I Survived!

Hello all!
I hope everyone enjoyed a nice and peaceful Thanksgiving! Mine was quiet and relatively uneventful. I managed to get my Christmas tree up and decorated, the bathroom shower curtain hung,  and all the other holiday decorations put up in the house. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well, this is almost the end of day 31. The countdown continues to day 45 when I hope to have gotten to my weight loss goal. I weighed in on Friday and lost 2 pounds over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was happy! I have 6.4 pounds to go! I'm going to do my best to lose as much of those 6.4 pounds as possible.

Not too much time to post these days but wanted to keep you updated, if you're interested! : )

Until next time.

Seven Days Under My Belt!

Hello to all my family and friends!
Well, I've finished 7 days of my 45 day challenge! Today is day 38 and I get to cross the day off on my calendar at work tomorrow! I am very pleased with the success of my challenge. I have to admit that Saturday night was not my best night but sometimes it just creeps up on you! Once the day is over, you just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again!

I didn't blog over the weekend but I'm picking up again today! Since this week is Thanksgiving week, I won't have my usual weigh-in on Thursday. They don't hold it against you if you don't weight in, however, I plan to weigh in on Friday at my neighborhood WW store! I need to weigh in just to keep myself honest!

Off to work on some of my many crafts and see if I can at least one done soon! I hope to post some pictures soon of completed projects!

Another Day Under My Belt

Just a short post to let you know I lost 1.6 lbs this week! I guess it really helps when you track and stay on program! Yeah!! 8.4 more lbs to lose! I know I can do it!!!! My WW leaders thinks it's very ambitious of me to try to lose that much weight during the holidays but I think it's the best time to try to lose weight! Time will tell!

Until tomorrow....

Day Two and Counting!

Hi friends,
Yes, another successful day and another day crossed off the calendar! It hasn't been too bad so far but it's only two days! I will succeed! Tomorrow is weigh in day and I'm hoping I stay the same weight as last week, at least! I'm being optimistic but after the weekend I had, it will be a miracle! I was walking around the office today collecting money for a charity the firm sponsors and met with people I haven't seen for almost a year. So many of them were surprised and couldn't believe how much weight I lost. They were all so happy for me and supportive of my efforts! Makes me feel so good. I thank all my family and friends, once again, for their support and encouragement!

Well, I finished the book, The Silent Wife. It was a great book! I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. Very good ending! I highly recommend this one. Now I'm reading one of my Katie Fforde books, Wild Designs. I can recommend any of her books if you want a funny, light hearted and lovey dovey book! She never disappoints!

I didn't see my cousin in Chicago Fire last night but really did enjoy it. She said you had to know exactly where she was to notice her. I'm sure it was exciting for her to be involved in that show and see those hot (no pun intended) guys! I also enjoyed seeing my man, Adam Levin, become People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive! I could have told them that a long time ago! : )

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? Then the following Sunday is December 1! Have you gotten your Christmas shopping done yet? I try to get mine done before Thanksgiving but I'm still waiting on Christmas lists from David and Joanne!

Well, off to my knitting! Hope you have a nice evening.

Day 1 of 45!

Hi friends!
Yesterday was a success! I stayed on plan and felt so much better. I walked to the L in the morning and felt wonderful afterwards! Not too cold because my new down coat and boots were VERY warm! Yeah for me!

I picked up the Stephen West scarf I started knitting for my son David. It's Meadowbrook from Stephens'  Book One (given to me by Ro for Christmas last year!) I'm doing it in Stephens' colors; burgundy, dark gray and light gray. I really want to finish it for him for Christmas as well as make a matching hat. I also want to make a couple neck ties for Gregory - his request! I know I'll get them done because when I knit, I don't think about eating! I'll be doing a lot of knitting!

I really enjoy reviewing books so I'm going to tell you about the latest book I'm reading - The Silent Wife by S.A. Harrison. The is a great book set in Chicago. The author starts with "her" story and then "his" story follows detailing their lives. I'm about halfway done and can't put it down! I recommend it just with 1/2 the book done!

Well, I need to get going now so I can watch Chicago Fire. My cousin Tina was an extra in this weeks episode so I'm hoping I can see her. She's the one with blood on her face. Ha-ha!! I think there's a lot of people with blood on their faces tonight. No knitting tonight - can't watch Chicago Fire and concentrate on knitting too!

