Cocktail Napkin humor

Does anyone else love cocktail napkins like I do??? I have packages and packages of them cuz I love them so much. Well, look at the one my friend had at her house last night. This is so me! LOL!

Shaken..... not stirred

The Good and The Bad..... and knowing when to say ribbit!

The BAD..... I tried. Oh boy, I tried. I asked everyone I know about the clapotis in the pastely colors (see monstrosity on the right side of picture). No one.... not even the people who don't know me very well and oughta be trying to salvage my feelings would say "Bonnie, it's a LOVELY clapotis." Nope. The best I got was a bunch of stammering and stuttering. (The worst was outright laughter.) So I will be frogging said creation......

But the good, OH SO GOOD!!! After "saving" SO much money at the Knit Happens going out of business sale, I splurged on some Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb yarn for a replacement clapotis. I found a beautiful colorway called iris garden and someone had 3 skeins for sale on ebay. I wish everyone could feel this yarn. It is scrumptious! I started the clapotis this morning. And I think everyone will agree these colors are more my style!

Menu Planning

I just notice someone's blog who also plans their meals for the week. If I didn't plan my meals, I'd spend 1/2 hour in front of the freezer every night wondering what to make before hustling the family off to a restaurant. I can even get my kids to help when I have it planned out!

Here's what I planned for this week:
Sunday:
Grilled beer can chicken
Red Skin mashed potatoes
Steamed green beans
5 cheese mac & cheese (for vegetarian daughter and eldest daughter who just had wisdom teeth pulled)
Macadamia-white chocolate chip and chocolate-chocolate chip cookies (cheated - from freezer dough)

Monday:
grillled brats & metts
cabbage au gratin

Tuesday:
Chicken Asian noodle salad
Asian cucumber salad (from Costco)

Wednesday:
Mexican short ribs, shredded & rolled in tortillas
Black beans with cilantro
Rice

Thursday:
Leftovers!

Friday:
Take out Pizza

I also made some awesome granola for breakfast (thanks, Linda - great recipe!!!) and some broccoli cheese soup for wisdom-teethless daughter.

Sitcom Chic Progress

Spent about an hour and a half on the cardigan over the weekend. Here are the results:

Time for a cat shot

I've noticed most knitters are cat people (as am I!) So here are some shots of our 3 cats and my son.

Knit Happens - Going out of Business!

A LYS is going out of business - owners moving to Florida. I went two different times and bought lots of goodies! I picked up a set of Denise Circular needles, a sock book, a scarf pattern set, some bulky yarn to make a big sweater, feltable yarn for my secret pal who likes to make felted purses, a couple cute baby patterns, and lots of fun yarn!

My Secret Pal strikes again!

Check out this beautiful yarn that my SP5 sent me. It's a combination of mohair, glitter and a fringy yarn. She sent instructions for what sounds like a lovely scarf. I can't wait to start it!!!!

By the way, she lives somewhere in England so if you're a praying sort, join me in prayer for her.

New Clapotis

Well, here's my second Clapotis. I'm really not crazy about the color of this yarn. It looks like a baby blanket. Can't decide whether I should continue or not. The yarn itself is a lovely soft merino wool from handpaintedyarn.com but ick on the color.

My Soleil is Finished!

Here are two shots of my Soleil. Not the most flattering shot of me (major bad hair day!!) but what the heck - it is what it is!! The blocking shot makes it look like it has white marks - but it doesn't. I'm very happy with my first fitted knit item. A little big in the armholes but that's ok. I wore it to work today with a white lacy camisole underneath it. I used Classic Elite Flash in Crocus. It's a periwinkle blue with a darker purpley color marbled in. I love the color.

Thank you SP5!!!

Look at my goodies! I received a lovely package from my secret pal. She's in England and send me some beautiful cashmere yarn and a felted bag. Both are in shades of purple - my favorite! Oh and a beautiful lace shawl pattern. Thanks Secret Pal!!

