A Very Good Weekend

I am excited to tell you that I can now add "making beer" to my list of Things I Have Done.  Kev and I took our field trip to Frederick on Saturday to brew at the Flying Barrel, which was really really fun.  Look at those awesome kettles!  It was like Wonka's factory in there!

Here I am, stirring in the malt extract:

And here is Kev when the beer was finished boiling:

In three weeks, we go back to bottle it.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.

It was really nice to spend the whole day hanging out with Kevin, and while we were gone, Daphne had a great time with Grandma, playing Puppyopoly and raking leaves and who knows what else.  Glad they had a nice time together.

Today, I taught Daphne to knit.

She picked it up right away.  She's a natural!  Her first little sample had a couple accidental holes, so we channeled Tim Gunn and made it work.  Voila, the Quincy Mask!

Daphne liked the idea of holes, and asked me how to make one on purpose.  Then, she planned a whole design for Quincy's new "Tail Scarf," and executed it beautifully.  This time there was only one hole, and it was MEANT to be there.  She was so proud.

Now, she wants to purl.  Sniff sniff.  Best Day Ever.

Quincy is happy too.  His bottom will never be cold again, and he's totally set for Halloween.

One Down, Sixty-Two to Go...

Last night, I made my first ever quilt block.  I sustained a minor quilting injury when I nicked myself with the rotary cutter, but I got a cool Miss Piggy band-aid and it was all good.  Quilting is fun!  But it's hard.  And there is a lot of math.  I think it will be a good skill to have.  I have a stack of Daphne's baby clothes and some big plans brewing.

Speaking of brewing, tomorrow, Kev and I are going to Frederick to make beer.  I am looking forward to it.  I get to be the sous-brewer, and the people at the brewing place have to clean up all the mess.  When Kev makes beer at home, the kitchen always gets really sticky, and it smells like hops for a few days.  This will be MORE fun and LESS messy.  Plus, I think there will be delicious tapas for lunch.  I am a fan of Frederick.

I just found out that September is National Sewing Month.  How perfect!  I've been celebrating the whole time, and I didn't even know it.

New Skills I have learned during National Sewing Month:

Plus, the quilting skills.  I'd say that's pretty good.  I'm celebrating HARD!

By the way, there is nothing magical or difficult about a French Seam.  It's easy.  I don't know why they make such a big deal out of it on Project Runway.

Also this month, I learned a new knitting stitch that I've never had to use before - purling through the back loop.  So, IF on top of all that my house was clean, I'd be really proud of myself. Alas, it's not.  But it's getting there!

On that note, laundry calls.  Have a good weekend!

Now We're Talkin'

And the yarn even matches the pillow.  Serenity now!

Making my Happy Place a Happy Place

My house is the ultimate UFO.  I feel like it will never be "finished."  But I am trying to get in a groove that will result in a house that at the very least doesn't stress me out the moment I walk in.  Most people do the whole Fresh Start thing in January, but I usually start in the fall, when Daphne goes back to school.  I have to say corny things to myself like "Slow and steady wins the race!" and "Rome wasn't built in a day!" to justify that it is probably going to take me until Christmas to get things in shape.

Yesterday, I pulled a bunch of too-small clothes out of Daphne's closet and backed up my computer. 

Today, I tidied the guest room, and then decided to start on my little knitting space.  There has been exactly ZERO knitting going on in that room for months because of stuff piled on the chair and magazines piled on the floor and so much passive chaos that it caused me to stay away.

Today, I cleaned off the chair and took the pile of magazines downstairs to either give away or recycle.
Much better, huh?!

 

So, now I can sit there and knit, or read, or whatever, and not get all stressed out.  I may get all sneeze-y though.  I haven't dusted yet, and it really needs to be dusted.  And I think I could do something better with that book shelf.  It's kind of a mess.  But it's a start!  Rome wasn't built in a day, you know!

Baby steps.

Now I an going to go tackle the kitchen table.  And then, I'm going to sit in my chair and knit!  Woo hoo!

I AM AVOIDING DEALING WITH DAPHNE'S TOYS FOR AS LONG AS I CAN.  IT IS LIKE A MOUNT EVEREST INSURMOUNTABLE SIZED TASK.   I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START. 

This is just one room.  Her toys spill over into the whole downstairs, plus the attic.  Ugh.  A job for another day.

By the way, my dress-making class was good, but I am not so sure about the fabric choice and the fit.  I'll finish it up next Tuesday and tell you how it turns out.  Tonight, I start my quilt class.  And I have cast on for my new Lobster Cove sweater.  A very crafty September so far!  I like it!

Fun with Felting - a UFO

Way LAST August, I had a dilemma - you may remember.  Today, in the spirit of finishing things, I decided that "To Felt" was the answer, and so, I did.  And I'm glad.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but felting really tightened up the stitches and made this a much sturdier bag.  Now, to find handles, and perhaps lining fabric.  More dilemmas, but getting closer to FO status.

In other news, doubts are beginning to creep in about my dress fabric.  Since I washed it, it seems like it might be too stiff for nice draping.  Where is Tim Gunn when I need him?

Easing into the School Year: FOs, Fabric, and Friends

School is off to a good start for Daphne.  She likes her teacher, she likes her classmates, and she isn't complaining about anything - not even getting up early.

