family

I finally finished that huge vase of flowers in the middle on the Red Deer Sampler.  Seemed to take forever.

I do love that vase of flowers though.  (Sorry for the poor photography and the crooked looking pics.)

It was a fun week this past week.  For one thing, this happened.

My boy child came home!  He'll only be home for a short while as he has an internship, a class, and work to keep him busy in Boston.  He's my long haired boy.

Look at his hair -- both my kids have nice hair!

Similar colors in the light to the girl child, right?  But in normal light, it's just a beautiful, rich brown.  (And in case you were wondering, the girl child does NOT dye her hair.  That color is nature made.)

And the girl child came home for Mother's Day!  Just for the day, but I'll take what I can get.

Everyone cooked a special dinner for me, and I got to do nothing but stand around and kibbitz.

Note the children doing their usual thing for the camera.  lolol!

Look at the delicious dinner they made for me, all three of them!   Shrimp Gazpacho soup and roasted squash (can't remember what kind) and beets.  So good!  (The boy child doesn't cook.  He just helped with the chopping duties.)

Perfect for a hot day!  I also got Mother's Day gifties, enough to make me fat and to make the house smell flowery and nice (if you get my drift).  But since Blogger won't cooperate with iPhoto, I'm not going to bother showing you.

(And yes, this blog post is late partially because of Mother's Day festivities, and partially because of Blogger and iPhoto not listening to each other.  I'd hoped they would start to communicate better later in the day, but no such luck.)

Thanks to everyone for their kind words about my blog.  I do like having this record of my crafts and of my life with family.  But I do also feel like I don't have as much to show sometimes as would make it interesting.  I will see how it goes.  I might skip a week sometimes or something of the sort, maybe just post every other week.  Or not.  lol!  We shall see!

Mia has done her best to avoid all the festivities.  She is finding new places to settle now that it's gotten warm.

Like the father type's chair, for example.  lol!

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

Lots to talk about....

I've gotten some more done on the Red Deer Sampler.  These vases of flowers are huge!

Sorry for the perspective -- I have the sampler laid out on a pillow.  :D

I also knitted some more hexipuffs.  Slow but sure.

You can't see all of them -- they are piled up in there.

Saturday, the father type and I headed out to NYC once again.  This time we made it to see the girl child's apartment!  She recently moved to NYC and is very happy there.

We seemed to spend a lot of time eating that day.  lol!  Such good food everywhere!

veggie wrap from the Seasoned Vegan

In line at Big Gay Ice Cream.  So good!

deliciousness from Trattoria Pesce Pasta -- yum!

It was Independent Bookstore Day too, so we went to Book Book.  And of course, we bought books.

There's one missing cause the father type hid it somewhere.  These aren't all mine.  (Mine is the one on the right.)

All in all, we had a nice day together.  And the girl child was off to tango later that night.  Such an active girl!

Judith from MrsLove2Stitch gave me an award.

The purpose of this award is for bloggers to nominate fellow bloggers. In order to accept the award, the nominated blogger must follow these rules:

• thank the person who nominated you and link back 
• Share seven facts about yourself
• Nominate 10 other bloggers for the award.

Seven facts about myself:

1. I didn't try chocolate until I was most of the way through grade school -- maybe 10 or 11?  This was because my older sister didn't like chocolate (still doesn't!) and so my mom didn't buy any for the house.

2. This meant no oreos as a child.  Sad, huh?  We had vanilla "oreos," with vanilla wafers for the cookie part.  Not the same.

3. I've lived in 5 different states: Oklahoma, Kansas, California, New Jersey and New York.

4. The father type and I met at Princeton University, where we went to college.  My sister and her husband also met there.  My sister and the father type were in the same class or year, my BIL was the year after them, and I was the youngest at the year after that.  

5. My father went to graduate school at Princeton and met my mother in Princeton town (she wasn't a student there, but they met there).  And the girl child also went to Princeton.  

6. All three couples (me and the father type, my mother and father, my sister and BIL) were married in the Princeton University Chapel.  The father type and I were married by the same person as my father and mother, Dean Ernest Gordon.

