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Before I start talking about knitting/crocheting, I must tell you all, today I became the proud mother of a Detroit Police Officer. My son passed the final test at the academy, as did his ENTIRE class, and officially became a police officer. Not only was he the president of his class from the beginning (which is huge), but he received the Outstanding Top Performance Award. I am SO proud of him.
I will just say it, "I LOVE HEXAGONS"!!! I always feel like my granny squares are a bit misshapen, but hexagons, they seem to turn out the way they are suppose to. I made 3 sample ones, out of the scraps from the "Ugly" blanket. GREAT! Now I am going to have Ugly 1 and Ugly 2. Oh well, at least the little girlies love them. Wait, 4 girlies. I will need Ugly 3 and 4, so they all have one.
The real reason for the hexagons, my daughter fell in love with Lucy's, from Attic 24, Hexagon afghan. My Sarah normally doesn't care for crocheting, she prefers the look of something knitted, but loved Lucy's afghan. So, I ordered all that yarn I posted, and I am going to start it tonight.
I am going to pick an "itty bitty" toy to begin this week, as well. I am leaning toward the Hippo, which is my favorite animal, but with Easter coming up, I might have to go with the Bunny. I REALLY want to make the Sheep, but the yarn is stopping me. I am not finding what I need. I love Susan Anderson's sheep.
I MUST show you what the 3 granddaughters built last night. While waiting for dinner, Sarah made Chicken Picata with Wild Rice and Raspberry Bars, the girls decided to build a shelter for the sidewalk ants. I was hoping they would move OUT of the neighborhood and the girls constructed a condo and FED THEM LICORICE! I think I saw 30,000 more ants moving in today. Wonderful!
See what looks like dirt? THATS ANTS! Oh, and let me just say, Sarah's Raspberry Bars, you could serve them to royalty. My son and daughter-in-love LOVE the Chicken Picata. I am a vegetarian, so I ate roasted asparagus, but the smells coming from the kitchen, made me wish I could sample something.
Here are a few pictures of spring at my house....
I am so excited. I have finished my first full size afghan. I have been working on my UGLY Granny Striped Afghan for a little under a month. I would not have picked these colors to combine, but, these were in my yarn stash. I am bound and determined to get rid of all my misfit skeins of yarn. As far as the ends of skeins, GRANNY SQUARES! Back to the afghan, it reminds me of my hippie days in the late 60's, early 70's. As a matter of fact, my first refrigerator was Avocado Green. My other choices where Harvest Gold or Burnt Orange. Anyway, I am very pleased with the afghan, despite the colors.
This has been a crazy weather week in my area. We should be enjoying temperatures in the high 40's, which I love, but we are already in the 70's. They just showed the next 8 days weather forcast on TV, 5 days of 76 degrees. Since summer is my LEAST favorite season, this is not looking good to me. If we are at 76 in March, what pray tell will it be like in July, 110? Not to mention, our winter was very mild. We didn't have any snow storms and our temperatures hardly ever hit the teens. Needless to say, right now the germs are running rampant. 3 of my little ones are sick. One with a horrible ear infection and two with colds. 3 down, 3 to go. My one granddaugther, the little Russian, never gets sick. She has great Siberian genes.
I was up at 2:30 a.m. the other morning, letting one of the old dogs outside. When I opened the door, it was so bright outside. I love looking up and seeing this:
I am hoping tomorrow will be a quiet day. I will be minus one granddaughter, the 3 year old who has the ear infection. I have already cleaned the family room, the turtle tank, the 4 dog's feeding stations, and the bathroom. Tomorrow will be the easy stuff, if the little ones are healthy. Then, I am going to finish the 4 Happy Flower decorations from Attic 24. The 3 girls beg for everything I make. I can tell you right now where Mia, the 5 year old's will be. In the bottom of her backpack with all the other things she couldn't live without. Luiza & Ella might actually hang their's in their rooms. I just hope their moms don't mind them sticking holes in their bedroom walls. Knowing those girls, they will move the Happy Flower a dozen times each.
Tomorrow night is Scrapbooking/Knitting night at the Salvation Army. I think I will start making the hexagon squares (now that doesn't make sense, hexagon squares) for the Hexagon Afghan, again by Attic 24.
Well, I have a 170 pound Great Dane breathing down my neck, literally. He knows there is pizza in the kitchen and he is NOT going to go to bed until there isn't one piece left. He is so old and stubborn. I would like to say I will win this battle, but, I know the outcome of this story. Just look at this face, staring at the pizza.
