Closing out 2019

 This morning, Bill and I headed out for an early day visit to the boys and their dad.
The beautiful St Johns River shone in the sunshine-yes, Sunshine!
  We have had 13 days of grey and the sunshine was so invigorating!

Since I am between meaty knitting projects,

I took two knitting miscalculations to work on!

I found that the two mitts I made on the knitting machine

were the same from the beginning of the wrist up

BUT

the ribbing at the wrist was 3 rows different!

So, I snipped and unraveled the rows and bound off the live stitches so I have a matching pair!

I also didn't like this CoBoo sweater when I wore it one day;

the folded hem just wasn't at the right mark on my hip.

I ripped out the stitches to fold the hem up, 

added 2 1/2" of rib to the front and back separately

leaving a slit on each side seam.

This is a really nice way to avoid the 'hug' under a rounded belly!

Now to decide if I want to add rib to the sleeves, too.......

I hope you filled this last day of 2019 with love.

With Friends

I had fun at quilting group this morning;

I worked on this sewing machine mat.

I saw it a long time ago 

but I am ready to make it

for my machine at our group sewing.

What are you up to today?

 Might I say you need to stop and take note of the beauty around you.

And enjoy whomever stops by for a visit!

A Few or Many

 This newborn's knit hat required 94 needles on the knitting machine.

I used some of WanderingCats' sparkly sock yarn-I've lost the label, sorry,

but the hat looks like it has been sprinkled with fairy dust!

This is for a new baby at church! 

 I didn't put a pom-pom on it-always a question mark for me but for newborns, 

I tend to leave the top as is.

I used a folded hem with K2, yo for the folding row so there are little picots across the fold.

Sweet.

I'm just careful that the gathering at the top leaves NO hole!

And I am still knitting the garterlac dishcloths out of the LionBrand yarn, Re-Up on #6 needles.

24 stitches or 'needles' is all for this project!

I am clearing my palate before I start one or two sweaters in January-I want texture!!!!

I have a Fisherman Knit and a Guernsey picked out!  More to come later!

A Comfort and Comfortable!

 I became a bit turned around piecing my Around the World Christmas quilt 

but after spending time with a seam ripper, I got my bearings again!

So much so, that it was completed with a border even!

 And then I began seat cushion number 1 of 4 for the golf cart!

The old seats have long outlived their beauty but they had some structural decline, too.

I had to trace out the new plywood for this first-Bill used the jig saw to cut it out.

I cut out the heavy vinyl and then began stapling it in place.

 Removing the old vinyl off the foam cushion with its original 1,000 staples is what took the longest!

Upholstery work is 90% muscles  and only 10% mathematical!

In no time, I had it finished and ready to screw in place. 

I'm pretty sure this seat will now outlive the rest of the cart!

December Blooms

 I found these two children's folding chairs at a yard sale but one had a bit of a handicap....

 I quilted a back for this one and I like it so well, I am going to make one for the yellow chair, too!

 We have had the white camellias out since the end of October.

 But the red double bloom bush was slow to open up this year.

 The 3" of rain we had this past week, caused the bushes to explode with blooms!  This blossom is about 8" across--oh, if only they smelled as good as they look!

We have about seven bushes of camellias but only these three kinds of flowers;  I am ready to plant some new ones .
I will research my options!  

 And nothing says December like a Christmas Cactus or two or 5!

 These two are the oldest plants that are 40+ years old.

 This one is only 5 years old!

 These are blooming for their second Christmas-a pink and

 a light blush of a white!  I started this one from a single lobe a friend gave me a few years ago.

 Oh, how could I not include my own held over poinsettias!  They are a bit behind the greenhouse

cousins but they are going to last a long time!

And not to be left out-the beautiful red tai plant is doing its own particular flower!  

The reds have it in the yard right now!
(the reds almost always have the most!)

A Raglan Success!

I seamed the sweater,

added the neck ribbing

and then Bill tried it on

AND

it fits beautifully!

I will have a follow-up pic of him wearing it soon!

Merry Christmas!

 Remember what we are celebrating today!

 It will be a quiet gift opening for Bill and I this morning;

only the third one we've had alone in 43 years!

