Countdown to Grandkids

I had to laugh at my son yesterday. He and Brooke bought a family car (otherwise known as a Chevy Equinox.) I never thought I'd see the day that my son - the one that had to have a sports car - would be driving a family car.

They recently had a photo shoot in Galveston - check out the great pictures! I just wish my daughter was here so I could get similar shots of her and Aaron.

Three more weeks and we will be grandparents. I can't wait to meet Parker and the Schneiderling (since we don't know the sex of Sharon's baby - this has been his/hers nickname during the pregnancy.) I can't wait!

blessings ~~ Mary

Love this quote

"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." - Will Rogers

In Grandmother mode

Cuddle Me,
originally uploaded by Denebir.

Starting the knitting with this blanket. I'm using Berroco Comfort in worsted weight which is heavier than the pattern called for. Details are on my Ravelry account.

Off to the mountain

Well, if it won't come to me, I guess I'll have to go to it :)

Monday morning at 7:30am I'm leaving on a jet plane for Little Rock, Arkansas. From there I will journey up to one of my favorite place - Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton AR. It is about 2 hours NW of Little Rock.

This state park holds some precious memories for me. Over 20 years ago my family would meet at Petit Jean in the summer for a reunion. We did this about 4-5 times. It was great to get my parents, all 3 of us kids and all of the grandkids together for a week. The children ranged in age from around 2 up to about 10 years and with 7 of them around, it was always fun! We hiked, roasted marshmallows, swam in the pool, played cards with my parents and ate, ate, ate!

1986 - First summer. Left to right:
Cathy, Chris, Lindy with Sarah, Bill, Michelle, Mom, Dennis, Amanda, Dad, Erin, Tony, Me
I have no idea where Sharon and Fred were?

1986 - Sharon, Cathy, Tony, Amanda, Michelle, Erin
(missing Sarah who was only 2 at the time)

1986 - Sharon

1987 or 88 - at the base of the falls:
Erin, Michelle, Dad, Cathy, Sharon, Bill, Amanda, Tony and Fred

And now, 20 years later, I am returning alone for a personal retreat. I have one of the rustic cabins reserved and plan for 4 days of rest along with hiking, reading and just glorying in the splendor of the Lord. It will be a time when I can have uninterrupted time to pray and reflect on the path that my Lord has set on my heart. (Plus read the pile of books that Fr. Craig sent along!)

On Thursday I will journey back to Little Rock to meet with the Dean of the Anglican School of Ministry where I have been accepted as a student in their diaconate program. This has been a journey that I've been called to for a long period of time and with a lot of prayer and discernment, the time has come for me to follow God's lead. Pray for me!

:)
~~ God bless
Mary

Change of directions

Long time since I've posted! Wow lots of things have changed ... all for the better. So what is going on you ask?

-I'm still knitting a little. I always have a sock on the needles and now I have a couple of sweaters also. I find it a good activity while watching TV. But since I don't watch TV much anymore, the activity gets little attention. Except during the Olympics!

-I'm still quilting a little. I'm in the process of gutting my sewing/office so that the floor can be replaced. Once that is done I'll be rearranging things and moving the mid-arm machine and frame out to the loft so that I can set it up to the full 12 feet instead of the 8 feet it currently is set for. This will give me more room in the sewing portion of my studio to actually sew and more room in the office section.

-I'm quitting my job at the end of March. I've loved working for the Bernina dealership but I've got a new direction I'm heading and working just doesn't fit into the path. I will miss my friends and customers but not having to be at the shop all the time. I might work fill-in and teach a few classes.

-I'm going back to school. Details to follow but I'm certain that school is in my future for the next 18 mos to 2 years. This will be an interesting path as I've not taken any college classes in 15 years and graduate level classes in over 30 years. And the degree path is so different from my science background. I'm not sure I can remember how to write book reports and in-depth papers! But I will have help .. LOL.

So, I'll keep you guessing as to what I'm up to for now. I can say that this has been a decision that has taken a lot of discernment and listening to the Lord. I'm excited and scared but at peace with the decision. God is calling me to serve Him and His people and I can't ignore Him anymore.

till later ~~ Dene

Five on Friday

Well, since it is obvious that I've neglected this blog for way too long, I'm going to strive to post at least once a week and see how that goes :)

Since last Friday,
1) I've had to put my dear cat Starkitty to sleep. He had been battling diabetes for a long time and had been on insulin for over a year. We had 12 good months with just a few setbacks but he began to decline this month and when he stopped eating and drinking over the weekend, I knew it was time. We spent some time together saying goodbye late Sunday evening and I sent him on to better things on Monday morning. He was and will always be my "heart kitty".

2) I actually embroidered 2 things! Small things .. LOL. One was a small cross that I digitized on a piece of church linen and the other was an apron for our church's cook. I did work on digitizing an applique but could never get it right so a co-worker had to show me how. I learned some new things!

3) I persued a new serving opportunity at church. I can't talk about it at this point because there is still some people I need to discuss it with but I'm excited. I've been praying about it and hope that I'm discerning God's voice correctly. It is still in the very early stages but I'll keep you informed.

