Spring Felted Bag Exchange bag. . .

Here it is after being felted, dried/shaped & lined (courtesy of my Mom!)

I couldn't decide which type of handle'strap to use & went with these black wooden ones.
I started the bag in GA in May & worked on it in VA & VT. The yarn for the bag was Paton's Merino in "That's Purple"





These are the 2 flowers I made to go on it. They're from Nicky Epstein's felted flower book. The pink flower is made from Zara yarn that I bought in Montreal at Mouline yarns on Notre Dame Ouest (west).

The red flower's yarn is Lopi Lite & came from North East Fiber Arts Ctr in Williston, VT. They are both unfelted & have pin backing attached so Stacey could easily attach them to the bag.












And here is the lining! I LOVED this fabric (it's 2 fat quarters ) & thought it was great w/ the bag. Mom did the lining & I put the magnetic closure & handles on.

You know you're going to have trouble

when you get to row 12 of your bag pattern & there is an error!

And could someone explain why my dog will not leave my side at night? Im used to her being curled up next to me on the couch while I knit/ watch tv but I'm talking giving me the hairy eye ball while she drops her stuffed hippo on my feet (I sit w/ my legs curled under & to the side). We go to play ball every day unless it's raining. What gives???

Just finished watching "Because I Said So" with Diane Keaton & Mandy Moore. Cute & worth watching. Then again, I love Diane Keaton!

September 4th is special because. . .

Here is something cool, I was tagged by LeslieJ

The rules: Go to Wikipedia and type in your birth month and date (mine is Sept 4th), then post 3 events, 2 births and a holiday. Then tag 5 others, I'm following Leslie's lead & only tagging 2 people---Lacey & Kristyn.


Events:

1781 - Los Angeles, California, is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (the City of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the Little Portion) by 44 Spanish settlers.

1950 - The "Beetle Bailey" comic strip begins.

1972 - Mark Spitz wins his seventh swimming gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, becoming the first Olympian to do so. Spitz swam in only seven events and set world records in each one.

Birthdays:

1918 - Paul Harvey, American radio broadcaster

1968 - Mike Piazza, baseball player

I swear they used to list Ivan the Terrible's b-day at 9/4.

Holiday:

Quatre Septembre in France - celebrates the Proclamation of the Third Republic in 1870

For what it's worth, I was born on Labor Day!

A frogging we will go, a frogging we will go

hi ho the merry-o, a frogging we will go!

This is the start of my clapotis. I got a great deal on the yarn ((Louisa Harding yarn, "grace" 50/50 silk & wool) during WEBS anniversary sale & CO while I was in VT at my parents house. Somewhere I realized that my stitch markers were off & that it would most likely cause me to use obscene language, sweat profusely & be generally miserable when I had to drop stitches at the end of the project. So, say a little prayer tonight when I ripppppit ripppppit rippppit out!

I'm also starting my partner's bag (Lorraine by Berroco) tonight. I love the colors I'm using & hope she likes the bag!

The Montreal trip

When my girlfriends & I started going to Montreal in the late '80's we would always stop at this sign on I 89. I honestly can't tell you how many pictures of it I have!

This was also a photo op on every trip. It is affectionately known as "the bonjour sign" because it used to be a big bonjour sign. It has since been replaced by the big bienvenue sign & the most beautiful irises!

Didn't I tell you?! They are one of my favorite flowers!

Then as we were walking down Ste Catherine St towards LUSH (on a humanitarian mission for my MIL) this guy leaned forward from his perch & blew me a kiss. Um, I'm a mother buddy!! When we were walking down the opposite side of the street I took a picture!

My Montreal purchases were a skein of yarn for my Spring Felted Bag Exchange bag & 2 skeins of yarn to include in with the goodies for my ITE IV partner. I also got a great pair of beaded sandals at Bellini ($29.99 down from 98!) & the LUSH for MIL. My girlfriend Heather couldn't believe how little I spent!

So here's the month of June in a nutshell

Granted, it's a big nut! Grab a drink & follow me.

So in late May I went back to see my doctor as she had changed my bp meds in April & wanted to see me in 6 weeks to see how it was working. It was doing fine. My bloodwork however wasn't so good. I was diagnosed with diabetes (technically I was pre-diabetic but that's neither here nor there at this point)

I had had Gestational Diabetes when I was pregnant w/ the wee one & knew about testing my blood sugar during the day, what I could & shouldn't eat & the importance of exercise. Still tho, it threw me for a loop. I'm on oral meds & diet modification. So far my #'s are great & I'm very disciplined in what I let myself eat. What got me is that I will live with this until I die. High blood pressure I could deal with because I have a family history of it but diabetes? I do have a family history of it too but still.

