So Many Hobbies, So Little Time

Only Two Years

2010-08-24T16:29:00.003-05:00

I decided to look at my blog today and I discovered that it has been a bit over two years since my last post. It is hard to come up with an excuse for that...um, I've been busy?

This is more of an exercise to see if I remember HOW to work this crazy thing.

Step one: I signed in! check

Step two: say something

I will leave that to a poem I discovered today.

Vegetables
by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965)

The country vegetables scorn
To lie about in shops,
They stand upright as they were born
In neatly-patterned crops;

And when you want your dinner you
Don't buy it from a shelf,
You find a lettuce fresh with dew
And pull it for yourself;

You pick an apronful of peas
And shell them on the spot.
You cut a cabbage, if you please,
To pop into the pot.

The folk who their potatoes buy
From sacks before they sup,
Miss half of the potato's joy,
And that's to dig it up.

check

Step three: post a picture

check

Mission accomplished!

Now to see if anyone sees this.

I'd Like a Couple Chickens

2008-06-14T19:26:00.005-05:00

So, it's only been a month and a half or so since my last post. Here are the babies you last saw in their little box. Sorry it was getting a bit dark out. We have been letting them out in the evening to hunt and peck their way round the ole homstead to try to keep them out of trouble. There are 11 chickens and 3 guineas.

Inside the Chicken Palace a couple weeks ago. Please excuse the poop...their housekeeping skills aren't up to par.

When I say 11 chickens I really mean pullets (girls) which is what they were supposed to be. For the last few days however, I have been growing more and more concerned that this one isn't quite who she is supposed to be. I believe we have a boy in the midst of our all girl club.
After we got those birds, I just couldn't stop thinking about the Light Brahma's that I REALLY wanted. I mean, how can you resist those big, friendly girls running around and producing an egg a day in all but the deepest, darkest weeks of winter? While I was thinking about them, Paul was dreaming of Turkens...the lovely chickens with no neck feathers that he loves so much. As we thought of them we seemed to think of others and of course you might as well think about 25 since that is how many you need to have chickens shipped here, and of course with an order of 25 you get a free rare breed as well as a couple extras thrown into the box for 'free'.

Before I knew what had happened...

Welcome to my world!

Cute Chicks

2008-04-20T11:36:00.002-05:00

My house is full of cute chicks and I don't mean just me and my daughters!

I checked for eggs this morning, but no luck...maybe tomorrow.

Sorry Melanie

2008-04-09T08:48:00.004-05:00

I just realized that I never posted the picture of Melanie's dishcloth that I made for her and forgot to take a picture of! She very nicely sent me a picture of it so I can prove that I am a good sister. :-)

I don't know why, but I felt like making her a Martini Glass cloth...

Spring Has Sprung

2008-04-09T08:41:00.003-05:00

Here we have the first sign of spring that happens around my house. I used the warm weather this weekend to wash TONS of sheets, blankets and towels and hang them out to dry.

Wow, that was an exciting entry!

So, Where Do You Start?

2008-03-15T15:10:00.004-05:00

Where do you start when you haven't blogged in almost 2 months? I mean, things DO happen, but which are the important ones?

I will start with a party!!

Deanna from Taking the Scenic Route to Parenthood puts on the best parties I have ever seen! This one was a Murder mystery dinner party set in Napa Valley, California (wine, anyone?)

We each had a part to play and game plays out with scripts for each of us and clues we must figure out to discover who killed Barry Underwood (whose body was discovered under a wooden floor in the cellar...)

We arrived to a beautiful themed spread that I'm sure took our esteemed hostess hours of work to put together.

We had a great time eating, drinking and enjoying general merriment as we played out the murder mystery to finally discover who the murder was. I will not give it away here, but we weren't disappointed in the story line.

Here we have Ralph Rottingrape, Bud Wizer, Otto Von Schnapps and Papa Vito all dressed in their party clothes.

And here are the ladies...Bonny Lass, Marilyn Merlot (yours truly) Hedy Shablee and Tiny Bubbles.

Thanks Deanna for the great time and we look forward to next months party!

