Osage Autumn Crochet Scarf and An Anniversary Update

Here is another finished winter scarf for wearing with boots and jeans. (Here and here are the two I made last year.)

The yarn, Patons Kroy in Blue Striped Ragg, is classified as "socks yarn". I attempted to crochet socks, but I gave up and made a scarf instead!

I used a U.S. D/3 crochet hook and primarily a single crochet stitch, with a few lacy rows thrown in to give it character.

In other news: Our kids surprised us this past weekend with an anniversary party! Our 50th anniversary was October 23 (read about that right here), and our daughter and two youngest grandchildren came for a weekend visit Friday night. She had told us before she came that she wanted to go out to eat to celebrate our anniversary and her birthday (October 24) and not to buy or fix a bunch of food like I usually do. She was very sneaky and never hinted at the fun to come.

Our son had told us various reasons he and his family couldn't come out for the weekend and made plans with us to take us out to eat in a couple of weeks. On Saturday around 11;00am, he and his family showed up at our house with a cake and food for a cookout! We were so shocked! They brought margarita fixings, queso, guacamole, and salsa, and my son grilled burgers. We had a blast!

Our kids helped us recreate cake cutting, 50 years later.

The cake had a photo of the cake cutting at our wedding reception.

It was just as delicious as the one 50 years ago!

Our littlest Sooner helped us feel better when OU lost their game.

Of course no visit is complete without a trip to Walmart for diapers.

We enjoyed a marshmallow roast on the firepit.

It was truly a great weekend filled with wonderful memories and happy times.

Cozy Crochet Afghan

In spite of our warm humid weather, I'm dreaming of a cold winter night with a mug of hot cocoa snuggling under this warm afghan.

I used 6 skeins of Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Oatmeal, which is a nice creamy beige with tiny strands of chocolate and black. This yarn is thick but soft, with a comfy blend of acrylic and wool.

I love crocheting while watching TV, and using the same stitch throughout with no color changes gave me some satisfying mindless crocheting.

Using a size N(9mm) crochet hook, I did half double crochet stitches in the back loop, which created a ribbed effect. I elected not to add fringe because I only had about 2 yards of yarn left over, but I might at some point.

The dimensions are 56" x 56", and as you can see my rows are a bit "wavy". I find it challenging to make the same number of stitches in each row without counting (that would take away from "mindless!) and to keep the edges straight. I did not block the afghan, but I'm sure that would have helped even it up.

This afghan will reside on the 12-year old dilapidated extra large recliner in our TV room. Our grown kids fight over that worn out chair when they come to visit and won't hear of us giving it away - hah!

Next up on the hook: a scarf using striped socks yarn. I bought 2 skeins of this yarn thinking I would make a pair of socks, but after a failed attempt, I quickly decided to make a scarf instead!

I am belatedly linking this to Cedar Fork Stitches Finish-Along as the only 3rd quarter goal I finished out of this very ambitious list I made back in July! But I'm glad I finished at least one, considering the fact I was sick during the month of August!

Longing for Autumn

Here in southeast Texas, our little acreage is just about burned up. We received 1.86 inches during July and only 1.15 so far in August. Compare that to last year at 8.12 in July in 2.11 in August! Temperatures have been hot, not record-breaking, but combined with no rain makes for miserable weather. Our garden is crispy. We do try to keep the zinnias and arbor plants watered for the butterflies and birds.

It has been too hot to sit outside and enjoy the canopy

and sitting area my husband set up. Hurry up autumn!

This has also been the August from hell for my health. Bronchitis and an upper respirator infection have knocked me out. It started with an occasional sore throat in early July and became a heavy cough by the end of the month. The coughing has been the worst! The sofa, heating pad, a box of Kleenex, Aleve, and Zicam have been my friends. The one thing that has NOT been affected is my appetite! In spite of food tasting different, I eat with gusto. Hopefully, I am finally on the mend.

Rosie helped me do a little crocheting.

The current status of my sewing room is "anticipation" (Katy is holding the cover down over my pressing mat). I have SO many UFOs I want to finish and new projects to start before Christmas, and August was a bust. I'm hoping today I can finish trimming the same pile of Quilty Stars HSTs I mentioned in my last post - hah. I am crossing my fingers my next post will show progress on something!

Summer Happenings, SewJo to CroJo, and Recipes!

This past week involved one of my favorite things - reorganizing! My sweet DIY guy built me some floating shelves for all my fabric, and I am so happy with them.

Here is a before and after shot of my fabric storage

So the day after I posted my lengthy Q3 goal list, I lost my "sewjo". I'm blaming it on the weather. Although our area has been relatively cool (low to mid 90s) compared to other areas of the country, the lack of a good soaking rain has a lot to do with my malaise. Stormy weather fuels my energy, and this summer has been seriously lacking in a good thunderstorm. To solve this, we should move back to Oklahoma! (Wishful thinking.) We only received 1.86 inches of rain during July, so we are in a bit of a drought.

