Prom 2012

Saturday night, April 28th, was Prom.

 Big C and Emmalee.

 Elliot, Rebecca, Emmalee, Big C.

Arriving at the Ballroom.

 Big C and Momma Lea.

Can you tell why we call him Big C?

Big C and Emmalee during the Grand March.

Granny Square Afghan

This is the latest afghan that I've done.

I finished it up yesterday evening.

I used this pattern http://yarn-ing.blogspot.com/2009/07/granny-square-pattern.html for the squares.

Then I put 4 of the squares together to make a bigger square.  

Then I did 2 rounds of edging around the bigger square.

Then once I had all the bigger squares I wanted (20 of them), I started joining them together.

Once they were all joined, I did 2 rounds of edging around the whole afghan then a final round of sc edging with picots.  I LOVE how this turned out.  It's not really long, but that's ok.  The person that will be receiving this at Christmas isn't that long either.  She's all grown now and is still under 5 foot.

My Baby Bird Turned 15 Today

Today is Small T's 15th Birthday.

 Where did the time go?

 The years have FLOWN by.

She really liked the present her dad made her!

The photo on the wall plaque is of her 1st birthday.

She's changed so much in the last 15 years.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

May you get your wish and have ALL of the poison sumac disappear quickly.  Especially what's on your face and neck.  It needs to go first!

What I've Been Up To (Part 2)

This past Saturday, the Band Boosters, with the help of the band members, held a car wash as a fundraiser.

 Yes, that's Small T washing a tractor.  We get them each time we hold a car wash.  Obviously, we live in a rural farm area.  :)  You can tell, can't you?

 We even get a few other interesting "vehicles" like this scooter that Small T is washing.

 I also got my magnet order in this week.  They are the kids' sports/cheer squad and their numbers.  This is the 1st set.

 And this is the 2nd set.

 Big Daddy has been working out in the garage/work shop again.  He made this bird feeder.  It's quite popular among the bird community right now.  It's seeing a lot of action, that's for sure.

 Then he made this nesting box.  It's painted John Deere yellow.

 He also made a squirrel feeder.

 This is my current progress on the granny squares that I'm making.  I am working on the last 8 right now.  Or at least, I hope I only have 8 more to go.  I want to make it 5 squares by 4 squares.  I am unsure if it will be a good size then or not.  I'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

And last, but not least, is the item Big Daddy made for Small T.  I've put it down at the bottom of this post in hopes that she won't see it if she goes to my blog page.  Small T's 15th birthday is this coming Saturday.  She's not too thrilled as it's also the Prom here in town.  So...she has to celebrate on another day.  Anyway, Bird is her nickname and the photo is from her 1st birthday.  This is meant to go on her wall.

That's the last of my current updates.  Hope you all have enjoyed them.

What I've Been Up To (Part 1)

I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post.  Time sure does fly!  Especially during this time of the year.  We're on the countdown to school being out on May 16th and there are a lot of things that have to happen before that date arrives.  So we're busy, busy, busy every day of the week in the evenings.

I haven't had a lot of time for my crocheting, but I've still managed to get a few things done.

 This item is a "Cell Cozy".

The free pattern can be found here http://knitaly.blogspot.com/2010/06/cell-cozy.html .  It's originally in Italian, but I converted it over to English.  It takes a bit of messing around, but I was finally able to understand what I needed to do and managed to get this little project finished.  It will be a gift at Christmas time for a niece.

As to the particulars, I used Red Heart worsted weight yarn in Aruba Sea and a G hook.

 Then I made this.  It's a Boobie Hat.  And if it offends you, please accept my apologies, but honestly...it's a gag gift for someone.  Just skip this part of my post and go on down to the next item.

I couldn't find a pattern for this, so I made up my own (sort of).  I used my favorite skater beanie pattern once I got the nipple section worked up.

Here's what I did:

Boobie Hat (Adult Size)

Materials:

Caron's Simply Soft yarn in Soft Pink and White

H crochet hook

With pink, 

1- ch 2, work 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook, join. (6)

2- ch 1, sc in same st and in each st around, join. (6)

3- repeat round 2.  (you may omit this round if you want a smaller nipple)

4- ch 1, sc in same st and in next st, 2 sc in next st, *sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, repeat from * around, join. (8)

5- ch 1, sc in same st and in each st around, join. (8)

6- ch 1, 2 sc in each st around, join (16)

7- begin Round 3 of the Skater Beanie pattern which can be found here http://chiescrochetandknitting.blogspot.com/2005/11/very-simple-skateboarder-beanie.html .

