It's been a while...

I know. I've been a bad blogger. That's because I've been a bad knitter! Who has time? But I did finish this:

Cate was supposed to model it for me but we haven't been able to catch up with each other long enough to get it done.

I finally got the kitchener stitch. It takes all of my concentration. I'll think I'll just continue doing my socks the way I always have... the wrong way!

So it's back to the pink lace- weight wrap again. When I have time. I sort of started to enjoy that process a little more the last time I worked on it, but I hated putting in the lifelines. The lifelines have saved me more than once though, so they are a necessary evil and must continue to be inserted. Maybe I could just do them every 16 rows instead of every 8 rows. With my luck, I'd screw up on the 15th row and want to kick myself! More on the pink thing later.

Random Rambling

I have no knitting. I'm still staring at the kitchener project. Staring, not doing.

I have the bug to read lately and that's not good. I can't read and knit. I have so little free time it's one or the other. I've always wanted to read Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina so I purchased it yesterday at Barnes and Noble. I'm going to try to get into it before our beach trip in August so I have something to read at the beach. I think it's not a book to start at the beach, but one to be pretty well into before beachy distractions. I get it into my head that I want to read the classics and then when I start one of them I get so bored I have to quit. We'll see how this one goes.

I realized the other day that my saved "favorite places" on the computer are out of control and need weeded out. It takes me forever now to find what I'm looking for. When I see a knitting pattern online that I like I automatically put it into my favorite places. So I got rid of a lot of them yesterday. Here are a few that have to stay. These are definite "someday" patterns for me. Take a look:

Knitty: Spring 2007 - Dashing

Knitting - Free Knitting Pattern, Grace Wrap Sweater


http://www.candis.co.uk/mediastore/FILES/100646.pdf

Berroco® Free Pattern Michaela

Kidsknits' Free Patterns

Holly Hat

About.com: http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/projects/baby.html

Knitting - Free Knitting Pattern, Allison Bolero Sweater

These have to stay. Truthfully, I've already printed most of them out. But I like keeping them here where I can see them to remind me for someday when the spirit moves.

Busy day.. busy weekend coming up... better run!

FO... (almost)

The Clementine Shawlette... almost complete... with one little glitch. Imagine finding out that what you THOUGHT was the kitchener stitch (after knitting about 50 pairs of socks) isn't really the kitchener stitch. Apparently I've been doing it wrong for years. And what I was doing with socks, I cannot do with this. Because after I was finished doing it with the socks, I pulled and gathered it. So I'm reading the real kitchener stitch and it's just boggling my mind. (keeping in mind that my brain is wired a little differently when it comes to sequential tasks) Easy for most, difficult for me. It's the whole "keep this stitch on the needle" thing that gets me. But the good news folks is.. my niece is home from London and she has already made one of these...heh heh.

(Erin.. help!)

Send good vibes to Cate today. She has her first real job phone interview today. From past HR experience (yes, I have some) this is where they weed out the candidates and decide who gets the face to face interviews. She needs this job! Good luck Cate!

I listed an ADORABLE Bed and Breakfast this week. If anyone would like to quit the rat race and run a B&B in a cute little town, let me know. :-)

Weekend Knitting

I worked on my socks to and from the golf tournament. I turned the heel on both so it's all downhill from here. I imagine these will go into the box for Christmas gift giving which means I only have one more pair to knit for Christmas and then I might be able to make myself a pair!

The U. S. Open was fun. I got to see Tiger up close and personal so that was something. By far the one who seemed most personal with the crowd was Jerry Kelly and, of course, Fred Funk who is always a crowd pleaser.

I don't think I can get off the Open topic without saying a few words about

Oakmont Country Club. We had been there for two previous U.S. Opens. When we got there this time, I didn't recognize the place. They cut down over 4000 trees to make it look more like a links course. How sad. It was gorgeous. It's not now. It is just barren and drab. I don't profess to know a lot about golf. But surely this was a mistake. Why do we want our golf courses to resemble the links courses in Europe? To me, Pennsylvania is one of the most beautiful states in the country. We should try to keep it that way. Oh, I know they brought the trees in to Oakmont after it was built and they were not there originally. They said they wanted to get it back to it's original state. Sometimes improvements are made for a reason.

An interesting tidbit about the day.... We ended up sitting in the grandstands with his daughter. Amazing.

Work and Play

As I was leaving for work this morning at 6:30am my DH informed me that he thought I was "out of control". He made me go to breakfast with him instead of to the office. I guess I do get a little out of control. But it's a busy business. If I'm not busy, someone else will be. And so it goes...

