Randomly Monday| 2.18.19

Randomly Monday| 2.18.19

I did indeed finish my first Thea Rachelle Raglan on Friday. Sewing time was about 2 hours total. Yes, I like it, but I need to make some pattern adjustments. The neck line needs to be a bit narrower and higher in the back, at least for a cold weather garment! I am not sure how easy those things will be to adjust – what with facings and all. However, this exact pattern would make a truly lovely summer top from linen!! So, yes! I will sew this again!

Saturday, we had the most amazing visitor in the tree in my front yard!! A Pileated Woodpecker!! I know – my heart about stopped. I was not quick enough to get a photo, but oh.my.gosh. A Pileated Woodpecker in my front yard! I am pretty sure it was a female, because I did not see any red stripe on its face.

More BIG excitement here on Sunday when the water main that supplies our housing plan broke leaving us with no water for most of Sunday afternoon and evening. I won’t even go into all the complaining that caused. However, things seem to be back to normal this morning and I have laundry underway to prove it!

I have been entirely enamored with Cara’s 100-day Sashiko Stitching Project. You should especially look at her stories…so.much.fun!

AND!! I started listening to the latest Armand Gamache installment, Kingdom of the Blind – I am limiting my listening time each day to make it last as long as possible.

How is your Monday looking?

Weekending | 1.27.19

Weekending | 1.27.19

The weekend seemed a bit anti-climactic after last weekend’s weather drama, but a quiet winter weekend was truly a lovely thing. There was some snow, some cold, and glory of glories there was even some sunshine!! All this added up to another quiet, stay at home weekend and while I don’t have any finished projects to share, I did do lots of different things!

I spent quite a bit of time laying out the pattern pieces for Thea Rachelle – lots of pages and lots of tape but I am now ready to cut out my flannel muslin. I will sit and do this tomorrow morning with a nice cup of coffee and Marilla of Green Gables to keep me company!

I spent a little time knitting this weekend and happily, my “second choice” yarn for Ysolda’s Follow Your Arrow 2 shawl will be perfect! I am almost done with “clue 2” and can I just say I really appreciate Ysolda not changing the pattern format which is still in clues! I love printing out a clue and working on it – it somehow seems more manageable. The yarn is a heavy laceweight single that I got some years ago at the Michigan Fiber Festival – sorry I do not know the dyer, but I believe the yarn is a non-super wash merino and I love the spring green color – it will be a lovely addition to my wardrobe!

I finished spinning and plying my fourth skein (only two more to go!!) for Brenshevia Boone’s Spin/Knit Along – it needs a good relaxing soak but here is the unfinished skein. I am very happy with my “barber-pole” planning on these skeins. Nightshift was originally knit with Spincycle Yarns which have the loveliest barber-poling effects with subtle color shifts – so when I picked fiber to spin, I looked for fibers that had no more than 3 colors and I looked for fiber that had some similarity in color or hue. I have been dividing each bump of fiber into thirds and just spinning and so far, my “random” method is working out nicely. And, I am managing to spin each fiber to a consistent “worsted-weight” 3-ply yarn which is not the easiest of tasks for me! I started on the fifth bump of fiber today and hope to have the spinning done in the next two weeks and then I will be ready to knit!

I also did some stitching this weekend! The wings of my little bird are done, and I am quite happy with the result. I have to whip-stitch them together yet, but I think my little “red winged blackbird” will be adorable! Suggestions for any of you who have plans to make your own little flock of birds – next time I would trace the pattern onto the fabric and complete the stitching of the wings and tail pieces before I cut them out. This will allow you to use an embroidery hoop which will make for more even stitches.

In all my recent reorganizing, I found a bag containing a cross-stitch pattern, fabric, and floss. I have not cross-stitched in probably more than 20 years, but I got started on it while watching the end of Season 4 of Dr. Who (okay, not really season 4 but that is how it is listed on Amazon Prime.) This is a project that will require lots of daylight to work on because I think the linen fabric is 26-count or something insane like that! I hope to share an “in-progress” photo later this week!

There were also gardening conversations, visit to Michigan conversations, and what next to tackle on the house conversations.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend! How was your weekend?

Weekending | 1.20.19

Weekending | 1.20.19

Greetings from a sunny but very cold wintry wonderland!

The weekend forecast was the stuff of a weatherperson’s dreams – all the weather in one day so, we braved the crazed “Armageddon” crowds at the grocery store to get a couple of things. Really not the most brilliant thing we’ve ever done, but we did manage to survive.

