Hot Times

 We have a heat warning and an air quality warning, today. The sky has a grey haze, so  I am hiding in the house.

Sewing has been hit and miss, but I got another bag finished. It is on its way to its new owner, so let me show you the strap.

The bag is entirely from my stash, so it was free, right?

Meanwhile, our garden is blooming.

We have a bell pepper plant. I'm not sure what has happened to the first pepper, but, we have a pepper.

I started a pair of top up socks, and it was going well, until I got to the heel. I now remember that it is the heels that give me problems in toe up socks.

This is before I started the heel, and things went wrong. Last night, I decided I wasn't having fun, and the yarn is now wound into a ball, and will have to be something else.

Yesterday, I visited a new-to-me quilt group. They have a lovely room, with big windows, and air conditioning.  I was asked to join, and  of course, I agreed. It seems that quilt groups need a computer support person, so apparently I already have a new job.

This week, we are going to swimming lessons. Our not so little guy goes every morning, at the public pool near our house. It brings back memories of when his dad did the same thing.

Some of the starts are now finished !

 I am not a fan of hot weather. My sewing space is the hottest in the house, so sewing is done in brief sprints. However, progress is being made.

The socks I showed you in the last blog have been finished.

Nice warm boot socks knit in 30C temperatures.

The slipper I had started last time was suppose to be a preview knit for a designer. The preview knitters found some problems that the designer realized were bigger than she first thought, so that knit is now on hold. I am glad there are designers who test patterns with a wide range of knitters, so the pattern problems are ironed out before the pattern is put into the designers shop. In this case the problem only showed up when the pattern was knit with a variety of yarns.

Since I had some spare knitting time, I made a pair of baby socks from the leftovers of my May socks.

Because I was using the leftovers, it wasn't possible to make them match, but I bet the baby won't mind.

I made a bag. This is the Emmaline Retreat Bag, in size small. It has a metal frame to keep it open when in use. I filled it with tools and gave it as a graduation gift to my young friend who just graduated in Computer Engineering. She likes the fabric. 

I used a rainbow zipper because it suited the bright colours. I no longer try to match my zippers to the fabric, exactly and instead try for something that compliments the fabric. The zipper pull is a Baby Yoda.

Once I got started on the big sort of the basement, I just can't stop. This week, I sorted through all the hats, mittens, and scarves. I found this treasure.

These are "courting mittens". I saw a set in a store, when I was a university student. I decided to try and make them, since the ones in the store were out of my price range. I gave them to my then boyfriend, and I still have the mitts, and married the boyfriend.

I need to go and plan tomorrow's program at "Camp Nana". I think we are making strawberry freezer jam.

Startitis and a Finish

I will start with the finish. A couple of years ago, I made two Lemonza Phone Wallets and started a third. The third got set aside for other things. I recently decided that it needed to be finished for my DIL's birthday, which is this week. 

Tada! It is late for her past two birthdays, but just in time for this one.

The fabric is Tula Pink, with some pink cork. The lining is dottie but you can't see it in the pictures. 

I also had a run of knitting starts.

I saw a pattern for a narrow scarf and decided that I needed to make it (because it was 30C so of course it is time to knit a scarf).

The yarn is more teal green, but the camera thinks it is blue.

I started my June Socks.

These are DK weight yarn, so they are quicker than fingering. I'm about to turn the heel.

This odd thing is the start of a slipper. We will see how it goes. 

Meanwhile, my garden is growing. My spirea bloomed, right on schedule.

The contractors are gone, and the house is mostly quiet again. I have a bunch of bags I plan to make over the next few months, including one for me.

Finishes

We had over a week of cold, wet, rainy weather. So I settled into my sewing and finished the quilt top.

 The sun came out, as I finished, so I had to take a picture. I made the backing, and dropped it with the long arm quilting lady, yesterday. The binding is made, so the end is in sight.

I also finished my happy socks. 

I tried them on, and they are a perfect fit, so I think they are going into my drawer!

The pattern is A Collection of Columns by Nancy Wheeler. You can find it here on Ravelry:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/collection-of-columns

This is my fourth pair of adult socks in 2024.

The renovations are progressing. 

