Interwoven

2009-09-27T16:20:00.003-04:00

Every time I make a resolution to update this blog more frequently I end up breaking it. Life has been busy around here. The Jewish Holidays combined with some extra hours at work conspired to keep me silent here. Sorry.

Yesterday DH went to visit DS. I didn't go because I had to work. DS has outgrown most if not all of his pants so DH took him to the store to buy new ones. Don't know why they let this go so long we would have bought him stuff weeks ago if we'd known he was in need. DS himself wouldn't necessarily say anything about it. That's something I have to talk to him about. One of the numerous things you take for granted from so-called normal kids that we cannot take for granted with DS.

DD went to an anime convention yesterday and today. The first time she has been on the railroad without us. She went with some friends and since she is nearly 16 we figured that it was OK and she'd be safe. She had a great time and I think it was made even better because she knew we trusted her. She went in costume dressed as a character from a favorite anime. Cost her a fortune to get the costume and she spent all her art periods this past week making a prop for it (a large cleaver made out of cardboard. Don't ask). But she thought it was worth it and others must have too because lots of people asked her if they could take her picture.

DH and I have decided to go away for a long weekend in October. DD has a Girl Scout trip that weekend and we thought we'd take advantage of her being away to catch some time alone. We'll be staying in a Bed and Breakfast in upstate NY. We plan to do some antiquing, hike and enjoy seeing the leaves turn color. We used to do this all the time before we had kids but don't get as much of a chance nowadays. Bed and Breakfasts are fun to stay at. The food is usually excellent and it's nice to sit at the breakfast table with the other guests and trade stories.

On the knitting front, I am up to the sleeves on the February Lady Sweater and am putting it on hold till I can get to the LYS. My LYSO told me I should bring it in and she'll show me how to do the sleeves on two circulars rather than with double points. I've tried this technique and like it all I need is for her to give me a refresher (and sell me a second #7 circ). She also suggested that I finish off the button bands with some single crochet. I think I will follow her advice it should make it look more finished.

I finally sewed together the aran sweater. It was supposed to be over sized but it's a bit too big even for that. I am not happy, I worked hard on it but I suppose I can wear it anyway. I will post a picture as soon as I can get DD to take one of me wearing it. I also bought the yarn for a very nice shrug that I saw at the LYS. I am doing it in black Noro so I can wear it for work (we have to dress in mostly black ie. black pants any color shirt as long as you wear a black jacket over it). Like the February Lady Sweater this is knitted in once piece with no seams. I don't mind sewing pieces together but this is a nice technique that I have come to like doing the FLS. Still not ready to go whole hog and start making steeks, but I can see myself making a sweater in one piece from time to time.

Well must go and put up the Turkey Roast we are having for dinner. I hope to be back here on the blog sometime this week (fingers crossed)

2009-09-09T13:30:00.004-04:00

Finally I have the time to write a post. DS has gone back to school in Pennsylvania and DD has started school as well. My life is once again my own :).

Our vacation was a good one. We didn't do all that much in contrast to most vacations we go on but that was the entire point. This was meant to be an opportunity to kick back and relax. We went to the beach (and all four of us got sunburned), walked the boardwalk, and played some miniature golf on what were some fairly inventive courses. (I even enjoyed it and I hate mini golf)

We did have a bit of a scare with the car. There was a loud thumping noise coming from the right rear wheel for most if not all of the trip. The car was otherwise fine, had not problems with handling but made this awful noise. Soon as we got back we had it looked at and found that it wasn't a serious problem after all just a loose spring in the wheel. Crisis averted.

Here's the picture I promised of my latest Secret Pal package:

I got some lovely yarn with a sparkle running through it, some cable needles, yummy tea, a circular needle and the pattern for the Irish Hiking scarf which as I said before I have been wanting to make forever. My pal knows how to spoil!

Yesterday DD came with me to drop off DS for his trip back to school (we bring him to Pen Station in Manhattan and the staff from school meets us there and takes them the rest of the way back. A very nice arrangement that keeps us from having to make the three hour drive) so that we could do some shopping. We ate lunch with DH and then headed to Century 21 a discount department store in the Financial District. I used to shop there all the time when I worked on Wall Street, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and before I had kids. It hasn't changed much aside from the fact that it's gotten larger. I frankly avoid the place these days because it's right across the street from the World Trade Center site. I always get very melancholy, when I go there. The weight of my memories is just too much. I saw a lot of tourists taking pictures and I wanted to stop them and shake them and ask them why they were taking pictures of a graveyard. It's hard to see the place so empty when it's so full of people in my memory. They are making progress with the reconstruction, and one day soon it will again be filled with people. But it will never be the same again and I will never be able to look at it without sadness.

2009-08-22T23:43:00.001-04:00

We are about to leave on vacation and I have run out of time for updating this blog for now. I received a wonderful package from my Secret Pal including a pattern for the Irish Hiking Scarf which I've been wanting to make for years. Wonder how she knew I'd like this!

I had promised her that I'd post pictures to the blog but it's late and this week has been busy so it will have to wait until I get back. My humble apologies.

2009-08-04T19:55:00.007-04:00

As promised here are the before pictures of my house

And here are the after pictures.

Looks so much better now and all in all the construction wasn't too bad. A bit noisy but we got used to it. The day after they finished another crew came to put up the gutters. Took them less than half an hour to do it I was very surprised by that.

I haven't sewed the aran sweater together yet. I will try to get started on that tomorrow. The February Lady Sweater got a little stalled as I found that the needle I was working with was too short. So I went to the LYS today to get a longer one. Managed to make it out of there with the needle and nothing else. I consider that to be an achievement!

I've been going to Curves daily and am really enjoying it. I've added a bit of extra aerobics a couple of times a week as well. DD says I am addicted, and maybe I am. But this is a good addiction. I'm considering taking a class in an aerobic dance called Zumba. I heard about it on the Weight Watchers message boards. It's done to a Latin beat and sounds fun. There's a place not too far away that has a class on Wednesday night and also on Saturday mornings. I'm not working tomorrow night so I may go and give it a try. Last week at my Weight Watchers weigh in I'd lost one pound. Which is fine, as long as it keeps going down and not up I'm happy. Another change I've made is following the Beck Diet Solution book. It's not a diet it's a way to get yourself into a new mindset. One that will support your weight loss and get you thinking like a thin person. If you have to lose weight I highly recommend it. It's really helping build my confidence.

2009-07-24T10:14:00.003-04:00

They started the siding on the house this morning. As I type this they are pounding away on the outside of our house removing the old siding. You can imagine how loud all of this is but DD, bless her, sleeps on through it all. I am convinced this kid could sleep through a nuclear attack.

I finished the aran sweater! I'm not working this weekend and plan to spend tomorrow sewing it together. It took about a year longer than I'd intended but came out great. I've started the February Lady Sweater and despite a few false starts am doing well with it. I've decided to use kbf increases rather than m1. I didn't like the way the m1 looked in garter stitch and think that this increase looks much better.

As I said I would I joined Curves yesterday. I enjoyed the workout quite a bit. Just enough to get your heart rate up not so much as you feel like falling down afterwards, just what I was looking for. As soon as DD wakes up I'm going to go for another session. That's if I can figure out how to get out of the house without siding falling on my head :).

2009-07-22T19:25:00.002-04:00

Well they didn't start the siding on the house today as had been scheduled. Yesterday was very rainy around here and it set them back on another job so ours had to be postponed for a day. They should be starting tomorrow. All the new windows as well as the patio door are in. What an improvement over the old windows especially in the Living Room. So much more light than before. I sat here all day knitting in the sun.

Today I picked up the yarn from my LYS for the February Lady Sweater. I will cast on for it over the weekend I suppose. I am trying to finish my aran sweater first and I am nearly done. I'm in the middle of doing the raglan decreases on the second sleeve. Then it's sewing time. I am one of the few who doesn't mind sewing the pieces of a sweater together. It's all part of the process to me and I am definitely a process kind of knitter. One of these days I suppose I ought to try knitting a sweater in the round just to see if I like the process as much as doing it in pieces.

After talking about it with DH, I have decided to join a gym. I have Weight Watchers tomorrow morning and that's in the same shopping center as the local Curves so I'm going to find out how much it costs to join. According to their website if you join now you get the rest of the summer for free so it's a good time to do it. If you've not heard of Curves, it's a 30 minute circuit gym that is for women only. Most people do it three times a week. The circuit is designed to give you some weight training as well as cardio and they said on the website that you can burn about 500 calories while you work out. I am mostly interested in the health benefits of working out but burning those calories will help me to lose weight as well. Wish I'd been able to drop a few in the last couple of months. I have to see the cardiologist for my yearly checkup next week and he's going to yell at me about my weight I just know it. Well serves me right. Last year when I had some minor chest discomfort it turned out that I was having mild heart trouble. The doctor really lectured me about getting into shape and I listened to a point but then got kind of lazy and slacked off. Especially in the winter months when it was hard to get out of the house to do a daily walk. So I fell out of the habit of exercising and have found it hard to get back into it. Curves is easy and it's not far from my house so I won't have any excuses.

2009-07-21T09:38:00.002-04:00

I hate my socks. There I said it. DD and I went to a museum the other day and I took the socks I'm currently working on to knit on the train. As I worked I became more and more aware that I was unhappy with them. They are very plain (a single color cream colored yarn), and the toe of sock one didn't turn out so well (pulled the kitchner stitch too tight). Frankly, they are ugly. Life is too short to knit ugly socks so they are being summarily abandoned. Time to dive into the stash and start a new pair.

The contractors are busy putting in our new patio door today. With luck they will get done early and I will be able to run some errands before I have to go to work. I need to pick up something at the supermarket, buy a DVD that we promised to DS, and and pick up the yarn for the February Lady Sweater at the LYS. Not sure how long they are going to take as it is raining and that's sure to slow them up a bit, so keep your fingers crossed!

2009-07-20T16:16:00.003-04:00

Got a wonderful package from my Secret Pal on Saturday. Here's a picture of what I got

I have two skeins of alpaca, a pattern for a hat or mittens using it, some gift tags, an adorable ice cube try in the shape of penguins, some coffee, a candle that's scented like coffee and some delicious sour gummies. Thanks so much to my Secret Pal!

We started the work on the house today. They arrived early and put in all the windows that we are replacing. Tomorrow they come back and do some finishing work and install our new patio door. Then on Wednesday they start the siding. I have before pictures of the house but I am holding off on posting them till I have the after pictures to place beside them.

Still reading Harry Potter. I am now on the fifth book, the one in the series that I stopped reading in the middle and never finished though I don't know why. So far it's as good as the others, and the others are pretty good!

2009-07-15T16:11:00.003-04:00

Well DD went to the movie and enjoyed it despite having several problems with the way they did things. A movie is rarely as good as a book I think. Me? Well I didn't pick her up until about 2:45am and as a result I am totally worn out today. Did my Meals on Wheels run half asleep. Remind me when the next movie comes out that it's another parent's turn to stay awake.

Friday DD and I are having a day in the city. We are going to go to our favorite museum and then meet DH for dinner. It's been quite a while since we've done something like this and I am looking forward to it. I'll bring my socks to knit on the train.

Secret Pal is in full swing. I've heard from my spoiler a couple of times and she tells me that a package is on the way. As she is somewhere in Europe I am especially looking forward to getting it. Now I have to put something together for my spoilee. I plan to send a couple of small packages and one big one at the end. It's an idea I got from another person in the swap and I think it will work better for me. When I do Secret Pal I always have trouble coming up with a good theme for the package. This leaves me more time to come up with an idea. (if you want to find out more about Secret Pal just go to the blog. This round is closed for sign ups but you can still go there to find out more and be ready for round 15)

We are going to be doing major stuff to the house next week. New siding and windows are going in, and I promise to post before and after pictures. We are using a color no one else on our street has, a pale sage green. Green is my favorite color, we didn't like the tan or cream shades, and this one looked good with the color of our roof (which is a dark blue). I can't wait to see how the house will look, it's hard to visualize from the small sample we picked from. The contractor is the same one who did such an excellent job on our kitchen two years ago. He's honest, quick, and brings the project in on budget. What more can you ask for? They begin with the windows on Monday and should have both them and the siding done by Friday.

I ended up only skimming the second Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). I've read it a few times and have recently seen the movie, so I just read my favorite bits. Now I am reading the third book (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) which I have always liked. I don't know why I never read the fifth book but I am anxious to get to it so I can finish the series. With all the book reading I'm doing I've not done much knitting the last few days. Must put some work in on the sleeve of the aran sweater so I can finish it. I ought to learn that setting deadlines for myself hardly ever works.

2009-07-13T19:07:00.002-04:00

We went to visit DS yesterday. Usually we wouldn't have made a visit so soon after he'd been home but with my work schedule and DD having several weekend events coming up it was the best day for us to do it. I didn't take any knitting with me and regretted it when we went to play mini golf. There I was walking around in the hot sun keeping score while the rest of the family played, God I was bored! I'm all for family togetherness, especially when we have DS with us which doesn't happen as often as I'd like. I recognize the value of cheering them all on during a game, but I draw the line at mini golf. For some reason I just have never been able to enjoy playing. It's not that I am bad at it, I'm no worse than the rest of the family, I just find it boring. Never liked regular golf either, I'm lucky that DH never tried the game. I'll be sure to back a golf friendly project when we go on vacation this summer. I've been told that the place where we are going has tons of mini golf. :)

In addition to boring me nearly to death this weekend, we went shopping in a little tourist town near DS's school. It's crowded but a nice place and has some lovely little shops to poke around in. For the first time on a trip like this DS walked along with the rest of us without complaining and even made suggestions about which stores to go into. He never does that. He usually whines that he is tired and constantly asks when we are going to be done. All he asked was that we go to a bookstore at some point during the day. He couldn't have been more cooperative if he didn't have autism. While driving we passed a yarn store that seemed to also carry spinning gear. I will have to try and find it on the Internet and find out when they are open and check it out on one of our weekend visits.

