So Long 2007...

I guess this is the last post for 2007. What a year. It was certainly a big one for our family. In good ways and bad ways. A lot has changed. My dad died, my kids moved out, then moved back in, and one has since moved away. My mother is doing well living on her own which still boggles my mind. Mr. C is not much of a baby anymore with an ever increasing vocabulary. Our niece had twins over the weekend in San Diego. And two more babies in the family due this year. Wow. A lot of change.

I've been knitting. And here is proof:

I just did the decrease for the arms. This is fun knitting but it's difficult to knit and watch TV with this pattern. It require a lot of concentration. I was knitting and trying to watch The Sound Of Music for the 900th time last night and it wasn't going well. It's hard to concentrate on serious knitting and a young Christopher Plummer at the same time. The knitting lost that one let me tell you.

I went to see my first movie at the theater IN A LONG TIME. I highly recommend P.S. I Love You. It was slow in a couple parts, but overall it was really good. And great scenery of Ireland.

Have a happy New Year's Eve. We're babysitting Mr. C. tonight. As long as my DH and I stay as exciting as we are, our kids will never have to worry about a babysitter on New Year's Eve!

Happy (almost) New Year!!

I usually review my finished projects for the year at the end of December. I was sitting here thinking that I didn't knit much at all this year compared to other years. I made some soap and I did some sewing. But after reviewing my blog archives, I realize that I did more than I thought. Not as much as previous years, but still more than I thought. FO's are as follows:

Koigu brown socks for me

Michael's neck gaitor in Kraemer washable wool

Fetching fingerless mitts for me

Emily's hand dyed socks (Shelley's sock yarn I think)

Misty Garden scarf for me out of Shelley's hand spun green wool

Opal socks for my mother

Blue hand dyed socks for Kelly

Dream Swatch headband for Kelly

4 cork people

Colin's blue socks

Kelly's Manos scarf and hat

Clementine Shawlette from Maryland Sheep and Wool hand dyed (for me)

Prayer scarf (requested by a sweet nun at a local nursing home)

Purple socks for Cate

Felted bag (that ended up in the Salvation Army bin... I hated that thing)

Vintage shawl (for me) Kraemer Alpaca

Sock Monkey hat for Colin (which he refuses to wear for some reason... my husband says he is smarter than we give him credit for :-P )

Socks for new baby

Spa Socks for my aunt

Lady Eleanor for me ( Best of The Year Award :-)

Giorgio's socks

Charity scarf and hat (which I still have... yikes)

Dashing Mitts (intended for Michael... for me in the end)

Not bad for not much knitting, huh?

Unfinished objects include one pair of adult socks, Meghan's lace sweater (hopeless), the pink lace shawl, and Colin's Aran pullover sweater which I am currently working on.

We went to Barnes and Noble last night and I got his book:

For those of you who like to knit the classics.... this book is for you. There is only one sweater (vest) in this book that I wouldn't knit. Everything else I love. Especially this one..

The scallops at the bottom are knit separately and then sewn on. It's so different. And yet still pretty classy looking. There is another turtle neck pullover that I love with a cabled edge at the bottom and on the sleeves but I don't like how the sleeves are set in. They create some pointy edges at the shoulders which reminds of something Dr. Spock would wear on Star Trek. Check it out:

Am I crazy or is that weird?

Almost out of time....

Yes, I realize he's eyeless. I can't believe I got this far. I figured out the whip stitch thing for the mouth, ears, and arms. Now I just have to decide what kind of eyes to give him. I hope he ends up loved. You never know about these things. It could go either way.

I hope everyone has a safe, happy and healthy Christmas and New Year. From our house to yours.... enjoy your family and friends. That's what it's all about.

And don't forget to EAT the gingerbread house. That's really what it's for.

Christmas Craziness

Is it just me, or does Christmas get crazier every year? I've been out every night for 10 days straight and it isn't going to stop any time soon. I'm either going to pull a few all-nighters or there isn't going to be a Christmas at our house. I'm doing everything but what I should be doing.

I have three Erin bags to block, line, and sew handles on for daughter #1. She did the knitting and left the rest to me. I'm just so glad she's knitting that I don't even care. I'm happy to do that for her ... I just need to find the time.

