Another New Year is Here!

Welcome 2015!  I started this entry on New Year's Eve and as with many other attempted entries, I did not follow through with posting it.  So here goes....

Here it is, the end of another year.   A lot has happened in my life since I last wrote a blog entry. I miss blogging if only because it's a nice way for me to keep up with my life.  
Summary of my past 23 months:

• Grand baby #5 was born in June 2013 and I was present. Another sweet grand daughter. 
• I lost my dad July 5, 2013 and had to move mom to a nursing home. 
• March 2014, I flew out to Seattle and drove back across country with middle DD and her family. They are stationed home in VA for a while. I saw Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and states I may never have the opportunity to visit again. 
• Baby DD graduated from high school in June and started college in August. Thankfully she is only an hour from home. 
• Hubby and I celebrated our 30th anniversary! We went to Vegas and had a fabulous time! 
• I have accomplished very little in the way of cross stitch.....I just can't see it anymore. 
• I've made great improvements in my knitting skills. 
• I've enjoyed making pillow cases and quilts for baby girl and the grands. 

There have been many other events and accomplishments in my life but those are a few of the highlights.  2014 was a year of crossing off several things on my bucket list!  Grand Canyon, Vegas (twice), and one that I am really proud of...knitted socks!!

They are incredibly flawed and a little loose but they are socks and I knitted them!  The yarn is Opal Smile.  The pattern is just a simple vanilla sock.

I wanted to knit a pair for each of my daughters for Christmas but that was biting off a bit much.  Instead they each received a single sock with an IOU for it's mate.  lol 

Sock one is for my middle daughter, sock two is for my oldest daughter, and sock three (which was officially finished in January) is for my youngest daughter.  Now to knit their mates!

That's all for this post.  Happy 2015 y'all!

2012 in Review

Happy New Year!  One thing I did not accomplish in 2012 is keeping this blog updated.  As a matter of fact, I started this post on New Year's eve and you see it's just now hitting blog land!  It's a good thing I don't have hundreds of followers anxiously awaiting my next post.  As modern technology improves, I sometimes start to feel left behind.  Like what the heck is a hashtag and why do you need it?  I try too keep up but I do not stay on the cutting edge.  I'm somewhere near the caboose.  I just got a smartphone for Christmas and the darn thing is too smart for me!  I think I have discovered a few cool new things that will help me with my blogging.  Hopefully I will do better this year!  On to my accomplishments, and not in order of completion.......... 

Pillowcases!  I love making these things.  They are instant sewing gratification!

Owls on the left for my youngest grandaughter, middle flowers for my niece to match her quilt, and Spiderman for my youngest daughter!  I make them using the "sausage" method.  An excellent YouTube tutorial can be found  here.

 

A bird themed quilt for my first great niece.

And scarves.....lots of scarves!!!!  I offered to make a couple of scarves for a lady at my church to use for an Alzheimer's fundraiser.  I said "a couple".  She heard "make scarves for a fundraiser".  I ended up making around 20 scarves!  I did have helpers who knitted 5 or 6 for me and it was for a good cause.  This is in addition to the scarves I made for family and friends. 

They are so easy to knit.  Honestly, you do not even need to know how to knit to make them!

I went a little hog wild and have tons of skeins of this stuff!

I don't know what possessed me to buy this yarn in every color available!

Sashay Mambo

Starbella NightClouds

My first attempt at knitting ripples.  The yarn is Acacia Yarns Sweet Dreams baby yarn, colorway 037.  I purchased it online from The Yarn and Fiber Company.  I fondled this yarn at the Mid-Atlantic quilt show in Feb. so I knew I would like it.  I need to finish it for grandbaby #5.  She is due in June!

Bolero sweater for youngest grandaughter who was not in the mood to model!

This was an easy knit for a beginner although I struggled a little because I am dysfunctional in the concentration dept.  The yarn I used is Filatura Di Crosa Zara. It's a merino, so soft and yummy! the pattern can be found in Spring 2012 Creative Knitting Make it this Weekend.





 

Ok, guess that's it.  The majority of it anyway! 

 



In 2012 I discovered the following things:
Guacamole
Toms
The Walking Dead
My Fitness Pal
Picasa

2012 went by and I did not complete a single cross stitch!!  In the first week of this month, I did put 10-20 stitches in Red House Sampler to test out my birthday gift to myself, an OTT Lite with the little magnifying glass attachment.  I like it and it helps a lot but I have trouble with it because my sofa has over sized arms.  No worries, I'm on the hunt for new living room furniture anyway!
No promises, goals, or resolutions!  I have lots of ideas for 2013 but since you never know what life is going to throw at you, I don't plan too far ahead!  That's all for now!  Thanks for visiting!

