My progress is likely not as fast as most crafters/crochet-ers … BUT, I am happy with how things are going and more important: I am having BIG fun!!
I just finished joining the third skein of loop yarn in the blankie…
So, about 1/3 done … I think. And, I think 6 skeins will be perfect size-wise, which allows me to make a scarf from the 7th. This yarn is VERY soft and cozy, so think it will make a wonderful scarf.
On to afghan squares.
I finished the first last weekend and am about 2/3 of the way with the second. There is one more block with this part of the kit and then I wait for the second kit.
So, I am not the fastest crafter person. Based on the YouTube videos I’ve watched, many whip up the blankets in a day or 2. And I am sure long time crochet-ers would do the same with the blocks.
BUT, we have walks and play and chores and baking and work, so … I am just very pleased that things are moving along and I am always happy when I can find 10-15-20 minutes to do a few rows of one or the other. I have also found that it is a pleasant activity to do for 15 minutes before bedtime … slows down the whirl of work and news. I do a bit, take Emmett out for out last short walk and then I am ready to sleep.
The craft projects are coming along!
***Updated 4:35 10/23
So, this is what the afghan is supposed to look like when complete:
We’ll start with snow …. yep, snow. It was forecast and it was flurrying when Emmett and I took our last walk on Saturday night. By this morning, there was maybe a scant inch and as I write this at 1:30 p.m., it has mostly stopped after snowing all morning.
In anticipation of snow and a cold week, I fired up the woodstove yesterday for the first time this Fall/Winter season. Cozy!
I also mixed up a batch of dough on Saturday evening for …
This morning, I was up at my typical 5:30 a.m. ish … shaped the bagels, took Emmett for a dark o’clock walk, boiled, seeded, baked and I had fresh, hot bagels about 6:45 a.m.
Sunday morning bagels!
That cheese…
… is from Cowgirl Creamery . I’ve been buying online and just joined the “Cheese Club”: monthly delivery of several kinds of cheese and a Zoom session with the cheese master to learn about the cheeses, the creamery and generally have fun! The cheese is delicious!
From their website:
I’m happy to have found this source of artisanal made organic cheese! My first order also included Fig Jam from Jamnation Jams . Also delicious and not over sweetened like grocery store jam. Another great company that I’m happy to buy from.
After bagels and ham and cheese and jam … time for a walk in the snow!
It was a beautiful Autumn weekend: some sun, some blustery wind, some squalls …
We made the most of the sunny times.
And in between…
I am having so much fun making this blanket! This is early Saturday … the end of the first skein of yarn. I have 7 skeins altogether and I think that will be about right … 6 might be enough and if so, I’ll have enough to make a snood or scarf with the last … we’ll see.
The sun is out, but still … naps are necessary :)
It was a big cooking weekend. I had a lot of tomatoes from my local organic farm: roasted them with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, then pureed and pressure cooked with some ghee and onion (Marcelle Hazan style). The roasting and the extra vegetables and then the pressure cook = my version of a Marinara sauce for soup and pasta bakes.
I also roasted a whole chicken: shredded the meat and made broth from the bones, etc. Most of the chicken and broth I froze for future meals.
… AND a small batch of beef stew. Some of it went into beef pot pie for Sunday lunch and the rest into the freezer.
I like to freeze meal components like broth, meat, sauce, veg. I freeze single/double servings and it makes it easy to make what I’m hungry for, fast!
Hot apple pie!! I have some wonderful Honeycrisp apples and have been making pie. That is a 5.5 inch pie dish so it makes 4 mini-slices … perfect for house of 1 human. BUT, Emmett LOVES the crust which is a flaky, all butter crust made from Erin Jeanne McDowell . It is not only the ingredients, but her technique. Her videos for Food52: Bake it up a notch are great instruction. I thought I made a good pie crust, but now … I make a GREAT pie crust!
The video link is for Erin’s puff pastry instruction which includes “rough puff”. The rough puff is the extra flaky version of her pie crust recipe. I make the rough puff, divide it into 8 pieces and freeze them wrapped in cling wrap. 1 piece (1/8 recipe) makes a single crust for my 5.5 inch pie plates, 2 for a double crust or 2 for a single crust in a 9 inch pie plate, etc. The rough puff takes me 10-15 minutes to mix and get into the refrigerator. It is ready to use in an hour. I usually use a bit and freeze the rest in the 1/8 pieces. It takes maybe 2 hours for the frozen pieces to thaw enough to use.
I use the same for a topper for pot pies: YUM.
So … it is Monday morning as I write this post and we are getting a slow start. It is dark, raining: everything from drizzle to full on downpour with thunder.
First … from Friday morning … I went down the road hoping to catch moon set of the just past full moon. I was too late or ??? but…
… the valley was fogged in and it was eerily beautiful with the rising sun from behind me giving the hills to the west some yellow-orange glow.
The return trip was not too bad either with some sunrise glow on dying grasses … a real Autumn feel to the light and scenery. It was worth the trip.
The work day went off the rails late morning. I got a message from Windows that I was out of space on my hard drive. I have a 1 terabyte solid state drive which I should not get anywhere near filling as I keep almost everything in the cloud: photos, videos, work …
But, looking at File Explorer: full drive. I found a few things and over the weekend cleared up 50gb. I thought that would get me through the work week and I would do more research, ask my cohorts for advice … but early Monday, the 50gb disappeared.
I ran a full system scan. I got out my backup laptop and started the process of getting it up to speed. Both machines were displaying frustratingly slow progress.
So, I baked.
The baking went much better than the computer trouble shooting.
I threw in the towel and took both machines to my local system persons. I very much dislike the system stuff, plus I tend to panic as I really don’t know a lot … or I think I don’t know a lot … and then my internet speed for large downloads is abysmal. I prefer to hand off and pay for a true expert, who does it all the time, to JUST.FIX.IT.
Meanwhile.
Back in April, I think … when I got out my sewing machine and fabric and researched making masks … I got a bit caught up in thinking: “Oh, I should have some craft projects, because quarantine and everyone else is and…” Rather silly as I normally mostly stay home pandemic or not, plus my work was solid so I didn’t NEED crafts …
But, I bought some loop yarn as it and the blankets made from it, caught my eye. I’ve had the yarn for awhile … in the closet. Since I was sitting and waiting for my computers, I decided to get out the loop yarn.
With the help of YouTube, I got going on a throw blankie. It is SO MUCH FUN and goes quickly. I am kind of hooked.
And, ok … a couple of weeks ago, I also succumbed to an Instagram ad for a subscription kit to make a crocheted sampler squares afghan.
This actually works out well. The loop yarn is easier to work with on a table top vs sitting (lap). The crochet squares are a sitting down project. So, I have a stand up thing and a sit down thing and I’m feeling very crafty!!
The shop straightened out both laptops for the very fair price of $90 … and I didn’t have to watch progress and be frustrated … all done for me and all is now well and mostly, the issue was my own stupidity :(
No regrets: I have bread and rolls and craft projects – YEA!!
Also, the weather has been just gorgeous: mid-70’s and blue sky so there was also a lot of outside time:
This was Sunday afternoon … nap time. I woke up to see Emmett using Auggie for a pillow and both of them sound asleep.
Here, there and everywhere … and yes, I AM ignoring the news.
