Val's Random Rambles

Pattern: fold down fingerless mitts

2009-11-25T15:23:00.004-05:00

I love fingerless mitts, but my fingers get cold sometimes. These mitts are designed with a fold up cuff to cover your fingers on those really cold days. I know I'm not the first to come up with the idea, but this is my version.

I used my handspun for the mitts, not posative of the WPI on the yarn, since I gave the left over yarn away with the mitts,but I can tell you it was pretty much a heavy worsted weight. These mits are pretty stretchy & have fit everyone that has tried them on so far- including my 9-year-old daughter.

Pattern:

Using size 6 DPNs cast on 36 stiches. Join in the round and knit 15 rounds in knit 2 purl 2 ribbing. If you want longer cuffs to keep your arms warm, keep going until the cuff is as long as you want. Knit one more row of ribbing, placing markers between the 16th &17th stiches and the 18 &19 stiches.

Thumb Gusset:

Next row: Knit ribbing up to the first marker, increase (knit front and back) in both stiches between the markers, continue ribbing to the end of the round.
Knit three rounds in ribbing pattern, knitting the stiches between the markers (Don't rib these stiches)

next row: follow ribbing until the markers, increase in the first and last stitches between the markers
Knit three rounds in ribbing pattern, knitting the stiches between the markers

Repeat the last four rows two more times. There will be ten stiches between the markers.

Knit one row in ribbing to the first marker. Place the stiches between the markers onto scrap yarn, and cast on two stiches in their place. Continue ribbing to the end of the round.

Knit 30 rounds in ribbing, or until the mitts are long enough to cover your fingers. Bind off in pattern.

Place the thumb stiches on DPNs. Knit across the held stiches and pick up four stiches (the two stiches that were cast on for the hand portion and a stich on either side of them).

Join and knit in the round. When you get to four stiches that were picked up SSK, then K2Tog. You will now have 12 thumb stiches.

Knit five more rounds, or until the tumb length is approximately on your tumb joint.

Purl one round.

Knit one round.

Purl one round.

Cast off.

Weave in ends & enjoy! I didn't see the need to block these mitts, but if it makes you happy to block, then go for it :-)

Oh, ya, I have a blog!

2008-09-30T10:39:00.002-04:00

Ya, I never post anymore, huh?

So, George and I celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary on 9/25/08. We decided ten years was a pretty big deal, so we went to NH and spent a week at the cabin on the lake. It was SOOOO nice. We slept as late as we wanted to, did whatever we felt like doing. Took roads that we had no clue where they led. We had a good time :-) It rained for the last few days we were there, but that's fine. We had time on the lake and on the mountian before the rain hit. I had to admit though- I missed the kids like crazy & talked to them every day!!

More swapping

2008-08-06T22:54:00.004-04:00

So since I finished the HHHH Swap, what's a girl to do? Join another swap of course! I'm doing another swap with a group on Ravelry, so I get to fiber shop all over again. I'll suffer through it :-) My HHHH package arrived in Vegas & was received by the person I was spoiling. She said she liked everything, so I'm happy about that! Of course I forgot to take pix of what I sent before I sent it out. Oh well. I DID however remember to take a few pix in Ohio, so here ya go!

Monkey Boy @ the playground:

Devin could NOT have her little brother climb to the top without her doing it too:
How cute is he in that hat?
And Missy Poo was trying out some new hair styles. I made the earings she's wearing in this picture using beads from a neclace that used to be my Grandma's. She also has a bracelet & necklace with the same beads:
And Juli with her Baby Belly. I know she said pix of her pregnant should be banned from the internet, but this is what I have to say to that: Tough Shit! LOL! Hey, if you didn't want a picture of you pegnant in your PJs on my Blog then why did you pose for it???
Notice the sheep on her night shirt? I have the same jammies :-) And the kids are pointing to her belly, incase you weren't sure where you should be looking!

I'm a Hooker!!!

2008-08-05T20:04:00.002-04:00

OK, so the kids & I went to visit Juli in Ohio for a few days, where my wheel was hi-jacked by Ms. Pregnant Pants. Juli used the ugly green stuff to practice spinning:
Then spun up some nice 2-ply corriedale (like her shirt? I tie-dyed it :-) I think I made a coordinating onesie for Kaylee too!!): In Ohio I got some cotton & a crochet hook, purchased a pattern on line & started a market bag. Juli made me a few of these bags, but I don't have enough for an entire grocery shopping trip, so I decided that I'll make myself a few more. I haven't crocheted anything in YEARS!
And for my most recent spinning- here's 4oz of Girley Girl Batt spun into a 2-ply for Devin, and the other 4oz batt waiting to be spun:
And just for kicks, proof that my children CAN get along sometimes! Even if it is while they're playing video games!

Spinning video- take two

2008-07-29T10:08:00.001-04:00

Spinning video

2008-07-29T09:52:00.003-04:00

So, Juli & I made a video this morning, filmed by Devin :-) It's for the HHHH swap, and it's a contest to win 4oz of BEAUTIFUL fiber. You earn points for certain things, so we tried to put together as many points as we could! Here's the video:

Hopefully that works! Juli would like it pointed out that she is 34 weeks pregnant. She thinks she looks aweful, but she just looks pregnant! We're actually going to the Doc this afternoon to take a peek inside that belly. The kids and I are excited to take a look at little Kaylee B before she's born!

Also, to give credit where credit is due, the fiber I'm spinning is from Material Whirled and is a Roving Cluster. Basically it's strips of different colored fiber that I tore in helf then stripped into quarters. I then put them in a big bag that was behind my back while I spun the single. I reached back when I finished one strip and randomly grabbed another color to spin. Not sure what I'll do with the yarn when it's all spun up. Perhaps a give away if we ever podcast again?? The Hippie Goddess yarn is also from Material Whirled and was a batt. YUMMY to spin!! Seriously, my favorite yarn that I've spun! Also in the stash basket was some fiber from My Favorite Thing Etsy shop which is Meghan from the Stitch It! Podcast. The fiber Juli was spinning was purchased at a random craft fair or something when she lived in Virginia, she doesn't even know what kind of fiber it is. And the fiber for my hat was purchased from a random vendor at Rhinebeck two years ago.

And I think that's all the info you need.

Happy knitting & Spinning :-)

Sweater: DONE :-)

2008-07-23T18:12:00.003-04:00

I finished the February Baby Sweater for my co-workers daughter. It's modeled here by Devin's My Twin doll. The baby it was made for is currently weighing in at slightly over 3 pounds, so it will be a little while before she actually fits into it.

I went with just three buttons on the top instead of doing them all the way down the front. I like the way it looks kinda open & swingey

And just for fun- my handspun and fiber stash. After taking the pic I realized that I had left things out, but this is most of it. I hardly have any fiber!!!!! Must. Buy. More.

Ouch!!!

2008-07-12T10:01:00.005-04:00

I hurt my back and my neck. I think it's b/c of all the crap I carry around with me every day! On most days when I go into the office I have at least three bags with me: my laptop case, my purse and a third bag for random crap. Right now I'm putting together a quilt for a co-worker's newborn that I'm having everyone color a square for (it's a crayon quilt- see my very first post for an example) so I'm carrying a bag with all the crayons and quilt squares and whatnot. Then I also have a cup of coffee and usually my breakfast or lunch, depending when I go into the office. I think doing this for the past year and a half has killed my back and neck. I couldn't sleep at all last night :-( I took some Advil last night, but I could really go for a muscle relaxer. I think it's time to call my doctor.....

Anyway.... I sent my Little Critter package out:

It's just a little bunny, inspired by the bunnies that are all over my neighborhood all of a sudden. The yarn I used was a 100% aplaca that was handspun, but not by me! I had a bunch of yarn left over, so instead of just putting the goodies in the package I decided to make a magic yarn ball. Inside that ball of yarn are bunny buttons, a set of stich markers that I made, a row counter, a little sweater key chain, and I can't remember what else..... Oh, point protectors.... and that may be it. I hope my partner likes her package!! I mailed it out on the 9th & it needs to make it's way to Canada, so this could take a few more days.

I also ordered my fiber for the HHHH swap, and got myself some fiber while I was at it!! I've been eyeing the Hippie Goddess batt from Material Whirled so I finally caved and got it :-) I've never spun from a batt before, should be interesting. When it gets here I'll figure out how I want the colors to work & how I'll approach spinning it. I also got myself roving in the same colorway. I've been stalking Etsy shops lately for fiber & there is SOOOO much I want to try out! I think my knitting interest is fading and the spinning is taking over. I need to find a balance so I can USE the yarns I'm spinning!! I did start a scarf for Lil G with the Dinosaur yarn I spun from Spunky Eclectic so when there is progress on that I'll post a pic.

So, update on my co-worker that a new Daddy..... His wife was due on September 16 or something like that. A month ago her water broke and she was admitted to the hospital. They were able to get some steroids and antibiotics into her, and everyone was keeping thier fingers crossed that she would be able to stay pregnant long enough for some of the meds to work. She was able to stay pregnant for a MONTH!!!! The baby was just born on Thursday (7/10)!! She weighs 2 pounds 9 ounces and is 17 3/4 inches long. Both Mama and baby are doing great. The baby is in an isolette and from what I understand is on oxygen and a tube through the umbilical cord, and other than that no other interventions! I saw pictures of her yesterday, and she looks great. I'm so happy for them!!! I'm making the quilt as an office gift to them, and I'm also giving them a Baby Suprise jacket from me. I think I'll also knit up a few hats really quick for them to use in the hospital.

OK, time to get my day started. I haven't even had my coffee yet!!

I heart swaps

2008-07-08T07:55:00.004-04:00

So, I participated in a Secret Pal swap and it didn't go so well, so I was kinda turned off to swaps.... Then Meghan from the Stitch It podcast had a "Little Critter Swap" and I decided- what the heck? and joined. It was fun! And I had a great swap partner that not only sent ME a little critter, but also thought of my KIDS! WooHoo!!! Of course I haven't mailed out MY package yet, but I have until tomorrow, so I'm not breaking the rules yet!!! I'll be in the ofice tomorrow & I work next to the Post Office, so I'm mailing it tomorrow :-)

This is the package I received in the mail:

Next, I joined the HHHH swap- it's a swap for spinners, becuase there's NO WAY another spinner is gunna screw me, right? Right! B/c my partner already contacted me!! Yeah!!! Definitely have a good feeling about this one :-) I'm a little nervous about spinning for someone else b/c I don't have mad spinning skillz, but I think it's gunna be fun!

So, HHHH Swap Partner.... I can't reply to the comment you left on my last post b/c it's Annon, so to answer you questions- If given the option I would pick an art yarn b/c I covet art yarns & don't know how to spin them, nor can I afford them when I'm trolling Etsy! LOL! As for the silk.... Would it be dyed by you? If so then I would definitely prefer dyed, otherwise it doesn't matter.

And speaking of spinning... here are my two latest skeins:

This is the June Club fiber for Spunky Eclectic, called Flowering Weeds and it's a Merino Mohair blend. this is about 1.5oz and I got 159 yards of a thick & thin single. I have another bobin of a more even single & another 3oz waiting to be spun:

This is also a Spunky fiber- Superwash Merino/Tencel in Mermaid. It was a test skein- approx 93 yards fingering weight navajo plyed. I still have the majority of the fiber left to spin & I'm hoping to get enough for socks or a lacey scarf.

Handspun Swap!

2008-06-25T18:56:00.004-04:00

Here are the answers to my questionair:

1. How long have you been spinning?

I got my wheel in October 07, so less than a year on the wheel. I had a drop spindle for a year before that, but I think I only created like 2 skeins of yarn on it.

What skill level do you consider yourself?

Somewhere between beginner & intermediate. I don't get NEARLY as much spinning time as I would like!!

2. What kinds of yarn do you create (singles/2-ply/3-ply/art yarn)?

Mostly 2-ply. Every so often I try to navajo ply with limited success!! Hubby says he'll rig something up so I can try a 3-ply since I don't have a lazy kate.

3. What do you spin with (spindle/wheel/both)?

Mostly wheel- Ashford Joy. I very rarely (ok, never) use the spindle any more.

4. What are your favorite fibers to spin with? Anything you don't like?

I've liked everything so far! I haven't really had a huge amount of exposure to that many different fibers though. I've spun Alpaca (though I think it was a blend), Merino, Corriedale, BFL, Merino Soysilk blend, some random wool/mohair blend, and I'm currently spinning a Superwash Merino Tencel blend. I have no desire to spin cotton right now though, I hear it's really hard to get the hang of & I don't think up I'm to the challenge yet!

5. Who are your favorite crack dealers fiber sources (etsy or otherwise)?

I usually buy from random vendors at fiber festivals, but I've also purchased from Spunky Eclectic and Insubordiknit.

6. What kind of fiber do you want to try?

Bamboo, Camel, Silk, Ramboulet, anything!!!

7. Is there any techniques you would like to learn?

Yes!!!! All of them!!!!

8. Do you dye fiber? If not, would you like to learn?

Yup! Can't say I do a particulary good job of it, but I try!

9. Do you have fiber prep tools (and like to use them) or would you prefer ready to spin fiber?

I have hand cards, and like 20 pounds of nasty dirty wool to clean. I've never cleaned a fleece OR used the hand cards, so hopefully soon I'll get to learn some new skillz and get that fiber cleaned & prepped. I'll probably wind up bringing it to a friend's house to use her drum carder though once I get it washed. But, the answer is that I would prefer ready to spin fiber.

10. What do you do with your handspun? What projects have you completed?

I usually gift it! I don't get very far beyond swatching with my handspun before I give it away. I plan on changing that though! I love knitting with handspun, just haven't used MINE yet!

11. Are you in need of any spinning gadgets (WPI Gauge, threading hook, etc)?

I don't have any gadgets. The threading hook I use came with the wheel, but I covet the fancy beaded ones! A WPI gauge would certainly come in handy!

12. What colors "fall into your shopping basket"? Any colors you just can't stand?

Purple is by far my favorite color. I also love fall colors. I'm not one for super bright colors or even primary colors so much. I think I like darker colors and I definitely like natural colored fiber- like grey or brown alpaca and stuff like that.

13. What is on your wheel/spindle right now?

Superwash Merino/Tencel

14. What other crafts/hobbies do you have?

I attempt to tie dye and make beaded jewlery. Hubby & I are also trying to teach ourselves how to sail- we got a 35 foot sailboat that we're (read: he's) slowly fixing up.

15. Other than crafts, what are you passionate about?

My family, Vacations in NH, listening to music...

16. Do you have an online wishlist?

Yup! Amazon.com: here

17. Is there anything that you collect?

Other than yarn & fiber? Turtles

18. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don't have any spinning or spin to knit books, but would like some. I subscribe to IK and Spin Off.

19. When is your birthday?

November 14

20. What book or movie character do you most resemble in personality?

Hmmmm.... I duuno!!!!

