Going Back and Moving Forward

Time and space are two interesting concepts.  I try not to bog myself down into them too much because Stephen Hawking, I'm not. But over the last few days, they have been in the forefront of my mind.

Both boys are home.  I love having them home but I think I'm enjoying it more than they are. We are re-acquainting ourselves with the spaces we share. Remembering to respect each others' boundaries and remembering that we stay even after they leave...this remains our home if/when/should they move out. And trying to give them space and privacy because they aren't twelve anymore...regardless of what the occasional bickering might make one think otherwise - who's turn is it to clean the bathroom? Cause their mother isn't cleaning up after them anymore. It's going to be an interesting summer.

Speaking of homes...I have noticed something since we've become semi empty nesters.  My house is now WAY too big.  It was great when the boys were home all the time and their friends were in and out with them. But when it's just Car Guy and me rattling around, it's huge. Downsizing may be in our future.  But there are be so many possibilities in our future that have yet to resolve themselves.  Time will tell.



Another thing that has time kicking about in my head is getting back in touch with a dear friend from my past. She was one of my college roommates. We lived together for 2 years and were always really close.  Then I got married and pregnant years before she did and we lost touch for a while....10 years is a while, right? She came over last night.  We sat out on the back porch, watching the drizzle,  reminiscing and getting to know each other again.  It was wonderful to see that time meant nothing as far as our friendship is concerned.  The days may have passed but it's like we were never separated.  It was fun to point out ourselves in our children too each other particularly when we didn't recognize it ourselves. And it's reassuring to realize that while time has changed us in our place in life, it hasn't changed our deep friendship that was formed so long ago....28 years ago definitely qualifies for a long time ago. The best part of last night was the laughter...that was brilliant! You know the belly aching, tears running down your face type of laughter caused by memories of how silly we were all those years ago when we thought we were so mature?  We got our first apartment together and shared so much.

We've vowed not to let each other slip away again and I know we both mean it. And guess what?!?!?! She knits! Sort of.  As she said, " I've knitted blankets, I just don't know how to finish them."  No problem! You came to the right place.

So please forgive me if I'm just a bit nostalgic. I feel change coming and I welcome the journey as long is it's okay to hold onto to a few things from the past.

Random Catch Up

Not my test knitting.

I've been doing a lot of knitting lately.  I could tell you about it and show you, but then I'd have to kill you....Shhh.....It's secret test knitting...for a designer.  It's pretty freaking cool to do this.

My Palladio

I've test knitted before, for the lovely Jane Richmond. She has some really beautiful patterns and I was able to test knit the sweater pattern for Palladio.  It was loads of fun and the way her patterns are set is absolutely brilliant.  Instead of having all those numbers in parentheses, she has a fill in the blank setup.  I love this because it keeps me from looking at the wrong number. I don't know about y'all, but I have a tendency to get a little cross eyed when I look at all those numbers.

My boys.,...sigh.  They are pretty much grown now. Number One Son is still in college and is twenty-one now...YIKES. He's living at home and struggling with what he wants to be when he grows up. Don't we all? But I know whatever he decides, he'll do it well.  Number Two Son is nineteen and a freshman at UNC Charlotte. He loves it - probably a bit too much - but he's learning and that's a plus. He can't decide between a degree in Math or Music. Did I mention how smart and talented my boys are? (Modest mom...not)

Car Guy is still the same loving, funny constant in my life. He's still restoring the Porsche 914, but it looks a bit different now.

It's back to the original factory color of Irish Green,  We just have to get it back home and put back together.  I know what will be occupying his time this summer. That's fine with me. It gives me more time to relax and knit/crochet/spin.

Hope everyone is doing well.  I'll pop back in occasionally and let you know the progress of things. Until then...take care!

Unraveling

Remember this?

It Dahlia.  That center piece took three tries before I finally got it done.  

It also had these....

They made me very nervous because I had to pull that green yarn out for sleeves.

I started last night....insert heart palpitations here.

My dear friend Mel was a great help.
She was the voice of calm and reason and great advice.  

Pick up the stitches BEFORE you pull out the waste yarn.

Tada!

Now it's more stockinette....round and round we go...two sleeves to go, then completion. 

