Monday, March 30, 2015

It's been 16 years....

I did finish my Guernsey Wrap from Brooklyn Tweed.


I still have to block it, but I will get to that.  Sometime.  lol!  I used Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Soot.

I started a new project -- it's the Messalina Shawl by Kay Jones of the Bakery Bears Podcast.  I love their podcast and I love knitting this shawl as well!


This is my progress so far.  I'm using Clara Yarn Cormo 2.0 in Sky -- I'm enjoying knitting for the first time with Cormo wool.

If you enjoy knitting podcasts, do check out the Bakery Bears.  :D

Something exciting happened this weekend.  The father type and I bought a car!  My old car was 16 years old, and I didn't trust it for much besides very local trips.  So this is a wonderful happening for me!  A rare treat!

Here are a couple of relics from when the kids were tiny that I found in my car.  Proof of how old the car is -- and how often I thoroughly clean out my car.  lol!


Here's my new car!


I love my new Honda CRV!


Love the color so so much!  It's called something like Mountain Air.  lol!

The father type and I took the car for a drive Sunday.  And where else would I elect to go but a yarn store?


We went to White Barn Farm,  and what a lovely store it is!


And it turns out there was a Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl going on.  I would have loved to go on the yarn crawl, but I figured one yarn store was tempting enough!


Here's my stash from White Barn Farm -- all locally made yarns, and all lovely!


We also went into the "downtown" area of New Paltz, wandered into book stores and chocolate stores, and had burritos at a yummy place.


It was great to take a drive in the new car on a lovely, sunny (if chilly) day.

While the father type and I were enjoying the weekend,  the girl child went to visit her brother in Boston.  They kept me somewhat up to date on their ventures, but not entirely -- of course.  lol!  Here is one picture the girl child sent me, from Newbury Street.  Can't remember the name of the store with the window display of sewing machines, but my girl knows I love that window!  See my babies in the window?


I recently moved things around a tiny bit and put a bench in front of one of Mia's favorite windows.  She seems to enjoy it.


Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week.  I'm still rooting for spring!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Warning: not much to show here

I didn't work on anything this week but the Guernsey Wrap.


I'm over halfway now.  Slow but sure.  I'm using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Soot.

As you know, it was my sweet boy's 21st birthday on Friday.  Here are a few pics from his day.




And then we had to say goodbye to my baby Sunday.  His Spring break went by so fast.



A certain someone seems a bit down -- missing her boy.


Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week.  Come on Spring!


Thursday, March 19, 2015

The big 21

I don't know how this happened.  But it did.  Way too fast.  My baby went from this


To this


In the blink of an eye.

I'm so proud of my sweet boy.  To watch him grow and mature into the talented, smart, lovely man he's become has been all I could ask for as a parent.

Happy 21st birthday to my baby.  Don't forget to drink responsibly.  :D  I love you.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Spring has sprung? Fingers crossed....

I started something new, from my stash, which is always nice.


This is the Guernsey Wrap from Brooklyn Tweed.  I'm using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the Soot colorway.  I love the woolen spun nature of the yarn, but I hate the flotsam that is still in the yarn as a result of the woolen spun.  I guess there are trade offs!

I didn't have to do much if anything in the way of chipping ice or shoveling snow this week.  My shoulder really really liked that.  lol!  So I added another fussy cut star to my very slowly growing quilt.


This week has been a huge contrast to the past weeks of winter.  The temps have been in the 40s and low 50s during the day and the snow and ice has been melting.  There is still way too much snow on the ground for my tastes, but at least we are seeing some pieces of ground here and there.

Another sign of spring is this.


My baby is home for spring break!  Hooray!


We are happy.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week.  And that spring is here to stay!!


Monday, March 9, 2015

Coming out of hibernation??

This will be a boring post, I'm afraid.  All I've really worked on this week is my 3 Color Cashmere (& silk) Cowl.  And I finished it!


I used Miss Babs Sojourn in Coos Bay (light blue), Blackwatch (darker blue), and Sable.  I did run low on the Coos Bay, which is why the interesting mix of blues toward the top on the lace section.  It was a fun knit though!  I really enjoyed having an interesting row to knit among the straight stockinette rows as I knitted along.  Plus the color changes.

Here is a pile of my knitted woolies for warmth:


If you work your way from top to bottom, they are the 3 Color Cashmere Cowl, the Moebius cowl from Vogue Knitting, the Walking Tour Scarf, and the Wear With All Stole.


I didn't work on my Fussy Cut Friday star quilt this past Friday.  I was too busy chipping at the thick layer of ice that formed on the driveway from the first part of the multi-day storm Tuesday into Wednesday, plus more snow on top of the ice crust (at least an inch or two thick).  We actually got stuck on the driveway once on Thursday after the second storm, the ice was so bad.   Here is a pic of me with the ice chipper that the father type took to show how high the snow piles are along the driveway.  I'm 5' 2" so that will give you an idea.


Anyway, my hands and finger muscles get so sore from the ice chipping that I can't hold a needle to sew.  So knitting was the answer, thank goodness!  It's nice that knitting doesn't require gripping something.  lol!

I heard somewhere that we've gotten something like 52" of snow this year.  Nothing compared to the almost record (or maybe they've reached the record?) 106" or so of snow in Boston.  But it's still way too much.  And the ice was even worse.  (It started out as slush, and then froze.  Ugh.)

The father type and I braved the end of the snow storm on Thursday to go into NYC for a concert.


I think by this time, you could call me a true Chris Thile/Punch Brothers groupie.  lol!  They were wonderful, of course!  Best band ever!

Here are a few sights we saw along the way.


                                Ice on the Hudson out the train window.


Verdi Square in the snow.


A view of the lobby from the waiting area outside the loge.


A glimpse of the Beacon Theatre from the loge.  A really pretty theatre!



Punch Brothers!  Looks like it's on TV or something.  lol!

Mia has been coming out of hibernation from the end of the storm on Thursday on.  It's like having her back from a long absence.  lol!



Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week!  And that we all thaw out where such is needed desperately!  Come on spring!


Sunday, March 1, 2015

It's March -- and it's snowing. What else is new?

Yup.  It's Sunday and it's snowing.  How unusual.  Sigh.

Anyway, I've been knitting.  The rams have appeared on Rams & Yowes.


Boxy worsted is getting longer.  Much faster than the Boxy in fingering weight.  Much more satisfying.


And I started another new project.  Mostly because I've wanted a cowl like this one and need it to keep warm.  It's the 3 Color Cashmere Cowl using Miss Babs Sojourn yarn (cashmere and silk).  Yum!


I'm not used to slippery yarns anymore after all the Shetland color work.  But it's coming along.  So soft!

The poor EPP quilt is going slowly.  My shoulder just does not appreciate English paper piecing.  Oh well.


Mia has been hibernating so much recently that I haven't gotten many pics of her.  But here she is a week or so ago -- getting into my clothes.  Sigh.



Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week!