Still Here

I finished that bag last week just in time for a little jaunt to Fort Worth, Texas. As always, my sister-in-law had lots of big, fun plans for us.

A golf lesson for the menfolk, followed by swimming and a nighttime movie watched from the pool. (No pics of that, I was too busy lifeguarding.) This activity included all you can eat make your own sundaes!

A visit to the Cowgirl Museum, followed by the always appealing Museum of Science and History.

"Shopping" in the lowest level of the museum is a definite crowd pleaser.
We also saw a wonderful concert under the stars in the Botanic Gardens. The Fort Worth Symphony performed, and there was a laser light show and fireworks. Sadly, my camera battery needed recharging. The next day, lots more time in the pool.

A still life of a Mardi Gras mask and some ornaments/faux fruit. Found in my sister-in-law's living room.

Apparently it rained here in the Mid-Atlantic while we were gone. And it continued to do so after we got home. (Lucky for us we live high on a hill.)
We landed at Dulles (an hour and half late) and did not get home until 4 hours later. Normally this should have taken maybe an hour and 45 minutes. Luckily, I had some knitting on hand. I've been happily working on some socks using Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn when I catch a spare moment.

Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn in "Glade"

Other than that just keeping busy with boys, boys, boys.

Lazy, Hazy Dayz of Summer

A finished object! I can hardly believe it myself. Here's a bag I made yesterday.

It's based on the tutorial here at tiny happy, but I had to make it more time consuming. (Interfacing, magnetic snaps, insert hard bottom type of stuff.) Here's the inside.

I put three pockets on one side, and may add another one (zippered) to the outside of the other side at a later date.

Always the optimist (snort!), I was sure that once school ended I'd have more time to, you know, do stuff. Fewer busses to meet and all that. Wrongo!

Anyway, we've been going to lots of parties, including a dinosaur pool party. What's that, you say?
It's where you completely fill a pool with inflatable dinosaurs and palm trees, immobilizing the children so that they can't go into the deep end. (Just kidding. This little swimmer insisted on gathering all the dinosaurs to him. Eventually we were able to share with others.) We also went to a rockin' 40th birthday celebration in the neighborhood. There was a live band, the weather was perfect, and I was just waiting for the cops to come and tell all us middle aged parents that we really needed to keep it down, next time no warning! And I went to a knitters' gathering and met some nice folks the other night.

Lilies are blooming everywhere. Here's one that sprouted a butterfly in my sister's garden:

And here are some of the wonderful yellow lilies that came with our house (I was really surprised the first time they showed up).

The retro bags were put on hold because I realized that as much as I love the fabrics, I never wear most of those colors, so the bag at the top of the post took precedence. Maybe next week (wink).

Dye-O-Rama Update

Earlier this week I received a wonderful package from my Dye-O-Rama swap pal Dena, who hails from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Here's the great stuff she sent:

Lovely wrapping in some of my favorite colors

Great fabric with bonus quilt magnets!

Check it out! A rainbow of fingering weight cotton? Flower Basket shawl, maybe?

My very favorite colors - blues! This is the skein I've been visualizing for weeks, and now it's mine.

The whole kit and kaboodle

Thank you so much Dena! What a great package!

Tote bags - still not done, but most of the fabric is washed. I've had dryer issues, and lots of interruptions from my offspring. But I've got to finish at least one before an upcoming trip.

Looong Weekend

The weekend started out great. Saturday was lovely, sunny, cool. Had a wonderful time at a soccer game, got takeout Thai food, etc. Sunday I hoped we could maybe check out the dryer, which is running very hot, talk about the water softener we need to replace, finally plant those gladiolas. Maybe get started on those totes. NOT.

Sunday morning I awoke to a very sick child. After 3 hours of sickness (I'm using euphemisms here) my husband took him to the hospital. We thought he had a stomach virus and was getting dehydrated. About 45 minutes later my husband called and said that they thought the diagnosis was appendicitis. OK! So I farmed out the other kids, and headed to the hospital.

