Misc.

I am having so much fun with my new venture! However, I keep changing my mind about this pattern I am trying to have FINISHED in 9 days. It started out WAY too complicated--not for me because I am just knitting the thing, as I go along, out of my head. I went to put it on paper over the weekend and realized that it was so complicated that I didn't know if I COULD put it on paper. So, last night I started over. Now I have to have at least one sock completed and the pattern for this new sock done and ready to post in 9 days. I am sure I can do it. I figure it takes my about 8 to 10 hours to knit a sock and about 4 to 6 hours to write up the pattern. I have roughly 200 hours to get it done. Oh wait! I have to sleep so......136 hours. Oh ya! I also cook for the Fam. so now I am at about 126. Let's see, work, getting ready for work/bed, cleaning, laundry, church, work--itself......HOLY COW! I think I am down to only about 60 hours. I still have time though..........Right? I better get busy.

I found a great deal on some sock yarn today (while I was pretending that I didn't have anything else better to do but shop for yarn online). I ordered it and can't wait to get it dyed! I will dye all the yarn for my 12 months of patterns first and then do some "seasonal" stuff afterward. I have 14,400 yards coming (LOL! yes for real!) so I should have plenty to play with for awhile. If my new yarn, pattern designing, and regular job don't keep me busy nothing will!

HB's worker's comp. hearing is coming up in two weeks. I am already feeling sick to my stomach. It's like life or death for him, so the whole concept is a little stressful. I just keep worrying that we are going to somehow loose--and then what will we do!? I know one things is for sure, that worthless attorney of his BETTER NOT LET THE OPPOSING COUNSEL WIN!!! or else............or else what, I don't know. I don't ever let myself think any further than "or else" because, well because we better not loose!!! That's all there is too it!

The daughter is all officially 16 years old now. (Nothing like kids growing up to make one feel old. Every time I try being in denial about my age one of the kids remind me of how old THEY are, which means I have to be MY age.) Anyway, she still doesn't get her drivers license though, because we think she needs more practise driving! Besides that, she isn't going to get to drive when the snow starts falling, so she can wait until LATE spring next year. Good thing she agrees with us so there isn't any arguments. She had a really good birthday and got lots of money to waste on breakfast at McDonald's before school and clothes that she will never wear. We put on a really big birthday party for her and her friends out at a lake here, complete with fireworks (of course!). It was fun.

Last night was our first night of "below freezing". The trees had given up on it getting cold, so they have already turned yellow. Last night gave them the reason though. It is mid afternoon and only 50 degrees F in the sun. Yesterday at this time it was 78 degrees. I think Fall is here! I LOVE AUTUMN! It is my most favorite season, and not just because Halloween is my favorite holiday either. I love the smell and the colors and the feel of the air and the color of the sky and the fact that I can start wearing socks and sweaters! and everything else there is about the season.

Well, I probably better quit procrastinating and get busy on this sock pattern. The hours are ticking away!

News Flash

I guess I should post my news on here also. A few weeks ago Anni, of Sockamania, said that she was going to close the KAL down. Not wanting a good thing to end I emailed her and asked how she would feel if I took over designing the sock patterns for the club.

We emailed back and forth a couple of times working out the details, but (drum roll here) I will be doing the sock designs for Sockamania! I am really excited!!! So excited that I couldn't go to sleep the other night so I designed all the patterns that I want to do, in my head, for the next 12 months.

I am about half way done with October's pattern--hard copy and socks not just the day dream one--and have dyed up the yarn for it including an alternative, more masculine color that can be used also. Did I mention I am excited!?

If you read my blog and would like to join, come on over to Sockamania's blog and follow the sign up instructions. The more the merrier! It's going to be a lot of fun!

Here is the yarn I dyed as a sneek peek into what the October pattern will be about:

Autumn Maple Leaf:

Autumn Evergreen:

As soon as Sockamania club members have all received their free pattern the October pattern will go on sale in my etsy store November 1, 2009. The yarn is for sale now.

Happy Knitting!

My New Sweater

Here are the promised pictures of my new sweater.

The pattern is from "The Best of Lopi" book and the name of the pattern is "Gislina". I wasn't able to find a LYS that carried Lopi brand yarn to I substituted a yarn called Mauch Chunky by Kraemer Yarns. I found it to be very similar to Lopi in every way except that it isn't quite as thick. I had to follow the directions for two sizes bigger in order to make the sweater the right size for me. I also wanted to make a more fitted sweater--similar to the "original" icelandic sweater that the Lopi pattern was based on. I think it turned out WONDERFUL!

Now it just needs to hurry up and get cold enough all day so that I can wear it!!

