So, last weekend, I was looking around for decorating ideas, wallpaper, etc and happened upon some blogs that were based on quilting, sewing and other fabric crafts and I found so many fabrics that I just loved. After "link-hopping", I landed at a site called Pacific Fabrics where I bought the 11 fabric prints below. I only bought a 1/4 yd of each so it cost me less than $3 a piece. I think I might make this quilt I found on one of the blogs. There is just something about it!
1. Weightlifting commentator: 'This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria . I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.'
2. Dressage commentator: 'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother.'
3. Gymnast: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'
4. Boxing Analyst: 'Sure there have been injuries and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious.'
5. Softball announcer: 'If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.'
6. Basketball analyst: 'He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces.'
7. At the rowing medal ceremony: 'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew.'
8. Soccer commentator: 'Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field.'
9. Tennis commentator: 'One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just said?'
Well, I didn't realize that it had been so long since I posted. I had been doing so good! This post will sure make up for it!
We just got home from vacation. The girls went to spend a week at my mom's in Maine and hubby and I went to Hampton Beach NH. We had planned the vacation prior to knowing they were coming home early so we didn't have enough money saved to bring them with us. In the end, it didn't matter because they had a great time with their Grammie and Grampie, and Grammie and Grampie had some helpers for the week.
On the drive up, we stopped at a rest area for a bathroom break and to stretch our legs and the Oscar Mayer Weenie Mobile was there. It's the first time any of us has seen it and were all thrilled to get weenie-whistles.
Aren't they beautiful? I am so happy to have them all back together living under one roof.
While they were in Maine they got to see my sister too. They have a mini farm so they got to experience some of the work involved and even got to milk a goat. 'E' says that it tastes like cow's milk and 'M' says it's DISGUSTING. LOL
We drove all the way up past Bangor to drop them off and then had to drive back down to Hampton NH the next morning. This is what we arrived to. :( It's a good thing we always spend the first night eating Lobster at Little Jack's. It stopped raining so we could walk there.
The rest of the week was great. It rained one other day and we spent that day driving around looking for yarn shops. I was sooo disappointed in them. I only bought TWO skeins of sock yarn!
I bought this one at 'The Yarn Basket' in Portsmouth. It WAS a REALLY nice store, but it's small and pretty new so the selection was pretty small. I have been wanting this one (J Knits Sock Yarn - Cincinnati) for quite awhile so I bought it so as to not have it be a wasted trip. I was really hoping to get some nice lace yarn but their lace selection was very small (so was their sock yarn selection). I think she will really grow it into something nice. I definitely liked the atmosphere in there and she was really nice.
I bought the second one at 'Yarn for Ewe' in Rye, NH. It's SRK On Your Toes by Kertzer Yarns. I've never heard of it before. It has aloe in it and they had it next to a picture of some really comfy looking 'sock monkey' socks with read toes and heels. Of course, they didn't have any of the red so I have to try to buy it online. They just looked like they would be so comfortable to wear around the house this winter.
I am so spoiled by living so close to Webs and also having Creative Fibers right down next to where I work in CT. The stores were both nice but they were just so small and had such a small inventory compared to what I am used to.
On Thursday, I drove back up to my Mom's to get the kids and we drove back home today. Altogether, I put 1500 miles on my car. YIKES! I had to have spent at least $200 on gas. I'm afraid to look for the real total.
I also came home to my new Woolgirl Sock Club shipment. The theme is "The Dog Days of Summer''. Everything is so cute AND I was notified that i was the second place winner in the Georgia O'Keefe contest and get to pick out two yarns from Mama Llama. When I get them, I will post a picture. Here is the kit as a whole (there is a cool bag on the bottom of the pile that says Woolgirl Sock Club Dog Days of Summer - everything else is pictured again beneath this picture individually):
The yarn is from MadelineTosh and the color is called Beach Towel. Not my first choice but it's fun looking and it looks great knit up in the pattern below. I'll definitely knit it up in this pattern.
This is the pattern I am going to knit with it. It looks cool.
But, then there was a second pattern that looks interesting. I'll have to pick another great yarn for this one.
Jen always includes some fun things in the swap kits. This one was no exception, right down to the tiny flip flops that my daughter swears are erasers (and Jen's note confirms that!!). There is also a stitch marker, an SPF 15 Cocoa Butter Lip Balm that says Dog Days of Summer on it and also a cute measuring tape that keeps the theme going.
And last but not least, a water bottle with the theme printed on the front. Isn't it cute?
One final thing to tell you about....
When doing a search online for Lime Green eyeliner and eyeshadow, I came across a video on youtube of a girl applying this eye makeup. I have a THING for Lime green and her eyes looked awesome so I asked here where she got her eyeshadow. She told me she bought it on eBay and to do a search for '80 color eyeshadow' and that it came form Japan of all places. I hopped over to eBay and found it right away. I ended up winning an auction and got it for about $3 and then paid about $10 for shipping. Still, not a bad price when you see what i got. Look at all of the colors! I'm going to have FUN!!
