"And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson......"

This is Deidre.. Deidre Dawn... DeiderDawn.. Deiderdaughter...
Daughter of my heart... you get it.
Today is her birthday, her 33rd birthday.
Yes....she IS blowing bubbles.

Happy Birthday, Daughter of my heart.

(Thanksgiving Day)

She is a very brave young woman. She married my oldest son, Aardron, and made babies with him, AND he is still very much alive...heh.... Seriously people, if I had handpicked a woman to join our family I couldn't have done this well.

(Christmas morning....early)

I first met Deidre when she was still in highschool, a teenager! Beautiful, funny, always ready to chip in and help out, she was at our home a lot. She treated me with respect and would look me straight in the eye during our conversations. (those 'other' girls were intimidated by me) Pretty much seemed very natural having her around and my son adored her (yes, he still does). Even if he hadn't....I still would have. She and Aardron met in 1991 and have been hangin' ever since. That's a long time, they were very young so I really find it all quite amazing. They lived together 4 years before making the union official, it was already a union....they were married in '95...had Conor in '97...then Gracie in '03.

(at a family wedding)

I believe souls travel in packs...I do. Deidre has always been just so familiar to me, same goes for her Mom and Grandmother Beth and get this...they believe the same thing...that souls travel in packs, you might would think that was amazing (and/or craziness) but I really don't because I really do believe it. Proof enough for me.


How many DILs out there invite their MILs in for the birthing of their children? Mine did. See? amazing.You just cannot imagine how much that meant to me.
Now see, I'm having a little trouble writing this post because as with my own, from my body, children, there's just so much information, so much in the way of emotions...that my brain just kind of shuts down and I can't get it all expressed. Believe me though, this woman means the world to me, and the rest of the family. We are so very blessed and happy to have her. She's a real and exceptional human being.

(Dropping Gracie off this morning, on her way to work, yes, she DID have to go to work on her birthday!)

A month or so ago, it was still cold here, she was admiring the Calorimetry I made for Gracie and made the comment "You could make me one of those for my birthday"....



Knit with US6 circs, artful yarns shakespeare, 100%wool...I did modify the pattern just a bit, in that on the last row before binding off I K2tog (#7&8 stitches) across, to pull it in just a bit, it hugs the head a bit better that way.

Happy Birthday Deidre, I love you dearly.

Happy Knitting to all and continue to make.good.time.

Oh, the Red Red Robin goes bob bob bobbin' along........

Actually, the Red Robins have been bobbin' along for quite a while now...

How was your weekend?

Mine wasn't what you'd call quiet, or peaceful, in fact, it got dangerously close to overwhelming but everyone seemed to survive,(barely).

I will say this, Spring is here, a very warm Spring, even for us. The redbud trees are in full glory, same with the Bradford pears, they look to be snow flocked. No, I don't have photos of them but I did see plenty of them over the past couple of days. I have this,

these are in one of my flower beds, does anyone know what they are? The green comes up first, of course, but they start coming out while it's still very cold, then a lovely show of bright and sunny yellow flowers, they'll die completely back when the weather gets warmer, during the summer you'd never know they had been there. I got them through getting another plant from a friend, they kind of hitched a ride in the pot with the other plant, had no idea until the next late winter when they started coming up, the flowers being an amazing treat. They spread. nicely. and the thing is, you don't even realize it's happening.

Treats spreading around and not knowing where they'll turn up next.....it's a bit like this that arrived in the post today....
Look. Can you see that wee bitty teapot? Is that not an amazing little treasure? (you can click on photo for larger view)



This 'little black bag', she's so soft, the skin lotion (makes my hands so soft) and yes, that IS a skein of Tofutsies! I know, not a great photo but let me tell you, the colours? Look back up at the photos of that plant, the green, and the yellow, exactly, now throw in some of those wood hyacinths/grape hyacinths, that blue and you.are.there. We are talking Spring/Summer socks. Dianne sent these to me, just because. She made the bag, felted it, it is so incredibly soft, and I love the colour combination here, she tells me it's the perfect size for carrying a sock WIP, and I believe her (I've also loaded a sock WIP in it so not only do I believe her, I know!)

