Here I Am

Okay, okay. Here I am. Please do not lose faith in me. I am here...

So, what's new you're all wondering? Well, where shall I begin...

1. My spinners' guild is taking part in a competition of sorts this coming Saturday. It is actually an international competition where a team of 8 people shear, spin, and knit a fleece directly off the sheep's back into an adult sweater in under 8 hours. Cool, eh? I'm going to start off spinning and will switch to knitting after awhile. I think it will be pretty cool and lots of fun. We're also doing a 50/50 draw to raise money for cancer research. I'm hoping my hubby can take lots of pics so I will be able to post our progress. The finished sweater will travel to the various fair exhibitions in and around our area during the summer and fall months. We're hoping it will raise a lot of interest in the Guild.


2. I've been quite a shutterbug as of late. I got a new camera (DSLR) a week ago. So I have been taking pics like a madwoman! Please check out my Flickr site (just click on the Flickr button on the right and it will take you there).


3. With Mother's Day quickly approaching I am pleased to announce...da da da dah!!!!!!!!!! I've finished mom's shawl. I am mailing it tomorrow (Thurs) so unfortunately mom it won't be there for Sunday...depends if the husky team is running quickly this week in the heat or not. I've just included a couple of sneaky-peek shots.


4. Hmmm...oh. I'm still decluttering. Thanks to all who mentioned FlyLady. I have used her program in the past which has worked wonderfully. I've just...lapsed in the last few years.


5. We've moved our furniture around. Not that most of you care, but I want to thank my hubby for sacrificing his back for the comfort and pleasure of creating a bit of change at home. We have very white walls, but can't afford to paint right now. We needed a splash of colour so we've switched our family room furniture and living room furniture around. With that and my decluttering plan, we should be living chaos-free any month now!


6. Did most of you out there know it is the month of May??? Yipes! Where did the new year go?


7. I can't really think of anything more or something that is so profound it causes you to stop reading mid-sentence and ponder the meaning of life.


8. My craft area is now downstairs. Not sure if that's the smartest idea seeing as there is just that much more room to spread things out!!! Must be diligent.

Well, that's life in a nutshell. I hope you all have a great day and a great night. I have to go now and catch up on e-mail and reading everyone else's blogs.

Ta-Tah!

Oh, just a few pics showing spring is FINALLY here!!!!! :oD Happy happy, joy joy!

Dandelion in backyard

Lilac leaves budding

Violas jumping up

Yipee Ki-Yay!

So the other night, my dearest hubby came home with the mail. And there was a package...for me...from Blue Moon Fibre Arts...for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! :) It was some silky-silky sock yarn! Boo-yah!!! (Doin' a happy dance) I've never had any sock yarn from Blue Moon before and I have to say, it is absolutely delicious! So of course I just had to take pictures.

Enjoy...

Pretty Colours (note: Mom's shawl in the background)

(Upside down...oops! I guess I was too excited to notice)

I also did some spinning. I carded together some Alpaca and Corridale. The colours together make a sort of wheat/honey colour. Very neutral. Very pretty. Very soft and shimmery.

Still Here!!!

Okay, okay. I have been AWOL for almost two weeks and have had several people contact me wondering why I haven't posted. I really don't have an excuse other than I just haven't felt like writing too much lately. Why? Hmmm...uninspired I suppose.

I think too, because I have only been working on my mom's shawl...no, I'm still not finished...argh! So I haven't had too much to report on. I suppose I could just post blah, blah, blahs and yada, yada, yadas. But no.

As I write, I'm trying to think of something whimsical to tell you, but nothing comes to mind. I need to finish mom's shawl. Everything has been put on hold until that project is out of the way. In fact, she's leaving for a trip tomorrow and was hoping to have it. But I'm still working on it and she lives half way across the country. Nope. Not gonna happen.

Last night at the Spinners' Guild meeting, I rented a drum carder so today I spent the morning carding some Corridale and Alpaca together. Tonight I sat down to spin. It's been at least a couple of weeks since I've last spun anything, so it was a nice change to do something different.

Well, I'm not going to write to much more tonight. It's getting late and I have to be up early to get baby girl to school. Tomorrow...ba, ba, ba...cleaning and decluttering. It's never-ending!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back To The Grind...

Hello Faithful Ones!

Oh, how I have missed you all!!! The season and Lent has passed and now that Easter Sunday has passed I will have much more time to spend with you all.

