TIME TO BLOOM

The week of warm temperatures has produced some flowers!  The azaleas are just poking their colors out of the bush.

There are several different bushes that form this area of color as we come up the driveway.

Just as we greet the azaleas, we have to say goodbye to the camellias!  The last one....

It is nice to see the azaleas come out because so many of our plants in the front yard look like this!

And yes, we did cover them but more than a week of temperatures in the teens at night exceeds the protection of  blankets!

Announcement:  I will be MIA from blogging for this week because I am going on my first-ever cruise! 

 My daughter and I are going to the Bahamas.  

I am overjoyed  on so many levels. 

 I will give you a full report when I return!  

 

FINAL SETTING

I thought you would like to see the setting 

for the two sycamore vases I made for church.  

This is in the foyer as you leave the building.

 

A GENEROUS GIFT

When I met a blog friend, Chris, at the AQS yesterday, she handed me this large paper bag!  She had emailed me that if I wanted some yarn, she would bring it to our meeting.  Throughout the years, she has mailed me leftover sock yarn balls to add to my  mitered sock yarn blanket.  

Well, she didn't mention how many balls of yarn she was bringing!

 I think I counted 17!  I had my walker for the all of the walking I needed to do at the show, so  I filled up the space under the seat with the yarn haul!

I thought I was going  to use the Elmgrove pattern from Berroco but it was written for worsted weight yarn not DK like I thought!  So, I had to go searching but I found another pattern that was similar --I do like top down construction.

I found this pattern on Ravelry and soon knit my swatch.  I upped the needle size to get gauge and I really liked the drape of the knitting better, too.  

Lena and I couldn't wait to cast on for the new sweater--all of the markers are to help keep the pattern repeats distinct for working the lace on the yoke!  Thanks a ton, Chris!

 

A DAY IN DAYTONA BEACH!

It was time for the quilt show--it has been two years since Mary and I were able to go!  What a wonderful time;  I met up with several friends and even got to meet a blog friend! 

 It was a super day!

This quilt was my favorite and was very indicative of this year's entries!  A lot of threadwork and applique. 

There was a huge selection of patriotic quilts by QOVF and 

I could've taken a picture of everyone of them!  

This one had a very cool border that I admired!

This one reminded me of my daughter who loves birch trees!

This is a very large quilt and it was so realistic, 

I could've stepped right in and could almost smell the old forest!  There was a man and two dogs on the trail toward the bottom that shows the scale of the towering trees!

This was a t-shirt quilt done in a very clever 3-D block format--

all from Harley shirts!!

The details on this quilt were amazing--

not to mention it would be a great fantasy destination!

We went on an adventure for lunch--it was only a few blocks from the quilt's Convention Center and I hadn't been there in 9-10 years so it was where we went even though the construction on A1A made the .3 mile journey and adventure itself!  Joe's Crab Shack has been there since 2012 but the building has been there since 1918! Many of the building/hotels that I remember were right next door are gone from Hurricane Matthew damage 9 years ago!

The beach wasn't crowded but the waves and the sea air was a delight to savor!

 

JUST A FEW MORE STITCHES

 A little fun with amigurumi critters!  It's been a while and I wanted to finish these guys that I started too long ago!  They waited for me.  Soon to be on their way to the other corner of the country where my grands live.

I tried to rest up yesterday, so that today I can go to the AQS in Daytona Beach!

WOOD ON WEDNESDAY--MAKING DUST!

Another sycamore log to become a matching vase

 to the one I did a few weeks ago.

I have the outside shaped like I want and sanded smooth; 

 there is no finish on it yet.

Today, I will be drilling out the center 

and applying the sanding sealer followed by shellac.

 

A TOTE

 This is hot off the press--I received the fabric from our FQC and put it right to use!  I don't always use it in the way suggested

 but I couldn't resist this large tote in the citrus colors!

(13X22x4")

DREAMING

I have had some set-backs from the new medicine--I have quit taking it and am starting to feel tons better.  I am just not made to handle strong medicines, especially when I am allergic to the other three in that family of medicines!  I have learned to listen to my body and responded quicker this time so that it didn't require a hospitalization to realize I was in trouble!  Slowly getting back my energy and letting the pain subside--how is it that a medicine that is supposed to relieve arthritic pain made it 20x worse?!

Anyway, I did a lot of this while laying in bed.  I sure am hooked on the relaxation of paint by numbers!

 

EXERCISING BRAIN CELLS

I've done a pattern similar to this but this time I am using short rows.  After a few rip-outs occurred, the lightbulb went off 

and I went to town!  I am using some more of the dishcloth cotton, ( I Love this Cotton brand) 

which I have found makes a very good way to test out a pattern and have something useful when I'm finished!