Dianne, thank you so very much, you are sweet, kind, and thoughtful beyond words. Can I just say.....if we ever get to go on a picnic.........seriously, I'm thinking this lady could pack THE picnic!

See this?



Remember my Mom's birthday? 2 March? Yes, well, I AM behind on the knitted gifts.....the mate to this is ready for the heel turn, but....DIL's birthday is thursday...she's asked for a Calorimetry, just in time for Summer...think I can knit one up in time?



Happy Knitting to all and continue to make.good.time.

Done & Done! Post by Gretchen

I have to say that this is one very fine shawl pattern. Intriguing but not difficult. Repetitive but not mindless. And just when you get tired of doing one thing, you got something new to do. This was the first shawl I’ve done that starts at the base and grows up and out while you keep the base on the needles, and, to tell you the truth, I was a little nervous. It never looked right on the needles – you know? In fact I was looking at the earlier photo and it sort of looks like an ultrasound to me.

So when I actually took it off the needle to lay it out in its natural triangular shape I was at once relieved and mystified. How’d it do that?

And the shrinkage? Well, I will say as it came off the pins it sprung back a little, but not too badly – no need to don safety glasses or anything. But next time – it’s gonna be all wool.

My stats:
Yarn – Kitten Mohair from SandnesGarn
Needle - Size 7 circular needle from the KnitPicks Options
Finished Size – altitude 30”, base 58”

Come on in.....

Yikes, it's been a full week since the last post. Whatever have I been doing? Knitting Ms. Swallowtail, of course. I love this little shawl. I have enjoyed this project so very much that I'm pretty sure I'll go back to it for at least a couple more dates.
Photo heavy here today.....blocking Ms. Swallowtail on Friday morning, gave her a gentle bath and the only place I have to block anything that size (I know, it's not that big, still) is our bed. So, would you care for a mini-tour of the bedroom? I have to admit that I love the photos where you can see the homes in the background...I do, I just love them. So, come on in....here's the basic view when you walk through the door...

This is Bobby's corner....

This is Gracie's nap bed, she's 4 years old now but still likes getting in this for her naps...go figure.

Gracie has always had an intense fascination with these guys...always....she calls them her Angel Men.



My side of the bed...

My little highboy...

Stuff on it...

That's Bobby, one taken back in '77 or '78 and the other just a couple of years ago...the little one in the older photo is son Avery, he's nearly 32 now.

This is a photo of my Dad, it's actually a great photo of him but my photo of the photo leaves a lot to be desired....I miss him fiercely.

The other dresser...

The Fan. it runs on a low setting at night, we seem to sleep better with that whitenoise, anyone else out there do that?

Ms. Swallowtail blocked out. I am so charmed with this yarn, the colours, its subtle beauty.

Pre-flight resting, will wing its way to its heart's desire this afternoon....to live with JoLynn.

Happy Knitting to All and continue to make.good.time.

Swallowtails....as in two of them.

Gretchen and I are writing a dual post showing the Swallowtails in progress...actually after finishing the Budding Lace 1 and Budding Lace 2 charts.

Gretchen first.....


Alrighty then. Thanks for all the birthday greetings! I had a fabulous day – really great. I don’t really feel 50 years old – more like, I don’t know, 32. Imagine the daily shock I get everyday when I look in the mirror! I enjoyed my day, and it started by seeing Marianne’s post. I am so lucky to have such friends.

It seems that people are interested in seeing our progress in the Swallowtail Shawl KAL. Marianne and I decided that we would stop at the last repeat before we start the edgings to compare. This gave me enough time to go out and get a digital camera (love it better than my old Polaroid!) and learn how to use it (enough). So that is where we are at.



Here's a close-up. Note the fine little fuzziness! Love this yarn, really.



I used a yarn called Kitten Mohair from Sandnes. Size 7 needles from the KnitPicks Options set (my favorite Christmas present from myself). So far I also love this pattern. If I did another couple of repeats, I may have even gotten the pattern memorized (it’s only 3 pattern rows and 6 stitches wide; maybe you want to skip to Marianne’s part of this blog for intellectual stimuli). It’s really very pretty.

