MyCrochetSpot

More pics

2012-01-26T08:51:00.001-08:00

I've been working on more booties and Jake's earrings for Gumballs and Overalls. They will soon start offering their items for sale online, which is really exciting!!

Remember, if you would like to order something, let me know.

MIA

2012-01-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while, but I have been really busy with school, family, and crafting.

I have officially applied to nursing school, and now I need to wait until the middle of March to get my acceptance letter! in December, my hubby lost his job so now we are both unemployed. It's scary, but we are hopeful and prayerful that something great will come his way.

I have also started consigning my handmade goodies at a local shop called Gumballs and Overalls (www.gumballsandoveralls.com). The shop is adorable, and they consign high end boutique and handmade items for children 0-8 yrs old. It's been a little less than a month that I"ve had my goodies there, and I've sold a few things. It's not a full time job but it is a great way to keep me busy. My 10 year old has also just started selling his beaded and origami earrings there. Here are a few pics of some of the stuff I've sent to them. A baby blanket, hairbow tutu, angora baby dress, purple slip dress, and Jake's earrings.

Finishings...

2011-10-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

I finished Mom's 3rd sock of the year, and I have 79 days to finish the other one. I did start it today though!! (no pic since it's her Christmas present!)

I also finished Grandma's afghan for my Mother in Law. She says that she loves it, although it is still folded nicely in the corner of her bedroom, but hopefully when it gets colder she will use it.

I have not finished 2 baby afghans and half the projects on my Pay It Forward list. Whoopsy!

Grandma's Afghan

2011-08-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the day before school started back for the fall, My Husband's grandmother passed away. Our family was already in the midst of a crazy week, and the whole world was turned upside down for my Mother-in-Law in the span of 3 days.

Last week, my MIL went to Louisiana (where her Mom lived) to help her sister and brothers sort through Grandma's things and decide how to go forward as a family. They got back late Sunday night, and we went over to visit last night. The kids were SO excited!! They had missed their grandparents, and it had been a long week with them gone. They did bring back a few bins of items, things for herself and things for us.

For me, I got a bin of yarn, a navy Vera Bradley purse (!!!), and a BEAUTIFUL new quilt for our bed. I don't think Grandma ever even used it, and it is gorgeous and I can't wait to snuggle under it! I knew that Grandma was a crocheter since we have many items of her handiwork around our home, and I was excited about my project idea - the perfect thing for Grandma's yarn.

The little bin of yarn (I think like 1/20 of my stash would fit in there!)is of many assorted colors and many of them verigated, and none of them even remotely resembling the others. That was a little bit of a problem, but I am good at what I do so I came up with a plan.

I am taking a pound of off-white yarn and the little bin if colorful yarn, and making a granny square blanket for my MIL. The off-white, the base color, came from my own grandmother's stash that I inherited last year, and each square will be the off-white every other round, and one of Grandma's yarn colors in the other rounds, per square. The squares are quick, taking less than 15 minutes, but I am NOT looking forward to weaving in almost 900 ends! Some of the squares are pretty whacky, but I'm sure my MIL will love the tribute to Grandma. I have 13 squares done, I'll show you more when I have more to show!!

School is a time-suck

2011-08-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have been out of school on Summer "break" for 8 days. I start back on Monday. I have finished up all of the pre-requisites for the Nursing Program at my school, now I have to wait to apply in January, and start next Fall. That is a REALLY long time to wait, especially since I am not the world's most patient of people. In the meantime, I am taking some other classes to finish the degree and keep the Pell Grant money coming in.

I had stopped working on yarn for a while, just due to studying constraints, but I am starting to get back into it now. Since we last talked, I did finish a few projects, though!

This is Baby Andrew showing off his blanket.

That's about it... and only because Mama wanted him out... and we all know that babies don't come until their blankies are done!

I am working on a blue baby blanket made from $.97/ball Pomp-A-Doodle. It doesn't have a baby to go with it yet... but I couldn't pass up a $6 blanket!! I also started working on a pink and green blanket from the book "Interlocking Crochet" by Tannis Galik. I am not very far because it is really confusing to me, but I am sure that I can figure it out with all my 30 years of experience!!

In other news, I had to disconnect the Hook 'N Stick website because I didn't have the money to keep it up, and with school I hadn't had the time to really give it the attention it deserved. We all know I can ignore the heck out of a website, but there I had to pay for it!

I will try very hard not to ignore you so much! Good luck to all the kids (and their parents) going back to school!

Pay it forward

2011-02-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, there was a thing going around Facebook where you post a notice to do a Pay It Forward. Basically, you sign up for 1 item from someone participating (or 2 in my case) and you offer 5 spots for people to claim items for you. Since I picked 2 items, I'm doing 10 PIFs.

1 pink twirly scarf was first out the door since it was done and in my craft fair bins already. It is now happily residing in TX with one of my old school-mates. She loves it and has to fight off her 2 girls for it.

1 pair of socks went to my Mom on Valentine's day. They started off as Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt. They were my School Socks - the ones I would work on between classes and such. Because I was doing them at school during little snatches of time, I decided to forgo the pattern after 1 repeat so it was like a banded leaves thing. I finished sock 1 during winter break. During the January classes I worked on the 2nd sock, and decided that instead of doing a leaf band, that I would do 2 little intermingled leaves centered on the front of the leg. Fraternal twins, instead of identical. She was happy to get socks, and didn't really care that weren't really "matchy". Good thing!!

My 3rd PIF was a slouchy beret "Rainbow Swirl Slouch" by Jessica Fraser. I did it in Loop & Threads Charisma in Cream and the recipient loved it. I didn't get a pic, but I might make it again, only a little longer. It was cute.

My 4th PIF is another pair of socks, Dublin Bay Socks by Ryan Morrissey. I really love the pattern, easy to remember and cute. I finished the first one and started #2 yesterday.

Of my other PIFs, I have 2 more pairs of socks, a fabric bowl, a cutie apron, and I haven't decided on the others. This is fun, and I can't wait to get my goodies!!

After Hours, part 2.

2011-01-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

I've been working out the design of this lbd for quite a while now. I thought I had it pretty good, but I've done a slight re-design that I think will work better. I love the sketches, and the concept living in my head, now to actually get it crocheted!!!

In other news, I started my 2nd semester of college, and so far so good. I managed a 4.0 last semester and I really, REALLY want to keep it!!! I'll be applying to nursing school in the summer, and if I want to get in, I gotta keep my gpa above 3.5, which means no more than 2 B's.

In other, other news, I've got 2 socks on the needles right now. I'm making Cookie A's Twinkle Toes (they were on Knitty Gritty, and really cute!)and the other pair started as Embossed Leaves from "Favorite Socks", but have now turned into my interpretation of them because I am A) lazy, and B) busy. They are not identical twins, more fraternal twins, and I think they are cute. Who said socks needed to match anyway, huh?

And finally, my baby turned 4. On Elvis's birthday (January 8), Sean, or Stinky to his parents, turned the BIG O4. He can't understand why he can't move to K4, since he is no longer 3 and shouldn't be with the "little kids" anymore. He's too cute for words sometimes, but here's 1,000 of them for ya.

The Christmas Sweater

2010-12-29T19:24:00.001-08:00

I had originally decided not to make my Mom a sweater this year for Christmas because school was kicking my butt. I figured I didn't have time since it would need to be started at the same time that I was dealing with finals, and I said no way.

I changed my mind when I saw the mag that my Cooling Eye Mask pattern was in (Crochet! January '11 - in stores now!!) I saw a beautiful red sweater that would be perfect for my Mom. It called for sport weight yarn, so I went to Joann's and got 3 skeins of soft brown Sensations Cuddle - baby yarn - and it was perfect for the project. I swatched with the called-for hook. Nope! I went up a hook size, no go. I had to try a bigger yarn. I went to Simply soft - my old standby - in a pretty khaki color called Bone. I sweatched, went up a hook, swatched some more and still not even close, so I went up a size size. My mom is really small, which is why it is so awesome to make her sweaters! Usually I need to go down a yarn/needle/hook size on the small sweater size to make it fit her. In this case, I went to the Medium (from extra small) and it was still so skinny in the center that there was no way it was gonna fit. I decided it was just a funkily written pattern made for funkily built people. Time to move on. It was December 21.

I searched my memory for something that I could make quick that I had the yarn already in hand. I thought about the 2 yarns that I had already bought for the sweater - the brown baby yarn and the khaki simply soft and wondered what I could make with them together. I remembered making the Subway Cable sweater for Stacy from the Yarn Girls - Beyond the Basics book a couple years ago and her comment on why she doesn't wear it more is "It's a REALLY warm sweater!". Perfect!! To get gauge, I had to add another worsted weight yarn, I picked some cream colored Red Heart that I had plenty of, and it blended perfectly.

I cast on the sweater the morning of 12/21 and finished it on Christmas eve at my in-laws, about 8pm. That gave me enough time to bring it home and wrap it, minus it's normal washing, and bring it to her at 10 the next morning. Can someone say skin of my teeth? Yeah.

She opened it up and put it on and it fits pretty perfectly. A tiny tad short, but maybe it will grow a little bit in the wash? As long as she wears an undershirt if she plans to bend over, she will be fine. She likes it, and that is all that
matters, right?

Tis the season

2010-12-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

I've been diligently working on Mom's Christmas sweater. Well, perhaps diligently isn't quite the word...

Look what I made! A toque for my tree branch!!!

I hope your holiday crafting is going better than mine!

Today's the day!

2010-11-30T08:58:00.001-08:00

Crochet! comes out today with my Cooling Eye Mask pattern in it. I'm so excited! I hope everyone likes it. It really helped me when some medications I was on were giving me the worst headaches right behind my eyes! It's so funny how sometimes a flash of brilliance turns into a pattern. I only wish they happened more often!

