Archive for the ‘Family and Friends’ Category

Happy Socks Happy Feet

January 12, 2015

happy 001   I bought the yarn at Knitters Day Out last Fall.  It has all my favorite colors.  The pattern is from Curiosity Cabinet 3.  I should say patterns.  I couldn’t make up my mind so they are different.  They have the rounded toe that I like rather than what the patterns wanted.

Since Christmas, I have been in repair mode.  I shortened my new pants, mended a hole in an old shirt that I can’t get rid of, and removed the elastic from two pairs of capris. I need to get some more elastic to finish them.

glove 001  This is a glove that I made my daughter last year.  Somehow they were caught in a hinge.  I’ve got my work cut out for me.

My Daughter’s Sweater

January 4, 2015

jenn sweater 008  I was very happy to complete this in time for Christmas. I just wish I had taken a picture of her wearing it.  Sometimes I wonder where I keep my brain.  Anyway, it fits very well and she was very happy with it.

This is a free Cascade pattern #W423.  I even used the same yarn and almost the same color.  I had trouble getting gauge so I tried using size 6.  That worked, but I didn’t like the look.  I stayed with size 7.  After calculating, I realized that I could follow the instructions for one size smaller than my original plan.  That worked perfectly.

Cascade Yarn has a great pattern selection.  I’ve made several over the years.  And they keep it up-to-date.  I had no trouble downloading it to my phone making it so convenient to carry with me.

 

Scrubs for Jasmine

December 20, 2014

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My daughter wanted to get Jasmine some scrubs for Christmas.  She is my son’s boarder and she went to school with my grandson.  We didn’t see much of anything so I volunteered to make her something.  The fabric we found is Marvel cartoon characters which she loves.  There were several interesting fabrics at the store.  She’s a nice person and I would be happy to make her some more.

This isn’t much of a post, but I’m still knitting a sweater for my daughter!

My Nativity is on display.  The tree can wait.

Lunch at the Bel-Loc Diner

December 6, 2014

mug 002

Monday was ‘Christmas Organizational Day’.  My daughter came over in the morning.  We got out our phones and notebooks.  Even though we can use our phones to keep track of everything, there is something about having a ‘notebook-that-tells-me-when-to-breathe’ to leaf through.  Our sons just look at us and roll their eyes.  We sat at my big old kitchen table(now my son’s) to hash things out and plan our day.  We decided on Towson, then Parkville, to shop this year.  Three stores were practically next to each other and the other two were close.  After a pretty successful shopping experience, we decided to get some lunch.

We were only a few blocks from the Bel-Loc Diner.  We hadn’t been for a couple of years, so we were ready for some good old diner food.  We were not disappointed.  They’ve had the same menu for a good fifty years.  I would imagine that some items have been added over the years and some have been removed, and, of course, prices have changed, but does that really matter?  Jenn got a fried ham and cheese sandwich and I got an egg salad sandwich.  Both came with a pile and ruffled potato chips and a pickle spear.  And the coffee was absolutely Perfect!

Nice Day for a Monday

November 24, 2014

When it’s 72 degrees and mostly sunny, it’s hard to be anything but happy.  It was great being outside in just shirt sleeves, even though I had to watch out for wet leaves. It rained last night.  Being clumsy sucks.  We opened all the windows and the back doors.  The animals had a grand time.  Sweetums washed sheets and hung them out.  I love the smell and the feel of air-dried sheets.

glasses 003   New glasses!  I was surprised to find some frames that I really liked this year.  Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Mission Accomplished

November 1, 2014

I told myself last May that I was going to make two vests to go with two new blouses.  They would have to be quiet enough to go with several other things, too.  This is not easy for me.  My favorite colors are red and orange.

blouses 006

Since I have very little blue, except for jeans, I thought this would be a nice change.  It is sock weight yarn using a size six needle with an easy lace pattern.  It’s Crystal Palace Panda Soy or Maize or both.  I’m not certain.  I picked it up cheap somewhere.

blouses 011

I think I showed you this one.  Anyway, the brown is some old Noro that I picked up in Gap, PA one year.  The other is cotton tape that I got at Blue Heron on sale.  Mitered squares are so much fun for me.  I wonder if I will ever get tired of making them.

And now, I can start on my daughter’s sweater.  Yeah.  Sweetums made a fire this afternoon, so I wound the yarn by the fireplace.  So cosy.