Blooming Water Lilies

The lilies in our pond are so beautiful right now! We have white, yellow, pink/white and bright magenta. My favorite thing to do is sit outside in the morning with my coffee and listen to the waterfall and the frogs croaking.

T-Shirt Pillow Front

This is what it said on the front of the T-shirt and the lion picture is on the back.

T-Shirt Pillow

I had planned to make my daughter a quilt for her high school graduation out of school t-shirts but couldn't find enough t-shirts. Instead I made her a pillow from one t-shirt. The plaid border is the same fabric from her uniform skirt. Cool, huh?

Knitters are such nice people!

In my short knitting phase, I have met the nicest people who are knitters. Some I've "met" online and have always been so impressed with the number of people who are willing to share their time to help a fellow knitter with a request. Others I've met in person through a pop-up knitting group. Great group of people that I never would have met if we didn't share an interest in knitting.

So why am I gushing? Well, I just finished wrapping the first package to send off to my secret pal for SP5 I had emailed Bob (one of the people in my knitting group) to see if I could order some of his gorgeous stitch markers to send to my secret pal and mentioned that my SP liked fairies and the color purple (among other things.) So check out the photo..... Bob finds a cute little votive with a fairy on it in the color purple and picks it up for me! And then, his partner Jeff makes me an adorable little fairy from wire and silk flowers. Are they too nice, or what???? I'm sure my SP will love them, too!

Here's a picture of the projects I've been working on. I am almost done my Soleil top. All I have left is to crochet the edges and block it (I can't remember how to crochet!) I'm so excited about this project. It's the first fitted item I've knit and it actually fits me! I can't wait to wear it.

I also started another pair of socks. I am trying out Cascade Fixation in a purple varigated color and I like it a lot. The pattern is Knitty's Broad Ripple Sock. Cute pattern and not difficult at all:

The pink and white triangle is a dishcloth I started last night. I was just in the mood to do something quick.

Oh and the little packages? The first shipment to my Secret Pal!! Shhhhh......
 

I have CEHD!!!!

"What is CEHD", you ask? It's an acronym for Cotton Ease Hoarding Disorder and it is reaching epidemic proportions across the country! Two weeks ago, I was blindly wandering through life happy as a clam, unaware of something called Lion Brand Cotton Ease Yarn. And then, like a lightening bolt, I was hit with the news...... "Lion Brand is discontinuing Cotton Ease!!!"

Immediately, like the run on the banks before the depression, knitters across the country poured into unsuspecting Tuesday Morning, JoAnn Fabric and Hancock Fabric stores to snatch up this unheard of but apparently, very valuable yarn!!! Savvy knitter and shopper that I am, I scored a bunch (see photo!) I even took time out of my vacation to hit the stores!

Back home, feeling smug and satisfied, I surrounded myself with my treasures. And then it hit me! What the hell am I going to do with all this yarn? I don't even like cotton yarn!!!! OH DEAR LORD - I HAVE...... CEHD!!!!

Fun little "quiz" I found

Choose 5 and complete the sentence and then tag 3 other bloggers…
If I could be a scientist . . .If I could be a farmer . . .If I could be a musician . . .If I could be a doctor . . .If I could be a painter . . .If I could be a gardener . . .If I could be a missionary . . .If I could be a chef . . .If I could be an architect . . .If I could be a linguist . . .If I could be a psychologist . . .If I could be a librarian . . .If I could be an athlete . . .If I could be a lawyer . . .If I could be an inn-keeper . . .If I could be a professor . . .If I could be a writer . . .If I could be a llama-rider . . .If I could be a bonnie pirate . . .If I could be an astronaut . . .If I could be a world famous blogger . . .If I could be a justice on any one court in the world . . .If I could be married to any current famous political figure . . .

Fun to think about. Here's what I thought of.....

