[Spirit Deer]

That'so pretty, D! No wonder Sharon picked it.

I got about half the denim blocks for the couch cover overcast, which has taken all day except for going to answer a few electrical questions which didn't take long. I'm going to take them home and wash them. It's hard to get a heavy king sized bedspread clean in a home washer, so having them in separate blocks now will help them agitate better, I hope.

Electricians are leaving today and don't know when they will be back. They're going to another job and are at a roadblock in our job till J gets back to take out two windows in the kitchen and get some other stuff done for them, and also till all the 'rock is hung and they can do the finish wiring which could be a week or two. We have some things to do here this week yet, but we won't be doing 10 hr days anymore for a while. That's a huge relief!

 

[hikr00]

Another shelf cleaned and organized in the small craft closet. Why do I let things get so out of control before I organize them? Something for me to think about, I guess.

DLRCPA that’s great you got another hat done. These are the hats for donating? You must have quite a few ready to go.

SD bummer that the window didn’t come. Some stores will allow you to get the sale price if you’ve bought the item within a certain period of time. If you find something on sale after you’ve already bought it than it is worth checking to see if they’ll give you store credit or cash back. We did that at Lowe’s once and we’re successful. Can’t hurt to ask. What’s next after the electrical? Windows?

DC 25 pages of directions…..you are a wonder plowing through that knowing that wasn’t the end of the project. That’s such an impressive project.

CH sorry about the morning headache but glad it’s better now. How did Black Kitty do with the shots? All ok? Happy to hear the tests for Meeko came back improved but what a pain to have to take her back in tomorrow after just taking Black Kitty.

Ressa I’m glad you enjoyed my granny square story. I treasure them. My Mom always knit, crocheted and sewed when I was growing up. Eventually arthritis forced her to give up knitting but she could still crochet. She taught my daughter also. I was a lost cause with crochet. She tried but the left handed me and right handed Mom just didn’t do it. My grandmother taught me how to knit using a mirror. We stood together in front of it and she talked me through the motions while I watched in the mirror. It worked! I miss her. She had a button bin too, it was one of those metal tins that they sell the shortbread cookies in. I loved playing with them. We’d separate by size or color and stack them, pretend they were money etc.

 

[ressa]

hikr00, that was the exact sort of button tin my granny had!
When my arm/hand is acting up I can knit slowly easier than I can crochet. I think I use the continental method (it said in the book). Less hand movement than the other method but maybe it said it was harder to control tension. I don't remember now.
Off to listen to tv and work on my squares. Enjoy your evening everyone!

 

[Spirit Deer]

Menards does not have that policy, Hikr. And they were a special order, so if we return them, there would be a restocking charge per window, plus gas for a 100 mile round trip, then another 100 miles to pick up new ones weeks later. It was a good thought though.

The guys are pretty much done with the rough-in on the main floor. They're not sure when they will be back. That depends in part when J gets some things done. Then they will do all the finishing upstairs and also get the basement done.

What's next is technically Sheetrock, but first J has to remove an exterior door and put in Husby's bathroom window in its place, and take out 2 old windows in the kitchen so the electrical work in there can be finished. Then he and a helper will rough in the 'rock. Then someone will have to come to mud and tape. I don't know if J will put in any other windows. That would be nice but it depends on the weather. It's still winter here after all.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Hikr, that's good progress in the closet. Another shelf, yay! I think we ignore junk like that because it takes a lot of brain power to go through it all and make decisions over and over as we go through it. It doesn't seem like it should be tiring, but it is. It's not a closet full of junk, it's a closet full of decisions, none of which are important right now.

Black Kitty is happy to be home. She and Meeko both had a nice treat at dinner. They like the new food I got yesterday. Good thing I did, too, because our food delivery came late today.

SD, hope your missing window shows up. Maybe they forgot to scan it somewhere along the way and they'll "find it". Inventory must be a nightmare for a store that size.

I got a little sewing done after I got home. Pulled out the squares for the deer quilt and started sewing them in pairs. Came up with an odd number. So tomorrow (after the vet visit) I have to go over my pattern notes and see how many I was supposed to have vs how many I cut and sewed.

