moving on

Every day I marvel that it is 80-some degrees and only April.

The veggies are growing nicely and my uncle clued me into the correct way to plant garlic. There was a pretty large pot growing a crop of weeds, and it didn't take much work to convert it to a garlic grower.

It was not difficult to decide what to knit after my little break. Just after learning to knit (10+ years ago), I bought yarn to make us all Christmas stockings. This one is for Bugg and I felted it in my front-load washer.

Lucy was sweet enough to pose with it before:

...and after felting

Bugg is going to love it!

My next project happens to be felting for Bugg, too. A cute bag pattern followed me home from Stitches West!

New flowers are blooming in the garden.

The mum bushes are full of purple mums. The fact that they are blooming now still amazes me!

The calla lillies are just beginning to pop out - see the little pink buds?

and the two potted bottlebrush trees are blooming!


Last Spring, the bottlebrush trees caught my attention. I loved the color and texture of the blooms, but could not find any by the time we had moved into our house. The nursery had two left this year!

The pool is hovering around 80 degrees and the kids have been swimming quite a lot. I like to wait for the 'around 90 degree' days before committing my body to that torture. The hot tub has been in full swing and it helps tremendously when my body rebels against my tennis schedule.

Bugg gets home from college on May 7th. We are in countdown mode and I'll bet new adventures are on our horizon which means more photos!

wrapping it all up

It turns out that taking a little break from knitting did the trick.

My perspective regarding knitting was way off and reeling it in has given me a different view on my much loved hobby. Gone is the march that drove me to knit constantly even to the point that my arms/elbows hurt. Replacing the gruel, is a slower, even paced formation of stitches. Relaxing and enjoyable which is what a hobby surely must be!

I've cast-on for a Christmas stocking that was intended for Bugg eons ago.

The neglected needlepoint project has been finished. This is a bargello pattern that came with a stitch guide. I doubled it and had plenty of fiber to stitch it all. It will go to the framer this afternoon and a huge sense of completion has replaced the nagging guilt of having something so close to being done and just sitting there.

My thought is to begin another project (which has all of it's parts and is just waiting in the wings) and have another needlepoint project around to play with on occasion.

The flowers and garden is growing well. If you look close, you can see the watering system that we tacked to the bottom level of the fence. It rained buckets yesterday and they received plenty of moisture from that.

Planted: tomatoes, cukes (not shown), green/red/yellow peppers, okra, radishes, peas, and garlic (separate pot)

After asking around, I discovered that mums quite possibly will bloom twice in one year. This climate never ceases to amaze me! There are two potted mums that are healthy and are abundant with bloom. One which was potted in a separate area of the yard looks healthy, but has not produced blooms yet.

My blog reading has languished. There were over 550 posts this morning and I made it through 200. Some of the blogs I read are merely 'browser blogs' where I look at the photos and scan through for information. Most of the others are the ones I prefer to read in detail. It will take me a bit to get through those and my goal is to work through them during the next week. There are so many wonderful bloggers who have much useful or entertaining information to offer - I don't want to miss a thing!

FYS is finishing up his last month of school. Summer basketball has begun and he scored 10 pts in a game last weekend! Not bad for a kid who grew nearly 2 ft and hadn't played organized basketball in 6 years. The coach gushed about his work ethic during the banquet last night. I was so proud and a little tear snuck into the corner of my eye. Some of it was the realization that we only have one more year before he graduates. He is my baby and I just don't know where the time has gone. We have had a few conversations during the past week about how tall he is, his eye color, his physical characteristics. He says those things are nothing like mine. True, but I then remind him that all of the stuff inside - the way he thinks, reacts, completes things...those things are like me spot-on.

He just smiles.

Eight days

Eight days until my non-knitting deadline. That makes it sound much more severe and 'issue-ish' than it truly is...

My elbow pain has improved greatly. They are sore on occasion, but not constantly as before.

A long abandoned needlepoint has filled the gap. Begun awhile back and sitting in a closet was not a good action for this piece. I loved it when it was started and I love it still. My goal (because we know I am driven by schedules) is to finish it within the eight days. It is pretty certain that it can be attained!

Gardening and landscaping has taken up a large amount of time. Just about everything is doing well and is automatically watered. Lowe's has this very inexpensive product called Mister Landscaper. If you have watering issues, you must check this line out. I ran a small line around the bottom of our fence then out to each plotted vegetable garden, up shepherd's hooks and into potted plants, across the yard onto the pool deck, and into a window box at the front of the house. Everything is on a timer now and it is super easy. No more forgetting to water and coming home to see a shriveled up plant!

