Austin

Hi dear friend!

I know...no fainting, here I am two days in a row.  I am going to try to be better about posting here.  

As you know, I had a little vaca down to Austin to visit my family.  It was busy and oh so fun filled. I have tons of pics to share!!  I like pictures if you haven't figured that out yet.  Pictures of people, pictures of the sky, pictures of random things...  So, here is your days entertainment.

Here are my two crazy kiddos on the way down.

 Star Trek version of Settlers of Catan.  My nephew LOVED it and we played every spare minute.

Random yard art at my sister's house.  So cute.

A couple of views from the neighborhood swimming pool.

A nature trail in the neighborhood.

MEAT!!  We Texans love our BBQ~

More crazy pics of the kids.

We went to a place called Krause Springs.  It was so gorgeous.  A natural spring that makes pools and the kids swam and jumped off cliffs and rope swings.

BIIIIG spider

Yummy meal Saturday night!

Movie time.  Except the women are apparently more interested in their phones!  :)

Got pedicures

My daughter is pregnant, so we took a four generation picture.  My mom, me, Cate, and Zeke.  

She is due in late October.

Had to get the dog in there!  :)

#MandalasForMarinke

Hi all....Michelle here.  Caution:  link heavy post, but you'll see why.

I troll Ravelry almost everyday for new and exciting patterns.  Today I clicked on this Borderline Mandalas pattern.
Which subsequently led me Raising Robertsons Crochet.
Upon reading the blog post, I ended up at a creative being, only to learn that Wink lost her long battle with depression at the end of last month.

In her original post about Wink, Kathryn at Crochet Concupiscence admits an emotion that many of us might feel....fear.  Fear that it could happen to anyone we know, or even ourselves.  I have struggled with depression, maybe you have too.

Here's how you can help:  Crochet a Mandala in honor of Wink.  All mandalas and written notes will be presented at an art show, and subsequently made into a book.  Don't crochet?  Here are some knit pattern ideas.

Fiber arts are documented as a stress reducer, fun, relaxing, and even a life saver, as written in Kathryn's book Crochet Saved My Life.

The Craft Yarn Council's take.

Take care of yourselves.  Don't be afraid to seek help if you or someone you love is struggling with depression.  <3

Shawls, Oh My!

Hi Maya,

Sorry I have taken so long to respond to your last two posts.  I, too, began (and finished) not one, but two shawls.  The first one I made is from the delicious cotton you sent me.  I did it on straight needles....huge mistake as it was heavy and crammed on there pretty tightly.  It has little picots around the edge, which you were right, not difficult at all.

Unfortunately, it is summer here in the good ol' U S of A and I won't be wearing this anytime soon. And also, this picture is lame from when I was blocking it, but you get the gist.  Don't look too closely or you'll see my mistakes.  But, for a virgin shawl knitter, I'm pretty darn proud!  :)  You can find this pattern here.

This is my second shawl.  I started it on Friday and finished yesterday, so it was a quick knit.  Maybe because I used my brain and did it on circular needles!?  Again, don't inspect too closely.  Apparently I like small 'shawlettes' rather than the larger actual shawl size, but again, we'll have to wait and see in the fall.  Since I will be moving to Lubbock soon (fingers crossed), I wont' be needing these for awhile.  But the first is cotton, and the second is fairly airy, so you never know.  You can find the pattern for this one here.  I'm sending you to her blog post about it rather than the Ravelry page, because she is funny and you should explore her blog.  Of course, she is no longer blogging.  I have discovered that a lot lately, and it makes me sad.  I find someone's blog by accident, and read away, then click on the home button to get the latest entry and it's from two years ago.  :(  Oh well.

THIS is a gorgeous yarn and project.  The yarn is Drops Alaska in dark purple mix.  Oh my!  I love purple!  Heliotrope! Amaranthine! Violet! Plum! Periwinkle! Orchid! Mulberry! Bruises!  Oh, okay, maybe not bruises, but you get the idea.  

This is a shrug pattern that can be found here.  Isn't it great!?  It might take me awhile since I'm going to be doing stockinette stitch for about a year.  You know me and my ADHD, but I do love the purple and that it's so neat and tidy, so maybe that will keep me motivated.  Since this is worsted weight wool, I definitely won't need it until the winter.  Hopefully I'll have it done by then.  

As you can see, knitting has taken over and I have not worked on my POD at all.  But, hopefully when I get settled I will be able to more easily pull it all out.  

Hope you're well my sweet friend!

Playing on Ravelry

Isn't Ravelry the best ever!?  I think I may have 5273 things I want to make!  

Here is a wee sweater (jumper to my friends across the pond) for my new grandbaby that is due in late October.  He/She will have to wear it during the first five days of their life as it is so tiny.  
So fun to make, and she has other 'wee' patterns that I will begin once I find out the gender of the baby on May 28.  

Cinco de Mayo

The fifth of May is Mexican Independence Day.  We (especially in Texas) use this excuse to eat lots of Mexican food and drink Margaritas and Mexican Beer.
Many years ago, my sister and her husband, transplanted from Texas, lived in Connecticut and had talked about Cinco de Mayo.  Their friend needed a new fence and so he told all his (Northern) friends that Cinco de Mayo was Mexican Fencing Day and that it was a day that everyone came together to help someone put up a new fence.  It worked!!  He got a bunch of friends to come over and help him build his fence.  

Probably couldn't get away with that today with Facebook and all.

Happy Mexican Fencing Day!

Yarn Love

I did manage to complete the Monster Book of Monsters POD block this weekend, but I am behind because I've been distracted by yarn!  I haven't knitted much, but have found a couple of patterns and have been practicing.  I am also working on a baby blanket, and I had to drop everything I was doing because Maya wants these.  I have finished one and started another.  The crochet up quickly and are fun.

I tried my hand at drop spindle spinning yarn a couple of weeks ago.  The yarn was horrendous, but it was fun and oddly satisfying, so who knows...maybe I'll keep on with that and knit or crochet something made from my own yarn.  

Meanwhile, for inspiration you might want to check these out
Alice and Raymond  sadly, Alice is no longer blogging, but there are some great patterns here.
Matt  has some fun things....Maya, do you need some sunflowers!?
Jacquie has some fun things. too!

Enjoy! 

Tornado Season Arrives

We had our first bout of violent weather here in Oklahoma last night.  A few tornadoes touched down and rain and hail abounded.  For my friends across the pond, you can read about tornadoes here.

Oklahoma seems to be a favorite spot  for tornadoes, as we often have warm air from the Gulf coast and cool air from the north collide.  This collision sets the perfect conditions for major thunderstorms, hailstorms, and tornadoes.  We have weather alerts to our phones and all towns have tornado sirens installed.  We like to joke, however, that good Oklahomans stand on the front porch and watch the skies rather than getting to shelter.  However, my son and I did go down into the tornado shelter for a few minutes last night.  We were lucky, just wind, hail, and a deluge.

Our neighbors about 10 miles away in the town of Moore were not so lucky, however.  Again.  Two years ago an incredible tornado hit Moore, it was a mile wide and was on the ground for an hour.  I was teaching school at the time and had my class in the bathroom of our classroom for over an hour. Schools were destroyed, homes and business lost, cars overturned, and lives lost.  The next day one of my sweet students asked if the tomato was going to come again. Cute, but in all reality, not a laughing matter.  Our storm/tornado season has arrived with gusto this year, so we'll keep our heads low for the next few months.




If you are thinking about moving to Moore, don't.