I can't wait to get my cardigan finished. I need to get the sleeves done and then finish the yoke and then I will post pictures of it!! I am still obsessesd with sweaters! When that one is done I am making plans to knit one for my son for a Christmas gift. I can't wait to get started on it--I did order Lopi from Patternworks for it though so I have to wait for the yarn to get here. In the mean time, I have a sweater from "French Girl Knits" that I am going to start. Hopefully my ability to complete the projects continues. Heaven knows I have enough UFO's hanging around already because of this Sweater Thing I have going on right now.

YES! No wait...Maybe? Oh forget it!

I have been sulking for the past week. I had everything in place to move us back "HOME"--a house, some money, school, people to help us, etc. when some lame-brained doctor decided to change my plans. Within 24 hours of having the first load of belongings headed for Colorado, HB's doctor notifies us that the best person for him to see is right over the mountain from where we are right now!

I am not going to pretend here, I AM NOT HAPPY! Some of you out there may not know this about me--other's of you have had the misfortune of knowing this about me--but when I am not happy about something I become terribly un-pretentious. I am a "no nonsense", up-front, "tell it like it REALLY is" kind of person anyway. BUT, when I am unhappy that part of my personality becomes painfully obvious. HB, knowing that my name means "Thunderbolt" in native american languages, has commented several times that he can see the "dark clouds" gathering above my head. He has been around long enough to know that when the "dark clouds" start gathering the "storm" isn't far behind. I spent most of this week pouting and crying and acting like a three year old. Then I spent two days feeling depressed. Today, I am beginning to feel slightly annoyed.

Ok! With that said, no, I am no longer moving back to Colorado anytime in the near future. I gave up the house I found, cancelled all of my plans and opportunities, and pouted about it all the way back from Colorado Wednesday night.

To make matters worse, my bestest best friend of almost 10 years went and did something stupid, hurt my feelings, and now we aren't on speaking terms. I am not usually one to hold a grudge, unless you really hurt my feelings and won't say you are sorry and try to fix it. Which she has no intention of doing because she thinks she is justified in what she did. WELL! At least I am no longer moving into a house right by hers! (I wonder how long I will have to give her the "silent treatment" before she pulls her head out of the clouds.)

Anyway, so you can see why I am feeling slightly annoyed today. Nothing seems to be going MY way right now. I don't know why I am fussing--nothing EVER goes my way. Which is why I do so much knitting. Knitting always goes my way!! (or it doesn't "go" at all!) I have made one and a half sweaters and spun up the yarn for socks and then knitted them up in only two weeks--and I work outside the house 45 hours a week. I have pictures of the first sweater, but haven't taken pictures of the socks or the progress on the other sweater yet. I will try to get the pictures of the completed sweater and socks on here by Monday.

I really don't know how the rest of the world copes with trials and troubles without knitting. Maybe the rest of the world doesn't have coping problems like I have......surely they have trials and troubles also. I do love my knitting and yarn and fiber. It is so predictable, soft, loyal, dependable, and available. It is always there for me when I need it. There to comfort me and tell me I can work through anything if I can work through a 12 color changing pair of Turkish Socks. If I can knit an icelandic sweater in the dark or with my eyes closed surely I can make it through living in Wyoming for a little longer? Yarn is such a good friend to me. Everytime I get even near a yarn store I can hear it calling to me, "Come see me. I will go home with you and be your best friend forever. I will never betray you or hurt your feelings. I will give you hours and hours of knitting pleasure and help you forget all your problems."

I really am not loosing it.......However, I am living in Wyoming so who know's!

Random Socks N Stuff

I didn't get the Sweater pictures, but here are the pictures of the socks I finished. (I barely got these--I was VERY busy knitting on my sweater last night! If I wait a few more days it will be finished and I will just take a picture of it on me!)

I really like them now that they are done. These have been a WIP in the knitting bag for months! I don't know why either. They were super easy. Once I got in and was working on them they were done in no time.

The pattern is called "Rollercoasters" and I got it from Yarn Addict Anni's sock of the month KAL Sockamania. The yarn and pattern was from her etsy store Here. The yarn is a hand dyed superwash wool and bamboo blend yarn. It washes up really nice! I still have great stitch definition!

We had some of the bands that are playing in the Warped Tour stay the night last night at the motel. 3oh3, All Time Low, Valencia, and a couple of others we hanging around and The Daughter got to get autographed pictures with them and autographed CD's. She was a little excited needless to say!