Note: change over to the white color yarn at any point.  you determine the size of the areola.

 I made this big letter "D" pillow for one of my nieces.  It'll be another Christmas present.

The free pattern can be found here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alphabet-pillows.

I used Red Heart worsted weight yarn in Turqua and an I hook.

 I made the "Chunky Circle Scarf" using this free pattern http://peoplewebs.blogspot.com/2011/01/pattern-chunky-circle-scarf.html.  The only thing I did different was that I used one skein of yarn instead of two (held together).  I didn't want the scarf to be that chunky.  My scarf is the color Soft White.  It's another Christmas gift.  Despite Small T's expression, she did say that she really liked the scarf and wants me to make one for her.

 I've included this photo of my "boys" simply because it's so rare anymore for them to be horsing around together.  Especially for Medium J (on the right).  He's finally starting to get back to his normal self now after the whole "cancer" thing.  He has stated lately that his leg has been hurting some and he was wondering about an x-ray in the near future.

 I saw a pattern for a different type of granny square that I just love.  And since I was getting ready to start my next afghan, it was my first choice.  Here is the pattern link http://yarn-ing.blogspot.com/2009/07/granny-square-pattern.html .  The above photo shows some of the inner circles that I have started.  I'm using Red Heart worsted weight yarn simply because that's what I have on hand.  I'm also using an I hook.

 Then I've started making the granny squares.  I'm doing the background all in white.  The only color will be the centers of the squares.

 I decided to change it up a bit and I'm connecting four of the regular squares into one big square and then doing two rounds of white around the bigger square.  Then I'll hook these bigger squares together into a blanket.

My last part of this post will be the big letter "T".  The free pattern is the same but here's the link again http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alphabet-pillows.  I used Red Heart worsted weight yarn in Spring Green and an I hook.  This is also another Christmas present.  (I have a huge family.)

D-Ray's Blanket - Finished

I finished up D-Ray's Blanket yesterday evening.

I must say that I love how it turned out.

All the brilliant colors mixed in with a few lighter ones.

And it really pops against the black yarn.

As for the details:

There are 48 squares:

3 Aruba Sea

3 Pretty 'N Pink

3 Light Blue

3 Pumpkin

4 Pale Yellow

1 Amethyst

3 Royal

3 Paddy Green

3 Turqua

3 Cherry Red

3 Light Coral

3 Bright Yellow

3 Shocking Pink

3 Spring Green

2 Medium Purple

1 Pale Pink

4 Soft White

I used one skein Red Heart yarn in each color plus a Super Saver skein and a regular skein of Black.

I did not use an entire skein of any color. In fact, about half of a skein.

I used an I crochet hook.

The border is 2 rows of black dc continuing in the granny stitches. Then 1 row of dc in each stitch around with 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in each corner.

This is one more project finished and ready to be added to my stash of Christmas gifts.

D-Ray's Blanket - The Layout

Small T and her friend, Miss Airy, took pity on me (and my yuck) this morning and arranged all of the squares out for D-Ray's Blanket. It took a lot of discussion and some trial and error, but this is what the final layout looks like.

I've got the first row sewn together and now I'm getting ready to start the second row.

I did overhear Miss Airy say that she loves all the bright colors, so I'm thinking D-Ray will like them as well.

Good Morning! I guess...LOL

Gosh! What a week it's been! And today is only Friday.

That comment...that it's only Friday...should give you some hint of how I'm feeling. :(

I've got the blah's. And the yuck!

I sneezed early Tuesday evening. Then I started coughing. Like my asthma was acting up.

Then, I kept on coughing with a sneeze or two thrown in for good measure.

By the time I went to bed that night, I knew for sure that my allergies had kicked in and that my allergy induced asthma had joined in the fun. Dang!

I had to sub at the school on Wednesday and it was one of the worst days of my life. I don't know how I made it through. In fact, I wore my winter coat all day as I was freezing. I wanted to sit in the car and cry because I didn't feel well enough to drive home. (sigh...that's pretty bad and totally unlike me). When I got home, I went straight to bed. With a 103.5 fever. Big Daddy had pulled some strings and the doctor wrote me a couple of prescriptions. (Thank you Dr. P!!!!)

I was basically delirious until the fever broke at 3 am. As of today, Friday morning, I still feel like dog poo but at least I have a few moments each day when I am partially clear headed enough to know what's going on. With that said, I'm going to share a couple of things with you.

