Wednesday With Witches....

I took my rya rug box for something to work on today... I also took a magnifying glass... It turned out that the magnifier was NOT a good one to work on the rugs with. 

It just didn't work right.  That's all I can say.

Besides, I didn't really want to work anyway.  I just wanted to watch what everyone else was doing.

When I got home, I found that Tessie and Zar had been in the work room all afternoon.

Tessie was finding all kinds of mini beads, so that she could request me to make jewelry for her...

Zar was just sitting there ignoring her.  He knows that, unless I am in the mood, she is NOT going to get new jewelry.

I am not in the mood.

 When they gave up in the bead cabinet, they relaxed in Tessie's new closet. I am still leaning towards making the kidney shaped dresser for that room.  I don't like the lounge chair. It only accommodates one person and there is no mirror to see what the clothes look like after she puts them on.

The other reason that I want to do the dressing table is... I found mirrors at Walmart!

They were in the hardware area with some other things to put on our big people walls as decorations. 

There are 14 mirrors in three different sizes in the package and they were under four dollars!

I think that I am going to finish Tessie's dressing room before doing anything else!

The largest mirrors in the package would be perfect for the dressing table.  Tomorrow, I am going to start the instructions for the dressing table.  Stay tuned!

See you tomorrow!!!

I am Making More Room!!!

I took Zar's rya rug and a pair of Christmas socks to Wednesday Witches today.  I got a couple of rows done on the rug and a lot of rows done on one of the socks.

At this rate, both one pair of socks and the rug will be done by next Christmas...

 The pile in the laundry basket is growing... The rest of the room is looking better.

I won't show it to you today.  Maybe tomorrow.

I have decided that all of the little square jars of paint brushes, pencils and tools are not a necessity on the desk.  The first thing tomorrow, those are going in drawers and boxes.

If I do that, I might even be able to do things on the desk top!

Tessie has ordered me to get rid of some of these boxes. 

She says that all of the stuff in them could be scaled down and put in empty drawers.

Now all I have to do is find empty drawers to put them in.

Like I said before... Not today... Tomorrow.

See you then.

It's still drizzling!

That puts me in a mood for doing quiet things. 

First quiet thing? About two and a half rows on the rug.  I am not sure how big it is going to be until the thread runs out.  I still have quite a bit left.

Turquoise and Fuzzy is done.  I made it to keep the two disappearing remotes together.  It is working well so far... Of course I only finished it last night.

Ask me about a week from now where the remotes are... I will have no idea. Oh well...

I also started re-doing some of my memory wire bracelets.  They were all on round shaped memory wire.  Walmart is carrying some that is oval shaped now.  I like that better. It is more comfortable on my wrist.

This is one of my favorites.

The rain has been doing some good.  My berry plants are all happily growing new leaves and the strawberry plant has five berries on it so far... Now if I can get them to grow up and turn red, I will be a happy camper.

Wish me luck.

See you tomorrow.

Wonded, But Still Working...

Kota and I got into an argument as to whom owned the IPad that he is lying on,  just a little bit ago... I am now sporting several Band-aids  On my right hand.  He got me with his claws in a couple of places. BRAT!!!

I have another row and a half done on the rug.  Slowly but surely I am winning the race.

As soon as I put down the rug and started arguing with Kota over the computer... It disappeared. 

I found it in the castle bedroom... It is not staying there!!!

This is what took up most of the morning.  Once I get familiar with this beast, I think that I am going to like it.

I did manage to make spaghetti and sauce in it this morning. It took a while to get it going properly. When Walter got home from golf, I was still trying to get it going.  He helped and the spaghetti was pretty good... Nothing to write home about, but pretty fast. The woman that posted the recipe on her blog raved about it... Me not so much. 

Anyway, after I get used to using it, I imagine that it will go better and turn out better tasting things. I bought a pot roast and a pork roast to try out.  It will be great, once I get better at telling it what to do.

Back to work.  See you tomorrow.

Excuses... Excuses... Excuses...

I got a couple more rows done on the rug... That's all... That's it. I am getting there a little bit at a time.  When this is done, Zar can have his "He Shed". 

See photos below for all of my excuses for not doing more.....

I bought this at Walmart yesterday... It has been sitting on the dining room table.

I have been on Pinterest and other websites collecting information and recipes for it. 

I have to go to the store tomorrow to buy something to cook in it.  All I have to do is narrow down all of the recipes that I collected in the past couple days.

My other excuse is this... It's the first Toscano catalog that I have received in the mail for a few years.  Walter ordered Victor the dragon from them so they think that I should see all of the goodies and order more...

My big problem with this catalog is the neat furniture and goodies that they have on every page...

