Playing catch up

It seems whenever I have taken a break from blogging, I always have so much to post about that I can never decide where to begin. To be honest, I was going to take a much longer break than I did, until a friend of mine asked me what happened, why am I not blogging? When I told her that life had gotten crazy busy, she told me she misses reading what I'm up to. So, here I am...back at it and I hope you enjoy!

As I mentioned the last time I posted, I became involved with an online art project, and have been enjoying it immensely. My husband and I got my little 'studio' all set up in my "tiny house", but because we haven't had a chance to get power out to it, it's too hot now to work in it. I basically moved all of my supplies...well, a good part of them anyway, such as my paints, so that they don't ruin, into the house and set up shop on one of my dining room tables (I have two). Keeping up with everything the past couple of months has been more challenging than I thought it would be, so I did get a little behind with my index card art. Not so much as to not being able to catch up though, which I've been working diligently at. I think I'm only behind by maybe 7 cards or so. I try to limit myself to no more than 15-20 minutes per card, so it's totally doable by July 31st. Now that I think about it, I think the organizer is actually keeping the group open until August 15th. After that, I plan to continue her art challenge with journal pages, which I'm pretty excited about!

Dining room table isn't for eating, is it?

I'm including just a few of the pieces I've done, all hand drawn, and each one follows a daily prompt we're given. I'll put the prompt at the top of each card, and you can see my interpretation.

 1970's

 

Snow globe

 Route 66

 Psychedelic

 Wabi-Sabi (google it..I had to!)

 Telephone (Ernestine is what came to me..lol)

 I Love Lucy

These were strictly done for fun, relaxation, and it's my form of meditation. While I never took any art classes in school, or any lessons period, I have always had a deep appreciation for art. My grandfather was an artist and his preferred medium was oil. Us kids were never allowed in his studio, but quite often, I took the risk of being scolded by my grandmother and would sneak off to it...I might have moved a little paint around on his current canvas. Yikes!! I wish I could've had all of his books and artwork, but my aunt got them when he died. I'll more than likely never get to see them again. Oh well....I'm having a wonderful time practicing my own works! They aren't perfect, but art isn't meant to be. It's all in the creating, not the finished piece.

Also, since I last posted, I completed a book called The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins. For me, it wasn't one of those books that I just couldn't put down, but it was a good read. I've gotten so behind on my reading, and that is so unlike me, but I'm aiming to change that. Last week, I picked up the book At the Water's Edge, by Sara Gruen, who also wrote Water for Elephants, which I thoroughly enjoyed! I even took my grandson to see the movie when it came out a couple of years ago. I'm only a couple of chapters into the story right now, but so far, I'm enjoying it. I won't say too much about it as I read it, in order to not cause any spoilers.

Since this is a knitting/fiber arts blog, I'll show you what has been happening with that. A friend and his wife lost a friend of theirs that left behind a quite large stash of crochet cotton, and they immediately thought of me. We live a couple of hours apart, and they were even nice enough to deliver it to me. They just had one request...that I knit or crochet them something from some of it, as a memento of their friend. Even if I didn't need all of that thread (which I don't), I still would've made them something just because they asked and I don't know how to say no. Besides, it's a nice break from working with yarn once in a while. I've had this doily done for a while now, and since we can't seem to make our schedules work to meet up, I'm just going to mail it tomorrow to their home a couple of hours away. It's hard to tell in the picture, but this piece is actually blue. The pattern is Pale Crocus, by C. Strohmeyer and is in a book that I have had for AGES!!

My Featherweight cardigan, by Hannah Fettig, is coming along nicely. I'm now starting the sleeves, and I love the fabric this Elsebeth Lavold yarn is making!!! I think it will be absolutely lovely to wear in the Fall...

There is more knitting, some spinning, and sewing to share with you, but I am going to save it for another time. I have to set a time limit for my computer time, which as I said, is self imposed....I won't get anything done if I don't. So, I hope to return tomorrow with more to show you...until then, enjoy your day!!

Let Freedom ring!

Wow, I can't believe it's been two months since I last posted! It has just been two months of busy, with very little computer time (self-imposed). I won't try to fit everything into one post...it would just take up too much time. So, if you decide to stick with me, I will try to remember to tell you all that has been going on in my world...and if I don't remember, that would be okay too as I am going to make more time to talk about things as they come to mind.

There has been much gardening/landscaping, sewing, quilting, knitting, spinning, honing my drawing/art skills. Ok, maybe "much" isn't quite the word to use, but I assure you, there has been some of all of the above. I don't watch any television at all this time of year, so there has also been some reading, and one of my faves, swimming. While I haven't blogged myself, I have been trying to keep up with all of you on yours, as well as your podcasts. I have really gotten hooked on videocasts, and enjoy so many of them in the evenings when I settle down to knit or crochet for a bit before heading off to bed.

