Felicia Knits (and purls)

California Dreamin'

2010-01-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

We're in southern CA for a quilt show - the wonderful Road to California. Our road here was a bit much, but we're really enjoying the weather!

We got a later start than expected/planned. Bob thought we didn't have enough dowels and we would just have to make do with what we had. While I was at work Fri night, he found more. I got home from work about midnight to a new plan. Bob's idea was to leave later Sat and spend the day making more product to take with us - including cutting and sanding all the dowels he found. The dowels are the necessary part of the thread organizers that we make. So instead of leaving around 10 am, we managed to pull out of the driveway at 11:55 pm! My son Pete was going with us.

He's lived in the San Francisco area for three years and decided that he wanted to move to NYC. He stayed in PA for about a month before he decided that he'd had enough of the cold and wanted CA weather back.

Pete being with us worked wonderfully. It was his idea to alternate driving and just drive straight through. Since we were tired enough to sleep in the car and Pete can sleep just about anywhere, that's exactly what we did. And by saying that "we" drove, I mean that in the broadest sense possible. I think I drove one hour!

Southern CA in the "winter" just can't be beat. On Tues, we sat outside at In-n-Out for several hours enjoying the winter weather (mid-70's) and sunshine. Due to the seasonal shift in the wind direction, the sky is beautifully blue and clear. There are roses, primroses and bird of paradise blooming everywhere. So much for winter!

Cowls and mittens and shawls, Oh my!

2010-01-07T01:10:00.003-05:00

What is on your knitting schedule? Mine seems to be over run with knit alongs and goals! From Ravelry - the Woolgirl group is having a fingerles gloves/mitts KAL which coincides with National Knit Mittens Month. It's rather nice to have one project fit into multiple spots! The Embrace the Lace bonus kit is a very lovely cowl and the pattern being used in the Cowl group's Jan KAL is also lovely - and those who have knit it already have commented on what a quick knit it is. The Sivia Harding group is having a KAL for the Heart to Heart beaded scarf this month. I've knit one and gave it as a gift to my cousin. Since then I've bought the cashmere yarn and beads to make another for myself.

And then the shawls! The end of last year - no I think most of last year! - didn't see much positive progress on shawls for me. My aeolian is only four rows away from being bound off and is waiting patiently to be finished. I spent quite awhile knitting my Norwegian Woods shawl only to completely rip out all progress. And yet I somehow managed to get sucked into the idea of 10 shawls in 2010. Conveniently the Seasons of Lace winter KAL is (of course!) a shawl! It's a free pattern entitled Echo Flowers. I spent too long dithering about which yarn to use. I've wound one of the two skeins in a silk/cashmere blend I bought several months ago.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me this month! Now to see just how much of it I can actually accomplish.

Do you believe in the power of prayer?

2009-12-26T12:10:00.002-05:00

It should be obvious from the title, but if you have no religious belief, move along!

I received some bad financial news last week. And then a few days later received even worse financial news. Cancelled a Woolgirl subscription (Alice in Wonderland series), evaluated a few things, etc. Got info on where to go to sell blood plasma, evaluated things around here that might be sold.

And I prayed. A lot. Asked God for a Christmas miracle. And today that miracle was delivered by the USPS. It doesn't completely solve Problem #1, but it solves even worse Problem 2 and makes #1 easier to handle. I've been in tears ever since.

That light at the end of the tunnel?

2009-12-21T16:52:00.003-05:00

Nope, not the rescue team. Fully loaded train barreling into me. For the first time in my life I'm having to remind myself that buying a lottery ticket is not a wise investment of a dollar. I've never been tempted to buy lottery tickets before. The odds of winning are so terribly bad, I've figured that my odds of winning without a ticket were just slightly lower than if I had a ticket. Sitting down and crying won't help. Maybe I'll go scrub something. It doesn't cost me anything and has good results.

If someone wanted to share the winning numbers I wouldn't turn them down.

RIP Norwegian Woods Shawl

2009-12-07T22:06:00.001-05:00

Let's all have a moment of silence in respect for Felicia's Norwegian Woods shawl. NW met her demise this evening due to a severe run-in with a drunken frog. NW was completely ripped while in the frog pond and her remains have been rewound into a fresh clean center pull ball. No beads were sacrificed but were carefully scooped up and put back into the altoids tin to rest with their friends until knitting recommences.

After becoming suspicious about the size of the remaining ball of yarn, Felicia realized that her shawl plus beads and needles weighed over 160 gms and the remaining yarn was under 50 gms. While NW was in the stages of Chart B, Felicia knew there would not be enough yarn remaining. In an act of supreme self sacrifice, Felicia pulled the plug/needle out so that NW would not have to suffer.

Felicia does not have exact plans at this moment. She has been knitting for months without any finished objects - or at this point, any knitting to show for her efforts. She is currently torn between the idea of casting on the current Embrace the Lace club shipment of a cowl for some quick and easy gratification or resuming NW. NW II could be reincarnated in the current fingering weight yarn and the smaller size or in the correct lace weight yarn in the desired large size.

Please send wine. Cheese, crackers and maybe a tissue or two would also be appreciated.

First Snow

2009-12-06T01:02:00.002-05:00

We had our first winter snowfall today. Well, technically, it was yesterday. But I just got home from work, so to me, it's still today. If that makes any sense at all! Anyway......on Saturday we had our first snowfall.

I will be the first one to tell you that I am not a big winter fan. I don't participate in any winter sports. I don't ski or snowmobile or even snowshoe. So for me snow is just something to shovel and it makes a mess.

But the first snowfall? Magical. We're not far from the full moon and combine that with everything covered in white and it is very bright out there! I really enjoyed my drive home from work tonight. It was a fairly wet snow so everything is covered with an edge of white. Tree branches are no longer invisible in the night but are instead beautifully covered in snow. They stand out in ghostly silhouette against the night sky. Pine and hemlock needles are gently bowed under the weight of the snow. Fence lines and electric poles have this magical white glow about them. This is the time to take a professional camera outside and set it to the slowest shutter speed possible to capture the magic and beauty of the night.

There isn't enough snow to break brances or down power lines. Depending upon the temperature, we might even lose all the snow tomorrow. The ground isn't really cold enough for the snow to stick around. Next time? It won't be too long before it is cold enough for the snow to stick around until spring. It gets dirty and dingy and we all become sick and tired of shoveling this blasted stuff.

But for now? Magic.

Two Weeks? Really?

2009-12-01T20:03:00.002-05:00

I was awfully busy at work, but I also know I'm not the only one. How on earth does everyone else manage? Or is it that I've never made blogging a habit? That is probably it. I can't guarantee daily posting (ha!) but I'll make an effort towards more reliable posting.

1. Bob is home. Which threw my whole schedule cattywampus. Still recovering from that!

2. My dryer broke as soon as I got home in Oct and I still haven't been able to replace it. If you can't count on Lowe's to run a fork lift into a dryer, what can you count on!

3. Turning wood is lots of fun. New stuff coming soon.

4. Pictures too.

5. I am very thankful - that I really don't have holiday knitting to do!

No Knitting Going on Around here!

2009-11-17T08:34:00.000-05:00

I haven't knit a stitch in weeks! Which is really unusual. Usually I have my knitting always with me. And I'll confess to getting tons of knitting done while sitting in the passenger seat of the car. Obviously with Bob gone, I'm doing all my own driving. But I'm also still sorta working both jobs - which hasn't left much free time. I came home from Quilt Festival, Houston with several new cross stitch charts I bought from The Silver Needle. If you like cross stitch at all, you really need to go check out their website. I can't imagine how, but one of these days, I will be in Tulsa, OK and be able to spend the day in the store. Actually, one of these years, I'd love to attend Camp Wannasew, but we'll see about that.

I haven't even been working on anything new either! The Silver Needle has a monthly mailing I subscribed to for awhile called Secret Needle Night. (Bet you don't see what's coming.....oh. You figured it out?) Because the whole thing is ..... a secret! Fun fibers, cute designs stitched on 10 count so they don't take long. Well, when I became a "collector" instead of a stitcher, I stopped the subscription. I knew I had other cross stitch kits laying around besides these.

Well, this week I bought a small tote with a lid. It's only a 12 quart and slightly larger than a sheet of paper. I've spent odd bits of time finding all(?) my cross stitch kits and putting them all together in this little tote. Actually, I liked this so much, I bought another one today to put all my needlepunch stuff into.

So I finished a Bent Creek design and I've been working on a Christmas Secret Needle Night kit from 2003! The idea is that I'll get to spend a bit of time each week working on a cross stitch design. It may take quite awhile to finish anything, but at least there will be progress!

What's Your Weekend Like?

2009-11-15T00:09:00.002-05:00

What are your plans for the weekend? I read other people's posts and am amazed at the things people do, places they go, and events they attend. They have a much busier life than I do, that's for darn sure! But I'll admit that there usually isn't a whole lot going on around here. Without school age children, that also cuts out a lot of activities.

And when is your weekend? With this new job of mine, my "weekend" is actually Monday and Tuesday. My minister always said that his sabbath day was Monday. Sunday was (obviously) a heavy work day for him. And at the time, he was minister to three churches each Sunday. But this job is also a second job for me. So Mon & Tues are spent pretty heavy working in the basement in the woodshop. I've decided to declare Wed my "day off." Which is odd since I do go to work - but usually I only work Wed from 5-9 (pm). I did little bits of nothing this past Wed and it was wonderfully refreshing.

I've been fairly busy while Bob is gone cleaning up stuff around here. I live in a very small house with a full basement. The basement is where we do all our work stuff and unfortunately too much of it migrates upstairs into the living room. So I have been cleaning up, organizing, and carting things back where they belong. I know that it won't last too long once he is home again - we will have a bunch of orders for stuff that will need packaged and shipped out and that will happen in the living room.

But I'm hoping it will be a bit easier this time. I haven't had a kitchen table since I bought this house. And while I regretted the lack, it wasn't as if there was a lot of room around here anyway. I went to the local Salvation Army the other day looking for new work shirts. And they had a nice (small) kitchen table and two chairs! I went home to measure - taking the chance the table would still be there the next day. And it was! Picture a table and chairs from probably the 50's and you've got a good idea what mine looks like. But it is in wonderful shape! I cleaned it up good when I got the set home. Stopped at the store and bought new rubber feet for all the metal legs. And some rustoleum primer and new paint for all the legs. I'm really hoping that the weather will stay decent so I can paint everything before Bob gets home. Especially since he doesn't know anything about it!