Of course all the talk around here these days is the U.S. Open. The people across from us at Eat N Park were on their way to the Open and the people behind us were talking about what time coverage starts on TV. And when I finally did get to the office everyone there was talking about it. Then the conversation turned to why don't I play golf if I find it so enjoyable to watch. Well I used to play golf. In a previous life. Now, one thing is certain... if you can't find the time to paint your nails, you're certainly not going to find the time to play a round of golf. But I do not miss it. Not one little bit. There is no frustration in WATCHING golf. There's a ton of frustration in PLAYING golf. And I have enough frustration thank you very much.

I stopped at my sister's last evening before dinner. What a day care center! Two nieces and one daughter there with a combined 4 toddlers aged 2 and under. One two year old and three little toddling things unsteady on their feet waddling around like little penquins. (and one Westie following them around waiting for them to drop food) I had white pants on. What was I thinking? They are now on my back seat waiting to be dropped off at the cleaners. It is SO much fun to see them all playing together. Even if they do have dirty hands!

Once again, no knitting news but I hope to have a Finished Object next week. Will it happen?
Stay tuned.

Who turned the STINK on?

Gaaa.... The dog rolled in something outside for sure. Why do they do that?? What possesses a perfectly clean dog to roll around in dead animal? So on my way to the groomers this morning, I caught site of her in the rear view mirror. I thought this was a funny photo. But I wasn't laughing at the time because we were stopped in the construction zone and the odor coming off that dog was making me gag. Obviously, if she had to stick her snout out the window for fresh air , she was making herself gag too!

Soapy Stuff

I worked a lot this weekend but I did manage to find the time to wrap my soap for giving or selling... whatever. I find that when I give it away, people come to me later wanting to buy it, so at least it's ready and looks cute. I've got Plum Spice and Lemon Verbena. Next in the pot will be Lavender... hopefully this coming Sunday.

We finally found tickets for Saturday for the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Maybe I can get some knitting done going and coming from that. I'm estimating that I only need another good 5 hours to complete the Clementine Shawlette. I'd knit while sitting on the edge of the tee, but DH would be appalled. He has no sense of humor.

No Knitterly Knews

All work and no play this week. And that will continue through Sunday and then I'll start all over again next week. But that's ok. I'd rather be busy. I do miss knitting though.

Went to the grand opening of the covention center here last night. What a great place. It's about 1/2 hour from home but I'd go there for a weekend just to relax. I imagine it would be exceptionally beautiful there in the fall. I can just picture myself sitting on the porch overlooking the lake... knitting....

My mother is waiting for me to go to her house and plant flowers. I'm thinking I may have to buy one of those construction lights and set it up and do it in the middle of the night. I'm not sure how else I'm going to get it accomplished. I need more hours in the day.

Here's the latest cutie photo.
















He's walking and he can say "Ball". He loves Baby Einstein and he is constantly trying to get you to sing and do the "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" routine. He loves to watch grown-ups make fools of themselves I think.

Open House Knitting

Tofutsies Socks... this knit two at a time thing rocks! I can't believe I was so late to that party.















The second half of Clementine. I really want to get this finished so I can work on the pink lace shawl. I need to get this stuff out of the way so I can continue on my quest to de-stash. There comes a point when you really just have to stop buying more and use what you have.

I think my next project, after I finish these, is going to be this:
Berroco® Free Pattern Michaela
Remember this? I started it 4 times and gave up. I have the yarn and I LOVE this pattern. Since I have done some more lace knitting since I tried this, I might have better luck with it now. I am "getting" lace knitting a little more and I didn't know about lifelines back then. That would make all the difference. I think I got eight inches into this one time and had to rip it all out because I got lost in the pattern.

I did lots of knitting while sitting at Open Houses yesterday. I'd rather be selling houses but that usually doesn't happen from an Open House. But, having said that, the first house I ever sold was the result of an Open House. It was also the last one I ever sold as a result of an open house and I've been doing this for 10 years so what does that tell you? And I do LOTS of Open Houses. Generally speaking, they just make the seller happy... they don't sell houses. But enough about real estate!

We watched Colin for a little while on Saturday. We stuffed him full of food that had little to no nutritional value and took him to Barnes and Noble for a new book. The kid loves books. He is walking now.. short distances. He doesn't have the nerve yet to really just take off so he just goes from point A to point B and grabs on to something and then looks up at you waiting for you to make a big deal over it. He's such a cutie.

