Where the Grass is Always Greener...

I couldn't resist. I tried, and I just lost out. Call it weary........... call it trying to make amends to the knitting side of me when I know I will be Paducah bound and feeding the quilting passions tomorrow. An email came from KnitPicks for their spring yarn samplers and as if the colors were not scrumptious enough.............. well there was the free project instructions included that could all be made with the yarn enclosed. For under fifteen dollars.

How dang cute are they?????? I am in love with the colors, so soft and dreamy. How in the world is a creative sort supposed to be strong against such a thing??????

• CotLin Kohlrabi
• Shine Worsted Crème Brulee
• Shine Sport Cream
• Comfy Flamingo
• Main Line Butter Pecan
• Crayon Light Blue

And patterns are for the lacey mat, sweet ruffled wristwarmers (LOVE THEM!), a cute little cap, and the "Morning Glory" purse, which I can't quite figure out but it looks fun too.

And I leave you with lawn photos. Seriously, I am just excited beyond myself about that lawn. No PhotoShop or anything, it is that green! And lush. Allow me the joy of appreciating it. Soon I will hate the fact that I am married to it, watering it, mowing it, babying it. Hating it if the truth be told. By August I want a patch of astroturf. But for now, I am reveling in its' glory.

The fact that the neighbors hate me is just a very pleasant bonus. Last year my yard looked like dog wambas.

City lot, old house, phlox in the empty planters. Green grass. The little things that for the moment thrill me. I'm heading out for Paducah tomorrow, just a day trip. I'm promising much reserve. My first trip to Quilt Mecca the year I moved to the mainland from Hawaii was quite expensive indeed. I think I came back with the truck packed to the gills, overflow from the car interior. It was sensory overload. This year I have a short list of must haves and am planning just to enjoy the show, purchase a few incredibles and enjoy a fried Twinkie. Last year I enjoyed a burrito in line with Ricky Tims.

I wonder if he has a lawn this gorgeous? I'm thinkin' not!

Spring Cliff Notes

Mrs. Lear? The photo above is for you............ the tulips around the Jewel Box in Forest Park in all their glory!

It is true!!! Spring is here, and here with a vengeance! I'll start by saying that all of my hard work has paid off on my lawn, which while city sized small is GORGEOUS. Seriously. I mean if you live in St. Louis please drive by so you can prepare to be amazed by its' glory. Wear your sunglasses, it is brilliant green. Since fall I have overseeded, and fertilized, weeded and tweaked, and with the last application of Turf Builder, well----- it is quite simply fantastic. I almost don't mind having to get out my little green push mower and do the deed every 4 days. Almost. I am so anxious to get out there and plant some flowers. My phlox are holding court quite nicely but they need some help in the floral department.

The bout of rain rain and more rain has made the studio schedule a real mess. Now, during the finally sunny weather we are slammed with engagement session catch ups! Actually, I missed hanging out with my knitting group yesterday because we were fully booked. I am not a great fan of working on Sunday, but you do what you must----- and if the truth be told when we took a quick lunch break I did have a margarita. Yum. I was actually quite proud of myself that I only had one because one of my brides to be yesterday was, well let's just say that she is a challenging girl. Mucho high maintenance.

• Twilight sock: Not one Stitch (I was hoping to be at knit group for some support to be honest)
• Lambe: Working up the second side---- cute as pie!
• Happy Quilt: About 1/3 quilted. As a matter of fact is is hogging space on my Bernina, needle down and waiting to finish.

Full staff will be holding space at a magazine shoot this afternoon (more margarita's on deck for this evening no doubt about it). And endless production hours for the engagement shoots (like the one above). I don't mind the crazy schedule because I'm taking the day OFF on Wednesday for PADUCAH!!!! The day should be glorious for the 3 hour drive down, the window down, some road munchies and maybe a freshly burned cd of music------- can't wait!

AQS Quilt Show

April 23-26, 2008

The American Quilter's Society Annual Quilt Show & Contest makes Paducah a mecca for quilters and quilt enthusiasts each April.

In addition to the juried exhibit of the finest workmanship and most creative quilts in the world, the festival features a merchant mall, workshops and special events throughout the community.

The AQS Quilt Show is held in multiple venues - the Paducah Expo Center, Julian Carroll Convention Center and JR's Executive Inn, all located at One Executive Blvd. in downtown Paducah.


Quilt Mecca? You bet!
I'll be there with camera in one hand and checkbook in the other.

And Sharon??? You silly girl, I know that earthquakes are just no big whoop for those of you in California! Go ahead and scoff at my fear of those bad boys------ I'm just not a fan. Our last aftershock was at about 12:30 this morning, a 4.5 opened one of my eyes as it registered in my sleeping brain. The dogs didn't even stir, they must be getting used to them.

Back to the enjoyment of spring.................