I sort of took last week off.  I didn't do much while Daphne was at school.  A couple pilates classes, a few errands, minimal cooking, and no meetings unless you count breakfast with friends during which some Brownie Troop items were discussed.  One afternoon, I got all Mom-from-the-Fifties, and walked downtown to do errands.  I stopped in the sewing shop to buy dress-making fabric, went to the hobby shop for Girl Scout supplies, stopped for a sandwich, and went by the jeweler's to pick up my ring, which needed a minor repair.  During this outing, I decided that downtown Leesburg needs a Malt Shop, or Soda Fountain, or some sort of retro ice creamy place with a counter with swivel stools and teenagers who look like Wally Cleaver with little soda jerk hats.  That, and a gourmet cheese shop.  And a butcher.  And maybe a donut shop.  Let's make it happen!

I don't really have to complain about not having a yarn shop anymore, because the sewing place is getting its first shipment of yarn this week.  Malabrigo!  Oh my.  I can't wait.  I will be walking distance from some REALLY nice yarn.

The weekend was good.  I went to brunch with some good friends (above).  There were grits! It was fun but sad because one of them is moving to California.  I don't like it when people move away.

We went to Manassas to visit the people and puppies there, and eat delicious brisket cooked on a Big Green Egg by Uncle Jeff.  This picture makes me sadder than you can possibly imagine, but happy at the same time.  Look at their hair!  It's exactly the same.

And, I got to go see a movie with Kev at the Alamo.  A really weird funny movie about beer and alien robots.

And, since we read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator over the summer, Kev, Daphne, and I watched Willie Wonka on Saturday night.  The REAL one, not the Johnny Depp one.  Such greatness.

Daphne doesn't know this, but we are taking her to the Alamo in a couple weeks for a special screening of Willie Wonka, with bubbles and candy and special appearances by the real Veruca Salt and Mike Teevee.  She is going to flip out.  Don't tell her!  It's a surprise!

This week is all about sewing.  Below is the fabric I bought last week.  It is going to be a dress (I hope) after I take a class downtown.  And Thursday night, I start a beginner quilting class.  Quilt fabric is still undecided.

Today, I decided to finally finish a project I started last year - a knitted and felted pouch.  I made a felted i-cord strap for it, and sewed a cool button on the front:

I love it, but it's really itchy, so we'll see how much use it gets.  It's a perfect size for just my phone, keys, sunglasses, and money.  Good for downtown errand running!  It gives me a sense of accomplishment to have an FO (finished object) to show you.  I still have a couple more UFOs hanging out in my project stash.  It would be nice to have a clean slate.  By the way,

Every day that goes by is one day closer to a day that is cold enough for me to wear my owl sweater!!!!!!!!!

Discussions have begun regarding this year's Daphne Halloween Costume.  The ideas being thrown around at the moment are Veruca Salt, Daphne from Scooby Doo, a detective, and a cowgirl.  As they don't involve making wings or tentacles, I am happy with any of the above.

That's all I have for now.  Stay tuned for dress-making triumphs or disasters, and quilt success or catastrophe.  And feel free to submit costume ideas.  I should probably go clean something...

Grade Two

Annual picture by the green door.

 

All ready with gear, lunch, and supplies.

 

Very owl-y!

Getting on the bus.

Where's Waldo?

And, she's home.  That face is a sign of a good day.  

Grandma and Grandpa and a batch of brownies were here to celebrate.

Second grade is off to a good start.

What We Did on our Summer Vacation (in Pictures)

On the last day of Girl Scout camp, it rained.  All day.  And where there's rain, there's mud.  And where there's mud, there's Daphne.  She came home covered in mud and very happy.  Another successful year of Camp Tag-Along is in the books.

We spent the next day doing laundry and cleaning and preparing for our annual last-week-before-school-starts trip to the lake.  We stopped near Gettysburg for lunch...great roadside barbeque and milkshakes.

Daphne and I were shirt buddies.  These are the tie-dyes we made at camp.

We reached our destination later in the afternoon:

Nothing much changes at the lake.  Same house, same hill:

Same smurfy chairs:

Same morning boat rides:

Daph had a little trouble with the jacket:

Kev and Daphne did a lot of this:

Meanwhile, I did a lot of this:

I never really go in much anyway.  I don't like to swim.  The lake has seaweed and fish and snapping turtles, so it kind of freaks me out a little. And this time, I saw muskrats in there.  No thank you.  And if that's not enough, I found out that leeches were discovered lurking in the seaweed.  And one of Kev's sisters claimed to have recently seen something she kept referring to as a sea serpent.  Um, nope.  I'm good in the smurfy chairs with my needles and yarn.

Or in the boats.  I love the boats.

There were picnics:

And lots of fish-feeding:

And friends and cousins came to swim:

Uncle Pat had a photo bomb opportunity:

There was a field trip where we did some spelunking:

and some mining for gems:

We went to Cooperstown to the Ommegang Brewery:

Where we tasted tiny beers:

We made it to the Hall of Fame but only had time for the gift shop this time:

Meanwhile, back at the lake, there were board games (I am the Clue champion!):

And music:

And Texas-style Uno with cousins and Aunt Kimmie:

(I missed the Uno game.  I had no idea there were hats for everyone!)

There were also morning bike rides.  It was very unnerving riding behind my wobbly two-wheeler novice 7 year old, flying down hills on wet roads, but she was having the time of her life so I had to just let it go. She did great.

We got to go to lots of restaurants, and we looked for rocks down by the railroad tracks on the river.

 All that relaxing wore us out.  See you next year, lake place!