How are you doing? I know it's been a while, but I'm almost done with my first semester of college. I've got a 4.0 so far (of course, that's only my math grade, the rest won't be there for a couple more weeks), and I'm so proud of myself. Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? I did. Busy, but nice.

As far as yarny things go, I finished up a Bacon hat for Jake, I'm working on a train hat for Sean (great chart that I created on that one, I can't wait to get it written into a pattern), and now I'm working on a sweater for my Mom for Christmas. Just today I had to get new yarn, even though I was 3/4 done with back in a different yarn, it just wasn't a fat enough yarn. So now I've moved on to Simply Soft, in bone. It's pretty and I'm sure will match a lot of her law office wardrobe!

That's it for me for now. Have a great week!

So, what's new with you?

2010-11-14T18:26:00.000-08:00

I've been a baaaaaad blogger, I know! School has kept me busy, as have the 2 baby blankets that I just finished! I only have photos of the first one, though. This is my baby niece Kenzie's blanket. I love how it turned out, and so did my brother. I am waiting on a pic of her actually on it though!

In other news, on November 30, the January issue of Crochet! will be available with my Cooling Eye Mask in it. Yay!
I'll try to not go another 2 months before I post again, I promise!

Crap....

2010-09-01T13:24:00.001-07:00

It's been almost 2 months since my last post. You've been sadly ignore and you have my apologies! It's been a crazy summer here at Chez Whines-A-Lot. Ear infection and swimmer's ear, getting ready for school, 27 lbs of books, Disney trip, visiting friends and family (locally), couponing, (they really need to make that a word), reading, , staying up late and waking up early. I have been knitting on a sock, after an epic fail of a really cute one (too small to fit any human because of the stranding). I do need to frog that one but it is so cute, even if it is not able to be cute on a foot!

I have officially survived my first week and a half of school and have managed only to get lost going to each campus once. Tomorrow the glass guy is coming to fix Travis and I's mysterious windshield cracks, and the tv guy is coming to (hopefully) fix or replace the tv where I think Sean hit it and killed a pixel. Horray for insurance and warranty!

Money saving strategies are going well (go now to walmart with the Gain Dish soap coupon from this past Sunday's paper to get a free little bottle and make $.03) and I am planning to do my own coupon class to some friends that are interested in saving money on their own grocery bill. To get people excited, I brought a bag full of goodies (deodorant, tooth paste and razors) to life group and let everyone pick something out. Only thing I paid for was the $.24 Crest Pro Health, everything else was free. Needless to say I have a lot of people excited about the class. Me... not so much since I am NOT good at talking in front of people, but I think it will be ok since they are all friends.

I promise not to wait so long to post again, but they will be short and sweet since I have lots of school work to do with 4 classes and a lab! Wish me luck.

Nothing to see here

2010-07-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

No really, nothing to see! I am not one with the 2nd sock of the blue and white pair, but I'm close. I probably have less than an hour to go on it. However I have been working on sewing a purse! I'll put up some pics in a few days when it's done. Well, assuming I get some decent naptime to work on it! It's really cute though! Perhaps a little bit past my comfort zone.. but it's coming along.

Nothing back from the place I sent After Hours, I am fiddling with the idea of either self publishing it (and praying they say yes for yarn support) or offering it to a different magazine. I'm still giving it some thought.

I am really REALLY looking forward to school starting, only a month and a half left. I am such a dork, I am anxiously stalking the school's website to see when they book lists become available. I want to get mine ASAP so I can start reading and hopefully get ahead of the game. See... dork. But I guess its better to be excited about school than dreading it, right?

Sean is moving backwards on the potty training, he's managed to go #2 one time in the potty, and that was about 2 or 3 weeks ago. He starts school same time as I do, so I am seriously running out of time! Suggestions?

Learning Curve

2010-07-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

I know that sometimes it is more important than others to do the second sock immediatly. Mainly when you do something different than the pattern and make no notes that are worth anything.

My blue socks, started in October '07 (!) and finished in January of '08. Well, that was one sock. I followed the pattern for the Arrow Lace Socks but decided to try out a short row heel. And instead of noting ANYWHERE how I did that or where I got the tutorial, I just wrote "I've decided to try out a short row heel." Yeah, helpful.

So last week when I decided to finish up some WIPs, I kind of dreaded this one because I'd have to fake the heel. Luckily for me it's not really hard and I'm at the halfway point on the heel. I think these are going to be mine, but I'm not sure. It could just be a REALLY early Christmas present. I think that will depend on how it turns out! :)

Only a month and a half until school starts and I'm really excited about it. I hope that I do well. I just got a copy of my HS transcripts, boy was I a crappy student. I have higher hopes for college.

That's it for now, have a great 4th weekend. Stay safe.

A finished project. Really!

2010-06-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

The other day I let Mom try on her birthday sweater (her birthday is tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure it fit before I finished the 2nd sleeve and the 2 fronts). It didn't fit so I stopped working on it. That led to 2 things. First, what do I give my Mom for her birthday, and second, what do I start working on next?

The answer to #1: the Zoom Zoom socks that I made earlier in the year and will be a second pair of "warm socks" for her. She will be appreciative. Yay.

The answer to #2: well, that's a little harder. It started with me looking at my stash of sock yarn and petting, vigorously the alpaca that I got in January. That led me to scouring my sock patterns in print, print-out and Ravelry for the perfect pattern to go with my perfect, creamy white yarn. No luck. I found some great patterns that would look great with the yarn but either the yarn was too thin for the pattern or I didn't have enough of it. Pity, but I will try again with that yarn in the future. That made me have a look at the WIPs I had and found 2 pairs of socks in that category. The closest to done was the Ladybug socks that I started in August and got through all but the toe plus 2 rounds. So I decided to finish it.

I haven't touched it in MONTHS! I finished it in less than 3 hours. Now I have adorable new socks! Yay.

Next up, I will do the 2nd sock to this "Pair". I did this sock in August of '08 on a trip to New York and it has since languished in the WIP pile. Today I brought it back out and cast on. I've done a few rounds but that's it. I am a little worried about the heel though since I think I did a different heel than the pattern called for. Guess I'll have to fake it and hope for the best! More soon.

Ribbons and Summer

2010-06-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

I have been sadly slacking in the blog department. I've been a stay at home mom for what - 4 months? And it is seriously kicking my butt. And NOW I get to add the big one to the mix! Trying to keep them both occupied and not in front of the tv all day WITHOUT getting 2nd degree burns from being outside for 17 seconds is difficult. Very. Difficult.

Tomorrow is $1 movie day at AMC and we're heading to watch Shrek the 3rd. Yay for organized events! I hope that we'll find plenty more as the summer goes on.

I know that it's technically not summer for like 2 more weeks but already we're hitting 99 degrees daily. It has led to a distinct lack of yarn play. This is bad news considering that my Mom's birthday is on the 25th (11 days away) and her sweater has only almost 1 sleeve. And the fronts are LONG since it's a wrap around sweater. tick tock.

In other news, I have put the Ribbons hat with the testers so that I can release the pattern on here through Ravelry. Very soon, for the low low price of $3 (proceeds go to my Making Strides walk for Breast Cancer research), you too can have the pattern to the lovely Ribbons to make for yourself! But Wait... there's more!! It comes with a "cottage license" so that you can sell the hats you make to raise money for your own cause. I am hoping to have it available in the next week.

Not related to yarn but still cool

2010-05-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

Since I got laid off in March I have been trying to figure out ways to strech a buck and for the most part I think I've been doing a pretty good job. A friend of mine introduced me to the wonderful world of Couponing. Please understand, I have always used coupons but there is a big difference between "using coupons" and "Couponing" - much like the difference between knitting and Knitting!
I borrowed a book from the library called "Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half" by Stephanie Nelson. This has really opened my eyes to the things you can do and the stuff that stores GIVE you when you are smart about combing sales and coupons together! The highlights of what I have learned:

~ a BOGO sale from the store means you can use 2 manufacturer coupons for the 2 items you are getting.
~ usually you can use BOTH a manufacturer coupon AND a store coupon for the SAME item!
~ Free stuff is COOL and a great way to give to those less fortunate than ourselves.
~ Get a baseball card binder to organize your coupons either alphabetically by brand (which I had originally had) or by aisle of the supermarket (which I just switched to). It is much easier to see what you have to work with than with the old accordian type I used to use.
~ if you have a UPromise account (or other stores not in my area like Kroger) you can do "electronic coupons" where you go to their website and add coupons to your Rewards Cards. For Upromise, the amount doesnt come off my bill but goes directly into the boys' college accounts.

Today before Church I went through my favorite ads - CVS and Walgreens - and wrote down all the cool things I found that would be cheap/free when I combined them with coupons that I already have. Then after Church we went to Walgreens to pick up a few of the deals - for me and to give.

As an aside, my lifegroup is working on a project next week that will have us stuffing 60 (the goal) gallon size zipper bags with travel size essentials for the folks that eat at a local place called "I Am Hope Cafe". It provides hot meals 4 nights a week to whoever needs them, and it is "manned" by volunteers from a different local Church each night. We have Tuesdays. So... I am trying to stock up on essentials that I can donate to this cause but because I am unemployed, it has to be REALLY cheap or Free! Onward.

I purchased 2 Reach toothbrushes, 2 packages of Reach floss, a 10 pk of OxiClean Max Force Stain Releaser and a 60 ct Walgreens brand A-Z vitamins. The total before savings was $18.13 for those 6 items. Advertised sales saved me $8.69 (Reach items for $.99 each, OxiClean for $2.99 and vitamins for $2), I had coupons worth $7 ($3 off 3 Reach items, $1 off 1 reach item, $2 off Oxi Clean Max Force, and $1 off my order from last week's certificate), so I paid $2.44. I got a $2 certificate for my next purchase which made it like paying $.44. For $18.13 of items.

This. Rocks.

Melodie (the gal that checked me out) said "You guys always amaze me with that!"

Yes Melodie, sometimes I amaze even myself.

Whoopsy!

