"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either." ~ Elizabeth Zimmerman

12/31/09

MMKKMMystery Shawl KAL

I want to knit more lace in the coming year. So I'm going to start out with a mystery shawl knit along hosted by Leo Pola. He designs the most beautiful lace shawl patterns.

I have decided to use this yarn for the shawl, along with these size 8 seed beads (though I may change my mind on the bead color cos I'm not totally convinced of this choice)


The yarn is Mary Lue Solo, a 3ply light fingering weight 100% Acrylic in Lilac. I've had this yarn in the stash for a very long time. I used Mary Lue Solo quite a bit in my machine knitting days. It's a very nice quality yarn. I just love this shade of lilac.

The KAL starts January 1, 2010-tomorrow. Leo will be posting one clue a week for 8 weeks. I am looking forward to it. If you might be interested in joining me, check it out.

It is snowing out. It snowed yesterday, all day long, but it was those itty bitty teeny tiny fluffy flakes that take a lot to amount to anything. After all day we had barely an inch. Still, Sweet Hubby felt the need to plow the driveway with his new tractor. This evening the flakes are bigger, wetter-more like snowman making snow.

We are going to a party tonight. It is nephew Shawns birthday as well as New Years Eve. I am trying a new recipe for hors d'oeurves involving Pillsbury pie crust and meat filling. I will let you know how it turns out.

Have a nice evening.

12/29/09

Simple Woman's Daybook for December 29, 2009



Outside my window...
It's cloudy and cold. It started snowing, then stopped. The forecast is for snow.

I am thinking...
about taking down the Christmas Tree today. I don't know why. Usually I wait until the weekend after New Years.

I am thankful for...
Two things. My Dad is being released from the hospital today. Yay!

My home. I know it isn't much-a double wide mobile home, but I love it. Sweet Hubby and I waited a long time to own our own home and I really appreciate having it.

From the kitchen...
A serious dent has been made in the piles of Christmas cookies. I'm about cookied out. I could go for cake, or pie, or pudding. Mmm..tapioca pudding.

I am wearing...
jeans and a t-shirt. Not going anywhere today, so I don't need to dress up.

I am creating...
good question. I am in the mood for cross stitch. I'm thinking about digging out my little snowman project and finishing it.

I am going...
nowhere, which is really a good thing because I'm in pain today. Tommy jumped up and slammed into my side yesterday at just the wrong time and managed to knock me over. Not only did I drop my laptop (which broke-but I fixed it), but I twisted my back and it hurts. My knee slammed into the floor too. I'm going to let some healing happen.

I am reading...
Still working on 7th Heaven by James Patterson. I haven't had much time for book reading lately.

I am hoping...
daughter Ruth decides what she's going to do for this last semester of school. She only needs one more class and she can graduate. The questions are does she go back to Moscow and take the class on campus? Or move back home and take it at the local U of Idaho satellite school? Or take it online? Inquiring minds need to know.

I am hearing...
the funny gurgling noises the ice maker makes in our refrigerator.

Around the house...
Ruth's toys. A Wii, games, and controller in front of the tv, box of yarn on the coffee table, tube of blocking wires on the floor in front of the couch, various and assorted puzzles all over the place. Yup. My daughter is home.

One of my favorite things...
is going to a movie with Ruth. We should do that before the next semester begins.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
laundry, vacuuming, taking down the Christmas decorations.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
We had a lot more snow at this time last year than we do now. There are actually bare spots on the ground right now. Here's a pic from last year.



Have a great day.

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12/28/09

Christmas Loot

I had a wonderful Christmas. I hope you did too. It started with 23 Park family members gathering at my house Christmas Eve for the annual family Christmas party. We had a blast! Was the best party I've ever had. My in-laws are so much fun!

The food was awesome. I cooked a turkey and it was so moist and delicious. Sue cooked a Prime Rib that was out-of-this-world good. We had two kinds of potatoes, salad, veggies and dip, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, and several different awesome desserts, as well as some very good hors doeuvres. The kids hooked a Wii up to our tv and played Rock Band. We adults talked and laughed up a storm as usual. After dinner we did our gift exchange. It was great. My son-in-law drew my name and got me this.



It's a bottle of Absinthe, a licorice flavored liqueur. It came with a box of sugar cubes. Yum!

Niece Heidi loves the scarf and necklace I made for her. She almost started crying she likes them so much. That made me get all warm and fuzzy inside.

On Christmas day we started with opening our gifts, and eating chocolate for breakfast. Here is what Santa brought me.

The complete works of Star Trek Enterprise. Hurray! I was hoping for some more Star Trek DVD's.




I took the above picture with my new portable photography light box.




This is the back. The pockets are for the two lights and tripod, plus an extra pocket for whatever.




It folds up and becomes this little case, which Chenille gave her stamp of approval.




My daughter and son-in-law gave me sock yarn, and one ball of Cocoon.



