Work, Work, Work

Hello Everyone!  I hope you are all doing well this fine Wednesday!  It looks like the rain is finally clearing away, not that it's bothered me.  The weather was gorgeous while we were at the beach.  We were even able to spend some time with friends who were staying at a neighboring beach.  That's a slightly blurry picture of me and my friend Sue (on left).  She is truly a beautiful friend - LOVE her!

While we were at the beach, Car Guy pressure washed the deck while I cleared out the cobwebs inside. Basically, we just did some general maintenance/cleaning around the house, but we still enjoyed ourselves.  The boys and Car Guy are thrilled because they found a TV at a thrift store for $19.00.  The beach house now has a TV, but still no internet. We came home Monday, only to crash hard.  I didn't realize I was as tired as I was.  

I was able to start my One a Day project on time yesterday - Yea! I'm making the Urchins and Limpets Blanket. I was actually able to make two of the large motifs, so that means I have 28 more to go - that's not counting the 20 smaller motifs.  I really want to make at least two a day because there are so many and I'm a little short on time.  I am forcing myself to weave in all ends as I go so that I won't be faced with those pesky little buggers when I'm done.  I'm trying to use only stash yarn to make this and I think I'll be able to do so. 

Even though this isn't the best picture, here are the colors I'm using. There is a bright turquoise, fuchsia, dusty green and yellow - which didn't make it into the picture because I couldn't find it (Helps if you look under the table where it rolled out of the basket and was found this morning).  Anyway, that big ball of variegated yarn will be used fore the border because it has all the colors in it. I think it will be pretty, colorful and gender neutral.

The socks are moving right along.  I've almost finished one and I'm loving the way they are turning out.  I'm continuing the lace pattern across the top of the sock just because I think they'll look so cute. I like that I can work on this during lunch, make a couple of motifs after dinner and work on other projects as well.....can we say time management?  No, not really :)

The shawl/wrap is a little slower.  I thought (that was my first problem - thinking) that this would work up quickly, but that's not the case.  It's a really simple pattern but knitting that really skinny mohair like yarn with those big needles is making me really clumsy.  OK, it's making me clumsier than usual. I'm going to continue because I really do think it will be pretty when it's done.  If it isn't, it will get shoved into the back of the closed because that yarn sticks to itself way too much to try and frog that puppy.

Well, that's all for today.  I've got to get my needles and hooks moving because I'm no where near where I need to be as far as preparing for Christmas.  Let the fun and games begin!

Decisions...

Decisions...decisions.  I'm in such a quandary.  I thought I was being smart, I really did and I'm blaming this all on Alice. It's all her fault because this was her recommendation and I've lost all free will and have become a total joiner.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  You see there is this really neat group that was started on Ravelry by a lady (and fellow blogger) named Carole (Gingerbread Girl is her blog).  The group is called One a Day and the idea is to create one motif a day for your project.  That way you can still work on other projects and not be overwhelmed, but still complete the project in a timely fashion.  Sounds great, right?  Wrong!  I have so many things I need to make for gifts, and I thought this would be a great motivator, but I don't have a clue what I'm going to make, what yarn I need, what's in my stash, blah, blah, blah.  Now I've worked myself up into a dither over this and it hasn't even officially started....So it's all Alice's fault.  If she hadn't made it sound so wonderful, I'd still be in ignorant bliss.  Of course, if this works out well (and let's face it, it probably will) it was all my brilliant idea....even though I didn't start the group....but I just didn't have time....I meant to start it.......And I will be eternally grateful to Alice and Carole :)

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's move on to what's on my needles.  I think it's rather appropriate since so many ladies in blog land do WIP posts on Wednesdays.  I've never subscribed to that idea because, let's be real here, if I get all worked up over joining a group on Ravelry, imagine how I'd react if I put the pressure on myself to post every Wednesday?! It wouldn't be pretty.  So here is my unofficial WIP.  These are gifts, so I'm not telling who they are for, you just get to see them.

A while back, when I was first learning how to knit socks, I found this wonderful book and it was ON SALE!  It was only $3.99 on the close out rack, so I had to have it.  It has all these different patterns for the cuff, body and foot of the sock and you can mix and match.  It even has split pages to you can kind of get an idea of what the finished product would look like.  Well, I had a special request for a pair of socks and because I love this person very much, I am making a pair of socks. I don't want to show too much, but here is a glimpse.

