Crafting Update, November

 I'm going to roll the knitting and sewing/stitching updates into one post this month.

Currently, I am working on Buck's Christmas stocking.  I started it in mid-October, and worked down the first several inches until I got to the part where the name goes.  Ehen I set it aside until after his birth, since DD1 and Honorary Son were keeping the name they had chosen a secret until his arrival.  

Last week, once I knew who he was, I charted the name, and went back to knitting.  As of last night, I am probably about half way done with the stocking.  If I can continue knitting at the rate I have in the past five days, it should be done in time to hand over to DD1 at Thanksgiving.

In the interim--while waiting on Buck's IRL name--I whipped up a sweater for Faline's upcoming second birthday.  I need to sew on the buttons and block it, but otherwise it's finished. I used the Sunday Sweater pattern in a size 2/3 and adapted the buttonhole placket to accommodate 6 buttons (instead of the patterned 3) so that it will close all the way from neck to waist.  The photo below really doesn't do the color justice; it's actually a very purple purple, not bluish at all.

And then there is Buck's quilt. . . I used 6" star blocks, as I had in Faline's baby quilt, to keep a common pattern between siblings.  For the 'solid' blocks (the non-stars) I found some cute Harry Potter themed fabric, as both Honorary Son and DD1 are HP fans.  The stars were all made in fabrics that had some sort of meaning to DD1 and Honorary Son. . .

The main fabric

The star in the exact center of the quilt

Cats, as they both love cats (and Faline's quilt also had some stars with cats)

Soccer balls, as Honorary Son played soccer all through high school (and, ironically, when DD1 started high school she swore up and down she would never date a soccer player--both her brothers had played soccer all through high school and she thought their teammates were dumb).

John Deere, because all my grandbabies have to have a green tractor in their quilt somehow; they all grow to love taking rides on Papa's tractor.  

Also Winnie the Pooh (as background), which has a story behind it.  The Pooh fabric I used is some that I bought when DD1 was still in high school.  She had seen it at the store while fabric shopping with me, commented that she liked it and wouldn't it be great in a quilt for her future son some day?  Unbeknownst to her, I bought a yard and stashed it away until this year.

Music notes.  Music is such a big part of Honorary Son, I had to include not one, but two fabrics with musical notes.  The lighter colored one became stars.  The darker (the black on the background of the soccer blocks) is a tone-on-tone music note fabric too. The skinny inner border of the quilt is also in the black music fabric.

The finished top

For the first time ever, I had to go with a 2 fabric pieced backing.  It was a big step requiring much deliberation, but I had to do it.  You see, the blue fabric (Frog & Toad) I had bought in 2017 when I saw it in a fabric shop in Seward, Alaska.  But I could only get two yards.  I figured I would find it again somewhere after returning home from that trip and get more, enough for--you guessed it--a future quilt for a future grandson. But it proved impossible to find more when I went looking, and looking, and looking, and Googling multiple times in the last couple of years. 

So, if I was ever going to put that awesome fabric in a quilt, I was going to have to find complimenting fabric and do a pieced backing.  Which really caused me a lot of emotional turmoil because I really like backings that are all the same fabric even if it means the painstaking cutting and matching of designs on directional fabric. Cuz yeah, I'm kinda anal like that. Then I happened upon a picture of a pieced backing done in 9-patch style, and I knew that was the one and only acceptable way of putting together the back of this quilt.

A flannel giant 9-patch

Definitely the right way to treat my fabric dilemma.  I like this quilt back a lot.

Since August, when I last posted a knitting and reading update, I've read six books:

Outsider by Linda Castillo.  Another great Kate Burkholder mystery.  It's so hard for me to limit myself to only 2 or maybe 3 titles in this series per year, but I don't want them to end, so in order not to reach the last book too quickly, I'm pacing myself. This one is 12 of 15, so there's not very many left to read. I sure hope the author cranks out a few more in 2023!

Dead Broke by Vannetta Chapman.  This is the 2nd of a trilogy.  I liked it far better than the first one.  I felt that it was much better written, more along the lines of the mystery novels that had made me like this author many years ago.

