That was FAST!

Last Friday I received my partner's name for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange & went to work reading her blog, questionnaire & emailing her. We've exchanged a few emails & I'm about 80% on what bag I'm making for her.


Well I also received a few emails from my upstream partner on Saturday. Come Monday morning I receive an email saying your bag is on it's way! HOLY COW! They're not due until the 1st of October! I haven't even CO yet, much less committed to a pattern & mine is on it's way? You're good JudyB!

So here is my bag along with my goodies---some beautiful beads, a crochet hook, tea, an S & C crochet pattern & some Lana Grossa yarn (so soft!) for the crocheted market bag. Im taking this as a sign that I HAVE to buckle down & learn how to crochet.

Thank you so much JudyB!

1st Day of school

Here's the wee one in her outfit that my girlfriend made for her rocking her Dora backpack with her bff Jake the dog.












We didn't do carline today (starts tomorrow) so I went into her classroom with her---she was happy to see one of the little boys from last year's class will be with her again this year. Big hug & a "hiiiiiiiiii *insertnamehere*" followed & I dont think she looked at me again! I told her goodbye & that I loved her & she didn't even look up! I got a "byeeeeeee" which translates to "ENOUGH! You're embarassing me Mom!!!" in kidspeak.

Went to the orientation then off to Walmart for some school supplies for the drive the school is doing for the kids at Our House (the Methodist home for at risk kids in our area), came home, changed & took Libby for our morning mile (we used to do this until the wee one & I got involved in MOMS & started galavanting everyday!) & then it was home again to get cleaned up in time to go pick up the Wee One.

We went to lunch at Atlanta Bread Co. (yum) & then home for the afternoon. I got the lowdown on who she played with on the playground & she gave me the paper apple they decorated today. "For YOUUUUU Mommy!" She is so sweet!

Tonight I'm watching You've Got Mail for the 1, 394,333th time & finishing the 3rd capelet! Tomorrow the wee one goes back to school & Libby goes to the vet! Non-stop action here, I swear!

Red Kiddie Capelet

Here she is. I've decided that I'm going to do another for Paige's oldest daughter. It'll have the red collar w/ the varigated body.

The plain ol' varigated one will go for Susan's daughter's birthday goodies.

Off to watch Big Love's season finale.

Fall Felted Bag Exchange contest #1

I received my partner on Friday & am waiting to hear back from her. My upstream partner & I have emailed a few times so far!


So here's the first contest:


1. What is your favorite yarn for felting, and why?

I really love Paton's Classic Merino---it's inexpensive, there's a good array of colors & it felts fast. Really fast.


2. Name one person in the swap who is not from the U.S. and tell us where they are from, and link to their blog.

Nicola S. She was my partner for the magic yarn ball swap (wasn't that it?!) this past spring. She's from the UK. http://greengreenplanet.blogspot.com/



3. Find one person in the swap who has a dog, and let us know the name of their dog(s) and link to their blog.


June has a Lhasa Aposo named Maestro. http://agardeningknitter.blogspot.com/


4. Find one person in the swap who has a child or grandchild and link to their blog.

Kristin has 3 wee ones! http://dayinthelifeof531.blogspot.com/

5. And finally, tell us if you like October or November more, and why! (Yea, I know part of September and November are technically fall, but for this question, only October and November matter!)

Living in VT & New England I prefer October because that's when the leaves are at their peak color. Living in the South I prefer November for the same reason. Not that there as many color variations d own here but we do have a beautiful maple tree here that is a gorgeous vibrant red by Veteran's Day!


On the knitting front I am about to BO the 2nd poncho for my friend Paige's youngest daughter. I'm torn about the one for her oldest girl---the 2nd poncho has the same color as the first poncho as the collar & then is a solid color. I'm debating making a 3rd for her oldest girl---it'll have the red from the 2nd poncho as the collar & then the varigated yarn for the body. The original poncho would be nice gift for my friend Susan's daughter who turns 2 next month. Well in addition the Little People she's getting!

They examined my head. . .

. . .and found nothing! CT scan shows nothing abnormal on my brain so that's a blessing. My next step is to get a neurology consult for a lumbar puncture. Most likely that will happen next month.

This is the Kiddie Capelet I made for a friend's older daughter (she's the same age as the wee one. I have another to make in red for her younger girl. I used some LB Homespun I had in my stash. I love the colors, love how it looks when it 's done but hate working with it! Here's the pattern:

http://knittingforboozehags.com/freebirds/kiddie-capelet

Tonight is the Meet & Greet for the wee one's school. Her teacher is wonderful & I'm looking forward to seeing who else will be in her class. We know of 1 little girl already (they played together last month). I hope there are a couple kids from last yr's class so she sees some familiar faces.

Off to start my 2nd capelet. . .

My "Puffy" came!

Puffy being the Yahoo Monthly Dishcloth Group's word for your swap item plus goodies from your swap pal. My pal happens to live in the same Kentucky town as my best friend Jami! Her husband is retired Army to boot!

