Hikers.

I actually planned something for once.

And a bunch of people came.

This here is the hiking group..minus 4, I believe.

At Starved Rock State Park.

In Illinois.

We all started out together.

It was a lot later than we'd planned.

But everyone got there.

And it was a glorious day.

After about 15 minutes

it was quite obvious that we had

different speeds in the group.

This is the faster-paced crew.

And WHAT a crew.

I've made a pact with some of these peeps.

To do this again.

When winter is ended.

Wisconsin, Sheep, Wool

Did I mention we were in Wisconsin?

For a Sheep and Wool show?

Here are some sheep.

And yes, the lambs are very cute.

Here's some wool.

Along with the rest of my loot.

I say I don't like to shop much.

But. That may depend on what the shopping is for.

Maybe.

Fort Atkinson

When roadtripping to Fort Atkinson,

I would highly recommend a stop here.

Our kind hostesses at the bookshop

recommended the Frostie Freeze.

Velveteen Rabbit

My sister and I took my mom to Ft. Atkinson, WI

for her annual birthday trip.

For a Sheep and Wool show.

No, we don't have sheep. But we all like wool.

Wool YARN, especially.

Anyhow, we try to make the trip special.

I mean, just being with us 2 gals should be enough for anyone.

BUT.

We try to make it an even MORE extraordinary time.

So..instead of staying an average hotel,

we searched around.

And found this:

The Velveteen Rabbit -

a bookshop and guesthouse.

And both parts are lovely.

Here's the main bedroom in the guesthouse.

After we messed it up a bit.

And we got to shop the bookstore after hours.

Its a lovely lovely store.

If anyone gets annoyed at pet owners...

don't look at this post.

Awww...isn't my sweet kitty adorable?

She climbs into my bag and just make herself at home.

And leaves behind hairy remembrances.

Me? Quilt? Why not!

Well, it was only one square, so I don't know how much

that counts toward quilting.

But I whipped it up.

And decided that if one was to make a goal of a square a day...

It would be very feasible to get a quilt done in short order.

Lets not mention strip quilting, mmmmkay?

New yarn

My LYS (Local Yarn Store for non-knitters)

Serendipity Yarn Shoppe

is promoting a local yarn maker.

This was opening night..

BEFORE the knitters were turned loose in

High Prarie Fibers' nook.

There wasn't a whole lot left at at the end of the night.

Said local yarn maker is having a hard time keeping up.

I think we all need to knit something with our beautiful yarn.

So she gets inspired to make more.

Lots more.

Michigan!

I have a friend in Michigan.

We'll call her Marvis.

She lives right close to the lake.

And she has this thing called a kayak.

She talked about them SO MUCH

that I whined and told her I wanted to try

these contraptions.

So, Marvis gave in.

And told the whiner she supposed that she could put up with her for a weekend.

I was ordered to go check the condition of the lake in the morning.

I offered photographic evidence that it was relatively calm.

So. A-kayaking we went.

The lake remained calm.

The kayaking was great sport.

So was the heckling.

Once done, we got some grub.

And ate it.

While watching the sun set.

Over a carousel.

And then, Marvis invited her guests back to her abode.

And proceeded to climb into the fire.

Will she have us back?

We shall see how well she recovers from the first time.

Amphibian catchers

My nephews caught this guy

this summer.

I always feel bad when the toads and frogs they catch

look at me like this.

And, they weren't sure what to feed this type of frog.

So I convinced them that catch-and-release

was the best policy.

Hopefully this frog lived a long and happy life!

Nature's Paints

One fine day

a girl stepped out her front door and saw

a breathtaking sky.

So--back in she went

to grab the photographic equipment.

And imagine her awe.

When the above...

turned into THIS!

Colour

For those of you who don't get a real autumn.

Or...those who are already missing it!

She cleans

Every once in awhile I do clean.

Like...when the 'rents are gone for nearly two weeks.

And I leave it till the very last minute.

Because I seem to work better under pressure.

But...just to prove I DO get the job done.

Here's a photo.

Full moon on the rise

Tonight I came home with fresh tomatoes.

There are no photos to prove it, but I am feeling quite

accomplished after having made spaghetti sauce with

fresh tomatoes and fresh basil.

Oh, and lets not forget fresh garlic.

What can I say?

I was hungry.

It was delicious.

My next order of business?

Doing a sinkload of dishes.

When they're done, that's also something that makes me

feel accomplished.

Lets not talk about how I feel when they're piled up.

And up.

and up.

I've had this idea that I need to start knitting a sweater

for quite some time.

And now...the yarn for it is wound up in

conveniently useable

center-pull balls.

Since my evening is full of excitement

and I've been neglecting my blog

I thought I'd share.

And....no post of mine feels quite complete without

a photo.

So, I'll leave you with this evening's sky show.

Internet obsession

Oh where, oh where have I been?
Certainly not off the internet. Oh no.

I've been exploring the glories of time travel.
On...Gardens of Time. Its bad.

And feeding my knit addiction.
On...Ravelry. Its quite lovely.

