Knits Galore

Blog Moving to New Home

2009-02-10T12:55:00.000-04:00

With having the dyeing business and going by Knitted to a T, I thought it best that I should have a blog that would be to that effect. I am still going to be on blogger, just under the Knitted to a T name instead of Knits Galore. All my posts have been moved over there as well so everything should be there - well everything but the comments. Don't know why it won't move them, but I still have them at this site and on halloscan.

I hope that you will all join me at my new location. www.knittedtoat.blogspot.com See you there.

Blog Reading

2009-02-04T18:13:00.004-04:00

Ok so not only have I been bad about posting on my own blog, but I have been really bad at reading all of your blogs. :( I looked at my bloglines yesterday and had 5,000 unread blog posts! I know that there is no way that I will ever be able to get through that many and be able to catch up with everything that you all have been up to. Sorry. I have started a new. If you have posted today I have done my best to comment on it. So what have you all been up to?

There are many things that I need to do in my life to make it a bit easier for everyone. Like getting organized. LOL Not easy with a husband that doesn't know the meaning of clutter and a 4 year old that has too many toys. But I am going to do my best.

I started today by cleaning the bathroom from top to bottom. The next thing to tackle is the closet and under the sink. It is a start that I am hoping will continue with the rest of the house. I need to purge so much junk that we do not need instead of letting it sit around and pile up. There are still boxes in our basement from when we moved that we just put down there and never even looked at. If I haven't used it then I sure don't need it.

I would like to have all my knitting projects organized where the yarn for a project is all together and I have the yarn marked as to what book and project it is that I am planning on making with that yarn. It would be nice not to have to guess as to what I bought the yarn for. LOL

I have quite a bit of yarn and roving that I need to dye up and list as well. That part is pretty well organized, but I need the time to do it and all the other clutter needs to be taken care of first. I am hoping that will help motivate me.

I am hoping that I will get on a roll, get the house really clean and make sure that I keep up with it. It is amazing how fast a house can pile things up if you aren't constantly on top of them.

Humm I wonder what room I should do next? Maybe I will do our bedroom and the extra bedroom. They should go fairly quick and that will help with the since of accomplishment. I would really like to be able to get my spinning wheel back out and spin up some roving, but that just hasn't been the kick in the butt that I need. Anyone have any good ideas for a good motivator?

Can you believe that I have posted 2 days in a row? Someone feel my head. :)

Also don't forget the 20% off sale that I am having at my Etsy Store. Yarns are starting at just over $11.00 and rovings at just over $8.00.

Birthday Blow Out Sale

2009-02-03T15:04:00.005-04:00

Wow where has the time gone? I can't believe it is February already. We have finally gotten some snow other than flurries and it is snowing as I type this. James has had the best time playing in the snow and Kevin even made him a little igloo. I am not sure which one has more fun. ;)

I am having a Birthday Blow Out Sale over at my Etsy store. 20 % off of all yarns and rovings! That even includes the handspuns!! Stop on over and take a look. All sales over $75.00 will receive free shipping.

I am hoping to be able to blog more now that the holiday season has come to a close and life has slowed down a bit. I have many things to share and hope to be able to do it soon.

Hope that everyone is well and doing good.

Sweet Baby Cap and Matching Socks

2008-09-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

I was going through my bloglines and realized that there are quite a few posts that I have uploaded pictures of, but never posted. So some of these might be on the older side, but they are still knitting content right?

A friend and his wife were having a baby so if course I had to knit them something. They decided that they weren't going to find out what sex the baby was going to be until that day of the birth. Hence the green and yellow.

This is the sweet baby cap and matching socks made from Baby Ull. I loved the way that they turned out. They are adorable in person.

We took the package over the next day and both mother and father were amazed by the gifts. They so appreciated that I took my time to make something for their little dear. Honestly I had a great time knitting them and since they are baby sized they knit up quickly.

I am sure some of you are wondering what they had. A baby of course. ;) It was a little girl! And boy did she have her daddy already wrapped around her finger. I have never seen him like that. He had a nickname of 2 grit (like the sand paper). He had a bit of a rough personality, but once you got to know him he was a sweet guy, even though that little girl has her daddy's heart from the moment she was born. It was so cute to see them together.

I am so glad that I decided to make something for them. I know that they really appreciated it. Wish I would have gotten a picture of her in them, but as you all know you never wake a sleeping baby. :)

Knitting Content!! and a Contest!!

2008-09-02T02:07:00.009-04:00

CONTEST INFO ->

My friend Rita over at Keeping Knit Simple is having a contest. All you have to do is leave a comment on her blog. If you would please let her know that I sent you I would appreciate it. Hurry over and leave your comment it is open until September 6th.

On to the Knitting.....

Can you believe it? I have knitting to show you!! Yep it is true, I have been one with the needles and yarn. Granted it has been mostly socks and small baby items, but it is still knitting none the less.

I will start off with my Olympic project. I have had the kit for the Marie Antoinette socks for quite a while now. I absolutely love Anne Hanson's/Knitspot designs. If you have never knit any of her things, run over and order a pattern or 5 and get knitting.

With never knitting lace before I felt that they would be quite a challenge for me and would take up most of the 2 weeks. I can say that I was wrong. The pattern was wrote so well and was so much easier than I originally thought that it took me less than a week! That was with them being ripped out many times for stupid mistakes that I made.

They just lack something just laying there. They are so pretty all stretched out to where you can clearly see the bees and hives.

I am excited to be able to wear them this fall and winter. I have a problem though.... what type of shoes do I wear with them? I am guessing some type of clogs, but I am not sure. I want to be able to show off how pretty they are. I guess I will figure that out when it is closer to cooler weather and I can stand to have socks on my feet.

There are more picture and knitting to come. Stay tuned. :)

Grand Opening

2008-08-03T14:42:00.003-04:00

I was doing so well and was on track with the site coming live at 12. Then I ran into using up all the space that I had. 8(. With a quick call to my BIL he fixed it and everything is up and running. If you came earlier, please stop back in. Everything is pretty and fixed and all the pictures are working. No more little red x's in boxes.

I was sweating it there for a while. I was afraid that it was some error that wasn't going to be a quick fix, but it was and I have went through and updated everything so that nothing was missed.

Hope you stop in and let me know what you think.

Updates.... & Grand Opening of Knitted to a T!!!!

2008-07-28T15:25:00.008-04:00

Wow I can't believe how long it has been between posts again. *Sigh* I have been busily working on a multitude of things in my absence.

The main thing that I have been concentrating on, is James. We have been going to every 4-H fair and local tractor show around. :) He has so much fun and since they are both only around this time of year we are trying to hit as many of them as we can. I can say that we have all had a fun time.

Time sure flies when you are busy that is for sure.

In my "spare" time I have been working little by little on my web site. It has taken much longer than expected. Now I know why web designers get paid so much. I now have everything listed and ready for a Grand Opening! How excited am I?! Very! I am planning on Opening the Knitted to a T web site for today (Sunday, August 3, 2008) at 12 noon. There will be extras for the 1st. 10th, 25th etc customers. Also I will be offering 10% off of your entire purchase (excluding shipping)for the first week. The price will be taken off at check out. We have many things to offer from fingering, DK, Sport and lace weight yarns, Merino, Baby Alpaca/Merino, BFL, Peruvian Merino, and more Rovings, Stitch Markers, Paper Quilled Sheep, Wool washes, and more.

In these pictures are just a taste of what we have to offer. Come on over and take a look to see what we have. If there is a colorway that you want and we don't have, just check to see if we have and "Pick your own Colorway" in the yarn that you are wanting and it can be dyed for you at no extra charge.

Mostly Sock Yarns - Sensational Sock 2 & 3, Merino/Nylon, Bamboo/Merino/Nylon etc.

You can see some of the lace weight on the bottom right hand corner.

Rovings waiting in their containers for their new homes.

Hope to see you there.

Come On Over ..........

2008-06-07T00:26:00.007-04:00

Can you believe it.... another post.

Thank you to all who commented on my last post. I we so appreciate all the well wishes that you have all given.

Kevin took James to his GI checkup today. They were so pleased with his progress. He has gained 3+ pounds and grew at least 1/2 an inch in a month. So we are on the right track with what we are doing. I am so glad that we are on the right track. James was talking up the Dr. and Nurses, so that pleased them too, to be able to see more of his true self.

Photos as prommised.....

The day didn't start out well. The truck was loaded last night ready to go and when I went out to leave it wouldn't start! The battery was dead! My MIL was coming with me and I was going to pick her up, but I had to call her to see if she could come and give me a jump. It didn't seem like it was going to work at first, but we giggled the wires and finally got the spark that we needed to be on our way. I still had to stop and get ice so my MIL stayed in the truck while I ran in so we didn't have to shut it off. I was later starting out than I wanted to be, but we made it on time and were able to set up before the 11:30 dead line.

It was a warm one today and tomorrow promises to be a warm one too. It wasn't too bad since they have 2 huge fans in our barn. Please if you come to HHFF make sure to come out to the McGill barn. There are so many nice vendors out there and it seems that the lack of ac is deterring people from venturing out there. If you miss that building you will be missing out on a lot of lovely things.

Well as you can see the set up went fairly well. Kevin put together all the lattice work framing. I really think that it stands out from all the others. I am so happy with it, but I can see already that I will need more room here in the future. :) I only have about 1/2 of my stock there since I ran out of time and had to take what I had done. I am thinking about using some of the vertical space, what do you think or would that take away from the display?

Well I better get to bed. I have another early morning. Keep your fingers crossed that the truck will behave tomorrow.

I hope that if you are local or anywhere in a decent driving distance that you will make the trip out to check it out. I don't think that you will leave empty handed. :) We have all had such a fun time. I really enjoyed it. I can safely say that I will be looking into more local festivals. Please, if you have any that you have been to that you think I should check out, let me know. I am up for any and all suggestions. I had only planned on doing 2 this year, but I might be convinced to do more. ;)

Still Alive & Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival

2008-06-03T02:36:00.008-04:00

Yes folks, we are still alive in our neck of the woods. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. It has been a busy time to say the least.

Some of you know that James has been sick off and on since Christmas. He just never seemed to get better after each bout with a virus/cold. We seemed to be going to the Dr. every time I turned around. They did blood work that came back perfectly fine, then there were stool testing and that came back fine too.

Finally the Dr. said that it was beyond what he could do and told us to head to Children's Hospital and he would call ahead so that all the sign in paperwork would be done for us. We arrived around 6 that evening in the ER.

After going through Dr. after Dr. they couldn't diagnose him and said that they would like to admit him and wanted to know if that was ok. Ummm yeah it is ok. I wanted my baby well. I know what they were driving at. They thought that we were starving him. He was so skinny. You could see his ribs, hip bones, spinal column, etc. Everything that he was eating should have made him as big as a barn (chicken nuggets, french fries, mac n cheese, etc.)

We finally got a room at 1 am and settled in and got James to sleep around 2. The team of Dr.s assigned to him were in bright and early that morning to see him. More blood work and tests all came back normal. They called in the Gastro. Dr. (told that he is the best you can get) and he said that he thought he had _____ the first time that he looked at him. We all thought that he was crazy even the normal rotation Dr.'s didn't think that was it.

So there was more blood work to be done. We had to wait for that to come back to get a diagnosis. Also there was a biopsy test to be done later in the week.

All in all we ended up spending a week in the hospital. I can safely say that if I ever had to take James to a hospital again it would be Children's. They were so great to him and us. I was very happy about the care that we all received.

After the blood work came back and he had his biopsy (that was so hard to watch them put him under) the Gastro Dr. was right. He now has a diagnosis of Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is an allergy to gluten (wheat and derivatives). It is amazing all the things that gluten is in. Not only is it in food, but it is also in cleaning supplies, make-up, sun screen, tooth paste, soaps, ect. We have had to clean the house out and start over. It hasn't been easy that is for sure. When you are used to paying .99 for a bag of pretzels and now they are $8.00 for an even smaller bag it puts a real strain on the wallet. We have found a few ways to save money, but it is still much more expensive than the "normal" food. We have all gone gluten free since cross contamination is a big concern. It is so easy to accidental put a spoon too close to another one and contaminate his food. Since we have been eating this way I have been feeling better too, so I have been told that I should be tested as well.

Here are a few pictures just a few weeks after he was out of the hospital. Before he would have never stood by himself (we had to carry him every where) or smiled (he was so sad and pathetic).

Don't worry the portable potty seat is clean. LOL

Jame and Kevin fishing at the Grandparents'

It is so good to see him feeling better, but man does he have the energy. He will go non-stop all day without a nap and still be going strong at 1 am. He exhausts me. LOL He is getting better every day. I am excited to see what the Dr.s think at his next check up. He looks like he has gained weight. You can't see the bones like when he was in the hospital and his cheeks have filled out. I just hope that he continues to progress.

In my "spare" time I have been dyeing yarn and rovings and getting things together to head to the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival. With the events that I just listed, I have been behind several weeks according to my original plan. It doesn't look like I am going to get done everything that I had wanted to, but I am not stopping until I have to.

I have been told that there are aprox. 80 vendors this year! I had a great time last year. There is supposed to be a Ravelry meet up as well and they have buttons at the welcome booth that you can buy so people know who you are on Ravelry. I know from last year that there are lots of pretty things that just have to come home with you. :)

The things that I will have include hand dyed yarns and rovings (some yarns in self striping and some in variegated), wool wash and scour, paper quilled sheep, and a few other things that you will have to come to see. I will be in McGill Hall, the one with the white lattice work booth (hopefully that is - if Kevin can get it finished to his liking before Friday). I am hoping to get a few pictures of some of the things that I will have. With today's thunderstorms they might not be the best. :(

If you are planning on coming and would like to sit and spin, knit, talk or what ever let me know so that I can bring a few extra chairs. I hope to see you there.

The dates and times are .... Friday June 6 12 - 7 and Saturday June 7 10 - 6. I have been told to use Google map because Mapquest has them in the wrong location.

So tell me what you all have been up to. Unfortunately I haven't had time or been able to keep up with blogs. I have been thinking of you all. I hope after Hoosier Hills things will get back to "normal" and I will be able to get back to my normal blog reading and posting. So please let me know what you have been up to and how you have been doing.

Hope to see you this weekend.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T07:13:00.003-04:00

From our Home to Yours -

Happy Easter!!

Drive By Posting

2008-03-18T00:32:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it has been over a month since I posted last. Thanks to all that have commented and sent emails wondering how we are doing. We all so appreciate it.

James and I are better from the nasty ick that has been going around, but now it seems like something else is trying to get ahold of us. James has been acting tired for a few days and has said that he isn't feeling well. Now I have a soar throat, but just on one side. It is nasty painful to swallow. My glands aren't swollen, so I don't know what it is. I just want to get well and stay well. I don't know where it is coming from. James and I don't go anywhere. *Sigh*

I have been knitting and will have 3 pair of socks to share with you once I get pictures of them. 2 pair are of a "normal" length. The other pair is a thigh high pair I made for my SIL. Nothing too exciting, but it is knitting none the less, right?

I have also been spending many hours getting my dyeing area organized and ready so that everything will run more smoothly. I am really liking the look of it. Kevin is going to build some little shelves so that I can have little houses for all my dyes. I have been dyeing up some sample swatches and the real things will be next. I have some new colorways for the spring and summer seasons that I am quite happy about.

Speaking of dyeing.... I have something exciting that will be happening to my yarns. I will reveal that later. I am very excited.

Sorry that there are no pictures on this post. Hopefully I will have some for the next one and it won't be over a month before I post again. ;)

Can I have a Do Over?

2008-02-05T23:10:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all that have sent me messages checking up on us. Here is what have been going on the past month and then some.

At the beginning of January James ended up sick. We believe that it was from taking him to the Cincinnati Museum Center. He had gotten family passes for Christmas and so we decided to take a trip there while Kevin still had time off from work. It came back to bite us in the butt. A few days later he came down with a head cold. Guess I am glad that I put off having his Birthday party until later in the month. That was a week plus that I had a toddler completely glued to my side. He refused to go to Kevin at all! I even had to take James to the bathroom with me.

Next came the chaos of trying to get down all the Christmas decor and to get everything together for James' party. He wanted Thomas the Train is year, so I had to go to the party store to get the stuff. No running to the big box stores for this one. Then he decided that he wanted a pinata. Of course the store that we were at were out of them so we had to go across town to get it. I have to admit that it is pretty cool. It was a pull string pinata. If you have never seen these essentially they are made for little kids where there are a bunch of ribbons attached to the bottom. The kids take turns pulling a ribbon in hopes that it will open. There is only one ribbon that will open the door on the bottom. So there was the making out of all the invites there was the cleaning of the house.

Cleaning seemed to take forever. It is amazing how you can get comfortable with all the stuff around you. Then when it is time to have a party you look around and realize that the house is trashed and it is going to take forever to get it all cleaned. Which it did take forever. I kept finding things that I wanted to do. The house did get clean in time and I am hoping to keep it that way.

