Wrap it Up!

 Marsel spun up two skeins of Peruvian wool, 140 yards!  

 She washed and dried the skeins and started right away on the next yarn...

...some beautiful rainbow Superwash Merino/nylon we dyed last Spring (2015!)

We split the roving into 4 sections so there will be two, 2 ply skeins.

I will have her send me a pic of them when finished! 

Abigail and I had a sewing project this morning, a cross shoulder bag for her to wear!

She is enjoying her sewing skills and has a quilt in her next HomeSchool home ec class! 

While we were working inside, the guys were trimming the bushes, 

making things just so for the Fall/Winter months.

The job went faster with fewer bushes this Fall.

(the big job of changing the landscaping took place in May this year!0

This is the finished job in the back yard!

You would never know there was a jungle here a few days ago!

Bill seeded it with rye and with a week of watering, it will be green and lush and ready for mowing in a few weeks!

Just in time for their November yard Church gathering! 

We said our goodbyes , see you soon!

And Bill and I hit the road at 3pm to head back home.

We planned to spend the night again at the halfway point but once we hit there, we decided to just keep going!  It was a fun, crazy trip but we made it! 

See what I finished on the way home?!  Presenting the Dovecote Capelet in DK weight yarn on #5 needles, 2 skeins.  It fits wonderfully and I know this because I wore it for part of the trip home! 

 I will be mailing it back to Marsel tomorrow-I was mad I didn't finish it in time to leave it with her but time just got away from me!

I will be blocking it before I send it out but I was too anxious to get the picture here and share it!

The ribbed sections really make for a nice fit that stays put-a great design.

I will be making one for me in olive green!

Outings!

   

Marsel is doing some spinning while I am here to help.

She didn't need me really-what she needs is for me to help her keep caught up at home so she has a 1/2 hour to sit and relax at the spinning wheel!

I can be a tyrant about her getting some down time while I am here to help!

I love to see how she is so natural at the wheel! 

This morning we visited the American Girl Doll store so Abigail could purchase a new doll.

She has been saving birthday money and chore money along with her babysitting money so she could make the purchase with her own money!

She couldn't decide between 5 dolls....then narrowed it to 3 and then 2 and finally she picked- 

 

A Truly You doll that looks very Irish or Scottish to me but she chose an English name for her,

Elizabeth  Anne , and is calling her Ellie!

They were inseparable the rest of the day!

I foresee some doll sewing in my near future!

I would love to figure out how to make a tradition Irish outfit for her!

While we were shopping, the Bill and David were burning up the links!

It was a perfect day to be outside!

(Bruce stayed home and worked-he is both a lawyer and a pastor-he has plenty to keep him busy!)

Yesterday, Bill and David worked hard to clear that brush and fencing from the old garden.

They got to the last tree and were stopped from finishing because of an angry nest of ground hornets! 

They had to retreat for a spell and while they waited for dusk, they worked on spraying a nest of carpenter bees from the eave and sealing up their hiding place!

It was very high up...I'm taking the picture from the back deck! 

Come evening, Bill gave them a drink of gasoline and followed it with a bit of flambeau!

This morning when they checked out the nest before golf, all was quiet!

Sometimes the most basic approach is all it takes!

A Hike!

I am slogging through the 280 stitches a round....but I am almost to my first decrease round and I can't wait!  It has a beautiful feel and drape! 

My  new medicine regime is making a wonderful change in my pain level!

I have such high hopes!

I even went on a hike with David, Bill,  Abigail and Marsel!

There is a greenway at the end of their housing development that David discovered;

he shared it with his family and now it is their regularly scheduled picnic spot! 

He couldn't wait to share it with us!

The gentle creek gains some rocks and boulders then gets fast and melodious! 

Wouldn't you like to explore with us?!

It was a feast to my eyes!  So much color and texture! 

I wish I could share the bubbling brook sounds with you, too! 

The rocks are beautiful and a nice place to rest in between 'sticks down the crick' races!  

We saw signs of wildlife that enjoy this brook also-see the deer print? 

And a raccoon that slid in the mud here!  

