Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Technical Skills vs. Imagination...Which one do you choose?
Yesterday I was excited about my birthday, so I completely forgot to bring my knitting projects to knitting night. Brilliant, huh? So, Debra handed me a couple balls of yarn, a circular needle, and the directions..."Go! Knit something for the store." One of the balls was a tweedy brown wool...which I've never knitted with. The other was a totally sparkly green/blue/pink/gold ball of wonder. No clue what it is, but it sure is pretty. Anyway, I'm laughing at my imagination vs. technical skills. I immediately see a pretty handbag...with windowpanes in the tweed and kind of a spiderweb thing going on with the sparkly. And then a beautiful teal green satin lining. And I have absolutely no idea how to execute my vision. The biggest problem is that I have two balls of yarn with unknown yardage and I just don't know how far they will go. So, you know what? I'm going to wing it. I may as well draw up my design and maybe I'll be able to really complete it later on. It's my brother's birthday today! He was my birthday present when I was 8. Best gift ever! Happy Birthday, Dan!!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
It's My Birthday!
Hurray!!! I'm older than some and younger than others. That suits me just fine. I LOVE BIRTHDAYS and want to celebrate!!!!
I know that a lot of people don't like birthdays. I do. This year, I'm treating my birthday more like New Year's. I have some goals that I want to meet and I figure that my birthday is a real good place to start. So here are a few things that I have in mind:
1) Most of my food should be really yummy and nutritious...instead of really yummy and fattening. I'm calling it my "Lose two skeins" diet. ;-) Drives me crazy that almost every pattern goes up a couple skeins for each dress size. Yikes.
2) Plan to have every day end happy. I like being PollyAnna. I function better that way. No reason to be embarrased by that, and I want to keep it up!
3) Be a little bit creative most days. Knitting. Crocheting. Stamping/Card Making. Painting. Felting, maybe?
4) Clean a little something most days. After celebrating a LOT of birthdays, I'm finally on top of keeping the house reasonably clean. Or at least ready to be clean in less than an hour or two. Phew! So, I really want to keep that up.
5) Be thankful every day! I've got a Great life. Not everything is perfect all the time. Never will be. But, I'm happy most of the time. I have a husband that I love and who loves me back. (Sugar Twin).
I have a great family and friends...and I'm fortunate enough to be getting to know all of them better and better. I'm incredibly thankful for the people that I have in my life...especially the ones that give me hugs 20 times a day. Now he just needs to read my blog... :-)
I know that a lot of people don't like birthdays. I do. This year, I'm treating my birthday more like New Year's. I have some goals that I want to meet and I figure that my birthday is a real good place to start. So here are a few things that I have in mind:
1) Most of my food should be really yummy and nutritious...instead of really yummy and fattening. I'm calling it my "Lose two skeins" diet. ;-) Drives me crazy that almost every pattern goes up a couple skeins for each dress size. Yikes.
2) Plan to have every day end happy. I like being PollyAnna. I function better that way. No reason to be embarrased by that, and I want to keep it up!
3) Be a little bit creative most days. Knitting. Crocheting. Stamping/Card Making. Painting. Felting, maybe?
4) Clean a little something most days. After celebrating a LOT of birthdays, I'm finally on top of keeping the house reasonably clean. Or at least ready to be clean in less than an hour or two. Phew! So, I really want to keep that up.
5) Be thankful every day! I've got a Great life. Not everything is perfect all the time. Never will be. But, I'm happy most of the time. I have a husband that I love and who loves me back. (Sugar Twin).
I have a great family and friends...and I'm fortunate enough to be getting to know all of them better and better. I'm incredibly thankful for the people that I have in my life...especially the ones that give me hugs 20 times a day. Now he just needs to read my blog... :-)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Cake and Flowers
Photos on http://hopalong682003.livejournal.com
The Wedding Cake Afghan is really coming along now. And, I think that I've got the flowers/colors that I want to use as shown in the picture. I'll also have the smaller violets scattered throughout. But the golden yellows were in Robyn's bouquet. I'll do the sunflowers in yellow and then the violets will have the same yellow for the center. I haven't decided if I'll do the leaves or not, but I might! You'll just have to wait and see. :-)
Oh, and this is a picture of the card that I made for Dave...wait...the card that I was the "artistic director" of....thanks Deb!!!
