Fibers on Friday ~ Valentine hearts

 Soon it will be time to send Valentines to the seven grands. The five older ones (8 yrs. - 21) will find $$ in their envelopes, but I can still crochet a little something for the two youngest to hang on the door knobs of their bedrooms.

 I had originally planned to make a string of three each, but decided to simplify because I really-really want to finish the mitered square ghan and move on to complete a prayer shawl. That's not to say that these simple hearts are time consuming. They're quickie projects with a slightly quirky pattern. I adjusted it somewhat for these hearts, but I tend to do that with patterns in general.

There's still plenty of time to make some of these yarny Valentines using the free pattern at http://www.crochettoday.com/crochet-patterns/mini-hearts

http://plumslife.blogspot.com/

Do visit Beth's blog to see all of the posted projects and add yours to the list! Happy Valentine knitting!

Teaser Tuesday ~ On Folly Beach

 From On Folly Beach by Karen White:

" Emmy awoke to the song of the wind in the bottle tree, to the black night and the winter chill, and knew Ben was gone from her the way the moon knows the ocean's tides.... But now the keening of the wind through the colored bottles bled through her bones and flashed behind her eyes like a newsreel, illuminating the one thing she'd never wanted to know."

http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

Microfiction Monday #68

Do yer fancy a bath here, matey?
What?! You know I can't swim!
Aye, I've got that taken care of.

http://www.stonyriver.ie/

Decorating Lailah

http://dogsonthursday.blogspot.com/

 Lailah, who typically wears only her understated silver jewelry, was perplexed when I tied her Christmas bandanna around her neck for the holidays.

 She apparently was concerned that something had landed on her neck and did her best-best-best to vanquish it.

Alas, she realized it was time to join in the Christmas spirit and sport her bandanna for a few days.

She has now returned to her simple, yet classic, silver accessories.

That Old Cape Magic ~~ Teaser Tuesday

From That Old Cape Magic  by Richard Russo:

"The apologetic owner said they could leave one car there, drive the other to Truro, then pick it up on the way back. Joy disliked Griffin's roadster, which felt unsafe compared with her SUV, and her hair would be a lost cause by the time they arrived, but she gave in grudgingly when he observed there wasn't much point in having a convertible if you weren't going to put the top down on a bright summer day on the Cape."



Microfiction Monday #66

http://www.stonyriver.ie/

Unhand the magic umbrella, Dan Han,

and I will relinquish my sword.

Then we both can finish

getting dressed!

Continuing Saga of the Mitered Squares Blanket

 The gorgeous Cascade 220 arrived and I was eager to begin the mitered squares ghan for the then 7-year-old DGS. http://yarnknitreadlit.blogspot.com/2010/04/block-one-of-mitered-ghan-for-dgs5-is.html

 This "short cut" method to joining the squares is a beautiful thing...or so it seems because, well, no seams! The problem, rather, the PROBLEM arises when I realize that I don't want scrambled colors. Noooo, I want four sections of the same color to make the larger block. http://yarnknitreadlit.blogspot.com/2010/05/mitered-blanket-progess.html  The stars are not aligning, neither are the squares!
http://yarnknitreadlit.blogspot.com/2010/11/mitered-square-afghan.html

 Not only is the blanket unaligned, it is too small and has mistakes in it! Arrgh! This gentle art of knitting had a couple of smack-down moments!
 http://yarnknitreadlit.blogspot.com/2010/11/deconstructing-mitered-squares-afghan.html

 After a few days of taking verrry deep breaths, I began the redo portion of the deconstruction. Up from the ashes would rise this phoenix of afghans! Hurrah!

 Alas! I ran out of the denim heather and knitted all white to complete a section, only to realize that it was a horrible affront to the entire process.

The new yarn arrived yesterday from www.kyarns.com so that I can now complete the section in all its denim-y goodness.

                                   
 Out came winder to get these babies ready for some serious knitting.

Now I can make two more complete sections to lengthen the blanket for DGS, who is getting older by the minute. He's now 8-years-old. May the knitting gods smile upon me.

Microfiction Monday #65

Oh, Butterfly Man!
You would be magnificent among my steel magnolias!
But I,
I must change into my red riding hood!

http://www.stonyriver.ie/

Triangle Shawl

The Triangle Shawl is now in Ohio with DMIL. The yarn is from Brooks Farm in Texas http://brooksfarmyarn.com/ and is 50/50 fine wool and silk. The garter ridges are more visible on the right side because of the lighting. The shawl is so soft and perfectly wonderful to wrap around shoulders and arms. Have you made any shawls?

Microfiction Monday #64

From Texaco and Mexico,

A product to clog your arteries

And dress your bearings--

Gr-r-rease!

http://www.stonyriver.ie/

Character Study: The Ladies Three

Among many like them, there sit the fighting-age-three. Each near or past 70 years of age, they are groomed and pampered in an attempt to stay the evidence of advancing years. Beda is a painfully thin woman with home-dyed hair, a medium brown, though the tone and weight of the color changes with each dye job. The middle of the three, Lidia has broad hips and a severe expression with salon-styled hair flashing well placed highlights of indeterminate colors, blond to dirty blond perhaps? The third is Lou, slender and chatty, whose hair color and length varies in more shades of brown than one can imagine. A common attribute is their powerfully red lipstick and generously applied blush angled along cheekbones.

