Over and Out

 

They came yesterday to pick up the last of the logs. I'm going to miss that cute little Kubota that's been parked out in the yard since this all started. That's one amazing piece of machinery. I want one.

The very last load went up the driveway in the afternoon. The driver handed us a check for all the wood he's hauled away. When we saw that it was for $3,300 we couldn't believe our eyes. We had no idea that those ugly poplars were that valuable.  

They came back later that day and leveled out the ground, seeded and put down hay. They are coming back out again on Monday to clean up the staging area.

So what are we going to do with our windfall? Have a few more trees taken down out front, of course. 

Little Feet

I finally got those socks to fit Big Grand. The multi stripes fit better but in a pinch he's got the blue ones for backup. These are his snow socks to wear with his snow boots when and if the white stuff decides to show up this year. He lives much further north than we do so he's got a pretty good chance of seeing some.

Now Daughter wants a pair for Baby Grand. I think there's enough yarn left for a small pair. All he wants to do now is walk. I am nursing a bad case of sore muscles in my upper body and neck from spending so much time bending over to support him for two days. He's pretty good at standing on his own and can take a few unaided steps but when he wants to fly around the room, another pair of hands is his preferred method. 

Baby and I stayed home in the morning while The Mister, SIL and Big Grand went off to a nearby bakery to bring home breakfast.

The selection they brought home was amazing. These aren't dainty pastries. They are enormous. I had the apple turnover which tasted a lot like mincemeat to me and since I am a big fan, I really enjoyed it. 

On the way back home I ran into a grocery store to pick up some things for dinner and ran right into the display of candied fruit. Every year I go on the hunt for this stuff and can never find it anywhere. I ordered it last year from Amazon and it was terrible. It was so dried out that I had to toss it. Fruitcake makes the holiday for me so I'm tickled to have it back on the menu. As soon as I can move my arms and neck again I'll get to baking.

Friday Fluff

 

It's been a while since I've had a Fluff update but since the weather got so much colder this week I've found myself heading over to the spinning corner to generate a little heat. The Sandy Canyon Merino still has a long way to go but I'm not in a hurry for a finish. I've got skein after skein still sitting here staring at me from this summer's flurry of spinning activities. 

I might be halfway around the handspun Pi Shawl with the edging. I've been pretty good about getting one pattern repeat on a day. No big whoop since it's only 8 rows but at least it's something.

This year's Crocs Snow Socks are almost finished. I knit a pair of these every few years because I ruin them. This is wool that I not only spun but processed myself so it doesn't have the lasting power of commercially prepared yarn. It's warm. It's practically waterproof but it felts like crazy with each wearing.

Replacing them is never a problem since I have a giant bin of fiber that can be turned into even more socks when needed. It all depends on the snow. Some years we get. Some years we don't. 

And...the best of all the cold weather projects, the Garter Squish is in the process of getting bound off. Nothing beats having a lap full of wool on a cold morning. I really thought this project would make a dent in my handspun stash but nope. I'm still drowning in it. 

Bits and Pieces

 

While the trees were being cut down last week I spent a lot of time downstairs working on ideas for this year's Christmas cards and hated all of them. I just got another delivery of some things that might be an improvement-or not. I'm starting to think I should have just bought a box of cards this year. The expense has gotten ridiculous. 

Included in that expense was a new desk chair for the room. I have one but Pup insists on sitting in it with me which is very uncomfortable so I'm giving her the soft cushy chair and using this generic rolly thing myself. The things we do for our critters.....

The chair hasn't been assembled yet because I also bought a new light/fan combo for the upstairs (very messy) sewing room. It was a comedy of errors putting it up that included a late afternoon cross county dash to Home Depot for that medallion thing. It seems I didn't realize the hole the other light would leave would be bigger than the base of the new one. It was a tense situation but at least now I have a much brighter light to work by especially now that the sun goes down so early. 

And...I confess that what's taken up a ridiculous amount of my time this week has been the puzzle The Mister's been working on. He's given up on the top of the trees so I've taken over with the understanding that it needs to be done soon so he can get out his Macy's Thanksgiving Parade puzzle. No pressure there. And yes, I'm working it upside down. This is the way it makes sense to me.

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.