The Winter Blues

 Yesterday was a mix of snow and sun. The high got to -8C (windchill -16C). This morning it is partly cloudy and -14C (windchill -18C). Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of -7C (windchill -14C). 

Lifestyle

I had to take my car to the tire shop and get air in the tires. They were all low due to the cold weather we are having. Then I was off to get daughter-in-law so we could go to her appointments. She had two of them back to back which left her tired. 

Once done the appointments we headed to Dartmouth to get groceries for sandwiches and a few things we needed. We did have a quick lunch and then came home. Daughter-in-law was tired from her two treatments and needed to rest with heat on her body. 

When I got home, I had to shovel a small berm of snow from the driveway. The municipality had plowed our road clean and salted it. It took less than 10 minutes to do. I unloaded the car and sat on heat. 

I was tired and have been for a few days. I think part of it is all the shovelling I have done and part is the grey weather we have had. I am physically tired with some winter depression. I allowed it to take over yesterday afternoon which wasn't good. I should have gotten up and done something rather than sit and have Eeyore's cloud over my head most of the afternoon. Not a smart thing for me to do. 

I was sore yesterday and couldn't get my SI joint to release when I did my stretch. The stretch helped the muscles but not the joint. I did another stretch in bed last night and got one loud crack. The SI joint released and I was virtually pain free. 

Sewing

I did not sew yesterday but did think about the zipper tabs on the next bag. There are so many videos out on how to do it that I stopped looking until I try one that I saved. This version will be made using the left over pieces of fabric from the last one I made. 

Knitting

I did quite a bit of knitting while I sat. It kept me from falling asleep and my mind active. The foot on the child's sock is 2/3rds or more done and the foot on the adult sock is half done.

My goal of finishing the adult sock by the end of the month is achievable but I won't have the child's pair of socks done until February. I am okay with that. 

I did inventory another tub of yarn and have 1 left to go. Shall we say I am embarrassed with how much yarn I have hoarded away. 

Thoughts

    I have worked on a plan for knitting for the next two months. It took me about half an hour to figure out what I will be doing. What I do know is that I will have knit 100 grams of yarn when I finish the adult socks (they are mine). That isn't a lot for January but it is 100 grams gone from the stash. 

    Our weather is changing once again. The wind is from the south, the barometric pressure is dropping, and the temperature is going to go up. Our next snow fall is being tracked and the consensus is that it will either hit the whole province or more along the Atlantic coast. With the full moon and high tide it will be nasty for those communities. They are predicting about 6" to fall here. It will be wet snow for sure. I have someone coming in to plow the driveway for me though I will do some myself just for exercise. I will need to do the front steps and sidewalk and I like to shovel the driveway about 4 feet out from the garage. 

Today

I am going to be doing a bunch of housework as I am a bit behind from shovelling snow and being out yesterday. I want to work on the zipper of the next bag and do some sewing on the doll's dress. I will knit on the socks at noon and in the evening. I want to keep busy so I don't feel tired and sleepy. 

Until the next time......................................................

Snow Removal Done For Now

 Yesterday it snowed in the morning and then it was lovely in the afternoon with a few flurries. The high got to -7C (windchill -13C). This morning it is cloudy and -12C (windchill -16C). Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of -8C (windchill -15C). 

Lifestyle

I was out the door early to shovel more snow. It was still the light and fluffy stuff but there was more of it. I shovelled alone for 90 minutes and then went in to sit for a few minutes on the stairs. Daughter-in-law arrived a couple of minutes later and I was out the door to help shovel the last 40% of the driveway. It took us 30 minutes to finish cleaning the driveway and then she did the back deck which was really full of drifted snow. Total time out for me was 2 hours. I was tired when I got done. 

I did rest after shovelling snow. I really had no energy left. I had put in over 7000 steps in 2 hours just cleaning the driveway. I did see that we had about 39 cm of snow fall. That is about 16" which is more than predicted. Update: we had just over a foot fall according to Environment Canada.

Sewing

I did sew yesterday and did change the center part of the collar on the doll's dress. I cut it out of a scrap of fabric. It looks much better. 

Here is a picture of the two collars side by side. 

Here is a picture of the three collar patterns that go with this dress. 

Once that job was done, I decided to make another zippered bag. I am going to get those zipper tabs the way I like them. I spent a long time on the zipper part of the bag to make sure I had done it properly. I wasn't happy with the bulk when sewing the side seams. The person doing the YouTube tutorial had the same issue. 

