Interruptions in Life

 I've managed to knit a bit on the Gladys sock-I did turn the heel at least!

(Little  Tornado has been sick and the whole house has been turned on its head!

We do not sleep at night and since my 8  hours  recharge is absolutely necessary to then make it through the day, it has been rough for both of us!)

 I went to quilting for a few hours on Monday and managed to piece this lap robe top.  It is made of men's suiting samples! 

 It has such a great woolen smell when pressing it!

 I organized all the squares and have enough for three more lap robes. 

 I have to wait to finish these because I back them with polar fleece instead of batting and backing. 

 I will get to the store to purchase some yardage next week I hope!

 This water iris is so pretty-it is in the pool area.

 Right outside of the patio is a rain lily.  It is pretty tangled through all the year but when the May (late this year) rains hit, the flowers are stunning

 AND they smell delicious!

 There are tons of blooms on one stalk so it is a real show-stopper!

 The mandavilla is doing its thing-bloom after bloom in this bright red!

And the ground orchids are all in bloom-these little blooms are so intricate 

and delicate looking but stand up to drought or heavy rains both. 

 A real survivor!

I might be blurry-eyed but I can still see the beauty around me!

Would you Like to Swing on a Star?

 Or play on this swing set;  our newest yard art is kid approved!  They were excited to play when we got home from church!

 The swing set was built by their Dad and Uncle Caleb-they came down for the day to build it for the kids so we will be able to have all our grandkids enjoy it when they visit!  It was a long and grueling day to put it together-it is a bundle of lumber, hardware and a thick instruction pamphlet!  The guys said it was their first and last such project! lol  Cassandra asked Caleb what the chances were for him to put one up in their yard and he said slim to none!  Time will heal all wounds!

 The kids were impressed with what their dads could do!

 This afternoon it received a thorough inspection!  (Caleb and family left last night after they had completed the job so their kids didn't get to play on it but we will have it a long time so they can next visit!)

 I especially enjoyed watching Will check out the yard through his telescope!

I see a lot of hours spent enjoying this area of the yard!

Quilt Assembly Line!

 I loaded the little tumbler and did a very easy open design along the seams

 I had it off the frame in no time and even got the binding on for a bright finish!

 Then it was time to load on the wild star quilt!  I finally had the backing and batting purchased from the Daytona trip last week so I could load it up.  I must've checked that the backing was on right a half dozen times! lol

The quilting on this is very free making sun rays come off the central circle!

Easy swoops and circles along the sashing.

Relaxing.

 Since the frame was well on its way, I pulled out the pile of men's suiting samples I 'inherited' ages ago and no matter how many I use up, there are still that many more to use!!!  I separated the squares into smooth and textured and then started putting them up on the design wall so I could sew them up.  I will keep them in the larger lap-sized range.  

 I like to back these with polar fleece instead of the traditional batting and backing because it reduces the shrinkage variations when washed.  The previous one I made washed well.  Nice to have a choice of projects in the sewing room!

Gladys Knitting

 I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying this knit!  The yarn is a delight (new superwash Chroma) and the pattern is clear and easy to follow!

Here's a first in my lifetime-I went in for a manicure and some acrylic/gel polish nails!   I have to wear polish to cover up the discolorations MS has given me and I just can't keep up with the maintenance-I was very interested in the process and grateful for the quiet hour of pampering.  Who says you are too old to try something new?!

Glad for Gladys

A package of sanity arrived in the mail!

I broke my needle recently and while I love the wooden needles, they are in danger of  a toddler's bull-ox climbs on your lap!

I tried using a pair of metal ones but I just couldn't bear it.

I ordered more needles in each of the colors available from KnitPicks so I wouldn't run out of my favorite sock knitting size ones again!

Oh, and the yarn?  It's the new Chroma from KnitPicks-

it's superwash in fingering weight!

I couldn't resist a pair of socks in this pattern using great Gansey textures!

I will be doing this sock completely according to the pattern which is a rare event for me and sock knitting!