Light Bulb Moment?

2009-11-06T14:04:00.002-05:00

I think I've just had an "ah ha!" moment and I'm hoping that any sweater knitters who happen to stop by can confirm.

I don't have a whole lot of luck with sweater sizing. I'm always just a bit off. I knit swatches and manage to get and keep gauge. I wear a size 36 bra and usually knit the size closest to 36. The lightbulb moment came here....we're supposed to measure around the fullest part of the bust, right? Because I wear a 36D - so the fullest part is actually 41". So when I'm knitting the pattern somewhere in the 36" - 38" range, I'm dooming myself to failure, aren't I?

Shoot! And wow.

Totally Random. Without Pictures.

2009-11-04T12:36:00.002-05:00

1. I love people's random posts. Disjointed "comments" and pictures thrown together.

2. Bob still has my camera. No pictures. Makes me wish I was rolling in a few extra dollars and could go buy a second camera.

3. If he didn't take any pictures, he's not getting the camera next trip, that's for certain.

4. After much angst, lathe problems solved. It took an extra trip to the store (1.5 hours away) and several phone calls to get everything solved, assembled and working.

5. I so wish I had asked if I could buy the display model.

6. So I was late sending out my prize contribution to Chan and haven't taken the time yet to see if it has even arrived at her house. But it was shipped out last week and I hope the winner loves it.

7. World Series! I don't have a tv. Well, technically, I own a television, just no cable. Which means i don't get to watch anything except dvds. But I own a stereo.

8. On the radio, I can get Eagles and Penn State football games. Nascar races. Rap, country, rock, and oldies. Christian and spanish speaking stations. Do you think I could find even ONE station that I could listen to the ball game on for longer than three pitches??? Is that really so much to ask for??

9. Apparently it is too much to ask for. No, I am not willing to pay for cable.

10. I ripped out my Norwegian Woods shawl back to the first bead row. The beads were just too small. I got really lucky and found some beads (on sale even!) at the local A.C. Moore that will go wonderfully.

11. I am taking another turning class tonight. Actually, it is a class on how to sharpen our chisels. Can't wait because everything downstairs is dull as dishwater.

12. Dinner at Carraba's on the way home!

Contest Fever

2009-10-23T08:45:00.000-04:00

I was busy and hadn't been reading my usual blogs recently. But I'm trying to catch up with friends. And it seems that lots are having a contest! Darcy is awarding a copy of Kate Jacob's newest book in the Friday Night Knitting series. And while I haven't even read the second book, I'm still gonna try for winning the third. The second won't be hard to read. I've always been a reader. I did buy the first book in the series and then included the book in a swap package I was sending out. Darcy also has a wonderful story posted on her blog with a background story about going to Kate Jacob's book signings. I haven't ever lived near an area that had book signings - I'm a bit jealous!

Thoughts on Blessings

2009-10-22T20:22:00.002-04:00

I haven't been taking the time to read many (or hardly any) blogs lately. And I had to scroll quite a ways before finding this post with all the details. But Chan - and a ravelry post I put up earlier got me thinking about blessings.

It's been a tough week - in a very odd sort of way. And yesterday didn't end the wierdness either. Last night my dryer died. I tumbled the clothes around for about 10 minutes and then just quit. I opened the dryer door (no light, bad sign) to obviously wet clothes - and a bad "burnt" smell. Worse sign. So I hung up all the clothes and went back to bed.

Where is the blessing here? Well, I could have been gone for a few days and come home to moldy clothes. Since the dryer just quit, I'm not even gonna talk about fire.

But I have the money to buy another one. Mind you, I am gonna stalk Lowe's and Home Depot looking for a discounted scratched model. I'm hoping that savings will balance out the delivery fee since I'm home alone for the next 5 weeks and there is absolutely no way I can wrangle a dryer by myself.

But during the craziness of this week, I had one neighbor pick me up at the airport (at 10:45 PM thankyouverymuch), a friend drive me around to get the keys made for my car yesterday, and another neighbor come over and put my new 100 pound lathe up on the work counter.

And aside from the obvious - I have heat in my home, a roof over my head and wool to knit with. And I didn't hesitate to buy some silk/cashmere yarn at the show last week from the Jade Sapphire booth.

I think I'm gonna contact Chan about donating a prize! Stay tuned. Oh, wait! No camera. Well, Chan will have to post a picture for me when the prize arrives at her house.

In which I prove (again) that I am an idiot

2009-10-21T14:41:00.003-04:00

Well, I made it home late last night. And today I feel rather like I've been beat. My contacts are funny, I have a horrid headache and just feel like I've been through the mill.

I've taken a part time job, so I needed to return after the Houston show. Plan A involved driving both vehicles and me driving home afterwards. Well, that plan just worried Bob too much. So we switched to Plan B - ride out with him and then fly home. Which would have worked great if I had a brain.

So I make my plane reservation flying one way from Houston to Scranton - and actually get a decent rate. The day before, I try going on-line to check in ahead of time and I can't. Try again that morning - no luck. So I go downstairs and ask Bob's friend that we stayed with (who is also a Bob. Must have been hysterical when they were high school buddies and ran around together all the time.) to see what the problem was. Well, the problem was that I was trying to check in two weeks early. Yep. I made the reservation for the wrong date.

So I couldn't get another flight out of Houston to Scranton that day. But Bob was driving to Kansas City and I could get a flight from there home. So I got to ride along to KC. Get to the airport and they very nicely ask if I want to get on an earlier flight to Chicago where I changed planes. Jump on that hoping to get onto an earlier flight into Scranton. There wasn't an earlier flight, but at least Chicago had better food options than KC.

My neighbor picked me up from the airport and it wasn't until I got to his house that I found out I didn't have keys. Bob has torn apart our van and I really do remember putting them into my suitcase. So somewhere along the way, United airlines has lost my keys.

I finally got help on the phone when I broke down and was almost hysterical. I kept being sent to voice-mail hell. When the airline loses something of yours, you have to call each airport because there isn't a centralized lost and found. One of the numbers was disconnected. And the very nich people on the phone kept giving me the disconnected number. When I explained (over and over) that the number didn't work, I would get rerouted into the automated system.

I did have one stroke of great luck today though. I called a locksmith to see how on earth I could get another key for my 1989 car. She explained about key codes and told me who to call - and what to do if the new key didn't work well in my old locks, etc. So while the day was wasted on the phone call to hades/United, I now have a working key for just under $20.

I think I'm going to go buy a coffee and a new lathe. Gee....I wonder if all those wonderful calls have anything to do with my headache???

Posts will be picture-less. Bob has the camera in Kansas City. Bob and the camera are leaving there and going to several other states, so I will be cameraless until Thanksgiving!

There has got to be a storm coming

2009-10-07T12:50:00.002-04:00

This morning I woke up feeling pretty darn good. Several hours later, my eyes are puffy, I have a horrid headache and I pretty much feel like I've been beaten. There has got to be a big storm coming through here. It's rather cloudy and very windy right now.

I was an idiot and thought my new skein of yarn from Embrace the Lace was 470 yards. Nope. It's 740 yards. Definately plenty of yarn to make the Norwegian Woods shawl I mentioned in the previous post. Now I'm gonna see if some beads I bought a couple months ago will work! Oh, wait! I'll be in Houston next week and there will be plenty of beads to choose from if the ones I have on hand don't work.

I'm having fun playing on the lathe. Drilled out the centers on some wood blanks last night to make some needle cases for our booth. And some acrylic blanks came in the mail today. Gosh, this will be fun! Talk to ya in a couple of days probably!

Look What I Got, Part 2

2009-10-06T10:49:00.001-04:00

Last week was a great mail week. While not "fun," I did receive some black sock yarn. For some bizarre reason, I'm not especially excited about knitting these socks. But I've started a new part time job and I'm required to wear black socks. So I stopped at the store and bought two pair. Do you have any idea how odd it felt to put on store bought socks after several years of wearing only handknit?? So while not fun, black sock knitting is a bit important. I'm trying out some Knit Picks sock yarn.

Also last week, I received my Sep Embrace the Lace shipment. Much more fun than black sock yarn. Although oddly enough, this is also sock yarn!

Well, it is 470 yards (!) of merino in fingering weight. And the pattern included this month is a pair of knee socks. And while the pattern is nice, I just can't imagine hiding this pretty yarn in my shoes.

There's a lovely project bag also included. In each lace club shipment, there is also a coordinating stitch marker. Each very nice. I did notice that I was so impressed with the pattern that I didn't even include it in the pictures! I do truly like the pattern. I'm thinking of making Sivia Harding's Norwegian Woods shawl with the yarn. There are several people in the lace club who don't like the yarn and would be happy to sell it. I haven't even asked how much they want. I'd like a large cozy shawl, but the yarn is handdyed and I know two skeins would never match. Ah, well...

Look What I Got, Part 1

2009-10-05T22:34:00.003-04:00

It is a week before we leave for Houston so spare time is rather sparse on the ground. But I'm gonna try to get a few posts up. I haven't ever been a very regular poster. But I miss doing so when I haven't posted in a few days. Must be a good sign!

My team in Dish Rag Tag isn't doing too well. There was a bit of a problem right before the end and our last person had to drop out. And I think it took about 2 days to get the replacement all lined up. Drat! Guess it was too much to hope for to be on the winning team two years in a row! But my personal DRT glory is unabated. My prize from Emily's favorite dishcloth contest arrived in the mail. What a fun pattern booklet plus two skeins of cotton and some bamboo straights. These just might actually be my first pair of straight knitting needles! Oops! I'm further behind than I thought - give me a minute to transfer the pictures from the camera onto the computer. Ok, let's try this...

Son of Dish Rag Tag!

2009-09-25T07:45:00.000-04:00

This is the third year that I've participated in Dish Rag Tag (DRT). Emily is the brain behind DRT. There are teams all across the US. Each person on the team will receive a box that includes the pattern you are to use to knit a dishcloth, a ball of cotton yarn, a dishcloth already knit and a small treat for yourself. The idea is to keep the dishcloth and treat and use the yarn to knit a cloth for the next person on the list. The unknown part of the race comes in with the US postal service! We use a flat rate priority mail box ONLY.

This is what arrived at my house -

At the top of the picture, you can see the tiny bundle of goodies sent to me - some mixes to add to a water bottle, little packs of candy and some tea.

