One Down

I finished my first Rainbow sock, just one more to go. I had trouble with the turn heel and ripped it out twice till I finally got it right. I had not knit socks in awhile and I know you are just supposed to follow the pattern and not think about it. Well one line I did not think at all and miss read it twice. It fits nicely.





Bunny Sweater



A friend of mine recently got a dwarf bunny and named it Smokey.
I found this photo on Cuteoverload. I sent it to my friend and asked if she wanted me to knit a sweater for Smokey. She laughed. I guess that means no.


Next Project



This is a stole pattern from the book Lavish Lace. It is called Parrot House. I will probably use it more as a wrap for around my shoulders. I really like the cable pattern and like how it has a little bit of thickness to it compared to most lace work. This is probably the project I will bring with me to work on while on vacation. Here is a close-up of the pattern.




Thorns A Plenty



This is one of the rose bushes that came with our home when we bought it four years ago. This rose bush is the thorniest rose bush I have ever seen. It literally hurts to take care of it. Each year I threaten to remove this one and many of the others that came with the home due to how thorny they are. When they start to bloom and put on this wonderful show I can’t bring my self to digging them up. The blooms almost look like peonies they have so many petals.

Critters Among Us

I came face to face with this little guy the other day. I snuck back inside to grab my camera. When I came back he was still there. We had a stand off. I took a few pictures. I could not help but feeling like he was trying to tell me something. Maybe he wanted to say to stay hopeful and you never know what is around the bend. Or maybe he just wanted me to go inside so he could get to our grass in the front yard and eat lunch. What ever he wanted I was glad to have run into him.


Thank You

I want to thank all of you for all the hopeful comments. It means a lot to me and I appreciate every single one of them. Most things I let roll off my shoulders but sometimes it will stick with me. This was one of those times. So thank you, I am officially brushing off and picking myself up and am looking forward to what may come.


Funny Birds



There is a large family of quail that has put our back yard on their daily walk. They crack me up. These birds are the ones that would prefer to walk rather than fly. They have that funny thing hanging from their heads and are always fun to watch strut around the yard. These photos were taken through the window so are not the best quality. Spring is always a wonderful time to catch wild life.




A Second Look



Thursday after work hubby and I are taking a second look at this house that is for sale. There is plenty of acreage for what we plan to do. The house has great views of the forest. Originally we crossed this one out the first time because we were afraid of predators out in the woods that might want to harm our alpacas. The truth is there is predators every where out in the country and the important thing is to have proper fencing. The house is not really our style but it is move-in ready. It could work. Another bonus is that the price has been reduced since we originally looked at it. So we are going to give it a second look and see if it is right for us.


Embroidery



I worked on this little embroidery last Sunday, or should I say it worked me. I got the pattern from one of those stitch it kits. You just iron the pattern on to the fabric and the ink image sets onto the fabric. Then you just put it in the loop and try your best with a needle and some floss. I had not done anything like this since my days of cross stitch. I plan to use it in a new bag I am making for my up coming vacation.

Gone with the Wind

Webshots photo

It is my birthday today. I am now 34. Thank goodness I have waited a whole year to get passed 33 and finally I have. I prefer even number years and 33 is probably my least favorite number. My second least would be 99 and that is a long way away so I can rest easy. Both hubby and I have our birthdays in April. We are kind of skipping them this year. We have an upcoming vacation in a couple of weeks and prefer to save all celebrating and mass spending until then.



I did manage to get this wonderful skirt from my favorite store Anthropologie. It was in the clearance section and was over 50% off, but still a chunk of change. I love this skirt. A girl has to have something pretty that makes her feel special, and this skirt does it for me. I love the embroidered flowers & the little ruffle. This skirt inspires me and also when I put it on I can’t help but twirl around the room.
Here is a close-up of the detail.



We plan to go to PF Chang’s for a late lunch today. I have been craving their lettuce wraps for about 6 months now. The restaurant is about a 30 minute drive so we save it for special occasions.


