It's only *felt* like a long week, so far

 The week after a vacation is usually a tough one.  Trying to catch up at work and wishing you could still be on holiday.  At least that is how it is for me. 

For whatever reason this week after Thanksgiving I fee like it's been a longer than usual week and I'm desperately trying to play catch up. 

Catching up on what? I have no idea.  

Monday I hiked it out in to the back twenty to get the SD cards from the game cams.  It was the coldest day of this week.  

It was a beautiful sky that morning. 

I spent the day catching up on work things, and feeling like I was spinning my wheels. 

Tuesday there was an Advent retreat for work. It was a lovely day and gave a lot of food for thought. 

After the retreat, when I got home, I made myself a quick cup of tea and enjoyed the quiet time for a few moments before starting supper. 

I don't remember where I got this cup from.  It was either given to me or I picked it up somewhere.  Then it eventually made it to my MIL's cupboard.  When she passed away I took it back.  

Wednesday was a busy day, again, and I feel like I didn't get much accomplished.  

Last weekend, when I was sitting out in the hunting blind, I was thinking a lot of thoughts. Some of them including the wish for electric handwarmers and why didn't I order them way back when, cause I'd have them right now.  

The desire for electric handwarmers grew into a fantasy (if you will) of having handwarmers in handknit mittens. 

So, the cardigan I started last week was put aside and I started working on a pair of mittens on Monday night. 

Last night I finished the first one. 

The pattern is from Tin Can Knits. I took the time to measure my hand and I adjusted down one of the needle sizes.  The mitten is bigger than I anticipated it to be, so I will likely run short and need to pick up some more Lion Brand Wool-Ease thick and quick from the Walmart. 

I LOVE this mitten and can't wait to complete the second one.  I'll be working on it all my spare time and hopefully I will be able to wear them when I go out hunting this weekend. 

Funny thing ... or, interesting thing, if you want to go that way.  I'm starting to find myself going back to the same patterns.  This mitten pattern I'm planning to print out and have it in my binder for the next time I want to make mittens. I love how they took the time to have mittens in all sizes and yarn weights.  I love Harvest cardigan they put out, as I'm making another one right now. 

I have all these knitting patterns, stored digitally somewhere, and I find myself going back to ones that I feel are tried and true. There are so many patterns out there it's overwhelming a lot of times when you want to make something to give as a gift. 

Anywho, just had to get that out there. 

Oh! in other news, last week I cut up ALL the fabric for the two quilts I'm working on.  I buckled down, got brave about stacking fabrics and got it ALL cut and ready to go.  I thought I'd be in the craft room this weeking, working on blocks.  Nope.  Those mittens have me smitten and I must finish them before I do anything else. 

Starting to look like winter

 I woke up to snow flurries.  Not a snow storm.  Just enough to cover the ground. 

It's flurried for most of the day. 

I spent most of the day puttering around the house and knitting on my harvest Sweater.  Now that the snow is here to stay I can feel myself switching into more of a hibernation mode. 

Cozy days watching the snow, puttering in the kitchen, watching period dramas on BBC. 

It was a pretty good last-day-of-vacation-before-I-have-to-go-back-to-work day. 

Thanksgiving day was just the three of us.  It was my first thanksgiving where everything came together nicely and was all ready to go at the same time. 

We smoked a turkey in the new smoker. 

It turned out lovely. 

I haven't taken thanksgiving day photos in ages, so there's no photos of the food spread or the family.  We got along and had food, and it was good! 

We didn't do any Black Friday shopping, unless you count going up to the Fleet Farm and buying chicken feed that was on sale.   

I did no shopping for crafts or gardening stuff. 

I know! I'm as surprised as you are.

Thursday or Friday I decided to set up the small tree I purchased last year.  Saturday I finished decorating it and put up a few Christmas things I have. 

My husband said the star garland that I put on the table looked like razor wire.  I have to laugh.  It totally does! "Stay away from the tree!" 

I also put up the angels that belonged to my MIL.  

They look pretty good next to the painting of Furby. 

Wednesday works in progress update #9 for 2023

 It looks like it's been a bit since I've done a WIP update.  I've had something in mind, but keep backing out of doing it, so that's why ... Yes, I'm mysterious. 

I've had the last few days off work and have been enjoying them.  House stuff has been caught up so that means time for vegging out and watching Fr. Brown and working on my knit and cross stitch projects a bit. 

When I'm not napping.  

Just kidding, I don't nap that much.  

In the last couple of weeks I've started a few new sock projects, a new cross stitch project and I've kitted up a few other projects, so to speak. 

My handspun.