Tomorrow, midnight, is the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. DD is going to the show wearing the scarf I made despite the heat. One of her friends owns all five movies and they are gathering at her house to watch them all day. Then they are going into town for dinner and the new movie. I have volunteered to stay awake and pick them up after the show to drive them all home. I've done things like this before. DD went to two midnight events when the books were newly published. Once it took so long for everyone to get their books that we didn't make it home until 3 AM. Personally I love the Harry Potter books although I've only read the first four. This Summer I am re-reading them and going on to finish the series. At the moment I am reading the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I recommend the books to anyone whatever their age. They are a great guilty pleasure for adults.

2009-07-06T14:01:00.003-04:00

DD got her grades and did well on all her exams even the math one which she was very concerned about. She insists that they must have massively curved it but I prefer to think she just did better than she expected. Her best friend got out of the hospital and is doing much better but still has to take it easy. She'll probably not be herself again till the summer is over.

DD continues to knit if only for short bursts. Now she is talking about making her first project, a pair of leg warmers from Sally Melville's Knit stitch book. I have to trade in the yarn for my February Lady sweater. The one I picked, Cascade Pistaza was too fuzzy for my taste and I found it too scratchy as I worked with it. So, I am trading it in for some Cascade 220 which should be in at my LYS tomorrow or Wednesday. In any case, I am going over to the LYS tomorrow to finally work out the problem I have with my aran sweater. I am up to the sleeve and it seems as though two of the cables are merging and I am not sure how to handle it. So Val is going to sit with me and work it through. There is a posibility of holding onto the Pisatza to make a felted bag but I am not sure about that yet. The lace scarf I made for my friend got rave reviews from the crowd at the LYS as did the scarf that I made for DD. Always nice to get that kind of ego boost. I tend to be very critical of my own knitting and getting having other knitters say nice things about it is a treat.

DS was in for a week (hence the lack of blog posts). It was a wonderful visit. He was better than I've ever seen him on a home visit before. He spent most of his visit in the time honored fashion of teen agers, hanging out with his friends, playing video games and sacking out in front of the TV.

I am doing Secret Pal again this round and here is my questionaire:

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

I suppose my all time favorites are merino and cashmere. I don't like "scratchy" wools or plastic like acrylics.

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

I have a needle roll and a tin I keep needles in. I could use something for my growing collection of circular needles. I've been switching from straights to circs the last couple of years.

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 over 40 years and was taught by a combination of my mother and my brother's girl friend. I consider myself to be a fairly advanced knitter.

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

I have an Amazon wish list.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I like woody and spicy scents.

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

Unfortunately for my waist line I have a sweet tooth :). My favorite candy is anything that is sour

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

I am learning how to spindle spin.

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

I like alternative, classic rock and jazz I can play MP3's.

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

Earth tones are my favorites especially dark green, burnt orange and brown

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

I am married with two kids who are in their teens, we have a guinea pig

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

I wear scarves, hats and mittens but not ponchos.

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

Socks and lace.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A pair of socks, an aran sweater and the February Lady Sweater

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes!

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

Circ's are prefered. I don't care for plastic needles.

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

I own both

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

About a year old

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

My favorite holdays are Passover, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. We celebrate Hannukah

19. Is there anything that you collect?

I collect penguins

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 Cookie A's sock knitting book, and want to try Knit Picks Circular needles. I don't subscribe to any of the magazines I prefer to pick them up when one of them has a pattern that I must have.

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

Knitting socks from the toe up and knitting socks on two circular needles. I've tried to learn how to do the two circ method and just cannot get my mind wrapped around it.

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

Yes I am a sock knitter. 8 1/2 inches around the ball of my foot and also from my heel to the tip of my toe.

23. When is your birthday?

August 20th

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

Yes, you can find me there as Fizbin.

2009-06-24T21:00:00.006-04:00

Went to the LYS on Saturday with DD and the imposssible happened Val the very sweet woman who owns Knitting on the Lamb got DD knitting! I've tried over the years to teach her but never had success. DD either was too young to grasp it or professed no interest in learning. Well she did a fair amount of knitting while I sat and worked on a gauge swatch for the February Lady Sweater. We were both quite happy and DD has been practicing on some stash yarn I gave her. She's making the occaisional beginners mistake but for the most part has a handle on it. I'm proud of her!

Thanks to all who wished her luck on her exams. They are all finished now but we will not know the results for a bit yet. I'll be sure to clue you in when we get her marks in the mail.

Finally put the fringe on DD's Slytherin House Scarf (from Charmed Knits). The process reminded me why I never put fringe on scarfs; it's a pain in the neck. Here's a picture of DD wearing the scarf:

Can't see the fringes on this picture, but DD insisted on choosing the one I post and this is the one she picked :)

We went to visit DD's best friend at the hospital this evening. Poor kid has a bad case of Mono and has been unable to hold down food so they have her on an IV drip to keep her hydrated. She missed all their end of year testing and will have to take the statewide Regents tests at another school in August. I really feel for the kid, having once had a case of Mono myself. It's not a fun thing to be sick with. They hope she will be well enough to come home by Friday.

2009-06-16T09:36:00.007-04:00

Can't believe I haven't posted since June 1! Things have been busy. I got some wonderful Spud and Chole yarn from a contest I won on Knit One School Two. It's gorgeous stuff here's a picture of it:

Got another Traveling Tea Box from the Cuppa Tea group on Ravelry. This is the second box I have gotten; DD and I had a grand time going through it to pick out our goodies. Great fun deciding what to put in too.

Here's a picture of what I took out of the box:

Lots of lovely tea (to which I am as addicted as I am to knitting), a cool pack of note cards and some spoon rests that had been made by hand by a previous participant.

The box gets sent on to the next person this afternoon so I get a Hot Potato award from the coordinator of the box. Not sure what it will be but I am excited to see it.

I am well on the way with the Double Moss stitch socks and should be done by the end of the week if not sooner. Didn't do the best job of Kitchnering the toe of sock one. Pulled the yarn too tight. I must remember to be looser on the next toe. I have to order the blocking wires from Knit Picks to block out the shawl and the scarf I made. I've been waiting to do it because I also want to get the blocking mat from KP and they are out of stock on it till June 24. I hate to order from Knit Picks unless I can put together $50 so I save the postage hence the long wait to block things. Hope I find out that it was worth it. I will also be hitting my LYS this week to buy yarn with the Gift Certificate I got for Mother's Day. Most likely will buy for the February Lady Sweater, as DD said the other day "All the cool kids are doing it" :)

Speaking of DD she starts her Regents exams this week (if you are not in New York State these are like statewide finals). Today is Geometry which she is quite concerned about. Math is not DD's forte and she is worried about her grade. Here's hoping she does well enough so that she doesn't have to retake the test. She also has Regents exams in Global Studies (her best subject), Spanish, and Biology.

We had a wee bit of excitement with DS. Some one who lives in his house at school got the flu that's going around so they quarantined the whole house for a week. They let them out for walks and to play the odd game of basketball and kept a close eye on them. No one else got sick, thankfully. Sadly, not long after they went back to school DS's Vocational teacher passed away (no idea what he died of). DS seemed to take it well, they had the kids make up sympathy cards and he went to the funeral. The psychologist also talked to him to be sure he was OK. He comes home for an extended visit on the 26th of this month. I am looking forward to having him!

Thanks to Just April who offered to help me decipher Wendy Johnson's sock book. I don't own it right now I just took it from the library for a look see and have already returned it. But I may take you up on the offer in future. Thanks!

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Mostly from a mystery series called the Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs. Set in and around Charleston South Carolina, they are great fun and also mix in some interesting information about tea as well as giving recipes in the back of the books. Found out about them on Ravelry and was immediately hooked. Got a whole pile of them from the Library the other day. I go through cycles with my reading. Most of the time I don't read many mystery novels. Then I go on a tear reading piles of them. The library runs a summer reading program for adults where you can win prizes depending on how many books you read (the more you read the more raffle tickets you get). It's a lot of fun and I've been doing it for the last few years.

Tomorrow is Meals on Wheels and I will be taking DD with me as my regular partner is away this week. DD has done it before with me, she enjoys it and I think that its a good experience for her. After that, I have a progress meeting about DS's schooling. Don't expect to hear anything I don't already know but it's nice to get the official update from them, must remember to call his Program Specialist and remind her to call me for the meeting. I usually do these things by phone as it's such a long drive to DS's school. They put me on speaker phone and everyone chimes in with what they know about DS and his progress. I'd love to do it in person but I get very sleepy on long drives and I am afraid to drive there alone as a result. I once got into a small accident once when I fell asleep at the wheel after one of these meetings. Very scary and I don't want a repeat of it. DH handles all long distance driving ever since the incident.

2009-06-01T17:04:00.003-04:00

Spent most of today in bed and all of yesterday. I've been laid low by a virus (or at least it feels like one) Was feeling so crappy that I couldn't even take advantage of the time by knitting. I'm a bit better now, still feeling weak and a little light headed but that could be because I've not eaten all that much for the last two days.

Went to the Supermarket with DD and DH on Saturday and stopped to look at the tea section with DD, while we two talked about the relative merits of what was on the shelf DH walked over and asked "Don't you have enough tea already?" We both looked at him like he was crazy. That's like asking me if I have enough wool, there's never enough :) At least DD understood.

Got the gift tags I won from Knitterella today. She has recently had a baby (yeah!) and so was late in sending them off and to make up for it she included an extra pack. Not something she had to do at all but it was nice to get them. Here's a picture:

Aren't they cute? And there's room on the back to write care instructions (well that's what I'm doing with them YMMV) She also sells wonderful note cards.

Got the new Wendy's new toe up sock book, from the library. It's got some nice patterns in it but the problem is that she does them with two circular needles and I've not been able to wrap my mind around doing socks that way. I'm not especially good at changing around directions (yes I'm one of those people who actually knits like the designer intended one of these days I will break out of the box ) so I don't know if the book is going to work for me. Saw Cookie A's book in Barnes and Noble and loved it she does her socks on dpn's like I do so I won't have any trouble following the directions. As soon as I can get my LYS to order it for me, I'll get the book. I like to get my knitting books from her it's worth it to me to pay the extra money to help support a store I love.

2009-05-23T16:01:00.003-04:00

I seem to have developed a fair amount of luck lately. Today I found out that I had won a blog contest for some of the new Spud and Chole yarn on Knit One School Two. Can't wait to see it I've been hearing so much about this new yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas. I'm sure it will be wonderful and promise to post pictures on the blog as soon as it comes in.

This is the fourth blog contest I've won in the last several months. First was a copy of Charmed Knits and a hat from Alison of the Blue Blog. Then it was a copy of Fiber Gathering from Cindy Moore who is a friend of mine on Facebook (sorry Cindy I can't find your blog address). Next came some funny gift tags from Knitterella who has truly lovely gift tags for sale check out her blog and website. I honestly don't know what to say. Before this I had a fairly unbroken record of losing every contest I enter.

2009-05-22T17:18:00.004-04:00

Hello all. Sorry it's been so long since I posted. I keep telling myself that I need to make a blog entry and other things get in the way an suddenly more than two weeks goes by.

DS is home for the holiday weekend but I have to work for much of it, it's a big sale for us so all three of us in the department have been scheduled this weekend. However I will probably not go in on Sunday so we can have a family BBQ. I discussed it with one of my co-workers and he thought it was dumb for me to come in anyway. We don't need three people and I have some days coming to me.

On the knitting front I have been busy. I am working on Branching Out and should be done with it well in time for my friend's birthday. Here's a picture courtesy of my new camera:

I am also working on a pair of socks for myself out of some Kroy sock yarn from my stash. I am using Charlene Schurch book Sensational Knitted Socks for the pattern. Here's a photo of that:

As you may be able to see from the photo I am still using four DPN's to knit them. One day I will conquer using 2 circ's but for now this method is working for me so I continue to use it.

I've been hanging around the Cuppa Tea group on Ravelry and just had some fun with their traveling tea box. A large box goes around stuffed to the brim with tea and goodies. When it reaches you, you take out what you like and add some more. It arrived yesterday and I got it mailed off this afternoon so I get the Hot Potato award from the Moderator. More importantly I got some yummy tea and goodies for myself and DD (who I cannot get interested in knitting but is as stuck on tea as I am)

Secret Pal 14 is still in the works. The blog for it should be up and running very soon, I will link to it when it goes live.

2009-05-06T17:48:00.005-04:00

Thanks to all the kind people who sympathized with me over the loss of our little furry friend. We still miss him and had intended to wait some time before getting another pet but an opportunity fell into our lap. After we were done saying goodbye to poor little Midnite, our Vet gently asked us if we might be interested in a little guinea pig she had up for adoption. A family had brought him in to be put down because he had a small cyst on his neck. She was horrified and told them that if they didn't want him she would take the responsibility of taking off the cyst and find him a home. Well after a week of thinking about it we decided to take him home with us. It has not been easy to see another animal in Midnite's cage but we feel good about giving him a home. He's a little skittish, and not as cuddly as Midnite. Probably the people who had him before didn't handle him much and he's not used to it. So we are being patient with him and trying to tame him down by giving him extra attention.

On the knitting front I've started Branching Out for my friend Sally's Birthday. It's in early July so I have plenty of time to get it done. It's an easy pattern and I am having fun with it. Progress photos to follow.

Secret Pal 14 is in the planning stages. It should be open for sign ups in June. I will be a hostess this round and am taking the job of posting Twitter updates (when there are any to post). When we have a blog up and running I will post a link here. In the meantime you can join the Secret Pal 14 group on Ravelry to keep up. If you want to follow the updates on Twitter follow secretpal14.