Thank you for indulging me with my challenge and for your very supportive comments!

Once Again....

Hello to all my friends out there! (I hope there are many!)
I know you haven't heard from me for a long time. No excuses, just plain laziness. Please forgive me! Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed by everything I have to do, want to do, and wish I could do that I don't do anything! Now that Christmas is coming, I'm realizing I need to get some gifts done for my family and am trying to concentrate on those things and get back on track! That thought also makes me realize I've neglected some things I really enjoy doing - like blogging! So here we go again!

As most of you know, since October of last year, I have been following Weight Watchers. I'm happy to say I've lost 60.8 pounds! I feel so much better, really enjoy exercising and have had a great time buying and modeling all my new clothes!!! I know I've lost weight when I realize the smaller size clothing I buy now. However, I still see myself as the fat girl when I look in the mirror and hope to change that when I finally lose all the weight I want to lose.

I have 9.2 more pounds to lose to achieve my goal. With this goal in site, I am embarking on a new challenge and countdown for myself. One of my Facebook friends, Amanda Mueller, lost weight following Weight Watchers and is now a WW leader. Amanda posted something from her personal blog on Facebook "45 Days To A New Year - My Personal Challenge." I took this to heart since I had a very bad weekend and will probably suffer for it at the scale on Thursday. But, just like anything that doesn't go your way, just pick yourself up and start all over again! I needed something like this to challenge myself to get back on track and lose those pesky 9.2 (or so!) pounds. I hope Amanda doesn't mind me using her challenge in my own way.

I started my countdown today and will try to achieve my goal weight by January 1, 2014. Talk about starting the New Year off right! These next 45 days will definitely be a challenge for me as this is the "Eating Season" as my WW leader stated. I thought that if I put this challenge on my blog, I'll be more likely to try to stick with it as I must be accountable for it!

This picture was taken in mid March to celebrate my birthday. I post this picture because it was the first time I realized I had lost weight and looked different! Not sure what my weight was but it was an eye opener for me!

The picture below is the key chain Weight Watchers gives you when you lose 10% of your weight. For me, that meant 24 pounds!

So today, the challenge begins! Starting tomorrow morning from now until January 1, 2014, I will cross off the previous day and continue with my challenge counting down the days. I hope you don't mind me using this forum to help myself but I need the support and encouragement from my friends because I know how slippery that slope can be when you start to slide down! I've worked too hard to slide down that slope!

Let the "Un-Hunger Games" begin! : )

 

Welcome Fall!

Happy Halloween!
OK, I spent the day yesterday cleaning out my old Halloween decorations! I had a great time going through of a lot of stuff and getting it ready to donate it to the Thrift Shop! I  My goal was to get rid of at least two of the 5 containers I have full of stuff. I accomplished that goal and more! I did put up some older and dearer Halloween decorations around the house. Some of them haven't seen the light of day in at least 10 years!  I know it's only September 9 but I feel like it's Fall! Of course, I haven't put out any of my candy corn decorations yet!

I found these old pins in my decorations. They have to be at least 15 years old! I have to figure out some way of displaying these pins. Maybe on a piece of black ribbon or black fabric? Updates to follow!

Can't remember why I bought them all except for my usual; why buy one when 6 will do! : ) I honestly think they are from several years ago or I bought them for the kids. I used to buy these types of pins when I worked at Woolworth 35 years ago! I had one for every season, holiday, etc. Not sure what happened to them all!


I also found several little figurines that my dear Mother made for me. I'm sure all my sisters received these sets too. She took ceramics for several years and loved making things for us. I also have a lighted ghost she made! This is the little vignette I put together with them all.

Now I know you are all waiting for the Floral Arrangement of the week at the Firm. Here it is! As you can tell, this arrangement also has put me in the Fall spirit. Very much a Fall floral arrangement!

This has been a fun project for me - I've really enjoyed posting these pictures. It's fun to share these beautiful arrangements with my blog friends.











I also did some crafting yesterday. After trying to figure out how to do paper piecing without getting frustrated, I finally found a great method. I watched a YouTube post on how to do it and really thought it was a great method for basting the fabric onto the paper. After cutting several 1 1/4 octagons using a quilting die on my handy dandy Sizzix cutter (from my scrapbooking equipment!) I was ready. I did the basting as shown and it really worked. As you can see, I have one flower made already! I also have several basted and are ready to make another flower. Not sure what I'll do with these flowers but I'm sure I'll figure out something! The bag is full of the papers I use in the center of each petal.








