Lovin' Monday's

 Monday's are good for cleaning first thing in the morning and then rewarding yourself with a bit of creative time!  I wanted to make some more of the disappearing pinwheel blocks.   It is so ingenious to sew two blocks together all around the outside!   It is so not following the sewing rules and that makes it fun!

 And then you cut this square apart on the diagonals.  This is the part that thrills quilters and confuses the uninitiated; the repetition of sewing fabric together and cutting it apart.......over and over.

 After you have a big pinwheel, you cut the blog into thirds horizontally and vertically.

 And rearrange a few of the pieces to your liking.

And sew them back together...........!  Here is another finished block!  I am getting quite a few just a few minutes at a time and they are adding up!

Saturday Starts

 This is how I will wear the Geology Shawl when it is not so warm out.......soon I will be able to bring out my shawls again!

 I puttered on the Disappearing Pinwheel I learned to make at Mom's.  I have a pile of the 10" co-ordinating fabric blocks to turn into a quilt!  I have the bugs worked out of my system now so I will be able to make a block or two each day and will have the top pieced in a reasonable time!

 My neighbor brought over a quilt for the frame!  She is enjoying sewing time again.  Life does get in the way sometimes but she has been loving her sewing room time again and it shows-

 In fact, she brought over two quilts for quilting!  These are blocks that were started in her sister's stash and she is figuring out what to do to give them life!  I like that idea!  Isn't it great to tackle a conundrum and then solve it!

 I did get a dress done for Aria-I have had it cut out for a while now, it went together like a charm this morning!  I will send this off in the mail so it will get to her in time for her birthday!

Bruce and Marsel shared their Artisan Bread recipe and I have been using it to make dough for pizzas for Bill and I.  We are enthralled with the taste!  Delicious.

I make us supremes , deluxe-whatever you call it, hmmmm, it is wonderful!  Dinner is ready!

FO Friday

 I present the Geology Shawl all knitted and off the needles!  I would have finished it earlier in the day but I decided to add another repeat and some more garter rows and that was a lot of stitches more and in my slower mode it took considerably longer but I am happy with this shawl.

 As usual , magic happens when you block it!  The whole thing just blooms!  It measures 50" long and 18" deep after blocking.

 There are 6 layers of texture to knit through;  I highly recommend this shawl.

There is a lot of room to play with this in relation to size and yarn, etc.  Well worth your purchase price for a very good knit!
(I used KnitPicks Stroll Kindling Tonal yarn on size 6 needles)

Sweet Endings

Bill made it to the Adirondacks for a climb to the top Bald Mountain-where he met someone he knew...couldn't have planned it better!  

Mom and I made a quilt for my Aunt who is in the grip of Alzheimer's.  This is a tactile textile because she likes to pick at things so there are lots of things to pick at in this quilt!

When you go to camp as a kid, they have a bonfire to mark the last night-we did just that and had a wonderful gathering at my sister's for our end-of-trip visit!

Flight knitting-the shawl had gotten too large and complicated for on-board knitting, so I started a toe-up sock with a lacy panel up the side.  (KnitPicks Stroll Tonal Queen Anne sock yarn)

I have finished the fifth segment of this shawl and am entering the deepest and final layer!  It is good to snuggle the kitties when I am missing the NY family all over again!

Cousins , Too

 After church, we took a drive and visited my Mom's oldest sister, my Aunt Char.  There were 3 of her 9 children there so  I had another wonderful cousin connect!  I will say, after the pic as we sat and told stories old and new, we sure did laugh!  In fact, we are a very happy group of people, that is an amazing fact to own and share!

I am on strata four of the Geology Shawl.  Nothing like a good knit at the end of a perfect day!

Cousins

One of the essential visits I make when going back to NY is to visit my Mom's sister, my Aunt Bett.  She is a keeper.......now she resides in a home for Alzheimer patients.  

Next we went to Ontario Lake to see the shoreline at a fish fry joint to meet some cousins!

 I did a lot of my growing up with these two of the four boys;  Aunt Bett is their mom.

We had a great meal and a greater gab!  I even had help to get to the shoreline and throw some rocks!  I couldn't get more than two skips-pitiful!  

I brought some souvenirs home...the TSA guys love these in the suitcase!

NY Family Wedding

 My nephew, Ryan's wedding party with grandparents.  It was held on Oneida Lake in Bridgeport, NY.

 While the wedding party was doing their photo shoot, we did one of our own!  My parents just celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary!

My sister, brother and I.

Bill and I.  So glad we can be here.

FO Friday

I didn't think I had finished anything for Finished Object Friday but Mom and I are doing some fun projects in between wedding preparations!  This is called a Disappearing Pinwheel.   It is made from a Dime Cake stack of fabrics with a  10" solid-look it up on YouTube for a very clever block!

 This morning I got to play with my nieces and sister and Mom and we tie dyed shirts!  This one is mine.

 These are some of the others with mine and the others are still in the bag for tomorrow's reveal after they set!

I am into the third strata in the Geology shawl.   Loving it .

Travel Knitting

Travel went well because I utilized the Delta Airlines wheelchair services!  The people knew what they were doing, were so friendly and helpful.  I arrived in tip top shape because of the better care of my body this time!  Phew!  I cast on as soon as I sat down on the plane and accomplished this much today-very fun!

So nice to be at my parents-I even had enough oomph to take a yard tour and see all the flowers!  Wonderful.

Trip Valets

We're heading to NY for my nephew's wedding as soon as the cats let us finish packing!

Loose Ends No More

I finished the little patriotic tumbler quilt!  I didn't make it in time for the 4th of July but there is always next year!

The quilting is cool, too-Yankee Doodle Dandy feathers!

 I needed earrings to match this tropical necklace so I picked through my stash of stones and shells and found a few to make some.

I think they will work as a set just fine!

 I played with some glass again.   I cut up several colors in strips and laid them on end and popped them in the microwave oven.

 Oh, yeah!  This is about 1 3/4" square-just a nice size for a pendant with pizzazz!

I tried it again in Gator/Syracuse colors.....very fun project and I can't wait to wear them!

I enjoyed a good little project-painting these ceramic frogs!  I looked up tree frog eyes on Google so I could paint them realistically.   I decided to paint them as I wanted because there are so many kinds of eyes that anything I could think of was realistic!  lol  I will set these guys in my flowers pots out front!  I wonder if they will intimidate the real tree frogs I have out there!

Treasure Hunter

 While looking for glass after a rain storm, Bill found this penny in the back yard!  It is a 1901 Indian Head penny in case you can't read it.

They are a pretty common coin as far as collecting goes, worth around $20 or more if you find the right buyer! lol   It was an exciting find nonetheless and we will be finding a good way to display it soon!  (I hear that metal detector calling me again!)

FO Friday

 Next Friday I will be able to post this finished object (FO) but  I did get to work on it when we had to drive into town to run errands.

We took a break and had a very leisurely lunch together!  (@ Corky Bells on the St Johns River)

When we got home I took a rest and then tackled this idea!  I bought a sweater and then the fabric to match.  I decided to make a top instead of the dress-long story but the fabric just was too much  of everything negative on me for a dress!  Since I have sewn for a million years but never made a neckline like this I was fascinated to see how it was done!

 It was a very easy and straight forward project!  Which is a wonderful thing...

I tried it on with my dressy pants and it is just what I envisioned......after the fact!  The sweater and the neckline fight terribly so the sweater will have to find a new mate!
But it is a finished object for this Friday!

A blog friend, Cheryl,  is hosting this FO Friday-you can link here to see her FO for today!