MEET AND GREET

Yoda Baby #1 (on right) meets Yoda Baby #2.

I made better notes this time so it will be more easily replicated.  

 

WORK DAY

Work day was a success;  the sky was overcast and the rain that was predicted held off all day so all the work was accomplished!  In January, we will be having another day to paint all three buildings.  Something to look forward to.  There was a large sandwich and chili lunch to the appreciation of all!

When I got home and cleaned up, I finished putting the Polar Bear Cuddly toy together and added his faux leather tag 'made with love' on the hem!   He and Teddy are getting acquainted!

 

KINDA CREEPY...

I'm making another PolarBear Cuddly toy, I have the parts made and need to sew them in place.  The snout will get a nose and mouth and it will no longer look so creepy! lolI

Now I am off to the work-day at church.  I will probably collapse when I get home;  I still haven't recuperated from Thursday's chores! Sigh.  It will be a good job done and I am excited about that!  Hope you have a good Saturday!

 

INTERMISSION!

Yesterday was a long day but very productive!  The laughter and fellowship of women working together is wonderful!  I was pretty sore and came home right to bed! lol  A bit later I added the last rows to the hat and scarf on the Sentro 48.  I have a bit of work to finish the ends of the scarf and then I will toss them into the washer/dryer!  And they will be ready to gift!  I used LionBrand's Basic Stitch yarn, it is a #4 weight but a soft, smooth yarn nothing like RedHeart.  Don't hesitate to buy this acrylic yarn for any item you could find to knit!  

I have the whole day to recuperate and then tomorrow is another work day at church--I am on flower planting duty!  Exciting stuff.  I've always liked Fall cleaning better than the usual Spring cleaning!

 

RED STARS!

I knew that I would be busy today so I did a marathon of piecing to get the 15 red stars completed!  I chain pieced each of the rows and in a few hours, they were up on the wall!

  I usually do each block, one at a time 

but this got the job done.

I have no idea of the pattern for the blocks yet, remember this is a Mystery Quilt-a-Long, they are just up on my design wall for now but the bottom ones with the red centers 

are the stars I made this time.

Today, I am off to help clean all of our upholstered chairs at church.  We will have an assembly line ready to vacuum, shampoo and rinse them all!  It should be interesting!

 

SHARING THE FRAME

Mary came yesterday and loaded up her flannel puzzle quilt!  She is backing it in minky fabric.  She had it half done when she had to leave.  It will wait for her until next time!

Now here is a fact--I have never owned a hot water bottle.  We've had heating pads but you are hampered by the cord and having to remember to turn them off eventually.  Well, I must admit-I am so thrilled with the heat and comfort from this kind of heat!  While Mary was working, I enjoyed knitting this on my Sentro using my handspun Rambouillet woolen yarn;  it is a perfect combination!

 

WOOD, YARN AND CLOTH

These are the highlights of my day!  What do you think of little Yoda?  He is just too cute!  He stands about7" high;  made on my 22 needle Addi.  I watched this YouTube to make it. The bowl cozy is a gift from a friend who knows I don't like eating my ice cream from a sweating bowl! lol  And the acorn?  Welll, I was successful with my goal of turning it into a secret box!

I sawed the bottom from the cap--by hand because the blade broke on my bandsaw!  Then I had to hollow out another piece of wood to hold the cap so I could hollow it out.  Then I cut off that end of the wood and hollowed out a shape for the lower portion of the acorn.  I hollowed that out and then polished them both again!

Now, the inside is hollow and the two pieces snap together looking like it was before only now it is better!

If you count the stem, it measures 4" now.  When I make this again, I will do the hollowing in the beginning and it will be mush easier and a more efficient use of time!  I made it out of oak-in case I forgot to say that before;  what else would you make an acorn out of?!

 

ANOTHER BLOCK!

 I really enjoyed working on the cables-what was nice was that the return row was just purl back which was just the rest I needed! lol  I changed the cable-crossing a bit from the pattern so that it looked a bit more like lattice.  A very good knit!  

SOCKS ON SUNDAY AND FARMER'S MARKET SIGHTS

Can you believe it?!  I really have a pair of socks!  These were started in August--almost exactly 2 months ago!  No excuse. 

 But they are here, and it's a nice feeling to have them done!  (KnitPicks Static yarn, size 8-9 socks.)

Yesterday, I did go to the Fall Festival which was really the usual once a month Farmer's Market! lol 

This is for Dee!

I loved all of the animal booths--and the ability to be close to the animals!  We even talked with a guy about a 3' alligator he was holding (3'=three year old;  they grow about a foot a year!\

He, the handler, was very informative.

Once home, I finished off some more hats with this same yarn combination-Lion Brand Wool Ease and some Premier Prints to make a family of hats to fit a family up north--

Daddy, Mommy, Big Sister, LittleSister and the baby hat if for the baby due in February!  I always tell th enorthern family that I knit the warmth of Florida into them!  I have enough of the printed yarn to make the kids some mittens on the Sentro knitting machine also!  Coming Soon.

