The latest of my applique blocks. I am no expert but I enjoy doing it. I rinsed out the blue placement marks and as soon as it is dry I will press it.

 Dear Jane B-3 Mirror Image and

B-2 Sweet Tater Pie.
With Julia Juki in the shop for repairs I took a little time and did some piecing on Brunehilde the Viking. Like the applique they aren't perfect but I enjoy doing them.

Spinning is coming along fine. Pay day I am going to order some dyes. That is fun to look forward to.

My sister Sella sent me these handmade soaps. They smell yummy and it was hard to decide which to use first, so I closed my eyes and picked one. Super Citrus Confetti. It smell so good. The name of her company is Come Clean Soapworks and can be found on Facebook.

For some reason today, I feel in need of a nap. I usually try not to nap during the day so I will sleep better at night but I think today I might give in.

David got the call that Julia is ready to come home. I need to upstairs and try her out. If she is OK I'll be quilting tomorrow, but for now, that nap.

I took time today to go through my UFO tub and see how many applique blocks I have done. I didn't realize I had so many and I may have enough for a quilt.

I counted nineteen. I have two more prepped and one more that i am working on. That makes 22. If I set them 5 by t I only need 3 more. Naturally I would you lattice and cornerstones of some kind, I'll have to wait for inspiration on that. Coming along. I should finish the one I am working on sometime this evening. Exactly what I need another top to quilt.

Julia Juki goes in tomorrow. I hope they can figure out what's wrong with her, I still have 3 quilts basted ready for quilting. And a full tub of unbasted tops waiting their turn. I hate to see them piling up, but I shouldn't complain, I had the fun of making them.

My sister sent me a package of handmade soaps. I'll get a picture for tomorrow. They smell really good and the one I used today make my hands feel really nice.


So now it's time to get busy on that block I want to finish tonight.

The right skein is has way, way too much yarn in it. I will keep to the smaller size. I haven't weighed it yet but I think it is about a pound. It was too hard to twist into the skein, but it should travel OK that way. I wouldn't want to try to dye that big of a skein, too hard to handle. It didn't block as well as the smaller skein either.  That was a full bobbin on the big wheel, so half a bobbin will be the best. I counted the wraps on the niddy noddy and it was fifty. There are not quite two yards with each wrap so we are looking at close to a hundred yards, which is quite a bit.

I have decided that the next adventure with this wool will be rug hooking. It's something I always wanted to do but never had the resources. Now I've got them. I am going to invest in some dye on payday. I love dying and haven't had a chance to do any for a long time. Before when I had a lot of wool and wanted to dye it with natural dyes I could never find the things I needed, now they are everywhere and cheap. Nice.

Tomorrow I will wash and hang out another skein ready on the niddy noddy. I have a lot of wool left, I don't intend to hurry through this, I am enjoying this too much. Something this much fun should be immoral, or, at least, illegal. But it's not, how happy I am to have it to do. Not quilting as much but I have so many UFOs caught up that I don't need it. Let me just relax in the glow

Well it ain't pretty but it works. It's taking the big hank quite a long time to dry but the smaller one will be dry at about the same time. I will continue to work with the smaller size it is easier to handle and quicker in the long run. Very soft and nice. Today I got comfortable enough with the wheel to put the brake on so I won't be over-twisting quite so much. It is a very stiff wheel and took me a while to get used to the action.

The reed is threaded all the way across and David is putting the breast beam back on. He managed to lose one of the bolts that holds it in place. He has a habit of sticking things in the first bare space he sees without regard to what might happen to it. And even after all these years he is still surprised when things get lost.

Dresden Plate ready for the borders. I think I am going to run out of steam pretty soon. I always have more energy in the summer. I think it is because my body doesn't have to work so hard to stay warm.

I think this one is called Pebble's Protest. I have not done much with Dear Jane lately I have too many other irons in the fire. Dear Jane can wait. I can't quilt right now, Julia Juki needs to go into the shop, I think her timing belt has slipped again because the upper thread is getting caught down in the hook. Makes a mess on the back. It's not any of the usual stuff. I can fix most things on the machines but timing isn't one of them.

So it's time to get to my afternoon's handwork. This is when I miss coffee the most I think. I drink water instead but it just isn't the same. Oh well, sigh.

Friday. I have been as busy as a beaver today. Should that be bee? Busy anyway.

Yesterday I really pushed myself and finished threading the heddles. The hard part is now done.

Today I got to the halfway point on the reed, this is comparatively easy, I don't have to hunch over so far. I hope to finish that tomorrow afternoon. I'll be weaving soon. I am going to get another heater for this winter so I can weave a little during the cold months. That's the plan anyway.