The Birthday party was a big hit for James. He had a great time and got so much stuff. He had a pile of clothes up to the top of the arm of the chair! The poor child. ;) He of course got a nice selection of toys too. Sadly the MIL wasn't feeling well, but more on that later. So after the party was the next few days of clean up. Why is it that you find plates and cups days later no matter how hard you looked for them the days before?

Then on January 30th I went out to feed and watter the rabbits. The French doe was happily hopping in her cage. The English buck on the other hand had passed away some time that night. :(. He was fine the day before, so I don't know what happened. After reading on Ravelry and talking to some people there were many that died that day or within a few days. Kind of odd. I so miss him. He was so soft, cuddly and sweet. Yes they were in separate cages, so there was no foul play on the doe's part.

Remember when I said that my MIL wasn't feeling well at James' party? Yeah well she shouldn't have come because James started getting sick again a few days after the party. Now he has given it to me. It is some sort of upper respiratory thing. The cough is what is the killer. If the cough would just go away it would be so much better. So not only am I sick, achy, fever, cough, etc. so is James. That means he clings onto me so I can't even take a nice hot shower to hopefully feel better. Now Kevin is saying that he thinks that he is getting it now. I sure hope not. James is bad enough to deal with sick, Kevin is horrible! I hope that this goes away soon. I am exhausted and just want my life to be somewhat normal again.

Sorry for the unhappy post, but I wanted to let you all know where I have been. I have over 500 posts to read, so I will try and read them all, but I probably won't have the time to comment. Just know that I am reading and thinking of you all. Hopefully the next post will be soon and much happier.

Happy Ney Year

2007-12-31T11:51:00.000-04:00

I wanted to wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year.

I will be off celebrating James' 3rd Birthday tomorrow. Well it will just be the 3 of us. I am planning on having the big family one toward the end of the month. I can't believe that he will be 3. Sadly James hasn't been feeling well for the past few days. I am hoping that he will be feeling better tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!!

OMG I have knitting content!!

2007-12-21T01:52:00.000-04:00

It seems that my mojo is coming back. I am so happy to be knitting again and actually wanting to. It makes me so happy.

I just finished my Dream in Color Socks. I am smitten with their knittin'.

I absolutely love the pattern. I can see myself knitting it over and over. It made my come back knitting really fun and I wanted more. I love the colors too.

Details:

Needles: US 1 Addi Lace Needle
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy - Deep Sea Flower
Pattern: Sweet Dreams Socks
Purchased: Pattern and Yarn at Ball & Skein in Germantown, Ohio

I didn't need to make any modifications to the pattern.

I am so happy to be knitting again I could just *squee*!!

If you are on Ravelry come on over and see what else I have been up to. I am knittedtoat on there. Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to come back and blog again. I have been working on some fingerless mitts, a wild pair of monkey socks, sweet baby cap and socks and an alligator scarf.

If I don't get back before, have a wonderful holiday.

Destash

2007-12-06T15:19:00.001-04:00

Destashing to pay for Kevin's medical bills. I am sad to have to put up this yarn, but bills have to be paid. :(

I take paypal or if you email me we can work out some other form of payment. I will ship the cheapest way posible for you.

Thanks so much!

Claudia Handpaint
100% Merino
Bearded Iris 005
180 yds/skein
6.5-7.5 sts/in US 1-3
2 skeins - $18.00 + shipping

Tofutsies
50% Superwash Wool, 25% Soysilk, 22.5% Cotton, 2.5% Chitin
Color 733
Dye Lot 91506-82
8 sts/in US 2
1 ball - $13.00 + shipping

Mango Moon
100% Recycled Silk
Bali Sky
150 yds/skein
3301 (2 skeins),
2 skeins - $34.00 + shipping, or $17.50 + shipping per skein

If you have any questions please feel free to Contact Me

Insurance - What's the Point?

2007-12-06T12:17:00.000-04:00

So most of you have read about Kevin and his surgery that he had to have. We do have insurance through where he works. The insurance used to be awesome. They paid the way an insurance company should. We only paid our co-pay when going anywhere and the rest was paid 100%. Sadly the insurance came up for review and they decided to go for a cheaper (for the company not the employee) insurance.

Now the bills are rolling in and most of them are saying that the insurance isn't paying and it is our responsibility. It took me 10 months fighting with them just to get them to pay James and my generic Dr. bill. Grrrrr. So we are facing some pretty big bills.

What does this mean to you???

Since we need the money to pay the outrageous deductible I will be culling some of my stash. There will be some Malabrigo and some sock yarns. If you are looking for anything special let me know I might just have it.

I will list my items here first for my readers then Monday I will add them to the destash sites.

Nice Matters

2007-11-29T02:29:00.000-04:00

I have been nominated by Bonnie and Nancy for the Nice Matters Award. I wish I could nominate each of you back, but I guess the rules are no tag backs. Consider yourselves honorary nominees.

It is to be awarded to “Those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration.Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. ”

I feel so honored for being nominated twice. And being nominated by 2 great ladies just tops it off.

I am supposed to nominate 7 people or should that be 14? ;)

Here it goes....

Angela
Beth
Caitlyn
Cynthia
Elizabeth
Jenny Raye
Karen
Kelli
Kelly
Raven
Rita
Sara
Susan
Vicki

These ladies have inspired me in so many ways. I consider them friends even though I haven't even met most of them. There is so much that I could say about each and every one of them, but this post would go on for days. I will just say that they are each amazing and if you haven't gotten a chance to know them then head on over to their blogs. They are defiantly worth your time to get to know.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T03:17:00.000-04:00

I wanted to stop in and wish everyone that is celebrating a Happy Thanksgiving.

I hope that you enjoy it and eat lots.

I am so thankful for my little family. James has been such a blessing. I have to say that he has stole my heart for sure. Even though Kevin aggravates me some times, I still love him more than life. He takes care of us well and I can't ask for any more than that.

We will be celebrating at my SIL's tomorrow then at my Mom's on Saturday. I am sure that I will gain some weight between the 2 for sure. Oh well, I don't plan on not enjoying myself. ;)

Have a good one.

Update on Kevin

2007-11-20T11:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone that has emailed or left comments with well wishes and concern about Kevin's health. We so appreciate your caring.

He has gone for his folow-up and test results and they came out what they expected. He does have EE (Eosinophilic Esophagitis). They have him on 3 prescriptions that should help. He is making sure to chew his food thoroughly too. They seem to think that with the medications he won't need any further treatment. They said that his stomach looked fine and there was nothing else that was found in the biopsy. We are so thankful that what was found is treatable and he can live his life normally.

We are both so thankful that it wasn't anything worse. He was scared as to what the results might uncover. His Grandpa died of throat cancer, so he had a valid worry.

With this being the season of Thanksgiving we truly are thankful.

Meme

2007-11-19T09:19:00.000-04:00

I was tagged by Raven.

1. One person who made me laugh. James of course. That child does some crazy things.

2. What was I doing at 0800? Still sleeping.

3. What was I doing 30 minutes ago? Getting dressed finally.

4. What did I do in 2006? We had 2006 already? Pretty much what I have done in 2007.

5. Last thing I said aloud? There you go (to James).

6. Beverages? Water, root beer and CF Mt. Dew.

7. What colour is my hairbrush? black/grey.

8. Last thing I paid for? Toothpaste & toothbrush for James, gallon of milk & root beer.

9. Where was I last night? At the in-laws.

10. Front door colour? White.

11. Where do I keep my change? What change? Normally James gets it to put in his banks.

12. What’s the weather like today? Grey and cool.

13. Best ice cream flavour? Hummm that one is hard. I love chocolate, cookie dough, and peanut butter.

14. What excites me? James, my family, knitting, spinning, fluffy bunnies, sheep, anything that I can spin.

15. I want to cut my hair? Nope not yet.

16. Am I over the age of 25? Yep.

17. Do I talk a lot? Sometimes.

18. There seems to be no 18 so I’ll make one up. What colour socks did you wear today? Don't have socks on.

19. Do I know anyone named Steve? Yep.

20. Do I make up my own words? Sometimes.

21. Am I a jealous person? Only if there is a reason to be.

21. Name a friend who starts with the letter A. Ang.

22. Name a friend who starts with the letter K. Kelly.

23. Who’s the first person on my ‘Received Calls list? Some 800 # that I refuse to answer.

24. The last text message I received? Don't text we have direct connect.

25. Do I chew on my straw? Nope

26. Do I have curly hair? Depends on what you consider curly. Also depends on the weather and if I go at it with the straightening iron.

27. Where’s the next place I’m going to? Who knows, but I will know when I get there.

28. Who is the rudest person in my life? Well the 2 men in my life think that burps and farts are funny. Does that count?

29. What was the last thing I ate? Corn chips last night.

30. Will I get married in the future? Hopefully not. I am married now and plan to keep it that way.

31. The best movie I’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Don't know, heck it has been so long since I have seen a movie I couldn't even tell you the last one that I saw.

32. Is there anyone you like right now? Depends on what is meant by like. I like my son, husband, family and friends.

33. Did I cry today? Not yet, but the day is still young.

34. Why did I answer and post this? Raven tagged me and I needed something to post.

35. Tag 5 people I would like to see do this survey.

Anniversary / Kevin Update / Contest

2007-11-03T09:44:00.000-04:00

Today is our 6 year anniversary (Kevin and me). I can't believe it has been that long. Boy does time fly.

Happy Anniversary dear. I love you more today than yesterday.

Speaking of Kevin, I am sure some of you are wondering if we have heard anything. Yes, we have the results back. They turned out as the Dr. had thought. He has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. They explained it as an allergic reaction. We have been told that it is easily treated with medication and he should be fine. They found no other abnormalities, so that was really good. He has his follow-up appointment on the 9th so we will find out more from there and see what medications he will be on. I hope that the medications will take care of it and we won't ever have it happen again.

Contest, Contest, Contest....

Cass of Shut Up, I'm Counting is having a contest for her 333rd post. Pop on over and enter for your chance to win. Mention you saw it here and I will get that extra entry.

Polls....

Thanks to all how have voted so far. It is going to help me in what yardages that I use for what yarns. If you haven't voted yet please do. There are 7 of them located just below this post.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thank You / a few Polls

2007-10-30T11:50:00.000-04:00

Thank You all so much for the kind comments concerning Kevin. He is doing well and we should know what the test results are tomorrow. He is pretty much back to normal other than he is chewing his food more and sometimes you can see that he still is uncomfortable swallowing, but that is to be expected. I will let you all know what we find out if anything tomorrow.

If you could all humor me in taking the following polls I would so appreciate it. I am trying to make sure I have the things that people want in the way of yarn and yardage in my website and what better way to do that than to ask you all. There are a total of 7 polls. 1 for each type oof yarn then the last one is all the yarn together.

Thank you all for doing this for me. I don't want to put out large yardages if it isn't really popular and people would prefer a little less yardage for less $.

I will try to get back here tomorrow and post an update on Kevin't test results. With it being Halloween I might not be able to get to it until Thursday.

What a Day

2007-10-25T00:29:00.000-04:00

It has been quite a day of nervousness and tension here. It all started for me at 7am. James woke crying and I went to see what was wrong. When I walked into his room there was someone there already! Kevin was supposed to be at work so needless to say seeing someone in James room scared the crap out of me. Thank God it was Kevin.

I asked him why he was home and he said that he would talk about it in a minute. While he was calming James down I nerviously waited for him to come out. Finally James was calm and he came out to tell me that he couldn't swallow anything. He could breathe, but not swallow. He said that he was hungry at work and had taken some fried chicken and instead of chewing and drinking liquid with it like he normally has to he just chewed a little and swallowed. He said that he could feel it get stuck in his esophagus above his stomach. This was at 2:30 that morning. He said that he tried to get it up or to get it to go down, but nothing worked.

He ended up going to work that morning and then decided to come home and see if he could get into the Dr. I told him that he needed to go to the ER, but he refused. (MEN!) So since he could breathe I sent him to bed and hoped that maybe being able to relax while sleeping will help let it pass through. Unfortunatly that didn't work. So he called the Dr. and was told by the receptionist that he needed to go to the ER. He decided to try the Urgent Care in town. He wouldn't let me go with him since he thought I should stay home to take care of James and he didn't want to mess with his schedual. Ummm a nap isn't important when it comes to the healt and well being of my husband. They thought that they could help, but nothing worked. He couldn't get liquids to go through or anything. It would all come back up and he couldn't even swallow much of his own saliva. So the Urgent Care told him to go to the hospital.

So while all this was going on and I was waiting to hear what was going on I was getting things together to take James somewhere just in case. I got the call saying that he was being sent to the hospital, so that was my cue to ramp things up. I tried to get a hold of my in-laws, but the line was busy. I had my SIL and BIL both trying to get a hold of them to see if they could keep James for us. Finally we were able to get in touch and I ran over, dropped James off and headed to the hospital.

By the time I got there they had already had Kevin in recovery. The procedure took 8 minutes. He was really groggy and kept asking the same questions over and over. I felt so bad for him, but I was glad that it was over. He asked me when they were going to take him back and I had to laugh. He had no clue that it was already over. They were able to push the piece of chicken through and he was free and clear. They also took a biopsy because they think he has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. We will know some time next week if that is what it is. If so it is treatable with medication and sometimes medical procedures. They placed him on Nexium in hopes to help as well.

We are all home and the boys are sleeping. It could have been much worse and we still won't know everything until the biopsy results are back. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We will be faced with a large medical bill since our insurance sucks and fights paying for anything, including in-network Dr visits. We will cross that bridge when it comes. I am just glad that we are together again tonight.

If you made it this far you desirve some fiber pr0n. Below you will see some of my hand dyed roving and hand spun that is available for sale. If you see something that you like just send me an email and it will be yours. *All shipping listed to the US, but will ship worldwide and I also combine shipping.

BFL SW Angela 4 oz
$15.00 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

BFL SW Fall Leaves 4oz
$15.00 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

Merino SW Snips N Snails 4oz
$14.00 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

BFL 1 7/8oz - 125+ yds - 14WPI - 5-6 sts/in on US 4-6
$18.75 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

BFL 1 3/4oz - 129+ yds - 15 WPI - 6-7 sts/in on US 3-5
$19.50 + Shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

BFL 1 3/4oz - 83+ yds - 13 WPI - 5 sts/in on US 6-7
$12.50 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

Merino SW 4oz - 245+ yds - 13 WPI - 5 sts/in on US 6-7
$29.50 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

Merino SW 3 3/4oz - 261+ yds - 16 WPI - 6-8 sts/in on US 2-4
$31.50 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

Corriedale SW 3 1/8oz - 121+ yds - 13 WPI - 5 sts/in on US 6-7
$17.00 + shipping ($2.00 1st class/$4.60 Priority)

On another fibery note, I got in another shipment of base yarns so I will be dyeing them up soon. I have a special order to do first then I will start on the rest. If you happen to have something that you might like dyed up let me know and I will add you to the list and do it forst before I do the yarn for the site.

Finally Holly is having another contest. She is giving away some lovely yarn and needle holder. Head on over and enter. Let her know that you heard it here and I will get another entry.

Have a great rest of the week. Friday is just a day away.

Happy Birthday!!

2007-10-09T15:00:00.000-04:00

Today is my hubby's 34th Birthday. I wanted to pop in and wish him a Happy Birthday!!! James and I Love you.

**Sorry I have been MIA. I have felt so bad lately that I don't even feel like getting on the computer. I really hope that I feel better soon. This weekend is yet another Tractor show to go to.

Vote, Roving for Sale & Some Knitting

2007-09-28T01:29:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder..... Don't forget to vote daily for Nikki. There are only a few days left and we want her to win. I honestly think that she is the best. I know that she is James' favorite. I let him look at the illustrations and he picked hers with no guidance. So it is stories for children and my child picked Nikki, so we both think that she is the best.

In other news... I have 3 rovings dyed up. The 4th is steaming and will need rinsed, washed and dried before I can get a picture. The one that is marinating is Snips and Snails. It is a blue, green and yellow.

Hot Momma - Merino Superwash 4oz - $14.00 + shipping

~~Green Eggs N Ham - Merino Superwash 4oz - $14.00 + shipping~~ - SOLD - THANK YOU

Fall Leaves - Merino Superwash 3 7/8oz - $9.00 + shipping (this is discounted since I was a little zealous and moved the roving a bit too much so when I picked it up out of the water it had twisted on top of itself and it separated into multiple sections. There is nothing wrong with it, just not in one long strip). - SOLD - THANK YOU

There has been knitting as well! Can you believe it? I am working on a pair of socks. I figure start small and work my way up. ;) They are the Sweet Dreams Socks from Dream in Color in their Smooshy Sock in the Deep Seaflower colorway. I have finished 1 sock and have turned the heal of the 2nd and I am ready to pick up stitches.

Sorry the pictures are hard to see. A dark yarn isn't the easiest to photograph. I am loving the pattern. Lace and cables and neither one too hard. A perfect combination.