I do have posts planned.
They will be forthcoming.
When this obsession is under control.

Bad kitty? Or not?

Nah.

She's not being bad.

We made her a yarn nest.

And she had fun frolicking in it.

And we had fun encouraging her to tangle it up as much as she wanted.

And we hope she doesn't take to

doing this with the good yarn.

{July 2011}

What's been keeping me home.

I don't know how many of you would believe me

if I told you that I had to take my garden from

something looking like this....

To something looking like this.

(Please note the far background of this photo.

Yes, the overgrown-ness IS in the neighbor's yard.)

BUT, it felt like that's what the gardens all looked like

when I got back from my most recent trip.

So, I've been on a self-imposed stay home penalty

until the gardens got cleaned up.

And guess what?

My goal has been realized.

Hurrah!

{July 2011}

For an old friend and her babe.

I told a friend of mine

that I wanted to knit something

for her daughter.

She pretty much gave me free reign.

So, this went out this month.

I can't wait to see what she thinks!

{July 2011}

Chiiiiirp.

Ever had one of these guys outside your window

catching bugs...

while you're trying to go to sleep?

Lemme tell you, their vocals are quite audible.

{May 2011}

Dewdrop

Remember?

Way back in May, when we were wondering

if all the plants were going to get frosted...

so we'd go out every night and cover them.

And again every morning to uncover.

And we'd see things like this.

Aaaah.

{May 2011}

Is this wrong?

On a semi-recent trip,

I took a flight from the Moline airport.

They have a little art gallery to browse before braving the security line.

And this was there.

Yes, this IS a rabbit giving birth.

I thought it was quite kid appropriate.

{May 2012}

Stuff'd!

When one has leftovers,

its is quite fun to think of creative ways to put them

all together

in an appetizing manner.

If I recall, this potato was quite scrumptious.

{April 2011}

Splat!

I was going through some photos today.

And found this one.

And it made me laugh.

The nephews were visiting.

They wanted me to take pictures of a water balloon breaking.

Problem is, they use regular balloons.

Because they're big.

And they don't always break on the first try.

Or the second.

Or the third.

So, I guess this is THAT process.

In photos.

{June 2011}

Muscatine Mosaic Project {part II}

I don't have any photos of all of the mosaic art,

but these are a couple of my favorites.

I actually purchased one from this same artist.

And talked to her about her methods.

And told her she should find someplace local to sell them!

Talent.

{April 2011}

Bird is the word

I stumbled upon this in the parking lot one day.

And was sad.

That I was too late to save it.

Poor lady cardinal.

{April 2011}

Summer sweater

I saw this Heliotropic sweater in

Interweave Knits

and loved it.

BUT, I knew that for me, it would need a few chnages.

SO I changed it.

And I like it.

A lot.

{April 2011}

Mishmash

Spinach.

With Tuna patties, crumbled.

And roasted red peppers.

Alongside homeade hummus.

HEllo, yum!

Planting

Ranunculus

Except now they look like brown sticks.

And I did water them.

Is this normal?

English Daisies

They still look prettttty!

{May 2011}

Massage room project: frame

My dear friend Heidi got me this print for my birthday.

Its pretty appropriate.

And, it can be found here.

I didn't have quite the right frame,

so I busted out the paint again.

Acrylic this time.

And some of my glossy stampin' stuff.

And the sandpaper.

For distressing.

It turned out pretty well.

Now, I've just got to get it on the walllllll!

{May 2011}

Scarf o lace

The local yarn shop

http://serendipityyarnshoppe.com/

hosts a knit-a-long.

Currently we're doing projects from the book

Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders

by Judith Durant

This scarf (and the mitts shown a few posts back)

were the projects chosen for February/March.

I did them both.

Which let me off the hook for April/May.

Kind of...

Or maybe I let MYSELF off the hook since I wasn't crazy about either project.

And I was working on other stuff.

In any case, this scarf is lovely.

And the yarn was fabulous to work with.

{March 2011}

Kentucky!

A bunch of women

A passel of hats

A herd of horses

And a surprise win!

All of these add up to:

A fabulous time in Louisville, Kentucky.

(or Loo-ah-vull, to the natives.)

{May 2011}

Massage room project: basket

I've been looking at a lot of home improvement blogs for entertainement.

Some of them use spray paint in ways

that us 'normal' people wouldn't usually consider.

So, I decided to give some spraypaint a chance.

Even if its not in an abnormal way.

This lovely basket was left behind during the big move-out by my

Zogg Pilates neighbor.

I called her and asked her if she wanted it.

She said no.

So. I confiscated it.

And turned it blue.

It now resides in the restroom.
{May 2011}

Knitting for kids

I've been having fun using up yarn

by knitting for kids.

This one was intended for a year-old baby,

But I failed to read the pattern completely.

Thus, it turned out big enough for my 7-year-old, going on 8-year-old nephew.

He was excited to learn it was to be his.

And tried it on quite willingly.

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

But WILL read the pattern all the way next time.

{April 2011}