I will leave you tonight with one last picture. This is 2 year old Nolan, playing dress-up. He loves his ladies vintage velvet hat with his bowtie. To see this everyday, is my life great or what?
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we receive packages from out of the country. I ordered this delicious yarn from Deramores, in England, and 5 days later it was sitting on my porch waiting for me. I have to tell you, it arrived last Saturday, but I didn't open the packages for 2 days. I wanted to make sure the house was cleaned first. Once I got my hands on all the yarn, I might not lift a dust cloth or put a dish into water. I haven't started knitting/crocheting with this Stylecraft Special DK yarn yet, but it looks wonderful.
The other thing that arrived on Saturday, the book, "200 Crochet blocks" by Jan Eaton. I LOVE IT!!!! Great granny squares and many other blocks. I can't wait to start making some.
I know I have mentioned before about this GREAT blog, Natural Suburbia. You must check out the wonderful giveaway that is going on until March 10th. Linda is giving away wonderful things to celebrate her 4th anniversary as a blogger. Also, check out her Etsy shop, Mamma4earth . Her patterns are so unique.
I don't know if any of you have been watching the British show, Downton Abbey? In the USA it is being aired on the PBS channel. I had been hearing so much about it from so many people, I decided to buy season one. WOW! It was worth it. I am home all weekend with my 8 year old granddaughter and NO VEHICLE, so, I think I better go out and buy season two, just in case I need to unwind. I should probably buy chocolate and potato chips, too.
I am SO excited, my son is almost done with his police academy. He is having a party at the academy tomorrow, to celebrate the accomplishments of his class. My daughter and I have been cooking for 2 days, a delicious recipe for this feast. I am a vegetarian, so, I have never tasted it. It is one of Sarah's specialties. You cook a chuck roast with pepperoncinis for 6 hours. Then you shred it and pile it on a crusty roll. Apparently, it is fantastic. My son was voted president of his class back in September, when they started. Usually the position changes hands many times during the course of the training. However, he has held the presidency the entire time. I am so proud of him. Next month at his graduation ceremony, I will be pinning his badge on him (hopefully not sticking him while I am crying), and then he will officially be a Detroit Police Officer. Wow! My baby boy.
I have decided to set a goal for the next week, projects to complete by Monday, March 12, 2012:
1. My "ugly" Granny Striped afghan. It should be completed by Saturday.
2. My 4 Happy Flower Decorations, by Lucy of Attic 24.
3. My little Cat, by Mamma4earth.
I am sitting here, anxiously waiting for the mail carrier to get here. I am hoping that the 2 books I ordered about Granny Squares, come today. I am still waiting for the Stylecraft yarn from England, but, I am not thinking it will arrive for another week. I have a VERY obsessive personality, so lets just say, I am really teaching my little ones about patience today. WAIT!!!!! I hear the mail carrier........ ONE BOOK IS HERE!
Have any of you been watching the British TV series, Downton Abbey? It is being shown on the PBS channel. I have heard from so many people how good it is. Another obsession, I am trying to find season 1 in the stores, but, it has been sold out.
I have been working steadily on my Granny Stripe Blanket. It is coming along, slowly. If I hadn't made it so long, I would have been done long ago. One nice thing, it will be so long that it will easily cover 2 people sitting at opposite ends of the couch. I am making this afghan with the group on Ravelry, "One A Day", and I am ahead of schedule. I committed to one row a day, but have surpassed that. Woo Hoo!
I have mentioned the Etsy shop, Mamma4earth, in a past. I love Linda's creations. She designed the loveliest Swan last week, along with a beautiful Daffodil. Couldn't resist them. Had to buy the patterns. Then yesterday, she posts on her blog, another new pattern, Glider the Whale. Check them out. ADORABLE. I am in the process of knitting her Cat. It is so easy to knit. I made 2 sets of body parts in 2 hours. My only challenge at the moment, my yarn is a bit finer than what she used and my stuffing is showing through the stitches. I was disappointed, but not frustrated. Tonight I meet with my scrapbooking/knitting group. I will work on the Cat tonight. I will show you what I mean about my stitches. Also, I haven't put on the eyes or nose, yet. Don't judge Mamma4earth's patterns by my little cat. The yarn is SO wrong.
And finally, I saved the best till last. We have a new member in our family. She joined us last Sunday. She is a big girl. About 1.5 lbs.
Introducing Shirlie Girlie, my Red Eared Slider turtle. I went to buy turtle food for Shellie, Shamus, Sheldon, & Sherman. I happened to look over at the turtle tank and there she was, BEGGING me to take her home. How could I say no to that face?
Have a GREAT weekend.
