good juju & a bit of knitting ~ posted by Melissa

just a quick post today to share some loves ~

 

first off, I received this one of a kind gift in the mail from a new friend:

 

 

Jocelyn sent me a note back in January and wanted to know if she could contribute to our Operation Alex Project Phase 1 & Phase 2 (her hat and a few others didn't make it into the photos so there was actually a Phase 3 that never got blogged about...sorry!)



 

I recently noticed one of these button jar creations in her projects and commented on it ~ lo & behold, look what I am now so proud and excited to own!  Not only did Jocelyn knit up the pin cushion jar topper, she also made all the buttons she enclosed herself!  Thank you so much, my new (and very talented!) friend.  I hope much good juju comes your way if it hasn't already!

 

If you'd like to make one of your own here are some links:

Jane Burns : One Knitty Knerd (the jar)

NADELWERK's etsy shop (sewing pins)

The Blue Daisy's etsy shop (sewing pins)

 

on the knitting front:

 

I've been working on Coda from Wool People 7.  It's a wonderfully classic reversible ( ! ) sweater design from Olga Buraya-Kefelian.  It's a bottom-up sweater and I'm just about to the bust increases but had to stop for a bit since Olga sent me a note about errata in the pattern that I'm unsure about, so I'm waiting for her to answer a note from me before I go on.  I love this design and with the bonus of using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, it's been pretty hard to put down.

 

I'm also working on this:

 

It's a lace weight version of Jared Flood's Guernsey Wrap that I'm modifying for the finer gauge yarn.  I'm hoping to have this done by our twentieth wedding anniversary in July (the entire project grew around this yarn and the colorway that so closely resembles our wedding flowers in color ~ salmon, orange and pink).  It's Sappho 1 by The Sanguine Gryphon in the 'but have you forgotten me' colorway...a destash purchase from our fellow blogger Jeff.  I was picking another friend's brain about my idea to use this yarn with this design and while I was chatting with her, she decided to surprise me with the pattern (thanks so much, Mimi!!).

 

I'm really enjoying this project as well since it prompted a visit down memory lane ~ the photo albums came out and we've had fun going through them and thinking about how quickly twenty years have gone by.  I'm hoping the next twenty bring just as much joy as the first did.

 

my handsome husband still takes my breathe away

 

That's it for today ~ Dozer has a much needed date at the do-it-yourself salon (why oh why does he insist on rolling on slugs in the yard ~ stinky stinky stinky!!) and today I'm the lucky lady that gets to give him his bath.  He hates it.  I'm pretty sure I will, too, by the time it's over :).

 

Happy weekend, everyone!  ~  Melissa

let them eat cake! ~ posted by Melissa

 

 

It's a celebration week!  Dozer is 6 (wasn't he cute?!), my husband's grandpa is 99 (!!) and little Neoma is 4 months old...here she is with some gifts from us (the toys made her giggle and coo...the awesome Vans shoes have her perplexed :) ...)

 

Happy Birthday Mr Dozie, Pappa Ed and Neoma Jane!

 

Deschutes Canyon ~ posted by Melissa

I waited to post photos from our vacation for a few days so I wouldn't bury Kelli's cute hat post right away.  Jas and I did a camping test run with the dog last week and we ended up in Maupin, Oregon.  The scenery was amazing, the early autumn weather was better than we could have hoped for with a tent (80 degrees every day and the nights were chilly but mild enough that we didn't mind the burn ban and no campfires), and Dozer, after figuring out that we weren't going to leave him in the middle of nowhere, settled right in and was fun to have around.

hazy wildfire sunrise at Snoqualmie Summit

We headed out before dawn and got a text message when we reached Snoqualmie Summit that Jas' coworker and his wife had their baby about 8 hours earlier and wouldn't you know it, we were going to be passing through Ellensburg about an hour later, so we offered to bring the new pappa a latte and stopped at the hospital and were priveleged to meet 10 hour old Neoma Jane on her birthday.  Remember all these baby things I made a few months ago?  I've been promised photos of Neoma in her knitted things as soon as they fit her.  She is adorable!!



