In my Rear View Mirror

Dear Mom,

One of the things the trainer suggested to help Patsy act like a lady while riding in the car (instead of the attack dog wanna-be she is every time we pass a walker, jogger, bicyclist or motorcycle- which is to say just about all the time) was to put Patsy on her dog bed in the hatch of my car. Until now she rode in the back seat, tethered to a clip attached in the hatch that gave her a little range but would not allow her to jump into my lap or out of the car while it was moving.
This morning we tried out the new arrangement on our way to doggie daycare. Obviously, she is still tethered, but the hope is that as she masters her 'on your rug- down- stay' command, it will transfer to the car as well. Also, perhaps, the presence of the dog bed along with the command will make her feel secure enough not to be in Code Red High Alert Defense Mode while we travel. We hope.
It was pretty early and cold out and there weren't any walkers, bikers, joggers, or motorcycles on the road. The fact that our first run with the new arrangement transpired without incident may be a fluke. But still, it set a good precedent.

For obvious reasons this photo of my view in the rear view mirror is not all that good ( I did have to watch the road.), but can you see the chin resting on the back seat and the resigned expression in her eyes? Sharp contrast to the sassy "don't leave me back here" barking that I expected!

I'll be picking Patsy up soon and we will try it all again. Until then, I've had a most productive day- dining room carpet cleaned, a little spinning, Bumper furminated and 2 1/2 hours of uninterrupted knitting while I waited on an oil change, a new tire and new front brakes for my car. I was almost disappointed when they told me the car was ready.

Love,
Kim

It's Here!

Dear Mom,

The Winter 2011 issue of Kiki Magazine arrived in our mailbox this afternoon, and I put this sign on the frontdoor to great the Young Lady when she gets off the bus.I am trying to wait for her to get home before I devour the magazine, but after taking a quick peak on the inside I am thankful that the editors sent us an extra copy. There is a lot of stuff in there that I am interested in reading.

Here is a link to stores that carry the magazine.

Love,
Kim

Progress

Dear Mom,

I hoped it would happen, but NEVER thought it would happen so soon.

Last night I was able to spin this while Patsy lay not more than 3 feet away. She didn't even glance at the roving laying on the floor nearby.

It's just..... WOW.

Love,
Kim

Tragedy

Dear Mom,

Let me just state for the record that although I have gone 19 (yes that is NINETEEN. One Nine. N.I.N.E.T.E.EN.) Days with no soft drinks, no sweets, no cookies, and no candy, I am NOT RESPONSIBLE for the tragic fire that destroyed a local Dunkin Donuts Thursday morning.

When My Hero came home for lunch yesterday, this is what he was wearing.

My sister-in-law pointed out that the bigger tragedy was the loss of the wine store next door.

Love,

Kim

Updates

Dear Mom,
Patsy is being de-programmed re-programmed re-finished re-trained.

So are we.

There is so much to say on the subject and the subject itself is so exhausting that I am not going to write about it too much. It has been just over 24 hours and I already see a different dog. I see the possibility of spinning yarn in my own house with my dog present. As I write this, Patsy is perfecting her "on the rug,down, stay" and so far she gets an A+. I could weep.

To be honest, I felt on the lunatic fringe of an anxiety attack after the meeting with the trainer on Monday night. So many new rules and new behaviors. FOR ME. Well, not just me- for all the humans living in the house. Now that I think about it, the only one getting off scott free is Bumper.

I was so stirred up Monday night that I had to cast on a new project that is in no way tied to any sort of Christmas knitting.
I have no business doing that, but nevertheless, I did. It was therapeutic. And it is one of those things that I have no idea what I will do with when it is finished and probably has no place in my wardrobe, but I love knitting it, love how it is turning out and that is enough.
It is Stephen West's Daybreak, and here it is modeled by the Young Man's leftover bowl of Cheerio's.

And a close up.

I am using two different skeins of Claudia's Hand Painted fingering weight yarn from the stash. So even though I have failed on my Sock a Week resolution, I am still using up sock yarn.
This is not my first Stephen West design. My Handspun Shawl was knit following his Boneyard Shawl pattern. And then after reading Melissa's blog I had the itch to start another. Along with Daybreak, I downloaded the patterns for Urbana, Chadwick and Flagstone. I am hoping to use some of my handspun and my abundance of sock yarn for these scarves.

