JANUARY...THE BEST

Tuesday E and I went 30 minutes east of us to a Post Office (tiny one) to get new passports. I was kinda nervous and why I have no idea, it wasn’t like we would show up on the FBI 10 most wanted list, I have never even had a speeding ticket( E has). It was all so easy and our pictures actually turned out good. After submitting all the paperwork ( we took along every legal document proving who we are and that we are US citizens) and paying a rather LARGE fee we walked out free as birds and hungry. We stopped in the towns’ local cafe, Gray’s, a authentic small town greasy spoon sorta a place filled with local ole’ timer ranchers and the decor pure gun loving conservative dye in the wool GOP (trump) supporters. Listening to the conversation E and I just smiled and ate. The food was great and the place entertaining if not a bit weird. We did say on the way home “I eat there again” though.

January, where did it go? We had an ‘eat through the freezer and pantry’ month here, grocer shopping only to buy fresh produce and milk. I am happy to say our January food bill totaled $73.06. I had set a budget for $100. It was easy too and though we made very little of a dent in the big freezer,  the freezer upstairs I can see the bottom of the drawers. February we will continue are freezer/pantry eat down but we do need to stock up on a few things to continue this winter project.

 

I have a quilt retreat coming up and am busy cutting out two large quilt top patterns to sew up in 3 days of quilt heaven. 1) Soldiers Cross(civil war pattern) and 2) Shoo Fly pattern. I am a reproduction quilter and can’t make enough.

The cardigan my DIL is wearing -Felix cardigan, knit in Nutiden Yarn from Honerocheir in Sweden. Love the yarn, single plied. Wasn’t overly thrilled with the service but I may order more at some time.

I belong to a Featherweight sewing  machine group and a women told me as a resident of Colorado I can get an Ecard to just about any library in the state, I now have an Ecard to the Denver Library! So many books to look through and no or little wait time. 

Books Completed-

The Churchill Sisters(Rachel Trethewey)-  excellent

Founding Mothers(Cokie Roberts)-excellent

The First Conspiracy(Brad Seltzer)- very good

February will be a good book month I feel.

My rug hooking project is so close to being done. Maybe it will be a PJ day to finish.

-20 this morning! 

Please join Kat at

Unravel Wednesday

 

CHRISTMAS SEASON

Eric ties flies! LOTS OF FLIES! EVERYDAY!

He is very good, teaches classes and spends afternoons at the table tying with people that need encouragement. (not sure what this one is called (yes, they all have names) Woolly Booger?)

Post Thanksgiving Turkey broth.

Total=14 Qrts

 Thanksgiving this year was a hit in the 'pie biz'. Caitlin said they made approximately

600 pies. Each year the numbers grow and grow. This year even the youngest was put to work sorting boxes alphabetically and an amazing job she did.

The Christmas Season could not start here in my house til after Gus's 5th Birthday (a rule made by the littles) and an excellent rule to be followed. I started going through quilts on December 1st, pulling out the obvious Christmas ones and hanging them about the house. Slowly, ever so slow, the vintage Santa mugs, Santas and Snow Men large wax figures and white lights are making an appearance. 

On the Making side of life:

Finished a quilt for Interfaith Quilting group 

continue to work on my Hexie Quilt

picked up a UFO scarf-Groovey (a fav)

and a few more rows on my Half and Half.

In Books:

The Pioneer Women- the stories of Kansas women and their struggles settling the grass lands of the Kansas frontier.*****

The Three Graces of Val-Kill: Eleanor Roosevelt, Marion Dickerman, and Nancy Cook in the Place They Made Their Own*****     If you love reading about amazing women this book is a must.

Bunny Mallon-  Halfway through this book and I am enjoying reading about this new to me figure in American 'style' history.

Joining up with As Kat Knits

(oh good lord, I forgot how to do all the link ups;-/  

will do better next post, or not!)

AND, SHE IS OFF AND RUNNING

It's PIE Season here at Me Oh My Pie and Coffee! Caitlin and her bakers put out hundreds of pies between the Monday and Thursday noon of the Thanksgiving week. It's all hands on deck! Mr.P and I have the kids during the week, (not old enough to work yet in the kitchen or they too would be enlisted.) Instead the littles get to help us do the Thanksgiving feast shopping. Costco was crazy, Eric and I commented that we had never seen such crowds and lines to check out. While Eric waited in line, I took the kids over for pizza.. Once home they emptied the car, first of course with some discourse and then a fun game was made up while bringing all the goods in the house. Kids and imagination-its AMAZING.

