Highland Games

This Saturday I took the kids to Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs to enjoy this year's Highland Games. We look forward to going every year to listen to bagpipes, watch the caber toss and see what fun things the vendors have to offer. It was a gorgeous day with a nice, light breeze--- a nice bit of Spring weather before we start getting into the 100's!

There was face painting by the jump houses this year from Merida, deep-fried snickers bars and lunch at McMullin's Irish Pub afterwards. All around it was a great day :)

Bountiful Basket Day...

I signed up for Bountiful Baskets on Monday for the first time and this is the haul we got! I signed up for the flat of strawberries and the artisan bread so I spent $43 for this entire load of food. Everything I tried today was a lot fresher and ripe unlike what I usually find at the store so I was pleased. You can go to BountifulBaskets.org to sign up and get fresh fruit and veg.
I brought Ben and Lilly along to help me me load baskets and they had a blast helping out. Such a great day :)

Don't Call Me Nymphadora!!!

My latest socks from Gnome Acres. These are on the 'sparkle gnome' yarn base and I love them. These are toe up just like the Loki socks but I did a simple k2, p2 rib after the toe increases were completed. I was hoping to prevent a little of the color pooling that way and I think it helped. I'll be wearing these a lot with my boots in the winter since they're extra long and smooshy. I'm already working on another pair of socks now. I never pegged myself for a sock knitter but you really can't beat them for portability. Since I'm always running to and fro it's nice to have them with me.

Loki socks

I made these a few weeks ago for my daughter's birthday and she FINALLY sent me pictures!!! I have fallen in love with Wendy Johnson's toe-up method of sock knitting. No more wondering how much yarn I have left and if it's enough for the second sock, etc etc... This is my go-to pattern now and I add different variations for pretty much every pair I make. These are just her generic toe-up sock with the gusset heel and a simple rope cable up the center of each one. I reversed the cable on each sock to keep my OCD content :) If you've never knitted socks from the toe up you are missing out. Seriously. I just wind my yarn into two equal sized balls of yarn and then there's no worries.

This lovely yarn is from and I love it. If I ever finish all the socks I'm making from her yarns my drawers will runneth over. I found her yarns last December and have spent nearly $200 on her site since then. (SSHhhhh don't tell my husband.) In a few days I'll be finishe with the next pair also from Gnome Acres.

Mary Margaret

 

I fell in love with an eternity scarf  that the character Mary Margaret was wearing in the episode "The Dead Queen"--- it was purple , sparkly and smooshy.  Everything you could want in an eternity scarf except one thing.  Reversibility. 

I looked to see if there was a pattern available for the gorgeousness that was this scarf only to find none so I set out to create my own.  For me there aren't many things more annoying than a scarf you constantly have to keep an eye on to make sure the right side is facing out so I set out to make mine reversible.

 

Ravelry has tons of Once Upon a Time obsessed yarnies so I was among friends and found testers fast (thanks ladies!!)  So here is my version- not the exact version from the epidsode perhaps but still a litle piece of heaven to me.  It's made up of panels of garter, reversible cables and double moss stitch and knits up pretty quickly using only 4 skeins of Berroco Flicker.

 

Sometimes having a simple, easy to remember pattern is just the thing and this fit the bill nicely.  And as for the Flicker?  I can't say enought good things.  I'm a bit of a fiber snob so I liked that it's primary fiber is alpaca.  There's a little bit of acrylic and a whole lot of sparkle going on in this yarn so I'll use it again for sure.  I'm super-picky about having things around my neck since my thyroidectomy but this is heavenly soft.  I also got a kick out of all the names the folks at Berroco used for this yarn.  My oldest daughter used to love the movie 'Swan Princess' when she was little so I was amused when I saw that each colorway was a different character's name from the movie.

The pattern for this fun litle project will be available for purchase in just a few short days and there are already several other gorgeous versions from testers on Ravelry should you choose a different yarn.  The colorway above is "Violette" and it's a gorgeous violetty-blue I'm really in love with. Happy knitting!!!

 

Spring Has Sprung

Today we hit 82 degrees!! I know this probably sounds wonderful to most people out there but for me?  Not so much!  I made do by doing the springtime activity I enjoy most-- going to the garden center (cue Jazz Hands)!!!  I picked up these amazing Iceberg roses that are already blooming and happy looking, tomato plants, sweet basil and some peppermint.  Tomorrow I'll get to spend the day digging and puttering around in the yard while simultaneously trying to avoid getting a sunburn.  Still,  It's hard to say no to flowers like that. 

 

 

 

My trusty sidekick Gemma the wonderdog rode with me to take Lilly to kindergarten and sat happily in her vacated carseat for the drive home.  She used to be terrified of the car but now she hops in everytime she gets the chance.  Hopefully tomorrow she'll 'help' me dig the holes for the plants tomorrow :D

 

 

Happy Days!!!

Emma

 

Magic is coming!!!

 

Introducing Emma, my first pattern for Ravelry.  I am so happy with how this has turned out!  It takes just two skeins of a super-bulky yarn (the sample shown is made in Lion Brand's Thick and Quick) and knits up in just a few short hours.  It has been the perfect hat for the cold Winter winds we've been having here lately.  I'm a sucker for anything with cables so this has been a fun hat for me to make.  I'm working on another few hats in alternate yarns and will post pics soon.

 

I have started a Ravelry group devoted to my patterns called 'Once Upon a Time-inspired KAL' devoted to all the patterns in this collection of knits.  A new pattern will release every two weeks on Sundays.  the first in the series is Emma. 

 

The Emma hat is inspired by the show Once Upon a Time and is featured in the episode '7:15'  where Emma talks to August in Granny's cafe'.  I fell in love with the hat she wears as soon as I saw it.  The actual hat on the show is black but I've made mine (obviously)in a dark, charcoal-y gray to show the stitch pattern a tiny bit more.  Have a look at the hat on Ravelry and make one up for yourself!

 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/emma-30