YOP Sunday

Springtime is wonderful but there is so much to do around here not counting the fact that I need to walk daily....which I did this morning.......

This might be a "stink"  bush blooming...not sure.  I didn't get close enough to take a whiff

 

We've had quite a bit of rain so I have to get outside and get work done before it becomes a jungle....it might be too late....I did get some flowers planted

I got the front door washed and windows cleaned and I made a wreath out of what I had here in the house....I'm proud of myself because I'm don't consider myself very creative... I had the grape vine wreath and the garland and the watermelon is actually a votive holder.  I was inspired by Connie's Spring wreath that she made over at Far Side of Fifty  Thanks for the inspiration, Connie!

I waxed the door good after washing it because I had painted it with chalk paint and never got around to waxing/sealing it.

I put another bucket of flowers by the front door

  The perennials are coming up gangbusters but they all look a little bedraggled because of the rain we've had.

I also planted a couple of tomato plants in containers, of course.  It's about the only way you can garden down here....it's a jungle!

Oh, I bet you'd like to see some YOP pictures....yes, I did get some of that done too but I know I have lots of work to do to finish up some of these by July!  It's only a month away!

I'm making good progress on the blanket which was NOT part of this years YOP but next years.  It was my first KAL though at the yarn shop so I just  have to work on it.  I know now why people do KAL's......they're very motivating!

I am now on block #14 of 55 and do you see the new color?  It's oatmeal and that is the last color to be added.

You're not going to believe this but I FINALLY got my grandson's quilt, pin basted...that's the good news.  The bad news is that right after I finished pinning it I found a great tutorial about how to do it the correct way.  Will I start over and redo it?  Tune in next week to find out!

I actually finished the bottom of one of the 2 giraffes I am making for the other 2 grandboys.....they are all July babies and my daughter is too so it's a busy month for presents.  

It may not look like a giraffe yet but if you look at Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Toy book or patterns on Ravelry you'll see the resemblance.  The rest of the body parts are knitted separately.  I'm on to do the head next so hopefully you'll see more progress on this soon.

I'll be by later to see what ya'll have been up to this week for your YOP's.  I need to update my list....I'm almost afraid to look at it.  Plus, I have "supplies" to order for next year's list which isn't complete yet but I'm so excited!  I can't wait to share it all with you next month.  

Happy Trails!

Rain, rain and more rain!

I'm loving it as it is cozy and cool instead of steamy and hot but those days will come probably after all this rain.  But I've got projects inside and out so I'm busy regardless.  I have managed to finish and start a few books.  Another Janette Oke book that I finished.  Her books always remind me of how people were where and when I was growing up.  They put me in a very happy place before I go off to dream land.

This little book is about a woman from Iowa who grew up  before electricity and is a simple journal of her life.  I so enjoy these types of writings from people who lived simple but hard working lives.

Tucked in the book, which I think I picked up at a garage sale or library sale when I lived in Iowa, was an article about Clara.  Handwritten on the article was her address and phone number although she has since passed on.

Right now I'm reading the following books.........
This one was at the library and I thought I heard that several people were reading this and couldn't put it down...so far I've had no problem.  Has anyone read this?

This book is a book I've had for years but never read...probably a garage sale find.  It's good material and the author is a minister and counselor.  There's good information in it about different personality types such as the "loveaholic", the "victim" and more.  I am blessed with a pretty grounded and happy personality (not that I'm popular but I like myself).  My biggest challenge is to have patience with some of "those people" in the book....LOL!
One of my best friends has her PhD in psychology and is retired after years of counseling.  She used to say "If you knew how angry and full of pain most people are you would be afraid to go out your door every morning."  I think we're seeing that play out with a lot of the gun violence and mass shootings that are in the news now a days.

I'm reading the second book in this mystery series about a single gal who moves back to her hometown in Maine to help her aging father with his blueberry farm.  The first book was good so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one.  It's fun, light reading which is just what I like.

What have you been reading lately? 
Happy Trails!

Garage Sale goodies............

I picked these items up a few weeks ago and forgot to post them...I think...I hope this isn't a repeat! LOL!  If it is I'm "slipping" so someone please tell me.
These trims weren't exactly cheap but they were so unique and I know trims can be expensive so I went for it.

I can always use more fabric!

I love this one....probably use it for the grand boys for something..........

Oh yeah...Halloween fabric...I can always find a use for this........

I love me some polka dots.......

Some vintage rose pillow covers....LOVE!!!!

am I lucky or what?