Hopefully I will be able to get some BFL roving dyed this weekend. Saturday we will be going to another Antique Tractor Show so I will be sure to take some knitting with me. :)

If you are interested in any of the roving I listed let me know and it is yours. I ship to you the cheapest way possible or whatever your choice may be.

Have a Wonderful Weekend.

What's Wrong With Mud?

2007-09-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

Angela of Purrrl-plexed has a friend Nikki who is an amazing artist and is the illustrator of a picture book that is a finalist in this year's ABC's Children's Picture book competition. The book is called "What's Wrong with Mud?". It is so darn cute.

If you could take a quick minute and go over every day and vote for her. It would be much appreciated.

Wool Gathering - Could You do Me a Favor if You Go?

2007-09-14T15:40:00.000-04:00

Sadly I won't be making it this year. I would love to be able to meet up with so many of the bloggers that are going. We have family commitments to fulfill, so unless I can sneak away Sunday afternoon, I will be with you all in spirit. Maybe next year. *Sigh*

So could I ask you all to do me a favor? Could you stop by Susan's booth (her store is Ball & Skein) and take a look at my yarns? I don't expect you to buy them (though it would be nice ;) ), but if you could take a look at them and let me know which yarn base and colorway that you like the best. The colorway doesn't have to be on the same yarn. KWIM? I want honest opinions. I am always looking for ways to improve.

I truly appreciate your time doing this. A contest just might come out of this. ;)

More Yarns for Sale

2007-09-12T15:37:00.000-04:00

For your consideration...... More yarns and more colors.......

WARNING!!.... If you see something that you would like to have, please let me know by Thursday evening so I can hold it for you. What doesn't sell here is going to Susan at Ball & Skein. She will be at the Wool Gathering and it is going with her.

Email Me

UPDATE...... All of the 6 that I weren't finished are now. They are pictured at the very bottom.

Oh yeah all yarns are SS (Self Striping)

So let's start off with the Kona 100% Merino.....

All have gone to Ball and Skein.

Sugar N Spice
500 yds Fingering Weight
Kona Merino Superwash
Violet, Yellow, Pink

Green Eggs N Ham
500 yds Fingering Weight
Kona Merino Superwash
Greens & Pinks

Angela
500 yds Fingering Weight
Kona Merino Superwash
Black, Pink, Purple & Violet
~~$25.00 + shipping~~ SOLD!! THANKS!!

Cool Daddy
500 yds Fingering Weight
Kona Merino Superwash
Blue & Black

Hot Momma
500 yds Fingering Weight
Kona Merino Superwash
Hot Pink & Periwinkle

Ball & Skein
500 yds Fingering Weight
Kona Merino Superwash
Brown &amp;amp;amp; Pink
ONLY AVAILIBLE FROM THE BALL & SKEIN

Next up is the Bamboo/Merino/Nylon blend. They are 30% Bamboo, 60% Merino and 10% Nylon.

Sugar N Spice
500 yds Fingering Weight
Bamboo/Merino/Nylon Superwash
Violet, Yellow, Pink

Green Eggs N Ham
500 yds Fingering Weight
Bamboo/Merino/Nylon Superwash
Pinks & Greens

Hot Momma
500 yds Fingering Weight
Bamboo/Merino/Nylon Superwash
Hot Pink & Periwinkle

Finally is the BFL (Blue Faced Leicester Superwash). 100% BFL. I have 2 skeins of each color (you will need 2 for a pair of socks).

Hot Momma
250 yds Fingering Weight
BFL SW
Hot Pink & Periwinkle

Snips N Snails
250 yds Fingering Weight
BFL SW
Green, Yellow, Blue

Carnival
250 yds Fingering Weight
BFL SW
Blue, Red, Yellow & Orange

Angela
250 yds Fingering Weight
BFL SW
Black, Pink, Purple, Violet

Fall Leaves
250 yds Fingering Weight
BFL SW
Orange, Yellow, Brown, Red

Green Eggs N Ham
250 yds Fingering Weight
BFL SW
Greens & Pinks

I take all forms of PayPal. If there is another way you would like to pay let me know and we will try and work out something.

I also do my best to save you money on the shipping. If the weight allows I ship 1st class. I can ship other methods as well.

I still have 6 more to ~~reskein~~.

Cool Daddy - Bamboo/Merino/Nylon - 500 yds

Fall Leaves - Bamboo/Merino/Nylon - 500 yds

Cool Daddy - BFL - 250 yds

Fall Leaves - Kona DK - 280 yards

Snips N Snails - Kona DK - 280 yds

Green Eggs N Ham - Kona DK - 280 yds

~~Hopefully I will be able to get them done and pictures taken before Friday.~~ They are done and pictured above.

I will read, comment on blogs when I get a chance. So if I normally comment, I am not ignoring you.

Knitted to a T - Explained

2007-09-07T03:30:00.000-04:00

I know that some of you have been wondering where the name I used for Ravelry "Knitted to a T" came from. Well I am now going to let you in on it.

It all started about a year ago. I had some graphics made up for some things that I was selling on Etsy and for items that I was giving as gifts. I had 2 different ones. The first one I used for my Etsy store at the time. (The 4 sheep "Knits for Ewe") The second one I had some big plans for. (Knitted to a T) It has been a long time in the making. Scraping up money to get things done, moving into a new house, Kevin wanting to finish out part of the basement and so on.

Finally things have been falling into place and I can't keep the secret any longer. I have wanted to tell you all for such a long time, but didn't want to say anything until I had things set in stone better.

I would like to introduce you to Knitted to a T yarns!! Squeeeee!!! I am so excited!!!!

I am currently making self striping yarns and will have them in Kona Merino Fingering & DK, Bamboo/Merino/Nylon Fingering and BFL Fingering!! I will also have some rovings as well. Currently I have Merino SW, BFL SW and BFL that need to be dyed up. They will be dyed in 4oz bundles, so there will be a good amount to spin.

I am currently working on a web site as well. Hopefully it will be ready not too far down the road. I have some fun planned for the web site as well. I want to give my first customer to the site a prize as well as my 50th customer (can be a repeat customer) and 50th new customer, etc. I will keep you all in the loop and let you know when I launch the site.

Below are some examples of what I have been dyeing.

From Left to right: Angela* & Carnival in Kona Merino - Carnival & Angela* in Bamboo/Merino/Nylon - all are 500 yd skeins in fingering weight

~~Angela* in Kona - 500 yds fingering weight - $25.00~~ SOLD! THANKS!!

Carnival in Kona - 500 yds fingering weight

Angela* in Bamboo/Merino/Nylon - 500 yds fingering weight

Carnival in Bamboo/Merino/Nylon - 500 yds fingering weight

Here is a final shot of some more yarn drying. Oh I have so much more to show you all. I hope to have more dyed up tomorrow while James takes a nap, but you all know how a toddler can change your plans. ;)

Have a lovely weekend. I have a birthday party to go to on Saturday, but I plan to dye as much as I can. :)

*50% of all sale proffits of Angela go to my cousin. She is battling kidney cancer with 3 young kids and a husband. She does have insurance, but they are refusing to pay for most of her treatment. This is my way to help her and her family.

Only 12 More Days Left & Yet Another Contest

2007-09-03T23:28:00.000-04:00

There are only 12 more days left for you to be able to donate to The Buddy Walk. Mindy is so close to meeting her goal and it would be great to blow that out of the water. It is for such a good cause and if that isn't enough then look at all the lovely prizes that she will be giving away. If that doesn't do it for you then look at her adorable little guy while you are there. What better reason to donate?

Hurry over and give a few bucks. It doesn't have to be much, every little bit helps.
You can also reach it by clicking on the Buddy Walk picture on my sidebar on the left.

Go now, I will wait.

Ok good you have made your donation, now I will let you in on another contest.

Dorene of Gingerbread House is having a contest. All you need to do is leave her a comment with your email. Of course I would love it if you let her know that you saw it here so I can get that extra entry. ;) Thanks! The more entries she gets the more she will add to the kitty. So hurry on over and leave your comment.

Oh yeah guess what....

There has been knitting!!!! Shhhhhhh don't say it too loud. It might get frightened and run away. You can thank Susan for it. She is such an enabler. ;) I am hoping to get a picture tomorrow during the day light hours. Granted it is only a swatch at the moment, but it is knitting none the less.

Another Contest!!

2007-08-27T23:18:00.000-04:00

Schrodinger is having a contest after winning a ton of her own.

She is giving away 3 sock bags that she makes! I so would love to have one. Run over there and leave her a comment. Please let her know that I sent you. Thanks!!!

Contests!!

2007-08-27T01:10:00.000-04:00

There are 2 blogs that are having contests! Go over and check them out.

Go here over to This Kitten Knits and leave her a comment for her blogiversary. Let her know I sent you and I get an extra entry.

Then...

Go over to HollYarns and enter her contest. She wants to know who taught you to knit and how old you were. Tell her I sent you and I will get an extra entry.

Here is my learing to knit story. I would love to know yours.

I taught myself to knit. I was 25 when I taught myself from a book. My very first project was a pair of knee socks for my then 6'6" size 16 foot boy friend (now husband). It was quite the undertaking and I learned a HUGE lesson that there are yarns for socks and yarns that are for other things.

We do rev. war reenactments and after the 3rd wearing the heals decentagrated. He didn't want to tell me because he knew how hard I worked on them. Finally he got up the gutts and told me. I was crushed, not because I blamed him, but because I thought it was my work. It turned out to be the yarn.

I ended up not knitting again until I was pregnant with our child. I got some yarn for blankets since I was sure that it was my knitting that was bad and I should be able to make a blanket, right? That was when I learned of sock yarn. I was so glad to hear that it wasn't me, but the yarn. So after that I decided to take some classes to hone my skills and to learn new techniques. That was almost 3 years ago and the rest is history. :)

Grrrrrrr!!

2007-08-18T23:57:00.000-04:00

Blogger SUCKS!!! I just wrote a post and posted it and it won't show up on the blog. WTF!!!??? It is driving me freaking crazy.

I am looking for advice on how to get a blog to my own domain. I have had enough of this not being able to post.

Any advice will help. Thanks.

Cormo Fleece

2007-08-18T23:56:00.000-04:00

Have you ever seen, felt, or caressed Cormo wool??? If not you need to get your fingers in some. Hurry run, go now! Don't know where to find any? I do. =) If you are nice I might even tell you where you can get this luscious fiber.

It is so soft. It honestly reminds me of the fake spider web that you buy for Halloween, but in a good way. It wants to spin up very fine and I think would make a great lace weight. The stuff that I have still has some of the lanolin in it, so it is a dream to spin.

Just look at that soft fluffy goodness.

So do you want to know where I got it? Any guesses?

Of course I got it from Susan's Store. As far as I know she still has some and I know that she is planning on getting more. So run as fast as you can and get some. You know that you want to.

Me Busy?

2007-08-10T23:42:00.000-04:00

Well I guess you can tell that James is back and I have been spending time with him. LOL For some odd reason I just don't get much time.

I get the bad Mommy of the week award. I finally broke down and decided to take away James' pacifiers. He never used them during the day. The only time that they were used were at nap time and at night. He could fall asleep at my Mom's or my In-law's without it and in the car. I just never had the guts to do it. This past weekend I think I finally made the decision when I saw 4 and 5 year olds walking around with them in their mouths. I DID NOT want him to be that dependent on it. So before his nap on Wednesday I removed them from his bed. I explained to him that we had to give them to babies that needed them. He has whined a few times and woke up crying once a night, but actually that is less than normal. So I am just wondering if he didn't sleep as well with the pacis.? I feel so bad doing it, but I know that it has to be done some time and it is better now than later. I really think that it is hurting me way more than it is him. He is doing great at falling asleep without it, so I am hoping after a week he will hopefully have gotten used to it and won't whine before I put him into bed. :( It is breaking my heart and I am trying to be so strong. I am so thankful that he has been so good about it. I am afraid if he would have been one that woke up all night long that I would have broke down and gave them back.

Still no knitting to show. I am so boring.

We did go to a tractor show in Rushville this weekend. James is in awe of the steam tractors. They are my favorites as well. There is just something about them that is so neat.

(as always click for bigger)

Steam tractors aren't just for guys. :) There are two younger women driving this one.

Aren't they too cool?

James even found one that was his size. It was all made by hand. Someone is seriously into the mechanics of steam tractors.

It was so hot too. Poor James was just exhausted from trying to see everything and the heat. We made him rest in the shade and soaked him down with some water. We made sure that we watched him very carefully in the heat. I took off his shirt and at first he wanted it back on, but once he figured that it was cooler without it he was loving it.

He even thought that he had a little Captain in him. LOL

We had a nice rain that cooled things off a bit. While we waited for the sun to set we sat and listened to a fiddle contest. The girl who won was awesome.

That evening once the sun set they were going to have a spark show. It is the steam tractors that load up with tons of wood and saw dust and they end up blowing a ton of sparks through the stacks. There were 3 of them that were doing it. It is so neat and James loved it.

(Be sure to click these to make them bigger!)

It was a fun time even though it was hot. I had planned on taking some knitting or at least a drop spindle. I decided against it and realized after being there for a while that I should have brought it. We went with Kevin's parents so at least I had his Mom to talk to while the guys went out looking at everything under the sun. Oh yeah they also had a steam calliope! I am excited for next year, but I will make sure to take something to kill the time from the 2:00 parade to the night spark show.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

I've Got My......

2007-07-29T23:20:00.000-04:00

Baby back, baby back, baby back. (Sung to the Chili's Baby Back Ribs commercial)

We went to pick him up today. My Mom was going to bring him back, but she was having pool issues and we had to go see if there was anything that we could do to fix it.

I was so excited to get there. We stopped at Home Depot on the way to get some lights and then Kevin wanted to show me the patio furniture that was on sale. I just wanted out of there to go get James.

Finally we made it to my Mom's. We got in the door and we hear "MOMMY!! DADDY!!" Then he ran to hug us. It felt so good to have him in my arms again. I feel complete again. I got to get my hugs and kisses good night tonight. It felt so good.

Poor little guy had a busy time at Grandma's. He fell asleep in the car on the way home. Of course when he does that he is really upset when he is woke up. I got to sit and snuggle with him while we watched some educational TV. I didn't complain one bit. It was nice to snuggle with him again.

He decided after he ate some mac n cheese (his toddler staple) he asked for a wash cloth and to go to bed. So I wiped him off, brushed his teeth and got him dressed for bed. He was one tuckered out little guy.

I didn't get the basement finished, but I got a good amount done. I am hoping to get it done by the end of the week at the latest. I am so close, but so far away. I can't use the sweeper down there while James is sleeping since we have hard wood floor through out the entire house and the part that I am working on is right under his room. The noise comes straight through and I surely don't want to wake him. So it will have to be done after Kevin gets home from work each day. That's OK.

Tomorrow it is back to normal for James and I. I hope that he didn't pick up any bad habits while at his grandma's. ;)

Wait until you see what grandma bought him. I hope to have a picture of him and it tomorrow.

Alone

2007-07-28T00:33:00.000-04:00

Here I sit. Alone. Kevin is at work. James is at my Mom's. I am here slowly cleaning the basement. I have lost my focus so I am taking a break. Heck I might just go to bed after this.

I knew that I would miss James, but man do I miss him. I have already cried a few times. I didn't get to tuck him in and kiss him goodnight. I miss my "squeezie hugs" that he gives me. I miss him crawling into mu lap with books wanting me to read it to him. He has only been there for just a little over 6 hours and I feel lost without him. He won't be back until Sunday afternoon.

I have made my Mom promise to call me if James didn't want to stay. I don't care what time of the day or night it is. Is it sad that I am hoping for a call?

I am sure that he is having fun and being completely spoiled, but I miss the little guy deeply. I keep thinking that I hear him in his room and I have to keep reminding myself that he isn't here. I can safely say that he has my heart for sure.

I have been trying to keep busy, but seem to be failing miserably. Sunday can't come soon enough for me. Am I being selfish feeling this way? Why is it so hard for me to let him spend a few days at his Grandma's? I know that he is safe and being very well taken care of. Heck Kevin and I stopped to get something to eat on the way home and I looked back in his car seat ready to get him out and almost burst into tears. I am sure that you all think I am crazy. I can safely say that I love that little guy more than anything.

Well if you made it this far, thanks. I needed to get it out and the dog just doesn't seem too interested. He is more into sleeping on the couch at the moment.

Ravelry

2007-07-26T15:27:00.000-04:00

As so many before me have said...."Ravelry is a time suck". OMG the wonderful things that are on there. You can spend hours upon hours looking at other people's things.

Currently I have been working on adding my books, then I guess I will try and tackle some of the yarn stash. The yarn will be a constant work in progress for sure. There are so many pictures to take and then to get it into the right place labeled and all. It is going to take some work.

Well I guess you know by now that I have got my invite and am in. Please bear with me as I stumble my way through it.

Look me up I am knittedtoat (more on that name to come). If I haven't found you yet look me up and add me to your friends then I will add you to my friends as well.

