Trapped like a rat.....

I got dropped off at the office this morning because my car is being worked on. So I am stuck here which is not a good thing. I am never stuck here. I need to be on the move. Anyway, it's 90 degrees yesterday and the air conditioning in my car is not blowing cold air. So I call and make an appointment to get it fixed and when I was taking it to the garage this morning it was putting out air cold enough to freeze ice cubes. Of course. Why does that always happen? He's going to get in there and think... that lady is a total whack job. I'm going to get this call and he's going to say... exactly how cold do you want it to be???

In knitting news, I finally "get" the fascination with Koigu sock yarn. Wow does it feel great. I think it has ruined me for other sock yarn. The only thing I will say negative about it is that I like long cuffs and in order to do that, you would need three skeins for one pair of socks and those would be pretty expensive socks. I don't know about you but $36.00 socks are not in my budget and probably won't be any time soon. I am anxious to compare it to "Socks That Rock" if I can get my hands on any of that in the near future.

The baby "Pea Pod" sweater from Interweave Knits has beaten me. I've started it three times. I cannot get the pattern right on the ribbing. It usually takes me a little longer to get stuck on a pattern. This one gets me right at the starting gate. So I guess I will take it to knitting night on June 6th and get some help from my buds. So frustrating..... grrrr.....

There's One Born Every Minute....

I forget what I paid for it. Probably close to $50.00 with shipping and handling. If it was real, and purchased at Burberry, it would have cost $100.00. I love Burberry. I've always wanted one of these. A full size Burberry umbrella is $200.00. This little knock off is one of the little compact ones. Notice the "s" on the end of the word Burberry. There is no "s" on the end of the real Burberry logo. Why didn't I notice that when I bid on it on Ebay? How did I miss that? And why didn't I know if it seemed too good to be true it probably was. Why, why, why?? Yvonne suggested that I turn the seller in to Ebay and I just might. But on the other hand, his deceipt is far surpassed by my own stupidity. The logo was clearly presented in his listing. I should have known. I could probably have purchased this on the streets in New York for $20.00. But it's still cute, right?

Even more....

I finished the Lady Eleanor entrelac stole. It is blocking on my mother's finished basement floor. I will post photos when it is completely finished. I am imagining one of those very dramatic photo displays. I think I'll put it on and position myself in my state of the art kitchen with all of the stainless steel, sub-zero, appliances and gold plated moen faucet and humungous flower arrangements in the background. Or wait, there's always the dining room, standing in front of the queen anne table and chairs with $10,000. chandelier and art collection..... no, no, that stole deserves my formal living room with my antique furniture .... ok, ok, I'm finished. But that girl is just so much fun to make fun of! I can't help it. She cracks me up! (she's probably a lovely person outside of the pretentious blog)

Here are the koigu socks I started. They'll be shorties, and I think I'm going to make matching baby socks and give them to our secretary at her shower.

And more....

Catie is cranking out so much stuff she really needs her own blog. She finished the moss stitch bag (Catie bag?) and started another really cute Erin Bag.
















Catie Bag is made of Kertzer Butterfly 100% mercerized cotton yarn.
She used # 8 needles, cast on 54 stitches and used a moss stitch for the entire piece.
Slap a lining in it (fabric glue), sew it up ..sides and handles, thread the ribbon through, and you've got a really cute bag.
















This Erin Bag is made using two strands of Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed held together. (made in Nazareth, PA)
She cast on 54 stitches on size 9 needles. You can't see it, but the yarn has tiny colorful specks in it. She got bamboo handles, salmon colored ribbon, and a pretty paisley fabric for the lining. . It's going to be adorable. She is becoming quite the accomplished knitter!!

Weekend Knitting Frenzy

Earlier this morning I tried to post way too much and the entire post crashed and burned. So look for several posts throughout the day as I will post here and there until I get all caught up. Lots of photos... lots of knitting!

My husband promised me a dumpster over my long vacation/holiday weekend so we could clean out 29 years worth of JUNK in the attic and basement and garage. When no dumpster materialized, I decided to do nothing but spin and knit. And that's exactly what I did. It's not that there weren't other more important things to do to use my time off wisely. No, I just decided to pout. And knit. And spin.