2010-05-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I've been pretty riddled with family emergencies and being sick and cranky and stuff and all, and I've been ignoring you. I'm sorry. Unfortunatly there's not really anything to update yarn-wise. Lets see...

I mailed off my eye mask to the mag today (with 5 days to spare thankyouverymuch)(procrastinate much?)(See above.) and I am glad it's out of my house. I hope that it gets some good project numbers, it really is cute and quick and easy and cheap to make since it takes so little yarn.

I have not heard anything about the little black dress, but I hope I do. I really want to get the yarn support in so I can finish making it. I have gotten thisfar in knitting it (the proposal was crocheted) because I just haven't had any desire to work on it with everything else going on.

On the upside, I am all signed up for school and I am SO looking forward to it. I am excited about my classes, but nervous since I've never been... and not been inside a classroom in 17 years! I'm watching lectures online and reading library books on things like algebra and anatomy!

Also, I've been working on my Mom's birthday sweater. It's a lacy tie around cardi that is coming out pretty cute, and I'm making it from on-sale sock yarn so that's always a plus.

And I have been learning the ropes of "couponing" from a friend's wife. It's SO cool when stores pay you to take stuff! Of course, I'm not exactly sure what I'm gonna do with 3 men's razor systems but they were free or less than free (if it's on sale for $4.50 plus I have a coupon for $3 and they give you $4.50 in register rewards to use next time I made $3 on the deal!)

And finally I am (in theory if I can get my arse off the couch!) going to get the house into shape before I start school so that maintaining is easy instead of a pain and can be done by the whole family. That way when I'm studying and unavailable then everyone can pitch in and it won't be embarassing when my 8 yr old has a little friend come over to play a video game.

That's it for me for now, I promise to not let it go so long next time.

Whazzzzzuuuupppp.

2010-05-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a heck of a couple weeks, and I think that it's starting to get back to pseudo-normal. We're still getting ready for the memorial service next weekend and I am looking forward to seeing family that I haven't seen in a while, but it's been very trying. While we are all grateful that it's over, like I said it's been a LONG battle and agonizing to watch, it's still hard and the oddest things tear me up. I remember when I was little and I had a sleight addiction to Cabbage Patch Kids (I had 5!) and Grandma crocheted me little dresses for them. I thought they were so cool because they were frilly and old-fashioned and I loved them!

In other news, I finally got all signed up for Fall Semester at our local Community College. I'll be taking 3 classes - Math, English and Anatomy & Physiology (that one has a lab too!). That is 10 credit hours out of the 75 in total that I'll take to get my RN. I am so nervous about not doing well that I've checked out a book from the library called Anatomy DeMystified.... just so I can get a head start! If I do ok with this one I'll get Physiology DeMystified and go through that one too. They are setup like text books with chapter quizes, section tests and a final exam. I just finished the first section of 3 chapters and my quizzes got either 90 or 100% (each have 10 questions) and my test I missed 4 out of 25 which is better than passing so I'm happy. In a couple weeks I go meet with the financial aid folks to see how much money I qualify for.

Last night we had crochet group and I worked on another new design based roughly on my little black dress. I figured out what I don't like on it so that is a small step in the right direction. Also on the lbd, I started swatching out the knit version and I really like it. I have not heard back yet from the mag I sent the original to but maybe soon!

That's really it from me. To all the Mom's out there, have a great tomorrow!

Family stuff

2010-05-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have been out of commission - my grandmother passed away this past week after a long LONG battle with MS and COPD. I've been emmersed with family stuff and the memorial service which will be on 5/15.
I finished up the submission for After Hours (the little black dress) and sent it off. I love how it looks in my head and how the swatches look. Now I am going to do something similar in knit, and I am looking forward to browsing through the stitch dictionary to find some good options!
In other news, I have decided to go to school to be a nurse. I am really excited about this prospect since I have never been to college before. Of course I am worried, and I'm sure that it will interfere with my yarn-play time but I do believe it will be worth it.
That's it from me for right now. I hope you are all doing well!

New website...

2010-04-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

As an assignment in my designers class (knitgrrl.ning.com - designers 101) we had to re-vamp our blog/websites. Since I created my new website - www.hooknstick.com and my new blog - hooknstick.blogspot.com they were not cohesive at all, and I still post to this blog about everything (knitty and not) I really need to shape them up.

So, I'm stopping hooknstick.blogspot.com (I'll try to move the posts over) and keep all the design stuff on the www.hooknstick.com site. I'll still update here, of course, but go there and let me know what you think!

My socklet pattern is done and sent, my eye mask pattern is done and emailed with the snail mail package to follow soon and I have to finish up my proposal for the lbd REALLY quick so I can get it started.

Jake's doing ok, today was day 2 at school and his first legal ditch of PE. Doc follow up says he's doing fine.

Home and stuff and all

2010-04-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

We escaped the hospital on Monday morning, and no surgery. Yay!! He's doing much better, walking upright and not really in pain so that's a good thing. Lacerated spleen. Crazy stuff. His limitations per doctor's orders: no school for a week, no PE for 6 weeks, no bike/skateboard for 12 weeks. Not a happy boy! Especially since for his birthday on 6/19 he wanted to go to the Skate Park.

This week has been Spring Break (handy since he couldn't go anyway) and we haven't really done much - stayed home and let him go outside with his friends but stay off wheels. It has been a pretty crazy week though, my Grandmother is still pretty bad but hanging on at the nursing home, a friend of mine's Mom died today, another friend's little girl has been in the hospital for some unknown tummy issue (think she's getting out tomorrow so yay!) and I have not finished the pattern for the socklets that are due in a couple days.

I also need to get a sketch and proposal for the lbd that I'm working on so I can submit it and get working on it. I really like the concept and I am excited about it.

And finally... I'm a dot com (sorry for swipping Christine!). My new website is www.hooknstick.com. It's not very fancy schmancy but it will get there.

Guest of the hospital

2010-04-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon around 5:30 Jake tried to do a bike trick and fell - bit through his lip and scraped up his chin, shoulder and knee. He was wearing a helmet thank goodness but the lip through and through we KNEW needed stitches. We headed to the after hours pediatrics place and they said Yep, stitches. While they laid him down to clean out the chin for stitches he complained that his shoulder hurt when he breathed laying down. Okay??

They sat him up, and manually manipulated his shoulder - swung his arm around, up, down, pressed and nothing. So it's not the shoulder, clavicle or arm. Off to xray. Xray showed nothing but the doc thought You know, it might be a spleen issue.

Huh? How'd shoulder pain = spleen issue. And c'mon, does a spleen REALLY exist? I always thought it was like Kansas - something they made up because no one I knew had actually seen it.

So after they gave him 2 lip stitches and 2 chin stitches, they sent us to the er for a ct scan. That showed, you guessed, a spleen laceration. Who knew? Well they don't have a pediatric surgeon at our hospital so we had to go to a different one about 30 minutes away. We went to their er to wait for a room (luckily their er spots are rooms with actual doors and everything). We got up to his room around 5 in the morning. 12 hours from fall to room.

Luckily the laceration isn't bad enough to require surgery. Why they couldn't give us this lovely bit of info BEFORE we went to the other hospital, I'll never know. But, apparently the spleen takes a lot of time to heal. He's really not eating much and can't walk upright but hopefully soon. We're still here, and it's Sunday afternoon, and we'll be able to go home at some point tomorrow. I hope.

You'd think that I'd get more crocheting done, really. I having been working on a little black dress design and I really like how it's coming out. I NEED to get a request in for yarn support, because it's gonna take quite a bit of yarn and this will be submitted for publication. I have discovered Hulu though, which is really cool, and I've been thinking about getting to work on changing up all my current patterns to the new template. I've just been incredibly lazy it seems.

Well, keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Sometimes being me is cool!

2010-04-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

I just had my Cooling Eye Mask design accepted for publication. !. It will be in the January 2011 Crochet! Magazine and I am so excited. I also have a ton of other ideas floating around in my brain (and in my notebooks) that would be really cool as a book. Just sayin!

I wanted to give you an update on freezer cooking. Here are the one's we've tried and notes about them:

Chicken curry - this was good but the flavor was really mild. I found another freezer curry recipe in Fix Freeze and Feast and I'll try that one next. There was more than plenty.

Shephard's pie - my whiners didn't like the onions and peppers in the meat mix. So next time I won't do that. Also, there wasn't enough food so I'll have to make it bigger. (funny that the other meals had the SAME meat mix and they were fine.)

Chili - this was a BIG hit! Everyone loved it, even my father-in-law who I sent a single serving to. The problem, not enough food (wonder if that's related to Dad's portion? hmm.) so next time I'll make more.

Hamburger Macaroni - we had this one last night and it was really good. It made what I thought was plenty, and I sent one of these to Dad too, but it just wasn't enough. Next time I'll make more. Everyone loved it, so score!

Sloppy Jakes - which is basically sloppy joes with the leftover shephards pie meat/corn mix instead of just meat mix. They loved it and there was more than plenty.

I think that's all the ones I've tried. So far so good I think. Also, I really like that new book I borrowed from the library - Fix, Freeze and Feast. So many more recipes that I cant wait to try - especially one for ribs that looks awesome!

Well that's it for me. Have a great day!

Freezer Cooking Part 2.

2010-03-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

My first session went pretty good. I ended up having to go to the store once I realized that I'm a math-tard and was gonna get WAY more meals than I thought. I spent a total of $85.66 and used $70.36 of it (percentage wise by item) and could have saved more if I went to Aldi for all of it and/or looked for sales!

I did some more cooking today, so in total I had meat (16.5 lb ground beef + 3 lb ground turkey) and a whole chicken + 3 breasts I had thawed which made:

15 lb of meat mix that goes into almost everything (next time I will omit the onion, celery and peppers because my family are weenies), 4 lb Meatloaf mix, 6 cups of cubed chicken and 5-(20 oz) and 4-(1 cup) frozen blocks of chicken broth which now live in 3 Ziplocs in the freezer plus about 2 quarts in the fridge that I'm undecided about and 1.5 lb extra ground beef that I froze by itself.

