3 Weeks, and Counting. . .

Three weeks until the wedding, and I am counting.

Counting the days until the wedding, for sure.
Counting up the pennies, nickles, fifties and hundreds spent on wedding things.
Counting the laughs we had at the bridal shower and through the years.
Counting up the brain cells I have left, which seem to be diminishing daily.
Counting the hours and minutes, treasuring the woman my daughter has become.

Six place settings at each table for the bridal shower, 6 sets of silverware, 6 party favors, 6 photos of the bride- and groom-to-be at each table for guests to enjoy.

12 pieces (or more?) of assorted clothing the bride dressed herself in for a crazy fun "wedding night" game! That Snake is a lucky man, I tell ya! (And Dollface is a good sport! Her new sisters-in-law did a great job with the games!)

Two moms that have grown to love Dollface through the years. One of these moms is new to her life, but I can see that the love is already there. I may be biased, but I think that both Snake and Dollface will be blessed with a pretty great mother-in-law!
Ninety-two pictures taken by the mother of the bride. What can I say? That's just who I am...the lady behind the camera! (Sigh! She's got the camera again...smile!)
Counting it up, treasuring it all in my heart, and still knitting in the stolen moments that I find in each day. Enough stolen moments to finish these warm, fall/winter socks for Snake (I took the pic with them on my feet. . .they are too big for me! lol!)

And enough stolen moments to get a good start on my Shapely Tank/Tee "redeux." I officially cast on the ripped-out-and-re-started sweater on July 5th, and I thought I was making fairly good progress until I made a mistake on the back on Wednesday evening(ugh!). . .I ripped out 18 rows before going to bed. And then, at knitting on Thursday, I made another mistake and ripped one row (oh well, what's one more row ripped?). And then, about 20 rows later, I found another mistake and ripped out twice on Friday morning, to the tune of 20-24 rows total that were ripped. . .(Aaaaargh!!!)
Now, I know that there are things in life that are much worse than ripping out my knitting. I just wish that I did not feel like my knitting had gone backwards after the 4-hour knit-a-thon that is our Thursday night knitting group time! But then, as always, it is what it is. . .and I will get back to the forward motion again soon enough.

But not right this minute, because guess who came to visit?
We are excited to see you, too, Peanut! And we are happy that Army Boy, Wifey-Poo, Puggle-Face and Beagle-Brains have come for a visit as well. It's a crazy time at Pretty's house for the next few weeks. . .but it's crazy GOOD, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

I hope that you are counting your blessings today.

And I hope that you will all Knit and Love, and Plan and Play, in Good Health!

Oh, and don't forget the contest!!!

Relaxing. . .Down on the Farm

Last Saturday, amidst the preparations for the bridal shower (pictures of that in the next post, I promise!), I got to spend a little time on the farm. I love to spend time on the farm, because the farm is Where the Bees Are (and the bees make the hunny!). . .

. . .and the farm is where I sometimes knit with my friends, AND it's where I learned how to needle felt myself a pumpkin!. . .
. . .and a chicken! Because, you know, I neeeeed more hobbies. . .

The farm is also where Joey lives. I like Joey. So do the other knitters! But Joey is a fickle llama. . .hmmmm, this one is a little too shy. . .

. . .and this one? She's a little too bold!. . .

But this one. . .whoa! This one's Just Right!. . .Hey, Baby!

It's so pretty at That'll Do Farm! When Sweetie and I were there to pick up our produce, the farmer walked us around to soak up the totally organic beauty of the place! It's just amazing. . .

. . .and when I came home, there were beans, and cabbage, and cukes, and zukes, and chives to marvel at and enjoy, fresh from the friendly farm!

With so much going on in my life lately, I am barely even knitting, but I thoroughly enjoyed the respite of our visit to the farm. Thank you to the farmer who took time from her farming to show us around and to sit and enjoy a piece of the day with us! That's the kind of gift I can treasure in my heart forever.

Until next Saturday, I hope that you will all Knit in Good Health!

PS - Don't forget the CONTEST on my 250th Blog Post!!!

Four weeks, and counting. . .

When you go to a fancy dress shop with your daughter, and you buy a fancy gown for her in this color. . .
Well, it is at this point that you can be fairly sure that a wedding is underfoot! Today we are at four weeks before the wedding, and there are many deadlines to check, and checks to write, and final plans to make. . .but I am putting all of that off because tomorrow is the day we will shower the bride-to-be with gifts for her new home. . .see the pretty favors?

It's gonna be a fun party, and I wish I could have all of you there to join in the food, fun and festivities. Unfortunately, time and travel and too little space have prevented me from inviting everysinglepersonIknow to come to the shower and grab a little favor to bring home, buu-uuut. . .

In honor of my 250th blog post (I know! Can you believe it?!?), I do have a special favor for one lucky blog reader! If you comment on the blog, or send me a message at PrettyKnittyJewelry(at)yahoo(dot)com, I will enter you into a drawing for your choice of 1 FREE item from the Etsy shop OR a nifty surprise gift from Pretty! The deadline for this contest is next Saturday (aka "3 weeks, and counting. . ."), and please remember to leave me an email so I can contact you if you win!

Thanks for stopping by! Good luck, and Knit in Good Health!

Reflection on the Fourth

The Fourth of July, that is. But the fourth of any month could be cause for reflection, I suppose. The cable bill is due on the 4th of every month. . .did I pay the cable bill? I think I did. . .that's something to reflect on! But I'd rather reflect on the tadpoles in our Aunt and Uncle's pond at the annual 4th of July picnic, tho. :^)
. . .and watch "the boys" play corn hole (that's Sweetie with a couple of our nephews). . .

Of course, I could reflect on old friends, and NEW ones too! (A friend of Snake's came to visit from the Netherlands on Monday. . .yes, I said, "from the Netherlands!" They had gone to school together at Kent State, and Mr. Nether had returned to the US with his lady love to celebrate the nuptials of another friend and teammate from said school. . .the only address they had for Snake was ours, from the wedding invite, and we had a lovely time chatting over fresh iced tea and snickerdoodles!) Friends are good to reflect upon, and they are good subjects for photographs on the front porch, too!

Last, but certainly not least, is the yarn. Yarn is good for reflection. Reflecting on how much yarn I want, and on how much yarn I need, and on how much yarn I already have (which is "quite a bit," but I used some on an afghan recently. . .that's a good thing!)

Is it still called reflecting if I am lingering over thoughts of future knitting projects? Like, say, a new Shapely Tee? Because that's the next item I plan to cast on. . .I just printed a fresh copy of the pattern today, and that will be my "keep-me-sane-knitting" for the next couple weeks (I hope!), as the wedding plans and prep come together - Yay! I am using the same yarn (pulled out of the original tee) and knitting this in a smaller size - Super Yay! I can't wait until I have a progress report for you on that!

So, that was my Fourth of July weekend. . .relaxing, family picnic, wedding plans, and yarn. Happy Birthday, America! I hope that your holiday was just as much fun as mine was!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

5 weeks, and counting. . .

And so begins the crazy (she says, as though it is a new development). . .it is 5 weeks until the Pretty Knitty Wedding of Snake and Dollface, and the Pretty Knitty Mom has started to spaz! Maybe it was the dress fitting that set me off (all those pins! yikes!). . .
. . .or perhaps it's the way the Father of the Bride is just rolling with all of the plans, refusing to get stressed out (doesn't he know that I need him to be crazy, too?!? on second thought, maybe this is better). . .

*Sigh!* At least there is the knitting. . .

One of Snake's newest socks is finished, and the other is well on it's way. Now, the trick is to actually sit down once in awhile and KNIT!

So, that's where I am these days! Look for more countdown, and more crazy, in my Pretty Knitty life in the next 5 weeks! You are a brave, brave soul to stop into Pretty's "Crazies," and I thank you for checking up on me. . .so far, still sober.

Knit in Good Health!