But...My pics are back! And Hubby had to order me a new hard drive - a larger one. My good old ThinkPad is still chugging along, but for a birthday gift, he got me a Surface Laptop that I can travel with...which is slightly ironic because I'm not really going anywhere lately! One of these days, when I can travel again, I can take this Surface, which is MUCH lighter than my "Old Reliable."
Speaking of which, I've got UPDATES for you! I've missed blogging and I need to get on the stick - especially now that I actually have time.
Vintage Sewing Machine...
Who knew I had a "vintage" sewing machine? I just thought it was old. It's a Brother Charger 661 and it was made in the late 60s to mid-70s. And it's mostly metal...which is saying something! It sews forward, backward and zig-zag. And it does buttonholes, but I can do those by hand. The only fiddly bit is the bobbin - not a drop-in, but a "pick it out of the hole sideways and put it back in the same way" thingie. These are the first batch of masks. I reckon I did about 58 of 'em and I have a large --- and I do mean LARGE pile of fabric for Masks, Phase II. I'm on pace to do about 150-175 of them before I run out of thread, patience and fabric. Two quilting friends of mine, K and D, donated. The "ugly" fabric turned into ties. The masks are two-pleat, except for the "family" masks, which are more fitted.
The first batch were 3-pleat, but honestly, my hand mobility isn't what it used to be. I was really messing up not only the topstitching but the 3 pleats. Consistently. And it was frustrating me. I mean, my sewing skills can "kindly" be called "basic." But I wanted to do a decent job. These certainly aren't meant to be heirlooms - they're meant to be washed in hot water and kind of scalded...and I don't expect them to last for any more than a few months, with luck. But I'd like them to look half-way decent. So the next batch are all 2-pleat. and they fit the same - the basic size is the same; just easier for me to manipulate. The fitted masks are all the "male" sized ones, though. I found that the "women/teen" size shrunk and wasn't as comfortable. So we're all guys...
Kid #1's partner, J, asked me, "Can you make me some snowflake masks?" I wasn't quite sure what she wanted, and we had a discussion...turns out that folks in CO think she's a "snowflake" because she's wearing the one mask I made her. This is what I came up with -- I've ordered some snowflake material, but as you can imagine, it's more likely to be out at Christmas rather than spring! Anyway, the patch is making a point: "Kiss my snowflake keister, bub!" And besides, she's a welder - you really wanna poke a woman who wields a torch? The fitted masks are meant to have elastic - but I don't like elastic because I wear glasses; and because it's uncomfortable. So I've been making my own ties. Thankfully, Hubby is my "cutter." He can really maximize a piece of fabric!
I'll be donating the masks to the local hospital, and then anyone who wants one. Since the fabric is all donated, I'm not keen on charging for them. A few folks have wanted to donate, so I've given them 2 charities to donate to: a local food bank and our local free clinic.
As a matter of course, I cleaned out the drawer of the sewing machine cabinet. I found this vintage (there's that word again) magazine that I used to subscribe to in the Way Back Times.
Boy, have things changed. Sizes, for one. Most of the knitting has "XL" as a size 12 with a bust size of 38"...
Yikes... There are a few patterns I'd be interested in doing, but let's just say I'd have to size them up a bit more. It's fun to see the recipes too. Jeeze - "cream of something" soup in just about everything, and lots of stuff in cans. I have to laugh too at the Bran Flakes recipes...this was 1984, when bran was The New Super Food.
The article on Companion Gardening is still relevant; and a thing about creeping Thyme as a ground cover is kind of cool. But mostly, it's a real throw-back.
The Knitting...
Tons o' stuff to catch up with in regard to The Knitting. So, all this time on my hands in quarantine has resulted in several FOs (finished objects) and a couple new ones started. One frogged, twice...which is my limit.
