WEEK 3

 

It has been a busy week here at Casa de Noce.  Here is my week in review.

Monday:  Had an early morning manicure.  I always feel so good after the nails are all pretty again.  When I got home I was so happy to see a delivery waiting for me.  My Etsy order arrived containing my cross stitch sit on frame holder.

It was very easy to set up and get my Q-Snap frame loaded into it.

This is me sitting on it while on the sofa.  It is so comfy.  I am excited to get back to my cross stitch.  (Not sure why this photo has funky gray spots on the xstitch.)

Our monsoons finally hit.  We had a huge dust storm followed by almost 1" of rain!

Tuesday:  Got my hair cut!  Took off 4 inches.  It is a bit shorter than I wanted but it will grow.  It is now in a straight bob.  I miss the angled bob and am hoping it will grow enough in the next month we can get back to that style on my next visit. Ran a few other errands and then went and had lunch with hubby and DIL, Stacie, and her friend.

Wednesday: Went over to Stacie's and help her clean out her kitchen.  She is trying to get the house cleaned out by the first of September so she can sell it and move on with her life.  Jay and Tiff (son and DIL) came over for dinner.  We have not had much time to get together lately.  It was nice to have them over for a while. 

Another little monsoon storm of dust and wind but no rain.

Thursday: I spent the day knitting!

Hubby's RCR socks were completed.  So glad to have them off the needles.  I am trying to get all my small WIP's done so I can get on to my xstitch.

We had a HUGE monsoon storm.  We got OVER 1" of rain.  It just poured for several hours.  My plants are very happy!

Friday:  I started cat sitting today.  Cat sitting is so much easier than dog sitting.  Cats do not require someone to be there all day and all night.  All they care about is having food and water and a litter box ready for use.

These are the 3 darlings I took care of for 3 days.  They are not super friendly but will allow me to 'touch' them for a hot minute.  

There were groceries to actually shop for today.  I was very good and did not stray from my list either.

Saturday: I tried so hard to complete the To The Point shawl today.  

It is soooo close.  Maybe by tonight it will be finished.  Then, the only other small WIP I have left to do is the baby hat.

No real big hurry to complete it other than to just have a finished item.

Today:  It was my last day to take care of the cats.  I am getting laundry completed today just so I have the week free of that mundane task.  I also pulled my sourdough starter out and am hoping I can revive it.  I want to get back to making all the sourdough goodies again.

I do have a little chuckle for you today

Until Next Time...................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 2

 

Welcome!  I hope this finds all of you healthy and happy.  Let's get started looking at my craft week.

I had a bit of startitis this past week.  There was a shawl and a couple of baby hats.  I still had my carry over WIP's too.  So?  What got completed?

Baby Hat #15.  So much fun to do and a quick knit.  I did cast on another one straight away but only have 2 rows on it.

The To The Point Shawl #50 is now half way completed.  The yarn for this was reclaimed from a cardi I had made a few years back but disliked the way it looked on my.  I had almost forgotten about this yarn.  It is Cascade Anthem and so soft for an acrylic yarn.  I may have enough to make one more shawl.  Cleaning out the stash is actively going on!

I grabbed one of my languishing WIP's to work on. 

This has carried over since YOP 13.  I found the pattern and figured out where I was and then looked at the next step to do and said NO WAY!  It was not my favorite gnome pattern even from the start.  So, Gnome news is good news now resides in my trash bin along with the pattern in the recycling bin.  It wasn't even worth the trouble of trying to frog it and save the yarn.  That is one way to clear out the WIP list LOL.

I also put on several rows on hubby's RCR sock.

I am over half way done with the foot.  Maybe I can complete it this week?  

I did a little work on the puzzle but nothing much to warrant a photo.  It is much harder than I thought it would be.

That covers all I did craft wise this week.  My week was full of life events though.  I spent several days dog sitting.

Remember this handsome fellow?  THOR!  His new owners went on vacay and since I live a block away and know him, I got to go over during the day to keep him company.  He remembered me and it was a joy to be with him again.  We had lunch with good friend of our.  We try and do this monthly just to keep up with each others lives.  There is always much laughter and very full tummies. Hubby finally got his hearing tested.  We were happy to hear he did not need hearing aids.  His hearing loss is very mild and mostly in high frequencies.  The last thing this week was burying a friend.  We had dinner with him on his birthday and he passed the next day.  No warning!  He will be missed greatly.  He had a huge impact on our life.  I know a we get older and our circle of friends get older, this is going to be more and more common.

