So glad it's Friday!

Work continues to be daunting...let's celebrate Fiber Arts Friday instead, ok?

I have been doing some crochet.  Wanna see?

This is my favorite take out container, it's awesome for taking a nice big salad from home for lunch.  It's holding up pretty good so far but I have a difficult time finding a bag to carry it in as none are wide enough to allow my favorite take out container to sit flat...

 so I crocheted a bag especially for my favorite take out container...

Four skeins of Tahki Stacy Charles Cotton Classic, color # 3559 & #3703 held together, made up the pattern as I went along.  I think it is going to work perfectly.


Haven't accomplished anything else this week of the fiber variety.  Everyday when I get home I just crash from taxing my brain at work.  I know I'll stop and think a couple months from now that it wasn't all that bad but right now it seems pretty intense.  Starting at 7:30a, working through lunch and being just about the last one out of the building after 5pm...bleh.  It does make the work day go fast though and it is very interesting learning new things.  I'll be glad when I know "traffic"  as well as I know A/R.

Don't forget to stop in and say hello to Andrea and all the other Fiber Arts Friday peeps.  They're awesome!

LittleDog isn't liking the hot weather much but he's surviving.  He was even playing a game of hide n seek the other day...

all by himself!  LOL  It wasn't working out too well for him since he's still quite visible.

Have a great week, thanks for stopping by.

Friday June 18, 2010

Work is kickin my behind!  I'm slowly getting the hang of my new duties though and in a couple weeks should have a good handle on things.  I could certainly use a bit more sleep...Sam decided he needed to barf in 4 different places around the house at 4am Thursday.  Made for a long day yesterday, I think I ran out of gas at about 2 in the afternoon.  Tomorrow my computer will move to my new office so I guess it'll be officially my office then.  With a nice southwestern view.  No more avoiding the windows so I don't accidentally get a glimpse of Naked Guy, ew.  I'll be sure to take some pics to show you next week.

On the fibery front, I've been working on a couple different things in the few spare minutes I've found this week.  The quilt has been basted...

 I've practiced on some scraps to see if I can actually do free motion quilting around the clouds in the sky...

 jury is still out on that though.  And I'm thinking all that basting was a waste of time.

The Monkey that I showed you last week has stalled because I'm not crazy about the pooling of the color after the heel turn and I started this little mitten...

isn't it cute?  Made out of sock yarn, flat on two needles...a fun change of pace.  This is the child size.

Be sure to check out the other fabulous fiber artists at Andrea's blog.

Have a wonderful weekend.  I'll be Bashin' on Saturday and hopefully getting some yard work done on Sunday, weather permitting.

Does this look like a sick dog to you?

 Me neither, but he sure made a mess around here.

It's Friday! Have you had your fiber today?

Another week has flown by and here we are again at Fiber Arts Friday!  Don't forget to stop in at Andrea's blog and check out all the fine fiber artists she knows.

Here's a Monkey I've been knitting on for Rena.  She started them Magic Loop method and when she got to the point of starting the heel flap stuck them in a bag and forgot about 'em.   One Tuesday when I went to her house to sit and knit I took my red sweater to work on.  When I ran out of yarn and hadn't brought anymore with me she pulled out these socks and asked if I wanted to do the heels.  Pretty sneaky isn't she?

They are such a pretty color I don't mind knitting on them.  And I've changed back to dpn's...I really like not having to fiddle with a cable.  I got the dpn bug while I was knitting the sleeves for Mr. Greenjeans.  It was just easier to use the dpn's instead of running that cable around and around.  I'm thinking I'll have to order some of those nice nickel plated dpn's that Knit Picks has.  I got a set of size 2.50 mm but can see a couple other sizes in my future.

I added to my sewing machine flock tonight.  The Saint and I picked up a Singer 201 in a nice little cabinet.  I'm guessing that the original owner must have been married to a cigar smoker...pee-ewe!!!  I rubbed the cabinet down with Olde English and it doesn't look too bad.  It is nice and solid.  The machine is ree-ly dirty.  It'll take some serious work to get it super spiffy.

The Singer 201 is a straight stitch only machine.  The 201's original owner was either very creative or had a great passion for gadgets as there was a button-hole attachment...

a zigzag attachment...

and a blind stitch attachment...

in one of the drawers...along with a gazillion old buttons!  And then there was the very scary wiring that I'll have to deal with...

this is the machine end of the cord that goes from the foot pedal to the machine.  Don't think I'll be plugging this baby in any time soon.  Guess I'll get some wiring practice on this machine.

I'll leave you today with this, the sun was going down over the houses across the street from Chez B...such a beautiful sky...

LittleDog says have a great weekend!

Congratulations Audra & Kim

Hello evry-buddy!  Hope yer all havin a great weekend.  First of three party weekends for us.  Friday we celebrated Rena's 30th Birthday (which was actually yesterday) with a nice dinner at our favorite Mex restaurant.