Got some yummy tea in the mail today. I discovered this seller on Ravelry where Troy is a member of the Cuppa Tea group as I am. He'd mentioned a tea that he was drinking and it sounded interesting so I asked where he got it and found out that he sells tea and does mail order. I ordered his Cinnamon Toddy and some Jasmine Green tea, smells wonderful. He also kindly included a couple of samples for me to try. I am nearly as obsessed with tea as I am with my knitting. I've a good sized tea stash. Usually my favorite is the one I am drinking at the time :).

One of the historical societies in my town runs a Sheep to Shawl festival on the first Sunday in May each year. For a long time I kept saying I wanted to go and never seemed to make the time for it. This year, despite the fact that it was raining I went. Not all that much to see since it's a small operation but what I did see was interesting. There were some spinners there and they invited me to come to their Guild meetings so I could learn more. I think I will take them up on the invite especially since they set aside time before the main meeting starts for socializing and teaching. As you may remember I've been trying to spindle spin and not had much success with it. I found out on Sunday that part of the reason was that I didn't have the roving prepared properly. I tried doing what they said and it did go a bit better but I still would like some hands on teaching, so if the next meeting is on a night when I am not working (and perhaps even it is on a work night, I do get a few personal days that I never seem to use) I'll go. The festival had some animals including a llama, a station where they had a rigid heddle loom, one where they had crocheters , one where some women were doing needle felting, one where a lady did some lovely bobbin lace, a craft that I've done in the past and two stations with spinning both by wheel and by spindle. Sadly, there were no knitters to be found and no fiber goodies to buy. You'd think that a sheep to shawl festival would have some yarny goodness around but unless you count the stuff on the spinners bobbins and spindles, plus the few examples of crochet, there were none. I did walk around the historical society's little antiques shop. I nearly bought a tea pot but I could see that it had had a piece broken off the top that had been inexpertly mended and for $75 gave it a pass.

2009-04-27T16:52:00.003-04:00

I had to take Midnite to the vet again today. We realized late last week that he was doing poorly and needed to be seen. The results were not good. He once again has kidney stones but this time he has a bunch of them and they are not operable. The poor little fellow is in a lot of pain, I have medication to keep him comfortable but we have made the sad decision to put him down. DD is inconsolable, DH is not happy either but realizes that this is for the best. I haven't told my son yet but will do that tonight. I'm bringing Midnite in tomorrow afternoon, it's not going to be easy for me but someone has to do it.

2009-04-21T11:27:00.002-04:00

Great weekend here. I didn't have to work, always nice to have days off on a weekend, and I had the chance to see an old friend who I haven't seen in years on Sunday. She moved away some time ago and we haven't been in as close a touch as we should have. I am going to make an effort to change that, when we saw each other it was like no time had passed. I forgot how much fun she was. She's having a big birthday this summer and I think I will make her a lace scarf (probably Branching Out from Knitty) It gives me a chance to do something nice for her and indulge my new lace addiction at the same time.

Speaking of lace the shawl is finished. I bound it off last night now all I have to do is block it out. I need blocking wires so I am going to put in an order with Knitpicks for some, as well as their new blocking mat. I am so proud of the shawl. In the end it wasn't too hard and I don't know why I had so much trouble with it in the beginning.

I am also nearly done with DD's socks, just have to finish the toe on sock two and graft it. Pictures of the socks and shawl to come later in the week. Now I need new projects to work on, I was supposed to go to the LYS with DD this afternoon but she didn't go to school today because she was feeling ill so I don't think that will come off after all. She wants a Harry Potter scarf and doens't trust me to pick out the colors by myself, I think I will also get myself some yarn for a tea cozy. I've been drinking lots of tea lately and can really use the cozy, I may also get the yarn for my friend's scarf.

2009-04-14T20:02:00.002-04:00

I recently entered a blog give away on Cindy's Blog and to my delight I won! The prize is a copy of the new book Fiber Gathering, it's a book I was going to buy so I am especially happy to win it.

DS went back to school today and I already miss him tons. We had fun with him while he was here and had a great visit. I ate entirely too much this week, the diet has gone out the window again and I really have to get back to a healthy eating plan. Despite being a Weight Watchers member I don't seem to be able to stick to the diet for any length of time especially during Passover with all the foods you only get once a year. It's hard to pass it all up.

The shawl is coming along nicely, I've been working on it to the exclusion of everything else so I've no progress to report on the sweater. I just love doing lace. DD has asked for a scarf in Slytherin House colors to wear to the new Harry Potter movie when it comes out. A friend of hers wants one too and I said I'd make her one if she paid for the wool. I'm probably going to do it gratis though, can't see taking the money from one of DD's friends. Now all I have to do is find the time to go to the LYS and buy the yarn in the proper colors.

I finished Water for Elephants and really liked it the discussion on the book starts on April 15th which ought to be interesting. I've never participated in a book group before and I am not sure how an online one is going to work but I am willing to give it a try. The voting is now going on for the second book we are going to read but I don't like any of the choices so I am going to give it a pass next month. I am deep in the middle of another book titled The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club and I cannot put it down. I highly recommend it. But word of warning it's a very British book with lots of British English in it but don't let that stop you it's too good to miss and I am a sucker for "knitting novels"

2009-04-07T12:01:00.003-04:00

Sunny day today, nice after the rain we had yesterday. DD is home on spring break and we went to the mall yesterday to buy her some shirts. She couldn't seem to find anything that suited her until we went into the last store (Spencer's which makes me cringe). We also went to Ikea which is next to this mall. We went mostly to eat lunch and to pickup some moose shaped pasta. DD likes moose and is very amused by this stuff. It's a wierd purchase to make just before Passover but we'll save it for after the holiday.

DS comes home for a week starting tomorrow morning can't wait to have him. Passover starts tomrrow night, and for the first night we'll be going to a friend's house, all I have to bring is a vegetable. Thursday night it's just us here at home. I'm making Brisket (which I do on top of the stove as post roast), chicken soup with Matzo balls (of course), and something called a matzo kugel which is kind of like stuffing baked in a pan. It's yummy with gravy from the pot roast on top of it.

I am in the Stitch and Book group on Ravelry and the first book picked is Water for Elephants. I am enjoying it quite a bit. It's about a young man who joins the circus and what happens to him. It alternates chapters from his point of view as an old man of 90 with chapters from his point of view as a young man in his 20's. This is the first book club I've been in and am looking forward to the discussions that will be starting on April 15. I've got a bit more than half the book to go I think I can get it finished in time if I can keep myself from working on the shawl which is proving to be addictive. I've discovered that I love lace knitting. Must find excuses to work on lace :).

2009-03-27T13:01:00.003-04:00

I have been doing a lot of surfing around the Ravelry forums. My God what a time sink that is. I've been on Rav for nearly a year and am just now getting to use it with any regularity. I still don't understand the difference between my Favorites and my Queue, and I don't have my stash up there (mostly because I am embarrassed by how crappy it is way too much plastic in there) but it's a valuable resource. I made a half serious post on the beginning lace knitters board about my nervousness at doing Kitchener stitch and ended up getting some real good and helpful replies.

I am still working on the shawl but plan to put in some work on the sweater today. I am avoiding it because I have to frog back a couple of rows on the sleeve I'm working on as I missed an important decrease on it. I hate to frog cables!

This afternoon I have some work to do for Meals on Wheels. I've been a volunteer for nearly a year now and was recently asked to do some administrative work for them. Meals on Wheels is a very satisfying project to be involved in, people really appreciate what you do and it doesn't take too much time at all. I really believe in doing community service and this fits into my schedule very well.

2009-03-22T16:01:00.004-04:00

Went to see DS yesterday. We had a great time, except for the dinner. One mistake after another and we had to wait for a real long time for a table. We're not going back there any time soon which is a shame because the food was plentiful and good.

We spent most of the day shopping. DS and DD needed clothes and there is no tax on clothing in Pennsylvania making visits to DS an ideal time to buy. I need some stuff too but didn't get anything. We were in Kohl's at one point and I suppose I could have found something there to fit, but I just wasn't in the mood. Now if there had been a Coldwater Creek store then I'd have made the effort to look. I love Coldwater Creek.

Making steady progress on the shawl. I found that I had to put in lots of stitch markers, one for each repeat to keep track of the pattern. I reccomend that technique to anyone trying to do lace. It makes it easier to follow the pattern and also makes it easier to find mistakes when and if they occur. I've not done much work on anything else since I started the shawl, it's a very absorbing project.

Some Success!

2009-03-16T16:00:00.003-04:00

I am cautiously claiming some success with the shawl. I had frogged it back to the beginning (yet again) and was able to get past the point where I nearly flung the thing out the window last week. A few more rows and I'll put in a life line. Pictures to follow as soon as I have enough on the needles to make it worthwhile. I have not picked up the socks again quite yet. One pain in the neck at a time.

I've been playing around with Twitter and after making fun of people who use it have found that it's really a lot of fun. If you want to follow me you can find me as eileendoreen on Twitter. If you are up on Twitter and know of anything I should be following and am not, let me know.

Arrrrgggghhhh!

2009-03-12T12:10:00.003-04:00

OK it's official the knitting gods are out to get me. Thought I'd pick up DD's socks and work on them as an antidote to the shawl, no sooner to I do that than I drop a bunch of stitches (they worked their way off of one of the needles when I wasn't paying attention) and I had to frog back a bunch to fix it (it was easier than picking up the stitches) I just can't win.

2009-03-09T20:17:00.002-04:00

Ever have one of those days when you want to throw your knitting out the nearest window? I'm feeling like that right now. Since yesterday I've been making attempts at my new lace project and keep making mistakes. I've not even gotten to the point where a lifeline would make sense. God I'm frustrated!

2009-03-06T15:21:00.002-05:00

DS is home for the weekend and happily settled in the den watching bad Japanese cartoons. (anime is a passion of his) It's always good to have him home. I really miss him when he's at school.

I got some knitting in on the way to and from picking him up and made good progress on DD's socks as a result. This is a feat as I have had to frog this particular sock Lord knows how many times. (these are the socks I was going to do on two circs but gave up and went back to my tired and true dpn's) I might go with DS to my favorite LYS and pick out yarn for a sweater for him. He's been asking me to make him one and as I am up to the sleeve on my aran sweater it's a good time to start it. I plan to make the Leo sweater from Knitty. It's simple as he requested but has enough interest in the pattern to keep me from going crazy. I have to make it from an easy to care for yarn, something superwash. DS goes to a boarding school for special needs kids and does his own laundry. Asking him to hand wash something just is not in the cards. I'm sure that I can find something at the LYS. Don't know if we have the time to go this weekend though, it can always wait until April when he will be in for a week for the Passover/Easter break.

2009-02-28T16:31:00.003-05:00

Feeling much better these days. Still coughing a bit but nothing like I was last week. My Secret Pal sent me the most awesome package take a look!

Four skeins of Knitpicks gloss lace yarn, a kit to make the cutest wallet, a skein of hand dyed yarn from an indy dyer, a set of Harmony dp needles which I've been wanting to try for ages and the book Knit So Fine. The lace yarn is meant for a project from the book that's on my Ravelry queue.

My pal was the bestest and really spoiled me rotten. I've already decided to do Secret Pal 14.

2009-02-24T13:41:00.004-05:00

This has not been a good day for me. I am still coughing up a storm and I overslept and missed a meeting about DS's schooling. In all the years he's been in school I've never, ever missed a meeting about his work and placement. I feel so bad I cannot tell you. I called the district office and spoke to the social worker assigned to his case. She reassured me that everything was fine and that everything was fine and filled me in on what I missed. They didn't decide on anything I had not already agreed to and he's good to go for the coming school year. But I still feel like a lousy parent for missing it. DH tried to make me feel better by saying I'm sick and that's why it happened. He's right but I still expect to feel guilty for a few days.

I did go and see DS last weekend so my being sick didn't totally ruin things. Thankfully my coughing was at the minimum during the movie we saw. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and he said I have bronchitis and gave me some meds for it.

On to happier things. Lupie nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award

Here are the rules for the nominees:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 8 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

Here are the blogs I am nominating I could easily add more than 8:

Dawn Brocco's Life and Design Blog
Getting Stitched on the Farm
For the Love of Fiber
Knit for Joy!
Meezermeowmy's Web Log
The Blue Blog
Yarnhog
Shut Up & Knit

2009-02-20T15:54:00.006-05:00

This has not been a good week at our house. DD has been in bed the entire week with a horrible cold and I caught it from her so I've been sick too. I hope that I feel better in the morning as we are supposed to go see DS tomorrow.
Here for your viewing pleasure is the yarn I bought for my shawl.
As you may or may not remember it's Noro Sock yarn. I really like the color. I plan to start it as soon as I feel human again.

And here is a picture of DD's socks in progress

2009-02-12T19:50:00.002-05:00

Went to Weight Watchers today and happily I lost 1.2 pounds. It would be nice if it were more but I will take what I can get at least it was a loss. I've been fighting a battle with my weight for a long time now. I need to lose 50 pounds and figure at this rate it will take about a year. That's fine slow is better it's more likely to stay off.

Spent some time knitting DD's socks today. They seem to be coming out nicely without any noticeable ladder. That's something I've had trouble with in the past and the reason I was trying to learn to do socks on circ's rather than dp needles. One of these days I will get it right. Some time this year I'd also like to learn to do toe up socks. All the socks I've done to this point have been top down.

Midnite is doing quite well. He's eating and starting to move about a bit more. The only problem is that the fuzzball hates me now because I give him his medicine. He runs away from me whenenver I come near him. DD says that DH is the only person in the house that Midnite likes now because he doensn't poke him, prod him, or try to give him medicine. I suppose that he'll warm up to me again after he's done with the meds.

2009-02-11T10:14:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to say how floored I am that Alison took the time to post a comment about Midnite. Some of you may know that she herself has been quite ill lately and that she took the time just shows what a special lady she is. If you think of it take the time to read her blog and send her a word of encouragement.

