My "Coat of Many Colors"

My New Year's resolution this year was not-- TO NOT buy any more yarn.  If it had been, I would have already failed--right now, right here on day 7 of this bright new year.  

(spoken by the person who just carried in a new package of yarn from the mailbox last evening!)   

 

I will however, admit that I'm a little jealous of all the wonderful knitters out there who have been sharing their

 "stash busting" projects.

  Truly, I would love to belong to that club--

 but sadly, I don't think I meet the basic requirements~ 

namely a desire and intent to reduce one's yarn stash. 

 It's safe to say that I am totally 

hopeless.

I'm trying though, desperately trying- truly I am!! 

My one and only recent attempt to seriously reduce my stash has resulted in this~

my "coat of many colors". 

I fell in love with THIS crochet jacket pattern,

 but-- I don't crochet. 

 Can't even hold the needle - can't learn- 

apparently can't even be taught--

(this said after numerous attempts by my sister and friends who have tried to teach me!) 

But-- my friend Kathy is a champion crochet extraordinaire!

***

 you may need to sign in or create an account to view this pattern 

on the Lion Brand website

Instead of buying the suggested yarns for the coat,

I boxed up a HUGE assortment of my variegated yarns~~ 

spending an entire afternoon sorting through all of my collections. 

 A huge production, actually--

 but a truly wonderful way to spend the afternoon~

 reacquainting myself with some of my favorite yarns.

I found myself saying over and over again~

(oh yes, I remember that yarn!)

  No rhyme or reason--

I simply just choose color variations

that I thought might "be pretty". 

What began as a box of

"this and that"

has now become

this~

I envisioned a few alterations in the pattern~

change the sleeves to three-quarter length-

change the coat from hip length to knee length.

~~

Kathy accommodated my requests beautifully

and I couldn't be more pleased

with the results.

Regarding the colors,

and the best way to organize the order of the yarns~

I suggested to Kathy that she use my

scientific method of color 

coordination. 

Just close your eyes and pick!

(works every time!!)

My box full of stash yarn

is now my beautiful

"coat of many colors".

~~

so~ does this mean that I might could

become an official member of the

"stash busting club"?

 

Is it a problem

that I still have enough yarn

to make this coat for 47 of my closest friends???

