28 June 2011

My Secret Crush....

So since this is supposed to be a fiber filled blog, before I share my crush I'll take care of a little knitting business first.  TA-STINKING-DA!!!!!  How cute is this?
Collar up.....

Collar down.....

Check out my new bling!
My husband beat me home tonight and had my anniversary present (3+ weeks early) that he couldn't wait for me to open.  It's a little blurry but my necklace is So Cool (and so is he!!).  Anyway, this is my finished Watershed in Spud & Chloe 'Sweater'.  I love the whole idea of this vest but the really wide stand-up collar doesn't work for me since it's wider than my neck is long (it flops open in back unless I hold really, really, really still.  So, I figured out how to wear it with the collar folded down and I love it.

And now that I've mentioned how awesome my husband is, it seems really wrong to share my secret crush...but I will anyway.  Steve Martin.  Yup, the Steve Martin of 70's SNL fame.  The man is hands. down. flat. out. talented.  He's hilarious, smart, witty, a funny actor, a great writer, and not that that isn't enough, the man ROCKS the banjo and can write music to boot.  I stayed up past my ever-earlier-bedtime a few weeks ago to watch the season finale of Saturday Night Live expecting to fall asleep before it was over but Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga kept me in stitches til 1:00 and then I had to see what was playing on Austin City Limits and there he was, Mr. Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.  Made it through the entire hour and even got up to write myself a note to google his music in the morning.  Yesterday, my husband downloaded 'Rare Bird Alert' for me off itunes and I've listened to the album 4 times now and love every song on it.  If you like bluegrass music at all (it's my favorite genre), check him out.  You may find yourself with an old-er man crush, too! (Here's a link to his song 'Jubilation Day' if you want to take a peek & a listen)

~Melissa

26 June 2011

~Knitters Strike Again~

Yes it's true, defacing of public property with knitted things has enhanced the world again~ Frank Varga a reporter from the Skagit Valley Herald caught myself and boss Ana-Cross Stitch owner, Kristi Gabrielse,bombing downtown Anacortes. (A bench cover and the post are covered here in the photo)
The Cultured Purls, Anacortes Knitting Guild had knitted together these panels for a town project for the week of 'Relay For Life' and 'Paint The Town Purple'.
A countless number of people have sat on the bench and taken photos makes the whole thing worth doing.
The yarns are differnt shades of purple mostly donated from Plymoth.
This article was posted in saturdays post.
Makes ya tear up a little huh?

Kelli

23 June 2011

Watershed & Watership Down

This photo is just for Tamra!

Photos of my latest taken in my knitting attic!  It's coming together, slowly but surely...I obviously still haven't gotten around to putting my books in the bookcases!  ~ Melissa

(If you haven't read Watership Down by Richard Adams, you should.  It's a classic and a wonderful read.  And if you love bunnies, you should check out this post from Snohomish Shepherdess.  Adorable!)

20 June 2011

Visting With My Dad

Here we are, my dad and I. My first visit to his home on Anderson Island.
His nice home tucked into the woods.
His backyard were he feeds tons of birds, oats for the deer and corn for the other little critters.
Fathers day wouldn't be without a little target practice, with his scoped out pellet gun, yes those center two shots are mine. My dad was quite proud.
Here's a little critter in the backyard munching away on lunch.

Fathers Day with my dad.

My dad and I visited the Johnson Farm. Anderson Island Historical Society has a community "Pea Patch". We toured others works of arts in gardening.
Flags are always good.
The roses are a favorite.
Dad pointed out some raised beds and asked which ways better? Planting in the ground? or in a raised bed?
A family of little plastic frogs my daughter took a picture of.

18 June 2011

Vacation ~ Vol 8

Today was World Wide Knit in Public Day and of course, we woke up to another drizzly gray Seattle day.
Instead of knitting outside Seattle Center at the fountain, we met everyone inside the Center House where the 5th Annual Iranian Festival was also being held, so we were treated to all sorts of entertainment while we sat and knit.  There was a children's parade and singing and dancing and book readings.  I also had a great lunch from their catering booth.  I had Fesenjan, which is a stew with poultry (mine had chicken) and a sauce of pomegranate, walnuts and spices, served over rice with nan and spiced yogurt on the side.  It was wonderful.  I love trying new ethnic foods and rarely find something that I don't like.

Back to the knitting ~ we had a wonderful time.  Charisa put a lot of hard work into the day and we had new-knitter bags to hand out, filled with yarn and a pattern, and signs to put on our tables about why we knit and we also each scored a free skein of yarn for showing up fairly early.

Here are a few pics from the day ~ it was a blast and a great 1st knit in public day for me!





Oneknitwit & her youngest

Mel & Kel and oo, ah, oh ~ is that Rock Island I see?!
One more day of vacation....sigh.  I've had too much fun this week which will make going back to work far too hard.  Hope I haven't bored everyone to tears with all my adventures!  ~ Melissa

17 June 2011

Vacation ~ Vol 7

 
Last night I grilled beef ribs and my husband decided it would be a neat thing for Dozer to have his first real bone.  He gets very little 'people food' so he wasn't sure what to do with it.  Sniff.  Lick.

