Feeling Blue............

Not the sad kind of blue, but the colour blue of course! If anyone knows me, they know that I am just crazy over the colour blue! Especially when it comes to things in my kitchen! I seem to be drawn to this colour for whatever reason...people laugh at me when I tell them that I love when Hubby takes me into Canadian Tire and Home Hardware cuz they have a wonderful selection of "kitcheny" things and lots of them in blue too!

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So you can just imagine the look on my face when I received this Gorgeous Blue Snowman Lamp from my dear friend Marilyn! She told me that she was sending me a little package for Christmas and she said it was delicate and fragile so I was expecting something small...when Hubby walked in with the parcel I nearly fell off my chair! Marilyn made me this beautiful lamp out of an old wine jug...it is so unique and so cute and so BLUE!!!
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As you can see, it matches perfect! Not sure if you can see, but the lamp shade is all sparkly too! If you click on the pictures you can see all the work that went into this beauty!
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Here is a close-up photo of the adorable snowmen..these cute little guys made their way around the whole lamp...pretty cute, hey?

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And here you can see the sparkly snow on the bottom of the lamp...when the lamp is turned on they just sparkle like real snow in the sunshine!
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Here it is all lit up...it looks sooo pretty in the evening...I just love it so much! Thank you so very much Marilyn for taking the time to do all this for me!
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And another big thank you is definitely in order...this time for my dear friend, Mary Anne! If you don't know Mary Anne, you seriously have to get on over to her blog...every Friday she updates her blog with all that's been going on in her life that week...sometimes it's knitting, sometimes it's not, sometimes it's pictures of the beautiful scenery or of a certain fella with his bike...but whatever it is, Mary Anne always has this charming way of entertaining her readers with a little humor and a little education too! Anyway, last night when Hubby came home from work, he gave me a package that came in the mail addressed to me! Here it was an envelope filled with beautiful knitted dishcloths in all tones of blue!
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Don't they all look wonderful on my kitchen counter? I love them all! There are of course Mary Anne's extremely famous Feather and Fans and also there were a couple in the Basket Rib stitch!
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Check out her beautiful yellow card with the blue flowers on it...so pretty!
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And she even sealed the envelope with a teddy...how adorable!
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All ready to dive into all those bubbles and do the dirty work now!
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Thank you so very much Mary Anne for all the delightful blue dishcloths, I love them all!
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Hugs and Love to the pair of you for thinking of me and taking the time to brighten my holiday and making me feel special with these beautiful gifts made from the heart!

Yesterday Hubby and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary! I can't believe how fast the time has flown. So much has happened since then..so much to be thankful for, so much to be proud of. 10 years ago yesterday, Hubby and I were on our way to Minneapolis with his sister, our beautiful 10 month old little girl, and two of our friends...we were heading to Minneapolis to get married in the Mall of America in the Chapel of Love...it sounds so corny and cheesy I know, but when we saw it on our previous trip to Minneapolis we both thought it would be kinda cute! Nothing seemed to be going right leading up to the big day...Hubby barely found a suit in time, I had just found a dress to wear the night before after looking around town ALL day long. A few days before that, I had had a tubal pregnancy and had to have an operation to have it removed which left me feeling a little sore. Hubby's suit pants needed to be hemmed so his Sister was hand sewing them in the front seat of the car on the way with the little sewing kit they give to you for free in the hotel room...when the teeny tiny little scissors broke we stopped at a gas station to borrow a pair of scissors so she could finsih the job! We still didn't have a ring for Hubby so when we pulled into Mineappolis we stopped at the fist store we saw which was a Target and quickly picked him out a ring from their jewelry department...thank goodness they had his size! In the meantime, we had lost site of our friends that were riding in a seperate vehicle...they ended up going the wrong way but fortunately they were able to find their way to the Mall where we all met up eventually. By this time I was a complete basket case, thinking to myself that this was never going to work out because everything that could go wrong, WAS! We made our way up to the Chapel where we were escorted to the dressing room where we all frantically got dressed. Just before the ceremony I had a little emotional breakdown where I started crying because I was just so nervous and had been worried all day that we were going to be late...talk about being stressed out! I quickly picked up my beautiful little girl, gave her a kiss and said a little prayer to myself. I opened the door to the chapel and as soon as I saw Hubby I felt better...still very emotional but I knew that the moment was finally here and all the stress of getting ready for it was over. I walked down the aisle with our baby in my arms, we said our vows and I cried through the whole time...couldn't help it, it was such an emotional day for me. Now, every year that goes by we have a little giggle over it all as we remember how everything that could go wrong, did, but in the end it didn't matter because it all worked out just fine.

