Summer Update

I would like to start off with a picture that reminds me of warm summer days. It has been over a month since I've updated my blog... and for that I apologize. We have had a very busy summer, me and the kiddles. Some good, and some not so good.

On to the good...

We have had a absolutely wonderful time at Grammy's pool. The summers here in the Midwest are HOT! And for a stretch, every day was like 95 degrees. The only thing one could do outside, aside from melting, was to swim! We have been at Grammy's at least 3x a week! My sister has 5 boys, and along with my 2, there is always a party!

During the heat wave we had a wicked storm that blew down some extra gigantic trees, taking out our electricity with them. So for 3 days we campered in the driveway. We hooked up a generator and wa-la we had air conditioning. The kids thought it was so fun! Once ComEd began the repairs we were trapped because the trucks took up the entire lane. Below is a picture of the lane that leads to our house with the ComEd trucks taking over. Really, by the time they got there my neighbors and I were so grateful...

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The not so good...

My dad had open heart surgery and is not doing so well. Each day is better than the last, but it is a slow go! And even though I have several WIP (work in progress) projects, I have decided that Dad needed an afghan for his hospital bed. Below is the first skein... 20 or 21 skeins in total to finish the project... he is 6 foot 3. I didn't want to make a lap blanket, but one that you could snuggle up to your neck without letting your toes peek out! It is a very simple, but thick, half double crochet. The color is Shaker in the HomeSpun line from Lion Brand Yarn. This is more of an elegant looking afghan, and not my traditional whimsical style. I figured first, he's a guy, and second he's 68 and would probably not want a rainbow of colors draped across his couch.
The kids call it "The Healing Blanket Hooked With Love". Right now it is the size of a scarf... I have a lot of work to do in order to finish, just as my Dad has a lot of rehab to do himself!

So in a nut shell... this summer has been swimming for the kids and hospital visits for me. Not what I planned, but am glad that we are all moving forward!

Busy Busy Busy!

Boy, oh boy, have I been a slacker!

I haven't picked up a crochet hook in like 2 weeks. Life sometimes gets in the way of relaxing down time, and I feel that I haven't had any of that in quite some time. Above is a progress-picture of The Granny 2.0. At this rate I hope to be done with it before school starts up again.

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Last weekend we celebrated America's Independence on the 4th of July.
The kids loved it! We went to the Sandwich Fairgrounds and watched fireworks.

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And we went camping...

Camping sounds like it would be relaxing... and it was at some points... but it was really a lot of work. You'd think I would have a lot of time to get in some hookin' action, but I just couldn't fit it in between the bicycle parade and the greased watermelon relay race!

We had so much fun that when we got home I had to take a nap :)

Hopefully this week will be back to normal...
xoxo
Nicky

Midwest Folk & Fiber Art Fair

Fiber Overload!

I have never seen such beauty all in one place. I was so overwhelmed, I didn't know where to start.

From the beginning...
Bean and I made the drive North from Yorkville (where we live) to Grayslake, which took us about an hour and a half... not bad. We pull into the fair grounds, walk up to a very nice, very big, farm building, and as soon as you walk in BAM! you are hit with the most beautiful colors I have ever seen on yarn. (remember, I'm new to this!)

It was hard picking which pictures to share, I loved them all!

There was all kinds of fiber...finished yarn, yarn ready to be spun, and raw fiber waiting to become roving?! I learned a lot of new lingo on my trip.

There were several booths with fantastic fiber goodness for sale.
Bean and I shopped.

There was some pretty crafty things out there...

Like these slippers -

They were hand felted and $45

I saw these little cuties. They were just shapes crocheted together that made me think of garland at Christmas, but this kind of garland could stay up all year round in my opinion!

They had lots of demonstrations... drop spindle spinning, felting, knitting, and crocheting. Below is a lovely girl showing us how to use a spinning wheel. I had no idea spinning wheels could be so expensive... like $700! Yikes! Most of the spinners like to spin without shoes??

Then we came to the Vintage Fibers booth....with real live English Angora rabbits. Uh oh! I was hooked (no pun intended) when Vintage Fibers showed me that you can harvest the Angora, mix it with Alpaca, and spin it into yarn. Oh my! I had visions of lovely trim on fancy scarves and arm warmers.

We took the photo...

...and then picked out our bunny!

His name is Hawk Nelson.
That's what was already on his papers, but Bean has changed his name to Hawkson.

Bean is now a proud owner of her very own bunny!
Then it was on to Farm and Fleet to find a home, water bottle, and hay for our new addition!

Needless to say, I did not come home with any fiber of my own because I am such a softy for my kids. I couldn't afford to buy both, and I couldn't resist, "Mommy, can we have one, pleeeeeaaassssseeee?"

xoxo
Nicky

Midwest Folk & Fiber Festival

Road Trip!

While surfing the internet I found this festival in Grayslake.
Oh how the universe is taking care of me! I can't wait to pet and stroke all the glorious yarn... hmmm. It's about 1.5 hours away and it's going to be just me and Bean. CJ is staying at Grammy's, as he hates to go grocery shopping, much less spend the day looking at yarn!