Hallowe’en Costumes

October 16, 2014

Just when I thought that I would never have to make another Hallowe’en costume, along comes my grandson.  He’s in college.  He’s twenty.  It’s not something I expected.  But, he’s full of ideas.  I wonder where he gets that from?  He wants it for a party.  It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he doesn’t dress up first thing in the morning and wear it to class.  He’s that kind of kid.  One year he  got a McDonald’s uniform and went to school as McZombie.  He even had a name tag.

This year, it’s Scarecrow from Batman, the super scary one in the video games.

IMG_0574    sukoshicon_destin___batman__scarecrow_by_fenyxdesign-d4m0t0i

I found these pictures on-line.  See what I mean?

He has already made the thing for his hand.  My daughter says he did a great job.  She borrowed my glass head to make the canvas face.  I was asked to make the pants and hood.  My machine can handle pleather and faux suede more easily than hers.  I’m also better at improvising.  She likes patterns with nice directions–a ‘in the box’ sort of person.  Which is fine.  She gets things done.  She can keep the rest of us from running amuck.  And she promised to take lots of pictures.

 

There’s High Tide

October 4, 2014

baby and high tide 004

Then there’s really high tide.

baby and high tide 027

Even Sweet Baby Rue had to have a look.

baby and high tide 016

 

Knitters Day Out Market

September 30, 2014

I had completely forgotten about KDO.  It’s held every September in the Harrisburg PA area.  I had not been there for several years.  Part of the reason was probably because twice  I signed up for classes and twice I had to cancel.  Was somebody trying to tell me something?

When I got Beth Brown-Reinsel’s monthly newsletter, I had an urge to go.  It was too late to get into any classes, but the market had several dealers that I did not recognize.  I told myself that I had already  taken Beth’s classes, but Nancy Bush had one that I would have liked to take.  Oh well.  I would have to be happy with the market.

The trip would take an hour and a half from Reisterstown.  A companion would be nice.  I immediately thought of my friend Diana.  After a few e-mails and a phone call, we were all set.  She showed up  about 15 minutes.  I just knew that was going to happen, but I still didn’t manage to get myself ready on time.  I reminded myself that we were just going to the market.

The trip up was a bit of a headache.  US83 was had more tractor-trailers than anything else.  You’ve got to watch them.  There’s no telling when they will fall over on you.  We managed to get to our exit without being flattened.  And it was closed.  CLOSED??!!  Thank goodness for GPS. We made so many turns that I had no idea which direction I was going.  The rest of the trip was uneventful.  I am so glad Diane was with me.

The whole market took less than an hour.  It was fun.  Except for Manning’s, the dealers were all new.  We both found something to buy so the trip was successful.

KDO 001  I had to buy sock yarn.  I also got some alpaca/silk from Blue Sky.  Diana found some pretty fleece.  She likes to spin and weave.

 

Sweetums jr Stopped In

September 6, 2014

He had been at Bethany Beach for the week.  A couple of weeks ago, he said he’d be bringing Liz and Chris.  Well.  It was Liz and Chris and Chris2 and Erin.  My first thought was, ‘Damn.  I’m going to have to clear off the dining room table.’  Yeah.  I know.  It is something I’ve been wanting to do for months.  Just not right now.  They being young and healthy, I put them to work and it was finished in no time.  Of course, now I have to clear my cutting table, my sewing cabinet and my buffet.  It was a lot of stuff.  I threw the quilt down the stairs as it was Cora’s favorite napping place.  What?  You don’t keep a quilt on your dining room table?

Fortunately, I had bought a pork shoulder a few days earlier and two  packages of rolls.  It had been slowly falling apart in the slow cooker since the night before.  In the morning, I skimmed off the fat and added ingredients for barbeque and let it simmer for a few more hours.   A little sample told me it was really good.

When the herd showed up, I sliced onion and tomato, got out cheese, pickles, hot sauce, and anything else that looked good in the refrigerator.  Oh, yeah.  And two big cans of baked beans.  Half an later, it was all gone.  I asked if anyone wanted dessert.  And there went the chocolate dipped ice cream cones.  Silly me for thinking there would be some left for our supper.

And did I mind?  Not in the least.  These were a great group of people.  We sat around and chatted for a couple hours.  We were very happy to  see our son so happy and completely at ease.  When they left, my son gave me a big hug, then so did the rest of them.  What fun.