And I even played a bit on the lathe.  A friend has requested a hummingbird house in the shape of an acorn so I did a little preliminary work to try my ideas out.  After I finished this solid one for practice, I think I am putting it back on the lathe to make it a little box.  I have ideas way more than there is time! lol 

HINTS OF AUTUMN FINALLY!

We've had chilly mornings and mild days which finally gives me a feel for Autumn.  I saw this idea of making a series of things that make you think of Fall and thought I would make my own--this is painted on paper that is 5" x 8".

Lena likes to sit and enjoy the 'big' door open for her! 

 She was watching the Sandhill Cranes at the feeder!

I did the rest of my blocks which ended up needing two more blocks worth of flying geese so  bit of cutting happened 

before I could finish but finish I did!

Besides the sweater knitting, I made two more adult hats exactly alike--showing both sides for you.  

Today I am off to a Fall Festival in the nearby town;  I am going with a friend.  I hope to have some interesting sights to share with you tomorrow!

 

LOTS OF FUN

I started a new sweater, a cardigan, called Elmgrove, by Berroco.  Lena was doing an inspection of my stitch count!  I thoroughly enjoyed doing the lace knitting which is how the increases are made on the yoke.

It is a round yoked top-down cardigan. 

 I am using the yarn I brought home from my Mom in August.  

It is more coral than the orange it appears here.

Earlier in the day, I worked on the new red blocks. 

 I will finish the rest of them, 9 more, today.

Bill was at work on the roof trying to repair a leak

 on the solar panels that heat the water for the pool.

  Unfortunately, he had to declare fatalities to 3 of the 7. 

 It's been a hard few days to be on the roof

 because of the aching back, knees, ankles that result!  

 

ANOTHER TOY

Isn't this a cute baby toy?!  It does not look like the one on tise YouTube video but it has charm of its own! lol

First I made all of the parts and then very easily sewed it together!  It's was interesting to me to see how creatively she sewed the arms to the body/legs section!

And I added two more blocks (the bottom two) 

to the stars line-up!  Now I have 2/3 of the blocks I need!  

Today, I will be cutting and beginning to sew the next clue to the Long May She Wave MQAL!

 

BLESSING OF BEING GRANDPARENTS

During the morning yesterday, when I had made two rectangles which were going to become slippers, I received a phone call to babysit the boys as Matthew's sitter had to cancel!  No problem!  We decided to go early and spend some time with all of them after the boys got out of school.

Over the St Johns to Matthew's house! 

 What a beautiful day-mild and sunny and NO humidity!

On the way, I finished putting the seams in the slippers and gave them a try on--my toes are cramped due to the windshield! lol

Once we had the boys, we huriedly changed their clothes and headed to the park next to their home.

Bike riding is always a good after school activity!  They whizzed away and in back of us-probably doubling the distance I walked.

Look at the size of this stump--it is easily 5-6' across!  

Throughout the park are these hidden frogs-

very fun to spot along the way!

When we went near the water, the boys parked their bikes so they could throw stones...

and climbed the trees. 

 The wind was much stronger by the water!

The water was choppy and the waves were impressive!  If you look at the top right of the photo, you will see the end of the pier--a very long pier!  During Ian, the water was right up to the level of the pier! All of this area was under water, too!

Here we enjoyed the view from the end of the pier!

This is looking toward Jacksonville--you can see the skyline-just.

Heading back down the pier--you can see how far

 it juts out into the river!

I took a lot longer to walk back--I could feel my left hip catching and my right knee throbbed!  I was slow but determined to walk all the way back without help! lol

What a view!  This is looking southwest--away from Jax.

Look at this 1892 log cabin that was built to hold their wine making.  The walk did me a lot of good--especially the good company! 

STITCHING!

I had a very nice time during our quilt group gathering;  it took me a bit to remember the plan for the star points but I figured it out and made two more while there!  I only need 12 for the lap quilt so I am halfway there!  And if I give it a bit more attention today, I can get another few blocks made!

PS-I am being plagued with email and blog problems-I am getting no comments in my emails anymore and any that might trickle through are always in the junk/trash file and not in my inbox.  I love it when they update something bc it never works smoothly!  I am reading your comments but trying to answer right now is a pain to work out!  Sorry!

 

A SMATTERING

After church, we had lunch a I went to my room to nap. 

 And when I awakened, I made a hat on the Sentro,

 put a pattern repear on the latest block

 and am very close to finishing that cursed sock! 

 I had done four inches on the leg and realized I had done the wrong rib--more ripping out!  I can't believe how distracted I have been on the this pair of socks! 

 The other knitting went smoothly at least!

I will be heading in to quilting group today,  it will be nice to work on the 9 patch stars.

 

NO SOCK ON SATURDAY!

I knit another hat and used up another skein! 

I like the light side of tis reversible hat! 

 I think Lena does, too!

 And I managed to piece all of my blue stars for  the Mystery Quilt-A-Long that Alycia is hosting. 

It's the first week I am not behind

 but am done ahead of the new clue

 which comes out next Wednesday!!!

Now that Bill is home, I will be able to knit on the way to church and back which just might be all the time I need to get this pair of green socks off the needles!  I can't believe they are so neglected!