Rena and "Grama" at dinner...

 Rena, Jared & Tamara leavin the Crazy Burrito...

Yesterday morning was the University of Phoenix graduation and we got to see Audra (our oldest) and Kim (my knitting friend) walk across the stage.  Audra for a Bachelor of Business/Management degree and Kim for her Masters in Accountancy.  Pretty impressive.  I know they both worked very hard for their respective degrees.

Audra's cap grafiti, Kim & Audra and Audra with all her pretty flowers.

I had been feverishly working on Audra's graduation quilt.  I almost made it.  Just need to add the binding and it'll be done.  I had to present it to her unfinished so I could get some pics while she was gowned up.  Ignore the absence of binding and it doesn't look too bad for something I decided to throw together 2 weeks ago.

Burgundy & Gold - school colors and a representational butterfly in the middle (her fav) of the year at the bottom.  You can click the pic to biggie-size it if you really want to see it better.

After a nice lunch with Kim and her Mom at El Burrito Loco...yes, the manager asked us hadn't we just been there the night before?  Then gave us the same table, LOL  We headed home for a little rest before the next party.  We had to be at a HS graduation for a friend's kid between 5 and 8.  Even though it rained during most of the party there were tents that sheltered us and we had a great time.

Not much knitting going on here the past few days.  Now that the quilt is nearing completion I can think about working on these awesome socks that Rena started. I love the color of the yarn.  The pattern is Monkey by Cookie A.

Gotta go finish fixing dinner and work on my winter/summer clothing change-over.

LittleDog says: "Every body have a crazy fun week!  That's what I'm gonna do...

ooo, help me, I can feel all the blood rushing to my head...

A message from LittleDog

Hey everybody!  Mom's a little distracted working on a super secret project so the only thing I have to offer is something sweet...

doesn't it look yummy?  I'm practicing my powers of concentration.  Trying to convince that bar to get just.a.little.closer...

I caught Mom using a hook thingy this morning when she was supposed to be getting ready to go to work...muttering something about a new lunch bag type thingy.  I mostly hate everything she makes cause it takes up her time, when she should be petting me!  Or taking me on one of those fabulous bush & post smelling trips.  hehehe

Well, all of you fine peeps have a great weekend, and Happy Fiber Arts Friday!  Don't forget to stop and say hello to all my fans who are Andrea's friends too.

Later!

a new red sweater and a contest winner

Congratulations Shannon!  You're the lucky winner of the BSJ in celebration of my 300th post.  PM me and I'll make arrangements to get your prize to you.

Thank you to all of you who left comments on my contest post.  It's always nice to know why folks keep coming back here from time to time.  I appreciate all of you.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.  I got an amazing amount of work done around home and today, during some horrendous thunderstorms I finished my version of Mr. Greenjeans.

I just need to find some nice buttons and re-do the "weave-in" that ended up right across the left breast.  Gah!  Can't let that stay there.  I'll be fixing that along with steam blocking the ribbing at the bottom.  I'm really please with the end result.  So pleased that I plan to rip out the yellow/green tank that I made last year with the same brand of yarn and use it to make another version of Mr. Greenjeans.

Hope you all have a great week.  Mine promises to be very busy.

LittleDog asked me to tell you all hey!

He was worn out from barking at the thunder today.  He gave a big yawn and headed off to bed a few minutes ago.

Toodle Loo!

Skah-weeeeee!

Look what my very good friend Jennifer asked me to tune-up for her!

This is a Singer 221 also know as a Featherweight.  Isn't she cute?! I'm excited to get my hands on one of these even if it is only temporary.  Especially in this pale green.  All that I've seen on the bidding site have been beyond my budgetary constraints.  So I want to say thank you so much Jen.  I'm honored.

So here are some pretty roses for you...

My offering for Fiber Arts Friday is this...

100% pure LittleDog fiber.  He sheds about this much every day whenever I brush him.  I forgot the Zoom Groom on the deck the other day.  Last night we had a torrential downpour.  Today when I went looking for his Zoom Groom I found it with the fiber still on it which had been pounded down into something that looked much like a waffle.  I wonder if this stuff would felt?

It's been hot here this week, the flowers are blooming around the yard.  In addition to the pretty roses we've been enjoying these...

 they're starting to fade a bit now.  By the end of the holiday weekend it will be time to cut the flower stalks off and just enjoy the greenery.  This is the same flower bed that I totally cleaned out two years ago because I had a pest in the Iris roots.  These all came up this year from the small pieces of root that I didn't manage to dig up and throw away.  Isn't Nature amazing?

LittleDog thinks so too, here's his amazed look...

a little skeptical looking, actually, don't you think?

Everyone have a great Memorial Weekend!  Don't forget today is the last day to enter the contest for that nice yarn and the BSJ pattern.

Toodle-loo!