Fussy Cuts

 This is the job that was facing us yesterday. Cutting the wood around these corners is no fun.

 They don't call it hard wood for nothing. It took every saw The Mister had to make some of these cuts.

It was also hot as blazes out. I get the job of holding the wood while he cuts and I was char broiled by quitting time.

We didn't get much done but we did get the worst of it over with. The only thing left is the inside of the closet. That's no fun either but it does mean the end is near. I can't wait.

Iridaceae

I started spinning this fiber back in February. It was my GOT spin. I'm such a sissy I couldn't binge watch all seven seasons without something to look at besides the TV screen.

 For the record, I thought the ending was....okay. Did I wish they had stretched it out for a full season to give us a little more character development so it all made sense? Sure...but after watching the documentary that showed what they went through to film the last six episodes, I don't blame them for wanting it over. By the end, I felt the same way about this fiber. I had spun it all on one bobbin so yesterday I had to divide it up to get two bobbins for a two ply.

 My plying is the worst. If I could take a class in anything this would be it. I am self taught and really don't have a clue.

 I was only off by this much when I eyeballed the two bobbins to split them in two. I made a plying ball out of the leftovers and spliced them in so I didn't waste an inch.

It's a BFL superwash and this is what it looked like pre-soaking. I am sure it's going to fluff up.  At least I hope so. It may be a Hitchhiker one day if it dries soft enough to be neck worthy.

Tiny Needle Tuesday

I know it's not Tuesday but yesterday I got to pick up a tiny needle in what seems like a very long time. The Mister went golfing so I got a break from floor banging.  First though, I had to dig out my projects from underneath this mess. 

I had so many stitching plans for the month of May and here it is already at the end and I've nothing to show for it. This is June's Little Sheep Virtues block and I need to get going on it if I am going to finish in June.

 It did feel good to sit down yesterday afternoon and listen to my audiobook while I got started on little Miss Simplicity. Thankfully this is a simple block. It's just one sheep, and a birdhouse and a tree. Now if life just stays out of my way, by July it should be another done deal.

More New Stuff

 My box of goodies arrived from Knit Picks.

 I spent the whole gift certificate Daughter gifted me in one sitting. Besides the new ball winder there were a lot of doo dads I've had my eye on. That's the new Four Square circular needle. I've always wanted to try a square needle.

 I really wanted a swift case. Mine is still sitting in the box it came in and it's a dusty mess.

 I bought a kit. I always have to have a kit. I have such a collection of vintage Knit Picks kits it's ridiculous but I love them.

 This kit is for the Where the Wind Blows cardi. When it's cold I live in my Crepidula which is very similar so I thought I'd give this a try-if I ever use it. I tend to gaze at my kits from time to time rather than actually use them.

 There was yarn but very little. I keep saying how much I hate knitting with Hawthorne and then I keep buying it. I also got some Dishie. I've never used it.

It all went right back in the box because the stash room still looks like this. As soon as the floor is done I'm off to Ikea to get some more storage for the closet. I am hoping to tuck all my woolie things into it so I can get rid of some of the bookselves to free up some floor space for my spinning wheels. Now that I have that pretty floor I'd like to be able to see more of it.

Memorial Day for Two

One thing I miss about my parents not being around anymore is the holidays. When my mother was alive it was a non-negotiable. You were at her house for every holiday big or small. She'd be serving crabs and hot dogs today along with her can't be duplicated potato salad.

With the kids all over the place making holiday traditions of their own, it's just me and The Mister taking a break from pounding wood. We aren't going to cook out. Instead I made a giant mess in the kitchen last night making some second rate potato and macaroni salad with a bit of deviled eggs on the side. I didn't get the watermelon I wanted. I had to settle for cantaloupe because I couldn't convince The Mister to pay $6 for one of those little seedless ones.

 I won't be to curling up and knitting alongside Mrs. Miniver in her little backyard bunker tonight like I usually do on Memorial Day though. 

Instead I'll be watching Episode 4 of this mini series on HBO which is one of the best things I have EVER seen.

