Finishes are Close

I have the 7 bags finished for the Fiber Pusher Podcast sale.

I thoroughly enjoyed making them and didn't regret the decision to make them! 

Since the socks were off the needles I turned to another Nurmilintu shawl.

I wanted to make another baby surprise sweater but need some superwash yarn-I hate to strap a mom with a hand wash only sweater!  It would have worked up great in this yarn though! Oh, well.

This yarn is hand spun of Cormo so the shawl will be like getting a hug every time it is worn!

Midnight

The men's midnight blue socks are finished.

It is hard to knit with a dark color!

The yarn is handspun, superwash merino/nylon.

250 yards

size 2.5mm needles over 60 stitches in plain toe-up knit with a 2 x 2 rib cuff

Size 10 1/2 men's shoe

I knit these for my son-in-law,  Bruce!

It's That Time of Year!

Alligator turtle! 

He brings 'snapping' turtle to a whole new level!  He came through our yard recently!

One of our resident gopher tortoises.  He is an adult with a  14" shell.

Yesterday, while some children came for a visit and we took a walk, we came across this young one with a shell measuring 2 1/2" !  It is the first 'baby' we have seen.

We brought him up to the house for Bill to see (and photograph) and then we returned him to his own territory again!

Spring has everyone on the move!

He is Risen!

Family Gifts

Bill stuck a 'top of the pineapple' in a pot a few years ago and I have watered and turned the pot so it would grow evenly ever since.   Finally, all the care is paying off because it is growing a pineapple!!!!  I have no idea how long it takes to mature but I will let you know!

 This is my geranium, which came back on its own from last years planting....always a favorite of mine.

The Egyptian Iris.  They are blooming all over they yard. 

And look who came for the weekend!

Her dress is off for the fancy egg dyeing and a good thing, too, because splashes happen! 

Proof that I can and do cook even if it generates little pleasure.

I have been trying to make my son-in-law's pizza recipe for a year.  I have the dough down, the fixings down but getting that thing from the counter to the pizza stone has been vexing and even a health risk for both me(blood pressure spike) and Bill(smoke inhalation) because even with the fancy pizza peel, I couldn't get this thing safely delivered without it ending up a calzone!

My daughter called last week to say she read on a blog that parchment paper works better than cornmeal.  I had to try-

SUCCESS!

No more tears.  This pizza was delicious to eat-even the kids like the non-supreme side!

Sometimes, daughters know best!

No Straight Lines

Another pair of Zigzagular socks off the needles!

It's a good metaphor for my life at present!

Sometimes things go sideways and you have to line it back up again!

You know what I mean?

I dug through the stash and organized some coordinating fabrics for a bunch of project bags.

I am going to fill up my Etsy store which is a bit of a change for me.

I am not usually an ambitious in the 'make some for sale' arena.

Benita Story is setting up a virtual fiber fair of vendors on her Ravelry Group, Fiber Pusher Podcast, and I want to participate in buying and this time, selling, too!  

It begins on April 1st and is open to all members.  (join now if you want to participate!)

So I am working on a good schedule for assembly line work!

I set my coloring book up on the craft table in the studio so that every time I walk by I can color a little and add to the beauty on each page.  I am liking the way I can randomly relax for a few minutes!

Aromatherapy....

The orange blossoms are so plentiful and so aromatic right now!  The wind blows trails of sweetness across the whole yard.  It is good....... 

I take Bill out for golf cart rides....this was his latest project-clearing the eastern boundary of brush.  The scents there of pine, vines and earth are very heady.  

I like the scent of woods to be part of my head clearing each day.

I am tired and a quiet ride so I can admire and savor these senses are treasures!

What do you do to decompress?

Twisted and Tried

The skein of navy kettle dyed superwash merino is finished.

I have 287 yards of fingering weight yarn which is enough to knit a pair of men's short socks. 

We went to Bill's podiatrist today to get the bandages off.  It was good to see the incision looking so well with a minimum amount of swelling.

The pathology report wasn't in yet which was very disappointing! 

BUT they did surprise us with the announcement that they are going to put him in a cast for four weeks!  Since what she found wasn't a bone spur but a growth around the tendon, she has to allow healing time for that tendon and the best way is casting.

We were a shocked.

This wasn't what we were expecting for recuperation expectations!

If we have learned nothing else, it is that God's ways very often lead in a different direction than we expect but it is always a better path.

Here's to the higher ground!

New Template Explorations

Mom found this template from Eleanor Burns for making 'easy' flying geese blocks.

