Final Product

Still had to weave in ends

Finished the blanket up last week and sent it in the mail to my niece this week. It came out better than expected and I am sure she is going to love it. I have a lot of yarn left over since I purchased yarn before I completely knew what I was going to do design-wise, so I am thinking I might make the extra yarn into squares and then just store them until a new projects rears its head.

I have started working on the stitching for my quilt from Japan again...would love to get the face of it done so that when the fabric for the rest of it gets here, I will be ready to go. I try to have a little creative something to do while watching TV or a movie. Makes me feel like I am being productive.

Don't know if I have another blanket in me right away but we'll see. I am sure I will see a pattern somewhere that I want to do and then creativity will take over. In the meantime, I have my photos and the Japanese quilt to work on, and of course my A+ certification I should be studying for...LOL
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Finished The Blanket (this is a blanket I made for one of my other nieces)

Peace, Or At Least The Illusion Of It

This is the view looking towards some of the beautiful hills near us while sitting on our front deck. The tinkling of the windchimes, the flapping of the flag (which is actually not flying in this image), the plants, the breeze...all of it, just lovely. I took this pic right before a great thunderstorm came our way. The air was full of the ions, the wind was still in anticipation of the storm. It was amazing. I sat and watched the weather, and read a magazine (something I rarely find time for) and just enjoyed the atmosphere. It is a perfect spot.

And I should get out on the front deck and enjoy it more...but I don't, because I get bogged down in the To Do list and the Make More Stuff For Me To Do list, and the Things You Should Be Doing list.

All Connected

So this is the blanket all put together. I haven't bordered it yet so it isn't DONE done, but it is getting close. Right now, I don't have enough of the off-white to border it so I might try using the dark grey, which is the same color of squares that border the blanket so it might look pretty good.

I am really thrilled how it looks, and while it is really soft, it also has a nice weight to it. It is absolutely my favorite blanket creation so far...might make something like it for myself some day in the future...LOL.

I will mail it to my niece as soon as I am done with it. I asked her if she wanted me to hold on to it for her since it is probably already getting warm where she is, but she insists that she wants it as soon as possible and I am happy to oblige her. I hope she loves it.

It will be weird to be done with it and not have a large project like this to work on...it gives me something to multitask with, and I am sure I will have to find something new to work on. Things like this don't take away from the many, many other projects I am working on for the house so no guilt there.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Just Me?

Ordered New Photo Cards

I realized while writing up my Mother's Day and May birthday cards, that I was getting low on my photo cards I use. I create the images on my computer from photos I have taken and then I upload them to York Photo where I design the card and order them. I try to do a few cards from my macros and then a couple that are scenes. This batch is 3 flower macros and 2 texture macros that look pretty cool.

This is a way for me to be creative when most of my other card making tools are not here, and it is  less expensive way for me to send all the cards I like to send out. If you haven't looked at the price of American Greetings or Hallmark cards lately...it has really gone up.

Anyhow, I should be able to get these cards delivered in time to be ready for the Father's Day and June birthdays that are coming up!
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Getting Creative

Stormy Skies

One of the many things I missed about this valley was the amazing storms we have here. I have always been a storm hound because of growing up here with our beautiful storms. When I was a kid, my parents would encourage us to enjoy the storms (rather than be afraid of them). I am thankful for this because it has meant that I never had a fear of them.

We would sit under a picnic table in the backyard and watch the lightening and listen for the thunder. We would also watch the meteor showers in the summer from under that same table. We were taught to look out far and wide and to enjoy all that nature offered us.

So when I was doing yard work today and saw that the sky was getting that inky black look to it that means a good storm is brewing, I just had to snap this shot with the sun still shining where we were. I loved the contrast and the feeling in the air that the storm was on its way and the charge that it provides.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Technical Difficulties

Finished Rows

Rows Connected

Progress is being made on my niece's blanket...all the rows have been connected and I can start in the second direction now. I love this connection method, is way less tedious and much faster that any that I used in the past when I have made granny square blankets.