In a further knitting update, I see my pattern for "Grandpa's Socks" will be in the January 2011 issue of Creative Knitting magazine-if you scroll down on that page you will see them.
And! I've added a new pattern to Warm Thoughts. The North Porch Hat is one of my best selling designs and the Husky, Hasty North Porch Hat was designed as a companion to the Cowl Catcher and as something that can be knitted up quickly if a last minute Christmas knit is needed.

I think that about covers it. Looks like we are going to be gifted with a couple more days of perfect weather. Maybe I'll give the windows a shine today!
Love,
Kim

Family Intervention or Finishing School

Dear Mom,
Patsy has an appointment this afternoon with a dog trainer. A private appointment. I would call this "Finishing School" or Graduate School, but we all know better. Plus the trainer insisted that the WHOLE FAMILY be there. I am grateful. But why did it take someone else insisting that the entire family participate to make it happen? Things may have been easier if I had insisted on this from the start.I just hope this lady is a whole lot nicer than that OTHER one.
I think Patsy may have heard me scheduling the appointment or talking with the family about it at dinner, because she has been nearly well-behaved, almost DOG-like, the past few days. She is not fooling me, though. I am keeping the appointment.
It is Patsy's size and strength as much as her behavior that prompted me to make the call.
Plus, she is just getting a little too comfortable around here.

Gosh. Remember this?


I finished a few of the smaller Christmas knits, and worked up a new version of my North Porch Hat, this one using a bulky yarn. I am putting the finishing touches on the pattern and a friend has volunteered to test knit it for me.

This is a very quick knit- maybe a 2 hour hat, and I am hoping to get the pattern on ravelry and over on Warm Thoughts within the next week. It would be a nice last minute Christmas knit. It could also be made with the same yarn as my Cowl Catcher for a very nice gift.

I am taking advantage of these Indian summer days to wash rugs, comforters, and blankets and hang them out on the clothesline, giving everything some fresh air before the cold weather decides to stay. We were blessed with a beautiful warm sunny day yesterday, have another forecast for today and still another tomorrow and I am going to soak up as much of it as I can!
Love,
Kim

My Absence Explained

Dear Mom,
I am still here. And these are the reasons why blogging has been put off. It is not, as Michelle feared, because I "dispatched myself with a knitting needle" after the disappointing Project Runway finale.

1) If I tell you I haven't had one single dessert, piece of candy, cookie or sweet in 10 days AND I gave up drinking soft drinks, will that be explanation enough? It should be. And no, I have not lost my will to live.

Actually, giving up on all that turned out to be mind over matter and the motivation of rather high triglycerides. Other than a wicked bad headache on  Day 4 it has been much easier that I thought it would be. I took the alcoholic's approach of One Day At A Time, especially with the Dr. Pepper (and boyoboy do I love my Dr. Pepper- ever since David Naughton danced around in those commercials singing I'm a Pepper wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?!), but I feel freed of my sugar addiction. I am not even tempted by the kid's Halloween candy.Yes, you can be alarmed and wonder who this is and what has she done with Kim.

I am saving myself for pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

2) The knitting I am doing is all Christmas knitting, and just in case, I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone so I don't want to share too much of what I am doing.
Here is a peak though....

I spun and plied that yarn yesterday after taking Patsy to doggie daycare, giving myself a little piece of quiet.

3) P.A.T.S.Y.     Probably don't need to say much  more, except that I think she is still growing, is definitely stronger, and I can barely turn my back on her because she is finding some very inventive ways to be Naughty. More yarn has been sacrificed. Along with a toothbrush a can of cocktail nuts and godknowswhatelse. She can clean the plates in the bottom of the sink, but won't hang around long enough for me to teach her how to wash them. I believe our only safety zones have dwindled down to the insides of the microwave, oven and fridge. When she figures out how to open those, I probably will have to dispatch myself with a knitting needle. I would laugh if it weren't so frustrating. It would be easier to cry than laugh, but that won't help either. I've actually said the following OUT LOUD to her:

"Stop looking at me. I don't even like you right now."
and
"Don't you KNOW how lucky you are to be here?"
But Mostly I say leave it....leeeeeavvvve it. DROP. Off. Down. LLLLEEEEAVE IT. PatsyPATSY!!!