The Wedding Cake Afghan is really coming along now. And, I think that I've got the flowers/colors that I want to use as shown in the picture. I'll also have the smaller violets scattered throughout. But the golden yellows were in Robyn's bouquet. I'll do the sunflowers in yellow and then the violets will have the same yellow for the center. I haven't decided if I'll do the leaves or not, but I might! You'll just have to wait and see. :-)
Oh, and this is a picture of the card that I made for Dave...wait...the card that I was the "artistic director" of....thanks Deb!!!
Monday, September 17, 2007
What's a Knitting Needle?
3 Days of Fun...and not a moment of knitting. Dave celebrated his 40th birthday on Saturday, so we had a really great couple days running around and doing birthday things. We went to the Fish Market in Del Mar on Saturday night. Very yummy and totally rich. I had tilapia in champagne butter with au gratin potatoes. Delicious and highly recommended. Dave had a smoked fish platter which he really liked...although he remembered that he's not a huge fan of lox. We went with Steve and Mike and Sarah, and then spent a lot of Sunday with Mike, Tim, and Chris. Football galore! The Cleveland/Cincinatti game was much fun to watch...especially since all of our favorites decided to totally tank. OK. I promise I will knit soon. :-) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVE!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Original post and pictures on http://hopalong682003.livejournal.com
Wedding Cake Afghan
Here it is! The first part of Robyn and Brett's Wedding Cake Afghan. I wrote the pattern myself and will post it after I finish the afghan and finish tweaking it. The pattern is inspired by their cake...only I'm taking some creative license and am adding layers of frosting. I've designed it around layers of basket weave.
Yarns are Homespun (Barrington) and Red Heart Baby Clouds (White). I liked the Baby Clouds because of the lofty frosting look that it gives.Here is how I'm assembling the cake:
2 Layers Barrington (Purple)1 Layer White Frosting1 Layer Barrington1/2 Layer White Frosting3 Layers Barrington 1/2 Layer White Frosting1 Layer Barrington1 Layer White Frosting2 Layers Barrington (Purple)Embellishments: Crocheted or Knit Violets and Wedding Info Embroidered. I may also decide to put a some sort of a fabric edging (perhaps a soft flannel) if the Homespun looks like it will fray a lot.This is roughly 4 skeins of Barrington and 2 skeins of the Baby Clouds. I may end up adding an extra couple skeins as a border if the afghan appears to be too narrow after it comes off the needles.
Tags: knitting - wedding cake afghan
Wedding Cake Afghan
Here it is! The first part of Robyn and Brett's Wedding Cake Afghan. I wrote the pattern myself and will post it after I finish the afghan and finish tweaking it. The pattern is inspired by their cake...only I'm taking some creative license and am adding layers of frosting. I've designed it around layers of basket weave.
Yarns are Homespun (Barrington) and Red Heart Baby Clouds (White). I liked the Baby Clouds because of the lofty frosting look that it gives.Here is how I'm assembling the cake:
2 Layers Barrington (Purple)1 Layer White Frosting1 Layer Barrington1/2 Layer White Frosting3 Layers Barrington 1/2 Layer White Frosting1 Layer Barrington1 Layer White Frosting2 Layers Barrington (Purple)Embellishments: Crocheted or Knit Violets and Wedding Info Embroidered. I may also decide to put a some sort of a fabric edging (perhaps a soft flannel) if the Homespun looks like it will fray a lot.This is roughly 4 skeins of Barrington and 2 skeins of the Baby Clouds. I may end up adding an extra couple skeins as a border if the afghan appears to be too narrow after it comes off the needles.
Tags: knitting - wedding cake afghan
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Cali - the Bunny Roast
Photo posted on http://hopalong682003.livejournal.com
I've wanted to get this picture for ages. Cali, our mini-lop, loves to press up against the side of her cage. Her fur always get pressed through the wire...which makes her look like a little bunny roast. All she needs is twine! If you notice little brown velveteen rabbit in the background, you can see that Rex has become Dr. Destructo. He was having a great old time systematically tearing his litter box apart in rings.
