Resolution Roundup

 

It's the last day of the month so let's see how I did with my 2023 Resolution projects. Dad's quilt is getting its binding worked on. I'm piecing it from scraps so it's slow going but I'm still predicting an April finish. Won't that be nice. 

I managed 6 more Audun squares this month. I need 17 more. I know you crocheters are laughing but this is torture for me. I can do a row or two a day but that's it. 

#19 is now in the box with the rest of the Advent sweaters. Five more to go. I won't be happy to see this project end. 

Everybody's favorite Rainbow Kitty is mighty close. Mighty close. I predict we'll be seeing Spiral Chicken in the near future.

My year long obsession with making seasonal placemats hit a snag. I had to wait for some backing material to show up. I went ahead and bought some yardage from the Happy Chance collection after a stash dive didn't turn up anything that would work. I did find some pretty stripe for the binding in the stash. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get them all together. 

Spring Cleaning

 

The Mister's surgery day is fast approaching and we've got a giant list of things we have to accomplish before then. First up was getting rid of all the piles of tools and materials we had laying around from the bathroom re-dos. We have the very bad habit of starting a new job before we clean up the old job. As of today everything is put away since we will be taking a break through the summer while he recovers. We are far from done with this house re-doing stuff but the rest of it will keep until fall. 

After the clean up my goal was to set up a space for him to work on puzzles while he's recovering in hopes of keeping Mr. Ants in the Pants still. I bought him one of those fancy puzzle boards and a new puzzle to get him started.

At the other end of the table I set up his new diamond dots kits. 

He thought the kitty one I had bought earlier was too hard so I got him these. He's been grumbling about them but then he also grumbled about the paint by number kits I bought him last year. 

Now the man cave has it's own paint by number station where he spends the greater part of every day anymore. I'm not complaining. Anything he does that doesn't involve me is that much more time I get to spend doing stuff I want to do. 

And....it's been nine months now since Pup's hip surgery and she's finally learned how to get up the stairs with her bad leg. That's a huge relief for me since she's no lightweight and getting her up and down the stairs all day to take her out has been no fun. With The Mister out of commission soon that job would have all fallen on me and now.....thank goodness-she can finally get up on her own. Getting down is another thing-but I'll take all the help I can get. 

Sockapalooza

 

I've been washing my way through my sock drawer this week. It's a big job. I've pulled out my spring socks and tucked away my heavy winter ones. 

I've also got two pair of fresh off the needles socks to show off. Peppercorn Static on the left. Arne and Carlos Lofoten Regia on the right. 

I was hoping to have three pair done by the end of the month but Felici is dragging up the rear. It's my travel project and we don't travel much these days. 

Speaking of socks....Charmin' Chatty has a new pair and a pair of new shoes. I found them on eBay. They couldn't be more perfect. 

Could she be any cuter? You know I am going to have to knit her a sweater and a hat next winter. 

I've also got another pair of cute little feet that need shoes. 

My grandmother's old Schoenhut doll has been without shoes and socks for a while now. I guess I better start looking. 

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

I spent a lot of time with the Village Quaker this week. That middle top section would be done if I didn't have to rip half of it out. 

Patchwork Printemps got a left hand panel finished. My poor little cow pile is still two cows short of an actual pile. She did get a flower. 

My little bunny got her floor finished and some apples.

The extended daylight has given me some extra stitching time but it's also made me want to spend more time outside while everything is still in bloom. I've got to get in all the outside time I can before the bugs show back up-any day now. 

Betty Loom

 

I spent the morning fighting with that green warp. I wanted it to wind on the loom but it had other ideas. For some reason I couldn't figure out how to do it even though I've done it many times before. I looked at videos again. I took notes. I coaxed old Betty into seeing things my way. When she's been in time out long enough I'll see if I figured it out and continue on. Right now I don't want to know. 

It was too nice a day to stay in and fret over string. 

Walk knitting by the water was a much nicer way to spend a Sunday.

Sew Sew Sunday

 

I went back to work on the spring placemats yesterday with a renewed respect for the rotary cutter. I don't want a repeat of my little accident even though it really was just a little boo boo that wanted to bleed a lot. 

I also went back to work on that nightmare of a project that I am trying to machine quilt. I had more popped seams to repair and lots of technical difficulties with the machine. Somehow I managed to drop the bobbin deep into the body of the thing. I tried everything I could think of the fish it out. Finally, I remembered I had dad's telescopic magnet thingy and slowly but surely I coaxed it out. 

And.....thanks to my sister's partner, we finally got that leaked fixed. He does that sort of thing for a living so he could spot the mistake we had made right away. With the leak fixed we could finally put the finishing touches on what has been a weeks long staging area for all sorts of plumbing mischief. Ta da.....three out of three bathrooms-DONE. 

Happy Chance

 

I finished hand quilting Dad's squares quilt so it's time to think about a binding. His box of scraps didn't have quite enough of anything to make it a solid so I thought I would try a pieced binding. I wasn't sure if it was even a thing but then I saw Kate at The Last Homely House do it and thought I'd give it a try. I spent an early morning ironing and cutting. I couldn't believe how many colors there were. 

