Death by Socks #6 is well underway!

UPDATE: Heel turn and gussets done, now to the foot!

UPDATE: Heel flap on sock 1 done.

And the pattern "She Sells Seashells" is absolutely scrumptous. Here is sock 1 so far, cuff and leg done. I can see this pattern with beads added as well. Oh no, I think I may end up being a bead addict now! First fabric, then yarn, now beads. Oh boy!

Miche Bag! I am so there!

I did it! Here's my MICHE Bag! WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!

Challenge Weekend!

This is the weekend for the challenges to begin and 1 to end! WOWSER, what a great Friday this is.

First I finished my first sock for the Knitter's Brewing Company Mystery Sock KAL and I love it! Love it even more that it fits me and not Krissy so this first pair of beaded socks I've ever made are MINE, MINE, MINE! Life is sooooooooooooo good sometimes! Here it is!

Make sure you hop on over to Knitter's Brewing Company and check out Wendy's yarns. I am so getting some of this yummy stuff, not only for its look but check out the names as well - Margarita with Salt, Fuzzy Navel,,,etc. How awesome is that!

Next up is the Death by Socks #6 challenge. The assassin list was posted earlier this week and the pattern was posted by 3:30 a.m. EST so I snagged that bad boy and started. I'm 4 rows into the cuff and I'll be darned if I don't have to stop and go to work. GEEZ already. Check out the name of the pattern, "She Sells Seashells". How awesome is that!

And the last challenge I'm involved in for the weekend is the Death by Quilting Extreme Challenge - Cabana Boy Quilt. Check out all the fun we are having over there. The assassin list and pattern will be released "sometime" today,,,,got to keep you hopping you know. But here's a sneak peek of my "valkyrie" version (bonuses to being a moderator - get the pattern early to play with!). Only components so far so as not to give it all away! tee hee

None of that Sissy Crap!

Author unknown - came to me in an email from a true friend and I had to post it as it is so me and my real friends, ya'll know who you are!

Are you tired of those sissy "friendship" poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship. You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card- just the stone cold truth of our friendship.

1. When you are sad -- I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!

2. When you are blue - I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you!

3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in!

4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.

5. When you are worried - I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, you big baby!

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words...

7. When you are sick -- Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off -- after I laugh my butt off!

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. "Why?" you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!

Friendship is like peeing your pants: everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

And most importantly - when life hands you lemons, don't make lemonade, grab the tequila and salt and call me!

Bull Gap!

Jon and Krissy spent the holiday weekend camping and playing at Bull Gap, near Mio, MI. I couldn't believe it when I did a google search and Bull Gap is actually in Wikipedia! Too kewl. I've been climbing that hill for years and never thought about how "famous" or "infamous" it could be. It's just a place to go and play! At least for us Michiganders.
Here are some pics of Jon playing with his "boy toys" at the hill! Krissy, of course, was the photographer and got some great pics. Thank goodness I got her a 4G card for her digi-cam.

Here is Jon and his buddy Jay getting the truck unloaded on Saturday morning, preparing to ride and Jon getting camp wood ready. Krissy said he was so thrilled and silly because he found a "Mario" hammer. A piece of campfire wood with a branch for a handle. He can be such a goofball!

Here's a shot of looking down from the top of Bull Gap, Krissy got some with her in the truck coming down too but the windshield was so mucked up that she couldn't get real clear shots. And Jon ready to head up the hill on his bike!

Jon coming down the hill with his truck and then with his bike.

I was a bit concerned about their weekend as Krissy isn't what you'd call a "fru fru" girl but she's also not a tent type camper either. To my surprise and great pleasure she absolutely loved it and the two of them had the greatest time hanging in the woods, gathering around a camp fire, and playing on the hill! Both were totally pooped out when they got home Monday evening but a good and healthy tired.
Yesterday Krissy went and got her 4 wisdom teeth ripped out of her mouth so she needed a great weekend to think about as her mouth throbs in horrible pain. Pain killers are her BFF right now.

It was a long and crafty weekend!

I had the calmest, quietest weekend I've had in a long time and I needed it bad! Krissy and Jon went camping leaving the animules and me to our own devises! LOL I spent it napping, crafting, working in the yard, and reading,,,,,with baseball and NASCAR sprinkled in there as well! Can't beat that with a stick.
Since my entertainment committee consisted of Sadie, Ruby, Medusa, and my yard bunny,,,,mmm, I should give that bunny a name,,,,,I'll start with them. All three posed pretty good for a change. First Sadie looking as if she is in doggie jail, she loves to look through the rungs of the chair legs to watch me in the kitchen while she pretends to be sleeping; then Ruby Tuesday actually posed for me, usually she sees the camera and runs but not this day; Dusa in one of her "please make the dogs stop" moods. They get wrestling around in the living room interrupting her much needed beauty sleep and she catches this attitude. LOL Finally, the yard bunny, who has once again moved. First home was the front yard then she moved to the backyard, which concerned me because of the dogs, now she's journeyed to the side yard,,,caught her Monday morning.

I got lots of knitting and sewing done, you'll have to wait to see the sewing project as it is a secret! Tee hee, although I did get to work on a project for a friend by choosing fabrics for table toppers, now I just have to design it.

I am stuck on layout for this topper!?!?!? What do you think!?!? Any ideas for me!?!?!?

While searching out the fabrics above I ran across these Fruit Smoothie candle tins and absolutely fell in love with the tins as well as the scent! They smell awesome as whether lit or not! YUMMO!

I put this set of socks, Bandwagon Socks, on the needles late Sunday night and have one just about done,,,,works up way fast.