I've kind of put a knitting/crochet embargo on myself - no new projects - so that maybe I'll finish this thing instead of getting frustrated with the whole process and putting it in a time out. I hope to finish soon cause Christmas is just around the corner and I REALLY need to get started. Yes, I'm sorry I said the "C word."  I'll go back to my knitting in circles...and dreaming of completed sweaters that take forever to knit. And drooling over all the beautiful finished products out there. Jared Flood...how I love thee...sigh.

Blooming Dahlia

Well, I can happily say the the Dahlia is going MUCH better now.  Not only am I no longer pulling my hair out, but I'm learning some new techniques.

I've learned how to do a provisional crochet cast on. Admittedly, this wasn't too difficult since I learned how to crochet before I figured out knitting. Pulling that chain out is scaring the bejesus out of me.

That green line there is where a sleeve will go....this is another green string that I'm going to have to pull out and it freaks me out as well....we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

But this....this is the coolest thing of all. The piece de resistance....the blooming dahlia.

Is it wrong to be this pleased with one's self? Seriously, I was so thrilled when I finished that bit right there. Now I'm on to endless amounts of stockinette....yawn. To bad I wasn't able to do the boring part first. I will admit, since I now understand the construction of this thing, it's actually a bit ingenious.  

We'll see how quickly I can get this puppy finished. Keep your fingers crossed and if, at any point in the next couple of weeks, you hear an anguished cry....I've pulled out one of those green strings and it was an epic fail. I hope not.

#%^*€¥£&@! Dahlia

I can honestly say that I don't think that I have ever hated a pattern more than I do this one, at this moment.  I have never wanted to scream, throw things and smoke a cigarette in the last five years than I have at this moment, with this pattern. I have made two attempts at the center lace panel. I have counted very carefully.  I have checked and  double checked and you would think, at my age, I would be able to count with ease. Yeah, not so much.  Seriously, how difficult is it to count, yarn over, knit two together, slip slip knit, etc.  These are all things I can do with ease...on every single pattern that I've knitted until this one.  So please excuse my profanity as I ripped this $^%&*@ lace piece out...again.

Thanks so much for letting me vent.  I will probably start over again tomorrow in the peace and quiet of my home, with no distractions, a bottle of wine (not just a glass) and plenty of chocolate. And maybe I'll get the blooming thing done. I have not given up....yet.

On a much happier note, a friend of mine has rescued three ferrel kittens.

Look at this face....he just opened is eyes in the last couple of days.  He's only 11 days old.

Here they are. Aren't they just the cutest things? The dark one is the sister and she has a home waiting for her once she's old enough...as in, once they are weened.  We just have to find homes for the brothers. I'm afraid that I can't keep them and neither can my friend. So if you know anyone in the area and they are open to owning one or both adorable little kitties, just let me know.

Growing

Well, as usual, it appears that time is slipping away and I've been absent from this space.  I really hate it when work and various other responsibilities keep me from the things I enjoy....you know the fun stuff...knitting, crochet, spinning, blogging, reading.  I start to feel a bit guilty.  Not so much about the blogging part.  That would be very egotistical of me to say I feel guilty for not blogging. No, I miss the reading and seeing what everyone has been up to.  What your making, planting, eating, reading because I do derive a great deal of inspiration and joy from this. But most of all I miss the friendships that I've made.  That's where the guilt comes in...like I haven't been a good friend and visiting as I should.  Unfortunately, when something has to give, it's the virtual world.  The real world gets a little cranky if I check out. So anyway, enough of that.  I'm here now....so everybody run and hide....she's baaack.....

So I guess you've figured out I've been a little busy. Some has been good, some annoying and some just the normal day to day that is life.

But through it all, I'm still playing with sticks and string. Even though it doesn't show in this picture, I finished my Mericash Neck Warmer.  I really like the way it turned out.  It, along with the wrist warmers, are a birthday gift for one of my oldest and dearest friends.  We've know each other since we were three...Holy Cow, that's a long time. Those horses in the banner picture up there...those are hers.  We don't get to see each other as often as I'd like, but she's always there and that says a lot.  I hope she likes them.