This is her with the bass player from 3oh3. Notice the huge smile!And this is her with members of the band Valencia. She had a great time yesterday! I've never seen her so anxious to work the front desk. All of the members of the bands were really nice and we barely knew they were there except that their huge tour buses were parked all the way around the motel. No wild and crazy partying or anything. HB ran some of them around town to the golf course and restaurants and said they were "just normal kids".

I heard that Red Hot Chili Peppers stayed at our motel last year or the year before--now THAT would have been fun for me!!! I like the bands that stayed with us last night but Red Hot Chili Peppers--they are right up there on my list of fav's!

So, the motel was fun for the first time in a year. LOL!

Fun Stuff!

I didn't think it would ever happen, but just as you cannot stop the sun from rising--I "turned" 40 years old. ( I am using the phrasing from George Carlin who goes through the various significant birthdays and labels them. "Turned" was like something going bad or rotten.) I am still not sure how I feel about it. HB says, "You don't LOOK 40 so who cares." He is so sweet. I don't FEEL 40.

I had a great birthday though. It lasted the entire weekend. Saturday we went shopping all day. HB took me to the yarn store and said to buy whatever I want--my favorite present!!! I bought yarn to make the Icelandic sweater I have been drooling over for months (it's 1/3 of the way done already!) Then we went to lunch at one of my most favorite restaurants. For desert I had this AMAZING chocolate cake. It is flourless, super chocolatey, with almond and chocolate crunchies for a crust---oh man! Definately my favorite desert!!! It's like chocolate mousse but better--if you can imagine that. The kids spent Sunday cooking for me, giving me a manicure, entertaining me, etc, etc. It was so much fun! I have the best kids ever, make no mistake.

I have really been wanting to make a sweater fo the last few months. This is not a usual craving for me. I couldn't wait to get started on the Icelandic sweater! I spent most of Sunday knitting on it. The yarn isn't Lopi, but similar. I couldn't find any Lopi anywhere except online so I bought this Mauch brand. The fiber looks a lot like the Icelandic sheep fiber. Most people use Brown Sheep Co.'s Lambs Pride as a substitute, but I HATE mohair! Yes, yes I realize that it is a little odd for a fiberaholic like me to hate any fiber, but I can't stand mohair. Baby, ultra fine mohair is OK, but the mohair used in Lambs Pride is icky! I only use it for felt projects that I want to make appear furry. Anyway, this yarn is a little thinner than Lopi so if you use it as a substitute be sure to check your guage. My row count is right on but the stitch count is really short! As a result I went up a size on the sweater pattern, perhaps could have went up two sizes but I wanted a snug fit to the sweater rather than a "roomy" fit. I always have to make the sleeves 4 to 6 inches longer so I hope I have enough yarn. I bought extra just in case. I figure if I don't need it for the sweater I can make a GREAT hat with the leftovers.

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I took them last night and haven't had a chance to get them onto the computer. I will post pictures of the sweater and the socks I finished earlier this week hopefully tomorrow.

OK! Now for the really big news! WE ARE MOVING BACK TO COLORADO! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I decided to go ahead and finish my degree. So I will be going back to school this Fall (like in a week). Between the ridiculous doctor situation that HB has had to deal with since moving, the lies that the motel owner told us to get us to take the job managing his motel, the AWFUL schools in this town, (Need I go on? If you want to know how awful it has been read the posts for the last year!) etc, etc, etc, we have simply HAD IT! We are going to go find a house next week. Then we will pack up and be out of here! I really am excited and can't wait.

The only one not happy is The Daughter. She has a point. She does have the best boyfriend on the planet. He is a member of our church, he has a good job working for the county, he is polite, respectful, a perfect gentleman, he works out and exercises really hard, he is drop dead gorgeous! and he has his future all planned out--College, religion, everything. Too bad they are both still teenagers or we would be making wedding plans! You just don't find a guy like him everyday. He is a one in a million--no more fish in the sea like that one! I hope they can keep it together even though we don't live here anymore. She deserves someone as wonderful as she is.

Anyway, so I don't know how often I will be posting in the next few weeks. I will try to post at least one more time before things get to chaotic so that you can see my sweater!

Yeah for Colorado! I am going home!

As the World Twists and Turns

Once upon a time I wrote about knitting and yarn and the latest Yarn Harlot book. Now it seems like this blog has become my frustration outlet. I do apologize for that.

I was filling out a "Returning Student" admission form for college yesterday and had to go back through my blog to see what year it was when I last attended school. As I searched the entries I read a few, of course. I have lost myself somewhere in this whole twisted mess of insurance companies, doctors, lawyers, moving, jobs, etc. It is interesting how we can become so different in such a short amount of time. For example, I swear a lot more than I ever have--a definate sign of deep frustration for me. My temper is as short-fused as it was when I was a teenager--something that I have desperately worked on to control for years.

