Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

Pottery Barn Inspired Cable Stocking...

As most of you know, I work at the LYS.  In early November, the owner of the shop brought in two Chunky Knit Christmas Stockings she purchased at Pottery Barn {she is a huge PB fan}.  She thought it would be fun to create a pattern similar to the stockings.  Good friend and coworker, Mary and I studied the stockings.  We made notes and I took them home and began prototyping.  I tested several different yarns, heels, and toes.  Here is what I came up with.

Using Lamb's Pride Bulky and a US 10.5 16" circular needle, these stocking go together quite quickly.  And they can be made for less than half the PB price.

As you can see these stockings were hurried off to the shop before being blocked.  (And my photo taking skills have not improved in 2013!) 

My pattern is available here on Ravelry. 

It is Christmas Eve.  Next week is the perfect time to get started on next year's Christmas knitting!

After...

The painters finished painting Thursday.  I took a few pictures (with my phone).  I had planned to get more pictures  today, but we've got a dusting of snow!  As you can see, the base paint is brighter, the trim is painted an accent color, and the shutters are barn red.  We are very happy with it.

Last Friday we had a plumbing problem, because isn't that when all plumbing problems begin, at the end of the work week!  The husb noticed water in the basement, and dry wall damage. He called 6 plumbers before he could find one that would come that day.  The plumber determined the seal was bad on the powder room toilet - that was an understatement since he could lift it off the tile floor without unscrewing any screws.  He said it would be less that $200 to reset the seal.  When he got in there he determined he could not reset the seal because the sub flooring, under the tile, had rotted away.  He said we were lucky we hadn't fallen through the floor.  He gave me the name of a handyman that could replace the sub flooring and the tile.  So, our plumbing problem is now a powder room reno. 

The money pit continues to earn it's name.

Before the Facelift...

The painters finally arrived!  Here is a before picture of the house.  I don't think the house has been painted since the late 1990s. 

The house is currently green but looks grey in some light.  You can see where I tested a few colors on the front of the house and on one shutter.  I think the house would look nice with a contrasting trim.   We finally settled on a slightly perkier green, cream trim, and barn red accents.   If the sun shines today, I will take pictures of the finished project.

 

Next, we plan to do some landscaping before the ground freezes... which means soon.  

 

 

The woods are so pretty!  It is my favorite time of the year.

 

Churchmouse Classics Welted Fingerless Gloves...

I love all things Churchmouse.  I am referring to Churchmouse Yarns and Teas.  I made these Welted Fingerless Gloves as a shop sample for our 12 Weeks of Christmas promotion.   I love the pattern and since I am a confessed serial knitter, I have made these mitts more than a half of a dozen times.  No blocking necessary.  They are my go to gift, and are always well received. 

This pair of mitts are made of Berroco Vintage DK.  One skein yields 2 sets of mitts. I knit them using the Magic Loop technique on a US 6.  The buttons were purchased at JoAnn Fabrics.

The local meteorologist is warning us of snow flurries tomorrow.  Ah, knitting weather. 

Where has the time gone?...

Oh my!!! It has been a YEAR since my last post, and what a year it has been!

Sept - March:  renovated new house (aka the money pit)
Nov:  moved into new house
Dec:  Prince Charles moved home, with a kitten (Atta, the indoor cat)
March:  I manage the yarn shop while owner has back surgery
              Mom visits for the month
May:   Mom has back surgery and I help out with her recoop
           Husband brings home new cat (Smitty, the outdoor cat)
June:  Mom moves in with us, for good
July:   Marley moves in with us (an adorable basset hound/lab mix)
Aug:   New drainage and hardscaping 
           5 days w/o water = New pressure tank, one week later, no hot water
Sept:  landscaping plans
Oct:  possibly paint the exterior, but we've been waiting for 2 months
         possibly hiring a new painter

Just one year ago we were empty nesters.  Now we have our son, my mother, two cats and a dog living with us.  It all sounds like a lot, but it is really a blessing.

The house still has areas that need work, but that can wait for now.  This time of year, I am in love with the property!

The old lane to the main road.

 

 

Pre-constitution Hackberry

 

Peace!

Slowly Making Progress...

The new house has been keeping us so busy.  The original house was built in the 1890s and then updated in the 1990s.  Here is a picture of the what was the front of the house.

