A treasure in the mail.

I went to the post office late yesterday afternoon...actually it was evening...and I was met with a very pleasant surprise. A package!

I thought of taking pictures as I went along opening it but I couldn't wait to see what was inside so I just ripped into it.  I put it all back together this morning and did the photo shoot...err...maybe not photo shoot so much as snap shots.

Please excuse the quality.

Prettiness!  I was excited already.

Even the tissue paper is cute.

 

 

 

But what was inside that cute tissue paper was gorgeous!  What a wonderful color!  I love it!!

 

My first thought was "What a wonderful shawl that will make!".  (I even said it out loud and it was only me and the cat at home.  I was pretty excited!) 

 

I've never knit with this before so it'll be fun to try it out.

 

And how did this wonderful yarn happen to get into my mailbox, you ask??  Well, Karen had a contest on her blog and I WON!!  Thank you SO MUCH, Karen!

 

Of course, you know, that as soon as I saw that yarn and knew it had to be a shawl, I got on Ravelry and spent a couple hours, I mean a few minutes, looking at patterns.  I might have narrowed it down to two.  Sweet Tantalate or Semele.  Time will tell if one of these wins or if I spend a couple more hours minutes on Ravelry!

 

A little update on the tulips...

 

 

They did all bloom!  And I had no clue what colors I had planted so it was a pleasant surprise when they opened up.  :)

Actually the daffodils bloomed too.  How did I miss getting them in the picture? 

Even the grape hyacinths are doing their thing!

Thanks again, for the awesome yarn, Karen!

Cookie made me do it...yes she did!

"Origami knitting", Cookie said.  I was like, "What?"  I didn't even really know what that was.

But I went to our knitting group a few Saturdays ago and lo and behold there was one of the members knitting an origami bunny. 

Since I needed something origami and this seemed pretty simple and straightforward I went with it.

First up was the knitting.  A 6" square.

And then a little sewing.  And stuffing.  And yes, I admit I was going to document this with a picture of each step but I got so involved and entranced with the process that I forgot.  But the pattern does an excellent job of showing all the steps and so it's not a total disaster that I didn't photo everything.

A bunny is born!  Out of a flat 6" square of knitting.

He even has an adorable little tail.

Ravelry info here.

Thank you Kym!

I won the "Chapstick Challenge" over on Kym's blog.

The package arrived in the mail a few days ago.

Just look at all that! 

I've been doing my own little chapstick challenge and have discovered that I really do like the eos even if I'm not much for flavored lip balm.  It has great staying power...and my lips are smoooooth...  But I'm in agreement with Kym that the shape doesn't make it very easy to tuck in a pocket and take with you.

The chocolate is amazing and is quickly disappearing...  ;)

Everything else is already being put to use.  I absolutely love the little sheepy keyring! 

Kym sent a beautiful card along as well.  You should have heard me ooohing and awwwing as I opened it.

Of course Teddy couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a little photobombing.  (He's not sleeping.  He just automatically shuts his eyes when he hears the shutter click.  He does not like the flash.)

Kym, you are a sweetheart and thanks for all the fun things!

Origami knitting?!?

I'd never heard of origami knitting. I'd heard of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Surprise Baby Sweater but didn't realize that it could also be called origami...I just thought it was crazy knitting that I'd probably never be able to figure out!

So now in March Cookie is making everyone knit origami.  And this is what I've come up with for my pattern.  Since I have limited brain power due to extensive decision making associated with house building, this pattern seemed well suited to me.  A simple knit square with a bit of sewing and stuffing. 

I didn't even have to look far for the pattern.  At Saturday morning knitting at the library, Jane talked about the cute pattern she was knitting.  And this was it.  Thanks, Jane!

 

Again, with Cookie making me do it!  ;)

Cookie made me do it!

Yes, Cookie threatened me and made me finish the sweater and start the hat for my niece's baby boy that is due on March 10th.  That Cookie!!

I had the sweater mostly done.  I was at the row right before the 1st button holes.  And it's garter stitch for pete's sake.  It doesn't take long to do.

I usually have a hard time finding buttons that I like but I think I hit on some cute ones this time.  I wonder what it is supposed to be though...it's got ears like a bear and stripes like a tiger...doesn't matter I guess...it's pretty adorable.

I got this hat started this afternoon.  I should get it done by tonight and then give everything a nice soak so it's pretty and clean for the new little guy.

Maybe if the weather holds, (we are in a winter weather watch for Monday), I'll even get this in the mail on Monday.

So even though I had to ice my hinder for awhile after Cookie kicked me (ouch!) I do appreciate that she got me to finish this.  Maybe it'll get to New Jersey before the little fellow arrives....

Prayer

I'm a believer in the power of prayer.  I've seen what it can accomplish.  It is truly amazing and inspiring.

But as much as I believe, sometimes I don't remember.  Or I think I don't have the time.  I needed something to get me focused and on track.

Now I'm not a Catholic or Anglican (two churches that have structured prayer beads) but the idea of beads for prayer is an attraction for me.  So with the help of the internet I did a little searching to see if there were prayer beads in my church (Lutheran) too.  And I found just that.

Not structured but free style prayer beads that you can create yourself and assign their own prayer or meaning to each bead as fits your wants and needs.

Just what I needed.

And this is what I made.  

I got out our hymnal and found prayers that have meaning for me and then I went shopping for beads.  What I bought was mainly for feel, not appearance, because I hope to memorize all the prayers and be able to do this by feel alone.

 

Each bead has a prayer or person associated with it.

 

 

 

And so, if I have told you that I'll pray for you, you are one of these purple beads.

 

 

 

   

 

Stress Relief

It was a long day today and tomorrow is going to be stressful.

Thanks to Karen I had just what I needed....

a skein of beautiful yarn to wind.

Thank you, Karen. It was just what I needed.

Class Reunion

On Saturday evening, just over 1/2 of our remaining classmates had our 40 year reunion. We ate supper together and visited for hours. Silly pictures were taken, old times remembered and those who have passed on were toasted. Some of us see each other frequently but there was still a lot of catching up to do.

When I was younger I thought someone who was having a 40 year reunion must be ancient. But you know, we are still young at heart and not too bad a looking crew.

I think a good time was had by all. I'm looking forward to the next reunion!