Some how HB and I have got to get this whole mess ironed out. It is really beginning to wear me out.

We made the decision, well the deciding part we already did like 9 months ago, to move back to Colorado. We have just had it. I don't know if it is the motel atmosphere that has ruined our entire Wyoming experience or if it's "just Wyoming". Either way, we can't leave here soon enough for me. I plan to go back to college and finish my degree while HB works on putting his life back together and getting some health care for a change. We already found a house and are just waiting to hear back from the owner. If everything falls into place, we will be "home" in three to four weeks. I guess we'll just go back to where we were two and a half years ago and start over.

Nothing new on the knitting front. I did finish my Lazy Leaves socks for Sockamania, swing by there and check them out. They are the ones that I was enjoying knitting so much with the wooden needles. I was almost sad to be done with them. I enjoyed each and every stich! Don't know who they will be for, but they joined the other dozen pairs that I have made and not given away. Maybe everyone in the family will get socks for Christmas this year. I don't know how some of them will feel about that, but at the rate money is going and with me attending school again they will be lucky to get anything at all.

I will try to stop posting all of my drama and go back to fun stuff. I just need to eliminate some of the drama and start DOING some of the fun stuff again!

Keep knitting!

Misc.

I am sitting here at work, bored for a change. The store is cleaned up and the empty spaces are slowly refilling. I had to let all of our seasonal help go--something I have been dreading since I hired them all on. I had the best crew ever! It was very difficult to decide who to keep and who to let go. There were a few who made it easier by volunteering to go first, but others it was not so easy and I would have liked to keep them all. I won't be here next year, but I made sure to note on their exit interview the ones that should definately be hired back next year should they want to come back.

I miss my knitting. I was shopping around Etsy the other day looking at all the knitted clothing that people have for sale. There are some wonderful projects out there. I keep wanting to knit some sweaters for the family and me for winter, but I just can't find the time--not to mention I keep telling myself NO NEW PROJECTS! until the ones that are laying all over the house are done.

I am considering going back to school to finish what I started a couple of years ago. It is the only way I can see to get us out of the mess we are in here. I guess I will go back and read over my blog and remind myself what it was like to go to school to make sure that it is something I really want to do. I am sure that a magic wand would fix things much faster but since mine is missing I will have to do things the long and difficult way instead--oh wait that is how I do everything, I must enjoy it.

My boss is supposed to be here next week for inventory. I am not looking forward to it. Some of the kids that were here last year have been filling my head with horror stories about how terrible he behaves during inventory. I have witnessed him act like a 2-year-old myself. I am trying to convince myself to relax, not stress, and not quit this job before he gets here--I am not very convincing.

Well, I guess I will go home. HoneyBunny is having an especially difficult day today so I told him I would be home early. I hate the motel (living there)! but I have to go home sometime.

TTYL.

Back to Normal

I have never been so happy to see a holiday end! I am so glad that the 4th of July is over! I actually had Sunday--all day Sunday--off. I slept in, went to church, and layed around the house the entire day. It's amazing how much better I feel after having a day off. My mood has improved and I feel like I might actually continue to live.

A huge shock came the day after my last post...Well I must digress a little first. We have been gearing up to go to court for HoneyBunny's Worker's Comp case for months now. However, just over a week ago, the paralegal called and said that a document from HB's current treating physician still had not come in and as a result we were dead in the water. We went and saw the doctor, he signed all of the papers and faxed them in while we were there and ordered a bunch of work to have done--a new MRI, x-rays, blood work--which HB and I were completely positive that the WC insurance company would totally deny. After all the last thing they would want going into court is a whole bunch of condemning evidence against them. So we left feeling that we were still in the sinking ship. However, THE NEXT MORNING--I kid you not!--the doctor's office called to let HB know that everything was authorized. It was a good thing HB was laying down or he might have fainted. I know when he called to tell me I couldn't quit laughing histerically. Never, EVER, NEVER!!! in the 5+ years we have been dealing with these people has he received authorization for ANYTHING in less than three months. I mean, even if he was going to be changing medications it was an act of congress to get it paid for. So to have a new MRI, blood work, and x-rays authorized within 24 hours of the request in light of the pending court hearing........Well let's just say that my faith in miracles being a very real possiblity has been strengthened! I still can't believe it!

