Winter Slips Away

It is really hard to believe I haven't posted on the blog for almost a year!! I really miss it and feel determined to get back in the groove!

Needless to say, quite a few important events have come and gone in my life during this time...we'll have a quick rundown to catch up!

Momma celebrated her 80th birthday in August with a family dinner at the Callawassie river Club!

Annette and Lee celebrated their SECOND Birthday in September with a Cat in the

Hat party and lots of excitement!

November brought a "surprise" 60th Birthday Party for Philip!

Thanksgiving memories were made at Baybottom again in 2011 with turkey and all the trimmings followed by he annual hayride!

We enjoyed having all our family together for the Christmas holidays as we celebrated the birth of the Christchild. We will probably never forget trekking down Hwy 17 to Mass in Hardeeville after finding no priest for Mass in Ridgeland. Also, going through a "license check" en route to that Mass in Hardeeville!!

2012 has arrived and we have much excitement on the horizon! Philip,Jr. and his girlfriend Amanda became engaged!!!! We are anticipating their wedding in spring 2013 and are immensely happy for them! We travelled to Snowshoe, WVa a few weeks ago with them and Amanda's parents.  Very cold and lots of snow .....a great time was had by all!!

In a few weeks we'll travel to Columbia for the wedding of our nephew Rush and his fiancée Jessica! We are wishing them a beautiful wedding weekend and much happiness.

When I look back on all these events, I guess it helps me understand why I haven't had time to blog!

Next up:  Update of Camellias and Knitting Projects

November Reprise

Wow! It is the end of November and no blog post!
I'll have to work fast!

First, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I am thankful for so much, but especially my family and so many dear friends. You all enrich my life and I treasure each of you! I'll have many great memories of this Thanksgiving as we spent time and enjoyed traditional Thanksgiving fare with each of our families. We enjoyed a hayride after lunch at Grays. This photo of all the "Thomas cousins" provided a real "Kodak moment".



Laura, Fields, Tom, James, Fisher,Annette, Lee, Elizabeth, Sarah, Michael, and John



Knitting Update: Working (slowly) on Jane Slicer-Smith's "Boxes Drape". I am liking the yarn and get the feel for how "drapey" it will be . . . and can't wait to see it finished!

We also enjoyed spending time with Annette and Lee while Ashley and David went to Carolina-Clemson football game and had a little time off. Here they are at breakfast!

Now it is time to prepare for the Christmas season . As we ready our hearts to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, we can enjoy some other favorites of the season . . .



Camelias beginning to blooom . . .







Baking fruit cake . . .



Decorating for the holidays!!





Welcoming family and friends to share the joy of the season!





Lace Tea Towel

Before . . .

Blocking once again makes a huge impression on me! This is the linen tea towel that I've been working on for a few months. It is not perfect, but I do like the way the linen worked up. It softened and, of course, looked totally transformed after the blocking.

After . . .

                                                                        
I have duplicate stitched a monogram on the lower panel , but not  happy with the results so far. Will post picture once that issue is resolved. Details on yarn, etc. can be found at my ravelry project page.


WATER FESTIVAL

Once again the festivities of the Beaufort Water Festival arrived. Philip, Jr. brought several friends to share the weekend and we had fun spending some time with them at the river.


                                                                                 

Crabs on the dock . . .

Still smilin' . . . after a long day on the river

                                                                                          

                                                   Time to clean it up . . .

We're already lookin' forward to next year's gathering!!                                

Spring has Sprung

I am enjoying a little time outside today, despite the pollen and gnats! These bourgainvilleas made it through the winter and are already in full  bloom. That is hard to believe, but I am really liking it as they are one of my favorite plants!

I am working on smocked outfits for Annette and Lee. They are "ready-to-smock" products, so I am able to save the time of  sewing the garment . . . and enjoy the fun of smocking. I should mention that Susie's Ready to Smock does a GREAT job if anyone is interested in this idea. Here is the website.

The plate I am using on Lee's outfit is "Gone Fishin'" by Ellen McCarn.

I am going to coordinate it with "Row of Fishes" by Nancy Elliott Miller for Annette's bubble outfit. They will be in coordinating colors - but not matching. I can't locate a copy of that smocking plate on the internet. I will post a picture as soon as that is finished.

Last but not least . . . I had a great weekend in Atlanta at Stitches South and Pediatrics Conference (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta). Sister Cathy was wonderful to put up with my crazy yarn shopping and knitting classes AND downtime while I was a pediatrics seminar. I think she  also found a few items in her shopping bag by the end of the weekend.

One of my purchases at Stitches was this fun Noro Sock Yarn. It feels sort of coarse and I can't imagine having socks made from it. However, we saw a scarf/stole made from it and thought it was pretty unique and colorful. It will be much more uniform after blocking and lose the puffiness you see here. As always, it is so much fun to watch the rainbow of colors unfold.

The pattern is One Skein - A Stole! (English Version) by Katja Jordan . It is available as a free download on Ravelry. I believe it can be accessed through this link. Enjoy!

Up for Stitches South

Apologies for not getting back to the blog sooner! Life is busy and my camera was missing in action for a few days. Much has transpired since my last post. Here's a quick update . . .

We celebrated Easter with Philip's family . . .

and with my family   . . .                                                                                                                               

Ashley and her Dad went to the Masters . . .                                                                                       

                                                                                           

I finished the "Cotswold Vest". More on that later . . .

