Another YOP Update Week 17

 

Ahhhh, I finally am home and able to update my blog this week.  We had a meeting at our church this morning from 8-10 and then ran to the grocery store to pick up a roasted chicken for dinner tonight.  I like to keep cooking simple on Sundays.  That way I have time to spend with hubby watching American Football and working on my knitting/crocheting.

I do have a Finish this week.  Well, you all knew I probably would.  Take a look.

The baby outfit was completed on Thursday.  I tried the hat on my 3 month doll and it fit just fine.  Since that was OK, I got the bootie done and then picked up buttons and got them all sewn on.

I love these buttons.  I seldom add shank buttons to baby clothes.  I like things to be flat so there will be no poking of tender skin.

There was quite a bit of yarn left over so I decided to make this too.

A bunny lovey.  I thought it was appropriate since the yarn color is called Easter Basket.  I had never made one before but it was so much fun and a quick crochet project.

I had some purple yarn and made the eyes and mouth/nose with it.  Hopefully it will be used during those horrible teething times.

Once that was done I stated back on this.

My cardigan.  I am on the last row before I place the sleeves on waste yarn.  I am not too sure this will be done by the end of November, but I will try my darnedest.  The weather has cooled off here so I don't mind having this in my lap for periods of time.  I have not tried it on yet but will as soon as I put the sleeves on the waste yarn to make sure it will be a better fit than the last time.

That is all for the crafting this week.  Other stuff has been happening though.

Monday-  This was my day to do all my household chores (laundry, menus, grocery list grocery shopping and picking up anything that is out of place)

Tuesday -  went to WalMart to pick up stuffing for the lovey.  Started my sourdough starter with high hopes of it working the first time.

Wednesday - Hubby and I spent all morning cleaning.  We had friends from out of state coming in and the lady is a bit allergic to dogs.  So, everything got vacuumed, washed, and dehaired before they came over.  We had a lovely day/evening with them.

Thursday - I grand dog duty that day.  Lucky for me I had plenty of things to do while I was there.  I got my bullet journal set up for the rest of this year, set up my overdrive app so I could listen to audio books from my local library and of course worked on my sweater.  But before I could do all that, I needed to get some energy out of the puppy.

I chased him around the yard while he was carrying sticks and other yard stuff around.  He loved it.  After that was done:

He curled up next to me and slept for the rest of the afternoon while I worked on my sweater and watched Hallmark Movies.  What a lovely way to spend a day.

Friday - my sourdough started got nasty........really nasty.  I threw it out.  It will be tried again.  I refuse to give up!  I did make a 'regular' loaf of bread in my bread machine.  While picking up some things in my craft room, I dropped my wooden yarn bowl.  Yup, it broke.  Dang it..............I loved that yarn bowl.  Amazon to the rescue!

Saturday - We went to our church to witness a baptism only to find out it was scheduled for Monday!!!  Oh well, we were all dressed for Mass so that gave us the rest of day to do what we wanted.  Our very dear friend is in the hospital so we went to visit him. (He is having a triple bypass on Monday!)  Then went to lunch and came home, took a little nap and then went to Mass and out to dinner with our BFF's.  Another lovely day!

That wraps up last week.  Busy as usual.  I will be doing another baby ensemble sometime next month.  Seems there are lots of our friends expecting grand babies in the coming year!  

WOOHOO!  The doorbell just rang.................my new yarn bowl has arrived.  Not to put it to good use.

Until Next Time..........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!11

YOP WEEK 16

Hello and welcome readers.  This may be just about the shortest YOP update ever.  There is only one thing I worked on last week.