Well I am off to do some more cleaning. I will be child free this weekend and I have big plans for our basement. My Mom has requested James for the weekend and she is picking him up tomorrow morning. Ok so I am not going to go clean just yet. ;) Honestly I don't know what I am going to do with out the little guy here. I already am getting that scared anxious feeling. I know that he is going to be with my Mom and will be safe, but I won't have him here to hug and snuggle. I think it is going to be harder on me than him for sure. I have already told her that if he cries and wants to come home that she has to call no matter what time of day or night it is. I know I am sad, but he is only 2.

I am really going to clean now. LOL

Acquisitions at HHFF

2007-07-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

Yeah I know. It is a little late, but hey, better late than never. I thought that I would finally share with you my acquisitions that I got from the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival.

First up is the Merino Roving.

I just loved the colors. It looked like It would spin up into interesting yarn. So I got 1/2 lb of it. It came from Anne's Fiber Expressions. She had some really nice things. It was hard to pick just one.

Next is the 50/50 Merino Tencel

I have never tried the Merino Tencel blend and this color just called to me. It looks silky smooth. I am very interested in how it spins up. I picked it up from River's Edge Weaving Studio. Oh was their stuff nice.

Then there are these.

This little beauty is 4oz of 100% Merino. Love the colors. Seems I am all about color lately.

Yet another 100% Merino. I know the colors look a little familiar to the first one. A girl can never have too much color in their life.

This is a Merino and Silk blend. I love the feel of it. I hope that it spins up as well as it feels.

I got all 3 at Hooked on Felt. She had some really nice rovings and I just couldn't choose one, as you can tell.

Next is BFL.

Fleece Artist BFL. Need I say more?.

Fleece Artist BFL. 65% Wool 35% Silk. Yep another silk blend, but this time with BFL. Yummy BFL.

These were purchased from The Trading Post.

Next up is the fleece.

The fleece was purchased from Different Things Farm. They weren't sure what type of sheep it was from, but I really liked it and bought it. It was labeled that it was from sheep #7, so your all's guess is as good as mine on what type it is. It looks to have a good crimp. So we will see how it washes and combs up.

I picked up a little something for James too.

These were too adorable to pass up. He loves puppets and I thought that these would make a great gift to bring him back. Yes, he does love them. We play with them quite a bit. Looking back I should have gotten more of them. They had a ton of different ones. I got them from Mount Ampato Alpacas.

Finally we have these.

9.8oz and 11.8oz of 100% Alpaca in Black, White and Rose Brown.

9.8oz 100% Alpaca Black, Grey. Reminds me of an Oreo.

I drooled over these all day, but waited to close to heading home before purchasing it. I knew that I would never be able to resist, but I wanted to make sure that I was able to get a good variety of things before this purchase. I made this purchase from Frontier Fiber Mill. Oh, was all their stuff nice. I so love Alpaca!

All in all I think I did pretty well. I got a good variety of wools, textures and such. Now it will be all about the spinning for a while.

Friday Fun

2007-07-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

Friday I headed over to my friend Susan's store Ball and Skein. Kevin was off work, so I took the day off and went to hang out and do some spinning.

Let me tell you how freaking cool her shop is. It is in the old jail in Germantown, Ohio. It might just be me, but I love things like that. I love the fact that the town has kept it and not knocked it down for development.

Let me give you a little tour of the shop.

ETA: Here is her address for those of you that seem interested. ;)

Ball & Skein
11 North Cherry Street
Germantown, Ohio 45327

(937) 855-3211 - if you go tell her I sent you. :)

Here is the front of the building. There are windows on three sides of the front, like a sun room. I so dig the natural light.
(As always, click for bigger)

How could you resist the sheep door mat? After seeing that you just have to go in and see what else is waiting for you.

This is one of the things that you see when you first walk in. This is the old front of the jail house. I love the windows. There are at least 4 of them like this.

Here is a view out toward the front window. There are all kinds of things like this in the shop. You feel like you step back in time. It is so warm and cozy.

Another toward the front. She has yarn and books in the cute cabinet. There is goodness overflowing everywhere.

Not only is there yarn, but there is roving and fleeces! Check out how she has some of it displayed. How cool is that?!

Take a look at the models for the sweaters. Click to make it bigger. Is that not too funny?! I loved it. I was laughing so hard when I saw them. Plus Susan knit both of those sweaters! On the left is a nice selection of Cascade 220. On the right is a really good selection of Fleece Artist yarn and roving. She told me that more is on its way, including their sock yarn.

Here is more roving. In the back I believe is the Green Mountain Spinnery yarn. Look at the jail door. I love it. After Susan slammed her thumb in it, I don't think she likes it too much any more. It has been safely tucked back behind a chair and more yarn and roving so that no one else gets hurt. So how is that thumb Susan?

If anyone is in the Dayton area you might recognize the cup on the table. Yep that is from Marion's Pizza. They have some seriously yummy pizza so we had to indulge.

Here is Opal's Neon sock yarn. All the colors are so fun and bright. There is a black fleece under it, but I am not sure what it is.

I was really good and restrained myself. I only bought 2 Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester rovings and some wool scour to wash some fleece. I couldn't choose just one color so they both had to come home with me. I also got the latest Spin Off while I was there.

All in all it was a nice day. Friends, fiber, and good food. What more could you ask for?. We will have to do it again some day soon.

Buddy Walk

2007-07-06T19:59:00.000-04:00

Mindy of Sharp Pointy Sticks is raising money for the Buddy Walk in support of her son Liam and other children with Down Syndrome. You can read her post about it here.

She set a goal of $1000.00 and 10 people to walk. I know as knitters, spinners, crocheters and whatever craft you might do, as a community we can pass that goal above and beyond what she has set. I have seen the amazing things that can happen when we all pull together.

Click on the button and it will take you directly to Mindy's donation page. You can donate to anyone on the list or as a group.

I will also have the button on the side bar for you to click along with the total raised.

She will be having a drawling for prizes for those who donate as well and she really has some nice things so far. If you can't donate cash, but have something that would would like to donate as a prize she would appreciate that too. Remember every penny adds up and helps.

Please feel free to steal the button, but remember to save it to your own server. Thanks!!!

I thank you and I know that Mindy thanks for you for your support.

Happy 4th

2007-07-04T23:23:00.000-04:00

I would like to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July.

Thanks to all the men and women in the past, present and future that fight for our freedom. I pray for all of them to be safe.

There is another thanks that is due. This one goes to Beth. While at the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival she gave me a bag of fibery goodness. There was so much good stuff in there I just have to show you a picture so you can experience my joy.

Top Left to Right: Light blue ball - Thrumbs from Spinderella, Pink & Grey - Spunky Eclectic wool blend, Blue, Teal & Gold - Australian roving from Hollyspring, Green & Yellow - Shetland Kool aid dyed.
Bottom Left to Right: Pink & Orange - BFL Kool aid dyed, Rainbow - pre-drafted coils of Superwash merino, Purple, Blue & Brown - Crown Mountain Farms Pencil roving, Blue, Purple & Green - Crown Mountain Farms 50/50 Merino/Tussah silk, Light Cotton Candy Pink - Ingeo (corn)

Here are some closeups for your drooling pleasure.

Beth said that they were just little samples so I could see what some of the fiber was like. I call it manna from heaven. :) Really how could free fiber be a bad thing? I have been petting and fondling it for a while now. Guess I need to start spinning it. I am sure that it will make some really cute mini skeins. Maybe I will have enough of some of it for something for James or I could use it all and make an interesting scarf or hat. Guess I will figure that out when I get to that point.

Have you been looking for yarn or fiber? I am sure that by now you know that the old Destash site has been defunked. Well there are 2 more that I know of that have started up from that. I have them both listed on my side bar. The first one is Destash!. The second one is Yarn Sale or Swap (YSOS). I have listed some things on there. If you might be interested stop on over and take a look.

Thanks Are Over/Due

2007-06-29T02:11:00.000-04:00

I listed these in order of when I got them.

This first thanks goes to Deb at Fearless Fibers. I thought that I had posted this, but I can't seem to find it. So I must have thought of the post in my head and just never put it down in type.

She was having a contest and I won a felted bag kit with her wonderful yarn. Look at those colors! I love blue. Thanks Deb! Head over to her blog and check out the things that she has for sale at her Etsy store.

Speaking of Etsy she has a wonderful post about them. Go over and check it out.

Next thanks goes to my friend Susan. She was lucky enough to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year. I requested some yummy spinning fiber if she had enough room in the car after all her shopping.

She brought back this:

Can you guess what it is?

Here is a close up.

It is California Variegated Mutant!!! The colors range from white to a creamy brown. It is so pretty.

Also she brought back this:

Yummmmmm Look at that brown fibery goodness.

This my friends is Dark Blue Faced Leicester (or BFL for short). This stuff is like crack.

Thanks so much Susan!!!

If you happen to be in the Cincinnati, or Tri-state area you should stop by Susan's Store. It is so very cute and chalked full of fibery goodness. She not only has yarns that you don't find in other stores, but she is also selling roving and fleeces!

Last, but certainly not least, is this:

I won a contest at Mandy's blog. I got a skein of Lisa Souza sock yarn and 2 sets of way cute stitch markers.

Thanks Mandy!!!!

Also if you are looking for charity knitting Mandy heads up Caps for a Cure. Head on over and check it out. LOL HEAD on over LOL. She also has and Etsy store.

Thanks to everyone. I am excited about all my fibery goodness.

I've Been Keeping a Secret - Hoosier Hill Fiberarts Festival

2007-06-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

I have been keeping a secret that I have been wanting to share with you. I have had to wait until the time is right and I was allowed to reveal it. Can you guess what I am talking about???
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
No I am not pregnant!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It is THIS!!! I am so excited about it.

On to more pictures from the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival.

There was sheep shearing. It was a bit nerve racking watching the sheep. It kept moving and I was nervous that it was going to get stabbed with the points of the scissors. It was a warm day so I know that the sheep had to feel better after it all, but the process didn't seem to be going smoothly. The sheep didn't want to cooperate.

This is a shot down one of the isles in Scott Hall. It was full of vendors.

I had to get a picture of these rugs. They were made from braided strips of roving. They were so neat. I just loved the colors that she had too.

Here is a rainbow sample of some of the yarns that were there. It just amazes me the different colors that you can get depending on the process that you use.

Susan is drooling over the Alpaca at Frontier. We were all loving this booth. The yarns and rovings were so nice.

This is a quick picture if The Trading Post. I made my first purchase here. You will have to wait until later to see what I got there.

Look at all that fleece. Different Things Farm had a wonderful selection. How does one choose from all that???

Finally here are 3 of us that met up. Susan and her friend Heather were no where to be found. I can't speak for them, but I had a blast. I am hoping to do it again next year. The dates for next year are already posted, so let me know if you are interested in meeting. I think I will try and get there on Friday.

With the smiles on all our faces it looks like we were having a good time, or maybe it was all the wool fumes.? =)

From left to right: Me, Beth and Kelli.

Back From the Festival - Blurb

2007-06-04T22:54:00.000-04:00

I headed to the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival on Saturday. I had such a great time. I met Beth and Kelli. It was so great to finally put faces and voices to the blogs. I got many nice things. There was a good amount of stuff for a small festival. I am so glad that I went.

I have been hoping for some nice sun so that I can get some nice pictures of the things that I got. Can you believe that I didn't get 1 skein of yarn? I didn't get any yarn. While there was some pretty things, I just wasn't drawn to any of it.

Now roving, I got. Plus another fuzzy extra.

You will have to wait until I can get some pictures and get the others off the camera. Just wanted to drop a tease to let you know that there will be some gratuitous pictures of all things woolly and fuzzy coming soon.

Meet Up at HHFF

2007-06-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

Just wondering if there are any more takers on the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival this weekend??

So far Beth, Kelli and Susan will be there along with Susan's blogless friend.

We are going to meet in Scott Hall around 11 on Saturday. If any of you are planning on coming that day let me know so we don't miss you.

Kromski Sonata Review

2007-05-31T23:07:00.000-04:00

****WARNING**** Picture heavy post.

I have been asked to do a review of my Kromski Sonata wheel. Let me first say that it is my first wheel so I can't compare it to spinning on other wheels. I can say that I have heard good things from others about it that have tried other wheels. When I asked about which foldable wheel was the best I was guided toward the Sonata. So I thought that I would give it a try.

First let me talk and show you pictures of the carrying bag.

As far as I know it only comes in the green color and this is the bag that is sold for the wheel from Kromski. Honestly I really don't care what color it comes in as long as it protects the wheel. It seems to have an ample amount of padding. It had a large zippered pouch on the front. (more on that later)

There is a nice carrying handle on the top of the bag. Then there is also an adjustable carrying strap on the back so you can sling it over your shoulder. I prefer the shoulder method.

Along with the wheel you get from left to right: Kromski patch, extra eyelet, alen wrench, orifice hook, wheel oil, 3 bobbins (one not shown since it is on the wheel at the moment) and 2 metal rods for the built in lazy kate. And yep it will all fit inside that pouch.

Let's take a little peak in the bag for a moment. Lookie what I found..... That is a little pocket for the orifice hook so you don't have to rat around looking for it. How cool is that?!

Here we have all the stuff I listed above (missing 3rd bobbin, but I promise it does fit and there is still room for more plus some graphite lubricant (more on that later).

Next we will look inside the bag where the wheel is actually stored. Can you believe that it actually folds up that small? The zippers go almost all the way to the bottom of the bag.

These are the 2 blocks that help hold the wheel stable. They are about an inch or so thick.

Before I get into the wheel portion I will tell you a little about what the instructions say. There are 3 hinges on the wheel. 2 for the treadles and in the back where it folds. The instructions say to use either candle wax or a graphite lubricant for them. Not having the graphite on hand I thought that the logical answer would be the candle wax. I had a problem with the treadle hinges squeaking. It drove me crazy and no matter how much wax I put on them it didn't help. Finally we found a graphite lubricant. It is called Lock Ease. Kevin found it at the local car parts store. It is wonderful! A little messy, but still wonderful. I have applied it once and no more squeaking. So now I carry it in the ample pocket for those just in case situations. I would recommend getting some to keep with you.

Now the wheel is out of the bag, but still in it's folded position. You don't have to worry about it unfolding until you want it to. There is a screw that holds it together. What to you think is in the mystery black package?

Here it is with out the mystery black package.

This is it on it's padded feet on the floor. The screw knob that keeps it together screws into the wheel then into a hole in the frame. The screw know is on the right in the picture.

After unscrewing the know that holds it together folded you take the screw knob and put it into the back to hold the wheel upright. The knob is about an inch from the floor.

Here is a closer view of the mystery package. By now you probably have guessed that there is a pretty important part that is missing.

Tada it is the flyer and all the components. So it has it's own protection cover that is padded as well. You just slip the metal rod into the hole at the top of the wheel, line it up, tighten the screw knob that is for it and you are almost there.

Here it is almost completely put together. Just needs the drive band and the lazy kate.

Here it is all put together.

I love spinning on it. It is a full size wheel that folds into a compact package.

The double treadle seems to help me. I did try and spin a single treadle once upon a time and just couldn't get the hang of it. It took me a few hours to get into a rhythm and once I got it, it clicked and I haven't looked back since.

There is a dead spot though. If I stop spinning and hit the dead spot I have to give the wheel a bit of a push to get it going. It doesn't bother me and I have been told that every wheel has some sort of dead spot.

Once everything was thoroughly lubricated it spun so smoothly. It comes with instructions on every little place to oil and if you should or should not use the wheel oil on each spot.

I just recently changed to another bobbin. I had been using the same bobbin then plying it then skeining it. I decided to change bobbins and the new bobbin seemed to be a bit sticky and dragging. I had the same problem with the first bobbin, but after spinning on it for a while it worked it out and was fine. I am guessing that the 3rd bobbin will do the same when I use it.

It has 3 different ratios and I have been told that you can get a different flyer and bobbins to give you even more range. So far I am happy with what it has come with.

The bobbins are large so you can hold a good amount of singles on it. I like not having to stop and change bobbins all the time. And of course you can put as little on it as you would like.

I really feel that it is a good quality wheel for the money. It is on the lower side of the price scale and I don't feel that I bought a cheap wheel. It sets up quickly once you do it a few times. I don't regret getting the Sonata one bit. I am completely happy with my purchase and love it. I pretty much take it every where I go. ;)

For a comparison here is a link to compare some of the folding wheels. Click HERE for the list.

I hope that this will help anyone if they are contemplating getting the Sonata. If you have any questions that I didn't cover please let me know and I will do my best to answer it.

Closer view of the current spinning. This is 100% merino. =)

I'm Back - Hoosier Hills Fiber Fest

2007-05-29T20:02:00.000-04:00

First let me say to some of you that I have been commenting on your blogs. For some strange reason it isn't showing up. If I was a regular poster on your blog, I still am, it just isn't showing. I don't know if it is because of the new computer with all the new programing or what. I was told by Mandy of Mandys Knits that she was getting my comments, but for some reason they were going to her spam folder. So if you could please check your spam folders I might just be in there multiple times. So far the people that I have tried today are Knitter Bunny, Good Enough Mom, Boogie Knits, and Wendy Knits. None of them worked. It seems that if you post on Blogger or Typepad that I can leave a comment. I am stumped by what is going on.