Since I finished those, I, of course, had to start a new project.  So I'm going big with a sweater....the Dahlia Sweater. I LOVE this thing.  That center motif is crazy and that's what sucked me in. It was a little tricky getting started...Car Guy heard some really colorful language.

It started small on double points.. 

And it's growing. 

It's been very frustrating, exciting and rewarding.  It's a bit more than I've ever done, so we'll see how that goes.  My biggest fear is that once I get the center motif done, I'll get bored with all that stockinette.  We'll see. I've been learning how to read knitting charts in the process, so that's a bonus.

The Biscuits have been busy with the upcoming wedding of one of our own. The big day is May 11th and we will be out in force.  I'm not sure they are ready for us, but we are sure to have a great time.  This past weekend was Sparkle's bachelorette party. We rented a small bus and did a winery tour, followed by a steak dinner. It was loads of fun and a lot of laughs. I must say that there is something incredibly special about good friends.

So, I am waaaaay behind in my blog reading. Please know that I still love you all and am heading back out there to catch up.  I hate feeling this out of touch and behind!  Take Care!!

Homeward Bound

A picture of my beautiful sister back in her modeling days.

My sister is heading back to LA today. The two weeks sped past as they have a tendency to do when time is limited.  We didn't get to see as much of each other as we'd have liked to because she had a purpose in this visit and for the most part, I think that purpose was accomplish.  It's always interesting to watch the family dynamic adjust to having one of it's members back in the fold....some good, some not so good, but all worth having her here.

Part of the purpose of her visit was to help my Sainted Mother clean out the forty-three years of accumulation in the storage section of the basement. I helped out some, when I could, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  We had great giggles over old love letters from boyfriends past and nostalgic smiles over pictures and letters between sisters that were becoming friends.

There were a few "scores" from this process.  I received this great canister set and matching cake plate that was a wedding gift to my parents from a great aunt.  The copper lids still shine beautifully.  They are currently in the pantry.  But they will find a way out.  Until then, I smile every time I see them in there.

Jazz Hands!!

I made a little more progress than my sister did on our knit along. I finished the Mericash Wrist Warmers and have now moved on the the Neck Warmer. My sister has started the Neck Warmer after much frustration with DPNs.  I'm afraid I wasn't much help. And yes, that is a link to my sister's project page in Ravelry because, you guessed it....I haven't set one up yet.  Go figure.

I'm sorry I've been so absent here and in visiting other blogs but I felt it was very important to be present where I was.  As I said, two weeks just fly by. As we get older and our lives pull us in different directions, that time together is so incredibly precious.  Our siblings move away and our children grow up and leave.  It doesn't matter how many times we say "see you soon" - because I refuse to say good-bye - our hearts break a bit as we get stronger.  *Sigh*

I'm off to play catch up.  I hope everyone is doing well...Oh and Tracey - She's in.  Start looking for that house....or maybe a small compound to accommodate all the crazy ladies ;)

Stash Diving

Things have been their normal busy around here. We did house cleaning (ugh!) over the weekend. I have to have everything clean so that I don't have to worry about the "big" cleaning while my sister is here...she gets in tonight - YEA! She'll be staying at my Sainted Mother's house, I just don't want to have to deal with that stuff while she's home. I want my spare time to be spent visiting.

Speaking of my Sainted Mother :)  Her birthday was in March. I always try to make her something and she had dropped hints about wanting a lacy scarf...and since I finally finished it...that's what she gets.  I just finished blocking it and yes, it's a little late, but not as late as some of her other gifts have been.

Here is the artful display....ahem

Here it is before I removed the blocking wires - Just a little sample.  I crocheted it and it's actually a wide scarf (almost rectangular shawl) done with a mohair body and a silk trim.  You know what the greatest thing about this is?  The yarn was in my stash. Score!  I know I already spent the money to buy the yarn, but it's been there long enough that it feels almost like a freebie.  Am I the only one that thinks like that?

And while I was stash diving, I found this great cotton yarn - Patagonia from Araucania. I got it one year at SAFF when we did a yarn swap.  It has been sitting in the cabinet for a couple of years now, waiting patiently. And I decided that I need a new hat and mitts.