This is one finished flower. Each petal is on a one inch paper. It sort of curves upwards because I still have the papers in each octagon. You need to keep the papers in until you sew each side to another. I could take the center paper out because all sides are sewn but I haven't done that yet. You can't tell but the outside fabric is a beautiful color with gold thread through it. My camera doesn't take great pictures as you can tell and the lighting doesn't help either. I bought these two fat quarters at the new Quilter's Heaven location. I may try to applique the flower onto fabric for a pillow? The possibilities are limitless! Unfortunately my time isn't! DARN!!! 

I am really enjoying this craft now since I figured out how to baste the fabric onto the papers!







You may remember a couple months ago I told you about a block of the month my knitting friends and I were going to begin. We got together several times recently and finished our square for October! How convenient for me? DO you think that had anything to do with my desire to put up Halloween? This is the finished project. We all bought stands for ourselves so we can display each one each month!

We are so crazy about these squares. The next time we get together, we'll finish our November square and begin cutting fabric to do the December one! Once we figured out how to do them, we're going like gangbusters! The one thing we want to do at some point is free form quilting on each one. That's a bit scary to me but maybe I'll check out YouTube!

Of course, I've been knitting my spa washcloths. I don't want to bore you with more pictures. Suffice it to say I have many and am enjoying knitting them. I'm also knitting lots of stuff but will update you on my next blog.

Until then, enjoy this heat we're experiencing because before you know it, we'll be complaining that it's too cold and snowy!

 

Welcome Autumn!

Hi all,
The floral arrangement of the week is very pretty. It's a bit shorter than the past arrangements but pretty nonetheless. I would love to be able to do arrangements like this. Wait, I don't think I have enough TIME to have another hobby! 

Well, I had a wonderful mini vacation. I took Thursday and Friday off last week to extend my weekend. I can't tell you how much fun I had! Thursday afternoon we went to Liz's house for an early dinner and then made our way to Woolly Lamb for a night of knitting, chatting, buying, and laughing! It was a great time. Then on Friday, we again went to Liz's house to begin working on our monthly blocks. I'll have a pic of the one we completed for October next week. Just need to tweak a few things and then it's done! We did make a small thread holder on the spur of the moment. Gladys saw it somewhere and we each made one. The picture doesn't do it justice! We worked on the October block for two days and I came home and showed Tom the thread holder. I told him we finished what we were working on and he said all that time and just that? I told him of course, this wasn't what we were working on, it was just a little thing we made.

While we were sewing away on Friday, a terrible storm was brewing outside. Liz's husband came in and asked us about our cars because a tree fell down! We all raced outside and luckily, none of our cars were damaged. However, someone's Jaguar was! Liz took this picture of the tree that fell down all the way across the street!

The storm was terrible and so many tree branches were down as well as lights out. We couldn't believe we were just sewing away and all this was happening!

Oh well, we decided to go to dinner once the storm was over! We went to a new Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood. The food was great and the ambiance was beautiful. One of my fellow Weight Watchers recommended it to me.

Some people near us was taking pictures of their group. I came into work on Tuesday and one of the managers showed me a picture of the group and who was in the background? Me!! They were cousins of hers and texted her the picture. Good thing I wasn't our with another man! Small world! I sitting in the red shirt looking very tired. It was loud in the place and I had to lean over to hear what my friends were saying! Too funny!






Well, I was a very prolific crafter this weekend! I cut out 9 table runners on Friday and then sewed them all on Monday. I will bore you with the pictures! : )


 I had so much fun making these 10 minute table runners! They are so easy to make and turn out so nice. I used up so much of my fabric stash and made three of one pattern. Of course, why would I just make one? (Don't worry, I have lots more stash! I am making quilts too you know!)

Now for my last project(s), I have several Yo Yo projects that I completed. If you remember, my dear Mother hand made about 1,000 yo yo's (they are NOT toys, they are little fabric circles.) She didn't use a template, she just made them herself! These are going to my sisters, Joanne, nieces, great nieces, etc. I think Mom will be happy that everyone will be getting something to remember her by. I'm having so much fun with these! There are so many!

Not to worry, I'm still knitting but have too many pictures to show on my sewing! Next week.

