Happy May Day!

 What a beautiful day! All of the April showers did not fail to bring May flowers to Louisville. Most of you know that this is Derby Weekend. Today is Oaks Day, kind of like the lead up to the main event. I think it used to be a day for the locals to go to the races, but now it's almost just as big a day and Derby. I am not at the track. I am enjoying a lovely afternoon of knitting, reading and iced coffee on my deck. My daily deal package from the great folks at Missouri Star Quilts arrived in the mail. Just in case you didn't know, I have a thing for polka dots. I couldn't pass up this jelly roll called Happy Dots. So cute. I'm also very happy with my new jar caps and straws. I found these taller jars at JoAnn's and they fit perfectly in my car drink holders.  I'm sipping on some Trader Joe's iced coffee and listening to the birds and all of the private jets flying the rich and famous in to town. Hope you have picked your horse and placed your bets.
Happy Derby!
Sally

Sewing Weekend Away

I'm off for a sewing weekend with my favorite quilters from Iowa. We are meeting at a retreat center in Danville Illinois and I can't wait to see them all and catch up on all the goings on. Before leaving I was determined to finish a couple of projects. The Polwarth fiber from YarnGeek is finished and beautiful. I always forget how much Polwarth puffs up after washing. I wish you could feel how soft and squishing it is. It will be a joy to knit with. I also finished the Leftie shawl/scarf that I showed you last time. I'm so glad that it's finally spring, but I am totally looking forward to wearing this next fall. I put together some cute little bags for the friends I spending the weekend with. I had a lot of fun filling the little baskets with sewing notions and maybe a little chocolate... My favorite part is the saying on the tags. Friends are the BEST!
Have a great weekend
Sally

In My Knitting Bag

I was so excited to be able to snag one of the Fat Squirrel Fibers special edition project bags at the Knitting Pipeline retreat last month. I've wanted one of her bags for a while, but they are very hard to get. This one is the perfect size for holding the current shawl/scarf that I'm working on. It's called Leftie by Martina Behm and the yarn was also a Knitting Pipeline retreat purchase from Wonderland Yarns. The primary color is called Marmalade and I just love it. I'm actually almost done with the shawl and should have a finished picture to show you soon. I kind of like how well it goes with my shoes.... It's the little things.
Sally

Birds of Happiness

 When I was at the Knitting Pipeline Retreat last month, I may have bought quite a bit of new fiber to spin. Since that made me feel a little guilty, I decided that I should probably spin up some of my older fiber first. The little mini skeins above are from a set I bought last year, I've been saving them. OK, maybe I've been hording them just a little. Each one is named after a bird and they were just so beautiful to look at.and touch. The first one that I spun is called Kingfisher. The others are Mallard, Blue Tit, Peacock and Osprey. Since each one is just a couple of ounces I decided to try knitting them into cute little Birds of Happiness. The pattern was free on Ravelry but I think it's called Bluebird of Happiness. The first one was a little fiddly, but I think I have the hang of it now. I'm not sure what I'll do with them when they are finished, maybe they will be sitting in my Christmas tree come December. Who knows?
Sally

First Zoo Walk of 2015

I'm going to apologize up front for all of the pictures in this post. The new LEGO exhibit at the zoo is just amazing and I wanted to share them all with you. I included the signs so you can read how many pieces were used and how many hours it took to create each one. There are also some cute pictures of our new baby Meerkats.

It was a great first trip back to the zoo. The weather is perfect for April and we plan to spend the rest of the day enjoying it. Hope it's perfect where you are too.
Sally