She made te Daryl Waltrip cloth in blue (my kitchen is blue & yellow) & sent some yummy teas, note cards, notepad & pen as well as a post card of Ft Knox (she works on post!).

I signed up for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange this week, as my previous post indicates. I have a Noni bag pattern that I had hoped to use for ITE IV but my partner was allergic to wool so that got scrapped. Perhaps I'll use it this swap.

And on a side note, our vacation for R & R is booked! Just waiting for them to cash the check & we will be golden! Now, please, cross your fingers, light a candle, whatever it is you do do & pray we don't have any hurricanes!!!

Fall Felted Bag Exchange Questionnaire

Here it is!


1) How long have you been knitting or crocheting? How did you learn? or from whom? Officially since I was 8 or 9. I learned from my Mom who learned from her mom. . . I didn't make anything from the time I was in college until Fall '04 when I found a cute hat pattern for the wee one. That's when the insanity began!

2) What was your first felted object, and why did you decide to try felting?
My first felted object was a bag. It is now referred to as the "ugly bag" because I didn't pay attention to how to felt & the nuances of blocking afterwards. It's usable but certainly not my best effort. My MIL told me about felting & again, insanity took over!

3) What are your favorite colors? Any you hate?

I love jewel tones, reds, blues, purples. Not so much of a yellow or orange fan.

4) What are your favorite styles\types of bags? (Long straps? Short handles? Handbags? Totes? Embellished? Plain? Include links to patterns or photos if you’d like – give your pal an idea of what you enjoy!)

Anything goes! I love shoulder bags, totes, small bags---surprise me!

5) What handbag or bag are you carrying today? Do you use a separate bag to carry your knitting?

Right now I'm using my Kate Spade Maddie. I do have a couple differeent bags that hold knitting projects.

6) What other things do you enjoy knitting or crocheting?
Socks, dishcloths, scarves, baby items as it seems I always know someone who is pregnant!

7) What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
I love my crystal palace & addi's!!

8) What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
I started my clapotis in June but had to frog & STILL have not CO again!

9) What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
I have some beautiful soy ribbon yarn that I received from my spring bag exchange pal that I haven't had a chance to work with but it is BEAUTIFUL!

10) What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden?
I like beading & stamping but really only dabble in them.

11) Besides yarn, do you collect anything?
Watches (baume & mercier, hamilton, gruen), Estee Lauder's America the Beautiful compacts, carnival glass & polish pottery

12) What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?
I was diagnosed as diabetic this spring so I'm careful about what I eat. I am definitely more of a salty/savory girl (always have been!) so stuff like flavored pretzels, nuts (cashews & almonds yum!) make me happy!

13) Do you have any kiddos? (Furry kind count!) I have both! A 3 yr old little girl & a 4 yr old fur bebe.

14) What kind of project best personifies you and why? Ooooh, deep question! Let me think on this one. . .Hmmmmmmm maybe a shawl? They're snuggly & pretty. How's that for vain?! LOL

15) What is your favorite part of Autumn? You can also share a special Autumn memory if you'd prefer!
I grew up in VT--Autumn is my FAVORITE season---I only wish it arrived in GA sooner! I dont have a special memory but my favorite thing to do when the leaves have fallen is to "scuffle" through them while walking. There is something magical about the sound rustling leaves make. I've taught my daughter that there is nothing better than walking thru a bunch of fallen leaves & listening for the noise.

16) Tell us 3 things you would do if you won 10 million dollars in the lottery.

1) Put a big chunk into our retirement fund, the wee one's school fund & our vacation fund.

2) Do something nice for someone who least expected it.

3) Shop, shop shop! My koigu stash would increase greatly!! LOL

Fall Felted Bag Exchange!

The Fall Felted Bag Exchange will be having signups starting 8/15/07. The last exchange was a lot of fun so check out this blog - www.feltedbagexchange2.blogspot.com - and join us!

Very fun!! I did the Spring Exchange & had lots of fun!!

Happy Birthday to my sweetie

Let's just hope he doesn't read this particular entry & see this pic, shall we?!

(this was taken after our community's Halloween party last yr. Obviously the wee one put her tiara on him!)

Happy birthday sweetheart! I love you, am so incredibly proud of you & promise next year we will do something wonderful for your special day!!

I'm working on a dishcloth for my Yahoo group's (Monthly Dishcloths) 3rd quarter swap. The pattern is from Creative Knitting's July 07 issue & is the "Fun to Stitch" cloth. It is fun to stitch too! I have to go through my stash o'goodies & find some goodies for my partner.

Our FRG had a picnic today----it was BRUTALLY hot out. The kids were pouring bottles of water on their heads to cool down. The wee one loved it & had fun playing w/ her buddy J. & his big sister, K. K is very sweet to the wee one & had fun dousing her w/ water! LOL

We were off to Target (on tax free weekend----am I nuts?!) & then home again home again jiggity jig. Tonight's plan is to knit a bit & actually get to bed early. Shush---Ive been doing better about that lately!