Started the "Catch the Wave Tee" . . .                                                                                               

And made Annette's first "Lilly" dress . . .                                                                                                  

  

I just can't tell you how proud I was to see her wearing that cute dress!                                                         

So . . . tomorrow morning Sister Cathy and I are headed off to Atlanta for a little work and play.  The work part will be a pediatrics conference on Saturday and Sunday. Cathy will get to do a little shopping at Lenox Square. The play part for me will be a visit to Stitches South where I will get to ooh and ahh over a convention center full of fabulous fiber, take in a few lessons, and "perhaps" make a few purchases. It would be quite an understatement to say that I am a little bit excited.                                                                                                                                    

                                                     

Old News - Snow in the Lowcountry

"Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow."

Robert Frost

We rarely get to glimpse this white stuff here in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Last weekend Mother Nature treated us to a brief encounter with a little snow.

Here are a few sites spotted out and about the river. We haven't had a "ground covering" snow in this area since 1989. Our local squirrel pack seemed totally shocked and disoriented.

The recent cold rainy weather here has not been ideal for the beautiful camellias. Here are a few that haven't been too damaged.  They are dusted with a little frosty stuff!

The river looks like glass. There's a dusting of snow on the dock. Pretty tranquil . . . not like tropical storms that rip through here from time to time.

A little farther inland near Grays, the accumulation is a little thicker. This is near the pond at Baybottom.

Cold pines!!

There is a little knitting going on with "Olympics' watching" and staying warm by the fire.

My most active project at the moment is a vest from Oat Couture - Cotswold Vest. I am using some beautiful yarn that I purchased at Stitches South last spring. It is multicolored shepherd worsted by Lorna's Laces. It is hard to believe that wool could be SOOooooo Soft! Hope to post pictures of finished best before too long. Here's a preview. . .

This pattern uses slipped stitches to break up the color runs. I am enjoying learning as I go!

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?"

J. B. Priestley

Saturday , January 9, 2010

Last Saturday was a day of joy and sadness for our family as we witnessed the Baptism of our precious grandbabies - Annette Claire and Thomas Lee. The ceremony in Aiken at St. Mary's Help of Christians was very special. It was a wonderful occasion for our families to be together as we participated in the beginning of the twins' spiritual journey. The babies were "little angels" and extremely happy during their first visit to church. Not a peep did I hear!

Their godparents are David's sister, Julie, and Ashley's brother, Philip Jr. We enjoyed a wonderful little celebration at Ashley and David's after the Baptism.

Later that evening, we were so saddened to receive news of Philip's mother's passing. GaGa was devoted to her family and a wonderful role model for all of us. Philip says she could get her dander up, but she always seemed very calm and reserved to me. She will be missed sorely by all her family and friends.

Here's a snapshot of a quick kiss under the mistletoe last Christmas!

We are all very grateful for the wonderful support of family and friends during this sad time. We have been comforted by thoughtful cards, beautiful flowers, delicious food, and many words of comfort. Many thanks to everyone!

Reminder to Santa

Luke 1:14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. Yeah!!! I have finally finished Christmas stockings for Annette and Lee. So sending out this post to remind Santa that there will be two new stockings hanging by the chimney this year!!

Santa needs to know that Grandma Pixie doesn't knit as tightly as Aunt Cathy (who has made these beautiful stockings for our family through the years). The result is that these stockings are a little bigger - - - which means they'll hold a little more loot!!

I am really hoping to finish my Christmas shopping today and then have time to enjoy some of the holiday fun . . . wrapping packages, baking, etc. I may even get brave (and energetic) and try to make a fruit cake.

Have fun getting ready . . . and remember the reason we celebrate!!

Thanksgiving 2009

The Thanksgiving holidays have been filled to the brim with good times, good food, and getting together with family and friends! The Thomas family gathered at Grays for Thanksgiving lunch.

We spruced up the cottage with a festive table on the porch.

When everyone arrived we had our traditional Thanksgiving Punch and these pecan-topped cheese biscuits. The recipe is a rendition of Cocktail Cheese Biscuits from one of my favorite cookbooks Savannah Style. We have enjoyed these on Thanksgiving Day for years. I usually make this dough a few days ahead and keep it refrigerated until time for baking. Here are the ingredients - altered slightly from the original recipe:

Cocktail Cheese Biscuits

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sharp New York State cheese, grated

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup plain flour

Pecan halves Cream butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Add flour and work gently into a stiff dough. When ready to bake, roll into small balls and press half pecan on each ball to flatten. Place on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Aunt Brenda and Philip, jr.

Amy and Elizabeth

Michael hooks a fish in the pond...

Needless to say, we all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. We were able to visit with my family later that day. Then on Friday, Ashley came to visit with Annette and Lee. Look at these two little angels!!

Christmas Stockings

As we now get ready for Christmas, it is time to get their Christmas stockings finished and hung on the mantle. I am almost done!!! I was looking around on Ravelry a few days ago and found what looks like a pattern that is VERY close to these stockings. It is called 1945 Christmas Stocking and can be downloaded for free. Our family's rendition of these stockings leaves out the band with features "little people", but they are very similar. Check out the link if you're interested. Here's the beginning. . .

the middle . . . and the end!!! Getting down to the toe. I will add the names in duplicate stitch in the white band before sewing up the back of the stocking. I am thinking of all the many things that I have to be thankful for, especially my family and friends who make everyday special. I am looking forward to a very special holiday season. Do remember the reason we celebrate.

Falling in Love

There is no doubt about it . . . Annette and Lee have stolen my heart!!

When these babies are together, Lee has the most adoring looks for his twin sister. She bats her arms around and they really like to touch one another. Look at the excitement in their eyes!

"...We're a team!" (Watch out Ashley and David!!)