A Busy Spring

We've had a wonderful spring and I was very productive even if I neglected my poor blog! We're looking forward to the summer months and I'm anxious to tackle more projects. The highlight of the past months was the visit by all the children, 10 people crammed into our small California home, but we had a blast and I hope it becomes an annual event. We rented a 15 passenger van and it was a stroke of brilliance, if I do say so myself! We visited the usual tourist spots, ate, laughed, shopped, ate, and laughed some more. The kids hiked the John Muir woods while Mark and I stretched out in the van and napped, we're getting old and the kids flat wore us out!

Pier 39, love the family Picture!

All the girls!

Load em up!
In between keeping up with orders from the store, I volunteered to sew and donate two outfits for a great fundraiser. They were fun to make and I do love sewing for little girls!


A cute little monkey top!

With matching shorts

An infant size dress, love the pull through ties!

A friend's little one insisted she had a loose tooth so Nana had to make a tooth fairy pillow for her!


I have sewed outfits for the girls, tried my hand at bathing suits for them and they came out cute, I think anyway!


A paramedic in Virginia, who helped Jenna and I on numerous occasions is having a baby girl in a few days, how could I resist?



The matching bloomers are ruffled on the back!

Mark decided Nana's Toy Box deserved a real sewing center and first put up the 20 feet of counter space. He custom built the cabinets this weekend and I can just stand in middle of the room and be inspired! Now keep in mind, the sewing center is in what is supposed to be the house's living room so it's what greets people when they come in the front door! On a side note, it is NOT y craft room, only my sewing room! I still have a table of fabric that is "in progress" that we hid for pictures because it is so typical me, messy, LOL!




I have set a list of personal goals for myself this year and 1.) is to get fit and healthy, I hope to run a 5K and ride a 25 mile bike race by the end of the year. I found I actually enjoy running, doing a core workout, and riding my bicycle. I alternate between speed and endurance when I ride but I fail miserably at controlling my pace when running, I'm a sprinter and while I can run 2 miles, I'm half dead when I finish because my pace is so fast. Everyone kind of laughed at this old Nana when I casually mentioned I thought I could run to the stop sign....200 yards? Not only did I run to the stop sign that first day, I sprinted home. Every day I went further and now I stride with confidence, if too fast! Adrian worked up a core fitness workout for me and her and Brian answer my fitness questions, Jeremy answers my bike questions and now has me looking at racing bikes, and Jacqueline has been one of my biggest cheerleaders, eating healthy with me, picking me back up when I take a few steps backwards, and has turned me into a fruit and veggie person! Tabetha is there to advise on the health aspects, nutrients, vitamins, etc and we enjoy swapping our "Jillian stories". I have completely changed my eating habits, laugh when I splurge and have "a can of high fructose corn syrup", ie Sprite, gave up my 4AM biscuits of greasy bacon and eggs, and being so little, I watch my intake carefully. I have gained 9 lbs of muscle and an inch to my thighs! I proved my increased upper body strength this weekend when Mark asked if I thought I could help carry the cabinets in from the garage.... piece of cake!
I also decided it was time to find the muse that deserted me and finish my novel. To exercise my brain and help shake the cobwebs out, I started writing daily ramblings which I am fortunate to have an email loop of friends and family read for me. No perfection, no editing, just writing.... and boy does it feel good!

To Tide you Over

Tabetha, creative designer and owner of Pisces Knits is getting to release this adorable tank pattern. You can also check her out on Ravelry.

Coming Soon! June 21, 2010 is the planned release date.

This sweet little tank was designed with my charming daughters in mind, two happy sisters who love playing together in the bright sun of summer. “Suore Felice” is pronounced ‘soiree feh-lee-chay,’ which is Italian for… you guessed it, Happy Sisters.

SKILL LEVEL: Adventurous Beginner to Intermediate

SIZES
Child’s 18mo (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12)yr – Instructions are given in the smallest size, with larger sizes in parentheses. When only one number is given, it applies to all sizes.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
This is a close-fitting tank, so choose the chest size that is ¾ to 1 inch larger than actual body measurement.
Chest: 19 ¾ (21 ¾, 23 ¾, 25 ¾, 27 ¾, 28 ¾, 30 ¾) inches
Length: 12 ¾ (13 ½, 14 ¼, 14 ¾, 17, 18 ½, 19 ½) inches

YARN
MC Green Strings by Sugarbubbie Invigorate Superwash Merino DK (100% superwash merino; 280yd/256m per 4oz/56g skein) in Chrysalis; 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2) skeins
CC Green Strings by Sugarbubbie Invigorate Superwash Merino DK (100% superwash merino; 140yd/128m per 2oz/113g skein) in Pink; 1 skein

NEEDLES & NOTIONS
24 length-inch length US 5 (3.75mm) circular needle
US F (3.75mm) crochet hook
Tapestry Needle

GAUGE
24 ¼ sts and 32 rows in stockinette stitch = 4 inches/10 cm
26 sts and 28 rows in twisted rib pattern = 4 inches/10cm
Take time to block and measure gauge swatch to ensure a perfect fit.