Please notice the ruffled cuff and eyelet pattern.  I have to admit that I'm very thrilled with the way this is turning out. Learning how to knit is such a fun and frustrating process, but when I get something right, (and carefully read the pattern!) it's wonderful. I will admit that I got a couple of inches into this and it just didn't look like the picture.  That's when I realized that I had the pattern repeat wrong....Rip! and start all over.  I just have to keep reminding myself that this is a learning process.

http://www.vogueknitting.com/free_patterns/tilli_tomas_symphony_mantilla.asp

The other request I had was for a lacy shawl/wrap/stole.  Again, because I love this person very much, I am knitting (that's right, I said knitting) a VERY simple lace shawl. You can get a copy of the pattern at Vogue Knitting and it's free! The pattern I'm using is by Tilli Tomas and is called Symphony Mantilla # 248. This is just a small example from the pattern. It really is an easy enough pattern for a newb like me, but it does look so delicate and airy.

As you can see, I haven't gotten very far.  I had to cast on 200 stitches and that took forever.  For some reason I was having issues with my tension being too tight and I had to start over a few times.  It was really weird, because I usually cast on fairly loose.  We'll see how this one goes.

Well, this weekend is a long one because of Labor Day, so we are heading to the beach house to make sure Irene's visit didn't cause too much damage.  From what I've heard, there were mostly just some branches down in the yard, so hopefully the weekend won't be all work and no play. But let's face it, we'll be working at the beach, so it can't be all bad. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far and I'll try to pop back by before we leave. Bye for now....hmm....now where was I.....should I make a baby blanket for the One a Day project....or perhaps a Christmas gift...or maybe........Poor, silly woman wanders off muttering quietly to herself as she scratches her head in thought and  ignores the sympathetic looks from others......

Getting My Crochet/Knit On

I'm afraid there hasn't been a lot of crochet, or knitting for that matter, featured on here lately.  Don't worry, my hooks and needles are still working and I'm still meeting with my hookers every week (Hey girls! ~Waving~). I so look forward to those Tuesday nights. And in October, we are going to Asheville for SAFF which is the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival. From what I understand, it's fiber heaven. I'm terribly excited and I'm sure we will have a wonderful time.  I'll try to take tons of fiber pictures.

So I thought I'd show you some of what I've been working on. First I'll show you the items that I've been working on for my friends store.

I've been working on my knitting skills and I made this hat using circular needs and k2tog decreases.  The booties are knitted as well and I practice my increases here.  I now know how to "make one" and "knit in the front and back."  The Boys tell me that I still look awkward, but I'm getting better.

And don't worry, once a hooker, always a hooker.  Here's a hat and scarf for a little girl.  As you can see, I'm still working on the boarder for the scarf.  I love the colorful almost tie-dyed looking yarn. I'm going to have to do some blocking on the hat to soften it up. Right now, because the I crocheted it so tightly, it's kind of stiff and stands up on it's own.


Finally, I've also done a little knitting for myself .  This is a little cape that I found on Ravelry.  It's a DROPS design and  here is a link to the pattern.  I changed it up a little by using a fuzzier yarn and then trimming it with crochet.  The button is also crocheted out of the trim yarn. I'm afraid the picture isn't that great, but I didn't have a model and I can't seem to take good pictures of myself in the mirror.


I've got so much to do.  It's almost September and I haven't even started on Christmas gifts.  YIKES!  I have some ideas, but nothing concrete, so suggestions would be great!  I have a pretty good idea that I'll be getting plenty done this weekend as hurricane Irene is supposed to hit the North Carolina coast which will be bringing wind and rain our way. I hope everyone manages to stay safe and dry and has a wonderful weekend!

And The Earth Moved.....

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/se082311a.html

I experienced the most unusual thing yesterday.  My first EVER earthquake.  That's right, earthquake, here in good ol' North Carolina.  The epicenter was in Virginia and it rated a 5.8 to 5.9, depending which new service you subscribe to. The picture above is more info and here's a link to the site.

It was quite a bizarre thing, like everything did a little shimmy and then went back to normal.  My first thought was that an eighteen wheeler backed into the loading dock and that's why everything shook.  It's happened before.

Anyway, we are all fine, if a little shaken.  Below is a picture of some of the damage incurred.  We will rebuild, perhaps with stronger material :)

 Hope everyone else is having a wonderful week!

Introducing....

I want to introduce you all to someone.  See this pretty lady? I pilfered this picture from her Facebook page :) She is one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world.  In fact, she's right up there with my Sainted Mother.  That's because she's my lovely sister Ni. Her real name is Tina, but she was named Ni by Number One Son.  When he was a little boy, just learning to talk, I think he got a little confused.  You see, he has an Aunt Gina and an Aunt Tina.  So in order to avoid confusion, he decided she would be Ni and she's been Ni ever since.