The 3 skeins of deep purple they picked up on their honeymoon in Norway. The purple in the front is from Pagewood Farms, and the Yellow/Pink is called Smooshy, and it is-smooshy that is.

After the gift opening we went to our friends, Phyllis and Don Kobaly, for Christmas dinner and card playing until midnight. It was a very enjoyable evening even though I was soooo tired. I hadn't recovered from Christmas Eve festivities yet. The meal was wonderful, and the card game was boisterous. I lost, as usual. But I had fun anyway. Spending time with Phyllis and Don, and their son David, is one of the highlights of our Christmas traditions.

Now for some more serious news. Late Tuesday night I got a call from one of my sisters. My Dad has been in the hospital. My cousin, Susie, took him there at her request because he couldn't breath and his foot was quite swollen. Turns out that last summer he went off his heart meds (He has Atherosclerosis) because he was feeling good (my Dad doesn't fully understand what medication is all about). The doctor thinks he had a mild heart attack some time in the last 6 months which caused the edema. Water built up around his lungs, which made it hard for him to breath, and also caused his feet to swell. They did two procedures (which I can't remember the name) to check for blockages in his heart-one for each side. They found one small blockage which they were able to fix right away with a balloon, and this morning I was told they found nothing in the second procedure. So he is going to be fine. He'll be able to go home in a couple days. He has been thoroughly scolded for going of the meds by the doctor, my cousin Susie, and me, and won't be doing it again.

My Dad was in a religious cult for many many years where medical type care was forbidden (seen as a lack of faith in God) and though he is no longer in that cult, he still has trouble accepting the idea of taking medication. I know how he feels because I went through the same thing. Intellectually, you know it's fine and a good thing, but emotionally there's this fear lurking in there that hampers you. It takes time to overcome that. The important thing is Daddy is going to be just fine.

On Saturday I was lazy. I had to recover from the partying. I'm not as young as I used to be. I watched Star Trek DVD's, knitted, ate Christmas cookies, napped, and surfed the web. The sum total of my day.

Sunday I put the house back in order from the Christmas eve party. I found all kinds of stuff various family members accidentally have left here. I will have to go visiting later this week and return it all.

Have a good day.

12/25/09

Christmas Greeting



Merry Christmas To All!



Wishing you a wonderful, joyful holiday. Try not to eat too much.


Beadknitter

12/24/09

Bacony Goodness

Finally got those cookies baked last night. Oh, are they tasty! Much better than I expected, and I expected good. These are Chocolate Chip Bacon Pecan cookies.





The only thing I would change in the recipe is the amount a batch makes. I wanted 4 dozen cookies minimum. The recipe says it makes 18 cookies, so I tripled it. I ended up with 9.5 dozen. So, either the inventor of this recipe made really big cookies, or there's an error in there somewhere. I'm not complaining. There will be leftovers after tonights dinner. I like that idea.

Last night I finished another knitting project-one I didn't start. A friend of mine was given an unfinished sweater. It's very pretty-a purple wool cardigan in seed stitch and cables. It needed button/neck bands. She asked if I would finish it for her. I like a challenge so I said yes. There wasn't enough of the purple yarn left to make the bands. So I used black, adding a purple stripe in it so it all goes together. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. I just need to find some buttons to match and sew them on.

Now I will work on finishing that lace shrug I started last month. For now, I need to get busy. I've got 23 people coming for dinner tonight!

Have a great day!

12/23/09

Simple Woman's Daybook for December 23, 2009



FOR TODAY
December 23, 2009

Outside my window...
A pink sunrise, an inch of fresh cotton candy snow, and Sweet Hubbies new tractor. It was delivered yesterday afternoon. He was so excited he came home early from work. He drove it around for awhile trying out all the buttons, levers, and switches. He's a happy boy.

I am thinking...
Wondering if I should go see my Dad. He's in the hospital right now (just found out last night) with pneumonia, a small blockage in his heart, and a couple other more minor problems. He's not at deaths door and says I don't need to come out there. I'm not sure what to do.

I am thankful for...
My Dad is going to be okay.

From the kitchen...
Nuthin. I was planning to make cookies yesterday but it didn't happen. Other things took precedence.

I am wearing...
a Christmas sweater and blue jeans today. I've only got a couple days left of opportunity to wear my Christmas sweaters. I think I'll wear the bright red one with the dancing snowmen on it.

I am creating...
A festive environment in my home for the big family Christmas Eve dinner. I'm havin' fun.
I am going...
To the CDA Yarnies meeting this morning. Ruth is going with me. Afterwards it's grocery shopping for tomorrows dinner.

I am reading...
Still working on 7th Heaven by James Patterson. I haven't had much time for book reading lately.

I am hoping...
everyone who celebrates a holiday at this time of year has a wonderful celebration.

