It is Florida Cold!

This is how Bill protected the banana tree from frost last night-it is a string of Christmas lights! It is fine this morning so it worked!

Bill had to get up several times in the night to run the sprinkler on the garden so that it wouldn't get any damage from the frost ! It also looks okay --so I think it was a good idea he got up to tend it! Though I did miss the fall he took in the dark........drat!

It hit 32 degrees for several hours......already up to 62 so we will recover from the nippies soon enough. Caleb (2 hours north of us) has had frost every morning this week; Matthew at 1 1/2 hours south) only yesterday and today. It is unusual for us this time of year to have cold so soon in the year!

An Award

"This blog invests and believes in ‘proximity’[meaning that blogging makes us 'close' - being close through proxy].”

I received this award from a blogging friend, Lynne, and though she resides halfway around the world; we can share our love of knitting through just a few key strokes!

In keeping with the spirit of the award, I am to nominate eight bloggers who in turn 'pay it forward' to eight more.

First would be my daughter, Marsel, who started her blog to keep me connected because we live so far apart; and who helped me start my own blog.

Jessica, who like a daughter, keeps us connected , knows me and still loves me!

WoolEnough for her incredible humor and wit that graces her knitting adventures!

Deb of ColdFeetQuilter who lives in a climate so different from my own but loves so many of the same 'home arts' and excels at her quilting!

Autumn of CreativeLittleDaisy who shares of herself, even when she is hurting.........

Dori , who I found from one of my YahooChatGroups, and who is a fiber fanatic extraordinaire!

Nancy of Shepherdsvoice who shares the most incredible sheep pics-always spiced by her humor!

And finally, Ruthie, who has a gift with fabric and quilts the most amazing designs and regularly shares her stash dimensiions, Oh, my!!

Thank you to each of you for enlarging my day and connecting with me this new cyber way!

Check them out, and congratulate them for their efforts.

A Typical Day

We started out the week with a trip to Ocala to get the last purchase Bill made at the auction. This will get a 'do over' and then he will resell it!

I got a lot of knitting done on David's sweater! Working on a sleeve now; bottom stitches are on a holder because I am going to do the ribbing in a different color-a darker brown color. If I do have enough of this yarn it will stay the same but I have a plan if not!

Bill spent several hours doing this yesterday..............

so I could use this! I conquered a pile of fleece (the acrylic blanket kind-not the sheep kind!) from Marsel to make her, David and Abigail a blanket with sleeves-you have probably seen it advertised on tv-just in time for weather that requires a bit of snuggle in the evening! ( Thanks to Judy Stell for sharing her blanket with me so I could get some pattern dimensions!)

PS to Solitude

Here is the treasures Bill bought at the auction-a back hoe attachment for the tractor and a sprayer attachment.........for the tractor. Are we seeing a pattern here?!

Here are the pics for Karen's Kaleidescope quilt.........didn't she do an excellent job?!

This is a close-up of the block quilting......

I tried a new to me technique for the large blocks (16 1/2") for this quilt . I divided the block into workable passes for my short-arm quiting system (6" passes) and it became a very workable choice to get a long-arm look on our machines. This is the pattern.....

and for the border area I used a stencil and free motion to echo the block lines for a traditional quilt line- This is a bug picture for my grandchildren.

Oh, the sweater for David looks like this as of last night.....

and looks like this, this morning! No, I didn't put the order of the pics wrong. I had to rip out the whole thing. The drape of the sweater was way too stiff and when I got to the 'divide for sleeves' part I could see that it was too narrow--two strikes and it was out! Bill was teasing me for ripping it out; no, there was very little hesitation on my part to rip out 3 hours work--it just wasn't right and it can be. I think this is what separates the novices from the experts; not just experience but the fortitude to know that ripping out whether it is knitting (read about blog friend, Wool Enough) or in the quilting realm (read about ColdFeetQuilter, another blog friend) where it takes days to correct a mistake--a novice will quit and an expert will bite the bullet and make the corrections. This is a lesson that my Mom and time has taught me. It serves me well!

Solitude

Early this morning Bill left with his truck and trailer to go to an auction. He had an idea of what he was looking for and off he went! I will post his booty tomorrow!