When I turned the bag right side out, the tabs were about the same or a bit better than the other two bags. I wondered what the issue was. Was it the fusible fleece? Was it me? Was there a step that was missing? I did finish the bag and gave it a good press. 

So, it was back to YouTube hoping to find some more tricks. I found two more videos. One does the side seams differently and the other had a different way to do the tabs plus a trick or two for the side seams. I have scraps of the fabric left so will be making one using the one of the two videos for a reference. I still have more fat quarters to sew into bags as I I learn to make them the way I want them to look. This is truly becoming a research project. 

Knitting

I knit on the child's sock at noon and got the gusset completed. I was a quick knit. 

I also finished the gusset on the adult sock last night. 

On to the foot next. I will finish the child's sock quickly and then will cast on sock #2. I won't get these socks done by the end of the month. I do hope that I can finish the adult size by February 2 or 3. The child's socks will take a bit longer than that. 

I didn't inventory yarn yesterday as I was tired. But the 2nd to the last tub is upstairs ready to be done. Once I have inventoried the yarn, I will be making a plan on how to knit up a bunch of it this year. 

Thoughts

    I am trying to come up with a plan for knitting projects this year. I have knit on socks almost every day and I need to figure out what else I can add to the mix. I enjoy knitting every night and having added knitting at noon has been fun. I do not have any works in progress as I am a person who knits until the project is completed. My main goal is to knit down the stash making projects I enjoy. 

    The weather is crazy. Friends I know posted a picture of someone making a snowman in Mexico. I heard the polar vortex came down further than normal which has caused areas to have snow that normally don't get any or very little. For us it meant a lot of snow which can happen here. We get more snow during the night of February 1 and it will last about 24 hours. Having storms this close together is not usual. 

    I have decided to hire someone to do snow removal next year. I can shovel some as it is good exercise for me. The larger amounts are too much as it takes me too long to get it done. Someone can do it with a blade on a truck and I can go out and tidy up the edges after they have gone. 

Today

I am heading into the city with daughter-in-law. She has 2 appointments and then we need to shop for sandwiches which we will make on Saturday. I may not get any sewing done this afternoon but I will knit tonight. 

Until the next time.............................................................

A Huge Snow Fall

 Yesterday was snowy with a high of -7C (windchill -13C). This morning it is snowing and -7C (windchill -12C). The snow is to stop in a couple of hours and then it will be cloudy. The temperature is to remain at -7C (windchill -15C). 

Lifestyle

I was out the door in good time to start shovelling snow. It was light and fluffy but there was about 6" on the driveway. I got a wide strip shovelled at the garage door and then started to shovel down to the road. I had 3 lanes made when my neighbour showed up and helped. His son also came over to help. And then daughter-in-law showed up. The four of us tackled the driveway and front step and had it done in an hour. Daughter-in-law and I also did the back deck. 

Once the job was done, I rested. We barely rested -- 30 seconds at the most. It wasn't hard work but it was steady. I did fold laundry and put on a small load to wash and got it dried and folded also. I also put my wet outside clothes into the dryer to dry. 

I also did a bit of tidying up in the kitchen. Not a lot as it is clean. I was resting up as I knew I would have to go out in the afternoon and shovel more. Luckily the driveway was in good shape due to the wind but the front door area had to be shovelled as it drifts into that spot. 

Sewing

I did sew in the afternoon. I finished the one bag and am more pleased with it now it is finished. 

I am ready to try the method in this video. I have my fabric picked and am ready to start. This time I am going to make the bag bigger. 

I started on the next item for the Edwardian wardrobe. I am making Keepers Dolly Duds 1914 Pleated Frock (purple view). 

I decided to leave off the bodice decorations and add a collar that Keepers Dolly Duds designed but never published. I got a copy of the file when I was testing patterns. I chose this collar as it was designed for this dress. 

I am not sure if I got this right or if I am wrong. Looking at the pictures of outfits the designer made, she made other large collars in white but never made this one. I wanted to use the dotted fabric. Now I need to decide if I am going to leave the heart shaped piece in the print or if I will do it in the dot fabric. It will take me 10 minutes to change it. The more I look at the picture, the more I think I will change it. Everything is basted on separately so the one piece will be easy to remove. 

I took a picture of the hat after I removed it from the doll. It was sitting perfectly for a picture. 

