The Ramblings of the Dame

January 2012- Indefatigability

2012-01-08T13:17:00.010-05:00

Happy New Year! What a year 2011 turned out to be. I cannot tell an untruth, I am glad it is behind me. Yet, how exciting to begin anew with a fresh start. So much hope and plans for 2012. Not so much resolutions, but maybe indefatigability. (It's a really cool word- indefatigability. Look it up!) Anyway- back to the point- my Ravelry que has officially reached 300. My stash of yarn is well beyond that. My fiber has filled one too many containers. There is not enough time in the day, week, or year to even make a dent in it.

And that is okay.

That is part of the understanding and accepting of indefatigability. That I am here and that is not going to change without some cosmic interference. Since I know that I am here by divine appointment, accepting this assignment, this placement, is what needs to occur. Then indefatigability occurs.

So, I begin this new year with the post that will show off my last finished object of 2011. The Ice Queen.

This pattern had been in my que since it was first published. I instantly fell in love with it. I promptly purchased the yarn. Found the beads by accident while exploring a new store. Printed the pattern. Put the pattern with the beads with the yarn in a ziplock so as not to soil the yarn in storing it. Then promptly forgot about it. Until Christmas. My in-laws were visiting and I knew they would want to travel with us. So I went in search of a 'mindless' project to knit in the car. As I was pilfering my stash I came across the ready made kit and felt like an idiot. Here is was waiting so patiently for me while I was tearing across the world in search of something. How could I not knit it now? There were no more excuses.

And that has what brought me to my moment of self-discovery.

Indefatigability. There is SO much I want to do. Finish my degree. Complete the Master's Program. Publish a pattern on Ravelry. Visit 10 new (to me) countries. Speak fluent Dutch. (Remember my Spanish and German.) Run a half marathon. Attend SOAR.

How can I do it all? By being indefatigable.

Will I accomplish all of this? Probably not. But this time next year, all I can hope is that it will be said of me that I was indeed indefatigability.

Until the next time, happy knitting.

Another Christmas Holiday

2011-12-12T09:53:00.013-05:00

Good Day good reader,

An update to what has been occurring. We are still here in Never-neverland. Some days are good. Some days are great. We are all healthy and here together so I cannot complain too much. Another Christmas holiday is upon us. I did no gift knitting this year for giving. Not that I didn't do plenty of knitting for others during the year. Oh- quite contrair! But most of the time, I promptly gifted said item to its new owner. This next year, I say, I am taking to heart that I am only knitting for myself. I will have finished out the year gifting two pairs of socks. Knitted in secret so they can be gifted as a surprise. We shall see.

I do have photos of some more finished items. Here are the Handcharmers.

They are knit with Storm Moon Knits 30 days of Night sock yarn. Only half of the skein was used. So now I am thinking of something else to knit up with this.

I finally finished up Dude's sweater vest that was started back in January as a knit-a-long with the spinning group. He is quite pleased with it, but a bit afraid to wear it. He chose the yarn and it is super wash, but he is afraid of snagging it or spilling something on it. He was warned last week that if he doesn't start wearing it, he wasn't going to get any more hand knits.

I also finished a baby sweater for a new friend. She is having her first daughter (due any day now) and does not have any parents to help spoil the baby. I just had to knit this up. Plus, somebunnyslove had knit two, or maybe three, and said they were a really quick knit. She was right. The only mods that I did was knit it in the round instead of in pieces. I hate seaming if I don't have to.

And last but not least are the socks that are just finished. Well- they have been finished for awhile, but I am just now posting about it. Really, I have had the sock pattern in the que for four years. I have also had the yarn for that many of years. I don't know why it took so long to get it done. It was really quite an easy and fast knit as well. I should have knocked these out ages ago. Instead it was just a couple of weeks ago. Here you go:

And now just because I can, I leave you with a couple of pictures from our latest adventures. Since moving here to Europe, I have tried to do as much traveling as possible. So we have two long weeks of holidays already and took advantage of it. The first three are when we went to Southern Germany and Austria. The last is my favorite from the latest trip, Cooking lessons in Italy. Yep, you read that right. I had cooking lessons in Italy. Really Cool! (Even better was meeting a couple of Aussies on holiday. I miss Australia.) Enjoy!

Until we meet again, happy knitting!

Another Season

2011-11-12T03:16:00.003-05:00

I often come across this blog and wonder if I should give it up. Who am I kidding? Who really reads this? But dear reader, obviously, you. Probably have stumbled upon it and think what poor person writes to no one. Me. I write to no one. No one but myself. So, therefore, I shall keep it.

Yes, it has been a couple of months since last posting. If you will observe via the widget list of finished items for 2011, I have been busy.

The boxes are all gone. The pictures are hung. The yarn room organized and many skeins put away. Though within the next couple of months, I have decided to seriously contemplate what to do with much of my yarn. Since it is organized into specific bins, I will go through them and assign a project to it. Notate within Ravelry the project and date. If within 6 months of not beginning said project, then it needs to be de-stashed. Find the yarn a new home. Prioritize!

I have finished quite a bit since the last post. I will share photos here. No, maybe not. I really do like new technology. Except when it no longer works. Somehow with some update, flickr and iPhoto no longer want to cooperate. Instead, I will link the newest items so you can click and see. Winter's Caplet. Another Ruffles Done for Robin. Izzie's Sweater. Lily's Hemlock.

There are two more projects that are completed and gifted but are awaiting said technology to begin cooperating again. Hopefully, they will play nice soon.

Until then, keep knitting and may you finish all your UFO's before they are needed.

Hoi! Hoi!

plugging along

2011-08-17T03:12:00.004-04:00

Just a wee update on the 'life and times' of going crazy....

I miss my friends. I miss what is familiar. I miss having somewhat of structure in my life. And I really need school to start. Soon.

I did manage to finish The Loopy Ewe Camp Loopy Project 2. I knit the Bavarian Tulip Mittens out of Three Irish Girls Glenhaven CashMerino Worsted in the newest Rona color way. Twice since moving here our heat has kicked on. Yes, both times have been in July. Quite the stark contrast from what we left in the states with soaring temps well over the norms. Yet, I have yet to be warm. Not a good sign with it being the middle of August and still no real warm days. So, I knit myself some mittens. I am sure they are just what I needed for riding my bike around here.

The next challenge is to knit a project with more than 800 yards in it. My choice is to make a matching caplet that doesn't restrict my arm movement to holding on while riding but isn't all the bulky. The Loopy Ewe suggested the Winter's Rhythm caplet. I know the designer. Not know know, but I attended Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Sock Camp in 2009 with her. She had just opened her own yarn store. It is really great to see her patterns develop into actual well known objects. Kelly is a lovely person and I wish her the best in her continued success. But back to the pattern, I am going to continue to use 3IG GCM Worsted for the caplet in the matching red and picked up a dark blue to go along. I think when I am finished I will make a matching hat or ear band to complete the ensemble.

Other than that, I continue to wade through a sea of boxes. I have reached the point that they no longer bother me and I just swim through. I have lost all interest in trying to organize the stuff. It is just easier to go buy new than to try and dig through it all. I swear, the next time, I am leaving it all save for a few paintings and my yarn. Even then, maybe only two boxes of yarn and that's it. I have forgotten what I purchased most of the yarn for or just don't have time to get to it. Short of sitting and knitting all day, I have come to admit I have S.A.B.L.E. (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) UGH!

Off to fight the boxes....

Settling in with a few photos

2011-07-10T11:57:00.008-04:00

Welkom from The Netherlands!

As I have promised photos of finished objects for quite some time, I will finally deliver. I have photos for four projects that are done and hopefully I am not repeating myself. Here is the first:

Darling Daughter was happy to pose for me. She is modeling the Whippoorwill Shawl knit out of String Theory Caper in Cobalt and Fusion Lake. Great pattern to knit as a traveling project. Lots of stockinette when you are in a long stretch of pretty looking with a couple of pattern rows thrown in when you get bored or waiting. Got the yarn from The Loopy Ewe for their summer challenge called Camp Loopy. Go here to check it out for their is still time to play.

The second:

This is the Honeycomb Scarf. I spoke of winning this kit when I attended Maryland Sheep and Wool this past May. Bijou Basin Yak Farm had a contest via tweeting 'Yak Facts' and the first to their booth with the correct yak fact said received the surprise kit. It was INCREDIBLE! The kit was valued at $54.00. It came with the Honeycomb Scarf pattern, two skeins in your choice of color-ways of Bijou Spun Fingering, and a lovely gift box. (The gift box would be perfect if I would give it away, but since that ain't happening it was just a nice box.) The knit itself was really easy. It turned out to be a great mindless knit. It blocked beautifully. The only issue I had with it was the yarn dye was not set. So it bled. Like a stuffed pig. Finally after the umpteenth rinse, I gave up. Just need to be careful not to wear it when it is raining with a white shirt. Otherwise, GO BUY SOME OF THIS!! Great company. Great product.

The third:

This was originally started for a cousin's newest arrival. The problem ended up being they never sent a baby announcement. The only 'announcement' made was on Facebook. Now I have nothing against the big, black, worm hole that Facebook is. (I mean, really, who cares if you are in the bathroom? Or, seriously, I didn't like you in high school, what makes you think 20 years later I will like you any better?) Since he couldn't take the time out of his 'busy' schedule (this was their first, HELLO- I've three!) to pick up the phone and leave a message then I guess he didn't want a hand knit sweater. (Before you lecture, yes- I know the phone works two ways. But when you are having a baby the worst thing you want to get is the constant "is she here yet? Is she here yet? What do you mean she hasn't arrived yet? phone calls. ETIQUETTE, baby! It's a dying art.)

So, I found this sleeve finished in the bottom of a yarn basket and my friend threatened to unravel it. I paniked and said I already had one sleeve done I should go ahead a finish the whole thing. Right? (How seriously warped is that thinking? That's like saying, oh well, I have already run 1 mile, what's another 25?) So I finished the sweater and remembered that the dentist just had a baby. Perfect! A new baby to give it to. Needless to say, it was the BEST received gift I have ever given. I will DEFINITELY knit for them anytime. I received back the most beautiful hand written thank you card EVER!! The stationary was TOP-NOTCH! Classy, elegant, and just gorgeous. WOW! is really all I can say. It truly restored my faith in giving hand knit gifts to people. Now if I could just learn a bit of discernment on who to actually grace them with....

The fourth:

This lovely little shawlette is called Storm Clouds. Not sure why, but the name was very appropriate. It was for a fellow member of my ABF class. We called ourselves 'Suzi's Storm Surviving Sisters.' The color is just right for her blue eyes. I had this yarn in stash and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. When I went looking for projects via Ravelry that utilized this yarn, I came across the pattern. Perfect! The only problem was I thought I had more time to knit it up. I thought her birthday was in June. Actually, it was in May. Yikes! So I had to gift it while it was still on the needles. Oh well- she was a good sport and recognized that it really was the thought. (I think it helped that she knew the full story of all the junk that was occurring in my daily life with trying to relocate 5 people half way across the world.) Patience really is one of her virtues. Another person who truly was thrilled with a hand knit gift. I like those people best!

Well dear reader, if you are still with me, THANK YOU! I will go back and review past posts to see which projects have not been updated with photos to show you. We will be moving into our new home on Friday the 15th. It is a beautiful house and very large for Dutch standards. I have gone running three times since being here. And for it to be so flat, HA! I've done nothing but hills. That is alright, I think. What doesn't kill me will only make me faster....

Happy Knitting.

A New Time & A New Place

2011-06-28T08:05:00.002-04:00

Everything is new again. Not only is it a new season for those in the US, it is also a new season for us as a family. You probably have wondered where I have been- literally and figuratively, it's because we moved again. Yes again. Only this time, we literally got out of dodge. I would like to joke to say that we were so frustrated with the state of affairs and the politics that we up and left, but in reality, we are still in the military and Dude took an assignment with NATO. So, we left the country. We have re-located to The Netherlands. Though my friends in my Sunday School class have said we moved to Neverland. I kinda like that much better. I really enjoy the movie Peter Pan and often think how nice it would be to never grow up. (Really meaning I am sick to death of always being the one in charge and carrying most of the responsibilities in running this household. This move showed the worst in me.) So, here I am in 'Neverland' and going to take full advantage of it.

I am already planning a trip back stateside to meet up with a friend to go to Hawaii in August and Australia in October and Florida in January. Silly, huh? But Dude will be at a job that allows for me to do more traveling and the kids will be in the same school on the same time so I don't have to worry about leaving them alone for extended periods.

I have gotten some knitting done. I did promise more photos but in the craziness have lost the camera. Not just the cord, but the whole device. I will just have to tell you about them.