I enjoyed a day of solitude!!!! I think this is one of my character traits that is hardest for my husband to accept about me. I enjoy being with people - don't get me wrong, but I do need times of solitude to recharge my batteries; talking a lot seems to zap my mental strength and so today I have restored myself for I spoke very few words.......a visit from my neighbor-an update on her goats and to drop off another quilt top for me to quilt-I mainly listened to her so that didn't require a lot of words; and an important phone call from my daughter-a doctor's report so I needed to listen here, too. See-when I expel less than a thousand words, I am recharged!

.......and finishing tons of projects adds to the energy!

I cleaned house, did morning chores and laundry and then washed my alpaca skeins of yarn so that the twist is set for knitting-I have the shawl pattern all picked out-more on that when I get started.

I blocked the second sock. See the happy pair!

I finished Karen's quilt-will hang it for your visual pleasure tomorrow and get a pic then I loaded Millie's quilt on the frame 'cuz it looked empty without anything on it! (And Peggy, it is not hand-quilting I am doing, but machine quilting on a frame-it is a short-arm machine and frame by Viking.

I sewed the blocks together for the first enlarged Christmas quilt.....will sew it together and add borders tomorrow. Cut out another quilt; a praise quilt from a panel that Marsel bought at the Quilt show (and that I ordered from on-line as soon as I got to her house cuz I regreted not buying one after all!) She has banned me from posting ahead of her so you will be seeing that in the future! I bought 2 panels-one for me and one for a gift for Christmas and I think I am going to buy more--the gift went together so nicely that I am not done--I picked a large print from my stash and added some ' looks like a solid' fat quarters to match and wow-it is good.

Made a quilt label for the GI quilt that several of us worked on together-I will sew it on tomorrow and get that in the mail on Monday.

I watched the shuttle launch-it is cloudy out but there was a break just big enough for me to see it! Amazing event every time.

Time to do some more knitting on a sweater for my grandson .....using my handspun wool for this...........and watch the Wizard of Oz on tv. Great end for a great day.

See how many words I have to blog with!

Midweek

I am woman; I change my mind........I loved making the blocks for the Mystery Quilt for Christmas so when we went to town yesterday, I bought some more of the same fabric and will make the lap quilt into a big quilt! Sometimes, you don't want a good thing to end but you can't do anything to continue the goodness...........well, this time I can! Got all the pieces cut out last night, will be sewing today!

Making great headway on the quilt on the frame, about half way done ..........love it when a plan works out!

Finished the first sock-pattern from Favorite Socks--the one I changed all around except for the lace pattern!..............handspun yarn, superwash from The SheepShedStudio. It is quite thick on the number 1 needles, but will hold up to the cold floor times ahead. (I know, cold is relative...)
I am more than 1/2 done on the second sock...........I am always faster on the second one because I have worked out all the decisions and it almost knits itself! Good notes on the first sock is essential so you can remember what you did the first time!

Bill has pretty much been immobilized with his back being out of whack. He does a lot of heating pad and yesterday did a little of this.......sowing the rye seed so we will have lawn this winter! The grass that flourishes all summer, goes dormant for the winter so if you want green you have to have a different kind than we have now............when all the construction is done, we will put in the more expensive kind but it is definitely a future expense. For now, the rye makes it through the winter so green and pretty until it dies and nourishes the ground for the summer grass to come back in the late Spring. So many new things to learn here-it is wonderful!

A Good Visit

Jessica and her husband, Bob, and family came for a visit today. Bob is an AC man and is helping us figure out what we will need for our additional space. It means so much to have his help and input! We shared a great BBQ chicken dinner and took a long walk after dinner. Bill entertained her 4 sons with a ride on the JD--the older boys got to drive it, too!

I put all the wicker furniture back on the porch-oh, it is so color-rich!

Jessica and I didn't get to actually knit together, but Jessica brought her current wip and we got to admire it. She is running short of the yarn ( from KnitPicks )and these are birthday socks so she is feeling the pinch! I understand her angst! She also brought some new quilt blocks for me to see so I could help her figure out how to put them together for a quilt ........hopefully you will see them on her blog soon!

Last Steps

Bill put the clear coat sealer on the porch and part of the garage.........ran out and it is on order at our local SW store.
I pieced the Mystery Quilt blocks when I finished cleaning the house.

On the sock, I turned the heel and started up the leg. This pattern is for a shorty sock but I changed everything about it except the lace pattern-I changed it to toe-up, with a regular sole, and a full length leg! It is good to be the boss of something!

