Licensed2Knit

This weekend I spent some time pumping up a prop story for my part of a Riverwalk presentation, which is where we bring the story time program outdoors as a special summer time treat.    Because the puppet show we were assigned was “The Three Little Pigs” I decided to add to the storybook theme and brought the book… Falling For Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox to life.  BTW I highly recommend this book for the grade school or younger set.  It’s a very silly twist on the old favorite where Rapunzel misinterprets the Prince’s plea and tosses out all the wrong stuff.  One such item is the silky dress she tosses out when he calls for her “silky tresses”.   I adapted an online freebie American Girl-sized pattern to fit my needs.

Notice the sweet rosebuds in the overlay fabric?

The pattern was free and the fabric dirt cheap on clearance at JoAnn’s.  Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?  I also asked the talented NPL graphics people to construct a castle tower for the Rapunzel puppet that was also big enough for the puppeteer to stand behind and they came through with a wonderful castle spire, I was very pleased.   Hopefully we can reuse this wonderful prop story for many years to come.

I was also quite pleased when my boss told me that the children were laughing and really seemed to enjoy the whole presentation.   My next program is the long awaited “On the Look Out for a Cookout” which takes place Monday.

Just in time for cookout season! So….I’m going to put the pattern out here on the off chance that someone is actually excited about these wienies and wants to knit a string of their very own.

Frankfurters

Supplies:

One skein Patons Classic Wool color Paprika 00238 (aka hot dog color)

One set of US 7 DPN

Fiberfill

Directions:

Cast on 15 sts over three needles. Knit about 6 rows and tie off at around 3-4 rows from the CO edge using a piece of the same yarn. Knit about 6 inches and stuff with fiberfill then tie off the section and repeat for as long as your heart desires. My string is 10 frankfurters long. After tying off the last of your wieners knit 3-4 rows more before casting off. Create a slight bend in each wiener to create a more realistic look. Enjoy!

With the advent of Ravelry I sometimes forget to post my FO here.  I wouldn’t want any of you to miss this beauty.  It’s the Sand Dollar Shawl from genius Evelyn Clark.

See the beads?

Lovely isn’t she?  This was a Mother’s Day gift for my mom.

I have been married for more than half my life to this guy…and here we are still happy after 25 years of “wedded bliss”.  I never thought about wedding milestones when I was younger but I am very happy to have reached the “Silver Anniversary”.  Although we did not celebrate it properly yesterday, we plan on doing just that in the near future.  I actually celebrated that morning by performing my first “special” program at the library…Fantastic Frogs followed by a meet up with my knitting buddies at Panera in the evening.

Barb brought me some delicious watermelon yarn…

Isn’t it purty?!  I have been wanting some to call my very own and when Barb saw the yarn get posted she snagged these two pretties for me while I was at work and unaware.   I am so lucky Barb had my back and was looking out for me.  Thanks again Barb, it’s so pretty and refreshing, I think I can stop obsessing talking about it now.  I just have to find the perfect pattern and I will then “unofficially” join the Summer of Socks…I totally missed the deadline but then I never seem to do well with group knitting anyway so no matter.

Today at lunch my son found this chip in a bag of Ruffles. It kind of resembles a Canadian from South Park as well as Pac-Man. So how much do you suppose it would go for on Ebay? ….As if, this chip is going for an “onion-dip” as soon as I show the rest of the family, I guess I’m just weird like that.

Edit: I just checked Ebay and found a heart shaped chip up for auction…and I thought I was odd. Correction…make that two heart shaped potato chips up for auction.

A co-worker of mine bought this dog toy at Target for $2.50 and then gave it to me so I could “pimp” her ride. We have been on the lookout at the library for a puppet to use with a transportation story hour, amazingly they are scarce to non-existent. I had thoughts about creating one start to finish but I can put that off as I think this one turned out pretty cute. There is a fleece mitten I made today and sewed to the undercarriage so we can use it just like a puppet.

So you’ve seen the “potatoes” I made…well here is the fake grill and burgers complete with fixins to go with them. Sometimes I think I really have too much time on my hands, but yet somehow I always wish for more hours in a day. I still say that I have one of the best jobs ever. My June is totally booked with fun stuff to do at the Library. I have two programs the cookout one and a frog one, two outdoor Riverwalk presentations and the big kick off to the Summer Reading Program. I also have a morning seminar in Geneva during Swedish days so I am hoping to drive separately…which is normally frowned upon but after all, I’ll already have a great parking spot and it’s my normal day off so I have the rest of the day to enjoy myself…which really means a trip to Wool & Co is on top of my “To Do” list

During my 15 minute breaks, my meal breaks and when I arrive too early to clock in I work on a small knitting project that I keep in my desk. Lately I am working on Midge from Berroco using some vintage Lion Brand Magic Stripes in Jelly Bean. I totally enjoy knitting at work it’s amazing how a few minutes here and there yield a nicely knit item ready for gifting. Although I still have to finish this one and knit up it’s companion before gifting.

I am going to a Grandma Shower next weekend and as part of my gift I knit another silly rabbit. It’s Yarn Bee yarn…(you know I can hear you laughing) Soft Illusion Super Bulky, shade…Softy. It takes two skeins to make a bunny but very little is actually knit from that second skein so if you really like this little fella, and I know you do….you can easily get 2 bunnies out of three skeins as only the tippy top of his head and his ears were knit from the second skein. Just imagine how many bunnies you can finish with this leftover skein.

As thunder roared in the heavens…I picked some violets from my backyard. Their bloom season is so short you have to enjoy them while you can. I spend a leisurely Sunday morning baking goodies. Here’s what’s left of my blueberry coffee cake and a big pan of one of my husband’s favorite things…strawberry-rhubarb crumble.

I haven’t been working on this shawl for my MIL very much…I love the pattern but I just twitch over using Encore as the fiber. I like Encore but it’s just not worthy of this shawl pattern…it’s just not. I’ll work on it slowly and have it done in plenty of time for gifting this holiday season.

Enjoy the lovely weather this weekend.

I haven’t been knitting as much as I’d like but I’ve been crafting some things for a couple of children’s programs this June. One of the programs I’m involved in is called, “On the Lookout for a Cookout” and I have been given the task of coming up with a couple of games. I made these “faux-tatoes” to use in a rousing game of Hot Potato. They’re made out of fiberfill and some knee-hi stockings I’ll never wear. I don’t know why but these really make me smile.

I’ve also been working on a string of “faux-furters” to wear around my neck as funny flair to be worn with my apron and a chef’s hat. I’m not quite done with these yet, I know hot dogs don’t usually come in a string but I’m not a sausage girl, I’m a hot dog girl.

The other program I’m working on is called “Fantastic Frogs” so I’ve been making amphibian crafts. Have I told you lately how much I enjoy my job?

I’m working on a pair of mittens during my breaks at work and at home I’ve been knitting away on the Leaf Lace shawl for my MIL. I’m not feeling the love with the Encore yarn I am working with (her choice) so it’s slow going. I need to start an exciting project….something I can really sink my needles into. Thoughts?

I’ll leave you with a pretty picture of my pup.