Friday, January 31, 2014

Happy Friday


It's Friday!  And there's no snow predicted, the temps are supposed to be reasonable and there's even some football going on.  I am feeling creative and I'll leave this picture as a hint.  Maybe you'll see some interesting stuff on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Felted Bowls

I'm taking a little online workshop from the wonderful Heather called "Hibernate".  It is all about embracing the winter time and things to do even though it's cold outside.  One of the projects that she had was making felted bowls.  So this past weekend I decided to try one.
It knit up real quick. I used some Lambs Pride. Within a couple of hours I had this. 
Next time I think I will double up the yarn. As thick as the yarn is it still is a bit flimsy for a bowl. 
It was lots of fun and instant gratification. I'm still not sure what I'll put in it. 
Apparently the cat does.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Yarn Along

I have been knitting on a few things but the mission I am working furiously on to complete is my Cedar Leaf Shawlette.

I'm working on the leaf border and it's taking me forever.  And you have to concentrate on it.


The detail on the leaves is beautiful.


I'm sure once it's blocked it will look even better.

Oh yeah - and we got some more snow this morning.

Joining Ginny.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Ten On Tuesday

You are really making me embrace this winter thing aren't you Carole?  While I am generally not a complainer I can say I am done with the Polar Vortex nonsense and am ready for warmer weather. In the meantime here are 10 Things I Like About Winter.


1. Knitting. Lots of it with warm heavy yarn. 
2. Getting to wear all that warm heavy yarn once it has been transformed into its useful state. 
3. Football. 
4. Watching TV - guilt free without feeling like I should be outside. 
5. Winter means no leaves on the trees so my waterview from the living room is prime this time of year. 
6. Garden planning. Nothing makes me feel more hopeful than all the flowers that will be blooming in around 4 months 
7. No bugs. It's too damn cold for most of them to survive. 
8. Snuggling with the family. I love them but when it's 90 degrees please stay out of my personal space so I don't spontaneously combust. 
9. Snow. Only if it's over 2 feet so I don't have to leave the house. 
10. Lighting candles. It's too darn hot on the summer so I don't do it then. But winter time? Look out.

What do you like about winter?  Give me some help here.....

Weekending


My weekend started with a big To Do List that I was intent on getting done.  Did I finish?  Almost.  But not quite.  I did

-go through my yarn stash and pulled out some for upcoming projects
-started and finished a project 
-read my Dyers Garden Book
-planned our vacation
-spent quality time with the adult child
-set up my Eye-fi card in my camera so I can post photos quicker
-fixed the buttonholes on hubby's sweater (they were way too big)
-enjoyed the fact that there was no place I had to be or anytime to have to be there

How was your weekend?

Thursday, January 23, 2014

What About Me?

You might remember back before Christmas that I knit a bunch of Pleated Ballet Flats for all the women in my family.  All the women except me.  On my trip to Webs I bought a skein of Madeline Tosh Chunky just for the project.  And it occurred to me last week that I still hadn't knit myself a pair.  So I got right on that.
I knew I wanted a pair for my spinning weekend.  I always bring slippers but my feet get cold while I just keep my socks on to spin.
These were perfect.  I wore them with my hand knit socks and they kept my feet toasty warm.
I think I might call them my "spinning slippers" and keep them in my bag of spinning wheel tools.

And I even think I might knit myself another pair with the leftover Mad Tosh that I have.  Because I need another project on the needles right now.  Ya know.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Yarn Along

There was some knitting and spinning at my retreat this past weekend. We really can be productive while we are eating talking and drinking.

I spun some more of my Shetland alpaca blend. 

It looked like I had so much in those bags but when you spin it boy does all that shrink down!  I still have another bag to finish. Hopefully by the weekend. 

I have been knitting on my Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl. 

It's so much fun seeing how the colors are looking together. 


I also love seeing my sock yarn leftovers be put to good use. 

Not much reading lately - I have been catching up on podcasts while I knit my shawl. 

So what's on your needles and bobbins these days?  Share with us over at Ginny's 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

10 On Tuesday

Let me preface this ToT by saying that as much as I love breakfast I normally don't eat it unless it's the weekend. I mean - l have a little something later in the morning such as a granola bar but eating first thing in the morning is not my regular routine. When I do indulge here are my favorites. 

