The Garden, The Shawl, and Lunch

I think the garden is almost finished for the year.  The okra is still going strong but is putting on very little okra.  However, I did get enough to cook up the other day...

We're only about 3 days away from Daylight Savings Time ending.  That means cold weather is near.  And look what my sweet DD knitted for me.  :)

This is the softest, warmest and most adorable shawl I've ever had.  It will stay on my office chair where I sit right under the air conditioner vent in the summer and just in front of a window in the winter.  Thank you, Paula.  It's perfect.

Had lunch with my buddy Pat B. yesterday.  I stuffed myself with 1/2 order Roast Turkey Fuji Apple Salad and  1/2 Chicken Salad Sandwich.  Oh My Goodness!  Top that off with Sweet Tea and a Cobblestone goodie.. and needless to say, I had to bring the Cobblestone home... Very nice visit and catch up time since Pat has been gone for a while visiting her sweet daughter and family with the  newborn grandson.

It evidently rained again last night.  I opened the front curtains and blinds this morning for Sam and there was a shiny sheen on the road, the drive and the grass.  We so need all this rain, but am getting a little tired of the gray days... and the fact that Sam has to be carried out to do his business since he cannot possibly get his feet wet.. :/

Looking forward to working on The Big Blue Quilt today.  The only thing I got done on it yesterday was to rip out the parts that I had sewn in wrong.. :(   Perhaps I can get the body of it finished today and decide on a border and binding..

Hope you have a wonderful day.  Sing a little, smile a lot.. :)

Today in My Life ... Sunday, June 24, 2012

Today is:  Sunday, June 24, 2012

I got up this morning:  at 5:45.  Awake as if the sleep had been really good.  Pushed the button on the coffee pot, opened the blinds, turned on the computers, run my hand across the counters thinking how fortunate I am...

I look out my window:  and realize that I really need to dead head my roses and get my mint and lemon verbena planted!  As in .. TODAY!  

I am thinking:  that the bandages in my groin from the cardiac cath and the tape burns will have to come off today or they'll drive me nuts... ;o)  I'm allergic to the tape they used and it left a huge seeping burn area.. ;o(   However... it's dry now and time for the bandage to come off.....!!  ;o)

I am thankful for:  the fact that the cardiac cath shows only a 30% blockage of the stent.  Very happy result!  ;o)

Plans for the rest of the week:  include finishing several of the project I've started and put aside.  I am determined to NOT start anything new until these are finished... (hmmm... wonder if that will hold true..lol)  But I will try...

The third CESI injection will be Friday.  That will be the last for this series.  I just wish I had known about these earlier in my life....

Creatively:  there hasn't been much happening.  I have been doing some mindless knitting in the evening and come up with some cute hand towels for my bathroom.  I love them.  They feel much better on my face than the terry cloth towels. 

And a "Thanks, Pat!" goes out to my buddy for bringing me a huge plastic bag of this wonderful cotton yarn.  Plans are to use it on my rigid heddle loom and make some small blankets.. but if I don't hurry up and finish some things I have started, it will end up being knit up into small things I can make in the evenings... lol

Happy thought:  that will continue to make my happy all week.  Two of my sons called this weekend and I think I have not laughed so hard in months!  What a joy! 

My online friend Judy of Apron Strings and Other Ties That Bind   has been doing some really pretty embroidery for her crazy quilt squares.  Among other things.. ;o)  Take a look and say hello.  ;o)



 

Today In My Life... March 7, 2011

Today is:  Monday, March 7, 2011

I got up this morning:  not really ready to get up.  Went back to bed for few minutes, snuggling in the warmth my sweet DH had just left.  And then the clink of cups being set on the cabinet spurred one thought ... COFFEE!

As I look out my window:  it's overcast and a little breezy.  The daffodils have continued to bloom until it is a full mass of yellow. The red bud beside them is beginning to bloom with little purple buds popping up all over the trunk and limbs.  As I stepped outside to take pics it didn't take long for me step back inside and grab a long, fluffy and warm robe to go wandering in.