I highly recommend this method...super easy, and fast once you get the gist of it. I am hoping to have enough of the off-white yard to do a border as well, but since I have lots of the dark grey, that might end up being the border instead, we'll have to see how it looks when I get the rest of it connected together.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Back In The Land Of The Living

Storm Rising

This amazing sky up the street from our house was just too good to pass up. I am not used to having these kinds of storms this early in the year but we have had some pretty warm days this spring and I am sure that has contributed to it.

I have always been a storm watcher...I thank my parents for never making storms a "scary" thing for us. I love all the ion changes in the air around a storm...it feels great. That still air that happens right before the wind starts to blow and lightening and rain make their appearance. Love it!!

I love how dark the sky gets, especially when the sun is still out in other areas...the contrast is just terrific. I took a couple of really cool pics (one of which is being made into a card) before this storm.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Tropical Storm Halong

Blanket Update

Pattern laid out on floor

I have been working on a blanket for one of my nieces. This is the biggest blanket I have made in a long time and I really want it to be something she will enjoy. As you can see from the linked post above, I figured out the colors and style of it pretty early on, but it took a while to figure out the pattern and ultimately how many squares I needed for it.

It is going to be 8 squares by 11 squares and quite soft. Today I finished the 88th square and decided to lay it all out on the floor according to the pattern I had picked to get an idea of the look of it. I spaced the squares out a bit because I am planning to connect the squares using the same white that 6 of the squares are made of so the light colored carpet was a good way for me to get a feel for the complete look.

First two squares connected

Once I got all the squares laid out, I was able to stack them according to their rows, so I can start connecting them together. I am using this method to connect them. It is the same method I used to connect the squares in the baby blanket I made 18 months ago for one of my other nieces. I liked how it came out even if it doesn't lay completely flat and the squares look a bit staggered. I like the feel of it (more like one complete piece) and it is definitely less stiff at the junctions. I am hoping to go around the entire outside with a row once it is done in the same white color to finish it off evenly. It should be beautiful when completed.

At this point, I have started the tedious task of connecting all the squares in a particular row together in the order for the pattern...two at a time. Once I am done with all 11 rows, then I will connect the rows together in the right order. Lastly, comes the finishing outside edge.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Trying New Things

Fishy Woes

Dexter before the move

I don't know if I have talked much about Dexter the Fish, but he was the sole survivor of all my fish purchases in 2011, and we theorized that he was killing off any of the other fish I put in the bowl with him. This earned him the serial killer nickname, and he then completed a five hour car ride when we moved confirming his toughness. He was a Zebra Danio, which turns out to be a very sturdy little fish. Normally they like to be with at least two others but he seemed content to be on his own.

Anyhow, as a fish owner, over the years, I have come to know that fish do not live very long and it is best to not get too attached. So when I found him in his bowl curled upside down, I was not surprised. I had him for 1 1/2 years and that is pretty good for a small schooling fish, especially when you don't know how long he might have been at the petstore before purchasing.

The koi looking feeder fish

I went a month or so, with no fish in the bowl, but then I decided to pick up some new fish while shopping at a store near the petstore. I wanted to try something a bit different and decided to go with two small goldfish. They were both colored like koi and I liked the idea of having my own small koi...little did I know that I had purchased feeder fish (the price should have told me this). The first one died a couple days after getting home and the second one lasted a couple of months. This is a pic of the one that lasted longer before she started to show signs of dying. Turns out that feeder fish aren't supposed to live very long...they are bred for feeding to other fish, not for being pets.

So when I was back at the store near the petstore again, I decided to check out my fish options. This time I decided to avoid the feeders, even though they are pretty, and thought that I might give the Danios a try again. After talking to an employee who reaffirmed that they are sturdy little fish, I got three of the smallest ones in the tank, figuring one would turn out to be a new Dexter.

I haven't taken pics of any of them because I am waiting to see if any of them perish first, but they are all doing well. The larger of the three was being a bit of a bully at first and I had to pull him out and put him in a separate bowl but I have added him back in and they seem to be doing okay now. We'll see how it goes. I hope to get pics of these three friends soon.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Naha Harii
Perfect timing since Children's Day is today (May 5th) in Japan