Car vs. Deer

2008-01-25T07:23:00.001-05:00

So, I guess it could be worse (actually I know it could be worse). But I am still really sad. Just look at my lovely blue minivan with the missing eyeball. It is hard to see, but the hood is also cracked and not exactly down the way it should be. This is the price I pay for no rust...fiberglass that is pretty much unfixable without a really expensive trip to the body shop and those of you who know my husband, know that isn't going to happen.

And close up you can even see little bits of deer hair where a lovely working headlight and turn signal light used to be.

I am very thankful that no one was hurt. Paul was driving 3 of our kids and one neighbor kid home from church (try not to take the wrong lesson from that) and in an instant it happened.

Oh, and if you are wondering who won, the deer or the car...the deer is now hanging in our garage and will become many meals in the future.

(Yes, he did get a permit to bring home a dead deer)

Don't You Just Love Gifts?

2008-01-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

These are the goodies I got in a swap I recently participated in called The Winter Wonderland Swap. It was through Knitting Help and it was my first knitting related swap. I made my very first trip to an Actual Knitting store to pick up yarn for my swapper and got to touch all sorts of great fibers I have only heard about from other people! LOLSo here it is all opened up and posed for a picture. Please notice the cute snowman who ventured across the country to move in with me...cute! I haven't used the Alpaca yet because I am trying to find the perfect project for it and I have a huge fear of messing it up!

So thanks again Riss for being such a great swapper!

My Alter Ego

2008-01-19T23:23:00.000-05:00

I thought since some of you know that I have an alter ego, I should finally introduce her to you.

This is Amerielle. She is a level 44 Human rogue and enjoys sneaking up behind bad guys and stabbing them in the back. Lately she has been going the Thug route and carrying around that huge ugly mace, but you will often find her armed with a beautiful, shining dagger. She also has that large sward that she carries just to save time during her killing sprees.

She is very misunderstood as most people find rogues untrustworthy, but she is just doing her part for the Alliance.

Amerielle also has a few friends that I might introduce to you in the future. Then again, she likes to keep her business to herself.

Girls Go to College to Get More Knowledge

2008-01-15T20:57:00.000-05:00

...at least I am. As some of you know, I have decided to get a start on my second career. (What happened to the first one? I am calling it 20 years of being surrounded by kid stuff- from college to daycare to raising my own kids to substitute teaching.)

I made the decision to take the prerequisites for a degree in nursing and started my first 2 classes today. Fundamentals of Chemistry and Anatomy. Maybe I've made a mistake. I can't yet figure out why a nurse needs to be able to figure out...The density of titanium is 4.54 g/mL. What is the mass, in grams, of 17.3 mL of titanium? I hope it will become clear in the weeks to come, just as I hope the answer to the problem will become clear to me in the weeks to come.

To show my dedication to my classes, I give you the opening of the $188.00 book...

and the CD of the Interactive Cadaver Dissection Experience that tons of the grade will be based on.

Finally, Some Knitting

2008-01-12T17:46:00.001-05:00

Christmas time and the knitting is secret. It is very difficult to post the knitting I have been doing when the recipients are the people (some of them) who read my blog.

I had this great idea to make a personalized dishcloth for each of my friends. I looked through tons of patterns until I found just the one I wanted to make for each of them. So without further ado...The parade of dishcloths:

For the Winter Wonderland swap I participated it: The Snowflake Dishcloth

For Deena: The Harry Potter Golden Snitch Dishcloth

For Deanna: Little Baby Feet dishcloth

For Amy: The Coffee Cup dishcloth

and because I can't remember to take pictures...

For Melanie: The Martini Glass Dishcloth
For Mom: The Christmas Tree Dishcloth

I think everyone enjoyed them (even if they might not enjoy using them!)

Very Intriguing

2008-01-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

As I was browsing through blogs I found this nifty little test. I plugged my blog in as well as quite a few others to try to figure out how it was coming to the results it was getting. I am still not sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it might not mean what some of us think (or hope) it means. Running my blog and coming out with genius initially gave me a happy feeling, but the more I thought about it the more I have come to the conclusion that if it takes a genius reading level to understand my blog I must be a sucky writer! So there you have it, I am terrible and those of you who get high school or lower display it proudly in the knowledge that you are a great writer!

If you have any idea how it comes up with these results please let me know.

