Last week...

Last week the Gray family had their annual Family Camp at Melton Hill Lake. I didn't get to stay for the week because, let's face it, sleeping in a tent is just not something that my back would allow. But I did get to go over after work a couple of nights for supper. My sister-in-law, Cheryl, made some awesome meals. Who knew you could eat some good cookin' at a campground! I had to lay down several times in my son's tent to rest my back. Here's a photo of the beautiful scenery I had to look at while I was resting. My son really knows how to make camping fun. I had to laugh at the "luxury suite" he had sent up in his tent. He had a king size air mattress on the bottom with a queen size air mattress on top of it and a memory foam mattress on top of that. And then he had a fan hanging from the ceiling that had a thermostat on it! Now that's my kind of camping!

A couple of fun things happened at Family Camp. My grandson, Joshua, caught a fish.

And I taught Ariel how to knit. Although basically I think she taught herself how to knit because I just showed her how to do one stitch and she started knitting! She has obviously been watching me knit for a while. Now she still needs to learn how to cast on, and how to purl, etc. But she's doing a great job for a 6 year old.

I also taught a couple of my great-nieces, Lindsey & Whitney, how to do the knit stitch...as well as my niece, Kari. Kari wanted to learn how to knit so she could make some preemie caps for us. Yeah! It was a very fun time and was a nice break from dealing with back problems.

Next time I need a break, I just might go out to Melton Hill Lake, pull me up a chair, and sit there and knit.

Show and Tell Friday

Today Kori shares with us her summer shrug. She made it out of Araucania Chacabuco yarn using a Farmhouse pattern. A slider pin from Plymouth is a great way to hold the ties in front if you don't want to tie them. (This yarn is 100% bulky weight cotton and there is some currently in the sale bin.) Good job, Kori!





And Sam brought in her Evelyn Clark's Flower Basket shawl to share. Isn't it beautiful!







Then we have Lenore's little sweater she made out of Snuggly Baby Bamboo yarn. I'm sure it will look even cuter on a child.




And Tara brought in these little baby booties she made as a gift. She also used the Snuggly Baby Bamboo yarn. Too cute!






Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Show and Tell Friday

Today I have a couple of the finished items from our Estonian Lace KAL from spring. Bev finished her shawl using Cascade Heritage sock yarn. The pattern she chose from the Knitted Lace of Estonia book was the "Triinu" shawl. Isn't it gorgeous!





And Kelora also made this same shawl...but out of Cascade Alpaca Lace.









And then she made the "Queen Silvia" shawl out of Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK yarn. Both of them are just esquisite. Great job ladies!


By the way, we will be having another lace KAL starting at the end of September. We decided to choose another book and have folks pick one of the patterns to knit. This book we will be using this fall is called "Knits from the North Sea" by Carol Rasmussen Noble and Margaret Leask Peterson. These shawls and scarves are from the Shetland lace tradition. If you're interested in joining this KAL, please call and reserve a book so we'll have them in time for the KAL. And we have some yummy new lace yarns for you to choose from.

Laurie brought by her cowl to share with us. She made it out of a yak and bamboo yarn. Very pretty!

And Sam finished her shawl that she made out of Brown Sheep Cotton fine yarn. Nice job, Sam!

So many people have been asking how I'm doing that I'll give you an update. I started the aquatic therapy this week. It's been hard, but I'm doing OK. I'm completely worn out after the exercises, so I have been going home for a nap afterwards. (Thanks, Melissa for watching the shop for me.) I've had a few good days, but it seems the very next day I am very stiff and in more pain. I think it's going to take some time to get me back to where I was before the accidents. I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers during this tough time for me. It's nice to know that I have friends that care. Blessings to you all!