If i could be an inn-keeper..... I would create the homiest environment for all my guests and spoil them rotten with elaborate breakfasts and mid-afternoon cookies and cakes and tea and evening cocktails and nibbles. I make THE best lemon drop martini. They would never want to leave!
If I could be a writer....... I'd be very clever and would be able to think of a wonderfully fun topic for my "letter from the editor" that I write for our company newsletter...... that is due THIS Thursday......
If I could be an athlete..... I would be a gymnast or a diver - graceful and lithe and ever-so-flexible.
If I could be a librarian...... I would be sure my library stocked all the books on my "to be read" list. Even the very brand new ones. And I would get first dibs on reading them! Imagine..... all those knitting books that I could peruse without having to shell out $16 bucks only to find I don't like any of the patterns.
If I could be a chef...... I would surround myself with the most talented assistants who would chop and peel and fetch and boil and perform all those tedious tasks that seriously infringe my artistic creativity. Did I mention the clean up crew? Oh yes.....large clean up crew.

I contemplated the "married to a political figure" question but all I could come up with was evil things I would do to such a spouse. What does it mean when "political figure" equates with "bad person" in my mind?

"About Me" questionnaire for SP5

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
For the most part, I use higher quality but I always like to try something new!

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
no

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
no

4. How long have you been knitting?
6 months

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
no

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
vanilla, soft florals, cinnamon, lemon/citrus

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
oh my, yes! dark chocolate..... caramel..... cookies......

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
sewing

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
new country; not sure about the MP3 so probably not!

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
PURPLE! (pink is nice, too); I don't like brown. Bright colors win me over every time.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
married, 5 kids (11-18), 3 cats

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
To achieve world peace and eliminate hunger..... oops, sorry, doing my Miss America impersonation; my real life dream is to simply make other people happy.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love wool/silk blends. I'm so new to knitting that I'm having fun experimenting with all different kinds of yarns. Yarns that twist annoy me.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I don't think I've found any

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I'm not sure what this question is asking. My kids claim I'm obsessed with knitting because I spend every spare moment knitting. I DO find that I'm now looking forward to long car trips because I can knit.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like to knit socks and capelets/wraps. Because I'm still a relatively slow knitter, I like smaller projects, however, I've started a cotton summer sweater that is moving right along.

17. What are you knitting right now?
I have 4 projects going right now. A pair of Ripple socks in Fixation yarn; A Good Bias Shrug (half done); A Soleil sweater in Classic Elite Flash; and a Booga Bag in Kureyon.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
love them! Short ones... long ones... they're all good

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I think I'm leaning towards circular

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I don't care for plastic but I like both bamboo and metal depending on the projects. The Addi Turbos are wonderful but for some yarns (silky alpaca), they are too slippery for me and I use bamboos. I've only used bamboo DPNs for socks.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
yes

22. How did you learn to knit?
My dear friend, Linda, taught me the basic knit stitch - my first project was a scarf out of Great Adirondack Fluff yarn. After that, I got a few books and taught myself. I also took a sock class.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
6 months old - I started a dish cloth right after learning to knit but never finished it.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I can't think of an animated character that I like but I do like bunnies.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas - no doubt!

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Besides yarn? No. Well, actually, my friends and husband would argue that I collect shoes.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None. I've purchased the Interweave magazine and the Family Circle Easy Knitting and enjoyed them both. Oh and a Vogue magazine - nice, too.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
I love to read and get most of my books from the library or used book store. I guess the only book I've been wanting which my library doesn't even have yet is Sarah's Quilt by Nancy Turner. It's a sequel to These Is My Words - one of my favorite all time books.

I finish the first sleeve of my Good Bias shrug! 

Yarn bonanza!! A local yarn store is having a 40% off sale. YES! ALL yarns are 40% off. I purchased some Cascade Tweed in a wonderful purply color to make a chunky winter sweater. Also some fun hot pink cotton/lycra yarn to make a summer top (Classic Elite Star.) Also a skein of Berroco Plush yarn in pink (wow! this stuff is so soft) and a coordinating grey pink nubby yarn (I forget what kind) to make a scarf (cuz I don't have enough scarves!) Boy this picture looks crappy on my monitor. The purple yarn is so dark. Oh well - take my word for it.... It's beautiful!!