Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

I started the final row of the Garden this week.

I've added to my pile of paper pieces for the Patchwork quilt border. Dear Jane is another applique block so all that's going on there is putting together the foundation. It's almost done.

The big funky flower is done. I have some green to do on the stem and then I'll start the background.

We're off this morning for another two day sitting adventure. This week, for entertainment, we're packing several types of card games and a yo yo. This should be interesting.

The Auxiliaries

 

I either don't have the time or the inclination to pick up all of my projects on a regular basis these days. I could blame the heat or old age but it's more than likely a combination of the two. Spiral Chicken has been in hiatus because I still can't get the background gray right. The left hand bottom corner is a bit too dark.

I tried dyeing my own wool but it was too light in spite of several dunks so I ordered more grays. I'll cut these up and see if they work when I get the urge. 

I've been spending a very few minutes daily with the loom. I'm working my way across one bundle of ends at a time with little enthusiasm for the project. Those colors aren't doing a thing for me.

The punch needle projects are also languishing. I don't even have the energy to get stabby right now. A cold drink, a tomato sandwich and a good nap are all I'm interested in. 

A Family Affair

 

We had to jump through a lot of hoops to get permission to cut down a few of our trees but when it was all finished we still couldn't do anything about it because of these guys. These are the two babies that were just balls of white fluff a few months ago. Now they are hopping about on my roof making all kinds of noise waiting for mommy to come feed them. 

You can recognize the babies by the white tufts they still have on their heads. 

This is mommy. She walks right up to the door and taps on it to get her daily can of cat food and all the leftovers my persnickety cats leave in their dishes. Between the foxes and the heat, I have no idea how she kept those two babies alive out in the abandoned shed on the edge of our woods but she did. Soon she'll fly them off and dump them somewhere so they can start their own families. As for our trees, we think we are going to wait until the leaves come down. There's just too much mess to consider this time of year. It's a jungle out there.

Uphill Battle

 

Ouf...yesterday was a boring day on the Tour. It was a mountain stage time trial. I spin in the morning while I watch the French countryside go by and there wasn't much to see yesterday so I made it a wind off day. The Golding drop spindles were all full. Now they are not. 

Ditto for the George Tabachek support spindle. I'm always amazed at how much they hold when I wind them off onto my not so classy toilet paper roll bobbins.

I also picked up this little darling of a support spindle that Soxie Knitter gifted me. It spins like a dream and is teeny tiny. I really should be carrying this one around and I think I'll pack it for next week's sitting adventure which is only two days away. Ouf.

I never get very far with the takli but I take it out every year just to spin a puni or two. My Spindolyn, which is a support spindle, does a much better job with cotton which is very finicky. It will drift apart at every opportunity which makes it a big challenge-like that mountain the riders had to go up all morning. One. Rider. At. A. Time. Ouf.

Friday Fluff: TdF Week 2

 

Yesterday morning we finally fixed what ailed the drum carder or I should say I fixed it even though I had enlisted The Mister to help me. While he was downstairs looking for some tools, I read the directions and made the simple correction that moved the two rollie things away from each other. The new poly cord fit perfectly so it was all back in business. The Mister was interested in trying it out so I let him make a blended batt using my Merino stash.

Ta da.....he made a big one. I needed more of this to make a pair of mitts to match my hat so it's a good thing. 

Two of my wheels are empty now. I finished up the tweedy Peaches and Cream Shinook fiber and the other wonky batt I had blended to make some mitts to match my wonky hat. They haven't had their bath yet. It's too humid here to dunk wool. It would never dry even in the AC right now so they'll have to wait. 

Next up on the Ladybug will be the Strawberry Rhubarb Polwarth that I picked up at this year's MDSW. There's still a lot of Tour left but it feels like I'm running out of road fast. I guess that's what I get for planning to do more in three weeks than is humanly possible. I do it every year.

My Home Away From Home

 

Here's a peek at how I live while I'm away Grand sitting. I sleep on a dog bed on the living room floor because....

...Pup won't go upstairs to the big beautiful guest room with a private bathroom that The Mister is sleeping in upstairs. She frets and whines all night and keeps the babies awake so I camp out down in the living room with her. When she had her hip dislocation we bought her a giant dog bed so I could sleep next to her and keep her from moving until her surgery date. That was a long few weeks but we did end up with a dog who can walk on four legs again and a nice bed that's easy to travel with. Daughter leaves for work at 4:30 am and wakes me up so I have a nice long time before everyone else wakes up to sit with all the projects I bring along and I bring along a lot.

This week I also brought along my juggling scarves and they were a big hit with both of the Grands. 

Big Grand had insisted on buying this puzzle for our visits but it proved too hard for his little hands. We took it home last week, finished it for him and transported it back so he could take it apart which he thought was hilarious.

Little Grand mastered sitting up last week and this week he's working on crawling. He's got the right idea only he can only go backwards which is pretty funny. 

He's also insisting on holding his own bottle now which is as messy as it seems. I come home covered in breast milk that is not mine. As soon as I walk in the door, I toss my clothes in the wash, take a bath and jump into bed. Unpacking can wait until morning.

 

Wednesday WIPs

 

I'm not sure how it happened but I've got a lot of socks all needing their heels turned at the same time including the handspun one that I did not include in this post. I also finished the sock with the afterthought heel and started the second one this week. 

I'm going down the foot of the Cozy Quilt sock. I did not carry the pattern onto the bottom of the foot but used a checkerboard pattern instead. I didn't think the floats that are on the top of the foot would be too comfortable to stand on. The Ski Sweater has more lice on it. It's going slowly in this heat but I do pick it up on most days for at least one row. 

