Knotty Purls

SALE

2008-11-01T18:26:00.004-05:00

To celebrate Piglet's second birthday I am having 20% off all memory boards in my shop. They have already been marked down so stop by and say hello. www.memoriestoyou.etsy.com

One of these days I will have knitting again! I just finished a hat, mittens and scarf for Piglet but he refuses to wear the scarf and the hat is at school - I hope!

A little bit of self-promotion!

2008-10-21T09:47:00.003-05:00

One of my Etsy teams is having a challenge and the top votes get to participate in the trunk show. OF course I think mine is the best but I will let you guys decide for yourself.

Check it out over here.

I'm In!!!!!

2008-10-20T11:32:00.003-05:00

I just got accepted to open a shop over at Lollishops, a new etailer site. I read about them over on Etsy and thought I would apply, just to work on my spiel. I never dreamed I would be accepted! I read where people were turned down several times and they had gorgeous stuff so I really was not expecting to get in. Oh boy... now I have to start working like a crazy woman. The beta launch is November 15 and the official opening is November 28, which also happens to be Piglet's birthday!

Business is Booming

2008-09-22T13:51:00.004-05:00

A huge thank you to those of you who stopped by my Etsy shop. I have now sold three memory boards. I recently added a bunch of stuff and this coming week I will be adding approximately four new boards.

To celebrate... I purchased a new banner and avatar from Masselyn... a designer on Etsy. Her graphic designs are beautiful.

Of course you know what all this means... very little knitting time. I managed to finish the Hemlock Blanket (#2) and spend a little time on the February Lady Sweater. Hemlock is going to be a Christmas gift so I am waiting a bit to block it and take better photographs. Reid... well, I think it is headed to the frog pond. The pattern is a huge pain in the ass and I really have no desire to keep knitting on it.

Only 69 days until Big Boy gets home!

Our first ambulance ride

2008-09-03T19:02:00.004-05:00

I ask you... does this look like a sick kid?
Ok, what about this...

A few weeks ago I took Piglet to Urgent Care because he was having difficulty breathing and his rescue inhaler wasn't working. After about four hours they decided that his breathing was not returning to normal in the correct amount of time and he would need to be hospitalized. The catch... our little hospital didn't have the facilities to care for him so he needed to go to the Naval Hospital at Portsmouth - about 20 miles away. I had a choice to either leave my car there for the night and ride in the ambulance or let my baby go in the ambulance alone. Guess which one I didn't do! Thanks to good friend MaryAnne my dogs were fed and pottied for the two days we were in the hospital and my car was delivered to me. Piglet was ready to go home the next day but his doctors didn't agree. Personally, I think he was so cute and entertaining they decided to keep him.

We have an appointment next week with a pediatric pulmonary specialist to make sure we are on the right track for controlling his asthma.

In the middle of everything I decided to start selling my memory boards. I opened a little Etsy shop. There are a few more boards that need to be added but with Piglet home from school the past week, I haven't had the time.

Annabelle is doing much better. The prednisone is working so they are moving her to another immunosuppressant that has fewer side effects but works a little slower. She will have another CBC next week to see how she is progressing. She is definitely feeling stronger and has even tried wrestling with Baby Baxter. Unfortunately she is still starving and has been known to chase Piglet around for a cheese stick. Last week I told Big Boy that if I had to dole out medication to one more person in this house I was going to have myself committed just for the rest and relaxation!

Speaking of Big Boy. Only 90 days left until he heads home!

A New Creation by Me!

2008-08-19T13:07:00.003-05:00

If you are like me and have tons of pictures on your refrigerator, then you need one of these... After seeing crappy memory boards in the stores, I decided to make my own. Ok, it looks a little crappy too, but it does the trick.

Once the crafting bug bit I couldn't stop. I made this little cork board for Piglet's room.

His is done with baseball ribbon. I turned the buttons into pushpins. This will be perfect for hanging his artwork in his room.

I also did one for Big Boy's room in Afghanistan but somehow didn't take a picture. I think I ran out of time during that two months it hid in the closet. His is done in camouflage and I used black ribbon with the buttons from one of his old uniforms.

I'm Sizzling... NOT!

2008-08-15T10:52:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it has been a month and a half since I posted. This has been one wild and crazy summer. Piglet and I took a trip to Orlando to visit the parents. It was... well... like any visit with family. Shortly after returning we discovered that Annabelle, our 11-year-old Great Pyrenees mix, was very sick. We knew she was very anemic but it took several mortgage payments to figure out why. Turns out she has Immune Mediated Anemia, which, along with severe hip dysplasia, has made her extremely weak. She is now on Prednisone every day along with painkillers and glucosamine and Omega 3 fatty acids in hopes of getting her back up to speed. Our goal right now is to help her be comfortable until Big Boy gets home in December. Sadly, she was the only dog who would play with Baxter so now he is desperately in need of a friend. We decided it was either send him to “camp” every week or get him a puppy. Today he is off frolicking with new friends at our vet clinic’s daycare program!

The title of my post really does have a meaning. Last I posted I was working on Sizzle. It is finished… but I do not feel sizzling in it. The back portion is too large. Actually, it probably isn’t, but I tend to wear things that are more form fitting so I feel like it is. Last night at SnB we discussed a number of ways for me to fix this problem (without frogging) and most of them required a skill I do not have - sewing! I have to wonder if I should just stick to making blankets and scarves!

In the meantime I started two new projects. Reid is going to be a gift for Piglet’s half-sister for Christmas. It is done in light blue for the body and dark blue for the trim. She has the same blue eyes as Piglet so the blue will be beautiful on her. Of course as soon as I purchased all the yarn, the cashier at Michael’s handed me a coupon for 25% off my entire purchase this weekend. So, I returned all the yarn and will re-buy it on Sunday.

February Lady Sweater is the second project I cast on. The Superwash Bamboo from Elann is sooooo soft. I just hope the darn thing fits. It is top down construction so I get to try it on as I go. So far I am trying on each inch!

Lastly, I completed a sweater for Piglet. It is very cute. A little big, but cute. I have to make it big because the boy is growing every month. I just wish his head would stop growing, but I guess it is housing a big brain. He is coming up with new words every day and learning new stuff that scares the bejeezus out of me. His new favorite toy is my old cell phone. I never thought I would see the day when I had to tell my nearly two year old that he could not have his cell phone at the dinner table or take it to school.

Only 107 more days until Big Boy gets home… but who’s counting.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-02T19:30:00.003-05:00

Gosh, it feels like forever since I last posted. Let’s see, I have done some stash enhancement, a little knitting and a lot of nose wiping. Piglet cut four more teeth, had pneumonia and an asthma attack. There have been trips to the park, the museum, playdates, a lot of sweat and a lot of nose wiping.

Stash enhancement has included eight more skeins of the Artyarns Royal Silk to finish up Sizzle as well as ten skeins of Superwash Bambooin order to do the February Lady Sweater and this lovely skein of Vesper that I scored in a destash on Ravelry. Yummy!!

I’ve managed to accomplish a little knitting. It is usually reserved for the evenings since, as the SnB gals will tell you, when the Piglet is awake, there is no time for knitting. The boy is nonstop. He is learning so much at school (or coooool as he calls it) and has recently blown me away with saying “thank you” in the correct context along with putting his empty cup in the kitchen sink. He is too short to reach so he just stands back and throws it in. The most recent is to mimic me putting on my bra, to include the um, frontal adjustments. And today, he discovered his own boobies and enjoys calling them boo boos. How can you not laugh at that!

Oh, you wanted to see the knitting. There is a second Hemlock blanket. It was supposed to be a wedding gift but I decided that two kids who don’t have a pot to pee in probably need dishes and not a hand wash and block blanket. If it doesn’t go to SIL, it will make a nice gift for someone else.

Next up is the Sizzle. The yarn is silk held with a strand of Zephyr to give it more weight. I am spoiled for anything else now. The yarn is so deliciously yummy. I just cast on for the front and I hope to have it finished by my Vegas trip.

Last is Piglet’s sweater. Due to my inability to do math, I changed the body from cabling to just 4x2 ribbing. The sleeves only will be cabled. Will it look funny? I thought it would be way too big for him but he seems to be in a constant growth spurt these days so it should fit perfect by fall.

This month we are off to Orlando to visit with Grandma and Papa and in August I go to Vegas with my two girlfriends and I am trying to squeeze in a trip to Maine for the wedding and my Grandmother’s 90th birthday party. I’m afraid I am going to have to sell my soul to the devil though and spend a day with the in-laws. I’m sure I will have great stories and photos to come!

Big Boy, Don't Look!

2008-05-31T18:13:00.003-05:00

Had to put in the warning title because Big Boy will be receiving these in the mail for Father's Day.

Poor Piglet was not in photo mood this morning. The poor baby is getting his last tooth, his nose is running and he is coughing. The photos are both for Father's Day and for Piglet's 18-month birthday.

My day was made better when I got to take these photos...

Montego Bay is done! All of the big details are over on Ravelry. As you can see, I decided to do the fringe. It took two glasses of wine and a late night but once I dove in, it was pretty fun. The pattern says to braid the fringe but for now I am going to leave it as is. I love this scarf. I love everything about it - the pattern, the yarn, the color, the weight, the smell.

And finally, a little yarn p0rn for ya'll. In case you didn't know, (and I didn't) anyone who donated 10 lousy bucks during RavelRaiser 2008 went into a drawing for prizes. I was a winner! I won a $30 gift certificate to Khetala's Etsy Shop and this is the yarn I chose. It is a laceweight and the color is called Deep Sea Follies. If you get a chance, check out her shop!

I'm Still Here!

2008-05-27T12:13:00.003-05:00

I have not abandoned you, I promise. It has been a busy few weeks and now that we have Big Boy off to play in the sandbox it is quieter. LOL! I just made a joke! I have managed a little knitting in between sleeping, eating and keeping Piglet out of trouble - a task that isn't nearly as fun as it sounds!

Montego Bay is nearly finished and I have to say, this is the easiest knit ever. I can even work on it with Piglet around because there is no way to screw up the pattern. I still have to cut the fringe and I have to admit, I'm a little scared. I have never made fringe and the thought of cutting this beautiful yarn into 200 pieces makes my eyes roll into the back of my head.

I started a little sweater for Piglet. It is in Cascade 220 and the cable pattern is from Stitchionary 2. I think the color will bring out his blue eyes. Of course when I make the size that will fit his chest and fit over his melon sized head, the arms are very long. I am already at the length of his arm and still have a bunch more increases to do. I guess I can roll up the sleeves.

I did a little stash enhancement over the weekend. This is Claudia Handpaint Silk Lace. Can we all say YUM! There is a little story behind this yarn. I bought it in hopes it would make a nice stole to go with a dress that I may or may not fit into, for a wedding that I may or may not be invited to and may or may not attend if I am invited. Make sense? Well, can't fault a girl for being prepared. Well, as I was squeezing my butt into the dress and trying to figure out if I need to lose weight or just buy some of those suckitallin underpants I realized that I already have a stole that would look great with the dress. Yep, I have Print O' The Wave - a stole that created a lot of headache for me and has not been worn yet. Since this whole wedding deal is going to end up giving me a headache (it is a long story that includes small towns, family, friends, a church and a partridge in a pear tree!) I think the stole would be appropriate! Piglet figured the bee would help enhance the colorway "Walk in the Woods". The funny thing is, this colorway is not really me. But, each of the colors in there are! Still, it caught my eye and would not let go.

Speaking of the little monster... he had his very own cup of ice cream last night. He was so disgusting that I would not bring him into the house and instead "bathed" him in his swimming pool!

Buttons, Buttons... Who's Got The Buttons?

2008-05-05T13:00:00.004-05:00

My Tangled Yoke is complete (and all the details are in my Ravelry page) and is just waiting for me to drag my happy ass over to the JoAnn’s and buy some buttons. I would like to say that there is no hurry and the sweater wearing days are over for a few months, but around here, one never knows.

There has been knitting and un-knitting (I believe you professionals call it frogging?) ‘round these parts. I sent the Lady Eleanor packing and in its place I have Montego Bay - a pattern that is simple to memorize and will take 1/4 of the time. It looks pretty and I think I may make a second one in a stashed yarn as a gift. As it turns out, Amy had this in mind all along when she bought the yarn.

I also started Sizzle a few weeks ago. And, just to keep my fellow SnB’ers laughing, I frogged it. It was justified. Really, it was. I used Main Line and found it was just too heavy for the pattern, and the summer. Of course I would have known all this if I had done a little research on the yarn and pattern before just diving in.

It has been a crazy few weeks here in the Knotty house. I need a t-shirt that says “I survived the Grandparent invasion of 2008”. My parents came to help out with yard work and Piglet (‘cause the two do not go well together!). Of course he managed to get sick while they were here and I lost my “parent of the year” badge because I refused to take him to the emergency room for what ended up being two new teeth. Sigh Then Big Boy came home. His second training was cancelled and he will be here until May 18. After that though, we are on our own. The not so little Piglet has been keeping us hopping. We have new words and skills every day (well, if you can call trying to throw your sippy cup in the toilet a skill) - his words this week are “school”, “ow”, “out”, and “uh-oh”. Of course he doesn’t use any of them in the correct context but at least we have more variety than “hi” and “gogogo” a million times a day.

Last week Big Boy’s parents arrived to ~~drive me nuts~~ visit with Piglet. They seem to be under the impression that I would enjoy visiting them while Big Boy is gone. I hate to burst their bubble but I have no intention of even answering their phone calls for the next six months, let alone hopping on a plane with kid and baggage!

And speaking of nuts… knitting seems to be full of them. I have now managed to read all 10,000 posts in the MCY thread and am waiting in anticipation for the day the undead Danielle is finally caught. Add to that the great Mystery Lace mystery of 2008 and you have yourself one hell of a train wreck. What can I say, it is better than anything on television these days!

So, what is next on the knitting calendar? I am going to do a sweater for Piglet in these colors from Cascade 220. I plan to do an all-over pattern from Vogue Stitchionary but I haven’t decided if I should do a v-neck or a hoodie.

The Lady is a Tramp!

2008-04-25T18:06:00.003-05:00

What else can you say about a pattern that is working its way through your stash? A pattern that you think will be perfect for a yarn but then leaves you hanging for a better, more expensive yarn? A pattern that looks fabulous in the dark but come the light of day its a double bagger?

Yes folks, the Lady Eleanor has once again made her way to the frog pond. I spent many months working on it in the lovely Sea Silk that Amy sent me and I did find it beautiful, but, that itty bitty yarn in an entrelac pattern became a chore. The yarn is gorgeous and deserves something light and airy - like strawberries needing angel food cake and whipped cream. I think it will be most happy as the Montego Bay.

It has been a crazy few months around our casa. Big Boy has been in Texas and was supposed to go to Wisconsin before heading to Afghanistan but at the last minute he was sent back home for three weeks. We are happy to have him here! On Tuesday our Calvin had a cancerous tumor removed. We are still awaiting the results of the biopsy and are hopeful that they got it all and we will have our little Chow Pei for a few more years. It is hard to watch the babies age.

My parents visited this week and spoiled Piglet rotten. He has enjoyed having attention 24/7 and I enjoyed the slight break. Next week the in-laws will visit. I am VERY glad that Big Boy will be here to act as a buffer.

Oh the places we will go

2008-04-07T11:52:00.004-05:00

Edited to add better photos!

Before I tell you about our latest travels I will show you the latest in the Knotty repertoire of finished objects.

Details:

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket from Jared Flood
Yarn: Ecological Wool by Cascade in Latte
Needles: size 10.5 Options
Size: Ginormous - seriously, this picture is taken with me standing on my bed (and I whacked my head on the ceiling fan - the things I will go through for ya'll)! I ran out of room on the foam blocks and had to pin parts of it to my bedroom floor - good thing I just vacuumed. Now I just have to find a way to keep all the feet off it for the night.

If I were to make this again I would probably change the bind off. The ruffled bind off is pretty but it is a PITA to block

Now, for the good stuff. Did you see me on television? Yep, I was on the news in several different cities. Last week Piglet and I headed to San Antonio to spend the weekend with Big Boy. We got to Atlanta on Wednesday night and as I walked to my gate I wondered why there were a bunch of long lines at the ticket counters. Little did I know! Our flight ended up being cancelled. Since I would have had to stand in a very long line with a toddler I opted to have Big Boy buy us some tickets on another airline - for the next day. The hotels all sold out so Piglet and I spent the night in Hotel Hartsfield! A local station interviewed us around 2:00 a.m. and apparently stations around the country picked it up. By the time our flight took off I felt like a Sherpa as I was carrying a baby, car seat, stroller, diaper bag and purse! So, that wasn’t bad enough… the next day got even better. Piglet exploded all over himself and his very last diaper. There I was, in an airplane with no diaper! Fortunately the flight attendants were willing to go up and down the aisle asking if anyone with a toddler was willing to give up a diaper. We ended up with a diaper too big and no clothes. Wait, it gets better… my luggage had not arrived when I got to San Antonio and Piglet was still naked. I finally broke down in the Target as I searched for things that would get me through the next two days without my luggage. The weekend ended up being fun despite it all. We spent time with friends and took Piglet to Sea World. I also got in a few hours at La Cantera mall where I played with the iPhone that I will eventually buy (and I bought a pretty pink case). I am happy to say that our trip home was uneventful. Well, with the exception of traveling with a toddler.

And speaking of the ~~monster~~ Piglet. He started “school” this week and seems to enjoy his days. Of course this means that I have to buy more storage boxes to hold all the pompom caterpillars. I think he is just happy they have goldfish crackers for snack every day!

There is one last bit of knitting info… I frogged the cabled yoke of Tangled Yoke today and I will restart it on size 4 needles.

I think I tangled my yoke

2008-03-21T12:35:00.008-05:00

I really have been knitting these past few weeks. I figured it was time I proved that to all. First up is the Tangled Yoke sweater from Eunny. I think I may have messed it up though. See, I used a size 4 needle on the body to get gauge. When I got to the yoke portion I went up to a size 5 needle because I was afraid the cabling would pull in too much, making the shoulders way too tight (plus my shoulders are wider than any other part of my body). Now, I'm afraid they may be too large. So, here is my question to ya'll... do I rip out those 36 rows of cabling and go back to the smaller needle or do I just switch now to the smaller needle and finish up hoping that it won't look too big.
The second project is Hemlock from Jared Flood, et al. I am doing it in the Ecological Wool from Cascade. I think I am about halfway through the chart now. This is a great television/SnB (if I ever get there to knit without Piglet) knit because you only have to pay attention every fifth row!

