Ravelry Colors!

Check out this yarn I bought from an etsy shop! It's the Ravelry page colors. How cool is that? I love it!

I needed to wind it into a center pull ball but I don't have a ball winder or a swift, so this is what I did, I improvised. Don't laugh. OK, laugh along with me.

My daughter walked through the room and wanted to know what I was doing. Then she grabbed the camera. Nice kid. But I thought I'd share anyway. The heels of my feet were pretty tired after I got it all wound into a center pull ball. Here it is, all wound up and I started a sock:

I'm going to get as much done on this sock as I can before the June Knit-Along starts in the FGF group I'm in on Ravelry. At the rate I'm going, the socks should take awhile. I'm using a pretty easy pattern. It's my first real big people socks with sock yarn on skinny U.S. size 1 needles.

Coupon Savings

I love those Joann and Michaels coupons! I bought more Cottontots from Michaels with a 50% off coupon. Then I dragged my daughter (by the way I'm loving having her home for the summer!) to Joann as I needed to buy some size US 5 DPNs. I had two 40% coupons for Joann. I gave her a coupon and one package and I took the other coupon and we paid separately. I wish the Susan Bates needles came in sets of 5. But they don't. They come in sets of four and I needed five. So this was a good way to do it without having to make two trips.

I used some of the Cottontots yarn I bought the other day and made up two Grandma's Favorite dishcloths. I love making them. Very good mindless knitting for watching TV. Look how they came out almost identical.

I got all my flowers planted this weekend. My yard is going to look so pretty once they start growing and blooming. So then I decided to do a little home improvement project while I was outside. I painted my gate. Here's the before:

And here's the after:

It's amazing how a little coat of paint can really brighten things up! I had to replace the latch on the gate as it was broken and that's what led to this painting project. Sometime in the near future I need to refinish and restain the deck. Not looking forward to that.

No calories

Well, did you guess correctly as to what yesterday's mystery project was?

Here it is:

A cupcake! Isn't it cute! I saw the pattern and just had to make it. No calories in this thing. But it made me so hungry for cake, I just had to bake one. I made a banana cake, from scratch, mmmmmmmmmmm

I'm making some babyback ribs on the bbq grill today, this cake will make a wonderful dessert.

I worked in the yard a little while. Just thought I'd show you a picture of the junkyard next door.

This is what I live next to. Lovely isn't it? We call these neighbors "The Clampetts" around here. I call him "Mr. Pita" (Pain In The Ass). I wish I could afford a privacy fence.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the day. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and remember those in the Armed forces who gave their lives for us.

Finally, a finished object!

Remember this?

I asked you to guess what it was. Krystal (of the Yarn Mafia blog over at the side) guessed fingerless mitts. Nope. That's not what it was. It was this:

Shocking huh? I made big people socks! It took me two weeks, but I did it. It's a thick house sock. Very comfy. Next try at socks will be with real sock yarn. Here's a close up of the cables:

I'm very proud of them!

I've certainly been enjoying my days off. I planted my tomatoes yesterday. I put them in containers this year because something always gets in the garden and eats them. Not nice. Hopefully I'll have better luck this year.

I can't wait to have a juicy tomato warm from the sun!

This is my next project, it's almost done. Any idea what it is?

I'm hoping to finish it later today, so hopefully I can post a picture tomorrow.

Live, Laugh, Love

I had a 50% off coupon from Michaels so I HAD to use it. I bought some more Cottontots. I made some dishcloths from it not too long ago and it was a joy to knit with. I also saw this Patons Be Mine on clearance and HAD to have it. It's so soft. Not sure what I'll make with it.

I'm using a vacation day and taking tomorrow off. That will give me a four day weekend! Yippee! I can't afford to go to work anyway, not with gas prices. Sheesh, gas prices are sucking my wallet dry. I hate it. I'm going to use a vacation day every Friday throughout the summer. These prices are killing me. It will be nice to have a three day weekend every weekend! Hopefully in the fall the prices will drop.

I bought a new thing to hang on my front door. I need to keep reading it, it makes me happy:

That's it for today. I'm off to feed the kitties now.