Thank goodness for Grammies (sp?) everywhere!!

The pictures I used for this post can be found on the Midwest Folk and Fiber website. You can read more about the festival at

www.fiberandfolk.com

I'm hoping to find this...
And some of this...
And maybe some of this...

Oh lovely day!

Check back and I hope to have pictures of my own posted, along with a recap of the day's adventures!!

Wish me luck... and pray for restraint, as I need to have enough $$ leftover for the electric bill! hehehe

Granny Slippers

Hello cyber-people...I hope everyone out there is doing well.

Thank you so much for stopping by :)

At the very start of my blog it felt strange to write to no one, but lately I have noticed that there have been visitors. Real live visitors! This makes me soooo happy.

I love to crochet...and I love to read the blogs of other crocheters, as well as any crafty, creative lovely out there. As you can see, my blog list keeps getting longer and longer. For every new blog I visit, I find at least 2 other new blogs from the first new blogger's list of favorites! (Did you follow that??) What fun it is to find wonderful people who share a love that I love too!I have taken a break from making The Granny 2.0... and above is a sneak peak at what I accomplished during my break. I'm am a super beginner when it comes to needlework, and I have never read instructions to crochet. Up until this point every thing I have created has been flat... afghans, all of which I can count on one hand. As I was browsing Blogland I came across The Royal Sisters. Michelle pens a super fun blog with lots of inspiration, and has great vintage style. I found the cutest little crochet slippers there. And wouldn't you know, she offers the pattern for sale at her etsy store ...click here. I immediately clicked ADD TO CART.

And there you have it, my first ever 3 dimensional object. I know it isn't much, but both slippers I made look the same... and fit my feet, so I win!
Yay... slippers for everyone!

I feel they look a little plain, super cute, but plain, so I might just have to try my hand... and hook... at embellishing them with flowers.
I was thinking I may need this...

Any way, back to The Granny...
Night night,
Nicky
xoxo

The Oswego Country Market

Happy Father's Day

Today was a great day to be with the Dad's in our life... a beautiful Midwest day, warm and sunny. We went out for breakfast... then to the Oswego Country Market for some fresh veggies and some wonderful handmade crafts.

Above is a sign painted on a historical downtown building we walked by on the way to the market. It celebrates Oswego's 175th birthday back in 2008. I just love how colorful it is!

While at the market, I bought some "fresh dug" potatoes from the stand pictured below. I'm going to attempt to make this potato salad recipe that I found on the Crochet With Raymond blog. My potatoes are waaaay down on the very end. They are cutie little new potatoes.
The colors are gorgeous!It was great fun to walk thru the outdoor market with the kids and let them see their food offered from the farmer that grew it.
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On to crafting...
CJ is ready to fork over his hard earned $$ for a really cool dog-tag necklace made out of up-cycled pop cans.

www.jewelsbyjazzy.com
very cool.

All in all it was a good day.
Now I just need to find some time to work on the Granny!

xoxo
Nicky

Thrift store shopping

I found some treasure!

It was a rainy day here in the Midwest, so no Wednesday Swim-day. Instead Bean and I went pickin'. We have these stores called Goodwill, and they are donation drop-off centers. Reduce,Reuse, Recycle is their motto. Their mission is to provide "supportive services to people with disabilities or disadvantages who seek greater independence." We call shopping there pickin ' because you have to pick through a lot of trash to find your treasure... and some days there just isn't any treasure to be found...but today was a good day.

I love tote bags. I'm not much of a purse girl, but I can never have too many tote bags! Above is a treasure I found at Goodwill... among other things... a mini tote from The Gap. It's a little on the small side, but I couldn't resist the shape. It is lined with Lime green... one of my favorite colors... and has pockets all the way around the inside. The fabric was unusual, almost like a heavy parachute, besides, black goes with everything, so how could I go wrong! The price was definitely right - $5.

What will you put in it you ask??

Yarn, of course!

This is my Granny-on-the-Go bag.
It has every color I need to finish the Granny 2.0 no matter where I'm at. I tell you, it's tough to be organized!

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Lately, I've been reading the blog Crochet with Raymond... I'm a blog stalker, I'll admit it! I find a writer that I like, and then I go back to their beginning to read their blog from start to finish. At this particular blog, Alice is the writer/crocheter and Raymond is her adorable kitty companion. Not only does Alice create some of the most beautiful hooky goodness, but she is also a yoga practitioner, Reiki Master, and a student. The student thing I can relate to, but spiritual stuff, not-so-much. However, while I was pickin', I found these interesting little cards. Did she send them to me all the way from New Zealand? Maybe, maybe not, but I couldn't pass them up.... a good find at $1.

It's hard to read, but the intro says...

"We hope The Yoga Deck helps you progress along your path of physical well-being, emotional balance, and spiritual growth."

I don't know about you, but I welcome any help in those departments!
Can you learn to practice yoga from a deck of cards? I don't know, but I'm baby stepping.

I'm off for a little hooky love before the kiddles wake up.

xoxo
Nicky