Engagement Celebration in Santa Fe

New Mexico calls to me like no other place (besides Sturgis) so when neice Amy announced her engagement-and they both ride-a road trip was in definite order to Santa Fe. There's an unexplainable comfort in being with family and sharing our common interest in motorcycling. And I must add that Amy is one of the most spirited and adventurous individuals I know and she makes us proud. We had two days/1,300 miles riding time, nice accomodations, and two days of sightseeing in Taos and shopping in Santa Fe. Congratulations, Amy and Jason!

Memorial Weekend

It was a long holiday weekend at home filled with friends and family. Saturday morning I took off early on my bicycle in a light drizzle to meet up with a friend for coffee and a walk around the Farmers Market. That night we had a BBQ and stayed up late chatting with friends on the patio. Sunday brought breakfast with family and the drive-in that night with hubby and mom. What a windy, cool night that turned out to be but always a relaxing, good time. Basically all the good stuff a holiday weekend should be.

Replanting

Baby grass is popping up all around and this weekend we completed the last of the yard work on the side of the house. I had to dig up all my iris plants so that we could bring in a load of dirt, lay some commercial grade edging and cover with mulch. Replanting the iris's allowed me to separate them and spread them out which is a good thing to do with them because their root systems/bulbs become over crowded. We got it all done with the help of a good friend. Now I've got a little more seed to lay down along the edging.

Knitta Campout

Jackie and I picked out a great spot on El Dorado Lake for the night. It was overcast, cold and windy but we still got our Knit ON sitting by the fire all day and night. Becca showed up later in the day and we had a classy dinner with wine and hummus. My big tent was cozy and warm for the most part. Knitting has brought me so many precious friendships and fun times.

Ready for Summer

Our high school friend, Glenn Welch with Custom Touch Landscape has been working on our lawn installing a sprinkler system, dirt work, verticutting/seeding and today brought out some really nice dark cedar bark mulch for my flower beds. It's amazing to me how much of a difference a thick layer of mulch can make.

New this year in my front flower bed are some crape myrtle bushes, seed geraniums, petunias, lupine, black-eye susans, caladiums, elephant ears and coral bells. All the work is done and now I'm ready to kick back and enjoy the summer and a fresh, new lawn.

DIY: Crystal Necklace

Inspired by one of my most treasured necklaces, I sat down with some grey crystal beads and headpins and started making double ended looped beads, connecting them together to make a longer necklace. Then I added a hand made silver heart pendant I had from Tracine's Treasures (Abilene, KS) to make a necklace and earring set.

Girls on the Loose

It's been about six months since I've rode my motorcycle so I jumped at the chance to hit the road with my best riding bud for the weekend. Although we didn't ride far this time, it was so good to get out and spend some time together in SE Kansas with her and her family. Love ya, Melanie!

Manos Citron

Starting a new knitting project right now is probably the last thing I should do -- but I just couldn't help myself. When I saw this Mano lace yarn out of lucious baby alpaca/silk/cashmere I had visions of pearls and a lace shawl. It's really soft and lovely. So, what's a girl to do but to get busy!

DIY: Day of the Dead Bracelet

Oh, these skulls are cute and are going to make a fabulous Dia de los Muertos bracelet. I found these great beads and findings at a small, packed little bead and bauble shop in Hutchinson, KS called Amelia Beadelias. A shop that's worth the drive (or ride)!

DIY: Tshirt Tubes

It was a cold, cloudy day that had me wanting to stay home and make something. I had seen this exact same Mtn Dew top for sale in Texas for $55. My version set me back $15 at the most. Cut them a couple inches wider than my measurements, sewed down the sides and folded over at the top to make a casing for elastic. Iron on crystals add a little pop to these tshirt tube tunics.

Goin' Coastal

Kenny Chesney brought his Goin' Coastal Tour 2011 to Wichita tonite at Intrust Arena and I invited my best riding bud, Melanie along to the show. Uncle Kracker opened and then it was Billy Currington pleasing the crowd with his song, "God is great, beer is good and people are crazy." Corona was the tour sponsor and I had my own special little goin' coastal Corona moment. Kenny was great.

It's a Blanket!

My scrap sock yarn project is now starting to look like a lap blanket. Before starting this, I would have never guessed it would turn out to be the most enjoyable knitting project I've ever done.

Sock Blanket Progress

I've been making slow progress on this project but that's okay. I complete several squares a night while I wind down from the day and then wake up early wanting to do a few more before starting the day. Changing yarns and colors keeps it interesting to see how each square will turn out.

Sock Blanket Challenge

I'm calling out all my knitta's to start a Sock Blanket. This morning at our Knit in Public get together, Becca and I had a great time swaping our stash sock yarn and winding 15 yd mini hanks for each square of the blanket. Swaping allows you to get different colorways of yarn you might not necessarily pick out for yourself and share stories of the projects from the leftover yarn. True, knitting a blanket out of 3" mitered squares can be intimidating but keep an open mind and don't stress out about having to get it done quickly. It's the perfect mindless kind of project for SnB's and KIPs so please join us on Ravelry at Wichita KIP.

