Knitting

Memorial Day

May 28, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

UPDATES

The blog continues to evolve and I continue to learn. Now I’m trying different types of titles and think I like shorter, simpler ones. They seem to work better with the new theme and fonts and feel less contrived and more natural.

IN THE OVEN

I’ve set out the same two eggs a couple of times the past couple of days, each time planning on making these really cute apple cakes I got from Pinterest and every time I get distracted by something or another. Since I have to go back to work tomorrow, it will be Friday before I get a chance to make them. On the other hand, my sourdough is rising and I’ll be able to let them bake while I’m getting ready for work in the morning and we’ll have fresh bread tomorrow.

COMING UP

Memorial Day is nearly over and neither Mr. Iknead or I want to go to work tomorrow. It’s been such a great past four days, we did just what we wanted to do and nothing more. Real life is calling though and like it or not, we have to answer.

THE GRANDS

Here’s a recent picture of Babydiva (aka Harper). She’s getting chubbier every time I see her and has started to really smile and coo when we talk to her. She is a treasure.

Harper Elizabeth

The majority of men are bundles of beginnings. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Knitting

The one where I figured out

May 27, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

Update

fonts. Really, though, I have no freakin’ idea about computer code, don’t know what it is, don’t know how to write it and honestly, I don’t want to learn. So, I bought the WordPress Typekit and it magically worked and now I have fonts. I like it.

In the Oven

I’m still baking like a crazy woman. Today, it was Salted Caramel Nutella Brownies, which I pulled from vittlesandbits.blogspot.com, from Pinterest.. They’re the ultimate brownie, chewy, chocolately and the caramel glaze puts them completely over the top. I was going to post a picture, but they are very gooey and haven’t been photogenic at all today, I think I’ll try heating the knife a bit next on the next try.

By the Book

My current read(s) are The Daughter’s Walk , by Jane Kirkpatrick and I am Forbidden: A Novel, by Anouk Markovits. Both are somewhat of a departure from my usual reads, I lean more toward nonfiction, but these books just may change my reading habits a little. These are going to be repeaters, I think.

The Papoose

Here’s Susannah blowing out her birthday candles last weekend, from a bakery in Fayetteville called Rick’s. It was as pretty as it was delicious and she got both of them on her first try!

OK, so the fonts aren’t perfect, but I’m learning.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. Henry David Thoreau

Knitting

The one where I start to tweak

May 26, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

my blog a little bit. It had become a little bit stale (to me) and after browsing other blogs and looking at different layouts, I decided to try a new one on for size. I like the idea of headings, so I’m going to take test drive that too.

On The Needles

Still working on Maidenhair Fern socks, I’m nearly finished with the first sock, about an inch from starting to decrease for the toe. Is it just me or does any other knitter feel like the last few inches on a project seem to last forever and just when project burnout is threatening, all of a sudden, the magic row appears and that particular part or project is finished. Is it some sort of tear in the space time continuum or something?

The Papoose

Susannah and family celebrated her second birthday a week ago last Saturday (again with the space time continuum, I swear it was just last month that we were relearning the art of baby swaddling and burping) and a good time was had by all. Four two year old girls, two wading pools, a picnic and a birthday cake sounds like a recipe for disaster, but everybody played nice and left smiling.

Susannah Grace

OK, this is about all the tweak I can handle today. Tomorrow, fonts (but I have to read up on them first).

I have learned that to be with those I like is enough. Walt Whitman

Knitting

The one where the Maidenhair Fern

May 23, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

socks are my WIP Wednesday offering.

Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them. Adlai E. Stevenson.

Knitting

The one where the current

May 16, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

sock project is ongoing. Here’s my WIP for this week – Leaf Lace Socks.

Knitting

The one with my wip Wednesday

May 16, 2012May 16, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

Is shaping up nicely. They’re Nicole Okun’s Maidenhair Fern Socks.

They’re still in their infancy but will come along well I think.