Ni lives in California and lives the glamorous life. When my life as wife and mother, and general grunt at work, gets a little monotonous, I just call Ni and live vicariously through her.  She's a make up artist.  She works on movies and televisions and she makes the beautiful people beautiful.  She's very talented. Here's proof......

That's me...a looooooooooong time ago.  As in I was 14 or 15 years old.  She did my makeup and, if I may say so, she did an amazing job...trust me, I've seen the before picture (that is locked in a vault only to be released at my death) and she does good work.  The picture was taken by an incredible photographer named Maurice.  I don't know if he is still doing photography, but he is a very talented individual as well.

Anyway, back to Ni.  She gets to do things like travel to exotic places and talk to famous people while she makes them look beautiful, sweaty, dirty or dead....OK.  So maybe it's not all glamor all the time, but it's still pretty cool.  It's not all sunshine and light though.  The hours are INCREDIBLY long and lack of sleep is not uncommon.  Lack of sleep leads to cranky people that leads to tempers.  Need I go any further?  But she gets to go to places like the Caribbean, Japan, New Zealand, Pittsburgh.....which means she doesn't get to come home that often. I guess you could say that I'm missing my sister.  I don't know why so much now, but I miss sitting up late with her and being silly, watching bad late night television, making copies, playing cribbage or spades...whatever we used to do. If there is a crisis here at home, she'll get here.  Doesn't matter what is going on in her life, she'll come home to help, even if it's just by being here.  But I want a visit that doesn't involve a family emergency or a crazy, busy holiday where she has to rush around to see EVERYBODY. I guess I want to be selfish so I'm going to have to start saving pennies because plane tickets aren't cheap and I'm thinking that it might be important.  Especially now.  I hear that work has been tough....that it's kind of been going to the dogs......

Hope this one isn't a prima donna. 

(This picture was pilfered from her Facebook profile as well.  I didn't take it and I don't know who did, so I don't know who to give photo credit to.  Probably the dog's agent.)

The Return

Hello everyone!!!  I'm baaaaack!  I must say I've missed everyone, but I've enjoyed my time away.  We went to the beach and experienced a time warp.....let's do the time warp, yeah!  Sorry.  Little Rocky Horror moment there....the horror being my singing.  Anyway, we went to my grandparents' beach house.  Actually, I guess it would be my dad's now. It was so peaceful.  No phone, no TV, no Internet.  Just sun, wind, beach, food and yarn.  Absolutely wonderful.  Of course I took pictures to show you.  Are you ready to go back in time? Strap on your seat belt while I fire up the ol' flux capacitor......

Our first stop is the kitchen.  Please note the rotary dial phone and two slice toaster.  The toaster works, the phone does not.

Next stop...I spent many rainy summer days as a child looking out that window wishing the rain would stop.  Number One Son is wishing for a TV...or a computer....anything?

Now, on to the sofa. It looks better than it sits.  And don't you just love that groovy lamp!?

Please notice that we are keeping with a beachy theme with all the shells...Every last one was found on the beach by a family member over the years.

Ugly, yet comfy chair and another groovy lamp.  Please pay special attention to the afghan on the back of the chair made by my sweet grandmother...I spent a lot of time in this chair working on my on projects this trip.

And another ugly, comfy chair.  I'm loving the artwork.

I call this the parent bedroom.  When I was a child, my grandparents stayed in this room.  When we would go to the beach with my parents, they would stay in this room.  Keeping with that tradition, Car Guy and I stayed here as well.

I call this the children's room.  I stayed here as a child and I put The Boys in here this trip.

Please notice the kites in the corner and the pictures on the mirror (done by my cousin's daughters).  This is in keeping with this being the children's room.

This is my grandmother's rain slicker that she used to wear when she was fishing.  She's been gone for several years, but I can still see her and my granddaddy fishing on the beach. The little sign says "Old fisherman never die...they just smell bad."  I wish that were true.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your trip back in time.  I'm not sure what decade we went to....I guess late 50's or early 60's.  This trip was made possible by the lovely couple above who purchased the house before I was ever born and helped fill it with tons of  love and amazing memories.  I look forward to making more with my husband and children.

From the Past

Hello!!! I am stopping by from the past. Don't know if you remember me or not. I'm currently at one of my childhood haunts, my grandmother's beach house. No TV, no computer & no wifi/Internet. Currently using the hotspot on Car Guy's phone. I am completely submersed in my childhood and LOVING every minute. Will return to the present on Sunday. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Slacker!

That would be me...I have good intentions, I really do.  I also have all kinds of excuses but it all just boils down to life.  We seem to be constantly on the go.  I'm not complaining, but I'd love to be able to come up for air before school starts on the 25th! Where did the summer go? 

