Time to Knit

New Blog!

2008-10-29T12:00:00.001-05:00

I started a new blog for personal reasons. If you'd like the address, leave your email in the comments, or email me at magikhands1(at)yahoo(dot)com

Not much to tell

2008-09-19T14:40:00.000-05:00

School has been keeping me busy. Work...not so much, but enough. I'm still not finished with the back piece of Sir B's sweater (4" to go), and I just got more yarn today for a sweater for my Grandma!

The yarn was a nice treat today, after wanting to run my phone over with my car. I have gotten about a dozen telemarketer calls today. Yes, I'm on the National Do Not Call List. I'm starting to lash out at them because normally I don't answer, but they just keep calling and calling. Then I pick up and hang up right away, but one this morning had the audacity to call right back! Now I'm just picking up, yelling "Stop calling me!" and hanging up. If it wasn't my business line, I'd have the damn thing disconnected. Grrrrrr.

Anyhoo, back to pleasantness. The Grandma sweater is being made because she always tries to keep my sweaters I bring over to show her (in a cute way), plus she's totally knitworthy. I gave her a shawl of mine a month or two ago, and she cried, she liked it so much. I know she'll get a lot of use out of a sweater. Now I just have to spend less time on Ravelry so I have more knitting time...

The pullover from hell!

2008-09-08T14:49:00.000-05:00

Do I have your attention now?!

So, Sir B picked out the Double Crossing Diamonds Pullover from Men in Knits, which I had no problem with. Until I went to start it. The chart was stair-stepped instead of a big block, so I went about copying and pasting to make an easier to use chart. Hahahahahahaha. Some cables are 4 row repeats, some 6 rows...the center cable is 42 rows.

I looked at it and thought.....this is it. This is what I'm going to divorce him over.

But I made a large, useable chart to get me through the first 40 rows. And as I got going, I realized that with some extra counters, I didn't need the charts for two of the cables, just the center one and the cable/bobbles on either side of center.

He can stay a little longer.

New Sweater

2008-09-05T11:58:00.000-05:00

I finally started on the Double Crossing Diamonds Pullover for Sir B. I've had the yarn for ages now, but haven't had the urge to cast on....plus I was hoping to get Lady Eleanor finished beforehand. But now Eleanor is languishing in a corner because, honestly, she is bor-ing to work on. Mind numbingly so.

This photo shows the color off better:

Whilst this one shows off the fantastical cables:

Pattern is from Men in Knits. Yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Claret Heather.

Random Acts of Kindness

2008-08-27T14:58:00.003-05:00

I belong to the Random Acts of Kindness group on Ravelry, and look at the goodies I've received:
Yesterday....

From Debbie in Texas--some Ghirardelli hot chocolate in chocolate hazelnut AND chocolate mocha, Suri Alpaca laceweight in a pretty variegated purple, and purple stitch markers made by her granddaughter!

Today....

From Sharon in Missouri, some fun pink and purple yarns that are just begging to be made into a striped scarf.

Thank you SO much to both ladies!

Stitches Midwest

2008-08-24T15:44:00.003-05:00

So yesterday was Stitches Midwest day for Becky and I (she's new to Ravelry btw, her Rav name is "Moonmaven"). We left at 9am and arrived in Schaumburg at 10:30, got a fairly good parking space, and were pleasantly surprised we didn't have to hike a mile to the market. The market was awesome, as usual. I got to meet some Ravelers. I bought too much yarn. It's once a year....so I live a little.

Here is some Duet yarn from Brooks Farm Yarns. It's 50/50 kid-fine wool, soft and squishy, the most beautiful combination of blue, green, and purple ever! Also in the backround is my Rav button and a "Swatch Me" button:

Next is some Merino Twine from my Rav friend Dianne at Creatively Dyed Yarns. Aren't the colors fun?:

Couldn't resist the chance to try some Socks that Rock yarn (color is Love-in-Idleness) from Marengo, IL shop The Fold:

And after all that blueness, I switched gears and bought some red/orange/yellow laceweight (color is Toucan Sam) from Maple Creek Farms:

And some patterns...3 sweaters and one shawl:

I also got some Soak, and this adorable hand-thrown mug with yarn and sheeps on it:

Becky did some good shoppin' too, she got a sweater kit and a kit for a qiviut scarf. I'm so jealous she got some qiviut!
Good thing this is only once a year...but now I have to wait a whole year to have this much yarny fun again!

Funny

2008-08-24T15:21:00.000-05:00

more animals

School

2008-08-22T17:14:00.002-05:00

Well, I made it through my first week back at school. I did have to drop my chemistry class because it was going to be too.much., but I feel good about the Anatomy and Nurse Assistant classes I'm taking.

Going to Stitches Midwest tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have lots of goodies to show!

Yarn store

2008-08-14T13:12:00.002-05:00

So, I went over to "One More Row", the new yarn store in Freeport. It is going to be a nice little place. The owner isn't finished stocking it yet but she carries yarns like Donegal Tweed, Encore, Dalegarn, some novelty yarns, and others. She has a nice selection of patterns too. The place is pretty small--about the size of Yarn Sellar in Rockford--Yarn Sellar has them beat on selection though.
Nothing beats online shopping for me....especially since I'm doing a lot of sweaters now and need 8-10 skeins of a given yarn. Unless stores start offering a bulk discount, I'll go to WEBS.

I needed a laugh today...

2008-08-14T13:11:00.003-05:00

more cat pictures

New Yarn Store

2008-08-13T21:52:00.001-05:00

From Freeport Journal-Standard:

Knit One, Purl Two
In the heart of downtown, Kathy Heller put down her knitting Monday to tell the story of how she came to Freeport, saying she never ever dreamed she’d open another store again. “I was just ready to close up my other store, in Conover Square,” in Oregon, she said.
But a stop at Mary’s Mantle on Chicago Avenue turned her on to the open storefront across the street, at 15 S. Chicago. She got building owner Cal Wescott’s name and went to talk to him. “And to make a long story short, here I am,” she said. Her new store is called “One More Row,” and is a knitting and crocheting business. Heller, of Mount Morris, opened her doors Friday, even though she doesn’t have all her supplies yet. She plans on adding classes, too. She really likes the feel of downtown Freeport.“Where I was I was in Conover Square, in Oregon, in the old piano factory, it was a pretty jumping place once, but not anymore,” she said.
It will be a few more weeks before she’s really up and running the way she wants. She doesn’t even have a telephone for the business yet, she said. But passers-by are poking in their heads in anyway, she said. Heller was astounded by the number of people who strolled into her store during the Music on Chicago event Friday. “I’m not exaggerating. I had more people come in that one night — basically asking, showing interest, wanting to know about classes — than I had in a year in Oregon. And I’m not even exaggerating about that,” Heller, 57, said. She taught herself how to work with knitting and crochet needles 37 years ago, she said.
“I call it my therapy,” she said.

Man! They opened on my birthday! That would've been fun to check it out on opening day, but I plan on heading over there tomorrow to see it.

P.S. I know, the writing is atrocious. Our newspaper is known for its journalists with poor grammar and writing styles. I've had two articles written about me in this paper, and I wish I could've just written them myself, at least the information would've been correct. The last article that was out was an embarassment for me, so many things were stated incorrectly.

Bohus is done!

2008-08-13T13:19:00.003-05:00

Now that we finally have our internet fixed, I can show you my Bountiful Bohus...

Here she is right before steeking:

Close-up of fair isle:

And modeled by yours truly:

Pattern: Bountiful Bohus from More Big Girl Knits
Size: 56" chest
Yarn: Cascade 220 in purple (6 skeins), grey and white (1 skein each)
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 5 and 7
Notes: This sweater turned out so well. I love how it fits...except for the neckline. I think that is too wide; I'd like it to be more snug around my neck. I only cast on 110 (100?) stitches for the arms to reduce the bell sleeves a bit, and of course shortened the sleeves because I'm not a chimpanzee.

Last Monday, we had a horrible storm come through our area. Our only damage was this tree branch, which fell off the neighbor's tree:

It actually fell on the bricks, but only one brick broke; my hydrangea was a little bruised, but is being quite the trooper.
We also lost power for 23 hours, and didn't get our internet back until Comcast came out yesterday and fixed it.

Sir B got me a Wii Fit for my birthday, and man that thing is fun! I never got into gaming systems too much...there were always too many button combinations to remember. But the Wii, using motion, is so much easier and more fun. The Wii Fit has yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games. My favorites are the skiing games and the hula hoop.

Psychic

2008-08-07T18:10:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, Sir B and I went to the Renaissance Faire in Bristol, WI. Also there was my Dad, Christy, my sis Amy, Lisa, my Grandma, and some of Christy's kids. I think we spent about 1/2 hour total with them. Everyone kept splitting up and doing their own thing, but it was still fun to be there with everybody.

So, I decided to get a reading while I was there. Christy and Dad were getting a tarot card reading, and I thought I'd do something different, so I got a reading by a psychic medium. His name is Stephen Bishop, and let me tell you, he was awesome. He asked me some questions about my spirituality, if I ever had any psychic experiences, etc., then when he started the reading, he asked for only "yes" or "no" answers. Some of the things he said to me (his words in italics, my responses in regular type):

You are one of three. Yes.

You have two brothers. No, but I can see how they could come across as masculine!

I see a little boy around you. I had another psychic tell me that. Interesting.

I see a female here. Your grandmother? No. Wait, she's right behind you. Your mother. Yes.

