An Update? Really?

Are you surprised yet? I hope someone is, because I am! It's been so long since I updated pictures on my computer that I had forgotten how to do it. Where have all the brain cells gone (sung to the tune of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?")? I used to have some, right up until I went to college ... never mind. Anyway, I was successful at figuring out what I knew a while back, and here are some pics.

Keagan was the recipient of my first baby sweater. Do I have a picture of him wearing it? NO! Nikki has it somewhere, but she's a little too busy to bother right now. All I have is this knitting-complete-but-not-really-finished picture. You'll have to trust that it was finished and Keagan wore it and looked terribly cute (of course). I was amazed at how easy it was to knit. No kidding! I even knitted little button holes that worked. I feel smart every time I look at it!

Socks have been a big item for me since I started knitting, so I have to show you the few pair that I've completed. This first pair are top-down socks made of wool.

By the way, the pair I had started when I left you a year ago (the post before last) were finished and have been worn by the man in my life (there has to be something better to call him) for a year. He wears them and tells everyone that I knitted them. I think that's a good thing.


Next up are some toe-up socks. My first pair of this type worked out pretty well. The yarn is wool and a little bamboo, so they're very soft. They're mine ... heh, heh, heh ... and I'm very happy with them.

The lovely camo socks below were also toe-up using the same pattern as the pretty purple ones, but I had an issue. I knitted them for the man in my life (really ... new name needed), but they won't fit over his heel! The only way I know to fix this problem is to pull the bind-off out and bind off more loosely. Or should I pull out the ribbed part, add some stitches and re-bind off loosely? Staci, queen of knitting, if you're reading this, please give me a hint. I thought about screaming and ripping them to shreds just tossing them in a drawer, but they're a wonderful blend of wool and cashmere, so they're stupidly expensive incredibly soft and cozy. The color ... eh, not so great for me, but someone loves them. Suggestions about how to handle the too-small bind-off would be appreciated. I suppose I could take them to the LYS where I've spent a crapload of little money on yarn and ask for some help.

Finally we've arrived at some stitching. I finished the Ewe & Eye & Friends Small Sampler #6 and personalized it for a happy anniversary. I used the recommended DMC threads and 40-count Sandstone, and it turned out great. Oh wait ... I used an overdyed floss for the alphabet. It's hard to tell in my bad picture, but I satin-stitched the insides of the leaves and put my own stuff in the cartouche, including a queen-stitched heart. I used to think these pictures were all clickable to make them bigger, but that hasn't worked lately. Figuring it out doesn't fit into my plans for the evening. ***Edited: The clicking does work! Holy cow! As usual, I'm in the dark.***

That's enough stuff for now. I've got some stitching to do! Next time I'll show you what I've been working on but haven't finished (evidence of ADD).

Tomorrow would've been my mom's 75th birthday. The special day reminded me that a few of you have asked about my dad. He's doing rather well, despite the case of Shingles he has. If, like me, you've had them, you know that isn't a happy way to spend your time. He's been dating, which is fine but weird. I could tell you stories, but you'll have to wait for my book to be published (don't tempt me). Life changes often, and we adjust in whatever ways we can, right? For those of you who have asked about him, thank you. That was extremely kind of you to remember him.

TGIF tomorrow! Is it just me, or do these short weeks seem long? Enjoy your weekend and make some fun.

Wonders Never Cease

That's one of my favorite quotes.  The first, but not most important, wonder is that I'm posting (holy cow)!  I know you thought you were rid of me, but I've returned from real life to blogland.  I've been hanging around here and there when I have time, commenting on a few blogs, but until today, I haven't felt the urge to get back to writing with the community.  My excuse?  I don't have one.  Life here is busy, just as it is for all of you.  Maybe the urge just wasn't strong enough to drag me back.

The next wonder, which is far more fascinating, is a new grandson.  Blake Michael introduced himself at 4:27 pm on August 18.  He's another little precious for this grandma to spoil rotten, and I'm getting started right away.

