The big 4-0

Yeah, I turned 40 over the weekend. I have to say, it's good to turn 40 on the last Saturday in September. It falls on the day of my friends' big Oktoberfest party. Given the number of cards and birthday wishes I received, I have a feeling the hostess sent an additional email reminding everyone I was turning old. (She still has a few years to go before she hits this age). :) We had a good time, and the rain even stopped for it.

There was fancy cake and fancy cookies (thanks again, Cindi!!)



And fire:


What is it about fire that draws men like moths??

In addition to all that goodness, there were even gifts - jewelry (thanks, KB) and lottery tix ($5 in winnings, Molly).

I got nice gifts at home, too - geeky stuff, like a new SD card to replace the one I fried, and a USB hub to put on my embroidery machine so I can read cards and use the mouse at the same time. I also got some Harmony Wood straight knitting needles in sizes that don't come in the set. Which leaves the set as fair game, come Christmas. ;-)

Sunday we went to my parents' house for my traditional birthday dinner - Mom's lasagna. YUM!! Good gifts there, too - books, DVDs and the now-traditional kitten calendar. :)

Thanks to everyone for such a great weekend!

As a bonus, I'm on vacation this week, so I should get a bunch of bloggable stuff done. So far, I finished knitting the Booga Bag i-cord handle and knit up a little bag to go with it. They need to be felted but I might wait till I get my felted clogs started/done. We'll see if I have that much patience. Probably not.


Doesn't the yarn match my new knitting needles well?? :)

I have the green washcloth about half done (no picture). I also made a pink and yellow flannel receiving blanket, and a small fleece blanket out of some bigger bits of leftover fleece (the top layer is actually lime green, not yellow):

Blue thinks that blanket looks comfy....

I started a couple of fleece/flannel blankets that need satin binding. Max and Emma tested them for me.



The blue one has the yellow flannel from the receiving blanket on the front. The pink one has the pink flannel on the front. I'm not going to bother quilting them. I stitched the edges together and I'll add the binding when I get some more. That finishes up the last of the flannel I had for the minkee/flannel blankets. Later this week I'll sort out all the blankets and plan to take a bunch of them to Providence House soon.

I also sorted through my fleece scraps while I was at it. I threw out a few of the really small bits. The pieces that are big enough will go (along with the extra pieces of flannel) to a teacher in my guild who has her (home ec?) classes make comfort pillows for cancer patients. I might be able to do something with the other pieces. I'll let them age in the closet a little while longer.