Don't forget the Contests!

As the Relay for Life is fast approaching I have turned my attention to making hats. I think I started earlier last year because I had several hats by the time Relay rolled around but I'll just have to do the best I can this year. This one is using the feather and fan pattern. I'm very happy with the color and pattern but unforutnatley it is quite small. One of these days I'll actually make a swatch! I'm going to keep going though as there are unfortunately also kids who have cancer and need hats. Don't forget my contest - anyone who donates hats to me for the Relay for Life will be entered in to a drawing for some wonderful goodies.

Speaking of contests - I think it is time to call an end to the Daffodil Daze. I'm guessing that all daffodils have bloomed across the country by now. So far I have the following folks entered: Monica, Kristen, Marie Is that it? If you posted a photo of daffodils and I missed you let me know. I'll draw a name in a few days!

Post Holiday Let Down

Happy day-after-Memorial-Day to all of you! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was lots of fun but not quite long enough. What is it about a three day weekend that makes you think you are going to get so many things done? And then you don't finish even half of what you thought you would do. Now I just need another 3 days off!

The baby sweater is coming along. I finished knitting the various pieces and my wonderful Mom is putting it together for me. She is an excellent seamstress and I knew she would do a much better job than me. She is bringing it back tomorrow and then I just need to crochet the contrasting border and it will be ready for the shower this Sunday. I'll snap some photos before I give it away. With Jennifer's encouragement I decided to make a hat that matches in the contrasting color. Thankfully that knit up quickly in just 2 days. As to the shower - we are now at 56 people! It has definitely blossomed in to something bigger than we expected. Hopefully it will be a success. I know my daughter's teacher will be extremely touched when she sees the turn out. She is new to our town this year and has made a great impression on everyone.

Kristen tagged me with this fun game so here goes. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.




1) What was I doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago I was doing a lot of what I'm doing today, I was married with two of my kids ages 2 and 4.5. I didn't have all the kids acitivities I have now though! We were living in a different city, about 30 minutes north of where we are now and were shopping for our current house. What I didn't know w asthat a month later I would have one of the worst experiences of my life when I fell, shattered my heel, ended up with a plate and seven screws in my foot and a year of physical therapy ahead of me. That is certainly something I'm glad is in my past!

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Get several things done at work, give some books to a friend who works at a school I am donating them to, pay bills, fill out various end of year school forms and clean up my room (like that will happen :-)

3) Snacks I enjoy: apples, chocolate, chai latte from Starbucks, fresh berries and nuts.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: First I have to say it is so sad that this question has to say "billionaire". Twenty years ago "millionaire" would have sounded pretty good! If I were a billionaire I would first give some money to family, friends and charities. I like charities that help children, cancer victims, animals and help teach people to read. Then I might just quit my job, travel, buy a new house or perhaps a house in Hawaii, buy yarn . . . .

5) Places I have lived: Northern California (at least 8 different places), Texas, New York and on a ship - just 4 actually!

6) Jobs I have had: working in a Hallmark store, working at Bullocks department store, secretary, lawyer and MOM.

7) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:

Jennifer

Bonnie

Janice

Lisa

Hakucho
Can't wait to see what their answers are!

I'm si chanceux!

That's "I'm so lucky" in French. Yesterday a package came in the mail from my friend Jennifer. It smelled absolutely amazing before I even opened it. There was a sachet of lavender inside and with the heat wave we are having it really brought out the smell. It was fabulous. I just wanted to sit there and sniff the package. But I had to rip it open to see what was inside. You see Jen just came back from Paris and she is so sweet she sent me 3 skeins of this gorgeous yarn! What a special treat. THANK YOU JENNIFER!!! The yarn is blue and pink and purple and is it so gorgeous. It is thick and thin and fairly soft. She doesn't know what kind it is (there is no label) but there appears to be enough for a scarf so now I just have to find the right pattern. Any suggestions? Maybe I should go to Paris and see what the Parisian women are wearing these days - what do you think? It is so exciting to get a fabulous package and now have this wonderful yarn all the way from Paris. I am indeed a lucky girl.

Go Green

Can knitting actually change the world? Probably not but at least it can make a small difference. I needed something simple to knit when I couldn't focus on the pattern for the baby sweater so I decided to make the Everlasting Bagstopper from Knitty. It is a great mesh bag that you can use instead of plastic bags. Even more eco friendly I am using some Mission Cotton that I had purchased a year ago. I have 4 different colors so I am going to make some broad stripes. The pattern is really simple and knits up quickly. I was on the Elann site yesterday and saw so many cute cottons that I may have to make several of these little diddies! The green photo is borrowed from Knitty.com so you can see what it is going to look like.

Virtuosity

When I was growing up my mother was always telling me "patience is a virtue" to which I would respond "THAT I DON'T HAVE!" I have never been known for my patience despite the fact my mother has the patience of a saint. I like to think that as I have grown older I have become more patient and maybe I have, but then as my irritation rises because the 411 lady isn't giving me my number fast enough I realize maybe I haven't! So I'm very proud of myself that I have stuck to the baby sweater despite my desires to move on to other projects. I have been patient with it and have mastered the pattern. No longer am I ripping out every other row. I have now finished the back and the left side. I have moved on to the sleeves leaving the front side for the last piece since it will go fairly quickly. I am currently knitting both sleeves at the same time as I was worried that my new patient self might not be able to immediately turn to a second sleeve after finishing the first. I have never done that before but it is going fairly well. It also does seem to be more efficient. Keep your fingers crossed that I can get it done in time!

Timing is Everything!

As they say, timing is everything. So just in time for the impending warm weather I have finished two hats! I mean who can't use a good warm hat in 70 degree weather? The turqouise one is for Horsey Girl and the green one is, of course, for Miss K. The girl who has enough green clothes so that entire loads of wash can be nothing but green. Horsey Girl has been wanting a hat with cables and she is pretty happy with the result but she doesn't like the fact that the ribbed brim is folded in half. Oh well, teenagers are never happy anyway are they? Miss K's is finished with a double seed stich brim and turned out quite cute. I am very happy with it and as a bonus there appears to be enough left on the skein to make another hat which I can donate for the Relay for Life.