FINALLY!

Finally some time to post and something to post about!  Let's journey back in the Way-Back Machine to May of this year. That is when our oldest granddaughter, Emily, had a momentous birthday. She turned 13!  We are so proud of our oldest granddaughter.  She is growing up to be a sweet, smart, nurturing young lady.  When we were visiting them last year, she had shown me a fabric packet that she liked.  I turned it into a quilt for her.  It was fun and every time I worked on it, I thought of her!  She is a joy to be around and we love her dearly! 

In May I also finished several knits I'd started during the winter.  First up is a Color Affection shawl.  I chose turquoise, mouse grey, and forest green.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  It's all just straight knitting, with increases done on each end.  I have several more colourways planned for more of these!

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Most of you know I do test knitting for a designer out of New York.  Here is one that she designed for her Dr. Who series.  I love, love, love Dr. Who and jumped at the chance to do this.  It's called Rose Tyler's Shawl.  What a fast and fun knit.  I love doing the staging for the photo shoots, too.  It's always a challenge to do something that will translate to the theme.  I think I nailed it this time. 

In June I took a Beginning Weaving class at a local Alpaca Farm.  Stacy at White River Alpacas, LLC, is a weaver, spinner, knitter, and she is a fabulous teacher.  I'd thought about learning to weave but didn't want to put money into all that's necessary just to find out I don't like weaving.  So when Stacy mentioned she was giving a class, I jumped right on it!  I spent all last Saturday at the farm, and here you see what I was able to accomplish.  Most everyone put theirs on a tote bag, but I think I will leave mine as a wall hanging for now.  It will tell me what it wants to be soon enough.

 And what would a visit to an alpaca farm be without seeing the alpacas?  Here is Rusty.  He was in the pasture right outside the house when we broke for lunch.  He looks like he has a dashing mustache.  I fell in love with Rusty! 

My friend Peggy and I drove to Rogers, Arkansas one Tuesday in May.  We wanted to go to the lovely quilting and knitting shop down there.  I knew that a lady in one of my groups lived near there so I contacted her and asked her if she'd like to meet us there and then have lunch.  Gail jumped at the chance, as we all do, to meet another Raveler.  After spending far too much time and money at the Rabbit's Lair in Rogers, we walked to a little cafe and spent 2 hours just talking, and knitting, and eating, and knitting....well, you get the idea!  The waitress was kind enough to take our picture.  

Gail, Sally, & Peggy at Rogers, Arkansas - May, 2013

Well, folks, I think I may have run out of things to tell you. Imagine that!  

Thanks for stopping by.

End of April

So the other day was my day off and I stayed home and puttered around (that means I knit most of the day).  It was overcast and rainy and there was no reason to be outside in the weather.  I looked outside around noon and this is what I saw...nap time in the meadow!

 About an hour later, this is the scene outside the window - thick fog. And it got even thicker as the afternoon wore on.  But by the time John got home from work around 5, there was absolutely no evidence that there had been fog...none! Clear skies and beautiful sunshine.

 Since then, we've had rain and cold....I see some blue sky peaking out of the clouds as I type this...almost enough to make a Dutch boy a pair of overalls so we might be clearing.

Yesterday John and I went out and bought some plants...some to put in the beds in front of the house and some to put in hanging planters for the porch...see that beautiful red rose there?  That's a Knock-Out Rose...they are supposed to be hardier and easier to grow that most other roses...we'll see.  It's a double red and just beautiful.  John is going to put it in a huge pot for now, till he gets the front section of the gardens done....then he will probably plant it permanently.

We also got several plants to put in hanging planters, some begonias, some coleus, and a huge fuchsia plant there in the far right of the picture...I love fuchsias....And he bought some bleeding heart seedlings the other day for my front beds....

Our oldest granddaughter is going to be 13 this Wednesday...I can't believe how the time has flown.  She was only 3 when Jill and John got married and now she's a teenager with 4 younger siblings.  And she's grown to be an amazing young woman....We are so very proud of the person she is becoming - caring, smart, pretty.  Just a lovely person to be around. Happy Birthday, our dear E....I'm really jealous that Papa is coming out there at the end of May to spend time with you and your family.  But I will get to see you at Christmas....can hardly wait.

