NOT ENOUGH!

 When I finished the first 12 cards...

I found out that all there was--which is not enough for all I usually send, so what to do?  

I dug back on his site and found last year's which will be 12 more!  Here I go!

(I'm late on this post because I fell asleep last night too soon!  It was a great day yesterday; church, dinner and games and fellowship afterwards!  It tired me out! lol)

RED, WHITE AND BLUE....AND CHOCOLATE!

They need bindings but the quilts are off the frame!

I did the quilting lines with blue on one...

and red on the other!

I did a lot of kitchen work today getting ready for the dinner after church tomorrow but this shows you I do know how to bake! 

 It doesn't happen often-proof is the bakery cake Bill bought recently! lol

 

A BIT OF FRAME WORK

One quilt finished and the second one is well on its way.  I am doing this one with a medium blue since the first one had read thread.  

This tree is straight out back from the house and it gives a beautiful color every year!  Very unusual for us to enjoy trees with color until well into December.

This is the kind of color we see in the trees this time of year! lol  Soon we will be enjoying eating them.  (January)

 

A FELINE THIS FRIDAY

 

"I have no idea how the pumpkin fell on the floor!"

Yesterday, I went to church to decorate for a after-church dinner to celebrate 33 years for this church's fellowship!  We had a wonderful time sprucing up the fellowship hall. 

When I was home again, I spent an hour planting two small shrubs, Ixora, in the front yard.  They are evergreen shrubs;  butterflies and hummingbirds love their blooms-what's not to like?!

I was pretty tired after all of the physical work so I spent some time catching up on my crochet--I ran out of yarn for the centers so I stopped making more and counted what I had--3 more than I had planned!  But I am not sure I want to be done making them! lol  I just might buy more yarn and make a larger blanket than I had planned!  Just because I can!

OUTSIDE DOINGS

Here is the beauty shot of the finished grapefruit bowl.  

It is 11 1/2" wide and 5 1/2" high.

The bowl is very lightweight considering its size; 

 perhaps due to the dried out state of this wood?

I was on a roll at the lathe and didn't feel like walking away

 so I started another bowl

and it almost made itself!  This Wood is from my son who saw someone cutting down a Fringe Tree and thought I would like a piece or two!  Since the Fringe Tree is in the Olive family, 

this wood looks very much like olive wood!

I turned this piece to mimic the shape of pottery. 

 It is 8" wide and 4 1/2" tall. 

 I'm glad I have another piece of this kind of wood to work!

I also did a bit more of the watercolor cards...I'm catching up  on the one a day schedule as #9 and #10 are partially done.  

And this is why I spent most of the day at my lathe....

Bill is having a yard sale of spectacular size.

He is emptying his collection of shed's (yes, plural) contents

and will sell this Fri/Sat and next week, too. 

This was my view from my side of the garage where the lathe is;  I could admire what Bill was doing 

and enjoy viewing all he was re-discovering!

WOOD ON WEDNESDAY

I  began to shape this bowl last week and then couldn't work on it for a bit.  It is very dried out so it was very dusty as I was turning the wood--I sure had to gear up and that isn't comfortable!

It took a few hours yesterday to hollow out the inside, too.  Likewise dry but there were lots of open areas 

and that requires a bit of finesse!

You can see the two rim areas with bug damage that left voids.   But the spalting and coloring of the wood made it worth every chip and bit of dust I had to protect myself from!

Even the outside has some beautiful natural adornment! 

 The final bowl will be ready for its beauty shots in a few days!

 

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING...

I woke up feeling good yesterday--it was such a surprise and freed so much weight from my steps!  There is nothing like weeks of incredible pain to make you appreciate only mild pain!

I loaded the the Quilts of Valor onto the frame.

  (The backing is the double wide fabric so I loaded it on the frame and it is big enough for both tops!)

I am using a simple star and banner panto

 in red thread for the first one. 

I will see what kind of mood I am in when I get to the second!

