I Like Thursday # 145 ~ Clearly Now

 

Good Morning and Happy Thursday!

I am joining in today with my friendly blogging friends for

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

where we share the things that have made us smile this week.

My week has had many smiles but I have not been taking photos. 

Sound tract for the day:

I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash, 1972

Last night I was awakened by the lightning flashing 

and the house shaking with thunder.

Today the air is clean and fresh.

We needed the rain as it has been a very dry early summer. 

The post that had been forming in my head for today was the thought that:

"I am busy being not busy."

I saw this post on Instagram:

"I lied and said I was busy" by coco.crochet.lee

which I found interesting. 

This made me think about how sometimes I have said to friends "I have been busy" when what I really was needing to say is, "I have been busy being quiet and finding my inner strength and filling my inner need for solitary, quiet contemplation." 

Or words to that effect.

While I was contemplating and occasionally wandering the internet,

 this I also came across this image:

"I'M NOT BUSY Do I Still Exist?" @ The Beautiful Place

So ...

I admit freely ... 

I have not been busy.

I have been just being.

How are you today?

May my simple thoughts go out to you in hopes to bring you a smile today.

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 26

 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 26

I am in summer mode.

I am stitching.

I have not been taking photos.

I have just been enjoying the process.

How is you summer (or winter) or whatever is happening in your place in the world?

Please share, if you are so inclined. 

May you enjoy your stitching and sewing adventures.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

I Like Thursday # 144 ~ My Secret Backyard Garden

 

Welcome to my secret garden. 

I am a day late posting for

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

In truth, I feel like I am a day late for many things.

Since it is summer here, I do not mind.

I have been spending I lot of time outside in my garden.

I am still planting annuals in my summer window boxes.

Here is the view from my big backyard swing.

That big hanging yellow pot under the new gazebo roof is a pansy!

I have never had a pansy pot create such a golden halo of blooms.

The pansies have lasted much longer than usual, perhaps due to the unevenness of our weather.  It has been hot, cool, breezy, storm and everything in between.

We have put the windowboxes of pansies around the deck where they will not be in the hot sun all day and they are continuing to bloom.

These photos were taken almost a week ago.

Today is a cloudy day and the first pink roses are scattering petals

but there are still many buds waiting to open!

The pink climbing roses we planted four years ago on either side of our new gate have grown over the top on both sides.

This photo Posted Here is what our new gate looked like in 2019.

The hard topped gazebo is our new addition to our secret garden this year.

This is the man who did all the work to create this lovely backyard for us.

Yes, he built the entire gazebo by himself.  I offered to help.

Mr Scrapatch is very much a do it himselfer.

I supplied coffee and nourishment and occasionally helpful comments.

I do help with making our garden grow and bloom.

My beautiful salmon colored America Climbing Rose is blooming. 

I am very happy to see this.

This bush was over the top of the trellis the last two years but had an extreme amount of winter kill this year. There was so much deadwood that I had to cut it back to the ground to find the few green shoots that remained

The bush is small but healthy and green and growing.

I am so happy to share this with you today.

May you have a beautiful and happy weekend, my friends!

I will be celebrating my man with my boys 

and playing in my garden. 

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 24

 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 24

The color of the week is pink ...

... and this is my new Tunisian Crochet start.

I am making a shawl for another friend who likes light pink.

I am stitching a new pattern design that I found on the internet.

It is stitched by way of short rows that create this wedge

 which will become a half-circle shawl. 

The stitch is Tunisian Crochet Simple Stitch (TSS).

There is a free video on how to make this:

Radius Shawl ~ Video Tutorial

This is a long video with a lot of information about the pattern concept, yarn, etc.

This video includes all you need to know if you are a beginner t Tunisian Crochet. 

The stitching starts at about 18 minutes.

Then there is step by step instructions. 

Everything you need to know is in the video.

To thank and support the designer,

I purchased this pdf. pattern: 

Click Here to Purchase the Radius Shawl Pattern

 by Light & Joy Design

My pink roses are blooming on the arch over my garden gate

 and I have been spending a lot of my days outside on my backyard swing 

which is just visible across the yard by the  white fence line. 

