Tag Archive: ChiaoGoo Red-lace Circular Needles Toe-up Two At A Time Socks



Your prompt for JusJoJan January 31st, 2025 is “fini.” Find a word that has “fini” in it and use that as your prompt word. Have fun!

Well, that’s easy! It is Finishing Friday! A great way to keep track of hobbies and passions. A way to see progress when, at times, it seems the end is as far as infinity. Row at a time, an inch at a time, a chord played right, or a rhythm that stays where it belongs is fun to keep track of. Many keep track of grievances or pain. I have. I probably will again and again. But I feel more fulfilled if I can see good and beautiful things done from the same place as the bird’s song. It feels right. It gives me pleasure. Not because I am looking for praise. I thank you for that, but it is more for me to feel like I am moving forward.

This felt good as it hit. Some days I do a lot of lessons. For others, I just do the one to get the points. I love languages, so it is fun for me.

The last two hats were for smaller heads. So I decided to make one a little bigger. I just finished the ribbing and started on the basket weave part. It is easier on my hands than crocheting or knitting, so while I am feeling the arthritis, I’m being gentle on the fingers.

My brother’s socks are coming along. Less than an inch to the end of the arch ribbing. Then, an inch to the beginning of the heel. I feel I am at the beginning of the end of this pair.

The middle section of the ‘smiling turtle’ diamond painting is almost done. It is a fun project. I love all the colors.

I have, in all essence, finished this book. Most of it was a review of things I’ve learned all my life, especially as a music major. But toward the end, it started meeting my needs. It has a lot of ways to improvise. I still find myself trying to play every single note rather than play, but I’m seeing ways to do it. I’ll be doing the review for this book soon. Mostly, at this point, I am in love with the last song presented. It’s called Coming Home.

So my favorite songs to play right now are Baby Elephant Walk, Just the Way You Are, God Bless the Child, and Coming Home. They drive me to the piano. I actually spent an hour there today. Remember in the summer or fall when I stated I could barely get five minutes in before pain or boredom pulled me away. Now, I have the joy of actually hearing and feeling the earworms that crawl through my head the rest of the day. My own music!

My ukulele, violin, and recorders sit sadly, waiting for my hands to feel better. I miss the learning process with them.

Well, that’s my Friday report. Fini!


Please visit June’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 24th, 2025 is “hobbies.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
One of my hobbies is diamond painting. My ‘smiling turtle’ is coming along. I’d say about halfway.
Because crochet has been hurting my thumb, elbow, and shoulder, I went back to loom knitting. The ribbing is two-by-two knit/purl. I am not a fan of e-wrapping. It seems too bulky. But it’ll be warm for someone out there. I’ll make a top-knot puff to finish it.
My second loom knit hat is a basket weave. I only e-wrapped the cast-on. I’m using the green, 36-peg loom. The weave look is three knits, three purls, and alternating the order every three rows. This one needs a top-knot, too.
My brother’s socks are coming along. I hope he likes the ribbed arch like I do. Once the arch is done, the rest of the sock seems to come along quickly. Hopefully, they will be done soon.

My other hobbies are musical in nature. Having gotten back to piano this past summer, starting at one song or five minutes, only as long as it was fun. Now I can go as long as an hour but seem to average half an hour to 5 minutes.

After summer and fall, working on classical, suddenly winter brought some fun carols. I loved some of the more modern rhythms. So when I had to put them away, I made a bit of a resolution or goal to learn more modern beats. I want to be able to improvise and even compose my own music. So I started working through a few books like

Much of it is elementary. I assume I am of intermediate level. But my rhythm is horrid. Especially modern beats, blues, or jazz.

I pulled out another book and started at the beginning with the song, Just the Way You Are, from this book:

Version 1.0.0

It seems easy enough, but it sounded nothing like the beloved Billy Joel’s golden hit when I started. But gradually, the beat is growing in my soul.

I was trying other instruments to get back into music. Recorder, soprano, alto, and tenor. Ukulele. And finally, a violin. When my thumb, elbow, and shoulder started hurting, these also had to go by the wayside. I miss them, but the piano doesn’t hurt my arms or hands. My back, yes. But I am working on posture and yoga to help with that. Hence the shorter sessions.

