Paleantology

In an unusual display of scientific inquiry, the Martin family has pursued the ruins of past life. Instead of the customary procedure of digging down, they chose to dig upward, to the attic, in fact.
The study of dinosaurs has always been a topic of hot debate among the Martins. The skeptic among them (that would be me) feels that it is quite ridiculous to find two or three bone fragments and fit them into an enormous skeleton, bestow skin type and color, assign eating habits and child rearing techniques, and have school children memorize these "facts".

In the same spirit, the above pictured creature was a lover of cheetos - or perhaps carrots - judging by the color of his hands and feet. He ate a lot of dum dum suckers, as evidenced by his tongue. He had access to excellent dental care, as his teeth managed to remain so very white in spite of his poor eating habits.

Cute, isn't he? I made him for David when he was in kindergarten (18 years ago!), and found him in the attic this week.

It's that time again

Now that spring is here we are enjoying working in the yard, and would love to have it look like this beautiful piece of fabric.

Graduation is looming, and I know a darling girl who will be famous one day. I covered her last name for her privacy. I like to make some of these wall hangings into miniature wall safes, with a secret pocket on the back.

Just right for a little gift.

Wishing you and yours a happy day. I have a new knitting project in mind I will share soon.

Going shopping

You've heard me say over and over that I am not a shopper. I dislike shopping, and the only way I enjoy it at all is if I can walk to get there.

But. . . you've also heard me say that though I love my sewing machine and it has given me 37 good years, it's tired.

So today, being my day off, I am going sewing machine shopping. Fortunately for me, Jodie is also going shopping and she asked her many readers for recommendations. I read every comment and even took notes so I am ready.

Exciting!

Thank you, Mother Nature!

I am so happy that spring has come!

The hyacynths smell heavenly.

I got up early this morning and started the bread dough, and let it rise all day. We had warm rolls with our dinner!

We'll have some tasty sandwiches and toast this week.

Yesterday we awoke to howling wind, and while we were exercising, the electricity went out. We are such creatures of habit that even though we KNOW the power is out, and carry a flashlight into a room, when we get there we still flip the light switch. Duh. Luckily my "beauty routine" can be done just as well in the dark, since I had to be at work at 7:15 a.m.

I am thankful for the electricity that we take so much for granted. It was funny to hear the birds chirping away just like always. It didn't interrupt their morning that our lights were off. I'm also thankful that I don't count on hot coffee in the morning - I would have been stuck! Instead I had a cold breakfast and packed my lunch by flashlight. By 8:00 a.m. it was back on, and thankfully my workplace had an uninterrupted power supply. We're quite helpless there without our computers.

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Surprise!

A great big box came in the mail today from my friend Ginny. Wow! It was full of delightful surprises. Miss Ginny used prickley pear fruit to dye the fleece, then spun this yarn by hand and plied it. What a treasure! Thank you so much, Miss Ginny. It's perfect for socks - and we all know how much I've been enjoying knitting socks. I feel comfortable enough with the pattern now to use really special yarn like this.

Even more sock yarn!

Look at all these beautiful balls of yellow yarn. They can be a shawl, or several pairs of socks, or a lacy sweater. Miss Ginny made two swatches and a hat with a very elaborate lacy pattern. So far that is beyond my skill level, so it is especially nice to see her lovely work.

And all the fabric needed to make a quilt! Such generosity. And who knows better than my blog friends what I like to do. Thank you ever so much, Miss Ginny.

I'm going to have some fun!

Making progress

I might not be able to stop when I finish 20 of these blocks from the book "Sylvia's Bridal Sampler" by Jennifer Chiaverini. My plan had been to stop at 20 and make a small quilt, due to lack of time and space. Seeing as how this is just for fun with no deadline, time isn't really a factor. Space is a problem, but I have room for at least 30!

Charming!

These six inch quilt blocks from "Sylvia's Bridal Sampler" are like little puzzles. This one has 31 pieces!

This one looks very simple, but actually has 24 pieces, and required some concentration to get each piece in the right place.

Please excuse the ragged edges. The blocks will all get sashing when I sew them together, and they'll look much tidier. I'm still being charmed by self patterning sock yarn. You just knit happily along, waiting to see what happens next. Of course the second sock isn't quite so exciting.)

I give loads of credit to whomever discovered how to make a nice three dimentional heel, and then shared that knowledge with the rest of us. I believe people have been doing it the same way for hundreds of years! I am now quite comfortable making heels; at first I had to get up at 4:00 a.m. so I could have an uninterrupted hour to struggle with it. Now I can participate in a conversation and still make heels! I tell you, life still holds some surprises. :>}