Put that on your needles and knit it!

Mom's Pattern

2010-03-05T00:09:00.000-08:00

Putting it on here so she can get hooked up on Ravelry
CURVALICIOUS

This sock was written for all my friends with soft, rounded and gentle curves.
And they are HOT! Even though I have skinny ankles and feet, I am also
curvalicious. This sock was written in one size only as the pattern is 30 stitches.
If you want a larger or smaller sock, use a larger or smaller needle.
Necessities:
100 gm of a fingering weight yarn. I used Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in the
colorway Wine.
Size 2 circular needles
Tapestry needle
This pattern uses the Magic Loop method. You can easily convert this to your
preferred method.
LEG:
Cast on 60 stitches using the long-tail cast-on or any method that you prefer.
Divide evenly and place 30 stitches on each needle. Join without twisting.
Ribbing: K2, P2 for 12 rounds
Begin chart working rows 1-18 on each needle for 3 repeats. If you need more or
less length, end after rows 8,9,17 or 18.
Knit across Needle 1 in pattern.
HEEL:
Work heel back and forth on needle 2 and leave rest of stitches on needle 1.
Row 1: sl1, k5 [ sl1, k1] X9, k6
Row 2: sl1, p29
Row 3: sl1, k5 [k1, sl1] x9, k6
Row 4: sl1, p 29
Repeat row 1-4 6 mores times and then work rows 1 & 2 once more.
Heel turn:
1: k18, ssk, k1, turn
2: sl1 p7, p2tog, p1, turn
3: sl1 p8, ssk, k1, turn
4, sl1, k9, ssk, k1, turn
Continue in this manner until there are 18 stitches left.
Knit across instep. Pickup and knit 15-17 stitches along the
right edge of the heel, knit across the heel, pickup and knit 15-17 stitches
across the left edge of the heel. Arrange stitches in this manner:
N1: Instep
N2: Heel and gussets
Gusset decreases :
Knit instep on N1 in pattern
Decrease on N2
Round 1: K1, SSK, knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1
Round 2: Knit
Repeat until 30 stitches remain on N2
Continue in pattern on N1 and st st on N2 until 1½ – 2 inches from toe.
Begin toe shaping:
1. k1, ssk, knit to last 3 stitches on needle and k2tog, k1. Repeat
2. knit one round
3. Repeat these 2 rounds until you have 12 stitches left.
4. Graft toe closed using the Kitchener stitch.
5. I hope you enjoy your sock and knit the second one.
CHART FOR CURVALICIOUS

Copyright 2010 by Jan Bitney
bitney@comcast.net
gbbgrandma on Ravelry
This pattern is for your enjoyment to use, but please do not sell the pattern or the
finished socks.

Littlelegs pattern

2009-05-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

I designed these cute little legwarmers for my friend Nicole's baby Teagan. They are so cute that I wanted to share them. If I get interest in the pattern, I will write it up and publish it.

UPDATE: Click on the picture to download the pattern which is now available free on Ravelry

In a funk

2008-07-06T20:19:00.001-07:00

I'm in a funk over some personal stuff that is happening with my "friends." I feel betrayed, let down, and unsure of who I can trust. I wonder what it is about me that turns people off. I wonder if the people I've thought were my friends really are. I just don't know anymore.
I feel the need to find new friends, but that's easier said than done. And I don't want to seem needy. I've recently become friendlier with a few new ladies and I hope that matures. But I worry that I'll seem to needy, or seem like I'm trying to bust into their friendship and it will all blow up in my face.
These are the times I wish I could just curl into a ball and forget that other people exist. It's sometimes easier to not have friends than deal with the hurt that they cause you.

Moving Rapidly

2008-06-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

The sweater is moving very rapidly. I already have the back done and am working on the front. I truly hate doing stripes (I can't believe I did this voluntarily) because I despise all the ends. Most of these stripes are only 2 rows so it's hard to knit the ends in. It should be interesting when I seam the sweater, which I am considering doing on a machine. We'll have to see.
My good friend, the one I made the dress for her daughter, saw the picture on my blog. I didn't get the package sent in time for her birthday tomorrow, but that's OK. She's going to look adorable in it, even if it arrives late.
The kids have been especially good today, not driving me crazy at all. That's good, because I feel exhausted, and we have a double header baseball game tonight. I have to go grocery shopping during the second game, or we'd be doing it at 10:00 at night. I HAVE to shop while we are already in town because gas is running around $4.20 a gallon here.
The dog just brought me a present.....a dead mouse. Gross.

The nails are gone

2008-06-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

I took off my acrylic nails last night. I was getting frustrated with them lifting, and they even looked like crap after the last fill. So I worked on them during the baseball games and got them off. It hurt a little, but I really think I feel better not having them. My nails look awful right now but they will grow out and I will take better care of them now that I don't bite my nails any more. Another benefit is that I can type decently again and I don't have to backspace as much to fix my mistakes.
I got some yarn in the mail today that I bought to make a little vest for a friend who is having a baby boy in August. She will totally love it, and I will bet she asks me to make another for her other son who is almost 4.
I've been crocheting a bunch of dishcloths just for quick projects. It's good to increase my crocheting skills too. It's not something I really enjoy but it's a nice diversion from the monotony of B's tiger socks. I'm really not enjoying them and I think I'll cast on the baby vest right away just to have a less boring project going. I seemed to have chosen a bunch of boring stuff all at the same time.
I made some other cute stuff for another friend who has never even acknowledged receiving them. It's very frustrating. I guess I should ask her, but she's an internet friend and I'd have to post it on the bulletin board. My knitting for certain people has caused some controversy over there but I really don't care. I get to choose who I knit for, and I am a lot closer to some of these ladies than others. Most of them I have known for over 4 1/2 years, since we were all pregnant together.

Family Frustrations

2008-06-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

I talked to my dad last night for Father's Day. A little background....up until October of last year, he lived in Guam for more than 20 years. So I've only seen him usually 1-2 times a year for a few days, except for the year we both lived in Hawaii. He promised when he retired he'd come visit us for a nice long visit, which still hasn't happened yet. He always has some excuse, which usually revolves around my little sister's schedule. Mind you, she's 25 and in the Army in Korea, but I digress. He did come for 2 days a few months ago but it was a whirwind visit. While he was here, he offered to pay 1/2 of our plane tickets down there because he thought it was easier for a family of 5 to travel to Arizona then for 2 of them to put their dogs in a kennel and come visit us. We even said if they wanted to drive they could bring the dogs. Apparently not good enough either. Well, we have a very full July coming up, and because we've decided to put the kids in private school next year we need to save our pennies because it isn't cheap. So I doubt we are going to Arizona. He said yesterday that they MIGHT be coming up whenever my sister is on TDY at Fort Lewis (about 2 1/2 hrs away from here) but I can't cfount on that. Always their travel schedule revolves around here, even though they just saw her for a month and my stepmom just got back from seeing her in Korea. I'm so tired of being second fiddle.
Another thing is that my only living grandparent, my Dad's mom, is very sick. She has had emphysema for many many years and her body is just getting tired. I haven't seen her in a few years, but my Dad is trying to arrange this visit here/with sister/with grandma all at the same time, and she really needs him now. It turns out that my Mom went down there this weekend and is actually visiting with my grandma as we speak. It's sure nice that my mom, who has been divorced from my dad for over 25 years, still visits my grandma when she is in the area. I need to get a trip down there scheduled but since our July is so busy with kids camps and stuff, I don't know when and if I can do it. I'd ideally like to take a trip there alone but that's another thing that may not happen.
I'm knitting on the Spice Boy socks and not completely thrilled with the pattern. Now that I know about how many stitches around to make socks for the boys, I think I can do just about anything and get away with it. I also finally put some sock pictures up on my Ravelry page.

Mini Vacation

2008-06-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we went to Seattle to catch a Mariners game. It was bobblehead night, which was an added bonus. It wasn't at ALL like the year we went on Ichiro bobblehead night, we got there at like 6:15 and didn't have to wait in line forever. There were plenty of Adrian Beltre bobbleheads to go around. We had some gift cards to spend at the store, so Dan and I each got a t shirt and the kids got some goodies. Then we went up to our seats. It was a cold night, and we only lasted until about 9:45 before we left. It was the end of the 7th inning, and the Mariners were down 7-6. We listened to the end on the radio and it ended just like we left it.
We drove back today, after making a few stops to shop. We stopped at Cabela's, the only one in the Northwest, and possibly on the west coast. Dan got some nice jeans and we got a cute sign for the house. Then we went to Walmart where I restocked my pharmacy. I always do that when we go there.
We had also stopped at Michaels the day before where I got some more stuff I'm using to make the name tags for VBS. I can't wait to show them to Sue tomorrow, I hope she is happy with the job I'm doing. It was fun. VBS is next week and I'm the designated photographer. I like that job because I can walk around and have fun and not be tied down to one group. I'm also going to help the kitchen ladies as needed serving snacks. Dan is going to put together a slide show for the final night of the pictures I take. We are also giving each kid a picture of themselves with a frame they make for it. I know most of the kids, but it will be a challenge to get pictures of the ones I don't know. I think I need to find a way to keep track just in case I forget who they are.
I was traumatized Friday on our drive up. We were driving along, up the freeway when the cars in front of us suddenly braked. Dan braked, but I didn't know what was going on. Turns out a dog had run out on the freeway. The dog managed to make it safely across our 4 lanes of traffic, then he jumped the median to cross the other side. He made it across one lane before meeting up with the wheels of a semi truck. Unfortunately my eyes caught the whole thing and it was just awful. I love animals and I hate seeing them hurt, but there was nothing this truck driver could do. It was a very busy time on the road and it was just bad luck. I hope that soon that memory will be gone from my head.
Today I was very tired and sore from 2 days in the car, and the hike to the ball field. I'm glad to be back in my own bed. That is why I'd rather not go on vacations. I end up not sleeping well and consequently hurting a lot.
I finished my Mockery socks (no photo yet) and started some Spice Boy socks for B. His birthday is coming up in a month and he has been asking me to make him socks for a long time now. I started them yesterday and knit the toes about 5 times. The pattern uses a short row toe and I just think that I can't do them right. Last time I made a pattern by the same designer, I ended up making a standard toe. I didn't give in this time but I'm not totally happy with how the toe turned out on the first sock. Oh well, I'm not ripping them out one more time.

Dress Finished

2008-06-09T08:52:00.001-07:00

Annabelle's dress is done and in plenty of time for her birthday. Using this yarn (Elle Pure Gold DK) was interesting. It's a bit splitty but very soft and luxurious. It's 100% courelle, which is a type of acrylic. It supposedly doesn't pill and after I blocked it it was as soft as butter. I was worried about the bottom curling as it didn't have any garter or seed stitch to help it lie flat, but since the pattern basically starts right away it was OK. I was supposed to pick up stitches around the neckline and knit them, but I decided to try my hand at crochet instead. I always say I hate crocheting, but it sure made the trim on the neckline and armholes easy. I may do it more often. I'm also motivated to try my hand at a crochet project. Someday, that is. When I was done, I decided to make her a little hat too. They live in Las Vegas so it couldn't be a warm hat or anything, so I decided to make a beret. It's pretty stretchy, so I tried it on Hennessy for her to model.
I'm supposed to put ribbon through the eyelets, but I'm not sure I have anything that will work. I have to go into town tomorrow so I'll try to find something that will work then.
Now, I have 3 projects OTN and I don't want to work on any of them. It's too hot to work on my sweater, I'm bored to tears working on Hennessy's skirt, and I'm at the point on my socks where I'm bored to tears. So I need to find a new project and I'm not sure what to do, I guess I'll have to cruise Ravelry until I find something I can't live without.

Winding Down

2008-06-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

School is winding down and I am SO done with being a homeschool mom. It has made me unpleasant, cranky, and bitchy too much of the day. My kids need space from me, and I need space from them. I know we have to make it through the summer still, but at least I don't have to bug them about doing schoolwork. We have 5 school days left.
My baby is done with her first year of preschool and I'm actually sad about it. She had the best teacher in the world, Miss Jeannie, but Miss Jeannie and her family are moving to China. It would make it a long trip to take her to preschool. We are weighing our options, and the best one is to put her in the same school the boys will be attending. The good part is that is is full day preschool, 3 days a week M-W-F. She would be able to ride the bus with them and I'd have 3 days to myself. On the flip side, it costs over $200 a month. There are 2 small preschool options here, they would be 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours for around $75 a month. I think that the full day thing is a bargain if I l0ok at their prices. Our plan is to save as much money as we can over the summer and if we can get the full years tuition all together by August 1, we'd get a discount and have her tuition all paid up for the year. Then we'd only have to worry about paying the tuition for the boys every month. It's scary to think about so much money going out of our budget every month but I think it's worth it. Money will be really tight. We can do it though.
We are going to a Mariners game next weekend. I'm excited, but right now all I can think about is how much money the trip is going to cost us. Dan's work will pay mileage, and for the hotel (he is going to do some work up there) but we have to pay for food and for stuff at the game, and the kids always want souvenirs. Maybe they'll just have to forego them this year because of the money situation. I hate that though.
On the knitting front, I'm working on a pair of socks (Mockery Socks) and the Hey Mickey skirt for Cee-Cee. I think I made it a bit too long but hopefully she'll grow a few inches over the summer. It's a little slow going and lots of purling, which I hate. I have to alternate between the two to not lose my mind. I don't have any new projects in mind. I also have my Mr. Greenjeans
on the needles but it's too warm to work on it much. I'm at the sleeves which are boring too.

I've been thinking a lot......

2008-05-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

My topic of the day is advice. Lately, I've been involved in several situations where unwanted advice has been given. In one case, it was me giving the unwanted advice. And it wasn't even advice, just expressions of concern, and it ruined a very close friendship. I'm terribly sorry I ever said anything and I wish there was a way to repair the damage. I've tried, and so far it just hasn't worked. What I did was a big mistake and I've vowed to never give advice when it's not asked for.
People always want to give advice. They think that they have better ideas than you, or ideas that you might not have thought of yourself. In most cases, people do it out of love, but I'm to the point where I don't want to hear it from people. I'm doing the best I can to make the best decisions for my family and I don't want to hear from other people who think I am making the wrong ones. I don't always agree with the decisions my friends and family make, but I sit back and keep my mouth shut. I wish more people would just do that.
Unwanted advice hurts friendships. Even if it doesn't destroy them, it puts cracks in their foundation. Everyone is just doing the best they can with the cards they hold. Why do we as a society think that we have better advice to offer? We don't always know all the details surrounding a decision so we don't have all the information to understand a decision. And just because I wouldn't make that decision, doesn't mean that it's not right for someone else.
From now on, I'm only giving advice when someone asks for it. And I'm not going to get upset if they don't follow it if they do ask for it. I only wish the rest of the world would follow suit.

Stay Tuned.....

2008-05-27T20:43:00.001-07:00

My blog suffered greatly when I started homeschooling my boys. The school year is almost over, and so is my term as a homeschooling mom. They are going to a private Christian school next year.
So I should have more time for blogging soon. So stay tuned.....

I want another one!

2008-03-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

That is what my 3 year old is screaming in the background. She wants another cheese sandwich. Because somehow she has come to the conclusion that if the piece of bread breaks, the sandwich is poisonous and she needs another one. She's howling. She won't just eat the cheese, she won't eat it without the missing piece of bread.
So I take the said sandwich, break the slice of bread in half, and put the sandwich (albeit a bit smaller) back together for her. She seems pleased for a second, then starts to cry "I don't want a little one."
I can't win against a 3 year old.........

Butterfly Toes

2008-03-26T08:11:00.001-07:00

My first published pattern, and you too can download it!
Butterfly Toes Baby Socks

P.S.

2008-03-21T11:50:00.003-07:00

The monkey is off my back. I finished the Argyle Vest with a week to spare. He's even worn it once. He better keep on wearing it. It was a real labor of love.

Long time no blog

2008-03-21T11:40:00.001-07:00

I think I used this post title before. Oh well, it's the truth. Since my trip to the ER I still haven't felt completely myself, then the kids have been sick, etc. Last week it was B with a sinus infection, this week was Cee-Cee with a stomach bug that had her throwing up curdled chocolate milk in the car. Grosser than gross, I tell you. Poor kid couldn't keep anything down for 24 hours but she's better now. She had chocolate milk this morning and all of it stayed inside her. I feel like celebrating!
Last weekend my mom and I did a little yarn crawl and visited 4 yarn shops. I bought stuff in only 2, which was seriously restrained. I love yarn shopping and could have spent a ton of money, but alas, I didn't have it. I did buy 3 skeins of LL Shepherd Worsted to make a Neckdown Bolero for Cee-Cee.

I'm going to do the trim in Chocolate, but I won't post that skein since it just mainly looks like the brown part of this skein. I got the pattern yesterday. I wound up the yarn (or should I say, Cee-Cee wound while I directed) but won't let myself start until I finish the Baby Hat from One Skein. I need to send it off to a friend in Canada who is going to have her daughter prematurely any time now. She's been very sick and in the hospital for weeks. She has a daughter with special needs who is the same age as Cee-Cee so I know it's been tough on her.
I got new glasses yesterday. My first pair of bifocals are causing me to walk around like I'm drunk and I feel seasick. I hope I get used to them soon. Good thing my old glasses are in good shape so I can switch back if I feel too yucky. I love the new frames though, and I also got a pair of sunglasses. Different frames, but they are lovely too.
I think the kids and I are going to make cookies or pastries or something this weekend. Since it's Easter Sunday, I'd like the snack table at church to be full of homemade goodies instead of the packaged crap that's shown up a lot lately. Maybe we'll make cupcakes or muffins. I had a good cupcake recipe but it's been misplaced.
I have test knitters for my socks and as soon as I can get a little more feedback, I'm going to publish the pattern. I think I'll give it away free since it's my first. I'd like to get into designing a little more but we'll see how this one goes. I've received good feedback that has helped with my pattern writing skills.

