SEEING COLORS

I added the last row to the mosaic of hexagons;  it is 48" x 60".  The yarn is from ancient skeins of  Homespun yarns 

by LionBrand.  

I had a different kind of project yesterday;  

I added two lamps over my bed. 

 I have been struggling for proper lighting

 for the hours I spend here knitting, crocheting or painting 

and I am hoping this will do the job.

Of course, there were no studs where I needed them to be 

so I had the ordeal of using mollies

 but eventually it all came together, the mess was cleaned up

 and all of the tools put away.

And might I say, it is wonderful to be able to knit with light shining where I need it and not next to me just making shadows!  The bed table lamps are in another room and I can work with darker colored yarns and actually SEE what I am doing!!!

(I want a three-way bulb to use in the lights so I am on the hunt to find a pair! If only I could buy some incandescent ones!)

 

STREAMLINING

I decided I needed to get going on many of the projects on the design wall that are getting stale!  

I only need to piece a bunch of easy star blocks and sew everything together and then this 2026 Shop Hop quilt top will be ready for quilting!  I need to finish it before the end of the year!!

(this is a self-imposed deadline that I take seriously!)

I'm almost done with quilting the new porch welcome area quilt!  It is going well, I just don't last long standing and hauling

 on the big old machine to quilt it!

I finished stitching the applique on the latest block, #4, of Garden Song and completed the top underneath it!  Today, I hope to finish the quilt on the frame and add quite a few more star blocks and even some blocks on the left of the design wall 

which is now a top half done!  

 

FRUIT AND FLOWERS

This is a Queen Palm in my front yard and its fruit is ripening and falling from the large 'bunch' high up in the tree.

It hits the ground and I can collect them for jelly (they are mostly a pit with a thick skin but very sweet juice when you pop it in your mouth!  Most people just leave them for the squirrels, raccoons or possums to enjoy.  Since I do NOT like those critters in my front yard, I will collect the fruit and put it out back in the critter feeder!  I did make jelly when we first moved here

 but it is a lot of work!

At the base of the palm tree is this pot of beautiful New Guinea Impatiens--it has exploded into a huge plant with so many blossoms over the summer!  I have several in the front yard--they can handle the all day sunshine unlike many other flowers.

And this is almost gone 

but I sure have enjoyed the Muscadine Cider 

Bill bought for me when in Georgia. 

 If you see it for sale near you, 

I highly recommend it giving it a try!

And inside, I caught up with block # 4 of the Garden Song sewalong ( the 4 block on the bottom left)  I traced all of the appliques, fused them to the right colors and centered them on the appropriate sized background fabric.  Now I just need to stitch them in place.  And no, my machine is still not loving the invisible thread that I am using--it keeps telling me to check my needle thread!  So it is stitch 2", get the warning beep, push the OK button and sew another 2".  Not the most fun at the sewing machine but I am going to finish it!!!!!

 

ALL IN A DAY

Catching up on block number 3 of Garden Song. 

 My machine decided it didn't like working on it; 

 I'm hoping after a rest it will behave!

The Thanksgiving wall hanging is loaded on the frame and I am hoping to get it all done today, too!

 

SOCKS ON SUNDAY

A pair of socks is completed;  they will be in the mail in no time!

They are another pair of the  Barcelona Memories 2 Socks

 by Zanete.

I cast on a pair of Petty Harbor socks using the new gusset and heel I learned from Zanete.  The yarn is from daughter's stash when we did the big dive for all of those hats.  I have a pair of Petty Harbor socks and they are one of my favorites because the texture gives such a very comfy feel!  

 

GROUT WORK

I finally found the right combination of stitches to make the 'grout' lines for my mosaic hexagons.  I am using a slip stitch alternating a stitch on each side of the rows I want to connect. I attach each of the  hexagon on their vertical side and then I stitch the horizontal seam to connect the next row. It is time consuming but it lies flat and gives good coverage.  I am making myself bury all of the ends before I connect the next row so that I don't have them ALL to do at the end! lol  (The row at the top is the stack of each row to try and keep some order and to keep Lena from skidding through them!)

 

OUT FOR A SEW DAY

We (my friend, Mary, and I ) enjoyed a  few hours of sewing together at our local quilt shop for Quilts of Valor.