Crashing Down Around My Fingers

2008-01-09T22:23:00.000-05:00

Ok loyal blog followers (follower). I know you have forgotten I ever had a blog so I thought I would surprise you and post something. I am getting my courage together because the last couple of times I have tried, my computer has crashed spectacularly.

I'm not sure what to mention that has happened over the last 3 months...

I made new friends.

Packed my kids up and sent them off to Florida where they became part of the show at Gator Land.

Had another one of my future funeral pictures taken. (There are very few pictures of me and those that do exist are usually blurry)

and posed the kids in front of a pond swarming with Gators (because I love them so much).
All in all it was a great vacation! If I can actually get this to post I'm sure there will be more exciting news to come!

My Power Increases

2007-10-16T19:24:00.000-05:00

My blog power is widening! I would like to announce a new friend to the blogging world...Deena. You can find her at http://idontwannabolg.blogspot.com/ Please notice the "bolg". She mistyped and just went with it. Those of you who know her will say "That is so Deena!"

Homecoming

2007-10-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

Last night was the big homecoming dance. I now have 2 kids in high school so we had double the fun getting all dressed up and ready to go. Here are the results...

And with their dates...

Back in the dark ages when I was in high school the homecoming dance meant walking from the football field back to the school where we danced the night away in our jeans and sweatshirts. How times have changed.

I think that I wouldn't have gone to the dance if it had been like today. I just wouldn't have been able to go out and buy a new dress and shoes for something like that. I will save my commentary on the state of money and kids in 2007 for another post. For now, enjoy the pictures of the girls in the dresses purchased for this dance, never to be worn again...

SMELLY

2007-10-13T13:42:00.000-05:00

This weeks theme is smelly and this is the first picture I thought of. It was taken over the summer at a cross country party we held at our house. A huge storm came up and all the kids had to come inside to escape the rain, thunder and lightening. There were about 30 teenagers in all and this is just a portion of the shoes they all took off when they came in the house. I wish I had gotten a shot of all the shoes that were out on the porch too! (I have to admit though that I don't recall it actually being smelly but I may have just been occupied with other things with all those kids in the house!)

Must...Start...New...Project...

2007-10-10T08:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, knitting plans. I know I have an inability to finish anything I start. I know I have a bunch of stuff just waiting for me to decide to pick it up and finish it. But I feel compelled to get started on the Zephyr Tree Jacket . Must order the pattern, must order yarn, must order a 20 inch circular needle, must order common sense.

I do work on things though. That ponchette of the disastrous gauge is almost done (for Claire).

Pretty lace edging.

And in other news...My son survived the sword fight and the H.S. band received a I (one) rating at the marching band festival last night!!! Great job!

Power

2007-10-10T08:38:00.000-05:00

I am amazed at the awesome power I have over those around me! Melanie has decided to join the blogging world! Here is her blog http://www.livelovelaugh-melanie.blogspot.com/ for your viewing pleasure, but she seems to have missed the TAG part. She is however skilled at snagging pictures off from other peoples blogs.

Now we just need to get Deena going (I have a sinking feeling this may be a lost cause).

Tag

2007-10-04T07:10:00.000-05:00

I have been tagged by Deanna so now I have to come up with 8 things you don't know about me but that I am willing to share with the world. Here goes...

1. I have earned a bachelors degree that I have never bothered to claim. Someday I will get around to doing the paperwork so I can 'officially' say I have that degree.

2. I am a HUGE procrastinator. (see above)

3. I always know where the exits are everywhere I go.

4. I dream of someday living on a sailboat.

5. I spend tons of time reading bike travel blogs. I really want to take a bike trip someday, but I am afraid I just wouldn't hold up under the dirt, cold and tent sleeping.

6. I have a belly button ring. (Yup, I'm cool like that!)

7. I have HORRIBLE eyesight. Without correction I would be almost unable to navigate through my own home.

8. I shave my legs EVERY day. I can't stand even one tiny bit of stubble on even the coldest of winter days.

There, more than you ever wanted to know about me! Since Deanna tagged all the blogging people I know I will tag a couple non-bloggers in the hope they will join us in the blogging world. Melanie and Deena

By the way, did you know that the blogger spell check flags the word Bloggers as a misspelling?