Been Sick

2008-02-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

I had DH take me to the ER on Monday night after I couldn't stand the nausea anymore. I was also having pain in my upper abdomen. Several hours later (after an IV, lots of blood drawn, morphine, and a ultrasound) I was sent home. I saw my PCP on Wednesday, and they are leaning toward the possibility of an ulcer but I still don't have any definite answers yet. I feel much better finally and almost normal. Not quite, but almost.
I've had some time to knit, and finished a Koolhaas hat for a friend of mine. Turns out her birthday was yesterday (I didn't know) so I'll have a nice gift for her. I'm also making her a pair of socks which will probably be a late gift. She's pregnant with #3 so I expect she needs some pampering.
I did work about 5 rounds on DH's argyle sweater yesterday. I need to do about 2 more inches of plain stockinette before I start any shaping. This is the most boring part. I should just get it done though and get the monkey off my back.

Out of Town

2008-02-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

Dan had to go to Seattle on Friday, so the kids and I decided to tag along. We left Thursday afternoon, after much ado (the kids were being nightmares, packing was awful, the dog took off and wouldn't come home, etc). We got to our hotel around 8:30 and still had to make a trip to Walmart that evening. All said, everyone got to bed around 11 and I slept like crap. I always do when we are away from home. Sometimes I wonder why I ever leave.
Dan had to go to the Kent training center Friday morning, so the kids and I just hung out in the hotel since he took the car. I had brought the boys' schoolwork along but I wasn't feeling well so we didn't do anything productive. Dan finished up around noon and we went to lunch and shopping at Ikea. I wanted to spend a ton of money, but we made it out of there for under $60, and that included buying a hanging pot rack which I'm really excited about. We came back to the hotel for nap time (and I really needed one). We went to dinner at Claim Jumper, and it's a good thing Dan found out you can make reservations online. It was busy when we got there, but seriously packed when we left. I ordered tri-tip, which I normally love but I only about about 1/3 of it. I just don't feel good. I think I'm getting the flu. Dan had fried chicken which was better than my steak was. The kids had the usual kiddy kind of stuff like burgers, corn dogs, and mac and cheese. We tried to go bowling after that, but 3 bowling alleys later (all full of leagues) we ended up coming back to the hotel. The kids played with the toys they got at Walmart and Dan and I just watched TV. I guess we are just boring.
I finished the two Santa Cruz hats I was working on, one for my friend Tracie and one for her daughter. I'm seriously not sure about the instructions. I followed the instructions for the worsted weight, to the T, and it's definitely baby size. I used the sock instructions to make an adult sized hat and while it's on the big side, the other one is way to small. Maybe the girl who wrote the pattern has a really small head. Good thing I've knit lots and lots of hats before, and checked Ravelry for other people's experiences.
I'll get some pictures tomorrow when we get home.

Knitting Time

2008-01-28T16:02:00.001-08:00

Ever since I started homeschooling my boys, my knitting time has been severely limited. But I managed to finish several things since Christmas, and I'm happy with that.
First, I made some Fingerless Gloves for Kimmy. She is my friend whose house flooded. She, her husband, her 2 year old son, her cat, and 3 dogs stayed with us for about 3 weeks. She saw some gloves that our friend Andrea had that were similar, so she asked me to make her a pair.

I ran out of yarn in the middle (FYI, it's Bernat Cashmere Blends), so when I got some more I picked up an extra skein just in case. I used it to make her a Halley's Comet Hat to go along with it. The picture below is not Kimmy, but my mom who tried it on so I could post it on Ravelry.

I also made another pair of Fingerless Gloves in a different pattern for my bestest friend Kari. I made these with Bernat Alpaca Blend in a similar pink color. I may have just enough hat to make her a hat too.
On January 1st, I decided to start a new pair of socks, so I decided to make some Firestarters. I finished them pretty quickly, but they would have gone faster if I didn't get a bit of SSS. It's inevitable I guess.

In November, Kari's mom asked me to make some fingerless gloves for her to go along with her clown costume. I've been putting off finishing the 2nd one because they have very short fingers and the fingers are complicated. I finally finished those on Friday night at 1:30 AM. I'm glad to have that monkey off my back. Kari is going to visit her mom on Saturday so I needed to have them done before she left.

Right now, I just started on another hat for another friend, Nicole. I'm designing it myself and it's going to be called "Pucker Up Nicole". Hopefully it will turn out OK. I'm also working on some Pomatomous socks for myself, and random dishcloths whenever I feel bored.

Long Time No Post

2008-01-18T17:19:00.000-08:00

I've just been so busy.
In November, Dan and I were baptized and we joined our church, Vernonia Christian Church. As new members sometimes it feels overhwelming. Especially since the flood happened so soon after we joined. We wanted to be involved in the church but might have bit off more than we could chew.
I was asked to start a ministry of serving coffee and cookies/goodies each Sunday. I enjoy it on the whole but it does take up time. I have to go the night before and get the coffee all ready to brew or I'd have to get there really early in the morning. Usually volunteers bring in the goodies in the AM, and I start the coffee/hot water and arrange the goody trays. Then after service (which means I always end up staying quite late), I have to clean up the mess. Usually the table cloths are a mess so I have to take them home to wash. I have to empty and clean the pots, etc. It didn't seem like it would be a lot of work but that's not how it has happened.
Dan has set up the sound system in the new church (our sanctuary was flooded and now we hold church in what used to be the youth and family center, but it's basically a large gymnasium.) I am singing with the "choir" although I really wouldn't call it a choir. It's just a group of people who lead the singing each week. Unfortunately it has caused me some frustration this week but I'm going to work through that. I enjoy singing and don't want to quit because it's not as easy as I thought it would be. Plus, I love my friend Kari who plays the piano and I want to help her out.
It's been a sucky week for me. I've felt really crappy, I've been sick and I can't get over it. I have a headache to end all headaches. I can't sleep when I want to so I'm chronically tired.
My doctor ordered me some new medicine that I hope will make a difference but insurance is going to be poopy about it. I have to get a preauthorization and that's going to take time. I just found out there's a hold up on my medications too and I'm completely out of my muscle relaxants. That might mean a painful weekend unfortunately. And of course, it's a long weekend.
Garrett's state report is coming up due and I just dread it. He wanted to do California, but our little library didn't have much information so we switched to Alaska because there were several good books on Alaska there. I just can't stomach the drive into town to the big library. School has been a challenge lately and the boys aren't completely cooperative. One gets mad if the other finishes earlier than they do but I can't work with both at the same time. They both need personal attention and it makes the school day hard. Today Dan stayed home and did Brendyn's school while I worked with Garrett. That was really nice.

Flooding

2007-12-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

We had been forewarned that there would be high winds, and the power ALWAYS goes out when we have strong winds. I woke up at 4:45 when Dan got up to shower for work. I turned on the news to see what was up, and already things weren’t looking good. I really wanted Dan to stay home but he swore he needed to go in to work. He had originally planned to stay until around noon then come home, but when I told him that’s when the peak winds were supposed to hit, he decided to just stay a few hours.

Even before he made it to work, I saw on the news that all the routes, except the one we use all the time, were closed due to flooding or other reasons. I called him and begged him to come right home. He did a few things quickly at work then headed home.

When he got back to the junction of the freeway and the highway to Vernonia, he could already see the beginnings of flooding. There’s a large area of flatland right there, and it was already completely underwater. The road had several spots of standing water that was beginning to get deep.

I was so relieved when he made it home around 9. We had the news on, and the boys and I were happily doing school when the phone rang. It was Paul from our church, asking if we could go down and help people take all the stuff out of the downstairs of our church, where they hold Sunday school. We drove down there. One the route there, we had to drive by the “creek” in town, which by then was a raging river. A family had recently built a house near the banks, on a large basement foundation with a garage. By then, the water was half way up the garage door. The creek had jumped the banks in other places too, and was about 1 block into the street. It was 2 blocks from the church at this time. We started bringing stuff up as fast as possible. There were about a dozen people there. The water was coming up from the toilets and starting to flood the floor. It smelled like raw sewage and we did as much as we could and left.

As we were leaving I was talking to my friend who lived about 3 blocks from the church. She said we could come over and hang out at her house, but I don’t think she had any idea of the danger. There is another creek about 3 blocks on the other side of her house too. I gave her my number and directions to my house just in case. When I got home I started calling my friends to make sure they were OK, especially my friend who lives right by the lake and has a newborn. They had made it to another friends house to stay.

Kimmy, my friend, calls and says she’s getting worried, she can see the water. She needs to get out immediately. She was moving stuff upstairs, then was going to come over, but was scared she wouldn’t make it through the standing water on the road. Dan went down there in our truck and led her through the mess because she wanted to make sure she got her car out. They got out JUST in time. The puddle she had to drive through was so high the water was up to the wheel wells.

We hung out at home, watching TV while the rain poured down. The wind was not nearly what the predicted in our area, but the water just wouldn’t stop. Just as the rain seemed to stop, the power and phones went completely out.

We have a generator, so we fired that up and watched the news. It was just incredible. Streets all over Portland were closed because of standing water. Kimmy and I decided to take a walk to see what was going on in town. We walked down to my neighbor’s house where there is a trail that takes you down to a street closer to where the water is. We could see the water raging and when we got to the main road the water was at least 3 blocks long. A lifted jeep went through it and was all the way up to it’s headlights.

Kimmy had left her big dogs upstairs at her house, and when she saw the water she was going to walk through it. I talked her into going back to my house, where Dan could blow up our inflatable boat and take her down that way. It took about ½ hour to get the boat ready, and they took off about 4:30 just as it was getting dark.

They ended up boating about 8 blocks to her house. She pushed open her gate and they floated right up to her front door. There was about 2 feet of standing water inside at the time. They got the dogs, then boated around her house to where their boat was stored. Her cat was hiding there so they grabbed her and came home.

Her husband Raymond had gone into work that day, and we had called him to tell him not even to try to come home. He of course didn’t listen to us, and tried to get home. The only communication we had at that time was cell phones, and he didn’t have one. We waited and waited for a call and it never came. Kimmy was calling everyone she knew to try to find him with no luck.

We finally went to bed around 10 or so. At 4 AM Hennessy woke up because it was dark and she was scared. We all sat up. When the boys got up Dan started the generator again so we could watch the news. At about 6:00 a white truck drove up to our house and we knew Raymond had made it home safe.

He had waited at each place of standing water all night until it receded enough for his truck to make it through. He made it close to town at about 1 am and left his truck because there was 1 area he couldn’t cross. The Corps of Engineers picked him up in their huge truck and took him to the mini mart, about 3 blocks from his house. He then ended up wading through chest deep water to their house where he stayed until morning.

We went down to their house that morning to survey the damage. All her new furniture (not totally paid for) was ruined, the carpets, bottom kitchen cabinets, everything. She’s a dog groomer and her shop was flooded too.

Cleanup efforts are now underway all over town. The water that covered town was sewage so it’s really gross and smelly. Our days are spent pulling up carpets, sucking water from underneath foundations, and ripping out sopping wet insulation. There is a lot to do to make their house livable again, and they don’t have flood insurance. We wait for the President to step in to get FEMA involved. I hope for their sakes they get what they need.

They are staying with us at the present and will continue to do so until their house is habitable. We’re all learning to live in a house with 8 people (they have a 2 year old), 4 dogs, and 5 cats. It’s interesting to say the least.

In Memory of Annie

2007-11-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

My baby didn't make it through the night. She was just too sick to fight anymore. This is one of only 2 or 3 pictures I can find of her. If I would have known I would only have her for a year, I'd have taken more. She was the best cat ever.
I can't post for a while. I'm just too sad.

Kitty update

2007-11-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

She's at the kitty hospital and doing well. I took her there yesterday. She had a high white blood cell count which means she has some type of bacterial infection. They started her on IV fluids and antibiotics and just let her rest overnight. They are going to force feed her this morning (because she isn't choosing to eat) and make sure she doesn't vomit. Then if she starts eating this afternoon, they'll let her be. If she doesn't, they are going to put a tube down into her stomach to feed her for the next week or so until she gains some weight, gets her strength back, and starts eating on her own. I'll be able to pick her up tomorrow afternoon, and they'll teach me to feed her with the tube if necessary. I'm so relieved. I honestly wasn't sure she'd survive the 45 minute trip to the pet hospital yesterday.
I'm knitting up the hat design I created. It's turning out nice. Now to find some good yarn to try it out in. I'm just testing it with crappy cheap stuff.

Sick cat

2007-10-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

This week has sucked. All 4 of our fish died, including the one we've had several months and who has survived 2 trips on the carpet. I think the 3 new ones DH brought home from Pet Smart were sick or something. So yesterday we got a new one, a big white fish with an orange head. Today we got another one that looks the same but is smaller. The big one is Tiger, and the small one is Maria. Interesting huh?
We've had a sick cat for a week or so, but didn't know which one it was. We suspected one, but it turns out it wasn't her. This afternoon I went into our bedroom and found 2 more pee spots on the carpet (that is why we knew one was sick) and Annie looked so skinny and lethargic. In fact, I wasn't sure how long she'd make it, so I called the vet right away and took her in. That's a challenge with 3 kids in tow. She was tested for FIV and FIP, and Thank God it was negative. They gave her some fluids, and did a $100 panel of blood work to try and figure out what is wrong. They said her liver is breaking down, either because she has a liver disease, or maybe it's just because she's dehydrated and hasn't been eating. I got some cans of cat food to basically force feed her too. Well the food is absolutely disgusting. It took DH and I 20 minutes to get a little down her (forcefully). She kept that down OK until I tried giving her some fluids too later. Then she puked all over DH, and the smell was so bad I puked too. Poor guy, cat puke all over him and a wife with her head in the toilet. Fortunately he has a stronger stomach than I.
He said that the cat was in drinking water shortly after that so maybe she's feeling a little better. I just can't have another animal die this week. The fish thing was very dramatic for B since the fish was a birthday present.
Knitting wise, I've basically just knit on my hats this week. I designed a fair isle hat (on paper) that I need to start trying to knit up. I tried it using some yarn I had, but didn't like it so I ripped it out to try again with a different yarn. I also started a scarf for my SP but don't like it either. I need to make her something fast since it's basically the end of SP season. I haven't been the best SP I could be and I feel bad. Usually I'm much better than this.

A week has passed.....

2007-10-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

And I've only knit hats. I finished 3 for my friend's 2 kids and her husband, and then I knit myself a Jackyll & Hyde (from Knitty) for Halloween. The kids love it and I love that I feel like Clark Kent with my Superman suit beneath my suit. I wore it today and showed it to Cee-Cee's teacher and K. who loved it. The kids had a great time wearing it too.
School is going well and the kids' grades are great. Homeschooling has just been a blessing to us. Today K and I took the kids to the park and met another homeschooling family, people we hadn't met before. We told them about our upcoming co-op and hopefully they will join. She belongs to another one in Hillsboro but was interested in ours too. Her boys were in K and 2nd, and all 4 boys really enjoyed playing with each other.
I'm knitting K an Anemoi hat right now, then when I'm done I'm going to start knitting hats to sell at the bazaar. We're thinking of getting a table in some bazaars in Hillsboro too, since we likely won't make too much money here in the sticks.
Our church had a concert on Sunday by a wonderful Southern Gospel group called Blackwood Legacy. They have a young gentleman (just 21) in their group that is a piano virtuoso. He played and it totally amazed me. I bought some of their CD's, and they plan to use the proceeds to record an album of him playing piano.
Prison Break is back on again. I always miss it when it's not on, because I don't get to see Wentworth Miller. God he's cute.

Apparently.....

2007-10-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

I upset someone with my rant about the baby sweater vest that just didn't work. The pattern was vague, and I just couldn't figure it out. So I ranted about it in my blog, which is my personal space to say any damn thing I want.
Today I got a comment about it saying that maybe I should have contacted the yarn manufacturer instead of downing them. I have a few comments back to you.
1. Why should I contact the manufacturer? Isn't it the responsibility of pattern publishers to make certain that patterns are clear to the general public? Shouldn't they be test knit by people of all skill levels to make sure instructions are easy to understand? I know that mistakes can be made but this pattern had been out for a long while. And, interestingly, it has now been removed from their website. Coincidence maybe, but I still would NOT recommend that pattern.
2. Do you honestly think that the manufacturer has any idea what the designer had in mind when the instructions read "at the same time"? The manufacturer is just publishing a free pattern and likely has no relationship with the designer to even find out that information.
3. The only badmouthing I did of the company was to state that they published ONE vague pattern. I never made any comments about their yarn, or any other pattern they have ever published.
4. Dammnit, this is MY blog, and I can say ANY FUCKING THING I WANT!!!!!!!!!
5. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ MY BLOG!

That said, I got my socks off in the mail to my target. She didn't respond to my email so I hope she doesn't flake. Seems as if my assassin has socks in the mail to her too, so it will be interesting to see where my target's socks end up. I sure wish my assassin would have been slow but no such luck. That's OK, this way I will only have to mail 1 pair of socks. I had fun making them too and the ones coming to me are very pretty.
I'm knitting a bunch of camouflage hats to sell at our local Christmas bazaars. My friend and I will get a table together and she's going to sell scrapbooks or something similar. I bought a bunch of yarn to get hats made. I made a test one for K's son A today. She took it home today after they left from a visit. I'm making one for her husband now, who is a big hunter. That's why I think these hats will go over so well. Almost everyone in town hunts. Camouflage is standard wear around here.
School is going well. The boys have each had a few tests/quizzes and are doing well. Some days they are more resistant than others. Poor G had 3 quizzes today, and 2 tests on Wednesday. It hardly seems fair. I hope things spread out better over the course of the year.

