A little of this, and a little of that

I'm not sure that you can see much  change on this landscape but most of it has been quilted now and some of the detail stitching on the school has happened.  This week I will start the embroidery in the foreground and this particular piece will have a lot of it - or at least such is the plan. 

The mailman has been rather nice and brought me two nice additions to my stash...

Some new yarn colors to add to my mile-a-minute afghan I'm crocheting and some of these little clips that I've had on my wish list for quite awhile.  

Today's quote.. "Remember when people had diaries and got mad when someone read them?  Now they put everything online and get mad when people don't"

The excitement knows no bounds!

 Yes, the excitement here at Chez Magpie can be just overwhelming.  Case in point?  See this?....

Take the lid off the homemade kefir jar and you'd better be ready to run before it takes over your life!  An experiment in cheese-making is now underway.  Yep, the excitement knows no bounds.

Today's quote is from Martin Luther King.."If you can't fly, then run.  If you can't run, then walk.  If you can't walk, then crawl.  But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward"

Some things for THAT day

 You know?  THAT day in December???  Well, here's some additions to 'The Box' - three pairs are heading there once they've received their non-slip bottom anointing and the other pair is being gifted now due to the untimely appearance of holes in a currently loved pair.  

The two pairs in the front fit a size 13 man, the orange pair fits a size 10-11 woman, and the purple would fit a size 7 ladies foot.

There's been more progress on the new landscape and it's starting to look a little better (at least IMHO anyway!)...

Today this is your quote..."He who blames others has a long way to go on his journey.  He who blames himself is halfway there.  He who blames no one has arrived"

At that stage...and it must be love?

 I'm at the stage with the current landscape where the possibility is great that it will land in that proverbial 'file area' that resides on the floor beside my table.  I have done this enough to know that I need to carry on and try to break through the ugly.  Many of you guessed what I was doing with that piece of blue woven fabrics I showed last time.

First of all, I will show you the photo I'm using as inspiration for this one - once more shared with me and permission granted for my use by Dale Stewart (thank you Dale, as always!)....

And here's where I'm at at the moment....

Yeah.  'nuff said.  Stay tuned for further developments!!

AND, yes it must be love when this piece of chocolate fudge appeared last night....handmade by the clever hands of Resident Chef.  Chocolate with peanut butter and decorated with dried cranberries.  Yeah, he loves me - even after all these years.

Today's quote.."At the store there was a big X by the register for me to stand on...I've seen too many Road Runner cartoons to fall for that one"

A yawner and a puzzle

 One more pair of felted slippers hot off the needles (I have discovered that I can knit a pair of these in about 12 hours...just so the curious among you can know)....

And....what do you suppose this might end up being?....

Today's quote..."I'm too busy working on my own grass to notice if yours is greener"

 Today, for something different (and because I haven't done much that's creative to show you) I thought I'd share something I came across on my travels around the internet.  There's much food for thought in this one and I hope you enjoy it...

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment,.
The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."
The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."
The older lady said that she was right our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day.
The older lady went on to explain: Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.
But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then. We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building.
We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.
Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.
Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.
Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.
We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the "green thing" back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing."
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then?

Unfortunately I don't know the original author.  If you do, let me know and I'll happily give credit.

Actually, I DID start a new project that is likely going to take me awhile.   See?.....

The pattern can be found HERE and if you want to see a better example of what I'm creating have a peek HERE.  I'm using 'Sugar and Cream' yarn.

Today the quote is from Mother Teresa..."I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things"

A hodge podge of mumbles

 It's been a few days of not much happening on the creative front.  I did finish knitting another pair of slippers that will be felted eventually and took a picture with my size 11 foot included so you can see just how much these need to shrink in the felting process.  

And....this was the sight that greeted me when I got up early this morning - the view is over the river that runs just outside our apartment building...

I don't normally include too many family pictures on my blog but I simply can't resist this one...

 He's a man who loves his peanut butter!

Today's quote is from Zig Ziglar - "If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you.  If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you"

Another finish!!

 It's finished!  At least I'm saying it is anyway....

FOR SALE!

Created from a photo by Dale Stewart,
and used with his kind permission.

The quote of the day - "5 by 5 rule:  If it's not gonna matter in 5 years, don't spend more than 5 minutes being upset about it"

A mini update

This is not the post I had planned to do for today but it's been an upsetting morning and I'm behind in what I need to be doing.  Don't worry, we're okay - but I was dealing with an elderly friend who isn't.

So....just so I have a picture or two, here's a couple quickly-taken close-ups of the latest landscape...

The landscape is very close to being complete and hopefully I'll have photos of that for you next time.

Today's quote..."Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner" 

One never knows what one might find here!

 I keep eyeing my bag filled with yarn odds and ends and wondering what I could make to use some of them up.  It suddenly came to my attention that such a thing as mile-a-minute afghan patterns are out there and wouldn't that be the perfect use for those partial balls of yarn.  I made one strip and weighed the ball of yarn before and after and came up with how many oz. I need to make a strip.  Resident Chef then undertook to weigh all my leftover yarns and we sorted them into what I can use for my afghan.  I will need to augment for a few colours I would like to use but otherwise I think I can pretty much make a useable blanket.  Useable is the key word here because, like much of what I do, I don't have any use for said blanket.  It will go in the Christmas box and maybe will 'bless' some poor unsuspecting soul in December.  

