Kicking Back

Hubby and I spent the morning cleaning half of the house.  We will do the other half tomorrow.  It always feels so good to get the house cleaned.  Too bad it doesn't stay that way.  

After the housework was completed, we took off and did our grocery shopping.  We got all we needed for the next 2 weeks of dinners.  I will need to hit one more store in the next couple of days to pick up 1 item that none of the other stores had in stock.  We might need to pick up fresh produce too but for right now we are good on everything.

This afternoon I am kicking back and refreshing my memory on this:

I have had this camera for 3 years now and still need this manual to help me find my way around all the settings on it.  The reason for this is, Josie is having a swim meet this Thursday and she has asked if I would bring my camera and get some action shots of her.  I am not sure how close they will let me get to the kids (stupid COVID) but just in case, I do have a telephoto lens I will take with me.  

I knew I had a 'sports' setting on the camera, but could not remember how to get to it.  I am so glad I bought this book when I bought the camera.  It has been a godsend!  With the weather starting to think about cooling off, I want to take me and my camera out and about and actually use it and try different things with it.

There are a couple of Alpaca ranches about 1.5 miles from me.  I think it would make a great day trip to go there.  What a perfect place to play with the camera!  Not to mention, they have stores attached where you can purchase their yarns.  Not that I really need any but, supporting my local businesses is my duty, right?

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

 

 

Birth Certificate

Have you ever tried to order a certified copy of a birth certificate?  Let me just say...........it is a royal pain in the neck.  We are in need of one for a family member.  I have been working on it for the past hour and still have not completed it.  They are asking for so much information to make sure you are who you say you are.  I get it.............with all the identity theft these days, you can't be too careful.  So now we are scanning documents and uploading them and praying we have everything that is needed.

COVID has made this process harder.  Our department of vital records is not open to the public and they have made us go through a third party to order this document.  That entails a higher cost to us too.  Not only do we need to pay for the certificate but now we need to pay for the shipping and the handling from the third party company.  Not to mention, we need this certificate ASAP.  In order to get it in a reasonable time frame there is (of course) another charge for expediated processing.  

I think I will go and play with some yarn.

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

YOP WEEK 13

 

Hello everyone.  Welcome to my little blog.  I have quite a few things to show you this week so let's get started.

There are no FO's this week.  Havana is still in time out until it gets below 100F here.  Even with the A/C on, it is just too darn hot to work on.  Fodhla was not worked on this week.  I do love this shawl but it takes so long to do just one row with the beads.  It is an 8 row pattern repeat and stopping in the middle of a pattern repeat is a kiss of death for me.

So, here is what I did do this week.

I picked up my cross stitch again this week.  The above one is just a little one.  It will be 4"X3" when completed.

This cross stitch is very slow going.  But, that is fine with me.  It will be gorgeous when completed.  The part being worked on is the blanket wrapping the baby Jesus.

Then I just had to cast on something new.

A new pair of socks needed to be started.  I am doing them one at a time this time.  Hopefully, I will not get second sock syndrome.  The main reason I am doing them this way this time is, we are going out of town in 2 weeks and I wanted an easy to take project.  One sock is much easier to take than 2.  This will be a plain vanilla sock.  I want the color of the yarn to make the interest.  As you can see, it has a pool of color and that pool actually swirls around the sock.  It should be quite interesting the longer the sock gets.  The yarn is Cloudborn in the colorway Josh's Cat.  I have no idea when or where I got this.  It has been in my stash for quite a while.

Oh, I didn't just cast on one new item...............nope, I cast on 2!

Boneset!!!!!!!!!  This is the third time I have cast this project on.  Hopefully, this time I will be able to finish it.  There will be lifelines used this time.  If I had used them last time, I would not have had to frog the entire project when I made an error.  Lesson learned.  Unfortunately, you are not able to see the lace pattern at the moment.  It will need a good blocking for that to open up.  The body of the shawl is garter stitch, which is nice but, it has wrap and turns to make short rows.  I am not a great wrap and turn knitter.  Hence the life lines being used.

