Sunday, May 8, 2016

Mostly small things...

First up - Part 7 of my not-so-small Mandala Madness:


While I think it looks better in the picture than it does in real life, this last round kind of works for me with that splash of bright pink and bright green and going a little easier on the dark purple. So what's next?  Back to the pink and white for the next few rounds...
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And looking for a smaller, lighter weight project I whipped up one of these Kaldred Bracelets:

This is an easy project - and easy to adapt to different weight threads and yarns.   While I added a clasp, it's unnecessary.  Even with cotton thread, this bracelet stretches just enough to ease this right over my hand.    
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Saturday morning I attended an event called "Garden Celebration" here in our town (at the county fairgrounds).  There were vendors of all sorts selling a variety of things from antiques, soaps and essential oils, honey, outdoor furniture, crafty items, and of course plants.  There were several seminars throughout the day, and I chose to attend one about the need for establishing Monarch butterfly way stations between Mexico and Canada - for Monarchs to stop, mate, and lay their eggs on their annual migration north.  Long story short, I'm now contemplating where might be the perfect spot for planting Milkweed in our backyard.  Very interesting information shared in this seminar.

And, of course I bought a few plants - a Chocolate Cherry Tomato plant (the ripe tomatoes are supposed to be purple, and no, they won't taste like chocolate ;^), and a sweet red pepper plant along with various decorative plants to go with my flowers I'll be potting this week.  

My favorite purchase, though was this little felted bowl:


I have no clue what I'm going to put in it, but it is so adorable I decided I didn't care. I know I'll figure out some use for this pretty little bowl.   I want to give felting a try, but I'm not sure I can do it in my high efficiency washing machine that has no agitator.  So, until I do decide to try felting I'll just admire my little bowl and think about pretty colors I could blend together into a felted something. ;^)

To top off the day, on Saturday evening we visited with my husband's parents to wish my mother-in-law an early Happy Mother's Day. Since gardening is on my brain, I took her a pretty potted Dahlia plant.  It was a nice, quiet visit with just the parents-in-law and my sister-in-law.  And while we were there, we watched the Kentucky Derby. Evidently it's an annual tradition for my in-laws to watch the Kentucky Derby on TV.   In all the years I've lived within 2 hours of Louisville, Kentucky, I've never even been curious enough to watch this race on TV.  Now that I have seen it, I can only say... Wow - such a lot of hoopla over a race that lasts maybe two minutes?!?!  While I have to say I really don't get it, I will admit...  it was an exciting two minutes.  :^)

After a Mother's Day lunch today, the family decided at the last minute to go watch The Jungle Book movie.  Now, not being a big fan of talking animals, and understanding that most of the movie is computer generated I originally didn't have much interest in seeing this movie.  But when everyone said they'd like to go, and it being a rainy day, I decided it was as good a thing to do as anything.  OH MY!!!    What a good movie it is!   The CG is amazing.  Even knowing most of the movie was computer generated I had to keep reminding myself that the animals weren't real.  That the scenes were not real.  The voices were perfect, and the emotion shown in the animals' faces and movements made me a believer in CG.  Honestly, I felt like I could watch it again - just to be amazed all over again by the creativity of the computer artists.  Sigh.

And that wraps up the week.  While we've had a fair amount of rain and it's been chilly this weekend in Indiana, it has been a lovely Mothers' Day weekend.  

Come see what other Yoppers are up to, visit this week's thread on Ravelry.










9 comments:

  1. Your mandala looks spectacular! So looking forward to a grand finale!

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    1. Thank you, Alina. I don't know how grand it will be, but I'm looking forward to the finale, too. :)

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  2. Your mandala keeps getting more beautiful! how big is it now?

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    1. Thank you, Erin. It's about 40 inches from one star tip across to the opposite star tip. I'm going for something in the 50-inch range. So a few more rounds to go.

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  3. Your mandala is a work of art and needs to be framed when you're done! It is beautiful.
    BTW, I have felted wool in my front loading washing machine or you could take it to a laudromat. It took me several times but it finally felted.
    I was just telling my daughter about the milkweed and somewhere I thought they were giving it to people to plant in their yards but who knows where I saw it or read it now.
    I always watch the Derby but only because I love horses, period but I didn't this year because I forgot and I rarely watch regular t.v. but You Tube and alternative media. Oh well, on You Tube I can watch the U.S. Equestrian Team which I find much more to my tastes. I used to have horses and rode quite a bit.
    Sounds like a fun Mother's Day for you as long as you don't have to do all the cooking! LOL! They should wait on you hand and foot, feed you grapes and let you crochet the day away! LOL!

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    1. Well, Sam, it's made of worsted weight yarn, so framing it isn't likely to happen, but one made with thread would be interesting! Because it turned into a cold and rainy Mothers' Day we ended up ordering Chinese and pizza instead of grilling out. Something for everyone! :)

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  4. Your mandala is so pretty and each week I look forward to seeing your progress. I have watched the Derby and to me, the best part is the hoopla before the race. Kind of like the commercials in the super bowl.

    Happy Mother's Day

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    1. Thank you, Marsha. As much as I've agonized over this Mandala Madness it is nice having a weekly reveal - and having a record of all the changes here. I've been thinking something similar would be fun again in the future. But next time I think I need to go with something that isn't a complete mystery to me each week. ;^)

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  5. What a busy week! Love how the mandala is turning out and your little felted bowl is fabulous. It will look lovely whatever you decide to use it for.

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