2009-02-10T22:43:00.002-05:00

The fuzball is home and seems OK. We have to keep a close eye on him for the next few days and he may need some tummy medicine but they aren't sure. Only time will tell.

2009-02-10T11:55:00.001-05:00

Just a quick update. Spoke to the Vet this morning and Midnite seems to be better but she wanted to keep him for a few hours more so I will probably be picking him up this afternoon. Thanks to all for the kind thoughts about our little fuzzball.

2009-02-09T12:00:00.002-05:00

I had to take Midnite back to the vet this morning. He hasn't been eating as much as he should and was very quiet. They decided to keep him for observation and possible fluids, they also found blood in his urine again. I hope he'll be OK. DD is going to be very upset, heck I'm very upset. It's amazing how these little critters worm their way into your heart. I love the little guy, I have to admit that I do.

2009-02-06T21:39:00.005-05:00

Here's a picture of the socks I just finished. They are actually a lot darker than this with shades of purple, dark blue, light blue and black.

Midnight continues to improve. He sees the vet again on Presdent's Day until then we have to give him his pain meds and some antibiotics which does not make him happy. I had the devils own time doing it last night.

Started a pair of socks for DD on four needles. I've given up the learning on two circs for the present. DD has been waiting for her socks for a long time and this will allow me to finish them sooner. I wish I could convince her to let me do a pattern on them, but she just wants a plain pair of stockinette stitch anklets. One of these days soon I will give the socks on two circs another try. I do like using the two circs but just cannot get my mind around what to do after the gusset is done. Mental block that I think I will try to get past with some worsted weight yarn and larger needles sometime soon. I think it will be easier making a toddler size sock out of that as a learning tool.

Lost my cell phone today which really pisses me off it was brand new. It's nowhere in the house nor did it turn up at work. To top that off the earphones on my iPod broke on my way to picking up DS (who is in from boarding school for the weekend) and I had no knitting with me for the train ride (didn't have time to start the socks and the sweater is too big and complicated for a train ride) so I had a total of three hours on the train with nothing to do. Not something I am used to. From now on I am going to make sure I have a small knitting project ready for times like this.

2009-02-03T21:08:00.002-05:00

Spoke to the vet twice today. Midnite is doing well, resting comfortably and eating. He will need meds for a few days but may even come home tomorrow. They will let me know in the morning.

I finished the socks I've been working on for a hundred years, I don't have a camera so I have to wait for DD to finish her homework to photograph them for you. I am glad to finally be done with these and just in time for a snowy day to wear them on. I also finished the front of my sweater and am starting the sleeves tonight. I am also contemplating doing DD's socks on DP needles instead of the 2 circs. I can't seem to get the technique down. I can knit a circle on two circs fine but have trouble getting past the heel turn. Any opinions?

2009-01-30T19:31:00.005-05:00

Finally taking the time to post to the old blog. I keep promising myself that I will do this more regularly but it never seems to work out.

Busy day today. Our guinea pig hasn't been well for the last few days and so we took him to the vet. She diagnosed a stone in his bladder for which he will need surgery. After consulting with DH, who was surprisingly upset over the pig's troubles, we decided to go ahead with the surgery. So Midnite goes in for surgery on Tuesday morning. DD is distraught and I am not too thrilled myself. It's amazing how these little creatures work their way into your heart. On top of that I had to run DD back and forth to school for midterms and go to a meeting at Meals on Wheels. ( I deliver meals on Wednesday mornings but I am taking on some additional responsibilities which I will talk about after I've done it for a bit so I have something intelligent to say)

I've been knitting quite a bit this week. Made excellent progress on the sweater and think that I'll be starting the sleeves this weekend. I've taken more time with this sweater than I should have. For some reason my knitting mojo had taken a hike for an extended period so it languished in its bag for way too long. Checked out a new to me LYS called Knitter's Therapy. Small store, tiny even but a wonderful selection of beautiful yarns. I was impressed by how helpful and interested the owner was. She really went out of her way to help me find a project. I decided on a shawl that is supposed to be made with laceweight cashmere. Only, I'm not using it because I didn't like the colors she had in stock (or at least the ones she had enough of for the pattern). So at her suggestion I bought some Noro Sock yarn in earth tones which I like. It's the right weight and should make up a nice shawl with subtle color changes. I will post a picture of the yarn this coming week (and this time I won't make you wait for it :>)

I won a contest on Alison's blog and got the following wonderful goodies

Isn't the hat great? I've been wearing it constantly in the cold weather we've been having

While I was leaving for my meeting at Meals on Wheels the postman stopped me with a package. Took all my self control not to open it in the car. It was from my secret pal and once again she has spoiled me well and good. Here's a picture of what I got.

Knitting for Peace is a book I've wanted for some time and was very glad to have received. She also sent a beautiful ball of Cascade 220 (which I've never knitted with and always wanted to try), a skein of sock yarn (from an Indie dyer that I may buy from myself one day I really like the colors and the feel of the yarn) and some stitch markers (never have enough of those)

Thank you Secret Pal! You rock!

2009-01-09T12:42:00.002-05:00

Tonight we have inventory at the store. It actually started last night,but they only do a few departments a day to make the process go easier. I am scheduled to be at work from 6PM to 2AM and am hoping that we get out early. Last year we didn't but the operations manager running it last year was frankly an idiot and the whole inventory was screwed up as a result. The store has a new operations manager with more experience now and we all hope that this means getting out earlier. Tonight we are supposed to be doing domestics which means towels,sheets and the like. Not my favorite area to work but I suppose I can grin and bear it. Last year I only had one inventory day to work,but this year there are two. I have the same hours on Monday as I do today. It could be worse some people got assigned overnight hours on Monday from 9PM to 5AM.

Today is DH's birthday and due to the inventory I am not going to be home to celebrate it with him. We have put the official celebration of the day to tomorrow when I am off. I bought him an iPod classic and the kids got him an iTunes card to use with it. I think he will like it as he has been talking about getting one for a while now. I know I love my iPod and DD could not survive without hers (or so she says). Now I expect him to tell me I shouldn't have spent the money on it but I think he is more than worth it. DH is the best thing that ever happened to me.

I have been having fun with the spindle that my secret pal sent. I've been using the book Spinning in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. She has you using an already made piece of yarn to practice the movements you need to use. I've been mostly successful at doing that,but still feel I need to practice drawing a bit more before I commit to using the lovely roving that was sent along with the spindle. I have plans to use it this weekend some time so stay tuned for pictures of the attempts. The book Teach Yourself Visually Spinning which I mentioned in my last post turned out to be more a book for spinning on a wheel. I am glad that I found the Gibson-Roberts book at my local library. I will have to go out an buy it so that I can refer to it as time goes on. If any of you know of good spindle spinning resources I'd be happy to hear about them.

2009-01-01T12:42:00.004-05:00

On New Years Day my family has a silly tradition. We all go out to the mall and buy calendars at half price. It got started as a joke when DH and I were first married and over the years has become part of our holiday celebrations. This year I bought myself the knitting pattern a day calendar ahead of time. I really wanted it and was afraid there wouldn't be any left by the time New Years rolled around. DD was took issue with this and has not let me live it down. Just now as I opened it and got it set up she called me a traitor. In years past I'd often get a wall calendar and a desk calendar, but this year I don't think I'll get the second calendar. Since we got a new computer a few months back and set it up in our living room I am no longer in our home office enough to justify hanging one up in there (that's where I typically hung them in the past). But if I see an especially good one I might buy it anyway and find a place for it later.

Our New Year's Eve get together was a good one. This year instead of buying a giant hero we got a meat platter. I think it worked better than the hero and we will probably do this again. We don't really drink much on New Year's Eve. A couple of glasses of wine or beer is our speed. We also had a shrimp platter and various hot appetizers courtesy of the local warehouse store. I baked chocolate cookies and brownies (DS wanted to bake and I had no problem indulging him) and our friends brought a carrot cake. I have enough food to last for days. But our philosophy about party food is that you can't have too much. (or as our friends put it "God forbid the army should show up and go away hungry")

Speaking of the Army, DS got a call a few days ago from an Army recruiter. I quietly told the woman that DS had Autism and was not a candidate. She apologized for the call and got off the phone quickly. We had a call from the Marines some months ago too. I guess they got his name from the school district. I don't like the idea of these people calling the kids at home and trying to recruit them. Seems a bit invasive.

2008-12-30T19:47:00.002-05:00

Take a look at what my awesome secret pal sent! The box arrived on Saturday but it wasn't until today that I had a chance to upload pictures. I got some lovely sock yarn, yummy peppermint drops, and best of all a beautiful Ashford spindle and some roving (I think it's roving) to play with. I have ordered the book Teach Yourself Visually Spinning from the library and as soon as it comes in I'll get started. I have always wanted to learn how to spin! And I am so excited by this gift.

DS has been in town since the 24th. So far it's been a good visit. He's gotten somewhat addicted to YouTube watching old classic cartoons and listening to music videos. Age appropriate behavior for the most part. The best thing was that he was home for most of Hanukkah. Last year he had his break after the holiday was over which was a bit upsetting for him and us.

DD and DS enjoyed the gifts we got them. DD spent the money she got from us and from her uncle (plus some that she'd saved up) on an 8gig Ipod Touch. She's been having a lot of fun playing with it. Makes me jealous I have an Ipod but it's not as cool as hers :).

Not much knitting going on these days. Frankly with the long hours at work I just didn't have the energy. Our late nights are over with now and life can get back to normal. Although next Friday I have to work inventory. That runs from 6PM to 2AM or there abouts. It's brutal but it has to be done. I don't know what department they have us assigned to yet I am hoping its Housewares and not Domestics or Kids. Last year I did Housewares and it wasn't too bad. Kids is supposed to be the worst one on our floor to do, tons of little garments to scan (we use a special scanning "gun" to count the merchandise by scanning the UPC's on their tags) and lots of them without the proper tags. It was supposed to be especially bad last year. So much so that they ended up doing the whole kids department over again. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

DD is asking for the computer back so I'll end this here. Happy New Year to one and all especially my totally awsome secrect pal!

2008-12-18T19:43:00.006-05:00

Hello all. Work has been insane of late. Since I work in retail that's not a surprise. The store has been very busy which is good because the time goes faster and bad because it is exhausting. Last night I got home at around 12:30 and was falling off my feet. The kids that they have in Domestics (think towels and sheets) and Housewares are pretty new and I was, as a result, running between both departments all night helping them out and trying to keep order in all the chaos. I put things away, folded towels and generally tired to keep up the cleaning effort so we didn't have to stay any later than necessary. (the last time I worked before this I got out nearly a half an hour late). People are amazingly sloppy when they shop. They toss things all over the place, unfold stuff and take it out of packages that weren't meant to be opened until you get them home. In short they make my life difficult. So if you are still shopping this holiday season be kind to the retail clerks that take care of you. Don't make a big mess, put things back where you got them from, and don't show up 15 minutes before the store closes and act as if you have hours to spare. You will have my eternal gratitude and that of any sales associate you come across.

Spoke to DS a couple hours ago and was sorry to find out that he'd been sick today. Stomach virus it seems. I hate when DS gets sick because he isn't right here and I can't help him feel better. The nurse at school is taking good care of him, though. They kept him off solid food most of the day and gave him some jello at dinner to see if he could hold it down. He said he was feeling better than he had earlier in the day, so I guess that's good.

I have been working on my crochet squares this past week. My plan is to make as many different patterns as is possible and then put them together at random. So far this is working as the colors have been harmonious (pinks and purples for the most part). What is left doesn't clash too badly so my grand plan may work out. So far I have 16 squares done out of 49 that are needed for the afghan I want to produce.

DD will be home for a two week break starting on Monday, and DS comes home on the 24th (possibly the 23rd there is some confusion over the dates which I am trying to get resolved quickly) and stays until the 2nd. DD has a couple of projects to do over the break and DS is full of ideas on what he wants to do while he is home. Prominent on his list is some baking he wants to get done. Cookies, muffins and brownies are on the list so far. Brownies are usually something I don't do from scratch because we can get this really amazing mix at Costco. But the other day I made a batch from stratch for the holiday party of DD's girl scout troop. It was easy and they came out great so we will do it again while DS is home.

2008-12-08T15:13:00.002-05:00

I am so excited I actually won something! Alison had a contest over at her blog . She was giving away a copy of her book Charmed Knits and a hat of your choice. (the book has Harry Potter inspired knits in it I chose Gryffindor, my personal favorite) Thanks Alison! I am sure that the hat will be awesome and I can't wait to get my hands on the book. DD has already requested I make her something from it.

The dinner for my MIL was a real success even if her sister bowed out pleading tiredness. The food was great and we all enjoyed being together. A wonderful old restaurant and a place I'd love to go back to one of these days. I had the Mushroom Risotto, very good an very rich. Not exactly on my diet but I lost weight last week anyway. (only a half a pound but I'll take it)

Yesterday DH and I were at Costco and saw a boxed set of Alien Nation DVD's. We bought it and I spent the morning watching one of the DVD's in the set. It was a blast to see the movie the series was based on as I'd never seen it before.

The Christmas hours at work have started with everyone getting impossibly long shifts. Everyone is complaining about it. They expect people to work 12 and 13 hour shifts, well the full timers anyway. I only have one extra long shift and the rest of the time I am in for 6 hour shifts (my usual is 4 hours). Even though I have to work till 12:00am a few days it's really not that bad and I can use the money. Yes believe it or not we do have people in the store till closing( and sometimes after it) they get despirite when it gets close to Christmas. Last year we had this one woman who did it habitually. She'd show up at like 11:30 or even 11:45 and shop like mad and expect us to act as if she had all the time in the world. I haven't seen a sign of her yet and hope I don't have to get stuck with her again this year.

Secret Pal Question Numero Uno

2008-12-01T13:18:00.002-05:00

What are you most thankful for this year?

I think that would have to be my family. Through all the troubles and joys of life we support and love each other. I don't know what I would do without them.