The flooring is going down this week, then I think we get a break for a few weeks to figure out what we still need.

My Sweetie brought me a puzzle, yesterday.

We have these two plants in the yard, that look nearly the same, but not quite. After some research, the top one is Bugleweed (Ajura reptans). The bottom one is ground ivy or creeping Charlie.  At first glance you would think they were the same plant.

The ducks are still enjoying the neighbour's pool. I saw them again the other day. 

I have some bags I want to make. Some many things, I need to get organized. I keep telling myself, do some every day and things get done.

Another Week

This weekend was the first long weekend of the summer, and, of course, it started hot, had thunderstorms,  then turned cold, rained and was generally un-summery. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I finished my first sock, of the May socks.

 I immediately cast on the second one, to make sure they get finished.

I have been working on finishing up the blocks for a quilt the church ladies stated in 2019. I got the blocks finished and started putting the top together.

The first three rows are finished. It is currently on my "design bed" . My goal is to finish it in the next couple of days. The pattern is Hidden Pinwheel.

I continue to empty boxes and bins. I was sorting through one on the weekend, and after deciding the papers could all go to the blue bin, I was left with this.

Two antique hymn books, an Anglican Service book, and a container that was suppose to hold 4 Nirvana CD's but instead had 3 different CD's. I'm sure that is some kind of meaning to this, but I really have no idea where any of it came from.

Finally, this week, while sitting at my sewing machine, I saw this.

A pair of mallard ducks were swimming in the neighbour's pool.  

So, how was your week?

Spring

 The weather has turned warm, and sunny, finally. Today, it is 23C. The flowers are blooming everywhere in the yard.

Some are native plants. Some are bulbs we planted. It is tulip time in Ottawa. The Tulip Festival began on the weekend, and continues for the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, I have been knitting on my May socks. This yarn is from a new to me dyer, Area 51 Yarns. She is in Regina, Saskatchewan, and has some great striping yarn.

This is one of my silly googly eye heel turn pictures. Now I am on the home stretch of the first sock. 

Spring means it is time to sew purses. I started one yesterday. It is going to be a hybrid design. based on two patterns I have. We will see how it goes.

I'm using some leftovers to make my concept bag. These cats were asking to become bag, again. The cork is leftover from another bag. They look good together.

The reno continues. It always takes much longer that the 60 minutes they show on TV. 

Decisions

 I have been missing because the contractors arrived and the reno began. We are still sorting through "stuff" and deciding what should go where, and if there is a way to give stuff to people who can use it.

We have made 2 trips to drop off Ewaste, 5 bags of books have gone to the annual church book sale, fabric and patterns have gone to be freecycled, along with kitchen items, toys, and other useful things. Sadly, some of the "stuff" just has to be thrown away. No one wants old textbooks, broken plastic items, and other such treasures. Some days I feel like my head might explode from all the decisions.

When the workers get too noisy, I have been hiding, either knitting in the sunroom with the pets, or spending time organizing my sewing stuff. 

These are my very alert guardians.

I have gotten some knitting finished.

These are my April socks.

And a pair of  baby socks.

I finished one fingerless mitt, but then spring arrived. I must finish the second one.

Easter came, and I made a family favourite, Easter cupcakes. 

This year is the 100th anniversary of the forming of the United Church of Canada. The local region decided to make a quilt to commemorate the occasion, with one block for each "pastoral charge".  I don't know who is going to put the blocks together, but I was asked to make the block for our congregation. (What were they thinking?)

This is my block. It is a six inch block, and I was asked for 4 sections about the church. Just try to do four ideas as 3 inch triangles. Everyone seems happy with it, so it is off the join the rest.

While I have been organizing my sewing room, I have been rewarding myself with a few minutes of sewing. Just a small project I can work on in small bursts. Today, I finished this little bag from 2 1/2" squares of Shweshwe fabric. I discovered I had been gifted with a bag of scrap strips from someone else's quilt. I don't remember who gave it to me.

Spring is finally here, so I have some pictures of our gardens.

I saw a cute couple looking for a new home, the other day. They were checking out our backyard.

I think they decided that there were too many dogs in our block, so they have gone elsewhere.