TNT: Getting Close

 

I didn't get the Halloween sampler finished this weekend as I'd hoped but I got closer. The only thing I really did was lay on the couch, feel sorry for myself and eat pizza. 

I did pick up the needlepoint project for a few minutes on Sunday just to say I did something worthwhile. This was more my speed than the cross stitch because as bad as I felt, I doubt I could have counted very accurately. 

I wrestled with Dear Jane for a few minutes yesterday. It looks like measurement-wise that it's going to work out but I have to tame those points before I start appliqueing. The bits under the clips are rather unruly at the moment. Happily, I'm finally pretty much back to normal-minus the big bruise I have on my arm. I swear that girl hit me with a whale harpoon-twice. I've never had the shots hurt so badly. Usually I can't feel them at all. 

I also had soap that had to be made yesterday. This is lemon. I tried a new yellow mica since none of the ones I have here ever look right. No drama with the soap batter, thank goodness but I did manage to spill some of that yellow all over the table. I'm usually pretty cautious when I'm working so I'm going to blame my clumsiness on the vaccines. Everything else always is. 

On the Town

 

I rarely go shopping anymore but on Friday I ran through all the shops that a neighboring town center had after getting my Covid/flu jab. I have about 4 hours after the shot before I go down for the count so I made the most of my time. The Mister said it was the fastest he's seen me move in a long while. First it was our teeny tiny Walmart. Look at this floss section. Pathetic.

Ditto for the fabric section. The selection was awful. There used to be a nice craft section here. No more. 

I did find a Barbie that I didn't have for my collection. Are you seeing this Lucy? She was a pricey one but I had cashed in my retirement fund that morning and I was desperate to spend some of it on something ridiculous and I was running out of shops and time. 

We ran through our teeny tiny Marshall's and I found the whistling teapot I had been looking for. I need this. I have a bad habit of boiling water and walking away. I do have an electric kettle but it's on the other side of the kitchen and sometimes I'm just too lazy or busy to go over there. 

Then it was on to Harris Teeter which is a store I never shop at. The Mister wanted ice cream and I picked up some yogurt for my weekend that was spent on the couch feeling miserable. The shots always do that to me but I'm happy to report that this time around it wasn't too awful. I was a bit flu-ish and had a terrible headache but I wasn't completely down and out. I even took a little walk Saturday morning but mostly binged Netflix in between naps all weekend.

I wasn't sick enough that our newly filled bowl of Halloween candy wasn't tempting. We never get trick or treaters anymore so you know where this is going. Diet starts up again on November first. 

Last Gasp

 

I never have any color in my yard all summer but right now everything seems to be in bloom. My azalea has decided to wake up. It's one of those Ever Blooming varieties but it's been more like Never Blooming since I planted it two years ago.

My mini rose is covered in little yellow blooms. 

My poor spindly standard size rose put out one strange little bloom on the very tippy top. I thought it was dead but it seems it's not. Not yet anyway. The deer are trying their hardest to kill it. 

And then there are the asters. They have exploded everywhere. I yanked most of them up in the spring hoping to curtail their garden takeover but it just seemed to make them stronger. I hate them all year but I have to say, when they do flower all at once, they are spectacular. 

Red Maple

 

Yesterday was Red Maple day. The more soap I make, the more adventurous I become. 

That's not always a good thing but this time I think it worked out. Red Maple not only has some interesting color work going on, it's even got a few puffs of gold mica on top. 

For a while, my loaves were stacking up in the soap room waiting to be cut. That's Blackberry on the right before it was cut into bars. 

Ta da...Red Maple is pretty darn fancy. It smells good too. Not like maple syrup or even a maple tree. I'm not sure where the name comes from but it's become a favorite of mine. 

A Snail's Pace

 

That scarf I have on the loom is going nowhere fast. 

I haven't even got to where it winds up yet. Sigh.

I think the problem is that the colors and the draft pattern are not doing it for me. The gradient blue was a mistake, I think. It's not doing what I thought it would at all. When it's done, it's probably going to look like a dye job gone bad. 

At least the soap is behaving. Blackberry popped right out of the mold which is a very good thing. That top I exercised restraint on doesn't look so bad either and it smells....like blackberry jam. The whole house smells like I've been canning jam all day. 

Cornered

 

I finished a corner on Jack this week. I am growing increasingly fearful that I made the same mistake on Jack as I did with Spiral Chicken. I underestimated how much wool I would need to finish the background and now I can't find any more of it. I still have a pile of it here so all hope is not lost. Not yet, anyway.

Speaking of cornered, we had to take a long trip to Micheal's yesterday because I didn't have the color floss I needed for those pumpkins and I didn't want to order it and wait. It was worth my while because I came home with a lot of pretty cardstock that was on sale. 

I use a lot of it when I dress up the soap for gifting. I got the last of last year's batch ready to send out with The Mister the other day. He loves to hand it out to the folks he schmoozes with in town. 

Speaking of soap, yesterday was Blackberry day. This is an activated charcoal soap and it was a messy pour. I am very happy that it behaved like I expect soap to behave. Those hard oils worked their magic. It thickened up nicely.

Here's a mug shot of what it looks like before you have to make the very hard decision on what to do with the top of it. Personally, I like it to look like meringue with nice peaks but when you've got strong colors it will make a mess so I just took an old, fat bamboo double point needle and took some light swipes at it. I exercised some rare restraint for a change. 

Wednesday WIPs: Socktober

 

All the Halloween socks are still holding my attention. The Felici socks are ready for their heels to be turned. 

The Trick or Treat socks are getting close. The new cast on isn't seeing much love but I try to put a few rows on every night. They live on my nightstand.

I've even cast on another pair of toddler socks for the Grand that asked me for some. The first pair were too small. I told him they would be his snow socks so no rush there. Hopefully he won't grow too much before then.

In neckline news, I have finished the corrugated ribbing and am now knitting a facing that will fold down and hide the cut edge-I hope. I did try it on to make sure my head could fit through it and it did. That gaping hole doesn't look so gaping now which is worrisome. I really am winging it here. 

As for soap, the cut Beeswax and Honey soap is not much to look at. You really can't play with that hot lava. You can only pour it in all at once and hope for the best. My hard oils are here so today I'm hoping to get several loaves made. The Mister is away for the afternoon so I'll have plenty of time to putter in the soap room undisturbed.