Back when I finished up the Blockhead top, I also fussy cut a pile of bee squares from some of the scraps, and I’d started turning them into nine patches.
When this past Sunday dawned grey and rainy, I decided it was a good day to get the remaining ones turned into nine patches.
It took all afternoon, and for some reason it was exceedingly tedious, but at the end of it Burton and I ended up with 35 identical nine patches.
We have a plan for them, but it involves making more blocks. Right now, we’re auditioning fabrics to decide what they will be made out of.
We’re leaning toward the two on the bottom, at the moment, but Burton is notoriously fickle, so who knows what we’ll actually land on!
I got the last leaves done over the weekend. And normally, I only stitch on the weekends – but since I only had those little light blue stars and dots left to do – I did a little stitching on Monday to finish it up and I’m so glad I did (Even if it did cut into the sock knitting time.
There are 10 moths and butterflies in the series by this designer.
And now I have two completed. I’m not sure If I’m going to do all 10, but I will definitely do more. Just not for a little while. I think I need a break from the black aida. But you’re going to have to wait until next week to see what new project I’ve decided on.
I had hoped to have the Clown Barf anklets off the needles before the weekend. But despite Relic’s best efforts to keep me in one spot and knitting…
I have not finished them. I am through the gusset at least.
The rest of the foot should go fairly quickly, so I should have no problem getting them finished THIS week.
***
And since Relic is here, I realize I haven’t given you an update on his health. Happily, a few days after his vet visit, his mysterious nose bleeding cleared right up. So that was a big relief.
His ears however, are another matter. Despite cleaning and treatment, his ears just keep gunking up. It’s likely a side effect of his FIV – he’s immune system can’t keep the demodex mites in check like they would in a perfectly healthy animal. It’s not a life threatening issue… it just means I have to keep his ears clean manually so they aren’t causing him any discomfort.
Thankfully, he’s VERY good about having his ears cleaned. I wait until he comes and sits in my lap in the evening (like in the above picture) and give them a quick clean. You can tell he doesn’t love it, but he puts up with it. I imagine he knows it helps him feel better.
Last Sunday, the afternoon was sunny and fairly warm so I decided to head out to the bird feeders for another shot at Jays in action.
I changed up my setting so I could just hold the shutter button and it would shoot continuously. Even still those birds move darn fast!
I got more levitating jays.
But eventually…
Things started to look a little better – if facing the wrong direction.
Eventually the direction got better, but the pics still weren’t as good as I’d hoped.
But finally, I’d got it! The kind of shot I’d been hoping to get!
And then it got even better! Whenever I fill up the feeder, I generally get anywhere between 3 and 10 jays coming to the yard. They take turns going back and forth to the peanut ring. This time, there were around 5. But two of them…
They did not want to place nice with each other. And I just kept snapping.
Talk about action shots!
And as if this wasn’t cool enough…. this guy showed up…
He’s a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a new one for my bird collection!
It’s amazing what you can see when you hang out near the bird feeder for an hour or so.
By this time last year, the gardens had already been buried under a blanket of snow.
But this year, though we’ve had a few dips to proper seasonal temperatures, overall it’s warm more often than not. It’s not quite summer, but think warm early spring. Warm days and cool nights.
The roses absolutely love this kind of weather. And because the days aren’t super hot, the blooms last a really long time.
Even so – this really surprised me.
This is the climbing rose I have on the catio. The one that supposed to bloom more than once, but never has. But last week, I noticed buds. And by mid week – it was blooming. It’s only one small cluster. But still beautiful to see.
Several of the roses that aren’t actively blooming, are in buds. Odds are out on whether they will get a chance to bloom. I’m not making a guess either way – I just can’t predict Mother Nature anymore.
Case in point… while it’s overall been mostly warmish – we have had nights below freezing with frost. While many of the perennials can handle a light frost, all of the annuals should be knocked out by now.
But…
I’ve still got gerberas and African daisies.
The driveway side is a little more protected, but even still…
Begonias and Sunpatiens should be completely flattened. But they are not.
And how about Morning Glories? In NOVEMBER!!!
These perrenials have all rebloomed (Clockwise from top left): Pincushion Plant, Dianthans, Blanket Flower, Butterfly bush, and Waterperry Blue Veronica.
And the Toad Lilies are in total glory
And my Dwarf Burning Bush is really on fire this year! I love it!
Will I have another garden post for you next weekend… only Mother Nature knows for sure!
So… when I finished my last pair of socks, naturally, I needed a new knit on the needles. I had planned on another pair of socks… but the yarn I planned on using was allllllllllllllllll the way upstairs in the stash, and I was just too lazy to get out of the chair and go get it.
So instead, I reached into the sewing stand I have beside my chair and came up with this:
It’s a ball of Bernat Sox that I picked up in a bag of random sock yarn at a thrift store. As you can see, it’s Bernat Sox (an acrylic/nylon blend). The colour is called “Crazy Hot” but I’ve renamed it Clown Barf. Because that’s totally what it is.
The ball is only 50g and I can usually get a full pair of shorty socks from just 50 g. However, because this was a thrifted yarn, I’m not sure it’s a full ball. So I’ve gone even shorter with just an inch and half long cuff (15 rows). I knit most of this first sock in between waves of trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.
The second one is already on the needles, and I’m hoping to get it off the needles by the weekend and start that project I originally intended.
As you know, in addition to quilting, knitting, cross stitching, and gardening, I also have other crafty hobbies like painting and drawing. And several of those projects have been accumulating in the dining room over summer.
With the garden put to bed (sort of – it’s still blooming, but I’m done tending to it), I finally had some time to tackle some of this.
Of course, someone had to come see what I was up to…
But eventually I was able to get him to settle down so I could get to work
First up…
Remember these guys? I had started painting them and then decided my cheap paints were crap and put them away until I could finally get better paints. I got better paints but they just languished.
But now they are finally done (The higher-quality paints made all the difference!) And if you’re wondering what happened to that snail planter… he’s in a time out. Even the better paints couldn’t make painting all his little details fun. Part of it is my hands aren’t as steady as they used to be, and my eye sight definitely isn’t as sharp. I gave up. Dave said he’d take a stab at it (he paints model ships regularly) but we’ll see if he actually does.
And while I was waiting for coats to dry on those, I painted up these three little birdhouses we got for sale at Michaels several weeks back.
I kept it simple with the decorations
And I think they turned out pretty good. The framing on the sun porch is exposed, and it means lots of little “shelves” for treasures.
Now with those done, I have to decide what this coming weekend’s project will be. I have some regular terra cotta pots to paint. But I also have a brand new set of Prismacolours I haven’t cracked into yet
And this paint by number kit.
Michael’s is a very dangerous place, and I probably shouldn’t be allowed back in there until I finish all the projects on my table.
Not only did I finished all the leaves on the branches, I got the little berry branch done at the top. All that’s left are two leaves on the top, and some random little ditdots here and there. I might even be able to finish it next weekend!
The night before Halloween, I finished up my Felici Aquarium socks. To recap, nothing fancy here; just a plain vanilla using some yellow Stroll for ribbing, heels and toes. I did the leg about three inches, which is my preferred length for socks for myself. Normally, I do ribbing through the whole sock, but I just wasn’t in the mood for anything even remotely complicated.
Now I’ve got something new on the needles, but it’s not what I planned on. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out more.