The final project is this... This is the one that occupies most of my time. Actually, I spend lots of time trying to figure out ways to occupy HIS time. Now that he is walking he is getting more and more brave each day, and I am getting more and more tired. Tomorrow we are off to an Easter egg hunt. As long as it isn't raining, I hope to have great pictures and great candy!

Artifacts

2008-03-09T12:20:00.011-05:00

A few weeks ago at SnB I was mentioning this pillowcase that showed up in my mailbox. It belonged to Big Boy when he was a child and his mother has held on to it for… well… too many years. She seemed to think that I would want it for Piglet. Big Boy knew it was on its way and yet neglected to tell me until I was standing in the middle of the kitchen holding it by one corner and saying, “what the fuck is this thing”. At that point he laughed until I cried. My Big Boy still drools like a five year old so you know it was even worse when he was five. Yes, that is a stain... only one of the many stains.

Not to mention, the pillowcase has been starched (yes, MIL did and still does have the maid starch her sheets and pillow cases - sleeping on them is a great way to get your skin exfoliated) so it now has this weird feel to it.

As I was talking about the pillowcase Lindsey remarked that she would like to see photos of “the bowl”. This baby was a wedding gift and I have tried repeatedly to get rid of it but somehow, it still lives. I have asked the movers to drop it but they refuse and instead drop my very expensive desk that I love. It is hand made of some sort of indestructible pottery (the people in tornado alley should build their houses from it, it’s that good!). I can’t give it away because it has our names and wedding date on it. If you know of anyone else with our names and wedding date, give me a holler and I will happily pop this in the mail to them. You can hang it on the wall with the nifty little hanger on the back.

Last night we were without power for over two hours. It was windy as all get out and apparently some lines went down a few blocks away. This was not been a fun time because A) I am not a back-to-nature kind of gal and I really enjoy television and B) I am scared shitless of the dark, especially when I am home alone. Now, I have three giant dogs that are absolutely worthless in this sort of situation. Calvin could care less about me; I am only here to serve him. Annabelle is as afraid of the dark as I am and follows me around like Velcro. She does however enjoy the flashlight and will chase the beam of light around occasionally running into a wall and giving me some entertainment. Baxter, well, he ate a book yesterday so he was sleeping off his fiber hangover.

I want to say thanks for all the suggestions on ways to amuse myself that will not land me in jail. I would love to take a pottery class but our adult ed system here seems to neglect those of us in between diapering years. If I needed my GED though I would be all set. I live in an area with a very high dropout rate so I guess they figure that folks need to be working on something other than bowl making. I am looking at taking a jewelry making class at the local bead store, but I have to wait until Piglet is enrolled in daycare. And of course I have to make sure that it doesn’t cut into my budget for my girl’s trip to Vegas! Think Piglet can exist on Ramen noodles?

I Need a Talent!

2008-03-02T20:11:00.002-05:00

I am totally talentless. Ok, I knit. But that isn’t really a talent. It is the ability to follow directions; a skill learned at age five that will, supposedly, keep one out of prison. I can’t play the piano; I know, I tried for many years and frankly, I sucked. I can’t design bows like Rachel. I can’t scrapbook; again, I tried and royally sucked. What can I do? Well, I can shop and feed myself without having to change clothes after. Not exactly skills that will earn me some $$$. Well, shopping might but here where I live the average income does not allow for hiring a personal shopper to pick up your unmentionables at Wally World.

Ok, so by now you are probably wondering why I am droning on about my inability to do much more than turn oxygen into carbon dioxide. Well, because Big Boy leaves on Wednesday and will not darken our doors for another nine months. I need something that will occupy my hours besides keeping Piglet out of the toilets. In April, Piglet will start “school” three days a week and I am afraid that I will have nothing to do. What will occupy my evenings once the television season has ended? What will occupy my afternoons if Court TV doesn’t have a decent trial? I will have SnB on occasion but I can’t subject them to the whining of a toddler on a weekly basis - it just wouldn’t be nice. Last time I made it through by working, taking class and volunteering nearly full-time. Now, my time will revolve around nap and lunch.

Truth is, this deployment is harder because of Piglet. I know how much Big Boy enjoys spending time with him and it breaks my heart that he will miss so much. He gets such a thrill from teaching Piglet new things and I’m afraid I won’t have the patience or energy to take up the slack.

I guess I should talk about happy stuff. We had a nice, short vacation to Florida. We stopped along the way to visit with Susan and her family. I wish we had had more time because Piglet really liked Boogie. She was showing him a little of his future by having him hold her crayons while she colored. From there it was on to Orlando to visit with my parents. We didn’t get to do a whole lot because it was so freaking cold. Then it was on to Ft. Myers for a Red Sox game. Sadly, it was during that time we found out that Big Boy would not be coming home in April as originally planned. So, we headed home a day early. Leave it to the stupid Army to ruin a perfectly good vacation.

I know some of ya'll really enjoy the cool weather but I hope you will humor me and pray for sun and warmth from now until December. I am like a plant - I need direct sunlight to survive!

Musings From The Gym

2008-02-13T12:44:00.001-05:00

I joined the Y back in July and it has been an interesting experience. My old gym had members who were seriously trying to get into/stay in shape. The Y... well, it is equal opportunity. I thought I would share some tips with those of you who are considering joining a gym.

Yoga is supposed to help me find my inner peace. I can't find inner peace when your outer pie hole is yapping.
Unless you are a surgeon who is on call to perform a life saving operation you do not need your cell phone turned on in said yoga class.
I understand the concept of "workout buddies" but this does not mean that you have to stand around each other's weight machines and hog same machine.
If there is an open machine in another room, please use it instead of asking someone else to get off theirs just because it has the flat screen television.
300 pound man... I don't care how much you can bench press, you still have a beer gut and are sweaty. Stop trying to impress!
Please do not wear perfume. I understand you want to not smell sweaty but when you get hot and sweaty, that CoCo Chanel smells like CaCa Chanel.

Ok, got that off my chest. Hopefully it will help those of you as you head to the gym. Feel free to let me know if you have a tip you would like to add.

I have had a little fiber in my life over the past few weeks. Maybe I should change that to say Yarn so that I don't get a bunch of spam regarding my colon health.

Here is a skein of the Eco Wool that will be used to make the Hemlock Ring Blankie once my needle tips arrive. I have three skeins so it will be a very big blankie.

A second pair of Fetching are working their way off the needles. The yarn is Elann's Highland Wool along with some Diwa. I love the way the two purples look together. I have all the details over on my Ravelry page. This is a super easy pattern and one that I could do repetitively without going comatose.
I also busted out this little baby hat for charity. Not sure which charity yet. It is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and the size is toddler. No, it will not fit a toddler sized head. Again, all the details can be found here.
Finally, I realized I haven't given you Piglet love in a while. Here he is trying to comb his hair with his pick. Annabelle is in the background looking very worried that she will be next victim of this amateur hair stylist. I don't blame her as I have had this same pick try to make its way into my ear, nose, mouth and eye.

You Make My Day

2008-02-06T12:34:00.000-05:00

Last week Janna told me that I make her day. Now, I have to..."Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

This isn't hard. There are a lot of people whose blogs make my day. I am going to try and find 10 people other than the ones that Janna has already named but that might be difficult since we know a lot of the same people. But, if you do get this twice, know that you are extra special 'cause you make the day of a lot of people!

Janna (of course she also makes my day)
Susan (her smiling Boogie always makes my day)
Jenn
Minnie
Joan
Cate
Rachel (Piglet has dibs on her Claire!)
Liz
Jessica
Kim

Snow and Waves

2008-01-23T11:53:00.001-05:00

Snow and waves... how can you have both? Well, here in Knottyland we managed both over the weekend. First, I finished the Print O' The Wave stole. Yes, I still have to weave in some ends. This little lacy thing took me six months to finish!

Details:
Needles: Size 4
Yarn: Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks, in the color stream
Pattern: Print O' The Wave from Eunny Jang
Mods: I worked this in one piece instead of doing the center graft like the pattern calls for. I also blocked the body and then picked up my stitches based on the length simply because the pattern does not leave an edge stitch and I had a hard time figuring out where to pick up. I have quite a few mistakes on the border - not my finest work!

Now, for the snow. We had snow on Saturday. Only about an inch but that was more than enough for me! Big Boy went out with the camera and got this great shot of perfect little Baxter footprints. He had never seen snow before and wasn't too sure about this cold stuff under his toes.

My piglet was equally unsure about this cold stuff. Here we are making a snowball. Shortly after this pic was snapped he plopped down in the snow and was not happy about the cold stuff creeping through his pants. As you can see, he is standing on his own - at least for brief moments. He will occasionally take steps on his own too but once he realizes what he has done he will plop back to the floor.

I decided I needed a quick knit to work on so I started a pair of Fetching. I am holding two yarns together to get an Aran weight and make these guys warm and toasty. They are going to a young girl with more pairs going to her teen brother and sister. The next set will be in purple and the boy's will be in a tweedy brown. The mitts are really fun to knit but I don't like the way the picot cast off looks.

Oh My Eyes Hurt!

2008-01-11T19:31:00.001-05:00

Because I have been looking at this...

Yes, that is a stitch holder in the middle of my lace panel. Why? Well, that is a good question. The other night around 10:00 I was working on Print O' The Pain in My Ass and realized I was working the wrong row of the chart. I did what any other good knitter would do... I tinked until I dropped a stitch. I picked up the stitch and kept going. Or. So. I. Thought. I heard a little popping noise and my heart sank. Turns out when I picked up the stitch I missed the part where it had dropped down and released a K2tog and each of those stitches dropped to a K3tog. Now, I have 5 loose stitches. ACK! I took it to SnB last night where the gals were nice enough to give me tips on how to fix my giant sink hole. Not one would take a bribe to do it for me though.

So, what is a girl to do during a crisis? She shops! My Big Boy was out of town this week and I was having a hard time sleeping so I was on Ravelry when one of those horrible ads showed up. Horrible because they make a girl do wild and crazy stuff, alone, in her bed, with a computer, at midnight...

The yarn is from Spritely Goods and is the Sylph in Watermelon Tourmaline colorway. I have no idea what its destiny is... other than to make me smile.

An Itch From The Clap?

2008-01-09T13:16:00.000-05:00

I think I mentioned in my last post that I had a bout of contact dermatitis. Oh, how it itched and burned with no apparent cause. And, no apparent cure. I tried antihistamines, I mixed antihistamines, I stopped using soap (don't worry, I didn't sweat!), I changed detergents and even changed my coffee, and I took down my Christmas tree. Still. No. Relief. I itched... I burned... I didn't sleep. A second trip to the urgent care resulted in a cute 25-year old doctor who apparently didn't want to live to see 26. He told me he didn't see the red but since I knew my skin better... then he left the room before I could hit him with Piglet's goldfish crackers. I guess someone told him that you don't mess with a woman who is sleep deprived because he came in with a miracle cure. Prednisone. Yesterday I started thinking that I still needed to figure out what was causing my pain so that I didn't have a repeat episode once the performance-enhancing drugs ran out. I thought and I thought and just before my hair caught on fire it came to me... THE CLAP...

I know you are all totally confused now right? I had been working feverishly on Clapotis for weeks. I have not itched since I washed and blocked it and basically, got it off my skin. I know what you are thinking ('cause I am ~~psycho~~ psychic)...

Yes, the yarn is cotton/silk - I suspect it was something in the silk that made me itchy.
Yes, the yarn has been in my life for over a year (thanks for the reminder) BUT, I only touched it a few hours total and not a few hours every day. And, the project was never large enough to cover my legs, etc.
Yes, the yarn has been worked, washed and reworked. So, it is possible that it has something to do with the Euclan reacting on the yarn or my skin. Plus, when I washed the Clapotis there was a faint color in the water. At first I thought it was some bleed from the yarn but now I think it may have been something else in the yarn.
Yes, I wear clothes when knitting. However, I often have on my jammies and this thing ended up being long enough to drape across my legs and a bulk of my itching was on my legs, knees and ankles.

Here are the details of the Clapotis:

Yarn: Noro Lily Multi (now discontinued) in a yellow/pink/green/orange colorway. About six skeins.
Needles: Size 6 Options
Pattern: Clapotis
Mods: I added extra repeats to make it long enough to be worn as a wrap. I think I did 24 straight rows instead of 12. It is super long.
Who: It is a gift for a friend.

Oh, I have some yarns and needles for sale over on Ravelry. Check out my sale/trade goods!

Have you seen my mojo?

2007-12-26T15:07:00.001-05:00

I seem to have misplaced it. Not just my knitting mojo. My, well, everything mojo. True, I haven’t felt like knitting much over the past few weeks but I also haven’t felt like blogging, reading, cooking or cleaning. So, what have I done? Um, played computer games. I tried blaming it on the holiday rush but truth is, I think it is more than that. Maybe it is that parenting a one year old is such a joy; you know, what with the whining because his food isn’t on the right plate, and the whining because his cup has milk and not juice, or the whining because he isn’t allowed to bang on the computer, or the constant picking up of the Tupperware (thanks Jen!) that has exhausted me. Or maybe It is knowing that the coming year will be a difficult one that I’d rather not face. In March my Big Boy will leave for San Angelo for two months of training so that he can leave us in June to spend six months in Afghanistan.

But, you guys came here to hear the good stuff. Yes, Piglet had a great Christmas. He is now the proud owner of a rocking horse; five new books; a shape sorter that talks and thankfully, has an off button; a dashboard that makes all sorts of car sounds and, thankfully, has an off button; a ride on toy; a Little People school bus that is politically correct with a kid in a wheelchair, but, has no off button; and, a bunch of other goodies as well. On Christmas Eve he left Santa some applesauce cake and found a love for it himself. Check out his stocking with a new "backup" lion.

I scored a Tom Tom navigation system, two different gift certificates, and this bracelet from Etsy (sorry, I couldn’t get a good picture at home).

What little knitting has been done has been somewhat depressing. I love the Lady Eleanor in the Sea Silk. In fact, I downright adore the Sea Silk. However, this pattern sucks yarn faster than California can fall into the ocean. I will likely have to buy a second skein.

Clapotis is coming along nicely and I think the decision to frog the original Lady Eleanor was a good one. My plan is to give it to a friend who has a birthday on January 12. Will I be done in time? Not likely! I have to put in quite a few more of the straight row repeats to get it long enough.

Finally, there is Tangled Yoke. The first sleeve is huge. Right now it is measuring about 2” larger than my wrist and it fits comfortably over another sweater. My original plan had been to wear it over a tank top but a recent bout with contact dermatitis (with an unknown cause) has made me think I will need a long sleeved shirt with the wool. This leaves me contemplating whether or not I really need to frog the sleeve or not. I am on a mission to finish this sweater. You see, MaryAnne has promised me lunch at Panera if I finish it and wear it to Stitch and Bitch. This deal came as the result of a conversation in which she pointed out that I never wear anything that I make; mostly I give it all away because I either make the wrong size (I have been fooling myself for a while now) or I don’t like the pattern once I get started, or I just plain ‘ole screw it up - what can I say, life is a constant learning curve.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T19:45:00.000-05:00

I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, before we all get caught up in the food and gifts. We are staying home for the holidays. Santa wouldn't be able to find up otherwise. Piglet is fascinated with the lights on the tree and the gate that keeps him from tearing it down. We will be leaving Santa some applesauce cake - he has requested it! Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful day with your friends and family. I promise to be back after the New Year and I hope to have found my knitting mojo by then - it seems to be lost!

Birthdays, Haircuts and Frogs... Oh My!

2007-12-05T13:40:00.001-05:00

My little Piglet had his first birthday last week. I can hardly believe it. To celebrate we had some chocolate cake (picked out by Big Boy and oddly, had flowers on it).
And the next day we hit the salon for a first haircut. Turns out he had way more hair than we thought - it was just all on the top of his head. So, now he is sporting a more even, little boy haircut. He was such a good boy. He sat on the booster and was quite happy to watch himself in the mirror. Mommy had a hard time not crying!

Knitting news... Well, I did it. I frogged and frogged and hopped on the lily pad before the pond froze over. So far I am loving the Lady Eleanor scarf in the Sea Silk. The colors are blending nicely.

The Noro Lily is going to make a beautiful Clapotis when I get around to starting it. This yarn is a joy to frog and wash. It was all crinkly in the water until I pulled it up and all the crinkles fell out with the weight of the water - it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I still have a few more skeins to ball and then I will be on my way to clappyville.
I thought I would sneak in a photo of my Tangled Yoke in its very early stages. I hope it fits once it is done (stop laughing MaryAnne!) as I think I have gained weight since I started it... on Thanksgiving. LOL!

What Does the Froggy Say?

2007-11-28T13:53:00.000-05:00

Being the parent of a now toddler means endless hours of “what does (fill in the blank with anything) say?” All because he can’t possibly go to kindergarten unless he knows what every animal on the planet says.

Oh wait, I digress. That is because no one really wants to me get to the point of this post. No one really wants to hear what the froggy says. I discussed my plans the other night and Christine all but covered her ears and sang La La La, I can’t hear you.

So, here it goes. I am going to frog my Lady Eleanor. I spent time on it over the past few weeks and realized that it was just too bulky. Even though it is sport weight cotton/silk yarn, it still makes me look like a snow bear. 16 skeins of yarn folks. Yep! Call me a freak but the thought of frogging it actually got me a little excited. I said excited, not turned on, get your minds out of the gutta.

But, that isn’t all. I also plan to frog my Argosy, which is currently done in Sea Silk. I have 400 yards and it is going to make for a very long Argosy scarf. Nice, but not quite what I want. So, here is the current plan… the Sea Silk will become a Lady Eleanor scarf. And, the Noro Lily from Lady Eleanor will become a Clapotis.

