It went well

Surgery went well.  Recovery will be slow.  I am well taken care of and I appreciate all your prayers and good wishes.  My pain is much less after surgery than before surgery, the doctor removed much more arthritis than he anticipated.  All good...now to heal.

We have a change in plans and I will do part of my recovery in East Grand Forks at Jen, Andy and Sadies home.  

I finally finished my Mosaic Afghan "Hush" the day before I had surgery.

It is just as pretty from the front as it is in the back.  I am very pleased with it and have started another project to replace it. 

I will be back when possible.

Far Side

Almost done

 I am almost done with my Mosaic Crochet "Hush".  I did not make my goal of a finish in May, hopefully it will be a June finish. Fingers crossed.

Since Mosaic crochet is worked one row at a time from right to left one row/yarn color at a time there are many ends to tie. 

Those tied ends are sticking up and the envelope border has been worked but not closed yet. 

Here I folded it over so you can see how it looks as a finished border.

I have already decided what will replace this project...and it involves using up a considerable amount of left overs from other projects.  

I ran errands while Far Guy had his infusion yesterday, the usual grocery pick up at Walmart and a quick trip into Aldi and even a quicker trip into Hugos.  Gas for the car was $2.99 a gallon but if you told the cashier it was your lucky day you got 15 cents off every gallon.  A little old lady passed that info onto me...and I in turn passed it onto a young lady with lots of kids in her car. 

Supper was a ham sandwich and cherries. 

Minnesota Weather: High 71F or 22C  Low was 47F or 9C eh!  It spit rain in the morning.

I mowed the yard in the afternoon and killed some corn field ants..the buggers. 

Far Side

Red

 I made the 50 rows on my Hush Mosaic Project in a week..the rows are 160 stitches long.  That is many stitches in a week.  I put the stitch marker in place again. I have five new rows. 

I am not sure if it needs 50 more rows this week...I keep holding it up..it still needs more. I will see how the week goes.  Then I need at least a week to do the envelope border to enclose all those ends.  Progress is slow but sure.  I am using a size 4 mm crochet hook and Stylecraft Special DK. 

We had  vibrant visitor.

My best photo through the window...a male Scarlet Tanager. 

Yesterday I mowed the front yard, cleaned one bathroom, scrubbed some floors and did some laundry. 

Supper was pulled pork, jambalya, green beans and a biscuit. 

Minnesota Weather: The wind was cold. ( I should have dressed warmer when I mowed and wore gloves.) The high was 50 F or 10 C and the low was 36 F or 3 C. 

Highlight of the day: The mailman brought a couple of deliveries...new projects,  a morning nap and our June great grand baby just may be a May great grand baby.  Prayers for Maddie and baby. 

Far Side

My Red Basket

 My red basket has been full of yarn for a good long time.  It is Mosaic Crochet and it is called Hush.  This is my second blanket in this pattern.  

This is how it ended up when we lost power early Friday morning.  I had to get out my book light and read... finally gave up and went back to sleep...even though the security system was beeping telling me that the power was out.

Hush in Fall colors.   I started on this afghan November 18, 2023...uffda that was a while back.

Last Monday I put in a stitch marker to see if I could crochet 50 rows before a week is up (I have 42 rows added now)...and then possible 50 plus or minus rows the next week and then it could be enveloped in the border.    

I guess I made it a priority to finish up in May.  A goal. Keeping my fingers crossed!

One thing I finished this week was the final drawer #17 in the kitchen...the spice drawer.  Now to finish the rest of the cupboards in the kitchen...several are done...a few more to go and that project will be done too.  All in good time.

 It finally rained here and our high temperature yesterday was 52 F or 12 C  that is a whole lot cooler than it was earlier this week. 

For supper we made lasagna together about noon and put it in the fridge to marinate a bit so it was easy to throw in the oven by who ever was awake prior to supper (Far Guy) he woke me up when it was done and the table was set.  Rainy afternoon calls for double naps!

Far Side

Sunny

 I finished the Sunny Yellow cheerful baby blanket.  It joins a green one waiting for a baby.  The yarn is Baby Bee from Hobby Lobby called Snugs and Kisses...I believe I used 4 skeins. 

I have not replaced this project yet..although there is yarn waiting in the wings for the next baby blanket...maybe two.

I am TRYING to work on an old mosaic crochet project that has been languishing around for a long time.  

We still have warmer than normal weather but it may freeze this weekend...so there is Minnesota for ya. 

My baby brother's bride, Beth and I went to Cousins lunch yesterday.   Nice to see the gals! 

Supper was Naan bread pizza and fruit.  

Sunny warm weather 90 F or 33 C eh...gale force winds all day and we are so dry they have issued Red Flag warnings for most of Minnesota.    There are fires North and East of us ...one of Far Guy's Classmates lost his home to a wildfire over the weekend. 

