YOP Week #32

Finishes: none this week

 

 WIPs (works in progress): 
1) It probably doesn't look like I got very much done since last week but actually I did.  The only problem was I noticed a mistake and had to rip back about 7 rows!!!  Ahhhh!!!!  But it's all fine now and I'm 'back in the groove'............

2)  The Multnomah is coming along and is such a pleasure to work on!  The only problem is I found a hole and no, it's not a dropped stitch because I count them every row!  I have no idea what happened but it is almost like the yarn got stretched out...anyway, I made an executive decision to 'carry on" and I will repair the hole at a later date.  It's not a gift and I can live with it but it was hard not to rip back.  I had already frogged this once and  re-started several times so it's now or never! LOL!

3)  I found my backing material that I was looking for yesterday but it wasn't large enough so I found another I'm  using............I cut the backing fabric and the batting and pinned together.........

here's the backing fabric..............

this is what I had wanted to use..........

Next I will quilt and cut the binding.

New Starts:
This will be a WIP by next week...........I found some 18 count Fiddler's Cloth that I can use for my January (already a month behind!) cross stitch of Hawk Run Hollow.  I need to cut the material and sew a zigzag stitch around it and gather my floss for it.  I'm excited!  I am making each month a separate picture not one great big year.............that way I can display each month when it rolls around.

 As for my other cross stitch....I have not worked on them at all this week.  I am in full gardening mode right now so something is going to slip for sure!  I'm getting ready to order my seeds and supplies plus I planted my Ball Herb Garden that I gave myself for Christmas........we'll see.....the ratings were not good at all!  My greens outside are going gang busters! 

TOP 10 WIP's:

1)  Pickle Dish
2)  America x-stitch - done but needs finishing
3)  Amy's Frido Kahlo basket (July birthday) - done but needs to be sewn together
4)  Pin's embroidery
5)  Heart bookmark for V-Day - done but needs backing
6)  Toe-up socks
7)  Multnomah shawl
8) C2C blanket for Grayson (July birthday) 
9) Granny Triangle shawl for Our Happy CAL Place January CAL
10) 

NEW STARTS: none this week

 Finishes so far in 2018-19: 
1.  4th of July cross stitch pillow/ornie
2.  Hitchhiker shawl
3.  Felici Hibiscus self-striping socks
4.  Felted wool loafer slippers with leather soles for me Sam
5.  washcloth (extra large) and back scrubber for Christmas or birthday for SIL
6.   Iowa Hawkeye hats for Sam and Grayson
7.  Techniques learned so far this year: a) knit cast on, b) reading a knitting chart, c) lace work, d) inserting and using a lifeline e) charting a graphghan
8.   dishcloth(s)...I need to count them
9. Cubs hat for Uriah
10. 12 days of Christmas Advent gifts
11. Cowl for Ben
12. Cowl for Tracy
13. Cowl for Natalie
14.  # 2018 Collectible ornaments for the grands
15.  Cowl for me or gift basket
16.  11 scrubbies for gift basket
17.  1 pot handle cover for gift basket
18.  Ben's Bear's hat
19.  Falling Leaves Scarf
20.  Tissue Box Cover



Please stop by and see all the other fantastic projects that other  YOP'ers are working on.
Happy Trails!!!

First things first!

Today is ordinarily Craft Day but that depends on if there's laundry to do or food to prepare and then there's the daily chores and the girls meds and food and water and going out every 10 minutes...I tell you.....it reminds me of when my children were small and I would fix breakfast for everyone and I wouldn't even be done washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen and it was time for lunch!
That's the way it is here with the 'elder dog care' and cleaning up their 'messes'.  But God love them and it won't be long until someone is cleaning up my 'messes' most probably! LOL!
 I wanted to finish a little quilt top I had made.  I found my batting but could not find the backing fabric! After searching for about 20 minutes I decided God had other plans for me and I decided it was to plan my garden and get my seed order ready. I went through my entire Baker Heirloom Seed catalog but only highlighted.....I'll have to go back and refine my 'wants'.

I got my seeds out that I have and found some 'greens' seeds that I didn't know I had........although Arugula is not my favorite...it is bitter but 'waste not want not'!

Earlier in the day I made some spaghetti/pasta sauce for some spaghetti squash I have.........it simmered for quite awhile.............

and then since it makes about 8 cups I decided to freeze 4 cups............so I froze 2 bags each with 2 cups in them...........