 

STILL SORTING OUT

A little bit of digging uncovered these blocks--

there were 5 and I added 4 more during the week. 

 I also have a pile of squares cut to make the last 3 blocks.

I also added the Whimsy quilt to the frame. 

 I hope to be able to work on it today.  

 

ANOTHER DAY

 A long day with moments of pure joy hidden within...

and next to the ice cream store, is a sweet little yarn shop!

SLOW AND UNSTEADY!

Tuesday, I had to go in for a CT scan and an ultrasound to see why there is such a problem with my bladder.   I had to fast for these tests, so by the time I got in finally,  I was a bit shaky.  I did alright during the CT but the contrast made me even more unsteady.  Not to mention the problem getting the IV to work.

I was done in by the time I got home and I went right to bed.  

I was still 'off' yesterday, but did make the binding for the small rail fence quilt.  Bill was in the studio with me as a repair man-- our washer quit and he spent Monday trying to repair it, ordered a new part and decided that it was a no-go after all.  He had a 'spare'  old washer in a shed (we have seven) 

and so he was installing it while I sewed.  He even did a very good job of picking up when he was done!  After all that, we did decide that it was time to go ahead and order a new stackable washer/dryer to install in our large kitchen pantry, so that will be a big project for next week;  getting all of the prep work done I mean!  Think plumbing, drains, and ripping out shelves  

It will eventually be a win-win.

 

JUST A FEW

The binding is on the second hearts runner--just made it in time!

I did complete the first dishcloth and really bound my rhythm for doing the crochet colorwork.  In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I charted and started a second one !
 

THINKING OF HEARTS

This is what happens when you try to do an idea just from your head and without a bit of charting...

See how much better it is with a bit of space and equal space at that!  Have you ever done colorwork with crochet?  It takes just a bit of thinking but it is very pleasant to work on!

 

NAT'L QOV SEW DAY

This was my accomplishment for the day of sewing and making new friends during the sew day yesterday.  70" x 80"

We had a turn out of almost 39 ladies and several men, too! 

A wonderful time of dedicated people! 

 

SOME GOOD LOVE

I  finished putting the binding on one of the table runners

 and still have one to go.  

I was able to load the rail fence donation quilt 

and then it was time for a ...

family visit!  Bill's sister, her daughters and  granddaughter stopped in for a visit on their way to Disney! 

 It sure was a gift of love!

 

FRIDAY FINISHES

It's a finish!  64" x 88"  Handing it in on this Saturday, when we have the Nat'l QOV Sew Day!

And both table runners are quilted and ready for their binding which I need to dig through the pile and find something.  I'm hoping there will be enough left over backing to at least bind one of them!
 

A FULL DAY

I finished the last few feet of the 4-patch for QOV, 

took it off the frame and trimmed it up.  I hope to make and apply the binding today!

The first of the valentine's day runners is on the frame and the second one will load right after this one!

I ended up doing two rows of something I saw new on a reel I saved from FB but when I looked back to link it, I could see that I did it 'wrong' and ended up with a whole new stitch that works great for edging--it is thicker and very similar to an I-cord edging!  I added the second row to the back and like what I created!

The afghan finished out at 50" x 62" and I used almost 2 full skeins of the gray and the ivory Simply Flawless by Yarn Bee to make the solid granny squares.  The crochet edging and joining was from an odd skein of Caron yarn

And last night, it was a perfect way to end the day....

 

YOU HAVE TO BE BRAVE!

So, to the delight of my heart, my grandson called and asked me to make him a mallet that he needs for his job.  He gave me a rough idea of what he wanted and a YouTube link so I could make one for him. He had brought me a large fallen branch from his home a few years ago, so I knew it would be a perfect choice because it was Red Oak, a hard wood.  The turning happened without too much drama. (it was very cold in the garage and I could've used mittens to keep my hands warm but I didn't want them filled with wood chips! lol)

And since the wood was very dry, there were a lot of dusty sawdust that made a right good mess!

After sanding and a good rub with oil, I left it until the next day. 

 I took it off the lathe and sanded down the ends, signed it and oiled the ends for the big ta-da moment.

When I was getting ready to wrap and box it up to mail to him, 

I noticed someone peeking out at me!  I almost asked Bill to remove it but decided I needed to be brave and pull it out myself!  I was very afraid it would break in half--it didn't!  

He came out in one piece, I wrapped him in a tissue and squished him.  Ughhhhh!  I then dropped some CA glue down the hole to be sure there wasn't another one! lol

And here is the first of its kind from my lathe, 

a 10 1/4" oak mallet!  

I was very excited to be asked to make this for #1 grandson, 

but also to be able to fill the request! 

 Love does stretch your abilities!