And pre-packing, this is what I sent off -

Here you can see the cloth I knit with the yarn, the new ball of cotton, and you can't really make them out, but there are stitch markers there for the next person. Which was a great thing to be able to include since they are so small! That small flat rate box is rather stuffed by the time we're through with it!

Well, on Emily's blog earlier this week, she ran a small contest. Leave a comment with a link or info on your favorite dishcloth pattern and you'll have a chance to win so cotton, needles and patterns. Well, I popped over to her blog this afternoon and found out I won! It's not often I win something, so this is wonderfully sweet.

Last year, my DRT team came in first place. We'll see how we fare this year, but it doesn't feel like the post office is being especially nice to my team this year.

Learning on a Lathe

2009-09-24T07:29:00.001-04:00

We sell products to quilters at major shows. Organizers for rulers and thread is our main focus. Until recently, we had a local young man make wooden needle cases that we bought from him and sold in the booth. He was a pen turner and we asked him to branch out into the needle cases. Well, he's graduated from high school and started college. He's pre-med. So we really don't see him at all any more. But the needlecases were a popular item. So when a local store offered a pen turning class, we jumped on the chance.

Making the needlecases will be my job. Which is fine since playing on the lathe is fun! The things we make are made from oak. And oak isn't the best wood for turning because it is an open grain wood. But we have lots of wood scraps laying around. While learning what the different chisels would do, the scraps seemed the perfect choice. And I've been asking Bob to turn some of our scraps into "wooden irons." Quilters use them for "finger pressing" a seam. So I've been making wooden irons! My first batch sold last weekend at a quilt show in Marietta, GA. Bob took 12 with him and came back with only 3, so I would say they were a hit!

I don't usually have a mental image of what I want the finished product to look like. I just play around with the chisels and see what comes out! This picture is of the wooden irons Bob is taking with him this weekend to a show in Novi, MI.

The two pieces at the bottom of the picture on the left are ones that Bob made. I'm pretty sure I made all the rest. I think he throws something fancy in there just to see where I'll go with the idea!

Catching Up

2009-09-23T13:19:00.005-04:00

Here's a peek into parts of what was keeping me busy! I was canning:

I made chow chow - a cabbage based relish with hot peppers.

I made some mild salsa and 24 hour garlic dill pickles.

And I had to leave the house while Bob made hot salsa. His main ingredient was habanero peppers. And I have an allergy to the oils in hot peppers - I truly can't even be in the same house while these are being processed.

And we took a pen turning class! Bob's is on the top in the picture. He has prior experience working on a lathe. I made the mistake of asking the instructor for help with what the different chisels would do. I should have asked Bob. The instructor was great with how to turn a straight sided pen - plus assembly, etc. But Bob has the chisel and lathe knowledge that the instructor didn't have. More work from the lathe coming next!

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

2009-09-21T08:03:00.000-04:00

I know I'm a week late, but I'm playing catch-up. A number of years ago I lived in North Carolina. And while there, a fairly local house was rented to film a movie. During (or after not sure which), the homeowners were interviewed about their experiences. They were asked about Actor A and their response was how very nice A was - charming, friendly, etc. Actor B? Salt of the earth - just a "regular joe" kinda guy. Actor C? No comment. And while I don't follow any of the "popular" magazines, I've never heard anyone say "no comment" about Patrick Swayze. I don't remember ever seeing the movie "North and South," but the his reviews were good. I do really like the movie "Red Dawn." And I'll happily admit to totally enjoying "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" isn't too bad either. Swayze was a talented and professional actor. He did his own stunts - and his own dancing. By now, everyone knows he was trained as a classical ballet dancer and had to give it up because of knee problems. But you know that big dance finale in Dirty Dancing? Well, during filming, Swayze had blown out his knee and was wearing a knee brace while filming that scene. He told the director to make sure all the cameras were rolling because he was only going to be able to do that scene once. I have never read or heard one nasty, snide comment about him. Every single profession needs more people like him. He took his craft seriously yet was apparently a pleasure to be around. Don't you wish you could say that about all the people you work with!

An Unplanned Hiatus

2009-09-19T18:05:00.002-04:00

Well, I didn't mean for that to happen! One day I was just super busy and the next thing ya know, it's been almost a month. But the knitting was drag.g.g.g.g.ing on and on. I have been diligently knitting away on my aeolian shawl. So diligently in fact that I have never stopped to take even a single picture! But then I ran out of beads. Waiting for new beads - they're here now but I haven't worked up the gumption to pick the shawl back up.

I am usually a monogamous knitter. That seems to be my best bet of actually finishing something. Right now I seem to have knitting ADD. I pulled out my Philosopher's Wool sweater from last winter. Sewed the shoulders together and sewed in the sleeves. It's currently laying very nicely across a chair. Started a new PW sweater since I am teaching a class at my LYS on the PW stranding technique. I have one sleeve finished. The start of the second sleeve is sitting in a bag in the chair. As one of two long-term projects, I am making squares for a Harry Potter inspired afghan. There's a ravelry group (of course!) swapping squares every few months. So I started my next batch of squares. And I had to be somewhere at a stupid early hour this morning which would then involve waiting in line about an hour. So while waiting, I cast on for a cowl.

I ran out of my herbal hormone pills several weeks ago. I haven't noticed an increase in hot flashes. I tend to get them in spurts. Lots for months, then none for just long enough I think they're gone before they start up again. But I haven't been sleeping worth anything. Coupled with being up about 5:15 this morning, I'm actually ready for bed - and it's only 6:15. The only thing keeping me currently out of bed is the fear of waking up at 2 am and not being able to sleep!

Some pictures and maybe less rambling tomorrow. I found myself composing blog posts in my head, so I knew it was time to get back to it! And it's not just my blog I've been away from. I haven't been doing blog reading either. People's blogs I've followed for years? Nope. New friends? Nope. Not sure what I've been doing. Oh, wait! I've been casting on new projects like that alone would bring about world peace.

Sky Watching, Western Edition

2009-08-23T14:22:00.001-04:00

While on the way home from Long Beach I missed some stunning sky pictures. But at least I was able to take this photo.

This was taken in Wyoming.

We've Been a Little Busy!

2009-08-18T08:13:00.000-04:00

We had a contract to pour some sidewalks for two neighbors once we returned from the latest trip. Thought we'd go ahead and add a sidewalk from the front door to the street at our house. We also added a bit of a patio. And then tiled it!

Pre concrete:

Starting the tile:

The paint had all come off the bistro set and we were down to (I think) the primer:

The tile is finished and grouted and the bistro set is repainted. Not happy with the color of the paint - maybe red?

Peach Crisp

2009-08-17T19:54:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted a recipe in quite awhile! My main reason for posting recipes here is so that I can find them again later. This peach crisp recipe started from a recipe I printed off allrecipes.com. But I then changed almost everything!

This recipe made an 8 x 8 pan. For a 9x13, add more peaches.

6 peaches, peeled and sprinkled with about 1 tsp cinnamon and 1Tbl flour. Lightly grease pan and pour in peaches.

To peel peaches, dip in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then immerse in cold water. The peels will slip right off.

Crumb topping:

1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/3 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
dash salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all topping ingredients, then cut in 1/2 cup margarine or butter until topping is about pea size.

Add desired amount of topping over peaches. Bake 350* for 35 - 40 minutes.

I had extra topping for my 8x8 pan. Next time, I might reduce flour and oats to 3/4 cup each and use about 6 Tbl butter. I used 1/2 cup sugars this time and will cut it down to 1/3 each next. My peaches were wonderfully ripe and juicy. Enjoy!

Maxfield Parrish Sky

2009-08-14T22:28:00.002-04:00

Anyone familiar with the American artist Maxfield Parrish? He was born in Philadelphia in 1870 and died in 1966. At auctions, I would usually see at least one of his prints up for sale. Parrish was known for his luminous colors. Parrish blue is named for him. His paintings are known for their layers of color and the dimension achieved through rather unique methods.

Anyway....All week, my sky has looked like it came straight from a Parrish painting. The clouds looked very three dimensional. They really looked like I could reach up and grab them back out of the sky. Very solid filled with light, shadows, and color. And not a camera around. Whenever I got to the same place as the camera, the sky looked like a "normal" sky. Nothing noteworty at all. Get on the road to go somewhere, camera at home, and the sky turned all luminous and majestic on me. Just figures, right?

No luck with the breeze

2009-08-11T11:16:00.003-04:00

This morning there was a light breeze. So I grabbed my scarf and tried to drape it artfully over the neighbor's tree. No luck with the artful "in the tree with breezes" shots. Still happy with the scarf though!

Giveaway!

2009-08-10T22:41:00.002-04:00

Denise is giving away an awesome present box on her blog! Now, I really don't want anyone who reads this to actually enter - because I'd really love to win her box of goodies! But to enter, I actually have to help spread the word. Doesn't seem quite fair, but there you have it!

Denise and I have started emailing a bit back and forth. She is not only the knitter of wonderful things, but she is a farmer. Of lavender. And if that isn't a wildly romantic thing to farm, I can't imagine what is.

Feather Duster

2009-08-10T05:43:00.001-04:00

My stealth knitting from last month is revealed as Susan Lawrence's Feather Duster. It's written as a scarf pattern since Susan was trying to use one skein of Shibui knits Silk Cloud. I haven't ever seen the silk cloud before. Most mohair yarns that I've tried make me itch, but I keep trying different ones. I'd like to make this again in a larger size. Again, Susan has written an accurate pattern that just flies along!

Again, the preblocking blob:

This seems to show both the right colors and the wonderful stitch pattern.

Free Concert!

2009-08-08T15:16:00.002-04:00

My backyard neighbor is the local American Legion (or the VFW - not sure). They're usually pretty good neighbors. Nothing loud late at night - usually not after 10 pm. And in the winter with all the windows closed, I usually don't hear them at all. A couple times during the summer they have a big outdoor thing going on - a dj, prizes, burgers on the grill etc. Today is one of those days. And it's a very eclectic range of music they are playing.

Hank Williams Jr., Marty Robbins, Randy Travis, Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks. Elvis, Eagles, Richie Valens, Jimmy Buffet and a bunch of current songs. I'm awful with artists names on new songs.

It's five o'clock somewhere, right!

Saturday Sky

2009-08-08T05:38:00.000-04:00

Sky watching, Long Beach, CA edition. When working at the shows, we never really know what the weather is like outside. We arrive at the convention center about 8 am and leave about 7 - 7:30 pm. But this was the sight waiting for us when we walked outside one evening.

