Christmas Panic

It was brief but it was true PANIC. You know how you just know something? Deep in your gut you KNOW this something but it is still driving you crazy? I KNEW I hadn't lost the cash I took out of the bank for Christmas gifts but I couldn't find it, ANYWHERE. I needed to divvy it up between the credit card bill, the checking account and finish shopping but I could not find that bank envelope. I needed to get out the door to finish shopping but I was so concerned about that money I couldn't enjoy myself. After all, if I didn't find that envelope I was spending money we REALLY didn't have. Since I KNEW I hadn't lost it and that I would find it I went on about my shopping but with a heavy shadow dragging along with me. Fast forward a few hours and I am home checking email, sipping a Coke to try and console myself and retracing my steps from the day I went to the bank. Self I said, the envelope should be in the bank bag with the checkbook but you have already checked there at least a dozen times. Self said, check again. So I unzipped the bank bag and realized that not only was the money not there but neither was the checkbook. If the checkbook wasn't in the bank bag that means I had actually sat down, reconciled the checkbook with the bank statement and put everything away in the fire box as I was supposed to do. Check the fire box and there it was. All of our Christmas money safe and sound and waiting to be spent. The new question was....... when did I do this? I am usually not that punctual with my book keeping and everything would have normally still been in the bank bag. I keep trying to get myself organized and when I do it comes back to bite me.

Fall - It Came and Went

Hello and welcome back. Actually you haven't been gone but I certainly have been. I have been gone much too long and fall is over with nary a post. We have had a bit of family illness of the parent variety with several trips to the emergency room including one ambulance ride and a few days in the hospital for Jerry's dad. My mom had a total knee replacement. Her knee is doing great but she had some other complications that has made recovery a long, slow process. All of this has lead to lots of impromptu over nights by various family members, canceled plans, last minute changes of plans, etc. I know most of you have been there. To top it off blogger has eaten two very nice posts. I have no idea where they are but if anyone finds them please let me know. I think they were some of my best posts ever.

We have had some fun and there has been a fair amount of knitting going on. So, let me entertain you with a few of the highlights of fall.

We went with Jerry's daughter and her family to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival.
We had so much fun. We did face painting but on the arm so it could be seen and enjoyed by the one painted on.
We got to know some very lovely sheep.
We looked through holes in walls simply because the adults told us too. They thought we were soooo cute.


Grandpa bought us flower shaped fairy hats. It was a day of making memories. I am printing a book of all the pictures from that day as a Christmas gift.

I knit this pattern back in August and love the pattern. I have started knitting it again in I Love This Cotton! from Hobby Lobby. It is so soft and yummy feeling I am truly enjoying knitting this little baby blanket. There are several babies baking and will need sweet little things knit for them. As soon as I get done with Christmas knitting I will be back to this blanket.

Speaking of Christmas knitting..... I have three granddaughter's under the age of 6. They are each getting an outfit for Christmas. I am knitting the vest and buying jeans and matching shirts. If time allows there will be a belt and/or headband. The pink and green is for the youngest and the pink one is for the oldest. I have yellow and lavender on the needles for the middle child. One front is complete and almost 1/2 the second front.

I keep a prayer shawl on the needles all the time and this is the most recent one. These multi-color, multi-yarn ones have been very popular.

I have talked about this shawl before but I like this picture much better. A dress form opens so many more opportunities for making a shawl look like something. I love the textures in this one and there are just hints of colors that the light picks up.


While talking about scribble lace shawls this is one of my favorites color wise. It is made with cotton crochet thread so isn't as slick and drape able as some of my others. I actually prefer it as a scarf.


Finally the mega afghan/blanket is complete. In case you have forgotten it's humble beginnings you can see it here.


I attempted to take a picture of my son with it before he left on Thanksgiving but I didn't have a memory card in the camera. Relatives took pics for me but I don't have them yet.

Congrats to KU in their win over Mizzou today. Thanks to the Olpe Eagles for a great season. I am so proud of you for making it all the way to state playoffs and for playing a good game against Smith Center.

Breast Cancer Knitting Calendar 2009

I joined a group on Ravelry that designs and knits dishcloths. I'm not a designer, yet, but have aspirations. When I joined the moderator had just started breast cancer treatments and wanted to put together a calendar fund raiser. I was fortunate enough to get to test knit one of the designs. Mine is the little lace cloth in the bottom left corner. There are 12 new, never before published patterns that are perfect for gifts or for yourself. Click on the link in the side bar to order the calendar. It is a direct download that you print out yourself and can then have spiral bound at your local office supply store. If you have questions or would like more information email me. tschrock@swbell.net

My New Love

This is my old love. It is the sign next to the door of our studio.
Though I still love it, something new has moved in to vie for my affections.

