Felting and Tagged!

Good Friday Evening!

I am so excited - just ordered (what seems to be) the definitive felted slippers pattern (Fiber Trend) from Teyani at Crown Mountain Farms. I think my Lunch Club girls will enjoy these for Xmas gifts!!!

Woohoo - a new skill to learn!


And - I've been tagged by Cindy's Craft A.D.D. (first time for me)! So here goes:

1. One book that changed your life: Music, The Brain and Ecstacy by Robert Jourdain. A fascinating read about musician's creative process

2. One book that you've read more than once: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

3. One book you'd want on a deserted island: Clan of the Cave Bear Series by Jane Aoul

4. One book that made you laugh: Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen

5. One book that made you cry: Those Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

6. One book that you wish had been written: Hmmmmm - can't think of one, maybe because it hasn't been written yet!

7. One book you wish had never been written: Mozart in the Jungle - stupid and trashy (not even well written)

8. One book you're currently reading: The Art of Practicing - A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madeline Bruser

9. One book you've been meaning to read: Tuesday Afternoons With Maury by Mitch Albom

10. Tag 6 people: LarjMarj, Lesley, Sharon, SaraJayne, Teyani

Oops, only came up with 5 people. Thanks, Cindy.......

Frogging, Flying and an FO

Oh yes, frogging is no fun. But as you all commiserated in agreement with me, I know it was what had to be. That yarn is so fabulous (my favorite colors) that it deserves something fun. There will be some dainty little lace project that beckons that silk/alpaca blend.

Being in any airplane for 6 hours instead of 3 stinks. Thankfully there were no mishaps - unlike that horrible fatal commuter plane accident in Kentucky. That was due to a combination of air traffic controller and pilot error. (Quiet prayer said here.)

I finished the Fern Lace Stole from the Little Box of Scarves:

Believe it or not - this is from a Red Heart acrylic called Luster Sheen. I need to wash it and shape it. I guess we cannot call this blocking, since it will do pretty much what it wants anyway.

The Bamboo from Alchemy Yarns has been lovely to knit - here is "Town and Country" from Knitpicks Elizabeth 1 scarf collection:

The picture does not do this yarn justice - it has a lovely variegation in the dye and is soft and lustrous. Is bamboo yarn something I can block?! Hmmm - maybe I should have thought about that before I began this project!

The pattern calls for needle size ranging from #4-6. The yarn label suggests #5. I am using #4, but I think the fabric is a bit floppy. The width is already 8" which is the finished size. Maybe I'll go down to a #3.

Aprilynne - yes we got a bit of rain. Unfortunately, our roses and Indian Hawthorne still look worse for the wear. We need about a week of rain to come close to helping the drought. Did you get any in Ft. Worth?

Sharon (Unraveled Again) - Wedding music: for the prelude I played the 1st movement of Marcello, Handel Concerto Grosso in Bb, Krebs Fantasia in F minor and for the mothers seating, Dominus Deu from the Vivaldi Gloria. The organist played the soprano line on one of the manuals.

Hey y'all - go see Unraveled Again's blog - her knitting is scrumptious as is her oboe playing!!

To finish the week

After the wedding, we drove back to Monticello for a few more days with Mom. All went well until the airport. We drove down to Newark in a timely manner, turned in the car and went to our gate. We boarded the plane and took off on time.

About 1 hour before landing, the pilot announced that DFW Airport was closed due to storms and we would circle for a while. After a half hour or so, he announces we do not have enough fuel to circle any more and are making a landing in Shreveport, La to refuel. We refuel and take off again. The landing in DFW was uneventful. However, due to the holding pattern, refueling, etc, instead of getting home at 9:00pm, we rolled in our door after 12:00am. Gee, recovery sure takes longer than when we were 25!

Do you remember Dainty Bess? She was more difficult than I was willing to deal with - especially after I made the major mistake of leaving out 1 purl row which turned the RS into the WS about 10" into her.

So after much consternation, here she is:

I really did not want to frog this scarf after knitting it to a length of almost 30", but the fix was more than I could handle. This luscious ball of Alpaca/Silk Laceweight will become some other beautiful FO. Sometime.

This delicious Alchemy Yarns Bamboo is almost ready to go:

I think I will try another Elizabeth 1 scarf, but the white one (Town and Country) - it looks more to my level of ability and desire today.

Wow - What a Week

After an uneventful flight to Newark, a safe drive to Monticello for a lovely few days with Mom, we drove up to Williamstown, Ma for Brigid and Ben's wedding.