On the Vine

2009-08-07T17:28:00.005-04:00

This is another pattern by Susan Lawrence. And On The Vine doesn't disappoint. For the first time, I used some Knit Picks Gloss laceweight yarn. I had enough to do three extra repeats of the pattern and the yarn blocked like a dream. Not a knot or tangle in the skein. I just took it off the blocking board, so maybe some "floating in the breeze" pictures will come soon.

Preblocking blob:

On the blocking board (and a pretty accurate color on my monitor):

The color is washed out, but I think you can see the beads that I used instead of nupps:

45 out of 50!

2009-08-01T00:14:00.002-04:00

We're travelling home. And by the time I get into the hotel at night, I never do remember to bring the camera in with me. Hopefully there are some nice pictures.

But! I have now been in 45 of our 50 states! We had a delivery to make, so for the first time, I went into Idaho. Drove past fields of wheat being harvested and potatoes growing away. And I finally got to see the pretty part of Wyoming. Until yesterday, I had only seen Wyoming along I-80. And it is not pretty. Not nice at all really. But we were in the north west part of the state just south of Yellowstone and Jackson. Gorgeous.

Other than Alaska (which I really want to do an Alaska cruise) and Hawaii, I have not been to Montana, North or South Dakota or Maine. I'm hoping to change at least the Maine part. Well and the Alaska and Hawaii part.

Lands End correction

2009-07-24T09:04:00.000-04:00

I previously stated that Lands End is a state park, but I have been corrected. A nice docent who works at the park put a nice comment in my previous post. Anyway -
Lands End is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is managed by the National Park Service. While we enjoyed our hike, we didn't get from one end to the other. I'll definately enjoy going back again though!

Still at Lands End

2009-07-22T11:09:00.000-04:00

Lands End Park, San Francisco

2009-07-21T01:18:00.005-04:00

My youngest son lives near and works in San Francisco. He's become a pretty decent tour guide too. This visit, he took Bob, myself and his new girlfriend to Lands End state park in San Francisco. It was listed as an easy 3 mile walk. I'd disagree with that. There were a lot of stairs and while parts looked paved in the internet pictures, we didn't come across any paved parts. But it was lovely.

Heart to Heart FO

2009-07-21T01:11:00.007-04:00

All blocked and ready to wear!

And on my lovely cousin that I made it for.

We were getting ready to go outside and I didn't really have a decent picture of the scarf. So I had to promise that I'd cut off her head and that I only really wanted a picture of the scarf. So just pretend, ok?

King of the Road

2009-07-15T13:26:00.002-04:00

I'm currently at my cousins enjoying her hospitality. King of the Road is playing on the radio, we just finished a wonderful breakfast in front of her floor to ceiling windows looking over the woods surrounding her home. She lives in northern California in a rural area that is wonderfully beautiful. I'll be sure to post some pictures later. I'm posting now from her computer, so don't want to add my pictures, etc.

Enjoy the sunshine where ever you are!

A week later

2009-07-13T00:23:00.002-04:00

And it's still a blob. I didn't have enough yarn for another repeat, so I ripped back to the lifeline and bound off. Probably a week ago. And while not impossible, it's not easy to block something in a hotel room. So the blob is currently residing in the knitting bag in the van!

The other day I started a tank with some stash yarn. And it was turning out really bad. It's a variegated yarn. At first it was striping very nicely. But then it started acting really wierd. The colors were just turning into zig zaggy blobs. So it's waiting for the ball winder to be ripped out and rewound. But! the yarn was turning my hands black while being knit. Tess' Designer Yarns. Read a couple reviews on Ravelry and apparently it is recommended that the yarn be washed....before knitting with it.

I also had the color in the yarn turning my hands black with some socks that rock. I only knit one cuff (out of obviously two). Not sure if I want to rehank and wash that also.

Not having much luck here!

It's a Blob!

2009-07-05T14:42:00.002-04:00

Prior to blocking, lace knitting looks like one big blob. Blocking is amazing. I am further along than the picture shows. I may be done, but I'm not quite sure. Because of the design, you need to bind off after the last row. Which I'm at. I have some more yarn, but I don't know if there is enough for a complete repeat. So I'm inserting a life line to see just how much further I can get!

Stealth Knitting!

2009-07-01T06:02:00.001-04:00

I get the opportunity to test knit two new patterns! This one is by Susan Lawrence, not sure of the release date. I was given this yarn last year when so much was stolen. It's 380 yards of Sea Wool by Fleece Artist. I knew I wanted to make a shawl as soon as I saw it. But most shawls are 400+ yards. In the scarf I am testing, Susan used ~350 yds of laceweight yarn. But since I am only making sure the pattern is clearly written, I cast on with this yarn immediately!

This shows a bit of the pattern. It goes so very quickly!

At least on my monitor, this one has a more accurate color:

The umpteenth thunderstorm of the day is moving through so I'd better shut things down. I never knew the spring was supposed to last for this many months! I think the high Tue was in the 60's.

Heart to Heart Progress

2009-06-30T05:58:00.000-04:00

So far, so good! I know I've said it before, but this pattern knits wonderfully. Everyone in the Rav Embrace the Lace group keeps raving about this kit. I'm half afraid to see what Jen picks to follow this one!

By the time I knit a second scarf for myself, I have to have a scale. My friend bought hers at Wegmans (grocery) and I've heard Bed, Bath & Beyond carries them. I don't think I'll run out of yarn. But when I do the next one, it would be nice to know if I could have knit more plain repeats. As it is, I knit the 14 increase sections, three plain (no increase/no decrease) sections, and I'm heading down the decrease sections.

It's not only swatches that lie!

2009-06-29T05:41:00.000-04:00

I have two skeins of laceweight alpaca that I bought in a ravelry destash. The original color was a pale yellow-green. Not exactly my favorite color. The first to be overdyed I showed a couple of weeks ago (I think!). And today was dyeing day for the second skein.

For whatever reason, I decided I wanted a dark blue. But going back to the pale yellow, I was a bit concerned that I would end up with green. So I wound off a bit and dyed it in dark blue Wilton's dye.

Exhibit A:

Definately not green! I have no idea how blue dye and yellow yarn equal purple, but I'll take it! It's a great dusty purple and I really like this color. So I make more dye bath, soak the skein of alpaca in water and then plop it into the dye bath then into the microwave for a quick nuke.

Exhibit B:

At first, it was turning into the expected green. So I took the yarn out, added a bunch more blue, put the yarn back in and then heated a bit longer. Fortunately, the extra dye saved the day! It rather looks like a peacock to me. I can't wait to see what this looks like after it has dried. And then the knitting should be great! At least I'm sure hoping this looks wonderful.

In order to remind everyone of the differences in colors, I present Exhibit C:

Living Dangerously!

2009-06-26T21:35:00.002-04:00

I've had to rip back once and tink back a couple of times. And this delicate laceweight cashmere is holding up wonderfully. The kit contains a 50 gm ball of yarn. One of the pattern notes reminds us to weigh the yarn after 14 repeats. If we're near 25 gms, then skip the one repeat without any increases and head straight into the decreases.

Well, I borrowed a friend's scale at knitting the other night. And after my 14 repeats, I actually had 33 gms of yarn left. And while I do know that each repeat uses a different amount of yarn because the stitch count differs, I still averaged it out. Each repeat used 1.21 gms of yarn. And here is where I decided to live dangerously! (cue ominous music here - theme from Jaws maybe?) I am taking a chance and knitting three repeats even before I start the decreases. Going on the assumption that math is my friend..... 1.25 gms of yarn per repeat x 33 repeats = 41.25 gms. Hopefully that is enough to give me a slightly larger scarf and not run out of yarn one repeat before binding off!

Embrace the Lace Club

2009-06-23T06:20:00.000-04:00

I joined Wool Girl's Embrace the Lace club. I haven't done anything with the first kit yet. Poor Bob is getting really tired of everything that comes in the mail being green, and the first kit was very green! But while in the green tone, this second kit didn't sit around long.

First of all, everything that you might hear about Wool Girl's packages is correct. She packs every shipment to the gills with fun and delight.

The fun project pouch on the left already saw duty as I carried Beach Glass around in it. The pouch is nice. It is designed for lace projects. It has metal grommets on two sides for you to run the ends of your circular needle through so the needle tips don't get tangled in your knitting! Rather clever.

This month's pattern was designed by Sivia Harding who is probably the queen of lace knitting with beads. This design is no exception. And then the yarn is cashmere!

The scarf is quite ingenious. You knit a three stitch rounded edge, the garter stitch "scarf" portion, then the beaded heart border. The center garter stitch part is gradually increasing - and then of course decreasing - throughout the scarf. Sivia has quite a decrease to make the point of the heart which you then top off with a bead! I really need sharper points on my needles. I'm using the crochet hook to pull the yarn through most of the decreases. Addi turbos just don't cut it, that's for sure!

Beach Glass

2009-06-22T06:10:00.000-04:00

Susan Lawrence's new pattern is named Beach Glass. As much as I love the water, how could I resist? I had the yarn on hand even if I didn't know what it was! After going up to a larger needle because I was using fingering, things progressed rapidly.

It's currently gently pinned out onto my bed drying. I made no attempt to stretch it much. Gently pinned out the curves along the feather and fan edge and that was it. You start at the long edge and work yourself down to about 20 stitches. It's all garter lace and each section is done so fast, you don't have a chance to get bored.

Boy does one thing lead to another!

2009-06-21T17:16:00.002-04:00

For some unknown reason, I decided that today I would take down the mini-blinds and clean them. With all the dust around here (woodshop that pays our bills in the basement), dusting off the blinds only goes so far. So down they come to get scrubbed one at a time in the bathtub.

Well, if the blinds are down, I might as well take out the windows and clean both sides of the glass. If the windows are out, I might as well clean the window frames really well. Which leads to washing the mouldings. Down the walls, and before I knew what happened, I was on my knees washing the floor!

Of course, once all the blinds are clean, the tub will need scrubbed. Might as well get the rest of the bathroom since the tub is so shiny. Hmm...the floor in there needs washed too of course.

Beware of washing the mini-blinds! You never know where that will lead!

The Potholders are Here!

