Buttons, Buttons

Today I took a vacation day because we had to have a new HVAC and it was being installed today.  While I was here at their beck and call I finally weaved in the ends and sewed buttons on my Smart Gloves designed by the Rainey Sisters. The yarn is Malabrigo sock yarn, which I love. 

Notice the pop-top thumb and index finger for texting.  These aren't really mine - good thing we had a mild winter as I started these for my daughter before Christmas.  Now I want to make myself a pair. 

Every year we get a bird nest in one of our front porch ferns.  Today they started to hatch.  I actually watched the second one peck himself out of the shell.

Last weekend we went to the local Butterfly House for the release of the first butterflies. It was a beautiful day.  Sophie liked watching them, but wasn't at all interested in having one land on her!

Work again tomorrow - I could get used to a 4 day work week!

Promises, Promises

When I wrote my last post I had good intentions of posting more that week and catching up - that obviously didn't happen.  Best laid plans and all that!

Lots going on around here - birthdays, the circus, our first and only snow this year to name a few things.

Both our children have bought houses and are moving this month!  We are so proud of them and happy for all of them.  Since Jon and his crew live in Norfolk there isn't much we can do to help, but we hope to go up soon and visit.  He has been in the Navy since they have been married until just recently, so this will be their first house - so exciting.  Amy has owned a house before but moved for her job and has rented for awhile.  She and Sophie are anxious to move into their first house together!

Sophie had her 3rd birthday last month!

We went to the circus, the theme was "The Year of the Dragon" and they weaved the Chinese theme throughout the show. 

 President's Day weekend Jon, Janet, Bethany & Nikki came.  On Saturday the girls had the best time  - they didn't even have on coats! Blurry picture because of very fast girls!

The next day...... our first and only snow of the year.

Bethany & Nikki in the snow!

 Early in the winter, my daughter asked for handwarmers long enough to cover most of her fingers, but still allow her to text.  I had just seen these gloves - Smart Gloves by the Rainey Sisters and we decided I would try them.  Good thing it has been a mild winter because I am just now finishing them!  They have taken me forever to knit, not because they are difficult, but just because knitting time is sometimes hard to find.  I'm almost finished though - and she will be prepared for next winter! Both yarns are Malabrigo sock yarn, lettuce and bright pink that I can't fnd the name of right now!  They have pop top index finger tips that make texting with gloves on possible.  I've made mittens but these are my first gloves and I've loved making them.

This week I found something new to try - finger knitting.  It is so fun and fast and in just a few minutes you can make a necklace or garland to use many ways.  I've made a couple of quick things and they both took less then 30 minutes each.

Here is a tutorial that shows you better than I ever could how to start finger knitting:  Finger Knitting

Try it!

Baby Blanket & Mickey Hat

I know, I know, I'm so far behind on my blog!  I'm going to try to catch up this week - at least on the highlights of the last few weeks and the holidays. 

I did want to say I'm still here and still knitting and wanted to show this last thing that I did for a baby shower last week.  Cristy and her husband are the cutest young couple, expecting their first - a little boy - and are Disney fanatics!  We love Disney too and though I don't get there as much as she does I enjoy talking about her trips and getting tips for when we travel.  After I knitted the blanket (to match her blue and brown colors) I just had to do something a little Disney and found this cute Mickey hat on Ravelry.

A cute, fun knit and crochet project!

Be back soon to catch up!

Where are the days going?

Middle of November already!  It can't be - it was just summer.  Slow down, please!

I love fall -  the beautiful colors, the crisp air, wearing sweaters, but when the time changes, it makes such a difference.  I don't like it getting dark so early, and I hate shivery cold mornings and evenings.  However, it is here and we have to deal with it.  Warm knits are one way to combat that cold!

I saw a similar scarf/cowl on Pinterest and made my own version.  Very warm and cozy.

 When Sophie saw the green and brown tam I made for Nikki she asked for one in orange and so orange she got!  I just changed the top from a bow to a pom pom.

