Saturday, December 28, 2013

Just a boring old broad

I have had "blog post" on my to do list for days now and I just have nothing to say, so I keep putting it off. I'm boring.  I know this.  I'm actually not ashamed of it. I always say that excitement seems to bring trouble.  So I'd rather be boring.
I haven't been near my sewing machine- except to lay something in there to attend when I have time- in a couple of weeks.  I have the raffle quilt here right now, due to a change in the holiday schedule.  It worked out for the best because some of the marking was almost invisible.  I really hate marking quilts.  If the marks stay for more than a minute you risk not being able to remove them.  But if they remove easily, you have to work very fast- and not move the quilt.  I used a kopha marker on the recommendation of one of the members.  I must have marked too lightly because the blue lines have faded badly!  Anyway, that is how I have spent my hand work time lately.

 I also made some fingerless mitts from a noro yarn.  I love the long color changes in Noro, but that means the mitts don't match very well. It's ok- Cait loved them.  (I didn't take a picture of them before she got them.  Here, she is trying to get the Mylar basket filler back into the little box.)







Our Christmas was fairly quiet inside, but weather-wise, we had an interesting few days.  A week or so before Christmas, this is what my sidewalk looked like, thanks largely to "lake effect" snow.  This isn't the amount of snow we got- although we did have close to a foot of it- just a drift that grows right in the walkway.  It was higher than the snow blower, so there's a ledge on the top!







Then the Friday before Christmas, it warmed up and all the snow melted, so we had this.  We get this pond every spring, and anytime we get a heavy rain.  It rained a LOT the next day, so the pond was a foot deep from the edge of the driveway back to the fence row.  I was surprised there weren't geese on it!





On the Sunday before Christmas we woke up to ice.
We only had 1/8 to 1/4 inch of it, so it wasn't any threat to our trees or power lines.  But some people north of us had some serious damage.

Naturally I had to go out and take pictures of it.  To the right is the fruit on my flowering crab.  Below is wild rose hips. 





Then on Christmas eve, we had a perfect snowfall!  Fat, lazy snowflakes gently falling.  Just enough snow to cover the mud and give us a white Christmas. 
(In a perfect world, it would now warm up to about 65- 70 for the rest of the winter and early spring!)









We went to see The Hobbit just before Christmas.  I enjoyed it, although I had read negative reviews.  (I still think it's hilarious they made three movies from a 200 page book. )
I was thrilled to see Lee Pace as an elf!  He was Ned in a short lived tv show called "Pushing Daisies".  If you've never seen it, I'm sure it's available somewhere.  I highly recommend it!









My Green thought this time is to let you know that sadly most wrapping paper is not recyclable.  So please don't put it in the big yellow boxes.  If you want to make your gifts more "green" next time, consider using reusable packaging- a pretty shopping bag from a local store, a basket, even a nice storage tote.  Here are some other ideas.

I am grateful for:
Being appreciated even when I don't feel I'm doing the "real" work
Safe travels
LOTS of good food
Family time
The fact that at Christmas we all take the time to tell people they are important to us

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Using up some leftovers!

It looks like I was very very busy this week, based on the finished items.  But I cheated.

First- I finally finished these socks.  I have been knitting them most of the year- pretty much only at Guild meetings and car trips.  I really should document things better, so I would know exactly when I started them.  Isn't it funny how the pattern changes even though it's the same skein of hand dyed yarn?  (Alpaca- SO soft!)


For our guild Christmas party this year we are doing a mugrug swap.  You bring one, you get one.  Simple, right?  But I think I'd rather know who it's for since I made more than one. 
Here's where I cheated...
I had demo samples from when I showed the double diamond ruler a couple of years ago.  I added borders, did the pillowcase thing and quilted.  Voila!  Finished.


I found these tulip blocks from a paper piecing demo I did many years ago in the same "orphan project" box as the double diamond samples.  So I decided to make them into mug rugs, too.  Easy peasy!

 But now I have to decide which one to bring to the meeting.  (maybe all of them and I'll just give the extras away)
 Any requests?


A co-worker admired the Penny Marble snowflake ornaments I have hanging over my desk.  I was thinking I could make some more to give to co-workers instead of cookies.  When I went looking for the pattern, I found the kit for Penny's Winter Blossoms.  So I made those up- easy and fun, even though I hate "heat 'n bond".  I ended up not being able to do the snowflakes because I only had tiny pieces of wonder under in my stash.  I know I have more- somewhere!

As long as I was in the Christmas project mood, I went back to the "hexagami" I tried a few months ago.  It was suggested they would make nice Christmas ornaments, so I made a few.  I like how the red ones looks like Poinsettias!








Even though they were simple projects, it felt good to have so much to show for my sewing time this week!


Winter is upon us.  Last week there was ice on my back steps and I almost fell.  I went right in to get the ice melter.  I do not use rock salt, and neither should you.  There are alternatives.  Most of them are not only safer for the environment, but for our furry friends as well!

I am grateful for:
All of my foster cats/ kittens have found their furever homes!!!
A short Christmas shopping list. (Have I mentioned I really hate shopping?)
Discovering it was the wildberry flavor prilosec causing a return of my GERD symptoms. (why a tablet you have to swallow whole needs a flavored coating is beyond me)
I can still get locally grown McIntosh apples.
Non-traditional holiday music