Nothing too fancy.  The hat is a feather and fan pattern and the mitts are just standard stuff.  The yarn is really quite pretty with blues, greens and yellows.  I think they'll be great next fall...and soo soft.

While my sister is home, we may or may not (depending on time), have a little KAL.  The Mericash Neck and Wrist Warmers. I think I may have just the right yarn...in my stash....yes, again! It's the little things in life that excite me.

I really have been trying to refrain from yarn shopping.  I have enough fiber in my house that I should be spinning more and buying less. Not to mention that I promised to take my sister to my two favorite yarn stores while she's here....yup, walking straight into temptation. But I will be strong...and live vicariously through my sister. Because it's almost as much fun watching someone else buy yarn as it is to buy it yourself....right?  Do I sound convincing?

Getting Blocked

Well finally!  It seems like forever since I've been here and it was only Friday.  I have been busy though.  My back is just about back to normal so I spent the weekend with blocking wires and pins.  Take a look ladies because I seriously doubt that I'll update Ravelry cause I'm a lazy  one.  The fact that I've gotten this far is amazing.

This lovely item is Nimbus.  I love, Love, LOVE the shape of this thing.  My sister says it looks very "Batman."  I have to agree.  I'm  going to have to re-block this puppy.  I steam block most everything and with some items, well, they just need a good old fashion wet block.  I believe this is one.  Once I took the pins an wires out, it drew up....a lot. The yarn is Crazyfoot by Mountain Colors in Red Willow.

This is the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief.  I did a couple of extra repeats....I think it's just a couple.  I think this yarn was made for this thing - wish I could remember what it is.  The stripes are so great.

Summer Flies is another shawl that I think I'm going to have to re-block.  This yarn, Interlacement Seeds - Chairman of the Board Colorway, doesn't have a lot of give to it, so steaming didn't offer up enough give.

And finally, Saroyan. Can I stress how happy this yarn makes me?  This is my own personal happy rainbow. I smile every time I look at it.  The yarn is JoJoLand Melody Superwash and it is so incredibly soft and springy.

Number One Son is back at college.  I miss him.  I don't know if his brother does, but I also miss their laughter and the general noise....now if I could just get my house back in order before Car Guy gets back from Sweden.  It's amazing how the presence of one more person creates more...mess, activity and general disorder.  It's also amazing how quickly you get used to them being back.  I don't know that I'll ever get used to him being gone.

Tonight I think I'm going to rent this and watch it with Number Two Son.  I've already seen it and *Oh My - Gasp* it's amazing.  Believe it or not, the kiddo has read the book and wants to watch this with his old Mama.  He's discovered this new love of reading (YEA!!!!) and is now reading Angels and Demons. No light reading for that child.  He likes to make that brain work.  Would you believe he's in an after school bridge club...they play other games as well, but I think it's great that he's learning all these games and the art of conversation that goes along with it.  I see a beach trip full of fun and games this summer!

Pathetically Blocked

This is really sad...and kind of embarrassing....Ok, not kind of.  It is embarrassing.  Most of you that have been around for a while know that I love knitting/crocheting and that I like to keep my hands busy.  I love the creative process and I love watching a project unfold into something beautiful and useful.  Here's the embarrassing part....I hate blocking.  And I don't mean that I find it annoying. I mean I hate the process...all those pins.  UGH!  Therefore, I was tickled to death when my Sainted Mother gave me blocking wires for Christmas.  I thought surely this would help. Right?  Wrong.

See this stack?  All finished projects just waiting to be enjoyed...if I would get off my derriere and block them.  Seriously, how pathetic is this?

There it all sits, on the bed in the guest room just waiting...the variegated red/orange yarn is The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief. The one next to that is Mairi.  It's been finished, other than blocking, for almost a year.  Next is my Saroyan.  It's only a few months old, as is the Summer Flies shawlette that looks like a dark blob in this picture.  I don't even remember the name of the the brown and tan fuzzy shawl that's in the mix.

And you know what's even worse?  They are all still sitting there and I've started something else....