The pick of the day....these are gorgeous............

and I couldn't resist these puzzles which I love to do and then frame........

 

I hope you got some bargains this week.  Happy Trails!

YOP Sunday

 

 Not much progress as I am still on a cleaning jag and other household and yard projects.  The sock is past the gusset and onto the foot and this will take a while as I have a big foot!

 I didn't even go to the knitting group this week as I was involved with other things but I did make progress on the blanket....I'm on block #9 of 55 now.........

I'd like to do one just using scraps  with no color plan and see how that would turn out.
My lemon seeds are coming up........
that was easy,,,,,and FREE

Also the plant from my daughter has bloomed several different types of daffodils..........

 

I'm off to go outside and spray paint some items, weed, feed the hummingbirds and plant some flags in honor of all our veterans and military personnel.  Both my parents were in the army during World War II.  I salute them all.  Happy Trails!

Lots to blog about!

Remember these flowers I got from my daughter and her family on Mother's Day?

Here they are now.....in fact there are some white ones blooming too that weren't in this picture.

I've been cleaning and organizing..........

especially my bedroom and my yarns..........I sit and stitch here during the day sometimes as there is a window above the chair that lets in lots of natural light and in the evening there is a great floor lamp that works well.  I put an old picnic basket next to the chair for my WIPs (works in progress) and I also can grab it and take it to the knitting group as is.  What I like about it is it stands by itself where my other project bags fall over and my projects get tossed around.

I used my old farm bench for some of my yarn storage.....organizing my stash is another WIP!

I've been baking too....as in baking powder biscuits...........

Those brown spots are where the milk that I basted them with splashed....I might skip that step next time.
I took a hint from Pillsbury and froze some on a cookie sheet before baking and popped them in a freezer bag after they were frozen.  Now I always have them on hand to use whenever....although that might not be a good thing.

I also tried using wheat flour in my pie crust and just pressing it out with my fingers as opposed to rolling it out.  It was fast, saved a lot of mess and clean up and tasted just fine to me.  It was for a spinach quiche.

The wheat flour gives it a crunchier texture which I sort of enjoyed.  The crust and quiche recipe and the biscuits are all on my food board on Pinterest. They were both Martha Stewart recipes.  Although  I think Martha makes things more complicated than they need to be at times.

I have been busy as you can see and yesterday I mowed and today is Wal-mart.  I'm also walking my 3-5 miles when the weather cooperates and I journal an hour each morning which is my spiritual connection.  I'm trying to  "live the life I imagined" and take care of myself and the girls (Nitty, Annie and Grace) at the same time.  You HAVE to retire in order to do this as it is a full-time job in itself! LOL!
 Oh, I also checked the oil and tires and filled the tires on mower and car a bit and cleaned the mower and filter of grass but it needs a good washing....it's like the never-ending story...my never-ending list of things to do.

YOP Sunday

Happy Sunday!  I have some interesting pictures for you today.....my LYS! 

The round table is where we have classes.  In fact it was ready for our crocheted jewelry class that I had signed up for.

Supplies...so nice not to have to order them online when I need them.

All kinds of yummy yarns and fibers...........

There are books you can borrow and magazines and notebooks brimming with patterns of all sorts.

There's also a big rectangular table in the middle of the room where we all gather to talk and knit and crochet or whatever.........

I 'm making progress on the gusset of my sock but didn't really work on it too much this week as I worked on the blanket KAL and I had my class plus day to day chores which have been taking center stage with Spring cleaning.

Here' s the KAL and this is such a fun project to work on.  I can watch t.v. yet each square is individual so even if you do mess up you can just unravel and do that one square over.  I am just having the best time with it and although easy it's not boring.....LOVE!!!!!  I highly recommend this pattern.  There is no web site but it is called Rambling Rows Afghan and is from Cottage Creations in Carpenter, Iowa 50426-0070.   I'm sure you could ask your LYS for it as they have many patterns available besides this one.

This is the result of my crocheted jewelry class.  If I do it again I would use a smaller crochet hook but it is fun and fast although I'm doing some decoupage on the heart and earrings to match for my daughter's birthday so I will be taking another class to finish the set.  Below you can see the paper I will use for the heart and then the little round ones for matching earrings with the same red and black beads.

The bottom part is my work and the top part is a pre-made heart chain I added to make it longer.  There were 4 of us in the class and we laughed and had a great time!

That's all for this week!  The sun has finally come out so it's back to walking and mowing now after all the rain we've had.  I hope you are "high and dry" where you are and enjoying this Spring!
Happy Trails!