I am looking at the swan lounge at the bottom of the page.  I think that it would be great in mini... They have a lot of neat ideas and sometimes little things that I can use in minis.

Anyway, I should get back to work and do more rug making before bed time.

Back to work.  See you tomorrow.

A Little Mini...

Hey! I did minis.  I did a row and a half on this rug! I know that isn't much, but it's better that nothing!

Walter went golfing this morning and I went to Walmart and bought a new Instant Pot.  A month ago, you could have asked me what an Instant Pot was and I would not have been able to answer the question.  I started seeing them on Pinterest and now I have one.   

I managed to actually take it out of the box today.  Maybe tomorrow, I will try it out.

Meanwhile, Walter and I both had eye exams this afternoon. Nothing has changed for either of us.  No need for new glasses. 

I left Kota in charge.  When we got back, he was threatening Tessie with bodily harm... I think that the exact words were.  "Behave Tessie.  I will bite your head off of your little neck if you step out of line!"

I didn't actually hear him say that.  Tessie repeated it to me when we got home.  I believe her... Kota doesn't mess around when he is in charge!

I did manage to get the heel flap started on this sock while waiting for Walter to get his eyes checked...

No. It's not mini, but at least I got something done.

This is one of those "Flat feet pieces  that someone sent me a few years ago.  Love these things.  They come as flat pieces and you can turn them into anything knitted.  I am liking these socks. Such pretty colors!

Over the past couple of years, Walter has bribed me with a Starbucks treat every time I went to the doctors. 

Today we both went to the doctor so we both got Starbucks... OK.  So we both get Starbucks every time, but this time Walter's was legitimate too...

He has his annual checkup on Friday.  I wonder if I get one when he goes to do that???

Anyway, not a lot accomplished today... Maybe tomorrow.

See you then.

After Christmas Cleaning Should Never Happen!!!

 I Started with the bedside table.  Not bad.  I got it cleaned in no time and didn't run into any problems.  No unfinished projects...

The telephone table was a bit riskier.  Three pair of unfinished socks and a hat...

Don't ask about the ones that I hid in the closet.  I was just cleaning the tables.  Not the boxes of yarn that I put in the closet yesterday... The socks will all get finished some time... This year?  Next year?

I cleaned off the work table... Victor is very proud.  After all, that is where he has to live.

I can get back to work there at any time!

Then I made the mistake of opening one of the drawers where I keep unfinished rugs...

We aren't going to talk about the other two drawers like this... Not a word!

I am planning on finishing the Rya in the right bottom corner before I do anything else. That is the one that I started for The He Shed.  It is about three quarters done.   I am going back in and clean the bathroom now... One problem... All of my unfinished jewelry pieces are in there... Again. We are not going to talk about this.

See you tomorrow.

Rugwork... Guess Who's Doing It???

It certainly isn't Zar.  He would have you believe he is working on his... He's not.  I am.

I heard him and Tessie rummaging around in the workroom this morning.

As soon as I discovered them, they both took off.  Zar grabbed his and headed for the bedroom, where he made like he was really into working on his... Please note... The rug is upside down.  The person working on it would have to be where you are.  That is, facing the rug...

I found Tessie in her cottage.  She was sitting in the bedroom wiggling her bare toes in the little red rya I made a while ago. 

She made it look like she was straightening the thread...

Truth be told, she was just making a bigger mess for me to untangle...

But her toes were warm.

Meanwhile, I took the rug that Zar was "working" on and started trying to finish that.

There are probably about 25 rows, if the thread holds out that long...We shall see...

Walter has gone to a U of A game with a friend.  I get to stay home and try to get a few more rows of this done tonight...

Here I go again.  Someone else starts the project and I get to finish it.  One row at a time...

See you tomorrow.

Getting Started...

Tessie is getting her way.....again. I am doing work on both boxes at once.

I will show you what is happening in Tessie's box, but the other one will have to wait until Christmas.

If I do both, you may have some idea of how I am using my time... Just look at what I do to Tessie's box and double it.

I have not done much on the rya since the last time you saw it...Another row and a part...

Tessie says that it will go well with Sautillo tile.  That is what the floors are going to be in both boxes.

I got the ceilings and floors painted in both boxes this morning.

If Tessie would just make up her mind on color, I would paint the walls.

The gift box will be a beige, with just a hint of mauve.

I spent the past couple of hours measuring and cutting 1" squares of theater trays.  This time I am using the smooth side to make the Sautillo tile.  It is what is in all of the old Spanish style houses in Tucson.  One foot square tile is what is in April's house.  It was built a long time ago.

Now all I have to do is paint it and install it.   Then the edges will be turned down with a ball stylus, after the painting. You will get to see the steps as I do them. back to the grindstone...