So then I put the rest in a glass jar I had...........but..............

the remainder of the sauce ended up being about 1 1/2 cups....huh?  Oh well, I can always defrost the other if need be...........I'll have to check the recipe again...I could have sworn it said it made 8 cups.

I also made some tuna salad for lunch and had with some saltines...

 It warmed up quite a bit today and was in the 50's I imagine..............Nitty enjoyed sitting out in the sun...............

it still wasn't warm enough for Annie.........she stayed inside with me............

So, that was my Craft Day....I 'crafted' alright but I have no quilt to show for it! LOL!
Enjoy your evening!
Happy Trails!!!

Heat's on!

It wasn't too bad last night.  This house is really well insulated and the fact that it stayed above freezing helped too.  I had a fire going in the fireplace.........

and I have wall heaters in both bathrooms but I would never leave them going unattended for very long.  I called the HVAC people at 7:00 a.m. this morning and he was here by 8:00 but I did tell them I wasn't happy about not receiving a call back last night.  That was their after hours phone number and I called at 4:30 p.m.....really people?  Today wasn't as productive as I would have liked but I was just glad I had heat again.  It was the 'igniter' which isn't an expensive part so I hope the bill isn't too high.

Remember the cookies my daughter got me at Christmas in my Advent gifts........here they are.........

 Well, you know what a copycat I am so, I looked for a recipe and found this one from the New York Times and it was spot on!  It is a 'roll out' cookie which I really don't like to mess with.  I made the dough and shaped it into logs and put them in the freezer.  I took one out after about 30 minutes and sliced it up..........

It filled one cookie sheet which was just right for me.  I forgot to take a picture after they came out of the oven as I was in a hurry to taste them.  They aren't as cute as Annas but they taste the same and that is the bottom line for me! LOL!
Oh, here's the picture of the 3rd bookcase...............not sure this method is working for me but we'll see.

It got to 50 today and 60's this weekend so I think the 'cold snap' is over.  I have Adjuga(sp?) (a weed or a flower depending on your perspective) blooming in my yard and the daffodils are up about 3 inches......crazy!
I hope you all warm up this weekend unless you are somewhere where you are warm enough! LOL!
Happy Trails!!! 

I think I am slowing down with the cold temps!

As a matter of fact....I just realized my furnace isn't working!  I've called them but knowing how things work around here I expect to spend a cold night.  There's electric but no heat.  It was working all day but I noticed it was getting a bit chilly. I thought it was just because the sun went down....lol!  Here I was praying for everyone's furnaces to keep working up North.  Still, better me than them as it going to stay above freezing tonight for the first time in a week or more....34 F....I am the lucky one!
So, yesterday I made sourdough English muffin dough that needed to proof so I made them this morning.........I keep my starter and the dough for the muffins on top of my frig as it is the warmest place in my kitchen........

  The dough looked really good....this is the best starter I have ever had..............

Unfortunately I made them too big but I'll get better with practice.  I used coconut oil for the first time and it doesn't make things taste like coconut but imparts a really delicious flavor along with the sour dough.........

They don't look like much but they are delicious.....hopefully I will improve my sourdough skills with time but so far everything has tasted wonderful.....much more flavorful than my regular dough products.....I'm hooked on sour dough for sure! 

I cleaned another bookcase out too for Konmari and took a picture but it didn't show up.....the leprechauns must be playing havoc with me today!
At least I have electric but no electric blanket.....maybe a heating pad will help.  Nitty has the electric heater out in the garage and I'm not taking that away from her.  I guess I'd better go make a fire in the fireplace as there hasn't been a call back yet. 
Take care and I pray none of your furnaces or ac go out!
Happy Trails!!!

My Grove Collaborative order arrived!!!

I am so excited...beautiful products and healthy for me and my girls.  First, I said I was going to glass containers and here's my first one............in a lovely periwinkle color....they have a silicon bottom and they come in different colors so you can tell if it's your glass cleaner or your counter top cleaner or whatever............

The girl's' (the canine elders) got these 2 items for their own personal spa day..........a dry shampoo in oatmeal mango and a nose and pad moisturizer.....

They had this set of Mrs. Meyers products on sale in the Iowa Pine scent which I love!  Hand soap, dish soap and counter top cleaner.  The white stoneware tray they're sitting on was a free gift!