That l little job reminded me that I had my spring placemats to make. I had bought this charm pack ages ago. Dad's scraps will work perfectly for the borders so it was a win-win morning until....

.....I almost took my little finger off with my rotary cutter. I have no idea how I did it but I did and I can assure you the cut is not as bad as I am making it out to be. I am a BIG sissy when it comes to cut fingers hence the over the top splint on top of the band-aid. All I have to see is blood and I freak out so that was the end of my sewing session while I nursed my wound. At least it got me out of doing more plumbing work on the leaky sink. The Mister decided to take the rest of the day off. 

Friday Fluff

 

I've come to the end of my 2 ounce mini spinning adventure for the Garter Squish. The last little turquoise skein was finished last week. I've got two empty wheels so I see a stash diving adventure in my near future. Spinning is my stress relief and the closer we get to The Mister's surgery the more I need to spin. Since he's doing the outpatient surgery center thing and not the hospital thing the responsibilities are piling up. I've been through this with dad many times so I know what I'm in for and I admit to being a bit unsure about it all even with the nursing help we're going to be getting before and after the big day. 

We've been working like crazy to get the house put back together. We're still dealing with the sink leak but we did get the molding down. I'm getting pretty good at it but I still hate it.

I've also been trying to make a dent in cleaning up the yard now that the piles of debris are gone. Florida friends and anyone who lives in milder climates, I need your help. This winter was so mild that all my outside furniture and decking turned green. Mold, fungus? I dunno what that stuff is.

I've been scrubbing it off of everything using white vinegar. Is there a better way? Getting it out of all the nooks and crannies has been a full time job. I'm planning on dragging out the power washer as soon as it gets warm enough.

And...it's hard to believe but it's been six weeks since I popped all this soap out of the molds so that means it's time for testing. I've got 12 batches times 8 bars. That's a lot of soap. It's a good thing I only have to test one bar from each batch but that's still a lot of soap to get through. 

 

Before and After

 

Remember this pitiful thing?

Charmin' Chatty looks like this now. There wasn't much I could do with her hair but pull it up in a messy bun and hide her bald spots with a wide headband but I did find her a new pair of glasses and a new outfit. I couldn't believe how beautiful this little jumper was for the money. It even came with that pretty white blouse and was only $17 on Amazon. A comparable American Girl dress costs about $45. 

It also came with some leggings. I've got some socks and shoes on the way that I hope will fit a 24 inch doll. 

And..........you know that 1000 piece puzzle I was never going to finish? Well, I finished it. 

I liked doing it so much that I bought this spring one. It should be here today. 

Weird Wednesday WIPs

 

Well, this is no fun. We're back at work in the bathroom this week and by we I mean me. The Mister really can't get down and squeeze into that small space with his hip anymore so I had to do the the plumbing hook ups and as you can see it didn't go so well. I've still got a little leak happening. I'll try again today to get those pipes tight. 

Thanks to the bathroom and the dumpster filling my real projects have been all but ignored all week as I am still obsessing over the things from the attic. Another thing I found up there is this HUGE crocheted bedspread. It's not mine. I don't know whose it is or how I came to have it but that didn't stop me from giving it a wash and a good looking over. 

It appears that some of the joins are broken. I was tempted to toss it but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Someone slaved over this thing and I'm not going to be the person to throw it out. That could be grounds for a haunting. 

Believe it or not I was tempted to try and repair all the broken bits. There are a lot of them. I must be crazy. When I am done, if I am ever done, this thing will never see the light of day but nonetheless I feel compelled. 

While I was working on it, I left if for a minute and came back to find that Pup had claimed it. This thing has taken on a life of its own. It might be a battle to keep it from taking over mine. 

And...someone asked me to explain crewel and the best thing I can say is that it's covering up printed blue lines on linen with fuzzy wool yarn using a sharp needle.

You do that using a variety of embroidery stitches. Here are the ones I'm going to have to figure out for this project. I have figured out that it's not in your best interest to ever stick that yarn in your mouth to thread the needle. Not unless you want a nasty mouth full of fuzz. Don't ask me how I know this.

Tiny Needle Tuesday: Appley Dappley

 

My happiest of happy dances came when I pulled this out of the attic. When I thought it was lost I spent years searching for another kit so I could replace it. Appley Dappley hung in my hallway at my old house and I loved her so much. Some of you even helped me search for the now very vintage Erica Wilson crewel kit from way back in the 70's.

With your help I found this one which was similar. I was going to try to modify it to look like the original.

I did find these companion kits from the Beatrix Potter series but I never stitched them because I was waiting to see if I could find the Sitting and Knitting one first.

Now that Appley Dappley's back, I went ahead and kitted up Home Cooking. I'm going to try my hand at some crewel again. I'm not very good at it but I've got nothing to lose...so here goes nothing.