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Easter, Etc…

Easter Weekend!

I spent the weekend in Dallas with close friends who moved from Chicago last fall. They have 2 adorable daughters that will be known in this blog as “Miss Butterfly” (my adorable 34 mo. old goddaughter) & her little sister, “Miss Mouse.” The weekend was a lovely blend of “on the go activities” & just hanging out at home – the perfect anecdote to a stressful week at work.

Dallas Arboretum
On Friday “the girls” ventured to the Dallas Arboretum to enjoy the beautiful flowers & take some pictures of the little girls. It was a lovely day to enjoy a picnic on the main lawn after taking pictures of the girls. (Notice the handknit, an Amy Artisan blanket, that the girls are sitting on.)

Girls in the Garden
We were not the only ones with photo plans for the day – many families were there taking pictures & we saw at least 12 brides having portraits done & 2 girls taking quinceanera portraits – Miss Butterfly called each of them Cinderella. There was a piano player by the main lawn so Miss Butterfly had a fun time dancing & twirling to the music. As Miss Butterfly & I wandered around while Miss Mouse was being fed we managed to get a good self portrait of the two of us. (see below)

M'Amy & Butterfly

On Saturday after Miss Mouse’s morning nap the girls headed to McKinney for a bit of shopping and lunch. With two girls in strollers we didn’t wander through too many shops; however, we enjoyed a yummy lunch at Spoon’s Cafe. We anticipate future visits to McKinney to visit more of the cute shops.

Easter Girls

Sunday was a whirlwind day: Early service & pancake breakfast at church; opening Easter baskets; taking the requisite Easter pictures (above); Easter dinner with family & friends in Lewisville – 16 adults & 4 kids made for a fun afternoon. Even in the 90+ degree weather the Easter Egg hunt was a lot of fun – the adults had fun hiding the eggs & then watching the oldest 3 hunt for them. One dozen confetti eggs also added to the fun. As we left all the girls/ladies were given lovely spring mini-bouquets that included roses from the hostess’ garden – I managed to get the bouquet home to Chicago without any damage. The flight home was a bit delayed – but that did nothing to lessen the fun weekend in the Big D.

In addition to these snapshot moments from the weekend there were so many other fun times with Miss Butterfly & Miss Mouse – the countless smiles from them both, storytimes, playtimes & just the joy that is both of them. And of course, catching up with Maya & Matt – including lovely dinners on the patio while enjoy yummy grill creations (tuna one night & pizza the next). While I don’t have another trip booked yet I can’t wait until the next time I see them all!

Etc…

Thanks to everyone for your leaving your Ramona (& Beverly Cleary) memories on my last blog entry. On Sunday’s flight back to Chicago a little girl (about 8 years ago) in the row behind me was reading Ralph S. Mouse the entire time. I just had to smile at seeing BC in action.

I’ve mentioned previously that I enjoy knitting for others – baby blankets have been the most frequently gifted item in recent years. Last Thursday I had another “joy of knitting” experience in the form of a voice mail & phone conversation from my vice president at work. His daughter was the recipient of the grape & mint “Baby Maggie” blanket. Unknowingly I had made her blanket in her nursery colors so the blanket has been used from the start. Now that Maggie is starting to squirm more in the crib they had decided that this blanket is the perfect one to use because the “holes” in the knit mean that she can’t suffocate in it. Mike & his wife have decided that this is a “perfect” baby blanket & I should open a side business to make & sell them. I had to chuckle at the “side business” – Mike said there was no way he would let go of me at my day job but he would help me market the side business. Of course I was flattered by the compliment but I told Mike what I’ve mentioned to others before – I enjoy knitting for others for the sheer pleasure of doing it & I wonder if it (or any of my other artistic endeavors) became a job would I still find the same joy in it? (And even with the occasional stressful weeks, I really do enjoy my day job.) What are your thoughts on knitting, crafting, art for pleasure vs. making those same activities your source of livelihood?

In addition to the yellow flower pics from the Dallas Arboretum, I have Project Spectrum blooms in my front yard now. Here is one of my daffodils.
1st Daffodil

More knitting content in coming days & weeks. I continue to make progress on the lap blanket for my Aunt (must finish by next weekend), I need to start start on some other projects that won’t be discussed while in process, the felted tote needs to be picked up again & oh there are so many other projects that I want to tackle! Let’s not even talk about all the scrapbooking that I need to do!