I am hearing...
the clickety click of Dougs fast typing on his Mac notebook.

Around the house...
all the fur kids are sleeping. It's so peaceful right now.

One of my favorite things...
is hand dyed sock yarn and those two skeins I ordered last week have arrived. They are soooooo pretty!

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Clean up the mess on the dining room table (wrapping central this week), cooking a turkey, havin' a great time with my friends and family. Just celebrating life.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
This morning in my back yard.




If you want to join the Simple Woman's Daybook, click here.

Have a great day.

12/22/09

Christmas Creativity Has Occured Here

One of the things I love most about Christmas is the opportunity it provides for me to be creative. With all of Sweet Hubby's family coming for dinner on Christmas Eve, I've been really decorating up a storm. This week I got into flower arranging mode. I needed a couple table centerpieces, so I took a visit to Michaels to purchase some greenery, and dug out the box of silk poinsettias and whatnot in the stash. Here are the results.

This one is for the main table in the dining room.




This one is going on the table we're setting up in the sun room.



There are going to be 23 of us for dinner. We don't have enough room in any one room to set up one table for that many, so I decided to set up a couple tables instead.I'll serve the food buffet style on the island in the kitchen. People can sit where they want.

This one I purchased. I wanted a potted Poinsettia just because. However, I have a knack for killing them just a few days after bringing them home. So this year I went with fake. I found this at Michaels and it was half off to boot. Can't complain about that.



It's still alive after a whole week. And I don't even have to water it!

Here, we have the necklace I've made for my niece Heidi. Pink is her favorite color.




It was inspired by the beaders on the French beading forum I inhabit, Ile Aux Perles. Even though I am hampered by a language barrier, I still have managed to learn a lot from them. Thank you, ladies, for all that you share with me.

Here's a closer view of the main attractions.



I used 10mm fresh water pearls dyed pale pink, size 8 seed beads in silver lined deep raspberry, and size 11 matte silver lined pink seed beads. I actually did some wire work too. Each bead is a wired link. As much as I would have liked to use sterling silver chain for this project, I had to settle for silver plate. The beautiful pink lampwork beads were found at Michaels.

Close up of the focal bead, which is the much loved Octahedral Cluster.




This is called the Bubochkis bead. I found the tutorial on a Russian site. (I think I mentioned it in an earlier post.)




I also managed to take a picture of the finished fingerless gloves I've made for my daughter.




Pattern: 93-8 Open Finger Mittens in Alpaca by DROPS Designs.
Yarn: Stitchjones Tribute Merino DK
Color: Angelica
Content: 100% Superwash Merino
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular size 3.
Size: Ladies Medium
Cast on: December 11, 2009
Bound off: December 19, 2009

Comments: I love the way this yarn pooled, and I'm very pleased that I managed to make the two gloves match, more or less. This yarn is nice to work with. The pattern is fairly well written, easy to knit. There is a basket weave pattern in the hand part. Although it doesn't show in the picture, it does show in real life.

Today I'm finishing up the gift wrapping and baking cookies. I'll let you know how that goes.

Have a nice day.

12/21/09

Happy Solstice!





Happy Solstice Day!

Today is a day to celebrate! It's the shortest day of the year, which means Spring is just around the corner. Here where I live Winter Solstice arrives at 12:47 pm PST. Yay for more sun from here on out!


Have a great day.

12/20/09

The Solution to the Problem

Friday's mammogram went well, though I'm still a little sore from being squashed between two chunks of plastic like a fly under a flyswatter. They have a new machine. It takes much better pictures in digital format. The technician said there's a whole lot more detail in the pictures so I probably won't have to have an ultra sound when they rediscover the cysts in there that I've had for a few years now. Keepin' my fingers crossed. They read the pics tomorrow.

I finished knitting the fingerless gloves. I need to weave in a couple ends and block them. I will take pictures after I've done that.

I also have been beading. I whipped up another Octabead keychain to send to a friend as a gift. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic before I rushed it to the post office Friday. It's so pretty too. I used some Amazonite along with some deep teal seed beads. Darn, I wish I'd remembered to take that pic. Maybe I can prevail upon my friend to take a pic for me after he gets it.

I'm making a necklace for my niece (who's name I got in the family gift exchange). I've done one Octabead using pink pearls, and two Bubochkis. I will try to take pics later today. The Bubochkis are fun. They work up quickly. The pattern was all in Russian but the pictures were really good, and Google did a fairly decent job of translating the materials list for me.

Yesterday we spent the day solving our broken tractor problems. There was much discussion, examining all our options. I really didn't want to do this, but it is the best solution. We bought a new tractor. This is it. My hubbies dream machine. A John Deere.



The economy is down, so we go in dept. Urg. We need to have a reliable tractor though and since the ol' blue Ford is definitely no longer reliable, and costing a fortune to fix...well, you know. We got a pretty good deal on it, a no-interest loan (YAY!), and it'll be paid off in 3 years. We'll have to pinch the pennies for that time, but I can do that. I've done it before. The new tractor will be delivered on Tuesday.