The Way North: Collected Upper Peninsula New Works, edited by Ron Riekki. By and large, I didn't care for the stories and poems in this book.  There were a few that I liked, but overall it was just so dark and dismal.  Yes, there's a lot of poverty in the UP, but there's also a lot of people in that poverty who have sunnier outlooks than what was expressed by these writers.  I just found the focus too depressing and leaning toward the hard part of UP living without expressing the many positive points that exist despite the struggle.

The Orchard by Beverly Lewis. This is her newest one, that I've been waiting most of the year to be published. It was a quick read, and didn't disappoint.

Women Talking by Miriam Toews.  This was a book that made me think.  I had requested it from the library after seeing previews for the movie.  The previews looked interesting, but also like the movie would probably be done in a way that I wouldn't want to watch it (I have a thing about tv and movies that portray violence towards women, or women being stalked, or women being held captive; it's not entertaining, it's stressful to be exposed to. Maybe shades of PTSD from a former relationship?).  I'm glad I decided to read the book.  Yes, the topic is all the things I don't want to watch, but the way the book is written it was very good to read and think about.

Dead Set by Vannetta Chapman.  The third and final book in this series.  Not as good as Dead Broke, the writing (and editing--gah, I hate poor editing) were more along the lines of the first book in the series.  This plot line just seemed too unbelievable for the main character and I felt it had strayed from the level of the second book.

I Shall Call Him Brad

 Brad is a new addition to the blog.  He's actually been around for over a year, but so far he's escaped mention here. 

Brad was brought to the this little place here family by DD2.  After pretty much spending her whole adult life (about 6 years since she was almost 24 when they met) insisting that she had no use for dating, because to her dating was a method of choosing your mate for life and she had no intention of getting married in the next decade or longer, DD2 stumbled upon Brad.  In a bookstore.  While she was out with some long time friends.  Just looking for an interesting book to buy, not at all looking for a boyfriend.

Brad happens to be a big Lord of The Rings fan, as is DD2, and it was that fact that caused him and her to meet.  In a bookstore, in the sci fi section.  Probably the last place you'd think to look if you were in want of a soul mate. Which she didn't think she was.  Until she met and got to know Brad.

Brad was a secret.  A secret from me for over a month, until DD2 hesitantly told me--through a long and convoluted story about going out to dinner at a new to us restaurant the night before with 'a friend'--that she, actually, had changed her stance on dating and now had a boyfriend.  She thought.  But not to tell anyone, especially family, until she had tried him out for longer. And apparently that's the blunt way she'd put it to Brad: their boyfriend/girlfriend status was on a trial period and was to be kept to themselves until they decided whether or not to continue.

So they'd known each other for about three whole months before Brad met a few of our large clan at the Thanksgiving dinner held at DD1 and Honorary Son's house.  That was actually the first time he met DH also. 

Why is he called Brad?  That was K3's doing, when she found out that her aunt DD2 had a boyfriend (never in her 9 years of life, had her aunt DD2 had a boyfriend!).  K3 asked, if he was actually a real boyfriend--because she couldn't believe this story--what his name was.  DD2, not wanting him to become widely known, didn't divulge his name, instead asked K3 what she thought a good boyfriend name was.  After thinking for a minute, K3 said, "I don't know . . .  Brad???".  And so, for a long time, he was referred to by all of us as Brad.  

I had been given the honor of meeting him in October, about six weeks after their first trail date (about three weeks after DD2 informed me she had a boyfriend), and while he seemed nice enough, I was reserving my deciding if I liked him or not until after I'd been able to observe him for several months, in several situations.  Because experience with meeting my childrens' chosen significant others has proved that they're always on their best behavior the first few interactions you have with them, and their real personalities don't come out until later.

So, more than a year later, Brad is still with us.  He's been to a few more family gatherings, has finally met all DD2's siblings and siblings-in-law, but other than my own parents, he hasn't met any extended family yet. He and DD2 spend most of their non-working time together, and have also taken a few trips both as a couple and with groups of friends from both sides. I'm fairly sure he's here to stay.  I guess it's time to put him into the this little place here story. . . 

Do I like him?  Well, he seems a little privileged (waaayyy different background/upbringing), and a little lacking in real life skills, but he's a nice person who appears to genuinely care for DD2 and want to take care of her.   If she'll let him.  She's fiercely independent. Kind of like her mother.

Buck Has Arrived!

