INSIDE AND OUT PLAY

I was able to do several rows on the quilt using white poly thread on the top--pretty and subtle.

I am using this panto design for this quilt-

I like the results and doing it also!

We have had several very hard rainfalls this last week 

(almost 5") and when we do, areas like this are 'rich' in glass.

This is where we had discovered an old refuse pit buried here so after a hard rain, I like to pick up the pieces 

that come to the surface!

I had a very good harvest yesterday--the bottle neck is very thick which means it is very old.  The pieces I collect go into the tumblers to make them resemble sea glass!  This part of the yard is very near the backyard bird feeder, so it is a good pit stop---the weather was so much cooler and we had a breeze which has been absent all summer. 

 Even I lingered outside so much longer than I have in months!

 

SPRINGS AND SUMMER

We took our youngest son and children to the springs at Welaka--what a treasure that place is tucked in like a hidden world!  The water was so refreshing after a long hike in to the water!

We sat and enjoyed the view and then would swim again--

a very relaxing few hours!

Everyone had a good time jumping in 

and swimming across the spring!

I came prepared this time to join in the swimming 

and had a wonderful time in the water!  I even swam over the springs--the water pressure is so great-

1.4 millions gallons a day-it holds you up in the water!  

My daughter in law sent gifts from her grandparents--very old bottles that he brought up when diving off the coast of St Thomas Island many decades ago--very cool to hold the bottles and feel the difference from new bottles!

  And the fabric is from grandma who is also an avid quilter! 

 I will enjoy them both very much!

 And look!  I even managed to finish the second doily! 

OLD PROJECTS--NEW FINISHES!

My oldest son bought two oil paintings almost 30 years ago and they needed some repair and cleaning.  I glued the canvas onto its board again (it had curled off;  dried out)  and replaced the board to the back of the frame again.  I cleaned and polished the frames and had to admit, it perked them up nicely!

On the back was written the artist, Howard Brandt, and the date they were painted, 1970, and the price originally asked, $480.  I will admit, my son did not pay that much for the pair at a garage sale in 1994! I will be packing these up and mailing them to Washington State to him--they are out of my storage finally!

Do you see the glass bottle bottoms that I rethreaded into a windchime?!  They were threaded with cotton string which had rotted long ago but I knew I could fix it and enjoy it when I saw it at the thrift store but I let it stay in the box for way too long!  No longer.  It is now hung up in the newly created corner of the lanai and it catches the breeze and lightly tinkles beautifully!  

The sock that I ripped out is knit again and I like it tons more!  I will be beginning the leg in another inch, I will be knitting it in the k3, p1, which I enjoy knitting and wearing.  I also made a change to the gusset numbers and will do it like this from now on-the heel fits much better with a bit more room.  I'm feeling pretty good about the sucesses, I must admit!

 

Treasures!

 Bill surprised me with the discovery of a box of treasures from my NY home which I used to keep in my grandmother's china cabinet.  

(It now houses weaving cones and shuttles).

This box has been missing the full 13 years we have lived here. 

 Bill found it on the bottom of a pile of boxes in his shed.  

I am just so excited to know it didn't go to the dump as I feared!

 This is an early 19th century black walnut basket.

It was a gift from Bill so many years ago. 

 These are lead crystal dishes gifted to me from my MIL after a trip to Poland.

 This china piggy bank I purchased from the Redwood Gift Shop at Blue Mt. Lake in the Adirondacks 50 years ago!  I can't believe he made the move and the misplacing so well!

 Silver plate, carnival glass, old dishes....all collected by me through the ages!

 A cup from my MIL when I was newly married.

 I bought this heart bottle when a teenager.

It's interesting to me to see that the things that drew me so many years ago,

still are things I would purchase today-

old dishes, bottles and knick-knacks!

My joy is only tempered by the fact I have to find room for everything in the house now.....

Parts Make a Whole

 Another dishcloth made;  it wasn't enough yarn to make a whole one

 so I used a bit from a new skein to add borders top and bottom.

This one is knit in seed stitch;  

I thought I wouldn't like doing a whole dishcloth in seed stitch 

but I didn't mind the rhythm of it at all and I like the texture of it in my hand!

The pond lawn is covered with these wildflowers again this Spring.

The camera wanted to focus on the ones in the background

 instead of the one right in front of me! 

 I saw some color in the tree back there and found this......

the hurricane had tangled it beyond repair 

so I cut all the parts from the string and I am going to build it again!

