Church of the Holy Stitch

Christmas party for the "Church of the Holy Stitch" held at Blanche's beautiful house over looking Lake Washington.

Left to right.(standing)...Sheila, Cindy, Sandra, Kari, Jennifer, Blanche, Christina, Jeannie, Katie, Elsa, Valerie
(sitting) l-r...Pearl, Linda, Anna Maria, Annie(me)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Merry Christmas

Shopping DONE...Thanks again, Amazon.  Just need a tree and I'm happy.

Thanksgiving 2011

Shopping.......done!  Fruitcake made!  Husband smoking the turkey in the smoker(starting in the morning).... check.  Cleaning....almost done.      I may actually live threw this one without bursting into tears. 

  I'm an overachiever..I try WAY to hard to do everything myself.  This year Bill is retired ,so, I must delegate. I did make the fruitcakes(4, 1 for Thanksgiving and 1 for people to take home) but Bill helped with the heavy stuff, mixing and holding the bowl while pouring.  I BOUGHT the pies. That was really hard.  I'm still feeling guilty about that.  And, Bill is helping me do the yearly cleaning.  I bet he didn't even know I cleaned all the light covers every thanksgiving..lol. But, this is the most kitchen cleaning I do every YEAR.  Its gotta last till after the Christmas buffet.  Now there is where I got smart.  The Christmas buffet consists of Wiener wraps (cresent rolls with cheese and half a hot dog), pizza rolls, chips and a cookie plate (bought, usually).  Last year I made a mock plum pudding and Marshall and I ate most of it. So, not doing that this year. Just keep it simple.  No big Christmas dinner.......just heat stuff up. Mostly, by that time we're done with all the presents and crazyness, all I want is a nap, anyway!


Bill, every year, teases me that we should just have Turkey tacos and call it good.  One day.....maybe.  At least I don't hand make all the crackers, cookies and pies.  Yes, you can make crackers from scratch!  Cheese straws were my favorite.

Anne McCaffrey 1926-2011

Anne McCaffrey......most favorite of my favorites........
I know, I'm not surprised.  She was only 5 years younger then my mom whos been gone for over 20 years.  It was just about a week ago I wondered if she was still alive.  Sometimes, I'm surprised that I'm  still plugged into the Cosmos .  I thought I'd lost that connection.  But, I'm gonna cry.  She was/is my favorite author.  I own every book she ever published..even the romances and recipe book. I was extremely lucky to have had a short email relationship with the 'Dragonlady'.. Ya I'm gonna cry!

I was so shocked when I first heard.  Its going to take me awhile to process this.....Love you Anne.  I'm going to have to re-read all her books.  ONE more time.  What a loss.

Happy Birthday to me....# I forget

The Balloon Billy got me!

Diana's Scarf

Scarf made for Diana.....  Pattern from Ravelry  called The Mountain Eyelet scarf
Next are Mittens for Laurie with pink flamingos. That look something like this...

except light green background. Pictures when I get them done.  Hopefully by Christmas.

Love the sweater!!

Sheep of the week...

Roarin

Roarin' (from Ravelry) #2 in purple tweed cascade 220. Kinda lost the tweedness and for some reason its longer threw the crown but I still like it. Still working on the embroidery. I used flower beads here and there and when I find my leaf beads I will use them as well. Don't want to make it to heavy but I'm having fun. Oh, and hanging from the pink flower is a little frog trinket. Love frogs!!

Patsy hat

Hat #3 is Patsy from Ravelry. Think I have enough hats now. Notice the pink hair!

Art Yarn

One finished hat

Cascade 220....one done with 2 more in the works. Like it?

Project

I was looking at the background hats on Victorian trading companies site. But none of them were the right color so someone suggested, "Make it, Silly!!" Well, duh.....so heres the pattern I found and 3 of my inspirations. I'm more then half done with the knitted cloche in Gray.

Knitting content...at last..lol

I'm working on a sweater for Jerico. The Pirate King.. tee hee. Who loves all things pirate except the real deal..of course. Pattern is called: Skullflake and can be found on Ravelry.
Jerico picked an off white and Fatigue green. I'm up both arms to the lower part of the skulls.
I am also working on a vest for Terri Shea. She is planning on selling patterns online. So, I can't show you the design. Besides the fact ..she hasn't given me the pattern.....or even written it yet. I am to the armpits of the back with no direction to go so am working on skullflake. Nag nag Terri. Not that she ever reads my blog :P

Front yard re-design

Not knitting but its what We've been doing. Jerico, Bill and I removed the Iris garden.....gone. Grass instead and a planter box that doesn't wreck my back. Cleared other weed haven and planted the removed Iris'. New path of brick. Concrete pavers have gone to the backdoor. Also, with new grass which is being difficult and growing patchy. Truely loving my front yard!! At last!

Another Pretty

Wyatt and Marshall out riding. They're having so much fun with their mountain bikes. Just had to share!

Pretty pretty

Love this picture of my boys, Jerico and Marshall. Taken a couple days before Jerico headed to Guam for work.

Ren faire 2011

Blanche,Valerie and I had a lovely time at the SCA ren faire in Bonney lake. We managed to go around the circuit ONCE because the faire was so HUGE.

I think I slept or spaced for 2 days afterwards. Amazingly, I didn't hurt more then usual. AND, I got to wear the dress I bought 12 yrs. ago when Marshall and I last went to a ren faire.

Thanks for the invite Valerie.....and thanks to Glenn for Driving!!

Life and Times

Sorry for no posts lately. I've been very busy with many things. I've pulled out all the half done projects and am slowly working on them.