I thought I might get this finished for Mr. C... but it's not looking good.

I have to say that these things are not quite as easy to do as they look. The cutting and machine sewing isn't a problem, but I'm having trouble visualizing hand sewing the (stuffed) mouth and ears onto the sock with a whip stitch. This could be a job for... I don't know... someone who knows how to sew or something. Ugh.

I got the Dashing fingerless gloves finished. They are definitely too small for my son so they will be mine. I love them. Merry Christmas to me. :-)

Cate informs me that she is probably coming home early. I've been using her room as a catch-all. In fact half of my summer clothes are still laying across her bed. So I guess tonight would be a good night to start with the first all-nighter.

Yawn.

Here's a photo of Mr. C's latest encounter with Santa. He was not impressed. We may try again tonight at the mall.

Then again, we may not. (click on to see the terror!)

Blind Sided....

I've been blind sided by Christmas. It snuck up on me. I'm not ready. But, really, are we ever? I think we just keep preparing until we finally have to stop.

I saw this little guy at Barnes and Noble last night. Isn't he adorable? I have to have one. With the maiden name of Barnes, I have a few people (my husband among them) who still call me "Barnsie" from time to time. Gotta get Barnsie.

I started "Dashing" from Knitty Spring 2006. I shortened it. The pattern really made it too long and uncomfortable. Who needs that clear up your arm? But I like it. It won't fit the intended (my son) so I'm sure I'll end up with them. I'm having trouble with mittens these days. The charity mitten would have fit the jolly green giant and I can tell this one is too small for Michael. I'm sure you're wondering about gauge. Hmmn.... gauge. She who does not check gauge gets exactly what she deserves. (In this case, a great new pair of fingerless mitts.)

Musings on the new Winter Knitty

So far today, I've managed to lose my gloves, spill coffee in my keyboard (no ill effects so far thank God), and take a chunk of skin off the knuckle on my right pinky finger. Things can only get better. Right?

I'm really impressed with the new Knitty. (Winter knitty.com) There are patterns on there that I will definitely add to my "someday" list. Some of my thoughts are as follows:

Ice Queen - I love the look of this as a scarf. I'd never wear it on my head. I might try this someday. I'm not a great lace knitter. (I'm not really even a mediocre lace knitter come to think of it)

Quant - How could I not make one of these to match Lady Eleanor with my leftover yarn? It's adorable.

3 Tams - These are really cute. I'd never take the time though. I don't like Fair Isle knitting.

Tudora - I really love this. What a great quick gift for someone. Super for leftover yarn.

Halcyon - I like a lace scarf. And this pattern is pretty. I just don't get the ribbon thing. I wouldn't mess up a pretty scarf with ribbon like that.

Justify - This one I will put on my "to do" list. I want to make this. For sure. It's different and interesting.

Dahlia - For some reason, this sweater reminds me of my son's former girlfriend. She would look adorable in this. If she was still around, I'd make this for her. I have to say that the sweater doesn't fit the girl in the photo very well, but it's pretty darn good for a ninth grade designer. You go girl.

Aoife - She had me until the sleeves. I'm not a fan of bell sleeves.... and these are pretty..um.. belly. I'd lengthen the sleeve and end with the braid.

Abotanicity - How cute would this be on someone with a baby bump? It looks like an adorable maternity sweater. I don't think I'd wear it unless I was pregnant. (and we can safely say that ain't gonna happen)

Stardust - Very cute. Perfect for that dressy occasion.

Laughing Carrots - This is so cute. And it looks so warm. What a perfect Fall and Early Spring Jacket-type sweater for kids. My only problem with this is (and I'm sure it's just me being weird) that I don't like it for a boy. I'd love to see it in pink or light blue on a girl. There is something about that design that looks a little girly to me. Actually, I think I've just lived with my husband too long. That sounds like something he would say.

Fair Isle Rapids - This is the kind of scarf you want someone to make you. It's awesome. But I'd never take the time to knit it. Check out his other stuff on his blog. He's good. Real good.

Jeanie - I LOVE this. I'm all about wraps these days. I'll make this.

