GREEN HAT CONTEST ENTRY

I just finished my contest entry for "The Monkees" hat that Mike wore on the program (an apparently all the time in real life) . . . I know that it is not quite the same color as Mike's hat and it has a rolled edge and is made from yarn that is 65% cotton/35% acrylic (Lang Yarn-Coco and oh soooooo soft) instead of scratchy wool . . . but it is green and will look adorable on my granddaughter (and the cat loves it too)!

SLIPPER SOCKS!

Look at what the mailman delivered yesterday . . . another wonderful surprise from my secret pal . . . aren't these the cutest slipper socks you have ever seen . . . I LOVE THEM . . . especially the little attached pom pom ladybugs at the back of each pair. . . of course they went on my feet as soon as I walked in my front door when I got home from work . . . they not only kept my little tooties warm while I was knitting last night . . . they kept me from slipping and sliding on the hardwood floors . . . the bottom of them have little heart shape grippers . . . THANK YOU SECRET PAL . . . YOU ARE GREAT!!!!!

HANDMADE STITCH MARKERS

Here they are . . . the beautiful handmade beaded stitch markers that my SP9 Pal had made especially for me . . . I can tell that she has done her research about me as she knows I love and collect all things ladybug . . . THANK YOU AGAIN SP9 PAL . . .

BTW . . . the picture was taken with my new digital camera . . . its a Pentax 7.0 Optio M20 and has the one feature I cared about most . . . it's suppose of be jiggle-wiggle proof . . . so hopefully no more blurry pics . . . with the help of my daughter I have kind-of figured it out and with time I expect I will get better at taking pics of everything (especially of my granddaughter)!!

On the knitting scene . . . I have started another project . . . my SP9 hostess with the mostest, Heather, is having a little contest about knitting a green hat like the one Mike from the TV series "The Monkees" wore . . . the contest ends December 1st . . . sooooooo . . . I am going to sign off as hat knitting time is getting short . . . thank you again secret pal . . . your the best . . . ladybug kisses!!!!!

GOODIES FROM MY SP9 PAL

WOW . . . I received not one package . . . but . . . two packages from my secret pal this week . . . unfortunately I have not figured out how to work the new digital camera I have (home on meds right now and everything I read seems to be in a foriegn language and upside down) . . . but I can tell you about them . . .

With Friday being a holiday (when the courts are closed our office is closed . . . I LOVE IT!) and Saturday being a nonwork day (besides I was at a legal sec conference most of the weekend) . . . on Monday when I got to work there was an envelope from my SP9 Pal and in it were the instructions for making flower washcloths (these will be christmas gifts of course) and a package of the cutest ladybug stickers (which I have already used some on some cards I designed) . . . however before the day was over UPS delivered ANOTHER package from my SP9 pal . . . it contained six handmade (from Karen, the beadmaker lady) ladybug stitch markers (2 each in red, orange & yellow) . . . they are sooooooo cute and look even cuter on the little white sweater I am knitting for my granddaughter (yarn & pattern were b-day gift from Heather) . . . THANK YOU again secret pal . . . I will post pictures as soon as I figure out the camera . . .

On the knitting news . . . I have unfortunately not been doing much as I have been under the weather healthwise (meds make me very very sleepy) . . . but plan to be going strong again this weekend (okay next week) . . . I have got a lot of christmas gifts to complete!!!!! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is a week away . . . where in the world did all the time go?????? So that's all for now . . . take care and ladybug kisses!!!!!!

COFFEE SWAP ANSWERS!

Here are my answers to the coffee swap questions . . . can't wait to find out who my pal is . . . I have been gathering all things coffee related with the thought that if my pal doesn't like them . . . that will be okay . . . because I like them (hehehe)!!!!!!

1. WHOLE BEAN OR GROUND? whole - I love love love the smell that fills the house when you grind beans.

2. FULLY-LOADED OR DECAF? fully loaded please . . . it goes with my personally don't ya know!!!!

3. REGULAR OR FLAVORED? regular - french roast or anything rich & dark . . . I add the flavoring after brewing.

4. HOW DO YOU DRINK YOUR COFFEE? first thing in the morning I have a cup with just a little milk . . . later in the day I add flavors . . . especially cinnamon cream right now . . . and in the evening there is nothing better than a cup of dark rich coffe which Bailey's has been added to!!!!

5. FAVORITE COFFEE EVER? french roast with bailey's . . . even though the other day I tried a cup that was pumpkin spiced flavor -yummmmmmmie. . . which is great for a small treat during this time of year!

6. ARE YOU FUSSY ABOUT YOUR COFFEE OR WILL ANY OLD BEAN DO? I guess I am semi-fussy as I love rich dark coffee . . . any type of dark bean will do.