I finished the book I was reading, The English Girl by Daniel Silva. Another great book! I really enjoyed it and hated when it ended. That's the sign of a good book to me. I'm currently reading a book that I seem to be just skipping through; The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven. This is a true story and a very sad one. It's about a 6 year old boy who was in a car accident and died. He came back after being in a coma but is a quadriplegic now. Just at the halfway point but am skipping through it. It is pretty emotional and I found myself crying on the L this morning! Not good!

Oh well, I hope you've enjoyed this post. I must not wait two weeks between my posting! This is a long one!

Monday Always Comes Around!

Hi All,
Yes, Monday always comes around but if you have a great weekend, you can handle it! : )

Here's a picture of our weekly flowers at "The Firm." This arrangement is very pretty and I think you'll all agree. This vase of flowers is very different from what we've seen in the past. Such a pleasant sight when you walk in on Monday morning! I just love the cup-like flowers. Are those Calla Lilies? I know nothing about flowers - just a black thumb for me! When we lived in California they grew in our back yard like weeds. It was so nice to look out the windows and see them.

Living in California was an experience but that's another story for another time!








If you remember my last post, I was reading Danielle Steel's latest book, First Sight. The beginning was a bit boring but as it went on I enjoyed it more and more. I think the last few chapters made the book worthwhile. This week I'm reading The English Girl by Daniel Silva. This book was a bit slow in the beginning but after 2 or 3 chapters it really picked up. I am thoroughly enjoying it and recommended this one to my reading friend at "The Firm," Karen. I can't put it down because each chapter gets better and better! My next book will be The Innocent by David Baldacci. Karen recommended this one to me. Can't wait to get started on this one.

Now for the latest update on Debbie's spa cloths and Bears items. I won't bore you with pictures but I now have 7 spa cloths - just finished one this afternoon at work! I think I'll share them with Debbie's sisters, Heather and Cindy. I'll be making more so they'll have lots to choose from. They just love my spa cloths! Ha-ha!!

Debbie will be very happy with this next item. I'm almost done with her surprise; Chicago Bears pillow cases. It's so hard for me to hold back when I'm making something for someone that I know they'll love - so here they are. I especially love the football fabric! Hope she does too!

I've also finished the black merino cowl I made. It's very difficult to capture the beauty of this color and the pattern but here it is. Maybe someday I'll model my items so you can really see what they look like! Unfortunately my people have no patience to take a few pictures until we get the right one so I'm stuck unless Joanne is here!

Of course, I have yarn to make 3 more of these; cream, rust colored and another color that I can't remember! I just can't make one of anything. It is an illness... : )

I'm currently working on several projects including another pair of socks, my Just Enough Ruffles scarf, baby booties, hats, etc., etc. Sometimes I get star-I-tis BAD!!! I'm always thinking of new things to CO!




Of course, I made another project bag but this one is different. I'm going to give it to one of my knitting friends who is having a baby due on September 11. I predict a girl so we'll see how I do!  Since she's having her first baby, I thought I would use a baby theme fabric and try something different. I wanted to line the bag so I tried something that I thought would work. It sort of did but didn't. I do like the outcome anyway so it's different. Here is a progression of the bag.



Completed bag - front

Completed bag - back

Inside of bag
 

See what I mean. It's different! Still works! I hope she likes it! Not sure what she'll put in it but maybe she can use it for something for the baby (GIRL!) I also cut out fabric to make 3 or 4 more so I'm hoping to get those done as soon as I perfect the process of lining these bags. So much to do and so little time!

Well, that's it for now. I think I'll go sit down now and cast on something new to knit! Start-I-tis!

 

Hello!

Hi to all my friends out there!

Floral arrangement August 12, 2013

I want to take this opportunity to wish my two dear friends a happy birthday! Mandy celebrated her birthday on Sunday, August 11 and Sonia celebrates hers today! Happy birthday ladies!

Today is Monday and that means; the floral arrangement of the week from the "Firm." This one is very pretty and I think you'll enjoy it. The theme of these summer arrangements seems to be the orange/red flower with the yellow thing inside. It's fun (well, that may be an exaggeration) to come into the office each Monday and see what the week brings. Oh well, simple pleasures for simple people.

Now for the good news and the even "gooder" news. The good news is that I lost two pounds last week!! Only 10.8 pounds left til my goal! The even "gooder" news is that I got NINE ACTIVITY POINTS  on Sunday! That long brisk walk after breakfast at Lucky Grill was really worth it. As was the up and down the stairs cleaning, sorting, washing, drying, ironing and organizing the contents of Gregory's closet!