I don't have time to get started today (maybe this evening after sewing lessons with my granddaughter), but I promise I will be back very soon....and with PICTURES!!

It's Friday....enjoy your day and if you are in the United States, have a safe Independence Day!!!! Happy 4th of July!!!

Give it a go!

First, I want to start by saying "HI!" to two of my friends I ran into yesterday, Joanie and Annie!!! They are sisters and have written a book that I can't hardly wait for it to hit the presses so I can read it. It's called Molly Takes the Cake and I will keep you posted. They have assured me that it is a wonderful and funny story, so you won't want to miss it! It's due out sometime this summer...perfect! I love summertime reading!

Joanie and Annie had their beautiful, young, niece with them. It was a pleasure to meet her! We bumped into each other in the stamping/scrapping aisle of a local craft/home decor store, and I overheard their niece say something like, "I wish I knew how to do this kind of stuff, but I'm just not that artistic." When I looked up, it was my friends, and I had to share with them the reason I was there, because I'm that excited about it. Yesterday, a friend blogged about an idea from a woman by the name of Tammy Garcia aka Daisy Yellow, called Index Card a Day. The whole idea is to challenge yourself and get your creative juices flowing. You can read about it here. I'm really looking forward to this project which begins on June 1st. Go take a look around her website and hopefully, it will inspire you to join in as well. It has certainly peaked my interest...I find so much peace, joy, and relaxation...I'm at my best when I'm surrounded with my art, music, knitting, and crafts. If you think you can't come up with ideas to draw, no worries...Tammy gives you daily prompts. And remember, it's nothing more than just making lines on paper. It's also on index cards...small pieces that don't have to be perfect! I prepped some of mine last night and even had fun doing that, plus just the thought of getting to add to them has me so excited. I hope you will join in and see what you can come up with!

There has been some substantial progress made on my summer linen wrap. I'm more than halfway now, and I swore after my last poncho I would never do that much stockinette stitch in one project again...alas, here I am. It will totally be worth it though!! This yarn, Linen Concerto by Plymouth Yarns, is making the most beautiful fabric with lots of drape, and once it's blocked, it should be more open weave.

I'm not sure I am completely committed yet, but I did post in the 2 Knit Lit Chicks group on Ravelry that I wanted to join in on their Cardi/Tank/Tee Knit A-long. The start date is today, so I cast on for the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. With summer coming on, and still so much to do with other projects, i.e., quilting, gardening, the above mentioned art project, I hope I can keep up and finish by the end date. This will be a real challenge for me, which I love doing, and I'm told this cardi goes pretty fast. It calls for Lace or Fingering weight yarn, but I already have a sweater's worth of Elsbeth Lavold's Silky Wool, which is a dk weight. I swatched and managed to get gauge with size US4 needles, so I'm going for it!

It's Friday, it's a gorgeous day here, and I'm thinking about taking my sketch book to one of our outdoor malls...just to try my hand at drawing movement. I hope you will try this art challenge...if you do, let me know...I'd love to see what you come up with!!

Entire circumferences

There really is a valid reason for my absence the past couple of weeks, and perhaps some of you can relate. We have been in a terrible drought here in California, so it has been a real wake-up call on the importance of conserving our resources. My husband and I wanted to do our part, so we have taken up most of our lawn in the backyard and are putting in drought tolerant plants/flowers. We hired a landscaper who has come in and put in a beautiful block retaining wall that circles almost the entire circumference, and is also extending our patio to give us more room for a hot tub. I couldn't be more pleased with it, and I'm having a lot of fun looking at magazines and visiting nurseries to do research on what plants I want in my new flower beds. It all takes a lot of time, and so far, I've put in some lavender, one of my favorites! I plan to put in one more rose bush, and maybe a couple of rhododendrons to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. After that, we will tackle the front yard landscape, but I've already quit watering that lawn.

Just a little sampling of the wall and a photo bomb from Maggie.

So, that has been what has kept me away from my computer for the past couple of weeks. However, there has been knitting, a little spinning, and some reading of an actual book. On the 19th of April, I finished knitting my pink capelet I'm pretty sure I've shown progress pics of, and yesterday afternoon, I was finally able to get it on the blocking board. It was so warm yesterday, that when I got up this morning, it's actually already dry! Now all I need to do is find the perfect button, sew it on, and take pictures. I'm so very pleased with how pretty it is and it's such a beautiful pattern! Unfortunately, as I've said before, it's not on Ravelry, so if you're interested in it, please get in touch with me and I would be happy to put you in touch with Betty Fryer, the designer. You can either leave me a comment here, or contact me on Ravelry...I'm KnitNurd over there.

