Never A Dull Moment

VQS6 - Yellow Ribbons

2009-07-15T18:40:00.007-05:00

These are the quilts that made it to 3rd place in their category.

This was a whole quilt, completely hand quilted.

Here is a close up of the quilting. It's hard to capture the stitches on the quilt, but this gives you some idea of it.

I really liked the colors in this one. Esp the braided border.

Here's a close-up of the border.

This had a lot of floral attachments.

See?

Here's to her happy place!

Here is the similar quilt from the red ribbon group.

And the third and final jacket.

Stay tuned for the final installment of this virtual quilt show.

VQS5-Red Ribbon Winners

2009-07-14T20:59:00.006-05:00

Here are the quilts that came in second place in their division.

This one was nice and had a 3D effect thru out.

See?

I really like this one too.

Esp with all the sparkly thread. This stuff is a BEAR to stitch with!

Look for a similar quilt with a yellow ribbon.

This is another one of the happy place challenge.

I really like the fact that she used the Card Trick pattern with all the little buttons and embellishments.

I left this one for last. When you enter a judged quilt show, you expect to be judged. I didn't shrink this down from the original shot so when you click on it, it will be big. Check out the bottom brown flower. The edges don't match. BY A LOT! I've seen so many other quilts in this category that should have won a ribbon, but this one did. It's a cute quilt that would be great to cuddle under, but not to win a ribbon.

I'm thinking there is a back story to this quilt that wasn't made public.

SO there you have it. Are you still with me?? Have I bored you to tears yet? Are you running from your monitor screaming "How much more of this can I stand?!?!" I have two or three more posts left so in a couple of days we'll be back to knitting. But I hope you come back to see the rest of the quilts. Those will be the Best In Show, Honorable Mentions and my favorites that spoke to me. If you've really had enough, see you in a couple of days!

VQS4 - Blue Ribbon Winners

2009-07-14T20:38:00.007-05:00

Here are some of the blue ribbon winners from the show. I'm going to save best in show and best quilting for another post.

I really like this one.

I think this one is for a full size bed.

The colors in this are gorgeous and the ribbon effect border was fabulous!

This was a miniature quilt. You can tell how small the Dresden Plate is by comparing it to the blue ribbon. Those are hard to make in normal size, I can't imagine making them this small.

I think this is a wall hanging size.

This was a really cool quilt. The quilter made a quilt depicting her quilting class.

She even gave it a 3-D effect! LOVE it!

I believe this was part of a guild challenge, to make a place that you feel happy in.

And the wearable art section. I always think they are cool looking, but I know I'd never wear it.

VQS Part III - Animals

2009-07-14T08:14:00.006-05:00

Welcome back to Part III of my virtual quilt show. This year had some quilts that featured some unusual animals, esp for a quilt. All quilts are clickable for a larger view.

They had your typical country animal quilts of bunnies

roosters

(here's a close up of one of the roosters showing a more accurate color of the quilt)

and cows.

They even had a unicorn.

You had kitties that were cutsie

and more realistic.

Then you had a little Bambi you just wanted to pet.

I'd rather have this mounted on the wall than the real thing.
(this one shows the details)

(this one is more color accurate)

Not my taste, but she did a great job.

Somebody captured a rainforest-y quilt

that included a cat

an owl

and a ring tailed lemur.

While the work in this quilt is amazing, it sort of creeps me out. I feel like the eyes follow you where ever you go.

And that they would glow.

And jump out at you while you sleep and maul you to death! But I'm sure that's not what the quilter was going for.

And then there is the quilt with the cuddly

armadillo!

This one would be softer to cuddle

but I'm hoping it's been de-scented!

And this one. This is my favorite. (please click to get the full effect!)

When I came across this one I just stopped. And stared. While I was already surprised by the armadillo and skunk immortalized in fabric, I had to wonder what the quilter was feeling when she did a vulture. According to the little yellow information card, she had just taken *a rather dull class* and decided to use the left overs "plus a few, and create a colorful piece centered around a whimsical bird, a candid condor!" Wait, what?!?! Since when is a vulture a *whimsical bird*?!?!?

And yes that is a third place ribbon on it.

So there you have it. I'm really beginning to wonder abt some of the people who live in this county.......

Stay tuned for the award winning quilts. Some totally deserve them; others, well I gotta wonder what the pay off was......

VQS Part II - Darks

2009-07-13T11:28:00.010-05:00

Welcome back to Part 2 of my Virtual Quilt Show. Let's take a look at the dark quilts. They've been popular the past couple of years, more dramatic. They have some gorgeous quilts this year.

This one is really cool. Here is the front.

And here is the back.

This one definitely deserved a blue ribbon.

This is another one of my favorites.

Here's a close up of the birdhouse.