We plan to hire nephew Shawn to repair the old one for us (he did the last major repairs), then we'll sell it. He won't be under a time constraint to get it done, which will make him happy, and we don't have to worry about snow storms while we're waiting.

There will be no more hand painted sock yarn ordered for awhile. I will be forced to use my stash. Oh, the HORROR! Tee hee! Unfortunately, or fortunately-depending on how one looks at it- I had already ordered some before the tractor broke down (last Fridays offerings on Impulse of Delight got the better of me). So I have two luscious skeins coming. Those will have to hold me for awhile.

Gee, how will I stand it? Shopping from my own four boxes of luscious sock yarns over the next couple of years to knit socks. Sigh..... LOL! It's harder than you think.

Our weather has been nice. We had the nasty snow storm on Wednesday, but since then we've had sunshine and rain the past few days. On Thursday it was almost springlike it got so warm. The weather predictors say there's scant to no chance of having snow for Christmas. I'm okay with that. I'd prefer it wait until afterward. I suspect, though, now that we have a new tractor, not one flake will fall on our ground the rest of the winter.

Have a great day.

12/17/09

Sleep-I Want Some

I don't know what is going on with Morgan lately but he's not letting me sleep. For the last 2 nights he's been waking me up every hour for one reason or another. Wants to go outside, wants a drink of water, wants to go outside, wants wants wants...? I wanted to strangle him about 4:30 this morning. He's fine during the daytime hours. So what is going on? I have a mammogram scheduled for 7:30am tomorrow. If I don't get sleep tonight I'm gonna be extra miserable for it.

Yesterday we woke up to a few inches of new snow and ice. It was enough that Doug had to plow the driveway. He got the plowing done-but the tractor broke while he was doing it. It's a MAJOR break. Hydraulic fluid is running out behind the clutch. We are talkin' money and big hassle to fix it. Sigh. Fortunately, the weather warmed up later. It turned to rain. Actually got up to 43F degrees. A lot of the snow has melted. Don't need to plow today.

Had a minor disaster at CDA Yarnies yesterday. I had the first of the fingerless gloves sitting on a table next to my chair as I knitted the second one. I also had a bottle of raspberry Crystal Light on the table. Usually I open the bottle, take a drink, put the cap back on immediately-because I know myself. I blame this on lack of sleep. I forgot to put the lid back on. Next thing I know I've knocked the bottle over and it's emptying it's contents all over the finished fingerless glove. I didn't know I could still move that fast. Anyway-I dashed to the nearest sink and rinsed it out in cold water. That stuff stains like Koolaid, so I lucked out on that one. Thankfully the Crystal Light came out.

For those who need to know, I will not be teaching anything for the next two weeks. No knitting, no beading. Got too much going on those two weeks. I wish my students happy holidays and see you next year.

Have a good day.

12/15/09

Simple Woman's Daybook for December 15, 2009



FOR TODAY

December 15, 2009

Outside my window...
Over the last 3 days we've accumulated 4 inches of snow. It's all white and grey outside.

I am thinking...
I need another cup of coffee. I'm unusually sleepy this morning.

I am thankful for...
My husbands family. They are awesome.

From the kitchen...
I'm thinking about making fried chicken for dinner. Warm and comfortable food for a chilly snowy winter day.

I am wearing...
The usual jammies and purple fuzzy robe. I'm going to be wearing jeans, a wine red turtleneck, and one of my infamous gaudy Christmas sweater vests today.

I am creating...
Two things: 1. A pair of fingerless gloves for my daughter for Christmas. 2. A beaded necklace for my niece. I'm using pale pink pearls. She loves pink.

I am going...
to the library today. I have Rathdrum Knitalong this afternoon. I'll be going to the bank after that.

I am reading...

James Pattersons 7th Heaven. I'm a Womens Murder Club fan.

I am hoping...

the 6 to 12 inches of snow predicted for the next 12 hours doesn't happen.

I am hearing...

The click of Morgans toenails on the wood floor as he trots to the kitchen for a drink of water.

Around the house...

Lots of Christmas decorations. It looks so festive.

One of my favorite things...
The Christmas Cactus in the bathroom, on the window sill. It always starts blooming this time of year.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
It's a busy one. I have Rathdrum Knitalong group today, CDA Yarnies tomorrow, knitting class on Thursday, Giant Squish Day on Friday (mammogram time!). Somewhere in there I'm going to finish the fingerless gloves and work on my Christmas Eve dinner plans. Got 23 members of the Park family coming.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

12/13/09

Oh Deer

Morgan woke me up at 3am this morning because he needed to go outside. While I was waiting for him to come back in I glanced out the living room window. There was a deer... helping herself to the Parkarosa Seed Buffet. She was pushing the little feeder with her nose so the sunflower seeds would fall out to the ground, then eating the seed. I watched her do this for a good 10 minutes. She emptied a whole feeders worth. All this time I thought the birds were eating like little pigs I've been feeding a deer. I predict that I will be going out in the snow later today and moving that feeder out of her reach.

