MORE LOVE

A few days ago, I finished the lizard dishcloth--it's a bit hard to see unless you are really looking for it but I know it is there~

It's been too long but  we finally are all feeling wells enough to visit again!  The boys built 'sailboats' out of thick styrofoam and added mast, sail and crew and off we launched them!

The windward side of the pond was pretty clear but soon...

the end of trip ended in the dreaded slime! 

 We had fun with each trip.

He's proud of the sail he and Grandpa built!  

The boys  headed to the pool to swim and cool off

 but the slimy boats were not invited!   

AQS QUILT SHOW

Mary and I had quite a time at the show in Daytona Beach!  There were so many fine piecing quilt kits and lots of cross stitch and embroidery kits , too at the many vendors..

This quilt resonated with me....Shattered is its title.  It is a bit how I feel--I had a setback with my right hand;  the tendon to my thumb ripped so I am unable to move my thumb.  It happens to 1-2% of the people who have this kind of break.  It is nice to be one of the special ones.  Surgery will take place next week.. We started out late to the show because we had to go the the hand drs first.  Mary went with me, rolling with the circumstances and supporting me all the way!  We laughed,  cried and headed to the show.  Now you know why I identified with this quilt!

This one was very cool!

I liked the Spring colors against the grey of this one.

What's not to love about this couple?!

I am going to try this one---not hard, just needs a bit of planning!

Marsel, daughter, this one would look good in your family room!

Janette, Mom, this one would've been your favorite because of the jolt of blue!

This one is all solid fabrics but the quilting gives it much more texture and dimension!

This is made of varying widths of strips of fabric jjoined with 45^ angles...very cool yet calm!

 And here are the happy quilt viewers!!

INSPIRATION TIME!

My  quilting friend, Mary, and I are headed to the AQS Quilt Show in Daytona Beach today.  Mary broke her arm and shattered her shoulder in December and I my wrist in January so being deprived of our sewing time together, we planned this outing as something to look forward to , to get us through the barren days!  Today is the day!

I finished the Marisol sweater by Berroco that I started before the wrist saga;  it has flown off the needles this last week so I could wear it today!  Made with Berroco Summer Sesame yarn in the color 5236 on #5 and 7 needles.

I will be knitting this again--it was that interesting to knit!

In the yard, the amarylis are all in bloom with dozens of stalks

 still in bud!  Just beautiful!

 

WATERCOLOR WEDNESDAY

 Since I can't enjoy a WOOD ON WEDNESDAY yet, 

I will continue to enjoy the watercolor I can do! 

 This one is from a tutorial from Harriet de Winton 

and it's going to be a series of Spring flowers I plan to do!

(The wrist has healed well and now I can begin to strengthen it by light activities without the brace!  Just the news I was hoping for from the orthopedic dept!)

SHE'S SEWING!

When I opened the first kit for the Quilts for Kids, I could see it wasn't a four-patch this time.  Instead, this one is a rail fence quilt-one of the first quilts I made for a gift long ago! 

I only sewed one set but it looks pretty! 

 And I will be making some more soon I hope;  

today I go and see the orthopedic doctor for my wrist!

I needed more room on the design wall so I began sewing this one together to clear it out of the way! 

 It felt good to be in the sewing room again.

 

A LIZZARD!

I found this pattern when looking for some more dishcloth yarn-

I ran out of the white I am using for the pinwheel Tunisian dishcloth, but when I found this pattern, I gave in to the idea!  
 

NEWLY LOADED

Yesterday, I put a new blade in the rotary cutter and trimmed some backing fabric that needed to be pieced for the next quilt. 

 I am glad to say, I only had two ends to trim and the new blade easily sliced through the layers and I didn't feel a single pang in my wrist!

Once  I had the seam sewed, I trimmed it with the pinking shears.  This took a bit longer because more force was required and my wrist is very weak!  I found things to do between jobs while trying hard to remain paitent!

Soon enough it was seamed and pressed and loaded on the frame.  This is a fund-raiser quilt for our local QOV group.  

Bill brought the mail in just as I was finishing my efforts--I like it when things are delivered ahead of schedule!  I can't tell you how many times the thread has wound around the flywheel!  Well after the last time, I ordered a cover for it!  The new machines come with this cover now--I am not the only one with this problem!

It is a simple aluminum box with adhesive pads on top and bottom---I will never be attacked by a flywheel again! lol

 

BUILDING UP MY WRIST

The last few days, I have been knitting a little for short times and am pleased with my progress.  I find out Tuesday if I can remove the brace and resume normal (CRAFTING) activities!!!!

Even the small movements required for watercolor is therapy as far as I am concerned.  I limit the sessions to very few minutes and never beyond any twinge of discomfort.  