21. What is the climate like where you live around this time (need to know for careful shipments of anything meltable)?

Getting hot!

22. Tell us one weird fact about yourself!

I can touch my nose with my tounge. I'm a big hit at parties! LOL!

Also, I pierced my belly button myself when I was 16 (after my then-boyfriend- now hubby pierced it all crooked!)

Favorites

favorite painting/picture(link):

This is my very favorite:

But I also like this one:

Candy: Anything involving chocolate!!

Food: Eggplant (I'm a vegitarian), goat cheese, all sorts of stuff.

Drink: Rum & diet coke :-) But MAN the hangovers I get!! Non-alcohol drink- I like raspberry seltzer

Movie(s): 200 Cigerettes, Ocean's 11, Old School, the Bourne trilogy.... I could go on & on....

TV Show(s): Lost!!!! Also: Survivor, Project Runway, Amazing Race, Criminal Minds... I'm a bit of a TV junkie!!

Book(s): I don't read nearly enough, but Harry Potter, anything by Marian Keyes, Wicked...

Guilty Pleasure(s): Knitting & Spinning of course! Also sailing.

SQUEEE!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-11T22:29:00.004-04:00

I went to the book store to get this book tonight:

So that I could get it signed by this man:
He totally rocks :-) He was chatting it up with Georgie and shook everyone's hands.... There's a cute pic of him & Georgie together, but I have to figure out how to get it off the phone & onto the computer. For the record, I have no idea why I look 7-months pregnant in this pic, but OSCAR DELAHOYA is in the picture, so I can't complain, right? I'm not pregnant at all, but my shirt is really pretty funky looking there.... I was having issues regarding a button that fell off the shirt & was really making efforts not to flash the crowd!!! He was so nice & sweet & OMG.... HOT!!!!! Ya, totally my secret boyfriend!!! LOL!

Edit: I figured out why I look like that.... #1, my shirt is pulled all funky, and #2, I'm holding Georgie, so my back is arched & I'm sticking my belly out b/c his other leg is wrapped around my back!

Not too much new

2008-06-03T15:50:00.004-04:00

I really have nothing to say, but I give Gloria a hard time when she doesn't update her blog, so I figured I should update mine! The end of the school year is coming up.... Not quite sure how that happened! Next thing you know I'll have a 2nd & 3rd grader! Devin starts a new school next year, and the bus is an hour later than it is this year, so I'm not entirely sure how we're gunna work that one out. I've been busy knitting for my neice to be. Juli will be home this weekend for her shower, and it's a good thing, b/c I would like to move on to other spinning & knitting projects! I feel like as long as there is time before the shower that I HAVE to fill it knitting for the baby! There are two babies due to co-workers in Sept & November, so I have to knit for them too, but not as much as for my neice.

Onto the pix:

I finished the Hemlock Ring Blanket & gifted it to my friend Missy for her wedding. I hope she liked it.

Mr. Shaggy Head before getting his hair buzzed. I SO wish he would keep his hair shaggy, but her likes it all nice & short. What am I gunna do with this kid?? Devin at her 2nd grade class picnic yesterday. I took the day off to go with her :-) Georgie has his on Tuesday. And some new roving I got in the mail. It's Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club- 8oz. It asked to be something for me. Perhaps a shawl. We shall see....

Parental Ponderings

2008-05-19T20:42:00.003-04:00

When your 6-year-old son tells you that he's the "Captain of a group of boys that are so tough that no one wants to mess with them" how do you react? What do you then say when that same child tells you that "you're lucky my friends aren't here b/c they would teach you a lesson" after you tell him he can't have dessert b/c he didn't touch his dinner? Now what if said child was this cute: Ya, it's a tough one, isn't it?

And a picture of Devin doing the Tango with Papa, just for fun. They were up to the "dramatic dip" part.

Me & My BFF

2008-05-17T10:37:00.006-04:00

Did I mention that I'm totally BFF with the Yarn Harlot? We met at Rhinebeck last year... she was TOTALLY following me around.... Every time I turned around, there she was! Then I went to Webs, and what do you know, she planned a trip out the Mass on the weekend I was going. She couldn't keep her hands off my sock. I bet she's gunna follow me to Rhinebeck next year too....
Onto the pix:
Here we are talking about the salking incident at Rhinebeck. I told her I was a little worried at first when I kept seeing her every where I went, but it's OK, I know she's not creepy or anything .

Then I let her sign my book, b/c you know, she's into that kinda thing. Makes her feel important.

And with my River Rapids sock that I made for my co-worker, Eleni. Eleni wasn't nearly as impressed as I thought she should be when I told her that Stephanie Peal-McPhee liked the colors of the yarn. She's a non-knitter, so I was able to forgive her on this. Mom & Gloria in the theater before the talk. Mom brought some sewing that it was too dark to do & Gloria brought the baby blanket. I was working on my socks. And Stephanie on stage. We were in the first row of the balcony. At first we sat on the main level, but it was too dark to knit down there, so we moved to the balcony where the light was better & we didn't have anyone's heads in front of us.

Juli said we should have told her that we do a podcast, since she tends to put the podcasters that see her on her blog, but with only 6 podcasts recorded & the last one like 2 months ago I'm sure she wouldn't have cared! LOL! There is a picture of Mom's arm on the blog.... The people in front of us brought a stack of dishcloths to show Stephanie. And if you use your immagination you can picture us in the first row of the balcony, just slightly right of center, in the crowd shots.

Oh, and just so no one thinks I'm a wacked out stalker, I'm completely aware that we're not BFF ;-) But I do suspect she wants to be..... LOL!

ETA: I forgot to say- the talk was great! So funny! And I keep quoting things she said to my co-workers and friends that I'm trying to convert to knitters. I'm also quoting her in trying to make a case for teaching our clients to knit! I did teach one to crochet... No small feat being that I don't crochet....

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-13T19:18:00.005-04:00

My Mother's Day was awesome. I asked for the kids & George to let me sleep late, then to get an egg sandwich and coffee in bed. Well, Lil G was busting at the seams and could not contain himself past 6:30 am, when he woke me up to give me the best gift EVER- a spindle that he made me!!! He said it can double as a bug smasher. How sweet, huh? LOL! Then I went back to sleep and about an hour later I was woken up again and presented with my eggs (egg white wrap on a whole wheat wrap with broccoli, onions and mushrooms- Yum!) and a nice big mug of coffee. I was also given some very funny cards and gifts the kids made in school. G got me season 3 of lost. When I got out of bed I finished up some tie dying that I had started the day before, did some spinning then some knitting. When I finally got around to showering we headed out to my Parents with a few bottles of Champaign for Mimosas. At my parents house I washed out my tie dye and hug out & knit all day while drinking my Mimosas, then we got Tex Mex take out for dinner. I was VERY happy with my Mother's Day. I hope everyone else had great days too!!!

Bloggity Blog

2008-04-23T20:08:00.008-04:00

Time for another update, huh?

OK, so my secret projects were a TON of dishcloths!! I had two showers to go to & I made each bride a set of knit dish cloths and a set of coasters & trivets with pictures of their favorite flowers, sunflowers and calla lillies, which are also the flowers they're using in their weddings :-) You may recognize one of the sunflower pix from a post last year :-) The Calla Lillies were purchased special for the *Coaster photo shoot*, but the sunflower pix I had already taken. The coasters are just two pieces of glass with a picture between them sealed with copper tape.

Also completed are my Hubba Hubba Sox, AKA, George's socks. He's been wearing and washing them, but I just stuck them on my feet & took a pic just now. I think they're looking good :-) Behold the matchity match-ness of the stripes!!! That took Mad Skillz!!! OK, ok, so all I did was make a note of where in the color repeat I cast on the first stitch for the first sock & cast on my second sock in the same spot.... At leat give me credit for having the forethought to do that much!! LOL! They clearly don't fit my feet, but fit G's perfectly. He's already asking for another pair. Yeah!! I'm so glad he likes them!

And remember that yarn I dyed that looked suspiciously like vomit? Well, it turns out that I really like how it knits up! Even the speckles that I was so upset about add interest and depth to the knitted fabric :-) Hey, that's my story & I'm sticking to it! These are River Rapids Socks for a co-worked that helped me catch up on my work when I was having a complete and total breakdown. I'm almost through the leg on the 2nd sock. I'll definitely have enough yarn left over for another pair of socks.... It's a good thing I like the yarn now!

And last but not least.... Spinning!!!! I finished a skein of Alpaca (the stuff Juli got me for Christmas): 300 yard of lace weight that I'm pretty sure will be a Branching Out, but I can't say for sure. I am quite proud of this! Way more than I should be I'm sure! I'll be taking my first spinning class on Saturday, so hopfully I'll just get better from here :-)

Bad Blogger (again!)

2008-03-21T12:28:00.004-04:00

I've been such a bad blogger! I don't update nearly enough.... But really, who out there is reading this anyway?

So, what's new in my world? I'm working on some super-secret projects that will be revealed in a few weeks. For those of you on Ravelry, they're in my Notebook. I can't wait to finish what I'm working on so I can get back to some things that were put on hold... Like Wicked,
George's socks
and my Jaywalkers. Plus, I have Baby Knitting to do that I haven't even come up with a plan for yet!! I told Juli that I plan on tie dying for her baby more than I plan on knitting, but the three other babies that are expected to arrive around the same time as hers may not be the tie-dye wearing kind of kids, so I plan on knitting something for them. They're due in August, September & October, so I think a hat/sweater/bootie set would be appropriate for them. I really don't want to start anything til I know the sex of the babies, so I have a few weeks before I can get started.

One final picture. Georgie's class made Leprechaun traps that they brought into class on St. Patrick's Day. Apparently there was a Leprechaun causing all sorts of mischief around the school & they were gunna try to catch it. George & Georgie spent HOURS in the garage making this thing! That's gold dangeling down inside the box on a wire. The wire is attached to a pin that goes through an eye-hook. When the Leprechaun pulls on the gold, it pulls the pin out of the hook and the door of the trap slams shut. He was SOOOOO proud of this thing! He didn't catch the Leprechaun, nasty little bugger left him a note saying "Haha, you can't get me!" LOL!

Oh, and in other exciting news, I'll be going to see the Yarn Harlot at WEBS next month with Gloria & my Mom!! Yeah!!! I cant' wait :-)

Devin's new look!

2008-02-22T14:01:00.004-05:00

This is what Devin looked like on the night of her birthday: And this is what she looks like now (can you tell she has a thing for PINK?!?!):

She donated her hair, for the second time in her little 8-year-old life, to Locks of Love. She's such a sweetie! In her hand is the hampster Georgie gother for her birthday. She's deciding on a name for it tomorrow, but she's between *Cutie* and *Angel*. For some odd reason she can't wait to clean out the cage. Nut! LOL! Tomorrow is her birthday party, so I can't wait to see what her little friends say when they see her new look! As for my new look... I've only lost 9 pounds towards my *Green Dress Goal* so far :-( I really have to step it up & try harder.....

Green Dress Goal

2008-01-20T16:08:00.001-05:00

Not too much has been going on here..... Small progress here and there. I did the short row heel on G's sock, he tried it on & it had this odd spike kinda thing poking out of the heel. Ya, so I did too many decreases. I ripped the entire heel out & decided I'm doing a heel flap and he will just have to be happy that he's getting socks at all! LOL! I want to try to have them finished by his birthday- Feb 11th. I think I can do it. (I hope). I also cast on for Wicked, and did the collar, but nothing else so far. I got the yarn for the Hemlock Ring blanket, but haven't wound it or cast on yet. I got a bit of spinning done yesterday. A friend and I went to her friends house and did a spinning day :-) I haven't spun in a while, so that was nice.

I decided last weekend that it's time to take all this weight off that I put back on after working so hard to take it off in the first place. I did really well on Weight Watchers, so I'm back on it as of this past Monday. I'm doing really well so far & have already lost a few pounds :-) Yeah! I have a few weddings coming up (one in May & one in June) and I have this awesome green strapless dress that I want to wear to one of them, but I would have to take off a significant amount of weight to fit into it again. I'm not sure exactly how much I would need to loose, but if I remember my weight correctly from when I fit into the dress it would be around 30 pounds that I need to take off. I think 30 pounds in 5 months is a realistic goal... that would be what? 6 pounds a month? About a pound and a half a week? I think I can do it! So, for motivation, this is me in the dress in October 2005:

Looking at this picture though, I think I may have to take off more than 30-pounds- Yikes! I'll be starting to exercise this week too though, so hopefully that will help me lose inches as well as weight & get me to the *green dress goal* quicker! As an aside- my hair is so short there compared to how it is now!!

I haven't taken any pix yet of Wicked, so I'll try to take some & get them up next post. And I also made a bunch of stich markers this morning, so I'll take pix of some of them later too. I actually ran out of jump rings, otherwise I would have made more. Time for a trip to the craft store!

Look! A bandwagon!

2008-01-12T10:49:00.000-05:00

I need to join EVERYTHING. Just HAVE to. No self control. Everyone is knitting socks? I must also. Wiked KAL? I'm in! Oh, and a Hemlock Ring Blanket KAL too? OK, count me in! For about 5 seconds I was working on one project at a time.... It was nice while it lasted, but I guess it's just not my style!

So, some pix!

Rob's mittens:
I still need to weave in the ends on the mittens. I have them all just tucked inside for now.

The beginnings of George's socks:

I'm thinking two more cable twists then I'll be ready for the heel. I guess I should look up how to do a short row heel, huh? Oh, and I'm loving those short sock needles!

And some yarn I dyed for Juli:

The subtle color variations don't show up as good in the pic as they are for real. This was supposed to be green, but it's yellow and green. I know it looks purely yellow in the pic, but trust me, there's green in there too!

Freaking Crackhead!!

2008-01-11T20:34:00.001-05:00

I really don't know what I'm thinking half the time. I made *A* Jaywalker sock. Yes, *ONE* measly sock in my entire sock knitting history. Not a pair, *A* sock. So what do I think will be the next step? Yup, why not make up my own pattern for a pair of socks for hubby? It can't be all that hard, can it? Well, I'm thinking it will be fine, but I'll keep ya posted! I'm doing a 2x2 ribbed cuff with a mostly sockinette leg, but it has a cable running down the sides of the legs. I hope I placed the cables appropriately so they actually go down the sides of his legs and not the front & back... Not sure what kind of heel I'm gunna use, but he prefers the look of the short row heel over the heel flap. I've never done a short row heel, but I can do short rows, so I think I can wing it. And if I'm doing a short row heel I may as well figure out how to do a short row toe, right? The cable is a 4 stich cable with a one stich purl ditch. My issue (perhaps the first of many?) is that my smallest cable needle is too big, and when I try to cable w/o the needle the stiches drop & I have to crochet them back up, which is a total PITA to keep doing. I'm thinking a paperclip may work well here.

The hat & mittens for Rob are finished! Yeah!!!! I need to replace the batteries in my camera & I'll take some pix.