First is a shawlette that ended up being for my friend M. I had purchased this organic cotton from Le Mouton Rouge with the intent to do more face cloths. But it wasn't looking like it would work. So I found this pattern on Ravelry, and it fit the yardage. M likes orange (which is the main color) and the rose was a nice accent. I have blue and gold for one for me. I will knit a pattern several times (see Close to You Shawl, which I've knitted at least 3 times) if it's an easy knit and fun. This fit the bill for both things. And with it being cotton, it's kind of a 3-season item of clothing: you can keep the AC off your neck (which is what M is doing), and it's still light enough for when it gets warm.
Here's the pattern: Two Color Seedlings Scarf -- not the yarn called for, but it worked out just fine. And I may still use the leftovers for facecloths. This yarn I used is Mika, a 100% organic cotton.
Being as we had snow in March and frost in May? "Warm" is a ways off yet.
The green Traveling Socks are now done. I had to steek --- (cut my knitting!!) because I did a really screwy job on the one sock, and it was like 4" long in the foot. Seeing as I'm a size 9? Yeah... So I tried to unpick, but it didn't work. So I cut. Held my breath, grabbed scissors, and snip, snip, snip. As you can see by the right sock, it was only a few inches that I had to lengthen, but it made all the difference. So Sock #2 got done first! 
I'm going to start knitting my socks at 68 stitches. 64 is too small and 72 is too big. So I started another one. And it's too small in the foot, too... What the heck. I think it's the star toe. I have to add at least an inch to the foot length for the star toe. And I need to increase my heel flap to a full 3 inches. 
I'm plowing through the Opal stash like crazy. But I'm having an issue with finishing. So this blue one is still a tad tight at the toe - and I will do Sock #2 and see if I can make the improvements and then fix the toe of Sock #1. Why do them in order??? This pic here is all of my Opal socks. Yes, I finally got "enough socks to wear them all week long" because I'm not including the Sweet Georgia and MadTosh. Kid #2 wants me to make him some "scrappy short socks" which will be ok, except he's got huge feet.... 
Here are the rest of the socks. I'm rather chuffed.... I've got lots of socks! I'm aiming to clean out my sock drawer and basically get rid of anything I'm not wearing anymore. Replacing them all with hand-knits where I can. I do still wear compression socks when I need to, but the "novelty socks" I have by the dozens can be given away; they're still in good shape, but I don't wear them. I wear these and short socks when I wear socks at all. Two pair of Fluromania...and I'm using the other 2 balls of Fluromania for the Breathe & Hope shawl - I've got blue yarn as the "base" and the pop of the bright color will be just what I want. It'll be a fun knit - twice...
And here, left to right: the hiking sock out of 100% wool (Cascade 220) - I have yarn to do a second pair; these are cozy and great for winter boots. Center is the Trekking sock in "Ovarian Cancer Teal" -- and these have the honor of being "5-year socks" because it was 5 years between Sock #1 and Sock #2... and to the right is my Sweet Georgia pair. These are on 72 stitches and are wayyyy too loose; but the yarn is squishy so it's still comfortable. And then there's shawl #2. It was supposed to be Reyna. Except my pattern was wrong (my printer cut off a few rows and I didn't realize it). And then I mis-read KTBL as KFB and I was increasing by FOUR stitches every other row. This was my "frogged twice" project. And it's using yarn that doesn't take kindly to frogging. Expression Fiber Arts Pearlescent Fingering is 50% merino wool and 50% silk. It's got the most gorgeous depth of color and "squish factor" and it splits like a bugger... The bloom of the yarn is lovely. I can't wait for it to be finished.
But it ain't gonna be Reyna...This was just before Frogging #2...
I've got a few projects "in my sights" to work on while we're under shelter-in-place. But I started Simple and I like to stick with it. I also still have to finish Kid #2's afghan, which is thankfully at 50%. That's going to be my next rotation project. I'm shifting between sock needles (size 1), this shawl (size 5) and the afghan (size 7) -- because I find if there's too drastic a needle switch, my tension goes all wonky.