Just in case this color doesn't match the outfit I still need to buy to wear to an event we're going to this summer, I decided to also cast on another summery type wrap, in a more neutral color, just in case. I'm really into neutrals right now, so I chose a very pretty silver-y color rayon/linen/cotton blend yarn from Plymouth Yarns, called Linen Concerto, to knit Same Thing Only Different (by Cheryl Schumer), which can be worn several ways, but I love how it's worn as a poncho. It's lightweight, and knit in a fairly loose gauge, which should be nice for a pretty summer evening. It doesn't look like much here in my photo, but once it's finished, blocked and sewn up, it will be nice!

 

 

While I was trying to decide what next to cast on for, I decided to put a few more inches on my Maighdean Mhara scarf. Wow! I forgot how much fun knitting this gorgeous lace was!! I still have about 10 more repeats of the pattern before I can do the end repeat and be done with the knitting part, but it does move along quickly.

 



Other than finishing one of the socks of the pair of plain vanilla ones I'm knitting right now, that's about it for the knitting. I have been plying some singles I spun up, and have just about filled up a bobbin's worth, so very soon, I will have to grab another bobbin to finish plying these two singles. I would love to get this fleece I bought last year at the winery completed. That event is coming up again very soon, and who knows what I will pick up this year!!

 

Currently on my coffee table is a book by Paula Hawkins, called The Girl on the Train. She has a kind of 'dry' style of writing, but it is a serious story, so perhaps it just seems that way to me. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying it very much, and it is holding my attention in the mornings with my coffee. I should have it finished in the next couple of days, if I'm not too distracted by my new flower beds and all that I need to do with them yet. It's a great story though!!

 

We're having beautiful spring weather here at the moment, so I'm going to stop here for now. I hope to be back very soon, and I might even have some quilting and/or sewing to share with you. I plan to sew up some cute summer tops for myself since losing 40 pounds. Oh, that's the other news I had on my mind...I went to see my doctor this past Monday and got the most wonderful news ever!!!! She was so surprised to see the weight loss that she started crying, which got my tears to flowing...hahaha. She hugged me and said "see? this is the reason I do what I do!!" I love my doctor!!! When I saw her in October, I was one point away from being considered diabetic. She told me that I could probably reverse that with diet and exercise. I was so upset, so I had a talk with myself and realized I was the only one that could get me out of that mess. She told me then that we would do a re-check at the end of April. So last Thursday, I went for another A1C test, and when I saw her on Monday, I got the best news ever!!!!! Not only did I reverse it, I'm exercising and lost 40 pounds, but I'm in the normal range again!! I am still just ecstatic, and will stay on this journey of good health. I feel better than I have in many years...nothing hurts anymore, my husband tells me everyday how proud he is of me, I can fit into places I couldn't before, I am back shopping in juniors/misses sizes, and the best thing of all...my grandchildren wrap their arms around my entire circumference and call me their "skinny grandma". I tell them that's just a side effect of being healthy, and that is what's really important....now they want to be healthy too!!

 

 

 



Looking ahead

As a young child, whenever my mom would take us girls (there were three of us) shopping for clothes, she never allowed us to try things on first. She was convinced that the mirrors in the dressing rooms were two way mirrors and some perv was on the other side watching us to make sure people didn't shoplift. Oh, and don't forget about the cameras installed in the ceilings. Gah. I'm sure she heard that from gossiping with uninformed neighbors or something. However, we did have arrests made of men who sneaked into dressing rooms and had little mirrors they held underneath the connecting walls and watched women dress. True story. Even if the two way mirror story wasn't fact, it still created a phobia in us girls to where we always just made our purchase of what size we thought fit us, and exchanged it if it didn't. And then there's the problem of each designer/manufacturer having slight differences in sizing which can make a big difference when we put the garment on. I know you women reading this know exactly where I'm coming from. Me personally, I've been all over the size charts my whole life....anywhere from a size 3, up to a size 20 in women's. I feel most comfortable around a size 8 to 10, since I'm only 5'4, and that's where I intend to stay for the rest of my life. Having just lost 40 pounds, and knowing I was a size 18, I'm pretty sure I'm hovering right around a size 14 now, which still isn't all that uncomfortable for me. I only know this because I happened to have some size 14 tops I had held onto in my closet, and I put them on the other day to find they fit!! Here's the deal though...I have no clue what size pants I wear and because I know I'm bigger on the bottom than on the top, it was a guessing game when I went shopping yesterday. I don't really go shopping all that often (well, compared to a lot of women I know), so I was delighted to see that fashion has taken on that late 70's, early 80's look again!! Have you seen the pretty rayon blend palazzo pants and gauchos (yep, they actually called them that) on the market? Flowing fabric and elastic waistbands, paired with some cute sandals and peasant style blouses..I love it!!! It made the guessing game so much easier, but I'm still hesitant because the sizing is small, medium, large, and x-large. I ended up buying a pair in large, and the same with a matching top. I haven't tried them on yet, but will take care of that today. If they work, I may hit the fabric store and whip some "gauchos" up for summer!

