The Pattern Box Got a Face Lift!

The house is a mess. Papers and clip-art books litter the family room. I haven't cooked a meal in weeks. BUT the newly designed and renovated The Pattern Box was launched around midnight this morning! Please take a moment to visit. I think you'll be glad you did! There are still a few things missing ... some dolls and a few free patterns; a couple of item descriptions; the tips/techniques page; and a few more clip-art decorations. I'll get to those in the next few weeks.

Since I opened The Pattern Box in June of 2008, I had envisioned a website that was fun, colorful and easy to navigate, while incorporating kind of an old-fashioned feeling. I tried my best, but with my limited abilities and time, I ended up with a hodge-podge of over-sized photos and hard-to-read fonts! Yet, I reminded myself, the site was up and it was working. That was good enough.Over the years; however, it became a very small dream that, one day, I'd get to see my website the way I knew it could be ... SO ... I want to publicly thank my very-talented son (okay, and I want to brag about him a little bit, too) ... who used his computer savvy and his graphic-arts genius to re-design my website and create all the fabulous elements that pull it together.
Thank you, Kent! (BIG HUG) It's exactly what I wanted!!

That Was Easy!

Sophie discovered an easy way to get a treat!

Join Me for the Christmas Elf Class

Do you need a little Christmas? You're in luck! Cottage Yarn is having Christmas in July classes and guess what??? I will be teaching the Christmas Elf! Participants will receive not only the pattern, but the yarn, too! The two-part class will take place on Thursday evenings, July 12 and July 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Call Cottage Yarn for more information and to sign up (704) 545-8440. Hope to see you there!

Only Six Months to Christmas!

A sneak peak at my new Christmas Elf design

I know summer is just beginning ... but that's the perfect time to get started on quick, little Christmas gifts!
New this year: The Christmas Elf.
My late mother-in-law was a big believer in putting out a ton of her vintage Christmas elves. This one is knitted in the round, then felted in the washing machine. It only takes a few hours from start to finish!

 Everybody loves the Gingerbread Man ... why not knit/felt my little guy and give the book along with it?

Here's a great beverage cozy with a built-in coaster! Perfect for highballs and other festive drinks, the design is a modified quilted lattice stitch with beads.

Stay tuned!

Aunt Mug's Bed Jacket

With my fascination of vintage (or just plain old) stuff, I searched around on eBay one day and came up with this pattern booklet. It doesn't have a copyright date on it, but from the looks of it, I'd say maybe '30s? or '20s? It's hard to tell. I love the baby clothes ... and the bed jackets! I wonder why bed jackets ever went out of fashion? Maybe people don't do enough sitting up in bed with their morning coffees and newspapers anymore!
At any rate, my wonderful Aunt Mug is scheduled for hip-replacement surgery in June ... on her 81st birthday, no less! So, I decided I'd knit her a bed jacket for her stay in the hospital and the rehab facility ... and why not for home, too, when she gets back?
It was a super easy pattern to follow once I figured out what contemporary size needles and yarn would be equivalent to those listed. I even tried to find vintage skeins of Patons Princess yarn, but couldn't come up with the right thing.
I settled on a US size 10 1/2 needle for the old UK size 1 needle ... and a US size 7 for the UK size 7. They seemed to match the photographs fairly well. I used Cascade Pima Cotton yarn in sort of a seafoam color. I had to teach myself how to crochet the shell edging ... and, as my good friend and knitter/crocheter/embroiderer extraordinare suggested, I really should have doubled the yarn as I worked the shells so that it would end up as heavy as the jacket, itself. Sigh. I ran out of time and left them as they were, only doubling the yarn on the cuffs.

 The old pattern booklet.

 This is what it looks like ...

This is what it's supposed to look like.

All in all, not bad. I hope she likes it ... and that it actually will be a useful gift. (I'm also sending the miniseries of Little Dorrit for when she's sitting in bed, wearing her bed jacket and sipping coffee ... or tea, perhaps.)

Sophie's Park Excursions: Reedy Creek Park

The next park: Reedy Creek Park. This one is off of WT Harris Blvd, right near the Cato Campus of Central Piedmont Community College.

 There are plenty of forks along the paths ... hard to choose which direction to follow!

The sign points to "lakes" ... so there must be many more than this pond we happened upon.

I was here a long time ago when my now-adult children were elementary-school aged. Let me tell you, I'd completely forgotten just how enormous this park is! It's got acres and acres of nature trails for walking. It's got a pond where you can fish. It's got many different areas with swings and playground equipment for the kids ... even one area where everything is made completely from wooden logs. It has a small nature museum where classes are sometimes held. There are lots and lots of picnic-shelter areas and buildings for activities. It also boasts a pretty big fenced-in dog park, although we didn't go inside. The paths are like the Mint Hill Park on Fairview's paths ...wide and bright and easy on the feet. There are so many trails and woods that it can be a little intimidating. The day we went, we just took one path and turned around after awhile and came back.
I've not had nearly enough time to explore everything that this park has to offer. We'll definitely be back!

Sophie's Park Excursions: Mint Hill Park

The next park on the list: The Mint Hill Park on Fairview Road. We really like this park very much. It's super clean. It has a couple of age-defined playgrounds, ball fields, very nice tennis courts and a 3/4 mile nature trail. The trail has a very wide path on which to walk, which makes me feel really good, for some reason. It circles around, so that by the time you're ending the walk, you're just about back where you started.
There are a couple of picnic shelters, but not as many as Idlewild Park. There is also a Frisbee (or Disc) golf course and a few exercise stations posted along the way. It's very easy to get to from 218, off of Highway 51.

 I'm ready! Let's go!

 This sign is a little ominous at first glance, but I guess one should never walk along a nature trail alone.

 Benches are tucked away along the paths. See how nice and wide the paths are? No tree roots here!

 Sophie doing what Sophie loves best: Sniffing!

It's quite tranquil down in the middle of the trail, yet it's not nearly as lonely, dark and dank as Idlewild Park. All in all, this park is really great. We've been back lots of times so far.