As if any of that is going to make her behave. My sanity is suffering. Obviously.

And as a side note- last weekend the Humane Society was offering free microchips. As I was filling out the paperwork for Patsy's chip, I was having an internal debate about the wisdom of this action- why would I want this beast returned to me if she were lost vs. because this is the responsible thing to do. And it was free. Anyway, she got her microchip and I didn't lie on the paperwork. If she were to get herself lost, her microchip will bring her home to us...... Yes. My sanity suffers.

And there in the midst of Humane Society Halloween Microchip-ing was this cat, wearing the best cat costume ever, and acting like a DOG. A well behaved dog.)

Puss in Boots

 I didn't witness it, but the word traveling like wildfire from human to human was that this cat did tricks and could High Five. I got outta there before Patsy got comfortable enough to be Patsy, and before she could figure out that all those little things in costumes were other dogs and cats.

So that is it in a nutshell. I am here, adjusting to life without Dr. Pepper and dessert, chasing a dog with something in her mouth that shouldn't be around my dining room table but still knitting as much as possible.

Love,

Kim

Busy as a Bee

Dear Mom,
Autumn is a very busy time for me.  There are certain chores that I am driven to do, such as annual chicken coop sanitation, clearing the flower and vegetable gardens, and washing windows and screens.  And then there are all the leaves.  Since I started the new part-time job, I haven't had as much time for certain things...like beekeeping. 

Good beekeepers check their hives every 7-10 days and keep log books.  I haven't been a good beekeeper.  I'll admit I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the bees.  By mid-August, when other beekeepers were harvesting their honey, my bees had nothing for me.  Nothing.  This is when I started to think that perhaps they would not survive the winter.

The other day, I caught a glimpse of one of the ladies on some Sedum.  By late summer when most flowers have faded, the Sedum is a favorite to the bees and butterflies.  I suited up and braced myself for another dismal hive inspection.

To my surprise, every frame in the second hive box was full of honey! The bees have been busy building up their winter honey stores...hopefully enough to ensure their survival. 

Right now, I am supplementing with sugar syrup and I will be attending a workshop this weekend to make "candy frames" for winter feeding.  Hopefully the colony will emerge healthy and strong in the spring and I will have one year of beekeeping experience under my belt!

Love, Bonnie Jo

The Friday Night Weekly Dinner Date

Dear Mom,
Without fail, every Friday night, we enjoy The Friday Night Weekly Dinner Date with one of my BFFs.  Our families get together at one or the other's house and we share dinner.  Sometimes it's pizza ordered; other times it's delicious grilled steaks.  It's not really about the food.  It's the friendship.  The memories.  The love and laughter.  Shared lives.  We have spent long hours by an outdoor fire, loud and laughing at first; quiet and reflective as the fire dies down late into the night.  My diva usually snuggles on Joey's lap and they whisper quietly to each other. There have been riotous games of Spoons and we have seen some mighty fierce wrestling between all of our boys for that last spoon.  Who will come up victorious?!?!  We have spent long snowy Friday evenings watching movies and eating David's popcorn from his famous cast iron pot.
This past Friday night I made some beer bread and a big pot of  Burgundy Beef Stew.  We enjoyed The Goonies and the kids played Monopoly after the movie.  Shortly after midnight, I heard a loudly whispered from the bottom of my stairs up to my sleeping ears, "Thanks, Wendy, for another fun evening.  I'm going home now . . . . " from the oldest neighbor boy.  I groggily shouted a "good night!" and "Who won the Monoploy game?!"  

Today on this rainy dreary Fall day, I enjoy a bit of Friday night all over again with my leftover stew in my favorite mug for lunch!!

The soup is healthy for me; The Friday Night Weekly Dinner Date warms me!!
Love,
Wendy

Brach's Candy Socks

Dear Mom,

I finished knitting the socks that hug my feet. This is a fraternal, not identical pair. I wasn't willing to sacrifice the yardage to find the exact same starting place in the pattern repeat. I'll do that for short pattern reps, but for long repeats I don't think it is worth it.

The yarn is Trekking XXL and I think the color ( #126) is discontinued. Too bad. It reminds me of a bag of Brach's candy.