 

While I was shopping, in the same store, I came across these adorable coffee mugs!!! I just couldn't resist and picked one up for my coffee drinking daughter too...

 



Sorry, I had to take the shots in segments so you could see what each cup says. Cute, right?!

By the time I got back home, the landscaper was here to start working and drop off more materials, so needless to say, not much knitting or spinning happened at all yesterday. And I'm not sure how much will get done today either...I seriously want to get my quilt finished! I'm sure I won't be needing it for a few months now, but even still, I don't like leaving all these unfinished projects. We will see what the day brings, and I will definitely have some progress on something to show you tomorrow...just not sure what yet. Stay tuned....

Positive changes

It's finally starting to look like something! We hired a professional landscaper to come in and create our own private little oasis in our backyard. While we love to travel occasionally, we also love spending time at home, so we figured why not take that step and make our space a place we will enjoy spending time and entertaining in. I've been telling friends and family that I am feeling like a grownup now with a landscaped yard, something I've never had before. It's going to be beautiful and I can hardly wait to get the types of plants/flowers in that will attract hummingbirds and butterflies. This is also our way of helping to conserve water, since we have taken out a large portion of grass. The plants we put in will be semi-drought tolerant. We have always loved spending time in our yard together, and now it will not only be beautiful and fun, but meditative at those times when you long for calm and peace. There will eventually be a water feature of some sort, but just not sure where for now.
The blocks aka stone wall, aren't in place yet...Eric (the landscaper) just dropped off supplies yesterday in between other jobs so he will be ready to go this afternoon and this weekend. The area behind the wall is actually larger than it looks in this picture, which makes me so excited! I can't hardly wait to "decorate" it!! The area on the far edge to the left will be extended patio, and eventually will be home to a new hot tub (that we've been talking about for at least five years!) First, we want to get the front yard done too...it's all coming together.

 

Lately, I've been in such a peaceful place in my life, my heart, and mind. I've noticed it's coming through in my knitting, spinning, and designing of my landscaping. These days, I'm really attracted to softer colors, as many of you who follow me on Facebook and Ravelry already know. I have needed more neutrals in my life and my wardrobe, and I know I am the only one who can make that happen. Don't get me wrong...I still love the louder, vibrant colors and will still use them wherever and whenever I think they fit in, but for the most part, you will probably see me using more grays, pinks, pastels, etc. Especially the grays...I'm loving it! Of course, like I said, all of this is subject to change, but for now, the grays are what's appealing to my feminine side...or at least, that's how I see it. This is the Swedish Spring Shawl, by Maria Montzka. I found this to be a very quick knit, and so much fun. I followed the pattern exactly, and while I wish it had a longer wingspan, it's still absolutely a gorgeous piece Maria designed for you to wrap around you like a soft hug!

 

 

 

My pink capelet I've been working on is coming along very nicely. I'm just hoping it doesn't end up too big for me, but I've already decided if it does, I'll just pick something else to wear to the event I needed this for. See what I mean? no more stress! Life just isn't worth sweating the small stuff, you know? Yes, given the amount of hours I've spent working on this piece, it would be disappointing, but at the end of the day, I'll just consider it more practice for what I love to do the most!!

 



 

Spinning generally takes place for me in the mornings with coffee, and again in the evening before going to bed. It's my zen, so it makes sense to me to start and end my day with it. I'm still working on Felix, my Lincoln X roving I bought last year at Retzlaff. I'm enjoying it so much, and it's GRAY!!! I've completed my first two bobbins and have begun turning them into a 2-ply yarn.

 





The combed top I just wanted to be done with, is a superwash BFL from Fat Cat Knits, in the Falling Leaves colorway, and while I thought it was pretty at the time I ordered it last year, I'm not sure it appeals to me any longer. It spun up beautifully, and more than likely, it will get knitted up into a hat, or some such accessory. For now, it's going to live in my stash and we will see what next Fall brings. It's beginning to grow on me...