She was really sick for a while, then she got better, then (snaps fingers) she was gone. Yes.

She says there was something at her funeral that you worried about...something silly. Yes. I didn't like the color nail polish they put on her. She would never wear that color. She says "It's so stupid! Let it go"

She says "Why are you fighting with your sisters?" I'm not! Around the time she died, you were fighting with them...again, something silly. Yes. When my sisters get together, they tend to shut me out. I got really mad at them for doing that then.

I'm seeing Hummels. Did she collect Hummels? No. Hm, I'm seeing collectibles, similar things.. She collected Barbies. I never would have gotten Barbies from that! Please answer yes or no...

She's showing me jewelry. Bug jewelry? Yes. And something about a clock? OK A clock with gold around the face.... No Oh, maybe it's a watch then, I'm just seeing a clock face, so it could be a watch. Yes Did she give you a watch? Yes, well, I recently got all her jewelry. There's something about this watch, it's two-tone, something she wants you to know, but I'm not getting it. It seems to have something to do with your career, may be something metaphorical, like "watch out for this", or "wait until this time". Heck, someone from Bulova could call you tomorrow and offer you a job, I don't know! I got home and pulled out the watch in question, and it is a Bulova watch! The band is broken, so I think I'll take it in to be fixed and wear it for a while, see what comes of it.

Did she have a cat figurine in the jewelry box? No, but I just got a cat figurine yesterday as a gift! She was there when it was purchased. She had something to do with it. Cool.
The light is very strong around you. Do you feel spirits around you? I was told by an intuitive friend that there are two spirits at my house. I think they my be there because they are stuck and need your help to move on to the other side. You seem to draw them to you, they think you can help them cross over. Huh.

There was other stuff... we talked some about cats and their ability to see spirits. He recommended some books for me to read. He said my Mom was able to come through because I was in the right frame of mind to receive the information, that I had come to terms with her passing (I'm paraphrasing. He went into a long description why some people have it easier than others, talking to their loved ones). All in all he talked for an hour, and it was so fascinating. I really felt like I had contact with her.

Holy crud

2008-08-07T17:29:00.000-05:00

I meant to post at the beginning of the week, but then a NASTY storm came through that knocked out our power for 23 hours, and our internet still isn't up yet (I'm using a local unsecured connection.). The Comcast guy told Sir B someone wouldn't be out until Tuesday to look at it.....um, how are we supposed to live without internet for over a week? I know I can get on this unsecured connection, but I can't do anything of value because I'm afraid someone is stealing my info as I type this. Gah.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I have two client appointments, then I figured I'd spend a few hours over at the humane society being loved on by the kitties. And maybe some mexican for dinner. Sir B is taking me to Red Lobster for dinner this weekend...

I finished the Bountiful Bohus yesterday. I won't get pics up until next week. But it turned out really nice!

What's in store....

2008-07-19T09:41:00.002-05:00

We're getting a new yarn store in town! Our only LYS closed this year when the owner retired, and I just heard that a new store is opening up soon! It will be in the downtown area, and called "One Row at a Time". I can't wait to see it. Hopefully they will have a knit-nite so I can happily leave my current knitting group (which has a very annoying child that will not. stay. home.)

Happy weekend! Unfortunately for me, I'm cleaning the garage all weekend.
We had to rent a dumpster.
It's that bad.

One bad book

2008-07-15T12:21:00.001-05:00

So, a few months ago I was reading Pink is the New Blog, and in a post he mentions a book that is his absolute favorite book. The best horror book he's ever read. Well, that piqued my interest, as I am a huge Stephen King and Dean Koontz fan, so I went to Amazon and ordered House of Leaves to see what all the fuss was about.

I wish I knew.

It took me forever to get through half of the book (and I'm a fast reader), and I finally just gave up. The main story about the "haunted" house was awesome, but the little side-stories and useless information in the margins and footers were a complete waste of time. I kept reading, hoping it would get better, but it didn't.

I would be interested to know how many people that read PITNB rushed out and bought this book, and how many of them liked it.

That's all. Just wanted to vent!

Something funny for Monday

2008-07-14T14:16:00.001-05:00

This n that #302856930

2008-07-13T14:59:00.003-05:00

Taffy's been having a rough day.
First this......

Then this....

My Black Thumb of Death seems to be hibernating this summer, as I have beautiful flowers to show!

and some really gross beetles:

My hydrangea has a bloom! It didn't flower AT ALL last year, so this is a real victory.

We have grapes:

I don't know what this is on the grapevine, but the ants sure think it's tasty:

And progress photos! I have the first part of the Bohus body done (up to the underarms), and started on the first sleeve last night. For some reason, Lexi had to test the comfort of both knitting projects:

Here it is cat-less:

I didn't think I'd get to the sleeves yet. I was going to use 2 circs and do the sleeves at the same time, but I wasn't feeling the love. But I didn't have any size 7 DPNs, and our LYS went out of business last year, so I thought I was screwed....I wasn't going to Rockford just for knitting needles, and every time I place a Knit Picks order (which I did a few days ago), I swear I need something else the next day! Grrr. Hubby and I went out for dinner and a movie last night, and the restaurant is by a Joann Fabrics. Duh! Joann's! I ran in, and sure enough, they had them. Huzzah!

And my Lady Eleanor. Next time I'll take the photo on a different surface, I know it's hard to see:

And at Cub Foods today, I found some chocolates I just HAD to try. They are Starbucks Truffles with Chai filling! OMG, they're soooo good!

I almost forgot! I took my Nutrition final on Thursday, so I am officially off of school until August 18th. I think I did well on the final, but I won't get my grade until the end of the month, when the regular summer session ends.

My weekend

2008-07-01T12:21:00.000-05:00

Here is the start of my Bountiful Bohus. The purple is actually MUCH darker than it shows up in the photo:

And the start of Lady Eleanor! This is a light purple variegated yarn (yes, I guess I have a thing for purple right now!):

On Sunday, we went to my Dad's girlfriend's house for a BBQ. There is a small pond on the property, and my sis was letting her dog Bailey go in the water:

The above photo was at the end of the fun. Bailey jumped in, lost his footing, and started panicking. Amy's partner Lisa had to wade in to save him. My sister is not hero material, but Lisa sure is!

Later that day, Amy got her karmic payback. One of the kids there, and I cannot for the life of me remember her name, latched onto Amy. She was really cute, 2 1/2 years old, but the sheer volume of questions from her was mind-boggling! She asked Amy why she had tattoos, what the thing in her eye was (she has an eyebrow piercing), if they still hurt, etc. Amy tried to pawn her off on me and get away. She said "This is my sister Lori", and the girl said "Hi Lori, can I go inside the house?", to which I replied "Of course. Have Amy take you"! The above photo is the two of them on the swing. Aren't they cute?

Lastly, some fun pics of the cats.
Taffy:

And Lexi:

I couldn't resist!

2008-06-25T15:01:00.001-05:00

First things first...I bought more yarn. Sigh. I started the Lady Eleanor Stole from Scarf Style with some stash yarn, and it looks cute, I think:

but when I went to look for more online (I bought this at Stitches Midwest two years ago), it's not being made anymore :(

I figure I can eke out a scarf with it, but I still REALLY want to make a Lady Eleanor, so I perused Ravelry to see what others had knit her out of, and found some Karaoke yarn on sale at Jimmy Beans Wool (40% off in colorway Bloom). I was going to get some Patons SWS Wool, but Ravelers said really bad things about this yarn, and Noro is too expensive for me right now...

I finished the fair isle socks. Notice I didn't say MY fair isle socks...they're too small for me, but a fun knit, and I have plenty of yarn left over for another pair so I just need to find these a good home!

I visited my Grandma this past Sunday, and gifted her my Creatures of the Reef shawl. She cried.

I had to search high and low, but bought a copy of this book on Sunday. It has the CUTEST cupcake designs in it, and most of them are pretty easy to boot.

And since I got the book, I also got a kick-a$$ cupcake tote (from Amazon.com).

And a new printer.

I think I need to cut up my credit cards!

P.S. My midterm grade in Nutrition? An A! Plus I finished my math class yesterday, and I got a B!

Entitlement

2008-06-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

So, I'm standing at my kitchen window today, looking out at our street. One house over, the Public Works department is doing some work on the road...they tore up part of it yesterday, and today they're re-surfacing it. They blocked off the street with cones and a big STREET CLOSED sign next to my driveway and on the other side of neighbor's driveway. I saw them leave for lunch, and wouldn't you know it....drivers just blatantly ignored the signs, knocking over cones to go through instead of around. Nice.

On that subject, I had a girl (probably early 20s) call me about a month ago to set up a massage appointment. She called at about 4:00 on a Thursday and said she had a gift certificate and wanted to get a massage TODAY (very snippy). I almost laughed at her. Instead I told her I didn't have anything available until the following Monday (I actually did have availability the next day, but her attitude kept me from offering it). She scheduled, and then didn't show up. THEN she calls me about a week ago, never apologizing, just saying she "couldn't make it that day". Yeah, I'm gonna rush to call you back and reschedule. I really wanted to reschedule her for when I was at school, then when she called to complain, I'd say I "couldn't make it that day". Sorry princess, you don't always get what you want...and there are other people on this planet besides you. I know I was "stooping" to her level, but sometimes you have to dish it right back at 'em.

Why do so many people think they can do whatever they want, without consequence?

Interestingly, the Yarn Harlot has a post covering this topic today too.

