Major Knitter

More Hats

I took my yarn and needles to make a few more baby hats for charity this weekend.  There's nothing very special about them.  They're basic.  Maybe sometime down the road I'll work on making extra special cutesy ones.  But I did knit up two more.

Here's a pale yellow in CottonTots yarn

Here's another in a periwinkle from Alpaca with a Twist.

I've got quite a collection of newborn hats.  I suppose it's probably time to pack them up and ship them off.  I hope they'll be appreciated by some happy parents and babies.

Mt. Snow Ski Weekend

I had another fabulous weekend with Scouts.  This time I went with the Venturing Crews - and had a blast.

While the teens snowboarded, I stayed in the lodge with my adults friends, knitting, chatting, playing and having fun.  I even ran into my knitting friend Laura.

Don't we look knitterly? (That's Michelle's term for when you wear a lot of your handknit items at once.  I bet we BOTH had on handknit socks.  I know I did!)

In the afternoon, we met the teens at the Waffle Cabin for an afternoon snack.

Mmmmm - with or without (chocolate, that is).

I even got a picture with Primogeniture.

How about you?  What did you do this weekend?

*If you're a teen between ages 14 and not yet 21, and in the southern CT area, please drop me a line.  We'd LOVE to have you join our Venturing Crew.  We do some really cool things.

Chickens Here, Chickens There

Chickens, Chickens Everywhere!

I just saw graylagran's Chicken Potholders on Ravelry and instantly fell in love.  I don't even crochet (much) and I just want to gobble these up.  What is it about chickens?  Why have I fallen so hard for this chicken craze?  Will it ever stop?

Unfortunately, when I went to buy the pattern, I discovered that it's out of print and now sells for anywhere between $118-$304 on Amazon.  While I like these chickens, and I'm most likely crazy, I'm not crazy enough to spend several hundred dollars on the pattern.  Thank goodness for ebay.  I found the pattern for a reasonable price and it's on its way to me.

I wonder if Michelle and Joanne will join me in this Chicken Craze Continuation...

Susie Rogers' Reading Mitts Pattern is Available Once Again

Hallelujah!  For all of you who asked me for Susie's pattern (and I ignored you because it wasn't mine to give) - take heart!  The pattern is available once again.  Click HERE for the free Ravelry download.

Whew!  I know how pleased you'll all be.  Go forth and make lots of mitts!

Camping in the BSA Klondike Snowstorm of 2012

OK - ready for this?  I went camping in a tent this weekend during the great snowstorm of 2012.

In the early morning hours it started to snow.  We woke up to about 2-3 inches of snow, and it continued to snow all day until accumulation reached 6-8 inches.  We spent the entire day outdoors for our District Klondike Derby and had great fun!

There was a sled race... but also just funning around on sleds.

We ran the ice rescue station (not on a real lake!) - the roped off area was the thin ice and the blue tarp was where the boys fell through the ice and had to be rescued.  Here's our Troop making a human chain to rescue THREE boys (because the first two ran out onto the thin ice to rescue their buddy and fell in themselves!)

There was a really fun two-man saw competition - here are some of my adult friends taking a turn at this competition during a break.

Then there was a homemade snowshoe relay race - and two of our Scouts made the most awesome homemade snowshoes!  Unfortunately, we didn't know it was a relay race and the attachment mechanisms were really secure... too secure to switch in and out of for a relay race.  But they did a fabulous job creating snow shoes!

Finally, we used two of the burners of the six-burner stove in the warming house to heat up our chili for lunch.  One of our dads and his Scout made the chili before the trip and we only had to warm it up.  Guess what?  Dad is a gourmet chef.  This was the BEST chili ever!

It was a fabulous campout and I was so worn out I slept for 13 hours last night when I got home.  Ahhh - it really only takes a cold winter campout to make you really, truly appreciate your own warm comfortable bed.

Project Update

Thanks for all your votes on my WIPs and UFOs.  

I decided to finish the socks (since I was traveling and they were easy).  So here's a peak at my Appalachian Trail socks in Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in the "birch" colorway.

