The Lunar Eclipse

Earlier this week, we had a lunar eclipse. Usually, we don't get to see them, as it gets cloudy and then you are out of luck. Well, this week, it was cloudy, but we kept watching to see IF we would get to see it. Well, the clouds did part for just the time of the eclipse AND I was able to get a picture of it. If you look close you can see the outline of the moon, amongst our tree branches. I tried moving out from under the trees and I couldn't get the camera to focus on anything. I am guessing that it happened, cause the moon was so far away. In this photo, it focused, on the tree branches and hence I have the moon in the background.

It was really fascinating to see. To think that the earth was in the middle with the sun on one side and the moon on the other. And the earth(or us) was blocking the sun from shining on the moon. So, in effect what we are seeing is the outline of the earth on the moon. God is great! He knew what He was doing. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

This morning when I went downstairs to the kitchen, I found a sweet from my husband! I also found some worship music DVD's that look like they will be great. But, I wanted to share the picture of my giant cookie with you, because it is so pretty. (I also wanted to get the picture taken, so I can eat it.) LOL! The center decoration isn't frosting, but it is very pretty with sparkles and bright red and pink colors on it.

Today I went to the knitting club at Delightful Hands yarn shop. It meets on Thursday mornings. Turns out the group is working on a square a month afghan. The owner is putting together the patterns for it. So, I decided to join in. I am already behind a month, so I need to get busy working on it.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I Love To Felt

I really enjoy knitting something with wool yarn and then putting it into the washing machine on a long wash cycle. The item will felt or full. It is a lot of fun to see the transformation take place. I am not quite sure, what it is about felting, but it is addicting! You can't just do it once. These are slippers that I made for Nicole. Notice how big they are, by realizing that is a regular pen between them. This is their before washing machine look.

Below, is how they look when done and on her feet. The pink ones are Claire's. She is modeling hers.

The pattern I used is by Fiber Trends and is called Felted Ballerina slippers. The blue slippers are in Ashford Tekapo yarn and the pink ones are in Plymouth Galway yarn. I did put a no-skid bottom on them, by using silicone caulking sealant. I even purchased my own caulking gun, so I didn't lose someone elses. :) I think he is glad I did that, cause he is always looking for his framing square. LOL!

Koolhaas Hat

One thing that is great about being a knitter, is having friends who knit. :) One such friend, Kate, had a ball of Noro yarn just sitting around, calling out to be a hat. So, Kate knitted a hat and surprised me with it on my birthday! It was truly a wonderful surprise and I absolutely love it. It is soft and warm and the colors are fabulous. I love the way Noro yarn stripes as you use it. I actually don't have anything else made from Noro yarn. If you look closely at the hat, you will see that it has a small texture design around it, all the way through the hat. The pattern for the hat is named Koolhaas Hat and it is from Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts Issue. Below you can see how the yarn works through the top of the hat. Gorgeous! Thanks Kate!

Also in the picture, to the left of the hat, is another snowman decoration. Can you see him in the canning jar?? He is standing in snow, with a tree next to him, holding onto a shovel. Embroidered on his front is "Let it snow." This was made by Cathy, yep, the same talented person who painted my Kiwi.

It is warm out today, we didn't need to wear coats this morning. I did wear my wool sweater though.

Beka's Sweater

More knitting to show you! I have finished Beka's sweater, in her favorite color, green. I was trying to make a sweater for her to be able to wear to her dance class and stay warm. Hope I succeeded. I used the Ashford Tekapo yarn for it, so it is warm. The pattern was out of

Vogue Knitting, the spring/summer 2006 issue. The edging is actually crocheted on there. I dug out my crochet hooks, but had to use a hook 2 sizes smaller. I love crocheting, but hadn't done it in a while, so it was fun to make a bit of lace on the sweater using the crochet stitches.

I have worked a couple of days this week at the store and then had to be here at the house for a furnace repair man. He thought it was fixed on Monday and then he thought it was fixed on Wednesday, but on Thursday he was absolutely sure it was fixed. Since the weather has turned REALLY cold(for TX), I hope it is. Seems to be. No more banging and we do have some heat coming out of it. In the morning, I check the temperature, so I can hopefully dress right for the 2.5 mile walk my neighbors and I do. It was 17 F outside this morning! Thankfully, there wasn't alot of wind.

While waiting around for the repair man, I did get more knitting done. Surprised? I also, worked on dehairing a small bag of llama hair that I had received a while back. I am not even half way done with that. A little at a time. I think I was nuts, I knew better than to take the bag, sure am glad it is only a grocery size sack. Thanks though, to Jessica, for showing us how to dehair fiber! Oh, if you are not a fiber person, the hair needs to be pulled out, or the yarn I make will feel like jute rope.