What I am happy about is that although I lost my "sewjo", I did regain my crojo! I'm almost finished with this half double-crochet afghan. I'm using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Wheat.

I have more projects in the works, such as another afghan using Lion Brand Mandala Thick and Quick in Seaglass, and a crocheted scarf, using Patons Sock Yarn in Blue Striped Ragg. I've started the scarf and am doing it in single crochet, maybe with a row or two of double crochet thrown in for fun.

I won a pattern - yay! All I had to do was enter a giveaway from reading a newsletter from Myra at Busy Hands Quilts. I've made one of Myra's patterns, and she is the best pattern author! I had a hard time choosing from among her patterns, but I chose her Castle Dreams pattern and will probably make a fall-themed quilt with it.

One of my January 2019 resolutions/goals was to participate in quilt-alongs and sew-alongs and to post monthly and quarterly goals. I really enjoyed the events, and they helped keep me on track to accomplish many of my goals. But now I am feeling a bit of burnout. Knowing myself as well as I do (hah!), I have removed the QAL and SAL buttons from my sidebar and will simply do things as I'm inspired for awhile, with no pressure.

One of the quilt-alongs I began was the Crochet quilt-along on Instagram. I made one block and posted it and have only completed 4 blocks out of 16 so far. When finished the blocks will resemble a crocheted blanket. I chose to make mine Christmas-themed. The colors will make more sense all together when it is completed, but I've chosen reds and greens, along with pinks and aquas.

I'm sharing two good recipes I recently tried. The corn dip was delicious; I made half the recipe, and we ate every bite in one sitting. The bread is made with sunflower seeds and was seriously good. It is great for sandwiches and makes good toast too!

Cheese Corn Dip
Serves 6-8 (I halved for the 2 of us)

2 – 15 oz cans corn, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
Small can green chiles (I did not drain)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
4 green onions, diced

Spray small cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Combine first four ingredients and thoroughly mix. Fold in 1 cup cheese, bacon, and onions. Spread into skillet. Top with remaining cheese and bake 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve warm.

Sunflower Honey Oat Bread
Makes one 8x4 loaf

1-1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
3 tablespoons melted butter
2-1/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup whole grain flour or combination of flours
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup dried cherries, diced (optional)

Heat milk to just warm; stir in yeast, honey, and oats. Let sit 10 minutes or until foamy. Stir in butter. Pour into mixing bowl.

Whisk together flours, salt, and cinnamon and add gradually to liquids, mixing on low. Once all flour mixture has been added switch to dough hook. Add sunflower seeds, wheat germ, and dried cherries and knead about 5 minutes. (You may also mix and knead manually).

Place dough in greased bowl (I spray mine with baking spray), cover with a dish towel, and let rise until doubled.

Shape dough into loaf and place in 8x4 baking pan, which has been prepared for baking with cooking spray. I also put a narrow strip of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. Cover with a dish towel and let rise until slightly above rim of pan.

Bake 350 for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool in pan 10 minutes then remove to wire rack.

I'm joining the linky party at Busy Hands Quilts Finished or Not Friday.

2019 Goals and OMG for January

It is already the fourth day of January! Goals for 2019 have been rolling around in my mind for many days, so am listing them as well as my One Monthly Goal for January.

1. Catalog my UFOs (unfinished objects), WIPs (works in progress), and ideas for quilts to compile a master list of quilts to be finished or started.
I printed the project sheets pictured above last year and completely forgot about them. They will be helpful for me to see at a glance how far along I am with each project.

Here is this list so far:

1. A baby quilt for my future grandson, nicknamed "Little Bear" by my daughter. He is due in May, and my daughter wants a quilt similar to the one pictured above that I made for our 2-1/2 year-old granddaughter, detailed here. I have the fabric in the colors she wants - blue, gray, green, mustard, and burgundy. This is my One Monthly Goal for January.
2. Craftsman quilt I blogged about here, for my husband. I have The pieces are cut and some blocks are sewn.
3. A quilt for granddaughter #1, who has requested a "green" quilt. She is 17, and I made her a quilt when she was 12, but I suspect it has been folded and put away in her closet - hah!
4. Scrappy Trip Around the World, like this one made by Margaret Ferguson whose feed I follow on Instagram (@quiltsbymargie47). This should be a great project for my scraps.
5. Another Mercyful quilt for Bernie at Needle and Foot. I blogged about the ones I sent to her in this post.
6. Participate in the Hand-Pieced QAL hosted by Patty and Kristin. It has been a long time since I practiced block construction by hand, and it should be very enjoyable. If you'd like to hone your hand-piecing skills, read all about it here.
7. Antique quilt revival, blogged about here. This quilt is just waiting to be restored and loved again! I did a similar project with a vintage quilt top for my niece in 2015.
8. Lori Holt's Vintage Christmas Sampler I have the book and intend to start early!
9. Texas Flag quilt by Aspen Tree - I have the pattern, and the fabrics are cut.
10. Farm Girl Vintage quilt I started in 2015, to be used as a runner across the comforter in our guest bedroom. All the blocks are completed.
11. Make little quilts for my kitties. They are all such good helpers and deserve their own pallets!
12. Moorland Stripe Crocheted Blanket by Attic24 - I have all the yarn and the pattern.
13. A crocheted scarf using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn in Wheat. I started it this week and also want to make an afghan from the remaining yarn.
14. Vintage Christmas Sampler cross stitch by Lori Holt. I have the book and threads, and am waiting for the oatmeal 10-count linen to be back in stock.