2009-06-21T10:59:00.001-04:00

The potholder swap was great fun. So much so, that I didn't take a single picture of the ones I made! Like many other people in the swap, I hadn't crocheted in quite awhile. It felt very good to get my hooks out again. I still have to make at least one for my own kitchen. But these are the potholders I received in the swap:

I was in such a hurry to mail mine off in time, I forgot to tag mine too.

Clockwise from top left, my potholders were made by: Debbie C (white, blue and green), Marissa made the ruffled one that looks like it was a bunch of work!, the yellow and white one didn't have a name, the pink rosebud was made by Nannette, and the square in the middle was made by Leila. Nannette even made stitch markers!My only regret is that it was not remotely possible to swap a potholder with everyone participating. This swap has elevated the potholder to art!

Not a Saturday Sky

2009-06-20T17:51:00.005-04:00

We've had rain. And for a change, some rain. Not interesting sky pictures. But before all the rain, I had a couple of flowers. We're gone so much, I can't even put in flowers anymore. But when Bob moved in, he brought these Irises with him. They are so very lovely and when warm, they actually smell like root beer!

Summer before last - when we didn't travel quite as much and I still had a dog, I found this iris. Marley and I were walking by the lake and thrown down into a heap were a bunch of irises. I didn't get a decent picture of the little yellow flag irises, but these purple and white ones were also part of my free flowers!

That's Two!

2009-06-18T15:48:00.002-04:00

And I'm afraid to find out what #3 is going to be! You know the expression trouble always comes in threes? Well, last night was number one.

Someone broke into my car and stole my mp3 player and the car adapter! I've lived here five years - and I don't think I've ever locked my car. Heck, at least half of the time, I don't remember to lock the house door. Obviously that has changed. In the "we were blessed, it could have been worse" category - nothing else was taken from the car. I am really ticked off about this! I try not to jump to conclusions....but new people moved in on the cross street with a bunch of kids that are playing in the street all the time. I had a bunch of audio books on there, podcasts, etc. Granted, all those are replaceable without much effort. But I'm about as broke as I can be, so there is no way that is being replaced anytime soon. Car trips have just gotten a lot worse! I'm filing a police report so that hopefully they will start patrolling my area more often.

Today, number two. Walk in the house and find out my roof leaked! Slight damage to the ceiling drywall. Once again, in the "we were blessed" category - the damaged area isn't a "finished" part of the house. And after attic inspection, we think the water was blown in through the roof vent and happened to drip right there. We've had a bunch of rain and high winds - and there is absolutely no other damage.

Dinner is in the crock pot and I'm going knitting tonight. There is still a lot of room for potential disaster left in my day. Cross your fingers for me!

Gauge swatch? Why no, why do you ask?

2009-06-13T10:38:00.000-04:00

I'm inside and my camera is (I think) out in the car. In other words, no pictures even though I took some!

I have two skeins of this mystery two strand (I thought) lace weight yarn in the stash. Quietly sitting there next to a skein of saketelli (sp?) laceweight. Plain off white/natural color. So I experimented with some Wilton's frosting colors and overdye the yarn. I was hoping for a nice pale aqua. But Wilton's dyes sometimes separate - which happened here. Started turning green. So I try adding some navy to offset. And got some cool small purple areas. But of course even though they were in the same pot, the two skeins were slightly different colors. And being mystery skeins, of unknown yardage. So I'm happily knitting away on Susan Lawrence's new pattern Beach Glass (rav link). Using the recommended size 5 needles and I'm being a good knitter and alternating the two skeins. Unknown yardage and different colors again.

The pattern has two repeats of the feather and fan section followed by eight repeats of the top garter lace section. I'm about section four when the little voice in my head starts talking. You know that voice. The one that starts out whispering but gradually get louder. This isn't working! The size isn't right - you better do something about this! The voice that tells us to stop knitting way before we've knit a sweater that 15 people can wear at the same time. About section five I finally stretched out the knitting to measure gauge. The pattern gauge is 22 stitches per 4 inches. My gauge? 26 stitches per 4 inches. No wonder this was looking scarf size and not shawl size - I started out five inches smaller than the pattern!

So a brief ripping and rewinding session happens. Since I alternated skeins, I was very careful to rewind as I ripped. So it worked out really well. And now I've gone out on the second limb. I had knit about 75% of the shawl and used maybe 50% of the yarn. I'm living dangerously here, but I'm trying this using only one skein. Wish me luck!

Duluth, MN

2009-06-12T10:25:00.000-04:00

So here we are in Duluth, MN. Haven't ever been to Duluth. I've been to Minneapolis before, so I've been to Minnesota. But Duluth is a lot further north - which would obviously impact the weather.

Here it is the (practically) middle of June. It's relatively cool here! I think the high temps have been in the 60's. Which for me is really bizarre. The convention center is across the street from Lake Superior. Yep, literally across the street! Well it may be the inner harbor or something like that, but Lake Superior is right there. Rather awesome.

If you are ever in Duluth, I recommend you eat at the Duluth Grill on 27th st. I don't know if there are other locations, but I can recommend the 27th St location. We ate breakfast and dinner there. They have a large selection of vegetarian items (with the note that the vegetarian options are cooked in the same kitchen with the other menu items. Considerate but I would have thought that would be obvious.) plus another section on the menu of gluten free items!

So for breakfast I had an omelet (egg white option available) made with roasted red peppers, pesto and feta cheese, fresh fruit and red flannel hash. The fruit was real fruit! A large strawberry, slice of pineapple, half a banana and a half slice of canteloupe. And the hash? Chopped sweet potato, carrot and beets.

And maybe it's the downtown/next to the lake location, but there were a lot of people enjoying the outdoor weather Wed afternoon as we were setting up our booth! A lot of walkers, some joggers, boats out on the lake, etc.

And while I thought I had free wifi for the rest of the week and could catch up with some blog posts, that may not be true. Radio silence may resume tomorrow. There seems to be some confusion at the hotel and they think they are moving me to another room tomorrow. I don't understand their end of the problem, but I have no idea what room I'll be in tomorrow night! Go figure.

Thank You

2009-06-11T22:36:00.001-04:00

Thanks to those who have sent emails and comments about my cousin. His sister sent me the funeral bulletin and it's lovely. Truly a celebration of life.

Dear God, I commend to You

2009-05-29T20:55:00.002-04:00

the soul of Your child Phillip.

About 15 years ago, my sister, aunt, her two children Pam and Phil and I went to Italy. Within two weeks of returning home, my cousin Phil was diagnosed with congestive heart failure after suffering a severe heart attack. After a long battle, Phil died in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Several months ago, he had surgery and they implanted a pace maker. He had recently moved into an assisted living facility. He was in the hospital again last week, but went home on Monday. His mom took him grocery shopping before taking him home and getting him settled. He was so happy to be out of the hospital and insisted on going to the grocery for fresh fruit. On Tuesday morning, Phil did not call down for his breakfast, so the staff went to check on him. He had died sometime after midnight.

He was only 10 years older than I. He was not one of the "popular" boys during high school. Come to find out, my two friends while growing up have fond memories of Phil babysitting them while their parents went out. He was a frequent babysitter at my house also.

He was a kind soul. He never married or had children, but will be missed by friends and family.

Anyone know anything about computers??

2009-05-23T08:58:00.000-04:00

I personally don't even know enough to "be dangerous!" The computer is about 4 - 5 years old. So it's running slowly (and being on dial-up, that says alot!). I have backed up stuff onto an external hard drive. Defragmented and cleaned up what I could. Deleted stuff off here since I have it on the external. Still slow. Any advice? Help? Suggestions (other than get dsl)?

Any info, links, or sympathy gladly accepted!

Sock Summit Anyone? which changed into an R rated rant about my ex

2009-05-22T18:47:00.002-04:00

For one (too) brief, (brightly) shining moment, I thought I'd be going. I had classes picked out. And since I have dial-up at home, I knew where I was going to be come Tues. The local Panera Bread offers free wifi and I was gonna be there.

Not so much now. I am only (slightly) comforted by the knowledge that I am not the only knitter who wants to attend, but can't.

And frankly, it all comes down to one thing. Since I know my sons aren't interested in reading this blog, I can be honest here. It's because of the dickhead I divorced. If he was a dickhead when we met, he hid it well. It came out years later. Over five years ago, I asked for a divorce. I'm not actually sure if it's final yet. We had a court trial - when was the last time you heard of a divorce going to court!!! Part of the court order is a monthly payment of over $500. For the last year and a half (since the trial) he (of course) has not paid this. He did send a payment....I got $300 this month. I keep hearing rumours of being paid all monies owed me. I spoke with my attorney last week. It was suggested that due to the rumours, he be given one more week. WTF.

And for all the feminists out there....I didn't ask for alimony. Actually, all I asked for was 50% of the value of the (paid for in full) house. After all the bullshit he put me through just getting to court, I was willing to take whatever the judge was willing to give me. Alimony was part of that. He would have been SO much better off just giving me half of the house. Further proof of being a total dickhead.

Too tired, but almost home!

2009-05-18T22:35:00.003-04:00

We are almost home! Too tired to continue, but we are sleeping in PA tonight. I finished the tank I started - the edging is done and the ends are even woven in. Just need to block and it is wearable! I tried it on in the car and I think it fits. Odd trying something on while sitting in a car. But I think it fits! Pictures coming soon.

I took a few pictures of amazing quilts while working at the Machine Quilters Showcase in Overland Park, KS. But I forgot to take pictures of the maker's info, so I won't be posting any of those pics.

So tired tonight that I had a hard time tearing the paper wrapper on my straw! Didn't sleep well last night. I was still awake at 1 and both of us were awake at 4 am. Off to (hopefully) get a decent night's sleep.

This is where I work

2009-05-15T11:33:00.000-04:00

Well, this is the clean place where I work! You really don't want to see the basement workshop - it is not nearly as clean and neat.

There is only one product in our booth that we don't make. And I don't even think you can see it in this picture!

This is NOT my work

2009-05-14T23:22:00.010-04:00

Last weekend, we were working at the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake City. This is a few of the pictures I took of quilts at the show. I did not make any of these quilts, but was stunned by all of them.

I must have taken 20 shots of this quilt.

The maker's information she provided:

This quilt is made from an antique table cloth! Definately gave me ideas for some table cloths I have in the closet:

And in a wonderful justaposition of fabric, pattern and timetables, here is a closeup of a grandmother's flower garden quilt done in civil war reproduction fabrics. And for the non-quilters, according to quilt historians, the pattern was not around during the civil war. This quilt is wonderfully made and a real beauty.