This one didn't look like much far away

but the quilter made little animals out of the grandmother's flower garden.

Here is a victorian patchwork quilt

I've never been a big fan of them, but I do love the detail work that goes into them.

There were a couple of monochromatic quilts

This one looks like it wants to be a monochromatic quilt, but it looks either faded out or maybe tea dyed.

I know I've seen this quilt before.

and I thought this was from last year.

but when I compared it to last year's pic, they are different! You can see a couple of the blocks are different, but you really have to look for it. This is from last year.

I know you guys remember this one from last year.

These two are from this year.

I still like last's years better.

So there you have it. LOTS AND LOTS of darks. Time for another break. Come back later for animal quilts. There are some odd ones......

Virtual Quilt Show - Part I

2009-07-13T10:42:00.009-05:00

Back in March the local quilt quild had their annual quilt show. I took a ton of pictures but never had a chance to post them here. I think it's time to do it now. Some quilts are really nice, while others are really not. Others are just odd. I've broken the quilts up into different groups; bold, dark, animals, ribbon winners, hand quilted and favorites. You'll see some ribbon winners in the bold, bold in with the animals, etc.

WARNING: I am a bit judgemental with some of the quilts I post. These are my opinions. I'm sure some of the ones I like you'll look at and wonder what drugs I'm on, while others that I criticize you'll think look good. With that in mind, let's get started!

As you can see, it was busy.

It was hard to get pics of the quilts w/o having people in the way, but I tend to go thru the show twice to look at the quilts I really like (or the train wrecks that pull you back) again, so it gives me another shot for a good picture.

The first group up are the bolds. Every year there is a theme that runs thru the shows and this year it seems to be BOLD colors! Some look really good.

This one would be better w/o the yellow background

I like yellow, but a cream background would have made the burgundy sashing pop more.

Here's another one w/too much yellow. If you click on it, you'll see that it's a kid print cut up for the quilt, but the yellow is BRIGHT!

And yet MORE yellow!

This one would be ok as a blanket for an outdoor picnic. Otherwise it hurts my eyes.

Then there were those quilts that just didn't work. They were going for bold but just ended up busy.

These next two were trying to be bold but ending up with too many medium prints.

This one isn't too bad, except for the background fabric. Too busy. Again a softer cream would have been nicer.

And this one.

If you click on it, you'll see that there is a gorgeous floral fabric used in this quilt. However it was cut into small pieces. Since the floral print was more of a medium to large scale print, when cut up, it lost a lot of the flow and beauty of the original fabric.

Time for a small break. Go get a snack, load the dishwasher, fold some clothes and come back later when I post the next group, Darks.

Is it Sunday already?

2009-07-12T16:33:00.005-05:00

Where has the week gone? I figured once school was out, time would slow down. Well it *sort of* has, but I tend to fill it in. Plus I just found out the friend who I helped with the graduation party ended up having an emergency appendectomy yesterday morning. Found out while I was out with my sister. The IO calls and tells me that she's in the hospital. I hear *ME'S* in the hospital and immediately ask him what happened. (If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you will know that the IO gets strange things that put him in the hospital, collapsed lungs, seizures. Nothing normal for him!) Nope, not him, our friend instead. Plus both her daughter and husband are out of town. (makes it more interesting that way!). She got home today and I'm waiting to find out what I can do to help. Her mom will be staying with her and while they'll most likely say they don't need anything, I'm at least going to bring over some dinner.

Meanwhile I have been knitting. I've finished off the malabrigo sock and am working on finishing off the last pair of charity socks. No pics yet, but hopefully in the next couple of days I'll have picture updates on everything. Sharing the computer with kids means my time on line is very limited and sporatic.

Speaking of kids, do you know that I've already gotten the new schedule for ballet and also the supply list for school? I was even in Wally World a couple of days ago and they already have the supplies in stock. It seems early but school starts in 5 weeks which isn't that long from now. I want to see what I have left over from last year before I hit the stores. Clothes I'm putting off until the beginning of Aug.

I did take a pic of yesterday's sky. Off to the east was this.

and to the west was this.

We've had a lot of rain on and off this past week and it was hard to tell what the day would bring. We ended up with sun for most of the day.

Well I think this is one of the lamest posts I've done in awhile so I'm ending here. I'm going back to my knitting and letting #1 Son have the computer back. It's hard to be creative when he's checking in on me every 15 min to see if I'm done yet!

Meanwhile Princess says

Hmmmm, weather and kid info. This post is better than Sleepy time Catnip.....

Ode to Sock Yarn

2009-07-06T19:35:00.010-05:00

I have a lot of sock yarn. Not as much as a lot of folks, but a lot. Enough for probably 50 pr. Again, a lot for some, a drop in the bucket of stash for others. What's crazy is that I could buy more. There is always another type of wool or shading or colorway I want. Sock yarn is like candy. Or crack. You only need a little and it doesn't cost that much for a fix. You can drop $20 on some luscious Malabrigo or use a coupon at JoAnn's and get sock yarn with only a few Washingtons.

