Happy Memorial Day!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day and take time to remember those who have so gallantly protected us, honor them!  (not just today....but everyday)

Finley and Ava are getting along very well, they LOVE each other :)  I'm so glad.  I think she has calmed him down tremendously and I am super glad of that.

Today is Memorial Day as you well know and my workplace is closed, thus I am off.  Now, I had the option to work and normally I take that option for the extra time.  However, I am TIRED!  Puppy training is hurting me...getting up several times a night is not fun (my hat is off to all of you moms!).

So, I decided to stay home :) .  His Majesty decided to stay home as well, since he was in a 24 hour mountain bike race over the weekend and needed to recuperate.

Of course it is raining!  But that is okay....I can still enjoy my day off. 

I will be going to look at Berninas today and hopefully decide on the machine I want.  I will also be spinning a little and working on my socks and shawl.  Good times!!!

And I need to take pictures of this stuff and post....just so I can see what I am doing !!!

What is up?

Quick post here just to say what is up.  Well, the precious little puppy found a home last week, but may be coming back to me today.  That is a long story for later today.  (I have missed her).

I have decided on the Bernina :)  huge smile here, just not sure which one.  I will be going by the sewing store to talk with a rep and decide from there.  Cost is a factor, since I just bought a new spinning wheel.  I have to have some restraint!  Don't I????

I started my shawl last night and only knitted about 5 rows before Finley decided he needed some loving....This is my yarn of choice for this little Ravelry shawlette, which I think will be very pretty.  I will pick it back up tonight and get at least 5 more rows completed!

My after work to do list:
1. Finley for a hike, exercise for me
2. Laundry folded and another load started
3. Litter boxes cleaned out
4. Dinner for EVERYONE
5. Spin at least 30 minutes
6. Pack lunch, pull out clothes for work, load car with work stuff
7. Shower and knit :)

I am a mess...

Have you seen a messier fabric stash?  Seriously?  A mess.  I am a true mess.  This is one corner of the fabric stash and it is out of control.  I need to reorganize.   I got so far as hanging the roving basket from the ceiling and then found myself becoming distracted by the other half of the mess....yes, another corner of insanity!

I then started trying to tame the sewing table and didn't get very far in that arena either.  Ugh.....maybe I can get a true grasp on the situation tomorrow and it will be beautiful...well, at least workable.

Then there is the sewing machine problem.  I broke 2 needles last night trying to sew a seat cover.  For some reason, my Brother has been giving me fits the last month or so and I am worried.  I can have it serviced and fixed, but it will cost a little more than half of it's worth.

So, do I just bite the bullet and get the Bernina that I have been wanting?  Or do I pay for service and keep this one????? 

 Can you tell I need an excuse to get the Bernina????  :)  Well, I will be making a pro and con list and see what it looks like to get the new one.  On a happy note, I picked up an Addi Turbo size 7, 32 inch circular needle today to start my summer shawl.  That makes me smile...
as does this yarn...MY yarn, a Wooliegirl yarn...dyed and spun by me :)  I love it!  No clue what I will do with it, but I still love it!

MY yarn..

So it may not look like much to you, but it is MY handspun.  I died, spun and knit this puppy!  I had a small amount, a test run and wanted to make something quick.  I went to Ravelry (who doesn't?) and found this pattern for a coffee cozy and thought it would be perfect.  It was, I love it and actually knitted two of them. 
The pattern is great and I love the colors of my yarn and the way it knitted. The buttons are just haphazard for show, so I have to go back and fix that.  I'm just proud of my yarn, that's all :)
I also snapped up this book and can't wait to try a few of her techniques.  She is giving a class near me in July and I am 87.9% talked into going...talking myself into it!!!

I love her stuff and I want to get my coils down pat....also love Jacey Boggs Sit and Spin video and considering purchasing that as well.  My problem is this thing called "money"...I need some of it. 

This little lady is needing a home, because she is already costing me money!  Someone help me!!!  Finley loves her to pieces, almost literally.  He keeps licking her and knocking her down with his big paws and then he will kick her around like a soccer ball and lick her again.  A little frightful, but they love each other.


I am looking forward to the weekend, because it is the Carolina Fiber Festival and I am going!!  I plan on purchasing some fibers for my new wheel, Mach II....yea!!  That was a present to myself and I plied some yarn spun on my Babe on the Mach and loved it...so smooth.  Ahhhh, spinning is relaxing, which I need right now, but the puppy keeps biting my feet and the wheel when I sit down to spin.  It hurts!

OH my gosh....another puppy!!???