The other patterns: If I havent' mentioned it, it's because I don't like to knit patterned socks (I'll take my sock patterns totally mindless please), I don't get knitting for pets when you can knit for humans, I'm not into knitting toys, I'm extremely picky about purse patterns, and glove and mitten knitting is cool but I'd rather do socks. They are all nice patterns though.

All in all, a really good issue of Knitty. Check it out.

In other news...

This is the new, heated floor mat that I bought for my office. It is AWESOME. After finally realizing that what I go through with my feet every winter might not be normal, I've come to the conclusion that I have Raynaud's Disease. And this little bugger has made all the difference. Since my doctor has just completely fluffed off every conversation I've ever tried to have with her about how cold, numb, and painful my feet get in the winter, I decided to google it and got my answers online. My symptoms were NOT normal. So if you have that problem, you probably have Raynauds.. and you need one of these mats! (this has been a public service announcement for those of you who's doctors don't take you seriously :-)

Ok.. it's time to work. Have a great day.

Knitting Kleptomania

I didn't realize it, but I'm a knitting kleptomaniac. I stole this project from my daughter.

Truth be known, I think she is somewhat happy and relieved that I ran off with it. But there was no way to know that when I did it. It was agreed that I would simply connect the round on a circular needle without twisting and give it back to her. This yarn is impossible to read. There's no way to know whether it's twisted or not. So I did the best I could and just connected and started knitting and praying. Things seemed to be going well. So I kept going. And going. Next thing I knew it was almost finished. So, yeah, basically I stole my daughter's knitting. Like I needed another project!

I decided to block Lady Eleanor after all.

The knitting "purist" in me just couldn't let it go unblocked. I hope I don't live to regret this decision. I have lots of yarn left over. I see a felted purse in my future. I can't wait to wear this thing. I'm going to work on the fringe tonight.

And, lastly, a pair of toddler socks. (sans kitchener) These are not for Mr. C. but for another cute little buddy of mine I'll see on Saturday in NYC. I hope they fit him. They are worsted weight so they may be more "house" socks than shoe socks.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

We're celebrating our Thanksgiving tomorrow so yesterday was a knitting and soapmaking day for me. Very enjoyable. Until I ripped out an hours worth of work on Lady Eleanor because I thought I ended on the wrong row to finish it..... turns out I was correct after all and ripped for nothing. So tonight, I'll try once again to finish it. I'm almost there.

Here are a few soap photos. I've had lots of requests for my soap to use as stocking stuffers and teacher's gifts. So I'm finally getting that organized. If anyone is interested, email me and I'll give you the details. It's pretty awesome stuff if I do say so myself. If it helps my dry skin, you know it's good. I don't have as much of it this year as in previous years, but I should have a good bit leftover.

My mother couldn't wait to give Mr. C. one of his Christmas gifts. He LOVES Elmo... or "Melmo" as he calls him. Check out the sweater... remember that one? It's just now fitting him.

I'm Knitting!

Not a lot.. but I am knitting. Two out of three charity items are complete:

I still have the mittens yet to finish.

Lady Eleanor is still growing.... yet another photo:

I was studying this piece last evening and I just love the look of the un-blocked fabric. It's very 3 dimensional. I remember reading a post in the Scarf-Style Knit A -Long blog where a girl did this pattern and decided not to block it. I thought that was the dumbest thing ever. But the more I look at it, the more I understand not wanting to squash what makes it so interesting to the eye. The last one I made was a solid color and it didn't seem to make that much difference. I guess in the end, I may block it very lightly. This pattern is like Clapotis. You just keep wanting to make more.

For those of you who like to cook, I found an amazing lasagna recipe. It's labor intensive, but worth every minute. Enjoy.

World's Best Lasagna - Allrecipes

Nothin exciting goin on....

I had a great time at Nemacolin. We were kept so busy that no knitting was accomplished. I took it, but I didn't do it. I went to a gourmet cooking demonstration (too much work) and a wine tasting seminar which was great. Our meetings were also excellent. They had a "knock your socks off" motivational speaker whom I think was the best I ever heard. (Kevin Freiberg in case anyone is interested.)

I'm still plugging away at the charity knitting. The scarf is finished and the hat is half finished. Except for some socks that were finished a long time ago, there will be no knitted gifts this year. That bums me out. I had lots of great ideas, but no time to follow through.