We thought that trip was a fool’s errand when all the predictions for Saturday just sort of fizzled out. No snow but yes, we got lots of rain and the temperatures stayed well above freezing all day. The rains finally turned to ice and then to snow as our temperatures plummeted to single digits overnight. The arctic blast is indeed upon us!

And, so what do you do with all the weather drama? Well, you make comfort foods (i.e. stuffed acorn squash), drink whiskey, and finish projects!

I did some sewing with really lovely results. I mentioned Fancy Tiger Crafts One-Hour Top a couple of weeks ago and I found some knit fabric on sale at JoAnn’s and in less than an hour I sewed up a muslin from the sale fabric to see how it would fit and what adjustments I might need to make. Yes, less than an hour – including cutting out the pattern in that time! There are just 4 seams and then stitch the neck, sleeves and hem with a double needle, which gives a really lovely and surprisingly easy finish! And, the fit is really wonderful so I have been looking online for more knit fabric to make a couple more shirts!

Steve’s mom loved her Christmas Cowl so much she asked if I could make one for Steve’s dad, which I was happy to do. I finished it on Saturday and delivered it early Sunday morning and just in time for the single digit weather we are going to be having this week!

I blocked Rachel’s Birthday Shawl and got the few ends woven in, and it is all ready to be shipped off to California!

I also finished a pair of handspun socks that were two years in the making! That’s right I bound them off on Sunday morning – I still have ends to weave in but at least they are off the needles!

Inspired by Mary, I cleaned up my Ravelry queue and frogged a few items that just are not going to ever be finished for a variety of reasons. It feels infinitely better looking at my queue now and I even feel energized to get these lingering projects finished! All this work deserved a reward so I cast on a new shawl with a skein of handspun yarn that I found in last weekends organization that I had earmarked for this project!

In the “late to the party” category (and thanks to pneumonia!) I have recently discovered how entirely enjoyable Doctor Who is! I am just starting Season 4 thanks to Sunday’s snow storms and wintry blast! I will just say this; The Doctor is a very good knitting companion!

Steve works tomorrow, no day off for him! But if you do have tomorrow off – I hope you spend a little time thinking about MLK!

What did your weekend hold?

Amaryllis Watch | 1.11.19

Amaryllis Watch | 1.11.19

This week, I am seeing the promise of blooms on my Amaryllis watch!

I am also seeing the reduction in coughing – which is a very good thing!

One more thing I am very happy about – it’s Friday and the weekend is here! Make it a good one, everyone!

TGIF | 12.28.18

TGIF | 12.28.18

How is it possible that we find ourselves on the last Friday of the year? Please tell me it is not just me feeling that 2018 had the speed of a Bullet Train! Honestly, it truly seems like last week I was in Michigan visiting my kids enjoying some pretty amazing fall days and it seems so surreal that Christmas is over, and 2019 is almost here! As I scramble through these last days of 2018, the following things are filling my mind…

Thinking About – The past few days I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing 2018 – the good as well as the not so good. I am hoping this honest review will help me set some meaningful intentions for 2019. Yes, intentions – not resolutions! I think I have my word for 2019 as well! And, I am also thinking about goals for 2019 – reading goals, knitting goals, sewing goals, and yes – exercise goals. It seems I need little incentive to fall off the exercise band wagon and once off, it is all too easy to stay off. However, I don’t need incentive to read, or knit, or sew… so I am thinking about a rewards system for myself… stay tuned!

Grateful For – So very much, but this week I am especially grateful for all of you! I do not say this enough – but the fact that you all come here and read the trivial things I share here is profoundly moving. I cannot thank you all enough and I truly love this little community and I love reading your blogs as well – you all make my days fuller and more joyful! Thank you!

Inspired By – The latest newsletter that Courtney from Be More with Less! While I am not ready to do a full-scale Wardrobe Defrag with her Project 333, I am ready to try something different! I am going to try some of her tips on reducing the closet chaos! I am also going to revamp my morning routine – which ties directly in with what I have been thinking about and Courtney has shared some wonderful inspiration with simple little things!

Fun, fun, fun – Steve has Monday and Tuesday off next week, so another nice long weekend is in order! On tap for the weekend…loads of fun starting with Christmas decorations! That’s right by Sunday it will all be carefully packed away for another year to make a clean slate for the New Year! We have no big plans, just a nice quiet evening at home where we will be working on The List of Things that I we want to get done in 2019. This will be amazing, because Steve is not a List Person at all, but in all things – nagging persistence pays off! Haha! So, as you can see it will be all fun, all weekend long around here!

That is all I have for this final Friday in 2018, and I even managed to include a picture of how my Amaryllis Watch is progressing! As you can see, we have growth and then some! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!

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