 

[marthamfi]

That sucks about the window Spirit do they send the other to you ? or did I miss that? That is so lovely DC. Yes CH I plan on using the machine..dh was didn't I get you one..said well this one works (didn't say wouldn't hold my breathe waiting for that one to be fixed) and distracted him by saying should have seen what the last one went for lol this is a deal. was odd 2 or 3 auctions at same time with old machines. not same city either estate sales. I started looking for info on it.

That is sweet Ressa. We have dh mom knitted ripple afghan from 70s orange and brown. she was did a couple cus fad and then she said nope. she was always a crafter but more sewing then making stuff with group little things like xmas tree decor etc. did keep a few things I found in her craft stuff leftover bits and pieces a granny square, pot holder..stuff from every decade. She made baby quilts for the kids which I kept. mom used to make stuff but just have a couple of sweaters and a doll. I did made a lovey and a baby blanket for the kids put away for if or when they have kids and my hands are too old. they do have stuff I made them now.

was rain and then sun but stayed home anyways puttering plus online class which of course then I was popular. door to door sales etc. I worked on the hat onto the v mesh stage. watched pvr'd celebrity jeopardy while dd fixed a book and now lockwood & co.

 

[Spirit Deer]

I don't know what happened to the window. We just got voice mail that it was missing from the truck, so they ordered another one which should be at the store in about 3 weeks, and we should call if we need more info. We didn't, because we don't. Seems like since they messed up, they could have expedited reshipment, but oh well. No doubt by then we'll need to drop another few thousand dollars on more stuff, so at least we won't have to make a special trip just for one window.

 

[Spirit Deer]

I can't decide what to do first, lay in bed until lunch time, or get up and lounge around in the recliner till lunch time. Either way, it'll be a rest day, with some intense discussion about just how much money we will be giving Menards when Husby goes to pick up windows this week. I guess thinking is work, too. Damn!

Still trying to figure out how to make the new island light more rustic. I thought about beadwork but then I saw one with similar shades decorated with deer antlers. Something more to ponder. Or I could go with beaded antlers on the shades. Many possibilities, all requiring thought.

 

[renmerc446]

SD: Glad you're getting a slow day today.

No one in my family did any handicrafts (knitting, sewing, or crocheting) when I was growing up. My mom did some macrame when I was young but I'm not sure why she stopped. Probably due to all the moves we did when I was growing up (as well as her work). I learned knitting from a family friend but put it down and never picked it up again. I then learned crocheting from friends and that's what I ended up doing. But I think my older niece learned how to knit (not from me, obviously) because I was the one doing similar projects. I made her a small 'afgan' for her doll house once while she watched. I think I also sent my sister (her mother) a full sized afgan at some point.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Cold and grey today, may be some light rain or snowflakes moving in soon. Was not a very nice morning. Meeko fought me when I tried to get her in the carrier and I got gouged in the shoulder/chest. Hurts but not serious. Had to use the broom on her under the couch and then chase her around. Ugh. Got home with her and DH let her in the bedroom. I keep telling him to keep the door closed. Now she's under the bed and won't come out. Grr.

Some other stuff going on that I won't get into, but it's frustrating.

SD, maybe if you replaced the glass lamp shades with punched tin, and did some rust paint effects on the iron bars it would give you a more rustic look. I also saw this cool paper shade with a wolf cutout:

Kind of small, but you get the idea. They also have a bear and a moose.

Oh, looks like the rain has started, kind of a misty drizzle. I may not get any sewing done, just sit here with my tea.

 

[dcompton]

I haven’t done anything yet today. Very low energy, that gray area between not sick and not well. I’ve been coughing a lot, but if this is the worst that happens to me, I’m leading a charmed life. With all the warmth and rain it could just be pollen, or more likely, evil fungus spores. I haven’t looked up air quality. Knowing wouldn’t make any difference.

Yesterday was a good day on the garden. All sensible cross stitch. Up next, after I finish that, is an area almost all specialty stitches for texture, but they’re easy ones.

I have to smile. My neighbor has been out in the front yard on dad duty. There’s been a lot of batting practice over the last months, but today is football throwing. He seems to be to be totally unathletic. I can only wonder if he’s thinking “Why me? Why my daughter? What happened to the girl whose favorite thing was art?”