Fortunately on Friday Wendy released Clue 6 of the Mystery Sock KAL early so I could continue with these awesome beaded socks. Looks like a bit more on the leg and the cuff in clue 7 and the sock is done. Isn't it just amazing! I still can't believe I actually got beads on while knitting and all the new stitches I've mastered as well as a great heel technique, used it on the socks above as well I love it so much!

Quiet, Silence, Peace!

I am going silent for the weekend, self imposing "ME" time and I hope to get a bit crafty. I hope everyone has a great first weekend of summer holiday and refresh and reenergize yourself.

And if only for a moment, think of those who have given so much and continue to give to keep us all safe and sound in this amazing country of ours. Our brothers and sisters in arms are to be respected, loved, and congratulated on all that they d0. I salute all of you who came before, are serving now, and will come to serve. THANK YOU!

Love and peace my friends.

Going up the Leg!

The further I go on this knit a long the happier I am. Clue 5 is done and the result is starting up the leg and I love how the back is patterned! Hoping that Clue 6 is released before its release date of Sunday,,,,I so don't think I can wait that long! LOL

Just had to share this pic of Sadie pretending to be a lap puppy. Poor Krissy, Sadie just piled into her and then closed her eyes real tight so maybe we'd forget that she isn't a lap puppy and make her get down. She is such a silly, funny dog!

Let me share Michigan with you!

Very few know the rich and gorgeous history of this great state and with Memorial weekend coming up I'd thought I'd share one of our most lavish jewels with you, Mackinac Island!

My motto has always been "the further North I go, the happier I am"! In looking at the history of just Mackinac Island you'll see why. Click the image or the link for more info. An excerpt on its history:

"According to Anishinaabe-Ojibwe tradition, Mackinac Island is a sacred place populated by the first people and was home to the Great Spirit Gitchie Manitou. Mackinac Island, by virtue of its location in the center of the Great Lakes waterway, became a tribal gathering place where offerings were made to Gitchie Manitou and where tribes buried their chiefs to honor the Great Spirit. Native Americans traveling the Straits region likened the shape of the island to that of a turtle’s back and named it Michilimackinac, Land of the Great Turtle. "

And of course, can't forget one of the main attractions of heading North and to the island, the Mackinac Bridge, check out the webcams! WOO HOO!

There's a (slight) chance............

I'm onto Laurie Notaro's next read for me, there's a (slight) chance i might be going to hell. If it is even 1/8th as funny as the last one I read (Flaming Tantrum) then I'm in for even more good reading. She so totally cracks me up.
As I was perusing the Sony eBookstore before downloading the "slight chance" I saw they have the first book of the Pendragon series by D.J. Machall for free download. I'm all about free especially free books and a series yet, I LOVE Series! WOO HOO! So of course, I had to download it as well. That estore can be a dangerous, dangerous place for me!

Well the knitted cell phone case was a hit yesterday and fit the phone perfectly so this morning I whipped up another one for my friend Mary who has the same size phone as Connie and she loves, loves, loves all things red! So here is Marys. Just wish I had a kitty button for it but this antique finish button fits well.

Reviewing the camera images this morning I see my favorite girl of all time was playing again and I now have a new favorite picture of my beautiful daughter. I think she is taking pics of facial features to create a collage of some type. I love this pic so much because it really shows her beautiful eyes (well OK, eye in this case) and how pretty she dresses them up with her artistic skills in makeup.

Fru Fru Skulls!

Who says skull imagery can't be pretty, artistic, and fru fru for us girls! I'm not particularly a skull image fan but my friend Connie is and she found the greatest skull fabric I've ever seen. I actually LOVE this fabric a lot! Isn't it just too kewl. And the black and white dot sets it off perfectly. Here's the tote I made for her. It is based on the Trim It Tote from All People Quilt. I used a flat bat rather than a fusible interfacing to give it a bit more body and used the shorter length of the body cut to make the best use of the fabric imagery.

Had plenty of fabric left over from the tote so I tried my hand at The Wonder Wallet from Lazy Girl Designs. My girlfriend Nancy swears by this wallet at how fast and easy it works up as well its useability. I think she made like a GAZILLION of them for Easter gifts, OK maybe 15 or so. Now I see why,,,,they work up so fast and turn out sooooooo kewl and make great gifts - I'd want a ton of them in all of my favorite fabrics! LOVE it.

Now I'm working on a knitted cell phone case for her as I couldn't find a sewn pattern that I like very much.
Weeeeeeeeeellllllllll, lookie here! I was able to finish the knitted cell phone case this morning while babysitting systems. WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOO! I used a combination of these two patterns from How Stuff Works, wanted the size of one and the base pattern of the other so I scooped them together,,,and check out the too kute purse button I used! I used KnitPicks Twist yarn, it has ribbon going through it (I don't think they sell it any longer tho)!

tinK! tinK! tinK!

Do you know what that sound is? tinK, tinK, tinK! It is unknitting,,,,,knit spelled backwards and what you do when you mess up your stitching, you tink! I'm not a big fan of tinking but I had no choice as I had the heel shaping and heel turn on my KAL sock alllllllllllll bungled up! So here it is, all better and I'm much happier with it! The thing I really like about toe up socks is you can try them on as you go! LOVE IT!

Now I'm ready for clue 5! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO, I am so caught up!
It is EXTREMELY important that when doing "new" stitches that pay exact attention and pray there are youtube videos available. That was my lifesaver.
Here's the new to me stitches, Slip Slip Purl (SSP) and Slip Slip Slip Purl (SSSP)

As well as have a bit of a clue as to what shaping and turning a heel on a toe up sock actually looks like! LOL Here is Part 1 of 3 parts (you can watch 2 and 3 from the sidebar of this video if you look it up on youtube). Thank goodness they were out there!