This

Another Wee Sherlock ensemble.  The sweater was made twice.  The 3-6 month size is what I ALWAYS make and it comes out 100% perfect for that age of baby.  The yarn I was given to use is Caron worsted weight.  I have used Caron several times but for some reason, this yarn leans more towards an Aran weight.  The sweater was started last Sunday and on Monday evening I was starting on the sleeves and decided to measure it and it was darn near a 6-9 month size.  I ripped it out and cast on for the 0-3 month size.  It is perfect now for a 3-6 month baby.  The hat was made in a 3-6 month size and I am still not sure if I will leave it or rip it out and go for the 0-3 month size.  How do I know if it is the right size?  Glad you asked.  I have 2 dolls that are exactly the size of 3 month baby.  Trying the outfit on them makes my life easier.  I have not tried the hat on one of them yet but will do that sometime today.  Right now I am working on the booties to go with the set.  I have already purchased the buttons.  Once it is all finished and ready to go to it's owner, I will have some much better photos to post.  

That is all for my crafting this week.  I did manage to finish the puzzle I was working on.  No photo of it though. (sorry)  Told you it was a short update.

As for the rest of the week?

Monday - The Grand and I went to lunch, painted ceramics and picked up some much needed art supplies at Hobby Lobby.  The art supplies were for the Grand.  

Tuesday - Got all the laundry done (3 loads) and made a loaf of bread.

Wednesday - Took my BFF to get her MRI and held her hand for the 2 hours we were there.  Went to lunch with her afterwards. Went to the Grand's High School to pick up gift cards.  (The merchants of the gift cards give a percentage of the card towards her tuition)  Went to our normal Trivia night with friends and family.  (No win this time)

Thursday - Went to JoAnn's to pick out buttons for the baby ensemble.  While I was there I noticed they offer classes to learn how to get the most out of the Cricut.  Did I sign up?  You betcha.  My Cricut is gathering dust because I am very confused on how to use it and it's different abilities.  (So excited)  The ceramics were picked up also.  Wanna see?

The rice bowl is mine and the Halloween Kitty is the Grand's.  It was my first time to paint ceramics.  I could easily do that many more times!

Friday - We decided to relax for the day.  I did fill my car with gas and got it washed.  Dinner was at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  We were celebrating 44 years of marriage.  Hard to believe we have been married that long.

Saturday - I had grand dog duty in the afternoon, before Mass.  After Mass we attended our church/school Fall Fiesta.  It was a grand time and very well attended this year.  The weather was perfect for it too.  A nice cool evening.................fall like even.  

The baby ensemble should be finished in the next couple of days and then it will be back to my projects that are feeling a bit neglected.  

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

WEEK 15 OF MY 9TH YEAR

 

Welcome everyone.  Nice to have you stop by for a little visit.  This past week, I tried something a bit different in my crafting.  Each day I 'tried' to work on everyone of my WIP's (works in progress).  It was with the hopes I would not get 'bored' of looking at the same thing each day.  It was a failure.  Each project got some type of love this week but not daily and here is the reason:

This is Fawkes.  It is a 12 row repeat.  I refuse to stop working on this until I have completed all 12 rows.  Otherwise, I confuse myself as to what the little arrow on the pattern means.  Is it the last row I did or the next row I need to do.  The little marker is where I was last Sunday.  There were only 24 more rows added to this project.

Here is another reason:

This cardigan has a 4 row repeat.  This one is a bit easier for me to stop before I get to the end of the 4 rows.  I managed to increase this by 12 rows this past week.  Only 24 more rows before the sleeves get put on holders.

Then here is another reason:

This Forest Path shawl is a 6 row repeat.  If you look at the large blue section in the middle of the shawl, you can see where I had put it down without finishing the pattern repeat and was unable to figure out where I was.  I did not notice it until I had finished the green section above it.  This shawl got 30 rows added to it this week.  

I also worked on this

The Alpaca shawl.  There were 6 rows added to this.  It is probably the hardest of all my WIP's.  It is knit on size 10.5US (6.50mm) needles and it is VERY slippery.  I really have to watch while I am knitting on it.  Especially when I am knitting off the yarn over rows.  It is going to be very lovely and warm when completed though.

And of course, I needed to have a cleansing project too.