The Shawl At Last

2008-11-29T13:31:00.004-05:00

I look horrible here but the shawl looks good. The color is more a deep cranberry than what you see here.

Thanksgiving was good. We had DD, DS, DH and my brother-in-law and mother-in-law and of course me the chef. On the menu were Matzo ball soup, two kinds of cranberry sauce, corn relish, my Asian Cole slaw, Matzo kugel (think stuffing made with matzo instead of bread and lots of mushrooms), DS's specialty, mashed potatoes, and two desserts provided by my brother-in-law. A good time was had by all especially the adults who drank too much wine.

I finished my first Knit for Kids sweater, and have been working on crochet squares made from the stash of acrylic I keep complaining about. I've not crocheted in years and it was fun to get back to it again. The other day, while crocheting the hook broke in two. DH attempted to glue it back together but it didn't work and now I have to get a new J hook. The aran sweater did not get worked on much, but I did pick it up this morning and began the raglan decreases.

Today we go into Brooklyn for my mother-in-laws 80th birthday party. She's still going strong although she has slowed down a bit in recent years. There will be 9 of us and we're eating dinner at a restaurant that has been around for like a hundred years. Not sure how good the place is, we've never been there, but it has a good reputation and we're all looking forward to it.

A Sunday Post

2008-11-16T22:39:00.004-05:00

Went to see DS today. He had a rough week so we thought it a good idea to spend some time with him. He seems to be fine now which is a relief. (DS has Autism and goes to a special needs boarding school because they couldn't find a school near us that met his needs) I did not bring any knitting with me and regretted that I could have gotten a lot done in the car while DH was driving and while he and DS went bowling. From now on I won't make that mistake. Better to bring it and not use it than not to have it along at all.

The Candleflame shawl is done. I am pleased with how it turned out. I elected not to block it as I thought it looked fine just as it was. DD and I spent a long time trying to get a decent picture of it and concluded it would have to wait till morning so that we could use natural light. So you will all have to wait till tomorrow to see it, sorry. I have also been working on the Aran Sweater and will be done with the front sometime this week if all goes well. My latest project is a sweater for Guideposts' Knit for Kids Project. I chose this project for charity knitting as they don't require wool yarn to be used and I have a ton of acrylic laying around. This week I hope to get to the LYS and pick up yarn for the Berry Bobble Hat from the Interweave Knits Holiday issue. I am not going to use the suggested yarn, but don't have anything in the stash that looks like it wants to be the hat. So off to the yarn store with me minus my credit card so I am not temped to get the cashmere yarn called for in the pattern.

Secret Pal Questions

2008-11-08T10:40:00.002-05:00

I signed up for Secret Pal 13. It's been a while since I did a Secrect Pal swap and I thought it would be fun. Here's the answers to the questions posted on the Secret Pal Blog.

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

I don't have a real favorite but if you stay away from plasticlike acrylic and mohair you'll do fine.

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

I have a needle roll and a box for them.

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 over 40 years and I consider myself to be an advanced knitter

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

Yes I have an Amazon wish list.

5. What's your favorite scent?

Spicy woodsy type fragrances nothing too sweet smelling

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

I sure do! Love sour stuff, but I'm on a diet so please keep candy to a minimum

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

I do counted cross stitch but not very often. I don't spin but desperately would love to learn to do it at least on a spindle.

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

I like rock and roll as well as jazz and classical. I can play MP3's

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

My favorite colors are green, brown and orange, any earth tones really. Stay away from pastels.

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

I'm married with two teenagers, we have a guinea pig.

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

Scarves, hats, and mittens no ponchos.

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

I don't have a preference. I knit all sorts of things.

13. What are you knitting right now?

An Aran sweater, a shawl, and some socks

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes

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

Circular, I love bamboo but have recently begun to use Addi turbos so aluminum is fine too just not plastic

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

I have both

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

About three years and I don't think it's ever going to be finished.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

Thanksgiving and Passover are my favorite holidays. I observe Hanukkah.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Yes, penguins

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 to try the knitpicks harmony needles because they look so nice, I don't subscribe to any of the magazines I prefer to pick them up when I see that they have something I like in them.

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

I'd like to master making socks on two circulars, I've been working on a sock that uses the method without much success.

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

I am a sock knitter but have a ton of sock yarn right now, my foot is 7 1/2 inches long not including the toe, and 8 1/2 around the ball of my foot.

23. When is your birthday?

August 20th

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

Yes I am my ID is Fizbin.

One more Political Post

2008-11-06T12:31:00.003-05:00

Saw this on Lizzie's Loose Ends. She posted it because she wanted easy access to the speech and I am doing it for the same reason.

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Its the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Its been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and hes fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nations promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nations next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while shes no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done. But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, its that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

And here's another sentiment that I recently saw and is worth repeating:

Rosa sat so Martin could walk so Barack could run.

Lord, I am so proud of this country

Political Junkie

2008-11-04T17:09:00.002-05:00

Got up early and went out to vote. I had to wait about 20 minutes but lines for other election districts were much longer. I was the 207 person to vote in our election district, DH who went earlier than I did said he was 95. We figured out that that meant that there was about 100 people an hour coming through. A big turnout, very exciting! If you are reading this and haven't voted yet what are you waiting for?

I didn't take any knitting with me the day I volunteered for Obama, in the end I realized I'd be too busy and I was. We called people in Florida and asked them to vote for the Senator during early voting if possible or today (election day) if not. I got a lot of answering machines and left messages, had a few nasty people too but that's par for the course. It was fun and they even provided snacks and food for us.

Today after voting I went off to Barnes and Noble and got the holiday edition of Interweave Knits. A very nice collection of patterns and I am already planning on making a few things. Spent the rest of the day glued to MSNBC and working on my shawl. Which is pretty much how I plan on speding the rest of the day as well.

2008-10-31T23:09:00.003-04:00

Saw this on KmKat's blog and couldn't resist stealing it.

Ya'll know who I'm voting for, but if you're for McCain I'm willing to listen so post in the comments.

Sock troubles

2008-10-31T13:46:00.002-04:00

So I thought that DD's socks were coming along well until I realized that there was something not right about the gusset on one side. I am not sure where I went wrong as I followed the book's instructions. I think I go over to Knitting on the Lamb where I bought the yarn and needles and ask for help fixing it. But in any case I have to say I prefer the two needle method to the 4 needle one I'd been using. But I'd like to see how it works with some bamboo or other wood needles. I love my Addis but I think they may be too slippery to make socks comfortably.

Major disaster was averted this morning. DD is wearing her costume to school today but when she put it on the zipper broke and the only thing we could do was to take out a bunch of safety pins and pin the thing together. So DD has a line of safety pins runnign up her back. She declared the repair a success professing to like the look. That's my girl she rolls with the punches.

Socks Finally

2008-10-29T13:39:00.002-04:00

Last night I pulled out DD's socks and got started on them again. I am now on the heel flap of sock #1 we'll see how I do when I get to the gusset which was what I had trouble understanding from the Cat Bordhi book. Sensational Socks has a more step by step explanation so I think I'll have more success with it. When I bought the yarn for these socks I got two skeins but now DD says that she wants anklets and I don't really need both skeins. I will either make another pair of anklets or use the yarn for something else. Unfortunately I had the LYS wind both skeins up into balls for me so I can't return the excess. This was before I had my swift and could easily wind the yarn myself. I've got to say I love my swift. It's made my knitting life so much easier, DD especially likes it, as I used to kidnap her to hold skeins while I wound then onto my ball winder. Why I ever got the winder without the swift is beyond me. While working on the heel flap I came to a break in the yarn. I don't remember that happening when they wound it up. Tried to do a Russian join with the yarn but couldn't manage it with the thin sock yarn and my Chibi needle so I just tied a knot. I don't think it will be a problem, it's pretty much swallowed up in the knitting and can't be felt.

This weekend I am doing something I haven't done in ages. I am volunteering on a political campaign. A volunteer from the Obama campaign called yesterday and asked if I'd be willing to volunteer to call people in Ohio and Pennsylvania this weekend. I thought about it and decided why not? So I'm giving a couple of hours on Saturday to make calls. I guess I'll bring some knitting with me in case there is any down time which I doubt. But I think it's best to be prepared don't you? What I need is a small bag to carry socks in, I've seen a few cute ones on the net and really should buy one for myself.

Speaking of bags to hold projects, are you like me and find that you collect tote bags? When I see one I like I always want to buy it. Question is do they count as stash? :)

Weekend Whine

2008-10-26T21:05:00.007-04:00

I totally forgot that I was going to put some work in on DD's socks, and just never picked them up. They still sit alone and forlorn in their little bag, perhaps tonight, I've the house to myself and can really concentrate.

I was at work all weekend. Saturday 1:30-10:00 and Sunday 10:45-7:15. (the store closes at 9:30, or 7 opn Sunday, but we spend time cleaning up after that or at least they do on the floors that sell clothes. On the third floor we just stand around talking till it's time to punch out :>) This means that I am at the store for either lunch or dinner. Since I don't spend the entire hour eating I brought the candle flame shawl along to work on. Waste of time. On Saturday I spent the time fixing a mistake that I'd made on an earlier row. Today I saw that one of the Russian joins I'd made had become undone and that resulted in frogging a few rows with no time left to do any knitting. Arrgggh! It was, however, a decent weekend at the store because Captain Nice (my new name for my "wonderful" boss) wasn't in all weekend. I have a better than even chance of having to see him tomorrow but I am determined not to let him get to me this time. I also have to ask him to put in a personal day for me on Election Day. I have to work that night but I have plans to sit up watching election news all day on MSNBC (my favorite addiction besides knitting) so I am not going to go in. If he doens't give me the day I'm taking it unpaid. This is a historic election and I am not going to miss a thing if I can help it. (While I am on the subject I want to urge you all to vote. Vote for the candidate of your choice but vote. This is an important election and every vote counts. If you don't believe me ask Al Gore)

The crappish thing about this weekend was that my working kept me from a visit to see DS today. I miss him even though I talk to him almost every day, he's 18 but he's still my baby and it's not easy to have him away. Now I won't see him till Thanksgiving. At least they had good weather. They also made a great discovery. For years we have been fans of the fast food chain Sonic, which doens't exisit in this neck of the woods. Now Sonic is about the best fast food you can get if you have to eat fast food. Well today, DH called me at work to let me know that they had seen one in a town near where DS goes to school! This means regular visits to Sonic for us, we all couldn't be happier. Especially DD who has been known to shout "Why do you taunt me?" at Sonic commercials. :>

I'm still playing at dishcloths. I get unreasonably picky with them, always frogging and starting over. For the one I am doing now, I'm working on the Chinese Waves pattern. It's easy and makes a nice fabric. I have definitely decided that the washcloths are going to be part of a Christmas gift to my Meals on Wheels partner. I don't want to make this a big gift, she'd be uncomfortable with it, but I do want to give her something, and handmade feels right.

2008-10-22T17:30:00.002-04:00

Bad couple of days here. My boss and I kept butting heads on Monday and it just depressed me. I can't stand the guy and to make it worse the store is putting a lot of pressure on us to keep sales up. We keep saying that no one is coming in and they will just have to accept that the economy is doing lousy. But they keep harassing us. Some of the managers are sympathetic and let us know that they are just doing their job and it's not personal; but the situation is not good and I wish I could look for another job. I can't really do that now because this time of the year retail jobs tend to be only for the Christmas season and I need a job that's permanent not temporary. Another side of me says I shouldn't have to leave. I like the people I work with and I like my hours (6-10 on nights when I work and occasionally longer hours on weekends) It fits with my lifestyle very nicely. It's only my manager, who I don't always see, that's the problem. But in any case I am stuck here for the time being.

DD had a great time last weekend at a Girl Scouts encampment (she and her friends insist on referring to it as a secret cult they feel a little funny telling the rest of the kids they are in Girl Scouts) She's going for her Gold Award (think Eagle Scout only for Girls) and they got a whole mess of leadership hours towards that. I had a great time with Girl Scouts as a kid and am glad that DD has joined up again after a few years hiatus. This troop are a nice bunch of girls and their Moms are easy to get along with too.

On the knitting front I'm once again starting washcloths only to frog them. I am way to picky about how they look. One thing I've realized working them is that I have to learn how to make cables without using a cable needle. I have a booklet called Cable Needle Freedom that should be a help and I know of some sites on the net with good instructions for how to do the technique. Has anyone out there successfully ditched the cable needle? For someone like me who really likes doing them it would probably be good to learn. I am going to spend some time tomorrow trying to learn how to do socks on two circular needles. As I've said before I am not happy with the results I am getting from using double points and think that this will work out better.

Had a comment from Megan of Knitting Like it's My Job about the knitting groups she is a member of. It's a bit of a drive for me but once in a while, when I am not working on a Saturday, it might be nice to go. I'd love to go to the group that meets here in my town but it's at night and I can't usually make it on days they meet because of work.

Got to go and start dinner, "talk" to ya'll soon.

And a Good Time Was Had by All

2008-10-19T18:02:00.002-04:00

So as you can see from the pictures I did indeed go to see the Yarn Harlot at the Brooklyn stop on her current tour. I had a great time, even enjoyed the ride in as the woman next to me complimented my knitting. (always nice to be noticed!)

I got to Brooklyn early enough to snag dinner first and then get to the store in what I thought was plenty of time. Little did I know that several Brooklyn Knitters had got there even earlier but I was lucky and got a seat though there were few left and general agreement that the store didn't know what they were in for and should have given us more chairs. Everyone had knitting with them and I spotted a very nice Clapotis in the crowd right in front of me. Now that I've seen it in person I may just have to make it and get over my unnatural fear of dropping stitches on purpose. Everyone there, or so it seemed, was talking about going to Rhinebeck for the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. I wish I could have gone but the drive is just too long for me(I tend to get very sleepy behind the wheel and can't drive very long distances. Rhinebeck is about 3 hours away from me. Although when I said this to DH this morning he looked at me funny and said I should have told him I wanted to go as he would have been happy to spend a day in the country and would have driven there and back. Bless his heart, next year for sure).