Sock Wars

2007-10-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

I've not had a lot of knitting time as we are in full homeschooling mode right now. But I forgot I signed up for Sock Wars. You see, your goal is to knit a pair of socks (from a given pattern) as fast as you can then mail them to your "target" to "kill" them. They then send you their partially completed socks along with the info on their target, and you kill them, and so on. Well, my "dossier" came on Friday and I dutifully knit as fast as I could. I finished the socks this evening, but I'll be killed at about the same time these arrive at my target. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
On another note, we spent the entire Friday at doctor/orthodontist appointments. Garrett got his poky wire fixed first, then off we went to OHSU for 3 different appointments. First, a comprehensive hearing test for Brendyn. He failed his screen at school in the spring, and we found out about 2 months ago that it's because he has fluid behind his eardrums. We waited 8 weeks hoping his body would rid itself of the fluid, but the hearing test proved that it hasn't. He didn't do any better this time than 2 months ago. So, off to the ENT doctor we went. According to her, it won't clear on it's own, and our choices are to let his hearing stay bad, or get ear tubes placed. So, we're opting for the tubes. While they're at it, they're going to remove his adenoids and possibly his tonsils. If so, I'll be glad. He's a snorer and mouth breather and maybe getting rid of that stuff will help that. Plus he had exudative tonsillitis this summer. He freaked out on the table and was bawling his poor little eyes out at the thought of surgery until he learned he could have lots of ice cream. Now he's going around telling everyone he's having surgery.
We got a quick x-ray of his neck (the adenoids), then we rushed off to eat a quick lunch in the hospital cafe. It was pretty good.
Then, off to Garrett's developmental pediatrician. We've elected to add an afternoon dose of his ADHD meds for better behavior control. We forgot to give it to him this weekend but I'll hopefully remember tomorrow. I might have to set an alarm.
I ordered some camouflage yarn and I'm going to try to knit up a bunch of hats to sell at Christmas bazarrs this season. My friend Katie is going to have a table selling something so I'll probably share with her. Even if I could make a few bucks that would be good. We live in hunting country so camouflage stuff will go over well.

Books are here

2007-10-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

We finally got our books today from Connections. Two giant boxes with over 50 pounds of stuff. It took me a while to sort it, then determine what can be written in and what can't. I thought it was coming FedEx which comes in the morning, but it turns out it was coming UPS which comes in the afternoon. I ended up not being able to leave the house all day because I had to sign for the boxes and I was afraid I'd miss the delivery. My good friend took Cee-Cee to school and back for me, and brought over lunch afterward. They stayed until about 2 and then she took B home with her to do some school lessons with her daughter. I'm glad things have finally arrived so we can get down to "real" work and not just do a ton of math every day.
I have one Random Rib sock basically done and since I need to check it's fit, I guess DH will know what one of his Christmas presents is. It better fit, or I"m not doing it over.

Why is it...

2007-10-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

1. That I get every illness that goes around? It wasn't bad enough that I caught the awful cold that was going around. This weekend I became the proud owner of the stomach flu too. I'm still not over that.
2. That the boys can get through 2-3 math assignments in 1 day when we are doing homeschool and they couldn't even get one done during school hours? At this rate, B will have his 2nd grade math done by spring. And even G(who isn't feeling well) put in 2 lessons today in prep for a test tomorrow.
3. My mom can't make up her mind on a sweater to knit? Seems like every thing she tried this weekend was a bust. I feel bad. She really wants to knit a sweater but just can't find the perfect combination of yarn and pattern.
4. That this stupid sweater vest is knitting up so freaking slow? Maybe it's the 312 stitches around, and about 9 million rows I need to knit to get up to the armpits. Yeah, that's it.
5. That I can't ever remember that G needs to attend "live lessons" for school that start at 11:30? I always remember after 12 and they are done at 12:15. I'm going to have to start planning better.
6. That Cee-Cee never pees her pants when we are at someone else's house, at school, or in town, but she refuses to take herself potty at home? I'm tired of all the wet pants.
7. That no matter how much I clean, my house always looks messy? Maybe it's all the stuff we have. I should de-clutter. Yeah, right.
6. That the baked apple pie candles smell so good? I'm going to have to invest a fortune in buying them because they make the hosue smell so nice.
7. That I have "start-itis" again, and can't wait to get a new project OTN?
8. That I joined sock wars? I did it before I decided to HS the boys. We'll see how fast I get killed I guess.
9. That I have no desire to start knitting the projects I was going to knit as Christmas presents? They are just so freaking boring. Maybe I'll have to change my plans.....
10. That I'm sitting here blogging instead of knitting????????

Not much knitting time

2007-10-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

Since starting homeschooling the boys, my knitting time has been significantly reduced. And that's OK for now. We're trying to get into a routine and they need frequent guidance at this point. They are both actually doing quite well and I'm very proud of them for what they've done so far. When our books get here on Wednesday we'll be able to work on the entire curriculum and not have to postpone parts.
As far as knitting goes, I'm just working on the Hyland Argyle Sweater for DH, and a pair of socks (Random Rib Socks) that will go along with the sweater. They are going fast, and the sweater is not. It's long and boring. I might also cast on the new socks from MagKnits, that are done in short rows. That is if I can decide which yarn to use........

Hat fever

2007-09-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

A good friend asked me to knit some hats for her. Sure, I said. I can do that, and I offered to do them for the insanely cheap price of $5 as I was going to use crappy acrylic that I have a ton of. It's not the nicest yarn, but it's actually pretty soft and Red Heart Kids has some cute variegated colors. So then she tells me she wants 6 of them. Gasp, if you will. I didn't blink an eye. Of course I can do that. How fast do you want them?
So I started the hats last week. Luckily I have this gallery of hats that I designed. She chooses 5, and tells me to pick my own design on the 6th. Well, after 3 hats all in one color (well, in one variegated yarn) I got bored. So I said "How 'bout I knit this great fair isle hat for one of them? It turned out so awesome looking that I said "How 'bout I knit another fair isle hat?" I ended up doing not 1, not 2, but 3 fair isle hats, all for the bargain basement price of $5 each because I was having so much fun knitting them. I think I'm hatted out for a while.
I started the Hyland Argyle Vest for DH today. It's going to be one of his Christmas presents (providing I get it done in time). It's kind of boring because there's a LOT (who am I kidding, a lot doesn't even begin to describe the amount of it) of stockinette. About a million inches and 308 (inceased to 312) stitches around, partly due to the extra pounds DH has put on since being married to me. If it would have been 12 years ago that I was knitting this pattern, I'd have been able to get by with a M. Now I'm knitting an XL. Not that I'm knocking on DH for gaining a few, I have absolutely NO room to talk. I'm just speaking in pure numbers here, the stitch count for a S was in the 250 range. 50 times a bazillion is a lot of extra stitches.
The boys had their last day of school at WGS today and when I picked them up their backpacks were full of the school supplies I purchased at the beginning of the year. At least it looked like all of them, there was so freaking much stuff I couldn't even tell you if it all came back. It took me forever to organize it, and stash all their work they've done this year so far. Tomorrow we'll get their school computer and the "school" area in the house set up for them. They are excited, but we'll see how they are feeling in about a month or so.
Two of my friends and I are swapping babysitting once a week. One person takes all 3 girls (all 3 years old) from 9:30-2 or so one day a week. It's supposed to be my week coming up but K. has volunteered to take my week again to help me get in the swing of school with the boys. She is a better friend than anyone could ever ask for. She has done more for me in the year than anyone I've even known that isn't family and required to do so.
We got a lovely notice from our mortgage company that we have a huge escrow shortage this year. We either have to make up $1800 right away, or over the course of a year. That combined with the new escrow payment will raise our mortgage about $350 a month, which is nearly the amount of money we were trying to save monthly. That really sucks. We'll find a way to manage but we really wanted to beef up our savings because we spent a lot of it last year buying the truck.

OFF

2007-09-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

OFF was awesome. We got there about 10:30 AM on Saturday, which was perfect. It was busy but not so busy you couldn't move around. The first room full of vendors was interesting, but it leaned more toward fleece, roving, and sheep. Like ceramic sheep, sheep magnets, everything sheep.
Then we went outside, and there were a ton of vendors with tents on the lawn. I first saw A Swell Yarn Shop. This I was thrilled about. We decided to take a break, and had a Diet Coke and some kettle corn. Then we shopped the vendors outside. Angora Valley was also outside (Fly*Dyed yarns), as well as Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks, who had dyed up a ton of Trekking to sell. I was disappointed that I hadn't seen Blue Moon Fiber Arts yet, and thought I surely couldn't have missed that booth. Then we found a whole other room full of vendors, and there was BMFA and their famous Socks That Rock. They had some that were mill ends, but only a few skeins of those left at a bargain price. All in all I had a great time and bought 7 (yep, 7) skeins of sock yarn all for myself. My mom also bought 2 books and she was happy with that.
So, here's my haul
Sweet Grass Wool Toe Jammies, in the color Tuscany. Lovely golds, steel blues, wine, and gray.

Chameleon Colorworks Twinkle Toes in Flamingo Sunrise. Beautiful wine, pink, yellow and orange colors.

Socks That Rock in Rare Gems, tuquoise teal, and green, as well as a mill end skein which is shades of tans

Fly*Dyed Lace Wing Sock Yarn, in Twilight, purples, steely blues, and pinks. amd Myst, deeper purples, dark blues and gray.

Last but not least, Trekking yarn which is plant dyed by Abundant Yarns and Dyeworks. It's called grayscale, and it's varying shakes of grays.

I made it home in time to turn back around and drive back into town with my girlfriends for a girl's night out. We went to Olive Garden for my friend's 30th birthday and we had lots of fun.
Today I got a box from KP, with my harmony sock needles (haven't tried them yet) a book, and enough Telemark to knit DH a sweater vest (from the aforementioned book). I hope he likes it, and if he doesn't he at least better wear it to church or something.

OFF tomorrow

2007-09-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is tomorrow. I should be sleeping so I'm well rested for tomorrow but instead I'm eating ice cream.
One of my friends asked me to make 6 hats for her for Christmas presents. She is paying me. The hats are boring as hell but since I'm getting paid I can't complain too much. I'm also using acrylic yarn and it's like fingernails on a chalkboard.
I finished the first of my Riverbed Master pattern socks. I still am not fully happy with the way the cuff looks. I was hoping to get knee socks out of it but I didn't, they come about mid-calf. I'm working on my other projects while the lone sock cries out for a partner. My Naive sock is also waiting for it's mate. Maybe I could wear them together as mismatches. NOT.
I got my first Lucky Lurker club shipment last Saturday. It's very pretty and I'm not waiting long to start knitting with this. The heel/toe skein is a lovely maroon color, and the big skein is maroon, light pink, and sky blue.
Connections Academy has received the boys' school documents. I guess I missed some pages of G's IEP so I had to fax those today. Hopefully on Monday those will be checked off and we'll be into the next stage. As soon as I click the "final enrollment" thingy, their books will be shipped. G is doing crossing guard at the school this week so I'm going to let them stay in school for this week.

Much better.......

2007-09-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

So I think I may have finally figured out my "master numbers" to knit Cat Bordhi's socks. No, they aren't what I thought they would be, nor do they seem to be what my real feet measure. I used those numbers and the socks turned out huge, even though my gauge is spot on. I'm on about my 10th incarnation of the riverbed master sock and I think this time I might finally have it right. Good thing that KP Felici yarn holds up well to multiple froggings. Here's the weird thing. I wear a size 9 shoe, but my feet really don't measure the length that she says a woman's size 9 is. Perhaps I'm wearing the wrong size shoe, but the last 8 1/2's I bought my toe touched the end. Supposedly my mid-foot should be a 9-9.5 (which is is at least on my measuring tape) but I'm ending up making socks using an 8 inch mid-foot circumference (with the Felici at least) and I think they are going to fit perfect. The other sizes weren't even hugging my foot at all. So I'm using 56 stitches around, which will probably be too small for my fat calves but since I've basically figured all this myself, I suppose I can figure in calf shaping. I hope to knit until I run out of yarn since these are 50g balls. Maybe I'll get a pair of knee highs for big girls out of it. These socks look weird when you knit them. Kind of boxy and unattractive when not on one's feet. I sure hope they look better when I have them knit in my size, and on my feet.
My back is still f-ed up. The doctor says I should get some massage therapy. Yeah, tell my insurance company that. Supposedly the lady in town who does massage is really cheap though (and good) so I think I'll call her tomorrow to see if I can get in on Friday since Dan is taking the day off.
Found out today there are 14 other kids in Vernonia enrolled in Connections. That will be good for the boys. There are at least 2 others in 2nd grade, and I don't know about the rest of them. Hopefully we'll soon meet the other families. K (my friend whose daughter already goes there) and I are hoping to get a co-op going where we do 4 stations (science, PE, arts/crafts, and snack) all together. I think that would be awesome!
G has to have his braces tightened tomorrow. I feel bad for him. I remember how much it used to hurt. Fortunately he's done quite well with them. It does mean a long trip into town tomorrow though, and a trip through Banks to pick up my new BP meds. Let's hope it doesn't make me feel as crappy as the old one did.
I got my Lucky Lurker sock yarn on Saturday and it's really pretty. She does a really nice job, but I'm not fond of her patterns. She likes "afterthought" heels and I don't care for those. I should preface that by saying I've never done one, but I don't care for how they look. Besides, right now I'm obsessed with Cat Bordhi socks. I'll be stalking Amazon when her new one comes out.

It's going to be a miracle

2007-09-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

If I ever get a pattern knitted from New Pathways, I'm going to rejoice. Nothing seems to work. I tried to knit the Home & Hearth Eyelet Anklets, but they turned out huge. I don't know why. My gauge is spot on and I followed the instructions but I'm sure that they would have been big even on DH, and his feet are several sizes larger than mine. They seemed huge after I got done with the arch expansion, but even then I gave them a second chance. I finished them all the way through the heel, then tried them on again. I might have been able to fit them over my shoes. I just don't get it. I was knitting them with the first yarn I dyed myself (with Kool-Aid) and they were going to be house socks but they just weren't going to work. So down went another pattern (at least for this week).
I did give Bartholomew's another try, and just didn't like the way they looked. So I ripped them too. Then I thought I might knit the Cables & Corrugations socks, but the sizes that the pattern gives seem to me to be kids sizes. I'm just not so sure what was going on in Cat Bordhi's life when she designed these patterns. The biggest size in the C&C socks is an 8.5 in midfoot, which according to the chart in the back coordinates with a woman's size 5. I personally don't know ANY women with feet that small. I have freakishly big feet for a 5'4" person, but when I knit the anklets to that size, they were huge. I seriously don't know. Maybe I'm just sock challenged right now. I did finish the Monkey socks without a problem. Maybe it's just this book.
But I'm not going to let it get the best of me. Tonight I decided to start the Riverbed master pattern, and I'm just going to knit a basic stockinette sock. If it works, I'm going to rejoice. If not, it will be just one more on my list of patterns to knit differently next time.
I don't know what the hell I did, but I really screwed up my back. It hadn't really been bothering me lately (it's just an occasional thing). I walked 3 miles with K. on Wednesday, and i'ts been messed up ever since. I can barely sit, barely stand, barely lie down. I took 2 Vicodin tonight along with a muscle relaxant and it just takes the edge off. I'm going to take a sleeping pill here in a while and hope for the best for the rest of the night. I may end up sleeping on the couch if I can't get comfortable on the bed. I think that the stupid bed is part of the problem. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, if I survive until then.
On a completely non knitting note, I've decided to homeschool my boys. We've found a program called Connections Academy, which is a public school curriculum that is taught at home. I'm very frustrated with our school here and have just decided that I need to pull them out. G. is behind and struggling, and B is bored because it's too easy. They seem to be on board with the whole program but we'll see in a few months. There's a pretty big homeschool community here, and a good friend of mine (with a child the same age as B) is using Connections too. We're hoping to get meetings/activities going here in town. I guess they used to meet (the homeschoolers) but slacked off. I hope we can get a group going again. I'm going to need a lot of support. I really am not sure about my abilities, but it can't be any worse than the local school right now. We have to fax a ton of forms on Monday, and when we are notified that they are fully enrolled, they will be removed from their school. I think in the long run it will benefit everyone. I just hope I don't go looney having them home all day. They are going to have to learn to get along better.
Wish me luck. I will probably need it.

I need a new project

2007-09-13T14:56:00.001-07:00

I finished the socks I was making (the top secret project, ssh don't tell anyone it's socks). They turned out pretty awesome if I do say so myself. I also made a matching headband since I had so much yarn leftover. I could still probably knock out another little project with the rest of the leftover yarn but I think I am done. I also finished the little Coriolis socks. I was almost done with the second sock when I realized I hadn't made the spiral go the other way. So I ripped it out and started again. It only took me about an hour to finish it.
So my new question is what should I knit now? I'm leaning toward Bartholomew's Tantalizing Socks from New Pathways. I started this sock but ripped it because I didn't think it was going to be wide enough around. I think I'll start it again on 2's and I think it will turn out OK.
I'm having terrible back pain lately. I have an appointment with my PCP Tuesday. She's been on medical leave for 6 weeks and I don't like the nurse practitioner who has been filling in for her. It has restricted what I'm able to do, including knitting. The weather is crappy and that contributes to my feeling yucky. I wish there was a cure for fibromyalgia.
Yeterday I walked 3 miles with an old friend and a new friend. Their girls are in the same preschool as Cee-Cee. We are planning to walk on Mondays and Wednesdays while the girls are in school. I couldn't believe I made it around the pond 3 times. The first trip my legs were dying but after the 2nd round I felt pretty good. I did get a blister on the bottom of one foot but it doesn't hurt today. Tomorrow DH is off work so I might go walk by myself, just me and my podcasts. It's a good way to catch up on my podcasts, get some time alone, and get in some exercise. It's going to depend on how my back feels.
I still can't decide if I want to go to the Flock and Fiber festival. If I do, it will have to be after the Race for the Cure because I don't want to drive all that way a different day when I'd be already half way there.
Well crap. I just went looking on the site about the Race and it's on Sunday this year. Hmmmmmm. I thought it was on Saturday. That totally changes things. I'm going to have to do some thinking. Our church was going to have their Sunday School carnival that morning, and DH and I are supposed to start a class with Sam on becoming a Christian. I think we can probably reschedule that one class since we committed to the race (DH's work is paying for it). I think that maybe I can take Saturday and go to the Flock and Fiber festival, then go to the race Sunday morning. It will mean missing church because the walk starts at 9, and there's no way we can be home by 11 for church. Our town is too small to have a Saturday evening service. I feel bad about missing the carnival too. Another reason I want to go is that Woodland Woolworks (the shop that I have a gift card for) is going to be there. They are having a 15% off all yarn sale right now, and I can order online and pick up the order at the festival. I love me a sale. I've been wanting to get a skein of Bearfoot yarn, they have a colorway called Crazy Woman that I think if perfect for me.