These are a gift for a Scouting friend of mine.  I think they'll be really appreciated.  

Now that these are complete, I need to concentrate on finishing the next project.  The votes nearly unanimously came in for the Faery Ring - and I agree.  I'm very close to finishing it.  I think I can focus on it this upcoming week and still wear it this winter.

I do want to focus my energy on the Alhambra, too, as it's intended to be a gift for a friend.  I'd like to give it to her this winter.  Maybe I can finish the Faery Ring next week and the Alhambra the following week.  

How's that for some serious knitting goals?  Did I mention that BF will be traveling a lot in the upcoming month?  I'll have lots of alone time to focus solely on my knitting.

Thanks for all your input and votes of confidence.

Sorry to all of you who are still pining away for a finished Floral Jacket.  She's not on the short list... yet.

Happy 90th Birthday!

After Las Vegas, BF and I flew to Miami for BF's Grandma's 90th birthday party.  It was fabulous weather (Las Vegas was COLD!) and we really soaked in the Florida sunshine.  

We celebrated at Barton G's in Miami - which is truly a magical place for fun festivities.  Everything is presented in an over-the-top manner.  Here's the popcorn shrimp appetizer.  How funny is that?

The lobster pop-tarts were served in - you guessed it - a toaster!

The chicken dinner was served in a chicken bucket!

The desserts were oversized and fabulously presented.  The S'mores (that's a GIANT marshmallow with chocolate sauce in middle - YUM!) came with sparklers.  It was such fun.

GiGi is caught peaking through the bushel of apples with apple cobbler and some great candles.

Happy Birthday GiGi!  What a way to celebrate!

 

Valley of Fire

Last weekend BF and I went to a wedding in Las Vegas.  The actual ceremony took place at Valley of Fire state park which was picturesque and the perfect backdrop to the wedding.

The color for the wedding was saffron.  Even Mother Nature complied for the ceremony.

The ceremony was beautifully done with incredibly thoughtful vows.  I honestly think it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to.

My favorite part was the cleaning up of the orange colored rose petals after the ceremony.  We were all in true "Leave No Trace" mode and everyone chipped in to help clean up.

Best wishes to the happy couple! 

 

To Knit, or Not to Knit

Or better yet, WHAT to knit.

I need to be inspired by my current WIP queue and I'm not really sure which one is calling to me the loudest.

Here they are in the order they were cast on:

1. Appalachian Trail Birch socks (these don't really count - I always have socks on the needles!)
2. Aidez - cast on 9/10/2011 - I only got as far as the waist band.
3. Eco Quilt & Cable Blanket - cast on 8/1/2011.  I was confused about the wrap, but now I got it.  Personally, this one is pretty high on the list… mostly because Lisa just got her yarn, and I know she'll be done with her entire blanket before I even pick mine up again.  Not that I'm competitive or anything!
4. Alhambra - cast on 9/21/2011 - I like this one - but it's lace, so I have to give it 100% of my focus.
5. Faery Ring - cast on 11/01/2009 - I'm very, very, very close to being done with this one.  If I could just pick it up and focus on it for about one week, it would be done.
6. Floral Jacket - cast on 6/18/2008.  This one has been sitting for a very long time.  I can't put it in the ZZzzz pile because I'm afraid if I do that I will never, ever, ever pick it up again.

Happy Birdies

Our Bird House is progressing along nicely.

Joanne, Michelle and I met today to start glueing and assembling our diorama.  I lashed together a miniature fence for the chicken pen.  It's a hoot.  Michelle stitched the eggs and purple bird to the nest.  She perched the orange bird inside the house.  Joanne created a pond for the ducks.  Not pictured is the greenery she brought along to jazz things up.  

Will our bird house get any bids?  Will one of us have to buy our own bird house?  Will we get a legitimate buyer or just a pity vote?  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will buy our adorable Happy Birdies with joy in their heart.

What do you think?  Are you going to the Project Return Bird House auction?  Will you bid on our bird house?