Proof

2007-10-03T09:15:00.000-05:00

This post is being written to prove that I can write a totally Deanna free blog entry. I will not mention Deanna, Deanna's children, Deanna's husband, Deanna's home, Deanna's friends, Deanna's activities, Deanna's trips or Deanna's pets.

See, and you thought it couldn't be done.

Much Cuter Pictures!

2007-09-09T11:04:00.001-05:00

Welcome Home Seth Kidus!!! Oh, Jamie, Deanna and Taylor too! (get used to that)

We traveled to the Detroit airport yesterday to welcome Seth home and to the U.S. He was so calm and sweet and seemed to be having a great time! His shirt said "So sorry to have kept you waiting" but he is SO worth the wait!

I should probably let Deanna be the first to put up pictures but Seth's fans can't be kept waiting. (He has paparazzi already!)

A Story in Pictures

2007-09-09T10:51:00.001-05:00

'nuf said. (or maybe not...)

Long Lost Relatives

2007-08-22T10:23:00.000-05:00

I finally met up with my long lost sister on Sunday and well as her family and my Uncle and Aunt from Florida. We had a nice visit even though it rained for the first time in MONTHS around here.

This is Melanie in her usual pose (her words).

We (Grandparents, Kids and I) had a fun trip to the museum yesterday. Can you pick out all the live people in the picture?

Eric narrowly missed being eaten by the dino!

By the way Deanna, please explain again how to delete pictures. As you can probably see I can't seem to figure it out.

Two

2007-08-18T12:39:00.001-05:00

Two kids plus a parade equals TONS of candy...this is just what they could fit in their hands.

Today we went to another parade and afterwards to the township celebration where my kids were able to take a ride on an elephant! They were so excited. This picture was taken when the gentleman leading the elephant stopped it and told it to SMILE. She (her name is Laura) lifted her trunk and held still so I could get a couple of pictures.

Personality and Pigs

2007-08-11T21:14:00.001-05:00

I got a bit distracted reading blogs today with a site that claims you can get insight into your personality by analyzing a picture you draw of a pig. Here is my piggy...her name is Daisy.

I found out I am pessimistic, believe in tradition, am a bit distrustful, stubborn, a good listener and my sex life is (um, none of your business)

So, what is your personality like according to a pig? http://drawapig.desktopcreatures.com/

I found the quiz at http://meeyauw.blogspot.com/ a fellow photo hunter.

Row (something in a)

2007-08-10T20:17:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture I found of something in a row. It is my kids marching band performing on Memorial Day. My daughter is the girl with the piccolo. They will be performing again tomorrow for our town's annual Founders Day Parade. Maybe I'll get a picture of my son and his drum in a row too! Stay tuned!

Tiny

2007-07-21T08:45:00.000-05:00

So today's theme is tiny...I had a lot of trouble thinking of a picture this week. I kept coming up with things that may be tiny, but are not good photo subjects- my patience, my willpower, my motivation. Maybe a picture of my waist or thighs? (JOKE)

The other day my kids came running in the house and insisted that I put a baby bird back into it's nest. I did it and (of course) forgot to take a picture of it. So in the baby bird theme here is a photo of a Mommy bird sitting on her eggs.

Now I am off to pick up Harry Potter and bury my nose in a book for the next couple of days! See, tiny willpower! Big motivation!

2007-07-07T14:24:00.000-05:00

Here is my find for this week's theme...Fake! These toenails are not real...they have been applied to create the illusion of reality, but we know the truth! I will not reveal the name of this faker but she knows who she is. They do look pretty though!

Sweet!

2007-07-04T08:15:00.000-05:00

So, it's not Saturday anymore but this picture is just as sweet today. This is a picture of my friend Deanna taken last week at her baby shower. She is so excited to be at the shower because it means that very soon she will bring her little boy home from Ethiopia!

I could have taken a picture of the the desserts at the party, but they are nowhere as sweet as Deanna. Of course the baby is even sweeter but she is keeping his picture out of the blogging world until he gets home!

It's My Birthday

2007-06-23T22:10:00.001-05:00

So today is my birthday and here I sit browsing through blogs and trying to get inspiration for my own.

