Yarn? Did someone mention yarn?

The boxes from my Black Friday yarn sale shopping have arrived.  There all all kinds of goodies – here’s just a peek.  I had dumped the various boxes into this one tall reuseable grocery bag to bring home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy Busy Busy

It has been a very busy week and it looks like that’s not going to change in the next week or two or on the weekends.  There definitely is cleaning that needs to be done around here. The christmas tree is half together because I need to replace two sections where the lights are burnt out which entails cutting the old cord loose (they wrap them in there to nicely on the prelit trees).  I did buy lights but I’m not sure I got enough and in order to get lights on a white cord (rather than green) I had to pay more for fewer lights per string — that just doesn’t seem right.  I’m not in a hurry to get the rest of the tree decorated but I’d like to get the lights straightened out this weekend.

Did I mention the house is a mess??  There’s laundry to do, I did turn on the dishwasher last night so need to unload that; my sock drawer of knit socks is nearly empty since I need to wash nearly all of them  and hang them up to dry; counters need to be decluttered. Outside table is still outside and needs to be brought in and taken apart.  Oh yeah – the house is a mess — especially the sewing room.  I still haven’t gotten that last section of the quilt quilted I was working on over Thanksgiving and I’ve got a mess from all the fabrics/scraps I pulled out from stitiching the bird wallhanging.

But it’s Friday night and I’m not doing any of it tonight! 🙂  Plus I have two new quilt designs to get done in the next two weeks for Hoffman California Fabrics — I’m in love with both fabric lines and I already have an idea for one of the quilts — let’s just say the bird designs I’ve been playing with might be just perfect for one. 😉  Oh yeah, and the apartment is really messy – have I mentioned that.

Do I sound like I’m complaining?   really not, things just seem a bit out of control —  and if I actually spent 15 minutes in each room, there would be a very visible improvement — it is mostly things that are simply not where they belong — so I think I may try that tomorrow —  just set the oven timer and do the 15 minute tidy in each room and see how much I can get done in that amount of  time in each room.

Do you have days – weeks – like that where you’re being pulled in 8 different directions?

In the meantime, I finished another pair of socks and am working on a scarf that it turning out really nicely so I’m off to go take some photos to post of those.

 

 

Okay – just one more

I call him Tailfeathers.  🙂  I love applique so I had to add just a bit to this one.

Thank you to all who said you liked the birds and asked about where to get my patterns or said you’d like the pattern for any of the various birds.

I just started playing with these bird designs last week so there is no pattern available.  Will there be? I don’t know yet what I want to do with these.  I always have to think about how I want to share a pattern – whether for free or for sale – the timing of when, along with many other factors.  Do I want to put all these birds in to a block of the month pattern, set them into a larger quilt size, do them in various sizes, or do them as stand alone wallhangings, etc.- or send them to EQ Boutique (which is the only place any of my patterns can be purchased.)

So many decisions to make if I decide to make the birds available – but for right now I’m having fun just drawing them and coloring them in to see how they look. 😉

Denise

You knew I’d get sidetracked again…..

 I did put “most” of the closet back in order, and have several loads of laundry in the works, but you know I had to stop and stitch up a bird block.

I managed to do nearly everything I could do backwards since I was going to just “quick” cut one out and sew it.    This one has a 3-D beak and it makes me laugh because the way I did the wing on this one and the colors I used  he looks like he’s wearing a blanket to ward off the cold.

Stitching it has also given me a few other ideas to try, tweaking the various designs, but most definitely not today.   Back to cleaning the bedroom…

Bird brain

or birds on the brain.  Yes – before I shut down the computer I had one more thought so switched the head “tuft” the opposite way and like that better I think.  I may need to draw something with all the different bird variations in it but not today – I really am going to get busy on other stuff.

But here’s this mornings two bird ideas.

Snow Bird

Black Winged Red Bird?

Stashbusting?

Let’s not even go there. LOL  I didn’t add any fabrics this week – that’s a good thing, but nothing I can count in.   I am hoping to get the last quarter or so of the quilt I’ve been quilting on quilted today and get the binding on it but I have not gotten as much sewing done in the past four days as I had hoped.