That turned into:
3 chilis
1 ziti
3 macaroni hamburger
2 sloppy joes (with extra meat in each cause it just didn't look like enough)
2 regular shepherds pies plus a mini for Travis' dad
2 chicken curry
1 batch of bbq chicken that we ate last night
1 sloppy jakes (the regular sloppy joe plus corn mixed in, leftover from the shepherds pies)
2 meatloaves
12 mini meatloaves (more like meatballs and will be 1 meal instead of 2 like I thought)
and I have a meat mix bag of 6 cups in my fridge waiting for inspiration.

That's 18 meals plus unmade soup and 6 cups (2-3 meals worth) of meat mix. That's $3.50ish per meal. !!!. I am so excited about that. It was a LOT of work but worth it I think.

I'm sure that if I had not been sidetracked by 2 hospital visits to my MIL that I would have been able to finish instead it took a day and a half.

I will plan another session in a few weeks. I used a fancy schmancy spreadsheet to come up with my totals and percentages and savings had I gone to Aldi. Next time I will only get 10 lb of meat plus a chicken or 2, pork chops and some corn tortillas to make an enchilada pie.

Freezer Cooking Part 1.

2010-03-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

So, I got laid off 2 weeks ago yesterday and I have been trying to find some creative ways to save money while attempting to eat healthier. I went to the library and got 2 books by Deborah Taylor-Hough called "Frozen Assets" and "Frozen Assets Lite & Easy" both with the tag line "Cook for a day, eat for a month". The theory - just like it sounds. 1 day of cooking for 30 meals, and by creating menus around big sale items (like ground beef and chicken) you can save lots of money. In her example, a $200 shopping trip equaled 41 meals for her family of 6. !. !!. So... I am giving it a go.

Today, I made a list of a few items that I want to try in a mostly ground beef mini-session. I am following her recipes for the most part because they look good and they have been freezer-tested.

My menu choices = 12 meals, some with leftovers:
Sloppy joes - 2 batches of 6 servings = 3 meals of 4 servings.
Texas chili - 1 batch of 12 servings = 3 meals of 4 servings.
Poor mans casserole - 2 batches of 6 servings = 2 casserole meals w/leftovers
Chicken curry - 1 batch of 10 servings = 2 meals of 5 servings
Chicken noodle/rice soup - 2 batches from stock, leftover chicken & veggies.

I spent $70 on:
15 lb ground beef
3 lb ground turkey
1 whole turkey
3 onions
2 green peppers
bunch of celery
32 oz diced tomatoes
32 oz kidney beans
1 can of sloppy joe sauce
1 gallon of milk
curry
rosemary
(on hand I had 1 can sloppy joe sauce, taco seasoning, can corn, frozen veg, potatoes, cheese, can mushrooms and an apple plus other normal pantry stuff)

Right now I have the chicken boiling in a stockpot over it's body with water, plus 1/2 an onion and 3 stalks of celery. This will make the chicken curry meals plus leave about 2 quarts of chicken stock to make soup from.

Tomorrow after I get the kids to school/daycare I'll chop my veggies and brown my ground beef/turkey. Ugh... how the heck does one brown 18 lbs of meat? lol. Very Carefully!!

Ok, so I just did my math and the meat mixture is 5 lb = 12 cups of mix. My 18 lbs will be about 42 lbs. I only need 12 to make what I listed. Whoopsy! Let me add some more meals!!

I'll update tomorrow with my final menus. Wish me luck!

Ribbons Hat

2010-03-08T04:46:00.000-08:00

I had this idea for a Ribbons hat that is ribbed and each rib has a ribbon and vice versa. I've decided on a flip up brim thing, so the chart is done upside down and backwards (knit purl wise) than the rest of the hat. I did it this way so that the ribbing would match nicely and I like the decreases I chose when they're done on the knit side.

I've swatched it out and put together the proposal to send to Knit Picks for their Independent Designer Program. It's with some friends for input now, and hopefully in the next day or so I can send it to them. They put the patterns up for sale on their website and preview them in the Knit Picks catalog, for $1.99 each, and that gets paid out to the designer. All of it - which is rare.

I've decided that money received this design (or if it's more than $500, then half) will fund my Making Strides walk. It was such a blast to do last year and I look forward doing it again.

If my design gets chosen I'll let you know!!

Well that was interesting.

2010-03-05T05:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I got laid off from my job. Yes, it sucks but mainly because I really loved doing what I did. I was a meeting planner for an association and it was SO much fun! I also have one of the best friends that I've ever had there. It is a sad thing but I am confident that something better is coming. I will take this opportunity to work on my designing - you never know what'll happen!

SO, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Not so much to find a job (although if something awesome comes I'll be thrilled) but more for clarity and direction.

The past month or so I have had so many design ideas and I've been really trying to make the time to swatch and sketch what's been in my head (and in my notebooks). I've begun to see design elements everywhere and I believe that this is why.

Oh, I finished Kaitlyn the other night and wore her yesterday to work. I haven't had a pic taken of her completed but I am going to give her a wash first to see if I want to do anything with the collar or if it will relax enough as it is to not be wonky.

So that's it for me for now.

Kaitlyn is DONEish

2010-03-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

I finished binding off Kaitlyn during lunch. She is giving me ulcers. No, Simply Soft is giving me ulcers, Kaitlyn was good.

When you think of "No Dye Lot" What does that mean to you? Well, to me that means that when my stash skeins run out, I can go to Joann's and buy another skein and it will match.

Apparently I am not correct.

This is the right sleeve. I changed yarn about 5 inches from the end. You can CLEARLY see that they are not the same color. You can Really clearly see it in person in a dark room. The flash helps, as does sunlight, but it's there. When I noticed the difference I had 2 choices. A) hunt down a skein of the Berry Blue from everyone I know and see if theirs matches any better or B) keep knitting. I kept knitting. UGH! However, If I ever see another skein that matches I will not hesitate to rip that sucker back out and fix it.

So tonight I will weave in all her ends and hopefully wear it tomorrow. Yes, I should give her a bath first to see if she relaxes a bit in the neck and sleeves but I am the queen of impatience. We'll see how the evening goes. :)

Next I will be a swatching fool because I have SO many ideas floating in my head that need to get out. I'm just glad that I decided to start writing them down and sketching the out. And by sketching I use the term VERY loosely.

Stress and all

2010-03-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

Today I'm kinda anxious, for a few different reasons.

Number 1 - I sent off my application to the Associate Professional program to the CGOA. I had to write a letter talking about what I've done and what I expect to do in the next couple years. It was like a self-proclaimed ego trip. It was odd. SO, that is in the mail and hopefully I'll hear back from them soon.

In doing that little exercise I've come to some conclusions about what I'd actually like to do in my designing. I would like to offer projects with both crochet and knit patterns to go along with it. Take for example the twins' quilts. I have almost finished crocheting one in pink and cream, in which only 1 seam has to be, uh, seamed. 12 measly inches of whipstitch. For a kinda-quilt. That makes me happy because I HATE seaming. A lot. I have been playing with this for a while, and since Kaitlyn's overtaken my life I haven't worked on it but I will soon. It is the closest thing to a finished design I have right now. I also think it would would look awesome knitted up, where you could offer different textures for corners instead of just different colors. So that will be next up. It will take a while to actually DO the knitting but I think the design/pattern will come out easily.

I have 2 sweaters, a hat, purse and little eyemask thing that I want to do the same thing with. Yeah, the design muse has been beating me over the head lately. I am just itching to finish with Kait so I can swatch. I have vowed not to do anything else until she's done so I'm trying to boogie. (I am trying to put together some squares for a comfortghan but that isn't being counted right now since my total is 1.5 squares. Not enough to think about being a ghan.)

Number 2 - today is my review day for my real job. I hate review day.

Number 3 - Travis' Grandma has surgery on Thursday - she's who the ghan is for. It's kinda freaking me out.

And finally, I have decided on a new name for my Design Business - Hook 'N Stick Designs. I've created a blog for it - hooknstick.bloglines.com - it's just starting out but thats where I'll put design stuff as it comes out, and keep this one for regular life and crochet stuff. That's it for now, have a great day!

No Gold for Me

2010-03-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

I didn't finish Kaitlyn yet. I've almost run out of yarn and at 12:07 I called it. 2 blisters, tennis elbow and twitchy eye later... I gave up. I shoved her unceremoniously into my knitting bag and went to bed. I slept like the dead!

I am still proud of my accomplishment. I did knit a lot. It was a challenge for me, a BIG challenge. And yes, if I had spent less time playing around online holding knitting in my lap and actually knitting then I probably would have made it. No, I still would have run out of yarn. Ugh!!!

Here she is right now in all her glory:

There's always 2012. I'll give it a better go then.

Kaitlyn Update

2010-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a quick update on Kaitlyn. I have gotten about 3.5-4" into her, and she's coming along swimmingly. Tonight I need to finish up Ivy's baby blanket but that shouldn't take more than half hour or 45 minutes, then the rest of the night will be Kaitlyn all the way! I WILL FINISH ON TIME!!!

I have also sketched out some ideas for a few designs that I will work on once Kait's off the needles and on my body.

I haven't heard anything back from CGOA yet and I'm getting antsy. I don't know why, maybe because I like instant gratification? Also, I'm really anxious to get into the Associate Professional program and I can't read jack on it until I'm a member.

Patience is a virtue apparently.

CGOA and Kaitlyn

2010-02-15T11:32:00.001-08:00

CGOA.
I finally broke down and joined CGOA (The Crochet Guild of America) again. I have tossed this around in my head for a couple weeks, weighing pros and cons and here are my thoughts.