What else so I have in the works? I promised a Calorimity to the neighbor (she likes the one I wear to the bus stop in the mornings, so I told her I would make one for her) and being that we have nasty weather coming in I may work on that tomorrow & give it to her on Monday. I also want to make another Marsan Watchcap & give it to another neighbor. She tried on the one for Rob & it was so cute on her, so I think she needs one! And, I'm doing the Wicked KAL with Sharon from She-Knits (Check it out on Ravelry) so I have to print out the pattern, wind my yarn & swatch (GASP!!!!). Yes folks, you read that right, I'm gunna swatch for this one.

Then there's the baby to knit for! Anyone that reads Juli's blog knows that I'M GUNNA BE AN AUNT :-))) Yeah!!!!! She's due early Septmeber, so there's lots of knitting time ahead of us. I figure I'll make a few gender neutral items, that way if she winds up eventually having both genders she can re-use things, and then when we know what she's having I'll make some gender specific stuff. In either case, I plan on supplying this kid with all sorts of tie dye in addition to knitted garmets. I think I'll actually knit more stuffed animal than garments, since they'll get more use. And the tie dye is nice and quick. This is such a great excuse to buy more dyes and stamps and ink!

OK, that's it for now. I have to get back to G's sock.... He better like it or I'm poking him in the eye with my size 1 sock needle! He's SOOOO picky about what I make him, but he told me that if I just went ahead and made it he would be far less picky than he is when he's actually involved in the design process.

Attack of the Stash!!!

2008-01-06T14:09:00.000-05:00

One of my 2008 Knitting Goals is to get a firm grasp on my stash... Organize it, gather it up from it random hiding places throughout the house, figure out what I actually own... all that scary stuff! So, I started taking pictures of what I have and putting it up on Ravelry, and OMG, I'm scared! LOL! I have way more than I thought! I definitely have to make an effort to knit from my stash more and buy less. I was at a yarn shop yesterday & saw some yarn that I thought would make a beautiful Branching Out scarf, then today I pulled out several skeins of lace yarn from my stash that were purchased specifically for branching out scarves! I'm glad I didn't buy that other yarn! I wound up getting a few skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash in pink and green that Devin picked out for me to make her a sweater with. I'm ok with that new purchase, since I don't currently have any other 220 Superwash, but I DO have some purple yarn that had been knit into 1/2 a sweater for her a while back. I think that will have to be ripped out & reknit into a sweater that will actually get finished! I'm slowly getting my stash up, but go have a peek if you're brave! Check it out here.

So, knitting pix.... I made a watch cap for the trade G made for the navagational charts & I'm 1/2 way through the mittens (one mitten made). I also finished my first sock :-) I haven't cast on the second yet, but I plan on doing so after I finish the mittens, then I plan on making socks for George. I haven't been knitting much the past few days since I've been organizing my stash. No spinning has been done either, but I expect to get back to that soon.

I tried on the hat:

Then I made G try it on. He didn't like it. He thought the blue was too femanine and the ribbing was "too fancy":Then when he saw the beginnings of the mittens he decided that the blue was in fact nautical and not too girley after all:And my first sock! Yeah!!!! One Jaywalker down, one to go :-)

And that's it for now. I'm getting back to putting my stash on Ravelry!

Christmas with the kiddies

2007-12-29T14:56:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve- Devin in front of my parent's tree:
Devin & Georgie opening gifts Christmas morning:

Darth George:
Putting his Pokemon cards into his new binder:
Devin wearing the roving that I dyed for my friend. I thought I didn't have a picture ofit, but apparently I do! I can't wait to see what this looks like when it's spun up :-)

Christmas is DONE!!!!

2007-12-28T18:53:00.000-05:00

Yeah!!! It's over!!!! The pressure has lifted and I can knit whatever the heck I feel like knitting.... Until it's someone's birthday, or I feel pressure to actually finish some of the things I've started for Juli in the past but never finished! LOL!

So, you may be wondering what I've been working on.... Well, even if you're not I'm gunna tell you :-P The un-photographed items are roving that I dyed for a friend, a neck warmer for my mother-in-law and a mouse stuffed animal for my nephew, Alex. Now for the things I haven't blogged about yet.

I dyed sock yarn for my sisters:

Juli said that her's will become a pair of Jaywalkers. From her swatch it looks like the color repeats will come close to a full round, if it doesn't actually make it all the way, so hopefully the pattern will look nice in this. Gloria wants to make a mini Clapotis out of hers. I can't wait to see how their projects look!!! I'm really enjoying dying lately, and the only drawback is that I don't have a workshop to so it in where I don't have to worry about staining the countertops of the floor if I get sloppy.

I finished a Brea Bag:

I loved this bag and was sad to see it go!! It was gifted to a friend at work. She had to get a canvas purse liner to put inside it b/cher keys kept poking through, so next time I'll either slightly felt the bag or will line it.

I made a scarf and Calorimetry set:

This went to the same friend that got the Brea Bag. I was her Secret Santa at work, and oddly enough she was mine too! It worked out perfect, I knit for her & she got me yarn & a Gift Certificate to a yarn shop!!

I also made jewlery for my Hubby's cousin's daughter and for Devin, none of which was photographed, but Devin's I can get pixc of anytime. I gave jars of granola out to just about everyone, and I wasn't sure how it would be received, but everyone seemed to love it and several people have requested more when I make another batch :-) I modified a recipe that I found in a Working Parent's cookbook, and it was quite yummy if I do say so myself. I had to make like a million batched b/c George kept eatingit before I got it packaged!!

As for the gifts I received, well, they rocked!! Gloria got me some Cherry Tree Hill sock Yarn in Cherry Blossom, a Yarn Harlot book, and the Jessica Seinfeld cook book.

Juli knit me the most awesomeist socks ever in a color that's PERFECT for most of my winter work clothes (browns) and gave me some local Ohio Alpaca, in a natural grey color (above w/ the sock yarn):

George and I haven't exchanged gifts yet due to lack of funds, but he'll be making me a carrying case for my wheel (yeah!!!), and I'll get him some movies and Xbox games. I really want to get him the Xbox 360, but who knows when I'll be able to afford that!

The kids seemed to really like everything they got, and had a great Christmas. I've got tons of pix of them, and a funny story about Georgie, but they will have to wait for the next post since there are already a billion pix in this post already.

Next year I've decided I'm doing things differently... Holiday knitting will be limited to small projects, and I'll be starting them early (yeah right!! LOL!).

As for life... Here's the latest: Devin had tubes in her ears. She lost the right one a few months ago, and since then she's had fluid behind the eardrum and frequently the eardrum perferates and the fluid drains out. I took her to the ENT today and he put her on Nasonex. He said if it doesn't work that she'll need a new tube and will possibly have her adnoids out at the same time. I'm concerned about the scar tissue building up on her eardrum & her having permanent hearing loss if the eardrum keeps perferating, which the ENT said is a possability. She has some hearing loss now, but it's due to the fluid. Georgie also went to the doc today, but he went to the Neurologist. He seems to be doing well on the Adderall, but his sleep is a concern. I'm back and forth on medicating him over the weekend (I typically don't) but she suggested that it may help keep him on an even keel if I do. But in my mind, that suck b/c then he'll have sleep issues EVERY day instead of just on weekdays. Sigh.... She also said that he has poor muscle tone in his hands and forearms, which is apparently not uncommon in ADHD kids. She gave me a few suggestions of execises to do w/ him at home to strengthen his muscles. I had discussed having an OT eval with his teacher last year, but it was never formally requested, but since he's having a speech eval in January I may ask that they do an OT eval at that point too.

My current knitting project is a pair of Jaywalkers. I'm up to the heel gusset of the first sock. I'm making it a short sock b/c my legs are too fat for me to pull it up any further than that! LOL! The yarn feels SOOOO nice to work with. The only problem is that the ball of yarn keeps puking it's guts out.

I'm really hoping that I actually get a PAIR of socks rahter than just one. George has requested a pair of knit socks, and I got yarn for them today, so hopefully I'll get through my socks and make a pair for George. I think that making socks for him is more attainable for me than an entire sweater. I also have to make a few Calorimetries that people requested and make a hat & pair of mittens for the guy that gave us the navagation charts.

OK, enough of my random rambles for one night :-)

STRESS!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-12-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

I'm a bit stressed right now!!!!! I have NO Christmas gifts purchased, and only a very few made. I have one for my Mom & one for my nephew- that's it. Yikes!!! So, clearly I will NOT be knitting for everyone this year. I've been so stressed that I go home & pass out- just can't seem to stay awake at night :-( I'm hoping for some bonus money in my next paycheck so I can make Christmas happen.... If it's not in this paycheck I don't know what I'm gunna do. Stress, stress, stress..... At least it will all be over in two weeks, right???

Told ya I would return

2007-12-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

I'm back with pix :-)

Socks my pal made me.... I think Juli was a bit miffed that she wasn't the one to give me my first pair of knitted socks! LOL! The entire package: Stuffie for one of my nephews. Not sure which one yet. After I made the 2nd one Devin will pick out which is for who. The features are actually more noticable than they are in this picture.
And Devin showing how sad she is that I wont let her keep this kitty. Every time I made something for someone I wind up having to make one for Devin & Georgie too... then it gets carried around for a day or two then lost under the bed or in the closet for te rest of eternity. So, I told the kids that they have to wait til after Christmas for me to have time to make them each one of these!
And that's that :-)

Got a package :-)

2007-12-01T09:53:00.000-05:00

I got my package from my secret pal!! She did one package at the end of the exchange instead of one each month. I had no clue that this is what she was doing til the very end, so I was getting worried that I didn't receive anything throughout the exchange, but the other day I came home to find a big box waiting for me on the dining room table :-) Yeah! I haven't taken pix yet, but I have a few things to photograph, so I'm sure I'll get to it soon. This is what I got: Beaded stich markers, Reeces PB Cups (yum!), Monkey socks (!!!!), garnet colored fleece from Harrisville Designs (where my mom is going this weekend to try to get me more yarn to finish my Brea Bag), two pattern booklets for really cute christmas patterns, and the Vogue Stictionary- Cables Volume. My mom got me all three of the Vogue books for my B-day, so I'm thinking I'll arrange a trade with one of my sisters. Any takers? What do you have to offer? I do think the cables volume is the best of the three.... LOL! And I'm pretty sure that's it, but I'll know for sure if I forgot anything when I go take the pix.

I've been getting a bit of knitting done. Made a really cute stuffie for one of my nephews, which I'll photograph & put up later. I'm making another for my other nephew. I'm definitely glad I got my *knitting mojo* back- I have so much to do for the holidays!! G is out & about today, so I'm hoping to get some big time knitting done then clean the house a bit (yeah, right! LOL!). I'm making a Calorimetry for my Secret Santa at work, so I think I'm gunna go look through my stictionaries to find a stich pattern to use on a scarf to go with it. I'm thinking some kind of a rib, but I don't think I want to make just a 2x2 rib. I may also make her a pair of fetching, but I'm not quite sure she'll *get* the fingerless glove thing.... Hmmmm......

Finally did something

2007-11-24T10:36:00.000-05:00

I made a set of stich markers:
And a set of wine charms:

Knit the pieces for the Brea Bag, but ran out of yarn so I'm not sure how to finish it: Knit a kitty, and several more have already been requested:

And started a sock:

Now I don't feel like such a slacker :-)

Still here!

2007-11-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

I haven't been posting much, or on line much at all lately, so I'm just popping in to say I'm still here! I haven't been knitting or doing anything fiber related all that much lately either. I think I'm going into a bit of a slump, which really sucks b/c I'm supposed to be in knitting over-drive to get Christmas gifts made.

I finished the knitting on the Brea Bag I was making, but I don't have enough yarn left for the finishing. I have to pull out my stash and find a yarn to do the finishing with that doesn't look like crap with the bag. I made a little something-something for my Secret Pal's daughter, so I think I now have everything for the final package and will mail it out next week. I hope she likes it. I have patterns and yarn for a billion other projects I was intending on making, but I really don't know if I'll get to them. I know I'll get the Stuffies made for my nephews and my kids, and I really ahve to make my MIL's Christmas gift, but beyond that I really don't know. I also don't know where I'm gunna come up with funds to purchase gifts that I'm now not knitting. It will all work out in the end, right? It always does.

OK, time to hop in the shower & see if I can get playdates set up for the kids. No way am I braving the stores today!

sick and tired

2007-11-16T12:13:00.000-05:00

Everyone is sick, and because of that I'm tired! Devin has "Bronchitis with a touch on Pnemonia" according to her Doctor. George FINALLY went to the Doctor thismorning & his lungs are pretty clear, but the doctor heard a little something, so he's on Abx just to be safe. Devin is on Abx too & after one day they're already messing with her tummy.

On the fiber front, I made a little something for my Secret Pal, but since she's used her Super Sluth Skillz & figured out who I am I can't post about it here :-P (Hi Stormy!!) I'll put it up after she gets the package, but I think it's pretty cool :-) I'm also still working on the Brea Bag, but had to rip out the gusset b/c I ran out of yarn, so I'm re-making it narrower & hopefully I'll have enough yarn! Then I'll take a trip to my Mom's house to go through her fabric stash to pick out fabric to line the bag with.

A guy that George knows through his work came over last night to give him some charts for the boat (waterway stuff) and he asked me if I would knit him a hat & mittens in exchange for the charts, so I'm off to the yarn store today to get some Cascade 220 superwash :-)

And that's that :-)

First handspun on my Joy

2007-11-04T13:39:00.000-05:00

My first skein of yarn spun on my Ashford Joy! 93 yards of soft fluffy goodness!Yeah! It's one ply soy silk in purple green and blue and one ply merino that I dyed in shades of purple (see the post below). It looks like brains in this picture: And here it's a little neater:
Devin has requested a cabledhat out of this. I think I can do that :-) I have some more fiber in the crock pot right now that I'll be spinning into yarn for my secret pal. One ply will be alpaca and the other merino. Hopefully I'll spin it a bit more evenly than this! For my first skein on the wheel I don't think it's too bad though. And the merino- which I spun second- was WAY mpore even than the soy silk, so I take that as a sign that I'm improving.

Sailing and fiber

2007-11-02T16:12:00.001-04:00

I feel like it's been mostly Georgie pictures lately. Next time I'll have to post some more of Devin.

So, first, this is Georgie with a guitar he made out of rubber bands and plastic containers. He completely made this on his own, and even knew how to play it and make the rubber bands create different sounds. I don't care what he gets on his spelling and math tests, the kid's smart! Georgie and George steering to boat:
I don't know how clearly you can see it in this picture, but the water was ROUGH while we were out!
Some merino I dyed. I spun up a little sample on the drop spindle and it was quite lovely!!
It will be plied with this- a soysilk/wool blen in green blue & purple.

And that's it for now!