1.  French Toast Bake. I just found this recipe and it's great. A bit sweet but good all the same. 
2.  Pancakes. My grandma would make these for me whenever I slept over so it's my favorite!
3.  No eggs. At all. Cooked any way. My mom made tons of them while we were growing up and subsequently my brother and I can't stand them. 
4.  Bagels. A good NY bagel. Toasted with a little bit of butter. 
5.  Belgian waffles. I have not been able to master these on my own. I think I need a new waffle iron. 
6.  Granola. Sometimes with yogurt. Sometimes with milk. Ocassionally with some fruit on the side. 
7.  Grapefruit. Especially during the summer. 
8.  Monkey bread. This is a staple when Nicole has friends sleep over. Never any leftovers. 
9.  On Christmas - Italian Cheesecake. But only on Christmas. 
10.Toast with peanut butter. Especially home made bread. 

What do you  like to eat for breakfast?  Give us some ideas over at Carole's.

Friday, January 17, 2014

On My Way

It's time once again for the Bayberry Spinners Retreat.  The drinks, the fiber, the projects, and the food are packed (yes Carole - I made the Cranberry Cake and yes it is delicious). 

See ya Monday!  

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Yarn Along

I gave you a little sneak peek of my big cake of yarn on Monday.
And kinda left you hanging.  This has to be one of the funnest projects ever.  It's the Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl.  I'm not sure what it is that has me in love with this project - the fact that it is the ultimate stash buster
 it is an easy pattern to memorize.
 or that you can't wait to get to the next color to see how it will look.

There is a little bit of work to gather your yarn and cake it up altogether.  I actually think the most difficult thing was figuring out which colors would work well together.  I chose to use my sock yarn stash since it was by far my most massive.
Once you pick your colors and join them together with the magic knot you wind them into a cake and off you go.  Instant fun.
Reading this week - mostly checking out my Ply Magazine that I got for Christmas.
I plan to dig into it this weekend a little more.

So what's on your needles?  Let us know over at Ginnys!


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

10 On Tuesday

Mentally I still think of myself as a kid.  Well, maybe not a kid, but certainly not a 47 year old.  Then I sit back and say "hey, wait...".  So today I present 10 Things That Make You Feel Like A Grown Up.

My brother and I in 1970

1.  My job.  I'm responsible for making sure my employees are paid, bills get paid, customers pay us, seeing how profitable we are, etc... real grown up sorta stuff.
2.  Being a mom.  Nothing makes you feels more adult than when your own kid becomes a legal adult.
3.  Paying bills.  No explanation needed.
4.  Owning a home.  I can make it however I want and don't need to ask permission to do so.
5.  My pets.  I can have as many as I want and nobody can tell me otherwise.  Common sense makes me stop at one dog and one cat.
6.  Perspective.  I was thinking yesterday how your perspective changes as you get older.  The things that were important when you were in school (like fitting in) don't really matter when you become an adult.  And that is a wonderful thing.
7.  Learning new things.  Learning is a part of everyday life especially when you're a kid.  When you become a grown up you learn about things that interest you.  And realize that maybe you should have paid better attention back when you were in school!
8.  My hobbies.  When I was younger I would never spend as much time on my hobbies.  Those days were filled with being with your friends and doing teenage things.  These days sitting home with my hubby and watching TV while I knit or spin is a perfect night.
9.  Being married.  It will be 25 years in May and some days I still feel like we are playing house together.
10.  My parents.  As they get older the tables are turning - I worry about them as much as they have worried about me all my life.  They left my  house rather late on Saturday night after the game and I was nervous about them driving in the fog and rain and made sure they texted me when they got home.  Kinda like I do to my daughter.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Weekending

 Football Fiber and Fun best describes my weekend!

-RI Spinners Guild meeting (I actually got to go TWO times in a row)
-gathered with the parents for dinner (snacks actually) while watching the Pats
-did some more frogging and a lot more knitting
-spun on all my wheels this weekend in an attempt to clean bobbins off
-caught up on Downton Abbey so we can watch the current episodes (I haven't watched last night's episode   yet so no spoilers!)
-put away all of Christmas (not all the pine needles however - I fear they will be there for quite some time)
-started a fun new knitting project
-I'll share the details on Wednesday
-started making my list and packing because this weekend is the annual Bayberry Spinners Retreat
-enjoyed some warmer temperatures, even if it was sort of like a hurricane on Saturday

How was your weekend?

Joining Amanda


Friday, January 10, 2014

2013 Fiber

So I looked back at the blog, Ravelry and Instagram for 2013 and you know what I discovered?  I suck at documenting my projects.  I think I captured most of what I did, but I had to look all over to figure it out. Isn't that what Ravelry is for?  Here were the actual counts:

Socks - 13 pairs complete
Shawls - 2 (much lower that I had thought)
Sweaters - 3
Scarves - 5
Slippers - 7
Blankets - 3
Hats - 4
Stuffed animals - 3

That's 40 projects completed.  Not too bad.  I didn't even go back and look at what I spun.  I didn't do a lot of spinning but I certainly bought enough fiber in case I wanted to!