I live just a few miles from this particular nuclear power plant so I've spent a lot of time researching nuclear energy since Episode One. So much that I probably would qualify for a degree. It's scary. Really scary.

To Market, To Market

 This is the third time I've been down to the Farmer's Market without getting my pizza. I've waited all winter for that pizza.

The First week it started raining buckets just as they opened up. The second week we had to leave because Pup threw a fit. She hates the sound of revving up engines and got a little too upset. This past week we left her at home but....I just wasn't hungry. Go figure.

 It's really all about the vintage cars for The Mister. We know several people who own them and he loves to go down for a chat. I can't believe how many line the roads. Every year there are more and more.

 It's early in the season so it's mostly just food and booze tents.

 The Amish folks have miles of baked goods.....

 ....and lovely cut flowers for $7 a big bundle. That's quite a bargain and they go quick.

Locally grown produce is pretty scarce but I would have loved some kale if the lines weren't so long. Next week?

New Stuff

 I talked myself into buying this month's card kit. It's floral themed and I already have a ton of floral themed stamp sets but this one is floral frames so....well, you know.

I also bought this newly released summer stamp and die set. I actually stayed up until the midnight release so I could get a set in my cart. Lawn Fawn products sell out so quickly and this one is so darn cute and perfect for a summer giveaway card if someone would ever want to unload some beachy themed soap in the near future. Ahem.....

 This is yet another example of midnight madness. I saw someone using this pen for blending some stamped images so of course I had to get one to try it out.

What I've really been up to in the card room is trying to come up with a thank you card. I'm putting together soapy gift bags for the Grands to give their teachers but found that stamp sets dedicated to educational themes are hard to come by. I've had to improvise using bits and pieces of the different sets I already have. If you participated in the February giveaway you probably recognize where I'm going with this. I think it will work. Right?

Hot Off the Needles

 I didn't think I'd have any knitting content to show today because of ....wood.

 We worked from 10-2 so I had early morning and late afternoon for some sit down time.

 We got eleven rows done. The first few rows are the hard ones.

 I even got two mini loaves of banana breads baked....and eaten.

 I also finished a dishcloth that had been hanging around for a very long time. The afternoon beer helped. That's one thing I've learned about all this home improvement stuff. There must be beer.

Yet Another Fine Mess

This is what my living room looks like-again. It seems like every time I get it cleaned up we start another project that turns it into a storage facility. This time it's a new floor for the stash/soap room.

Taking everything out of the room has been a real chore. All my soap stuff had to find a home.

I'm in the middle of a soap cure so I had to find a safe place for all of it as well.

My new dining room table is under there somewhere. I'm running out of room to put stuff.

I can't believe there was so much junk in such a small room.  At least all the shelves fit on one side of the living room.

The yarn and fiber stash was actually fun to go through and bag up. I'm glad I bought several of these Dimpa bags from Ikea when I redid my bedroom. They've come in very handy. That's the old vinyl floor under the bag that's getting ripped up so we can put wood down.

I do love seeing my stash all together like this. It makes me want to weave, spin and knit all of it. Now. That sounds like more fun than hammering down wood.

 While I had the handspun bins out I went looking for something to make a Hitchhiker with.

 I've got lots of possibilities but no time until we get this job done. Who knows how long it will take. The Mister and I wear out pretty quickly these days so I'm guessing at least a couple of weeks.

Piece by Piece

I felt guilty about bringing home all that new quilting material so I dedicated some time to my many WIPs. Daddio's Nine Patch got another row.

 I've been appliqueing some of Daddio's leftover hexies down and now I have six blocks. I want twelve.

I've decided to go ahead and use up his fat quarter stash on these blocks to give them a pieced border. I'd been holding onto them for sentimental reasons but I've got to get over that. My quilting room is like walking into to a Daddio memorial and that's not a good thing.

It's time to get his things finished up and move on to my own things like my Sunflower quilt. I made one more block this week which starts me on my second row. Sadly, all this flurry of activity in the sewing corner is coming to an abrupt halt today. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.