Alive and Well in Hot & Humid Virginia

Knitting News:
I have been attempting to knitting for 17 months now.  All I can say about that is.....time and patience!!  Both of which I lack, however, I have to admit that a lot is learned from screwing up!  It's easy stuff, I just do not pay proper attention to what I am doing. period.  That said, here is what I have accomplished:

This is Kiley's sweater.   It's called Bolero and the pattern can be found in Creative Knitting Make it this Weekend. 
 

 Although Kiley appears to be unhappy with her new sweater, she was just sleepy and not thrilled that MeMe was trying to take her picture.  Not to mention it doesn't match her outfit.  The yarn I used is Filatura Di Crosa Zara. It's a merino, so soft and yummy! This was my first project that required blocking.

I'm addicted to making these scarves with Starbella yarn (Nightclouds above) and Sashay yarn (Mambo below),   I have at least 10 skeins of this stuff in my yarn stash and I keep buying more!

Quilting News in next post.  I hope you are having a wonderful summer and somehow staying cool!



A Round TUIT

I always struggle with how to begin a new post after not posting for an extended period of time. Should I just dive back in as if my last post was yesterday? Should I try to explain “where I’ve been”? Apologize for being a “bad blogger”? Merely say “I’m back!” I’ve even used the famous “Wow! I can’t believe it’s been two months since I last posted!” I know I’m not alone in “neglecting my blog”. Even when I’m not posting, I’m keeping up with the blogs I follow. I see many types of bloggers. There are those who post daily, those who post weekly, and those who post a few times per month. They are Bloggers. They post with some kind of regularity. Then there are those who post randomly. Like me. I am a random blogger. It's simple...when I get a round to it, I post.

Yarn News – This month marks one year since I started to knit. My progress has been fair. I have made two baby afghans, two baby hats, and several dishcloths. I’ve attempted socks and after a month of not being able to “turn the heel”, I put sock knitting on the back burner. I will revisit sock knitting in the future. I haven’t crocheted anything since I picked up knitting. The Prayer Shawl group I started at my church is still going strong. We have given around 15 knit and crocheted shawls or lapghans to parishioners and friends.

Fabric News – I finished the quilt for my niece and gave it to her on Thanksgiving day. This was the first quilt I completely finished with machine quilting and hand sewn binding. The last quilt I finished was for my granddaughter. It was envelope style (no binding) and quilted with ties. My first two pieced quilts (pictured on my blog header) are still waiting for binding. Sometimes I just have to ask myself… “Woman! What are you waiting for??”

In some things, I am lazy. In others, I am damn lazy! LOL It’s the truth!

I made an Autumn candle mat and Christmas table runner for my daughter. I also began making seasonal candle mats for my oldest two daughters. They were going to be Christmas gifts but now they will just be random gifts. I’ve also made several crochet hook keepers. I love to make these. They are so fun and easy!

Thread News – Not much stitching going on here. I’d lost my stitching mojo. I blame this partly on knitting and sewing, but mostly blame it on my eyes! I am in mourning over the loss of my wonderful, perfect eyesight. I find it deeply depressing that I can no longer see my needle work without the aid of glasses! However, I sat down Sunday evening to watch the Super Bowl and I pulled out my stitching. DH said Wow, you haven’t done that in a while!  After only 30 minutes of stitching, I realized how much I LOVE to stitch and how much I have missed it! I do not love knitting this much! I think I have my mojo back!! Albeit I have to use the dang readers, but the desire is back. Knitting is something I can do on my lunch break at work. Hello stitching, I’m back!

To beat the proverbial dead horse I must say……. too many hobbies, not enough time!!

I planned to have more photos in this post, but my camera battery is dead.  It figures!  If I wait to post until I charge the battery, well you know......this post won't get posted and two more months will go by.
Thanks for visiting!  I hope you will leave a comment to let me know you were here.
'Til next time..................

Happy Fall Y'all!

I can't believe it's already the last week of October!  I have not even bought a pumpkin yet!  Now it's time to start thinking about Christmas shopping!!  Only two months until the big day!
I have been working on my Red House Sampler.  I really must finish it this year.  I want to start something new!

Red House Sampler started Dec. 30, 2009

I managed to get a little sewing accomplished this weekend.  I worked on a quilt for my niece which is long overdue to her. I've had the fabric since February.  Tonight I finished the quilt top.  I hope to complete it this weekend.  I have enough fabric leftover to make a matching quilt for her Bitty Baby.  I sure wish I would have made this sooner so her Mom could have seen it.  I'm such a procrastinator!!

My niece loves ladybugs and flowers

Last but far from least........the picture you are really here to see!  :)  

Baby Matthew - Oct. 19, 2011 -  9 lb. 10.5 oz.  22.5 in.

We are so happy to welcome baby Matthew in our family.  He is such a sweet baby.  I now have two grandsons and two granddaughters!  I thank God for these wonderful blessings!  I am truly amazed at how quickly time is flying by!  Two of my three daughters are grown, married, and each have two children of their own.  Wow!
Thanks so much for your comments and emails regarding my SIL.  She was truly an amazing person!
Thanks for visiting!  Have a great week!