Stash Socks



Since I am about to receive a skein of sock yarn once a month for the next couple of months I thought I should use some of the sock yarn in my stash to make room. I pulled out my two skeins of Shepherd sock Lorna’s Laces in color #304 Black Watch. I found a free sock pattern named Rainbow Ripple. I cast on and this is my progress so far.



I am using a 12” circular needle and man is it much easier to get started than with the dpn’s I will need to switch to dpn’s when I start the turn heel but for now I am enjoying the easiness of the circular.


Back to Square One


webshots photo

Here comes the depressing part of my post. If you would like to stay happy just skip this part and take another look at my birthday skirt.

Well we have had bad news on the whole house project. The land that we were purchasing appraised way under the price we were to pay. I am talking $50,000 dollars less than what we were to pay. So we tried to negotiate again with the seller to see if he could come down closer to the appraisal price. He refused to go any lower. The bank will only loan us the amount for the appraisal and anything over that we would need to pay out of pocket. So we had to let the land go.

This was such a blow. The house plans actually were finished on Friday and we will be looking at them on Monday. But now we have no land to build it on. We have been working on this whole transition for months and now we are back to the beginning. We are kind of at a loss at the moment and are stressed out about the whole thing. Now we are back looking for some land.

I think I can sum up the way I am feeling with some quotes from one of my all time favorite movie “Gone with the Wind”


Scarlett: “I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.”

Rhett Butler: “I'm very drunk and I intend on getting still drunker before this evening's over.”

Spring Tote & Blooms

Pattern: Counterpane Carpet Bag
from book Handknit holidays
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Fantasy Natural
Color: 9899



I modified the pattern and did 5 repeats across making it wider. I went up three and then did a yarn over after every 10 stitches to create wholes for the tie enclosure. For the tie enclosure I made two long braides with 6 strings of yarn each. Once done knitting I sewed sides together. Then I cut out a circular piece of fabric using a pan lid as a template. I sewed the circle to the bottom. This created a circular tote. I then lined the inside with white fabric.




Blooms



This is my Hall’s Honeysuckle vine. I am very pleased with this plant. It stayed green all through winter and is able to withstand below freezing temperatures, and also does well in full afternoon sun. It is beginning to bloom. I am addicted to sticking my nose in the blooms and smelling the sweet aroma of this plant.


Here is a close up of the bloom.



This is Lemon Sugar Marguerite. I planted this perennial a year ago and I am pleased it came back this year. Like my fake butterfly? I have a bunch of butterfly and ladybug sticks all over the yard.



Here is a new bloom from Rio Samba my latest Hybrid Tea Rose. It reminds me of orange sherbet.

Bunnies are Cool

Webshots Photo

Easter Bunny?



This is a photo of Robert. He is a giant male breeding Rabbit owned by German breeder Karl Szmolinsky. I think this guy is big enough to tote a large basket full of colored eggs.


Basket



This is my favorite Easter Basket. This was gifted to me several years ago from my MIL. I just love the painted wooden eggs that line the middle of the basket. The happy guy in the basket is bunny. I made him last year from the pattern in the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts.


Cuteoverload Photo

Have a wonderful Easter.

Orange & Yellow

Here is the bag I made for my Colorswap Pal. I really like how the color combination came out. Here is the inside of the bag. I made one large pocket on the side.



Here is a little matching zipper bag. The tough part was the zipper.




The great thing about this project is it covered many of the things I signed up for.
Project spectrum, Sew I knit, Project Color Swap & Tote along.


Sock Club

I could not help myself I joined the Project Spectrum Sock Club.
It is over at Mama-E-s C*EYE*BER Fiber Market. She will be sending me one skein of Project Spectrum themed colorway for each of the remaining PS months. The skeins are enough fiber for one pair of socks. Here are the colors so far I am waiting their delivery.