Some of you can get this locally but I can't so I ordered it from Grove............Method liquid dish soap with a handy pump and a refill in the Clementine fragrance.......... 

and last but not least some free hand cream in bergamont orange fragrance and Bert's Bee's tinted lip balm which was not free. 

I've been sleeping in lately which has messed with my work schedule around here but thank goodness I was up early this morning and rested.  I think sometimes you need extra rest if you're fighting something off.  If we don't get sick then how do we know?  I did get another bookcase cleared yesterday and laundry and washed my hair but it was not the most productive day.  Today I took the car in and had the oil changed, picked up a couple things at the grocers and right now there are potatoes boiling for mashed potatoes, a meatloaf in the oven and green beans heating up.  I hope you had a wonderful day and for most of us.....stay warm!

Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #31

Finishes:
1)  Ben's Bear's Hat - it's off in the mail to him!  I used Knit Pick's Mighty Stitch worsted weight yarn which comes in lots of colors and has a little wool in it but you can still wash and dry in the machine. The pattern is the Bankhead on Ravelry.  I cannot remember if it was a pay for pattern or not but it is a good one.  The brim gets a little tedious but it is really a nice pattern and very easy to memorize.

2)  This was Our Happy CAL Place project for this week and I love it!  I'll be making these for all my kleenix boxes around the house and maybe for gifts too?  What a great way to use up little scraps of yarn.  I'm thinking of making one of those magic balls with the small scraps and seeing how that works.  It uses worsted weight and the pattern is free on Our Happy CAL Place if you join in.  I need to post my shawl and my tissue box over there!  This was fun and the pattern was very easy to follow as it was a tutorial with pictures.

3)  The Falling Leaves Scarf is finally done...I needed to block it but I knew if I called it a 'finish' before blocking it would never get blocked....I know me!  I use those children's alphabet squares for blocking mats.  I got them at Good Will for $4.00 ....S C O R E !!!

 3 finishes in one week?  I think that is probably a first for me!

 WIPs (works in progress): 
1)  I did work on the monthly Our Happy CAL place shawl...I keep forgetting to put in a progress keeper.  It is slow going now that it is bigger.  I'll just make it as big as the yarn lasts.

2)I'm working on a a very old WIP that actually got frogged................but I am a better knitter now and enjoying it much more............plus I am using wooden needles instead of metal which were too slippery for me.........

After washing the shawl which wasn't dirty I used the water to wash some socks.......I threw in some Unstoppables and my whole house smells fresh and clean (and trust me it isn't LOL!).  BTW I got that orange plastic bucket specifically for washing woolens.  It was $1 at the Dollar Tree.  Do you use sock blockers for your socks or just lay them out?  Which is better?  

TOP 10 WIP's:

1) DONE - Falling Leaves scarf - needs blocking
2)  Pickle Dish
3)  America x-stitch - done but needs finishing
4)  Amy's Frido Kahlo basket (July birthday) - done but needs to be sewn together
5)  Pin's embroidery
6)  Heart bookmark for V-Day - done but needs backing
7)  Toe-up socks
8)  DONE - Ben's hat
9)  Multnomah shawl
10. C2C blanket for Grayson (July birthday) 
11. (breaking the rules already!) Granny Triangle shawl for Our Happy CAL Place January CAL
12. DONE - Granny tissue box cover

NEW STARTS: none this week except the tissue box cover which is done already but I might start another one....so fun and practical!


 Finishes so far in 2018-19: 
1.  4th of July cross stitch pillow/ornie
2.  Hitchhiker shawl
3.  Felici Hibiscus self-striping socks
4.  Felted wool loafer slippers with leather soles for me Sam
5.  washcloth (extra large) and back scrubber for Christmas or birthday for SIL
6.   Iowa Hawkeye hats for Sam and Grayson
7.  Techniques learned so far this year: a) knit cast on, b) reading a knitting chart, c) lace work, d) inserting and using a lifeline e) charting a graphghan
8.   dishcloth(s)...I need to count them
9. Cubs hat for Uriah
10. 12 days of Christmas Advent gifts
11. Cowl for Ben
12. Cowl for Tracy
13. Cowl for Natalie
14.  # 2018 Collectible ornaments for the grands
15.  Cowl for me or gift basket
16.  11 scrubbies for gift basket
17.  1 pot handle cover for gift basket
18.  Ben's Bear's hat
19.  Falling Leaves Scarf
20.  Tissue Box Cover

I need to get my socks out this week hopefully.  I'll see how many WIPs I have going....usually 3 per week is all I can manage to work on.....but I get to pick which ones! LOL!