So to update you:

• I did some knitting on my mom's shawl during our holiday...I'm STILL not finished. I thought I'd make it to at least the last ball of ribbon yarn. Sadly...no.
• The weather during our holiday was abysmal. It was soooooo windy. And the wind was soooo cold! On a good note, we had a fun time at the waterpark where it was warm all the time.
• I have been quite the little shutterbug lately. I have always loved photography! And I have been updating my Flickr account almost daily. Check me out at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knitgirl/ There you can view my photos, my favourites, contacts, and groups that I belong to.
• I am currently decluttering my home. It is a mess and I have so much crap I just keep moving it from one pile to the next and I clean around the piles and stacks of crap I have. And need I remind you all just how much I love housecleaning? So, I've decided we need to do a Clean Sweep and get organized! I'm getting rather tired of living in my untidy, messy, cluttered house.
• I haven't been spinning lately. I have been trying to finish my mom's shawl before I tackle any other fibre related projects.
• Note: I have deleted my weight loss blog. Why? Well, I figured I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to lose so much every week rather than focusing on just being healthy. Making healthy food choices and moving my body more. So, rather than having that pressure hanging over my head, I'm deleting that blog. But for those keeping track, I've lost about 8 lbs since February.

Well, that's about it for now. I have to go finish washing dishes before CSI starts. Then tomorrow, it's back to decluttering...

Getting Ready To Go...

Hi Beauties!

Well, today is filled with lots of "fun" activities...(i.e. doing laundry & ironing). Mix that with a trip to the library, the grocery store, and other required errands and you have the makings of a family preparing to go on a wee getaway.

On Easter Monday, we are heading down to Duluth, MN about three-ish hours south of TBay. The season of Lent and Easter is always busy and hectic. So this year we've decided to head south of the border for a couple of days, just to get away and relax. To say I am excited is an understatement.

You need to understand something about me. As has been previously stated, I am a princess. And "royalty", as a people, well...we love to travel. I would LOVE to travel the world, but since that is a financial impossibility at the present moment, I will take a trip to the States -- no problems. I love the mental release you feel when you jump in your car/plane/train and just head off. It feels good to just "leave town". Even if it's to a place only an hour away from where you live. A chance to explore unfamiliar territory. An opportunity to meet interesting folks. A getaway chance to shop in totally different places, eat in new restaurants, have little "adventures", or just to see the sun set in a new locale.

My daughter, bless her heart, has been bitten by the travelling bug too. When she was just eight days old, she and I were off on the plane flying to our home for the first year of her life when my husband did his vicarage year for seminary (he had to drive the van there...). So since she's been a bitty bambina, she's been a traveller. Her mommy and daddy love to just jump in the van on the spur of the moment and just...drive. Our family is like a bunch of explorers just wanting to see what's out beyond the great blue yonder.

Maybe it's a bit of "cabin fever", I don't know. But I do know that when we return from one of our travelling adventures, even if it's just been for the day, we come back refreshed and ready to buckle back down to our daily vocation in life.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter and I will write again once we're back on Thursday.

Tah Tah

Four Minute Challenge

Hi Everyone,

I've given myself four minutes to do up a quick post. Let's see what we can come up with:

• Today is a Snow Day -- school was cancelled today. We received about a foot of snow overnight. It's still snowing...
• Still progressing on mom's scarf
• Have uploaded a bunch of new Flickr photos -- to see them, click on the Flickr badge to the right
• Two mins left
• Had a near meltdown trying to clean the bathroom this a.m. That is my least fave job to do!!! EEP!
• Finished plying the Border Cheviot -- would post pics, but only have 53 seconds left. To see pictures, please refer to my Flickr photos
• Daughter is setting up a blanket downstairs so we can have a picnic lunch
• Beeper on timer just went -- that is all for today.

Bye for now!

The Joy of Spinning

Hello Babies,

Sorry it has been almost a week since I've posted. Again...same excuse. Life is busy around our house until after Easter. Other than that, I've been busy working on mom's shawl and, of course, spinning.

This means, however, that housework has been adamantly avoided. Much to my family's dismay! Hey, I never said cleaning was my pride and joy and gosh darn it how I love spending my day that way. As my faithful readers know, I'm the kind of gal that can live with dirt and I don't mind wearing the same t-shirt again before throwing it in the washer. I'm not proud of it. In fact, I am quite embarrased by the state of the house when people drop by for a visit. It's something I am working at improving in my life. 'Cause nothin' says "I love you" like a drawer full of clean underwear!

But thankfully my hubby loves me, warts and all! He puts up with my messy ways and dirty crafts (did I tell you how filthy the latest batch of fleece is that I'm working on??? I have to pick out all the teeny bits of seeds, thistle, and blades of grass...but it is quite dirty and so by the time I have finished picking and carding, I have quite a little pile of dirt on the floor.) But I do sweep that up immediately after finishing...geez, I'm not that filthy!!!

I have been enjoying the joy of spinning. Today I took a few pics of my latest bobbins of singles.I should be ready to ply the first skein sometime tonight or tomorrow. Then I will weigh it and figure out how much I have left to spin up before I'm ready to tackle my next handmade, handspun project. I have an idea what I'll be doing, but I'll post that info later when I'm ready to start.

Enjoy the pics...talk to you later, 'gater!