Terri Shea gave me a vest to work on.....gotta pick that up and work on it....Eeek

Had a Heart scare that, according to the cardiologist "Is perfectly normal" Bulls**t but ok! I'm trying to let that go. All that happened because I was weaning myself off my hormones. I didn't do it quickly. Took several months but I am told some people, namely me, can't do that. She didn't do it but I could see it in my dr. eyes that she wanted to smack me upside the head. sigh

Made a few things for a friend who is having a baby in 2 months. I haven't given them to her yet so won't mention it here. Not that she or anyone else reads this drivel.

Getting used to having my husband around. Found I couldn't sleep a normal schedule like normal people. I still have to get up in the middle of the night for 2 hours. Oh well, quiet time to play my latest fav video game "Rift". I'm on Seastone shard (server) as Pixxi if anyone plays?

Also, doing a ton of gardening and outdoor projects. Moved alot of the garden around with more moving as soon as things finish blooming.

Bill is building a new walkway out the back door to my pottery studio. Guess I'll have to clean it and get back to work soon. mmmm, Wonder if I can store yarn out there? Joking...kinda

Reading a new author..to me. John Scalzi . It all started with a remake of "The Fuzzy papers" he called, "Fuzzy Nation",that he wrote better than the original. I was hooked and have read.. "Old mans war", "The Ghost Brigades", "The Last Colony" and have just started "Zoe's Tale". Also, "Your hate mail will be graded" never laughed so hard.

The Pink Dress of Miss Jayda

Finally finished Jayda's Pink dress. Only picture we could get of her NOT making some kind of face! She's such a clown.
I hope she loves it. Its certainly large enough to wear for many years. If not as a dress then as a sweater..lol. Its pretty wide! I'm glad she liked it!!! whew!

Thoughts

Busy busy month. Not all in a good way either. I won't state the obvious...the picture kinda does that. I can't stop watching NHK international.

Nearly done with Jayda's pretty dress..pictures when its totally done. I made a mistake in the beginning. It said to do x rows knit then one purled to make a easy turn over hem. Which I totally missed. SO (sigh), when I finished the skirt and bodice, I carefully cut off several rows along the bottom and knit down to make a scolloped hem. Imagine my relief when it turned out beautiful. Really the only thing left is about half the sleeves and sewing on the buttons. I sure hope she loves it!

Another wrinkle in this month, on the good side (depending on how you look at it) is that Jerico got called to go back to work!!! Finally! After all the rain, snow and freezing weather he gets to work in........M A U I life is hard. Its only for a month but......wow. Also on the good side, I get to dig around in my (his) room and get all my projects to an area where I can get at them. While I was doing that I found his old Passport (under a stack of bags of roving). We thought it had been stolen...YEAH!!

AND, I found all the pink roving I had been seaching for!! And, all my spindles so I can spin small amounts to make my dragon (pictured below) in shades of Purple and teal and a smidgeon of Fushia. At least thats the plan. Happy Dance.

But......I miss Jerico and his unshaven kisses to my cheek...outa no where. I miss the crazy stories punctuated with F.......ing this and that. :) I know he's a grown up and needs his own place again. But for now.....I'm just missing him. Sniff

Norwegian Knitting Designs... FINALLY!

ITS DONE!! Please check out and buy this book HERE
Redone by my friend, Terri Shea. I knit a couple examples as did my friend, Katie Scott.

Retirement projects

Before:


Its a project for sure. Bill has been working for 3 months and he finished the last cuts today! Now he will stain all the woods. Only took 30 years to finish.. of course the rest of the room is a disaster..Picture 3..Hee hee




After:

Its really alot neater then when we started! We don't call it the Wreckroom for nuthin'!!






Ready to stain. Pretty huh?

AND.......Stained!










Instead of a moose head...its a dragon!

New Pattern

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62534686/cosmo-the-dragon-pattern
http://aprildraven.blogspot.com/

Anyone who really KNOWS me, Knows I love Dragons! Saw this on Facebook and had to have the pattern! Also, got an adoreable frog that has possibilities as my new header picture. Just need to make it and find or make the tutu and ballet slippers. I've been thinking 'Build a Bear' might be a good place to get these already made.

I have some fabulous roving that in purples and tourqoise and fushia that might look really good as this dragon? If you look at the links you'll see She is very LARGE. 25in long....I'm in love


And on a family note: This is Jerico's 1 yr Sobriety Celebration! We are very proud!

Labyrinthitis

Definition: The inner ear has fluid-filled tubes called semicircular canals, or labyrinths. The canals, along with a nerve in your skull, help interpret your body's position and maintain your balance.

I had a virus just after Thanksgiving. The usual thing with stomach etc. But, it had some dizziness associated with it too but it went away quickly. Ever since I've felt off. Not dizzy but, well, off.

Wed. woke up with vertigo.. not spinning..just kinda drifting feeling. OMG I'm having a stroke I thought.. but it went away. Thurs. woke up..MUCH worse. Emergency room FAST!! 6 Hours later and a CT scan and MRI (OMG never wanna do that again!!) they decided I had Labyrinthitis. Oh ya, AND I have a brain and all in all it looks pretty good. WHO KNEW!?
Now Friday and I'm navigating ok. Haven't had to take the pills they gave me.. basic Dramamine type. Still off but not drifting away today. No quick movement recommended tho.. YOW. Scary. But, at least not a stroke! End of Old lady whine and snivel

Presents from Austrailia

MMmm, Latest yumminess from my friend Sascha. Beautiful Purple scarf! The roving is amazing colors. Yarn perfect for socks..thinking on that one. BUNNY fur!! Always fun to mess with. All wrapped as presents this year. Love it!! Oh and a Magazine..love those too. Thanks so much for remembering me!!