And here we are at Monday again! I took three photos this morning and had to pick just one for the first post photo … this was the last one I took. I turned to go inside with my photo of the day and saw the moon reflected in the water and then saw it up in the tree. It reminds me what it’s like to have the open water back on a calm morning. I am always sad to see the ice go out but I’m happy to have the open water back. One of our lakeside neighbors (across the lake and north of us) posted a photo of a boat on the water yesterday. They must have put the boat in in Oakland because Sidney is still iced in. I’ll bet there are loons somewhere on the lake, too. Just not by us.

I was up on the later side last night recording a lullaby for my granddaughter and knitting, of course, after a day of sewing. I decided to uncover my sewing machine after several months of inactivity and I’m glad I did. The spongey/foam disc on the thread spindle had completely disintegrated and I had a little mess to clean up. While cleaning that little mess, I cleaned the whole cabinet/table, too. Good to go for another bit. I was inspired by Kate at the Last Homely House YouTube channel and then, also, by one of my Friday afternoon knitters, to make a patchwork pouch. I have lots of fabric and thought I could cut up some bee-themed fabric pre-cuts that I have and make said pouch. And that I did.

I find sewing fun but way more brain power is used when sewing because it’s not intuitive to me. I made a bunch of mistakes along the way but I am completely satisfied with the end result. I have since added a bee-utiful ribbon to the top so I can tie it closed. But suffice it to say that the better part of the day was spent cutting squares (I cut the 5×5 inch pre-cuts into four) and then arranging and rearranging them into a pattern that I liked, sewing them together in strips and then sewing the strips together to make a 12×12 inch square of fabric. I sandwiched them together with a 12″ square of lining fabric and turned it right side out before stitching all the way around. (Kate didn’t do this and I don’t know if I would the next time but it’s good.) I hand quilted it next … and remembered how I like to stitch by hand. I have another project that’s been sitting in time out and maybe it’s time to resurrect it, too. I am so happy with the result and now I just have to figure out how I want to use it.

Once done with my pouch, I pulled out my Hansel Hap and got some knitting done. I am happy to report that I am at 154 stitches (I’ve added some of my favorite stitch markers to mark 50 stitches so the counting is easier as I grow this shawl.) I’m happy with the yarn and it’s a good project to pull out at the end of the day when my brain is tired. A few more rows and I will be able to start the border which will be even more fun and take a little more brain power (the Vanilla Sweater will then take on the late knitting role.)

I have added the third little ball of MC yarn with a spit splice so there are no ends to weave in at the end and it’s getting bigger for sure. I have a feeling this will become my atelier shawl for those times when I need a little something over my shoulders as I work.

The plumber has arrived this morning to repair the water intake system that broke about 8 weeks ago so the water has been turned off and we’ll likely be without it most of the day, So I was up and showered and dressed earlier than usual. A gift of a little bit more time to be up in my atelier to clean up a bit from yesterday’s adventure and maybe I’ll get a little bit of time to knit, too.

Oh! Here are the other two morning photos from this morning at 6am. The ice is so thin but the skating rink next door is still visible!

Gone knitting.