The first is a gauntlet called "Handcharmers". I only have one done as I am trying to finish a KAL with The Loopy Ewe. For that, I am working on Whippoorwill. It is a shawl using two colors. I am done with the first section and hope to have the second section done this week. I am still working on Dude's sweater. I am immensely bored with it. Though it is at the point that I can divide for armholes, I am bored. (Really- I am quite frustrated with the intended owner and don't want to make him anything that I don't think he will appreciate. He already takes me for granted too much, why should I go out of my way to make him something? But, I am not ready to admit that to him yet. So I tell him I am bored with it.)

I also have some toys next up in the que to start and two more birthday presents. The birthdays are both in August so I am procrastinating on starting them. I should probably at least cast them on sooner than later so I am not putting myself under pressure. Yeah, I should. But I won't.

Back to the shawl that is for me. We are currently homeless. (I love saying that and watching people's expressions when they realize what I just said.) I have looked at 2.5 houses yesterday. Yes, we did arrive yesterday. We kept moving and slept wonderfully last night thank you very much! I say .5 because one person didn't show up to show us the inside so we looked through windows and around the outside. It only wetted my curiosity to see the inside only more. Two more tomorrow. Average person takes about 10 days to find a house. But we already knew I wasn't average.

Happy knitting.

Am I missing something?

2011-05-06T12:42:00.002-04:00

So here it is the first week of May and I never posted in April even though I am still trying to blog more often. (Yes, I hear the roars of laughter. I did say I was trying.) Even so, I am finally taking a break. I have run off and left the family with loads to do and yes, even over the holiday for Maryland Sheep & Wool. What is that you might ask? I will tell you.

It is an event held every year on the first full weekend of May in Friendship Heights, Maryland hosted by the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association. They have dog herding trials, fleeces from the supporting breeders for sale and (most importantly in my opinion) vendors of the fiber arts. That means yarn, yarn, and more yarn. They do have roving and equipment sales as well as cutesy items just because. On a side note, this is where I has my first encounter with Sheep Incognito. 7 originals later and I am still eyeing her newest one, Dude would NOT be very happy with me if I came home with another. That is why I say I am still 'eyeing' it.

It was also the first time I met a fellow Raveler. I had never set out to meet someone that I had only communicated online with. But we had just moved to Virginia and she is from Maryland and suggested we meet there. A HUGE public place and we have grown to be better friends since. So it is only fitting that my last fiber festival here in the States should be spent with her. I left my family and took the train to Baltimore. Train rides are perfect for knitters and crocheters (not that I am a crochter. I am quite happy not knowing it.) Totally undisturbed knitting time. I finished the baby sweater that has been haunting me for the last 6 months. I started the Baby Mine Sweater by the YarnHarlot awhile ago and put it down only to have found it again three weeks ago. Add in the trip to Europe, four more comission projects and two birthday presents, the sweater took a back seat. But all that time without whiny, complaining, bickering kids, I knocked it out. I will have blocked photos once I return and locate the camera. (Not sure where it has ended up since our return.)

There was to be a whole long saga post in April of a very bad flying experience that 4 weeks later still has me very angry about but I haven't published it yet. It is what it is. But I did finish the other objects as well so I do believe, gentle readers, that I owe you a post of just photos. On that note, I bid you happy knitting until next time. I'm off to MDS&W.

A list of (Good) Excuses

2011-03-14T16:12:00.004-04:00

So here I am slacking yet again on posting. I really don't mean to let so much time get by, but I have been busy. As we all have. I know there is no excuse, but humor me while I list mine so you can really see that I am doing stuff.

First- I am working like a mad dog in trying to get the second of the commissioned shawls done. I was in a bit of a panic mode as I scoured Ravelry in trying to locate an additional skein to complete the pattern per written. But no such luck. (A bit of a side note- WHY do they put 'dye lot' numbers on skeins of yarn that are suppose to be 'ALL NATURAL'? Something ain't right!) But, we did find the number to the store where the original skeins were purchased and one has been secured. I would feel MUCH better if said store would PLEASE call me back to take my money so I can get the yarn! Otherwise, I am officially half way done with said second shawl and the first is completely completed. Even blocked.

Second- when I am not working on said second shawl, I am working on Dude a vest. It is the never ending vest. He @*^#-well better wear it or you will find me on the 6 o'clock news for hanging him from it. (Which seems a bit difficult with him being already 6 inches taller than myself, but by GOD he will hang.)

Third- the pressure is on! To finish a floor. To RE-glaze a, no TWO, bathtubs. Paint the ceiling. Re-hinge the kitchen cupboards. To relocate an entire mole/vole population. Grow grass. Remove the dead tree right in the middle of the front lawn. (Great curb appel, don't cha think?) And repaint younger Dude's room. DECLUTTER the craft room. (It really does look like Martha Stewart's craft closet threw up in here.) And last but not least, knock a pair size 11 wide socks out before a March 29th birthday. All the while, still being everything to everybody and substitute to all the others. Just re-reading this is making me tired.

Fourth- I will lay this out here for all of you to now hold me accountable. I no longer want to be a couch potato. As much fun as it was, I REALLY like the happy hormones much better. And so I have taken up the NASTY habit of running. I actually have a purpose for this. No, I am not being chased. No, the LYS does not have cashmere on clearance. No, no one is threatening the kids. I like chocolate milk. When I run, I get to have it. Not before. Only after. And only 1. (8 oz. bottle that is.) No guilt. Plus, I get to eat most of the chips I want. Now I can eat ALOT of chips, which is why I said 'most' instead of all. But chips and guacamole. YUM!!! And I can now eat the whole bowl and not feel guilty. I want to be one of the small percentage of people who have actually ran a Marathon. To do that, I have to run. So on Tuesday the 29, I will run a 5K in preparation of doing this impossible feat. (For me, it really is impossible. But you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time. So, this 5K is the first bite to the elephant.)

Fifth- Younger Dude just brought home the information on ordering class rings. WHAT?? Why is he ordering a class ring? I thought he just finished kindergarten. But as he reminded me just as quickly, that was 11 years ago. It is un-officially official. We are moving. He will order the ring and we will get the orders to say we are moving and he will have to have it changed. I wonder if International schools have class rings?

Photos to come. Really. When I feel like trying to look for the camera, I will take pictures of something. But for the time being, please enjoy the complementary beverages, sit back and enjoy the show.

Another month bites the dust

2011-02-28T22:24:00.001-05:00

So here it is the last day of the month and I have yet to make a pair of socks or spin or dye or finish a floor. I have finished one commission piece but have not started the other. Well, that's not entirely true. I have wound the yarn and cast-on, but not much else.

I have started running. I was challenged to take up the sport with the idea that I would fit in better. You may be asking yourself, "fit in better where?" or you might even been asking, "why would you care about fitting in?"

Well, I had hoped to never have to utter these words again, but alas it seems to be so. What words would cause me to put down my needles and stop the lovely creation of whirling wheels? How does the three words make such an orderly woman go bazerko? Try uttering "we are moving" and watch the chaos spin out of control.

Yes, dear friends, we are moving yet again. I've really mixed emotions about the whole ordeal but will manage as I have in the past when presented with yet another change in my plans. I make do and enjoy the ride. As I have recently read, "Military life is tough, but misery is optional." I don't like misery nor any of it's company. So if you would like to see someplace new, come visit me. I will love to have visitors. Just remember to pack your passport, because you won't be getting off the plane in the Netherlands without it.

Pictures will be soon with more finished items. The dust literally needs to settle before I block the shawls. The floor is almost done but I still need to sand the baseboards. I'm thinking I've had enough & am ready to call someone to finish it. Too much other junk to get done to continue dorking with something I won't get to enjoy.

Here's to another month gone and a new one to mess up.

2011-02-14T15:52:00.005-05:00

So back to the actual knitting aspect of things, I finished a baby blanket for my brother in law and his wife. They are trying to adopt a child and didn't feel they were ready without having 'stuff' for the baby. What a great excuse to break out the really cute things to knit up for them! Now just to be patient to see what gender I can knit for.... Though I guess I could just knit up both and be prepared either way.

Here is a picture of the finished product. It is Jared Flood's Wool Leaves. I really love working his patterns. They are very thought out. Easy to read. Charted BEE-U-TEH-FULLY! And most the time, easily memorized so you aren't having to sit with it attached to your lap. I also really enjoy the fibers that he knits with. I would LOVE to get ahold of some of his newest yarns that he personally worked on developing. Maybe someday. But for now he chooses to use natural products and reaches for Cascade Eco Wool frequently. Great yardage for a great price. It is the 'never-ending' skein. 470 ish yards for around $15.oo. I am seriously thinking of stocking up a supply of this yarn in all the natural colorways. But it might just be defeating last weeks post. I am still wavering. But a good thing is a good thing.

Without further adieu, I give you Wool Leaves.

I currently have on the needles a commissioned piece. I am not sure if I have the permission to post pictures of it but I will ask. I really enjoy working with the yarn and the pattern is very mindless. If I could just remember to count correctly. Otherwise, I am very pleased to be asked to assist in this manner. Hopefully, photos can come soon.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Being Weird

2011-02-09T14:45:00.003-05:00

I have a problem. A serious problem. I have too much yarn. Seriously.

"WHAT?" you say. "That is impossible! There is never 'enough' yarn. Sock yarn doesn't count as stash."

You are right. Sock yarn shouldn't count as stash as it is really just socks waiting to be able to be worn. But in all reality, I have too much. This is how I know that I have too much.

My wonderful and eternally patient husband, Dude, was asked to retrieve a pair of socks for me to wear as we were headed out the door. When he grabbed a pair, I replied that those were not the ones as they would look horrible with the trousers I was wearing. So instead of getting another pair, he goes into the 'craft' room (which is probably why I got the response I did) and pulls out a skein of yarn and brings it to me asking "Well, I am sure this will go with it," while wearing the snarkiest smirk you have ever seen. He was implying that if it doesn't count as stash, than it should already be wearable. This motivated me to actually sort and re-shift some yarns around to better store them. (Yes, you are free to really read that as better hide them in their baskets so he cannot really know how much is in there.)(It really is my fault for not cleaning up after myself and putting away what I got out so he didn't see it.)

Which is what led me to take an inventory of what I really do have. And it is quite shameful. I am a yarn snob. I am not afraid to admit it. I despise acrylics and refuse to knit with them. Don't start lecturing me. This is my blog. My opinion. My time. My craft. My enjoyment. I, me, no one, gets to tell me what I knit with. I like to put in my hands something that will last a lifetime, not eternity in a landfill.

I calculated that I had (in just sock yarn alone) over 300 pairs waiting to be knit up. That is not including the yarn already on needles (I confess that is 3), the yarn waiting to be made into a pair (as one was already finished but the second sock hadn't even been cast on) (I will be happy to admit that the number is limited to counting on just my hands), or the yarn that has been placed in the self-imposed sock club packaging waiting to be started (I refuse to comment on that number at the current time). NO, this is sock yarn just marinating in the stash waiting to be fondled, loved, and ooo-ed and ahhh-ed over. NOT even CLOSE to being considered into socks at any time within the present.

And this isn't even going into the other weights of yarn that can be found within my collection. I.E.: lace, sport, worsted, bulky, or fiber to spin. No this was just dealing with the sock yarn fingering collection. Truly.

When I talked to the girls about it, they just said, "Yeah, we see it and we just think your weird." Huh?

"Well, you will spend hours in here looking, petting, feeling it, but you never actually do anything with it." Oh- I see. (Not really but trying to draw out logic in an 8 year old is a bit difficult even when operating under full protein/full caffeine.)

So, I guess it is just more obvious to others than it is to me.

Hello- My name is Jennifer. I am weird.

Chi Alpha during Christmas at Liberty

2011-01-24T15:28:00.001-05:00

Here is what Younger Dude has been up to. If you look for the only kid with his sleeves pulled up, that is him. Long story. (Aren't they all?) But you can see him best at 4:05ish playing 'his drum'.

Bicycle Muffs and other assorted ideas

2011-01-24T13:49:00.013-05:00

I promised I was going to post pictures of socks, dresses, and helmet muffs in this post so here they are.

The socks were knit with Knitterly Things Vesper Falling Water yarn. This was a unique yarn as I learned of it when I attended Spring Fling in 2010. It is held in St. Louis by a fantastic yarn shop, The Loopy Ewe. (Yes, that is their link to the right of this. I have it as I found out that if you, dear reader, click on it and make a purchase, than I receive a 'referral credit'. And who doesn't want free credit to buy more yarn?) Well, back to the story. My folks moved back to Missouri (pronounced Miz-zerr-ree) when we moved here. But back in August of 2009, my mother called the day Dude had 'boots on ground' in Iraq to inform me they discovered an aggressive form of breast cancer. There was to be NO WAY that she would be able to come and visit or assist in any manner while he was gone. So when the opportunity presented itself for me to go and visit her and 'double dip' the trip with a vacation (A YARN vacation) I was all for it. Not too mention, it got me out of having to go back to there (see earlier pronunciation to understand) any time else. I went to check on her, but then got to have a FANTASTIC time as well. But onto the whole reason for the yarn...

