A Little of This and a Little of That

This is the first of Esther Aliu's Vases BOM.  It took me quite a while to put this together but now I need to put it into a block.  This one is called Thursday's Vase.  I also have the pattern for Monday's Vase.  And, yes, she is not going in order so I probably will be totally confused by the time they all get here.

These are the outlines for a Morning Glory applique.  The bottom one is appliqued on top of the top one and I am going to try needle turn, by machine, applique using pieces of as many batiks as I can.  But I probably won't start this until after the first of the year as I have so many other things to do.

I did start a new sweater today.  I know, I know, I haven't finished the one I am currently working on but this one is a Craftsy KAL and I am already two lessons behind.  So I decided to do the gauge swatch, which also is the lining for a pocket.  And, of course, I am doing the lining for both pockets, at the same time.  This yarn is so soft that it will be hard to go back to any other knitting project. 

Oh, and don't pay any attention to the sweater picture, my printer is going through an identity crisis.   The yarn is mostly white with flecks of many other colors.  This will be a beautiful sweater, whenever I get it done. 

Hi there.

This is how I look when I am leaving the studio with a sense of accomplishment.  Have a great week!

A Little of What is Going On

I have gotten some further on this sweater.  I have the body done up to where the sleeves go and I have 13" done on the two sleeves (I am knitting them like two at a time socks).  The sleeves are supposed to be 18" so it will be a little while before they are ready to be attached to the body.  I have read and reread the pattern for attaching and it really doesn't make any sense to me.  But I will follow it, word for word, and see what happens. 

Thursday I had a 9:30 appointment with my cardiologist and a 1:00 appointment with my oncologist (with lunch in-between).  And because I HATE waiting for my turn, I took my knitting with me.  I was the only one in the waiting room that was occupied.    

The The above are blocks 1 & 2 in the I Love Home BOM (only 4 blocks).  There is supposed to be fabric around the houses but I haven't really decided on what fabric I want to use so this is as far as I have gotten.  Also, I seem to have misplaced Block 1 so I am kind of at a standstill on that one.

I am also doing the same blocks in hand embroidery.  I have not done hand embroidery since I was a child so that is going slowly.  I have block 1 done and am started on block 2: they are my TV watching thing to do in the evening.

                        Sadie                                        Abby

Sherlock

The above are our three doxies.  They are the sweetest puppies, except when it is time to come in from the outside.  And this morning the bottom one, Sherlock, caught a rat on our deck.  Hubby said that he had a hard time getting it out of his mouth and by the time he got it the rat was good and dead.  I've never seen a rat here but I am really glad the dog got him. 

A few weeks ago I was feeling pretty good and we decided it was time to visit our son in NC.  They have three children and we hadn't seen the last one or the others in two years.  It was fun to watch those children running around: such energy. 

(Our daughter, who lives near here, came to stay with the doxies.  I really appreciate her for taking care of them and keeping me from worrying about them.) 

Also Eric's sister and brother in law came down from NH so there was fun all around.  Our son is Provost at the local college so we got a great tour of the campus.  It was fun to hear how proud he is of the school and students.  Our daughter in law teaches an online class and fills the rest of her time with 3 rambunctious children and a lot of country cooking.

And finally, a small look at our yard decorations.  We live on 5 acres that is mostly covered with trees.  A few months ago I had a group of trees taken down so there would be some clearing around the house.  But that left a bunch of very short tree stumps that I was afraid Eric would run over with the riding lawn mower.  About that time I saw a really cute Gnome and decided putting one on each of the stumps would attract Eric's attention and he would avoid the stumps.  They have become a "thing" here and we now have 9 Gnomes.  We still have a few unadorned stumps but the filled ones alert Eric to watch for them.

This Gnome sits on our deck railing, looking over the "flock" of Gnomes in the yard.  I see him as the head man, kind of like Poppa Smurf.

I really enjoy seeing our "flock" of Gnomes, they make me smile.

I am going to try to write a little more often.  It take me longer to get things done so frequently I don't have anything to say.  I currently am pretty healthy, still get weak occasionally, so there isn't anything to report on the health side. I am getting ready to work on some other projects and will share them when there is something to see.

Love to all,  Gari