Later on , I will be working to seam these sweater pieces so I can knit the ribbing for the neckline.

In between eating and dozing, I will work on this.

If it stops raining (a constant drizzle!), we will most likely take a golf cart ride to admire the latest flowers!

I hope you will have a wonderful day with those you love-

(even when you are noting the ones who no longer walk among us this day)-

we still have so much for which to be grateful!

From Russia with Love!

 A few months ago, my daughter and her family took a trip to visit their missionary in Irkutsk, Russia.

If you are like me, you need a map to see where Irkutsk is....

 It was a wonder to get updates from them through texts-we were 12 hours apart 

so had to coordinate communication so we could have conversations!

 Today, I received a package of souvenirs;

my daughter had saved them because we were supposed to take a trip to Georgia to see them

last month but I wasn't feeling well enough to travel.,

But look at this yarn!!!!

At the open air market, they met an older women who spun yarn 

from her own little flock of Kaza--nanny goats literally. 

 It feels like mohair but oh, so soft!

 I mean, look at that halo!

The wool is single ply-I can't wait to swatch this!

 Bill was gifted socks made of camel fiber--the man selling them reminded Marsel of her Dad!

(Loud and telling corny jokes to the market shoppers!)

After trying them on, he left them on the floor where Nyki promptly killed them 

and then laid on them.

 After she walked away, Lena moved in for her turn.  She took a few tentative sniffs, jumped and then settled down for a nap!

Slow Down

 My birthday poinsettia;

we will be planting it outside after winter passes.

 We had a lot of rain last night-may it be our only winter precipitation!

 Since there is no quilting group meeting today, I will be piecing/quilting from home.

I washed up the three I had finished over the weekend.

Look at this crinkly wonderfulness!

This one will be on display in the April quilt show in town.

They have an entry for "finishing an old top and turning it into a quilt."

There is another one I will be making for this entry, too. 

But that one is for January of 2020!

Look at Her Work!

I woke up my color senses yesterday

with an exercise in the pattern, Trip Around the World, lay out.

These are donated squares passed on to me!

I will turn them into a quilt in no time!

 I loaded on the top made from squares my Grandmother and her friend made

 In no time I had the quilting done 

and then the quilting.

(40 x 56"  of fabric from the 50'2 and 60's, all hand pieced.)

 I couldn't let that frame go empty so I loaded the peppermint candy quilt top 

and began the quilting!

Wait until you see the backing I used!

 I am using free motion straight line quilting for a more modern look for this quilt.

 And I mangaged to cast on and knit 14 rows to rework for ribbing, K1, P1.

The rest of the back will fly in comparison to the ribbing!

(you have to unravel every other needle and latch up the ladder to be able to do a purl stitch)

I have gotten coordinated from practice at this and it moves right along now-it's still faster than hand knitting.  I am thinking of putting a cable down the length of the sleeves on this raglan!

These cables, too, have to be hand worked but it will be fun to do, perhaps!

And I closed out a \my day with this garterlac dishcloth, knit with Re-up cotton from LionBrand.

Will You Still Feed Me?

....When I'm 64?*

I enjoyed a wonderful birthday yesterday doing what I enjoy,

at home, 

in my studio!

From Bill I received yarn, chocolate, jewelry and flowers!

What more can you ask for?!

 I began the day finishing the sleeve on Bill's sweaters

 and tracked Bill down for a try on 

and

immediately saw that the sweater was way too small.

I made several mistakes on the sizing--I forgot the cardinal rule of ease--giving yourself room to move!  And I goofed on figuring the stitch count--my rows were spot on 

and the length of the body and of the sleeve was perfect

 but the 'around' wasn't 'round' enough!

I decided I needed to walk away for awhile!

I knew the inevitable was coming but I couldn't do it right away!

So I went to the quilting frame and finished one quilt

then immediately loaded the second.

In nothing flat,

it was time to take them both to the sewing machine for binding

and voila!

Two successes outweigh the one loss for the day!

I did unravel the whole sweater at day's end.

It was a good time to reflect on life.

Then I redid my math and allowed for ease.

I'm ready to start to knit that sweater-again!

*did you note the Beatles' song reference?  

64 Sounded so old back in the olden days......