new knits

It's been a busy winter/spring of knitting for this avid knitter.

Marilyn's Afghan//
I started this ambitious project the week before Christmas if I remember correctly. I knew that Dan's mom would enjoy a cozy, warm handmade blanket of her very own and when I found this combination of yarns that matched her livingroom accessories perfectly- the deal was sealed! I couldn't find a pattern that I liked, so I made up my own and started in. I think I finished it the afternoon of her birthday dinner- but it was done on time. And well received :) Its very rewarding to give something away when you know how loved it will be. I have no doubts about this blanket getting some serious attention :)

This gray hat also has a bit of a story to go with it.
Conor Fortin posted on my Facebook Wall in November or December asking if I could knit him a hat. He'd lost his while out of town with friends for the weekend and really wanted a nice new wool hat. I had to tell him that, unfortunately I didn't yet know how to make a hat, but that I'd work on it and keep him posted. So after Christmas when I'd taught myself the ins and outs of hats and posted one on Facebook, Conor reminded me how very much he wanted a hat. I had to oblige!

A couple weeks later he was coming home from school for break, and I was nearly finished with the hat. I messaged him to say I'd have it ready and bring it over to his Mom's house. He was psyched! "I don't think anyone has ever hand knit me anything- except my [Christmas] stocking! This is going to be so cool!"

The fact that a 21 year old college student is this happy to have something handmade with love makes my heart very very happy! I love you Con! :)

Another project sent on to a loving home....

This cutie project was meant to be a gift for Emelyn's 7th birthday but as you can see my brain was clearly out of whack. It was at least 2 inches too short for her head. And so I think this will be a raffle prize for my Trivia Night Fundraiser. If you know of any cute babies who need some knitwear, step on up and buy some raffle tickets!

p.s. its way cuter in person!

Sigh. This may be my favorite project yet. It's called the Neighborly Vest. I made it for Riley's 3rd Birthday and think it will look adorable with a long-sleeved shirt and some leggings.

It's definitely my most ambitious project to date. An actual garment, which when finished looks like it will fit and look nice on a human! I have to admit, I've impressed myself with this one. For so long I was stuck on scarves and scared to death to move beyond the rectangle! If I can make this, I can make almost anything, and I'm looking forward to the challenge!

{{the little flower pinned on is a felt flower i made for a craft fair before christmas. it was one of my absolute favorites but i didn't have any outfits to match it, so i saved it. it just so happened to match this perfectly and i couldn't have been happier than to give it to my niece}}

weeks like this...

... make me so happy.
i need to make a point to set myself up for success like i did this week.

monday
i went to the gym with kim and ryan after work
40 minutes on the elliptical then stretching
felt great
especially after walking 6 miles on Sunday- I needed to stretch out my legs

tuesday
another trip to the gym with the girls.
i did a little more than an hour on the elliptical
had dinner back at my desk at work,
then headed to Cyclorama for
Chocolate Madness!
{a charity event- $35 to enter, all the chocolate from the area's finest bakeries, restaurants and chocolatiers}
with Dana, Sheri, Jollsie, Ellen, Janice & Little B, Erika and her friend Michelle
so much chocolate
i couldn't even try most of it
i filled up so fast
a great night of tasting with friends
on the way home, i stopped in at Not Your Average Joe's
where Dan was at dinner
our friend Christine was hosting her last of a series of dinners
with contributions going towards the Huntington's Disease foundation.
got in a few more laughs and caught up with she and Maureen
then Dan and I headed home

wednesday
another good day at work
busy and productive
but low stress
i left on time
i picked up my farm share
--- a great selection of fresh, organic produce this week ---
got home and dan was cleaning the house
i joined in
we listened to the radio and puttered around
after dinner dan was working on finding some new music for his band
i laid in bed and continued work on a new hat i started,
having finished aila's birthday present that morning
i fell sound asleep by 8:30p at the latest! great night's sleep

thursday
was almost wishing the day away
looking forward to yoga at 4:30
a wonderful class
great stretches and some endurance with muscles i haven't used enough lately
a quick bite to eat
and then a 7:30 massage at Massage Envy
really great!
went home and showered off the oil,
then poured a glass of wine and caught up with dan for about an hour and a half
before we crawled into bed

so what's ahead
today's friday.
i have an easy day at work.
stopping for some accompaniments to my fresh produce to make a great dinner (and some s'mores supplies)
going to take a long walk
come home and grill up some dinner
then tonight we're having a bonfire (hence the s'mores) to start burning some of the wood
that's been littering our backyard ever since its been our backyard

saturday
zumba first thing in the morning with my bestie {yes, i'm channeling amy farrah fowler} LOL
3p birthday party for my favorite 2 year old {yes, there's only currently one of them, so i'm not really playing favorites here}
hopefully staying late for another bonfire and listening to 2 of my favorite guitar players

sunday
meeting sheri at noon for a beginner power yoga class (wish me luck)
then meeting up with kris for dinner (party leftovers, YUM) and to go over plans for Trivia Night [reminder- May 14th! call me for tickets!]

if that's not a fantastic week I don't know what is!

in other cool news- the hosta dad and i planted last year has started sprouting in the front yard, and the greenery along the driveway is filling in. its finally feeling like spring. i'm hoping to get out and take some photos!

have a great weekend everyone!

tidbits of west end living

i forget exactly which weekend this was...
but it was a pretty typical weekend morning.
dan and i moved beyond the groggy stage into "let's clean the whole house mode"
he tends to like to clean the kitchen so i started in the back of the house.
laundry.
sweeping
cleaning the bedroom and bathroom.
i'm sure we had the radio playing throughout the house
then i heard a buzzing sound that just kept buzzing...
was he vaccuuming? couldn't be.
was it outside? a neighbor's chainsaw?


i should have known.

in true, west end fashion, dan had gone out to the garage to get the car buffer.
it seems he couldn't get the granite island countertop quite shiny enough on his own.
power tools to the rescue!
gotta give him this:
that counter hasn't been this shiny since the day we moved in!

dropping off...

after doing so well in January and February the blogging has just fallen off again. such is life. i can hardly believe its Spring. maybe because we still had the pellet and wood stoves going last night... but it is. and i'm happy for that. what's new these days? i had a lovely visit with gram in florida i knit my first actual garment and love how it came out i am working my butt off at work- but its nice to see long-running projects come together my back is killing me. need to work on that. i haven't been walking. need to get training. i find myself not taking as many pictures as i used to. need to work on that too. bummed i didn't take a workshop at NESOP this spring... not that i could have, just too much going on, but still i think that would help my creative spark. i can't wait to get working on my craft space. i had a ball babysitting riley, garret, aila and willy on tuesday. only had all 4 for a short period of time thankfully. we had two tearful episodes (garret), 1 accident (riley- pee only), and a whole lot of fun. emelyn turned 7 = yikes. riley turned 3= double yikes. and aila will be 2 in less than 2 weeks. i'm doing well fundraising for the 3 Day (thanks to all of my loved ones) and i'm super excited for this year's Trivia Night event (May 14th- email me for details) and i'm even more excited for this year's walk. my team rocks. i love all the girls so much- and am so especially excited to have kris there walking beside me. screw the heat and rain and whatever else mother nature might throw at us- we're going to have the time of our lives. dad got pneumonia and vertigo (again). poor guy. think he's finally on the mend. haven't had time to sew. would like to try some new projects. had a great time scrapping in Virginia and look forward to breaking out my supplies again soon (hopefully) and life continues on...