Wednesday already???

 I've been staying busy as usual.  Packed more thrift boxes into the car, took some items to the post office, collected and froze goldenrod in water for dyeing later this year; probably after the holidays. I've been pruning and I got my supplies for my unicorn chart, Sally Spencer.  Of course, I dropped everything and started her!  I've waited over  5 years for this chart  to cross stitch...here's what I was able to do this afternoon in between chores..........I'm really enjoying it and the fabric I chose is beautiful.  It's 32 count Vintage Mocha with lots of mottling which I love..........

My flowers are gorgeous.  I finally learned what flowers I can grow that the deer won't bother.....I have a bumper crop this year...........they're planted in my old horse trough........

 

I "leaf" you with this little tidbit............

 

Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #13 Year 13

 Fall is here for real...rain, cooler temps, colors changing.....so wonderful!  I finally have some finishes!

The 2023 Annual Collectible Ornaments are done!

This next one is mine as it reminds me of Miss Peeps..............

I also finished my star mug rugs.............

I worked on Prism and it's getting interesting now with new colors popping up............it's so easy and a great project for watching t.v.

I'm really into cross stitching for Halloween and/or Fall...........I did this little tiny XS.......

and now I'm working on a "Happy Cat" small, a free pattern from Melissa at Pinker and Punkin blogspot....my big Halloween project got some work this week but it definitely will not be done by this Halloween..........it's funny because while you're stitching on you can't see what it really is until you step back and look....I had no idea when I was stitching that "V" shape that it was a bat!

 

I'm not sure if you've ever heard of a "unicorn" chart.  It is a cross stitch chart that you have  yearned for.  Well, I only had one that I have searched for and wanted for over 5 years (it's out of print) and although I had found a few I thought they wanted too much for it so I passed.   Well, I found one and although pricey I finally bit the bullet and bought it.  After all, I'm 74, so how many years can I waste looking for it?  It will give me great joy to stitch it and hopefully finish and frame it and have it in my home.....you can't put a price on that kind of joy!   It is Birds of a Feather, Sally Spencer Sampler.....there are all kinds of beautiful samplers out there but for some reason this one just spoke to me loud and clear.........

It's not a great picture but I have ordered all the floss and the material so you will be seeing much more of Miss Spencer, in the near future!

I managed to go through all my patterns and printouts and divide them into categories.  Today, I will put them in plastic sleeves and notebooks and  they will be all organized!  It will be a good project while watching football this afternoon.

I hope you had a great week and are enjoying whatever season you are in.

Yay!!!

Happy Trails!!!

I have a washing machine!!!

 It didn't come Tuesday but it came Wednesday.  My pedestal doesn't fit the new washer even though it is a Whirlpool just like my other one.  But it is a dream machine.  My other one was faulty as it shook and  vibrated something awful and these people said that was not normal. This one is quiet and you don't even know it's running.  I love it!  It's actually bigger than my other one and sticks out farther.

 

Yesterday was a trip uptown to get a few items, I spent the afternoon outside burning papers and I am all caught up with that for now. I changed furnace filters, did laundry, of course, and made soup.  I also kitted up a couple small cross stitch pieces as I needed a break from my big projects. I actually finished one as it was tiny.......

These are both free patterns.  I can't remember where I got the first one but this one is from Pinker and Punkin' Quilting.  She is on blogspot and she designs and gives away all her designs for free!  They are all so cute too!  Thank you so much Melissa!  This is called Happy Cat.......I just started this one today...I wanted to work on some Halloween and Fall XS smalls..........

Today I cleaned a little, changed sheets, and final finished the mug rugs.  Oh, I also went through all my patterns and divided them up into categories.  Now, I 'll put them in plastic sleeves and then notebooks.

 Happy Trails!!!
 

 

Washer's coming today....I think

 I'm waiting for a call from the appliance store but they said they should be able to deliver it today!  I was going to burn outside and do some pruning but need to wait for the call so I'm doing inside work and if they deliver the washer I will be doing laundry!

Yesterday was my usual busy Monday but I also got treasures in the mail.  I got a Christmas gift for someone, a new address book for me...

my kneepads that are "the bees knees"...lol!  One size fits all!

some 2023 charms.........

and a jar of Colorcoral which is a universal dust cleaner especially for keyboards and hard to reach places..