I did not join for the camaraderie since that is what my Ravelry groups and Crochet Group are for. I did not join to take the Crochet Masters Program (yes, it exists) because a)It is not available right now and b)I'm happy being a "Professional Crocheter" and do not need "Master Certified" in front of that. I did not join to get a nifty new CGOA Member pin since I still have my old one.

I did join because they offer an Associate Professional designation, which is free, where they pair you with a mentor (and usually someone REALLY COOL!) and that mentor gives advice for aspiring designers and is available for me to ask questions of. I also joined because I would love to go to some of the Conferences (even though reality says that I'm too po!).

So... $65 of my designing money went to a 2 year membership. As soon as I get my login stuff I'll get moving on the AP thing and see where it goes from there.

Ahh, Kaitlyn.
As you know, I am doing a sweater for the Knitting Olympics and the Ravelympics (2 groups doing the same thing in different places). My sweater is called Kaitlyn and I'm testing it.

Kaitlyn had some directional issues with the size I'm knitting which have since been ironed out and now I'm working my way through her again, and right now I'm at about the 2" mark of the neck. It's a Top Down sweater, with raglan sleeves and a lacy bit down the center front. It. Is. Beautiful. Kudos to Christine who designed it.

She said I could post progress pics, so here you go... Kaitlyn #1:

Let the Knitting Begin...

2010-02-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight at 9pm, along with MANY of my fellow knitters and crocheters will begin the Ravelympics and the Knitting Olympics. A Challenge to each person that starts at opening ceremonies and ends when the torch is extinguished.

My Olympic run may be hampered by a non-knitting related injury to my purling finger (hang nail that hurts like heck), but I am hoping that a Performance Enhancing Apparatus (band-aid) will be allowed in these circumstances!

I had originally planned to make my Grandfather and Travis a pair of socks. However.... I have decided to test knit a sweater called Kaitlyn by Christine Buhagiar and it is BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to have it done and on. I am waiting on confirmation if I can show you a pic or not (sometimes designers aren't allowed to show before it's published), but if I can I will post one soon.

I am making Kait out of Simply Soft Brites Blue, a really pretty color that will look fantabulous on me! I can't wait to see how it comes out. I swatched last night to make sure my gauge was correct (Yes... I... Swatched!) and good thing because I had to go down a needle size.

That's really it for now. I hope you all have a fantastic Valentines Day!

Busy Bee

2010-02-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

I have had a great week with lots to do and good times with old friends. I've had a meds scare, 1.8 lb weight loss and a pretty darn good report card from the 8 yr old. Life group and Crochet group - great conversation and some awesome design ideas that have been well received by those that I've mentioned them to. I heard from 2 old friends that I haven't talked to in 18 and 15 years respectivly. I had a day off work on Thursday with the intention of going to Disney with my hubby and/or doing some housework and ended up sleeping until noon... but it was great none-the-less.

That is a VAST improvement from last week with all the mourning.

How about a project update? Here ya go:
~boring boy socks - 80% done but has sizing issues and is being punished and will soon be forgotten.
~ladybug socks - 80% done, but I'm ignoring because of other things that I am working on.
~Submission Quilty babyghan - the center is done and now I need to do the 1 seam and crochet on the border.
~Submission Girls skirt - still in the planning phase, and I am so happy that my friend Margarita (aka Thread Queen) is willing to work on this with me!
~Ivy's baby blanket - I just got this commission decided on Wednesday and I've bought the yarn but have not started working on it. I will though... once the submission babyghan is done. It's a baby granny ghan so it will hopefully go quick.
~Commission purses - I have 1 started but these are on standby because the buyers have not told me what they want yet.

See... busy! I hope that your week has gone well. For those of you having troubles, I've got my LONG list of folks that I'm praying for, seems like my friends and family are all being attacked lately. I hope this passes, and the sun shines for them again soon.

Updates... minus pics.

2010-02-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

First off, Stephanie has raised $1,000,110 for Doctors Without Borders. !. !!. That is the magic power of the yarn community. That rocks, and I am so excited to have been able to be a part of it.

Secondly, I am still ignoring the boring boy sock, I have vanquished it from my knitting bag and it is in time out in my sock yarn drawer.

Third, with the publication of Purse-Onality Plus! and my showing off of said magazine, I have been commissioned to make 3 purses. And 2 baby blankets because they are so related. ?. I have no clue what the covers are gonna look like, waiting on input from the buyers. But at least this is giving me another chance to get some project pics of the purse... and yet another chance to show off the fact that I CANNOT COUNT TO 50. Nope. Chain 50, sc a bunch of rows and about 6 inches into it I start to think you know, this looks a little bit big. Hmm, that's odd. Let's count my stitches. 52 (plus the turning chain) so I actually chained 53. Sometimes I amaze even myself.

Fourth, related to third I am going to try to persuade baby blanket gal to let me do my quilty design so that I can write out the pattern as I go and have 2 examples of it - one of each gender. I will find out Wednesday night. If not, that's ok but it would be really nice to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Fifth, I cannot spell fifth (I did fith... ugh) but also I am doing some knit lace research for a little girl pattern floating in my head. I know I could do it in crochet and have it look like my vision but there's a Call For Submission for a book coming out for warm weather knits for kids. We'll try it and see what happens.

Can you tell that I'm gonna be too busy for any sock knitting in the near future? Yeah, me too. I'm ok with that. On a side note I cleaned out the "hidden" yarn corner. My "hidden" yarn corner was a pile-o-crap behind my stereo speaker 3 ft high. I rescued 5 project bags, 1 scarf-in-progress that I don't like, 4 un-used balls of yarn, 10 skeins of acrylic yarn in various stages of use including 1 connected to the Cliffyghan (which is also being ignored), my design notebook (which I really had been looking ALL OVER for), my 2 Pee-Wee Parka samples and the quilty babyghan sample that I had been ignoring but pulled back out so I could work on it more. Yeah. I took pictures but I'm too lazy to pull them off the camera. But... yay me for cleaning out the corner! Anyone need some acrylic?

It's one of those days..

2010-01-26T12:17:00.000-08:00

I am having one of those days where I am in mourning for a recent passing, and one long ago but I am so excited about the magazine coming out with my pattern in it. It's been a rollercoaster day. So, I will share what the mag looks like so you can be excited with me. I sent a letter to the editor of this mag to see if it is ok for me to create a knit version to propose to one of the knitting magazines at their company. You could do so much with this purse in either craft and I hope that she'll allow it.

This past week also marked my triumphant return to Crochet Group. It's been almost 3 years since I've gone and they welcomed me back with open arms. And a cake!

In other yarn-related news, I think I'm done with the boring boy socks. Not because I have 2 completed socks but because sock 2, although closely resembling sock 1, is not its twin and apparently my shapping took a tragic turn for the worse around the heel area. So, I can either frog back 6 inches of sock or toss it in the corner and ignore it soundly.

Also, I have finished the proof of concept swatch for my quilty baby blanket that I've been avoiding and it works, sort of. I was trying for no seaming but I think that adding a couple seams (not a lot) will look much better than how I've done it now. So, I'll swatch that up and write up the pattern. I like how it's looking and I can't wait to finish up the full size model.

Not done yet...

2010-01-14T11:49:00.001-08:00

But here long enough to get pics off my camera and post some. Today is day 12 of my 14 day work week... that means it's almost over and after 1 day's rest it'll be back to "normal". Yay normal.

First, let me start off my saying that I donated to Doctors Without Borders and if you are able, you should too. Nothing big and huge, but together we can save lives.

Stephanie issued a challenge to the knitters. She did this because of the awesome nature of the collective for the power of good and the fact that so far in the last few years, we've raised over $600,000 (!) for this worthy cause. On her website she shares how to donate, who gets the funds and why doing so is a wonderful thing. She says it way better than I ever could. Go read it, you'll be a better person for it. Her goal is 1 million. Easy peasy~!

Have some pics. Before and after of mine and my Mom's French Press Slippers. No, apparently I can't sew and mine are more like fraternal twins than identical:

Christmas. Sean and his guitar, Jake with an awesome shirt and me with 2 of my faves - yarn and Laurie's new book:

Sean's 3rd Birthday and real, genuine ice (or snow, ahem) on my car window):

I'm sure you've had enough pics to last a while. I hope that you have had an awesome year so far. Next time I'll talk about my New Years Resolutions. Stay tuned.

Radio silence

2010-01-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

I've been working away from the office since just after Christmas and will be there until 1/17 so no real posting. I have a 2nd sock of a boring boy pair, plus the lady bug socks that are languishing away in my bag. I've finished 2 pairs of the super adorable French Press Slippers and have bought the wool to make 3 more pair. I really like them a lot!

Sorry, no pics right now, that would require them to come off my camera... but I promise when things get back to normal here I'll update. I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year!

French Press Slippers

2009-12-23T11:20:00.001-08:00

I started a pair of French Press Slippers last night and they are going swimmingly. Not in the 90 minutes that Some People can pull them off in but still pretty good. I have about 3 hours into them and all the pieces are done and waiting on seaming. Hopefully tonight I'll get to do that and give them a bath to do the felting. Here's what they look like right now:

That's it for me. I'm ignoring the last 3 inches of the ladybug socks and the last 4 of a pair of boring guy socks for right now and am focusing on these little darlings. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to show you the finished project! Fingers crossed.

What I've been doing while not blogging...

2009-12-21T11:36:00.000-08:00

I have been working diligently on a wedding quilt. I finished it 45 minutes before we had to leave for said wedding and I still had to go out and buy a card, gift bag and panty hose - then get ready!

What's all the fuss about? Here is the quilt with the corner turned up so you can see my little tag:

And a closeup of my little tag:

And the happy couple Bridget and Amer:

Let me just say that I am so happy to not be quilting today, I didn't even bring any socks to knit at lunchtime. Poor little fingers! It was a beautiful wedding and we are thrilled to see them tie the knot!

