Cleaning clothes closets can take up the major part of a day when you need to try them on and then even wash some of them. However, there are now two full garbage bags of clothes in my car to take to the thrift store. Some of them are new – never worn – but don’t fit any more. Most of the others are in very good condition and there are a couple pieces that will go to their rag bag section. Now my closet (and drawers) hold only the clothes I intend to wear this year. I have no clothes left to grow into (up or down). If I change sizes, there will be new clothes to wear and some of these to go. Now if it was that easy to take care of the other places in this house, but it isn’t. I often find something that I haven’t used for a year or two is exactly what I need today.Never too old to learn
One is never too old to learn. Mary came over today I had fun learning once again (refreshing) the basics of digitizing for applique. I have several quilts that I want to do including
this owl and flower quilt that will be so much easier to do and neater looking if I digitize the designs for the eyes and wings and do them with the machine embroidery. It is fun and can carve a few hours out of your day while you are having fun. And there is a snowman quilt next on my list. On my, I can find so many things that will be much easier and prettier with this method.
Tomorrow, I will be going to a funeral for a neighbor.
January Zigzangular socks done
Project for January: Zigzanular socks are finished. These socks are a Prairie Girl Design by Suzie White. I knit them with Knit Picks Felici. The colorway is Bubble. It is a nice variation to the striped socks.
The day also included more run around chores. This evening I spent too long looking for a program disc that I may have downloaded. So I need to check on that. However, I did turn up other things that had been missing or that I forgot that I had.
Several starts-no finishes
The potatoes are not waiting until the freeze is over. They want to be planted NOW.
Instead looked at this pile of “who knows what” and found a bill that should be paid next week. S0 that was timely. I also filed several papers, put all the garden magazines together and found homes for several of the other items.
N0t totally finished, but organized. Some of the items need action before putting away.
I started this quilt and cut all the straight pieces, then decided to work smart instead of so hard, so Mary is coming over Sunday to teach me to digitize these pieces so I can do them on the embroidery machine, which is both neater and faster. Another project delayed.
Next I pulled out the owls and flowers quilt that was cut out, made sense of it and have some owls ready for eyes (which again will wait until I learn what Mary is going to teach me on Sunday). So today, was grocery shopping. Post office, and several starts but no finishes.
Pushing hard
No photos today. We had to go out this morning and take the tax information to our tax accountant, then other mini shopping stops. We did get home in time for lunch and then crashed. I think I’ve been pushing myself a bit too hard.
After the nap, I cleared the cutting table, took out the next pattern I plan to work and decided I don’t have enough energy to choose fabrics today – so it will wait until tomorrow. (I did choose some and they are in the dryer now). I cleared off a book shelf and now need to decide which books to give to which people or places.
The animals are fed. It’s cold out there! It is still pouring rain and my phone weather app promises the same for the next 10 days. So I’ll make supper and knit on my socks that didn’t get completed in January, which sounds like a nice way to spend an evening.
Another 14 roses
I I added another 14 roses to the board today. And now the decision which layout I like better. Do you have a favorite?
I took this photo for the beginners in this group. If you have a place where directions call for you to sew across the diagonal, then trim. I like to sew a second line a machine foot away into the discard area. Then I have many little squares to trim which I can make into something else (very small) The white squares here were 2″ and the discard triangle netted 1 3/8″ squares. I wouldn’t want to sew those little squares, but this way they are easy and after several quilts, I have a good number of them. Yes, I suppose all in different places, but maybe I could find them and put them in one place and do something with them
I also interviewed a prospective farm helper, but that may not happen. It’s hard to find someone who wants to do physical labor – especially gardening and a bit of sheep work.
Late winter canning
The red potatoes aren’t holding as long as the while ones, so we either use them fast or we toss them. This is the use them fast method. My Bosch has a French fry cutter and I attach a bread bag on the shoot for ease of cleaning as well so it doesn’t shoot to far.
I add a teaspoon of salt to the bottom of the jar. Then from the bread bag, they go into the pouring container and into the jars. The lids are in water waiting.
They only have to process in the pressure canner for 40 minutes, but then it takes that long to heat up and again that long to cool down. That makes 21 quarts take longer than it seems it should. If I can round up another few jars, I’ll be canning some of the white potatoes that are thinking spring.
And of course, some potatoes had to become fries for lunch. Why is it that potatoes, which are great tasting by themselves, get so doctored up?
I had to blur out the pattern on these because the designer is not ready to distribute it. But I wanted you to see the colors. I have pulled all this out, because once again, the second skein was started at the wrong end. I thought I could live with it, but I can’t. So they are taken apart and when I have recovered from having to undo them, I’ll make another pair. All 4 skeins have now been checked and 2 were skeined reverse at the factory.
More Roses
12 More roses are now up on the board. I think I may be half done. I need to dive into my scraps and even whole pieces for more colors. But it is looking so much better.
I also had to get the emission checked to license my car. They told me it is old enough now that I don’t have to get another on this car which is nice. Now I just have to keep it running.
Then off to get a new battery for my watch which stopped. These kind of trips just seem like a waste of time, but necessary. Oh, yes, and then the grocery shopping. Please tell me why we women can get all this done inside a couple of hours and our DH think we have just scheduled an entire day.
It is still raining, and we are threatened with snow on Monday, but there is a bright light ahead. A week from Sunday, the sun is scheduled to shine.
And I did get a bit of knitting done. This particular stitch is a bit challenging, but I will press on. Who knows I may learn to get faster.
Have a Happy Sabbath and a great weekend
PS For readers who knew her, Alice Kirkman passed away this week.
Twisted madness sock
I think this really matches the day or maybe the month. Twisted Madness sock is the knitting chosen for a competition on Ravelry. The way I understand it is that you must knit as much as you can of this pattern in two weeks and then they group those that have finished at least half of it, into groups according to how fast you accomplished this. I am not a fast knitter. This is the qualifying round. There are 7 rounds after this, probably with each getting more difficult and less time. It looked like a fun thing to do with all my free time. Or maybe it was the 4 loads of laundry including the king size sheets that twisted my mind into thinking I should knit these. Whether or not I qualify, I will still be able to get the patterns for the other 7 rounds.
I thought this was interesting. This is from the two balls you see above. I would not have guessed there was that much blue in it. And perhaps that is how much of each color is in the ball. It will be interesting to see it develop.
Cleaning, New friends and March goals
Cleaning
Some days are just not meant to happen the way I had them planned. When I was getting ready for the knitting adventure this morning, I looked at my phone and found that the service people were coming to service my embroidery machine and my knitting machine at 9. That put me in fast action as it was 8:15 and I needed to tidy up some before they came. At least knitting wasn’t until 10. So that is exactly what I did.
Now I have these papers and books that were laying all over in two nice neat boxes and I can actually find them as they are standing up.
Then I went to a new knitting/crocheting group which started this morning and meets once a month. We started out with 5 of us and ended with 10. So that is a good start. The room is small and I think after 15 they may have to move to another room
March Goals
The projects I am planning to work on this month:
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Frosty’s alter eg0 (WA state)
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Under Construction (Judy)
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make enough rose blocks and get quilt to the flimsy state Linking up to Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal March Linkup)
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McKenna Ryan “It’s Fishy” which will be on going for several months
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Learn to digitize some embroidery
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Embroider Dish towels using HIA designs
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Make screens to keep hummingbirds from suicide as they get up into the outside skylights and can’t get out.
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Make one pair of socks
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Clean out greenhouse
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plant seeds for peas and greens
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That should keep me out of trouble for the month of March and maybe even April.
Do you have some goals for March?