At least I don't feel alone in this.

Knitting? What knitting?

2008-06-12T17:15:00.002-05:00

School has been really busy this week, as I started my Math class on Monday. It's a lab class, which involves *no* lectures and is go-at-your-own-pace. I am already 2 weeks ahead of schedule! I fried my brain on Tuesday by taking 2 math tests, then having to take a *really hard* metabolism test in Nutrition. That night ended up with me at Fiesta Cancun for some yummy mexican food and, of course, a MARGARITA! I am in there a LOT, so most of the waiters know me, and they kept coming over and joking with me about getting a margarita (since I quit drinking alcohol for a while). I'm all, "I'm in school! At 33! And it's hard! Bring me my alcohol!" But hey, I'm getting an A in Math so far, and a B in Nutrition (that really hard test? Got a B. Go me!).

I am knitting a bit on a sock. I want to start a sweater, but I think a sock's all I can handle for now. It's a fair isle sock pattern and yarn I found in the Patternworks catalog. Let's see if I can find a link.... even better (they're the socks in the higher picture):

Susie's done!

2008-06-04T11:48:00.000-05:00

Specs:
Pattern: Susie Hoodie from More Big Girl Knits
Yarn: Cascade 220 , color 9407 celery, 10 skeins
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 7 and 8
Started: April 13, 2008
Finished: June 1, 2008
Notes: I love this pattern, and I would make it again in a heartbeat. The sleeves blocked out a tad longer than I wanted, so next time I'd probably knit them to 14" instead of 16".

Odds n ends

2008-05-30T11:30:00.001-05:00

This is one of my favorite groups on Ravelry right now:

and Veruca is so darn cute!

I am so close to the finish line with Susie, only half of the hood to go. Of course we had a cold spell the past few days, but I'm sure as soon as I bind off, we're going to get a heat wave! I'm already itching to cast on something new (but I must resist, I still have a sock to finish)...I can't decide between the Bohus for me, or Sir B's sweater. Well, to be honest, I know which one I want to start next, but his sweater is being considered. A little.

My nutrition test went swimmingly, I got an A!

Well, I made it...

2008-05-27T10:59:00.000-05:00

...through my first week of school! The nutrition class I'm taking is harder than I expected, I have to remember a lot of "technical" terms. My first test is today so we'll see how well my brain is functioning.

I'm almost done with Susie!! All that is left is the hood. I tried it on last night, and after it's blocked it should fit perfectly.

First day of school!

2008-05-20T10:41:00.001-05:00

I am officially going back to school today! I don't look quite as happy (or young) as in the above photo--more like I'm quaking in my shoes because I'm a thirty-something that's going to be in a classroom filled with twenty year old kids. Send good thoughts my way, please!

Back story: the economy is hitting my business hard. For working in this town as a massage therapist for almost ten years, I thought I'd have a bigger client base by now (which I don't), and then gas prices started rising, and people stopped getting their massages. I have my regulars that come no matter what, but five or so hours a week barely pays the bills. I have lots more knitting time, but I can't afford more yarn! So Sir B and I talked it over, and I decided to go back to school for a nursing degree. Registered Nurse, to be exact. My clients have been so supportive so far (we'll see once my schedule gets super-crazy), and I'm easing everyone in-myself included-by taking two classes over the summer, then going full-time this fall.

In knitting news, I have the sleeves done and joined to the body on the Susie, now I'm working on the yoke. Tonight is Stitch-In, so I should get a lot done! Photos soon.

I was only gone for a minute...

2008-05-10T10:41:00.004-05:00

I went out last night to run an errand, and since the cats usually leave my knitting alone, I just left it on the couch. When I came home, I found this:

Apparently, Lexi approves of my knitting!

P.S. OMG! It's my three year blogiversary. Amazing.

Hoodie

2008-05-07T12:13:00.003-05:00

Here is my progress on the Susie Hoodie. I am at Row 100, which is about the center of the waist. You can see the bias shaping--the "seam" running down the right is the center of the sweater, the seam in the center of the photo runs under the left arm, and the rest of the right side is all bunched up. My birthstone is peridot, and I put a peridot anklet on the sweater so you can see how peridot-y the color is. The bottom photo is with a flash, which flattens out the stitch detail, but I think it shows the actual color the best.

I lovelovelove how this is turning out! I am pleased as punch with the color, and the pattern is super easy so far. Sorry to gush, but I'm gonna until this is done

BTW, I bought more yarn on Monday. I didn't mean to. But I had to. It was on sale. The sale is almost over.
Sir B didn't understand...but I didn't tell him until after I bought the yarn...I'm not stupid.
So more Cascade 220 will be showing up here in the next week or so. I got enough of these:

to make the Bohus in More Big Girl Knits, plus 10 skeins of this color:

because I just loved it so much. I'll find a pattern later (that gets me into trouble every time, but I'll fly in the face of danger for a great sale price).

Phoebe and Mercedes Socks

2008-04-28T17:04:00.003-05:00

My friend C had two Devon Rex cats, Phoebe and Mercedes. Last year she had to put Mercedes to sleep because she had many many health problems that hit her all at once--a result of severe in-breeding. Before C even got her, Mercedes had to have one of her eyes removed because of an infection. C loved that cat and was absolutely crushed when she had to put her to sleep. When I saw the pattern for the Cat's Face Lace Socks from JenLa's website, I knew I had to make them, and how cute they would be with one minor modification....

Here are the socks with a photo of the cats (I made the "cat couch" in the photo!):

One sock is the exact pattern for Phoebe:

And the other sock has one-eyed cats for Mercedes:

A lady at Stitch-In dyed the yarn for me (thanks Heather!), which is KnitPicks superwash wool. I gifted them to my friend C today, which by an incredible coincidence, is what would've been Mercedes' birthday!

P.S. Phoebe is still alive and well, and has a little sister, Pandora.

Third time's the charm!

2008-04-24T19:42:00.004-05:00

So, last night was the Michael Buble concert in Green Bay. We made the four-hour trip, then had dinner with my aunt at Margarita's restaurant--which was playing all Michael Buble songs, I noticed--then went to the show. His opening band was "Naturally 7", and they were actually very good. They all could sing, plus they each had an instrument they could mimic, so they sounded like an entire band. Here is a clip of one of their songs:

Then it was time for the main man to take the stage! Michael never disappoints; his shows are always fantastic. He has the best sense of humor, so in between songs everyone's laughing. At one point, when all was quiet, this woman screams out "We love you Michael Buble!!", and without missing a beat he says "I love you too stranger in the dark!"

He did perform a "new" song, that will be on his next album:

And here he is doing his Elvis impersonation, which I think is great:

Towards the end of the evening, Michael stopped to say how grateful he was, with the economy being what it is, for all of us that shelled out our hard-earned money to be there, which was so touching. He really appreciates his fans from the bottom of his heart and gives so much of himself at each and every concert. I read on his forum that he was sick the few shows before Green Bay, but he went out each night because he didn't want to disappoint anyone. He was drinking tea during the GB show, but his voice was at 100%.
The best part of the night was when he started singing "Save the Last Dance", and he let people come up to the stage. I of course was up there like a shot, even though we were in the 9th row. You can never be too close! He was spending a lot of time at the other end of the stage because there was a camera guy there filming him for the jumbo screens, but he finally made his way towards where I was at, and before I knew it he was right in front of me! I threw my hand up the air, and I almost couldn't believe it when he held out his hand to me! I grasped it and stood there transfixed. He let go so he could touch some of the other girls standing next to me, so I put my hand on his knee (he was squatting down on stage to reach us). Then I finally came to and took a few photos before he walked away. Yay!!!!! Sir B and I went around to the tour buses after the show, but a guy back there said Michael wouldn't be coming out to sign autographs, which was a bummer. During the show he said he has a bunch of family in Green Bay, and a group of them were there at the show, so that was probably why he didn't come out afterwards. Maybe next time!

Photos (click to make bigger):

Throwing cheesehead hats into the audience:

This is my favorite shot of the night:

Introducing some of the band using a Packers foam finger:

Close close close!

Another sock

2008-04-16T17:57:00.005-05:00

I love this yarn....I only wish it wasn't hand wash. It's Melody yarn (I found it in the Patternworks catalog) in colorway Duet:

The pattern is the "Baby Cable Rib" from this book (in the 4 stitch ribbing patterns section).

And here is the start of the Susie Hoodie. I'm using Cascade 220 in a yellow-green heather, which is VERY hard to photograph correctly:

A closeup of part of the cable:

Another FO!

2008-04-09T11:51:00.002-05:00

Some cool stripey socks in Regia Landscape yarn, color Caribbean.

It's nice to make a project that only takes a few days. Most of the things I knit go on and on and on and on and on.....

Last weekend Sir B and I went to Rockford for dinner, and ended up at the bookstore where these two gems followed me home:

The patterns in More Big Girl Knits are so much better than the first book! You can kind of see all the little flags sticking out of the top of the sweaters I want to knit.
But this one went straight to number one on the list. I should be getting the yarn on Friday. WEBS is having a sale on Cascade 220, so I got that in a pretty green:

Mmmmm, cabley goodness!
The sock book is fantastic, I like how each chapter is different patterning size (four-stitch patterns, five-stitch patterns, so on). You get the basic sock recipe for that size (some are toe up, some cuff down) then a bunch of different patterns you can choose from.

