On a beautiful Saturday in April

The weather yesterday was beyond gorgeous and Robert and I just knew that the only thing to do was to be outside. We decided to go to the ArtWalk festival at RiverWalk Crossing in Jenks.

We couldn't have asked for a better day, we had lunch on the patio at Los Cabos with a beautiful view of the river and City Plex Towers on the other side:



There were lots of things and people to see. There were several different groups of musicians playing along the walk:



We saw some of the areas more talented residents:



This guy's name is Yusuf Etudaiye and he has a pottery studio in McAlester, Etudaiye Studio. The weather yesterday was very pleasant but I don't know how he survives the Oklahoma summers with all that hair.

Here is a crappy picture of some of his work on display at the festival:



As with all of the pictures, you can see a little better if you click on them.

We saw some of the areas cutest residents:



And we saw a few of the areas more colorful residents:


Yes, those are fishnet stockings...(?!)

We named this woman Boobie McBooberson:



And this guy looks like he might be Northeastern Oklahoma's very own version of Dog the Bounty Hunter:




And finally:



I know, I know, I'm horrible. But doesn't it seem like some of these people were just begging for attention? So I really didn't have any choice but to oblige them, now did I?

Maybe I better just stop now and get thankful about a few things:
1. I am thankful for festivals on the river.
2. I am thankful for being able to spend an amazing Saturday afternoon with the man I love.
3. I am thankful for sweet tea with lemon.

Springtime at the knithouse

Everything around the knithouse is really starting to look like Spring. The hillside behind us is all budding and green:



The bunnies that live in the yard are frolicking about:




They are free to frolic without fear in our yard as long as they don't wake Blowfish:



To quote four-year-old Madeline, the bushes are getting very happy:




She took the above pictures of the azaleas, they're a little wonky, but she's four.

There hasn't been a lot of knitting at the knithouse lately. I've been pretty uninspired, knitwise. The patterns that fit into my most recent skill level are not challenging enough anymore and the ones that fit into the next skill level are frustrating. I don't know what I need to do to get past it. I guess I'll work it out somehow.

I'm working on some plain stockinette socks for a friend using some really pretty Opal sock yarn:



The yarn was so pretty, I felt like a simple pattern would work just fine (and it is) but I also think that this would make some very pretty Jaywalkers. What do you guys think? Should I keep going or start over with the Jaywalker pattern?

When I went to the LYS to get the Opal sock yarn for my friend's socks, I found some Berroco Sox in my favorite colors and had to pick it up, just for the sake of having it.



Maybe I'll break out of my knitting slump and make something fabulous with it. Either that or it will sit on the shelf in the spare bedroom until it's so old that it has become way too fragile to try to knit anything with it. Yeah, that's most likely what will happen.

What am I thankful for today? I am so glad you asked:
1. I am thankful for lazy dogs that sleep on old rugs in the backyard.
2. I am thankful for 80F/26C days.
3. I am thankful that the trees and bushes are getting happy.

Where have I been?

Jeez Louise, I just realized that it had been more than two weeks since I had posted anything here. What is it that has kept me so busy?

Well, there was the tax return that, no matter how long I waited, would not do itself. That always takes about three times as long as I want it to, and at least twice as long as it would take anyone else to do them.

I did find a little time to do some knitting here and there. I made this hat for Emma's friend Robbie who is busy right now fighting breast cancer:



This was based on the Robin's Egg pattern that I found on Ravelry. I made a few minor adjustments to the pattern because I was using a worsted weight yarn instead of the chunky yarn that the pattern calls for. I used Knitpicks Bare Superwash Merino, which is really much softer than I ever expected and washes up very nicely. I dyed this myself. One of the things I love about handpainting yarn is that I get to come up with my own names for the colorway. Finding the perfect name that accurately describe the colors is such a fun part of the creative process. I am calling this one "Green".

By the way, Emma is having a contest on her blog right now, she needs help redecorating her bathroom, pop over and help her out if you have a minute.

I made this hat, using the same yarn and pattern, for my parent's friend Darcy who had surgery today for an aneurysm:



I am calling this one "Pink".

I don't wear hats and therefore I never knew how much fun they are to knit. I have just become a hat knitting freak lately and I love it.

I am working on another Quant for my daughter's friend, Sparkle. Isn't that a cool name? Who could resist making a handknit gift for someone named Sparkle?

I entered a contest last week on Maglia, I won 700 yards of the most beautiful yarn. It's 60% Sea Cell and 40% Silk from LuLu's Yarns. The colorway is "Fregene" just north of Rome, Fregene, once a simple fishing village, is a quick getaway from Rome and an upscale alternative to the congested beaches of nearby Ostia. Throughout the summer, actors, soccer stars and the Roman gentry go there to feast in waterfront restaurants, to dance until the wee hours and, most of all, to tan themselves on the beaches. Fregene is a beautiful name, but I probably would have called it "Blues, browns and oranges". :) Just kidding, Lu, thank you so much for this amazing yarn:



No post would be complete without a list of thankfuls:
1. I am thankful that it stopped raining for a few days.
2. I am thankful for beautiful free yarn in the mail.
3. I am thankful for crazy young women named Sparkle.