That is my week in review.  Today, laundry is going to be done.  Tomorrow is pamper ME day with nail appointment and hair appointment.  There are other activities, but will save those to reflect on next update,

Until Next Time...................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!

Here We Go Week 1 of YOP 16

 

So excited for today.  Planning and and thinking about what I want to accomplish in the next 52 weeks makes me tingly all over. So many dreams and lofty ideas of what will/could happen.  Here is kind of a snapshot of what I have in mind.

Yes, it looks just like the way I laid out my list last year.  But, this works for me and I see no reason to change it.  As you look it over, you will see that this year I have added what I am hoping to do in each area.

LEGEND

COMPLETED 

IN PROGRESS

FROGGED

KNIT

MAK Gnome 4/20/24 -

Grammie Blanket 11/1/25 -

RCR 6/11/26 - 

I truly want to make all three of these WIP's disappear this year.  One of my plans is to make more RCR socks.  I also want to make more NICU preemie hats and use up the DK yarn I purchased for those last year.  There is also have quite a bit of Cotton Dishcloth yarn that needs to be used up.  Oh My!  So much yarn and so little time!

CROCHET

Lego Blanket 11/1/25 - 

Mercy! The Lego Blanket is truly my nemesis.  I would like to complete it before Christmas of 2026 and get it out of my house!  I am sure the recipient will be happy to get it before cold weather sets in this year.

Prayer shawls are big time on my radar this year.  When JoAnn's went belly up, I purchased copious amounts of Caron Simply Soft just for prayer shawls.  I want to try and have one on the go at all times.  

PUZZLE

Knitting Gnomes 6/24/26 -

Goodness, This area is scary.  I can not believe I still have over 15 puzzles waiting to be done.  I had to get a larger puzzle board for the puzzle that is in progress.  I think I am now able to handle any size puzzle with no issue.

LEGO

Hubby is working on his lego right now.  I only have 2 more builds to make and will be happy to wait until his is completed.  There are still lights to put on 2 of the ones we have completed so I will focus on doing that this year.

SEWING

I have no sewing plans yet.  Most of what I seem to be doing is alterations for family members.  So, don't expect much happening here this coming year.

READING

Home for the Homicide 6/28/26 - 7/4/26

The Songs That Could Have Been Sung 7/4/26 -

As you can see, I have already completed a book for this YOP.  Since getting my Kindle Paperwhite, I am really enjoying reading daily.  I get 99% of my books from the Libby app.  They are free and she always has something of interest for me to read.  Reading gets done every night when I go to bed.  

CROSS STITCH

Madonna and Child 8/7/20 -

Madonna and Child 6/18/24 -

Well.........This is embarrassing!  I don't know if I even put in 10 stitches last year.  With my right wrist giving me fits, it is hard for me to hold onto the Q-Snap frame while I stitch with my left hand.  Soooooo, I just ordered a q-snap frame holder that you sit on.  I found it on Etsy and it was on sale!  Now, I have no excuse not to pick up these two projects and put some time into them!  I have a couple other X stitch kits to do once these are done.  Yup, need to get busy on these.

DIAMOND ART

Cross with Wings 10/9/25 -

Why oh Why have I not finished this?  Well, I normally work on it on the same craft table we do our lego builds on.  That table has been in use with lego builds for a year.  There are also MANY more diamond art pictures waiting in the wings to be worked on.  I might need to rearrange some things so I can get back to diamond art too.

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That sums up what I have planned.  Of course it is all subject to change too.

I don't know who it was but, someone talked about having a game type spinning wheel and would put the different categories/projects on it and then spin it to find out what project was going to be worked on that day.  Maybe that would help me manage my indecision when I sit down to craft.

So, these are my thoughts.  How well will I follow them?  No clue, but it will be fun to keep track.

If you would like to join fellow crafters, feel free to join us HERE.  It is free to join and you will find/meet so many wonderful fellow crafters.

Until Next Time.....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!

Round-up Week 52

Take two!  I had almost finished this post when my fingers hit something and POOF! the post disappeared!  So, now to re-create it!

Here is a round-up of what happened in Marsha's world of YOP 15.  It was my 15th year to participate although I was not as faithful to blogging as in previous years.  Funny how life comes along and gets in the way of routines. 

Charity..........I was a bit laxed this year on charity knitting/crocheting.  I managed to complete 15 charity items and have one charity item being carried over to next year.

 NICU baby hats are new for me to make for charity this year.  They are so much fun and a very portable project. There were 8 of them completed this year.  My niece works in a NICU and love getting the hats for her precious little patients.