In other news...well actually that's been about it for me. No Christmas sweater for my mom, no socks for Damarys. I actually had to buy them stuff! I know!! As of today at lunchtime when I went to walmart, I am offically done with shopping. Yay. I hope you are too.

Oh my poor blog,

2009-12-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

How sad you must be that you have been so ignored! Ok, here's a flood of pics to show what I've been doing...

We went to Disney for Mickey's Christmas Party and had a great time.

The boys and I visited Grandma in the nursing home and they had a great time.

Jake, Sean and I went on an airplane to NY for Thanksgiving week and had a great time.

While in NY we visited with my siblings and we had a great time together (that's my sister Jennifer, brothers Jeff & Kerry, and me.) Jeff got the scarf for his birthday but I, of course, forgot to take a pic. I LOVE how it turned out by the way. I threated to scalp him if he put it in the dryer. Yay angora blend.

Also while in NY, my othermother Joanne, the boys and I went to the Hudson River Walking Bridge. It's the tallest pedestrian bridge in the world. They ain't kidding. Also, it was cold. It was a great time.(me freezing, the 4 of us, view to the left)

Sean found some fall leaves at the base of the bridge:

And the boys hamming it up at my grandmothers house. They had a great time.

And finally, I wished for it our whole trip... snow! The boys had never seen it before, and even though it didn't stick to the ground, it did stick to my jacket! Also, they boys enjoyed it, and even though this isnt a great pic of them, do you see the HUGE snowflakes?

That's been pretty much it. I started a basic guy sock and am on the foot bit, haven't finished the 2nd ladybug sock... and am on the foot bit, and I haven't done anything with the wedding quilt that is due in 18 days. Gonna boogie on that this weekend (along with post-vacay cleaning and introducing our house to Christmas).

I hope that you all had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.

Birthday Week

2009-11-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

I had such a great birthday week. I had saw some old friends, here's pics. This is my friends Angela, Jen and myself in 1989. Angela gave this to me framed, it is so cute... I cried. The next pic is of us on Saturday:

I also got a Small Upside Down Banana Split from my friends Tony & Nette - it's from my favorite ice cream shop - Bo's, but it's far. It was so sweet of them!

Anyway, enough about that. I went to Joann's and got the Boye interchangable needle set. I like them - I started using them on my scarf. The only problem I have is that the needles are kind of long so when it's on the shorter cables it is too hard to knit with. I worry about how a hat would do, and that's the main reason I got it. I do like the pointiness of the needles though!

Speaking of the scarf, I'm into my 2nd skein of the Aslan Trends. It measures about 3.5' right now. I've gone 17 out of 20 repeats of the pattern. Not too shabby but I really need to get a move on if I am gonna get it done in the next 2 weeks. Wait, less than 2 weeks! I have not finished, nor have I worked on, my ladybug secondsock. If I finish this early I'll work on them. This HAS to be done, those would be nice if they were done.

I am going up to see my family for Thanksgiving week and I am thinking about travel knitting. I will have both boys and I'm not sure how much actual knitting time I'll have, but I'd like to be prepared. I don't want anything with a pattern that I have to memorize, so I think I'll just dig into the stash and find a nice stripey yarn that is ok with plain rib or stockinette stitch. I have a lot of awesome yarn that is semi-solid that I can't wait to work with but those I want a pretty pattern for.

I will show pics of the scarf next time, really. For now, have a great week.

The Last Day...

2009-10-31T04:04:00.001-07:00

I was testing a hat pattern, and I really love it. I leave for NY in 3 weeks, and this will be for there... Not here in 90 degree Florida.

Today is the last day of 33, tomorrow is my birthday. Today will be busy, I have a kid party to go to at a park in Tampa, then superfast dinner before trick-or-treating in my in-laws neighborhood. I also need to work on my scarf, which is half done but got sidelined because of the hat. I really like how it's coming out, defintly not girly which was my goal.

Tomorrow, I'm making homemade spaghetti sauce and cleaning the house. Throw in some yarn-paly and it'll be a pretty good day.

Sean has been working on potty-training, and this is a joyous thing. He'll be 3 in January so it is WAY PAST TIME. I wish he'd finish up before our NY trip but I kinda dont think that will happen. Oh well, guess diapers are gonna go with us.

I hope that you have a wonderful Halloween filled with adorable ghosts and goulies. I'll post pics of my own in a few days. See you on the other side!

Great day!

2009-10-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today I walked for Making Strides with the American Cancer Society. I was able to raise $360, walk over 5k and got a cute t-shirt to boot! It was a beautiful day, finally cool in Tampa so perfect to walk in. There were over 5000 people that turned out and it took just about an hour to do the whole 5k so that wasn't too bad.

I haven't really been working on anything except the scarf. I have decided it is not to girly for a boy, although the angora content does tend to shed a bit. Oh well. It is wonderful to work with, SOOOO very soft! I love the pattern too - His (Birthday) Scarf by Monika Steinbauer. I've got about 2.5 feet worth so far and still have a little left in the first cake. Soon I'll have to cake up the other hank and keep on truckin. I've been spending too much time on Facebook - I've gotten a chapter and a half into my newest book and already have a second book from the library. Also... not much knitting. I do work on it at lunch every day and I am usually able to get 1 repeat a day done, that's 18 rows. I love the woven effect. Not plain but not frilly either. Perfect.

I have managed to cut all of the pieces of the wedding quilt, even sewed up a couple of them until my machine decided to start eating fabric. I am giving it a little bit of a time out to think about it's actions!

Well, I can smell dinner so it's time to work on something to go with the chicken. Have a good night, and on Monday I'll try to remember to post pics from today. It really was an awesome event that made me feel fantastic to be a part of.

Pictures!!!!!

2009-10-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

The ladybug socks (including a closeup, not including the spots or faces).

My completed Brainless socks. I Love Them.

A scarf I started with Aslan Inguena. This is angora/merino/nylon and is SOOOO soft. What's your opinion - too girly for a boy? The color is really a dark chocolate brown.

My Boys seeing a firetruck up close and personal. Maybe next time Sean will be bigger than the tire!

That's all for me right now.

Such a bad blogger!

2009-09-28T15:49:00.001-07:00

I still have no idea where my camera thing is but so far I want to show you pics from Convention, pic of the Brainless socks, pics of my ladybug sock (1.5 done), pic of my Wubbzy and Walden dishcloths (1.5 done) and pics from Feed the Bay which was awesome.

I have also started cutting out the pieces for the Wedding Quilt, and hopefully tonight during House I will finish it. The cutting that is.

This weekend Jake is getting Baptized and he's pretty excited about that. I will take pics, but I'm not sure I'll be able to share! I really need to tear the house up to look for the stupid thing. Maybe this weekend.

I am also still collecting pledges for my Breast Cancer walk in a few weeks.

That is really it for now, until I have something better to talk about. Have a great day.

A picture...

2009-09-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

I got my picture from convention and it looks great. Love you touchups! I still cannot find my camera thing and have my photos trapped in the camera so this is the best I can do.

On a project front... lets see. I finished Brainless - yay!!
They don't fit me as perfect as I would like so they may become a gift. Still thinking about that one.
I have not finished the Lady Bug secondsock but I am at the heel flap. I am having a hard time trying to make it the same as the first one, since I had obvious deviations from the pattern. Why do I do this to myself?
I also just got done testing a Wow Wow Wubbzy dishcloth for a gal on Ravelry. It was easy enough but since pretty much the only cotton I had on hand was variegated blue... you really can't see Wubbzy all too well. I think I have enough undyed cotton to do another cloth, and she's got Waldon to be tested so I'll give that a go. Maybe he will look better.

On my to do list: I have to finish the Lady Bug second sock, start a friends wedding quilt and finish the quilty baby blanket that I was designing and then dropped for some reason.

Also coming up... This weekend is Feed The Bay that I'm volunteering at. It's always a very humbling thing to be a part of. Jake's getting Baptized next Sunday - we are so proud of him for his decision! I go to a bridal shower on the 10th and have the Making Strides walk coming up the Weekend after that. Can you say crazy busy??

Hopefully I'll find my camera thingy soon - I'd love to show you convention pics and sock pics and washcloth pics (although, admittedly those aren't great and just look like a square... but still). If we all pray together maybe I'll be led in the right direction. Ok? Ready... go.

Making Strides Againsst Breast Cancer

2009-09-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

I am participating in the Making Strides walk on October 17. I am excited about it for a number of reasons, most of all because it looks like I will actually be able to walk! After trying for the Breast Cancer 3 day and not being able to do it because a) I'm too out of shape to walk 60 miles, b) I was not able to raise $2200 and c) I got pregnant.

This time... I only have to walk 3 miles (SOO doable), raise $250 (but it doesn't look like that is necessary) and I cannot get pregnant!

Anyway, if you are able to, please consider sponsoring me. Go to my page here.

Thank you!

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

2009-09-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

I know it's been, uh, 15 days since my last post but I am just now getting settled sorta since Convention. It went well and I will show pictures once I have some. I keep leaving my connector thing for the camera at home and that is doing me no good at all!

Lets see. I've sold a total of 9 pirate hat patterns. Yay! I have almost gotten to the heel flap of the Lady Bug second sock. I have about 2 inches left on Braniness. I cried over the ruins of my Convention Quilt and gave thanks that I had a baby blanket in the Sale Box in the shed that would work in a jiffy for something to sell. It sold for $35. Not Great, Not Terrible.

About the quilt... sigh. I finished quilting it, binding it and decided that I needed to wash it to really set in the seams and hide some of my lovely sewing "uniqueness". Apparently I forgot to quilt about 12 inches of one corner section. In not quilting this area, a seam of the top came open just a little and without the quilting to hold it together the batting it really disintegrated. It is lumpy in some places and bald in others. I will try to scoop out the yucky fluff, and try my best to salvage it. It really is a pretty quilt and I was quite proud of it. Lesson learned. I did wash the fabric for my friend Bridget's wedding quilt, that will be the next project. She's getting married 12/20 so I have a little bit of time... wish me luck!

