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Friday, January 27, 2012

Lucky Me!

The other day, after all the snow stopped and the mail person finally made it up our hill, I got a wonderful package from Sue B , who was my partner in the Dragon Swap hosted by Kathy B. Not only did she find some lovely Sleeping Dragon yarn, she included not one but three dragon-themed patterns. (Now I have to decide which one to do first......) She somehow figured out that I like cats and mysteries and found a new-to-me mystery writer. (Gotta be good and finish my bookclub book first though before delving in.) And there was a very tasty dark chocolate bar plus some wonderful smelling soap. Thank you so much, Sue! (And thank you, Kathy, for hosting a very fun swap.)

Meanwhile, after practicing the Cretan stitch, I found a place for it on my SBS block, her shoes! With a bit more stitching, I finished up block #1 and am all ready to move on to the next one. 1 down, 11 to go!

We spent a lovely afternoon, playing with Max....even took a walk in the chilly sunshine!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Happy Birthday, David!

It's hard to believe, but the SUN's out here after a week of snow, ice, rain and heavy winds. There's lots of yard cleanup to do, but we've been busy catching up on more pressing things. I had to get these mittens finished up and in the mail to David who is turning SEVEN tomorrow. Time sure does fly; it seems just days ago when he was the size of Max.



Have a happy day, David, and a great year! We love you.

Just heard that this little guy has gained a couple of pounds and a couple of inches since he came home from the hospital. And Opa caught him awake!

Opa is the major photographer in our family, so this is a rare shot, but a good one, don't you think? Now I've got to get to work and figure out how to add the cretan stitch to my Sun Bonnet Sue block. See ya later!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Still Snowy in Seattle...and Bellevue~

Looking out our window at the moment, I see snow coming down HARD and our rhodie which appears to be pouting, not without reason.


We seldom see icicles.

Max isn't worried.
This is great knitting weather! Where shall I begin?

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Snowed In!

We woke up this morning to the promised snow, not as much as the pundits predicted, but enough to close the local schools, including the UW, and to keep us homebound for the day. Our son had things to do, so he was inspired to do some shoveling. Don't know whether he'll make it back up our hill except on foot though.
We've been trying to keep up our normal walking routine which has been a challenge, especially on Sunday when it was snowing. I tried to brush the snow off before we went inside, but it took a while for my coat to dry out! As you can see in the first photo, there's a lot more snow in our frontyard today. (No walk today either!)
On Monday we braved a trip down our hill and across town to meet an online friend. Becca and her husband will be moving here soon and certainly got exposed to the "real Seattle" on this visit.
Meanwhile, Max hasn't let a little thing like snow interrupt his schedule!
And Opa took this picture for Sophia. (Mocha wanted equal time on the blog with Ginger and Max....)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Buttonhole Stitching and Baby Cuddling

This week flew by with a bit of stitching, a bit of knitting, our usual volunteering, and a bit of time with Baby Max.


This week's TAST stitch was the buttonhole stitch, which after a bit of doodling, seemed just right for the birdbath. Debra challenged us to make one of her flower-creations, and a little one just popped up next to the birdbath. I also had fun stitching in person with Tahlia and some other CQers at a nearby mall!

Then yesterday, we spent much of the day cuddling Max and learning how much fun it is to have a grandchild closeby.
Mommy looks pretty happy, doesn't she?
Bliss!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

TAST #1 Fly Stitch

To practice each week's stitch, I found a piece of evenweave fabric in my stash and created a sampler or "doodle cloth" as Debra would say. This verse seemed like an appropriate reminder and can be found at about.com as part of a free band sampler pattern by Connie G. Barwick. As I was stitching it, I noticed Dick had stuck a post-it onto the pattern before the word "and" with "temper" written on it. He knows me too well! I'm trying to sort my colors by the ROYGBIV instructions for the TAST Beginners but am perplexed as to where purplely red and brown/tan would fit in. Any suggestions? Also, I am wondering whether anyone has suggestions on how to keep a detached chain stitch/lazy daisy stitch open; mine invariably collapse as you can maybe see where I tried to nail down the fly stitch with a detached chain. To me, the counted fabric is a bit inhibiting, and you can see where my stitching rebeled and started downhill. (These old eyeballs ain't what they used to be, that's for sure!) If you're curious to see how I used the fly stitch on my "real" TAST project, check out the Tuesday Stitchers' blog. You'll find lots of pretty stitching there.
Meanwhile, life goes on. Max is settling in at home and keeping Mom and Dad on their toes, and Ginger is hoping we won't return these car seats.


And this Oma's just plain happy everything went well.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Welcome, Baby!

Happy Birthday, Max!


Max and his Opa.



(And Happy Birthday, Cousin Keith!)