Three more squares to add to the blanket pile.  It is so nice to do these when working on my 'big' projects.  Each square takes between 30 - 45 minutes to complete.  

I also worked on the puzzle each day, but usually while I was eating lunch.  It is not completed yet and I am now on the part where everything looks the same and the only thing I can do is just keep trying puzzle pieces.

After trying that little experiment this past week, I have come to this conclusion:  I am much better at monogamous knitting/crocheting.  This coming week, I will be working on only one item a day.  In fact, I may only work on one item for the entire week.  That cardigan needs to be completed by the end of November.  That only gives me 5 weeks to complete it.  There is also another baby ensemble needing to be completed by Thanksgiving.  (Although, I have not received the yarn yet from the person asking me to make it for her.)  Once the yarn is received, the baby ensemble will be my only project to be worked on until completed.  Hopefully I will have the yarn today or tomorrow.

Coming up this week..........................Today is our Son in Law's bday.  We actually celebrated last Sunday with him.  We had him and our daughter over for dinner.  Our daughter's birthday is Monday.  So nice for them to have bday's so close together.  (Our local son and his wife have bdays 2 days apart!)

On Monday,the Grand Daughter and I are going to go to lunch and then on to a ceramic place to paint.  She is on fall break and I really wanted to spend some time with her.  (Plus, she gets bored just sitting home)  Normally she is out of town for fall break, but because she is on a swim team, she has had practice everyday except Sunday.  Hooray for me this year!

Tuesday is a quiet day and I am hoping to get quite a bit of knitting done that day.

Wednesday, I will be taking my BFF to get an MRI.  I do this every year for her.  She has MS so needs to have an MRI to keep track of how it is progressing.  Since she is extremely claustrophobic, her Doctor prescribes her meds to make her loopy and that is for an OPEN MRI!  She has had 1 closed MRI and they had to totally sedate her for that one.  After she gets done with the MRI we will stop and have a quick lunch somewhere, before I take her home.  That evening we have our weekly trivia.  This is not like trivial pursuit.  This is where you have an Emcee and he asks a question and you write down your answer and turn it in.  We have a team of 4-6 people we go with each week.  It really is a lot of fun.  Last week we took first place and got $20 in gift cards to use this coming week on our meal. (It takes place at a sports bar)

Thursday and Friday are quiet days again..............at this point.  I never know when I will get a call asking me to go and let my Grand Puppy out or if I will be needed to pick someone up from school.  But that is okay.........................that is one of the reasons I am retired.  I can help out where needed.

Then we have Saturday!  It is the Fall Fiesta at our church.  It helps support our school and is loads of fun.  The kids all have a blast with rides, petting zoo, bounce houses and climbing walls.  The adults sit around and gab with people we haven't seen since last year.  

That sums it all up.  I did find this the other day and just had to post it.

Yup.................we will be like that until sometime in December when we will need a sweater to step outside.  We are still hitting 90 during the day but in the low 60's at night.  According to the forecast, this coming Wednesday we will hit 97!  STOP!!!!!!!!!! My cousin, in Maryland, has already turned on her heat.  I still have the A/C on.  Crazy, right?

Until next time.........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!

MIDWEEK MUSINGS

There is not always a midweek post from me, these days.  Yet, this week seems to warrant one.

Happily, I have completed all 7 of the Harry Potter books.  Hubby is on book #4 and is really enjoying them also.  It was fun to read books that my Grands have read.

  After I finished the last book, I grabbed the next book on top of my 'to read' pile.

This was on top.  I had wanted to order and read this book for sometime.  I had it on a wish list at Thriftbooks and when it came in they notified me and I ordered it pronto! It was recommended by another YOP blogger.  Did I like it?  Honestly?  I don't know.  It was a super easy read. (finished in 2 bedtime readings)  The characters came to life, quite well.  The story line is what got me.  After finishing it, I found myself weeping silently off and on until about 2:30 in the morning.  It really hit me hard.  