7. FAVORITE TREATS TO HAVE WITH YOUR COFFEE? pie for breakfast-lunch-dinner-snack . . . okay I also like cake . . . hummmmmm . . . let's just say any kind of dessert!!!!

8. ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT YOUR COFFEE PREFERENCES? Just no weak coffee please!

9. YARN/FIBER YOU LOVE! any natural fibers . . . sock yarn can have a little elastic in it.

10. YARN/FIBER YOU HATE? cheap cheap novetly year . . . any of that eyelash yarn - it sheds!

11. WHAT'S ON YOUR NEEDLES? right now I am making a pair of felted mary jane slippers for a christmas gift and a tiny purse to be felted as a gift and a pair of socks to be a gift . . . oh yea I almost forgot . . . making an "ice cream cozy" for my husband (he likes to eat ice cream right out of the carton)!

12. FAVORITE COLORS? right now its rich looking purple . . . I also love red, golden yellows, greens, rusts, browns, creams . . . NO PINK!!!!!!

13. ALLERGIES? none in regards to this swap.

14. ANYTHING YOU REALLY LOVE REALY DON'T LIKE, OR JUST NEED TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? just one thing . . . I really really really HATE peanut butter!!!!!

So that's it for now . . . soooooo . . . oh where, oh where, can my swap pal be?????

Need Golf Club Cozies Pattern

Help . . . does anyone know where I could find a simple, but manly looking pattern for a set of golf club covers, hats, coozies (whatever they are called) . . . ya know the things that go over the golf clubs when they are in that thingy bag that golfers seem to lug them around in . . . I want to make them for a christmas present . . . BTW . . . in case you couldn't tell I know absoluately nothin about golf . . . how many of these cozies do I make and do I need to make them in different sizes . . . should they be made out of a particular type of yarn???? . . . HELP!!!!!!!!

OH WHAT A WEEK!

Don't you just love birthday's . . . especially when you can celebrate yours all month long . . . well that is what I am doing . . . it all began with the surprise party from the knit group the Sunday before my birthday . . . then the morning of my birthday I won a b-day cake , via the oldies radio station I listen to, from my favorite bakery - Mim's . . . however what surprised me most was hearing on the radio the names of other people who have the same birth date as me and had a chance of winning my birthday cake . . . here I thought I was the only one born on "All Saint's Day" . . . anyhoo . . . I get to work where more goodies await me . . . flowers and ladybug stationary from my co-workers and a gift card to my favorite scrapbook store from my bosses (they knew I had a gift card from my favorite yarn shop) . . . that night I had to conduct my legal sec associations board meeting and I knew we were having dinner (pizza of course) and I kind of figured I would get a cake . . . which I did . . . it was chocolate with white frosting, had little ladybugs all over it and said "Happy Birthday Madame Prez" . . . it was almost too cute to eat- but never fear we did eat it . . . however I didn't expect the wonderful gifts . . . they gave me a Mary Engelbret crystal paper weight saying "The Queen Mother" (goes with the crown I was given at my installation) and Lynn gave me "all things" ladybug and a crane magnetic needle holder . . . needless to say it was the best board meeting I ever led . . . on Thursday everyone at my office went out to lunch to celebrate my b-day at one of my favorite restaurant's . . . Friday was a birthday holiday from work from my bosses so of course I spent it getting hair and nails done and doing some knitting (okay it was really crocheting) . . . Saturday my friend Marsha and I went to a scrapbooking convention and she treated me to a birthday dinner and on Sunday evening the kids arrived from Wichita with granddaughter (early - they weren't suppose to be here until Monday but they drove straight from Idaho) . . . you would think that the celebrating is over but oooooooooooh nooooooooo . . . the kids, hubby and I are going out to bunch this Sunday . . . and at thanksgiving we will be with the rest of my family in the bay area . . . now do you see why I love birthdays!!!!

On the knitting front . . . I have been crocheting . . . I am "A" Mary Jane slipper . . . yes that's right . . . I am only doing one slipper not a pair because the LYS only had 1 skien of the yarn I liked and apparently you need 2 (they thought they had more in the back room) . . . so Devvy has promised me that she would find another skien so I can have one for the other foot . . . all I have to do now is connect the two additional bottom soles to the slipper and felt it . . . I think I may be bringing the slipper to the legal conference this weekend and begging Lynn to help me with this part . . . I can't figure out which is the front & back loops on this part . . . its been a very very very long time since I have crocheted . . .

So anyhoo . . . that's what this past week has been like and this coming week looks to be very interesting also . . . more on that in my next blog . . . for now ladybug kisses . . .