Quiet Weekend Ahead--->

Today is 9/11.  Fourteen years.  I have not forgotten.  I love the song Have You Forgotten? by Darryl Worley.  I haven't played it yet today, but I will.  I did order the movie Working Girl  on demand and watched it.  It has the best views of the Twin Towers that used to be glinting so pretty in the sun.  I hope to watch a few other movies that show how stunning these towers were.  It brings up a renewed patriotism in me each year and a hope that we can come together in tough times to overcome whatever we need to, inside and outside our beautiful country!  This is my hope for all freedom-loving countries around the world, too. 

As for other activities, I intend to keep them quiet and close to home.  It will be a great weekend for a bonfire, crockpot dinners, a little baking and some chores and, best of all, playing in the fabric!  I am sorting, cutting, organizing, and preparing my scraps to become quilt pieces of all kinds!  I need bigger blocks for one future project.  I need string pieces for a new project on 4 1/2" paper foundation squares.  I have my crazy quilt squares to cover, too.  These are 7 1/2" fabric foundation squares.
..See the photo below... 
All the big pieces of fabric smaller than 12" get cut down into various sizes and sorted for later use! 
I don't have much done, yet, but I will be working on this in the coming months. 

Each week I am trying to keep my knitting to one or two projects.  My crocheting to one or two projects.  My quilting, just cutting and organizing for right now.  I have an upcoming quilt meeting with our local group and the opportunity to quilt 'round the frame (each week!) with a church group.
I have really become interested the quilt teacher Bonnie K. Hunter after finding a live quilt-cam on YouTube (vacation in MN) and a String Fling book of hers, also found while on vacation in MN.  There is so much to learn and I hope to have some goals and a definite direction in the future...not just floundering and hoping for the best!

Well, gotta go get some errands run and get the dessert started soon.  It will be a pumpkin dessert of some kind...where'd I put that recipe??? Some things never change! =]

CC

 

 

LABOR DAY?? 

I'm sure my kitty doesn't know or care about Labor Day.  She will probably not miss me over the weekend, either.  I am heading out this week for a knitting retreat!  It is exciting to get away.  I will be happy to hang out with fellow fiber enthusiasts!  =] 
This is my second year attending and I know that there will be lots of fun and new people to meet and some to see again.  I hope to have a few pictures to post, too. 

Mr. will be batching it along with the kitties.  The little fiend above will likely be bugging him at his computer while doing some serious gaming!  She will also be waking him up with a paw in the face very early in the morning.  She will be cuddling with him at night, too.  For all this, and more, I thank my very generous Dear Hubby and for being able to go and enjoy the retreat. 

What has been going on in my crafty world?  Well, not a whole lot.  My knitting has actually come to a screeching halt.  I've not crocheted a lot, either.  I have been organizing for this retreat and then getting my crafty areas cleaned up and sorted.  I realized I have not taken up my quilting or paper crafting at all this year.  Sad.  I really enjoy them and have come to realize I need a bit more balance in my life. 

Balance diet and exercise.
Visiting friends and giving more in the way of service.
De-cluttering in this small house! OY!
Equal Opportunity Crafting! 
Enjoy being out on our porch and just being quiet. 

Yup!  A few changes and a whole lot more enjoyment in many areas than just two or three regular activities.  I hope that you feel inspired to assess and re-arrange, if needed. 
This Summer has gone by way too fast!  I hope to really be able to enjoy the last of it and the Autumn season to come! 
CC

Still Up To My Old Tricks....

Forget about the last post...I'll be better tomorrow...always tomorrow.  (It worked for Scarlett O'Hara, right!?)  I'm sipping my coffee, presently and taking a break from the stitching.  I finished up the Ripple ala Attic24 and have done a Ruffled Pillow similar to hers...but saw I had lots of yarn left in a bag.  I'm determined (if nothing else) to DeStash the yarn and fabric this year.  So I've started a Hexi-ghan ala Attic24.  She is a lovely inspiration to me and so many others around the crochet world! =]

I'll get pics up here, soon.  I also am working on a couple of quilts for a couple of neices.  I have several more neices of varying ages, but these two get the first creations and all the mistakes! =]  I'm heading out with like-minded quilters later this week for stitching retreat.  I anticipate much will be accomplished, and perhaps A Lot of shopping and gabbing!  I am taking along a new project:  purchased at a garage sale last year...$5 purple batik dust ruffle!  It will become my first attempts at a Disappearing Nine-patch quilt for my friend Jules.  I will be happily cutting up fabrics for much of two days, I'm sure.  Sewing squares together and then cutting them apart again...don't ask me silly questions on how this all becomes a quilt again...More Sewing...Duh! 

I've gone and spent MrJ's hard earned money on an Amazon purchase....a PVC quilt frame for finishing all this activity.  I will be done w/quite a bit in March.  If I don't come back to post soon, one project or another has gotten the better of me!  Of course, I will be heading up to see my Sis and two neices(the ones mentioned before) and then to go see the Quilt Expo, too.  MrJ is working lots w/work and will need me to keep up w/laundry and cooking, too. 