Juli is getting settled in Ohio. They found two houses they like & should have an offer put in on one soon, so I expect that we'll have Episode 4 of the podcast up soon. Gloria is even trying to get her computer set up so she can get in on it too

So much to say

2007-11-01T19:59:00.000-04:00

So much since my last post... Georgie turned 6:
Demonstrating his new Shark Attack toy :-X Ya, that's a diver hanging out of the shark's mouth!Halloween, Georgie was a skelaton
The kids carving a pumpkin with George

Devin was a woodland fairy. Sometimes she said she was Mother Nature, othertimes she was just a fairy. Whatever you call it, she was adorable! Ready to go Trick or Treating
There was also a boat ride, spinning, dying and a little knitting. Will post more about thos at a future date. I know all anyone cares about is the pix anyway!

My Gma's the cutest!

2007-10-25T17:57:00.000-04:00

We went into the city (New York that is) and saw Mama Mia on Broadway. Gma hasn't been in the city or on a train in years. She even got a fancy corsage:
We went in to celebrate Gma's 80th birthday. It was Gma, my Mom, my Aunt, my two female cousins, my two sisters and myself. Girl's night out :-) Aunt San has pictures of us at dinner, so I'm trying to get a copy of them.

More on Rhinebeck; and Gma

2007-10-23T08:25:00.000-04:00

A little more on Rhinebeck...

So, we went on Saturday only. Mom, Juli & Gloria picked me up at like 8ish, maybe a bit after, so we knew we would be getting up there later than we wanted, but so be it. We got there at around 11 and hit a few barns before going to the Blogger Bingo/Ravelry meet-up at 12. We were actually a bit late for that, but lots of people were still there. I found a few squares on my card & a few people we ran into had Juli or me on their cards. It was fun to talk to everyone, even if we didn't get Bingo out of it! After the meet-up it was serious shopping time! They had told me the night before that I was getting a wheel for my B-day, so I was off to test drive a few! I wanted an Ashford, so I tried a few & decided I liked the Joy for several reasons. One of which being that it's totally portable, so if I ever make it to the LI Spinner Guild I can take my wheel!! Yeah!!! So, while I'm at this booth testing out the Joy who walks up behind me to chat with the shop owner but the Yarn Harlot herself!!! It was pretty funny b/c my sisters and I had just been talking about her & how my daughter really likes the book I have (Meditations for Women who Knit too Much) and how she asked me if I can pass it on to her, then she can pass it on to her daughter when she has one. She wants this silly little paperback book to be a family heirloom! LOL! We didn't say anything to her (It was just Gloria & I) but we did go find Juli to let her know we saw someone famous! So, Mom comes back to the booth with us & she buys me the wheel and a pound of BFL to spin on it!!!!! Yeah!!!!!! We leave it at the booth to pick up later. Other purchases made were a pattern for a really cute hat for Devin, I'll post a link when I find one, a Spin-Off magazine, a pound of supersoft Merino to spin, two ginormous hanks of undyed superwash sock yarn and several colors of Jacquard dyes. It was a GOOD day :-)

Later in the day when we were all together we were waiting on line to get a drink & I'm snapping pix of Juli, Gloria & my Mom. I turn around to put my camera away & Stephanie the Yarn Harlot is standing there behind me! I swear at this point it was clear she was stalking me! LOL! We said hi. She asked how our Blogger Bingo was going. We told her how Devin wants her book to be a family heirloom. We asked her how her shopping was going. And that was it. I didn't want to shove my camera in her face & snap a pic b/c she was shopping & not doing a book signing today. I thought it would be a bit rude to make her pose for pix while she was trying to shop!

Here are a few more pix:

Juli, Gloria and Mom. Have I mentioned yet that i dyed Juli's shirt? Well, I did :-)

My new wheel :-))))) Yeah!!!!! Those bags have the fiber that I will eventually spin on it.
Gloria, all shopped out:
Juli at the end of the day:
Crochet Mama driving home:
Mom saw someone making a crochet bag that she liked, so was on the hunt for the book the pattern was it, but wasn't able to find it. Juli got some great stuff, check out her blog for details. Gloria only got a kit from Morehouse.

Rhinebeck Pix

2007-10-22T08:03:00.001-04:00

Here are a few pictures. Actual text will follow eventually :-)

Self portrait: Gloria, Mom, Valerie & Juli (aka: Knit Sibs and Crochet Mama! LOL!)

Gloria waiting for a drink. Three seconds later we saw Stephanie the Yarn Harlot. No pic of her b/c she was shopping, not signing, so I didn't want to invade her private time. We did chat with her for a few seconds. More on that next time. Juli, Gloria & Mom at the end of the day. We were tired & ready to go home!
Juli, me & Gloria
Mom & Juli checking out Border Collie Rescue stuff
And finally... me spinning on my new wheel at Mom's house!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! I tested out a few wheels, and wound up with the Ashford Joy. I wanted an Ashford, they're small, I like the look of them, they're the most reasonable priced wheels I've seen.... I tested out the Joy, Kiwi, Traveler and Traditional. I decided the Joy would be best b/c it's fold-up and portable & I liked the way it felt when I was spinning on it. When I have a craft room I can get a bigger wheel, but this is PERFECT for now!!!!! Squee!!!!!!

More info, and maybe even a few more pix, to follow later in the day. We should be doing a Rhinebeck podcast in the next few days too.

Episode 2 & Rhinebeck

2007-10-20T06:46:00.000-04:00

I'm off to Rhinebeck this morning!!! WooHoo :-)))))))

Episode 2 of the Knit Sibs podcast is up. Gloria joins us for this one, and they tell me what I'm getting for my birthday. We're up on iTunes now, so go subscribe!!

She-Knits Rocks!

2007-10-18T08:09:00.000-04:00

I got a package from Sharon of She-Knits:

It's a copy of Crazy Aunt Purl's book: Drunk Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair, two skeins of beautiful sock yarn, a set of stich markers, and a knitters ring. WooHoo!!!! I love getting mail :-)

Now go check out her Etsy shop & buy something from her!!

In other news, Juli is coming into town tonight, so that means RHINEBECK on Saturday!!! Yeah!!!! We'll be recording on Friday, so look out for a new podcast this weekend. Also, but something from her Etsy shop too!!

If you have me on your Blogger Bingo card, there are plenty of pics of me on here if you scroll back. I'll be with my sisters all day, so it should be easy to spot us. There's a pic of the three of us together on the podcast site ;-) Also, there's a rumor about a meet-up at noon by the food building, so I plan on being there.

Purple Yarn & Rhinebeck

2007-10-14T15:05:00.000-04:00

As promised the results of the Purple Yarn Experiment are in, and I'm happy to say that they are much better than the Fall Colors Yarn :-)

This was a lot of fun to make! I don't think the range of colors come through very well in the pictures. It ranges from very light lavander to dark blue/purple. It did speckle a bit, as I thought it would, but I really don't mind those spots. Yeah for successful dying!! Even if I am the only one who sees this as success I'm still happy!! LOL! I want to get some Jacquard dyes now & some Bare Knit Picks yarn & play around with those :-) The two yarns I've dyed are both sock yarns, and being that I don't knit socks I may have to gift them to Juli :-P I really wanted to make a lacy scarf (thinking Branching Out??) with the Fall Colors yarn, but I'm still undecided about the colors.

Next weekend is Rhinebeck! WooHoo!!!! Juli & I are playing Blogger Bingo :-) We're both squares (Catch us ifyou can!!) and I decided like yesterday that I want to be a player too. I got my card like 6 minutes ago & I have to find some printer paper so I can print it out.... Time to start stalking blogs to see what my targets look like!

Also, I've been pimping our podcast and I'm pretty excited to say that several people have atually downloaded it!! Hopefully they found us interesting enough to come back for Episode two, which we plan on recording on Friday. Juli will be in town for Rhinebeck on Saturday then Mama Mia on Sunday (I *heart* ABBA!!!) to celebrate my Gma's 80th Birthday, so we'll all get together at my house to record. Our first recording was pretty craptacular since we just pressed *record* and blathered on, but next time we'll organize an outline & try to stay on topic for more than 3 seconds at a time!

One final picture: my Lil Man playing Football this weekend. He's #95 (second from the left in the red).... notice his size compared to the other team :-X

They don't have to submit birth certificates in the 5 & 6 year old division, so I'm 99.9% sure the kids on the other team were NOT 5 & 6!!!! They were freaking HUGE!!!! I know my kid is small (he's 42 pounds & will be 6 in 2 weeks) but REALLY!!!!! The kids you see in the picture were the smallest from the other team. Their *A* team was twice the size. We had about 10 kids on our team & they had about 26. We have more kids in this age group, but they got split into two teams so the kids get to play more. Apparently the other team was more concerned with winning than anything else. Lil G sat on the sideline most of the game, which was fine by me.... not only were these guys huge but they were playing dirty too!! The coach said he was afraid to put G in against these kids. I can't wait for wrestling to start back up, at least then I know he's matched up with someone his own size! This game was a few miles from my Grandparents, which I didn't realize until I got off the Expressway at their exit, so I called them & they came to the game then took us out for pizza. We then went back to their place & hung out for a bit. It was nice to spend some time with them.

Copied From Juli's Blog:::

2007-10-11T23:09:00.000-04:00

I'm a podcaster!!!
Me and my sisters are starting a podcast. I know, pretty silly, but Val (Make that Juli here since I am Val) and I are pretty knitting obsessed and this was the next logical step. Here's the link to our podcast shownotes and here's a link to download our first episode. Gloria was absent since she hasn't downloaded skype yet. We're working on getting it onto iTunes, apparently you have to go through an approval process. Keep your fingers crossed that someone will actually want to listen to me and my knit sibs!

Here's what I cooked up, and shiny things

2007-10-09T18:35:00.001-04:00

I wanted Fall colors. I had limited success. The green speckled pretty bad. I think it's just the way the dye is made, but I'm really not thrilled with the blotches of color. I have some purple yarn in the crock pot right now, and it seems to be doing the same thing. Perhaps I'll get another brand of dye at Rhinebeck and see how it turns out.... This is without the flash and is a bit more accurate on my screen And the flip side. I haven't decided if I'm gunna keep this as is or if I'll be dying it a solid brown. Maybe I'll swatch before I decide.
And a few sets of stich markers. I made sets of six with one slightly different to mark the beginning of the row when knitting in the round. I like them a lot! Here they're on a size nine needle, but I think they'll fit up to an 11. I would really like to try to sell these in a LYS, but I'm not sure if I have the nerve to walk in and ask if they would like to sell them!
Stay tuned for the results of the Purple Dye.....

What's Cooking?

2007-10-08T20:35:00.001-04:00

This is on my counter at the moment: Whatever can be inside?
Looks like brains to me.....
So this nice lady at the NH Wool Arts Tour gave me directions on how to dye in a crock pot. And what do you know, I found a yucky old crock pot at Grandpa's house. Although once I got it cleaned up the inside stonewear or whatever it's called pot part is actually quite nice..... I'm pretty posative I didn't use enough dye. I was expecting this to bleed a LOT more than it appears to be doing. It needs to cook for another hour or so though, so we shall see what it looks like at that point. And Juli, if you want to get your hands on some superwash hand dyed sock yarn from your lovely sister you better cough up a pair of socks!!!!! Hahahahaah!!!!!

Also seen at the Wool Arts tour:

Not fiber related, but I thought the bees all over the sunflowers was pretty cool!

Angora goats for sale. I wish I had a big farm to keep animals on. Isn't this one a cutie?I loved the way the shaggy hair covered the Alpaca's eyes: I don't know if it's too hard to see in this picture, but there's a little Alpaca with a blue coat on that was born less than 24 hours prior to the picture. Apparently there were a bunch of people at the Farm at the time that got to see the birth: Devin, Georgie & I all got to try spinning on a wheel. It was pretty freaking cool and I DEFINITELY want to get a wheel now!!! Too bad I didn't get pix of the kids spinning :-( I didn't get much this weekend- just some dyes and some Alpaca/Wool top that I'm not sure if I want to dye or leave white. I have a pound of it, so I can leave 1/2 white & dye the other 1/2. There were some nice things, but I really need to get through some of my stash before I start buying TOO much more.... Unless it's something that just BEGS to come home with me! I plan on getting some fiber to spin at Rhinebeck and maybe the yarn for Hubby's Christmas gift, but that's pretty much it. I also want to seek out some wheels to test drive :-D

Why you should swatch- and a bag

2007-10-04T17:48:00.000-04:00

This is a little swatch of the yarn I spun with the soy silk Juli sent me. It took me a bit to get used to the fiber, so that's why there are lumps and bumps, but I really don't mind them. I'm not so sure about how the colors blended when I plied the yarn though. I think I may try to ply it so it kinda self-stripes (although I don't think the color repeats are actually long enough to STRIPE, but at least I can try to ply blue with blue, purple with purple, etc...). I have to admit that this is growing on me, but I'm still kinda unsure. I'm glad I swatched before I spun the entire batch of fiber b/c I would have been upset if this is what I got w/o being prepared for it to look this way. This is a fuzzy pic, but it's w/o the flash & the color is a bit more accuarate- at least on my screen. This is SOOOOOOO soft and squishy & cuddly and is just BEGGING the be knit into a scarf and hat! I carried it around in my purse all day at work yesterday so I could take it out & think about how I want to spin the rest of it!

And progress on the bag I'm knitting:
I have to finish binding off the pocket, knit the inside pocket & knit the I-cord handles. Should be done & felted tonight & ready for use by Mom this weekend :-D This is the XL Bowling Bag & the Pattern is sold by She-Knits (link in the previous post).

Birthday

2007-10-02T21:54:00.001-04:00

Ya, so I know it's more than a month before my B-day, but I told my hubby I would put a link to what I want in my blog so he can order it for me. Or direct someone else to it if he chooses.

I want the kit for this bag:

The designer is Sharon of the She Knits Podcast, and her Etsy shop where she sells the kit can be found here. I already own the XL Bowling bag: Cables on Pockets pattern and the Marly bag pattern. This grey bag is my current favorite. I like the little loop in a loop wristlet bags too though :-)

In other Birthday news: Georgie has been planning his party like a mad man lately. He's making lists of who he wants to invite and coming up with ideas. He wants to do a party like had a few years ago. We made a pumpkin patch in the back yard with bales of hay and corn stalks and everything. All the kids *picked* and decorated pumpkins (with puffy paint), we made halloween masks and they had *dirt pie* (chocolate pudding with oreo crumbles on top and gummy worms) for desert. I'm totally happy doing a party like that again :-) It rocks that his Bday is so close to Halloween! I think we also did a pumpkin pinata and played pin the nose on the pumpkin. The kids are older now though, so I don't think they need the party to be quite as structured as it was then. I can't believe my baby will be 6 in a few weeks. I still haven't come to terms with the fact that he's a first grader!!!