Show and Tell...Saturday

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. But to tell the truth, I totally forgot about it until last night. I just haven't been myself lately and I've become very forgetful. I guess I can blame it on the pain meds I've been taking for my back. I'm now in physical therapy 3 times a week trying to get my back healed. I've been raving about my physical therapist...but I'm a little put out with him at the moment. He had me do some exercises on this machine yesterday. My treatments previously had been ultrasound, electrical stim, massage, etc. You know, the kind where you just lay there and someone else does all the work. Well, I only used the machine 6 minutes, but today my back is so stiff and hurts likes the dickens. I feel like I've taken a step or two backwards. Next week he's signed me up for some aquatic therapy. I hope that movement in the pool will feel better than his exercise machine. But I can't blame him totally. He set the timer for 6 minutes, but midway through when he saw it was beginning to hurt my back, he said he'd be happy if I just did 5 minutes. Well, you know me...that felt like a challenge...and so I pushed forward and did 6 minutes because I wanted to show him I could do it...plus I'm really wanting to get better as quick as possible. Bad decision. I should have stopped at 5 minutes...or even before. Pain does not always mean you are gaining. So as an update on my health, I have good days and bad days...some very emotional for me...as I try to regain both my physical and emotional health that two car accidents have taken away from me. Everyone keeps telling me it will get better. I'm still waiting on that and trusting that what they say is true. But after 3 weeks of having my life turned upside down, I'm struggling a bit to believe it. I do appreciate all the kind thoughts...and hugs...from everyone. They help make life a little more bearable these days.

Well...on to what you've really come here to read about...finished projects!!

Marilyn made this gorgeous Adult Surprise Jacket...and had it lined. Very cool idea! She made this jacket in one of our Weekly Classes.

Mary Beth's elephant was a hit when she brought it in the shop. It even got to wear the Bama cap from our Yarn Bowl Challenge. We thought that was very appropriate.

Carmen made this Swing Vest out of Malabrigo. Great choice of yarn for this Oak Couture pattern! This vest can be made out of worsted weight or chunky weight yarn and the pattern comes in some plus sizes as well.

And Leigh made a bunny and bear for a baby gift out of Plymouth Fantasy Naturale. Too cute!

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Now's the time to start thinking about gifts to make for Christmas. Come on into The Yarn Haven and we'll help you pick out some projects for your family and friends.

Preemie Cap Day review

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. I didn't do anything special...just sit around and watch movies, read, knit and try to rest my back. I was very disappointed that I didn't get to work on the house as I had planned. But my back simply would not let me do much. Plus the meds that the doctor gave me made me very sleepy. My back is feeling a little bit better, but I have a way to go to get back to normal. I appreciate all of your concerns. It means a lot to me.

I didn't get a chance to do Show and Tell on Friday because I took the day off. I went to physical therapy and then went home and took a nap. But I did want to share with you a little about our Preemie Cap Day last week. We had a wonderful time making caps. We had a contest to see who could guess the number of caps up on our "Wall of Caps". Anna was our winner and will receive several skeins of Baby Ull in our UT orange color. (More of the orange and white in Baby Ull has been ordered for those of you wanting to make UT preemie caps.) We had folks drop in and out all day long. We emptied the baskets and put all the caps on the wall before the day started. But by the end of the day we had one basket already full with caps either made that day or caps that were brought in! Hope you can join us for our next Preemie Cap Day.


Don't forget the All Day Knit Class that starts tomorrow. The morning class is from 10 am - Noon and the afternoon class is from 1-3 pm. Or you can come all day long for both classes. If you haven't signed up yet and want to come, I think there are still a few spots open, so just come on down or call me first thing in the morning.

Hope you all have a good week and that you're starting to think about what gifts you'd like to make to give for Christmas. Now's the time to start working on those projects during our lazy days of summer. See you soon!

I'm Not Sure What to Think...

