Catching Up Times Two!

I finished the first grandson sock!  And immediately cast on for the second.  I have never suffered from 'second sock syndrome' .

The quiet day stretched in front of me....I dug out the tools, 

gathered the fabric  and began the blocks for the RSC2016 which is blue for this month 

 

and began to sew!  I had a bit of a problem matching my seam allowance to the tool measurements but after a bit of re-stitching, I got it to work out! 

I will have to finish on Monday and by then I will know the new color, too.

The day ended with me catching up on the MKAL and now I am ready to begin clue 4.

The shawl is really growing and I am full up on my needles!  I am hoping this new clue will fit better as it is in lace! 

Breaking UP

Bill enjoyed Kai and encouraged our cat, Stormy, to like being groomed by him!

The bird was happy, the cat not so much!

When the sun came out, Cassandra and I decided to break some dishes!

I've had the itch to work with some mosaic creativity for a while and we took the first steps.

After perusing Pintrest for a bit, we came back to earth and decided to keep it basic and see what we could do. 

Bill found a box of these ivy dishes months ago and I saved them for just such a project.

After breaking up the plate and adding a few tiles, this is the design I decided on.

(It was very good therapy to break the dishes!)

This one is Cassandra's.  We were able to use the tile adhesive to keep all the pieces in place.

On her next visit in two weeks, we will grout the pottery to the cement landscaping stone so it can then be used as a stepping stone!

And yes, it was very satisfying to do this.  Some projects I feel I was glad I tried it and once is enough;  this was just an entrance to many more advanced works ahead!

On the knitting front,, I am still working on the MKAL shawl but it doesn't look much different so I won't keep posting it.  When the kids were here, I didn't knit on the shawl too often because it required a LOT of attention to each stitch.  A pair of socks fits just right into my hands for knitting time like this and it almost happens without me being there!

This is a pair for my first grandchild, David, who no longer has little boy feet but rather the feet of a man and I doubt they are done growing as he is almost 14!  

Even a boy/man still needs Grandma Socks!

I am using my Superwash Merino hand spun yarn with a 60 stitch foot count on #2 needles.  

Visitors!

It's so much fun to knit for Ella, she loves to wear what you make!  This is the hat with the color-change yarn accents and the sweater is made by my Mom!

Ella pulled the hat down over her eyes so she could see it change color!  Too cute! 

Eli will tolerate the hat for a bit.  He prefers no clothes.  It is work to keep them on him! 

But give him chocolate and you have a friend for life!

We heated up to 65* and the sunshine was WARM and not biting!  It was wonderful to be outside with them!

Weekend Wrap-up

We began the freezing cold morning (27*) with a good fire and battened our hatches that had blown loose during the high winds.  At noon, it was still only 36* with a bitter wind-nasty!

We hopped to Dad and Mom's to see  how they were and to deliver this sewing cabinet for Mom.

It fit her machine perfectly and now she is ready to piece all those blocks we cut! 

She also finished one of two baby blankets she is going to knit for her anticipated greats due in June;  from my brother's sons not mine for a change! 

Back at home, I fine-tuned the pantograph I want to use on my RainbowScrapQuilt205. 

It works like a charm!  I have a couple of passes done to anchor everything.

When tired of standing, I worked on the clamshells.  I have the rhythm set for working on them finally;  I knew it would happen! 

Then I finished the day with some mending.  I love to work on mending-it is a personal challenge to restore the rips, tears and faulty zippers!  How about you?  Does mending give you the shudders or thrills of challenge? 

Sunday, I woke up slammed with a head cold.   I called foul!

I curled up with my knitting and box of tissues.

I got behind on my MKAL but after much concentration and slow knitting, I am ready to begin this week's clue.  I hate being behind!

Sock Therapy

New doctor, new meds--comfort knitting to the rescue!

I have three shawls on the needles;  all are KAL's and instead I knit socks.

Stress isn't conducive to intricate knitting.  I am not up to ripping out this time.

What do you knit when you need to zone?

Starting the Week by Working

The carpet we laid ourselves last year grew and needed a bit of stretching and kicking-our DIY guys to the rescue!  We moved most of the furniture out of one side and then Mom and I knitted while the men worked.  It was a complete success! 

Then back at my house, this is what transpired!  We are due for a big freeze tonight, tomorrow and again on the weekend.  To protect our flowers, we put up tarps to make a windbreak and keep the frost off the plants. 

Throughout the yard, there are these ghost bushes with a blanket!  

The porch has an eerie blue glow! 

We even hang them to protect the pool side potted plants!

A mild mid 30's drop is okay for a night but these few nights will be too cold for too long.

We hate to lose a plant or have to wait months to see if it will be able to recover from the shock. 

I managed to grab some studio time!  I wanted to touch base with some of the projects I had barely touched at their inception!  I arranged these nine blocks to my satisfaction and then added borders to float them a bit. 

I spent too much time putting these clamshell pieces together but I am getting the hang of it now!  The white looking pieces actually have silver dots on them so it adds a bit of sparkle to this center for a quilt.   

