Crocheting and Knitting on Wednesday

Working on Iris and Lillies. Making headway with the edging of the squares.  Think I'm about 1/3rd done with the edging of these squares.

Some squares require one granny style edge, others a sc row after the granny style, and others, maybe just a sc row to get things sized up before joinging.  Working on this afghan sure makes me think of flowers, lillies, iris, and daffodils.   It's another of the afghans being assembled from donated squares through Bridge and Beyond that will donated to Homeless Families. 

I've gotten upto 16 inches so far on this kimono style sweater for my Darling Daughter.  This is the back piece.  It's grown several inches since the last picture (previous post).  Think and hope when this is finished the sleeves and 2 front pieces will seem faster.

WIPW post.  Badges and links in meme tab  across the top of the blog.  Please join us.

Green Kimono Style Sweater

Knitted on the plane going to Newport Coast, CA and almost every day while on vacation there.  This is the back of THIS, my work in progress this Wednesday.  Using washable Plymouth Encore Wool and Acyrlic yarn, and 2 sizes of circular needles 7's and 8's; this is the back.  Lots still to do, as it needs to measure 29 inches with a cast on of 120 stitches.  Currently this measures about 13 inches.  LOVE the color.  Some of you know, green is one of my DD's favorite colors, the other is purple.  I bought the pattern and yarn as a Christmas present ...but, wrap it and told her I'd make it after Christmas.

The style looks like it would be very comfortable and good sweater to have on hand.

What's everyone working on this Wednesday for work in progress?  Having just gotten back in town last night in the middle of our latest snow storm, this post is short and sweet.  Much to do in order to catch up.

Happy Stitches all, badges and links in tabs for meme's across the top of the blog, please join us.

Painting Pottery with Darling Daughter

 You might have read about my recent Girls Wkend with my Fabulous Darling Daughter.  One of the many things we did (and if you didn't read about it Click Here and HERE...plus you can see how different the pottery pieces look now that they're fired), was paint pottery.  We enjoy doing that when we're together.  With each outing my pieces are less pathetic, but her's are always awesome.  She has a steady had and the ability to draw.  I draw to keep my piece smaller and more basis.  Shallow bowl above could be a good size for a salad bowl

 AND or snack bowl.  I think it would work for crackers and cheese, salty snacks etc.  We often have salty snacks with our Martini's during cocktail.

 Her bowl.......see what I mean!  She drew this awesome flower by hand inside the bowl, even picked up some shading with the colors in the flower and leaves.  Inside background is a pretty blue, while the outside is a nice dark navy blue.  She made two of these.

 These are good sizes for soup, cereal, and or side dishes. 

Sunday Stitches with Sandy

 The green sweater for DD is almost at it's 5 inches of garter which is the band of the sweater.  Once it hits 5 inches it's time to change needle size and move into the pattern stitch.  Took this photo several days before this Sunday's YOP post, as I was trying to get posts lined up.  Hopefully by the time you read this, those changes have happened.  If you scroll back or click here, you'll progress has been made.  I started with the largest piece for the sweater the back with a cast on of 120 stitches, so even with garter it takes so time.  Most people it seems start with the two smaller pieces of sweaters the fronts...thought mentally, I would like to do the largest first so I could really fell like headway was being made.  The pattern picture is Here

 The feather and fan afghan, Sea and Sand has been in the works for a long while; but it too is making progress.  It's so large I really can't take it with me anymore so only work on it here and there at home.  But, when you last saw it, I had just finished the variegated section.  I'm now about half done with tan.  There are 232 stitches per row, so it seems to take forever to get a few rows done...but I am plugging along.

Love the tan right next to that last variegated, so thought I'd show you a close up.

YOP-2 update:(see tab top of the blog for badge and link)
Make 10 ghans from donated squares etc. (8 done 2 more to go)
Finish Sea and Sand (getting close, I think)
Finish Candy Corn (I don't know if I'll get to it, or want to, but it's been waiting for SSSSSoooooo long.
Learn new cast on methods...haven't done anything in that direction
Use knitting machine....still in box in basement, no headway setting it back up for use
Knit myself a cable skirt.......not happening, by the time I get my other items done it will summer, probably
Something for DD, which was to be a scarf...which was in fact completed.  But, it wasn't right for her or needed.  Project for her has turned into the green sweater above.

