Happy Birthday To Me (la lala la la la)

(lala la la la la la) Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Yipee!!! It has arrived. I went today to pick up my new Namaste Messenger Bag.





She's lovely, isn't she! (The color isn't quite accurate because I had to use the flash, but pretty close).) I had originally wanted the chocolate brown one, but there was none in the order at Urban Yarns, and I would have to wait until July/Aug for the next order, and there was no guarantee that they would be able to get it then either...so I got the next best color...cranberry (or cabernet as the store called it...I kinda like the name cabernet better so I think that is what I'm going to call it!). I love the fabric on the inside...it is so vibrant...it makes me happy just looking at it! The outside of the bag is a soft cordurey (looks almost suede in the photo, but it's not!) The bag is larger then I thought it was going to be, which is strange, because I saw my friend Julia's bag in person. And it needs to be worked in a little bit (it feels a little stiff and boxy), but once it get's broken in, it will be perfect.

I also got this:



My first sock yarn! Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn in the color Mixed Berry. Now I just have to learn how to knit socks. I also bought the teeniest, tinyest little bamboo double pointed needles to make them with, I hope I don't lose them!

There's my excitement for the day! I'm ready for you now Charmaine!!!

Rrrrrrriiip!

That was the sound of my Rusted Root late last night.

Before



After:



I tried it on when I got to around 2 1/2 " past the armpitts, and I just wasn't happy. It seemed a little on the big side, and I've heard that cotton yarn has a lot of ease, so it would probably stretch out even more. Also, there were a couple spots on the back where my yarn joins were kinda sloppy, and you could really see them. That taught me, join new yarn under the arms where it is less visible.

I like the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece as a yarn and fabric, however, I'm not impressed by the number of knotted yarn joins in just one skein. There were three, and of course I didn't notice them till it was too late, and rather than frog back a bit to place the join under the arm, (which I was afraid to do because of the lace section - I have a hard time figuring out where and what the stitches were in that section) I cut the knots off and joined again right where I happened to be leaving a noticable weird spot. Anyways, I will start it again, probably in a couple weeks because I really must get the secret projects finished first. I also have yarn ready to go for Ms. Marigold



which will be my next project after Rusted Root. Boy, I have all this stuff lined up to do, and no time to do it in! I have to blame Facebook...I am embarressed to say that I have become addicted to it...and I'm sure that once I get my Ravelry invite, that will be another huge problem for me as well. Well, I'd better get out of blogland and go work on some stuff or I'll never have a FO to show!

We had a busy week as usual. My mom was here for a visit, she came down to meet her new grandson, and for Melissa's bridal shower. We had a lot of fun at the shower. Melissa was a good sport, even though I know deep down she hated the bubble gum game!




She looked absolutely gorgeous, as usual!

Aidan celebrated his birthday last week, I feel bad because it was in the middle of a crazy week, and we didn't do nearly enough for him. I will have to take him out on a date to make up for it!



Other than that, not too much is happening around here. I have a day off to myself today, I'm going to try not to do to much, and just relax and work on some of my projects. I have to go over to the hospital later today to get a CT scan done of my back, hopefully that appointment won't take too long. Hopefully the next post will include some FO's!!!

Great Weekend!

I celebrated my "28th" birthday a couple of weeks ago. I was spoiled rotten, as usual, and spent the evening with my family. I received a few really great gifts...magazine subscriptions, books, clothing......but the best gift of all was a Namaste Messenger bag (scroll down to see the Messenger Bag). I have both the chocolate and mauve bags on order so I can pick which one I like better in person. I haven't received it yet as it is on order, but I'm really excited about it and will post actual pictures as soon as I get it!



We had a really great weekend. Saturday we threw a "Welcome to the World Baby Gage" BBQ, and had a great time! He is one cute baby! The weather was gorgeous and is was really nice to hang out on the deck in the hot sun with a cold beverage in one hand and a tiny little baby in the other!

On Sunday we took the kids to the Coquitlam River celebration at a park near our house. The kids got to release salmon into the river which they really enjoyed, and they kept running back to refill their little baggies of fish. I swear they are responsible for the re-population of salmon in the Coquitlam River!





The release wasn't always that gentle as excitement took over and the fish went on a wild ride from baggie to water!



It was really hot out, so we stopped for some ice cream, which really hit the spot.



Maeghan got her face painted...which oddly enough, the woman used crayola washable markers to paint it. I thought that was kinda weird. Especially on a hot day when sweat causes it all to run. Here is a shot of it before the running began...



A Panda Bear! And while Maeghan was getting her face done, Owen and a friend of his were taking drum lessons.



They were right into it, and pretty good at keeping a beat too!

I have been working steadily on a few secret projects, but I do have some progress on my Rusted Root that I can show you.



I'm a couple inches below the armpits right now. I tried it on and so far it fits! I've been working on it much slower than I would like, but hopefully I'll have time to really work on it again soon.

My goal this summer is to get Charmaine to teach me how to knit socks. I can already picture it in my head, the two of us sitting at the beach knitting socks while the kids drown each other in the lake. It will be magical! Hehehe. The yarn store where my Namaste bag is on order is really nice, and Aidan told me that I could buy some yarn when I go pick up my bag as part of my birthday gift, so I'm going to get some sock yarn and needles, then I'll be all ready for when Charmaine gets here! I can't wait!