Last night was my husbands annual company Christmas party. I had a good time. The meal we were served was delicious. I KIPped during the party. I took my knitting with me. I worked on the next Christmas gift, a pair of fingerless gloves, and got a good 5 inches of the first one done. My hands kept busy while I sat there for a very long time. The best part though? Daughter Sarah brought her crochet project with her. I have taught her right. Woot! So the two of us were busily working on Christmas presents during the party. Our table was the productive bunch.

The White Elephant Gift Exchange was hilarious. Imagine a geeky young guy unwrapping a gift and finding a Hello Kitty Toy Tea Set. Hee-hee. What's even funnier? The CEO of the company stole it from him when it was his turn. I scored good on the gift I got to keep. I started out with a set of those funky glass Aquaglobes, which I detest. I got lucky though. Someone else wanted them and stole them. So I got to steal something from someone else. I picked my SIL Sue. She had something I wanted, which she'd stolen from my daughter (yes, many Parks work at the same company). Gifts could be stolen twice, then they were safe. My stolen booty was safe. She couldn't steal it back. Ha ha!

It's a $10 gift card for Hastings. I have to ask myself, though, what does it mean when my first thought is "Woot! New knitting book!!!!"?



Have a good day.

12/11/09

Little Cables and Scribbles

Friday FO's. Two of my Christmas gift projects are done. Woot!




Pattern: Little Cables Socks by me
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid
Color: Chocolate
Content: 80% Superwash wool/20% Nylon
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular size 2.
Size: Mens Medium (size 8 shoe)
Cast on: November 22, 2009
Bound off: December 8, 2009

Comments: I love this stitch pattern. It's very easy to remember, and works up very quickly. I did use a lace weight nylon yarn to reinforce the toes and heels. I am planning to write this pattern up and post it on my pattern blog after the holidays.

Close up of stitch pattern.





Yarn: Recycled Silk by Himalaya Yarn and Kiddy Print Mohair by Laines du Nord
Color: SD-00 and Pink
Content: 100% silk and 80% Mohair/20% Polyamide
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular size 15.
Size: 6 inches wide by 6 feet long
Cast on: December 8, 2009
Bound off: December 19, 2009

Comments: Fast easy knit. All garter stitch, but the one row of contrasting novelty yarn every seventh row keeps it interesting.

I do not like working with the Recycled Silk yarn. For such an expensive yarn it is very stiff, coarse, and twisted too tight so it wants to curl up into loops. I probably won't work with this stuff again (which sucks cos I've got 5 more hanks of it-sigh)

A view with the sun behind it.


My maple tree was cold.



Have a great day.

12/9/09

Happy Birthday to Donny

Today is Donny Osmonds birthday. He's 52 now. I keep all sorts of weird little things stored in my memory banks. I was so excited when he won Dancing With the Stars. I've been a fan all my life.


The socks are done and blocked. Haven't had a chance to take pics though. It's either too dark, or I'm away from my camera. I did manage to take this pic though.


It's the yarn I'm using for the next Christmas gift project, a ball of kid mohair and a skein of Recycled Silk. It will be a scarf-specifically, the Scribble Scarf. I started knitting it at the Yarnies meeting this morning. Then I got to work on it some more while I waited for my hair cut appointment (I was on time. Beautician was running an hour late). I've got almost a foot done so far! So it's knitting up quick. It's looking pretty cool too.

We had a huge group at Yarnies. It was so much fun. We even had 2 new people show up. One is a crocheter. She's our first crocheting member. The reason we decided on the name CDA Yarnies is so crocheters would feel welcome as well as knitters. If you're makin' stuff with yarn, you're welcome to our group. We meet each Wednesday, 10:30 am, at CDA Yarn and Fiber.

Have a nice evening.

12/7/09

Simple Womans Daybook for December 8, 2009

I am joining the Simple Womans Daybook. I need some help with ideas for blog posting lately. This should help. Today is my first SWD entry. If you would like to know more about this, click on the picture:




FOR TODAY
December 8, 2009...

Outside my window...
The sun is shining, there is a thin layer of frost on everything because it's -4F degrees, two woodpeckers and a Stellars Jay are enjoying the Parkarosa Bird Buffet.

I am thinking...
It's awfully friggin cold outside.

I am thankful for...
Tommy. He's curled up beside me warming me with his hot little Iggy body.

From the kitchen...
I made crock pot chili and cornbread for dinner last night. Mmmm, it was so good, and perfect for this freezing weather.

