Another Goodbye

This really isn't my story to tell but I'm going to tell it anyway. I lost my first grand-kitty and it really stinks. It's why I've been tearing the house up again. It's my way of coping.

I've certainly been no stranger to grief in the past year but this newest loss really kicked me in the behind. It doesn't help that I'm still at the stage where I bawl every time I have to vacuum where my dear departed birdy's cage used to sit. I'm an open wound.

 I've done a lot of kitty sitting for Daughter so I was very fond of the family's oldest kitty member. She had even lived with us while Daughter and her hubby were in between moves. She was nothing like my quiet kitties. She was full of personality.

The sweet girl started losing weight and then it was one thing after the other with a terrible and oh so familiar conclusion. Cancer. She was only twelve. Daughter spared no expense and went to every specialist she could find. It was heartbreaking to see her hopes dashed time and again.

It's been a double whammy. You grieve for the kitty AND you grieve for your kid.
It's been terrible.
Just terrible.

Blooms and Bathrooms

 First the blooms. I noticed just yesterday that the yard is in color.

 Not only are the hostas in full bloom but my poor hydrangea has decided to produce flowers again after pouting for the past few years when we gave her a trim.

 My black-eyed Susans are about to do their thing too.

 My poor pots are empty. I usually fill them up with impatiens but I never got around to it. Now it's too blazing hot to even think about it. I just hid them under the hostas.

 As for the bathroom, here is the aftermath of the downstairs re-do. Cardboard and paper is everywhere. Pup is really sick of watching us make a mess.  It was a quick fix to add some new cabinets to an empty little downstairs bathroom that serves as my dog grooming salon for the most part.

I was beside myself with joy when I discovered Ikea gave me an itty bitty screwdriver with this kit. I love it. It's going right where I can always find it because I am always looking for a screwdriver.

Ta dah.......my two new cabinets. There were glitches. There was cussing...but they got finished. I also love the new Ikea shower curtain you can see in the mirror. This bathroom is almost too good for just the dog now.

Friday Felines

So how hot is it? This hot. I thought it was a dead thing on the deck but it was just an outside kitty splayed in the shade for a nap.

New Arrivals

 My new nickle plated fixed circulars are here and I love them. I think I knit faster with them and even better, I don't have to worry about them snapping off in my hand.

I couldn't just order needles so this Capretta sock yarn came along for the ride. It's the Woodstock colorway and as much as I loved the name I am not so happy with the colors. It looks like something I would have dyed.  It's rather drab and muddy.

Maybe that was exactly what they were going for though. Woodstock was a rather muddy event.

Sew Fine

 I am officially in love with my new sewing nook. I wasn't too sure at first. It seem cramped but now that I have all the wall stuff hung it works just fine. I've got more than enough room for all my bits and bobs. In fact, I moved some fiber stash over just for the photo. I'm not sure yet how I am going to use those boxes,

 I really love this feature of the pegboard. No more patterns lying about. My big Dear Jane book is even in this rack.

 On the soap side of the room I am in love with my new paper towel holder doo dad from Ikea. Keeping that roll off the work table gives me so much more room.

I've got all the machines plugged back in and ready to go. I am practicing on the Juki with the little practice panel I got from Connecting Threads. I am happy to say I got the tension right and haven't forgotten the basic skill but I am far from good at this. I need a lot of practice before I take on a quilt.

I am even happy to be back at work on Daddio's paper pieced nine patch. I worked on it last night. AT NIGHT. I know that doesn't sound like much but in this room I have LIGHT. In the living area with the high wood ceilings, where I used to have my sewing things, once it gets dark that's it. You can't see a thing. It took a lot of work to move everything around but it was worth it.

Next up, the downstairs bathroom. On the day I went to pick up the pegboard for the sewing room I just so happened to bring home some new cabinets and a shower curtain.
I need to stay out of Ikea for a while.

Tiny Needle Detour

 I sat down to stitch Sunday morning and had a technical difficulty. The fabric on the back of my little sheep sampler was driving me crazy. I love the grime catcher that I use for the big sheep sampler so I thought I would christen the new sewing room with a simple project.

 I found a tutorial on YouTube.

Then I picked some fabric from my now nicely displayed fabric stash. I'm finally done and all the bits and bobs fit on the two shelves I had claimed for them. It does make such a difference when you can actually see what you own.

In no time I had a mini grime catcher ready to tuck all that extra fabric into......

.... and the alphabet done.

I didn't get the words started like I had planned but I did get some of the tiny trees stitched on this sampler. Soon it will be back to the Sheep Virtues for July.
Where did June go?

Back in Business

After living for weeks in what looked like a storage bin it's been nice to have my work spaces back again. It's been slow going for the project on the loom but at least it's going.

Same for Rainbow Kitty. He now has a red stripe.

 I've been spinning along to the Women't World Cup now that I can see the TV again. I am close to finishing this second bobbin.

I am also still working my way through the fabric stash. Every morning I get up, do my chores and then fold up about this many mini-bolts. So far I've had room to stash them but I may have to make some hard decisions soon. I'm running out of shelf space.

Tea for One

 I needed to christen the new soap work area but I was nervous. That shiny new floor is scary. I make a mess when I do soapy stuff so I decided to start out with something simple.

 I bought a kit to make bath tea.

It comes with a giant bag of dried herbs and flowers that smells like roses and mint. It's actually dried chamomile, rose petals, juniper berries, rosemary and spearmint.

 There are also lots of little bags of European spa salts. I also added some coconut milk, yogurt and baking soda to the recipe.

They are fun to make. You fill these giant tea bags with the mixture....

 ...and then heat seal it.

Before I knew it I had a big pile of them. In the summer it's nice to have a good soak that doesn't involve any added oils or citric acid. I love my bath fizzies but you can definitely overdo them.

These are a nice change. Simple and soothing.....but you don't want to play with them or let them drift under running water. You just have to let them float gently. All that coarse salt takes a long time to melt. I can tell you that those flowers and herbs are a mess to clean up out of the tub if it bursts open if for some strange reason you decide to give it a squeeze. It took me a couple of baths to finally get it right-but it was worth it.

Done, Done and Not Done

 The stripey man socks are done. It took some brain power to get the stripes to work out where the knot was but I figured it out. These are Felici.

 The other stripey pair are off the needles too. These are Cascade.

 The naughty needle pair is just where I left it-broken needle and all. I am waiting for some nickle plated fixed circulars from Knit Picks. I've learned my lesson with the pretty wood ones.

Finally, my handspun Hitchhiker has 25 teeth now. I've been trying to get a tooth on a day but you know how that goes. Life has a bad habit of getting in the way.

Summer Surprise Giveaway!!!

When my tub looks like this I know it's time to unload some soap. I've tried all of the latest cures and they are all wonderful.

 I wasn't fussy or fancy. I just plopped the colors in on top of each other.

They colors are made from clay and the tops are sprinkled with lots of different colors of sea salt.

They are big, rustic looking bars. The Mister really liked them.

He's already used up several of them and asked for more.

 They all smell the same. I used up all my "spa" scents and I am not too fond of any of them so they are all on the mildly scented side.

Since you can't describe a spa scent other than to say it smells like something vaguely familiar, I called them all the same thing: Sea Salt & Clay.

I've got about 30 bars to re-home.

 I've also started working on the card that will ride along.

So......if you want to participate just send me your mailing info on Ravelry or at araigneessoapshop@gmail.com and sometime this summer just when you least expect it, I will send you one of the beach bars-my choice this time. Surprise!