This is Nimbus. I'm actually a bit further along than this. OK, a lot further along than this. As in the pattern calls for 24 repeats and I'm on the 25th repeat because I wanted to make it a little larger since I'm a little...um...larger. Ahem. Actually, I just have a long torso and I wanted this to reach my waist....yeah, that's it. The yarn is Mountain Colors Crazyfoot in the Red Willow colorway.  It's really interesting to see the orange pops in this picture because it's actually more of a rust color. My goal is to complete this and then...wait for it...block everything this weekend. We'll see how that goes.

Are you more successful in completing your projects?

Happy Valentine's Day...and Yarn Stuff

First of all - Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  I hope your hearts are full of love and joy today! And every day, for that matter.


As promised...here are the pictures of the other items on my needles.  This is the Summer Flies shawl.  I'm actually almost done with it.  I'm on the last section of ruffle.  I tried taking several pictures of it, but because the yarn is dark, it's not really photographing well.  Maybe after it's blocked, it will show up better. The yarn is a mixture of blue, green and a brownish copper.

I wish my photography skills were a little better because this does not show off the gorgeous stitches. Ugh.  This is a bit disappointing.  Anyway, I'll probably finish it this weekend.  I have it on temporary hold so that I can do some knitting for a friend.

Fellow Biscuit Nicole has a friend with a grandmother that just found out she's has leukemia.  She has to start chemo immediately and was told she'd lose her hair rapidly, so we are quickly making happy, colorful hats to keep her head warm.  This is some stash yarn I had leftover from Christmas elving.  It's from Hobby Lobby and is a soft chenille.  I thought it's be nice and soft on her head.  I know from my sainted mother's experiences with chemo that your head can actually hurt terribly when your hair starts falling out, so the softer, the better.

I've been doing a little shopping and purchased this book.  I have to say that I think I actually love every single pattern in it.  Seriously, every last one.  Here are a few...

This one...oh my goodness.  This makes me want to spin a lot of gorgeous wool because I think it would be so beautiful in some natural handspun...I have to have goals, right?

So, I've found that traditional winter hats (called toboggans here in the South) don't look so great on me, but for this hat, I'd give it another shot. Aren't those leaves amazing?

And I think I might be in love with this one.  That motif in the center is just wow. 

These are just three of the patterns. Click the link and you can see the others on Ravelry. There are 25 in all and there seriously isn't a bad one in the bunch.

Of course, you were all right.  The picture yesterday is of hand carders. I bought some wool at SAFF this past October and hadn't done anything with it because it seriously needed some carding. Also, I'm going to my first shearing this weekend, so I think they will come in handy.  I'm looking for some wool for that first sweater up there...now if I could just get better at plying.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's!

And Then Some

First off - I can't begin to tell you how much you all have touched me.  I knew you were a generous group, but seriously, I'm overwhelmed.  The emails, Rav messages - You've made my day....and then some. I hate to rush time, but I cannot wait to present these promised hats to Fru.  I feel like the Grinch....my heart grew three sizes today!  I humbly thank you.

Now onto our regularly scheduled programming.....

Things have been pretty busy. Car Guy as been in Vegas all week for work.  At least he says it's work....

What do you think?

It's a good thing I'm not a jealous woman.

I have a couple of things on needles.  Only I haven't taken pictures of them yet, so I'll just tell you about them.

The first item is Tudor Grace.  I'm doing it in a the lace weight Miss Babs Yet and in the Primrose colorway...Love this stuff! It's a dream to work with. Since I'm using a lighter yarn, I've increased the number of repeats from four across to ten.  I think this is going to be a WIP for a while. It's an easy lace, but I'm moving really slow.  Oh wait.  I lied.  I found a picture on my phone...tada...

The other item I'm working on is the Summer Flies Shawl. For this one I'm using Interlacements Seeds in the Chairman of the Board colorway.  I really don't have pictures of this one....I just checked.  I got this yarn at my LYS.  I went in there for a set of needles and came out with this as well...she says while hanging her head in shame for lack of will power.  You'll understand when you see it. Gorgeous blues and greens and coppers. I will warn that this is an interesting, loose spun yarn and splits rather easily.  That can be frustrating at times.

Of course I don't have pictures of any of this on Ravelry because I'm a slacker.  I know.  My sister has already fussed at me about this.  I'll get better.  One day.  Maybe....Nah.

