I have been keeping busy of late. I have been doing some knitting and reading. Plus enjoying watching the flowers and the garden grow. DH planted the garden. He set out close to 40 some tomato plants, some cucumbers and zuchinnis.  We love tomatos, so during the season we can never have too many fresh tomatos.

I have been keeping busy with my knitting. I have completed another test knitting. This is 2009-010-K, name Orinoco, designed by Anne Kuo Lukito of crafty diversions. She can be found at www.craftydiversions.com. I did  a beautiful shrug that Anne designed. It is full of cables. I have a weakness for cables. I used Red Heart yarn in a beautiful gray heather color. I could have eithered used a bulky yarn or double strand of yarn. I decided to use the double strand approached.  Here is a picture of it.

Orinoco Shrug

My friend AJ is the model. This is the back of the shrug. Anne requested that I make the shrug in a 1X. Which I did. The sleeves were suppose to be 3/4 length sleeves, but in the end they were full length sleeves.

Orinoco #2

This is a close up view of the cables.  I tried this shrug on, and it was a little big on me. I will giving this shrug to my oldest DD, K. This shrug is going to be an excellent cover up in her cold classroom.  My youngest DD, E likes this shrug also, so I will be making one in a smaller size for her.  E says that her office space is always cold. So, if you work in an office that air condition reminds you of late fall or winter. This shrug is going to be perfect for that office or classroom.

I am still working on another test knit. It is going to be a lovely scarf. I wasn’t  to impressed with the yarn that I was using when I started this scarf. But, I am liking it more as I work with it. It is Berroco’s Seduce. I found that I wasn’t able to use bamboo needles with it, as the yarn stuck to the needles like there was adhesive on the needles. I switched to a pair of Susan Bates needles. The yarn slides better on these needles, but there is enough of a stickiness that the stitches don’t slide on their own, but with gentle pressure they do move.  The yarn is doing a bit of self striping.  I feel if I was doing a large piece with this yarn, there would be a lovely marbling effect. This yarn has a lovely sheen to it.

I have another test knit on the needles. It is a baby afghan. I am using Lion Brand Jiffy yarn for this project. The yarn in out of my stash. The color is salem, the colors are a lovely pastel. It is going to be a lovely afghan for a little girl. The colors in this yarn are lavender/pink/blue/yellow. I am going to make it longer than the recommend length. I am turning it into a comfort shawl. A friend of mine is going through a rough time. I feel that she needs some comfort.  I understand what she is going through with the death of her mother.

Here is some flowers from my yard.

Roses

 I am enjoying the spring so far. We have been having an usually mild spring this year. It hasn’t been overly warm as of yet. There have been times in the past we would go from cold to blazing hot in a matter of days.  This year the temps have been hovering around 75 degrees during the day, and dropping back into the high 50’s at night.

I haven’t been watching to much TV of late. I have been doing the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge on Ravelry. I have read 19 books so far. I have been keeping track of the books at www.goodreads.com. Here is my book shelf: http://tinyurl.com/mfqgrw

I have found some business cards that I picked up while at the Great Lake Fiber Festival over the Memorial Day weekend.

Marcie May Fibers (Justina Kopp), Maple Heights, OH
marciemayfibers@yahoo.com
Everything is hand woven, dyed, embellished, or felted. I make woven rugs,
dish cloths, coasters, ets. I also embellish and dye pre-made canvas bags as well as sachet bags and silk scarves. I needle felt pins and magnets as well as make hand made cards

FlashBack Fiber Expressions:  http://www.barbarasflashbk.com/. She had some lovely things. She is located in LeGrange, OH

Waters Edge Jewelry, LLC: http://watersedgejewelry.com/KnittingStitchMarkers.htm.  She makes some lovely stitch markers and other types of jewelry. She is located in Brecksville, OH

If you are interested in the other vendors that were at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival, you can find them here:  http://www.greatlakesfibershow.com/vendors.htm

So, I am off for now. I am going to enjoy the rest of the day. So, take the time to enjoy your day and the beauty that surronds you.

fluffy

Fluffy says enjoy the rest of your day. I am going to cuddle up in my mommy’s lap and nap.