They are boon friends, stalwart through life's blessings and challenges.Together, they define their world of looking good and feeling better. Hanging onto youth with their meticulously manicured hands and unnaturally colored hair against pale skin, they are the fighting-age-three.



2011 !!

Christmas Meme -- Fun!

When I read this meme at http://mysistersknitter.typepad.com/my-blog/atom.xml , I knew I wanted to do it too. How about you? Copy it and replace the answers, then let me know so I can read yours! Fun!

1. Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags? Wrapping Paper
2. Real or artificial? Artificial

3. When do you put up the tree? Week before Christmas
4. When do you take down the tree? Some time after New Years Day

5. Do you like Egg Nog? Nope!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Bicycle
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Always
8. Hardest person to buy for? Husband--he buys what he wants leaving little for gifting!
9. Easiest person to buy for? My friend Donna
10. Mail or email Christmas Cards? Mail

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? Don't have one.
12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Ravioli
13. White lights or coloured? Both
14. Favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night

15. Travel or stay home at Christmas? Stay home.

16. Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? Mebbe, mebbe not
17. Angel or Star on the top of the tree? Angel on one, a bird and nest on another

18. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Christmas morning.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Years when there is no snow.
20. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees? Both.

21. Gingerbread or Sugar Cookies? Sugar cookies with frosting

Joy to the World

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them...'Don't be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!'
~ Luke 2:9-11

Christmas Blessings to you and yours!

Lux Scarf

The Alp Oriental luxury scarf is finished, so I am now trying to decide if I like it, as usual. The glistening fibers don't show in the pictures, but they do add an interesting element. The details about this project are here: http://yarnknitreadlit.blogspot.com/2010/12/alp-oriental.html

The colors are not ones I would have combined, so despite its hefty price tag, I may donate it...or...I may keep it.
Mebbe, mebbe not.

Microfiction Monday #62

So nice of you

to walk all that way

in the snow and cold.

Think I'll pass on the piglet, though.

Merry Christmas!

http://www.stonyriver.ie/

Alp Oriental

 While in St. Louis, I purchased this luxurious Alp Oriental yarn by Feza in #010 Wild Patty Wack. http://heavenlyhuesyarn.com/search.aspx?find=Alp+Oriental+yarn+by+Feza Various luxury yarns are cut in strips and knotted together to make bulky weight yarn. There's a hint of glitter, a touch of sparkle, a bit of ladder yarn, a smidge of flag amid the assortment of novelty yarns. At top left, you can see the bunch of pre-cut fringe, should the knitter regret that she had knit-up every last bit of yarn in her frenzy!

Using size 19 needles, I cast on 15 sts knitting three in garter stitch at each end and using stockinette in the mid-section. I knit a row of garter at each yarn change to give it a bit of definition. At this point, I am planning to keep this one. Since I don't keep most of my knitting/crocheting, the scarf could well end up with a different owner. We'll see!

http://plumslife.blogspot.com/

Sleeping Beauty

We've been traveling for over three weeks with our very adaptable Lailah. She found this bed at a Holiday Inn quite to her liking! All the attention has been fun for her as she is hugged and petted and cooed upon by children and adults alike!

http://dogsonthursday.blogspot.com/

Separation Of Power by Vince Flynn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Flynn does it again with this remarkable story of the confirmation of a new CIA Director interwoven with subplots to fascinate the reader. The characters are so realistically drawn that this reader thinks she might have seen them on TV news!

This third book in the Mitch Rapp series has me reaching for Book Four!

View all my reviews

Microfiction Monday #61

Oh Tra-La!

If I'm going to do something as silly as scrubbing clothes

I might as well wear silly clothes too.

She giggled

And vomited.

Microfiction Monday #60

The sun rises

on another day of frenzied holiday shopping

and awakens

the grateful dead.

http://www.stonyriver.ie/

La La's Simple Shawl -- Fibers on Fri...er...Sat, I mean Sunday!!

 The unending simple shawl for my MIL is an ever-so-slowly growing triangle of gorgeous hand painted yarn .


It is creating a very pretty fabric with a soft hand. The pattern is a free download on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/la-las-simple-shawl

 I do wish, however, that I were using a larger size needle to speed things up a bit. Uh, also, there's the worsted weight that I'm knitting. The pattern is written for bulky weight. So, yeah, the yarn and the needles--huge factors when knitting!!
 I seldom knit the same pattern twice in a row, but--you guessed it--I did it this time. It does make a warm, lovely shawl after blocking. This one is going to Ohio as a Christmas gift. Onward and upward--ever knitting!

http://plumslife.blogspot.com/