God I'm so BLAH today! I am tired and have no reason to be. It's been storming a lot here this week. Maybe it has something to do with it.
We just went to a Flea Market. It's always fun seeing things from your childhood, even if it is just the tea pot your mom had. But, my God, was it a FREAK SHOW! The people in those places are S-C-A-R-Y looking! LOL I did manage to pick up a mirror that can be fixed up for "A" and "E" 's bedroom. They didn't have one and need one to make themselves beautiful before school. The guy gave it to us for free. It needs some fixing up but isn't too bad looking.
After the Flea Market we went to the mall. I picked up 4 uniform shirts for "M". She has to wear light blue this year. "A" needs dark blue but they didn't have any. I won't know what color "E" needs until she is registered for school up here. I have to make an appt to do that this week. I think I'll take a day off to do it. Why the hell not?
We went to the Christmas Tree Shop. I bought three mixers for drinks. One is Pomegranate, one is Mango and the last is just a boring Pina Colada one that sounded good at the time. Maybe I need a drink!
Hubby is about to go buy Steak and Lobsters, corn on the cob and baking potatoes for dinner. Then I think I will knit a bit on my sweater.
I went spinning up at webs yesterday and picked up some Rowan Big Wool on Clearance. It's maroon and yellow and really caught my eye. I think I am going to make myself a scarf, hat and mittens for this winter. The colors should make me happy during the long cold months.
I'm also going to make these two pairs very soon so I have them ready for the cold months. They make me smile. :)
Link to Ladybug Mittens on Ravelry - The chart they had was too tiny and hard to read so I made one in excel. You are welcome to download the picture and use it. You'll need to use a generic mitten pattern of your own. They have these in Latvian Mitten books, etc.
...and here is the link to the yellow mittens on Ravelry and to the actual pattern.
http://mittenswapthree.blogspot.com/
I think this might be my last one since it is such a hassle to get some people to follow through on sending packages and I get nothing in return for my efforts. That might sound selfish but the knitting swap world is brutal. In my scrapbooking days the hostess always received little thank you gifts which ALMOST made it worthwhile. LOL But not in the knitting swap world...which really kinda surprises me since knitters seem to be the nicest people on the face of the earth. Hmmmmm
So, anyway, if you want to do it one last time...go on over and join. I'm sitting this round out as a swapper so I can focus on getting everyone to do what they promised to do....grrrrr
Tastefully Simple has these new Drink Buckets that you just add the alcohol to; Mango Breeze Margarita and Samba Sangria Slush.
The Mango Margarita is AWESOME! We had it on the 4th of July. Last night I tried the Sangria Slush in the Hot Tub and am about to go have a glass in the pool while i read my book.
Relaxing like this is me favorite part of summer. :)
If you haven't tried these, and you drink (of course), find a Demonstrator on the website and help her earn some money. It's a win-win situation. I happen to have a co-worker who sells it. If you live in Western MA and want her name, let me know.
OMG I went to an Aerobics workshop today with Karla from Sudor Taino. She is a Detective with the Hartford CT police Department. She is so motivational, but a bit nuts. LOL
The workshop was three 45 min sessions. The first one was kick boxing which I have never done and had me drenched with sweat by the time I was done. WOW. What a workout! The second one was a Core Workout. Imagine doing squats etc with your pelvis tilted up. We even did squats on our toes and tons of crunches and bicycles. The third session was Dance. Tons of fun! We did some Salsa moves etc. I don't have much rhythm, but somehow with her leading us, I was able to shimmy, and shake my ass like a real pro (a white, rhythmless pro....hehe). Nevertheless, I got quite a workout, sweat about 40 pounds off (I wish) and had a ton of fun.
If you live in the Hartford area, you should look her up. She teaches at a gym in Newington, CT. I know her because my gym at work had her come in and do an hour workshop a couple of weeks ago (that was when I found out that it was possible to sweat from your eyelids....snort). I am so glad I went. It was the best $30 I have ever spent (as good as the $30 monthly fee I pay to belong to the gym at work which has helped me regain my strength and power).
If you don't work out.....now is the time. You just feel amazing. I used to hate to sweat. Now it helps me know that I have pushed all of the negative energy out and replaced it with self confidence and strength.
Today is the day I also decided to get back on the Weight Watcher's Core program too. I have been following it loosely for a few months (since "A" was diagnosed) and decided that I need to get back on track. This month is the year anniversary of the beginning of my weight loss journey. I've gained some weight back since I started at the gym and stopped being careful with my eating. I know some of it is muscle weight, but not all of it is. I still have about 30-40 pounds to get to "my goal".
I earned about 19 points working out today. LOL I'm just going to eat a bit extra at dinner. No more slipping even if I do have the points to spare.
