Family Mellmann

With college graduation right around the corner (mid-May) and a possible move to another part of the country (one goes where the jobs are and the cost of living is manageable) Patrick is starting to prepare for full independence and life on his own. While he may not move the day after graduation, today he started packing away some of our old dishes (we got new ones) which will serve in his first kitchen.  It was very convenient that our new dishes came in these sturdy, already labeled "GLASS", boxes with bubbles and foam packing materials.

In addition to black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, and downy woodpeckers - who all eat from the bird feeders, I have several mourning doves.  Normally, the doves, who are ground-feeders, will find a spot in the garden to rest, but it has been cold and blustery here today and it seems that these two wanted to rest on higher ground.  Maybe they're watching for my goldfinches; they seem to have flown south for the winter.

 After years of asking if Katherine wanted me to knit her anything - and getting "I can't think of anything" as an answer - she recently scolded me saying that I never made her anything.  Well, we'll forget the fact that I've asked for years and go straight to the finished product.  Her request was soft and warm not-red scarf.  Viola!

Over the summer I purchased some inexpensive shirts on Amazon that had a good cut/style for my frame.  I bought this shirt with a Paisley pattern and decided to customize a skirt to go with it.  Three repeating mandalas, using colors from the shirt, mimic the twist-and-turn pattern of the Paisley. Here are some up-close images.

Several years ago my Mom made some skirts for me.  As happens, over time the elastic in the waistband dried out and gave up.  I could throw the well-warn skirt away, replace the elastic, or "upcycle" the material.  So, viola!  A new apron. It even has my name embroidered on it. While I was sewing on this project, my embroidery machine was busy working on Project #2.  With a little Vivaldi in my headphones, I didn't hear both machines chugging away, but chug away they did. One thing I noticed while I was working is how old my sewing machine is.  Standard on most newer machines these days (including my embroidery machine) is a needle threader.  This nifty contraption is the thread line and with the flick of a lever will thread the needle. My sewing machine, on the other hand, requires a steady hand and a good eye...or a manual needle threader.  These new fangled threaders are cute, but they don't last long (which is probably why they're sold in boxes of 10 rather th