hungy shirockuate

This Halloween we are giving out reeses' pb cups and my son calls them chocolates. Nothing extraordinary in that except that he pronounces it shirockuate. and says "op it shirock-u-ate! hungy shirock-u-ate!" That may be our family motto from this day onward.

Here is some trick-or-treating in action. Our neighbors here are displaying some truly spooky decorations. The spiderweb didn't really come out in the photo. The glint of aqua is our little princess on a candy hunt.

Have a spooky halloween!

busy

I have a habit of always saying yes.

I have the good fortune to be involved in many fun things.

I sing in a small a capella ensemble on Mondays.

I teach in a fantastic children's choir on Wednesdays.

I teach knitting at my favorite LYS, this week Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday.

I teach piano Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons.

I am spending the day tomorrow proctoring an engineering exam for some extra dollars for the holidays.

Then Sunday knitting classes, Monday singing, Tuesday knitting class, Wednesday Choir School, and Thursday piano lessons.

Top all of that off with craft club on Friday night and I am exhausted.

I should add that my husband is also exhausted.
He had to go out of town for work three days this week and then work the rest of the week with no break.
Also, our hard drive is pretty old and he is in the process of installing a new one, so when he gets home and I have to leave right away for work, then he can't work on the computer until after the kids go to bed and then there is no time for he and I to have together time.

I really do enjoy all of these things, but I fall into the same pattern over and over where I say yes to things I love and then get overwhelmed.

I am sure that after thursday everything will be rosy again. I am allowing myself this indulgent whiny time here online so that I don't have to complain to anyone out here in the real world.

This Blog thing is really helpful!

Since the hard drive is acting up, I can't put any new pics on the computer, but I have been semi-productive in the last week.
I had to replace the front door lock, and I got some deeply discounted lilac bushes from the home depot, and I taught a class on Marie Mayhew's fantastic Wooly Snowman pattern, so I got a good start on a couple of them.

Hopefully pictures next post.

Jess

Friday Craft Club

Just got back from Friday Craft Club.

There is a neighborhood group of ladies who meet every fri night and do fun craft stuff.

Tonight we were soldering stained-glass pendants to sell at a craft sale in December.

What fun!

I was talking it over with another friend who just joined (I joined about a month ago) and we agreed that we had until now had a narrow view of Crafting. Sewing, Knitting, Scrapbooking, these were things that we would expect, but cutting glass and soldering and making soap and building things from wood, these are pleasant surprises. The group of ladies in Craft Club are all full of talents and each brings something very special to the experience. I am really glad that I can be a part of that.



Whew, also, we always have fancy drinks, and tonight was hot buttered rum. very yummy, perhaps adding to the verbose nature of the post tonight.



I only have an update on the sweater, I have, sadly, been neglecting the quilt.

I am a little unsure of the fitness of my sewing machine to do the quilting. It gets kinda hot when I sew one long line.



The elder hug-a-bug is a little bit of a camera hog. in the next couple of pics of the sweater back (completed) she is sitting on top of it much like a cat would do.






Also, I was delighted to see that we still have blooming flowers in our severely neglected back garden.

Have a great weekend, all you out there in the web. I hear the weather here in Saint Paul should be lovely on Saturday, so go out and enjoy it.
Thanks for listening,
Punky

Productivity

Not to brag or anything, but I, with the help of the kids and my mom, got a lot done today!

We decorated the front porch with Halloween pictures,

Dug out the goop from two pumpkins,






did the dishes, covered two chair seats, that one was with the help of my mom, and now I am getting ready to feed the fam a from-scratch pizza. And we went to the Gym this morning.

And then on my way to work, I was presented with this view-

Not that the view has anything to do with my productivity, it was just a lovely way to continue my great day!

I always type with exclamation points, I wonder if I speak with them...

probably an unanswerable question.

And then to finish it off right, I had a great group of ladies in the knitting class that began today.

I bet I lay in a heap all the rest of the week, but today was worth it!
Hope you all had a great day too,
Punky

Lazy sunday

Hi Y'all.

I have had a busy weekend at the yarn store. So I haven't made much progress on my projects.

I will instead share a little of the lovliness of a chilly October afternoon in Minnesota.

Sarah the wonder-lady

A big shout-out to Sarah for all of her help on the fitting of the photo into the header!!!!!
Thanks Sarah.

Quilting begun

Hi out there,


I have made a little progress on the quilt.


I pinned it out yesterday, and got a start on the quilting. There are 26 lines of stitching and I have completed 4.


The quilt is rumpled in the bottom picture because its appeal was inescapable for the resident 21 month-old and he needed a snuggle.

I have also made some headway on the sweater...

And here is a preview of my next project. The neighborhood ladies are having a table at a craft sale and more about that later.

first post

Hi.

This is my first post.

Fifth Lamp Down is my favorite spot on the Smith Bridge over the Mississippi River.

I have been a skeptic about blogs in the past. Who really wants to read about me?


However, I think this blog here will help me keep focused on the many projects I have going in either sewing or knitting at any given time.


I also don't like the word 'blog'. That said, I will think of this as my blorg.

Currently I am working on two main projects; a quilt for my brother's impending nuptials and a sweater for myself.















The sweater is from RY Rowan Classic book 23 AM to PM.
My husband is always calling me a narcissist, and it must be true because the sweater is called Jess.
I am knitting it in Galler Yarns Prime Alpaca. Loving it! The yarn is undyed and you can really feel the difference. So soft and lovely. Also, I love to imagine a little silver alpaca frolicking about the countryside in Peru.

The quilt is from Joelle Hoverson's fantastic new book 'Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts'
It is the Color Wheel Quilt.

I have the top finished and now the real work begins for me because I have to pin and quilt it.












Luckily for me the wedding date is not yet set, so I have plenty of time.



I look forward to speaking with all of you out in the world wide web again soon.

Thanks for listening,
Punky