Here's a start:
















This is the spindle I got from Shelly at my spinning class. It's light weight and it really helped me learn. Below is one of the little skeinettes... yes, a feeble attempt at spinning and plying.






























I remain convinced that somehow, someday, I can do something with these!

Tagged by Laurie..... 5 Things I Do Every Day

1. Work. There isn't a day goes by that I don't do a least a few little things that need to get done for my job as a realtor. Even on vacation I usually have at least a few phone calls to make every day.

2. Laundry. You would think with grown kids you wouldn't do laundry every day. Wrong.

3. Knit. I try to knit at least a little every day. Most days I knit a few hours at night.

4. Talk to my kids. Even when they are away, I talk to all of my kids most days. Either online or on the phone.

5. Pray. I am not a religious fanatic and I would never presume to push my religious beliefs on anyone but I do pray every day for my family to stay safe and healthy.

SP Exchange Questions

1. My favorite yarn to knit with is: I have to say Cascade 220 because of it's versatility. It makes great winter sweaters and it's good to use for felting. Also, the colors are terrific.

2. I really do not enjoy knitting with: Red Heart stuff... yeah, I'm a semi- yarn snob.

3. If I had a choice, I would banish this yarn from my LYS: My LYS has a great variety. I'm not a fan of the 100% acrylic yarn (although by acrylic standards, it's better than most) so I guess that would have to be it. Eyelash yarn too... never got into that either.

4. If I could knit only one more project for the rest of my life, it would be: Something very special for Colin James. Maybe an aran afgan to remember me by.

5. My favorite flower is: I love tulips... and pink roses are second.

6. My current color obsession is: My favorite colors are blues but oranges are catching my eyes these days.

7. My other interests are: Occasional soapmaking and some gardening. If I didn't work, I'd read more. But I use my free time to knit.

8. Something I wish I knew more about is: dying yarn

9. A knitting technique I want to learn is: LACE.... please LORD let me get it!!!!

10. My favorite needles to knit with are: Clover Bamboo

11. Do you knit socks? Yep... love it

12. Please provide your foot measurements*: big.
length (longest toe to heel): 9 1/2 inches
instep circumference: 6 inches
ankle circumference: 6 1/2 inches

13. What was your favorite childhood movie? Born Free

14. What is one thing in your knitting bag that you can't live without? Measuring tape.... I use it constantly.

15. What is lacking in your notions bag that you really, really want? (Cable needle, Kacha Kacha, Chibi, etc.) Holy heck... I don't even know what a kacha kacha or a chibi is. Really. Do I need them? I would say I'm definitely lacking those.. whatever they are.

16. What is currently on the needles at your house? An entrelac stole. I can't believe it but that's the only thing right now.

17. If you could do nothing but knit all day, every day, for the next month (and get paid for it!), what would you knit? socks... for sure

18. Least favorite color(s): purple

19. Favorite genre of music? Or any way you want to answer that question...basically it's the what kind of music do you like question. I like James Taylor, Billy Joel, New Age Celtic stuff, basically easy listening stuff and some lite rock.

20. Favorite candy or sweet: Oh brother... everything. I'm a candy freak. Peanut M&M's, Lifesaver Gummi Savers, Jelly Bellys, gummi bears, chocolate anything.

21. What is the most challenging thing you have ever knit? An aran afgan for my mother. It was challenging because I kept getting too bored to continue. It took me 10 years. Yes, 10 years. And when I finally gave it to her, it was the perfect time. She wouldn't have appreciated it as much 10 years earlier.

22. How long have you been knitting? for about 42 years... off and on (God that makes me sound old but I started when I was a baby :-)

ZYX Friday - Featuring the letter "H"

H is for Hollidaysburg









The town of Hollidaysburg was first laid out in 1796. Hollidaysburg became the main transfer point between the Pennsylvania Canal and the Portage Railroad, a gateway to Western Pennsylvania. In 1836 Hollidaysburg was established as a borough.

When Blair County was organized in 1846, Hollidaysburg was designated as the county seat. This designation allowed the borough to prosper when politicians and attorneys became attracted to the borough.

Hollidaysburg features fabulous architecture, friendly residents, and is the home of the "Slinky" toy invented here by the James Family in 1945.

