Argyle Slippers

Finally had a chance to work on another pair of wool argyle slippers. I love this pattern. I made a pair awhile ago that are a bit snug so I've revised the pattern and started on the top yesterday. It took me forever to dig through the pattern pieces to find the right one. I just kept making proto-types and not throwing away the parts. Now they are all mixed up. I have them labeled now so I won't go through the search again. Jeez - what was I thinking?

I have a bunch of vintage wool in a variety of colors. Yards of it. I can probably make 50 pairs. Line them in a cotton. The dark blue is flannel. While it feels nice on the foot, it's a bit thick so hard to thin out the shoe. Plus the color is navy. I only have pink or navy flannel. I'm thinking, line it in a cotton with coordinating color. I'm trying to use up the fabric I have instead of buying more. My closets, cabinet and boxes are over flowing. Hmmm - I need to cut back the collection. So the brilliant idea is to MAKE THINGS WITH IT. Ha

Today at noon, I picked a ton of vegetables for the Community Nursing Center to sell. It was in the 90's today and I think I was over heated when this shot was taken. I started picking cucumbers, tomatoes and melons, then Sheri took them in and set up this beautiful table with baskets. It looked so pretty. I kept running back in with more things and the sale went on.

I don't think they charged too much so staff and families of the residents bought some things. They kept the proceeds to do something fun with the residents.

Petosky Summer Vacation

Wonderful weather in upper Michigan this past week.



The family and Bobby Skiing. He's incredible on one ski.

Just came back from a week long vacation in Michigan. Weather was fabulous. Drive was 6 1/2 hours but not bad. I miss the kids. They were a lot of fun.

I relaxed and read a book. John Grisham " Playing for Pizza". All about Italy. It was a great read and I finished it in a couple of days. I took along some knitting but only knitted a few rows. The cottage had wild raspberries all over and I picked a small bowl full to make jam. I burnt the first batch and took off for more the next day. Well.. the only small pan left was a cast iron and the whole batch of jelly tasted like metal. So... no showing off my wonderful homemade jam. Too bad. It smelled delicious.

Had a great time none the less. I can never sit still but managed to do so last week.

Thanks for reading.

Mom and Me

One picture today. It's pretty small cause I scanned it in from a photo on my desk. I wanted to put my Mom on the blog. This was 1997 in Germany. Wow - so long ago. Felt like yesterday.

It's very hot here in Chicagoland. 90+ and the air is really thick. I was going to run this morning but thought better of it. Besides sweating uncontrollably, the air is hard to breath.

I am training for the half marathon in September and still haven't gotten past the 5 mile run. Hopefully this Sunday I can run 8 miles without a problem. I have a Ipod shuffle and the music helps a lot. Just when you think you can't go another step, a great song will kick on and then I'm off again for another mile. It helps. So - Sunday's goal is to run 8 miles. Hopefully the air will be clearer and not so humid. Either way, I AM running.

Mom and my sisters kids are coming to Chicago Saturday and I need to find something to do that they will be entertained with. One year, we went to the Rain Forrest Cafe. Ugh! What horrible food they had. And way over priced too. I've turned them on to Thai food and as fussy as they are, they like it. Good thing too cause I will never go to one of those touristy places again.

I haven't sewn anything in awhile. Well... I did make a pair of laying-around-the-house shorts out of Bobby's old sweatshirt. They fit well but need a wider waist band. They are super comfortable. Totally serged. Only took about an hour and a half from start to finish. I created the pattern from a bikini - boy short pattern - Widened the pattern by one inch on both sides and an inch on the length. I added a 2 inch elastic waist band but it should be a little wider. Next pair will have a better waist band and maybe some pockets.

Summer is always so busy with the garden and friends and doing things with them. It takes away time from projects. I took off Monday and Tuesday to sew and start on the shoes again but instead, I baked goodies for the residents at the nursing home and that took up both the days. One day was picking and prep and the next baking and then visiting. I set everything up at 2:00 and by 2:15 everything was eaten and they were done. Off to play bingo. So, by the time I got back home to relax a little, the day was gone. I have to start a sewing project first thing in the morning. Have to break that habit. I should be creative anytime of the day. Oh well. I'm a morning person.

I have been trying to knit each evening. Instead of just sitting and watching TV, I bring out something to knit. I make kitchen towels/cloths cause they don't take long and my skills are knit purl and sometimes yarnover. I like it. My little sister is knitting now too. I mailed her some cotton yarn and bamboo needles. It's our therapy.

I'm at work and need to get back to it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Past Gardens

Pictures from our Balcony. The mini Zinnia's are only the size of a fingernail. The mushrooms were spouting out of a Dessert Rose plant. Below are the vinca's from a couple of years ago. We have a large pine tree that has shaded our balcony so I didn't grow them this year as they need full sun.

This is the garden from the Naperville public plot I rented for 5 years. I forgot how pretty it was over there. It's almost all a parking lot now or going to be soon.

Thanks for visiting.

Just some pictures for inspiration. Ducklings.

Garden

Some snap shots of the garden as of July 1st. Looking big. The pumpkin plant is really big. They are seeds the size of quarters and claim to grow a 1200 lb pumpkin. We'll see. I would just like one half the size. The Residents at the home would love it if we were in the news again with a giant one.

Well... Can't write much - making sausages on the grill and need to get back to it.

Thanks for reading.

Virginia's Bag

One of our clients gave me a wonderful collection of thread. Rainbow of colors so I made a bag for her using all of the colors. Plus it gave me a chance to test out the stitches on my Kenmore. I don't use that machine much but it works for creative stitches. I got it for my birthday from Mom one year and I hardly ever get it out. I keep using my old singer instead. I really should use it more.

I took a bunch of pictures last night at the garden but the camera's downloading was giving me troubles. I hate that.

Well... it's a long weekend and I can't wait. Pool and sunshine. Maybe a little grilling. I'll try and sew something this weekend. Back at the shoes.