I offered to give it a try and teach her how to do it so she could make them when she gets back to New York.

We cut the odd shaped squares and sewed and cut and sewed and pressed! 

And from the odd block we cut flying geese! 

I made two with the lighter geese on the left;  these are the traditional blocks but I made the opposite just to see what would happen.  I think they would make a very interesting contrast to each other!

Mom wants to make a scrap flying geese quilt.

She's ready to go now!

Saturday's Slowness

During quiet time when Bill rested and didn't need me, I spun the pretty navy roving. 

I spun up both bobbins and even began the plying.

I spun off and on for hours while watching Rosemary and Thyme on Netflix.

I like to ply pretty tightly so that it will make a good sock yarn.  The softer (looser) the ply, the more easily it is to have a sock wear too quickly.

These socks will go to my best son-in-law, Bruce. 

Now that the big quilt is done, I dug out some unfinished projects.

I put the rest of the clamshell shapes together and have them all pieced now. 

Then I trimmed the edges to make them squared and even!  

This will be the center of a medallion quilt I have in mind!

Foot Surgery #5

When I sit and wait for Bill in the hospital, I knit.  A lot.

It is a perfect activity to keep your hands busy while your eyes and ears can still be attentive when needed!  I am knitting the Zigzagular socks again....it is much easier to knit in the lighter color than the navy.  My eyes say thank you! 

While we spent the day in the hospital so the doctor could remove what they thought was a bone spur, Bill did very well with the surgery and aenesthesia.

Thank you, Lord.

We don't take this lightlly.

We find out what the two grape-sized lumps were when we go to see the doctor on Monday afternoon.

Always an adventure!

Got the Blues....

Another pair of Zigzagular socks off the needles!  I noticed I was missing navy from my hoard of socks so I decided to remedy the lack! lol

These are womens size 8, knit on number 2 needles in KnitPicks Stroll in the Inverness Tonal colorway.  I knit the leg to match the length of my foot-my default setting! 

I dyed another roving, superwash merino in denim colors so I can knit a pair of socks for my lovely son-in-law .    I have the roving split evenly so I can spin and then ply the two bobbins of singles for a perfect fingering weight yarn.

The Binding Brigade!

The time finally presented itself to sit down and stitch the binding on the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2015! 

I sewed the binding to the back, turned the quilt and folded the binding to the front and stitched it in place! (There were 36" of binding!  Yes, it is a big quilt!) 

As soon as I cut the threads, the quilt went into the washer and dryer!

This is the way I like to put the finishing touch on my quilts!

Voila!

                                Yes, I am very happy to have completed this year long project!

So what do you do with an empty quilting frame?

Load it up with one of the three quilts from the queue!

(This one is Millie's) 

Simple free motion on this one!

Because I Can

I decided to do some wool dyeing....I wanted it complex without a kettle dyed or a gradient this time for this 8 oz of Dorset roving.

I sprinkled dyes on the wet roving and just had fun.

Dyeing is only partly an exact science because this is what it looked like before I heated it in the oven for an hour.

And this is what it looked like after it was rinsed and spun out on the spin cycle in my washer.

There is quite a difference in color at each step of the way!  

Likewise this roving labeled only as medium wool.

I added blues, teal and lime green dyes. 

I have a very varied coloration that I hope doesn't wash out when spun! 

I have to hit the spinning trail now to see what I have created!

There is something very freeing about just playing and seeing what happens!

*I published this in error....I wasn't done yet so I have made my additions and reposted it!

Sew On!

I keep finding some fun color combinations for more of these project bags! 

I must say I am thoroughly enjoying the assembly line I have going!

It's especially nice when I can sew something for my knitting time!

Weekend Bang

What a wonderful treat arrived in the mail....

Deb of Araignee's Tangled Web very generously shared some of her latest soaping products.

In only a year, she has exploded in her saponification talents.  I can't wait to try these incredible bars of soap and the lotion bar.

Even her wrapping is a visual delight.

Thank You!!! 

This is one of the sand roads leading to my parent's home just two miles from mine.

Very Thoreau-ish! 

There was plenty of smiles when this family comes for a visit!

The baby surprise jacket fit her perfectly....I forgot to photograph her but I will catch one soon! 

The Orchid trees are all abloom.  These trees are 20-30' tall and filled with these flowers that do not survive in a vase....one enjoys them on the branch only!

                                   

This is my orchid (phalaenopsis)  so you can see why the tree gets the name Orchid tree!