Wednesday's WIP's

With Christmas coming on so quickly I am experiencing a knitting fever. I have cast on four projects just this week.--Now I 'm scaring myself.

First, I got my new Sockamania sock pattern for November. I am loving this pattern! It looks complicated, but it is so easy--easy to knit, easy to memorize the pattern. I am already making plans to cast on another one in some 100% silk yarn that is in the stash. I will have to adjust the pattern a little for it, but I think the Daughter will LOVE them for Christmas (I'll post a pic. when I get it started). For now though. I had some left-over yarn from that sweater that I had finished this summer (the t-shirt). I thought some socks to match would be fun. So, these are being made from "Silky Wool" 65% w00l, 35% silk, on size 2 (US) needles. Fun stuff!!! I wouldn't be able to put it down except for this...........................................

Yes!!!! I FINALLY got a pair of mittens started from the Selbuvotter book. I am loving these!! They are going to be an anonomous Christmas gift for a friend of mine. I am sure she will know who it is when she sees them, but what else would you give someone who loves Norway also? I would love to see her face when she opens them up. I am making them with KnitPicks superwash wool sock weight yarns "Bare" and "EssentialSolid". Is it normal to be in love with a pair of mittens? Don't answer that!

The other projects are the second sock for the Son's Christmas present and a pair of knit pants for the daughter--nothing exciting to take pictures of yet. I have plans to make 5 pairs of socks, a knit pair of pants, a knit hooded vest, and a pair of fingerless gloves for my imediate family for Christmas. Then there is the shawl, mittens, and my super secret project for dear friends for Christmas. Do you think I will get it all done by Christmas? Ya, I doubt it too! Here's hoping!

Happy Knitting!

It's D-O-N-E done!

FINALLY! The Daughter has her afghan! and not a minute too soon. As I worked the last few decrease rows I began to count-down the sts left and giggle histerically. (My children were quite concerned that something was wrong.)
This is the Daughter all wrapped up in it, refusing to let me have it back long enough to tuck in the loose ends.

This is the size it ended up. My daughter and I are both taller than 5 feet 5 inches, so you can see that it is pretty big. She loves it!!

I got the November Sockamania pattern over the weekend and can't wait to get started. The pattern is for a pair of lacey socks and will probably become a Christmas gift since Christmas is now only 50 days away.

OOoOOOooooooOo! That sounds scarey to say! I better get busy if I am going to get all of these gifts done! Now that the afghan is finished I should be able to accomplish a lot more!!! Our family has made a committment to make all Christmas gifts this year. With all of the recalls going on it seems like a good idea! Plus, handmade gifts are so much more fun and meaningful to give. If you are on my gift list you know what's coming!

So, with a sock to cast on, a hat to finish, two pair of socks to finish, a shawl to finish, etc. I am off to start my Selbuvotter mittens!!!!!!!

I love knitting!

Playing "Catch-up" on Friday

Halloween has come and gone. We had a lot of fun! We carved pumpkins Tuesday night.
The Daughter had a white pumpkin so she decided to draw on her's instead of carving it.
I love how they look in the dark, all lit up. The white one doesn't exactly show up in the dark though.

As soon as the kids got home from school I took them "Trick-or-Treating" in town. Everyone was dressed up and the costumes were wonderful! Later, we went to a "Trunk-or-Treat" and the kids got more candy. After dinner (not that anyone was hungry after eating a ton of candy) the kids went around our neighborhood to collect more candy than we could possibly eat in a year. All said and done--we have 10 to 15 pounds of candy laying around. What happens if you gain a bunch of weight BEFORE Thankgiving and Christmas dinner? Then what? I guess I will ignore the bathroom scales for the rest of the holiday season and scare myself sometime in January.

This is my newest sock design (for all of the details and to purchase go to my etsy store). I love ski socks and sweaters and mittens and hats! This pair will turn up again at Christmas time as a gift for the Son who loves snowboarding. I know a lot of people are scared of "Fair Isle" knitting but I love it! It takes some time, and practise, to get the stranding just right. How you strand is important on sweaters, but crucial on socks! If you don't strand loose enough the sock won't even fit Barbie doll legs.

At last count THE afghan had 80 sts (rows) left. HoneyBunny says that it is fantastic and amazing and that the Daughter will cherish it forever. (SHE BETTER!!!) I had a very terrifying thought as I was reading my e-mailed Lionbrand newsletter. It said something about a "5 1/2 hour afghan". I honestly, in my insanity, thought, "Hey, 5 1/2 hours? I could make that!" Please! don't let me do it! It's a lie! It will not take only 5 1/2 hours because I will HAVE to make some sort of substitution, then add some sort of different border, maybe a skier motif here and there, etc., etc., and then I will be caught up in another afghan nightmare! Boohoo ;)

One more thing! I got my Ravelry invite!!! Yeah for Ravelry! I am so excited I can't wait to get it all put together. I will be sure to include links, to my pages there, on here. For those of you familiar with Ravelry I am "The Twisted Hare" of course!

HAPPY KNITTING ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to post the Halloween pics of my kids all dressed up! Thanks fiber Chic!

Little Black Ridding Hood.....................................................and Skater Dude (Zombie)

Whew!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, but there was a serious knitting frenzy going on. I realized that the end of the month is tomorrow and decided that if I was going to finish my Sockamania socks for the month that I had better do some serious knitting. Not to mention my house is in serious need of cleaning and I was actually in the mood to clean yesterday morning. So as soon as I wore out the cleaning mood--which only took about two hours--I knit until the socks were finished--which took the better part of the rest of the day. Now my house is really clean--in some areas--and my socks are finished!Now, I am going to work on that afghan in earnest for a few days until I get the next Sockamania project. I figure I have about 120 more rows left to knit on that ******* afghan and then it will be done. I feel really sorry for my son because he will be the only one in the family that never got a hand knit afghan from me. In fact, if I EVER get the notion that I am going to make another afghan PLEASE stop me!!!! Do you know how many pairs of socks I could make in the time it has taken to make that afghan!? It would've gone much faster though if I hadn't made it so big. Wait until you see it!! I'm pretty sure it's getting big enough to cover a queen size bed at this point.

In case anyone is interested, The Yarn Harlot is making a pair of mittens from the Selbuvotter book. They are so beautiful!!! (If I could just get this stupid afghan done I would be making a pair too!) I CAN'T WAIT MUCH LONGER TO START MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am almost finished with the next new sock pattern. I will post a picture of the sock on here, but the pattern will be available at my etsy store.

Happy Knitting!

? Rambling on and on and on......

I couldn't think of a title for today's post. I just feel like rambling on about whatever I guess.

The daughter's afghan has definately hit a black hole! I went to work on it last night and the first row I knit I counted 155 sts. Well that is very interesting because the last row I counted when I finished working on it the other day was 134. Somehow in the last several days the number of stitches in the row increased! (I am on the decrease side of the afghan right now). I worked on it for about 4 hours last night and if there hasn't been a serious decrease in the number of stitches it might be time for this afghan to become a UFO for awhile so that I can regain some sanity. HoneyBunny asked if I was knitting the afghan for a giant because it is getting HUGE! That teenage daughter of mine better like it or else.....just or else! and she better act extremely excited when I give it to her! I am going to have to quit making afghans, they are WAY too much work--especially when you are used to making socks all the time. I told myself when I got my "Selbuvotter" book the other day that I could not start any of those mittens until the afghan is done. I may have a melt-down if the afghan doesn't hurry up!!!!

The Sockamania socks are almost finished--which is good because the last day of the month is in 5 days. I would have been done weeks ago if I hadn't been knitting on two other pairs of socks this month and worked on that black hole afghan.

By the way, if you haven't ever tried Haneke Wool's merino/silk blend, sport weight yarn, I highly recommend it. I am designing a pair of "ski" socks right now out of it and it is the BEST merino/silk blend yarn I have ever worked with. I am not just saying that because I sell Haneke yarns either--course the reason I sell Haneke is because of the superior quality. I love this yarn and will be making many more projects out of it! Watch for the patterns and products on my Etsy store.

Isn't this a cool sculpture! HoneyBunny took a picture of it on one of his trips out of town. I wish it was in my front yard. I really like it.

I guess that's all. I need to get busy knitting.

Monday Again?!

Is it Monday again? The time just flies when you are having fun.

We went up to the mountains on Saturday. The weather wasn't the best, but we still had a wonderful day!! We did a little fishing and then took a drive out over the top of the mountain.

As you can see, we ran into some snow. It took twice as long to get down because we had terrible driving conditions. Ah, the pleasures of living in Colorado! I didn't mind, but HoneyBunny hates to drive in zero visibility.