Tonight is our holiday party at work. As usual, my boss decided to do it early before everything gets crazy. At least we're having snow. That might get everyone in the mood. (More likely it will be the open bar that does the trick.)

Back in the saddle...

with Lady Eleanor

My replacement yarn arrived yesterday. Same dye lot and everything. I was very lucky. Because I let this yarn sit for a long time before using it, I was afraid everyone would be out of it. But I got what I needed. And Knitch, in Atlanta, Georgia, wrapped every skein individually in tissue paper. That's a first for me. Cute!

This is the charity knitting. I have a scarf, hat, and mittens to do. The scarf is going quickly. I need to get this finished fast so I can concentrate on the wrap and Colin's sweater. I need some FO's!! I feel like it's been a while.

Mr. C's been sick with the flu. Poor kid. Then he gave it to his mom. So far, Grandma has escaped.

I'm holding my breath. Next week is three days at Nemacolin. And I refuse to be sick for that!

Still alive...

I've been a bad blogger. Actually, I've been a bad knitter as well. We had a yarn disaster of major proportions and that really threw me off my game. Last Thursday evening, I settled in to work on the Lady Eleanor and realized I was at the end of my skein. I went to the spare room to get another one out of the box and the box was gone. No problem I thought. DH cleaned and straightened up the room (which tends to get very out of control) and I thought I just needed to look a little harder for it's new resting place. Nope. Gone. The box was gone. I'm going to say roughly $70.00 or a little more worth of yarn... gone. It was in a priority mail postal box. Gone. He thought it was empty. He threw it out. And, to add insult to injury, it sat outside for 5 days and if I had sat down to knit one night earlier, I'd have been able to rescue it. As it was, the trash man got it about 7 hours before I missed it. That will teach me not to knit. I missed it by only 7 hours out of the 5 days it sat outside with the trash. Thoughts of rumaging the land fill ran through my mind. Nah... I got on knit list and found the yarn. I have it now. But it cost him. Big time. I think we can safely say that he will never do that again. So how angry and upset was I over the whole situation? Well, I got these the next day:

That should sum it up.

Mr. C Goes Trick or Treating

I don't know about you, but I think the pacifier clearly makes the outfit.

Fires

I've been pondering the lives of the people in California who lost their homes. My niece was on alert to evacuate. Yes, she lives there. I haven't heard yet whether or not they had to go. She is pregnant with twins. Her first(s). I'm guessing at this point they had to go and I pray that when they return, they still have a house.

What I've really been pondering is .. what if I knew my house was going to burn and I had 15 minutes to grab things. What would I grab?

Wow.

So many thoughts. After people and pets, photos are the first thing that come to mind but mine would be impossible to haul out. I have huge storage boxes of photos and they are so unorganized that I don't know what is where. I'd want all the 8 X 10 baby pictures of the kids and our wedding photos. But how can you say they are more important than the tons and tons of birthday, first communion, graduation, basketball games, etc. If I lost my photos, I'd be devastated.

I once thought about my wedding gown but I'm over it. The only thing it would be good for these days is a Halloween costume.

I have some sentimental jewelry too. Not great jewelry, but meaningful jewelry. I'd be sad to lose that as well.

I have stupid little things in the china closet that the kids made in school or that they got me at Santa's Secret Shop. They are worthless in monetary value but precious to me. I'd want them, but I probably wouldn't remember to grab them.

Clothes? No. I don't really care about clothes. Give me a white shirt and a pair of khaki's and I'm happy until I can manage to add some other things. Shoes? Man, I'd hate to lose my shoes, but, no, I wouldn't get them.

Knitting... wow. I have a ton of great yarn. But I'd let it. There's more where that came from. I would hate to lose all my knitting books though. That would bum me out. But not the end of the world.

In the end, it's the photos. My heart would ache for the photos. Which just goes to prove that it's not the material things in life that are important. I have a few valuable things. But while I was thinking and deciding what I would grab, they never even came to mind.

I think I might take some time to organize a "grab basket". I may spend some time going through my photos and make a small box of "must haves". And maybe throw in a few other little momentos and treasures that are irreplaceable. You never know.

Anyway, my heart aches for those families. It must be so terrible.