SP 11 Contest

2007-10-02T11:54:00.000-04:00

Here are my answers to the latest SP 11 Contest that my Hostess is holding. I'm supposed to list my favorites:

Actor - Hmm.... so many I like. I'll see pretty much anything with Brad Pitt in it. Is that Cliche?
Actress - I love Reese Witherspoon lately :-)
Animal - Turtle
Band - Does Indigo Girls count?
Book - The Harry Potter Series
Bubble Bath - Anything vanilla scented
Candy - Peanut Butter cups
Color - Purple
Flower - Sunflowers
Food - Eggplant
Lip Balm - I don't wear lip balm
Lotion - don't use anything
Movie - Ocean's 11
Song - Power of Two by the Indigo Girls
TV Show - Heros
Vacation Spot - New Hampshire

And that's that.

Spinning vs. Knitting

2007-09-28T19:39:00.000-04:00

I can't decide if I should spin or knit tonight. I've made good progress on the bag I started, so I would like to get moving on that.... But I haven't spun in a while, so I would like to get back to that.... Decisions, Decisions...

So, I've been informed of a Long Island Spinning Guild that I'm gunna look into :-) They meet the 3rd Weds of the month (I think) so I missed it for September, but hope to make it to the meeting in October.

Really?!?!

2007-09-24T23:19:00.000-04:00

So, I started my Cables on Pockets XL bowling bag from She Knits. Such a cute pattern! I can't wait til this is done. This is for Mom, but I'm pretty sure I'll be making one for myself too. Anyway, this is what it looked like a few minutes into the knitting:

The Brown is for the main body of the bag & the oatmeal is the pocket. It doesn't look like much here, but trust me, this is gunna be one BIG bag. So, for the *Really?* part: after knitting the base of the bag the cable popped off the circ needle. UGH!!! Brandy new needles too. That's what I get for not buying Addis! LOL! Oh well, Wild and Wooley Wools here I come!

Done: Perdita & Scarf

2007-09-22T14:20:00.001-04:00

These are the projects I finished up in New Hampshire. The cuff is Perdita from Knitty in the Lilac motif. I used glass beads from Michaels. The buttons belonged to my grandmother. The yarn is embroidery floss.

The scarf is adapted from a Knit Scene pattern. Only I made it too short, so I added a ruffle at the ends & I'm calling it a neck warmer! This is knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes and Merino Style. It's a set with the Cinchy Hat and Fingerless Mitts that I've already posted about. I blocked the scarf yesterday, but I haven't taken pix of it blocked yet.

This picture of Georgie is a bonus because I thought it was freaking hilarious. We got him a bandana b/c I thought it would look cute on him. He tied it on his head so that his ears stick out all silly. Then he got a little pencil from his Grandma that is clipped onto his collar. That thing around his neck is a headband of Devin's. It has those long pieces of fabric that are supposed to be tied under her hair so it looks like she has a scarf tied around her head. I think Georgie wore the headband more than Devin did!

Football & Cheering pix

2007-09-22T14:15:00.001-04:00

Devin & Georgie had their pix this morning. I snapped a few of my own :-)

They were so cute!

Devin & another cheerleader did cheers for the 6-year-old football teams to keep them entertained while they were waiting to have their pictures taken. It kept their attention suprisingly well!

Georgie had a game last night, but none of the pix I tried to take came out well. He spent more time rolling around in the dirt than playing anyway!

2007-09-20T21:12:00.000-04:00

I didn't get to finish before, so some more details from this weekend....

So, Dad gets the call & calls his sister, who had headed home to Arizona that afternoon after visiting the nursing home. She was on the ground for an hour when she got the call from Dad. Her cell phone had died, so finding her took some leg work. He also called his brother who had also been to te Nursing Home that afternoon. Then my other sister & brother were called & I called G to let him know. Everyone came in by Tuesday morning & the wake was that night with the service on Wednesday, then we all headed back home. It was pretty chaotic with NINE of us staying in the cabin, but it was nice to spend some time with the family. We saw my cousin & his wife, who we haven't seen for over ten years, another cousin who we rarely see, my Aunt & Uncle who we see once every few years and even met some of my Dad's cousins who we've never met before. One is a knitter with a farm!!! Who knew!! LOL! I'm glad the kids have been able to get to know my Gpa over the past few years. They really enjoyed spending time in his garden picking peaches, blueberries and corn & digging up potatoes and carrots. Maybe some of that gardening skill will be passed on to them.

Oh, and we got a nice family photo since we were all dressed up:

We were so unprepared for a funeral. We had packed only two days worth clothing, so Mom, Glor & I went shopping for something to wear and G had to pack for the kids himself (gasp!!) We actualy had a really hard time finding something appropriate to wear & went to several stores before finding something. Then G got up with the kids & found that he forgot to pack some things, so it was off to the store again. George forgot Lil G's Adderall, which was of GREAT concern to everyone, but he made it through just fine. (whew).

Quite a bit of knitting was done my myself and my sisters over the weekend. Lil G took pix of us knitting, so I'll post them some time later. I completed two projects that I'll also post about later. Also got some yarn shopping in while we were waiting for the pix to be ready to pick up.

It was really intersting to spend time in Gpa's house and go through all his old documents and pictures. My Grandparents were a really good looking couple!

More to come later. G just got back with dinner....

Home

2007-09-20T15:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I went up to NH this past weekend with my Mom & sister, Gloria to visit my Gpa. My Dad was already up there. We were told during the week that the Doctors thought he only had about a week left. We drove up Friday night & got in sometime after midnight. Saturday we went to see Gpa in the nursing home, where he was admitted several days earlier. He clearly didn't want to be there, but he really needed to be. When we left we told him we would be back later in the day or that night. After visiting Gloria & I went to the library and ordered some pictures on Snapfish to bring up to him. We had them printed at the local Walgreens so that we could bring them up that day. So later in the day the pictures get picked up & we buy some frames to put them in. We went to dinner then the 4 of us went back to the nursing home. Gpa was getting ready to take a nap, so a nurse came to help him get into bed. We said good night, let him know we would be back in the morning & went to the cabin. Two hours later my Dad got the call from the nursing home that Gpa passed away.

Knitting Interrupted

2007-09-12T20:23:00.000-04:00

I came home to find a package on the kitchen counter!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!! I LOVE mail, and fiber mail, well, it just rocks!!! My sister, Juli, had told me she was sending me some soysilk to spin, so I was expecting it. But still, it was so exciting to get the package. This is what I found when I opened the package. The note says that I should feel free to gift her back with some spun-up yarn or a FO made from it. Here's a pic of the fiber out of the plastic bag:
And with the flash so you can see how shiny it it:
Now, my knitting will come to a temporary screeching halt while I spin like mad to finish up the merino that I'm currently spinning on my drop spindle so I can give this a try! Devin's spindle has some pink wool on it that we were spinning together, so I can't rush that one off the spindle, but my own spinning I can bang out so I can get to something new.

THANK YOU JULI!!!!!! I can't wait to get started :-) And I already have a *super secret* project of my own going on right now that I was hoping to get in the mail before I got the fiber. You're totally gunna have to wait like a year and a half for it now!!! LOL!

Worst Thing I Ever Knit

2007-09-12T19:41:00.000-04:00

For a SP11 Contest I'm supposed to post about the worst thing I ever knit. This was a hard one. There were some pretty craptacular projects I did when I first started knitting. After thinking long and hard about it I decided that this shawl was the worst thing I ever knit. I think it was the first project I made after plain garter stitch scarves. When you see it from this distance it doesn't look THAT bad: But then when you catch site of this corner you see all the ends sticking out. I had no clue how to weave in ends.

And on this corner too. And the yarn didn't hold up at all:
This is a pattern that I got off the Lion Brand web site & I used Lion Brand Homespun. I LOVED this yarn when I first started knitting & made like a gazillion scarves with it. This was clearly before I became a yarn snob! Soon I realized that the yarn grows substantially with wear. And it pretty much shreads. I did wear this maybe twice before the ends popped out & it grew exponentially in size. Then I let my son use it as a throw blanket for a while, b/c really, what little boy doesn't need a lace blanket? This now lives in a box in the corner of my closet and rarely sees the light of day. Georgie seemed to like it when I took it out for the photo shoot and insisted on having his picture taken with the hideous shawl!

Grandpa

2007-09-10T23:38:00.001-04:00

The kids & Great Papa:
I took these a few weeks ago in NH. Georgie was eating a peach he picked right off a tree in Great Papa's yard.

Gpa's not doing so great right now. I'm glad we were able to get up there & that the kids got to help in the garden. Devin said it made her feel good to help Great Papa :-) She's a sweetie. Georgie just had a ball in the yard!

Fiber stuff

2007-09-05T10:23:00.001-04:00

So, before I get into the actual vacation stuff I'll do the vacation purchases, since I can't put that many pictures in one post! :-) Gloria and I stopped at WEBS on the way up to New Hampshire, and I got a few things for my Secret Pal, but I'm not gunna post pix of those, just in case she wanders across my blog. I really like all the Valley Yarn brand yarns, I made it a point to check them all out since you never really know what you're going to get when you order on-line.

Then we went to Patternworks and Keepsake Quilting where I got these:

That's a little gauger checker thing, a sweater stone to remove fuzzies, wool wash, an apron pattern book (gunna give sewing an other try- I really like the middle apron!) and two skeins of Berocco Ultra Alpaca in Prune. The Ultra Alpaca was slotted to become a Brea Bag, but I think I have since changed my mind. It's so soft and squishy.... I just can't see using it for something that wont be cuddled. I also got the Jo Sharp Knit book- Issue 1, which I forgot to throw in the picture.

Then Mom & Dad went to the Harrisville Yarn & Loom store and came back with these goodies:

The green is 100% wool and the gold is 25% mohair, 70% wool, 5% cashmere. Both are Harrisville's line of yarn & are a BIT scratchy, but not bad at all. I think the green may turn into the Brea Bag. I initially didn't want another green knit bag, but this green is so different from the green I used for my felted bag that I think it's OK. The gold kinda matches the gold I'm using for Juli's DNA shawl, but the fiber is so different that it may not work for a matching accessory. We shall see.

And speaking of Juli's shawl, there has been a bit of progress made on it. Yeah!!!!! I've been making an effort to finish up the zillion projects I have laying around. I would really like this to be complete by Rhinebeck. It's measuring 26 inches just laying on the couch. I don't think it will grow in length very much with blocking, but I also don't think it should be super-super long. Maybe 50-something inches with a nice pin to keep it closed? I dunno.... gotta think on this one.... Anyway, here's the progress pic: You can't see the bars within the cables very well in this picture, but the picture without the flash was so blurry that it wasn't even worth posting.

And one final picture for this post. Not fiber related. These are some tomatoes that I picked from our mini-garden this morning :-) There were three more tiny ones, but they were put into our breakfast (eggs). These will be either mixed with pasta or made into mozzerella and tomato salad tonight. Either way they will be in my belly!

Back to school

2007-09-05T09:17:00.001-04:00

School started today.

Here's my big First Grader:

Georgie got quite into posing for pix- He was giving us *Blue Steel* and *Magnum*! He's so cute. I'm considering enrolling him in the Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too. He was very excited to wear his cool new *ripped-up* jeans today, and made sure I got pictures of them on him at several different angels showing the different rips in them!
George at the bus stop with the kids. This is as close as I could get to a picture of the two of them together. They were fighting a bit this morning. Shocking.
And my big Second Grader striking a pose:
And another. I got her a bunch of the 3/4 length leggings to wear under her dresses so she's not flashing her undies to the world, as she has a tendency of doing. I think she looks pretty cute. And I'm totally jealous of her hair. She complains now when I brush it, but she has no clue how good she has it with that thick hair that grows like a weed and the natural blond hi-lights! Oh, and the shoes are a size too big on her- they look like flippers! LOL! Devin INSISTED that the proper size was too tight, and that the size 4's were perfect, so it's what she's got. I have a feeling she'll be wearing her cheerleading sneakers to school soon.

More to follow later about our trip :-)

Cropped Cardi: DONE

2007-09-04T19:42:00.000-04:00

Another DONE stamp can be placed on the Cropped Cardi:

More on our trip later. Have to get the kids showered & in bed- school starts tomorrow!!

Mitts: Done :-)

2007-08-28T23:40:00.000-04:00

I changed my Blog template. Got sick of the pink. I like this better, but I wont have time to re-do my side-bar until next week.

Onto the knitting content.

I finished the fingerless mitts that will be paired with the cinchy hat. They're not blocked yet, but here ya go anyway:

So, the kids are in NH with my parents.... I miss them, but it sounds like they're having a great time. I've been sick the past few days, so I'm kinda greatful that I have the time to just come home form work (early) and sleep. I'm getting migraines again. Ugh. Hopefully it's just stress & will stop after the kids go back to school. I'll be going up to NH on Thursday with Gloria- may be stopping at WEBS on the way up!!!- then will head off to Martha's Vineyard on Sunday to visit my nephews. We'll stay there til Tuesday, then school starts on Wednesday. Busy week, but it's better than being at work!!

One more knitting progress pic, I picked back up the cropped cardi I'm making for Gloria. It's finally cool enough to work on it again. I actually JUST seamed up one arm, so all that's left is knitting the 2nd arm, adding the button and blocking it :-)

I'll be back next week, and will hopfully have a good picture of Devin & Georgie with my nephews. I can't believe Charlie will be ONE in October & I STILL don't have a good pic of all 4 kids together!!

Flashing my Stash

2007-08-23T20:33:00.000-04:00

I'm flashing my stash for a contest for my SP11 group. My stash doesn't live in just one place.....

I have some yarn in bags on a dining room chair:

There's the bag I bring to football/cheering practice with me:

There's cotton under the coffee table in plastic bins:

And the majority of my stash lives in these bins, which live under my bed:

Shall we see what's in them?

There's more throughout the house, but I didn't bother to photograph it all!!

beachy goodness

2007-08-19T20:30:00.001-04:00

We wanted to go sailing today, so the kids & I dropped George of at the boat & went to the beach to wait for his call saying he was on his way to the dock to pick us up.

Georgie played in the sand:

Devin made silly faces by the water:

They looked for *treasure* by the water:

They looked adorable walking down the edge of the water together:
And they played on the playground:
In the end it started to rain, so we didn't get on the boat. But we had fun, so it was ok.

And if you're wondering what that thing is on Devin's hand, it's a fingerless mitten. I was making a pair of mittens to gift & I had her try them on & she complained about every aspect of the mitten, this is too tight, that feels funny.... So I stopped where I was, bound off, tied some waste yarn to the thumb & put it aside. Devin picked it up, put it on & said *I love this!!! Can you make the other one for me tonight & leave it on my pillow while I'm sleeping?* What??? She said it felt different when it had the needles in it & she made a mistake when she said the ribbing was too tight. She's a nut!!! She's been wearing it all day though & even wore it to bed, so I think I may switch my original plan from mittens to fingless gloves since the giftee is Devin's age & I'm hoping she'll like them as much as Devin does!

BooBoo Face

2007-08-15T22:30:00.000-04:00

I need to figure out how to use cool fonts here....

Anyway.