So I did get a new computer/notebook. I decided on the Sony Vaio. It has IE 7 and Windows Vista so I am wondering if that has something to do with getting thrown into the spam filters. I have tried disabling and enabling the firewall and cookies and neither of them worked. I even tried to see if Firefox would work and nothing happened there. If you have any suggestions I am up for anything and if I am in your spam folder if you could please let me know so I don't go crazy over this, I would appreciate it.

I won't bore you with the details on the new computer unless you want to hear about it.

Wow so much has happened since I was actually able to sit down at a computer that worked for any length of time. There has been some knitting as well as spinning.

I have finished my first STR sock club kit. I have a picture of it on a CD somewhere so I will have to find where it is and post it at a later date. I have started my newest STR kit and only knit a few rows here and there since my new love seems to be spinning.

Speaking of spinning and all things fiber related. There is a fiber festival in Franklin, Indiana this weekend. It is the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival. I am so excited. I have been told that it sounds like a good one too. If anyone is interested in meeting up let me know and we can plan a time. I will be there on Saturday.

I have been asked by Susie to do a review of my Sonata. I will do that for you in my next post Susie. In the mean time go take a look at her Etsy shop.

Since I can't leave you with just words alone. I will leave you with a picture of what James did yesterday.

He had quite a bit of fun. I can say that he can wind the reel with the best of them.

Spinning Content

2007-04-27T00:19:00.000-04:00

ETA: I am looking for the title of a book that someone mentioned on their blog about spinning and the different types of fibers and how they spin up. They said that it was a really good book. I can't seem to find the post and for the life of me I can't remember who it was. I have been looking back at old blog posts, but I can't find it, or I am missing it some where. If you are the one that posted it or know what I am talking about, could you please let me know. I think it would make a wonderful reference book for me. Thanks!!

First I would like to introduce to you my Kromski Sonata in walnut finish. I have yet to give her a proper name. I want to work with her for a while and get a feel for what she should be called. If a name happens to strike you I am open for suggestions. Sorry that the picture isn't the greatest. It was 2 am when I took it and I was packing it all up before I headed off to bed.

As I suspected, James LOVES it. He wants to play with it and make it go "round and round". So she has to stay in her protective bag during the day and is only allowed out at night after he has gone to bed.

Below is my first mini skein that I spun and plyed on Sunday. It is wee. But I was pretty well pleased with it. Especially for my first try.

I was given this roving with my wheel just for practice so I can get the hang of the treadles and just the technique in general. I was warned that it wasn't the best to spin with, but for practice it was better to screw it up than a really nice roving. I have to say that I really don't like spinning it. It is rough, sticky and there is quite a bit of VM and lumps in it. I am getting better at spinning it, but I still don't care for it. I plan on spinning it all up for the practice and then moving on to something nicer.

This is what I have done so far. I am over half way through the ball of roving and I have a bobbin pretty darn full. As you can see it isn't the best spinning job in the world, but I am learning. I really want to get something with color the next time. Something bright and spring or summery.

Thank you to all of you that listed recommendations of roving. I plan to keep a running list so that I will have a reference to look at when ordering some to spin and to stock in my stash. Would any one have any books that they could recommend as well? I would appreciate any info that you may have.

Sorry it took so long to show you what I have been doing. With the computer only working in Safe Mode I was a little concerned if it would even recognize the camera. Not only have there been computer problems, but Kevin started his night job this week. We see him for a max of 3 hours a day. He comes home form his day job for a few hours then heads back out to the night job, then from the night job he goes directly to his day job where he gets a few hours of sleep in the truck. So it has been exhausting for him and I have been very busy picking up any and all slack around the house. Next week shouldn't be as bad, he will be only working 3 or 4 nights. James has not been taking his normal afternoon naps either. So I have had no breaks to even sit down and type. So it has been a bit of a whirl wind around here. At night I have been sitting down with the spinning wheel and spinning just to calm down from all the days chaos. Hopefully things will start to calm down and we will get into a groove again.

I really wanted to go to a fiber show in Troy on Saturday, but I have a bridal shower to go to and I made a commitment to that first. It would figure that they are both at the same time too. If you go think of me and if you see any blue and yellow roving look at it and say "ahhh Tonia would love that". =)

So Excited!!!!

2007-04-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

First I would like to thank you all for your kind words about the events that happened with my Mom's dog. I knew deep in my heart that we did the right thing, but it is always nice to hear others that can reassure you, especially when the doubt starts to creep up again. Thanks!! You are all so wonderful.

I am so Excited!! Tomorrow I am going with Susan to Fiberworks in Beavercreek. I have been there once before about a month ago and I have also met Arlene (the owner) many years ago when I got my drop spindles, carders, combs, etc. She is such a sweet lady. If you are ever in the area, stop by her shop. She has an amazing selection of books, yarn for hand knitters and loads of things for spinners.

Speaking of spinners. My main reason for going tomorrow is this.......

That is the Kromski Sonata! I will be getting mine tomorrow!! The one that I am getting is of the darker walnut finish, but I couldn't find a picture of it. This will be my first spinning wheel. I am so excited. I feel like a child at Christmas. I will finally be a spinner and be able to spin my own yarn (of course with lots of practice). I already know how to use a drop spindle, but I am not sure how that translates into a wheel. I hope that it will be an easy transition for me.

Now I have a question for all you spinners out there (and non-spinners if you have any ideas). Where do you like to get your fibers from. I know that there are a ton of people out there that dye roving and all that fun stuff, so what are your favorite places to get your roving, fleece or what not?

Happy Birthday

2007-04-15T14:28:00.000-04:00

I want to wish a friend of mine, fellow blogger, knitter and spinner, Susan, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Hop on over to Susan's blog and send her a Happy Wish.

Craptastic

2007-04-13T16:54:00.000-04:00

Did I quit blogging? No

Sorry folks, I have been having a bit of a craptastic time lately. Not only in my knitting, but also in my personal and not so personal life. If it could go wrong it has. Heck it it couldn't go wrong it went wrong.

Computer is on the freaking fritz again! I am only able to run in safe mode so it has to go back to the shop again. UGH!!!

I haven't been to a Monday night knit night in over a month and it doesn't look promising for any in the near future. Kevin has picked up a second job. You would think that I would be happy that we will have more money, but I am quite upset by the hole thing. I feel terrible that he wants to work another job so that we will have mad money and we can do the things that we want to, to the house. I just wish I could pull in money, but staying at home with the kid doesn't seem to pay with cash flow. He will be working evenings at the second job, so I won't see him at night or have him next to me sleeping until the weekend. I will get to see him in-between jobs, but that still isn't the same as having him here at night with me. I know it will all work out and he is only part time, but it is going to be a hard transition that is for sure. Looks like a Sunday here and there a month might be my new Monday nights (hint Susan).

I haven't been doing much in the way of my knitting either. I have been working on a pair of socks for my cousin that seem to be never ending. I do a few rows then put them down to do something else. I just can't seem to knit on them for any length of time and I don't feel like starting another project. So I am slowly chugging along on the socks.

This past Tuesday my Mom called me in tears. Her 10 year old Golden Retriever has cancer. She wanted to know if I could take them to an Oncologist on Wednesday to have her checked out. With where the Oncologist was and my Mom's state of mind I knew she wouldn't be able to drive it. I called my MIL to see if she could watch James and she so graciously came to help. Wednesday came and it was a nasty rainy gloomy day. I was hoping and praying for good news, but all the news that she could give us was bad. It wasn't just bad it was horribly bad. We were told that if they did surgery and the dog lived through the surgery that it would only give her 3 months at the most to live. My Mom was a complete wreck and I was trying to be strong for her. We were told that the cancer had attached to blood vessels and that she was bleeding internally, it isn't painful to her, but one day Mom would find her dead and it wouldn't be long. With my Mom living alone since my Dad passed she said that she couldn't handle coming home from work or waking up one morning finding her dog dead. So she made the terribly hard decision to have her put to sleep. I had to call and make all the arrangements with our normal vet. Sadly we made an appointment that evening at 3:30. So I called my MIL and told her what was going on and she said that she could stay as long as I needed her to. So I stayed with my Mom since I was going to have to be the one that drove them to the vet. From 11 am to 3 pm the poor dog had gotten much worse. Her bark was really weak and she didn't move much at all. I would have been very surprised if she would have made it through the night. At 3:15 we reluctantly got into the car to head to the vet. I felt extremely sick to my stomach, all my muscles were tight and I just really didn't want to have to do this, but I knew that it was the right thing to do for my Mom and the dog. My Mom said her tearful goodbyes and I led the dog back. My Mom didn't want to go back because she didn't think that she could handle it, but she didn't want her to die alone. So I told her that I would do it. Not that I really wanted to, but I wanted the dog to be as relaxed as possible and I wanted my Mom to feel better knowing that someone was there with her. It was actually very peaceful. Not saying that I was happy about it or enjoyed it, but I am glad that she went peaceful and didn't have to suffer. I had tears streaming down my face the entire time, but I am glad that I was there for the dog. I stroked her head and talked to her the entire time until the vet said that she was gone. It has been so hard these past few days knowing that I was the one that drove them to the vet and took the dog back. I am an animal lover and to have to do something like that just kills me. My heart is still breaking and I am sure that it will for some time to come.

James has been sick for the past week now. He has the lovely running like a faucet nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing and all those fun things. So I have been trying to get him better too.

I need some sort of calming day or something. Man do I need that spinning wheel.

I promise you all that I am trying to catch up on reading all your posts. I have over 100 to go through and I am not sure how long the computer will decide to keep running for me. So I want you all to know that I am thinking of you and I wish that this would have been a happier post. Hopefully I can get down to the computer repair shop and get this thing fixed then I will have some pictures to share with you.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter and a good Friday the 13th.

We Have a Swatch, Some Knitting & Need Some of Your Wisdom

2007-03-14T00:07:00.000-04:00

Ok folks if you don't want to see or hear anything about the February STR kit this year it is time to move on. I'll wait.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Since you are this far now I am guessing you want to see the pictures that I have for you.

First is my swatch. It seemed like it took forever to get gauge. From the bottom to the top is 0, 1, 2 and 3. It was rather odd that I seemed to get the same gauge with my 0 and 1. I did end up getting gauge finally with the 2, but I just wanted to make sure that was ok so I went ahead and tried the 3 just to make sure. It amazes me how much a needle size can change the patterning of the yarn.

I took all of the pictures outside on a nice bright and sunny day. =)

So I knit the toe with a size 2 and decided to use a 0 for the foot. The pattern calls for a nice tight fit for the foot so I figured that the 0's would be my best bet. I am really liking the way that they are knitting up. The yarn is so yummy and I just love the colors. As so many people have said, it isn't a color that I would have picked for myself, but I love it.

It isn't as obvious here, but the sock looks like a ummm......... uhhhhhh......... mushroom, yeah that's it, a mushroom. I have actually gotten a few odd looks from people. LOL I think it is pretty funny. Kevin was wondering what the heck I was knitting. ;)

Here I am almost to the heel. It felt like it took forever to get this far. I am guessing that it is the size 0 needles. My hands and fingers are hurting as well from it. I am excited though to get them done even though it might be too warm to wear them.

It was 81 F here today!! I about fell over. Needless to say all the windows were opened and James spent most of the day outside.

I did turn the heel with my size 2's and started on the leg. The sock fit before starting the leg. I decided to use the size 2's for the leg as well. I was all the way up the leg and had cast off, but hadn't tried it on in fear of snapping my DP needles and I was being too lazy to put them on circs. to try them on.

Well as my S-I-L always says, "Whad' ya learn?" I learned that I should have tried the dang thing on. I could get my foot in the leg with no problem, but where the turn begins to go down to the foot is where I got stuck. I am guessing high arch?

I have went up to a 4 and don't think I like the way it is knitting up. This is my first pair of toe up and I have no clue what to do to solve this problem. Any of you knit toe up sock have any info. or suggestions that you could pass my way? I am stuck staring at my sock really wanting to finish it. I don't want to go any farther for fear that I will have to rip it out again.

Thanks for any help or suggestions that you might have on the sock. Have a great day.

Since I am on the Topic of Socks.....

2007-03-08T10:05:00.000-04:00

I have decided to tackle socks for Kevin. Wish me luck in this adventure.

I am in no way brave enough to use a fingering weight or sport weight for him yet. He has a size 17 foot for cripes sake! So the poor guy has to settle with a pair of Malabrigo socks.

I am knitting them in a generic stockinette with a K1, P1 rib at the top. It is knitting up faster than I expected it to, but I guess that is what happens when you use a worsted weight yarn opposed to a fingering weight. Plus I am using a size 5 needle instead of the normal size 1 that I am used to using.

I hope that when they are done he will like them. They are so soft and squishy. I think I might just have to make a pair for myself. I have plenty of it to go around. Wouldn't it be cute to have a pair for James too? They could be our family socks. =)

IT"S HERE!!!!!!!!!!

2007-03-05T15:55:00.000-04:00

I would have never guessed that it was here. I looked out the front door and nothing, the back door and nothing. I know that we have a large mail box, but knew that it wouldn't fit in there. So I figured that I would have to wait another day. I went out to collect my bills and what was waiting for me????!!!! Yep my first STR Sock Club Package!!!!

I am soooooooooo freaking excited! I can't wait to get started.

From here on out are going to be spoilers of the package contents and pictures so if you don't want to know or see anything about it now is your time to move on.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ok so if you are this far either you want to see the pictures or to read what I have to say about it. :)

First I have a picture of the package. See in the upper left hand corner? Yep that says Blue Moon!! (as always click on any picture to make it bigger). I was skipping back to the house with my package. Our dog was looking through the door at me like I had lost my mind.

Next we have the folder, and contents. The yarn is called Monsoon and is soooooo lovely! Do they know how to pick them or what! There is a flyer for Camp, discount card, emergency yarn key chain, button, bumper sticker, beautiful yarn, Dyer's Notes, Foot Notes, hints and tips on making socks to fit friends and family and the pattern called "Inside Out"

What a wonderful first package. This is my first time being in any sock club and I am already having a blast.

I have glanced over the pattern and it a toe up pattern with ribs and cables. I have never done a toe up or cabled pattern on a sock before. So there are going to be many new things that I will get to learn. Not only does the sock look so cool and pretty it can also be worn inside out! How freaking ingenious is that?!

I will leave you with one last picture. A closer picture of the yarn. It is actually a little lighter in color than this picture, but it is very close considering I took it inside with a flash and no natural sun light. I have it all packed and ready to go with me to knitting tonight. I hope that the other ladies at my FNSLYS got theirs today too.

Waiting, Waiting and Still Waiting

2007-03-03T15:19:00.000-04:00

STR

I am one of the ones that are still waiting for their Rockin Sock Club Package. I want it so bad I can taste it. They have a blog set up for all the members and yesterday just about put me over the edge. There were people posting right and left that they got their package. My mail man had come and gone yesterday and today leaving me with nothing but bills. So I am stuck here waiting for Monday in hopes that it will come, but I am not holding my breath. I feel like a child at on Christmas Eve. This is so crazy. :) This was all that I asked Kevin to get me for my Birthday. It is a great gift that keeps on giving through the year.

ADS

Some of you might have noticed on left hand side that I now have ads and a search section. There are so many things that need to be done and taken care of that I was hoping to make a little money that way. If you don't know already, I am a stay at home mom and sadly I don't make any money at doing that. I feel that my contribution to the family is less than what it should be. I have an Etsy store set up that I was told I should do from friends and family, but it isn't going well either. I sold 1 knitted hat around Christmas and that is it. I don't know where I am going wrong. I was hoping that with the adds and the search section I might be able to make a little to help out. We are currently having to get our kitten spayed, looking at a $400 + propane bill whenever they decide to come out and fill the tank again, we have to get the breaks fixed on my vehicle, Kevin needs to have work done on his beater truck that he drives to work, he needs to get to a hearing specialist too and quite a few other things. Sadly you have to have money to do all those things and they always seem to happen all at the same time. Ugh.

If you could just click on one or more of the adds when you visit I would greatly appreciate it. It is quick and painless. If you have them on your site I will do the same for you. Thanks!

KNITTING

I have no pictures to show you of my knitting progress this time. Sorry. I am working on a pair of socks for my cousin though. I am using Trekking XXL Color 102. This is the first socks that I have made with it and I am loving how the colors are coming together. I am not going to want to give them away when they are done I know it. At least I am enjoying knitting them and it is something that is keeping me somewhat sane while I am waiting for my STR package.

PICTURE

I will leave you today with a picture of James playing in the tent that I made him with his table and chairs. He had a great time.

Moving Along

2007-02-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

We all survived the power outage without too much incident.

Our phone is still screwed up. It rings funky when it decides to ring. Then it will some times connect then some times not. If you are lucky enough to get through to the voice mail you might, just might be able to leave a message. The phone company is working on it, but I don't know when it will be fixed. It is quite annoying.

