I'm Crafty

At least I am if I can get this link to work...



Not that anyone really reads my blog, especially since it has been months since I have posted here. But I wanted to share this in case anyone wanders by. Thanks to my friend, Colleen, for alerting me to it. And now I must get to doing some crafty work - a few cards to make and a baby sweater to knit are on the agenda for today.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Wednesday I helped M make a Halloween costume for her baby's "first" Halloween...


I'm sure the kindergartners loved it!

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Seasonal Color

Today W and I decided to take a short ride to enjoy the color and get out in the fresh air.


For all the time we've lived here, we have never been to Patapsco Valley State Park so that was our destination. Today was the day for quiet walks, river rapids, awesome colors, to marvel in the wonders of nature and the God who created it.

...the river and its rapids - we hiked down to the rapids...

...awesome color...

How I Spent

Last Weekend...

Looking at this view...
While eating Grotto pizza...
"living" in this lovely hotel...

And sampling wine at this winery...

A quiet weekend in Rehoboth Delaware. Good food. Warm sunny day reading on the beach. Local wine. A good way to spend a couple days together.

Creideamh

Lots has been happening around here which I may or may not blog about at some other time. In the meantime, I am thrilled with the new shawl I just finished. I think it's much better than it looks here. Lovely, soft, drapey, sandy colored yarn - a real pleasure to knit with and to wear. The yarn is from the indie dyer, Miss Babs and the pattern is Creideamh by Renee Leverington. They are from the WoolGirl Embrace the Lace club.

Two Little Girls

There's new fun at my house now! The Princess is here to visit for three weeks. It is wonderful to have her here and especially with the Peanut here too. They have been inseparable.


No matter which one wants to do something, the other one wants to do it too. And they are so cute playing together.

They days are going to fly by, I'm sure!

I'm Baaaack

I have been so negligent with the posting - as you know if you have checked here in the last three months. So much for my resolve to post more frequently in 2009. Life has been hectic here. I think it is knitting that has helped me keep my sanity.

This year I almost didn't sign up for Sock Madness. I didn't think I would have the opportunity to knit in the competition. I did sign up and surprised myself with how well I did. Truth be told, though, I stayed in as long as I did because I was not placed (randomly) in one of the fastest groups. The patterns this year were excellent and a lot of fun to knit. The family kept urging me on, checking on my progress, and cheering me to finish the socks before the round ended. Amazingly, I made it through to the sixth round where I was eliminated only an hour after the first finisher (only one of us could advance in this round). Socks knit in the competition rounds have to be knit to pattern specs. There was something new, different, or unusual for me to learn and do in every round, in addition to knitting quickly enough to advance to the next round.

So here are my first six pairs...

Round 1 (blue) - Tropical Mer-tini
Round 2 (grey & red) - Tokena
Round 3 (small green) - Talia's Wings
Round 4 (black & multi) - Lucky Diamonds
Round 5 (red, white, blue) - Dimpled Diamonds
Round 6 (brown & orange) - Fire on the Mountain

For the seventh and final round, I was out of the competition so I modified the socks to better fit me. I changed the short row heel as written in the pattern to a gusset and flap. This pattern was so fun to knit and the socks are quite different from any other socks I've made to date. I love them!