I pulled the next book off the top of my reading pile and now am back into my Jan Karon books.

This is book #14 in her series with Fr Tim Kavanaugh.  They are so good.  I have no issue reading these before bed.  No insomnia from the story line of these books.  There are 2 more after this one to read.  Yes, I have them.

There is something else I have been trying this week.  Each day I am 'trying' to do a bit of knitting/crocheting on each of my WIP's.  I am not sure this is the best way to get things done.  In fact, I normally find one of my WIP's gets missed each day because of running out of time.  Like I said, this is something I decided to try just this week.  Not too sure this will continue into next week.  Maybe next week, I will try just working on project per day.  I have 5 projects on the go so that might be the answer to getting some real progress on each item.  What do you guys think?

Tonight, hubby and I will pick up our friend and head to trivia.  It is our one night out we look forward to each week.  We are not good at it but.........it is dinner out and time spent with other people.

OK, need to get back to my knitting.  I have only worked on 1 items so far today.  We leave in 2 hours, so I need to get cracking.

Until next time...................happy crafting!

WEEK 14 UPDATE

Well, hello there.  How are y'all today?  We are all fine here.  Just kicking back and watching American Football.  Want to see what I accomplished this week?  OK, then, here we go.

First up is a finished object!

The Pine Lake Shawl is off the needles as of Tuesday night.  It is all I worked on from the last update until it was finished.  On Sunday, last week, I did frog it from the size 8 US needles and cast it back on to a size 9 US needle.  I love the drape of the fabric now.  It still needs to be blocked so the lace section will open up more.  Maybe this week will see that happen...............maybe.

After the shawl was done I decided to focus my attention to my Fawkes sock.

The orange marker is where I was last Sunday.  I have 8 more rows and the heel gusset will be completed and then it is on to the foot.  This sock has the pattern continue on the top of the foot until the toe is started.  I kind of like that as it isn't quite as boring as just knitting in the round row after row.  I do promise as soon as this sock is done I will cast on the second sock.

Other than that I have not done any other fiber stuff.  The alpaca shawl and the cardigan are staring at me asking why they have not gotten any love this past week.  (shrugs shoulders) Just didn't feel like it.

The one thing I did start last week was this:

A Thomas Kinkaid puzzle.  It is 1000 pieces, so I think it will be a few whiles before I finish it.  I have 5 more puzzles, after this one, to do.  Of course, I have not been back to my friend's house lately to see if he has anymore he wants to get rid of.

That is all the crafting I did this week.  I did have someone else do some crafting on me this week though.

I finished up my family's tattoos.  I have had the bunny/butterfly, in honor of my mother, since last August (yes I know it needs a touch up but it was done in TX and the local artists do not want to touch someone else's work).  The top one is in honor of my brother who I lost in January this year.  He was a BIG motorcycle geek and was a member of the Christian Motorcycle Association.  The bottom right is for my dad who I lost in 1976.  He was a very devout Christian, was retired Navy and loved without question.  (Cross, heart, anchor).  I am the last one in my immediate family now, so there will not be anymore ink in my future.

In other news................I finally got back to my hair stylist that truly 'gets' me.  She was able to get my hair back into the undercut I love.  I have been struggling with a bad cut I got 3 months ago by one of her co-workers. She finally gave me her cell phone number so I can text her to find out when she will be working!  Thank you Sarah!

Hubby made it home safely last Sunday.  It is nice to have him back home.  My dogs are not great conversationalists.  But, they are great listeners LOL.  

I have bread in the bread maker, pork red chili in the crockpot and pinto beans cooking on the stove top.  I caved and bought tortillas instead of making them myself this time.  Since dinner is already cooking I now have the rest of the day to do what I want to do.  Sounds like a perfect knitting day here. 

Last and not least......................we had a bit of an increase in our temperatures this past week.  We will be close to 100 again on Monday and Tuesday. (Sigh)  Then it heads back down to the 80's (hooray).  It is October, right?

OK, that is all for me today.

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