This pair of socks is not my usual mostly generic sock pattern. I found the pattern here and I was intrigued by the unusual shaping. Strategically placed paired increases and decreases keep the knitting interesting and create a sock that is shaped to fit securely around the foot. Can you see that subtle arch shape along the bottom of the foot?

Keeping track of all that shaping made the knitting move along quickly, but it also made this a project that required more attention than my usual sock pattern. Also, they do fit my foot perfectly, but not the Young Lady's (yeah me!) , so if I am going to make them for another foot, I'd have to do some figuring.... Or just keep making them for me.

I'd show you the bottom of the foot, but I haven't mastered the skill of kicking my leg up and shooting a photo over my shoulder. I'd probably hurt myself. Not probably. I know I would. And it is weird enough that I am taking pictures of my stocking feet without asking somebody else to take the picture for me.

Another sock inspiration found me in a round about way when I was reading A Stitch to Wear last week. Reading about her baby blanket lead me here and it was as if I suddenly had magnets in my fingertips attracting me to all my sock yarn leftovers. And believe me, I have plenty of those.

Soooo, check this out.

After casting on with my main color (the leftover bit that I had the most of) and knitting a decorative border for the cuff, I knit a different yarn on to each of my four sock needles. One of those being the main color.

Because I am knitting in rounds, each needle has a "new" yarn waiting for me. All  I do is drop the "old" color and start knitting with the "new" color. And around and around I go. When I get to the heel, I'll use the main color alone, and do the same for the toe. The results so far are definitely worth the occasional yarn untwisting that I need to do.

And four partial balls of sock yarn will become a lovely pair of socks.

This is just the sort of thing that makes me believe in the magic of knitting.

Love,

Kim

Shop Sample

Dear Mom-
Another Cowl Catcher is off the needles. I intended to make this one for myself, but after selling some patterns to the Village Yarn Shop in Zionsville I've turned it over to them to use as a shop sample.

 I used about 1 1/2 balls of Lana Grossa Cento for this cowl, so it would have been wasteful for me if I hadn't bought a 3rd ball to make another cowl for myself. Right? Plus I have some reaaaaalllly cute buttons I want to use on mine.

I finished the first sock in forever the other night. It was so close to being finished I don't know why I abandoned it. The pattern was a new one to me and it is the best fitting sock I have EVER made. It absolutely hugs my foot. The second sock was started last night and I will show off the pair when I am done. I've also been planning my Christmas knitting projects- searching out patterns, going through stash yarn. I am pretty excited about my ideas, but haven't actually sat down to see if I can realistically pull it all off.
Until then, I am the Little Engine That Could....ithinkicanithinkicanithinkican....
Love,
Kim

Happy Birthday Mom!

Dear Mom,
Happy Birthday.

I love you!
Every stitch is knit with warm thoughts and gratitude.
Love,
Kim

Patons Must Have Cardigan (rav link)
Cottage Craft Wool, Black Cherry

Felted Wool

Dear Mom,

I think I mentioned in the post about Judy's new home that a hunt for wool sweaters to felt was the real reason I was trolling through the Goodwill. I was successful in that quest, too, and have spent a good chunk of creative time making mittens, hats, and headbands with the felted wool. 

                           

Last winter I purchased a pair of this type of mitten, made from recycled sweaters and lined with fleece. Very warm. Since then, I have seen these mittens in other places and knew the pattern had to be out there somewhere. A little internet search and I found a free pattern I could download. After my first mitten attempt, I wasn't happy with the way the palm piece fit and I adjusted the pattern piece a little. 

There are endless possibilities for combining color and pattern. Even using the "wrong" side of a sweater can provide another look.

Then mix in the embellishments- like bows and buttons and embroidery, which I did a little of on the backs of this pink and purple pair, and you can easily become obsessed. Since this photo was taken, I added a button the the green knot on that headband.

Laying underneath this pair is a toque that I made without a pattern. I was on a roll and neglected to write down any of the measurements. Not good, because I like the way it turned out and may want to make another.

I also used last summer's bucket hat pattern to make a hat to go with that first pair of mittens I showed you.