I am hearing:   my sweet DH .. "Better bring your coffee cup.."  which means the toast is in the toaster, new coffee has been made and it's time for breakfast.. ;o)

I am thinking:  that I am more grateful than can be expressed that our grandson Steven will be home...tour over ... from Iraq in just a few hours.  Left Ireland yesterday and should be at home in Oklahoma this afternoon.  What a gift!

I am thankful for:  the small glimpses into the lives of family, friends, old classmates and best of all.. my children's every day lives through Facebook.  (I know... that terrible Facebook.. but in reality the ability to communicate almost every day with the ones I know and love outweighs all of that... ) 

The one thing I learned during the past week:  My sweet DH becomes a little less sweet when he feels that I am not taking care of my hurt back.. ;o(  But believe me.. I am a fast learner..lol

Creatively:  is all about my friend Amber DeHay of Knit My World.  I am so proud that she has released her first knitting pattern on Ravelry as a true designer. She is also working on a matching scarf to go with wrist warmers.

Plans for the rest of the week:   Boy... that would take a list... and a long one at that.  Today will be spent with Sharon packing, packing, packing.  Tomorrow will be spent preparing for the Thursday's Red River Fiber Arts group.   The newspaper came last week to do an article on our group and was a bit overwhelmed... ;o)  She asked if she could come back this week with a real photographer and do another interview for a full page spread.  We are about to pop all our buttons...lol  I thought I might also warp up my Kromski Harp and my small card weaving loom for the event.  Will have to see just how much time I have to prepare.

Before I go I want to say how wonderful it is to have friends who pop over and glance through my meanderings.. ;o)  I received a couple of comments from last weeks post that made me realize how much I enjoy this blogging thing.. lol  Thanks... your comments mean more than you know..

Have a wonderful day... spend it with people you care about and doing things you enjoy.. live is short.

Today in My Life... November 30, 2009

Today: November 30, 2009

I got up this morning: very early. It's still cold, but if I turn up the heat it bothers my sweet DH and he gets in a frightful mood... lol And besides..if it were very cold I would just put on socks and dig out that wonderful huge shawl that I love to wear in the winter. It's going to be a lovely, clear day today, but am already missing all the green leaves on the trees...

I am hearing: him move around, turn on the faucet and click down the hall. ;o)

The current book is: Four Blind Mice by James Patterson. I'm not sure I can finish it this time around (already read it at 3 times...) Seem to be needing to try some other genre than the murder mystery... just can't find anything that will hold my attention..sigh

Creating: I have done several things since the last time I posted... The quilt is finished.

This is my very first bedsized quilt. It is a queen and I found it not difficult at all. But then it was an easy one..lol But now I have the confidence to continue on to one that is more difficult.

Another of the small pastels that I do in the evenings...

Knitted two scarves from my handspun Merino. Both used Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf Pattern...

The other scarf is exactly the same knitting pattern, but is a deeper burgundy than this one. Love this pattern.. simple, pretty and warm. Drapes well...

I found a free pattern on Ravelry for a men's cowl that I wanted to do for one of my sons who feels he wouldn't use a scarf very much, so I did it. I used my handspun Merino lamb..... It's my first try at doing cables and found they were not nearly the ogre stitch I thought they would be. Finished it, bound off, wove in loose ends and found that in at least 2 places I had dropped stitches off the ends of the double point needles that I used... Terribly disappointed. I tried to pick them up with crochet hooks and succeeded in one place, but cannot seem to succeed in the other one. This may get frogged and redone with another set of needles. Anyway, the small needles that were called for in the pattern seem to be too small for this yarn... the cowl is very stiff and if it shrinks at all will be too small for him... hmmm

Family news: Daughter Bev and her husband Kent were here for a couple of days over the holiday. Kent had to pop in just overnight due to work schedule, but was terrific to get to see them.

My diet: took a couple of days off while they were here. I made some luscious cranberry/orange relish and canned it... Could eat my weight in that stuff...lol

May have to buy more cranberries and make enough to last all year... ;o)

The coming of daughter and son in law was all the excuse I needed to make banana bread.. ;o) Made a large loaf and then 4 small loaves.

Yum... Yum...