There follows a mini-rant so be prepared!

One would think, if one thought upon such things, that paying a lot more for something that's supposed to be 'better quality' would mean that I wouldn't be taking a picture and circling in RED what happened to my office chair this morning.  One would think that one would be comfortable in said chair for several years to come.  One would think that, wouldn't one.  Well....said chair has had a massive squeak since Day One and has required many applications of the wonder elixer called WD-40.  I'm sad to say that WD-40 can't fix this.  The arm rest snapped right off very nearly dumping moi very ingloriously onto the floor.  Resulting screech of dismay brought Resident Chef running, only to have to wade through the air that was rapidly turning blue.  Sigh.

anybody got any spare gold lying around?
One chair, in need....

Painterly - and not of the fun kind!

 Precious little has been done on the creative front - at least not in terms of the type of creativity I like best!  Instead I've repainted our bathroom.  Anybody who has painted a bathroom knows exactly how much of a PIA it is!  The colour hasn't changed much - it's just gone from a grey-blue to a more blue-blue but the paint is the 'proper' paint for a bathroom.  What we used before wasn't and it came back to haunt us in the form of checking and a growth of mildew.  I primed all the mildewed and checked areas first and then applied two coats of paint.  Just having to tape off around all the little areas is enough to make me talk to myself...and then the removal of the tape led to areas that pulled off the paint (!!) so had to go around and do a bunch of touch ups.  Now this is the view in there...

Resident Chef is on his knees uttering rather colorful words as he tries to replace the caulking around the tub.  If you embiggen the picture perhaps you can see the shower tile and the vanity top....the tile is probably 50 years old and can't be replaced (or better term would be - won't be replaced because the building management won't .... unless it's so badly damaged that it has to be).  It's in good shape but dated so it's difficult to come up with a paint colour that blends.  Of course the blue in the vanity top is entirely different from the shower tile too.   

It's a very dinky sized bathroom so almost impossible to get any sort of picture to show you but here you can see the paint colour a little better.  

 I've added a little more of the detail to the landscape I was working on, along with sandwiching it ready to start the quilting and further detail work.  Not sure if I'll be able to complete this one though because my supply of glitter I use for details in the snow has dwindled and it appears it's in short supply at the moment.  Guess everybody else is using it too!

Here's your quote for the day..."The secret to living well and longer is to eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure"

Big Foot?

 Last night I finished knitting the first of four pairs of felted slippers.  These look like clown shoes when they're knitted but they do felt down to actually fit our son (size 13 foot).  I have made these slippers for our family for years and there's always special requests for more so I guess they must like them!

The pattern is the 'Felt Clogs' by Fiber Trends.

And, just for fun, here's a picture of a 'before' and 'after' of the slippers, just to show how much they shrink in the felting process...

Over the weekend I also finished making the backing for the vintage linens quilt.  This is a horrible picture but I can't seem to get you anything much better...

The pink section was a piece of fabric I've had lurking in my stash for far too long...the bits of green used up all but one teeny little scrap of that fabric (and it's the one that I used for the cornerstones and final border on the front of the quilt....the sides and top used up some eyelet that was also lurking in my stash.  The entire thing measures about 72" square.  Unfortunately I can't go ahead and quilt it because I don't have enough batting at the moment.  I checked into mail ordering it and at the rate of over $30 just for shipping it's going to wait until I can get to a store myself which isn't about to happen for quite some time due to the lockdowns.  To be truthful I do have a big enough piece of batting but if I want to do any more landscapes I will need it for those.

Here's a closeup of the fabric I used on the back...

Today's quote..."Always be careful when you follow the masses.  Sometimes the M is silent"

Almost done!

 Yesterday I finished the flimsy....

OH wait!  No I didn't!  I discovered I have JUST enough of the pretty green fabric I used for the little squares to make a 3" border around the outside.  It's like the galloping ick - it just keeps growing and growing!  This will be it though because if it gets any larger it will be entirely too unwieldy to attempt to quilt...

And this is the hunk of fabric I plan to use on the back, provided my stash yields some more fabric to cobble it up to the same size as the front.  I bought this piece of fabric a few years ago and have NO clue whatever possessed me.  I don't even like pink!  It's textured too (ruffled here and there) and so won't be something that could be quilted on a longarm machine.  'Course it might not be quiltable at home either!!!  Methinks I might have to hand quilt this beast and therein lies the next problem.  Hmmm.....wonder if I could try quilting it with crochet cotton....I have lots of that.....

The green you see in the photo will be the additional border I plan to add to the front.  I have JUST enough of it to go around I think ((fingers crossed!!)

Today's quote..."To make a difference in someone's life, you don't have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful or perfect.  You just have to care"

The addition(s)

 The flimsy from my previous post will have these added around the outside, which will result in the overall size increasing by about 12.  That brings it to a size that's more to my liking.  AND - the biggest bonus out of all this?  My drawer that was crammed full of 'fodder' has been reduced by at least half.  Woo hoo!!!!  

Once I get these added to the original the next step will be cobbling together a backing from my stash.  I have something in mind that I want to use up but I fear it's too small.  Might have to do more than cobble!  I have talked myself out of taking it to a longarm quilter and plan to tackle it myself.  It will be pretty plain quilting but at least it's cheap!

I haven't had much time lately to work on the 'Making Space' Challenge but I did come across two bags of paper pieces that would be good for crafting (or for those who scrapbook) so they're heading down to the laundry room to bless someone else.  With the kids being off school due to the pandemic perhaps they might have fun with it.  That brings my total to 48 items.  

The quote today is from Martin Luther King..."The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people"

An almost finish

 According to the directions for the online class this project is now a flimsy ready to quilt.  However I'm a bit of a rebel so I have decided to add to it.  Two reasons for that - the fact that it only measures about 54" square right now AND the fact that I still have stash to use up.  So, onward I go....and you'll have to wait to see what happens next.

It's really hard to get a decent picture, particularly on a dull day but this is the best I can come up with.  

Today's quote is from Helen Keller - "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much"

A finish and another step

 There has been a bit more done for the vintage linens quilt project - the blocks are all done and now it's on  to the putting together with the sashing.  

And....a completed evening project!  There are two upcoming weddings this year and this is the second wedding gift done.  The pattern is 'Annie's Lace Throw' and can be found on the Mary Maxim web site.  

And...just because I can....a photo of Resident Chef's fresh-out-of-the oven (but not so fresh that one wasn't taste tested!)  sourdough English muffins...

- AND - in the interest of the fact that you just never know what you might discover here at Chez Magpie...did you know....to stop bananas from over-ripening overly fast....let them reach the degree of ripeness you prefer and then separate them.  Stick them in the refrigerator and they won't ripen any more.  The skins turn a little black perhaps but the fruit stays pretty much the same.  There now, aren't you better for knowing that?

Today's quote is from the brilliant mind of Ralph Waldo Emerson..."You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late"

Happy feet

 Resident Chef has happy feet (or at least so he says!) because he has a new pair of socks....

Pattern is the generic one I prefer and used up a ball of yarn I had lurking in my stash.  

I'm afraid I can't show you any progress on the landscape because, quite simply, there hasn't been any.  Instead I've been puttering at making these....

And, here's the overall look of the project so far(sorry about the horrible dull pictures today - there isn't a glimmer of sun outside!)....

All pictures are clickable to embiggen

Today's quote..."One tree can start a forest; one smile can begin a friendship; one hand can lift a soul; one word can frame a goal.  One candle can wipe out darkness; one laugh can conquer glom; one hope can raise your spirits; one touch can show you care.  One life can make the difference.  Be that one today"

Next steps

 Another step in the quilt I'm making using vintage linens.  The center block is supposed to be a dresden plate but my stash didn't lend itself to that so I'm using this pretty piece of embroidery that my maternal Grandma made instead....

The colours are perfect for what I've already done too, so that's an additional bonus.  I certainly didn't want to cut into this one so it's nice that I could use the whole thing.  

And, there's been some progress on the landscape.  I finished embroidering the snowflakes on the border and it only took me four days!! 

Today's quote..."You can't control anyone else, but you can control yourself, your thoughts, your words, your choices, your actions, your reactions and your future"

Let there be snowflakes!

 Yes, there's snowflakes - of the kind I like (not the cold wet yucky ones that are outside!).  I'm adding cross stitched/embroidered snowflakes on the border of my latest landscape.  For some reason they needed to be there so who am I to argue?

I'm using waste canvas to do these and no two are alike, just like real snowflakes.

Today's quote..."I feel like my greatest accomplishment today has been not saying what I'm thinking out loud"

4 more

 Here are the last four star blocks for 'the project I said I wouldn't do (TPISIWD)'...

And....some progress on the latest landscape....

Today's quote is from Shaista Saba - "Walk away from people who put you down.  Walk away from fights that will never be resolved.  Walk away from trying to please people who will never see your worth.  The more you walk away from things that poison your soul, the healthier you will be"

Succumb-tion???!!!!

 Remember awhile ago I gave you the link to Rhonda Dort's free online class utilizing vintage linens/hankies/doilies?  I seem to remember also saying that I didn't plan to play along.  Well then, how do you explain this.....

The 'innards' of these blocks are all hankies - most of them once belonging to my grandmother who died in the early 1960's.  

And while I'm at it, why not add something else to the mix and start this.....

The sky was created using shaving cream/paint technique that I like to play with because it creates a moody winter look.

We won't mention how much of a mess it makes to do!  

Oh, and we won't mention the pair of socks being worked on OR the crocheted afghan being created.

OOOPS!

Today this is your quote....