I don't feel like I have exhausted my ideas for felted wool. Heaven knows I haven't used up the wool I purchased. It almost seems like the supply multiplies once you start cutting the sweaters apart, and then I find myself considering the potential of all the little scrap pieces before I throw them out. Some of those pieces are definitely worth hanging on to. ( And I do!)
A few days ago I caught myself grabbing my scorched tea cosy when I needed a pot holder fast. In the next instant I froze, staring at my hand wrapped in the soft comfort and protection of the wool cosy and realized that I had stumbled upon another thing I could do with all that recycled sweater wool.
If When I go on my potholderfromrecycledwool frenzy, I'll show them here.
Love,
Kim

Garden love

Dear Mom,
I love having a vegetable garden, but not everything about it. And especially not the end of year garden clean up, which is what I did yesterday afternoon. As I was pulling up corn stalks and withered vines, and harvesting the last of the grape tomatoes and heirloom pear tomatoes I found this,

.

My garden loves me back.
Love,
Kim

Another Cover Girl

Dear Mom,
I can't sit on the news any longer. It has been posted on Facebook and I know that this blog gets nowhere near the traffic that Facebook does, so I think it is safe for me to make the announcement....

The Young Lady will be the Cover Girl on the winter issue of Kiki magazine, due to be released in early November!!!

\

If you are a friend of Kiki magazine on facebook, you can see some more photos, I think. (I don't do facebook.) I have some more behind the scenes photos, too, but I will wait until the magazine in on the newstands before I share them.


This all came about almost effortlessly, after I filled out a "Would you daughter like to participate in the magazine" questionnaire quite some time ago and had pretty much forgotten. An email in August asked if she was still interested and a photo shoot was scheduled.
I cannot say enough really good things about the women we met at the photo shoot and their kindness, energy, and honest concern for the girls. The Creative Director, Abigail Carlin, the Marketing Director, Amy Mauch and Photographer Trish Knapke are genuine ladies. It was their friendliness and demeanor that set the tone and they are excellent examples of creative women in business. I am thrilled that the Young Lady had the opportunity to see women like that at work.

The only requests made were that the Young Lady wear No Makeup (which she does not), and do nothing that made her uncomfortable.

When I learned that the Young Lady has been chosen as the cover girl I think I stopped breathing and my heart skipped a few beats. And as exciting as it was to have a cover of my own, this is waaaayyyyy better. I couldn't wait for her to get off the bus, and shouted at her in a most undignified manner to RUN!! I covered her eys and sat her down in front of the computer screen with the image of the magazine cover displayed. We shrieked like girls and did a happy dance.

This is from the Kiki magazine website:

"Kiki is a magazine for girls who love life, appreciate creativity, and recognize good ideas. A Kiki reader thinks for herself, has her own look, and is on her way to being a confident, strong, and smart young woman. She's a girl with style and substance! "

The experience we had and the women we met support that statement. I am thankful she had this opportunity, that Kiki magazine gave a positive life experience, an affirmation of her individual beauty and an esteem booster to a girl who's kind heart remains steadfast - a true Young Lady.

Love,
Kim

Yesterday and Today and why I need an Excedrin

Dear Mom,

Just in case you are worried, the yarn from yesterday's post was a cheap acrylic from the Young Lady's craft supplies. The Good Wool is put away up high, or in a closet, or in a cabinet, or behind a closed door. Or all of those things.

And because good wool was not involved, Patsy lives.

Plus the ground is too hard for grave digging.

I remember Bumper's badness peaked at about the one year mark. I remember this because I remember SOBBING on the PHONE to a COMPLETE STRANGER/dog trainer about the fact that there were multiple holes dug in the back yard among other dog-related calamities. By our best guesstimate and her behavior, I think Patsy has hit the one year mark. She is like a teenager thinking the car keys are hers, she can make the rules because she is "becoming an adult", the dog dish should always be filled and underwear cleans itself and puts itself away.

I could be confusing things with the Young Man, but whatever.

A Second ball of cheap yarn was sacrificed this afternoon- this one of the furry variety and this time Right In Front of Me. A desperate attempt at attention, which only landed Patsy in my her Sanity Saving Crate. This after a frenzy in which she grabbed a pair of my cheaters, stole my white sheep tape measure, dumped the bathroom trash and I don't know if it was a symbol of repentance or the devil in her, but I found her in the back yard with my Inspirational Thought of the Day calendar in her mouth.