4) I found a china pattern I *LOVE* and put it on my Amazon list .. OK kids - have at it! It is totally not something I would have normally picked but I find it so appealing. It is called "Chirp" by Lenox. I have china that I received when I was married but never really have loved it like I do this stuff. And I never have the need for china .. but you know, it is a girl thing :)

5) Lastly, I got to talk to my daughter in Thailand. She had called on my birthday about 2 weeks ago but then she called again to relay her sympathy about loosing Starkitty. It is so good to talk to her and realize that she is OK half way around the world. I am so glad she is going to get to come home for the wedding in October and I'll get to spend some time with her.

OK .. small start to posting :)

till later ~~ Dene

View of a Room

My sewing room just got crowded with the addition of a new machine. I am now the owner of a HandiQuilter 16 with a Pro-Stitcher on the Studio Frame. I only have it set up for 8 feet right now but eventually I'll have to find the room for the last 4 feet of frame.

So here is a peak of my sewing space:

















This is just half of the room - the other half is my office which is too messy to photograph right now. If you need a legend of what is what, click the following picture to embiggen:

















And some detail photos:
This is my new machine - HandiQuilter 16 with Pro-Stitcher computer. Yes, another windoz machine has invaded my sewing space. This machine was a store demo that I purchased - I've actually been demo'ing this machine at work for 7 months and I finally bit the bullet. I've sewed one small quilt on it using the computer. It was made with old fabric and is now a "dog quilt" - Curley loves it :)











This is the wall where I expanded the shelving to accommodate all my magazines, UFOs and other stuff. The drawers have fabric and yarn in them. Please note the sleeping cat in the box. Also of note are the fridge and coffee pot. I may never go downstairs again .. well, yeah I will - no shower up here :)















Said sleeping cat (CH Denebir's Xandria aka Andi):














Every quilt room needs an empty box for a cat. I also have a quilt on top of the Isacord cabinet for the cats to lounge on in the afternoon when the sun hits that window.

Now I'm waiting for my Bernina 830 to come in. I have the table, all the accessories, etc ... but no machine yet.

till later ~~ Dene

From Little Green Men to UFOs

In the process of cleaning up my crafting area(s), I keep finding UFOs (Un-Finished Objects). My goal for the last 25 years of my life is to finish all projects and start fresh.

:::: Pausing for those of you who know me to stop laughing ::::

I won't even go into my quilting projects but some of the knitting projects that were started were painfully close to completion so I had a good short-term goal to aim for.

First off are the Seaweed socks that lacked only ribbing on one sock and a cast-off for both socks. Since these were toe-up, I had been looking for a cast-off that I liked. I settled for EZ's sewn bind-off edge and it seems to work better than others I tried. I'm still not totally happy but I'll keep searching for a favorite toe-up cast-off. The socks fit wonderfully and I'm looking forward to wearing them soon.
Specs:
Pattern: Seaweed Socks by Wendy Johnson - WONDERFUL pattern :)
Yarn: Madelinetosh Sock in Alabaster colorway purchased at The Hook and Needle in Bryan, Texas
Needles: Size 0 double point
Notes: toe up using Turkish Cast-On and EZ's sewn bind-off

Second were the Leyburn's that I actually started in January. I joined the Socks That Rawk group on Ravelry and this pattern was the current project. I used a skein of lightweight Socks that Rock that had been languishing in my stash since I don't wear much green. Plus it was a colorway that hadn't been claimed. I probably would have picked something else but for that last fact. But it is good to get it used.
Specs:
Pattern: Leyburn by PepperKnits
Yarn: Socks that Rock by Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the County Clare colorway
Needles: Size 1.5 double points
Notes: Cuff down using 72 stitches, 35 on flap heel, 18 pickup on gusset. I modified the pattern so that is came to a point on instep and did not repeat on the foot of the sock. I like smoother fabric on the foot section.

Third is a charity project that I also started in January. I had seen the Shedir cap pattern on Ravelry but didn't want to have to buy that expensive skein of Rowan Calmer to do the hat. So I tried it with Cascade Fixation with great results. I can stand doing a bit of cabling ... this hat was just pushing my patience when it was done so perfect. This hat will go to a local hospital as a chemo cap for a cancer patient.

Specs:
Pattern: Shedir by Jenna Wilson
Yarn: 1 skein of Cascade Fixation (used almost entire skein) in Red (3628)
Needles: Size 3 circulars, knit using the magic-loop method
Notes: On the small size - would go up to size 4 needles if I knit again with this yarn. The cap is soft and very stretchy.


Next up .. a shawl that is almost long enough to bind off.

Specs:
Pattern: Lacy Ripple Shawl by Cathy Hardy - I received the pattern from Debbie Macomber
Yarn: Berroco Comfort (color 9807) purchased at Twisted Yarn in Spring TX
Needles: Size 8 bamboo straights
Notes: I love the color and feel of this yarn. Very fast knit. I'll post final pictures when done.

That's all (whew!).

Till later ~~ Dene

Little Green Men vs Cats

The carnage on the window ledge:

The culprits:

Nikki (CH. Carriag's Unique Etoile of Denebir) and Andi (CH. Denebir's Xandria) both seal point Birmans

The verdict? The cats won.

Till later ~~ Dene

Powerful message

Invisible Woman:



till later ~~ Dene