Below is big brother Keagan (today's wonder #3) pictured with his mom a couple of months ago (a while back as toddlers go, but it's one of my favorites).  He's now a big 17-month-old wild child, as he should be.  Since Blake came home to join him, he's been the sweetest big brother anyone could ask for.  Contrary to what you might be thinking, Nikki does know where babies come from.  We're not the type of family to shy away from a gift.  Considering that Nikki spends her days (and nights) with a newborn and a toddler, she's very cool, calm and collected.  Their dad works long hours and comes home ready to hold whoever needs it. 

So, yeah, life's busy.  I've been back to school for three weeks, so there's much less time to spend with Keags and Blake than I'd like.  That lottery win still hasn't materialized!

It's been so long since I've posted that I don't know where to start on the stitching and knitting front.  I thought about starting with what I'm working on now, but I've been very lazy about taking pictures of the few (remember ... I'm the world's slowest stitcher) things I've done.  So I'll leave you with a pic of Keagan's stocking, completed in November 2010.  It's a Shepherd's Bush, of course, to match the others.  This one is Brett's Stocking.

I'll give you a few more looks in my next post.  Hopefully it'll be less than a year away!  Make some fun.

Places Being Seen, Things Being Done

Thank you for all of your kind and welcoming comments!  Returning to blogging after a long absence is kind of like going back to school after having been sick for several days.  It's scary in some weird way.  I appreciate your help in coming back.

How about some pictures of what I've been doing?  Below is The Yellow House Sampler from Sheepish Designs.  I love working on it and looking at it when I'm not working on it.

The fabric is 40-count Iced Cappuccino ... the lightest IC I've ever seen, in fact, and I'm using one DMC thread over two.  It's been such a long time since I've worked with regular old DMC that I'd forgotten how much I like it.  A little voice in my head is telling me to dunk it in come coffee when I finish.  We'll see.

Below is the new pair of socks I'm working on.  As you can see, hopefully, the second sock isn't gonna match up exactly with the first.  I know the idea is to make them look the same, but I couldn't help myself.  I wanted to see how it turns out.

I love the colors so far, but they aren't for me.  They're for a special birthday gift in September.  Someone gave me a pattern for toe-up socks, but it'll take me a little time on the internet to figure out how to start them.  The pattern makes beginning sound extremely complicated, so I'll be searching for a video (the internet is a wonderful thing) to help me.

I've been gone for several days.  We decided to take a little trip to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore (I love it there) again and play some golf.  We had some very exciting weather, so there wasn't much golf, but it was a great getaway.

Earlier this month we took a trip to Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon.  Even though I've lived out west all my life, I'd never been to either place.  Finally, I've seen what "awesome" means.  The Grand Canyon is incredible.  You've seen a million pictures of it, I know, so I won't bore you with mine.  We took two days to visit the South and North Rims, and the drive between is worth your time.  On the way to the North Rim, you can stop at Navajo Bridge, which is 700 feet above the Colorado River.  Here are some rafters who waved and told us to jump (I'm sure they meant it in the nicest way).

First you see them close-up, and now here's a view as we saw them from the bridge.  Pretty cool, huh?  I'm pretty sure I need a raft ride.

  Mesa Verde was also amazing.  I loved it there, so I'm forcing you to look at one picture.

Thinking of how long these dwellings have been there makes looking at them even better.  We got to climb down into a kiva with the other kids (really, there were one or two other adults).  On our way home, we went on a crazy road called the Moki Dugway, which was a blast.  The pictures taken by other people are much better than mine, and you'll get a great idea of what it was like if you click on the link.  If you're ever in that area, do it!

I think that's about it for now.  I have one more full week and a day of summer vacation (gasp! sob!!), which has been reduced by almost three full days because of meetings (yawn) that my new principal and the big bosses think I need to attend.  Meetings aren't my thing, and I'll be doing my best to learn something, but I'll take my knitting just in case my brain needs some help.  I'm naughty, huh?  Make some fun.

Where, Oh, Where ...

... have I been for almost four months?  Well, life took me by the hand, sat me down and said, "Get organized."  So I did.  Chaos of work and real life was making me a crazy person, so I worked on changing a few things.

