Wednesday WIPs: Scratching an Itch

 

The socks haven't gotten much love this week but I did finish the rainbow Snow Socks for the Grand. His other bigger boy Snow Socks are at the heel. 

I've got one more block to go on the first row of the second section of the Hue Shift. I'm so confused as to where this section is going to end up but I'm not going to think too much about it and just trust the process at this point.

The July section of the Doodle Cowl is finished. I said it was going to be a small one and it is. August will be pinecones so it will be another bigger one. 

As for that itch, I had my heart set on starting another Pi Shawl with some handspun but it didn't work out so I pulled out all the mini sock yarns I could find in the stash. They were leftover from baby socks. I was sad to see that Knit Picks doesn't have any more of these mini sets but I did order one from another vendor so I would have a better variety of color to work with. I know I said no more sock yarn but if it's not meant for socks that doesn't really count, right? Right? 

 

TNT: The Impossible Dream

 

With the Garden sampler finished, I had to go digging in the pile of WIPs to find something to work on. I came across this in progress project that I started the year I retired which was 2012. I had this crazy idea I was going to be too poor to spend money on crafts so I bought one big kit that I thought would take the rest of my life to finish. 

I was right about this taking the rest of my life to finish but I was wrong about being poor. I've never had so much disposable income. Pension plus Social Security minus no house or car payment leaves a lot left over every month even considering the hundreds I seem to spend on cat food. 

I decided to go ahead and put this on the big frame but first I had to do something about my choice of floss organization. I had it all nicely labeled in little bags on rings but I couldn't ever get the blasted bags open. 

I've tried every method of organization and hate them all but this one I hate the least so this was it. My only goal right now is to finish the center motif before it's time to get out the holiday WIPs. 

In other tiny needle news, this Dear Jane block is finished. It looks very simple but it was anything but. Appliqueing down those tiny squares nearly did me in.

I also finished quilting another block on the Patchwork quilt and am starting this one this week.

And I'm making good progress on the second block of the needlework pillow cover. I know I complain about the heat, but it's giving me lots of time with the tiny needle right now. 

Loose Ends

 

Before The Mister had his first sip of coffee yesterday morning I was on a rant about making time to get to that quilt top that was in pieces in the sewing room. He usually fills up my day but there wasn't anything that was going to keep me from getting that top put back together. Things like that drive me crazy. First I had to clean up the thread all that ripping left behind in the fabric and on the floor. What a mess. It was like sewing with a spider web. I've been finding loose thread all over the house. 

I had the Tour to watch first but from 11:30 until it was time to make dinner I was in my chair in front of the machine. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. 

It didn't take me long to find a better blue. I had plenty of yellows still in the charm pack so I skipped it. 

Much better. Five rows down (again) and six more to go. 

A Good Putter Gone Bad

 

Life is at its best around here when I get to spend some uninterrupted time in the sewing room. I've got several projects on the go in there that I rarely get to pick up. I made a few more tiny blocks for the Colorwash top. I'm at 165/300. Still a ways to go.

I made two more rows worth of HSTs for the Zig Zag top. 

Then I laid it all out and realized I didn't like the dark blue and yellow that I had subbed in for some of the charm squares I had cannibalized from the kit. 

There was nothing to do but a whole lot of this. I streamed an old movie from the TCM app and I was finished ripping it apart just as the credits rolled. Now I've got to put it all back together but that's for another day because....

...I had something else that needed doing in that room. I needed to update Taylor Barbie into some wedding garb. I also paired her with Stevie on her shelf since I heard that she was the wedding singer. I have no idea what the actual dress looks like and I doubt it will have any resemblance to this Mattel designed poufy princess gown but it's what I had to work with until I see otherwise. Come on Taylor, release those photos, please. 

Baking with Betty

 

I might hate all this heat and humidity but Betty sure doesn't. All the struggles I had when the weather was cold have disappeared and now I've got a starter that's run amok. 

I first noticed the changes two weeks ago when it really got hot. Same recipe, same techinique. Much bigger bread. 

Look at the ears on these two little loaves. I thought they were going to explode. For non sourdough groupies, the ears are the flaps that open up when you cut down the middle of the dough before you bake. It helps the steam escape. 

In spite of the eruption, the insides were fine. These two little loaves didn't last long so I had to make more.

She made basketball sized loaves. Again, same recipe, same technique. The dough puffed up so quickly that bulk fermentation, the main rise, only took a couple of hours. I was baking by dinner time.

I was worried that the fast turnaround would result in bad bread but it looks and tastes fine. 

Then I put her to the test with a few English muffins and ......

...a few bagels. Both were bigger and fluffier than my usual sorry specimens. I'm going to repeat "same recipes, same techniques" again because I need to give credit where it's due. It's all Betty. I hate the summer but I do love what it does for the wild yeast that creates the sourdough bubbles. They've gone crazy. 

Friday Fluff: Recalculating

 

The first of my rainbow skeins is off the wheel and I'm not pleased with the results. I had a plan for them. I wanted to make a rainbow colored pi shawl but I didn't factor in the Polwarth factor.

After soaking and thwacking it puffed up like crazy. It's soft and fuzzy but not fingering weight. I'll have to think of another use for it. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I really wanted this to be a spin and knit as you go project. 

I've got the orange braid in progress and like the pink, the singles look promising. I'll have to see if I can adjust the plying to get a better skein. One that's not so loosey goosey.

Since I like to be knitting with some handspun during the Tour and since I'm not going to be working on a pi shawl, I cast on some mitts to go with the wonky hat I knit using some yarn from last year's Tour. 

That yarn started like this. Anything I card on the carder spins up major wonky and these blended Merino batts are super wonky. 

I picked up all three spindles this week but they aren't quite ready for a wind off. I'm hoping to get there by the first rest day which will be Monday. I have to say that watching the Tour is a big yawn again this year. Once Pogacar gets that big a lead it's all over. 

New Friends

 

While The Mister was picking out his new TV, Pup and I wandered through the nursery section of Walmart. I bought a hanging basket. In spite of the previous owners having hooks in the front of the house, I've never had a hanging basket before.  I have doubts whether I can keep this alive but I'll try. It's a Calibrachoa which is something new to me. I'm not wild about the cheap container it's in. If it survives the summer I'll look for something nicer to put another one in next year. 

I also bought some zinnias. These were also in a hanging basket but I don't think zinnias belong in a hanging basket so I re-potted them into one of those big containers the trees came in.

These zinnias were in a small pot but I moved them into a bigger one too.

I also brought home some more Black Eyed Susans although at the time that's not what I thought they were. They were labeled Rudbeckia and I didn't know that was the scientific name for them. 

My floral container garden is getting out of hand out front. I'm running out of room to put things where the deer can't get them. Now that I know I have enough sun for flowers, I can't wait until next year. I'm going to have to take all this much more seriously.

As for a cable update.....the dude came and tinkered with some stuff outside at the box then said it was going to take more than that to fix the problem. Several hours later we got a text saying the problem should be fixed BUT then the cable box wouldn't re-start. Now we have to drive the cable box 40 minutes from here to have it tested and probably replaced. Argh....