To The Point Shawl is my go to for the Prayer Shawl Ministry at our Parish.  The above one is the 49th one I have made but one of 6 shawls completed.  Before you ask, No, I still need to check on the pattern for the beginning.  You would think I could do this in my sleep by now. 

Other knitting projects were dishcloths (7) and RCR socks (6.5).  The half sock comes from needing to make a replacement sock for one that the heel blew out of.  I am working on another pair and have gotten this far.

 It is the first sock that is almost completed.  The poor sock has been waiting for 2 days for the toe to be closed.  Unfortunately, my mojo is more like no-go at the moment.  This happens once in a while.  I am sure it will be back shortly.

Legos were a thing this year.  Our youngest son got us interested/hooked on make some fun items this past year.  My favorite is Notre Dame.

It took one year and building it twice to complete it.  A total of 9 Lego sets were completed this year. I do have a couple more waiting but not ready to tackle them quite yet.

Diamond Art was my mental health's gift this year.  Sitting with a terminally ill person for 8 plus hours a day for 8 months is a bit of a bummer.  Having a project to work on and take your mind off the inevitable is priceless.  I had a very hard time picking my favorite from this past year.  Here are a couple of them though.

There were 14 Diamond Art projects completed.  I have sooooo many more waiting for me.  It must be time for me to  bring them out again and give them some love.

Where I really exceeded my expectations was in reading.  I read 35 books since the beginning of YOP 15.  Once again, a good way to help with mental health during difficult times.  I got to read about other's problems LOL.  

I worked 3 puzzles and did a little alteration sewing for family and that completes my 'stuff'. Overall, it was a good year and I am pleased with accomplishments.  

Come on by next week to see what is in the works for YOP16.  

Until Next Time...................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!! 

WEEK 51

 

This will be a fairly short (for me) update.  I have no idea what happened this week but crafting fell to the wayside for may days.  Here is what I did for the week.

I built another lego project....

This took about 30 minutes to assemble.  It is only about 5 inches long and 2 inches high.  It was a nice little fun project.

I worked on the RCR socks.......

I am half way done with the foot.  Hopefully I can complete this in the next week.

And that is all for crafting.  Pitiful, right?

Monday was Hubby's 77th birthday and we went and played bingo to celebrate.

None of us won but we had fun.

That is all for this week.  I will do a little round up next week for the end of YOP 15.

Here is your chuckle for the week.............

Until Next Time........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 50!

 

Howdy!  It is a very cloudy day here.  I keep hoping for rain to come, but so far nothing.  The official start of our monsoon season starts tomorrow.  We have been told it is going to be a Super El Niño this year.  Fingers crossed this means a lot of rain and not just a lot of Haboobs.  All I know for sure is it is already very hot here!  Only 4 more months of summer LOL.  Since I didn't want to leave the my cool house I got busy and worked on some crafty projects.

FINISHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To The Point shawl is completed.  I really liked this color of Persimmon.  Totally different from anything I have ever chosen to use before.  I am such a pink/purple person.  Branching out is good, right?

And here is a BIG Ta-Da

Notre Dame Lego is completed!  I am so glad to have completed this before the end of this YOP.  I really did not want to carry it over another year!  It took me one week to finish this.  I still have the light kit to put on it.  I am waiting on that as my fingers took a beating with this thing.  So many little pieces to snap together.  I think there are permanent little circles on my finger tips from pushing pieces together LOL.  This set was over 4300 pieces.  We are going to order a display case for it so it stays together and dust free.

Cast-ons

Last week I had ordered a short sock yarn set from Leading Men Fibers.  It arrived this week.

It is Show Stopper Intermission in the colorway No Tea No Shade and the little ball is Moonlight.  Can you see the weather station clock in the background?  It is 10:13 AM and already 106F (41C).  Told you it was hot here.  

Anyway, I digress.  This yarn is for hubby.  His 77th birthday is tomorrow (15th) so I made sure I cast on a new pair of RCR for him.

I started these on Thursday night. No, they will not be done by the 15th but at least I started them. LOL 

Thursday, our ladies that help clean our house came over.  They are big animal fans.  The more exotic the animal the better for them.  They brought their Sugar Gliders over for us to see.

This is George.  He is very friendly but not happy about being brought out during daylight hours.  He buddy, Tarzan, refused to get out of the 'hood' she is holding.  Although, when I offered him a treat he had no issue accepting that.  George was so soft and cute.  I told her she could bring them back again anytime.  They were so much fun.  Well, George was anyway.