I practically had to wrestle her for this picture, but finally got a smile.  Sometimes she is a ham and sometimes getting a picture is a battle - you know, she's two!

Sophie loved Halloween this year.  She got to trick-or-treat at the nursing home where I work, at her daycare and then at a few houses in my neighborhood.  She got the hang of it really quick and was so good to say trick or treat and thank you.  She was happy to come home though and help hand out candy here too.

A cute little Elmo!

And a cute close-up while she was posing for her mom for Christmas card pictures.

This afternoon she and I went to a nearby dollar store for a few things and she was so good and so cute.  She loves everything.  She oohs and aahs over everything, but then often says, "I have one like it at home" even if she doesn't!  I bought her two $1 books and some stickers and she was happy as could be. She also asked to buy her mom an ornament, which we did.  What a blessing she is! 

Next up is Thanksgiving and we'll be so glad to see our out of town granddaughters then.  I have a few Christmas gifts on the needles and hopefully will post those pictures later!

It All Ends at Once

After having two or three things on the needles for weeks, they seem to all get finished about the same time.

The Adah Beret by Amy Rose knitted out of Vanna's Choice Baby in Sweet Pea and Vanna's Choice brown (can't find the band on that one).  Both of these were leftover yarns from the baby blanket I knitted a few weeks ago and are for granddaughter Nikki.  I was knitting the blanket when she was here and she loved it.  She also had a new sweater dress that had these same colors along with others in a stripe pattern and this would be a good match.  Easy knit and turned out very cute.


I'm not a big shawl or lace person, but somehow was drawn to do both when I saw this pattern.

Cladonia by Kristen Kapur.  I knitted this with Denali hand dyed sock yarn from Ridgewood Farm.  The color is Fruit Freeze and turned out so pretty.  I would do this one again. 

Now I only have a pair of socks on the needles so the fun begins of choosing new patterns and yarn!

And now for a little cuteness!  Miss Sophie helping Nana make cornbread and she takes her job very seriously.  She amazes us everyday and she is changing and growing so fast.  So smart and funny and keeps us laughing all the time.  Her daycare started "school" this fall and she loves her workbook and lessons.  

Knitting Under Pressure

Not that I like doing it, but I seem to get more done when under pressure.  If I have all day, or week, or month, I'll find a million other things to do and take forever getting whatever it is done that I need to do (cleaning, laundry, paperwork, knitting, etc.) but give me a deadline and somehow I can move much faster. 

 They say knitters usually fall into two different categories, those who love the process of knitting most and those who enjoy the products that they finish.  I enjoy the finished products, but am definitely more of a process knitter.  I enjoy the knitting and just always want to have something on my needles and unless time is an issue I take my time with projects, unlike  some of the others in my knitting group who impress me every week with all of their FOs.  This week however I turned into a product knitter by necessity and finished this baby blanket in a little over a week even while having out of town company both weekends.  I thought I had till October to make a baby gift, but was then invited to a baby shower for this person and had to get in high gear. I chose something simple but cute and was pleased that it turned out well.  Hoodie Baby Blanket by the Thrifty Knitter. 

Thanks to Pooh Bear for being my model!

 I finished it last night, washed and blocked it at 11:30 pm (had to finish drying it and then steam the border flat just before I wrapped it for the shower this afternoon).  Nothing like going down to the wire!

It has been quite a week!

 Last weekend our son and daughter-in-law were coming to a town near us for their church and so brought the girls (plus a friend) to stay with us.  They all spent Friday night with us, then the girls stayed all day Saturday.  We did a little shopping, ate lunch out and took good naps that afternoon, then cooked dinner and their mom and dad came back by, ate dinner and drove the four hours back home that night.  Long day for them!  

 Then one day this week we had an earthquake!  No damage, but it was a strange feeling.  There is a window behind my desk at work and the front driveway to the building is just outside the window.  I had my back to the window and my chair started shaking.  My first thought was that a big truck had driven up to the front of the building, but there was nothing there!  Then it got a little worse and everyone around me started to notice the shaking.  My first earthquake and hopefully my last.  Very glad there was no damage around here.