I've wanted to get this picture for ages. Cali, our mini-lop, loves to press up against the side of her cage. Her fur always get pressed through the wire...which makes her look like a little bunny roast. All she needs is twine! If you notice little brown velveteen rabbit in the background, you can see that Rex has become Dr. Destructo. He was having a great old time systematically tearing his litter box apart in rings.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Shaken Not Stirred
I decided to sleep in this morning, but our bedroom has a half moon curtainless window that means that the room gets stupid hot. So, despite my best intentions, I was pretty much awake by 10:00 a.m. But, I laid there anyway. And then, all of a sudden, I was bouncing. Earthquake! It was a very strange sensation. Imagine a miner panning for gold. When he lifts the screen out of the water, he shakes shakes shakes, so that the bigger rocks (and gold) bounce on top and the smaller stuff shakes through. I was the gold!The strange thing is that we had a beautiful total lunar eclipse last week. I told Dave that I wouldn't be surprised if there was an earthquake, too. I was right! And, yes, I realize that my totally unscientific thoughts/feelings, are one of the main reasons that folklore is still alive and well. But I stand by my "gut feeling". It does seem like anytime there is a lunar/solar event like an eclipse, that we end up with a little rumbler.Here's more detail from the real news folks:
Southland Rattled By 4.7 Earthquake
QUAKE WATCH: Complete Earthquake Coverage And Information
(CBS) LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. A magnitude 4.7 earthquake -- centered under the Santa Ana mountain range -- shook southern California at 10:29 Sunday morning.Automated seismographs reported that the earthquake's tentative epicenter was estimated to be eight miles west-northwest of the Riverside County city of Lake Elsinore and about 50 miles southwest of the Los Angeles Civic Center.A reporter felt a strong shock at an office in Riverside, about 25 miles northeast of the epicenter.The quake was also felt as far away as Encino in the San Fernando Valley.The epicenter is near, and two miles beneath, the summit of Santiago Peak, the largest peak in the Santa Ana Mountain range east of Orange County.At least four aftershocks have followed the earthquake, according to automated seismographs, with the largest being a 2.5 magnitude aftershock two minutes after the initial 10:29 a.m. shock.Data from the automated equipment has not been verified by scientists, and experts in the past have cautioned that aftershock data is not always precise. But the network of seismographs and computers show that a magnitude 2.5 aftershock hit at 10:31 a.m.In addition, a magnitude 1.8 hit at 10:36, magnitude 1.5 hit at 10:54, and magnitude 1.7 at 10:58.All of the aftershocks were also centered 8 miles west-northwest of Lake Elsinore.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )
Southland Rattled By 4.7 Earthquake
QUAKE WATCH: Complete Earthquake Coverage And Information
(CBS) LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. A magnitude 4.7 earthquake -- centered under the Santa Ana mountain range -- shook southern California at 10:29 Sunday morning.Automated seismographs reported that the earthquake's tentative epicenter was estimated to be eight miles west-northwest of the Riverside County city of Lake Elsinore and about 50 miles southwest of the Los Angeles Civic Center.A reporter felt a strong shock at an office in Riverside, about 25 miles northeast of the epicenter.The quake was also felt as far away as Encino in the San Fernando Valley.The epicenter is near, and two miles beneath, the summit of Santiago Peak, the largest peak in the Santa Ana Mountain range east of Orange County.At least four aftershocks have followed the earthquake, according to automated seismographs, with the largest being a 2.5 magnitude aftershock two minutes after the initial 10:29 a.m. shock.Data from the automated equipment has not been verified by scientists, and experts in the past have cautioned that aftershock data is not always precise. But the network of seismographs and computers show that a magnitude 2.5 aftershock hit at 10:31 a.m.In addition, a magnitude 1.8 hit at 10:36, magnitude 1.5 hit at 10:54, and magnitude 1.7 at 10:58.All of the aftershocks were also centered 8 miles west-northwest of Lake Elsinore.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )
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