Now for those who are NOT sock knitters, you all probably think this is crazy. $20 for a pair of socks?!?!? Well I used to feel the same way. I would look thru catalogs and just shake my head at the prices.

When I first got into sock knitting, I used some acrylic yarn that I got at Michael's. It's all that I could find at a *decent* price (amazing how that definition changes over the years!)

I wanted to see if I enjoyed making socks and I didn't want to drop a lot of money on some yarn that I'd never use again. They ended up being a gift (which I'd be mortified to give now, must knit them another pair). But then I started checking out sock yarn at the LYS.

It's amazing how reasonable sock yarn becomes when it's on sale!

And so it starts.

Hmmmm, Sockotta and Regia.

Buying some off of eBay. Magic Stripes and Indi Dyers.

And my eye got more refined. I started getting some Cherry Tree Hill and Jawoll.

Lorna's Laces and Wildefoote.

Colinette and Koigu.

And this past January I bought some Malabrigo.

But I still buy from the Big Box as well.

I'm an equal opportunity, non partisan, non discriminating fiber sock lover.

What prompted this post? I used to have more sock yarn, but I thinned it out last year. Now the yarn I have left I really want to knit up. However I am a SLOW knitter. Add to the fact that I also knit things other than socks, well it's going to take me a LONG time to knit up what I have. And that's if I don't add to my current collection (which, as fellow fiber lovers know, AIN'T gonna happen!).

So instead I keep looking at my stash while plugging away on a sock that just doesn't seem to want to end. It's the Malabrigo so maybe it's just my way of getting more bang for my buck.

Meanwhile, I'm in a Sockknitters group on Yahoo and there has been a thread abt value yarn. While some would love to buy the Colinettes and Paca Peds,

their budgets are so tight they can only afford the Kroys and the Heart & Soles

(preferably with a coupon). However the big box stores don't always carry them. And if they do, they don't always carry the entire line or even restock what they've sold. In my mind, I would LOVE to have a shop that would stock only sock yarns, a possibility since I can think of a couple on line sites and at least one IRL shop that does this. But they only carry the high end stuff. I would love to carry it all. All colorways of Kroy. Every single skein of Malabrigo. And everything in between. Plus a vintage area of sock yarns that have been discontinued (think of some Trekkings and Opals that would be lovely to see again).

Wouldn't that be a great place to visit?

Maybe one day when money isn't an issue. It could be my own little piece of Paradise.

Saturday Scarves

2009-07-04T17:38:00.006-05:00

Back on Wednesday, I started a scarf wanting to use Yarn Harlot's scarf pattern. I realized that I was doing it wrong and while I planned on leaving it alone, I ripped it back to start over. I liked what was forming, but I wanted the Harlot's pattern instead so before I got too far in, out it came. I cast on again and did it correctly this time. Well the yarn wasn't happy with that either so I ripped back a second time. Today I cast on a third time and decided to use the Mistake Rib pattern instead.

I'd link you to the pattern, but I find 3 different ways to make the same thing, K2P2 then either K2P1 for the end or K3. Of course I K1. Either way you get the same effect. And I'm still happy with it! See?

I've been working on it thru out the day while catching up on shows like Burn Notice, Royal Pains and In Plain Sight. I love my USA summer line up! Earlier today I watched Serena beat her sister for the Wimbleton Cup. Yes it's been a tv kind of a day, because while I'm feeling better, I'm still not great. And it's REALLY hot outside.

Besides, I had company. Why would I want to move?!?

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Six Months In

2009-07-01T19:31:00.004-05:00

Can the year possibly be half way over already? Just doesn't seem possible. What's amazing to me is how much has happened this past year. Actually how much has happened in the world in the past month is amazing, but that's a whole 'nuther post.

I finished another project for Warm Woolies. Another vest.

Here are the stats:
Warm Woolies Vest Size 6-8
Date Start: 6/22/09
Date End: 6/30/09
total project time: 8 days
Yarn used: Misc wool remnants including Lion Wool Red, Pingouin #148 Chocolate and #103 Porcelaine (the purple)
8.7oz gone

I started this when I was going thru my charity wool pile and noticed I still had some yarn that's been lingering around a lot longer than I wanted. I figured I'd do an Odd Ball Vest, and I did for the first 1/3 of it. The brown was started right after the ribbing and there is some purple in the multi colored wool, so I thought the transition to a full purple skein would be less noticable, but it's not as gradual as I had hoped. Either way, I think it turned out well and will make some kid warm this winter.

