Non- crafty productivity on a Slow Sunday...

Hello  - well it was a week I will remember... for a while... didn't get much crafty stuff done but I did get the garden beds cleaned out... hallelujah!!!  Now it took Nick and I about 10 hours of back breaking work... not sure how many more years I can do this ... and I absolutely  CAN NOT do it without help.  We started on Wednesday and the weather was perfect... upper 60's, sunny, nice breeze... and we got about 80% of it done that day. We came back out on Thursday and worked again till we finished the job.

Front yard before-

Front yard after -

Side yard before - 

Side yard after - 

The filled dump trailer - this is a BIG trailer ... spans my double car driveway... and Nick needed a 5 ft step ladder to get up into it. 

Along with the dump trailer Dan left us his wheelbarrow and boy was that a big help. I would cut things off at the base, and Nick and I would yank them out and he'd put them in the wheelbarrow. When it got heaping full, he'd take it to the dump trailer, climb a ladder and toss the debris in. Every 4 wheelbarrow loads he'd get in the dump trailer and stomp stuff down.  The stuff on the bottom is super compacted. 

Now I said a prayer to the Good Lord before I started this epic endeavor to please keep my knees from killing me... and he did... but I should have been more inclusive with body parts as my lower back and right shoulder were screaming after the clean up... ibuprofen is my friend. 

I'm thinking next year I'll see if I could hire someone to do the job. I used to think I needed to be hands on so only the right stuff  got cut down... but this year I realized that we cut down everything but the shrubs so I don't need to be right there every minute. I have a friend with some teenage sons who may be able to do the job. I'll pay handsomely to save my aching body!

And here is a shot of my Thanksgiving inflatables... I still love the Pilgrim boy with the Costco sized pumpkin pie!

I did get a little sewing done last Monday in anticipation of not being able to get anything crafty done the rest of the week. I got the extra fabric for the hexagon Christmas tree and got all the pieces cut out.  It will get some sort of base/Christmas tree stand at the bottom. 

Now to see if I have enough of the background.   The plan is to cut out all the triangle pieces I need, and then I'm going to sew that 2nd to last row together. It is the longest. From there I should be able to gauge if I have enough to finish. And if I don't I won't have to undo too much. Fingers crossed. 

Another week of no cross stitch. I'm into sock knitting and I finished this sock.

Not sure I really liked it but the contrasting heel and toe made me happy. However as I was finishing up this sock it occurred to me that my stitches were kinda tight and small ... hmmm... is my tension getting tighter?  OR  OMG am I using the wrong size needles?? Now I have several pairs of Hiya Hiya circular needles  - size 2. 75 - my favorite for sock knitting.  And I do not know why I bought a pair of size 2.5 needles... but I did ... and darn if that wasn't what I was using.  You wouldn't think that the difference between a 2.5 mm and a 2.75 mm is a lot... but it is. 

And yet after looking at the tan sock and thinking something might be off, I picked up the same needles and started a new sock. This happened last weekend... about 10pm I feel the need to start a new project... so I looked through my stash of yarn and found these 3 skeins... they have been around a while... from what I could find they were made back in 2011... so they are quite mature... LOL  

Anyway I went downstairs where my yarn swift lives and I wound them into cakes. Before I did that I laid them out to see the pattern of the dyeing. These were hand-dyed vs. machine dyed and I'm curious which pattern knits up with more flashing/pooling/blotching cause I like that ... A LOT... 

In the same order they are on the cutting mat from the top down - this is Africa...

This is Australia...

This is Water Play...

So I cast on the middle one called Australia... pretty, very pretty but not flashing or pooling but definitely blotching... I got down the heel and that when I got out my magnifier glasses and looked more closely at the needles and discovered my error. Arghhh!!! I was knitting again with the 2.5 needles!!!

So I unraveled  the sock and started again on the 2.75 mm needles...oh this is much better, not as thick,  a bit looser... I know it is hard to tell from these pictures but there is a difference in the two socks. 

Now  the blotching  pattern has stayed the same ... which is fine... it is going to be a very pretty sock... and totally mindless as I'm not going to change yarn for the heel or toe... it was the perfect project for this week as I was exhausted Tues/Wed/Thurs evenings... and this was all the energy I could muster.

