12 & 12 in 2012: Pink Scallops

 I started my April shawl on the road to Arizona, and in squishy garter it zipped along.  The pattern is 22.5 *, by Martina Behm, a German designer cutting a bit of a swath in the knitting world.

 I loved the pattern and I loved the scallops at the end.  They took forver to knit, but they look so fabulous and scallopy.  I love the yarn too--Done Roving Frolicking Feet in Windflower Anemone.  It GLOWS hot pink.

I made this one a bit smaller to mainly wear in the trendy kerchief fashion--I love it, and if we have any cold, windy days it might be just right.

How to Have a Clean Kitchen

Step One:  Turn on a moderately dirty burner on high.
Step Two:  Notice flames climbing up over the pan, toward the vent.
Step Three:  Calmly take out a fire extinguisher and spray it at the fire.
Step Four:  Vacuum, scrub, dishwash, and otherwise remove all traces of white powder.
Step Five:  Ta-da!  Enjoy a clean kitchen!

Cutie Pie Thursdays: Baby Animal Days

It's all fun and games here in the wild west--every spring we get to celebrate Baby Animal Days! This year, Lincoln was less into the animals, and more into things he could ride . . .

 Riding a wooly sheep!

 Riding a hobby horse!

 Showing off his crossed arms!

Hanging out with his favorite baby animal--a miniature horse!

Cutie Pie Thursday: Cowboy Musician

Howdy, y'all. I hope you don't mind, but I have a pretty small repertoire. I know "Twinkle, Twinkle," "Jesus Loves Me," "Winnie the Pooh--including I'm Just a Little Black Raincloud," and that's about it. Oh, and "Old MacDonald." But I'll make up any song you want.
Thank you so much for having me. You're a great crowd.

Arizona 2012: Misc., Etc., Fun

Closing his eyes to count while playing hide and seek.

With a giant doughnut Mr. Cool and Grandad Cool found.

Studying his Playmobil catalog.

Arizona 2012: First Zoo--PHX Zoo

While in AZ, we took Lincoln to his first, but not last, zoo. We hung out with a lot of animals--here is the wee lad with mom near some zebras. (Note Lincoln is wearing an L for Lion shirt, and I am wearing Pamba Toto giraffe earrings. Why yes, I am a huge nerd.)

He tried to get as close as he could to the animals--including this gazelle, whose exact name I have forgotten. He would have climbed into enclosures, if we allowed him too. (Don't worry, we didn't.)

Giraffes were the first animals we saw--and they have a beautiful giraffe enclosure, with multiple animals in the same paddock, including ostriches and more.



We also loved all the turtles in the water--here Lincoln and Mr. Cool check out some sunning turtles.

Arizona 2012: Swim Sweater Forever!

Do you see that flotation device Lincoln is wearing while swimming happily toward the camera? It was mine. Yep--and it still inflated and worked great. Ah, the construction of items before planned obsolescence.

He also loved having Mr. Cool "fly" him up in the air. I'm not sure how Grandad and Grammie Cool felt about this, but they loved that Lincoln had a great time in the pool.

And, of course, lounging poolside in Grammie's glasses.

Arizona 2012: Travel Snapshots

The best thing about staying in hotel rooms--bouncing on the beds! Oh, and this cracked me up--one hotel we stayed in in New Mexico had a red theme, and another had a green theme. He called them New Mexico Red and New Mexico green, and he doesn't even know about chiles!

While we whiled away our car hours, we enjoyed a little Auto Bingo--a game destined to become more and more fun as he grows up.

The biggest winner for killing time in the car, though, was a Playmobil catalog. I think he spent about four hours reading this catalog.

Cutie Pie Monday: Technology for the Win!

Blue Bowl: Ice Water
Red Bowl: Warm Water
Toy: Lightning McQueen that changes from black to yellow, depending on temperature
Time Elapsed: 40 minutes
Mother/Child Enjoyment: High

I'm a Loopy Groupie!

Our newest local-ish yarn store is the fabulous Loopy Ewe, a store with a great online presence and superb customer service. I recently purchased enough stuff there to become a Loopy Groupie--so I was rewarded with some beautiful yarn, a great tote bag, a sock pattern, a sheep calendar (hidden by the pattern) and some tootsie rolls my young future knitter enjoyed. What a great incentive/reward! It really cheered me up this past week--and I'm planning what to knit with that gorgeous Lorna's Laces in the Woodlawn colorway. Shawl, or socks?

Cutie Pie Thursday: Future Soccer Star

Warm weather, how we love thee.

12/12 in 2012: The March Shawl Must Be Green!

In thanks/reward for designing my hat, I received five glorious hanks of Manos del Uruguay Clasica in the colorway Forest Floor. I gave two away, but saved three for myself.

I knit Stephen West's Colonnade, a beautiful and fun knit on size 10 needles. I cast on on Monday, and finished it on Friday--just barely getting it done in March!

I love the columnar lace in the Forest Floor color--it makes me think of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," with the juxtaposition of Ancient Greece and the wilds of the forest.

This shawl has a very unique construction, which helps it sit firmly on the shoulders. In a 100% wool yarn, I will definitely be reaching for this all winter.

Cutie Pie Sunday: Sprinkler!, or Is it July Already?

It is so warm and toasty here in CO that Mr. Cool had to turn on the sprinklers.

We let the lad run around them in his clothes.


We will definitely be doing this in swim trunks next. And, may I add, Crocs for the win!