I know that part of this group will be wondering the same thing.  That funny looking group over there are all the kids...minus one who's still in it's mommy's tummy...He/She will be here late October, early November...NOT me, Aunt Wendy, thank goodness!  This was taken while we were on vacation and every time I look at it I get a little nostalgic because I remember when the "big kids" were babies. Number One Son will be a SENIOR in high school....What?!?! I remember when he was the only little one in the family. 

Speaking of little ones.  That little one on the end had a birthday recently and turned three.  He's a "big boy" now...His words :)  So I tried to make him something that a big boy would like....and that would be Rex.  At least that's what I was calling him while I was making him.  The "Big Boy" opened his present, promptly shook Rex in my face and yelled "ROOOAAAR!"  at the top of lungs and then took off running. Somewhere along the way, he tossed him at his sister...or to her, we couldn't tell...and started dancing around like three year olds dance.  He informed me that Rex was not the dinosaur's name and that he was Jacob...after his best friend.  I'm thinking that might be high praise, but I'm not sure because I don't speak "three year old" as well as I used to.  I'm a little out of practice.

Here's another shot of Rex...I mean Jacob...so that you can see he came complete with tail.  I've never done this type of crochet.  I think he's really cute but the little guy was crocheted completely in single crochet and seemed to take FOREVER.  I know that he didn't but I don't know how much more of this I will be doing because there is actually A LOT of counting stitches and it can get rather tedious.  And for crying out loud, don't talk to me while I'm doing it or I'll lose my count - Argh!  We'll see.  My nieces thought Rex Jacob was pretty cool, so I might have to make them a little something similar. 

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  My sister-in-law and her kids are coming to visit this weekend (the three kids right after my boys in the picture) so I'm sure we'll be busy as usual.  I'll get to get some girl time in with Gina and my niece, so I'm really looking forward to it.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll have August's Show & Tell for you next week.

Sweet Moment

I don't normally post pictures of other people's children, but this one is partly mine in that he is my nephew...and he's with my son...and I think it is possibly one of the sweetest pictures ever. So here you go...enjoy....

Try not to let that "Awwww!" slip out.  I dare you.  Can't stop it, can you? Makes your heart melt just a little doesn't it?  It also makes a Mama so proud to see this sweet, mature side of my teenage son who will sit in a restaurant and help keep his three year old cousin occupied while we wait for dinner.  Just one of many moments that made my vacation special.

Hi Honey!

I'm home!  I hope everyone is doing well.  I'm finding it very difficult to get back into the groove of everyday life.  We spent the last week at Ocean Isle Beach with family and it was wonderful! The weather was HOT, HOT, HOT and the humidity was so thick that you walked out the door and wanted to take a shower immediately.  But it was so worth it. 

Look at those crazy boys! I love that they can still be silly.

A little more serious now. Quite good looking if I do say so myself!

Here's we all are.  Again, silly boys :)

We spent a great deal of time at the pool or on the beach and I've come back a little tired but rejuvenated.  Not quite ready to take on the world but feeling a lot closer than I was before. Lots more pictures to come, I just have to get them off the camera and finish unpacking and doing laundry....sigh...back to life as I know it!

Beachy

Hello all! Just a quick note to say all is well and my holiday has been brilliant so far. I've been visiting, but for some reason, I'm having issues leaving comments. So I'm not ignoring you my friends and will be back in full force soon!

Holiday!

Hello all! Hope you are doing well!  Just wanted to stop in and let you know that I'll be back in a week or so.  I'm taking a much needed holiday right now, but I promise to be back with wonderful things to show and share. I jokingly told a friend that I was only talking to people who's names appear on bottles....Johnny Walker, Jim Beam, Jose Cuervo...but please know that is not the case and I will continue to pop in and visit everyone while I'm on holiday. Hope you are all enjoying yourselves!

Check it out!

This is just a quick post to show off before the weekend.  I had to share....BOO YAH!!

There they are!! My first pair of hand made socks! I'm so pleased with them!

Thanks to all my sock fairies that helped with emails, lessons and encouragement.  It was greatly appreciated.  Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

I've Got Mail! July's Show and Tell

So I've decided to combine two tasks into one.   And not because I'm lazy (even though I'm feeling a bit lazy), but because they seem to work together perfectly.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love getting mail.  Email, snail mail, it doesn't matter which.  I just love that little jolt of happiness knowing that I've been on some one's mind enough that they decided to let me know. I think that's part of the reason I love blogging. It makes me feel special and we all need to feel special every once in a while. I remember when I was younger and my Nanny would call me and tell me she had just mailed me a letter.  I would run to the mail box everyday with anticipation.  I think she is part of the reason why I love it so much. What does all this rambling mean, you ask? I received a lovely package in the mail this week!