Liz, Sonia, Sue, Jane, Ro, Gladys


 

Me - I take the pics!

I was also busy earlier this weekend doing lots of fun things. I took the day off on Friday and a bunch of us knitting ladies went to Schaumburg for Stitches - a show for knitters! We walked around all day, had a coffee break and then ended up eating a great dinner. It's always fun getting together with the ladies!



Dinner with the group

 





Yarn/sheep fabric
 

Of course, I didn't buy any yarn at the yarn show! I bought fabric! They had a vendor selling knitting/sheep pattern fabric. It's very difficult to find this design in regular fabric stores so I took the opportunity to buy 1/2 a yard of each so I can make some project bags! They're cheaper than the ones for sale at the show and I made them myself! Here is the one I made on Sunday.

My first project bag





I also finished the Chicago Bears curtains I'm making for my niece Debbie. Hard to tell from here but they're done! I still have a couple other things to finish but that's for this coming weekend!

 

I know you're already tired but I had a bit more excitement on Sunday. I went to Joanne Fabrics and they had a special sale; all McCall's patterns were .70 each! I couldn't believe how expensive some of these patterns are now - $18.95 for tissue paper! I bought all craft type patterns because I have so much time on my hands! : )  For $7.00, I bought 10 patterns! Such a deal! I also bought some end of season items that were 90% off! Yes, I said 90% off! Hard to believe but I got some great deals! The picture of the patterns isn't that great but they are nice patterns. I also have two that I bought for someone else.

 

You may remember I was reading a book last week, Fin and Lady. I can't say I highly recommend this book. I basically read it just to get to the end. I have to say the last two or three chapters were worth the book. Now I'm reading a new Danielle Steel book, First Sight. I hope this one doesn't disappoint me. Some of her books have not been up to her usual standard. Review to follow!

 

Well, that's about it. I felt like a needed to take a day off to relax from my weekend today but I went in and kept myself busy all day!

 

Until the next time!

 

And The Floral Arrangement of the Week is.....

Happy Monday to all!

I was pleasantly surprised when I came into the office today and saw this beautiful arrangement. It's in one of my favorite colors and looks very summery. I wish I could have a new floral arrangement, roses, any flowers at my desk each Monday! Unfortunately it would probably get boring after a while.

Today was the start of my favorite time of the month at work; MONTHLY REPORT! I've become used it now and have totally made it my own but it is very daunting and I worry all the time that I've made a mistake. It's the OCD part of me. I even have nightmares about it before, during and after. Oh well, as I say, we all have our monthly reports.

Oh well, if nothing else, makes life exciting and challenging!



I finished my latest book today; Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky. I loved this book. The beginning was a bit difficult to get into but once I got through that, I loved the story. I highly recommend this one. Now I'm going to start Fin & Lady by Cathleen Schine. I'm looking forward to this one.

Oh, just for the record, last week I lost 1.8 pounds! Just 12.6 pounds to my goal! It's getting harder and harder to lose the weight! I need to start exercising now to get rid of some of the flab! It's a process!

I was very excited last night after I realized I can buy some quilting dies to use with my Sizzix die cutting machine. I bought die one to see how, and if, it works. You can cut out fabric (I think) and templates for English Paper Piecing - my new venture. So glad I can use my scrapping tools for another hobby! I don't have ENOUGH to do so I'm looking for more! I was looking at some English Paper Piecing videos on YouTube and getting some ideas. It's a manual process and I'm not sure if I can take up another project but I'm going to try!

Enjoy the rest of your week. I'm looking forward to Friday this week because I'm off and will be going to Stitches with my knitting friends. We're going to try to resist the urge to buy yarn...we'll see how successful we are at that! I'll be sure to take some pictures and post them!

What? Back to Work Tomorrow?

Oh well, at least I'm making money to feed my habit(s)! : ) 

Hello all, I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were able to enjoy the beautiful weather. I had my usual Sunday morning after breakfast walk today. It was so nice and peaceful! I just love walking through the neighborhoods, looking at each house and imaging what the inside looks like! I always imagine there is a large and perfectly appointed craft room! : ) Just like in my dreams!



 

Speaking of habits; I finally finished my socks! (Not the Cat Bordhi Sweet Tomato Heel Socks) This is a pair I started a while ago! They are a camouflage color; gray, brown and tan. I really forced myself to finish the last one and I'm glad I did! 

