WEEK 22

 

The above picture would make you think this past week was full of fun, frolic and crafting.  It was a fun week, just a tiny bit of frolicking and an even smaller amount of crafting.

I did finish the RCR bedsocks and got them mailed out on Monday.

They were such a fun and fast knit.  Hopefully they will keep the recipients tootsies nice and warm this winter.

There was a new cast on this week too.

Eventually this will become Vixynn.  I purchased the pattern from Knit Picks a couple of weeks ago.  The yarn is also from Knit Picks and is Comfy Mist in the colorway Ditto.  It is a cotton/acrylic blend and oh so soft.  The pattern is done much differently than any other top down sweater I have done.  You do the back and then pick up stitches from the cast on edge of that, to do the front.  It has a boat neck so I can see why she made it this way.  Also, I will be able to make the neck opening to my preferences this way too.

Here is a shocker for you.................I actually did a swatch for this sweater!  I had to go up one needle size and also one pattern size to get the positive ease I wanted.  Since I will not be blocking this sweater each time I wash it I needed to adjust all the above to accommodate.  The designer helped me figure it out too.  She was super speedy in replying to all my questions.   

That is all the crafting I did this week. 

Hubby and I took Tuesday and did a bit of shopping.  Each year our church puts up Angel trees.  On the trees are angel cut outs with the age of a child and what they would like to receive for Christmas.   I choose both a boy (1 yr old) and girl (5 yrs old) and purchased their requested gift.  Both children wanted clothes.  The girl wanted a dress and the boy a shirt and pants.  I love shopping for little children clothing!  The items were purchased and have been returned to the church where they will be wrapped and given to the families who requested the items.  

Since it was Thanksgiving week here in the states, I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen getting things ready for the BIG day.  My job, this year, was to make the bread for the feast.  I decided to make dinner rolls as well as a requested loaf of sourdough bread.

Here is the recipe for the dinner rolls I made.....Sue's Favorite Potato Rolls.  I did not use the bread machine to make these.  Nope, I did them using my Kitchen Aid mixer.  A test batch was made on Monday to make sure these would be good enough for Thanksgiving.  For the test batch I halved the recipe.  Doing that, I learned how to use 1/2 of an egg.  (Thank goodness for my digital kitchen scale)  For the sourdough loaf I used this recipe...........Sourdough Sandwich Bread.  I made the sourdough on Wednesday and made the full batch of rolls on Thursday morning.  Both recipes were enjoyed by the family.  

Friday, hubby put the outdoor Christmas lights up.  It was my day to do grocery shopping to fill in the fresh foods we would need for the week as well as get the supplies for my holiday baking.  Things did not go as planned.  I ended up going to 5 grocery stores in order to get all the supplies I needed.  (Who knew candied fruit for fruitcake would only be at 1 store in the entire city!)  While I was on my quest, hubby also decided to surprise me and  put up our brand new, fresh out of the box, Christmas tree.................only to discover the lights in the middle section of the tree do not light up!  So, he spent copious amounts of time corresponding with the manufacturing company trying to get that section of the tree replaced ASAP!  We did manage to arrange the branches of the tree so it is not very noticable and I plan on going ahead and decorating it today anyway.  By the time I am done, no one will be able to tell............trust me LOL.

After my 3 hour grocery shopping trip, I made my moms famous fruitcake.  The reason it is famous is because, everyone that has tried it has loved it.  It is not like those store bought cakes that can be used for a door stop.  Nope, this one is moist and loaded with lots of flavor.  Most of the flavor comes from the marinating that is done on it each week.  Mom always used Brandy for her marinade.  I have used  brandy and rum in the past.  This year, I am using Fireball.  Each week, for 4 weeks, the fruitcake is removed from the fridge and the 'marinade' is poured over it (not a lot just enough to keep it moist) and then rewrapped in aluminum foil (tightly) and put back in the fridge.  That, my friends, is the secret to making a fruitcake edible!

Saturday, I woke up to a wonderful RA flare.  Luckily I always have meds on had to treat it when it happens.  The meds took about 6 hours to finally kick in full force.  Hubby and I were able to go to Mass.  Afterwards, we went to visit some friends of ours.  The husband has cancer and just started chemo.  It has made him quite ill.  We thought visiting with them would help take their mind off of all the illness for a little while.  We had quite a few laughs and enjoyed being with them.