Today's been a rough day. Many of you know about our car being totaled in an accident on Father's Day. My back was injured, but I felt we were making some progress in getting it better. So this morning I was driving in my rental car to the dentist when someone rear-ended me yet again. All I could do was sit there and cry. Why do people not watch where they are going??? I was sitting at a red light and the next thing I know is that my car has been hit. Here's a photo of the imprint of the other car's license plate on my bumper. And the screw sticking out is from their license plate. Needless to say, this injury to my back is just as bad, if not worse. My emotions are very raw right now. Just riding in a car makes my blood pressure shoot through the roof and I'm quite paranoid about every car on the road. I'm not sure I'll be able to drive for a few days. We'll have to see about that.

So this afternoon I went to lay down again to rest. I laid there for quite some time just thinking...why???...why me??? And then I began to think about others around me that are suffering so much more than me. My son-in-law lost his grandpa this week. He traveled all the way to Oklahoma this weekend to say goodbye. He and my daughter were so glad that they went out to see Grandpa Bud last Christmas...because it was his last Christmas with them. I know they will miss him. It's hard losing a grandparent. And then there's the family that hit me this morning. The youngest daughter's car was the one that hit me. But her mom and dad were driving behind her. The mom told me that her oldest daughter had passed away yesterday and they were on their way out of town to attend to her funeral. Not too hard now to understand why this young gal's mind hadn't been on her driving. My heart goes out to them because this is such a hard time for them...and then they have to deal with an accident as well. Thankfully, none of them were hurt.

So I determined to get up out of bed and go look for things in my world that make me happy. I went out on the porch and saw Mr. Cottontail in our yard. This little bunny comes to visit occasionally. I walked over to him and he just sat there. He must have been someone's pet at one time because he didn't run away until I got about a yard from him. Then he happily hopped across the street and went under the bushes. It always amazes me how carefree he seems as he hops away.

And then I saw the hydrangea bush in my yard with these big beautiful blue blossoms on it. They are so gorgeous and keep coming back year after year.

And then came my darling granddaughter who just got home from daycare. Her sweet smile always makes me smile. She brings so much joy to my life...as do my two sweet, but very active, grandsons. So I have many things to be thankful for today. Even though my back hurts every time I move, and even though I still have to go find another car to buy, and even though it's going to take a while to get over being hit twice in about a week...I have much in my life for which to give God thanks. So I guess this is not such a bad day afterall.

Show and Tell Friday

First of all, I need to give you an update on my car accident. The car did end up being totaled, so we will be looking for a new vehicle... I'm thinking an armored truck might work. My back is healing...slowly. As long as I just sit and knit is doesn't bother me too much. It's the getting up and moving that causes me some pain. But overall, I'm doing better. Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Wednesday was my birthday. It started out rough with an hour and a half wait at the car rental place. I wouldn't have minded so much, but my back was hurting and I had to reschedule my doctor's appointment because they took so long. But the day got better as Melissa surprised me with a chocolate birthday cake and Donna brought me a beautiful bouquet of roses. I received lots of birthday wishes. And I got to sit and knit at the Sit 'N Stitch time with some dear friends. For supper, my hubby took me to my favorite restaurant, Aubrey's, for a wonderful meal and my favorite dessert, Peppermint Pattie. So the birthday that started out frustrating turned into a wonderful day with family and friends. And it kept on going as Mimi brought me over a bouquet of garden flowers on Thursday night. Thank you to everyone for helping to make my birthday this year so special.

Now enough about me...it's time to share with you some wonderful creations that folks have made.





Carmen finished her Adult Surprise Jacket and did a wonderful job.


She also brought in her scarf she made out of Berroco Seduce yarn. This is a great little scarf that just takes one skein and has an easy pattern.



Then she shared her fairisle hat that she created using one of Mimi's Topknot patterns.









And finally a scarf she made out of Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn. She's been one busy knitter.


Rosemary brought in a scarf she crocheted that looks a bit like a piece of candy corn. Very creative.


And Kristina brought in another beautiful
doillie she made. I'm always amazed with folks that can knit on such tiny thread.

Don't we have some talented folks here at The Yarn Haven? Keep bringing in your finished projects so we can showcase them here on Show and Tell Friday!!