the tunie bug and the bee

took a bit of a break from the kiddos' log cabins to make these:

a lady bug for my little tunie bug.

and hot off the needles...

a sweet little bumble bee for my little fredster.

these are my first alan dart projects. he is a prolific designer of knitty toy goodness.  his patterns are featured in simply knitting, a british knitting publication.  the subscription costs and arm and a leg (roughly $150 per year, in american dollars), but i split the subscription with my knitting/yoga teacher.  i am downsizing a lot of my magazine subscriptions, but i refuse to drop this one, simply becos they have many beautiful and unique patterns, pages devoted to showing off FOs and answering knitting or crocheting questions, and coolest of all, they send a goodie gratis every month.  i've gotten measuring tapes, counters, knitting needles, stitch markers and project bags from them.  their patterns are pretty user friendly too;  this is no vogue knitting.  

the bug project had 3 patterns:  the lady bug (or as they called it, a ladybird), the bumble bee, and a sweet green and yellow caterpillar.  the project called for sirdar snowflake, which i couldn't find stateside, but i found a good alternative in red hearts' moon and stars.  i'm not a red hearts fan, but this yarn was pretty easy to work with, much to my surprise.  i started the lady bug earlier in the week and finished it yesterday;  started the bee yesterday afternoon and finished up this afternoon.  i have the green yarn to make the caterpillar - maybe someday. while the patterns aren't tricky, i found assembling the bugs a bit of a challenge.  first, i can't sew to save my soul, and b, i can't embroider features either.  the assembly instructions were a bit confusing to me, but i winged it, and they came out pretty cute!  i have tons of yarn left over - i could always make a set of toys for a baby shower gift or something.  

i have one more strip to knit on the log cabins, then the cream and blue/pink squares, then the border!  i finished a gold strip last night at the movies (alice in wonderland, it was okay).  i would love to get these blankets finished so i can start working on this beauty:

i fell in love with the this beautiful knitted quilt.  actually, i fell in love with the baby afghan version, but since i'm tired of knitting baby blankets (it's not very practical, it's made with wool of the andes and not kid friendly).  this kit was cheaper, and i think it will look beautiful in the living room.  knitpicks also had a book sale happening, so i got knitted socks east and west and amigurumi animal friends.  not that i'll be knitting socks any time soon, but i admired the patterns and i love sock books.  and someday i will knit an amigurumi.  it's hard to find knit patterns - most are crochet.

today is my wedding anniversary.  hubby and i have been married for 11 years, and together for more than 13.  where did that time go?  it seemed to fly in the blink of an eye.

feelin' the love in philly, 2 years ago.  a homeless guy took our picture with the iconic love sculpture on our anniversary.  we gave him $5.  hope he spent it well.  we're taking a delayed mini honeymoon later this spring, to cooperstown new york.  yes, we are getting away and leaving the kids with the grandparents!  hubby and i earned a well earned vacay, don't you think?