I'll let you know how they all work out

LOL!!!

Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #12 Year 13

 Not a tremendous amount done this week.  I've been busy trying to find an appliance repair person and then finally decided to buy a new one.  I have it picked out online so I just need to go to the store and buy it.  It was on sale so that made me feel a little better! LOL!  The more money you spend the more time it takes.

I canceled the repair guy coming....I just didn't feel comfortable as they kept calling from some foreign country wanting me to sign  up for their monthly appliance insurance....$78 a month.  Are they nuts?  This is Sears but it must be the Korean Sears because I could not understand them. Anyway, the local store and salesman was very nice and not high pressure at all....seemed like a gentle soul.  I have a feeling my washer was unrepairable so why waste the money to have them tell me that.  It is old and they don't last as long as they used to in the old days.  I can remember back in the day you could get a washer and a dryer for $400 this washer will cost me $1,000.  Oh well, I am blessed to have the money to buy it.

Anyway, sorry to ramble like that but that is why I did not get much done on any fronts this week.  Here is what I did do...........I finished the Maple Leaf block.  I'm pretty sure a Maple Leaf quilt block would have taken much less time but I learned some new skills so that's good thing.

She said  in the directions to steam it to  make it lay flat but not to touch it with the iron as acrylic will melt.  I don't have a steam iron.  It was at one time but it is an old iron of my mothers...probably over 60 years old or more but I love it.  So, I dampened a rag, placed it on top and pressed.  It worked but it is flat as a pancake now....lol!  

I also received a yarn shipment this past week and although most of it was DK weight in various colors for the monthly crochet blocks, there were also several skeins of chunky red yarn.....yes, I am finally going to crochet a garment....or try.    If it all works out okay I will end up with something that looks like this...........except I'll be wearing pants with mine!  It is the OTH Crochet Nook Pattern: Best Dressed Vest.  I got it off the internet but it might be on Ravelry....I have an email with a link to it if you want it.  I liked the brown too but couldn't find a shade similar to hers.  It's supposed to be easy which is my preferred method for anything......... 

So far I am working on the ribbing which  is at the bottom but I am thinking mine is going to have to be bigger....but she said you can make it as big as you want.  I am also planning on making mine longer if need be.

I did work on The Snowy Owl, I am now doing the head, I worked on Prism blanket and Halloween XS but they didn't show lots more progress so I didn't take photos of them.

I did make some progress on purchasing Christmas presents so that's good!  I have to have all the Advent gifts for my daughter ready at Thanksgiving when they come so we can avoid shipping costs...yay!

A message for Summer...............

Happy Trails!!!

Beautiful weather here....

 I had to go to Salem today to get a tetanus shot.  The doctor keeps asking me and I kept forgetting.  I finally went to the Fulton County Health Department and got one.  The nurse was so nice and we hit it off like we were old friends.  There was no one else there so we talked and talked.  She told me to stop by and see her the next time I come to Salem.  I will too...we laughed and laughed!  It was a fun afternoon.  

I got quite a bit done this morning, got the clothes off the clothesline and yes, my washer is broke.  I got a hold of Sears Appliance Repair and some guy is coming the 19th.  I'll probably need to go to the laundromat before then or just wash a few things in the tub.  I just did laundry so I'm in pretty good shape.  I paid bills and I'm cooking potato soup right now.

I got treasures in the form of yarn, yesterday.........this is a restock of my DK colors...

plus some chunky yarn for a new project I am starting...........tune in Sunday to see what it is..........

 There's a football game on tonight!

Happy Trails!!!

More rain overnight and this morning!

 So nice because this time of year can be so dry and scary for fires.  I've been cleaning and decorating.  Most of the time I combine the 2.  It makes cleaning more fun if I can do a little decorating and changing things around at the same time.

Remember the entryway closet I painted and tore up the carpeting?  Well, I'm finally getting back to it.  I tore off the painting tape, dusted and vacuumed and decorated a bit.  I put rugs down on the floor to  hide the bare plywood for now.  Here's what it looks like so far.  I have more to do and a mirror to hang but this is good for now..........

  

That's all I got done on this project.  I have some regular chores to do and I am afraid my washing machine is broke.....I washed some sheets and they were still soaking wet....I ran them through the spin cycle 2 more times and nada.  They are "drip drying" outside on the line but it will take days!