Check out Hollidaysburg here: Hollidaysburg: Hollidaysburg History

In other news...
I've been spinning since my class yesterday. (photos later... I don't have my camera cord at home and I'm still taking a few vacation days) My spinning is extremely elementary at this point but since my class yesterday, I'm certainly better at it than I was. I got a new lighter weight drop spindle that is making a lot of difference. And I actually plyed some of the yarn I made. So it's been fun. Shelly offered to let me borrow one of her wheels to REALLY spin but I declined at this point. I might take her up on that at some time in the future. I'm just afraid that would send me into an addiction that I don't need right now!

So I get the Burberry Umbrella the other day that I purchased on ebay. After sending the guy 4 emails that went unanswered, it shows up in the mail. Yep... it's a fake. How many times have I told my kids and clients... if it sounds too good to be true, it's probably not true. The thing looks SO authentic. But there is an "S" at the end of the Burberry logo. And you can tell that the quality is "made in china" quality. Oh well. I can pretend, can't I??

I bought the yarn for Colin's sweater yesterday. It's a brown tweed cotton/acrylic blend from Kraemer Yarns which is a mill in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. My daughter came into the LYS yesterday while I was spinning and picked the yarn out.

I might (keyword: MIGHT) get Colin for the night tonight. I almost have my daughter talked into bringing him late and picking him up early in the AM so they can get some sleep. He has been a little bugger for the past few nights. It's been a while since a baby kept me up all night...but believe me, I'm up to the challenge.

Vacation Day

I took the day off to take a drop spindle class. I'll lick this if it kills me!
In fact I'm late for it now.

But I just have one thing to say about American Idol.
Lisa Tucker was obviously the one with the voice.
Was she not pretty enough? What was up with that??

Blooming ....

This is my brother's office. I had to stop yesterday to take a photo of the rhododendrons. Gorgeous. Click on it for the full effect.

No knitting news. Still entrelac day in and day out. Well, make that night in and night out. One more week and it should be finished. After that I'm starting on Colin's sweater. And, no, I don't know exactly what sweater. I'm sorta kinda in love with this one right now...

It's from the latest issue of Interweave Knits. My daughter really likes this one too. This is a FREE pattern on the Interweave Knits website which I think is extremely cool of them to do. It's called Pea Pod Baby Set. Go check it out. I tried to link to it here but it wouldn't work.

I also have to figure out what to knit for our secretary's baby due in August. I'd like to do a cute hat, mittens and socks set. If anyone can think of something different and cute, let me know.

I realized yesterday that I cannot participate in Knitting in Public at the Point. Wouldn't you know it... the one day all summer that we actually do have plans. I forgot we are going to Annapolis that Saturday. Drat! I really wanted to do that!

Non-knitting Rambling... you were warned.

The diet. The diet is not going well. It was going well. It isn't any more. I'm swimming in my 12's and my circulation is cut off in my 10's. Why don't they make 10 1/2's?? I'm tired of dieting and I want a big fat pizza or hoagie. And I want it now. One more bowl of Cheerios for breakfast and I'm going to go insane. Don't get me wrong. I like Cheerios. But I also like donuts and Sheetz Schmuffins or whatever they're called. Not to mention the ever popular Egg McMuffin.

In keeping with being negative today, I think I got ripped off (again) on Ebay. And not only that, but on the exact same item that I got ripped off on before. I did the "buy it now" feature on a Burberry Umbrella. I paid instantly with paypal. I have not heard one word from the seller and he's not answering my emails. Dammit. For the money I've lost on these umbrella's, I could have gone to New York, walked into Burberry, and paid full price for one of the things. I swear to God... that's it for me and ebay. Never again.

But on a positive note, I got email from Cheryl that there is going to be a knitting in public day at Point Park on June 10th and I'm invited to join in the fun. First of all, I LOVE Point Park. I have dragged my husband there on more than one occasion to have a picnic. Something I love and he hates. Anyway, I think I just might go. Why not? If I wake up that day, and the sun is shining, I'm so there.

Blink and You'll Miss It.....