After doing a few passes on the quilt, it was time to pack up and head to quilting group at the community center.  

I pieced this much of the flannel scrap quilt--

I tried to lay it out to display it when Lena decided to help... 

she immediately pawed the top into a pile 

and tried moving it toward the edge of the table!

She was happy when I removed it and decided to brush her instead--which was what she wanted in the first place!

STILL PAINTING

 Did you like waking up to light again today?  It works for me!

 I did finish the rest of the Inktober but the last week, my mind was really on this series of tutorials for making Christmas Cards!  The guy can be a bit dry, but he is easy to follow and it is a good paint each time! These cards are day 1-4, 

while 4 and 6 are drawn but not painted yet!

I used this box of blank cards with envelops...  ) 

DONE AND BEGUN

I finished the girl's quilt for the Quilts for Kids charity. 

 They have both been washed and dried 

and will be mailed out on Monday!

I do like the way they crinkled after their drying.

Even the firetrucks look more vintage!

And I am eager to begin work on these two quilts which a friend brought today.  She heads the Quilts of Valor for my area

 and I told her I would be glad to do some quilting on the longarm for her.  Won't these keep me busy!  

 

A LITTLE BIT OF UP

As soon as I was able, I finished the last few rows of the quilting on this quilt, trimmed the edges and then made the binding! 

 I hope to apply it today

 and put it in the washer/dryer for finishing!

When I was down for the afternoon, I added buttons to this sweater and made sure all of then ends were woven in.

  It is a pretty sweater without being too fancy. (Mom's request!)

I like the lacy yoke which is knit in such a way as to add stitches to the count without any obvious increases!  

The yarn is Premier DK ColorFusion in the colorway called 

Blue Jeans.  Knit on #6 needles.

The sweater is a girl's size 4.

 

YARN SANITY

If I wasn't sitting and crocheting on these yesterday, 

I was sitting and knitting on this.

RETHINKING

I found an easy way to reload the previously made honey dippers and refined the handles.  I am much happier with the streamlined designs!  Nice to know I can re-do some parts of a project.

And I stitched the seam on the machine knit stocking that I have been working on bit by bit.  This is just a lesson in practicing Fair Isle on the machine.  It will go in the donation bin.

 

CITRUS

The quilt went together easily on my sewing machine yesterday.

I am quilting it in a simple meander.

The humidity has given up its hold on us and it was pleasant to work at the lathe.  I managed a thin handle on this one and think I will go be going back to the lathe with the other ones to give them a slimmer look, too.  Here's hoping! lol 

And when I was tired and ready for some recliner work, I made these four coasters with scraps of dish cloth cotton. 

 It was a pleasant activity!

GOOD START TO THE WEEK!

Our quilting group is meeting again every Monday, I am glad to say.   It is so nice to meet with other quilters!!!  Unfortunately, my portable machine misbehaved and I had to sew the seams a second time and some a third before I figured out what the problem with the bobbin thread was!   I was able to laugh instead of cry because there were friends nearby!

When home, I finished the front honey dipper out of oak from my daughter's tree so it is going to her!  I can't wait to make another;  it is fun to play with different designs!

And I have a commercial to do for you---I ordered these crochet hooks from Amazon hoping they would be easier for me to hold because the place for you thumb is soft yet the hook is still made of metal.  Well, they are wonderful!  I'm so glad I have bought this set which comes in this little bag with a few other accessories.  If you are looking for an upgrade, here is the link.

 

WELCOME TO NOVEMBER!

 Nothing like starting out the month with chilly morning temperatures!  It was 51* but it did warm up to 73* but such a drop is hard to bear with our thin southern blood!  Several of these little mitts are necessary and will keep the arthritis pains at bay!  This particular pair is for a friend but it requires such a small amount to make them, I have plenty for another pair for myself!  It is knit on #3 needles this time with Capretta yarn, a superwash Merino and Cashmere blend.  Luscious as well as warm!