April – Yellow & Orange



May – Greens

Colorswap Pal

I received my colorswap package from my lovely pal Jo. So much Yellow and Orange goodness. The yarn is Cascade Yarns “Cloud 9”. It is super soft and luxurious. It is a mix of Merino Wool and Angora. I think maybe I could make some fingerless gloves or a lacy scarf with them. There was a bunch of candy & chocolates. Yummy! There is a mix for some corn chowder. My favorite vegetable is CORN! Good choice. Stitch markers, small photo album and set of cards with an adorable ducky on the front, a handy sharpie and my absolute favorite 10 orange buttons. I love these buttons. They look like little jewels. I have no idea what I will use them for but they are mine and I love them. Thank you so much for everything pal. I hope you enjoy your package as much as I am enjoying this.


Cosmo thanks you for the box. You have heard of the bubble boy, well let me introduce you to the Box Boy. Cosmo is all about the box.


Beautiful Day

It is an absolute gorgeous day here. One could go deaf with all the birds chirping. The temperature is around 85 degrees and there is not a cloud in the sky. So much going on in our lives and feeling overwhelmed and stressed, stepping out side and getting hit with the beauty of the moment, a sudden calm envelopes you and you know every thing will work out and every thing will be OK.


Haley is taking advantage of the warmth and she is Sunning Her Buns doggie style 8)

Fabric Fun

I have this book Quilted Bags in a Weekend by Ellen Kharade. Very cool book with diagrams in the instructions for each bag.

I ran into Jo Ann’s Fabric store Saturday to grab a zipper to complete something I am making for my colorswap pal. I don’t know what I was thinking. I grabbed a cart (like a zipper is hard to carry). They were having a sale. I meandered down each aisle lusting after all the fabrics. I managed to pick out a handful all in the range of $3 a yard.
This is what I found:






Gardening



I finally got all the plants in the ground. This morning I was hurting in places I forgot I had muscles. I feel like I ran a marathon. The planting of the new plants was not so bad it was the digging out the dead ones that took the most effort. My hands and arms are all beat and scratched up. Even wearing long sleeves and gloves only helped a little.


Home Contractor



We met with a builder last Friday to discuss what we want in a home. We sat down and the guy took a list of all the things we wanted and he wrote three pages out. Then he pulled out one of the plans he had been working on and laid it in front of us. We took one look at it and said WOW! That’s it, build that one. It had everything that was on our list. That guy is good. Plus we save money on choosing a plan that is already worked up compared to him designing a new one.

The only unfortunate part is it will probably take around 7 months to build. That is where we are at so far. I will be happy when we close on the loan for the land & construction, then every thing can get started. Looks like it will still be awhile for that.

New Spring WIP

Picked up this Plymouth Yarn “Fantasy Naturale” in color 9899. The color is white with some tans, khakis & a splash of baby blue. It is 100% cotton.

I plan to make a modified one of these.



Counterpane Carpet Bag from the book Handknit Holidays. If you want to see a finished one go see Amy’s completed bag at Good to be Girl.

I am going to make a different version. I am making it wider and shorter. I also plan to knit some handles or maybe make cloth ones. I think it will make a nice summer bag.
Here is my start.




Spring Gardening


I was disappointed with the selection of plants available for the season. I did manager to find a few. Looks like I will need to keep checking back each month to see if more plants are available.

List: Fountain grass, Mondo grass, Emerald’n Gold Euonymus, Baby Sun Rose, Dwarf Tickseed, Verbena, columbine, Hybrid tea Rose, & Grandiflora Rose

Close up of the roses:


Rio Samba – Hybrid Tea Rose



Gold Medal – Grandiflora Rose

Flash My Stash 2006

Enough yarn for 3 sweaters, 3 pairs of socks, one shrug, 2 scarves, 2 booga bags, fingerless gloves, several washcloths, a handful of dish towels & 20% I have no idea. I keep it all in this wonderful cabinet hubby got me last year for our anniversary. I think as long as it all fits in or on the cabinet I am OK.



I was hoping to find some worsted multicolored yarn for a wrap I plan to start next month that I can work on while on vacation in May. I am thinking of looking for some today.



WHAT! Don’t look at me that way. 8)