In Preparation of a Plum Summer

This is the first top to come off the needles for this summer. It is the Laresca pattern, considerably shortened.  The yarn is a silk/bamboo blend that had been languishing in the yarn stash for several years in a color described originally as cassis(blackcurrant).  There is another tank top on the needles that is a soft cotton in an antique lavender shade. 
The new lip stuff I am really adoring right now are courtesy of Neutrogena in shades of plum and berry .  I have even dipped my toe back into plum eyeshadow territory, with far better success than my earlier experiments with outright purple more than two decades previous, which resulted in something that could be described as a purple panda after a fistfight.
I figure it must be my subconscious trying to rebel against Pantone's color choice for this year, especially with my current ability to wear some shade of green every day for two weeks without repetition.
Till another color takes my fancy, I will just dress like I'm celebrating Mardi Gras all summer. :-D

Mother's Day Around Here

Is not a big occasion. This year even less so as Husband had to work.
The kids did bake me an awesome cake.

When Husband came home, he walked in with these:

The roses went with the wonderfully classy shirt that I wore the rest of the day:

It ended up being a lovely, relaxing day.  I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it!

A little productivity

Last weekend all other knitting projects were put on hold so I could make the baby socks Husband requested for a co-worker.

And then I decided I needed to join, at least in spirit, the Orange KAL dreamed up by Amy Beth over at The Fat Squirrel Speaks.

I just happened to have this yarn sitting in my stash, all ready to go.  It has tried to be several other things but the Spiral Blanket of Awesome by Sharon McMahon is apparently the perfect pattern for it.
Monday I decided it was time to rearrange my closet and bedroom, to make all those projects in waiting a bit more accessible of course.
Worn out with all the, "yay it's finally warm for a whole week" cleaning, I decided to do the finishing work on the Octopus Bag.

With it's happy shrimp lining. ;-)

Which means back to work on lace shawls and new summer tops for awhile.  At this rate I might actually get them finished! :-D

Maybe a little unfocused

The last couple of weeks flew by in a blur.  I know they happened. I even have photographic evidence of things accomplished.
I've picked snap peas.

Cross stitched up something for my front entry. Yes. I know exactly how rude it actually is. Rather why I adore it. There are more in similar vein on their way from Subversive Cross Stitch.

I've also knit two shawls on very large needles in mostly mindless patterns that I haven't taken pictures of yet, but I used the yarn I got for my birthday. There's also a pair of fingerless mitts and a tank top, both about halfway finished.
There probably would have been more completed items, with more pictures if I hadn't found the Octopus Handbag
How could I possibly resist that? I chose the Henna colorway for the base of the purse.  It's a color that makes me happy right now and happens to also match my new favorite lip gloss!  The Evening Glow shade is perfect for making me look bright and painted without much actual effort.
Then I decided I should probably line this lovely new bag. I went and found happy shrimp fabric.
My kids and husband all announced that that was weird, even from their point of view.  I bought it anyway.
I figure something entertaining was warranted as a distraction from worrying about others, friends and strangers (rough couple of weeks on that front) and fretting over my oldest getting her wisdom teeth pulled in a few days.
Needlework, octopuses and happy shrimp it is!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Lovely daughter started my day with homemade pancakes, berry syrup and orange juice. Dear boy did the dishes and helped finish doing the laundry.
My darling husband took me to the yarn store .  I was pleased and picked up these lovelies less than five minutes after entering the store.

I was slowly but surely herded towards the back of the store where this was waiting!

I was totally gobsmacked! I had to ask the wonderful ladies in the store what I should start spinning with.  Two ounces (each) of basic wool in four different colors got added to the pile.

And then it was off to the pub for a pint or two, chips with beer cheese and sticky toffee pudding to help me recuperate from my blissful shock.
Fantastically awesome does not even begin to cover it! :-D

An Interesting Easter

We had lovely cinnamon rolls that were caramel coated.

There was the obligatory candy, which is still pretty much sitting where I put it Sunday morning, minus only a few pieces.

This was all well and good, except I forgot to take pictures of the roast leg of lamb and herbed cheddar mashed potatoes. Clever me.
There was something rather unexpected though...the evening hail storm!

Golf ball sized hunks of ice falling from the sky, bashing against windows and setting off car alarms. More than a few families in the neighborhood stepped outside to enjoy the storm, with at least one person from every one of those households running out into the downpour to pick up a piece of the hail, with hunched shoulders and occasional "ouches" to be heard.   I'm still not sure why they did it, but it was quite entertaining!

Happy Spring!

Happy birthday Mom!

Yay for green growing things!

Let the good new things continue!