P.S. We are also going to have a KIP traveling bag if you would like to donate sock yarn scraps or swap your stash.

Come on Becca - Deep down you know you want to do it!

Skating Jacket

I don't ski, so for me, the Ski Jacket by Veronik Avery is going to be my skating jacket. The bulky wool I used (Cascade 128) knitted up quick when I got to going on it. I surprised myself by fearlessly making fit modifications as I went along and they all came out successful which makes for some happy knitting and some warm skating!

Time Passes Slowly

Time has passed slowly the last couple of weeks while husband recuperates from knee surgery. We watch a lot of movies and nap. I injured my elbow making it somewhat painful to knit for long periods of time so my ski jacket is progressing slowly as well.

Don't Go, Winter

Kansas weather is exciting and so is starting a knitting project. We had a 95 degree variance in one week from Thursday to Thursday. Really, I'm not ready for winter to sneak into spring. Guess that's why I'm starting on a new wool project. The main color will be charcoal accented with gold. I should have started this Ski Jacket earlier but I had to order the pattern book and the winter months just got away from me.

Bella on Ice

Second pair of Twilight replica Bella mitts that I made especially for some chilly lessons on the ice. Followed Dianasamour's pattern instructions for a coordinating headband and knitted all from two skeins of Comfort Chunky.

Valentine Jeep

Forget roses and candy! Our timing to get me a new vehicle fell right in line with Valentine's Day. I knew I wanted a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and then had to make a choice between several different packages. At first I thought I wanted a basic black Rubicon, switched to the Black Ops, walked into Steven Chrysler and there sat the Jeep Sport of my dreams. It didn't have auto locks/windows so they ordered another one, dressed it out with the dealership chrome package, custom wheels and smooth riding all-terrain tires and now she's ALL MINE! It was the best car buying experience we've ever had. Not once did we feel we were being hustled, they worked within our offer and exceeded every expectation we had. If you are looking to make a car purchase be sure to check them out and ask for Regan.

Peace Fleece Socks

Peace fleece is a Romanian-American coop trade yarn. It starts off as somewhat of a scratchy wool/mohair and then fluffs and softens with continued washings. I used it years ago to make a pair of mittens and matching hat so this time around I'm using it for the New Cabled Family Socks. Warm socks to wear with short boots or around the house.

Valentine Vest

I finished this Kurasun vest by Jane Ellison just in time for Valentine's Day. I love hearts and especially vests because they keep my core warm without the bulk of a coat. So when I saw a sample of this displayed at Twist I just had to make it. I knitted it from Mirasol Sulka (60% merino wool, 20% alpaca, 20% silk) yarn from the Peruvian Highlands and sewed in a two-way zipper. A feel-good added bonus is that a portion of every purchase of this yarn is dedicated directly to the funding of a school in the remote area of Munani in the region of Puno.

Twilight Swap

While the Twilight movie played, we drew names for the swap. Amy was the lucky recipient of my Bella mittens and cowl and once again, I drew Becca's name for a handspun drawstring bag, knitted apple cozy and some candy. Appropriately for the evening, I handed out vampire teeth for some silly, knitta fun -- Bite Me, Knitta's!

A Twilight Knit

My knittas and I are getting together tonight for a Twilight themed project swap. If you watch the movie closely you can spot many different knitted items ranging from hats, mittens, scarves and sweaters and the knitting world has replicated those patterns. I found the pattern for my chosen projects to swap on Ravelry for the Bella mittens and matching cowl working feverishly all day yesterday to get them completed on time.

More Winter Knitting

Hello, Mason Dixon. If you were a friend you'd be a BFF. Instead, you're a favorite knitting book I find myself turning to time and again for inspiration and great cotton projects.

It's winter and that means the needles are clicking along. My own projects are sitting in the sidelines for baby blankets and fun acts of kindness like these cotton baby burp cloths above. I delivered some cotton dish cloths to a friend and have a gift swap coming up soon. I'm wishing for more snow so I can stay in, watch movies with my love and knit the snowy days away until spring.

Winter Headbands

My friend and neighbor, Shawndra, sent me a picture of a red and black headband she liked that she found on the internet. I knew she had a birthday coming up so I searched around for a pattern that resembled it, made a modification for a flower (Irish Rose) and came up with the crochet headband on the left. I had some leftover yarn so I knitted myself a similar headband on the right. Just perfect for the snowy days ahead.

January Spinning Saturday

I spent the day with my friend, Laura, at her yarn shop, Sugar Bunny Boulevard in ElDorado for Spinning Saturday. I took my portable Ashford Joy wheel to the shop along and some odds and ends dyed wool fiber that we ran through Laura's carder. I added some bits of recycled silk and like magic came out with a nice batt for spinning into a great handspun skein of yarn.

Goodbye 2010

It's a new year and that means it's time to take down all the holiday decorations. I wanted to save a little something from this year to look back on from our cozy Christmas and say goodbye to 2010. I'm ready for a new year of hard work, learning new things, outdoor adventures and time to spend with good friends and family.