Book 2: Crafting a Patterned Home

 I love the way Kristin Nicholas kind of throws caution to the wind and puts colors together I would never have thought would work but they do.  I have some of her books and just love to look at the pictures.  This book is all about putting pattern in your home and making it work.

The books starts out talking about patterns, and all the different kinds out there.  Then she moves on to designing with the pattern you have chosen.  She talks about paint, printing and stamping, using fabric and creating your own pattern with fabric and thread, using yarn, and a tutorial on making napkins.  

She then has a chapter for each room of the house, a pottery shed and garden shed, and in the orchard under the pergola.  She does have a blog.  She also has knit patterns and yes there is lots of patterns and color.   

https://www.kristinnicholas.com.

Old blog:  https://getting-stitched-on-the-farm.blogspot.com

Current blog:  https://kristinnicholas.substack.com

Some of My Aprons

This is my January apron with snowmen. 

This apron I made from fat quarters. I love polka dots. But it does not have pockets.

This is one of my Halloween aprons.  It has pockets all across the bottom and is reversible to an orange back.

Of course I had to have one with coffee on it.

This is the first apron I made in the class that I made many from the pattern.  Kaffee Fassett fabric.

This is a bunch of my aprons but I love zinnias and there are oranges on the back.

My gingerbread men have pockets across the bottom.

I love poinsettias.  My fav Christmas apron.

My mom made me one with cats and sewing.

Kind of a fancy one with an elephant embroidered on the bib.

A fancy apron my mom made m.

My mom made me this Halloween apron.

My favorite saying from the book so far.  An apron doubles as a hand towel, never a tissue.
 

Book 1: The Apron Book

 Today starts the Library Winter Reading Challenge.  The theme is Works of Art.  My first book is The Apron Book.  I love aprons, I have my very first one I made for a badge in Brownies and I have an apron that was crocheted by one of my mom's friends for her when she was in HS.  So that apron is approaching antique cos my mom will be 92 in March.  I do not think she ever used it and I have it hanging on my bathroom linen closet door.  

My mom and I took an apron class years ago and between us we probably made 100 of them not only for ourselves but also for gifts.  I have several in my closet and many are holiday ones.  If I am baking I always put one on cos you now flour and stuff fly through the air. If I am crafting I put one on as I am up and down from the basement getting stuff like thread, buttons, etc.  An apron MUST have pockets cos where else do you put your kleenex? I also prefer a whole body apron not just one that ties at the waist, cos you know flour flies through the air, the mixer slings food, etc. 

This book has quite the history and information about aprons through the years.  There is also a pattern in the back.  I will be writing more about the book as I read through it and post some of the more interesting aprons.

This is my mom's apron. I can see why she never work it. It is more of a party apron.

This is my apron I made when in Brownies for a sewing badge. 

Like I Need Another Project Part 2

 I have all the Imagined Landscape gnome patterns and book.  I was planning on starting them this year.  She has a knitting gnome coming out soon that I want to make for my knit group for Christmas.  I decided to take the plunge and jump in the KAL this year, make one gnome a month.  Since I decorate with snowmen for January I decided to start with Snow Matter What.  This one happens to have 2 pieces.  These are fun but very fiddly like making Barbie Doll clothes.  I am using a light and dark purple, and white.  So here goes, I will post pictures periodically.

Like I Need Another Project

 A friend of mine posted on FB a picture of a woman with a beautiful sort of granny square afghan she made.  She took the color of each book cover she read and make a square and sewed them together.

I love this idea.  However, I have read 123 books this year and that will be a lot of squares to make.  But it sounds like fun and I have so many little balls of yarn to do something with that I think I will do this.  If I take an evening after reading the book and make the square and attach as I go well I wonder what it will look like at the end of 2025.

How about you?  Up for a challenge?  I do have my first 5 books picked out as I am participating in the Library Winter Reading Challenge, so I may as well go find the yarn and start a new project bag.

The bad part of this project, weaving in all those ends.  Maybe I will just tie them off and then I know for sure where the back is, probably not though cos my grandmother would thump me from up there and I do not want to be thumped. 

RIP Jim

 Today we had the Celebration of Life for one of my fav people at church.  He and my dad used to spar back and forth about the Bible and other things.  Dad taught the Sunday School class and Jim would always have to disagree with dad. I sometimes think he did it just to get the discussion going.  Jim was one person my dad always remembered after the dementia set in.  

Because they lived a ways from church whenever his wife had to come to church for something, he would drive her, bring a book or Ipad and find a quiet place to either read or listen to some political thing on his Ipad.  If I was there I always stopped by to chat for a few minutes that would turn into an hour or more.  It was as if a bit of my dad was still here.  