I am wearing...
What I usually wear in the morning. My jammies and my thick fluffy purple robe.

I am creating...
the little cable socks. The second sock is almost done. I just have the toe to finish. Yay!

I am going...
No where, though I have been thinking about taking the boys to the groomer to get their nails clipped. It's time.

I am reading...
People of the Moon by Kathleen O'Neil Gear and W. Michael Gear. It's, I think, the 6th of the series that I've read. I like these books very much. They are stories about the north American prehistoric peoples. The first book starts about 10,000 years ago. Although the plots are fictional, the way the people live is factual--about what they built for homes, where they lived, what they ate, how their societies functioned, and the way they adapted and evolved over the centuries. That's why they've been so fascinating to me.

I am hoping...
This frigid weather spell goes away soon.

I am hearing...
Bryant Gumbal and Kellie Rippa on the tv, the ice maker in the fridge, the furnace, Silver purring in my lap, and the fan inside my laptop.

Around the house...
It's starting to look very Christmasy.

One of my favorite things...

Silver cuddling in my lap-which he's doing right now.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Finishing up the Christmas decorating, finishing the socks, starting the next knitting project, rewriting the ornament cover pattern for my class so it's better, along with the usual going to knit group meetings, classes, and whatnot.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
I wish I were here

Beach, Tulumn, Mexico


Have a great day.

Christmas Tree 2009

Over the weekend I finished decorating the tree. Here's the promised pic.



Chenille was inspecting it, making sure it met her standards of approval. It did. She then proceeded to pull the ribbon off the bottom layer of branches and play with it. Sigh.... I've placed the Kitty Disciplinator (squirt bottle) on the floor under the tree. That should keep her away.

I've been asked a question about the Little Cable socks in the comments:

Doti in TN said...

What Pattern are these socks? Thanks Doti


Hi Doti. Thanks for visiting my blog. The stitch pattern in the socks is called Mock Cable. The actual sock pattern is in the process of being written. I plan to post it on my free pattern blog when I get it done. It will probably take a few weeks because I will need to have the pattern test knit (Any volunteers?), and there's Christmas in there monkeying with my knitting plans.

12/5/09

It Only Took One Skein

Earlier this week I finished the first Little Cables sock. It hasn't been blocked yet, so it looks a bit sloppy.




I can't hardly believe that I have yarn leftover from the first skein after making this men's size sock. I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. I thought for sure I'd need at least 3 skeins for the pair. I am pleasantly surprised to find out I'm wrong about that.

Immediately after doing that, I cast on the second one (as I've said before, I don't suffer from Second Sock Syndrome-a fact I'm quite proud of). I'm already up to working on the gusset. This is turning out to be a fast knit. Compared to the Bayerische socks, it's a light speed knit.

I am almost done decorating our Christmas tree. It's been a really really busy week so I've been working on it here and there when I get a minute. When I get it all done I will post a pic of it.

I am so excited. We are doing the family 'draw a name' gift exchange like we did last year. I wanted my niece Heidi in the worst way. Didn't get her. However, I found out who did and they were willing to trade me. So, now I can relax about the fact that I bought yarn to make her a gift a few weeks ago. Yeah, I wanted her that bad.

I have a couple skeins of Sari silk that I was going to make a vest with a few years ago, but changed my mind. It's been sitting in the stash waiting for me to come up with something to make it into. I don't want to make anything like a sweater cos the stuff feels like steel wool on the skin. However, I recently found a really cool scarf pattern that it would be prefect for if I added some pink mohair. Heidi's favorite color is pink, and she just happens to love scarves. So this works out perfectly.

Recently I took on my own personal campaign to stomp out the rumor that acrylic yarn can't be blocked. I've been posting all over Ravelry telling people about the article I wrote on the subject. Finally, I'm starting to see some effect. Small, but it's a start. I'm getting lots of hits on the article which just makes me pleased as punch. I wonder if I should try submitting it to knitting magazines? There is so much misinformation out there on acrylic yarns. I aim to have some sort of small impact on correcting that. I love wool, and the other natural fibers (Alpaca-mmmmm), but I also love the good acrylic yarns. They have their place in the knitting world. Sometimes they're the best choice for a project.

Well, Sweet Hubby and I are gonna go get some Christmas shopping done.

Have a great day.

12/1/09

I Like Little Cables

I was sort of waffling about whether or not to post pics of this project on here or not because it's a Christmas present for one of my loved ones who reads this blog. However, this blog is about my knitting and beading, amongst other things, so here it is, the sock with the tiny little cables in progress.


The cables are actually a twisted stitch pattern, rather than a true cable pattern, but they look like cables so that's alright with me. I'm about an inch from starting the toe.

Today I have two things going on. First is my annual physical this morning. Joy joy. But it must be done. Hopefully I'll pass with a minimum of trouble.

Then I have the meeting of the Rathdrum Knitalong group this afternoon.

