WEEK 6 OF YOP 16

 

It was a fairly quiet week here,  I was able to work on many of my projects this week.  My main attention was on cross stitch.

The focus, at the moment, is the orange section.  There are 4 different colors of orange in there.  It doesn't seem like there is much difference in 3 of them but one is much darker than the rest.  That is the one I am working on now.  I would love to have this section of this page done this coming week.  There are a total of 6 pages in this cross stitch!  I do not know why the photo shows the fabric as having a 'texture' to it.  It is just normal 18 count aida cloth.

There was a wee bit added to the lap throw.

I find this a good one to work on when I need semi mindless knitting. The endless sea of brown is not very inspiring though.  Hence the reason it only sees a wee bit of love each week.

My take along projects.

Only 84 more rows before the toe.  If things go as planned, I might be able to get it done this week.

The brown RCR is getting a bit more love as I only need to make one of them and hubby will have a pair again.  I will need to make 2 of the blue since the whole sock is showing signs of the heel blowing out very soon too. 

That is it for my projects this week.  In other news...............................

Monday, Stacie, Josie and I went to the wedding venue so Josie could show the decorator her ideas for the layout and colors for flowers and table linens.  Afterwards, we came back to my house for the final dress fitting and adjustments.  Everything is a go as of this writing.

I have been very good this past week and managed to cook all but one day.  We had been going out so much.  I was throwing too much food away because it was not being eaten.  We call that 'cash in the trash'.  With food prices these days..................well, it's sad.  Today, I am making Carne Guisada (Mexican beef stew), pinto beans and fresh flour tortillas.  Normally, on Sundays I do easy meals.  But, I have wanted to make this for a few weeks and this is the perfect day and then we will have leftovers for later in the week.  Actually, the carne is done in the slow cooker and the beans are done in the instant pot.  Super easy,  The tortillas take a bit of time though.  I make them with sourdough starter so they must be healthy lol.

I have a chuckle for you today......................

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

WEEK 5

 

Howdy!  I had time to really work on my items this week.

The baby hat.....................

Hmmmm, this is actually a lovely baby blue color.  Anyway, It is done and I will be sending it and 7 other baby hats to my niece in Las Vegas for her NICU.

I also finished the 51st To The Point Shawl.  I need to take a day a sew on the labels and medals on the 3 I have completed so I can turn them in to the church.

I worked on the cross stitch only once this past week. 

I did a few rows on each RCR sock but not enough to warrant a photo.

The languishing lapghan got picked up last night and a few rows were put on it.  It is a good TV viewing project and I really want to get it finished and off my WIP list.

There was a celebration this weekend.

Josie with her mom, Stacie, and Fiancé, Josh.

Josie turned 21 on the 1st!  And in 21 days she will be walking down the aisle.  She is growing up so fast.

The coming week is very 'quiet'.  The only thing I have going is on Monday, when I go with Josie and Stacie to talk to the decorator at the wedding venue and then we are going to do a little bit of touching up on the wedding dress and steaming the veil.  With all the down time I am hoping to accomplish quite a bit of crafting.  We shall see.

Here is our forecast for the next week.  I am very much over summer!

Even our night time lows are hot.  The pool is like bath water so no relief there either.  Thankfully my A/C is working well and the solar is helping with the electric bill.  But, as a knitter/crocheter, I long to be able to wear sweaters and blankets! *sigh*

I do have a chuckle for you this week...................

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

WEEK 4

 

Another week has ended.  It was a grand week with lots of things happening both in life and in my crafting world.  Here is a run down of the week..................

Last Sunday - I finished the cream colored To The Point Shawl.  It is waiting for the label and medal to be sewn on to it.  Then it will go to my Parish's prayer shawl ministry closet for distribution.  It was also our youngest grandson's 23rd birthday.  How quickly they grow up.

Monday - I got my cross stitch all set up and was able to give it love throughout the week.

It may not look like much got accomplished but the speckled areas you see took me several hours to do.  A very slow process but the finished produce will be well worth it.  I do like the sitting frame holder.  Having both hands free to work the needle is a big help.

Tuesday - This was medical day for me.  I had two blood tests plus an carotid ultrasound.  That pretty much ate up most of my morning and early afternoon.

Wednesday - This was kitchen day.  I got my sourdough back out and revived it.  I made a loaf of bread and a pan of crackers with it.  Later that day, I made some soft serve vanilla ice cream using my homemade vanilla.  It has such a better flavor than store bought stuff.  I had to take my mom's mantle clock to the clock repair shop.  It would chime but would not keep time.  The gentleman there asked me if I wanted it to keep time or to chime!  I looked at him like he had lost his mind.  BOTH!  He tells me it costs more for both.  What good is a mantle clock that does not tell time or chime!  UGH!  It will be a couple of weeks before it comes back to me.

Thursday - I went back over to Stacie's and picked up the rocking chair I had rocked Josh in when he was a baby.  They had used it to rock Josie in too.  It has been restored and is waiting at my house for the next wee one to come along.  Hopefully that is a few years away yet.  My husband noticed my sock needles were empty and came to me with 2 socks that needed a new mate.

They are both started.  As I was looking at the good sock that matches the blue yarn, I noticed the heel in it was VERY thread bare.  So will go ahead and make a complete pair out of the blue.  This is the one time I am glad I over stock on yarn I like.  Then I have it available when needed.

But wait.............there's more!  I needed something else to work on as I only have 8 WIP's at the moment.  So, let's start another prayer shawl.

I have had this yarn in my stash for over 10 years.  It is time it got put to use.  Too bad you can not see the little time sparkles that are throughout the yarn.  It is so pretty.

Friday - I delivered and table and lamp to our son and DIL.

This had belonged to my mom also.  The table is so cute and sorry I didn't get a better shot of it.  But it has a drawer on either end of the table.  Tiff was so excited for it and is going to use it in her 'she shed' room.

This was also grocery shopping day.  It took me all of about 15 minutes to complete my shopping and check out.  I like that kind of shopping.

If you follow the news, you now we have some really horrid temps right now.  Well over 110F.  So, I decided it was time to quit growing out my hair (which was not working well anyway) and get it cut a bit.

Here is what came off my head!  No wonder I was always hot and sweaty.

AHHHHH...............much better and so much cooler!  The gray is really showing up now.  Someday it will be 'platinum' all over.

Saturday -  I managed to work on all my knit and crochet items.  The baby hat is still in progress.

I still need another inch on it before starting the crown. It should be done this coming week.

Today I am doing laundry and want to bake up some scones and make some belgian waffles for us. 

I so have a chuckle for you this week.

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

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!!!!!!!!!!!!