 

My 'journey to health' is continuing and I'm finally nearing that 40 pound loss mark. It has been so long since I've felt this good! I'm still setting goals for myself, albeit small ones, but goals all the same. For example, I found myself using too much coffee creamer in my morning coffee. Then, I began having a cup of coffee in the evenings as well...more creamer. Before I knew it, I was probably packing in an extra 200 calories or so per day...empty calories at that. There are 35-40 calories per two tablespoons of creamer, and if I had to guess (I never measured), I was using at least 3 tablespoons per cup of coffee. Most days, I was having 3 cups of coffee. Ok, well, my coffee mug is quite large, but even still, doing the math, that's probably more like an extra 300 calories per day. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that there is no nutritional value whatsoever in those flavored coffee creamers. In order to achieve more of my goal, I needed to wean myself from those preservatives, i.e., chemicals. They are quite yummy, my favorite is the York Peppermint Pattie one, so I savor ONE cup of it in the morning, with TWO tablespoons of it, and the rest of my cups of coffee are black. It's surprising how if you really want something, you can get used to the change. 

 

I'll take it!

Weather forecasts aren't always 100% accurate, but here in California, most everyone in my circle wants to completely believe them, no matter if it's even just a sprinkle or two. A common phrase you will hear these days is "hey, we'll take whatever we get!" The forecast for yesterday did not disappoint! It won't get us out of this drought, but it does mean our reservoirs can fill up a bit, and 
things can stay green for a little while longer without people using their sprinklers. Up the road a bit, we got a healthy dose of snow, up to 18 inches in some places. Ski resorts are now rethinking their end of season closings that were going to take place tomorrow. It won't be a huge economic boost for them, but it does take the edge off of the red column a bit. It was definitely a wild weather day, ranging from buckets of rain to tornado watches, funnel clouds, and even a mild earthquake. Our next system is due in I believe next Tuesday, but I don't think it's supposed to be quite the soaker we had yesterday. But hey, we'll take whatever we get!

I completed one sock on Monday, tried it on, decided it was a tad too short in length of the foot, snipped some stitches, and frogged the toe. I picked up the stitches and added another inch to the foot length, and am now ready to do the toe again. I couldn't remember if I usually knit the foot a total of 4 1/2 inches, or 5 1/2. I now know it's 5 1/2 and will make better notes in my project page on Ravelry.

 

Stitched in Sweden is a new video podcast I've been watching...I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Maria before, but just in case I haven't, she's an American living in Sweden. She's a new designer as well, and as soon as I saw her new shawl pattern released, I purchased it, wound my yarn and cast on for it, because that's what knitters do when they find some empty needles. I love knitting Swedish Spring so far!!! I have found my taste in color has changed lately, and I find myself going for a softer palette. So when I came across this gray yarn that's been marinating in my stash for about three years, I knew it had to be Maria's design. It's Cascade Yarn's Heritage fingering weight, in the Steel colorway. The design is charted only, but Maria is very good about promptly answering any questions you may have. Let me know if you decide to knit it as well...I would love to see yours!

 



Did I tell you I had my DNA test done a couple of months ago? Since my mom had already done her side of the family history, I became very interested in my paternal heritage. It has been so much fun making new discoveries of relatives I had no idea about! And I certainly had no idea I had an ancestor on the Mayflower!! My husband and I both tested through ancestry.com, and have gotten so much enjoyment out of the results. I'll have to give you the breakdown in another post, as I have some tasks that need to be done before I go to knit with my knitting group this evening. For now, I'll tell you I am mostly Scottish and French. I knew about the Scottish, just didn't know how much, and had no clue about the French!!! I shall wear it proudly!

April showers, May flowers? (we can hope!)

Last Thursday evening, I joined up with about a hundred other ladies, and one gentleman (I love Lew!) for our monthly local knitting guild meeting. I always enjoy these meetings so much. I'm with people who speak my language, so what's not to love?! One of the parts to our meeting is our Show and Tell and since I had finished my guild knit a-long, I thought I would show everyone what it looked like. We fill out a slip of paper to tell about it, and then the slip of paper goes into a hat for a drawing for a $25. gift certificate. This was to be our last drawing from now on for the Show and Tell segment, and yours truly won it!!! It's from a LYS, so now I get to go shop and add to the stash. YES!! My Nymphalidea is lovely to wear, and I was happy to show everyone what it looked like completed.

