What a week and it is only Tuesday!!

Last night at church, Sugarloaf UMC, we had the first annual SUM Awards.  These awards were designed to highlight each ministry area and the top volunteer in that area.  I won for the congregational care ministry for my Prayer shawl ministry.

 I won the Golden Needles Award and when the name of the award was announced, I heard a couple of gasps as I am well known for knitting at church functions when ever I can.  If I had planned things out better, I would have been caught knitting in my seat and brought it with me.  The entire night was tongue-in-cheek, but there was a serious side.  The other people that were given awards also work very hard in the church for no real recognition, I know we all do it because we do love what we do.  And that I am humbled to have gotten this award for doing something I love to do, knit and help people.  I have been feeling that I have been slipping in my ministry and in my faith, since my mom passed.  I have been missing something, a hole in my soul, and last night, I really felt the love from all those at church.  I have never really felt part of anything and here at this church, it is truly a family. 

I will be making a new shawl pattern from this book that I was given, I will post as I start making it.  I have some special yarn that I have been waiting to use to make this.  Not sure who I want to give this shawl to, but I know that God will put that person in my life and show me that they need the shawl and the love.

I hope that today is a blessed day for all those that read this blog and that if you like it, please share it and get it out there.  I will be writing again soon!

Another Day knitting Away!!

I belong to this awesome website, Craftsy,com and I really love using it for knitting ideas.  They have online classes and workshops, some free, but I get some great information there and learn how to do new things.  I finally have seen how to do Continental knitting and purling, I could do the knit stitch but the purl stitch I never caught on.  I got the beginner knitting class, there are some great things in there to learn, and I get to keep it forever.  They have crochet classes also, I have a couple of free patterns from there also.

I am working on a great little neck warming scarf, got it from this beginning knitting class, and it is fun to make.  I am getting back on my feet from all the drama of earlier this year, and this is great therapy for me!!

I will post a picture of the finished project in a later blog, just finishing up the first half and starting the 2nd half.  This also keeps me from sewing the cardigan for my daughter, I do hate to sew but I have a training video on this one and how to block correctly, which I was never shown how since I taught myself how to knit.

I hope you all find something to work on, pop on a comment and let me know what your latest project is!  I would love to see it.

Here is it halfway through April and I feel like I have come out of a fog!  With the passing of my mom in February, life seems to have stopped, all the things I would take joy in just was not doing it for me.  I had lost weight and now I am back up, guess stuffing my feelings down with food was my drug of choice.  I have made some changes, I am back to watching my food intake, keeping it to real foods and healthy choices.  I have started to walk again, with the warmer weather I am enjoying the outdoors again.  We have an updated walking Greenway, so I am off to that this morning to check out the updates.
I am back to knitting, I will post a picture of the sweater that I am working on, Katie outgrew her cardigan and wanted to have the same one, different yarn colors, but just bigger.  I also have a wonderful pattern for a triangle shawl and will start that later today, Just need the needle for it.

This will be a short one.  I have to get back into my knitting and crocheting and start designing, I have some things in my mind that I want to create.

God bless and keep happy!!

Christmas in GA

     Well here we are, 5 days into December, 19 more days before Christmas Eve, and I am not stressed.  I find this amusing to me, normally I am looking at my calendar and seeing so many things on my list of things to do and trying to figure out how to do more.  Not this year, I am taking it to heart that Christ is the reason for the season and I am not going to run around and make myself crazy with shopping and trying to get a million things for the kids under the tree so they feel loved.  That is not why they feel loved, they feel it because Eric and I show them our love by doing for them.  Eric is the den leader for Alex, he has to leave work early on Monday's and with his new position will have traveling, but he makes sure he is there for Alex.  I make sure that the kids have good healthy food to eat, that I spend time each day with them and play, that they have clean clothes and a relatively clean house to live in.  I make sure they go to church to learn about God and Jesus and what that means for us.  We take them to do things like pack food for families that have nothing, caroling for older folks who have no one to visit them, making sure they realize just how lucky they really are to be living here in the USA and that they have a house, and clothes and stuff!

