YOP 9, Week 46

Good day to all of you.  Another week has passed and I did accomplish a couple of things this week.

First up is the lapghan that will be going to our prayer shawl ministry.

The edging is just simple single crochet, as is the join.  I wanted to give it a bit of a stained glass appearance.  This also gives it some texture between the squares.

Once that one was completed, I got started on the next 20 squares and formed another lapghan.  This one will be going to Nevada to be gifted to my Mother in Law for her 93rd birthday.  We called the facility, where she is living, to make sure they would accept a package for one of their residents.  Normally they would not but, since it is such a big birthday, they told us to go ahead and send it up.  It will be mailed this week, in case they want to put it into 'quarantine' for a few days.

This one was also joined with single crochet through the front loops.  Once again I was going for the stained glass look.  The edging is all done in half double crochet.  (I use US terms for crochet)  Each edge has different colors in it as I used all the leftover yarn from both lapghans to make the boarder.  Also hoping for a bit of a stained glass effect.

Here is a close up of each border.

I very much like the way this turned out.  Now that 90% of my Caron Simply Soft yarn is gone, I feel much better about my stash.  I still have a few skeins of said yarn but they are earmarked for the 'To the Point' shawl.  I do believe I am done with laphans for a while unless they start begging for lapghans.  If so, I will not be doing squares again.  Not a fan of joining them.  

Now what to work on.  How about some socks that have been neglected for a couple of weeks?

The sock on the left is ready for me to start the pattern on the leg.  The one of the right still needs 12 rows of plain knitting on the heel while I do the pattern on the front of the sock.  The 3X1 rib has really made the sock very squishy.  Hubby felt it the other day and was amazed at how squishy it was.  I still have quite a bit of yarn on my cake.  This makes me think these socks may become long enough for him to wear in his boots.  That is something he as asked me to make for sometime.............boot socks.  Since this was not a cheap yarn, I will be using every MM of it for these socks.

There seems to be a bit of misunderstanding about my stitchery project I posted about last week.  The Jim Shore nativity project I am working on is NOT counted cross stitch.  It is NOT embroidery.  It is a painted fabric that I am sewing sequins on to highlight the item.  It was a kit I bought about 5 years ago.  My daughter and I were exchanging gifts at Christmas, that we wanted the other one to make for us and then gift it to each other the following Christmas.  DD never even started on this and when she found out I wanted to start stitching again, she gave it back to me.

Can you see the sequins that have been sewn on?  I have completed all the green sequins and am now working on the gold ones.  There are still white, purple and blue that will be adorning this before I am done.  See all the little 'spots on the white parts?  That is for sequin placement. I have really enjoyed this project.  It does not take a lot of brain power so is great to work on in the evening while watching some TV with the hubby.

I did not touch any other projects this week.  The socks need to see more love and now that the lapghans are done, they will.  The feather and fan shawl will be picked up again this week too.  

Our Governor has started opening up things around the state.  In fact, I do believe most everything has been opened but with restrictions on how many people and how close people can be to each other.  Face masks are being recommended when going out into public.  I know many people have an issue with this.  Being immune compromised, I do not have an issue.  I am happy to protect someone from my germs so they can continue on with their life.  If you choose not to wear a mask, that is your choice.  I know some people are unable to wear them for various reasons. (claustrophobia, lung issues, other health issues)  I get it.  Therefore, I am willing to wear mine to make sure you are extra safe.  I also carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse to cleanse my hands after being in a store and before I touch my car.  It is little things like that I feel have helped hubby and I stay healthy.  Don't get me wrong, I am not a germ-a-phobe.  Just taking precautions since hubby and I are in that age group of the most vulnerable. 

Our church will start back to Sunday services next week.  Again, there will be restrictions.  Every other pew will be blocked off and only 250 people will be allowed into the main church.  They will allow 90 other people to go into our gathering hall for a simulcast of the service in there.  There will be 3 English and 3 Spanish services each week.  Seeing we have over 3000 people at our church, that means, there will be many who will not be able to make it into the services.  This saddens me greatly.  Granted, the service will also be on YouTube but...............it is not the same.

Other than the grocery store, hubby and I have pretty much stayed away from any large gatherings places.  We did go to my cousin's this week for his birthday party.  It was held outdoors and I think there was a total of 15 people there. A bit over the 10 people recommended limit.  There were only 3 people there under the age of 65 LOL...That was my son's family.  We all kept physical distance from each other and there was no hugging of any kind either.  It was nice to be able to sit outside for a few hours and enjoy some fresh air and conversation with people.

The only place I am itching to go to is Hobby Lobby.  They are opened but I am trying to convince myself there is no reason to go.  A friend of mine was making wash cloths with the softest cotton I have ever felt.  It is from Hobby Lobby.  Granted it is DK weight but that doesn't bother me.  I will just cast on more stitches.  

As you can see, it is one of those cakes that changes colors as you go along.  (There are 18 different color combos) This is a 5 ounce skein of yarn.  My friend said she got 7 cloths out of it.  She did not increase the number of stitches she cast on as she wanted them to be on the smaller size.  It is on sale right now for $4.19 a skein.  Even if I could get 5 cloths out of this it would still work out much cheaper than Sugar and Cream.  And the softness!!!!!!!!  Oh my, it felt scrumptious. Truly, I do need more cotton yarn.  My supply of surplus dishcloths is very small.  If I need to gift some out, I would be hard pressed to find any that are not put together with bits and pieces of scrap cotton yarn.  Yup, I think I will put on my big girl face mask and head there this week.  Who knows, I might find my 3 1/2 inch embroidery hoop there too.  And maybe a cross stitch kit I can not live without.  Oh, the possibilities are endless. 

The temperatures here are warming back up into the 100s this week.  My pool dropped 6 degrees with last weeks cool down.  I checked it this morning and it is within 3 degrees of my favorite swimming temp.  I just might need to jump in there later today and give it a little go.  I much prefer to do water aerobics then sweating on land while exercising.

For those of you who follow me during the week.................Enrique is doing just fine.  His leg is healing very nicely.  I think the soft e-collar will be able to come off midweek.  He has been very good about not bothering the incision and the drainage stopped after the first night.  And for the other injured party at this house; hubby's arm is healing very nicely too.  His hand's swelling has finally gone down and the bruising, around the skin tears, is fading away.  It may be another couple of weeks before all the scabbing is gone but at least there was not infection in the wounds.  (see? you really need to follow this blog during the week LOL)

Sourdough...............the starter is doing well.  (Emilie)  I am thinking I should be able to make a loaf of bread in the next couple of days with it.  After that, I will be putting Emilie into the fridge and feeding her once a week until I want to make another loaf. 

OK, I need to get a couple of things done quickly and then watch our parish's Mass on YouTube. 

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