Little Lamb Sweater

It is Friday and I can say Ta-dah!


I finished this sweater, called a Little Lamb sweater because of the lamb ears on the hood.
This was a kit sold at the yarn shop where I go for knitting sessions. The yarn is an off white/beige cotton. The buttons and painted white, gray and tan in a plaid design.

Now that this is done, I will go back to working on the baby blanket, possibly a christening blanket. I will be flying to SC next week and have decided not to take it with me. Since the TSA leak, I am concerned that security will be heightened and they may revert to not allowing knitting needles on the plane. I'm not taking a chance packing it either. I've never lost anything while flying, but if I did, it probably wouldn't be my Reeboks that need replacing anyway, it would be something I've been working on for months.

Please visit Lit and Laundry and Get R Done Friday by clicking on their logos and see who else has finished something this week that they'd like to share.

Friday's bedroom finery

Ahh, Friday... a day that I used to look forward to beginning on Monday morning. Right now Friday just means the end of another week and I wonder how far off schedule I am and if I will ever get everything done before the holidays!

Please check in at Lit and Laundry and Expressly Corgi to see what others have accomplished this week. Both logos are clickable links.

Last weekend I showed Bill a quilt and curtains in a Penney's sale catalog, unsure whether he would like them or not. He did and I ordered them on Monday. One thing that bugs me about Penney's (and presumably other stores) is that you have to check prices from ALL of their sale catalogs and online shops. The items I ordered were all clearance sales, but the quilt and shams were significantly cheaper using the catalog number. The drapes were less expensive using the online info.

The order came Wednesday morning, less than 48 hours after ordering. I couldn't wait to put the new stuff out so I spent the afternoon cleaning the bedroom and swapping out bed linens. A simple tailored black bedskirt and black tablecloth came from Bed, Bath & Beyond to finish my decor. I bought valances but they were way too long to suit me. They will be returned today and new rods with rings and clips will be bought and installed after the holidays.

The black and white toile quilt and shams reverse to stripes.

While I didn't buget time for this project this particular busy week, I am so glad it is done. My room looks fresh and welcoming to me.

Thankful it is FRIDAY!

In addition to a full week of thankful postings, it is time for Finished for Friday (at Lit and Laundry) and Get R Done Friday (at Expressly Corgi). Click the logos to transfer to those blogs, then read and enjoy.

I am writing this Thursday evening. As I mentioned a few days ago, my husband's business is closing. I went in today to sort through artwork that was purchased by us over the years. There were many offices and a long hallway. Eventually automotive art filled much of the wall space and much of that is not ours to keep. Thank goodness. I am running out of room!

I am not truly done by any means with all that needs to be done at work, but I am done with the art work and I've cleaned out the office kitchen. Could someone schedule me for a massage and come pick me and transport me there?

What I should be doing instead of typing here is unpacking boxes. The boxes need to go back tomorrow to hold more stuff. Boy, do we have stuff. Our family room looks like a warehouse wannabe. These are only a few of the pictures.

Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, we have doubles of two pictures. They hung in different areas. The banker boxes are full of smaller wall art, personal photos in frames, banquet tablecloths, kitchen towels, a few glass canisters and trays, and dust that I thought we might like to look at here for a while.
Still more framed art and two memo boards that I don't have room for but was determined to salvage.
I bought this vintage print for Bill years ago at a shop that specialized in photos pertinent to the Detroit area. It cost me an arm and part of a leg to have it framed. The mirrored "window" behind it used to hang here at the house. I think I have a spot for it in a spare bedroom.
And the last photo is of some dusty artificial plants that may or may not stick around after they've showered. Besides unpacking those boxes and finding temporary homes for all this stuff, I have a 35mm Minolta, a Poloroid camera and a tripod to stash someplace. Is film still readily available for Poloroids? I hope not. I can get rid of it if film isn't available.
Once I am unpacked, I am heading up to bed. I will be thankful that this part of the job is done, that Bill and I don't plan on moving (packing up a house would kill me!) and I am thankful for my bed. Listen.....hear it? It is calling me now. Hang on bed....I'll be there soon!

Not done Friday, but feeling good

Even though I no longer have kids in school and therefore no longer in the back-to-school adjustment stage (complete with open houses, sporting events and progress report angst), this is still a busy time of year for me. Part of it must be ingrained, part of it is knowing that the holidays are nearing, and another part is a variable that is new every year. Last year it was Billy's new house and this year it is house hunting with Kim and Chuck. Next fall's variable will be a grandson!

While the calendar seems to be speeding up, I seem to be slowing down. Here it is Friday again and I don't have a project done for Finished for Friday and Get R Done Friday. Please click on both of those blog names to see what others have accomplished.

I could have felt a little low about my lack of progress and slower pace but something in yesterday's mail made me smile. Smile often even. It was a catalog from Femail Creations. If I had enough money, wall space and desk space, I would buy all of these. Some are wonderful inspirations, others just bring a smile. All make me feel good. I hope you enjoy them.