Weelllllll, look what showed up at our house, a puppy.  It was in the drain pipe, shivering, cold, wet, dirty, covered in ticks and briars...so pitiful!  We coaxed it out/half pulled it out and took it into the house.  Gave her a bath, fed her, played with her, fixed her a bed...see what is happening?   She is precious, actually stinking cute is what she is.  However, I CANNOT have another pet.  No sirree bob, no more pets in this house.  This is not last May all over again. 

She needs a safe and loving home, just not here.  I have bills to pay and 7 other little ones to feed.

I am trying desperately to find her a home...please someone tate her.

Finley is loving her!  He is right now chasing her and licking her.  His tongue is as big as she is....so it seems.

I have knitting and spinning I want to do, not dog walk and potty training!

Tonight I will knit a few rows on my socks, finish my cup cozy, and smile at the spinning wheel...and clean up dog pee.

What puppies do...

Just a sample of what my puppy has done this past year, repeatedly :)  Every pillow, blanket, towel, rug, and toy that FrankenFinley has had in the first year of his life has been shredded.  Just like this blanket.  See what I've been doing?  It hasn't stopped yet.  The joy continues every day.  Nothing has been safe from the shredding.  Luckily he is a shredder, not an ingester ;)

I'm back!!

Okay, let's try this one more time.  I so want to blog, I really do.  I know it doesn't look that way, but I really do! What happened?  Several things actually, starting with going back to school after years of working as an RN...went into a RN to BSN program and that took up most of my life..well that and working full-time and cleaning house and that sort of stuff (man it never ends).  AND THEN  this guyThis is Finley, my baby boy!  He happened and everything went upside down.  Oh my gosh...how can one dog do that??????What a sweet big head :)  Anyway, Finley came into the house and took over.  He changed my workout schedule, my work schedule, my house schedule, my social schedule...get the pattern.  A dog did all of that. 

He is proof that God answers prayers...see for years (many years) I prayed for a child, but sadly have never been able to have one.  I continued to pray for a child, naturally or by adoption, didn't matter to me.  It did to my husband, thus no children. 

Meanwhile, we were loving on 5 cats and 1 dog and His Majesty (husband) said "NOTHING ELSE THAT EATS, BREATHS, OR POOPS IN THIS HOUSE."  So no more rescues...then one day he tells me he has rescued a puppy from someone that was going to kill him.  Long story short, God answered my prayer and sent me my child!!!  His name is Finley!  :)  God has a sense of humor.....he is laughing now.

Okay, I'm finished with school, just finished this month!  Yea!!!  And I am trying to get back to spinning, knitting, sewing and baking...and a workout schedule.

Cold again!

I am still alive, kicking, breathing, screaming....and like you so busy! I am struggling to finish my 2nd paper for school. Turned the first in last week and trying to knock out the 2nd, which is due tomorrow! Bad student. Also trying to knock out baby quilts and pick out my perfect bday cake recipe.

I did finish 2 quilts for the twins and of course I didn't take pics of them! Whatever!!! Basically, I'm tired and my brain is frizzled. Maybe I can download pictures tonight of my fabric mess :) , it is huge!

I am planning on using my spinning wheels in my term paper review presentation. I am incorporating them into my discussion on Madeleine Leininger's Transcultural Care Theory of nursing....I know you are interested, ahhahahaaaaa....but that was my topic for my RN to BSN concepts class...now for coffee!

Can you scream slacker????

Yes, I am a slacker....big resolutions to be on top of my blog and then nothin! Well, one good reason...I discovered Facebook, great...I agree. However, it gave me a vicious virus! Vicious, wiped me out, killed my laptop, eeeevviiillllll! I had to wait for His Majesty to help reformat my laptop and then try and reload what I was able to salvage. I was mad and sad!

Anyway, back in the saddle and virus free so far! Of course, now very skeptical of Facebook. But here are a few things I have been doing sewing wise....making lovely little tissue holders that I found on Sew, Mama, Sew blog. LOVE that blog and have learned so much from the great tutorials! Please check it out and try some of the ideas. These were superfast to make and will be great gifts!

Also working on two baby blankets for the Meadow's twins. They are boys and I have been making little quilts for them. Have the tops done, but need to finish the backs! I have that as a weekend to do this coming weekend! One is greens and blues and the other is yellows, oranges and a little blue-green thrown in. I just hope she likes them for her precious boys!

The pics look a little sad, bad, and lackluster. But the tops are cute in real life, believe me!

