What Will They Think of Next?

After a week at my Mom's, I came home and had occasion to eat at a local restaurant. I found this in the ladies' room:

Now why didn't I think of that? In fact, when I saw this sink I knew I wanted one! Isn't it cool?
You can see the actual item in the restrooms at Agave Mexican Grill & Cantina in downtown Lafayette LA.

Alive and well!

Just thought I'd finally write a note to let you know I'm still around. Haven't felt like writing a whole lot. I did go on my cruise (there are a few pics on my flickr page), and I'll be going on another knitting cruise in November, but it will be on a different ship, different cruise line. New Orleans is getting Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas in November, and I'll be on the first sailing out of New Orleans!

Hubby and I went on an Amtrak trip to AZ for the holidays. We stayed until Jan 2, then rode the train back to Lafayette. Here's a pic I took of our sleeper car:


Next week, I'm heading for Texas to visit my mom for a few days. She's 89, still lives by herself in an apartment, and doesn't drive any more. She has to depend on hired help to get her groceries, and once a week my sister goes and takes her places.

May 11, I'm taking the train again, without hubby, in order to attend this years PR Weekend which will be in Chicago. I'm driving to New Orleans to get on the "City of New Orleans". It arrives in Chicago the morning of May 12, and I'll leave Chicago on the 15th and arrive back in New Orleans on May 16.

Knitting wise, I did manage to finish a pair of socks last month. This is a pic of one of them:

Oh, I almost forgot! Hubby and I will be vacationing in Williamsburg VA in September! If you are in the Williamsburg area and would like a meet-up, please let me know!

Whew..I think I have told you what's been happening to me since I last posted. If I forgot anything, it will come to me, and I'll post about it later.

Pat H.

Latest bag & cruise

Here's one of my latest bags, but certainly not the last, as I have to take a picture of it!



I have this bag entered in a contest on one of the embroidery sites.

Now on to the cruise! Only 4 days to go! We have our boarding passes, passports, and luggage tags all ready to go! All that's left to do is getting my wardrobe in order. Today I'm going to attempt to make myself a skirt, but the fabric is thin and will need a slip to go under it. So I'll have to go find one! That means a trip to Walmart first, and from there who knows?

Totes a plenty!

Since I bought my embroidery machine and sewing machine, I've been using both for creating tote bags! I've been fortunate in that we have several sources for fabric in this area. When I spot a fabric that would look cute as a tote, I choose an embroidery design that works with it. The latest one is this one:


The one I finished before this was this one:


The totes I'm making will be part of my inventory for a craft show in November. I'm sharing a booth with another lady at the Omelet Festival in Abbeville. You can find out info on the Omelet Festival by going here:

http://www.giantomelette.org/

What's left after the festival will be available for sale on my Etsy site.

Knitting Cruise!

At long last, I'm going to go on a Caribbean cruise! I've booked passage on the Carnival Triumph through Vermilion Bay Yarn Co and the Travel Machine who are organizing the activities.

AND, I've talked my sister into going with me! The ship will dock in Key West, and she's always wanted to go there, but none of the cruises that she's been on with her hubby have gone there.
The ship will embark from New Orleans and stop in Key West before going on to Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas.

I've been to Freeport TWICE, but flew both times. Hubby and I have a membership at a resort there (Ocean Reef). We use the membership for exchange through RCI. It will be interesting to see what changes have been made in Freeport since I was last there in 1995.

First day at sea will be class day. I am taking two classes, both taught by the yarn shop owner, Jason. One class will involve knitting a lace shawl, the other is on fixing mistakes.

Have you ever been on a knitting cruise? Let's hear your comments, if you have. What did you like or dislike about your cruise? I will tell you this that they've assigned us a balcony cabin on deck 6, which is right above Lido deck. I checked the layout and discovered that it's right above a night club! I hope it's not too noisy! Maybe my sister and I should bring ear plugs?

New pattern by me! Enjoy!

I've been making these for a local craft show.  Very simple, only four rounds.  Thought I'd give you the pattern so you can make your own if you need some quick items for a bazaar or fundraiser.



You will need:

Worsted weight cotton yarn, color of your choice
G hook

1.  Ch 4 (ch 3 counts as a dc), make 11 dc in 4th ch from hook, sl st in top of ch 3 to join.

2.  Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc's in each dc around.  Sl st in top of ch 3 to join.

3.  Ch 4, dc in next st, (ch 1, dc in next dc) around, end with ch 1, sl st in 3rd ch of the first ch 4 to join.

4.  Ch 1, sc in same st, 2 sc in next sp, (sc in next st, 2 sc in next sp) around, end with sl st in first sc, ch 10 for loop, sl st in same st, end off.

 

I fixed my embroidery machine!

For a while now, I'd been having problems with my threads shredding somewhere in the machine. I thought it was bad thread, but yesterday I found the culprit! With the help of hubby's LED flashlight, I was able to spot a loop of thread lurking in the hole of the take up lever. So, after enlisting the aid of a straight pin and my trusty tweezers, I was able to nab the varmint! It's now resting with it's buddies in file 13.

Also, I've been crocheting dishcloths to sell at a craft show in Nov. I'm working a booth with a friend of mine. We're both making different things so as not to compete with each other.