The carding and spinning are going fine.

I am washing and blocking one skein at a time, I can't do much more or I don't have space or energy. This skein was too big and it isn't blocking or drying very well so I tied another plastic bag on it and put some stones in the bag. I washed a second skein that is about half that size and hug it where the hanging plants are. They were dead anyway and I will hang them back up when one of the skeins is dry. I used to have a blocker, but I don't remember what happened to it when we moved out here from Washington. It probably went where the hand carders are that I can't find. And all the socks that are missing from the pair. In a warehouse in Walla Walla.

I need a quick gift so I am making some lace book marks. This is the kind of gift you can give only if you know the person you give it to is the kind of person who reads real books. I have nothing against digital reading, but you don't need a physical bookmark for those!

Needless to say with all the carding, spinning, lacemaking and threading of the loom I am not getting much sewing done. Something has to give. I have managed to get the Dresden Plate quilt top webbed, so there is a little progress on that front.

Now I think I'll relax with some knitting, I'm tired, but I am happy to say I earned it!

Finished this morning. I think of all the hexagon quilts I've made I like this one best. I should have zoomed in a little more and I think I will re-take this picture at a later date. There are 5,185 hand sewn hexagons in this quilt and I did the edge slightly different from the last ones and I think I like it better.

I love this fabric on the back but I only had the one piece. I filled in the side with pieces of drapery fabric samples that I picked up elsewhere. I love those all too and used just my favorites on this back.

Julia Juki is still giving me problems so I think the timing has slipped again. She goes in for a check-up next week, I can fix a lot of things on a sewing machine but timing isn't one of them.

I am spinning a little every day between other projects and enjoying it tremendously.

This is the first skein of yarn off the wheel and onto the niddy-noddy. I washed it this afternoon and it is hanging out under the back porch with a weight on it to block it. It is a little over spun because I am out of practice and I have never used the big wheel except to ply before, but I am getting the hang of it now. So with the spinning and quilting this week I haven't done any piecing this week but I have tops a plenty waiting to be quilted so I am not in any hurry. Tomorrow I work at threading the loom.   One good morning should finish the heddles ready for the reed.

I got my lace pillow out yesterday and should have pictures soon. So I am busy, busy, busy this week and happy to be so.

Fancy Nine-Patch. I used several different "whites" for background and the differences are highly visible. This was totally scrappy way back when and the scraps have a lot of memories for me. This one is for my bed. I used leftover lengths of binding from other quilts. I love this quilt. I cut it out when John was a baby sometime in 1990-91 not sure exactly when. I didn't have a lot of money for fabric in those days, mostly for clothes and so there are a lot of fabrics I recognize from clothes I made for myself or Ambrosina.

The back is also scrappy with leftover blocks. I use everything!

I washed the last of the wool yesterday. It's drying now.

,

I won't be sewing or spinning tomorrow. Our oldest grandson, Phillip, cut two tendons in his hand and has to have surgery to have them repaired in the morning. I will spend the day with his mother and other grandmother at the hospital. David will watch the other two boys. That will keep him busy and keep him from worrying at the same time because he can't do two things at once. We are still asking the question: How did a right handed person cut his right hand when he was chopping onions?
We can only conclude he was playing around with the knife and hope that he has learned his lesson. Who knows though? He is after all a fourteen-year-old. He is following a long line of tradition. His uncle Matthew could cut himself anyhow, any where at any time! His uncle Timothy was pretty good at it too.

So with my day planned for tomorrow I will have a lot of hand working time since I will be taking some applique with me. When I finish some of that I will have pictures. I am also going to dig out some yarn from under the bed and make some slippers as gifts for anniversary presents next month. They don't take long and I can't think of anything else to make for Doug and Rose, Leon's parents.

And so, I'd best get busy.

I did finish the quilting on the Fancy nine patch today, but it doesn't look all that good because I am still having problems with Julia Juki, so she has to go into the shop. Tomorrow I will bind it and have a picture.

I did some spinning. This is going to be a quite heavy yarn because the wool is course. It is too heavy for my small spinning wheel so David brought down my big wheel. I haven't used it for a long time and there is no denying that I am out of practice. Well, it won't take long to get back in. This bobbin holds a lot of yarn and it will be easy to wash and block that big amount all at one time.

The boys are all very interested and wanted to try their hand at it. They found out that it isn't as easy as it looks. I didn't get Sammy's picture yesterday when he tried it, the camera wasn't handy. I did get Malachi's today though. Both boys have the drawing out part pretty well figured out. They just couldn't manage the drawing out and treadling at the same time so I spun the wheel for them as they worked with the wool. They soon went on to other things.

The mailman said that we set a record for his route today. We got sixteen packages in the mail. One of them was heddles for my loom so I will get back on to that tomorrow. There are three couples in this family that share the same anniversary in August and one that is one week later. Then there is one sometime this month so we make a big deal of it in August and buy presents for everybody with a big family dinner. We enjoy it very much. There are secrets flying about the house.

This lovely little lily was blooming this morning. The stalk is only about four inches tall. Ambrosina says she thinks it is because it is it's first year. They are supposed to be more like 3 feet tall. It's very pretty though.

Today I had my last intravenous iron treatment at the hospital. I hope it doesn't make me feel as sick as it did last week.

So it looks like another busy week. I won't complain about not having enough to do, and I won't get bored either!

So, the resident computer nerd looked at my laptop and said I need a new computer. That is one expensive kitten for one we got free!

Last week I basted four sandwiches ready for quilting but before I could share them the cat broke the computer. Well, here they are

Hexagon Stars

 Drunkard's Path Turtles for my grandson Ben.

 Scrappy Feathered Star Medallion

You will notice that I am getting my usual help. Evidently if there is a quilt on a table it doesn't count as being on the table. She knows she is not supposed to be on the table, but it becomes a bed when the quilt is on it.

And this Pinwheel quilt which is on the of the series. I hope I will be through with them all soon!

So now I am pretty well caught up. I am three-quarters of the way through the washing of the wool, I should be able to finish that part next week. I've been doing a little carding every day, there is still a long way to go on that. I did try to spin a little of it, but I am having trouble with the wheel, it has been sitting for a long time and needed new drive bands. Now the wheel rod isn't turning the wheel full circle so that the treadle isn't coming all the way back up so I have to replace the ties and I need some leather lacing for that. Also it could be that the small wheel is too small for such a heavy yarn and I need to bring the big wheel down. Personally I am of that opinion but I thought I would try just this last thing. I don't have room down here for both wheels, but I don't like having them up in the attic where I can't use them.

I am still having trouble with Julia Juki and the free motion. I knew the part I ordered was not going to fix that, I just had to wait until I had the money to get the second part. It is now ordered.

I also have ordered some more heddles for the loom, so when I get them it's back to work on the threading.

And so, lunch is ready and I can't eat it at the computer, so I'm going to go eat and then decided what to do for this afternoon's hand work. Probably some applique in the style of Baltimore Album. I started one a long time ago and I want to get it done, I am determined that I won't have tubs of UFOs sitting around anymore!

Still no computer of my own, David took it apart but could see nothing obvious. Next step is to as Leon, our resident computer nerd, if he has any ideas. Today I am going to go to Walmart and see if I can get a USB cord for my camera. After that I, if I can find the right one, I have a ton of pictures to post.

I washed a third batch of wool yesterday, only one more to go. I have a full tub of carded wool ready to spin, now all need is my spinning wheel brought downstairs. So much fun, it's almost too good to be true!

Just a brief update, no pictures. I have been busy, but so has the kitten--she knocked my laptop off the shelf and broke it! I am using David's desktop right now but I can't plug in the memory card from the computer. I don't have a USB cord that fits. Ambrosina should have one but she is busy and I have to wait. David is taking apart my lap top to see if he can find something broken or disconnected. We shall see!

A-10 Which Points West?

I didn't do much sewing today, I wanted to wash the next batch of wool before it got hot. And I did.

I don't have a lot of space down here in our tiny sitting room, but I dug the carder out of the trunk and got it set up.

So you just tease it apart and keep turning the handle until the drum is full.

Once the drum is full you find where the two ends of the cloth holding the hooks (can't remember the name of it right now) and slide a strong knitting needle along it.

 Pull it up until it tears in two.

 Turn the drum backwards and ease it off.

First bat ready to spin. The wheels are still up in the attic so it's going to be a couple of weeks, but one bat won't go all that far anyway. I need to get more carded before I am ready to spin.  The biggest problem will be finding someplace to store the carded wool. I wish all my problems were that difficult!

We are still being sued, even though the original  creditor has forgiven some of the debt the part that was in litigation didn't count. The lawyer has instructed us not to pay any more to them right now to give him a better position to negotiate. I am not a lawyer so it doesn't matter if that doesn't make sense to me.

I went to my nephrologist yesterday, my kidney function is up to 39 percent, so good news on that front. My anemia is bad and she said that might contribute so I have to have intravenous iron treatment a couple times because I'm not responding to other treatment.

In other good news the CA is now working and hopefully we will be able to sleep tonight!