We ended the week with Hurricane Irene.  Since son and DIL live in Norfolk they evacuated to here and stayed with us from Friday night until about noon today.  They brought another friend with them whose husband is out to sea and her family is in NYC, so they were in the Hurricane path also.  I was glad to get to see them again so soon.  Since they are 200 miles away we usually only see them every couple of months so twice in a week was really unusual.  Nikki is doing so well!  Her back is so straight and perfect and she has a very smooth scar that is healing nicely.  The best surprise has been the way she has handled it all.  We were so worried about the brace she has to wear, and expected her to fight it tooth and nail but she has been a real trooper and willingly wears it.  She is doing so well the doctor has given her some time out of it every day, but she rarely asks to take it off.  Brave little girl!

Last night we all went out to dinner and here are a few pictures from out waiting time and at the table.

Nikki and Sophie - the first hour or so they are together things are a little difficult - lots of jealously and each of them claiming everything as "theirs", but after they sort that out a little, they love playing together.

 Nikki and her mom. Sorry Janet and getting you with eyes closed!

Bethany and dad.

Sophie & her mom. (And Pooh Bear of course)

 
Miss Sophie being her charming little self.  Even after waiting a long time for our table and eating a lot later than usual for her she was happy and funny all night.
 
Back to work tomorrow - I need a day off!  Thank goodness Labor Day is coming up and a 3 day weekend!  Can't believe summer is almost over though.

Catching up.......

My life seems busy - but not interesting enough to write about anymore!  It seems like I just go to work, come home, go to work, etc.  If you work I'm sure you can relate.

Summer is definitely here - it has been very hot and dry which means lots of watering.  The flowers are doing well right now though.  If you remember a few weeks ago when I first planted things looked like this:

And now they look like this:

So I guess the watering is worth it.  By August I'll be really tired of dragging that hose around though.

Also in bloom right now are the daylillies and the butterfly bush.

I'm still plugging away on the socks, but they are generally my take-along project so they are going slowly.

 I've started the Cladonia Shawl by Kirsten Kapur and am liking it so far.  There will be lace, but the body is a simple pattern easy to memorize.  I like a little lace, but not too crazy about a big lace project where I have to read a pattern on every row. The yarn is Denali, a hand dyed sock yarn by Pagewood Farm.  The color is Fruit Freeze,

And on a totally different note, this little guy is my companion tonight.  My neighbors left on vacation today and I am pet sitting.  I haven't had a dog in years so this should be interesting.  He will stay in his own home during the day while I'm at work, but I hated for him to be alone so much so he will be visiting here with us some too. 

Ses@me Street Live

Happy Memorial Day!  Can't believe it has been so long since I have posted!  Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.

Friday night DH & I went to a movie!  First time in forever.  We tend to always go to his pick, so we saw Pirates of the Caribbean.  Pretty good I guess if that is your type of movie.  On the way out I heard lots of laughter coming from the Bridesmaids theater and wished I had been in there! LOL

Saturday Amy & I realized the Ses@me Street Live was playing in Greensboro and she got tickets for us to go.  Sophie absolutely loved it and I'm so glad we were able to take her.

When Big Bird walked out on stage she was so excited!  She didn't have any idea what to expect and it was so cute!

Of course Elmo is actually her favorite so every time he came on stage she loved it. Some of the characters walked through the audience and Zoe shook her hand, but I missed getting a picture of that.

A few weeks ago my other granddaughters came to visit and I just realized I didn't post any pictures. Sophie and Nicki have a few jealousy issues, but after a little adjustment period they love to play together.

School will be out for them soon and I'm anxious for Nikki and Bethany to come down and stay for a few days.  Nikki is facing surgery for scoliosis in July and she is going to have to go through so much I want to get her for a few days before she has to face that.  No pictures of  Bethany this time - she avoids the camera!

On the needles - two at a time, toe up socks:

 Have a great week!