I know they are related, but her Extreme naughtiness is not what I need after spending 2 hours at the middle school Parent Teacher conferences this morning. All is good- I heard all the things a mom loves to hear- 'great kid, pleasure to have in class, good grades, well- organized, yada yada yada'...... Wait!? Well ORGANIZED?....
After all that smiling and nodding and pretending that I wasn't surprised to hear that the Young Lady is well organized because clearly her bedroom is NOT, I left the school very thirsty and hungry and with a caffeine-deprived headache blooming. I stopped off at the library and had to get out of there when I realized that my brain was famished to the point that I was unable to remember my alphabet.

To celebrate the Good Reports all her teachers gave me ( and because I was starving) , the Young Lady and I met My/Our Hero for lunch, and then because there was no school and apparently the caffeine hadn't kicked in and I didn't think I had done too much already, we went shopping. For jeans. I must have gotten up on the martyr side of the bed this morning.

I took an Excedrin when I got home.

Love,
Kim

P.S. Despite everything, I did manage to get my Cowl Catcher pattern ready for purchase on ravelry and on Warm Thoughts.

The Light of Day

Dear Mom,

This is what was revealed in the backyard when the sun came up this morning. (And yes, I am swallowing alot of pride revealing the desperate condition of our burned out backyard and the Patsy toys scattered about- even her chewed up swimming pool- so you can see this. Considering there has only been about an inch of rain since July, and record heat along with it, it really is a wonder there is anything green here at all. As you can see, brown grass is the least of my concerns.)

Love,
Kim

Judy's New House -or- My Patience is Rewarded

Dear Mom,

Let me give you a little of the back story as way of explaining what I really want to show and tell. Actually there are two stories working here, and they collide.


Back story #1.

For all the years I've had my sewing machine, Judy Jetson has had to reside on a desk in the guest room, or  in the closet, or more recently, on the dining room table. All fine, but at the same time, I've been keeping my eyes open for a sewing machine cabinet that Judy could call home. Every once in a while I'd find one and it wouldn't be the right size, or the price tag was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too high. Especially when things were working just fine the way they were and there were more important things (like yarn or fabric) to spend the money on.

Back story #2.

I recently discovered a clever mitten made with felted wool which had been recycled from old sweaters. A little internet search and tahdah! I found the pattern for the mittens. Which lead to a new obsession: finding wool sweaters at the Goodwill. Carolwhosehousegotstruckbylightening warned me. "It's almost as fun as buying yarn", she said. Now I believe her. I have laundry basket overflowing with felted sweaters waiting to be turned into mittens and hats.

Back stories 1and 2 come together.

On one of my wool sweater junkets I spotted a sewing machine table, just sitting there all dusty and sad in the furniture section of the Goodwill store. I didn't have a tape measure on hand (I know!) to measure the sewing machine opening, but in my desperation I tore a piece of paper out of my calendar and turned it into a ruler of sorts. I figured it would at least let me know if Judy and the cabinet were a close fit and I could return with more specific measurements if it all looked like it might work out.
In the mean time, I purchased my wool sweaters and at the check out was handed a bright green piece of paper advertising the 50% off sale coming up.
Hmmm.
What if?
No.
Well, maybe.....

I got distracted while going about my business and in the process of felting wool, I remembered my notepaper/ruler and compared those measurements with Judy's. It looked like things could work. And then I don't know what came over me but I decided to wait for the sale at the Goodwill. (Honestly, I do know kind of what came over me and it is called being married to an accountant and hearing the noises he makes sometimes when he pays the bills.) I know that waiting for 1/2 off of something that I'd spent years looking for that was already dirt cheap is pretty risky, and I am not a gambler, but it was kind of like a game and I was willing to let the sewing cabinet go if I had to. I didn't tell Judy.

It must be pretty obvious at this point that my gamble paid off, or I wouldn't be telling you this story.

Last Saturday I battled the crowd, had to park across the street, (I had no idea that Goodwill sale days were so popular or I might not have taken such a risk!), waited in a line that snaked through the store and came home with Judy's new house. For $20.00!!!! There was even a sewing machine in there, but it was an ugly old thing that scared me to even think about plugging in, especially since the cord was so stiff I almost had to cut it off to get the sewing machine out of the cabinet.

Adjustments needed to be made to the opening, despite my careful measurements. It never occurred to me to measure the placement of the hinges on the back of the machine. My Hero made some adjustments to the top of the cabinet and made a new custom piece for Judy. (He called her Suzy, but we forgave him. He knows better now.)