Please be aware that the licensing for ‘Suore Felice’ is for personal, private use only. A seller (commercial) pattern will soon be forthcoming, so keep a look out.

So Far Behind

Boy, have I been missing in action! No lame excuses, just my apologies for neglecting my blog. I'm not sure if it's my work schedule, staying busy, or simply poor time management. Whatever, I promised myself to pay closer attention to the length of time between posts! The last few months have whirled by, jammed pack with activities, projects, and work. I did complete some custom orders including but not limited to a personalized apron (for which I felt was incomplete without a chef's hat so I whipped one of those up to include in the little guy's package), a set consisting of a little girls dress and a matching one for her American Girl doll. I love the fabric so much, I bought some more to make the grandbabies some summer outfits! I also made some lion finger puppets for Ayla's birthday invitations and then crayon portfolio's for her to use as party favors, both a big hit amongst parents and kids!



I flew to Denver to surprise Tabetha for her 30th birthday and while I can't understand how my daughter could possibly be THIRTY, we had a blast and I enjoyed her surprise as much as she did! I did get a lot of Nana loving in too. Jeremy treated her to a semi-surprise dinner at one of the local Indian resturants and I know everyone had a wonderful time.

While in Denver, Tabetha taught me how to knit and while I simply do not have time for another hobby, how can I resist being able to throw a work in progress in my bag to take out when I have a few minutes? I do have a dish cloth finished and while I don't understand how I added so many stitches when I started, it is perfect in my proud mind! Tabetha laughed when I told her I thought I was ready to knit a sweater now! LOL! NOT!

We flew to Denver for Ayla's 5th birthday on 4/1/10 and spent 4 glorious days loving on the kids!

Before we left for Denver, I was priveleged to pin Marks new anchor on for his promotion! I went straight to the station from work so forgive my attire! At least I wasn't covered with bodily fluids, for a change, LOL! While I am incredibly proud of him, I am saddened by the thought that it will mean another transfer, too soon for me since I love where we live and I love my hospital!

Haiti Relief Auction goes live tomorrow

Baby Maddie will go up for auction tomorrow! Please help us help Haiti, one stitch at a time!

Help for Haiti from my Daughter

I thought I'd post an email from my daughter that I thought might interest the knitters out there or those who know knitters. We can all help the people of Haiti one stitch at a time!

Those of us who are knitters are Knitters without Borders. That said, for the remaining month of January, 50% of all profits from my sock patterns will be donated to MSF (Doctors without Borders) to aid in emergency relief efforts and medical services. I know some of you aren't knitters, so please pass this email down the line to any knitter friends you might know. I've also included a link to Ravelry, where MANY more designers are offering similar efforts. If you have already donated... Thank You.

For My Socks Patterns (includes instant download) - Pisces Knits
Ravelry "Help for Haiti" Search (please note that you have to register to log in - )

Hugs,
Tabetha Hedrick
www.piscesknits.blogspot.com
Creative Design & Custom Knits

Happy New Years, my friends!

As I review the past year and look towards the new one, I'm reminded of how important friends and family are to me. We traveled 3000 miles to a new home, leaving behind many wonderful friends as well as moving farther away from our extended families. However, since our relocation, we have met new people, started new jobs we love, and established our new home in Northern California. We have enjoyed our many outings, some with visiting friends, welcomed daugher Jacqueline and her husband Jeff into our home, visited Tabetha, Jeremy and the grandchildren several times, and quite frankly, fell in love with our new locale.
Some goals were accomplished, some not, and some I'll continue to work on in 2010. I want to stay connected to family and friends, reconnect with lost ones, and build new friendships in the upcoming year. We stay on our path to become debtfree, living and loving the life of frugality. We look forward to continuing plans for Adrian's wedding in 2011, continuing to nurture our relationship with the grandbabies, and continuing to explore our area.
I have a long list of projects I want to complete this year and perhaps will keep a running tally in a sidebar. I want to not only continue to build my business but to work on marketing. I'm my own worse enemy and a terrible business woman. I miss many opportunities to promote myself and I seldom even carry business cards or brochures! Thats my main goal this year, promote, build, market!
I hope your new year is filled with love and happiness, health and hope, and more than anything, I hope you use the year to chase your dreams.