OUR LATEST WIP.............

Okay - I will throw some knitting into this post! Hubby and I have been busy remaking our side yard. This is the space between our barn and the house entrance. It is always a mud trap in the spring and an ice trap in the winter. After 21 years of living here and thousands of children tromping along this muddy pathway we finally got our act together. We have been in the planning stages for about 3 years - Hubby doesn't like to jump into projects without thorough research! (He is terrified because our little town is getting it's very own Home Depot this week - and my honey-do list has grown exponentially)

This is the original walkway - just a patch without grass led to the side door. The white poles are the beginning of hubby's 3 week torture session to get the lines for the new walkway - JUST RIGHT! We had to dig an 8" bed for the walkway and fill it with crushed stone and sand prior to placing the stonework. 10 tons of gravel, 2 tons of sand, and a pallette of paving stone and TADA!!

















Way better looking don't you think? We still have to build a step and lay the granite slab that starts the walkway but with work and heat in the 90's, we are taking a break.


Maybe now I can get back to some knitting! But honestly - my honey and I love to do these kind of projects together and they always grow and grow. Now the plan is to get more pavers and make a sweet little pathway around the back of the house. A moderate size patio will follow - where the barbeque will sit. A new shade garden and some tree limb surgery and we will have the backyard of our dreams.


The honeysuckle is absolutely gorgeous this year (on the left of the trellis) and we have to be really careful of the hummingbirds. They have no fear of us and love to whiz past our heads.

I HAVE GOT TO BE CRAZY!

Patternworks is having a "Knit and Crochet Challenge" Afghan. So I, in my infinite desire to drive myself crazy, have decided to take on the challenge. Yes, I crochet - but prefer to knit. The design must be original and be both knit and crocheted. It must be made up of 7" x 9" blocks joined in the technique of your choice. The finished size can be up to 50" x 60". The whole deal has to be made with Encore Worsted Yarn and must be turned in by November 16 ( yes this year). The hardest part is that they send you a kit with 5 different Encore Yarns and you must incorporate these colors into your afghan! You have no choice in even 1 color - I asked! So here is what they sent me for colors - In order from left to right.
1. Green (I don't even think so it is more the color of peuce!)
2. Beige (Okay I can live with that one)
3. Wine
4. Orange (Orange, Peuce, and Wine? May the force be with me!)
5. Rainbow (which would be fine if only all these other colors were part of the rainbow colorworks!)



Dale of Norway baby sweater with 8 3/8 " of seed stitch - 304 stitches. What was I thinking? I have got to be crazy! I have a little over 4" done.

FIXATION......MY NEW LOVE!

Darling Husband is getting picky about what I make for him. Not that that is a bad thing - you have to give the guy credit for always being interested in every fiber in every yarn store we visit. He doesn't sit on the bench out front of the shop and look at his watch every 30 seconds or groan when he sees my purchases. No, he touches and asks questions about every yarn that I have not worked with.
He knows the difference between a knit stitch and a purl stitch and fair isle and cables. When the phone rings and it is for me, he always asks the caller to hold on for a minute until I am finished with the row! So we visited Scarlet Yarns in Lancaster NH last week and he got his hands on some Fixation socks and just had to have a pair! I wasn't too sure if I would like working with it because I am not a stretchy yarn kind of knitter but his gorgeous green eyes made me buy a few skeins and get to work. I have to say that I really hated this yarn at first - too stretchy - too hard to see the pattern - too difficult to see if they were going to be the right size. After several attempts at Thuja from Knitty.com, I finally got it right and these just flew off the needles. I had to post them quickly because Hubby had to wear them today! Something about the weather and how his feet wouldn't sweat in them - HEEHEE! I think I will have to add Fixation yarn to the stash and make him a few more pairs.

The sad news of the day - I have knit a few baby sweaters from Dale of Norway (okay a few hundred). So I decided that it was time to make one for me! I bought this gorgeous yarn at a huge fair several years ago and had been waiting for the perfect pattern to make ME a Dale sweater. I found a pattern that I loved and went to town - it just never looked right and although I had way more yarn than the pattern called for - I seemed to be running out quickly. So it is back to the frog pond for this one. This yarn just did not want to be this sweater - yes I did the proper swatching and followed the directions to the letter but after finishing the front and back - I only had 2 skeins of yarn left! I tried it on and I definitely would have looked better in a garbage bag so yesterday morning was spent carefully unraveling a few weeks worth of work - I am okay. I did not loose my mind or the desire to use this yarn. I started another pattern with it yesterday and it just may work. Let's all keep our fingers crossed!

ALL MY WORKS IN PROGRESS......

Socks and a baby sweater on the needles. Hubby found some sock yarn at a sweet little shop in Lancaster, NH - Scarlet Yarn. Amanda, the owner of the shop, spent a lot of time with us and hubby decided that he just had to have a pair of socks from this yarn! Getting picky hubby is - we'll see.
A Dale of Norway baby sweater started but it will be a while before this is done. Size one needles - 304 stitches - seed stitch! Need I say more?


The gardens have demanded much of my time lately. 3 years ago, darling daughter got married at the house and hubby and I seriously overdid the whole garden thing. Now we spend a lot of our time in the spring and summer planting, weeding, and simply enjoying the multiple gardens we have created. This is the entryway to the house which lies between the barn and the door - Loads of annuals and perrenials here!




One of my favorite hanging baskets - this plant hooks onto the trellis work and just grows and flowers all summer! Sorry - can't remember the name of it!




One of the small fairy gardens. Different size irises, begonias, ginger, and hostas surround this fairy bird bath.



I have also increased my work schedule to three 8 hour shifts a week. There are no hours available in the ICU so I am working on the Medical-Surgical Unit. I worked there for 4 years before going to the ICU and it is just a miracle to be able to take care of patients again!
I have also been teaching a course on reading ECGs. The cardiac rhythm course is a really good chance to review and I love teaching. It has been really time consuming putting together the program and teaching tools but so far so good. I have taught 2 classes and will teach 3 more. Feedback has been good and I have been asked to take on more and more responsibilities as the Medical Surgical Unit takes on the Telemetry Interpretation role. Good thing I knitted this felted bag while I was out sick - It carries all of my teaching goodies. Say HOORAY for my continued progress with the silent migraine/vertigo saga. I have not had any problems with it at work but do get small doses of head pain and vertigo at home from time to time. I couldn't be happier - everything is looking pretty good right now!