Definitely a work in progress, despite my finishing it up this past weekend. Last night I decided I'm going to use it to make a cardigan. Specifically, the Bly cardigan by Berroco yarns. 

Photo is from Berroco's website. 

I decided I wanted to make something on the more easy side.  This seems perfect. 

Picture this pile of squishyness in a cozy cardi. 

I'll start this as soon as I get a few skeins wound up in to yarn cakes. Wish me luck! 

First sock project is my Monkey socks by Cookie A. 

Project Name: Monkey Socks
Started: Nov. 12, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: knitty.com

Yarn: Forbidden Fiber Co.

Colorway: Tale as old as time, on the Fortitude base.

Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm

Made For: myself. 

Yarn is a pleasure to work with. 

Next up is a vanilla sock

Project Name: Vanilla sock
Started: Nov. 13, 2023

Finished: 

Yarn: Patons Kroy sock yarn

Colorway: Amythest stripes

Colors: dark purples.

Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm

Made For: myself. 

I started this project up for the times where I want to knit, but don't want to think of a pattern repeat. You can see I've got a LOT done on this sock so far. 

Up next is another Vanilla sock

Project Name: Vanilla sock
Started: Nov. 18, 2023

Finished: 

Yarn: Patons Kroy sock yarn

Colorway: Coastal stripes

Colors: variations of blue and some white or grey.

Needle size: U.S. 1, 2.5 mm

Made For: myself. 

I started this sock on a 9 or 11 inch chiaogoo mini twist. I recently started watching the Knitting Traditions podcast on Youtube, and she mentioned making socks on the small circs and I thought I would give it another try.  So far it hasn't been as tough as I remember. 

Cross stitch ... 

I started a new cross stitch project. A few weeks ago I saw Javagirl Stitches pop on with a new youtube video and an announcement of a new stitch-along and I fell in love with the Quilted Cross Stitch charts, despite my already having christmas charts to work on. 

*sigh* I was SO enabled. 

So I went to walmart and picked up some 18 count adia and dyed it myself.  I wrote about it not long ago. It turned out so lovely. 

Started: Nov. 15, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Emily Call Designs

Fabric: Charles craft aida cloth 18 count I dyed myself. Purchased at walmart.

DMC floss in called for colors

Blanc, 168, 469, 3712, 3045, 816, 310

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself. 

I'm not sure if I've worked on my snowflake cross stitch since I last shared it. So I'm sharing again, possibly. 

Project Name: #723 Snowflake

Started: Jan. 1, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Tiny Cross Stitches

Fabric: Aida cloth 14 count Hobby Lobby Zweigart. Aida has silver threads running through it. 

DMC floss in called for colors

747 ; 964 ; 995 ; 996 ; 3756 ; 3761 ; 3843 ; 3846 ; B5200

Colors: blues

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself. I've decided I'm keeping it for myself.  I told my husband that when it is done, I'm putting it on display year-round. 

It looks like I have done a smidge of work on it. 

Quilty stuff ... 

I haven't done any actual sewing on the two quilts I've had going. I'm cutting fabric.  If you are a quilter you know that cutting and prepping the fabric can take a good long time.  

I feel like I've been working forever on cutting fabric for my Dancing Stars quilt. I really need to make a hashtag for this one. 

I didn't look to see how many more fat quarter bundles I need to cut up.  Feels like a hundred. It's probably four or five.  Each bundle takes about an hour to cut.  I've been working on a bundle at night while watching "The Mindy Project" or "Burn Notice." 

Last night I decided to switch over and cut up some fabric for the sandpiper quilt. 

Project Name: Sandpiper quilt

Started: Jan. 21, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: It's Sew Emma / Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Fabric from the Solid Fat Quarter Club

Colors: A different color palette each month.

Made For: Myself

I think I have four more squares to cut for on this quilt. Then I can start assembling.

I have a feeling January is when these two quilts are going to see a significant amount of love. 

Future projects ... 

I decided I'm going to make another Harvest cardigan.  The last one I made I made using carons simply soft. That yarn, combined with my lack of knowing how to care for big handknits like this, cause the cardigan to stretch out. It looked awful.  

I'm going to use acrylic again, but this time I'm using a hobby lobby yarn, and I won't be throwing it in the dryer. 

I purchased this yarn about a year ago. I think it's going to look great. 

Started: Soon

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Tin Can Knits 

Yarn: Hobby Lobby "I love this yarn"

Colors: Cinnamon Cedar

Needle Size: US #6 / 4mm & US #8 / 5mm

Made For: myself. 

This pretty yarn is going to be made in to something very soon, too. I saw a amigugrumi in a facebook group and decided I had yarn in stash that would be perfect for it. 

