Life After 65 – Check it out

Whether you are 65, older, or even younger you may enjoy this new blog that just started up last month.  It’s called: Life After 65

The blog plans to focus on family, life, investing for your future both financially for your retirement and for what you’ll leave your family in the end (wills, trusts, etc.), health topics such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s, being a caregiver for both an elderly parent and for a disabled family member, and more.

If you look to the right sidebar you’ll also see a link to the blog listed in My Favorite Blogs.

Check it out!   (the site is still being fine-tuned on the theme and layout, so you may see some things change over the next couple weeks as they get everything set up the way they want)

Advertisements

Needlepainting: Iris and Rose

The iris I mentioned in my last post is finished! And I’m extremely happy with it.  It now hangs on the wall in our main bathroom.

After it was finished I was still in the mood to stitch, so I turned my attention to another flower that had been on my mind. A rainbow rose.  

I traced it onto sulky then stitched it on a black background. 

I did make some changes to the colors to go with what I had, but the rainbow rose worked up quickly. 

My next project was going to be needlepainting a small waterfall landscape. After studying some drawings I drew up a design, transferred, and outlined. And after a little bit of stitching realized it’s not the right project to hold my attention right now. 

What to do. What to do. 

Out came the hexies to play. 

150 basted. 10 stitched into twos. 71 to still baste. Then I’ll need to drag out some more fabric to cut up. 

Where Did I Go

I feel like I’ve disappeared! From the crafting world that is.  Work is extremely busy right now so when I do have some downtime, I don’t have the energy to craft. 

Although I have had some fun with graph paper and colored pencils lately: 

I may end up turning these into wall hangings or quilts…someday. 

Happy New Year! UFOs Spotted Ahead

Hello 2017 and goodbye 2016. I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve. My hubby and I went to see John Oliver Live in Detroit and it was awesome! He is hilarious.

2017 is bringing many challenges…such as the 2017 UFO Challenge I joined. 🙂 If you are on Facebook you can go to the American Patchwork & Quilting 2017 UFO Challenge page and join in the fun. They also have a website All People Quilt that you can check out instead. You fill out 12 sections on a spreadsheet/paper/etc. with the UFOs you’d like to finish in 2017. Fill it in randomly because you won’t be starting with #1 then moving to #2, and so on. Each month they will draw a new number and that is the section you work on that month. Such as for January #6 was drawn. So anything you have in the #6 section is what UFO(s) you try to finish or at least make good progress on.

My list is on my phone so I’ll have to put the picture up here later. But #6 for me is binding a Walk About quilt, finishing my Brick Wall quilt (it’s in rows at the moment needing to be arranged then sewn together and so on) and 2+ crochet chemo caps.

Yes…you can do more than just sewing/quilting on your list! Have some crochet or knit UFOs? Put them on the list! Embroidery? On the list it goes. Have fun and figure out what you want to get finished to reduce the UFO pile(s) in your craft room/house.

 

The main thing is have fun, be challenged, and get things accomplished. 🙂

 ETA: here is my list. 

 

Fall Sewing Retreat – soon

Very soon in fact. In just a couple of days I’ll be going to the Sew Crazy fall sewing retreat and I have nothing planned. NOTHING! I don’t know what I want to work on other than a Christmas gift quilt which is already in the rows and just needs to be sewn together. That shouldn’t take 3 days.

I have no idea what else I want to work on!  Maybe some bowl cozies for Christmas gifts? Pillowcases? I guess I better figure it out asap!

I’m glad they are doing a fall retreat. Normally it’s just a once-a-year retreat in January, where we’re dealing with ice and snow and brrrr cold weather.

 

I do have one small project I need to work on. Our craft group, Fiber Art Junkies, is doing a monthly challenge with 6″ blocks. Each month we’ll draw two colors out of a baggie, then we need to make a 6″ block with ONLY those two colors. Any shades of those colors but only those colors. They can be embellished, designed, etc. however we want, but must be 6″ finished, or 6 1/2″ unfinished (for future finishing with all the blocks) and only the two colors chosen for the month.

This month? Red and white! I’m debating if I want to do all my monthly blocks as crazy square blocks or if I want to pick a block design and go with that. Our next meeting is the 23rd so I need to have it done by then.

 

 

Happy 4th!

I hope all of you have a wonderful and safe 4th of July! Keep your pets indoors where it’s safe if fireworks will be going off near you.

 

 

Grrr

I had a post all written up. Then when I tried to attach the photos…my wordpress app on my phone crashed and reset back to before the multiple saves of the draft.

/sigh.

I’ll redo the post and share it later. It will have lots of photos…unless it keeps crashing!