D.E.A.R.

Happy 90th Birthday to Beverly Cleary today!

Drop Everything and Read!

In addition to being her birthday, it is also National D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) Day – a celebration of reading inspired by the clever Ramona Quimby.

How many of you read the Ramona books while growing up? They were a favorite of mine. Who can forget Ramona’s signature with the cat formed out of the Q in Quimby? I also remember the fruit fly experiments in the classroom.

I hadn’t thought much about these books in recent years. Recently there was an article in Newsweek about Beverly Cleary and it has me wanting to reread these favorite books from childhood.

What were your favorite Ramona memories?

Update: Listen to an interview with Beverly Cleary on NPR this week, here.

Sunny Sunday!

After a chilly Saturday today is a spectacular spring day! The sun is bright, bulb flowers are in bloom, neighbors are mowing the grass & the birds are singing loudly. As I finish up this post the ice cream truck has just come down the street on his first run of the year.
Spring at home!
In my front yard the crocus are blooming. At my back door, Doris the dove is a proud mama to 2 baby doves.

Colore Rosso e Colore Rosa
First up today, a belated Red & Pink Project Spectrum entry. These are the postcards from my March postcard swap. I was paired with Karla who is living in Rome with her family for a year. (How fun!) Her postcard shows her red & pink interpretation of Rome.
March Project Spectrum Postcard Swap

This image is even more appropriate for me because of my trip to Italy & Greece last year. When we toured Vatican City we were able to go into the Sistine Chapel – it is truly amazing to look up at the ceiling & all the details of the mural. You are not allowed to take pictures while in there; however that didn’t prevent some from blatently framing a shot & using the flash – ouch! I have seen an amazing “no flash” picture of the center of the ceiling where a random snap at the ceiling yielded a great shot.

My postcard included a detail of my double ruffle pink hibiscus from on my deck last summer.

Introducing iPocket
I have finished up the cozy/case for my iPod. I have dubbed this “iPocket” & it is loosely based on the Techno Cozy from the first SnB. iPocket is larger than the iPod & is meant to house my iPod & the headphones & be easily found in my purse or other bag.
iPocket
The Knit Details: Cascade 220 (7814, 7803, 8886, 7919, 7827) on size 8 needles. Knit as a rectangle with decreases to form the envelope flap. Sides seamed together. One large snap to keep it closed. Yellow button is decorative only.

Simple Knits – Springtime Gifts
The April Monthly Dishcloth KAL was a watering can pattern. I had previously seen the pattern when I discovered the double heart pattern & planned some springtime dishcloths to match some spring towels. Some of these will be gifted around Easter with some fun spring themed towels.
Water Can Dishcloths
The Knit Details: The Watering Can can be found at Melissa’s Knit Dishcloth Page. All on size 8 needles. Sugar’n Cream yarns (Daisy Ombre, Playtime, Cool Breeze Ombre, Yellow). This pattern definitely shows up better using a solid yarn; however, the variegated yarns are very springy & match some towels. Since each of these includes orange or yellow they are part of my Project Spectrum craftiness for April.

Warming Grace (& Simone, too)!
Warming Grace
One of the things that I have enjoyed about being a part of this knit blog community is the way that everyone comes together when a need is identified. After the blue square for Christine’s Comforting Jef project I have been busy with pink squares for Cynthia’s Warming Grace project. Cynthia is creating 2 blankets of 5×5 pink squares for her neice, Grace, & Grace’s best friend (Simone) who are both battling cancer. These will be on their way to Canada this week.
Pink Squares for Grace & Simone!

The Knit Details: Frog Tree 100% Alpaca Wool, Sport Weight, Pink (#208), Melissa’s Knit Valentine Dishcloth pattern (removed 4 stitches from each side & 4 rows from each end), knit on size 3 needles (Hero brand, from my Grandma’s collection of needles).

Italian Reading
Italy Reads
In addition to finishing up all these knit project this weekend I also managed to finish up my most recent fiction read: The Almond Picker by Simonetta Agnello Hornby. This was a great read about a Sicilian house servant. The story begins with her death & over the next couple of days & months the details of her life begin to unfold through gossip and flashbacks. I had never heard of this book prior to my last visit to Costco – it was another excellent Costco find. The trip to Costco that yielded this book also included the purchase of The Silver Spoon cookbook – the classic volume of Italian cuisine. This is a huge book that is a delight to look through & contains thousands of recipes & lots of great pictures. Dinner tonight will come from these reads: Chicken in Almond Sauce & Asparagus with Orange.

