Winter Sunrise Crocheted Scarf

This summer has been a wasteland for my WIP quilts. Either we've been busy with gardening, trips into town (20 miles one-way), house projects, or I've been lazy/unmotivated. So I've turned to doing something at night in front of the TV (we've recently discovered and binge-watched "Poldark"!). I found two skeins of Red Heart Unforgettable in Parrot in Michael's sale bin and crocheted them into a neck scarf for winter.

I found a free pattern online that employed a simple half-double crochet stitch and stitched away. If I had applied myself, I would have finished much more quickly, but I tended to forget about picking it up at night!

The kitties were very helpful while I was trying to photograph the finished product.

I love the texture and feel of this particular yarn and have already ordered a different colorway for another scarf.

Hopefully at some point in the next few weeks I can post a finish on one of my quilts!

I am linking with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish It Up Friday.

Summer Bits and Pieces, Mug Mats, and Garden

L-R - Top: Daughter's mug mat, front and back

L-R - Bottom: Son-in-law's train mug mat, front and back.

The pictures above are of mug mats I made for my daughter and son-in-law. These are pretty much the only projects I've finished this summer! I've been very neglectful of blog posting this summer, mostly because I've been very busy with the garden.

My DIY hubby made a kitty bench for the kitties to perch on and look outside.
I covered it with a flannel cat fabric, and they fight over space on it,
so much that I'm considering having him make another one - lol!

Other than peppers, my garden is pretty much non-producing at this point, but I had a successful first year of a "big-girl" garden. I'll do a post later showing before/after photos of my garden from plowing it to building a pergola to full glory. I already have plans for next spring! I canned tomato sauce, ketchup, salsa, pepper relish, pickled jalapenos, jalapeno jelly, pickles, and wild plum jelly

One day I was shopping while my husband was in a meeting, and I wandered into a Michael's craft store and found some Red Heart "Unforgettable" yarn on sale for $3.99/skein. They only had two skeins of this beautiful variegated and soft yarn called "Parrot", so I decided to make a winter scarf for myself. I've been picking it up in the evenings while watching TV.

My husband made me a little shelf unit to house my tea supplies. We bought a whistling teakettle, and I also purchased an infuser teapot. In spite of the heat, I've really enjoyed my evening cuppa.

About mid-July, my husband got a FitBit and decided we should start walking every day. I'm really pleased that he is motivated to get his "step-quota" in each day. We've worked up to between 4 and 6 miles a day. We walk early in the morning while the temperatures are below 80 degrees. We are loving the old logging trails and views of meadows and pine trees. We live in a beautiful national forest on a dirt road, so all the road are unpaved with rustic views.

My quilting projects are waiting for my attention. I hope to become more focused now that gardening is taking a back seat and the 100+ degree days are (hopefully) behind us.

The kitties have found many ways to relax and sleep.

I hope you are enjoying your end of summer!