The queen was laying in the sun, and wanted her portrait taken:

Hoarding

2008-04-02T13:24:00.000-05:00

As much as I love to knit, sometimes I go through a spell where all I want to do is find project after project I want to make, even buy the yarn for them, but not actually get much knitting done. I started a sock last week and just ripped it out the other day (it was too big). I haven't made socks in awhile, and I really want a project in my arsenal that I don't need a pattern for, just find some yarn, get out the needles and knit. So I'm learning from the master, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, and her "Original Sock Recipe" in her book Knitting Rules. I have high hopes, plus I haven't bought yarn in a very long time, so I got enough for three pairs of socks...two pair of "regular" socks, and one pair of fair isle socks I saw in the Patternworks catalog. Now I'm thinking of ordering yarn to make a Lady Eleanor stole (which I started making once, but didn't like the yarn color I was using) because a woman at my knitting group is making one and I still really want to make it. Plus I should be getting back the yarn a friend is hand dyeing for (more) socks in a few weeks. I still have to start the cardigan for my husband (have the yarn), and I started the mittens but haven't gotten past the cuff because I'm bored with the idea of making mittens right now.

Can anyone say knitting ADD?
:)

Pain in the...well, everywhere!

2008-03-27T12:30:00.000-05:00

It's funny, when you're injured you realize how lazy you were before the injury. The dishes you were going to wash "tomorrow", the laundry piled up upstairs that you can't even get downstairs where the machines are. The crutches help immensely, but only if I don't need to bring something back from the other room; then I'm stuck hobbling back and forth, my sciatic nerve screaming at me to just SIT DOWN! I have plenty of time to knit, but no energy to. My hands and arms are tired from using the crutches. My husband is not much help, he "doesn't see" the pile of dishes that have been sitting in the strainer for the past four days and need to be put away, he "forgets" to do the laundry or give the cat her insulin. Work was finally starting to get busy, then I had to call and cancel all my appointments this week; I was supposed to take a placement test today (I'm going back to school, which is a story for another time) but I can't drive.

All this because I sprained my ankle on a sidewalk going into a Taco Bell because they forgot part of my order at the drive-thru. But hey, they're sending me coupons!

Finished!

2008-03-20T18:26:00.004-05:00

Pattern: Radiance Cabled Jacket (available here)
Yarn: Cascade 220, some heather color. I don't remember how many skeins I bought, but I have two left.
Started: November 20, 2007
Finished: March 18, 2008
Needles: KnitPicks interchangeables, size 5
Notes: I love this cardigan. Not too heavy, simple and elegant. I do want to try and block it just a bit bigger. I was going to add an i-cord button loop and a cool button, but I like it better without! The sleeves turned out too long, but I can turn them up. This is the first time I made sleeves with caps on them, and I didn't shorten them enough before the cap shaping, then I wasn't about to rip and redo them!

Taffy (whining): When is it MY turn?
Lexi: I got here first. Deal.

And now onto something knitty...

2008-03-07T13:03:00.006-06:00

Look, I have knitting pictures!

The body and part of one sleeve of the Radiance Cabled Jacket:

This sweater was almost given a time-out for being so much trouble. First, I kept screwing up the cable, then when I seamed the shoulders I realized the cables weren't matching up. Grrrrrr. Upon closer inspection, the back shaping was correct, but I reversed the front shaping. Instead of flinging the sweater across the room and yelling curse words at it, I took a breath and realized it was fixable with a minimum of frogging. I'll still be glad when this thing is done and I can start screwing up another project....

Like mittens! Pattern is from the book Selbuvotter, yarn and needles from Knit Picks:

Work has been soooooooooooo slow this week, but at least I'm getting lots of knitting done!

3 times in 3 years

2008-02-26T19:01:00.002-06:00

Woohoo! I'm draggin' Sir B to Green Bay in April to see Michael Buble...again! He went with me last year, and did enjoy himself (why wouldn't he? Oh yeah, maybe the fact that I sit and drool over another man for two hours...) PLUS I was able to get 10th row aisle seats!!! Sir B said, "Maybe you'll get to touch him this time". SHUT UP! I would totally wig out and make a fool out of myself Angela-style (heh).

Awesome. I can't wait. Things are looking up.

Back to two

2008-02-22T13:14:00.003-06:00

Unfortunately, we had to take Layla back to the humane society on Wednesday. We took a good hard look and realized it just wasn't working out. Lexi and Taffy were pretty miserable. Sir B and I were pretty exhausted. So we made the decision and took her back. Then did a lot of crying. I feel like I failed her, but I have to keep telling myself she'll find a good home where she will be so loved, because despite the problems we had with her not adjusting, she is such a sweet, loving kitten. We will miss her.

Arizona and kidney stones

2008-02-13T11:46:00.002-06:00

Last week was very hectic. This week isn't turning out much better. Sir B woke me up Thursday morning at 1:30 to tell me he had a really weird, sharp pain he's never felt before. So off we went to the emergency room (an hour after I took a sleeping pill. I'm amazed we made it there at all). He has another kidney stone! They admitted him to the hospital, where he stayed until Saturday. Meanwhile, I had plans to visit my sister Angela in Arizona Friday thru Sunday to see a seminar given by the psychic Allison DuBois. Sir B told me to go, even though I hated the thought of leaving him here in the hospital, but I did go. We had so much fun! The seminar was amazing. She had lots of inspirational things to say to help those of us who are grieving a loss. Strangely, during the seminar her cordless mic started malfunctioning and we heard what sounded like music and a man talking. It wouldn't stop, so they had to switch her to a regular microphone! She then joked that she always broke stuff, but in her books she mentions that electronics malfunction around her all the time, especially when someone is trying to tape a reading...it just ends up playing static. Afterwards, we had to walk around the back of the building to get to the car, and all of a sudden Angela starts screaming and running off. I thought she had lost. her. mind. But she spotted Allison DuBois sitting in a fenced-in patio. So we got to talk with her for a few minutes, which was so cool! She remembered my sis from a book signing last year (my sis is really strange/memorable, so not too surprising she remembered her). Angela was on cloud 9 when we left. She called me last night to tell me Allison mentioned her on her blog here (she also told me I had to spread the word about the post on my blog!). I took some photos, and they turned out pretty blurry, but here they are. I didn't think about taking a photo when we got to meet her (duh!):

Lexi and Layla checking to see if they can fit in my luggage:

This is Layla's new favorite spot--right in front of the heat vent:

When she's not in front of the vent, she's on top of the cat tree. This was a funny pose from last night:

This week, Sir B is still fighting the kidney stone, and is going to have it removed Friday. We have to be at the hospital in Rockford at 6:30 am. If you know me at all, you know I'm NOT a morning person. The poor patient has to deal with a grouchy, sleep deprived wife for company. Be glad it's not you!
Also, Taffy is having some intestinal upset, so we have to get medicine in her twice a day (not easy).
Oh yeah, and I've been hobbling around because my knee has been sore for reasons unknown.
The universe can stop dumping on this house for a while! We need a breather!

It was so hard to leave the 70+ temps of Arizona and come back to -0 degrees. Sigh. If anyone out there is looking for a massage therapist in Arizona, let me know! We'll move in a heartbeat!

P.S. Allison DuBois read this post and has a link to it on her blog! My sister is so ecstatic she found this and read it.

Blogged!

2008-02-01T16:14:00.000-06:00

My sister Angela told me today that her picture is on a blog... here. She was at a comic book convention, and the artist of her favorite comic book "Hero Bear and the Kid" was there. She showed him her tattoo of Hero Bear and they got a photo together, which he posted on his blog! Cool! She also got an original signed sketch of Hero Bear.

I have more yarn on the way from Knit Picks, which means I really need to get going on the cardigan. I'd like to have the body done before I start another project. The yarn I ordered is for another Aran Cardigan for Sir B, and some mittens for myself.

Have a great weekend!

Shawl's done!

2008-01-23T15:53:00.001-06:00

Pattern: Irish Diamond Shawl from Folk Shawls
Yarn: 7 1/2 skeins of Knit Picks Palette yarn in Autumn Heather
Started: October 25, 2007
Finished: January 22, 2008
Notes: I love how this turned out! I used a size smaller needle than called for, and it is the perfect size. The yarn turned super soft after washing, and I didn't even have to pin it out to block, I just laid it out on a bed sheet and let it air dry overnight.

Kitty Pictures

2008-01-21T12:32:00.001-06:00

The title says it all....obviously the new kitten needs to get used to having her picture taken, living at this house!

With Taffy

And with Lexi on their new "Cat Condo"

Layla went in to be spayed on Friday. Look at this big ol' scar with six stitches!

Very photogenic, no?

I'm too cute!

Options

2008-01-17T17:00:00.000-06:00

So, I ordered the Knit Picks Options needle set, which arrived today. The needles and cables are awesome, but the case is so incredibly crappy....I got right back online looking for a replacement. And in a duh moment, I didn't double-check the length of cable I needed to transfer Irish Diamond to Options needles, and the cables I got with the set are way. too. small.

Figures.

No sense rushing to buy them now, I'm only about 20 rows from finishing (hooray!), which I'd show, but a photo from on the needles won't show crap. You'll have to wait til it's done!
AFTER Irish Diamond is done, I'll get back to my cardigan, then it's on to new projects (gasp). I can't believe I went a month without knitting, and I'm definitely making up for lost time.

Layla is settling in nicely. She apparently came home from the shelter with a parasite, but has been taking her medicine like it's liquid treats. She goes in tomorrow to be spayed, so the other two will have a break from her for a whole day.