Looking Ahead…
Last weekend’s road trip to Michigan got us looking ahead to summer & on Monday we booked our annual girls weekend in Michigan for mid-June. I can’t wait to go back to Harbor Country! This month I joined the Vacation Knitting Swap & look forward to creating a vacation knit for a fellow knit blogger. Also, now that I have the Oneskein book I have joined the One Skein Knit-Along. Links to both are on my Joining In the Fun! page.

In Project Spectrum news, I didn’t have a chance to do the Orange & Yellow hunt around the house this weekend – pictures to come in coming weeks!

What a day for a road trip…

no foolin’ – Saturday was just the day for a fun adventure for 2 sets of Kansas sisters!

My sister, Rebec, flew in from Atlanta on Saturday morning to spend a few days of her spring break (one of the “perks” of being a teacher) up here with me.

Once she arrived we stopped by Dunkin’ Donuts to pick up iced coffees all around & then picked up Jen & Kristy for a day of fun on the road. It was a bit of a gray day but that didn’t deter our fun.
Note: Because of the gray weather we didn’t take any pictures of our stops, these pictures are from previous (sunny) visits.

We headed over to Harbor Country, MI – just about 90 minutes away from Chicago. This area is a favorite summer weekend escape for us but also is just the right distance for an easy day away from the city.

Michigan Scenes

First stop was Round Barn Winery – a great local winery that we discovered last summer. We tried their just released Apricot Demi Sec (yum!) as well as some of our favorites & picked up some bottles to bring back with us. Courtney at the tasting room is a great help with understanding what you’re tasting & recommending things to try.

Next stop was a Ben Franklin Store that looked frozen in time (although it has new inventory). Among the assorted purchases was Sugar ‘n Cream yarn. Then we were off to the Red Arrow Roadhouse for a late lunch.

After lunch we finally arrived at the charming Sit & Knit – A Yarn Cafe. The woman working (Barbara?) remembered me from a previous visit. Lots of fun was had – 3 of 4 of us are knitters (& the 4th enjoyed receiving knitted goodies). On the sale porch I found some lovely Frog Tree Pima/Silk in black, terra cotta & a wedgewood blue (2 each) – this was truly a stash buy because I don’t know what it will become but I loved the color combination. I also picked up 5 skeins of Cascade 220 in some brights for my iPod cover & assorted other “techy” bags. And I “finally” got my copy of Oneskein by Leigh Radford. As my Cascade was wound into yarn cakes we all enjoyed our complimentary lattes while looking through pattern books & dreaming of new projects. We agreed that this summer we will have to “Sit and Knit” at the store when we are back over there for the weekend. (Because we stayed at the yarn store for ‘so long’ we weren’t able to get to the local scrapbook store on this trip.)

As we left Michigan we stopped in Michigan City, IN & cruised through Meijer – between the 4 of us we found a wide assortment of goodies – including board games, crafting tables, easter egg decorations, summer flip flops, sidewalk chalk & other craftiness. After arranging all of our purchases into the trunk of the car we went through the Culver’s drive-thru to pick up frozen custard for the drive home.

We were all tired by the time we were back in the city but agreed that it had been a fun way to kick off spring & we look forward to our summer weekend escape!

Here are some of the highlights of the “haul” from this weekend – quite a bit of Project Spectrum in the mix!
Road Trip Mosaic

The yarn store purchases have already been put into use – my iPod cozy is knit & waiting for blocking & then stitching up the sides. I’ve also cast on for the “Felted Tote” from Oneskein. Stay tuned for finished object reveals in the coming days & weeks.

Onto Orange & Yellow

Chihuly in the Park - July 2004

As we move into the celebration of all things Orange & Yellow during Project Spectrum: April I thought I would share a mosaic of some orange & yellow Dale Chihuly glass from the exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Garden in 2004. (I was lucky enough to see the exhibit at the Garfield Park Conservatory here in Chicago in 2002 – I have lots of pictures from then but that was before my digital camera.)

Our visit to this exhibit was a great exploration of color – both in the art & the flowers in the garden. I took a lot of pictures that evening – including many that have been or will be added to the monthly color focus on Flickr.

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