Gettin’ It Pegged…Loom Knitter’s Clique

On Saturday (5/3), my daughters and I got to have a girl’s day out with my family. My 2nd eldest sister’s son is getting married in July, and his bride’s wedding shower was in Lacey, WA. Since we would all have to travel 30 miles to get there, we decided to make a day of it!

First we met at the Centralia Factory Outlet Center, where some of us (I won’t mention who! Hehehe) had to do some very last minute shopping for the bride…then off we went to the Olympia Olive Garden for a scrumptious Italian lunch! Mmmmmm- mmmmm!

Those around the table: my 2 eldest sisters, one daughter each, my mom, and my own 2 daughters. It was so fun! I think it was good to get out and go have some fun with just us girls…we don’t do that enough. And we were still missing my youngest sister and her daughter, a sister of one of the daughters who attended, and my brother’s wife, and her 2 daughters. Now you see why it’s so difficult for us all to get together…we have a tribe! We were having such a good time, that my sister had to call the bride, and tell her we’d be a tad late for her shower! Time just got away from us.

When we finally made it…about a half hour late!…we had a really enjoyable afternoon getting to know the bride’s family, and all the bridesmaids, and playing those kooky games you can only find at showers. One of the games involved breaking up into 4 different groups, and separating into different places in the house. We then had to use only toilet paper to design complete wedding attire for someone in our group! The bride then got to choose which one she liked best.

My daughter Emily was the model in our group, and my Megan got to be the bride in another group…I think everyone was thinking “the smaller the model, the less wrapping in TP!” 

I got to design rosebuds for Emily’s bouquet and headpiece, while the other ladies wrapped away.

Here is the finished TP bridal attire…

…and the winner is…

Emily!

The bride said that even though she would probably wear dresses like the other three, she liked ours best for all the lovely detail. It’s amazing what you can do with a couple rolls of toilet paper! We tried to fit in a visit to Shipwrecked Beads… but we got there one minute after their closing time. Rats! Oh, well…that will be a reason to get everyone together for another Girl’s Day outing.

On a fibery note: yesterday, I got to KNIT! <BIG SMILE!> I only have 1 more wedge to go on my pinwheel blanket! I’ll post pics as soon as I have it off the loom, and stitched together…then it’s onto the 2 afghan squares I’m terribly behind on…and then I’ll get to the edging for the blanket. I have to shuffle between projects, so everyone’s happy, and I actually get them all done, lol!

Have a wonderful day!

Bethany~

I’ve recently gotten to know a little bit more about a wonderful loomy friend of mine…Robin McCoy!  She’s such a kick in the pants, and so willing and ready to help those in need; whether it’s for charity, or for all those questions that many people have on looming techniques.  She’s so ready to drop everything and lend a hand.  I’ve grown rather fond of our Robin.  :D 

So…in honor of this special day, I give you happy wishes, and a shared flash back:

Yes, it is Robin’s birthday today!  She reminds me so much of myself, as I have always been crazy about all holidays in general, and especially birthdays… sometimes I drive my family nutty with my giddy excitment, lol.  Robin has been talking about her birthday for the past month on the Loom Knitter’s Chat Clique, so I wanted to do something a little quirky for her.

In one of our chatty emails to each other, we discovered that we share a bit of the same past…we were both on the High School Band Flag Team…or Color Guard, as she likes to call it.  :)  I absolutely loved being on the team, and not only for the cool routines we got to make up, but for the fact that I got out of wearing, what I thought at the time, to be really dorky uniforms that the band had to wear!  I would be playing the flute, wearing those terrible polyester pants, and feathered hat, if I wasn’t twirling a flag.  Hehehe, yes…as a high schooler, all is vanity!  And another similarity, is that Robin also played the flute!…and sax, which I always wanted to, but could never afford. <insert pouty face>  So, I played the piano instead, which we already had in the house, lol.

Flash Back #1

Okay…see the band behind us?

See what I mean about those uniforms? 

And check out those cute little lacy anklets I’m sporting, lol!

Flash Back #2

Okay, as the hat says…this is the 80’s…so of course I’m sporting those huge sunglasses that take up my entire face, and make me look like some kind of weird bug!  I look like I’m straight out of the movie “Better Off Dead”!

This was one of the highlights of being in the high school band…we got to travel to British Columbia, Canada and perform at the World Expo of…you got it!  1986!

Oh the days…sigh.   Robin, I hope you have a totally awesome tubular birthday, and that all things rad come your way throughout the year!

Bethany~

I hope you’re all wearing green! 

I love this holiday!  When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to get to school to see who I could pinch that wasn’t wearing green. The bad part was when I actually forgot what day it was when I was dressing that morning, and had to get pinched myself…I usually employed the help of a magic marker, or a few blades of grass crammed into my pocket to avoid the inevitable pinching fingers coming my way.  Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!  ;)   Hope you all have a wonderful day!

PS: I do have a little tiny surprise awaiting for you this week…keep checking back to find out what…you’ll like it, I promise!

Bethany~

Just check out the PILE of…

what is it?…dirty laundry?…contents of my linen closet?…

NO!  :)  This is the absolute HAUL the girls and I made at the yearly fabric sale at Walmart!  You’re looking at over 55 yards of fabric…all for only a dollar a piece!  Yippee!!! 

Okay…we went kinda nuts going around touching, and ooooohing over every design and texture.  But, we do have a sort of plan for most of the fabrics we purchased, so it wasn’t just frivolous…I’m telling myself… 

The first item has already been sewn up complete…a black skirt that Megan needed for her Spring Strings Concert last night.