Stephanie was funny, warm, and a joy to listen to. She spoke for a bit about being on tour and the experience of writing a book. Then she read an excerpt and signed books. I brought a washcloth to give to her and here I am on her blog holding it (scroll down for my picture you can also catch me looking down at my knitting in one of the crowd shots) grinning like an idiot. She said that she was doing something with all the washcloths she was getting but wouldn't tell me what it was I guess we all have to stay tuned to her blog to find out. I could have gotten a picture with her on my camera but I got a little flustered when she took my picture for her blog and I didn't ask.

It was a great day and I'm glad I went.

I finally fixed the dropped stitch on the sweater and got that going again. Now all I have to do is get moving on both pairs of socks I am making. I have said I am disappointed in the pair I am making for myself because one of the socks has a noticeable ladder on it that I cannot seem to correct no matter how I try. I've knitted this sock over so many times (it's the one I had been calling the cursed sock) that I just don't want to rip it out and do it again. I will just have to live with the ladder. I have given up on trying to figure out Cat Bordhi's directions for doing a sock on two circular needles and will try learning it from the Charlene Schurch's book so DD's are in limbo too. But I swear I am going to get to them this week. I have also been making dishcloths, not sure why or what I will do with them all, I'm thinking Christmas gifts paired with some home made melt and pour soap.

2008-10-19T18:01:00.000-04:00

The Harlot signing books

2008-10-19T17:59:00.001-04:00

A picture of Steph taking a crowd picture with the famous traveling sock.

2008-10-19T17:57:00.001-04:00

Picture of Stephanie just after she walked in. Sorry it's not better but I was using DD's camera and didn't know how to zoom.

2008-10-19T17:55:00.002-04:00

More crowd pictures.

2008-10-19T17:49:00.002-04:00

Here's a picture of the crowd waiting for Stephanie to walk in. It was like being at a guild or SnB meeting. Nearly everyone knitted while we waited.

2008-10-13T16:52:00.003-04:00

Well I finally got the washcloth done plus another one that depicts the map of the state of New York that I made for the Yarn Harlot. As I said people tend to bring washcloths to her appearances so I thought that this one would be a good choice. Hopefully I will actually be able to give it to her.

This afternoon DD and I went to the mall (not the one I work at but another one nearby. I try to avoid going to the mall I work at on a day when I am scheduled to work. I feel that one trip there a day is enough! :->) and I bought a sweater at Coldwater Creek. It was really soft and I got DD laughing when I insisted that we find the content label to see what it's made out of (to shock it was acrylic.) I was not going to buy it unless I knew what it's content was. I've become a fiber geek, it's official.

Tomorrow is my trip to see the Yarn Harlot, to which I will try to bring a camera. My plan is to arrive at the store about 1 1/2 hours early so as to get a decent seat. I have to be on the 3:11 train leaving my town so I have enough time to navigate the NY City subway system down to the store where she is appearing. I'll just bring a current WIP to work on while I wait I doubt very much that I will be the only one doing that. :)

Slowly Driving Myself Insane

2008-10-10T14:53:00.002-04:00

The last two days I have been playing with dishcloth cotton. Notice that I didn't say knitting with it. That would be because every time I may some progress I decide I don't like the design or I make a mistake, or the thing is turning out too big or too small. I'm looking for a simple uncomplicated pattern that will work up into decent wash cloth. Ah well, at least I finally got a crochet hook to use in fixing the sweater.

Rambling Along

2008-10-07T13:06:00.003-04:00

I have realized that the shawl I am working on will require more yarn than I have on hand. That's what I get for jumping into this without considering the yardage needed. So I will have to place an order to Knitpicks this week. (twist my arm why don't you :>) Not sure how much I need but I'll over order just in case. Of course the dye lots aren't going to match but that's OK I don't really mind.

But in the truly exciting news the Yarn Harlot is coming to New York to Brooklyn specifically. It's on a day when I don't have to work so I am going to go and see her! Up on Ravelry I was told to show up at least an hour early if I expect to get a seat. So I'm going to get on an early train, eat something in Brooklyn and hightail it over to the bookstore with my knitting. I am considering starting a couple of washcloths so that will most likely be what I bring with me as it's small and lots of people seem to bring washcloths to Yarn Harlot appearances. I could bring a pair of socks but I am not happy with the ones I am working on for myself and have yet to get the hang of the ones on two circulars that I am making for DD.

Tomorrow is Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement when Jews are supposed to fast and consider their actions over the past year, repent of sins, and ask forgivness of others (as well as give forgiveness. In fact if you don't forgive you will not be forgiven) I have long since stopped following the exact rules of the day. I can't fast due to having to take meds that cannot be taken on an empty stomach, and I am not so sure I believe in the sort of God that asks that of us anyway. Buddhism is much more my thing. But we do at the least have a dinner the night it starts. I am supposed to go to work tomorrow but I've already told my manager that I am not coming in and just have to tell my co-worker that as well. Technically I shouldn't work on Thursday either but since I'm not religious I don't really care and have not real problem going in. I have tons to do tomorrow, I am still doing my Meals on Wheels run, and I have to cook dinner (there's a traditional dinner the night the Holiday starts before you fast) for DD, DH and I as well as bake a Challah. I had a lot of success with a recipie that I got off of the King Arthur Flour site. It's a Challah that is stuffed with apples and it's just delicious. Seems funny to focus on food for a holday that involves fasting.

Big news about the sweater that had the mistake in one of the cables. I found the dropped stitch! So if I am careful with a crochet hook I may be able to repair it without frogging. I haven't got a crochet hook that's an appropriate size in the house so I will have to go out to the store and get one. Or maybe I'll just add it to my Knitpicks order. I should have one around for just this sort of repair anyway.

Lately I've been spending time up on Ravelry. Lord, what a time sink that place can be! Last night I sat down at the computer to check on a few threads I'd been following there and before I knew it an hour had gone by. It's like eating peanuts or potato chips once you start it's hard to stop. One thing I haven't done is enter my stash. Frankly I'm embarassed by the amount of crappy acrylic that I have. A while back I asked people where I could get rid of it. You know, a charity or something. Unfortunately, the people I contacted at the charity never responded to my email so I am still stuck with the stuff. I should knit it up into things for donation but a lot of charities ask for wool now because it's so much warmer. I'd almost be willing to just dump the lot of it but that seems extreme (My fiber obsessions must have rubbed off on DH and DD over the years because they were both horrified when I suggested doing that). So I ask you all once again any ideas for getting rid of or using up my stash of junky acrylic?

Food and knitting

2008-09-29T12:52:00.004-04:00

Rosh Hashanna begins tonight which means that today I am busy cooking and baking. The house smells wonderful right now with the combined scents of chicken soup and brisket. Soon enough I'll be adding my home made challah to the mix. I love the smell of baking bread. DS will not be with us for the holiday, but we will call him tonight and speak with him. Tomorrow we go to a friends' house for dinnner (the holiday is two days long with a major dinner each night).

Knitting wise I am being lazy and haven't corrected the error I made on my sweater. I am avoiding it because I don't relish the idea of frogging several rows of carefully made cables. There isn't an obvious hole in the thing so I am not sure where the error was, that has me a little nervous. But I am reasonably sure that the error is not that far down. I suppose I could just unravel the cable part but doubt my ability to do that correctly. I've never done it with cables and have no idea how to rework it so the error is fixed and the section cabled correctly. So it will sit for a couple more days till I get the courage to tackle this. The shawl is coming along nicely. Not sure how big I am going to make it. I'll just keep trying it on till it feels right. Working on it has gotten me to think again about a fingering/laceweight shawl. Let me finish and blok this one first.

Well I have to go off and play with some bread dough. L'shanna Tova to you all.

Knitting in Public

2008-09-25T14:13:00.004-04:00

After being in pain for a few weeks I finally went to the podiatrist this morining to have my right foot looked at. After some examining and a few x-rays he told me that I needed a soft cast on it for two weeks and mucho ibuprophen to clear up the inflamation. I'll have to go out and get a pair of black sneakers to wear to work in the meantime because regular shoes will not fit over the cast. (We have to dress in black at work and my sneakers are not only tan but so beat up I will not wear them to work. I need new ones anyway) I'm also going to have to wrap it up in plastic to take showers always a joy to do.

I got some knitting done in the waiting room and even got a compliment from another patient who was waiting for x-rays. She commented that she tries to knit every few years and never manages to get the hang of it. We chatted for a bit and I suggested that she try continental style which I think is easier.

The candle flame shawl is coming along nicely after a few too many false starts while I learned the pattern. At first I had to keep one eye on the instructions and one on my knitting then I got the hang of it and don't need the instructions anymore.

Open house at the high school tonight. I get to walk around the school and meet DD's teachers, she can't come along as she did last year because she has marching band rehersal at the same time. She's giving me a map, which I am not optomistic about being able to follow. I am severely directionally challenged and don't do well with maps. So if I don't show up here in a few days send out a search party I may still be wandering the halls of the high school looking for where to go.

Arrrgh!

2008-09-20T00:27:00.003-04:00

I was working on my sweater this afternoon when I realized that one of the cables that was supposed to have 12 stitches in it had only 11. Now I have to go and frog back to find the error. What a pain.

To pacify myself I started a new project. I'm making the candle flame shawl out of red Wool of the Andes.

DH is going to see DS tomorrow. I can't go because I have to work. Life stinks like that sometimes.

Thrummed Knitting

2008-09-16T12:59:00.003-04:00

Lupie wanted to know what Thrummed Knitting is. As I understand it, it's the process of putting tufts of material into your knitting to make it warmer. Usually done on mittens. It just never appealed to me.

A Knitting Meme

2008-09-15T11:20:00.002-04:00

Saw this on the blog Knitting the Blues and thought it would be fun to do.

The rules:

Bold the things you've done.
Green the things you are currently doing.
Red out the things you've abandoned or will never attempt.
Italicize the things you want to try.

Afghan
American/English Knitting (vs. Continental knitting)
Baby Items
Bobbles
Buttonholes
Cable stitch patterns (including Aran)
Cardigan
Charity knitting
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Darning
Designing knitted garments
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Dyeing with plant dyes
Dyeing yarn
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fullling/felting
Gloves
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Hair accessories
Hat
Holiday related knitting
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies.....)
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener Bind Off
Knitting a gift
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting for a living
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting socks
Knitting to make money
Lace patterns
Longtail Cast On
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff up
Mittens: Top down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Olympic knitting
Participating in a Knit-a-long
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book
Purses/bags
Rug
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Slippers
Socks: toe up
Socks: top down
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Stuffed toys
Swatching
Sweater
Teaching a child to knit
Teaching a male to knit
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy or doll knitting
Tubular Cast On
Twisted stitch patterns
Two ended knitting
Writing a pattern
Well there you have it. If you decide to do the meme let me know I'd love to read your list!

Whoops

2008-09-08T20:23:00.003-04:00

My friend Lupie rightly points out that she has done this meme already so I am now tagging The Grimm Witch of Jersey Enjoy and sorry Lupe I should have just looked down one more entry! I just didn't remember that you answered this one already.

A Challenge

2008-09-08T12:36:00.002-04:00

Pepper of Geek of all Trades tagged me with this meme. So here goes:

What are the last 3 things you purchased?
A book, a shirt and some food

What are the last three songs you downloaded?
Haven't done that in a while and don't remember

What are the three best places you visited?
Vermont, Cape Cod and Israel

What are your three favorite movies?
Mr. Roberts, A Lion in Winter and Beckett

What thee things can you not live without?
Books, my knitting, and a decent box of cereal (I eat it every morning)

What would be your three wishes?
I wish that DS would be safe and happy when he grows up
I wish DD would get into the college of her choice and not have to worry about paying for it
I wish I could lose the 50 pounds I have to take off (ok it's really 49 but I like round numbers)

What are three things you haven't done yet?
Learn to swim decently (I can get by in the water enough not to drown but I can't really swim well)
Run or walked a marathon
Fold the clothes we washed yesterday(grin)

What three Celebrities do you want to hang out with the most?
Sandy Koufax -(one of the all time great pitchers)
Temple Grandin- (an adult with autism that has had a successful life.)
Death Cab for Cutie - (my favorite band)

Name three things that freak you out
Roller coasters
Mice
driving out of town always afraid I'll get lost in a strange place. DH OTOH is a human GPS and never gets lost.

What are your three favorite dishes?
Sushi
Chicken Mole (a mexican dish that is very yummy)
mashed potatoes

Name Three Things you are good at.
Knitting
Baking Bread
Counted cross stitch

What are three things you are currently coveting?
The Yarn Harlot's new book
A decent collection of men's sweater patterns
a Tivo

These are three bloggers I will send this challenge to:
Knitnana
Knitting with my Mother's Hands
Vixenpath

An Update and Random Thoughts

2008-09-05T13:46:00.003-04:00

I finally had my stress test at the doctor and fortunately everything is fine. He told me to continue taking the medication he'd prescribed (a beta blocker to help my heart work better and a cholesterol lowering medication) and come back in a year. He also told me in no uncertain terms that I had to exercise daily and lose weight. Well the exercise thing is not so hard to do. I can walk the neighborhood or use my Wii Fit. The Wii Fit is a lot of fun it's a "game" for the Nintendo Wii that has aerobics, balance games, yoga and strength games on it. You can get quite a workout on this thing. I highly recomend it to anyone who has a Wii system. (If you can find it that is. the Wii Fit is in high demand and it took weeks for us to nail one) Losing weight is another story. This has never been easy for me but I have no choice and have to take it off. I figure I need to lose 49 pounds. (Yikes!) So I hauled myself back to Weight Watchers and have been following it the last two days. It does work when you work at it but my problem is that I start resenting the program after a few months. This time resentment or no I have to stick with it. My health is involved not just my looks.