And then, it was like a feline with catnip.  He went bonkers!  Happy, happy, joy, joy......  He raced all over the back yard and then flopped down and wrestled with it and rolled around in pure ecstasy!
 

I think he had far more fun playing with it than chewing on it!  He sure is a spirited dog ~ he keeps us laughing all the time.

I spent the entire day today unpacking boxes of books ~ 10 to be exact ~ and doing a second purge before putting them in my new bookcases.  I donated about 10 boxes last summer and managed to fill one more today to give away.  The rest of the day was spent making lists.  I am a huge fan of lists (I know, Kelli, you're rolling your eyes and thinking 'VIRGO!').  It's time consuming, but I now have lists of all the books we've read and purged (hate to buy the same thing again!), a list of all the books that I will keep forever (most are classics and a few are just well loved and have been read many times), and a list of books that I'd like to add to our collection.  I am so stinking organized now!  Well, at least the books are.

I haven't read much since I started knitting.  I used to be a voracious reader but I can't seem to finish a book anymore since I put them down for too long a period of time before I've finished with them and then I lose interest or my place or the gist of the storyline.  BUT, I did actually finish my first book in over a year last week, The Best Short Stories of the Modern Age ~ edited by Douglas Angus (1962).  It was excellent and a keeper so it goes back in the bookcase tonight.  AND, I started a new book today, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines.  I'm already about a quarter of the way through and it is also a good read so I'm certain this one will be read cover to cover and in short order! 

I didn't get any knitting done today but with tomorrow being World Wide Knit in Public Day, knitting is all that's on the calendar!  Make sure you get out and be seen....and if you're local, come on down to the fountain at Seattle Center (11:00-3:00) and hang out with Kelli & I and the rest of the guild members and whoever shows up with needles and fiber in tow!  See you tomorrow!  ~ Melissa

16 June 2011

Vacation ~ Vol 6

I feel my time off winding down and I'm not ready for it to be over with.  I'm having too much fun!  Today I got to go sit and knit with the group I go on retreat with in October.  They meet weekly ~ I meet 4 times a year when I'm on vacation from work.  It's always fun to visit with everyone and see what they've been up to.  Met Kelli first for coffee and then followed her to the coolest shop in Burlington, Stowe's Shoes and Clothing, where we lucked upon a sidewalk sale.  I scored 3 pairs of shoes (badly needed) one of which was on sale.  I'll definitely make the trek that far north for shoes in the future ~ they had all my favorite brands.  Then we met the gals for knitting at Wildfibers for a few hours.  I ran across the street to Easton's Books to try and find a used set of the Anne of Green Gables series.  No such luck but I did find the very sweet book in the picture above.  It's called The Little Wooden Doll by Margery Williams Bianco (copyright 1925) to add to my old children's book collection.  It's about a lonely old fashioned hinged wooden doll that lies neglected in an attic until the spiders knit her a lace dress and the moths give her velvet off their wings for a new cloak and the mice bring her corn silk for new plaits in her hair.  Then the birds and mice scoop her up and take her to a lonely little girl that lives in the woods who loves her forever and names her Rose, the name the wooden doll has always longed to be called.  I love a good story!  ~ Melissa

15 June 2011

Vacation ~ Vol 5

.....I got nothin'.....
Watched Anne of Green Gables all day and knit ~ good things to do on a rainy spring day. Get to go knit with the girls tomorrow so back in action after today's down day. Here's a few new pics from the WSU Master Garden that I visited on Monday. Have a good night! ~ Melissa
 




 

 


 

 

14 June 2011

Vacation ~ Vol 4

With a northern exposure view, we rarely get the brilliant sunsets but last night was an exception.
 
Ran errands this morning, which left me with a sense of accomplishment since I took care of a few things that have been on my to-do list for months.  Went into Edmonds to use the gift certificate I got from my folks for Christmas...last year...to Spin A Yarn.  I didn't bring any yarn home but found a couple of great little leaflets on crocheted edgings and completed my set of KnitPicks Harmony Interchangeable Needles, as well as getting a few other things:
Surprised mom with a drop in visit on the way since I saw she was home ~ thanks for the chat and the goodies above, mom!  I also FINALLY got my new watch sized (can I still call it new even though it was a gift from my husband last year?  I haven't worn it until today!) and had to wait just long enough that I managed to find myself a little trinket that I just had to have:
Isn't it pretty?  It goes so well with the watch that I just had to get it, right?  Anyway, capped off today with the monthly meeting of the Snohomish Knitters Guild
Great presentation tonight by Beth Newfeld and Suzanne Tidwell about knitting on a large scale and where their ideas have led them.  Check out Suzanne's website for photos of their first project and also their current project.  It's amazing stuff and truly a labor of love (and there is loads of labor involved!).  I can't wait to check out their artwork in person this summer.  I'm glad that they came to speak to the guild.  It's so interesting every month to hear how someones passion for knitting has led them in all these different directions.  Where will your knitting lead you?  I'm still figuring it out....

Happy Flag Day!  ~ Melissa