Then there is school, ick! Just had my midterms in Nursing Informatics and Concepts of Nursing and I am working on my papers for each class. I do not like writing papers! Nope, not at all and have to buckle down and work each every night.

Now I have to go find my size 7 knitting needles to start bibs :)

Besides homework...

What have I done this week?
1. made a chocolate chip bundt cake
2. made apple cranberry wheat bread (YUM, wonderful as french toast)
3. made a scrub top, cut out another
4. scheduled an appointment for a facial and a massage on Saturday, just because I deserve it
5. knit, knit, knit on my sweater and getting so close to sleeves
6. went to a Boot Camp exercise class and survived it!
7. stopped being upset over my laptop death :(
8. bought Valentine's cards and remembered to mail them earlier this week
9. made beef and broccoli (with chicken added in) that was great
10. didn't cry when I came to class tonight :)
oh yeah, new running shoes for my next 5k!!!! oh yes....will be doing it!

Homework, sitting...what I'm doing

Guess what? Yes, in class....reviewing Nursing Informatics. Want to be at home eating soup and grilled cheese and surfing my favorite blogs. Have sewn a little bit this week :) Makes me happy, doing more tomorrow afternoon. And almost ready to knit my sleeves!!!

Laptop crash was from a virus and waiting on it to be reformatted

Leave my peanut butter alone!

I love peanut butter, love it! I eat it everyday, several times a day. I am so sad about the salmonella outbreaks from contaminated peanut butter. Please don't shy away from safe PB, don't turn your back on it! I eat Naturally More (with flaxseeds) and it is safe....so give it a try.

It is awesome on toast with honey and cinnamon, yummy in ice cream, scrumptious in oatmeal, and of course the bomb with jelly (strawberry please). Just ate some a few minutes ago....go get yours!

Now, camera battery issue is still going wrong and hopefully to be fixed tomorrow after gym run and errands are complete. Here is a quick pic of the lovely fabrics I purchased last week. I am in the process of cutting out my patterns for scrub tops....actually already have one complete. Yea me!!! The cupcake pattern is next on the chopping block and that will begin in the morning.

Sttttiiiiiillllllll working on my first sweater and eyeballing my sock stash. I will soon be taking a class to refresh my sock skills. Yes, added to the ever growing list!

PLUS have caught the Facebook bug. Oh my goodness what an addiction!! Why didn't you tell me about this! I think I need an intervention and I haven't been on a week yet. Well, guess I will go check my facebook page now....

So much to do and sitting here....

I have so many things I could be doing productively, but in class reviewing databases. Keep your fingers crossed that we get to leave early!!!! Early enough I can hit Wendy's drive thru and get a chili and potato, rather than eat my leftovers.

Battery eating camera has killed another set of new batteries, so picture taking is nil. Any recommendations on batteries? Have tried many brands, no luck!

Have to take notes now, so no chitty-chat from me....

Cake kit giveaway....

I am all about cake! I was reading my favorite blogs and ran across this giveaway! What a wonderful prize for any cake lover.....go and see what All About Cakes has to offer and is about. You will be impressed, I was! I love inspiration and she has it!

I am digging the coca cola cake! Need to add tha tto my list :)

In classsssss

well started back to school last week and it has taken over my life once again. I am in class right now, shhhhhhh, supposed to be listening to lecture. I am disliking class very much! LOVE my instructor, an awesome lady, but not jiving with the course study at this time. Maybe it is really the idea of sitting in a class once again from 3pm to 10pm every Thursday night. That's what I don't like :(

Oh well, I have to do this and will put on my big girl panties and buck up and keep going. I do have some gorgeous fabric to show....bought this past weekend and can't wait to start sewing with it....beautiful!!! Also, still plugging away on my knit project of the decade (so it seems) of my 1st sweater.

Have a wonderful night...I will go back to being a good student!

Popping in

Just wanted to pop in with a blankie pic that I did get finished and started another project with a burp cloth, but need to finish the matching blanket to that one.... everyone seems to be pregnant around me! I made this for a coworker expecting a boy. It is so soft! Flannel squares and a minky backing. I hope she loves it!

I made a little burp cloth for another coworker, lacking the blanket at this moment. I have to get that started!

Still working on conquering the sewing room, remove a pile and replace with another :) That is my pace right now. I did make a batch of double chocolate brownies, which will go to work tomorrow. And finishing up a batch of chocolate fudge cookies right now. Just in a baking mood today!

The cats have been in a curious mood today and have been underfoot, in cabinets and boxes. Corbin loves to cram his big body into the smallest boxes, so I made him a pirate ship out of a shoebox that he will not let me throw away! He loves to sleep in this box. He is the captain of the cat seas today!!!