They'll love me.

Until I bring Layla back home.

We got a kitten!

2008-01-04T15:15:00.001-06:00

We named her Layla; she's a six month old black calico from the local humane society. When she is picked up, she snuggles and purrs, wanting lots and lots of petting and attention! Taffy is letting her be, but Lexi is still growling and hissing at Layla...I think that's going to go on for another week, at least. Poor Lexi is feeling very threatened by another cat in the house.

We have a water dish for the cats that bubbles, and it took Layla a day to figure that one out. She just kept going up to it to watch the bubbles, sometimes trying to hit at them. I think she finally spied the other two drinking from it and understood, although after she drinks, she still tries to play with the bubbles! She is also fascinated by the computer, and when I had her in my lap and was typing an email, she kept trying to get up on the keyboard and walk all over it. Apparently she has lots to say, but all she got out in the email was EWWWWWWWWQW.

For New Year's Eve, Sir B and I made king crab legs, which Taffy and Lexi both LOVE as much as we do!

Yummy crab

Look at the size of this claw!

Crab-eatin' cats!

...all this excitement, and I finally got my pearl ring yesterday!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2007-12-28T15:06:00.000-06:00

I have been sick with a cold since Sunday, and so tired I haven't even had an inkling to knit, which is a bummer since I only have 2" left on the front pieces of the cardigan. I'm going to try and finish those tonight, and maybe get back to the Irish Diamond for a bit.

My Christmas was lovely (except for being sick!), and I've had lots to read. I finished Feathers Brush My Heart, which is a collection of stories about mothers connecting with their daughters after death; now I'm reading Allison DuBois' new book Secrets of the Monarch, which my sister Angela sent me (and it's signed by the author!). I'm also reading The Knitter's Book of Yarn, which is very informative without being stuffy or boring. It has a beautiful pattern for a cardigan that I am going to make as soon as I possibly can! I also got Inspired Fair Isle Knits, which has a lot of pretty patterns, too. My Grandma was looking over my shoulder as I was thumbing through it, and she liked quite a few of the sweaters in the book.

I haven't done much posting the past few weeks because my eyes were bothering me (reading, knitting, watching TV, just about anything), and I went in for an exam and found out I have astigmatism. I opted for glasses (no putting contacts in my eyes, thankyouverymuch) which I have been wearing for close to two weeks now and LOVE them. No more headaches!

It has been snowing like crazy today...big, beautiful, fluffy flakes. Sir B and I tried to go over to the humane society...I talked him into getting another cat...but they were closing up on account of the snow. Poo. Now we have to wait until next Wednesday to go because of our work schedules. At least I can spend the rest of my day curled up on the couch with Lexi in my lap, knitting, sipping hot tea, and watching the snow fall.

Busy bee

2007-12-07T20:25:00.000-06:00

I have been so. busy. this week with work, I feel like I haven't had a minute to myself. When I fall onto the couch at the end of the day all I do is flip on the TV and try to get a bit of knitting done. It's all on the Radiance Cabled Cardigan though; poor Irish Diamond is pouting on the coffee table, waiting to be finished. But I can't put down the cardigan! This is the pattern my Cascade 220 yarn was waiting for. Finally.

I didn't mention this in the Vegas post, but I had no problem bringing my 47" Addi Turbo needles on the plane. None at all. I even had my cable hook ring in my bag, and not a question was asked! I did notice the screener took an extra minute to look carefully at my bag, but I made darn sure I took out any scissors, needles, files, etc. before we even left the house. And always be super nice to the screeners! It goes a long way!

Back from Las Vegas!

2007-11-28T15:40:00.000-06:00

As always, click on any of the photos for larger image

Sir B and I had a wonderful time in Las Vegas! We arrived Friday night, and went gambling right away after checking in :) I played a Wheel of Fortune slot machine and won $265!! What a way to start the vacation!

We stayed at the Luxor, which is a very neat hotel. This was our room (in the pyramid, note the angled window):

And our view:

The lobby:

The "attractions" level:

They were even decked out for Christmas already! We found it a little weird to be hearing Christmas music while walking around the hotel...

You walk under the sphinx to get to the hotel from the tram...

I like the way the sphinx is reflected in the glass in this photo of the obelisk:

On Saturday I won $60 on a slot machine, and spent all my winnings on this:

The stones are sapphires, and the pearl is straight from an oyster! This photo doesn't have my pearl in it, this is just the display. The sales lady had Sir B pick out the oyster, and he chose one that happened to have a gorgeous grey-blue pearl inside. I had them size it, so I won't be getting it for a few weeks :(
We got "suckered" in to a timeshare presentation (for 175 bucks we felt we could give them two hours), and ended up buying into it! So now we have a timeshare to go to in Las Vegas every third year, plus a seriously discounted week's vacation anywhere once every year.

That night we went to see Penn & Teller, and their show was so incredible. We even got to meet them afterwards, so Sir B took photos of me with them...

Me smoochin' on Teller:

Penn was just too freakin' tall to smooch:

On Sunday we went to the Shark Reef exhibit at Mandalay Bay Resort, and I could've stayed there all day. They even had a petting pool with stingrays (my favorite!)

We weren't allowed to pet these little ones because they were partially buried in the sand, which means they're sleeping

Jellyfish!

Sunday evening was spent enjoying fantastic chinese food at the restaurant Red 8 and seeing the play Spamalot, both at the Wynn Hotel.

On the taxi ride back to our hotel, we got to see the Mirage volcano erupt, and part of the Bellagio fountain show!

Monday we went to Bodies: The Exhibition, which was sooooo fascinating. I highly recommend it. It is amazing to be able to see a human body that way, without all the grossness of cadaver study (which I did in massage school). The neatest part, in my opinion, were the displays showing the circulatory system. For example, they had a leg. They injected a substance into the blood vessels and let that dry, then used another substance to dissolve all the other tissues. What was left was this beautiful weblike mass of vessels. Sir B said it looked like pulled-apart cotton, it was so fine.
The Luxor has an IMAX theater, and we saw a few of the 3-D movies there. Then we were off to the other end of the strip to Cafe Heidelberg for dinner (I'm not into German food but Sir B is, so don't ask me if I liked it!), and The Amazing Johnathon for our final show. He is sosososososo funny. If you don't know who he is, hurry to his website! Now! Watch his Comedy Central special! You won't be disappointed. I think he is considered a magician, but he really doesn't do much magic... he makes fun of magic tricks more than anything. I really wanted to get a photo of Sir B with Johnathon, but we forgot to have cash for souvenirs there and had to run to an ATM, and by the time we got back we were able to buy his DVD and book, but he was already gone. So no picture :(

Photos of the strip from the walkway between Excalibur and The Tropicana:

The waterfall at the Tropicana:

Doesn't it look so nice and warm there? NOT! It was in the low 60's, so we didn't get to enjoy the hotel pool at all. Poo. I really wanted to go swimming!

Sunset from the plane:

My feet are killing me from all the walking, but we had an absolutely fabulous time. We can't wait to go back! The cats were spoiled by the cat-sitter, but were very happy we came home.

Another sweater soon?

2007-11-17T10:53:00.000-06:00

I have been so busy with work the past week, and the next two are going to be about the same, especially with Thanksgiving and vacation thrown in! My Dad is hosting Thanksgiving this year, and my aunt and I are going to be doing all the cooking. Then it's Vegas time baby! Here's hoping I get lucky and come home with some serious moola...

I am very very close to finishing the Irish Diamond shawl, we're talking 50 rows away. I may get it done before vacation, as I have all day tomorrow and Stitch-In on Tuesday night to work on it. So of course I'm already planning my next project, because I'm gonna need knitting for the plane ride (we have a layover both ways. Blech.). I found the Market Street Tied Cardigan or the Radiance Cabled Jacket patterns I think would work with the Cascade 220 I've been fighting with lately. Maybe it would like to be one of these sweaters...hopefully! I lovelovelove the Portland Sweater (scroll down to the bottom of the link)....but I have to use up some more stash before I'll allow myself to buy it!

Have a great Thanksgiving, all, and wish me luck in Vegas! I promise lots of photos when I return.

I need a holster for my credit card

2007-11-09T10:46:00.000-06:00

Still plugging along on Irish Diamond...I'm almost ready to start the next set of patterns.

This week has been up-and-down. Sir B was home Tuesday and Wednesday with gout in his right toe...Wednesday was our third anniversary (which we did nothing to celebrate)...I did go and get a massage and facial on Wednesday, which was pretty darn nice...Today I take Taffy to the vet for her glucose test, plus I need him to look at one of her toenails. The toe seems to have been broken from before we got her, and didn't heal properly. Now the nail is getting really thick, butting up against the paw pad. Sir B and I are thinking she may have to have that nail removed. So as you can see, we're racking up doctor bills left and right this year. And now Christmas is coming up in a month?! Will it never end??

At least I have my knitting.....

My frog ate my sweater

2007-11-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

Here is a photo of the Irish Diamond Shawl (from Folk Shawls) in progress:

I am soooo in love with this color! It is KnitPicks Palette in "Autumn Heather". This is going to be a big shawl, and the yarn only cost me $20! Amazing.

Unfortunately, the sweater didn't make it any further than the back piece, and I ended up ripping it out completely. I am thinking I'll try the Pewter Coat pattern again (from Interweave Knits), but we'll see. I may put this off for a while...I have yarn in my stash to make a Dale of Norway baby sweater, and I'm wanting to cast on for that instead!

