LOST AND FOUND

Here's a family picture-my brother, sister, parents and me!  

I began the day yesterday with a sad cindy moment!  I dropped my ring down the second floor register and heard it drop  A L L  the way down to the basement!  When it warmed up a bit (-13F is very chilly) the men headed down to the basement to look things over.  They tried snagging it from above and it didn't work.  So went down with the plan to open up the vent pipe.

They drew the 'trap door' mark to use the grinder to open it up...

then the battery died on the grinder.  They (my brother in law, brother and dad) ended up just unscrewing the pipe from the stringer and pulled it out of the other end and were able to find....

my ring (front left) and another ring we have never seen which is sterling silver, an initial ring with a V on the front!  The other items are just fun, too.  The other good thing they discovered after living in this house since 1970, that there was a damper to this heat register upstairs and it has always been closed--the upstairs is much warmer now! lol

This was the arctic-like scene we woke up to yesterday morning!  Brrrr!

But did it stop my Dad from bundling up and heading out to get the mail at 10am?  Not at all.  

Mom and I worked on our mittens 

to match the hat we made the other day.

I managed to whip off another hat-red on the inside and grey on the outside, or vice versa as desired!

Church by remote today! 

THE MAGIC OF MITTENS

Almost another hat set!  I think this yarn just glows!

  This set I wlll be keeping for myself ! 

(I might be going north next month!  Shhhh!)

On the 48 needle Sentro, I knit 16-18 rows of the cuff after a few rows of waste yarn.  Then I changed color to the hand color, 37 rows.  I cast off this end after the 37 rows!

 The top of the hand is gathered like for the top of a hat, using the long tail for seaming in a minute.The bottom of the cuff is cast off with the crochet method-you pull one stitch through the next so that you have 24 stitches all slip stitched and pull the tail end through for the bind off.  The project is now folded in half and ready for seaming.

The mitten is seamed using the mattress stitch from the top down for 20 stitches and then working form the cuff up, the stitches are seamed the same way leaving 11 stitches open for the thumb to be attached.  

The thumbs will be stitched and sewn tomorrow!  

 That's how it's done--easy way to get a double-thickness pair

 of mittens in no time on the Sentro machines!

JANUARY MADNESS

I'm serious when I say that I like to clean out and organize in January.  When I walked through my studio in the morning, 

I thought, I hate the way that table blocks my fabric

 and looks crowded.

The table holds my flat knitting machines.  Since I broke my wrist (last Jan.) I haven't touched the kntiting machines.  I have decided to sell the double bed machine and just packed up the LK150 which I will keep but will put it away for a while.  I'm enjoying the Sentro knitting machine and will stick with that for now.

Two garbage bags later,  I was down to the essentials

 and got them boxed up and out of the way.

Ta-Da!  Doesn't it look open and inviting?!  I am thrilled with the results but sure was tired when I finished!  The table is folded and waiting for me to clean out another room to use it there!  

I even reorganized the painting supplies-acrylic

 and paint pouring supplies.  

I removed one organizer and like the access

 I now have to everything!

When I had to put my legs in rest-mode, I finished the thumbs and attached them by grafting.  Isn't this a fun set?! 

 (I Love This Yarn in Bloomtique and Sea Blue)

This looks like a pretty sunset but actuallly, it is the moon rising while the sun was reflecting its colors for the moon to rise through the pinks!  It only lasted for 20 minutes so I was glad I was outside watering plants so I was able to see it!

 

FROM A SINGLE TO A SET

The tutorial on Koala Knits and Knacks was very straightforward to follow and soon I had the mittens built to fit!  I am very pleased with the results because the mittens are double-layered just like the hat so they are very cushiony to wear.

 The only change I made to her instructions was to make the thumb hole 1" above the cuff line to more accurately reflect the way our wrists/hands are shaped!

I was wondering if I should put labels on them, 

the way I add them to the hats?!

 

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE....

Flying over Charlotte, NC around lunch time...

making mittens.

First glimpse of Daytona Beach....almost home!

 A pair of mittens to show for the day spent travelling. 

 Grateful for the time with my family in NY; 

 grateful for the home that awaited me.

MORE FAMILY TIME

We took a little trip to go and see my niece and family 

since they were in quarantine

 because the little boy she babysits tested positive for Covid!  

Several tests later they were all cleared for visits! 

 Even their kittens were glad to see us!

One patchwork pooch found her forever home....

and so did the other!

At the beginning and end of the day, I worked on a mitten to go with the youth hat I made.

  I read the pattern wrong

 (knitting, talking and laughing put me at high risk for goofs!)

 and had to rip out a bit but this one just needs the thumb 

and I expect to do just that and make the other one today!

 

HEADS AND HANDS

 I decided to make some man mittens to go with the hat.  

I used this pattern for the mitten.

I hope to take it slow and easy today, finishing the second mitten and watching another Star Wars movie

 because---it is my 66th birthday!  

A Cold Snap

Another morning in the 30's isn't one of my favorite things!  

