So many mistakes

I finally finished chart 2 of my Bramwell shawl. There are nine repeats of this chart, and I did just fine with the first eight. However, I put it down for a couple of months, and I think I spend as much time knitting the ninth repeat as I did the first eight!

I'm short one stitch, but I think I see where I missed one. I will make the adjustment when I reach that spot. On the chart 3!

Bits of lace

I haven't decided what I want to tat next, so I've been using up thread left on shuttles to tat bits of Mary Konior's Curds & Whey from Tatting with Visual Patterns. This is a great carry along pattern for me. All I need is a shuttle wound with thread, and little bits of time. These two pieces aren't long enough for bookmarks, but I'm sure I'll find some use for them.

Yesterday was cool and sunny, which put me in the mood to pick up my knitting. This is the Bramwell shawl pattern that I started back in June. I love the yarn, a silk/alpaca blend from Blue Sky Alpaca. I'm on the last pattern repeat of chart #2.

Yes, we have some warmer weather headed our way at the end of the week. However, with overall cooler temperatures coming soon, I anticipate many happy hours of knitting!

Where did the week go?

I really can't believe how quickly this past week went by. I did get a little done this week. I just forgot to post about it. One more dishcloth has been added to my stash, as well as a pretty blue bookmark.

I also finished a yellow bookmark. That, however, was all I managed to accomplish.

My sister and her husband came down this afternoon, and we planted a pagoda dogwood in memory of their son Andrew who passed away in April. They only expect to live in their house for another two or three years, and they wanted a place where the tree could thrive. I'm honored that they asked us if they could plant the tree on our farm. We found the perfect place in our side yard. The tree can be seen from the front porch, the side porch, and the fire pit. We've also been thinking of putting a seating area in the side yard. I'm sure that my sister will enjoy tending to the tree when she comes to visit.

Enjoying the weekend

The weather was glorious here this weekend, perfect for sitting on the porch and visiting with family. My brother arrived a week ago, following his fishing trip in northern Minnesota. He's heading off to central Kentucky today. He is certainly enjoying retirement!

My sister came down on Thursday, and stayed until late Saturday afternoon. Dave puttered around in the yard all weekend, while the rest of us were just plain lazy!

My brother asked me to mend his favorite pair of fishing pants. They're his favorite because they dry so quickly. The stitching was coming out of the pocket top, and he wanted it reinforced with a strip of denim. I'm not very adept at mending, but this fix worked out pretty well and David was happy with the end result.

It took me all weekend to crochet one hedgehog, but that's okay. For me, this weekend was all about relaxing and enjoying time with Dave, my mom, my brother, and my sister!

 

Lost and found

 

My craftiness slowed down this week due to the fact that I lost my crochet hook. Wouldn't you know, with all the crochet hooks in my house, I only had one of the size needed for my fidget hedgehogs.

After searching on and off for two days, I ordered a new hook from Amazon. Right after I opened the package, I found the missing crochet hook! Isn't that the way it always goes?

Getting back to normal

We had an exciting weekend here on the farm. We hosted our step-granddaughter's wedding. Everyone had a fantastic time, but setting up and cleaning up for a wedding with 260 guests is quite tiring. By 3:00 Sunday afternoon, no one would have known that a wedding had taken place here the day before. Many hands make light the work!

Needless to say, it took me a couple of days to recover. My mind says that I can do things that my body disagrees with!

Part of my recovery process was to choose a new tatting project, a Curds & Whey bookmark, and catch up on YouTube videos that I enjoy. 

One of my favorites is Fruity Knitting, and I was thrilled that this week's episode #157 included tatting! Madeleine married recently, and she learned to tat so that she could add a bit of lace to her wedding dress. She learned to tat by watching a class on Craftsy hosted by my dear friend Marilee Rockley! I was so excited, I messaged Marilee right away. 

I've been a fan of Marilee's hand-dyed threads ever since I discovered her when I started blogging years ago. My daughter Alison and I even drove to Wisconsin to meet her at a craft show. I felt a bit like a stalker, but I had to meet the lovely lady who provided me with so many gorgeous threads.We attended Palmetto Tat Days together one year with our friend Sue Anna, and we get to see each other on our Tollway Tatters meetings.

In other news, construction on our new room addition is well underway. This is something I have dreamed of for years. We finally had the money saved up to move forward, and we started the process in January. We're hoping the room will be done by the end of October, which is possible if the weather holds out. 

Life is good!

Slow craft day

 

There wasn't much time for crafting today, but I did manage to finish one dishcloth and one hedgehog. I guess I can only really claim the hedgehog for today, because the dishcloth was nearly finished. Still, that's two more completed projects.

There will be very little crafting over the next few days, if any. Why? We're having a wedding here this weekend!

Today we set up the chairs,

the dance floor,

the tents,

and we hung lights. There will be so much more to do tomorrow. The rehearsal will be tomorrow evening, and the wedding will be late afternoon Saturday.

It's going to be a busy weekend!