I must have blinked because I have no clue where that weekend went. One minute it was Friday night and the next minute it was Monday morning. I hate it when that happens. What I do know is that I got some knitting done at some point because I only have about 5 more tiers of the Lady Eleanor stole to do and I got the cuff of my second sock finished at my Open House yesterday. So, while I didn't seem to accomplish anything else, I did get some knitting done.

I found the cutest little tin of mints at JoAnn Fabrics. It says "Knitting Girl" on the bottom. This tin would be cute to keep little stitch markers in.
















Cate is chugging along with her moss stitch bag. It is interesting to watch a new knitter learn. I don't really have any experience teaching anyone to knit. I know that I would be a lousy teacher because I just want to do it myself instead of teach her how to correct mistakes. I don't think I was born with a lot of patience! I hope she hangs in there because it would be nice if she would take to this and we would have knitting in common.

It is just unbelievably cold here today. I can't stand it. I wore winter clothes today and I'm still freezing. I think my brother has the right idea living on the gulf coast of Florida. But, then again, hurricane season will soon be upon us.....

ZYX Photo Friday - Featuring the letter "I"

I is for Indigo Girls



I absolutely love their music. I love their lyrics. I'm not on board with their political views but I am willing to look past it and concentrate on their talent which is stellar. I became a fan when my daughter and son-in-law chose their song "Power of Two" to be the song they danced to at their wedding. I still cry every time I hear that song. It brings that day back. It was the best day. My husband quickly became a fan of their music too and when he heard they were coming to Seven Springs last summer, he suggested we go to the concert. First of all, he never wants to go anywhere so I was surprised. Second of all, he was totally unaware of the genre and type of crowd that I knew would be there. (he's a pretty conservative guy) I chose not to warn him, we went, we had a great time. The political ranting was the only thing that put him off. We went to Seven Springs for our first anniversary in 1978 and it was the first time I had been back since. I didn't remember anything about it. It was like I had never been there before. I thought that was extremely strange.

Knitting Content? Yeah, We Got That.

See Cate. See Cate knit.































Cate thought I was kidding when I said that I was going to make her make her own little purse. Wrong. So last night was all about Cate. I decided not to go with the Erin Bag. I thought a moss stitch would be cute for this bag so I wrote another basic pattern using that stitch with small buttonholes at each end to lace the ribbon through. I might at well call this the Cate Bag. We'll see how it turns out.

While I was at the LYS to purchase the Kertzer Butterfly yarn for the bag, Carla introduced me to one of her new vendors who has just the cutest product. She is selling hand dyed sock yarn in little kits called Gypsy Knits Traveling Sock Kits. The yarn is elastic cotton and the colorways are gorgeous.































While I fully intend to keep this for myself, I was thinking what a great gift it would be for a knitter. These are being sold exclusively at my LYS and I tell ya, they're going to be all the rage! If you want more information, give Carla a call: Victoria's House of Needleart (but you better be quick!)

I also purchased this at LYS yesterday and I have to say that I'm impressed for the first time in a long time. Finally a good issue.
















Interestingly though, the pattern I like most is in an ad for Blue Sky Alpacas on page 4. Just a simple cotton tank. Plain and simple and cute. I'll have to check out their website and see if I can find the pattern. There are a lot of cute things in this issue. I love the Seaberry Shell on page 89 and the Pink Mimosa on page 16. There is a really cute maternity sweater with buttons down the sides that you can unbutton as you grow. It's adorable. Check it out.

Yeah, yeah, I know it's ZYX Photo Friday. I'm thinkin, I'm thinkin!!!

Just more "no knitting" news

Since I have no knitting to report, here's a cute picture of Colin. (notice the socks people, notice the socks) He visited us last night. I didn't get to see much of him because I had to leave for a meeting. He's such a good baby. They are really lucky! Giorgio, my niece's baby was not so good.... but I think he's happy now.

I still need to get the yarn for Catie's Erin bag. Hopefully I will find time to stop there today. I should have looked for handles first because if I can't find anything that looks right, there is no sense in making the bag in the first place. The wooden ones will not look right with her dress.

I stopped at AC Moore last night to buy ribbon and I have to say that I was impressed with the knitting books they have right now. I didn't buy one but they had a few I wouldn't mind having.
They also have some cute bags to carry knitting in. I need one of those. I might break down and buy one this weekend.