When I was younger I thought I would know so much by now...I have been sadly disappointed. It is so true that the older you get, the more aware you become of how much you still don't know. It seems that with every birthday I add to my list of things I haven't done that I would like to try and things I still need to learn. Is this a sign of awareness of my own mortality and the fact that the years seem to be slipping by? How each year brings me to the fact that I probably have more behind than in front?

I don't think that is it. I think that with age is coming a better awareness of the world and all it has to offer. I also don't feel OLD like I always thought someone my age should feel. I actually feel better and younger than I did in my twenties.

So for a awhile yet I can still describe myself as thirty something and to the years to come I say...Bring it on! Happy Birthday to me!

Here is a little something I learned through my browsing today:

$4525.00

Mingle² - Online Dating

I also found out that:

61%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

So my day wasn't wasted! (Ignore the online dating part, unless you don't want to)

Shiny

2007-06-23T09:09:00.000-05:00

This is my choice for the theme this week. It's our pool and I just love looking at the water...and swimming...and throwing kids in...

Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children. George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

2007-06-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

Ah, to be a child again...such a short time to live without worry and just abandon yourself to life. I think I need to spend more time enjoying the here and now and less time thinking about tomorrow.

I have a couple great role models to get me started!

Hair

2007-06-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

When I saw the theme for this week I immediately thought of this picture. My son took it (and many others) last week after I colored my hair. I have to wonder how vain I am to have my 13 year old son take a bunch of pictures of my hair in different lighting conditions so I can decide whether or not I like the color!

Wildlife

2007-06-16T14:06:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share a few pictures of the wildlife around my house. I live out in the country and you never know who will come to visit.

First, not so wild is the dumbest dog on the face of the earth, Jack. I took this picture after hearing horrible whining coming from outside. He had somehow gotten the bottom of the downspout off the house and onto his foot and leg. It is difficult to see, but it is completely wedged onto his front right foot. I absolutely couldn't get it off so we had to wait until my husband got home to get it off. We had a great time keeping him calm and off the leg for three hours!

This is one of the many skinny friends who has decided that the best place to live is in one of my gardens. We seem to be a bit overrun by snakes this year, so I am blaming the weeds on them. There is no way I am reaching my hands in and touching one of them.
This nice guy came over last night during my daughters 16th birthday pool party. I should have put something next to him for size, but believe me when I tell you he is really big. Over a foot long and he can really move quick!
I'll add more animal pictures soon...I know many of you love cats, so I'll be sure to get some pics of our cat up!

Back to hobbies...

2007-06-07T08:33:00.000-05:00

One of my main hobbies is working out. I have drifted away so much in the last 7 months or so and I have been trying to get myself back into shape.

I decided I wanted to do a triathlon this year, so I dusted off my bike and started riding. Here she is, her name is Tillie because I ride 'til I'm tired. (no comments from the perverts please)

I know it's not a triathlon bike, or even a road bike, but I think it would do.

So, here I am, training away on my bike and practicing the ride immediately followed by the run when I discovered I can no longer even run a mile! How is it I can do an hour of step aerobics and not run a mile?

Anyway, switch gears, (pun intended) and I am going to work on my run with an eye to a 5K later this summer. Now that I've said it here, I must do it! Anyone want to join me?

What Happens in South Haven, stays in South Haven

2007-06-07T08:12:00.000-05:00

I recently had a fun overnight to South Haven with the intrepid foursome, of which I am one. We really need to come up with a name for ourselves. Please feel free to comment with suggestions.

We shopped, ate, talked and did other stuff that I perhaps won't blog about now. (don't worry, nothing illegal or immoral went on...much anyway. LOL)

It was actually pre baby shower for Deanna as she anxiously awaits the day she will leave to pick up her new (darling!) baby son from Ethiopia. We know we won't see much of her after his arrival as she will totally drop us for him! (Lucky little guy!)

Ummm...that must have been someone else's lunch.

Girlfriend day!

2007-05-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

I had a fun day yesterday in lovely Shipshewana, Indiana with some of my best friends. If that place isn't the crafty capital of the world I don't know where is.

I ended up with a few tomato plants and some pretties for myself and my youngest daughter.

