Sometimes....

Purchased the yarn on March 19th and cast on within the hour of the purchase.
March 25th: Not only is the crib size blanket finished but I made a hat and booties to match from the leftover yarn.
Gotta say sometimes I even amaze myself.....LOL Just goes to prove I really can finish something.


Yarn: Berroco Comfort
Amount: 4 skeins of brown and 3 of the blue
I must admit the yarn is occasionally a little splitty but the end result is worth it. Perfect for babywear.
It's accented it with some free-hand embroidery.
I'm calling this the Earth and Sky Blanket Set.

It's packaged and ready to ship tomorrow. Hope my friend is happy with it :D.

Eye Candy Treats

Halloween came and went and somewhere along the line I missed it. Of course about the only thing we really miss are the kids' treat bags filled with candy so we can get drunk on chocolate :).


I'm late posting this new arrival of eye candy. The wind was blowing hard last week and look what blew into my mailbox, a lovely birthday gift from Jessi. Two skeins of her beautiful dyed yarn and as soon as I decide on a pattern it will be cast on. Also included, a cute set of knitted notions and labels for my handknits. There were two pencils but one is sharpened and already in use.






Forgive the glare, I just couldn't get a decent picture without it.

Also included were these adorable handmade stitch markers. Aren't they cute? I have a standing order if she ever re-opens her shop.

Thank you so much Jessi.

Apples to apples

I received a few things on Saturday but the hubby confiscated them until yesterday so I could open them on my birthday.
First up this hilarious card from G. Oh my gosh, I laughed out loud when I pulled the card from the envelope.

Thank you Gaylen for the hearty laugh and birthday wishes :D.











Next up was a thoughtful and delightful gift from Grace. A comical book of knitting that is sure to bring a smile and another good laugh.
And look at the little gnome. I've wanted to knit one of these for awhile but I've never gotten around to getting one finished.
I've dubbed him, Mr. Apple due to his clothing choice and the apples that accompanied him. Thank you Grace. He is perched on the antique cookstove keeping watch.

Let the Party Begin

My birthday hasn't arrived yet however that hasn't stopped friends and family from sending packages and cards :D. Unlike me who's still playing catch-up with the Post Office.

I'll begin with Chan's package that arrived today. Mr. Bettis was sniffing the box before I had it opened. How did he know there was something for him?






Sure enough there was something, scrumptous cookies just for the gang. They were begging and if I could've juggled the camera and the treats there would've been pics.















I gave them the treats so I could open the rest of the package in peace (just like kids you know). A beautiful...correction...drop-dead gorgeous skein of Creatively Dyed yarn named for my hometown. Red, purple, blue and of course PANK, how perfect is that? This is begging to be cast on and I'm concerned I won't allow it time to ferment with the rest of the stash...LOL

A bag of Lindnor Truffles Halloween treats was included although Mr. Bettis thought they also belonged to him. See his nose? I had a tough time getting him away from the candy so I could take the picture.
Lindnor Truffles are my favorite candy ever!!


About the card; I was on the phone with my mother (a Basset Hound care-taker) and when I opened the card I laughed so hard I was crying.

This is so perfect from Chan, the Knight and the Girls. Thank you so much for the wonderful gifts. Sending pooch hugs and kisses (and my own hugs) to You and the Crew.



More to come tomorrow.

Rendered Speechless

I have friends. Correction. I have some of the best friends in the whole wide world. So many of you have helped me through ongoing "stuff" throughout the years. Your emails, thoughtful gifts, phone calls and visits have brightened my days. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.


Today I will concentrate on a special act of kindness. A few of you know it's been a rough year. On Tuesday I was counting my blessings and thinking of the people who entered and touched my life in some special way.
That afternoon the UPS truck dropped off a box. I hobbled and waved telling him that he had the wrong house. I knew I didn't order anything. He confirmed the address and plunked it on the porch.
I picked up the box wondering if one of the sons ordered something to be delivered here. You know? car parts or some such fiddle faddle.
I took the box inside and checked the addy once again. Yep! It was mine.

I carefully opened it thinking it was still a mistake and I would spend the next couple of hours on the phone/computer trying to correct it.





Lo and behold there were two cards addressed to me. I must admit at this point I was shaking which is totally out of character for me.


I opened the first card which was the silly dog in a pick-up. It was from the "Fur-Babies" with each name listed. I immediately recognized the names of beloved pets.
The next card choked me up. A beautiful hand-written note inside with the list of friends who wanted to send something special to lil ole me.






Carefully I removed the paper, uncertain what was inside. And this is what I found......an e-spinner! For the first time in my life, I was speechless. (Of which the oh-so-funny family couldn't believe I was speechless. Don't worry, it didn't last long ;).


The DD walked in to find me sitting with tears streaming down my face. At first she thought something was wrong until I said, "you won't believe what some friends of mine have done."
She grinned and I know the grin. I shrieked and started firing the questions, "You knew, you knew...how did you know...how did they pull this off....."

As many of you know it's been a year of trials. I've longed to spin at my wheel for solace but could only hope for a "good" day to tolerate the awkward treadling. I finally made peace with my spindles but that is a s-l-o-w process. The Vespera spinner is perfect.

