I Like Thursday # 151 ~ My Autumn Home

 Hello from my sunny back yard!

I have been home for almost and month from my summer vacation.

It has been an eventful month.

After staying well throughout our travels, Mr Scrapatch and I, who are fully vaccinated and boosted,  both caught covid. Both had a mild flu like case and we are now recovered.

One of our sons called us while we were on our way home to say he had it. His symptoms were similarly mild and he is also recovered. Although we dropped off groceries and supplies to his doorstep, we did not catch it from him either.

Mr. Scrapatch, who has been going to work all through the pandemic, apparently caught the new variant and brought it home to me.  Fortunately, we have not passed it to our other son or anyone else. 

As you can see, I finished the purple shawl for my friend.  This was actually completed before my trip but we have not been able to get together for lunch until yesterday.  For details on the yarn and pattern stitch I adapted for this shawl ... Read More Here

After shaping the shoulders, I added deep pockets to the front for keeping hands warm and carrying a phone or other essentials.  

The pockets are the same pattern stitch as the center back piece.

All of this is done in Tunisian Crochet except the final edging.

I worked the pockets on the back side of the ends and folded them forward and stitched up the sides with a single crochet stitch border. 

I am pleased with how this worked up and my purple loving friend was very happy with it.  I may work on another shawl like this soon, but will be making a few changes based on what worked best for this one.

I am now working on a new Tunisian Crochet Shawl in the Tunisian Simple Stitch (TSS). 

This one is for my daughter and she picked the yarn and the pattern. 

I am also working outside when the weather is good to get our garden ready for winter.

In keeping with today's theme for 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

Here is a photo that I have posted before about the type of snacks I prefer when crafting, whether it is sewing or crocheting.  For home, I buy big bags of fresh nuts, dried seeds, dried fruits and make my own mix.  For traveling or carrying in my hand work bag, I buy small bags or bag some myself. I always have a bottle or insulated cup of ice water near me at home or on the go.

I cannot really say that I am back to regular blogging.  

I may post from time to time on this day or that.

May all of you stay well and happy and safe.

May you have a Happy Thursday! 

End of Summer ~ Home Again

 

This is my end of summer

"highway guided by the way the world is tilted"

... quote from this poem

We road tripped from Massachusetts to Indiana and back to visit with our daughter, son-in-law and grand-darling before they sell their house and move another 1000 miles away west.  Those of you who have been following my blog a long time may remember that my son-in-law is career military. Now he is transferred to the US Space Force.

The first two days of the journey were in total rain and there are no photos.

The skies cleared in the evening in western Ohio.

Photos are from the passenger seat ... 

... and one of the deer that visited their backyard.

In Indiana we got off the highway ...

... and enjoyed the backroads.

The mornings were misty in the rolling hills of eastern Ohio on the way home.

Then the skies were blue.

Misty morning mountains hiding behind the fog in West Virginia.

To cloudless blue.

It was a good trip.

It was good to see our girl.

It is good to be home. 

Welcome, Fall! 

I Like Thursday # 150 ~ My Summer Landscape

 

"The Earth Says ... every summer have ...

a landscape

that proclaims a universe ..."

In Response to a Question:
”What Does the Earth Say?”

The earth says have a place, be what that place
requires; hear the sound the birds imply
and see as deep as ridges go behind
each other. (Some people call their scenery flat,
their only pictures framed by what they know:
I think around them rise a riches and a loss
too equal for their chart - but absolutely tall.)

The earth says every summer have a ranch
that’s minimum: one tree, one well, a landscape
that proclaims a universe - sermon
of the hills, hallelujah mountain,
highway guided by the way the world is tilted,
reduplication of mirage, flat evening:
a kind of ritual for the wavering.

The earth says where you live wear the kind
of color that your life is (grey shirt for me)
and by listening with the same bowed head that sings
draw all things into one song, join
the sparrow on the lawn, and row that easy
way, the rage without met by the wings
within that guide you anywhere the wind blows.

Listening, I think that’s what the earth says.

+ William Stafford

The Earth Says by William Stafford, 1961

This poem has been an anthem in my heart for most of my life.

It was summer when I first read it.

I was twenty-something, maybe 21, so that would be 1973.

It was in a book.

I no longer have that book.

The words at some point became etched in my heart

and I carry them within.

This is the place where I come back to every summer. 

This is the summer that lives in my heart every winter.

This is where I live.

Linking up today with my blogging friends for

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

May you have a Happy Thursday! 

~~~~~~~~~

Update:  Packing my gray shirt ... 

 ...  onto the highway ...

... hallelujah.

See you in September ... :)

~~~~~~~~~

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 33

 Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 

I am back after after another week plus of being away from my computer.  