And...this is the week I've been trying to master the top triangles on the entrelac dishcloth. There's a lot of dicussion about this top row and Cindy even sent me her modification but until I make it wrong, I can't figure out how to make it right. That doesn't exactly make sense but I bet some of you know just what I mean. 

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

I'm not kidding when I say it takes me until Sunday to feel like myself again after our two day baby sitting adventure. We're off to do some sitting again today.  All that really cuts into my stitching time but I did manage to finish all the white background on this last row. 

On Sunday I sat down for the first time all week at my sewing table and worked on Dear Jane, some Patchwork crosses and a bit of needlepoint. A good listen helps. I had a Dateline podcast and the end of the latest Stephen King audiobook to keep me going. There's nothing like a good murder to keep you glued to your seat.

Joyeux 14 Juillet!

 

That's Happy Bastille Day in French. It also happens to be our wedding anniversary. This was my gift. I told The Mister I needed a new whisk after my old one had rusted and this is what he came home with. 

I bought him a new paint by number after he finished this one. 

The new one is this Day of the Dead looking thing that he picked out because he says it reminds him of me. Sigh. Sounds about right. 

Send In the Clowns

 

It was too hot to manage the Farmer's Market again yesterday so Pup and I waited in the shade while The Mister picked up some things. 

The last time I went with The Mister to the Farmer's Market I had tried out a new sunscreen. I had seen a report on the weather channel about the difference between chemical and mineral sunscreen so I had ordered some mineral ones after hearing that they are safer. I slathered it all over and off we went. It was a particularly nice morning and every one seemed to be very jolly. I was getting lots of smiles. The Mister who is usually a few steps ahead of me turned around and looked at me in horror. "You look like a clown", he whispered. It seems my new sunscreen had dried in a way that made me look an awful lot like...

...this guy. I hid behind a tree and used Pup's water bottle and a cooling scarf that I carry with me to wipe it all off my face. Needless to say, I've gone back to my chemical sunscreen. I didn't particularly like having my face feeling like a baby's butt covered in diaper rash ointment anyway.

These Crocs are Made for Walking

 

I'm happy to report that I was able to take a brisk knit walk around the kitchen last night for thirty whole minutes to some peppy music. Plantar Facitis has kept me on the couch for what seems like an eternity but now I'm pretty much pain free-for walking. Dancing....hmmm. Maybe not yet. 

Friday Fluff: TdF Week 1

 

The big babysitting adventure takes a couple of days out of my Tour quota but I did take my spindles along and managed to get a bit more of that Merino that I've been working on done. My goal is to finish it this year and I'm getting close. 

The Merino I spun from the little nests I make on the drum carder is ready for plying. 

I've got one more nest to spin of the chinook fiber and then it will be ready for plying too.

I've made all these little nests out of some Merino pencil roving to spin on the support spindle. I'm getting close to needing a wind off. 

My poor little Spindolyn doesn't see a lot of action. I pick it up every time I sit down to watch the Tour but spinning cotton is tedious and slow so I don't get very far. It's the spinning equivalent of cycling up a steep hill I suppose. 

The Corriedale I had planned to card and spin this year is still sitting here waiting for me to fix the drum carder. I'm waiting on the poly cord I need. I've ordered two different ones from two different vendors since I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to working on these things. The one that looks most like the one I'm replacing will be the winner-I hope.

Baby Talk

 

We got home late last night from our latest babysitting adventure so I don't have much to share today. We also had to hide downstairs for a bit after arriving home because we were just in time for a whopper of a thunderstorm. No damage, thank goodness, just lots of rain. As for the baby, he's sitting up nicely on his own right now which is a change from just last week. They grow up so fast.

Big Grand was all fired up after watching the Tour. He got out his trike and finally figured out how to peddle it. He rode it all over the house. 

He's still working on his bird house. The bottom got painted purple this week. Next week he'll put some finishing touches on the windows and then it will be done. Daughter got him some little canvases to use up the leftover paint on which should be fun. 

If MIL returns from Bali healthy, we will only have two more weeks of this left. I know someone who will be very happy NOT to have to do all this traveling back and forth anymore. Those kids wear her out. 

Wednesday WIPs

 

During the TdF I try to spend most of my time working with my handspun yarn. Since this is the Summer of Socks I cast on a pair with some ancient handspun. On the right is the swatch I made after I washed and dyed....

....a bag of fleece from this lady. Her name is Cari and she's a Corriedale. I was always tickled when the shepherds would include a photo and a bio of the sheep in the bag of fleece. I've got quite a collection of pretty ladies and gentlemen out in the fleece shed.

I'm still working on the Pi Shawl. I'm only two rows away from where I need to end it according to EZ. I want to do a lace border so I'm going to have to do some serious mathing when I get back from babysitting. EZ has one in her book but I can't figure it out. I need a chart.

I've also pulled out this old project. The Garter Squish needs to come to an end and it might as well be this year. I think one more color band should do it. It didn't eat up nearly as much handspun as I had hoped even though I doubled the yarn.

And....I've made a decision regarding the Barbie Dreamhouse squares. I just started the new ball that I finished spinning a few weeks ago so I'm going to keep making granny squares until I run out. The pattern I had thought to make only needed 13 and I'm going to end up with more than that so if I want to make a bag out of them, I'm going to have to figure it out when I see how many squares I end up with. Bigger might be better.