Devin fell off a swing at camp yesterday and banged up her chin, nose and forehead. Of course she put on her saddest little face for me to photograph this morning. What a Drama Queen!!! Here's my little BooBoo Face:

Doesn't she look pathetic in these? :-( I love her big brown eyes in the second picture though.

And that's about all that's new here.

As far as knitting goes, it's still too freaking hot to work on anything much. I got a new ribbon for the cinchy hat and have two washcloths made to give to Georgie's summer school teacher and reading teacher. I wasn't sure if I should give them a gift or not since it was only a 4-week session, but really, he's learned more in there 4-weeks than he did in ALL of Kindy!!! I'm just giving them each a knit washcloth with a bar of soap that my sister Juli made. Which means I'm down to just one bar of soap :-( And it smells so good stored in the container with my small finished projects. I'll need to get some more (hint, hint. Make it a super secret project Juli!!). I can't find my camera at the moment, but I'll take pix of the projects when it turns up. For now, it's too hot to be doing anything but laying in the air conditioned bedroom, so I'm off.

Oh, and I had a freaky dream inspired by that Zombie quiz a few posts ago!!! Ugh! It was so weird and scary! I can't even grasp the details any more other than to say it was very disturbing!

Hat: DONE

2007-08-13T20:30:00.000-04:00

I wish I had a big *DONE* stamp like they had on Monster House. Too bad that show isn't on any more :-(

Anyway, the cinchy hat is done :-)

My model was somewhat reluctant and was horseing around with her Dad when I was trying to snap pix. The Mama of the girley girl getting the hat promises to take lots of pix :-) This isn't the ribon that will stay on the hat. Mom has some burgundy ribbon in her stash that I think I'll steal a yard of. I want to make a bow instead of just a knot.

Awesome

2007-08-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

Check it out:

http://julispinsandneedles.blogspot.com/2007/08/gorgeous.html

That had was made with yarn I spun! How cool is that? Yeah! That's the first thing that's been knit with yarn I spun :-D I'm so proud of my little drop spindle.

Knitting ADD

2007-08-10T13:21:00.001-04:00

Ya, so you know those shawls & stuff that I said I was working on last time? And the leg warmers/socks that Devin wanted? Ya, well I've moved on to the Cinchy Hat from the most recent Knit Scene. I'm also planning on making a pair of matching mittens & leg warmers :-) I hope I have the right gauge for a kids hat, since it's for a friend'd daughter. If not, I'll keep this for myself & knit another one. HeeHee! No, it should be just fine.

I did a different increase than in the pattern, so I think it looks a little wonky, but it should be fine when all is said & done.

I left work early to pack to go to New Hampshire tonight, and so far all I've managed to do is eat some left over sesame tofu and watch part of Dirty Dancing. Guess I should go get the laundry from the basement and start packing before I get the kids from camp & hit the road....

Secret Pal 11 Questionnaire

2007-08-07T08:28:00.001-04:00

Here's my Secret Pal 11 questionnaire. I can't wait to get assigned my Pal :-)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like knitting with all natural fibers. I LOVE alpaca. I don't like acrylic. I think I may be a yarn snob.....

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a needle case that my Mom made that fits a fraction of my straight needles. Everything else is in a plastic container.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Been knitting a couple of years. I'm self-taught. I guess I'm intermediate. I can handle cables and lace, seaming kills me though! And I have a very short attention span, so large projects are often lost on me.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yup, I've got an Amazon wish list

5. What's your favorite scent?
Vanilla, or cookies baking... or pumpkin pie spice....

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a VERY sweet tooth!!!! Chocolate is my favorite. Dark. I'm also a constant gum chewer & coffee drinker.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I'm teaching myself to spin with a drop spindle. I like to make beaded jewlery, but I wouldn't say I'm any good at it! I attempt to quilt every so often, but that usually ends with me running to my mom for help! I'm trying to teach myself how to dye yarn and to tie-dye. The tie-dying is going pretty good :-)

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like Folksy music: Indigo Girls, Simon & Garfunkle, Dar Williams, stuff like that. I can play MP3s on the computer.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Purple is my favorite color. I like to knit with earthy colors. Not so crazy about super bright colors. I love fall colors- browns, deep reds....

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married with two kidlets (a boy 5 & girl 7) and a cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes and no.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like knitting cables, lace and baby items. When I get frustrated with a project I usually turn to a dishloth or washcloth as a quick *get it done* project then go back to whatever was frustrating me.

13. What are you knitting right now?
A bunch of shawls! A lace weight mostly stockinette shawl out of Merino, Alpaca Shawl with a lace pattern, DNA cable/lace shawl out of Alpace silk and a wool shrug.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I adore my straight bamboo needles, but I've grown rather fond of my Knit Picks Options set, so I may try out some Knit Picks DPNs. I can't knit with plastic needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yup, got both thanks to mom!!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Umm.... a year?

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas! Or 4th of July for the fireworks :-)

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Turtles, and does yarn count?

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to Knit.1 (thanks to my sis, Juli) and Interweave Knits. I'm dying for the Vogue stitchionaries, any lace book, and any beginner sock book (gotta jump on that bandwagon!). Looking to try out some Knit Picks DPNs- I don't have any DPNs smaller than a 2.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Hmm... I can't think of any. I have the magic loop booklet, but I haven't tried it yet. Oh, and colorwork! The most complicated color work I've done is ball band dishcloths!! I want to try stranded knitting & have a few patterns in mind (the pirate hat from Hello Yarn being one!)

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Not yet, but all the cool kids are doing it, so I have some sock yarn & some patterns ready to go for when I can take on another project. I wear a size 7 shoe.

23. When is your birthday?
November 14th I'll be turning 30 @@

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
YES!!!!! I'm valink over there, and I'm totally addicted!!!

Zombies!!!!

2007-08-06T23:40:00.001-04:00

I hope they're not coming any time soon... 40% isn't the best odds....

40%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Nothing much new

2007-08-04T10:04:00.000-04:00

So, not much knitting or spinning has been going on around here lately. I finally finished the new HP book, but I still haven't been getting much done. It's too freaking hot and humid to want to do much of anything around here. I don't have air conditioning, so during the times that I would usually be knitting I find I just want to lay on the couch with the lights out! I did get a few rows knit on my *something warmers*- which Devin has requested that I make into knee high socks for her, and I did a few rows on the Morehouse Farms Contessa Shawl. Oh, and George found the reversable cable scarf that I made him! Yeah! I'll have to force him or one of the kids to model it for a picture, as I only have *in-progress* pix. Georgie's rattle snake scarf continues to be missing :-(

Onto the pix.

Devin modeling what I thought was going to be leg warmers, but now may not be. No soap was used in the production of these pictures, so please excuse the messy house & dirty kids!

The beginnings of the Contessa Shawl. I'm only on row 20.

And my main man in his football gear.

Just keep spinning....

2007-07-28T12:36:00.000-04:00

That's it..... I'm WAY obsessed with Ravelry!!! I spend so much time there that it's interfering with my knitting, spinning and reading (Harry Potter!!!) time! I'm really trying to finish spinning the roving I got in NH this last time I was up there. It will be hard for me to justify buying a ton of roving at Rhinebeck if I've hardly touched what I already have. If I just had a wheel.... LOL!

Since I skimped on the pix last post, I'll make up for it now.

This is what I'm currently spinning. It's 100% merino & so fluffy & soft! I love merino :-) I'm spinning it as a thick & thin single, which I haven't done before, so I'm trying to make sure I don't over twist it too much. This is less than 1/2 of what I have. I'm hoping that I have enough to make another rattle snake scarf, since Georgie lost the one I made him last winter :-( That thing was really cool, but what can I do about it? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will appear in the school lost & found in September.

Devin lost another tooth on Thursday morning. It was a top side tooth. This makes #7. It bled quite a bit when it fell out. Ewwww.....

And finally..... Devin in the skirt Aunt Juli made for her. It's Knitty's Hip in Hemp Pattern.

So what should I do now? Knit, Spin, Read or do Stupid Laundry??

Catching up

2007-07-22T19:40:00.000-04:00

I haven't been doing much new knitting... I'm trying to finish up all the random little things I have laying around over the summer, so in the fall I can work on the big things that I don't want to think about while it's so hot- like Juli's shawl & Gloria's shrug. I have about a billion dishcloths that I made recently, most of which will be gifted, and I have what WAS the beginning of a pair of socks that I'm turning into leg warmers for Devin. George asked that I make the kids Harry Potter scarves. Ummm.... let me think about that one... OF COURSE!!!! I want to place an order @ Webs for some superwash wool for the project. Knit Picks doesn't seem to have the Gryfandor colors in Swish superwash. Although they did put the new Fall line out & I haven't had a chance to look it over yet. Maybe I'll make Georgie a Gryfandor and Devin a Ravenclaw... Have to think about it before ordering. Bottom line though is that I don't want to start anything new until I have a few projects off the needles. And speaking of needles, I'm eyeing the DPN set on Knit Picks which I see that my sister just ordered. Let me know how you like them Juli! I'm a big fan of Clover Bamboos, but I do really like my Knit Picks options, so maybe I would like to Knit Picks DPNs too.

Georgie starts summer school tomorrow. I can't believe my 5-year-old has to go to summer school. He'll have the boy aross the street with him though, and he doesn't seem to mind the idea of going to school tomorrow, so I'm not gunna make a huge deal out of it.

I entered a contest through the Stash and Burn podcast, and I didn't win, but got an e-mail that they're sending everyone who got the correct answer a little gift :-) Juli got hers already, so I hope mine comes tomorrow! I love getting stuff (other than bills) in the mail!!! Juli has been on a kick that we're gunna do our own podcast, along with Gloria. She's got segments worked out, I named us, now we need to work out the logistics of podcasting from different states! I bet we would be able to do a decent pod cast!

And speaking of Gloria, there was a fire in her apartment building last week. Several fire fighters went to the hossy for smoke inhalation, but other than that there were no injuries. She's out of the apartment for a few months while they do repairs, and she needs some new furnature and whatnot... all her clothing needs to be dry cleaned... and she LOST HER STASH!!!! GASP!!!! Now, it's wasn't the world's most impressive stash, but it was a stash none the less... and what do you want to do most when you're stessed out and have to stay at your parents house?? Knit, of course. So, she came over and took a ton of yarn from the craptastic garbage bag of doom, needles and a back issue Knit Simple magazine with a log cabin blanket pattern in it. I just told her to be careful with the blanket when she's done with it, b/c since it's acrylic it may melt to her if it's ever in a fire :-X I think the deal worked out well for everyone. I unloaded a boatload of craptacular yarn, Gloria got a project to work on, and I brought most of what was left in the bag to a drop box, so George is thrilled that we no longer have a ginormous bag of yarn in our living room. The way I see it, being that I destashed like 80 skeins of yarn right there that I should totally be able to buy whatever I want at Reinbeck :-D Juli will be coming with us this year, so I'm pretty sure spending will be completely out of control, but I'm OK with it!

G & I spent the day on the boat today- he worked (installed the radio) while I started re-reading HP: The Order of the Phoenix. We got HP7 yesterday, but G is reading it first since I can't keep a secret, so I'm re-reading the last two in the mean time. I can't wait to read the new one! All the buzz I hear has been that it's great. I found HP inspired sock patterns (Bellatrix, Fawkes, and Nagini a few minutes ago, with the help of Ravelry. I love that site!! Maybe once I get a few projects off the needles I'll cast on for some socks.

OK, I feel like I'm still on the boat, and I'm getting dizzy, so that's it from me for now. Bad Blogger, I have no pix today.

Goals for today

2007-07-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

Since I'm home with Lil G all day (may go in for a few appointments later, but pretty much home all day) I may as well set some goals for myself.

* I WILL get at least half of the laundry folded and put away. Laundry & I are *worstest enemies* as Georgie would say!

* I will phtograph some of my WIPs so I can eventually put them on Ravelry (Me? Obsessed? What makes you think that??).

* I will vacuume the first floor.

* I will get the dining room table crap organized and throw out what I can bear to part with.

George's parents want to take the kids for the weekend. I think they're going out to the Hamptons, but I'm not sure. This means they will miss pratice on Saturday, but it's summer, they should be out having fun!! Hopefully G & I will be able to go see a movie & spend some time on the boat while we're child free.

Rambling on....

2007-07-17T20:20:00.000-04:00

George & I moved the boat this weekend. Yeah! Now it's only a short drive to the harbor to go out on it. We have to row out to the mooring in an inflatable little thing for now, but we plan on upgrading soon! This is the boat at the mooring:

And another picture. These two were taken from the row boat. And this is an aweful picture I took of G & myself on the boat:Devin & Aunt Buli in their tie dye:
And I was wearing mine too!

This picture is proof that I need to go back to WW :-X Yikes!

Lil Man started football & Devin started cheering over the weekend. They seemed to have fun :-) Georgie like the equiptment more than the actual playing, but that's ok! Tonight would have been the second practice, but Lil Man was sick. I THOUGHT he had poison ivy, but when he came home from camp with a 104 fever I call the doc & they said to bring him in ASAP. The doc thinks that the rash is hives (which he has a history of getting) and that it's a reaction to a virus. She said to give him Motrin & Benedryl (which I had already done) and bring him back in on Thurs if he still has a high fever. I'll be staying home w/ him tomorrow, but on Thurs I have things I can't miss, so I need to find a sitter. This is why Mom should quit her job & babysit the kids full time!!! Hopefully Devin wont get this next...

Lil G also starts the Summer Literacy Program on Monday. The bus picks him up at 8:20, so I can put him on the bus in the morning, then he'll be bussed to camp at 12:00. I spoke with them today & they'll get him off the bus- which means I don't have to make sure I'm in Huntington for my lunch breaks! Whew!

Hmmmm...... I think that's all I have for now. I'm totally addicted to Ravelry still & not getting much knitting done because of it. And the knitting I DO get done is little dishcloths that I don't want to bother posting on Ravelry. Most often I just get lost looking at other people's projects!

Ravelry

2007-07-12T20:35:00.000-04:00

I'm WAY too addicted to Ravelry. It's so freaking fun!! There are a lot of projects that I didn't take pix of before I gifted them, so I'm SOL for that, but I'm going through my old pix to see what I can find. For the most part I wont be putting up projects that I have no chance of finding pix for.

