Pretty, Pretty Plum Tree

Who knew plum trees were so pretty?! Ours has started to bloom and looks gorgeous:

We also have lots of other flowers popping up all over the place!

In Ravelympics news, I just finished the Heirloom Baby Blanket in MadelineTosh DK. It's so soft and cozy! 

I'm also working on a pair of cabled slipper socks out of some handspun yarn. They are a really quick knit and are going to be a great for kicking around the house. Hopefully those will be done tonight or tomorrow. I also need to finish up invitations for M's bridal shower and bachelorette party so I can mail them out next week. 

Not too much else going on besides excessive shopping at Trader Joe's! I bought some really yummy garlic and herb pizza dough yesterday and topped the pizza with some Italian style spicy chicken sausage. It was delish! Steak fajitas are on the menu tonight. 

I'm sad there are only a few more days of the Olympics...although it will be nice to go to bed before midnight!

Love,

Liz

French Press Slippers FINISHED

I finally finished my French Press Slippers, and I LOVE them. They took about a week just to dry...but once they were dry I was able to needle felt them and sew the straps on. They are cozy and comfy too!

How did Braveheart weekend go? How did the People photo shoot go? Have you gotten back on the running wagon? Don't feel bad about missing last week....especially with the nasty weather you've been getting.

In other news, Seth and I went to a little rock cliff in Eugene yesterday and did some climbing. Sailor came and hung out at the bottom of the cliff checking everyone out! The weather was great, and Seth got to do some lead climbing in preparation for his climbing trip next month. 

Oh yeah, and my sunroof is stuck open. Really stuck. Even the manual override won't close it. And the VW dealer can't look at it until Tuesday. Thankfully no rain is in the forecast until Tuesday night. No worries though, it has a garbage bag and painter's tape over it until then! Oy.

Can't wait to hear about your weekend!

Love,
liz

falling off the wagon.

It's been a week since I went on a run.  I feel like the worst kind of person.  Because in that time, errr less time, I have consumed AN ENTIRE DOUBLE BATCH OF HOMEMADE BROWNIES and sat on the couch knitting....

Which has it's perks.  I'm going to finish the damn hat if it kills me.  It finally looks like something, which is nice... The yarn I'm using is the left overs from the sweaters - so it's all mohairy and woolish... meaning blocking will help.

This weekend is heart weekend.  Some great kids will be here that we've known for quite a while.  We got the list yesterday and I cackled looking at the pictures of who's coming.  It's also the photo shoot for clorox this weekend.  Which means I'm going to be ducking and hiding from cameras....  I think my biggest fear would be realized if my mug ended up by accident in the People's 50 Most Beautiful Issue.... haha ;)

I'm envious of your weather.  I'm blaming my lack of effort partially on the fact that it's been horrifically cold and windy...oh and snowy... what the what?!  Today the sun is out and I'm just not sure what to make of it- it feels like a big tease...  I know this time next month, I'll be cursing at needing to use the air conditioning or something, but right now I just want to run without mittens and 5 layers....

I'm having a good music day though, Lena Horne, Love Songs is a fantastic album if you don't have it. I bought it LITERALLY because the cover was just a photo of a magnolia blossom.... I'm a sucker for cover art.... also Cherish The Ladies- it's about that time again to crack out the tributes to Irish heritage :)

Okay, to work.  I need to get you a picture of the mosaic wall I've been working on in Arts & Crafts.  Sometimes it's the little things that get you pumped about showing up in the morning!

happy weekend,
cb

Think Spring!

Today was another GORGEOUS day in the Pacific NorthWest! It was about 65 degrees and there was not a single cloud in the sky. Seth and Sailor went for a run in the woods and then we spent most of the afternoon in the backyard. I pruned our raspberry bushes and our grape vines, repotted an aloe plant, attempted to walk on the slackline, and played frisbee with Sailor! It was so nice to be out in the sunshine.

In crafty news, I'm a little over halfway done with the baby blanket and I just started a pair of these with some handspun yarn. I want to start spinning up some new fiber that I bought from Briar Rose:

It is ridiculously soft and smooshy. I can't wait to start spinning it up! I also can't wait to needle felt my French Press Slippers...but they are STILL wet! And Sailor thinks they are pretty tasty. Silly dog and his wool obsession.

Back to men's figure skating....

Just a Quick Note

Sorry to hear of your yucky day! Philo is so naughty stealing your shoes!

Sailor and I went for a walk around the neighborhood today in the gorgeous weather. He put on a little show for the folks driving down 9th St while we were walking- he thought it would be fun to drop to the ground and rub his face in the grass at the bank. What a goof.

I also went to the newly opened Trader Joe's and bought some goodies. It was a much more pleasant experience not having to fight the crowds just to walk down the aisles!

I didn't realize you were making the Knotty But Nice Hat! I made one for Seth for Christmas. I looked at your projects page on rav and it looks like you have them all tagged correctly. Just make sure you pick an event for all of them. When they are finished you need to post them to the finish line in the "Ravelympics 2010" group.

Hope you feel better! Off to do some spinning!
love,
liz

not a good night.

well, came home to run (with about half motivation level...) and discovered pup had STOLEN my shoes. Not joking. If that's not a sign I don't know what is... It took me a good 20 minutes to find the second (the first, in a pile of dirt, was sitting on the couch. awesome.) So I went straight to knitting...

and catching up on the olympics I missed... my dvr got mad at me and didn't record curling, which totally sucks, because it's secretly my favorite!!

then this am, i woke up with some stomach issues... which prompted a sleep in morning... i still feel pretty gross, which isn't adding to my desire not to run, so today, too, may be a day off... maybe some yoga tonight instead...

the hat is coming along. pattern is tricky, but im getting the hang of it. i really struggle with reading charts...

hope you are well, you sure are productive!!

love!

cb

Let the Games Begin!

Charlotte,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend with F and that all the crazy East Coast weather didn't interfere with travel plans! Seth and I took a trip up to Portland on Saturday for some good food, yarn shopping (Seth was psyched about that-and was particularly impressed by the electric ball winder at one of the shops), REI, and rock climbing at the gym. I checked out 2 yarn shops: Knit Purl and Dublin Bay Knitting. At Knit Purl I was enlightened about a Yarn Crawl in March, which includes 15 shops in the Portland metro area!

I've also been working on my Ravleympics project, an Heirloom Baby Blanket with MadelineTosh DK yarn:

Last night I needed a break from the blanket, so I decided to whip up a pair of French Press Slippers with Malabrigo yarn.

Pre-felting:

Post-Felting:

And a picture of the lovely flowers Seth brought home for me:

Well, as much as I would like to spend the rest of the day crafting....there is a pile of laundry calling my name.

Love,

Liz