There is something I should mention. I'm having problems with my computer, which is a laptop. It seems to want to shut down unexpectedly, without warning. It started doing this over the weekend. I'm hoping it's something that won't become permanent, and a simple problem to fix. We are being plagued with computer malfunctions all of a sudden. Daughter Ruths Mac Pro died a couple weeks ago, then last night her Windows desktop machine she has at school died (this was a crisis because she's using it for her senior thesis and whatnot. Her computers take priority over mine, so it may be awhile before it's fixed. So, if there's sudden silence here on the blog, you'll know why.

Have a great day.

11/30/09

Just Peachy

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I know I did. Lots of good food and family was the main content. I got quite a bit of knitting done on a new pair of socks I'm making for a Christmas gift. I knitted at the family Thanksgiving gatherings as well as at home. I'm 3/4ths of the way done with the first sock.

I had the hardest time photographing this ornament cover. My camera just didn't want to give me a clear focus of it. I think it was refusing to believe the colors I'd used or something. I suspect if I'd had a decent light tent and my tripod it probably would have turned out much better. But I wanted to take the photo while it hung on a tree, and my only decent option was outside.



This is a netted bead ornament cover in peach and white. I am going to teach a class on this little project this month at Bead It. Check out the bead class page for more info.

The weather has been Grey and cold. That kind of Grey and cold that soaks right down into the bones. We did get a bit of rain over the weekend, but no snow.

Have a great day.

11/26/09

Happy Thanksgiving


Wishing all my American friends and family a very

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/19/09

Citrus Yellow Bayerische Socks

These would have been done yesterday if I hadn't messed up the toe decreases 3 times and had to start it over-3 times. I finally shoved it out of site and went to bed. This morning I gave it a fresh start and it went just fine so I just must have been over tired.

Citrus Yellow Bayerische Socks



Pattern: Bayerische by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn
Color: Citrus
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular size 1.
Size: Ladies Medium (9 to 10 inch foot)
Cast on: July 23, 2009
Bound off: November 19, 2009

Comments: As one of my friends said to me, finishing these socks gives me braggin' rights. This was a very challenging pattern. Not for working on when you want to just knit and chat. (In other words, don't take it with you to knit club) I would not recommend it for beginners. I love it though. It's very well written and even though I found myself making stupid mistakes and frogging way too often, I enjoyed knitting it. I definitely have a passion for twisted cabled traveling stitch knitting.

Someone asked me "Why yellow?" I don't really know. I don't wear yellow as a rule. I love the bright color of this one, though it is very hard to photograph.

Changes I made in this pattern. I knit the toe the way I like. The pattern has a shorter toe. I wanted it a little longer. That's about it.

Close up of center front/back stitch pattern


Close up of the side pattern.


I'm looking forward to wearing these. Especially now that we have snow on the ground.

Have a great day.

11/17/09

Today is the Day! WOOT!

It's Star Trek day! Hurray!!!!!!


Well, now you know what I'll be doin' this afternoon. Visiting my favorite DVD attainment center. Yes!

Yesterday I worked on the Bayerische sock. Well, you know that cos I posted about it. Spent about 4 hours on it before my blog post, only to discover I'd seriously screwed up the stitch pattern and had to frog the whole 4 hours worth. I had put chart 2 where chart 1 was supposed to be, and chart 1 where chart 2 should be. Talk about frustrating! I took a Rum break after that. Then I cooked dinner, ate dinner, and felt a little better about things. I reknit that 4 hours worth after dinner, this time in 3 hours and I'm now back to 1.5 repeats before the toe. With any luck, I'll get that 1.5 repeats done today.

I have Rathdrum Knitalong group today. I'll take Bayerische with me. Don't know how much I'll be able to knit on it, but at least I'll have it with me.

Have a good day.

11/16/09

One More Day

Just one day left until I can get my Star Trek Movie dvd. Yes!

On Friday we got just over 2 inches of fresh new snow. It was very pretty watching it come down. But then it stayed for awhile. It's melting away today.

Had a nice weekend. On Saturday I taught my netted ornament beading class. I spent the morning trying to get the hand out I made to print. Took some help from Sweet Hubby to get it working. Turns out, the wire cube shelving set I installed in the sun room next to the printer was blocking the signal to the wireless network. He moved the equipment to the other side of the cubes and everything started working again. I had three students who were so easy to teach I felt guilty taking their money. I've never had a whole class be that smart. There's usually always at least one person who has a hard time getting it. All I had to do was hand them their hand outs. It was a rare treat.

I did get a new ornament cover finished during the class. However, I decided to leave it at the shop for a few days. I'll get it back later this week and take pics then.

On Sunday I relaxed. I was home alone because Doug was gone all day. He and Sarah went skiing up at Lookout Pass Ski Resort. (Yes. There's enough snow up there.) I mostly knitted on the Bayerische sock. It took me way longer to knit the gusset than I expected. I'm making progress though. I'm only 1.5 pattern repeats away from starting the toe.