Spring is right around the corner...even tho we saw snow overnight.  I see the tuplips are trying to bloom and robins have come back from their wise migration to warmer areas.  I can't wait to sit out on the back porch and tie/quilt a few sewn items.  I wish that I had regular crafting buddies on days like that...what a frolic.  I miss the good old days when every neighbor did similar activities and were there to help out w/Spring planting, quilting, canning, etc.  You can bet that's why I'll enjoy this weekend very much and enjoy the fun and inspiration of ladies like Lucy and my very good friend B...also from the UK.  They make me keep doing what I do...and Smiling Everyday!...Thanks Ladies!

cc

What didn't I get done today...

I had good intentions for the day.  Really, I did.  Let's just say that the ham dinner will wait.  What a Dear Hubby I have to eat quiche and garlic bread...=]  I did fix him a planned strawberries and shortcake.  It was ok, nothing really home prepared or fresh.  I'll have to do that one over again with fresh(not frozen) strawberries and a Bisquick shortcake that he likes. 

I didn't make pies, either...well, other than the quiche. 

Let me tell you what I did get finished and it will make me seem all the more lame.  I put the fringe on a scarf and trimmed it up.  I put it in it's own bag, taped it up and put it in a drawer.  I did do some other knitting and crochet on projects. 

Let me tell you, I'm giving up on coffee.  It's my second day.  Tea is all I'll allow for caffeine intake.  Well, chocolate, too.  Maybe the very rare Pepsi w/my Sis.  As well as giving up that addiction I've given up smoking.  I'm glad for it.  I feel so very much better after just a few days.  A sinus cold had me at my last straw.  Just feeling yucky in general was wearing me down.  I intend to be able to swim this summer and to take walks and maybe even get back into yoga.  I really am determined to clean out the toxins and eat and LIVE better! 

You won't find me giving up my knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, and gardening, tho!! 

And here are the promised pics:

One of two ripples I'm having fun crocheting.  I think the other one might be on hold as I'd like to find another color to add in before finishing it.

 Here is the scarf I finished up today...the fringe looks rather poorly done.  It's the one part of the scarf I don't care for. 

Slacker!!

So sorry to be MIA...for more than six months! Ya know how it is...one feels quite silly putting up all the thoughts whirling around in one's head...and then clams up for a bit.  =]  Really, though, I'm fine, made it through to the New Year  ( Happy 2012, btw!) and now I'm settling in for a few wintry months of stitching.  Our Dear Daughter is heading back states-side after a stint in the Middle to far East desert.  YaY!  Only a matter of months until she's out of the service and closer to home. 

Over the holidays, I was able to see our Dear Son and our would be Daughter-in-Law and of course, our Dear Grandbaby!!  Grandma was delighted to spoil her rotten.  I was a bit exhausted the day after they left for home, but it was great to have them visit.  I missed her right away and our dancing and singing time. 

The next weekend I went up to my Dear Sister's home for scrapbooking event.  Ok, so I have yet to really scrapbook while I'm there.  I had a good time sorting newly made digi-pics and putting my crafty pics into a new album...which Sis passed on to me from our Dear Mother.  Sis hadn't put it to good use, so it's mine, now.  Also, while up in the area I struck out to find a nearby (recomended) quilt store.  I remembered the town had an old fashioned Ben Franklin store.  Well, didn't find either one in the little burg outside the burbs.  So I Bing'd another one and went to Hampshire, IL.  Nice!   The quilt store is great and I've signed up to make a really cute quilt in February.  It co-incides w/DS's next scrapbooking date! I do intend to take up my Kitty Album for that occasion...thank you! =]

I've been busy knitting, mostly.  I did get a wild hair to pick up some crochet.  I have several afghans in the works, but they wouldn't do...one I've ordered some yarn for one of them.  The others will wait their turn (again) while I cleared out several skeins from the stash.  I had to work on Attic24's Ripple design.  Yes, I have two going, concurrently.  I do really like the pattern, easy to pick up and remember.  I was looking at Ms. Lucy's blog this evening and saw that she's also been working on a stunning new Ripple afghan.  So, I'll have to take a pic and add one in here very soon.  Not sure if anyone bothers to look here, but it will be nice to share anyways.

I hope to make some pies tomorrow and a nice ham dinner.  I like the holiday ham we had at the Dear In-Laws.  I like visiting with them when we can.  After eating our way through November and December, it's nice to fully enjoy the dinner again later.  The Mister will be working some overtime and I think he deserves a nice cooked dinner for his efforts, too.  Just getting into work these days is a chore.  Quite blustery and snowy outside...that's why I knit...right through to Spring. 

Hmmmm, where's my Dear Seed Catalog......=]

cc

The Perils of Returning Home...