We have a lot of warm moist air pouring up from the Gulf. We’re going to have some rain for a couple of hours and I just heard some thunder. It’s moving through quickly though.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Ren, we needed it. We spent 4.5 hrs making our shopping list. Gonna be spendy, not unexpected. I think we figured out all the lighting including the entire basement, except the ceiling fan/light for the living room, and almost all the windows. Lots of lights to buy. We would rather wait but will need fixtures installed everywhere to pass final inspection.

Hope your tomorrow is better, CH. The hardware on the pendant is already rust colored. I like the wolf shade idea, but since the light will be in the kitchen, it has to be easily washable. I'm not in a big hurry to change it. I can always modify or replace the shades even yrs from now as they're easy to get off. I'm looking forward to seeing that light again, probably Friday.

I'm happy LG's dad is here to help her not learn to throw a tight spiral, D. It probably matters more that he's here than that he's not athletic. I bet they're having fun and making good memories anyway. 🙂

Planned-over soup for supper, something I'm happy not to have to cook.

I got the denim squares washed and dried. They look much better. I'm looking forward to getting the second half done and starting to sew the couch cover. It will be good to get that done. It's not gonna be pretty because the squares aren't quite square anymore, but the main point is to protect the couch from our super-shedder Shadow and her Grinch toes and couch zoomies.

 

[hikr00]

Hi! Nothing exciting happening here. Quiet day today. I did some chores and did some time on the trainer. We had plenty of roast pork leftover from last night so that was dinner. I did do a bit of work on the needlepoint.

Ressa the tin containers come in pretty handy don’t they? Nana had buttons in one and she had thread, needles and stuff like that in another one. Every year my Dad gives all of us a tin of those cookies and I see the tin and flash back to growing up. It’s so fun!

SD that’s too bad Menard’s won’t price match sales etc like Lowe’s. Glad you got a good rest day. Picking lights out was one of the hardest things about building our old house. I thought it would be easy but it wasn’t.

CH i think you’re right about the closet being shelves full of decisions. It’s way too easy to shut the door and ignore it. Meeko definitely has her spirited opinions back, doesn’t she? Sorry about the injury. Cats can really give you a run for your money.

DC I hope you feel better soon.

 

[renmerc446]

dc: hope you're feeling better!

SD: glad you had the time to go over which lights you wanted, rather than being rushed while doing it. :lol: "Couch zoomies" - very funny description!

Didn't get much done on the afgan yesterday. I had signed up for a virtual event on perfume (although I almost never wear perfume). I was curious, due to something I saw on a show called Victorian Pharmacy. (It's a experimental history documentary, covering pharmacies in the Victorian period.) Anyway, the webinar was interesting, although very high-level. It was more like an introduction to perfume but still fun and informative. It's one of the few virtual events offered by the NY Adventure Club that will send samples to those who pay extra for them. A bit pricy but I think it was worth it for a one-off experience, especially since I have my own bespoke/personalized perfume (as well as the samples that I didn't use).

 

[dcompton]

Good morning everyone!

Ren - you can certainly find some interesting things to do! The show sounds interesting too. I love learning new things. My last audiobook was a history of the automotive industry in America that I picked up when it was on sale and cheap enough to get on a whim. I have no interest in cars at all, but it was a surprisingly interesting book. I still have no interest in cars but I learned a lot.

I hit the next snag on the garden, a color this time. It’s a variegated floss called jaded ivory. When it came it was just green, no ivory about it, and it’s used a lot. First use is for big stone blocks on the four gates, and it’s just wrong. I found some pictures online and there it’s really a sensible light stone color. Overdyed floss can be tricky. It’s an old pattern and either the color has drifted over the years or I just got a weird dye lot. I’m skipping it for now while I decide what do. Since it’s so far off and is used a lot, I will probably just pick a more likely looking stone color and order that. I didn’t have anything similar in my variegated cotton stash since it’s not a color I would buy just because it was pretty and I couldn’t resist it. Lol.

I also have a red problem. The awful rayon. I replaced the black rayon, but thought the red wasn’t used much, so planned to carry on with it. It’s a pretty shade, is shiny, and has a perle like twist so it’s distinctive. But last night I realized it’s actually used a lot - in unfudgeable continuous lines around the concentric borders. I checked and a usage chart estimates .9 of a skein. As much as I’m having to frog, already some of that, that’s cutting it close. I only found it one place, an Etsy shop I don’t like. I won’t risk having to order more and end up with a bunch of leftover I would never even consider reusing. So I have to decide what to substitute there.