Last Monday was the day from hell. If it could go wrong it did. The top 2 things on my list that went wrong was 1) the computer and 2) the vehicle.

First was the computer. I got up that morning and went to check my email. It came up to a black screen with something claiming a disk error. I freaked. I shut down the computer and tried again. Nothing changed. I freaked again. Kevin told me that it was fine when he was on it that morning. Ok so this is the 2nd computer that has worked fine the last time he was on it. What the man does to computers I have no idea, but they just don't seem to like him. I call a local computer repair and they tell me to bring it in. It doesn't look good they tell me. It seems to be the hard drive! Ummmm it CAN'T!!! I still have loads of James' pictures that I haven't gotten off of it!! That was one of my goals that morning. Computer guy tries a few things and shakes his head. I am then told that it doesn't look good and I probably have lost ALL data! Not an option in my mind. James' 2nd birthday, Christmas, etc, etc are all on it. That is something that I can't get back. So I leave and cry all the way home. I cry for the rest of the night at the thought of not having any of those pictures. I am a horrid mother for loosing them!

We will move on to the 2nd thing. The Yukon. This happened before I took the computer down to the repair store. I used the remote starter to start and warm it up before I left to drop off the computer and head out for an evening of knitting. The remote start failed to start it. It tried multiple times and nothing. I went out to try and it would just go urururur. So it wasn't the battery and it was trying to start. So I waited until Kevin got home. He got it started and took it down into town to have it hooked to a code reader. It said that there was a misfire in the #2 cylinder. So when he gets back I grab my knitting and the computer and head into town.

By the time I got finished at the computer repair shop I had no nerves left. It was an hour drive to my NSLYS and by the time I would have got there it would have been time to head back home. So I decided that I would just go home. I don't think I would have made good company anyway and I know that I wouldn't have been able to hold back my tears.

So not only did I have a broken computer I also had a broken vehicle. I was afraid to drive it anywhere in fear that it might not start back up. So I stayed home and tried not to think about the computer. That was a hard task. Then on top it it the phone was and is still on the fritz. I swear that I was having some sort of nervous break down. I was mentally and physically exhausted.

I guess you all have figured out that the computer is back now. Since I am blogging and all. If you made it this far I am sure that you are wondering what happened with the hard drive. The wonderful guys at Aurora Computer Center replaced my hard drive then took the bad one put it into an enclosure and ran a program on it through another computer. They recovered ALL the pictures and from what I can see all my documents, spread sheets etc. I am amazed! The price was more than reasonable as well. If you have a computer problem and are in the area I would highly recommend them. Not only do they have good prices, but they are very nice and seem to really care about their customers. They go above and beyond to make you happy and to do whatever that they can to get you back up and running.

The car is fixed as well. It needed a new distributor and rotor button, but the main problem was a vacuum line had cracked and was leaking. Kevin fixed it and it is up and running again. Granted it needs plugs, but he cleaned and re-gaped them and it is doing fine.

Time to look on the sunnier side of things and hope that things get better from here on out.

If you got this far I have to share a few pictures with you of James at his Grandma's and Grandpa's. He had a great time with all the balloons.

When Without Power....

2007-02-23T13:09:00.000-04:00

As some of you know if we didn't have bad luck we would have no luck at all.

It all started with the lovely ice storm that we had then the snow on top of that. We had trees down that fell across some power lines up the street and they had to cut the electricity our direction to fix it. So at 7 pm we had no power.

Kevin and I took shifts staying up to make sure that things were ok, the house wasn't getting too cold and that the candles didn't start some sort of fire. I took the first shift of staying up while he went in and slept. By 3 am I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer and went in to tag out. The electric came on at about 4:30 just to go out again. It came back on again about 8 am and we ran around doing as much as we could before it decided to go back out, which it did at about 11 am. We then had no phone either and the cell phones didn't want to work. So we were without all technology for a while.

Since I had to do something to keep myself awake I knit by candle light. It wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be. The candles threw quite a bit of light and I used a light colored yarn against dark needles for contrast. Where are the lighted needles when I needed them?.

This is a dark picture of my knitting. I decided to knit a wash cloth. I figured that it was easy and if it went horribly wrong I wouldn't be weeping while ripping it back out.

We got power back on around 3 pm and of course, then we went through the taunting of the power coming on and off. Poor James was so confused by the entire thing.

All in all we were without power for over 20 hours. It sounds like quite a bit especially having a 2 year old and trying to figure out what to fix him to eat when we had no power. I can't complain too much about it though. There were people who were without power for 5 days or more.

I have much more to tell you all about what has gone on since last week. I will tell you more in posts to come.

Hope everyone is staying warm and Have a Great Weekend!

I will leave you with a pretty picture of a tree in our front yard.
(click for larger picture - there is a pretty bright red male cardinal in the tree)

Yarn Stash Mess

2007-02-16T09:40:00.000-04:00

Our poor extra bedroom. It has been designated for all the yarn and it currently is a complete mess. Yarn is all over on the floor, on top of dressers, in boxes, in bags and piled in the closet. This is not going to be fun to organize. Where do I even start? The room is going to have a single bed, a dresser, a corner shelf and a cedar chest so I have to get it organized enough to get all that in there too.

Ok so I never realized how much yarn that I have. WOW I have a lot. Granted I do have quite a bit of sock yarn and that is always ok, right? Then there is at least 3 sweaters that I haven't gotten a chance to make for myself, so once I get busting on that the stash should go down quite a bit.

Ok so this picture doesn't look too bad, but just wait it gets worse, much worse.

This is 1 corner of the room. See the basket? Yes it is over flowing with yarn and there is even more behind it that you can't see.

Here we have one of the longer walls in the room. There is yarn crammed in everything except for the Central box (that has computer wires and other computer related stuff in it). As you can see I couldn't get it all in. The yarn is spilling over to the left of the picture.

Here we have more on the floor. There are many layers to this, so it isn't just one layer on the floor. There are probably 3 layers of bags toward the back. Is it bad to have this much yarn? But wait there is more!

See the white boxes on the left and right? Yep you guessed it, all full of yet even more yarn. Do you see a pattern here? LOL

I think this is the saddest picture ever. It is even more yarn in the bottom of the closet. All just thrown there until I can get to it. It looks so unloved, but believe me I love each and every skein, hank, ball, cake or what ever form it might be in. Since this truly doesn't show how much is here I will tell you that the top bag is at least at the 4 ft high level! Yes that is all yarn in there. Some is in bags, some in totes, some in baskets while others are free ranging and roaming on their own.

As I said before where do I start? Well here of course. My dear friend Sara left this shelving when she moved. So I now have a place to put the yarn. Thank You Sara.

Now comes the fun part of taking all the yarn our of the closet, all of the bags, baskets, containers etc. and figuring out where I want it all to go on the shelving. I foresee this being a long, long, long project.

I will take some after pictures once I get it some what arranged. I hope that it will all fit. LOL

The Time Has Come

2007-02-13T19:16:00.000-04:00

The time has come that I need to release some of my stash. It has taken over an entire closet plus. I have listed a few things on the Destash blog. Come over and take a look. I will be listing more soon. Click on the picture on my side bar or the one below to get you there. My items are the ones "Posted by: Tonia". There are many other good deals there as well. So stop by and take a look around. Hope that you find something that you can't live without.

Lookie what I Got!!

2007-02-10T23:46:00.000-04:00

I would like to introduce to you Fumeé.

She is an 8 month old French Angora. She reminded me of the color of smoke and I wanted her to have a french name so Fumeé is what I came up with. I think it is fitting with her grey coloring.

She is soooooo soft. Can you believe I got her for free?! She needed a good home and I have been wanting to get some angora rabbits, so the timing was perfect. I was even given a nice large cage and some food for her as well. She was originally purchased by a school teacher who wanted her for the class room. The kids mad her nervous and she would nip at them. So she was given to a friend who had 3 males. She didn't want to breed them and just couldn't keep her so I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time and now she is mine.

I really love the varrigated greys in her coat. The softness is unreal. I just want to hold and cuddle her all day. I can't wait to get the first round of wool from her. Is it worng of me to be excited about this? I am sure thouse of you who have fiber bunnies can relate to this feeling.

We currently have her in our garage. Kevin has built a shelter around her cage with wooden skids, tarps, a king sized comforter and card board. He has made a larger box around the cage with the skids then added the tarps to the top and three sides of the cage with the comforter on top. The cardboard is under her cage and covers up the front so that we can regulate the temperature. Inside the box is her cage and an oil filled heater (it looks like an old home style radiator). So she can huddle close to the heater or go to the other side of the cage where it is cooler. So far so good, her water hasn't froze so that is good. I just hope that it continues to work. She seems happy with the set up, so that is what matters.

I do bring her in the house. I am working on socializing her with the other animals and James. I have been keeping her in the bathroom with a baby gate blocking the door so that she can get some exercise without being too scared of the dog.

We have a small litter box in the bathroom for the cats, just in case they decide that they can't make it to the basement. I make sure that it is completely cleaned before I let her in the bathroom. In two days she had trained herself to use the litter box! The first day she was using it, but I thought it was just a fluke, but she has been using it ever since. I am so happy, now I need to get her a litter box for her cage. I would much rather clean out a litter box than the nasty news paper at the bottom of her cage all the time.

So any of you out there that know anything about Angora rabbits I am all ears. This is my first and I am doing what I can to make sure that she is happy and healthy. Any and all advice would be much appreciated.

* She has a tendancy when she gets nervous to dig at you with her front paws then chew your clothes. Is there any way to help her relax or stop the behavior?

* What method do you prefer to harvest the wool? (plucking, brushing, other)

* Is there a certain diet that you think is better? (only pellets, pellets and grains, other)

* Any foods that I should avoid giving her?

That is all that I can think of at the moment. Any info that you might have I would appreciate. If you don't want to leave a comment you can Email me. Thanks for your help and info.

Can I Get a Drum Roll Please?

2007-02-09T00:50:00.000-04:00

It is FINISHED!!! The wee fair isle for James is done.

Before I show you the finished product I want to show you what the neck and shoulders are supposed too look like.

Here I have it laying out on our extra bed. I am still working on the collar ribbing. Our kitten had to get in the picture too. She is so funny.

Oh for those of you who keep asking me if we have given her a name yet.... the answer is Yes. I have been wanting something that went along with the fact that she loves to cut/chew my knitting yarn all the time. Does anyone know why a cat will do this? It gets rather annoying. Anyway back to the name thing. I found a name that means to snip. It is German. So her name is now Schnitzel. Kind of fitting don't you think?

Here is a close up of the collar ribbing. Still needing 2/3ds knit. I was so close that I could taste it and it just wasn't knitting up fast. I kept measuring and measuring and I swear I was knitting into that black hole of knitting. I don't care how many rounds that I knit the measurements never changed.

And now the moment some of you have been waiting for...........

The FINISHED fair isle!

These pictures are fairly true to color. They were taken with a flash at night in the house so they are a bit washed out. Also it applies to this months colors in Project Spectrum.

It still needs a good blocking. The fair isle patterns are tighter than the rest of the sweater. So I am hoping that it will block out . I guess we shall see.

I socked it over James' head at my In-Laws after I had finished it. Doesn't look too happy does he? He didn't get much of a nap and the collar is a little tight going over his big melon.

He got over his torment when he heard the clock go "Kee Koo" as he says. The In-Laws have an old coo coo clock that he loves. That would be what he is pointing to.

Not sure if you can see how big the sweater actually is on him, but if you look closely at the bottom of the sweater the bottom fair isle section is missing. So it is plenty long on him. Also the shoulders look like he has football padding on. I am hoping that he will be able to wear it again next year. That is if his head doesn't grow much more. :)

You can see the shoulders better in this picture. Kind of reminds me of the shoulder pads in the 80's. After a good soak/wash and block it might soften up. Don't look at the mess behind him.

James wanted to go out and play in the snow so I put his sweater on to keep him warm. I know really it was just because I wanted him to wear it and keeping him warm is just a good reason to get him to wear it.

Where do I go from here? Well I have a few UFOs that I really would like to get finished so that they are no longer haunting my dreams. I could really use my gloves right now if they were finished.

Stay tuned to see what is next.

Ahhh CRAP!!!

2007-02-04T22:44:00.000-04:00

I have been cooking along on James' sweater. I have been having so much fun knitting this. I think I am going to miss it when it is actually done.

The sleeves have knit up nicely. I don't know what force was in effect when I was knitting the second sleeve, but I had to rip it out at least 4 times. It was completely crazy. I couldn't seem to follow simple k2, p2 for one round then k next round and repeat. Sounds easy eh? Yeah it is, but my mind refused to function for it so the cuff was ripped 4 times then the fair isle sections were ripped at least 2 times. The first sleeve went so smoothly, I just have no clue what happened with the second. It was so aggravating. I pushed on and made it through finally.

How cute is this going to be when it is done?! Should I be this excited about it?

So now that both sleeves are done and the arm holes in the sweater are large enough to fit the sleeves I joined the sweater back into the round. I knit a few inches then did the decreases for the neck. I picked up the stitches for the neck and it just wasn't working for me. It looked puckered and huge. So I decide to sew on the sleeves. I have done sleeves and sewn my knitting together before, so not a problem right? WRONG! No matter how hard I tried you could see the sewing thread on the outside. RIP, RIP, RIP, RIP....... Out came the sleeves, more times than I can count. OK fine, I will sew in the ends that are in my way and will need to be done anyway. That part went ok. Whew at least one thing went right.

After many tears of frustration I headed off to my FNSLYS to get some much needed help on Thursday. The pattern calls for you to whip stitch the sleeves in and I was instructed to use the mattress stitch instead after a few failed attempts at the whip stitch still showing the yarn on the outside. The mattress stitch worked so much better. So I had the first sleeve on and something just didn't look right.

Can you guess where I am going here?????

Remember I rejoined the sweater in the round after the sleeve holes?.

That is where I went horribly wrong. Instead of making shoulders I was making one HUGE neck hole. I tried to convince Christina that James has a huge head and shoulders in a sweater were over-rated, but she just wasn't buying it.

So I am sure you know what happens here right?. *SIGH*

One sleeve was sewn in so it had to partially come out. We were going to just cut out the top part, but the piece of yarn that was cut wasn't the seaming yarn. AHHHHHH!!! I felt the urge to pass out. I tried to convince myself that it was all ok, but my mind kept screaming NOOOOOOO. "People do things like this all the time and can fix them without a problem." Still feeling faint. "Don't worry you are going to have to rip back past the cut point anyway, it will all be ok." Faintness still hanging around. "Just be thankful that it wasn't the fair isle part" Ok now I am coming around. I know that Christina was talking to me in there somewhere too, but my mind was screaming at me so much that I couldn't tell you her exact words, but I know she kept reassuring me that it would all be ok. After a few deep breaths, Christina's reassurance and me knowing deep down that it was ok, I was able to get past it and rip it back to where it needed to be.

Before I left that evening I had the front knit back up to where it needed to be and the neck shaping done. I also only had a few more rows to go on the back to do before I could do a three needle bind off for the shoulders that are "supposed" to be there.

I am really close to being done. Maybe in the next few days I will have pictures to show you of a finished sweater.

Coming Together Slowly

2007-01-31T22:16:00.000-04:00

Here we have the completed front fair isle. I still have some more rows of the plain old blue to knit then it will be placed on some waste yarn so I can work on the back fair isle section.

Here is a different angle of it. It is a really cool pattern and I just love to watch how it slowly forms as I am knitting.

I will do the sleeves before I work any farther on the front or back so I will have a better idea of how much plain blue to knit before I join the top back in the round again.

I am really loving the way that this is coming together. So far the pattern has been easy to read and straight forward. I have read ahead though and the neck shaping and such and it seems a but cryptic. I will have to read it more carefully when I get to that point and see if I can go step by step to understand what they are trying to say.

At the rate that I am going I should have it done by the end of winter. LOL

Here is the beginnings of the first sleeve. I will knit in blue for quite some time then start another fair isle pattern before adding a few more rows of blue then casting off.

This first sleeve is coming along nicely. I am so anxious to get this finished.

Thank Yous All Around

2007-01-30T15:08:00.000-04:00

THANK YOU #1

Recently I won a contest that Brooke had a contest. She was giving away some wonderful prizes to the 500th commenter.

I happened across her blog from seeing a comment she left on a friend's blog. I had no clue that she was having a contest let alone that leaving a comment introducing myself to her, since she does live some what in the area I am in, would win me some nice goodies.

Thank you Brooke! Every thing arrived safe and sound and is just wonderful.

Here is the bootee all together. Lace weight Orange and Yellow KnitPicks yarn, Jawoll for socks for James, Green yarn winder, little wooden sheep and 3 stitch markers that were in the little drawl string bag.

A closeup of the KnitPicks yarn.

Close up of the cute little sheep and the stitch markers. The one on the far right has the word "create" stamped into it.

Now I need a pattern for the laceweight. Anyone have any suggestions???

