10 Things to Do Before I'm 40

I need a jump start. Yep, I've been procrastinating for too long since we've moved to Colorado. Since I'll be 40 in January, I've decided to at least list some goals that I have before that big milestone:

1. Run a 5K - The hubby and I are currently training and I hope to get off my duff and run the Turkey Trot in Castle Rock next month.
   
2. Finish another easy baby quilt - Must.get.sewing machine!
   
3. Make this owl from the Purl Bee
4. Finish up a shawl for someone special
5. Learn how to snowshoe in Rocky Mountain National Park
6. Finish up more of my felted bird Christmas ornaments
7. Buy a bird feeder for the newly landscaped back yard
8. Go to knit night at Stash
9. Lose 5-10 lbs
10. Buy curtains
    

Granny Teague

I came home tonight after picking up the CSA loot, and proceeded to snap beans for a vegetable soup. What a relaxing experience it is to snap beans - pop (1st end), pop (2nd end), pop (middle). This sound reminded me of Granny Teague, who every summer tirelessly took care of all of the cooking, sewing, canning, gardening, cleaning and rearing of all of us grandchildren. She would work in my uncle's chicken houses early in the morning and come back to fix me and my cousin breakfast on our summer vacation. She would then start on lunch - biscuits, ham, snap peas - maybe fried okra or squash depending on what was in the garden. Love you Granny.

Latest and Greatest

We recently moved to our new house and I'm in the process of looking at sunsets and creating a craft room! Lots more to do here, but here are the beginnings of my retreat!

Dickens

My First Quilt

Susan's Emily

December Fun!

Love, love, love this yarn in this very simple shawlette. And, more birds for the tree!

And Today's Lesson Was...

Blanket stitch, French knots, chain stitch and stem stitch. Isn't she cute!

Crazy for Owls

I took a class to learn how to make Edmund, a holiday owl at Fancy Tiger last week. It was so much fun! I've gone nuts for owls ever since the class and have been crafting away. My owls look pretty homemade (not handmade), but I'm learning the blanket stitch and how to mess around with felt. The hubby's owl is in the back in WV colors of blue and gold :) Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our first Thanksgiving day in Denver was filled with yummy smells, lots of sunshine and sleep. We were recovering a bit from our trip to Paris (which was AMAZING). The Thanksgiving weekend has been full as well...shopping and running around. I managed to finish the shrug I started quite some time ago. It's snuggly and warm. I'm not sure about the sleeves, as they tend to poke out. We'll see if I actually wear it. The yarn is amazing though - Misty Alpaca hand painted. Beautiful!

Bonjour! It's been a while...

Wow, it's been quite the year. Any readers still left out there? We moved to Raleigh, NC for a job for Ben last September and within the year, got a wonderful opportunity to come to Denver, CO. So, we packed up our lovely house, sold it in 4 days and headed out West. It's been great so far - haven't met any knitting folks yet, but I've touched base with several different groups in the area. There are a few new knitting items that I'll post soon. Until then, hello strangers! and check out what we've been up to in Denver!

Icarus

Hmmmm

So I'm not very good at updating the old blog anymore. I have so much to show too! I just finished Icarus, which definitely a growing experience. I calculated (and my math could be wrong) over 60K stitches - that's one crazy shawl. Once I get some good shots of it over the weekend, I'll post photos. I'm now working on Wandering the Moor, which is a really beautiful shawl - I'm knitting up the stockinette portion now, but hope to be into the lace section soon.

On the reading front, I'm cruising along on my 52 books in 52 weeks goal. As of April/mid-May, I've read 22 books for the year. Here are the latest reads:

agatha christie - appointment with death
rennie airth - river of darkness
maj sjowall and per wahloo - rosanna
maj sjowall and per wahloo - the man who went up in smoke
maj sjowall and per wahloo - the man on the balcony
garth stein - the art of racing in the rain

Tactile-Kinesthetic Learner

I've been experimenting with crochet and having a heck of a time with following the instructions. They aren't difficult, but I'm just stubborn and want to figure it all out on my own. I can do the first round with no problem. In the 2nd round, I get lost in the pattern and give up, ripping it all out. A friend of mine pointed me to Sew Mama Sew's post on the various types of learning styles. My crochet experience just made sense! I am a Tactile-Kinesthetic learner, meaning I like to jump in and experiment. My weak spot is that I don't fully understand the instructions before I just dive in.
Will this work for crochet? Not sure, but I'm going to keep on trying :)

updates

March has flown by. Before I know it, we will all be bracing for the 100 degree days of a North Carolina summer. That isn't all bad though. I can knit and read while the AC is blasting at 68 degrees :).

Throughout the month, I've been knitting here and there. I'm still working on the Icarus shawl which I desperately want to finish at this point. It's quite beautiful in all of its Malabrigo Lace glory.

I also managed to whip out the Sunday Market Shawl. The yarn came from Mum Rector and is Malabrigo. I love going back to basics. The shawl was knit in stockinette and then stitches were dropped to create the lace effect. What a great pattern!

I've also been reading. I've read 16 books out of my 52 for the year. I think I'm making good progress. Books for this month include:

Water for Elephants by Sarah Greun, an excellent novel!
Mademoiselle Boleyn by Robin Maxwell, a somewhat trashy fictional account of the life of Anne Boleyn
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie, a typical Christie novel set in Jordan

52 books, 52 weeks

So, I didn't make as much progress in February, but it's a short month right? :)

Cod, a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Temporary Sanity: A Crime Novel
The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

maine morning mitts

Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts
Yarn: Malabrigo Twist (luxurious & just wonderful!!!)

Sorbet

This hat reminds me of Sorbet, raspberry to be exact :)
Pattern: Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns
Yarn: Leftover Briar Rose Fourth of July
Rav Link

Baroness Beret

Pattern: Baroness Beret (rav link)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash

52 books, 52 weeks update

January books! On to February!
> The Lovely Bones (100%)
> The Sweet Hearafter (100%)
> Salt, A World History (100%)
> Communicating Design (100%)
> Designing Interfaces (100%)