So, my New Hampshire Stash Additions..... First off, on the way to NH we went to WEBS. Yeah!!!! It's a good thing I don't live too close, otherwise I would be broker than I already am!! I was being relatively good while I was there: I picked out two different sets of purse handles and some Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky to make felted purses with and a pattern book from Filatura Di Crosa (I'm itching to make the sideways knit cardi). I was on my way up to the register when I ran into a staff member who asked if I was finding everything, we chatted for a bit, she asked me if I was in the warehouse. I said *The what?* and that's when it was all over!! I wound up with what I hope is a sweater's worth of cotton to make the cardi and a whole bunch of other cotton to make washcloths. I'm really into the Ball Band dishcloth. It's such a cute pattern. Next yarn store was an accident. We went to New England Fabrics so Mom could get some fabric to make pillows and I discovered a ton of Lopi. Georgie picked out some Cammo yarn to make him a vest with and Orange yarn to trim it with. Then we went to the Fiber Studio, where I got two big hanks of superwash merino that I plan on dyeing for Juli to make socks with (after I place another order from Dharma), and Georgie picked out some roving for me to spin to make him a new Rattle Snake scarf (his is lost- *SOB*). And that's it. I was pretty proud of myself that I didn't get more! I REALLY have to start using my stash though, b/c it's totally getting out of hand. I have to admit that I can't resist it when Georgie requests that I make him things. I think it's SO cute.

We're having some issues with Camp scaring the sh*t out of the kids with their dooms day preaching (what should I have expected from a church camp?? It was what we could afford though) so G talked to them this morning. We'll see what happens. Georgie is literaly having nightmares that a ball of fire is gunna crash into the Earth & we're all gunna die :-X Just what I wanted out of summer vacation :-(

K, time to get a move on.

More pix

2007-07-09T19:30:00.001-04:00

A few more pix from New Hampshire.... I really wish we could move up there, but G couldn't make a living there :-(

This picture was actually taken at home on the 4th of July. This is the shirt I tie dyed for her :-) I intended on making us each a R,W&B shirt, but that didn't happen! Devin's hair has gotten so long again so quickly!! I love it :-) See that heap on the floor next to her? That's Georgie in a Superman Cape and Transformer helmet..... I think I have video that's quite funny of this moment!
Grammy & Papa got new furnature for the cabin & Papa was going to bring the box to the recycling place when Devin suggested they recycle it with their immagination instead. It became a playhouse, a lap top and money, amung other things!
Peacock at the Friendly Farm. Georgie said this is what the boy peacock does to make the girl fall in love with him. I wish I was able to get a better picture, but you can get the idea!

And my cutie boy in a shirt he dyed all by himself. I'll have to get a better picture next time he wears it, b/c for all it's randomness it came out really cute. I love this guy :-)

New Hampshire

2007-07-09T17:57:00.000-04:00

We're back from New Hampshire. It was so nice to be away for a few days... I wish I didn't have to come back to work today!!

A few quick pix:

Those are from The Friendly Farm. I love that place :-) Georgie liked the goats the best, and Devin's favorite was the baby chicks.

Oh, and we dyed those shirts. I'm happy with how they came out, but I think their may be room for improvement :-P

I'll be back with more pix, and with info on my recent stash enhancement!

Yarn!!

2007-07-03T13:24:00.000-04:00

George came home with a big bag of yarn for me :-) Yeah for yarn! It's mostly crap, but it was free, and it's mine, so I'm totally OK with it! It came from a friend of his mother's who's mother-in-law passed away. I was sitting there knitting teacher's gifts on Father's Day & she asked if I wanted the yarn, since she has no clue what to do with it. Sure! There were 8 balls of sugar & cream cotton in a verigated yellow/orange color. Does anyone know anyone with a yellow/orange kitchen that needs some dishcloths??? LOL! I think that was the biggest prize in the bag. There was lots and lots of acrylic. Like, a huge black garbage bag full. There's an entire bag (10 skeins perhaps? No, 12, I just counted) of Caron simply soft in white. I heard a rumor that simply soft actually makes a nice Clapotis, so I'm thinking a Xmas gift for my Grandmother.... too bad I can't dye acrylic.... Pretty much everything she had was large quantaties of the same thing, so I can make some blankets, maybe something for NH. Squeaky acrylic is perfect for up there since it wont get attacked by bugs while the cabin in empty. And I can definitely use some of it to make toys for Devin & Georgie & my nephews. I was gunna make some baby blankets in Cotton, but since I now have a large quantity of acrylic baby yarn (with that sparkly thread running through it. WHY do people think this makes the yarn more babyish??? I don't get it!) it looks like project Linus may be getting some acrylic baby blankets. Maybe I can whip up a white balnket for Daniella's baby's christening or something. Too bad I can't remember how to crochet, I bet that woould burn through this new aquisition quicker!! If anyone has suggestions on what to do with this I'm totally open to hearing them!!

Onto a few pix:

What could be in that bag?

Yarn. Duh!

Sugar & Cream for dishcloths. What else can I make with this?

A gazillion balls of Lion Brand Jamie. Two bags are rainbow colors and one is yellow & white. Ya, and they're sparkly. The bag behind it is another brand of baby yarn in sparkley white:

12 balls of Caron Simply Soft:

Superfreak strikes again

2007-07-01T16:27:00.000-04:00

After spending most of the day in his PJs on the couch watching TV, I insisted Georgie get dressed so he can go out side & play.

This is what he came down wearing:

I love this boy, but he is a Superfreak!!

Yarney Goodness

2007-06-25T11:04:00.001-04:00

I dyed yarn this weekend :-) Here are the two color ways:
This one is really girlie, but I'm not sure if it will self stripe the way I intended it to, since I don't think I made the hank long enough:

And this one will definitely self stripe. It's destined to become a pair of leg warmers for Devin, since she can't stand the feel of the SWS leg warmers I made her over the winter. These colors remind me of Strawberry Shortcake!

Baby t-shirts I dyed and stamped for Daniella's shower this weekend. I know the stamps are crooked, it gives the shirts character, ok?

And the shirts opened up so you can see the colors better:

And that's all from me for now. Time to get the sewing machine out of the basement so I can get the quilt finished in time for the shower!!

More crafty stuff

2007-06-17T21:56:00.000-04:00

I dyed some cotton yarn in yellow & brown. This is what it looked like after it dried:
And in a cute little skein:

Which I then re-skeined to see what the colors would look like mixed together:

George wearing one of the shirts I made him Father's Day (Doesn't he look like he LOVES it??? LOL!)

And Georgie's black eye, obtained in a struggle over a water gun with his cousin yesterday:

More to follow eventually. I've got tons of pix of the kids, but they'll most likely come through Snapfish!

Crafties

2007-06-10T19:23:00.001-04:00

A few pix :-) Cause really, that's all you're here for anyway :-P

Here's the Baby Belaro jacket from the One Skein book. This thing took me TWO DAYS to knit!!!! WooHoo!!!! I CAN make sweaters, I really CAN!!!

And the back. Not quite sure what's up with those two little holes at the edging. They're from the neckline shaping, which quite honestly I don't think was all that necessary on the back.

I tried this on one of Devin's Cabage Patch Kids & it was a little big, so if this is an average sized baby it should fit nice :-) Mom thinks it's silly to make a sweater for a baby due in August, but August & September evenings can get chilly, and it's made of cotton, not wool!!

And what will eventually be a quilt top:

I had such a hard time picking out fabrics for this. There were so many cool fabrics I liked & so many ideas I had, but I finally went with this b/c I would like all the stuff I give Daniella at the shower to coordinate & kinda look like they belong together. I hope she likes her basket of home made goodies that she'll be getting!

And I was shown a positive pregnancy test today that another friend took, so I'll have more baby knitting in my future :-) I'll probably make her pick out exactly what she wants so I know that she'll love it!!

Random Bitches....

2007-06-06T09:14:00.000-04:00

Last night G starts sniffing around the house going *what's that smell? It smells nasty*. I tell him I burnt some rice in veggie broth, which smelled pretty bad, so that was probably what he was smelling. We didn't think much more of it.... all the windows were open, then he went out & got some pretty strong smelling Chinese food, then it started to smell REALLY bad. Turns out a pipe in the basement rusted through & water from the cesspool was running into the basement. Now, we JUST had the freakin thing pumped a few weeks ago & the only way that it could be backing up into the house from this pipe is if that pool is FULL again. Obviosly when when we had it pumped they didn't really pump it all the way. We've gone nearly ten years w/o having it pumped, you can't tell me it filled back up in a matter of weeks! George patched up the leak with some duct tape (that stuff really IS good for everything! LOL!) and someone is coming to pump the tank for real today. Then G will have to figure out how to fix the pipe. Yuck. Everything in the basement has to be trashed too :-( All sorts of kids toys & stuff that I've been holding onto that he's been wanting to throw out for the past few years....

Onto the knitting.... School is over in two weeks, so that means teacher knitting is upon us! I was planning on making Georgie's teacher a shawl since she's retireing this year, but after contributing to the class gift & making her a scrapbook page & everything, I decided to go with something smaller. She used Butterflies as a theme that she carried through the year, so I decided to give her several butterfly knit washcloths along with some bath stuff. Usually I order soap from Apple Pie Baby, but this year I waited too long & I don't think I would get them in time, so I'll probably go to Bath & Body Works. I'm making washcloths for all the teachers, but Georgie's is getting more than the others. I have the two teachers, two speech therapist & the day care teachers to give gifts for. I just discovered the Ball Band cloth & I LOVE it!!! They go super quick & I really like to look of the textures and colors :-) I'm thinking about just getting a basket for Day Care full of goodies for them to share since there are so many people involved....

I spun a little skein of yarn out of the roving I got a few weeks ago. The colors look great in the yarn & I can't wait to knit it into something :-) I want to get the rest of it spun up though before I decide what to make so I know exactly what my yardage is. I think I'm keeping it as a single instead of plying it, so hopefully I'll have enough for a lacey scarf. Juli's shawl is kinda at a stand still til I get the teacher stuff finished, and so is Gloria's sweater. I'll have pictures of everything to post later.

A friend of mine is pregnant, so I would like to make her a blanket. I'm thinking Shine from Knit Picks & a simple lace pattern with a ruffle edgeing, then I want to back it with fabric. She's due in August, so hopefully I can get the yarn ordered soon. I did already get some yarn to make baby washcloths and a sweater from the one-skein book. I would love to dye and stamp some onesies for her too... there are so many projects I want to make & so little time!! I really have to prioritize everything, then focus on one or two things at a time. I know I wont get to everything, but there are so many things I WANT to do!!!!

Two days in a row?? Gasp!!

2007-05-24T19:13:00.000-04:00

Look what came in the mail while I was away!!!!

First, some hand painted merino from Insubordiknit
I like it a lot!!!! The yarn is so smooth & squishy. I can't wait to test knit it!!!! Some Lambs Pride Brown Sheep Bulky in Oatmeal. It's being doubled & knit into a cropped cardi from the Fitted Knits book that also came while I was gone.
My Mother's Day gifts: Knit Picks Memories in Fly Fishing, Yukon & Cape Cod. LOVE the colors!! Knit Picks Shimmer in Maple Leaf and Deep Woods:
Knit Picks Suri Dream in Lilac:

Also from Knit Picks was the Chart Keeper, Options needle set, Fitted Knits and Knitted Toys. I think I have to get through some projects, then I'm gunna order some Bare yarn & dyes & try my hand at dying. I think I made out like a bandit for Mother's Day :-D

Long Weekend

2007-05-23T19:24:00.000-04:00

I took a long weekend to go see Juli graduate. Yeah! The best part was when I was in the bathroom at the graduation with the kids & I told them to hurry up b/c I didn't want to miss Aunt Juli get called up to get her fake diploma, and some woman said all snotty *They don't do that at this school* and I got to say *For the PhD graduates they do* Hahahaha!!! This is the best picture I have of the actual ceremony, taken by Devin:

Apparently this was taken when Juli was up on the stage, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

The kids got pretty restless, so we went outside to play while we were waiting for the cermony to end. Georgie found the PERFECT climbing tree. Can you find him in it?

My parents were less than thrilled that I let him climg so high up. There were tons of branches to slow him down if he fell, so he would have survived a fall!! Anyway, trees like that were made for climbing!

This is a picture of me, Juli & Gloria with Devin & Georgie:

And Juli with her hubby Josh, who got home from Iraq about a week before the graduation. Yeah! He sent me home with some yummy mead that G & I had last night. I must get more. It was good.

This is what I was planning on giving Juli for a graduation gift (yes, Juli, it's a mustard yellow, not green!!) but it didn't get finished on time. So I gave it to her then took it back to finish. It will be a shawl when it grows up & she can wear it to geeky Dr. Scientist things. I made two pretty bis mistakes, but I'm not sure how to go back & fix them. Oops. There's a missing Yarn Over in one spot in the lace pattern & one of the bars in the double helix is knit when it should have ben purled, so the bar part is only one row thick in that spot instead of two. I did get a mini skein of yarn spun that I forgot to take a picture of that I gave her for her B-day, which was the day before graduation, so I felt like I got something accomplished.

The yarn is a Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk & it's SUPER soft.

Now I'm on a kick that I MUST get a spinning wheel b/c the drop spindle just isn't fast enough. And it doesn't hold very much yarn before it starts spinning all lopsided. I think I'll get a bottom whirl spindle & see if it's any better- one of those navajo spindles I think it's called, when you wrap it into a center pull ball as you spin- to hold me over til I can afford a wheel. George will be SO pissed if I get a wheel, so I need one I can fit in the closet when I'm not using it. I had to miss the NH fiber festival b/c I was taking an exam that weekend, so I think I'll have to wait til Reinbeck to check out wheels. At least I can research on the internet in the mean time.

Onto kid news. Georgie got the *official* ADHD diagnosis yesterday from the Neurologist. He started Adderall today, which was a REALLY difficult decision for me to make. I really don't want to medicate him, but I encourage my clients to take their meds b/c they have chemical imbalances in their brains that they need their meds to counter act. Of course with my clients they hear voices and talk to themselves when they don't take meds, Georgie only acts like a maniac. Bottom line is that I don't want to send him into first grade next year getting frustrated b/c he can't pay attention to the teacher when he sees a leaf blowing on a tree outside, or hears someone walking down the hall or whatever, so we're trying the meds for a bit & seeing how it works. He came home & said he did better in school today & was able to pay attention better. then he asked to take some more. Uhoh.... It IS a controlled substance....

Good kid news: I spoke with both of the speech teachers today & both kids are screened out of speech therapy for next year! Yeah!! Lil G still has a lot of articulation errors, but they're age appropriate, so he'll be re-screened mid way through 1st grade, when the sounds should be emerging, to make sure he's still on track. Devin's therapist said she has made great progress & has all the appropriate sounds emerging, even with a gaping hole in the front of her mouth. She'll get re-screened after her teeth grow back in.

And I think that's all the news I have for now :-)

Knitting update

2007-05-03T18:55:00.000-04:00

I'm such a bad Blogger!!! I'll update with a few pictures.

Not knitting related, but cute none the less... The kids with my Dad on Easter:

The beginings of the Branching Out scarf I made for my Mom for her Birthday. I KNOW I have a pic of it finished somewhere..... Anyway, it's made in Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Iris on size 6 Clover bamboo needles. It was a great first lace project:

Some Chickies for Devin & Georgie. I love making little stuffed animals!!

And finally Cola guarding a scarf from the OddBall Knitting book. I had some extra yarn & thought it woulod look cool with this pattern, so I HAD to make it! LOL! Not sure who it will be going to yet.... it's been living in my dining room.... all folded up on the table....