I'm doing Warm Woolies Six for Six summer challenge, six items for 6 y/os and older. I have 2 vests and 2 pairs of socks complete, another vest 1/2 way done and another pair of socks also 1/2 way done (in fact one sock was finished tonight). After this challenge is complete, I'm going to start knitting for ME! They say charity begins at home, and since I nearly froze this past winter because I don't have any hats or scarves for me, I cast on for a scarf using some Sirdar Snuggly I bought back in March. I'm using the Harlot's scarf pattern and am really happy to actually knit a scarf of my own. And by starting now, I'm (almost) guaranteed to be done by the end of the year.

Well, maybe not. As I was linking the scarf pattern to this post, I re-read the pattern. I'm off. The pattern is K2, Ktbl, P1. Last 2 stitches are K2. I forgot the last two stitches. Well it still looks good so we're going with creative license. I have an inch done, and while I could rip it out (I'm lookin' at YOU, Dee!), I like the way it looks so I think I'll let it stay.

I agree, as long as you let me lay on it.

Working thru the Stash

2009-06-29T17:48:00.006-05:00

It always makes me happy when I can use up some of my stash that's been sitting for awhile. I bought some Red Heart Carefree Cotton awhile ago on clearance at Wal-Mart. It's a cotton/acrylic blend and very soft. There were 4 left and I bought them all up. I wasn't sure what I would make with it, but I knew I could make something for Baby Girl.

I was surfing on Ravelry one night, checking out some yarn I was interested in and seeing what other people made with it. I came across a pattern that I really liked and thought Baby Girl would love. It's a Lionbrand free pattern, Fresh Picked Color 3/4 sleeved cardigan. The yarn wasn't a perfect match but I got close to gauge. Since it's a loose fitting cardigan, I figured I'd be fine.

Turns out it's actually a little big, but Baby Girl loves it and that's all that matters. I LOVE the feel of the cardigan (so does she), but I'm not sure how well the yarn will wear. I've already washed and dried it, and while it didn't pill, it did fuzz up a bit, esp around the eyelet areas. But it got even softer and like I said, BG loves it and will wear it, which is the biggest reason I knit for her. Here she is wearing it.

Here are my stats:

Fresh-Picked Color 3/4-sleeve Cardigan
Date Start: 4/25/09
Date End: 6/27/09
Total Project time: 2 months
Yarn used: Red Heart Carefree Cotton color #6752 Hot Pink
3 skeins
9.2oz/468yds used up

I'm not one to change patterns around so I knit it pretty much as written. I only changed the yarn (from the recommended Cotton Ease) which made me go up a size in needles (to a 9) to get *gauge*.

I've been working on a couple of mindless projects because while my rash is gone, I still don't feel great. I'm pretty sure it's stress. A job we thought for SURE the IO would get, didn't come thru. Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue. Let's just say it's time we grew some wings....... Or at least get washed off!

The Itchy and Scratchy Show

2009-06-28T15:01:00.003-05:00

I have started two different posts to describe what's been going on here, but I've deleted them both. Basically I've finished a book, a sweater for Baby Girl and have been sick since Wednesday. I've had body aches, fever, oh yes and now a full body rash. It's either stress or viral, nobody knows for sure yet. I'm on benadryl, cortisone and xanax. Such a lovely cocktail of meds. At least it has helped a bit with the itching. THAT is the worst part of it all. Hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow.

I will post pics and details of Baby Girl's sweater. Remember how I thought it would be too small? Well it's actually a little TOO big! But it works fine and Baby Girl loves it!

Meanwhile Lucy says:

Don't come any closer! These lasers are NOT set to stun!

Officially Summer

2009-06-23T14:33:00.003-05:00

Now that the parties are over and the out of towners have gone home, I finally feel like summer break has started. Over the wknd I started going thru some of the piles on the side of the bed to reorganize it a bit. I've been working a lot on Baby Girl's sweater, but will take pictures of it when I'm finished. I'm getting REALLY close and I'm hoping it will fit.

I also did some reassigning on some projects. I had a Warm Woolies sock that I ripped out. I forgot to turn the heel, but decided to keep ripping until it was all out. I was happy with the cuff (nice and stretchy) and the colors were blending well, but I really hated the yarn. It was a single ply yarn that I got in a JoAnn's felting kit. I figured it was great for charity knitting, esp when it went on clearance, but I didn't realize my aversion to single ply yarn until later. My 8 skeins will be sold on eBay.

As I was pulling out these skeins of yarn, I came across some remnants of wool yarn that I wanted to get rid of as well. So I cast on for another WW vest. I started yesterday and just kept working on it until my hands were sore. I made some good progress too!

The other WW vest that is in progress got switched out to different needles. I was using some circular needles out of the same felting kit, but the cord was bent in such a way the stitches wouldn't move smoothly over them. So the vest was knit to my Denise needles and the kit ones were thrown out. It's moving along too.

