Thursday, June 29, 2006

Finished Socks

These were supposed to be birthday socks for my girl Katie, who's birthday was the 5th of May. I'm a little late, huh? They look and fit great on her. They really look fun with her hot pink crocs.














On a technical note, I sweated blood over these socks. Not because of the difficulty, but see the yarn on the floor by her toes? Thats all the leftover yarn! Yikes, cut it close didn't I? Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Stash, sweet stash!

Us newbie knitters drool over the stashes that you more seasoned knitters have! Until now, I've pretty much knitted as fast as I've bought the yarn. But..... after decluttering some other craft stuff on ebay (thanks to Pammi) I decided to invest in serious stashage.

Where should you go when you need to stash? Perchance to Knit at etsy of course. http://perchancetoknit.etsy.com This shop belongs to Susie who has serious dying and spinning skills. She had a sale this weekend that pretty much blew the virtual doors off her shop. Give her some time to restock and check it out! She even included some gorgeous markers.
What am I going to do with all this loot? Besides love it and pet it and hug it and squeeze it and call it George? There's plenty for socks. The rest? I'm sure the yarn will tell me if I'm patient. Kendall has already picked her favorite. The Superainbow sock yarn. I see some tiny footies in her future! Posted by Picasa

Yay for Finnished Stuff!

This was supposed to be a baby cap. Peaches and Cream. Stitch pattern from MDK baby genius burp cloth. General hat pattern from Yarn Harlot. Now that Kendall's had it on her big ole melon, it's hers! Too big for a newborn! Truth be told, it was always too big for a newborn. This girl is seriously silly.
Next up is more MDK knitting. For twins (boy/girl) due to arrive this summer. My sister works with their mommy. One for each: baby bib, baby genius burp cloth, and baby kimono. All patterns from MDK. Cute inexpensive and fun to knit. Posted by Picasa

Insert "Jaws" Music Here

Sure she's cute. Lookin good in her suit and googles. BUT... this girl is fearless in the water. While I was innocently sitting on the pool steps (with a firm grip on girlfriend's swimsuit straps) I had to make a quick reach with my other hand to save Lilli. Somehow, when I looked down at Kendall, she was on her back, about 6 inches under, looking at me, calm as could be. Now it was one of those moments that happen in an instant. I snatched her out. Her back, thankfully was to me and she was facing my friend Kimberly, who fortunately is a genius and clapped wildly and said, "yay Kendall". While I'm trying to remember to breathe again and get the blood back into my head. She spit once I think and was ready to go again. She'll jump in too. Look out for this one folks!
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Good news, bad news...

Here it is. A fo. Halter top pattern (katja) from Knitty. Made from Sugar and Cream yarn. Cute, huh? That's the good news.














The bad news? Ummmm.... What the heck happened to the back? I hit gage. The front fits just right. The "cups" go right where they should. But it went really wrong. Ever hear of a plunging backline? Back to the drawing board. Gonna try sewing and cutting on Thursday with the help of knitting sensei Barbara. Can't win em all!

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Home Safe and Sound

Yup, it was a strange week. We missed her. The kid we've had around the longest. The experimental child. She had a seriously great time. We have new respect for LeeAnn, "the youth guy". She's got guts and patience that woman!















We celebrated with dinner and shakes at Steak and Shake.

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Monday, June 12, 2006

Momma's Gotta Brag...

This is Katelyn's very first f.o. ever! It was quite an undertaking. I don't think I would have picked this pattern for my first. I'm not sure I want to attempt it at this point in my knitting even! She did a great job. Even had to do a 3 needle bind off. Luckily I'd seen one on "Knitty Gritty" and we got it done. I really only helped her with that part. She used Fantasy by Plymouth in pink and brown. Great job, huh?
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Yes Sir, That's My Baby...

There she is. At the hideous hour of 5:30 a.m. On her way out of state to her first ever church camp. I am so excited for her. I hope she loosens up and has a great time (without getting in trouble of course!). We're all gonna miss her this week, but I'm glad she gets to go. Adults, take some time to wax nostalgic about your summer camp adventures (or misadventures). Fun stuff! If you thing of it, say a prayer for my baby girl and the other kids (15 I think). Mostly pray for the 2 brave adults on the journey with them! Posted by Picasa

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Last FO for now.

Last FO for now... An Ipod cozy. It is made with a deco-ribbon yarn and a fun-furish yarn, both by Crystal Palace. Cleaverly enough, the "button" is a pony -tail holder. This pattern is from the show "Knitty Gritty" on the DIY network. They have tons of free patterns at there website at DIYnet(dot)com. This took only about 15 or 20 mins to knit up. Seriously! Made one for Katelyn too. Have plenty of yarn left to make one for every Ipod owner I know! Posted by Picasa

Mason Dixon Knitting

I recently got the book "Mason Dixon Knitting". I have to say that eventually I will probably make every pattern in the book. I love it! Many things are so easy for a beginner like me. The first picture is a baby kimono for a co-worker of my mom and sister. The colors are not real accurate. It is pretty lavender, yellow and blue.















