Episode 13 - Patience

Welcome back! Thanks for visiting with me today. It's been a while since I recorded, thanks to Mother Nature, everybody being sick, and various other things that keep life interesting.

Grab your favorite drink and come sit a spell.  I have nothing to drink in this episode because I left it on the counter. 

To listen to an audio-only version go here, or click play below.  The audio-only version is also available on Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocketcasts, RadioPublic, and Spotify



I called this episode "Patience" because I had to learn patience with a few knitting projects, a cross stitch project ... basically lots of the crafty things I was working on.  Anytime I ran into a problem, I had to stop, set the project down and walk away from it for a while. At a result, I do not have a lot of finished objects. 

FOs

Pattern: Lia sweater pattern from Knitty.com
Started: Let's say ... Aug. 25, 2019
Finished: Let's say ... Nov. 14, 2019
Needle size: U.S. 11, 8 mm
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash bulky
Colorway: Garnet Heather

Will not make this pattern again. The yarn didn't grow like I was sort of expecting.  I heard superwash grows. Knit it to pattern. *If* I was to make it again, I would make it longer in the body. 

This is the photo I mentioned in the video.

I mention:

Pattern: Nanner socks by Wendyknits
Started:  Let's say ... Aug. 31, 2019
Finished: Frogged permanently
Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5mm
Yarn: Knit Picks bare yarn I dyed bright yellow


WIPs
Vanilla sock
Started: Let's say ... November 2019
Finished: 
Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm
Yarn: Nashua handknit socks yarn
Colorway: 7335
Dye Lot: 3555

Cross stitch

FOs

Chicken Joy by Priscilla Blain
14 count Aida cloth, purchased from Hobby Lobby
DMC floss in almost all the called for flosses.  There was one fancy floss and I substituted it for the blue. 

Sparkly Snowflakes
14 count Aida cloth, purchased from Walmart. Color reminds me of oatmeal or a real light grey. 
DMC floss.  None of the called for colors, since it is an Aurifill pattern.

YouTube channels/Flosstubers I mention

Kimberly Jolly at the Fat Quarter Shop

Fat Quater Shop's Flosstube. 

JavaGirl Stitches She does lovely finishing.  She also has three teenage sons, so I feel I'm getting a heads up on what might be coming my way. 

Brenda and the Serial Starter - These two gals are a hoot to watch.  I love how they interact with each other. 

Roladex Stitches -  She keeps it real and it's a bit of a breath of fresh air. I like that she's true, if that makes sense. 


This is the Ottlite I purchased to help me see my cross stitching better. 


Quilting

I did some quilting!

Two WIP project bags. Made during Thanksgiving week. Fabric from Hobby Lobby. 

I love this fabric.  I'll be sad when it's no longer available. 

Table runner using three "Mother's Choice" blocks. Sent out as a gift. I was so pleased with how this turned out. I almost kept it for myself. 

I started a new quilt. It is the Friendship Stars quilt by Christa Watson.

In the Kitchen

This is the recipe I made for work: Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins. Yum!

For dinner I made: Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole.  It was a hit!

This is the WIP tutorial I followed. 

So ... things will probably be quiet until the new year. Until thing: Happy Holidays!

Getting ready for another cold spell

The past weekend was spent pushing snow around and shoveling. My son and I shoveled off the deck, and around the house, after my husband climbed up on the roof and got rid of some excess snow weight. I was so sore yesterday. I'm not used to that manual labor.  Not this early in the season, anyways. 

Last night someone sent me this meme:

Winter hasn't officially started and I think everyone I know feels this way. 

This was on the morning news last week.  We are *way* above the average snowfall. 

We are managing to keep the driveway fairly clear and wide, but the places we can shove the snow to is shrinking. 

Thankfully we have a new snowblower on the way.  This weekend we ordered a new Honda snowblower that is so easy to use, I can use it. Pictures will be posted when it arrives.  It should be here within the next few days *fingers crossed* 

I've also been doing battle with keeping the mailbox cleared for the mailman.  I'm losing on an almost daily basis. The first few times I was able to clear the area easily. Now there are layers of hard-packed snow in the fluffy stuff.  I'm using a scoop shovel to break through it all and remove the snow. 

Every time I think I've got it, the plow or grader goes by and packs it all in again. 

In the meantime, another cold spell is hitting the area.  I could feel the bitterness when the wind blew just the smallest amount.  This means keeping the wood stove stoked and going.  The weather is supposed to warm up next week. Just in time for Christmas. 

Right now I'm watching an episode of The Great British Bake-off.  I seldom watch regular tv, and I have seen very few episodes of this particular show. Someone is making a tiramisu and I'm reminded of the time I made one and brought it to the office for someone's birthday.  Oh, it was so good. One day I should make it again. 

Winter

Winter came early to Northland. Snow, snow and more snow ... 

At first, it was really pretty.  That sentiment hasn't lasted very long.  Not for me, anyways.  

Our first decent snow dump arrived the day before Thanksgiving.  I decided I wasn't messing around this year, and I was pushing all the snow all they way out of the way.  That way, when we got the second snow storm, the weekend following Thanksgiving, there would be room to push all the new snow. 

After the second snow storm, you couldn't tell that I had done anything a few days prior. Snow blowing and drifting.  It was a moon landscape. My husband spent four hours, at least, plowing and snow blowing. 

Ever since, I feel like all we've done is snow-blow, plow and shovel.  

Ugh ... 

This is from today.  I went out to get mail and wasn't really surprised to see it snowing.  Again.  

If I didn't have to move it, I'd probably think it's beautiful. 

In other news, I recorded a podcast episode today. I recorded it on my phone.  That was a fun experience.  I think I was more relaxed, too. Probably because I didn't really know where to look.  It will get posted sometime next week.

Life has been moving pretty steady for me, these last couple of months. Always something going on. So ... blog writing and recording has gone by the way side a bit. Sorry. I'm still here.  I'm just going, going, going. 

Family is good.  We are all finally healthy! I was worried about all the school my son was missing, due to all the sickness and pink eye. *sigh* His grades weren't affected too much.  One think I love about his school is how they care  about the students.  I know his teachers worked with him to make sure he didn't fall behind. 

All the rabbits and chickens are doing well. The young hens have started laying. We are starting to get a small surplus of eggs to sell. Which makes some of my coworkers very happy. 

I've got some half-baked plans and ideas of crafty stuff for the next year. First thing, though, is to decide on a sweater pattern for myself. Even more important than that, I think, is spinning.  My big project of the year will be spinning at least one sweater's worth of yarn.  I "owe" my man a sweater.

Until next time, I'm still here. :-) I hadn't realized how long it had been since I last wrote anything.