Finishing

2007-09-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is my least favorite part of knitting. I hate seaming, and I really hate sewing on buttons. So the Peapod baby set sat around for a few weeks. Then I picked up some cute buttons (planes, trains, cars, etc). But they were too big. So I ended up sewing on some plain buttons and I finally sent the package off in the mail. I thought I'd done a pretty good job on it until I was all done and looking at it. The sleeves look awfully short. I hope I didn't screw up but I didn't feel like digging out the pattern to check. I just looked at a few on Ravelry and their sleeves looked short too, so maybe I'm OK. I had planned on blocking it before I seamed it but I forgot so it doesn't look as nice as it could. Oh well. This person isn't a knitter and will never know.
I'm about 75% finished with my new STSP. When I'm done with this I need to come up with another thing to make to go with it. I have some ideas and plenty of leftover yarn. I still have a few weeks to finish it up too.
Then I need to get back to Christmas knitting. On and off, I'm working on a scarf, hat, and gauntlets for my sister. Then I still have my step-mom, mom, grandma, DH and kids to think about. I want to knit an argyle vest for DH but not sure how he would feel about that. I saw a really nice pattern somewhere but I've forgotten where it came from. I'll have to do some hunting. It was a solid sweater with an argyle stripe across the upper chest, and it was a pullover. If anyone recognizes this, let me know.
I'm sick and tired of feeling exhausted. I have a doctor's appointment next week, and hopefully we can get me on a medication that eases some of my fibromyalgia pain but doesn't leave me feeling like roadkill. I love my doctor and she works with me but she's been on medical leave for 6 weeks so I've just had to tough out feeling like crap. I also need to get on a new blood pressure med. The one she gave me made me feel really sick so (don't tell anyone) I quit taking it about a month ago. I'm still taking the diuretic but I quit the other, and really probably should be taking it. I just can't take feeling like crap though.
My mom's group started meeting again which is great. There were 2 new ladies there today and they were really nice. One is having a little girl in a few months so I'm probably going to give her a bunch of Cee-Cee's old clothes. I just want to be rid of them!

New super top secret project

2007-09-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have a new super top secret project in the works. I have a good friend who has a birthday in about 2 weeks so I'm making her a pair of socks. She loves my socks so I'm making her a pair of Monkey's. I'm working on the 3rd lace repeat on the leg and I just started this afternoon. So far it's a pretty easy pattern so I hope it turns out OK. For some reason though I keep thinking I finished a whole round when I'm only to the end of the 1st needle (I'm a magic looper). I've had to pull out a few rows to fix my mistakes.
Here's a dilemma, maybe someone out there will know what to do. My dad got me a gift certificate for my birthday, but unfortunately it's to a needlepoint shop. I don't needlepoint, and I don't plan to pick it up either. It's not a teeny amount either, it's pretty substantial. I was hoping that maybe this place would sell yarn, and they sell some yarn, but not the kind of yarn I want to knit with. I emailed the place asking if they would refund me the $$ for it or work out something, without spilling the beans. I feel really bad, he was trying to be very thoughtful but I really wish he would have asked me first. Unfortunately this is typical of him. I'd sure like that amount of money to spend on yarn though, I could really get a lot of stuff that I want.
On a good note, my good friend K. gave me a gift certificate to a yarn shop that is local (sort of). It's about an hour away but they do have a website. I'm not sure yet if I'll go there or just order online. I'd love to save the shipping but this place is pretty out of the way. On the flip side, who knows if they have all their inventory online. I did look at their downloadable catalog and everything I saw in the catalog is online, so I'd guess that it is. Maybe I can talk her into going with me one day.

I can't follow New Pathways

2007-09-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've really been trying to knit a sock from the New Pathways for Sock Knitters book by Cat Bordhi. I finished one whole Ocean-Toes sock and then ripped it out. It was really too tight, and I didn't want to restart it on bigger needles because I didn't really like the look of it. So I've been knitting a little bit of several socks then ripping them out. I just can't make up my mind so I think I'm going to put the socks away for a while and concentrate on getting Christmas gift knitting worked on. I did actually complete 1 pair of socks from the book, and 1 of a 2nd pair. The pair is the Little Sky sock, which are baby socks knit with worsted weight yarn. Just when I decided to knit these, a package from my SP11 showed up. She's from Finland so I got some cool Finnish yarn. SO I used the pink worsted weight she sent to make the baby socks. I'll give them to my friend K's baby R when I'm done. I also knit 1 of the little Coriolis sock, and I'll probably do the other soon. I just need a little break.
I want to make an Irish Hiking Scarf, hat and wrist warmers for my sister for Christmas. I have the Black and Cyan 100PW I want to use, but I got about 10 rows into it when I discovered my hands were turning black. I rinsed the yarn several times and then had to let it dry for a few days. It's still hanging in my bathroom but I'll probably ball it up again tonight and start the scarf again. It's a really simple pattern that I could probably knit in my sleep but I need a little boring right now.
I also got some lovely cream colored silk/wool in fingering weight. I had considered making myself a lacy scarf with it, but now I'm thinking a pair of cabled socks. I'm not completely sure yet. It's lovely stuff though.
The munchkin is asleep and the boys are at school. This is the first peace and quiet I've had since June. So now I think I'll take a nap myself.

Birthdays SUCK (especially mine)

2007-09-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

I hate my birthday. Something shitty always happens and it ends up being a sucky day. Last year my mom was in the hospital and she was discharged on my birthday. So I got to spend 3 hours in the car, more time waiting at the pharmacy, and then I got to spend the next 6 weeks taking care of a very sick mom. That really sucked.
This year wasn't any better. Sure, I got up in the morning and everyone says happy birthday, here's your presents, and then it was like it was over. Lunch time rolls around, I make everyone lunch. DH spends the whole day doing stupid stuff around the house and ignoring me. My mom and the kids baked me a cake, but I had asked my mom to make something else I really wanted (spinach and artichoke dip) and she decided it was more important to to the cake frosting so I ended up making it myself. Dinner time rolls around, DH is in the bedroom putting away laundry instead of even being concerned with dinner at all. I finally got really pissed off at him and he decided to throw the pot of bean soup on the stove. Whoopie, it's my birthday and I get to eat leftover bean soup that I MADE. I just sometimes want to feel special, to be treated like I'm special and important to someone. Not ignored the whole day in favor of painting the trim on the house.
So I was too pissed to eat dinner, and then it's time for the kids to go to bed. Well, DH gives them a bath and puts them to bed. We didn't even have any cake. So I sit and wait thinking may be he'll get me some cake and eat it with me. Nope, he even walked through the kitchen a few times without a thought. So I got up, cut myself a piece of cake, poured some milk, and sat and ate it all by myself.
Happy Fucking Birthday to me.

Short

2007-08-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

Monday the KP bare yarn came, along with the Jacquard dyes. I dyed the yarn 2 colors of blue, which turned out to be so similar that on the skein it's hard to tell them apart. I was a little disappointed because I spent so much time on them for it not to look different, but I'm happy with how the yarn turned out. I decided to call it "Sapphire Sky" and if I ever launch a yarn dyeing/pattern company, it's going to be called Holey Sheep! Designs. This line would be called Jewels of the Nile.
In preparation for my yarn diet I got some Tykie Knits sock yarn. One skein if BFL, my first purchase of it. It really is nice and soft, I can't wait to knit with it. The other 2 are 50% merino/50% tencel which is really nice and shiny. I don't think I've used any tencel yarn yet.
My baby turns 3 tomorrow. Because she's now going to be a "big girl" we went to Ikea tonight to get her a big girl bed. A good idea turned into a fiasco. First, DH decided to take the long way (and the short way is 1 1/4 hours!). We needed gas on the way, add another 15 minutes. Then at a most inopportune time, Cee-Cee decided she needed to go potty, so we ran by our old neighbor's house to see if they were home. Nope. So we hope to get to McD's about 10 minutes away and she ends up peeing her pants. Good thing we brought extras. We hit about every light and got behind every slow truck on the way. Then we got in the general vicinity but couldn't figure out how to get to where we needed to go. So we had to go past it, then turn around. It was almost 7 when we got there, the kids (and I for that matter!) were starving. The line at the restaurant was long and we had to wait another 10-15 minutes. We didn't finish eating until after 7:30 (and we ate fast) and we still had to shop. We ended up checking out just after they announced they were closed, and we didn't get home until 10:20. Cee-Cee fell asleep in the car but the boys were still up. I hope they sleep in in the AM.
Long story short, Cee-Cee got a new "big girl" bed and bedding. The bed is adjustable, so it will be shorter for a few years (maybe) and then we can make it longer when she gets taller. She's so tiny that even a twin bed would dwarf her. Of course, we had to buy slats for it and a special mattress too. The bedding is stripes and polka dots. The one I really wanted was out of stock, but since Ikea is so cheap I can just pick it up another time.
So we dropped a load tonight but my baby is worth it. She always gets hand-me-downs and I really wanted her to have something new.
Here's a few pictures of her from a few days ago. She wanted Grandma to read her a story, so my mom lay down in her bed with her. That's a bottle of root beer in her hand, but we thought it looked funny so DH snapped a picture. In the second picture, she is wearing the tutu I bought her for her first birthday. She's obviously grown since then.

Stalling again

2007-08-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

So today I just didn't feel like knitting. I did finish the toe of my Naive sock (which fits amazingly). There was no toe pattern included, so I just found another sock pattern to use as a gude for finishing the toe. I had some ends to take care of (because I used the Duets yarn) so the sock is all done and needs to be put on the blocker for a picture. I didn't feel like starting anything else until my KP order came, which it did. Then I remembered I ordered yarn to DYE for the Peapod set, so I couldn't get started on that right away. I also ordered a bunch of their limited edition sock yarns (they were a test dye run and they weren't completely satisfied with the colors, but they were CHEAP) but I just didn't feel like starting socks. I have an idea for a sock pattern but I just couldn't get the concept down on paper today so I gave up. I did knit several rounds on the pinwheel baby blanket but that is so freaking boring. I'm up to like 300 stitches per round so it's very slow going. It's also still pretty small. I'm using bulky yarn next time.
So I wasted most of my day and did very little knitting. Hopefully I'll get more done.
In case anyone is reading and wondering, I did hear from my secret pal and all is well. She had a sick child and that was more important. I totally understand that. Usually around here more than 1 is sick at a time. Oh the joy of having 3 kids.
I did cave and ordered some more Fly*Dyed from Little Knits as well as the Cat Bordhi book. Maybe if it comes tomorrow (it should, she only lives a few hours away). Maybe I'll find inspiration in it to start some new socks.
I ordered some new clothes a few weeks ago and they hadn't arrived yet. I called the company today to try to figure out what is going on. Turns out, I forgot to change my email address, home address, phone etc so they had all my old info from over a year ago before we moved. They canceled the order because they couldn't get a hold of me. My credit card had been declined due to an incorrect billing address. They wouldn't reinstate my order and I had to reorder everything. When I had ordered before, some things were on sale and they aren't now. I asked them to honor that sale and they wouldn't. But, they sent me a coupon code for 25% off over $100 (which I was spending anyway) and the whole thing ended up costing me $1 less than the original order. After I placed the order I reconsidered and wondered if I shouldn't order from them in protest. But I need some new pants so I guess it doesn't matter.

SP11--in case you're reading my secret pal....

2007-08-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm really sad that I've only received the one brief first email from you. It's been a few weeks since the matches went out and I've tried to be patient and understanding but I feel very left out. I've participated in several exchanges and nearly always had a really good experience. I've had several emails with my downstream pal but just the one from you. I hope that you are just busy or something like that but I just want you to know that I'm sad and feeling neglected......
I spent all day yesterday avoiding knitting on the Naive socks. They just drone on and on. We spend most of the day cleaning the house, cleaning out the kids' closets, etc. And when I wasn't cleaning or cooking, I was on Ravelry or using other avoidance techniques. So today I decided I should just quit stalling and work on them some more. I've managed to get in about 15 rows today, which really isn't much. I plan to get this one sock done then putting the 2nd sock into hibernation status. I just CAN'T work on the second one right now.
I didn't get my KnitPicks order so I didn't get to start the Peapod Set this weekend. I hope it will come tomorrow, but then I have to dye the yarn. I forgot until yesterday that I bought bare yarn to dye. I haven't yet decided quite what color(s) to dye it. I hope inspiration will come to me tomorrow (when I'm sure the stuff will arrive).
I ordered one last yarn purchase before the big stash diet. One of my co-ops sells off Tykie Knits dyed yarn every once in a while so I bought some sock yarn. One skein is BFL, and I've never knit with it before. I hear it's 'da Bomb, and I hope that's true. It will ship Priority tomorrow, so it should be here by Thursday. I might sneak in an order with LittleKnits too, since she sells Fly*Dyed. Now that's some beautiful stuff at a great price with amazing yardage. I'm kind of dying for the new Cat Bordhi book too, and if I buy it there (it's not any cheaper at Amazon) I can get free shipping. I love free shipping!
My birthday is in a week and DH hasn't even asked me what I want. I tried to convince my mom to buy me a yarn club subscription but I don't think that she bought that one. Maybe DH will, or maybe my dad will send money. If I'm going to be on a yarn diet at least I'd like to get some yarn in the mail once in a while.

Still Naive

2007-08-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on the Naive socks. Trying to keep track of the cable turns is really far more complicated than I expected. If I had designed these socks (which obviously I didn't) I would have coordinated the cable turns so that they weren't so hard to keep track of. But the socks will probably turn out prettier because of the way they are made.
I finished the heel flap and turn, then remembered I was using Duets yarn and was supposed to change yarn for the heel. So I had to rip the whole thing out and re-do it. That was a gymongo pain in the ass. And I was supposed to pick up for the gusset in a way that the edge stitch showed on the outside but for some reason I couldn't figure that out. Now I'm about half way down the foot and am glad to be almost done with the first. It would be d a shame not to knit the second but I need to take a break from all the cabling. I knew there was a reason I hadn't knit cabled socks before.
I'm hoping to get my package tomorrow so I can start on the Peapod Set. That needs to get done in a hurry so that's a good excuse to bail on the second sock for now.
I'm also considering designing my own sock. Nothing too complicated but pretty. I'm not too much into lacy socks so they will be more utilitarian but still feminine. I have some lovely yarn to use that is VERY light fingering weight. I'll probably have to knit with it on a 0 to get the density of fabric I want.
We're cracking down on our budgeting next month so I'll be on a yarn restriction for a while. That doesn't mean I can't buy anything but I need to bust through some of the stash I have so we can save some money.

Quick Post

2007-08-21T23:16:00.000-07:00

I started the Naive socks yesterday, and had about 30 rows done. I screwed up one of the 6 stitch cables, and tried to rip it down and fix it but it was a mess. So then I decided to just rip it back to that point. When I was trying to get the needles back in, Cee-Cee got mad at me and grabbed it. Well, that was the end of it, and I just ripped the whole thing to restart it. I think it was going to be too small around anyway. I was using magic loop on a 2, and it just seemed small. So I switched to DPN's (the instructions are written for DPN's anyway) and it's much looser and is going well. I've completed about 50 rounds. What's difficult is keeping track of when to turn the cables. Each cable (2 stitch, 4 stitch, and 6 stitch) is turned at a different interval, and usually they end up being on different rows. I have a system, and as long as I make the proper marks it will be OK.
I got my 100purewool co-op order yesterday. It ended up costing me $85,45 (w/shipping)for 12 skeins, or $7.12 per skein. If I would have purchased it from the website, it would have cost me $128.50 (w/shipping) plus any customs fees. I think I got a pretty darn good deal. The colors are beautiful.

What's the use in trying?

2007-08-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

I finally retired the Lime N Violet yarn back to the sock yarn bin for a while. I got frustrated with all the BS involved in trying to knit with it. No matter what I did, disaster followed. So I give up on it for a while, but I won't be defeated. I WILL knit that yarn at one point. Just not right now because I'm too pissed off at it.
I found a really cool pattern on Ravelry yesterday. Turns out the girl who wrote it hasn't released it yet, but she let me have a copy to test knit. This AM I worked up a chart for the leg portion because it was confusing to me to read the pattern the way it's written. I'm sure she will write up a better pattern before she releases it.
I caved and ordered some new yarn to make a Peapod Baby set for Baby M. I ordered it from KnitPicks so I didn't spend that much money. Plus, while I was at it, I ordered a bunch of their limited edition sock yarns. They are cheap and available in limited quantities because they didn't come out exactly like KnitPicks wanted them to.

Holy Disaster Day!

2007-08-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

This was a knitting disaster day. What can I say except that nothing seemed to go right. I was trying to finish up the cute little vest, but the stupid pattern doesn't make sense. No matter what I do, it doesn't work out. I think that the person writing it must have been on crack. But someone on Ravelry made it and didn't make any notes referencing crack-using pattern writers, so maybe it was just me. No matter what I tried, the stitches didn't add up, and I couldn't figure out how I was going to attach the front to the back given the way I was supposed to bind off stitches. I hate it when patterns say "AT THE SAME TIME". I tried doing "at the same time" and that didn't work. So I tried doing what it says after it says "at the same time" at the same time, and that didn't work either. Somehow I ended up with a vest with a different sized front and back, and no way to understand why or how it turned out that way.
I just checked out the blog of the only person I can find who knit this blasted pattern, and this is what she says (and I quote)

A wee vest for the chap i work withs wee boy who will be 1 next week, cute dontcha think, looks like something one would play cricket in! Cygnet wool rich 4ply and this pattern
Was a fairly quick knit even if i did have to frog half the front due to unclear pattern, but i muddled thru!

