Snow Removal and Warm Socks on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

I've said it before and I'll say it again (probably a hundred times more) ...Where did the week go???? I always have so many plans of what I want to get done...and the execution of the plans leaves something to be desired. However in my defense this week did have lots of other obligations to attend to... a 4 hour appointment at the eye clinic that had me up at the crack of dawn (ok 7:30 isn't the actual crack of dawn, but it is in my world)...a therapist appointment for my younger son... a 5 hour stint babysitting the plumber at my older son's house...and several days of feeding his cats...and a midnight run to the airport and back... Why is it that all I want out of life is to STAY HOME?? Sorry for shouting ... I think a nap after I post this will be a good thing.

 Mother Nature has decided that since she gave us above average Summer temperatures, she will balance it out with below average Fall temperatures, so in the end everything will be average...sigh...at least today is sunny and the forecast for the next couple of days is sunny too. I need to get out in the yard and do some clean up...we've had a bit of frost and its time to pack in the annuals...maybe tomorrow...

So you may ask if we've only had a bit of frost why did you have to do snow removal???  Well, it wasn't the fluffy stuff Mother Nature will dump on us later, but the stitchy kind of snow that I miscounted....

Here is In Santa Claus Land by With Thy Needle and Thread...

I started this back in January planning to have it finished for this Christmas ...again that issue with the successful execution of my brilliant plans is a bit poor.  And there is still the possibility that it will be finished if I can stitch more snow than  I remove. The left side of the piece was pretty much done when I realized that I was off by 2 stitches and it wasn't going to match up at either the top corner or the bottom corner...grrrrr.....I had to put it in time-out and didn't pick it up again till last night... still a ways to go...

But I did finish stitching Autumn by Barbara Ana Designs...

I am very happy with this piece...that gold linen is so pretty ...and I just can't seem to capture the true color with my phone....the berries were charted in black with the little dimple/stem in white...too stark for me....

I know it is hard to tell from this picture but I stitched them in a deep violet and made the little stem an olive green... in real life it is so pretty against the gold background.... the crappy pictures of late are having me question whether I should get a new phone...but I don't want to spend the money or learn a new phone...

And since stitching was driving me bonkers I switched over to knitting more socks...I've been knitting socks all year long but during the summer I knit them and then forget to take pictures...
Here a a few pairs I do have pictures of...

This pair is the ones currently on my feet...

Four of those little mini skeins from my Opal Advent Calendar for 2017... I added  maroon heels and toes from some stash yarn. I was looking forward to ordering another Advent Calendar this year but all my online searching came up empty. One store I emailed said the company wasn't doing one this year....insert frowny face... however my online sleuthing did come up with an Etsy listing of 28 mini skeins for less than I paid for 24 last year... you can see the listing here but I think she's out of stock now...and for a bit of a rant...did you really think I'd get through a whole post without one??? This yarn is coming from Lithuania ... postage is a mere $7.77... a certain company in a state out west of the Mississippi starting with an "I" charged me $8.50 postage for an order weighing less that this yarn  that took 4 weeks to arrive... my yarn should be here within the week... how does that happen?? Anyway I'm looking forward to the arrival of those little skeins of fun and in the meantime I played with  some I had from last year's Advent Calendar...

I paired one of the mini skeins with some other leftover Opal yarn and got this beauty (at least I think it is a beauty... a mother's love dontcha know...LOL)

I am alternating yarn every round and I have no clue what new pattern will emerge...it is positively mesmerizing... and if that pic isn't big enough here are some closeups...

I like how sometimes I got lucky and lighter portions of both skeins came together... and I love the little contrasting stripes... heels and toes are some unidentifiable stash yarn... I started the second sock last night ... I wound each of the yarns in the reverse of what I knitted before so I should come up with some completely different patterns... not knowing what is going to appear keeps me totally entranced...okay...I may be easily amused but lets not dwell on that... it keeps me off the streets at  night...it's not immoral  or illegal...and keeps me from self medicating with other substances...yarn is GOOD...very very GOOD...and so is thread and linen and fabric...my drugs of choice...LOL...

No dinner to prepare tonight... my son and his wife are on a mini-vacation to Iceland... through the wonders of technology I've gotten lots of text messages and pictures ... it certainly is a beautiful country... the only drawback is that the cheap fare airline they are travelling on departs and arrives at the local airport at around midnight for each way... I agreed to chauffeur them to and from without thinking it through...yes I am up that late every  night but I'm sitting in my cozy chair in my pajamas and warm socks... driving  requires proper footwear and clothing suitable for public display...that eliminates the pajamas with the bunnies... why it didn't occur to me till last night that I could have just paid for their long term parking, I do not know...oh well...


I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today...and then I think a little nap in the sun on the screen porch is in order...just need to get the Dude move over at bit...

happy stitching-
carol fun