A few non-quilt finishes

Over the last week or so I’ve finished up 2 projects that are NQR (non quilt related).  Both are for me, one has a definite purpose, one is still undetermined.

Last winter I started knitting a pair of socks in a fuschia/purple/green yarn.  Then the weather warmed up and I lost interest, until the other day and we got cool.  I finished them yesterday and finally, after 4 pairs of socks, have my sizing right!!!  Apparently I knit with really loose tension and have had to drop to a size 1 needle….and could probably still drop to a size 0 and have an even better fit!

Until now, when I knit socks, I’ve been using DPNs (double pointed needles), but doing one sock at a time means I have to write down the # of rows (and which row I left off on) on little slips of paper.  So I have ordered a set of circular needles to go with my newest sock book that I purchased (Two at a Time Socks).  I’m looking forward to trying that and see if it’s more confusing, or less confusing for me.

Until the needles get here, I have a luscious ball of hand-dyed yellow rayon yarn to knit into a special project for a special person.  Hey, you KNEW if it was YELLOW it wasn’t for ME!   LOL

The other project, whose eventual usage has yet to be determined?  Well, it’s a woven ?????????  Hmmm, too short and stiff for a scarf?  But I finished it with fringe like a scarf.  Maybe a table topper scarf?   Or ???????    I don’t know what it will be, but I love it!!  Love the texture, love the color, love the feel of it so for now it is draped over my office chair where I can see it daily.

Oh, you want a pic?  Here you go:

And just because I can:

"Honest Mom, I don't need a bath"

Me neither mom!!! He smells worse than me, HONEST!!!!

I’m liking this!

One of my customers always brings me great quilts to work on.  This one we’re putting custom quilting on and I thought I’d give you a sneak peak at what I’m doing.

I’m using the computer (IQ) to lay in the designs, and getting wonderful tension with the new tension discs on my machine!  I’m really liking this:

Of course the boys are unimpressed that I’m working into the night again and not giving them any attention, so they have retreated here:

Yes, on top of the bed, on top of the pillows, on top of my first applique quilt….they know a good spot when they see one!

Back to quilting now!

Sunday Morning Walk

Come with me on a Sunday morning walk around the front yard.  Pull up a cup of coffee if you like, as I’ve taken lots of pictures to share this morning.

The roses on the front side of the studio are first year plantings and seem to love the east facing location:

Yesterday the butterfly bush was bringing in beautiful yellow and blue butterflies.  I’ve got to look up which species they were.

Beside the butterfly bush is an area I really need to tend to.  Somewhere in that mess are 5 hosta plants!

Of course I don’t know what the plant is that’s taken over.  Here’s a closeup and if you know what it’s called, please tell me!

By now the sun is almost above the tree line.  It won’t be long before the temps start climbing today.

When I came home last week, I found the crepe myrtle in full bloom.

And I see today the spiders have been busy building webs in the rock pile.  One day this rock pile will be moved to line all the gardens, but it’s one stone at a time here moving them.

We used the first few loads of rock to build rock walls.  They make a nice background for some late blooming coneflowers.  The big bed of coneflowers has gone to seed now, almost time to harvest the seeds.

I was suprised by the veining in the clematis this morning.  I don’t recall seeing this much definition in years past.  I wonder if it’s because the plant is aging, or if it has something to do with our lack of rain?  Once again the rain goes 5 miles north of us and 5 miles south of us, but we’re in the middle of a band of dryness.

As always, my faithful girl is waiting for me when I come back from a walk.  Today the little noisemaker was outside with her!  But he’s not making much  noise, apparently he barked himself hoarse while I was on vacation and his voice hasn’t returned properly yet.

Hope you enjoyed the walk this morning!