No Knitting News

I love Pennsylvania in the Fall. It's my favorite time of year. My boss said he has trouble enjoying it because it's just an announcement that bad things are on the way. I agree that I'm not crazy about knowing what is directly ahead, but I sure do love being outside right now.

I'd like to report knitting news but I'm still just hammering away at Lady Eleanor and to be honest, I'm not even doing much of that. Thanks to my buddy Yvonne I now have the errata for Colin's sweater and I can't wait to get back into that. I'm half way finished with the wrap and I intend to tackle the sweater right after that is complete. When am I ever going to get the charity knitting done????

Happy Birthday Dad

October 14th, 1927 - Feb. 10th, 2007

My Dad would have been 80 years old today. It was a difficult and emotional day. I miss him so much. He was such a funny guy. He was great with the one liner. He had an extremely quick wit. If you ever needed a pick me up, all you needed to do was go visit him. He continually cracked us up. It wasn't corny humor that is annoying. It was just really funny stuff. I think my younger brother inherited some of his quick wit but it is more evident in the third generation. It seems that some of our children have more of him in them than we do. I still can't believe he's gone and I'm dreading the holidays.

On knitting... no news. I haven't picked up the needles in about 5 days so I have to get back on track so I can have the charity knitting finished for the holidays. I'm starting to panic about Lady Eleanor. The plan was to have that finished by the end of October and I don't think it's going to happen. I didn't want to have another UFO laying around when I started the charity knitting but it looks like that's the way it's going to be. I have SO much unfinished for various reasons. I think I will rip Colin's sweater out and start something else for him since Zoe Mellor isn't interested in providing errata. The pink lace wrap is on hold until I get the Addi Lace needles which I have been informed have arrived and I need to go pick them up. I have socks on needles. I'm sure there is more but I think I'm blocking it out of my mind.

Pittsburgh was great. I was so entertained though that I didn't get any knitting accomplished. For what it's worth, the Howard Hanna company is an exceptionally top notch organization. When they do something, they do it right. That was a pretty amazing convention.

Updating progress...

I really haven't had a chance to work on this as much as I'd like, but it is growing, and I am still enjoying the process. I've decided not to block this one out as far as I blocked the last one. I'd like to retain some of the raised texture in the piece.

And check this out:

My first sewing project in about 15 years. This IS part of a Halloween costume for Mr. C. although it probably doesn't look like it. I was rather proud of myself for remembering how to do this after all this time. Sure, it could be better, but it's great for me! It was SO much fun to sew again. I can't believe I got away from it for so long. I can see some cute summer dresses in my future.

I'll be in Pittsburgh for the next few days at meetings. Maybe I'll get in some "hotel knitting".

We'll see.

Lady Eleanor Progress

This could be my favorite thing that I ever knit. Really. I'm loving this yarn and these colors.

To sew, or not to sew... that is the question.

The last time I sewed anything was in 1992. It was also the last time I saw my sewing machine which was a gift to me from my mother a few years earlier. I sewed a lot back then. I made the kid's clothes and I made curtains and toys. I was actually getting pretty good at it until we moved back to my hometown. Then I went back to work, and the sewing went out the window. We couldn't find a house so we rented an apartment for 6 months and moved all of our stuff twice. In the chaos that ensued from putting things in storage and moving things around so much, some things got lost and one of them was my sewing machine. You're probably wondering how you can lose a sewing machine. I'm wondering the same thing. Let me just say that when you have men moving things around unsupervised, stuff happens. (Oh, that box of stuff over there wasn't important, was it??) Nuff said. Anyhoo, it's Halloween time, and Halloween time means costume time, and grandson needs costume. So, will Grandma BUY another sewing machine? You betcha. I only hope it does not turn into a new addiction. Because I do NOT need that.

We went to the sale in Belleville yesterday. Colin enjoyed the horses and buggies. Belleville is a small town with a large Amish and Mennonite population and the Wednesday sale is a pretty big deal.

They also have a big flea market and look what I scored for only $3.00. It's a Pottery Barn pewter ice bucket. The guy obviously didn't know what he had. This is one of the items that my daughter registered for on her bridal registry and it sold for $40.00. So, yay!