Three weeks before his original due date--and induced due to DD1's increasingly complicated health (diabetes, thyroid, high blood pressure and kidney issues)--Buck has arrived!  

Who is Buck?  He's my newest grandbaby!  Grandchild #5, grandson #3, he was born in the wee hours of Halloween morning, and despite being only barely 37 weeks gestation, he is a chunky almost 7.5 pounds!  Which is about half a pound more than his sister Faline weighed  when she was born at 39 weeks.

He's healthy, and alert, and DD1 is doing well enough that they were released late afternoon yesterday (Nov. 2nd).  I  received this picture as they were loading up to leave the hospital.  Looks like a fully cooked baby to me. (face blurred for privacy)

I was working feverishly on getting his baby quilt done (too many projects at this little place here this fall, and his birthdate getting pushed up several weeks put me behind on quilt construction).   Being in charge of Faline since Oct 30th didn't work real well with getting it finished in time for his homecoming, but it did get done slightly after. 

wind didn't cooperate for good quilt posterity pics

a pieced 9-patch back

I was able to meet Buck, and deliver his quilt, this afternoon.  I see a lot of Honorary Son in him, although based on how long his arms, legs, and feet are compared to the rest of him, I suspect Buck might grow taller than Honorary Son and his side of the family.  Time will tell.  He definitely has long thin fingers (like me!); perhaps he'll play piano and guitar with his dad someday.

Stay Tuned. . .

 So, so much has been going on at this little place here the last two months.  In one way, I can't believe I haven't posted anything since the beginning of September, but yet, that would have required sitting down at the computer and I've barely sat down let alone sat down at the computer!  And we finally got a new computer to replace our old laptop that has had numerous ailments that come and go and come again for several years now.  So learning my way around the new computer too--like how/where to download and store pictures to it.  

Maybe in a few weeks I can get back to regularly posting.  There's so much to talk about!  And show in pictures (after I sit down at the computer long enough to figure out the picture thing on this much newer--not running on Windows 7 anymore--system!)  Once Buck (grandbaby #5) is born, I won't be doing babysitting duty with Faline twice a week until after her mama's maternity leave ends.  So I should find myself with a lot more time on my hands around the beginning of November.  

In the meanwhile, you can be teased by knowing there will be posts on these topics:

• knitting
• quilting (a new baby quilt!  And maybe even another new one after that.)
• horseback riding
• gardening
• my experiment with growing canna lilies from seed
• DH gets a promotion and a shop
• building projects in my (horse) barn
• my thoughts on life at 50
• relocating an asparagus bed
• cooking
• frugal living
• what the replacement for my trusty rusty Suburban will be when it is retired at 300,00 miles (less than 7500 to go!)

Hope to be back in the blogging groove soon.  I just need to survive the next few weeks first, including having Faline multiple days & nights in a row when her brother is born and her parents are busy at the hospital doing that.  She's almost two, smart as a whip, stubborn as a mule (aka her grandma),  runs like the Energizer bunny and has entered a phase where she doesn't believe she needs to sleep. I swear, I have so many deja vu moments with her.  Not like "oh I remember her mother doing this at this age". Nope, more like "holy crap, I'm pretty sure I just saw my own self at this age" kind of deja vu.  

Abundance

 Because the word "Abundance" sounds way more positive than "Overwhelm" does.  LOL.

It has been an abundant (aka overwhelming) summer at this little place here.  So many blessings, but with such blessings comes responsibility.  And responsibility often looks a whole lot like work.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I've been running hard this summer. I'd be lying if I said I'm not feeling pretty near burnout at this point.   But, I'd be lying if I didn't also mention how great it is to have a huge garden bounty put up to eat all winter and spring (with more to harvest and store yet in the coming month), and a full to bursting hay loft, and four cool grandkids to spend time with, and long-time dreams slowly coming to fruition this fall.

There's been some major projects started lately, and lots of sweat equity yet to put in before those projects are done hopefully before the ground freezes this winter.  

The garden isn't near finished yet, so there's lots of canning to do still.  School started a few weeks ago, so I'm back to a two-afternoon a week babysitting schedule with Faline, who is quite a forceful personality.   And grandbaby #5, Buck, is due in roughly two months, so I really really need to get started on sewing his quilt!

