Ryder Cup and Crafting

 In past posts I’ve shared photos of the biking/walking trail through the Massapequa Preserve that hubby and I like to walk on. We haven't been there in a while due to my knee issues.

There is an entrance about a mile east of our home that we use. We usually walk south through the woods to a pond near one of the local high schools. If we were to walk north 2.5 miles, the path leads to Bethpage State Park where the Ryder Cup is being played this weekend. No, we are not attending. In past years, Hubby has played golf with our son on the green and blue courses at Bethpage though in recent years he has found it near impossible to get a tee time. What used to be a simple process has fallen victim to computer bots since COVID. Hubby has a nearly unusable gift card due to this problem.

Regardless, we will be staying close to home this weekend listening to the security and VIP helicopters flying overhead and watching on TV. 

That makes for more crafting time! As if I don’t have enough already. I said I would show you my granny squares when they were done and here they are. 

I laid them out in 17 rows of 13 squares and then gathered each row on a knitting needle to keep them in order. I have 17 granny square kebabs. 

Two of the rows have already been assembled. 

There’s not much progress on the hat. I work on it while on the computer so it should grow as I read other blogs this weekend. 

Except for some, backstitching, the bear is done on my granddaughter’s Christmas stocking. I’m working my way up the stocking now, adding the backstitching as I go. 

The purple block has some of its quilting now.

Last Saturday, we finally had a new washer and dryer delivered. The heating element in the dryer only worked intermittently. The washer had only worked on a few of its cycles for several years. Since we had to move a bunch of storage containers in the basement to make room for the delivery, I decided to start cutting out the fabric for another I-Spy quilt. One of the boxes contained all of my novelty fabrics so of course it made sense to start yet another project. I made up the design based on something I had seen on the internet.

Each of the squares are 3.5". I cut out all of the novelty fabric for the large solid squares you see in the photo. 

I still have to cut the white and black fabrics. Each black and white nine-patch will have a solid colored fabric in the center. I have plenty of scraps for that.

I finished reading Switchboard Soldiers, by Jennifer Chiaverini and I highly recommend it. I’ve moved on from WWI to WWII and am now reading The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy. So far I am enjoying this book. 

From the photo above, you can see that I have slowly started to decorate for Autumn. I have a couple of little displays done. 

There is still more to unpack.

I am joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch today and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching tomorrow. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Crafting and baking therapy

Hello everyone! I’ve needed some different types of therapy lately. My go-to is always crafty therapy. It allows my mind to settle in this crazy world. The events happening here in the USA are disturbing and more than a little unsettling. I try not to discuss politics here, but my heart is hurting as I watch the unraveling of our democracy.

 That being said, I been trying to spend less time doomscrolling on the internet and more time being busy with other things. It has definitely resulted in a whole lot of progress on my granddaughter's Christmas stocking. 

You can see that I am now working on the bear and have started some of the backstitching also. The ruffle on the nightgown shows up now.

The orange block on Having a Ball has been quilted. The purple block is marked and waiting for me to quilt it. Some of the quilting lines on the purple block are very close together so it will be challenging.

There are only 50 more granny squares to outline in white yarn. I will share a photo when they are finished and laid out for assembly. I have been itching to start a knitting project. I decided to use up more of my random skeins of yarn and make a donation hat. 

The pattern is from an old 1960s knitting magazine that one of my aunts gave me many years ago. It is quite easy to work on. It is a straight knit with a seam up the back and a pompom added on. I have made the matching scarf many times for donations.

When I am stressed I also tend eat and/or bake. This Blueberry Lemon Tea bread is from an old recipe clipping that has been languishing in a folder. 

It is very tasty. This portion was sent to my mother in law as she enjoys my baking. Of course I had to taste it first and keep a little bit for myself. I am trying to slowly make my way through the thousands of recipes that I have clipped over the years. I have more recipes than I can ever try.This one is a keeper.

  Most of you remember that I fractured the tibia on my right leg and found myself in a brace seven weeks ago. I’ve been going to physical therapy for most of that time. My orthopedist said I could wean myself off of the brace, which I have been doing slowly. It is amazing how quickly you lose muscle mass. I have yet to be able to return to my long walks. Of course that is compounded by the fact that I have 4 herniated discs and an impingement on my spinal cord that requires an epidural injection at the beginning of next month. I am sure there will be more PT after that also. Sigh...

What is your go-to when you are stressed? You can see that I have many options. 

I am joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch today and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching tomorrow. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

September Stitch Along Update

 I just don’t know where the three weeks in between updates goes. I feel like I was just writing the previous post. Here is where I was on Three Boats for the last update. 

Yes, there was another travel weekend in the past three weeks. Despite that, I did make decent progress on this project. This is where I am now. 

There are two floss colors that still have a lot of stitches to complete, but the rest is all confetti. On each update lately, I look forward to finishing this page. Maybe in three weeks. It is so close.

This Stitch Along is hosted every three weeks by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea who kindly sends us the needed posting reminders. 

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post.  

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

 Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Thanks for stopping by!

Crafting

Last weekend Hubby and I drove to Boston to celebrate our older granddaughter’s 3rd birthday. How is it possible that she is 3? We had a very nice visit. I brought home 3 raspberry plants. My SIL has a lot of raspberry and blackberry plants that my granddaughter loves to harvest. 

I hope I can get these to flourish in this large pot. 

This week was a good crafting week. I added a bunch of stitches to the stocking. 

I also spent the time to research the correct color flosses to use for Asian skin tone. I want this little girl to represent my youngest granddaughter better. If you recall, I had to change the skin tone flosses for her brother also because they were just wrong in general. He has a lighter skin tone than his sister so I didn't do any research then, just figured out what felt best. I am happy with the way the feet look. 

There are fewer than 90 granny squares to finish encircling with white yarn. No photo.

17 "blocks of Having A Ball are now quilted and I have already marked and started quilting #18.

 You can see that I marked part of the quilting incorrectly on one side of this block, but I fixed the marking and quilted that part first. 

I just finished reading The Ebony Swan.

 

It’s a mystery from the 1990s by Phyliss A. Whitney. It was easy to read and I didn’t guess the ending. This is a book that I picked up for free at Travelers Food and Books on a previous trip to our daughter. I picked up three more on this trip. Each person eating can take up to 3 books.  

I am moving on to The Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini. This is a library book.

I love her books. This one is set during WWI. I have only just started it.

I will be joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching and Frederique at the Quilting Patch today. I hope you take some time to sit back with some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

September

 I would like to know how it got to be September already. You can feel Autumn in the air. Yes, it is still shorts weather here in New York, but there is a definite chill in the air when I get up in the early morning. It’s dark before 7:30 pm now. Sigh…

The cooler weather seems to have energized me though. I’m back to quilting Having a Ball. You can see that I’m working on the bright green at the moment. 

The toe of the Christmas Morning stocking by Janlynn is finished. I even did the backstitch on the red stripe. Now I am working my way up the stocking. 

All the granny square centers are complete and I’ve started on the outer row of white. As you can see from this bag there are plenty of centers to be outlined.

Current reading is The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. So far it is as wonderful as her previous books.

It is about a Rockette  and an incident from the 1950s. This author picks a famous building and composes a story around it. Obviously this one is at Radio City Music Hall. Being from Long Island I have had the privilege of seeing the Rockettes there a few times. It is always a wonderful show. 

I will be joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching and Frederique at the Quilting Patch today. I hope you take some time to sit back with some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by!