Helga's Shawl!

This is my lovely daughter Jill modeling my brand new shawl! I received this from my partner Helga in our At My House yahoo group shawl exchange. It took Helga a little longer thank expected to complete this shawl since she took a fall and was injured. I am so honored that she continued until she was able to complete it just for me!

I absolutely love it! This picture does not do it justice, it it super soft and cozy and the blue is so bright and cheerful! I can't wait until Fall!!

Thank you so much Helga, I really love it, can you tell???

New additions!

I am proud to say we have 3 new additions to my family! Furry ones that is.
The first came about in a serious case of kismet- I was considering inviting a new doggie into the house since Titan(my Aussie) is getting older and we were feeling he needed a companion.
About 2 weeks ago I received a call from my friend Lynne from Grateful Danes Great Dane rescue. I have adopted from her twice in the past, so she needed someone she could trust. She knew of an abused pup (18 month old) harlequin that needed rescuing fast, so the owner dropped her off about 9pm. Then she dropped off one sheltie at a time.
It took about 2 weeks, but now she trusts up completely and has become a different dog. I am so proud to say she has changed from a shy, fearful animal with no life in her eyes, to a playful, happy, obedient pet! The shelties were only supposed to be temporary....

Well...if you know what an Aussie looks like you can understand why I couldn't turn these guys away!
So...it's been a little crazy, but the kids are LOVING it, so therefore so am I.
It's a great Summer so far!

UPDATE

I know I haven't updated in a while, I have been busy with the end of school year.
I burned my foot in April (2nd degree) which set me back a bit, I also had surgery the first week in May and recovery wasn't as quick as I expected.

My oldest daughter graduated with high honors from High School the end of June...talk about bittersweet.
I am SOOO proud of her, and at the same time it forces one to recognize how your *baby* has grown into a mature young lady. They grow up so fast.
She's on to college in the Fall.

My oldest son is working this Summer and really coming along on playing the Bass guitar, he taught himself how to play the Star Spangled Banner,pretty cool.
He's matured a lot the past few months and I'm really proud of the course load he's decided to take on for Junior Year, Honors English and Social Studies. It should prove quite challenging since he has work, and fencing added to the mix.

My 3rd prodigy ended the year with High Honors as well, no surprise really, he is exceptionally gifted, but an A+ in 6th grade band AND 7th grade band? AMAZING.
I always knew he was talented, but the trombone??? WHO KNEW???
He's spending his summer annoying his siblings and tormenting his parents, typical 12 year old behavior :o)

As for my 10 and 6 year old, they are already looking forward to September, can you believe it?
Their Summer is filled with playing in the pool and with the dogs, occasionally playing with the dogs in the pool.

My 4 year old is anxiously awaiting pre-K. He's happy and excited, I'm a nervous wreck. What will I do without him? He's so entertaining, and my poor baby will be all alone.
So that's my update, I haven't had much time to create anything super wonderful. Hopefully soon I will get that bug again and start hooking.

Remember- well behaved women rarely make history.
and as John Burroughs said-

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see."

Make it a GREAT day.

Spring Equinox

My 11 year old told us at 8 pm on the day of the Spring Equinox, if you put an egg on a flat surface it will stand up by itself.
So, skeptic that we are, we had to give it a try.

Imagine our amazement when he was right!! It was so cool, I had to take a picture...

Towel topper exchange

I made this set for a recent AtMyHouse exchange. I hope she likes it!!

Poncho

I made this for a recent poncho exchange. It came out so lovely I had my darling(although silly) daughter model it.
I used Caron Simply Soft in plum wine. I got the pattern from a blog called "knotty by nature". VERY easy and it works up really nice!!

Mr. Finkles

Easter wreath

The eggs were a major butt pain, in the end it was worth it. Isn't it pretty?

Easter Projects!

Animal Baskets

New Supply Site!!

I happened upon a great site for craft supplies! Not only does she have stuff I haven't seen elsewhere, but her prices are GREAT!
Who says you can't get personalized service via the world wide web? Check it out, you will not be disappointed!

I did it!

I'm so excited!

With the help of the most awesome crochet tutor I managed to complete a real doily! My very first!