I did get my second sock I started on this weekend past the heel turning and just finished the gusset decreases so I’m on the straight-away of the foot.

  and I did get the Christmas Tree out of the closet and set up. It still needs some fluffing and what is even more obvious in the photo than when standing in front of the tree, once section of the lights on my prelit tree has gone out.  I need to investigate a bit more to make sure I ‘ve got all the strings plugged into each other but I think I do.  I may just get another string to wrap in there and maybe when I put it away again take out the problem string then.    I won’t actually decorate it for a while so I’ve got time to contemplate my plan of attack.

  But time to get busy around here.  There’s laundry to be done, some cleaning to do, I pulled out the storage tubs of winter clothes to see what I want to pull out of those.  Those storage bags where you suck the air out — despite their claims that clothes come out the same as they go in – my sweaters did not have all this creasey wrinkles in them that it may take washing (even tho they are clean) to get them out.  But they are convenient to use when you have limited storage space.   Since it’s decided to be winter now with the temps, I need to pull out the winter coats and mittens and scarfs.  And there’s the quilt to finish quilting and I soooo want to stitch up one of those bird blocks that I’ve been drawing in EQ but no — not until I get this other stuff done (at least that’s what I’m telling myself right now).  And there’s still some stuff (table & garden ornaments) out on the patio that need to come in for the winter.  Lots to do so I’d better get busy, find something to eat and more coffee.

Four Calling Birds

It’s going to be one of those days where it takes me forever to get anything done since I keep flitting from one thing to another.  Cleaned up the kitchen, cleared a few things in the living room,  sat and knit a bit on my sock while contemplating — put Christmas tree there, then I need to move tv here, and when where the heck does that chair go? If I move tv there, put tree here….okay I got about 2 inches of sock knit contemplating these things. LOL

Then the thought – what if I put a triangular wing on those birds. ROFLOL — see I told you I was flitting from one thing to another.  So back to EQ – and now I have birds with wings.  Now I need to stop playing with the birds and move some furniture and vacuum and get that tree out of the closet.  Hmmmm… but first maybe some pumpkin pie and coffee while I contemplate it all a bit longer.

One more flock

and then I really am turning off the computer and getting some other work done around here. 🙂

 These look to me like they are sitting on the outside window ledge.

 

Chilly Saturday

Brrr… I had to finally turn on the heat – not bad to be able to wait until after Thanksgiving to do so.  But it’s currently 23 degrees – hard to believe two days ago it was 60!  I really should have put up those outdoor holiday lights that day! But I’ll wait and see if we get another warmer weekend in the next couple before I mess with the lights.

I do think I may pull the Christmas tree out of the closet and set it up.   Don’t plan to decorate it quite yet but I’ve got that particular closet ripped apart since I was pulling out storage tubs of winter clothes so since I’m reorganzing the closet might as well pull out the tree.  Of course you know that means the living room has to be rearranged a bit so maybe I’ll just think on all that a while and contemplate my plan of attack.

Last night I got a bit of a second wind and quilted another bobbin worth of thread into the Madison Square Garden quilt and then was up early this morning and emptied the other bobbin I had wound.  I think there’s about a quarter or slightly less of the quilt to finish to maybe I’ll get it done later this afternoon.

Also started on a second sock to one of the pairs I posted yesterday.

  Got a couple inches done so far.  And I also played a bit more with the birds I was drawing in EQ.

 

Here’s a  holiday cardinal.    But enough playing for this morning.  Breakfast, more coffee — always more coffee – and then a bit of cleaning to start out with.

Another sock done

 Another Tesserae sock done – hot off the needles this evening.

 

I’ve got these three single socks – all made within the last few weeks/month or so.

  The question now is, can I get the mates to all three of these made  before the end of December.  I’ve got 18 pairs of socks made already so have surpassed my 12 in 2012 Challenge (and my feet are loving all those great socks now that the weather has turned colder the last week or so.   But time will tell  if I can get them all done.  How are you doing on your 12 in 2012 Challenge if you are playing along?   I already have my new sock challenge for myself figured out for next year — nope not 13 in 2013 — too easy. LOL  You’ll just have to see what the new year brings.