This is the north side of the house and the "new" front (seen here) is on the west side of the house. 

The very first thing we need to do is replace the roof.  And while we are reroofing we plan to bump out the area between the two dormer windows to put a shower in the Jack & Jill bath upstairs.  Lately we have been meeting with contractors and reviewing bids. 

I also have picked out and purchased appliances for the kitchen.  After reviewing roof bids I scaled back a little and went with KithchenAid.  I think they will be perfect for our needs.

I have also been keeping our current home ready to show so we can get it sold.  Between that, my part time job, and a little knitting there is little time for anything else.

I did finish listening to Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn and I've almost finished The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meissner.  I'd recommend both books but I had slight book hangover with Gone Girl.  I needed better closure.  Still, I would highly recommend it.

My ten thousand steps a day plan has gone out the window.  My goal this week is to get out there again.  Fall has arrived in central Indiana and I am loving it.

A Few Before Pictures...

September has been busy, busy but today am I going to try and slow down and recount where the month has gone.

We have our home on the market and that means keeping the house very tidy. I don't mind it too much. We are clutter bugs {read slobs} and it is so nice to have a clean AND tidy home. Wouldn't it be great if I could keep this up in the new house? A girl can dream, right?

Mom was here last week and we had lots of fun shopping and making plans for the new house.   Let me start out by saying we must replace the roof... and this is our #1 priority.  But when we replace the roof we are going to do a bump out to accommodate a shower in the guest bath.  Here is the guest bath now.  It is a Jack & Jill with no shower.

And Mom's rooms are a priority too.  We ripped up the carpet in her rooms and our sewing room.  Here is a before picture of our sewing room.

Yes... our sewing room was an exercise room.  It will get a lot more use as a sewing room!  And the mirrors will come down.  The 1990's Berber carpet was nasty... complete with pet stains.

 

Mom's room had the same dirty carpet. But the good news is that we found this under the carpet...

the original wood floors from the 1890s!  These should clean up very nicely.

We shopped for kitchen appliances.  Here is a sneak peak of the kitchen from the stairs.  The cabinets were made from trees on the property when the addition was added in the 1990s.

This built in refrigerator has to be replaced.  Even though it was plugged in, it hasn't worked for over a year.  Remember... we bought this home "as is" just before the home went into foreclosure.  The former owners said when this refrigerator broke, they just started using the one in the garage. 

I am hoping to replace this with a stainless counter depth model and have a carpenter add a little moulding or something.  I have been looking at a Viking model that has a water dispenser inside.  Built in refrigerators are about 3 times as expensive as regular refrigerators.

Here is a shot of the wall oven and 2 cutouts that hold a microwave and a convection oven.  I would like to raise the wall oven and add a built in microwave.  I am considering a GE Monogram wall oven and Advantium microwave.  If you  have any experience with these appliances I would love to hear your thoughts.

I'd also like to replace the sink with a stainless under mount.

And I'd like to replace the back splash tile, paint, and refinish the maple floors.  The cabinets need waxing or finishing or something.  I wanted to paint them but all the men I mentiond this idea to freak out.  I am not sure if the husb had bought off on all these upgrades... but I will continue to work on him. {wink}

I have started working more hours at the yarn shop and have considered going back to work full time.  But for now there is a lot to keep me busy at both houses.  Which reminds me, I need to dust and vacuum so I'd better get busy.

The House...

More than a year ago my husband decided it was time to buy some property with land.  He grew up on a farm and I don't think subdivision living was ever his thing.  We looked and looked, wanting to stay very close to the friendly little town we live in.  We also wanted to find a house that would accomodate us and my Mom. We lost out on a beautiful property with a crummy little house.  Then we fought one another over a piece of odd property with 10 acres of woods.  I hated that house (clearly in a flood zone) and finally had to tell the husb if he wanted it, then buy it, but I had no intention of moving into that house.  He is soooo seduced by a piece of land with trees.

In January I found a piece of property with a house on a hill and nearly 10 acres of trees.  The price on the property had just dropped so I took my friend Mary and we went to take a look.  I was happy to see that this was a house that could work with a little love.  Plus it had a bedroom, sitting room and bathroom on the first floor, perfect for my Mom.     

In February we made an offer on the property.  By doing so we had entered a Short Sale process.  "Short" has nothing to do with the time it takes to make an agreement.  Finally, at the end of July we heard that the offer was approved by the bank.  We closed on the property a week ago.  Now we are to proud owners of 2 homes.  YIKES! 