So if any of you got the new KnitPicks catalog in the mail check out page 9. There is a little poncho and skirt for girls. If you want your little girl to look like a pinata, that's the pattern for you! (who designs this stuff??)

**APPLE PORK RECIPE** from yesterday's post. Here's the deal. It's delicious. But if I had it to do over again, I'd scrap the carrots and celery and just cook it for sandwiches. It was excellent.

Yikes!!! Ruthless? I think not.

You Should Get a JD (Juris Doctor)

You're logical, driven, and ruthless.You'd make a mighty fine lawyer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Lots Of Stuff.. (and none of it particularly interesting)

So Cate and I go shopping last night for a dress for her and we end up in this cell phone store where they don't sell cell phones but they sell face plates for cell phones. I don't know what came over me but I totally "pimped" (for lack of a better word) my cell phone. Now this cell phone is NOT me. But it's mine now so I guess I better learn to live with it until I can get back to the mall and de-pimp it. What was I thinking?

In knitting news, there is none. And there won't be any tomorrow either. I've had shopping to do and meetings to attend. My knitting is sadly neglected. I told Cate I would make her a little Erin bag to match her new dress so I need to stop at the LYS for that yarn sometime today. I think I might have her make her own little Erin Bag. It would be a good project for her and teach her how to purl and cable. Yep. That's exactly what I'll do. I have to get the entrelac from hell project finished.

I put what I think will be a good recipe in the crockpot before I left today. Apple Pork Roast Check that out. Doesn't that sound good? I'll let you know.

THIS WEATHER STINKS!!!!!!!!!

I am SO tired of being cold. Really. Make it stop. I just turned the heat on at the office which will tick off all the guys in my hall. I don't care. I'm tired of being cold!

Here is a photo of the finished summer Erin Bag. I did it in Kertzer Butterfly 100% cotton (navy). I have to say I don't like it as much as I did the wool version. But it's cute and I think she liked it. I have another one of these ready to sew up and finish that I think I'll give to Erin. I thought navy with white ribbon would be cute for summer but now I'm thinking a lime green or pink or yellow might have been better.

I put another row on the entrelac stole last night. I'm in the zone with that pattern now. I can do it without thinking much about it. (yeah, it took me this long to get there) I worked on it while I watched Grey's Anatomy last night. Wow... great season finale. I love that show.

I should go take a photo of what was once the inground pool in my daughter's back yard. They are filling it in because they need a yard more than a pool and the pool took up the whole yard. It looks like a war zone. You look at that mess and wonder how it will ever be a nice yard again. I'd be freaking out but I think my daughter has more important things on her mind right now!

Not One Stitch

I LOOKED at my knitting over the weekend but I never picked it up. I'm really entrelac'd out. I'm itching to start something new but I refuse to do that until the stole in finished. I showed what I have completed so far to my mother yesterday and told her it's coming.....eventually. She liked it. I did get her a nice hanging basket to ease the pain of having to wait for her gift!

Mother's Day was great. My family got me a gift cert. for an hour massage. They figure I can use it for my back which bothers me almost constantly. They're very thoughtful. I wish I could go right this minute. I was also told I have a gift cert. coming from the LYS from Kelly as soon as she gets out and about again. I see a set of Denise Interchangable Knitting Needles in my future.

So not much to report here on this extremely yucky day in Central Pennsylvania. It's raining , it's cold, it's ugly. Everyone in the office is in a bad mood. I just want to go home and put my sweats on and knit. And sleep. Then knit some more. Then sleep some more....

ZYX Photo Friday - It's "J"

Not "L"
Ok... my brain really IS fried. I knew I would screw this up eventually. For those of you read my second "L" post, just remember that I'm a grandmother now and I will be having these senior moments. (ugh!)

So, let me think... J... J... the letter J..... hmmn.....

J is for "Jersey". Particularly the Jersey Shore.
People joke about New Jersey. And the truth be told, I really don't know much about New Jersey other than I LOVE the Jersey Shore. There are lots of places in the U.S. and abroad that I'd love to go. But if someone said to me, you can only have one more vacation. Truly, I'd pick the Jersey Shore.