Saturday, June 30, 2018

Watch This Space

 My assembly line days are over for now. I haven't felt like knitting or fooling with anything remotely itchy so this was where I put my efforts this week.



 This is the last of the soap that was wrapped.



 I love having a reason to spend time with all the pretty paper I collect throughout the year.



 There they are. 112 bars of soap from 14 loaves.



If you wonder what I keep for myself. Here they are. They are all the ends and cut pieces that don't make the grade. I've got baskets of them.
Next Sunday I'll be posting the details for the summer giveaway. Use up your old soap. As you can see, I've got plenty to go around!

Friday, June 29, 2018

Scratching an Itch

 Yeah, that's me chilling at the doctors yesterday. Six days and nights of itch is enough. Those bumps went from bad to worse. I've been pretty miserable.



It was nothing scary. Just bug bites.  Big, ugly, itchy bug bites. Again. That's three years in a row bugs have sent me to the doctors. Darn bugs. I really need to stay inside.

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Ladies Who Lunch

 I met my old first grade team yesterday for lunch in Annapolis.


 Every few months we get together to see how retirement is treating us.



We eat, we drink, we laugh but mostly we complain about how much weight we've put on. Go figure.

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

A Day of Ups and Downs

 My itchy bits were feeling a wee bit better so we took a road trip yesterday. I got some mileage done on a much neglected sock.


The first place we went to was the firehouse to vote.  I got a sticker and a mint.



 Then The Mister had some family business to attend to near Ikea. He dropped me off so I could do some research on my dream kitchen. Let's just say the best part of the trip was getting one of those cute little Ikea pencils. My kitchen dream might have just went up in smoke. I can't seem to be able to make an Ikea kitchen fit in my space. Darn windows. Sigh.



 To make the day even worse, Walmart has decided not to carry any of the kitty food brands that my kitties like. Not the wet food, not the dry food, not the treats. I threw a major hissy fit in the parking lot and then used my phone to order them from Amazon which had a better price anyway. Kitty food by mail. Now that's just crazy.



 At home things were looking up. I had a big package in the mailbox. Squee.......



 Look what a lovely someone sent me. A stash worth of cross stitch material.



 The sweetest little ornaments to stitch.


And the pattern for this gorgeous sampler. Thanks a bunch Robin! I am so ready for the next stitch Maynia. I just may have to get an early start.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

A Stand Up Job



 I still can't bend in the middle so I have two comfortable positions, laying down and standing up.




 Since I have soap to wrap I used my kitchen island as an assembly line so I could get it done in a very vertical position.



I also tested those two naughty bars that riced on me. The PH levels with the strip and even with the phenolphthalein were in a normal range. The Mister showered with one and said it was fine. I don't trust my own Benedryl saturated self to be the judge at the moment.



Four batches done, eight to go. It was actually not bad doing it this way.

Monday, June 25, 2018

Misery Loves Company

 This is what my weekend looked like.



 I find it very ironic that someone whose online presence is represented by a spider was laid up because of a spider. It seems that I walked into a spider web Saturday morning while feeding the outside kitties and didn't realize one or more of the little buggers must have hitched a ride on me for a snack.



My whole tummy area is covered in huge itchy, burny bites that I thought at first might be the start of shingles. No. They are just bites and they are driving me mad. I spent the past sleepless 48 hours watching soccer and chugging Benedryl. I'm not sure what is real and what isn't anymore to tell you the truth. I seem to go through this every summer. You would think I'd learn.


Taking a cool shower helps but I still can't use the shower in my tub so I have to hike it down to the lower level. The special caulk is STILL not here. I've ordered it from two different vendors and twice now they tell me it was lost in the mail. Really? Like Kathy B said the other day "that's hard to swallow".

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Free Wheeling

 It's time to get serious about the Tour de Fleece. I need some free wheels and this project needed to be done.



 I was plying the last of it when I realized I had more on one bobbin than the other so I used my ball winder to ply from the inside and outside of a ball made from the leftovers.



 It usually works like a charm but not this time. I just had too much already on that bobbin. The whole thing exploded.



 I used my lazy kate for this job and I have to say I loved it. I almost pitched it a few weeks ago because two of my wheels have attached kates and I never used it. It really is better than plying off your wheel.



 Ta dah. It was a mess at the finish but it is done. This was a three year spin. Finley was a Shetland fleece I washed ages ago for the Tour. Now I have to figure out what he will be.



 I've got just over twelve ounces of it. Like most Shetland, it's not terribly soft. It's on the lines of Jamieson's. It just might get dyed for a Fair Isle something or other. I'll have to do some homework on it.



 Now to clear off the Ladybug. I've had this fiber on it forever. It's so pretty. I love how it looks as fiber.



 It's not spinning up quite so pretty.


No matter. It has to be done. I want to start something new on July the 7th and I don't have a minute to spare. Gotta keep peddling.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Color My World

 I'm still painting swatches-flat washes, gradient washes, variegated washes. I've been testing transparency and opaqueness.


 I've got new paints. I'm such a sucker for paints in tins. Cindy recommended these and I love them. I love the sound the tins make when you open them. Weird, I know.



 I bought these Kuretake Gansai paints a while ago but I've been afraid to use them. They are so pretty. They may just be my "pet" paints in my vast watercolor collection. Well, maybe not the metallics at the bottom. I think I may have to try those soon.



 I've been using Craftsy and You Tube for inspiration and instruction but I've also added some texts. These books are full of exercises that are going to keep me busy forever.



 I'm still flower doodling when the spirit moves me.



 I did try some "real" painting but as you can see by all the notes on them that I was not happy with the product. I like this process though. I find critiquing my own work this way very satisfying. It must be the teacher in me.



 I'm ready for lots more work. I went to buy some of these little notebooks and couldn't find them anywhere anymore so I panicked and ordered a bunch online.


 On my failed quest to find watercolor books I did find these pricey pencils on sale at AC Moore's for only $10. Since the first of the year, I've been keeping a journal and they are just the thing I need for a quick sketch.


And look at that. I was making dinner the other night and I look over and The Mister was helping himself to my paints. He paints models in the basement all day with serious paint and thought the watercolors were fun. They are.

Friday, June 22, 2018

It Seams Like Summer

 This is the last of the wonky flowers I am free motioning on Daddio's Thangle quilt. After all the things I tried to mark them with, the pounce and some plain old chalk worked best.



 See? It didn't really matter though how well I marked it.



 When I got to the machine it was a free for all. Those are some really wonky flowers. I need to figure out how to support the quilt better. It kept pulling itself out of wack as I tried to sew a straight line.



 Dear Jane is still happening but is moving slowly. I've lost my light. The trees filled in and we are in permanent shade now. Those tiny seams are hard to see even using every light I own. Having said that, I have gotten two and a half blocks done.



 I worked up the nerve to figure out the first of the blocks for the Saltwater mini quilt I wanted for a summer display. They are quite labor intensive.



See what I mean? That's one petal. I need eight for each flower and there are four flowers and that's not counting the centers which are even worse. I may have this done-by next summer.