Keeping it Simple

 After my flaming weaving disaster of a few weeks ago I finally worked up the courage to give it another go.

 I went stash diving and came up with some colors that seemed to play nice together.

 It was an uneventful warping and a drama free transfer to the loom. I hope that's a good sign.

 Whoever I got the idea of using those counting threads from needs a giant thank you. They make all the difference for a rookie like me.

 Now you can see what's going on. It's going to be a simple plaid. There is some fancy stuff ahead. Maybe. It's something else that is new to me so I am not going to put it out there this time until I see if it works.  If not I can still save the warp and make it a plain twill. I hope.

That's still a ways off yet. I've got lots of threading to do in the meantime.

Bubble, Bubble Toil and Trouble

 Soap making is certainly hit or miss sometimes. Last week's efforts left me with little to brag about. The first problem I had was with the new Melon Balls scent. It was horrible. It smelled like rotten fruit. I tossed the whole batch after unmolding and tried again with something I knew smelled good-Pinkberry Mimosa.  It smells heavenly but looks like a car accident. I also think that red I used is the one that turns the lather pink. I should have tossed it. Boooo me....

 I tried again. Blackberry Sage is a redo after the Pinkberry mess. I know this one by heart and it's one of my favorites.

 The Sugared Spruce came out nicely in my new little mold. It makes lots of mini bars. I like that since I get bored easily with a scent.

 The Island Nectar is so-so. It also smells great but the pour was messy to say the least. By this time The Mister was getting impatient with the kitchen being in a uproar for two days in a row so I was rushing.

 Finally in a last ditch effort to redeem myself I made some more Lemon Zest soap but since I was out of all my hard oils it's a very soft bar at the moment. I hope it cures into something usable or I wasted a lot of good stuff.

Since I was out of everything I ordered some more supplies just to have them on hand while promising The Mister no more soap adventures for a while but.....

...look at the free samples that came along for the ride. That's just not fair.

One More Stitch at a Time

 When I am not frogging and restarting knitting projects I try to spend a few minutes a day at the sewing table for some hand quilting.

 The first block of the quilt I am working on is done. I even got through all those Dresden petals and that wasn't easy. Going through all those layers was hard on the fingers and very slow going.

 The yo yo pillow top needs one more row and then I need to figure out how to go on from here.

 The summer mini quilt needs one more motif and then I can put it all together. I suppose a matching table runner is next.

Miss Chicken is sharing the quilting table at the moment. I think she is coming along nicely. My biggest worry is keeping the cats off her. I can just see them now using her as a scratching post. For the record I just bought them a new post hoping to save my new couch cover. All for naught. They hate it.

One Stitch at a Time

 Those mitts I began back when it was cold are progressing. There was a lot of drama with the second one when I apparently lost the ability to read a chart but after a good frogging it's back on track. I hope. I am almost afraid to look.

 The main lace project of the moment was Aubade until I realized it was going to take forever to get around one of its huge rows. I am halfway around the second to last row so an end is in sight even though it may take a while-and then some.

Since the basket I had Nurmilintu in was empty and I needed some instant lace gratification I started another Hap.

 I rarely make the same thing twice but I really liked the mindless nature of the beast.

 The unicorn barf handspun that I also dyed is a bit problematic. If I hate when I am done it's getting dunked in black. That'll fix it.

 Tracery is heading to the neck, slowly but surely.

 It's in that awkward phase where you can't read the chart anymore. You have to use your brains to keep the pattern going while making all the shaping decreases. It's not fun but I suppose it's good for keeping those old brain cells firing and goodness knows I need all the help I can get.

Down Memory Lane

The Mister has been busy taking care of his late mother's estate and the journey brought us to a place we hadn't been in ages.

This park is right behind the school where I began my teaching career and I spent many hours on these paths during our walking field trips.

We had our end of the year picnics here.

The lake is over a mile around.

 This bit of wilderness in the middle of the city is a big attraction.

That bench and I go way back. It sits on a peninsula where, if you are quiet, you can see the wildlife in action. Trying to convince my class to be quiet was a losing battle but we still saw plenty of ducks and turtles.

It was a lovely day and a lovely walk. It's hard to believe all that happened almost 30 years ago. Where does the time go?

Nurmilintu

 It's not very often that I finish anything anymore but looky here.

 I've been working on this since September 2015.

 I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to block it. It just sort of sprawled out on the blocking boards and did its own thing.

 Even though I had a hateful relationship with the lace sections, I forgive it now that it's all done.

 I really like the picot edging. I had never done one like this before.

 The colors worked very nicely with all that garter stitch.

Thank you Valerie. I spun this from fiber she sent me ages ago.

It's a nice size and weight for throwing in your bag to tote around all summer as AC insurance.

Now I need to go dig out that other problematic lace project that's been in time out for ages. It's another doozy.

Sweet Things

 The UPS man scared the daylights out of me this morning with a very early delivery.

It was from Son in Detroit and after tearing into the box I wasn't sure what he was sending me.

 Oh.....I see. They are chocolates. Not just any chocolates but sweet little works of art from an artisan shop in his new hometown. This is a photo I found on the internet because I ate mine before I thought about photographing them as one does with chocolate things. They were good.

 I'm still working my way through the ever shrinking bag of taffy the Grands brought me back from their trip to the Outer Banks. I do love salt water taffy. It's not the same if you don't buy it at the beach. It's worth a trip just to bring some back.

And...The Mister showed up on Mother's Day with two boxes of Dots for me. I love Dots. It certainly looks like somebody hit the sugar jack pot this week. Mmmm....