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To celebrate our 10 years being married, Hubby surprised me by taking me to the jewelry store and letting me pick out diamond earings! He is always so good to me, spoiling me rotten all the time. Never wanting or needing anything for himself but always over-joyed when it comes to giving me things to make me happy...what a guy! I know that I am not the easiest person to live with at times and he still takes me for who I am no matter what and I truly love him and appreciate him for that!

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Here are my beautiful diamond earings...I love them so much, aren't they so pretty and sparkly? I am so lucky!

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(pictures are clickable)

Happy Birthday To a Wonderful Grandmother!!

With a few thousand kilometres between us, we don't get to see eachother as often as I would like to. A couple of months ago I was fortunate enough to have been able to see her for only a short time though. We ALWAYS try to make the most of our visits cuz they just don't last long enough.

She is the most wonderful Grandmother anyone could ask for! She has always been so supportive and encouraging. She has always shown how proud she is of me...from a little girl to the woman I am today.

She always says that she doesn't want or need anything, so on this special day of her's I would like her to know just how special she is to me, how much I love her and miss her, and how much I truly appreciate everything she does for me!

Happy Birthday Granny! Enjoy your day and know that we are thinking of you lots!

I'll leave you with a few photos of her and I together...a couple from a LONG time ago and one from more recently. Sure brings back memories...here's to many more Granny!

Love Rachel Marie

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

~ My Granny...my best friend ~

*** Enjoy & Have a Safe & Happy Halloween!! ***

Hugs,

:o)

Rachel

~ Calendar of Hope 2009 ~

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13 Original Dishcloth Patterns Created to Raise Awareness and Money for Breast Cancer Research

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This is our Calendar of Hope for 2009 which I am honoured to be a part of. This all started from a little thought Cindy (aka, FitterKnitter) had to create a Breast Cancer Awareness Calendar to sell to raise money for breast cancer research and it snowballed from there into this beautiful work of art! Cindy has done such a beautiful job with this calendar. I am so proud to be a part of it!

Below you can find my contribution to the calendar, "Little Praying Cherub". It was a lot of fun working with so many wonderful people on this project. Thanks so much Cindy for this opportunity!
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This Calendar is available for purchase on KnitPink.com. It is being offered as an instant pdf download and all proceeds made from this calendar go to Breast Cancer Research. Thank you so much for checking it out :o)

Chocolate Cake For Breakfast?

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It's Hubby's Birthday today...poor guy had to start back at work today after being laid off for most of the Summer. There is never anything this man wants or needs...he's just happy with what he's got...he's always more than happy to plan little surprises for me and the kids though...he always takes great pride in providing for his family. He's just a simple kinda guy, doesn't like a big fuss made on his special day, unlike me...I thouroughly enjoy feeling special and being surprised and spoiled rotten on my day!

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So I thought the least I could do is bake the man a cake...no candles but of course there will HAVE to be icing! I decided to surprise him with a chocolate cake when he gets home...not even the kids know that I'm making Dad a cake, so really, I could eat this whole thing today if I wanted to and no one would ever know...LOL!

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Check out my little Baking Assistant, Molly...I think she is loving the smell of Chocolate in the air as well! This is gonna take a lot of will power for me not to eat this ALL DAY LONG! That must mean that I'll have earned myself a HUGE piece of cake at the end of the day though for being so good by resisting it throughout the day! I'll keep ya posted :o)

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Pictures are clickable to enlarge :o)

Hugs,

:o)

Rach

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Bill Cosby's, "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast"! Makes me laugh so hard everytime! Enjoy :o)

via videosift.com

Feather and Fan Baby Washcloth Set Finally Posted :o)

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Well, I'm finally getting a chance to post some pics of the feather and fan cloths I did up about a month and a half ago...it's taken me this long to take the pics of them. What motivated me to do it, was reading Mary Anne's Blog last week where she posted pics of some of the feather and fans she did using two different colours! So, here they are!

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I have come to the conclusion that I'm not all that fond of the self-striping cotton anymore. It's lovely when it works with the pattern you are doing, but I get so darn frustrated when the colour changes at inappropriate times like in the middle of the row or on the wrong row. So when I wanted to knit up some feather and fan cloths in a striping pattern, I decided to do some manual striping instead of using the self-striping cotton...and I was so impressed with the way they all turned out...even though there were more than a few ends to tie in. Just look at how gorgeous these guys turned out!! Too bad I don't have any babies around me...I just love all the pastel colours though! So soft and pretty!

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Feather and Fan Baby Washcloth Set

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This first one was done using baby green, baby pink, and baby blue with the white in between them...lots of ends to tie in here on this one...grrrrr!
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Done in Baby Pink and White
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Done in Baby Blue and White
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Done in Baby Green and White
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If you like this version of the Feather and Fan cloth, you can find the modifications for it on my dear friend, Mary Anne's blog, located on her sidebar. Mary Anne is absolutely crazy for this pattern...she must have hundreds and hundreds of them knit up by now! She's so awesome!