I whipped up this simple little thing without a pattern.  I just made sure to measure her really acurately, so it would fit correctly (hopefully) when done.  It has two slits up the sides, which Megan thinks are the bees knees…and the skirt fits to a tee! 

I’m at the moment trying to download a little video for you to have a peek at the concert…it’s very cute to see the young budding musical talent…kids are just cute, period, so this is just extra fun to watch. 

I’m having a little difficulty getting the link to show up here on my site, but you can go here to see the video on youtube.  And here’s the finale.   Enjoy!

Bethany~

Whoa!!  I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday, and I haven’t posted this week yet!  Yikes…that’s the longest I’ve gone without saying “hi!”.  But, I didn’t do it without thinking of you all…I really meant to post yesterday, but my computer crashed!  :(  I can’t tell you how nerve wracked I was when I couldn’t get the blasted thing to turn on!  All I could think of was all the things I had on there that I hadn’t backed up.  After over an hour on the phone with tech support and $80 + bucks later I had a working computer again!  Yippee!  It’s amazing how much we rely on technology.  I also made a trip to the store to pick up a 2 gig flash drive to back up my important stuff fairly easily…   so no more worries. 

Well, to make up for lost time…this will NOT be a wordless post!

About my weekend…my little Meggyloo turned the big, but not yet “teen” 12 years on Friday.  We had a wild party planned at the roller skating rink, with family and friends, and then she had a friend over for the night.

When I say “wild” I’m speaking about the idea that my darling daughter had of wearing furry mustaches, neon gangster hats & sequined bow ties!  I couldn’t believe my ears when she told me she wanted to do this…and at a public skating rink…but, she took a poll with her friends and they all definitely wanted mustaches! 

Go figure! 

So, I ordered the loot, and let them have at it.  I think the idea of wearing these funky items was more fun, than the actual wearing, because most of them took them off pretty quickly after sporting them for pictures. 

One of the games we played was a treasure hunt… well, it was a one person hunt…we left clues for Megan to find her presents! 

Before the party, I collected gems, and bobbles, special coins, some jewelry pieces (some made by me!) and created a clue that looked all old and worn, and put them all in a box that looked like an old book.  (I found this at Michaels in the home decor section…very cool find!)

At the party, my eldest daughter and I created clues about each person that was there that Megan would be able to figure out, but would still be tricksy.  We gave out the clues secretly, and in order, so that each clue would lead to the next, and then to the box, and then to the big gift… which happened to be a new bike that my sister brought with her and kept hid in her truck. 

All in all, everyone had a really great time.  Megan even said that it was one of her most favorite birthdays! 

And one of my most favorite parts…I didn’t have to clean my house extra for company… and I didn’t have to clean up after the party!  ;)  Definitely an added bonus!

**Happy Birthday Megan!** 

You were a beautiful baby, and you’ve grown into an even more  beautiful “almost teen”!

Bethany~

Hey check it out!  I finally made it to         Top Momma! 

To help me stay there…at least for a little while ;)  please click on the button and then click on the cute little girly wearing the Chill Chaser Cap and kissin’ a bunny…Thanks! 

Bethany~

   *Before~        …Mom…?              

 Mom asks…Are you Sure?

Daughter says…Chop It!

  *After~  Meet “Pixie Girl!”  

There are many avenues of change I’ve been contemplating  for the new year.  I’ve been really mulling over what exactly my goals might be in the coming days, weeks, months…

I’ve been exploring the possibilities of ME…who am I…who do I want to become?  Where do I want these feet to take me?  Am I really becoming the person that I want to be?

I laugh at the pic above…I took it clear back in October to decide if I really liked my hair, or if I should change it…I ended up changing it just a little…a tad layering on the sides and back.

I think maybe that’s what I’m looking for in the other areas of my life…a tad layering, trimming, shaping here and there…to make it become more the picture of ME that really fits.

So stay tuned as more drama unfolds…who will the Bethany of 2008 be?  I hope I decide soon, so I can just get on with it! 

Bethany~

What is celebrating Christmas like in your house?

Several years ago…after rushing around madly, like all the rest of the mobs to get ready for Christmas…baking, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, decorating, cooking, more shopping, more wrapping…etc…only to have the celebration complete in one frantic rush…then the great,  inevitable, anti-climax ensued…

…we decided to slow ours down a little, while (hopefully) making it more meaningful and our kids more appreciative.  We decided to make our holiday giving like the song, and begin our season the week before Christmas, if not an entire 12 days. 

We purchased (or made) our regular type of gifts that we would normally give to each other, and several little gifts that were just fun, or sentimental, or tastey…and began each opening one gift a night, building up to Christmas day, when the remainder of the packages (even if just one :)  ) were opened.  We also spent the evenings together doing something fun as a family…like watching a favorite movie (or new one!), or going to a Christmas play, or driving to view the holiday lights, playing a game…what ever came to mind.  We would also have on hand all those yummy comfort foods and goodies that are craved so this time of year.

Since adopting this…”our tradition”…we have been able to make the holiday pace seem so much more leisurely, and tons more enjoyable.  We get to savor the good parts of the season a little longer, and really appreciate the generosity of our loved ones  all the more… as well as developing ourselves into more thoughtful givers.

As we  celebrate our fifth day of Christmas, we hope that you are finding as much enjoyment and peace as we are, and that the traditions you are creating with your family are just a memorable.

God Bless,

Bethany~

This is the kid’s crafting article in the December SW Washington Family Magazine.  The article explains how to create 2 types of ornaments, but only pictures one…

…so I’ve included the other…which I think is the most fun to do, because it lets those special little kidletts become the center of attention on those twinkling Christmas trees.  :) 

These make terrific Grandparent gifts! 

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Bethany~