THANK YOUS #2

Last night at my FNSLYS they had a birthday party for me! It was a really nice surprise. We had a great time knitting, talking and of course laughing. Mindy even brought Liam to see everyone!

Not only did we have some yummy food, they also had gifts for me! I got some really cute cards, a gift card to Lambikins and Susan made her chocolate peanut clusters (OK I have to tell you that they are to die for) and she gave me my own tin of them. I am blaming any weigh gain on you, Susan, just so you know. ;)

Thank you everyone for the fun. Man I could eat a pretzel right now. LOL

Yes the picture was taken on James' Car's table. LOL I use it for my lap top and knitting while he is sleeping. ;) Shhhhh don't let him know.

Warm Fair Isle, Cold House

2007-01-26T14:30:00.000-04:00

UPDATE: Kevin was able to fix the furnace. He was able to get it fixed Friday night. So we are warm again. Thanks for all the warm wishes. Keep your fingers crossed that it is fixed.

Slowly the little Fair Isle Sweater is coming along. One day it will grow up into a big sweater.

I am really enjoying knitting this. The Fair Isle parts are so much fun. I have finally found my groove again with the 2 handed/2 color knitting. It took me a while to get back in that groove and I am sure that some of the people at my FNSLYS (Favorite No So Local Yarn Store) were wondering what I was thinking knitting something so challenging. It looked like I had two left hands and neither of them knew what the other was doing. Guess that is what happens when you haven't picked something up for over a year.

I do have my groove back. If you saw me knitting on this and thought "Wow what a mess that girl is". I promise it and I don't look like that now. LOL

I really wish I had more time to work on it. Between vet appointments, Dr. appointments, James' new found love for books again, (if he is awake I have to read his entire mass quantity of books until it is either nap time or bed time. I swear that I have them all memorized. Kevin laughs at me because I can read quite a few of them without even looking at them.) the normal daily household cleaning and such I just don't have much time to work on it. Hopefully things will settle down in a while and I can get back on a routine again and some knitting time will be included in there some where.

Currently we are trying to stay warm. I had to call Kevin this morning to let him know that the furnace wasn't working! Currently we are at 50 degrees in the house. Burrrrrr. Kevin took a 1/2 day to hopefully fix it. He had to go and get a part that USED to cost $7 that now costs $75! Sadly at the moment it doesn't seem to be working. I just thank God that we have a heater (oil filled electric heater) hooked up in James' room. At least he will be warm. If we don't get it fixed I will be packing up and either heading to the In-laws or my Mom's. Please wish us luck that Kevin can fix it. We don't have the $$ to pay for some one to come in.

My feet are cold. Guess it is time to add another layer of socks. *sigh*

Knit Fix

2007-01-18T10:49:00.000-04:00

For Christmas I received a gift card to a LYS that is about 10 minutes away from me. They are mainly for machine knitting so if you are a machine knitter or know one and you haven't been to the store you should make it a point to go.

They do have some nice yarns for hand knitters, but none of them spoke to me that day. So I went to look at the books, and then I saw it. Knit Fix was staring at me calling my name.

I have been wanting this book since I have seen reviews of it. Sadly my NSLYS hasn't gotten it in yet, so I decided that is what I would get.

I am so happy with it. There are so many techniques in it to fix any little to huge mistake. Granted there are a few that I already do, but there are even more that I have never seen, would never have thought of, or had no clue that you could do.

This is a great book for the beginner to the experienced knitter. I am very happy with my purchase and it will be added to my knitting reference library that I am slowly building.

Granted I hope that I never have to get the book out to use it, but I know that I will sooner before later. :) If you don't have it yet go out and get it. It will make a good addition to your library too.

Visiting an UFO

2007-01-16T11:59:00.000-04:00

Last year I started a fair isle sweater for James. Sadly it ended up getting put in the knitting basket for later knitting and I just never picked it back up. I was learning so many new things in the land of knitting and I was so excited about it all that I was trying to knit everything at once. Which means that my old projects were neglected.

I am using the pattern from the Dale book # 149. It is this one on the front cover. Of course I am using different colors and added a few stripes in the pattern. I have held up what I have finished so far to see how it will fit the wee one and it is going to be big still. I am so glad.

THIS is where I stopped last year on it. So I picked it up from there and have started to make some progress on it.

It is no longer being knit in the round. Call me a wimp, but I just can't bring myself to steek it. I am not that brave yet and my sewing skills, or lack there of, leave a lot to be desired that is for sure. So I split it for the front and back.

I am a little farther than this on it, but I need to get pictures and all that fun stuff.

I am so excited about it again and I would love to be able to get it finished so that James could wear it this winter some time, if the weather would cooperate that is.

I am hoping to revisit all my UFO's that have been ignored. I really need to get some of them finished. Heck I have a pair of gloves that only need a few fingers knit in and then the ends woven in. I have a problem with being monogamous with my knitting. I think I need to work on that. ;)

Secret Scarf

2007-01-12T00:50:00.000-04:00

Not only did I send something to my friend's son, I also sent something to her too.

I found this yarn of course at my NSLYS. Sadly when I took these pictures there was no sun out so there was no natural light. I had to settle for using the flash and it completely washed out the color. I know it looks completely blue, but I swear that there are purples, pinks and hints of grey in there too.

The yarn is Wooly Feathers by Mountain Colors. The color is called Sweet Lavender. If you look at it on their web page it looks completely different than what I photographed.

Details:

Needles: Sz. 13 Straights

Yarn: Mountain Colors Wooly Feathers Sweet Lavender (1 skein)

Pattern: Completely garter stitch

This was another quick knit and the only pictures that I got of it is what you see. Wish I would have gotten more pictures, but I was more concerned that I got it out in the mail and to the recipient before Christmas. I was so glad to hear that she liked it.

Do These Look Some What Familiar?? :)

2007-01-10T20:57:00.000-04:00

Well here are the secret socks that I was making for a friend's son. I can show them now since we have revealed who had who in the ecxhange. They are made from the same Cascade Fixation that I made James' out of (different ball/dye lot).

I said that I loved this yarn and I wanted to make more of them. Well I was true to my word. :)

I do have more of the Fixation in different variegated color ways and solids. I like the softness, stretch and cushieness of this yarn knitted up. Honestly I was a bit apprehensive at first, but once I tried it I was hooked. If you have never tried it get a ball or two and I think you will love it. It will take one ball for baby/toddler socks and two balls for adult socks. I know that my NSLYS sells it for $4.60 for the solid and $5.5o for the variegated. I think that is a really good price for sock yarn. Especially something that will be a good yarn for a child.

Here are the socks almost finished. All I need to do is the foot, the toe and then Kitchener it together. As quick as they went that part didn't take me long at all.

I really like how they look like some sort of weird zebra. Everyone that has seen them in person think that they are really cool too. Anja said that she loved them. So I am glad that they were liked and are appreciated.

On to the details:

Needles: Sz. 4 DP

Yarn: Cascade Fixation 1 ball (Black, Grey, White)

Pattern: Same as James' K1, P1 rib for cuff, plain stockinette for leg and foot, Round heel and classic toe

It is time to cast on some more of these in different sizes for James. I think that this might be my travel knitting. Small, compact and a quick knit.

I didn't get a picture of the second finished sock or a picture of it all cutely wrapped up in it's label. I was in such a hurry to get it out in the mail that I completely forgot.

Up next will be what I made for Anja and I think I will be pretty close to being up to date on my knitting.

James' Socks

2007-01-06T22:10:00.000-04:00

First off Thanks for all the Birthday wishes you gave my little man.

Here are the socks that I made for James. I am keeping them for his Birthday party to go with some clear boots that I got as well. Hummm maybe I should stuff the socks and get a picture of them in the boots.

I already know that he likes them since he carried the first one around the house after it was finished. LOL He is so silly.

I haven't tried them on him yet and the boots I know are too big at the moment for him, but he isn't getting any smaller that is for sure. I just hope that the socks either fit or are too big so he can grow into them.

They knit up so quickly. I loved the fact that I could get them done so fast and have something to show for it. I have more of the same color that I am going to use to knit up a pair for a friend's son. More on them later.

Now for the details:

Needles: Sz 4 Circular

Yarn: Cascade Fixation Black, Grey and White
1 ball will make a pair of socks for a child. I had a decent size ball left over.

Pattern: K1, P1 rib for cuff, generic stockinette for leg, round heel and a classic toe. Made to fit a Toddler size 8.

Sock #1

Start of Sock #2

Finished Socks

Mom's Christmas Scarf

2007-01-03T15:30:00.000-04:00

Still on the Christmas gift tangent here. As for 2007 knitting I have been working on pair of socks for Kevin. The man has a size 17 shoe! Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I knit these. LOL

I made my Mom a scarf this year as one of her Christmas gifts. Of course with the weather being so warm lately I don't foresee her needing it if the weather keeps it up. I guess she will be ready for next year if this winter doesn't get any cooler.

I used the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf Pattern. The pattern was so easy to memorize and it was a fun knit. It knit up fairly quickly as well. I am very happy with the pattern and the way it looked and I would love to make more of them. Maybe I will list a few on my Etsy store.

Here are a few close-ups of what the pattern looks like knit up. Cool hu?

I can say that the above pictures are washed put quite a bit. The picture below shows the color more true to what it is. It is a nice deep red.

Details:

Needles: Sz 8

Yarn: Yarn Source Sol 100% Wool Burgundy (this is my NSLYS's own line of yarn click the link below the picture on their web page to see all the colors and to order it on line, plus check out their own line of silk called Passion the prices are really good for both of them)

Pattern: Via Yarn Harlot

I am really ready to knit this pattern again. It was fun and pretty much a mindless knit. If you can count to 4 you can do this pattern.

So my question to you is from all the colors of the Sol which one is your favorite or top favorites?

Happy New Year & Happy Birthday

2007-01-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

I wanted to wish you all a Very Happy New Year!

It has been really wonderful being able to share all my kitting accomplishments, learning experiences, tears and happy moments. 2006 has been a pretty good year for knitting and I look forward to 2007 being better.

I have learned so much in 2006. The most important thing that I learned is what the owner of my NSLYS has always told me. "If you can knit and purl you can do anything." I have NEVER been told that I couldn't do some thing whenever I have looked at really fancy, intricate patterns or techniques on Monday night knitting. I have ALWAYS been encouraged to give it a try and if I ever needed any help that they were there to help me. The workers are so sweet and helpful. I really don't think I would have kept knitting if I didn't find the shop.

I think that my plan for 2007 is to get some sort of binder. Then go through all my books listing all the things I would like to knit or already have yarn to knit, what book they are in, what yarn and needles that they require and if I need to get anything to knit each item. I need to get more organized and I think that is where I should start. Sadly I have yarn that I have bought for a project and I never got the chance to get to it. Now I have to try and remember what it was I was going to make with it. Hence the binder and notes. ;) I do believe that is where I will start on my knitting journey for 2007.

Well as of Jan. 1, 2007 9:38 am our baby boy will be 2! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!

I can't believe he will be 2 already. I swear that it seems just like yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital. Why does the time go by so fast? I have had so much fun watching him grow and mature into a toddler. He is so smart and funny. I honestly don't know what we ever did without him. I Love him more and more every day.

I can say that I have been blessed with being able to stay home with him. I have got to see all his firsts, teach him, play with him, learn and grow together and being able to be here for him no matter the time of day or night.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR BABY BOY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Knee Warmers

2006-12-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

No you didn't read the title wrong. These are not leg warmers. My mother-in-law is always saying that her knees are cold in the winter, especially at night. So my father-in-law gave me the idea to make her a pair of knee warmers for Christmas.

I think the hardest part of these were getting the measurements without her knowing it. My father-in-law said that she had tried some leg warmers and they fit, but after a little while they felt like they were cutting into her thy. So I asked him to look for them and I would just make them a little bigger. That was a no go. He searched high and low and couldn't find the dang things. I then saw that Cat Bordhi was looking for measurements of people's feet for a new book, I thought "ahhh haaaa! That's how I can get the measurements!" So I took all the measurements of her that I would need for socks and then some. She never questioned it. LOL So now I at least have her measurements if I want to make her a pair of socks. :)

I used a wool and soy blend that my NSLYS** had just recently got in. It is from Rowan and is called Tapestry. I used the Rustic colorway. I bought a bag of it since I had no clue how much one leg warmer would take. I only used just a little over 1 ball for each one. Of course with my mother-in-law leg measuring 15 1/2 inches at the largest part I didn't need much yarn. LOL So that added up to 2 and not even a half that I used. I really loved the colors of the yarn and I debated on taking back the rest, but I decided to keep it and make socks or something else. I bet it would make a lovely scarf as well.

I didn't get many pictures of them as they went along. I had so much knitting to get done that I didn't take the time out to take photos. Heck I thought that I took a picture of it with it's label and all, but I can't seem to find it, so I guess I thought about it and never did it.

Up Close and Personal

Beginning of Knee Warmer

First One Done

It's Twins

Another View

Details:

Needles: Sz 3 circulars

Yarn: Rowan Tapestry in Rustic (see above for link)

Pattern: Made it up on the fly. K2,P2 rib for cuff. Then changed to K1,P1 rib until the knee section. Knee section done in stockinette except for either side of the knee that has a few rows of 1x1 ribbing for more flexibility and hopefully won't bunch. The repeat the rib rows just the opposite as before.

My mother-in-law used them that night to sleep in and she said that she loved them. She said that they stayed up all night and didn't cut into her. She said that they were perfect. I am so glad that she likes them. I will knit for her again ;). Maybe I should make her a pair in alpaca. Oh that would be nice. Heck I could see her wearing both pair together. LOL

Thanks for all the sweet comments about the little hat in the last post. They will be off my list for sure. Come to find out my Mom went to visit them while they were still in the hospital. She had taken a gift for them and she said they didn't look in the bag to see what it was or say thanks. I am just dumbfounded. Needless to say the family is invited over to the new baby's grandparent's house today to see the baby. I had originally planned on going and of course I would have taken something for the baby, but not I am really thinking about not going. I am wondering if I should really waste my time with them. Maybe I will go to my NSLYS** and look at some yarn or something. At least there I feel welcome and appreciated.

Sara thanks for the info about the books. I swear I have the mitten book, but I don't see it on my list of books I have. I will have to look and see if I have it, if not I will have to see if Christina still has it.

Have a lovely day.

**NSLYS - Not So Local Yarn Store

FO #1

2006-12-29T00:39:00.000-04:00

Here is the first FO that I had promised in my last post.

It is a little hat made for a new baby in the family. We had a mini baby shower and Christmas celebration wrapped up together. I was afraid that it wouldn't go over well and my fears came to fruition.

It was taken out of the little bag it was lovingly wrapped in and looked at for a second then tossed aside with not even a thank you. I had spent many hours working on it and it was my own pattern. I wanted something nice for them, but obviously they didn't feel the same. The grandmother to be thanked me for it and all the work that I put into it. I guess at least one person appreciated it.

Sadly the only person that they thanked was my Aunt and Uncle. I believe that was because they had bought them a stroller and a few other things. So it seems that it is the price and size of the gift that counts not the thought for them. That is sad since they really don't have very much. You would think that they would appreciate anything that they got, but I guess not.

At least I know that my blog friends know the amount of work that goes into something like this. As well as my Mom and a few other of my family members.

I guess it is time for me to stop complaining and give you the details of the hat.

Needles: Sz. 2 DP
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull in Bright Blue and Green
Pattern: Made up as I went (fair isle pattern of k 2 blue, k2 green around next rows shift pattern to the left by 1 stitch).

It came out better than I thought it would and I was quite happy with it. It is really cute. Not quite sure if i will make another one. I need to work out some problems with the decrease sections. Guess it is time to get out the graph paper.

Well I have some more FO for you later. I can safely say that they got better receptions. ;)

Happy Holidays!!

2006-12-26T22:41:00.000-04:00

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas or what ever it is that you celabrate this time of year.

We had a busy month. Every weekend this month we had either a family gathering for Christmases or Birthdays. In a way I am glad it is over, but on the other hand I really love the holiday season. In just a few weeks we will have another celebration. We will be having a birthday party for our James. He will be 2! I just can't believe it, I am still in denial. His actual birthday is on Jan. 1st, but we will have the party later on the weekend. After that I hope that things will calm down and I can get some things done, like knitting.

I do have some knitting things to show you. It will have to be later though. Hopefully I will get some time later tonight or tomorrow to download some pictures.

We had a wonderful Christmas. James got loads of stuff. He not only got toys, books, and such but he got an entire wardrobe of clothes! The poor child is so deprived isn't he. (*rolls eyes*)

Guess I will stop rambling now. Hopefully I will have some pictures to share with you soon.

SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!! SALE!!!

2006-12-25T00:30:00.000-04:00

ETA: I will leave this post at the top of the blog until the sale is over. For new posts look below this one.

Yep you read it right. I am having my first sale at my Etsy store. It begins December 1 and will run until Christmas. So please stop buy and if you feel so inclined purchase a sweet little hat for that little one that could use it this winter. Most hats have been marked down at least $5.00!!!!