2. Help my husband build fabric and yarn shelves on the wall where yarns and needlework supplies are pictured above.
My fabric stash is currently stored in the closet, and my theory is that if I can see what I have, I won't order more. Like many other quilters, I start the year with a commitment to use fabric on hand and refrain from new purchases, but my resolve usually falters by February!

3. Purge and organize my scrap jar and scrap bins.
When my mother-in-law passed away in 2017, I inherited a beautiful glass canister that has been perfect for scrap storage. But it's full! The scrap bins are a mess inside and have no room for additional scraps. If I organize and purge SIWNU (Scraps I Will Never Use - I made that up!), I will be more likely to use scraps in future projects. Cleaning and organizing makes me happy!

4. Keep "tweaking" my sewing room arrangement to make everything easy to find and convenient.
Rearranging furniture keeps me motivated and excited. I recently turned my cutting/ironing table around to make it more accessible, and it made such a difference! To make the table surface less crowded, I removed the iron and put it on the table behind it (next to my sewing machine). Now my cutting table is exclusively for cutting. My husband made the ironing table as well as a table to hold my laptop, notebooks, pens, and craft items. He enjoys carpentry in his building, and I am happy to provide him with projects!

5. Complete repairs on the vintage quilt I purchased last year and blogged about here.
This quilt is just waiting to be restored and loved again! I did a similar project with a vintage quilt top for my niece in 2015.

6. Create items for purchase in my Etsy shop and add a second shop.
My plan is a Christmas-themed shop with quilts, table runners, mug mats, etc., and another shop to sell quilts similar to the hand-tied ones I made for my kids. As I become more interested in quilt repair, I may offer that service in my shop. We shall see!

7. My garden goals for spring are to have a smaller garden and to plant more flowers.:
During last summer's heat, part of our large garden sweltered, and it was difficult to keep up with watering. This year we will reduce the size for easier maintenance. Last year I planted two packets of zinnias and was astounded at the abundance of butterflies and bees that came to play. We got as much enjoyment from watching them as from the vegetables! So one area of the garden will be reserved just for flowers. Here is the schedule::
Planting in March:

• Tomato plants
• French Breakfast Radish
• Lettuce

Planting in April:

• Seeds purchased from Burpee: Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, Crimson Sweet Watermelon, Butterstick Zucchini, Contender Green Bush Bean, Scarlet Runner Pole Bean, Dragon's Tongue Wax Bush Bean, Supremo Cucumber, Armenian Sunrise Cantaloupe, Garden Sweet Pea, Mammoth Dill, Lady Lavender
• Cowpeas - purple pod and black-eye
• Bell pepper plants
• Zinnias

8. Walk more!
We both got FitBits last year and began walking early mornings. We started a little too strong, walking 5+ miles per day, and my husband developed a knee problem. The doctor fixed him right up, but we lost a couple of months in the process. When we began again, we had more realistic goals, and now generally walk 2-1/2 to 5 miles, four or five times a week. Too much rain this winter created too much mud on our dirt roads, so walking was more difficult. Holidays and colder temperatures have slowed down our motivation. We have a few days of sunshine coming up, so we hope to start walking again.

Here's hoping we all accomplish our goals in 2019! I am linking this post to Patty's One Monthly Goal for January.

Autumn Sky Crocheted Scarf

Just in time for winter (ha-ha it's 85 degrees outside!) is this crocheted winter scarf. It finished at a hefty 10"x64", almost qualifying it as a shawl! I think it will look great with boots and jeans.

In 2012 I purchased 3 skeins of Yarn Bee Aurora Borealis Mustang Twist. I loved the variegated colors but had trouble deciding on a pattern, so I hoarded stored it. I recently reorganized and purged my yarns, selling many skeins on eBay and giving a few to Goodwill. Fortunately these 3 skeins did not sell, and after my success with another crochet project, I found a pattern that would showcase the puddles of rust in my favorite turquoise.

I employed a new-to-me "moss stitch", which is a series of simple single crochet followed by a chain stitch. This was an easy, mindless stitch, which enabled me to watch television while crocheting!

I can't wait for the first cool nights of autumn!

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.