All Shaking Except Needles

I hadn't actually given much thought to the New Madrid fault line recently, and oddly enough Mrs. Lear, a St. Louis native and I were conversing about it the day before yesterday. From a sound sleep at 4:30 or so this morning my little boy dog was going pretty crazy so I got up and took him out. He did his thing and RAN back inside, definitely not his habit. I'd just slid back into bed when it sounded like someone was running back and forth across the roof with combat boots on! The rumbling was almost thunder and the house was shaking. In 10-15 seconds in the middle of the night--- out of nowhere--- it was sort of weird to assemble in the old brain. If you lived in California, you'd get it right away, but here? Not so much! Turns out that the earthquake was a 5.4, epicentered about 120 miles away. Getting back to sleep was difficult as it always is and then just heading out for the post office this morning there was another one! 4.4 they say. Crazy stuff! My initial thought is what if it isn't aftershocks but warm up's to another bigger event? Ack!

What I want is for my knitting needles to be moving------- not everything else around me!

Guess we'll see what the day brings besides MORE rain and cloudy gray skies.

Procrastination Thy Name is Contessa!

In the name of procrastination (and something I have gotten VERY good at)------ I am ignoring turning the heel on my 2 at a Time Socks. Not because I don't love them, and even the process to this point. Not because I don't want them done (really)---- more that I am afraid I am going to do something patently stupid and will end up with a mess. So instead, I leave them sit. Sorry Melissa. I have your notes at the ready, I have them sitting there, I am ready to go but I, well, I just can't.

Instead I have re-cast on (twice) for Lambe from Berrocco. You might recall I also suffered a bit of brain cramp when I mistakenly cast on for Lambe when I meant the other bag, Albem----- and when I switched the cast on, I discovered that I really liked Lambe best. Who knew. (And how like me, but I digress). So I have Lambe on the needles in lovely red (on circs just because) and I am LOVING it. The pattern is very clear and a simple cable knit and because it is a double strand it goes FAST. Fast is good. I'm getting ready to increase now.

A wonderful center panel of twisty-ness framed with two smaller cables that mirror each other on the sides. Love that detail!

I found myself wishing I'd brought it to the studio all day long today. I had absolutely no time I could have knit on it, but I could have admired it. After all, that is half of the enjoyment!

If this goes as quickly as my last project I expect to have this bag along with Cable Luxe and Twilight socks to wear in the home for befuddled knitters.


When my girls were here last week they brought tulips! Lovely red and yellowy orange parrot tulips, they have lasted a really long time and are simply gorgeous.


I'll miss them when they are gone--- thankfully the ones in the yards and gardens around town (and even on the highways) are stepping up to the plate and for today it looks as if spring is really and truly here.

At long last!

Brought to you by Cheesecake....

Does that look great or what? Even though I think it looks like it says "Happy Birthday Ita Yau!" I kept wondering who Ms. Yau was --but I did blow out her candle and eat her cake. If you are out there Ita, I'm really sorry and I hope you did have a great birthday.

So I ate the cake....all of it. The girls shared a piece of Godiva cheesecake. I had two bites of that one too!

Getting back to the grind has proven to be far more difficult than I ever expected. Perhaps it comes with the 'adding another year territory', although I sincerely hope not. That territory gets expanded quite enough all by itself.

My girls left very early on Saturday morning for the returning 13.5 hours, I wrangled a bride for 12 of the remaining hours of that day in less than 40 degrees. Long day, too cold. And although she is a favorite bride, NO knitting bride pics again! I'm bummed.

They were a beautiful couple----- sweet as pie! Check out her coat in this shot, I told you that it was brutally cold. Thankfully the coat at least matched----we did take off the coat for quite a few shots poor baby.

Sunday brought knit group with a twist. Knitting with a string quartet as background! We gathered about an hour before the concert to chitchat and then centered down over our collective knitting. Quintet in C Major by Luigi Goccherini and Quinted in C Major by Franz Schubert. Fabulous------ when the concert and knitting had come to an end I was as relaxed as pudding. There was much contentment and needle (and hook) action by all. Me? I don't even know why you ask when you KNOW dang well what was in my bag! My lovely tres cool knit bag was packed with "Twilight", the socks that are on row one of the heel turn (pretty much where they have been for 5 days) but I did bring along another project!! Just because. Using a lovely double stranded red worsted I dutifully cast on 44 for "Albem" a cute Berrocco bag freebie.

Love it! Although a bag has no gauge (per se) and I am not using the Ultra Alpaca the bag was created for, I think it should still be approximately the 10x10 the pattern states. The freebie pattern along with three other really cute bags can be found HERE if you aren't on their email list for such goodness. While you check that out, you really should be on their weekly list, KnitBits----- always great stuff. (Thanks Norah and Margery!)

Now for the frustrating part. I had the requisite two inches as subscribed by the pattern and noticed a HORRIBLE thing. I had two patterns held together in my tres cute knit bag, "Albem" and "Lambe". After dinner last night, and the following dishes, changing out laundry in the washer and dryer and uploading Saturday's wedding slideshow on the workblog side of the house I could finally sit down and knit for a bit. (Sorry "Twilight" it was not a turn the heel evening) and I really LOOKED at the pattern on the needles. It was not "Albem" but "Lambe". ACK. Not like I don't really like "Lambe" a lot..........