Now I have a beautiful new pair of socks. Let's see, who will be the lucky recipient of these socks?

 

 

 
I also finished another 10 minute table runner in - what else - candy corn and orange! I need to put some buttons on the ends but I'm just not sure what to do. I have a picture and would like some opinions. Do I keep them as they are, take away one, two, or use something totally different. Of course I was thinking of a candy corn button but that may be over kill!

 

Let me know what your thoughts are. I can't stop finding beautiful fabric to make these 10 minute (which actually take about 20 minutes) table runners!

 

Denim blue shades fat quarters

Speaking of fabric, I went to one of my favorite quilt shops; Quilter's Destination in Arlington Heights. (Always a bad idea but now I have my DH drive and he waits outside for me. This way I can't spend too much time and buy too much!) BUT, I did manage to buy a few things. I went there specifically to find some football fabric for - let's say something! : ) Of course, they didn't have any so I had to buy something else. I found a beautiful fat quarter bundle in soft denim blue shades. It was 40% off so I couldn't resist! I also found a cute pattern for Cupcake Pincushions. I just adore making pincushions.

 

I also bought this pattern for an adorable pincushion. I cut out fabric to make 5 of these but got sidetracked and didn't sew them yet. Eventually I will get to them but today I got involved in my candy corn table runner and another project involving one of Chicago's sports teams! Soon enough you'll see pictures of what I'm working on that's such a mystery. The problem is, working gets in the way of my creativity! DARN!!! I think I need to take a long weekend or a week off to catch up and get back on track!

 

As everyone knows, I love candy corn so when I was at the quilt shop, I found MORE candy corn fabric. The difference with this fabric is the candy corn has sparkles on them!

 

As far as the football fabric, I went on line and bought exactly what I needed! So glad it's 2013 and I can do that.

 

 

 

OK, I made another Maggie Linen Cowl. I can't stop making these. They're great projects to take and work on at work during lunch or whenever you have time. It's just knit, purl, knit purl etc.! I think I'll keep this one for myself (maybe!) I have my eyes on some oatmeal color linen that I have in my stash for the next one. There's also some green too.....

Maggie Linen Cowl

And last, but not least, I finally washed, dried, and ironed my two pillow cases. I made these about 6 months ago and they sat on my dryer waiting to be washed and used! Finally did it this morning and they are so pretty. I make these using one yard pieces of fabric. I mix and match the top and the borders so I can use just a yard. They turn out so nice and they are so easy! (Once you get the trick of the "sausage roll!")

Next weekend I hope to make one or two pincushions and finish my special projects! I also need to finish my Scrappy Bag and the others I've got cut out! Oh my, so much to make and not enough time to make it all! Someday.....

Until the next time....

Is It Friday Yet?

Hello all!
I woke up this morning and thought it was Thursday. I hate when that happens. On top of it, the day turned out to be drizzly and coldish. A "pissy ass" rain as I call it. Just enough to get your glasses wet but not enough to justify an umbrella! I didn't even walk to the "L" this morning. My DH offered to wait for me and drove me there. Then I asked him to pick me up! Oh well, there's always tomorrow to walk. I can take a day off every now and then!

Orange Is The New Black Cowl

I've been watching a Netflix exclusive show, "Orange Is The New Black." I 'm really enjoying this show. It's about a woman who goes to prison after someone named her as a fellow drug runner from 10 years ago. Each episode showcases a different inmate and the trials they all endure. They have all the episodes on so you can watch them all at once or one or two a day. Of course, Gregory turned me on to this show. He has such great taste! This week while I'm watching (sitting alone in the dining room) I've been knitting a beautiful and soft black merino wool cowl called the Honey Cowl. May not show the true color but the pattern shows up nicely.

Debbie's Spa Cloth

Now it wouldn't be a blog post if I didn't show you the start of another Debbie's Spa Cloth. This is made of the blue cotton yarn, like the rust colored one, that I thought I'd lost. Obviously I found it! I must have stashed it away when the girls came over to sew and finally remembered where I stashed it! I also found a skein of yarn and a pattern (not related) that was lost but now is found! Yeah!! I love when that happens.