But my yarn… I have a big and growing concern about it. Maybe you can help. In spite of the lovely soft brown color and the very manageable halo from the mohair, I am very afraid of this yarn. It is 50% “courtelle.” From my guest post you know how I feel about knitting with fur from small domesticated (or not) animals. This was my primary worry until I learned from the little people in Google that courtelle is not a type of kitten, but a fancy word for acrylic. I felt enormous relief.

It was fleeting. A word floated up in my happiness and blew it into very small chnibbles.
Blocking.

Will a yarn that’s half acrylic, 20% wool and 30% mohair block like wool and stay put, or will I have to wear safety glasses to avoid getting snapped in the face when the shawl is released from its pins? Stay tuned. The nups will probably distract me anyway.

_______________________

Alright, for some reason it won't let me add my images.....let me work on this a minute...perhaps I need to start another new post....hmmmm.
Be right back.

OK folks...I need some help...

you know when you make a new post and you have your icons...and one is add image? I seem to not have any of those icons......they're not there...anyone able to help me out????? I need my icons back...
***********************************

Bobby is still trying to figure it all out, in the meantime I was able to have the icons in WIExplorer...go figure. (but I was nearly stroking out as I'm making and baking cream puffs for a birthday celebration this evening and I'm running late...and Gretchen, it had nothing to do with anything you did, I'm the dork, and I still don't know what I did or what happened.....)

Here's mine, I'm using Knitpicks merino lace weight, Shadow in the Oregon Coast colour (I love this) and using US4 circulars.





I love the colours in this yarn, they're very subtle and earthy....soft. I'm going to want to make myself one of these out of the same yarn, I love it so much.


Happy Knitting to All and continue to make good time.

Dashing by.....

Just a quick little catch up here...the Snickerdoodles Gracie and I made the other day, we made some plain....they were still good. Oh, OOPS, went looking for the cookies photo it seems I didn't get it copied and into my other file...so another day, instead here's the Smooch.....



Gracie....



Gracie showing her ponytail, she loves her ponytail mainly because the girls cannot stand to have hair in her face, at all. Before it got long enough to pull back into a ponytail she kept begging for a buzz-cut like her brother, Conor, has his hair, heh, I would've done it. Hey, it's hair. Hair grows. Ok, if not buzzed then cut really short, short enough to get it out of her face. I'm betting her hair would curl up again. Oh well.

Gracie and I went on an outing yesterday, you see, the lys closest to me is moving, changing it's name even, and right now they've put everything on sale...that's left...50% off, now for the first two weeks of the sale it was 30 or 35% off and you know, since I'm knitting from my stash I couldn't be tempted....but Gracie had never been in a yarn store. Right. I had to take her. Quite a bit of yarn left but WHUMP....oh dear, I fell off the wagon, just a little falling off mind you, we saw this......


Gracie naturally loved it, sure, it's pink. But it's a pretty heathery pink...and it was 2 bucks per ball. I'm thinking a Swallowtail for Gracie....heck, for her it would seem like a full sized (almost) shawl. Whatever was a Grandma to do? We had to bring it home with us, and that was all there was of it too. Back on that wagon! (it's a fine weight, could be considered sock yarn, eh?).

Tomorrow there will be Swallowtail photos...progress photos of both shawls. It will be a dual post.

Until then, Happy Knitting to All and continue to make good time.

Dearest Gretchen,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

Yes, today is Gretchen's Big Day, the Big 5-0 Day.

Our very wonderful guest blogger has become quite the friend and I've been finding out all sorts of things about her.

She's funny, no, I take that back, she's hilarious. She's smart, no, make that brilliant, and although I've never even seen a photo of the woman I know she's beautiful. Her beauty just shines through, you know?
She is a Knitter, she is a Spinner...she is so very accomplished. She leaves wonderful comments.