~

(don't answer that!)

~~~~~~~

some updates~

I'm busy, busy, busy loading your blogs into the draft post for the Grow Your Blog party.  Remember that you have until January 15 to sign up to participate. Please don't be late to register if you want to attend-- I need those last few days to finalize the post and check that all of your blogs are loaded in correctly. 

I'm so very excited to say that we have almost 300 blogs participating in the event. I'm seeing LOTS of new faces this year - wonderful blogs that I know you will want to visit. 

I'll return on the 25th with the official party post.  You still have time to invite your friends -- it's going to be a super great party!

To those of you who so kindly volunteered to help me check the blogs the day of the party --- thank you, I will be emailing you your assignments a few days before the event -- so watch for your emails please!!

~~ while I'm being so busy here, I am also recovering from my second cataract surgery-- thank you to everyone who sent love and prayers my way. Im just so very happy to have this all behind me now~

xoxo,

Vicki 

Kadence's Winter "Onederland"

Our youngest grandbabe turned one year old just a few days ago. Kadence Noelle was supposed to arrive on Christmas day -- but-- she came a few weeks early.  Please indulge this"gb" one more time and allow me to share a few more family photos of our babes at the birthday party and at Christmas~
(and--- there is a little surprise for you all at the end of this post!)

her Mama made her little "tu-tu"

for her winter Penguin themed party

well, let me just say

that she was NOT going to wear the bow

that matched her outfit!

when you are one year old

it's ok to have your name printed on your bottom!

(actually, it's pretty darn cute!)

taking a photo with her sitting still

was not easy!  

she's a girl on the move!

the clothes come off for the eating of

the birthday cake!

~

Now-- her big sister, Keri Beth

also had a cute little matching outfit to wear --

but -- she was NOT wearing that

because, she IS a Princess.

 it's tough trying to carry out

all of your Princess duties when you are

 3 years old!

this would be the 

"pouty face"

(can you say Diva?)

us "girls" before the party

(Keri Beth, Kadence Noelle, and Maddy girl)

(it only took about 40 tries to get this picture!)

Papaw is grabbing a little snuggle

before the party

My best vintage Goodwill find ever!

~

vintage solid wool with a pink satin lining

perfect condition with the original 

"ILGWU" tag in the back.

~

I paid $3 for this little coat at the

 Goodwill store!

My friend Shell

created this beautiful little

wintery, snowy, Princess crown

for "you know who".

nobody does "bling" better than Shell! 

~

this little Winter crown

was perfect for the Princess!

she never took it off and insisted on

wearing it the entire time of our

Christmas celebration~

~

(heaven help us all!)

 playing with her

Sophia the first princess doll

Kadence did not really understand

the whole Christmas thing --

she loved the paper

and she was intent on watching her big sister!

Our Christmas miracle--

getting this photo made

before one of them wiggled out of our arms!

~

A little surprise gift from me to you~

When I posted a photo of me wearing these gloves on my last post, I had NO idea that so many people would notice (or care!!)  Over 40 emails arrived within the next few days asking me about these beautiful felted gloves.  So~~~ I spoke with Aurelija, the designer of the gloves and she has agreed to offer a special discount to my readers. 

You can find the gloves here and if you purchase anything from her etsy shop between now and the month of January, you may use the discount code SALE15AURELIA   for a 15% discount on your purchase. Who loves you baby? (me!!)

Some updates~

~~we are winding down to the last few days to sign up for the

 Grow Your Blog party.  The deadline to enter is January 15 -- 

I am already beginning to load your blogs into place for the party.
As of right now we have almost 200 entries for the party -- its shaping up to be a very nice event.  You still have time to invite all of your blogging friends -- the more, the merrier, as the purpose is to meet lots of new people and grow your readership and FOLLOWERS!!  

Please note that I won't be sending you emails after you are loaded in place -- there is just NOT enough time for me to do that, I hope you understand.  If you left an entry comment -- you will be at the party!  You can find all the info for the party here~

~~

I wish you all a wonderful and blessed New Year. Every day is what we make it -- my goal for this day and every day to come is to make it count~ do something special for someone I love,(like all of you), and to enjoy and appreciate all the blessings that surround my life and those I love. 

xoxo,

Vicki

Just keepin' it real~

Visits with grandbabies, hand made teddy bears, the last of the Pink Scarf deliveries, and a beautiful heartfelt gesture from a dear friend -- all the blessings that are so very special to us in our life.  This is my chance to share some of those most special memories with you~

Mason - 5 years old
Avela - 18 months old

We just returned from a wonderful

visit with our grandbabies in Atlanta. 

It seems like you just turn your back

and they grow so much!

Avela poses by the Christmas tree. 
(ALL the photos in this post were taken with our
Iphone 5 cameras)

You probably already know this-
but-- grandbabies are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!
~
there was lots of jumping on top of
Papaw's belly!

we celebrated Christmas with our babes
so there were new toys to play with~

the dollbaby lost out-
but Avela took off with both the teddy bears
in her new grocery cart!
~
(the teddy bears have their own special story
later in this post)

Mason was SO excited about the five
one dollar bills that his Papaw gave him ---
he wanted to take us all out to dinner!

EARLY morning building!
Grandbabies do not sleep late
when we come to visit!!

Avela's favorite toy was her
gb's iphone!

Avela's first ride on the merry go round
at the mall

Papaw captured this magical moment
with his iphone~

she is laughing out loud here~

we went to this little Italian bistro-
I said, "Mason, turn around here and smile for your gb".
and THIS -- is the picture that I got.

You can pay for expensive photo props ---
or-- you can plop the baby
on the bed at the Pottery Barn Kids!

but the truth of the matter is really this --
most of the time when you are taking photos of
busy, busy, busy grandbabies,
what you end up with mostly is
this!

 Papaw got to fly a vintage aircraft
while we were in Atlanta-
a Waco YMF

Mason was as excited about the airplane
as his Papaw was!

these precious little Teddy bears
were created by my friend Gregory Patrick.
~
Greg's story of how he came to knit
teddy bears is both unique and heartwarming.
Once a homeless person, Greg now knits these bears
as his means of making a living
 and uses them
to touch the lives of people all over the world.

You can find Greg at his blog
Mad Man Knitting.
He will be happy to make a precious little bear for you-
but --as with all things that are specially 
created and made
one at a time~~~
you will need to patiently wait your turn.
~
Just like me when I make my little nests,
Greg only has two busy little hands and
they are constantly
knitting!

Miss Maddy girl
~
I've been promising photos of our Maddy girl
(actually my sister's grand daughter,
but - we count her as our own!)

Here she is posing with her
favorite Uncle on Thanksgiving day.
~ 
Maddy girl will turn 5 years old next month!

A few weeks ago,
I delivered the last of the scarves
from the Pink Scarf Project to my 
friend Donna.

(Kay, me, Donna)

Donna and her friend Kathy 
met me and some friends in Columbus for lunch
and the scarf exchange.
~
For me -- this was the final great moment
of the Pink Scarf Project.
 The true completion of what had been
such an incredible project.
~
Meeting both Kay and Donna was the greatest
experience.  Before this day,
we had only communicated through our blogs
and emails. 
Can I just say ---
they are the
NICEST. PEOPLE. EVER!
(I just can't put into words what this day meant to me.
I could get all gushy here!)
~
You can find more photos of our meeting 
on Donna's blog here
and on Kathy's blog here

Sometimes people do things that
are so heartfelt and special
that it truly is hard to find the words
to express your gratitude.
~
My dear friend Deb
has created these beautiful little smocked gowns
for our most special babies
in my NICU.

Deb told me that the making of the little gowns
had been in her heart for such a long time.
~
This is really Deb's story to tell
and I want you to read it as she
has written and shared it on her blog.
You can find more photos and Deb's special story
here 
and here
and here

And finally~

Merry Christmas to you all
from the Gardener
and me.
~
Treasure every day you spend
 with those you love.

Love,

Vicki

ps -- thank you to everyone who has sent me best wishes for my recent cataract surgery --- all is well -- and round 2 will be coming up soon! More prayers please!

And--

You just have a little over 2 weeks to sign up for the big party!  You can find all the info here-- be sure to bring your friends along too!  It's going to be a wonderful opportunity to make new blogging friends and increase your followers!!