I am still shaking my head over that one. The court hearing is postphoned indefinately at this point until we can collect all of the new documentation. WC insurance company also let our attorney know that should HB want to settle they would be willing to be more than generous, including all back pay, future medical expenses, all current medical expense needs--surgeries etc--, medications for life EVERYTHING. Tempting! We will have to carefully consider that. There is an awful lot of life left for HB and medical expenses to care for him could be in the hundreds of thousands if not more. So, we'll see. Both of us would like to be free to seek some alternative treatments for him, be free from the insurance companies constant B.S. they insist on putting us all through, and free from all the lawyer crap! Just getting rid of the politics of this whole thing would improve HB's health dramatically.

Anyway, a word to all those on the "ship of broken dreams" we're all in this together! Let's keep our hope alive that someday we will all find a life raft and be able to abandon ship. I know that the HUGE turn of events that have taken place in just the last few days for us has certainly renewed my hope. May each of you receive blessings in your trials that will keep your hope alive also.

In the mean time....Keep Knitting!!

Injustice Strikes Again

I would like to think that my family and I are not the only people in the world that receive more than their share of the worlds injustices. Not that I want other people to suffer in constant misery as we do, I just need to know we aren't alone.

Are we?

(SNORT!) Huh! What? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I am so tired today! Whatever day "today" is. Working 7 days a week is starting to really take it's toll on me. It could be Saturday and I wouldn't know it. It is difficult to tell what day it is when you do exactly the same thing day in, day out. I do know that I have no motivation this afternoon--it doesn't help that it is about 80 degrees in my office either. If I could find a comfy place to lay my head on my desk I would love to take a nap. Unfortunately, the desk is covered with a computer, printer, signs, pens, papers, pamphlets, etc. I should be creating next weeks schedule but right now my brain can't think that far ahead.

On top of that I am so homesick for Colorado!! I made the serious mistake of going to the city newspaper for the place we moved from and reading all the local news. Then I went and looked through the "Best Photo's of 2008" for the area. Beautiful views of Colorado National Monument, the Uncompaghre plateau, Grand Mesa, the valley.........I just sat here swallowing hard and fighting back the tears.

It is so hard to look back and say, "We REALLY should have thought this decision through better." I had such high hopes that moving here would be good for us and instead I don't think that a worse decision could have been made. HoneyBunny's health problems have increased to the point that I am at a loss as to what to do. So, the main reason for moving here--to get him better--is the most obvious mistake in the decision. I feel like I am living in a nightmare.

Of course the more tired I am the worse EVERYTHING is, the more depressed I get, the more hopeless I feel, the more irritable I am, the more unhappy I am, etc. In fact, I am quickly approaching the "I don't recommend talking to/bothering her" stage.

I talked to my friend in Colorado over the weekend and she thinks that my biggest problem is that I haven't had time to do ANY knitting. She said that once the 4th of July is over and I can quit working 60-70 hour weeks I will be able to do some knitting again. That will help me feel much better.

It does sound like a lovely idea.....that last sock project I started puts me right into heaven. A beautiful shifting shade of green and some absolutely divine needles from Lanturn Moon. There is something really special about those needles! They are the ebony wooden needles. I am not a fan of wooden needles, never have been, because they are so slow and the yarn sticks to them. Not these! They are smooth as glass with amazingly sharp point tips. And the feel.......wow! I don't WANT to knit fast. Knitting with these needles is like eating really good chocolate mousse--you want to eat tiny spoonfuls and smooth it around in your mouth really slow so that you can enjoy every single moment of every single bite. It's a euphoric moment that you don't want to end------ever.

Ok, I realize that sounds incredibly silly, but I am really tired, chocolate mousse sounds really good, and I really miss my knitting.

I am still alive

This is what happens when you get a full-time "plus" job. I haven't had two seconds to do anything for.......well, since my last post.

A day or two after my last post I got a job offer to be the store manager for a fireworks store. Here in Wyoming fireworks is big business and the stores stay open year round. The store is brand new. The original store burnt to the ground last August. I have heard that it was quite the event. Some kids decided they needed a distraction while they robbed some stores in town. They broke in, poured gasoline up and down the aisles then lit a match. The kid who did that barely made it out before the fumes, fireworks, and gasoline exploded. The building burned for days.

Anyway, so my store is the new one standing on the same foundation as the old one. It's nice, but it has been so crazy putting it together, hiring employees, travelling to Cheyenne for a training seminar, pricing, inventory, etc, etc. I worked for three weeks, 10 and 12 hours days, without a day off. It was exhausting! I am still working about 45 hours a week. However, I found out today that beginning next week I will be back to working 7 days a week until after the fourth of July. Oh goody! (lots of heavy sarcasim inflected here).

Knitting? No knitting, no yarn, NO FUN! All these great new patterns I had just picked up to occupy my hours of babysitting the motel are sitting collecting dust on the shelf. BOO HOO HOO! I keep staring at them, looking through the books over a quick breakfast, and wishing I had more time for them.

