Only Tuesday

It really feels like this has been a long week and it is only Tuesday.  Maybe, because I got most of my housework done yesterday.  Since our Governor shut some businesses down again...............now I am trying to find things to keep me entertained at home.

When all the protests started two weeks ago, I told hubby "Just wait, in 2 weeks our COVID19 numbers are going to skyrocket".  And that is exactly what has happened.  Yes, peaceful protests are protected in our US Constitution.  I have no problem with that.  What I have a problem with is not wearing a mask and being 2 inches away from each other.  That is just plain silly with a pandemic going on.  By day 3 of the protests, people started wearing masks.  Too little, too late!  So now businesses are being closed again and this is going to cause a huge financial impact on our state and on the people who are unemployed AGAIN!  (SMH)

I had my telemed appointment this morning with my RA Dr.  She has not been into her office since March 11.  She has been doing telemed since then and is glad she is.  Most of her patients are pretty well controlled on their meds so she just needs to keep tabs on blood work and RX refills.  It was nice to be able to really talk with her and not feel rushed.  Also, I discovered she has a little dog that was happy she was working from home.  LOL

While I did that, hubby went to the grocery store for me and got our 10 day supplies.  One of us will need to go back for buns this weekend.  I didn't want to get them today as they dry out so fast.  We buy the ones from the deli as they taste better than the packaged ones.  Not to mention, I don't need 8 buns when 2 will do.

I have a loaf of bread in the bread machine.  It has about another 1.5 hours before it is done.  Did you know you can remove the paddle out of the bread maker after it's last 

"punch down''?  That way there is only a tiny little hole in the bottom of the bread when done baking.  Otherwise, you have a HUGE hole where the paddle was baked into the bread and you have to work it out and half of the bread comes with it.  Amazing what you learn from Pinterest.

As for the apple pie I made..............................so yummy!  We finally had a slice of it last night.  We both agreed it was perfect.  Not too sweet and not too tart.  I look forward to another piece tonight.  My mom always put a piece of cheddar cheese on top of her apple pie and would warm it in the microwave a bit to make the cheese soft.  That is quite yummy too.

I am going to head into my craftroom after I post this and start bagging up my Year 10 YOP projects.  Hopefully, if I bag them up, it will cause less stress as to what to work on next.  Since I have several patterns already matched with the yarn I want to use, this shouldn't take too long.  Maybe I can make this activity drag out for 5 days!

Can you tell I am going a little stir crazy?  I so want to head to WalMart for some sewing supplies but.............I don't feel like fighting crowds.  I would order it online, but what I want is not available for online ordering and curbside pickup.  JoAnna's was my next choice but, if you read my blog regularly, you know they require you to buy a certain amount of material if you do it online.  I do not need 5 yards of muslin or 2 yards of any one material.  I need fat quarters and they make you buy a bundle that is almost $40!  I don't need that many fat quarters either.  UGH!  Maybe, by tomorrow I will feel more adventurous.  

Have you learned anything new today?  From where did you learn it?

Until next time......................happy crafting & stay well!

Just Stuff

OK, so on my post yesterday, several of you said you loved The Child I made.  Therefore, I used the photo of it for today's header.  It is not that I did not like this project.  It was interesting but....................I do not like sewing little tiny pieces together.  There were several pieces to this project.  So, feast your eyes on the photo and hopefully, it brings a smile to your face.

Today, I am trying to get a bit of knitting done on these:

Hubby's socks in the colorway Butterbeer.  This is not my favorite yarn at all.  It is quite rough for being a superwash yarn.  Hopefully it will get softer with wear and washing.  They are not that far from being completed.  I told hubby I would knit them until the yarn ran out.  Since they are already a 3x1 rib, I am not going to do anything different for a cuff.

Today saw me doing 3 loads of laundry.  Not very exciting but it had to be done.  I still have a dishwasher to empty, but later on.

We received a call, today,  from hubby's sister.  Looks like she is going to come here this weekend.  She is on her way to Las Vegas to visit my MIL.  She plans on staying up there for about a month.  Being retired is such a wonderful thing!