None of this would be a problem if she had picked a pattern, like I would have, that was in my preferred color palette. I would have many substitutes on hand. That does not include greenish off whites and red. Ok. This isn’t a real problem like covid or global warming, but color is one of the things that’s always been a big deal for me and I can be obsessive about. It’s why I have the absurd floss and fabric stash.

My planned cooking week has really fizzled out. I did decide though that I need to cook a lot of the meat in the freezer. Some of it has been there a long time. Then I can gradually start restocking it so I don’t need a grocery run yet. I’ll be good until I run out of ketchup. 😂

 

[Contrary Housewife]

DC, hope you can find the right floss sooner rather than later.

SD, hope the denim couch cover comes out the way you want it to.

It snowed last night, which I wasn't really expecting, because they always predict 2-6" and we get nothing. So now I'm debating going out. I don't really need anything but I was looking forward to some Thai or Indian curry for lunch. The roads will be fine, it's just cold, wet, and nasty.

Meeko is in a tizzy. Don't know what is going on with her, she is wandering the house meowing loudly.

Looked at my pattern notes, and I need to take a couple of squares apart and re-sew them to spread the colors around more. I cut the correct number but ended with 4 identical and nothing to sew them to.

 

[ressa]

Taking mom to the dermatologist after lunch. Checked on her earlier and she seems pretty with it today! WISH I WAS!
Had to tell DD2 we could not pick up kids from school today. Dunno what has come up for her. Tomorrow night is the school play that my grandson is in. A Lion King play and he is Mufasa. He was very disappointed that they won't let him die on stage. Saturday afternoon granddaughter has a birthday party at a jumping place. After that things should slow down. DH hates having to do a lot of going.
That 3D granny square afghan... man. I am having major brain farts/fog I guess. I remember being so careful to sew the last two strips in the proper order. I got ready to join those and !!! one was not in the right order. So I picked apart the offending row. Came to the conclusion last night that I would just have to redo a few squares.
In the middle of the night I suddenly realized that I just needed to redo the last round. Ok. So today I go back to it and seems I picked apart the row that was right. So now I have to get it back together. Then I will tackle the row that is wrong.
Or I may just knit a few dishrags and wait for the brain fog to pass!
Not sure if I got messed up because I moved my work area back and forth from one room to another. Frustrating!

 

[renmerc446]

dc: the company that offers these virtual events has a good deal of interesting topics to chose from. I really enjoy them because I can do them in the comfort of my own home and have a week to watch them if I can't the day the "live" event happens. I'm noticing that several webinars look like repeated events but that's ok. It gives me a chance to catch the ones I didn't before (such as the perfume webinar) or watch it again in case I missed something the first time around.

Sorry to hear you're having a color problem. Hopefully you can find a close enough color without contributing too much to your stash.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Ressa, done that a few times myself. I've learned it's just not worth it to sew in the evenings, or when it's dark out. I make too many mistakes.

Good news, the vet called. Meeko's pancreas test came back normal, and her liver numbers are much better. We have to keep giving her the pills until they are gone (about 1 more week) though.

I've almost convinced myself to stay home today. So much to do, housework, cat boxes, putting sewing room back together after yesterday, laundry.... but then I'd have to go out tomorrow. We have social events the next 4 days in a row, and we're taking food to 2 of them. May have to skip one or two. A friend is having a gathering downtown to show off all the new jewelry in his shop. There'll be cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and diamond bracelets to try on, that sort of thing. Yeah, I can skip that one. Plus it'll be cold.

 

[dcompton]

Ressa- that sounds like something I would do. I hope it goes like clockwork getting it all done the second time around.

CH - great news about Meeko. I hope she will settle back down after the med fights and stressful vet trips end. It’s a shame she’s had to go through this so soon after you got her. It’s probably not helping with any trust issues.

The new pattern/fabric order is marked as shipped. That doesn’t mean it’s actually going to the post office today, but if it does I’ll probably get it Saturday. Certainly by Monday.