Knitting Dragonflies

I did quite a bit of knitting on vacation. The drive there, I was trapped in the car with “the sweater”, so I had no choice but to knit. That was my strategy and it worked, but after 6 solid hours of knitting I was still on the collar! Well really the shawl collar which includes short rows and the front. Due to my yarn shortage I had taken the bottom and sleeves and put them on waste yarn. My strategy was to finish the front/collar, and then see how much I had, if I had enough, finish the bottom. I made my husband stop at a gas station and take photos so I could tell what it looked like, I was trying to tell what it looked like in the front seat of a small car. *grin* . No not there yet! I was surprised at how much knitting it took to get it long enough, basically I just knitted on the collar/front, until I was sick of it, and called it done. I then knitted a bit on the bottom, and then put a k2, p2 ribbing on it. Still knitting on the bottom ribbing here. After I was happy enou...

I got a new Juicer for my birthday! I’ve been trying to buy one, but my DH kept telling me “no”, which I thought was odd, but it didn’t “click” that my Bday was coming up. So I was totally surprised when I opened it up! A Jack LaLanne PowerJuicer . I am impressed with this juicer. It is advertised as “whisper quite” and it actually is very quite. It extracts a large amount of juice, the pulp is quite dry when it is done. The mouth is large, and while I don’t recommend putting an entire apple into it without cutting it at least in two, it could be done, and I haven’t gotten anything stuck yet. Since I’ve had half my thyroid removed, I’m trying to include more high nutrient items into our diet. More on that later… I put a bag into the pulp bin and the cleanup is very easy. I just rinse it off under the tap. It comes with a brush to clean the blade and filter. It is fast and easy to make juice. If you have never had fresh juice, it is amazing. I don’t use juice recipes, I just buy ...

I Love this DIY at moredesignplease.com, also seen on etsy, a great sailor’s knotted bracelet . Hex Nut Bracelet from the same blog ! Recycled Lovelies has a pretty tutorial to dress up your tees! Behind the Seams shows us how to make an easy good looking wrap that can be worn several ways! You have to go see it to believe it! No sewing involved! I'm not much on wreaths but The Painted Hive has a tutorial for a twig wreath that I have to make ! Now go create!!

We had a great long weekend in Bloomington, IN, staying with friends and going to the World Music Lotus Festival . It was good to see friends that we hadn’t seen for years, and some we had. It is a great college town, home of IU. We enjoyed lots of great music, dancing, and a little shopping. I even managed to get in a little knitting. Below is a sample of some of the bands and performers we enjoyed. We plan on going next year. Enjoy!

I have used Henna on my hair for about 2 years now. I has been quite a journey. I’ve had various reds, from orange to auburn. While it does make my hair feel great, I’ve had to stop for various reasons. I’m going to list some of my hard learned henna lessons and advice. I wish I had known some of this before I started. First some general advice on henna, especially if you have light or graying hair….I’ll also list my best info links at the end of this. Yes seriously, before and after 100% henna…the worst moment is when I was shopping in Target and two little boys said “Mommy look at that women’s hair!”, Yes I had to leave my cart and exit the store. Needless to say I’m rather fearless with my hair now. -If you have light hair or graying hair, I would recommend using henna in combo with buxus or indigo to tame the orange color, ( mixes here ,  gray hair kits here ) (see henna for hair explanation of how henna works on gray or light blonde hair here , and yes you will be orange ...

Landscape (Italy) , originally uploaded by RayDS . Wouldn't You Like to Be Knitting Here..... Landscape (Italy) by RayDS See his other photos on flickr

The Iced sweater that has stopped me in my tracks is now enjoying some attention. I’m almost out of yarn, and even though this yarn is discontinued, of course, I found some on eBay. But don’t really want to put more money into this sweater. (subject to change… ha) I’ve decided, after looking at many magazines after my surgery, that the fall trend is showing many vests. I decide to put my sleeves on hold and the bottom also, and start on the collar. I only have 3.5 skeins of yarn left (85 yards apiece) so if I can get the collar done, maybe I can then decide if I need to finish the sweater properly. Or…..just turn it into a vest. Would I wear a bulky vest? Not really sure I care at this point, I just need to get some momentum on this project. Until then I’m going to leave you with some great pattern links I’ve found…. http://us.knitsmc.com/files/patterns/freepattern_select_1762_en.pdf , this is a knitted shrug pattern, looks simple with a dolman sleeve , super easy pattern with a...