Thread is very intimidating to me and the very small hooks were almost impossible to see, add to that a pattern without row counts and I was completely lost and very close to throwing in the towel.

Enter Barb, my pal in Michigan from atmyhouse who volunteered to "help". Then the fun began we got together on yahoo messenger and she actually worked the pattern with me, counted the rows and made it possible for me to finish ( as well as catch a few boo-boos along the way and I only had to frog once :o)

It was like a true CAL (crochet-a-long) isn't that exciting?

Take a look at my finished piece, which is now on it'a way to Barb!!!

I know she'll appreciate it because she knows how hard I (we) worked and was so proud I finished! I hope she loves it and when she looks at it, remembers the fun we had!

Love ya Barb!!

Secret Buddy!

I participated in a "Secret Buddy" exchange. I received my package today!!

I was thrilled with all the goodies I received from this talented lady. I can't wait to find out who she is so I can really thank her!

My latest creation!

I finished the shawl for my atmyhouse exchange. It's done in Lion Suede prints "desert". The pattern was simple, and although the yarn itself wasn't easy to work with, it was well worth it!

I think it came out beautiful, it's so soft and really, in my opinion, perfect for all seasons.

I hope my partner likes it as much as I do :o)

Let me know what you think!

Sorry I forgot to mention this shawl worked up really quick! The pattern can be found here http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/clsu-shawl.html?noImages= and it only took 4 skeins of yarn and about 3 evenings to complete ( with many interuptions LOL).

How true, how true...

Erma Bombeck circa 1970

All Knotted Up? Just Try Knitting

I knit as if I am pitted against a Russian and the prize for finishing first is unclear control. I don’t communicate. I don’t take time out for frivolous things like eating and sleeping. I don’t cook and I don’t clean house. I just knit.The other week I saw instructions for a knitted dress that I couldn’t wear and couldn’t resist. I said to my daughter, “Would you like Mother to knit this dress for you?”“No,” she said, “it looks like a pencil wearing a turtle neck sweater.”“You’ll change your mind when its finished,” I insisted, and began to roll the yarn into a ball.I knitted in the mornings while the kids ate dry cereal and sang a cappella, “There’s Nothing to Wear.” I knitted afternoons right through the TV soap cycle. Marriages, divorces, miscarriages, rape, murder and other game shows could not deter me from my commitment. I knitted at nights. “Aren’t you coming to bed?” my husband yelled down the stairs.“Did Betsy Ross go to bed on the flag?” I yelled back. “Did Sophia Loren try to build Rome in a day? Did Nixon quit politics to sell Tupperware” I am fulfilling a woman’s need to be creative,” I shouted. My eyes rolled back until the whites showed, perspiration dripped down my cheeks, and my hands shook unsteadily.“Everyone needs an outlet of some kind away from the dreary routine of housework. This is my way of relaxing…do you hear me? RELAXING!” I sobbed hysterically into a sleeve.This week, the dress was finished. My daughter tried it on. “I was wrong,” she said. “It doesn’t look like a pencil wearing a turtle neck sweater. It looks like a turtle neck sweater wearing a pencil.”Silently, I put the dress on a hanger and exiled it to an end of my closet that I call Napoleon’s Elba. It hangs next to a baby sweater I knitted (size 38), an afghan with set-in short sleeves and a sweater with two neck openings.“Why do you waste money and effort on something that physically wrecks you?” nagged my husband. “Why do you make things that no one wears when you’re finished?” persisted my daughter. “Why do you do things that make you crabby?” piped in my sons.None of them understand. Knitting is like a love affair. It’s not fun if you have to explain what you’re doing.

courtesy of Pat Reece :o)

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

A new craft project

I've been looking for a small side table for my living room, nothing big, just something on which to rest a cup of tea or a book.

My wonderful and generous brother in law rescued a few tables with out tops from the trash man.

I decided they deserved a makeover and since my favorite flowers are black-eyed susans and the colors compliment my living room here's what I came up with. Please let me know what you think?

Dishcloth gone wrong

This is what happens when you *think* you know how to follow a pattern :o)

If at first...

You don't succeed, try try again!

It was so much fun...

I made another one!!!