Update

Hey folks - so far so good! Sydney and I are at my mom and dad's. Our house is high and dry, thank God! While there is a lot of damage, the city of Fargo has been miraculously saved. We're aren't in the clear just yet as a winter storm is headed that way, but we are hoping and praying the worst of it is over. THANK you ALL for thinking of us. I will actually have something fun to show soon, I have been knitting like crazy for the past few days!

Take care and thanks again!

P.S. My amazing brother in law is featured in this video (the one titled Levee Breach.) Go Trent!!

Water Update

Just wanted to let you all know, Sydney and I left our house this morning and are staying with family in Minnesota. My husband Lee is an engineer and is staying behind to work. We left to provide him some peace of mind so he can do his job. Please pray for Fargo!!

Staying Dry...

Or trying to at least! We are battling a (potentially) record breaking flood here in Fargo. The crest is forecasted for early Friday morning. Until then I'm working on moving things out of our lower level (we live in a split level home.) Unfortunately they are forecasting rain and snow in the next few days. We are praying for the best possible outcome, but planning for the worst. It will probably be quiet around here as I try to get all my ducks in a row before the water comes!

Hopscotch T

I started working on this T-shirt for Sydney last Thursday, thinking it would be a quick project I could share with you all on Friday. Took a little longer than I thought! I just finished it up yesterday.

Embroidering all the numbers was the time consuming part. I considered fabric paint or appliqueing another layer with numbers, but embroidery won out. I am pretty happy with the end result and Sydney likes it, so I guess it was worth it!

Snow Day

We're having a snow day at our house today. We are in the middle of a full fledged blizzard that is only going to get worse this afternoon. They are expecting 6-10 inches of snow today (we also got 3 1/2 yesterday) with 25-35 mph winds. So, we're hunkering down here. I'm planning pj's til noon, lots of baking, lots of knitting, and maybe a couple movies. For those of you enjoying Spring already, please send warm melting thoughts our way!

And just so this isn't a completely boring post, here is a picture of a hat I made for Sydney. It was supposed to be for next year, but fits perfectly right now. Probably not a good sign!

Fingerless birthday gloves

My friend Sara's birthday was last week.

I made her this card:

And these fingerless gloves:
Details:

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton yarn in Expresso (#621)

Needles: US size 6 DPN

Cast on 36 stitches. Knit in a basic 2x2 rib, with a cable row thrown in every 4th row or so. (If you really want more detailed instruction let me know, I would be happy to write them out.)

Finger Knitting

Yesterday Sydney learned how to finger knit. So did I for that matter. Instead of me trying to learn and then explain it to her, we just watched a video on You Tube together (this one.) She had it figured out in no time. I wound the yarn around each finger, she pulled the loops over and off. She thinks maybe when she is 11 she will be able to wind her own yarn - according to her everything is going to happen when she is 11.

She lasted for about 15 minutes and then was ready to be done for the day. I wasn't sure how you can save a work in progress with finger knitting so we just called it done and did the bind off. The tails of yarn were luckily just long enough to turn it into a necklace. The beads were her idea.

I think we will definitely be doing this again soon. Her tiny hands won't be producing anything too big, but I think a headband would be super cute!

Thank you all for your sweet words of comfort. My great aunt Linda passed away last Wednesday. She was 61. Linda was a donor and on Thursday she gave of herself yet again and we pray that others may live on because of her very special gift.

Linda's donation was on par with the rest of her life. She was a wonderful giving person that preferred to be behind the scenes working rather than leading for all to see. She had amazing crochet, knitting and cross stitch skills and her love was spread far and wide through her gifts. The blanket in the picture was a gift from her. I have always treasured it, but will even more so now that she is gone. I remember watching her crochet when I was a kid. Her fingers moved so fast you could hardly see them. She was an extremely funny person, you couldn't help but laugh when you were around her. She will be greatly missed.

On Thursday a Donate Life flag was flown at the hospital as a tribute to Linda's donation. We all learned a lot about the donation process through this experience and I urge you all to be informed and make your wishes known to your family. Research the laws in your state regarding organ and tissue donation.

We just returned from her funeral service last night. Our world kind of stopped turning for about a week and we are trying to get back into a normal routine now. You all have been busy while I've been gone! I have over 300 unread posts in my Google Reader account. So, if your looking for me I'll be siting in front of the computer trying to catch up!

Take care and thanks again for thinking of me and my family.