~ My Finished Group Knit-a-Long Picture ~

My pic of Pam's Tulip Dishrag that we knit for our May 2008 Group Knit-a-Long in Rachel's Knitting Room!

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This beautiful dishcloth pattern was graciously provided by a wonderful woman, Pam Walker. She is the owner of Knitter's Nest that is located in Cadillac Michigan.

I came across this pattern about 7 years ago and I fell in love with it right away! Unfortunately, when I went to the site later to find it though, it was gone :o( So I set out on a pattern hunt and was finally able to get in contact with Pam through email...PHEW!...cuz for the past few months, I've been really wanting to do something a little different for a KAL and thought that this would be an absolutely perfect pattern to try! I tried to provide some help with the videos and I know that it has been a struggle for some, but I am so proud of the fact that you kept going and pushed yourselves to continue on with it even with your frustration...mind you, it's pretty easy to push yourselves through this pattern as it is such a pretty one!

Also, thank you so much to all our wonderful members who helped out those in need through this one, I truly appreciate it!

Here is the link to this pattern that we have been doing...you will also find that Pam has the instructions written out for a matching hanging towel to go with this beautiful dishcloth! What a pretty set that would make! It is from her archived site, and the picture is not viewable, but we'll have the pics from our KAL for it:
http://web.archive.org/web/20021213122025/users.michweb.net/~pknitter/patterns.html

And here is Pam's current website:
http://www.knittersnest.net/

If you click on this link below for chicknits.com and scroll a little past halfway down this page you can read a little bit about Pam's Yarn Shop in Cadillac, Michigan...sounds wonderful!:
http://www.chicknits.com/blog020731.shtml

Pam wanted me to let you all know that she also mails her yarn out.

Here is her info below:

Knitter's Nest
10861 West Cadillac Road(old M-55)
Cadillac, MI
48418

231-775-YARN

Phone Orders Welcome!

Thank you, Thank you, Pam for a gorgeous pattern! Much appreciated! I bought myself 3 BIG balls of the cotton twists to be able to knit a whole bunch of these up for the kids' teachers at the end of the school year(which isn't that far away...YIKES!) Beautiful Pattern!

~ Bernat Handicrafter Cotton ~

~ Colonial Colors ~

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OoooLaLa! Talk About Some Pretty Colours to Choose From!
.Yesterday, dear Hubby took me into town to do a little shopping and while strolling through our WalMart, I thought I'd check out the Yarn section and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a new selection of colours to choose from in the Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Section! COLONIAL COLORS! How gorgeous! I only purchased two of the big balls, but I will be going back for more soon, as these are really pretty colours...I love them. There are pretty variegated colours as well to choose from, including "Queen Anne's Lace"...doesn't that just sound beautiful? They are very victorian-looking, I guess that's why they caught my eye like that! Here are the pics of the two big balls that I got:
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Bernat Handicrafter Cotton ~ Colonial Colors

~ Virginia Rose~

~ Pilgrim Peach ~

~ More Molly ~

Look at the pretty girl sitting so nice for her picture...

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And here she is just waking up from one of her many naps...

So innocent looking...don't let her fool ya though...LOL!

I'm finding it extremely difficult to get any knitting done lately with little Molly around...I'm trying to knit while she is sleeping...and even then, I have to do it ever so quietly, otherwise she hears me and gets up to "play" with the yarn...she reminds me so much of a little baby!!

~ The Newest Little Member of Our Family ~

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~ Our Little Molly ~

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For the last couple of weeks, we've been discussing getting a new pet for our family. A couple of years ago we lost our kitty, Allie when she got real sick. It was so sad and a really hard thing for all of us to go through, seeing her get sick and then losing her like we did...if it were up to the kids, we would have gotten a new little kitty right away, but I just wasn't ready to replace poor little Allie. I guess enough time has passed since then for me to feel ready to bring a new little furball into our life, cuz last week hubby took me to the pet store to see all the new kittens and I just fell head over heels in love with them all! Sadly though, they want an arm and a leg for a kitten...the same little kittens that are always offered for free in every paper you read! So hubby made a couple of phone calls and there we were Friday night, off to town to look at a kitty that needed a good home. I had it in my mind that I wanted a gray kitty with long hair and that is just what the man on the phone described to us. When we saw her, our hearts just melted! She is the sweetest little kitten ever! She did have some gray in her but it was mostly the fluff on her belly...the rest of her was like a chocolate brown colour! I LOVED it! So we scooped her up, brought her home and have been thouroughly enjoying every minute with her! Most of which is either playing, sleeping, or eating. The kids have given her the name Molly cuz she's just such a pretty girl, they wanted her to have a real girlie name. I've been trying for two days to get a good picture of her, but she really doesn't sit still long enough for you to take a good picture of her. I could take a million of her sleeping, but I really wanted a good one of her little eyes! So here are two photos of her, the best that I could do for now...I'm sure once she calms down a bit, it will get a little easier, but for now she's just our crazy little furball! I get tired just from watching her! She's even managed to find all the hiding spots for some of the dust bunnies around here...I thought I got them all but I guess I missed some! Oh well, at least she's a good colour for picking up the dirt and dust around here...LOL!