Here is the way I see it… the Clapotis is a pattern that can grow with the cotton and not be snow bearish. Plus, it is a great pattern for showing off the colors of the Lily and not making it look like funfetti.

In other knitting news... the Tangled Yoke is coming along fabulously. I love the pattern, I love Eunny, and I love the yarn (highland silk from Elann). This puppy has best fit!

It Fits!

2007-11-14T13:18:00.001-05:00

Here is Piglet's new sweater... There was some concern that it was not going to be wide enough to fit over his ~~bowling ball~~ head. It fits great everywhere except the sleeves; they are really long. Full details are over on Ravelry but here is the abbreviated version:

Pattern: 26" finished chest from Handy Book of Sweater Patterns - child's raglan. The stripes are a sequence of 1, 2, 3 which is technically a Fibonacci sequence but a pretty simplified one.

Yarn: Cotton Fleece in four different shades.

Needles: Size 4

Close up of sweater

BTW, the face he is making is his response to "What Does the Wind Say?". We aren't bothering to teach him the traditional words but instead we are working on "Ho Ho Ho".

Hey you Court TV addicts... are you watching the O.J. Prelims? That court room has more crooks than a Gotti social club and most prisons. O.J. here is a piece of advice... if you want people to think you are walking the straight and narrow, you need to get some new friends. And for anyone currently hanging out with O.J.... RUN... people who hang with him end up with their lives really screwed up!

The one where she is a little crazy...

2007-11-06T20:22:00.001-05:00

The other night I thought I was losing my mind. I kept hearing a strange sound outside my bathroom window. Big Boy said that he had turned off the sprinklers so that wasn't it. The sound was too even to be Annabelle snoring. My fear was that something was living outside (and despite Big Boy's suggestion, I did not go outside in the cold dark to see what it might be) or under my whirlpool tub. I heard it two days in a row and was about to call Ghostbusters to come help when I found the source. Piglet's stuffed cow. Yep, cow has had a bad case of Insanus Bovinus ever since it arrived here. Calvin's attempts to revive him have only served to increase his unpredictability but now the random MOO's are more muted.

To add to my frustration, I finished Piglet's stocking. I know, after a year, that should not be frustrating. I attached the trim for the second time only to discover that I seamed the trim in the front of the stocking instead of the back. Now it is back in timeout while I decide if it is worth removing it or not.
The one piece of sanity in this house is that I did the sleeves to Piglet's sweater separately and somehow they came out the same length! This has never happened before! Now I have to attach them and work the yoke. Maybe it will be done in time for Thanksgiving.

As for the Thanksgiving knitting... I have been giving it some thought. I know it is still two weeks away but one has to have a plan. We have a 10-hour drive ahead of us as well as four nights in a hotel. I think I will cast on for Tangled Yoke using the Highland Silk from my stash. You would think that with Grandma and Grandpa around I would get more knitting time in, but it is doubtful. Instead I will be chasing the Piglet around, keeping him out of the fireplace, trash can and off the stairs.

It's a bird... It's a plane... It's a...

2007-11-01T12:05:00.000-05:00

Piglet in a monkey suit.
Piglet's first Halloween was a big success. We stopped by a few neighbors but didn't accept any candy since he can't eat it and I've already mowed through two bags by myself. After, he and Baxter helped me hand out candy to the little princess', Army guys and ninjas. He did get to experience his first candy bar. He managed to sneak a Twix out of the basket and was enjoying sucking on the wrapper. Next thing I know he has melted the chocolate and somehow opened the wrapper and is sucking the chocolate out. What a silly monkey!

So what's new with you?

2007-10-26T12:46:00.000-05:00

The other day Knitiot Savant had a great post about how we sometimes blog out of obligation and not because we have something great to say. Oh boy was she right! Sometimes I think that I should go blog about something but don’t because it would likely be boring or I don’t feel like taking pictures or the pictures are on the computer that is in the office and what I really feel like doing is being the boob in front of the tube. Or, I have absolutely nothing knitting related (seriously do you want to see those four rows of stockinet that I finished?) and I think y’all must be sick of the Piglet.

Ok, I know you aren’t sick of Piglet so here is a little photo array of our Wednesday. We started out at the local Farmer’s Market where the mom’s group got together for a puppet show, hayride and pumpkin picking.

After that it was all downhill. Later that afternoon I caught him standing up all on his own. Yep, he will be going to college tomorrow.

In the last post I mentioned being on a people hating kick… I am at a stage where I am tired of the drama. I love the different forums on Ravelry but I hate the people who just take everything too seriously and start drama. I am tired of the people who see criticism of an establishment and threaten to sue for libel (and you know who you are bitches). You know the type - they believe in freedom of speech until they don’t agree with what is said. And then there are those who always seem to be in the same mess and don't realize the problem is with themselves. Well, that is my soapbox for this week...

There has been some knitting going on. Let’s see… Print O' The Wave is sitting in a bath now and will block later this evening so that I can find those edge stitches to pick up; I am ready to attach the top edge to Piglet’s ginormous stocking; Lady Eleanor is still plugging along - I don’t think it will ever be finished.

The Great Pumpkin Charley Brown

2007-10-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

Check out my cute little pumpkin! On Saturday we took Piglet over to the pumpkin patch at a local church, where Big Boy insisted we get a tall pumpkin so he could carve it. Say What? In 10 years of marriage Big Boy has never carved a pumpkin. He never even mentioned that he had pumpkin carving skills. Imagine my shock, fascination and fear! This is what he came up with. Isn’t it cute? It has one of those push on lights inside so that people can see it from the street at night. Now, you are probably thinking that it is really cool that he colored one of the eyes and several of the teeth black. Mmmm, nope. This morning I went into the dining room to turn off the light and take photos only to discover the pumpkin was turning moldy. All during this photo session I kept telling Piglet to not touch the pumpkin! Jack (as in O’ Lantern) has since been moved to the front porch and I suspect he won’t be living here much longer! Oh, in case you can't read his shirt, it says "I'm so cute it's scary". Yep, he's right!

Ok, I have tried endlessly to insert a video of Piglet and his pumpkin but it didn't work out so you will just have to follow this link instead... The version I have on my desktop is much better quality but still...

I heart Ravelry. I'm addicted. There, I said it. But, do you know why I love Ravely? It is purely selfish. I get hearted over there. Yep, it does my ego good to look at my notebook and see that people have hearted my projects. Better yet, everyone who is on Ravelry can see that my projects are hearted. Other than Ravelry I am still on my people hating kick and am contemplating hermitville. :-)

Stockings, Swatches and Scarves

2007-10-11T08:10:00.000-05:00

Last night I had my first baby/yarn near tragedy. I was swatching along for Piglet’s sweater and suddenly one of the strands felt like it was caught on something. So, I pulled. And, it pulled back. You guessed it. Piglet had and end and thought this whole tug-o-war thing was quite hilarious. I guess my days of knitting while the boy is awake are over for a few years.

Speaking of Piglet’s sweater… here is the swatch for his sweater…
It is Fibonacci (thank you MaryAnne and Jen) - a three-row sequence of four colors. Make sense? Didn’t make much sense to me either until I started working on the swatch. Sometimes ya just gotta have faith! The yarn is Cotton Fleece. I need to go down to a size 4 needle (swatch is in size 5) because I don't like how drapey the yarn is. For a boy who is in constant movement the sweater will need a tighter knit. Plus, I need to learn how to better carry my yarns. Check out the back of the swatch - EEK!

His stocking is nearly done. Do you think the stocking is large enough? (You can click on the photo to get a larger image and see just what the tape measure reads) LOL! At least it will hold all the underwear and socks he will get as an older kid. I have had to rewrite the edge piece because as written it looked like crap. Can you see the eyelets? Nope? That’s ok, you aren’t really meant to see them. They are small enough to hide once this thing is sewn on but also large enough to weave a ribbon through if I so decide.

My final piece worth showing… Argosy.
I really like this pattern and I ‘specially love this yarn. Amy, queen-o-the-fish sent it to me in the Coffee Swap. It is yummy AND it smells good.

This week I had a coupon for Barnes & Noble and guess what popped into my bag?

Fried Blue Tomato

2007-10-02T18:06:00.000-05:00

Tomato is finished! Actually, it was finished before I left and it blocked while I was away. Even with the stretching it is still too small for me (read: clings to all the wrong spots!). It will become Christmas for my SIL. This sweater is very cute and I would definitely like one in a larger size for myself. Thanks to Knitting Daily I now know that I have been knitting the wrong size and was dreaming when I thought a size 36" bust would fit me. So, which is cuter - the sweater or the baby?

Details: Started 7/9/07 and weaved in the last end on 10/1/07
Yarn: Sonata from Elann. About 3.5 skeins of blue and .25 skein of white
Needles: Size 3 & 4
Size: 36". However, the yarn I used is a smaller gauge than the yarn called for so my sweater ended up a little, um, snug.
Notes: With my yarn being different I had to do more increases at the top to get the right length. I also did more ribbing at the bottom and on the sleeves instead of having the rolled edge. I think it is neater looking. This is a super easy pattern!

For those of you on Ravelry, there are full details here.

Up next: A sweater for Piglet and Argosy for me!

Around the World in 5 Days

2007-10-01T14:14:00.001-05:00

Ok, I didn’t quite go around the world but I did go here…A view from our balcony

Last Saturday I flew to Vancouver, BC, Canada and met up with three other cool chicks…

On Sunday, three of us toured around the city, shopping and eating. Vancouver has tons of both and we did a great job spending money on both :-)

On Monday the fourth chick caught up with us and we boarded the Coral Princess for a cruise to San Francisco. I have never been on a cruise and this was a great way to try it out for the first time. Even on a boat this large you still feel movement so I was very sporty in my motion sickness bands!Back of the boat

Front of the boat

There was more shopping and dining. The cruise has a 24-hour buffet and I was considered an amateur compared to my friends.

We hit San Francisco on Wednesday morning and guess what we did? Yep, more shopping and eating! By the time my plane left on Wednesday night I was tired from head to toe!

Have I mentioned that we had never met before this trip? Ain’t the Internet wonderful? We all met on an adoption group online. Two of us have completed our adoptions and two are still waiting. The invite went out to a whole bunch of girls but the four of us were the only ones ~~crazy~~ brave enough to say, “count me in”.

So, where was Piglet during this time? Home with Big Boy. Yep! They had a great time. They went to the park, Home Depot, out to watch football, story time at the library and Costco. They had hamburgers for dinner; probably every night even though Big Boy says only one night. The house needed a good scrubbing, the fridge was empty and Piglet was wearing shorts he outgrew in June but they had a great time together and that is all that matters.

Leaving them behind for a few days was better than any drug prescribed. It was great to have no cares except (whether I would be warm enough; it was cold in Vancouver), and to laugh at crazy, stupid stuff. Trust me, taking “ME time” is great for your whole family!

While playing in Vancouver I noticed one main thing - people there like scarves. I wore my Swan Lake but as a scarf and not as a stole. It kept me warm and toasty. So, I came home and added about 10 scarves to my Ravelry queue and intend to start on Argosy tonight using the Sea Silk that Amy sent me! Oh, I also got to wear the Ribbed Lace Bolero and it was great!

Family Shamily

2007-09-18T12:27:00.000-05:00

Well, I survived the familial invasion. It was a stressful time mostly because our families are so different. In fact, they are so different that we have managed to go 12 years without them meeting!

My parents watch TBN-my in-laws watch PBS and ESPN;
My parents read the Bible - my in-laws read War and Peace;
My stepmother loves to shop - my MIL still wears the same clothes she wore 40 years ago (I’m not kidding! REALLY!) and prefers to go to museums on her vacation instead of a mall;
My MIL likes to ask a million questions - my father likes to talk about himself;
My parents want a brand new house - MIL doesn’t know why anyone would build a new house when there are perfectly good shacks out there that just need a little update, like electricity and plumbing (in-laws have 30 year old carpet in their bathroom. ACK!);
My MIL likes to drink wine, beer (in the can with a cozy thank you very much) and martinis - my parents don’t believe in getting liquored up (it makes for a long visit);
My MIL views Piglet as an educational experience - my parents just like to play with him, and;
My in-laws have money to burn and have helped with Piglet’s college fund - my parents are living on my dad’s social security (don’t ask where the retirement fund went - it is a long story).

During my parents visit I had to keep sneaking into my bedroom to check the Verdict Watch on Court TV. Five months of testimony and the jurors still have to deliberate his guilt or innocence. I didn’t even see the whole trial and I know he is guilty! The verdict needs to either come in before the end of this week or wait until the end of next week because I will be away from the television. Now Court TV has moved on to the Warren Jeffs trial. I can’t believe I am saying this but I think the charges are a little far reaching. That isn’t to say that he isn’t guilty of being a sex freak! Frankly, the girl’s mother should be brought on charges for letting her 14-year old daughter get married to her first cousin! And State of Utah - 14 is waaaaaaayyyyyyy too young for anyone to get married.

Coming tomorrow... Tomato will be blocking and I will be playing with swatches. Stay Tuned!

Happy Birtday To Me

2007-09-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Birtday (not a typo. The explanation is here) to me! I had big plans for my day but had to cancel them because my parents showed up last night. Yep, I had 24 hours from the time my in-laws left to the next wave. I suspect my parents only came because they were jealous that the in-laws had been here to see Piglet. **sigh**

So, my plans for my birthday… I was going to take Piglet to his story time at the library and then after his afternoon nap we were going to have dinner with Big Boy before sending him off. See, this isn’t just my birthday; it is the day that we found out Piglet’s birthmother had chosen us. One year ago we were sitting in a very nice restaurant, drinking a nice wine and discussing the nice house we were going to buy in Williamsburg when we got the call. It is something we would celebrate privately, just the three of us. One year later… the restaurant is Outback, the wine is soda (parents don’t drink) and we are NOT living in Williamsburg, but instead bought the cheaper house that borders the ghetto. Oh, and instead of sitting up all night discussing our future, Big Boy is sleeping in the basement of an overpriced hotel and I headed to bed at 9:00 p.m. to avoid watching yet another episode of Funniest Critters and Hillbillies. Can you spell R-O-M-A-N-T-I-C?

Here’s the thing… my dad is a narcissist. So, all day he has been telling people that he came to see me for my birthday, but really it is all about how it makes him look and not about me. Did I mention that Big Boy left town today? Oh yeah! All night I have cruised the interwebs just to pass the time and not have to hear the 40th version of a story or stories about people I neither know or care about (wow, that sounds pretty heartless doesn’t it?). My parents are complete opposite from Big Boy’s. The in-laws are highly educated and like to view everything as an educational experience. They have perfect grammar and read War and Peace for sport. Mine… well… my dad likes to make up his own words and grammar is just the Maine way of saying Grandma. Are you feeling my pain yet?

I am trying to wait patiently for the guilty verdict to come in the Spector Trial (sorry Joan, couldn't resist). Normally I would knit the time away but my parents have the television so loud I can't possibly count in my head! And the cloud of cologne is keeps me from seeing the stitches. My dad likes cologne and lots of it. Mix that with Annabelle's rotten mushroom smell and you have a funky ho house on your hands!

Priceless

2007-09-05T07:48:00.000-05:00

Cost of dog: $100
Cost of grooming dog: $75
Cost of Advil from headache caused by dog’s antics: $15
Cost of this: Priceless

Last week I mentioned to Big Boy that he should get rid of the giant mushrooms in the backyard before Annabelle ate them. I say Annabelle because she is the only one curious enough to do that. She sees invisible objects as it is so we don’t need to add pink elephants to that. On Monday Big Boy was mowing the backyard (Finally!) when he came to the door and told me to not let Annabelle inside. My first thought was that she found the injured bird she had been chasing on Saturday. So, I hesitantly asked which dead thing had she rolled in. Turns out she found the mushrooms. She rolled in the mushrooms. Apparently, the mushrooms were juicy! Big Boy tried wiping here with a wet towel, to no avail. Then, I jokingly suggested we use baking soda. Next thing I know, Big Boy has the box of Arm & Hammer and is pouring it on her back –her wet back. Yes, it made paste! She hung out in the laundry room all night and by morning she smelled a little less like cabbage and body odor and more like death. We didn’t bathe her because she is not the most pleasant dog to bathe. She kicks, she growls, she pushes all her weight into her shoulders and won’t budge. We pay people to torture her instead. But, she had just been to the groomer! I had paid them $75 to accidentally give her this sporty haircut. Now she just has a little after smell. You don’t really notice her stink until you have walked by. It doesn’t linger much but does sort of resemble cr0tch rot. Here is the kicker – the in-laws are coming tomorrow. Yep, my dog smells like old lady cr0tch and the in-laws come tomorrow.

Now, let me top off my week. Today Calvin was outside and Annabelle in when I noticed she was very worked up. I assumed that there were people in the back since school has just started and the lunch people like to smoke by our fence (lovely I know!). NOPE! The injured bird was back and Calvin was a determined Chow Pei. Just as I headed out the door he lunged for the bird and picked it up in one swoop. *sigh* At least he spit out the feathers before coming in. Now no one is allowed in the backyard until Big Boy gets home to do his manly duty of throwing the critter over the fence. Several years ago we determined that Calvin was the Ted Bundy of dogs - he looks nice, he plays well with people, he convinces you that he is cute and sweet but deep down inside he is a serial killer. Annabelle is Rosie ODonnell and Baxter is Jessica Simpson. They need no further explanation.

And now, as I sit here typing this, a man rode past on his bicycle wearing nothing but a Speedo that he outgrew 20 years ago. All this time of hearing about our city's crack problem and I thought they were referring to drugs. Oh, wait, he was wearing his helmet. Yep, gotta protect that brain.

My Tomato doesn’t smell much better than my dog. I swear this thing fit the first time I tried it on. I think part of it is the yarn. I am using Sonata, a yarn I don’t really care for. I suspect part of the fit issue is that I didn’t knit loose enough in the Fair Isle portion. I thought I had, but last night that band was really tight. My SIL is much smaller than I so I think this will be a gift for her. It is so cute though that I will probably make another one for myself in a different yarn. Maybe the Cotton Fleece (but in colors that won’t run!).

