Northwoods weather

 Yesterday I woke up to a combo of ice and snow that was sticking to everything. 

When I went out to the back 20 it was so pretty. This blog post is going to be photo-heavy. 

I took a short video while I was out there.  The squirrels were running around and making all kinds of noises.  I'm not sure if I was able to record the noises. 

I saw this fella outside one of my windows, enjoying a snack. I thought it would make a neat photo. 

And then, in the early afternoon, the sun came out and the snow and ice mixture started melting. 

When you looked in the other direction, the sky looked completely different. 

Something neat happened when the sun hit the trees in the front yard. The sun started melting all the snow and ice in the trees and turned the frost on the tree trunks to steam.

This morning we woke up to more frost. 

Brrr!

You ever see something and think "Wow, that's so pretty!" and try to take a photo of it? 

That happened to me this morning. 

Sun shining bright behind the trees, and there was a mist in the air. 

The sun wouldn't let the camera on my phone focus. 

I ended up having to move until the sun was behind the trees. 

Frost on the leaves. 

Speaking of leaves, I gave Feffer some fresh oak leaves this morning and he was happy as can be. 

Last night I spent some time in the craft room drawing lines on pieces of fabric. Then I placed them together and stuck them with pins. 

A project I'm hoping to have done by the end of January.  Would be great if it was completed sooner. 

Today was a pretty quiet day, and it went quickly. My hubby was able to leave work early and we went out hunting this afternoon.  All I saw was a squirrel. 

This evening I knit a bit on my Harvest Cardigan. 

I'm also pondering a goal list for 2024.  Last year I tried a list and failed miserably.  I think I may have been dreaming too big.   Minimal is attainable. 

Friday works in progress update #7 for 2023

 I had intended to write a WIPs on Wednesday post.  Alas, ... it's been a bit of a week.  My close buds have heard me complaining about the rain putting me into a bit of a funk.  I like taking photos of my projects when we have decent outside light. 

There still isn't decent light because - shocker of all shocker-ey things - it's raining. Again. 

Last year I decided I was going to try making a crochet cardigan, after seeing a "My first cardigan" class on Craftsy. 

This year I finally took the plunge. 

Last night I finished the back.  

Project Name: My first crochet cardigan

Started: Sept. 30, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Craftsy or Lionbrand. 

Yarn: Lion Brand wool ease

Colors: Grey heather

Hook Size: H 5.0 mm

Made For: myself. 

I've got some mixed thoughts on this project because of the craftsy class. I haven't viewed all the videos yet.  A couple things I've had to look on the internet to figure out what I was supposed to do. Nothing personal against the instructor, but the more knowledgable I get with some of these crafts, the less impressed I am with some of the craftsy classes.  I remember when craftsy first came out and everyone thought it was the greatest thing.  I'm feeling kind of meh about it.  Definitely cancelling the subscription. 

The next part to work on will be the fronts.  I'm confident I'll be able to blaze through them.  What I'm not looking forward to is the sleeves.  I'm sure that's a universal feeling. 

Next, we have my snowflake cross stitch project. 

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. Maybe. I haven't decided yet if I want to give this away. 

I put this down a few months ago.  I got tired of working on blue.  Blue, blue and more blue.  I was pretty dedicated to it when I was working on it, and got a ton done. 

How it looked back in June: 

See, lots done since June. 

Patternkeeper is SO awesome. If it wasn't for patternkeeper I think I would have given up on this.  

I'm sure I'll make this one again, some time down the road, but I'll be using a single color rather than nine different shades of one color. 

Spinning ... 

I identify as a spinner so much, you'd be shocked at how little I actually spin fiber into yarn. It's pathetic, really. 

I've been working on the same fiber for years and years.  I bought ... two and a half pounds, maybe, years ago, with the intention of spinning enough fiber to knit a sweater for my husband.  I even picked out the pattern for an interweave knits.  Now i'm not sure I'd make that specific pattern because it's all kinds of cables and pretty bits.  

Anywho, I'm still spinning the fiber and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with it. 

I probably haven't touched this since last year ... or maybe early this year? 

I was watching Dark Winds the last time I was spinning, and now I tie watching that show very strong with spinning.  So now I don't want to work on it unless I'm watching the show. 

The other night I pulled the spinning wheel out and got her all dusted, cleaned up and pretty. 

Now to just make the point of watching the show, right? 

Maybe when it's just a little bit more "fall" out? Sitting by the wood stove, with Dark Winds on, and spinning for like an hour at a time.  I have a goal of getting the fiber all spun up by the end of the year. 

Quilty things next ... 

I started the year with such good intentions with the Fat Quarter solids of the month club.   

And then ... nothing. 

I have four blocks done so far, and two blocks in progress. 

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

The last time I shared I had finished the blue one that is in the top photo, lower left. 

I have fabric for the next few months are all ironed and ready to go. I iron it really well and do my absolute best to keep things lined up. I figured I didn't need things to be super-duper precise, so no starching. 

Project Name: Dancing Stars

Started: 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

This is the quilt pattern suggestion for the 2022 Fat Quarter Shop solid fat quarter club. I had to buy a special ruler for this one. 

The fabric is being starched.  I feel precision is really important on this one. 

It's five quilt blocks for each month, and the pattern calls for all 12 colors in the monthly bundle. 

This project has been at a bit of a standstill.  Lots of ironing and making sure none of the colors are out of place. 