Reading is happening as well. This month so far I've read two books by Katherine Hall Page, The Body in the Big Apple and The Body in the Moonlight. I started reading her in the late 90s, but stopped once I started having kids (not as much time). I got back into her when she attended a local library function. While I wait for the next couple in the series from the library, I started the new Maggie Sefton, Drop Dead Stitch. So far so good.

Let's see, knitting and reading; THAT'S what summers are for. Now if I can just figure out a way to get the laundry to do itself.....

Saturday Sun

2009-06-20T18:51:00.005-05:00

With the way the heat feels today, I feel like I'm ON the sun! Here is my temp around 3pm.

Don't let the 92 fool you. The heat index was 114. How did we go from such nice temps a few weeks ago to the middle of the sun?!?! Here is my sky.

Yes I took it from inside the house. It was too hot to go outside. I couldnt even convince the kids!

However later Baby Girl did decide to go outside and swing. It had cooled down to an index of only 105. See?

She had to put on pants to keep from getting a chill...

After grocery shopping this AM, I sequestered myself to the dark cool cave of my bedroom, pulled out some knitting and am making progress on Baby Girl's sweater. Do you ever get those feelings as you knit that it's not going to fit?? I'm getting those feelings as I knit this shrug for Baby Girl. I'm making the biggest size, but with different yarn and needles. I checked gauge 3 times and have gotten something different each time. It's close and I'm being optimistic that it will be fine. I figure even if she can't fit it, I have another niece to pass it down to. But I REALLY hope it fits.....

The IO grilled some swordfish and steaks on the grill and I nuked some potatoes to go with it. Add some fruit and there's dinner. Add a Mike's Hard Lemonade and you have the wknd!

Wonder if it will have an effect on the knitting???

Could it be?!?

2009-06-17T09:50:00.008-05:00

YES! Actual knitting content!! First of all, I have located all missing knitting projects. All are safe, sound and accounted for. And I do have a finish to report!

This is a charity pair for Warm Woolies with some leftover bulky yarn (the toes and cuffs) and some KnitPicks Wool of the Andres. I started this back in May when I had a few minutes back stage, but I never finished them until June. Here are the details:

Purple Charity Socks
32 row socks using size 7 dpns
Sock #1: 5/23-25
Sock #2: 5/28-6/6

I have 6 knitting projects going right now, but only 2 are really being worked on. Here's my kitty shelter blanket.

I switched needles and its moving along a LOT faster now. I'm probably abt 1/2 way done with this. It's the perfect thing to knit on when #1 Son and I watch Ace of Cakes at night.

I'm also working on a light weight sweater for Baby Girl.

These are the sleeves. I have another 6" to knit before I'm done with them. They get attached to the sweater by knitting them right in. It's hard to explain but a great way to not have to attach them later! Makes the pattern flow better as well.

And here is where I'm at with Too Pooped.

The cat's done and now I'm working my way up the tree. I'm meeting my stitching group tomorrow, but I think I'm bringing something else. Not sure what yet.

And remember all the opened candy wrappers? I finished my grad hats in time for the party. All I can say is that working with chocolate in the summer is NOT fun! The melted chocolate kept hardening up too quickly (because of the fan I had blowing on me), but the peanut butter cups and chocolate bars kept getting soft (because it was the afternoon and my house tends to get warmer than it should). But when all was said and done, I think they came out pretty well.

This is one set of them, the other is further down the dessert table. Toward the end of the party they were grabbed by the teenage crowd and were eaten while dancing. No songs were interrupted for this snack!

***Edited to add***
I forgot to repost the website where I got this idea from. Go to Bakerella, more specifically here, which will give directions on how to make these fantastic grad caps along with other great ideas.

We may only be in week 2 of summer break, but we've already been to 2 parties. My hats were for a graduation party on Saturday and the day before was a pool party. Fourteen boys and Baby Girl. No worries yet since the avg age of the boys was around 12 and Baby Girl is 7. However she is not one to be pushed around. She did her own thing while the boys were doing cannon balls or throwing a ball or just being boys around her. If they were in her way, she'd just swim around them. No screams, no tantrums, just doing her own thing. That girl makes me proud!

Saturday Heat Wave

2009-06-13T22:50:00.001-05:00

Today can make anybody a firm believer in global warming. My thermometer says this

but it feels MUCH hotter. My local Wunderground weather station (which is down the street) says it is 92 with a heat index of 105. That is ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE DEGREES!!!!!! It's no wonder that I feel like I'm withering away.....

Here is what my sky looks like.

Do you see that middle tree-like stalk with branches coming off of it? Something that looks like it belongs in a Dr Seuss book?? It's some kind of cactus that will bloom and eventually die off.