T-Shirt

It's here! I got my Ravelry T-Shirt. I'm so excited! I just love it. It fits great and I've already worn it. So glad I bought it!

I love this style of t-shirt, loose fitting, roomy, very comfy.

My daughter's birthday is over. It was a success! The poke cake turned out yummy, everyone liked it, and she got some nice gifts.

Last night was knit night. Lots of fun! It's always a nice evening with conversation, laughter and knitting. I love seeing what everyone is working on. Saw some yarn I had never seen before. It's already knit up into a flat piece, and you unravel it a little at a time and knit socks with it. I think it was called Flat Foot yarn. Very interesting. Might have to try it some day.

19

Today is my baby girl's 19th birthday! I can't believe she's 19. Where did the years go? All those elementary school years have gone by, middle school, high school, and now her first year of college. She requested "poke cake" for her birthday cake. It's so yummy! Have you ever had it? In a nutshell, you bake a white cake, let it cool a little, poke holes in it with a fork and pour Jello over it. The Jello will go down in the holes and the cake is so pretty when you cut it. Then you frost it with Cool Whip. She picked watermelon Jello for her Jello flavor. Can't wait to have some!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!!

New Yarn

I needed some new yarn to pet. Sometimes a knitter JUST needs new yarn. So, I went back to the new local yarn store that recently opened. I've been lusting after this yarn since I went there two weeks ago and didn't buy it. I kept thinking about it, wanting it. I don't know why and I don't know why I didn't buy it when I was there. Just one of those things. I went today and bought it. I have no idea what I'm going to make with it. Maybe an absolutely beautiful dishcloth since I only bought one skein.

And while I was there I signed up for a class. The class isn't until October, but that's OK, I have something to look forward to.

A couple of weeks ago I had a half off coupon for Michaels. I went there and bought this box. Just HAD to have it.

Isn't it pretty? I'm storing all my DPNs in there and circular needles. Plenty of room, and plenty of room for more!

I love my pretty needle box!

Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday. My sweet baby girl will be 19. Her last year to be a teenager. I'm making her a cake and it's just about time to get it out of the oven. So, I'm off for now. I hope you're having a great weekend!

Proud Moment

Sometimes a mom just has to brag.

My daughter got her report card from college. All A's!!! Four classes, four A's. I'm so proud of her. She did the same thing for the first semester.

I Can Knit Again!

The pain is gone, I can knit again, yippee! So, I've been working on this:

What do you think it is? Stay tuned, and I'll let you know.

I finally got the book I wanted! I've been watching my mail, and it's finally here! Beautiful mittens in it, just beautiful. I've been reading it and learning the history of these mittens.

I'm not real good with stranded knitting, yet. I'm hoping to improve. I also suck at reading charts. But I'm determined to learn this. I'll just do a little bit at a time when I finally get around to making a pair of these mittens and give it my full attention. I CAN DO THIS!

I gave Mom her shawl on Mother's Day. She loved it! She loved the colors, the pattern, and how soft it is. She loved the little washcloth I gave her too. She doesn't want to use it, says it's too pretty.

Yard work

Beautiful outside today! One of those days where you had to be outside. I got some work done in the yard. I refreshed all the mulch in the front, it's clean and tidy looking. Can't wait to get some more flowers out there and have lots of color. It felt good to be outside, but my muscles are crying, not loudly, but I know they are there.

That's my little house!

I finally got the apron done. This was a lot more work than I thought it would be. But I really like it!

And here's the back:

No knitting going on at the moment. I finished the dishcloth made of Cottontots. It's so soft. I'm deciding what to make next. I think I may be able to get back into the knitting groove, my hand has been OK.

I also made one more project bag:

And that's about it. My four day weekend is flying by. I wish the work week went this fast.

Stuff!

Look at this Stuff!

My Aunt Pat cleaned out her closet and sent me this Stuff! There are so many cute patterns in the bag, lots and lots. I definitely need more hours in the day. And all that yarn to make more Stuff!

Check this out:

Sock Monkeys! and clothes for Sock Monkeys! We have a strange fascination with sock monkeys in this family. Oh my gosh, this pattern is just so cute!

