A Quilt is Born

I finished another of my neighbor's quilt tops.  This one was a joy from start to finish!  I used a mixture of pantograph and free motion.  I had the most fun on the borders; 3 different designs of roses and ribbons.  I am looking forward to her next one which I hear is almost ready for me!

It Starts with an Idea

I get out the sketch pad and then start to work through making it-all the steps in my head first to be sure it works out.  Remember that pouch I made for the friend who was on crutches?  Well, she had an admirerer she wanted to gift a pouch to with a few modifications.

 I took the challenge.  (8 x 10", quilted shoulder pouch)

Nyki likes to stay nearby when I work-if I open this drawer, she won't lay on top of the fabric!

Stupor

What a relaxing way to end this week.  I am tired but spinning is just the thing for my weary mind and body.
(Suffolk fleece, carded and spun for another pair of socks; will be dyed first thing Monday.)

Our Thanksgiving Day

The guys worked on cars while the ladies got the meal ready for the  table.

After dinner the ladies did some yarn work and then we worked on a felting project.  (Traditionally, the ladies make an ornament for Christmas so I kept the tradition today!) 

When the guys finished napping watching football, they went out to sight their rifles.  While out back, they shot a squirrel and brought Nyki the tail.  I wasn't so thrilled, but she has been totally beserk with it!

A  rousing game of ping pong was enjoyed in Bill's newly cleaned garage!

We are off now to play a domino game of Spinners-a good time was had by all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So many reasons to give thanks to God today.

 I hope you have a day filled with people that mean a lot to you, too.

Down for the Count

But not out entirely!  What a few days can do to a person! 

First off, I have had it with being a sock designer-this urge to put butterflies on a pair of socks for Abigail is a complete failure.  I have ripped out and redone too many times to feel the love for this idea any more!  I am going to pick a pretty lace pattern for the top and admit defeat.  To top it off, while knitting it for the umpteenth time at the doctor appt on mon morn, I got a chatty lady next to me which totally blew the concentration level.  I put it away and chatted.  When I pulled the sock out when I was in the exam room waiting for dr to show up, I realized that when I had stuffed the sock back in  my purse, I had gotten ink from my pen on the yarn-a quick wash at their sink only made it worse.  Are you sensing my angst over this sock?!!  To top it off, I passed out while the dr was removing several moles (12!) and couldn't pull myself together so they had to call Bill and get him to take me home.  Where I took another 4 hours to get upright again.  Just a glitch in the whole realm of things but sure did put the schedule out of kilter.  I had gone to the dr for a UTI and a flu shot but got a bonus, you think?!

Yesterday, I took my friend and neighbor to the hospital for outpatient surgery-she wakes right up after anesthesia-I have to admit, I am amazed at her fortitude.  I fail miserably at the revival mode after surgery!  After 2 hours of knitting on the above sock-I ripped it out for the last time.  I am finished with it.

Played catch up at home in the afternoon, laundry, and cleaned up spots were necessary for my sons and Kristen's visit tonight-I am just a flurry of activity today so I can enjoy their company when they arrive!
In between baking today, I am trying to put together a 'boot' so that a friend can slip it over his surgical boot after his foot surgery today.  I have done this for Bill in the past so I think I can do this pretty quickly today.  I am feeling like I belong to the world of the living so it is a good beginning to the day!

We got this in the mail-popcorn that Bill orders online.  What a way to celebrate tonight after church .  (You just can't go back to Redenbackers after this! )

Entrepreneurism at Work

Our local Walmart has remodeled and hence, lost their craft department.  A local lady knew this was a blow to all the area quilters/crafters so she opened a store to fill the need!  This is going to be a regular stop for me from now on!  She even has yarn and general supplies.  We were there as they opened and it was a constant flow of women just thrilled with this new adventure.  There are no stores to purchase fabric within an hour in any direction so while the economy is tough, I think she is going to do well.

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Nyki loves the ladder......she buzzes Bill the whole time he is working.  When she is tired out, she curls up and takes a nap......the flash of the camera disturbed her-can you tell?!

Various Pursuits

We see this gopher turtle  in the back yard occasionally; I managed to capture the visit this time!

As long as I was out, this caught my attention, the plant is full of banana peppers.

And talk about full, the tangerine burden is heavy this year!  I am so glad-there was not a one last year.  I do not know if you are supposed to cull fruit off the tree-most of the fauna has been on its own around here for several years and did okay so I hesitate to interfere.  Maybe I will remove stunted fruit from half the tree and see how it compares to the other half.

I have worked on the sock for Abigail but I didn't enjoy the pattern-too much purling;

so I inverted the pattern on the back for an experiment.  Unfortunately, I will have to make another for a pair of socks so while I put it off.....

I answered the siren call of lace knitting!  Isn't it growing nicely?  It will block out to 32" right now and it is just less than half way done.  It is a great knit; no problems yet.

My neighbor, Millie, brought me another top to quilt.  She has been a busy piecer!  I have it all loaded and immediately saw what I wanted to do on it for designs-no block this time!  (You would love this all in blues, Mom!)

Here is a peek of the center section, a simple design that matches the butterfly fabric on the backing.

(Millie and I are  going to a new fabric store opening this morning-will post about it later!)

I Can Do That!

I was disappointed not to have the right color of strapping I wanted when at the store.

