Back from Philly

It was such a nice trip to Philadelphia. Especially spending 4 days with my son and his girlfriend. (She is a first year ObGyn resident in Philly too...different hospital from my son) Flying was quite the experience both going and returning home. On thursday morning we arrived at the airport to discover the flight had changed from leaving at 8:40am to 11:00am. So I sat and knitted while my husband read (Thirteen Moon by Charles Frazier). I started the felted boxes found in the Mason Dixon book. I completed the medium size box while waiting to board the plane but then realized I didn't have anyway to cut the yarn. (I didn't bring scissors because I was not expecting to have time to do that much knitting prior to boarding and I knew I might not able to bring them on the plane.) Then on Sunday, we had a layover in Cincinnati which lasted longer than it was suppose to. We loaded the plane, sat for a half hour before leaving the concourse, lined up for take off, got out of line prior to take off due to mechanical problems. After another hour and half, the plane took us back to the concourse. We had to go to a different gate and wait again while the airlines located a different plane for us. Long story short....6 hours later we finally headed home. It was very late by the time I laid my head on my pillow in my bed Sunday evening.

I enjoyed seeing and experiencing somewhat what life is like for S (my son) and E (son's girlfriend).
Walking is one of the main means of transportation. (E and S are leading us down an alley of homes that once were occupied by Irish.) Parking seems to be an issue for those with cars. We walked everywhere. It was amazing how every few blocks the neighborhoods would change - Italian, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor - such diversity.

Someone (I can't remember her name) I met on a fabric swap from the Philadelphia area mentioned to me that I should visit fabric row while visiting S. It was great. It consisted of about 3 blocks both sides of the street of nothing but fabric and trim stores. I bought some really neat buttons that resemble stones and a couple of yards of fabric. I wish I could have spent more time going through each store but there is only so much one can squeeze into 4 days.

When I returned home, I had a pink and brown swap package waiting for me. Deb did a fantastic job with the gifts...paper, pen, notepad, cloth, notecards, magnets, ribbons, stickers...all pink and brown. and each individually wrapped. Thanks, Deb....it was well worth the wait.

Right before I left for my trip, I mailed my International Tote Exchange to my partner, Jackie in England. Boy, was I surprised that she received it in less than a week. I'm not experienced with mailing to other countries...had no clue how long it would take. Here is a picture of the felted bag I send Jackie.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Can't wait until Thursday....I get to see my son after almost 5 months. That is the longest time I have gone without seeing his gorgeous face since the day he was born 29 years ago. My husband and I are flying up to Pennsylvania and visit through the weekend. Our son is a first year resident in emergency medicine. I am anxious to see where he is living and how his life has changed since moving to a large city. I am also curious to see how his time pans out in this big city. The four years he was at Vanderbilt, I prayed that he would hear God's whisper as to where he should be as a resident. I am believing God placed him in this place for a purpose even though it is so far away and we would not be able to see him as often as we did when he was in Nashville.

I have been working on a few items. My fall tablerunner/cover with pumpkins is slowly coming together. I began the quilting this afternoon.

I also started a baby quilt after being inspired by Happy Things. She had several posts in her blog a week or so ago on making a baby quilt. Here is what I have done so far.

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet....

Temperatures have dropped, the leaves are changing. All are signs that Halloween will soon be here. I always loved Halloween. As a child I can remember running around our neighborhood going door to door with either my brothers or friends with our pillowcases (our trick or treat bags), dumping the candy on the bed to sort the candy and then critiquing which neighbors gave out the best candy . Once my older brother knocked on a neighbor's door and was pleasantly surprised to find that his treat was a watermelon. Apparently they had run out of candy. Without a second thought he rolled it home all by himself. I can still hear my father's laughter as he watched my brother rolling the large green watermelon down the street.

Last night my husband had to work late so we had to forego the high school football game. (We won - Go Eagles!) I started straightening up my fabrics and came across some Halloween fabric I purchased several years ago. So instead of completing the original task, I sat down and made two trick or treat bags for my niece's children.

These are a lot cuter than pillowcases of years past.

I have mentioned several times that I live in a town that doesn't have much to offer when it comes to looking for yarn and fabric. I am always so envious of the yarns and fabrics I see on other blogs. I also am a person who prefers to look/touch the yarns and fabric before purchasing. But I decided the other night that I would try ordering fabric online. My order from Fat Quarter Shop arrived this morning. I purchased some 5 X 5 squares in pastel pinks, blues, and yellows. I hope to make a patchwork chenile baby quilt using this tutorial from Happy Things.

Happy Fall Ya'll - The Taters Have Been Dug

I love sweet potatoes and the time for digging up taters has arrived. This is just a few of the potatoes I have bought for this fall and winter.
There is a locate farm where I buy these every year. They taste so much better than those bought in the grocery store....sweet potatoe souffle, sweet potatoe pie, baked sweet potatoes, candied sweet potatoes....love these taters!

I received my International Tote Exchange bag from Laurie on friday. It is a very generous sized tote in brown with gold and green stripes. She also sewed a leather strap on it. Very nice gift. Inside the bag were some note cards, post its and a very nice set of knitting markers. Thanks Laurie. If you look closely in the picture of the tote, you can see a picture of my son....the doctor. I sure do miss him. He is a first year resident in emergency medicine in Philadelphia. My husband and I will be visiting him in a couple of weeks. We haven't seen him since June and I do miss him.

Projects completed this week:

A baby bib, and several tissue holders.

Heavy Heart

My heart has been heavy thinking about the recent news occuring in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. My prayer is that we all will hear God's voice and see God's love in the way this community is handling this tragic event.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -his good, pleasing and prefect will." Romans 12:2

Corners of My World

I have seen several people post pictures of various spots throughout their home. Recently Autum posted a pictorial entry of views throughout her home and in her town. I thought I would share a few corners in my home....not too many because I have to admit my house has been somewhat neglected. The weekends have been spent with my husband going to college football games. So chores have been neglected. Anyway....here are a few:
This is my corner where I knit, watch TV and nap. I love this chair. So comfy!

This is my corner where I sew. I wish I had more space. I have to go to a different room to cut and press the fabric.

And speaking of sewing. I have started my fall table runner. It's a circular runner. Pumpkins will be appliqued in the inner circle. It has been a week since I started it. I plan to get back to it this week. I'm afraid if I wait too much longer, time will pass and it will be time to pull Christmas stuff.

I have started a Garterlac dishcloth using the pattern from Criminy Jickets
It is hard to see the details in the photo. I am using a white variegated Sugar'n Cream. It is a fun pattern.

I also have completed a brown and blue dishloth using a beaded pattern from CatKnitz.
This, too, is a fun pattern.

While taking a couple of pictures of corners in my home, I discovered that I had several corners with baskets of yarn.
Well, obviously I don't need to shop for yarn anytime soon.
I hope tomorrow I can take photos of my trip to work and share my town with you. It is a neat town although I wish it had more places to shop.