Knitting

I worked on both socks last night and have the heels turned and the gusset stitches picked up. Once that was done, I focused on the larger sock and got 5 rounds knit on it. 

The child's sock was not as difficult to work on as I had thought. I did get 15 stitches picked up on each side which was great. 

I will have to say that I am enjoying knitting on these at lunch time. 

I did inventory another tub of yarn yesterday. I also looked at my stash on Ravelry and found the name of one yarn I had no label for. To date I have inventoried 66 skeins of yarn which is more than I had thought. The remaining two tubs have probably a total of 15 - 16 skeins. I have a lot of yarn to knit and should not be buying unless it is sock yarn.

Thoughts

    We had about 6" of snow fall yesterday and there is probably that much more to be shovelled today. We get a bit of break starting late this morning and then will have more snow fall the night of Feb. 1 and 2. I will be a lot stronger when winter is done just from shovelling snow. 

    We have been very lucky to have not lost our power during this storm. One community west of us lost theirs due to heavy snow. I was ready for a power loss and will continue to be ready before the next storm hits. 

    The municipality kept our roads plowed every 4 hours during this storm. I am sure they will be out doing it again today. People are out driving to work but the school buses aren't running. Yesterday most people stayed home and dug themselves out. My neighbour was up early this morning to do his driveway before he went to work. 

Today

I have to shovel snow after I eat breakfast and then will rest. I do have a bit of housework to do and then will spend the afternoon sewing and will knit tonight. 

Until the next time...................................................................

Researching Zipper Installation

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a high of -13C (windchill -15C) at midnight. This morning it is snowing heavily and is -15C (windchill -23C). Today is supposed to have heavy snow with a high of -7C (windchill -16C). 

Lifestyle

I started the morning putting on a load of laundry. Then I decided to degrease the top of the microwave and the cupboard above it. Not as bad as I had thought but it was greasy. 

I started to clean the living area of the house and got about 1/4 of it done before I stopped. It was nearly noon. 

I had spent time releasing my SI joint once and the second time I did a lot of stretching exercises. The muscles on my left side was sore as I am working on walking without my strange gait (which also makes me sore). I walk slowly around the house practicing my gait. I can't do it fast as I go back to my old gait. I did practice my gait a lot during the day in hopes I will walk properly without thinking about it. 

I had to make dinner yesterday. I decided to follow one of the Chef Plates' recipes to make 4 meals. It is an Asian inspired dish. What started off in the frying pan, ended up in a big pot due to the noodles I had to use. It was a tasty meal and I have 3 in the fridge. 

Sewing

I did sew yesterday but struggled with the bag I am wanting to make. It is the zipper installation. I love the tabs but find sewing the sides hard to do. I am not impressed with the end result though they look as nice as the ones done this way on YouTube. I will finish this one and decide if it is good enough to sell or if I will give it away.

I did a bit of research and am going to try another method. The tabs are not as thick as the method I have been using which I think is one of the problems. I will be playing again making new bags with this fabric and zippers. Another problem may be that I interfaced both the outer and lining fabrics which was suggested in the video I was using. And the last problem may be the small contrasting band I was sewing onto the top of the bag. 

The fabrics have been in my stash for 4 years. The zippers are cheap and I can have fun learning how to do zippers. 

Knitting

I did knit yesterday and made progress on both socks. The larger sized sock is ready to have the heel turned and the child's sock needs 2 more rows knit on the heel flap. 

I will turn the heel and pick up the gusset stitches on both of these socks at the same time. 

Thoughts

    The snow is falling at a steady rate and there is getting to be a lot on the driveway. The snow plow has done our roads twice since midnight. I am sure they will be around again later is morning. I noticed only 1 person on our street has gone to work. I do hope he drives carefully into the city as the roads will be terrible. 

    I have been slowly inventorying my yarn and have 3 bins left to go. I am happy to have this job done. Having it inventoried will allow me to decide how to use up the yarn. I know I can make a couple of long scarves as I have enough yarn in the last two bins to inventory. Today's bin is knitting worsted (weight 4) and it is all 100% wool. I need to decide on what I will knit from them. 

    We have had no power issues with this storm. I am hoping that it will remain this way as we do not need that in the storm we are having. It is going to be stressful enough digging out after this storm leaves sometime late tomorrow. 

Today

My day will begin soon with shovelling the driveway. I know I will be back out doing it later today. I was going to make a pot of chicken soup but have put it all into the freezer. I will be eating what I bought for this storm. I may sew for a bit this afternoon and will knit tonight. 