Horse Update, August

 Looking through my notes for the past four weeks, I've ridden inside alot.  More than I thought, actually.  Hmm.  Need to get back outside when the weather (ie not 80 degrees with 90 percent humidity at 9 a.m.) and the footing allow.

Outdoors, Camaro is coming along in his workmanlike attitude--rather than being easily distractable.  We walk, trot, and canter outdoors.  Not as nicely as we do indoors, but that's to be expected.  It's a work in progress.  Last year I really wouldn't have thought about cantering in the outdoor arena because Camaro was so apt to spook at crap.  Now, when it's time to canter, we canter!  We also do leg yields at walk while going up and down the hill (the outdoor arena is on a definite uphill slope from A to C. . .). We do serpentines at walk and trot. We do 10m and 20m circles at walk and trot, and 15m or 20m at canter.  

Indoors, WOW!!!  Has this horse found his hindquarters and learned to engage his back!  All three gaits are so. much. better. than at the beginning of the summer.  Canter departs are pretty much exact at the trot (I confess I haven't tried from the walk yet, wanted to get relaxed departs from trot before going walk to canter).  The canter itself is balanced.  We can do circles as well as turn up or down the centerline and across the long diagonals.  Today we even played with going from nice working canter to bigger canter on the long side and back to a more collected canter at the short end.  

Leg yields are coming along nicely at walk.  Off the right leg, they flow, and now and then I ask for a few strides at trot, which is hit and miss.  Off the left leg, we're getting better.  Still mostly sticky, although we can usually get 1-2 honest to goodness LY steps before he loses it and either comes above the bit or bulges his right shoulder.  Now and then we hit 3 or even 4 LY steps in a row.  But his left shoulder is his slightly steeper one (he's a touch club footed), so I'm guessing that has something to do with it. He has a chiropractor appointment on Monday and I'm going to ask her opinion on that theory.

I haven't tried asking him for travers yet, but I think I will soon.  That will be a new thing for him. Now that he's not so confused about the canter aid, we might be ready to try a little travers at walk.  My feeling is that it will be fairly easy for him to move his hindquarters in as long as he doesn't confuse that outside leg aid with asking for a canter.

For your viewing pleasure, below is a from behind picture of Camaro's rump.  I'm really excited about how round it has become in the course of the last few months.  He's getting some nice muscling over his topline, and is just so much stronger in the hindquarters.  Hillwork (in the outdoor arena), plus lots of transitions, are starting to have a positive effect.

I'm a little bummed that my personal schedule didn't work out for us to go to any shows this summer, but we have made quite a bit of progress in our skills. Rather than being sorta, almost training level (canter?  Is that a thing we can do?), I feel that now we are solidly training level and touching at first level.  Hopefully we can keep that progress going into the Fall and Winter (school starts next week where DD1 teaches, so it's going to get trickier for me to ride 3 or more days a week like I have been able to over the summer).  

There is a possibility that the barn where I board is going to host a small schooling show in October, so maybe we will get to dance for a judge this year after all.

Knitting Update, August

 So very little knitting happening lately.  I think, since the last (all encompassing) update, I have knit 5?? rows on sock #2 of the Trickle socks.  And that was done while sitting outside at a fire one evening with DH. 

burning old miscellaneous scrap wood;

our firepit area is moving soon to make way for DH's long awaited pole barn

Here is what the sock currently looks like:

There is a whole lot going on at this little place here in the next few months, so I'm not sure how quickly I will actually get this sock finished.  Also school starts back up in a few more weeks, which means back to babysitting Faline 2 afternoons a week.  However, now that she's almost two years old and curious about everything--and almost faster on her feet than I am--I don't dare take my knitting with me to her house anymore.  I've all ready BTDT with other toddler grandkids pulling needles out of stitches because they wanted to see how it worked.

While the knitting has been languishing, I have read a bit, though, here and there, reading Death of a Cookbook Author by Lee Hollis (first I've read by this author, it was okay.  Not sure if I'll read more), Movieland by Lee Goldberg (the latest Eve Ronin mystery, it was terrific!!), and What You Wish For by Katherine Center (love her novels).

Right now I'm reading The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson, and, when I feel like I need a dose of something lighter, I've started reading The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan.