Serious Catching Up, Seriously

I'm not really sure how it got to this point. Do the days just whiz by for everyone, or is it just me?

To recap the last few months:

My oldest son Morgan is doing great in his freshman year at college. I, however, still feel his absence strongly. Luckily, he texts me constantly, so it does make things easier. Plus he's almost finished with his second semester, so I am counting the days until he is home again. :)

My second son Tanner is about to graduate from high school, and he has been accepted to the University of Texas at Dallas. Yikes! I have some pictures to order and announcements to address. Oh and a wreath to make for our front door, since I made one last year when Morgan graduated.

My third son Carson is about to become a high schooler. He was accepted into the Science & Engineering Academy (the same school Tanner will graduate from), so we continue with the tradition of attending magnet schools. I'm really proud of my boys. :)

My fourth son Connor is finishing up third grade. He once told me (when Morgan mentioned his dream to move to Europe after college) that he would never leave me. He is the sweetest boy, and he misses Morgan the most (after me, of course).

(UH campus visit)

In crafty news, I have finished two blankets (and started another), made countless hats and scarves, and started cross-stitching again.

   

             (Nikki's bobble blanket)                  

 (Morgan's cozy dorm blanket)

(Kevin's nautical-inspired blanket)

I used to cross-stitch all the time. I hoarded DMC embroidery thread and contemporary patterns. I'm not really sure how my crafty life evolved from thread to yarn, except that after having my children, I found it much easier to put a yarn project down than a cross-stitch project. Cross-stitch after all requires a certain amount of concentration.

(Birthday gift for my bestie's son. Pattern by weelittlestitches.)

I'll post some of the cross-stitch pieces I have framed around my house. Next time. :)

The End of the School Year!

I finally got around to downloading the photos from the end of the school year. Next year will be monumental in that all 4 boys will be in 4 different places (high school, middle school, elementary school, and the baby at home). Wish me luck!

Sadly, one of our favorite teachers EVER retired this year. To celebrate her retirement, I cross-stitched and framed a quote from Albert Einstein, her hero.


It reads: " Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

Here's Mrs. K with the boys in her very empty classroom (except DS4, who of course, wouldn't cooperate). Mrs. K taught GT and had DS1 and DS2 for four years each in elementary school. She's a superb teacher and a great friend, and she will be missed!


Over at the middle school, the PTA hosted an end-of-the-year breakfast for the staff. I made a market bag and two scarves in school colors that were given away as door prizes.

Time to enjoy the summer break!

WIPs and UFOs

My home is full of WIPs and UFOs. Before you get the wrong idea, WIPs are works in progress and UFOs are unfinished objects. Sounds like they are the same thing, but really UFOs are WIPs that have been tossed in a drawer and left untouched for a period of time. I admit I just looooove to start new projects, sometimes before the current ones are complete.

So to that end, I decided to finally finish some loooooong standing projects. I can't tell you how many years ago I started this cross-stitch sampler, but the magazine with the pattern on the cover is from 1988.

It sat unfinished for many, many, many years. I finally finished it recently, but I made a design change (gone are the teddies!). Now I just have to frame it! Yay!

I also finished Afghan 1 for los primos (the cousins). My mother asked me to make 7 afghans for her 1st cousins (children of her father's brother). Out of the 21(!) children born to my great-grandparents, only my grandfather and my great-uncle Nat lived to adulthood. Both of them died in 2001, and they are greatly missed by their children and grandchildren.

So Afghan 1 is finally ready:

Afghan 2 is almost complete (it looks finished here, but trust me, the side with all of the yarn ends looks horrible! If you know anything about me, you know I hate to work in the ends.):

I did manage to complete this great dinosaur skull shirt for DS3's birthday! It only took a couple of days to crochet, and a couple more days to sew it on the shirt. The pattern is by Regina Rioux Gonzalez and was published in the March/April 2009 issue of Crochet Today!

I have 2 more WIPs that I started yesterday (please don't ask why; I just don't know). Both are scarves -- one is made of cotton yarn, and the other is an acrylic/bamboo blend that I just couldn't resist. They will both be listed at The Lavender Lizard when they are completed (which, hopefully, is soon!).