Until the next time.............................................................

Done To The Eyelets

 Yesterday was cold and windy with the temperature dropping all day. At 4 pm it was -16C (windchill -26C). This morning it is cloudy and -18C (windchill -28C). The wind is also gusting. Today is going to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of -12C (windchill -15C). It is supposed to start snowing late this evening. 

Lifestyle

Getting dressed. yesterday was quite the ordeal. With risk of frostbite and me having to go out, I wore a lot of layers including wool socks. Long johns under sweat pants, shirt under hoodie. When I left to go shopping, I had on my winter coat, windproof hat, and heavy mitts. Everyone was dressed the same. 

I spent the morning going over my supplies and writing a shopping list. I had to look at every scenario going. Cold, no power were two high on the list. I got a lot of stuff to hold me over for 4 days. Some I can cook but other foods which can be eaten cold if I have no power. There are no power outage warnings at the moment and the snow coming is supposed to be light and fluffy. Hopefully the power won't go out. The wind isn't supposed to be too wild which is good. 

I did do a bit of housework to keep the clean areas neat and tidy. I also got the laundry dried but not folded. I should have done it as it was a 10 minute job. 

I spent quite a bit of time playing with Cricut Design Space. I am having problems with it and my email letting me open a link on the internet. I finally had to do everything on the internet including my email account. Now I can think about the project I have to do once I get the cost for the paper. Hopefully I can do that later this week. 

Sewing

I sewed some yesterday afternoon. I got the binding on the top of the doll's stays and spent quite a bit of time hand sewing it in place. It was a fiddly sew. 

I now need to get the 1/4" eyelets for the closing the back. I can't find the ones I had though I am sure they are too big for this project. They are on my list to buy at the craft store. 

Knitting

I started a larger sized child's sock at noon. I knit on it after I ate lunch and then a bit before supper. 

I am using two patterns for this sock. One is the pattern I used to make grandson his socks 10-11 years ago and the other is one I found on the internet. I still have about 2" left to knit on the leg. I was a bit worried but I have lots of leftover yarn for this sock. I also have enough yarn in another colour to make a second pair. I will sell them at the craft fair in November. 

I also knit on the adult socks and got the leg finished plus the first row of the heel flap. 

And the two socks together. Such a difference in size. 

I am slowly getting the yarn inventoried and I have to say that I have a lot of it. The next tub is yarn I bought to knit for the dolls. After that most of the yarn was given to me by family or daughter. I have one ball and part of another one that I want to make a scarf. I will have to buy one more ball which is allowed. With the other yarn I was given, I can't get any more so when it is gone, it is gone. I am looking at scarves which is will give away or sell. 

Thoughts

    I am mentally prepared for the snow storm. If the wind blows I am hoping most of the light fluffy snow will blow off my driveway. If not, I will be out there shovelling up to 12" of snow. Good exercise for me if it isn't too cold out there. If it is, it can wait until the wind stops. I have no where to go. 

    I am still working on getting the house cleaned. I am ready to start the living area and once it is cleaned, the rooms that need painting will be done. Hurrah. Then I can do the two bedrooms. It takes longer when I am spending time each day maintaining the rooms I have cleaned. 

Today

I will fold the laundry and put it away. I have to make dinner which will be a rice bowl. I also want to start the preparation for chicken soup. If I have time, I will start cleaning the living area. This afternoon I want to sew a zippered bag. I also have to knit on both socks during the day and evening. I also want to read some tonight as I haven't done that for two days. 

Until the next time..............................................

A Cold Spell is Here

 Yesterday was an everything day. Sunshine, clouds, wind, and some snow. The high got to -2C. This morning it is cloudy, windy, and -14C (windchill -23C). Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with wind and a high of -13C (windchill -21C).

Lifestyle 

With my list on the table, I set about doing my chores. I finished cleaning the dining room and then dusted the little table in the hall. All was dusty. I then vacuumed the floors and mopped them. While it was drying I folded laundry and when the floor was dry, I put it away. 

Next up, I tidied up the kitchen and bathrooms giving both floors a quick vacuum. I was done my chores for the morning with time to spare. 

I was out to family's for dinner last night and to say goodbye to daughter-in-law's parents. They are boarding the plane as I write this and heading home to Alberta. We had Moroccan stew and fresh buns and it was delicious. We had a good visit and I was home by 7 pm. 