And, finally, here is a photo of the sunflowers on my Dad's grave. I planted these seeds very late in the summer and they are just now blooming. They were supposed to be miniature sunflowers that I thought would be appropriate for a grave. They turned out MUCH bigger than planned and as they grew, I just didn't have the heart to pull them out when I saw they were getting too big. My Dad loved to grow sunflowers. I think he'd like them in spite of the fact that they look a little out of place. (But I did learn my lesson for next year.)

My Obsession With "Wrap" Continues

I decided last night to start another "Lady Eleanor" wrap. I've had the Noro yarn for this since last Fall. My plan is to have it finished by the end of this month and still have time for a few small Christmas projects. I am still stalled on Colin's sweater due to a mistake in the pattern and Zoe Mellor has not responded to my inquiry regarding errata. There was an address on the pattern book to contact her and I sent her a letter in the mail (no email address to be found.) That was a month ago and she never responded. I'm guessing she never got it. No knitting designer would ignore correspondence from a fellow knitter. It just wouldn't happen. Right?

The funky two different needle alpaca shawl is blocking. It is a weird shape. (It is shown doubled here. I had to do it this way because I don't have space to lay it out on the floor.) I wonder if that had anything to do with the needle fiasco. I tried to stretch it out into a more triangular shape but it wasn't having any of that.

I finished a sock and started another one at an Open House yesterday. Knitting is getting accomplished. And today, all I want to do is go home and work on Lady Eleanor. Entrelac is SO MUCH FUN!!

Dumb and Dumber

This takes the cake.

So I was starting a hat last night and needed size 10 needles. I go to my Denise set and look for the tens. Something isn't quite right in there. There is one size 10 needle and one size 10 1/2 needle in there. And the matching needles are nowhere to be found. I'm so confused! Who would take one of each out of there? MOI. That's who. Guess where they are?

Oh yeah. Right here. No wonder it looked sort of funky. No wonder I ran out of yarn right before it was finished. I used two different needles the entire time. What am I going to do about it? Not a darn thing... except finish it when the yarn comes. Ugh.

Progress on Alpaca Shawl

This has really been a fun knit. It's quick and easy. And I'm really loving the yarn. (even though the fibers do go up my nose!) Everyone is telling me that gray is the color for Fall so I guess I'll be right in style. I can't wait to finish and block this.

You can find the free pattern here:

http://www.kraemeryarns.com/patterns/pdfs/vintage-shawl.pdf

I thought I had an entire weekend off (which would be almost unheard of) but it ends up that I have to speak about real estate to an alumni group at the Penn State campus here. So.. I guess I better go give that some thought and decide what I'm going to say. A public speaker I'm not.

On miracles...

I am an excellent driver. I must be. I've never had an accident or a speeding ticket. I'm sure I would qualify for those safe driver discounts that the insurance companies offer. I probably have a safe driver discount and I'd know that if I paid any attention to any of our bills, which I don't. So, with such a driving record, I can't believe that I almost killed a man today with my car, but I did.

I do have to say that most days I am extremely busy, a little stressed out and in a hurry. Today was just the opposite. I was having a nice, quiet, calm day. I left the office to go put a "SOLD" sign on a listing. I was sitting at a stop sign, looked both ways, and pulled out. As I was pulling out, I saw a motorcycle coming right at me. Right at my driver side. By some kind of absolute miracle, he missed hitting me. I pulled out right in front of him. I never saw him when I looked. I remember that the two little yellow lights on either side of the headlight were lit up when he almost hit me, but his headlight was not on. I never saw him coming.

I was so in shock that I had to pull over. He never stopped. I shook for 20 minutes. It's amazing how fast something like that can happen. If I had hesitated one extra second, he'd surely have hit me broadside. He may have died and my life would never have been the same... in one brief second.

So I'm sitting here thinking... if motorcycles are that easy to miss... why would you ride one? I don't mean to be passing the blame to the motorcycle person. I'm not at all. I'm simply saying.. do they know how hard they are to see at times? It was on a tree lined street with lots of foliage so there was lots of background scenery. He just blended in. I wish he could know how sorry I am that I did it.

I come from a long line of non-motorcycle people. I think my nephew went through a motorcycle phase once but it was short lived. I've never thought much about them until today.
I'm glad that no one I love rides a motorcycle.

