sleeping well

Mike and I needed a new mattress and after much debate, decided on a Sleep Number bed! He and I had different ideas of how hard/soft we wanted a new mattress to be, and this seemed like a great solution. We settling into our 'numbers' (and if you're wondering - I'm around a 40 and he's closer to a 70), and it's hard not to play with the settings every night, but I know I need to, literally, sleep on it, for a bit before I start adjusting things. But if you really think about how much time you spend in your bed, comfort is pretty important!

I had been hedging on finishing a certain baby gift because I can't find the rattle and wanted to fill it with poly pellets, but couldn't find them in any of the stores nearby. So I tried to figure out what else I could use.

The fill needed to be heavy, small, preferably pretty uniform, definitely child friendly and have the ability to get wet so the toy can be washed/spot cleaned or chewed on. Washable and non-toxic were my two biggest concerns. I went on Ravelry to see what my other options might be. After reading many various suggestions and looking around at what people had used, I gave up, and decided just to go back to the rattle idea and off I went to the pet store to buy another. After looking around the store for a bit I was inspired - why not use aquarium gravel! It's small, pellet sized, can get wet, is non-toxic and would allow me to fill with any amount needed - I'm so excited about it!!

So today I'm back to work finishing the gift and will be ready to send it out soon. (The recipient's mother is not on Ravelry, so she won't be able to see the link, but I'll post pictures as soon as it's on it's way). I worked on it all weekend, and it's coming out cuter than I expected, I just need to finish some ears...

Although I'm really trying to finish up all my UFO's - things keep calling to me to cast on. I have some lovely yarn I want to make another pair of smoochy socks out of:



And I really need to start on Mike's Hat. I crocheted Mike a hat a few years ago, but the 'denim blue' yarn I made it out of turned out to have more of purple cast and it's a bit too small. So I offered to make him another, and had him choose the yarn for it. He selected some beautiful "rustic wool" (doesn't the yarn sound like Mike?) in an olive, sienna/rust and charcoal, then he drew out a picture of the type of hat he wanted. I've looked on-line and on Ravelry to see if I can find a similar pattern, but I'm thinking I'm just going to free-knit it with some basic guidelines and see how it goes.

Plus, I've finished my hand warmers (and it has gotten chilly enough again for me to use them) - now I need to make a matching hat to go with them! But I want to finish Mike's hat first. So I need to finish what I've started and then prioritize appropriately.

finishing up and tidying up

I've been working away this weekend at my UFO's and I've finished the hand-warmers, just in time for the weather to warm up - typical me, but I know I'll use them on cool mornings when the steering wheel is a bit chilly or the office has the AC cranked a bit too high, so I'm not worried.
Here they are finished and basking in the sun -




There are little things I don't like about each of them, but they're picky things that no one will notice but me, so I'm not going to fret over them.

Then I found a rounded decrease toe that I liked and finished my Thermal socks! I think they look great:


I even wore them out yesterday, and they fit great too!

Then, I have finished knitting my semi-secret baby gift, but I still have to stuff it - so pictures will be coming soon on it I hope. I spent all morning and last night looking for the 'rattle' part I had bought to put inside it, and I can't find it anywhere, so this may take longer than I thought.

Last weekend, Mike and I went to see the Old Crow Medicine Show, and it was really fun! It does remind me that I'm getting older, as I wished for earplugs half-way through the show as the music got to be really loud. I think the show would've been really great in an outdoor venue.

I have today off from work and have been straightening (might as well as I searched for the rattle thingy), and organizing and cleaning. Now I just need to figure out what to have for dinner - any ideas?

creating living statues

Last night there was an event for a wonderful musician, Joshua Bell, and a party afterwards put together by one of the founders of Mike's school, so many of the students were recruited to show their talents and help support the event.

My role (as a supporter of a talented student) was to turn two of the stone-carving students into real statues! The house itself was a work of art, and the two students were to stand out front as part of the architecture. With the rain and cold, they ended up on the porch on small squares of fabric that looked a bit like pedestals. There were elements pulled together at the last minute, and I was a little nervous, having not done this for a number of years, but I was fairly pleased with how it turned out! Here are a couple of shots of the students:







We only had a short amount of time to get them ready, makeup, dressed and out front, before the guests started to arrive, and I wish I had had more time - I didn't get to add as many finishing details as I wanted. Plus, the weather didn't help the 'actors' in their bare feet, but I think it came out alright.

I also got a new phone! I've been needing a new one for a while and finally got one. It's blue, and pretty and works, and that's what really makes me smile:

Now I just have to be careful not to text too much. I decided not to put it on my plan, but I do like the ease of the typing.