     I am going to be knitting somethings for Christmas, I have to plan the party for Alex's class as I am class mom.  Trying to figure out how to spend the precious few days we have up north with our families so that the kids get the quality time with their grandparents, and they get to experience Christmas the way we had growing up.  The kids are hoping for snow!!  Secretly, so am I, but not while we are driving!! 

Well now I have to get going, have lots of clothes to wash, vacuuming to do, and a kitchen to scrub down to get it ready for the month.  I will be going back to my Flylady roots and getting a schedule going again for my housework.  This way I stress less and enjoy my life more and have more time to knit!!

     I am planning on writing more in the new year, and trying my hand at some designing of simple items for knitting and crocheting.  If you want to learn how, I would love to teach you and if you live in Suwanee, drop me a note and we can set it up!!  If not, find a local yarn shop or look on YouTube, there are tons of videos out there.  You can even get books and videos from the library!!

Take care and Merry Christmas!!

11-11-11

Once a century we have this date, happens for each of our months.  But this one is special, this is Veterans Day here in the US and we remember all those men and women who either were called to duty with the draft or volunteered to serve our country.  These brave men and women took a stand and said that our freedoms here in the USA are more important to them then the possible loss of their lives.  I cannot fathom this concept, I would give my life for my kids, but to be in the military and do it for the people I don't know, that takes a special person to do it.  I salute and send my undying gratitude to all those that serve, including my Dad, who was in the forgotten war, Korea. 

Today I want to try and honor those that have served, so I will be visiting the site, www.veterans.com, I saw it on a video yesterday on Facebook.  I want to see what I can knit for them to keep them safe while they are at war, and we are at war.  I have seen some helmet liners and I want to see what else I can make.  I hope to add this to my ministry at church at some point, but right now, my ministry is floundering, I am not being a great leader in this.  Life is getting away from me, I am slipping, and now I need to refocus on my family and my God, putting God first and doing his work here.  There are a number of places that I might be able to add my handiwork, I will have to do more research and get back with you!!

On a funny note, my son who is 8 has decided that he wants to be a soldier when he grows up.  I am proud of that, know it will change, but told him that if he wants to do this I told him that he wants to do this, he needs to go to either the Naval Academy or West Point.  He would have a better chance at the Navel Academy as his great grandfather was in the Navy and we have ties there, but his choice.  He thought that would be cool as he thinks officers get better weapons!!  What an 8 year old mind thinks!!! 

God Bless you and God Bless those that serve and have served!!

Tuesday is tiring!!

Wow, I am finally finished with my last golf club order from Feb, this was a 4 piece one so it took a little longer.  I am also working on my daughter's Easter Dress, I am almost at the waist, then to the top should move quickly.  I think have to make the front of the dress and sew it all together.  If you hear some screaming, that would be me trying to make the sewing of the pieces look decent!!  I do love the knitting, but the finishing is a bear, but that is also the beauty of it, getting the pieces together and looking good.  When I am done with the back, I will post it.

I am also working on some Easter Bunny Baskets,  these are for the teachers of my kids.  They are too cute and are easy to whip out, so I just have to make sure I have enough White Yarn and Easter Ribbon.  This is a way for me to change my hand movements so that I don't cramp up!!  These are crocheted items, so hands move so differently!!

I have been asked to knit a sample for my local yarn shop, pretty cool as it is a self design from the owner, my friend Kay, and that she trusts my knitting is a great compliment to me.  I really want to get into some designing, I can see things for my kids in my mind, but to translate it, that is the gift I do not have, so I have to learn.  There must be some books or online class that I can take, I will have to start looking for that.

This is a short blog today, I am very tired, have been dealing with migraines with the horrible weather GA has been having these past few days, so I am not doing much but trying to keep up with the kids and laundry!!  We have spring break next week, no plans as my hubby is on Jury duty or he is working, he did not take time off, so we are stuck home.  Now to find things to do.

Go with God!!!