I did work on my cardi again.  There is no photo since it is the same sleeve and it really doesn't look that much different.

I did a clean out of my DK weight yarn.  There is a blanket I want to make and it calls for copious amounts of DK yarn.  I decided to pull all my DK and see if I had enough yardage to make the blanket.

Here is a photo of my DK.  Now, most of these cakes are stacked 2 and 3 high.  I do have just enough yarn to complete the blanket.  (7100 yard!  6490 meters)

Here are the colors that will be used in the blanket.  This will completely deplete my DK stash.  I am excited to think of my stash decreasing.  I have been hording collecting so much yarn over the years.  It is time to use it up so I can buy what will bring me joy is needed for a project.  That might help slow me down on having 10 WIP's at one time too.

It is lazy Sunday for us.  We got up bright and early today to make 7AM Mass.  I was happy to hear our 4pm Saturday Mass will be starting back up next weekend!  That 5AM alarm is not a welcomed sound to this retired lady.  Later today, we will be going to our BFF's home for dinner.  I made brownies, from scratch, last night.  It was an unusual recipe as it was made in my Ninja Foodi pressure cooker.  It was made in a little bundt pan too.  It turned out so cute!  I will try and snap a photo of it tonight before we cut into it.  I have it all wrapped up and ready to travel at the moment.  Unwrapping it is not something I want to do until we are ready to eat it.

Hubby and I got our flu shots this week.  I had not gotten one for over 30 years.  Unfortunately, I did have a bit of a reaction to it.  My body ached all over for about 24 hours.  It got to the point I could not raise my arms and could barely walk.  I was warned this could happen since it had been so long since my last injection.  Not to mention, I am over 65 and get the BIG dose of the quadrivalent serum.  We were going to wait until after the first of October to do this but, we are leaving town on the 12th and since it takes 2 weeks for the shot to become effective..............................well, we wanted to be as protected as we could be while on the road.

Speaking of road trips.  We are heading to Las Vegas to see hubby's mom.  We have not seen her since November of last year.  That is also the last time we left town.  We had to make appointments to see her and we only get 10-15 minutes to spend with her.  The facility she is at has set up a plastic tent that the resident goes into and we stay on the outside of the tent.  This all takes place outdoors.  We are still all required to wear masks even though we will not be near each other.  For our stay in the hotel we are taking Clorox wipes as well as lots of hand sanitizer with us.  We have plenty of masks to wear and they are required by law there.  

Our son and his wife were just up there last week and they were amazed at how clean the casinos and hotels were.  There are very strict guidelines in place for them and if not followed, the casino and hotel will be closed until further notice.  That would put a lot of people out of work not to mention the financial hardship for the casino owner.  They said there were sanitizing wipes next to each slot machine as well as hand sanitizing stations all over.  Masks were required at all times unless you were eating or drinking.  There was plexiglass between many machines and only every other machine was operational.  If you want to watch someone play you need to be 6 feet away from them or you are moved.  The table games are only allowing 3 people per table instead of 6 and there is NO SMOKING at any tables.  (that made me happy!)  They said that it is very serious business there.  After we heard all of that, I felt so much better about out trip.    SO, please, no negative comments about our upcoming trip.  There are other things going on in Las Vegas that we need to attend to but is not something I want to put out in public.  Just say, this trip is a necessity and not just for pleasure.  (Although, it is our 45th wedding anniversary)

Now that I have spilled all that our there.  I have a question for all you sock knitters.

When making socks, do you make the leg of the sock the same length as the foot of the sock?  (My answer in the comments)

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

Hi there.  Can you believe it is already Thursday?  How did that happen?  