A couple weeks ago I had the great idea of using the liquid starch to starch a lot of the fat quarters at once. 

I used a jug of the sta-flo liquid starch at a 50/50 mixture and used almost all of the mixture.

There was hardly any left. 

 I starched 108 fat quarters in like half an hour.  It was amazing! 

Then, it wasn't so amazing. All the time I saved on starching I'm making up for in the ironing.  The fat quarters are SO wrinkled from my squeezing out the excess starch.  It's probably taking three times as long to iron because I need to steam and spray extra water to get all the wrinkles out. Ugh! 

The project is slow going due to my desire to iron all the fat quarters before I start working on it again. 

This quilting project I started ... oh who knows ... and it stalled almost right away. 

It's a project from the January 2022 sew sampler box from, you guessed it, Fat Quarter Shop. 

I have all the pieces cut out and almost ready to sew. I wanted to make the smaller size that is a wall hanging, and make it for my bedroom.  Since there's no pressure to get it done, it hasn't been worked on. 

Oh, I take it back. I did blog a bit about this when I first started it. 

Project Name: Daydreams lap quilt

Started: Feb. 5, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Beautiful Day collection by Corey Yoder

Made For: Myself. 

Since I basically cut it and forgot it, I didn't remember it! Heh, funny how that works. 

*ahem*

And as I type this I remember that in the spring time I decided I wanted a pretty spring-ish project bag.  I got as far as ironing the fabric.  No cutting for pieces, though.  Would it count as a work in progress if it's only been ironed? 

Works in Progress Wednesday #3 for 2023

 It has been a hot minute since I last posted a works in progress post.  Just shy of a month. 

Working on my projects has slowed down dramatically. My hands. I do so much work with my hands that I need to give them a break. 

First up is my crochet blanket

Project Name: Inspired by Joy

Started: Dec. 26, 2022

Finished: 

Designer/Source: The Crochet Crowd

Yarn:

Color A - Red Heart - White

Color B - Caron One Pound - Rose 

Color C - Caron Jumbo - Rosewood

Colors: white and rose colors with hints of green.

Required Amount: I purchased two skeins of each color

Needle/Hook Size: 5.5 mm /  I/9

Gauge: beats me ; pattern calls for 13 dc x 6 rows = 4″ [10 cm]

Made For: Myself, maybe

Dye Lots: Will find that out later.

This weekend I completed part/chart 3.  Finally.  I've got 12 rows left to go, or thereabouts. 

I spent hours on it on Sunday, while watching Louisiana Law. Then decided to go one row in on part 4.  Then I had to call it quits. Crocheting that intently just trashed my hands. 

My last progress photo

Next is my vanilla sock.

Project Name: Vanilla socks

Started: Jan. 7, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: My own pattern

Yarn: Patons Kroy sock yarn

Colorway: Mexicala stripes

Colors: oranges, red, purples and a smatter of blue and white

Required Amount: Two skeins of sock yarn. 100 grams

Needle/Hook Size: U.S. 1 (2.25 mm)

Gauge: beats me

Made For: Myself

Dye Lots: WL238520

I've made quite a bit of progress on this sock. 

I did something different when I picked up the gusset stitches and you can see them on the outside of the sock. 

This shot shows the progress markers from the last time I shared progress. 

Yes, I knit my socks inside out.  That is what I am most comfortable with. 

My next project is something that has been languishing for a while. 

Project Name: Stars and Stripes

Started: July 16, 2022

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Eszter Marjanovic of SubRosa Design Pattern out of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher

Fabric: 14 Count Aida by Zweigart, in "toast."
Pattern originally called for 36 count linen, in a light mocha color

Floss: I'm using the called-for colors in DMC

Stitch count: 74 x 122

Size: Too lazy to do the math right now

Needle Size: size 26

I had to make some mods to the project. I should have had the aida going the other way. There was no room for the border. Once I realized this I put the project in a time out until I wanted to decide what to do for a border. 

Bummer because I really liked the original border. 

I decided to go with a simple border all around.  I will turn this into a pillow.  The photo above shows the fabric I pulled from stash to make the back of the pillow.  Pillows aren't hard.  it's just a matter of me getting in to the craft room and taking care of it. 

Next is my snowflake. 

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. Maybe. I haven't decided yet if I want to give this away. 

I'm still trying to get the sparkles to show in a photo.  Can you see them? 

Last progress photo. 

A couple weeks ago I started a small quilt project.  It's a quilt pattern I received in a a Fat Quarter Shop sew sampler box last year. 

Project Name: Daydreams lap quilt

Started: Feb. 5, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Fat Quarter Shop

Fabric: Beautiful Day collection by Corey Yoder

Made For: Myself. 

I'm making the lap quilt size. 

I haven't made it very far in the fabric cutting. It's a start. 

I have grand plans of hanging it up in my bedroom. 

Finally, we have my sweet Furby June. 

Now that I consider her a work in progress.  Though I suppose she could be. She's currently hanging out with the hubby, listening to Everlong by the Foo Fighters.

I know I've mentioned that she's been behaving different the last little bit.  She looks out her window a lot. 

I'm pretty sure a squirrel comes and cruises by every day.  Maybe that is what she's looking for. 

Here's when she heard the camera click.  "Are you taking my picture?"

She doesn't have much of a view.  Currently she sees the wood wagon and a snow bank. Well, some snow falling, too. 

She definitely has a charmed life.