Remember, folks, if you are ever near Springfield or Branson, Missouri, we have 2 guestrooms and you are welcome anytime!  Just give us a call!

Thanks for stopping by.

The Madness has Begun!

Yes, folks, it's that time of year again.  Sock Madness 7 started a few weeks ago. There are so many competitors this year that they made 7 teams....7 teams of 40 or 41 people!  Usually they have 4 teams of 50 people.  The word has gotten out that this is THE annual contest for knitters...I have no idea how many countries are represented this year.  The US, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Norway, Netherlands, France, Australia, and New Zealand are the ones I know have someone competing. And there will be 7 rounds again this year.  My team is Team Mission Accomplished and we have 41 lovely ladies.

 I made it into Round 2 with this pair, the Sockdolager.  Can you see that the top sock is a slight bit bigger than the bottom one?  Let me explain.  When the pattern first came out, there was discussion that if one had 'fluffy' ankles, one should knit the larger size.  Obviously my self-esteem said that I needed the larger size since I'm a rather 'fluffy' person all over.  So I cast on the larger size and went to town knitting.  Everything was going along swimmingly and I was counting the ridges you see along the top of the sock.  We needed the sock to be a minimum of 13 ridges.  I counted....then I counted again....and counted a third time.  Yep, 13 ridges.  The sock seemed to be really long...I mean really long.  Even for my size 10 feet this sock was l-o-n-g.  I finished the sock and laid it out and, just for good measure, counted the ridges again.  It seems I not only have non-fluffy ankles, I also can not count to 13.  There are 14 ridges on that sock!!! I was not going to rip it out and start over.  The rules state you can knit more but not less.  I left the sock as it was.  Then I cast on for the 2nd sock, this time with the number of stitches for non-fluffy ankles and was careful to knit only 13 ridges.  Socks were completed, photographed, and email sent to get qualified for Round 2.  I have since ripped the first sock down to parade rest (military term meaning back to the beginning for you civilians) and will knit a companion for the bottom sock once the Madness has ended for me. 

Round 2 was the Flying Dutchman sock.  This was a different method of knitting than I am used to.  A wonderful learning experience, as all Sock Madness Patterns are meant to be.  This time, we used a method called intarsia-in-the-round.  Put simply, one knits two rounds and then turns the needles around to purl two rounds on the inside...all the while following a set number of stitches in each colour.  I guess that wasn't really simple, was it....anyway, that's what one does for intarsia-in-the-round using two colours. I loved this technique.  My pair are entitled  USNRet. in honor of Mr. Wonderful...they are my socks but named for him.  They were only taking 33 people from each team into the next round so I knit like the wind and finished this pair in 6 days (as well as working and spending time with Mr. Wonderful on my day off!) I was number 17 on my team to finish. 

We have received the specifications for Round 3 and are chomping at the bit for the pattern to be emailed to us.  They don't tell us exactly when the round will start, only that we can expect the pattern within 48 hours of the release of specs.  That was 6:30 yesterday morning so it could come out anytime up to 6:30 tomorrow morning.  Waiting is the worst part of any Madness. 

Weather in Southwest Missouri is more spring-like these days.  Temps got to the mid-70's yesterday and the same is expected today.  Thunderstorms are expected as well but I love the sound of thunderstorms!  John is spending the good weather days seeding and fertilizing the fields so we can get some good grass for the cows.     

While waiting for the Round 3 pattern release, I've been working on a quilt for my daughter-in-law.  I promised I'd make a quilt using her running t-shirts.  I promised a long while back.  And I'm finally getting around to it.  The hardest part is laying them all out.  They are all different sizes and laying them out so they look pleasing to the eye is really hard.  Once I finally am happy with the layout, the sewing is the easy part.  Then it's off to the quilter.  I'm trying out a new quilter...she and her husband are just starting out with a new machine and I am letting them use my tops as experimental pieces.  So far, the ones I've seen them do are quite lovely.  They have one right now for me and I will post it soon.

Well, I suppose I've rambled enough.  I'm off to work on the T-Shirt quilt some more.  Thanks for stopping by.