Isn't it lovely? It is a bird bath or bird feeder or just lovely garden art. What ever I want it to be.

After a day of rain several robins were perched on the edge enjoying a cool drink. Of course they didn't want to be photographed.
This is the detail of the legs.
All this metal work is done by a dear friend of ours. He was an orthopedic surgeon who dabbled in iron work until he retired. Now he does amazing things with metal. You can see more of his work here. Thank you David for adding new loves to my life.

More Football and Fiber

Why not start with the fiber? I like it better than football anyway. I took advantage of the early morning overcast sky and tried a black background but am not happy with the way these yarns photographed. The colors are off. This is a really yummy Tussah Silk lace weight from SeeJayneKnitYarns.
She calls it Sand and Sea Glass and that describes it perfectly. I purchased it for a shawl that isn't started yet so it is a lovely stash enhancer.

Guess I had already photographed this yarn. If you combine the two of these, the shine in the first and the color in the second you have pretty much what the yarn really looks like.

This little jem is also silk. I see a theme happening here. I didn't have a project in mind just had to have the yarn. It is called Peridot and is from No Two Snowflakes.



This is a work in progress and it is a great TV watching project. The pattern is easy to remember and as long as I pay attention to which side I am on I don't have to rip. I had a little trouble the other night during "Pushing Daisies". I love that show and there were scenes that were so funny I couldn't knit. If you haven't watched it you ought to go back and watch from the beginning to pick up all the story line but if you like dry humor, inuendo and knitting, yes one of the characters knits and uses/wears knitted items you really should check it out.
This is a scarf for my daughter who attends K State so of course chose purple. It is a much richer purple but I could not get it to show up well. The yarn is Lamb's Pride Worsted in Amethyst. She has a grey coat to wear with it.

10/2/08
The football I watched last week was my nephew's freshman game. He is #59. It was fun hanging out with my sister.

Bad Juju

9/29/08

Imagine you are a 26 years old. You have had a lump in your breast for at least a year but since you have no family history and you are so young no one is concerned. Now imagine that lump is actually cancer. Fast forward 6 months. You have had a double mastectomy, radiation, a lung biopsy that is thankfully negative, your jerk of a significant other becomes an even bigger jerk and you finally send him packing and you are now facing radiation.
As soon as I saw the pattern for this I knew my friend Keri needed one. I don't like knitting things like this and I HATE stuffing anything so this was a stretch for me. I intentionally tried for unattractive since his lot in life is to be stabbed repeatedly. The heart on the front is of course for the jerk and the big C on the back is for cancer. She really is handling all of this better than I think I would have and she has a tremendous group of family and friends helping her along the way. Her life is better without the jerk and the cancer is loosing to her strength and faith. To Keri and a long, healthy life.

Hot, sweaty and gross

Kansas State University football game last Saturday. I hadn't been to a K State game since I marched in band day back in high school. Things have certainly changed. There are huge screens, instant replays, commercials, you name it, they got it. We were sitting with our backs to the sun. The students were opposite us facing the sun. My daughter is somewhere in that crowd near the goal line. I never did spot her.















The band was great and the cheer leaders, yell leaders and various other dance teams were working as hard as the players were.











Do you see the fire truck? That brought in Willie our mascot. He is just clearing the band in a yellow firemans outfit mid photo. The "bad guy" from the Ragin Cagin is at mid field about to be tackled by Willie. All part of the pregame fun and games.









Here come the players! What I really wanted in this picture is the smoke and the players running through it. Who is this guy sticking his arm up just as I take a photo?







Displaying the colors.








My daughter and I and why I call this post hot, sweaty and gross. We were all three. Though my Tshirt is pink it is a K-State shirt and the button I am wearing has a special story. A friend of ours has raised five daughters and they attended K-State some years ago. When she heard I was going to the game she drove home, got the button she had worn and brought it back to me at work. It says "my daughter goes to K-State". It is now on my inspiration wall next to my desk. I will pass it on to another K-State mom someday.

Motorcycles and Pretty Spiders

9/20/08

The weather was perfect all day long. Not too hot, not too cool, a very gentle breeze and productive. Late in the evening we were enjoying the end of the day on the deck and I got up from knitting to check the roses. This is who I found visiting my rose bush. Isn't she beautiful. I don't know that she captured her supper but she had the tip of the rose wrapped in a web. She had no objections to having her picture taken. Yes, I asked. I have this habit of talking to nature. Flowers, bugs, weeds... Thank goodness they don't talk back. I thought is was interesting that the browned tip of the rose is the same brown as she is. Coincidence? If the red/green/brown color combination works in nature it may inspire a future project.




9/21/08

Good friends, good food and a beautiful morning. We found a wonderful little cafe in Burlingame, Kansas that serves breakfast followed by an awesome bbq buffet. Wonderful people and amazing food. They love the biker groups and treated us like royalty.