Being the week of Thanksgiving, kids and pies, not much making will be done. The pineapple square was made at a recent Quilt Retreat and the Star block-finished on a Zoom quilt together on Sunday. 

On Thursday we will be gathering family and friends for a BIG Thanksgiving dinner(~35 people) after the shop closes.

Many thoughts on all I and my family have to be grateful for this year!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

(this is not my quilt, my inspiration)

 It's been awhile....

What have I been doing? A little of this and a little of that. I joined several Guilds; sewing, knitting and rug hooking-all the things I love to spend time working on. So many amazing new friendships.....COVID is over and life is being lived again. 

Having just returned from a long weekend quilting retreat, one quilt I saw at the retreat moved to the top of "I have to make this quilt". I  am rarely moved to run out, buy fabric and start on a quilt by actually following the pattern. The pattern is a BOM from a guild I am a member,

I will be using French General. 

Also worked on a paper piecing pineapple blocks. This will be a year long or more work in progress. I need 50 blocks, and am using scraps from stash. 

Took my first spinning class this fall, (I have been spinning for 20+ years), and love what I learned. I have a bin of odds and ends to be spun into some amazing yarns. As always, knitting is a constant companion of mine, and my grand babies

are my favorite people to knit for, (they are small enough that projects go fast).

Feels good to be back. 

JANUARY

                                         Colorado has seen a little snow and I mean a little, maybe 15 inches total thus far in January. Nothing to claim bragging rights. 

 At my house, we are in isolation, 'dry dock' as my family calls it. No one has been sick, just need to stay COVID free to meet a surgery date for Eric. We went into dry dock on Christmas Day and will resurface mid-February. We are home bodies here normally, but something about 'CAN'T' go out that gets old fast. 

Sooo.....I have been quilting, knitting and SPINNING every.single.day!  Dish clothes, six finished, we needed new ones badly. I have not had a store bought dishcloth in my entire married life....43 years just celebrated. Column sweater: finished. Not in love with this sweater but am wearing it often, guess it can't be that bad, (no pics yet.). The other hand knit that has been moved up in regular rotation is Altheda sleeveless sweater. I love this vest, great for these mild winter days and keeps the core nice and warm. Now, please don't think for a minute that any time is spent on daily out fit planning, zero thought goes into my wardrobe planning, jeans, cotton long sleeve shirt, (I only own 5 cotton shirts), Column sweater or Altheda vest or sweatshirt, [the sweatshirt usually wins out.]  I like to keep things simple and stress free;-]

 I am back to spinning, need another color for my 'Color Spun Shawl", am on a blue BFL spin and enjoying this fiber, nice and sticky. 

 Finished is another scrap quilt, unsure of name, I didn't use a pattern. This quilt gave me higher blood pressure. It's not constructing the blocks but quilting on a table top machine. I think the problem is, I am having trouble handling BIG quilts and doing free hand feather quilting, [which I love.} I fret and fret over the quilting, and all for naught. Once washed, the quilt is beautiful and the quilting pleasing.

READING: The War Of the Roosevelts.  This family intrigues me, especially Eleanor. Great book. 

The House of Gucci: The Gucci family...lets just say I am glad I am not related to them. Interesting but creepy book.

The Rockefellers: I have a like/hate feeling for this family. The Rockefeller foundation has done some amazing things in the USA as well as some horrifying deeds. 

Christmas Bells: just a mindless story for me and I have read so many of Jennifer Chiaverini books, I know all the characters.

Watching, all the shows on BritBox!

Cooking: Homemade Bread, Pasta, soups, roast, anything that is in the house. Good time to 'use up' all the pantry and freezer food. Even putting together an inventory [on a spread sheet] of pantry and freezer! Life has certainly a bizarre twist for me.

Joining Kat this morning

SPRING SNOW IN THE ROCKIES and some KNITTING.

Best Pecan Bar I have had in years.

(as you can see, I ate most of it before I thought to take a picture)

Little Oaks Sweater

the girl loves it, though I need to get some buttons.