This is really quite a bit tricky in that we've been emailing each other, and I could write quite a bit about her....but emails are personal, are they not? So, I'm pondering what can be shared about this woman, and one of the things I feel safe in sharing and I'm terribly envious of is this.......she and a group of friends have been meeting monthly for years.....I'm talking YEARS....for an evening of fun and games, yep, they play games, visit, catch up on everyone's lives, eat good food, and seriously, could it get much better? (ok, if everyone there knit/spun, I know)
To get it straight I'm going to paste in what she wrote me, because really, it's quite lovely.


"Tonight I have a couple social commitments - the first is what we lovingly refer to as the Trivia Girls. Way back in '84 when Trivial Pursuit came out, 6 of us got together to play and eat. And talk and laugh. Half of us were teachers, the others were nurses, so there was all sorts of stories to tell and pass along. Ultimately, some of the six have gone, but this current group has been together the longest - I have to guess around 12-15 years. We've gone through kids growing up, divorces, marriages, kids' marriages and divorces, grandkids, death and moving. We used to do the snacky kinds of things and I guess we finally got sick of waking up the next morning with a cream-cheese hangover, so we switched to a roughly organized potluck dinner kind of deal. Amazingly, it has only been in the last year or two that we've introduced wine/beer into the equation. Most of the time we will make a half-hearted attempt at playing something - our newest game was Blokus, but we've played Chinese Checkers, Pictionary - whatever. And sometimes we just sit and eat and yak. Love those women."

I am so envious.

She and I are doing a little Swallowtail KAL, and I'm quite certain she's ahead of me, as I'm just getting ready to start the 12th repeat on the second chart...just not getting the knitting time around here. (more about that in some future post)

Today is a Gracie Day and she'll be here soon so this will be quite short. Gracie and I will be singing happy birthday to Ms. Gretchen, we'll also be making and baking some Snickerdoodles from Gretchen's recipe and will be gleefully eating them in her honour!

Happy Birthday, Gretchen, with love.

Some games for the birthday party?

You Are Jean Grey

Although your fate is often unknown, you always seem to survive (even after death). Your mind is your greatest weapon, literally! Powers: telepathy and telekinesis, the ability to project thoughts into the mind of others, communication with animals

Which of the X-Men Are You?

(see, I AM a redhead! pussy)

You Are Spider-Man

Quick and agile, you have killer instincts (literally). And that kind of makes up for the whole creepy spider thing.

What Superhero Are You?

You Are Best Described By...

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

Happy Knitting to All and continue to make.good.time.

V.I.Bs

As in Very Important Birthdays.....I'll take them in order of date and they are..........

Julie aka Miss Anne Thropp of Wigdon Bog, turned 60 on the 28th of February, I love her. She was born and raised in a 'burb of London, crossed that big pond and ended up in Tulsa, of all places. It's still a bit of a mystery to me but I love the universe for directing her here, because......I love her. She's wicked funny, brilliant, a knitter....has beauty, charm and style that just won't quit. This woman can bake heaven disguised as cakes, cookies, all sorts of goodies, and her cooking....again, beyond delicious. Several years ago we took a tap dance class together and would meet up on Sunday afternoons to practice our 'routines' in the street in front of her house...heh, seriously, great fun was had by both of us, never mind what the neighbors might have been thinking. She is a letter/note/card writer extraordinaire, many times while I would be out of town/out of state on various jobs (way before telephone plans and pc days) and feeling a bit displaced and find a letter or card in the mailbox and reading her delightful letters just making my day. She still surprises me to this day with the notes and cards. Have I mentioned that I love her? I do. Have I mentioned just how much I love her? I made her these.


I used the Knitpicks Gloss, which is wool/silk in the burgundy colour, I really love this yarn, it's soft, unbelievably soft, we are talking merino wool and silk. The pattern is the Horcrux by Susan, I have of course modified it to fit my needs...as in higher stitchcount (60)and smaller needles (2.75mm)(note that the Gloss is a bit more substantial than the usual fingering weight sock yarns), whacked my favourite heel flap on it and other than that kept to the pattern, it makes for a fabulous sock.
Yep, handknit socks, that's how much I love her.


