Knit One Quilt Too

Lucky me!

I just got home to a fabulous prize in the mail.  A few weeks ago, through the grapevine, I heard about a blog contest at Hither and Yarn.  For the contest you had to donate to one of four charities and then be entered to win a skein of yarn.  I chose to donate to Knitters for Knockers- a team doing a Komen Race for the Cure in Richmond, VA.  Well, when Cathy let me know I was a winner I was thrilled! I wasn't expecting all the other goodies, but just look at what Cathy sent! The beautiful Doctors without Borders colorway of sport weight sock yarn from The Unique Sheep, lavendar soap, a nifty little notebook, shea butter, caramel popcorn, chocolate covered cherries and a bar of Green & Black's chocolate!  I think she has my number.  Cathy even sent one of her moo cards!  I have a few that I made, but have never gotten one from someone else.  Thank you so much, Cathy!  I'll put the yarn to good use and the goodies will disappear quickly I'm sure.  Be sure to check out Cathy's blog, there are all sorts of neat things to read about there.  I'm heading to Portland for a week tomorrow, so don't expect me back til late next week.  Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Rippling Along

The crochet ripple blanket continues to grow.  I've added 18 more stripes since the last photo.  Okay, I did have to ask Scrabble to pose for this photo, but I think it's tradition now, don't you? 

By the way, he did get groomed today so he was picture perfect.  I spent one whole evening this week weaving in the ends of all the stripes I've done so far.  I can't believe how long that takes!

My basket of yarn is dwindling though and that's a very good sign.  Dare I say this blanket may be done before the winter is out? 

I just have to show you this.  It's not a sea urchin in my teapot.  It's Jasmine Globe green tea from Harney Tea.  It's so cool looking and the fragrance is heavenly!  This is my afternoon pick-me-up lately.

I haven't given up on the liberated blocks.  In fact, today I made good progress on putting together the "Night at the Improv" top.  I also got out some crumb/string blocks I had made last year and made a few more to round it out at 25.  I need to get some red for the sashing because, even with a nice basket of reds, none of them are quite right.  I also think I'm going to use a yard of cheddar for the setting or sashing on the blocks with the red and brown tones.  It's getting fun now that I'm figuring out how to use some of these blocks! 

Luck o' the Irish

Well, if I'm not actually Irish, I feel like I am now!  I do have Scottish and English blood for sure, so there's most likely some Irish in there too.  Lookie what I received from Cathi all the way from Ireland!

When she said she wanted to send me something, I thought some tea would be nice, I wasn't prepared for this treasure box.  We've got tea, but we've also got sweets, a lovely calendar, soap and knitted scrubbie, and yarn- oh my, yes, the yarn!

The kids were there when I opened everything and they were thrilled to see each thing.  Chloe thought the wine gums were cool to see because she had read about them in Harry Potter and didn't know what they were.  I've already had a few cups of the lovely tea and of course, the chocolates were wonderful.  Don't you just love the adorable scrubbie!  It's called the Tribble pattern and you can get it here.  It came with some really lovely handmade Irish soap.

Now, onto the yarn.  All I can say is that Cathi must be psychic!  I've been wanting to try the Jaywalker sock pattern, but was really concerned about the difficulty that some have had with fit.  This German sock yarn has stretch built in.  It's called Mega Boots and should be perfect for some Jaywalkers.  Also, it's the perfect color for me, green and blue.

Behind the sock yarn is the lovely Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed, made in Ireland!  How did Cathi know I've been collecting aran tweeds lately with the idea of making a log cabin style knitted pillow?  I'm not sure, but this lavendar color will fit right in.

Thank you Cathi for sending so much love across the globe!  The best part of all this is that Cathi's parents live right here in my town and there is a very real possiblity of a real life meetup in the future.  If not next year, then the year after when she plans to come for a visit around the time of the Sisters Quilt Show.  It should be a blast!

A Belated Happy 4th!

It's taken me a while to get organized here after a busy July 4th.  We had a very nice day starting with the pet parade in the morning.  The kids rode their scooters with their friends and Scrabble dressed for the occasion.

We stayed in town for free ice cream at the historical museum, a trip to the library's used book sale, to the park for the July 4th celebration and to town for a drink.  It was really hot, so we were getting something to drink every few feet it seemed!

We ended the afternoon at the farmer's market where I picked up a flat of marionberries to make jam.  I had no idea how much a flat would make.  When we got home Chloe and I made the jam which came out delicious!

We turned these...

into 18 of these and still have berries left over!

Yesterday I finally got a chance to baste and start quilting the July 4th stars.  I'm using Tonya's freehand quilted fans technique and I love it!  Nothing to mark, just start quilting.  I love how they are coming out.  I didn't get it done in time for Independence Day, but I may get it done in July.

Quickie Post

This is a short one, so I can get back to crafting!  I just wanted to show these gorgeous cinnamon rolls we made for Chloe's birthday breakfast.  Ryan helped me cut them with dental floss and look how great they are after baking.  This recipe is so easy and directions are included for a kitchen aid mixer, bread machine, or food processor.  You basically throw the ingredients in, let the machine do the kneading, let it rest for 10 minutes, roll it out and cover with cinnamon mixture, refrigerate over night and bake in the morning.  I take them out of the fridge and put them in a cold oven that's set for 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  They have time to do a little more rising and come out baked perfectly. 

On the knitting front, I've finished the first of the Red Hot Sizzling Socks.  I'm about 5 inches down the cuff on the second.  I really do love this pattern, and it's been a very quick knit for me.  I just love those little leaves.  I think this would look really great in some green yarn, so I'll probably be making them again.