Jim was quite the character, you never knew what he was going to say or do.  He will leave a large hole at church and in our hearts.  Losing Jim was a bit like losing my dad all over again.  I know those two are up there talking about things and disagreeing just because they could.  

You two behave and I will see you again one day.  

I Remember Them All

 

I remember all of these songs.  When I was in Junior High we used to go to the skating rink and skate to Crimson and Clover.  

They do not make music like they used to.  I was listening to the radio in my car the other day and when I was young you could tell the band in a few notes, the tone, the instruments, etc.  Today's music you can have.  Not for me.

Library Winter Reading Challenge

 Every Winter for I have no idea how many years the library has a reading challenge.  The month of January and February and part of March we have to read 5 books.  If you log at least 5 books you get a coffee mug.  I do not pick mine up as I do not need another one and the logo/picture washes off even with hand washing.  They always seem to run out so someone can have mine.  They do have a theme which I try to read even though it may not be my thing.  This year is Works of Art.  As a crafter I do believe what we make is a work of art.  So I went to my book stash and found 5 books I feel are all about creating Works of Art.

We start Jan 2 for 73 days.  I have mapped out that I need to read 16 pages/day to meet the deadline. I know I am anal about some things. 

Happy 8 months

 The boys are 8 months old today, they have grown so much in the short time they have been in.  Chunky is my shadow and a snuggler.  Grayson has to have his head rubbed but nothing else, I can not kiss him on the forehead or pick him up, he is so skittish but they all sleep on the bed at night so we are making very slow progress with him.  He is going to be a big tom.  Chunky and BigBoy are beginning to play together.  Everyone is slowly getting used to each other.  They have so much energy, sure wish I could bottle that up to use in the future.  I know they won't be kittens much longer so I enjoy watching them grow as much as I can.  I am so glad I got Lila and the boys inside.

RIP Wyatt

 Wyatt was one of my "shared pets" who lived next door.  I took care of them when the family was gone.  He was so sweet.  When I would let him and Jake out he did his business and then had to sniff every blade of grass in the back yard.  He was a digger too so had to make sure he did not get out of the fence.  He had lost a lot of weight, and started having seizures so it was time for him to go play with Jake.

We will miss you sweet boy.

Happy Thanksgiving

 I am so thankful for so many things.  Mostly to live in this country where we are still pretty free.  I know God has blessed me more than I deserve and I am very thankful for that.

This has been quite the year with the cats.  I had come to a point in my life where some of the things I was involved just were not working for me. I had to force myself to go.  I feel like Lila and the kittens rescued me and helped me make some difficult decisions.  I spent so much time with them making sure they were fed and safe that I basically put my life on hold.  

After I brought Lila and Chunky Monkey and Grayson in the house and was working on Charcoal I decided I had spent 6 months without some of those things in my life and did not miss them at all, so I deleted them.  I am pretty sure God brought me her to care for and help me make some decisions.

One wonderful thing this year as well was my niece and family coming for a visit for a week.  I miss them so much.  

I miss my dad, he had to have his pecan pie and would pull the Christmas tree out this evening and all the decorations because after breakfast on Black Friday we would decorate the tree.  Mom and I made decorated sugar cookies.  When dad was working we would spend the weekend making a box full of cookies for him to take to work to share with his co-workers.  

Dad would direct us where to put all the decorations and that awful tinsel. One time I just threw a handful on and I had to take them off and put them on one by one.  I hated that stuff.  I finally convinced dad that it was not good to have it around his cat.  

I hope you all have a wonderful day. 

7 Months

 The boys are 7 months old today.  Does not seem like they should be that old but they are.  I still would like to know who Grayson's dad is with his beautiful markings.  I am pretty sure Chunky's dad is Gizmo the long haired all black cat with a limp. I have not seen him since I brought the kits in, so he must have found a new place to hang out at.  

They are a delight and so full of energy.  Chunky has become my shadow, we often sit on the couch and watch TV together, he all stretched out on my lap.  Grayson is very skittish still, can not pick him up.  But he is sleeping on the bed with the rest of us now and he often comes in the living room and naps in the window corner, so we are getting there.  He plays a lot on the stairs and comes in the kitchen for meals.  Some kits just take longer than others.

Yesterday was 5 Years

 Yesterday was the 5th year my dad went home.  He was ready, the dementia was getting worse and thoughts of putting him in memory care by himself just did not work for me.  I miss you dad, take care of my kitties and see you someday.