The facility where my MIL lives is still on lock down.  What they are doing is allowing visitors to drive up in their cars and then they bring the resident out and you have 10 minutes to talk with them with about 15 feet distance between them and masks on.  I think hubby is going to go up and stay with his sister for a few days too.  He hasn't seen his mom since the first of the year.  He does call her every other day.  But it is hard and with her being 93.......well, you get my drift..

Tonight, hubs and I are going to our favorite Italian place again for happy hour.   We like it there as they practice distancing and everyone wears masks.  They have 1/2 price appetizers during that time and a couple of shrimp appetizers works just fine for us for dinner.  Then we will come home and try out my deep dish apple pie I made yesterday.  We were both too full from our dinner last night to have a piece.

The shiny top is from the honey it was coated with after baking.  Looks pretty good, huh.  The recipe is called "honey roasted apple pie" from Betty Crocker.  It uses honey instead of sugar and there is no lemon juice in it.  I will let you know tomorrow how it is.

Time to get back to my knitting.  I want to get those socks off my needles before I dive into  YOP 10 on July 1.

Until next time...............happy crafting & stay well!

WEEK 52, THE WRAP UP

This is my favorite post of the year.  Make that, my second favorite post.  My #1 favorite will be posted next week.................."THE LIST".  

After adding up all the items I completed this year, the total came to 165 items.  Unbelievable, right?  There still remains 4 WIP's waiting to be completed.  Let's take a look at what was accomplished. (No, I did not post 165 photos............that would have just been too crazy)

YOP 9 GOALS

Finish Boxy Sweater started in 2015   ZERO WORK DONE ON IT

Finish Eva Shawl started in 2011  FROGGED

Finish Forrest Path Shawl started in 2018  Completed 

Summer Top for me  Decided to use the yarn for next years project

Cardigan for me  HAVE 1.5 SLEEVES AND BUTTON BAND LEFT TO DO
  It Really Fits  Cardigan 

Short Socks   5 PAIRS COMPLETED

Regular Socks  2 PAIR DONE AND 1 PAIR ON THE NEEDLES

Project bags/totes  ZERO

Market bags  ZERO

Produce Bags  ZERO

Tissue Box Covers  ZERO

Plastic Canvas Nativity bought in 2009  CUT OUT A FEW PIECES

Bookmarks  ZERO

Shawls for both Prayer Shawl and Personal  9 COMPLETED AND 1 ON THE NEEDLES

Blanket/Throw  40 VICTORIAN LACE SQUARES DONE

Dishcloths  22 completed

Doilies/Table Runners  ZERO

Baby Items
Wee Sherlock  4 COMPLETED
Little Boy Blue   4 COMPLETED
Easy-Peasy No Sew, Stay On Baby Booties  2 PAIR COMPLETED

Purchase of yarn is prohibited!!!!!  I have over 21,000 miles of yarn to play with this year.  (38,481,140 yards)  BECAUSE MY FIBER FESTIVAL WAS CANCELLED, I DID A SHOPPING SPREE WITH VENDORS WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE.  SO, I BOUGHT LOTS OF YARN BUT......I HAVE ALREADY STARTING TO USE IT.

Any other project that falls into my lap.  2 BABY BLANKETs AS WELL AS 2 BABY YODA'S AND A BABY LOVEY.  

Here is an actually accounting of what got made.

SHAWLS- 9
WEE SHERLOCK BABY SWEATER - 4
LITTLE BOY BLUE BABY HAT - 4
BABY BLANKETS - 2
BABY BOOTIES - 2 PAIR
SHORT SOCKS - 6 PAIR
REGULAR SOCKS - 2 PAIR
VICTORIAN LACE SQUARES - 40 - WHICH BECAME 2 LAPGHANS
BABY YODA (THE CHILD) - 2
HATS - 1
DISHCLOTHS - 22
BUNNY EASTER BASKET - 1
KITCHEN TOWEL - 1
SEQUIN HANGING - 1
COUNTED CROSS STITCH - 3
FACE MASKS - 64

WIP'S STILL HANGING AROUND
BOXY SWEATER (MY DESIGN)
KIDSILK HAZE SHAWL
IT REALLY FITS CARDIGAN
BUTTERBEER SOCKS (MY DESIGN)

As for my favorite item made this year.....................I would say it is the first Wee Sherlock Baby sweater with matching hat and booties.

My least favorite item?  The Bunny Easter Basket.  It was a pain in the neck to put together.  Not to mention, I only had an already made bunny basket to figure out how to make this.  I am not very proficient with trying to copy already made items.  Must be all those years of being told 'no cheating'.

The face masks were the most pressing item to make the last couple of weeks.  I feel we will be wearing face masks for the foreseeable future.  Until there is a vaccine for this deadly virus, we will all need to be taking extra precautions.  Right now, Arizona is a  hot spot for cases.  We have gone from #23 to #10 (out of 50) in case numbers, just in 2 weeks time.  With the way our numbers are growing, we should be #9 by the end of this weekend.  Not really something to brag about.  I just happen to live in the county with the largest number of cases and the largest population.  (lucky me)

I have been in this YOP group since it's inception.  The people I have met through this group has amazed me.  I have met people from all over the world.  What amazes me the most is how crafting can bond so many diverse people together.  Maybe that is what this crazy world needs........more crafters.  

If you are a crafter of any kind and have a blog or podcast, we would love to have you join us.  Next week, most of us will be started a new year of YOP.  It will be the 10th year this group has been around.  Here is the link of where you can go and see if this group would be fun to be in.

Tune in next week when I post a 'list' of wishful thinking LOL.  The one thing I have learned over the past 10 years is.............the list posted is always subject to change.  The other thing I learned is not to make the list so huge I feel overwhelmed before I even start.

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

Friday Funday

I had a lot of fun today and plan on continue to have fun for the rest of the day.  

This is the day hubby cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, dining room and laundry room.  I moved all the furniture for him and then I got out of the house while he cleaned.  He seems to go much faster if I am not under foot.

While the cleaning was going on, I headed out to get the water jugs for our water cooler refilled.

I had to go to a new place as the one we had been going to is getting ready to close.  Lucky for us, they own another water place so we will go there from now on.  We really like the family that owns the shops and want to keep them in business.

After getting the water, I filled my car with gas and then headed to my son's place to deliver masks for my DIL.  While there I got to spend a little time talking to my Grand Daughter and playing with their dog, Thor.  Also while there, I found out the mask for my son is a little too small for him.  Well, of course, I have a pattern for one that is bigger.  

When I got home,  I quickly made a bigger mask for my son and will deliver that this weekend.  The other things I accomplished were watering all the indoor plants, winding my antique mantel clock,  washing a load of towels, and even putting them away! 

Now I am kicking back and will finish this.

This is the 6th dishcloth from the skein of yarn I have been working with.  This one is going to be a bit smaller, by 10 stitches so I do not run out of yarn.  Not sure what I will work on when this is finished.  Probably back to hubby's socks.

Our dogs had a rough morning.  They do not like it when hubby cleans and even hate it more when he cleans and I leave the house.

They had to have a nap after all that stress.

I have dinner in the crockpot......................Tinga de Pollo.  Yummy.  One of my favorite meals.  Not sure the hubby likes it as much as I do.  He prefers Carne Asada.  I am not as big a fan of that.

Until next time.................happy crafting & stay well!

Thankful Thursday

Hello again.  How is you day going?  Have you found something to be thankful for today?

I am thankful for my hairstylist!  She is so sweet and always makes my hair happy.  I went to see her today.  We were trying to let my hair get a little longer than normal.............it was making me nuts.  I like to tuck my hair behind my ears as it gets longer.  With, wearing glasses and face masks, it was just too much stuff behind my ears and made me quite uncomfortable.  She and I agreed we would shorten the hair around the ears again but leave a bit more length on the top and in front of the ear.  It feels and looks so much better.  Thank you Sarah!

I go to Great Clips for my haircuts.  May I just say how impressed I am with their anti virus policy.  Everyone wears a mask (stylist and patron), the chairs are sanitized after each client, there is hand sanitizer at each station and at the cash register, only three people are allowed in the waiting area (6 ft distance between each person) and the capes are sanitized after each use.  This is their corporate policy.  I had a gift card to use today.  When the stylist had finished handling the gift card she rubbed hand sanitizer on it before handing it back to me wrapped in paper toweling.  Quite impressed!!!!

While I was gone, hubby worked on cleaning the living room, office, 2 guest rooms and my craft room.  I had moved quite a bit of items out of the way for him before I left.  I am so thankful for my husband.

He was not quite finished when I got home, so I hightailed it into my craft room and decided it would be fun to cut out more face masks.  Whoa!!!!!!!!  Have I lost my mind?

Seven more masks cut out.  One of them has already been finished.  After I post this I will be going back into my craftroom to work on more of them.  I am so thankful my mom taught me how to sew and use a sewing machine.

Last night, I was not in the mood to knit on hubby's long socks.  So I did what I love to do when I need to 'cleanse' my palette.

Another dishcloth was made in the Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth pattern.  I am so thankful my Grandma taught me how to knit and even more thankful my Mom was able to help me when I decided to start knitting again after not knitting for over 20 years.

My next item to be thankful for is technology.  I received a phone call from my Rheumatologist's office today.  She will be doing a TeleMed appointment with me next week.  This will be my first Telemed appointment and I am looking forward to it.  She is still seeing people in person only if they are having issues with their disease or if their blood work comes back all messed up.  My blood work from yesterday is already back and looks beautiful.  I am not having any severe issues with my RA so this will be so I can get my meds refilled.  Hmmmm........This means I don't need to get up super early to travel 30 minutes to her office!  Love it!

Until next time.....................happy crafting & stay well!

WILD WEDNESDAY

It was a bit of a wild Wednesday.  I was showered, dressed and out of the house by 8 this morning.  I needed to get blood work done for my Rheumatologist appointment, next week.  From the lab, I headed to CVS to pick up my RA drugs.  

When I got home, hubby had a cooler out and was ready for us to head to Costco and Winco for our big shopping for the month.  I am so glad I went with him today.  Costco had the sandals I love on sale today.  I bought my last pair 2 years ago.  It was time to get some new ones.  When we were at Winco, I found my favorite yeast!!!!!!!!  I could not believe it.  I bought another jar of it and put it in the freezer.  

By the time we got home it was time for lunch.  

What did you think I did after lunch?  Yup, headed into my craftroom to work on face masks.

The photo on the left was yesterday afternoon.  The one on the right was this afternoon.  I have completed all the ones I had cut out for this week.  Then, I decided to clean out my material pile and found a whole bunch of fabric to get rid of.  I also found a TON of 100% cotton that will work well for either project bags or face masks.  As of right now though, I am done making masks.  (I think)

You know who was in the craftroom with me?

Enrique as usual.  He was especially close today.  That black thing is the wheel of my sewing chair.  Good thing I looked before I backed up.  Luna came in a couple of times just to make sure I was still hanging around.  She never stays long enough for me to snap a photo.  She is my bedtime snuggle bug though.  But, since I don't keep my phone in my bedroom, I never get a photo of that either.  Just trust me LOL.

Tonight, I am going to sew the labels and medals on the prayer shawls I have completed.  I will have hubby take them to Mass with him tomorrow morning and give them to the Cancer Shrine Administrator.  It will be nice to have them out of the house too.  

We have leftover wings for dinner tonight.  Last night was 'Wing Tuesday' at one of our local places.  So, we ordered take out and have enough for tonight too.  We just add a few fresh carrots with it and call it a meal.

Until next time.....................happy crafting & stay well!

PRODUCTIVE DAY

Yes, I had a very productive day.  Taking a day off to recover was a grand idea.  

Today, I got three loads of laundry completed bright and early this morning.  

Here is what filled up the rest of my day.

Yup, that is more face masks being made.  My Daugher in Law works in a Doctor office.  She brought over fabric on Sunday and asked if I would, pretty please, make her some more masks.  How can I tell my family no.  Plus, I wanted to make more for hubby and myself.  Since we only wear a mask once before we wash it, we go through them quickly.  

I cut out 14 masks and liners today.  Eight of those masks have been completed.  Hopefully the other 6 will be completed tomorrow.  I need to get blood work done tomorrow and who knows how long I will have to wait to complete that.  Then, hubby wants to go to Costco tomorrow to get our monthly supply of items from them.  He likes me to go with him to make sure we get everything in one trip.

The only item I have left on my to do list for today is....................feed my sourdough starter.  As soon as I finish this post I will be doing that.  

Until next time..........happy crafting & stay well!