When Catie was little she made a few trips to the orthopedic surgeon for a problem with her hips. I remember that he had a sign up in his office that said, "Buy Your Child A Motorcycle... For His Last Birthday". I think I get it.

.... and baby makes two

Below you will find the patterns on the new Knitty for Fall that I LOVE.

This would be so perfect for my son's girlfriend. I could totally see her loving this purse.




















And this would be perfect for ME. I love it. And so simple too!

And this is by far the cutest hat I've ever seen knit. I have to knit this for Colin's little brother or sister.

Yep... I'm going to be a grandma... again! Look out Colin. Your world is about to be rocked!

Remembering 9/11

I was thinking not long ago that it was only a couple of years ago.

When I realized it was 2001, I couldn't believe that time had gone

so fast. So much has happened since then and nothing has happened.

I remember when we started the war on terror, I had it in my head

that we'd kick their butts in a year or so and show them who's boss

and they'd think twice about messing with us again. How naive of me. I

had no clue who we were dealing with. I still don't think I do. I have

trouble understanding that type of insanity. I'm not sure how you

fight insanity or if you CAN fight insanity. The one thing I know for sure...

You do have to try. You certainly have to try.

Out of Control...

I've never had so many projects going at one time. So what do I do? Start another one, of course.

I've been dying to start this and I just couldn't put it off any longer. It's done in Kraemer yarns alpaca blend (another fiber up your nose type yarn... yippee) and I'm lovin it so far. My plan is to really whip this one out and then go back to the others. This is going to be fast and furious knitting. I hope. I should get tons of mileage out of this. It's charcoal gray and it will go with almost everything I wear. Come to think of it, I should be brightening up my wardrobe, not adding to the darkness. Oh well. Maybe I'll make a red one next. Or not.

Spa Socks

I'm not sure why they call these spa socks. Most spas I've been in give you little thongy things to wear and you'd look pretty stupid walking around in these. But they are cute and they make great slipper socks for around the house. The pattern calls for Blue Sky Alpalca's Dyed Cotton yarn. We found the correct yarn for the pattern at the LYS in Colorado not far from where we were (as I mentioned in the previous post). Anyhow, a word of advice about the yarn... the loose fibers go up your nose and they set up camp and make it their mission to drive you insane. In all my years of knitting, I have never worked with a yarn that had me constantly sneezing and rubbing my nose and just going crazy in general. It looks good, it feels great, but it's a pain in the butt (or nose) to work with. Never again. I'll substitute for the next pair.

In other knitting news, I'm still stuck on Colin's sweater, I'm still waiting for my addi turbos for lace knitting for the lace wrap, and I'm still working on the cotton socks that I started in Colorado. I've been mulling over some holiday projects but I think I'll give myself a break this year and declare Christmas 2007 a non-knitted gift year. I'm going to try hard to squeeze in one felted purse for my son's girl friend but I'll be lucky to get it in and I'm not going to stress about it if I don't. That's why God created shopping malls.

Our 7th Annual Golf Tournament for MS was a huge success last Thursday. We had a beautiful day and tons of support from the local community. With so many charity golf tournaments going on, we are truly blessed to have so many people show up at ours. We had tons of great prizes too and what did I win? A dozen golf balls. Oh well, it made my husband happy.

Rocky Mountain Knitting

We had a great time in Colorado. Lots of knitting was accomplished but not on the intended project. I am still struggling with the Zoe Mellor pattern I'm trying to do for Colin. I thought we had the bugs worked out, but as I proceded, I realized we didn't. I finally sent her a snail mail letter to ask about errata since her email address is nowhere to be found.

I started a pair of "spa socks" from this magazine:

These shortie socks are very cute and very quick done in Blue Sky Alpaca's Dyed Cotton yarn on size 8 needles. My sister had the magazine, and we lucked into the yarn the pattern called for here:

The Yarn Studio

The spa socks are in aqua. The other sock shown is more Colorado knitting done in yarn my super secret pal from last year sent me. It took me a while but I knew I'd get to it.

Here's my new Vera Bradley knitting bag (birthday present) from my # 1 daughter... I just love it.

Here we are at the top of Beaver Creek mountain with the Gore Range in the background.

It's beautiful in Colorado.