Oh!  I've been spinning as well.  Nothing terribly exciting, just some undyed wool. Once it's done and plied, I thought I might try a little Kool Aide experimentation.  We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Any who....I'm off tomorrow to get Number One Son and bring him home to get a new retainer. Ugh.  A six hour trip there and back for a retainer he lost after only having it for 3 months!  I told him if he lost this one I was taking it out of his hide....and his bank account.  Yikes! He'll be with us until Sunday when I get to do the drive again....Oh Anne...are you around on Sunday?  Wanna do lunch?  Ha!

I'll try to do the "This Moment" tour, but it might not be until Saturday.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and again, I give you my heartfelt thanks!

Dear Silly Fru

Silly Fru - This was stolen from Fru's website...I admit it.

I want to introduce you to a friend of mine.  Her name is Wendy, but I think most people know her as Fru or Sassypants Knitter.  I met her a couple of years ago when I went to SAFF for the first time. She's an out of state Biscuit.  I will never forget the first thing I heard come out of her mouth.  Another person was showing her some amazing yarn and she reached over and reverently stroked the gorgeous softness and said "Holy s#*tballs! That's unreal!" I wasn't shocked or upset by that comment because what some of you don't know about me is that I have quite the potty mouth...it can be rather embarrassing because those awful words typically pop out at the most inappropriate moments.  I'm much better than I used to be but I've always admired people that will let something like that fly when they are enthusiastic about something.  I knew that this was a kindred spirit. I mean, come on, she's a fellow hippie chick!

Because she lives a state away, I haven't gotten to know her as well as I'd like to, but I have to say that this irreverent woman has one of the most amazing hearts I've ever encountered...and it's in mourning at the moment.  You see, Fru lost her beloved Grammy at the end January to esophageal gastric junction cancer.

I have found since I started knitting and crocheting that this community of people that play with sticks and string are an amazing, warm hearted group of people and that's what I'm counting on...that you will share this warmth.  When Fru's Grammy found out she was ill, she decided that she wanted to knit 100 hats for the homeless.  Fru put the word out on her blog, where she pod casts regularly, and the community responded. Boy, did they respond with over 300 hats.

2012's Hats - Picture stolen from Fru's Facebook Page

This is were you come in.  I'm asking you to help out this year.  Fru is going to do the drive again in her Grammy's honor. She tentativly wants to officially start the drive in September and close it out in November, but if you're anything like me, you need plenty of time and planning, but I also know that y'all can whip up some hats like nobody's business. 

So if you're interested, contact me on Facebook, Ravelry or email (melbatoast68@gmail.com). She prefers that the hats be simple, washable and dark colors. I just ask that the be filled with love and warmth.  Thanks!!

Additional info:
News Story
Fru's Website 

There are several hat patterns on Ravelry.  Here are a few of my favorites:
Simple Slouch Hat
Man Hat
Ribbed Watchman's Hat
Midnight Sky Men's Hat
Hats from the Heart

These aren't fancy hats, but they look nice and warm.

A Good Yarn

I haven't posted much yarn goodness here lately. What with the Christmas knitting/crocheting, I had to be careful.  I never know when the stray family member might pop in here to see what was going on. But that's done with for the year, so here we go....get ready for some really crappy pics :)  We had some rain this weekend so....

The pattern is Saroyan by Liz Abinante.  It's a freebie on Ravelry.  The yarn is JoJoLand Fantasia in the Blooming Garden colorway.

Can I just say that this yarn is GORGEOUS!

I bought it a couple of years ago at TNNA.  Dawn and I both saw it, gasped and bought it so fast it was crazy.  It's 100% Wool Superwash and it's super soft and springy.

I'm halfway through and this knits up beautifully and quickly.  I know I'm late to the game and tons of people have already knitted this one up and I know why. This pattern is a dream.  It's one of those patterns that looks so impressive but is really quite easy as long as you pay attention to what row you are on. However, I do believe that blocking that leaf boarder might be a bit tricky.  We'll see.

