Emptyknitster

The Chick and I wanted to see the ND Kiddos play in their sports this fall so we left the cats,  (GOOD LUCK Hubby) and drove East.  SadieLouWho did a wonderful job serving during her volleyball  game. The Tiger did a great job during his frigid football game. It’s so fun seeing the kiddos grow. We also visited a fun store in Jamestown, Junk in the Trunk. I bought some hand embroidered, hand crocheted doilies. I have a creative idea on how to use them and if it works you can bet I’ll post the project here!  PurlGurl had a chest she was interested in but wanted to make sure it fit at home before purchasing. When we returned less than and hour later, the chest had been sold, Karmic shopping at its best! The time went all to quickly and after an eight hour drove home, there was just enough time to run some wash before setting out for the Griz Game.

The Chick and I had been planning a visit to the NorDakFamily for quite a while. At first we had grand plans and were going to visit Canada and then drop down into North Dakota for a stay with family but then who would take care of Miss Zoey? So we decided to reverse the trip and leave Zoey with Hubby. Friends began to tell us Canada to the North is just like the area we live in.....hmm...prairie. So in the end we just traveled east and spend some lovely summer days with family and headed home! Hubby had originally said he would keep the household going but as the summer progressed with the busy fire season he had no idea if he would be home or away fighting fires. I'm lucky my good friend Jo stepped in and did the daily feeding and watering of pets and plants. The Chick and I brought our paddle boards and we spent three afternoons on the lake. The Tiger worked hard to improve his skills.  Although there wasn't much piano practice we were able to listen to a conc...

While we were all on vacation The Tiger confided that his “Lucky Socks” were to small and he couldn’t wear them anymore. I just HAD to get another pair on the needles and completed because these socks help him succeed each and every Spelling Test Day! The socks were completed on Saint Patrick's Day - they just have to be dusted with a bit of Irish Luck don't they? Just sayin’ a Gramma’s gotta do what a Gramma’s gotta do!  Pattern: Basic Ribbed Socks with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel Yarn: Patons North America Kroy Socks Stripes, Cascade Yarns Heritage Solid Colorway: Eclipse Stripes, and Turquoise toe, heel and cuff Needle Size: US Size 1 (I knit these, as always, toe up. Cast on 30 stitches total - 15 on each side and then increased every other row until there were 27 stitches on each needle for a total of 54.)

All the family was glad to have 2015 behind us and thrilled to say ALOHA to 2016! We'd been planning this trip for a year. The only thing missing was the California Dreamin' Family. The kiddos had been looking forward to coming back to Paradise since they left the island 6 years before!   Hawaii 2009 They arrived late in the evening and after a good night's sleep we were up and on the beach by 8:30 GT (that "Grandpa Time" he loves to make every minute count when we're in Paradise!) The kiddos didn't miss a beat and were quickly playing is the sand, hiking and in the water! We were at the state park one afternoon looking at pictographs when a park ranger told us about an activity planned at Turtle Bay - one of our favorite places to go when the sand is blowing in the kiddos faces! They had food native to the area, outrigger canoe rides, talks on turtles and demonstrations on tsunomi waves. It was a great family activity for a Saturday afte...

Because this blog is read by some of my Christmas gift recipients I was unable to show many of my December projects. I loved making these hats and cowls to go with the tee shirts: Cowl Pattern: Incognito by Mercedes Tarasovich Hat Pattern: Rib-A-Roni by Jane Tanner Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn! Solids, Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn Stripes Colorway: Dark Olive, Green Camo, Black, Gray Mist Needle size: US Size 7 I also knit the girls scarves and mittens:   Scarf Pattern: Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf by Karen Baumer Mitten Pattern: Warmest Mittens by Kris Percival Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn Stripes and Solids Colorway: Autumn Stripe, Dark Olive, Elements Flower, Gray Mist Needles: US Size 5 Kate's cowl was slightly altered from the original pattern. I cast on 300 stitches with bigger needles and then doubled the pattern rows in the middle of the cowl until there was just enough yarn to finish a regular pattern sequence and cast off. Pattern...

Last weekend I made the eight hour trip to see the NorDakFamily. They are all doing great and we had a very nice time. The kiddos didn't have school on Friday because it was the annual teacher's conference. The Tiger played some video games while SadieLouWho made pumpkin cookies. SadieLouWho and I were visiting about how, although I have a great new sewing machine, I just haven't used it as much as I had thought I would. Sadie said she'd like to start sewing and so off we went to do a little shopping. The Tiger picked out some great Star Wars flannel while Sadie found some bright chevron flannel. After a stop for lunch Sadie started her sewing lesson. With great results! The next day their Mom joined us for an hour's ride to Papa's Pumpkin Garden for a fun afternoon.  Kiddos played in the cornbox. Sunday there was more baking, and we were off to watch Sadie ride horses, and the Tiger carefully shot his BB-gun while I cuddled barn cats! We...

The Tiger was all about this yarn dyeing thing!! At Easter, after we'd dyed our eggs with Koolaid, we went right into sock blanks using the same ingredients. This sock blank secretly has The Tiger's name painted on it but as any mom knows, a 9 year old thinks “If a little is good then MORE MUST be better” and they ended up a blob of color - I knit a sock from each end and finished with some fairly matched socks. Pattern: Basic Ribbed Socks Yarn: Knit Picks Bare Stroll Single Strand Socks Colorway: Secret Agent Man Needle Size: US Size 1