Work has been so slow lately I've had tons of knitting time, but with all the ripping I did, I don't have much to show for it :(

My swatch lied to me...

2007-10-22T14:53:00.000-05:00

...so now I rip. I finished the back of my cardi in record time, then decided to wash & block it to see if there were any "surprises". It blocked to 30"x35"!! Now I am not a slight woman, but 12" of ease on a sweater seems a bit much, and 35" of length on a 5'3" frame is just wasting good yarn. I re-did a gauge swatch and WASHED it this time. This swatch is telling me to go down two needle sizes from my previous attempt, plus I think I'm going to knock 10 rows off the length. Eh, it's all about the process.

I decided if I don't cave and buy them for myself, I'm going to ask Santa for a set of Options needles for Christmas. After using my Addi Turbos so much lately, my Denise needles are an absolute bear to use; the cables are too inflexible!

S-t-r-e-s-s

2007-10-20T12:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went with Sir B as he had yet another kidney stone removed (he seems to get about one a year). I know it's a simple procedure, but they have to put him to sleep for it, and that really unsettles me. Plus being with him in a hospital reminds me of when my Mom died. I feel bad for him because I think he'd be a lot more calm before the surgery if I wasn't such a wreck. He kept telling me to start working on my knitting, which I finally did and it really calmed me down. Thank goodness for mindless stockinette stitch knitting! I don't think I could've concentrated on an involved pattern for anything.

The surgery went swimmingly, the only thing being Sir B waking up "a bit" disoriented (that's what the doctor said, followed by, "He's a big guy and hard to hold down". Later Sir B remembered he woke up punching at people. Good thing he didn't clock anyone!)

I'm halfway done with the back of the sweater....although I may have to shorten it as I fear it may be way too long for me, but I don't want to frog it so I'll just adjust this piece when I'm done and compensate for the changes when I do the front pieces.

I can't decide!!

2007-10-11T15:49:00.000-05:00

Man, have I had a short knitting attention span lately. When the cold weather hit yesterday (55 frickin degrees), I decided I must. have. a. cardigan. So now I'm swatching for a cardigan, the socks discarded indefinitely. The shawl is also in the discarded pile. And Sir B is starting to whine about me promising (last year) to make him another cardigan!

Another reason I lost interest in the socks...I just picked up a copy of Knitting Circles Around Socks, and it is so cool! Now I want to frog and make them like that. Sigh. How do I take a project as small and simple as freakin socks and turn it into an odyssey? Seriously?

Boo. Hoo.

2007-10-05T17:01:00.000-05:00

Well, the sock I was making? Frog pond material. Way too big, even for my clown feet. I am restarting it in a smaller size...there is hope yet.

And the Cancun vaction? Dunzo. Cancelled. We are going to Las Vegas for five days instead (which is OK, we are both very excited about it). Loooong story about the cancelled Cancun trip, but we are tentatively planning to rebook it for next fall. Now we are trying to decide what shows to see in Vegas...well, not decide, more like narrow down the long list. We are also thinking of going on a Grand Canyon tour. See, who needs Cancun? *sniff*

Photo lazy

2007-10-01T12:05:00.001-05:00

I have been meaning to take a photo of my sock-in-progress. Really. But I've been super-lazy about it. I am about halfway done with the first sock, which puzzles me because I'm not used to knitting a project that takes less than four months to complete! I almost forgot they were out there.

Are you a fan of the movie "Mary Poppins"? Have you seen this?

Socks!

2007-09-25T12:07:00.000-05:00

I found a pattern for socks so easy a monkey could do them, and got about 12 rows done last night. Yay! I'll take pics later, because it's dark and rainy here today....

Man, am I lazy

2007-09-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

I really want to start a sock from New Pathways for Sock Knitters (the Spiraling Coriolis in particular), but my head hurts from all the math involved. It made me realize I'm not a make-your-own-pattern kind of girl. At all. I want to pick up a pattern, where someone else figured out all the math, and sit down and knit. Period. Those people enjoy it, maybe even get paid for it...and I love them, because I would not knit anything more than a garter or stockinette stitch scarf if it wasn't for them. So I don't know how much use I'm going to get out of this book now. Maybe I should find a new home for it....but for now it can collect dust on a shelf. Boo.

BTW, when I was measuring my feet for the sock worksheet, I found out my right foot is a quarter inch shorter than my left. One of those weird facts you don't need to know but will probably never forget now. If I ever randomly run into you somewhere, you'll say, "Oh yeah, you're the person with one foot a quarter inch shorter than the other!" Ha!

Back to the Sampler Stole!

Many thanks

2007-09-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who commented on my shawl! It was a big hit at Stitch-In on Tuesday. On the needles now is the Sampler Stole...I thought I wanted to do a non-lace project next, but this shawl is on size 3 needles which feel huge after using size 0 for the border of Med. Lace!

Also being started are the Spiraling Coriolis socks from New Pathways for Sock Knitters, in a beautiful variegated brown yarn I received ages ago from a secret pal:

I was hoping to be able to start the Cat's Face Lace Socks, but Heather (who is dyeing my yarn) wasn't at Stitch-In this month, so hopefully I'll be able to start them next month as they are intended to be a Christmas present!

Unless they used Amazon women for models....

2007-09-15T16:22:00.000-05:00

...my shawl blocked out really big!

Done!

2007-09-14T15:56:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's finished! I think the blocking took 45 minutes and 1,638,927 pins. Sorry you can't see it better in these photos, but I'll post pics tomorrow wearing it.

Mediterranean Lace Shawl from A Gathering of Lace
Started: April 9, 2007
Finished: September 14, 2007
Yarn: Grignasco MerinoSilk, a little over 2 hanks

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-09-13T11:41:00.000-05:00

Eh, a day late again with weigh-in, not that it's good news...up again. Don't know if I'm going to have the willpower to get back on track anytime soon. Sir B and I are having some issues that are taking the energy right out of me (except for eating). Rhet mentioned I try Alli, but sadly any diet pill would mess with my thyroid condition, so that's out.

In good news, I am almost done with the shawl! TWO more rows to go! Woohoo!

Weigh-In Wedn....Thursday

2007-09-06T13:10:00.000-05:00

I gained again. This isn't going well. I resigned myself to the fact I probably won't lose much between now and November, and bought some cute clothes at CJ Banks for vacation...and it was all on sale! I got three skirts, five tops, and two pairs of capris for $130. No kidding!

I'm on row 31 of the shawl border...over halfway done! Pictures won't be forthcoming until it's done and off the needles, unless you want photos posted of a green blob.

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-08-29T13:30:00.000-05:00

Wow! I lost two pounds this week without even trying!

I'm knitting quite a bit more than I thought I would on the shawl. I'm getting between two and four rows done a day, so it should be no problem to have it done by the next Stitch-In (Sept 18).

2007-08-27T15:36:00.000-05:00

Last week was the Stephenson County Fair, and I did get a chance to go on Friday after my car was fixed. I saw my friend Terry, who told me they had tigers at the fair this year. This I had to see! So I went over and sure enough, they had lots of tigers there....big ones, white and orange; medium ones; even little baby white ones that were 2 weeks old (you'll have to take my word, dummy me didn't bring my camera). I jumped at the chance to cuddle one and had my photo taken with 14 week old Trooper:

What an amazing feeling to be near one of these jungle cats. Some people seemed a little scared to be so close to a tiger, but I didn't feel any fear at all. I even gave Trooper a hug!

Saturday Sir B and I went to Rockford (to make sure the transmission was fixed right...yeah, that's it...), and I had us stop at Unique Yarns because they started carrying Namaste knitting bags, and one followed me home!

Yes, that's the neverending shawl in there. I am on row 15 (of 50) of the border.

I also bought the new Cat Bordhi book New Pathways for Sock Knitters Book One. Not cuz I needed it. Because I wanted it. Wanting stuff is getting me into trouble with my budget! Let's say it together: Budget? We don't need no stinking budget!!

And maybe some cute kitty pictures to round out this post?!

Lexie, disguised as bottled water

We hate each other, we really do *snore*

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-08-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA this past week. Not much is going on. Stitch-In was last night, and I was able to get 1 1/2 rows of the border done. My car is in the shop (transmission problems, yikes!), I was supposed to go to the Stephenson County Fair today with my friend C, but she's on jury duty so I'm stuck at home. More shawl work today then (in between chores, of course)! Boring boring.
Oh yeah, weigh-in stunk, I gained another pound, but I'm definitely getting back on track this week. I still have time to lose 15-20 pounds by vacation if I'm good.

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-08-15T12:46:00.000-05:00

I gained a pound this week, which isn't bad considering the BBQ on Saturday and the fact I just had to go to the store last night because I had to have cookies at 9:30 at night (me drowning my sorrows in high-calorie foods. It's a habit I can't seem to shake).

The shawl is almost done (the body of it, anyways)! Then it's on to the border.

Weigh-In Wednesday...and my Birthday

2007-08-08T13:44:00.000-05:00

Boo. I gained a pound and a half, and there's only three months left until vacation! I need to get crackin' and get rid of some of this poundage. But not tonight...my Dad and Sir B are taking me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Fiesta Cancun. And not Saturday, because we're having a BBQ with crab legs, shrimp, and chicken!