Sewing

I spent the afternoon in the sewing room working on the doll's stays. I got the quilting done following the stay's lines. I cut out the pieces from the pattern, taped them on and sewed around them. 

I tried it on one of the chubby dolls and it is a good fit. 

I am now down to sewing bias binding onto the top and adding the eyelets to the back. 

As I have a good idea of what I am doing, I will make this again without the interfacing and put in boning. I ordered 1/4" boning from Amazon and it arrived yesterday afternoon. I also found out I could use the 1/4" zip ties I have as they fit into the channels. I had bought them when I had made a bustle. 

Knitting

I started a pair of baby socks yesterday but unwound them. 

I found another pattern which has more stitches on it and will be for child vs a newborn. I want to knit these at noon as they are going to be a faster knit than adult size socks. 

I also knit on the other sock and got 20 rounds knit last night. 

I am pleased with the progress on these socks and would like them finished by the end of the month. 

Thoughts

    The cold weather came in and the wind came up about 4 am. It isn't going to be nice for a few days. The snow comes tomorrow night and I will be shovelling snow most of Monday. At least it will be dry snow. 

     I have a friend who wants me to make her some candy holders. Between 60 and 75 of them. I am going to get her a price and start cutting them out on the Cricut. I will put them together and ship them flat. As soon as I can go to the craft store, I will buy the materials and start to make 10 of them a month. 

Today

I have to get a few groceries to have on hand if the power goes out over the next few days. I would like to start cleaning the living room if I have time. I do have a load of laundry ready to go into the dryer. This afternoon I want to sew on the doll's stays and tonight I will knit. I am prepping for the snow storm we are to have. 

Until the next time.......................................

Yarn Inventory

 Yesterday was mainly cloudy with a high of 3C. This morning it is partly cloudy and -3C. Today is supposed to be cloudy with a high of -2C. The cold weather is coming tonight. 

Lifestyle

I started off the morning washing the sheets from my bed. While they were washing, I started to clean the dining area. I always start by cleaning off the table and giving it a good scrub. Then I move the table and start to vacuum the floor and then mop it. This time I also patched the marks in the wall under the heat pump head. I moved furniture around and got the area where the table is really clean. I have a small area where the server is to clean today. 

My next job was to empty the dishwasher and make a pot of cheddar broccoli soup. After it the soup was made, I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed the floor. I was sore while working and had to release my SI joint twice. 

I got my bed made after dinner when I realized I hadn't done it. I was tired in the afternoon and was doing other things to keep myself awake and forgot to do the bed. Crazy me. 

Sewing

I decided to start the stays for the 18th century items I am going to make this year. I got the pattern pieces cut out and interfaced. I drew the curved lines onto the interfacing. So far so good.

The next step was to pin and sew the outer and lining fabrics together down the back seam and on the curved pieces.

I used a tiny stitch for that. I was pleased with how it turned out. I trimmed the seams back and clipped them for turning. When I went to turn the pieces I had problems. It was very hard to turn the curved pieces right side out. It took me almost an hour to do both pieces and I am not overly happy with them. 

They need a good pressing before I start the next step. I was done with this project for the day. 

I decided to take pictures of the coat and hat in a better setting. 

Knitting

I knit on the 2nd sock last night and made good progress on the leg. I am not quite half way. 

I have inventoried the sock yarn I have. I have enough yarn to make 8 pairs of adult socks and left over yarn for 2 pairs of children's socks. I will not be buying sock yarn this year as I need to knit down the stash. I am now ready to inventory the fingering yarn I have for the dolls. 

To date I have inventoried 17 skeins which is 1220 grams and 4825 yards of yarn. 15 skeins are for socks and 2 skeins are what daughter gave me for Christmas. That is a lot of yarn to knit. And there is still a lot of yarn to inventory. 

Thoughts

    We are moving into a cold spell for the weekend. The only time I will be out is if I need groceries. When it starts to warm up we are to get snow. I need to do things in the house as I will be outside shovelling snow. 

    I am trying to figure out how I am going to do a craft bazaar in November. As I have a fair amount of inventory, I have to decide if I will add more items or just sell what I have. My next question will be if I want to do more craft bazaars over the next few years. If so, I will need to brand myself and make items that have my name tags on them and choose fabrics I think will sell. 

Today

I am going to finish cleaning the dining area and the hall. I also need to fold the laundry as it seems to be the last item on my to do list. I want to work on the doll's stays this afternoon and knit tonight. 

Until the next time..................................................