These two beach scenes are a memory from 5 years ago with our grandsons;  one would spend hours building and driving his yellow dumptruck in the sand and the other throwing his red kickball into the waves over and over.

Lena spent a lot of time next to me on the couch....

She sighs and stretches and brings me much comfort!

A BIT TUNISIAN

My helper is holding down the finish February square so I can block it!  If I look closely, I can see a few mistakes but I will leave it so that I can see how I progress as we crochet through the year with this blanket!

 Since I was done with the square for February, I had to find something else to play with that is still Tunisian. I found this pattern from Very Pink on YouTube which is also a very fun pattern and easy to memorize!  I had to use a smaller hook so I hope it works out to be a circle!  Time will tell. I can work a wedge before I have to rest my hand--it is getting stronger!

And just in case you are in the line 

of the most wintry mix of weather, 

I thought I would warm you up with our week's forecast!  

LOOK AT THIS!

I finally had a chance to finish the last 7" of the QOV that has been on the frame forever!  

It felt good to be upright, if only for 20 minutes.

The steroid shot has loosened the tight feeling in my lungs

 and my breathing is easing into normal patterns again.  

I cannot say how wonderful this is!

The pantograph says "Your service....our freedom."  

I also sat up the other day and did a postcard. 

 That is a red ball floating in the waves! 

  I used my right arm which is nice but it is awkward in the brace but at least I can use my fingers without pain now!

 

DAYDREAMS

 This came in the mail-two new kits for Quilts for Kids,

 one for a boy and one for a girl.

While I am not up to cutting and piecing for a few more weeks,

  I can daydream about the day I will do it again!

SITTING UP!

 I found I could sit up for longer yesterday-definitely an improvement over sleeping 20 of the 24 hours a day. 

 I mostly sat but Bill and I fixed the timing on the APQS 

and I couldn't do it without him! 

What a date--we bonded for an hour and a half! lol

 I was up too long, but I finished the rest of that cursed row 

and then realized there is still another 6-7" to quilt! 

 I will try standing up to finish it today 

after another visit to the doctor's!  

I'm hoping for some answers and help;

 my breathing is something that needs some proper timing, too!

JUST FOR LOOKS

 On Friday, I tried to quilt the last row at the frame and jammed the machine up big time.  I tried to fix it and failed.  Then 

I went afterwards to watch a friend's child for a few hours and really began to feel off.  I had struggled with breathing all week.  By evening I began running a fever and when I woke up Saturday morning, I knew I needed help.  Off to find a place open on Saturday!  It is so hard.  When I finally was seen, it isn't Covid but it is bronchitis--thankful to God for medicines!  I slept the rest of the day away and most of today, too.

I have high hopes for tomorrow! 

THE LAST ROWS

I was off on my estimation of when I would finish quilting this but this morning will be the last row.  I have another group quilt to load on and work at my leisure.  That's a good thing right now!

And just making it before the new video is released to work on the next Tunisian square, here is the square for January.  It was blocked overnight and it took a lot but not all of the roll out.  They will all lay flat when sewn together into a blanket.

THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS!

My new afghan hooks arrived early!  I couldn't wait to find the J hook and try it out!  The hooks were only marked with the mm size so I had to look up which hook was which on this a conversion chart!

 

Which clearly showed me which hook to try with my yarn.  The hook is a LOT bigger than the G hook I was trying to use with worsted weight yarn-no wonder it felt like armor!

I had bought this yarn at Michael's 

when I was given a gift card right after Christmas. 

 It would be perfect for this block a month project.

I worked a bit last night and it is so much easier to crochet with acrylic yarn instead of cotton!  Having the right hook was also critical.  I will work on this throughout the day today.  

Yesterday, when another friend stopped by, we brought the plants out of the garage, put them back into their right places and then watered them all.  I also used the blower to get all of the leaves out of the garage.  I am going to enjoy sitting outside in the sunshine while working on this block .  Tomorrow another new block will be released so I want to be ready.

I will be listening to the birds chirp!  Very restorative!

 

COOL GREEN

I finished the Tunisian crocheted dishcloth;  it is curled up very much like stockinette knitting does. The fabric needs to be blocked just like a good piece of colorwork!  I used the same amount of yarn working this stitch that I would've knitting one which is interesting to learn.

So I soaked it with hot water, squeezed it out and laid it out to dry!  I will tell you tomorrow how it turned out! 

 Another friend is coming over today to help me move all of the potted plants back to the front porch and help trim back the burnt leaves and stalks!  This help will be very welcomed because picking up the pots isn't possible for me right now! 

 I can pull the wagon from garage to porch , though! 

 "I'll get by with a little help from my friends!"