 Then it hit me, I could dye the white webbing any color I wanted!  I dyed it with Rit dye, it is almost a perfect match!

I finished spinning the Molly enhanced yarn (merino with Marsel's cat fur brushings) and now will knit it into a little pouch.  Note the break on my spindle shaft?!  Nyki was determined to terrorize help me ply this on the spindle and in one giant leap tackled the spindle to the floor and it broke the glass shaft......I was not happy and she realized it by my yell of, " Oh, No!!!!!!"  I have glued the shaft and buffed it with my dremel so hopefully it will still work! 

Another Phase

                             
Bill has started to put the air conditioning runs in the ceiling.......this is the master bedroom!  As soon as these are done, we can get the sheet rock people here! 

We have had this fox visit us several nights in a row.  (My front door has beveled glass so it gives this prism look to my picture!)

When the fox is near, Vandy is not.  He finally came last night for a long and cuddly visit-these are rare visits!  See how sweet he looks while eating-he was a hungry guy.

I worked on my quilt today.  I finished the binding last night!  I so enjoyed the free motion quilting on this one-it was a great lesson and I can't wait for the next one! (Finished 52 x 61; this is the disappearing 9-patch)

 (My neighbor says she has another one for me so I have finished this just in time!)

Low Key

Feeling under the weather, not flu but some virus that has kinked my energy line.

Knitting up a pair of Aimee socks for Abigail.

Spinning this bit of self-blended fibers with Molly fur for a kitty memento pouch.

Not dyeing these because it will take more of the mental acuity than I have running right now.

Mostly doing this..........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Veterans Day

Heavenly Father, Help us to remember to be thankful....... for only righteousness can exalt our Nation.

Veterans Day

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No Ida

We planted a bunch of things in preparation for the big rains.......it didin't happen like we hoped but we did get 2/10ths of an inch last night and it helps.  This was the end of a long line of these plants (5' tall) that had grown over the path at a friend's home.  We trimmed it off and planted it in our hedge-Bill's truck sure came in handy!  We don't know the name of this yet but I will look it up.

The other day, I relieved another friend of some rose plants ( and a few other bonuses!)  We set these out to beautify the south addition where I want a lot of color and blooms.

We had enough plants to put several under each window down that side of the house.   We will expand the plantings to cover the whole end of the house but this is a great beginning!

                                       

This is the east end of our bedroom-the new plants we bought a few weeks ago and some transplanted mexican petunias which were in too much shade where we had them and they will look nice with the blue of the plumbago plants here.

While I was taking these pics, I heard a little meow.  After a bit of searching, I found Bling about 12' up in this vine that grows in our hedge.  (It is an ancient trumpet vine.)  He used to run up this all the time but we have not seem him climb it in a long time.  He looked very smug and napped for several hours up there! 

On the crafting front, I decided to set the lace shawl aside until I finished the  two pair of socks I had started!  It is growing nicely but I didn't want any other projects nagging at me while I worked on it so has been  backburnered for a day or two.

I finished the other 'dyed yarn cake' sock.  I will have to spin up some more of the suffolk fleece so I can make more of these!  The yarn is so stretchy and will not felt when washed so hopefully it will hold up well to wear, too.

 Once these were done, I started back on the bare yarn to finish up the WendyJohnson pattern.  Gratefully, I leave nice notes to myself so I knew where to start the heel, etc so that it matches the first one!  I will finish these up tonight after church as we are out of popcorn, a Wed. night tradition! :'(

I have a new quilt on the frame and am doing free motion feathers!  Thanks for the inspiration, Deb!  I have wanted to make these for a while now but like most things new, it is easy to freeze up and think too much about it!  I just set the needle to the fabric and began to sew......I knew what it should look like and by the end of this quilt, I will have a ton more skill than wishes!  I found that I prefer to quilt in one direction better than another and am not letting myself do that; I will quilt in whatever direction I find the block requires and while I am awkward at first, it is getting better.  I like the work and am pleased with the progress!

Bill is off to deliver the scaffolding back to the contractor (who has failed to pick it up for months)....the yard is almost recovered from the yard sale!   

Monday Stuff

The yard sale was not as vigorous as years past but we did make $100 so it was successful as far as I am concerned.  Today, Bill took the rest of the stuff to a secondhand store, the junkyard and the dump. 

On Saturday, I finished weaving the second t-shirt rug pretty quickly and got it fringed.  (Finished 24" x 42" )

Then out to the front yard to knit and answer questions to the people who stopped by the yard sale.  Relaxing to say the least, and Bling liked me bringing my lap outside for his snuggling pleasure.  I knit around him......  The lace shawl needed too much attention so I took out the wool I had dyed in the crockpot and began another sock from the SpinOffMagazine and it worked up beautifully and quickly.  The ball was lighter in the middle and darker as I neared the outside of the skein-what a fun result of my serendipitous dyeing. 

I went to the eye doctors this morning for a follow-up appointment after my glaucoma laser surgery in June-horray  that I didn't experience any closing of the hole they left in my eye for pressure regulation!  (Thank you Lord  for the good report;  I am usually the 'one out of 1,000' who has the weird side affects or problems if there are to be any but not this time!!)

Community Yard Sale

This is what we are doing today.......almost everyone in the community participates.  I can't wait to get rid of the junk treasures Bill has accumulated!

I am doing this in between customers!