How about you, all of my cyber friends? Are you knitting?

Look What I Can Do!

I am capable of self control! After my last post/confessional, I buckled down and told myself, "Self! It is time to get some of these projects completed!" (What really happened was my husband brought home several new knitting magazines and books for me from Washington with some GREAT projects in them that I can't wait to start, but know I won't let myself start until some of the WIP disaster is cleaned up).

So, I managed to finish this plain pair of socks that have been kicking around for a month or so. They aren't anything fancy, but HEY! they are done! and checked off my list.Next was my Sockamania sock project for April. They are fancy and I love them! So will my BFF. They are for her birthday--in December. Checked off!
Next, and I just finished this today, is THE scarlet, silk scarf. I L-O-V-E it! And it's mine mine mine! I will post the pattern for it later this week on here so you can make one for YOU!
Here it is on me, and a nice close-up of the lace detail. The yarn is so wonderful and soft! I do believe that this yarn is the nicest silk yarn I have ever found. Gorgeous color and top quality!
And finally, I finished these earlier this month but haven't posted the picture of them yet. They were supposed to be the February Sockamania sock project, but with all of my other projects it took me until this month to finish them.
See! I can be dedicated. I am not just a "Starter", I am also a "Finisher"! Now, I am off to go finish another pair of socks that have been "almost finished" for a month or so. Nothing new can be started yet! I have that pair to finish, a tall pair of men's socks to finish, a "thigh-high" pair I started in December to finish, the Sockamania March pair to finish, this really cute "Christmas-ie" pair to finish, the "Tiger's Eye" scarf to finish, etc., etc., etc................................Oh man! I may never get to start anything new at this rate!

Monday's Reflection

I am sure that I am not the only Knitter out there who has done this.

The kido's left for school this morning and as I walked back into the house I looked around and noticed that every surface of my living room had at least one partially knit project lying on it. I recall working on three different projects yesterday afternoon and evening--which were all laying across the couch, four projects and all of their patterns completely cover the end table, three projects in two bags in front of the couch, four more projects stuck between the couch and the end table--not counting the two spinning projects also stuck there, three more projects protruding from the decorative "pickling crock" in the corner, etc. etc. etc.

Well, imagine how embarrassed I was to suddenly realize that I have been on a "new project" bender for the last few weeks. I began to organize some of the mess and uncovered several other UFO's dating all the way back to last summer before we moved. Oh the shame! I don't know how this could have happened. I am usually pretty good at keeping my WIP's to a minimum and only one or two UFO's.

I think I know how I got all of my current WIP's--it was that clandestine trip to one of THE nicest yarn shops I have ever been to in my life (and it's right over the mountain from me!!). They have the most amazing selection of the finest yarns produced today. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! So of course I bought yarn!!! I promised myself I would not start any projects with it though until my current projects were completely finished. But that naughty, scarlet colored 100% silk that is so soft and divine kept whispering to me all night long. (Yes, I have my "special" yarn stash located in my bedroom) We are talking about a yarn that is so wonderful you want it to be with you even when you go to the post office, you dream about it at night, and check on it (touch and pet it) everytime you walk through the room. I couldn't help myself--apparently!--I had to cast on that "Lacey Hearts" scarf. It is THE perfect yarn for the project.

Just as soon as I got about 1/4th of the way through it the other fingering weight silk blend yarn began to seduce me. "You still haven't found the perfect pattern for me yet. You know how I look like tigers eye when the suns rays shine down on me. Don't you love me? Don't you want to touch me? You took out that little scarlet number right away, now what about me?" The next thing I knew a "Tigers Eye" lace scarf pattern was laying on my printer and the yarn was wound into a center pull ball and 30 stitches were cast on. Sooooo lovely to look at, so soft to touch! Can't wait to wear it!!!!!

Drunken with silk fumes, I found myself casting on for two more pairs (in addition to the four pairs that I have been working on) of socks--one with some GORGEOUS yarn from Lornas Laces (and who can resist her yarn?!!!) and the other with a beautiful charcoal yarn (because Father's Day is just around the corner).

With all of this going on, I got a yarn order in for a customer on Saturday that contained an extra "sample" yarn--Oooooo pretty........................soft..................................fluffy alpaca!!! Then an order of some close out yarns (I got 440 yards of sock yarn for $3.25!!!!!!!!) showed up today. Realizing that I have a friends birthday coming up next week I started looking through a summer lace issue of some knitting magazine I picked up somewhere while still under the influence of those silk fumes. Then it all hit me. WHAT AM I DOING!!! Am I really considering casting on ANOTHER project--a lace project that I am thinking I will have done in a week!!!!!