Time to sell our current home and hire a contractor to work on the new house.  This is going to be an adventure! (That is me trying not to be stressed and looking for the silver lining.)  Honestly the house will take more than a little love.

Here is a "before" picture.

We have to start with a new roof and a bump out in the guest bathroom upstairs to allow a shower.  I will have more to show you during the process, plus this house has a very interesting history.

Books on my IPod...

I went to the doctor last week for a physical and she said "What are we going to do about your weight?"  {No, you are not reading an old post of mine, this is a common theme that pops up at least once a year.  I then get in a schedule of walking and dieting, lose 25 lbs, and then when life or holidays get in the way, gain it back.}

Anyhoo, I love how she asks the question like WE can work on it together.  It makes me feel like I have her support.  A previous doctor blurted out "You need to eat less and exercise more."  Really?  I have never considered that!

So, back to the blog topic, I am walking about 5 miles at least 5 times a week, eating very few carbs, and listening to books on my Ipod while I walk.  The weather has been exceptional in central Indiana making walking very enjoyable. 

In July, I finished Defending Jacob by William Landay.

In this book, assistant district attorney Andy Barber, his wife Laurie and their son Jacob are very much a normal family until one of Jacob’s classmates, 14-year-old Ben Rifkin, is murdered. Andy takes on the case until the time that evidence is found that shows his son may have been involved. From that point, the Barbers world comes undone. 

Defending Jacob is a page turner {or in my case a compelling reason to get out and walk}.  I was continually drawing parallels to my life and wondering what choices I would make if in the same situation.  Landay expertly plants the seeds of doubt—is Jacob the villain that all are painting him to be or is he being unjustly accused?   In addition to an expert rendering of the family dynamics in a terrible situation, the author has created an unforgettable and suspenseful story with a powerful twist {GASP!} at its conclusion.  The book was very good, but very unsettling as I listened completely invested, to the end.

Next I listened to A Secret Kept, by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Set in present day France and in 1974, A Secret Kept begins when Antoine Rey, a divorcee in his mid-forties, takes his sister, Mélanie, to their childhood vacation spot, Noirmoutier Island, for her 40th birthday. Passage to the island is made on a causeway called Le Gois, a road that is only passable at low tide and which becomes treacherous in moments once the water rises. They make the trek and spend a picture-perfect time on the island, but the devastating events following their holiday set in motion a search for clues surrounding the untimely death of their mother when they were children.

Tatiana de Rosnay, author of the New York Times bestseller Sarah's Key, examines the depths of complex family relationships and the power of a past secret to change everything in the present.  I found the book enjoyable and hard to pause as the secret unfolded.

I am now listening to Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn so I will end here and head out for my highly anticipated walk.

Not my UFO...

A while back {ok... a year ago} my BFF Pam asked me if I could finish a project for her.  It wasn't her UFO, but an unfinished quilt given to her as a wedding gift from her mother-in-law.  The top was completed and some hand quilting was even done.  With Pam's blessing I gave the quilt to my favorite longarm quilter.  When the quilting was complete I {let it sit in my sewing room long while and then} added the binding to finish the project.

Last night I took the quilt to Pam.  She was sooo happy to have it done.

As you can see, the quilt was country blue and rose.  Pam and Brian will celebrate their 27th anniversary next month.  It took more than a quarter of a century to finish this project.  I feel like I have participated in something monumental! 

Happy Anniversary Brian & Pam!

Sew Happy...

I went to JoAnn twice over the weekend with a coupon for 25% off my entire order.  I bought a yard of outdoor fabric and turned two of these

into these.

My porch is sew happy now.  And so am I because...

1 yard of outdoor fabric for 2 pillows = $24.99 - 60% off - 25% off = $7.50

I also purchased this OttLite table lamp to replace the table lamp and my flip OttLite I have by my nest in the family room.

 Sew Happy! 

OttLite Table Lamp = $119.99 - 50% off - 25% off = $45.00

I also picked up this frame for a project I will show at a later date.

frame on clearance = $7.97 - 25% off = $5.98

I really went looking for a little more Denyse Schmidt fabric.  Her new Richmond line came out and I wanted a couple of the patterns for my Great Granny quilt.

