Juan

Meet Juan. He's Hubbs' little helper in her Spanish class and the kids love him. She asked me to knit him a sweater with his name on it, so I turned to Monkster's Sweater, a pattern I've made before that's designed to fit a Build-A-Bear.

I used some Mission Falls 1824 wool I had on hand and got to work. The sweater knit up super quick and is a perfect fit. The name was duplicate stitched on after finishing.

I think he looks quite dapper :0)

disco xo

Card Swap

It feels like a thousand years ago that we used to do swaps on the Knittyboard. Remember the Knittyboard?

I started my BeeKeeper's Quilt last fall and joined the Tiny Owl Knits group on Ravelry. They seem to have some pretty manageable swaps, so at the beginning of January I signed up for the Card Swap - send a different person a card, once a month. Very do-able.

Here's the card I received from my 1st pal, along with a mini-skein for my BeeKeeper's and some herbal teas, yum!

It sure is nice to get a surprise in the mail and now my office is just a little brighter too :0) Thank you Sparrow :0)

Disco xo

Cheering Things Up

Q. What should you do if your dishcloths start looking like this, and you need a bit of cheering up anyway?A. Get out your Mason Dixon Knitting book and cotton stash and whip up a few of these babies.....
I'm enjoying my first cup of tea since Tuesday. I've been busy helping to run our school book fair and was not prepared for how busy it would be (or how much $ I'd have to count and bank at the end of each day). It is heart-warming to see our youth so keen on reading. And buying invisible ink pens!

Happy Friday y'all.

Disco xoxo

p.s. thank you all for your condolences, good wishes and thoughts for our David. Each means a lot and is a great comfort. xo

Getting back into the swing of things

Today is a month since my younger brother David passed. He was 39 years old and died of a heart attack, the day I last posted here. A tragedy and a waste. He was funny, smart and loving.

Happy times on the beach with our Mother

Last weekend Tommy and I travelled to the UK for his funeral. We arrived on Saturday, David's 40th birthday. We visited with him in the Chapel of Rest. I cried to see my baby brother's purple lips, they'll never smile again.

The funeral brought familiar faces. Family I hadn't seen since the last funeral (I guess we've reached that stage of life) and friends I hadn't seen in the 25 years since I left our hometown. David's schoolfriends that we knew as 4 year-olds together, never changed, laughing and telling stories of outrageous childhood deeds.

David and I, ages 19 and 21

The past month has been difficult, heart-wrenching and spent in a brain-fog which has seen me, metaphorically, staring blankly out the window, just cruising through the tasks of daily life.

My knitting has been slow and contemplative. A pair of socks, "hexipuffs" and dishcloths. A thought with each stitch, slow and steady.

Now, I am getting back in the swing of things at home. Leaving my house to shop, exercise, do my school PTO duties and visit with friends. As they say, life goes on......

Guest Room

Remember Project Grellow? Our spare room was to be decorated as a guest bedroom. Well, I'm so proud of how it all turned out. Here's the room, all cleared out and ready to be painted and furnished.The grey went on the walls and the furniture was delivered and assembled.
Bedding next.
Artwork hung.
The butterfly sampler was made using this tutorial. It was so easy I could hardly believe it - DO check it out.
This is my only disappointing piece in the whole room. The fabric is still rumpled, even after ironing and mounting. I still like the embroidery though.
A basic granny square pillow. Random(ish) stripes grace one side....
while the other side is one round of each colour. Ravelry project page here.
My mom and her husband enjoyed the room when they were here for 10 days over Christmas. It now has another occupant, but that's a post for another day ......

Happy Birthday to me :0)

I had to show you this cute picture the boys gave me for my birthday. It's perfect for above my office 'desk'.And that there 'book' is my new nook tablet, thanks to Santa for that :0) I've been reading the 2nd book in the Hunger Games series on it. Haven't got very far yet, what with all the partying and whatnot, but enjoying it as much as the 1st. It's great for carrying around knitting pattern pdf's too - no more printing for me!

Hubbs sent me this little glass token from England. "Friends for Life", that's us :0) Here's a linky if you like it. She always finds the cutest stuff.
Lastly, here's a treat for the kitty fans (that would be all of us then!). We are so lucky our next door neighbours have FOUR cats. You've met Oscar already, and now here's MamaKitty. She's recently taken a shine to meowing at our back door. Isn't she a beauty :0)
Now we're off to the movies to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. DH finished the book yesterday, so we're both raring to go.

Happy Monday y'all.

disco xo

A New Year, A New Sock

I'm starting this New Year with a Mystery Sock. Everyone's favourite IrishGirlie has designed for the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group on Ravelry. The sock's name is Blathnat, which means "little flower" in Gaelic. Pronounce it Blaw-nit.

Wanting to use stash as much as possible this year, I chose one that was well marinated - Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Loden. A fresh green to go with the flowery theme.

Go to the name link above to download the 1st clue. Clue are posted on Jan 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd, and best of all, this pattern is FREE!!!

Happy New Year, y'all!

disco xo