Current projects - finished and in the works

I have a lot going now - lots of family will be coming into town for Thanksgiving, building a shop, preparing to renovate Kathy's kitchen and my bathroom, working tons to pay for everything, and hosting a party that basically takes place over 2 evenings.

Also, people keep having baby girls.

Here is my last baby blanket. It is really more of a play mat because it's a heavy yarn. I used some the peaches and creme yarn that I had on hand. I also learned (finally) how to do a ripple blanket. You really have to be precise in your stitch count to make it ripple as it is supposed to. Not really my skill. I bet I ripped out a section in every row. The good news is that it is a very easy blanket to crochet so if you go back a few stitches, it's easy to get going again.

Here's a better picture of the border.

I think I made that blanket in a week. I have not given it to my neighbor yet because I like to wash them first. And the challenge in washing things in my house is kitty hair. I have to WASH the washer before I put a gift blanket in there so it won't get coated with kitty hair.  I'm doing that now.

Ok, now for the big reveal. I have been making these silly little logs to put my invitations in for the wreath-making party. It has probably taken me 2 weeks to make them but I love them.

Work in progress:

 They are toilet paper rolls covered with Joel Dewberry fabric. I bought some felt balls, collected acorn caps and made acorns to function as the button for closing the little log. I got the idea for the logs from 2 sources - Martha's Yule log favor boxes, of course and from a website called Pretty Little Things. I'll try to post links though I have never done that before. I hope it works.

And here is the finished photo. Not a great photo, but then I am not a great photographer. You'll get the idea.

What looks like little arms is the ribbon closure. It's got holly leaves on top. I am very tickled about this. But like I said 2 weeks of work.

Anyway back to crafting grind. I have to cut out 90 or so holly leaves with my Sizzix cutter. You know how hard it is when you have a day off and the only thing to do is CRAFT. Whew. Tough life.

What are you after, Daisy?

I have been meaning to post this for awhile.

About a month ago, I saw Daisy, my only indoor/outdoor cat after something in the driveway.

What are you after, Daisy?

So I took a picture.

Then I put down a quarter to put it in perspective.

Amazing, huh?

It's called a ring-necked black snake or something like that. They only grow to be about 12 inches long. This is obviously a baby. I put Daisy in the house and a little later I saw the snake crawl in the grass. I know it's only a tiny snake, but it was pretty exciting for me.

I will try to post again later today. I have a project I am working on that is really fun.

Lucy

More photos

This isn't really posting twice in one day, though it may appear to be. I slept between postings so to me that means the last post was yesterday and this is today.

I've got a few photos of the best baby blanket that I have made so far. I was really happy with the border. Usually I make a kind of lacy looking border, but I wasn't really happy with it. I wanted this blanket to have a border that framed the blanket so I just did several rows of single crochet. I used 2 light color rows of yarn to help make that distinction. I would have used bolder colors but the yarn tends to bleed a little which isn't really noticeable in the blanket itself, but it would show up on the borders.

As usual one of the cats inserted himself into the photos. This is Daisy, he is a yellow boy cat, but I didn't know that when I named him.

This photo shows the border better.

I intend for the next posting to have more about updating the houses or workshop or something productive besides crochet.

Things to do in the Fall

We have had a most glorious beginning for this fall. The daytime temperatures are occasionally a little toasty, but the nighttime temps cool off beautifully. My brother finished his chemo and had a totally negative PET scan. Whew! That was a relief.

Projects for the next few months include:
1. Build a workshop for John so we can move the shop out of my basement. He can then be more productive and eventually build a real house for himself.
2. Finish insulating the attic at Lenore (my job). I actually like doing stuff like that.
3. Do the design work for the kitchen at Lenore (i.e. where the hell does everything go? Where is a refrigerator supposed to fit? A stove? I think we need a design professional)
4. Gut the Lenore kitchen
5. Gut my bathroom in prep for renovation. I have the design work done for that.
6. Arrange to have cabinets made. I think I am going to ask John's boss if they would be willing to do this small job since John won't have a shop built in time.
7. Wreath-making party (parties, really) on November 28th and 29th. I am going to host it on 2 nights so everyone at work who wants to come can come on either night.
8. More crochet baby blankets - lots of baby girls being born.

First a picture of Little Dude, the kitty who just kills me because he is so cute. I just love his nub tail which spins like a helicopter when he is excited (or hungry which is about the only time he gets excited.)

I'll try to post again later with some other photos.