Tour de Fleece 2013

I've been hearing about "Tour de Fleece" for years but not until it's already underway.

By the next year, I forget until I hear about it half way through the event...again.

But...this year...I heard about it in time and got started today...the very first day.  Yay!

Here's the roving I decided to spin.  It's from my stash and the color is "Sandalwood".

I love all the pretty colors in it...

I'm trying hard to keep my spinning even and thin so I can use this to crochet a lacy shawl.

It's going pretty well so far.  Although, I know that what I spin a few days from now will 

be much nicer than what I spun today.  Practice should make a big difference.

Especially since I've done so little spinning over the past few years.

It's exciting to spin with an actual project in mind.

Up until now, I've only spun just to make yarn or hats.  That was rewarding.

I can only imagine how great it will feel to spin the yarn and make a beautiful, lacy shawl with it.

If you haven't heard of Tour de Fleece...it coincides with the Tour de France and 

participants choose fiber to spin or a project to work on over the three weeks

that has some sort of challenge for them.  There are groups on Ravelry and other 

places online to participate with others.  It's fun to participate in and a great way to de-stash!

Are you participating in Tour de Fleece?  Are you spinning yarn?

Or did you choose to knit or crochet a project that challenges you?

I'd love to hear about it!

Ugh!

Ugh!  I'm frustrated! 

 I've run out of yarn before my project is anywhere near finished.

I've worked for weeks on this project.  

It's been a love/hate kind of project.

Easy yet hard in that the openness of it makes it hard to see any mistakes

until a row or three later.  Rip!  There has been a lot of frogging along the way!

But, I kept going because I loved the sample I saw weeks ago on the Yarnover Truck.

Here's my project draped over the back of a chair...

(Keep in mind that this is unblocked and would look different and much better after blocking)

I've been a bit worried about the length since I finished the first skein and saw how short it was at that point.  But, I kept hoping (dreaming) that I had enough yarn to make it big enough.  I kept looking at a project on Ravelry (which looks exactly like the one on the Yarnover Truck and says she used 

two skeins) and trying to believe it was going to work...with a little magic.

The sample I saw on the truck was the "increased width" and had a tag that said it needed

two skeins of the yarn used in the sample.  I bought two skeins.  However, at the end of my

two skeins, the shawl is barely over three feet long.  I know it will grow during blocking but

I really don't think it will grow nearly enough!  It really needs one more skein to work.

That's the problem.  The Yarnover Truck is usually in areas very far from where I live.

So, even if they did have a skein left over of this exact color and dye lot (which would be

surprising with the amount of business they do), I'd have to drive hours to get it.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with this project.  It's way too short to use.  

But, I put so much time and work into it.  I guess I'll just put it in time out

until I'm ready to frog it completely and use the yarn for another project.  Ugh!

P.S. I've received a couple comments about contacting the Yarnover Truck for more yarn.
I came close to doing that but I've spent so much money on this project already
 and I'm not sure I love it enough to spend more.  I'm not even sure I'm willing to make it
 in a narrower version with the yarn I have because it wasn't very fun to crochet.
Maybe I'll feel a bit differently after some time away from it.

The Letter "D"

This week's photo challenge is the letter "D".

I didn't think I'd run into a tough letter until further into the alphabet.

But, it turns out that "D" was a bit challenging.

I couldn't use my dog because I used her for "A" as in "Airedale". Then, there were lots of things that start with "Dog" but nothing I could think of that would look good in a photo...dog food, dog leash, dog bed, etc.  Dogwood trees would be nice but they don't grow around here.  I thought of "Downstairs" but my carpeted staircase isn't really a thing of beauty.  I know places where I could find some beautiful staircases but it would be quite a drive.  Hmmm?  Maybe I'll be able to do that for "S".

Anyway, I thought and thought and mentally went all through my house

trying to find things that start with "D".  Here's what I came up with...

Doilies...

Doll...  She's a cute little vintage doll that I inherited years ago.  

She's made with fabric yo-yo's.  Doesn't she have a cute face?!

Doll...A very old china doll that belonged to my grandmother.

She gave it to me when I was a teenager.  She has such beautiful eyes.

