Way behind

I am so far behind in reading and commenting on blog posts, that I don't think I'll ever catch up. I haven't even found time to post on my own blog. I've been having way too much fun with family!

While waiting for Joanne and the kids to return from my sister-in-law's last week, I decided to browse through some of my older needlework books.

I found this adorable little motif and decided to give it a try. I really like the layout shown in the book, but I accidentally started a different layout. I'll show you how it looks in a later post.

I had to blow the dust off this book before opening it. It sits on the top shelf in my sewing room, so it doesn't get dusted very often!

I tatted two more red, white, and blue Ice Drops for Mom.

They're so bright and cheerful!

I mailed them off on Friday, so Mom should receive them today... just in time for the 4th of July celebrations!

I finally managed to finish granddaughter Sophia's purple Ice Drop necklace. She loves it!

Joanne and the twins are taking a nap right now. I think I may do the same thing!

Sticking with a theme

Since I have red, white, and blue thread, glass gems, and ribbon right next to my chair, it seemed only natural to stick with the theme!

I decided to stick with my Doodle Ice Drop pattern because it's easy, pretty, and fun!

Changing shuttles with each Ice Drop gives me a little variety.

Today was daughter Carol's last day in Rome. They'll be boarding their plane to head home in a few hours. I'm sure she'll be too tired to talk much about the trip tomorrow, but I have the rest of the summer to hear about it all!

Too quiet

Joanne and the kids went to visit my sister-in-law for a couple of days, and it is way too quiet around here!

The photos keep coming from daughter Carol's European trip.

I know these pictures are from Florence and Rome, but I don't know where they are. It sure will be fun to find out!

I sure wish I had the stamina to participate in a trip like this. One day they walked over 12 miles. I'm worn out just thinking about walking that far!

I finished another red, white, and blue Ice Drop for my cousin Nancy.

This is the group of five that I mailed off to her today. I'm very pleased with the way they turned out!

I started another coral dishcloth this morning. I've already put the first one to use, and I really like this yarn for dishcloths.

I also started another shawl. Now that Kara has one, Sophia needs to have one, too!

Red, white, and blue

My cousin Nancy visited my mom last weekend, and Mom shared some Ice Drops with her.

Nancy emailed me to thank me for sharing. I love sharing my Ice Drops!

I told Nancy I'd be happy to make some more for her, and she asked if I could do some with a red, white, and blue theme.

Nancy only asked for three, but I think I'll do some more. They look so bright and cheerful!

Joanne finished her shawl, and Sophia cheerfully modeled it for us.

I finished a mini shawl for Kara, and I've started one for Sophia. Doesn't every little girl need a shawl?

Some of my dishcloths were in pretty sad shape, so it was time to knit some new ones. I started the blue dishcloth quite a while ago, but I didn't feel any urgency to finish it until this week... after I finished to coral one!

The kids love playing games on Papa's iPad. I have the same games on my iPad, but when Papa's around, Grandma's iPad is not worth anything!

We get pictures from daughter Carol's trip on a regular basis. I'm not sure what everything is, but I'm sure I'll learn all about the trip when they return.

The group spent three days in London, three days in Paris, and then headed to Florence by train.

Carol loved the changing of the guard at Buckinham Palace, and she said they got to see Prince Charles and Camilla.

I'm not sure how long they'll be in Florence. They will head to Rome next, and then they'll be home on Thursday. It's been a whirlwind trip for them, and I'm sure it's been memorable as well!

Just like Mom

Mom needed a carry-along project for when she volunteers answering phones, and she found this simple triangle shawl pattern on YouTube. Joanne and I liked the pattern so much, we decided to join in the fun!

Joanne is using Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran that she found at a new yarn shop near us, Top Notch Knots & Pots. It's a bulky yarn that is working up very quickly!

I'm using Lalables yarn that I found through a Facebook ad when Joanne was visiting in April. This yarn is three separate strands, reminding me of Jane Eborall's hand-wound threads. I do like the yarn, but it took over a month to arrive. Luckily, I am not yarn deprived!

Joanne's twins resisted sleep after having so much fun with my sister's grandkids. When they did finally collapse, they took a good, long nap!

Daughter Carol's travel group is in London! I believe this is Trafalgar Square. Carol said they had about an hour of rain, and that the rest of the day was beautiful.