Do you remember (Nov. 05 archives) the Branching Out and Irish Hiking Scarves? Those were for our newly married Ben and Brigid.

Ben's piano teacher Ed and I (Brigid's oboe teacher) performed in the ceremony and here we are after all was done:

And here are the new bride and groom enjoying in their first dance.

(Sorry, I couldn't get rid of the reflection from a picture glass.)

Brigid gave me this beeeee-youtiful bamboo yarn:

And this too:

Another dilemma - what to make!!!

Thank you to everyone, Mienna, Trek, Frudart (if I missed someone, please forgive) for your suggestions for my lone skein of Lorna's. I did however, allow myself to be enabled by Teyani's suggestion to get one more skein and make some socks. So here we are:

Thank you again, Sharon, LarjMarj, Sara Jayne, Shelley and Amber for your visiting and as always sweet comments. Yes, Sara Jayne, Mr. Mack was an exceptional man - ask your colleague to regale you with some stories - I am sure he has lots!!

Scarves 'n' socks 'n' sausage

My yellow Embossed Leaves have taken a back burner for a while. I just haven't been in the mood....

But I have been working on the Fern Lace - I am up to 40" and the pattern calls for 60", so I am nearing the end:

I am going to the LYS in Monticello when we get there next week and (hopefully) purchase another skein of that luscious Lornas Lace - Then, maybe use it for a Xmas gift for a dear friend.

I am always looking for a different recipe to feed my DH and me, and saw this little number:

Sausage and Cheese Squares

1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
16 refrigerated smoked cocktail sausage links
1 large bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz)
1 can (10 1/4 oz) condensed cream of onion soup
4 eggs

Unroll crescent roll dough. Place dough in bottom of ungreased rectangular baking dish, 11"x 7". Press seams closed and push dough 1 inch up sides of baking dish.

Arrange sausage evenly on dough. Sprinkle with bell pepper and 1 cup of the cheese.

Beat soup and eggs until blended; pour over ingredients in baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree (F) oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings

Eat, enjoy!

The Dilemna

One little skein of Lorna's Laces sits here looking for a project.

It is saying - "Please turn me into some pretty little item. I was originally going to be baby booties, but I never got there."

My dilemna is what can I knit??

Ideas, suggestions?

Home Sweet Home Part 2

Okay, now we have food in the house again.

After spending two days in Indiana, we drove another 1000 miles west to Keystone, SD where Mt. Rushmore is located. The drive had some beautiful moments, but a lot of it was the same terrain for miles. It is amazing how vast the plains are! We did drive throught the Badlands:

There are more dramatic shots to post, but they are from the print camera and not yet developed. I just thought I would whet your whistle with these :-)

We continued to drive and drive until we reached Keystone. Unbeknownst to us, there is a huge yearly motorcycle rally held in Sturgis (50 miles away) that draws the big Harley bikers (the lawyers and doctors with the $$$$$ Harleys). Some of the bikers had that Hulk Hogan look as well. A goodly number were visiting Keystone and Mt. Rushmore ~ it was a loud few days with a lot of folks wearing black leather!

We went to Mt. Rushmore the next morning and here is the first view:

You can see how overcast it was; the weather was chilly 68 degrees F - 2 days before, it was 104 degrees F. We were woefully underdressed, assuming it would be in the 80s. Even as chilly and cloudy as it was, the impact of the monument brought tears to my eyes (not a usual occurance for me).

After spending many hours at Mt. Rushmore, we did a few other things such as an 1880 train ride and a trip to see Crazy Horse. We were tourists to the max!!

We left the next morning, but first went back to Mt. Rushmore to eat breakfast. The day was glorious, so I had to take more photos. We had a nice breakfast looking up at the Presidents then started the loooong drive back to Dallas. All in all, we put 3250 miles on my car in 7 days!

I will leave you today with this shot:

Home Sweet Home 1

After 1 week and 3200 miles, do you think we are happy to be home? It sure is a good thing that my DH and I are best friends - this would have been too long in the car with anyone else.

We took 2 days to drive the 1000 miles to Mishawaka, Indiana to see the family. My DH has 4 sisters, all married with children (except 1). We had a picnic in Potawatami Park (I just like typing these names!!!) then took a quick family photo:





And then took a walk in the zoo and saw these alpacas:

This was the closest I came to yarn for the first few days.

Then we encountered two of our young families at the zoo and just had to take a photo:









It is time to pop over to the grocery store, so I'll add the second installment later (Mt. Rushmore - oh my gosh !!!!!!!)