Far Side

Progress is slow

 I washed a window today and Far Guy did one more...maybe tomorrow we can get another one done.  We are slow but steady.  

This afghan is still in my work basket...I have been working on it off and on...mostly off... for a year.  The Fall like colors should inspire me!

The deer hunters around here were quiet...I didn't hear any shots.  It spit rain here when I was washing that window on the outside. It was not cold enough to snow. 

Far Side

A finish

 I had a Summer project and now that Summer is nearly over and Fall is almost beginning...officially Fall arrives tomorrow. 

My project has been completed. 

It is a mosaic pattern called Hush.  I love the pattern as it  is easily done while watching TV.  There is no rhyme or reason to my color sequence...I just picked seven colors of blues and yellows and used them every which way.

I am off to a craft retreat for a couple of days.  I am just an hour away from home.  Far Guy has some projects planned while I am gone. 

 We have 104 Christmas ornaments ready to paint some time in October. I was very happy to get the final ornaments through Quality Control and touch up...Far Guy did all the woodcarving this year.

Far Side

Tale of two blankets

 I started Winter Wonderland in November of 2021...lets see that was 19 months ago.  

I can finally cross it off my list!  I put it upstairs to give away someday. Not sure who will get it...I will know when the time is right.

I used a 4 mm hook for the blanket and a 3.5 mm hook for the envelope border.  I used Stylecraft DK yarn in many different colors for the Winter Wonderland CAL.

Then I attacked these balls of Bernat yarn that I got at a rummage sale...for $2 it was too good of a deal to pass up.

I finished it in a couple of evenings.  I washed the blanket and sent it off to be used before I took a photo. 

It turned out great!  I like Bernat yarn for kids blankets as it is so soft and cuddly.  It also can be thrown in the washer and dryer! 

Far Side

Progress

 I am making slow progress on my Nordic Mosaic crochet project.

Pictured are Nordic Snowflakes, Wintergreen Trees and Nordic Star.  I have a start on the Nordic Trees in the upper part of the photo.  I am on part 6 of 9.  

Far Side

Red and White and Black and White

 My newest start of a project.  A Nordic Mosaic pattern all done in red and white. 

It is not going very fast!  I stopped to do those Mosaic bags. 

Baxter thought one of the red yarn balls was a ball...no harm done...but he got my attention real fast! 

We had a quiet day Saturday.   Trying to figure out what day will be a baking day this week...most likely Wednesday...pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie in a pan without a crust ( we have a number of Gluten Free people)....mashed potatoes which can only be done just before we eat.  

I am still working on the old photo scanning project in my spare time. 

A dog on a farm truck at my Paternal Grandparents home.

Far Side 

This week

 I got to see baby Maziar who lives in Boston, he is my baby brothers Grandson.  I last saw Maz  when he was just a few weeks old.  He sure is cute and we enjoyed watching him play!

He is now 17 months old and came to see his Grandparents and Great Grandparents...I heard he liked the buttons on the bed at the Nursing Home where my Dad is.  By the way Dad is doing okay physically for the moment, however he did not know who I was on my last visit. 

One day I got a package in the mail.  

Mug rugs and dish cloths from Sam in Arkansas  a perfect gift!   Thanks Sam!!

Here is one of of my projects that I finished at Craft Retreat. 

It is a mosaic pattern that is crocheted over a muslin zippered bag.  As you can see I still have plenty of yarn left!  Always fun to have a good supply of yarn for projects!  I have a number of muslin zippered bags waiting in the wings!

Far Side

Mosaic Crochet: Costa Nova

 Yeah!!  I finally finished a project! 

Took some photos to celebrate!   Yes more leaves have fallen in the yard. 

The back is almost as pretty as the front.  I really like doing mosaic crochet...and it is simple and feels like art!! 

Since the finish I have started another mosaic project and thought about another....and Winter Wonderland should be worked on as it has been hanging around for about 10 months.  

Far Side

Yarn

 I pulled some yarn from my "stash" for my next project.   I am not quite ready to begin yet....but soon. 

Not sure about the Sunshine Yellow yet...it is a bit in your face.  The theme is Fall. The off white color (Stone) will be the background color and the designs will be colorful.

I inventoried all my Stylecraft yarn the other day and made yarn color pegs so I have no doubt about colors after  Far Guy winds the yarn into balls. 

I still have a bit to finish on my Costa Nova...but it is coming along.  Costa Nova is a mosaic crochet pattern, I used a size 3.5 hook and Sheepjes cotton yarn. 

The green houses and the colorful bobbers are finished...off to the next two parts...waves or maybe they are fish hooks?  and whales.

Far Side

Progress

 I am making slow progress on my Costa Nova Mosaic crochet project.  I can only crochet so long before I get real sleepy. 

Cottages, beach umbrellas, light houses and fish.  The next part is more cottages they will be green. 