But I did have a good time yesterday when a friend and her daughter came over to play at making some stepping stones!  

We were set up in the garage but it was still very chilly out! 

 That northern wind snatched any warmth from the sunshine!

It took a few hours in front of the fire with some hot cocoa 

to  get the chill from my bones!

But I did finish the second pair of mittens! 

 Now I can send these off to Seattle to grand daughters there

 who are experiencing some colder cold than I am! 

(do you see how little yarn is left from the skein?

It was a close game of yarn chicken but I won this time!)

Jam Packed Day!

So I thought I could make a 'design element' out the the chip in the bowl but I ended up with this!  Note to self-when there is a crack that runs through the whole bowl, let it go straight to the firewood bin!  

Discouraged? No, I learned a good lesson

 and wasn't hit when the bowl half let loose!

The I made a large 8" snowman for my shelf .....but he, too, has a secret!

I learned about green wood...and drying wood, and how cracks grow a lot over a few days.  Discouraged? No, because it adds character to this guy and now I know that wood needs to dry out a month or so

 before turning it into a finished object!

I went into the sewing room 

and finished the border of holly leaves and berries! 

 It was finished in no time

 and now it is waiting for me to put the binding on.

Instead, I pieced the finished star blocks, added them to the top and bottom of the panel, added a very narrow strip to each side to even out the measurements and then loaded it onto the frame.....

only to find out that the backing was too narrow by several inches! 

 I had to pull the backing off the frame and add a strip to one side to make it wide enough and then loaded it on the frame again! 

 In no time, I had it loaded and quilted several rows of the Baptist Fan panto.  I hope to finish it today!

 On the needles is a pair of mittens...one done and the second is on the way!  

Bonus Bloom

 The four-patches are finished;  now to figure out how to set them. 

 I have some solid bluish grey to be the sashing, I think.  

Yes, I also completed the last of the yarn for the second mitten.  

Sized for a 7-8 year old child.

I also began another adult hat for the last of that yarn.

I'm also feeling ready for another pair of socks....

                            

When I closed up the calendar to put it away, 

I noticed the cover had a flower I hadn't drawn!

So this is the last of the blooms, really this time!

A New Verse!

I found this yarn worked up faster than the LionBrand

even though they are both rated as #4 yarns!

I will finish the second mitten today and have a child's set to add to the box!

Daily line and wash flower--a Tulip.  

This concludes the calendar flower series.

I am trying a new kind of line and wash and hope to offer it to you tomorrow!

I had encouraging news from my Primary Card Physician yesterday;

he had done his homework prior to seeing me

and while he commended the Urgent Care staff, 

he found one more line of action between me and the hospital!

He found a medicine I can take on a daily basis that

I am not allergic to and that is very specific to deter UTI's!

In this present age of sanitizers,

he said to think of the new meds as Lysol for my bladder!

What a word picture! lol

I am so ready to feel well.

 

Two Steps Back

I was almost reduced to tears when I had yet another mismatched mate on the second mitten!

To my credit, I knit this one 'from memory' as I sat for most of the day at the lab 

 and then to the doctor's yet again. 

 I ripped it out and set my mind to making the second mitt and the third time was the charm!

I will be glad to see the last of this yarn for a while! lol

I have written notes down this time 

and will not rely on my memory-even one day later-to make the next pair!

I'm also hoping my third trip to the doctor's will be the last for a long time!

Time Slips Through My Fingers

I pieced several four patches today-it was fun to just grab pairs the pile and work them together.

The pile is going down! 

 I will keep working until they are all gone-then I will figure out how I will place them into a top!

Ahhh, the mittens.

  I failed at the cast on with too many stitches and didn't listen to my little knitting voice.  

When I tried it on to begin the decrease at the tip,

 I knew it was way too big-much bigger than the first mitten of the pair. 

 I had cast on 10 stitches more than  I needed. 

 I ripped it all out and will reknit it today!

 I did draw and paint the Locust flower.  

My page isn't as wide as the calendar which forces me to make adjustments

 in the arrangement but I did it!  

Do you enjoy challenging yourself?

Beauty All Around Me

My yard is full of Swallowtails....this is the time to spot all kinds of butterflies;  I love it!

This particular one is the Giant Swallowtail. 

 A beauty.  He spent a lot of time on this pagoda plant.

I've done a bit of knitting;  each afternoon when we get a T-storm, 

it is good to sit and knit while enjoying the storm outside!

I have a booklet of these Zen-ish drawings to color, pencil or marker with color

 and then the reverse side is a postcard.  

I like to send them to different ones in my church family. 

 I tried watercolor on this one instead of the usual colored pencils and enjoyed it a lot! 

 The paper held the water use just fine and didn't warp at all!  Nice to know.  

 And here is the daily line and wash for the flowers, this one is a rhododendron.

I am finding a lot more confidence not only in the drawing

 but in the color mixing and the layering.

Not that I doubt the advice of every artist site I've watched, 

not that they would know this themselves 

but practicing everyday will really work wonders for your art....