On my computer, when I click on a picture, a larger view opens. I hope it does for you too!

It's a rescue!

2009-05-13T00:00:00.007-04:00

I was at the HMQS show in Salt Lake city last weekend. The best part of working at all these shows is the wonderful people I meet at every single show. This one of course was no different.

The vendor across the aisle (our "nametags" didn't actually have a name, but I think I can find out what it is) has this "thing" for cross stitch she finds in thrift stores. It absolutely drives her crazy. She buys them all and then puts them in a big basket in her booth to be adopted. This is my rescue haul:

I actually have plans for all of them! These two little pieces will be added to a crazy quilt piece I'm planning:

This one is my absolute favorite. I'm hoping to find an antique oval frame this will fit.

And in the spirit of the rescue basket, this piece will be included in the next charity quilt I make:

I can't actually believe I was this fortunate. Just think .... all these finished pieces and it didn't take me months to do the work!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:54:00.003-04:00

To everyone that gives love, care and attention to a child. Happy Mother's Day!

My Mother's day was fine. Didn't really get to spend the day as I'd hoped, but it wasn't anything horrid or tragic. Got text/phone calls from almost all of my guys. My youngest son Pete called this morning. He was on the way to his new girlfriend's parents house to meet them. And my "adopted" son sent me a quick text message. Bob and I have been "adopted" by a young man that we know.

But my idea was to spend the day in Salt Lake City just relaxing and finding something "touristy" to do. I even found two yarn shops that were open on Sun afternoon. Wrote out the directions and thought I was good to go. But by 10:30 we had eaten breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Bob was ready to move on. And the yarn shops didn't open until noon and nothing else to do for the next hour and a half. So we spent the day driving - currently in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Bet there isn't a yarn shop around here that would possibly be open before we leave in the morning!

The right tools

2009-05-10T10:40:00.000-04:00

As we all know, using the right tools for the job make all the difference in the world. As part of my swap package to Reese, I made a small knitting project bag. And the darn drawstring gave me the hardest time. Well, I finally pulled out the right tool and in minutes the job was done!

The bag came out just the size I was hoping for and I plan on making plenty more of these. I did take a picture of the bag filled with the swap presents, but it came out horribly out of focus. So I leave you with just a teaser:

Ravelry tin swap

2009-05-09T09:34:00.000-04:00

There is a group on ravelry that started because of altoids tins! There is actually an amazing amount of knitting (or any other) stuff that can fit into a tin of that size. So a spin-off group started to swap altoids tins and a few goodies to fit into the tin.

I recently participated in the second of these swaps. And in the questionnaire, I said I'd let my swap partner choose which size tin to send along to me.

Well, she went wild! I was amazingly spoiled and already have plans for the yarn she included. The tins she sent looked like:

And this is all the stuff she managed to put into the tins:

I plan on using the yarn for my next HP inspired afghan squares, the stitch markers are already in use. And see those scissors peeking out? Last summer all of my quilting stuff was stolen from my car. Including those same scissors - and they were a favorite. I am so very happy to have new ones! Thank you Reese!

Road trip knitting

2009-05-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

While this is a picture of partial sock #1, both socks were finished while we travelled cross country. And I even started a top! FO pics to follow shortly....

I bought this yarn in a ravelry destash. The intention was to use the yarn for my sock yarn blanket. But then the bright cheery colors really grew on me and became socks. But I do have enough yarn leftover for more than one square for the blanket.

And Wyoming Sky!

2009-05-07T01:44:00.003-04:00

Please note the date because I really did take this picture today. Although I'm now in Salt Lake City and there is even more snow in the surrounding mountains! I think SLC is one of the prettiest places to go. I just really wish I was I had a day off here during the week. Because even though there are a bunch of yarn shops, I don't think any of them are open after 8 pm or on Sundays. Blech.

Nebraska sky

2009-05-06T01:42:00.000-04:00

It was awful!

2009-05-05T01:36:00.002-04:00

The loading dock anyway. We had done the same show in NH the previous year, but I didn't have a clue what the loading area was like. The same weekend I was in NH, Bob was in Chicago. So I had a rental truck. It was supposed to be a 12' truck, but I ended up getting the 14'. Which partially meant that I was too tall to fit into the parking garage. On the plus side, I didn't have to pay for daily parking. On the seriously minus side, this is a picture of the loading dock:

I almost cried. See those steps? The only way I had to get my product into the show. Fortunately, there was a teenaged boy there working for tips. He was willing to hoist everything from the back of the truck up onto the loading dock. From there, I had a cart to move everything. It took us 30-45 minutes and was the best $20 I had spent in quite awhile.

And because I knew that Bob would never believe me, parking pictures:

Notice the gas cap in the above picture? Notice no gas cap in this picture? Proof I took pictures of both sides of the truck!

Bloody Fantastic

2009-04-18T09:12:00.000-04:00

I am possibly one of the last people on the planet to see Susan Boyle's performance on Britains Got Talent. While on dial-up at home, I saw her picture and read bits about what a tremendous voice she has. I just now saw the YouTube video and like everyone else, I am gobsmacked. That woman has a set of pipes on her that just don't end. And very possibly more self confidence than I will ever possess. She is not interested in a "make-over." Says this is who I am - like it or not. She has charm and charisma and a very confident stage presence. And while the embed feature has been disabled, if you go to this link, you will be able to see the video. What a woman!

In New Hampshire

2009-04-17T21:10:00.002-04:00

Off right now working at the Machine Quilting Expo in Manchester, NH. Weather is wonderful (the brief bit that I'm outside!) and everyone seems interested in our products. Now if we can get some more people through the door and have money they are willing to part with, all will be well!

It's not all knitting around here!

2009-04-06T10:16:00.000-04:00

I've been working (in brief spurts!) on a sample for the booth. At a show earlier this year, the designer was in the booth next to me and I bought some patterns from her. Of course, patterns sell much better if there is a sample. All of the snowmen have either birds or birdhouses on their heads. They are really cute. I think I'm on the fourth one now, but this is the only one I have a photo of right now!

Dragonfly socks are the best!

2009-04-04T10:09:00.001-04:00

I have got to post a thank you to the designer of the Dragonfly sock pattern! I don't have any of the info with me right now, and I'm trying to type/post as fast as I can. But these socks are fantastic! No pooling, no flashing, no weird stuff. Just great stripy goodness!

Even the short row heel didn't cause any issues:

Having trouble with a yarn? You have got to try this pattern! Never mind - I can take the few moments it takes to find the link. Here ya go!

Patience Pays Off!

2009-04-03T12:58:00.003-04:00

My Embrace the Lace package arrived Monday - and I'm glad I waited! Look at the wonderful goodies Jenn of Wool Girl fame included:

Besides the neat pattern, that is two skeins of Malabrigo laceweight, a stitch marker made specifically for the kit, a key chain, note pads, and a small tin to hold the year's stitch markers that currently has a couple of mints and chocolates. Notice the large piece of plastic that everything is sitting on? Well...that my friends is a large vinyl zipper tote for the projects throughout the year! I have several things I want to finish before I dive into the package, but I can't wait!

Embrace the Lace

2009-03-29T10:36:00.000-04:00

I joined Woolgirl's Embrace the Lace club. Shipments every other month - beginning this month! The notice is up - all orders have been shipped. And of course, there's a ravelry group. The nice thing about these groups is the posts are noted if they contain pictures. All nicely labeled "spoiler."

All last year, I peeked at the RSC spoiler pictures. The first Embrace the Lace spoiler was up Sat night when I logged onto ravelry. And I actually didn't look! We'll see how long the willpower lasts. But right now, I don't want to know ahead of time. I'm looking forward to the surprise. So far, the only "clue" given was color - a lot of green hints!

Crochet!

2009-03-28T22:23:00.003-04:00

I was about 12 when my great aunt (my paternal grandmother's sister) taught me to crochet. Using a small metal hook and thread I attempted to make pot holders. It was that last blasted stitch in the row that was my downfall. I'd miss it. Which of course meant that I was making an ever decreasing potholder. My aunt taught me that ripping out mistakes is always the right thing to do. Now, there are occasionally mistakes in my knitting that I'll happily let live in peace. But ripping something out doesn't usually bother me at all. Heck, I ripped out the same sock (totally finished once, past the heel a second time) at least three times before I was happy.

But I haven't been crocheting much lately. It's been the knitting that travels around with me. Which is partly why I'm so happy to be part of the Pot Holder swap! The swap reached their limit on co-authors of the blog and I can't post there. But that sure doesn't stop me from reading.

Thanks to a post on the pot holder blog, I was introduced to Attic24. I love her attitude and cheerfulness. The colors she uses are absolutely wonderful and I really enjoyed her post on 3/25. I can so completely relate to the need to balance everything in my life. Mine is very off-balance right now. It feels like I'm just working, working, working. Which (un/fortunately) is fairly accurate. But anyway....be sure to check out her flowers too. Both the horticultural kind and the crocheted ones.

Hot Pad swap

2009-03-26T10:30:00.001-04:00

I am really looking forward to this swap. My great-aunt taught me to crochet making potholders from crochet thread. I think I'll be using something a bit heavier for this swap!

I've found several patterns that I like. The rules are to knit five of the same pattern, but I'd like to keep track of these patterns.

First, go check out Purple and Paisley. She claims to be a beginner, but look several posts down at her wonderful samples! This one I especially like.

This potholder reminds me of ones my aunt made. Not exactly the same, but similar. But the pattern is in a Japanese book. This pattern is called Gehaekelte Topflappen is looks really cool. Right before leaving for this trip, I printed off the pattern for these Orange Slice Potholders. I can see I'll have my work cut out for me just deciding on a pattern!

edited to add....Oh, no! My first Ravelry pattern search was for "hot pad." I just typed "pot holder" into the search box and and got even more designs to choose from!

Drat!

2009-03-25T22:25:00.002-04:00

I'm a member of the Harry Potter Lover's group in ravelry. Several months ago, someone got the great idea to swap knit or crocheted squares to reproduce Ron's blanket. I'm hosting the second block swap. Well, we're in Ohio right now for a quilt show. Down time while getting to and from Ohio, so I brought along several selected patterns, yarn and needles.

Well, the drat part is the yarn! It's yarn I received in a swap from a fellow raveler. Nothing wrong with the yarn. And it's a color that would be great for the swap. But the blocks are to be made from worsted weight yarn ..... and this is bulky. Drat, drat, drat. Thought I'd have a great start on the blocks I need for the swap. Hopefully, I'll be so incredibally busy during the show that at night I'll be too tired to knit.

