FAMILY VISIT!

I hope you are enjoying this Easter day.

My youngest son and his family visited Fri and Sat;  when I invited them for Easter, they had plans at their church but said they could come and spend time earlier, I jumped at the offer! 

 We had such a wonderful time!  

Eli, his grandpa and Dad enjoyed several fishing attempts in the pond but two gators, one smaller and one larger,

 have moved into the pool for the Spring season

 and have removed any of the fish in there!

We all enjoyed doing some shooting--I do love target practice!

Ella and I did some sewing;  she is making pillows from the fabric

 I bought at the last Shop Hop!

She did beautifully and here is the proof!  

 

A BIT OF WOODWORKING

I retrieved my old warping board from the junk pile--I didn't think I would ever get into weaving again--I repaired and sanded it so that I can be ready to warp up for the April Weave Along I am joining on the 1st!  (It doesn't have to be pretty to work, I keep reminding myself! lol)

I made a pair of lease sticks because I didn't like the dowels that came with he new loom.

And the warp arrived in the mail in the nick of time! 

 I am all ready to begin on Monday!!!!!

 

FLOWERS ON FRIDAY

But first-yesterday's Shop Hop went well-we discovered a very nice new shop in St Augustine;  always a good find!  

What I bought this time around 

and the wood on the right is for my loom!

My yard is really coming to life with flowers

 so I thought I would share a few; here is a hibiscus.

The poinsettias are still beautiful!

The daisy bush is loaded!

The crown of thorns.

Another clump of amaryllis is blooming.

This is last azalea bush

 (we've had two days of rain so it is a bit beat down!)

but the colors are like neon lights in the yard!

  (I didn't tweak this photo for color enhancement!)

I almost forgot to take a pic (and smell) the Fringe tree blooms before they are gone!  These trees bloom first and grow their leaves next so there is only a week when both are both visible before the blooms will fall off. 

 Yes, the flower clusters are very large-10-12" on average!  

 

A LITTLE OF THIS AND THAT

I finished the mug rugs;  6 of them in fact!  They are 5 x 5".  I am not a coffee or tea drinker but I do like hot chocolate~

I made another kid's hat with the yarn I bought during last week's shop Hop when we made a side trip to JoAnn Fabric's.

I needed a raddle for the WAL I have joined starting April 1st. 

 This helps keep all of the warp threads lined up so I can thread them in the heddles and reed before I can begin weaving!  It is a good thing I have a bin of wood scraps so that I could make it myself--not bad for an hour's work of cutting, sanding, staining, drilling and nailing to save $70!

I am drawing to a close on the quilt on the frame--another 1/2 hour and I will be done!  I just didn't have anymore standing time left in me yesterday! lol

And today is another Shop Hop excursion!  We are not travelling so far afield today but still have 4-5 stops to keep us busy!

 

READY FOR THE FRAME FINALLY!

At quilting group yesterday, I managed to get the borders seen on and all pressed!  Now to wait for its turn on the frame!  I am feeling behind on so many fronts!  I hope to catch up bit by bit!  

My toe is doing much better and stopped throbbing about 4 am so I finally got some good sleep and then felt much better with the bandage off at noontime when I could remove the packing from under my nail!  Too much fun!  

 

A LOOM IN RESIDENCE!

Let me introduce you to my Harrisville 4-shaft loom!  

When I finished, I had to warp up the loom right away and give it a go!  I only warped 40 threads but it will be perfect for some mug rugs!  (I am using some Lopi in the stash) 

 I am loving the renewed joy of weaving!

I was a bit slowed up by this---I went to the doctor's to have an ingrown nail fixed.  This is not a task for the faint of heart! 

 Do you know how much you need a big toe to walk

 and keep your balance?! 

 I hope it heals quickly, I am ready to be busy again!

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

I began the loom construction yesterday.  I had to sand any rough areas then applied the finish to all of the pieces of wood,

 waited half an hour and did it all again. 

 It was relaxing and interesting, as always, to work with wood!

I separated the pieces so I could get familiar with each part.

At the end of a few hours, I had the main framework set up.  

This was my goal for the first day's work.

Next time, I will work on the inner mechanics of the loom-

mainly shafts and treadles!  I can't wait!

 

ANTICIPATION

I managed to squeeze in a bit of this in the last few days;  we did a major house cleaning and I fell exhausted into bed each night!  Bill tackled the yard and me the inside of the house. 

 It glows around here and that is a good feeling!

What I really want to be doing is this!

Assembly required....

I sold my large floor loom 10 years ago

 but I am going to try again!  This one folds up when not in use,

 is a four-shaft which I am used to

and I can't wait to get started!

I even ordered this warp and weft kit 

so as soon as I build this loom,

I will be able to thread it up 

and get WEAVING!

 

HATS OFF TO YOU!

I was able to knit two hats from the new yarn;  it worked beautifully in the Addi knitting machine! The third hat (on the right) has different grey yarn for the inside to finish it.  Not bad to get almost three hats from the skein.

The color ways at JoAnns' were all limited to grey/grey or grey/blue and grey/red.  I will definitely try another skein of this for more donation hats.

This is what it looks like right off the knitting machine!  

100 rounds for a beanie to fit most!

 

BLAST OFF!

Last year's All Florida Shop Hop quilt is on the frame!

And the quilting has begun. 

 A sweet little leaf and flower panto is used.

I also stitched up two new pillows for the family room; 

 made from cotton canvas, 18" pillow forms.

See-even in the daytime, these amaryllis are stunning!  We have several large clumps of them and they sure brighten up the yard!

 

ALL FLORIDA SHOP HOP 2024

Yesterday, Mary and I took off for a day of FL Quilt Shop Hopping!  We went to our closest shop and our farthest away shop.  The Shop Hop began on March 1 but Mary faithfully waited for me to be home from Georgia and feeling well before we took off!  At each shop we visit, we receive a little fabric square to add to this year's quilt.  One is funny, the other sweet!

This shop is our local one--Miss D's;  we love this place!

And this one is two hours away (maybe a bit more when you make a wrong turn and take the scenic route!)  

Yes, we helped to boost the economy!

I have a stay-at-home day today and plan on spending it in the studio for half of the day!!!!

 

PLEASANT PUTTERINGS

I did sew the rows together and cut the borders so I could sew them.  I didn't make too many mistakes (the brain is still very slow! lol) until I did something dumb!

I poked the pin to hold a piece straight into my pinkie finger---boy did it bleed!  I had to leave the piecing for the day because I  didn't want to bleed on the quilt!

After washing, I trimmed the loose ends from the fabric and then pressed it!

There is much variation in the handspun yarn and I love the shading and shifting that results!  

I was glad to see the fabric didn't shrink too much and my fabric pieces will fit!  I will be cutting out the skirt pieces another day because I am heading out to our first day of The All Florida Shop Hop.  I only have to drive the 25 mins to my friend's house and she will do the rest of the driving!  We are going to the closest and the farthest shops today with a pit-stop to JoAnns' in between!