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Eye Candy Eveyday...

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...AKA catching up because I keep forgetting to blog. :) It's still way too chaotic for me to keep a regular schedule for pretty much anything. The workers have been jack hammering for 5 days. Fortunately, they did not work on the weekend, so we had a couple of days without the noise. However, they started up again yesterday. There's a trench outside our front door and the studio floor has a trench through it. I know that another bathroom will be great in the long run, but right now the cats and I are on edge most of the day. So, catching up on eye candy, here is our garden path this month: Our lemon tree and orange tree have gone a little nutso: When it rained in November, I took a few photos of rain drops. Raindops on our dragonfruit plant: < Raindrops on a rose petal: I had a craving for mincemeat pies after Thanksgiving and made some mini-pies from commercially-prepared mincemeat and crust. They are yummy! I froze some...
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November 2025 Recap...

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 ...in which the city finally approved our permit. Remodel will start in December. Finished: 11/3 CATrina (cross stitch) 11/16 Highland Cow toy (knitting)[ Ravelry ] 11/18 Wuzzie Highland Cow Toy (knitting) [ Ravelry ]  11/30 Making Spirits Bright Pin Cushion (cross stitch)  11/30 Sea Plaid Wrap (weaving) [ Ravelry ]   Books: A Skirl of Sorcery, Helen Harper Newport Harbor House, Cindy Nichols A Newport Sunrise, Cindy Nichols Newport Beginnings, Cindy Nichols A Newport Christmas, Cindy Nichols Newport New Moon, Cindy Nichols Newport Arrival, Cindy Nichols Newport Nuptials, Cindy Nichols Newport Negotiations, Cindy Nichols Newport Unpacked, Cindy Nichols The Lost Heiress, Elizabeth Klehforth Sunkissed Memories, Karie Winters Trouble in the Falls, Elle Gray Nantucket White Christmas, Pamela Kelley Nantucket Neighbors, Pamela Kelley A Nantucket Affair, Pamela Kelley Nantucket Weddings, Pamela Kelley Nantucket Threads, Pamela ...
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WIPs on Thursday...

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 ...because yesterday was busy. We had a couple of appointments, plus trying to write anything while the workers are using a jack hammer is difficult. The cats are understandably disturbed. We've been hanging out in the back bedroom that is as far away from the noise as possible. Construction for the studio remodel started Monday. Before they started I took a photo of the empty room.  The dangling things and holes are artifacts of the water heater replacement (new gas line) that we did in August. We're adding a bathroom in the new studio, plus new flooring, lights, etc. In the meantime, I'm making do (sort of) with the stuff I have stored in the main house and trying not to dig through the POD for anything else. That might involve a trip or two to Michael's to pick up a missing floss color or yarn in the right color. 😉 WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Corgi 2 (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Started 12/7; second attempt at a mini corgi using a d...
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WIP-it Wednesday...

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 ...yeah, it's been a while. Between trying to empty the studio for a remodel that keeps being delayed and Thanksgiving, blogging has been the last thing on my mind. Our Thanksgiving celebration was small, but wonderful. Given how crowded the house is right now with things from the studio, we couldn't host this year. We took the feast to The Daughter's house and spent an enjoyable day there. The studio is now empty, with the only remaining items being the washer/dryer and the Ikea Expedit bookcase that is too heavy and unwieldy for us to move. In theory, the remodel starts on Monday. Keeping my fingers crossed for that! I did manage to finish a couple of things before November ended. This is Making Spirits Bright, a pin cushion kit from Shepherd's Bush: Specs: Started 11/8/2025 Finished 11/30/2025 Kit from Shepherd’s Bush Shepherd's Bush makes my favorite Christmas minis, but I sometimes wish that they didn't use so many ...
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WIP-it Wednesday...

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...and some knitting. A friend asked is I could make some Highland cows to make knitted animals that I made her one Christmas. After looking in Ravelry, I found a mini Highland Cow pattern that seemed like it would be the right size. It uses DK yarn, which is something I don't use very often. I knew that I didn't have the right color yarn in my stash, and even if I did, it's all stored away in the POD for the remodel. I found some DK yarn at Michael's in the right colors and had to settle for a worsted to get the right contrasting color for the snout and legs. I also bought a set of DPNs in the right size (my needles are also stored in the POD). Since I have experience of knitting small things, I wasn't too worried about the pattern. However, the instructions for the snout threw me and I had to backtrack to make it look right. I got it done, but it's too big to match the other animals. Hmmm. Specs: Started 11/14/2025 Finished...
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WIP-it Wednesday...

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 ...with a couple of photos! I've been swapping between my weaving project and a couple of small cross stitch projects.  First the weaving project. It's no longer "No-Name" - it is the Sea Plaid Wrap [ Ravelry ]: As I began to weave it, a plaid-like pattern emerged and 2 of the 3 yarns I'm using are ocean-themed. Thus, Sea Plaid.  The cross stitch items are from Just Nan (another floral mini) and the Making Spirits Bright pin cushion it from Shepherd's Bush. I started the Just Nan project while I was waiting for my order of the Shepherd's Bush kit. Here is my progress on the pin cushion: I'll get back to the Just Nan project later. I'm just in the mood to do something Christmas-related! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Making Spirits Bright (cross stitch) Started 11/8 My Recipes (cooking)  Adding more old recipes from handwritten recipe cards  Primrose Path (cross stitch) Started 11/7  Se...
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Eye Candy Friday/Finished Object, Catch-up...

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 ...my week was interrupted by a planned trip to handle the last item in my mother's estate. It was raining on the trip down and the clouds were really interesting. With the help of Siri, I was able to get this shot: At my mother's old house, there were a lot of weeds in the yard. Among the weeds were a couple of rogue gazanias: And there was a lone hibiscus near the front door: Here's the finished object. I finished stitching CATrina. As with most Barbara Ana projects, it was fun to stitch and I love the way it looked. Specs: Started 9/10/2025 Finished 11/3/2025 Design by Barbara Ana Design  When I finish stitching a project, I usually wash and press it. Because I mostly stitch on light fabrics, I want to make sure that I clean off anything that might have accidentally landed on the fabric. In general, I'm a clean stitcher - I wash my hands before I start stitching and I work in Q-Snaps or on scroll bars with a stand to kee...
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