Wednesday WIPs

 

The remaining Halloween socks are getting close to their toes but it's going slowly. I've had other things to get done this week.

We're off babysitting again today and tomorrow so I wanted to get my latest attempt at the Big Grand's socks close to being finished so he could try them on. The blue pair were a bit too short on our last visit so I ripped out the toes and added some length hoping they might fit. 

I also wanted to get started on my version of the Arne and Carlos Christmas Stocking KAL. I knit along with the daily video but I'm knitting a totally different pattern of theirs. I'm way behind but at five rounds a day I should finish by the end of the month. 

I've also been fixated with Chestnut. Now that I know that Bon Ami is a success it's full speed ahead. 

And....I've fallen into knitting purgatory with the Prayer Shawl. I'm getting nowhere fast. The first skein is almost gone and I've still got a loooong way to go. The pattern calls for three but I dunno people. I'm getting worried. 

 

TNT: A Big FInish

 

How it started.

How it went.

How it ended. Well, kind of ended. I still have to figure out how to quilt the thing. I'm leaning toward hand quilting it but the jury is still out. I've got plenty of time to think about it because I've come up empty so far when it comes to backing fabric. It's 55" by 55" and I don't like my options.

My paper piecing adventure is far from over, however. I've still got Dear Jane and bins and bags of these pieces that dad left behind. I've also got a long winter ahead and if there ever was a cozy project that wasn't wool related, this is it. 

Out

 

We've been stuck in the house for days because of the tree drama so the first thing we did yesterday was to get out of the house. It seems like the town went all Christmas on us in our absence. That was a surprise. All that's missing is the big tree and I bet that's coming this week.

What I went looking for was some pretty fall scenery but there was a lack of color to be found. I suppose we missed that window. It comes and goes pretty fast around here. 

Everything has settled into a golden hue which is still nice compared to the mess we have back at the logging camp we used to call home. 

The tree people have been sending trucks of seed and hay to cover up the damage. It doesn't take Mother Nature long to take over so we're not really worried about it. The driveway on the other hand, is going to have to be re-done. All that heavy equipment has taken its toll. It's in pieces out there. 

The day ended with hours of strong thunderstorms that left us without power and scrambling for batteries for our lanterns. At least we didn't have to hide in the lower level in fear of a tree coming through the roof. I knew this was going to be the upside from all this mess but I didn't know it would happen so soon. Thunderstorms in November? Crazy.

And Away They Go

 

Well, some of them. They hauled three big loads of logs out of here yesterday but still have more to move so they'll be back. Argh.

I was once again stuck in the house all day so I made good use of the time by sewing down those facings on Bon Ami. Twice. 

 The collar ribbing went off without a hitch but those sleeves facings. Oh, my. What a trial that was. When Arne said cover the cut edges I did just that and made a very ugly ridge. It wasn't only unsightly, it was uncomfortable. 

The sleeves reminded me of the Rainbow Bright costume my sister made for her daughter years ago. Sausage arms. I was pretty panicked at that point. 

So I watched the video once again, realized my mistake and ripped it all out and started over. The hero of the day was this thing. I could put it into the sleeve and use it like a darning tool to get the facing nice and flat. 

And speaking of darning tools, why didn't you tell me how wonderful these things are for finishing off socks? I just bought one and it's quite the game changer. All my toes are now nice and neat. 

Poor Bon Ami deserved a nice rest after all that drama so I gave her a good soak in a warm tub. Now she's on a drying board where hopefully she'll be dry enough to wear once the weather cools down. I hear it's coming. It's 70 today but it might be in the 40's on Tuesday. 

Gobble Gobble

 

I got nothing accomplished all week. All that tree noise played havoc with my brain. I did manage to pull out old Tom Turkey. I didn't put a stitch in him but he's ready to go whenever my hands stop shaking. 

And...if you thought I was done buying silly Crocs for this winter you'd be wrong. As soon as I hit purchase on the first pair, the shopping algorithm started screaming "buy me too" so I did.  

A Week to Forget

 

The new view from my deck. It was a massacre. 

It's hard to tell how big these trees were from a photo but this should give you an idea. 

Look at how tiny the workers look compared to that tree. The whole house has been shaking all week. 

It was a hair raising experience watching them climb and drop those trees. All together, there were twenty four that needed to go since they were within striking distance of the house. They had to take out even more to get to those twenty four.

We've got piles and piles of logs all over the property. We even had to put some in our neighbor's yard when we ran out of room. A logging company is coming to pick them all up tomorrow.

We've got a debris disaster to cleanup when it's all said and done. There'll be plenty of kindling this winter. The city is also making us replant twenty four trees to replace those old poplars we took out in the newly cleared spaces. That's daunting to think about but will have to wait until spring. 

Pup and I hid in the downstairs craft room for the first few days while they were working close to the house. I had DVDs of old movies going full blast all day. I can tell you this. That's not tea in my teacup. My nerves were shot. We've still got a few more days of buzzing and crashing scheduled for next week when they come to finish clearing in the front of the house. It turned out to be a much bigger job than they had planned for. 

Some Sweater Talk

 

Look what I did. I used the machine to sew in the sleeves on Bon Ami. Mattress stitch be damned. I took Arne's shortcut and used the machine after basting them in place. The whole process took less than a half hour. 

Before I did the second sleeve I tried the whole thing on to see if it worked and it worked. 

The only thing left to do now is sew down all the facings.

Now that Bon Ami was a success Chestnut is back into play. I enlarged the chart and made cards for each pattern section so I could see what I'm doing.

I'm not sure what to do with the Ski Sweater. It was a great travel project all summer while we were traveling back and forth to babysit but it's been neglected ever since. I think it might re-emerge in January. The sight of some snow might re-ignite my mojo for it. 

Wednesday WIPs

 

Ta da....another sock finish. I loved working on these in spite of my rather wonky short row heels. The pattern really holds your interest as it changes every nine stitches. I have to thank SoxieKnitter for the pattern. She gifted it to me last year. 

I put a big rush on getting them finished so I could free up my tiny Rocket circular needle thinking I could join the Arne and Carlos Christmas Stocking KAL but I crashed and burned. I can NOT do toe up socks. I HATE increases. I tried three times to get that toe looking right and gave up. Instead I bought one of their other stocking patterns and I'll just reverse it to go cuff down. When this year's pattern is complete, I'll reverse it too if it's one I like. Now I'm just waiting for yarn. I'm ditching the Palette. I liked knitting the Cozy Quilt socks with Stroll so I ordered some in holiday colors. 

My other knitting plans went off the rails this week when my sister sent me a photo of the crochet poncho she just finished. She calls it her reading poncho and it sparked an idea.

I wake up at all hours of the night anymore and I like to pick up my Kindle and read but my arms and shoulders always get cold. What I needed was a shawl made of soft non-woolly fabric that can live in my bed so I started one using the Lion Brand Prayer Shawl pattern that I've made so many times before with their Home Spun yarn. I'm actually only knitting it at night when in bed as to not have it covered in cat hair. My room is off limits to the kitties. Allergies. 

And....once againI fed my insane Croc obsession this week. I was looking for some that were winter themed to use as my indoor Crocs and found these for a reasonable price online in all places at....Walmart. 

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.