Day 365 of 2023

Tonight was the girls' first time to see the Winterlights. 

It was a fun thing to do on New Year's Eve. 

I'll see you tomorrow in 2024.

 

Day 364 of 2023

There's a daytime napper on our roof this afternoon.

 

Day 363 of 2023

Fireball in his new hat and one mitt. 

(Please ignore the stitch marker and un-woven end.) 

The second mitt is about one third done.

 

Day 362 of 2023

I finished a hat for Fireball a couple days ago

 and had a little yarn left over. 

I've decided to make him a pair of fingerless mitts. 

One down. One to go. 

Hoping I have enough yarn.

 

Day 361 of 2023

Do you see the small green object in the white house? 

That is the bow atop a gift I intended to give to Little E

 the day after I put it there. 

Of course, I forgot 

and now she and all the other out-of-town guests

 have gone back to their homes. 

It looks like we need to plan another trip to Bermuda

 to deliver the tiny gift.

 

Day 360 of 2023

Little E has been working on a mystery knit project

 while she has been visiting. 

She leaves tomorrow

 but finished this part of the mystery last night. 

I can't wait to see the rest of it.

 

Day 359 of 2023

Merry Christmas to you and yours 

from me and my dessert.

 

Day 358 of 2023

One more sleep 'til Christmas. 

I made this for my in-laws before they were my in-laws, 

so probably in the 50 years ago range. 

The beard and hat bobble were made out of a fuzzy yarn 

which had lost most of its fuzziness up in the attic. 

I find crochet stitches baffling to mend, 

so I used a weaving technique instead adding a new fuzzy yarn.

 

Day 357 of 2023

Today we're teaching another GB how to play Rack-o. 

This mess of a deal did not get me a win for this hand.

 

Day 356 of 2023

Today we are replacing the old door with a new door, 

but in the middle you have to have no door.

 

Day 355 of 2023

I bought this dress (tunic for me) second hand in the fall. 

It has a couple issues so I have not worn it yet. 

The lining was too long and peeked out at the bottom of the dress. 

I have done two of the three steps to fix that. 

The button closure at the back is missing its loop. 

I was about to attach a new one when it occurred to me 

that this was the perfect time to make an improvement. 

I struggle with the button closures

 because my hair always gets tangled up in it. 

I prefer a zipper so that's what I'm going to add. 

The zipper I have on hand isn't long enough

 so I will remove the button and add a hook and eye at the top. 

I hope to finish this fix tomorrow

 and be wearing my "new" dress by the weekend.

 

Day 354 of 2023

One of the restaurants we frequent has recently added this to its menu. 

They are calling it a Potato Charcuterie Board. 

I have never heard of anything like this before. 

Because it was not just Fireball and me at dinner, 

we gave it a try. 

My favorite was the sweet potato fries

 with the maple brown sugar sauce. 

 

Day 353 of 2023

It's always so hard to pick just one of the beautiful displays of lights 

at Winterlights at Newfields to post here

 so I decided to pick one of the first ones  on the route.

 

Day 352 of 2023

GB#2, age 11 vs Little E, age 41 

It was bound to happen.

 

Day 351 of 2023

It's very quiet under the jellyfish tonight.

 

Day 350 of 2023

Fireball and I attended a wedding today. 

I love this idea to represent the bride and groom.

 

Day 349 of 2023

Today's label is just too cute 

and perfect for a quilt, a coat or a knitted item.

 

Day 348 of 2023

I don't think I've mentioned it here 

but I am also doing a second count down calendar. 

This one has only labels. 

It has two of the same design each day 

that can be attached to any number of handmade items. 

I am loving all the variety and can't wait to use them.

 

Day 347 of 2023

December sky

 

Day 346 of 2023

I came across a photo album while working on the house today. 

This photo is one of my favorites of M and me from the album. 

I did not realize until I pulled it up on my computer how very blurry it is. 

I decided that it was still better than the other photos I took today 

of a trip and fall incident which resulted in a bag of down pillow filling

 bursting leaving a comically absurd amount of fluff 

all over the room I was cleaning, 

resembling the aftermath of a pillow fight, 

my hair completely covered in said fluff which Fireball had to vacuum out, 

or the injury to my hand in which blood was involved.

 

Day 345 of 2023

I changed the dishes. 

Like last year, I am still feeling the traditional colors. 

I've used similar colors but left out the slate, black and peony

 and added the new color for 2023, jade.

(scarlet, white, shamrock, evergreen, meadow, jade)

 

Day 344 of 2023

We are having Big Christmas early this year

 and we've been working hard to get things ready. 

It's crunch time now though so things have to happen fast and good enough. 

There will be no "perfect" this year, not that it should ever be. 

My solution to both where to hang my Nutcracker quilt 

and what to hang in the entry is to have them come together. 

I pinned the Nutcracker right to the front

 of the fall quilt I already had hanging in the entry. 

Done and good enough.

 

Day 343 of 2023

 

Fireball and I made lots of progress on the house today, 

but the only picture I took was of the empty boxes.

Day 342 of 2023

I've rearranged the living room and set up a little Christmas cheer.

 

Day 341 of 2023

Today's advent gift is this adorable pair of socks.

 

Day 340 of 2023

I'm not feeling well today so the first time I stepped out of the house

 was to go get the mail. 

Besides the mail, this is what I saw.

 

Day 339 of 2023

The LED lightbulb did the trick with the white and blue Christmas tree. 

My options for light color were daylight, 

bright white and soft white. 

I chose bright white and it turned out perfect. 

