This update is coming to you from a very rainy Arizona. We have had more rain in the past week then we normally get in 6 months. Our plants are loving it and so are we. My dogs, however, are not a fan of all this moisture. Today there is quite a bit of thunder to go along with it. They especially dislike THAT noise. So I am writing this with a dog glued to my side, shaking to the point I feel like I have a vibrating chair.
I made quite a bit of progress this week. Let's start with the item that saw the least amount of love.
Next up:
Snoqualmie Socks. I got a second pattern repeat done on one sock only this week. This pattern is working so well with this yarn. I am very happy with it.
The most love was given to:
Drops of Jupiter shawl. Hubby and I decided to make a little trip to Vegas after Thanksgiving. This shawl will be perfect to have in the casino. The gradient yarn has me falling in love. The pattern is fairly easy to do providing a person is not consuming an adult beverage while working the lacy effects. I spent 3 hours yesterday morning tinking back 3 rows of boo-boos. It only took 1 hour to put it all back in correctly. I added 70 rows and 194 stitches since last Sunday. I have 58 rows and 66 more stitches before I do the bind off. I am hoping to be darn near done with it by the end of this week. Adding the beads slows down the process a bit. It is worth it though. They will add some POP to the finished garment. The fun part will be blocking it. Supposedly it has a wing span of 90 inches and a drop of 30 inches. Since the fabric is cotton AND acrylic, I am not sure how well it will block out for me. Fingers crossed I am able to get some sort of shaping done on it.
This coming week looks pretty normal. There should be plenty of time to work on my knitting. Once the shawl is done, I really need to get going on this years Christmas ornaments for the grands. I can not decide between little mittens or Santa hats.
In other boring news...................I cleaned out our freezer this past week. We had so much stuff in there that had to be thrown out. I felt horrible doing it. What a waste. We had failed to vacuum seal quite a bit of meat and it was all freezer burnt and so nasty. There was shrimp in there smelling up the whole freezer which tells me it had defrosted and refrozen at some point. NASTY! I did find a turkey breast in there and will be having the hubby smoke it soon. I also found a spiral cut ham that had been buried. That will be cooked up in the next month or so and we will have a nice little family/friend gathering for that meal.
Our pool has cooled off too much to swim in. The rains we have been having have really dropped our temperatures down which makes the water cool off quite quickly. We haven't even hit 90 degrees this past week. This is unusual for us. I can remember Halloweens where it is 85 when we start walking the neighborhoods with the kids. For us to be in the 80's during the day and 50's - 60's at night already, is a real joy. Just about time to open the doors and windows and let in some fresh air. Just might do that today!
Since the pool is too cold to swim in, walking the neighborhood will begin to be my exercise. Besides, my dogs could use a bit of walking too. Will wait until the rains stop though lol.
Reading has also been happening here. I am just about done with the Butternut Creek Series. They were such good clean fun books to read. No gore, sex, language or crimes. Perfect bedtime books.
This is the last book in the series. I have ordered another 2 book series from Thriftbooks. Hopefully I will enjoy it as much.
My book I placed on hold at the library finally came in.
This one is not a light frivolous story. It will be perfect to read while baseball playoffs are on.
That is all for today. We went to Mass yesterday as we have a meeting at church this morning to go over our fall retreat. I don't need to cook today as we have leftovers from last nights dinner out as well as leftovers from Friday nights dinner we cooked. How luck could I get?
Until next time....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!
Rain in Arizona, soso... We could use a little rain here as well - we had a great, very warm summer but it was really dry. Here at the rim of the Black Forest we got quite a bit of rain, but where my parents live in the northwest, it was really, really dry - the corn harvest was really bad up there. Nevertheless, I enjoyed knitting on the terasse today, with no coat, yeah! But feel free to send over a little of that rain when you had enough. I love that gradient of yours. Oh, and thanks for that Butternut Creek book recommendation! It sound like I could really enjoy that. I love small town stories and have been a huge fan of Robyn Carr's Virgin River series. Though this is not what you would call "clean", there are some quite hefty love scenes in there. Have a great week, I will hop over to Amazon to check out those books!
ReplyDeleteBusy lady. I was thinking of Arizona this morning because my cactus is blooming at home, and it made me think of all the cacti I discover last March. I loved Arizona. You are going to look awesome in Vegas in your beautiful shawl. I am jealous that you have a pool to swim in. My dream would be a pool in my backyard.
ReplyDeleteSnoqualmie is beautiful. I've put that one in my queue....thank you for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHope you dry out soon and can get out for a lovely walk.
Frodo has decided to be terrified of thunder, never used to be before, my dog trainer/groomer says it comes with dogs aging. Hm. Lovely projects! Our pool is waiting for a new pool cover to arrive so we can close it up.
ReplyDeleteRising Tide is gorgeous. Your Snoqualmie socks are so pretty and it's nice to know about a pattern that does well with that yarn without pooling. Your big shawl is beautiful. I too have been guilty of 'freezer burn'....makes you ill when you find it and realize it's money down the drain. Glad someone is getting some rain! They have predicted rain for several days now and nothing....but I think maybe tonight if the radar stays the same. Your books look good and what are you going to work on now that your shawl is almost done? A new project? Have a great week and enjoy your cool temps!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're getting some rain, I know my cousin out your way will be happy too. I've gotten so I only a few things at a time anymore for the freezer, because stuff gets old and your don't realize it. I've also finally started writing the date on the zip lock I put stuff in. That's been helpful. LOVE the purple shawl, had to laugh when you said when not drinking an alcoholic beverage. Sipping wine and knitting go so hand in hand...but often the next morning I see the oophs.
ReplyDeleteWow - that yarn you're using for the Drops of Juniper shawl truly is beautiful. Have you shared what the yarn is? We're supposed to cool off later this week. It's certainly time, but for some reason
ReplyDeleteI don't trust that we're truly headed into fall weather. I fear autumn may strike fast and will probably be over before we know it. My favorite season of the year is just too short.
Oh my I love the colours in your drops of juniper shawl...gorgeous. We are just back from a week in a holiday cottage on the West Coast of Scotland and it rained every day, even my Gore-tex jacket and over trousers gave up in the end and let the rain through!!! But it made for beautiful rainbows every day. I can't imagine living somewhere like Arizona where rain is rare.
ReplyDeleteI will have to check out the book series you mentioned. Sometime I just want something light and easy to read ...
ReplyDeleteYou have been busy Marsha and look at all the lovely projects! The sock pattern and yarn are working perfectly and I love your shawl, the beads will be just the right pop on it. Such a shame about the freezer and the books series looks good!
ReplyDeletePoor dogs! Hopefully it is calmer now. Love all of your projects.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve been rainy and stormy too. I hate having the windows shut for so much of the time.,
ReplyDeleteGoodness there’s lots of purpleyness going on with you :)
Yay for walking around the hood. I get so bored and need to have a different route each time I walk. Sorry your dogs have been affected by the thunder.
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