My hubby and I had such a wonderful weekend. We did some shopping in preparation for our new landscaping that is to be started on this week. We needed 'plugs' to cap off some of our automatic sprinklers, since they won't be needed any longer. While we were at the hardware store, we also purchased a new patio umbrella that I just love! It has solar powered LED lights all over it!!! I've lined up the landscaper (my cousin who owns his own company), and now all that's left to do is hire a cement contractor as we want some cement work done as well. I will sit back with my knitting and watch our backyard be transformed into our own little paradise!

Quite a bit of knitting and spinning happened over our long weekend, so today will be house cleaning day. The inside of our house gets so dusty from all of the work taking place in our yard. I just keep telling myself in the end it will be worth it. I think there's something like 291 stitches on my capelet and I'm on row 63 out of 88 rows. I am almost there and am excited to see it coming together. I have really gone out on a limb and not used a lifeline with this lace project. I'm just doing my best to be extra careful with it.

Sock number one is almost finished, and I love it!! I completed the toe this morning on it and will now put in my afterthought heel.

I'm still not sure if I like the colorway of the BFL I'm currently spinning, but I will finish it. Who knows? maybe by the time Fall rolls back around, I will end up loving it, and become inspired to knit it into something to wear. And if not, that's ok too. This is a braid of BFL from Fat Cat Knits in the Falling Leaves colorway. Just in case I didn't tell you that before...

 

We finally got some more rain yesterday! Not much, but a nice thirst quencher for the grass and plants. We are expecting another front to come through beginning tonight and into tomorrow. Even better though is snow in the higher elevations. It would be nice to get some decent measurable precipitation! We will take what we can get though...

Journey to health through creativity

One of the events I love attending at Stitches West is the pajama party, hosted by Marly Bird, who by the way, puts together a fantastic team to assist her. They make sure it is so much fun for everyone attending! I don't even remember how now, but I managed to win a free subscription to Creativebug.com. A few days ago, I finally found a few free moments to go online and redeem my gift and O.M.G.!!! People, check it out..I promise you won't be sorry. There are classes, online tutorials, techniques, and freebies. Seriously, who would've ever thought to put a class together on sewing machine maintenance!??! I know, right?? It couldn't have come at a better time! Even though I just put out over $200. for a cleaning, tuneup, and repair of the reverse function on my machine, by a supposedly very reputable store/dealer in my area, it still doesn't work properly. They have had two chances now to make it right, and still, they can't seem to get it right. Hmmmm....they also happen to sell sewing machines...are you thinking what I'm thinking? Uh huh..thought so. It ain't gonna happen though. I love my machine. It has sentimental value to it, as my son bought it for me 23 years ago. It has sewn many bridal garments, clothing for my children, ex-husband, and now my grandchildren. It's not going anywhere. I'm determined to make it sew properly, and hopefully, my husband will have a chance to take a look at it this weekend for me. Between it and my mom's machine, I have managed to sew my quilt, but I would like to have the reverse function back on my machine once and for all.
Anyway, back to creativebug. I signed up for a class on art journaling, and have completed the first week. I won't be showing you any pictures right now, but suffice to say I'm so excited over this form that is now considered legitimate art. It's a very personal art form, and as the instructor tells us, we don't have to let other's eyes see it if we choose not to. I'm excited to see where I go with this! It's extremely meditative and just seems to go hand in hand with my new outlook on life.

Becoming as healthy and fit as I can be at the age of 61, has been the best gift I could ever give myself and my family. My journey began on November 1st this past year, and so far, I've taken off nearly 40 pounds. At times, it hasn't been easy, but it has been well worth it! I'm down three clothing sizes, and every time I walk past a mirror, it takes a few seconds for it to register that it's me and not somebody else. The best part though is I have never felt better; I have never felt more energetic, and my numbers are well below the pre-diabetic stage. Yes, there is loose skin, but you know what? It's worth every new line in my face!!! My sweet, sweet husband has offered to pony up for the cost of cosmetic surgery, but at this point in my life, I want to embrace every wrinkle. It's who I am and who I have learned to love again, so for now, I'm going to opt for facials, massages, and just love being ME! It may not be for everybody, but it's the right decisions for me. I would never stand in judgement of others who choose to have the surgeries, in fact, my hat's off to them. Right now, it's just not for me, and especially because I'm not at my goal weight yet. Most of all, I want to embrace the health benefits of this journey, physical and emotional, as that's what it was all about for me in the first place!

 

If you recognized the cowl I'm wearing in the above picture, you'd be right in saying "hey, that's the 'Vanessa' cowl she was working on!" I finished it yesterday morning, and immediately put it on, where it stayed the whole rest of the day. It is so freaking lovely to wear!!! Most of the colors are from Cascade 220 Sport, and I think it was two of the colors I purchased from Polka Dot Sheep at Stitches West 2015. Both yarns were lovely to work with and are very soft and comfortable to wear!! This is an exceptional design by Christina Wall of the Knitter's Life podcast, and I thank her for so generously offering it to us for free!!! If you have never done stranded color work,i.e., fair isle, Creativebug offers a class on it, and I'm pretty sure you could find one also on Craftsy.

