Some times things work out....

     Blessed Saturday to All!

I have new shelves in my sewing room!  One whole wall is a closet and with these shelves I can store stuff, and most importantly, find the stuff I store!  These are my 4 youngest grandbabies adorning my new sheves.

These sewing room shelves are from 2 homes ago- circa 1985 or so.  The kids pictured here are now in their late 30's and the one on the left is daddy to the 4 littles above.

Amazing how the years fly by...

3,396 Miles

At 4:08 AM on March 1, 2013 we left this:

in Michigan for the first vacation we have taken 'just the two of us' in a long, long time. 

The first day we drove to Nashville, Tennessee.  Toured downtown, ate BBQ and shared a fabulous raspberry cheesecake  and thoroughly enjoyed the history in the city.  Saturday evening we went to the show at the Grand Ole Opry.  If you haven't been - it's worth the trip.  Country music has a way of mixing it's history with today that is very entertaining. 

Blake Shelton was the headliner the night we were there, and yes, I knitted in the seats!  :)

Sunday, we left Tennessee and traveled to Alpharetta, Georgia to visit my dear friend Max and her DS.  Scott and the gals hit it off right away- they talked football and golf :).  We shared a nice lunch, Max gave me a big tote of woolly leftovers to knit hats, I gave her a box of Michigan yarn, Shepherd's Wool from Stonehenge Fiber Mill in East Jordan Michigan, and DS gave Scott a tote full of snacks for the road.  This is the first time I have met Max- we are Ravelry friends and it truly felt like we had known each other for ever!  Thanks Max for welcoming us, we had a great time! 

We left Georgia and drove to Niceville, Florida  for a visit with Scott's high school coach and his wife.  Coach has always been a very important man in our lives and it was a privilege to visit with him again.  Talk ranged from our grand babies and their grand babies to a specific game in 1970 and back again!  We are looking forward to seeing them in Michigan this summer.    Still in Florida, stayed in Plant City and just happened to hit the Strawberry Festival.  The shortcake was spectacular!  

Then on to Lakeland which is the winter home of the Detroit Tigers.  In the 38 years years we've been married, a ball field of some kind has played a part in every anniversary and this one is no different. 

 

And, yes, I knitted in the seats.  The Tiger's won- Verlander rocked the house and Austin Jackson homered, I love baseball!

After the Tiger's, and a nasty traffic jam in Orlando, we drove to North Carolina to visit with my Uncle Richard.  Retired U.S. Army, Bronze Medal recipient and Viet Nam veteran, Uncle Richard shared the WWII scrapbooks he made in 1941 when he was in the 8th grade and gifted me with a couple of books from Aunt Ardella's massive collection.  The books will be treasured and used, Uncle Richard, as well as the heritage of fiber love that was passed on to me.  It was wonderful to see you, and we are looking forward to another visit.

We left North Carolina early and drove through the mountains of West Virgina.  Where we live, Michigan is very flat so mountains are a treat for us.  The scenery was incredible, the roads were good, and yes, I knitted and looked out the window- sometimes!  :D

ps.  That rock wall is gonna become a quilt one day :)

Next to the Ohio River, in Newell, West Virginia is the Homer Laughlin factory, I bought my first piece of Fiesta on our honeymoon and have been adding to it ever since.  This place is a mecca!  I loved it and could easily have spent long days and big dollars there :D  As it was, Scott had to rearrange the car to make room for the four boxes I couldn't leave without!  Next visit we will make time for the museum and some of the other pottery outlet stores-  ohhh! the colors!

Home again, we pulled into the garage at 5:12 PM on March 9th, it was great fun and it feels good to be back.  This trip was everything a vacation should be.

The souvenirs:  pine cones from Coach's backyard, sweet gum balls from Max's and Uncle Richard's yard, a piece of that cool stuff that hangs from all the trees down south and a paper doily from a great bacon cheeseburger restaurant.

And the road knitting:  4 pairs of fingerless mitts, 3 matching cowls and two baby hats :D

Knock-Off Bag

I saw this picture of a designer bag on-line. Very pricey! So I made my own version. Crocheted and felted, Cascade 220 fills the bill, and makes my version for about $15.oo - that makes me very happy!

Languishing on the UFO Pile

This blanket has been on my UFO shelf for, I'm embarrassed to admit it, at least 3 years.

The center is a large felted, garter stitch rectangle with a pieced and quilted border. The Geckos are batik panels I bought somewhere, sometime. and the back is pieced as well.

I like it very much :D

It's here, and I made the cover!

I'm very excited about the newest edition of Living Crafts Magazine. My Blankie Baby design is featured on the cover. I designed this toy for my grandsons so that they could have a quiet, smaller, snuggle blanket. It's been tested, and approved! I love the little model on the front - isn't she adorable?

The pattern for Blankie Babies appears on page 30 in the magazine. I sincerely hope you will enjoy it. This issue of Living Crafts is available from me directly, or on line at www.livingcrafts.com, or at my LYS www.backalleyfibers.com. The pattern alone can be purchased on www.ravelry.com.

A One Row Shawl

In an effort to plan some vacation knitting- by my definition knitting that doesn't require complicated stitching, pattern reading, or really small needles, plus I wanted a strong, servicable garment. After 6 or 7 attempts, I came up with this:

My One Row Shawl










I had this yarn, 2 balls of Melody and 2 of Mohair Royal




The Melody I used is color MS39, and the mohair color 12553.




I held one strand of the sock yarn together with 1 strand of the mohair on a size 7 needle.


I used the EZimmerman garter stitch edge, WYIF slip 1 as if to purl throughout. The finished garment 'cups' slightly and stays on my shoulders nicely.



One-Row Shawl Directions


Cast on 7 stitches

Knit 4 YO, K to last 2 stitches, YO, K2

keep repeating this row back and forth until your shawl is the size you are looking for. I added a 4 stitch I-Cord bind-off for a soft edge at the neck.
I'm gonna do this again with some handspun that I have- gotta love a simple knit! At least I do. :)