A Great Spinning Wheel!

We spent college years in Minnesota. It was a fun place to live and I loved living there. Part of the great experience was all the wonderful people we met and made friends with. We still know several of those people and still communicate with them.

One of those families, Duane and Sharon, just went to the Minnesota State Fair. When they were walking through one of the pavilions, they thought of us. :) Why??? Well, because of this great spinning wheel. Isn't it fabulous?? The nameplate on it says, Patriot.

It actually won a blue ribbon.



In looking at it I noticed some similarities to the Majacraft Rose, which itself is a wonderful wheel, and made in New Zealand. But, as I looked closer, I realized that this wheel is its own design. They may have used some ideas from the Rose, but they went a bit further.

It is a great wheel, and I am sure the owner enjoys using it.

Oklahoma!

A couple of weekends ago, we were able to attend a small family gathering at Sequoyah State Park in Oklahoma. Not all of our family was able to be there, and those that weren't there were missed. But, it was wonderful for those of us who could make it, we did have a good time.

We gathered on Friday night for dinner, then spent all day Saturday out on a pontoon boat on the lake. We went swimming and tubing. Yes, I did go tubing! What fun! We grilled out for supper on both Friday and Saturday nights. Then on Sunday we were able to spend some time together for breakfast, and The UPS Store guy and I headed back to Texas.

Our grown kids were there, with the granddaughters. My brother, Doug, and his wife, Cathy, flew in from New York! It had been almost a year since I had seen them. Also, my nephew, Craig and his friend Amy were there.

Below are some pictures that I took. I didn't want to chance having the camera on the boat. I know myself to well, as it is, I knocked granddaughter's goggles off the boat and they sunk into the "sea."


This was the view from our room. Yes, brown grass. Alas, they have been having the high scorching heat we have been having in Texas.



Boat marina, where the pontoon boat came from.



Camera was left in the car. The rest of the pictures are of us, after a full day in the sun on the lake.


Here's our wonderful, Anna. :) Some say she looks like me. Don't know about that....




Our wonderful Rebekah, granddaughter and nephew, Craig. Cousins.

Sunset on the lake. The view from the cabin.

The chefs hard at work. Cooking the hamburgers. Chad(Rebekah's husband) and The UPS Store guy behind the smoke from the grill.

My brother and sister-in-law, Doug and Cathy, waiting to put the cheese on the burgers. Cathy is the wonderful artist who painted my Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel. If you click on the link, I am sitting at it spinning.

Sequoyah State Park is a great park and we all had a wonderful time.

Knitting, Knitting and Knitting

After the computer issues of last weekend, which were by the way, operator error, I have spent time knitting and taking pictures in different rooms. I wanted to see how I liked the lighting in other areas of the house. I have mainly used the front hall, under a sky light. That is great most days, until people try to use the front hallway, to come in the house. Then it isn't so cool. I have to say, "No, honey, don't come in the house." Truly, that is not a good idea, when it is 105 F outside and your husband is the one banned from the front hallway. :) Not to mention the continual mess in the front hallway.

So, off I traveled, around the house to other areas. I used a white piece of fabric as a back drop in some places, since alot of the house is still dark paneling, I ended up using my new studio room. So far, it seems to be working well.

This is a new cowl that I just finished. I used my handspun yarn in this project and listed it to etsy today.

This little pixie hat is knit with acrylic yarn and is on etsy too. It fits a toddler to about 4 years old.

This is the newest pattern that I have just published. It is for baby girls. The pattern comes in two sizes, 6 months and 1 year. It is listed both on etsy and Ravelry. I like this pattern, because the cables form X's and O's and that means hugs and kisses. :) The name of it is Hugs and Kisses Poncho.

A Treasury!

Today, one of my etsy items made it into a treasury! Here is the Trinket shawl that can also be a scarf. You can wear it either way, making it a totally fabulous garment. Not only are there finished ones in my etsy shop, TerrificCreations, but the pattern is there too.

So, try as hard as I can. I cannot figure out how to post the entire treasury here. I have done it once before, but I have read and read and am not able to figure it out again. This weekend has been one of those weekends, where the computer and I are not friends.

I know this because every time I ask it to do something, it says nope. :) Friends will sometimes say yes. :)

It reminds me of a quote from the movie "You've Got Mail."

"You think this thing is your friend, it is not. " said by Greg Kinnear, talking to Meg Ryan about her laptop computer.

I think of this quote a lot........ Off to better things, like knitting.

You know, knitting and yarn are your friends. You say knit, the yarn does it. You say let's rip out, it does it. No back talk from the knitting needles or yarn. Hmmm. I am going to find my real friend right now. The knitting project waiting downstairs.

Oh, and the chocolate and coffee, they are friends too.

Knit Cast Ons

Wow! On my etsy knitters list this morning, Mette, one of our moderators, posted a link for the following Berroco Yarn Company's Cast On video. This is a great video. If you are an experienced knitter, you may already know how to cast on as suggested in the video.

BUT, near the end of the video is a great idea for the long tail cast on that I have never seen before. I am going to start using it for sure!

If you use the long tail cast on, you won't ever run out of yarn while casting on again.
Check it out. :)



Hope you enjoyed the video.