I did something today I have not done in quite a while.  I vacuumed the entire house today! Hubby has been doing 99% of the house cleaning for the past 15 years.  My part is doing the laundry, making menus, making the grocery lists, doing most of the grocery shopping, and cooking.  Hubby said he needed to go to Sam's Club today so, while he was gone, I grabbed the vacuum and did the entire house while he was gone.  I also vacuumed our living room furniture.  And I mean it was FURniture.  I got a ton of dog hair out of it.  

Hubby brought home a lovely roasted chicken from Sam's Club.  I cut up some broccoli and steamed it up and that was our lunch today.  It was a nice change for lunch.  We will be able to get several meals out of that chicken.  

On the mask front.  yesterday afternoon, I finished the 5 masks I needed to deliver tonight.

I have 2 more masks cut out but they are for me.  They match the clothes I am taking with me on our road trip next month.  No need to sew them ASAP.

There were treasures delivered to my house yesterday.......................finally.

My order from Pampered Chef.  This was ordered the first of August.  Because of COVID they are behind on their shipping.  I was informed of this before I made the order so I am not upset about this at all.  ANYWAY...................This is a snack bar mold with a spatula that fits into the little wells to remove the bars.  The black knife is nylon and will be used in some of my bakeware I do not want to ruin with a metal knife.  That thing is sharp too.

My daughter is a Pampered Chef consultant.  She and I are having so much fun sharing recipes that we make in our Pampered Chef items. I am on the lookout for healthy, no bake snack bars to make in this little jewel.  I always share my recipes with her.  This helps her with her parties too.  Right now she is only allowed to do online parties.  She is hoping to do in home parties soon.  

It is time to kick back and pick up one of my WIP's and work on it for a little while.  There are towels going in the washer.  Hopefully they will be ready to throw in the dryer soon.  That is all the laundry I am going to do today.

Anything fun happening in your life?

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

 

JUST WAITING

 

I am just sitting here waiting for the pool guys to come and install our new salt cell in our pool.   It is a free installation and the salt cell itself was still under warranty so it was free too.  I think FREE is my favorite 4 letter word.  LOL

I am happy to say the side effects of the flu shot are gone.  I was told they would last from 1-3 days.  They lasted just about 24 hours.  If this keeps me from getting the flu, it was well worth it.  My main side effect was horrible muscle pain throughout my entire body.  By the time I went to bed, I could hardly walk or move my arms.  Woke up this morning with a little residual pain but after I took a nice hot shower it was all gone.  

While I am waiting for the pool dudes, I decided to pick up some languishing WIPs.

I picked this up last night and again this morning.  It is such a cute little piece.  I have no idea why it has been laying dormant for so long.

This is the Madonna and Child and I know why this has been laying around.  The chart is so hard on my eyes.  But, I persevered today and added in the dark gray.  This will be a very long term project.  There are little nuances throughout the pattern that are so different for me.  I will need to be on point to make sure I don't miss any.

I also grabbed my cardigan this morning and put a few rows on the sleeve again.  That has become my TV knitting since it is just straight stockinette stitch..............forever.  Since it is knit in worsted weight yarn, it really does grow pretty quickly.  We have a car trip coming up in 2.5 weeks.  If it is not done by then, I may decided to take it with me to work on.  Since it is kind of a mindless knitting, it will be perfect for the trip.  Even if it is a bit bulky to take.  I think I would be able to get quite a bit done on it during the week we will be away from home.

When the pool dude shows up, I will take the dogs into the craftroom with me and work on the last 3 masks and finish them up.  It shouldn't take long to complete them.  Then they will be ready to deliver tomorrow night.  I am sure there will be more mask making in the near future.  Seems like there is always someone in need of them and since I seem to have a plethora of material.....................I might as well make them and give them away.  It cleans out my fabric stash and helps others at the same time.  Win, win!!!!!  

OK, the pool dude is about 15 minutes away.  I am off to the craftroom with the pooches.