Can you believe we only have 2 more weeks of YOP 15?  Next week will be my last 'regular' post.  Week 52 will be a round up.  I haven't heard if there will be a YOP 16, yet.  Hopefully I will know by next week.

I will leave you with this.................

Until Next Time................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!

WEEK 49

 

I am back again and have lots of things to show and talk about.  Ready?  Here we go..............

SUNDAY

Last week I said we were going to a Lego convention.  We did go as well as about 500 other people.  It was so crowded and cramped.  I lasted about an hour and was ready to get out.  There were many builds to look at and admire and the builders were there to talk to also.  The convention was held in our local convention center but they only used half of the available space.  Hopefully, next year they will open up the entire building to help keep the congestion down a bit.

This is the only photo I was able to snap without people walking in front of me.  Not to mention one of my Granddaughters is a Swifty.

We did come home with a treasure though............

This model of R2D2 is retired.  We were thrilled to find it and look forward to putting it together.

MONDAY

This was my 73rd birthday.  I did not have any plans for the day until my DIL, Stacie, asked if I would like to go and play Bingo that evening.  HECK YA!  We had such a grand time.  I didn't win, but she did and I was very happy for her.

I ordered some yarn from Leading Men Fibers.  I love their sock yarn and they are now selling the yarn in hanks for short socks!  Since hubby has a bday this month I decided to order a set to make him another pair of short socks.

I got lots of texts and calls from friends and love ones too.  It was a very nice day.

TUESDAY

Finished up another baby hat (no photo).  Otherwise, I spent the day just relaxing and enjoying time with hubby.

WEDNESDAY

Our daughter and her husband came and took us out to lunch.  We went to a new, to us, place.  It is run by Ukrainians and has been for many years

They specialize in all things Ukrainian/Polish.  We had the BEST kielbasa, sauerkraut and Perogi ever!  I brought home one of their menus (with permission) as I wanted to look up recipes for some of the items they had on the menu to see if I could make them.  We definitely will be going back there again.

They also brought over my bday gifts.

A gnome puzzle and a gnome diamond art!  I am in love.  There was also a gnome sunshade for my car but it did not fit. Seems it fits my daughter's car though.  Hmmmm. 

THURSDAY

I received the Lego order I made on my birthday!

This has been on my wish list for over a year.  It was on sale so I grabbed it.  It will be so pretty on my dining room table during Christmas. 

 This is a very tiny set but oh so cute!  I just love anything with Grogu in it.  I now have enough Lego builds to keep me busy for a while.

I started a new crochet project too.  Everything I have in my WIP pile is such a long term item.  It makes me a little frustrated to take so long on projects.  So, I started a something easy and quick..........

Yup.......another To The Point Shawl.  Our prayer shawl ministry is begging for shawls and lapghans.  Since I have so much Caron Simply Soft yarn, I decided to get back to making the shawls for them.  It is such a relaxing project and one I can do at home or on the go.

FRIDAY

Picked up my grocery order and got our water cooler bottles filled. Once groceries were put away and lunch had been eaten I decided to tackle the Notre Dame Lego build that has been languishing for quite a while.  We started it in June of last year.  I built part of it and then hubby took over but ran into issues on bag 24.  He could not figure out what he did wrong.  I asked him if he minded if I took over and tried to finish it.  He was more than happy to let me have at it.  Well, I knew, the build was not stable and had not been stable since I had worked on it.  So, in my desire to make the thing 100% better I did this.............

Yup, took it back to the flat part.  I was able to flip it over and reinforce the base of this the way it was supposed to be when I first started on it.  Then I began to put it back together again.

See those Ziplock bags in the background?  I took this thing apart page by page of the book and put the pieces in the bags according to the instruction book.

I am on bag 8 at the present time.  I found several mistakes I made in my part of the original build and am so much happier with how sturdy this feels this time.  To say I am loving the rebuilding of this would be an understatement.  My goal is to complete it before the end of this YOP.  I am not sure that will happen but it is a goal I made.

SATURDAY

A very quite day here.  We went to Mass and then came home and I made Taco Salad for dinner.  We watched the hockey game (Stanley cup finals) and I worked on the shawl.

TODAY

I got up early today and got a load of laundry done.  Hubby and I plan on having a quiet day.  I will work on my shawl and Notre Dame.  Hubby will watch golf and probably find a movie for us to watch later on.

I hope y'all are doing well and enjoying some summertime weather.  We are back up into the 100'sF and will be there for the next 5 months.  It is not my favorite season but just part of choosing to live in the desert.

Here is a chuckle and truth for the week...............

Until Next Time....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!