The above picture is what you can see from my backyard. The house it lives at is 4 houses down. Here is what it looks like from the front.

Isn't it a cool plant?? It really is that tall too. I'm not sure of the name of it, and my neighbor wasn't out to ask. He told the IO, but he can't remember. Once I find out I will pass it along.

Meanwhile I am doing something that requires these

and these,

and leaves behind these.

More tomorrow.

Follow the WiFi

2009-06-10T19:29:00.008-05:00

Normally I blog from the comfort of Happy Acres, but we're experiencing some technical difficulties and I haven't been able to access the web in over 24 hours. Not having access to 24 hour news, emails and blogs is not a good look for me so the IO sent me to our local McDonalds. I have to say it's kind of nice to be surfing out of the house!!! I'm tucked away in a corner away from the normal hubbub of the lines and people**, plus I've got some great music being piped in. However the only odd thing is that while the music is in English, the commercials are in Spanish. And I'm not even in Miami.

I took some time for myself over the wknd to kind of recoup from last week and worked some more on Too Pooped. I've completely finished the kitty and am working my way up the tree. I'd show you the pictures, but they are still in my camera which I left at home. I also finished a pair of charity socks and cast on for another pair. Also in the camera. I've been working on my charity socks because my other projects are MIA. The house is a bit turned around and I can't find my malabrigo socks, #1 Son's socks ~or~ Baby Girl's jacket I'm working on. I know they are in one of my many piles that I'm trying to work my way thru, it's just a matter of picking the right pile. Until I find them, I will work on charity socks. Warm Woolies is having a summer contest, Six for Six. Six items to fit 6 y/os and older. The deadline is around Sept (not sure if its the beginning or end), and once they receive your package, they send you more yarn. I LIKE this! I really do enjoy the mindless knitting of charity. I don't have to worry if the recipient will like the colors or not or if they won't look *cool* or *trendy*. They are happy to be warm.

(insert charity socks picture here)

So now that school is over, I should be relaxing, right?!? WRONG!! This is the week before a surprise graduation party and my friend is going nuts! She is really worried that it's not going to work out well. She is stressing BAD! However it doesn't help that she has decided to paint, redecorate the living room AND re-landscape the front yard all before this party. She has friends coming in from out of town that haven't seen the house in awhile and she wants it to look good. The IO calls her house the resort. Its landscaped and decorated better than some B&Bs I've been in. I tell her she can go into business if her dh ever loses his job.

ANYWAY we've been busy going to the party store, Michael's, JoAnns, Costco and a few other places. We were working on the party favors yesterday. She still needs to finish them and also wrap the silverware in napkins with curling ribbon. Since this is a surprise, she's limited as to when she can work on the party because her daughter lives at home.

(insert picture of stressed out friend here)

It is going to be a really nice party, and as usual, I will post pictures (hopefully) this wknd. If not at home, at least I'll get some quiet time at McyD's.

If you thought this was going to be a photo-less post, you would be wrong! I did upload some pics over the wknd. Some of you are familiar that we have a lake near our house. A little over a year ago I posted some pictures of it when I was participating in the ABC Along, D is for Drought. Here are those pictures.

Since we've been having so much rain (it's raining as I type in fact), this lake has really filled in. Here is what it looked like this past wknd.

I don't think I've ever seen it so full. What's nice abt having it so high is that the wildlife have returned to the area. We've got a family of ducks, a couple of sandhill cranes and a few other native birds I don't have names for.

(insert wildlife pictures here)

Hopefully I will have my connectivity issues fixed soon. If not, I will be visiting my library more often as well (my McDs only gives you an hour limit).

Now I'm off to read some of my blogs and emails before I run out of time and battery power......

**Ok apparently I'm not far enough away. I had one woman stop by and comment on my computer skills (as in I can type on one!). However it was hard to follow the conversation since she had her lips so filled with silicone, it was hard not to stare. And now I just had 8 kids with 2 adults sit at the seats RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! Now I'm having conversations with them abt the quality of the connectivity. The connectivity is fine, but the concentration is now SHOT!

YIKES there are more coming!! Apparently a local high school soccer game has just finished. Hmmmm, I guess seeing the woman typing furiously on a laptop doesn't signify a busy person.....

Saturday Silence

2009-06-06T08:18:00.005-05:00

It's quiet right now at Happy Acres and it's NICE! The IO took the kids out this AM leaving me the house to myself, which is wonderful after this past month. I woke up yesterday for the first time in a long time without an agenda ahead of me. It was the last day of school which meant there were no PTO meetings or awards or recitals or field trips to attend or get ready for. No more baked goods to prepare. So what did I do? I went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee with another mom who is also celebrating the end of school. And they were having a special, if you buy a beverage, you get a donut for free! We killed 2 hours w/o even realizing it.