It will be a gift for someone.  Not saying who just yet. 

That is all in my bag of tricks, friend. Tomorrow is the big turkey day. We are planning on smoking a turkey (so yummy). My son will be working.  My hubby will be working on some projects he's been wanting to do for a while, and I'll likely be puttering in the kitchen and knitting when I'm not in the kitchen. 

So, until then, happy Thanksgiving to all of you! 

The totals are in ...

 Look at this massive pile of squishiness. 

Today I tallied up the yardage of all the corriedale. 

Final number is more than 1,500 yards of handspun corriedale squishiness. 

I say more than 1,500 yards because I counted up all my loops, did the math and wrote the number down.  Then I turned around and there was one more skein of handspun hanging from a door handle.  

By the time I saw it I was not in the mood for counting any more.  I saw that skein, went "NOOOOO!" and proclaimed 1,500!

I did a WPI check on several of the skeins and it looks like I have 2-ply worsted weight.  

The pattern I saw on knitty.com the other day calls for a DK weight yarn. That pattern will not work. 

Do I look for a sweater pattern that was designed with handspun in mind, or just got for a regular pattern? 

Another end of the week catch-up-ish ...

 This past week a lot of my focus was on an early deadline for work. 

We made the deadline. Woo hoo! Then Friday there was something wrong with our work email.  So that kinda threw me off my game.  I am SO glad that it didn't happen the day before.  That would have made for a very stressful day.

Thursday, I think it was, I decided it was time to devote some time to my spinning project that has been languishing. 

Friday night, at 8 p.m. CST, I spun the last of my grey corriedale fiber.  

When I pulled this last bit out of the bag I was so surprised it was the end. 

I purchased this fiber back in August 2019. 

The last of it all spun up. 

Like four years it took me to spin up a little more than 2 pounds of fiber. I have too many hobbies!  I can NOT take 4 years to spin the next sweater's worth of fiber. 

Saturday I turned it in to a 2-play and today I soaked and whacked it.  It's currently air drying. Sometime this next week I'll measure it and see how many yards I have. 

If I have enough yardage, I'm going to aim for the Brielle sweater in the most recent Knitty.com. 

If there is a LOT of yardage, I'm going to look for something that will use more yarn. 

In other news, the mystery CAL I signed up for I am not doing.  The parts were released and when I saw what it was I decided No thanks.  It's cute but it's not something I'm interested in making. So now I have two skeins of acryllic yarn I need to find a project for. Or, just put it in the stash/collection. 

Next week is probably going to be a busy week for me. Getting ready for Thanksgiving, There's some other things I need to take care of.  

Then, maybe then, I'll be ready for snow ... 

End of the week catch up and a finished project!

 I took Thursday and Friday off of work.  I felt the need for a break and to clear some things off the plate.  I knew I was getting into a mood. There hasn't been a lot of downtime lately. 

Yesterday I took care of  several things that I've been meaning to do for a while. 

One was ironing the last of the fat quarters for the Dancing Stars quilt. Now I can start cutting it up for the squares.  

Another, less sexy, project that I've been holding off on was to make a cover for our new smoker. 

I'll be the first to say it is not my best work.  I didn't have a pattern, or anything to work off of.  I stuck that welding blanket on the smoker and drew lines and sewed. 

I thought I was super clever with what I was doing, until I got to a part where I realized I wasn't nearly as clever as I thought. *sigh* and I had to cut the fabric. ... 

The cover is almost all done.  A hold for the vents in the back needs to be cut out.  I have the fabric all stitched and ready for the hole to be cut. 

This week I received some fun mail. Someone sent me a goody box full of sock yarn. All Forbidden Fiber Co yarn. 

It's all so PRETTY! 

I have books full of sock patterns that have barely been made. 

I chose this skein of yarn for my journey back into patterned sock-making. 

  The colorway is "Tale as old as time," on the Fortitude base.

I decided to go with the Monkey sock pattern, by Cookie A.   It's a simple lacework pattern and I probably need something easy to start out with. 

Then I yarn-caked that skein of squishy goodness, and admired it. 

Maybe my favorite moment of the last couple days is when I sewed on the last button of my crochet cardigan!

I admired my handiwork and then tried it on.

It fits a bit close, but I'm optimistic it will stretch out a bit.

The important thing is that I would wear this outside the house, in public. To me, that is what's most important. If I didn't like how it turned out, it would be a only-in-the-house-cardigan.

Today I gave it a nice soak and it's still drying in front of the wood stove.

Project Name: My first crochet cardigan

Started: Sept. 30, 2023

Finished: Nov. 9, 2023

Designer/Source: Craftsy or Lionbrand. 

