A DISHCLOTH A DAY...

I joined a dishcloth-a-day blog hop from here

 and each morning and throughout the day, I work on it.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3.  This one was was harder until I found the rhythm

 and then it as enjoyable!  I got all done and looked at the picture of it and realized the top bump on the right was done wrong because it didn't match the other side!  

The ridge between rows was missing ! 

 I did rip it out and do it again!

See-now it is symmetrical!  You can still join the party; 

it is good for sharpening your crochet skills!

 

GOLDILOCKS SEWING!

Can you see the problem with the NICU incubator blankets

 I made yesterday?!  

The first one I made (bottom) was too large.  I corrected my math and the second one (top) was too small! By then I was in a panic!  I started with a clean piece of paper and and looked at the blanket and found out what I was doing wrong!  It was the double folded envelope hem.  I needed to add only one width of the hem allowance not two because it was folded over itself.  The one that was too small, I didn't add the seam allowance for both sides....just my brain and math having a slight disagreement! 

 The blue one is just right! 

 You can be sure I wrote all the directions so when I make the other two today, I won't have to invent the wheel again!

   

The fabrics are cute and I believe they (the hospital) will still use the odd blankets, I am sure  hoping!

And I am glad I ended the studio time on a win

 since I have more to make! lol

 

A FRESH BEGINNING!

Dishcloths and hats were made.

I finished the quilting at the frame for the gingerbread top.

I broke up some glass to put in the tumbler-

and this is some I started last  week!  

I put all of the Christmas decorations away except for these three 'winter' things on the table in the fireplace room. 

 Because it pleases me.  

The house is all cleaned, laundry done

 and today I will be making the NICU incubator blankies!

And doing some more spinning.

 

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS!

This is what I will be doing today! 

 I like to spend NewYear'sDay doing each of the activities that are my creative outlets!    I have finally found the sweet formula for the beanies on the circular knitting machine, in the far back is the wool and silk blend roving I will be spinning, I will be crocheting some more dishcloths and spend time doing the quilt from Merry Mayhem when they release the new 'clues' every hour! 

 That should keep me busy!

Have a happy new year, blog friends!

 

A CHRISTMAS TRIP

We left very early on Friday morning to head up to Fernandina beach to meet at our son's for a Christmas gathering!  The guys did a lot of fishing on Friday while my daughter-in-law, Cassandra, and I did a lot of food prep not only for dinner

but for the feasting on Saturday that would be our Christmas!

We also celebrated two more birthdays!

And a good time was had by all!

The drive home was pretty smooth--the sunset was breath-taking!  This is over the St Johns River at Doctor's Inlet.

 

YARN PLAY

I am enjoying the hat experiments;  this one has a single layer rib for the brim.  I increased a stitch in each of the stitches from the knitting machine (46 stitches) so the brim has 92 stitches. 

 I made several hats today.  

I also wanted to try the 'drop stitch' scarf on the knitting machine.  You knit 100 rows and when you remove the stitches from the machine, you only pick up every other loop from the needles.  Then you gather the rest and secure as usual.  Then you begin to pull the tube to make the unsecured stitches 'run'. 

This lengthened the tube from 24 to 50" long!

   

I did a light steam blocking and it is a soft and airy scarf

but still warm around my neck! 

 (I used some hand spun wool/silk blend yarn from the stash)

 

WRAPPING UP THE YEAR

I learned how to make the half-hexagons so the sides will be squared on this afghan.  I had a few false starts before I could make the right shape but I think it's imprinted now!

I did finish the quilting on this top, have it trimmed

 and today will get the binding attached!

It will join these two which are washed and dried even! 

 You can see underneath these

 that I have the next quilt loaded , too.  

It's amazing what you can accomplish if you just keep plugging away on them...

 

MORE YARN WORKS

Hat haul, relaxation in every stitch!

I decided to separate each color repeat to satisfy my curiosity.  Another 15 blocks will be made in this skein.

  Now they are more portable and I don't have to worry about remembering a pair of scissors!

 

A CALM DAY

I had an idea when making some new hats on the knitting machine;  we don't need double layered hats here, (though we do need hats on occasion) so I just added some ribbing by hand after cranking 36-40 rounds which takes only minutes. 

 It worked beautifully and in no time, I had several hats made!

I had a very relaxing morning and afternoon and then it was time to head to friends for Christmas dinner.  

Yes, it is a new circular knitting machine. 

 I tend to make so many, I use up the cheaper ones!

  The bright yellow at the top of this hat is waste yarn which is  what I use to end the main yarn portion so the stitches are distinct for picking up onto my hand knitting stitches.

  It was a very pleasant day.

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the calm of the day!

  The yard was filled with a flock of 20 turkeys! 

 They were in the field out back where Bill has cracked corn for the Sand Hill Cranes and he also provides the deer with corn here--the turkeys have discovered them both!

Oh, and they even made fast work of the cracked corn under the bird feeder!  We enjoyed their clucking and chipping in spite of their voracious appetites!  It's been quite a while since we saw this many turkeys here!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A quiet morning spent celebrating the birth of God's own son

 and what it means to us.

Ornaments add to the special beauty of the morning.

A bough of mistletoe is hung at the front entrance to welcome all who visit!

I hope you make today a special day!

 

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Proof I do know how to do some baking!   

Just one top was bound...

but I did attach all of the red around the gingerbread top

 and found fabric for the backing from the stash.

I loaded the snowflakes quilt on the frame and did start to quilt it.

I was ready for my recliner after all of the standing and to dig into this new adventure!  Have you seen this new release yet?  It is a continuous color changing yarn that makes a granny square with only the beginning and ending tails to work in!  

I will admit to a bit of trial and error in working the gauge to match the color change just right but it is easy enough to fudge a bit with the granny pattern to make it work out!  Each skein will make 14 squares so I bought several skeins for an afghan!  This will be a very relaxing project over the next few weeks!

Merry Christmas Eve!

 

THE STUDIO'S SIREN CALL

One off the frame and the second loaded up!  

I have the binding cut out, I just need to finish applying it today!

I sewed the beige and red top together and then decided it needed a red border so I will stitch that in place also.

The pieces are all cut for the NICU blankets.

  This won't be tackled until next week now.

 

STITCHES

I have started sewing some more blocks together for another holiday top.  I have to finish the quilt on the frame before I can tackle these last two tops;  it's nice to spend some time in the studio again. I washed  and dried the flannels so I can square them  up to get ready to layer up.  I will work on them today!

 

SHOPPING GOOD COMPANY!

Since I am enjoying making these hexagons so much, I needed to buy (so much for using up all of the old stuff!) some additional yarn for more and especially the cream colored yarn! 

We found the cream and several more good colors to add to this project bin!

I also bought enough fabric to make 6 more of the NICU incubator cover quilts.

And a few more crafts for this Christmas time intrigued me!

Look at this--new blossoms are opening on my orchid!  It is a thing of beauty each day!

(Mary and I had a wonderful day together yesterday.  We went shopping, had lunch at Applebee's, did some more shopping and ended with a dr appt which went well.  It was a perfect birthday!)