I am feeling a bit better...still tired.  I can stay awake longer...so that is an improvement. 

Yesterday I worked on fine sanding woodcarved Christmas Ornaments, twenty are ready to wood burn...then paint, then seal, then decorate and put names and year on them...it is a process.   Far Guy has carved about 67 over the summer and has about 33 to go.  So he will be busy until mid September. 

Far Side

Bjorn's Blanket

 I finished the baby blanket when I was resting.

This is mosaic crochet using patterns from the Geometrics and Winter Wonderland projects.

I met Bjorn on Saturday he is just two months old and has lots of hair!  This is his first trip to Minnesota from New Jersey to visit his Grandparents ( my baby brother and his bride).  His Mom reports that he travels well. 

Far Side

Stuff

 I took some photos over at Spirit Lake.  

They added some resting benches along the lake so I sat a spell until the Deer Flies found me.  Oh those buggers can bite.

We had a quiet day on Saturday Far Guy putzed in his garage and woodcarved...he managed to cut a finger but didn't need stitches or bleed to death....how he managed to cut through a steel glove and a layer of vet wrap is beyond me.   He really needs to see a hand surgeon to see if anything can be done for the finger that had the severed tendon years ago in another knife accident....it was surgically repaired but was never really "normal" and is now causing him pain.  I just splinted it and he says it feels better. 

I am working on a baby blanket, hope to finish it up soon.  I finished watching Ozark on Netflix.  I enjoyed that series very much...I give it a 9 ...a little less emphasis on the F word would have gotten it a 10...and many of the night scenes were really dark and it was hard to tell who was who and what was happening.   Not sure what I will watch next...I think Virgin River has some new episodes.  

Partially done...it is further along now.  This is mosaic crochet and a variety of patterns from Winter Wonderland ( still in progress) and Geometrics...I wanted to use variegated yarn...not sure yet if it was a good idea or not but I am using it up! 

Far Guy cooked...Steak Enchiladas...of course the meat was left over from the last batch so I threw it in the crockpot for him.  I should have saved the easy prep for  a night I was cooking!

Far Side

 

Mosaic Crochet : Costa Nova

 This is one of the projects I am working on. 

This part one of the CAL (crochet a long), I am not sure how many parts there are...six maybe.  

The top part is supposed to be beach umbrellas.  Costa Nova is a small fishing village in Portugal. 

Here is my bucket of yarn.

It was a busy week, my eye appointment was okay...not great but okay.  I am still suspicious for Glaucoma and will have to be tested every six months.   My mammogram results are in and everything boob wise is just fine!   So I am done with Doctors for a bit.  What a relief! 

Far Guy is doing okay, he woodcarves every day. 

Far Side

59 Weeks

Ha! 59 weeks... that is over a year that this project has been in the works.  

This is my Patchwork Mosaic Crochet that I began on April 23, 2021. 

 I put it on the couch to take a photo. it is a very large afghan.   It will fit on a queen size bed.  Right now I am very tired of these colors so I will put the whole thing away. 

It is totally reversible as the back is pretty also. 

Nice to have a WIP ...Work In Progress completed. 

Now I can begin the next project that is waiting in the work basket! 

Far Side

Progress on Patchwork Mosaic

 I started crocheting borders around my mosaic patchwork on April 12.  In the meantime I started watching Downton Abbey...and finished that series which I give a 10!   I enjoyed it very much!  Well I finished the borders on June 1st....and now I begin the crocheting of the patches together. 

I laid it all out on the floor upstairs. 

Each patch is a different mosaic design.   I will have to start another Netflix series in order to finish it!  I used a 3.75 size hook and Stylecraft Special DK  yarn. 

We had a busy morning with outside projects.   The Popple Puke was pretty good in the morning... in the afternoon it filled the air again.  The Pine pollen is bad but we don't have many Pines and the Oak dangles are still forming on the trees.  

Far Side

Found

 I found some of the things I was looking for.  I asked Far Guy if he wanted to join me on my hunt for a needle in a haystack and he said sure...and within ten minutes we were done.  It was a miracle.   What was I looking for?  Eight old photos from Forgotten Old Photos blog that people emailed me about over the winter...three were easy to find but five remained elusive...then I found two by myself and started the hunt again...yeah for us we found them!~  They are all ready to be mailed to their relatives.  Cross that project off my list!

Found a great Blueberry Pancake mix and we had it for supper with fruit.  Krusteaz makes it.

Found some time to work on my crochet project (Patchwork Mosaic) and the last square was completed and now work on the envelope borders begins.  The borders will be Teal....

I am a tad tired of Green, Pink and Hot Pink.

My basket will be filled with completed squares to crochet borders.   I am 11 days behind on this project due to time away from crochet for hand surgery.  Not sure that I should pick a date to be done with this project!  Perhaps months from now. 

It snowed again yesterday afternoon, big huge ugly flakes.

 Far Side