Poof Ball Sweater

When I finished Missy L's sweater at Christmas time, Missy M asked if I'd make her one too.  I said I would, but probably not get it done until about the time she starts the new school year.  She accepted that, and when I finished another project I had started, I started in on her sweater.  I had seen a picture of one finished, but I wanted a little brighter colors. 

The cutest picture of Missy M in her new outfit. 
She was wearing a bright-colored swimsuit, which happened 
to be just the right colors to wear with the sweater.  
The sweater is a little big, but she'll grow.  
My granddaughters are tiny.

I love this puffball yarn, which comes pre-made. No, you don't have to spend hours making pompoms that fall apart...this is already done and it's fairly sturdy.

This one shows off the whole sweater a little better.

When I got done, I had leftover yarn, some time, and a cute hat pattern, so I made her the cap to match.  I love it!  I got it done just in time to take it to her when we made a trip for her uncle's wedding--just a week or two before school started!

One of my little church gals loved the hat as I was making it, so I am whipping up a second one for her. I don't know if she'll like the puffballs on the top though; I might leave them off as in the original pattern.

The original pattern. 

Hers is proportionally shorter than the one I made for Missy M; I'm guessing a slight variation in gauge or type of yarn used. I used a softer type of yarn, just because I liked the color and texture of that brand better.  It's still Red Heart, but it's the soft kind.

The hat is from "The Art of Knitted Lace"  which has several other darling patterns I want to try.  I learned how to do "Magic Loop" which took lots of practice, but is so worth it for knitting in the round on an item too small for cable needles.  I have yet to learn how to do knitting on three needles.  I will probably need to take a class and quit being self-taught for that one.

Temple Photography

My husband is creating a wall of pictures of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that he has visited and photographed. He is truly talented at it.

When he was going through his photos, he realized he doesn't have any full pictures of the Dallas Texas temple.  When we were there a few years ago, he was so focused on my niece's wedding that he didn't really get a good temple picture.

There is a brand new temple in Kansas City, Missouri, which I had a chance to see on a recent trip to Texas.  I tried to get good pictures of both temples to add to our wall.  I don't think they are as good as his, but they're pretty good, so I decided to share them here.

1.  Dallas temple from out by the fence.

2.  Dallas with sign in the foreground

3. Dallas Temple

4.  Closer-in side view.

5. Kansas City Temple from the parking lot.

6.  Kansas City Temple

7.  Kansas City Temple, angled view

8.  Kansas City Temple, at a little distance.

Flip-Flop YW Recognition

In our church the teenage girls work on a program of Personal Progress.  When they have achieved a number of goals, they receive a "Young Women Recognition" award, and in my area we have a special program to present it.  This is a very big deal in their lives, often compared to a young man earning his Eagle Scout rank.

One of the girls chose a Flip-Flop theme, with decorations and treats, and even encouraging the other girls to wear flip-flops.  Her mom opted to do most of the planning and prep, for which I was grateful, but they asked me to do the printed program and give a short speech.

For the program, I used the flip-flops to bring a certain theme to mind.

 

Do you recognize it?  I wanted it to be reminiscent of the poem about footprints; when you only see one set it means Christ is carrying you.  I knew this young woman is familiar with the poem.

Our bishop talked about how flip-flops are fun and versatile, but to avoid the negative connotations of flip-flopping,  wavering between right and wrong, blown about by the world's views and what you think is expedient.

And my speech?  What the YW program is, how it fits in a gospel context, and the role of parents and leaders, plus the role of the young woman herself, bringing in this particular girl's accomplishments whenever it was appropriate.

Pinterest Hints

I get a lot of great ideas from Pinterest, but before I re-pin I always go to the link and check it out to make sure it is genuine and that it works.

Here is what I have learned:  many people post from blogs, and when you click on the pin, it takes you to whatever is current on the blog.

HINT: If you want to pin from a post (mine or anyone's) please click on the title of the entry. This will take you to the direct link for that day.  Pin from that page and it should go back to it.

HINT: The same thing is true for linking to a post on Facebook.

My Fork Garden

So...last year I posted pictures of the pretty flowers I grew.

This year I started late so I planted forks.

I hope they grow.