Here is the hat for HoneyBunny that I mentioned briefly in my last post. Modeled by the cutest little boy I have ever seen!! Look at those eyes!!! Anyway, I used KnitPicks Panache in "Coal". It is so soft and wonderful--a great yarn! Then I duplicate stitch and embroidered the spider.

It turned out really good I think--for my first spider anyway.

I got an e-mail today from Zontee Hou--the Marketing Communications Manager for Lion Brand Yarns saying that they wanted to include the story I wrote for their "Knitting Changes Everything" online story collection in an upcoming podcast!!!! It made my whole day! I am so excited! She said that the podcast will be the third week of November and it is on "knitting and crocheting gifts and the best gifts we've given or received". I will be sure to include a link on here so that you can find it when it comes out. Did I mention I was excited?

Happy Knitting!

Fun Stuff!

I knew my daughter had it in her to be crafty although she swears she's not! (Teenagers just hate to admit that they are anything like their relatives!) But she made this absolutely adorable tote bag yesterday. I promptly confiscated it for my own. I love it! it is so cute and she did a great job! I didn't know she even knew how to do applique, but there it is, a jack-o-lantern appliqued on the front of this cute bag. I am so proud of her!
This week's WIP's look a lot like the last couple of week's WIP's. The afghan is slowly getting finished. In fact I have a goal to have it done in two weeks--that is if I don't find another project to start instead. The October Sockamania project is half done and I have started the other sock now (the orange yarn project). And, I just couldn't help myself, I cast on for a pair of socks out of my swap yarn from Hege. There are many more WIP's sitting here on my desk, but none that I am working on this week. I took a poll for the Knitting Daily blog to see how many UFO's I had and discovered that I really need to get busy finishing some projects. I am so ashamed that I would even consider casting on another project with that number of unfinished projects laying around.

Finally, my order from KnitPicks got here, after spending all week last week in a "sortation center" in Denver. I am thrilled!!!to have it. The Selbvotter book is everything I every dreamed it could be. I love knitting, I love ethnic knitting, I love historical knitting articles, I love to read about knitting--especially historical, ethnic/cultural, well researched knitting books/articles that end with patterns for what you have been reading about. This is all of that!!!! If you are thinking about getting it, DON'T HESITATE ANY LONGER! It is fantastic and I am sure the afghan can wait until I have a few pairs of mittens and gloves made.

The white yarn in the order is to finish the afghan (someday) and the black is for HoneyBunny's special request hat--which is half done as of this morning.

All the fun I can handle for today!

Happy Knitting!

Yarn on Monday!!!

As I went to the mailbox today I was hoping for some yarn, as I do every Monday when my order did not show up on Friday (because for some stupid reason it had to spend all week last week in Denver). Anyway, to my great disappointment the keys for the package compartments in our neighborhood mailboxes were both in place--meaning that there were no package deliveries inside. With heavy heart I opened my 4 inch by 4 inch mailbox and, accompanied with squeals of delight, discovered my yarn swap package from Hege!!!!!! I practically ran home (for those of you who don't know me, I don't run, PERIOD). I examined the stamps--from Norway of course-- and then opened the package.........................LOOK WHAT I FOUND INSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only did she send me four lovely skeins of yarn from Norway, but she also sent me a wonderful handmade card. I was so excited!!! I am so excited!!! I don't know whether I should knit it up or place it in some esteemed display in my house. (Yarn, to a Knitter, isn't always for knitting--a concept NOT understood by non-Knitters). I have to make at least one pair of socks with it because I am totally in love with the color combination!!!

So Hege, I have just one thing to say, "I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!" I wouldn't have been this excited or happy if I had found a package of 100 dollar bills in my mailbox. (Don't even try to understand THAT if you aren't a Knitter). Yarn--that I can't get here in Colorado--from Norway is priceless!

This Weeks WIP's

I missed my Wednesday WIP reporting so here it is today.

I finished spinning that wool yarn that I was planning to make the hooded sweater out of. Unfortunately there isn't enough of the brown. I still haven't figured out how to take a pile of fluff and figure out exactly how much of it I will need for a particular project. I either end up with way too much or too little. I know there is a way to figure it out, but I prefer the spinning "by the seat of my pants" approach where you just spin and hope you get what you want. I love the color that this yarn turned out! I will have to spin some off-white to go with it so that I have enough for my project.
I tried to promise myself not to start another project before I finished some others but I saw this shawl and all self control went out the window. Now I find myself working on it INSTEAD of the other projects. It is made from a DK weight yarn on US size 10 1/2 needles so it is coming along pretty fast. It is for some unsuspecting soul for Christmas. I can't say her name because it's a secret. I hope she will like it--what do you think--do you think she will?

And last--although not the only other WIP I have--is my socks for Sockamania. I wanted to make them pumpkin orange in honor of October. I have NOTHING that they will match and I am not fond of wearing this color, but I love the pattern. Note the little cable detail along the leg. They look great on!

The daughter's afghan is more than halfway finished. I am on the decreases and so the more I work on it the faster it seems to be going. It is going to be HUGE! and incredibly warm. It is a great project to work on in the early mornings and in the evening because it keeps me warm. I will post the picture of it when it is finished.

My yarn from Hege should be here any day. I can't wait to see it! Plus my (Christmas project) order should be here anyday as well. I can't believe I ordered yarn and books thinking that between now and December 25th I would be able to make that much stuff. Oh well, what doesn't get done I can give next year! I HAVE to make the one project for this Christmas no matter what--it's for HoneyBunny and it is a special request. More details later. In the mean time,

"Tend to your Knitting!"

Yeah for Halloween!!!!

It's no secret that Halloween is my favorite holiday. However, there are those who give you a funny look if you tell them that you like Halloween better than Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas, it's just that Christmas isn't ....... I don't know, it just isn't Halloween. Plus, being the "forever actress", I love to dress up!! Halloween was always so much fun for me even growing up. My mother always made us the best costumes--no princesses, clowns, fairies, etc.--no we had to be something scary. Dracula, vampires, ghosts, witches, mummies, etc., because, after all, "that is what Halloween is all about". See, we've forgotten that on All Hallows Eve all of the evil spirits come out and it takes a scary costume to keep their spirits away from us (this is the original belief and my mother believed that we should stick with tradition).

So...Here we are at my house during Halloween.....

1. Family portaits of Halloween past.

2. Welcome mat.

3. Welcome sign.

4. My witch hat, adorable fat toad, and new afghan. (Note the spider web curtains! Made them last year! LOVE THEM!)

5. Cauldron complete with fire underneath (thanks Martha! great idea) and wall decorations--yes that is a real, but quite dead, tarantula.

6. Plant stand and glowing pumpkin.

7. Front door decorations. Unfortuately for all of us that live in this house, the grim reaper guy scares each one of us at some point every year. You know, you get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, or worse--to see what's making that noise outside, and suddenly there he is peeking in the window. I have heard my son actually scream like a little girl at the sight of him in the night and then start giggling when he realized what he saw.

8. And last, the table display. The nifty little witch has graced my Halloween's all of my life. I don't know when my mom got her but she has been there every Halloween that I can remember and now she is there for my children's Halloween as well.

There you have it. Halloween at my house. I have a Halloween wish too. My favorite Halloween tale is "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", and for as long as I can remember I have wanted to dress up, all in black, and ride a black horse all around town, down the dark side streets carrying a lighted pumpkin on Halloween night. Wouldn't that be fun!!!!! I'll bet I could scare BIG kids with that one.

Yeah for Halloween!

Somebody Stop Me!

Please tell me that I am not the only knitter that is thinking that she can start now and handknit a Christmas gift for each of her family and friends. I honestly found myself looking at and ordering a large amount of yarn for Christmas gift projects. Who am I kidding? At this point I will be lucky if I finish the WIP's I have right now by Christmas! Not only was I ordering yarn and patterns, but I was digging in the stash (of books and yarn), like some kind of gofer or mouse, and actually putting yarn with patterns and saying to myself, "Oh! I'll make that for......and I 'll make this for..... and that would be perfect for......" I woke up this morning and looked around at the PILES of yarn and patterns that I dug up yesterday and buried my head back in the covers. Now that the madness has subsided a little I have a huge mess to clean up. At least I didn't cast on a few of the ideas, then the mess would be worse. You know what? The whole thing makes me feel like a little bird at "nesting" time--flittering and fluttering around, surrounding myself with bits of paper and string and sticks!!!!!!