I went outside for a breath of fresh air, at this point, to hopefully clear my head a little. Now that I am feeling better I am going to attempt to resist the temptation to knit something for my friend and just send a card and flowers. Then turn my attention to organizing this disaster.

NO NEW PROJECTS FOR ME THANKS! I HAVE PLENTY TO DO ALREADY!

PS: If you have found yourself in a similar predicament stay away from Ravely!!! I get in trouble everytime I sign in! I find some GREAT pattern and the next thing I know I have cast on for it!!!!

PSS: I will post WIP and hopefully FO pictures next time--HoneyBunny took the camera with him on his trip.

Prom 2009

The Daughter's first prom! Isn't she lovely.

It's all about the dress, the shoes, and the hairstyle:




Her and her boyfriend (they were both so nervous they about couldn't put the flowers on each other):



And away they went in his black carriage pulled by 260+ horses for a magical evening.............................................

Knittin' Myself Silly

I really hope that I am not the only Knitter out there that worries about this...............

Each time we go anywhere in the car I take my knitting. Occasionally we go somewhere that my knitting needs to stay behind in the car. For some reason I hide my knitting in the car or in the trunk. Why? Well, I don't want it to get stolen. No matter how much HoneyBunny assures me that no one is going to break into our vehicle to steal my knitting I still worry. He has assured me that if they were to steal anything it would be our stereo system, items from our emergency bag, etc. "Ya but what if they really like the yarn? You know how nice this yarn is!" His reply, "Trust me, no one is going to steal it." How does he know? There could be some homeless or desperate yarnaholic out there somewhere just looking for their next fix. I am glad he is so understanding and patient with me because my daughter thinks I am nuts!

So I have to know, do you hide your yarn or knitting in fear that it might get stolen out of your car or house? I can't be the only one that would be relieved to find that the burglers only took the television and stereo but didn't touch my yarn stash.

Ok, with that said, now for my latest knitting adventures.......and I must say that living in "Crazy Town USA" promotes A LOT of knitting!





I knit all of that in the last week and a half. I am not joking! All of them are my own designs. I especially like the dishcloths!! and that last brown sock with the tan details! No, the family is walking around in clean clothes and have eaten at least two meals a day. I don't know how I did it. I didn't knit Saturday because The Daughter and I went to Salt Lake to go look at prom dresses and yarn stores. I didn't knit Sunday because I thought my hands probably could use a break. Somehow I managed to knit all of that in that short amount of time. It was fun!!!!

And yes, I am sure I have just about knit myself silly at this point. Oh, well. At least I am enjoying my days a little more.

Anytime!

Anytime.........I just keep telling myself that things are going to get better and things are going to start going good anytime.

I am having a really difficult day. It actually started Sunday at church--kind of an odd place for a bad day to start I know. I hate it when I am faced with the reality that some people are loved and special and I am not (or so the people around you act). I have been brooding over this fact for a couple of days. Then my son decided to try to go to boy scouts here again. It was just as bad as it was a month ago--the last time he went and swore he would never go again. THAT WAS IT!! I had taken all I was going to take from this town of mentally incompetent, male chauvinist pigs!! and empty headed, brow beaten, ignorant women. I marched down to the church and the scout leader and I had a talk. Well, actually, I was talking mostly to the brick wall, because he obviously was not listening, and he was talking to a woman (who has 100 times the IQ he is used to addressing) as if she was one of the stupid women he is used to dealing with. He is so lucky I grew out of my habit of kicking/punching boys who think they are better than girls simply because their dad said so! After several attempts to get Neanderthal Man to understand the point of the conversation I gathered my children and walked out, without saying good-bye or anything. I hope he gets abducted by a legion of Amazons and has to spend the rest of his days as a lowly servant to them!!!

So, now what? Do I just never go to church again? There is no way I am going to get my son to go. The men who are the scout leaders are also the boys youth group leaders--one of which thinks that it is his job "to turn these boys into men". OVER MY DEAD BODY WILL THAT MAN TURN MY SON INTO SOMEONE LIKE HIM!!!! MAKE NO MISTAKE!!

I think I will pack up and go back to Earth where the real people live, or at least the morons are still out-numbered enough that you don't notice them as much.

As if all of this isn't enough, HoneyBunny was told, again, Monday that his back is not repairable. In other words he has a "failed back". He keeps falling down because he will suddenly not have any feeling in his legs. He has fallen twice here at the motel in the hallway and once at Walmart in just the last three weeks. Aside from being scary, it is terribly demeaning and embarrassing for him. Each time he hurts himself also, either his ankle or his knee. Today he fell again and rug burned his arm really bad. I don't know what to do. It's awful. Maybe if we had a boat-load of money the doctors would be more motivated to help him. Moving here to the armpit of America was not a good idea--no doctors, no specialists, etc. that's for sure!