Since we were already so close to Lawrence we rode on up to see the grand kids. It was a short visit as I had to be back for a meeting at church but a wonderful addition to the day.

I took this picture with a simple little point and shoot camera I carry in the car or on the bike. Obviously the date is wrong. It took me a while to figure out how to change the date and then remove it from stamping the photo. So much for simple.

What Can I Say

Have I been on vacation? No, but I am now. Seven days off work, add in four days for weekends and that totals eleven days that I do not walk into the job that pays the bills. Don't get me wrong, I do love my job. I have awesome coworkers and my patients are fun and challenging. It is amazing that for as much physical discomfort as I cause my patients they are usually grateful and happy to come back to us day after day until they are well again. For the next eleven days am I going to miss any of that? NOPE. So if I haven't been vacationing for the last month what have I been doing? First off I want someone to explain to me where the month of September went. I mean come on, I just turned the page on the calendar and now I need to do it again. I really like that picture on the calendar and it seems barely enjoyed let alone time to be hidden again. Just turned to October and that picture is pretty much beautiful as well. So I am officially in October. I do have a few fun things to share with you from the past month before I let October take hold of the blog. Here goes.

8/31/08


Labor Day weekend. None of the kids are coming home, I have a three day weekend and we have never been to Atchison, Kansas. It is the home of Amelia Earhart, beautiful mansions and reportedly many ghosts. I saw Amelia's birthplace, a couple of other museums, many beautiful mansions, the river, good food, a good time, but no ghosts. We plan to go back for some of the official ghost tours. But it won't be this year. Tickets go on sale in June and though there were a few random slots open none when we could attend.
This is the side view of the house below.



This is one of my favorites of the many we walked around. It was a beautiful evening to stroll through neighborhoods enjoying the architecture and hoping to see a ghost peeking out a window or gliding across the lawn to the carriage house. Notice the gargoyles on top the house?




Side view of these awesome guys. They sit above the side view in the very first picture.




He looks a little scarier from this angle to me. Like he is crouched ready to pounce as you walk out to the carriage house or sit in the back yard.






As the sun is setting they become the guardians of the night.






A little newer home, later 1800's than the one above. I liked the bunting hung out front and I love wide front porches. Every house should have a front porch.





This one is open to the public but we got there too late. It is falling into disrepair but still lovely.




This is behind the picture above. Isn't it beautiful? I would so love to sit here with a cool drink and some knitting.







Some flowers blooming on an old wrought iron fence. The flowers were so thick you couldn't see the fence.






I love the old street signs.








The river walk and veteran's memorial.



This little guy found a cool, shady place for a nap.

Another view of the river at the south end of the river walk. At the north end was a lovely little cafe where we ate supper.

I don't have pictures from the Amelia Earhart birthplace and museum but it also had a front porch complete with rocking chairs.

We had a wonderful time and certainly plan to go back.

TGI Labor Day Weekend

This image is from a few days back but I just love this time of day. This is taken from inside the house. Why didn't I step outside????? It doesn't show up any of the pics I took but the gravel is crisscrossed with I guess spider webs. They were reflecting light like jewels. It was really pretty.







The roses continue to bloom. I just dead headed this a.m. so had to take some pics. Yes this one is a lame attempt at camouflage. You have to get that water away from the house somehow.















I plan to watch this one all weekend.
















Do you ever read someones blog and they tell you they will send you a little something just for commenting, answering a question, etc? Well I enjoy reading Mary's blog. She was doing a little cleaning out and sharing with her readers. Look what I got! I am so excited.
This is the top layer. Oh yes, there were layers.















I loved the little extras. A wooden spool, a strip of leather, odd buttons, wire for beading.....




















A kit for a bookmark.




















A box of baubles.




















This eye candy is a combination of things. The lovely pink yarn I received along with a packet of teas, they were wonderful. I'm not sure why I received this package. It must of been from a long ago swap that I have forgotten about. I hope I kept up my end of the bargain. The purple is the yarn my daughter picked for a scarf to go with the new coat she plans to buy this fall. We were at Wildflower in Manhattan, Kansas where my daughter attends school. I was so overwhelmed and couldn't decide what yarns to purchase when my daughter saved my budget by telling me she would love a scarf. Needed some shorter DPN's as well. I could have bought oh so much more and within hours of getting home I signed up for a new KAL. I will have to go back.






















I had entered three items in the Ravelry Olympics. I metaled with this one. It is a scribble lace shawl that looks great with a little black dress I bought recently. The other wip, my son's log cabin blanket, is still a wip but I am hoping that a road trip tomorrow will finish it off. Lastly I was going to learn to knit socks. Foolishly that is what I was trying to do during the opening ceremonies. The ceremony was simply too amazing to get much of anything except plain old garter stitch done.