I like what's happening and while it is not a snappy quick project, it is going to be nice to work on. 

The cold weather brings these guys up for a gut full of cracked corn!

Better fill up, it is going to be a long night! 

The evening brought some knitting pleasure-my dyed, hand spun superwash merino for a pair of socks for my grand daughter, Abigail.  She has grown so much, she needs a  new pair of 'Grandma' 

socks!  I tell her I knit love, hugs and prayers into each stitch!

(The night is already 31F and that means a   l o n g   night of freezing for our yard....)

The Eternal Edging

I have been knitting this edging forever.  It is like the song that never ends..... 

The next clue came out for the MKAL on Never Not Knitting and I knit 6 rows last night and when I looked this morning, I wondered what I was thinking!  I tried to rip out the one messed up section but I saw that the mistake in the center was repeated on each section.  It took a long time but I had a recliner day so it didn't matter.

Perseverance pays off.

I put a lifeline in this time so I would have  a quicker way to mark a rip back point.

I was able to go on and knit one whole chart so I got it right the second time!

Life Rolls Along

On the way to and from laundry machines, I color a bit.  I love the pencil container from my daughter.  It is out on the table and calls me each time I walk by! 

I sat forever last night and finished the hat today because I did a lot of sitting again at the dentist!

I suggest that unless you are very wealthy, don't need serious dental work.

I'm used to pain...it is a viable option. 

This hat is only slightly larger than the grey version for Eli-this one is for Ella;  the hearts turn to blue in the sun....which is presently MIA but tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and nice so I will take it out for another picture! 

I am enjoying the MKAL I joined and am seeing progress.

It is good to challenge the knitting brain cells!

I'm Here....

 Some naughty fat cat tried to hammock the newly loaded quilt and they popped all the pins!  There were bent pins all over the floor, quilt and deck of the frame.  I was not happy.

I loaded it back onto the front roller and then had to advance the quilt even though it is not quilted yet just to protect that edge!  The top is also folded up so it isn't near the floor so they don't nest on it!

Sometimes it is a testy balance of values between me and my kitties! 

Just before I had to leave for another bothersome MS doctor, I managed to squeeze out a test block for the new RSC2016.  This block is not going in the quilt;  it is just to help me get familiar with what is going on.   I used the Accuquilt dies and I have some adjustments to make because as is, the block will be 12" and I need 9".  It was a good way to focus on something besides health!

On the way to Jacksonville, I knit on the portable project, one of two little hats I am making for some grands-this is the light reactive yarn!  I opened my door when we pulled in the parking lot and let th sun turn the white yarn into a very pretty sky blue! 

At rest, the colorwork is white but the minute the hat hits the outdoors sunshine, it will pop blue!

This is for Eli and if he leaves it on, it will keep him warm on our windy, chilly winter beach day! 

It is knit with the gray a dk weight yarn from Hobby Lobby. 

We are in a cold snap-even freezing in the night which is so miserable for our flowers.

I put on my wools for church tonight-the Zuzu's Petal cowl and even though it doesn't show here, I have on the wristers to match.  I was warm enough for a change!

(On a funny note, I looked at this pic and thought, when did I start to look so much like my sister?!

She has longer hair but if she cut it, we could be twins!  I know we are very alike on the inside but this was a funny jolt to me looking at this!)

Savoring a Saturday

I didn't have an easy time piecing these three little clamshells but I will be an expert once I  finish these!  Let's just say that there is a learning curve! 

Since  today was not a great day health-wise, I wasn't up to hard sewing so I loaded up the RainbowScrapChallenge quilt from 2015 onto the frame.  It went without a hitch all 8' by 10' of this quilt!  I will tackle the actual quilting later on!

I went to the recliner early today and did some knitting;  the Blue Faced Leicester socks are finished!

I made the leg extra long and rued that decision on the second sock but I stuck it out and now I have a pair of socks for a chilly winter night.

(280 yards of two-ply fingering weight yarn dyed and spun by moi!

The first pair for the new year.)

Settling in at Home

Mom came over today and helped me put away all the Christmas things.  I put a roast in the oven and made some rolls for dinner later to eat at her house when my brother came for a visit.

And then I played a bit with the new Accuquilt die-a clamshell. 

I had a charm pack from Blank in the Sumatra colorway and in keeping with the rainbow theme, I sliced them all up into clam shells! 

I think this is the easy part but tomorrow I will try to piece a row and see how it goes! 

Since these are smaller block, only 4 1/2", I will have to figure out a way to beef up the size.

As the top grows, so will the inspiration;  well that is the plan anyway!

In the afternoon for some down time, I started a KAL from Alana Dakos.  It is a cabled shawl and it is meaty.

Yes, I have several projects on the needles and some are nearing the finish line but I wanted to begin a challenge and I couldn't see any reason to resist!

I am using Artful Yarns Serenade yarn which is mostly Pima cotton (70%) but it is brushed and blended with angora (30%) to make it super soft !  One clue a week will keep it moving along and paced just right!