A beautiful fence materializes in two days

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fence1This is Corey and Danielle when we were leaving Menards with a whole bunch of fence.  This was the second load.  Corey and Danielle had already picked up the concrete, posts, screws, etc.  On the back of the truck, you can see we answered the age-old question “Where’s Waldo?”.  Who knew he was hiding on the back of a Menards truck.

fence2This is Mark and Corey working on the front corner.

fence3This is the first beautiful section finished.  The whole fence is finished now.  It took two days of working in wind and rain and cold.  Don’t let the beautiful sunshine in the picture fool you.  It was cold and Danielle and I both have fierce windburns on our faces.  All that is left to finish is the gates, which is the easy part.  We all agreed the worst part was setting the posts.  We also had our first sleepover at Corey and Danielle’s.  Since they only live forty minutes away, we have never spent the night there.  It was a fun and very productive weekend.

Holy Gosh! How cute are we???

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kittenThe little black and white beauty is Corey and Danielle’s new kitten.  Look at those gorgeous green eyes!  When you hold this kitten, she looks into your eyes like she’s looking into your soul.  She has the most beautiful eyes.  She is laying with her proud new big brother, Stripes.  Stripes is about 1 1/2 years old now.  The kitten is eight weeks old.  I’ll post a little update when the little beauty gets a name.

Christmas Socks 2008 (Pairs #24-28)

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Hmmmmmmmmm – wonder what could be in those little boxes?  I guess the title of the post gives it away.  I made the little mittens gracing each box using the same wool as the socks – so now each recipient will have matching socks and mittens (yes, I know that’s corny since they can’t actually wear the mittens – so sorry).  When I went to get the camera to take a picture, Carrie decided to try to steal the mittens off of the boxes, and somehow this beautiful picture was the first picture I took – I think it’s a keeper with her looking so innocent – so I took no more (although I was tempted because one of the boxes on the top level is crooked but who can resist a beautiful Carrie pic).

These are socks I worked on all year – between other projects – for Christmas gifts for my family.  I took the picture outside in the snow – today it is 4 degrees with a wind chill of -27.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to stray far – I just stepped out the door and took them on the back deck.

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In the order they appear, here’s who they’re for and what they’re made with:

**Mark – Regia Strato Color 5748
Keith – Regia Crazy Color 114
Justin – Regia Strato Color 5747
Corey – Regia Schatten Color 5163
Danielle – Regia Jacquard Color 5243**

Do you sense a pattern with the socks I make?  I love Regia!!  Not all socks I make are Regia, but a majority are.

Fingerless gloves revisited

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fingerless-glovesFingerless gloves – can’t get enough of them.  I wanted a pair for myself so I could keep my hands warm and still knit while we’re in the vehicle going wherever.  I showed Danielle and she wanted a pair.  Mom said “nah” but then she saw them coming to life and she said yes, she’d love a pair.  Dad said yes right away.  He said he used to have a pair of leather ones he really liked (shhhhhhhhhh – I may buy him a pair of leather ones too if these don’t wear well for him – he works outside a lot).  Mark wanted a pair also – to wear under his gloves to keep his wrists warms.  I made the wrist ribbing four inches for everybody – everybody wanted their wrists warm.

Here’s the list of who gets what, starting at the top:

  • Pair #1 – Regia Canyon Colors 2804 and black Regia – these are mine – they match a pair of socks I previously made for myself
  • Pair #2 – black Regia – these are for Mark
  • Pair #3 – Regia Stretch Color #82 – these are for Danielle
  • Pair #4 – black Regia – these are for Dad
  • Pair #5 – black Regia and Regia Marokko 5492 – these are for Mom and match a pair of socks I previously made for her

As for the pattern, I tried several patterns and adapted to what we all wanted (longer ribbing, more stockinette between the wrist and the start of the thumb gusset, etc.).  These were all made with scrap yarn so it was a good use of scraps, except for Danielle’s – she picked what she wanted from my stash.

Danielle’s Birthday Bag (ok, so I’m a little late posting about it)

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***Patons Classic 100% Merino Wool
Colors: Denim Marl and That’s Pink***


This is the Booga Bag I made for Danielle. It’s my second felted project. My first was a crocheted clog – can you say “yuck”? It’s in a landfill somewhere. I’m working on the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs now and like them much better. But I digress……back to Danielle. I made this in March for her May birthday but never blogged about it. In looking back in my Picasa, there are several things I still need to blog about so I’ll be doing some catch-up blogging. This was a really easy project and the pattern is free: http://www.blacksheepbags.com/booga_bag.html. Danielle picked out the colors – I designed the stripe pattern just randomly – she said she wanted stripes.  The first picture is obviously the finished project.

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The second picture is the bag before felting – pretty already.

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I then made I-cord handles. She told me how long she wanted them. I made them her desired length but she could have easily adjusted them shorter just by cutting them off if she wanted. She liked it just the way it was.

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The last picture is the bag after felting, during the “stuff it and mold it and shape it and play around with it until it’s perfect” phase of felting. I put a box in it, which I had covered with plastic grocery bags, and the box was the perfect size so I was lucky.  I used the big box of Bisquick from Sam’s Club.

I LOVE felting and need to do more of it when I am done with Christmas gifts and my other works in progress.  Mark picked out another felted purse he thinks would be perfect for Danielle so………..that’s the one she’ll get for her next birthday.

If only they could crochet……..

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afghanThese beauties are Carrie and Chloe. All who know me well, know that they are the precious lights of our lives since our beautiful sons are now grown and on their own. This is the blanket I am crocheting for Corey and Danielle. Carrie and Chloe refuse to help crochet this monstrosity, except to run through the house with balls of yarn at will. It is Cascade 220 superwash and the colors are 837 (pink), 814 (blue) and 815 (black), with a size J crochet hook.  Corey and I designed it (surprise Danielle!!! NOT – Corey never could keep a secret – we still love him though). It will be 7×6 feet, before the border, although Corey keeps wanting it bigger and bigger. He’s 6′ 4″ and wants it REALLY long.
Below is a picture from April 11, 2008, when I started the blanket.
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