Yarn: Lion Brand wool ease

Colors: Grey heather

Hook Size: H 5.0 mm

Made For: myself. 

I am no longer afraid to make a crochet sweater or cardigan.  I've worried because my crochet tension is not always consistent. I'm definitely feeling more confident with my crochet. 

Weekend fun

 But first, can I say that this was basically me and my hubby this morning? 

The morning after Daylight Savings end is always tough.   I was so bleary-eyed this morning. 

Okay. That out of the way ... 

Weekend fun was had. 

My husband and I decided to try making venison hot dogs this weekend. 

So tasty! 

Saturday I got a bee in my bonnet to dye some aida cloth. 

I purchased a mess of RIT dyes within the last year.  I'm getting braver about dying aida cloth.  Even though it's so easy there's still the "What if I mess it up?" thoughts. 

I threw on a tutorial from the Housewives to make sure I remembered how to do it correctly. 

When I poured the dye out of the bottle I had a bit of a start.  The dye came out greenish instead of the expected light brown color. 

After a stir it looked okay, and I started out with a small amount of color.  I had something in mind. 

Then I decided to try something that may make my dyer friends cringe.  I placed the pan on top of the wood stove, to heat up the fabric and set the dye. 

It worked! 

I have a cross stitch project in mind for this piece of fabric. 

While the fabric was cooking on the stove I decide to be brave and pull out the pieces of my crochet cardigan and started pinning it together. 

I rewatched the craftsy class videos and the gal's method of seaming the pieces together made more sense the second time I watched.  Basically it was a double whip stitch to seam everything together. 

The cardigan has been receiving attention each night. 

Tonite I stitched the ribbing on the bottom. 

I'm getting so close to the completion of this piece. Up next is the collar and the button band. 

Before I sign off for the night I want to share a couple photos of the Christmas cactus I have. It was purchased at Aldi's a few years ago.  It bloomed the first year.  This summer I had it outside and it grew a lot more segments.  It came back in to the house about a month ago. 

It's sitting on the back of the toilet.  I figured it was one of the best places in the house for it, and it bloomed for me. 

It's full of blooms now. 

The "big snow" we had last week; it's all gone.  Temps have risen past the freezing point and most everything melted.  What didn't melt was washed away by the rain that started on Sunday.  

Rain! Blech! 

I have a finished object!

 Last weekend, while sitting out in the deer blind, I started working on a CC copycat hat.  

I messed up the provisional cast on and had to start over. Boo!  Specially after 3.5" of 1 x 1 ribbing. 

The second time was much better. 

I worked on it a little bit each morning and each night this week.  

Just a little bit ago I cast off. 

I've been wanting a cc copycat hat in orange for years. 

Started: Oct. 28, 2023

Finished: Nov. 3, 2023

Designer/Source: Clementine Knits and Crochets

Yarn: Loops and Threads Impeccable

Colorway: Orange crush

Colors: orange

Required Amount: half a skein of the yarn

Needle/Hook Size: U.S. 7 (4.5 mm)

Gauge: beats me

Made For: Myself

Dye Lots: 2022-05-643066

In other news, I signed up for a mystery CAL I saw on Instagram. 

Already picked up the yarn. 

Our area had snow earlier this week.  Tuesday, Oct. 31, if memory serves. I was definitely not ready for it. 

I got the chicken run winter prepped just in time.  I opened the door to see how the birds were doing, because no one was outside. 

Yeah, they weren't too happy about the snow either. 

I dragged some in on my shoes and they were shooting it dirty looks, like they couldn't decide if they should kill it or eat it. 

Little Feffer didn't look very happy either.  I tried taking a photo of him and he's even more camera shy than the birds. 

That day, on my lunch hour, I went out and dug up the carrots out of the garden. 

That was a treat, trying to find the greens in the snow. 

And, in hardcore gardener fashion, I sat down in the snow and separated the greens from the carrots so I'd have less of a mess in the house. 

The carrots all cleaned up.  I've heard about how great carrots taste if they are harvested after a frost.  I heard correctly!  

The garden is officially done for the year.  Come February I'll be starting seeds up again in the house and all the fun garden madness will start again. I learned a lot this garden year and am proud that every single plant in my garden this year I started fro seed.  Including the flowers. 

Today my husband and I went up to Fleet Farm for their orange Friday.

We each received a blaze orange cap, and ended up not buying what we went there to look at. 

It's fun to get the hat, though.  

We got back home in time for me to start my work day. 

There is supposed to be a warming weather trend this weekend.  Likely our last decent weekend before the weather turns *serious*