Monday, January 21, 2013

Whew! The weekend is over!

Happy Monday morning my friends. News on the weather is that it is STILL foggy and 4F on my back deck as I type this post. No time to be depressed though, I have a full day ahead of me. It was a busy weekend for the Queen house.

Hubby helped move friends of ours. Sisters Ellen & Marcia moved to a different apartment Saturday morning. The move involved three stops, Marcia's current apt., the house Ellen was staying at and a storage facility that was packed to the brim. All of this in about 12 inches of snow and temperatures in the single digits. Hubby was exhausted and half frozen when he finally arrived home. We dearly wished for a hot tub for him to soak his aching bones. Our church moving "crew" is getting up there in age and really needs to recruit some of the younger men to help with this task.

Saturday morning at our house was the monthly "craft morning" that usually stretches into the afternoon. Saturday was from 9:00 until about 2:30 or 3:00! We had a lovely time snacking on scones and cream cheese brownies I baked. I neglected to take pictures. But they were delicious. I worked on my fleece blankets, several ladies were knitting and crocheting, one just visited and another brought her sewing machine and worked on some charity sewing. We had a lovely time and I guarantee we were much warmer than the moving crew.

I did finish the blankets about midnight last night. Let's just say it was not my favorite project. I ended up sewing satin binding on two of them. By the time I finished the last corner I had it figured out!!! I used the blanket stitch on the last six blankets. At about 2 1/2 to 3 hours a blanket, I was glad to have it done. It was very hard on my hands, poking the needle through the fleece. I got wise about halfway through and started using an ice pick type tool to poke the holes before I got to them. I think they did turn out nice though. They will be mailed off tomorrow to the January project for my AC4C group. I have to look it up, but I think it's a hospital in New York state.




I do like how the blanket stitch turned out but it was tedious work. Since I didn't want a lot of joins in the yarn, I had to start with about a 25 foot long length of yarn and pull it ALL through each stitch. My arms got a very good workout!


I think the satin binding looked pretty messy and I'm glad I only did two of these. The satin was very slippery to stitch and wouldn't stay where I had it placed, no matter how many pins I used. Eight blankets done in total, but I don't think it's a project I'll volunteer for again soon. :-)

This is another hat for Blessings Under the Bridge that I finished during church last night. One more head will be warm in these freezing temperatures!


Then, yesterday after morning worship, we had our Secret Sister revealing luncheon. We each had a woman that we sent notes to, bought or made little gifts for and prayed for all last year. Yesterday we revealed who we were and drew the names for our new "sister". I was in charge of the luncheon and I asked ladies to bring salads or desserts and I made mini chicken salad croissant sandwiches. They were very popular and the ladies seemed to enjoy themselves. It was a lot of work decorating and preparing and cleaning up, but a few ladies helped me with the clean up afterward and we have worked in the church kitchen so much together that the time went fast. As they say "many hands make light work!"

These were two of the gifts I recieved from my "sisters" yesterday. The first is a rose from the lady that I gave gifts to last year.


The little birds are part of the final gift from my "sister". She also gave me a beautiful candle that I forgot to photograph. They look very cute with my larger birds that Mandy bought me when I was in Portland don't they?


Hubby and I also bought a new carpet cleaner last night. We loaned our old one out so many times that it finally came back the last time in pieces. I'm going to clean the downstairs bedroom carpet just to make sure it works and then wait for a warmer day to clean the rest of the carpets. We only have carpeting in the bedrooms and family room so they don't get too dirty, especially with just the two of us, but I like to clean them a couple of times a year just to get all the deep down dust and allergens out of them.

I'm also going to try my hand at making some handles for my crochet hooks today. Only the duplicate hooks that I have until I decide if I like them. It should be interesting! I've read mixed reviews online about how easy it is to do. Some say they burn very easily and others say anyone can do it. We shall see!

Okay, I'm off to begin my day. Have a wonderful Monday and be sure and smile at someone today. It will make their day!

Blessings,

Betsy

18 comments:

  1. What a fun busy post.. you are amazing how much you accomplish.. you sure don't let any moss grow on you! I am watching the inauguration and catching up on blog reading and commenting. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. I made my hooks and I'm happy with them. They aren't very pretty but fit my hand exactly. Yeah!

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  2. Betsy, your day sounds wonderful busy but wonderful. Hope today is just as great.
    Meredith

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    1. Thanks Meredith! I got everything done and have an hour or so to crochet before starting to cook dinner. A successful day!

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  3. Wow, you have been busy. I love the "secret sister" idea that you are doing with your church sisters. I love the little blankets you are donating too! They are so precious. Enjoy the week ahead.

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  4. Secret Sisters is a lot of fun and I'm so glad to be part of it. Thanks for the nice comment!

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  5. Hi Betsy! I loved my visit here at your blog! Loved seeing you with Teresa, Gracie and Taci! How luck you are all are to have met!!! I adore these ladies!
    Your satin binding turned out great. And so did your blanket stitching! That stitch is hard with a long length of thread!
    I see you have been off to visit a precious grand child. And reading back a bit, I think you live in the Portland area? I will be back, and thanks for the sweet words!!
    xo Kris

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  6. Hi Kris! I'm so glad you came to visit my blog. I HAVE been visiting my grandchild who lives in Portland. I live in Spokane, WA. Whenever I get to the Portland area Gracie, Teresa, Taci and I try to get together. You'll have to come visit too. The more the merrier. :-)

    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  7. Wow you are a busy bee.. You are really accomplishing a lot! The blankets are so very cute... I love baby things:)
    I have made several handles for my hooks and I really like it. I made mine with the clay you can get at craft store. The secret is to put yr oven very low and do not leave it there very long. Not ebven a minute more than the recommended time. I think it is 20 min at 220 degrees. I'll double check and write back if I'm wrong.
    Have fun making them. I love how they look and it's a lot better on my hands :)
    Can't wait till you come to visit again :)

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  8. Hi, Betsy~
    I'll take ALL of your snow if you are tired of it:)
    Love the colors you used-they make me think of springtime (sun, blue skies, flower bulbs, etc).
    Blessings, Aimee

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  9. I am now ready for a nap from reading all the stuff you have been doing! Very busy lady! I love the blankets you've made. They will make someone very happy and very warm!

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  10. Hi Aimee! You may have all of our snow with my blessing! I'm very ready for some sunshine.

    Melissa-I'm glad you came to visit! It was a busy day. Today will be a little slower with nursing home visits and my knitting group.
    Thanks for visiting ladies. I enjoyed the company and come back soon to sit and read!
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  11. I would imagine that the satin would be hard to work with. The blankets turned out nicely and look very pretty with the blanket stitch around them. I would love to be part of a craft morning. I have very few crafty friends though which is why I blog. So much inspiration to be found. Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week. Tammy

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  12. I especially like the way the blanket stitched blankets came out, and now I appreciate the one that was given to me even more after reading your description of how you made yours!
    It is fun to read about your busy and productive schedule. The world is better because you are here, Betsy. I'm glad you're a part of my life :-)
    xx,
    Gracie

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  13. Tammy-I wish you lived nearby, you would be more than welcome to come to craft morning here! Thank you for the nice comment.

    Gracie-Hello my friend! I'm very glad you are part of my life too.

    Blessings,

    Betsy

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  14. Hi Betsy...I finally made it over...you sure have been very busy! Hands down to you for working with all that satin....something I would not tackle...the look lovely!
    Hope you have a not so busy week this week, I am not a new follower!
    Hugs, Shari

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  15. I agree, I think the blanket stitch edging looks better than the satin. You've been so busy!

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  16. Thank you ladies. I'm so glad you've come to visit!

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