While there, I was admiring a lovely pair of socks another knitter was working on. I asked if I could fondle the yarn, she agreed and handed it to me with the needles still in the project. As I was handing it back it began to fall so I grabbed for it. When I did, two of the needles went through my hand. Yes, you heard me correctly. Through my hand. In through the palm, out through the back. And no it wasn't just a good poke, it was the full tip (which is a different color than the shaft) was clearly visible on the back side of my hand. Yes, they were Signature Needles. (Now you know why I will NEVER own a pair.) Yes, they were the stiletto points. Size 2 I believe as they were green. Takes the phrase "Sharing Needles" to a whole new level.

I was appalled that I might have gotten blood on her sock yarn. She was so apologetic to have had it happen with her needles. But, alas, we have become good acquaintances in spite of it. After the Fling was over, a couple of weeks later, I received in the mail a skein of my own of that very color way from her. I have treasured it all the more. So it seemed only fitting to knit a pair of socks up for a friend who I have not yet gifted a hand knit project to. She asked for stripes so stripes is what she got. She does enjoy fondling them. Only I made sure there were no needles in them when I sent them to her to have a repeat occurrence.

The dress was knit for the Littlest Miss. She chose the pattern. She choose the yarn. And she promptly out grew the finished item four months after I finished it. ARGH!! I thought I had left lots of growth room, but obviously not. It is now being happily worn by a younger cousin's daughter who is just as girly as my Littlest Miss.

On to the Bicycle Muffs.

Since I tend to be a bit long winded, I will refrain from mentioning how happy I am to be completely done with this particular pattern. Knitting 4 of them in four days is a bit monotonous!! But I finished what was suppose to be mine, only to be confiscated by Dude because it felt so soft and looked "much better with my helmet than yours" comment. Then digging for yarn to begin mine. Again. Little Miss sees her father dorking with his bike helmet and ask, "Ooo- are you going for a bike ride? I want to come. I want to ride my bicycle."

There begins the singing. The song that never quite leaves your head when someone starts it. And the nagging that goes with it. 'Why can't I

ride my bike? When will you take me on a bike ride? How come I don't get a bike helmet liner? You never make me anything..." And on and on and on and on....

So, where does that leave me? Telling her to choose her color. Then asking the Littlest Miss what color she wants. It was probably best to do theirs before doing mine as I worked out silly little kinks that make mine all the better.

And THANKFULLY, Younger Dude doesn't want one.

Next post will have some updates on the spinning wheel and spinning class that I participated in with owner of Scarlett Fleece. I should also have some photos to share of handspun yarn and a shawl I am working on for a friend.

Keeping up...

2011-01-14T14:09:00.006-05:00

From now on you will always see less of me. For it has been one full week since my gallbladder was completely removed. The surgery went well and I have been an ideal patient. I have yet to drive. I have rested up. I have not had fatty foods. Okay- now kick me, because I am going stinkin' stir crazy!!

In honesty, though, it really has been quite nice and I don't recommend scheduling to have your gallbladder removed just to get a vacation. A vacation I have NOT had since being home bound. But I have been very busy with my knitting, card writing, reading, and television watching. (I forgot how much I do so enjoy Jane Austen. Since I have been incapacitated I have re-read three of her novels: Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and currently in Emma.)

My knitting is coming along very nicely as I have completed already one pair of socks, a block on a friendship scarf that was given to me back in June (Yikes, I am starting to question my ability to fulfill friendship obligations! It was Littlest Miss who found it still in my stash and reminded me with quite the scold, "Weren't you given this back in June?" as she was with me the day it was handed over), a bicycle helmet ear muff, and two miniature socks to dress the peacock.

As per my normal operating procedure, photos of the newest finished items are yet to be uploaded, but I do have some of the previous year's finished items that I have not posted before. And one item, that has now become very clear, is safe to post as it was not chosen for the layout. Without further adieu, I give you:

Grinchy Grinch Socks:

These were a *^%$# to knit. The 'Whisper' yarn used kept getting snagged. The pattern wasn't the clearest (Very Likely User Error- I am admit that upfront) but it should have made a note that if they want you to change needle sizes for one thing, make a note to change back the needle size for further knitting. (Which can you tell they didn't and so the first sock is a BUGGER to get on and off. No you can't just cut it and make it wider. No you can't just add more yarn. No I don't want to rip it back for the upteenth time, as I have already done because the silly toe wouldn't turn out as nice as the picture in the pattern. I'm done. The socks are done. I look like I have temporally obtained the Grinch's legs and feet. How obscenely cute! Really. Done. Now.

The Saroyan Scarf:

I first came across this from a Ravelry friend who is a newer knitter. She fell in love with the pattern because it was her first time knitting a scarf/shawl that wasn't all garter. She had no mistakes and could easily understand it. And I loved her end product.

The problem with any pattern is utilizing the right yarn to show off your workmanship. The yarn I used for this is what most knitters would call 'souvenir stash'. It was a souvenir of when Dude was deploying. He received a three day pass that in reality was too short to come home but too long just to sit around dwelling on what might occur. So, I drove from Southern VA to Fort Dix in New Jersey (a 10 hour drive) to pick him up, bring him back, spend 36 hours with him at home, to turn around and drive him back up there to deploy to Iraq. Since he wasn't allowed to leave till high noon, I had a couple of hours to kill in the morning. What does any good knitter do? Find the Local Yarn Stores. And I did. Woolbearer's was a fantastic little shop. Lots to offer. Highly recommend it.

But of all things to see in there, was a line of exclusive hand-dyed offerings, the shop do it themselves. The one colorway that I could not walk out of there without? 'Don't Leave'.

'Don't Leave' as a colorway has so much depth to it, it is hard to explain. It was dark. It was moody. But looking closely, you could see bright spots. Glimmers of hope. It was perfect for how I was completely feeling. Just looking at the colorway now brings back every single emotion. How can a skein of yarn move a person like that? I think it no longer becomes yarn, but art. When one thing can extract so much from a person, it is not just string, but an extension of who you are.

My dream is one day when once the kids have gone their own directions to be able to really put forth most of my energies into becoming a known designer/dyer. My goal would be for people to see my creations not just as yarn, but as individual pieces of art. Be moved in ways that the fore-mentioned yarn moved me.

To start off this new year, I made a couple of goals for each month. The first was to spin an hour (at minimum) each week. Back in June when Dude went on a 5 week TDY to Dayton, the last week he was there the kids and I joined him. While there, I was tempted, offered, and given a lesson on a beautiful spinning wheel. I thought I would just think on it, but my appetite was so tempted that I purchased it outright. So the Ashford Joy came home with us and has been whirling up a good time since. Though she hasn't been plying that nicely lately. (hee hee hee- I love it when I can have puns without trying...)

The second goal was to knock a pair of socks out each month and not just my usual straight stitch leg for myself. (Yes, I have had this goal before). (Yes, stop buying more sock yarn.) And (Yes, I can hear you say it already, I have created my own 'sock club' and put yarn with pattern in their own ziplocks ready to go. The problem is I have four years worth of sock club participations and still have more sock yarn than I know what to do with.) Do I even mention the dreaded word? The word that starts with a "REE" and ends with a "DOOSE"? I guess I could. Or I could not sign up for any sock clubs this year. That is where I am thinking of going. The 'isolation island' as I am calling it. No joining any more sock clubs till I have knit up a years worth. (Immediately defining a year's worth as = one pair a month for myself.) If I give a pair away, which might be a good thing, I need to do another within that month.

So with those lofty of ideas and the need for reducing not just me but my S.A.B.L.E., I ask you, gentle reader, what were some of your crafting goals for the year? Let me know and I might send you a pressie in the mail....

p.s. next post will have photos of socks, dresses, and helmet muffs.

I'm still here, sometimes

2010-12-22T18:15:00.022-05:00

For the goal of blogging at least once a week, I sure have slacked off. I haven't even managed once a month for a good six months. Oh- who am I kidding? It's been 10 months. Friends, truly I am sorry. I do have a bunch of good excuses. Though I am sure that no one really wants to hear them. So I am just putting this out there so as it comes as no surprise, Dude is on the short list for another move. I am praying that we don't have to move, but am preparing myself just in case.

On that note, we are staying here for the holiday. Felt it would be bad if we did move for Dude to never have celebrated a Christmas in a house he has been paying the mortgage on for 2 years. HA! In reality, we are just so thrilled to have him home safe and sound in one piece that we are treasuring the time together. The travel schedule is still pretty hectic but when he is home, he is completely focused on home.

With so much that has been going on, the knitting, dyeing, and designing has not been the center focus. I really have been knitting, but larger projects that take more time. Since the last post I have finished four sweaters:

The February Lady Sweater here in Madelinetosh Yarn Tosh (original worsted weight but really a DK weight) in Tart. I LOVE this color and the sweater but Meredith gets to wear it. It won't go around the 'girls'.

The Seed Stitch V-Neck Topdown Seamless Cardigan in Classic Elite Yarns Classic One Fifty in Green. (Real original color name, huh?) This only took 3 years to complete (maybe it was four) but I became frustrated with it and really it was probably everything else that was going on in my life that I unfortunately took out on the sweater. One day, rooting through the stash I came upon it in a ziplock bag un-finished. I was encouraged to frog it but I had already gone past the shoulders. (That's the hard long boring part) I decided to finish it before working on anything else. Needless to say it was greatly received by the recipient as well and worn frequently. (Or so I am told.) I wasn't able to keep a single sweater. I think that was the most frustrating. But the recipients are quite happy.

Hey Teach! in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in Sand. Again one of these sweaters that I just HAD to have and was really a very easy knit. I swear I really am doing the gauge swatches and even going so far as to block the swatch. Yet, it just didn't fit right. So another lovely friend was able to take it off my hands. I have now become the laughing stock at my knit circle. They are ALL encouraging me to knit more sweaters "practice makes perfect" is what I am hearing. In reality, they just want to each have a hand knit sweater. Even becoming so bold as to suggest what yarn I should use (in their favorite color) and suggest what pattern I should knit (so the style looks good on them) so they too can become the proud owner of my next screw up. What great friends I have!

So yes, you can count correctly. I have only posted three of the four. I will leave the fourth sweater for another post to keep you in suspense. (Or you can read that statement for the truth that isn't said- I haven't uploaded the picture yet. said very sheepishly.)

Knotty or Knice Socks knit out of Three Irish Girls Cary BFL Mulled Wine. (Though I read and re-read the color name to be Whine. Which I thought was hysterical and knew I had to do this pattern with this colorway.) Only 1 pair of socks were accomplished this year. A pair that was begun last year but due to the flood was put on hold. When I began reconstruction of the house, I took it as an opportunity to finish another project that had been put on hold. I am glad that they were completed in the spring as I have enjoyed wearing them all year.

I did finish another pair of German socks. I forgot that I did them until coming across this picture of the Confederates of Fort Pulaski in Savannah, Georgia holding them for me. We did do a bit of traveling when Dude came back. I went with him to Florida while he chaired a conference on what he did while deployed. Since it was our anniversary we stopped off in Savannah on the way home for the weekend. Never stay at this bed and breakfast. It was HORRIBLE!!!

This little guy is called 'Sackboy'. For the gamers in your life, they know him from the Playstation game titled 'Little Big Planet.' He really is a knitted character in the game and of course, my gamer says to me "I bet you can't knit something like this." WHAT? Who does he think he is? Me? Not able to knit something like this? Seriously? Oh- yeah! What this! And I proceeded to knock it out. Though I didn't tell him or show him until it was done. He went away for a ROTC event and when he came back I surprised him with it. OH- I could have shot myself when I saw the smile come over his face. I played right into his hands! But as mother of a teenage boy- I got an authentic smile from my son. And a hug with a sincere 'thank you.' What is that credit card commercial say? "Some things are just priceless." Yes, this was one of those things.

A couple of shawl/scarves are missing from this post. Looking through the pictures there are a couple of photos that haven't been uploaded yet. I guess that just gives you something to look forward to next month as well. Hopefully, there will be some new finished projects to be added to it. (I did say 'Hopefully.')

Here are the three sheep that I knit up. One for each of us girls. I also made another one for my favorite artist, but forgot to get a photo of it before gifting it to her.

I asked her to paint me a picture and she did. I LOVE it. It's title is "Home at Last". I now own 7 of her originals. Not the largest private collection. (That belongs to my friend who has now 12. But I do get to visit them.)