Ice Cream anyone?

2007-03-26T11:01:00.002-04:00

What's under the blanket??

This is what happens when you tell Georgie he can not get ice cream from the Ice Cream Man until after he eats his lunch.

Does it make me a mean Mommy to document this?

Knitting 101

2007-03-26T10:52:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Knitting 101 with your host, Devin Link. In this epiode Devin explains the knit stich while Georgie complains about what's on TV.

Please excuse our hostesses posture in this video, she was running a 102 fever & just wasn't up to sitting upright.

Prison Hat

2007-03-19T12:40:00.000-04:00

I was working on a hat for my 5-month old nephew... Well, actually, I was working on a hat for George, and I didn't do a gauge swatch or anything. When I realized that I cast on WAY too few stiches (I knew this after maybe 5 rows of knitting) I figured I would jut make a tiny hat for my nephew. It was gunna get a pom pom on top & some kind of pattern all around. I finished the basic part of the hat yesterday & Georgie IMMEDIATELY decided it was HIS hat. There was no telling him otherwise. It looks like a prion hat. I keep expecting him to pull out a prison shank like the kid in Taledega Nights (If you haven't seen it yet- go rent it!!) Here's the boy in the hat:

He has Grammy's spaghetti sauce all over his face.

And Dr. Buli..... UPDATE YOUR BLOG!!!!!! What's your excuse now? You defended, shouldn't you have free time to knit now??? Have you tried lace weight yarn again yet? I cast on for a lace weight scarf this morning. Georgie has a tummy bug so I'm home til 2:00, when George takes over. I would MUCH rather stay home & knit than go in to work this afternoon :-(

Fun with Bubbles...

2007-03-18T10:35:00.000-04:00

So yesterday, St. Patty's Day, the dishwasher was all loaded up, the kids & I made Irish Soda Bread, and there were dishes all over the counter. So I decide to run the dishwasher so I can then re-load it with the stuff in the sink. I pour the soap in, turn it on & walk away. A little while later I walk back in & see SUDS all over the place. I thought it was something that only happens in the movies, but apparently if you put SINK dishsoap into the dishwasher it really will overflow with suds.

I started cleaning it up, but then I decided I should document it. Although George didn't see the humor at the time I knew he would EVENTUALLY laugh at it. The sad thing is that I hadn't even been drinking when I messed up with the soap, I jut wasn't paying attention.

So I stop the cycle, let the bubbles pop, then turn it back on with towels on the floor. This went on for some time.... There was quite a pile of wet towels in the bathroom in no time at all...

This is what the inside looked like:

The kids thought it was great from the beginning:

And even better was that Uncle Chris encouraged them to play in the suds!!!

Then George came up with the brilliant idea of putting a bowl there to catch the water & suds. I knew I married that man for a reason :-)

And just as I had hoped, George did find it pretty funny this morning :-D

Testing out videos

2007-03-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

I've decided it's finally time for me to learn how to do things on line, so let's see if see if I can post a video:

That SHOULD be a video of Georgie taking about the puppy stuffed animal he got from Devin when he was born.

And below SHOULD be a video of Devin talking about her Winnie the Pooh:

Hopefully this works :-)

Meez

2007-03-13T14:31:00.000-04:00

Now go make you own ;-) If you have to type in who referred you I'm valink0925

Pictures

2007-02-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

I'm finally able to download my camera again :-) Yeah! Of course, I don't yet have any programs on my computer to EDIT the pictures I took, but here ya go anyway:

The completed blanket that I made for my nephew, Charlie, along with a sailboat & lighthouse washcloth:

A scarf sized Clapotis that I made for a woman at work. I was her Secret Santa. It's made with Soy Wool Stripes in the Natural Earth colorway. It's modled here by the fabulous Diva Devin. I was very happy with how it came out... and the woman I gave it to wears it ALL the time, so I was happy with that too :-)

This is the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Suprise Jacket. This is for my nephew, Charlie. It was the coolest pattern- knit all in one piece then folded & sewn on two seams- then SUPRISE it's a nifty little sweater! I'm sure I'll be making more of these.

And finally, a pair of Buggy Mitts for my nephew, Alex. I'll make a hat to go with these before shipping them out to the boys.

I made a few other things for Christmas gifts, but I didn't take pictures of everything, so that's it for now :-)

I'm Back :-)

2007-01-31T10:02:00.000-05:00

I'm Back!!! Got a new computer & now I can get onto Blogger again :-) WooHoo!!!

So here's what's going on in my life at this moment:

I got woken up this morning to Devin & Georgie runnng through my bedroom to get to the bathroom (WHY couldn't they use the door in the hallway??? I'm sure it was b/c that would not have woken me up! LMFAO!!) then I heard Georgie puking and Devin going *Don't flush, we need to see if you're REALLY throwing up so Mom knows if you have to stay home from school!!* Where does she get this stuff from?? LOL! So I'm home with Mr. Pukey for a bit til George gets home from whatever he had to do this morning, then I'm going into work when he gets back. Devin CAN'T get this bug right now- she's supposed to have surgery on her eye on Friday- which she got medical clearance for after having to get a chest x-ray & put on Rx caugh meds- but the Doc said any sign of a fever or getting any sicker than she is now & he doesn't want her going through with it.

In other news: MY doc pissed me off on Monday & I basically told them to F off & that I would find another Doc, so here I am, sick for what seems like an eternity with no meds :-( Devin is seeing the ENT tonight (STILL has stuff coming out of her ears) who is also MY ENT, so maybe he'll give me some antibiotics so I can kick this sinus infection.

Hmm..... what else??? I'm making the cutest little baby sweater for my nephew, Charlie. I'm SO close to being finished! I think I have 10 more rows to knit :-) Then I'll make his big brother, Alex, a pair of mitten & a hat & hopefully have it all shipped out to Martha's Vineyard while it's still cold enough to get some use :-) George's birthday is Feb 11th. I'm not sure what to get him yet. I would LIKE to knit him a pair of fingerless gloves that he's been asking for since I first leared to knit, but there's no way they'll be finished in time. Also, Devin's B-day is Feb 16th, so I have to figure out what to get her & book her party. The kids take turns having parties, this is her year. She wants it either at Build a Bear or Wood Kingdom.

And that's that. I think I'll get in the shower now so I can just leave & go to work when G gets home.

KAL day #5

2006-09-20T19:37:00.000-04:00

Progress on my KAL. I know... I've said it before.... I'm a dork!! And progress on Charlie's blanket (who is still cooking in his Mama's belly. He's due 9-26). I now keep it in my handy dandy project box :-)

I'll have to see how wide it actually is when all the panels are together, but I still think I'll do two more cable panels just to break up the blue from the boats and the blue border....

Progress

2006-09-19T18:18:00.000-04:00

Two kinds of progress- mine & Devin's. My progress on Day #4 of the Dishcloth KAL... Glaring mistakes & all. I refuse to frog to correct them- it's a dishcloth & it's not like it's a gift or anything, so I'll live with the mistakes!

I'm not sure why Blogger is insisting on rotating this picture, but here ya go:

Devin's progress is on a plant she grew from a seed in her Kindy class last year. They wrapped beans in wet napkins & taped them to the classroom window in ziplock bags. At the end of the year she brought home sprouting beans, which we transplanted into cups, then a pot when they got too big. She's been enjoying the beans from the plant over the summer- even more so b/c *she* gre them :-) She's so cute!! We just e-mailed the pix to her teacher from last year.

Then the knitting

2006-09-17T10:27:00.000-04:00

Just two *active* projects on the sticks:

I joined a Monthly Dishcloth Knitalong This is the September Mid-Month *Suprise*. It's my first KAL. I'm a dork- I'm excited! LOL! This is my progress so far after doing the lines for *Day 2*. Hopefully this is looking the way it's supposed to! It's pretty cool so far- I like it :-)

Not sure what I'll do with the finished cloth, as I can't immagine actually using it for DISHES!! Maybe as a washcloth though. Hmmm..... Gifts???

And this is my progress on Charlie's blanket:

Following the pattern I should be finishing the boat panel I'm working on, then sewing them together & adding the boarder, but being that I'm using a smaller gauge then the pattern called for I'm contemplating adding another cable & boat panel. We'll see.... When I'm finished with this panel (one more boat to go!!) I'll sew them together & see how wide it is when it's laying flat instead of all curled up. I LOVE this pattern!!!

OK, time to get in the shower & get this dump cleaned up.

First the kids...

2006-09-17T10:04:00.000-04:00

Devin cheered for a game last night. Her team won. Yeah :-)
She got this dog mask at Michael's yesterday & wore it to the game- It was so cute!
Georgie wore his rain boots & stomped in a puddle for a while. Hey, it kept him busy, so whatever. Then he ran around the baseball field like a maniac til he was exhausted. He was FILTHY by the time we got home!! (oh, and his shirt say *I'm definitely up to something*- SOOOOO fitting for my little man!!)
Devin & her team are so cute cheering!! I love it! See my Vera Bradley Knitting bag on the blanket??? LOL! That thing goes with me EVERYWHERE. I was apparently delusional in thinking I would get some knitting done at the game. I did get to flip through the new Interweave Knits mag, so that was nice :-) I like a few sweaters in there, but garments are just not my friend! I hate making things where gauge is important. This morning the kids decided to talk about fire safely & had some practice fire drills. They decided that in the event of a fire they would take their most prized posessions- Devin took Cola & Georgie took his nasty old raggedy pillow. George & I are in charge of the bird.

Back to knitting....

2006-09-14T19:59:00.000-04:00

I've found my next project:
Pedicure Socks

That is... my next project after I finish the *next* projects that I already have planned! I think the Pedicure Socks will make great gifts, and I just watched an episode of Knitty Gritty on making socks & said *Hey, I think I can do that!* I've been rather intimidated by socks, but after knitting the cuffs (which I adore- MUST make a pair for myself!) on DPNs I don't think I need to fear the socks any longer. And, of course, Juli is knitting socks so I have to learn how to also!!

In progress: Blanket for my Nephew-Due-Any-Day, Charlie :-) Yeah for new nephews!!! I'm working on the last panel, then it needs to be sewn together & the boarder needs to be knit. Hopefully it will be finished somewhere around the time he's born.

On the needles, but on hold: Feather & Fan lace scarf for my Gma. The aweful lace yarn incident still needs to be posted about. Lets just say though that from now on I will be storing my lace yarn in a SEALED bag every evening b/c the cat can really do some damage to it if she gets in the knitting bag :-S On the bright side though, the scarf didn't come off the needle & I got to experiment with spit-splicing.

Projects on my To Do List: Button hole bag for Devin's teacher, Lacey scarf for Georgie's teacher, Pillow cases for Juli that were supposed to be LAST year's Xmas gift (oops, sorry!!), Bib for my nephew-to-be for Xmas- Oh, or I saw the CUTEST Xmas hats somewhere.... Have to find the pattern & maybe I'll make that instead, Something for my 2-year-old nephew for Xmas, Cammo hat & mittens for Georgie, Pink Cammo (does anyone MAKE Pink Cammo???) Hat & Mittens for Devin, Fingerless gloves for George, Clapotis for me, and various other Xmas knitting, including washcloths and other little things that I want to get a jump on. I tend to set my goals a little higher than are actually attainable, then I get all stressed out. There are a ton of other things that I have planned too, but I'm going to work on the holiday stuff first then get to the other things. I also want to see how much I can knit out of my stash to make room for all the yummy yarns I plan on getting in October at the Festivals :-D

In non-knitting news- School is going good for the kids. Devin says 1st grade is much harder than Kindy & she thinks every day is a *bad day* since she has to work so hard :-( Poor Kid. She's doing great though & her teacher loves her. She said Devin is her right hand man (woman?) b/c she gets her work done so fast then is super helpful with the other kids & running things to the officec & whatnot. Georgie, who I was a bit concerned about, is doing great. He can write his name now!!!!!! Yeah!!!!! Only took til Kindy, but at least he's doing it! We praise everything he brings home, so he's all excited now to show us his school work at the end of the day :-) He's having some issues though with his behavior at home. His buddy, Joseph, who's at the bus stop with the kids, seems to have a bit of a crush on Devin & gets angry at Georgie when he's arguing with her. Georgie is upset b/c he thinks Joseph hates him & doesn't want to be his friend anymore, so he's acting out tword Devin at home. He actually BIT her today & left teeth marks! Yikes!!! We're trying to get him to understand that Joseph likes BOTH of them & doesn't want either of them to be mean to the other. I guess I see one conflict that will come into play when they get older: dating each other's friends! LOL!

OK, I think that' s it for tonight.

First day of school

2006-09-08T20:15:00.000-04:00

The kids did great for the first day of school. Of course there were no issues with Devin :-D Georgie is a piece of work though! I think he's really going to be a handfull for his teacher this year! He told her *Excuse me, but this is boring. When do we get to do something fun? Like cut paper?* And when she asked the kids if they liked butterflies everyone said *yes* then Georgie yells out *No!! I don't like butterflies* He's a nut.

The bus came normal time to pick up Devin.

Two hours later it came back to get the Kindy kids & a parent. They do a special short Orientation day for the K kids. By the time Devin got off the bus at 3:00 they were pooped & just chilled on the couch for a while. Georgie was thrilled that his *Girlfriend* Laurette was on his bus!! Devin said they've been sitting together every day. He doesn't know anyone in his class- well, there is one little girl from pre-school, but he doesn't remember her- but I'm sure he'll make friends soon enough. OK, Blogger is being a PITA & wont let me format my posts, so that's it for tonight.

2006-09-08T20:04:00.000-04:00

Devin decided she wanted to host a Princess Party. All the girls had to make party hats.
Aunt Glory made a crown for Georgie to wear b/c he was freaking out about some random thing.

Devin got flowers, so she had to pose with them.

I got a new Vera Bradley bag from my parents as a congrats on my new job :-)

And George kept making silly faces every time I tried to take a picture of him. I still think he's pretty cute though :-D

One down

2006-09-08T19:54:00.000-04:00

I finished one of the cuffs. The other is thisclose to being finished.... as long as I don't run out of yarn! I thought one ball of each would be enough. I may have been mistaken. You can't see the base yarn as well in my cuffs as in the pictures for the pattern, but I think it's b/c the solid yarn I used was bulkier than what the pattern called for.

More to follow at a future date.

A few more pix

2006-09-05T17:03:00.000-04:00

I figured I would share a few more pix while I'm downloading my camera:
Some Angora yarn my parents got me. This stuff is SOOOOOOOO soft! I'm not quite sure what I'll be using it for, but it will be something that's arounbd my neck or by my face.

My drunk husband riding my son's bike at our block party a few weeks ago, and my latest work in progress- Mrs. Beeton from Knitty. This is SOOOO freakin cute! I have one finished now- pictures will soon follow, along with pictures of the horrible lace yarn incident, when I'm finished downloading my camera.