Ribbed Lace Bolero

2007-09-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

Back

Front

Can you believe I have another finished item? For so long it seemed like the projects were never going to end and now I have two in one month!

Details:

Started: August 23

Yarn: Tahki Lima from Elann (about 3 skeins). It is now discontinued which is very sad. Why on earth do companies discontinue the great stuff and yet continue to produce some of the crap that is out there. The pattern calls for Cotton Ease but I wanted something warmer.

Pattern: Ribbed Lace Bolero.
I had plans to wear this over a sleeveless dress while on my cruise this month but after it was finished I realized that the color is wrong for the dress and it is really too bulky. *sigh* Oh well, I will still wear it, just with something else. The only alteration I made to the pattern was to lengthen the sleeves slightly.

Needles: Sizes 7 and 9. This project made me realize how much I love my Options. I had to use the Denise because I do not have a size 9 tip in the Options - I them on order now though.

Technique Learned: Sewn bind off. Takes a little longer than normal but was pretty cool to learn.

Have you seen my Fall issue of Interweave Knits? Me either. Back in June I decided to renew my subscription after they dangled the proverbial carrot in front of my nose. Who can resist the allure of a free issue and a free pattern! Anyway, I received the bill in August and sent a check the same day (nowhere in the information did it tell me I could speed up the process by paying online!). Turns out that has delayed my Fall issue. Well, sort of. It shipped around August 26 and, according to Interweave, should arrive here no later than September 28 - a whole month later. But, the story gets better. Last week I received a notice asking me if I forgot to make a payment because my subscription is about to run out. That would be my subscription that expires Summer '08! It even says Summer '08 at the top of the notice. So, I am asked to pay for something that expires a year from now, before I have even received the first issue of that subscription. HA!

Finally, Piglet enjoyed the morning at the park. He gets to play on the swings, go down the slide and bounce in the little truck. Just the way life should be!

Are all swans this beautiful?

2007-08-31T13:48:00.000-05:00

Me Wearing the Swan

Blocking

The Wing

I finished up the Mystery Stole 3! It is now called Swan Lake and quite pretty if I do say so myself. I have never done a Mystery anything before and I really enjoyed the process. I know a lot of people aren’t really digging on the wing and to be honest, I’m not 100% sold on it either but… it was all part of the mystery and that is what makes me love it. I know you can’t see a lot of the details in the photo of me but if I had gone with another picture you would not have seen Calvin and Annabelle. Be thankful Big Boy hesitated for a second otherwise the photo would have been Annabelle peeing. Oh, and the 'blocking' photo doesn't show Baxter walking on the stole or me holding my breath as he walked back across it to leave the room. Details:

Pattern: Swan Lake (or Mystery Stole 3). Melanie will eventually have this pattern for sale on her website, along with several variations to either make two wings or make it symmetrical. By choosing the black yarn I became Odile - the chick that steals the prince. Since I have never stolen a guy away from anyone, I am going to enjoy living vicariously through my stole. I mean, doesn't everyone want to be the bad girl on occasion?

Yarn: Zephyr lace weight in black. I bought an entire cone (5000 yards) from Sarah’s Yarns for $36.00. It was great to work with – very soft and got even softer with washing. I probably used less than 800 yards.

Needles: Size 3

Beads: They are a gunmetal color with silver lining. They are not perfectly round either. I like how they catch the light. I believe that if you are going to the work of putting on beads, you should be able to see them. I picked these up at a local bead store and I think they cost less than $3.00. I have plenty left over for another project.

A Quick Update

2007-08-19T15:30:00.000-05:00

I know it has been a long time since I last blogged. Honestly, I haven’t had much to say (and those who know me well are laughing their asses off right now). Plus, I have actually been knitting. Where to begin…

Mystery Stole 3 is actually called Swan Lake. Yep, it has a wing. I am ready to begin clue 7 as soon as Big Boy gets me some toner for the printer. I like clues 1-4 and I like clues 5-7, I’m just not sure I like them together. I still plan to finish and wear the stole though. Here is the stole at the end of Clue 6 but not blocked.

I Do has become I Don’t. I started it and then somehow screwed up where the beginning of the round was and ended up with the pattern being off. So, I frogged. Then I started again in the smaller size but 20 rows in found that I had started in the wrong spot on the chart and I had not been decreasing. Plus, I wasn’t getting the lacy look I wanted. I think I might use the yarn for the Ribbed Lace Bolero instead.

Tomato is starting to ripen (I crack myself up!). This pattern was originally in a book but was offered for free to those who are subscribed to Knitting Daily. I initially thought it might be too big but I tried it on the other night and it is actually a little snug. It’s cotton it will eventually be too big. I think I might make one in Cotton Fleece for my SIL.

Lady Eleanor is STILL on the needles. I try to do a few rectangles per night. Only eight more skeins left and I will be done!

Print O’ The Wave is in the same place as the last time I took photos. The lace of MS3 has taken over and I found myself getting confused with two lace projects at one time.

Finally, Piglet’s Christmas Stocking. Yes, I started this in February! I am now working on the heel flap. I sure hope this is big enough!

And speaking of the Piglet… poor baby has had bronchitis. Apparently it started from a virus that he kindly shared with his mother. He was feeling well enough to go to the beach last week, for the first time. That is the opening photo. He has his first tooth coming in and he is quite proud that he knows how to eat table food now. He enjoys sharing his Cheerios with Annabelle and she enjoys taking them.

I'm a Rainbow ?

2007-08-05T20:56:00.000-05:00

So I took this test that I found over on Janna's blog. I don't think it is accurate. Is it because I like to pick flowers?

You Are a Rainbow

Breathtaking and rare
You are totally enchanting and intriguing
But you usually don't stick around long!

You are best known for: your beauty

Your dominant state: seducing

What Type of Weather Are You?

How Organized Are You?

2007-08-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

Your Score: Big Bird

You scored 72% Organization, 53% abstract, and 71% extroverted!

You are very organized, both concrete and abstract, and more extroverted.

Here is why are you Big Bird.

You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Big Bird is never sloppy and always under control... pretty good for a 6 year old bird living without a family.

You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Big Bird can be quite dreamy at times and has no problem using his imagination. At the same time he is also practical and can be methodical in his search for answers to questions. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course.

You are both extroverts. Big Bird gets along with everyone. He makes friends easily and always has a positive attitude. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team.

The other possible characters are

Oscar the Grouch

Bert

Snuffleupagus

Ernie

Elmo

Kermit the Frog

Grover

Cookie Monster

Guy Smiley

The Count

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

I've Become...

2007-08-01T14:52:00.000-05:00

Crap! I’m starting to sound like my parents. Today I started in with the “when I was a girl” speech and then moved on to “I can’t believe how much things cost nowadays”. Oh help me! But seriously kids… McDonald’s came out with their fabulous $1 menu a few years ago and I loved it. I could get a medium fry with a small drink for $2 and change. So today I pull up for my weekly heart attack in a bag and what do I discover – the $1 fry is now a small instead of a medium. WTF? Let me back my story up a bit… I recently wrote the big Red Haired Guy because my local “restaurant” has had their shake machine broken for the past month. It is July! It is HOT! People need shakes! I also let them know that said locale never gives a napkin leaving me to wipe my salty, greasy, hands on my pants. Today, I received two napkins in my bag. Apparently it is costing them a lot of money to hand out the napkins so the cut back had to come in the form of 20 french fries.

This afternoon I was adding to my Queue over at the site I’m not allowed to talk about at S & B (she whispers – Ravelry). I had made note of a shrug pattern and today decided to purchase it. The pattern alone is $15! Hell No! It isn’t a book. It is a single pattern. I just can’t bring myself to pay more for a pattern than I pay for a pack of diapers.

The Spector trial may possibly be winding down. Maybe. Sometime before 2008 runs out. I wish we the viewers could take the tour of the Castle next week. BTW, why on earth would you continue to live in the house where you murdered someone (or they committed “accidental suicide” – ACK!)? We will likely have a break coming up and I would suggest that Mr. Spector see his plastic surgeon as he is looking a little worn. It is probably time for a new wig too. For the lawyers who read my blog, here is a question for you. Shouldn’t you prep your witnesses prior to they take the stand? Or at least know what they are going to say? Today’s computer guy was totally unprepared and Mizzz Kenny Baden clearly had never spoken to him before. But, I suspect she spent quite a bit of time preparing the daughter for that big, dramatic answer “my father is right-handed”.

I think Piglet’s teething is rubbing off on me today. Big Boy has been traveling for what feels like a year now and in the meantime the baby has started teething, resulting in a week of upset tummy and now a fever of 102 for two days. I am soothing myself with my Lima. I really shouldn’t tell anyone about this yarn because y’all might go buy it all up. I take it all back. The yarn is really crap. Ya, you don’t want it.

With the crabbiness, tears, snot and drool going on around here I decided to look back on happier days – Saturday. Piglet turned eight months old. As you can see, he prefers to hold his sign now. Not sure what happened but out of the 20+ photos we took, there are around 15 where he looks like a drunken sailor. He still isn’t crawling but you wouldn’t either if you had to get that tummy and those thighs off the ground.

Forgot to Mention...

2007-07-24T07:13:00.000-05:00

For those of you I named Rockin' Girl Bloggers, you are now supposed to name 5 more Rockin' Girl Bloggers. For those of you who were not named, I didn't leave you out on purpose. I really wanted to name more people, like, Jayne - who dyes those fabulous yarns or Benne - who is the best writer evvah!, or Svetlana - who can whip up a sweater in a day (seriously, I don't think she eats or sleeps unless she has string and some needles!). Oh, there are so many that ROCK!

Last night I decided to lightly block the Print O' The Wave Stole to see if I really liked the pattern. It seems like this thing is taking forever but I think it is because it has center repeats and is only a 12 row repeat unlike the MS3 that changes with every row. This morning I viewed the stole in the light and I really like it. I also really like the yarn blocked. It is more blue than gray in the light. I am a little nervous about picking up the side stitches - this is tiny lace kids. See that bright purple cast on? This stole is supposed to be done in two panels and then grafted but after I started I found (on Ravelry of course) stoles that had been done all in one piece instead, and I like it so much more. So, now I have to find a way to turn that provisional cast on into a bind off. Hmmm.

Close up of pattern

So, that good day I mentioned? Well, yesterday Big Boy calls to tell me he has to go TDY to DC for three weeks. UGH! Ok. Leaving Wednesday. Wait... what? I swear his boss hates me and hasn't even met me yet. Then I thought of the upside to this. Piglet and I will drive up to visit one weekend. I have to drive through Richmond... with no timeline... I can detour to the Yarn Lounge. If I get in town early enough I can hit Knit Happens in Old Town Alexandria too. HA! Take that Big Boy! I have no rush to get back to my ~~ghetto~~ home so I can hit more stores on my way back. Oh, and what a shame he will be staying near Pentagon City Mall which just happens to have a Nordstom and Sephora.

Rockin' Girl Bloggers

2007-07-23T07:38:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just have a good day. This morning during my blog roundup I discovered that Jen named me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger. I’ve always known I was Rockin’ but have been waiting for ~~Big Boy~~ others to admit it. LOL! So, now I have to bestow the title to 5 other female bloggers. I had to get more coffee before making this decision. Here goes:

Susan – because after this move she deserves a happy title! And because I need to stay in good graces so Boogie will marry Piglet :-)
Janna – because she has the cutest cat pictures. And, she is a genuinely nice person.
Joan – Joan keeps me in stitches; the laughing kind! She helped get me addicted to Court TV with her graphic descriptions of the Nurse Hatchet trial.
Minni-Knits – the girl approaches dating with a sense of humor.
Amy – the best Coffee Swap partner a girl could have. Plus, she knit all those dang fish – she deserves a special title!

Yesterday I got to go shopping – ALONE. Ok, it was just to Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target but still, it was – ALONE! Our BB&B has changed. They have a whole new Beyond section that contains beauty items AND a whole section dedicated to travel sizes. I love me some minis. To top off my good day I scored some new pillows for $12.99 each. Over the years I have purchased the $75, down filled, hypo allergenic, kissed by Elvis pillows and they all end up exactly the same way so I figured this time around I would save a little money. Target called my name. It didn’t have to call loudly. It is Back-to-School season and for someone like me the school supply aisle is like Mecca. The smell of new notebooks, the shiny new pens, the perfect erasers, the bright sticky notes… Mmmmm. There are so many cool things now. When I was a kid the best thing to come around was the Trapper Keeper and the erasable ink pens – WooHoo!

Oh, back to the good day. We scored a jumperoo for Piglet for $30. He loves it. Mostly he loves lights and music that come from shaking the bear. I love the Off button :-) Last night we took him to Chili’s where my normally shy little man became sociable and provided entertainment for all. When he wasn’t trying to share his beads with the people at the next table he was sucking on his French Fry. He was also trying to give his beads to the young waitresses. I informed him that A) he is way too young to share his beads; B) this is not Mardi Gras or even New Orleans for that matter; and C) if he ever does give out his beads, for real, I DO NOT want to know about it. You know you have reached a new level of insanity when your normally shy husband is willing to sing out loud in public to entertain your child :-)

I got in a few rows of MS3 without tinking. Now that is a really good day! Not to mention our temps were a tolerable, even chilly, 85 degrees.

Here is a truly finished photo of Angelina. I opted to go with the martini pin. If you ever need some cool stuff go to Ruby Vegas over on Etsy. The service was outstanding. I got it in two days and they sent a free pin! It is a sample of a pin they have coming out in the fall and they are trying to get the word out. Remember how I said that the sweater grew with washing? I do have to pull the sleeves up when wearing. This is not a sweater to wear during diaper changes!

MS3 Clue 3

2007-07-21T11:03:00.000-05:00

Here is the MS3 all the way up to the end of Clue 3. According to the designer we are now 1/3 of the finished length.

Rated R for Language and Violence

2007-07-13T16:49:00.001-05:00

Sweet Moses in a basket… I would like to crucify whoever created lace and made it look so irresistible to me. I started on Clue #2 and worked merrily for 8 rows. I sat down to work on row 109 and got through it just fine. I was inserting a lifeline at row 110 and started getting cocky. Do I really need a lifeline every 10 rows? Who are these crazy people who have to keep ripping? This isn’t brain surgery y’know. Row 111. Yep, that is the one that did me in. Or was it? How could I possibly have an extra stitch when row 109 worked out just fine? So, I tink. Stitch by stitch I check to see if that is the one where I went wrong. NOPE. I tink row 110 because just maybe I didn’t drop a purl and made two instead. NOPE. Row 109. I think I see the mistake. There, right at the end. I just have to tink these few stitches and then I’ll be spot on… except… that’s not it. I tink further. Wait, what’s this? Well, I don’t know what it was, but clearly it is where I went astray. Whew! I fix the mistake and set about finishing off the row when… hold up… now I don’t have enough stitches. FUCK! Wait… something looks… funky… it’s a DROPPED STITCH. Oh bloody hell. I don’t really know what the stitch was in the three rows it has dropped and I don’t really care. I work it back onto the needle, finish off the row and set about counting… 97, 98, 99, um, 100? FUCK! How did retrieving the dropped stitch take me back to having an extra stitch? I tink… stitch… by… stitch… and there it is… a K2tog that somehow ended up only dropping one of the stitches.

Finally, after many, MANY hours I have finished clue #2. Right now she is doing a little light blocking so I can get a good look at her. Anyone want to wager a guess on the theme? Well, I don’t really care – I love it no matter what it is called.

I thought we could use a little summer happy. Here are my roma tomatoes fresh from my little garden, along with some cucumbers. The big cucumber… well, the photo does not do it justice. It was HUGE. Unfortunately it was not edible, as it had become hollow in the middle and very tough. English cukes are not supposed to be that large.

A little update

2007-07-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, knitting has been taking place. I am at row 82 of Mystery Stole 3. I really want to be caught up with everyone else; not because it is a race, but because what I see is so pretty that I want mine to look that way too. It isn’t a race! I hope to finish clue 1 today so I will only be 1 clue behind. If you haven’t checked out Melanie’s other patterns, please do. They are gorgeous! Hanami and Moon Dance are my favs. Of course, all lace knitting has to take place when most of the house is sleeping!

I have problems with blocking. Quite often I get pulling on the straight edge and it really bugs me. I know, it is my Type A coming out – I totally dig straight lines. Yesterday I went in search of welding rods. I didn’t find them. Neither did Jenn. This afternoon I am going to try the sporting goods store to see if I can find a solution while I am looking for sneakers. “Yes, I would like this shoe in a size 7 and BTW, do you have anything that will help my stole look pretty”.

Angelina is in a time out of sorts. I blocked her last week and well, she grew. A LOT! How do I get her back to normal?

Ok, kids. Piglet and I are off to have lunch with Big Boy and then head to the sporting good store .

2007-07-08T15:27:00.001-05:00

Editor's Note: Blogger will not allow me to put in a title today. Ugh!

My cone of Zephyr and 2 different beads to try

The swatch with the flash

Swatch without the flash - can you see the beads?

Yarn – check
Beads – check
Needles – check
Pattern – check
Crochet Hook – che… oh crap!

I was so excited to get home yesterday and find my yarn had arrived. I sat down to swatch. I needed to see which beads would look best with my yarn and which needle was going to give the best fabric. I have a little, itty, bitty crochet hook. I mean, it’s the size of a pin, it has to be the right size for the beads. Ugh! I tried using dental floss instead of a crochet hook but that was just painful. Bright and early this morning I headed off to Michael’s in search of the world’s smallest crochet hook. I have two different beads and I think I like the one on the right side of the photo best. It blends into the yarn but yet reflects the light enough to be noticeable when you want to be noticed.

In the meantime I swatched for Tomato. I would like to use Sonata because I have it on hand. I just have to get the numbers together and plug them into the hand dandy gauge multiplier.

Doing The Happy Dance!

2007-07-06T07:51:00.000-05:00

Front - Collar will be wider after blocking

Back

Close Up of Lace

Angelina is done! This has been a long project and I finished it with mixed emotions. Glad to be done with it and finally able to wear it but sad that the process is over. Big Boy wanted to take pictures last night but I asked him to wait until I was wearing make up and not pajamas. Details?