7. This is old news, but I'm an Anglophile.  And a Beatles fan.

I nominate

A Closet Full of Posies
Kitten Stitching
Mugwump Woolies
Garden Grumbles and Cross Stitch Fumbles
All My Scattering Moments
Jackie's Stitches
Merry Wind Farm
Samplings from Spring Creek
Bookwoman Stitches
Wool Woman

I know lots of people have been taking notice of how blogging seems to be going away.  I too have noticed this.  I know lots of people have taken to Facebook.  I'm not one of them, despite the fact that I do have an account there.  On the other hand, I love Instagram.  It's my go to place now.  Much easier in so many ways too, not as much of a time commitment.  I've thought periodically about stopping with my blog, but I haven't yet.  Especially since I am not as dedicated to stitching as I used to be, I've wondered if it was time to stop.  I'll think on it some more.  I use my blog more as a record for myself, for things that have happened and for what I've been working on.  I do think I would miss that.  We'll see.

Mia has been enjoying the weather, as we all have.  One of her favorite places to be this time of year is here.

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

Not much crafting but....

This week was crazy busy with handyman repairs of various sorts to make the house and us happier.  I've also been trying to get off my duff more and get some walking in, which is good for me, but not good for crafting.  But I did make more hexipuffs.

They're all piled on top of each other, but I have Jamieson's Shetland Sprindrift and Koigu PPPM.

I didn't stitch much at all on Yellow Sub.  Instead, I got distracted,  again.   I kept seeing other people on Instagram working on GigiR's Red Deer Sampler and finally decided to pull mine out and start stitching on her again.  I haven't stitched much so far on her since I picked her up again, but she is so close to being done, comparatively.

Well, sort of.  I'm using the called for linen and fibers.

Sunday, I set up some new shoe organizers.  I bought them on sale, and immediately thought of a different purpose for them other than shoe organizing.

Yup, you guessed it.  Stash organizing!

The cubbies are small, shoe sized, but they work well for my yarns anyway.  I'm pleased with the arrangement.

Saturday, the Father type and I trekked out to Brooklyn.  We were on a mission.  Well, two missions.  The first was to stop at Gauge and Tension, which is in the Brooklyn Craft Company.   Gauge and Tension is a yarn shop owned by the talented designer Michele Wang.  She designs amazing sweaters and other knitwear, for Brooklyn Tweed among others.  I'm a huge fan of hers!

I neglected to take pictures of the shop or the craft areas, but guess who I got to meet?  Michele Wang!

She was sooooo nice!  It was amazing!  I bought this pattern by Michele.

And two skeins of Jones & Vandermeer Clever Camel in the color shown.

I also got to try on the Bellows cardigan, which was amazing!  Michele has all her models there -- I was drooling just looking at them all.  But Bellows is the one I think I want to try to knit.  I figure I'll start small and tackle the hat first.  Work on my cabling skills.  :D

After that fantastic experience, the Father type and I walked down to the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn to go here.

Mast Brothers Chocolate!   Again, amazing!  You walk in and all you smell is CHOCOLATE!!

These pics are from the factory -- that back area in the last pic is where they make the chocolate.  They also have a store where you can try various chocolate beverages, along with chocolate spread on sourdough bread.  Yum!

I had the non-alcoholic chocolate beer.  Very interesting.

And we came home with these chocolate bars.

We had dinner at La Goulette.  I had Joe's Plate, which was Chicken Shawarma over Cauliflower and Hummus with Pita.

And the Father type and I shared some Baklava for dessert.

It was a fun day with lots of walking and sight seeing along the way.  I was glad to have my Father type there to show me where to go on the subways!

Mia was happy to have us home that evening.

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

We all live in a.....

I lost interest in EF 1864 and picked up Blackbird Designs Yellow Submarine.  As many of you know, I'm a big Beatles fan, so the 6 designs based on Beatles songs that Blackbird Designs' Barb Adams released are a must for me.  Yellow Submarine has to be first -- the boy child and I watched that movie endless times.  Here is my progress on the piece so far.

I'm using the called for linen and GAST fibers.  Once again, I'm unhappy with how the GAST colors just aren't the same as what is shown on the model.  GAST and other overdyed cottons just aren't reliable in their colors at all.  And I feel the Lakeside Linen Cedar Plank just makes the colors look muddy.  The picture has lightened up the colors a lot.  (I'm using 40ct linen.)  I'm hoping my Yellow Sub looks good when it's finished.