I just want to go home. Can I?

Look! More Pretties!

I spent an entire day last week playing with my yarn and dye. I just finished getting them all listed in my etsy store. I thought they were so pretty I would share them with you! If you see something you really like, rush over to my etsy store and get the skein for yourself. A lot of my hand dyed yarns are a "One of a Kind" so you won't find another just like it anywhere. I love to play with the colors so none of them are the "true" colors that I started with.

Superwash sock yarn in "Navajo" and "Flowers in the Forest".

Merino and Alpaca blend fingering weight yarn in "Girly Girl" and "Sunny Skies". This yarn would be PERFECT for all of those scandinavian mittens. I have skeins in "Natural" that you could combine with these colorful ones. It would be gorgeous!

These are the first skeins of Laceweight that I have added to my store. "Aztec Gold" and "Glacier". Great colors don't you think!?

I had a huge mess when I got done. HoneyBunny took one look around and he's like, "Havin' a good time? Will we get to eat dinner tonight?"

I ordered pizza.

Oooo! Ahhhh!

And here, for your fiber/yarn viewing pleasure, are my latest adventures:

This is my latest yarn off of the spinning wheel. A luscious blend of satin angora, wool, and bombyx silk. I LOVE IT! And "NO!" Julia you can't have it! (She has bought some of this from me in the past and knows how amazing this yarn is). I have one more skein to finish and then I have to find the right pattern so that I can make something for me out of it. This first skein came up to about 320 yards of sport weight sized yarn. I can't wait to wear it!

This is some LOVELY fingering weight, merino/bamboo blend yarn that I found at a yarn shop the other day along with...............................................

This delicious kid mohair/silk blend yarn and..................................

This yarn.

Aren't they all just wonderful!! I can't wait to knit it all up! That beautiful blue mohair blend is going to become this, and the other two skeins will become socks. The Daughter especially likes the Tofutsies so I am sure she will end up with some socks from it.

I have pretty much recovered from my "Spring Fever" for now. It snowed 6 inches in the last two days and dropped down to 21 below zero. Somehow that just seemed to take the wind right out of my sails. So I am back to loving winter and feeling like a bear all snuggled up warm and safe from the ice and cold. We are supposed to see more snow the next few days.

And now I am off to create my latest idea. I thought of it the other night as I was trying to go to sleep. If it turns out well I will post pictures here and list them for sale in my etsy store. Stay tuned................................................................................

I Feel it Coming

I don't know what it is, but about this time of year I get a "bee in my bonnet". "What?" you say. Well if you look back through my blog every year at this time I start getting........hmmm trying to find a way to describe it..........wander lust? I start feeling like it's time to migrate. Spring is coming so it's time to start thinking about moving, building a nest in a new tree, beginning a garden on a new patch of soil.

I blame it on my mother and ancestors from that side of my family. They were a wild and nomadic bunch! I have native americans, gypsies, and pioneers in my past. The way I was raised didn't help much either. I spent the first eighteen years of my life hunting, hiking, water skiing, motorcyle riding (dirt bikes on trails), scuba diving, rock hunting, camping, snow skiing, etc, etc, etc. Even when we did come home (? to the house that wasn't attached to the boat or truck, or wasn't the tent) I didn't spend much time in it. We always lived out away from the population. So I spent my time outside hiking in my back yard, building indian dwellings, cooking over the fire, etc. (side note here: One of my indian dwellings was "discovered" by park rangers and now features a lovely sign that tells all about the anasazi people that built it. LOL!)

In addition to all of the outdoor sporting stuff, my mother also liked to move around a lot! About every six months or so she would convince my dad that she needed new surroundings. We wouldn't necessarily move to a new town--though we did that a few times also--but just to a different house. (I lived in seven different houses in a town who's population was only 1,300 people.) The years that we didn't move she would completely rearrange, repaint, and/or remodel the house we were living in.

Anyway, so every year as soon as New Years is over I start feeling like a little animal ready to come out of hibernation. It really is awful. It's like cabin fever, but more intense. I remember sitting in school in April watching the breeze blow the new leaves around on the trees thinking, "If I have to sit in here one more minute I am going to have a melt-down." I had and still have a terrible time being inside, especially if the sun is shining!

So, here I am today; standing in the lobby of the motel, looking out these huge windows that give a 180 degree view of outside, the sun is shining, and I am feeling the stirrings of a restless spirit.