And so I leave you with a photo of our latest adventure. We took the opportunity to visit a friend who is stationed at Lajes Air Force Base in Portugal. The entire family flew Space A this past July and stayed two weeks with Tess. We had the BEST time ever. Two weeks of just relaxing and playing and exploring and swimming and hiking and knitting and cooking and visiting. Everyone was quite sad to leave when we did. Each child came away asking if we could move there. I think that means they had a good time.

If I don't post before then, I bid adieu with Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Just an update

2010-02-11T08:13:00.006-05:00

This is the first morning in WAY TOO LONG that I have had absolutely nothing to do. No where to go. No one to shuttle. And what am I doing? Updating the blog. I do hope you enjoy this photo as much as I do.

I have my knitting mojo back. I am sure it helped being the recipient of an additional 5 inches of snow. Yes, I know it is not as bad as the rest of the nation. But may I remind you, this portion of the state is NOT equipped for such occurrences. My local county has ONE snow truck to the entire county. And more often than not, it gets loaned out to the surrounding counties as well.

With such wonderful, hunker down type weather, I cranked out two scarves, one pair of fingerless mitts, and one pair of felted clogs. (unfelted for the photo. Felting is a very personal step. You really do need the feet there for great sizing. So, I am gifting them unfelted and will assist when they are ready.) Once you see them, or once they see them, they will know immediately who they are for. Hee hee hee.

I tried to locate the two scarves, but I have a feeling that they may be found wrapped around two little heads that are on their way to school. They two little heads were quite ecstatic to be the privileged to wear such a beautiful and wonderful creation. They also pinky promised not to loose or tear them. I will try to obtain pictures within the next couple of days of such little heads happy in wearing them to post at a later date.

And as an update that I spoke of earlier, and mostly because I realized that I had not shared these yet, the finished Belletrix socks. This was the only pair of socks that were completed for me during the deployment.

Luckily, they were finished (by the skin of my teeth) in time to wear for Halloween. The only problem with finishing them was that I wanted to wear them. This past Halloween gave us 85 degree weather. It was the FIRST time in my ENTIRE life, I wore flip flops, a tank top, and shorts out trick or treating. The kids had to stop at a neighbor's house and ask for water it was SO hot. I still get a chuckle out of that. (It sure beats having to wear a sweatsuit under your costume and a heavy winter coat over your costume so that by the time you actually went out to collect candy, you couldn't see the costume.)

Enough updating for the moment. Off to knit some on a sock. I am gearing up for the Olympics to begin on Friday. I have challenged myself, as the Olympic athletes do, to start and complete an adult sweater within the timeframe the Olympics will be broadcast on television.

Who's going to join me? What can you challenge yourself to do?

Happy Knitting.

Psst! It's a secret...Don't tell...ANYONE!

2010-01-30T10:36:00.005-05:00

Since my children don't read this, I can post this here. But I am keeping it a surprise for them since so much of the last 8 months has been flying by the seat of our trousers. WH (Wonderful Husband), or Dude, for those that know him, will be arriving stateside on Friday.

That means he is officially 1 week out. Once he hits stateside, it will take another day for him to actually get home, but it is just one more day.

It is that actual day that brings so much consternation. The day is already JAM PACKED!! (Here's to praying that he would have been home on Thursday to help with the 'jam packed day', but oh well!) Beginning at 8 am with one activity for one child, a second activity involving child number 1 and 3 that will last most of the day with games, cakes, pizza and a ton of kids running and screaming everywhere, and the child #2 activity should be ending around 4 pm. All that said, I am not running them anywhere. Luckily, a wonderful family friend is going to play bus driver, shuttling them to and fro and overseeing the events. Where will I be? I am telling the kids I have to work. And then I will promptly drive myself to the airport to wait for WH to arrive.

But just so I stay on topic of this being a knitting blog, here are some pictures that I promised you a couple of days ago.

This is a picture of the "Just Enough Ruffles Scarf". Can I say 'incredibly easy and fast'? I LOVED doing this. Just mindless knitting for the most part. What I liked even more? The one page pattern. I hate having to keep track of more than one page to do a scarf. Everything can be just folded up to tuck in the project bag. Looking at it just to make sure I know where I am headed in the next row.

(The model is super cute as well. But don't tell her I said that.)

The next is one I saw at a LYS and FELL IN LOVE with it. They didn't have the book in stock, so I kinda went from memory until I could get home and purchase the book from my LYS. It is suppose to be one of four to create a shawl. Well, I am not that creepy to wear a 'Sheep Shawl' regardless of how much I like sheep. So instead, I have a scarf. I also have plans to create a couple of other animals from this concept to give as gifties when I head off to a vacation in April. Since I don't know if they will be peeking, in May all will be revealed.

This next one is the Chenille Scarf that was knit for Mum. Since loosing her hair, she wanted a hat that she saw in a magazine, but too cheap to spend the $20 on a hat, she calls me to have me make her one. Why don't people realize that if you include the cost of the yarn, labor, and supplies that go in to obtaining said yarn, time to locate said yarn, and time invested in using said yarn, $20 is NOTHING to compare? I made her the hat. I sent her that hat. She didn't like the hat. So when I went to visit at Christmas, I frogged the hat and knit up a skull hat. She then proceeds to ask where the matching scarf is.

Right here.

And now there is NO MORE YARN!! I can't knit you anything else.

And just because it is SO RARE in these parts, I will leave you to a sight to be hold.

This was taken at 8 am today and it has still not let up. Can you say 'Pajama Day'?

YEAH BABY!!!

Back to bed to climb under the covers, watch cartoons with the kids, maybe play some Wii, and knit to my hearts content. What a perfect day!

Happy Knitting.

Yoo Hoo?? Where are You?

2010-01-25T10:14:00.004-05:00

Good Day all my knitterly friends,

It has indeed been TOO long since I have last spoken up. SO much has occurred that I am unsure where to begin. With that in mind, it is always best to begin at the beginning. Let's see, we start with A, B, C,

Oh wait- wrong beginning. Last post was in May. June hits. And with it a proliferate of chaos. An ended friendship. The ending of the school year. A new house. A new season. A new chapter in my life. I know that I intended this to be a knitting oriented blog, but life has just seemed to have become more vocal in its attempt to take away from my knitting time. This post, due to the lack of them before, will inherently be a bit long winded, but I beg of you, please stay.

The ended friendship was completely from out of left field and really, only now, am I able to look at it and not feel the inner stab of hurt, disappointment, confusion, and regret. It was not about me. And I am better off knowing that now. I am sure that I did something but I cannot change what I don't know. I am who I am. I do not try to be someone that I am not. I have to live in my skin and I like myself. When I don't, get out of my way, I will change me. Otherwise, like me for who I am or don't. Your loss.

The end of the school year. That was a mess. We had already moved to a new school district, but I choose the hassle of letting the two continue at the previous and did the daily struggle of delivering and retrieving each day. Little did I realize how much of a inconvenience that would be with the traffic that is so unpredictable in this area. I am sure thankful now for a school bus that picks up and if nothing else can bring them home each day.

A new house. WOW! What can I even say about it? There has been so many struggles and adjustments with it. Its wonderful bone structure is there. Its facade just waiting for some loving tender touches. It will be a good home for us. I just hope that it can be patient for me to come to know it before making any rash decisions. But more on this in a moment.

A new season. Summer always becomes so full of wonderful ideas, but the daily grind gets the better of us and we are then in competition with Fall to see who can get here/done quicker. Fall gently swept its way in and left us blinking in where the time went but also, ticking the calender till Spring. Winter has been here and kicked us in the backside with such loud gusto that I don't think I can enjoy him as much as I use to. Again, just to keep the suspense a bit, more on this in a moment.

A new chapter in my life. This is probably going to be the most detailed aspect. I should really have been telling this story along. But when one is in the 'box' it becomes difficult to see the light with all the twist and turns and bends and ups and downs to really appreciate where you have been and what is more in store.

Not to mention, I finally feel safe enough to tell. My wonderful husband is a solider. First and foremost in the profession of arms. Many will disagree with that. That is fine. He fights for your right to have an opinion and the freedom to express it. With that calling, he chose to deploy to Iraq. He left us in June. We have two weeks till he returns. Since he has been gone, ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE! You might think that I am prone to exaggerating, but seriously, it did. And as my new favorite quote: we learned to 'EMBRACE THE SUCK!' We did just that.

Just a quick run down of what occurred.

In June: knowing that he was going to be deploying, he leaves for three separate TDYs. (For you readers who are not military acronym literate TDY stands for Temporary Duty Assignment. Yes, theoretically, it should be TDA but that already stands for something else or the Army already claimed it.) We have not moved completely in this house, and he is home for less that one full week before leaving for 9 months. Can you feel the chaos just brewing? And No real time for knitting. I did manage one pair of socks. Just one.

In July: He's gone. I am flying solo in parenting, still working part time in a LYS (local yarn store) that is really now 50 minutes from the new house. Finishing up one more semester in the ever long extend plan of my undergraduate degree. Trying to juggle everything when not only does the friendship end, all but one of my support group moves. The nanny that I hired blows off the job of watching my children leaving them stranded at the day camp while I am an hour away at the peak of rush hour traffic. To make matters worse, the youngest falls at said daycamp and breaks her nose. Not across the bridge where we could easily tape it and be okay, but perpendicular to the bridge instigating an absence of ALL activity. Dr's. orders: Sit, watch tv, play video games, read. That's it. It's JULY and we live at the BEACH!! ARGH!!! And No time for knitting. NONE!

In August: I have had to forgo the Sock Summit due to lack of childcare. My mother calls to inform me that she diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Not just a small lump, though any at all is caused for concern, but a rather aggressive form that they are saying in the month since she found the lump is a Stage 3. I start to panic as I have had a lump since April but have ignored due to lack of time to deal with it. I cannot go another month without knitting. So, I start a new a pair of socks and whip up the Boobie Socks. For mom. Beads and all.

In September: Luckily, the kids are now back at school. I can possibly get them into a routine with needing to have some semblance of structure. My mother has begun Chemo and promptly lost her hair. She tells me to knit her a hat and I do. A bucket hat. As per her request. I mail it to her. It doesn't fit. She looks like the Fat Albert character. My dad falls off the ladder, breaking his foot, the car window, and the ladder. I still can't go out there as there are three children who only have one parent. To make matters worse, I am giving this next one to October. One hat knitted. That's it.

In October: really it was the 30th of September, but since we were in the ER until well after mid-night, it counts. Middle child falls at the roller skating rink and breaks her wrist. In three places. Snaps the ball right off the end of the bone. OUCH! As soon as I saw it, I knew it was broken. What's worse? She heard it snap. "Oh, that was what that loud noise was!" Ouch! I cringe just thinking about it. But after the initial cry, she didn't cry again until the doctor told her no more riding lessons until the cast came off. One pair of socks knitted, but it took the whole month to do. Just not right.

In November: just when I thought the first child was what I needed to worry about and some broken legs, the wonderful weather of the East coast initiates us in what it means to live on water. The Nor'easter hit us. Hit us HARD!! At my back door, where the garage is, I had water up to my hip. I am 5'5". I am by no means short. I am by no means tall. I am right in the middle. But to have water running up that high, it's scary. I have never seen fear so prominent on my children's faces until I had to look up and see it on them. We now know what the term 'tidal flooding' really means. The hard way. It is now the end of January and we have still have not recovered. The house is a disaster. We had damage in four rooms. We lost everything in two of the rooms. And have now come to realize the sellers point blank lied to us and on the disclosure statement. There is SO much work to be done that they never did. Basic maintenance just neglected. NO knitting. The pair of socks that I wanted to knit, the cuff of ONE sock was started. Nothing else. Depressing.

In December: well, that should speak for itself. But instead of having a holiday that lent itself to really focusing on the true meaning, was spent dealing with insurance, contractors, insurance, inspectors, adjusters, contractors, and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of trips to the city dump. With all said and done, with inside and outside damage totaled up 26 trips to the city landfill with my generous neighbor loaning me her small pick up truck. We had it PILED every trip. We did leave for a week to fly to visit my folks. Mom was inbetween Chemo, surgery, and radiation. With her count levels higher than they had been, we felt it safe with no one having any colds to visit. But, all that said, one would think the month would have been the turn around. HA HA HA! Fooled you. On the flight home, US AIRWAYS told us we would have to 'gate check' our carry on luggage. The plane overheads wouldn't allow for the bags to fit. So we did. They didn't pay attention to see that we were not getting off at the destination, but just having a layover. They sent our bags to the baggage claim and my entire needle roll of Addi Turbo Lace needles were stolen out of it. I am POSITIVE some idiot thought he was getting lucky and finding a jewelry roll and swiped it. But instead found 30 pairs of circular knitting needles. Instead, I am out close to $1000 dollars. I AM ILL!! So I called the airline to speak about this. Their response, "You have three hours from the time of disembarking to make any baggage claims against them." ARGH!!!