I love being 75. Retired. Older than my piano teacher was when I was 12, older than my mother, who never got to play for fun. I’m trying to play for them now. And my inner sprites and muses.

I take it seriously!

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 10th, 2025 is “echo.” Use it any way you’d like. Thank you, Dan for the prompt! Please be sure to visit Dan’s blog. Enjoy!

Let’s try an echo from the past. It is Friday. So how about Finishing Friday? Best I could do on short notice.

So, smiling turtle is coming along. The bottom is almost done.
These slipper socks were supposed to be for my son, but I found they fit me instead.
They are comfy!
Just as I was going to restart my son’s sox, but my brother, who lives with us, asked for a pair. So I’ll make his first. They are coming along.
I’m trying to teach myself to improvise and play something more modern than classical. Modern beats are hard for me. I’ll get there.

For a while, I had to do very little as the bottom two knuckles of my left thumb started hurting. It went up my arm, all the joints and into the scapula. So all knitting, crocheting, even violin, and ukulele had to stop.  Even the piano hurt when I’d hit notes too hard on the side of the thumb. It made me so sad.

Luckily, it is getting better. But I’m still giving the crochet and the strings a break. Meanwhile, I’m trying morning bed yoga and include hand, arms, and shoulder stretches. That is helping the sciatica stabs, too.

Back to the prompt. I wish I could go somewhere to hear an echo. Somewhere so in Nature and isolated that a whisper would repeat back. It is such a great sensation to live through. I’ve been in caves that had that kind of sound. And the acoustics were so great that when my mom and I sang out it sounded like the most beautiful sound ever.

One-Liner Wednesday/#JusJoJan


Some gifts end up too small for the possible recipient’s feet, but fit mine perfectly. Oops!

Thank you, Linda, for One-Liner Wednesday.


Yes, I have made progress. The heel is nearly halfway done. Not long now if my joints will cooperate.
Smiling Turtle is coming along. Slowly. But what do you expect from a turtle? It’s fun.

I’ve had so much fun with my piano, learning and relearning Christmas songs. In this book

My fav is

Yes, I got star stickers which means I was a lot older than my all time easy fav
See how easy, and note the immature stickers. Still it’s the one I play best.
I’m just learning many of these. They are harder. Cut time! I wonder if the Doctor understands. Oh, of course, Peter Capaldi does!
I don’t know if you can read my note to me for next year. Chord changes are gorgeous!
A piece of Christmas sheet music that’s fun. Still needs work.
A much harder and cooler version of White Christmas.

I’m going to work on these songs just one more week. Then I’ll do a ‘warts and all’ recording before retiring them to wait at least 250 days.

I’m going to miss these.

Finishing Friday


My newest diamond painting project. I’m calling it ‘smiling turtle.’
Just beginning.
Somebody who has bigger feet than mine only have to wait for the heels and the legs of the socks. Probably not in time for Christmas but if I can keep my hands from hurting long enough. Aspercreme is my friend.

Though energy, hands, and back have stopped much practice on violin, uke, and even recorder,  I hope to get it back. That and other yarn projects will have to wait for the healing.

I have enjoyed the heck out of playing Christmas songs some new, some old favorites from my childhood lessons. I realized in 5 days I will have to bundle them up with notes for next year. I plan to get more serious about scales, arpeggios, improvisations, and dare I dare, composing? It’s a lifelong dream. If not now then when?

Duolingo continues to keep my brain working. I usually do it while I ride at least 5 miles or over 30 minutes on my stationary bike. Now on level 2 rather than 1. Yay, that’s some improvement.

Dare I call it a habit that I started morning bed yoga? This morning my whole spine crackled. I’m hoping it was for good and not evil. I haven’t hurt anymore than usual so, maybe it’s good, eh?