I am going to be walking in a breast cancer walk next month and will be posting a link here begging for donations! It's not the 3-day, it's only 3 miles which is definitely doable. I only need to raise $250, also doable. (Unlike the 3-day which is 60 miles and $2200). And I solemnly promise not to get pregnant and drop out!

Also, for those of you in the Tampa Bay area, my church is participating in Feed The Bay, an event that we started a few years ago where on a certain Sunday they give us a shopping list and after announcements send us on our way to the local grocery stores to buy items for the food banks and shelters in the area. They park big moving trucks in the parking lot of the store and the stores know ahead of time to stock up on these items. The first year, with only our church participating, we raised enough food for our main local charity ECHO (Emergency Care Health Organization) to be stocked for more than 6 months. That is HUGE! This year the goal is 300,000 lbs of food, and they have more than 30 churches in on it. Anyway, if you would like to donate money or find a store near you that will have a truck or even find a place to volunteer, go to www.feedthebay.org for more information.

That's it from me. Back to the pile on my desk. Have a great day!

I got nothin.

2009-09-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

I have exactly 1 week before I leave for my convention and my office looks like a war zone. But, everything is almost ready and that is a good thing.

I am still on a reading binge punctuated with the ladybug sock. I'm about halfway done with the foot and that'll be it until secondsock. I really love the pattern and the look of the sock. I am grateful that this will be almost the end of the hand-dyed sock yarn because it's a little splitty to work with. It makes me miss my sockotta. And actually looking back at my projects, one of my favorites has been Lion Brand Magic Stripes. It was not splitty at all! Those socks went to live with my Step-Mom and she loves them as much as I hated to part with them.

I am not finished with the convention quilt (see first sentence. Yikes.) but I have finished the quilting portion I think. Now I need to even up the borders and sew on the binding. Wonder if my in-laws will keep the kids on labor day any so I can get it done?

Um...um... nope, that's it. Back to work. Have a good one.

Bugs.

2009-08-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

I'm knitting right along on some test socks. They have lady bugs on them. Squee!

I think I need to wait to show them off, but when I do I'll point you in the right direction to get the pattern so you can make me some too, er make your own! I'm making them in some more of my hand dyed Mom's Sweater Yarn (green) because that's what I have. I'm sick of the yarn, but it's what I have. Anywho, I am SO going to make another pair once I get my mits on some red or pink or some combo thereof. I love lady bugs and these are just Too. Cool.

Speaking of Too. Cool... for school - Jake started 3rd grade. Here he is with his cheesy brother. Sean is literally saying "cheeeeeeeeeeeese" and holding it until the flash goes off. Too funny.

So far so good with school. "It's easy" he says.

Busy weekend - tomorrow headed to my Mom's for a doggie birthday party (who knew?), Sunday shopping and cooking with my MIL. I gotta make bread sometime in there, probably tonight. That's it for me, have a great weekend. Stay safe.

Squee!!

2009-08-22T17:57:00.001-07:00

I am testing a pair of Ladybug socks. How perfect is that! I cannot wait to share them!

I finished testing the thing I was not wanting to test and I am thrilled with that.

I finished hemming Jake's school pants for Monday.

I sewed together the backing for the convention quilt and got about halfway through the pinning.

I have not finished, nor have I worked on the Brainless socks, but I do still love them.

I have not started working on fixing the chewed up afghan for a co-worker of my Mom's. (I'm dreading that, twont be fun atall.)

In the past 24 hours I have finished Crossed Bones by Carolyn Haines, started and finished Finger Lickin Fifteen by Janet Evanovich and started Fangs But No Fangs by Kathy Love.

You're impressed now, aren't you?

My big flaw? Today was day 5 of Crazy Diet and I quit. 2 lbs down, not enough but I have SO had enough of this diet. I'll try again. Maybe. But man was that shephards pie good. MMM, and the coke. I've missed that the most. Sad, but true.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

2009-08-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

Actually, although it is rainy I am very excited. Tonight I am going to Grease with my friend Jen. I am thrilled. Travis refused to even be asked if he would go, but with free tickets (Love You Stacy) I couldn't say no. Little bit of gas and $4 for parking... golden. I just hope it's not still pouring outside when we go.

Anywho, I'm still working on the testing crochet project although I am not enjoying it. It is seeming to take forever. To ease the pain, I am volunteering to test a pair of ladybug socks that are ADORABLE!!! I wish I had some nice red semi-solid but I don't. They will be done in my hand-dyed Mom's Sweater yarn that seems to never end. I think this will be the last whole ball that is left, but I swear I got 2 pair out of the last one. Best investment in yarn ever, I tell ya.

I have not done one stitch on Brainless in probably a week or so. I love those socks and am sad that they are not yet on my feet. Soon though. Maybe. Also, I found a home for the socks I made for me that didn't fit - Jen's feet are perfect for them. Sigh. Sorry Mom.

Yesterday I did start crazy diet 3.0 - so far so good with zero cheating. The suck part is that I made a big batch of Amish Friendship bread the night before and I've only had a tiny bit that night. I made some with apples and haven't gotten to taste it. And I am certain there won't be any left by the time the 11 days is up. Oh well, I'll just have to repeat the experiment (I hear it's good).

I haven't gotten time to work more on the quilt since my last post, but hopefully in the next few days I'll get some time. That's really it for now, I need to get some work done. Have a great day! ... Summer Lovin had me a blast... lalalalala.

Busy busy weekend

2009-08-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

I got free tickets to a concert Friday night to see Def Leppard/Poison/Cheap Trick. It. Was. Awesome.
Really, one of the best shows I've been to ever. Then I took Sean to see the Dora show at the Preforming Arts Center this morning at 10:30. At 7 this evening my brother in law had an art show at the Tampa Skate Park where instead of paintings on canvas they painted on skateboard decks. It was pretty cool but hot with eleventy million sweaty kids. Boy did it make me feel old. But, I really liked Jason's deck - he did a great job.
Tomorrow we have Church then to my Mom's. Tomorrow is also bread day - the day to make my Amish Friendship Bread. Yummo.

Next week we have no summercamp for Jake so he'll be with his grandparents and daddy doing cool stuff on different days. I'm going to Grease at the PAC on Tuesday, School open house on Thursday night which is also the first night of choir for this year. Wonder if I can make both?

Yarn-wise, I'm still testing this one thing and it's taking ForFreakinEver even though it shouldn't be. Oh well, I'll keep plugging on I suppose.

I did do the work to fix the Convention quilt today. I think it came out well. I would have started getting the backing but I apparently used some of what I had planned for something and I need to figure out plan b. I have some thoughts - more involving the stripey material I used for the twins' blankets.

Add to that the 3 books from the library (not including the Tourette one) and I'm a busy girl. Poor Brainless is going to languish some more I suppose.

That's it for me. Have a good night.

Not much. How about you?

2009-08-11T08:16:00.001-07:00

I've not even gotten close to being where I was when I had to rip out a bunch of sock and re-do it. I expect to finish the gusset/heel flap today at lunch, so that will be good. I've actually been reading a lot more than knitting, crocheting or quilting and that is not a good thing since the quilt top for Convention that I messed up a while ago is not fixing itself and I leave in 3 weeks. I did buy the clear thread though, now I just need some alone time to work on it, therein lies the problem.

I have really noticed lately how spurty of a person I am. Of course I've been a crocheter "full time" or "for real" for about 11 or 12 years (although I learned about 29 years ago)and crochet has not really gone away for any length of time during that period. I learned to knit what, 5 years ago maybe? 4? And now that is just as natural for me as crocheting, so I don't really count that as a spurt. However, I have tried decorating cakes, scrap booking, beading, One Stroke Painting, sewing (as in clothes and stuff), quilting most recently and they haven't really stuck like that crochet/knit has. Travis gets so frustrated with me when I start a new hobby since he is pretty certain (rightly so) that it will only last a little while then I'll have all this stuff and money spent and do nothing with it. Now add to it reading. Now, in my defense I've always been a reader - such a great defense mechanism - but I'll go years without cracking a book and in the last 4 months I've probably devoured 2 dozen (including the Twilight ones and most of those are HUGE). All I have to say is that Thank Goodness for the library and their wonderful Online Catalog and phone calls when your held books are in. It's like shopping online for books but not having to spend any money!

Anywho... How about a project list. A project list with ALL crafts? Hang on, here we go:
Crochet:
Testing some goodies for websites unmentioned
Cliffy's afghan that has wallowed in the corner of my living room for 2 years now.
Fitted sweater for me that I played with for about half hour then put aside with really good intentions.

Knit:
Brainless socks are currently in my project bag and are about half done with the 2nd sock.
Blue/White socks - I apparently started these on the cruise 2 years ago and have completed 1 sock. I am not sure were the yarn is to finish the 2nd one. Whoopsy.
Sheldon - I LOVE the idea of Sheldon. I've finished his body but every time I try to work on his shell I get frustrated and quit because it's not an easy thing. So currently Sheldon is homeless/nekkid.

Quilting:
Convention quilt - I've finished the top and when I washed it (which I should have done BEFORE quilting) I had seams come out. I need to fix the seams (I am thinking of "under-patches" with clear thread... no clue if it'll work - I'm winging it) then do the quilting. I have the backing done and I think the edging cut but don't quote me on that.
Bridget & Amer's Wedding Quilt - I have gotten exactly 0% done on this but I have bought the pattern/templates AND the fabric. I cannot wait to work on this since it is real actual quilting (it's a kaleidescope design that is awesome!) I just need to get my arse in gear and do it. It's due in time for their wedding 12/20. 4 months, 9 days. I will not even look at it until after Convention is done. Sneak in there some Christmas knitting and I'll be in trouble.

Sewing:
I really owe my Aunts Sue & Lorraine some market bags. I had intended to make some for them at Christmas time but didn't. See how terrible a niece I am? They're gonna come, I swear. Just maybe for this Christmas? sigh.