Pattern: Angelina from White Lies Designs

Needles: Size 5, 7 and 10. Also, size 1 for picking up stitches.

Yarn: Barkarole from Austermann (16 skeins). This yarn is a blend of Merino, Silk and Cashmere. I bought it on Elann a while back and wish I had purchased more. This yarn is so beautiful!

Notes: Oh boy! This pattern had a lot of problems. Some of the instructions were not clear and I had to decipher what the designer meant. I used a lot of lifelines! Some of the instructions were just plain wrong and the designer was made aware of them several years ago and STILL has not changed the pattern. While this is a great sweater, I don’t think the pattern is quite worth what she charges, especially to have not been proofread!

Here is where I need a little help from my friends. I need a pin to close the front and I want just the right one. Here are a few from Etsy that I really like. Keep in mind that I would have the beads changed to either match the sweater or to clear. I don’t want to take away from the beautiful lace.

The other day Joan asked if I was watching the mini trial on Court TV. I caught a portion yesterday. I had turned off Court TV when I found out the Spector trial would be dark. I could not handle one more interview with a washed up actress/singer or over processed hairdresser. Nor could I stand one more reference to the victim as an “aspiring actress” – she had been acting in Hollywood for over 20 years – she was not longer “aspiring”! And, why oh why can’t Court TV find a photo of the victim more recent than circa 1985? At least I haven't had to watch Nancy Grace or that weird guy that occasionally fills in for her.

It's All a Mystery to Me

2007-07-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

I did it. I caved and joined the Mystery Stole #3. I saw the results of the first clue and could not help myself. Yesterday morning Piglet and I went to the bead store to pick out some pretty beads. I ended up with two different colors and will have to make a final decision once the yarn arrives. I am going to buy a cone of the Zephyr in black. I think it will be beautiful and elegant. Perfect to wear to… well, play dates at the park or um, the grocery store. But, I have to clean up some WIP's before I can start anything new.

I am doing the Jitterbug this week. Big Boy is glad to know it is just socks! Details:
Yarn: Jitterbug in Alizarine. This yarn is the best ever. I didn’t even use a full skein. I still have enough to make a pair of socks for a little girl – I think.
Needles: Size 1 Knit Picks Options
Pattern: Oblique Openwork from Sensational Knitted Socks. The heel is Eye of Partridge. Notice that the foot is a little different? Well, I did reverse stockinet on the foot so that the smooth side is on my foot and more comfy.
Size: I made socks for an 8” circumference foot. I did not take the leg of the socks all the way to the knee because I don’t like them that high.

What will you be doing on this day of America’s independence? We are doing America’s favorite pastime – shopping! We are getting Piglet some independence from his too tight shorts and getting ourselves some independence from the smell of dogs. For this we need a trip to the outlet mall and Yankee Candle store. At least we are getting some exercise!

Blogger photo problems

2007-07-02T21:18:00.000-05:00

I just found out that my photos of the Crumpets dress are not showing up on blogger. I have loaded them two different ways so it is probably a blogger problem (no surprise there!). Anyway, if you click on the Flicker box under "2007 Finished Works of Art" you will see the red dress in all her glory.

Finally! A FO!

2007-06-30T13:37:00.001-05:00

Editor's Note: I forgot to put in the ribbon before taking the picture - DUH!

Close up of beaded bodice

Close up of I-cord edging

I promised I would show you a finished item with the next post. What I didn’t tell you was that I would not post until the item was finished. Over the weekend I finished Crumpets. I never want to see stockinette again – ever! This was about 15 inches of knitting over about 350 stitches. This dress will go to Piglet’s biological sister, along with Monica.

Details:
Pattern: Crumpets
Needles: Size 5
Yarn: Elann’s Esprit (1 skein) for the bodice and Sonata (8.5 skeins) for the body.
Color: Ruby
Notes: I did a normal cast on instead of the Picot cast on. For the bottom edge I did two rows of garter and then did an applied I-cord with three stitches. The straps are 2, 3 stitch I-cords that then become a 6-stitch I-cord. They look big and they kinda are but they have to be because the dress is heavy. The I-cord was really hard on my hands for some reason.

I am so glad to have this off the needles! This is the second one and I think from now on I will stick to making it in the six-month size.

I had a compliment a few weeks ago. The momma recipient of the first Crumpets emailed me to A) say thank you, and B) tell me that she thought I could sell my knit stuff on Etsy. A huge compliment from a non-knitter! Even though I could never get paid enough to cover the time I put into the dress, the fact that a non-knitter thinks it is good enough to be salable makes me feel good.

I probably would have accomplished more knitting this week if it were not for Ravelry. I am sucked in! I haven’t even loaded the past finished objects yet or taken photos of my stash because I have been too busy checking out what everyone else is making and looking for friends. It is like a peep show for knitters!!!!

Swatchy Swatchy 5 Dolla

2007-06-25T12:06:00.000-05:00

This is what I received from Sarah’s Yarns! For $4.90 I got enough yarn to make a decent sized swatch; in a color that is easy to see stitches; tagged with the gauge, fiber make up and color; a price list; and color cards of Sarah’s own branded yarns. Her cashmeres are delicious! I think I am going to use the Bamboo to make the Perfect Periwinkle Tube Turtleneck sweater from Fitted Knits – some day. This yarn is sport and the pattern calls for worsted so I have to do the math. You know, if someone had told me that I would end up with a hobby that requires math I would have paid attention back in the 9th grade. Maybe then I could tell you if the train leaving Chicago and heading west would get to Boston before the stagecoach carrying the yarn from Knit Picks!

Ok, enough of that… on to the good stuff… I finally got my Ravelry invite! I am on there as KnottyPurls. I am so excited!!!!! I loaded in two of my projects last night but then got caught up in finding friends, then got caught up in looking at people’s projects, then got caught up in looking at people’s yarns. Do you see a pattern here? At midnight I realized I had not blinked in a while and the Piglet would be up in a few hours and he doesn’t care about knitting. Am I a bad mother for choosing to skip the park today in favor of Ravelry time? Will it help if I mention that the other mother’s at the park are kinda like junior high? Will it help if I tell you that it is going to be 89 degrees at park time? A Ravelry side note... you do not need a blog to join! So, you non-bloggers, get your name on the list!

I hope to have a FO to show you very soon. Crumpets is still drying and then I need to put on a few straps and she is good to go.

Fishy Wishy in a Dishy

2007-06-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

Jayne has a yarn called Fishy Wishy in a Dishy. Well, this fishy wishy in a dishy is just way cuter – sorry Jayne!

Is it total PWT to:
A) Own a plastic swimming pool;
B) Stick your feet in the pool while your child is playing; and
C) Allow the dog to drink from the pool while your child is playing in it.

If so, I have joined a new race. I was tempted to take my glass of wine out there too but decided against it due to the mosquitoes. Wait, Let me add another picture to your mental library – Big Boy, boxer shorts (with some sort of picnic theme), black work t-shirt, sandals.

Aw, come on, we all have our white/trailer trash/ghetto moments!

A few people have commented on spinning Baxter’s hair. It can be done but first I would have to collect it and wash it (this house barely has enough space for storing our food). It has to be blended with another yarn, such as wool, because it is so fine and fluffy. To be honest, I wear Calvin, Annabelle and Baxter hair everyday so I’m not sure I want to spin it into yarn for a sweater. We do recycle the hair, in a way. The birds usually collect it for nests. Well, the birds that dare come into our yard and are not chased off by the dogs.

Warning... Lots of stuff!

2007-06-19T19:17:00.001-05:00

This month’s Project Spectrum colors are Red, Black and Metallic so it is only fitting that I use it to post a congrats to the San Antonio Spurs for their win last week, making them the 2007 NBA World Champions. Living in San Antonio you can’t help but get caught up in the Spurs fanfare. Watching the end of the game made me a little sad that we were not there to join our neighbor’s party!

So, knitting is making a slow but steady progress. I have many more inches to go on Crumpets. I keep going around and around and around and…

Monica is done! The final product is cute, again. As you will remember, this is the tank that had the color bleed problems. Before vacation I removed the ruffle and washed the blue body again, three times, with vinegar. It still had color coming out. Last week I washed it three more times with color still coming out. Last Thursday Christine (who is working on the never ending shrug) suggested I run it through the washing machine. Even though the instructions are for hand wash I figured I had nothing to lose. So, I popped it onto some dental floss and threw it into the washer on delicate with some Woolite and a color catcher. The color catcher came out very blue. So, I ran it through another rinse cycle with another color catcher and this time it came out exactly as it went in. When I hold up the body against the leftover yarn there is a definite difference in the color, which shows just how much color ran out of this yarn. I am contemplating contacting the Brown Sheep Company to complain! The details of this FO will be posted under the link for my 2007 finished projects.

I still have many more projects on the needles and I am starting to feel the pressure of finishing what I have started. Let’s see, the list includes:

Finish sock #2 in the Jitterbug
Finish the sleeves on Angelina (this has been waiting on a pair of Knit Picks Options needles. A group of us were going in together to save the shipping but KP has repeatedly delayed the CotLin’s arrival)
Lady Eleanor
Print ‘O The Wave shawl in Alpaca Cloud
Piglet’s Christmas stocking.

Did I mention that I had frogged the stocking? Well, I did. Now, I am recharting the entire pattern in hopes of correcting all the mistakes before they happen. I know, it would be easier to find a new pattern!

In other news, fellow SnB’er MaryAnne turned us on to Sarah’s Yarns last night. Sarah will send you a small sample of a yarn that is enough to make a swatch. The cost – the cost of shipping - $4.90 by Priority Mail. That’s it! Today I ordered a sample of her Bamboo to try out in hopes of using it for the Tubey Turtleneck in Fitted Knits. I am happy to spend $5 and get a sample to test rather than spend $50 and get yarn that won’t work for a project.

On a final note… Can you guess what this is? If you guessed Baxter, you would be correct. This is just five minutes of brushing tonight. This photo does not show the pile of Calvin. Calvin didn’t lose as much in the brushing because he has dropped most of it on my living room floor. Ugh! I hate coat-blowing season.

Vacation... Not Really!

2007-06-11T07:33:00.000-05:00

I’m back and I have so much to tell y’all. The past few weeks have been extremely crazy.

First, thank you for the prayers and good thoughts. Our trip home was stressful. We didn’t talk about “the issue” until the last day. This has taken a toll on my dad’s health. Just before we arrived he was hospitalized with chest pains and shortness of breath. The doctor found nothing wrong with his heart and blames it on stress. Some good news came this week. He went to court and his attorney says “the issue” has been dismissed and will go no further. Their house is 99% sold. They have pretty much severed all ties in their small town. It is sad really.

After a few days in Maine we headed to Big Boy’s family in Massachusetts. Thank goodness we stayed in a hotel! Our families are so different – there is no way I could discuss “the issue” with the in-laws. Instead I had to pretend like nothing was wrong and play nice. I can only play nice for so many days before I lose my mind! MIL seems to be losing her short-term memory because she asked me the same questions a minimum of three times. They never have enough food to eat; they don’t use spices in their cooking. MIL didn’t understand why I didn’t want to use the high chair that Big Boy used 38 years ago. It is metal, and rusted, and sitting out in the basement. We could just “tie him in”.

Piglet… Oh Piglet… He was a trooper in the car. But, then, he grew accustomed to having someone hold or play with him 24/7. Naps that are normally two hours in his bed became a half hour on Grandma and Papa’s laps. Coming home yesterday was a big hit of reality. Suddenly, he was required to go to bed on time and he had no one in his face all day (MIL). The poor kid was like a tourist attraction! And the questions, sheesh! Does he have a high chair? Why does he make that noise? When will he outgrow this car seat? Where do you buy car seats? Does he have a high chair? Why doesn’t he have a high chair? What does he eat? Well… you get the point. While we were gone he practiced rolling over on the beds and got his first hand slap (in-laws were not crazy about it but they can kiss my ass).

So, here are a few new photos of Piglet. He is hanging out on his new lawn chair, in my parent’s backyard.

His new friend E was trying to steal his binky and he wasn’t too happy about that.

Here we are at Fenway Park. Notice Piglet is decked out in his Red Sox outfit, Red Sox binky and binky holder. He now owns a training camp jersey just like dad’s!

A little knitting happened during the trip. I started and finished the replacement ruffle for Monica; got in a few inches on Crumpets before I ran out of yarn; and made it all the way to the start of the foot on sock #2. I also read The Knitting Circle and the new John Sandford book.

Coffee Swap!

2007-05-24T16:20:00.001-05:00

My package arrived from Amy! I was completely overwhelmed by the goodies. So overwhelmed that I hit post when I loaded the photo instead of draft like I intended!! My package included:

Candlelight Coffee House Blend and Caramel (from our SnB meeting spot in SA)
Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines
Double Chocolate Crisps
2 Biscotti cookies
Creamy dark chocolate cookie
White chocolate amaretto cookie
San Antonio coffee mug wtih 3 different flavors of Kona coffee
Handmaiden sea silk yarn in Amethyst
Stitch markers in the same color as the yarn

I took the yarn to SnB tonight and practically had to handcuff it to myself to keep the girls from *stealing* it!

Amy, thank you for making my first swap so memorable and thank you for having this special package on a day that was really sucky!

Thank y'all for the thoughts and prayers. I just can't talk about it right now. I'm not sure if I could even form the words to talk about it. Big Boy and I are fine, but it affects my family and therefore affects us.

Please Pray!

2007-05-24T08:15:00.000-05:00

For those of you who believe in prayer, my family needs your prayers! I may be absent for a while but I will be back as soon as my head stops spinning and I can gather a clear thought.

I'm Bleeding Over Here

2007-05-22T11:48:00.001-05:00

I finished Monica last week. I washed it in a little Euclan and laid it on a towel to block. Yesterday I went in to admire my handiwork and there it was… bleeding. Actually, it was more that the color wicked up into the ruffle. I had been afraid of bleeding so I blocked the ruffle up. Like this... It didn’t matter. I have rewashed it several times in hopes of the teal washing out. It didn’t. So, now I am left with a few choices. None of them terribly appealing.

I can remove the ruffle since it is knit separately.

a. After removing the ruffle I can wash the hell out of the teal portion to remove the excess color and then knit another ruffle in white and attach.
b. I can knit another ruffle in the same teal (if I have enough) and make a one-color piece that isn’t quite as cute.

2. I can try to dye the whole garment and hope it over dyes and does not look like a huge mess. This options terrifies me.

Suggestions?

Last night at SnB I frogged Icarus (this was after I ran out of yarn for the top of Crumpets and spilled beads all over the floor). I have decided to make Eunny's Print O' The Wave Stole. I'm a little scared!

I have some sad news on the baby bird front. Yesterday I noticed that the nest was empty and then I saw a little bit of fuzz in the plant. The fuzz was moving so I left it alone hoping that mama bird would come back to rescue the baby that had fallen from the nest. Later on I checked it again and baby had turned itself around so all I could see was a little leg. Today I checked and the little leg is in the same position as yesterday and all does not look healthy in there. I don't know what to do about the, um, corpse. Personally, I'm not eager to touch it. Ack!

Memory Lane

2007-05-19T18:43:00.000-05:00

In the past few weeks I have spent a lot of time thinking about my childhood; the good, the bad, the ugly and the down right insane. I was reading Joan’s blog and her topic took me down memory lane. Do you know what a Fiddlehead is? My mom and my grandfather loved fiddleheads. They would head to the river together to pick them and then we would have them at dinner. Well, everyone but me would eat them for dinner. They always had them the same way – butter and vinegar. The article Joan’s blog entry refers to talks about many recipes for fiddleheads but we were havin none of that fancy eatin in our house! Even better, my Grammy eats dandelions.

It is amazing the things we remember from our childhood that makes us wonder what our parents were thinking. Piglet and I were cruising through the children’s section at Barnes & Noble and I saw books that I loved as a child and it brought back memories. My parents were really strict about a lot of things. I had read most of Judy Blume’s books when my mother found out that several didn’t meet the standards of her friends and from then on they were banned. Of course she didn’t bother to read the books before banning them. I didn’t read a lot of the classics (except the Laura Ingalls Wilder books) because they were the books of the heathens. So, I read the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. I owned them all and read them many times over. Children today have so many more opportunities than I had. We didn’t have Borders, Barnes & Noble or Amazon. We had one bookstore in town and I don’t think it had “story time”. We had one public library but we didn’t use it because libraries were for hippies (I grew up in the 70’s) and poor people. We were neither. My elementary school had a library – it had most of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

I grew up in a small town and my parents grew up in an even smaller town. I am grateful that I got the hell out of dodge! But, it has made me more aware of what we do for and to Piglet and it has made me more understanding of the ignorance that comes from living in an isolated state.

Thinking about growing up started me on another search. I have a high school reunion this summer. I won’t say what number but it is definitely into double digits. It led me to find old classmates on Classmates and Myspace (ack! I felt dirty just going there. If the police are reading this, I am not looking for a prom date!). I never did find anything on my reunion but I don’t know if I would go anyway. Many years, states, jobs and friends later I still feel intimidated by the popular kids. I was not one of them. What would we talk about? “Remember when we…” I didn’t have that with most of my classmates. Most of my friends were at church. I knew a lot of my classmates my whole life but didn’t go to school with them until high school. It was weird being the old and new kid all at the same time. It was a small world. Kids didn’t just move in and out of our town. By high school they had been in school together for nine years. Truth is, I don't really care what any of them are up to. I hope Piglet gets to be in an environment that holds old friends but opens to new ones without question.

We are going home in a few weeks. Home to a world that rarely changes. Home to a place where people are fascinated that we don’t live there (and our town has more than one stop light). Home to a place where I lived most of my life but I don’t look or sound like people who have lived there most of their life. Home to a parent who remembers events totally different than I even though we were both there. Home to a house I didn’t grow up in. Home to a place that isn’t really home.

Done That But Not That

2007-05-17T07:06:00.000-05:00

Here is a super cool Meme that I saw over on Jen's blog. It is fun to see the progress I have made in my nearly four years of knitting.