TEN ON TUESDAY

This week's Ten on Tuesday topic is 10 Random things on my Mind.

1. Easter - it's less than 2 weeks away...we have 8 folks coming for dinner and the menu is set.  I made some cute plastic eggs with washi tape on them for the tablescape...now to decide how to display them.
2. Movies - I like going to the movies but the cost has gone up so much.  It's so much less expensive to wait for the DVD to come out and then we can watch them at our leisure - and make popcorn at home.
3. Yarn - I have so much yarn.  And I have so many plans for using it.  What I don't have is time.  I suspect that is not an uncommon complaint among crafters.
4. Travel - I am beginning to twitch...I love to travel (well, if truth be told, I love to fly).  I miss my friends in Southern California and those in Rhode Island.  I want to meet my newest granddaughter who is 5 months old already and I'd love to go see my mom for a few days.  All of this takes money, more money than I'm willing to spend at this time.  Thank goodness for telephones!  At least I can talk to my friends, and my mom, and the family in Utah.
5.  Bunco - this Thursday is Bunco nite and I am hosting it at my house.  We had to postpone it last month due to weather and I suspect we may need to do so again...snow is expected for Thursday thru Sunday.  It being the first day of Spring tomorrow doesn't seem to make a lick of difference when it comes to weather here in Missouri.
6. Getting older -  DH was laid off work a couple of weeks ago.  He is looking for work but who is going to hire a 61 1/2 year old man in this economy?  So we are trying to cut back on expenses.  We'll be fine, well, we have to be fine, don't we? But it sucks to get old!
7.  Crochet -  I've always wanted to learn to crochet.  I can't seem to find a reliable class anywhere near so I'm going to teach myself.  Thank goodness for YouTube and the internet...let's see how far I get.
8. Bucket Lists - How many people really have a Bucket List?  Or does everyone just use the term to mean a nebulous dream out there in the ethersphere but it's not written down?  I think I'm going to start a Bucket List for myself.  I can't imagine that it will contain really lofty dreams - let's face it, I'm 60 years old so the time to learn to be a really talented ballet dancer is probably more than I have left, don't you think? But I could take dance lessons just for me...I may need to look into that.
9.  Tidiness - what's the big deal about being tidy?  My studio is jammed with stuff, not at all tidy. But I can almost always put my hands on what I'm searching for, without ripping all over the place to find it.  I think Tidy is over-rated.
10.  Leprechaun Farts - I know, some of you are thinking, "What is she talking about?".  I received a swap package yesterday from a friend in Georgia.  I haven't sent hers yet...hopefully later this week.  The theme for this month is Leprechauns.  Inside the package was the usual Wee Tiny Sock, and a green pen, and a shamrock dishcloth, and some other green shamrock-y stuff.  But also included was a bar of soap.  The fragrance was labeled Leprechaun Farts.  Let me tell you, I never thought much about what Leprechauns' farts smelled like.  But after opening that package, I can surely tell you that they smell divine!  I wish I could send some of the smell thru the internet...you would be smiling and smelling for weeks!

Ok, that's about all on my mind today...I think I need a nap.

Thanks for stopping by.

The End of February

This week brought us more wicked weather.  On Wednesday nite, a storm began that mostly crippled the area for 24 hours.  Rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice and snow all came down onto trees and, more importantly, the roads.  Our Director called early Thursday morning and told everyone to stay home.  Even John stayed home.  By Friday morning, the plows had come thru enough to allow John to drive me into work on his own way to work.  And then our wonderful neighbor, and my office partner, dropped me off on his way home.  I'm such a weeny when it comes to weathery roads.  If it's cold and wet, I won't drive on it! That's just the way it is!

Remember how I said that 2013 is the Year of the Finish?  Well, the icy roads allowed me to finish another project that had been languishing in the studio.  These socks were a surprise gift from a designer friend in New York.  She named them Sally and there's a lovely story connected to it.  I won't tell you now because she hasn't published the pattern yet...once it's available for purchase, I can tell you the story.  Remind me if I forget!  My friend sent this pattern to me to test without telling me what it was.  When I got it in my email, and read the caption, I cried - this pattern was all about me! Now, you would think I'd be all about getting this one knit and photographed and sent back to her....It's been two years since she sent this to me and I am finally finishing it.  I'm sending the photos and the pattern corrections back today and she might have it ready soon. I chose a beautiful yarn dyed by another friend in Ireland - she calls it Wicked Witch of the West.  Aren't they pretty socks?  