 

My socks are gaining length and a couple of my knitsibs at knit night last night commented on how "vintage" they look. I love that!!!! The darker, thin red line you can see is where my afterthought heel will be placed. This is my new favorite go-to heel. It's so easy and the fit on my foot is amazing!

 



My local knitting guild I'm a member of has been hosting a knit-along for the Nymphalidea Shawl. Mine came off the blocking table yesterday morning and I'm so very pleased with it! It's light, it's drapey, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to love wearing it. This was a very fun, easy knit. I'll try to get better pictures wearing it soon.

 

The last bit of knitting I've been working on is my Tickled Pink capelet. While it's a bit challenging, it's mostly just staying focused since it is lace work. I'm so very excited to be knitting this and can already envision my 'new' self wearing it. As I've mentioned before, it can't be purchased on Ravelry (not sure why the designer hasn't put it on there), but rather from a lady I met through the Lacy Knitter's Guild I'm also a member of. The actual name of the pattern is Gossamer Capelet, by Betty Fryer, and if you would like more information on how to get the pattern, just contact me via Ravelry or leave me a comment on here (Rav ID is KnitNurd). I'll continue to post my progress on this so you can get a better idea of what it looks like, as I don't have a picture of the pattern to show you.

 



 

Eventually, I'll get back to my other WIPs, as I've been on a finishing jag lately. I have done quite a bit of spinning this past week too, so I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of that. I hope you and your family has a wonderful Easter holiday!!

 

 

A matter of semantics

Are you surprised? I did some more sewing!! My quilt top almost finished!!!! And of course, no picture I take is complete without a photo bomb, courtesy of Maggie, the stubborn Doxie. It still needs the two borders, one thinner than the other, and then it will be ready for the actual quilting. This quilt is going to be much bigger than I ever thought, which is a good thing because my grandchildren all want one now, so I will have an idea of what size to make for their twin size beds. I just can't even begin to tell you how over the moon happy I am with this!!! Thank you to both my friends, Toni, and Nanci, for encouraging me to do this...

 

My Remembering Vanessa cowl got its first blocking yesterday, and I'm so very pleased with it! It always amazes me how blocking evens out your stitches, especially with fair isle colorwork. I was planning on grafting the two ends this evening, and then I remembered I'm babysitting grandchildren so mommy and daddy can have a nice evening out without kids. It probably won't be completely dry by then anyway, so tomorrow would be better instead.

 

I'm almost finished with my Nymphalidea Shawl...well, actually, I already reached the point where the pattern ends, but I had way too much yarn left to go unused, so have chosen to just keep knitting. Then, I remembered I'm using Miss Babs Yummy 2 Ply, which has a whole lot of yardage in each skein. Once I'm finished with it, I will post the colors, etc.

My day wouldn't be complete without some sort of spinning! This cutie, for the most part, sits on my coffee table and everytime I look over at her, I just can't resist picking her up and giving her a twirl or two..or three, and so on. Next thing I know, at least 15 minutes has passed. Spindle spinning goes slower than wheel spinning, so I know this picture doesn't show a whole lot of progress, but this was from a couple of days ago. Since then, I have done quite a bit more, but just haven't gotten around to taking a new picture. I will soon though...promise. I have also added a lot more to the bobbin on my wheel...in fact, I've nearly filled it up! Again, no progress photo, but soon....



The other project that got some love yesterday was my sock. I finally reached the point where I needed to put in my lifeline for my afterthought heel, which means I've reached the halfway point for sock number one. Whoop whoop! I will more than likely take this project with me when I go to babysit...I shouldn't call it "babysit", but rather what the kids prefer.."hang out". Lol Gotta love the way our English language seems to be ever changing.
Anyway, see that red line up near the needles? That's where my heel will go after I've finished knitting the rest of the sock.

Lately, I think I've mentioned how I've become obsessed with video podcasts, and I thought I would share a few with you I have recently discovered. The first is called Stitched in Sweden, and the host is Maria, or mmontzka on Ravelry, and I think she's on Instagram as well. She is so adorable, and is an American living in Sweden. Like me, she is into neutrals these days, and everything she knits is such a soft color. I mentioned neutrals....yes, I want to add some softer colors to my knitting palette, like grays, and pinks, maybe even some beiges and off whites. Sounds like a good excuse to visit my LYS!
A couple of other podcasts I'm enjoying and think you should check out are The Knitting Expat, by Mina (mina86 on Rav), who is originally from London (UK), but along with her husband, Perry, have been living in the Middle East. They recently moved from Dubai to Bahrain...very interesting. The other one I like comes from Melody (mandarines on Rav), and is called Mandarine's. Melody is French, but lives in Latvia. She is so lovely as well, very soft spoken, and her knitting is amazing, as is all of the above podcasters. All of these podcasters also have groups on Ravelry, if you would like to have a look and maybe join.