In January: I am all set to have the contractors finally begin putting my house back together. Only to find that the wood, studs, and one wall will not dry out. Why? I ask. Because the brick, that is the front of the house, is below grade. It is not below grade quality brick. It needs to be cinder block, not brick. Brick is catepillarious. Meaning when it is wet, it forms catepillaries, like those found in our bodies, to direct water through it. Once started they always let water through. They need to be sealed. That means to dig out the front yard to seal the brick, then build another drainage system to direct all water from the house. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. I had completely glazed over by this point. And to make it worse, water will just come back in at the next Nor'easter because your berms not high enough. And you can't just build the berm back up because your seawall can't support it. And you can't build your seawall back up unless you get rid of these trees. And you can't get rid of these trees because you have to have the Chesapeake Board's approval. CB doesn't like trees on the water removed.

I have knit three scarfs in the last week. Pictures will follow soon, I promise. I have picked back up a cardigan that has been hibernating since 2008. I have three socks on the three needles that were not in my needle roll. And I have another sweater that has been swatched for and is just waiting for the Olympic Torch to be lit.

I WILL find my knitting mojo again. Soon, I hope.

Happy Knitting.

Oh the Craziness

2009-05-27T11:16:00.002-04:00

Tuesday was quite the day. As a sock aficionado, at least I like to think so, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of the registrations for an upcoming event that the world has yet to see the likes of; the Sock Summit. In my eager anticipation, I planned my day around being home to sit at the computers for the next hour in attempts to score the classes that I purposely sought out to further an ideal dream. That was not what occurred. In the least.

To say that many of the muggles have no concept what a force knitters can be is an understated of a magnitude that many knitters themselves fail to recognize. For we sit in our wonderful chairs, knitting happily away never in our little worlds realizing just how many of us there are. More than not are just lurkers on this wild ride we call the web. Many never have experienced a blog or social network site like facebook, myspace, or even Ravelry, (which is a shame because it is a specific social network of fiber lovers.)

Within one minute of opening the registration flood gates, knitters crashed the server. It took what should have been a fast, simple, easy method to get in and get out, let the next in line have a turn process into an ordeal that has left the organizers reeling.

I experienced the whole gauntlet of emotions yesterday. Frustration, anger, disappointment, excitement, anticipation, eagerness, joy, sorrow, depression, happiness, glee, contentedness, satisfaction, gratification, I could go on but won't.

I cursed my computer. I cursed the knitting fates. I cursed ancient technology. I even got mad at the IT people for not believing the organizers when they tried to tell them the servers might not be big enough. (HA! Now do you believe?) I posted a comment saying I was disappointed like the rest of the world with the frustrations of the computers we have come to rely so heavily on. But, to get mad at the people who have worked so hard on making this dream a reality? What gives?

How can people behave so irrationally over something that is meant to be so benign? The hate post that have occurred is really quite shameful. Have we really become so isolated in our fictive states behind monitors that we have lost all decorum in relationships? In the knitting world it appears so.

So, in this long winded opinionated post, I say THANK YOU! ST-1 and ST-2 for all you have done to make Sock Summit a success. You have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time with such a fantastic selection of unbelievable teachers, vendors, and avenues. Well done!! Chocolate bars for everyone.

Where to begin

2009-05-26T09:10:00.000-04:00

I hope that your holiday weekend was well received. Ours was a much needed rest. Though it began with a moment that I am sure no one in the family will soon forget. As a parent, it is always a difficult event when a child has come to the point when one of those 'life experiences' must be learned. Our weekend began with one of them.

It forced me to recount a time in my own life when I learned that very lesson. I must confess that I did not handle it with as much grace as I had hoped when as a child I vowed I would one day extend to my own, but luckily, recovery from such a faux pas was not as horrendous as my own experience. The relationships are slowly being restored and growth has been spotted. Not just in the child that experienced the trauma but in the others as well. In myself. In my other half. And in how we are all relating to each other.

'Why must these things happen?'

It is THE Question of all the ages. Each one of us struggles with this very postulation. Just as a caterpillar must struggle out of their chrysalis, we too must struggle. Struggle to earn experience. Struggle to develop discipline. Struggle to gain maturity. Struggle to become the beautiful free person that God intends for us to be.

I wanted to be that chrysalis for my child, that protective resting place, enveloping them in their time of growth, when that occurred. Instead, I was forced to watch them from the sidelines as they struggled out of the one they were already in.

As the weekend is officially over, I can find in hindsight that in reality it was more traumatic for me than for any one of them. For yes, a horrible, but anticipated, thing happened. Though much worse, I watch transfixed as each one of my children matured in front of my eyes.

And that, my friends, is the saddest thing to have to see.

A bit of Homework

2009-04-21T21:02:00.003-04:00

Even though I have been home from Camp Knitty ha Ha for two weeks, it feels as though it was a lifetime ago. It was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to repeat it again next year. So much information was dispersed by some truly fantastic instructors. I felt honored the entire week with the opportunity to sit under their tutelage. I only hope that the impression I left them with was one of an ideal student. Quick with understanding and completely immersed in what they were saying. It will take more than this post to share everything, so I ask you now to indulge me with multiple listings. I promise they will start to come quicker now that laundry is somewhat caught up. I will begin with pre-camp knitting.

So without further ado, I present to you my homework assignment. The assignment was to write a story to go with a knitted creation in a crustaceous theme. (Bonus points if it is 'crab' related.) The creation was to be knit with a 'mini-skein' of yarn weighing approximately 3 grams. We were to utilize our entire 'supplied' package of homework and three sock techniques.

My techniques were: 1. a toe-up cast on, 2. increases for a toe box, 3. a three needle bind-off. I did short rows as well and decreases for shaping. (Bonus points for me.)

Here is my story:

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She loved the water. She liked to swim, splash, and just be near it. She dreamed of one day becoming a mermaid and living forever in the water.

As she grew up, people would tell her, "There's no such things as mermaids." But the little girl knew they were wrong. She just needed to find one.

One day, the little girl was no longer the 'little' girl for she had given birth to her own 'little' girl, and told her stories of mermaids and taught her how to swim, splash, and just be near the water.

It was on one of those days, the new 'little' girl made a discovery. As she had been near the water, just being, that she heard a familiar yet distinct sound. It was not the sound of the birds singing or the sound of the crickets chirping or the sound of the wind rustling or the sound of the water gently lapping the rocks. It was the sound of 'clicking.'

'Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Tap. Tap. Tappity. Tap.' This puzzled the 'little' girl. She knew all the sounds her area made. Here was a new yet completely familiar sound. Where had she heard that sound before?

The 'little' girl began to look in the grasses. No, just the crickets. She walked under the rustling tree limbs. No, just the wind. She walked onto the small boat dock. No, just the water lapping against its boards. But, WAIT! What was that noise? The little girl could hear it louder.

'Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Tap.'

The sound wasn't coming from on top of the dock. The 'little' girl looked into the boat. Nothing in there but the oars. The little girl looked under the dock. No, but the sound started to get even louder. Where was it coming from?

As the 'little' girl turned to look back on the shore, she found what she was looking for, the source of all that 'clicking.'

For on a rock, at the edge of the water, sat a little blue crab. And in his claws were two little needles. The NEEDLES were causing the 'click. Click. Click.' The little blue crab was knitting. He was knitting a tiny little sock. For a mermaid.

A quick note before the storm

2009-03-23T16:40:00.003-04:00

I realize that it has only been a week and a bit since my last post, but I am officially on the down hill slide to Sock Camp. I haven't started packing. I haven't done the homework (other than half of my swatches, buy hey, how hard is it to knit up a 10 stitch swatch 1 inch long? I think I can manage those waiting to deplane at each transfer.) I haven't located a camera yet. I have checked a couple of stores to grab another point and shoot, but really, am I saving time or money checking four different stores?

Dude is off again. This time I really think he has left the planet. He procrastinated, again, and didn't pack until 'the last minute of the night before' only to be so tired that he failed to realize that the alarm was set for 4:30 pm instead of am. Yes, you guessed it. He missed his flight. I woke at my normal time of quarter of six only to see him still here for a 6:20 flight. HA!

At least he managed to book another flight. The next problem, he failed to check which airport he was leaving from. So, we deposit him at one airport 45 minutes before the flight only to get a phone call from him asking for a ride to a neighboring airport, 35 minutes away. How we managed to get there without a speeding ticket is beyond me? Even more past my imagination, how he managed to talk them into letting him on the plane. Hopefully, the attempts to get there is more exciting than the week itself.

The good news for me, it means more un-interrupted knitting time at night. As I don't watch television much so I can knit happily away when I am not refereeing. (7:30 comes awful early on those nights.)

I have finished one sock of the January installment of Rockin' Sock Club. The beading on the sock is fantastic and is quite comfortable to wear. I have surrendered to the goal of trying to knit a pair of socks a month as this month it will not occur. Too many distractions produced themselves to remind me that I do know where my eldest received the ADD tendencies from.

The Virginia Shawl has been edged and blocked. I really enjoy wearing it. The weather has accommodated me quite nicely with just enough of a chill to make showing it off a pleasure.

I have been busily trying to knit up a small bag for a swap that I have participated in. I would love to show off a picture but alas, still no camera. (Though I do hope to amend that situation this evening.) I will post it once I put the package in the mail. I can then add it to my completed items. I don't believe the person I am spoiling reads this spot, but on the off chance she does, dear readers, you will just have to wait.

I am itching to cast-on a new project. I am debating to try a child's garment or a gift for a relative. I view the calendar with much trepidation. Is there enough time to attempt the gift and be able to present it by the goal or admit that more often than not, I am as unrealistic with time constraints as a pig will one day sprout wings and fly. Otherwise, I should just knit up a couple of more cupcakes to have on hand. Well, in actuality, I probably owe a couple of people one.... oh the self placed guilt, does a person good. HA!

Enough ramblings for today. Off to shop for a camera and then a bit of knitting.

Cheers!

So back to the Drawing board

2009-03-13T11:01:00.008-04:00

Two more weeks and I am off to Sock Camp. I am SO looking forward to it. It has been a complete rollercoaster ride as to if I was even going to make it. Let me explain.

I bought a house.

Dude went on a trip and while he was gone, I got tired of waiting around for him to make a decision. So, on Monday, I found a house. On Tuesday, I went and looked at the house. On Wednesday, I emailed him pictures. On Thursday, I got financing for the house. On Friday, I made a verbal agreement with the owner on the price of the house. On Saturday, Dude went and looked at the house with the contract for the sellers to sign. We close in two weeks.

In this whirlwind, I managed to finish a couple of projects and, of course, start some new ones. Here is an update: Completed-

Be mine socks,

Virginia Shawl, a bath mitt, two webkinz blankets, 15 swatches for a Melissa Leapman class (which I didn't get to take, but had a great time visiting friends in Ohio. Oh, and by the way, Dad is doing great. Mom is better as well.), and 6 swatches for Sock Camp homework.

What has been started or worked on- I ripped back the Green Cardigan as I didn't like the sleeve transition and I noticed I was off on my decreases. I continue with the Hemlock, though I often wonder what I was thinking starting a third one for and restored the balance to a couple of the sections that was off. I am currently working on the swap bag for my spoiler for the HSKS7.

I have also started the January installment of Rockin' Sock Club.

I LOVE the yarn. I am getting ready to begin working on the mascot that I need to knit up for Sock Camp. Oh- I just had a fantastic idea..... knitting up a baby....a zoey with the mini......a big one with Blue Heaven..... Sorry so cryptic. I will explain more next time. Hopefully, with pictures.

BTW, It is official.

We need a new camera. This is the kind of picture that it wants to take. But, obtaining a new one won't happen till after the house. Unfortunately, I just realized, this means another move. Another move. ::shaking head::What was I thinking?

It is on the water. Did I mention that yet? Our new house is on the water. We have water. The Bay actually. YEA!

Falling behind already

2009-02-23T22:26:00.002-05:00

So the camera is officially broke. All I get when I snap the shutter is a pink screen of death and then no photo can be seen. It has to be the lens or some other digital contraption inside the shutter. BUGGAR!!! Until I can obtain a new one (and I am holding out for a really good one) or I can find my wonderful old Advantix and some film, I am completely hosed.

I have lots of new and wonderful beautiful yarn that I wanted to show off, but alas, it will have to wait. The only good thing is the pile is in the middle of the room and so no one, and I do mean, NO ONE, gets to walk in that room in fear of touching my lovelies. My precious. Mine. All mine. Oops, sorry, got a bit carried away there. ::wiping the drool from the side of my mouth::

The girls and I went and saw the new movie 'Confessions of a Shopaholic'. Can I just say the most humbling scene is when she finally retrieves the frozen credit card out of its block of ice? When the movie was over my youngest beauty looks at me and says, "Mom, she looked just like you do when you get a new yarn in the mail." For some it is the store, for others it is our yarn.