I cast these on MONTHS ago. I can never focus on one project so it took me forever to finish them. They sat in my knitting bag untouched for a long time after I cast on the second one. I vowed to never succumb to SSS (second sock syndrome) so I would knit on it a little bit now and then but never focused on it for a long period of time. A couple of months ago I talked about them at knitting and decided I had to do the heel and gusset. But after I did those, I put it aside again.
Last week I decided that I needed another completed project in my Ravelry Projects so I picked it up again and knit on it a little bit every day. Well, I finally finished them last night. They are blocking now. It'll be months before it is warm enough to wear socks again, but when that time comes, I am armed with a pair of hand knit ones!
If you look in my stash and queue at Ravelry, you notice a slight obsession with sock patterns and sock yarn.....so why on earth are these only my second pair of completed socks? LOL The first pair went to my mom, so these are my first. They should be quick to knit. I have no idea why I can't seem to focus on them.
Here is the cutest notebook I have ever seen. It's a key ring!
Then we have a stitch marker made out of clay. The detail is amazing and it is so tiny. Look at my thumbnail for comparison. It is from WeeOnes at http://www.weeones.etsy.com/ . I think these frogs are exclusive but they have some really cute ones. Check them out! (I've made clay stitch markers. These are incredibly small and the designer is hugely talented!)
This is a hand-crafted bamboo 1 inch square stitch gauge with Frog designs etched into it. You can find them at http://www.karatstix.etsy.com/
and finally, a calculator engraved with "Woolgirl 2008 Sock Club" to count stitches when, inevitably, you need to "frog" a project.
I'm so glad I joined this club. I will definitely join again next year!
| You Are 60% Massachusetts |
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We set up the pool yesterday and filled it up. The hose is still running to finish filling it so you can imagine how cold the water is.....
My kids are CRAZY! They didn't want to wait to go in so they are in there freezing their butts off. They had to dare each other to go under. That's like an ice headache from the outside in! But, then again, it's not much different from swimming in the ocean in NH or Maine during the hottest weeks of the summer since that water is always cold (which is why I spend my time in a lounge chair on the beach knitting or reading a book)!
I'll be waiting a few weeks before I get in there. But, I can tell you, I am looking forward to floating around in there with a Margarita as soon as possible....
I went to the MSWF today and got lots of awesome fiber. Here's a few pics to make you drool:
Merino Silk ----------------------------------Merino Tussah
Here is my first handspun. It's Mama Llama C*eye*ber Fiber Merino Roving. The colorway is called "It's a Mystery". You can see where the thick and thin is plied and the plying isn't the greatest. But, it's my first handspun and will become a lovely scarf.
Here is my second handspun. It was dyed by a dyer I found on etsy. The shop is CopperPot Woolies and is also Merino. I have 3 more of her colorways waiting to be spun up. I'm a big fan of her stuff. It's beautififul!
You can see that it has less thick and thin areas and the plying is much better. I did one bobbin with a stripe pattern and the second bobbin, I combined the colors into one big mix. I love the way it turned out. I'm not sure what I can make out of it because I only ended up with 116 yards, but I'll find something, I am sure.
I am working on my third now. I am getting a really consistent thickness and the singles are thin enough that I think I'll be able to get fingering weight out of it once it is plied. The roving I am using this time is Corriedale, which has a longer staple length and is much easier to spin (in my opinion). I chose to leave that one natural and am going to try dying it myself once it is spun up.
Fun!
We had to modify A's meds today. Stating last night sh was complaining that it was hard to breathe. She was taking a double dose in the mornings and evenings, so beginning tonight we are going to cut it in half. I lucked into the 50mg dose on clearance at Walgreen's, so I bought the last 4 bottles. Hopefully, she will be ok with the new dose and we can continue it, but if not, I only lost $20. It's worth the gamble because I got them for a third of their original price.
I also picked her up some Sugar Free Reese's cups, SF Andes Candies and SF York Peppermint Patties. She's been craving candy since we cut out the sugar, so hopefully these will help. I have already warned her not to eat more than 1 piece a day since SF candies can have a laxative effect. That's all this poor kid needs!
Not much else going on. I skipped my weigh in tonight. I have knitting tomorrow and don't want to be out two nights in a row, so soon after everything. I'm still being good. My aerobics class today was awesome. We did upper body strength training. I'm toning up nicely. I saw the perfect shirt at Hot Topic this weekend. It said, "Call the vet, these puppies are sick" and it had a picture of a guy flexing his muscles. If it was a woman I would have bought it LOL.
I bought a couple of really cool glasses this weekend at Lens Crafters (and some prescription sunglasses). I'll try to take a picture soon so you can see my new hair color and each set of glasses. One pair is brown plastic, the other are clear (yes completely see through) and the sun glasses remind me of a 60's Hollywood actress.
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