If you're wondering what that hexagon shaped thing is in the picture -- well, it's my first hexipuff for a hexipuff blanket.  The pattern is from here.  I've made three so far, one not stuffed, one stuffed, and the third stuffed slightly more.

So far, I'm just using the leftover tidbits from my Walking Tour Scarf, Jamieson and Smith Shetland 2 ply Jumper weight.  I'm planning on adding in some Koigu and other yarns too.  And yes, you sew the hexipuffs together to make a blanket.

The weather has been beautiful and warm the past few days.  A certain cat has been enjoying it immensely.  (Mia is an indoor cat.)

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

Spring! And stitching?!!

I finished my Handbrake Cowl!

It is a pattern by Dan Jones with help from his wife Kay Jones of the Bakery Bears Podcast.  The pattern is 1 pound, all proceeds going to support cancer research.  I used Fancy Tiger Crafts Heirloom Romney in Blue Maize.  I gave it to the Father type -- here he is modeling it.

I think he likes it.  :D

I know this will be a shock but I'm stitching again!!!

I picked up an old WIP, the EF 1864 Sampler from an issue of Sampler and Antique Needlework Magazine.  I need to check which issue it is.  Here is how far I've gotten so far.

It's nice to be stitching again!  But I'm not sure how I will fare with this one.  I love Berlin woolwork, but it's not my favorite kind of stitching.   And that's what the bulk of the piece is.

This weekend was the first time in a week that we've had any sunshine.  Sunday was a glorious day!  Sunshine and temps in the 60s.  Yum!  The father type and I took a nice long walk in one of our local state parks, visited a bookstore, and just had a nice day!

And when we got home, we opened the windows for the first time this year!  Hooray!  Someone enjoyed the fresh air immensely.

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

Blue Queen

I finished my Messalina Shawl!  I do love it, and it was so much fun to knit.  Just the right amount of stuff to keep me interested balanced with plain stockinette for ease.  I used Clara Yarn Cormo 2.0 in Sky.  The pattern is by Kay Jones of the Bakery Bears podcast.  ( For those who are wondering, yes, I love that quilt.  But Mia has destroyed it by clawing it to shreds in huge areas.  I keep it folded up on the spare bed.  No, I didn't make it.)

I immediately dived into a pattern called the Handbrake Cowl, designed by Kay with her husband Dan Jones.  It's a pattern where the purchase price goes to cancer research, so definitely worth buying to support a good cause.   I'm using Fancy Tiger Crafts Heirloom Romney in the Blue Maize colorway.  Just a bit done so far.

I seem to have a theme of blue going on in this post.  I received a wonderful gift in the mail from Paula of Kelmscott Designs.  Paula has started a new line of products called Whimsical Edge Designs.  She knows I love all things British and British Royal, so she sent me her Blue Queen Threadkeep.  I love it so much!

I have it pictured here with two of Paula's scissors - both in red, of course!   The one on the left is the Storklette scissors and the one on the right is the red Roly Poly.  Can you tell I enjoy Paula's pieces?  Thank you, Paula, for my Blue Queen!  I love her!

I don't know if you've noticed, but knitting seems to have taken over for now, hasn't it?  Never fear.  For a while, I seriously wasn't even thinking of stitching.  As a first for me, I didn't even purchase anything from Nashville market!  Now this was a super bad sign -- I always go crazy when market rolls around.  lol!

But recently, I've started thinking about stitching again.  I even purchased a couple of charts from market, a few weeks after.  This one (Fractur Friends by Shakespeare's Peddler),

And this one (Feathered Whisperers by Barbara Ana).

The Feathered Whisperers, you can leave out the border if you want.  But the border is the best part, IMO!  And Fractur Friends is stitched on 40ct silk gauze.  But obviously, you don't have to go that route if you don't want to.  I have provided links directly to where I swiped the pictures from.  I hope it's ok to have swiped them!

Anyway, all this is to say I have been starting to think more about stitching again.  I think it's just a matter of time.  So all you stitchers, don't give up on me yet!  :D

I removed one of the wool blankets from the bed this week and put it on the bench I'd placed in front of Mia's favorite window.  I think Mia likes having the blanket there.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week -- and that those who celebrate had a wonderful Easter,  or are having a good Passover.