Red and Green

 I'm working on another attempt at the top down sweater, this one a V-neck.

I'm knitting with WoolEase yarn by LionBrand on the LK-150.

 The back is done and now I am working on the front. 

The sleeves will connect the front and back while being knit

 so there is only the side seams to deal with when finished!  

Fun this time!

 Someone likes to craft while I am working in the studio!

 Outside, we have some blooms we don't see until this time of year!  

Calliandra

 Christmas cactus

 And others that have been blooming all year-

bougainvillea

 desert roses

 shrimp plants

bromeliad

And this is a mandavilla--it has been blooming since March--

and is still going strong with a dozen blooms at least!

I like it!

 Yesterday, the new clue for the Mystery QAL was revealed-

I put my blocks up on the design wall correctly but won't get to sew them together

for a few days while we share Thanksgiving festivities!

 I like the dark blue pieces!

They look like writing but it isn't really;

just scribble script to give the sense of words.

I am working to keep all of the script horizontal

which takes a bit of thinking!

 I finished the basket weave dishcloth and

cast on this old favorite.

I will get to knit in odd moments today

after many moments of crazy activity!

Happy Thanksgiving to you who read this blog.

I am grateful for the many of you I have 'met' here.

A Whole Day of Studio, Almost!

 After  finishing the pressing and trimming of the Myster QAL blocks,

I cut the borders and attached them on this lap quilt.

 Since I was on a roll, I decided to place those blocks I had removed,

and incorporated them into the backing.

 I whipped off these pj's for the Fernandina grands.

 With the few remaining moments before I had to head to the kitchen for some baking of pies,

I made this pot holder I had read about on Joy's blog.

I had seen these forever and wondered why I never made one!

And one was all I could made because I only had a scrap of the insulate fabric.

 See, your fingers and thumb go inside the back.

If I like using it, I will make some more!

And I closed out the day yesterday with a bit of new dishcloth knitting.

Another variation on the basketweave texture.

Today, all I have to do is bake an apple pie .

Easy preparation for the pleasures of family time tomorrow!

Trimming!

 During quilt group, I managed to finish sewing all of the half square triangle blocks

but

they do all have to be trimmed to exact size.

 I also completed the second hat for a grandson

but it did take a bit longer to bury all of those ends!

It was worth it though, because now they are both done-

similar but not exact just the way their dad likes it!

Quilting Group

This is the project I brought

to work on during quilting group.

It is the Mystery Quilt -A-Long from Alycia Quilts.
(thanks to this post from Nancy)
I need to catch up in time for the new 'hour'
revealed on Wednesday.

Look at the new gadget I have to make my
sewing easier on the portable machine I take to class--

a sewing table to give me a larger sewing area.
It's a Sew Steady JR Table
customized for your machine from Sewing Machine Plus.

Slowly a Saturday

Does anyone else watch TV while the screen is blocked liked this?!
He actually dozed off sitting there!

I finished plying some yarn-

this is the Polworth.

It's the first of 4 skeins I will have 

from this fiber;  155 yards on this one.

I worked up two swatches

for the next projects on the knitting machine.

I'm hoping I have all of my numbers

figured out correctly!

One Day to Catch My Breath

So I spent most of yesterday in bed

dozing and knitting.

I guess this new health pattern is ramping up its ugly head.

There is a hefty price to pay to over-scheduling.

So now I know the rules of engagement!

I hope to catch my breath so I can

                                                     do some sewing in the studio today!

Grandparent's Day

 

We started out the day yesterday

visiting our grands for a special presentation 

for grandparents at their school.

It was precious.

(Bill and I are in the center. their Omi on the right

and adopted grandparents on the left.)

 Afterwards, we went out to lunch at this restaurant.

It is on the Amelia River.

 And  it's called the Down Under because you have to drive around the winding road under the highway to get to it!

 After a delicious lunch, we walked out closer to the river so Eli  could threw stones!

 His dad, my youngest son, threw a stone so far that Eli was amazed!

It's nice to amaze your kids!

 Isn't this a pretty scene?!

It was a perfect day.

The drive home was long (2 1/2 hours) but uneventful.  

This is a long bridge over the St Johns River at Dames Point.

I'm home today-shhhhh!

Don't tell anyone.

It has been a whirlwind of a week!

Out of Town

Two hats delivered to their new owners!

Visiting grands in Fernandina Beach-

it is chilly here, too!

We read "Stanley the Amazing Knitting Cat" and 

then I gave the kids their own woolie warmies!

It was a great ending to a very fun book.

(Recommended by In a Pickle, a knitting podcast)

We watched the space station go overhead last night-

it is good to share the wonder of such a sight.

Off to enjoy taking part in their Grandparents' Day at school.

Successful Execution

Yes, today was a successful execution of all the errands 

from Palatka to Daytona  to Palm Coast to home today. 

All purchases are for present projects;

flannel for pj's, 

books for pleasure, 

yarn in front for mittens

and in back, gifted skeins for all of my hats, etc.

The blue vinyl on the right will become seat covers for my golf cart!

The red/white/blue on top of the fabrics is for the mystery quilt

that Nancy shared in a recent post!

The triangles on the fabric under the yarn will

become Christmas banners--wait until you see them!

(I was pleasantly surprised to see that the order from Fabric.com

contained a third panel-one more than I ordered-

because a note said I got it free because it was the end of the bolt!)

Off again today after lunch--more knitting to happen on the travels!

Some Finished Works

 I only had 1/2 and hour of work left on this

and managed to finish the quilting at the frame

and add the binding yesterday before we hit the road.

 The quilting is called birds and blooms for obvious reasons.

I didn't  get to load a new quilt on the frame but I hope to do that

this morning before I have to leave for the day again!

Yeah, it's that kind of week.

 I did manage to knit this hat on the trip yesterday.

It will fit a teen to a women because of the 2 x 2 rib stretchiness!

The yarn is Red Heart Ombre in purple on #8 needles.

I hope to knit another one today!

Guests

Look closely under our East Palatka Holly tree

(with its ripening berries)

and see the pair of Sand Hill Cranes

who regularly come to sift through the seeds spilled

from our bird feeders

by the much smaller song birds!

This is going to be a very 'going' week

in which we will not have a 'home-all-day' day

until Friday this week!

I hope I will at least be able to knit while in the car so much!

Anticipation!

The official finished photo of the Patriot's Quilt.

36 x 48"

And the CoBoo Raglan is completed!

It is blocked and joy of joys, it fits!

It was a close call on the amount of yarn I calculated;

this is all that is left after seaming 

and stitching all of those turned hems by hand.

It is weightier than a wool sweater

but the silky sheen of the bamboo makes it a perfect southern fiber!

As I was blocking it--note the photo bomber in the background!

Yup, the boys are in town!

We had a lovely time baking and then painting together.