A new scarf

One post fulfilling two memes!

Click on the logo at the left to visit our host at Lit and Laundry and see who else is participating today.
Click on the logo at the right to visit Expressly Corgi and see who else managed to Get R Done.

I had two skeins of Louisa Harding's Kashmir Baby yarn and no idea what to do with it. It feels soft and drapes beautifully, but two skeins of 143 yds each wasn't going to get me anything of great size. I found this pattern in a book of afghan patterns and picked out only the pattern repeat that I wanted to use to create this scarf. The scarf is 32 stitches wide with a 20 row repeat.

Taking a photo of yourself by holding a camera toward a mirror leaves a lot to be desired.

A nice feature of this scarf is that it looks the same from either side. When there is a definite "wrong" side to a garment or afghan, I become a fuss budget trying to keep it arranged so that the right side shows. Much harder to do on a scarf than on an afghan!

I have a sock to finish knitting to complete a pair, and am still working on a surprise project. My good news is that all of this knitting hasn't worsened my eyesight. I did get a new pair of glasses after my eye exam today, just because my other frames were so old, I couldn't remember when I got them.

Since I decapitated myself in the first picture with the scarf, I decided to sit down and use the webcam to take a photo.
I hope everyone has a glorious weekend. If you live in an area with excess warmth, please send some to me in Michigan. We are going to an outdoor party tomorrow night, an Oktoberfest celebration, and this scarf isn't going to be enough to keep me warm. Long johns, a heavy sweater, and gloves will be in order and I will sit close to the campfire. I am a weather wimp.

Finished for Friday: Watercolor

Oddly enough, despite my protests about time flying and all that, here it is Friday again. Doesn't anyone listen to my complaints?

Good thing we have Finished for Friday to spur us on. Click on the logo at the left to visit Lit and Laundry for more Friday posts.

I am taking a break from showing craft tools (and explaining my addictions) to show you what I had finished last week but was unable to show here. It was a gift for a friend and I didn't want her to see it here before it was in her hands.

I didn't make the pumpkin or embroider the towels, but the painting is my work. Unfortunately, I didn't think to photograph it before framing so there is a glare because of the glass.

This is the best I could do regarding a close up.

I have a love/hate relationship with watercolors. I hate when I can't achieve on paper what I have in mind, but I love it when I come close.

I'll be back the beginning of the week with more posts about craft tools. Taking pictures of them is helping get organized for projects that need to be done by that big holiday in December.

Christmas jewelry

After being AWOL for a few Fridays, I am happy to be back with a few finished projects at week's end. Please click on the logo to the left to see who else is participating on Finished for Friday and what they've accomplished.

I've been busy the past few weeks and making progress on projects, but unable to post about them for various reasons. Two are gifts and I don't want to spoil the surprise as the intended recipients would surely guess my intention if they saw them.

A few weeks ago I bought beads to make Christmas earrings and a bracelet. Here is what I have done so far.

The snowmen are not glittered, but a very white silver bead that is textured. The hat is a small black crystal and two opposing black sequins. I have given them to someone already and hope I can find those beads in bulk to make more snowmen and try a few other ideas.

The stacked packages earrings did not photograph well at night against a surface. The color is off and nothing beats sunlight shining on a Swarovski crystal. This photo better shows the true colors of the cubed beads.

With the bracelet, I was hoping for a look of Christmas candy, the red and white swirled peppermints that are wrapped in cellophane that flares at each end of the candy.

I couldn't have them butted up to each other because the bracelet wouldn't flex and the idea of candies was lost. I use a clear bead inside the fluted one, a silver bead and the garnet disk for spacers, but still am not convinced that this is the look I want. I have six candy units in all, and I am going to try stringing them on a cord with either knots inside the fluted beads to keep them in place, or unobtrusive beads as spacers and turning them into a necklace.

Maybe that finished project will become another Finished for Friday!

Check out the barefoot twins holding up a finished autumn quilt at Lit and Laundry by clicking on the Finished for Friday logo at the left.


My post today doesn't look much different from last Friday's because my sock obsession is still going, but there is a difference. The current self striping sock is stalled (don't ya love alliteration?) while I wait for new needles to arrive. I want to knit the ribbing on slightly larger needles and couldn't find them locally so I ordered them from Knit Picks. They are one of my favorite online/catalog sources.


The cream colored strip is a scarf that I started a few days ago to use up two skeins of leftover yarn. I tried quite a few designs until I came up with this one. It appealed to me because there is no wrong side to the scarf. I like a scarf that looks good whichever way it is turned. Still being a work in progress should disqualify it for Finished for Friday, BUT by deciding to use this pattern, I did FINISH the decision making process!
The baby sock was done in an evening, just last night. I will finish the mate to it tonight. My niece that I posted about a few days ago will have plenty of socks made by her mom, so this pair will be going to my grandchild, due in March. I still can't believe it when I say or write "my grandchild"!