Blogger is having problems so I will have to post my Halloween decor pictures later.

Happy Knitting!

Wonderful Wednesday

HoneyBunny invited me to go for a ride with him today for work. I love to go with him when ever I get the opportunity. I get to knit and sight see, and nothing pleases him more than to have me along for company when he is driving all day.

This is what the mouth of the canyon looks like that we drove through. Huge granite cliffs topped by red sandstone, lots of pinion pine trees and sage brush. This is my favorite canyon in the world!

This is the house that they are paving the driveway for. We decided that it is a log mansion, not cabin. It is absolutely beautiful!
The house sits at the bottom of this amazing little valley.

More of the view of the canyon drive.

I had a wonderful time and took a bunch of pictures of all of the fall colors. I love this canyon!


Ok. So, here are this weeks WIP's. This is a sock that I fully intend to finish in the next few weeks. I actually started it last winter and somehow it got shoved to the bottom of the UFO pile. It resurfaced when I finished those two black hole projects. So, now it has been promoted from UFO to WIP.

This is the Turkish sock that I have been working on--and off-- for the last couple of months. I absolutely love it and wish I had nothing to do but work on it until it was finished. Unfortunately, the daughter's afghan has sucked up a huge chunk of my knitting time. I am half way finished with it now. I may have it done before Christmas after all. For now it remains a WIP.

There you have it. I have decorated for Halloween and will post the pictures next time with pictures of my progress on the October Sockamania sock.

Happy Knitting!

The Good and Bad about Monday

Monday's are usually a mixed day for me. Most people just hate Monday because it means that the weekend is over and they have to go back to work or school. I used to hate Monday's for the same reason. However, now that I am (working) at home Monday's are weird. I am excited because, once again now that everyone is gone to work and school, my time is my own. I can knit when I want, get dressed when I want, eat when I want, go to town IF I want, etc. I don't like Monday's where HoneyBunny decides that since I am at home I am not busy. I have an entire day's worth of Honey-Do's! I HAVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO HERE AT HOME! After all, the new Sockamania pattern comes out today, I started spinning some GORGEOUS yarn for a sweater and I am having a lovely time with it, the Turkish socks I started after my finger surgery are coming along very nicely, it's time to decorate for Halloween, and I am all excited about the sock yarn swap Hege and I are going to have (got some exciting ideas to surpise her with)!!!! I had a wonderful Monday all planned out and now I have to get myself together and go into town instead..................Maybe if I hurry really fast (within the speed that won't get me a ticket) I can make it back home before noon.

I'M OUT OF HERE!!

WIP--it Wednesday

So, not much has changed in the WIP area. I don't think I have knit one row on the daughters afghan (I do hope I get it done before Christmas!). However, I did finish the September Sockamania Socks. So that is a good thing.

They turned out really nice. My son has already confiscated them and is running around the house in them. I think he just said something about wearing them to school tomorrow. I have plenty of yarn left over and have some sock ideas I am going to try out. If they turn out well, I will post the pattern in my etsy store and a picture here.

It has been a very long day so this is going to have to be short. More later.

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now THAT'S Knitting!

As I was reading some of my favorite blogs this morning Hege had a picture of some mittens she had made a few years ago. Not just any mittens, but beautiful mittens. She is incredibly talented! She also had a link to some museum pages--all in Norwegian--but there were some pictures I HAVE to share. All hand knit and all amazing! Now THAT'S knitting!
Isn't this the most beautiful pair of knit mittens you have ever seen!? Don't you wish you had a pair!


My grandfather was Norwegian and Danish and I would love to have been able to sit and visit with his parents (my great grandparents) about Norway and Denmark. We probably wouldn't have been able to understand each other though--they didn't speak english and I don't speak Norwegian (unfortunately).

If you would like to see all of the displays on the museums site it is here.

KnitPicks is selling a book called "Selbuvotter". It is all about the history and tradition of these incredible mittens and gloves that are 150 years old. There are 30+ projects in the book. Yes, I ordered it. I am so weak!

Happy Knitting!

PIF Exchange and Free Pattern Friday!!!!

I am so excited to announce that I am going to be a part of the "Pay it Forward" exchange!!!! Anni had posted it on her blog yesterday and I was fortunate enough to be one of the first three people to post a comment, which means that I get to participate. It is wonderful!

So, here is how it works:

It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. You all know I’m already a PIF type of person. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So the first three to comment on this post and who say they would like to take part will be my recipients. If I don't know you and have your e-mail address already, please include your e-mail address in your post so I can get hold of you. Once I've got my 3 recipients, I'll e-mail you to get your home address and just some idea of your favorite colours, yarn type, etc. I don't just knit--so I will need to know a little about you, what you like, and maybe what you like to decorate your house with.

Now, for the free pattern!

This is nothing really exciting, but it is a very useful item and very effective.

KNITTED SCRUBBER:

Materials: Approx. 8-10 yards of nylon netting that is in a 3-inch wide strip. Size 10 (US) knitting needles. Large tapestry needle.

Round Scrubber:

Cast on 8 sts.

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: k 2 tog, yo, k 4, turn

Row 3: K 6

Row 4: k 2 tog, yo, k 2, turn

Row 5: K 4

Row 6: K 2 tog, yo, k 6

Repeat these 6 rows 9 times more. Bind off. Use tapestry needle to sew circle together and work in ends.

Happy Knitting!

Time for Some Changes

I thought I would give the blog an over-haul. I haven't made any changes in several months and with the change in seasons and my etsy store I thought I would spend the morning updating the blog. So, let me know what you think.

On a different note......Have you ever woke up in the morning and thought, "I think I will just sleep all day"? Your bed feels extra soft and comfy and you feel soooooo sleepy. You're not depressed or sad or anything like that you just don't want to get up. That is how I felt this morning. I did manage to pull myself out of bed in time to get the kids off to school, but I have accomplished little else. I told HoneyBunny, when I talked to him this morning, that all I want to do today is knit. I really can't think of ANYTHING I would rather do. He's so wonderful, you know what he said? "Go ahead, take a day off and just relax, rejuvinate, and take it easy." Ya, that's why I married him. He is one of the few men in this world that think that women work twice or three times (sometimes ten times) more than men because they have to take care of the house (a full time job), the kids (full time and sometime overtime job), take care of the husband (which can be a mostly full time job), and of course take care of themselves. He is constantly looking for ways to convince me to sit down and take a break--knitting and yarn activities are his best methods, "Tama why don't you come and sit here on the couch with me and knit while the news is on."

Today is going to be a great day! Happy Knitting!

Wednesday's WIP's

I have been surfing around the web looking at other knitting blogs and have really enjoyed seeing what other knitters are working on right now so I thought I would show off what I currently have on my needles (at least the ones that are sitting here on my desk in the way).

This is the pair of socks that I am making for the Sockamania KAL for September. I am afraid that the daughter thinks these are going to end up hers, but she is in for a surprise because I really like how they are turning out--plus I wear more brown than she does. These will also appear on the SAMKAL 4 blog site for September.

This is the blanket that I mentioned was for my daughters birthday. It is really pretty and EXTREMELY soft. I am combining KnitPicks Crayon and Suri for the main part and then the eyelash is KnitPicks Butterfly Kisses. It will be wonderful and warm when it's done--hopefully before Christmas.

So, that's what I am working on right now. There are more, but these two are the most pressing projects, as far as what needs to be done ASAP!

Happy Knitting!

Recovery Tuesday

Usually Monday's are my weekend recovery days. However, it poured rain Sunday and most of Monday which means that HoneyBunny couldn't work and would be home all day. Then the daughter had a doctor's appointment and somehow managed to convince us that she should get the whole day off from school. So Monday was more like Saturday.

I really could have used a Monday recovery this week. Last week was the daughter's birthday. Isn't interesting how children manage to make the most of this once a year event? We had to have a slumber party Friday, a regular party Saturday for all of her friends, a fun family outing Saturday night, and then a family party on Sunday. I don't remember seeing in the "child raising handbook" where children should have three birthday parties and an event of some sort each year in order for them to actually get a year older. I am still exhausted from just the slumber party! Now you see why I didn't manage to get another post in last week.

(this is a picture of the sockies I made for her)

So, now that HoneyBunny is back to work today, the daughter and son are at school, and all the parties are over I can take a deep breath and "enjoy the silence". Maybe I'll waste away the day knitting! Hey that's sounds like a really good idea. My new book showed up last week and I am so excited to make some of the socks I can barely sleep at night. (Please tell me I am not the only one that gets that excited about a knitting project).