See you tomorrow.

The Way It Used To Be

It used to be that these doors just fit in the holes in the room box kits... Someone has changed something.  The doors are now too short and too narrow to fit right.  They are going to have to be fudged a bit. 

I have already cut between a quarter and a half inch off of the cutouts for the doors. 

As you can see, I have them glued and taped in place. 

Now I am waiting for the glue to dry.

I found this bag of stuff for Tessie when I was cleaning.  She now has combs, safety pins, hair pins and scissors. Not to mention nail files... I can see it now.  I will be getting out the beads and findings to make nail polish and such. 

She knew I was hiding something and she went looking...

She was grinning from ear to ear when she found out what was in the bag... And I was right.  Nail polish bottles coming right up!

I am getting closer to finishing the rya rug.  I just keep plugging along.  A few rows a day and soon I will be finished.

I am liking this one and I want one my size like this one... April tried to talk me into making one just like this in real size for her... I don't think that I will live that long!

It takes me weeks to finish this size.  Can you imagine doing this on a piece of canvas that is six feet square... It might take a while!

Then after I got that finished, I would have to go back and finish all of the mini ones in this box...

I just told her that if she could afford enough silk yarn to make a six footer, I would get started...

I think that I am pretty safe.  It would be in the thousands of dollars category...

I am going back and work on the two room boxes some more.

See you tomorrow.

Having Fun Now....

We Found Tessie's alligator while cleaning the workroom.

She hasn't bugged ,me about doing things for her for the last 48 hours.  She and her friend have been getting reacquainted.

I am being ignored... That is a good thing.

On the other hand, Kota has been next to me for those 48 hours.  He likes having me to himself.  So he divides his time between Walter and I equally.

He has been helping me work on the Rya rug most of the day.  Walter was playing golf.  So what else could Kota do?  I was the only one around to pet him.

I am making progress on the Rya rug.  That little pile up in the corner is all of the thread that I have left.  I think that it will cover most of the canvas that is left.

And yes.  The workroom is still presentable.  I need to go put a couple of things away that are on the worktable and the bench. Otherwise it is staying clean.

Then back to the rya.  See you tomorrow.

The Monsoons Are Back!!!

The colors in this yarn remind me of the color of the sky this afternoon.

Not much pink. A lot of gray and blue though. 

I got this thread from Witch Joan.  She tried doing the Rya, but it was too tough on her hands.  Arthritis and Rya rug making in mini don't mix well...

Now about the skies... Very gray and raining a lot.  Our back yard is going to be flooded in a little while.

Hey! I am not complaining. I won't have to water for a few days...

This is what is happening to the hummingbirds... He looks like he is about to be blown away.  Strangely, he is!

The wind is blowing him off course when he flies. He is a determined bird though.

He wants dinner... And he is getting it. A little at a time.  I tried for a photo of him eating, but unfortunately, he kept getting blown off course.

The wind seems to be slowing down a bit, so I am not worried that he won't get enough to eat.  There are five of these silly little birds flying around the back yard.  They seem to enjoy the rainy weather.

The Wednesday Witches went down town to Witch Judy's restaurant to have lunch today, so no minis.  Just a lot of good food. It is in a building next to the Tucson Museum of Art.  The name of the restaurant is Café a la C'art. The building that it is in, is one of the oldest buildings in Tucson. If you  ever get to Tucson, I highly recommend it! Great food! 

A good time was had by all.

Back to minis tomorrow. See you then!

Finishing the Rya...

I decided to make a small throw rug, instead of pillows. I made it as big as I could on the canvas that I started it on. Now to finish it.

This is how you go about it. 

First I trimmed the edges three rows from the rug all the way around.

Then I cut a diagonal on all four corners.

I intentionally left the last two threads in all of the corners.  To be trimmed after putting on

the glue and the clips.

I put the glue on the unfinished edges of the rug.  NOT on the rug itself.  That way, it will not gum up the nap on the rug.

Then I turned under all of the edges, long sides first, then the short, and clipped them with hair clips. 

I haven't seen the clips in the hair care section of Walmart in a long time.  The other day I did find them in the jewelry section.  People are

decorating them to wear in their hair. 

Just in case you go to look for them, try the jewelry making section if they can't be found in the hair care section.

Anyway, after the rug is dry, take them off and turn the rug right side up and use your toothbrush to brush the edges outward.

If you turn it back over, you will see that it sticks out on all four sides.

Of course, after all that work, guess who has the rug?...

Yup. It's in front of Tessie's She Shed.  Nope. It doesn't match, but that's not what matters...

What matters is that "Possession is nine points of the law."... Anyway, that's Tessie's story and she's sticking with it.

See you tomorrow.