They even open and close.  I've always liked her teeth too.  

Not sure about those giant eyebrows though.  lol

Dowels...from my warping board.

If you'd like to play along in this fun alphabet photo challenge hop on over

to Basically Benita for details.  Let me know too because I'd love to see what you come up with.

The Official Start of Summer

Friday was the first official day of summer and we wanted to make it great!

My daughter and I headed down to North San Diego County for some fun.

We started off with a stop at an antique mall in San Marcos.

Then, we picked up my hubby from work whisked him away for a well deserved afternoon off.

We went to lunch, stopped at a few of our favorite stores and headed to the beach in Encinitas.

The three of us took a long leisurely walk along the water.  Ahhhh!

We walked far enough that we had parts of the beach to ourselves.

It's so beautiful down there and the weather was absolutely perfect that day.

Then, we sat on the beach for a while to relax, take in the scenery, and people watch.

It was interesting to watch life guards bring people closer to shore as the rip currents picked up.

After that, we decided to get a bite to eat and then head down to the Oceanside Harbor.

Our favorite blues musician, Nathan James, was performing at the Nautical Bean that night.

He was surprised and happy to see us and his music was great as always.

It seemed like the perfect way to end the first day of summer...the three of us together,

an ocean sunset, great music, and some great coffee.  It was wonderful!  

Check out the view we had from our table...

It just kept getting better and better as the sun went down.  Gorgeous!

We enjoyed watching birds dive for fish, boats coming and going, and 

seals were diving into the water and swimming around.

We were all up and on the road bright and early Sunday morning to take our daughter

to the Long Beach Airport so she could fly out to a week long harp event.

It was our first time at Long Beach Airport.  It was a surprise to see how small it was 

and that the original Art Deco building that was completed in 1941 is still being used.

That's really something considering how old buildings are so often torn down these days.

Hubby and I explored around the building a bit before we left.

Check out some of the old mosaics on the floors...

Hubby and I wanted to make a whole day out of our long drive to Long Beach.

So, we brought our beach cruisers to go for a ride along the beach and harbor.

I thought this sign was funny.  

There were a few of them posted along the pathway at the dog beach area.

Speaking of dogs...we came across a dog show in a nearby park.

And, not any dog show...it was all terriers!  My favorite!

We fell in love with this little girl.  Isn't she cute!

She's a Welsh Terrier.  She looks just like our dear Salsa but in miniature.

We just may get one of these someday.  The same cuteness as Salsa but in a smaller, calmer package.

We were determined to get over to the other side of the waterway that boats go through
and get to the Queen Mary.  It took lots of circling around and exploring to figure out
where the bike path went over the bridge but we finally found it!
Here we are (Yikes! Beach hair! lol) at the top of the bridge with the Queen Mary behind us...

When we went back over to the harbor side we just had to stop to oooh and aaaah over this boat!

Wow!  Doesn't that look like soooo much fun?!  We saw another one come into the harbor later on.

It was even more impressive and had a gorgeous paint job.  But, I couldn't get a good picture of it.

We rode over 15 miles on our cruisers.  Yes, we enjoyed some flat riding.  But, there were some steep hills...like over the bridge and back and riding up to a little light house.  Then, there was the head wind as we headed back to the car.  So, we actually got a bit of a workout.  But, it was all fun!

We ended our fun day in Long Beach with a visit to Yard House

for some delicious drinks and appetizers by the water.

Our summer is off to a great start.  

Here's hoping it's just the beginning of lots of wonderful times to come!

How's your summer?  Did you do anything special to kick off this wonderful season?

It's a lot of work to carry my big camera around and spending a lot of time getting great shots.
So, I've only had my cell phone with me lately and using it for photos and very few of them.
It's hard sometimes to not have my camera when something great shows up but
not worrying so much about getting a ton of great photos sure is a lot more relaxing!  

Fun Finds

I popped into one of my favorite local antique shops last week.

Right as I walked in I spotted a couple of little treasures that

just had to come home with me...

I'm still not completely sure what I'll do with this adorable little bin but I just had to have it.

I just know it'll be perfectly handy in just the right room...once I figure it out.  ;-)

I love the lacy look of the punched holes on the front.

