New Project!

Sorry, I just could not resist!

Someone's getting a homemade blanket!!!!!  And it has to have pink cause Mom likes pink and Kina is a girl!  I think she likes it.

HACKED . . . . by the New Family Member!

Hi!  My Name is Kina.  I am a mut (possibly heeler and possibly shiba inu) and 1 year old.  I was surrendered on May 1 because my owner got sick and could not take care of me anymore.  I was a little sad that I was given up but I was taken to a no kill shelter in Rio Rancho called Watermelon Mountain Ranch and they took really good care of me.  On Friday, Momma and Daddy came to find a new member for Dad to go on walks with and picked me!  I was a little nervous that day but I had good reason, they took me to the VET!  Who likes that???  But anyways, I have been in my new home for a couple of days and I have gotten comfortable and I am a very happy dog.  I have had lots of walks already!!!

Whit, my new brother is not happy that I am here but I'm not chasing him around and he has not been hiding, which according to mom is a good thing.  I think mom would love to find us sitting together some day, we shall see!

Momma thinks I am a really good fit for the family and a huge blessing, so I guess thats good.  But I am a super happy camper that I found a wonderful home!  Especially since the patio door is left open a lot!

Umm Isn't it May 1? Just wondering . . .

This morning heading to church was super windy with a side of snow.  YES, I said snow!!!  My hubby came to the conclusion that the snow was coming from the mountain, not actually snowing above us.  So that gave us some relief.  But sometime later in the afternoon, this appeared.

But no worries.  It didn't stick, and the sun is out for now.  But I'm sure it's still super cold.  I am sitting underneath my new quilt, which is quite warm (YEA!) and enjoying sunday afternoon.  Netflix has been one of the best things I have ever done.  Especially since we got a WII for a wedding present.  

We cut the cable some time ago and I really don't miss it.  The only channels I'm really missing are bravo, lifetime (ONLY for Project runway), and USA.  But I think you can find most of the shows on HULU.  And when I want to watch a movie or watch an entire series without commercials I turn to Netflix.  They have recently uploaded the movie, "Easy A," which I am kind of obsessed with.  I love the main character, Olive (Played by Emma Stone).  I kind of just enjoy the fact that she, to a point does not care what people think of her, which I admire.  I also her parents and their weird quirks.  Yesterday alone I watched it 4 times.  I might be a little obsessed . . . . but just a tiny bit.  :)  And I just started it.  :)

On the crafting side, I have two project in progress at the moment.

Bible Cover!!!!  I put it together yesterday and started the quilting.  I haven't finished it, but I am still quite proud that I did it.  I used my machine, with lots of patience, to sew the main part together.  After conversing with my wonderful friend Kelsey, I think I have diagnosed the problem with my machine.  It will require a trip to JoAnn's, but who dreads that???  

The other project is Knitting.

From Knitty, "Omelet"

I am excited that this pattern showed up.  I bought this yarn years ago to make this, but the yarn I felt was too small for the project so I bought something else.  I bought two skeins of this tiny pink yarn and it has been sitting in my stash for some time.  Every time I would go through my stash to see what I had and what I could make, I looked at this yarn with disdain.  I mean it's tiny, and there's a lot of it, and only a small quantity of project require it.  So, to say the least it was rather an eyesore in my stash, but no more.  I only hope that it all gets used!!!

So for now the sun is out, I wonder what the mountain looks like, probably very white!

Here is a pic of what Whitacre has been doing all day

Three blankets in a papasan chair makes for a very happy kitty.

A Lazy OCDer

Hmm  . . . . . . an interesting title but I think it completely describes me.  Quilting, as I dive in every time is a time consuming project.  Lot's of steps are involved in putting it all together: picking fabric; washing; ironing; cutting; sewing back together; more sewing; then my favorite part is the hand sewing.  But many of those steps require some perfection.  I do not consider myself a perfectionist and I find some poetry in not caring if it is perfect.  I still love what I have made and those imperfections make the quilt that much more interesting to look at.  In knitting, there is a tale that you always have one imperfection so that the bad spirits can get out.  Well, my quilt has many places for the bad spirits to get out.

Everyone Enjoy your Day!  It's a rather cold one here, but in Texas it's nice and warm and stormy.  Please don't rub it in, I'm jealous!  

BHA HA HA HAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Yep, I did it!

It was an interesting adventure to say the least.  The tension on my sewing machine has been acting up.  At first I didn't know what was going on, but when I looked at the manual (DUH!)  I figured it out.  I may need to find someone to look at it though since it's pretty much at 9, which is the highest, which I'm sure should not be.  I got into a fabric shopping spree and want to make some more things but I have to be patient with the machine . . . . . . or learn to hand sew . . . . . . . . .

The funniest part about the entire experience was Whitacre. Every time it was on the floor, he was on it.  As you can tell from the photos.  And he is still there.  I guess he likes it.  Not very manly though, but he's never really been able to be manly.

However, the blanket is awesome.  I got inspired by this pattern but once I cut and sew the pieces together I was not going to sew them all together so I improvised and it turned out good.  Oh and here is the back.

:)

Other than that life is pretty good right now.  I'm sure more projects will show up here soon!