Most of the trees around us were deciduous but this was the tallest tree-

a mountain pine!  It towered above all the others! 

It is steep up both sides of the watered valley.  

It reminded us of the Adirondacks where we often hiked as a family! 

A Selfie of the happy hikers! 

Out the gate and back to civilization....

Weekends....

I worked on my Close to You shawl.  It is such luxury yarn-Yak down and Silk-wonderful to hold!

Bill's job was to remove the fencing from the garden that is no more.  The corner posts are cemented in! 

He removed the fencing and piled it up so that it can be sold. 

And he removed the cemented posts-look at that Georgia red clay! 

Bruce finished the power washing the driveway.  It looks brand new! 

After church Marsel took a pic of us with the kids.  We rarely remember to take pictures of us with the kids and I wanted to do something about that this visit!

Here's to a good start!

We were still pretty droopy from the virus this weekend but do see some peripheral improvements!

Destination!

 I made it through the 540 stitches of k1p1 around and the k1tbl,p1 !  It looks good and feels soft!

I got a lot more knitting time in this morning and before we knew it, we were..

...sitting in Atlanta traffic!  It is congested no matter what time you drive through but at least we were not deadlocked! 

And then I was hugging my Georgia Peaches and all was right with the world!

Even the grandfurbabies were glad to have their catnip yielding grandma in the house!

On the Road!

Bill cut down the tree that held my bird feeder in the front yard so he built me this one-I was a bit leery of letting him loose on the design but he did a great job!  I am thrilled!

I am so enjoying my watercolor lessons....it has opened a part of my brain that has wanted to be stirred and I am finally listening!  I bought this easel that is portable and

 folds up so I can carry all my supplies like a little suitcase!

Thank you Hobby Lobby and your weekly coupon!

We are having a student showing at our local gallery so I have to finish two pictures to frame and display!

  No pressure! lol

It was a last minute decision to head up to Georgia and see Bruce and Marsel and the grands!

We loaded up and caught up around the house all day and finally left at 3:45!

I'm working on this while in the car-

I cast on last night but had to rip out the inch of k1p1 ribbing because the join was twisted!  For some reason I had cast on with a short 16" cable instead of my normal 32' so my stitches were all jammed on;  all 280 of them!  Lesson learned-use the right cable and don't cast on so late at night!

We drove only halfway of our 8 hour trek

so to our post-virus bodies, this was the minimum we could do!

I'm writing this from Perry, Georgia;  home of their State Fair which gratefully, is not this weekend or we wouldn't get a room!

Close!

Boo hiss;  the first day I feel like I am going to live and I had to go to St Augustine to get a prescription!

(The inability for people to admit they made a mistake is rampant;  I could've gone to my local office on Monday and not have to go a week without the medicine if they had been more open!)

Bill graciously drove  us to get our piece of paper from the doctors'

and then we stopped at Hobby Lobby for some yarn...more on that on another post!

So the best thing about having to be in the car so much-

knitting time!

This is the beginning of the Close to You shawl!

Nice pattern because it is easily memorized with great results!

Maintenance!

I was able to be upright for a little while today.  I had the brilliant idea to clean out my machine after fixing that upside down row on my medallion quilt.

It turned into more than a little cleaning out of the bobbin area.

I got thinking that it hasn't been clean professionally since we moved here (almost 10 years now!)

But I felt I could do what they would do-take the housing off and clean out the lint!

I did it! 

I couldn't believe the lint and graphite dust that had collected in there!

Now you must understand-I am a stickler for cleaning around the bobbin area and removing it and using the brush to reach all areas possible around that area.

And no blowing!

So I was really surprised when I removed this amount of lint 3x.

And then I vacuumed it all out!

And put it back together and took it apart because it made a funny noise!

And took it all apart again and found the computerized section disconnected and fixed it and put it back together again.

And cleaned the housing from all the grimy fingerprints.

And cleaned the table where all the carbon bits left smears.

It is a good job done and I saved myself $100. 

And now my Designer SE hums right along with me!

Reward time....back to bed to do some new knitting-

a shawl!