Yep, I'm another year older today. My sisters sent me some great stuff:

A big Buddha candle

A geode I got to crack open myself. I love the look of the crystal inside, but I have no idea what it is

Closeup of the crystal, you can see how flow-y it is

A copper windcatcher

And this one is awesome....a few days after my Mom died, my sisters and I went through her hope chest, and found a card I had made for her that had us crying, we were laughing so hard. My sister Amy made t-shirts of it:

"Love is like sunshine on a unicorn"
Back of shirt (inside of card): Merry Christmas! Love, Lori

Here I am in all my diaper-wearing glory with my great-grandparents Millie and Howard, 1975

Weigh-In Wednesday...on Thursday

2007-08-02T09:42:00.000-05:00

I didn't get a chance to post my exciting loss of one pound yesterday because I was running all over Rockford and Freeport doing a list of errands in crazy heat. When I finally collapsed on the couch (lovelovelove my air conditioning!) I didn't want to move.

I am not enthralled with the store Unique Yarns in Rockford. Every time I go in there with a need for something, they 1. don't have it and 2. the people who work there haven't even heard of what I'm looking for and give me a weird look like I'm making up my request (cobweb lace? never heard of it. dyeable fingering weight yarn?...huh?). Just had to vent that!

To Cayri the Minx....the person singing with Chris Isaac is Michael Buble.

Knitting Update

2007-07-31T16:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, I've been knitting my little fingers off! I got a bit behind schedule when Harry Potter 7 came out (and I had to read it all the way through that weekend!), but now I'm back on track and halfway done with the second side panel. Phew! My brain is shutting down from the monotony of this pattern, but the end is near, and I'll be starting a new project ASAP after this is off the needles.

A photo of the shawl that is driving me to a padded room:

And a bit of self-congratulating...I was in the paper yesterday! One of my clients works for the Journal-Standard and I asked her if she'd like to do an article on cupping. She jumped at the chance and here I am, Famous in Freeport!

Weigh-In Wednesday and Michael Buble

2007-07-25T14:57:00.001-05:00

Three pounds lost this week! Woohoo! I'd rather focus on the positive than the fact that I'm back to this weight again after gaining a little over a week ago...

And now for the good stuff....the Michael Buble concert! I brought my camera this time and took close to a hundred pictures (not kidding). His show was incredible, of course. Even hubby really liked it. He started the concert with "I'm Your Man" and ended with "A Song for You", which he even sang the last few lines without a microphone and I bet practically everyone in the theater could still hear him; he can really belt it out! A lady next to me was wiping her eyes afterwards and I could see why, it was really amazing. He thanked his grandpa who was there in the audience, when I went up to the stage towards the end of the show (second row!), his grandpa was about two rows behind where I was standing, and after the concert was over, I said a few words to him as we were leaving. He is obviously very proud of his grandson! Midway through the show Michael announced he had a special guest, which was Chris Isaac. They sang the song "Kansas City" together. Micheal kept imitating Chris' song "Wicked Game", which was funny. Chris was actually sitting a few seats away from us; before the show started security brought in some extra seats and set them up by us. I saw him talking to someone and knew that I knew him but couldn't place him. Once he was called up on stage, I turned to Sir B and said "He was sitting right by us!!" Michael likes to tell the guys in the audience the show is for them, how he "fills the tires" and the guys get to go home and "ride the bike", etc., and decided at one point to be more "manly" for the guys.....by singing "YMCA". Allrighty! He is so much fun to see live, as long as he keeps touring, I'm gonna find a way to keep going to his shows. He seems to truly appreciate the fan love and support.

Here are a ton of photos (sorry dial-up people!):
click on photo for bigger

This was from our seats, pretty close to scale

This one shows his new set pretty well

In this one he was goofing off with one of his trombone players

With Chris Isaac

Video of the end of the song "Kansas City"

Up in the front

He brought out a choir for the song "That's Life"

A great evening!

Edited to add:
I almost forgot! I had a blond moment as we left the house, and left the tickets on the counter at home. Thank goodness we were only a few minutes from the house when I realized it!!

2007-07-21T14:22:00.000-05:00

I just received my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

Did you?

Edited to add:
I finished it at 11:00pm Sunday, and loved! it!

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-07-18T10:59:00.001-05:00

I gained this week.... comfort foods helped get me through my four and a half days stint away from home. As of Sunday I had gained five pounds, but lost two by weigh-in today. I'm getting back on track!

I'm back!

2007-07-17T12:44:00.000-05:00

I went to Milwaukee for a bodywork class last week, Wednesday through Sunday. It was a lot of fun, I learned SO much, and met some great people! One woman lives right in Rockford, so hopefully we'll be able to get together and trade treatments once in a while. When I got home on Sunday, Sir B took me to see the new Harry Potter movie, which was awesome!! I loved the first two, kind of hated the third one, and liked the fourth. The new movie is closer (visually) to the first two movies in my opinion. They just kept trying to make (the movies) darker visually; it was almost like watching a black screen and listening to people talking.
I have to find time this week to skim through book 6 before book 7 comes out to refresh my memory. Can't wait to find out what Harry's fate is! I'm going to have to stay away from the internet while I'm still reading it, because I know spoilers will be out right away ruining it for as many people as possible. Boo.

I have the first side of the shawl done.... and that's all I have to say about that.

Sorry for the pictureless post. Be prepared for lots next Wednesday--of Michael Buble. Le sigh.

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-07-11T10:30:00.001-05:00

Boo. I gained 1/2 pound this week. But the eating was soooooo good! My Dad had a BBQ on Saturday (I made the desserts--brownie bites with ganache AND a raspberry lemonade cake, neither was Weight Watchers recipes!!), and since I'm leaving today for a 4-day class, Sir B took me to Red Lobster for dinner last night.

The shawl is coming along well, I'm at repeat 11 out of 12 on the first side!

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-07-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

OMG! THREE pounds lost this week for a total of TEN pounds so far!! Yay me! I didn't even exercise at all this week, the only thing I did different was taking a multivitamin and flaxseed.

Still motoring on the shawl. I'm almost done with repeat 8 (out of 12).

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Fun in the summertime

2007-07-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

All I kept thinking of when I looked at this photo was the song "Hot fun in the summertime". Now it's not really hot out right now, but nice weather = Taffy lounging out in the breezeway all day:

She's got her heels kicked up an' everything!

And here's the shawl. The first side is officially halfway done. This thing is my Everest!

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-06-27T10:41:00.000-05:00

Well, no change this week. Which is OK, because I've been very cranky over family issues the past few days, and have been making poor food choices.

Lots of knitting is getting done, but progress photos wouldn't show much change on that big ol' shawl.

Wednesday Weigh-In

2007-06-20T16:42:00.000-05:00

One pound lost this week. Slow and steady wins the race, right?!

Eh, can't think of a title!

2007-06-19T14:34:00.000-05:00

This is what I have to put up with when I sit down to knit:

She has it rough, doesn't she?!

I love. love. love. that I was able to get this picture.....
No, this little guy isn't dead, I think he was just trying to cool off:

Here is the start of one of the side panels of the shawl. I'm on repeat 3 (out of 12):

A wider shot of the shawl:

Wednesday weigh-in

2007-06-13T13:35:00.001-05:00

Well, all the splurging I did last weekend caught up with me :(
I gained one pound, which isn't too bad, since I had actually gained FOUR pounds over the weekend, but was able to lose three of them right away. I have no regrets...the food was great! We went to Red Lobster, plus we went to the local ice cream parlor so I could get a scoop of chocolate peanut butter swirl (my favorite!)

Less than 20 rows to go to finish the back portion of the shawl!

Shawl update

2007-06-12T17:29:00.000-05:00

Almost done with the back triangle of the shawl!

Here are my cupping supplies. I am having so much fun learning this technique; my clients are happy to let me practice on them during their treatments! I have only had one person so far say they didn't like the cups, everyone else is raving about them.

L to R: facial cups, body cups, reflexology cups with magnets

This & That

2007-06-09T11:03:00.000-05:00

I have to post that I lost another two pounds! Yippee! I decided that my reward for reaching my first 10% goal will be another pair of Cloggens. It took a week for the ones I ordered to arrive, but oh. my. gosh. are they comfortable!!!!

I am back to working on the shawl, and I promise to post a picture soon. My fingers are itching to start another project, but I really want to focus on this shawl for as long as I can.

And FYI, I took the word verification off my comments, because I hear it's been a real pain in the arse lately.

Wednesday Weigh-In

2007-06-06T13:32:00.000-05:00

Went up a little (1/2 pound), but I'm feeling great!

No knitting news to report, I've been taking a little break and concentrating on a new massage technique I'm learning via home-study....Massage Cupping. I am so excited about integrating this into my practice!

Ahhhh, finished!

2007-06-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

The blanket is done!

I finished last night at 10:30 and just blocked it. I still don't know who's getting it, but I love the way it turned out!

Here's Lexie getting a drink of water out of Sir B's glass:

Yummy!!

Shoes!

2007-06-01T13:41:00.000-05:00

Are these not the cutest shoes ever?!

They are "Cloggens", and I had to order a pair as soon as I saw them (yesterday)! I don't normally spend $50 on shoes, but, well....... too cute!!

I am sooooo close to finishing the baby blanket, hopefully today or tomorrow, and I'll post a pic then. All I have left is the little side flaps to cover the steeked crapness edges. Then it's back to the Cancun shawl.

Weigh-In Wednesday

2007-05-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

5.5 pounds lost this week! Woohoo!

Grrrr...