Couldn't resist another one

2009-03-22T08:55:00.000-04:00

I was looking through some of my photos from the Chihuly exhibit and fell in love with them all over again.

I know, I know. Absolutely nothing to do with the glass exhibit. Try this one:

Rowing anyone?

I'm not making any promises not to pull out more of these later! Nothing new to show on the knitting front. The sweater body is done. But I'm not near a sewing machine to sew the steeks before cutting. The old sock is ripped, but the new sock isn't started. The yarn was in the hotel room, the needles in the van and the pattern at the convention center! Sounds rather like "who's on first?"!

Joining Fever

2009-03-21T08:12:00.000-04:00

Guess what I just joined??

Crocheted pot holder swap info can be found here. But hurry - deadline is 3/21.

But that wasn't all. Apparently I caught the joining bug tonight. Rather like cast-on-itis, but without the actual knitting! For many years, I collected tins. And then it got out of hand. There were tins literally everywhere in my house. When I got divorced, I bought a 900 sf home. And the majority of the empty tins were given to the local thrift shop. Who were very excited of course. Anyway...awhile ago, a thread started on Ravelry titled "What's in your altoid tin?". The thread was popular, spawned a group, spawned several swaps. Round 2 is just starting. Send a small tin, some things to fit into tin and some special something. Limited to 50 people and I got in early. Just think - a small tin in your knitting bag that holds scissors, tape measure, needles, stitch markers, etc, etc. I hope it is going to be as much fun as I think it will be.

Oh, that's not too bad after all! Somehow, I thought it was worse than that.

Holy Progress, Batman!

2009-03-20T09:36:00.000-04:00

With the magic of stealth knitting, I present to you.....A Body!

This was taken a week ago and I am about thisclose to being done with the body (I think!). Which would leave cutting the steeks, sewing in sleeves, knitting button bands and a collar!

Oh, and finishing pockets:

Stripes!

2009-03-19T09:26:00.000-04:00

I've been working on a sweater. Without an easy way to post, it has turned into a stealth project! I bought a Philosopher's Wool kit at the quilt show I worked at in Denver and started the sleeves on the way home. And look at the wonderful stripes:

You know how when you're working ribbing and change the colors you get those funny bumps? Well, thanks to Norma, I no longer have those. And you can do away with them also. On the row when you change colors, knit all the stitches! From there on out, do your regular ribbing. It truly doesn't effect the ribbing at all and you can't even tell.

Wanna know what else is cool? I am having fun with the Philosopher's Wool (PW) fair isle technique. You weave in every other stitch and never have floats. Which would be a problem in a pattern like this with 9 stitches in color a before 1 stitch in color b. Check it out!

Remember this sock?

2009-03-18T21:16:00.006-04:00

Awhile ago, I posted about ripping out a pair of socks. This is what I started with:

This is the next stage:

I am ripping again. The yarn is doing what Lorna's Laces is (in)famous for. But ya know, if I can wear a pair of socks for a couple of years, rip them out and have yarn worth reknitting, that's some pretty good yarn!

And notice the cute project bag? That was part of my prize winnings for being on the first place Dish Rag Tag Team! Yeah Team! And look at all the great room I have inside:

(P.S. I am in a hotel right now with wireless! The toilet is constantly running and I am hoping that i am exhausted enough that by closing the door, I'll never notice and can get that fixed tomorrow. I think I'll do up a couple of posts and save them for later! Yippee....)

I'm on a roll - two in a row!

2009-03-15T16:30:00.000-04:00

I've quit dusting my house. At least in the traditional way. I have a 900 sf home and we are woodworkers by trade. The woodshop is the basement. I do not have a scrap of carpeting in my house. My dusting now consists of a wet rag and a pan of dishwater. Thought you might like to know!

Wendy has a new sock book coming out this spring sometime. Wendy knits fantastic socks and has been only knitting socks she has designed for quite awhile now. And I am quite sure that no one that reads this blog does not already read hers. Her readership is similar to the Yarn Harlot's I'm sure. Anyway.....the publishers of her book have given her permission to post a free pattern from her book on her blog! Isn't that nice! There is a pdf file - dash over and get yours!

Dial Up Really Does Stink

2009-03-14T16:21:00.002-04:00

Now, if all you've ever had access to was a dial-up connection, well then, dial up is fantastic. But if you have been seduced by the siren call of dsl -or digital or any of the other really fast things out there - and then have to go back to dial-up....well, it stinks.

I have been knitting (sounds rather redundant I know). And I have pictures of said knitting. But the pictures (and even the camera chip I think) are in the laptop. Without any connection. Yuck.

Sometimes I think in lists. Rather odd I know, but there you have it. Short incomplete sentences run through my brain. Just enough so that you know the remainder without ever having to think the remainder.

I constantly wake up with songs running through my mind. Drives me absolutely batty. Leave me ALONE already so I can get a decent night's sleep, will ya!

I have started taking the estroven again. Apparently I was very foolish when I stopped taking the pills because I hadn't had a hot flash in quite awhile and what's the sense of taking something for a symptom that has stopped?? Right. Bob just laughs at me when I roll the window all the way down while riding down the road. Never mind that it might be 30 degrees outside and we are on the interstate. I might be willing to keep the hot flashes if I could just start sleeping again.

I love my Philosopher's Wool sweater that I've been knitting. Actually, I've been wearing another PW sweater almost constantly. I finished it last year and never sewed the buttons on. Buttons on a couple of weeks ago and the sweater has seen constant duty as my coat. I'm sure I will finish this sweater just in time for warm weather.

Ok - there is plenty of work that I really should be doing instead of this. Let's take bets on how long a picture-less post takes to upload, shall we?

Oh, my gosh!

2009-03-04T22:41:00.002-05:00

We safely made it home from Denver on a completely uneventful return drive. Got home to frigid weather (high temps in the 20's anyone?) - and the wireless wasn't working and dialup takes 15 years to post anything, so I didn't. Post anything of course. English teachers have all just rolled over in their graves at the above. So be it.

There has been knitting - but no pictures. And then LOTS of work. Currently, I am in (oh, gosh! I just had to stop and think about where I am!) Atlanta. And there is SNOW on the ground!!! Freak winter storm hit the south. NC actually had more snow on the ground than we did in PA.

But hopefully I will have a chance during daylight hours to take some pictures and hopefully everything will be not quite as boring! If I can get enough pictures taken while we're here, maybe I can even do up a few posts ahead of time!

The Glass Installation

2009-02-03T08:07:00.000-05:00

The glass was installed throughout the Botanical Garden. And there were times it all blended in such an odd, amazing way.

Desert Botanical Garden

2009-02-02T08:58:00.003-05:00

The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix is amazing. Right now there is a glass exhibit by Dale Chihuly. It is amazing and I promise to bore to silly over the next few days with pictures. In fact, since I will be travelling the next few days, I am going to pre-blog some pictures to go up over the next few days.

This is the "opening act" of the exhibit. Although you can actually see one of the pieces from the road, this is the first piece you see after entering the garden.

Saturday Sky, Sunday Arizona Edition

2009-02-01T23:44:00.002-05:00

Night sky at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ

'Nuff Said

2009-02-01T22:50:00.004-05:00

I have been a Steelers fan since sometime in the 70's. And I'm currently in Cardinal's territory. During the show, I had a lot of people stop by my booth wearing red shirts and jerseys.

I don't need to say any more. 27 - 23 says it all!

Maybe I should move here!

2009-02-01T01:55:00.002-05:00

After the absolutely miserable, horrid, no good, very bad drive here, Phoenix has been wonderful. Well, what I've seen of it has been! The show I've been working at is in two buildings. Even if only in the morning before the show opens, I've walked between buildings and enjoyed the wonderful weather. We don't have to be in Denver until Tue evening for set-up on Wed. So we're staying an extra day in Phoenix - where the weather is so nice.

Still not much knitting. Well, no, change that. I finished a mitered square on the blanket while at the car wash and that's been it! But I'll be sure to have a project for the two day (17 hours I think) drive to Denver.

So what do you do with a free afternoon in Phoenix? I asked around, and the unanimous recommendation was to visit the Denver Botanical Garden. Which I actually need to make recommendations for! Until May 31, there is a special exhibit by Dale Chihuly. There are some neat pictures from the exhibit on the garden's site. Imagine a glass exhibit installed throughout a botanical garden! On the recommendation of a friend, my reservation is for the 4 pm to 8 pm time slot and I'm really looking forward to going.

And I'm exhausted. (and the "s" key still sticks. very annoying and no idea what to do about it.) And obviously can't sleep. Bob has been gently snoring behind me for several hours. I think I'm just gonna turn everything off and go to bed anyway. At least I don't have to set the alarm clock in the morning!

When 54 equals 36

2009-01-29T23:41:00.002-05:00

We are currently in Phoenix, AZ. The weather (of course) is gorgeous. And not related to anything at all, my "s" on the keyboard is sticking. It wasn't the last time I used the computer and is now sticking. If I end up with some wierd form of tendonitis, it will be directly related to the "s" key.

Anyway....I checked the weather report. But apparently not very well. Mon we left PA for our trip. Drove south (didn't want to run into snow on the quicker but northern route). Made it through PA and MD, went into WV next. And ran into sleet, snow and ice. Through West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. It was only after getting west of Oklahoma City that the conditions improved. At times we travelled 30-35 miles per hour. And we were afraid to stop somewhere because we didn't know how much worse everything would be when we got back on the road. The 36 hour trip took 54 hours. We stopped twice for two hours each time. We stopped at Panera once and Subway once, got sandwiches and got right back on the road. Whoever was in the passenger seat (usually me) was not ever able to sleep. The conditions were too bad to relax enough.

Even though the mileage may be more, if we do this show next year, we will take I-40. The southern route would have been much better.

I do have a bit (small bit considering how long I was in the car) of knitting. If I take any pictures sometime soon, I'll tell ya about it!

The Yarn Harlot and I

2009-01-25T11:03:00.003-05:00

I have come to the realization that I do not have enough silence in my day. I haven't been sleeping well at night even though I'm exhausted. And when I do sleep, I have wierd dreams. I won't bother you with the one night before last - it still creeps me out!