Girl Time, Mother and Daughter Special

Girls times almost always involve pedicures.  Darling Daughter and I love to have a nice pedicure.  I had a wonderful 3 night 4 day visit this past weekend in St. Louis with my daughter.  We don't get to see each other often enough; but when we do..........we really know how to have a good time.  Over the course of the weekend we had a pedicure and manicure, we painted pottery, we attended a Pub Craw, we had fabulous food at a variety of restaurants, we shopped, and we had a massage.

I arrived mid day on Friday and DD picked me up at the airport.  We started off our weekend with lunch at Dressel's  Public House in The Central West End
Sorry, I don't have pictures, as I wasn't unpacked and didn't have my camera.  After spending an interesting afternoon with her at work, De La Salle Middle School we got dressed up for dinner at our favorite restaurant, LoRusso's.  Again no pictures.  We've eaten a wonderful meal at LoRusso's more times then I can count.  It's located in The Hill (The Italian neighborhood in St. Louis.)

Saturday was about The Pub Crawl.  We started early with coffee in the hotel.

Followed by necessary shopping for animal prints at Kohl's.  I was able to nab a blouse for $10.00 and Darling Daughter got several.  All were on sale, 30% off AND on top of that I had a 30% off coupon!  We had a good hearty breakfast at Chris's.  Falling down on pictures, sorry to say.  We've had a good number of good pancakes, french toast and the like at Chris's during our visits to St. Louis.  I highly recommend it.

Once back at the hotel, we reviewed our shopping and put together our outfits.  Darling Daughters

And mine.  The pub crawl's theme was animal prints.  The idea...is to get noticed.  Many of us had fun clashing prints!  We meet up at Handlebar (do click, I posted lots of pictures and info).  Before the night was over we managed to hit 5 establishments.

A bit hard to get pictures at Rehab Lounge (corner of Manchester and Chouteau Avenue), as it was dark with strob lighting.  There was some dancing

next up was Just Johns

where we noticed even the lady doing the weather on tv was wearing animal prints!  Awesome old building with tile ceiling.  Since we started out in the afternoon earlier pictures were easier to get...the lack of light as the night wore on decreased the ability to do that.

Funny thing, Jimmy here with his animal hat wasn't actually in our group; but we felt compelled to get a photo.

We had dinner at Atomic Cowboy's

And called it a successful and fun night after visiting Novak's .

Wanted you to get the feel for animalprint fun.......random pictures here from the group participating in The Pub Crawl.

We had dinner at Pi after painting pottery, and several awesome brunches at Cafe Osage and SqWires.  What a fun visit.

I managed to do some knitted on the plane coming and going, and a little bit while we were at hotel in between all of our activity.  I love Girl Time with my Darling Daughter.  Be sure and check out Traveling Suitcase for Menu Mondays, as there will be posts regarding those brunches mentioned above.

Mother and Daughter Style

 This past weekend I spent a fabulous fun filled "Girls Time" with my Darling Daughter Christine.  We live about 500 miles apart and love love love our time together.  She has some serious talent when it comes to painting pottery.  I dabble at it.  But, with dabble I am getting a wee bit better.  These are 2 small shallow bowls (shallow easier for me) that can be used as salad bowls and or snacky type bowls.  They weren't met to match, but possibly to coordinate color wise?  This is before firing.  The one with the dots and waves, and birds/arrow things should be a deep gold background with brown and dark gray-blackish design.  The 2nd one should be shades of brown and dark dark green with black dots.  Not sure when I'll see the finished results, as she will need to pick them up later this week after firing and at some point get them to me...via mail or something.  Here's my last dabble, wasn't girls wkend, but she and I were painting pottery while on vacation.

 This is more my style.  Finally got the awesome green sweater for my Darling Daughter started.  I cast on the plane trip there and worked just a bit on it during the wkend.  Was able to do a little on the return flight as well.  Several more inches of the basic garter stitch remain which is the trim section of the kimono style sweater.  Then I'll switch needle sizes and get into the pattern stitch.  Believe this will be a traveling companion on my up coming trip to CA.

I told she, DD had mad skills with painting pottery!  She drew this free hand in a deep curved bowl.  I couldn't draw that on a flat piece of paper.  Again this is pre-firing and the colors afterwards will be navy blue background, and a bright gold and yellow flower with shading and leaves.  She made 2 of these.  Both bowls are navy on the outside.  Really anxious to see this done.  All the things she's made have turned out so well.  Here's our projects On a previous Girls Time(this was my first, something happened we never got our pieces after they were fired.  No loss probably on my piece, but here's was really nice.

AND yet another vacation where we painted pottery together