Busy, Busy, Busy Bee (Part II)

With the kiddies starting school again in two days and many household events the past couple of weekends, I feel a bit frazzled, overwhelmed and tuckered out. Not in a bad way, though. I like to stay busy. (Ask my hubby...he knows how hard it is for me to relax....)

If you don't mind, I want to chat a little before sharing my list (I love lists...) of finished/in progress knitted objects. If I could get off of my butt and make myself a cup of tea right now, I would....but, I'm so damn hot and sticky that I don't think I could really drink anything warm at the moment...even some tasty, slightly sweet Country Peach herbal tea. (My favorite next to Peppermint).

We had some guests over this weekend...my sister, Kim, visited on Sat- Sun and we had a great time. We don't get to see her very often and it's always a nice treat when she can drive up and sleep over. We got Chinese take out for lunch (I made a change from my usual Spicy Stir Fried Green Beans to Green Jade), went in the pool and then off to the Derry Flea Market. That was incredibly interesting...I've never seen so many "hot", brand named purses in my life. Whoa. Needless to say, my sister had a blast and found, what she thought, were some fantastic buys. The kids and Ian were more interested in going over to Clam Haven and having some creamy, tasty ice cream. I loved how Ian's chocolate dipped soft serve was melting all over his face, hands and lap onto the ground. Niiiice!

Yesterday, Ian invited some friends over from work for a BBQ, swim in the pool and night of furious Wii Sports playing. It was hilarious watching the guys compete over who could do the best dives/jumps off of the diving board. I wish I'd taken pictures!! (or videos) I think Ian truly beat them all - he's goood! It was a bit of a fight to get Ben to leave all of the activity, but I lured him upstairs with baby carrots and whole grain goldfish - and the new Sesame Street podcast to watch on my iPhone. It was really nice to get into our air conditioned bedroom after the day was over.

The best part of the whole weekend (I know this will sound crazy) was that our house is looking so nice and clean and organized. Ian did A LOT of yard work in the front and back and it looks pretty good - we need some more pretty colored plants (maybe some geraniums would look nice...) and mulch under some bushes but, all in all, it's much more attractive. We spent time cleaning up the "playroom" which is a completely white room (walls, curtains, and tile floor -what the heck were the previous owners thinking??!!!??) and, as you can imagine, gets dirty (and looks dirty) within literal seconds after having cleaned it. With a bunny, cat, and 2 kids in the mix, it's truly a nightmare and sometimes I can't even bear to clean it out one-more-time. It should be o-kay for at least one more day - I hope. Having everything clean and organized is essential to my well-being. Anyone else like that? I feel like I can't sit and relax for a second if I know there's any kind of mess somewhere in the house waiting for me to clean it up. Maybe I'm just weird.

I'm both not looking forward to the kiddies going back to school and also looking forward to it at the same time. I'll be happy (and relieved) to have some peace and quiet (no bickering or fighting!!!), but I'll miss them a lot. Especially Ben - who'll be going into 1st grade this year. And that means he'll be gone ALL DAY! (excuse me while I cry a little) Tim's starting his Junior year in high school and has some great classes - AP Java (which he's getting college credit for), as well as French 4 and other interesting classes. He's excited that this will be the first year that he'll have a study period and, though I hope he'll use it to get some homework done, I'm not counting on it. LOL!

I'm going to use my free time to try and teach more yoga classes and organize the house. I have these things in mind:

1. Clean out Ben's closet - get rid of old baby toys, clothes and donate old baby books.

2. Clean out art cabinet- it's currently filled to the top with Ben's artwork and art supplies thrown in everywhere. You can't even open it without everything falling out. That will change and I will organize and catagorize everthing to the DEATH!

3. Donate more old clothes and books from the rest of the house.

4. Fill boxes with things to donate or sell at yard sale - anyone interested in 3/4 full bottles of perfume? I have many. I always change my mind about what fragrance I like. You can have them for free. Just let me know.

5. Get my sewing area ready - I haven't decided yet where to set up my new sewing machine (and sewing basket, fabric, pattern books, etc.) yet. It's a choice between a corner in the kitchen or a corner in the living room. Both would work out (outlet-wise), though I think the kitchen would get more sunlight/light. But, the living room would be more out of the way of traffic. Any suggestions?

6. THE BIG CHORE - cleaning out MY walk in closet, which is currently full to brim (Ian, don't read this part) with yarn, fiber and books. This might take a few days. (gulp)

Well, I think that's it for now. I will follow up all of this talk with a picture of my one finished object and a knitted project-in-progress.

Buttercup



Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in colorway #70
Needle: Size US 6 and 5
Size: Large (though it came out to the correct measurements for the size, it was much too big for me...and I'm holding it to the side with my hand. I'm thinking of trying to wash and dry it so it'll shrink a little)
Details: You can see more pics and read more about my experience with this pattern HERE on Ravelry.