Please stop by and see all the other fantastic projects that other  YOP'ers are working on.
Happy Trails!!!

All that de-cluttering and cleaning made me hungry evidently!

My sour dough starter is simply amazing!  It is definitely alive and well!  I'd like to see what it does when I actually make a loaf of bread and what kind of 'rise' I get out of it........meanwhile,

I took some out and made some garlic and herb flat bread.....another recipe from Lisa over at Farmhouse on Boone...I cut her recipes in half as she is feeding 7! LOL!  There's one missing from this plate because I had to taste it and YUM.....a nice healthy snack or as a side to dinner..........

Then I made Lisa's Lara bars.......her recipes are very easy and she admits she doesn't like to spend a lot of time cooking..........I haven't tasted these yet so I'll let you know later but they are easy peasy to make....everything goes in the food processor for 3 minutes and then press it into a pan and refrigerate.............she uses orange essential oil but I used orange zest from 2 oranges I had.   I know you can use essential oils for cooking but they may have to be 'ingestable' ones.  I need to research that.  Lisa uses DoTerra oils but they are very expensive....

For the grand finale I made salmon patties....again, I have not cooked or eaten them yet so we shall see..........

 I'll be slicing up an avocado to have along with them.  No bread just the patties and my flat bread.   I am really getting hungry now~lol!  This is all really healthy food so I'm looking forward to a great dinner tonight!  What are you having?  Do you have a favorite healthy snack or meal or dessert? 
I cleaned the guest bathroom today and it is now minimalized too.  I paid the last of the bills for this month and worked some more on the tissue box cover which I will show you tomorrow on my YOP post.  Have a lovely evening!
Happy Trails!!!

Another bookcase and another project...........

A busy day for sure.....I wrapped Ben's presents and got them mailed off, went to the pharmacy, grocery store and Dollar General....just a few items at each place.  I'm going to try and make salmon patties and Lara bars this coming week sometime.  I cleaned off my sidewalk and drive way and watered my greens.  I replaced some outside light bulbs and 'dust busted' the basement steps....so much easier than trying to drag a heavy corded canister vacuum down the stairs.
I finally got around to Konmari.............and was able to clear out another bookcase.........

the pile is getting bigger..........

I'm also going sort of 'minimalist'...it's not my nature but getting the house ready to put on the market I thought it would be so much easier to keep it clean if there wasn't 'stuff' all over the counters plus 1/2 of it I don't use anymore.  So here's my  minimalist look............

I also started the kleenix box cover I mentioned yesterday............I may be trying to go 'minimalist' but I am not going colorless! LOL!  I am just grabbing my smallest balls of yarn/leftovers/stash and changing color every round.  I'm not even paying much attention to the colors.....just want a 'scrappy' look......that is my style.....scrappy, patchwork,  boho, eclectic, vintage....whatever you want to call it....

Well, it's Friday night and I am going to 'kick back' and have a glass of wine and then supper and then totally relax!  I hope you have a great weekend and I am so happy the federal workers are finally going to get a paycheck.....what an awful predicament they found themselves in.  I hope it never happens again!
Happy Trails!!!
P.S.  News Alert......I told you I finally received the present  I ordered for Ben from Inspire/Uplift but the punch needle hoop I never received but they did reimburse me.  This was all PayPal's doing.  All I did was lodge a complaint...thank you PayPal!

A little bit of everything day..........

Okay, I had a great breakfast with sourdough pancakes I made with my very own sourdough! 

They were/are delicious! I cooked up some bacon to go with and left some bacon grease in the pan to cook up the pancakes...worked great especially in my cast iron skillet...........

 I ended up with a pretty large stack of them so I froze them with 2 pancakes per bag.  I can't eat pancakes every day as much as I loved them! LOL!