All's well that ends well. Our guy had to stay in the hospital overnight for observation, but they didn't end up doing surgery. The final diagnosis was gastroenteritis. The patient had recuperated enough last night that he was back to jumping on the sofa and fighting with his brothers with gusto. Whew! He was standing next to me just now, like a bright and shiney penny.

On the bright side, I did get some good sock knitting done while enjoying various Pokemon classics : "Pikachu Party" (not "Pikachu Pileup" as my 6 year old pointed out), "Wakeup Snorlax!" and "Jigglypuff Pop". Also the unforgettable "Power Rangers in Space". Our hospital obviously has an enviable collection of children's videos.

So today I'll try to get to the totes or bags or whatever.

Retro Mania

I've been in a nostalgic mood this week. But first, some lily pictures for Deb R

This variety is called "Lollipop"

The area behind our sunporch is ideal lily growing territory - discovered completely by accident.

Here's one of the new Day Lilies - I believe it's called "Cranberry Baby" or something to that effect. I love the contrast of the green throat against the pink petals.


Now switching gears.

Some time ago I was the lucky recipient of some gen-u-ine vintage fabrics. I'd guesstimate they're circa 1950somethingish. They came directly from my Aunt Mary Ann (well, after a refreshing stay at my parents' house).

This is about a fat quarter's worth of fabric or a little more. Note the price!

For not being a sewist/sewer/quilter, this woman loved fabric. As the oldest of 11 children she had a thrifty side, which showed up in her collecting habits. She collected sheets and pillow cases, and home dec remnants. Here's a stack of some of the gold ones.

Aunt Mary Ann was a very interesting woman, very bright, very opinionated, and very well traveled. She would save her money, and then go on extended vacations to exotic locales. I almost got to travel to the Galapagos Islands with her once. My brother traveled to Israel with her.

Anyhoo, the above fabrics have now been washed, and are waiting to become tote bags and or purses. I've been thinking about making some for a very long time, and now seems like a good time to start.

This wave of nostalgia was brought on by none other than the Mason/Dixon gals. They are enablers of the worst sort. I read their book, and was able to contain any sudden urges. Then Kay had to go and write a post like this. It was too much for me. I succumbed to the pressure. Here's the result.


No amount of styling (accomplished during a power outage this afternoon that coincided with a napping child and two others being at school) can disguise the fact that this is, indeed, a dishcloth. Knitting it reminded me of all the handmade linens and such I've seen at relatives' homes over the years. It didn't occur to me until just now that each and every one of them was made by an individual. Maybe she made it out of boredom, or kindness, or just to make something pretty. But what a wonderful act to make something, to give something of herself, to make someone's world a brighter or more beautiful place, if only in a very small way.

Dye-O-Rama

One thing I've admired about the knit bloggers is their camaraderie. They seem to be a close knit (no pun intended), enthusiastic, and energetic group who love to get their swap on. Their enthusiasm is so infectious that I broke down and joined the Dye-O-Rama swap last month. Each member was to dye sock weight yarn, and send it to their pal. I dyed my yarn back in early May, but didn't end up mailing it until last week. Here it is all skeined up:

Louet Gems Pearl

and a close up
My pal should have received it yesterday, but just in case she didn't I won't list her blog to maintain secrecy in case she wanders over her (far fetched as that may be). I hope she likes it!

I feel obligated to post several warnings/watches (kind of like the weather ones).

Warning #1: Lily season has begun. A strong chance exists that on any day there will be multiple closeups of lilies appearing here. I've held off so far in showing the Lollipop lilies.

Warning (more like a watch)#2: My very talented younger sister made a quilt last week. She is such a good seamstress that when I went to my senior prom I wore with pride a dress that she made at age 13 (from a Gunne Sax pattern). She takes killer photographs, and makes awesome stained glass. I'm sure it won't be long before she conquers quilting completely. I'll try to get a photo of her first quilt in a few weeks and post it. Go Karin!