Have to add in here that I have lost 30 pounds, so felt that perhaps it would be ok to backslide for a day or two. Am truly happy about the loss and will have no problem getting back to business...lol However..that is said with a serious caveat... this is once a year holiday season with fruit cake and eggnog..lol.. and I will have both before this is over... ;o)

Looking forward to: Christmas... ;o) Will be putting up my tree this year after not putting it up last year. The holidays just are not the holidays without some kind of decoration and that makes it all too depressing.... instead of happy....

Just a thought: Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself - and thus make yourself indispensable. ... Andrew Gide

Of Checkers, Knit and Linen

It's been raining again this week. I have given up on ever getting the little house fixed... The contractor called Monday morning and said it would not be good if they dug foundation holes and then they filled with water so we are once again on hold.... Just hope the little house knows to hold on... no pun intended... lol

We've been working in the shop and since I finished the floor inkle loom (which I finally got warped last night...pics tomorrow) I have had nothing to do...so I decided to make a checker board and checkers. This is the day before yesterday's pic. I have actually got the grid marked and the dark squares painted, but I think they will need a couple more than the 3 coats I have already put on them. The "king" side of the checkers has rosebuds painted on them... as in The War of the Roses. While the colors in this war were red and white roses, I used red and blue because..well...the white roses would not show up on the yellow. This should be finished by the end of the week.

This merino 3ply languished for a while in my stash. I just could not come up with anything new to make with it so I made another scarf, 57 inches long. It turned out really well and I love it.

This is the linen single that I took off the spinning wheel so I could spin the lemon Romney. I don't know how much there is, but there is still this much to be spun. The smallest heddle I have for my loom is 12 epi and I'm not sure that is small enough, but then it would make a light and airy fabric... hmmm Or...there is such thing as linsey-woolsey... a linen warp with a wool weft. hmmmm...

EZ Pi Shawl,Card Weaving, Rigid Heddle and Shuttle...

It's been a little difficult to blog for the last several days. Thank you to all who sent their good wishes... Time is moving quite slowly right now...

Do you remember all the knitting markers I made a while back... in several sizes? Well... I have finished the knitting on the EZ Pi Shawl and decided to take a picture of the reason one does not want to use markers like this in sizes way to big for the needles...lol This is the 4th one that I had to cut off. It seems that my fingers would fit inside the circle and I would end up knitting the marker right into the shawl. It would be great if that is what one intended to do... Make great bead embellishments...

I am now adding a crochet edging around it. I can't believe that I finished off with stockinette stitch... just like a rookie who doesn't know that the edge will roll unless something else is done on the edges... Oh well...

I've done a little card weaving and find that as I go along the pattern gets looser and looser... I think that must be because I was not using a wooden shuttle... so guess what I did...

I went out into the shop and made me a wooden shuttle... and a rigid heddle. My mind is having a bit of a problem concentrating so I was very surprised to see that the rigid heddle made a weft faced weave...duh.. I guess I was still in card weaving mode that produces a warp faced weave... But the heddle and shuttle worked just fine...lol I have been bitten by the woodworking bug...lol

A Season of Contrasts

I received an email yesterday from our son in Michigan. He has received his hat, it fits (Yayyy!), and he says it is just in time for the latest snow fall...

When he sent me these photos..a while back.. he said they had already had 52" of snow... amazing... These photos are just of the latest blowing snow drifts at the time. I can't imagine.. 52"!! However, it is pretty. I don't really mind snow.. it's the inevitable ice and slippery driving that comes with the "almost" melting that I don't like. And the slick snow pack. And invariably having to go out to some place that parks on the side of a hill! That's a hoot..

And this is what I did yesterday. After I came home from the Red River Historical Museum Craft Saturday (more about that on Fabric Follies Two )... I took pictures of the daffodils blooming along the back fence. This morning as I sit here blogging, I am watching the first woodpecker of the season cleaning DH's favorite tree and the first 3 robins of the season hunting for worms on the ground. I think Spring has Sprung!

It never ceases to amaze me the differences within this nation of ours. Living up north... even just as far north as northern Arkansas... it was different to have all 4 seasons. It seemed to take forever to heat up to comfortable levels... but at least there were all 4 seasons...lol