This is a "warshrag" from the book. These are pure joy to knit up. Fast too, and made from yarn that is readily available (like at Wal-Mart) and very inexpensive (around a buck!) Pure knitting joy! Posted by Picasa

A finished object, that I thought would never end

It took 8 skeins of wonderfully soft baby alpaca, and I don't know how many hours. I love how it turned out. Katelyn (my fabulous model) named it the woobie shawl and I think that is the perfect name. Fairly simple to make with just knit stitch and yarn overs. Glad to have that one under my belt!

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Just 2 More Pictures

This is me and my bestest cowboy-honey.














Here is Adriano (red shirt, black hat, back to us) accepting a gorgeous prize saddle. So good to see him win one! Posted by Picasa

Big PBR Night in Orlando!

There it is... Me and one of my favorite bull riders Mike Lee. He didn't manage to git-r-done last night, but I forgive him! Everyone's allowed an off night.

















This is Brendan Clark. Aussie rider from Beyond the Bull fame. Nice accent. Bull riding.... well, we'll cut him some slack...




















This is the big opening! "This is no rodeo..... "THIS IS THE P... B.... R....!" Insert grand pyrotechnics and screaming fan noise.















This is Tater Porter, local boy done well in professional bull riding (despite Silver Spurs and others, Florida is not really known for producing a lot of bull riders). He was the host of last night's show.



















I didn't manage to get a good picture of my very favorite PBR rider ever... JW Hart. Unfortunately, he didn't ride his bull either. That's okay. I'm a loyaly JW fan and he's still my favorite.

Running a close 2nd, is Austin Meier (as far as my favorite riders go). He's doing so well for being so young! Unfortunately, last night was not his best either. His first bull was a total loser. He stayed on and got a re-ride. They didn't say the bull score or the total score, but if I was a judge, I would have given that bull (named Vickie Did It) about a 10. Seriously, it was sorry. Poor Austin was not a happy cowboy. Alas, the re-ride was not kind to my rider Austin and he ended the night with a no score.

The short go riders were as follows: Clay McIntyre, Jay Palhke, Greg Potter (great ride for 90 points), Tyler Thomson (a promising young Canadian), Jake McIntyre, Steven Shelly, Jason Bennett, Luke Dotson, Jared Farley and the big news of the night... Adriano Moraes. In the long go he rode and got 71 with the option of a re-ride. Took it. Guess what? Next ride, re-ride city. Can you believe Adriano had to ride 3 in the long round. Final score on the last bull 87. Gets him into the short go. Short go he shows us why he's the 2 time champ with a beautiful ride for 92.5 points on the bull Niagra. And takes home the prize!

Is that enough commentary for you? Bet that's more than you ever wanted to know. This fun filled and exciting night was a birthday gift from my favorite cowboy ever... My wonderful, sweet hubby Pete. Thanks for the funnest birthday ever. Posted by Picasa

Friday, June 02, 2006

They love me, they really love me...

Yup, here's what the Bible study gals brought me for my birthday. In case you can't tell it's a slurppe with a big bow on it. Do they know me or what? I had a great dinner at Pam's, another feast at my moms and breakfast in bed on the morning of my real birthday. With the exception of getting sick(ear infection, sinus infection, throat infection) is was a great birthday and a good year. In addition, my hubby is taking me to the Challenger Series of the PBR on June 10th to watch some bull riding. YeeHaw! Posted by Picasa

Oh Sweet Girls Night Out

Yup, we did it again. This time manis and pedis and dinner at Macaroni Grill. How good is that. There was lots of girl talk and laughing. And of course coffee to top it all off. How about those green toes! They were the bomb! Can't wait for the next time.


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The end of an era and a school year...


Here is Lilli officially finished with her first year of school. Kindergarten. She is very proud to be a First Grader and doesn't quite get the whole summer break thing.








Parker is finishing 5th grade and is headed to a new homeschool group for middle school. He will also be doing some school on the computer this fall.














Katelyn is off to the same middle school group as Parker. She is looking forward to branching out socially.














Katelyn will hate moving on without Coach Benz, quite possibly the best math teacher in the universe. Although Katelyn found him to be a little too "military" at first (what do you expect, he's a West Point Grad), she quickly grew leaps and bounds in her math ability and her appreciation for just the right teacher. She's not sure how math will be without him, even though he assures her she's ready for Algebra.
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