Adventures in Vacationland

I have the most clever nieces and nephews...they decided a few weeks ago they would hold a camp for little kids while we were on vacation in Bayside. So, they made brochures, handed them out the first day we arrived, and started bright and early on Monday morning. It runs for an hour and they do a craft, a game, a story and snack. It's held in the public park overlooking Penobscot Bay. And kids have come! Even Bayside Bunny has spent a fair bit of time there.

Ella does the reading. She's 'camp director.'

Charlie is the 'athletic director.' He's in charge of anything physical.

Katherine is the 'arts and crafts' director. She carries the big box to the park every morning.

That's Katherine in the scarf. She's 7. Ella is 12. Charlie is 9.

Family Vacation

Aren't they great? Nothing like being surrounded by nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, and friends. Bayside Bunny walked down to the park to get the paper one morning....I don't think we could have planned a better headline if we tried. Just perfect.

Dear Declan,
Look what I found on the shelf in my studio! Of course he was all in pieces when I discovered him, but with a little ingenuity on my part, he was put back together in no time! And right now, he's tucked into my suitcase between my bathing suit and my pajamas, excited to meet you in Bayside on Saturday! The last Bayside Bunny!

Love,
Aunt Kathy

What to do with that rock collection.....

I think I'm going through a very 'scattered' time. I go from one thing to another. Planning things to do on road trips. Planning menus for a week at our rental cottage. Keeping our house in 'show shape' for prospective buyers. Weeding, weeding, weeding. Exercise? Maybe. I don't have the concentration to start on any one new piece of quilting, so I find myself surfing the net for quick, satisfying things to keep my hands busy, something with almost instant gratification. Something beautiful. I found an article on knotless netting, and this one blog with some incredible work. There are also some good videos to help you get started if you're interested. Buy some cording, find a rock that speaks to you, get a darning needle, and that's it. In less than an hour you could have one of these too.

DONE!

It's only been 3 years which in my knitting world is not really that long to finish a project. As a matter of fact, according to some of my knitting friends, it's not long at all. The sweater is not perfect, but it FITS and it looks pretty good. You can't see any of the mistakes. And, yes, it was supposed to be long sleeved, but I opted for finishing it in this decade.

The pattern is one I got on line from www.justonemorerow.com. So I can cross this off my list of unfinished projects and move on to yet another UFO. My bird in the previous post is in danger of becoming one of those. I get to that point in creating something where I KNOW what it's going to look like and somehow the 'discovery' element is resolved, therefore I don't have the desire to complete it. Mystery solved. I'm working on this though, because I do like to have closure almost as much as I like to create.

What's New....

Yes, she will have legs eventually, as well as a nest to stand on the edge of. Slow hand. Made from the dyed avocado skins and pits. The eggs are made of some fabric I had dyed (procion dye) previously. This will be my car project for our very long drive to Prince Edward Island tomorrow.

I was reading some blogs yesterday (yes, I have time to surf other blogs but don't seem to be able to post often enough on my own), and found that someone, and I'm so sorry I can't remember who or where, had dyed some fabric using avocados and the fabrics were these beautiful shades of pink and peach. I didn't believe it so I had to try it for myself. One avocado peel and one pit later this is what I had this morning. Next time I'll use a bigger container and maybe more peels and pits and try for a more even dye. I wasn't very careful because I really didn't think it would work. Avocados. Imagine such a pretty pink. (The photo doesn't do justice to the real thing). They say you can get a nice green from red onion skins. I'll try that next.