The Creative Castle

Well, today was the day that I had my 1st "real" talk. Meaning public speaking (with real people; hard to believe, but true) & it was a paid event too. Can you believe it? I find it so ironic that I've spent the 1st part of my life not wanting to be heard & now I'm being asked to share my knowledge. (How sweet the revenge that is best served cold. How great it is to feel wanted, appreciated & praised; sorry for the Shakespearian moment, I'm just excited.)

I was also taken to lunch & best that I could tell, no one was threatened to say nice things to me, they did it of their own free will! Wow. One could really get used to this kind of treatment. Upon returning home to a house full of animals & chores waiting for me, life quickly gets put into perspective. I think this is God's way of keeping you humble; reality bites. LOL.

Anyway, I had the Ladies from the "Buckhorn Quilter's Guild" hold 2 of the dolls that I travel with (Lorelie & Morticia) so I could get a group picture. (There were a lot of them so I had to do it in 2 pics. )The 3rd one is of Grace who I was told was the trouble-maker (aka Brat). I have to say that she was fine with me, but they assured me that I was only seeing her best side, lol.

Thank you ladies for such a positive experience. I greatly appreciated your hospitality & will remember this day as special.

Peace out, Boop (aka Kym)

So, I finally receive my Brother KX-350 from Ebay. Apparently in working order, etc. I take said machine to the Lindsay Machine Knitter's Guild (the one where I met the Prez. online which I told you all about last month) & get ready to set her up. Marg (the Prez) checks the needles & says that I need a new spongebar (to which she has a couple of extras, thank goodness). Okay, so we take out all the needles & prepare to attach the new to the old so we can pull the new one thru (like suggested on another online machine knitter's group that I belong to).

I start pulling & look what came out!!! Can you believe this?? Totally shot, powdery sticky mess. I then spent the majority of my time trying to clean this up (by that I mean the table, floor, machine & myself). This was so gross; like some kind of goowy nicotine-like substance. The bar is suppose to look like this:
Big difference, eh? Anyway, after this I was able (with some more help) to get the new spongebar in & half of the needles back. Only trouble was that I didn't get them under the bar & will now have to take the needles back out & try again. This is when I decided to pack up my children & things & bid farewell; even I can be aware of my limitations sometimes.

After only having a few hrs. sleep the night before 'cause of allergies, my self just wasn't in full working form. Thought it best to get home while I thought I could still make it, lol. As for the ladies: they were very warm, nice, supportive, talented, & knowledgeable. They accepted me (& my funny Boop ways) without hesitation (which I assure you is unique & special). I will defihnitely be going back :o).

Peace out, Boop

Yesterday, I attended a meeting where they had a speaker (Tommie S.) from "ICross Canada". It is a charitable organization that helps the poor in Africa. One of the programs that they have sends medical supply kits using "Comfort Dolls" to act as packing material during shipment. These dolls are then given out to the poor as well as those children suffering from AIDS. It is a great cause & I would encourage anyone who knits (or crochets) to check this out at: www.icross.ca/

The dolls are very quick & easy to make. The only criteria is that you use tan, brown or black yarn for the face, otherwise the colours & clothing styles are up to you. A written pattern is available on their web site.

More later....... Boop

This is a pic. of the baby booties & hat that I'm sending off to my friend in Indiana, along with some other goodies. We already know that this future grandchild is going to be a boy, making the yarn choice a whole lot easier.

The wee hat was done on the smallest "knifty knitter loom" & only took a couple of hours. You can pick up a set of 4 from Michaels for $19.99 (very often on sale for $12.99).

The booties are from a book called: "Stitch'n Bitch Nation". The 2nd one in a series by Debbie Stoller. Great book if you like more youthful & funky knits. The pattern (1hr baby booties by Heidi Neurauter pg.217) is quick & easy (took over an hour though, lol). The only changes that I made were an adjustment to the suggested needle size (my choice of yarn was working up too small) & I used velcro on the straps instead of buttons (I never use buttons on things for babies). I thoroughly enjoyed making these booties. Is there anything cuter (okay, perhaps baby buns, lol.)?

A couple of nice little projects that don't require a lot of thinking, which is especially important when you're being constantly interrupted by 2 children getting over colds, lol.

Peace out, Boop 

Finally, our books came! I've had this latest S.P-M. book pre-ordered for what seemed like an eternity. I recently saw it out in the wild a couple of weeks ago, but knew that by waiting for my Amazon.ca order, I was saving $5- ; Chapters of course was the more expensive choice. (By the way, I'm not cheap, just thrifty 'cause I have to be. I also find it silly to pay more for something just because one can't wait & needs instant gratification.)

I happened to be on my way into town so I dropped off MA's copy. This way we can talk about the book when we email back & forth. I can't wait to read this & am only writing to update you all before I start otherwise I'd be too absorbed to think about the Blog, lol.

Also, (you had better sit down for this one) my knitting machine arrived!! Yes, ordered Apr. 5th from Ebay, & held up at Canadian customs since May 5th. Unbelievable, but it's here & it's beautiful & I can't wait to set it up & try it tomorrow :o).

I also have a few projects on the go which I hope to finish this weekend & post pics for: mini bead knitted purse (black/silver), crochet sandals & a fine knitted top that I've been doing on the KnitKing.

Now, on to the book. Peace out, Boop 

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day today. My hubby made his famous homemade waffles for breakfast & a big pot of decafe for me. After, I was given my prezzies which included the 2 metal sculpture cranes & knome featured in the picture. The knome is really neat 'cause it has a solar panel on the back so that his little lantern glows at night.

We also went out for a drive to check on the Walleyes again. They were so close that I could touch them (& much to the kids delight, tried to several times, lol). No suckers yet, but will keep you all posted.