After lightly sanding the cabinet, I brushed on 3 colors of paint. I used a creamy butter color, some terra cotta and a hydrangea blue and painted the way Daddy would have told us NOT to paint, with very little paint, brush strokes in different directions and varying degrees of coverage. After the paint dried, I lightly sanded again, placing emphasis on strategic locations and then went over the whole thing with a rag soaked in stain. I am very happy with the results.

Judy is happy. Look at that clever little shelf on the inside of the cabinet door. It is a tortoise shell sort of thing perfect for holding spools of thread and scissors.

And here is the cabinet with Judy all tucked away. For now, it works best when I can do my sewing in the dining room. (Easier to keep an eye on Patsy that way, plus there are too many wool temptations to allow Patsy in the guest room.)  Someday, if I choose to relocate her back to the guest room, the cabinet will look nice there, too. For now, I see lots of happy sewing hours in my future.

Love,
Kim

Golda's Bath

Dear Mom,

Golda has been having some serious hen-hygiene issues.  She desperately needed a bath.   Did you know that there is shampoo made especially for chickens?  

 Wash...

and rinse.

She was quite sweet through it all...and I believe she felt better after her bath. 

Golda spent a few hours by herself in the hospital cage, perching quietly while her feathers dried.   Marge and Gloria rushed to her side when she rejoined them.  I'm sure Golda bragged to them about her spa treatment and is now dreaming of becoming a "show chicken"!

Love, Bonnie Jo

A Wool Gathering! and . . . . I Know You're Out There Watching Me!

Dear Mom,

This past weekend was my favorite weekend of the year, A Wool Gathering at Young's Dairy in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  It is a weekend filled with all things fiber!!  My BFF Brooke, the Diva and Pipsqueak loaded into Doris and off we went for a Sunday afternoon "spin" . . . . 

Baby Alpacas . . .

Baby Bunnies. . .

Weavers of dreams . . . . 

Storytelling Musicians . . . 

A true Scottish Gentleman . . . 

Even Pirates . . .  Arrrrggg!

We spotted another vintage spy car  . . . 

We met up with stalkers friends who stalk follow us (I know you're out there watching me!) on our blog!!   Sandy and Paula are very proud of you, Kim, for your pattern publishing ventures and they LOVE reading about Bonnie Jo's suburban country life . . .

I bought some beautiful fair isle gloves that have texting fingers and thumbs!  I said to my BFF, "But I can knit these myself!" and my BFF wisely pointed out to me, "But think of how much faster you will get them done if you just buy them now!"  Ya gotta love a BFF that points out the obvious . . . .

This was overheard during the afternoon:

Lovely Woman:  **sigh** I would really love to learn how to spin . . . . **sigh**

Typical American Man:  You mean you have to learn to do that?

So we giggled, rolled our eyes at the Typical American Man and decided it was time to finish our day with Cow Patty ice cream . . .

. . . . Later that night . . . . . 

I was being my barista self at Starbucks and on our wall of adventure, this had been posted:

(crummy iPhone photo)

Before ya'll get too excited, it's NOT  five hours of spinning wheels for the cure . . . it's five hours of spinning bikes for the cure. . . . .

Love,

Wendy

Cowl Catcher #2

Dear Mom,
I knit this Cowl Catcher as a way to check my design notes and I made a few improvements along the way. I also wanted to see how it would work up with a less bulky yarn. I've had this hand spun yarn in my stash for over a year- since our trip to Shipshewana in 2009- and using it for this purpose worked out perfectly. The yarn is a very soft blend of Shetland Wool and Silk. I held the yarn doubled to get a heavy worsted weight. This slightly lighter weight resulted in a narrower scarf and the wool/silk blend definitely has more drape ( and a better feel) than the wool/acrylic yarn I used in Cowl Catcher #1. Some of the stitch pattern is lost in the yarn's marled colorway, which is to be expected. I like the scarf better in the solid color.

 Once I have the instructions written and formatted, I'll knit another one as a way to proofread the pattern. I have a volunteer test knitter on this one, (Thanks Carol!) and having another knitter's eyes to confirm that I have actually written what I mean to say is an enormous reassurance.

Love,
Kim