It has been warm enough to get into the pool (ok, so I heated it a little). The hot tub has been very helpful after playing tennis. So, it seems things are progressing pretty well here. Not so fast! I have friends who are battling tough times with their health. I haven't been able to visit with them, but they are on my mind constantly and I hope to see them in the near future.

Don't forget, tax time is here. Our printed copy tells me they are due by MAY 15...hmmm, I need to look into that!

Hiatus

Elbow pain has been something to deal with on a daily basis for a long while now. It began a few years ago and has persisted through ice applications, anti-inflammatory medication, and shots. I've been calling it Knitter's Elbow although it is technically tennis elbow. Learning to play tennis has been on my short list for a time. Interestingly enough, playing tennis does not aggravate the pain, knitting does.

A while ago, I decided to take a month off from knitting (gasp)! Since learning how to knit over 10 years ago, stitches have formed on my needles nearly every day. Lucky enough to be able to knit productively and do other things; like watch TV, it has been easy to find time to put in a few stitches here and there. Coming to this decision was eased by the happy coincidence of a month-long visit from my mom.

So, after returning from Stitches West, I finished the Blue Shimmer cuffs, knit up my New Orleans scarf, blocked Colonnade, then put my needles away.

After this first week, the elbow pain is gone! I've still be playing tennis...a lot of tennis, and the half finished needlepoint projects have come out of the closet.

For now, posts will be intermittent. Stay tuned, the needles are slated to return around April 17th!

Olympic scale knitting

When the Ravelympic goal was set it made me nervous. Uncertain that such knitting could be accomplished before departing for Stitches West loomed in my mind. Turns out that President's Day and the Mardi Gras celebration actually helped me reach my goals!















As if that wasn't enough help, we went to see family last Sunday. The car ride was an hour and half there and by the time we returned, I was knitting straight stockinette and could pretty much do that in the dark.

The yarn is Briar Rose Fibers Heritage which turns to softness when washed. It blocked nicely. Needles - US 4 and US 6

There is one more UFO in my basket that should be finished before departing for Stitches. Susanna Hansson's classes have me very excited and I have a little surprise project waiting for me when I return.

Ravelympics 2010: progress

When my goal for Ravelympics was considered, I worried. With my shortened schedule because of Stitches West, the goal seemed like a bit of a stretch. It turns out that the vest is going much quicker than anticipated. With the very Southern holiday of Mardi Gras, when things actually close down for celebration, knitting time has been premium.

The armholes for the back have been decreased and things are progressing well. So well, that I took time out to make cupcakes for Valentine's Day.

Two words work their way into my mind. They seemed silly coming from a drunk, middle-aged woman celebrating her birthday during dinner last weekend, yet they must be used:

"yay, me"! She was happy because she just bought herself an iphone which was a little silly. Seems appropriate to describe knitting, though.

Giraffe

Bugg loves most animals. When she was little, we spent much time in the penguin house at the zoo and I thought that penguins would be the animal she loved best. As she got older, she gravitated toward giraffe. She loves the giraffe so much that we tried to track one down at the Build-a-Bear Workshop over Christmas break.

With her birthday coming up, this pattern seemed to be a sign. Photos of illusion scarves had barely gotten a glimpse from me before this pattern. The whole concept seemed like time better spent on a lace-something-or-other. Turns out, the process is not boring and does require some thought.

In the end, there is this illusion giraffe scarf that Bugg will receive for her birthday. She will love it!

Little Blanket

My concern: How do you show your friend dealing with a life altering illness that you care?

My daughter and I discussed my desire to support Lisa and let her know she is in my prayers. My inclinations lean toward doing something and we came up with the idea of making a blanket of portable size so she could take it along to chemo.

A few years ago, many volunteers offered their talents and time to create a large version - The Hope Blanket. Donations were made the American Cancer Society and the blanket was given away. Luckily, I still had the patterns and enough of the original yarn to make this for Lisa. She actually was a contributor and her square designs are included in her new blanket.

If you have a minute, please stop and say a little prayer for those who are dealing with any type of cancer. Before you say 'Amen', please include a little blessing for Lisa.