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

NO PHOTOS

 

It has been an unusual day for me.  I am having a few side effects from the flu shot I got yesterday.  It doesn't surprise me since it has been almost 40 years since I have had one.  My muscles are sore.  Like I had done rock climbing.  I am sure they will be gone by tomorrow.  I am also very tired.  I was warned by the pharmacist I could have this happen so I was not alarmed by it.

I did manage to get 5 mask liners made and 2 masks completed before my back told me to quit.  The other three should be completed tomorrow.  Right on schedule.

Hubby and I made a grocery store trip.  I love going to the store during the week in the middle of the day.  No one is there!  We picked up the few items we needed, very quickly.  I even managed to get more COTTON CANDY grapes and GUM DROP grapes.  They are my go to snack in the middle of the afternoon.  Better than grabbing junk food.

Just before I started this post, I spent 46 minutes on the phone with Medicare.  My old Doctor's office billed them for 2 visits after we left their practice!  Medicare paid them too!  Luckily my secondary insurance did not pay them because they were no longer contracted with them.  A fraudulent claim has been made with Medicare and they will now start the investigation.  I was ticked off!  The practice sent me a letter in January letting me know they were no longer going to take our secondary insurance and we needed to find another Doctor.  They gave us less than 30 days notice.  When I got my Medicare EOB today, I saw the fraudulent charge and called the Doctor office.  Guess what.................they are not taking phone calls because they are in the process of moving their practice.  Really?  

I worked in the medical field from 1974 to 2015 and when we moved a practice, there was still someone available to answer phone calls from patients.  They were accepting messages and said they would call back when they were able to.  Believe me, I left a message for them.  When they call, I will be happy to inform them that the Medicare fraud division will be contacting them shortly.  You. do. not. want. to. mess. with. MEDICARE!  

Now, I am going to kick back and work on one of my projects.  Not sure which one yet.  Do not think it will be the beaded shawl as that requires a lot of movement that does not feel good right now.  Maybe my sweater or one of my cross stitches.  Who knows.

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

Just a Typical Day

 

Yuppers, it was just a typical day here at Casa de Noce.  

Hubby had a Doctor appointment this morning for a follow up to last weeks blood work.  There is nothing wrong with him but, since we have a new PCP he is making sure everything is going well with the two of us.  While hubby was there he got his flu shot.  Not to let him be the only one, I slipped over to our local pharmacy and got my flu shot too.  This is the first flu shot I have had in almost 30 years!  Being over 65 and with a compromised immune system, it was the right thing to do.  Not to mention, our new PCP TOLD me to get my pneumonia and flu shot ASAP.  

After I got home, I got a loaf of bread going in the bread machine.  It just got done about 20 minutes ago.

It is a beauty and my house smells delicious.  We have been slowing down on our bread eating and this loaf will last us for a week.  It used to be, I would be making at least 2 loaves a week.

While that was baking, I pulled out the Fodhla shawl and worked on it for a while.

I got 16 more rows added to it.  It is such a slow process with putting beads on it.  Yet, I love the looks of it and will suffer the slowness because, I know what the finished product will look like.

I pulled out an languishing WIP yesterday.

My "It Really Fits Cardigan" came out of the WIP closet yesterday afternoon.  I would say it is halfway completed.  It has been almost a year since I have worked on it.  Here is one of the reasons why:

The sleeves!  Because I like my sweaters to be loose, I am making a size that is actually at least one size bigger than I need.  In fact, it is probably 2 sizes bigger.  That means these sleeves are HUGE.  I already have knitted 12 inches of sleeve.  The pattern says to decrease 2 stitches every 10 rows until you get to elbow length.  I have been decreasing 2 stitches every 5 rows and that sleeve is just now at elbow length and is still 18 inches wide unstretched.  I was in quite a quandary deciding what to do.  I finally came up with the idea to go ahead and continue decreasing 2 stitches every 5 rows and when I get to the length when I need to do the cuff.................................do a HUGE decrease and just make it a bit of a puff sleeve at the wrist.  If it looks nasty..................well, I will worry about that when the time comes.