Nothing life changing; just life happening. 

I have been working on my

 Purple Shawl Project ~ Last Posted Here

and have been making good progress.

I have started calling this my "Winging It Shawl" 

as I have been designing as I go. 

After adding the first shoulder in this photo,

I decided it looks like I am adding wings to the square 

that forms the back of the shawl.

The color changing yarn that I am using for this project is new to me.

I found this Wool Wonders Yarn on Amazon .

The lighter yarn is Mauve Pink.  The darker yarn is Purple Iris. 

I like the feel of this yarn.  The wool content gives it the soft fuzzy feel of wool but it is very nice to the touch.  This Wool Wonders is a soft, single ply blend of 30% Australian Wool and 70% acrylic. 

It is a variegated  #4 Medium Worsted Aran Yarn. 

I cannot say how this yarn washes and wears yet. Time will tell.

I do have a scrap yarn project in process which has some of this yarn.  

I will wash the scrap project as soon as it is finished.

I love the fall colors that are coming soon. 

Here I am casting on the other shoulder and I needed to figure out how to make the short rows and the neck decrease on the other side so it would match the other shoulder.

I could not find any online or book instructions showing me how to make short rows in the Tunisian Crochet Knit Stitch (TKS) on the left side of any project.

I even asked in a Tunisian Crochet group that I have joined on Facebook and got no answers. 

After trial and error, found that placing the hook in the TKS in the row below made an almost seamless transition. 

I am literally winging it as I go.

Here is my progress.

I have the shoulder two wings on the back of my shawl 

and I am ready to start the next part of my planned design.

I have not seen any shawl like this online. 

I am not a pattern writer but if there is interest in how I made this, I will try to make a tutorial. 

Would you be interested in making your own version of this shawl?

Crochet is still my favorite thing to do right now.

When I have given my hands a rest, 

I have been following the yarn trail wherever it leads me on the internet

and it lead me to a new series on how-to crochet.

If you are new to or want to learn more about crochet, 

you may be interested in this free beginner series happening now:

Crochet Academy 2022 @ TL Yarn Crafts

If you join, you will receive one email per day with the daily topic.

There are also free project tutorials.

There are even kits available at Lion Brand Yarns :

Crochet Academy Kits @ Lion Brand

I am not affiliated in any way with any of these businesses and am providing the links for those who may be interested.

I am thinking of making this Lynn Fringed Vest Project,

but I am focused on my current projects and have the yarn for my next two Tunisian Crochet projects, so I am not sure when I might make the crochet vest. 

I am enjoying the daily emails and am learning new things about regular crochet.

What are you stitching and sewing this week?

Please share? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

I Like Thursday # 149 ~ The Taste of Summer

 

The Taste of Summer

A toasted tortilla with  home grilled chicken and 

homegrown veggies.

Add homemade lemonade and fresh cut watermelon 

(sorry ... not shown ... I ate it all before I realized I did not get a photo.)

It was yummy! 

A simple and easy lunch at its best. 

Our summer lunches during the week are made 

from the weekend grilling by my Mr. Scrapatch. 

It may be chicken breasts, beef brisket, pork loin, even fish fillets,

whatever looked good at the butcher shop or fresh fish shop.

It is all good.  

For our summer grilling, I make a salt-free rub that is kept in a jar that my hubby reaches for whatever meat he is grilling.  He rubs this on meat that he has patted dry and grills. 

It also gets added to veggie packets of whatever summer garden vegetables like summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, scallions with onions, baby potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic, mushrooms ... whatever we have on on hand. 

It even sometimes gets sprinkled on grilled corn with feta cheese.

This seasoning is our taste of summer ... and there is no actual recipe.

When the jar is near empty I make another batch.

Here is approximately what is in the jar:

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 or 3 tablespoons of garlic powder and/or granules (no salt)

2-3 tablespoons of onion powder (again, no salt)

1 tablespoon of mustard powder

1 or 2 tablespoons of paprika

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

fresh ground pepper

That is the base "recipe."

Then I add in a half teaspoon to a teaspoon seasonings 

like tumeric, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, red pepper flakes

 and about a half-teaspoon of nutmeg. 

I have even been known to add a bit of espresso powder. 

Mr. Scrapatch does not like it too spicy.  

I probably add a touch more spice than he realizes.

I make to taste every time and it always tastes yummy.

Linking up today with my blogging friends for

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

May you have a Happy Thursday!