I don't really have any goals for 2014 except to document projects better.  And use up my hand spun.  I have an entire bag that I really want to dig into.


Oh and one other goal - not to buy any yarn for a while.  I have enough of that.


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Yarn Along

What I'm spinning
It's an alpaca/shetland blend and I think I have enough to keep me busy for a while

What I'm knitting

It's the Cedar Leaf Shawlette. I had gotten about 3/4 of the way through the pattern.  Then I realized I read the pattern wrong.  Off to the Frog Pond.  It wasn't pretty.  I put it in time out for a couple of days while I sulked.

What I'm reading

I like it so far.

I'm still listening to Divergent and Outlander.

What's going on in your world?  Share it over at Ginnys!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Ten On Tuesday


Looking back at last year I can say there was a fair share of ups and downs.  But it's all about being positive today so I give you:

10 Favorite Moments of 2013
(OK - so they are technically not "moments" but they were my favorites)

1.  Nicole graduating high school.  I was happy to see her start her new journey to college.  They forgot to tell me that the hardest part of parenting was yet to come - parenting an "adult".
2.  Meeting my puppy for the first time.  My heart melted.  I knew he was meant for our family.

3.  Going on our cruise.  We hadn't taken a REAL vacation in such a long time and this was very much enjoyed!

4.  Our mini getaway to the Cape.  I'm looking forward to it again in August.
5.  Nicole becoming a certified CNA.  I have  mentioned that she is going to school for nursing and this was a great way to "get her feet wet", so to speak.  How many college students get to have a job in the field that they are studying for?  She loves her job.  And that makes her parents very happy.
6.  My new nephew.  It had been 10 years since we had a baby in the family.  Did I mention we are getting another one in a few months? And no - I am NOT expecting, thankfully my sister in law is doing the honors again.  TWO babies under 14 months old!!
7.  Getting my tattoo.  The actual moment - kinda painful.  The end result was worth it.  And yes, I am getting another one.  Not yet though.  I'm still working on the design.

8.  Running/walking my first 5K.  I loved the feeling of accomplishment.  My running days came to an end because I re-injured my back.  I have degenerative discs in my lower back and running with all this extra weight probably wasn't smart.  So it's back to walking for a while.

9.  Going to my first Patriots and Celtics Game.  Both in one year!
10.  Christmas knitting.  I know - I'm crazy.  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed knitting for everyone and seeing their face when they opened their presents.  It was my favorite part of Christmas for sure.
What were some of your favorite moments of 2013? Join us over at Caroles!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Weekending


Most of Saturday was spent trying to get warm
And getting my hair tamed at my friends new salon
There was dinner with friends
More watching of Downton Abbey (did I mention that hubby and I are addicted?  We are on season 2 right now and can hopefully watch the current episode by later this week)
There was some spinning
A bit of knitting and a lot of frogging
And some reading

That is only 1/3 of the books I got for Christmas.  I haven't even had a chance to look at them yet.  I started reading Adventures in Yarn Farming.  It's a year long journal of a womans sheep farming experience.  It has some recipes, patterns, and project ideas.  A great coffee table book.  

How was your weekend?

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Annual Tradition

By now you know that each year right after Christmas my friend Diane and I take a little trip up to Yankee Candle in Deerfield MA.  There's almost always snow and it really has a Christmas feel to it.


I must say that each year there seems to be less and less bargains, but overall we come out of there with quite the wagon full of stuff.

On the way to Yankee Candle we happen to go right past Webs.  For those who don't live in New England, imagine going into a building about the size of a grocery store and having it be full of yarn, weaving looms, spinning wheels, books, needles, accessories, etc...  And of course we have to stop there.

Ready to see what I got?


3 skeins of yarn and some odds and ends.  That is it.


This was crazy cheap - like $9 a skein.  I got two.  I'm sure they will be Christmas presents.  Those will make some warm socks.


This will be a pair of ballerina flats for me.  I think I've got that pattern memorized so while I do I think I'll knit it this weekend.



These little accessories go with the beautiful Namaste Bag I got for Christmas.  I love to be all matchy-matchy like that.



And this stuff is great.  It's like a bar of soap but it just soaks into your hands.  I have been using it before I knit and it's been keeping my hands pretty smooth. They have been so dry lately.  And being that it's 8 degrees out I'm sure I'll be using a bunch of it today.

Stay safe out there - it's a cold one.


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