That has been the extent of my day.  

For dinner tonight, I am making this:

It is pepperoni pizza pasta in the pressure cooker.  (Ninja foodi)  This will feed us for at least 2 days as it makes up to 8 servings.  This was supposed to have been made last week but things got all messed up.  That means, I have plenty of recipes leftover from my last menu planning that will be cooked up this week.  

I am now getting ready to head into my craftroom and sew up a couple of the masks I have cut out.  They just need to be completed by Thursday evening.  That is when I will be delivering them to the college student's parents.

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

WEEK 12

 

Hello again.  I am excited to show you my latest finish.

Hubby's socks are DONE!  I finished them last night.  Never have I been so glad to get a pair of socks off the needles.  This yarn was not nice to knit with.  It was splitty, and scratchy and did not have any kind of stitch definition at all.  Hubby loves them and even wore them today to Church.  

My DPN's are now naked.  Will I cast on another pair of socks?  Of course, but probably not for a few days.  I have so many other projects I really want to pay attention too.  The Fodhla shawl saw no love at all this week.  That is my main project I want to work on this week.  I have also pulled out my "It Really Fits Cardiagan" from the WIP closet.  It needs to get completed also.  So, those two projects will be my main focus this coming week.

The other items done this week were:

Thirteen masks were made for my son, grand daughter and myself.  These were done on Monday.  Never again will I do that many masks in one day.  I do need to make 5 more for a friend of mine who is heading to college the end of this month.

I made this dishcloth on Tuesday to try and get my knitting mojo going.  It worked as you can tell from the finished socks.  

That is all for crafting today.  This was a crazy week as we had control over our Grand Daughter on Thursday and Friday.  She is involved in several activities as well as has a busy social calendar.  Seems like I spent those two day just running her all over.  The nice thing about that is, it gives me a lot of time to just talk to her while we are in the car alone.  I have a rule in my car........No cell phones or ear buds when riding with me.  WE WILL HAVE CONVERSATION!  I usually let her pick the subjects to talk about and that keeps me up to date on her interests and happenings.  Even when her friends ride with me, they all put their cell phones away and we talk.  

Today I was going to make a loaf of bread but...............I forgot to set the beer out last night for it to get flat.  Guess I will make it tomorrow then.  So, my to do list is pretty short today.  I will cut out the masks for my friend and start on them.  There will be knitting time while hubby is busy watching golf and football.  I have an audio book I am listening to and will put that on during that time.  It is so easy to listen to the book while I am knitting and sewing.  We have leftovers for dinner tonight so that makes my life even easier.

How was your week?  To see what other crafters are up to go HERE.  

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

Friday

It is a beautiful day today.  The sun is shining (through the hazy smoke), there is a gentle breeze and our daughter is coming to visit us tonight for dinner.  Last night we had the privilege of having our teen grand daughter spend the night.  Her parents are on a mini vacation and she has school so we have her for a couple of days.  She will be going on a little get away this weekend with her BFF.  

Thank you for all your comments on my last post.  I finally picked up hubby's socks again and have been working on them for a couple of days.  I will have photos on Sunday of my progress.  The Havana is still in time out.  Good thing I don't need it for another 2 years LOL.  

The one WIP I do need to pull out of the closet is my cardigan I started last year.  It will be sweater weather here in a couple of months. I really would like to have it completed so I can wear it.  Must put that on my to do list so I don't forget.

Speaking of forgetting.....................I took the teen to school this morning.  While I was on my way, her dad sent me a text asking if I had filled out her COVID form online.  DANG!  I completely forgot about that.  If not filled out each day she goes, she will be sent home.  Lucky for me, her dad filled it out while I was transporting her.  PHEW!  Hey, I made her a nice breakfast and even packed her a yummy lunch along with snacks.  Also, last night, I helped her get ready for her evening out with her BFF.  It was her BFF's 16th bday.  They went to a very nice Japanese restaurant to celebrate.  Here is how she looked.