Yesterday was also my blogiversary. I've been doing this for 3 years already. It's fun to look back and see what's been happening in the past few years. It also reminds me that I need to ditch the scrapbooking idea and just go back to photo albums. I was SO much better at keeping them updated before I decided to scrapbook for the kids. It's one of my goals for the summer (actually it's been my goal for the past THREE summers. Lets see if I can reach it this year)

In the afternoon once we were all home, I decided to reacquaint myself with some of my projects. I knit on this for a bit

then pulled out Too Pooped. He hasn't seen the light of day since February. This is where he was left off.

and as of last night.

I love the way the color changes make him look so good, but they are a pain to stitch. He may see some more action later today. His tail is done but I really want to finish that dangling foot. Then he will be done. Which means I can work on the tree. All. That. Brown.

Last but not least is my sky. This is the only blue patch up there. Everywhere else is cloudy.

Now I'm off to make some breakfast. I need my energy for all the stitching I plan on doing today.

Wednesday morning update

2009-06-03T08:11:00.005-05:00

Yes I'm still alive, no I'm not knitting.

And the knitting part is killing me.

It's been hectic here at Happy Acres. My sister who came out for Baby Girl's performance over a week ago is leaving today. She's trying to move up here from Miami so the wknd was spent looking around at houses. We found the development she wants to move into, but now it's just seeing what's available.

So far this week we've had award ceremonies

and field trips.

Today I work in the AM and then fit in a hair cut for #1 son before I start on 36 cupcakes. Yep, I'm making them again. Apparently they were such a big hit, they are being requested again, except for #1 Son's class. Tomorrow is his awards ceremony followed by a pizza party with snacks. Since parents will be there as well, his teacher wants to be sure we have enough cupcakes for everybody.

And Friday. Friday is the last day of school. I'm torn between being in Baby Girl's class one more time and staying home. Still not sure on that one. The IO and I are also trying to come up with a fun way to kick off summer break. It may include a trip to the beach.

Hopefully by next week we will return to more crafty blog posts. I'm itching to get back into the game......

Apparently they're just not that into them

2009-05-27T16:50:00.004-05:00

So you've seen all my pictures of the squirrels running amok around our backyard and the cats doing nothing abt it. Well apparently they just don't care for squirrels. I've had tons of lizards (which I don't mind) and a few snakes (which I DO mind), but lately they've been bringing in different *presents* for us. #1 Son found a dead mole in his bedroom, just outside his closet. Ick. But that wasn't the worst one.

The worst one was a dead mockingbird.

In Baby Girl's bedroom.

And she was the one to find it.

UGH! It was bad on so many different levels. The IO picked it up and relocated it to the outside. Meanwhile Baby Girl is sobbing in her bed for the dead bird. Of all people to find it, it had to be her. This was last night. She's recovered, but the IO is NOT happy. While he is a cat person, he was a bird person first. This is the 2nd bird in a week that has been attacked in our backyard. We don't know which one did it, nobody's speaking up. And the fact that they snuck it in w/o us knowing makes it that much worse.

We have a cat door that has been removed. This will no longer allow lizards, snakes, birds or other wildlife entrance into the house w/o us knowing abt it. And it will also keep the Big Orange Cat out as well (he snuck in 2 nights ago to eat our food; the IO ALMOST caught him, but he ran out the way he came in).

This should help. It's one thing to find a dead bird outside, but a completely other thing to find one in your bedroom.

And you wonder why we need to be fast!

One Proud Mama!

2009-05-25T19:33:00.006-05:00

Ok for those of you who are sick of me talking abt ballet, you are good for another 3 months.

After this post.

She did a fantastic job and she had so much fun doing it. I'm so glad I took pictures on Saturday because Sunday was such a rush, there wasn't time for much else other than rehearsing curtain call (the younger ones need it) and getting dressed. They didn't even get a chance to run thru it again. Afterward it was getting ready to pour as we were leaving so I didn't get many pictures at all. The one we got of us is very blurry. I'm hoping my nephew got a better one. However I really like this one of the rugrats.

And if you want to see her part in it, watch this clip on YouTube. It's 3 min long. She's the one next to Alice.

Some quiet mommy time

2009-05-24T08:38:00.003-05:00

We don't have to get to the theatre until later in the day, and instead of catching up on laundry or cleaning, I've decided to make some coffee and cinnamon oatmeal and catch up on some blog reading (some read the paper on a sunday morning, I read blogs). I have my usual suspects that I frequent often, and then I have a few that I don't get to as much, but still enjoy. These are mostly food blogs.