I dropped off the Bishop's scarf yesterday. I think the woman who asked me for it liked it. One thing about that Homespun yarn... it looks and feels better as a finished product than it does while you're knitting it. It's very soft. I think it would feel wonderful around your neck. But please don't ever make me knit with it again!

What was once a dining room....

is now a total mess.

Although you can't see it, my blocking board is at the other end of the table with the bishop's scarf on it. Thank. God. That's. Finished. Lion Brand Homespun....never again in this lifetime.

It's obvious I need an extra room somewhere.

I started the other half of the Clementine Shawlette last night but didn't get very far before exhaustion kicked in and I had to go to bed. It's been a rough few work days and we're dealing with all kinds of vehicle problems at the moment. I find that mental strain will exhaust you much more quickly than physical exertion. Although I really can't say I'm well acquainted with physical exertion these days. Who has time for excercise when there's knitting to be done??

1/2 down, 1/2 to go

What a terrible backdrop to photograph this, but you get the gist. This is now on a holder and you make another one exactly like it and kitchener them together. I feel like I'm making progress on this one. The pink lace is another matter. That thing is never-ending. I've decided that this shawlette will look great with a yellow blouse. So I'm on a mission to find a nice one.

Here is the cut soap:

I had fun playing with this last night. I'm disappointed that the brown dots are not more noticable. Oh well, it smells fabulous. None of the bars are cut exactly the same since I have to do it by hand. I used to have a cutter but it got lost over the years, probably thrown out. After looking at these, I realize now that I need some more professional molds and a new cutter. In years past, people REALLY wanted to buy this stuff at holiday time and if that happens again, I need the bars to be uniform in size. They are perfect stocking stuffers and that "little something" to give to people when you need something small. I think I'm getting addicted to this hobby all over again.

A little of this... a little of that..

My weekend was filled with a little of this and a little of that and not a lot of any particular thing. I spent a great deal of time with my mother since my siblings were all out of town for the long weekend. We went to and from dialysis, ate a few meals out, shopped for and planted some flowers and visited the graves of my grandparents and my dad.

I got the nursery finished. Hopefully Colin and future babies will be comfortable in this room. I think it turned out nice.

I also found some time to make soap yesterday:

This will be approximately 35 bars of Lemon Verbena and Plum Spice scented soap with shea butter added. It should be awesome. I embedded some pink and brown "melt and pour" soap dots for a sort of neopolitan look to add interest. Hopefully I'll have some photos of the cut soap later in the week. I'm going to use a lot of this for Christmas gifts this year.

In knitting news, I finished the bishop's scarf... must block it soon... and I'm within two inches of finishing the first half of the Clementine Shawlette. So, there was a little knitting too!

Yarny Goodness

Candace asked about the yarn I'm using for my Clementine Shawlette. I purchased this yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool from the Tintagel Farm booth.

She has beautiful hand dyed yarn. The way I understand it, she has the sheep and goats and produces the fiber and sends it to a commercial enterprise to be spun. She gets it back and dyes it. I headed straight to her stand this year because I found this last year:

I haven't done anything with it yet, but I think it is destined to be one of those spiral scarf thingys. (I do have more of it) Gorgeous colors.

We got a wedding invitation in the mail yesterday. I love weddings. I hate having a summer go by without attending at least one wedding. So that made me happy. (my husband... not so much!) And I believe we have another one in August to look forward to as well. The parents of both the bride and the groom are friends of ours and the kids have been dating since junior high. I'd say they are about 25 years old now. What a happy day for both families.

Knitting Update

This is the progress so far on the Clementine Shawlette. I have to say this is a fun knit. I had trouble putting it down over the weekend. If I could change anything about it, I would use larger needles the next time. It's turning out smaller than I would like. Did I check gauge, you ask? I did not I answer. :-P

I did take a few days off work last week to try to get my house in order and I accomplished about 1/2 of what I wanted to. I consider that some type of victory. 1/2 is better than none. We ripped carpeting up in our upstairs hallway, having NO idea what was underneath it. Turns out that it is hardwood that was in great shape... until we got to the bathroom door. Obviously there was some sort of disaster there at one time. I think it calls for new carpeting. I don't think refinishing is the answer.



I put a few rows on the Bishop's scarf last night. I hate to pick that thing up. The yarn makes my skin crawl. It actually squeaks. I'll never be so happy to finish something. I should have gone out and found substitute yarn for the sweet soul who requested it. But how do you do that diplomatically?