She did her own make-up and I did her hair.  The hair was not what either of us wanted but her hair was not cooperating with us so we did what we could.  The dress is one her mother wore for a dance in her freshman year of high school!  

Since I had to get her to school by 7:45, I was up quite early.  I spent some lovely time outside in the cool morning air. (Cool for us)  I was gifted with seeing the sunrise.

As you can see, we are still being affected by the wildfires on the west coast.  It sure does make for a pretty sunrise though.  The sunsets are just as pretty too.  

Almost time for us to leave and go pick up the teen and get her to her swim practice.  Then we pick her up from there and take her to her BFF's house.  From there she will be heading to the mountains with that family plus a few friends.  Hubby and I are staying home and enjoying a quiet weekend.

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

 

Wednesday

 

Happy Wednesday to all of you.  I got up earlier than usual this morning.  Doing so, I made a discovery.  The sun is rising in the sky later than it did a month ago.  

It is also setting much earlier than a month ago.  In the summer we have full sunlight by 5:30 and it stays light until almost 9.  Does this mean fall is heading our way? 

Seeing that our temps are back up again this week, I don't feel like it is.  Hopefully this will be the last week with above average temperatures.  My pool has already cooled off to the point I won't get into it.   Come on fall and winter!  I am ready and waiting for you to show up.

September is the month I dislike the most.  It is the month I am ready for the heat to go away.  Each year I think "this is the year it will cool off in September".  And each year, mother nature just laughs and laughs at me.

So, what happens when September hits?  I sloooooow down in everything I do.  It is like I go into 'I don't care' mode.  But I do care.  Each morning I greet the day with a smile and think of all the wonderful things I can accomplish in the day.  I make a list of what I plan/hope to do that day.  I even step outside to feel the coolish morning air on my face and realize it is going to be a great day to make things happen.  But then something happens.  My brain just stops working.  

Case in point:

Hubby's socks are at the same place they were on Sunday.  I keep meaning to pick them up in the evenings to work on them but...................well, it just doesn't happen.  Usually by now I would have another 30 rows on each sock.  Nope, brain is not engaged.

Another case:

My Fodhla shawl has not been touched either.  Of all the projects I have going, this is my second favorite and yet, it sits in it's yarn bowl pleading with me to pick it up and work on it.  The brain ignores it.

Granted, I did make 12 masks on Monday and paid the price with back spasms Monday night.  (They were gone by the next morning)  Tuesday, I decided to try and cleanse my pallet and made this:

A dishcloth for my kitchen.  Did you notice the white corner? (Like you could miss that LOL)  If I had used a needle one size smaller...................well, you know.  I like using a size 8 on dishcloths that are 100% cotton.  That way, when I launder them, they are not Barbie washcloths when they come out of the dryer.  I have fairly large hands and like a large cloth to clean with.

But, did the dishcloth make me want to pick up my WIP's?  Nope, the brain just will not engage.  Maybe today will be the day.  It could happen.  Here is one issue that I know is slowing me down..................Havana blanket.  I love working on it and find it the most satisfying item I have worked on it quite a while.  Unfortunately, it has gotten so large, I can not sit under it to work on for more than about 30 minutes.  It is HOT!  Havana has been put away until the weather changes and that has made me a bit sad.  If you have any suggestions on how I can bring it back out to work on without melting under it, I would love the hear them.

Changing subjects now...............................

Today, I am taking Luna in to have her stitches removed.  It will be so nice for her not to be wearing a baby shirt anymore.  She has been a real trooper about the shirt and has not bothered her sutures even once.  I am very proud of her.  She will get a special treat today for all she has been through.  