I'm doing Simple Shawl with the silk + merino - a Ravelry freebie. Which is dead boring right now because there's about eighty bazillion yards of plain knitting...and then a gorgeous lace edge with a picot bind-off. So it's a patience-pay off thing... I can mindlessly knit this after I've sat at the sewing machine or taught virtual yoga classes or worked at home with the church stuff...and it works for me. It's 550 yards, so it'll be bigger than what the pattern calls for. I weighed the yarn, because she says to start the lace section when you have 25 grams of yarn left. I bumped it to 30 grams - to give myself wiggle room. Maybe I can add a few more rounds of lace before I do the bind off. Which will be a test of my math as well as my patience!!
Here's the Pearlescent Fingering in the hank. I thought it would be a bit brighter, but the sheen of the silk more than makes up for the long runs of the burgundy tones. It's primarily purple-to-burgundy and the white really pops in there. The whole thing is just an exercise in amazing color work. I just wish it was less splitty. That's frustrating; I'm using Chiagoo lace circulars which I think helps. I didn't want to use dull points, because I think I can keep it from splitting more with the sharper points.
I'll work on this shawl till I get sick of it, and then I'll rotate to the afghan. The socks will wait a bit. As Hubby reminded me, "you have time."
I also bought some Quince & Co. Sparrow yarn and have a beautiful t-shirt to knit. It's definitely summer wear, since Sparrow is linen, but I wanted to challenge myself with something with shaping. So that's got to be wound.
Oh, I have a new swift and ball winder!! And the set was on sale!!! My swift bit the dust a while back and Hubby was my stand-in. He got tired of that quickly! We'd been researching them anyway; and we came to the conclusion that this table-top model was my best bet. I don't have to clamp it to anything, and then I got the extra-large ball winder. My other ball winder works just fine; so I can wind regular hanks; just the larger ones (like the 550 yards above) were a stretch for the smaller winder.
This works a treat and I don't have too many moving parts to fiddle with. The ball winder is a tad more complex to put together and storing it isn't fun, but it's also incentive to get my yarn room/yoga room/office in shape. I'd love to have space to keep the ball winder "handy."
Elder Ladies...
Well, I'm lumping myself with Tippi.... COVID-19 has wreaked havoc and there's lots of drama and tragedy around. Tragedy in that this virus will kill you --- or severely impact your life if you manage to survive. And drama with the queens wailing about wanting to go out for dinner and get haircuts.... Queens of both male and female persuasion because I think all of 'em are whiny babies. For some reason, my stylist cut my hair shorter this last time....and thankfully!! So far, it's behaving; but it's starting to curl at the back, which is my clue that it's getting to be "a mess" sooner rather than later. I've got a good blow dryer, and I've got hair combs that I can use. But heavens.... So. Much. Hairspray.... I'm putting the hole back in the ozone layer. This is today, just before my yoga class. Believe me, if I slipped on my mat and landed on my head, my hair would protect me. And not be moved!
She's officially retired as a therapy dog. When we go back to Lewis University, it's going to just be Raisa. I'll probably take her back for one "final" visit, just so everyone can say goodbye, but at age 13.5, her back end is a little wobbly, and I want her to enjoy just being Queen of the Household. She and I will be taking more walks and just hanging out together.
Random Picture...
This is my favorite time of year. In spite of the freeze that slightly burned my parsley and almost killed off my tomato plants.
It's lilac time. Pro-tip: If you have allergies, try not to put a big honking vase of lilacs next to you; you'll cough and everyone will think you have COVID-19. Our bushes are 5 years old and this is the best year yet. We keep them at about 7-feet tall, and prune pretty strongly, taking all the suckers off too. Funny, we thought we bought 2 identical bushes - the same variety. But nope. Looks like we have two different varieties. Similar - but just slightly different. The right one (at the end of the front sidewalk) is an early bloomer, bigger blossoms, and a lighter French Lilac scent. Lighter, but still quite strong.
The left one is blooming a bit later, smaller blossoms and a slightly sharper scent. Again, still a French Lilac, and believe me -- you can see these bushes from the end of the block and smell them 4 houses away. When I have my kitchen window open, I can smell them all the way to the back of the house. I love it.
I know they'll "last longer" if I leave them on the bush, but I'm cutting with abandon, and letting them scent my house. I'm happy to have them and I'm happy to have neighbors walking by and taking deep, deep breaths!
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