I found a 4 pager that is fun to pianoize. I know I could play it easily when I was a young teen. See the star stickers? Yeah, I thought I was too old for cutesy stickers. Yet, my prof in college often gave us adult students stickers or happy faces. Oh, the old, boring age of adolescents! I should probably do a vlog ‘concert’ to see if I’ve improved since my last ‘warts and all’ vlog
This piece of fun for my recorder, uke, and violin. The challenge for my piano is to teach myself to improvise more. And the vocal range is easy.

I’m enjoying my music.

And there are times I feel my inner child do this:

So close to being done. Hopefully in time…
Almost to the heel. Hopefully, these will be way too big for me and fit one of the males in my life.
This shows the freezing fog of the past week is cleared. See that beautiful blue sky. It’s not gotten too much above 32 this week. Pretty. But the weather changing is still causing arthritic pains for we old folks.

Sadly, my NaNoWriMo stalled. Holding the laptop hurts, my eyes couldn’t focus, yeah, the changing barometric pressure affects a lot for me. So I changed goals from 50k, to 25k, and finally to 10k. Today I have 9,642, so I think I’ll meet that goal tomorrow.

Shadow Foxing is the title. Not about the furry animals, by the way. Character types.

So nothing is near finished–except the dragon. But happy progress is happening.

Back to work.

Nothing is finished. The weather has made my favorite things uncomfortable if not downright pain. But progress goes slow. One second spent on projects you feel passionate about is still progress! So here are some things still moving forward.

So little left to do.
Another pair of slippers on the comfy arch.
Trying to make stress balls. But I think I need to frog and start over.
A uke Kindle book I’m playing with.
My family thinks I’m overdoing it. I need a place to put the taped together pieces. Maybe a scroll library? I don’t want to fold or roll these as they become even more cumbersome. Ideas?
Recorder fun
More Christmas fun for the recorders.
Christmas for the violin. Bow tightening and rosin amounts still in flux.

And prayers for the safety of my adult kids driving over the river and through the woods, or some such. Weather will be rain/snow, etc. I’m worried but can’t wait to see everyone!

Finishing Friday


Just the neck and head of the dragon left. I have to work upside down to reach the top without hurting.
Watermelon socks finished! Yay!
He, finally, jumps into my chair seeking pets and love. He tolerates lap time. He’s very food oriented. A little treat gained the pets. Bigger reward, lap time. He’ll roll the ball back to me and gives high fives. (Oh, that book is my character development fav. And yes, my stationary bike is right in the way to force me to hop on and go!

My ‘practice’ journals and hobby journals are helping my progress. I’m finding myself wanting to play longer and more often on my instruments. Even the violin. I’m still trying to figure out tightening and loosening and rosining the bow.

Now NaNoWriMo. I’m three days behind. I hope to catch up but I am enjoying the story.


Finally finished with the heels’ decreases. In about three inches the socks will fly in the mail.
Just a few strays and I’ll be halfway through. I usually take 3-5 pictures. The first pic with back light, circle/magnifying light, piano light, overhead light. Each light gives a different feeling. But it seems my favorite is with just the overhead. It seems to make the ‘diamonds’ sparkle. The only trouble is you can see the glare of the protective cellophane. At my next sitting, I’ll turn it upside down and work up (down?).

Journaling my many hobbies has helped a lot in a lot of ways. But some things are hard to quantify. Or know of ways to talk about. Outside of pictures my yarn crafts just grow or are frogged back. The diamond painting doesn’t reflect well in journals either.

Then there’s the boring things like stationary bike time/distances which doesn’t change much. Duolingo has its own goals and rewards so I don’t journal. Although… Maybe it’s time to take notes and keep track of new vocabulary?

The piano journal is helping a lot! If I read the notes from my last run of a piece I see the problem spots.  If it’s a big problem I start there then play the song. I’m beginning to love my piano time. That’s worthy of a FINALLY!

Oh, and my violin journal is freaking out with successes. No, I’m not ready for Carnegy, but full tunes. Not feeling like hiding the instrument in the closet is PROGRESS!

That’s probably enough for now.

Oh, NaNo is started but I need to get another 800 words before bed. I have no title or know where it’s heading. Best get busy!

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