First...my scale. Yep, it's dirty. That's because I don't use it that often. Well, for the next 12 weeks, it will be in the corner in the kitchen. Big C and I, along with my sister M, and my friend TT have joined the Biggest Loser contest here in town. So, we're dieting and exercising. I was doing really well with the exercising until the yuck hit me. It's hard to do anything when you can't breathe for any amount of time without needing your inhaler. But I'm not giving up yet. I'm still dieting. It's my intention to win this thing. There's big money involved.

This is the view from my front porch this morning. I've been up since 6 am since all I was doing was coughing and blowing my nose. It's the view lovely. The sun just starting to light up the neighborhood.

Here's another quick view just slightly to the left.

And another view slightly to the right.

I have my coffee out here every morning. Even in the winter.

The birds were all singing their songs and talking to each other this morning. The robins were finding food in the yard until the neighbors cat came to visit.

My only issue with being outside this morning was that it was COLD. Yep, I couldn't believe it either. It's been warm for the entire month of March and this morning when I went outside, I had to come back in and put on my robe AND my winter coat. I could actually see my breath, it was that cold.

I was having a lovely time just sitting there and then I saw this. (look at the photos below)

My beautiful flower bed. Yep. Not so beautiful anymore is it?

Another view of my beautiful flowers. Do you see them?

Yep. The final view. This got Big Daddy and Medium J in serious trouble on Monday.

They dug my flower bed up. I was madder than a wet hen. For a couple of days. If they so much as brought the subject up, I was po'd. And I finally had to tell them that if they said one more word about it, I was going to blow. So...that's been the end of it other than a few promises to fix it.

I understand why they dug it up, it's just that they didn't even try to save the flowers. They come back every single year, so they could have saved the bulbs. Anyway, they were fixing the drains around the house. Since we live on a hill, it's important to make sure the drains aren't broken every few years. The drains keep the excess water off the foundation. And in their defense, the drain under this flower bed had to be repaired. That's the only thing saving their skin at this point. LOL :)

So, while I'm sitting there thinking about the flower bed, I look over and see my honeysuckle bush. Yep. Looks horrible, doesn't it? I came home one day last Fall and it was chopped down to a bunch of stems. Big Daddy cut it down. I was sooooooo mad that I didn't speak to him the rest of the day. He thought he was doing a good thing. And he said it would come back, so he's one lucky Big Daddy as there are some shoots starting to show.

Then, there's this lovely area where my two flowering bushes were. Big Daddy and Medium J dug them up one day last Fall as well. I've sworn to hide all of the garden tools. The only thing that was wrong with this area was that there was a big piece of ivy growing and trying to strangle out the bushes. So the ivy needed to go. But no. Everything disappeared. Big Daddy has also promised to fix this area. We've finally had the "chat" about how the yard is looking horrid with all of these little projects he's been doing and that I want it "fixed" and fixed in a nice way that I will like. I like a pretty yard. And I'm tired of unfinished projects. With me being under the weather and finding the latest flower bed incident, the two guys have been feeling a bit contrite over making me so unhappy this week in regards to the yard. That's the only good thing to come out of getting the yuck. LOL

Now...on the crafting side of the day....I finally felt decent enough to get in a bit of crochet yesterday. I've got 47 of the 48 squares that I "think" I need for D-Ray's Blanket finished. I hope to lay them all out this morning and see if this will be the size I'm hoping for. If not, I'll be making a few more squares. If it's going to work out, then I'll be able to start sewing them all together once I figure out where I want them all to go. I'll be sure to share a photo of the placement before I start the joining process.

Anyway, today is the first day of Easter vacation for my kids. They get today and Monday. Big Daddy will be taking Big C to Brookfield to get fitted for a tux for Prom. I would go...as I'm a control freak and want to be involved too...but Small T has company and there's no way I'm turning a bunch of 14 year old girls loose on the town for several hours while there are no adults around. So...it looks like the guys are headed out in a bit and I'm going to get some much needed relaxation time with a bunch of teen girls. Would you call that relaxing? Well, me neither. But that's ok. Let them loose on the computer and the laptops and they'll be fine. There are showers to take as well and lots of make-up and hair fixing will be going on too.

So...I'll see you all later today hopefully. I did warn the girls that I need them to help me get the squares in a pattern on the floor so once they wake up and get around...maybe I can get them to do this for me. :) Have a good day everyone!