Afghan (in crochet)
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Baby items
Bobbles
Button holes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Cardigan
Charity knitting
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Darning
Designing knitted garments
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Dying with plant colours
Dying yarn
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fulling/felting
Garter stitch
Gloves
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Hair accessories
Hat
Holiday related knitting
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener BO
Knitting a gift
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting art
Knitting for a living
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting on a loom
Knitting smocking
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Knitting to make money
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously I actually did this on one circular simultaneously, but I don't see that as an option, so I'm adding it here.
Knitting with alpaca
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Knitting with beads
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with cashmere
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with cotton
Knitting with dog/cat hair (technically I have not used a yarn spun with dog hair but dog hair gets knitted into every garment. Baxter likes to spread the love!)
Knitting with dpns
Knitting with linen
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Knitting with silk
Knitting with someone elses handspun yarn
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Knitting with wool
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Lace patterns
Long Tail CO
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Olympic knitting
Participating in a KAL
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book
Purses/bags
Rug
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Slippers
Socks: toe-up
Socks: top-down
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Stuffed toys
Swatching
Sweater
Teaching a child to knit
Teaching a male how to knit
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy/doll clothing
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Writing a pattern

I counted and I have accomplished 54 of the 100 items and have another 20 I would like to do. The one thing I love about knitting is you can learn as much or as little as you like and still be a knitter. I think any hobby should be whatever you want to put into it. No one should pressure you to make it more than you want.

Oh Socky Socky Now - Project Spectrum Wednesday

2007-05-16T09:03:00.000-05:00

I’ve been a little lax in the Project Spectrum department so here is a little colorful goodness for you. I hope the glare of the white leg doesn't blind y'all!

This is my sock. Just one. I don’t have second sock syndrome with this yarn, I just have no time syndrome. Seriously, I love this yarn. It is Jitterbug by Colinette. It is by far the best sock yarn ever. It is soft, stretchy, and does not split – ever. It has spoiled me for any other sock yarn. I tried on this sock and it fits like a glove – something that hardly ever happens with my handmade socks. Ever more, it didn’t lose its shape. When I took the sock off it sprung right back into shape. As soon as I finish the second sock I will post all of the gory details. I think the second sock will become my traveling partner when we drive to visit the in-laws and out-laws in a few weeks.

I love the Jitterbug so much I bought two more skeins at the LYS on Sunday. The color is Florentina.

And, here is the beginning of the new little Crumpets with beads. It is really cute! I really like this pattern and I REALLY like it with the beads.

I have a new link in the sidebar. All of my 2007 works of art are going to be added to a second blog as well. The blog will be dedicated to FO’s. It was getting to be too much of a pain to add each individual piece in blogger. Mac offers us limited blog capabilities for free so I decided to use it rather than sign up for another option like Flickr.

Cheep Cheep

2007-05-15T15:51:00.000-05:00

We have babies! There are several little fuzzballs in the nest. I assume all five eggs hatched but it is really hard to tell since they are all piled on top of each other. When I peeked the other day there was just a little fuzz and a whole egg. I gave them a few days undisturbed and checked again today. After I took this first photo I did a little yard work and then came back to see if I could get a better look. Can you see it? A little, tiny, yellow beak! Honestly, I’m not one for birds – they can’t be potty trained (I have been used as a potty one too many times.) – but it is hard to resist that perfect little nest and those fuzzy little heads. I feel for the momma bird – feeding five noisy kids, bathing five noisy kids, and trying to give attention to five noisy kids. Can you tell it has been a rough day? The dogs have four legs that is twice as many as the child. That makes three dogs the equivalent of six children. Then there are the needs of the two-legged child. I’m exhausted!

To top off my day the knitting hasn’t been too pleasant. Mostly because I lack the ability to read directions (it is clear I am not cut out for home schooling). I had worked two and a half rounds of Crumpets when I realized that I screwed up the previous round. I tinked. Then as I was restarting round two I realized that I had also screwed up the previous round. I tinked. Two rounds. 186 stitches each. If I keep screwing up the little girl won’t get to wear this until NEXT summer.

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T03:38:00.000-05:00

I wish a happy Mother’s Day to all the women who are mothers, grandmothers, foster mothers, stepmothers, used to be mothers, want to be mothers and those who are mothers to children with four legs instead of two. I even wish a happy day to those who had the courage to stand up to society and admit you didn’t want to be a mother. It is 4:30 a.m. here on the east coast and I have started my Mother’s Day early. Piglet decided sleep was not for him last night and now he is asleep and I am wide awake. So is Annabelle. Baxter is getting in some snuggle time. It is going to be a L-O-N-G day.

So, what are y’all doing for Mother’s Day? I get to spend the day doing motherly duties. Big Boy left for BFE Saturday morning. So, no breakfast in bed, no spending the day reading on the deck while Big Boy does the dishes and diapers. The LYS is having a Mother’s Day sale so Piglet and I are going to head over there and then have lunch somewhere. The little guy bought me a gift certificate to a day spa! There are so many choices on the menu that I can’t choose where to start. I think I need a pedicure before we head out on vacation and will book a massage for when we return. After a week and a half of driving and visiting family I am going to need it BIG TIME!

In knitting news… I think Icarus is headed to the frog pond. I love the yarn and I love the pattern but I do not love them together. I just can’t get into the pattern. I think the next pattern will be done holding two strands together because this yarn is so delicate I a constantly worrying about a dropped stitch or accidentally knitting two stitches together. Elann has several new shawl patterns for FREE and a couple of gals have even started a KAL. Last night I cast on for Crumpet’s #2 and so far it looks really cute with the beads.

Wally World Excursion

2007-05-12T18:29:00.000-05:00

I went to Wal-Mart tonight. Anyone who knows me knows I hate shopping at Wal-Mart. It is not a political statement but an elitist one. I should probably be ashamed of saying that, but I’m not. It isn’t about poor vs. rich; it is about class vs. no class. I generally prefer Target because it is clean, well organized and well, has a clientele that doesn’t have to be told to wear shoes! So, why did I go there? Because they have this! Christine gave me the idea on Thursday and apparently she got it from Jenny. It was way cheaper than the one at Knit Picks! I have to figure out where everything is going and then make the labels. It is for holding my needles and whatever.

This afternoon I spent over two hours stringing beads for the Crumpet's dress. A little bit later I was laying on the floor with Piglet when Calvin hit me with his squeaky dog toy. Somehow Squeaky Dog had become tangled with the yarn that had the beads on it and he was on his way through my house! Fortunately I was able to save the beads but Squeaky Dog did not have as lucky a fate. He is in the process of being disemboweled as we speak!

Oh, Jayne asked who Phil Spector is. He is big time music producer. He has produced such hits as "To Know Him is To Love Him" and "Da Do Run Run" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling".

I'm Hooked!

2007-05-11T12:17:00.000-05:00

I’m hooked… Jayne gets sucked into the black hole known as Etsy and I have been sucked into the black hole known as Court TV. The Phil Spector trial is going on and it is like watching a train wreck or Cops – I am thoroughly disgusted and yet, I am compelled to watch while we eat lunch and Piglet naps. Now, I realize you have to be “unique” in order to cut it in the entertainment industry but this guy left unique with his hairstyles and moved on to creepy, bizarre and psychotic with his lifestyle. He spends the entire day staring; I don't think I have ever seen him blink. Occasionally he looks over to the camera and it is eerie. It is like he is looking directly into my living room. How anyone could date him, marry him or raise children (he has two adopted children whom he would lock in their bedrooms!) with that freak is beyond me. The part that gets me are the women who still love him despite the fact that he held a gun to their head and held them hostage in his home! Sheesh! Some of them continued relationships with him after. HELLO! I can tell you with 100% certainty that should Big Boy ever do such a thing the relationship will be over. Big Boy, are you listening?

Thank you all for the comments about Piglet and his cuteness. I do not read him these comments because he already has a big head, literally.

Stash Enhancement

2007-05-07T14:48:00.000-05:00

On Friday afternoon we were privileged to see the Prince’s motorcade as he made his way to Norfolk. Here is the start of the motorcade (Big Boy suggested that the Prince was riding a motorcycle with the troopers)…

Here is the motorcade…
This photo made me really miss Texas and the wide open highways!

Here is the truck we nearly owned. Big Boy is fond of tailgating…

During our trip to DC this weekend I did a little LYS shopping and stash enhancement. The store had a display of the Monica tank from Knitty and it was just too cute to pass up. I picked up some blue and white Cotton Fleece – it isn’t pictured because I had already balled it and cast on for the top. I also picked up a few shades of brown Cotton Fleece to do a sweater for Piglet. The other stuff is an order from Elann and it all has a plan (so did everything else in the stash when I bought it!). The red will become another Crumpet’s dress, but this time with beads. The Austermann Mayfair Color will become the Turtleneck Tube Vest from Fitted Knits. The Highland Silk will become the Cozy V-neck Sweater from Fitted Knits. I have wanted the Ribby Cardi pattern for a while now. I have plans to make it with a button band instead of a zipper – unless someone wants to sew in the zipper for me :-)

And now what ya’ll have been waiting for… Piglet’s five month photo.

Project Spectrum

2007-05-03T12:43:00.000-05:00

I went out to water my fern the other day and this is what lay before my eyes. A little nest with five tiny eggs. I 'm not sure what type of bird the momma is because she flies off whenever I approach, but she is small and beige with a little bit of cream on the tips of her feathers. The eggs are a blue/green color. I hope they do not hatch while we are away this weekend because I really want to be around for the big event.

Today I am mailing off the hats and socks for the Afghans for Afghans program. They have extended their deadline so you still have time to get in some goodies and use up those half skeins languishing in your stash.

Seems I Hate to Seam

2007-05-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

I seamed the Angelina today and I was reminded, again, why I hate seams. I always have an easier time on one side of the garment than the other. The sleeves were an issue unto themselves. Next time I have a pattern for a garment knit all in one piece with the sleeves cast on increments I am going to follow Nona Knits idea for short row shoulders. I have some bulk under the arm and some areas that look a little weird but I don’t think anyone will be looking under there. I will try to flatten it when I block. Yeah, when…

I apologize for being MIA for the past few weeks. Sometimes I just have to take a break and hang by myself. Do you ever get tired of people? I often find myself wishing I were home with my dogs and my knitting. I already find myself explaining bad behavior to Piglet. I get frustrated with the junior high behavior of adults. Why is it we can be nice to someone in private but when our friend’s show up it is a whole different story?

Several things happened last week to bring me to contemplate the level of crazy in the world but this one takes the cake! I received an email from someone inviting me to join a new local knitting group and telling me about a “new” LYS. She assumed I didn’t know about the store because I do not have a link on my blog. She signed her name. I emailed her back telling her that I would not promote the “new” store because I had a bad experience there and have heard from many others about their bad experiences. I then received an email back asking about the experiences and a rant about supporting our LYS if we want to continue having them. (Frankly I would rather support a WHORE HOUSE that gives good customer service than a yarn shop that doesn’t. Ooops, that will get me a ton of spam) She went on to say that she has never met the owners but the partners are all very nice and I should tell the owner about my experience. Anyway, I started to get a little curious and well, you know what happened to the cat… I googled the email address. Whaddya know… the email address goes back to the LYS! That sneaky, sneaky____ (you fill in the blank!). This whole exchange was not some well-meaning, concerned customer it was the owner. She would have been more likely to get my patronage back (ok, not really) if she had just been honest from the start: “hello, my name is ____ and I own ____ and I am trying to get my name out there. Would you be willing to add my link to your blog?” Would this have been so hard? I still would have said no but not based on my bad experience. I recently found out that she went into another LYS and approached their customers about coming to her store. UGH!

Some good happenings… Benne has started a blog. A fascinating blog. She raises ducks and her stories about the Momma ducks, surrogacy and ducklings are sweet, exciting and sometimes a little sad. I love the photographs! I like to tell Piglet about the ducks.

Gifts and Fo's

2007-04-27T14:27:00.000-05:00

I received the most precious gift this week! The postman brought this to my front door...

Each square was done by a different person over at the Elann chat site! I have proper thank you notes in the works for each of you but in the meantime a huge thank you to Libby, Betsy, Amy QOY, Barbara, Benne, Bri, Daryl and Trish!!!

Back of dress

Front of dress

Finally! This is the little Crumpet's dress from Chiagu. Details:
Needles: Size 5 and a cable needle
Yarn: Sonata and Esprit from Elann. The pattern calls for Lion Brand Cotton Ease and then adding elastic at the top. I used the Esprit, and elastic yarn, instead. The yarns are a different gauge so I had to adjust to get the finished chest the right size.
Size: 6 months. The baby was just born and is really tiny so she probably won't wear this for a while!
Accessories: Ribbon. The pattern also calls for beads on the bodice but I left them off. Next time I will definitely include them!
Notes: I did the Picot Cast On and the Picot Cast Off. Unfortunately I forgot the knit round between the eyelet round and the increase round on the skirt so weaving the ribbon was a little more difficult.

Knitter's Coffee Swap 2

2007-04-24T06:42:00.000-05:00

I think I need to head to Vegas! I recently joined the Knitter’s Coffee Swap and out of 99 other people to be matched with, I got Amy. I know Amy. Amy is from my San Antonio Stitch n Bitch! Amy won my drawing a few months ago. I am very excited about this!

Knitter’s Coffee Swap 2 Questions!

Whole bean or ground? Ground – my grinder died a few weeks ago. Plus, these days I don’t have time to grind the coffee myself.
Fully loaded or decaf? Bring on the heavy-duty, leaded coffee.
Regular or flavored? Either one is fine for me. I rarely buy the same flavor twice because I like to have a little variety.
How do you drink your coffee? With cream and sugar.
Favorite coffee ever? Probably Kona - Big Boy sent some to me when he was living in Hawaii and I was freezing my ass off in Maine.
Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? I am kind of fussy I guess. I like Starbucks, Ghirardelli and stuff like that.
Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Anything really. During Stitch & Bitch I will often have a chocolate chip cookie or toffee caramel square.
Anything else about your coffee preferences? Hmmm, don’t think so.
Yarn/fiber you love? Well, I like just about anything. There are a lot of new fibers out there that I haven’t tried yet and I am anxious to give them a try.
Yarn/fiber you hate? Red Heart Acrylic!
What's on your needles? Icarus, Angelina, a sock, a Christmas stocking Lady Eleanor. I think that’s it for now.
Favorite colors? Pinks, purples and blues.
Allergies? Nope
Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? Can’t think of anything at the moment.

I didn’t get to finish the WIP update because spring finally arrived. On Friday Piglet and I invaded the local Lowe’s and stocked up on flowers and veggies. Now I hurt. I trimmed shrubs, cleaned out weeds and planted. Big Boy did his share too but he thinks anything that involves color should be left to the girl. The fact that he does any yard work is a miracle because his family had a gardener for most of his life. Anyway, Piglet was a big help. LOL! He spent his weekend relaxing on the front porch and talking to the ferns. It was great to be outside and enjoying sun and fresh air! And Piglet finally got to wear some of his shorts!

On Saturday night we got a sitter and took in a movie and dinner. If you love Will Ferrell and you don’t mind a little crude humor you have to see Blades of Glory. I laughed until my stomach hurt. Here’s the thing… Will Ferrell has been around a while. His type of humor is well known or so I thought. People had their children at the movie. Some were not old enough to get the jokes but they were old enough to get the bad language. Others were old enough to understand the jokes but too young to be exposed to them. Then there was the woman behind me who kept saying “Oh My” every 5 seconds. I guess she didn’t see Old School or Wedding Crashers prior to seeing this movie. I needed a stress free movie after the past week.

I managed to get in a little knitting. Unfortunately Piglet has decided he does not want his late afternoon nap anymore and that was my prime knitting time. I guess I need to try keeping him awake more during the morning – maybe he can start helping with laundry!

Luck Be a Lady Tonight...

2007-04-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

as you can see, there hasn’t been much progress on the lady since the last posting. I have recently scheduled time with each project and hope to complete a good chunk on the shawl over the next few months. I still love this yarn. It is the Noro Lilly, a silk and cotton combo. While I enjoy the Entrelac technique I am really ready for this scarf to be done - I just want to wear it!

I'll try to get through it without my wings melting...

2007-04-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

This is Icarus. It has been a long time since I have worked in lace and now I remember why. I keep forgetting YO’s. I’m using size 2 needles but probably should use either size 0 or 1. That is a little too small for me! The yarn is Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks in the color Stream – perfect name. The yarn is really soft but I’ve never worked with yarn this tiny before so it is a little bit a challenge - but then, I've never been one to shy away from a challenge. I have to admit… I’m not sure if this is the best pattern for this yarn. I don’t know what it is but something is holding me back. Maybe a few days in time out will change my mind.

Tea & Crumpets Anyone?

2007-04-16T15:08:00.000-05:00

Here is the little Crumpets dress, nearly finished. I have a few more rounds on the skirt and then will finish with a Picot Bind Off. The giftee is here but she is tiny; it will be a while before she can wear the dress. I do have a problem with the top rolling and I’m not sure how to fix it – the yarn is Esprit from Elann.

I switched to the Options needles and while they make the knitting go faster and are easier on my hands, I hate that I have to stop every few rounds to tighten the cable. Even using the little “key” hasn’t helped. It is quite frustrating! I have to say that other than doing this in cotton; I have really enjoyed this little dress. I am planning another one in a larger size with the beads. I am trying to figure out color combinations - maybe a white top with a blue skirt and blue beads.

Oh, in case you are wondering, the second photo is the ribbon I am going to put on the dress!

How I Spent My Saturday

2007-04-14T14:05:00.000-05:00

So, how did you spend your Saturday? I cleaned out the ~~junk~~ guest room closet. I came up with all this stuff to donate the next time the DAV comes around. And then all of this stuff to sell on Ebay. I had to come to the realization that my days of rubber-stamping and scrap booking have come to an end. I held on to a few things in case I decide to put together something for Piglet before he graduates high school.

Recently Vamanta Knits had a clearance sale. No, she isn’t a store; she was clearing out some of her stash. Never one to pass up a good cause or a good sale, I took eight skeins of Baby Silk off her hands. I’ve had this exact color before and love it. She was so sweet to include the little stitch markers in the package.