These are whole wheat and to be honest, they cooked up better and easier than any other pancake batter I've ever  used.  I used this free ebook to make my sourdough and this recipe for the pancakes.  I'll be making these for the grands the next time they come!
I did a lot of things today including some bill paying, and I cleaned using my usual vinegar and water mixture but added some lemon essential oil and WOW....it gets things squeaky clean!  I had gotten a free ebook from Lisa at The Farmhouse on Boone.  She has a blog and a You Tube channel.............her recipe and explanations on the different essential oils and their uses is excellent!
Here's the link to that ebook When I finished, my whole bathroom smelled lemon fresh instead of vinegary! LOL!  The only other thing she adds is tea tree oil for it's germ killing properties but I didn't have any so although my bathroom smells great it is evidently still full of germs.  I'll be adding tea tree oil to my essential oil collection.  I also ordered some other cleaning supplies from Grove collaborative which carries all kinds of environmentally, pet and human friendly products and they always send free stuff with the order!  I'll show you all of it when my order arrives but meanwhile you can go HERE 
and if you are a first time customer you get all kinds of free items....really nice, useful cleaning items!
They have autoship if you want but I never care for that so I opt out of it. They are topnotch in the products they carry, the quality and their customer service and I get nothing for saying that.
I also finished Ben's hat today.......in "Da Bear's" colorway.  I hope he likes it.........

As for Konmari Step #2 - all I did was clean the book case I emptied yesterday.......but it's something at least.  Tomorrow I'll get Ben's presents wrapped and sent off to him and hopefully get some more book clearing done.
I also found the Instant Pot I want on Amazon and it is the kind you can make yogurt in too.  I found a recipe for coconut cream yogurt (non-dairy). I had some from the health food store that I loved so another adventure!  I used to eat yogurt daily....the good Greek style until the doctor said to stay away from dairy as it was affecting my cholesterol so I've gone to almond milk but the Coconut yogurt was so good with nuts and honey on it or fruit and granola.....either way since I can't get it locally I'll be making my own.  I've decided to get an Instant Pot also because I only have one burner that works and the other 2 are a grill and one just doesn't work at all....so useless.  So, having another cooking vessel would be a big help!  

Amazon also carries Ball glass jars with plastic screw on lids that will be perfect for the yogurt.  I am getting away from all plastic eventually.  I learned that essential oils can leach through plastic so I ordered a glass spray bottle from Grove.  I'll order more as my budget permits.  Good bye plastic!
That's all for today!  Even though I didn't get a lot of book clearing done I feel really good about what I accomplished today.  I hope you're feeling good about your day too!
Oh, one more thing!  Our Happy CAL Place on Ravelry has the cutest weekly project for this week......a granny square tissue box cover!  Too cute!  Although the week is almost over I have printed off the pattern.  I am all over this bad boy!  Head on over to the Ravelry group to get your free pattern and tutorial!

Happy Trails!!!
 

Konmari Step #2 - Books.....started!

Woe is me as this category is my Achilles tendon!  But I got started and they say that is sometimes the hardest.  Granted, I have not thrown anything out yet...I'm still in 'the gathering stage'.  I decided to use my living room as the staging area as it is the biggest room and a lot of the books are already in there......but there truly are books in every room of this house except the bathrooms and the garage.  I need to recheck and see if this includes magazines.....I'm sure it does and if not it should.  I have lots of those too! 

This is just one bookcase unloaded but it's a start............ It's still dirty and needs to be dusted but there it is.....1 empty bookcase!

 Good news too!  My sourdough starter took off overnight.....I don't mean it left...I mean it doubled in size!  I must have some powerful yeast in this house!  Probably along with some less desirable bacteria too! LOL!

So now that it had almost filled the jar I took some out and made sourdough pancake batter for tomorrow morning.  You let it sit out and Good Golly Miss Molly......it is proofing like mad! I can't wait to make bread with it...........this too has doubled in size just since this morning!  I am so excited to try it!  It's been years!

I also have just 4 more rounds on Ben's Bear's hat and it will be done!  His other birthday present arrived after opening a 'case' with Pay Pal and it came all the way from China....it had all kinds of Chinese writing on it but it's here!  Hopefully it works and he will like it.  It is a steam cleaner for his car/truck.  You need a compressor but he has one.  He keeps his cars immaculate so I figure he will make good use of it.  My Iowa grand boys and my teacher daughter have been off 2 days now due to the snow.  She's really tired of shoveling!
What have you been up to?  Any Konmari people out there?  Misery loves company you know! LOL!
Happy Trails!!!