(See the yellow dome in the background? That is his tent! He and Stinky Jones fight over who gets to sleep in the tent. It is hilarious.....I love my babies!)

Lee jeans...go to this site!

Domestic Chicky is giving away 10 pairs of Lee jeans! Go to her link and check out her site (I love it) and enter for a chance to win a pair of these Lee jeans. I have seen the ads, but haven't found a pair yet! I will have to keep looking this weekend for a pair that fits!

Jeans are so hard to find that fit well and I think these might work for me! Check them out....

A few sewing projects completed...

I decided to try my hand at appliqueing sweatshirts for my niece Caroline and myself. I am an ASU (Appalachian State University) student and she likes ASU and WCU, so there were 2 schools to try out.

Once reason I was trying is because I am cheap :) I just can't justify paying $50.00 for a sweatshirt with letters sewn on! Crazy!!! Well the pics do not do them justice. They really are cute. Here are 3 of them, I also did a couple of ASU tees. Caroline loved hers and I will be sending the WCU shirt her way tomorrow.

Then I found a new scrub top pattern that I decided to give a try with some inexpensive material I found at WalMart, yes I have one WM that still has material! (I found a cool aqua and brown paisley with coordinating brown and aqua dots, brown and pink dots with coordinating brown and pink flowers, and then a cool black and pale aqua flowery print) I loved it so much I made 2 more from the pattern and then had to whip up a traditional scrub top and jacket in a lovely black and pink skull motif! I love my skulls!!!

His Majesty asked why they looked so big, I told him that is the way scrub tops look; big and boxy. The beauty of this pattern is it has a wide tie in the back that allows you to cinch it in more and makes a nicer, more flattering fit! Love it!!! I have one closet with nothing but scrubs! Since I wear them almost everyday I can say that is ok :) plus I make them, so not a lot of money wasted!

Anyhoo, today I am working on a diaper changing pad to match a burp cloth I finished. A co-worker is due the first of Feb and I have to get cracking! She is having a girl :) I love to do girl things! Have a great day!

So, I did do a few things this holiday...

One more day and back to work :( I was trying frantically to clean today and get more organized before having to actually work for a living again and decided to tackle the "sewing room." This is a newly acquired room for me! His Majesty decided to hardwood the 2 spare rooms over the break and designated his old computer room as my room, since the den (part of the new addition to the house) has been deemed his "man cave" and I am not allowed to use that room. Yeah, I know we have a very weird relationship!

So over the past couple of days we have piled my sewing, scrapbooking, spinning, etc materials in piles into the room and I have been trying to sort the mess and slowly you can see the floor. It is far from being put together, but will be within the month. I also have the treadmill and yoga ball in there...adding to the clutter, but it is my space....for now. Yeah, he can always take it back from me :(

My kitchen island is now in my room and packed with scrapbooking necessities and fabric blocks. It is also covered with stuff that needs to find a home! Oh yeah, he thought I should get rid of it! It is gorgeous, solid wood and wonderfully handy. No way dude, it stays :)

And the sewing armoire is loaded down with ribbons, threads and more baskets of fabric on top! And of course my sewing machine....and my old one (from 1988!) that I use to sew paper.

Now one of the best parts is my new serger. AAAHHHHHHH, I broke down and bought one the first of December and have been intimidated by it, but slowly getting used to it and love it! I bought the Bernina 700DL adn have been very pleased. I will have to show you what I made with it over the break :)

See, I have been busy! And when I went to take pics of the sewing projects I surprised myself, but that will come tomorrow....now time for sleep! I have to get up in the morning and tackle the day!

What happened here today....

well I did get up and go workout, yea for me! Then came home to a mess...usual house mess but His Majesty was cleaning out the garage, which meant throwing away my stuff. Yes, he throws my stuff away. So, had to jump in and salvage what I could before all was lost at the landfill of wifely belongings. Some of us napped most of the day while I shuffled and sorted.

I went through bags of fleece, unwashed raw fleece! I sorted through scrapbooking supply boxes and bins of fabric. Went through my gift closet and tried to organize, but in the end made a bigger mess! My goal Saturday is to finish that chaos and work on my sweater, maybe cut a few quilt squares....I don't know, maybe that is to big of a task :)

Definitely will take pictures for inspiration of future projects. And try to superglue down the rest of MY STUFF before HM gets rid of everything I own! Deep down I think he is trying to get rid of me, but just won't admit it!!!