Project Spectrum

2007-04-12T15:22:00.000-05:00

Here is one of my favorite yellows… Fizzy Lemonade. My San Antonio SnB meets at this fantastic, eclectic coffee shop/restaurant/bar/cake heaven. One of their specialties is the Fizzy Lemonade… a wonderfully refreshing drink on a hot summer Sunday afternoon. Ok, typing that made me think of a group of southern belles hanging on the front porch with their parasols and fans… “Why I do declare it is hotta than a crotch out he’ya on the porch and the only thang that will cool us is a tall glass of fizzy lemonade served by a tall, dark, handsome, nekked may’yan”. Crap, now I have that nekked man in my head and he goes by Derek Jeter. Ok, wait, where was I? Oh, right, Fizzy Lemonade. One day the bartender showed me how she made it and I have been making them at home ever since. Now that the warm weather has returned, I have stocked up on ingredients and now when Piglet takes his afternoon nap, I sit down with my Fizzy Lemonade and knit. Unfortunately, I do not have the yummy Candlelight Café cake or my knitting peeps.

I started on Icarus last week. Actually, I started twice. I have never knit with yarn this thin before so it is slow going. I also had some stitch marker issues. All of my small rubbers (stitch markers…get your minds out of the gutter!) were being used on another project and the large ones were way too big for the needles and yarn. I switched to my fancy set but the yarn slides through the rings too easily.

Last night I started a sock in the Jitterbug. I love this yarn. It isn’t really a self-striping but the colors blend nicely from one to another. The yarn is soft and bouncy. If you get a chance, give it a feel at your LYS.

Next week I will bring you a photo update of my never ending projects. Seriously, I think every project on the needles right now is going to take me a year to complete. Of course, I might get more accomplished if I didn’t have so many WIP’s!

Things No One Told Me...

2007-04-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

No one told me that being a parent meant losing hours of my life waiting. Yesterday we spent five hours waiting at Urgent Care. Big Boy noticed that Piglet’s eye was red and watery yesterday morning but thought he had just poked it with a finger. As the morning progressed it got worse. He was crying and refused to open his eyes. The pediatric clinic was booked and they told me that life, limb and eyesight should go immediately to the nearest ER. I assumed that meant we would not wait long. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Apparently eyesight does not rank as high as vomit. You know you have been there a long time when the nurse comes out to call someone else and mentions seeing you there for at least the last three hours. Now he has little antibiotic eye drops and we have to take him back in today for a follow up – more waiting! I’m a good knitter though; I remembered to grab my Crumpet’s dress to work on. I had to finally put it away when I got frustrated at the Options needle coming unscrewed from the cable about three times.

The other thing no one told me… it can snow in April, in Southern Virginia. Yep! We got up this morning to snow on the ground and more in the sky. My Baxter has never seen snow. On Tuesday it was in the 80’s and today it is snowing :-( Go Figure! I miss the warm weather!

What is this cold stuff?

Let's play "Where's Baxter"!

Help!

Snow Spa

At least my stick is still here!

This is my latest dyeing attempt. I think I shall call thee Easter Basket or Jelly Bean because you remind me of the fun colors of an Easter Basket, especially now that I am too old for an Easter Basket (except if it holds diamonds or a new car – hint hint Big Boy).

Pretty in Pink...

2007-04-06T07:22:00.000-05:00

What happens when you have this in your stash….. and you hate it?

Well, you pick up some Wilton’s at Michael's and get going. I used the Rose, Pink and Blue mixed with a little Pink. I started out dyeing just one skein to see what would happen and liked the results so much I did a second. I think I will do an Entralac scarf as a Christmas gift. Honestly, this is the first dyeing experiment that has pleased me. Usually the colors turn out nothing like the picture in my head (that happens to me a lot actually). I have two more skeins that may end up being mostly blue. I also have four skeins of black – any suggestions?

BTW, this wasn’t totally without speed bumps… I think I cut and spit spliced about four times!

I will never be as talented as Jayne though… go take a look!

Also, one of my favorite bloggers, Joan, just lost her dog, Rogan. If you get a chance, stop by and give her your condolences. If you love animals you know what she is going through. If you don't love animals, well, there is a special place in hell for you. Ok, I'm kidding, it isn't all that special :-) Don't leave me hate comments... I'll sic PETA on you!

Knit Picks

2007-04-04T11:17:00.000-05:00

… or the Postman was nearly picking my knits out of his ass! This afternoon I was sitting on my sofa and suddenly there was a ruckus from the canine division of the family. I go to the window and I see the postman heading down my driveway. Sweet Son of a Biscuit Maker my needles are here… but they aren’t. No needles by the front door… no needles on the porch… no needles on the walkway…um, why was the postman running down the driveway when he didn’t have a package? Maybe he left it in the driveway? What the hell? There is a box behind the tire of my car, in the garage. Ok, the door was open but why did he drop the box behind the tire of the car? What if I had just hopped in the car and not looked?

Anyway, I was so excited about the needles that I opened the box and switched the Crumpet’s dress over immediately. And while I was doing that I planned out the socks from my Jitterbug yarn. I think I will cast on for Icarus tonight. I am so excited!

FYI... Piglet had his 4 month check up today. He weighed in at 16 pounds, 13 ounces; 25 1/2 inches long and a head cirumference of 44 cm. His weight and length are between the 50th and 75th percentiles and his head is in the 90 to 95th percentile. His height is finally catching up with his weight. But, as I told the doctor today, his head had to stay big to hold up his cheeks!

Cool Dudes

2007-04-03T08:44:00.001-05:00

Are You Talkin to Me?

The way I see it, we enter and exit life the same way – bald, eating soft foods, wanting to do more than our bodies can handle and sleeping on the front porch.

And, well, even the dog needs to be cool around here.

What you can’t see in the Piglet picture is how wet the front of his shirt is. He has taken up spitting as a sport. It was cute the first day but now he is taking the “practice makes perfect” theory a little too far.

To answer the question of many… yes, the stocking is the last WIP in the basket. However, there is a list of things waiting to hop onto a needle. I am waiting for my new Knit Picks needles to arrive and then I will cast on for the Icarus and maybe even a pair of socks for me. As much as I love casting on new items, I also get to a point where finishing what I have started weighs on me. It is the way I was raised and my mother’s guilt still hangs over my head. Yes, I still pick up my toys when I am done playing with them. LOL! As for those needles – they have been sitting at the postal annex about a mile from my house since 9:00 a.m. on the 31st. Can someone explain to me how they can’t make it the mile to my house? The box my parents mailed on the 30th arrived yesterday!

A special thank you to Benne for the errata on the stocking. I too am shocked that it went until March before anything was posted. I’m not sure what difference error #1 makes because I think my cable looks just fine (except the part where I cabled in the wrong direction and didn’t notice it for several rounds!). However, error #2 is a huge mistake! Transposing which chart to work screws up the entire stocking. I know mistakes happen. But, this mistake is huge and it seems like almost every pattern in this issue has errors. Perhaps they should look at a little restructuring in their proofreading department!

Runagogo has started round two. With the good weather ahead I hope to make my goal. Today I am including my time cleaning the carpets. I have burned at least a mile's worth of calories. And now I am thoroughly grossed out so probably won't be able to eat for a while.

Piglet's Stocking

2007-03-26T08:38:00.000-05:00

Here is the latest update on the final WIP in the basket. This is Piglet's Christmas Stocking . The pattern is from Vogue Holiday 2006. Do you see the weird little spot in the cable on the left? Well, that is where the pattern says to move 2 knit stitches to the cable needle. So, I moved them knitwise. Turns out that wasn't right. Instead of making the nice cable twist it sort of stretched out the stitch and made a lump. I only did it on one side so this will be the side that faces the fireplace!

Last night at SnB the girls reminded me that I would need to walk 60 miles today to complete my goal of 100 miles by April 1. Since 3 miles a day is usually my max I don't think I am going to make it. I have extended my goal to June 1. Hopefully I will no longer be sidelined by illness, cold weather, pulled hamstrings or just plain laziness.

Piglet and Lady Eleanor Update

2007-03-26T08:32:00.000-05:00

Here is Lady Eleanor. She is coming along, just not quickly. My goal is to have it finished by June to take on my trip to New England. I recently moved this project into the bedroom and I try to work on at least two triangles a night before I fall asleep. Of course there is the risk of knitting while sleepy. Last night I messed up an end triangle and had to frog it. I also thought I had neglected to do an end triangle a repeat back but it turns out I was just hallucinating.

I like cerealSo does Annabelle!

For those of you who haven't seen the Piglet in a while, here are the latest pictures. He is growing so fast these days. He is nearly out of his 3-6 month clothes. As you can see, cereal is a big hit around here. His new nickname around here is Chatty Cathy :-)

BTW, Blogger is having photo issues again! I guess we get what we pay for huh?

Project Spectrum Wednesday

2007-03-26T08:28:00.000-05:00

Angelina

Close up of the lace

This is Angelina. The top photo shows how she will look when she is seamed - kinda. The collar and sides will fold back. The arms will have about 9" of lace added on. I am just about done with the bottom lace. I worked the collar and bottom together for a while so that I could make sure the lace matched - one is worked on the right side of the lace, the other on the wrong. It is a little confusing! The photos do not really show how pretty the blue of the yarn is.

I finally broke down and ordered new needles. I love the Denise except when working with cotton or on the smaller sizes where the cable is the same diameter as the needle making it hard to move the stitches around. I have ordered some of the Knit Picks Options but I did not order the set. Instead, I picked the sizes I use the most and ordered those along with size 40 and 47 inch cables. Now that I have wandered into the world of Magic Loop I don't think I will use the smaller cables much. I also ordered sizes 1 and 2 of the permanent circulars. I am pretty excited about the new needles and hope I don't end up losing 400 stitches due to a bad join!

Joan asked if I was making Lady Eleanor starting on the long side. The answer is no. I had to turn the work so that the camera would not capture the giant pile of mail that Big Boy had been saving on the kitchen table. Plus, I haven't been able to work on it much and so right now it is more wide than long. In the end it will be 23" wide and 70" long. I have a way to go to get to the end!

AH HA!

2007-03-26T08:26:00.000-05:00

Don’t you just love it when you get that “AH HA” moment and it actually works? I had it yesterday with the Crumpet’s dress. However, there were many obstacles before I finally got there.

Since I was using a lighter yarn than called for I had to do some math. Well, I have a tendency to not completely read something, screw it up and then blame the pattern. I didn’t read that the pattern was written in the round so when my math came up with a 24” finished chest instead of the 17” in the pattern I decided that the author must be on crack. Especially since you are then supposed to add elastic, Oh hello! 24/2 = 12” that then stretches to 17” with the help of elastic. AH HA!
I could not find the Picot Cast On in any of my books so I opted for a Ruffled Cast On that meant I had to cast on 4x the number of needed stitches and decrease. That is over 500 stitches! So, I Google Picot Cast On and find that NonaKnits has the whole thing written out on her blog. AH HA!
How do I add elastic? I don’t sew. How will I get the ends sewn together without looking like Piglet did it? Since the yarn is cotton it just isn’t going to stretch on its own. So, I check out the Crumpet’s KAL from a few years ago to see how others did it. I hit a post by Wendy Bernard of the Knit & Tonic fame and find that she used Cascade Fixation in the top for Girlfriend. AH HA! I happen to have Elann’s Esprit in my stash and it is just like Fixation and it is the same gauge as the Sonata I am using for the skirt. Holy Crap! This just might work.

I got so excited that I made Big Boy do the dishes and entertain Piglet so I could cast on and do a few rounds. I am so excited that I am trying to figure out if there is a little girl in my life who might need one with the beads just so I can use the beads! Anyway, I am keeping with the plan to do it in white. I don’t think I have the right ribbon in my stash of ribbon (yes, I have a ribbon fetish!) so I think I will take a trip to Michael’s this week. Maybe while I am there I will check out the bead aisle too. As I complete each round of smocking I kind of wish I were doing one with beads - it would be so darn cute!

Here is the beginning of the dress. It is done top down and so far I have the three inches of bodice done.
So, in addition to my AH HA moments on this pattern I also had one with the gauge swatch I did. I didn’t know if I would like it on size 4 or 5 needles so I swatched in both and they turned out to have just about the same gauge. Actually, the size 4 gave me a quarter stitch less than the size 5. After I did that count several times to make sure I had it right I realized the difference. The size 5 needles were Denise's that had less slide action going on. The size 4 was a metal Inox and the stitches were moving all over the place. They were moving down the cord as I was knitting therefore, stretching out. I opted to go with the size 5 Denise because even though I have to work a little harder to move the stitches around, I don’t have to work as hard to keep them from falling off the needle and stretching out as I go.

We are heading to the DC area this weekend and I am looking forward to three hours of knitting in each direction. I doubt I will get in much knitting time while we are there because I have shopping and eating to do. LOL! We have plans to hit Pei Wei, Bertucci’s and Chipotle ~~all in the same day~~ during our few days there. We also have to see friends and show off Piglet. We are going to a promotion ceremony for an old friend of Big Boy so of course Piglet had to have a new outfit. I will try to get pictures of him in his argyle vest.

I have done a little instant gratification knitting over the past few weeks. Here are two hats and a pair of socks for the Afghan For Afghans program. The hats are done in Highland Wool that I dyed myself. The socks are done in Wildfoote doubled and done with my new talent - magic loop and toe up!
To prove to ya'll that I have indeed been knitting I am going to post WIP's all week long. It just seems that I have projects that are never ending. Lots of lace, ribbing and cables coming your way!

Swiftly

2007-03-22T15:26:00.000-05:00

Since I'm not all that swift I had to buy this little gem. I picked it up from Joann's and with the 50% off coupon I was able to get the large for less than the price of the medium. I am very excited to use it. Frankly, skeining yarn between my hand and elbow was getting annoying! I just have one question 'cause I'm not too bright and the darn thing didn't come with instructions. There are all these little holes in the center of the arms. I can only assume they are to thread the end of the yarn through when starting but I could be wrong. Am I? I am going to use it this morning on the Sonata I frogged from Piglet's sweater. I balled it but it is still all crinkly. I have to work quickly because it has a new purpose. Last night I cast on for the Crumpet's dress from Chiagu. My stitches were a little loose for what I like so I need to frog and do a gauge swatch with different needles. I am doing the dress in white in the 3-6 month size and will use a vibrant ribbon. I am leaving off the beads because it takes too much time and I have to work fast. Of course this means that everything else has been put on hold. Oh well, it will be worth it! Besides, it is now too warm for my Angelina or Lady Eleanor!

A Post About Nothing

2007-03-21T18:55:00.000-05:00

This will be a photoless post because I just haven’t managed to take photos of anything this week. Big Boy has been traveling since Sunday leaving me to care for the four children. Seriously, the dogs are as much work as the human kid! And it seems that lately whenever he travels someone in this house gets sick. Ok, it’s me. I spent most of today sitting in the Urgent Care waiting for another antibiotic. Thankfully Piglet was very well behaved and spent most of his time there trying to find someone who would pay attention to him. Big Boy returns home late tonight and we are all very glad. Actually, as I explained to him this morning, no one but me notices that he is gone. Everyone still gets their needs met whether by one person or two. It is me who ends up needing the spa day!

I got in a little knitting this week. Piglet and I trekked to SnB on Monday night and Piglet let me do a little knitting before he needed to eat and then spit up on anyone within reach. The girls have aptly named him “Little Buddha”. What would normally be my knitting time has been sucked up – Piglet seems to think I am his sole form of entertainment and requires that I make faces for him at least 8 out of 10 hours a day. One only has so many faces in their repertoire! And tonight he will only settle down if we listen to his kid’s music on Itunes – ACK! This is a habit Big Boy started and it will be up to him to finish it! Someone tell me I will become immune to it and won’t want to strangle Bingo Was His Name-O!

Project Spectrum Wednesday

2007-03-14T12:48:00.000-05:00

This is how I start my day… surrounded in a sea of white fluff. Annabelle sleeps in our room every night but doesn’t usually get on the bed until Charley gets up in the morning (that's her at the top of the bed). I think she knows her job is done for the night. Baxter and Calvin alternate sleeping in our room but every morning Baxter comes in and snuggles with mom. Don’t worry, Calvin gets to sleep up there on his nights. He also gets to go outside alone in the mornings and spend time with Big Boy – ALONE. This morning I woke up as the filling in a Pyr sandwich. Many mornings I have a tail in my face, paws in my back or no feeling in my legs from the giant head. But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

DISCLAIMER: Names and locations have been changed to protect my life.
This is the part where I will probably piss off a few people but, well, don’t really care. As a kid I was like every other girl and wanted to be friends with the popular people. As an adult I find that the last person I want to hang with is the popular one. Here’s the thing, if your group or friends are often called a “clique”, you probably are. Those who seem to deny it the most are those in the thick of it! This post has been a long time in the making as my irritation would ebb and tide. Several things have happened over the past week to make me put it all out there. The other night I was at a gathering and a woman I was talking to told me she was moving to the other side of the room because she wanted to be near her friend. After I finished vomiting I realized this was my opportunity to find someone less childish to talk to. I am on several lists and one in particular has a small group who alienate others. I don’t care if ya’ll are friends off list and email each other or get pedicures together or wax each other’s ass. The problem comes in when you have individual contact with each other but on a public list will post “Tammy, Donna and Harriet – look in your mailbox because I have sent you a present”. The other 300 readers do not need to know that you are sending presents to just your three friends. The only reason I can see for this is your insecurity and need for everyone to think you are so great. We don’t! At that moment, you tell the others that you only care about those few people. I would never walk into a department store, grab their intercom and announce that I am buying gifts for Tammy, Donna, and Harriet. That is essentially what happens here. But then again, I do things for my friends because I love them and not because I am trying to buy their love. At the same time, if you tell people you welcome their opinion and are open to discussing the situation, do not berate them when they give you their opinion. It is childish. If you don’t want opinions, then put up a disclaimer at the top of your site/list that says NO OPINIONS ALLOWED. Or better yet, just keep the conversation to the reason for the list, whether it is knitting, fire swallowing or the beheading of small mice (sorry, been singing a lot of Little Bunny Foo Foo).

So, on to good things…. Congratulations to Eunny Jang for her new position with Interweave Knits. I am so excited that someone young, talented and classy will be taking over. Now if Vogue would just get Wendy Bernard we would be all set in the knitting world.