I went to dinner with my cousins the other night, Olive Garden. It was so yummy! So good to see them at an event that wasn't a funeral. We got to talking about shopping and they told me about these birdhouses they liked and some had bought from Kohl's, on sale, half price. What a deal! So being the typical relatives that we are one of my cousins was going to buy one on her way home and I went the next day and got one. We have always had to buy what each other has bought. We've had a lot of fun doing that. Our moms started that little tradition and we carry it on. I love this little birdhouse! Can't wait to hang it in my yard. And every time I look at it I will be reminded of my sweet cousins.

I haven't had much time to knit or sew the last few days. I got a little bit of sewing done on the apron, it's very slow going. Whoever would have thought an apron would be so detailed to sew? But it is. I like how it's turning out so far.

I haven't been knitting much and my hand is feeling a lot better! I've been working on a dishcloth. This cotton yarn is so soft, I'm loving it. I made one for my Aunt out of this yarn (Bernat Cottontots) and there's plenty left, so I'm making this one for my Mom. She saw the yarn and loved the color. They knit up pretty quickly, good TV knitting. They don't require a lot of concentration.

That's it for now. Tomorrow I'm going to go get my kid from college and bring her home for the summer. I can't wait to see her!

Oh what a beautiful morning!

It's so pretty and sunny out there this morning. I went outside to take a picture of the tree in my yard that is in bloom. It's gorgeous when it blooms, the picture doesn't do it justice. I love this little tree. There was a robin in it but when I got close it flew away. I love all the pretty colors of spring!

On the needles I have a dishcloth, Grandma's Favorite. I love making that pattern, so easy, good TV knitting. I got the apron cut out and hopefully will have time to work on it today. I think the colors look so retro.

Aprons are fun to make, you can get so creative with them. They're like little works of art. I'm making the apron in the center of that pattern envelope, the full sized one.

This is the yarn I used for the kitty I posted yesterday. So very soft. Patons Be Mine.

I've never used this yarn before. I saw it on clearance at Michaels and it was just of those things where "I had to have it"!

A New LYS!

A new yarn store opened in the area yesterday! How exciting is that! I went last evening to check it out. It's real clean and a pretty good size, but not a lot of yarn yet. I can't wait until she gets more yarn in. I'll check back in a couple of weeks and see if there is more yarn. It was fun to touch and look! I bought a couple of skeins of Plymouth Encore Colorspun:

Kind of blinding and bright, I love it! And I bought a skein of Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby DK. It's so soft, just had to have it! It's a vibrant purple, I just can't get the camera to do the color justice:

I'm going to make some fingerless mitts with the Dreambaby, and maybe some house socks with the Colorspun. But it will take me a while to get through that as I can only knit for short periods of time at the moment.

I did finish the little kitty I was making. I just love these kitties! At first I had sewn a yarn nose, but it just didn't look right. So I ripped it out and sewed on a little pompom, I think it looks better.

I don't know where this kitty is going to end up yet, I just may keep this one.

I Can See for Miles and Miles

It was time again for the old eye exam. I'm never going to pass it, lol! So I ended up getting new glasses, and they have bling! I got the Transition lenses too. I can go out in the sun without going blind, yay! Of course it's cloudy and gray today so I can't try them out in the sun yet.

I've been doing very little knitting. My hand is doing much better. I started another one of those little kitties because I just HAVE to be knitting something. I'm just doing a little at a time. I went to CVS and got myself a hand brace glove thingy to help with the pain. It's nice and snug. I hope this helps!

I will try the glove out tonight while watching Grey's Anatomy. Another new one on tonight. Very exciting to me!

I got some more project bags done. I just can't stop making them. They're a fun easy little project, and each one is so cute. So then I buy more fabric and make more and on and on and on.

Tomorrow is Friday. I am so glad! And a new yarn store is opening in the area, I will definitely be going there this weekend. I'm so excited! AND out of the blue the other day my boss gave me a nice fat bonus. Yarn and fabric money! It doesn't get much better than this.

I'm off to the couch to knit while wearing my new little glove.