Lizard Ridge Afghan



Yarn: Noro Kureyon
Needle: Size US 8
Size: I'm making 5 vertical strips, each 10.5" by 74" and each using 6 full skeins of Noro Kureyon. So far, I've made 3 full strips plus almost done with 1/3 of another.
Details: You can see more pics and read more about my experience with this pattern HERE on Ravelry.

WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE:

I'm up to over 85 pounds lost and I have only 19 pounds to go. Or a little less. I feel like I'm getting closer and I'm trying VERY VERY HARD so that I can reach my goal by the end of the year. Thanks to everyone for always encouraging me and cheering me on. You're wonderful! I keep trying to re-motivate myself, which is not always easy to be sure....and I truly could NOT do it without my husband. He's been my number 1 supporter and daily compliments me, helps me and keeps me on track. I think Weight Watchers needs to give HIM and award! : )

Have a great night and hope that you're all doing well...big hugs from me!

P.S. The top picture is of the newly acquired yarn that I bought (and was gifted) from Heather of Sereknity. The top pic is of a new skein of Malabrigo Worsted that I'll use for a new Amanda Hat for myself for the winter and the others (in the "Perfect" yarn base) are: Alyssa, Indigo-go and Posy - all new and simply gorgeous colorways that Heather has created. I can't wait to knit them up!!!

FINALLY! I can blog about the WEDDING SHOWER!!!

(The wedding shower cake!)

With the exception of the Manchvegas Knitters, most of you had no idea that I have been knitting and planning SECRETIVE things on the "side". Today is the day that I can finally, finally tell you about it and share all the wonderful (and sometimes stressful) details.

But, before I go into the hows and whys of it all, I am dying to share the pictures of a couple of things I knitted during this time. (It was HELL not being able to put these things on Ravelry!)

First, THE WEDDING AFGHAN!!



A bunch of the Manchvegas Knitters grabbed their knitting needles/crochet hooks and one ball of Moda Dea "Washable Wool" in ivory and created a 12x12 square (design of her/his choice) for the engaged couple of our group, Chris and Ericka.

I collected all the squares and created this afghan (and pillow, not pictured) with it (and I even crocheted a border around it!). I think it came out beautiful....all of the individuality of each of the knitters/crocheters shines through.



Knitters/Crocheters in order from left to right, top to bottom: Denise (who recently got married....Congratulations, D!!!), Melissa, Laurin and Me. Me again, Heather, Jackie, and Marion. Julie, Laurin (two), and Mike. GiGi, Heather, Jackie and Blogless Amanda. Sarah, Lora, Caroline and Denise again. (Donna and Amanda also made one, which went into making a matching pillow.)

Second, THE WEDDING SHAWL!!:



In April and May, I bought some Knit Picks Telemark in the Poppy Colorway and made Ericka a shawl for her wedding. (Her wedding dress is a gorgeous ivory with red trim....red is her favorite color.)

I used the "Children of the Liur" lace stole pattern from Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman...a fantastic book for knitting lace shawls...a must have for any lace knitter.

The pattern was simple, but very elegant looking. Here is a close up of the lace...the wrong side is facing:



Whew! Now that I got THAT out of my system.....I can share more of the Knitting-Red-Origami Themed Wedding Shower!

I'll try to be quick, so you're not reading all day....

-The Invitations I Made (it's handy being a scrapbooker!)...this one is Ericka and Chris' copy, with a few more embellishments than the ones I sent out.



-A sample of the origami cranes that we all made for decorating my house...this one was made by either Marion or Caroline....(I think we had over 120 cranes in the end!)



-The tiara I picked out for Ericka so she could feel like a queen on her shower day...



-Ericka's face as she opened the door....she was expecting a birthday party for Donna, another Manchvegas Knitter...but was totally surprised that the party was for HER! (Chris, the MVknitters and I had been trying to keep this from her for MONTHS! She had no idea...which made it absolutely perfect!)



-Here she is wearing the shawl and tiara, while opening gifts. Gigi and Jackie look on at Ericka's left and Chris, her fiance, on the right.



-Here is Chris brandishing the butcher's knife that Jackie got them....with a card that said, "Ericka, don't use this on Chris." LOL!



-Lovely Julie sitting at my Ashford Traditional wheel to try it out...She's getting one for herself to try out for an unlimited time! So cool!...with Marion looking on.



-Here is group photo of everyone who came to the shower (please excuse the lack of linking....my fingers are very tired...look above for links, k?)....



(L to R)
(back row) Marion, Sarah, Gigi, Mike, Julie, Melissa, Patti, Blogless Amanda, and Jackie.
(front row) Lora, Donna, Heather, Caroline, Laurin and Chris's mom, Donna.
(Just Ericka's sister, Mandy, isn't in the pic...she came with Ericka and Chris)

-Did I mention that Julie and Patti, the owner of the Yarn Sellar came all the way from Maine for the shower??? It was pretty wonderful to see both of them and I know that Ericka appreciated it. She was very surprised!