It came all the way from Australia and contained several lovely items.

This amazing magazine.

A gorgeous handcrafted card.

And a really sweet letter.

(It also had a beautiful little pillow in it to embellish, but you don't get to see it until I decide what I'm going to do with it.)

The magazine is an Australian magazine that has some beautiful patterns in it.  I'm definitely need to improve my knitting skills because there are some items that I'm wanting to make.

Like this gorgeous sweater.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to try this one yet or not. I'm thinking that there could be a knit along in my future...we'll see what the gift giver thinks since she likes this sweater as well.

There were also some wonderful articles about various types of yarns.  The colors are just amazing and I think I'm becoming a bit envious of yarn that is available in Australia and New Zealand. 

Now, you ask, who did I get this lovely package from?  My lovely friend Sandi. It all started because she accidentally purchased a magazine she already had...How many of you out there have done that? Show of hands please....mine is up there too, so don't feel bad. Anyway, instead of taking the magazine back, she had a drawing on her blog for a give away and I was the lucky recipient. How cool is that?  Then she threw a few extras in there!

Sandi is one of the first people I "met" while blogging and she's this month's Show and Tell. We both started blogging about the same time and I've enjoyed sharing this journey with her.  She is a very lovely, talented knitter.

Look how cute this little dress is!  If you go to Sandi's blog, you will see it modeled. It is absolutely adorable.

She's taught herself how to crochet and she's currently working on a granny blanket that is going to be gorgeous! She also made this delightful little hat.

Not only does Sandi knit and crochet, but she makes beautiful cards, journals and book marks.

 

These are just a couple of examples.

If you get a chance, go pop over and visit.  I think she's one of the little hidden gems out there.  She has a wonderful sense of humor and always an encouraging word.  She has definitely enriched my life with her posts, comments and emails.

Legal Jargon - Disclaimer - the pictures above are from Sandi's Blog.  They are solely her work, her photography and her property.  I am not claiming them as my own in any way, shape or form cause I ain't no thief.  Also, Sandi does know me, but this is not a paid endorsement. I'm just sharing the love.  Does that take care of all the legal stuff? Thank you for your time!

PS.  Thank you so much for the wonderful package full of goodies Sandi!  It is greatly appreciated and made my day, week!!!  Lots of hugs coming your way!

Life With Car Guy

I don't know how many of you live with a "handy" person, but I'm here to tell you that it has it's ups and downs.  The upside is that Car Guy can fix/build just about anything I need.  And in this economic downtime, that is a HUGE plus.  We aren't destitute, but we sure aren't rolling in the money.  Like most everyone else right now, things are tight.  So it truly is wonderful that he can fix things, like the broken water hose under the sink from a couple of weeks ago. He can also fix the car, which is wonderful as that can get expensive.

Well, here's the downside of living with a handy person.  He is working on a new project, sort of.  I don't know how many of you remember this picture or this post...

This is a 1972 Porsche 914. We've had this car for a couple of years now and we've really enjoyed it. But the time has come to start the restoration.  So far, no money has been spent - yea! - but he's at the tedious, take everything apart stage.

As most of you might have guessed, I'm not much of a grease monkey. So this is all Car Guy's deal, possibly with some help from the Boys...the jury's still out on that, we'll see. In the grand scheme of things, you're probably wondering how this affects  me, if at all, and why I'm even bringing it up.  Well, this is the floor in my den....

Those are car parts.  They are sitting on the carpet right next to the door to the garage.  Fortunately, they are clean, freshly painted, dry and totally restored car parts - which is the only reason that they are sitting on the carpet.  When we first got married, I told Car Guy that I didn't want car parts residing in the house.  I told him this because, when he and his brother lived together a million years ago, they had a car engine in the kitchen. As you can guess, not what I want in my kitchen. Something about food and motors just don't go together in preparation, call me crazy.

This is our garage.  See that big red thing?  That's his sanding/bead blast cabinet.  That's where he cleaned said car parts before they came to reside on my carpet.  It you look to the left, near the lawn mower, you'll see something hanging from a bungee cord....

Here, you can see some more.  They get bead blasted, washed, painted and hung to dry.  Once they are done, they move inside for a brief life of relative luxury on the carpet.  I'm not complaining. Although you really have to pay attention when walking in the garage so you don't clunk your head.  But I'm not complaining.

However,  I will complain vehemently if he tries to bring this into the house after he bead blasts, washes and paints it.....

That's not going to happen....I'm just saying!

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!!!