I'm also knitting a shawl for myself..one that isn't a testknit....one that's just for me!  It's called Color Affection and below are the three colours I've chosen.  It's about 75% complete and I hope to finish it be the end of next week.  At least that's the goal.  You see, Sock Madness 7 starts sometime after March 1st and I need to have everything done by the time it starts....

Speaking of Sock Madness....they are scaring us even more than usual.  This year the supply list includes tiny 1/4" buttons (14 of them) and zippers!  ZIPPERS????? OMG, I am so screwed!  There is absolutely no way I'm going very far in this year's competition if the zipper socks are near the beginning...buttons I can do...easy, peasy...but zippers?  I'll get back to you on that one.

Well, I'm off to watch a movie and knit some more on my Color Affection shawl....Thanks for stopping by. 

Snow Days

They say that if you don't like the weather in Missouri, just wait a few minutes and it will change.  On Tuesday, we had temps in the 40-50 degree range.  We woke up on Wednesday to this!

By the time I got off work on Wednesday evening, it had melted and it looked as though it had never snowed at all.  We had temps in the 20's and 30's for 3 days and today it's in the 50's and 60's.   It's hard to make wardrobe decisions in advance these days...and one certainly can't put away the winter wardrobe yet...but I've pulled down the summer clothes.  it looks like a hurricane hit in the closet right now...no room for two different sets of clothes...I'm thinking the groundhog was right and we are almost done with winter.  

With the advent of March, it's time to be thinking about the madness beginning.  Sock Madness, that is.  Sock Madness 7 registration began on February 1st and will go to the end of the month.  The materials list has come out and there is a frenzy of sock yarn purchasing going on throughout the world.   I've got enough yarn to work for the competition so I'm good.  I DID need to purchase some tiny buttons and 2 zippers - you read that right...zippers!  That;s enough to scare the bejezzus out of any knitter...zippers.  Will have to put my faith in the designer for this one..I'll keep you updated when that sock comes out.

In the meantime, I usually donate prizes to the competition...would it be bragging to say that my prizes are much coveted each year? Well, they are...I've made 2 embroidered project bags and 3 zipper pouches this year.  The cup is only for perspective purposes...these pouches are a new project for me...they work up quite quickly...might need to make several more for friends and family and self!  

 And, finally, I've been trying to work up a wee tiny sock kit each weekend...I figure it will take me about 6 months to get caught up with all the kits that are awaiting attention but it's a nice goal, don't you think?  Here is a kit named Pink is Cool.  

And this one is called There Were Butterflies.  The patterns are from a designer friend.  I am excited about finishing these...they've been languishing in the bin for almost 2 years.

Well, I've still got some daylight left so might need to work on a knitting project....now to decide.  Will post once it's done.

Thanks for stopping by.

10 on Tuesday

 I've named 2013! This is the year of the Finish!  

My very first 10 on Tuesday post will be 10 Goals for 2013: Not in any particular order - 

1.  Finish Jill's T-shirt quilt.

2. Finish the test knit for Meggie.

3.  Lost weight.  Not going to specify how much, I just want to lose some weight...

4.  Finish the Tone-on-Tone quilt from 2004.

5. Begin the studio purge...I want to clear out some of the clutter and re-organize the studio...might need help on this one.

6.  Sew more, knit less.

7. Cook more, eat less.

8. Exercise...just do it, Sally!

9. Read more, computer less. 

10. Finish more than I start in the way of projects.  That means that #5 will be easier as well.

These are do-able goals....will have to see how well I do on them.  I've already started.  I finished some Pay It Forward gifts from 2012 and they are all packaged up and addressed, ready to go to the Post Office tomorrow.  I've pulled out Jill's T-shirt quilt parts and will get to work on that one next. She's been very patient but will be thrilled once I finally get it done for her.  

I hope everyone had an amazing 2012 and that 2013 is even better.

Thanks for stopping by.