Short Story Long

I went to my first knitting class last night. We learned casting on, the knit stitch, and some of us learned to purl. I have to admit, I couldn't wait for last night, so learned some of this stuff online last week. There is a wealth of information on the web! This reminds me. I was at a meeting of medical professionals last week (I'm there in a clerical capacity only) and one doctor said that they need a forum for colleagues to share information online. She said, "My daughter is a photographer, and she belongs to a couple of different groups that are amazingly generous with information about their profession." I think you can say that about a lot of artists, in general. Case in point, Ayumills , who was kind enough to post the instructions for the fabric baskets, as well as Tiennie . She's obviously got her own busy life, and doesn't know me, but took the time to answer some of my knitting questions. And there are many more free tips, pointers, give-aways, ...

BFJ's parents grow grapes. Countdown to October. Is it just me, or do you find yourself looking forward to the next thing, instead of enjoying this one? I try to remember to enjoy today, be in the moment. You never know how many you have left. Sometimes you just don't want to be in the moment you're in, though. I think crafting can exaggerate the feeling. I've got all these Christmas plans in my head already, things I hope I can make and do before it's here. And that's not what Christmas is about!! So I am trying to enjoy September, while it is still here. It has been a nice month. We still have peppers growing, tomatoes, herbs, the pumpkins are turning orange. What's not to like? One thing we often do at our house to savor the day is "worst/best" at the dinner table. It's basically "high/low," if you've ever seen The Story of Us . I thought worst/best would be easier for the little guys to track, but I'm actually not sur...

Look at all these lovely fall colors; I love this bright leaf fabric (inside.) BFJ voted for some quilting, so I've added that too. Four more days til knitting. I have figured out the stockinette stitch but I'm looking forward to a project I can master.

Recently, BFJ has reconnected through the internet -isn't it so handy?- with a friend from high school. (I won't tell you how long ago that was, but let's just say more than ten years.) Anyway, this friend, George, and I have also become friends. We recently had dinner with George, and her husband, The Hammer, and they gave us a tour of their house, which is customary when you go to a new place, right? George makes her own curtains and other various things around the house and is very artistic and crafty. In the basement, she showed us some of her holiday decorations, and some scarecrows which she was using to make German people. Huh? Since I didn't know what she meant, it didn't really stick in my mind. Working our way up to the bedrooms, we encountered these German people. (I think BFJ thought it was a real woman when he walked around the corner.) What a neat idea! I have begged her for weeks to let me take a picture of them, so finally she agreed. Meet Heidi and ...

Here's how I got started in quilting: On my wedding day, as I was getting all put together for the ceremony, one of my aunts called from out-of-state to say she was sorry she couldn't make it to the wedding, but if we would come to visit her, she would make us a wedding quilt. A few months later, we got up to her house and picked out blocks for a story quilt. Time went by (my aunt was hand quilting then) and we hadn't heard anything about it, so BFJ decided I should just go ahead and make us a quilt. I think by that point, I had made a skirt, in Girl Scouts. In the fourth grade. Actually, I was becoming intrigued with the idea of a quilt, myself, so off I went to Barnes and Noble . (Yes, that's right, the epicenter of quilting.) I searched around until I found a picture in a magazine that I liked ( Lady of the Lake ), went to Hobby Lobby, bought everything mentioned in the supplies list, took it home, got to work. I cut out 2,000+ triangles with my scissors. I stitched ...

Here we are, the last few days of summer. I might get out and do some yardwork. Who knows?!! As you can see, we've still got a few stray items growing in the gardens. For homework, Speed was to find a picture of something that started with "N" so he just drew his own: Nana. I have lots of baskets and projects still in the queue for my long weekend. Luckily, my own dear grandmother left behind a box of threads, so no matter what color combination I come up with, I'm covered! Did I tell you I am taking a knitting class in a couple of weeks? I am so excited, I had to buy some needles . My first pair! (I paid less than that.) And they are so cute; even if I somehow manage not to learn anything in my knitting class, I will have to find a use for them.

I always have too many projects going! I am trying to get a bunch of these projects done before the holidays are upon me, this year. I have been working on these stockings for two or three years, now. One thing that is stalling me on them is that I have tried to make stockings before and they kind of pucker at the inward curves. I don't want that to happen here, but it always seems to, so I have put off finishing them. So why am I making stockings?? Three little reasons :) I am also making a Halloween quilt, which I have started several times, and just can't get the right tone for. I think I've finally got it, but I am apparently in need of an applique class. (If you click on the above picture, you can see how wavy my candy corn is.) And finally, I am determined to make several more baskets! As I worked on them today, I ran out of the brown thread I was using. Luckily I had a blue basket all ready to be stitched, but then I had some tension problems. As I have said before,...

