WEEK 47 OF MY 10TH YEAR

Hi, everybody!  It is another glorious Sunday here in the deserts of Arizona.  Today will be one of our last days below 100F for a while and we are going to enjoy it.  More about our plans later on.  

Let's talk about knitting, stitching and treasures.  Okay?

First up.......................treasures I obtained this week.

Grand Daughter and I went to Hobby Lobby for a bit of retail therapy this week.  I love this sock yarn and hubby is thrilled when I make him crazy colored socks.  I think these should just about be crazy enough, don't you?

This counted cross stitch kit was marked down from $29.99 to $7.49.  Who could resist such a deal?  We have 'cross walls' in our home and this will be perfect to hang there when completed.

This is Sugar Wheel Cotton yarn.  It is so darn soft and knits up perfectly.  It does not split either which made me quite happy.  The skein on the bottom left will be featured in a few minutes.

There also, were treasures, that came from my online shopping.

A sweet little owl to help me keep track to my needle when doing cross stitch or sequin sewing.  I had never heard of these until I read Sam's blog and she showed the ones she had.  Thanks Sam!  It is a wonderful little gadget.  Now I want more of them!  (Just because there are so many different ones out there)

My favorite tool in my notions bag is my fix it tool.  Or as I call it, my "awe sh*t" tool.  These will be perfect for me to have in my purse with my traveling project.  No need to carry a project bag and notions pouch all the time.  I ordered a double set as I am always misplacing my gadgets.  

With all that 'shopping' my crafting time took a bit of a hit this week.  Here is what I did this past week.

Only one sock got worked on.  It is now caught up to the other sock.  The heels are completed and I can now work the pattern all the way around the sock.  The leg will be as long as there is yarn left in the skein.

Remember that skein of yarn I told you to look at in the second photo?  These are the dishcloths I got out of that one skein.  It was a center pull skein and the cloth at the top is the first one completed. They are laid out in the order they were knit from the skein.  The one next to last looks a lot bigger and that is because I switched from purling Portuguese style to knitting English style.  They all have the same number of stitches other than the last one.  I started the decreasing rows, two rows earlier than the other ones, so I wouldn't run out of yarn.  I barely made it.  So...................one skein of that yarn makes 5 dishcloths on a size 7 needle.  Next time I am going to go down to a size 6 needle and do them all purl using the Portuguese method.  (It is so much easier on my hands and wrists)  I should not have any problems getting 5 cloths out of a skein when I go down a needle size. (might even be able to get 6 cloths) This means I can go ahead and increase to 54 stitches on ALL the cloths and not sweat out the last cloth.

I worked on my Jim Shore sequin project this week too.  All the green and gold sequins have been sewn on.  The white sequins are now being worked on.  I am really enjoying this project.  It is so different from anything I have done in the past.

Here is a close up shot of the main part of the wall hanging.  I have two more colors after the white is completed and then it will be done.  I figure it will be a few more weeks before completion.

That is it for crafting this week.  On life itself.................................Hubby and I went to Mass this morning.  Yup, our church has opened up.  We were notified 2 weeks ago they were going to start having services in the church again starting this week.  They are only allowing 25% of the church to be used at this time and asking us to wear face masks while in there.  I didn't care.  It was so nice to be back in the building again.  We had dearly missed it.

This afternoon, we will be going to our son's home for a bit of a get together.  There will be more than 10 people there too.  Am I uncomfortable with that many people?  Kind of.  I won't lie.  Their home is not huge and putting 18 people in it will not allow for much physical distancing.  I do know, quite a few of them will be in the pool so that will help.  I am unable to go in their pool as I can not get out of the pool.  Their steps are very deep and my RA has weakened the muscles in my legs.  Going up steps is a real chore for me.  (Going down is easy!)  There will also be games of corn hole going on in the backyard which most of the men love to play.  So, actually, there are ways to add distance between people.  I will let you know how it goes.  Hand washing will be my best friend today.

BTW...........I got my lab results back already.  I am very healthy and all my blood work looks wonderful.  That is always a nice way to start a 3 day weekend, right?

Not too many plans for the rest of the week.  I want to get back to our pool for my water aerobics.  I finally found the float I wanted and it will help with the leg exercises which will help strengthen my upper legs.  (We have a stair railing in our pool to help me get out)  With it heading to 111F (44C) this week, the pool will be my best friend.  

We do not have any plans for tomorrow, which is Memorial Day here in the US.  I think hubby and I will just enjoy the day at home with our dogs.  OH!  Speaking of dogs.  I got a text from our daughter yesterday letting us know she and her hubby adopted a puppy.  This makes #4!!!!!!!!!  I told her, they need to find a home with some acreage around it so they could just become a rescue! (that was after I told her she was nuts)  They live in a little 2 bedroom condo with a postage stamp sized back yard.  The 3 dogs they have are all small, but, the one they just adopted is a husky/shepherd mix.  Not thinking it is going to be a 10-12 pound dog.  Granted it is the runt of the littler but still.........................this is what happens when you have a soft, loving, heart of gold.  I have to admit.........the puppy is darn cute though.

OK, I do believe that is all my news for this week.  

Until Next Time........................Happy Crafting & Stay Well!!!!!!!!!