Ravelympics 2010

Have you thought about participating in our very own Winter games? Briar Rose Fibers Fans has entered a team in the Ravelympics and we hope you will join us. Just go to the Ravelry thread and leave your name for sign-ups, Poof you are on the team!

Set a challenging goal for yourself to accomplish during the 2010 Winter Olympics between February 12 and February 28th. If you are more of a spectator, please check team progress and root us on.Have you thought about participating in our very own Winter games? Briar Rose Fibers Fans has entered a team in the Ravelympics and we hope you will join us. Just go to the Ravelry thread and leave your name for sign-ups, Poof you are on the team!

Set a challenging goal for yourself to accomplish during the 2010 Winter Olympics between February 12 and February 28th. If you are more of a spectator, please check team progress and root us on.

Little details:
Knit a Briar Rose pattern or with Briar Rose Fibers
Tag your project with 'ravelympics' and 'teambriarrose'
Do not begin before opening ceremonies on February 12th
Cheer on your team member's progress
Reach your goal before the closing ceremony ends February 28th

Chris of Briar Rose Fibers has donated awards to be given after the close of the Winter games.

it takes my breath away!

This is the prettiest thing I've ever made.

Here it is on Ravelry

This is the side seam. I used a herringbone type stitch and left it open and lacy. It matches the upper bodice and sleeves.

Fire and ice

Less than a month ago we decided to move forward and fill the hole in our fireplace with gas logs.

At the time the post was written, we were fairly confident that our abilities would allow us to complete the installation ourselves. The company which ordered the panels was very efficient, but it still took two trips to get all of the boxes (they forgot to give us one of them).

Last Friday was the chosen day to install the replacement panels. I had to figure out how to punch a hole in one for the gas line. No lies, the whole job was not super easy and there might have been a bit of snipping going on as I wrestled with the heavy pieces. In the end, everything was in place and ready for the logs.

After looking through the direction guide, Hubs decided he was not in the business of setting up gas logs. One call to the store and a technician came work and installed them on his time. Friday night we had a nice, comforting fire in the fireplace!

As in most parts of the country, we are getting cold weather. It has gotten below freezing the past few nights and doesn't warm up much during the day. We have left the pool and all features turned on to prevent freezing and a few ice clumps have formed on the waterfall.

The water is 43 degrees. It was 54 degrees the day around New Year's when I accidentally fell into it. We were cleaning the baskets and scooping out leaves from the neighbor's trees when my foot slipped off the edge right there by the spa. FYS was over by the dolphins and must have flown to my side to fish me out. I was stunned by the cold which immediately took my breath away. FYS helped me out and then to the back door where big fluffy towels were already waiting. My legs were bruised from scraping the side on the way in and on the way out. I was like a rag doll as my son's adrenaline had obviously kicked in to save me. Needless to say, it was a day filled with excitement. The bruises have healed and I am much more careful when I work around the pool.

We also found a landscape company who didn't blink twice at the amount of work our yard needed. The owner gave us a very good price to tackle the gargantuan task and the result has made me very happy. Everything looks a little bare right now, but when it warms up and everything begins to blossom, it will be incredible.

How about a little knitting content?

Knitting is finished on the Christening gown and the baby was born last weekend. There is time this week to get it sewn together and to take photos. Some surprise knitting is happening, too and the progress is going very well. It will be a little time before photos can be posted.

mish-mash

Where did the holidays go?



Christmas was very nice for us. It was calm, relaxing, and genuine.



My tall son has a sense of humor! At times, it is difficult for him to be serious at all. He helps decorate the tree and can reach to the top without standing on anything. The result are wacky ornaments and funny gags high enough for the rest of us not to reach. We all thought the fingernail clippers (he did choose the gold ones) and his photo held by the angel were funny and opted to leave them.

Lucy is usually mischievous, but posed perfectly.

The photos of Bugg and Hubs were really good, too.

...and there is a little knitting content.

This little sweater and hat knit up quickly. Finding buttons was not as easy. Bugg and I settled on the butterflies and they turned out so cute that one was added to the hat.

The yarn is Merino Print 5 by Crystal Palace. It is soft and squishy, perfect for a baby.

I used 4.25 balls for the sweater and hat. I am thinking of making a pair of booties or baby mittens with the rest.

See it on Ravelry

All knitting for the Christening gown is complete! It is pinned out for blocking.

Just in time! The mom-to-be is in the hospital now and may have the baby via c-section today.

The gown will receive honors of it's very own post sometime in the near future.