Company tomorrow! Will treat you to pics soon!

Finishing Touches

We put the finishing coat on the garage floor.........it looks like a showroom floor! Bill is thrilled! He has to wait 3 days before using it though! :'(

Here is a close-up so you can see the full affect. Sherwin Williams; we love your products!

The porch got its new color today! (I was the trim/gopher lady as usual!)

The boys put 3 coats on throughout the day...........so much work they accomplished. It was so appreciated. (The pipe that runs across the porch is the temporary electrical service which will be removed when the power company cuts the old suppy and hooks up the new --for those of you who will notice and wonder!)

Look at what our cactus is doing! Bill had thought to pick the 'fruit' and try to eat it--I tried to discourage this........but he missed the time to pick it 'cuz the cactus is regurgitating its seeds all over the ground! Weird but effective way to propagate! Does anyone know the name of this cactus? It was gifted to us without pertinent information.

I did a little knitting and spinning this morning before anyone woke up but didn't get back to anything crafty with the whirl of the day! I did manage to put on a roasted chicken dinner with all the fixin's but for me that doesn't count much toward creativity unfortunately! Matthew and Caleb left with full stomachs and a baggie of cookies for the ride home-I put a few pounds on both of them in spite of all the work they did! On the Mama scale this rates high points!

Garage Floor and Spinning

Our sons are here for a working visit-they are painting the cement in Bill's garage and the front porch. I stocked up on groceries, homemade cookies and pizza!
Where these two work, there is laughter......they painted Bill into a trap as he was sprinkling the deco chips on the freshly painted areas! Bill put his back into spasm moving the sliding glass door into another area and so they were teasing him about getting out of this paint job! It is good to have them around!
I sat nearby so I could hear the banter and did some spinning.....finished up a bobbin of the Florida Native fleece blended with some Suri. It spun up nicely and the finished skein is so lofty. I will be dyeing it soon.

Last night I cut out the pieces for the Mystery Christmas quilt and put 2 blocks together......it is going to be pretty! I will not be cutting in the evening again....I made so many stupid cutting mistakes! I did end up with the right number of pieces but it was a close call----quilter, know thyself! (My evening brain is not sharp enough to cut with!)

See the finished floor? It is gloomy out again today-2 days in a row without sunshine for us is so unusual! It is a good temperature for the guys to work in at least(67). I will get a sunny picture another day. Dinner and church calls.........more tomorrow.

Caps and Cushions

I made caps to go with the gator scarves for the grandkids. I mailed them out this morning after I filled the box with hugs! Pattern: The caps are an easy k2p2 rib for 6-7" on size 8 needlesover 76-80 sts; then k2tog, p2tog around and worked the k1p1 rib that results for another inch, k2tog around and break yarn and pull stitches together. It gives a nice light feel for the warmer winter they experience in GA.

Finished the cushion covers for the rocking chair.....just need some company to fill the chairs! Picture me spinning on the porch!
I'm starting a new quilt; another mystery quilt , this one for Christmas........Mom and I are both going to do this one.

I think I have finally overcome the 'quilter's block' for the quilt on the frame. It is a beauty that I am quilting for my daughter's friend. Once I figure out what I am doing , I love doing the quilting but it is the big blank canvas that freezes me! I am going to do fussy stuff in the border and an all-over meander on the center of the quilt. I don't want to detract from the center design as I know she doesn't like too much quilting on her quilts. I think I occassionally have the indecision on knitting projects, too, when I venture outside of the 'writtine' patterns and just have to explore my own likes and dislikes to get where I want to go. Gratefully, there is no 'hurry up!' deadline on this work.....but now that I know where I am going, I will get there quickly! It is work to be creative, isn't it!?!

Success for the Garage Sale!

No pictures of our 'junk' but we did make a great day of our yard sale: lots of sales, good conversation and we got rid of many 'treasures'! We even had plenty of well wishes from people who drive by every day and have watched the progress of the addition to the house! Fun.

I sat and knitted on Abigail's gator scarf--it is finished! Will send it off in the mail on Monday.

The best part of the day........Bill loaded up the rest of the stuff in his truck to go to the thrift store-it is not coming back into our space! I am so proud of him-this is a major step for someone who belongs to PackRatAnonymous!