This is the view from my swing.

I am also planting annuals and perennials this week

to add to my beautiful garden.

What are you working on this week?

Please Share! 

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I LIke Thursday # 143 ~ Red Roses For You

 

Red roses this week for my friends of

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

May you have a Happy Thursday!

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 23

 

Welcome to Stitch Sew  Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 22

I have been taking three steps forward and three steps back

 and exploring the importance of gauge in crochet this week. 

This was the three steps forward and I was working on Stripe 15 in my

Christmas Candy Stripe Sampler Afghan

This does not look bad from the distance, in part because I did not show the sides of my afghan, which had taken on a large curve in the multicolored row strips at the top.  When I laid it out and measured, my Stripe 14 was 4" high when it should have been 3" high according to the pattern.  My stiches were too loose. The green stripe below it was pulled in at the sides, indicating my stitches there were too tight.

I corrected this by pulling out Stripes 14 and 13 and changed hooks.

Most of this afghan has been done with the green I Hook (5.5mm) on the bottom.

I used a larger hook (6.0mm) for the light green Linen Stitch Stripe. I am usually inclined to stitch this pattern, also called the Moss Stitch, tightly.

The multicolored lace pattern is new to me and called the Larksfoot Stitch in the pattern.  I really needed the video instructions for this stitch.  It calls for placing the elongated stitch across two rows and needs to be done loose enough for it to lay flat.  I made it too loose the first time around, so I used a smaller (5.0mm) hook to get the correct size.

This is my progress in the redo so far, showing the side of my work.

You can see the rows now look even on the side edge.

Now it is time to redo the white row and I am putting this aside.

The first time around I used the creamy Snow White skein that I pulled out once before.  Even at a distance from the previous white strips, it looks dull and off-white.  I am waiting for a new skein of Snow White to arrive and hoping the dye lot will be a better match. 

What are you working on this week?

Please share! 

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Christmas Candy Crochet ~ Playing Catch-Up

 These are Stripes 7 to 12 for my current yarn project. 

This is my 

Christmas Candy Striped Sampler Afghan ~ Started Here

It is a monthly BOM kit and I am catching up as I had been focused on other projects. I know this month's kit is on the way, so I may or may not be ready for it when it arrives, but I am making good progress.  Crocheting is a no stress zone for me.  I find it very relaxing. 

These are Stripes 7 to 9 which I Posted Here.

Over the weekend I was able to complete Stripes 10-132.

Today is a beautiful day so I am taking my yarn bag out to enjoy the flowers blooming in the yard.

Linking Up today with

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

and

Monday Making @ Love Laugh Quilt

May you have a happy stitching day! 

I Like Thursday # 142 ~ My Flowers Bloom

 

My purple clematis is in full bloom!

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

Someone once told me these beauties like 

 “their feet in the shade and their head in the sun.” 

This is a very sunny spot in the early morning.  This photo was taken mid-morning. You can already start to see the shade pooling at the roots. This vine is at least 25 years old. It is wedged in a narrow spot between the wall and the porch in the gritty original soil of our sand and gravel hill and it is thriving despite the unusual spring weather. 

Happy Thursday to my 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 22

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 22

This week I stitched Stripes 1-9 for my

Christmas Candy Striped Sampler Afghan ~ Started Here

This completes the first three months of this BOM which is for purchase via

Annie's Crochet Stripe Afghan Club

I am not affiliated with this business.  I am providing the link only so you may find this pattern if you are interested in making this afghan.

The monthly kits include a written pattern and yarn and there are how-to videos for both right and left handed crocheters online for club members. 

I am requested this as a gift from Mr. Scrapatches so I could revive and build my crochet skills. It has been very helpful.

I love the sampler rows stitch patterns, particularly this Mixed Checkerboard stripe.  I am not sure I would have placed the stitches correctly without the help of the video instructions.  

I am now working on the month four kit. 

I have six months of kits now and hope to catch up before the next kit arrives.

What are you working on this week?

Please Share! 

I visit every link every week.  Sometimes I have difficulty commenting.

I very much enjoy all the inspiration in the links.

Thanks to all who join in my weekly linky party! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter