Boho Bag Completed

Love how the entrelac stitch looks when completed! After I got the hang of it (totally embracing the "break the yarn" concept to create the lovely color changes), it was a really quick, easy knit. Below is a picture of the bottom - way cool!

Although I love the way the bag turned out, I'm not crazy about the yarn I used: Boku by Plymouth Yarn. The yarn broke numerous times making me leary of how well it would hold up as a purse (knowing I cram so much into my bag). What to do??? I decided to felt it.

It turned out fabulous! I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for but I know I'll knit this stitch and pattern again.

Personal to sis: Enjoy your Alaskan cruise!

Happy Birthday!

Lots of candles are needed on your last "forty-something" birthday. To celebrate, I bought myself this watercolor/pen & ink piece of art by Anna Sandhu Ray. It's rather large (about 5 x 4 feet). I love the etheral quality of the watercolor and the subtle lines of the pen & ink - very soothing to look at.
I've enjoyed my 40's immensely - definitely the best years of my life (so far). As I bid them a fond farewell, here are some of the highlights:

• moved back to Tenneessee
• 4 grandchildren born
• 3 kids graduated high school
• 4 kids married
• 2 kids graduated college
• several "shriveled up, no longer working right, causing me lots of problems" body parts permanently removed from my body
• learned to knit
• discovered "yahoo groups" and a whole new set of friends with the same addictions as me!
• attended many art classes and retreats
• traveled to Europe with a great group of friends

Moo Cards

Here are the Moo cards I ordered.

Three of them are pieces of my artwork. The other three are all from pictures I took while on my European trip with the Diva Travelers last fall.

1. The picture of David was taken right at dusk when we arrived in Florence, Italy. I wasn't sure if the pictures were going to be any good since the light was fading so fast, but I love how it turned out!

2. The stairs were along the walkway leading up to the Pont de Gard in France.

3. The last picture is taken inside the Louvre, looking out a window. I love the diamond shapes!

Knitting Class

I took a class at Yarn Haven to learn the entrelac stitch. This is the progress I've made on my Boho Bag. I'm still recovering from the teacher saying to "break the yarn at the end of the color". This makes my heart stop! It was like she said to "remove your arm and attach a new one". It was almost too much for my anal mind to accept, but otherwise I wouldn't have the wonderful color changes for each row.I have no idea what kind of flowers these are, but I'm totally in love with them: the bright purple color, the way they let me water them each day and continue to look bright and perky - definitely my kind of flower. Parker & Amanda brought these over last Sunday and they still look the same today! Thanks, kids!

Random Things

I was tagged by Shirley to post 7 random things about me. Here goes:
1. I hate cucumbers (or cumberQs as my sister Rene' says).
2. My favorite gemstone is tanzanite.
3. I balance my checkbook each month.
4. I'm taking a knitting class for the entrelac stitch.
5. I often buy the same shoe in multiple colors.
6. I carry a Vera Bradley bag.
7. I was the editor of my high school yearbook.

13 Months, 23 Days

Not that I'm counting...lol! Today I got my braces off - yippee! Boy does my mouth feel empty without all that metal. I'm still getting used to the permanent retainer on the back of my front teeth on the bottom (my poor tongue has blisters). They took impressions for my upper retainer (which now comes in colors: purple with glitter) which I get in one week. My how things change in 35 years! I've been smiling all day long.

Socks are DONE!!

Pink socks rock! Peyton, these will be waiting on you when you come visit! Love, Mom.