FOR FALL

The mug rug  (10 x 6") was completed today!  

I cut out enough to make a set of four!  I am hoping the next three won't take so long as the first one!  

While I was playing with fabric, Bill received the delivery of his new tractor!  While he is technically not to be using it, he did give it a  test drive around the property!

COMPLETED

The day loomed long with my daughter back home so I touched base with the studio;  I finished piecing the Hippo Top.  I am glad to report there was no drama and in no time it was ready for its place in the queue for the quilting machine!

  (I still have to finish the QOV on the frame-I worked on it, too,

 but no finish there, I'm afraid.)

It was pleasant to walk around outside again-it is a nice habit as so many of you know.  I am pleased to see the open blooms from the last Camellia bush.  This one has so many candy cane spots on the deep pink blossoms-truly pretty. 

 In fact, this one is my favorite.  

And look who has come home!  The long awaited repairs have been completed on the BobCat Tractor! Bill brought it home late yesterday and was too tired to unload it but I imagine he will make up for lost time today!  It was 'injured' last June and he is finally getting it back from the dealer.  I couldn't picture going without my lathe or sewing machine for that length of time!

 

WONDERS FOR WEDNESDAY

Bill's new tractor, a Bob Cat, arrived yesterday!  See him smile!

I thought you would like to see this plant--a fire bush.  The hummers love it, too.

When I could get upright, I played a little on the lathe.  This is my latest project-a lidded box from a chunk of Holly bush!

 

Scenery Close and Far

 Bill played on the tractor this week-and promptly got stuck!
It took over an hour to pull him out-he was really sunk in deeply!

 If you have followed the saga of the back woods flooding over the last 18 months,

this is a picture of what it looks like now.  

A real dead tree forest. 

Most of the pine trees and all of the maples have perished.

The great egret is happy with the shrinking water levels, though;

it makes for good fishing!

 Here is a picture my oldest son sent me;

I was born under the shadow of this mountain!

(well , in the army hospital but this was still the view!)

Mt. Rainier.

If this picture can't tempt me back into painting, nothing can.

Avocado Anyone?!

This is a Florida avocado;  it has a smooth, thin skin and is much larger than the 

California avocado most people buy.  

We love to eat these in slices in salads, of course, 

but also as is in a snack! 

What else looks very much like the color of the avocado fruit?  My wool!

When I carded it up-by random handfuls;  I didn't feel like separating it or sorting it not even a little!

I grabbed handfuls and teased them open (dyeing condenses the fibers)

 and ran them through the carder. 

 I was pleased the color didn't look like brown mud which I was afraid it would.

And spinning it up-which is lovely doing the supported long draw in a woolen preparation this time instead of the short forward worsted spinning I did for the Masham wool for the last pound of wool!

This will be a much lighter and bouncier skein of yarn! 

 So far, so good!

From the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory--

nothing like a good spin!

Oh, and for some outdoor entertainment-pulling my husband out of a ditch!
He decided to do a bit of mowing with the tractor-one handed, says he!
And look where it got him!

He hooks up the chain and I roll down the truck window and listen to his commands!

I had him out of trouble in no time.

I have been pulling him out of 'tricky' situations for more than 46 years!

Did I mention he has been going stir crazy after this fourth surgery?!

Meanwhile....

 Bill helped me clamp a board onto the crafting table so I could set up my new knitting machine and give it a real try now that I have cleaned and oiled it.

 After watching a bunch of videos, I was ready to give it a go!  I did it!  Now it will take a bit of practice to figure out the stitch sizes but that will come with experience-practicing is fun, too.
                                     
 I switched from a worsted weight to a sport weight and am practicing for another child's sweater to try out the new skills.

 See how it hangs down stretched to the max---tomorrow, I will be washing and blocking this to record a gauge swatch.  I am so excited to see this finally up and running with me!

 I also worked a few more parts to this quilt--these are not final arrangements-only pairing parts to keep it all straight and then I will be arranging the colors.

And while I flit around in the house with the boys;  cleaning, playing and building RR tracks,
this is what Bill was doing!  I got too close to the new lake's shoreline and almost lost the tractor!!!
He did manage to pull it out and has washed it down.  He can always do this again tomorrow!

Bit by Bit!

 The head is complete for the first kitten!

The body is knit but waiting for its appendages before I do the stuffing.

And for good, country fun Grandpa got his tractor stuck so we were watching him try to shovel his way out.

It didn't work;  he had to call our neighbor for help!

(It is still so dry here so technically the tractor isn't stuck,   instead Bill has the tractor wedged in the ditch he dredged a long time ago while trying today to extend the opening into what used to be a large pond!)

Indigo Dyeing!

 I have had all the supplies for an Indigo dyeing day for a long time but we finally mixed up a pot and set to work!  (I used the kit from KnitPicks-very easy if you want to try it, too!)

 We set all our fiber and yarn to soak-and labeled them so we would know what we had when we were done!

 Into the pot, it turns a lovely yellowish green-

 but within seconds of removing it-the indigo reacts with the oxygen in the air and turns the beautiful blue color of our blue jeans!

 We enjoyed out dyeing day!  Being a mad scientist brought out all the inner kid!

We dyed sock yarn, shawl yarn, worsted weight yarn then Cormo and Dor Galen roving!

 While we were working at the dyepot, the men had their own project going on!

 They emptied the portable garage of its contents and stacked what they were keeping in the new shed.

 Then Bill lifted up the whole unit and we helped him guide it to its new home!

 Sissy thought we were very noisy and disturbed her nap!

 We transported the garage several hundred feet to its new landing only to discover...

 we set it up wrong side out!   After a good laugh, Bill backed it up, turned it around and we backed it in again!

Ta-da!  This portable garage was bought when we first moved here 7 years ago and it held all the overflow items we didn't have room for or want at the time.......it has held up well for all this time!
It is now going to house the tractor and zero turn mower way over by the new shed!  Since Mom and Dad will be heading home in a few days, this was our last big projects day and we made the most of it!

Grandchild On Board!

 Ella is here for the weekend!  Her parents are celebrating their second anniversary!

 She liked 'driving' the tractor herself without any NOISE!  The last time Grandpa offered a ride, she did not like it. (Ella likes chasing all the cats but Bling-Bling is the only one who lets her love on him!  They both like that!)

 Well this time she did!  She enjoyed a short ride around the front yard!  Yay for Ella!

 She tried on the sock I knit her-she liked it so much she didn't want to take it off!

The yarn was fun to unravel, too!

The magic a sleeping baby works on me still has power!

Grandma Smiles

 The little sweater for Ella is finished just in time........

 ...because she is here for her first over-nighter  at Grandma's house!  Caleb and Cassandra are celebrating their first wedding anniversary already!

 Grandpa shared his new mower with Ella, too.

 But she wasn't as impressed as David!

See what I mean?!

Ella likes girl talk instead!  What a blessing this day has been!