OK. The book I was reading, Summer Breeze, by Nancy Thayer was very good. As I said, it was a nice light easy summer read. My next book is a new Barbara Delinsky book Sweet Salt Air. Review will be forthcoming. No doubt it will be good. I love Barbara Delinsky.

I was at a bookstore recently killing a 1/2 hour and saw a book that I knew I had to have; The Joy of Sox. The title alone caught my eye! There are several very nice sock patterns so, being the Sock Queen, I had to have it! Still have to finish my one sock and then I'll have a newly knit pair of socks! I vow to complete that sock this weekend!

My Maggie cowl is coming along nicely. I've been diligently working on it in the morning and at lunchtime during work. I will definitely finish it this week and post a picture. I won't be able to do any knitting at work next week because I'll have to spend all my spare time working on the dreaded MONTHLY REPORT! Well, everyone who knows me knows about this week of hell. Although, everyone has their own personal MONTHLY REPORT! Do you??????

Well, off to watch another episode of Orange Is The New Black. I'm telling you, if you have Netlix or access to it, you gotta see this show.

Until the next time, keep crafting!

Another Monday....

Hello all!
Well, it's Monday again. I miss not posting since last week! Last week was not a great week for me. Nothing specific just a few things I perceived as "not nice" and the snowball effect took place. It's just me and my crazy sensitivity! Oh well, all better now.

Week of July 29 arrangement

I know everyone is waiting to see the floral arrangement of the week at The Firm. It's fun to come into the lobby each Monday morning and see these arrangements. Sometimes it's a hit and sometimes it's not. I'll let you decide.

I spent a wonderful weekend cutting and getting my Scrappy Bags ready to start sewing. I'm planning to iron the Pellon on everything before the coming weekend so I can start right in sewing. I've realized that I can't try to do too much at once because it makes me crazy. I went to Joanne Fabrics on Wednesday to get the 50% off Pellon I needed as well as some stuff I didn't need! I bought some orange fabric and some candy corn fabric to make a 10 minute table runner. I have that cut out and ready to sew. I also bought some cream color cotton to add to a quilt top I hope to make someday! Hope to have some pics next week. Then I went on Saturday and bought some more Pellon and some Chicago Bears fabric. I am planning to make some valances for my niece Debbie's Chicago Bears bedroom. It's actually the room I sleep in when I go there so I call it my room! Ha-ha!! Then I went again on Sunday because I didn't buy enough Pellon. I got some great sales and 70% off some sewing notions for the sewing basket I'm making for someone for Christmas. It was a Joanne's Fabric weekend. I vow to not buy anymore fabric for a long time. (Except some special fabric I need to finish some pillowcases I also cut out yesterday!)  : )


My fabric stash seems to have grown a bit. I thought I could get rid of some of it when we got together to do our Scrappy Bags. Unfortunately, I'm an organizer and decided to get all my fabric together in one place. I even bought a new see-through container. Everything fits in nicely, however, it's a 66 gallon container! Shhh, don't tell anyone!

Oh well, finished another washcloth for Debbie. This one was Brigitte's idea. I used some odds and ends from the discount basket at Woolly Lamb and made a real pretty stripped Spa Cloth with Berocco Weekend. I think I have enough to make one more. Very nice and soft. I love the colors and the cloth is very dense so it will be nice to wash with.

(I probably should learn to crop these pictures! Slow and steady - that's my pace!)

 

Once again, I'm in a mood to "lighten my load" a bit by using up some of my stash yarn (yes, I have stash yarn as well as stash fabric) to make another Stephen West Squishy Afghan. I made one in wool with the help of my knitting friend Sharon. She is a great fan of Stephen and we worked together and both complete one each within a month. This was 16 skeins of yarn held double throughout. The base color was a butter yellow and then I used different shades of blue. The afghan is on a double size bed so you can see how big it is.

I think I'll have to start another one come September. You need to do this in the winter so you can have it over you while knitting when it's cold. These are the colors I'm going to use; gold, burgundy, brown, green,orange and two variegated yarns. Nice fall colors. You need at least 16 skeins of yarn because you knit with two skeins at once.

I finished the book I was reading last week; Reconstructing Amelia. The book was not a love story but told the story of the love a Mother has for her daughter who died too soon. She worked throughout the book to determine the cause of Amelia's death. I highly recommend this book. This week I'm reading Summer Breeze by Nancy Thayer. So far it's a nice light summer read. I am enjoying it.

Until the next time. I hope to post before a week passes again! Enjoy!