Jayne has opened a new little store of hand dyed yarns. They are so pretty and cheerful. If you like something, buy it because it will be gone in a minute.

I did a little ~~dying~~dyeing last week but my colors were not as wonderful as Jayne’s. Of course, I only have four little pots and that Christmas Red is definitely Christmas Red. No matter how many times I rinsed the yarn, the red still comes off on my hands when I touch it. I think it makes me festive

Hoodie Hell

2007-03-09T17:10:00.000-05:00

So I’m doing it. I’m frogging this sweater. After much contemplation and a few odd looks and “umm’s” from the SnB girls last night, the decision was made. This sweater is just wrong on many levels. It fits Piglet like one of those Mexican poncho/sweaters we all wore in the 80’s/90’s. The hood is just ugly. No matter how you look at it. Now, here is where I had that “AHA” moment and felt totally stupid when it occurred (see Christine – we all have them). I looked at the pattern again… I remember the days I was finishing this sweater. It was as Piglet was getting sick and I was taking him to the doctor five days in a row and I had gone three nights without sleep. Yep, that totally explains why I missed the part that says “join top hood seam”. Somehow I translated that part to mean attaching the hood to the back. Even if I were to correct the hood, the sweater just has issues.

Then I had another AHA moment. I have perused the net for hours looking for a sweater or vest pattern for Piglet. HELLO! I have a book of baby and kid patterns that give you instructions for any type of sweater you want and it is written for cotton. It is the Style Your Own Kid's Knits. Kim and Susan, it is the one with the boxing kangaroo and deranged clown. I won’t be adding a motif! I have made several sweaters from this book so now I am banging my head on a wall wondering why I didn’t use it in the first place! I think this time I will either make it a hoodie cardigan (‘cause Piglet’s head is enormous) or just a v-neck sweater.

I have to admit; I don’t mind frogging the hours of work if it will net me a better product in the end. It is the hours of reknitting with cotton. Maybe I will make a bigger size in case it goes into time out for a while!

Now I have to figure out the best way to seam sleeves on the Angelina shrug. The garment is knit all in one piece with the sleeves cast on every few rows. Any tips on how to seam sleeves that are stair stepped?

On the agenda for today – dyeing yarn. I had done some Kool Aid dyeing a while back and the colors were terrible. This time I sprung for the fancy Wilton colors. I’ll post pictures if it turns out better than the hoodie!

Project Spectrum Wednesday

2007-03-07T13:24:00.000-05:00

I’m a winner!

I won this beautiful yarn over at Loves to Bike and Knit. It is the Alpaca Cloud in Stream - the perfect name for the color BTW. It is the perfect color for Project Spectrum. It is so soft and pretty! It has asked to be several things, now I just have to pick one. Yesterday while Piglet was playing on his mat and talking to his toys I cruised through a few of my patterns. I am thinking about the Lilly of the Valley Shawl from the new Lace Style. But then again there is the Trellis Lace Scarf (by Margaret Stove in the Vogue Knitting Accessorize book), Icarus, Leaf and Acorn Scarf, and Trellis Scarf. So many choices!

This has been an “I don’t wanna week”. Laundry hasn’t been completed, groceries haven’t been purchased and the bed hasn’t been made because – I DON’T WANNA! Monday was a rough day but thankfully a little knitting at Stitch & Bitch made me feel better. I think it is, in part, due to the weather. Last week was sunny and nearly 60 all week. This week is back down to the 40’s (if we are lucky) and today holds the possibility of snow and rain. The changes are wreaking havoc with my body. Something has crawled into my throat and it sort of feels like swallowing glass shards. I don’t feel sick; I just don’t feel like being a housewife this week!

We started the Piglet on cereal this week. He is only three months but frankly, he never feels full. Since then he has been much more agreeable. He naps better than he has in weeks. Here’s the thing – the boy would eat eight ounces of formula if I gave it to him but then he would spit it all up. His eyes are bigger than his belly. I finally figured out that he needed something bulky to feel full. I equate it to eating an orange or a slice of bread – which one will make you feel full.

A little knitting has happened.

I was able to rip out the picked up stitches on Angelina and started the lace collar. I put in a lifeline in case I started the lace on the wrong side due to the jacked up instructions. Yes, I said jacked up!

Piglet’s sweater is completed but I haven’t clipped the ends yet. I will post an FO picture one of these days.

Lady Eleanor is chugging along. I work on it when I have just a few minutes and can’t get into something that needs brain power. I absolutely love the Noro Lilly and will happily buy more if I can find it at the bargain price of $4 a skein!

I was able to work on the stocking yesterday. It is coming along and I can finally see the cable patterns; they make sense now. I’m not crazy about the yarn though. It is Telemark from Knit Picks and it is kind of rough. However, it is for a Christmas Stocking so it doesn’t have to be soft – just durable, stretchy and cheap!

Frustration!

2007-03-05T14:45:00.000-05:00

I think I mentioned a few posts back that I found an error in the Angelina pattern. Well, I have since found two more. One, found after I picked up stitches. I had 187 and was supposed to have 193. I added, added, subtracted, multiplied, divided and bayed at the moon and the numbers still came out to 187. 42+36+30+37+42 = 187 no matter if you use new math, old math or an abbacus. I finally checked the White Lies Designs Yahoo Group and discovered that this error was brought to the designer's attention in 2005. Yes, 2005! That is nearly two years ago. She is still printing this pattern with the incorrect numbers. Her correction for this is to pick up an extra 3 stitches on each side of the neck. What does that mean? I have to rip out 145 stitches. As I was running the numbers for the 10th time and preparing to bang my head against the wall, Piglet started to cry. How long before he figures ou not to interrupt mommy when she is counting, foaming at the mouth or flinging yarn, needles, pattern and WIP across the room? Endless searches of the internet have brought a lot of people who made the jacket but none that posted about the errors. To add insult to injury - every search resulted in thousands of hits about Angelina Jolie and the number of people who think she is a homewrecker who illegally adopted her children. Do you think it is too early in the day for tequilla?

I've Got A Burn And It Feels Good

2007-03-02T10:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I realized that I am very behind in my goal of 100 miles to April 1(Run A Go Go). I have to get in 2 1/2 miles a day between now and then. Since our weather was warm the Piglet and I headed to the park for a 3 mile walk. I was only going to put in 2 miles but I noticed the extremely obese woman working her way to the second mile and I felt guilty. If the 400 pound woman can do 2 miles there is no reason why I can't do 3! Late last night my arm and shoulders started to hurt and I couldn't figure out why. This morning it dawned on me - I am pushing around an extra 39 pounds:

Stroller = 17 pounds
Car Seat = 8 pounds
Piglet = 14 pounds

The cost of outrunning the freaks at the park - Priceless.

Actually, our park is nice. It has 2 - 1 mile tracks that connect. The second mile is a little more isolated so I only use it if it is a very busy day. The park also has a state of the art playground and soccer fields where the local high school practices. However, it is directly across from the high school meaning that during lunch and after school it is a hang out. I'm sure the little hellions are ~~up to no good~~ just discussing their dreams, weekend plans and hot girls but I still don't trust them. More like I don't trust anyone wearing a heavy winter coat and a hood in 60 degree weather. It is also their smoking area - NICE! Oh wait, ours was at the grocery store next to the school so I guess I can't pick too much.

Piglet sleeps nicely as long as I keep moving. I guess when he is older and won't sleep anymore I will have to take up running to keep him going! Great tunes always help me move a little faster.

10 Songs on the Playlist:

You're So Vain - Carly Simon
Feels Like Home - Chantal Kreviazuk
Weight of the World - Chantal Kreviazuk
Made To Worship - Chris Tomlin
How To Save A Life - The Fray
Holding Out For A Hero - Frou Frou
Upside Down - Jack Johnson
Waiting On The World To Change - John Mayer
Your Body Is A Wonderland - John Mayer
Making Memories Of Us - Keith Urban

Project Spectrum Wednesday

2007-02-28T14:16:00.000-05:00

Here is this week's tribute to the Blue, White and Gray of February & March.

This little gem is the baby hoodie for Piglet. The pattern is based on one from Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino book. Notice anything strange? Well, the sleeves are practically to the waist. If I have to lengthen the bottom I will just scream. Also, the hood is a little weird. I doubt he will ever wear the hood. Of course, I would have known all of this if the picture in the book had shown the baby standing up as well as the back!

And what is this mess you ask? Well, it is the Angelina. I have finished the body and am doing the lace trim.

This is the semi-provisional cast on being ripped out and the stitches picked up. It is taking forever! I started pulling it out on Monday night at SnB and then continued last night and I've only picked up about 1/4 of the stitches. I think I might have lost a stitch already. *Sigh*

I picked up some new yarn yesterday. It is Smooth DK by King Cole. It is 100% acrylic and so incredibly soft. I think it will become a vest for Piglet if I can find a pattern. I also snagged a copy of Sahara. Ewe Knit & Kits also had the yarn from Tilli Tomas - YUM! That is all I can possibly say to describe this yarn - just YUM!

Eating, Singing and Dancing

2007-02-26T12:35:00.001-05:00

You Are Mexican Food

Spicy yet dependable.
You pull punches, but people still love you.

What Kind of Food Are You?

This is borrowed from Amy over at Knitty McPurlypants. What song is guaranteed to make you speed in your car? Dance in your seat? Sing out loud?

Here are my songs that make me roll down the windows, drive faster and sing realy loud (even if Big Boy doesn't like it!):

You're So Vain by Carly Simon
Any song by Jimmy Buffet
Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
Somebody's Baby by Jackson Browne
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leopard
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
There are many others but I just can't think of them right now.

I tag Susan, Janna, and Jayne to play along.

An Anniversary and a Splurge

2007-02-23T16:35:00.001-05:00

Ten years ago these two crazy kids went and got themselves hitched. Sounds all romantic doesn’t it? Well, here’s the real story. Big Boy was renting a crappy house in Rosamond, CA and the lease was running out. We couldn’t move into base housing unless we were married. Since neither of us were crazy about a February wedding in New England (brrrrr) we eloped. Two days later we moved into a new house and began this crazy life together. I should also mention that the practical side of me wanted a ring that I could look at every day and be reminded of our love versus a wedding that I wouldn’t remember the next day, not to mention something I could hawk for cash if things didn’t work out. In the days prior to Internet no one would pay squat for a wedding video. The vain side of me wanted a ring bigger than my friends' and we were way too old and financially secure for one that required a magnifying glass. Here we are ten years, ten pounds (yeah right!), one kid, three dogs, three houses, three cars, three states and more than three gray hairs later (only on Big Boy and Calvin – what does that say about Annabelle and I?).

What have we learned? Compromise, Compromise, Compromise. Know who you are and who your spouse is but also know who you are not and let your spouse pick up where you leave off. You can still be a liberated woman and admit that your husband is better at something than you are. Big Boy handles money better so he gets the bills. I’m better at shopping and organizing and planting flowers so that is my job in the house. We accept our strengths and weaknesses and help each other along. We both kill bugs and put stuff together (except momma don’t do gas and electrical – ouch!). And of course, we both change poopy diapers but I would gladly give that job over if someone wanted to take it (if we win the mega millions this week I am hiring a nanny just to do poopy diapers!). We have also learned that no matter where you go you take yourself with you. Many of our friends think their problems will go away with the next assignment or the next job. They don’t. You are still the same people.

What are our goals for the next ten years? Um, stay married? Lose the ten pounds? Hopefully retire from the Air Force and start our second career, settle somewhere, buy a convertible and get the kid through potty training before Kindergarten. Probably not in that order. When Big Boy bought my ring I told him that I wanted to trade up a size at ten years. Well, this summer I excused Big Boy from that agreement with the understanding that I get a convertible at my 40th birthday (he has ~~three~~ ten more years to save up) and a three-carat ring at 20 years. I think it is only fair! Oh wait, by then we will be paying for Pop Warner, Little League, Karate, and new sneakers every month. SIGH!

Since this is a knitting blog... I picked up my copy of Lace Style this afternoon. I stood in the store and mentally dogeared the patterns I want to make. I am happy to see that it is not just scarves. The LYS is always so welcoming of Piglet and his stroller (probably because I have the Ford Focus of strollers and not the Excursion). The ladies always come over to listen to him snore. While I was there they introduced me to Jitterbug. It is a sock yarn from Colinette. My color is Alizerine. I was all set to buy some Koigu but this color was a lot more fun and $4 less in price! I think I will make myself some kicky socks to wear around the house.

Jeans

2007-02-23T13:36:00.000-05:00

By popular demand... the jeans are the Just Below the Waist, Curvy from Old Navy. My Old Navy store was seriously lacking in stock but they do have them online in two different colors and shipping is just $5 no matter how much you buy. Since I am always on there buying for the Piglet... The jeans also come in short, regular and long.

The other pair of great jeans are the Saturday jean from Ralph Lauren. Unfortunately I have not been able to find them since moving here. I like them because they are sized by inseam. I have a 32" inseam which is longer than a regular and not long enough for the long jeans. I usually end up with the long so that I don't look like I'm waiting for the flood :-)

Project Spectrum Wednesday

2007-02-21T15:07:00.000-05:00

This is our sky yesterday. It was such a beautiful day. I opened all the windows and blew out the germs that were collecting in our own little CDC. The Piglet and I went outside to enjoy the fresh air and work on Angelina. He has never been outside except in his car seat and then he is usually asleep so this was sensory overload. His little head whipped back and forth checking out everything! Is he one cool dude or what?

I had a little education enhancement today. Since I bought books I like to refer to them as education and not stash. I purchased Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel (Glampyre Knits) and the Spring Knit It. I don’t normally pick up this magazine but they had some cute stuff this time. I also considered Cables Untangled but since I am getting Lace Style tomorrow I thought I should pass for now. If you like doing cables – this is the book for you.

I finally did it. I broke down and bought “Curvy” jeans. I actually bought them about two weeks ago but just finally tried them on this morning. I’m curvy. It was time to admit it. I have hips. I am not built like a boy. I only wish more jean manufacturers would figure this out. When I hit puberty my hips developed. My Nana would call them “birthing hips” – something every 15-year-old girl wants to hear (this was the same women who wouldn’t discuss sex because if you talked about it kids would do it). Anyway, I digress. These jeans are great. They fit perfect in the places they are supposed to fit. They are low enough to be “hip” and “in” but not so low I have to hide behind the cart when getting those bottom shelf items at the grocery store. I currently own a pair that was purchased out of desperation when I managed to rip two pairs in one week. Well, they fit in the store but I didn’t take the “stretch” into consideration. Now 15 minutes into wearing I could give any plumber a run for his money!

The Crud!

2007-02-19T09:09:00.000-05:00

I guess I was lying when I said the crud was passing. I guess it was Saturday when I woke up with an elephant on my head (although in my house it is likely to be a big white dog). I took a bunch of medicines and they worked - for about an hour. I finally gave in at 4:00 this morning. I showered, put on make up (because I don't leave the house without it) and drug myself to the Urgent Care. I figured no one else would be there and I would be seen quickly and since I wasn't sleeping anyway... It looks like I started out with the same respiratory virus as the Piglet (aw, the little shit is learning to share already!) and then somewhere along the line it turned into a raging sinus infection. He also suggested I stop and pick up some Nyquil to help me sleep. Well, the only place open around here at 5:30 a.m. is Wallyworld and frankly, that place scares me in broad daylight so no way was I stopping when only the freaks were out.

I got home around 6:00 a.m. and crawled back into bed only to have Big Boy ask if I had decided not to go after all. Glad to know he was worried about me. So, I am back in bed for yet another day, sucking down antibiotics and 800mg of Ibuprofen and snorting some Afrin and Flonase followed by a chaser of Nyquil (as soon as Big Boy gets up and goes to Walgreens for me). My Baby Baxter is snuggled with me and trying to help me type.

This makes a total of 6 trips to the doctor in one week for the Knotty family. You know it is bad when someone you have never seen before looks at your name and says "hey, you're Piglet's mom".

2007-02-17T10:58:00.000-05:00

The crud is slowly passing. I have not been this sick in a long time and admit I feel both guilty about having Big Boy do all the work and relishing that I have someone willing to let me languish in bed for two days. I do have the best husband in the world. This afternoon I was craving soup and he went to Panera for their yummy tomato soup. Tonight I was craving fudgcicles. He ran to the store to get me a box along with three new boxes of tissues.

I managed to get in a little knitting but not nearly as much as someone with nothing else to do for two days. After a while the knitting would grind on my nerves. I’m like that when I am sick – I don’t want to do anything for longer than five minutes.

Anyway, here is what I managed to accomplish (I apologize for the bad pictures):

Angelina – I finally made it through the 11 1/2” of ribbing, finished the bind off for the right side sleeve and am working on the decreases. At this rate I will never do ribbing again! The bottom photo shows how it will look when the sleeve is folded down and seamed. Of course I still have to do the lace edging.

Baby Hoodie – The shoulders are seamed (and why Debbie Bliss has you bind off and then seam them is beyond me) and the hood started. I am about 2” into the 8” needed for the hood. The first picture is the front of the sweater and the second is the back. There are several changes I would make to this pattern should I do it again. Not only would I do a three needle bind off on the shoulders, I would connect the hood to the back differently. She has you bind off the back and then cast on for the hood and later seam the two together. To me this is a lot of extra work. Maybe when I finish I will understand the method to her madness.

Lady Eleanor – I didn’t work on it until today because a new skein of yarn had to be wound into a ball and I didn’t feel up to it. So far I have done 5 tiers; I will be at this a while.

Piglet’s Christmas Stocking – Nothing. Nada, Zip. There was no way I could read the charts and keep track of 4LPC, 4RPC, 3LC, etc. Just no way.
If you double click on the pictures you will get a better view of each item.

Piglet and I had big plans for this week. We were going shopping in Richmond with a few LYS stops along the way. Knitting Sisters is holding Lace Style for me so we had plans to go pick it up. Well, Piglet is feeling up to the trek but isn’t allowed around the general public yet and I’m just not feeling up to going any farther than the kitchen for a cold glass of water – thankfully I only have to step a foot out my bedroom door for that one.