I am making good progress on my aran sweater; finished the back the other day and started the front. I should put in more time on the thing but I've also gotten into this wonderful book called The Street of a Thousand Blossoms. I highly recommend it especially if you're like me and love anything to do with Japan. I know I keep promising pictures and I do plan to post some over due ones this weekend. I haven't been working on the socks all that much, I should pick them up and try to finish them. I am disappointed in the socks. I have a ladder that I cannot seem to eliminate no matter how hard I try. But they do look good othewise and the ladder isn't too noticible but I know it's there and it bothers me. Tell me all does working on two circular needles make for a lack of ladders or am I going to have the same problem with DD's socks (which you may remember are my first attempt at socks on two circulars) ?

Had issues in my kitchen this week. We've had trouble with pantry moths in the past. They are annoying little buggers and hard to get rid of. This time we are getting real serious with our latest plague of flying annoyances bent on eating my food. I spent time yesterday cleaning out our pantry closet, throwing things out that looked like the bugs had gotten to them and wiping out the interior throughly. Now we are having the exterminator in to do a treatment. That will hopefully take care of the problem once and for all. Being a Buddhist I have a hard time with killing bugs. I'm one of those people who takes them outside and sets them free. But for pantry moths I make an exception. They are that bad.

We had DS in for 2 1/2 weeks at the end of August. One week was spent at Cape Cod which we all enjoyed and would like to go back to one of these days. The second week was spent at home seeing his friends and watching too much TV. By far this was the best visit ever with DS. This new progam at his school really seems to be making a difference with him. He loves having the vocational training and talks constantly about getting a job. It's hard having him away at boarding school but he's doing so well I cannot complain.

DH had a look at my blogroll and asked me if I actually read them all. For the most part I do. I have them all on bloglines and check them once or twice a day. I skim some blogs and some like, the Yarn Harlot, I read word for word. Not all of them update on a daily basis so it's not as hard as you might think to keep up. However, the list is getting a little ridiculous and I should pare it down a bit. I just hate to miss a good blog and it's hard not to add them to the list. How many blogs do you all read on a daily or somewhat daily basis?

Thanks again to those who commented and wrote about my recent scare with my health. It really helped to know I had friends in cyberspace.

Various Things

2008-07-27T20:33:00.002-04:00

Hello all. Not much of a knitting nature to report. DH's sweater was blocked and sewed up and he was happy with it. The sweater I was making for myself is coming along nicely and the socks for myself (formally known as the cursed socks) are nearly done.

Got a bit of a scare healthwise. I went to the doctor because I had been complaining of a post nasal drip to DH and he wanted me to see the doctor as I also felt a tightness in my throat and a heaviness on my chest and thought it might be my asthma rearing it's head again. Well I got to the doctor and told him my symptoms. He checked me over and then said he wanted to do an EKG. I was kind of surprised but had no problem with it so consented. When he had read it he told me that there were subtle changes in my EKG and he had arranged for the cardilogist to see me after I took a chest x-ray. (it's a multi-specialty medical group so they are all in one building). Well I was a little worried but went along with it and saw the cardiologist who also took an EKG and found subtle changes in it. I had had a cholestrol test a few weeks back and they pulled it out. My cholesterol was way elevated, (231 to be exact) and he immediatly wrote out a perscription for a cholesterol lowering drug as well as something to "help my heart" I also had to make appointments for an echocardiogram and a stress test. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was surprised to say the least because I'd never had trouble with my heart before. Was I scared? Not really, just pissed off in the extreme that I'd let this happen to me.

Well I've taken this to be wakeup call. The medication for my heart has gotten rid of the tightness in my throat as well as the feeling of heaviness in my chest which I now know are symptoms of angina. I've started walking again and have been closely watching my diet. Got a great book called the New 8-Week Cholesteral Cure. It's got all kinds of info on how to cut down cholesterol and strenghten your heart. I've never been really sick, always a healthy person but I've kind of taken it for granted in the last few years. I've put on way too much weight and haven't been at all careful over what I ate, hardly exercised. That has to change now I no longer have the luxury of sitting back and doing nothing. I've been distinctly told by the doctors that I have to take this into my hands and do something about it. Wish me luck.

Time to Finish

2008-06-09T10:59:00.003-04:00

DH's sweater is done but for the sewing and blocking. I would have blocked it this weekend but DS was in and the best place in the house to block out the pieces is the floor of his room.(nobody is in it most of the time after all) Pictures will follow when it's all done.

I stared the sweater that I wrote about in my last post. It's fun if a little difficult to work because the yarn doesn't have any elasticity. But it's going to look gorgeous and I am happy with it. The sock yarn I bought that day is in the process of becoming my first socks on circular needles. I'm having a little trouble with the directions and will go back to Knitting on the Lamb for some help tomorrow.

I have a question for anyone that's reading this. I have a stash of old acrylic yarn bought when I was young and foolish and not a fiber snob. ( I use acrylic but not the old plastic type of yarn which a lot of this stuff is). Can anyone suggest a place that might take the yarn from me. A charity or a school or something? I'd hate to just throw it out. DH bless his hear was horrified when I suggested doing that, but knitting it all into preemie hats just isn't practical and a lot of other charities only take items made with wool yarns.

Another Sweater

2008-05-15T14:47:00.002-04:00

Checked out a new (well new to me) LYS yesterday. Knitting on the Lamb is a nice store good stock of yarn and a very friendly owner. I chose to make an oversized Aran sweater made from raw silk yarn. Yes silk. Surprisingly it's not overly expensive at about $7.50 a skein. I don't do too many sweaters and this one will be for me. I'd like to have it done by the time we go on vacation this summer so I can take it along. The yarn is being ordered for me as they didn't have enough at the store. DD will come along when i pick it up so she can pick out some yarn for a pair of socks I plan to make for her. These socks will be done on two circular needles, a technique I've been wanting to learn.

But back to the sweater. I took one skein home, along with an Addi Turbo needle #7 to swatch it with. Unfortunately I didn't hit gauge with this combo and think I have to go down a size to make it. Gauge is 18 stitches to the inch and I'm at 16 to the inch. So I'll try a size six needle next time. The suggested gauge on the ball band was 16 to the inch on number 7 needles so at least I know my tension is reasonable.

The socks formally known as cursed are coming along. I have done the gusset on one and am on the heel flap of the other (had to do some ripping back to fix a counting error). The sweater for DH is up to the armholes on the back. So that's had some good progress too.

The Sweater Revisited

2008-05-11T20:29:00.002-04:00

Well after thinking about it quite a bit I decided to totally bag DH's sweater and use the yarn to make him a simple pullover. Boring I know but the yarn is sort of marbled and the simplicity of stockinette stitch will show it off to good advantage. I'm doing a drop shoulder, with the possibility of a rolled collar, DH hasn't decided if that's what he wants yet. The gauge swatch is in process and I will use the pattern in The Knitters Handy Guide to Sweater Patterns.

The now formally cursed socks are coming along very nicely. I have one done down to the heel flap and the other almost to the heel flap. (I always work the two at the same time so I don't get second sock syndrome) I have Cat Bordhi's book Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles on order from the library and plan to make the next pair using that method, perhaps doing two socks on the two circulars. I don't mind using double points, I rather like them in fact, but I want to add the other technique to my skills.

I promise pictures as soon as I find the blasted camera. :)

Thought You Got Rid of Me Didn't You?

2008-05-08T11:33:00.001-04:00

Well after entirely too long a lay off I am back in the saddle again with this blog. The cursed socks stayed cursed and were relegated to UFO status until I picked them up again this past week and have been working on them steadily. The sweater for DH got relegated to UFO status as well but I plan to do something with it this coming week. The sweater was/is an aran knit that did not come with a chart so it's a little hard to figure out how it's supposed to look. Row two of the instructions made no sense but I think I can figure it out. My LYS closed but the owner still sells from her house so I think I may contact her via email and ask if she'd be willing to go over the pattern with me and I'd pay her for her time. What do you all think of that?

In new projects I am going to try to teach myself how to do socks on two circular needles, Sensational Knitted Socks, which I have a copy of, has directions and I am going to try it with a pair of socks that I plan to make for DD.

To update you on the family and myself, I've changed jobs since last I was here. I work now at a local department store a few nights a week and then some weekend time. DD is in High School now and DS continues to do well at his boarding school. (you may remember that DS has autism and goes to a school for kids with special needs) DH is doing well at his job and keeps wondering about his sweater :) The kitchen project I mentioned in the blog is long done and came out great!

I've made some changes to the sidebar, eliminated the podcast list as many of them had given up the ghost I will produce a new list soon. If anyone knows of a good blog that I don't list let me know about it. I'm always on the lookout for a new blog. It can be knitting related or not.

2006-10-26T15:23:00.000-04:00

Wonderful package from my Tea Swap Pal! Trekking yarn, a chocolate cat, 3 kinds of tea a tea infuser, sour gummy watermelon slices and some nuts. Can't wait to dig into it

Filling in

2006-08-17T15:21:00.000-04:00

Just want to fill you in on a few developments. As you can see from the picture I got a great package from my secret pal. Pistachios are a real favorite of mine, and I am looking forward to the book. So many little things that add up to a wonderful surprise.

We are going away on vacation from August 20th to the 27th. Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg. While we're gone they're going to come and rip out the kitchen and re-sheetrock the walls, paint and get ready for my tile guy to come in. I'll take photos of the room naked without appliances and cabinets when I get home.

DS will be coming home tomorrow, we're going to go pick him up from school and leave early on Sunday morning. Lots to do before then the kitchen has to be boxed up, we're far along with that but have more to do. Dishes and food in my pantry closet. We'll set up a mini kitchen in the living room with the coffee maker and a cheap microwave to use for the duration. Lot's of eating out the next few weeks. Wish us luck.

2006-08-17T15:20:00.000-04:00

A few days late here is the latest fabulous package from my utterly wonderful Secret Pal.

Quick Update

2006-08-10T09:51:00.000-04:00

The cabinets for the kitchen are being delivered today. I am starting to be very nervous and also excited about this project. So many things can go wrong, and I am sure that some small things will, but in the end it will all work out. Not sure of the precise start date right now but I will keep you guys posted when I do.

DS and DD are doing well DS comes home for two weeks, or so, starting on the 18th. On the 20th, my birthday, we are leaving on a weeks vacation to Virginia. Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. Also going to Washington DC to visit my BIL. For Busch Gardens we are going to get a pass to get through the lines easier with DS. He has trouble waiting sometimes and we want the option to get through the lines easier. They have a special pass for people who are disabled so DS qualifies for it. I hate the looks we get from people when we use these passes but we are entitled to it so I try to ignore them.

Long Overdue

2006-07-24T16:49:00.000-04:00

Here's a long overdue post from me. Some questions posed by the folks at Secrect Pal 8

1. What is your favorite season of the year and why?

Fall is my favorite season. The weather is great not too hot or cold, and I love to see the trees turn color.

2. Summer is hot. What do you knit in Summer?

I do socks and hats.

3. If money was no object.....what would you buy at the LYS?

Probably some cashmere

4. What are some activities that have become family traditions for your family?

Here's a silly one: we go out on New Years Day to the mall and buy all the calendars we need for the year at half price. It started out as a joke when we first got married but we do it every year so I guess it's a tradition now.

5. What is the weather right now?

Hot and a little muggy but pleasant because it's sunny and not raining!

That's it for the questions.

Not much else going on. Promise to post in a couple of days.

House

2006-07-08T21:16:00.000-04:00

House is the only TV program that I make it a point never to miss. Unfortunately, I didn't discover the show until this, it's second season. So when DD (she is as addicted to this show as I am) and I saw the first season in the local Best Buy, on DVD, we grabbed it. We've been enjoying catching up with our favorite characters, seeing how the developed over time. Best of all is the quality mother daughter time we are getting as a result. If you haven't checked out House yet you can find it on Fox on Tuesday nights at 8 and again at 9. (they're running two episodes through the summer)

Disaster on sock two today. I accidentally pulled out one of the working needles and have to frog back to get it right again. ARGHH! The universe doesn't want this pair done. I'm working it very slowly due to lack of time these days, which I think makes it twice as frustrating when I have a set back.

DS got back to school basically OK. He had a day when he went a little haywire at school, but that is typical for him the day after he gets back. I wish we could find a way to transition him better but there doesn't seem to be anyway but time. I will speak to the psychologist and the case manager at school to see if anything can be done.

On the kitchen front we looked at tiles today and think we found what we want, or at least have it nailed down to two different ones. Now I have to get this coordinated with my contractor as one tile place said lay the tiles after the cabinets are done and another said do it before. I have to ask what he usually does. We are going with porcelain tiles in a sort of beige color. I'll try to post a picture when we make up our minds on which one we're going to use.

2006-07-07T12:15:00.000-04:00

As promised pictures of my kitchen as it is now prior to the renovation. We are now scheduled to start at the end of August beginning of September.

2006-07-07T12:14:00.000-04:00

Note the total lack of counter space

Short Update

2006-07-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

Not much knitting getting done lately. DS is home from school and I've been busy with him and a thousand things around the house. DS is doing well I'm happy to say, cooperative and in a good mood the whole time he's been home. Not necessarily a given for a kid like him (he has autism and a few other problems which is why he goes to a special school away from home. No school here could meet his needs). I'm proud of him. Tonight we took him out for his 16th birthday, and had cake and presents. Tomorrow is a family BBQ in his honor as well.

The Kitchen cabinets have finally been ordered now we have to schedule with the contractor. I will post some before photos sometime this week so you can see how rotten my kitchen looks now and why I desperately need a new one.

Sock 2 of the Lorna's Laces pair is now in the middle of the heel flap. (I'm usually faster than this but as I said there's not been much knitting going on around here) I hope to be done with the heel this weekend which will put the two socks even. Then I'll start switching off between them till they're both done.

