Almost Friday

Hello everyone! We have had a beautiful week.  One day had high winds and a little bit of rain, but other than that it has been gorgeous. It was actually 76° yesterday! It’s cooling back down today to the 50’s which is normal for this time of year and that’s fine. Chloe and I spent some time sitting under the deck in the backyard while I knitted.  She loves laying in the sunshine.  Look at that rhubarb grow!

I finished the blanket with Vera’s donated yarn and I really like the way it turned out.  Thank you again Vera!  I hadn’t washed or blocked it yet in this picture but I still think it’s beautiful.  I haven’t used bulky yarn very much before and I really enjoyed it. This was very soft to work with.

Two more pair of mittens finished yesterday for the school kids.

Also yesterday I managed to cut out the pieces for four dresses. I ordered this material from Good’s in Pennsylvania. It’s a mix of polyester and cotton so I’m hoping it will require less ironing than the dresses I currently wear. The material arrived less than four days after I ordered it! That’s faster than I get most Amazon packages and we have prime.

Thank you to everyone who suggested places to look for interfacing. I looked up all of them online and every single place I looked was out of stock last week. I think it’s because people are using the interfacing to make masks. But, Meredith to the rescue! She said she is mailing some extra interfacing she has to me. I’ll say it once again, blogging friends are the best.

Dennis has taken a day of vacation tomorrow and we’re hoping to go to the lake in the morning. When we were there last Sunday afternoon there were already some people that had spent the night Saturday night. I don’t know how they got away with that since we were all told no one could stay overnight until May 1. They also were not practicing social distancing in the least. There were probably 20 people sitting around a campfire ring less than a foot apart. These are people who are new this year.  There is also new management once again at the resort and just with some things that have already been happening this spring, it doesn’t bode well for the summer.

How are you all holding up? I went to Walmart yesterday and got my third grocery pick up since this all began. Unfortunately, they were out of many things that I really needed. So I put my mask and gloves on and went into another store. It’s my first time actually being in a store since February. What a strange feeling! There weren’t very many people there and I was shocked at how many shelves were still empty. I’m glad we didn’t need toilet paper or paper towels or any cleaning products, because there were none to be found. I was able to get everything on my list except rice. No one seems to have rice in stock. I may try going to the grocery store in the little town closest to the lake this weekend.

Take care my friends.

Blessings,

Betsy

Sunshine

Good morning everyone! We have a brilliant blue sky with white puffy clouds for today. Tomorrow is supposed to bring more rain but right now I’m sitting out on the deck with my knitting, enjoying the sunshine in the warmth.

This is what I’m working on right now.  I apologize for the shadows, I could not find enough shade to take a good picture but at least you can get the idea. This will be a toddler blanket for the crisis nursery. It is the “Soft Vines” pattern.

And the yarn? This is the leftover yarn from the blanket Vera made for her son.  You can find her at “The Threaded Lane” over on my side bar.  She was sweet enough to send it to me to use for one of my charity projects. It is Knit Picks Brava bulky in the “canary” colorway.  I expected one or two skeins when she asked if I would like it. Imagine my surprise when a bag with five beautiful skeins of yarn arrived in the mail. Vera, that was so generous of you. Thank you!

I was able to finish the socks I showed you last time. I actually had them done about an hour after I published the last post. I should have just waited.  This is also Knit Picks yarn.  It’s Felici in the “River Rocks” colorway.  They are going into my gift basket.  

The same day the yarn arrived, I received this sweet little package from Pammy Sue. If you remember, I finished a blanket for Pammy Sue that she was making for a friend, after she had a shoulder injury and found it difficult to crochet.  Here is a picture to remind you of what it looked like. This is on a queen size bed.

Look at this cute little cup/planter and bracelet.  Thank you so much Pammy Sue.

She also gave me the leftover yarn from the blanket and I had just enough to make this wheelchair lapghan for the nursing home. I like the way it turned out.  It’s in the log cabin pattern.

I have a question for those of you who sew.  Do any of you know where I can buy some fusible lightweight interfacing online? I’ve checked the Goods store in Pennsylvania, JoAnn’s, Michael’s, and Hobby Lobby. It’s out of stock everywhere. I have bought fabric online to make a couple of dresses as mine are all wearing out, but I can’t find interfacing anywhere.  Also, how terrible would it be not to put interfacing on the sleeves and the neckline? When I say mine are wearing out, I’m not kidding. I have worn them daily for about five years now. The seams cannot be repaired anymore.

The only place I’ve been this week is to replace the battery in my car‘s key fob. Dennis went to back out of the garage Wednesday to go to work and it started beeping at him. The fob on my car does everything, as there is no actual key. I went to the battery store less than a mile away from our house. I had my mask on. The gentleman walked up to within one foot of me, I’m not exaggerating, I kept backing up and he looked at me like I was crazy. I was in and out of there in less than five minutes, but I still went home and scrubbed my hands and wiped the car down with Clorox wipes.

We had our weekly Thursday night Bible study last night via zoom. I am so grateful for that app. It’s wonderful to be able to see the faces of those 10 friends. We have had Bible study at our house with these people every Thursday night for the last 25 years. It seems odd not to be preparing a treat and getting the house ready for company on Thursdays. I will be so grateful when this time of our lives is over.

Last weekend we attended four different church services online Saturday night and Sunday morning, but it’s not the same as actually fellowshipping face-to-face with people or taking the Lords supper with them.

I hope you were all hanging in there and staying healthy. I’m praying for you all.

Blessings,

Betsy

Spring has sprung!

I think spring has finally arrived here in the Inland Northwest. We have had several days in the 50s and 60s and look, my flowering pear trees are blooming.

We have our chairs out under the deck so I can spend some time out there listening to the fountain and reading or knitting.

I have done very little crafting, but I do have both of these socks ready to finish the toes. Finally! I think I’ve had them on the needles for over three weeks.

Last Friday they got 7 inches of snow at Miss Piper‘s house. She built a snowman. I was happy to see she has on a pair of mittens that I made for her.  The snow was all gone the next day and yesterday while I was FaceTiming with Piper she was outside with no coat on at all. That’s Nebraska!

She was also showing me how she can put her own hair in pigtails now. She took this picture of the two of us and sent it to me. I couldn’t figure out how to take a photo but a seven-year-old can!  I made her that pink and white blanket for her birthday a couple of years ago. She specifically requested pink and white.

 We did make another trip to the lake Sunday afternoon and finished opening everything up. Dennis has the water turned on and I took a little bit of food out to put in the cabinets. I meant to take some photos and forgot. I must admit, I am very nervous about going out there. People don’t seem to be following the rules of social distancing at all out there.  I know Dennis is looking forward to it, because he truly relaxes there.

I hope you’re all hanging in there. I heard yesterday on the news that our governor is planning to extend the stay home, stay safe rules for another 30 days after May 4. I know a lot of people are very upset about that because of their job situations. I honestly don’t know what the answer is and so I’m turning to prayer a lot.

Take care my friends. 

Much love and blessings, 

Betsy