Sunday Funday

I finished up the quilt tag for my son's quilt. It's tradition to make a tag with information about who the quilt is for, why it was made, who made it and the year. It's officially packed in the box and ready to go to college!

My little baby chickens are doing so well. Miss Claire is taking wonderful care of the little ones. They're all mixed together in the coop and everyone is happy. 

I enjoyed sitting outside last night for a little while. It was soooo hot this weekend and it finally broke a bit once the sun started to set. I'm knitting an Arika Cowl. And you can see one of my favorite project bags. I used one of the Dropcloth embroider paisley designs that I made and my friend, Seashore Sharon made it into a bag for me.

Have a great week everyone!

Life Is....

I saw this quote online and I loved it. It applies to everyone but especially my oldest who is headed out of the house for the first time. With so much uncertainty and emotional ups and downs, I thought this was appropriate. He started packing yesterday because the school has asked us to ship most of his belongings ahead of time to eliminate the time moving in and crowded elevators. I think it's fantastic! No carrying super heavy things? Ok! He needed to wash the blanket and quilt that he wanted to take along. So the "college quilt" went into the wash and I lined dried both. I can't believe it....it's going to be packed up in a box and heading to Pittsburgh. Wild.

LIFE IS....Beauty, Admire It

While it was hanging out to dry, I thought it would be nice to take a photo of my other quilt by the same designer. I am still quilting this one. It's the Meadowland Quilt. I've talked about it a bunch on the blog. It's going to be renamed my "Quarantine Quilt". I'm so thankful to have the ability to create things with my hands. It's very calming to me.

The quilts are both designed by Then Came June.

The one on the right is the Diamond Ripples Quilt. The left is the Meadowland Quilt.

LIFE IS A GAME...

Yesterday was opening day for the MLB. What a weird thing to watch!

No fans, pumped in "cheering" and organ music from the video game, MLB the Show!

A few announcers, ground crew and the players. Too bad it started to pour and the game ended early. But that's 2020 for ya....did you expect anything less?

Chase and I hung outside for a bit last night before a storm came through. I am watching Hart of Dixie on Netflix. It's adorable! Super silly and cute. I'm liking it a lot. I'm also watching Handmaid's Tale on Hulu. NOT super silly and cute! AHHH! It's crazy! And I am obsessed.

I am knitting an Arika Cowl for the Coop. These are fun cowls to wear.

Bandana style with some fringe. It calls for bulky yarn and big needles so it goes really fast.

Here's to another day! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Bloom Booties

How cute are these??!!! Ah! I love them.

I knit them up to sell in the Coop. Super cute and easy to knit.

Pattern: Bloom Booties

Designer: By Annie Claire (my favorite!)

I love knitting baby things for the store. I purchased her entire "Little One" eBook

because I liked all of the patterns. And it's nice to support a favorite designer.

I used Cascade Lana D'Oro yarn. It's a mix of alpaca and wool.

Covid-19 Update Post

Posting this because it's something I never thought I would see...

A major league baseball game without any fans. What a strange time we are living through!

Right now it is July 22 and we are getting closer to the fall, school, football, college and there are still many uncertainties and questions about how it will look for us. The numbers are good here in NJ (today) but the rest of the country is rising. I notice that when I go out (mostly just to grocery shop) everyone is wearing a mask. The beach is a free-for-all. But everyone else is wearing a mask. I think this is helping keep the virus low around here. From what I've seen on the news, not every state is as strict as here with the masks. 

Yesterday the governor gave the go-ahead for contact sport practices. My football player is very happy. Let's pray they get to play! He has been training and conditioning with his team through zoom all spring and in person for the past 2 weeks. 

My little guy is nervous about going to school. We had to drive to school on Monday to pick up the contents of his desk. We stayed in the car and they brought it to us. He was very nervous pulling in and not until I told him that we were staying in the car did he calm down. I think this has hit him the hardest out of all of us. He's so fearful and as much as I try to calm him, his little mind is racing (and to be honest...so is mine). I truly hope they go to school even if it's part time. We'll see!

My oldest is going to college in 21 days (but who's counting right?!) lol. 

So far, they are on track to go and his classes are mostly in person. Of course that can change in a minute. We're really learning patience and being flexible. He got his housing assignment yesterday and he is living in a hotel on campus with a roommate. Not bad! Queen beds, private bathroom and air conditioning. He's thrilled to be on campus. Some of the hotels were farther away from campus. They dedensified the dorms by making them all singles and put the majority of freshmen in the hotels. Luckily the hotel is ALL freshman and no visitors. So it will run exactly like a dorm (without the cinder block walls!) 

So....that's the update. Thankfully we are all healthy and that it stays that way.

Making Mojo

I saw an embroidered hat on Pinterest a few weeks ago and showed my sister, Liz. I knew we HAD to make some!!! The next day she was shopping with my mom at a flower farm and there were a bunch of blank hats in the check out line! Random and perfect!!! She picked up a few and started creating.

Yesterday I took my lunch hour and made one myself. I loved making it and listed it on Etsy last night. It sold! Woohoo! I think I need to make more.....

It was super simple to make it. A blank hat, a needle and some embroidery thread. I split the strands of thread into 3 strands and I am happy with the weight. I think it showed up well. I started with 2 but it didn't show up well. I used a white dressmakers pencil to lightly draw my design before I embroidered. That's it! Easy, peasy!

Birthday Fishing

The baby of my crew turned 9 this weekend. I can't believe it!!! 9!!! He was the one that was supposed to stay a baby forever and ever....well that didn't work! He wanted to go fishing in the pond behind my sister, Liz's house. Her husband has a great little boat and off they went. But I wanted to go too! I had never been out on their lake...how is this possible?! I had no idea how big it was. It's tucked in behind people and you can't see it from the road. It's all private access and very secluded. I felt like we were away on vacation. Liz, Grant and I took the canoe out and took a tour of the lake and took some pictures of the fisherman. It was a beautiful night that was finished off with a chocolate cake and homemade whipped cream. Happy 9th birthday to Chase! Love you buddy.

Yarn Along

This is my second Trellis Shawl designed by Annie Rowden.

It will be a gift for Carol, our marketing department admin at work. She is retiring August 6. I can't believe it! She's so good at her job. It's going to be hard without her. She always comments on my knitting and admires it so I thought it would be a nice gift for her. 

My friend, Seashore Sharon dropped off this book for me to read. She always gives me the best books!!! Always a good romantic and steamy book!

Being Outside

I am still working from home. YAY! It's been so nice. I am able to get out for a walk every day. Jeter and I take a walk around the farm for a little bit and then I head back in to make lunch and take a little break. Then back to work until 5. Last night it was so nice out so Chase and I headed out with a fishing pole and my knitting to Spring Lake. We are lucky to live just minutes from there. He didn't catch anything but it was still a fun time. I got a nice bit of knitting done too. We're a good team. He fishes, I knit, he moves to a different spot on the lake and I follow with my stuff and start knitting again.

When we got home from fishing we let the chickens out to explore. Everyone is getting along nicely and I left them all together to sleep last night for the first time. Thankfully it all went well! The big girls don't seem to care that new babies are in their flock. Miss Claire is an awesome mom too. It was really nice to be outside in beautiful weather. Not too hot, not too cold. JUST RIGHT!!!