As you've probably guessed, this is what I worked on this weekend.  We had a quite one. Watched some movies, though nothing spectacular.  I recorded Downton Abby and hope to watch it tonight.  I wanted to watch the Golden Globes and I have to say that I was so totally impressed by Jodie Foster.  What a class act! I also think that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did a great job.  They were funny without being too insulting. Other than that, I pretty much just puttered around the house and complained about my winter disappearing.  Seventy degree weather in January?  Really?  I know that it will get cold again but this kind of weather always throws me for a loop.

Number Two Son starts exams this week so things will continue to be quiet around our house.  Hopefully, Number One Son will be making a trip home this weekend.  We'll see.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoyed their weekend!

Behind

The elving is continuing.  Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.  Just a few more things. Car Guy and I put a huge dent in the Christmas shopping this past weekend.  We've only got a few more things to take care of....our boys being part of the list.  They were so much easier when they were younger. My youngest claims he wants a "Mama Made" sweater.  That melts my heart, but it won't be happening this year.  Maybe if I start in January, he'll get one for next Christmas? Hmmm....It shouldn't take long...he's only 6'2".

I received the BEST news yesterday.  The owner of the company I work for decided to give us a little Christmas break.  We will have the 24th, 25th and 26th off for the Christmas holiday.  Well, I've held on to a couple of vacation days in case I had to go pick up Number One Son from college.  Since his girlfriend is bringing him home, I still have those days.....sooo....I get the whole week off for Christmas!!  That hasn't happened since I was 15. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy this makes me. Car Guy has that week off too and The Boys will be home. It makes this mama very happy.

Well, I'm off to get more work done.  I hope you are all ready for your holidays and are able to enjoy them and aren't behind like some people...ahem.

By the way, the table top from Friday's Moment is actually the counter top from Turntable.  Jon and Renee, the owners, made it and it's so cool.  It's like a giant word search of names, places, etc. that are relevant to our area and some other stuff thrown in for fun.  That picture is actually of the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but it was so big, that I couldn't fit the whole word in the picture.

Elves At Work

Hello everyone! I don't know about the rest of you, but we are busy around here with the Christmas deadline looming...Yikes!  Still so much to do and not enough time...are you feeling that way as well?

I think this one might be one of my favorite projects so far. Do you recognize him?

The picture is a little dark, so I hope you can tell what it is.  This Minion from Despicable Me is for my three year old nephew.  He loves "Pesdicable Me" as he calls it and his mama said this was perfect.  Number Two Son wants me to make a bigger one so that he can sport it around town...Funny boy that he is, he would wear it proudly.

Over the last few years, we have been trying to give more thoughtful gifts that are either handmade by us (ahem, me) or handmade gifts by someone else or gifts that inspire the receiver to create.  This isn't a problem with the adults, but sometimes it can get a little tricky with the younger set.  It's not that they don't appreciate it, but sometimes it's just not that easy to find something in their wheelhouse.  Thankfully, my teenage niece is a hippie chick like me, so she's easy.  This year, while the gift isn't hand made, it has been altered/improved by hand...

Aren't they awesome!  I mean seriously, who wouldn't want a pair?  I actually have a pair gifted to me (love them Dawn!!!) and my niece saw them and fell in love.  It made perfect sense to get her a pair as well.

I'm currently working on the Mimosa Slouchy Beanie.  This is actually something that a friend asked me to make for her daughter and normally I wouldn't take on a custom order this close to Christmas, but this young lady is very close to my heart and calls me her "other mom."  How could I say no? It's actually working up pretty quickly....

She picked out the yarn, which is a washable wool blend. It looks like I'm such a fancy knitter with the lace and cable, but the pattern is really easy to memorize and as long as I pay attention to my stitch markers, I can cruise right along.

Tonight is Wednesday Night so that means much needed time with my girls.  Normally we meet at Panera's, but we are trying a new spot tonight.  Some friends have opened up a coffee house/hang-out in town called Turntable and we thought we'd go hang out on the sofas there. Come on...coffees, beer and wine with great music...how perfect is that? And tonight is half price wine night!

Jon and Renee, the proprietors, are the cutest couple and I love the idea behind what they are trying to do...local beers, wine and musicians, all in downtown Jamestown.  A fun time should be had by all...I'll let you know.