I grabbed some wool and began to spin. I LOVE it! It is easy, comfortable and fast. It is well handcrafted, portable and I can't rave enough about it. Go here to check out the beautiful handcrafted products.
I want to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. I have no idea how I'll ever repay the kindness...and there I go again...*sniff sniff*...please pass the Puffs.

THANK YOU, to the Fur-Babies, Anita, Chan, Gaylen, Jan, Jessi, Jul, Nichole and Shelly.

At the rate I'm spinning I could run out of fiber soon, so look-out fur animals......even Mr. Bettis isn't safe.....lol

Friends

"Friends are angels who walk among us".

As you know there has been personal "stuff" going on in this household concerning our eldest daughter.
In spite of all that happens friends hold the glue in difficult situations. They wipe tears, encourage and even give constructive but loving criticism when needed all in the name of being a loving caring friend.




My daughters always tease me about yarn packages and threaten to open them upon arrival.
This daughter was visiting when a package arrived from Chan. She teased me about opening it as most packages arriving here hold yarn and much to her surprise I told her to go ahead. She was chattering away as she opened it and was quite surprised when she lifted the lid. No yarn but instead the box held a beautiful carefully packaged robe with her name engraved on the front.
The look on her face was priceless and the thoughtful gift brought tears of joy.
It gave such delight to see her smile during such difficult days. Thank you Chan for your gracious and very thoughtful gift and many warm ((hugs)) are sent your way.

A ramble of sorts

The college DD was home for the weekend. Hubby picked her up. The trip was a 7 1/2 hour trip to and from due to the city traffic. I won't mention any more about traffic except to say I don't like traveling city traffic. Period.
The homecoming game commenced and our team won!! YAY!! Playoffs are next and if they win those then they're statebound.
While she was here she gave this book to me as a belated birthday gift. She saved her pennies (she's a poor college student, you know:) and found this book at a bargain in the campus book store. She knows I enjoy Christmas books. Cost never matters to me. My most precious gifts are the ones that have been so carefully thought out.
As if I don't have enough knitting to finish before the holidays I wound this skein of Araucania worsted to make a pair of pop-up paws for a gift. It is a blend of wool and alpaca and is so very soft.

All is quiet here for the time being. I have to wonder if this is the calm before a storm of some sort. The holidays are fast approaching and we're getting ready in this household:).

Fr-a-g-i-l-e

Chan sent notice that a box was shipped to me and the DD.

Here it is. Now there's tape all over the box with the words, FRAGILE HANDLE WITH CARE written in red.

This is how the package arrived. I know Chan was careful when she packed the item/items so I have no fear anything is damaged but wouldn't you think UPS would take better care when it's clearly marked FRAGILE?

Unfortunately I vowed not to open it until the DD is here to enjoy opening the package. She's with her best friends until tomorrow. One best friend leaves tomorrow morning for Utah where she will be attending college so they're cramming friend time.

Since I made that vow without really thinking clearly, DH decided to set the box right in front of me so I could stare at the unopened box. Meany! LOL

p.s. He and Mr. Bettis are taking a nap. Do ya think they'd hear me taking the pointy scissors to the corner of the box?

Oh where, Oh where has this blogger been?

Saturday morning at 6:30 am we transported the Piccolo Pirate to her school. The band was leaving for a 5 day trip to Philadelphia PA and NYC.

Her first big trip to the Big Apple.

Kids (including mine) looked as if they had just crawled out of bed. But there was excitement in the air.




I managed to get a few of her friends to stand still long enough for a group pic.

7:20am (20 minutes later than the scheduled departure) and they were off.

The DH and I ran home to get ready to leave in the opposite direction for a bridal shower. We were running 1/2 late. The DH was driving and I was knitting. Approximately 10 miles from the house a little voice told me to ask the DH if he picked up the gift. And I think we all know the answer to that question.

We turned around and backtracked. Now we were 55 minutes late. Unfortunately along the way we were held up in traffic due to an accident. That put us 1 1/2 hours later then intended.

1:00 pm:
The shower was for my soon-to-be new DIL. She is marrying #2 Son in May.

Her favorite cake is carrot cake and it was decorated to match the shower invitations.

The spread of food was awesome and there was even champagne punch. No, I wasn't hanging out at the punch bowl the entire time although with the ex husband's snooty wife in attendance, it was a thought........LOL




I wanted to give her something special and I've racked my brain for weeks. Finally the lightbulb flickered. I am known as the "cookie mom". My kitchen was the home for the kids' friends to hang out over the years and they always raided the fridge for milk and the cookie jar for cookies.

So I put together a gift basket of necessary items to bake cookies.

A cookie scoop, stainless steel mixing bowl, chocolate chips, nuts, 2 knitted dishcloths, Pampered Chef measuring cup (love that thing for measuring shortening, butter etc), crocheted El Cheapo Scrubby, dish detergent (to clean up the mess), handsewn apron and a cookie scented candle in case the cookies flop and she can light the candle and serve Oreos to #2 Son instead.

Red ribbon and a handsewn apron ornament were the finishing touches.