Menemsha Sunset

IF YOU ARE MY MOM, LOOK AWAY NOW!

I know your birthday was last week, but I told you I had to finish this, and you are going to be here on Friday, so you can wait a few more days, right?

So this was my stash-buster blanket. The one I had to buy more yarn for.

I started planning this project around the multi-colored yarn in the middle of the picture. It was a Christmas gift from my brother, and it was called "Fire in the Sky." I had all these great blues and oranges and yellows to go with it.

And while I was working on it, the nightly news had story after story about the Obamas' vacation trip to Martha's Vineyard. And it reminded me of our vacation trip to the Vineyard in 2006. It was beyond lovely. (Well, until we tried to leave. That is another story entirely.)

Twice that week we went to Menemsha for dinner. We packed blankets, side dishes and wine, and drove out to the beach at Menemsha. After we set up our blankets, we walked over to Larsen's Fishmarket to pick up our order of steamed and cracked lobster and returned to the beach for dinner. After dinner, we'd sit back to enjoy the sunset while the kids ran up and down the beach. It was magical.

And while I knitted away on this blanket, it was all I could think about.

So for my mom, on her birthday (or just a week late!), I give her Menemsha Sunset!

A question for you

School starts on Tuesday, and I'm trying to prepare mentally for all the schedule changes. Seriously, yesterday I realized that on Tuesday I was going to have to pack two lunches and three snacks. And I was all taken by surprise!

My question for you involves after-school snacks. And also lunch box ideas, too, I guess.

What do you serve for an after-school snack? We usually have some version of pretzels--hard and crunchy or big and soft and fresh from the toaster oven. My oldest would happily devour a bag of chips, and that does not make me happy for many reasons! Occasionally they'll split an apple. Carrot sticks make most of them scream.

I want something that has some nutritional value--that will hold them over until dinner and keep them out of the pantry! Any ideas?

And while we're at it, what do your kids like to eat for lunch? I can't tell you how many uneaten sandwiches I've thrown away...and then there was the year my oldest ran up a huge bill in the cafeteria. They won't allow them to go hungry, so she told them she forgot her lunch money or whatever and brought home AND HID a week's worth of turkey sandwiches behind her dresser! I'm just glad I found them before the smell got too bad. Ugh.

What works for you?

Busy and not-so-busy

Hey, there--it looks like I lost track of time! I've been doing some things--but not too much. School starts one week from today, and I am almost at that point where I'm going to break into song just like the Staples commercial. You know the one...

Last week I learned why some of my tomatoes looked so odd. They had late blight. I had to pull out five of my tomato plants. This is what I harvested from the plants before I pulled them out. I have many, many bags of ripening tomatoes that will need to be processed in some way (slow roasted, made into sauce, frozen whole?) before the week is out.


In between stirring the sauce, I've been here. At 190 stitches per row, this is a slow go. This is my stash-buster that I had to buy more yarn to finish. I may be back at the yarn shop for more yarn soon.

My sunflowers finally came out! I had planted the seeds pretty late, so I was a little concerned about whether they'd have enough time to bloom. I love the red ones. I am definitely going to plant more of these next year.

So in a nutshell, that's pretty much what we've been up to. The back to school haircuts are done; the back to school shoes have been purchased; most of the school supplies are purchased and just waiting to go into the backpacks. All we need now is September first!

Scenes from the Fair

Today was the last day of our local 4-H Fair. I absolutely love to have the chance to be so close to all of the magnificent animals.

I get such a kick out of chickens. Even the prize winners.

And I'm going to have to stick to the tilt-a-whirl for sharing rides with my big girl. I was about three shades of green after getting off this ride.


And as soon as I was able to pick up my entry, we grabbed it and headed for the air-conditioned car.

Remember this quilt? Probably not--I pieced the top back in January! It sat folded up for several months because I wasn't happy with the quilting. A few weeks ago, I got it out, unpicked all the quilting, and started over.

I have wanted to enter something in the fair since we went last year. I never put it on my summer "list" because I was afraid I would chicken out! I was quite nervous about entering. It's one thing to make quilts, it's another thing entirely to put them out there to be judged! It didn't win any ribbons, but I'm happy I did it.

Now I can start planning next year's quilt!

Sew Connected: August

For this month's Sew Connected, Amy sent loads of fabrics and an a picture of a Kaffe Fassett quilt. I was excited about this right away. Not only had I just brought home two Kaffe Fassett books from the library, but this month's design had all of my favorite elements: a simple block design, multiple block sizes to choose from, and loads of fun fabrics.

Like most people this month, I was unable to make just one! I ended up making four blocks in sizes from 3.5" to 9.5". I really can't wait to see the finished result.

How are you?

Another summer week gone by! This one included some water in the basement, some movies from the redbox, and a little fun in the garden.
And as a way to use up some stray yarn (and a couple of cones of cotton yarn), I've started knitting dishcloths.

This keeps my hands busy and happy!

School starts in less than a month now (September 1), and one month from today, my baby will turn 6! I still have lots of summer left to enjoy, so I'll be back in a week or so.