I am so happy with it. 

(original post with original light bulb)

 

Day 338 of 2023

I forgot to open my advent calendar box yesterday, 

so I opened it today. 

I am so impressed with and excited about this personalized one. 

One side of the label states where your hand sewn item was made 

and the other shows you what that place looks like.

 

Day 337 of 2023

I'm looking over my sock yarns to determine any color deficiencies.

 

Day 336 of 2023

A couple years ago I got the Stitch Supply Co advent calendar. 

After seeing the cover artwork, I decided to do it again this year. 

So far I am loving the little gifts.

 

Day 335 of 2023

I've been wanting to make chocolate chip cookies for a couple weeks. 

I finally made them tonight. 

They are exactly as I was imagining.

 

Day 334 of 2023

Two years ago, for M and The Trumpeter's wedding,

 I wore my hair in a french twist and wore a sparkly comb to hold it together. 

It never seems to be the right thing to wear for a normal day. 

I finally ordered a second comb that I feel will work well

 for everyday wear as well as a fancy occasion.

 

Day 333 of 2023

This year while clearing out the Old House, 

I brought home this white ceramic tree

 with blue lights and birds.

It stands at about one foot tall. 

I say they are lights but there is really only one light inside the tree

 that makes the whole thing glow. 

I'm not exactly sure why it glows more purple 

when it is actually very blue in the daytime when it is not turned on.  

The only thing I can think of is that the kind of bulb it takes

 puts off a glow with a reddish tint. 

Maybe I'll see if an LED bulb will fit and give a more accurate blue glow. 

 

Day 332 of 2023

As I am clearing things out, 

I came across a box with this whole book series inside. 

I don't take the time to sit and read much, 

but evidently I read the first three of this series 

and passed the books along to friends in my quilt group. 

These days I listen to my books on audio mostly from my local library.

(I get so much done around the house this way.) 

In the past I have checked for these books on audio

 and my library did not carry them.

 I thought I'd give it another shot and checked today. 

Now they do have all her books. 

I may get to "read" this whole series after all.

The first book is The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

 

Day 331 of 2023

I am grateful for the early Thanksgiving 

which allows me more time to prepare for Christmas. 

It will be a slow and simple transition. 

Today I swapped out the fall mugs for green and red. 

I clearly have too many here. 

I might consider rotating them in and out as they are used.

 

Day 330 of 2023

Here's something I did not expect to see today.

 

Day 329 of 2023

Yarn update: 

The blue yarn is in its hand wound ball. 

I tried two different needles in order to get the correct gauge 

for the hat I intended to make for Fireball. 

After I finally got the right numbers, 

I did a little of the actual pattern which includes eyelets. 

The subsequent eyelet holes were way too large for my liking. 

I'm afraid that Fireball's head might not stay warm. 

So I selected a different hat pattern that I've been wanting to make. 

On that swatch I also had to try two different needles. 

I had to do some of my own math 

to change the pattern a little to make it work, 

but I am now on my way making a hat.

 

Day 328 of 2023

After some delays due to weather, our leaves are finally gone.

 

Day 327 of 2023

Keeping it simple here today. 

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Day 326 of 2023

Thanksgiving tomorrow will not be a big production, 

but I thought some broccoli salad might be nice.

 

Day 325 of 2023

Magnetic "paper" dolls are the best.

 

Day 324 of 2023

Well, hello there.

You are just what I was looking for.

 

Day 323 of 2023

I need to swatch for a hat I plan to make for Fireball. 

Once again I will be carrying two yarns together

 to get the appropriate gauge. 

I was going to wait to wind this yarn into a cake

 with my winder tomorrow, 

but I really wanted to get started on my swatch

 so I can cast on the hat tomorrow. 

I didn't want to go upstairs and get the swift and winder 

so I did the next best thing. 

I used my feet for holders 

and wound it into a good old fashioned ball. 

I am now swatching.

 

Day 322 of 2023

We celebrated an early birthday with GB#2.

 

Day 321 of 2023

We went to a tree lighting tonight. 

Everything was lit up and so beautiful.

 

Day 320 of 2023

I really don't leave the house much so I am not aware

 of the sun and its position in the sky. 

With the recent time change, the sun goes down so early. 

By the time I remember to check outside, 

the sun is already too low or gone completely.

As a result, my pictures have been lacking sunlight. 

Today I left the house in the morning

 and noticed the beautiful blue of the sky 

and the very bare ginkgo tree standing behind it.

 

Day 319 of 2023

Today I found something I've been looking for.

It was right there in plain sight.

 

Day 318 of 2023

If I have calculated it correctly, 

it's been at least three and a half years since I've gone to a meeting

 of our small quilt group. 

Today was the first time I have gone back. 

It was good to see faces I haven't seen in a long time.

Since showing and telling is part of the normal thing we do, 

I brought some of the quilt tops I completed while stuck at home in 2020.

 

Day 317 of 2023

There is something you need to know about Great Grandpa H. 

He loved to shop at Goodwill or better yet, at garage sales. 

This picture shows his signature "fix" 

for anything that had a logo, name or monogram on it. 

This one is an iron-on patch meant for little kids' pants with ripped knees,

 but he would also use some kind of plastic-y paint to cover the offending words. 

And he did not limit himself to sweatshirts. 

He also "fixed" t-shirts, tote bags and containers - really anything. 

I kept these two sweatshirts to make a muslin of a new pattern

 to check the fit I have before I cut into my fancy fabric. 

When I pulled them out of a box yesterday, I had to smile.