TNT: Help Wanted

 

All that needs to be done on Matter's Choice is the bottom border but there is a hitch.

Dots. Lots of dots. Here is the photo from the pattern and they are all over the piece. TNTers please weigh in on how you would stitch these. One at a time or stranding the thread along the back? I have no idea So I've saved them for last.

I've got five more boxes to fill in on the center part of Patchwork Automne and then it's on to the borders. I hated doing the borders on the original one. I'm going to have to my grit my teeth.

Dear Jane has another finished block. I know. It's ugly. Many of the blocks are when they are standing alone but all together they seem work. I've got the four corners left on the Patchwork of the crosses quilt and then I have to decide how to quilt it. I thought I would hand quilt it but I don't think I have that much time left on this earth tbh. 

Not much else is going to happen this week because of this. We've waited eight months to get our trees taken down and it's happening now. I hate it. I hate the noise. I hate the mess. I hate the guilt of "harvesting" all our old friends but it has to be done for our safety. Pup and I are hiding out in the far corner of the lower level watching videos at high volume all day in hopes of shutting the horror out. It's a war zone out there. 

Out With a Bang

 

When all of the soap making things are in the dish washer you know that Soap Week is over. I wash them after every batch but only run through the dishwasher before storing them away. 

Before all the cleaning began there was a flurry of activity using up as much of the oils and butters as I could with the new lye that just arrived.

I had three loaves left to make. This is Showgirl. When I put it in the mold I thought it looked more like peas and carrots. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I cut it. I think I nailed the Showgirl Era colors. All the glitter doesn't hurt either. This one is full of glycerin rivers meaning it got a bit hot. I think I went a little heavy on the honey. That'll do it. 

It and Winter Wonderland were layered pours meaning I took a wire and pulled it up through the colored layers to make the patterns. 

Opalite was the last batch I made and it was a rescue mission. When I first started this soaping session I had bought a new scale. I knew right away it was not right. I have markers on all my equipment that helps me make sure I've got the right amount of everything. Measuring is critical. I could see right away it was wrong. I had too much oil in the mixture. I put it all in a jar and left it until I could figure out what to do with it. Before making any more soap I bought a new scale so I weighed it all out again and re-made the formula. 

I made 13 batches which gives me 65 bars for gifting in total. I get five bars to gift per loaf and two ugly ends that I keep. Look for these to be sent out after January 18th when the USPS shipping rates go back down after the holidays. Right now they are keeping my Barbie collection company while they go through their 6 week cure. 

In the meantime, I still have a lot of cleaning to do. As careful as you are, the room becomes an oily mess. I need to get moving on it because I need the space for Christmas card making. I settled on this stamp and die set for this year's cards. It's a new collection called Reading Tree from Mama Elephant. 

An Unexpected Journey

 

The Mister and I decided at the last minute to hop in the car on Halloween and head up to Daughter's. If the trick or treaters won't come to us, we'll come to them. It's also a family tradition to make donuts on Halloween and it would be much more fun if there were people around to eat them so off we went. 

Big Grand had fun helping me make them but wouldn't eat them because they weren't like the donuts he's used to.

It was Baby Grand's first Halloween so extra bodies come in handy when you're trying to give out candy and take your own kids around. 

Just getting both of them ready and in their costumes took a team effort.

The Mister and I dressed in our costumes and rang the bell when we got there. Big Grand came to the door and freaked out. He ran into the pantry, shut the door and wouldn't come out until he knew for sure it was just us. After dark, the Mister helped take the kids around while Pup and I handed out the candy on the porch. There were herds of kids all night long. We went through a lot of candy.

After the kids were in bed, The Mister and SIL sat around a fire, watched the World Series and did some serious damage to a bottle of fine whiskey. Pup and I crashed on the living room floor for the night. I didn't even hear them come in. 

Since we weren't babysitting we didn't have a timeline to deal with so we made a lot of stops along the way up. I ran into Ikea to take a look at the Christmas displays and to pick up a holiday tin of ginger cookies. Then it was Panera, Starbucks and finally the grocery store for some snacks. 

And...we did get our Mexican take out for dinner. It was a good day. A very good day.

Inktober

 

I had big plans for Inktober this year. I bought these markers to do some fancy things with the gelli plate but never got around to it. I was too busy with Socktober and Soaptober. 

I didn't ignore it completely though. While I was waiting for my lye to cool down everyday, I picked a prompt and attempted to do a little sketch of it then slapped some watercolor on it to hide my shame. On the long list of things I discovered I cannot draw over the years are owls, bee wings and trunks (I should have gone with elephant). I would have thought that I could have done a better job with weave since I have a loom sitting right here in front of me. Oh, well. There's always next year although I have noticed with horror that by looking at previous year's work that my eye hand coordination is deteriorating at an alarming rate. 

Dia de los Muertos

 

Today isn't the Day of the Dead. Tomorrow is but I wanted to share The Mister's latest paint by number finish while wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. 

Since Halloween is no big deal around here anymore now that the trick or treating has stopped, I'm thinking a take out from our local Mexican place should be our new tradition. They've got the spirit going all year long. 

And...the Mister isn't quite done with his Spooky Season painting projects. He's just started this one. For those who know...that's Debbie, Patty and Sandy right there. Lol...

Halloween Eve

 

I almost finished Jack this year. I really could have but I didn't. Over the years, he's become a tradition more than a project. I want to be able to take him out again next Halloween to work on instead of just throwing him in the pile with all the other finished pieces. Having said that I just realized I don't have a winter piece to work on anymore. I finished it last year. Time to go looking for a replacement. 

And...I have to thank SoxieKnitter for sending me a care package filled with some amazing stitching patterns and whatnots. That heavy wood thingy at the top is a tailor's press or clapper. It's to weigh down naughty points and seams after ironing. Honestly, I had to look it up. Now it's in use with my paper piecing projects. I guess I can retire that can of kidney beans I had been using. 

Wednesday WIPs

 

Ta da..I've got another Halloween finish. I put all my sock knitting energy into these beauties to make sure they were done by the end of the month. They are Wandering Cat's sock yarn in the Trick or Treat colorway. No one did stripes better imho.

My other Halloween socks are on the back burner because I needed to get going on the toddler socks one of the Grands asked for. It's my second try at getting something to fit.

I've also got some mileage on the Paradise Static socks that were "accidentally" cast on a few weeks ago. These somehow ended up on my nightstand so every night I knit a few rows before bed. It does add up without even trying.

And...look at what just arrived. I couldn't resist anything in the Life of a Showgirl colorway. I hope to make it a Musselburgh but not until I get some of these socks off the needles. I'm not the only one here, it seems, who was recently tempted by a Taylor Swift colorway. I know one of you has just added some very pretty Opalite yarn to your stash. 

Oh, and I should also mention that somehow these two managed to show up at my front door. I heard on their podcast that they started their own yarn company in Transylvania and when I clicked on the link they were only $15 a skein so....they had to be had, right?