Autumn Blocks Cardigan was a fun knit till I got to the sleeves. Then pattern reads; increase 2st 

 every 5/8'. Oh , and stay in pattern---but no info where to start 10st repeat pattern so everything meets up 'in line' for the yoke. After several attempts and grafting out pattern, not to mention hair pulling and messaging a knitting podcaster in Norway for advice. She messaged me right back, which I appreciated and said ' I had to imagine it in my head and go from there.' What????

 I think I figured it out and off I went, so far I think it will work, but the proof will be when I get to the yoke. 

I love European patterns because they give minimal information, unlike some American patterns that can be 20 pages long, with way TMI,  that only confuses the knitter....me.  But, I would have appreciated a little more info on the sleeves for this pattern. I do feel a little like I can now do any pattern or I will when -and if the yoke works! 

Scandinavian Sweater Book

Another small top finished that has been sitting on the shelf for to many long....years. 

I have one more finished top that has been hanging around for years that I hope to have done next month. My hope is to get through these finished tops and start making more NEW tops. I have a thing for running fabric through a sewing machine.....so relaxing.

Snow pictures taken early Sunday morning before the Blizzard really turned up the snow dial.

 We survived the Spring  Blizzard here on the Front Range. When it was all said and done I believe we got around 30" of wet heavy snow. The blizzard ended Sunday night and by Monday afternoon already so much had melted, being sunny and in the low 40's. The above picture is Tuesday morning and the snow is melting fast. The city did come through and plow our street Tuesday morning at zero dark thirty, plowing frozen snow/ice into our truck, as well as blocking our driveway with a wall of ice snow. We dug that out early on Tuesday wearing t-shirts, again sun out and temps rising. We have more snow, (so they are saying) coming in tonight and then again early next week, nothing big, just an inch or so......

I do love the fickleness of Colorado Spring weather and find it entertaining listening to all the folks that have spent little time in this great state complain about the late season snows. Ha, wait till they experience a blizzard in the middle of May, and yes I have been through a couple of those too. These snows is what fills our rivers and reservoirs, water that will be much needed during the summer. 

I hope to see a couple more snow drops, measurable snows come through before summer turns on the heat.

Joining Kat Unraveled Wednesday

SEEING THE LIGHT

As we are all aware of-it's been a long year! The anxiety of COVID, of a loved one being stricken with the virus and worse, the economy, financial issues, family separations and the ISOLATION.

I am a serious homebody and thought I was doing well the first 11.5 months of this crazy stay at home thing. Heck, I have been practicing this isolation thing most of my life! But, these past few weeks I have really been struggling, not sure if I'm just over it all, (not a good enough excuse to give up now), am I experiencing the end of winter blues, or do I see the light at the end of the tunnel , (my name goes on the vaccine call up list Friday.) I think its all the above! 

Tuesday, I said to Eric; "lets go up the mountain and get lunch by the river." Oh my gosh, it was glorious, 60 degrees, up in the mountains, pine trees, snow, sun, the river, fresh air, very few people and lunch...out, not made byEric or myself, and a beer... from a tap!  Everyone keeping their distance, masks on when not eating! It felt like getting off a space ship vacation, ( no, I have never been on such a trip, remember I am a homebody),  back to earth and normal living. 

I hope to be vaccinated within the next two weeks, then Eric and I can breath a bit easier.

I re-soaked some skeins of yarn to get more 'pig tails' out of the skeins. A class I took said to 'whack' the skeins wet on a hard surface. I thought, yeah right. It worked beautifully! 4 skeins out drying in the sun this afternoon. I often wonder what my new neighbors think of me, whacking making for a very loud noice and then seeing hanging skeins. I tell myself, they will get use to me.....haha.

I see spring popping up through the ground.

Friends I visit out walking.

Mountain Quilt finished and to be donated.

Altheda done and even worn once. Only change I made - was short sleeves! Much more practical for Colorado weather. This is a fun and easy knit, I will probably make another or three for my girls.

READING: 

The Power Worshippers, by Kathrine Steward.

This book is well worth the time to read and understand how the 80% of American White Christians are working within the GOP political framework to control the politics and laws of this country. It is eye opening and very frighting. 

 Mary Lincoln: by Ruth Painter Randal

Excellent book about Mary  Todd Lincoln. So different from other books about her, but then those have been written by men. This book is written by a women who spent endless hours reading Mary's correspondence to her family, friends as well as her enemies.  Also are the letters to Mary from Abraham, who was so very much in love with his wife!

Linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday