Terrific Kids Assembly

Hannah was given the Terrific Kid award at school today along with 4 other children from each grade by the Sun Lakes Kiwanis Club.

Here she is at the assembly.
And with David, Grandpa, Grandma Linda and her Godmother, Tamara, who just happened to be in town from Minnesota.
And then here are my children who ham it up, especially Simon, last night after Tamara got to town. He had to be in the FRONT of the picture on the counter......couldn't come back by Hannah & I.

Hannah showing off her photography skills with Tamara.

Tamara's kitties, Kit Kat & Snickers. I can't tell you which one though but she got them at Halloween, hence the names.

Washing Mistake

Quick, what do you think would happen if you left some really cute shrinky dink stitch markers in your pocket and sent them through the wash?

Um...you get WHITE, clear WHITE stitch markers which no longer have ANY photo on them.

Darn, darn, darn. Thankfully, Saun made me a large set of them so I have more with photos and will be much more careful in future!

Project Spectrum & Knitting Gadgets

Ok, so I am not doing Project Spectrum to its fullest but I did notice some pretty pink stuff around my house yesterday.

The bougenvilla down the side of my house.
Roses from my Dad & Linda's wedding last June.
And the Pink Crocs worn by Michelle & Heather last night at Stitch N Bitch. Notice Heather's hand knit pink socks.
The Dubliner white cheddar that Michelle bought for Heather at Costco.
And finally, here is a photo of something made by Knit-Wit. Does anyone know what this is? Bernice had it at SnB last night and we wondered if it was a pom pom maker or maybe an old daisy maker.
Editor's Note: You can see what it does here. Still don't know what that thing on the top does but it looks like the doo-dad on the website.

Do the Colors Repeat?

Is it me or do the bag colors on top repeat in the fabrics to the left?

I don't know why I didn't notice it before but when I looked across my desk this morning, this is what I saw and noticed the similar colors.

The bags on top are to sell this weekend at a Easter Luncheon meeting.

I finished a light pink one that is in the washer right now that is being felted.

I am also knitting a pale pink fuzzy ostrich bag and hopefully will get a dark purple bag done by Friday too. We will see how my knitting goes. I still have 2 Tit Bits to on order that I really should get a move on and knit. Too much knitting and not enough time!

Sunday in Review

I went to the Chandler Fashion Mall yesterday....ALONE. All my short sleeved t-shirts were so disgusting at the end of last summer that they all went in the trash so, I needed some more since it was something like 80 F yesterday.

This is the scene inside the Coach store. That was the line to check out and it was a double line. Wow, they were either having a sale OR there are a lot of people out there that are willing to pay a lot of money for a teeny tiny handbag.
I finished the scarf last night and this is going to be a photo heavy lace blocking kind of post.

Here it is BEFORE BLOCKING. Tiny, really.
Mid-blocking. I always find it so cool the way lace blooms when you block it. Y Ou can see how small it was when wet while I was blocking it. I had to lock the cat out of our room last night so it would dry.
In repose in the front yard. I know my neighbor wondered what the hell I was doing putting some scarf on the lantana.
Close up of the end bit.
Requisite dorky photo in my car window reflection. It is definitely long enough to go around the neck and over the shoulder.

I did 18 repeats instead of the 14 it called for in the pattern. I think I will use the leftover yarn for a pair of Mrs. Beeton from Knitty.

BBQ Saturday Night

We went out to dinner at Famous Dave's by the Chandler Mall last night. We haven't been out as a family in awhile and it was a nice evening.

Hannah took this photo of David & I. She is getting to be a good photographer.
My BIG girl.
Simon entertaining themselves on the other side of the table.
This is a dinner that supposedly feeds 2-3 people and we have already removed the corn niblets, another muffin, a bunch of fries, and a 1/4 lb of brisket. We still have enough food for lunch today!
Don't you love the garbage can lid it is served on???

New Look, Some Knitting and Random Thoughts

As you can tell, I am in the process of updating my template. After talking with some of the gals at SnB and putting this template in the blogger template changes and getting huge errors and then going back to the original, I let the ideas float around in my head. It is a scary place sometimes but usually, when I do that, I suddenly see "how" it should work. And then, I tried what I thought would work, and it did. The biggest thing I learned from Pam & Heather, copy your sidebar BEFORE you change the template so if it gets messed up, you can past it back in, oh, and Blogger has this cool thing in which you can preview your blog before you make the changes permanent and if it is really messed up, don't save the changes and just go back to what you had before the tinkering.