Came back home to a big meal that hubby had prepared & I actually got Gran's machine knitting something more than swatches. Won't tell you what yet, but I'll hopefully have a pic sometime later this week.

Peace out, Boop 

So, I've had this rattan sphere for a few years. I'm the type of person that is given a lot of odd garage sale finds 'cause I really dig the unusual (to say the least). When I received this object I immediately knew I was going to fill it with lights & hang 'er up. (And that's exactly what I did.)

However, now that I'm redoing the Turret where this little number happened to be residing, I decided to give her a make-over. Since I'm going with a Japanese theme, I thought I would try covering her in some soft white cotton. Of course this ended up being strips of 2 different ones because I didn't have enough of either & wanted it to look like a plan, lol.

This was an easy redo: cut the materials into strips, serge together, added gathering hem to the top & bottom, put some yarn threw, place over the ball & gather into place. Done.

The picture doesn't show how nice the light really is, but I wanted you all to see it. I'm so happy with & excited about the next few things for the room too: pillows & a chair redo.

Well, off to crochet. Peace out, Boop

First, let me give you the progress report on the Knitting Sanctuary (aka the Turret). I managed to get the room prepped & one coat of primer up on Fri. while hubby was at work. Sat. another coat of primer while he did an oil change on my van. Sun. he had a Union meeting so we started the good paint. Today he was mowing the lawns (which on 2.5 acres takes 3 hours, lol) & I finished the painting.

I am so thrilled!!! Can ya tell? He was still outside when I managed to do a tidy & get some cabbage rolls in the oven so he will have some dinner to take to work at 3:00pm when he leaves.

As soon as we wave good-bye, the kids & I will be in the Turret removing the paper & drop sheets & trying to put the room together again. While I was downstairs changing laundry over I also managed to gather some fabric from my stash so we can make plans for curtains & pillows. This is going to be awesome. Will post pics. when it's all completed, but I absolutely love the colour!! Have you guessed yet??

Okay, now for the pic. This is an easy, free pattern from Lion Brand's web site. It's called the "Bunny Blanket Buddy". I used Bernat "Satin" instead because of is washability & I had some on hand 'cause I use it to make my Amigurumis. The pattern was alright to follow if you have crocheted before, but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners. I'm making this to go with some other little goodies that I'm sending my penpal for her new Grandson who is due to arrive in Aug.

Well, cabbage rolls are almost ready so I best go; this also means that hubby is leaving in an hour so I can get down to business, lol. Peace out, Boop

This weekend we decided to concentrate our efforts in & around Beaverton. The one pic shows hubby beside where I found the cache. Instead of hiding it around the roots or in a tree trunk (which is a common place), these people had hidden it "up" the tree's truck. Tricky spot to find; but cool.

We then went to the Beach to try another one. Problem was that I don't think the cache's owners planned on the spring thaw 'cause according to the co-ordinates, it would be in the lake, lol.

No nevermind though 'cause we saw some really neat things! All the ladybugs (1000's) & crayfish were coming out of hibernation. The kids & I (hubby doesn't like creepy crawly things, lol) had an absolute blast collecting shells & playing with all the crayfish.

After, we went into a little dinner right on the beach so we could get some fries, have a piddle & warm up. While I took the kids to the facilities, hubby waited for our order. As luck (or at least
mine if you know me) would have it I managed to pull off the doorknob & lock the kids & I in the washroom. This wouldn't have been so bad except I thought I was stuck in a time warp only to have to spend the rest of my days stuck at the "Beachcombers" forever. The place was chuck full of fishermen except for the woman & her daughter running the place. Here the kids & I sat giggling while trying to figure out who & when someone would come rescue us, lol.

I guess the great one heard my prayers (or laughter) & someone came to use the washroom unlocking the door. I'm not sure who was more surprised, but at least we were free! Management apologized, but the kids & I were more concerned about why Daddy hadn't been concerned?? He was outside too busy munching on our frie order! Geesh! We decided that he must have wished for that on the last falling star that we saw. Men; anything for some alone time.

Peace out, Boop

I just finished a couple more Amigurumis (Japanese crochet animals). I actually had done the beige one a few weeks ago, but didn't want to post a pic. until the mini was finished. (I've always been fascinated with minis & knew I had to make one).

The beige chihuahua was done with a size 5 hook & Patons Satin yarn. The mini was done with perle cotton on a very small needle (don't know the size, but it was left to me from Gran & was once used to make fine laces). The parts on the mini I have made moveable just because I love to challenge myself (another form of self tortue I'm sure). It was a real pain in the butt to stuff all those little pieces too. Not sure that I'm in any hurry to make more real soon either, lol.

More geocaching planned for the weekend. Picked up some paint for the Turret today & love the colour (can you guess??). Don't want hubby to know about it yet so will have to wait until Mon. now to start it :o(. Can't wait until next week!!

Peace out, Boop

Today was knitting machine group day. I managed to get the machine together, cleaned & (with the help of Karen) working. We knitted a small swatch, but it was large enough to confirm that the machine can knit. The ribber attachment is going to need some work (read: replace the unit itself or all the needles; whichever works out cheaper).

My Ebay machine still hasn't come, but I guess the reg. UPS delivery is slow. Will contact the seller for a tracking # so I can at least feel better
knowing that it's made some progress getting here; sigh.

The 1st pic. is one of Gran's knitting machine all set up. I'm making the "Turret" a knitting sanctuary with an Asian theme if you're wondering why the window frames look 1/2 finished, lol. (Will post a pic of the rm. when it's finished). The 2nd pic. is a view from the Turret where it overlooks the highway & Lk. off in the distance. Should be a pretty nice place to knit when it's all done.

I've also been working on another baby shower gift, more Amis & some mending. Hoping to start a new project; perhaps another mini bead knitted purse. Until then, peace out, Boop.