Today, my flare has gone away and I am gearing up to do some more holiday cooking.  I do believe today will be Chex Mix baking day.  Since I learned how to do it in the air fryer last year, I do not dread making it.  There might be some cookie baking too.  And if I still have any energy left, fudge is on the list of 'to dos'.  Last year I hardly made any goodies.  It kind of made me sad too.  With Covid, we knew we would not be having lots of visitors like we normally do.  So, why go to the trouble?  This year, we already know all our friends and family are going to be passing by throughout the next 2-3 months.  I want to make sure they always have something special to snack on when they drop by.

Golly..........................When I started typing this (an hour ago), I didn't think I had much to say.  WOW!  Wonder where this all came from.

If you have made it to the end................congratulations and thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read this.

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

Week 21

 Howdy!  It feels good to be back home sitting in my chair writing on my blog with Enrique curled up next to me snoring away.  Routines are very comforting and hubby and I are happy to be back to ours.  

Knitting has been happening the past few days.  Letting yarn slip through my fingers and watching things form is a wonderful thing.  I have 1/2 a finish today..................

This is a worsted weight Rose City Roller sock.  Never have I made a sock from worsted weight yarn.  It goes super fast!  I made this one in 2 days.  The mate to it will be cast on later today.  They are going to Texas and being gifted to my Sister in law's mom, who is on hospice.  They will be bed socks to help keep her feet warm.  This is leftover yarn from my Roe Cardigan.  I wanted to get these done before cold weather hit them.

I also worked on my fingering weight RCR socks...................................

The heel is completed and now it is gusset time and then the everlasting foot knitting.  I am so happy I chose this self patterning yarn.  It is Hobby Lobby's Cozy Toes yarn in the colorway "All for Alabaster".  

That is all for knitting this week.  I still need to sew up the side seam of my Roe Cardigan.  Maybe later this week, I will get to it.  Right now I am enjoy some semi mindless knitting and crocheting.

Hubby and I returned home last Wednesday.  We did not expect to be gone as long as we were.  But taking care of final arrangements and coordinating with the other siblings took longer than we expected.  Now we wait until January for our final goodbyes and a bit more closure.  

After unpacking and getting things put away, I made out two weeks of menus and a grocery list of what would be needed.  We decided to go to our new super huge grocery store to see if we could find some of the more 'unusual' things on our list.  Success!  Our pantry is now stocked as is our fridge.  It only took 3 hours and two stores to complete the list.

Today I am making Italian sub rolls to eat with our kielbasa links.  It is a new to me recipe so hopefully it turns out.  I am trying very hard, not to purchase store bread anymore.  My larder is stocked with all sorts of flours that are begging for me to use them.  The family has also asked me to make the bread for Thanksgiving this week.  I will make a loaf of sourdough as well as some dinner rolls.  My house is going to smell so good.  Most of the bread recipes I use come from the King Arthur website.  

I want to thank all of you, again, for the condolence messages you left.  You are all very kind. Fiber folk are the best!

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

BACK HOME

 

Hubby and I are finally back home.  It is sure good to be back in our bed after 8 days away.  I wanted to thank all of you who left sweet notes on my last post.  The condolences were much appreciated.  We do have a January date for the interment.  From what we have been told, all VA cemeteries are way behind due to Covid restrictions over the past 18 months.  

One of the upside of all this sadness was seeing relatives we have not been with for months if not years.  From what we have heard, all six of hubby's siblings will be together for the memorial and interment.  That will be the first time in over 30 years!  It will be nice to have them all together again for a couple of days.

I wanted to show you the view I looked at each morning upon waking and then again before going to sleep.

What could be more relaxing than this?

Today I am off to the grocery store to restock us up on fruits and veggies.  There are a couple other errands to run while out too.  Luckily, where we stayed, we were able to do our laundry so that is one chore out of the way.  That gives me time to clean, cook and take care of my plants that were neglected for 2 weeks.  I might even be able to sneak in some quality knitting time.

Until next time.....................................................

WEEK 20

 

Hello people.  This update may seem a little disjointed.  Let me apologize for that right away.  I will explain at the end.

No finishes to show you.  However, I did complete the prayer shawl but did not photograph it.  oops.

I started a chemo hat to go with the shawl.

I prefer the rolled brim hat.  This way it isn't too restrictive on the forehead.  Hoping to complete this soon.

I also started another pair of RCR socks.

This is a self patterning yarn so I thought it would be interesting to use.  I am up to the heel flap.

Then there is the Roe Cardigan.

The sleeves have been sewn on and the right side is completely sewn together.  All I have left is sewing the left side and doing the collar.  Not too worried about it as it is still in the high 80's.  