After the Vet appointment, hubby wants to go to Costco.  I will go with him to make sure nothing comes home we don't need.  Maybe the trip out and all that walking will make my brain happy again!  

Changing subjects now again..................................

Grapes!!!!!  This is the time of year I love grapes.  Our Sprouts Market place likes to bring in different types of grapes in the fall.  This year they have Cotton Candy grapes as well as Gum Drop grapes.  Oh My!  They are like eating candy but much better for you.  They taste just like their name implies.  They are only available once a year.  I grabbed a bag of each of them yesterday.  They make the perfect mid afternoon snack.  Have you ever tried either of them?

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

Whatha Doin'?

 How was your day?  I spent 90% of my day in my craftroom.  But first thing this morning, I took my car to Discount Tire to get the back tire repaired.  Lucky for me they were able to plug it.  Phew, since there was only 6000 miles on the tire, I really did not want to replace it.  I was in and out in less than 30 minutes.

While I was there, hubby went to get some blood work done and then went on to his allergist to get his allergy shots.  I had just gotten home when he called to tell me he was at the car wash and it was not busy at all.  

Off I went to get my car washed.  It was sooooo dirty.  We had a couple of rain days and when it rains, all the dirt in the air gets plastered to the car.  It sure does look much better now with the wash completed.

When we got home, I called the appliance repair place our appliance store told us to call.  The seal on the fridge door is starting to shred.  The place I called was hesitant to give me a quote without sending someone out to look at it first.  I got a little hot under the collar and explained I was quite sure I could tell if the seal on the door was falling apart.  Their service call is $90 just to drive to my house!  They finally gave me a quote that was through the roof!  I immediately started looking online for recommendations for appliance repair people.  I found a gentleman with 5 stars and gave him a call.  What a difference.  He was happy to give me a quote if I would just send him the model info from the inside of my fridge.  He gave me a quote that was significantly lower than the first place.  He owns his own one man business and was so polite and easy to work with.  The part I need is on back order so it will be several weeks before the work can be done.  That is ok as there is no cold air escaping from the fridge at this point.  I just do not want it to start though.

After all that, I headed into the craftroom and began mask production again.  I started at 10:30 this morning and finished at 6 tonight.  That included all the cutting and sewing and 1/2 hour off for lunch.  Here is what I accomplished.

Twelve masks completed.  The top 6 are for the teen, the middle 2 are for my son and the bottom 4 are for me.  Hopefully that is it for a while............... again.

Nothing else got done today so tomorrow will be busier than usual.  I have a couple of errands to run and laundry to do. Right now I am going to go and watch a little NFL Football while I knit on my shawl and hubby's socks.

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

WEEK 11 OF YEAR 10

 

Another week is in the books.  It was an unusual week for me.  I was gone from home 4 days this past week.  I was dog sitting and running a teenager around to her play practice as well as a swim meet and also school.  This meant my crafting needed to be something portable and dog proof.  

First up is some finishes.

Coasters!!!!!!  My daughter called me last week asking me if I would be so kind to make her some coasters to use at work.  It was the perfect traveling project for me.  None of the coasters are bigger than 6 inches.  She loves them and was so happy to have washable coasters.

I did work on hubby's socks some more.

The gusset is completed and there is another 30 rows added to each foot.  Not sure how this coming week is stacking up yet.  Hopefully it will be quieter so I can do quite a bit on these.  I really want them off the needles.  The yarn is very scratchy and splits horribly and because of that, I stopped the pattern and am just doing plain vanilla for the feet.  I have more of this yarn but am thinking I will be waiting a loooong time before I use it.

I did start a new project on Monday.  I don't know why I felt I needed to start something else.  In actuality, I started 2 new projects on Monday.

This is not a very big cross stitch.  I got the wording done and have not touched it since.  It is not travel friendly and definitely not dog friendly.  

The other project I started was the  Fodhla shawl.  This will be the second time I have made this shawl.  This shawl is the one I wear the most so thought it would be nice to have another one.