I am almost done with my socks for the month of February. I have made a goal to knit a pair of socks for myself a month. I completed January's with the last of the German socks. This month was a set of the Be Mine socks from Melissa Morgan-Oakes book 2 at a Time. I have wanted to do them for me for over two years. And with belonging to four sock clubs, I better get busy. I have more sock yarn than I think I care to admit. I am hoping that between now and when I leave for sock camp I will have a more clear understanding of how many pairs I really do have.

I know that I am already behind with my goal to posting twice a month for this year. Since starting the HSKS again, I have been blogging on the 'secret identity' one. Couple more months and then I can truly be done with it. I have enjoyed most of it. But I really do enjoy posting here. Lots more fun.

Okay, off to bed with me. O' dark thirty comes really early around here.

Happy Knitting.

Working like a mad dog

2009-01-26T18:58:00.000-05:00

I joined a new sock club, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Rockin' Sock Club. I received my first installment and immediately fell in love. If I didn't already have in my 'Q' about four other pair and more than four times that waiting to be acknowledged I would have casted on immediately. But for now, I must just continue to pet it. It is really beautiful. I love the name of it as well, My Blue Heaven.

I also received in that package an invitation to a Sock Camp. Yes, I know you muggles are wondering what the heck a sock camp is, but for me, it is like being a kid all over again. Instructors that I would give up a trip to Scotland to learn from. And by the way, is exactly what I will be doing to go. Alas, I await the final decision from Dude to say, "Book it, babe." And then I will be truly off. It is held in this beautiful place.

Otherwise, I have been extremely busy. Classes started up again at Liberty and will run until the first week of March. I am already behind in one. I have been teaching twice a week at the store with two new advance classes beginning the first part of March and running until the last week of April. Dude's traveling a bunch the next three months. We still haven't found a house yet. Yes, I know we are currently in one but it isn't ours. Our lease is up in May and we have to tell them what we are doing by March. So we begin the scramble again.

I have managed to actually do a bit of knitting. I finished my pair of German socks. The kids have a pair. I have a fingerless mitt started because I casted on the wrong number of stitches but was knitting it in the pattern for Dude's pair. I was so frustrated with the point-blank- dumbness of myself that I went ahead and started my pair. It is now finished and I think I will wear them tomorrow to Knitting Guild and work.

I have completed the Noro Daria Bag. I splurged on this yarn in November at Stitches East. Normally, this yarn in $15 a skein. There was a booth selling a bag of ten for $50. So another knitter and I split the bag. She took 5 and I took 5. I immediately started knitting with it and boy is it a buggar! It is a cotton core with rayon surrounding it. It is so incredibly slippery it slides out from itself. When joining rounds, almost impossible. I was so glad to be done with the bag, instead of making a second one I gave away the remaining 2.5 skeins. For free. 'Nuff said.

And the first panel of the Shawl is complete. (More photos to come with that one.) I am hoping to have the second one done before Valentine's Day. I have 15 swatches to do before Saturday the 7th for a class I am taking with Melissa Leapman. I know how to cable, but I am interested in her teaching techniques. If nothing else, I can learn from that.

I also managed to score big in the yarn enhancement department. I finally got my grubby paws on a skein of Wollenmise. I am not thrilled with the colorway but am so psyched to actually use it that I can over look the generic scheme and focus on the pattern. The hunt is now for a pattern that can really do it justice.

I am trying to stay on top of this blog but will probably resort back to once a month. I had no intention of doing the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap ever again because the moderator and now co-moderator are too flaky with their rules. (Read 'inconsistent') but my arm was pretty heavily twisted as it will be the last one. So, that starts this week. Lovely.

More to post soon as the camera is fixed.

And so it begins again

2009-01-06T16:22:00.012-05:00

Hello fellow Bloggers. Happy New Year! I trust the holidays were for you as wonderful as they were for me. This was the first time in a long time that I came away refreshed and excited to begin the new year. The opportunities that await me are astounding. But first a recap of what was accomplished in the last couple of weeks of the prior year.

Two more hanks of yarn hand-dyed to give to fellow knitters.

A pair of shoes for Pop

A lap blanket for Grandmum

A Girly Scarf for Sassy (a very belated Birthday present. So sorry!!)

A Spa set for our Pseudo-Grandmum (okay, so I forgot to take a picture of this set. I will try and get one and update it later. Boogar!)

A Ribbed Scarf for a favorite Uncle (the mittens were scrapped and supplemented with this)

And An Office Party. Here is Dude with his greencrown on. Isn't he handsome? Then myself with our Pseudo-Grandmum, and last but not least Tyler. He's so cute! (In a younger brother sorta way. Great guy. If only I could hold him for one of my daughters.....)

So as you can see alot happened in two weeks. This isn't even posting anything on the in-law visit. They came for four days. It was truly a wonderful weekend.

Just as every other person will do with the New Year, resolutions have been made. I don't really want to call them resolutions, more like goals. My goal this year is to finish what I have started. This means, at least for me, no more WIPs just hanging around. I am not going to start any new projects until I have finished the ones that were started in 08. Luckily, there are just a couple left.

The Green Cardigan. (Really that was started in 2006 but hey, who's counting? That really should mean that it is started this year because it was hibernating so long that I need to start it over and with all the ripping that I need to do it really will be so..... I don't think I am going to count this as a WIP that NEEDS to get done. Yep, I am not. Good thinking.)

The Noro Daria Market Bag. This has just become a PITA. I am almost done save for the bind off. I have never been good at trying to connect the dots and this is going to be the bane of my existence. I have tried to connect the handles and edge to make it all one piece without having to weave in a bunch of different ends. This yarn is not that conducive to weaving in the ends. We shall see. (Though it is starting to become a bit more obvious that a new camera will be needed soon. YIKES!)

My Hemlock. The only thing that is holding this up is the need to wind more yarn. I have the yarn, I just need to wind it. Best get to it.

Socks. This really doesn't count. 'nough said.

So those are my goals. I have a BUNCH of yarn just screaming my name to come and play with it. I lye awake at night listening to it call to me like a siren in the sea. Resistance is futile.

Another goal is to post a couple of times a month. Here's trying.

Happy Knitting.

Once more for the road

2008-12-10T18:32:00.006-05:00

This final blog should round the year out. I have managed to post at least once a month for the full year. Go Me! Next year, my goal for blogging is to manage twice a month. Not that anyone actually reads this, but hey, it's doable. Baby steps.

Speaking of baby steps, I did a little dyeing today. Ok- side note- this morning over breakfast, we were discussing what was the game plan for the day. I said, "I'm going to try and get some dyeing done."

At that point Littlest Miss looked at me and said, "Dyeing? You mean like this?" And she tilted her head and stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth.

I assured her that indeed I had hoped not today that kind of dying.

And today was a good day for dyeing. I accomplished from naked wool to now coloured, hanked, wound, and re-hanked two good size hanks. I can post the pictures because the intendeds never look here.

I really don't want to give them up now. What is worse, I didn't take any notes on how I managed it so I am really quite hosed. Sheep nuts!

I am almost done with the Christmas knitting; one set of mittens and a bind off for a blanket. I keep thinking I can add one more thing to my list for that one more person. But, really, it is the middle of the month, think about it. Umm, no. I keep reminding myself, umm, no. I will not let myself go crazy trying to do it all.

So enough for now and back to the grindstone. I really must start sooner next year. So, good luck to you if your not done with your shopping or knitting, it's going to get ugly. Just remember the real reason for the season. Celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Holiday Crunch

2008-11-23T18:52:00.003-05:00

I am going to begin today's writing with a piece of advice. In the midst of the preparations leading up to Holidays is not an ideal time to have a surgery done on your wrist when the bulk of the Holiday gifts are intended to be handmade by yourself. It is just not a good time. Unless you really don't want to make something for the person. Then it just becomes a great excuse.

I really did want to make something for the someones and now I don't think it is going to happen. BOOGER!

Let's recap what we have done.

1. Cable knitted hat- orange

2. Cable knitted hat– off white

3. Ribbed Vest- purple/blueish

4. Hemlock Blanket- brown

5. Two socks- german flag colourway

Let's recap what we have on the needles.

1. Encore Hemlock- tan

2. Clogs- blue and green

3. Hemlock Blanket- brown (yes, I know this is a repeat but I was doing a second one same colour.)

4. One sock- german flag colourway

5. Market bag- pink/brown/greens

Let's recap what we are suppose to be doing as well.

1. 3 more socks- german flag colourway

2. mittens- blue

3. Cable knitted hat- grey

4. Gauntlets- green

5. shawl- multi

6. Market bag- pink/brown/greens (again a second one so there is no gnashing of teeth that one has it and the other does not.)

7. 5 skeins of sock yarn hand dyed for knitterly friends.

8. fingerless gloves- red

9. Something beautiful for me to wear to Dude's office party. YIKES! I am so hosed!

10. This is not even counting the kids' teachers that I had every intention of knitting up something small for....

11. Or my fellow employees that I work with.....

Now since I no longer can knit at hours on end nor do I have the time to sit and knit for hours on end, what am I going to do?

I think I will go and start a new project. Maybe I will go and see what everyone else on Ravelry is knitting and vicariously live through them.

Happy Knitting.

p.s. I will post pictures and talk about the Stitches Trip next time. I haven't finished uploading everything yet.

Just an Update

2008-10-22T13:22:00.006-04:00

It has been really busy here. The weather is changing very rapidly and I am, of course, up to my own tricks. I have taken on trying my hand at hand dyeing. I didn't mean to but it was this yarn here that lured me to the dark side. I just loved how it combined all the colors and yet, still was unique. This skein was done by a lady who lives here in Virginia and dyed up two lots. One was at her old home and this one, at her new home. Same lots, but completely different. One really dark. The next one, really light. Why? Different water. That got me to thinking. By changing just the one variable. How could I create something completely different by tweaking each one? What colors could I combine to express myself in a new form? It is like scrapbooking and knitting all rolled into one. I will post photos of my results when I have them.

I finished the 'Vest'. I tried it on and DH immediately asked, "Did you make the small?" I didn't find that as humorous as he did. I did extend the ribbing to allow for more coverage along the bust, but obviously not enough for my own. Which is quite good because it isn't for me. I made this for my favorite aunt as a Christmas present. She will pretty much wear anything and I though this would look nice on her. Not that I did a bad job. I am pretty impressed with myself as I don't remember knitting much of it. It was the (I really do hate this word, but there lacks another to really establish how well it went) PERFECT project to do while listening to on-line lectures. By the third lecture, I was done. The pattern is by Plymouth Yarns. Though it called for Baby Alpaca Grande, that is too expensive for me to give away so I used Cascade 120 Le and a Trendsetter Flora as a carry along. It was a 1 to 1.5 ratio of heavy and foo foo yarn. It looks fantastic. (That means I purchased 4 Cascade and 6 Trendsetter.)

Here is my mum's Hemlock Ring Blanket. Right now it is on display. Luckily, out of the way of most grubby paws so I won't have to re-wash it to gift it. I liked it so much that I began a second one for myself with the leftover yarn and ordered a second skein to finish it. By the end of this holiday season, I will have complete 3 full Hemlocks. One for mum, one for grandma, and one for myself. I will probably be done knitting them for awhile. It has become the replacement of mindless knitting while listening to lectures. There are a boatload of stitches to knit for one round once you are on the chart. The Hemlock for grandma is being made from Encore Worsted. I hate that yarn, but she will inadvertently put it in the wash. At least this way when she does, she won't end up with a doily instead. You can find the pattern here.

Here is another Christmas gift that I have finished. It is another Brooklyn Tweed pattern, Habitat. I have linked it to the name, and was so excited to see it that I downloaded it first thing. It was challenging enough to keep you focused but easy enough to follow. If I wasn't already happily married, I would be in love with the man. He is so incredibly talented! I am thinking to give this one to my eldest. It looks trendy enough that he might wear it. The color would look fantastic on him. He has seen me knit it though, so I am unsure if I could give it as a Christmas present.

I am half way through the German socks. One down for each of us. Though since they are not technically a pair, I can really see how people develop SSS. (Second Sock Syndrome.)

For those non-knitterly friends who read this, SSS is a deadly disease that if not careful is the best knitters downfall. It begins with just one, but it grows, like mold, if left unchecked until you are so overtaken with it, there is no hope for recovery except by giving away all single socks to the Veterans Hospital to be dispersed to those with only one foot. This disease creeps into other areas of your knitting. First it is just one sock, then it is just one glove, next it is just one cuff, and then worse, just one sleeve. When it finally occurs to you that you have a problem, you reassess the situation only to discover- you haven't finished a single item in 5 years.