Mary and I made a dozen string blocks.

And one of the string blocks quilts we made last month was presented;  what a precious time and a good reminder of why we are sewing the red/white and blue!

 

HOW THE GARDEN GROWS!

Block two of Garden Song sewalong is complete.  

My early Camellia bush is blooming!  I do enjoy the start of their season which will last now until well into January.

And I have baby string beans up about 4"!  

And the radishes are making themselves known!  The other seeds are just emerging and in another week, they will be photoed, too!

Today, I'm off to join in the QOV sewing group.

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

It was wonderful to be in the studio again-not just moving things around but actually sewing! The newest wall hanging was stitched without any drama, gratefully!

Today, I will be loading it onto the frame so that I can get it up at the front door area before the weekend!

I finished the table runner so that I could free up the quilting frame--I'm pleased with the results! 

 (Thank you, Araignee, for the kit!)

I also cut out and fused 4 new blocks from Garden Song sew-a-long and just might get to begin applique also! 

 Nice to be upright creative with fabric again!

 

FEELING BETTER

I added two smaller pumpkins to add to the larger one I made while in Georgia.    They make a pretty trio!

The hats keep on coming--I am using up so many of the leftover balls of worsted weight in the stash.  I'm up to 36 hats and figured I am this close, I might as well hit 50--a nice round number!

And I am going to tackle this sewing project today--I haven't felt up to the task but today is the day.  

I will begin as soon as I am back from voting, that is!!!

 

WRINKLES

I've been having too much fun-yup, that's me getting 17.6 ounces of blood removed to alleviate an overabundance of red blood cells.  

It can account for the perpetual headache, the sluggish feeling and the breathlessness.  A bit of blood-letting can still be beneficial; let's hope so!   I was weak as a sick puppy when finished 

but a bowl of chicken soup and a nap,

 sure did help to feel a bit stronger!

We made a few more hats to add to the pile--

I've got a full box all ready to hand in now!

(2 DOZEN)

I cleaned two windows in my bedroom

-(the abundance of rain has led to a green tint !)

-such a nicer view now!

And Bill was outside, hard at work,

 cleaning up the many branches the wind brought down!

 

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

Lena and I made some hats today.  

She helps a lot, as you can imagine!

The morning rain let up so I went out to plant in my raised garden bed.  I planted string beans, Swiss Chard, carrots and radishes.  

The hibiscus are sending out daily blossoms-so beautiful! 

 (7" across)

And look at the surprise bloom --it is a starfish cactus flower

 or a Stapelia Grandiflora.  (10")

I am heading back to where you donate blood to try and alleviate an overproduction of red blood cells which is giving me some troubling symptoms.  Bill will take me but I hope to do okay; I have done this before but you never know!  

 

ODE TO YARN

The grand daughter sweater continues to grow.  I have never constructed a sweater like this so I am just doing what the pattern says and going with the flow-so far so good.

The 4th pair of Barcelona Memories 2 sock is beginning to get a lacy cuff.  I only made one major mistake on the heel that required a bit of tinking but other than that, it has gone smoothly.

I also cast on for the beginning of the t-shirt sweater that Berroco has begun as a KAL.  Another unusual start for a top down sweater so it is good to keep my brain cells bouncing around since the rest of my body is pretty inert! lol

 

YARN LOVE

My oldest grand daughter asked me to knit her a cardigan

 and I was pleased with the pattern and yarn we chose! 

 The yarn order arrived yesterday and I couldn't wait to cast on!

The pattern is Lakes Cardigan on Ravelry;  it has a very interesting top-down approach which I am enjoying so far! 

I also used my new ball winder to cake the ripped out sweater yarn so I could weigh it and figure out the amount I had for the new t-shirt style sweater I'lll knit for me.  

Since I am down for the count right now, 

yarn is a bright spot in my day!

YARN: TINKING AND KNITTING

When I pulled out my pretty cabled Fall sweater to take to Georgia, I found several holes from moth damage (the moths made small holes whish I 'explored' to see if they could be fixed). 

I left the damaged sweater to think about when I got home. 

I did the only sensible thing--ripped out the whole sweter

 and save the yarn I could! 

I am making good progress on the latest pair of socks!