lot of dirt, so we filled it up and I planted petunias, two types of pansies, moss roses and a couple of geraniums. I sowed a lot of wild flower seeds in the back so I hope they all come up, too. I wanted to get some lilies of the valley to put in under the pine tree, but I haven't seen any.

Another Mat

I started a hit or miss scrap mat with stars. Each square is 6 inches and the mat is 4x3 squares so it will be about 24x18 inches. It should go pretty quick. Siobhan said she really likes it.

I also joined a group that makes quilts entirely by hand. I don't know if I'll actually ever make a quilt all by hand, but at least the blocks will be easily portable.

Watch This!

I watched this video and I have to say it is excellent! I couldn't embed it, but this is the link:
http://www.workersoftheworldrelax.org/

Finally Finished

The sheep mat is finally finished! I had 1 strip left over from the wool I dyed for the sky; talk about cutting it close! I was afraid I was going to run out. Sio had the idea to use white yarn for the clouds, and while I wasn't sure at first, once I started hooking the blue sky around them they blended in perfectly. Anyway, I really, really, really like this mat. It is my favorite thing I've hooked so far. I'll get some rug binding this week and sew the edges down, and then what should I do with it?

More Sheep!

I have gotten in a few hours of steady hooking over the last couple of days; it's been so nice out I've brought everything outside and sat in the yard. All the hills are done and I'm almost done with the ocean.I'll hopefully finish that today and tomorrow start on the sky. Both Sio and John said it reminds them of Newfoundland, which is good because that's what I'm looking for. I can trust Sio for an honest critique; she says I need to work a bit more on color choices if I want a more realistic look. She asked me if I have colors planned out before I start dyeing, and generally I only do in a broad kind of way. I don't know how realistic I'm trying to be though; I like the primitive style of rug the best.

The Corrs

Here's a lovely video of the Corrs doing a song called Silver Strand. What a lovely, haunting melody.

Update on Sheep Mat

I haven't spent as much time as I wanted to on the mat because I've been working on the star quilt and I've been pretty busy, too, with one thing and another. It turned out I needed to do another dye run in greens, so I finally got around to doing that yesterday. I hooked for a while yesterday and today, and this is turning into my favorite mat so far. The hill right in front of the barn is pretty close to how I want my hills to look. There is some contrast, but not too much. The foreground, and especially the middle hill, just have a bit too much. I'm not redoing anything, because over all, it's a very nice mat; but there's always room for improvement.

Hooking Rugs with Deanne Fitzpatrick

One of the things I need to do before I die is take one of Deanne's workshops. Her work is fabulous.

Northern!

John, Chris and I fished at Blackwell yesterday. There are 2 lakes out there, and we had been there last year fishing in the main part of the big lake. Johns friend at work told him that he's had success in the smaller part of the big lake, so we went there yesterday. John almost immediately hooked a decent bass on a minnow, and then another one on a leech. He and Chris were fishing with rattle traps too, and they both hooked small bass on those. I put a leech out but didn't catch anything, and John and Chris weren't catching anything else, either. John moved about 10 feet away from where we set up, and threw a minnow out. He got a nice hit, set the hook and pulled in a northern pike! It was the first northern he's caught since he was in Canada many, many years ago. Chris moved over there, and he caught one too; that was his first northern ever. So of course I took the last minnow and moved over there too, and after just a few minutes, WHAM! He attacked that minnow! I was fishing about a foot and a half or 2 feet down, but he splashed like crazy when he grabbed it and jumped partly out of the water. I was so excited! I didn't land him though; there was a line of weeds about a foot or so from shore, and I lost him in there. I should have set the hook harder, or twice. Anyway, it was still a lot of fun and we are fishing there again tomorrow.

Fishing and Baby Ducks

The baby ducks are hatching on the pond by Chris and Richards house, and they are so cute! There are 2 families that I saw and I got pictures of both of them. I also got a picture of John with a decent size bass, maybe around 12 inches. We have been paying attention to the lunar tables, and yesterday the best fishing time was between noon and two so we were out then Chris came too. John caught 5 fish, 4 bass and one very big bluegill, I caught an ok bass, a bluegill and this tiny little bass that was only about 6 inches long. It was so tiny, there was no way it could have swallowed the minnow I had on the hook. Chris didn't catch anything . We are going again today unless it's too cold.

We had Mothers Day at Chris and Rich's too. Rich barbecued hamburgers, Italian sausage and veggie stuff for Sio and Carla. I got a nice pic of mom, Sio and Carla too. Sio made a tasty strawberry pie, and I made brownie hot fudge sundaes.

I fixed the rug frame and pulled the sheep rug out. I am going to finish it in the next couple of weeks. I'm still working on the string quilt, too. I want to get a couple more blocks done so I can take them with me and do the handwork at the hospital tomorrow while mom is having her tests run. I saw another string quilt that was probably made in the 20's or maybe a bit before that. It was mostly shirtings, with a few solids thrown in and a couple of calico looking prints. The prints look earlier than the 20's. Anyway, it was about 6 inch squares sewn into 12 inch blocks and sashed with a medium blue solid. Overall, it was a light, summery looking quilt and I need a lighter weight one for summer. too. I might make it and just do the quilt top with a flannel back and just tie it