Not Mismatched!

I sat in the waiting room of the surgery center today for 6 hours and was able to knit for most of it!

This is not a pair of mismatched socks-it is one each of two pairs!

When I finished the first tube sock for a 4 year old, the yarn just missed the spot to begin the second one so I started the 18 month old pair!  

No, I didn't get them both done today-I went with these completed but I did finish the larger sock so now I have one pair done!

The smaller one will be done in an evening.

I did take along the Jacob wool vest;  boy that yarn is cursed.  I am plugging along on the vest, I have the front and back separated now but it is a slog;  I hope it is amazing when I am done!

(Bill had surgery to remove a fatty tumor...which was supposed to be a 20 min surgery that ended up being a 1 hour 20 min surgery.  The lump was larger than they thought!

And more involved.

And he had a bit of trouble after anesthesia.

Never boring but grateful to God it is over and he is doing very well tonight.)

Settling Back To Normal!

 I started in with a bit of rearranging from company being here all week.

As so often happens when I begin a good clean, it sidetracks into other areas that could use a tweak!

I love having this crafting table but it keeps being kicked out of places so I have to find a new home!

This time, I think I have it!  I did have to rearrange bins so they didn't have anything hanging out so I could easily back the table in and out for use!  I even have an outlet so it will be nice to have a project going there and not have it on my sewing table!

 While I was doing mountains of bedding, I would tweak my Fall painting a bit so it can be framed and put away for next year!

 And then I got really involved in this between loads of washing/drying and folding!

I love the brighter green which gives it a more modern look.

This one is for my Art Teacher for a thank you as my Dec class will be my last.

I have found my way in watercolor and have signed up for an online class with AnnaMasonArt

as she paints in the style I would like to do.

 I even worked a bit on my latest pic, which is becoming a bluebird!

 When the UPS man came, I went right into the stash to find fabric for Accuquilt's free wallhanging of a birch like tree and cardinals!  It is very Scandanavian and beautiful in its simplicity!

Then I got stuck on picking out the cardinal colored fabric.

I will have to go online and look at a million bird pics and then still have to make up  my own mind-why do I get stuck like this?!

(It was too late in the day.......I'm decided now and it's all good!)

Which one would you pick?

Number them1-5 from the left.

Saturday was Outdoors

 Caleb wanted to play outside;  he asked if there was something guy-fun he could do that would help Dad and I....yes, there were several trees to take down.  He didn't have to ask twice!  It was his first time at the end of a chainsaw and he was a natural!

 He even asked his wife to take a turn;  she is always game!

 He traveled around the yard cutting down unbalanced branches or trees.  We even took down a tree that needed rope and me behind the truck to place tension on the tree to pull it down the right way.
We had a wonderful time and worked well together!  The kids played around the branches, watched the trees 'timber' and helped with branches.

 This one fell across the right of way we care for and so we had to take that one down quickly.
He really got the hang of it!

 We all scrambled to pick up the branches and load them on the trailer as fast as we could!  Since the tree was a dead one, it wasn't as heavy as some of the others, gratefully!

 We had a large pile to haul down to the burn piles!

 The kids really enjoyed all the equipment and rides and mess and dirt!

 Even the youngest, Ethan, helped out with the yard work!  He is walking at only 11 months (tho he started a month ago!) and navigated the ground very well!

 But by far the tractor ride is still the favorite mode of transport!  Caleb not only cut down all the trees but cleaned up all the mess, too, separating the brush from the firewood chunks.  He felt good after a good day's labor and his father and I appreciate the strong, young arms!

 Here are a few out takes from the week.....making brownies on the floor because they couldn't both fit on the stool!

 Abigail at the computer during quiet time!

 Bruce enjoying the kitten that Caleb and Cassandra brought!  She was a favorite to all of us!

David stole my cell phone for a selfie!

Here are the three very different versions of the same pinecone flower wreaths!
 I love to have the kids around-both generations of my kids!  The week was too wonderful for words!
What am I thankful for...........you've just seen it all!  (But one-my NY family and my Seattle ones were in my heart and mind, too!)

