A Little Knitting

 What can I say, I just couldn't stop knitting these slippers.  All in all I think I made 9 pair before I hid the yarn and made myself  turn to other projects.  I can knit them in my sleep and probably did.  But they are fun and, depending on the needle size, could be knit in any size. 

 Slippers even fit with mug rugs. 

 And if one set is good, two sets are perfect.  Hot coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and warm feet.  What could be better?

 In an effort to find something new to do, and not work on knitting UFO's, I decided on a waffle knit dishcloth.  This is fun to knit and is very easy.  I have knit two and will continue until I have used up this cone of cotton yarn.  I'm going to try to get back to  project knitting after the first of the year.

And one more thing that is not knitting, this throw I made for our great grandson for his 2nd birthday.  It has Star Wars on one side and Air Force on the other.  He has lived close to us for the last couple of years and a couple of weeks ago his dad moved him to Colorado.  His mom, who is completing her stint in the Air Force, had to remain behind for a couple of months so we will be spending Christmas with her.  I hope we will also be seeing her several times before she follows her little family to the cold country.

Merry Christmas to one and all.  I hope you all have wonderful, fun, and safe holidays,  Gari

Linking to Patchwork Times

Birthday Week

Yes, I am still knitting.  And I seem to be fixated on these slippers so here is another completed pair.  And would you believe that I have three more pair in the works.  This is primarily because I haven't found a sweater pattern I want to knit so slippers it is, for now.

And I did find time to spend time with my sewing machine.  This is a fleece throw.  I love the size, 1 yard x the width of the yardage.  It is amazing how large this makes these throws.  And they are so easy to make.  I am hoping that I can find a couple more interesting fleece pieces to make a couple more throws.

Once again, this is Birthday Month.  I have been very good and haven't expected a gift a day, like I got last year.  But there have been a couple of gifts along the way and apparently we are ending the month with a BANG.  What we are seeing here is a ceramic measuring set sent to me by my sister, I think.  It seems that Amazon sends packages but there is nothing in the box to say who sent it to you.  Anyway, I thanked her for them so I'm sure she will take credit for them no matter what.

I do appreciate that they are marked for size so they are usable as well as decorative.

My daughter gave us an Initial Banner to hang outside.  She actually gave us 2 but the other one, a Christmas decoration, is already planted outside and I am too lazy to get up and go outside to get a picture.  Maybe later.

Our SIL found this tumbler and made sure that it came home to me.  I think these little owls are so cute and will be fun to drink with.

DH is so sweet and he knew that I wanted some Gnomes. Why?, you may ask.  Well a few weeks ago I had several trees cut down because they were crowing the house.  What we were left with was several short tree stumps; not enough money to have them ground down.  DH said he was going to paint them so he could see them when mowing around them.  I suggested we glue Gnomes on them to have something fun to look at.   

And I got more than the one, I have six.  They are marked for being outdoors and then there are a lot of precautions about bring them in for different weather situations.  Well, that's not going to happen.  So the plan is to poly them with a couple coats to protect them and then they will be on their own until next year.  I think it is going to look so cute.

This was quite unexpected.  Yes, I showed DH this and told him what others had said about this appliance, but I did not suggest we get one.  So imagine my surprise when I saw the box.  I think we will try French fries to see if it works as well as advertised.

And this was a BIG surprise.  I saw this cart advertised and showed DH because I now am having difficulty bringing groceries in from the car: too heavy and too much.  He poo-pooed me and we dropped the idea.  Well, I guess he had second thoughts.  It came in a really flat box but was completely assembled and DH got to use it first.    Those six wheels make steps so easy and it just glides over our rough ground.  I think we will need to affix a basket on it but even just this way it is it works.

Even Mother Nature has gifted me with this beautiful display.  The buds just popped the day after we brought them inside (brief 30s at night).  They really make me smile.

And that's it for me.  I have another doctor appointment tomorrow, seeking some pain management that does not include drugs.  I had to fill out several pages of admission paperwork, most of which dealt with drugs, past or future.  By the time I was done I had already formed a negative impression of the group of doctors which is not going to help me tomorrow.  Tonight I am going to have to pray for a change of attitude ....... darn.   Gari

Hot Hook

I am so excited.  My Tunisian crocheted afghan is a little more than half way done.   And it has gotten easier and easier: this means that I am going a little faster than when I first started.  Staci suggested stopping, when that larger section is done, to do a cross stitch name.  However, I can’t decide if I want to do a name or not so I will probably wait until I have the afghan done and blocked and by then maybe I will have decided what I want to do.

 

And I have decided what my next knitting project is going to be.  This is the cowl Judy just showed.  I have found that my neck really likes being warm when I am out in the winter and this cowl pattern looks great and will provide me a terrific challenge (new stitch and cables).



I still have to get back to knitting on my short sleeved cardigan, right after the afghan is finished.













I have been doing some sewing.  I made this twin sized throw.  It took me over a year to find the red fabric so I was very excited to be getting this project donel














And I did get some Step 1 blocks done for Grand Illusion.  I still have to make parts for many more of these but I think that I will devote this weekend to Step 2 (Step 3 comes out tomorrow so I don’t want to fall much more behind. 









One of the reasons I think I will be able to get a lot done this weekend is that DH is again dancing in the Nutcracker: he is Drosselmeyer and does not really dance but since he has been doing this for over 35 years he does make an impression with his entrance: children remember him all year long and recognize him when they see him out and about.  They have already done a school children’s matinee and now have two evening performances as well as a Sunday matinee.  See why I will have some studio time?


I hope you will have time to work on your projects as well as checking out what others are accomplishing  over at Patchwork Times.  Gari

Happy New Year and Outgoing

When you read this I will be in Tampa, cheering. But I wanted to be sure and start the new year blogging.

First is the lap quilt I made for my mother who has collected all things chicken for several years. I was gifted with several chicken fabrics from some very nice bloggers and had just recently made a Dresden plate block for a BOM so this was the result. Mother has a “sunroom” that in the winter is very chilly so I hope this will keep her warm.

Second is a birdhouse quilt made for my husband’s sister and her husband. They are avid birdwatchers and I have wanted to do a birdhouse quilt for them but never could get a clear idea of what to do. Then Pat offered some paper pieced birdhouse blocks and when they arrived I was off and running.

Next I made two flannel rag quilts:

One for our youngest grandson –

and one for our great grandson.

Instead of the squares I did two sizes of WOF strips with batting sandwiched in. After they were pieced I quilted them on the HQ and then clipped (what seemed like forever) and washed/dried them three times.

For our DD and SIL I made double fleece throws. DD is a Dallas Cowboy’s fan and loves her coffee and when I happened onto a fleece sale the idea was born. I sewed them right sides together, turned them and then sewed twice around the outside so it looks like a binding. Our SIL’s throw is camouflage on one side and Elk on the other. Several years ago he and his son talked about wanting to go Elk hunting and I really liked this fabric. I told them I made these so they could turn the heat down in their house and save money.

The last thing I made this Christmas was machine embroidered pillowcases for our DIL. She collects porcelain Swedish horses and when I found these designs they seemed perfect.

Lastly I did a couple of t-shirts for DH and then I took a well deserved break.

Hope everyone has been having a fun and save holiday!