2007-05-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

I need ANOTHER skein of yellow for the baby blanket--I ran out of yarn again! They seriously under-estimated yardage for the yellow on this pattern. I still have 18 rows of one side border left to do, plus the facings on the long sides to cover the steeked edges. So I guess it's back to the shawl until I can get to the yarn store Saturday.

So. Many. Photos.

2007-05-22T18:03:00.000-05:00

(Click on any picture to enlarge)

Here is the baby blanket, all steeked and cut! As you can see, I'm working on one side border now.....

And here you can see what I'm going to have to cover up on the back. Betcha no one wants to trade projects with me right now

Our garden in the backyard (which we do absolutely nothing with, anything that grows is probably because I don't go back there much) has lots of flowers starting to bloom. Looky:

I even found a butterfly out there that let me take his picture:

And I brought in one stem of (irises?) which Taffy had to inspect:

And look at this big-ass weed. It's ginormous.

My Dad let me pick out dolls I wanted from Mom's doll room, and I HAD to take this one--isn't she too adorable?

I took these because they actually look like Mom when she was little:

Last picture! You made it! These were a nice surprise delivered this morning from my sis Amy. They're candles that help eliminate pet odors, and *new* scents to boot. I have strawberry, lavendar/chamomile, rose, and honeydew. Yum!

Amy also sent some information on this new service called Buddies, in which you send in an ink print of your pet's paw (they also show nose prints!) and they resize it and make a wax mold to produce a charm, cuff links, ring, or other stuff. It is really a neat keepsake.

And lastly, I have to sell my Michael Buble tickets because Sir B got me better seats!! That's right, we had box seats (which I wasn't thrilled with, but I figured I at least had seats) and now we're going to be in the seventh row. I am wetting my pants with excitement!! Two months is going to seem like forever. So if you're in the Chicago area and want to buy two box seats for the July 24th show, let me know.

The black thumb of death strikes again!

2007-05-16T16:20:00.001-05:00

Yup, my strawberries are dead....

I finished the fair isle portion of the baby blanket and ripped the crap bottom border...

Yesterday I had to run to Rockford (loving Yarn Sellar, they have saved me so many times now!!) for one skein of Baby Ull to finish five. stinking. rows., plus another skein of yellow for the borders. I also stopped at Barnes and Noble and got two books-- Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter and When Bad Things Happen To Good Knitters. The Harry Potter book was a hit at Stitch-In, it has lots of cute patterns, all modeled after knits from the movies. And When Bad Things Happen... has lots of great information to help you right a wrong (don't kid yourself, we all have them. Some bigger than others).

Lexie hiding UNDER the tent:

Sigh. She's brain-damaged, but we love her anyways.

P.S. I just realized this month is my two year blogiversary! Wow!

Meme

2007-05-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

I found this on Wooly Mutts blog today, and am tagging everyone who reads this to try it yourself! Leave me a comment so I can see your list.

Mark with bold the things you have knit, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: cuff up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk (am using a silk-wool blend, but am counting it!)
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing (it was crocheted, but I'm counting it)
Knitting with circular needles (all. I. use.)
Baby items
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Participate in an exchange
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money (crochet, again...)
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Knitted flowers
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Free-form knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Lots going on!

2007-05-07T16:06:00.001-05:00

Phew, I've been busy!

Last Friday my friend Catherine and I went to hear a lecture given by the Dalai Lama in Madison, WI. He was a little hard to understand, but it was incredible! He came up on stage and sat on a loveseat, taking off his shoes and getting into the lotus position. He liked to joke around, and his laugh was infectious--he'd laugh and rock back and forth until the whole place was laughing too.
Work has been super busy lately, which is wonderful for me. I'm meeting new clients almost every day.
I'm almost done with the first of four decrease charts on the shawl. I would like to get back to the baby blanket and finish that up, but I am addicted to this shawl!!
I bought my tickets today to see Michael Buble in concert on July 24th in Chicago. I am giddy with anticipation! The last time I saw him in concert was last June, and I could handle seeing him every year, that's for sure. And this year I'm bringing my camera!
With our vacation only 6 months away, Brad and I are going to try Weight Watchers again. We both have started working out, and we practically have a full gym at our house now--weight machine, dumbbells, treadmill, "The Bean", and a punching bag!

Of shawls and strawberries

2007-04-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

I stayed up until midnight last night finishing the increase section of the diamond:

I was off over one entire row, but it's barely noticeable, thank goodness.

My strawberry plant, which isn't dead yet! Hooray! I have the worst black thumb EVER, so we'll see how long this lasts.... (BTW, the butterfly was made by my sister Amy)

Knitting and knee pain

2007-04-27T13:46:00.000-05:00

I have been working out the past two weeks, on the treadmill mostly, then on Tuesday I had the bright idea to do a yoga workout and messed up my knee. I have gotten quite a bit of the shawl done....only one more increase section to go before I start decreasing.

Not much else to report here, it's been pretty boring.

The Landlord

2007-04-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

Progress photos

2007-04-16T10:46:00.000-05:00

Here is the start of the Mediterranean Lace Shawl. This is at row 111:

It looks kind of blue in this photo (to me), but it's a pretty mint green. I started this about six times because I didn't like the look of the right side...it was very loopy compared to the left. I asked Melissa about it (the lace queen!) and she said she had the same problem, so I decided to experiment. I started twisting the second knit stitch on the right and trying to make the left side a little looser, and it looks much better!

And the Moon and Stars blanket:

I just noticed a few days ago that I did the yellow border wrong (sigh), so I need to frog it and redo from the blanket down. It isn't supposed to be a regular ribbed edge, it's a row of rib then a purl row (big difference!).

We have photos!

2007-04-07T15:31:00.000-05:00

I'm using a lot of exclamation points lately! But I was able to upload this photo on the new 'puter:

My Mom

Only a few more files to go and I'm done with the old 'puter.

Mail!!

2007-04-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

I got my new computer AND the yarn I ordered yesterday! Photos to come soon, but I'll be getting everything transferred to the new 'puter this weekend.

Happy dance!!

2007-04-04T10:56:00.001-05:00

I'm getting a new computer! The one I had decided on at CompUSA went on sale...instead of a $50 rebate, it now has a $200 rebate, and I couldn't pass it up! Yay! I should have it by the beginning of next week at the latest.

I really like working on the Sampler Stole, but I need to enlarge the graphs before I do anymore. Sigh, getting older sucks! And I ended up buying the Ice Green cobweb yarn, hopefully it'll be as pale as it is in the photo on their website.

It is snowing (!) here today. Lightly. I don't think any of it will stick, and I bet you I'll still see people out today in shorts!

For all you Rockford-area people, the Yarn Sellar is starting a chapter of Stitch-n-Bitch (I thought clubs weren't allowed to use that name anymore, but I could be wrong) and will meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month from 1-3pm. I may try to go to this, since it's on my day off. Dunno yet....

Lace woes

2007-04-01T15:31:00.001-05:00

I decided to scrap the Mediterranean Lace shawl in the Jaggerspun Zephyr yarn--way too heavy a yarn for that delicate pattern! I will order this yarn as opposed to this yarn because:
1) it will only cost me $50 instead of $120
2) it comes in cones instead of hanks (fewer ends to deal with!)
3) wpi are very very similar (30wpi versus 32wpi). The Zephyr is 22wpi.
4) color! I am leaning towards getting the pink.

I went through my lace books and earmarked patterns for my laceweight yarn stash. I will make the "Half-Square in Trinity Stitch" from Victorian Lace Today (p 126) with my purple/green/white variegated; the "Sampler Shawl-1840 heirloom" from VLT (p 58) with the white Zephyr; and the "Frost Flowers and Leaves" from A Gathering of Lace (p 59) with the fawn laceweight. I'm going to start the sampler now and work on it until I can restart Mediterranean Lace.

It's been a lazy weekend here...errands yesterday, sitting around today. I was going to finish cleaning the downstairs today (read: pack up and get rid of junk that we haven't used since we moved in and vacuum up cobwebs), but I just. don't. feel. like. it. Plus Sir B was supposed to dig up the flowers in the front yard that WON'T DIE and are interfering with our new landscaping, but he has a flare-up of gout and has been hobbling around since Friday, so that's being put off until sometime during the week. I'm surprised ANYTHING gets done around here, we are both such procrastinators!!

Yay! Photos!

2007-03-27T13:46:00.000-05:00

Here are the flowers I got last week from my friend Kristy:

And here is Taffy being a VERY BAD girl laying on the table by the flowers:

I decided to start a shawl in preparation of the Cancun vacation:

Mediterranean Lace Shawl from A Gathering of Lace

Sir B and I are also learning Spanish! We're using the podcast Coffee Break Spanish, which is lots of fun. I mentioned ages ago we were going to learn Spanish (I'm not even going to try to find a link to that blog entry), but it just never happened until now. I'm going to start Lesson 3 today.

And progress on Moon and Stars blanket--halfway done!:

Here is a photo of (my) finished quilt:

Here's a cool story--I gave Amy her quilt last weekend, and in hers was a square from a black and blue striped shirt. I only cut one square from said shirt because it was silk and a royal pain to cut, and I don't know why, but I threw it in her quilt. When she saw it, she said that she has a shirt exactly like it, and even wore it to Mom's funeral! I told her about it being the only square that was cut from that shirt, and she was so happy she got it! Mom must've been there, whispering in my ear to give that square to Amy.

P.S. I didn't get my computer fixed, I'm using Sir B's computer to upload photos for now!!