The only way to prevent SSS is to IMMEDIATELY cast on that next sock as soon as you finish kitchnering the toe. I know it sounds so harsh, but trust me. It is the ONLY way. Don't put the sock on, don't photograph it. Cast on. Nothing else. Cast on. No potty breaks. Cast on. Trust me. Cast on.

I have been stalking yarns that I like on Ravelry. To see what other colors have been made, ideas for what I can do with what I have, even inspiration on trying my hand at making my own colorways, when I ran across this.

It is Misti Alpace Handpainted Worsted. Now, I have come to the conclusion that the term 'worsted' is really quite a subjective term. Typically it would mean that a yarn was a specific weight and that you could, theoretically, get 4-5 stitches per inch using a 7-9 US size needle. The problem I have is that this really isn't a worsted weight. It is MUCH thinner. It is more of a 'sock' weight. Which is what I used my first skeins of this brand for. And the socks that were done are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITEST PAIR!!! If I could wear them everyday, I would. Even in the summer. I LOVE THEM!!! So back to the story, lady on Ravelry is moving to Southern California. Don't need any wool there. Ever. I am such a lucky duck. I got ten skeins of it. WAHOO! I am so excited, I don't know what to do with myself except sit and pet it for a long time. Yea me.

That is the latest news here. I really am trying to post more consistently, but the only consistent posting is the once a month promise to post more frequently. If I can just post twice more this year, than it is better than last year. Then next year, I can up my expectation of posting twice a month. Baby steps.

Happy knitting.

6 months

2008-09-21T10:05:00.003-04:00

When I started this blog it was the intention of talking about knitting, my obsession with fiber, my creativity with yarn, my love of color. I have found more often than not, this becomes a place for me to say what I have a hard time saying to those around me but find that putting it on paper (or pseudo-paper), somehow, though I am not sure why, makes it easier.

I have been here now for 6 months. How do I know? The

post office reminded me. I received this past week the notice that my box payment is due. It ran for 6 months. That realization would explain a lot of little things. The phone calls that don't come, the lack of email or postings from friends on Ravelry, the forward moving of life. (It is very difficult for people who are stationary, or haven't experienced a move, to completely understand. And I mean a move that is more than 25 miles away. Anything less and it isn't really a move. It is still not 'out of your way'. Once that *insert whatever that magic number may be here* distance has been obtained, it becomes clear who really is important in your life.)

But returning to that discussion, the forward moving of life, reminds me to when my oldest was a wee one. It was difficult for him to understand when we first let him begin to watch live television how it was not at the same place when he turned it back on. See, we didn't let him watch live tellie until he was about 4, just pre-recorded movies. Mostly, so we didn't have to deal with the "can I have, can I have, can I haves?" that were prompted during the commercials. But, we would turn it off, go out to play, eat dinner, have a nap, and then when it was time to turn it back on, there it was. Picking up where he left off. Magic.

It is the same with moving. You leave the place and everyone stays the same. In your mind. In your heart. And it is the same for

them. They think of you as the last time they saw you, interacted with you, hung out with you. But it is not reality. Unfortunately, time stops for no one.

So now that I have you completely depressed, go call that friend you haven't heard from in a couple of weeks, or worse a couple of months. WRITE A CARD! It would be more treasured than you can imagine. Especially, when they find it tucked in between the bills. Don't wait. Remember, time stands still for no one.

Almost ready

2008-08-26T14:02:00.008-04:00

Well, here it is the end of August and are we ready for school to start back? ABSOLUTELY!! I am a bit overwhelmed with emotion though. My baby heads off to kindergarten and I have a mixed bag of feelings because of it. So much so that my knitting is being greatly effected by this internal discourse. I try to sit and knit and instead end up daydreaming. Not good when the pattern calls for no daydreaming.

I did finish the Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood. Here it is being blocked. I hate to block but this is one that really benefits from that so the pattern can really stand out.

It is a fantastic pattern. Enough change to keep you focused by enough repeats that it can be mindless when you need it. Perfect for trying to work through those conflicting thoughts.

I have started and restarted and restarted and restarted the cabled felted wine cozy for the store. I have not liked how the cabling was coming out so that meant pulling it all the way out and trying a different set of cables. I am looking for something that gives visual interest but at the same time doesn't overwhelm the new cable beginner. Something that looks difficult but in reality isn't. I think I have settled on one and we will see once it is felted if it really is as good as what I think it should look like in my mind. Clear as mud?

The girls have both lost teeth in the last week. The older one had to have 4 extracted that just wouldn't come out. The younger lost her first two yesterday. So much has changed that I really don't think the grandparents will be able to recognize them. Here are a couple of before and after of each.

Here they are still with long hair. They cut it off to donate to Locks of Love. It has taken them 20 months to grow it long enough for donation. One had 11.5 inches, the other had 10.5 inches.

And finally

here is still where you can find us when we are not at home. This is a much closer beach. And it was too perfect to look out from my beach chair where I was knitting on the Hemlock, see the girls playing and a three master go cruising by. Really cool.

I am off to start a pair of socks. It has been TOO LONG since I have had even a pair on the needles. I am behaving as though I am not even a real knitter. I have throughly enjoyed the sock club from Three Irish Girls, can I just say BEAUTIFUL?!? Even Hubby said, "WOW! Are you going to dye yarn like this? I really like how these colors blend." Huh? When has he been listening? So, off to cast-on.

(This last photo is from the THREE IRISH GIRLS web site. I CANNOT take credit for the fabulous photography. It is completely Sharon's.)

Too Long Gone

2008-07-31T20:24:00.005-04:00

The HSKS 5 is officially done. Here is a picture of all the FANTASTIC things that I received.

Receiving them means I can now return to blogging here. Though near the end it was a bit difficult. I gave myself a knitting injury. As several compatriots asked, "Did the Doctor know how you got this?" I would look at them and assure them that he did not. And I wasn't about to tell him either.

So, let me catch you up. We are officially in our current home. It is a rental. NO WAY would I buy it. I LOVE the location in regards to the kids, but it is TOO far from my current obsession, YARN. The yarn stores are across the Bay Tunnel. That guarantees at least an hour's drive to get there. If I am lucky. And no accidents. But the house is great for the moment because it is letting us see where we do want to live and the YMCA and library are at the end of our cul-de-sac. That means we do alot of walking to get there. Unless it is raining.

The kids have been enjoying themselves. Two have made friends. I am sure the third is pretty close behind. Once she is in school, than I am positive there will be playdates to quickly follow. They are all anticipating the start of school again. I am sure for reasons that are not the same as mine.

But, you really want to know about me and you want photos. So here goes. I got a job. Yep, I did it. As one of the ladies at Hubby's office said, "That's like hiring an addict to work at the pharmacy. NOT GOOD!" Oh YEAH! BABY!! I am in the PHARMACY NOW!!!

Here is a picture of my boss.

I really like it there so far. Though it has only been two days. The scheduling is perfect. I will be working only two days a week. Once the kiddos are in school, it will be the best because I can put them on the bus, head to work, and the bus will drop them off in our driveway with Daddy less than 5 minutes away. (Really it means I don't have to cook dinner two night a week. That ROCKS!!)

Projects, what have I been doing? I have knitted up a Pink Pig

a Pot- Belly Pig (no photo of her yet) (though both still need to be felted),

a Biased Shawl,

three cupcakes (painfully obvious that I need to take more photos),

a messenger bag,

three mini-socks(yikes, more photos please),

three cabled hats (here is one)

one scarf (there are more photos that obviously need to be taken), and finished a pair of socks.

I have in the works: a throw, (really this is more of a teaser photo. I have started it.)

a many Christmas gifts, but since I am unsure if anyone even reads this I am not posting photos of them here.

It seems that more and more of my projects are starting to go to the back burner due to needing class samples. Oh, I have been asked to teach some classes. YEAH! So I will leave you with a picture of where you can find us if not at home.

I will try and update more frequently now.

Happy Knitting

I SCORED BIG TIME & just a bit about the wedding

2008-05-21T19:42:00.001-04:00

The wedding went fabulously. The weather the day before and morning of were quite temperamental. Lots of showers, clouds, and wind. But when the actual ceremony occurred, even though it was inside, it was BEAUTIFUL. The whole thing was just beautiful. Second best one I have seen yet. The first being my own. Here were the star attractions though. I do believe they stole the show.

The little angles on the outside are my two. The two in the middle were the other set of nieces. They were also very cute, but I am particularly partial to mine.

Though with that wonderful occasion, we of course had lots of travel. The flights were really good. No delays, no complications, no misplaced baggage, and the best part was... lots of knitting time. So, I made good use of it and completed three cupcakes of the four that I thought I should do.

Here is a photo of the finished items.

The only snag I had was I forgot to pack the larger set of needles I would need to do the top of the cupcakes. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my iphone.) Within five minutes of landing in TC, I had triangulated our location and found a LYS.

Even better, we were literally right next to it when I found it on the phone. I called to check to see if they had a size 9 needle (at this point 'beggars are NOT choosers' and I would take whatever DPNs or circs they had in stock) and how late would they be open. No chance to dump the family and come back as I had 25 minutes before they were closing their door. No chance to come back before we left due to Sunday being closed and early flight out on Monday morning. (I am so thankful to have a hubby that tolerates my obsession.) When I walked in and inquired of the said needles that I had just called for, they pointed me to the wall where I would locate the various needles. I quickly perused their stock and located some fabulous Addi Turbos. Grabbed them and headed for the counter, when what should my wandering eye fall upon?

Taped to the top of a bookcase but the word every spouse fears.

SALE 50% OFF. (oy- I'm hosed.)

There went all good intentions. You know the ones of not pressing my luck with three kids waiting patiently out in the rental car who have been traveling since 6 a.m. Not infringing on the good graces of said spouse who just groaned loudly when I said we were in luck they were still open. Nope, right out the window.

I think I heard the good intentions smash through that front window as it escaped me fast and furiously. For there beheld my attention was a pile, and not just the throw-all-the-onesies-an-twosies-in-a-pile-that-fits-in-a-good-basket kind, no, he couldn't have been that fortunate.

There was a large white garbage bag full of one color. THIS was SWEATER size yarn on sale 50% OFF. And it wasn't the crappy yarn, the kind that an owner in a rash because the warehouse may not have something so just order to get the shelf full kind of rash decision, but REALLY FANTASTIC YARN. (Might I mention that just two weeks before I purchased some of this same said yarn from another LYS and paid the premium because it felt so fantastic? I will only mention it here, because said hubby never reads this blog.)

I had to do my part to stimulate the economy. Wasn't that what we were given that check for? I had to support this store who went out of their way to make it possible for me to finish the cupcakes. I couldn't seperate the skeins from their family.

No- I would not do that to them. They clearly NEEDED to stay together. How could I be the one responsible for that lonely one skein that might have been left behind, no one to love just him. I needed to be the responsible knitter that I am and take the whole lot.

And take the whole lot I did. All fifteen skeins of them. I am now the proud owner of 15 Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK skeins. YEAH ME!!

Though, just an aside. I did purchase the needles first and then went out to the car to at least forewarn him of what was about to happen. The problem, well- maybe not a problem, is dear hubby

can't tell me no. SO who am I kidding? I married a total enabler. I really do love him. Sometimes. no, really, most of the time.

Since I have finished the cupcakes, I have turned my attention back to the Acero Shawl. I purchased this yarn at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival with a HSKS 5 friend. She purchased one as well. Again, massive enabler. She already has her's finished. Though I might add she does not have three young people living with her that need to be chauffeured at all times, nor has she moved in say, the last eon. So that said, I think she has a bit more free time.

I am only half way.

Here is the progress picture.

I think I like her's better. It has more red to it. Mine is darker even though they are the same dye lots. 'Funny. You never can tell with them sort of bees.'

Only two more weeks til we move again. Then, hopefully, we will be in one spot for at least a year.

Until next time, happy knitting.

Adventures in Knittyland

2008-05-16T13:13:00.001-04:00

So, tomorrow we board a plane to fly back to Michigan for a my brother-in-law to get married. The wedding is on Sunday so that means we have a flight first thing out on Monday morning. YIKES! It is bad enough to try and get three kids out the door at 7 am to be on school on time. What was my mother-in-law thinking when she booked the tickets? She wasn't. It has been over 30 years since she had to remotely do anything of the sort. But, she is paying for the tickets. What do I care? Other than I really do.