It has been quite a few years since I purchased a sock book. Most of them are so boring--no offense--they are mostly for beginning sock knitters and contain patterns that I could knit in my sleep with both hands tied behind my back. Now don't get me wrong here, I love a good mindless sock once in a while, but I am at a point in my sock knitting career (?) that I want some excitement, something spicy and challenging, something that makes my pulse race, and keeps me awake thinking about it half of the night. This book has many patterns that fit this need. I can't put it down. Here I am trying to exercise a little self control by finishing one project at a time and I keep finding myself shopping for yarn to start my new projects or avoiding all of my knitting because what I have been working on is now boring. In fact--I am going to make a confession--I didn't finish my daughters blanket that she is dieing for me to finish for her (it was supposed to be for her birthday) because it has fallen into that "boring" catagory and, if I am not mistaken, I may have another black hole on my hands. Maybe she will get it for Christmas. When my yarn order gets here I don't know if I will be able to keep myself from starting some of those new socks or not. I am weak in the face of a new knitting book, but when faced with new yarn....

Happy Knitting!

Je suis fini!

You know, there is something to be said for "stick-to-it-iveness". I told myself a couple of months ago that these projects that have been haunting my desk for the last year HAD to go. Now, I wasn't real hip on just ripping them out and moving on since the projects were so close to being done. After finishing the "Black Hole" capelet I mentioned a few posts ago I figured I was invincible. No black hole was going to suck anymore stitches or rows out of my hard work. And LOOK!!!!!!! I finished the "Black Hole" summer tee! I realize that summer is pretty much over, but see, I had started this LAST summer hoping that I could wear it THIS summer. If I hadn't given in to the black hole I would have worn it this summer. Oh, well. It's still hot here so I will get to wear it a few times before it gets too cold.

Now, not only can knitting projects get sucked into black holes, but I have discovered that spinning projects can get sucked in as well. I have had this fiber (and eight other bags of it) for about two years. If I would just sit down and spin the yarn would get produced a lot faster, but knitting and housework have a way of interferring something terrible. However, after much persevering, the final bag is spun!!!!!! Yeah! I am ever so happy to finally be done with this stuff. Don't get me wrong, the money was good, but the fiber was awful!!!!! I have officially sworn off scratchy wool. (For those of you that aren't in the know--not all wool is scratchy--there is wool out there that I could easily pass off to you as cotton or silk or alpaca or leave you wondering what magical creature grows that soft, luxurious fiber that your socks or sweater is made out of).
So, now I can start a few new projects! Yeah! I love new projects. That means new YARN! and I really love new yarn. Oh! and new knitting books!! I love new knitting books! In fact, in anticipation of finishing all of this I ordered a bunch of NEW stuff. I will "show and tell" when it gets here.

Happy Knitting!!

Dog to the Vet

I have to take our dog to the vet today. No big deal right? It's not like what you have to go through to take the cat to the vet--all the craziness that proceeds even getting the cat in the car. However, though the dog is easily entreated to get in the car, she becomes a complete idiot as soon as we get out to go into the building. Actually, getting her into the C-A-R is interesting as well. She is about 100 pounds of nervous dogginess and I have a compact car. She litterally fills the back seat. Anyway, so we get out at the office and she imediately forgets that she is on a leash. Which dislocates my shoulder and tears all the muscles in my arm and shoulder area. Then we see another dog and the race is on. Now, normally Sierra (my dog) is well behaved--she doesn't bark unneccessarily or run away or do anything naughty (well REALLY naughty anyway, she got into my yarn one time and ate a bunch of it--I don't like to talk about what happened so let's just say that I threw yarn at her, screamed at her until I was hoarse, and then she spent the night outside in the dark by herself), but being in the presence of so many people and other dogs she loses all control and discipline. She is what I call a "High Need" animal. Which means that she wants to be petted by everyone that is within her sight and have all of the attention of all of the other animals that are around. This makes for an extremely irritating wait in the waiting room--not just for me, but for everyone. She pants and whines and lunges at people and whines and pants some more. By the time we are put into a room and they take her temperature she appears to be sick because she is running a temperature. She goes from wanting everyone to touch her to trying to hide in my lap at the sight of the vet. Which for a dog her size is not possible.

By the time I get home I am covered in dog hair and slobber and stink like a sweaty dog.

Well, we have to leave at 11:00 so I guess I better gear up. Here we go.........