I hope you are off to a lovely start to your weekend!

It's Spring...ahhhchoooo!!

Squaring (is that really a word?) up all of my quilt blocks, all 30 of them, wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. Thanks to one of my quilty friends who loaned me her cutting mat, because I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the investment lest I not continue my foray into the quilt world, it was the best thing ever!!! It has all the markings on it, just like a yardstick, and it makes the task of cutting, measuring, etc., so so easy! It really only took me a couple of hours two nights in a row to square them, so I could lay them out this morning to see how all of the puzzle pieces would fit. Like I said, my corners aren't going to be perfect, but it's perfect for me. Once I had the blocks all laid out the way I wanted them and the way the pattern instructs you, I numbered each one in the order they were to be sewn together. Next will come the borders which, my friend is going to show me some tricks to make that part easier and quicker. I'm still not decided how I want it quilted, but more than likely, since this is my first one, I will just do it on my own, as opposed to sending it out to have it done. I'm just so over the moon thrilled with it so far, and definitely see more quilts in my future.

All numbered and ready to go under the needle!

So yesterday I mentioned there had been some spinning going on. I have to admit that the gray heathered fleece, Felix, is...well, I still love spinning it, but I just needed some color right now. I've been watching several new podcasters who are also new to the world of spinning and have been using drop spindles. I realized yesterday that I have been neglecting mine terribly. I think I now have a total of six of them, two of which are Turkish spindles that I haven't really played with all that much. I chose a braid of fiber, which since I won it last year at the 'day of spinning at the winery' I have no clue what fiber it is... if I had to guess, I would say it's either merino, blue face leicester, or possibly a blend of those two. I believe I did ask the dyer I won it from though, and she told me it's BFL. The Turkish spindles I own are the Swan and the Delight, made by Ed Jenkins, and truly are a delight to spin, so I chose to use my Swan to spin this braid of beautiful color. I forgot how much I enjoy it, and it does make spinning more portable, so it got to go to knit night with me last night. I had a small cop of fiber already spun on my Delight, with just a tad bit more to go, so I finished that up first. I love how you can pull the cops off these spindles and it's already in a center pull ball for you. Then, last night, I wanted to spend some more time with Felix at my wheel, so I now have a bobbin half full. This is my second bobbin of this fiber, and I'm pretty anxious to ply it to get an idea of what the finished yarn will look like.

The Swan

 Cop from my Delight

 Felix

My sister and I were to have an early dinner together yesterday, but unfortunately, her plans were cancelled and it changed ours. I was so bummed about it, but then she sent me a text inviting us for dinner on Sunday. I'm so happy because it means I will get to deliver their socks I knitted her and her husband for Christmas (I was late with them). They are truly knitworthy people and look forward to their hand knit socks each year. It makes a huge difference when you get to see how appreciated your knitting really is!

While the drought here in California continues, you just can't help but appreciate the beautiful weather we are having!! Our two orange trees (navel and blood orange) are just loaded with blossoms and it's good to see the bees buzzing throughout them. Not to mention the heavenly scent that is enveloping my yard. Since we've made the decision to stop watering our lawns, and I had half way decided not to put our small pool (think 4 person hot tub size) up this season as well, I've had a change of heart. We seem to get such conflicting information on how much water we actually do still have, so I started thinking about how much my grandkids and the two of us enjoyed that pool last year. We had so much fun!!!! We have decided to go ahead and put it up again this year, and will still use way much less water than our neighbors who haven't stopped watering, or using their in ground pools. It's supposed to be in the eighties for the next few days, and I have every intention of getting outdoors to enjoy it. My grandson has a ball game today, and you can't ask for better weather for it.

My little bed of strawberries will get a new home this year. They have begun to blossom as well and they need a bigger area to spread out.

          

Strawberries!

Lilacs are blooming!

Irises are about to burst open

Navel Orange tree is loaded with blossoms!

Blood Orange doesn't look like it will disappoint this year either!

 

Both of our kumquat trees need to be unloaded.

My beautiful Hibiscus bushes both got a good pruning this year and are coming back beautiful as ever!

Enjoy your spring!