On to happier things. That means I should be able to get some serious knitting done. Two 1.5 hour flights. Two 1.5 hour layovers. In each direction. Hopefully, I can manage to get at least two cupcakes done. I am doing at least two in this new lime green and have a new topping to add to the frosting yarn. I am kinda sick of looking at the pink. Though I do have two done already in the pink. I have four birthdays to knit for in the next three weeks. One of which should be going over seas (really just Canada. Hi! Amelia. I am working like a mad dog on your birthday kit. Though I think I am going to send you one of the pink ones. It is very festive. I really hope you like it. I do.)

I also started this bias shawl which I hope to have a chunk of completed by the time I'm home.

I purchased the yarn while at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. That was so FANTASTIC!!! I met up with a fellow housemate from the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 4 & now 5, terik. Here is the link to her blog if you would like to hear her story. It was really terrific to finally put a face with a blog. Hopefully, more photos to follow about that. Though I forgot my camera, I did have my phone which doesn't take bad pictures, just not the greatest.

I am dyeing to try and dye some sock yarn on my own. But I do think that might need to wait till we are at least in our house and not still in the hotel. Three more weeks and then we are there. YEAH!!! I am starting to know my way around here. I still hate it though. Just as I think it will be okay, I meet some really rude or nasty person or just down right hateful 'I-don't-want-you-here-in-my-state-so-I-am-going-to-make-you-moving-here-really-difficult' type person and then I have a bout of 'I just want to move back to my comfort zone' days. Then I get offered a job or I meet someone fantastic and it swings back into the 'I will keep trying to find something good about this place' spots and another couple of days go by. So, long story short, the jury is still out on it.

On another note, on Wednesday, I received my reducio sock kit swap package. My spoilee was very thoughtful and sent me a fantastic book. I have it on audio and just love having the print version now as well. The book mark is just TOO cute. As is the sock, I am thinking I can make another and have a Dobby theme on my webkins. The girls just LOVE it and are in the process of learning how to make one for all their animals. I love it when something like this helps them in their creativity. It is truly a lost art.

Best get back to packing. Hopefully, I will have a couple of photos to post when I return on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend.

Happy Mum's Day

2008-05-11T19:23:00.000-04:00

I hope this finds every one who is a mum or a what-to-be mum very well, happy, and remembered. For more years than I care to count, I haven't been. So this year I took it upon myself to be remembered. I bought new yarn. Then told the kids and dear hubby to scram, I was knitting all day.

That was really yesterday. And I did. I watched P.S. I Love You. I cried, I laughed, I cried some more, and got half way through the sock. So I started the movie again, and finished the sock.

I finished the sock. It only took a couple of hours. It was much easier than I really thought it was going to be. Why is it that we psyche ourselves out over doing something new that we think we need to take twice as long to get it done than it really turns out to be? That was the case with this last project. It was a new swap started on Ravelry. The 'Reducio Sock Swap' is suppose to be just a quick two week throw something together to kill time between the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 4 and 5. Just a mini-sock, a goodie, and a note saying who you are. That is it. Nothing big. Nothing outrageous. Yet, here I was procrastinating.

I finished it. Unfortunately, in my ecstatic attitude of being done, over-joyously wrapped everything up to promptly put in the mail in the morning, I forgot to take a picture of it. Maybe my soon to be recipient will snap one and post it for me. If I had been really on top of it, I would have done it before the weekend now that the postage rates have gone up, it must be my penance for putting off something so silly. I do hope that my partner likes it. I am not as talented as she, so I am afraid she will be a bit disappointed. She showed her sock off on ravelry and did a miniature intarsia. YIKES!! It looks FANTASTIC. I wish I was receiving from her instead of sending to her.

I also completed the socks that I showed off on my first, maybe second, blog. I was so excited with that yarn. Again, procrastinated for too long to do the socks. Now they are done. YEAH!!! Here is a photo of the finished item. I LOVE wearing them. They are a fantastic hang around the house, or in this case, the hotel, without getting your feet frozen.

The list came out today for the swap partners for HSKS 5. I have a new partner. Though I just looked at it, for the life of me I cannot remember who or what house. Booger.

Only three more weeks in the hotel. Then we are handed keys to the rental house and hopefully a bit more settling can occur. I am still withholding judgement on this relocation. So far, not good. Good friends are still encouraging me that it is too soon to cast permanent thoughts of running away to my former glory. We shall see. We shall see.

Maybe another trip half way around the world is in order. I haven't seen Northern Australia yet.

Friends Provided Free of Charge

2008-05-07T10:58:00.000-04:00

Come one! Come All! The newest craze is here. (Really just a bunch of crazy people.)

The next round of Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap is about to begin. Don't Snooze. Don't Loose.

Sign-ups close on the 9th of May. Swap will finish the 25th of July. (or thereabouts.)

Come to the Dark Side for more fun. Join the Slytherin House. or you can join one of the others if you don't think you can handle the heat. No worries, we won't think less of you.

Meet lots of people, win lots of games, and make friendships that span the miles. All from the comfort of your computer while still in your pajamas. And best of all- talk to other KNITTERS!!!

:Inhale. Exhale.:

2008-04-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

It seems that I haven't been here much when in fact, I have started and stopped this particular post too many times to keep track. So I will just publish and it will be what it will be.

I really do need to keep this a bit more up to date as we, the kids and I, will be leaving our current home on Saturday to be followed by hubby in two weeks, for our new location. I really do love my life- most of the time. But this is not one of them.

See, I LOVE my life now. I have a FANTASTIC set of friends. Not just a single set, but a multiple set, depending on what mood I am in. I have a set for knitting. I have a set for scrapbooking. I have a set that overlaps their children with mine. I have a set that deals with hubby's job. And then the handful that I would consider those friends that are either sitting next to me in the jail cell or they are the ones that we are calling to come and get us.

I am never at a loss. Until now.

We are moving. Again. :Inhale. Exhale.: I don't want to move. I built my house. I LOVE my house. IT is the house that my children KNOW as their home. I was told we wouldn't have to move again. And yet. We are moving. Again. :Inhale. Exhale.:

I know that the energy that I expel is felt by everything. That it is either absorbed or repelled by the things that are around me. I am almost positive that is why my house hasn't sold when it has been on the market since last August. I don't want to move. My house doesn't want me to move. But, I love my hubby and my place is with him. Yet, we are moving. Again. :Inhale. Exhale.:

I know this is suppose to be about my knitting adventures. I love my knitting and it is incredibly therapeutic. But I haven't been able to knit to save my life in the last two weeks. I usually can do a sock from cuff to toe in two weeks. No problem. Yet, in the last 8 weeks, one sock. Not a pair, but one. Uno. Solo. Ein. 1. Has been done. (Granted I did do two cupcakes, but that was a measly 5 hour drive from Beckley, Virginia to home. 2 knitter friends birthdays that I wanted to honor.) No knitting done at all on the way out to Hampton. Very little on the way back. None since we have been home.

Though I won't be able to call it home much longer. We are moving. Again. :Inhale. Exhale.:

I will post a photo of the sock soon. I did finish the lacey shawl. I thought I would keep it and use it as a back-up for the wedding, but instead, gave it to hubby's FABULOUS secretary. She LOVES it. Plus, it is her color dead on. I think she even wore it to work the next day. I will post of photo of that as well.

I best finish. Packing and sorting to get done. We are moving. Again. :Inhale. Exhale.:

Time flies when you're in the middle of a project

2008-01-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

So I thought I would try and blog at least once a week. How hard could that be? There are some I have looked at only to find they are blogging once, twice, yes- even three times a day.... where do they find the time?

I thought I had it made this weekend. All this knitting time to myself, I envisioned I would get so much accomplished. Well, as you can guess by the tone of this writing, it didn't happen. Not by a long shot. I spent the entire weekend driving around the oldest to all of his activities. And by activities, I really mean, his hobbies. Three boys, I somehow drew the short stick, drug me to a Magic card convention. Not just a couple of hours in and look around, no, twelve stinking hours. Yes, that is right. 12. One- two. Doce. Zwelf. 2 hours past 10 hours. 12 long and tedious hours of listening to them talk about how that card is better than the other, blah blah blah blah blah. Not counting the hour it took to drive to the place and the hour it took for us to drive home. By the second day, I declared a magic free zone 12 feet around me.

The only plus was that I ran away for an hour and a half to pop into a fabulous knitting store close by. And it was so worth it. I really like this little shop. It is quaint with an airy of cozy. Plenty of comfortable sitting spots. Lots of beautiful fibers to look at. Walls covered with displays of pre-made samples to jump start the creativity. And they are nice to boot. What more could a knitter ask for. The couple of times I have managed to drop in, I am greeted very quickly and can talk shop with anyone in there. I have even been able to contribute to the knowledge base without feeling like I am interfering. And a Bonus- great selection of sock yarn.

I managed to snag another of this fabulous yarn, Misit Alpaca Worsted Weight 4-ply. Beautiful colors. The pinks and browns look fabulous. Though I thought with it being 100 grams I could get a full pair from it, a good friend has already knit hers up and only managed one sock from the

one skein. So with that in mind, I have put into play two options. The first is that I purchased a second skein with the idea if I ran out than I already had one just in case. (No need to tempt the knitting fates with my stupidity.) The second option is that I purchase some fabulous baby cashmerino from Debbie Bliss line in a gorgeous dark chocolate to knit up the heels and toes. Either way, it is a win-win situation. IF I don't need the second skein, I can make a second pair of socks to give as a gift using the excess from the brown toe/heel skein to repeat. (Or keep them for myself. I never said I wasn't a selfish knitter.)

Or the loverly store said as long as I don't wind it, I could return the second skein. (Like that would really happen. HA!) I would be able to trade it or best yet, just keep it. I do love my pretty colors....

Happy Knitting.

Random Ramblings

2008-01-10T08:12:00.000-05:00

So it seems that my oldest child thinks that I knit too much. How can one even think that?

I knit only half the amount of time I think I should knit and just a fraction of the amount of time that I really do knit.

I have been to only one knitting store so far this week. It is my favorite LYS. The owner is fabulous and so incredibly friendly. I scored one of the most lovely yarns I have purchased in a long time. Malibrigo.

Malibrigo is this kettle dyed hand spun wool that takes on the color so incredibly vivid your eyes just pop. My picture here is not doing the yarn justice. I had heard from several bloggers and fellow ravelriers that they felt this was very luxurious so of course I had to find out for myself. My LYS had just received a new shipment of it in and I couldn't resist. I purchased 8 skeins at a rock bottom price of $8 a skein. I felt justified (oh- can I rationalize just about anything when it comes to yarn.) that since others were paying so much more, I could afford to do a sweater in this. So I have now located the perfect pattern for the yarn and tonight with wind this up. I am looking very forward to it.

Though I have one skein left to knit on this feather and fan shawl. I was hoping to already be done with it. I have a schedule that I am trying to meet. No specific reason other than to keep me motivate. It is just about the time that I sit on the couch and do nothing for a month because the holiday came and kicked my bum. But I am trying to be different this year and do three projects a month. Thereby also forcing me to finish all my WIP (works- in- progress) and free up all my needles. I have four that are in desperate need of finishing.

The Lacey shawl, the one using the feather and fan, uses the Euroflax from Louet.

This yarn is not so bad if it wasn't for the two knots in the middle of the skein. It was very frustrating to have to tink two rows to reattach, then only to have those two done and find another knot. AAARGH! I hate weaving in the ends to a pattern like this. But I am past that and now officially over half way done. I am afraid it may not be as long as I am hoping. I have already modified the pattern so the repeats were not as wide. I had only two skeins instead of the three. I may have to do some begging on ravelry to see if anyone has some to part with. The worst is trying to match dye lots. Hopefully, someone out there will be very compassionate and help a fellow obsessed knitter out. But isn't that always the luck.

That is the listing for two of the projects on the burner for now. Though it isn't even touching my scrapbooking projects. AAh- that would require a whole other blog.

Knit well, knit long, knit happy. bye for now.

A Whole New World

2008-01-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

Well- six months ago, I just started learning what a BLOG was. A year ago, I had no clue what the term meant. Ask my parents, and I still don't think they do. But alas, here I am, running two.

I have started this blog in response to a swap that I am participating in. One blog is in a fictitious character persona the other is this one. The fictitious character is causing me much grief. I am uncertain on how to begin her. Do I portray her in a way that I am no longer able to imagine or do I make it as real as possible but with just enough fantasy to have fun?

I think I have answered my own question. I do love this about journaling.

Otherwise, this will be a spot for me to talk about my current passion in creativity- Knitting.

I ADORE Knitting. The textures, the colors, the depth, the options. To take a piece of string and combine it with two points and the coverings that can come from that with the knowledge of just two basic stitches is just... well... ASTOUNDING!!!! I love knitting. Have I said that recently?

Anywhoo- enough for now. I must go and pretend for a bit.

But as for now- knit long, knit well, knit happy.