The Odds and Ends Collection

See that box of stuff that just came in the mail? That's the stuff I need to make fall soap. Already. Can you believe it?

 The problem is that I have too much leftover soap on the shelves. I tend to cut off the ugly ends and then keep them but in order to have room for more soap they need to go.

 I've also got lots of leftover pretty paper from wrapping all the bars whenever I make a batch to giveaway.

 I had a really fun afternoon wrapping up all the odds and ends. I even labeled them Odds and Ends since I have no idea what fragrances they are anymore.

The Mister will take them down to the shopping area and the post office where he makes his daily rounds every morning and give them away to all the clerks and cashiers which is something he always looks forward to doing. He gets some attention. I get empty soap shelves. Win. Win.

And thanks to all of you participated in the Summer Giveaway. They are all mailed out so if you don't get yours in the next few days let me know. I apologize again for the not so great "spa" fragrances. I promise the fall soaps won't disappoint. I've got some really great new scents I can't wait to try.

And another big thank you to NYPeapod who sent me these card sets made from fabric and iron on interfacing. Who knew you could do this? The texture is lovely. If she hadn't explained the technique in her note I would have had no idea how they were made. They are much appreciated and will come in very handy. I think you just saved The Mister from making his own cards this year-a job he hates that I make him do because he has a huge list of old work friends that he loves to send cards to that I don't particularly enjoy making. Thanks again!!!!

Le Grand Depart

Before I could take off spinning for this year's Tour de Fleece I had some work to do. After sharing the soap room for the past year, my wheels were a mess. They got a scrubbing, a polishing and an oiling. They are ready to go and so am I.

 I made myself a little spinning nook in front of the TV. I even drug in a cabinet that was scheduled for donation.

 It can stay right here for a while because I have a lot of unsightly spinning doo dads that need hiding for the duration and from the kitties.

 I've got bins of rolags.

 And baskets of spindles.

Here's my cotton spinning project from last year. I can't believe I forgot to knit it up into a dishcloth. It's up next in the dishcloth queue.

 My only remaining project is this one. It's umm.....er....I can't remember. I'll have to look it up. I do know it's from some fleece that I washed and dyed blue.

It's not a fun spin because it's some pretty terrible fiber but I'll push through it. It will be this year's challenge.

Today's only job will be to ply these singles. I finished them just in time to free up another wheel. That will make two. I'll be stash diving tomorrow to see what I can come up with.

Yarny Things

 When I was a teacher I hated July. That's when the Back to School stuff starts showing up in the stores. Now it just means more indoor knitting time since it's too hot to do much of anything else. This sock should have been finished but I have the attention span of a gnat whenever the heat index rises. It was 105 here yesterday. Ugh.

 Ditto for Hitchhiker. I am down to doing only two rows a day now. It won't be a 42 tooth Hitchhiker I'm afraid. I am only at 32 now and it's eating up the yarn.

 Slowly but surely the lace project is growing. I can only work on it when no one is around. It's a brain teaser.  It's not a hard chart to knit but you have to wrap your head around reversing the symbols when you knit back because there is lace on both sides.

 My little dishcloth is still the highlight of my knitting day. I am putting one point on a day so I can stretch out the fun. I've got these all over my house at the moment because they make great coasters and in this weather I am always within reach of a glass of iced tea.

Happy 4th!

Since Pup was not a fan of fireworks last year this is as much celebrating as I'm planning to do today.

Oh, yeah....and this.

Back and Forth

 I no sooner moved all my sewing stuff into its new room when I had to drag some of it out into the dining area again.

 There are some things that take a lot of room and this project does. I was tired of wrestling with it in a small space so when The Mister left for golf yesterday out it all came.

 I needed to lay it out so I could plan the last row. Taking it out every time I needed to do a block was getting ridiculous. I cut and glued all the pieces to finally finish the thing once and for all.

 Now I have all the remaining blocks sorted and bagged up. I just have to sew them together which is a pleasant enough job to do in my new small space.

Speaking of my new small space, I also managed to get one more block on the Sunflower quilt done. That makes number six out of twenty and I had no problem at all putting it together in my new room. In fact, jobs like this are easier when everything is in arm's reach.

TNT: On the House

In the last few days of June I went back to work on my house. I really like doing those big blocks of color. I hate putting it away but I have other things I need to do.

Now it's back to working on the July block of the Sheep Virtues. I need to get to work on Miss Patience and her baby.

My other tiny needle project is still getting daily attention. Having a lap full of quilt is not the best thing in July but so far I've managed to find a few minutes in the evenings to get a bit stitched-sitting under the ceiling fan, of course.

Life Finds a Way

Remember those empty pots in my front yard I was whining about the other day? One is not so empty anymore. Some how, some way under all that debris a little impatiens family managed to survive the winter and even bloom without me noticing.