Just click on the link above or the picture in the sidebar or below to get there.

Thanks so much!

ETA: I will leave this post at the top of the blog until the sale is over. For new posts look below this one.

Socks!

2006-12-18T15:18:00.000-04:00

First off we had a 3 for 1 Birthday party this past Sunday. It was for my Sister-in-Law, Brother-in-Law and Niece. It was the day that the rainbow socks were making their public arrival. I was keeping my fingers crossed that they would fit and most of all that she would like them.

The socks fit her perfectly! I was so happy. After opening all her gifts she put on the socks and wore them all night! I was so glad that she liked them. It is still exciting to me to have someone really like something that you put all the hard work into. She is such a sweet young woman and when we were leaving she thanked me for them and the other things. I can't believe that she is 15 now! Where has the time gone.

Here is a picture of the socks before they were wrapped in their festive birthday wrapping.

Here is my niece with her socks on. She looks sad because James refused to sit and take a picture with her. I think she was trying to guilt him into it, but he wasn't budging on his decision.

I finished one of the toddler socks last night and cast on for the next one. I am hoping to get it finished tonight. I am at the decreases for the gusset so I am going pretty good on it. I would really like to be able to have them out in the mail tomorrow and on their way.

I can't believe that it is almost Christmas. Only 1 week away and I still haven't wrapped any gifts. It might be a long night on Christmas Eve wrapping presents.

Done Done Done

2006-12-15T10:15:00.000-04:00

Did I mention that I am done?.

My niece's socks are done! I finished them last night in the wee hours.

It seemed like it took just as long to weave in the ends as it did to knit them. I really dislike the process of weaving in ends. No matter how I go about it, it just takes forever. I have thought about using the ends like stranded knitting and wrapping them in as I go. I wonder how well that would work. Anyone ever done this or use this method?

Any way, they are brightly colored that is for sure. She is so into the bright colors now. She just got a new bedding set and it has all the bright colors in it with big flowers. The socks should match. LOL

Details:

Needles: Sz. 1 Ebony 5 Double Point Lantern Moon

Yarn: 1 Ball Regia Sock Yarn Bright Orange (Sorry lost the label so that is all I have)
1 Skein Lorna's Laces Rainbow

Since there was only one skein of the LL's I used the Regia for the cuff, heel, and toe. They were knit from top down with a round heal and classic toe.

I hope that she likes them.

After finishing them I cast on for the toddler socks. They will be black, grey and white. They should look zebraish (yes it is a word in my mind LOL). I did a few rows before I headed to bed at 2 this morning. Hopefully these will go quick. They are much smaller and are on larger needles, so they should go faster.

I am using Cascade Fixation for these and size 4 needles. Here's hoping that I can bust a move and get them done quick.

Just Around the Bend

2006-12-14T00:17:00.000-04:00

My niece's socks need to be finished and to her this Sunday. Ahhhhh! I do have the first one finished and have a good portion of the second one done, but the knitting seems to be going slower and slower as the time ticks by faster and faster. I only have 33 more rows to go before I can start the toe decrease. I am hoping that I will be able to get to the toe decreases by tomorrow evening so that I might have them finished by Friday. *Sigh*

After my niece's socks are finished I have to immediately cast on for a toddler pair. They should go faster since they are much smaller and use a bigger needle and yarn. They, in all theory, should only take me a few days at the most to finish.

I was taking some boxes to the basement today and found my gloves that I never finished last year. I have 3 fingers and a thumb to do and they will be finished. After all the holiday hustle and bustle I plan on getting them back out so I can finish them and get them off my list. I can't believe that I never finished them. I guess more interesting projects came along. LOL I need to get them done so that I can wear them this winter, that is if the weather would turn cold and quit teasing us with the warm weather that we have been having.

Well I am going to take my sock and head to bed. I guess I will knit a few rounds before I completely turn in. Call it my wind down rows. ;)

Keep on Knittin' Knittin', Knittin'

2006-12-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

I have been busily knitting away. I have made a pair of socks for James, a scarf for a friend, have one sock finished for my niece and am currently working on a fair isle baby hat. I still need to make another pair of child's socks and the second sock for my niece.

The fair isle hat has to be finished this weekend. I am so close to getting to the decreases that I can almost taste it. I am not using a pattern and am just winging it. I hope that it turns out ok. It is just a simple spiral pattern. I am using Baby Ull in a nice blue and green. I hope that the recipients like it.

The socks for my niece have to be finished by the following weekend.

Unfortunately I just don't get much knitting time in. James doesn't want me knitting when he is awake. While he is napping I am running through the house to get some general cleaning and such done and I don't get to do much then. In the evening I finish up cleaning up and putting James to bed. By the time that is all finished it is normally close to 10 or so. I get a few precious hours to do some knitting as long as the dog behaves and James doesn't wake with a night terror or something of the sort. So the little time that I do get is quite precious.

I will post pictures of some of the things that I have listed above as soon as I get pictures of them and get them on the computer.

Have a great day.

I-Cord is DONE!!

2006-11-13T01:36:00.000-04:00

Yes you see it right. The I-cord for the rug is done. Finally done. Whooo Hooooo!!! I am sure you heard the big sigh of relief once I was finished.

I can safely say that it is the most I-cord that I have ever knit. I don't think that I ever want to knit that much ever again. Granted it was great mindless knitting that I could do pretty much any where at any time, but a person can only do so much mindless knitting before she becomes mindless herself. So needless to say I am glad that part of it is finished.

Here we have the massive ball of I-cord and the yarn that I am going to sew it together with.

Since I have never sewn I-cord together into a rug I am not sure what to expect. I hope that it goes smoothly, but with my luck it will be nothing but problems and I will have a pretty I-cord ball for decoration. I had said earlier that if it doesn't work I am stringing it up for Christmas as my form of mistletoe.

Wish me luck. I think I am going to need all that I can get.

Still Working on the I-Cord

2006-11-06T13:15:00.000-04:00

I am still working on the I-cord for my rug. Man I don't think it will ever end. I am beginning to question if I am really sane.

I wound it into a ball to keep it some what more manageable. It was beginning to get out of control. James loves it just that much more now that it is in ball form. Every time he walks by it he pats it and says "Ahhhhh" or he will hug it and say "Ahhhh ball". He is so goofy. I love the fact that he is so fascinated by it and loves yarn. Gotta start them early. ;)

One day in the future I will be finished with the I-Cord and will get to have the fun adventure of sewing it all together. I hope that it isn't as much of a pain as I am expecting it to be.

The BIG 30

2006-11-02T23:30:00.000-04:00

This past Monday night there was a surprise party for Christina. She had no clue that it had been in the works for a while and was quite surprised.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINA!!!!

There was quite a good turn out. Of course we had plenty of yummy food. We just can't have a pert without all the food. Normally we indulge on the tasty goodness that our stomachs are hurting. Did you know that one's stomach can only stretch so far before it threatens to explode: :) Here are some pictures of the turn out, food and the beautiful cake.

It seemed that everyone had a great time and it was just about to get better. In comes Elmer. He was a singing telegram for Christina from our Dear Sara. Boy was he funny! It didn't seem that anyone knew exactly what he was going to do. I heard one say that he was supposed to strip. AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Please NO!!! Thank God that wasn't the case. It was bad enough to see the shorts. I can say that the guy did a great job ad was freaking hysterical. Just look at Christina's face, she was doubled over with laughter.

Here we have the stairway to a sugar coma. LOL

I had a great time and it sounded like everyone else did too. It is always fun to get together with your fellow knitters and if a party breaks out then that is even better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINA WE GOT YOU :)

Diaper Bag Finished!!

2006-10-30T16:25:00.000-04:00

Here it is. It is finished! It is felted and their name is needle felted on it. This is the first time I have ever needle felted so I am not exactly happy with that part of it. What I had in my mind was quite different than how it turned out.

The Malabrigo felted up so nice and it went so quick. It took maybe 5 minutes to get it completely felted. That is the fastest I have ever felted anything before. It came out a really nice and soft fabric. It is thick enough for what it is meant for and the feel is just wonderful.

In addition to the bad I bought a few things for the new baby as well. It just isn't right to give an empty diaper bag. :)

Here we have the back of the bag. It looks the same as the front, but without the name on it.

Finally here is the bag full of it's contents that are just waiting to go to it's new owner. Now to get it to them. Guess I need to make a call and see when they will be home hu?.

Bag Up-right

Felted Diaper Bag

2006-10-25T10:41:00.000-04:00

So I saw this diaper bad and just had to make it. A friend of mine was having a little boy and it was calling my name. Isn't it just too cute?!

Here is the first side pocket and part of the bottom and side pockets. What yarn is that you ask? Well it is the luscious Malabrigo. Yes - I am going to felt it. No - it isn't a sin to felt Malabrigo, though I did second guess myself for doing so.

Here is a close up of the above picture. I double stranded the bottom of the bag. I figure that they are always drug across the ground and that could be a major wear point. So instead of following the 1 strand throughout as the pattern called for I modified it to use a 2 stranded bottom.

Now I have all the pocket flaps and bottom finished and have picked up all my stitches and am beginning to make the upper part of the bag.

Here is a close up of the above picture.

It is getting really close to being done. All I have to do is the dark blue around the top and the strap. I am so close I can't wait to get it done and felted.

Yet another close up.

Here it is completely knit up with handle and all. It now just needs to go to the washer for felting. After felting and drying I am going to needle felt their name on one side of it. I thought that would add just that much more of a personal touch to it.

Much Over Due Thank You

2006-10-20T16:22:00.000-04:00

Quite a while back I won a contest that the Gabby Knitter Kelly was having. Who ever was the 700 commenter won some of her hand spun yarn! Well since I leave comments there anyway I figured I wouldn't win, but I did!!!

Not only did I get the yarn, but I also got a bar of chocolate and a tin of her favorite tea! I can't wait to get into all of it. What a great package. The yarn is so soft. I still need to decide what I am going to make with it. I am thinking bed time socks. It is so nice it would be a shame to wear it on my feet in a pair of shoes. Of course if I do use it for bed socks I will have to wear them to my LYS to show them off.

If you ever have a chance to get your hands on her yarn you should grab it as fast as you can. I am sure that it is going to knit up as sweet as it feels. Now to find the perfect pattern.

THANKS SO MUCH KELLY! You exceeded my expectations.

I-Cord Rug

2006-10-10T10:38:00.000-04:00

I have been slowly working on a few projects recently. My I-cord rug is one of them. With having hard wood floors at our new house I can use it, so I need to get my rear in gear and get it finished. I think it is going to take a while to get it all sewn together once the cording is finished, but at least half the battle will be won.

The individual color balls are getting smaller, but I still have quite a way to go on it. I think it is going to look really cute when it is done. I had originally planned on using it in the bathroom, but now I am not so sure. I am thinking of possibly using it in the guest room or our bed room at the end of the bed. I guess I will just have to take it from room to room to see where it will look best. Who knows it might just end up back in the bath room where it was originally intended for.

It is longer than this now, but this is the most current photo that I have of it.

Here is what it will look like once it it coiled up into a rug. Of course it will be bigger than that.

James just loves my yarn and he thinks that the I-cord is the best. See I am raising him right. LOL :) Looks like I need to make him an I-cord section to play with. Crazy kid.

He had a blast just putting it in-between his toes. What that was about I don't know, but he sure was happy with it and he was being good, so I wasn't complaining and just let him have his fun.

Hopefully I will be able to get some more pictures of what I have done now. I have it all wound up into a ball at the moment. Humm I wonder what the biggest I-cord ball is.....

Soctoberfest Q & A

2006-10-07T23:05:00.000-04:00

Yep I joined Soctoberfest this year. I am hoping to get a sock done this month, but it isn't looking promising. I just can't seem to get my knitting time in. This dang moving and unpacking is cutting into my knitting time royally. I digress. On to my answers to the questions that Lolly posted the other day.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
Gee I believe it was some time in 1998. It was the first thing that I ever knit and I taught myself from the pattern.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
My first pair was my first knitting project ever. There were quite a few mistakes and I didn't know how to go back and fix them without ripping them back to the very beginning. They were a pair of over the knee socks for my 6'6" husband with size 17 feet! Unfortunately I used Wool-Ease to knit them without any other reinforcement. They fell apart in the heals after the 3rd wear. :'( I quit knitting until I was pregnant with my son in 2005 then wanted to make some blankets and such for him so I thought I would give it a try and have been hooked ever since.

What would you have done differently?
I would have used a better yarn that would have held up better and used mega reinforcement in the heals and toes.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
Ohhh I love Lorna's Laces, Regia, Claudia Handpaints, Trekking XXL and many more. There are so many that I want to try, Socks that Rock are on the top of my list.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I knit my socks. OMG you can crochet socks?! I would love to see that!! I will use DPN's or the magic loop. I found that the magic loop seems to travel easier. You don't have to worry about 4 or 5 needles and the chance of loosing one. Also it works so much easier with a toddler in the house. The 2 needles point toward me so I don't have to worry about him running up to me and getting poked by a needle. Another plus is that you can slide the sock onto the cord and there is much less of a chance of a needle getting pulled out and you can try them on as you go.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I guess at this point I would have to say flap since that is the only one that I have ever made. I want to try the short row one and see how I like it. I would love to try any and all that are out there so I will have something to choose from and be able to change things up from time to time.

How many pairs have you made?
Not many at all. I have made 3 1/2 pair not counting the one that I started for Soctoberfest.

Well those are my answers. Not very thrilling or exciting, but I hope that as the years pass I will have more to report for the Soctoberfests in the future.

Aloha Sara

2006-09-26T01:06:00.000-04:00

This past Thursday evening there was a party for Sara's departure to Maui. She will be working in graphic design and sales of wedding photos. She is really excited and I am sure will have a great time.

This means that she will be leaving us. :( I am so happy for her, yet so sad to see her go. She has become a friend of mine and I am going to miss her tremendously.

One consolation is that I am taking in her 2 beautiful cats. They are both really sweet and I am sure that they will like it in our family. Don't worry Sara I will take great care of them.

There was a good turn out for the party Thursday. I was so happy to see so many people come and show their love.

The food was wonderful. There was a large spread as always. Us knitters can't see anyone go hungry. Take a look at the veggie tray. Isn't it awesome?! Rita you do great work (and yes you CAN knit!!).

Molly was there as well to show Sara some love. She didn't seem to like the grass skirt much, but she put it on for Sara. Isn't she cute.?

Here is our guest of honor arriving at her party. Surprise Sara!!!!

She had to take the edge off with a cold frosty one. Yes it was "that" kind of party. ;)

Now we come to the time in the party where she receives her evening attire. She has to dress the part if she is really going to leave us for Maui.

Strike a pose for us Sara and show us how to hula. Don't forget to hug your palm tree each night.

Now that we all had a good laugh at dressing up Sara it is time to fill our plates. We had to put back all the calories that we lost laughing so hard. Can't let good food go to waste. Instead it will go to our waist.

Here we have Susan. She came in her "just finished" jacket. Made from Jo Sharp (or as we all affectionately call it - Jo Jo). It was so nice and "juicy". It turned out so nice. Great job Susan!!

Sara I will miss....
Your Friendship
Your laughter
Your Humor
Your Honesty
Your Ability to Make Others Laugh
Your Stories that You Tell so Well
Your Patients
Your Knowledge of Knitting

There are many more, but it is late and my brain just isn't functioning.

I promise that I will take good care of your babies. I just hope that they will be happy with us. Thank you for trusting me with their care.

Thank you for being patient with me while I try and understand something new. Thank you for taking so much time to help me with my knitting.

Good Luck and keep in touch with us. Aloha

Come back and visit us soon. You always have a place to stay in our home.

Am I Crazy?

2006-09-16T22:38:00.000-04:00

Ok don't answer that one. I know that I am.

Seriously though, if I am crazy so is Kevin. We have had an experience that we can't explain where or what we heard came from.

THE STORY IS HERE

Why do things like this seem to follow us?

Where Has all the Knitting Gone?

2006-09-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

Where is all my knitting you ask? I have been working on some things in my spare time, but that is very little and very far between.

Most of my time is being taken up HERE.

Yep that is our house! I am so excited! I can't wait to get it done and be able to move into it. James is so happy there. He knows exactly where his room is and runs straight for it when we get there. Plus with the basement being dry, and just having a complete professional job done to make sure it will stay that way, I will have a great place to keep my crafts.

Well back to packing and getting things together to do more on the house tomorrow since Kevin took off so we could hopefully get more done.

My Etsy Store!!

2006-08-22T13:51:00.000-04:00

I finally did it. I got my own Etsy store. It was much easier that I thought that it would be. Now I am just hoping to sell some of my things. If you know anyone that might be interested please give them my link. If there is some thing that you might want that isn't listed I will do my best to make it for you.

Click on the picture and it will take you to my store.

Etsy Store

Now I need to get it smaller for the side bar and I should be set. Then it will be knit, knit, knit to make more things for it.

Wish me luck.