Besides me slightly freaking out as hostess (you know...I get very nervous before parties...I want to make sure everyone is having a good time), I think it went extremely well. Everyone had fun, we knit, danced, Jackie and Lora did cartwheels in the backyarn, we drank LOTS and LOTS of liquor (Melissa is a fabu bartender!), knit more, drank more and laughed constantly.

The favors (oh, man, I forgot to take pics of those!) were donated by me, Donna and Sarah. Donna bought some gorgeous mini skeins of yarn (in green and brown) from WoolGirl, I got red hearts of Lindt chocolate truffles in a red gauzy bag and Sarah gave the patterns and gift bags. We also had a big basket full of skeins of cotton to make dishcloths/washcloths, as well. Heather brought the basket with some yarn and me, Jackie, Amanda, Marion, Laurin and Sarah filled the rest of the basket up with yarn, tied with white ribbon. Donna printed out copies of 6 different free dishcloth patterns for us to pick to go with our favor bags. I think everyone liked them!

The funny thing was that we ALMOST didn't pull the shower off. For weeks, we'd been "talking" on our other website so we could email and plan without Ericka and Chris knowing....The Manchvegas Wedding group. And, at the last minute, I had to send off an emergency email saying that Ericka's wedding dress fitting appointment was on the same day and the same time as the shower! Ahhhh!!!!

After freaking out and trying to decide what to do..this was only two days before the shower, we decided to just move the shower time up a little by a few hours. We were able to contact everyone in time (well, except Blogless Amanda...sorry!) and everything went very smoothly. Chris called me off and on during the day of the shower to give me updates on where they were and what time they would be there. We are SO LUCKY that things happened just the way we'd hoped.

Ericka said it was the first time in her life that she was "speechless".

Mission Accomplished.

P.S. Wanna see what I knit during the shower?

I'm not usually a dishcloth girl, but I really liked this pattern! (Less than 1 ball of Sugar and Cream cotton yarn, size 7 needles and this pattern with a crocheted border.)

Absolutely NO willpower....

No, I'm not talking about dieting (which, of course, I have no willpower for either...or I wouldn't be dieting constantly)...I'm talking about the Lizard Ridge afghan.

After seeing (and feeling) a swatch of the afghan at Yarn and Fiber on Sunday, I just couldn't wait any longer.

I've been trying my VERY BEST to put off starting this....I was trying to finish at least two or three of the current projects I'm working on, but....alas, it wasn't meant to be.

So far, I've completed one of the 24 "squares". I'm using colors 40 and 183 right now...of the Noro Kureyon. The designer has written the pattern so that you make 24 of these "squares" and then sew them all together. You'd have to sew 6 of them end to end to make one long panel and then sew the 4 long panels together to make the afghan. I'm going to save myself a WHOLE lot of sewing and just continue on through the squares (without binding off and casting on again) so that I make one long, continuous panel. Then, make 3 more. I'll only have to sew up the 2 long center side panels that way. (and I'll save some yarn, too)

I'm LOVING the pattern, too. The first time you go through the 12 row pattern, it's confusing (or at least it was for me). I also didn't realize that the pattern was written so that the bubbly parts are SMOOTH at the edges and not ridged, like the one I saw at the yarn store. I had the hardest time figuring out how to make the sections BUMPY...until I had a sudden "DUH" moment...instead of doing the 5 transititon rows in stockinette, you just do it in GARTER! DUH!

So, I've decided to work a little on it here and there so I can start using it once the cooler weather comes in October/November. I figure, if I can make one part of the 24 in less than one day, then it will only take me a month or less (have to figure in sewing the panels and doing the crocheted border) to make the whole thing. So, I have PLENTY of time, right?? Right?

I also have a picture of ONE of the finished handspun skeins of yarn I made from the Coopworth fleece that I washed, combed, etc. I only used 1/4 of the finished fiber and I got 75 yards of 3 ply worsted weight yarn....about 12 wpi. It is MUCH softer than I thought it would be (but not like angora or cashmere...or even merino) and so "homey". Now, if I can finish spinning the rest, I have plans to make Ben a hat and mittens for next winter.



And, dum dum dum dum (drum roll please), I have the long overdue picture of the first Radiance Lace Headband pattern completed! Well, one besides the two I made!



It's Cayli of Spin A Yarn for Ewe!!!

Cayli not only knit my headband pattern (the Amanda), but also spun the yarn herself!!! And, not only that, but she used our very own Heather's handpainting roving!!! It's the Beaches colorway and in the superwash merino/tencel fiber...you can find her fiber HERE. Isn't that amazing? Like a partnership of handpainting/spinning/knitting/designing all at once. Doesn't she look fantastic in this?



And, lastly, here is the yarn I spun for lovely Donna. It's only 1/2 of the 2 oz of merino/bombyx silk fiber from Chasing Rainbows...the Moonstone colorway I spun up here is the third from the left. I got 75 yards of 3 ply sportweight from 1 oz of the fiber. It's super shiny and I hope she likes it. I'm working on her Ashland Bay purple-ish merino top right now.

Any more headbands in the works????