I have been saving colored bottles to make one of these

and now I don't have to cut the bottoms off-I can just enjoy this one!

This one was tangled , too, and I almost just tossed it

 because they are pretty common

 but I saved all the disks after I cut them apart

 and I will decide if I am going to rebuild this one later!

The Waiting Room

 As we wait to see where this is going to hit....

 I decided to play with a bit of glass in the microwave kiln.

 My tribute to Irma-hurricane glass jewelry.  These will be pendants.

BTW,  the soap separated just fine if a bit crooked at the divide!  Now we each have 7 bars to last us for months!

Savoring a Saturday

 I  have had this hooked rug circle done for years but never put it on a stool as planned.

 I found a little wooden stool at JoAnn's on my last visit and stapled the panel to it after padding the stool top!  I did sew a 4" I can't wait to use it at church this morning!

 The blocks are now sewn together and I even got the border cut and attached, too.

 The flower basket quilt is on the frame and waiting for some quilted feathers to be applied.  I do not yet know the design for the solid plain blocks but I am thinking a circle of feathers will be the right accent.   The basket blocks will just have outlines and grid lines like on old quilts.

 I covered a Boppy pillow for Cassandra.

 I made two pillowcases of flannel from the stash.

 And worked on making some Christmas colored glass.

I had fun working out different layers for these.   I will enjoy wearing them this month!

It is good to spend time in the sewing room.  Especially since the next three Saturdays will be spent in birthday celebrations and away from home!

Saturday's Decompression

 After company leaves, I like to go into either a cleaning mode or a creative one.   Today, the eclectic creative one kicked in.  A doll in the nursery at church needed some pants-easy way to wake the brain up.

 I sewed some pairs together and cut the others for this quilt.

 I painted the bowling balls that have been sitting in my sewing room for years.

 'Now they are out of the room and outside where I intended them to be!

 I warped my Ashford Knitter's loom and decided to use some Thanksgiving colored thick and thin yarn I got at a thrift store so I would have a runner on my buffet.  It felt good to be weaving and this loom is a breeze to warp so no blood pressure issues!

I finished the socks for Matthew!  I can't believe the yarn matched up when I was just going for random....there is order in the universe!

I sanded the glass pendants and set their bails so I can use them now!

I worked on Marsel's shawl in the evening and finished chart two.  And then I wondered why the lace border was so narrow........Yes, I forgot to do chart one of the edging first.   The shawl is in the naughty bucket.

Catching Up!

 TUESDAY:

 Before we left for dinner at a friend's on Tuesday evening, I put the last stitch on the binding for the apple core quilt!

 I played around with the panoramic feature on my camera to catch the beautiful scenery around their home.  This is the front of the house.

 This is their back view leading to the lake.

 How is this for water decorations!?

 And one of these on the other side!

 The last waterlily open (they close at night!) after every other one had closed up!

 Bill and I caught the last sounds and sights of the sunset over the lake-it was breath-taking!

Bill enjoyed his dog fix!  I resisted.......

WEDNESDAY:

Sons had business trips so I got two daughters-in-laws and grandchildren!  The water was

And a lot of this helped with the activity level-their favorite indoor or outdoor actions was running and screaming and laughing-cute but.....well, LOUD!

 Bling had to go to the vet's for a cortisone shot to stop his allergic reaction-he doesn't do well in the Fall.

I ripped out the whole heel as I realized this yarn came with its own spool of reinforcing heel yarn and I forgot to use it!   RIPPPPPPP!
THURSDAY:

The water was a bit chilly and Will wouldn't part with his shirt-Ella on the other hand, was like a polar bear!  (The water was 80F)

Caleb came and collected his girls and lingered for a good dinner and visit.

There, that is better!   Well onto the second sock.   Great knitting.

FRIDAY:

Ashley worked on piecing her blocks into rows after she lined them all back up on the design wall.  

 Once she caught on to the whole diagonal thing, she worked right along.

 We blocked her fresh off the hook crocheted scarf!

 And in the evening she works on the new dishcloth learning several more new stitches!

 I have Millie's psychedelic quilt on the frame and found just the right pattern for making a groovy stitch pattern!

 It is bright!

 When we have a minute, I worked on some glass again-this one got this weird divot so I will have to take it to the grinder but I love the colors!

This one turned out pretty spiffy-considering I used brown glass, it changed color in the heat!

This guy is keeping us all hopping!