Busy . . . busy!

Wow! Lots of interesting and exciting things happened in the last two weeks. First, I finished and sent off my Monkey Swap items. My pal has a little boy, so I sent a couple things for him, too. He just had to have a copy of "Five Little Monkeys", don't you think? One of the things I included was a Sock Needle Book made with Moda's Funky Monkey fabrics. I had a great time putting that together. I have another concept running around in my head. You can just barely see the stitch markers pinned to the white fabric portion of the needle book. It has a vinyl pocket and zippered pocket on the left side, and narrow slots for double pointed needles on the right side. Timtex is a very stiff interfacing product used in hats, and fabric bowls, and it provided the stability necessary, and made it completely washable, too.


My up-stream partner, Jessica sent a Monkey Swap package that arrived on my birthday. Here's a picture of the "bounty". The socks are PERFECT!! I think the Monkey change purse needs to go on my upcoming Florida vacation. My hands are just itching to knit with that yummy Cider Moon yarn in the Banana Cabana colorway. Jessica was busy with the Moda fabrics, too.

My DH was working at an auction on Saturday, the 6th, so I took off with some "quilt bandits", as he calls them, for Madison, Indiana. It's right on the Ohio, and is a neat old river town. I've been there several times, but never knew I was missing a quilt shop, Margie's Country Store. I won't miss it again! There's another business called, "The Fabric Shop", and it's almost like a time machine. They have some vintage fabrics, but I did find some superwash sock yarn there, too. We had lunch at the Red Pepper . . . love their chicken salad . . . and dinner in the diner. I chose the meatloaf sandwich special that was outstanding; nice, and moist, with cheddar cheese on a marbled rye. Making my own mouth water as I remember it! We also caught a wine tasting at Lanthier Winery overlooking the river. Their wines are mostly of the sweet variety, which suits my palate to a "t". Tasting three wines was plenty for me. I always say I used to go to nickel beer night, and take a dime, but I don't have that kind of tolerance any more!

This past Saturday, DH and I got up and going to attend the 40th Annual Feast of the Hunter's Moon along the Wabash River, near the site of the 18th century French Fort Quiatenon (We-at-ten-on). We always say, they don't call it "the Feast" for nothing. The way to taste more items is to share, so we had a cider-basted grilled pork chop that was seasoned to perfection, and had very little waste. Then, there was a buffalo burger - less cholesterol than beef, a baked apple, and one of my favorites, "Noodle-ables" which is carrots, broccoli, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, and egg noodles in a dill sauce, all cooked over open fires. We never miss the opportunity to have a "Croquinole", which is an 18th century donut. It's easy to find their booth . . . it's near the police station . . . coincidence?

Three weeks from this moment, I'll probably be gasping for breath, laughing with my friends on our annual Florida excursion. We had to dig down and force ourselves to spend an extra day so that we could qualify for a bargain priced airline ticket. We'll muddle through . . . I'll post some pictures of those festivities, for sure!