Question authority. John Lennon

B

Knitting

The one where the papoose

May 15, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

turns two today! Happy birthday sweet Susannah, can’t wait to see you and celebrate more this weekend! You’re growing up much too fast for me!

A loving heart is the truest wisdom. Charles Dickens

Knitting

The one where I found

May 7, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

a pinafore that I had cross stitched years ago for my daughter and had completely forgotten about. I suppose I had given it to my mom for her to store in her cedar chest or something. Anyway, like I said, I had completely forgotten about it; but immediately remembered it when I unearthed it going through things at my mom and dad’s house. I brought it home, gave it a gentle wash and iron and here it is:

Here’s a little more detail –

I’ll cross stitch Susannah’s name underneath her mama’s name to pass it down, then when it’s Harper’s turn, I’ll add her name, starting the tradition of handing it down through the baby girls in the family. Now, I have to come up with a tradition for the little boys who come along, all in the spirit of even handedness. Any ideas?

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. Bertrand Russell

Knitting

The one where the Leaf

May 2, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

Lace Socks are ongoing and are my WIP again for this week. See?

One more repeat of the pattern for the leg, then on to the heel flap!

Please excuse, I need a poor little me moment. Started with a sore tooth yesterday and this morning got up with a chipmunk cheek on the left and more pain. Will call dentist as soon as his office opens today. Oh, you poor baby! There, I feel better.

It is only by introducing the young to great literature, drama and music and to the excitement of great science that we open to them the possibilities that lie within the human spirit — enable them to see visions and dream dreams. Eric Anderson

Knitting

The one where we step

April 30, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

outside the box a little today. We went to Mass with Babydaddy and Babymama and Harper this morning. Been a long time since I sat through a service and I got a little squirmy, but my heart felt nourished, it was good. We had lunch with Babymama and Babydaddy, not so relaxing, Harper wasn’t a happy camper for most of the time, but it didn’t help that the service was soooooooooo slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Two hours from the time we sat down to the time we settled up our check. Usually, Mr. Iknead and I would have been history had we been by ourselves, but when you’re with a group, it’s more difficult. At least I was on my best behavior and didn’t get too bent out of shape. Maybe the Mass was working or something.

Here’s the official first half of the Leaf Lace Socks and the beginning of the second:ial

I have no idea why I can’t rotate these pics, but in the grand scheme of things, meh.

Blessed is the man who can laugh at himself, for he will never cease to be amused. Proverb found in many cultures

Knitting

The one where I’m sure that everyone

April 27, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

is suffering from an overdose of my precious granddaughters, but here’s one I couldn’t not share.

How sweet is her tutu? It was a baby shower gift and of course, I had to reverse engineer it immediately and am planning a run to Hobby Lobby to procure materials for it, for a pearl and twine bracelet I saw on Pinterest, with a quick run down the yarn aisle just to see if anything new is there, then then maybe a basket or three, and don’t forget to look for sheep related doodads and ……………….. you get the picture, don’t you. Yes, I do love Hobby Lobby, why oh why would you ask?

Mr. Iknead and I are back home from our field trip to DeQueen and thankfully have finished the packing and moving of my mom and dad’s things since their house has been sold and we are to close on 05/02. Other than a small meltdown Tuesday morning with some tears and sniffling every once in a while, it went very smoothly and wasn’t at all as traumatic as I thought it would be. I think though that I really started letting go when Daddy died last July, home is supposed to be where your loved ones are and after he passed away, well, it just didn’t feel like home. We moved my mom here to Little Rock last August so there really hasn’t been anything keeping me rooted to my hometown for quite a while.

I have no new Susannah pictures at the moment, guess I’ll have to check Lindsey’s facebook to get some new ones. Have I mentioned that she’s talking up a storm and that she repeats everything she hears? When she says Bebe (that’s what she calls me), I crumble. Her second birthday is coming up May 15, can’t believe it’s been two years and now we’re looking forward to October for her new brother or sister. My life is excellent!

The most important question in the world is, “Why is the child crying?” Alice Walker