Good Evening.  I'm worn out, again.  Since coming home I've been asleep promptly at 9:30.  I know it's not technically jet lag, but I think that it must be something like it.  ? Too much excitement?  I believe I'll call it all that.  It truly couldn't be all the housework I've been catching up on: kitty clean-up detail, refridgerator culling, garbage out, sorting mail/paper stacks, bed making, laundry, dishes, baking/cooking, and a wee bit of weeding.  The Mister did the berry picking and he mowed today.  He does a lot of the outdoor work.  I take him for granted quite a bit.  He has been scanning negatives from when our babies were really babies.  There are so many that take me right back to the day...=]

I seem to be slipping into some kind of funky mood...moving right along....

Due to a lack of right proper grilling items, we did not have a home-cooked meal last night.  We ordered a pizza from town. 
Due to my being a ninny-ditz and losing the printed pattern to the blueberry recipe that I wanted to use (and just a little stubborn about it all), finally located said pattern in the car w/coupon binder...*duh*
I made the pie in the evening, left it a wee bit too long, had to let it cool and the Mister and I didn't get pie until this evening.  It was still runny, just like the comments had stated.  Also good w/ice cream just as stated!
I did make beef/noodles for dinner tonight.  Nothing fancy.  I think the pie was the main course anyway after waiting for it for awhile.

Moving right along...
Last Saturday I left my Sister's home at 4am on my way to Minnesota.  Why so early?  I had planned on stopping for the KIP event just over the border into Minnesota...that would be Knit in Public day, folks!  I had a wonderful two hours stitching and chatting w/the fellow crafters on the streets and in the shop!
Here is the view from the little town of Winona:

One one side of town, a rocky crag that one could hike up to.  On the other:

And while visiting I did get a couple of skeins of yarn and a nice knitting book that has patterns to help me use up sock yarn-since I really tend to botch those every time!  What is the first pattern I'd do from the book, say/think you??  Guess...=] Yeah, a pair of socks!  Newborn-size baby socks.  Later on my trip, my Son would help me to find the DPNs(double-pointed needles) and sock yarn to use for the pattern.  I wrote those out, smiling, cause I was having to explain to my dear boy why I needed those to make socks.  I had a blast explaining straight needles, circular needles, and DPNs.  The ones I bought were 5" long...shorter than ususal, but perfect for making baby socks with.

I will leave it at that for now...T, minus 12 minutes and counting til I'm crashed for the night...hope everyone else is able to rest and enjoy tomorrow and the following weekend.  Truly the simple things are best!
CC

Back from the Twin Cities...

Long time no chat! Thanks for your patience as I've been away on a jolly holiday to see family!  I have so much to share from this trip that I will break it down over the next several days.  =]  To catch up on old news, though, here is the picture of our new toaster oven:

Ain't she a beaut!  The mister picked it out.  I've made toast in it once...not sure if he put it to use while I was away, but I suspect not as his favorite appliance is the microwave! =]

Also, the Mister is quite happy with harvesting his blueberry crop this week.  I took a pic before I left as they were just turning at that time.

Today I make a blueberry pie!  I "happened" to be watching Alex's Day Off on the Cooking Channel (I think), and saw the episode featuring the Blueberry Pie recipe that I'll be using.  Here is a link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/blueberry-pie-recipe/index.html
I've not tried it yet, read the reviews and will enjoy it I believe.  I've also used Alton Brown's recipe for blueberry pie with great success!  At any rate, I think the Mister deserves a homemade dinner tonight and pie for dessert after suffering my being gone for 4 days! =] A full report on dinner and dessert tomorrow-stay tuned!

Also, I just HaD to go and get a food scale last week...yeah, had the Mister scratching his head, too.  "Are you starting some kind of diet?" Heck, no...I need to weigh my yarn! He started laughing and thinking I had totally lost my mind.  So I found a great knitting pattern for using up all kinds of yarn. 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/norwayneedles/2963651011
One has to easily divide a skein of yarn to know when to stop increasing and begin decreases to finish evenly.  The pattern suggests using a scale.  Sooo, I got one!  And her I am using it to weigh out 25 grams of yarn(midpoint of a 50g skein):

As you can see I was getting close. =]  I've since finished that scarf, but I haven't taken a picture of it yet.  I also weighed out some reclaimed yarn from a thrift sweater and have started that one.  I think the scale will be put to good use for all kinds of yarny crafts! Now who's laughing Mister!  *maniacal  laughter*

And as for the trip, I was able to spend the night at my sister's place, visit a new town (and yarn shop) in Minnesota, I was able to kiss, play, and snuggle with my grandbaby, hang out with my son, and also grandbaby's Mom...I think of her as a daughter-in-law...=]
I will be sharing photos and good times that I had over the next few days.  But for now this old girl is in recovery mode and ship-shaping the homestead.  It's a lot to recover from driving (and my son's driving me) around on 3, 4, and 5 lane highways in 'the Cities', as the locals say. Whew!  Quite a difference from here to there and back again, for this Country Crafter.