The Woolen Rabbit

Folly Cove Frolic......

Pattern:  Folly Cove
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Frolic
Colorway:  Red Hot Chili Peppers
Needles:  US 6 and US 7

Do you not love this sweater design?  The pattern was written by Julia Farwell Clay and I thoroughly enjoyed knitting it...each and every stitch.  There is something so soothing knitting stockinette.  The mindless back and forth or round in round in this case at the end of a busy day quickly quiets the soul.

Even though simple in design, the little touches of lace on the back .....

....a little more on the front neck.....

.....and a little touch on the sleeve, all went towards making this a comfortable yet fasionable sweater.

I have actually had this sweater finished for a few months and had hoped to wear it in these photos, but I made it a touch smaller than I normally would wear, anticipating more weight loss.  Not being able to work out or walk most of the winter slowed the weight loss process down, but I have been given the OK from the doctor to start power-walking again, so you will definitely see me in Folly Cove this fall!

Thanks Julia for a lovely design!!

Weekending.....

Remember the little piece of fabric I showed you last week?  Well, this is what it became.  It's been a very long time since I have made curtains, so they are not perfect, but Stacey tells me that little Asher enjoys looking at the big elephants when he is being changed.  I spent a good portion of last week working on these and Ken was kind enough to staple them on to the support board as I am not really good with any type of sharpish tool.  Those heavy duty staplers make me nervous as I would so be that person to staple my finger, ha!

Saturday was about all things Prom...here is Hannah getting her hair done by one of the Stylists at our favorite Salon.  I will do another post this week with more details and pictures of the event.  Hannah looked so lovely in her pretty dress.

...and of course Sunday being Mother's Day was a special treat for me as all of my kids were home for the day, along with my parents and my brother.  I know it gets harder and harder for them all to be here at one time as they all have busy lives, so I never take it for granted when karma allows them all to be here together. 

Miles was so excited to meet is new nephew, especially as he is going to become a new daddy in December.

As the day came to a close and everyone went home, Ken and I enjoyed my Mother's Day gift from Miles and Jen.  A wonderful bottle of Chardonnay and 2 fresh lobsters.

.....it was a wonderful weekend!  I hope yours was as well....

Wordless Wednesday.........

Little Baby Asher......

A few weeks ago we planned and actually pulled off a surprise baby shower for my oldest daughter, Stacey.  Surprising Stacey is a feat in itself.  She is a sneaky one this girl of mine and is always snooping when she is expecting a surprise or a gift.

My husband, Ken, is an administrator of a senior center which has a big thrift shop building, so I told her that someone had brought an amazing group of baby things, such as a furniture quality changing table, baby clothes with tags, etc.  I told her that Dad had tucked the things aside for her to look at, so if she wanted, he could meet her at such and such day and time.  We had all of the guests park in a different parking lot and then waited to see if we could actually surprise her.

There was one way to tell if she was truly surprised.  You see.....Stacey would never go out without makeup if she were expecting something like a shower, but being 8 months pregnant and just running over to meet her Dad, she definitely would go out au natural, so when she walked in without a stitch of make-up we knew we were successful...YAY!

Many, many thank you's to Stacey's best friend Dawn, who put together an amazingly creative party, from the party favors right down to the cake, games and decorations.  Not only is Dawn Stacey's friend, she is also a nurse working along side of Stacey in the OB section of our local hospital.  Such a fun party!!  Dawn is permanently hired from here forward to be in charge of special events, she did an awesome job!

Knowing that Stacey's little one was going to make an early appearance due to her history of placenta troubles at the end of her pregnancies, I set about finishing his little sweater and curtains.  The tentative date to induce her was May 22nd, but we all thought he might make his appearance a bit earlier.  I finished his sweater last week and started his curtains this weekend.

It's a good thing I got that sweater finished because.........

.....he made his appearance in the wee hours of this morning. 
Born at 1:40 he weighs in at a wee 5 pounds and 18 inches.
I think it will be a little while before this sweater fits his sweet little body.

Welcome Baby Asher!!

Spring...........

When birds fly too high,
They sing out of tune.

There are times when we feel out of harmony with our surroundings, matters do not go our way, and we feel confused and disoriented.  Sometimes these moments will last a day, and sometimes they may last for weeks.
Deng Ming~Dao

The other day this card arrived from a very caring friend who I love.  She knows this winter has been a struggle for me and has sent me little beams of sun here and there that have always made me smile, and this one really made me smile because it arrived almost the very day that Spring decided to make it's appearance here in the mountains of New Hampshire.

The Tao quote above pretty much sums up my winter.  I haven't posted much because it's been very hard for me not to be a Debbie Downer, which is so out of sync with my normal disposition.  Many of you know I have struggled with chronic pain now for a few years and I think it just got to me this winter.  I spent most of the winter feeling completely overwhelmed, over worked and sad....yep, pity party, which I hate being that person, because I don't care much for it in others.  I now have a better understanding how a person can get into that place, and it's not a fun place to be.  It has taught me to be more compassionate for those who struggle in darker places, which I never understood before.

I have been undergoing injection therapy to help rebuild the ligaments and tendons that support my hips and back and these injections have been quite painful, however I had a full week of feeling strong again, not having to take pain pills, which in themselves propel a soul towards saddness.  It was a week that gave me hope that I might actually get my life back and had me sitting behind a spinning wheel which I have not been able to do since last summer...it was wonderful!  I did have to have another round of injections last week, which set me back again, but knowing now after 3 weeks last time I felt much better it gives me hope if I can just ride this inflammation period out, I will get back there again. No more shots now for 4 months...w00t!

It felt like a button was pushed this week.  We moved from winter to spring just like that, in the blink of an eye.  The warm weather and sunshine has really helped me to pick myself up by the seat of my pants and climb back onto that proverbial horse...life.  The robins have made their annual nest in the bushes next to my studio.  The perennials are poking up and showing that they don't care that I didn't clean them up last fall.  Life goes on and the gods smile on us in the Spring.  It's very hard not to be more optimistic in the spring...thank goodness for that!

...and I actually feel like blogging again, so you will hear from me a little more often with happier things and a few nice surprises heading this way. :-) 
Thank you for listening and thank you Margene for always being the supportive friend that you are and helping me to smile. <3 you!