This is being knit in a skein of yarn I forgot I had.  It is Cascade Sorata which is a baby llama and silk blend.  So soft and what a lovely drape to it.  My favorite part is the beads being added to it.

I just happened to have these glass beads hanging around and they go perfectly with the charcoal gray yarn.  The beads are added after the stitch is made.  It does slow down the knitting process but is so worth it.  Plus, the beads add just enough weight to the shawl that it keeps is laying so nicely.

That is all for my crafting this week.  The Havana is in time out until it cools off here.  There is only so much heat I can take laying on my lap.  I have been looking at my WIP list and realize it is time to pull out the "It Really Fits Cardigan".  I only have 1.5 sleeves to do and then knit until it is long enough for my liking.  Add a button band to it and it will be complete.  Hopefully, I will have it done in time for sweater weather here.

IN OTHER NEWS:

When I came home Thursday, I found this sitting on my kitchen counter.

My husband is so thoughtful.  I sent him to the store to pick up a few items for our dinner that evening.  He ALWAYS looks at the flowers when he is there.  These are lasting quite while.  They have a lovely aroma too.

Speaking of aroma.................................The fires that are burning the western part of the US are just horrible.  We are being affected here too.

This is what our sun has looked like all week other than on Tuesday.  That was the only day we were smokeless here.  I have seen photos from places in California and Washington where you can not even see the sun.  When we left Mass this morning, I noticed the smell as soon as I took off my mask.

Speaking of masks..................the teen was told her face mask needs to be plain without any patterns on it.  Of course this was not told to them until the first day she went back to in person school.  So, guess who is going to be making masks today?  Yup, me!  I had to buy plain material.  Thank goodness I had JoAnn coupons.  I got a pale yellow (her request) and black (also her request).  I think I will make a couple of black masks for myself too.

Yesterday, hubby and I got our pneumonia shots.  Neither of us had ever had one before.  We will need to go again next year to get the final dose.  In two weeks we are going to get our flu shots.  We were offered the flu shot yesterday too but since we had never had the pneumonia shot we thought we would wait in case of a reaction.  That way we would know which one caused the issue.

Today's 'to do' items are; make a loaf of bread (it is in the machine now), plan menus for 10 days, make grocery list, do at least one load of laundry (probably will do 2), & make masks (aiming for 4).

Tomorrow, you will find me at Discount Tire.  We found a HUGE screw in my tire this morning.  It is not flat but the screw needs to come out.  I am hoping the tire can be repaired.  I only have 6,000 miles on these tires.  They are the ones that came with the car when I bought it last year.  

That is all for me today.

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

Thursday

 

Here I am again.  Dog sitting today until the teen gets out of school.  Then it will be kid watching and dog sitting until the Mom gets home from work.  Tomorrow will be my last day until the end of next week.  Then I get to do it again for a couple of days.  I love being needed.

So, what do I do with all this time away from home?  Hmmmmm........I have done extensive pattern searches for ideas for items I want to make.  There are movies playing on the TV for background noise.  My project bag is full of cotton yarn to make coasters for my daughter as well as hubby's socks I have been working on.  

I forgot to tell you....................our weather finally cooled off a bit.  We have been below 100 for the past 2 days.  We will be hitting 100 again on the weekend and it will stay in the low 100's for several days.  I will take it!  The night time temps are down into the 70's which is a blessing for us.  During the heat of the summer we are lucky if they dip below 90!  So this is fall for us.  It is so nice to not feel like a blast furnace is hitting you in the face when you walk outside.  Of course, the down side to this is our swimming pool will be cooling off rapidly soon.  I will miss being able to just walk out the back door and jumping into the pool.  That means, it will be walking season.  Time to dust off the sneakers and get ready for some lovely walks around the neighborhood again.  

Time for me to pull out my knitting/crocheting and enjoy some sappy movie.

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