Hey, there's something growing here after all! We started the kids' garden very late, like a few weeks into June. I had been promising them their own garden and then when we moved the main veggie garden, I didn't know where anything would grow. I had already decided that I was going to let them plant, water, and everything on their own even if they drowned their plants. I also said they could pick ANY seeds they wanted. They picked watermelon, cantelope, and corn. I don't think we'll be getting any melons; their garden ended up under the tree, sort of. I was not expecting anything to flourish but I hoped that they'd at least be able to see growth. Now we actually have some corn silk so I guess that means ears of corn! If you've ever read stories about Squanto helping the pilgrims plant corn, it talks about him planting the kernels with fish, so we tried that. My dad caught several little fish - three to four inches each, and we put them in the corn rows. I ...

Here's my green acorn swag. A week or two ago, the five of us sat down and made the September swag. We all made two letters except BFJ, who obviously made the most of his one letter (B)! I am pleased to tell you that all of the pumpkins and gourds are from my own yard. Tonight I went to a charity event in which my in-laws danced. Aren't they a happy looking couple? They are pretty fun. I hope they don't mind me sharing a picture, but I just couldn't resist. They danced the cha-cha; all of the other competitors (ladies) danced with instructors and I must say, I think my MIL had the best partner!

Someone asked what I am going to do with green acorns; I am going to make some swags and hang them on the mantle! When we switch decor to Christmas stuff, I think I'll hang it out in the shed and see if it lasts awhile. Besides, I think it'll look cute out there. If you want to try this, some things learned are that it is easier to get the string through a green acorn. Last week, we drilled holes in a brown acorn from last year, and a new green one. The nut inside the brown one was seperated from the shell, and as soon as I pulled the drill bit back out, it turned, and I had to keep drilling back through it til I lucked out and found a hole through it with my needle. This actually took three or four tries. Also, as you can see, the acorns shrink as they dry, but the "hats" don't, so they fall off. You can easily glue them back on with hot glue, I just haven't gotten them all done! Well, once again, Happy Fall from the five of us :)

We got to "sleep in" this morning, and then it was time for hot cocoa. We are thankful for the rain, which has been falling since last night. The boys and I will be going to school this morning for individual tests, and then we're done for the week! I had to tear my sewing room apart (which needed to be reorganized anyway) and I finally found the pinks! I worked on some pink and brown stuff, and then pulled out a stack of Halloween fabrics; maybe we'll have movie/sewing day. It is time for some fall cleaning but if it keeps raining all weekend, I guess I'll just have to suffer inside with my needle :)

Okay, it's not so small you can't use it, but it is a lot smaller than I was expecting! I thought it would make a cute project basket for my mom's crocheting, but you can't get more than a skein and a hook in this. SO I am posting a picture where you can get some sense of scale, also. That said, you could use a jelly roll for most of it! You could make more than one out of a fat quarter! You should try it! I see me making some for gifts - baby, Christmas, etc. I know someone that's getting a pink one. Now, if I could just find my pink fabric, which I bought because I knew that someone was going to have a girl someday! Oh, and I was so thrilled to have a project to use this fabric for. BFJ went out on a limb and bought me fabric last Christmas. He bought it for the split wood; that's my favorite, too.

What a lovely month for a birthday. My WONDERFUL mother (who is between 59 and 63 today) is an artist and has always encouraged me to create. Thanks, Mom! I hope you have a great day! Love,Karen

The biggest one in the garden is hiding under some tomatoes. Cinderella And a little beginning... PS I would like to assure all my concerned readers that the tree I took acorns from is too small to host squirrels for the winter, and stands quite a distance from the other oaks and cottonwoods where all the wild city creatures live and forage. IF I get my acorn project done, I will be sure to post a picture!

On Saturday morning, we went to a parade! I love patriotic floats. My sister joined us for most of it, and then we all had pastries and italian sodas; mine was blackberry. Yum! When we got home, we were all sort of fullish and no one was clambering for lunch, so I had a long nap on the couch. I love naps on the couch. I'm a night person; when I go to bed at night, I usually feel like I have to. When I take a nap on the couch, I feel like I'll still have time to do stuff afterward, and it feels more like a luxury. Last night, we went to a small-group meeting. I was reminded of one of the best epiphanies I've ever had: " grace is giving something that is not deserved, but desperately needed." It was a relief when I realized that I could stop trying to make life just . One day in the garden, I was about to pull a rogue plant when BFJ remarked how much he liked that one growing outside the garden, so I left it. It finally has fruited so now we have: zucchini! This w...

After crawdad hunting last weekend, we picked acorns; you have to get them while they are green, around here. Last year, I discovered that if you wait til they turn brown, they are squirreled away, literally! This evening, we went to a pep rally at the high school, then walked around town. There's a crispness in the air that makes me love a good sweater. I am taking a knitting class in a few weeks. My first! I keep seeing such cute socks and sweaters online. I am looking forward to making some for myself. Well, I better get to bed early. Lots of fun stuff + housework for tomorrow, and if I'm lucky, I might get some piecing done.

The leaves are starting to change, little by little. In the car this morning, The Bruise said to me, "Mom, can you turn on the 'hot condition?' I'm cold." Luckily, he has a quilt for chilly mornings. Here's a picture:

Bride's Bouquet

Good thing we all had the day off so we could go crawdad huntin'.