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Our Little Miss. Molly trying to sit still!

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And here she is trying to make a run for it!

~*~*~*~ My Finished KAL (knit-a-long) Photos!! ~*~*~*~

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Progress Pics of Our Monthly Mystery Dishcloth Knit-A-Long

in Rachel's Knitting Room for the Month of April!

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Big Thanks go out to my very dear friend, Marilyn Wallace for creating and designing another great pattern for our group! Here are my daily photos of our last monthly KAL that we did for the month of April :o)

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Day #1 of our KAL! Casted on with variegated Baby Pastels!

Day #2 of our KAL! Ooooo! I got to change colours today!! I chose the Baby Green to match with the variegated Baby Pastels.

Day #3 of our KAL! I can see some letters now....hmmm....

Also, take note of the Change of Knitting Needle...yup, I went and broke another needle, just blew the tip right off of my brand new beautiful purple Lion Brand needle...and this was the second time for that needle...I'm thinking there is a defect in it...they're a funny needle too...they have sort of an inner core to them, much like a carrot has...LOL! Wish I could take them back now, but I've already had them through the pencil sharpener to try and fix them up in a hurry...LOL!

Days #4 and #5 of our KAL! Got too excited...had to do two days in a row! I can see what it says now :o) Love it! Got to change back to the variegated Baby Pastels though, which I thought was looking real good now!

Day #6 of our KAL! Okay, here we are at the end! Now ususally when I post finished pics of my dishcloths, I NEVER post the "before being blocked" pics cuz, well, it's sort of like seeing me without my makeup on in the morning...you can tell what it is, but it looks like it could use some spruce'n up...LOL!
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So I now present you with the finshed product....
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Drum Roll Please....

TaDaaaaa!!!!!!
Pretty nice, ey? I LOVE the finished product! Thank you so much Marilyn for such a cute and versatile pattern! Don't you think this would make a wonderful cloth for babies?...Welcome to the World little one. Or how about a Welcome to the Neighbourhood for a friendly and neighbourly gesture? There are so many wonderful ways to use this pattern! I even had the idea of doing more of our Miniature knitting with pins and crochet cotton thread to make a wonderful little "Welcome" door mat for a little girl's dollhouse...how neat would that be? What are some of your suggestions for this pattern? How would you choose to use it? Drop me a comment and let me know, I'd LOVE to hear all your ideas too!!
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If you think you would be interested in participating in a Group Knit-A-Long with us, please feel free to join us, cuz we'd love to have you!! Our next Mystery Dishcloth Knit-A-Long Begins Monday, May 19, 2008 and it's going to be a GORGEOUS one, just in time for SPRING! I promise, you're gonna LOVE this one! Something different, unique, and very refreshing!
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Click here to visit our Group, Rachel's Knitting Room!

Hugs for a Wonderful Week,
:o)
Rachel

a little something I've been working on......

I decided to do a little crocheting and make some more of my favourite small crocheted doilies/coasters. I crocheted 2 with pink and white crochet cotton thread size 10 and a size 1.15mm steel hook. Then I decided to try the same pattern out using my worsted weight pink and white cotton for dishcloths with a size F Hook and I was really happy with the way they all turned out!

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Here are some pics of the finished doilies. Now I think I'll work with some blue and white next...which would match perfectly in my kitchen! If you are interested in the pattern for this small doily/coaster you can find it here from Jodhi, the PotHolder Lady...it is an archived site and for some reason I haven't had much luck in the last few days viewing it, but if you keep trying it might work...if I find another link that works better for it I will be sure to post it here for you. The pattern calls for beads to be added on the last round, but I find adding a different colour works just as well! Very Pretty Pattern!! Make sure to click on the pics for a bigger and better look at them too :o)

This is the first one done with crochet cotton thread in pink with a white trim.

This is the second one I did with crochet cotton thread in white with a pink trim.


This is the first doily I made using 100% Worsted Weight Cotton and Size F Hook.

And here is the last one I made with the worsted weight cotton.



And of course this is a pic of all the doilies put together so you can see just how much bigger and smaller they are compared to eachother. I just love them!
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Hugs For a Wonderful Weekend,
:o)
Rachel