Crafting....

 Well, the weather has been a bit dreary and grey lately. We had a small skim of snow overnight on Sunday, but it has since melted off, except for a bit in north-facing, shaded spots....So, thought I'd post a more cheery header. This is a log cabin afghan that I crocheted quite a few years ago. I put all my yarn ball-ends in two bags, one of light coloured balls, and one of dark coloured balls and just pulled out whatever my hand grabbed and went with it, keeping the darks and lights in their proper sequence, of course.

Last spring, I started knitting this sweater for Hubby,

and worked away at it, mostly in the evenings. Being a 'typical' man, he just knew I was knitting, (again), and never asked what I was making. It has been stashed away all summer. Recently, I dug out the pieces, blocked and sewed them together while he was out. It still needs the buttons put on and a final blocking done.

Over the summer and fall, I was able to work through a few pairs of socks for Christmas giving.

These long, dark mornings are helpful, as I can never adjust to the fall time change, and still arise around the same time as in the summer, which works out to be between 4 and 5 AM. There is a pair for our son, for Hubby, his brother, (still working on them), and one for my friend. Also for my friend, is a shawl I've been puttering away at for forever..it seems.

It got put away so many times, as it got boorrringg! But, now it is done, and I hope she enjoys it's bit of warmth while she waits for the fire to get going in the mornings, while sipping her morning beverage.

An afghan...a C2C crocheted blanket, just random stripes, made out of an easy wash and wear acrylic, for our son. That also was put away for a long time, but finished this fall. The yarn was purchased for a much more interesting cat-patterned afghan, but on starting it, I changed my mind, as it was way too involved and I knew it would never be finished.

In September, I joined a hand quilting circle, and we worked away on some things, a couple of hot pads to start, then I made a pillow top and just completed that.

Our ancestors used to make quilts all by hand, and it is relaxing, and yes, addictive (!) to stitch away. It is a very portable craft as well. This brings to mind a  memory of long ago, when my mother had me cut out tiny squares, probably no bigger than 2 inchers, and showed me how to sew them together, by hand. It was a scrappy 9 patch. Many years later, when I returned home after a sojourn overseas, I found, on my bed, my little uneven blocks all sashed and made into a quilt. She had rooted out my squares and made me a quilt as a coming home gift. I'm sure she had to reinforce some of my wobbling stitch lines! That quilt has long since disintegrated, but was such a lovely surprise at the time, as I'd forgotten all about those labourously sewn together squares. Now with acrylic rulers and rotary cutters, one can be much more accurate.

Here are some squares and rectangles cut out ready for today's class, as I am hoping to make at least the center of this quilt, (a festive pillow top?), or if I get really ambitious, perhaps I'll finish the whole thing.

As for the garden...it is pretty much bare now, the herbs are keeled over from the frost, although the kale is still usable. The glad corms got cleaned and hung up in onion bags in the cool room. I had a lovely sunny day to do the job.

It always is amazing to see the shriveled up, depleted remains of what was, the spring-planted fat bulb, adhering to the bottom of the new, bigger corm.  Those old corms produced 2 flower spikes each, some even threw up a third spike, and grew a new corm as well!