Notice the part about the unclear pattern. Glad I'm not the crack smoking idiot, the pattern writer is. I hope she doesn't come to my blog (Jan McCarthy if you're interested in having a chat with me about this pattern, I'll have you over for coffee!) and see what I've written. Screw it, I hope she does. Pattern writers need to know when their patterns suck.
That brings me to a topic I really want to delve into today. Patterns NEED to be test knit. Not just by the pattern writer, but by a non-biased third (and maybe fourth and fifth) party. And please please please make things clear. None of this "at the same time" shit. If you want me to do a row, and do two things at once, write out the whole row you lazy writer! Sheesh, it probably would have taken Ms. Jan a few more minutes to write the pattern out more accurately than it did for her to slop together the crap she calls a pattern. Maybe I'm not supposed to complain since it was a free pattern but still, one has expectations of accuracy in a published pattern, and even more for one that was published by a well known yarn company **cough cough Classic Elite Yarns cough cough**.
So I pulled the whole thing out and rewound up the yarn and I intend to make a lovely pair of socks with it when I'm no longer so pissed off. That might take a while.
In the mean time, I decided to knit on my toe up socks in the Lisa Souza Lime N Violet. Well, in my flurry of pissed-off-ness, I tore out the needle from the part I'd already done. So I ripped that too, and decided to try a short row toe sock, thinking it might be less boxy. Nope, when I got the whole toe done, it looked basically the same as the Sock.ra.tease one I was doing, and was a lot freaking harder. So I ripped that, and plan to start the Sock.ra.tease one again. But I decided to blog first while the frustration was fresh in my mind.
So any pattern writers out there, please make sure your instructions are clear to even the most basic knitter (which I'm not). None of this "at the same time" shit, and have a few strangers test knit your patterns.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.
(PS now what in the heck am I going to make for my friend's new baby boy? Oh, and it has to be from my already purchased stash since I've bought 2 kinds of yarn already to make him something that hasn't turned out.....)

Frog

2007-08-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Diane asked what color of Rainforest yarn I'm using for the baby vest, and it's Frog. It's actually coming out quite nicely, with wide stripes. I think I'm going to do the v-neck and sleeve trim in just the white speckled color. The color changes are really long, they must have some hugely long factory to get this long of striping. I really like it though.
I took a bunch of pictures with my camera yesterday and something was all f-ed up. They all came out blue and funny looking. I spent a little time messing with the settings and someone had changed the exposure comp from +1.3 to -1.3, so the exposure was way off. I think that because I was trying not to use the flash the white balance was off too. I changed the exposure comp (Nikon cameras notoriously underexpose) and used the flash this AM and everything came out just fine. I finally got my stash updated and my WIPs too.
I bought new tubs to sort my yarn on Monday at Target. The cardboard boxes I got at IKEA weren't kid tough. The first time they sat on one it got smushed. I've been using them since I had nothing else but I got some pink tubs that are cute. The only problem is that they aren't opaque so DH will be able to see how much yarn I have. He's been blissfully innocent until now.
I'm very impatiently waiting my "welcome" package from the Lucky Lurker club. I love getting packages in the mail and I don't have any yarn ordered right now. Not that I haven't wanted to, but I just got a package Monday from LittleKnits with this so I gotta chill on the purchases for right now.
Plus school is starting and my boys needed all new pants. They still fit, but they had blown through the knees of all their jeans before school got out in June. I need to cut them off to make shorts. They also needed new shoes and 7 pairs of shoes later (2 for each boy, 3 for H.).........

Mission--bust

2007-08-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Mission Falls cardi I was going to knit was a bust. First off, I wasn't sure I'd have enough yarn as I didn't check to make sure of yardage, just of how many grams of yarn I needed. Stupid me. Then, it's knit in intarsia, with 5 balls going at once, I just can't handle that. Too freaking much work for me. So now I'm knitting a cute little baby vest with Opal Rainforest sock yarn that will probably take me until the kid is 10 to do, since it's sock yarn. But it's going to be cute since the yarn is self striping and quite nice if I do say so myself. I also started myself some toe up socks with Lisa Souza Sock! in Lime N Violet. I wanted to do a toe up sock for the first time, but every pattern I tried was too confusing. So I am doing the toe part of the Sock.ra.tease pattern I got with my Duets Mariners yarn, and then using the Rockin Toe Up Sock Pattern to finish the sock. I just didn't like the "after thought" heel that the Sock.ra.tease pattern used.
I gotta get to bed. I'm falling asleep on the keyboard.

Thank God it was only a week

2007-08-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

I was so exhausted last night when we got home from camp. I went to bed at 7 PM and didn't get up until 8 AM this morning. That is amazing for me, because I didn't even take my usual medications. I was just WIPED OUT!
I did get to knit some this AM and finished my Horcrux socks (yeah!). They are drying on the blockers right now. I started on a round baby blanket for my friend J. who had a baby a month or so ago. I'm a little behind I know. I went to the yarn store today and bought some Mission Falls 1824 cotton to make the baby a sweater too. The blanket is going fast, I'm using sport weight yarn (Lorna's Laces) doubled. The sweater is a one piece cardigan, letterman style. I hope it goes as fast.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some more knitting time in but for now I'm off to bed.

My poor neglected blog

2007-08-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

My kids are at daycamp all week, and therefore so am I. It was 70% cheaper to help out, and H. gets to go as well if I help (otherwise she'd have to wait until she was 5). So we trudge out there every morning and get home near 4 in the afternoon. I'm just exhausted but the kids are having fun and that's what counts. Their lunches leave a lot to be desired (PBJ, PB and honey, cheese and mayo, cheese only, and the very different selection of cheese and mayo on wheat). I brought my own lunch today. Tomorrow G. needs to go to the orthodontist in the AM and I have an orthopedic surgeon appt shortly after, so we'll miss the delicious lunch. I'm planning on getting Mickey D's, which I don't even like but sounds like luxury to me.
I'm working in the "portraits" station. The kids lie down on big pieces of paper and another kid traces them. Then they color the picture to look like themselves. I have one other adult helper and 4 teens (2 boys 2 girls). They are all really nice and we've had fun. Today we didn't have any groups so I ended up helping in the bookmarks which sucked. The lady running it was really bossy with the kids. I've got my group whipped into shape. They basically do everything while I supervise (READ:KNIT). I was hoping to get my Horcrux sock done today but I had to actually help out bossy lady. Tomorrow our station has a 1 1/2 hr break after lunch so I'm going to try to go around and take some pictures.
There are probably at least 250 people at c thisamp. It's been going on for a long time and this is supposed to be the biggest camp ever. You can tell they are not completely prepared for the size.
Thursday starts at 1 PM, and the bigger kids (G.'s age) get to stay overnight. We're trying to drum up a tent so DH, B, Cee-Cee and I can stay up there too.

SP 11 Questionaire

2007-08-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love using natural fibers. I don't much care for novelty yarns or acrylic. I'd rather have a little of good yarn than lots of cheap yucky stuff.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a needle case, and my KP storage binder.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting for about 2 1/2 years. My mom taught me the basics and I taught myself the rest. I consider myself an intermediate-advanced knitter. I've never made myself a sweater but I've done some for kids.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Nope. But I'll work on one if you just ask.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I like things that smell fresh. Nothing flowery.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I LOOOOOOVE chocolate. And skittles :)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I've pretty much abandoned all my other craftiness to knit obsessively.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Country. And yes, I can play MP3's.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

Pink. And I like all colors.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have 3 kids (10, 7, 3), 1 dog, 4 cats, and a husband.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Scarves and hats, yes. Mittens and ponchos, I'll take a pass on.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks lately. I've also knit over 30 toddler hats for friends of mine.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Horcrux Socks, a baby sweater, a baby blanket, and soon some more socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

I love handmade gifts. They are the best kind.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I almost exclusively use KP circulars. I knit my socks using magic loop. I do have an assortment of short bamboos for toddler hats though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I have a winder and a swift. And I love to use them!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

I have something festering from when my 3 year old was a baby. It'll never get finished because it's acrylic.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas. I love to give gifts.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Knitting books.

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'd love some Knitting Pure and Simple sweater patterns. I just got a subscription to Interweave Knits. I usually buy all the magazines though. I just love to look through them.
I just discovered Wisdom Yarns Poems online. I'd love to try it out. Oh, and Wollmeise. I'm DYING for that.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Not really. If I need to do something, I just do it. Maybe entrelac. I'm a little scared of it. And I haven't done toe up socks yet. That's on my to-do list.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I love making socks. I wear a size 9 shoe and have fat calves. If you want me to measure them just ask.

23. When is your birthday?

September 3.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

I love Ravelry. I'm a volunteer editor there. My ID is MomtoGBandH

I'm a Lucky Lurker!

2007-07-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to join the Lucky Lurker Club at A Swell Yarn Shop, but forgot about it on the day she opened sign ups. She did add some random slots on various days, but every time I checked there were none. Well, yesterday I was sitting here editing on Ravelry and an email came from Angela at the shop saying that she'd be posting just a few more spots in the next few days. So I clicked on her store link, and was lucky enough to snap up the one slot that was sitting there waiting for me. I can't tell you how fast I typed my info in because I REALLY wanted it. This is the first club I'll have belonged to, and probably the last. I really don't need any more yarn unless I start knitting some, and I can't start knitting some if I don't stop playing on Ravelry!
I'm trying to knit something for a friend who just had a baby. I keep printing off projects, or picking out ones in books, then quitting 10 rows into it. I finally decided that it's the yarn's fault. It's not washable, therefore not practical for a baby. I didn't want to use the Blue Sky Alpacas again but I don't want that yarn sitting around so I guess I will. Now to get the energy to start a new project.

I jsut checked, and there's one spot left in the Lucky Lurker Club. Hurry up and get it!

I once was lost, but now am found......

2007-07-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

The cylinder for my ball winder is found. Friday night we were going to go into town to get another one, but DH ended up having to work like 14 hours and we didn't make it. I was really pissed off about the whole thing, but he brought home a massive wide screen monitor for me so that softened the blow of the whole thing.
So Saturday morning we were going to go into town in the morning. We were cleaning up the house when DH found the cylinder inside Hennessy's Dora star catcher bag. Then I was pissed because there was 2 days I didn't get to do stuff because of it. And, I wound a huge ball of Spinnaker by hand. What a waste.
We ended up going into town anyway. We went to a knitting store called Farmhouse Knit Shop in Beaverton. I wasn't too impressed. They do carry Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarns (Socks That Rock) and I got a fabulous skein of mediumweight Tide Pool. The rest of their yarns were mostly obscure yarns arranged by color. They did have some lovely stuff that I wish I'd bought but didn't have any idea what I'd make with it.
Then we went to The Knitting Bee to try and find some stuff I wanted for a few projects. They didn't have what I wanted either. I had originally wanted to go all the way into Portland to go the The Yarn Garden, but we decided to try Farmhouse first, and I wish we didn't. I want to get to Yarn Garden without kids though, but I hate driving. Don't know how I'll pull this one off. Our Finnish friends (who live right near Yarn Garden) will be back from their holiday in Finland soon so maybe we can coordinate a visit with them and a trip to the yarn store.
I'm off to church, then to paint pottery this afternoon with the ladies from my mom's group. It should be a good time, and there'll be no children (except for the nursing babies).

Lost!

2007-07-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

The cylinder to my yarn ball winder is lost. Who knows where it is. We turned the house upside down looking for it, but the kids have lost it (or DH threw it away accidentally). Either way, I was going to wind yarn tonight and now I can't.
Another thing that's lost...the pattern to my custom baby blanket. I decided to just rip it out and make a blankie that I can knit using double stranded yarn. But I need the winder to rip all the yarn out so I can make it all neat. So I didn't do that.
Then I wanted to start making the Piggy to send to T, to take with her to the hospital next month. Can't do that either as the yarn is in a hank and I'm not going to wind it all manually or my arms will fall off.
So I knit a very small amount on the first of the Horcrux socks (I'm working on the 2nd of the 15 rounds of K3 P2 ribbing). I spent most of my spare time entering patterns from "Dream Toys" into Ravelry. Tomorrow I have some more books coming (3 I think) and 2 more on Friday. I know that Casey isn't hip on adding patterns without projects but once I get all the patterns from these books in I won't have to do much editing, just a little cleaning up here and there. And the Dream Toys patterns are so cute I just might make some to fill in the pictures. I'll probably do the mermaid or the princess first. Probably the mermaid...
I feel like crap today. We had to get up early to go 100 miles (round trip) to take Garrett to the doctor. Then I had a doctors appointment here in town this afternoon. She's changing my meds some in hopes of better pain control and better sleep. Plus my blood pressure was up so she started me on another med for that. Unfortunately, it's the one I refused to take last year because it made me gain a bunch of weight. We'll see this time. But if it does, she'll have to find something else again. I was trying to remember the name of the medicine at her office but I couldn't remember it. It figures it's the same one.
I'm tired, and going to bed. I'll try to photo the new stash additions and latest projects tomorrow.

Company Picnic Day

2007-07-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today was the company picnic for Shari's, the company DH works for. It's always held at Alpenrose Dairy and it's an adult only event. That has it's pros and cons. My mom came over on Saturday and stayed through today to watch the kids while DH and I went.
I usually just play bingo. They also have volleyball and baseball, but I'm completely unable to participate in those due to my shoulder. Plus, I fell this weekend and had a bit of a shoulder setback. They also play casino games with play money, and the person with the highest total at the end gets a cash prize.
I didn't win any bingo games, but I came close. I did participate in some of the "team" game they do every year too. A. and I had to do a word scramble of words related to "The Wizard of Oz". We did pretty good, even if we didn't know what winkies were. In the end our team got eliminated about half way through when someone didn't show up for their event. The team that wins the game gets first choice of the numbers for the prize drawing.
The prizes are an interesting thing. Three years ago, the first year I ever went to the picnic, Dan won $300, and $200 in a blackout bingo game. Two years ago, he won a golf club. Last year, it was a cordless phone system. So we were due for a good prize this year. Well, it turned out he won an OK prize, a mini CD player stereo system with an IPOD docking station. We thought about selling it but decided to give it to the boys. They've been wanting a stereo for their room, and I won't get upset if it doesn't last very long (which I don't expect it to with 2 boys).
They always have a barbecue buffet at the end and that was OK. But after eating I started to feel really crappy (I had a bad headache). We left at about 4, ran a few errands, then came home.
I got to knit some at the picnic. I finished the Fetching gloves I was making for my swap pal, and started on some Horcrux socks. I really like the yarn I'm using, it's Fleece Artist Merino Sock in Baltic Sea Storm. The colors are really vibrant and look great with the pattern on the leg of the sock.
Tomorow Garrett gets his braces put on. I'm sure he's going to hate me for it by Wednesday.
I've become a volunteer editor for Ravelry, and I keep taking on more pattern books. I just picked up 3 more, and I don't even have 2 of the books yet (I did order them). It's a good excuse to order books that I want, right?

We were on the news!

2007-07-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

Brendyn, Hennessy and I on the news. You have to watch the video story but we are standing with our signs at the end of the story. My good friends Andrea and Kari (along with her husband and daughters) were also with us. It was pretty neat. I was on the news once about 16 years ago. Again, just a short clip but cool nonetheless.
I worked hard on the Presto Chango today. I think I cast it on last night, but I got the entire main body of it done today, and I am about 2/3 of the way done with the removable front panel. It should take me about 1/2 an hour to finish it up tomorrow. It will probably take me longer to sew up the seams than it did to make the whole front panel. Oh how I hate seaming. And I don't have any buttons. I might have to go get some Sunday.
G. got back from Cub Scout camp tonight. He had a great time and I'm really glad. I was sure I'd have to go pick him up early. He's never camped before, and he's not really the outdoorsy type. He was very proud that he got a bullseye in bee bee guns, and an "almost" bullseye in archery. This from a kid who has dyspraxia (poor muscle strength and coordination) and ADHD. He also learned to whittle wood.
Tomorrow is NaNa's birthday party. We'll probably have a house full of kids as the weather is supposed to suck. We bought some clay and are going to make some clay caterpillar crayon holders. I hope it keeps the kids occupied.

Eyelet Baby Blanket is WIP no more!

2007-07-19T21:49:00.001-07:00

I finished it today. It was just a matter of buckling down and getting that last bit of ruffle done. Then I needed to stitch up the corners and weave in the remaining ends. Oh it feels so good to be done with this one. This yarn sheds like crazy. I think I'm going to have to wash it before sending it off to it's new owner. My black pants are a mess after knitting on it today.
I started on the Presto Chango today. I'm maybe 1/2 way up the flat part of the back, before I add the sleeves. I'm using a color called Cumin (of the same Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed cotton I made the blankie out of). It's really a deep mustard color and I'm not 100% sure I like it. Oh well, too late. It will also go to the same baby the blankie is for.
I knit a baby sock today too, for the cute little sock blocker keychain I got from The Loopy Ewe. It only took about an hour and it matches the Saucy Socks in Jackie O. I made for my mom. I'm going to give it to her on Saturday when she comes over.
I've been a bad girl in the past few days and made some yarn purchases. I noticed that A Swell Yarn Shop had in some Cowgirl yarn, so I had to order that. I also picked up a skein of Blue Moon, and I see now that both of those are sold out. I know her Cowgirl colorway is one of her most popular. I also ordered some stuff from KnitPicks this week and 2 books from Amazon. I just can't help myself.
I got my Lisa Souza Sock! yarn today. It's really squooshy. The hanks look huge, like I could make 2 pairs of socks from each one. Maybe it's just an illusion. The stuff sure is pretty though. I got Lime N Violet, and Violet's Pink Ribbon. If I like knitting with it I'll get more.
The Saucy socks have finally been photographed. I'm loving the sock blockers, they look so much nicer than they did before their bath and air dry on the blockers. I know my mom will love them and she better wear them lots or I'm never making her a pair of socks again!

Blanket burnout

2007-07-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm now on the 4th side of the ruffle finally. I am bound and determined to get it done by tomorrow, as boring as it is. Today, instead of knitting like I should have been, I spent most of the day on Ravelry.
I've become a volunteer editor for several yarn companies and it's turned out to be quite a venture. I'm enjoying it but there's a lot of work to be done to get stuff in the database correctly. Right now I'm working on the Trendsetter/Lane Borgosesia yarns. Luckily I've made a good contact at the Trendsetter company who is feeding me information as I need it. It's amazing that on Ravelry you can enter as much or as little information about a yarn as you choose. Which means that the person editing it has either a very little, or a lot of work to do. Plus the editors have more leeway in what they can enter than the average user. Then there's the problem between yarn manufacturers and distributors. Then Lane Borgosesia names some of their higher end lines which adds in even more confusion. Now I just added a new pattern line to my already over gluttonous job. I may never get to knit again!
I made a cute little Hello Kitty for Hennessy. It was a test, if it turned out cute I was going to make some more. Unfortunately, it's a little lopsided and ugly and so I think I'm done making Hello Kitties. She seems to like it, but she has the taste of a two year old remember.
I'm trying to finish the Baglove's too, but I'm need to make I-cord and I just hate doing it. I bought a little machine to do it but it doesn't work well with the yarn I chose. So I'll have to do it the old fahioned way which means BOOOOOOOOOOORING. Wow, I'm not knitting on anything fun right now.

My sock blockers came

2007-07-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

My sock blockers showed up today. I didn't expect them for a few more days so it was a nice surprise. I immediately washed the Saucy socks and put them on the blockers to dry. They are still sitting there drying so hopefully tomorrow I can get a good picture.
I didn't get a lot of knitting done. First thing this AM Nana (who turns 7 tomorrow) was goofing around and fell and hit his mouth on his desk. He was screaming his head off, so I went running. Blood was just pouring from his mouth and when he saw that he freaked out even more. After we had a little freak out time, he settled down and I could see he had a pretty nasty cut on his lip, as well as a scrape across his face. I was lucky that I had 1 use left in my Band-Aid glue (or Elmer's People Glue as we like to call it) and I glued it back together, saving us a trip to the Emergency Room. I don't know that our little clinic could handle sutures.
Then Cee-Cee only took a very short nap, so consequently was crabby. The two of then got all riled up this afternoon and Nana's lip got busted open again. Well, our crappy little store didn't have any, so we made the 45 minute trek into town to have dinner and get more. We ran into our friends at the grocery store and even though we can see them anytime (they live right here in our town) we chatted for a long time. We got our Elmer's People Glue (along with about $50 worth of other stuff we didn't need that bad) and got on our way home.
Cee-Cee managed to stay dry the entire trip, but I'd put her in a pull-up because I wasn't confident that she would. She had a bad potty morning, peed her panties several times. We're making good progress and so I'm not too upset. It just drives me crazy that every time she goes potty she wants to change her panties. We only have so many pairs, and if she changes them when she's dry we don't have enough for when she's wet. And we have a pretty darn good supply!
Here's a picture of my sweet Nana (boo boo and all) who will be 7 tomorrow. Nana is what little Miss Cee-Cee used to call him, and my favorite nickname for him, along with Poodle. He'll always be my little Poodle boy.

Fun with blogger

2007-07-15T21:59:00.001-07:00

I played around with the template on blogger and put a picture on my header. The yarn is Lime & Violet's Sasquatch Superwash in Jump Swing. It's one of my new favorites. I had to turn down the opacity of the picture so you can read the text (Thank You Photoshop!)
I' working on the ruffle on the 3rd side of the Eyelet Baby Blanket. I keep intending to start a new project too, but I really want to get this dumb blanket done. The ruffle is the worst part.
My biggest baby (#1, the 10 year old) is off at Scout camp all week. He's not really an outdoorsy kid so this will be a challenge for him. I hope he sticks it out and has a lot of fun. #2 is upset he didn't get to do overnight camp (he has 2 more years until he can do that) and is now sleeping in a tent in our family room. I had a nice day at home alone with #3 while DH took the oldest up to camp and #2 tagged along.
I can't get motivated to do much more because I'm too tired. I'll get to the pictures tomorrow, or maybe when my sock blockers come.

Still up

2007-07-14T23:33:00.001-07:00

And feeling really crappy. Whatever I just ate didn't stay down. My face is all puffy from barfing and I'm tired but my stomach hurts.
So instead I found this quiz and took it

You Are An ISFP

The Artist

You are a gifted artist or musician (though your talents may be dormant right now).
You enjoy spending your free time in nature, and you are good with animals and children.
Simply put, you enjoy beauty in all its forms and live for the simple pleasures in life.
Gentle, sensitive, and compassionate - you are good at recognizing people's unspoken needs.

In love, you are quiet and sweet yet very passionate. You love easily.
You have an underlying love for all living things, and it's easy for you to accept someone into your heart.

At work, you do best in an unconventional position. You express yourself well and can work with almost anyone.
You would make a good veterinarian, pediatrician, or composer.

How you see yourself: Sympathetic, kind, and communicative

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Incompetent, insecure, and overly sensitive

What's Your Personality Type?

Very weird day

2007-07-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

It started off with me throwing up. Then I spent the day trying to regulate my blood sugar. I'm not diabetic, and I've never been diagnosed with hypoglycemia, but I do know I have bouts of low blood sugar. Well today was just awful. I am needing to eat every few hours today just to not get sick. I'm exhausted because I only got a few hours sleep last night. I couldn't sleep this afternoon (when I should have) because of the blood sugar problems. I ended up going to the store to get a bunch of easy sugar sources in case it keeps happening. If I feel yucky again tomorrow I'm going to make a doctor's appointment Monday.
I finished the body of the Eyelet Baby Blanket today. I am now working on the ruffle. I got one of the four sides done. The ruffle really sucks, because you get up to over 200 stitches. It took forever to cast that many off. When I was done with the first side, I put down the blankie for a while and finished my second Baglove bag. I need to get into town to try to find some yarn for the handle. I'm thinking some cashmere would be nice. I don't need very much.
I was going to take pictures today but I didn't get around to it. Besides, I have some sock blockers coming from The Loopy Ewe and the socks will look much better photographed on them.
I tried bleaching the Ugly Campfire socks today and while a lot of color bled out of them, they still are ugly as sin. I'm kind of in a quandry at this point. I might just dye them brown and give them to DH (if they fit). I can whip up a pair of short socks for my swap pal. I might make the Horcrux socks since they are short.
I want to make 1 or more knit amigurumi dolls for my friend's daughter. Her daughter was due the same month as mine was, only she came at about 34 weeks. T has had a very rough life which has included meningitis and a basically dismal prognosis, major recovery that the doctors said she'd never have, seizures, and now Glycogen Storage disease. My friend S gets up with her at night like she would a newborn to get her to drink glucerna to stabilize her blood sugar. Anyway, T is going to have a hospital admission next month for tests and I want to make something for her to take along. I asked S what her favorite animal is and so she showed her an animal book. She said T kept pointing to the camels, but she likes frogs too. Well, those are basically the only two I can't find a pattern for. So I IM'ed her with a bunch of other choices and I want to get that started ASAP. If I don't I'll never get them done because of my disdain for seaming.
I need to start the Presto Chango too. But I think I want to finish the Eyelet Baby Blanket first.
I am a volunteer editor on Ravelry for Katsara Yarns, Skacel Yarns, King Tut Yarns, and The Garter Belt patterns. I spend a lot of time today doing my editing job on those. It's kind of fun to research the different yarns and patterns. Plus I like feeling needed.

Late night

2007-07-14T00:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't been sleeping well which bodes well for my knitting time. But I spend most of my daytime hours exhausted. And today my friend and her two girls came over. They stayed until 3, about 2 hours past Cee-Cee's normal nap time. I'm glad they were here and I love it when they come over, but she was so exhausted by the time they left. I had to wake her at 4:45 to go over to the Scout daycamp for their last "campfire" and dinner. I took myself a little catnap too and neither of us wanted to get up to go. I drug myself in though.
I finished the Saucy sock tonight. I had about 40 rows to finish (the toe) and then I Kitchenered up the toe. While I was at it I Kitchenered up the toe of the Ugly Campfire socks just to be done with them. Tomorrow will be an experiment in bleaching/dyeing to see if I can come up with a more tolerable and less frightening color. I hope it all works out. I'll post pictures tomorrow.
There is quite a split in this town over our pot smoking principal. It seems most are supportive of him keeping his job but fortunately I've discovered several other parents who have likeminds and don't want this man in charge of our children. One friend even plans to pull her child our of our grade school if he's still there in September. Twenty or so emails go through a day between PTA members. Whenever there's a voice of dissent, a fight starts. I usually hold my tongue but I've been speaking my mind. The supporters don't like this. They think we should accept the decision, what's done is done" and move on. I don't believe that this is the end if we don't let it be.

yuck

2007-07-12T19:36:00.001-07:00

Feel to crappy to post. Besides, I have nothing interesting to say.

This morning's poll results

2007-07-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

How should a principal accused of smoking pot be punished?

Pay fines, keep his job

19.90% 157 votes

Suspension

13.56% 107 votes

Termination

51.84% 409 votes

No punishment

14.70% 116 votes

789 Total Votes

The results of a small poll

2007-07-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here's the results from a very small poll that was posted on the website of one of our local news stations.

How should a principal accused of smoking pot be punished?

Pay fines, keep his job

21.76% 47 votes

Suspension

11.11% 24 votes

Termination

53.70% 116 votes

No punishment

13.43% 29 votes

216 Total Votes

Up on my soapbox

2007-07-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going to climb up on my soapbox for a minute. Be forewarned.
**************START RANT********************
I just found out today that our elementary school principal was busted for smoking pot in a public state park.
Yesterday I got all these messages generated by the PTA saying "let's all support Mr. Miller during this rough time". I wondered what it was about, but figured it was something medical. Then this morning I got an email from another concerned parent that said he was busted for smoking pot. So I googled his name, along with our town name, and found this article
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1184126109316030.xml&coll=7
I am both shocked and outraged. I'm supposed to throw my support behind a man who smoked pot, did it in a public park, just because he admitted it? It seems like the community is split on this issue. Most of the "old timers" support him and think that the legal trouble he is in is enough and that he should keep his job. I, and many others, believe that he should lose his job for it. The school board is behind him, and unless he resigns he probably will remain in his position. We moved here to get away from the big city, the drug problem, etc. Seems like we're right back in the center of it.
***********END RANT****************
Another OT moment. It seems my toddler might be finally potty trained. It just seemed to click this afternoon. Tomorrow will be the test. She did really good from about 3:30 until bedtime, stayed dry. Of course she peed on the potty about 25 times in that span of time. I guess the novelty hasn't worn off.

I knit about 4 rounds on the 2nd Saucy sock today, and 2 full rounds on the Eyelet Baby Blanket. It's kind of a floppy blanket since it's knit on such big needles. I'm not sure how much I like it but I'm not frogging it again, that's for sure.
I felt like crap, and it's about 9000 degrees here so I basically got nothing else done today at all.

I can't come up with a fantastic title for this post

2007-07-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I hate blogger. Like right now, it will let me type the post but won't let me type in the fantastic title I've picked out for this entry. Stupid POS.
I finished the ugly campfire sock today, except I didn't Kitchener the toe. You see, I started my mom's Saucy socks way before these, and I want them to be the first pair of socks I ever finished. So, I'm going to finish the Saucy socks, then kitchener the Campfire ones. It will probably only take me a few days to do the Saucy ones. I need to work in the mean time on the Eyelet Baby Blanket. I was in town all morning so I only had about 1/2 my normal work time.
Good news, I get to spend $2200 on braces for G. and have to have the money situation figured out in 2 weeks. Lucky they offer 12 month no interest financing. We are looking at our finances to see how much we can put down. We've had a lot of medical bills this year with my surgery, DH getting new glasses and contacts, and B needs to have a hearing screen and possibly tested by an audiologist. Our insurance sucks and there's nothing I can do about it.
I did cave in a weak moment and bought 2 skeins of Lisa Souza sock yarn. I guess she dyes to order and I haven't received the bill yet. But no more goodies for me, since the kiddo's teeth are more important.

Ugly Campfire Sock Day

2007-07-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

I knit on the ugly Campfire socks most of the day. I am working on the foot of the sock, and have just a ways to go on it. I can easily finish it tomorrow, except that most of tomorrow will be taken up with taking G. to the orthodontist for the first time.
We cleaned up our office tonight. It was starting to look like an atomic bomb went off in here. You couldn't see the carpet, and you had to step over stuff to get to the computer chairs. It's not perfect, but much better than it was before and I'm OK with that.
I'm too tired to post much else.

Ribbit

2007-07-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

I decided to frog the Eyelet Baby Blanket today. I was worried I was going to run out of yarn if I knit in my altered state. So I frogged 1 1/2 skeins and rewound the yarn into balls. I did get about 30 rows done today which is good. I also basically got the Snatchel done. I need to add the fallopian tubes/strap, and the tie but I got most of it done. It looks pretty gross, but I expected that.
I spent most of the day cleaning the house though as DH's aunt and uncle were coming over. I hate cleaning. I mostly just cleaned up my yarny mess, but that took a long time. I did put away all my free patterns that I've printed off. I had to get a binder just for the socks alone. A million free patterns, and I've still yet to complete a whole pair.
I'm supposed to be doing these new stretches for my shoulder and they are incredibly painful. I've even modified them some and I'm still in a lot of pain. I have a PT appointment tomorrow and hopefully she'll be able to make it feel better. Frankly I'm tired of the pain, even if it's different from the pain I was in before. I know there will be an end to it, but it's been 9 weeks and I still have daily pain. It just really sucks.
My stupid freaking computer just crashed again. I am really sick of it doing this. And DH is always too busy to work on my computer. He even volunteered to work on his uncle's, which means that mine won't get done this week as he runs his own business and needs it for work (the uncle that is).
DH's cousin got in big trouble with the law a few months ago. I just googled her name and found 2 news articles as well as the police report. I'm going to post all the links because I find the situation incredibly hilarious. Dan's uncle is a severe functional alcoholic, and they've raised their kids to be alcoholics too. She was drinking the night this happened (she was under the legal limit) and the fine for her violations is close to $10,000 at this point. They have a lawyer and are taking it to court so we'll see what happens. I don't necessarily believe that she was doing 101 (according to DH's aunt and uncle she was not radared at 101, but the cop paced her at that). She admits to doing 80 which in that case is dangerous, but since the speed she was either paced or radared at was 101, she got thrown in jail for the night. Maybe she'll straighten up. I doubt it though.
http://www.westlinnpolice.com/PR101in55MULLIKEN.htm
http://www.kgw.com/neighborhood/southwest/stories/kgw_051107_news_west_linn_speeder.5b8d44a6.html
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/05/woman_cited_for_101_mph_in_a_5.html

Sickies in the house

2007-07-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening B. got a fever. He started complaining at dinner that he didn't want to eat, which is typical. I told him to shut up and eat. Then he told me his head felt hot. So I felt it, expecting nothing, and the poor kid was burning up. He had about a 102 fever. He indicated that nothing in particular hurt, he just didn't feel good. So I let him skip dinner and told him to go lie down on the couch. He asked for some sprite, so I went to the store after dinner and got him some.
Friday morning at 6:30 AM he woke me up saying his stomach really hurt. He was feverish again, so I pushed around on his belly some to see if I got any reaction. He was quite tense, and not feeling well, and not very cooperative. So at 8 when the doctor's office opened, I called and made him an appointment. By 11, when the appointment was, he had seemed to perk up and feel better so I felt stupid taking him in but I did anyway. Good thing, as he had exudative tonsillitis. He NEVER complained about his throat hurting, except to say once that his throat felt dry. So we got a prescription for Amox. and went home. The doctor's office faxed it to the pharmacy and DH picked it up on the way home.
The good news--he's feeling much better today. He should be feeling good enough to go to day camp next week.
Another piece of good news--Cee-Cee peed on the potty 3 times today. I gave in and bought gummy bears to give her for treats. Seemed to work, because we got home from Costco this afternoon and she managed to produce 3 times. That's a huge thing for her. She's turning 3 in August, and she's very smart. I just think she is being stubborn. I need her to be potty trained for preschool this fall.
I started on the Eyelet baby blanket yesterday and have about 2 repeats done. It's 11 rows of stockingette, then a row of eyelets. There are 2 different eyelet rows so the eyelets are staggered. It's kind of nice using bigger needles but it's really a pretty boring blanket. I am modifying it, and I didn't think about the ruffled edge when I planned to do that. I just didn't like how it knitted up on size 11 needles, so I'm using 8's and 1 1/2 times the number of stitches. I should be able to figure it out, I just haven't done it yet.
I decided to knit my mom a Snatchel. She thinks I'm nuts. She works for the county, and spends part of her time working in their STD clinic. I thought it was hilarious and would be a great gift for the whole STD clinic. It's a quick knit, and it's a good diversion from the boring blanket. When I'm done with that, I might cast on the Presto Chango sweater. I need something to break up the monotony.

Holy Grail

2007-07-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

I got 5, yes count them, 5 packages today. Holy Cow! I couldn't even wait to open them until we were home from the store. I was ripping them open right there at the mailbox while the kids were droning on about how hungry they were. Who cares, I needed to see my yarn!
The first package was from Little Knits. In this package was the last skein of Araucania Nature Cotton I needed to finish The Clap. Since they have a $25 minimum, I also got 1 skein of Austermann Step in Boysenberry, and 2 skeins of Skacel Trampoline Stretch in Tiger. Brendyn loves the Tiger and so I think I'll make the boys each a pair of ankle socks with it. It is fun yarn.
The second package was from an Etsy shop called 3 Owls Knitting. It was a set of DPN protectors with sheep on them. I can't wait to use them, and they are adorable.
The 3rd package was from my swap pal from Knittinghelp.com. The package included 2 skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic in 2 colors of blue, a skein of denim rope yarn (the brand name escapes me right now and it's in the other room) a ball of Sugar and Cream yarn (yeah for dishcloths!), a cute little silver angel, and some coffee. Yummy.
The 4th package was my prize for winning Sarah's Fugly Friday contest. It was a skein of Trekking sock yarn, along with a great gift of Fun Fur. Just was every girl needs.
The last package came from the UPS man, and it was from WEBS. The box contained 9 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton. Six are in the color "aloe", and 3 are "cumin". Wow, the colors are amazing. I was able to snap a quick pic of these tonight before I wound them into balls to begin my project. I'm going to use the aloe to make an Eyelet Baby Blanket, and the cumin will make a Presto Chango and some baby socks or booties for my friend M. who had her second baby boy on Tuesday.

I finished the never ending Clap today, thank freaking God. Turns out, while doing the decrease rows, for about 6 rounds, I forgot to drop the stitch on the left hand side of the work. I was so damn mad. There was NO WAY I was going to unravel all those rows, so I took some liberties and just cut the top stitch to make them drop. Each row has a little knot tied in it at this place, but I think I can expertly weave them in and nobody will be the wiser. Except me of course. But the sucker is done, except for weaving and cutting ends. It weighs about a hundred pounds. I wrapped it around me wondering if my mom was going to be able to stand up if she was wearing it. But it's probably best not to try on a heavy shawl on a 90 degree day.
I also started the second ugly Campfire sock for my swap pal. I'm thinking of trying to bleach them to soften the color some. We'll see when I'm done with both. I finished the first late last night.
Tomorrow my new IPOD should get here. It's coming via FedEx, which means I'll get it in the morning. UPS always comes late in the afternoon and when I know I'm getting a package I wait in anticipation all day long. Then he usually shows up while Cee-Cee is sleeping, and the dog goes nuts barking at him. She (the dog) likes the FedEx lady though, because she brings dog biscuits.