I want to try the new heel and to keep the pattern going just right, I will be knitting this pair top down!

Maybe this is nothing to you, sock knitters, but it is huge to me because I always take the pattern and just reverse it so I can knit toe-up!

I don't know what came over me but here goes!

TwiddleMitt

 I know, I had never heard of such a thing either but these little hand muffs are for Alzheimer's patients to slip their hand in and let the other hand twiddle with the doodads attached to the outside.

 A blog friend recently lost her mother to this disease and she asked for anyone interested (or having a loved one suffer with this malady) to donate a mitt.

I wanted to supply one for her collection and then I will be making several for  local nursing homes to supply them for their patients.

Kathy B-it is on its way to you!

*It is self-lined and knit in chunky weight yarn.

Sweetness

This little quilt is off the frame and even has the binding finished!

It is such a sweet little quilt!

 It almost quilted itself 

and I love it when I know just what to stitch on it to hold it all together!

 Monday, during quilting group (it is definitely as healthy as a mental health visit!)

I pieced the smaller tumbler blocks; 

 it needs the sides to be trimmed straight 

but I already have the backing picked out for this

 so it should be on the frame in the next day or so!

Princess Footwear!

One pair of princess socks done in the sparkly yarn from Wandering Cat Yarn!

This is for a size 6/7 women's size;

size 1 needle over 56 stitches.

They are beautiful!

Flown the Coop

 I have one princess fairy dust sock off the needles and the next one on its way!

 I lifted Will up to see the baby birds and they were gone!  All four had fledged and we didn't even get to see them! 

I will sure miss the activity that has been going on with them!

 I pulled the nest out of the hanging plant so I could water it-it has been drought-ed for several weeks!

 Yesterday we visited a NY style pizza shop-Will recognized the landscape right away and wanted me to take a pic of him in NY!

 After a bit of shopping, we visited the beach and did the boys let loose!

 Ethan got up the nerve to let go of Grandpa....

 and the tide came in!  Sneaky water!

Oh, it's okay!  I've got this!  Pretty soon he did some running, too, but not through the water like his brother! lol

 The waves were large and there was an even an emergency rescue down the beach!

The wash and dry worked wonders on the Hunter Star quilt-

even the backing fluffed a bit so I will consider it a win!

But I Triumphed!

 It was thundering out and raining (hooray because we need it so badly!) so the cats were all inside and Nyki chose to keep me company by laying on the quilt as I was sewing the binding on!

 I finished it and will toss it into the washer/dryer in the morning and see how it turns out!

 The backing doesn't reflect the pretty stitching on the front but the outline stitching will keep it all together!

 I sewed some border fabric I found in the stash and loaded it right up on the frame.  Of course, I had no problem loading the backing the right way!  I knew what to do for a design on this quilt top right away-I love it when that happens!

Flowers everywhere!

To Err is Human

 I loaded up the latest top-this is how I cut the batting and backing ;  it is easier than laying out flat!  Just quarter your top, batting and trim larger than your top and then the same with the backing.  Easy.

 I tried a new to me technique , ruler work .  

It was a learning curve but I enjoyed the challenge.  

 Then for some reason I could hear a difference and sure enough, 

when I looked underneath there were all these snarls.  

 AND WORSE-I COULD SEE I HAD LOADED THE QUILT BACKING UPSIDE DOWN SO THE WRONG SIDE WAS OUT.  I WAS 2/3 OF THE WAY DONE.  WHAT TO DO?  EAT CHOCOLATE.  SERIOUSLY.

 I powered on with the top , finished it and pulled it off the frame.

 I admired my lines and design and the puffy stars.

 The appliques and meanders.

 The borders.

 BUT NOT THE BACKING.

THE BEAUTIFUL PIECED BACKING.

I loaded another piece of backing on late last night 

and quilted 'stitch-in-the-ditch' to hold the backing to the rest of the quilt.  

Today I will bind it and no one will know the heartache that this little mistake caused me! 

 (Shhh, don't tell!)