I quit smoking 21 years ago (as of St. Patrick’s Day)! That’s always worth noting/celebrating.
And 22 years ago today, I started blogging.
I won’t say that I’d never have quit smoking if I hadn’t started blogging, but man… the connections made and, in particular, my fellow quitters & #1 supporter, sure did help.
That was 7,670+ days ago. I used to smoke a pack a day. That’s over 153,400 cigarettes that I have not smoked! In 2005, a pack cost between $4 & $5; today, that cost is between $10 & $12! Let’s just take an average of $7.50… times 7,670 = $57,525.DOLLARS! That’s way more than the new car I just bought! And more than all of the vacations I’ve taken in the last 22 years. Where to next? (Stay tuned.)
Not to mention the savings health-wise, which equates not only to dollars (possible health issues) (my younger sister died of lung cancer at age 50), but also to time — and at this point, that time equates to roughly a decade of life expectancy added back.
The impact on my life of starting this blog 22 years ago is HUGE, but not as easily measured. I have traveled because of interests & connections, made some lifelong friends, and I’ve learned so much… about knitting, sure, but so much more.
Thanks to everyone who stops by here, whether regularly or occasionally, whether I know that you do or not. It’s incredible.
They were in the same class & they did really great! It seemed like their group was one of the better prepared (i.e., confidently knew their dance moves).
Ginny was a little iffy that morning, having fallen asleep in a funny position the night before & suffering a very sore/stiff neck. She was using my flax seed heat wrap (purchased at My First Rhinebeck) and it ended up on her head…
…which was totally giving Girl with a Pearl Earring vibes, especially since she just happened to be wearing pearl earrings! Ann was trying to direct the pose & the wrap kept slipping off her head… resulting in some pretty good pics.
And the birthday cake! We decorated it with all the number candles (that just happened to be green!), and a few random other ones. It was so good. There were four pieces left & I sent them home with the kids — cake for breakfast (if it even lasted that long).
And the snow! This was Monday morning… there wasn’t a spec of snow back there on Saturday. I thought those chairs looked pretty comical with their big “snow cushions.”
Not related to the blizzard, other than that I did a little sewing over the weekend, I stopped at the quilt shop last night. We looked at quite a few fabrics with the sashing in mind — pinks, purples, even a yellow — my two faves were a grungy dark blue/black & a grungy purple. I ended up going with the purple — I think it ties them together better. I’m going to get it all put together with sashing & cornerstones before I make a final decision on borders — but that stripe is definitely in the running. Before I start anything, though, I have to trim up all 20 blocks so they’re consistently sized/squared!
There are several more inches to go on this, the first sleeve. I already did the ribbing for the second sleeve, though, so I’ll just be carrying on. It’s been AGES since I knit with Noro, and it’s just as fun as ever. It’s hard to see, but there’s some very bright pink in the recently completed rows, and I can’t wait to hit that gold section!
Now for fun little follow-up. You may recall that three years ago, I Made It With Atlas… and knit a 5 Point Bomber for the kids using MDK’s lovely Atlas yarn. How’s it fitting/holding up?
Well, first, it doesn’t fit Junah at all. He’s only about a half-inch shorter than me & will probably be two inches taller next week.
It’s getting a little snug on Ginny!
It fits Malina quite nicely and she really loves wearing my knits. The sleeves are a little long — always have been. (FYI: that top tooth is barely hanging on.)
Davy! Look at how much he’s grown in the past three years! The sweater was like a full-length coat on him.
The sweater has been washed a few times & is holding up pretty well overall. It’s still one of my favorite projects ever!
QUILTING:
I finished the last quilt block on Sunday morning. (I’m pretty sure it’s the last one.)
Scrappy triangles in a loose “flying geese” arrangement. Sometimes the lights are light, and sometimes they’re dark — and vice versa. I had a different order but messed it up on the way to the sewing machine, so this is what it is.
On one of the snow days, I photographed all of the blocks so I could play around with layout & maybe even audition some colors for sashing & cornerstones… and, eventually, border(s).