Regarding work, after making some big changes to our school, our principal resigned to return to a high school classroom.  Interesting, huh?  Then, because he and the IB program left (short version of a long story), the woman who got my job left.  With some help from a few supporters at my school and at the administrative level, I got my job back!  I know!  How exciting!  So, instead of being in a first grade classroom, I'll continue to work with kindergarten through second grade during mornings, and I'll be coaching (yes, you're reading it correctly) other teachers in the afternoons.  I'm not certain I'm mature enough to handle the afternoon part of my job, but other people think I am (golly, they've been fooled), so I'll do my best.  We have a new principal who seems to be level-headed and has a plan, so we'll see what happens next.  I'm hesitantly optimistic about school, which is such a change for me!

During our summer vacation, I've been spending loads of time with this little cutie.

Hasn't he become a tub?  Mother's milk has made Keagan a very big boy.  He'll be four months old tomorrow and he's weighing in at over 14 pounds.  All he wants to do is eat.  That's his job until crawling begins ... if he can lift himself.  Right now he's working on sitting up by himself.  Other than feeling like a milk truck, Nikki is doing well.  Her husband, Grady, has taken a better-paying job so she can stay home with Keags.  I can't get enough of his smiles and giggles.

On the therapeutic activities front, I finally finished stitching Sarah Esh, so here's her not-so-great picture.  How sad that my photography skills haven't improved during my absence.  Oh well.  She's not framed yet, but she's ready to join other A&E samplers when I get something else stitched.  Right now, thanks to a bloggy friend (you know who you are and I love you even though I've neglected you), I'm working on The Yellow House Sampler by Sheepish Designs.

A skill I have acquired while absent is sock knitting.  I know!  I knit socks!  Looky here ...

Shocking, isn't it?  Or should I say socking?  That's my first pair of socks, and I'm at work on a second pair.  In fact, the first sock is finished and I've started the second.  I'll show you a picture in another post.  This summer I've learned that knitting is much easier to manage than stitching is while traveling.  Well, for me it is.  So there's been more knitting than stitching going on.  I've also completed a felted bag for a friend in Maine and a felted bowl.  Wanna see?

As you can see, I haven't lost my obsession for felting.  Hey, it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars.  Sorry to say, I'm just as slow at knitting as I am at stitching!

So much has happened since I've spent more than a few moments in blogland.  Poor Merlin, my old man cat, had to be put down a day after my last post.  All of you pet lovers know how that is.  Dad's been doing ok, by the way.  He struggles, like we all do, but he's working at finding his way through the world without Mom.  During some of my chaos removal, I left the man I hung around with behind. That was hard, but it brought along an opportunity to meet a cool, calm, collected and extremely kind man. My mom always used to tell me that thing about one door closing and another one opening. I really hadn't believed it until now. So we'll see. It's nice to have someone to spend time with besides family.  And he puts up with my hideous golf game!

I hope that those of you who've read here before will start to read here again.  I'll be catching up with what you've been doing and I hope to comment here and there.  I've missed you all more than you know.  The Sisterhood of the Rose is alive and about to move on.  I'll explain where we are with that in my next post.  With any luck, four months won't pass before you hear from me again.

Whatever you do, make some fun!

WHOOSH!

That's the sound spring break made as it flew by. I tried to dig in my heels to slow time down, but no luck. There were even a couple of snowy days during which I could've sat at my computer to post, but I just couldn't do it. I was busy holding a baby and knitting a little and stitching a little and family stuff and ... well, I don't know!

Please forgive some more grandmotherly picture-bragging, but here's a little of my knitting with Keagan (yes, in my here's-my-new-grandson post, I didn't realize the actual spelling was different from my version ... bad, bad grandma). I knitted this Baby Pea Pod (available on Ravelry) in no time a couple of weeks ago. It was super easy and he loves it. Nikki took the pic with her cell phone, so it's awful, but you get the idea. He's just as cute as he was last time.

