May - Derby Day, Mother's Day

This is my new knitting nest. My husband bought the swing for me a while back and refurbished it. He bought me new cushions for it and hung it on our private deck outside our bedroom as a Mother's Day gift. I spent all Mother's Day in it - knitting, napping, knitting, reading. I woke up from my nap to this from D#1:

This is a rose from a rosebush that my mother started for me, that she started from a slip from her grandmother's, that her grandmother started from a slip from her grandmother. My favorite part of flower gardening is having a plant with history.

On the knitting front, I have been busy with Bella Paquita, but she is still not finished. I am having trouble getting the sleeves sewn in just right. My seaming is P-I-T-I-F-U-L! I took the sleeves out for the second time today and will have to work up the gumption to attempt them again.

For a little mindless knitting in those "I am so sick of you, Bella!" moments, I'm just working up a good ol' dishrag - or warshrag as D#1 likes to say.

I did not make it to Stitches South in April, but my friends were able to go. My good friend, Liana, didn't want me to miss out on any yarny goodness and brought me this gift:

The colorway is "Wild Thing" - doesn't she make your heart sing? Thanks, Liana! And thanks, Martha and Chris for sharing your stories and for the show-n-tell!

Also, this month, it was my privilege to work as a volunteer at Churchill Downs again during the Oaks and Kentucky Derby. Four friends from Nashville drove up to join me on Friday night, May 2, to work a 12+ hour shift manning souvenir trailers at the Downs. It was a long, hard day, but we had a blast. We were participating in a fundraiser for G.O. Ministries, for which my brother and sister-in-law work. G.O. received $47,500 for working this event! I've already committed to work again next year - my 4th year in a row - a great time for a great cause.

That about wraps up May for me. The kids will be out of school this week (although D#2 has had some kind of bug and will probably miss her last day). We're looking forward to our family vacation next month. Then, the month after that, we hit birthday season. Hopefully, Bella will be done by then!?!