Family Thanksgiving Re-cap

 This is a bit blurry but I took it with my cell ph on delay shutter-it's how we look-in motion!
Three of my four children made it here for the week!

The meal was a feast but I liked the dessert decoration....I though it was a hoot from Rob Appell.

 We got right to work on crafts on Friday morning--here we are coloring quilt blocks with fabric markers!  All the moms and children made one!

 Even the little ones managed to get some coloring on theirs with help from mom.

 Grandpa did a lot of golf cart rides when the kids got a bit fractious and with this many, they did!

 We did get to swim;  I am using the royal we because I did not go in the 82* water!

Caleb played a game with Eli-he jumped in..... 

 to the delight of Eli....

 and managed to keep his head above water every time!  It was so fun to hear him laugh so hard!

And then in the afternoon, we began the long planned for pinecone flowered wreaths!
It was a very full day!

Socks for Solace!

 I am being energetic about working on the BROWN vest but a bit of color is a good knit zip!

These will be a pair of tube socks for a Seattle grand daughter!

Grandchildren are filling the house and it is wonderful!

Determined!

I was 7" from the hem on this and the more I knit, the more it felt like I was slogging through a sweater for Jabba the Hutt.

Sure enough, when I laid it out as flat as I could under the arms, it was about 10" too big.

I knew it!

This yarn is cursed. 

I spun it years ago (Jacob wool) but everything I have ever knit out of it gets ripped out!

(3 sweaters and now a vest!)

But this time, I think I have it!

It is the stitch count and measurements of the green vest I made last month that turned out so well

with a few tweaks that will make it unique!

I am 9" up from the ribbing and into the cable and even beginning the waist shaping!

It's great to knit with confidence this time!

Washed and Dried

 Bill helped me hang the quilt on the wall for photos after I washed and dried it!

 I did this loop design on each hexagon and kept the whole triangle areas continuous from one edge to the other-it was a good brain game!

As I was trying to catch the picture of the quilt, Nyki came up on the quilting frame and posed. 

 She looked right at the camera which never happens!

I was laughing so hard.  She was so serious and I was cracking up.

You can't figure out cats!

Well, this project is done.

Time to pick the next one!

Got it Covered!

 After our long day on the road doing errands/doctor's etc, I finished sewing the binding on the hexagon quilt!

Bill is trying to hold it up for me to photograph but I have got to figure out a way to hang them for real-I will figure it out after I wash this today to give it just the right look I love;  and antique quilt look! 

 We stopped here for dinner on the way home.....it was quiet and restful and the food just what our weary bodies needed.

(Corky Bells in East Palatka)

And a bonus today, the soap smells amazing and just what it is supposed to smell like-peppermint!

But it didn't smell this way when I first made it and it didn't smell wonderful when I cut it up in the morning but tonight-it is amazing and fresh and it's going to be a welcoming bar of soap for every shower....in a few weeks!

Sock Races

The black pair won the sock race by a few hours!

The black socks have a good variation of color which I aim for in a kettle dye;  its good.

The red/green pair are superb!  I loved the red / green switch every row and the little speckle area pooled in an amazing way to swirl over the top of each sock!

I love them and so will the recipient!

Yippee! 

And I did another yippee yesterday-I made a batch of soap!

I haven't made one in a long time and we sure needed it!

(The bonus bars from Araignee'sWeb held me over!)

I have made a 4pound, 16 bar batch of peppermint soap 

which is my children's favorite formula!

Candle Mat #1

Quick sewing projects are enjoyable when you are stitching along on the large quilt on the frame.

This is a simple pattern from ThimbleArt (I also ordered a more complex one for another day) 

6 of these leaves are seamed and the backing fabric is what is folded back for the holly leaf look from the front.  The pattern calls for fusible fleece for the leaves but I used the Pellon fuse-n-shape to stiffen them.

Nothing like a short and sweet project! 

See the pretty little cat basket?

Without a cat... 

...because she is determined to sleep in the fiber basket causing the carded batts to get flattened and the bottom of the basket to bow!

I even turned the hand cards on the left prickly side out and it still didn't deter her.

Cats, you gotta love 'em!