Wednesday, September 20, 2017

2016 ~ In a Nutshell - Part 1

My last blog post was in February of 2016 - yikes!  I left off with a picture of the deck and pond at our rental in Lewes.  My husband and I had decided it was best to find a rental for a year or so and look for a new home without the stress of trying to coordinate the sale of one house and the purchase of another.  Good thing - because our home sold very quickly.  It was a lot of fun to move into a large town house and spread out.
The sunroom was our favorite room in the house. It faced South and had a great view of the sunrise.
2016 was a tough year. We welcomed the move closer to the beach, stores and services.  But my Mom's health was failing and by September we realized she needed hospice to make weekly visits.  
My sewing loft.
At the townhouse, I was able to set up a sewing area in the 2nd floor loft and I filled the loft closet with my entire stash of fabric, batting and other craft supplies.  The loft was the perfect spot for me to set up shop and still be able to keep an ear out for my mom on the first floor. 

In between caring for Mom, cooking, etc. I was able to keep creating, knitting, crocheting and sewing.  
Here are pictures of a quilt I made for Tony & I.  Its the Sultry Jelly Roll Project on the Moda Bake Shop website.
I had this Bali Pops Batik jelly roll for many years - I just couldn't bring myself to use it until I found just the right quilt pattern for it.  
The braid looks a lot harder to sew than it really is.

All together!  Life got crazy near the end of the year, so the quilting had to wait until 2017. 
I fell in love with the Coffeeshop Shawl and had to make one. I absolutely love the feel and drape of 24/7 Cotton by Lion Brand. I think this was the first time I ever bought a kit to make something  I usually like to pick out my own materials.





I discovered Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Cotton"  Oh my gosh! It is wonderful - so soft, easy to work with and holds up through the washer and dryer. Don't want to use any other cotton for dishclothes and towels. The other brand I used to buy was stiff and hurt my hands to work with.
My favorite hotpad made with I Love This Cotton.

We found out that we were going to be grandparents again. I made booties in each color so that at the gender reveal party I'd have the right color to give as a gift  
These burp cloths made with cloth diapers are soft and so handy.

It's going to be a boy!

Love these little sweaters!

This minky kit is made of the softest fleece I've ever felt.  Sewing minky is not for the faint of heart - lets just leave it at that!  LOL!



Couldn't resist making a little kitty hat - Mom and Dad had the cutest kitty that sadly crossed the Rainbow Bridge since.then.

Chris and Dianna at the baby shower.

Introducing Cole Anthony - born in August!



A friend asked me to crochet cotton hats for her grand daughters.  This cotton is called Grace.  It is beautiful to work with and because it is mercerized, it has a slight sheen.

Made two hats to donate to the chemo hat drive.

This gorgeous scarf was as Christmas present for my brother.  This is a "broken rib" or mistake rib stitch.  I love the look and feel of it, but boy was it hard to keep mistake-free.  

Crocheted these cute cupcake purses for my girlfriend's grand daughters.  



This is the Seashell shawl by Aroha Knits. I had made one in a creme color as well.  first time I knitted short rows - it was confusing at first, but I forged on.

I am a member of the Ocean Waves Quilt Guild in Lewes, Delaware. They had a block a month for members to join in if they wished.  I was able to make the first 3 blocks in 2016.  Someday, I hope to finish all 12 because its a really nice scrap-buster quilt.  Piecemeal Quilts is where you can find the full pattern.
In September, 2016 we purchased a new home in an active adult community in Lewes.  We moved into it in October - which meant that we moved twice in one year.  It was fun to once again be able to plan and design a new home.  I'm going to write a separate post just on the new home.  

So until then, thanks for visiting.  I hope you'll leave a comment and let me know you came by. 

Pat

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Pat & Tony

Pat & Tony
Me and my best friend!