Lots of Stuff

First... the graduate... Congratulations Cate!

Way to go. We knew you could do it.

On to knitting...
I've been asked to knit a prayer "scarf" since the recipient probably wouldn't wear a shawl... being a bishop and all.

I was given the yarn to do it. Lion Brand Homespun.

I've seen cute patterns calling for this yarn and I've always wondered about it. Now I know. Ugh. The ply separates and bunches up as you're knitting. You can actually see it in this photo. Look at the yarn on the end of the needle. This yarn has been around for a long time in a million colors so obviously someone likes it. What do I know? Actually, when it's finished it will probably look ok and it will be soft. Other than the fact that I will sincerely pray for the gentleman who will be receiving this scarf, that's all I have to say.

I started my first pair of socks two at a time on two sets of DP's. It will be great to have them finished almost at the same time. Thanks for the ladies in my knitting group for the suggestion. This is something that I could have never come up with on my own. (sad, but true)

And today is my 30th wedding anniversary. I was totally surprised when I got home from work yesterday to find a gorgeous oil painting of a field of sunflowers for our new "grandchildren" nursery. :-)

Happy Mother's Day!!

Big weekend ahead. Cate graduates from the Rock tomorrow.
Yay Cate!

I will work on Mother's Day... clients don't really care that it's Mother's Day, so we will make the most of our day at Slippery Rock tomorrow and call it a family celebration. After all, what could make a mother happier than to see a child graduate from college?

I hope all you mothers out there enjoy the weekend. Demand breakfast in bed!!!

Clementine

This is how she's looking so far. This is fun to knit but I wish I had one of those magnetic boards with the strip magnets to move on the chart to keep your place. I'll have to get one of those. I haven't worked with too many charts before so I never had the need but it is hard to keep your place without it. At least it is for me. My eyes aren't what they used to be.

I know that Spring and Summer is when people back off a little from their knitting but for some reason, I just want to knit more than ever. I wonder if anyone ever took their vacation days to knit!

One!

So where did that year go? #1 Grandson is one. (tomorrow) His party was Saturday so his actual birthday should be rather anti-climatic. Happy birthday little guy!

I worked on the Clementine Shawlette all evening last night while watching two movies on DVD. It's been a while since I've seen anything recent so I made one of my rare visits to Blockbuster and rented Little Miss Sunshine and Catch and Release. I loved Little Miss Sunshine. Catch and Release not so much. Kind of boring.

And speaking of boring... I had a great suggestion regarding my boring felted bag from Laurie. She suggested I dye it another color. I guess I could probably get it to some sort of a chocolate brown from what it is now. This could be a job for Shelley. Hey Shelley... what do you think? And I've decided I'm definitely going to run it through the washer again. It may turn out smaller than what I wanted, but I'm more concerned about it looking ALL THE WAY felted.

One of these days I'm going to have to stop knitting and get my house in order. Really. And my garden. I wish there were more hours in the day.

New Yarn is Like a Drug

Even though I knew I shouldn't start another project I had to. This yarn was practically jumping out of the bag. There's just no stopping now. My niece made this shawlette from Interweave Knits Spring 2007 for my sister. I just love it. I wanted to do cotton, but when I saw this wool/mohair blend at MS&W, I knew it was the yarn for the project.

The felted bag is finished. It was a really quick knit. But I am wondering why I chose this boring color. I'm also wondering if I should run it through the wash again. I don't think you should be able to see the stitch definition like that in a felted piece if it's done correctly. But it IS the size that I wanted it to be. What to do...what to do....















This little mini-sunflower was a gift from Vanessa (son's GF). It's called a Pacino sunflower and they grow to be 15 to 20 inches tall. Perfect for planters. I'll have to get some more of them. It's adorable.

One Small Purchase!

This is it. This is all I bought at MS&W. I'm proud of myself. I don't know what it's going to be yet but I couldn't pass up the colors.

Sunday is much more sane there than Saturday. I've always gone on a Saturday before. I will say though that I could tell the yarn had already been very picked over. So I guess if you want to buy a lot, you should go on Saturday. I missed one of my favorite vendors there this year. The Good Shephard. I couldn't find her anywhere. I don't know if she didn't come this year or if I just missed her. She always has great stuff.

Below is the finished felted purse. I'll throw it in the washer tonight I think. I screwed up the bottom of it but hopefully you won't notice when it felts.

I need to decide what to "stash bust" next.