It's been a long time since we've had a Soup Club meeting. Here we are, three retired teachers enjoying the afternoon. We miss our friend Peggy, who passed away in December.

Peggy and I pursued our Master's Degrees together after seeing what our friend Edna (on the right) was able to accomplish. We would meet on Saturdays and take our lunch break at our little local restaurant, which serves the most delicious soups. After finishing our degrees, Edna, Peggy, and I decided to take some more classes together, and the Soup Club was born.

It didn't take long for us to ask Judy to join us. We typically would get together for Peggy's birthday in April, Judy's and my birthdays in June, Edna's birthday in September, and at Christmas time. If it worked out, we would meet other times as well.

We chose the Northwoods Saloon for our lunch yesterday, and then we took a little field trip to the Monee Reservoir. Judy and I had never been there before, even though it's only about a half hour away. I didn't even know it existed! We took a short walk there, and Edna and Judy investigated kayaking lessons. I will not join them in kayaking. I do not like water sports of any kind! It took me four tries to pass beginner swimming lessons, and I nearly drowned in high school. We agreed that I will sit on shore and call 911 if Judy and Edna tip over!

Staying busy

Where does the time go? Daughter Joanne has already been here a week, and it feels like the time is just zipping by!

Yesterday was filled with little chores, a little shopping, and a little bit of organizing before my sister Janet came down for another visit with her grandchildren. The kids all get along so great, and it's fun watching them play off of each other's imaginations!

Today we chose to relax.

The only thing I had to do today was go to school to see off daughter Carol and her group of students and adults. Today was the start of a ten day trip to Europe... London, Paris, Florence, and Rome. Carol took this same trip ten years ago, and she was very excited to be able to plan the trip for her students. Their flight left at 4 this afternoon (Central Time), and they will arrive in London about 9 a.m. tomorrow. It will be fun to follow their adventures as pictures are posted in the group page that Carol has set up. Keeping in touch through the Internet just wasn't the same ten years ago!

While the kids enjoyed playing outside in the beautiful weather, Janet, Joanne, and I relaxed, talked, and worked on crafts. Well, Joanne and I worked on crafts. Janet sews beautifully, but her favorite hobby is gardening. I'm in need of some new dishcloths, and I decided to use a new-to-me yarn, Red Heart Scrubby Smoothie. It's knits up very nicely!

I also worked on an afghan I plan on donating to our local Mean Green Goes Pink night to benefit the Beverly K. Roberts Foundation. The Mud Cloth Inspired Throw is a free pattern at redheart.com. I'm using the recommend yarn, just not the colors used in the original. I'm enjoying crocheting it, but I'm not very good at working on it while talking. I gave up after ripping out three different rows because of mistakes!

Janet headed home about an hour ago. Joanne and the kids are off to bed. All were very tired after a day of playing outdoors. Dave and I are just sitting here enjoying the sounds of the birds while the sun goes down. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

12 years

With family visiting, it's harm to find time to blog. I had to make the time today, because it was 12 years ago today that I started my blog. Who would have ever thought that I'd have something to write about for 12 years? How do I keep track of the time? I first blogged on my 55th birthday. You can do the math!

We've had a very wet spring, and Dave really wanted to work in his vegetable garden this weekend. However, heavy showers yesterday made that impossible. He did spend some time working on weeding flower beds today, and the chickens seemed to follow him wherever he went.

A few weeks ago, someone posted about tatting with Serafil thread. I'm always interested in new threads, so I went on a search and found some on Etsy. These arrived from South Korea last week, and I fell in love with the colors immediately!

Daughter Joanne was attracted to the gold thread, and she asked me to tat an Ice Drop for her. The thread is super smooth, and I enjoyed working with it. It's very slightly thicker than size 20 Lizbeth. There's about 200 ft per spool, and the cost was $4 per spool. I really didn't need any more thread, but I sure am glad I tried this!

Joanne and I were surprised that our June pattern, Chrysanthemum, came out a few days early. We both started on our squares right away. There were two variations of this pattern, and I decided to try them both. The original pattern called for the white petals to be loose, as you can see on the two outside squares. The designer decided to recommend that those petals be pinned so that they couldn't poke through to the back of the afghan. After trying both ways, I decided I preferred the loose petals, so that's how I finished up my third square.

My June blocks are finished, so this project will be set aside until the July pattern is released. Joanne still has two squares to go, but we are both enjoying the Flora afghan from The Crochet Crowd!