The colors and size of the fonts are a work in progress. I love the pink background....of course, I jump on Lolly's Project Spectrum of pink at the END of March. Hmmm, now I have to figure out how to change the pink to orange next week. I think Pam put me on the right track for that endeavor.
I knit another turquoise bag and am almost done with Mom's scarf. I could take a photo but it looks the same as the other onese on the blog except longer.

Kids are on spring break and bored out of their gourds. Hannah was home yesterday and went through a pre-teen phase where she announced that I don't care about her or love her. Oh my goodness, if this a preview of the teen years, I am going to need to be seriously medicated.

I will probably knit a couple bags over the weekend and I have some sewing to do. Sshhh...don't tell anyone. Plus, I am going to buy some decorative storage boxes for client files that seem to be piling up around my office floor because the filing cabinets & bookshelf is already full. I think I saw some cute ones out at Joann's.

I should pick up another bin for my yarn too. We will see how this whole organizational thing goes because truthfully, I am not the tidiest person on the planet as my hubby will tell you.

And finally, a happy birthday goes out to my sister, Leigh, in San Jose today. I won't tell you how old she is but she is going to have lobster tails for dinner, sushi for lunch and a decadent chocolate brownie creation for dessert. A good food day all around.

Things are A Changin'

You know your luck must be changing when.......your "new to me" minivan has 35,070 miles on it and the air conditioner compressor bites the dust.

That means in 930 more miles, I would have had to pay for the $1,200 compressor out of my pocket. However, since we are in warranty, the air conditioning/compressor tune up won't cost me a dime plus they will do one final check on recalls and such before the warranty expires in 930 miles.

AAAAAhhhhhh, just in time for the summer air conditioning season!!!! Cold air for me this summer.

Guest Knitters

This is what the sky looked like while I was driving to Stitch N Bitch. I was lucky enough to have dinner with Miss Kelli at Pita Jungle before SnB! MMMMMMM...gotta love their jalapeno cilantro hummus.

It was sprinkling rain on my windshield but by the time I got to the light sky, it was no longer raining. Ah, the joys of living in the desert.

My sister Naomi has been making bags for quite some time. This is a recent bag she made for herself and lined with a bandana so NO SEWING is really involved except putting on the handles. Nice job.
We had a good group last night at SnB and a couple of new attendees. It was a good time, as always.

Karen made Pasha the Penguin from Knitty. Isn't it cute???

I am only 3 repeats away from the 17 called for in the scarf pattern but I think I will knit until I am almost out of alpaca yarn and make it a nice long scarf for Mom.

Sock Yarn: So, I got an email from a company I have been speaking with on behalf of a client. They used to make acrylic fibers which were used in, get this, SOCK YARN. I told the guy that I knew a bunch of knitters that would kill for some of their leftover sock yarn. We will see if it generates any comment back. What are the odds??

The Mountain Stream Scarf

Is coming along pretty well. Another good evening of knitting and maybe a long day of a couple hours of knitting will get me pretty close to being done unless I make the scarf longer because I have an extra 150 yds of yarn. I even joined a knit along after the author of the pattern emailed me to tell me about it.

Margene is making a gorgeous blue one!

And I end with a photo that Hannah took of her little brother last week.

Another Day....Another Felted Bag

People seem to really like the whole felted bag thing. I know, if you knit or crochet, the felted bag holds little appeal to purchase but for those that don't, the felted bag is an amazing thing!

I made a couple of these party bags last week. The birthday girl, Marne, got a black one with fuzz and she is using it as a "fancy looking" water bottle holder! I would not have thought about it but hers is a wee bit longer than this one and works great.

I am going to a luncheon (where I also donated a couple of bags for their live auction) on April 1 for Easter and figure these little babies will be a pretty good seller for Easter baskets OR Easter purses for granddaughters. We shall see.

I am 10 repeats into the scarf so I am over 1/2 way done. It will look great after it is blocked.

Girl's Night Out

I went out with a bunch of girls on Saturday night to celebrate Marne's birthday. In the photo below (l to r) Pam, Justine & Marne.

We went to Cyclo in Chandler and the food was FABULOUS. Since there were 6 of us and Pam knows the owner, Justine, she just brought out a bunch of different stuff and we all tried it.

We had green papaya salad, spring rolls, tofu & veggie curry, small pork spare ribs, marinated chicken, green beans sauteed with red pepper and another tofu dish...which I forget.

I gotta get out with the girls more often!!! ;)

Meadow Stream Scarf Update

I went to the Fiber Factory on Friday to get some yarn for some Easter bags I am going to make for an upcoming luncheon.

I also picked up a skein of Misti Alpaca.

To make the Meadow Stream Scarf. I can knit lace, I just can't seem to do it in mohair! Plus, when I put the mohair to my skin, it was really scratchy.

This is going to be a birthday gift for my Mom. So....Naomi, if you are looking at this, please don't show Mom while she is out visiting you!!! Some day, after blocking, it will look something like the photo above.
I am also using some flexible size 6 needles I know I picked up in a second hand store. They are MUCH shorter than the other size 6's I was using when I tried with mohair. I don't mind straight needles for some things but I HATE the long "Granny Needles" that seem so heavy and unwieldy.

If you want this book......

UPDATE: TAKEN


Email me at sbridger3 at cox dot net

I will pick a random winner from the emails for this book.

It is not great literature but it sure was a fun read!

What is under my desk....

OBIE. I looked under my desk and see this furball.
Don't ask me WHY he has chosen this spot because he won't let me put my feet under him to warm them up!

SnB Tuesday

A good group last night. All kinds of projects. Baby Tattoo sweater from SnB Nation, Mariposa shawl, socks on two circulars, pillows, shawls, all kinds of great projects.

Pam brought her KNITTED (yes, you read that right) scarf that looked really nice & even and a crocheted turtle!

I was working on two projects. Why, yes Heather, that is another sock. It is the Samantha's Fixation Sock pattern using Knitpicks Dancing in the color Jig. (Yes, I am still in LOVE with this yarn because it washes up so nicely in the wash with my other laundry. No special treatment needed.)

Ok, Ok...I am addicted because they fit so well in my purse inside my portable pocket bag. I also LOVE knitting socks on dpn's.
Because, my other project, the cherry leaf shawl does NOT fit in my purse anymore.
I am almost 500 yards into it. I will definitely use the 3rd hank of yarn so it is nice and long and cosy!

Julia's Bag

Did she knit that or buy it?

Cuz, you all know she knits. Whenever anyone talks about how "cool" knitting is, they always mention that Julia Roberts knits. Yeah, I know.

I would NEVER have thought to put those colors together but they go really well!

I think you could just make a basic felted tote bag pattern and some eyelash yarn at the top and you would be done. Some fake bamboo handles like those sold at Joann's and you too could have a bag like that......Happy knitting.

HB Family Photos from Ostrich Festival

We had a great time at the Ostrich Festival. If you can believe it, Simon even went on the swings in the picture. The kids are daredevils!
The slide is always one of their big joys! That's Hannah on the right waving at David & Simon to get a move on!
On the kiddie airplanes when a few of the kiddie rides opened up.
Me & my big girl.
Our only family photo from the day. You are at the mercy of other people taking photos!

Stupid Shoes Seen at the Ostrich Festival

Ok, so it rained 2.5 inches in Chandler Yesterday. The Ostrich Festival is held at a park about 1 mile from the house. It is grass & dirt and there are areas in which the water could very easily accumulate, like right here in front of the main stage. This is what it looked like when we got there at 12:00 Noon today.
Now, here are what my shoes looked like after an hour. There was standing water and truthfully, anywhere the rides were located were a quagmire of mud. The kids didn't seem to care and I intentionally wore shoes that could be hosed down at the end of the day. There is NO WAY that your shoes & the bottom of your pants would not be covered in mud by the time you left.
However, that did not mean people (ok, women) made shoe choices based on WHERE they were going. Nope, they went for fashion over usability. I actually heard a husband ask his wife, in sandals similar to those shown as she was trying to jump over a small puddle in the driest area of the park, why she had worn such stupid shoes!
Now, believe me, if you walked in the mud and your shoes were not securely fastened to your foot, they would no longer be ON your foot.
These are some of the better of the worst shoes seen today.
This one gets 3rd prize for poor shoe choices. However, she wins for worst outfit choice!
2nd prize....although you can't see the heels, they are 2-3 inch spikes under the jeans, hence the turned up toes because she was sinking into the wet dirt.
AND THE WINNER IS.........4 inch spike heels seen below!
Up tomorrow or later today? Photos of the HB family at the Ostrich Festival.