Productively un-focused

The last couple of weeks I have had a difficult time concentrating on anything for more than five minutes.  This is not good.  It is particularly not good if you have multiple things that need finishing.
For me, the resultant mess looks something like this:

I've cut out a RenFaire shirts for Boy and Girl as well as a new Faire skirt for Girl, Boy will be wearing one of his father's old kilts this year.  I also put a new front panel in an old RenFaire skirt of mine that's been unworn for the better part of a decade.  While rummaging through the fabric stash I came across some lovely pale sage tencel...so I cut myself out a skirt since I was at it.  I knit and felted a new purse, it needs a wee bit more felting.  Decided a new hair clip was in order, because brass and peacock feathers are awesome, out came the glue and findings.  Just had to cast on this top immediately upon finding it, especially with perfect yarn to make two of them just sitting in the stash, where it had been lingering for years. The happy inducing purple piece is a shawl whose color and extra beaded sparkle were inspired by the Fae Winter Court out of the last Dresden novel but the pattern is one inspired by Game of Thrones (Ravelry link).  I finished knitting a hat for a friend.  It is still in need of one fabulous button.  Progress was also made on hero themed fingerless mitts for the kids, Wonder Woman for Girl, War Machine for Boy, their choices, with Green Lantern and The Avengers pairs waiting in the wings.
It seems to have been a flurry of activity. And yet...nothing is actually done.

A Wee Bit Distracted

With things having been a bit more frantic than usual the last couple of weeks, I have been attempting to find simple, happy distractions.  While out shopping for the rather mundane combination of soap and hair dye, these lovelies caught my eye!

I met the age requirement on the package (3+) and I believe that drawing on yourself (or someone else) is fun! They had to come home with me.
One of the other distractions was actually inspired by a friend who suggested a particular lip gloss that changes color with your chemistry  which of course I immediately wanted to try.  This of course led to wandering their site and remembering how well their products had worked in previous years, and you know, it's been ages since I replaced my makeup basics and wouldn't it be nice if I got the foundation that didn't immediately migrate to the wrinkles?

Definitely a good idea! The foundation and powder stay put without looking fake.  The mascara doesn't flake everywhere and make my eyes itchy.  It's been a pleasant surprise to buy face paint that has worked for me!  I bought the pink lip gloss, because the natural wasn't available locally (I plan on getting a tube soon).  The gloss isn't overly sticky, doesn't have that weird smell/taste so many glosses tend to, and (on me) turned a vibrant shade of rose pink that was surprisingly flattering.  When I had my daughter try it, the color was a deeper, more muted rose.  For some reason she was unsurprised that the gloss was "louder" on me.  Think she is trying to tell me something? :-D

Just one...to take the edge off

I had an argument with a sweater yesterday.  Okay, maybe not an actual argument, more like the realization that I dropped a stitch marker several inches previously and was now missing a quarter of the increases I was supposed to have made so the sweater will actually be wearable.  With a sigh of pain and frustration, the sweater was carefully put back into a project bag and set aside to be slowly and methodically ripped back at a later time.  I had walked upstairs to find my removable stitch markers (which I still can't find), only to have a flash of color flecked with sparkle catch my eye.
Which is why I now have my umpteenth shawl on the needles.

The pattern is Out of Gas by Zhora Designs.  It's been sitting and waiting for me, particularly since I found and purchased the perfect yarn for it at Nerd Girl Yarns
I will admit to having more than a couple skeins from her shop with various projects in mind.
There is something very satisfying about casting on a shawl.  They tend to start small, so you feel like you are making progress quickly. A simple design with a pretty edging lets you feel capable but not frustrated. The finished piece can be draped round neck and shoulders to artfully display beautiful yarn, lovely pattern and knitting skill. (At least I'm pretty sure that's the idea with a finished shawl, I've got six in progress within easy reach, we won't discuss how many are upstairs waiting to be picked up again.)  They are definitely one of my favorite types of projects.
I'll pick the sweater back up to fix it...in a day or two. :-D

Time for Spring Planting

At least around here it's time for the early planting.  There's no frost predicted for the foreseeable future, the weather is comfortably warm during the day, if a bit windy.  So this weekend, a run was made to a couple of garden shops to acquire seeds, dirt, a few more pots and maybe a few seedlings that absolutely insisted on being planted right away, mostly herbs. How could I say no to chocolate mint?  A few strawberry plants may have fallen into the cart as well.

Salad greens, jalapenos, and cucumbers all got started directly in pots, left outside to mostly fend for themselves.  Peas, beans, sweet peppers(purple and chocolate) and tomatoes(Black Krim and Purple Cherokee) are sprouting inside on windowsills in recycled egg cartons.  Marigolds, poppies and carnations have been planted in their (naked looking) pots on either side of the front door.
I am determined to make the most of what seems to be (after a year of observation) a ten month growing season. 
The best part so far is the looks I get from the neighbors, whether for the early planting or the way I am dressed is still uncertain. ;-)