When I was talking to my MIL about it a couple weeks ago she asked if I felt deprived & honestly I don't. I'm not a big sweets person to begin with. Don't get me wrong---I love freshly baked cookies (esp when I make them!), ice cream etc as much as the next person but I don't really crave them. I do miss pasta but as time goes by & I've got this under control & have learned what I can eat & when then maybe I'll treat myself.

I drove up to Virginia on the 6th & spent a few days with them. We celebrated MIL's birthday, got to see Hunter's aunt on his Dad's side & got to have a short visit w/ his brother & SIL. They're expecting baby #1 in January so MIL & I are trying to figure out who's knitting what for them. I think I'm going to do my standards "layette"---hat, kimono, pants, washcloths & bibs. Maybe. LOL The wee one had a couple lunch dates w/ Pappa & learned that eating an ice cream cone is a wonderful thing!

We visited 3 yarn stores in the Lynchburg area. Suzanne's Knitting Shoppe (no yarn purchases sadly. I love her store), Backstitches (2 bag patterns, yarn for one of the patterns ---for me! & yarn for my ITE IV bag) & then Yarn Theory in Bedford (cotton fleece for a garment of some sort for the wiggly one OR possibly for BIL & SIL's wee one should it be a boy!)

On Monday the 11th I drove home. 13 hrs with a 3 yr old (God bless the man who developed the portable dvd player!) & a dog.

I have to admit I get a little giddy when I see this sign at the PA state line.

I also get very emotional when I see THIS sign.

We spent a week & a half at home & had a wonderful time. The wee one enjoyed some time with Memere & Pepere---I did too! We did some yarn shopping (North East Fiber Arts Center in Williston--Lopi Lite for my Spring Bag Exchange bag & Kaleidascope yarns in Essex to boost my Koigu stash), went to lunch w/ Memere, played in the back yard, went swimming in Lake Champlain (didn't see Champ) & went to ECCO, the Lake Champlain Aquarium.

Here's the wee one examining the waves. We spent about 4 hours at the beach with the friends in the pic in my last entry. Brenda brought her 2 oldest & Ellen brought her 2. The wee one had a great time with them & Ellen's oldest (11) was wonderful with her. Ellen, Brenda & I sat on the beach & watched the kids & got some sun. It was a great day!

I drove back to VA last Friday & then made the trek back to GA yesterday. I was exhausted when we pulled in yet couldn't fall asleep last night.

Today we brought the car to have the oil changed & then went grocery shopping. Right now the wee one's asleep & I'm thinking that it might be a wise idea for me to have a rest too.

So there it is---between being diagnosed & getting ready for my vacation & then going on vacation is what I've been up to!

We're baaaaaaaaaack!

I'll update you on the full vacation details tomorrow when I've recovered from my 13 hr drive on Friday (VT to VA) & 9 hr today (VA to GA). For now, here's a pic of me with my friends Brenda & Ellen. This was last Monday when we went out for dinner & drinks. These are 2 women who know where all the bones are buried! LOL We're in Nectar's in Burlington, VT which is where the band Phish got their start.

Gentle Reader,

I just want to say that if I don't reply to your comments please don't take offense. It's not that I don't appreciate them, I really do.

Life has taken an awkward turn for me in the past couple weeks & without getting into too much detail it's thrown me for a loop & I am being forced to make some lifestyle changes. They're all for the good but it's a learning process & I'm not as together as I might be.

I'm not making excuses but letting people know what's going on because apparently I am a lousy person. I am sorry for any hurt feelings my inaction may have caused.

As soon as I get things under control I will be a better blogger comment-replier---I promise!

Mommy & the pretzel eating wiggly one at the zoo this past Saturday. Twice in just over 2 months, a new record!

When I was pregnant with the wee one I started looking at the IVillage April '04 expecting club message board. The women on that board & I went through our pregnancies together---the good, bad, sad & ugly. When the babies were a year old IVillage switched us to a "playgroup" Again, the good, bad, ugly. It's hard to believe that it's been almost 4 yrs since we came together as newly pregnant mommies!

When the babies were 6 months old those of us in the Atlanta are got together at Stone Mountain. We had a blast! Then when they were a year old we got together at an ATL mall for a group portait for the wee ones & then a cookout/picnic in a local park. We didn't do anything for 2 yrs until this past weekend when a few of us got together at the zoo!

No drama with the elephants this time & I am very proud to say that the wiggly one was SO well behaved! No whining, listened well (I only had to speak to her once !) & when we left I told her how proud I was of her.

My bag for the Spring Felted Bag Exchange is crying for attention. Hopefully I can get it done & felted soon! I've had horrible knitting ADD lately!