Also in anticipation of the big garden clean up I put away my Halloween stuff and got out my Thanksgiving stuff last Sunday. I started out here on the sunroom porch as I knew I would be able to enjoy the lovely weather we had most of the week.  I changed out a couple of things from the Fall display. 

Up top I have Autumn by Barbara Ana, I love the houses on the branches and the scissors hanging from the branches... and a Debbie Mumm turkey tin... he's cute!

In the middle I have 2 houses from Pinkernpunkinquilting...  Thanksgiving House and Turkey Creek Manor... I stitched 6 of these last year and made them all shades of yellow and gold... and if you click here you can see a parade of her house designs that are all free!! Melisa is so talented and generous.  I also have The Flowerpot Sampler From the Heart Needleart... and oldie but goodie dated 2011... I did this one during the time I broke my left wrist... I put it in a Q-snap hoop and put it on a stand. I never stitch like this usually but it allowed me to stitch with my wrist in a cast... where there is a will there is a way!!

On the bottom another wonderful piece from Pinkernpunkin Pumpkin & Bittersweet. 

And you know I love to have different wreaths and decor on the back of the door and this month it is a wooden wreath that has a vintage look that has harvest images and says Happy Thanksgiving... I found it at Homegoods years ago and I have never seen another Thanksgiving wreath... I love it!

Well last week the weather was quite, some rain came in on Friday... as I write this on Saturday the weather looks nice today... going to hit 60. BUT  things change Sunday and Monday is gonna be a cold one... high 35... may spit some snow... brrr!!  A taste of what the long range forecasts are predicting for this winter...yuck!  The temps climb into the upper 50's by mid week. I hope to be able to take advantage of a day and clean out my garage. I might even get out there today for a bit. Trash day is Monday and then I could put some stuff out on the curb to get rid of it.  I did get some things straightened up a bit but I'd like that done before real winter hits. And I want to clean out my closet. I did one purge during the Summer but it needs another one. And there is still the basement storage room that needs a purge and I still want to rearrange the fabric on my shelves... all projects I'll be happy about when they are done, but I'm not looking forward to tackling them. How did I accumulate so much stuff?? I've been in this little house 11 years last month... and EVERYTHING that is in here is something I brought in... so I have no one to blame but me...sigh... hanging head. 

I don't know if I have Elliott on Tuesday or not. His daddy has the day off... works for the county government. Wednesday my Quilty lady group is doing lunch.  I need to take a family member out to eat either Wednesday evening or sometime on Thursday.  Not sure what I'm going to do crafty wise. That hexagon Christmas tree quilt is calling my name but I don't think I can finish it this year, sooooo... after I figure out if I have enough fabric I may put it down for a nap in a plastic bin. The  Dorothy Momo quilt I talked about last week still has my attention as does the Momo  jelly roll hexagon quilt I started about a month ago. I'm reconsidering whether I going to finish that BBD  The Bells on Christmas Day chart... may put it in a plastic envelope till next year and move onto something Winter-y.  I did  find a new chart I'd like to do as a Blessings Sampler in January... Chilly Cardinals...

I want to stitch this on a dark-ish  turquoise linen ... I think the white letters and cardinals will pop!

I've already been thinking about what I want to stitch and sew next year... a mental distraction since I'm not sure want I want to do at the moment...  and to that end I've decided I must write down the "great ideas" that blow through my brain like a freight train that's behind schedule... because I'll think of some "great idea" I want to do ... and then later all I can remember is that there was some "great idea"  but I don't remember what that  "great idea" was.... sheesh...  I chalk it up to the fact that my mind is filled with clutter... kinda like a giant file cabinet...except nothing is in alphabetical order anymore... LOL

So where was I ... oh yeah... my plans for next week ... well as you read this on Sunday I'll be doing lunch at McDonald's with Elliott. His Mama is out of town visiting her sister and his Daddy needs to take care of another family member for a couple of hours. For dinner Nick put a pot roast in the crock pot so that's taken care of. I'll either knit or stitch tonight... it will be fine either way.

I hope your week ahead is a good one. I am sooooo happy to have the garden clean up behind me ... I love planting the garden and tending the flowers in the Summer but oh the Fall clean up is not fun... not fun at all... gotta remember that next year and make other arrangements if I can. 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and check it out later today... 

happy stitching-

carol fun 

PS  We are one week past the time change and I'm still annoyed at it... haven't gotten back on track ...feel like I'm sleeping too late  and staying up too late... argh...