 I'm afraid I will need to get a new washer or find a new appliance repair person....oh well, it could be worse.  At least we have a laundromat here in town if need be.

I picked some flowers for a little bouquet before the rains came..........

just a thought..........

Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #11 Year 13

 Fall is really here in AR!  We are down to the 80's and 60's at night and the leaves are just barely starting to change....but it's wonderful!  I hope wherever you are you are enjoying yourself and your season.

This is like Summer to me because now that the extreme heat is gone, I can actually go outside and get some work done....such as mulching, trimming, painting and repairing.

But today is all about what I got done craftwise this past week.....not too much but there was progress........

 I finally finished the body of the Snowy Owl and now I'll be working on the head.  It's not that it's a difficult or big project, it's just that I only do 1 or 2 rounds a day......

I worked on the big Halloween cross stitch project and you can definitely see progress.  Yes, the owl is supposed to be upside down......

I finished all the granny squares for the Maple Leaf block and now I am crocheting them together.......

I worked on the Prism blanket and finally got to a new color!  That took forever....it was getting really boring with that purple........

Here's a closeup..........

As for "haul/stash", I got some Christmas fat quarters for some Christmas projects....I also have yarn coming but it hasn't arrived yet..............

 My crafting goals for the coming week are finish the star mug rugs, finish the crocheted maple leaf block, work on Snowy Owl, final finish Halloween ornaments for the grands, and hopefully finish cutting out Block of the Month #7.  Plus, there are some project bags to make!

For you crocheters out there you need to take a look at this video on You Tube for a bunch of wonderful Fall crochet projects....amazing collection....BIG rabbit hole so be careful........I think you'll need to copy and paste.  I don't know how to embed videos....I should learn..........

https://youtu.be/QGpJjz6zOLU?si=tPQrvpJJAl5uu4x-

 In other news...my flowers are blooming their little hearts out............so beautiful..........

This sweet little girl visited me this week............she looked right at me and didn't get spooked at all....just gingerly walked into the woods.......it looks like she's already changing color for the winter....they go from blondish to brownish...........

These acorns are from an oak tree in my front yard but not your normal oak or your normal acorns....these acorns are about as big as your pinky nail....very tiny!  I go out and pick them up each day and I will "bake the bugs" out of them when I have a bunch and then use them around candles....

This is the way I've been feeling this week............lol!  Can anyone relate to this?

Happy Trails!!!

Forgetful Grandma!

 I forgot to show you Grayson's first day of school picture with his best bud Caleb.....these boys are too cute!  No picture of Sam's first day of his sophomore year....I think he's over that.....Grayson has his viola in front of him

Also, I had no idea that the cat pillow was handmade by Grayson!  Duh!  He has taught himself to sew on the machine and is really good!  He changes the bobbin by himself, threads the machine and does a great job!  He's making pillows to sell so I have to send him some money...lol!  I told him the check was in the mail.....it was $6 shipping and tax included.  I think Amy gave him the  money already so he wouldn't have to wait for Grandma! LOL!  It was awhile ago so I totally forgot about  it.  It's such a cute pillow too.  He's a little entrepreneur....this past summer he made a killing on his lemonade stand!  That kid is going places! LOL!

I brought a few more Fall items out...........the Great Pumpkin..........

and the black cat family........I made them years ago........the little lighted pumpkin was from my daughter a few years ago....

Yesterday I made soup, did laundry, and cleaned.  Today I made my cinnamon crescent twists, loaded more thrift boxes into the car, and ordered some fabric and some yarn.  I ran some cleaner in the dishwasher (another monthly chore) and tonight is the first NFL game (for me).....I'm rooting for the KC Chiefs!

Happy Trails!!!

I got a Fall care box in the mail!!!

 Yes, the Cedar Rapids gang sent me a Fall surprise box!  What a delight!  We all love Fall and Halloween so these items will be put to good use......

A Halloween tree...... 

Some velvet pumpkin ornaments for the tree.........

some lights for the tree

a little pillow..........for the Fall/Halloween display........

a cute little cinnamon broom that smells SO GOOD....

and last but not least...a package of Jolly Ranchers so  that I can stay as sweet as I am! LOL!

I'll just leave you with this thought for today.......

Happy Trails!!!