New DSQ fabric = $12.99(per yard) - 30% off - 25% off = $6.82(per yard)

As a bonus I found a few bolts from her older line that I love and bought enough for the back of my quilt.

Quilt back = 9.99(per yard) - 30% off - 25% off = $5.25(per yard)  x 4 = $21.00

Oh.Sew.Happy.

What a Week...

A couple weeks ago we traveled to Iowa for the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.  RAGBRAI is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state.  It is the oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world, celebating it's 40th year this summer. Des Moines Register Media has been the title sponsor of RAGBRAI since 1973. 

The route changes every year.  This year the route began in Sioux Center and ended in Clinton.

Route Map source RAGBRAI.com

My husband  has participated in RAGBRAI for the last 15 consecutive years.  He rides with Team Spare Tire, a group of friends from Iowa.  My son has participated for the last 6 years.  I stay with friends and have a week of sewing, shopping, eating and chatting... but these details are worthy of another post.

This year some 15,000 (yes... fifteen thousand) riders participated in RAGBRAI.



Mary Chind/The Des Moines Register

And isn't this picture great with the barn quilt in the background.



Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register

 This year the ride went past the farm where my husband grew up in Aurelia, IA.



Christopher Gannon/The Des Moines Register

On Wednesday, on the fourth day of the ride, in 100+ degree heat, with strong headwinds, while drafting with his team members, my husband had a terrible crash.  His tire met the tire of a team member ahead of him and he went down... hard.  I received a call that he was okay but going by ambulance to Marshalltown.  Thankfully Jess, the sole female on the team, rode along. 

I was in Coralville, about an hour and forty minutes away.  I hurried off to Marshalltown, not too worried... afterall, they said he was okay.  I entered the ER, it was overrun people clad in biking wear.  Most were sufferring from dehydration, in fact Jess's husband Josh was there receiving IV fluids.  I  found Brad in room 10 with six ribs with multiple fractures, a shattered collar bone, and a punctured lung.  Poor guy, he had a similar accident in September of 2009.  He had to stay in the hospital for two and a half days due to the punctured lung.  He had a very hard time breathing.

As bad as it is, he is very lucky.  He landed on his head and shoulder on his left side.  His helmet  
has 6 cracks on the inside, proving it did it's job. 

We traveled 6 hours from Iowa home to Indiana.  The husb never complained.  He contacted the doctor that helped him after his last accident and now has a catheter placed in his back, to the left of his spine that works like a sprinkler hose delivering a novacaine like product to the rib area.  He wears a sling to protect his collarbone. We have a lovely hospital bed in our bedroom.   Now it is a waiting game.  Everything has to heal on it's own.

Today, not quite two weeks later, he is attempting a short day at work.  Up until this weekend he did not drive.  We went out yesterday and bought a new helmet.  He is ever the optimist.  After 26 years of marriage you'd think some of that would rub off on me.

More Time in my Sewing Room...

When I visited my Skinny Sister at the beginning of the summer she picked out some fabrics from the Lucy's Crab Shack line for a table runner.  I hope to see her again next week and I have her table runner ready.  I love these fabrics from Moda by Sweetwater.  I purchased additional fabric for a t-shirt quilt I am working on.

My sister recently asked if I would make a quilt for a couple of friends celebrating their 25th anniversary... in August.  She wanted red and brown.  I am giving her this quilt from my stash.

Here are additional blocks for the Great Granny Along.  I went to our small JoAnn fabrics yesterday.  They are moving to a larger space next door to their current location and were having a close out sale.  I grabbed up a few DSQ bolts and they rang up at an additional 33% off. 

I am getting ready for Quilt Camp with my Iowa friends.  I think I will take my Grannies to work on.  I can't wait to see all the girls!

Did you get the Memo?...

I am running to JoAnn Fabrics this morning because I just discovered "Premium Quilting Fabrics" are 40% off.  {EDIT:  Premium Quilting fabrics are not on sale in-store until July 22, however they are on sale on-line.}This includes Denyse Schmidt Quilts fabrics, and as you know I am loving them.  If you do not have a local JoAnn you can shop on-line.  Use promotion code PAI228 and get free shipping with a minimum $35 purchase.

Here is Great Granny Block #3.  I am hooked!

It is going to be HOT in central Indiana.  It is a good day to stay in my sewing room!