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-04T23:54:00.001-07:00

I didn't get much accomplished today knit wise. I slept in late, which was really nice. I did knit a little bit while Cee-Cee was sleeping, and DH took the boys swimming. When they got back I took myself a nice little nap. When I got up it was time to go down to the school where the Cub Scouts were selling snow cones and popcorn before the fireworks.
Let me preface this whole story by saying we live in a very small town. There's only about 3000 people. We moved here a year ago to get out of Portland and get our kids into a smaller school. We didn't know that this town has a parade for EVERYTHING! So there was a parade today at 7:30 PM, which lasted all of about 15 minutes. The nice part for kids about parades in a small town is they still throw candy. I sat there for about 10 minutes with Cee-Cee while the boys marched in the parade with the flags. When they were done I went back to the popcorn/snowcone selling. I wolfed down a hamburger in the midst, and tried to knit on a new toe up sock. I screwed it up twice and gave up.
When 9:00 rolled around (the fireworks started at 9:45) the stand went crazy. We had a huge line. I was in charge of the popcorn, and I couldn't make it fast enough. People were having to wait while the machine popped more corn. We had popped some ahead of time, but once the fireworks were imminent people just went crazy buying it. I was glad when the fireworks were done and so was I. I stood basically in one place for 5 hours (with a few short walks) and my feet are killing me.
I finished my ugly Campfire sock tonight, and I'll try to get most of the second done tomorrow. I hope they aren't too ugly for my swap pal. I'm going to send her some nice stuff too so she doesn't think I have terrible taste.
Tomorrow, my package from WEBS should arrive, along with (hopefully) my package from MY swap pal, and some DPN protectors I ordered from Etsy.
I snuck some pictures of my new Silkie Socks That Rock and my WIP/FO's in while DH was gone. I had to ask him for help uploading the photos (it wasn't working right) and he may have snuck a peek at my stash. Usually he turns a blind eye, and I appreciate that. He lets me indulge my passion because it makes me happy. I told him I want the shirt that says "I can go bat-shit crazy or I can knit, your choice". He laughed, and said I was welcome to continue knitting whether I got the shirt or not. He must really love me.

Too f-ing hot

2007-07-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

It's just too hot for me. And it's only nearing 90. I just hate it when it gets that hot. Good think I don't live in Phoenix or something. That's WHY I don't live in Phoenix or something.
I decided to knit a sock today. A campfire sock for my swap pal. Only I screwed up a row. I decided to leave it and call it my own personal touch. I think the pattern is messed up though, I am trying to modify it to make it work and up until an hour ago I was doing fine. I just picked up the stitches for the gusset and now something went wrong. I threw it into the bag and took a little break. Sometimes that helps me solve my problems. I can probably finish it tonight, and it will be the fastest sock I've ever knit. Mind you though, it's only the second sock I've ever knit. So there's not much room to talk here.
I was going to make another Baglove and give it to my swap pal along with the socks. I'm not sure I'm going to have enough yarn for another though. I also need to find some coordinating yarn to make the handle with. Even if I bought another skein of the Sari (which costs a fortune, and is hard to find), I wouldn't be able to make the I-cord with it. It's just too thick. I need to find something coordinating. It looks like HoneyPot Yarns is going to come out with a bamboo, and that would be perfect. Problem is finding the yarn somewhere. I just emailed Janice, the lady who owns HoneyPot Yarns and basically begged her to sell me a skein, even though she only sells wholesale. Maybe if she won't she'll at least be able to point me in the direction of someone who might have one.
I got my Socks Socks Socks book today and wasn't impressed. Good thing I'd used my $10 in Amazon gift certs and it only cost less than $4. Otherwise I'd be pissed. There are maybe 2 patterns in there I'd make, and they are both with DK weight yarn. One of them was obviously a pirated pattern. I even know where it was pirated from.
Speaking of that, I found a pattern that is strikingly similar to one that recently won a big pattern contest. Which came first? Who knows. It's not for me to judge. Just an observation.
I also got my Silky Socks that Rock in Knitty Rocks. I haven't had a chance to snap a pic of it because this day has been shit. But it's nice and buttery soft and I'm going to make something for ME with this. I also ordered a basic toe up pattern and it seems pretty easy. Turns out Blue Moon Fiber Arts is just over the hill, about 20 miles or so away from me. I wonder if they are looking for an apprentice, or just someone to help out? I'd end up spending all my pay on yarn, but who cares?

Quickie

2007-07-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

A quick post tonight because it's late and I'm tired.
I did as much on The Clap as the yarn would let me. I ran out. I had ordered some last night but it won't be here until the end of the week. Until then, it's benched. Which is fine with me, because I pretty much hate knitting on it right now.
I knit a bit on my custom design baby blanket today. It's boring too. I've decided that in the future I'm not going to knit anything that has more than 100 stitches in a row. It just drags on and on and on and on and on and on (you get the point.)
I knit a quick Baglove today out of the HoneyPot Yarns Sari. I need to find something to make the handle out of as this yarn is probably too stiff to make a I-cord with. Also, I probably have enough to make another bag if I can find a good yarn for the I-cord. One for me, one for my swap pal. This yarn cost a fortune so I want to use it in a special way. My friend and I bought it together, she a different color than I. She's making a scarf with it.
I found Knit Divas, the store in St. Helens on the web. We passed it last week when we went to Wally World, but didn't stop. I think it ended up being closed that day anyway. They have a knit night on Tuesdays, and a socks on 2 circs class. I emailed about when she'd have another class, and she said she'd be glad to help me on knit night days. I can't go tomorrow, it's DH's birthday but mayb next week.
I broke my IPOD so no podcasts for me, unless I'm in the office. I whined a lot, and DH told me to order a new one. I ended up getting a refurbished one from the Apple store so hopefully it will be here soon. I upgraded to a 30 gb video IPOD. Before I had a Nano. I seriously don't know what I did, but the screen is broken and it won't even turn on now. I have DH's Mini I can use but the battery is dead so I can't be lulled to sleep with a podcast. Bad me.
I'm still trying to find a sock pattern I like for my swap pal. I just can't make up my mind. Maybe I'll end up making her a Saucy since I already know I can knit that pattern. Or maybe some Campfire socks. Hmmm......

Sunday blues

2007-07-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

I finished the first Saucy sock Friday night at like 11:30. I totally screwed up the kitchener toe, and found a stitch I had dropped a few rows back that I just had to knit in with the toe. Fortunately you really can't tell and it turned out pretty good. Mom came over this weekend and she tried the sock on before I started the second. It fits fine so I'll get it started soon. It's her fault I haven't started the second already, because she wanted me to finish the Clap first. I'm on the decrease rows right now, and I'm afraid I might run out of yarn. I bought 8 skeins of Patagonia Nature Cotton, which was the correct yardage, but I'm about 99% positive at this point I'm going to run out. If I order another skein from Little Knits (where I originally got it) I have to order a minimum of $25 and since I'm on a yarn diet I can't justify that. I may just have to spend more somewhere else to get it.
I haven't felt good all weekend so I haven't been able to accomplish much. I need to get on the ball and get something started for my swap pal. I'm thinking of making a little bag (the pattern says it only takes 3 hours to knit), and a pair of socks to put inside. I found a cute sock pattern today that I think I'm going to make. Now I just need to select the proper yarn from my stash. The problem is, I don't know if there's any of the yarn I want to give away.
I won the Fugly Friday contest so Sarah (the lady running the contest) is sending me some sock yarn. I love getting packages. Tomorrow I should get my secret pal package, and I have a few more packages coming this week. One from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and one from WEBS. The WEBS one won't be here until Wednesday because of the holiday. Bummer, because it has the Blue Skys Alpacas yarn I need to make a baby gift for my friend. She's being induced on Tuesday so I guess it'll be a little late.
I got my new needles from KP on Saturday. I love their needles and can't wait to knit some more socks with them. I think I prefer them to the Addi turbos, and they are half the price. I also got all the Yarn Harlot books, but haven't even started the first one. As I said, I felt crappy all weekend and that kept me from doing much. Mom and I did make a trip to The Knitting Bee on Saturday and I got some more Brittany cable needles and a set of #4 sock DPN's. It's the 3rd set of #4's I've gotten. Somehow they always seem to get broken.

For real post

2007-06-28T22:26:00.001-07:00

So today I finished the Rectangular Shawl. Thank freaking God! I have grown to loathe the thing. I did cheat and only did 10 instead of 12 repeats of the 48 row pattern. I just couldn't do any more. I think it's long enough anyway. It needs to be blocked, and a few ends woven in.
I spent an hour or so taking pictures of my stash (what I have already) and putting them up on Ravelry. I got an email from them asking if they could use my picture for the pattern page for my Lillehammer hat. Made me feel good! I still have a LOT of stash coming in the mail, as well as my package from my secret swapper. Today I got some vitamins in the mail, and NaNa asked me why I kept ordering stuff. Sheesh, now I have to start hiding my purchases from my kids too.
Cee-Cee is sick and was a total crab today. It was frustrating because I couldn't do anything to soothe her, and either she was bouncing off the walls (when the tylenol and motrin kicked in) or sitting on the couch fussing. Her temp hovered around 102 at the worst. I guess we have one more day of being stuck at home.
I worked on the socks a bit but now I'm going to work on The Clap. That's what I've named it. I'm going to tell people I have to work on The Clap and see what they have to say.

Fugly Friday entry

2007-06-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

So here's a picture of the fam (Dad, Step Mom, little sis) in my fugly entry. A poncho made of Bernat Galaxy, 2 fun fur hats, and an earflap hat on the sis. Good thing they were drunk when I gave them their Christmas presents!

STOOPID book

2007-06-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

I finally got the book from Amazon today. The UPS man sure didn't tell me he was sorry his co-workers screwed up and I didn't get my book on time. At least Amazon refunded my shipping charges. So I start thumbing through my book, and on page 39, disaster strikes. The book has a page that is totally ripped. Not just ripped and I could tape it back together, but ripped off and missing 1/2 the page. So now it has to be returned to Amazon to get a replacement, which won't be here until Friday. That really sucks.
No yarn porn arrived today, due to me ordering it all Monday or Tuesday. God, I hope Dan doesn't see that bill. He will have a stroke (not that I blame him). So looking at yarn porn on the web today had to suffice, and let's hope the mailman brings me a big bag tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath though.
I am almost finished with the dreaded Rectangular Cover Shawl. I was supposed to knit 12 repeats of the 48 row pattern, but I am calling it close at 10. I just can't bear to knit 2 more repeats. I just need to knit the like 17 rows of garter to finish, weave in the ends, and do a light blocking.
I can't think of anything good to knit for my secret swap pal. I'm probably going to end up knitting her socks and hope that they fit. If I could just find a pattern I like now.......

Lots O' Knitting Day

2007-06-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

G. woke up with a fever so we skipped VBS today. Actually my friend came and picked up Na-Na. and he went, and G and Cee-Cee and I stayed home. I had a lot of time to knit, and did about 30 rows on my Rectangular shawl, which made up for the few I didn't get done last night because I was just too darn tired. I also knit about 10 rows on the Clapotis and only took the sock out to look at it today. Now, I plan on working on a headwrap pattern that's in my head. I'm going to use the "fire and ice' pattern from the Vogue Stitchionary as a base and come up with a pattern that works. I wanted to make the Dream Swatch wrap but I decided I could come up with something on my own.
I also dyed up a skein of yarn with Wilton cake icing dyes. It's watermelon and chocolate. I'm not totally happy with how it turned out, but I have a lot to learn about the dyeing business. I am ashamed to admit that I spent WAY to much on yarn the past few days so I have to not buy any more for a few months until I get all the stuff I have on my que knitted. I did indulge in some Lime & Violet today, and ordered some Blue Sky Alpaca's Cotton for a blanket and sweater I want to make. OK, there's one more little purchase I'm going to make from Etsy in a few days but that's IT!
I think I may have podcasted myself out. By that I mean that I've lstened to every current podcast in the knitting podcast world. Come on podcasters, put some new episodes up! I've listened to a ton lately and I'm almost sure I've heard everything I want to listen to. I actually watched a movie tonight (Girl Positive) and might catch up on a few shows while I work on my headwrap.
I'm completely PISSED at UPS tonight. I ordered a book from Amazon (Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs From Interweave) and paid for overnight shipping. I was just being greedy, I didn't really NEED it overnight, but I wanted it. Since we have Amazon Prime, it was only $3.99 to overnight it, so I thought why not? Well the idiots at UPS mis-sorted it last night and it stayed overnight in Seattle. Now come on, don't tell me they coulnd't find any other way to get it down here today. What a freaking joke. I emailed Amazon and told them I want my money back. I hope they get theirs back from UPS.

Socking along......

2007-06-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm working on the foot of the Saucy socks for my mom. Now I need her to measure her foot for me but I can't get a hold of her. Her internet is down, and since she has VOIP, her phone is down too. So she is only available on a cell and she frequently leaves it places. I've called her a few times but she's not answering.
So I'm back to knitting on the Rectangular Cover Shawl which totally sucks. I hate this thing so much. I'd let it fester in my UFO bin but it's a Mother's Day (obviously late) present for my step-mom so I really need to get it finished. I have about 3 1/2 more repeats of the 48 row pattern. Remind me to never do a pattern with a 48 row repeat again. It takes FOR-freaking-EVER!
I spent my morning helping at VBS, which really isn't my thing but I did it anyway. I wanted the boys to have something to do, and if Cee-Cee was going to stay, I had to stay too (they didn't have a group for toddlers except for workers' kids). All the while I was thinking about all the knitting I could have accomplished. It's interesting about obsessions. You know you are obsessed when you can't stop thinking about something. I know that statistics say that men think about sex every 10 minutes or something. I can top that with how much I think about knitting or knitting related things these days. My PT told me today that I am totally obsessed because part of my vacation was to visit yarn shops.
That reminds me, I did forego a yarn shop visit today. We were in St. Helens going to Wally world (the kids needed a new DVD/VCR) and we found a little yarn shop. I don't even know if it was open but I passed (don't faint) because he had a bunch of other things to do.
Must go knit on the neverending shawl...........

More yarn shopping and yarn porn at home waiting for me!

2007-06-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

We went to a yarn store today in Kent called Renaissance Yarns. It was really a nice store. We got there about 5 minutes before it opened and there were about 8 people waiting to get in. I guess they had 2 classes going on this morning. I looked around alot. They had some of the nice Duet sock yarns, but only 2 in fingering weight and I wasn't fond of the colors. They had some DK that I liked but decided was too expensive. They were selling kits for the Mariner's Stitch and Pitch, with Mariners color sock yarns (I guess they were Duets) but you could only get the kit with the ticket and there's no way I'm going to get back up there for the game. I couldn't see paying $40 for a pair of socks and wasting the ticket. I suppose I could have tried to sell it or something.....
Anyway, we tried to find another store that was supposed to be in Burien but there wasn't a yarn shop there when we got there. Oh well.
We stopped at REI on our way home and I got my lovely Haiku bag, and I just want to hold it and stroke it.

IPOD socks

2007-06-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

So yesterday in the car on the way up to Seattle I thought I'd make a sock for my IPOD. I had a pattern, but I didn't check to see if it would fit until I was almost done, and it ended up being huge. So today I decided to make up my own pattern for a snug fitting IPOD sock. I decided to make a "toe-up" sock and so I had to learn how to properly cast on. I remembered that I had seen on the knittinghelp.com site that someone had linked to Knitty's article on the magic cast on. So I pulled that up on the laptop and in less than 15 minutes I had it all figured out. So I'm making a cute little IPOD sock that has little cables and a lacy stripe up the middle. I think it's going to turn out nice.
I found out my Haiku bag is at the store in Hillsboro and I've convinced DH to take the long way home so we can stop and get it. I'm already drooling and I don't even have the bag in my hot little hands.
On a non-knitting note, we went to IKEA for the first time and dropped $550 on a bunch of crap. We actually did get 2 dressers to replace the one that DH and I share, and is falling apart. He's going to fix it (the drawers are broken) and give it to the boys and we each will have our own now. Whoopie! I'm tired of only having 3 drawers and they are always crammed full of crap. And my sock drawer has been sitting on top of the dog's crate for weeks now. We also got a bunch of other pretty nice stuff including a big butcher block cutting board for $10.

A fertile woman's worst nightmare

2007-06-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

At least I wasn't wearing white pants.
So last night we went to a Mariners game in Seattle. We drove up yesterday after my PT appointment. We checked into the hotel, then headed to the stadium. When we got there we discovered we (ok, it was me) forgot the tickets and had to drive back to the hotel. Fortunately it wasn't that far away and we made it back in time.
Of course, any time we travel AF decides it's time to make a visit. During the game (right near the end) I felt a huge gush and knew that we had a problem. After the game I went up to the bathroom (with my supplies in tow) to discover that the big gush had left a huge stain on the back of my pants. And I had walked all the way to the bathroom like that. How freaking embarrassing. Fortunately I had my sweatshirt to tie around my waist, which left my arms uncovered and cold. At least I didn't look like a freak. But of course it was the only pair of pants I had brought so I was shopping for new pants last night at Walmart at 11:00 pm. It figures.
So today I got to check out a few LYS's here in the Renton area where we are staying. The first was Knittery, which was a nice little shop with a lot of easy to get yarns, and some really nice han dyed stuff. They had a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Hawaii, the color I'm dying for, but since I would need 2 to make a pair of socks, I passed. I did get a size 2 40" Addi turbo to work on my socks, and some size 3 DPN's since it says to use a bigger size for the cuff. I had been doing them on 4's but I think they're going to be too big so I'm going to pull it out. They had some Della Q bags there, and in the color that I adore. But since I just bought the Haiku I couldn't see how I could convince DH that I needed 2 bags. We'll see once I get my grubby little paws on the Haiku though.
We then went to another shop, I think it was called Nancy's Knit shop. I wasn't impressed at all. They had Susan Bates needles, and yarn I could get anywhere. The fanciest yarn they had was Noro Kureyon.
There are 2 more shops I want to check out tomorrow. DH had to go do some work at the district office up here so I'm now sitting in the hotel with the kids and planning to knit on my socks.
So no new yarn porn yet, although I do have 2 skeins of Socks That Rock on the way. Oh, and my Haiku bag is waiting for me at the REI in Hillsboro. We may have to come home the longer way just so I can stop and get it.

