Blackbird Sycamore

Halfway There…

Sleekit Mitts 3 I’ve got the first mitt done, one to go. The pattern is called “Sleekit Mitts” by Star Rabinowitz. I found it on Ravelry. This is knit from a sock-weight yarn called Regia Galaxy, in Jupiter Sylt color, on size 2 needles.

Just finished…

Feza Scarf

I just finished this scarf with the new yarn I bought in Kearney, at the Woolly Mammoth. It was a really quick knit, a simple feather-and-fan pattern, on size 10.5 needles. This yarn was so much fun to work with. I finished it in 3 days!

Wings of Peace Shawl

And finally, a photo of the shawl I finished back on July 13. It was knit with Caron Country yarn. It was my first lace knitting project. It’s not blocked very well, but you get the idea. It’s really super soft.

Storm info

Radar Image of the Storms

Here is some info about the hailstorm we were driving through on July 22.
We were just East of Kearney, Nebraska,
which is smack dab in the middle of that center blob.
The red spots are hail.
*****

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 613
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
255 PM CDT WED JUL 22 2009

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

NORTHEAST COLORADO
NORTHWEST KANSAS
SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL NEBRASKA

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 255 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70
STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF AKRON COLORADO TO 45 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF KEARNEY
NEBRASKA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

DISCUSSION...TSTMS ARE DEVELOPING ALONG W-E ORIENTED BOUNDARY IN
CONJUNCTION WITH PASSAGE OF SHORT WAVE TROUGH THROUGH WRN/CNTRL NEB
INTO KS. PRESENCE OF STEEP LOW TO MIDLEVEL LAPSE RATES...MLCAPE OF
1000-2000 J/KG AND 35-45 KT OF DEEP NWLY SHEAR WILL LIKELY PROMOTE
ORGANIZED STORM CLUSTERS /INCLUDING SUPERCELLS/ WITH THE THREAT FOR
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 35030.

I Almost Forgot…

On the way home, we stopped in Kearney, Nebraska, just before the bad rainstorms hit. There’s a great little LYS there called The Woolly Mammoth, where I bought these beauties:

di-ve yarn

Fiamma yarn by di.vé, 100% wool, thick & thin yarn, really soft! I love the bright greens! I got 2 skeins.

Feza Yarn A

This is called Alp Light, by Feza. It’s a self-striping novelty yarn. The skein has a dozen or so different yarns in it. At the shop, there was a simple scarf in stockinette stitch knitted up, and each block of color was 2 to 3 inches. I can’t wait to cast on with this yarn!

Plymouth Encore A

And last but not least, I bought 9 skeins of this lovely blue Plymouth Encore Worsted, for a sweater that I hope I will be brave enough to knit soon. It was on sale 25% off today, so I got a great deal! And I’ve been looking for this color for awhile now…not royal, not navy, not cornflower or country blue. I guess it would best be described as a dark cadet blue. Yes, I am very picky, but if I’m going to knit a whole sweater, I definitely want to have a color I’m happy with, right?

All in all, it was a great stop at a great shop, and I would recommend it to any knitter traveling through Nebraska. By the way, Knitmap.com is a great website for finding yarn shops while traveling! It was really fun to find it on the map and then drive there.

This Week in Review

See the little orange ladybug?

We travelled to Iowa to visit my parents. The kids had a great time visiting their grandparents. It was a long trip, but I think it was worth it.

Sam's Driving a Tractor (a little one) With Grandpa!

Sam drove the lawn tractor with his Grandpa, with Halle running along to watch. He had so much fun! I think it’s a memory that will last quite awhile.

: Quality Time

Later Halle spent some quality time with Grandpa, reading. Unfortunately, Grandpa was worn out after chasing kids all morning and needed a cat nap.

Sam Blowing Out Candles

Later we celebrated Sam’s 6th Birthday! He got a lot of Legos, a WII game, and a microscope set.

Sam the Scientist

After we celebrated, we left Grandma & Grandpa’s house on our long trek back home. We stopped on our way in Omaha.

Sam was so excited about his new microscope, he couldn’t wait to start doing “experiments.” He opened it up in the hotel that night.

Gorilla at Henry Doorly Zoo

The next day was spent at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Check out this gorilla…is he just resting, or does he have a headache? It’s a really nice zoo, and the kids had a lot of fun.

After a long, hot day at the zoo, and a nice cool swim in the hotel pool, we went to bed pretty tired. First thing in the morning, we started the rest of the drive home. It wouldn’t have been too bad if it weren’t for the weather.

Rainstorm

We got hit with a couple of torrential downpours, complete with gumball-sized hail and gail-force winds. We spent a very scary time under an underpass at the side of the interstate.

Wall Cloud

When the rain let up, Sam announced that God had saved his birthday.

After we had to pull over again a few miles down the road in a second downpour, we called Marceil and asked her to pray for the rain to ease up. That may seem silly to some people, but it did work. After that phone call, all we came across was light patches of rain, proving once again that Marceil’s superpower is the power of prayer!

Wings of Peace Shawl

It's finished!

This is the “Wings of Peace Shawl.” I started knitting on June 2nd, and finished this July 13. The pattern is by Renate Haeckler. It still needs blocked, but you get the idea. It’s knit with Caron Country in a light gray yarn with a silvery sheen.

Side Slip Cloche is finished!

Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits

I just finished the Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin. It was an easy knit and finished pretty quickly. I used Hobby Lobby’s “I Love This Wool!” yarn, hand dyed with Kool-Aide. It only took one skein and I still have some leftover yarn. It’s really warm and fits great!

New Yarn

Look what came in the mail for me yesterday!

Two colors of Plymouth Happy Feet sock yarn!

I have hoarded enough sock yarn in the past month to make about 20 pairs of socks…I’m still working on the first pair. But I’m prepared for a year’s worth of sock knitting now! LOL

Hello world!

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
~Gandhi

I learned in school that if you aren’t sure how to start writing a paper, you can usually get a start with an appropriate quote from someone else. It always got me started off right back then, so hopefully it will work now.

I decided today that I want to start a blog. I’ve been reading so many blogs lately and thinking it seems like a good idea. The entries I make in this blog may be completely insignificant, but since it’s something I’ve set my mind to, now it’s become important.

Here I plan to record happenings, musings, thoughts & ideas, pictures… Knowing me, it will be littered with yarn frequently, and all sorts of crafts: knitting, crochet, quilting, needlepoint/embroidery, sewing, painting, drawing, etc, etc. I will also have to say a bit about work & home life, being a nurse, a wife, & a mother.

Blackbird Sycamore

Categories

Archives

A sample text widget