But last night, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee showed up at my house! Totally unexpected, but she came knocking at the front door. She brought a chicken for the next night's dinner and needed two limes for the marinade. Steph wasn't too happy that I only had lemons in the house. She did like the soap in my shower (from gotsoap.com) and teased me about needing to buy toothpaste. (Even in my dreams I need to go to the store! Yikes) She's just as entertaining, witty, and fun in "real life" as you would expect. I'm not sure what she brought to knit, but of course there was knitting.

There are several bright, glaring problems with this whole thing. All seem about equally important, but the most obvious are:

a. I don't know Stephanie! She'd be welcome, but why is she showing up at my house??
b. We don't live in the same country even.
c. She's a vegetarian. Brought chicken for dinner??

At least it was fun while it lasted.

If we ever get everything ready, we are leaving for shows in Phoenix and Denver. Wish us luck!

Let's see if I can do this!

2009-01-19T10:07:00.002-05:00

I know I will be person 80 kazillion who downloads this. But it's worth it. My favorite part? Aside from the singers of course. The white haired/bearded caucasion gentleman and the younger black woman singing to each other.

Edited later: Well, embedding a YouTube video was much easier than I thought. But now HBO has removed it. I think I saw a German (?) based video link on Ravelry. I'll change mine if the other link works.

Boring seems to be going around!

2009-01-19T05:12:00.000-05:00

I've read a few blogs lately that all have the same lament - Everything is boring! Well, it is winter. Like so much of the country, I am getting almost daily snow. Boring. It is bitter, bitter cold. Boring. I'm working a lot. Boring. Not much knitting. Even more boring!

Let's have a link-fest! While driving along minding my own business earlier, I was thinking about the whole boring thing. I'm pretty boring in print. In person, not usually as boring (at least I hope not!), but I need someone to bounce words off of. A Gracie to my George if you will. And while I do have a somewhat dry sense of humour, that sure doesn't come across well in print. But anyway.....I was thinking of people's blogs I've read lately that aren't boring. So I am going to do some links and ask you to do the same. Tell us about some blogs that you enjoy. And not the wildly popular ones, please. The Yarn Harlot and The Pioneer Woman don't need extra readers - thousands read already.

I love Marguerite's photography. And she's a wicked knitter to boot.

Alwen lives in "sw outer nowhere, Michigan" - so if anyone's weather will make you feel better, hers will! She recently made a double knit nametag! Scroll through. And she knits with thread! I kid you not. She sometimes uses Valdani thread - the same brand that I use for machine quilting!

Amber was who got me started on the whole boring thing. She then has put up multiple posts - including one loaded with pictures of things she got at the farmer's market. It's winter, right?! Quite a haul.

Michelle not only was given a beautiful shawl/stole, but she recently repurposed some yarn into a lovely hat for herself! Go check it out!

In the "more popular" category, but not to be missed is Kathy. Adorable grandchild, adorable Sofee, and some wonderful knitting.

Chan's is the knitter of Michelle's lovely stole. For details and info, be sure to scroll down a bit. At the top right now is a lovely tribute to her late father. If you're inclined to tears, this might do it, so you are warned. But she does end the post with a funny story about the man.

In the team category, I like Anne and Martina's blog. I enjoy their blog all of the year, but especially the dishcloth swap Anne has instigated. Dishcloths? Why yes - always the right size, easy time commitment and always needed!

And while I said try not to list the more popular blogs, I can't leave out The Rainey Sisters. Another "team" blog. Right now, you will be treated to adorable knit elephants and a stunning Bohus.

I hope you will do a blog post of your own full of fun links. And please leave a comment here with a link so we know to check out yours. It would also be nice to leave comments on the new-to-you blogs!

Happy Monday everyone!

A Question about Comments

2009-01-16T14:57:00.002-05:00

I have a question about comments that are left on my blog. And now that I have come out of my shell (those that know me in real life are laughing their heads off about that!) I've started getting a few comments. Of course, the secret is to actually leave a comment or two on the vast array of blogs that I read. Duhhh....

Sometimes I get a real email address for the person leaving the comment. Such as sallyjo@yahoo.etc (not that i know as SallyJo, but you know what I mean). But a lot of the time, the return email address is noreply@blah, blah, blah.

How do I let the person with the noreply know that I appreciate the comment - or even pose a response? If it's a real email, that's easy. And I may or may not send an email back - I think I usually end up leaving a comment on that person's blog. And to me, that works out great (hope they feel that way too!).

It's not like I stay awake nights worried about it or anything, but I would like to be able to respond. Any suggestions, ideas or hints??

Is it dinner yet?

2009-01-16T08:56:00.000-05:00

I've been using my crockpot a lot lately. I work from home. Which usually means that I don't have set working hours. I really appreciate the convenience of dinner being ready whenever I'm hungry! Finding the Crockpot Love group on Ravelry has been a lot of fun. And finding the Crockpot 365 blog has been great! I just made the Salsa Chicken and black bean soup recipe. Oh.my.gosh. That is so good. The smell made me hungry and it was tough waiting until dinner time! I used dry beans that I soaked overnight. And you do need to remember one thing with dried beans - salty or high acid foods will not let the beans get tender. I cooked the beans and broth alone for several hours on high before adding the rest of the ingredients. I also added some chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper and some sliced carrots. Absolutely yummy.

It's been a week?

2009-01-15T20:32:00.005-05:00

A week since I last posted. Wasn't it just a couple of entries ago that I said I would make every effort to post several times a week? Hmmm....so tell us, Felicia, how is that working for you?

Oklahoma City was nice. I was too tired by the end of the day to venture off the hotel to convention center path, so I never found a great restaurant for dinner. I tried a couple of different places that were all just ok. But it's not like I starved. The weather was wonderful. And I have never seen so many women with very long hair in one place! Honestly....at least three women with hair at or below their hips! One with hair that was probably to the back of her knees! Most were in jeans, so I really don't think it was a religious thing. They just wore their hair very long.

But I never posted the finished Christmas stocking! I had it finished around the 22nd - and then found out the baby didn't need a stocking - in fact already had one. So I guess this one is going into a drawer or something until I need a Christmas stocking! I highly recommend this pattern! Scroll down to the Christmas stockings. With the recommendations from Ravelry, I cast on more stitches than called for in the pattern. With the multiples used in the stitch designs, either 80 or 84 stitches will work great. I still need to weave in the ends, block and sew a lining, but I'm callin her done!

From the Headlines, On the Road

2009-01-08T20:23:00.005-05:00

From the news....Consumers cut back on their borrowing in record setting amounts. So tell me, how is not borrowing bad? The fact that for a change, American's are not spending more than they earn is bad. Isn't the current economic situation a direct result of ....hmmm....spending more than we earn??? So now "they" are telling us that living on credit is good? I am very confused.

"recession proof Big-M*cs" - The burger giant has used its dollar menu to hold onto its cash strapped customers. The concern is that when income levels are down, our diets suffer. The money isn't as available for fresh fish, produce and whole grain foods. According to statistics, lower income usually equals more obesity and the health problems associated with obesity. With less food dollars, people fill up on calories at the expense of nutrition. And with the dollar menues offered by all of the fast food chains, people will be filling up on high calorie, high fat, low nutritional value items. The thought of a "value" meal for dinner at any of the fast food chains turns my stomach - I can't stand the thought of eating that. Think I'd rather have oatmeal or popcorn for dinner!

Pornography industry needs $5B bailout - Frankly, I think Congress asked for this. Congress is the one that opened the barn door. Once the government decided that they needed to/should bail out private businesses, where is the line drawn? And where can I sign up for my own bailout? Because I can show tax documents that will show the change in my income level over the last few years. I need my own bailout! And when I find out where to apply, I'll let you know too.

Edited to add this one because it was too good to leave out! http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AkfMruBdjGqt0IHMT94mHjB1_aF4/SIG=11o753oui/**http%3A//thinkprogress.org/2009/01/07/teen-pregnancy/

Shoot - the whole "cut/paste" thing didn't work right. And now I can't find the same headline again. Anyway, it was something along the line of "Once a strong abstinence only state, GA now leads nation in teen pregnancy." And I have probably mangled the whole thing. drat.

Brussel Sprouts?

2009-01-05T09:58:00.001-05:00

From the hang tag on my tea:

"We would be in paradise if Eve had tempted Adam with brussel sprouts."

from a feminist persepective, we would be there if Adam would have been tempted by them.

On my way to Oklahoma City for the Winter Embroidery Show. Wish me luck!

What's in your spam folder?

2009-01-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

I check my spam folder on a regular basis before deleting. In my work email, I've found orders and legitimate inquiries. In the personal folder I find an occasional personal email or newsletter I've signed up for. But most of the time? It's amazing!

I can get free clothes and diapers for my new baby (menopause anyone??), breast enhancement (the holiday gift men really want), penis enlargement (Hmmm...) and pet grooming tools. I can get money - there are an awful lot of people in my spam folder who receive LOTS of money. Or a job....as a nurse, policeman, federal officer, mystery shopper, and I think I get invited to join the military (see menoapuse above). I can also get a job as a massage therapist (see breast augmentation above), lots of cheap cars (right now I think anyone can get a discounted car), and more dates than you can shake stick at. Well, if you're getting augmentation at both ends, I imagine the dating can be a bit over the top. Plus pictures! Don't forget the pictures...sounds like more than Flickr has in all their files. I also get a new credit score about every 15 minutes and new auto insurance quotes just about as often. My private email account is with Yahoo. And while it may get a tremendous amount of spam, the spam folder works wonderfully. And it is good for a bit of a chuckle. Now if I could just get my dates scheduled between the surgeries and insurance meetings and job interviews I'd have it made!

NaKniMitMo

2009-01-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Jan has been named National Knit Mittens Month. I can go along with that. I mean, the koolhaas gloves were supposed to be part of that. I haven't done much charity knitting for awhile. So I'm thinking to do some mittens for that - either Mittens for Akkol or CIC. Probably plain vanilla mittens. Or maybe some Very Cabley Mittens I also want to knit the Druid Mittens pattern since it was published in the Fall Vogue. Those will be for me! And not too long ago, I bought the book Knitting New Mittens & Gloves by Robin Melanson. Maybe something from there like Golden Bracelets (technically gloves, but who cares!)or Jack in the Box Mittens. I'm not sure if/when I'd make them, but I really like the idea of the Strata pattern. Strata consists of coordinating gloves, fingerless gloves and short fingered gloves to mix and match and wear together depending upon how cold it is. Ingenious!