Today is my Mother's birthday, she was born in '33. Of course I love her, she is one of my closest friends. She's beautiful, loving, generous, funny, and quite talented in her painting. She's the ONE who put two sticks in my young hands and handed me string, taught me how to cast on, knit, and purl. She can knit, but she's not a Knitter....knitting is not soothing to her, knitting is not her close friend, it has been known to drive her batshit crazy. But oh how I thank her for teaching me those basic stitches, the rest I've learned on my own pretty much. Mom's pretty incredible, she has Gracie 3 days a week, whew, and during the months when school is out for the summer she has Conor also. They really love their Nanny/Granny...and they should....you might be asking what I've made for my mother's birthday and sadly, it's not made yet...she's very understanding about the knitting and the time thing...but yes, I have knit her socks...and remember the blue cashmere Fetching and Irish Hiking Scarf? Yeah, she's loved dearly and deeply and she knows it. We'll be taking her out to dinner either tonight (this is a Gracie day for her) or tomorrow night depending on how wiped out she feels after her Gracie day today.

Tomorrow is Jo Lynn's birthday, Jo is a walking miracle. She's just almost a year older than me (yes, I turned 53 a few weeks ago), she's beautiful, thoughtful, generous, an incredible cook and her baking is also heavenly...she's funny, sweet, brilliant, tender.....she also has a mouth on her that drops sailors to their knees begging either for mercy or lessons. Yep. She also has the incredible goodness in her soul that drops angels to their knees begging for the same.
The walking miracle bit? About 10 years ago she came down with a cold, had a hard time shaking it (she and her sweetie had a cafe, that's hard work, long hours) and she ended up collapsing and went into hospital where they ran tests, well that nasty virus had gone into her heart muscles and left quite a bit of damage and the bottom line was....the only thing that could be done in the long run was a heart transplant. Fastforward to Nov.'05...she got very sick and went back into hospital and stayed there, had a heart pump installed......and went on 'the list', finally in June, the 10th to be exact, she received a new heart, it was very dicey, came close to the unimaginable, and yet (and I thank the universe every.single.day.) she came through, is now home and has been doing alright, except yesterday I received an email that she has the flu. YIKES. So I'll fret until I know she's feeling better. (she's not much of a phone person, worse than I am) but seriously, can you imagine being in hospital for 8 months with NO privacy....granted there's quite a bit of that time she has no recollection of, we refer to those chunks of time as her Big Naps....
Yes, I love this woman, I knit her 3 pairs of socks during her stay in the hospital. I'm starting something special just for her.....never mind she won't be getting it ON her birthday, she'll understand and she'll forgive me. I can't even begin to try and express how I feel about this woman, she is so very dear to me.


In blogland.....you really must go visit Norma, check out the winning submissions for the Neologism Contest. yep, go on, read, laugh your butt right off.
Glenna has finished a Ribby Cardi, it's beautiful.
Kate has finished a Surprise Baby Jacket, as has Marianne, and although I don't know if Marianne has posted a photo of hers yet, she does have some very pretty knits up (scroll down) some beautiful lacey pink socks and her very pretty 'knickers'.
Wanda's Wednesday walk has a delightful surprise at the end, go say 'HI' to Wanda!
Noolie Julie is on her way to Boston this weekend to see B.B.King and work her yarn ho'ish ways with the yarn stores in the area.
Hege has made a really beautiful hat for a friend of hers...yes, go look...
Robin has gone to Hawk's Nest and I know I'll be waiting patiently to hear/read all about it when she gets back.....ahem.....(chomp chomp chomp, that damned bit...chomp chomp)...
Ms. K, what can one say....she has been completely smitten and charmed with mosaic knitting, she's become obsessed with it, and I, for one, besides encouraging her to just kick out the jams and go for it, am looking forward to seeing where this new love affair will take her....I'm thinking plenty of GOOD places!

Hoo boy, have I got a lot of links up there....and really, that's not even half what I wanted to put in, there's some beautiful knits out there, people....you are all exceptional!

Happy Knitting to All and continue to make.good.time.