One Skein Secret Pal exchange

I signed up to participate in this secret pal exchange. It goes from June-August and is based on the book _OneSkein, 30 Quick Projects to Knit and Crochet_. I had to wait for my book to arrive (took longer to come since it was backordered) and I finally have it! It's a great book, I have my partner's name, know what I am going to make for her and am ready to send off the first skein come June 1! This should be lots of fun. The hardest part was trying a to find an anonymous way to communicate with her, so I set up a Hotmail account for this. There are over 700 people from around the world participating in this.....

Boston

We are off (again!) to Boston for a long weekend. Our niece/godchild, Christine is getting married on April 22. It is always fun to connect with family again. It is hard to stay in touch when there is such a distance between families. Clark can't go -- he' s working on a major movie production. Kelly can't go with 4 little kids at home and being clear across the country from Boston. We will be staying with friends who moved from Clarkston to the Boston area last December. I am staying an extra 2 days so Jane and I can "play" (go shopping!).

Boise, Idaho grandkids

The end of March we went to visit our grandkids (and their parents) in Boise. There are 4 of them aged 6 and under! It was a wonderful week with lots going on. Keith helped rebuild a swing/gym set for the kids to use in the backyard. Grant can even climb to the top of the "monkey stars"!! (he's 2). Elise took her first ski lessons. Sebastian had an "advanced" ski lesson so he could learn to turn without snow plowing. They have had lots of rain (Boise) and snow (Bogus Basin ski area) this year and the slopes remained open until April 15. Just a short distance away in McCall the slopes will be open until Mother's Day! I took one of Kelly's spinning classes at the Y and actually enjoyed it!

Outfit from the past

I knit this baby outfit back in 1964 for my friend's first baby. Back then you didn't know the baby's sex until birth, so I used neutral colors. When Rick was born, I used blue ribbons for the ties. Last fall my friend's mother went home to be with the Lord and when Lois cleaned out her Mom's stuff she found this outfit that Rick had worn. She sent it to me (what a great friend) for our grandchild that is coming in May! Since we know SHE is a girl, I changed the ribbons and sent them on to the waiting parents. I don't know if Norah will ever wear the outfit, but it is great to be able to pass things on. (Rick never had children. He got married for the first time a few years ago).
Thanks Lois!!

Sewing for Grandkids

I did some sewing this week. Since I will be going to see the grandkids, I can't go empty handed!! I made the pillowcase for Elise. I love the colors in the fabric--perfect for a 4 year old! I made the fabric book for Grant. He LOVES to be read to. I will probably be doing a lot of reading to him next week. He also loves to eat, so the title of the book is perfect for him. I will take lots of pictures so I can post some when we get back.

Another felted purse

I made this purse for Summer. We saw it in a shop in Pennsylvania and she loved it. Her Mom, Mary, doesn't knit so I volunteered to make it for her. She bought the yarn--aren't the colors great. Well, it's hard to see the true colors from this picture, but they are an apple green, purple, rosey-red, yellow and dark green. The shape is very unusual. The pattern is from Family Circle Easy Knitting magazine (no longer being published), Fall, 2002. The directions leave a lot to be desired. I don't think anyone new to knitting would be able to follow them. But it was fun to do. I would make the handles longer if I were to do another one.

More snow

I am sitting here watching MORE snow fall from the sky. I "think" it will just be a snow shower, but I am ready for spring! We leave for New York City in a few hours. I will be walking/running the MORE half-marathon with Kelly on Sunday morning. The forecast is for rain/snow showers (can't escape it). It should be fun--I've never been all the wall through Central Park. I need to do one more training walk today, so I guess it will have to be on the treadmill with the weather what it is outside. I'll report on how the race went when we get back home. We're off to Boise for a week after NY>

Felted purse for me

I crocheted a purse and then felted it. I made it just for me from yarn I bought while in Pennsylvania. It is a great yarn shop very close to the Delaware border. The shop has expanded since I was there last and it is even more wonderful than before. The light stripes are a pale yellow and the one dark one is purple (almost an Easter egg purse!).
I am now working on a knitted purse that will be felted. It is for a friend who was with me at the yarn shop. She loved the purse on display, but doesn't knit so I said I would do it for her. She bought beautiful yarn (from a different shop in Rehobath, DE).

felted purse

I decided to try making a small purse and felting it and adding beads to it. I found a crochet pattern I liked and used some 100% wood to make it. I took some before and after pictures, but somehow they got erased from my camera. I really enjoyed making this. I don't think I left it in the washer long enough--I did it through 2 wash cycles, but it still seems to show the stitches a bit. But the fabric is dense and things won't fall through. I have never tried a beaded project like this, so it was a learning experience as I tried to find the beads called for in the instructions. I discovered (thanks to a friend) a bead shop 5 miles from home and had a great time there. I am definitely going to take some classes there. I used my sewing machine to attach the zipper and sew the purse together. This was sent to my internet friend Marge as part of an exchange package.

Charity donations

I've been working on charity donations for Lil' Troopers (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lil_troopers/). I love making baby hats.