In other knitty news, I've been working on a pillow from the book One Skein, and when I checked out the photo I took on the monitor screen, it was incredibly out of focus. What I was thinking when I took the pic, I have no idea. Chalk it up to old-lady vision. Anyway, I branched out with the pattern, using different-than-called-for alpaca yarn (oooh, pretty and soft) and larger-than-called-for needles to make a larger pillow (yes, it seems I'm a knitting experimentalist), and it's turning out just the right size. I know! Who knew I could wing it? I know enough to realize that one day this knitty thrill-seeking will bite me right in the butt. Until then, look out. I also knitted a felted bowl from the same book (a great book), but I haven't felted it yet. Pictures of the pillow-in-progress and bowl will magically appear in the next post ... whenever that is. Oh, I almost forgot. I also finished a felted bag for Nikki and another one for me. No pictures because I figured you've got to be bored with the bags. So I really have been doing something with my time.

Then there's Miss Sarah Esh. I've been working on her, but work is a little slow. My goal is to finish this week. Uh huh, dream on. Goals are a good thing, right? So sorry for another awful photo.

That pretty much brings us up to date. I'm hustling through this post to get to my purple chair before my eyes close. Keagan and his mom and dad are doing great, school is as it is, and home is a nice place to be. Make some fun.

Look What the Stork Brought!

Our little stranger arrived Saturday night, March 20, at 11:29. His name is Keegan. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, was almost 20 inches long, and he's a healthy little guy. Here he is in the arms of his dad, Grady, during his first hour ...

Isn't he a cutie? Nikki is doing very well, and the whole family is headed home today. Since they were still at the hospital yesterday, I had to go hold him again. He was awake for a little while ...

It's unanimous. We'll keep him! I can't think of a good word to describe what it was like to watch my new grandson being born. I was pretty sure I'd wimp out, but I made it through the whole thing. What a way to start spring break.

I'm pathetically behind on blog reading, commenting and posting, but I have some things to do here at home. Hopefully, I'll return tomorrow with some knitting and stitching pics. It's been a while. Make some fun.

On a Happier Note ...

How about a happier post to cancel out the cranky part of yesterday's post? Good idea! I appreciate all of your comments, and I think it's time to lighten up a little. You're not here to listen to whining and complaining, after all, and I don't really enjoy doing it.

A while back, I promised pictures of Nikki's shower. Warning: the location had some very tricky lighting, so beware of my truly amateur photos. Here's Nikki with her cute mother-in-law. I'm not sure what Nik's looking at, but since she's looking down, there isn't much to see but her tummy! Someone (maybe her mom?) must've made some smartassy remark about her delicate condition.

Here's Nikki and her wonderful friend, Maribel, who hosted the shower. That sweet little guy is Alec, my new best friend. You've never seen anyone as goofy around babies as I am, and I'm happy to report that I got him to laughing pretty hard. A baby laugh is the very best sound in the world. Look at those smiles!

Oh, and the giant bruise on Nikki's arm is the result of an ugly slip down some icy steps, not domestic violence. I'm afraid she got her graceful manner from her mom. I could go on and on, but those are just a couple of pics to show you my happily pregnant daughter. It still doesn't seem possible that she's gonna be a mom. Everyone says this, but how do they grow up so quickly? One minute they're learning to walk and talk, and the next minute they want your car keys.

To show that I really am accomplishing a little something, here's a picture of Nikki's knitting bag in progress. I started it for me, but she loves the colors as much as I do, so as soon as it's felted, it's hers. Another bag for me can wait.

In between bags, because I'm feeling brave, I think I'll give washcloths a try. Something new to sink my needles into. Don't worry, I'm not feeling cocky. A knitting friend assures me that washcloths are a great way to get in some practice and try to become more consistent. We have a plan. I wanna knit socks so badly that I can taste it! Practice, practice, practice.

It's conference week, so today was the first of three 11-hour work days. Our reward is part of Thursday and all of Friday off. Ah ... Friday morning is mine to stitch away. What a treat! For now, my pillow calls. Make some fun.