Thursday, January 01, 2015

Picking up where I left off....



My goodness it has been quite a while since my last post back in November of 2012. This has become quite the neglected blog! My busy life has kept me from keeping up with my blog. Life does get in the way of doing fun things. Just getting through each day had been a challenge, but I am hopeful that I will be able to find more time for myself. Life is short, so we all should try and do the things we enjoy. With the new year I thought I would try and see if I can post once in a while. Won't make and promises but I will try...I have a lot of catching up to do! There have been several changes in my life, some good and some not so good. I'm still knitting, but not as much as I used to and not so fast as in the past.

Here's a blanket that I knitted as a wedding present given in July 2013. It took me forever to finish, but I did finish just in time. Check it out:

More to come later...this is a start. A new start for a new year :)
Happy New Year and Happy Knitting :)


Copyright ©2006-2015 hakucho, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Painted Ponies

 I can't believe we are already fast approaching the holiday season. Our church's holly fair is next Saturday. I pulled out some odds and ends of yarn that I have in my stash and whipped up some cute candy cane ponies (Candy Cane Pony Pattern from Hollinger's Fiber Farm ) to sell at the fair. This years herd of ponies are of the pastel/painted variety. Not at all realistic looking color wise, but I do think they resemble the "my little ponies" of yester-year!
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They were fun to make. They are all a little different. No two are alike. I made a dozen ponies with Brach's Candy Canes made with real peppermint oil, plus 4 were made with candy cane pens that I bought last year after Christmas.
Check out my ponies:
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They are super easy and fun to make. Great use for odds and ends of yarn.  Click here find out more about my candy cane ponies.

happy knitting :)

Copyright ©2006-2012 hakucho, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Where's hakucho?

First off, I want to apologize for disappearing from my blog. In case you are curious I'm fine. I just needed a break I guess. It's hard to believe that my last post was way back in May. Long before summer and now summer is gone. How did I miss posting during the summer?

There has been a few things going on. My mother-in-law was quite sick around the time of my last post. At the time I couldn't talk about it as it was a very upsetting ordeal. She was sick for about 9 weeks, passing away a few days before her 79th birthday. Same age as my mom. She found out she had colon cancer and then 9 weeks later she died. It was devastating. She's at peace now and we all hope happy, but it is VERY sad to lose her and we miss her greatly.

I do have some news about me! I found a job :) A part-time job. I've been a full-time stay at home mom for 13 years, but with the costs of college with one son ( a junior) there now and the prospects of my high school senior attending college next year I needed to find a job. The thought of two in college at the same time is downright scary!  Luckily I found a job using my skills as a medical technologist though it's not in my specialty...microbiology. I'm starting up a lab, doing drug testing for a physician in town (yes, a five minute commute). Part-time for now, but as he adds tests, my hours will increase. Need I say more that I am very happy and excited about my new job. I am very blessed for it's not so easy finding a job with a BIG gap in your work history.

That pretty much explains my absence, plus I've been busy with other things and we spent quite a bit of time at the cape this year. I'm still looking after my 95 year old dad who was hospitalized twice since May. Everything is good right now, but I am keeping my fingers crossed! I've been doing a lot of walking, listening to my audiobooks. I found out that I love reading books on an e-reader. I've taken advantage of trying a few out, borrowing them from our library. So far I've try a Nook Touch, Kindle, and a Kindle Keyboard. I love the Kindle and I'm patiently waiting to see a Paperwhite in the stores. I think I'm going to put an e-reader on my Christmas list this year. I wish our library had the tablets to try out as well. The lower priced tablets look like a good deal especially the Google Nexus 7 Tablet . How does one ever decide which to get? I love the e-ink e-readers...but would I like a tablet just as well? We'll see. Any advice would be appreciated :) Maybe I'd keep up with my blog reading easier with a tablet?

In the meantime I've been knitting. Not quite as much as usual, but I have been knitting. I'm somewhat behind in taking photos of the things I've finished. Would have taken some photos today, but its dreary and dark. I'm still working on that multicolor blanket:

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that I started a while ago. This photo was taken in August, but honestly other than a few more rows, there hasn't been much progress.
I crocheted a few cell phone slings:
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I did finish a baby blanket and started a throw for my niece who loved her baby's blanket so much that she wished for one for herself. That's my current project.

I need to start making more baby prayer blankets for my church (Can you believe they ran out of them?) and I am planning on knitting a large, possibly queen sized blanket for my nephew and his bride-to-be for their wedding in July. Really have to get started on that one...that will be a big endeavor, but a labor of love! Stay tuned ...I'll try to take some more photos soon. happy knitting :)

Copyright ©2006-2012 hakucho, All Rights Reserved.