MY TREAT FROM NEW YORK

Ah, the joy of a special treat from a great little knitting shop in Soho, NYC. My daughter Anna Maria was there last week for a segment on the Martha Stewart show. And she just can't let a visit to NYC go by without a trip to Purl Soho. (I was with her there once myself, and it is a wonderful little store.) When she and her husband arrived home and walked in the door, the children (the older ones who were still awake, that is) eagerly waited to see what goodies Mom and Dad brought home for them. They were all happy, but none happier than "Nani" with the surprise that she got:

some luxurious soc yarn and a great little knitting book.

I fact, after I brought her two little girls home with me, I just had to take a break from my baby blanket knitting and try out one of the patterns. Last year I had made a beret to go with the sweater for one of the girls, but didn't have enough sweater yarn left for big sister. What to do? Mom, Anna Maria, had made a crochet scarf for her, so two little girls happily went with me to JoAnn's last week to find yarn that would look good with the scarf. She picked out the perfect yarn. I found a pattern in the book that was knitting with 2 strands at a time so it would go quickly.


I left out the "Nordic" pattern and Isabela wanted a pompom, so this is what we got:


Not bad for about 3 hours, huh? She loves it and happily wore it when she went for a walk at Grandpa Ben's farm where we reunited two happy little girls with their Mom, Dad, and siblings on Thanksgiving day.

Now, back to my baby blanket.

FROM OUR TURKEY TO YOUR TURKEY

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday. And may we all learn to be more thankful to our God above for all that he has bestowed upon us.

Oh, how I'm going to miss those busy arms around me for little girl, night time hugs--just one of the many things I am thankful for.

Ah, the joys of life

Yes, some of the best joys of life--incredibly better than even knitting and quilting--are grandchildren. I was busy last week caring for Anna Maria's children while she and her husband were in New York for Anna Maria's stint on the Martha Stewart show.
On the evening before Mom and Dad left, I made it very clear that Nicolas, the "tree climber", would not be allowed to do this while Mom and Dad were away. (That's his brother, Joseph half way up--thankfully, not quite so brave.)


Apparently I had everything pretty well under control as Leo, the Lab, seemed pretty relaxed with my presence. Oops, sorry Anna, I think he's not supposed to be on that patio couch!


I got to have even some extra time with some of the children, bringing Isabela and Eleni home with me, to be returned on Thanksgiving day when we meet up with Mom, Dad, and siblings at their other grandparents house. Part of the fun of their visit here was to take them to Dollywood on Sunday after church. The favorite part of the little one's day was the "horses".

This really is about knitting: the sweaters tied around the waist and neck are two of the "Nani" sweaters.

I'm not really sure how I managed to get written to you all before they are out of bed, but there it is!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

Just wanted to give you all a little greeting, wishing you a great week.
So I thought I'd share my last rose of the summer:


I won't be able to keep you up to date on my "doings" this week. I'm headed out in the morning to my daughter Anna Maria's to baby sit. Most of you found me through her blog, I know. But for those who may have found me some other way and haven't been reading her blog, the reason I am baby sitting for her is that she and her husband will be in New York.

SHE IS GOING TO BE ON THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW! Live on Thursday 11/15.

So tune in to see my baby, if you get a chance.

I'm taking my knitting with me, young Joseph will get his sweater, and I think I'll even take my drapery fabric with me to spread it out in her studio space. Hmmm, maybe I'll even take some of my stash quilting fabric and do some cutting and piecing. That sounds like more fun that making drapes! Gee, I wonder just how much of that I can get done while little Eleni is napping! My guess is, a lot of it will be left to do when I return home.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

Goodness me, so much to get done, so little time. I like the idea that one of my e-friends shared the other day in a discussion of doing our own quilting or sending our quilts out to be stitched. There just aren't enough hours left in our lifetimes to do all the quilts we want to do if we take the time do hand quilt them all! So I'm thinking that my next large quilt project just might be sent out. I'll still do the baby quilts on my machine because that is doable for me, especially after watching a "Simply Quilts" show the other day on the subject.

In the meantime, still a lot of other things on my plate right now:
the Christmas PJs


and a baby blanket.


So my hand quilting project stays on its frame by the window, patiently waiting for my return.


While at the other window, my newly transported hibiscus is waiting for next summer to go back outside. Gosh, maybe I could use that for my Christmas tree this year and save some time decorating!


With all this to do, it's wonderful to awaken to a beautiful East Tennessee dawn to brighten my day for the work that's always awaiting me.

OH MY, A BIT NIPPY THIS MORNING!

Ah, it's finally beginning to really feel like fall in East Tennessee. I think we might even have to turn the heat on one of these days. Time to break out the fall socks. Hmm, I think I can probably replace my old standard silly socs


with my new bamboo hand knitted ones.


It's a good thing I brought some of my plants in yesterday; I think a freeze is predicted one night next week.

(Those copper pieces in the center were my husband's grandmothers--one of my favorite inherited items--and one my favorite fun things from daughter Eleni's shop is the fake baby olive tree just right of the copper.)

I hope young Joseph doesn't get too cold waiting for the school bus before I take his birthday sweater to him when I go to Nashville to baby sit while his mom is in New York to be on the Martha Stewart show.


Of course, anyone that knows anything about SEC football knows that there is a group of boaters known as the "Vol Navy" who take their boats to the river docks just adjacent to Neyland stadium. Many of those boats pass right by our house--of course, lots today for homecoming. That's also a sure sign of fall. We're not in to going to the games, just watching on TV or listening on the radio. Today is one of those beautiful, crisp days that just feels like a football stadium would be a fun place to be.
But I'll just stay home and take a walk. The leaves have turned a bit more, but still not the typical fall color that we would have had if we were not in a drought.

(I promise I wasn't going more that 25 MPH!)

But I'd better speed up and get back to my quilting.