Here’s v.1. This is utilizing an Excel spreadsheet, which is one of my favorite things. There will be changes, but it’s a start! I might stop by the quilt shop later today to scout some other color possibilities. I’m considering using all scraps for cornerstones, or using a variety of the polka dot fabrics for those… or using polka dot for one of the borders, and maybe a stripe for the other… or more flying geese (bigger). So many possibilities…
THE BEST WAY TO GET THROUGH A BLIZZARD…
…is together!
Ann & Brian came up on Saturday morning & we all convened for the girls’ afternoon dance recital at the high school. The weather was quite nice/okay, but the storm was looming. We planned meals & did a big grocery shop on Friday afternoon, knowing that Saturday morning would be crazy! I made lasagna on Saturday & Chili All Day on Sunday, and between us, Ann & I came up with enough for a really good chicken soup on Monday. I knew it was going to be snowy/stormy (we even had thundersnow), but I did not anticipate that almost everything would be closed on Monday, and many places still closed on Tuesday, too, so yay for a pretty well stocked pantry.
And we had a party! One of the things we bought at the store was a big birthday cake on which we had written, HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYONE! Maddy is rarely here for birthday parties, so we decided to have one. We sang & blew out candles, and it was really fun.
My house was the hub, but there was plenty of movement between Ann’s & Ali’s, too. Between shoveling stints (at all locations), hanging out, and cooking/eating, we watched some movies/shows & played games. Brian taught us how to play Euchre, which taxed our brains a bit; Kate & I taught Maddy how to play Azul (it had been a while for us); Skip-bo & Sequence, sometimes with a kid or two; Nerts & Liverpool Rummy (a new-to-us game that Maddy taught us). There was some crafting here & there; and Junah worked on a big school project. I stayed up late to watch the Oscars (which I recorded).
It was the most fun we’ve ever had during a blizzard. 10/10. Highly recommend.
We’ve had some snow the past few days. Blizzard conditions, lots of snow, very cold wind chills — schools, stores, banks & even some gas stations are closed. Road crews are doing what they can, but some people are at their wits end.
Today on Facebook:
As you can see, there are a few comments. One of my favorites: On a scale of 1 to “laying in the road,” how ready are you for Spring?
We’ve been keeping up with it, with humongous thanks to Kate & Maddy! Maddy wanted to see a little snow while she was here, but this is way beyond! 😂
My knitting time has been limited, but I have been plugging away on my Farfalle Cardigan! Unfortunately, with the changing of the clocks, I didn’t have an opportunity for a picture in daylight. I’m just about to the third increase on the first sleeve, and then it’s straight mosaic garter stitch until I reach the specified measurement. I’d be a bit further if I hadn’t sailed right past the second increase… I had to rip out & redo about a half-dozen rows. Così è la vita!
QUILTING:
The quilting has been a bit slower, too, but somehow I’m only one block away from the required number. Here are the latest two:
This is a block I found online called Sunset Trail (the sample looks more like a sunset).
This is the one I showed last week as a concept of a block. It’s made from all of the corners that I cut off (and saved) while making previous blocks. I sewed the cut-off triangles together to make half square triangles & then arranged them in a way that I liked (it reminds me of the Economy block). The squares are small, so I had to do some math to add a border to make the finished block the correct size… and I did it wrong, so there are two borders. Quilter’s Math is different than Knitter’s Math, but my biggest mistake was thinking I could do it all in my head!
The last block will also be made up of half-square triangles — some of these & some others — I’m using scraps! I sewed & pressed a bunch of them at class last night, now I need to trim them. I’m sure I have enough for three blocks… choices, choices! Most everyone else in class had their quilt tops assembled with sashing & cornerstones, and were working on the border — it was so fun to see them all coming together! Soon… I’ll be there soon!!
READING:
No change… (bedtime pages): No Time on My Handsby Grace Snyder. I think I’m at the point in the book when she really starts getting into quilting… she just got a sewing machine!