We also had some wonderful hot pretzels from the world famous Jo Jo's restauraunt (I don't know if they are world famous, but they are famous with us) but I forgot to get a picture of them.

I did however (or one of us did- Deena?) get a stranger to snap a picture of us under the mixed nuts sign...aren't we witty?

Guilt is a Beautiful Thing

2007-05-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

I am a very bad blogger. If it takes guilt to inspire me to post then so be it. All around me are wonderful bloggers just blogging away and here I am saying a whole bunch of nothing. I am doing stuff though! To prove it I will show you a couple of pictures.

We take trips to Africa...

Where we feed giraffes

and back home in Michigan my garden is growing, but unfortunately, so are the weeds.I have great hope to weed in the near future...I will keep you updated.

Crafting ADD

2007-04-25T09:21:00.000-05:00

Here is another sign of my inability to finish anything. I now have 4 projects on needles, but maybe I will finish one soon. (wishful thinking) This is my progress on an Anthropologie-inspired capelet that I found here http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=62184.0 All I have to do is add the ribbing on the bottom and around the arms. It is my first attempt at something with sleeves and so far so good. I am not very happy with the ribbing around the neck, but that might have something to do with my discovery in the last two rows that I have been knitting with different sized needles. How in the world can a person knit for that long with one 10.5 and one 11 needle? Well, it can obviously be done and here is the result!

Time Flies...

2007-04-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post, but I haven't been sitting around doing nothing...really! I have been putting some time into the ponchette I started and I am happy with the way it is looking, but I am starting to have serious doubts about the size. I keep measuring the gauge and it seems to be right on, but that might mean I need a gauge tutorial. Could it possibly grow as much as it needs to with blocking?

Oh well, if it comes out too small, that is what 7 year old daughters are for. She is actually hoping it will be too small for me so she can have it. I am going to just keep on keeping on and it will eventually work for one of us!

Not my craft...

2007-03-18T20:55:00.000-05:00

I just have to put up a picture of some birdhouses my 15 year old daughter made recently. They are made from gourds I grew last summer, so I will claim a little bit of the creativity, but the rest is all her. I think she did a great job!

Here it is!

2007-03-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

I promised you porn and here it is:

I have the yarn for three projects and see the sharp shiny things in the back? My beautiful new Options needles! So far, I LOVE them! They are slippery and I am not finding them too sharp at all even though I am a tip pusher.

I am not getting too much knitting done right now though because of peer pressure on WOW interfering with some of my free time. I think I need a few waiting rooms to give me a boost!

And what about this Second Life thing? How can I fit that in?? I just can't have another hobby! Or can I?

By Popular Demand...

2007-03-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

I am often asked how many workout videos I own, so I decided to get them out and find out. This pile represents 59 tapes/dvd's and 67 workouts (because many of the dvd's have more than one workout on them). I have a tendency to loan them out and forget who has them, so I am actually missing quite a few. I can think of 8 right off the top of my head that seem to be gone, so if you have one of them please let me know so I can account for it. Inquiring minds want to know.

Before you ask why I would need that many workouts, consider how boring it would be to do the same tape day after day. Yes, that is why I have so many, for variety, not because I'm addicted to them. (I guess if you are going to be addicted to something, I can think of worse things)

When will it end?

2007-03-04T17:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, who is tired of this?

Or this? (one of my gardens)

Swim anyone???

I'll give you this to perk you (or me) up and remind you that spring will come eventually.

After searching through the pictures of my gardens I am just about dying to get my hands dirty. I might have to get out the old milk jugs and potting soil and do some winter sowing. It is worth it just to hear my husband say, "Those are some nice jugs you've got there!"

If you are interested in winter sowing, here is a great place to find out about it. Garden Web scroll to the second to the bottom forum and have fun!

On the knitting front, I got lots of work done on my daughters multi colored blanket this weekend. I enjoyed my first KIP (knit in public) during a seminar...I could not just sit there and waste all those knitting hours. Good news, passed the class even though I knitted through it!

What's a crafter to do?

2007-03-02T11:08:00.000-05:00

I ordered new needles and yarn for my upcoming projects- the ponchette I mentioned and the Sun Ray Shawl knit along I am going to attempt. Don't worry, porn to follow when it arrives.