The Knitter that Occasionally Quilts

Good Morning to all,


Yep, you saw right, quilting.  My dear friend Shannah, taught me to quilt in college and I have made two quilts and I am ready for another one . . . . I think.  My hubby finally got his christmas bonus, so he let me use some of that to buy some fabric.  I bought some to make some placemats for our new table and some fabric for a quilt.  I have dived into the placemats first.  Here are some pics of them.

Here is a pic of the two that I have finished for now.  I embroidered around the pink and green "Flowers or leaves".  However, I tried machine quilting this time.  But,  it's been a journey.  I bought the cheapest sewing machine they had at walmart at some point and I don't feel the need to spend the money to buy a nicer one since I only get the urge to do this every so often.  I am also very limited in my knowledge of sewing period so instead of using the foot pedal to sew I used the knob on the side.  Hand cranking each stitch gives me the control that I love and the look that I love but it takes a little longer and it hurts my back and shoulders if I do it for two long.  But hey they look pretty!

The first mat I stitched color on the front and white on the back and then I got a wild idea.

For the second one I decided use white on the front and color on the back and I think it turned out really good.

YEA!  I have two or four more to make.  Depends on how much stuff I have.  Now for the quilt.

This is what I bought to make the quilt but I am brainstorming what I want to do with it.  Thankfully, my quilting friend posted on her blog yesterday about her husband's quilt and another blog that helped her.  So I went over to it and was excited.  Lots of wonderful quilting ideas to help me on my way to being a better quilter.  I think I might try to make a quilt out of this pattern.  Now this pattern requires a few more  fabrics but don't worry.  I have been remnant shopping.

If I get brave enough to start the quilt I will let you know.  But for now I will continue to work on the placemats.  I think my idea is to have one a little different than the other.  I am a little nervous but I think I want to try this.  I always seem to have a problem with the edges of my quilt so maybe this will help.  :)

Thats it for now.  Everyone enjoy their weekend.  My hubby and I are helping a new friend with lighting a high school play.  Which is reminding me of my high schools days.  

New Year, New Adventures

Well here we are in 2011.  I am still finding it hard to not write the 0 on the date but we are far into 2011.  So far our new year has been very busy.  After returning from Dallas for christmas my parents tried to come in for New Years.  They got here but because of a snow storm they got stuck in Tucumcari and got to experience small town New Mexico which is kind of like small town Texas but New Mexican.  Which for us is not normal.  The next weekend our lubbock friend Meredith came and visited for a weekend and the first day we had fun.  Then I had a kidney stone and made the rest of the trip not so much fun for anybody but we survived that funness.  We will have to have her back so that we can really show her a good time.  :)  Then the next weekend my husbands parents came to visit.  I was feeling much better and we had a good time.  The rest of January flew by fast with relaxing weekends.  Then February happened.


A massive snow storm flew into New Mexico and left a rather deep blanket of snow.  Whit was made to go out in it.  He was not a happy camper:

The snow was taller than he was.  As one snow day turned into four and gas ran out in New Mexico.  We saved energy during the day by turning down the thermostat, covered our windows with: blankets, pillows, towels, and Whit and I stayed in bed with the electric blanket.

He was much happier with those days that were filled with naps.  The snow stayed around for two weeks but is all gone now.  New Mexico winters are different than we have had but they have been a nice surprise for all of us.

Last week was my birthday and I got to go home!  I ate Tex-Mex and drank a Margarita every night that I was there.  I went shopping which was tons of fun.  I got to spend time with my sister and momma at Northpark mall seeing a movie and doing a little more shopping (H&M Preview).  Then my husband and I spend the night at a hotel in Plano where we had an interesting experience.  I don't think we will look back badly on the experience but we probably won't stay there again.  I am waiting for the day when ABQ becomes as familiar as Dallas.  I bet there are lots of shopping places I have not experienced but can't wait to find them.

Now for the knitting update:

The church that we have been going to had a Chemo cap day where you donate and spend time making caps and blankets for patients at UNM.  They call it Chemo cap but they offer these gifts to just about anyone in the hospital.  I was so excited to find a place where I can use my knitting skills to good use.  So I went with my knifty knitter and was the talk of the day.  No one had seen one and they were all excited about this new thing.  Several people have bought them and made hats.  After that I took some yarn home and made a couple of blankets for the event.

The one on the right I used two different cables and made up my own pattern.  On the left I used a chalice pattern that I found on ravelry.  Most people at church are crocheters.  I have been a lone knitter but I think there are some more they are just hiding in the woodworks.  I have just started a new blanket with a butterfly stitch and a knit hat.  I like the knit hat pattern and may make several different colored hats.

On a yarn update, when I moved to New Mexico I emptied my yarn stash into a cedar chest that my grandfather made for me and found that I had stuffed it to the brim.  My husband pretty much told me no more yarn purchases.  I have bought some yarn but have been pretty good about mostly using what I have.  In fact, I have been so good at this I can now see the bottom of the chest.  I have lots of odds and ends that will be used at some point but for now I am trying to use all of my simply soft up.

So more knitting ensues and time is flying by but we are taking it as it comes and enjoying every minute of it.