I found these Hummel figurines on line. I have several that were handed down to me from my grandmother and mother, plus one from my husband's side of the family. I have always loved looking at them. The ones I found feature my favorite hobby (knitting of course).

Check out this buck that wandered into our neighbor's yard. Not too bad! We rarely see bucks, usually does.

And last but not least, another baby sweater. This one was knit in again, another washable merino dk yarn. It is knit from the top down. I added reverse stockinette with color changes for variety. The finished product has buttons - I used vintage (ok, old) buttons I had in similar colors. I believe this pattern is also from Elizabeth Zimmerman, from one of her books.

This is another Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, called the Tomten jacket. It is knit all in garter stitch, in modular style, so it was very easy and quick to knit. The yarn is a washable dk weight merino wool.

Finally! I finished a few knitted items! I sewed on buttons and finished seams of three baby sweaters. One is for a friend of Lauren's baby girl, and the other two I am sending to my neice for her little boy. Feels good to finish working on something. Now to finish Mike's vest.

This picture is of the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. I knit it up in an acrylic yarn I had, and am using the remainder of the yard to crochet a blanket.

moderne baby blanket

Wow, I am ready to cast off the dark blue panel, I will then pick up another panel and continue knitting. A lot gets done while football or nascar is on the tv, but otherwise, my DH wants to sign me up for Knitters Anonymous!

Moderne Baby Blanket

I haven't added any info for a while, but wanted to post a few pics of my latest project. It is a baby blanket for my niece, Shoshona. She has three little ones, her youngest being a 4 month old boy. I wanted to make the "Moderne Baby blanket" from the book "Mason Dixon Knitting". There are over 1000 knitters/crocheters making the same thing on Ravelry.

Make way for my ducklings!

We have baby ducks. Mama duck was nesting in our yard when we got home from our trip to Ireland. They hatched on May 31. There were eight to begin with, but a hawk took one, and we are not sure what happened to the other. She has seven in this picture. My husband has been feeding them, so I don't know how long she and they will stay. Usually, the ducks leave a few days after hatching, for other waters, better eating.

Dingle. A quaint fishing village on the west coast of Ireland.We had a great lunch at a small shop - of course, it was fish and chips. These were fresh!

My father-in-law would tell his children and later the grandchildren when asked where he was going: "To Dingles' to get a kettle of fish".. This saying was know to all as "nevermind where I'm going".

So it was fun to actually say we finally got to Dingle.

Dingle.

We had a great lunch at a small shop - of course, it was fish and chips. These were fresh!

Visit to Ireland

Galway

Cliffs of Moher

Knitting in Ireland

We had a great time, visiting Ireland. The choir sang at several churches, two cathedrals, two abbeys, a medieval castle and a sheep farm! The last two were not on the itinerary/schedule for formal singing, they were rather impromtu. I will be uploading pictures in the very near future. I still have a lot to go through.

I did not finish my socks prior to the trip! I had hoped I could wear them. I did finish the first sock and started on the second. It is coming along, although I have been distracted with getting home, unpacking and heading back off to Lauren's college graduation.

Here I am knitting on the bus while entour!

Variety Show and Dinner

Our choir hosted a variety show and dinner, to raise money toward our trip to Ireland next month. We had about 180 folks enjoy good home cooked food and some "entertainment".



Of course, the choir did sing at the end, but we also had some very interesting entertainment. This included a wonder duet, a terrific solo by one of our bass members, a stand up comedy routine, a piano act and a young man playing some great riffs on his guitar. My family opted for a "duet", a ventriloquism act. Here is the video, it is very poor quality as it was taken with my daughter's digital camera and the sound was really bad.

80's Party

My sister in law had an 80's party after Christmas, for her birthday. What a blast! Most everyone got in the mood with costumes, especially the younger generation. Here are some pix:

The girls look cute:

The "Guys" (the older guys, that is..) see for yourself. (They are the Dads of the "Girls")

Current Knit project

I have been working on a pair of socks. I call these my "Ireland" socks. They are a beautiful hand dyed kelly green, perfect for Ireland. They should be complete before our choir trip.

I am knitting these from the toe up, using the "Magic Loop" method. I am only doing one sock at a time, as two on at a time is a bit beyond my scope for now.

I am not sure what the leg portion will look like, would like to incorporate a pattern or a cable just to try it.

I finally finished my coral colored socks, they turned out great. Very plain, but ok. One sock was leg down, the other toe up. Unless you are a knitter, you wouldn't know the difference. Here is a picture of the work in progress.

Michael

Yesterday would have been my son's 28th birthday. Love you, Mike! Your father, sisters and I all had to take time yesterday to think about you, how much we miss you and love you.

Early Garden activity

Just spent this past weekend working in my veggie garden. Raked out a few areas and planted lettuce, peas, carrots, and beets. Still would like to plant spinach. Now I just need to keep the dogs out, which may be the biggest challenge.

We are getting a nice soft rain today, so that should get my seeds started. I planted tomato seedlings that I am keeping in a few sunny windows. They won't be ready for planting until mid May. I haven't seen any sprouts yet, so it could be a few weeks. Can't wait for fresh veggies.

Update on Odie!

Odie has grown so much in two months. He is now 4 months old and has easily tripled in size. He is almost as long as Pepper and just as wide. He should keep growing, getting taller.

Odie knows to sit, stay, and "crate". He still needs to learn how to walk on a leash. I have worked with him a bit, but it still needs more work. The next vet. appt. is next week. Can't wait to see how much he weighs.

The photo (sideways as it is) is from the snow we had in early March.

Pepper

Pepper turned 3 on March 15! Happy Birthday Pepper. He has gotten more silver as he grew out of puppy hood.

Odie is 14 weeks old!

Odie had his second vet's appt. this week. Last appointment, at 11 weeks, he weighed 8 lbs., now he is 11 lbs. He eats like a champ, not surprisingly.

He has just learned the "sit" command. We need to work on leash, come, and stay. I am always amazed at how smart he is! He is big enough now to jump onto the furniture - not that we want that!

Odie's coat is growing longer. He will need a haircut soon. One lady I took Pepper to, said that she has her "babies" on the grooming table at 4 weeks. She raises cocker spaniels. So, it is not too early to get Odie to a groomer. He is getting a bath tomorrow. He has figured out how to get under our back porch, he comes out with a cloud of dirt! So, he is due!

These doggies give me the biggest laughs of the day, and smiles. They are always happy to see me or anyone, and are always ready to play.

my doggies

We have a 2 1/2 year old Schnauzer named Pepper. After some debate, we decided that Pepper may like a friend. Recently we added Odie to our home. Odie (Odin, the Norse god) is 11 weeks old. So far, Pepper and Odie are getting along famously. I think Pepper is getting a little worn out from his sidekick, but has taken the puppy abuse pretty well. I will post pictures as he grows.