A couple of my favorites are The Pioneer Woman, Smitten Kitchen, and Chocolate and Zucchini. I think my favorite-favorite is Bakerella. She has some GREAT simple ideas, my favorite being her cupcake pops. These are simple easy and are on my list to make. I'm thinking these would be great for the kids and maybe some more for the teachers

(do you see what I'm doing? Now that we are at the tail end of the madness I call end-of-school-year rush, I'm already planning on making a bunch of these in the next two weeks! I have no one to blame for my busy life but myself.)

She also has some graduation cap pops. I WILL make these for my friend's daughter who is graduating. I think this is just a fantastic idea and VERY simple to make.

So my time on here is over and I need to move on to getting ready for later today. I'm hoping I won't have to fix anymore costumes (I had to fix a crown and some stingers for the bumble bees yesterday), but I'm bringing the sewing kit just in case. I'm also going to try to take some video with my digital camera, not sure how that will come out, but if I can post it later on, I will. I think she's on stage for 10 min with her dancing for 3 min.

Meanwhile here is a little something for your enjoyment.....

Lucy sez: "You're lucky I'm not hungry right now."

Meanwhile, Tiger is thinking abt his probability factors of getting the squirrel vs falling to the ground below.

Saturday Sky

2009-05-23T20:03:00.007-05:00

It's still raining here, we've had anywhere from 15-20" of rain in the Orlando area. Thankfully we are on high ground so no flooding here, but those poor people along the coast are not fairing as well. We have now surpassed the amt of rain from HURRICANE FAY! This wasn't even a tropical storm (even though I think it is now, and may become this year's first named storm) and it's dropped more rain than a hurricane.

Here's what it looked like tonight.

I took it while eating in the car with Baby Girl. We just finished up our long day of Dress Rehearsal and we were both hungry so we drove thru McDonald's and had a picnic in the car.

While it was a long day, we really had a great time. They practiced on the big stage (she's the one up front, click to make bigger; she's in the box)

and spent their down time coloring

and watching movies.

Toward the end of the day some of the girls were letting off steam by running around the back room we were in. While I kept trying to keep them under control, it got to a point where I was moving past Sergeant Mom to Mean Mom and I decided to just walk away. I was the only mom who was making a fuss and nobody was listening anyway so as long as Baby Girl was behaving, that's all I cared abt. (took everything in me to keep from saying *told you so* to the little girl who fell and bumped her head and knee, but I digress).

However they did look cute!

(she's back row, far right)
They were toad stools and did really well. I've had two different people tell me their mushroom caps look like pizzas. Actually they sort of do, but I think Baby Girl carries it well!

She thinks they look like cheerleaders.

Warning! Be prepared for more pictures tomorrow since that is when we have the actual performance and when we take the family pictures outside. Lets just hope it stops raining long enough for us to take them.

Meanwhile, we had a great time together!

The parting of the clouds

2009-05-21T15:22:00.001-05:00

Today was the first morning I woke up to no rain. It's been raining here non-stop since Sunday night. We have gone from fire zones to flood zones in 4 days. I'm just happy to live on high ground. My yard will puddle up in places, but the sandy soil helps drain everything pretty quick. Lousy for gardening, but great for keeping the water out of the house.

Today was also my stitching day, but I had to miss it. #1 Son had a field trip to the high school today. The high school has a program for those kids who find writing challenging so they have the 4th graders fill out a questionaire abt who they are and what they like to do. The high schoolers work on writing a story abt them and present it to them at the end of the school year. It's really a cool program and it gets the older kids writing in a fun way. Plus we had donuts and soda after! I have to say, it was really interesting. You forget how OLD high schoolers look. These were MEN AND WOMEN and they were only in the 10th grade!!! YIKES! I know I'll be seeing more of this as time goes by, esp when #1 Son starts middle school in a year, but I'm glad we are just now getting into double digits and not hitting the 20 year mark any time soon.

I have no updates to share, I haven't been still or awake long enough to really do anything. By the time I stop, I'm too tired to have to think to even knit. And while I can usually knit during ballet rehearsals, I'm being utilized for costume duty instead. The costumes came in, but you can tell they were a rush job because they weren't really finished. So we added some lace to the front, some beads to the bodice (that would be me!), and new shoulder straps. They look MUCH better. The nylon shirt reminds me of a cavegirl skirt, but they arent finished off and are starting to unravel. The company won't refund their money and there is no time for new costumes (since the performance is this wknd), so while they'll look nice this wknd, they won't last much longer.

And while I have no updated projects, I do have a project that will soon be retired. I made this dress for Baby Girl back in July of 2005.

I wasn't thrilled with it, but she loved it.

And still does.

It's getting too small, but she'll insist it still fits fine and will put it on. Then take it off 5 min later because it's uncomfortable. I think it's time to put it in storage. And maybe make her a new one......

Decisions, Decisions

2009-05-17T14:59:00.000-05:00