Pretty Spring Tulip

I'm close, so very close. The Tulip has only the Icord edging and ties to do. I should finish tonight. I snapped a shot while there was still some sunshine. I lurve it!!! I can't wait to wear it. I'm so happy with the colors and the shape is simple. I think I might expand into another one but use a little shaping in the waist. And I'm turning the heel on the second Lenore. Woohoo!

Potpourri Anyone?

So Tulip is pretty close to being done. I have to do the front borders and the I-Cord and it's almost done. All my shots tonight looked crappy so sorry no pics. Lenores are also clocking along now that soccer season is in full swing. I'm on the heel flap and will soon be turning.

I'd probably be done with Tulip but I've been dealing with my tree. I managed to get a shot this weekend before the rain of it in full bloom. Kathy, the neighbor across the street, wondered why I was taking pictures of a tree. Try explaining a blog to someone who doesn't own a computer.

So once the rain and wind came through, this is what I had even after an initial sweep on Saturday.

The drive. The flowerbed.

The walkway.

And the yard with Ginger for perspective. For new people, Ginger is an 85lb half Lab, half Rhodesian Ridgeback. I had to sweep today because I couldn't get the van up the drive the petals were so slippery. I ended up with two (yes two!) lawn bags of petals.... just from the drive. I'm not sure I want to tackle anything else. It's almost as bad as the fall when all the leaves fall.

Happy Birthday, Elder Celting!

We join our program already in progress...

Whew! I just finished baking, frosting, sprinkling, and packing 4 dozen (yes 48!) cupcakes to celebrate EC's 10th birthday. There's 2 dozen yellow and 2 dozen chocolate. This is to accommodate both his regular class and his extra help class plus teachers. We should get back about 6 but I'm not holding my breath.

EC turned 10 yesterday and I was so wrapped up in the celebration Saturday that I totally forgot to do the cupcakes for today. So I had to do them tonight. He seemed pretty good about it.

So Saturday, we had the whole clan over to celebrate the double digits. Here's the cake (minus EC's name) and as you can see, we went Tony Hawk this year. The whole day, Elder Celting was trying to niggle out of me what exactly it was that we got him. I kept saying "Socks and underwear." Imagine his surprise when opening a large box to find.... socks. The second box he was trying to keep up a brave face and instead of underwear he got this:

Yep we finally got him the Nintendo DS he's been wanting. This will make my trips to Bloomin' Yarns that much easier as each boy will have a handheld to entertain themselves with while I puruse to my heart's content. I think my mom hit it big as well with these:

Laurie had noted that it seemed as though the whole family had matched their wrapping.

It was pretty wild. All in all, EC received many wonderful gifts especially games and a carrying case for his DS. I think I may have to start playing the game Laurie got him: BrainAge. Helps hone your mental skills. I need that.

So before I get to the knitting, I wanted to comment on my tree. While Laurie and Heather are watching daffodils and the lovely yellow in the yard, I watch my magnolia tree. Every year, it blooms and I hope to get a good picture. I usually end up with it starting to bloom so all the flowers are still buds just starting to poke out and a cold snap hits. This kills the blossoms and turns them all brown and I have crap all over the yard and drive.

As you can see the tree is in full bloom which is wonderful as the tree is huge. I often call it the Charlie Brown tree as it looks like it's going to eat the house. So when I step out my door in the morning it looks like this:

And this is what I see out the front window:

Quite refreshing and a great way to see that spring has sprung.

So on to the knitting. Saturday while the family was over, I was doing a little work on the Toddler Tulip. As it was sitting out, my SIL who had always seemed resistant to the knitterly gifts was admiring it. My MIL asked what it was and I said it was a cardi for my niece (SIL's daughter). At which point the SIL was thrilled. She said she had been admiring the colors and was hoping that it was for her. So maybe she's coming around.

And in all my running about Saturday, I DID manage to pick up my November Muse. So here's where I took the last picture on Sunday.I've since used the last color (Cloud Jungle) and I'm going to do the sleeves before the border. I'm going to see what I have left of November Muse to debate doing the attached Icord in that with the border in Chinatown Apple. We'll see. Hopefully, I'll have it done or almost done by Friday Knit Knite.

It's Here!

Michele called and left word that my November Muse came in today! YAY! That means between morning soccer (which I'm hoping they cancel due to rain) and cleaning the house and afternoon soccer, I MUST go to Bloomin' Yarns to pick it up. I think if I make it, I should have the Tulip finished by next Saturday. Wooohooo!

Return of the Iron Goalie

I finally have some time to sit and write! YAY! This weekend was the start of soccer season. I managed to fit in knitting and soccer to make one long day. Friday night was, of course, Knit Knite. A smaller turn out but we had a nice time, none the less. I even got to work on both my toddler Tulip and my own Tulip. I even made enough progress on both this past weekend to be on hold until I pick up a skein for one or the other. That means I'm working on my Lenores. I have one done and I'm starting the leg of the second.

So Saturday, I had flights which is the skill building portion of soccer. See here Elder Celting using some fancy footwork to get the job done. That was at 8:30 am (groan). We went straight from there to Bethel Bakery to order his birthday cake. He'll be 10 on Sunday. From there I managed to make it out to Bloomin Yarns to meet Carol Martin. I admired her wheel and despite trying not to buy anything before MD, I picked up some sock yarn in a beautiful colorway called Berries and Carmel. I found a version with lots of rich color. I was also tempted by the Indian Corn colorway with some of the worsted but couldn't justify the strain on the budget. I'll have to order in later. I like Laurie's idea with the sweater and I see she picked that color. Carol Martin complemented me on how well behaved and interesting the Celtings were. They spent their entire time there talking to her about her sheep and soccer. (whew!)

After our visit there, we headed off to lunch and to Younger Celtings soccer. At his level there are a TON of teams and kids. You basically have to find your field by the color shirts they wear. Makes me wish we were on this team:

As it is, we're team USA which is this lovely soft yellow which blends with all the other light colors picking up dirt and hard to distinguish. Younger Celting was the only boy on the team in the fall but is now one of two.

Then Sunday came and the legend returned. Elder Celting: Iron Goalie. That's his name for himself. He walks up to the coach and just introduces himself as "Iron Goalie." Since the fall team split and our goalie went to the second team, Elder Celting has another chance to be goalie this season. He seems to be into it and is doing pretty well. The game ended in a tie and most of the parents agreed that it was a nail biter the whole time. EC has no problem diving onto the ball and getting into the thick of things. I'm thinking we need to invest in a mouthguard.

Ravelry Favorites

So I've been reading Laurie's posts about lurking on Ravelry. Apparently she's been having issues looking for recognizable favorites in the random assortment. Being an outsider myself, I thought I would try it out today. Here's what I saw when I hit the see more favorites link on the people page.

How about that? First group of people includes Miss Julia! Following Laurie's logic, that must mean I'm part of the "in-crowd." Isn't that a laugh? I just found it so startling, I had to post.

In my own knitting news, I'm on hold with my Tulip body until I get some November Muse. So I'm working on the sleeves to keep progress as far moving as possible. I'm also working the gusset on the Lenores. Basically they're my travel project which will be the big thing since soccer season has started. First flight is Saturday. This means logistic moves to make Bloomin' Yarns anniversary sale and meeting the woman from Farmhouse while still getting the boys to soccer. Wish me luck!