As I am reading through the patterns I notice I will need stitch markers, so what's a self proclaimed crafty girl to do? I pulled out my supply of jewelry making stuff and got to work. Well, didn't take me long to discover that I don't own any jump rings or clasps that will even come close to fitting over the needles, but instead of being discouraged I sought inspiration. I attended a class on earring making a while back and produced a few pairs of lovely dangly earrings. They hang from your ears on the loop wire things (not the technical name I'm sure). So I bent, and wrapped, and cut until I had these little beauties. I don't know if they will work because I can't get the wire completely smooth and they might catch the yarn, but I am pretty happy with the results.

By the way, it is really hard to get a good, non shadow picture of them- on my camera anyway. The beads are some sort of antiques I was told and are actually very pretty, not showing up very well. But you get the idea.

A Small Request

2007-02-28T17:50:00.000-05:00

If anyone can tell me why my blogs are now coming out single spaced and splitting up words I would be forever grateful if you would clue me in. I have looked everywhere I can think of but I can't find any reason why they are doing it. Maybe I somehow clicked something I shouldn't have or perhaps aliens have gotten into my blog.

In my quest to add pictures I know I love to see who is writing so I will let you all see me too. It took me forever to find a picture of myself and even then it was taken by an 8 year old, but at least you can see who I am.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with my little problem!

Webrings

2007-02-28T17:18:00.000-05:00

So, I have discovered this thing called webrings. Ok, so you all knew about them but they are new to me so I discovered them! While searching the endless possibilities of things that can be blogged, I discovered a few rings that seem to fit me perfectly. One: I live in Michigan, Two: I am CountryCrafter at Knitting Help, and Three: I make monthly dishcloths. Don't get me wrong, I might be a month or two (or three) behind but I love doing them!

I don't know which month this was but isn't it pretty! I can't bring myself to use it. It is a mock cable and I think it came out very nicely!

A good day of knitting

2007-02-27T20:06:00.000-05:00

Well, today passed pleasantly enough with lots of waiting time (otherwise known as knitting time). Maybe soon I will look forward to all of those trips to pick up kids. What else is there to do but knit away?!

I finished another square for my 7 year olds blanket and started another of my ever present dishcloths. I can see a few mistakes I have made along the way, but I don't rip out dishcloths, I just plow on through. They are my practice for bigger and better things (although the family really likes my knitted dishcloths-we prefer them to purchased ones).

I also found the pattern I ordered a couple of days ago in the mailbox when I got home. Here it is Cool Hemp Ponchette but I am still deciding what to use to make it. I first saw it at Knitting Escapism and fell in love with it as I am with all of this lovely ladies work. Decisions, decisions...

A use for even unfinished projects

2007-02-25T14:49:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning to find that my knitting bag had been raided and pieces of my 7 year old daughter's unfinished blanket were being put to good use.

Please don't hate my color choice...it's what she likes! I know some knitters frown on the cheap acrylic yarn, but I have an afghan my grandma made me 30 years ago that still gets daily use today. It is made from acrylic and I treasure it like it was gold! I don't even know how many times it has been washed and dried and is so cuddly soft. If it was good enough for Grandma, it's good enough for me!

First Post, First Blog

2007-02-23T21:21:00.000-05:00

After years of enjoying the internet and reading the wonderful blogs of so many fun people, I have decided it is time to start my own. I also need a little incentive to get some of my projects finished and if the pressure of publishing my current (and not so current) works in progress gives me the nudge I need, so be it.

I am a crafter. I say that with a conviction that I don't always believe but if crafting can be judged by interest and the sheer amount of supplies that I have collected over the years, then it must be true...right?

Beyond crafting, I also enjoy many other hobbies...most notebly my love of fitness. I am an avid video fitness lover and use my DVD's pretty much every day, especially during the long, cold Michigan winters. When spring springs this year I am very seriously considering training for a triathalon. There, I said it. Now it must be true.

Ok, enough for my first day at this. It is now time to dust off the digital camera and get ready to share myself with the world. (or just myself in print if I am the only one who ever reads this)

2007-01-16T20:41:00.000-05:00