See? It is very cute...but I had made up my mind to go the other route. The choice was simple, completely frog out the afternoon of stitches or love "Lambe" afresh. Somehow that felt like cheating to me, (who knew?) so today I have a firm round ball of red yarn, stitch markers and empty needles.

I do feel somewhat smug, but also perhaps silly------- maybe I should have changed courses mid stream.

I'm off today and after I mow the lawn (woo hoo) and a pick up at the lab, I do hope to knit a bit. Heel turning or re-casting on......... we'll see!!

Shameless Self Birthday Promotion

Today is my actual birthday------ and it has been a wonderful birthday week! Big wedding to bride wrangle tomorrow so it will be back to the grind, I am thinking I should celebrate on Sunday to really bid a fond farewell to this wanton week of happy! :) I'm enjoying my last full day with my girls, it has been SO great!!! How could you ever ask for a more wonderful birthday!

Francis has the best idea I think, and this really cracked me up:

"Hi Tina,

I hope you are enjoying your birthday week. I also hope you are picking out a present for yourself. I find when buying myself a present, I always get the perfect thing. Today I celebrated your birthday week by buying yarn at my favorite LYS sale. Thanks for the inspiration.

Francis

Avid knitter"

Is that not true?

So on this, my birthday I challenge ALL blitters to get out there and buy themselves a lovely gift! Shoot the moon baby! Buy something lovely for yourself in my honor with my full encouragement.

SHOP ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whatcha get????????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm?

The Very Sweetest Thing

I have to say that just about the sweetest thing in the world is that both of my girls arrived safely and slept under my roof last night! Knowing that they were both here and I could creep into their room and just LOOK at them if I wanted to was great. Of course I would never do that because it is weird and everything---- not to mention they already think I'm pretty strange as it is so why give them more fodder? Precisely! I colored my hair yesterday so it would look nice for the girls and looking in the mirror I thought "not bad"............ and even though I am no youngster I told myself that at least I do not look scary like Priscilla Presley!

Yesterday I managed to slide out of the studio after a morning in a meeting and a NASTY day, just ick. Ran through the grocery store never letting the wheels on the cart stop as things got tossed in. Somehow the ingredients for green apple martini's ended up in there, I have no idea how that happened. I did get the house cleaned and ready, right down to a fresh wax on the hardwoods downstairs. My girls know that I am a bit of a neat freak and they expect this of me----- they really have no idea how thick the dustbunnies were under the furniture before they arrived so don't tell them, okay? 13.5 hours in the car those sweet girls traveled to see their mama----- they will deserve a bit of spoiling for sure! Nigella Lawson's Doughnut French Toast to start off the day!

And I got a wall hanging finally ready to machine quilt. It has been waiting for such a long time to be pinned and today was the day because I needed to put daughter two in the sewing room which did call for a bit of a pick up. (Okay, a lot of a pick up.) I can't wait to get to it! I really DO need a new quilt on the revolving display by the front door, but it will serve effectively as a nice way to ignore the Twilight Socks as well as any serious work of getting back down to business on Cable Luxe.

I couldn't find the other box of my safety pins for pin basting before machine quilting. I looked everywhere and when I ran out of time I just used my jumbo corsage pins. They work great but you do have to be a tiddle careful!


I had no illusions of this quilt being anything other than a quirky quilt with no fussy applique (although I do love it)----- it is all Steam A Seam applique inside the sashing and borders, except for the vines which are bias tubes.


I plan on machine quilting around the design elements (house, hearts, leaves...) and just doing a free-form stipple along the border. It is not ginormous but wall sized ---- Do you think I should put it in the SL quilt show Pat??? Or have I blown that deadline too?

You know darn well that getting this done (along with the folksy block quilt recently freed from its old linen sashing) will free me up to spend a little cash in Paducah!

And having spoken of Cable Luxe---- the lovely cabled sweater that has only the deediddle of the first sleeve done and the second sleeve to go ----- should I put it aside when the thought of wearing a winter sweater sounds appealing again??? That way I can knit some other things---- or should I plow through it now in fear that it will never get done? Such the dilemma.

The birthday week continues today--- I am OFF--- and although the weather is cold and gray and rainy *gee* what a surprise (not!) I will enjoy my girls tremendously. Who knows what trouble we will find to get into! My birthday is actually tomorrow---- another day off, a fresh pot of Irish Breakfast tea and creamer and my daughters, I really don't know how a birthday could be finer!

Oooooh---- before I go, Stacey went to see the Harlot yesterday in Charlotte ON HER BIRTHDAY--- now really cool is that? A heckuva birthday indeed!

Is she cute or what? So young, so enthusiastic, so sweet----- and the neck of a young woman. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Whatcha knitting Stacey?