I tossed in a rolled towel and some old clothes pins for the photo.

I knew immediately what I wanted to do with this one.

I needed a place to hang a hand towel near the utility sink in our laundry room.

The little attached soap dish is perfect for holding some handmade soap.

The star is a bonus because I have stars here and there throughout our home.

The prices on these were pretty good too.

Fun finds!

As a little side note...I started having problems with blogger flipping my vertical pictures
sideways a few months ago.  This month, they're not only flipping sideways, they're distorting.

I've figured out ways to get them to display the right direction when I view the posts on

my computer.  However, I discovered today that those same photos are showing up

sideways when I view my blog on my phone.  It's frustrating and I can't seem to find an 

answer.  I've noticed a couple of other bloggers complaining about the same problem.

Has anyone found a solution?  I'd love to know.

The Letter "C"

This week's alphabet photo challenge is the letter is "C".

My photos this week were all taken at the local Father's Day Classic Car Show.

The parts I photographed may not all start with "C" but they were all parts of Classic Cars.

I love the shapes and look of so many of the old parts.

And, isn't this orange beautiful?!

The reflections in this hub Cap are really Cool

This is one of the lights on hubby's Classic 1965 Volkswagon.

We drove it to the Car show.  :-)

How about an old fashioned Cooler?

A beautiful truck bed for Carrying Cargo.

No "C" in this but the fancy paint job Caught my eye.

This Car was interesting.  It was Covered in super detailed artwork honoring lost musicians.

This Cupid was my favorite.

A tail light on an old motor Carriage.

Curves.

A Curved truck window.  I love these!

Curvy door handles

Not sure if this photo has a "C" but it Could be a Chevy.

Check out the Cute, Curvy Cab on this awesome truck!  

I'd love to have a vintage truck someday.

I love the paint job on this one.

So many great Cars to look at and photograph and dream of having.

But, of Course, we could only look but not touch.

I thought this sticker was Cute...

I love going to Classic Car shows.

This one happens every Father's Day in Murrieta, California.

It seemed to be a lot bigger this year.  It was so much fun!

The Letter "B"

This week's alphabet photo challenge is the letter "B".

Blue Bottles

Bottles of Booze

Bourbon

Bobbins

Brushes

 Buttons

Buttons Blanc

Beautiful Blossom

Bloom

This fun photo challenge was created by Basically Benita.

If you'd like to join in on the fun let me know.  I'd love to see what you come up with.

And, be sure to let Benita know.  I think she was planning to post links to the participants.

Vintage Lace Pillow Cases

I'm still on a roll with working on projects and I'm having so much fun!

I have another FO today.  Yay!

I found a set of nice cotton pillow cases at Ross last week for about $5.

And, I had a two matching pieces of crocheted lace that I bought at a restoration/vintage fair

a couple of years ago.  I thought they'd be pretty sewn onto the pillow cases.

I hand washed and lightly blocked the lace a couple days ago.

Today, I pinned them in place and hand stitched them on.

The pillow cases are a close match to some of the colors in our comforter...

especially at night with the lamps on.

I think they're really pretty.

I'm so happy to have found something to use the lace for.

Now, instead of sitting in a drawer where it's rarely seen, I get to enjoy it.

We've been needing new sheets.  I bought a beautiful set last week.

And, since we have two sets of pillows, these lacy pillow cases will be useful too...and loved.

Zion Hat FO

Yay!  My Zion/Extreme Knitting hat is finished!

The stockinette section just kept going and going.

That got a bit boring sometimes.  So, I kept setting it aside to work on projects that were more fun.

I finally got so close to the 9" of stockinette yesterday that I was determined to get to the decrease section.  Once I reached that point, I just had to finish.  That part went quickly.

I never did find a label for this ball of sock yarn from my stash.  I sure love the colors though.

The pattern is "Sockhead Hat" and its free on Ravelry.  It's my first slouch hat.

I used 16", size 2 1/2 circulars  and some DPN's to knit it. 

It's not hat season around here right now.

But, it sure feels great to finish another project that's been sitting around for a while.
I know I'll get good use out of it next winter.