We dropped off the main drag after leaving the hospital and took the Canyon Road along the Yakima River to scope out good spots for future trips.  We stopped at Umtanum Recreation Site to give Dozer a break from being in the truck:

Umtanum Suspension Bridge



I did not like being on a suspension bridge...over a river...which I could see through the slats moving under my feet...blech

Yakima River, Washington State

and then once again at the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge where I went exploring for a bit and was tracked overhead by this Northern Harrier:

We crossed the Columbia River, headed south and ended up in Maupin, Oregon in time to get our campsite picked out and all our gear set up before dinner.  There were so many places to choose from this late in the season that we felt like we had the whole canyon to ourselves!

our own waterfront property on the Deschutes River



We stayed 4 days and quickly settled into a nice routine ~ Jas getting up first every morning and bringing me French Press coffee in bed (well, sleeping bag!), hours spent by Jas fly fishing, lots of knitting and relaxing by me and watching him fish (I could do that for days and days and days), watching for and waving at the whitewater rafters as they went by,

lots of walks and scratches and cuddles in the tent for Dozer, who was a patient pooch while he waited for his boy, who was never farther than just around the corner:

ever faithful Dozer

We saw lots of wildlife ~ wild rabbits, strange birds,



crickets and grasshoppers, bats and the dreaded snakes I was warned about (no pictures of those ~ I froze when I saw them and didn't think to grab the camera) and signs that those snakes had been where I was:

do you think this was once home to a rattler?

I was in charge of dinner our last night at camp, which I thought was delicious (bbq'd flatiron steak, steamed broccoli and grilled white cheddar peppercorn cheese bread) but aftwards Jason teased me that he doesn't usually eat vegetables when he camps with the guys (stinker!).  We didn't head for home on our last day until late afternoon, and while we were breaking down camp, some whitewater kayakers put in the river at our site so we got to watch them as they goofed around before heading downriver for the rapids:

 

All in all, the trip was a success and we've been talking about where we might go next.  I can't imagine ending up in a more beautiful place than Maupin is.

Mount Hood, Oregon

a boy and his dog ~ posted by Melissa

going....

going....



gone!

Sometimes we joke that we should have named the dog Riley instead of Dozer...as in 'living the life'.  'Cause he does...   live the life...  and it is sweet!   ~ Melissa

 

(We've also decided that he's the guardian angel dog of the neighborhood.  We have a well used walking/bike path in front of our house, which is on a really busy road and the only time he barks is when a dog is not on a leash so we always know when Duke or Tiki get out ~ which is almost daily lately.  He's like Lassie, barking to tell everyone that Timmy has fallen down the well.  So, we grab the leash and a few treats, go outside and take one or the other of these dogs home and always tell Dozer thanks for saving their puppy lives.  No wonder he's tired ~ he's a canine superhero!)

simple pleasures

roses from someone special...just because

baby gifts started

baby gift finished

hand washables drying under a cloudy sky

(6 were gifted to me ~ recognize any?!)

and a buddy that never tires of your company

hope your day was filled with little joyous moments

~Melissa

busy as a bee

Hello, all!
     Just checking in since it's been awhile.  We've been doing loads of yard work (the picture above is one of the lavender plants we put in this past fall...they bloomed last week and the bees are hard at work now!).  Still finding a few minutes here and there between work and chores and goofing off to get some knitting done, most of which has been for Christmas or top-secret test knitting so I can't share any of it (darn it!!).  I was asked a few weeks ago how many projects I have on the needles right now and to my horror, I actually had no idea.  Not a great feeling for this queen of organization as I've never had more than a handful of things going at once.  So, I've been pulling out wip's and getting some things finished up and hopefully in the next week or so, I may actually have something I can share with everyone!
     I do know that Jeff has finished his Bridgewater and I think pictures are soon to come!  I am officially bringing up the rear on this kal, also not normal for me.  I do believe I have lost all control! 
     Hope everyone is enjoying this glorious spring weather!  Dozer sure is ;)       ~ Melissa

Sugar, Spice and Puppy Dogs

Day 3 of our huge snowstorm has turned into an ice storm.  Another day home from work and getting ready to hunker down and hope we don't lose power.  We got up long before dawn to watch the news so I decided to bake while the electricity is still on.  My grandma used to make the best homemade cake donuts and lacking her pastry skills, I made an old favorite from my childhood.  I don't know where my mom got this recipe but I'll share it since it's really easy and fast.

Buttons and Bowknots

2c baking mix (such as Bisquick)

2T sugar

1t nutmeg

1/8t cinnamon

2/3c milk

1 egg

Sift dry ingredients together.  Add milk and then egg.  Knead dough (add more baking mix if too sticky) and roll out 1/2" thick on lightly floured surface.  With donut cutter, cut circles and holes.  Twist each circle into a 'figure 8' and place with holes on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool on baking rack.

Melt 1/4c butter and dip cooled pastries into butter and then a mixture of cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.  Eat with a warm mug of hot cocoa. 



Now, it's off to make another pot of coffee and watch Dozer play outside.  He loves all this snow ~ his favorite thing is waiting down in the backyard for Jason to throw snowballs at him from the deck so he can try to catch them in midair.  It's hilarious.  Hope everyone stays safe and warm today!  ~ Melissa







Hats and Other Things

I'm making good progress on my Peerie Flooers hat.  The knitting is going a bit faster and I seem to be getting into a little rhythm which makes me relax, which is nice!  I got to this point yesterday and decided to stop and get started on a hat my husband asked me to make for him (you read that right!).  I was on complete lock down for 4 years ~ 'no thanks' was always the polite refusal when I offered to make him something.  Then last year, I got a 'I would wear that if you made it for me' as he was looking over my shoulder one day while I was on Ravelry.  Shocker!  The hat he asked for was done immediately!  Fast forward to a year later and he's nicely asked me for 2 of the same hats, one for Seahawks game days so he can wear it to the stadium and one in 'work colors' so he can wear it everyday and not worry about it getting dirty.

So, while he was at the football game yesterday, I started on his next hat & hopefully I'll have it done by Sunday so he can wear it to the game at the end of the week.

It's a fun pattern that you can find on Ravelry for free ~ 'We Call Them Pirates'.  It's going much quicker since it's only 2 colors instead of 7 like Peerie Flooers.

On a side note ~ if you haven't checked out America's Knitting, you should.  It's a really neat website with maps and locations of fiber shops and festivals across the USA.  I've been on Mary's site before and was surprised and a little tickled that she sent me a note over the weekend to ask if she could feature my Vitamin D sweater that I recently finished on her Fall 2011 projects page on the site.  I love unexpected things like that ~ makes life more fun!  If you want to take a peek, here's the link.  Dozer even managed to make it on the page ~ that's his bushy black tail in the photo.

Have a good week, everyone!  I've got lots of knitting to do so better get to it!   ~ Melissa

...therapy...

Lousy week at work but I came home to this:

and then spent an hour doing this:

and suddenly I feel much better!

Getting ready to enter a few things in the Skagit County Fair on Sunday ~ hope to see you there!

Have a great weekend!  ~ Melissa (& Dozer)

Birthdays

My husband and I celebrated the birthday of our marriage this weekend ~ that's what we're calling it from now on since I mistakenly got him a birthday card instead of an anniversary card.  Don't ask ~ I have no idea how that happened....I swear I read it when I picked it out!

It's also the first birthday for Girls in Sheep Clothing ~ and it's been a fun filled year.  We've come full circle and once again, it's jamming time.  Kelli's mom joined us today to help make raspberry jam ~ a much better batch than last year.  Or, I should say, all 6 batches we made today turned out much better!  Thanks for coming, Judy ~ and thanks for humoring me again this year, Kelli, and suffering through (ha!).

 

I think summer may have finally arrived to the Pacific Northwest, just as we're on the verge of heading into the downswing towards fall. Better late than never, I guess. Dozer helped me pressure wash the deck yesterday since the sun shone all day long....

 

 

 

He is so much fun ~ he keeps us in stitches all the time.  Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful weather.  There's no better place on earth than here when the weather is nice.

~Melissa