Forgot the Yarn Porn

2007-06-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

The first is Araucania Nature Wool in color #32. It's certainly not as soft as Malabrigo but will make something nice for winter.

The second is Fleece Artist Merino Socks in Baltic Sea Storm. Oh how I love this color. I acutally think it's not as dark as the picture from the website but I like it anyway.
The third is Fleece Artist Nova Sock in Fruit Punch. Brighter than I expected but will make some fun socks. These are my first Fleece Artist purchases.
The last 3 are Malabrigo worsted. The first one is Alpine Pearl, which is a nice soft blue/violet colorway. The second is Black Forest, which is mostly grays. I thought it would be lighter in color than this. The last is Velvet Grapes, which will be perfect to make something for my mom. Although she's allergic to wool. I hate that.
Enjoy the porn.

Lillehammer is done

2007-06-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

I finished the Lillehammer hat today. It was quite easy and a fun quick knit. I had planned on casting on the Saucy socks today but haven't got around to it yet. I did knit a bit on the Rectangular Lace Shawl (BORING) and did a lot of listeining to Lime & Violet podcasts. DH brought me home these hideous huge headphones because the ear bud kinds all hurt my ears. I guess I have freakishly small ear canals or something. I ordered a new pair but I don't know if they will be here before we leave for our trip tomorrow.
The kids are driving me nuts and I'm glad for the 4 day diversion. I hope they are at least decent and sleep. It's always a crapshoot to see if a vacation will be restful or maniacal.
I'm going to try to cast on the Saucy socks now and get a bit of the cuff done. I hope I can do it.

Lillehammer

2007-06-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm nearly done with the Lillehammer. It's an easy knit and a fun pattern. I've enjoyed my first real venture into fair aisle and would definitely do it again. I would have finished it today if I didn't have a massive headache most of the day. Na-Na also had a dentist appointment this morning so that took up some time too.
I just discovered podcasts, and I'm totally hooked. I downloaded like 100 episodes today and believe it or not the TV was only on for 1 hour today (because I HAD to watch The Deadliest Catch season finale). Right now I'm listening to Knitters Uncensored. I'm going to make a list with the podcasts I like so if you're interested you can check them out.
Tomorrow I have nothing to do, so I will definitely get the hat done, and cast on the Saucy socks. I also want to make a quick IPOD cozy since I plan on taking the ipod with me on our little trip. I suppose this time I should knit a gauge swatch since I never do it. I did find that on the Lillehammer, I was right on gauge with rows per inch, but not on stiches per inch. I need to work more on gauge swatches. I've never bothered but I see the benefit of them. Plus, I have some of the samples of yarn that Cider Moon sent so I can use that for a gauge.

Yarntopia

2007-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today I had my post-op check with Dr. Butler so I knew I had to go into town. On the way, I checked the mail and there were 2 packages full of yarn porn. I couldn't wait until we got to town to open them so I was opening them as I was driving down the road. Dangerous I know but I'm sure you understand my impatience. There were three skeins of Malabrigo in one package. One skein in Velvet Grapes, which is kind of burgundy and purple. One skein was Alpine Pearl, which is a lovely blue/lavender color. This one I will use for something for me. The last was Black Forest, which is a greeny/black. I'm going to use the purple to make something for my mom (she loves purple) and the Black Forest is to make something for my sister.
In the other package was 3 skeins of the Cider Moon yarn I ordered. Two are for the Lillehammer hat for R. (Dove and Johnny Cash) and the other is Jackie O., which will become a pair of socks for my mom. They were so nice that they sent me some lengths of Blimey free (for the contrast on the hat) and in the package were 6 little samples of different yarns they make. I was thoroughly impressed with their yarns and plan to order more.
I cast on for the Lillehammer hat tonight and I'm sure if I stayed up until 1 am I could have it done. It's an easy knit and I'm enjoying the fair isle style. I'm sure that R. will love it too as it's just her style. I'm still working on the rectangular scarf for J. and my mom's Clapotis. I have so many things I want to start on but I NEED to get the dumb scarf done. It's slow going because it's laceweight yarn. It will be a while before I take on that big of a project again.

Happy Day yarn

2007-06-16T22:01:00.001-07:00

My yarn that I dyed yesterday is done and here it is. I decided to call it happy day because it's bright and sunny. The red is cherry Kool-Aid, the orange is orange (obviously) and the yellow is 2 packets of Lemonade. This was a good experiment in dyeing and I want to do some more. I needed more dye, and a better way to keep the colors from sneaking into areas I didn't want them. I think I might knit a pair of longies soakers for Cee-Cee for winter even though she won't be in diapers by then (I sure hope!). They'd still make cute pants.
I got my sample of yarn from Cider Moon today and now I'm impatiently waiting to get my yarn. Mom came over and we looked at about 10 bazillion sock patterns and I still think I'm going to end up making the ones from Cider Moon that I was originally going to make. We did print out a bunch of patterns so if I decide I like knitting socks I already have some patterns
I got a new book last night at Barnes and Noble called Cables Untangled. I really like it and I'm knitting the gauntlets for Rachel with one of the cable patterns. We'll see how it turns out.

My great idea

2007-06-14T20:27:00.001-07:00

OK, the Andre scarf was a bust. I suck at intarsia. I think I spend about3 hours getting about 10 rows done (3 times over) before I threw in the towel. So I decided to knit R some gauntlets, a cabled scarf, and hat that match. Only I couldn't find a pattern I liked. So I got the great idea that I'll make one up as I go. But that was after I already ordered some Malabrigo for either the Fetching or Dashing gloves from Knitty. Darn, I guess I'll just have to find another use for that skein of Malabrigo.
In any case, I found a yarn co-op that co-ops 100purewool, and it's dirt cheap. It's already dirt cheap on the site but has to be sent from South America so the postage sucks. Anyway I ordered 10 skeins via the co-op and let's hope it gets to 500 skeins soon because I'm itching to start. Maybe if the pattern turns out good enough I'll submit it to Knitty or MagKnits. Or sell it. Who knows.
I'm trying to work on J's rectangular shawl but I didn't get much done today. H. was a pill and I had PT so that took up a lot of time. Tomorrow is playgroup at the park and I can take my knitting but who knows how much I might actually get done.
I'm going to give Kool-Aid dyeing a whirl tomorrow. I have a bunch of packets and 3 hanks of KP superwash sport to work with. I think I'll try one at a time. We'll see how it turns out. Stay tuned.

Nothing Interesting

2007-06-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

Shit. I had about 1/2 my post done and I hit some button and it magically disappeared. I have terrible luck.
K. came over yesterday and I gave her the stuff I made for her and the girls. She loved it of course. She's such a great friend and I just wanted her to know how much I appreciate that. I can't wait to see R. wearing Anouk this fall.
I got the bare merino I ordered from KP today (along with the other goodies I had to add to get free shipping!). I bought Kool-Aid at the store the other day to dye it with. Now I just need to decide on a project to make with it. Hm..........Probably something for H.
I need to get working on the stuff for R. and for J. since their Pampered Chef stuff is coming here first. I think I'll work on J's shawl tonight.
I ordered some yarn from Cider Moon today to make their Lillehammer hat for R. for her birthday. It was last week, but I'm late as usual. She doesn't need it now anyway, but she's going to be stationed in Korea in September and it's cold there she says. Anyway, the pattern calls for a small amount of their "Blimey" color for a few rows of contrast. I didn't want to pay for a whole skein (it's spendy, although beautiful, stuff) so I just asked if they'd throw in a short piece and charge me like $1 or something. They promptly replied and said they'd throw it in for free, no problem. Isn't that great customer service? I can't wait to get their yarn. I also ordered a skein to make some socks for Mom. It'll be my first forray into adult socks (I did make the baby socks but those are a completely different story). I hope I don't screw them up too much.

May I present to you......

2007-06-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

Anouk in all her glory. I put the cute little ladybug buttons on today and blocked it. Wow, did it straighten up nice when I steamed it lightly. I am totally in love with how this turned out. I used KP Shine Worsted in Terra Cotta for the main color (in case you are wondering, I was able to get by with 3 skeins, I ordered 4 and didn't need the 4th at all), Grass for the green, Crocus for the purple, and Watermelon for the red. I probably could have got by with finding scraps for the red as it only took a few yards.
K. is bringing over the girls tomorrow so I'll present her with her trio of gifts. I hope she loves them. She has been so helpful to me since my surgery and I just want to give her a token of my appreciation.
Now I think I'm going to try to knit some Saartje's booties tonight with the new sock yarn I got today. It's Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace. I had wanted the Strawberries and Limes color, but Littleknits was out when I ordered. Of course she got new stock in and now I HAVE to get me some. Since there's a minimum order at this store I guess I'll just HAVE to buy more yarn. LOL.

Anouk Conquered!

2007-06-10T22:22:00.001-07:00

I finished Anouk today. OK, I still have to sew on the really cute ladybug buttons and block it, but I'm otherwise done. And dang if it isn't cute as a ladybug button. I'm getting a lot of knitting done lately which I like. But, now I have to go back to the two shawls I'm doing that I've been putting off. Only because they take so long. Then I'm going to make an OBEY scarf and a cool hat for R. for her birthday which was last Thursday. I'm the queen of the late gifts lately.
My Pampered Chef party will actually close tomorrow and right now I'm $6 away from my goal. There's one more person left who said she'd order (and E. will talk to her tomorrow morning) and then I'll have to hand over my credit card number. I've fouund a few more products to add to my order that I can't life without. Yeah right. Let's get real....all this stuff is pure "want" but the deal I'm getting is fabulous. And I'm excited about delivering all the neat stuff to everyone. It was a GOOD idea to have this party.
On a side note, it's been like 2 months since I've balanced my checkbook and it's such a mess I feel like throwing in the towel and just opening a new account. It's just going to take so long to figure it all out that I just give up. Supposedly Rivermark Credit Union is going to be offering a great new interest bearing checking account mid-month, so we might check it out. We can get DH's direct deposit changed, then just quit using our other account. Once everything clears we can close it out. Seems like a good way to "balance" to me.

Ready to mail

2007-06-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

I got the super top secret project all done today. We went into town and did a marathon shopping trip and I got everything I needed. I did the matress stitch seam (for the fist time, might I add!) and sewed on the ribbon tie. It's all done and ready to mail out on Monday to my friend S. and her baby Lila. I'm sure it's too big for her to wear now, but that's good. They live in Florida and probably don't want to dress the baby in wool for the summer. It should fit for the fall/winter unless she grows as fast as her big brother did.
I started on Anouk last night and have the front done. I should probably be able to get the back done tomorrow and get it stitched up. It's really quite easy. If I get that done, then K., A., and R.'s presents are ready.
My Pampered Chef party closes tomorrow and I'm just shy of $500 right now. I have a few people I need to hit up for orders tomorrow, and if they don't buy anything I'm going to get something to make it up to $500. If I spend $15, I'll get another $30 in product credit plus another 5% off all my purchases so it's worth it. Now I have to find something I want though. Finding something I WANT is not hard, but I need to pare it down to what I NEED. I'm going to end up with about $300 worth of stuff for less than $100 though. Not too shabby.

Super Top Secret Project is done!

2007-06-07T20:20:00.001-07:00

So the super top secret project is finally complete. My good friend S. (I'm sure she won't read this) recently had a baby girl. She didn't know the gender ahead of time so I knit her a nice green blankie for the baby with the intentions of knitting more items when the baby was born. Well much to my surprise (I had bet on boy) it was a girl. So I ordered this awesome Malabrigo yarn in the colorway of "Melilla". Normally I don't say people's names, but I got this yarn on purpose because the baby's name is Lila. Anyway, 4 days later and the project is done. The dress is Blossom from Magknits. The soaker is a free pattern from Fern anad Faerie. The socks were from a book called Knit Baby Head and Toes. I'm still not completely satisfied with how the socks turned out but I think I tried 3 bootie/sock patterns before I finally decided these were good enough.
I still need to seam the dress, but I need some ribbon for the side ties and I don't have any. I'll have to try to get into town this weekend so I can get this in the mail next week. I made the 3-6 month size so I still have lots of time but I hate seaming and the longer I wait the less likely it will get done before the baby turns 3.
For my next project, I'm starting Anouk. The pattern confused the heck out of me until I went to the designer's website and realized that the sides aren't seamed at all, it's just a pinafore. I did read that it was a pinafore, but it didn't sink in what that really meant.
I also found this great pattern from Cider Moon for a hat called Lillehammer that I think R. would love. I tried to buy some of their yarn but their site is down for a few weeks for vacation or something. Guess that will have to wait for now.
Cee-Cee was in an especially crabby mood today and refused a nap. Made mommy more tired and I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

Super Top Secret Project--almost done

2007-06-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

I have worked furiously the past few days on my super top secret project, hence no blog entries. I am finishing the last part of it probably tomorrow. Then I need to get some ribbon, sew up some seams, and I'll be done. I have LOVED working with this Malabrigo, and intend to buy a whole bunch more if I can ever find it at a good price. It's lovely soft stuff and knits up well. I'm sure the receiver of this project will love it.
If and when I get this done, I'm going to start on the Anouk. When I get that done I can give the Booga and the cardi to K. and her kids. I think Anouk will knit up pretty fast. Then when that's done I'll start on the dress for Hennessy.
But I still have the shawls for my mom and step mom to finish. Who knows when I'll get back to those. At least the Clapotis is interesting. The other one is boring as hell.
I'll get some pics posted of the Super Top Secret Project later as I'm sure the receiver won't see this.

Pampered Chef party

2007-06-03T20:27:00.001-07:00

I had my Pampered Chef party today. I have another week to gather orders, but it should turn out pretty good. Somebody ought to come up with this sort of idea for knitters. Then I could get free yarn instead of free kitchen stuff. Oh well.
I didn't get much knitting done today but that's OK. It was hot and not a good day to knit anyway. I decided after dinner to start on a pair of bootees. It's a trial pair to see if this pattern will work with the yarn I have. If it works, then I'll make a few pairs. They seem to be going fast.
I didn't get pictures today of the cardi on Cee-Cee so I'll have to try for that tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be better so maybe she'll be cooperative. I wouldn't count on it though with a 2 1/2 year old.

Clapotis started

2007-06-02T23:08:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture (although not a very good one) of the completed cardi. Tomorrow I'll put it on Cee-Cee and take a better picture. It turned out nicely. It was nearly midnight when I finished weaving in all the ends. I hate that part.
Today, I started on Clapotis. Na-Na had a baseball tournament that took up most of the day. I went along because I needed to do some shopping and go to the pharmacy in Banks. It was a super hot day and even though I spent most of the day in the shade I got burned. They lost the first game, and smoked the other team in the second game. All in all the boys had fun and that's what matters. After that, we had to rush home, change clothes, then go to the lake for the crossover ceremony for Cub Scouts. We all came home exhausted.
I got a lot done on the clapotis. I'm almost done with the "increase" rows. I have just 6 more rows to complete. I would have finished them tonight but I screwed up and had to pull out like 4 rows and I just couldn't knit any more today. I'm using Araucania Nature Cotton which is a very interesting yarn. It's going to end up being a REALLY heavy scarf. I expect that Mom will only use it in the winter.
I'm hosting a Pampered Chef party tomorrow afternoon. Anyone out there wanna buy some Pampered Chef stuff? Seriously, there' s probably only going to be 4 or 5 people there, but oh well. We're going to make chocolate trifle so that will be yummy.

Weaving in ends

2007-06-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

All I have left on the cardi is to weave in the ends. This is about my least favorite part of finishing. It's 11:00 but I am determined to finish tonight. I made some modifications to the pattern. I didn't do the garter stitch edging on the sleeves or the bottom, and instead of knitting the edging like the pattern said, I knit an i-cord edging. It looks pretty good to me.
I got my Patagonia today, so Cee-Cee and I wound 8 balls of it. The hanks were a real mess and it took a long time. It would have been faster without a 2 year old "helping" me. I hope I can start the Clapotis tomorrow.
Na-na (my almost 7 year old, that's what his sister calls him) has 2 baseball games tomorrow so I guess the Clapotis will be my take-along project.
I ordered yarn today for my secret swap. I hope she likes it. I got a good deal on it so I was able to get her several different skeins.

Not finished yet

2007-05-31T21:43:00.000-07:00

I was lying in bed when I realized I didn't blog today and since I promised myself I'd blog daily, I got up to do it. Really I was already 1/2 asleep but here I am at the computer.
I didn't get the cardi completely done today. I'm working on the bottom of the body, I have a few more inches to go then I'll be done. There's some trim work before the yucky finishing parts but hopefully I'll get that done tomorrow.
I wonder if the pattern designer wants to hear my thoughts about her pattern. There are some issues with it. The pattern says to slip 2 knit wise, knit one, then psso. Well, if you only pass one stitch over, you increase on every row. What the pattern really should say is P2SSO. Plus it annoys the crap out of me that she didn't put in row counts. I could go on and on, but I won't because it would probably be boring.
I found a really cute pattern for a wrap dress that I want to make, but it's made with lightweight yarn, and the yarn I have is worsted. I'm not talented enough to adapt a pattern. I also want to make the Flore hat for Cee-Cee, but I can't find anywhere with all the colors of Tahki Cotton Classic that I want. Seems like these must be unpopular colors. I can order them from the Tahki website but the shipping charges are outrageous. I'm going to have to consider it, but since I bought the hat pattern already I fell compelled to knit it.
I had PT today and K. really killed my shoulder. She did some massage that hurt like HELL and some exercises that I tolerated. She also did some ultrasound which I can't tell if it does anything or not. My shoulder hurts worse than usual today so I was in bed lying with an ice pack on when I got up to blog. Guess I should get back to the ice pack.