Ramblings

2006-06-22T20:01:00.000-04:00

Not much going on around here which is why I haven't been posting. DS is coming home for a week and a bit starting on Saturday. I can't wait to see him. It's a drag that I have to work for three days this week (I work part time and only work Monday to Wednesday) and won't have the time with him, but DH will be taking off those days so they have some time for father son bonding. DD is finishing school this Friday and starts Day Camp on Monday. She loves this camp and seeing the same kids each Summer. They've all been together for years now and really have developed friendships. DD has no interest in going to Sleep Away camp and having been forced to go myself when I was little, I have no interest in making her go. She's independent for a 12 year old and I don't think she misses anything in not going away to camp.

The socks are coming along well and I will post pics as soon as #2 matches #1.

I still despair over DH's sweater. First of all I want to make him something, second of all I like working on Aran's. I will try one more time to get the pattern to work and them I will look for a new one that can use the same yarn. I'll never buy a pattern from Sirdar again, even though I love the yarn.

Knit in Public Day

2006-06-10T22:08:00.000-04:00

I was lucky to be able to get some KIPing in on this second annual Worldwide Knit in Public Day. We took my MIL to the store to bring in her furs for the winter and we had to wait. So I pulled out my sock and knitted away. Didn't get a lot done but I got a few rows in. So did you knit in public today? If so where and how?

Waiting on a call from my contractor before I can order the cabinets for the kitchen. We always seem to be waiting on someone for this project. It's going to take 6-8 weeks for the cabinets to come in and so I am anxious to get the order in ASAP. Well I called on Friday I'm sure he'll get back to me on Monday. In a comment Jenn asked me to post before, during and after photos. I will do that when the project gets closer to actually getting done.

The sock I was working on today is actually the second sock from the Lorna's Laces socks I am making. True to the history of these socks I had to cast on three times before I got what I liked. Maybe I should call this one Brother of the cursed sock ;). I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have a repeat of the problems I had with the first one.

My shoulder has been better the last two days, still stiff but not as painful. I've had the x-ray now I just have to get back to the doctor to get them looked at. After that I will most likely have an MRI. With luck the rotator cuff is not torn. Physical therapy I can handle, but I'd like to avoid surgery if possible. My thanks to Ruinwen for her good wishes about my shoulder.

Updates

2006-06-05T19:32:00.000-04:00

It occurs to me that I never said what happened at the arthritis doctor. Well it's not exactly my arthritis, I either have a torn rotator cuff or something called an impingement. That means that some muscles are pinching others causing the pain in my shoulder. My research online reveals that this can result from bursitis, tendonitis or arthritis. So I'm in for some x-rays and most likely an MRI. If I'm lucky it's the impingement as that is treated by physical therapy, the rotator cuff tear would mean surgery. So think good thoughts and I'll continue updates

Have I mentioned we're doing our kitchen over? Well finally after many false starts we have a contractor that's willing to do the work. I just called today to leave a message saying we agreed to the price please send a contract. A lot of the work will have to be done while I am not at home as both DS and I have to work. I have to put a lot of trust into these folks. But the neighbor across the street is a relative of the contractor so I am fairly comfortable with the arrangement. Finally new cabinets (needed), new floor (badly needed), new appliances (very badly needed). The kitchen is around 40 years old. The oven is original equipment, and for someone who likes to bake a horror. The cook top, refrigerator, and dishwasher, are newer but also in need of replacement. I don't know if I should say yipee, or recoil in horror at the thought of what's about to happen. (the kitchen will be totally gutted down to the wall studs) Wish us luck.

On the knitting front not too much has happened as of late. I'm still working on the cursed sock (not so cursed at the moment it's working fine thank you), and have not yet taken out the baby blanket to work on, but I will. The comments on the blog totally decided me.

Success!!

2006-06-02T14:01:00.000-04:00

I took Leigh Ann's advice and left the sock alone for a bit. Then instead of taking the easy way out, I frogged back to the start of the heel and got the right number of stitches this time after it was fully turned. Persistence is a virtue. Now all I have to do is get the gusset right and it's smooth sailing. One day a picture will appear on this site I promise :). I will be starting sock two as soon as the gusset is done. This is the way I work all my socks. First I get one to the foot, then the other and after that I alternate the two. I find I avoid second sock syndrome that way. The owner of my LYS liked my idea so much she now advises all her sock classes to do the same thing.

Knitter's Tea Swap

2006-06-01T15:22:00.000-04:00

If you go to the blog Knitter's Tea Swap. You will see the other fabulous package I got.

2006-06-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

Look at the wonderful package I got from my Secret Pal! Sock yarn, two patterns, yummy candy (my fave is the sour gummy worms) Incense, bath salts, tea and two books. The woman knows how to spoil me!

The Curse Of The Sock Returns

2006-05-29T17:04:00.000-04:00

What is it about this sock of mine? I cannot seem to do anything right with it. After puzzling out the error I made turning the heel (worked on the wrong number of stitches), it looks like there now will be one fewer stitch than needed, I don't know why and I don't care at this point. I'm just going to do a make one and be done with it. Honestly, I don't know what is wrong with me on this thing, I've done 7 pairs of socks with no problems before this. *sigh* I will chalk it up to karma and move on.

DS has been in from school the last few days and goes back tomorrow. DH will take him to meet his train (they send staff up from school to ride with the kids they don't go alone ever) while I will go to work. I'm glad he's doing it, aside from the fact that DS seems to like it when DH takes him back for the return trip, I think I'd just lose it. He'll be up for a week at the end of June as well as 2 weeks or so at the end of August. In between times we visit him and talk daily on the phone. I know he's doing well at school and that this is the right place for him, but I miss him so much a times. He was so good this weekend it's hard to let him go again.

DD marched in our town and the town next over's Memorial Day Parade with the middle school marching band. Our school district takes in both towns so they do both parades each year. DS not being a fan of parades stayed home with DH, last year I did the same. It was nice to see her march and the kids did so well! Nothing like small town America I say. (there are only 7000 people in my town, our school district only has about 3500 kids K-12, that's less people than in my entire high school when I was a student)

Well, we're off to dinner with friends, wish me luck with the traffic.

Baby blanket dilemma

2006-05-25T09:42:00.000-04:00

I started a baby blanket for my nephew a long while back. The baby is near to a year old now should I still send it to him if I make a push to finish it. I feel a little silly about it now. I made one for his sister and felt I had to make one for him, but just lost interest in it. It's a feather and fan pattern in blue. Rather pretty actually I just got bored with it. Opinions are wanted on this there's not too much of the blanket to be done.

The sock and scarf continue to move along nicely, but slowly. I haven't had much time to knit lately. Hope to get some solid time in today after I clean up the house. Still no ideas on what to do about DH's sweater. I'm thinking of writing to Sirdar and asking if there are any errata for the pattern. If I don't come to a solution soon I will bag this sweater and look for something else to make him with the yarn. It's a wonderful yarn and shouldn't just sit.

To my vast disappointment I found the envelope I put the stitch markers in for my tea swap pal on the table I packed the stuff into the box on. I feel bad that I didn't send them. Don't think I mentioned them in my note. I also realized I didn't make suggestions on what to do with the yarn as you are supposed to. But I figure that two skeins of Regia sock yarn make the use kind of obvious. Still haven't heard from her that she got it even though I know it was delivered. Maybe she's busy or just didn't like what I sent. I suppose I can give it a week or so till I ask about it from the people who run the swap. Nice to hear from my swap pal and excited to see what I get. I promise pictures as soon as it arrives.

One more round of doctor appointments next week. Another dentist visit, which I hope will be less painful than the last. I've been good about flossing and using the Listerine as directed so it should go better. Aside from the fact that it will have been only two weeks since my last visit rather than 5 years :). I'm also seeing the arthritis doctor. I cannot take the pain in my right shoulder any more. I can't reach with the arm as I am supposed to without pain, can't put it behind my back. I hope he can do something for me. It's been months with no improvement. I'll keep you all posted.

Doctor Day

2006-05-18T20:44:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I posted about going to some doctor appointments. Today was day the day. The dentist was just awful. It's been about 4 years since I've gone so there's no one to blame but me. The cleaning actually hurt, and I have to go back for another one in two weeks because there was so much buildup. Two cavities as well. *sigh* The money aspect aside ( and we don't have dental insurance) this was a big wake up call. I will never, ever wait so long to go to the dentist. Every six months from now on I swear. The Pulmonary doctor my GP sent me to had a good report. He said my lung function test was good, but that I do still have to deal with my very mild asthma, and that the cough was most likely from that. So I now have an inhaler again (I used to have one but haven't used it in so long it got lost) and a prescription for Singuliar which will take care of my allergies as well. Next are a pair of appointments to deal with my arthritis. (do I or do I not sound like a little old lady down by the pool in Florida complaining about my aches and pains?)

DH asked if I actually read all the blogs on my list. The answer is sort of. Some I always read like Yarn Harlot, some I skim, some I skip from time to time. Thank God for Bloglines it's so much easier to keep up that way.

Got the last things I needed for my tea swap pal today. I'll be mailing it tomorrow assuming I can locate our ever disappearing packing tape. I sure hope she likes what I send. I'm throwing in some stitch markers I made as well. They are so easy to make and everyone can use them. I always like to throw in a few when I do a package like this. I also mailed off some squares for the Warming Grace challenge for blue squares yesterday. I love to do charity knitting, and if you don't already do some, I urge you to lend your talents to some worthy group. You'll get much more than you give I promise.

Thanks to Ruinwen and Dipsy D for their kind comments on the scarf. I'm using Noro Kureyon color 163. A gift from a Secret Pal a while back. I love the way the colors change and think the pattern really enhances it.

I Find This Truly Frightening

2006-05-18T14:32:00.000-04:00

Your 80s Heartthrob Is

Bill Gates

Who's Your 80's Heartthrob?

2006-05-14T15:58:00.001-04:00

Multidirectional scarf

2006-05-14T15:58:00.000-04:00

The "Cursed Sock" in progress

All's Well That Ends Well

2006-05-14T15:25:00.000-04:00

We had a beautiful day for our visit to DS. Sunshine and the home team won. We surprised DS with a visit from his best friend and his parents which totally delighted him. DS gave me two Mother's Day gifts he made himself. A Jewelry box and a mug he made in ceramics. They came out well, he's starting to be neater with his paints and using more colors. DH got a candlestick and a box that's shaped like a basketball. Unfortunately I went totally off my eating plan at the ball park. Well I'm picking myself off and starting over. Each day a new beginning I say.

Please notice that I've put a couple of new buttons up on the blog. One just for fun, two for some worthy charities I recommend to you. Warming Grace is right now looking for some blue squares for a blanket for a very sick boy, the squares are small and easy to work up please consider helping this child and making a square.

The sock is cursed. I dropped a stitch on Friday night that couldn't be picked up, went down too far and it was just hard to catch. I had to start from scratch again but no matter got tons done at the game and while I road in the car on the way down. As I have finally gotten DH to find the camera I will post a picture as pitiful as it is.

FP asked me what pattern I was using for DH's sweater, it's a Sirdar pattern from The Seascapes Book of Aran Classics, design H specifically. If anyone has worked this please let me know. I'd like to thank FP for her kind comments about me and DS.

Well off to use the camera!

Rain Rain Go Away

2006-05-12T14:54:00.000-04:00

It has been raining here all day. I decided to engage in my second favorite activity (other than knitting) and bake some Oatmeal Bread. Just seemed to be the right thing to do on a rainy day. I don't use a bread machine but rather a standing mixer. I feel I have more flexibility with the dough this way. I love the way it makes the house smell. This is a nice moist slightly sweet bread that makes great peanut butter sandwiches. It's also great toasted. If you've never baked bread I recommend it highly, anyone can do it.

I am not sure what to do about DH's sweater. There seems to be an error in the pattern on the second row. The stitches as written are not matching up with the previous row at all. (in other words I'm not seeing purls where I expect knits and visa versa) I really want to make him a sweater and love the yarn. I am not sure what to do now at all. I suppose I will try to chart it again (I was not successful at it when I took a shot before) or play around with the instructions till I get it right. Or I can just find a pattern suitable for the yarn and try that.

I've picked out the yarn I'm sending to my tea swap partner now all I have to do is get the tea and treat to go with it. I had trouble finding the tea I wanted at the first place I looked so I'll have to try another market this weekend. I want to get this out of the house by the end of the week. I am so often just on deadline with stuff like this. This time I intend to be early!

This and That

2006-05-11T15:13:00.000-04:00

We're going to see DS this weekend at school and brining along his best friend and parents as a surprise. We also hope to take in a Minor League baseball game if the rain holds off, so think good thoughts and hope that there's no rain for us. If we get rained out, we'll donate the tickets to my son's house at school for them to use at a later date. Not sure what we'll do as an alternative if it does rain but I'm hoping we won't need one. DS has been at school for about 16 months now. It's not easy to have him away but he is doing so well that it kind of helps ease it for me. We talk every night on the phone and see him a couple of times a month so it's not as bad as it might be. But I still wish we could send him to a school near home and have him with us all the time.

I've been living with an awful cough the last couple of weeks. Finally I'm doing something about it. My regular doctor is sending me to a Pulmonary doctor this week to get a lung function test. I think he's going to put me back on asthma medication which I hate. But if he says I need it I guess I've no choice. I'm also seeing the dentist for the first time in like 5 years. Can you tell I'm not fan of doctors?

Still working on the Lorna's Laces socks and the multidirectional scarf. I swear I will get photos up soon. DH put our camera away and I have no idea where it is. I keep forgetting to ask him to take it out for me.

Got my matches for Secrect Pal 8 and the Knitter's Tea swap. I'm already plotting what I'm going to send. The tea swap has to be out by June 1 so I will probably do that this week. For my other pal, well the less said the better I think :).