We got a call on Tuesday late afternoon that my Mother in Law had been moved to inpatient hospice care.  Hubby and I hit the road the next morning.  Between the time of the phone call and our leaving we managed to get dog sitters, clothing packed, fridge cleaned, and several other 'little' things arranged for our absence.  We arrived in Las Vegas Wednesday morning.  Family arrived on Thursday, from all over to see her.  On Friday morning we lost her.  It has been a whirlwind since.  We are still in Las Vegas and will probably be here for another few days to tie up loose ends.  Interment won't be for another 2-3 months!  Covid backed things up at the VA cemetery.  Luckily, I brought the three projects shown to you today, to work on.  We are blessed that we have such good friends that we have been staying with.  It makes this time a little brighter for us.

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

WEEK 19

 You may want to grab a snack and a beverage.  There is finally 'stuff' to talk about this week.

The last few weeks were all about me being stranded on sleeve island.  Well, I am no longer stranded.  Rescue has happened.

crappy indoor photo

All pieces are completed.  Now, I just need to convince myself that sewing this together is going to be so much fun.  I have been working on that for the past 4 days.  So far, it has not happened.  It is not like I need this sweater yet.  We are still getting upwards to 90F daily.  Our morning lows are in the 50's which could be sweater weather but it only stays that low for about 2 hours.  Anyway...........I am happy to have it ready to put together.  Then I have a collar do to.  I am not going to do the one in the pattern.  I have my own idea of what I want to do.  Fingers crossed it will work out.

Once that was done I started on my Giant Granny Square blanket.  I put 4 more rows on it.

I am really enjoying this long term project.  My goal is to make it big enough to fit our bed.

As you can see, I have a ways to go.

I do have another finished project this week.

After getting off of sleeve island, I needed a palette cleansing project.  Two dishcloths have been added to my stock pile of cloths.  This finished up my sugarwheel cotton from hobby lobby.  It is super soft and stays that way even after washing.  Also, they do not shrink like Sugar and Cream cloths do.

But wait, there's more!!!!

I finally finished this cross stitch piece.  It was started back in March!  It will be given to my daughter since she is the one that gave it to me to stitch.  The reason I did the saying in Spanish is, our daughter is the only 'child' who continued with her Spanish through college.  It is fun to listen to her and my hubby converse in Spanish.  And me?  I pick up a word here and there but I am not anywhere close to being bilingual.

There were treasures delivered this week too.

Knit Picks had a great sale on their Comfy Color Mist yarn.  It is a cotton/acrylic blend.  Since I finished my Roe, I wanted to make some pullover short sleeve sweaters to wear here in our mild fall thru spring weather.

Both of these colors already have patterns assigned to them.  Once I get a swatch made I will start and then let you know which color will go with which pattern.  

I went to JoAnn's yesterday and picked up some yarn for a specific prayer shawl.

My daughter called Friday night and asked if I would make a prayer shawl for a friend of hers who will be undergoing 5 months of chemo.  The above yarn is for that endeavor. 

 I started the To The Point shawl again.  I am hoping to have enough leftover yarn to make her a chemo hat too.

Since I was at JoAnn's, I decided I should go ahead and stock up on prayer shawl yarn.  I was totally out!  Not to mention I had a 20% off coupon for my total order.

Look at all that yummy yarn.  I got enough to make at least 16 shawls (two skeins of each color).  I love the Caron Simply Soft as it is so nice against the skin and washes easily.  I know there are many who find this yarn totally disgusting.  Our prayer shawl recipients are the ones we hear from stating their shawls are so soft and comforting.  That to me is the most important affirmation of our yarn choices.

Hubby and I got our covid boosters on Monday.  Tuesday, I was a little tired but not as bad as after our second injections.  My arm was also sore for a couple of days but so far, that is all the reaction I have had this time.  Hopefully, the rash I got from the other two injections will not happen this time.  (It normally shows up 7-8 days after injection)

The rest of the week was spent doing normal household duties.  Hubby was at a retreat all day yesterday.  That gave me time to vacuum the whole house.  Normally hubby does this but I decided to give him a break.  I also washed down some exterior doors that had a lot of nasty finger prints all over them.  I love doing those little things that normally get overlooked when cleaning is happening.  I think I will wash the windows next........sometime LOL.

Today started daylight savings time for 99% of the US.  Here in Arizona, we do not EVER mess with our clocks.  Hawaii is the only other state to keep their clocks set year round.  Aren't you glad I gave you that small tidbit of info?  Someday it might be on a trivia quiz and you will know the answer.

What's happening in your neighborhood?  

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