Monday, September 30, 2013

RADIANT

 My little red car.
 The ginger cones are all red in the front yard.
 These are Resurrection ferns growing on a tree in our yard.  They are dried and dead looking until it rains.......
and they they are refreshed like this!  It is amazing!
 I realize I have a ton of red flowers in my yard-I love them as much as the hummingbirds and butterflies!  This plant stands as tall as I am;  we do not know the name of it and either did the woman who gave it to us!
 The blossoms is about 12 " long and flowers all over it at different rates.
 A Red Bay tree that died but still puts out a branch of leaves which I use in cooking!  (Yes, that kind of bay tree!)
 All the bromeliads bloom red in one way or another!
Some only have a little red in their centers to remind us they are blooming!
 Our Root beer plant is in bloom, too.  This flower stalk stands 7" tall.  The leaves in this plant have the aroma of root beer if used in baking, so the rumor goes!
 The Mandavilla climbers are all over my yard in full ruby red radiance!
 Quite by accident I found this pile of rocks in our yard (it was left by the previous owners, not nature!)  but they are specimens of petrified wood and some other beauties I added!)
 I even knit red!  This is a felted bowl with yarn I bought at a spinning demonstration a long time ago!
I have been on  a roll lately, and have spun up most of my woolen rovings but this one is Seacell (kelp/sea weed) and feels like a cross between soy silk and bamboo.
My grandma always cut up old t-shirts to crochet her rag rugs but I wove mine on the loom!
I use raffia to wrap around all my soap when I label them!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Play Time

 Look who visited!  He wasn't too sure about his first tractor ride.
 Grandpa turned the motor off and let him play a bit.
 Then he was willing to take a ride!  Very cute.  Ashley and I did quite a bit of sewing; she is learning how to quilt and so we cut out and sewed back together......yup, she is hooked!  ( I didn't think to take a picture of the four blocks she got done but we will be sewing again soon so I will do so next time!)
 Today, I cooked up a batch of lavender soap.  The smell is wonderful-I caught a good picture of the gel phase just working its way through the loaf.  The whole thing turns the dark color and then lightens again after it cools.
 I have been working on this hat in fingering weight yarn from KnitPicks.  It is a pattern from PatternFish.  My model is a child's size so the hat is a bit big for her but it fits just right on me!
 The chart comes in this shape so you work the repeat 6 times for the hat.  The G cleff is optional but I wanted to include it.
Look at the cool pattern in makes when completed!  I just love to knit!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Shawl and Fall

 The shawl is off the needles, soaked and blocked!
 I used 550 yards of the fingering weight Shetland yarn.
The house is decorated for Fall........the table runner is quilted and bound and on the table!

Monday, September 23, 2013

"Q"uest

 Quilting... the table runner is on the frame and I am working away.
 Quarts of goat's milk for my soap.  I measure it out and then freeze the baggies of milk to have enough on hand when I need it.
 I have knitted a bunch of these, in fact I wore a plainer one when a girl, but the pattern of this in the entrelac is called a Quant, from Knitty.com  .
 Quartz.  Not native here in Florida but a transplant from northern times.
 Queen Palm.  We have two of these, one on either side of our sidewalk leading to the front door. (it is 12" tall)
 Quills from wild turkeys that travel through our yard.  Bill brings these in for the cats to play with.
 Qwerty from my cell phone!
 Quadruped.  But wait...only one foot shows....
When I peeled off my sheets for laundering this morning, another quadruped climbed up for a morning nap-it was raining outside and she is a creature of comfort!

Friday, September 20, 2013

The In Between Moments

During one of Bill's naps today, I spun up this month's Fiber Club which is Tunis.
What a great fiber!  It was springy because of its Down sheep heritage and has a nice luster from the Lincoln sheep lineage.  
The swatch is very cushiony-I can see a great pair of mittens out of this yarn!
 I wove in the ends and blocked this little girl's sweater I finished last week.  It was a pattern my Mom used to knit for me!  I made it 3/4 length sleeves to be a light transitional season sweater!  It is about a size 18 month.
I finally decided the table runner needed borders!  I just didn't like the edge without it.   Now it is nicely framed and ready to be loaded on the quilting frame!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Post Op Progress

 This is what Bill's foot looked like out of surgery.  He came out of anesthesia great this time-a different anesthesiologist helped the situation!
 This was post-op at the doctor's office today.  NO SWELLING!  That drain is doing the trick after the doctor removed the lump that had formed in response to the first surgery!
 His new foot style for the next week when we go back to have the drain removed.  It will be nice to stay home and not drive to St. Augustine every day!  Let's see what I can get done in between keeping Bill on his recliner!
 I have been doing a bit of spinning in between driving Mr Bill and hot tieing caring for him when home...these are the first skeins spun on my Ashford E-Spinner!  There was a learning curve but it is getting easier and I am getting more coordinated at using it.  I now have 700 yards of Cormo fingering weight yarn to put to the needles!
I am working on my second shawl design; I am about to start the edging detail.  This one has worked up much easier and I am enjoying the whole process.  It is good to knit and unwind when I am needing a bit of a recharge through the day!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Back to the Drawing Board

Bill is spending time with this man today.  His surgeon!  Pray for a resolution to the inflamed seroma in his left foot, please.

Monday, September 16, 2013

"P"anache!


 My high school ring......Phoenix, NY.
 Papyrus grass growing in a pot on my porch.
 Pagoda plant.
 Palm tree.
 Plumbago flower
 Podacarpus tree berries.
 Path out back.
Pampas grass hedge.
                                           
 Pine trees after the pine beetles work their destruction......
 Healthy pine grove.  (our pond is in front of the trees but the water level is too low to see!)
 Post fence.
 East Palatka holly tree berries.
Pink purl stitches!
 Our pool where we spend many long afternoons!
Pain.......Bill's whole foot is swelling from this leaking seroma.  (His size 15 foot is hard to fit in his shoe as you can imagine!)
Thank you for persevering through my parade of photos!

PLANS AND REVISIONS

I knit the sleeve (top up) and realized that I would prefer the sleeve line up with the same color of the body. See how the shading of the  ...