While I knitted I had a Star Trek TOS marathon. I really enjoyed it too. I'm doing another today.



In fact, Khan is at this moment giving Captain Kirk a difficult time (Episode: Space Seed). He's taken over the Enterprise and shut down life support. Kirk is gasping his last breaths into the captains log. God, I love this show.

Have a great day.

11/13/09

A Well Turned Heel

The title says it all.


It is snowing out. Lookout Pass Ski Resort opened today.

Four days left.

That is all.

Have a nice evening.

11/12/09

WIP Wednesday 11/12/2009

I haven't blogged much because I haven't had much to say. Not that life isn't busy, but most of it hasn't been blog worthy stuff. I've not been knitting and beading as much as I'd like since the wedding. However, that is going to change. I'm rearranging my life a bit to make more time for the crafty stuff.

So, here's something I haven't done in awhile. WIP Wednesday.


I'm actually making progress on the second Bayerische sock. I'm 6 rows away from the heel flap. I've been buckling down and really putting work into it because if I want to get any of my planned Christmas knitting done, I need the needles this sock is on. Gotta get it done before Thanksgiving.

Last weekend my Sweet Hubby got me new computer toys. First, a new mouse. It's wireless, and best of all, it's purple!


I really like having a wireless mouse. I don't get my legs tangled up in a cord anymore.

I also got a black Passport drive for backing up my laptop hard drive.

I can't believe something so small holds 500 gigabytes. It fits in the palm of my hand! I can't believe it was only $129 at Best Buy either. I remember the time I upgraded my desk top 386 to a 128 megabyte hard drive and it cost me $600! Those were the days, huh?

I've got a lot of pdf knitting and beading patterns on my drive (literally hundreds), plus all my photographs. Recently a friend of mine lost her hard drive, and all her photos going back several years. This scared the beejeebers out of me. I need to keep my hard drive backed up. It's 7 years old. It's days are probably numbered. I backed up my drive and I'm feeling much better about it now. I will back up every week, like I used to do.

If you look up at the top at my little ticker, you'll see there's only 5 days left until the new Star Trek movie is out on DVD. I am SO excited, I can hardly wait. In the meantime, I'm listening to the sound track.

Have a great day.

11/3/09

The Theme Today is Blue

I must be in a blue mood. Not blue as in sad, but blue as in color. I find myself leaning toward it when choosing colors to make things of late.

I finished a new beaded ornament cover in pastel blue, silver, and white.


The pattern is by Deb Moffett Hall and it's called Deco Dangle Ornament. I had to make a bit of an adjustment. The pattern calls for 5-hole spacer beads that are quite a bit narrower than the ones I could find around here. I had to remove 1 pattern repeat so I have 7 instead of 8. All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm planning on giving this to my son-in-laws mother for Christmas. She is always seeking to increase the size of her Christmas ornament collection. I aim to help her.

I have finished another pair of bootees using the Seamless Circular Bootees pattern, making the change of 2x2 rib for the cuff instead of stockinette stitch.


The yarn is a vintage fingering weight white acrylic Pompadour with a blue thread in it. I used a plain blue acrylic for the i-cord ties.


The next Knitwits meeting is tomorrow. Here are all five pairs I have for turning in.


Call my biased, but I think they are so darn cute!

I am going to stop the bootee making now and go on to something new. I've cast on for a lace shrug.


Knitwits has orders for dozens and dozens of them. The assisted living centers around the area like them for their residents. I've had this cotton blend boucle'/slub yarn in my stash for about 25 years. Someone gave it to me. At that time, it was an old yarn. It's in great shape though. (I take good care of my yarns.) It's knitting up very pretty. There's actually a pale blue thread mixed in with the white and grey. It doesn't show in the picture though.

This week we are having nice weather. The sun is shining and the temps are in the 50's. Much better than snow, that's for sure.

We had a really nice little vacation on Halloween. We took off with brother-in-law Dan, his wife Sue, and son Nate and visited our favorite hot springs resort. We even took costumes with us and went to the Halloween party held by the resort in their bar. I had a lot of fun. There were some really clever costumes for the contest. I didn't enter the contest cos my costume was, I thought, really lame. Originally I wasn't going to bother with a costume. But sweet hubby and Ruth talked me into it.

As we were leaving town we stopped at a store that had Halloween costume supplies. I bought a purple wig. That was it. I wore that and my purple suede coat with the Mongolian lambs wool trim on the cuffs, collar, and hem, and a pair of blue jeans. If anyone asked what I was I said "Purple People Eater", or "Purple Whore" depending on how much I'd had to drink when I got asked the question. I guess it must have been a hit cos I got lots of compliments. Ha ha! Anyway, we had a good time and that's what's important.

Have a great day.