And that is it. I think. I have to make these lists, just to keep me honest. It's rather depressing, really.

Aggrivation says "Rippit"

2009-08-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the Brainless socks pretty steadily since finishing my June socks and I really do like them. However. I was noticing that the 2nd sock seemed to be a wee bit bigger than the 1st sock. And by a wee bit I mean like an inch in length and probably that much in width. Uh oh. I look at Travis and look down at my 3/4 done sock and tell him that I have a problem.

"Did you try it on?" he asks. Well no, I didn't but really that is a clever thing to do before I think any more about frogging half a sock and crying about it. I tried it on.

It's too big.

Lengthwise it would really be ok but it's the around part that is the problem. I see my error too. I added an extra cable set (6 rows of knitting) before starting the gusset (the part where it gets big enough to accommodate your heel) and my gusset was EXTRA big because I apparently can't count to 22.

Just. So. Aggravating.

So. Last night while watching the Closer, I ripped out half a sock while I should have been knitting. No tears were shed and that is a miracle in itself. I had lunch at my desk today and it took me forever to eat my Cuban so no knitting was done. Tonight I've got Deadliest Catch I think so there will be some good knitting time.

Anyway... moving on. My arm is feeling a little bit better since I messed it up again on Sunday. I spent yesterday at home nursing it and doing some long-neglected house cleaning.

That's it for me. I hope your night was better.

Happy Birthday Rere!!

2009-08-02T13:42:00.001-07:00

Today is my Aunt Rere's birthday (I wont say which year because I'm nice like that).

Happy Birthday Aunt Rere, we love you and miss you so much!I hope you have a wonderful day!

I had such good intentions - I bought her a card and everything but with so much of a pain-fog with the broken arm I still have it sitting on my banister waiting to go to work with me. I bought it early too! Just so aggrivating.

Speaking of, I did something today to torque it and boy am I in some pain! I'm looking forward to after dinner when I can take a vocidin and let the pain go away. For the most part anyway. Tonight is the finale of Next Food Network Star and I'm really looking forward to that. This is the first year where either finalist could win and I'd be happy, however I am rooting a little more for Melissa since she's a "home cook" like me.

This is a yarn blog so I thought I'd add something yarn-related. I bought the yarn to finish the quilty babyghan, so that will be nice. I want to finish the Brainless socks first.

I didn't hear back from the editors on my Sweet Summertime baby top so now I am free to sell it elsewhere. I'm disappointed of course but I guess it is ok to not be monogomous in publishers sometimes. Wish me luck.

That's it for me. I hope you've had a great weekend.

Pics

2009-07-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics I promised.

Finished socks:

Jake at his EEG:

And Sean and I at Thomas:

More another day. Cheers.

Goings on

2009-07-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

Last month, my 8 yr old was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. This is something we've suspected for over a year, but finally took him to the neurologist to have it confirmed. He's had bloodwork, and today we take him for an eeg. These tests do not diagnose TS (nothing does), but it rules out Epilepsy and other problems. The Neuro says it's mild enough not to need meds at this point and we have a follow up in 5 more months. We'll see how he does in school and go from there, that will be the basis of our decision. I have been doing so much research trying to be knowledgable, and I ok with all this, since he is really ok. There are so many out there with really bad symptoms and it makes me grateful that Jake's case is mild.

Anywho... I finished my 2nd sock of my 2nd pair of June socks - "Meida's Socks". I'll post a pic later but I am just so happy to have it done in time. The suck thing is that they are too small for me so I need to find them a home. My mom might be able to fit them since her feet are a little smaller than mine, otherwise I'll have to keep hunting for a size 6! Now I'm back to finishing Brainless and I'm almost done with the heel, then on to the leg.

My arm is doing ok, still sore and pretty bruised but somewhat functioning. I still keep it in the sling most of the time. Let me tell you it's really building up the stregnth in my right arm - I seem to do everything with it! Picking up Sean with only my right arm is difficult and boy is that kid heavy! He's only about 30lbs but that's a very wiggly 30lbs!

That's really it for me, I'll try to post a pic of the finished socks later today.

Nothing puts a damper on life like...

2009-07-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

A broken arm.

I went skating with Jake on Tuesday and after I went about 2 feet I fell on my butt. Hard. I also braced my fall with my palm. This had 2 effects: bruising the ribs where my elbow rammed into my torso and causing a "radial head fracture" which is a little break of the fat part of my forearm bone that goes into my elbow. The bad news? It hurts, and so do many of it's friends (my hips, backside, ribs, shoulders) but the good news is that they this is one of the few fractures they don't put in a cast.

So. My sock knitting has slowed to a walk and I only have 7 days to finish that 2nd sock! (I am half done with the heel and it's going somewhat quickly.)

Notice: No 8 yr olds were harmed in the "Great Skating Incident of 2009".

In another nice turn of events, I found an old friend from my childhood on facebook. I love that site! Anywho, we were friends from like 5 yrs old until she moved when were about 12 in 1987. Crazy stuff on these innerets, I tell ya!

That's really it over here. How are you?

No news...

2009-07-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

I thought this was feeling neglected so I figured it was time to post but I really dont have much to show or talk about... so we'll talk about crochet and knitting. K?

I am almost finished with the center 4 12" blocks of the quilty babyghan. I had to pull out some stitches because I didn't think it was important to figure out how many stitches up it would be and just plugged along. Obviously I am a moron. So, as we were watching the moon landing on tv last night (I wasn't around for the first one and that was pretty cool that they did it real-time) I frogged and re-crocheted on the blanket. I didn't get as far as I frogged but maybe I'll work on it at lunchtime. I will also need to get some more yarn for the borders.

I have done a little more than half of the cuff of my 2nd Meida sock. I have 10 days to finish to qualify for a prize. Think I can do it? Yeah, me to. That is mostly what I've been working on at lunch.

I borrowed a library book last week called Crochet that Fits by Mary Jane Hall. I found 4 patterns that I want to do and I actually started one even though I have no business starting anything right now! It's a top for me out of Simply Soft. I had the yarn and the time (although 2 hours does not a sweater make... trust me) so I just dove right in. I love how it looks in my head, we'll have to see how it translates into real life.

And Why do I have no business starting anything? Let's look at the list of WIPs.
~Brainless socks: #1 is done and #2 is at the heel turn. This is what I bring with me when I don't want to worry about a pattern like doc visits and watching the kids swim.
~Meida socks: #1 is done and #2 is in the middle of the cuff (working down). This has a "Sometime in July" deadline which is quickly being eaten up. I don't really need the pattern for this until I get to the heel which hopefully will be tonight.
~Blue/White socks: #1 is done and I dont know where the yarn is for #2 which has not even been started. I did #1 during the cruise in May of '07. Languishing a bit? Right now it's decorating the bookshelf in my living room so it can torment me at every possible occasion.
~Sheldon: Sheldon's body is done. Sheldon has no shell (does that make him nekkid or homeless?). I have started Sheldon's shell twice and frogged it both times because it makes me feel like a knittard. Eventually I hope to have time to dedicate to it and have him finished. I'd also like to make him a couple "outfits".
~Cliffyghan: This has not had anything done on it in a long time. Not as long as the blue sock but close. It's just such a behemoth right now and I hate working on it. If he were a baby it'd be done by now!
~New top: This is worked long ways (each row is worked up/down and you keep making rows until it fits around my body then the shoulders are done. It will be put to the back of the list until I have more done and really do have time to work on it.

That's really it. Not terrible but not great either. I just finished testing a pattern for a Real Designer (it was a test to see if I am good enough at testing to test for real.) so that took some of my time. Back to the grind now until I hear from her to see if I get to make something for her. First on the list is the Meida socks, then the babyghan. Sounds good.

Here's Sean's new haircut. He says he's handsome. I agree.

Yarn...

2009-07-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show off some pics - yarn I dyed, yarn I got as a gift, all sorts of good stuff.

I dyed 2 skeins of yarn. One is a natural cotton that I dyed with Rit in a dark forest green. I swear that was only in the dye for like 20 seconds and it's is VERY dark! The 2nd skein is sock yarn that is a blend of Merino wool and silk. I did not notice the lack of "superwash" when I bought it so I am afraid to knit it into socks... Whoopsy! (Pics show the yarn drying in the shower stall, then skeined up to look pretty.)(Also, these pics are a little washed out with flash and these are actually a little darker in color than it looks like.)

And finally my gift yarn. My mom went to visit TN a couple weeks ago and I advised her of the not-quite-well-known little tidbit that yarn makes a fanTAStic souvenir! She took the bait and I scored some sock yarn. She can go out of town Any time she wants!

That's really it. I've still got Sweet Summertime out for testing and I still have only sold 1 hat pattern. No word yet on if the mag wants the Sweet Summertime pattern. I am still working on the quilty afghan pattern. I've got it about 70% done. I love how it's coming out and writing it is a little easier than I expceted since I am making up connecting stitches as I go. Funky. But, all in the name of no-seaming.

Have a great weekend kids!

Secret Words

2009-07-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that I may need an intervention. I'll gush about my new-found love in a bit but first... a finished object. Or, a half finished object, depending on how you look at it.

This is my first Meida sock. It's pretty but a teensy bit too small but "fit" if I tug. These may go to my Mom since her feet are a tiny bit smaller than mine. I will be terribly disappointed since I really like this stretchy yarn. I really could have made them a bit longer since I have maybe 10 yards left of yarn, that would have given me a few rows and that would have made them perfect. But I am not a frogger if I expect to keep knitting on it, I am a tinker... and I ain't tinking back a whole toe! Lookee... pretty:

Anywho, I'm sure that I'll cast on for sock #2 soon. It needs to be done by end of July to count towards prizes so I won't let it linger.

Back to my intervention. I checked out "Mason Dixon Knitting Outside The Lines" from the library and I have really taken a liking to a few of the projects in there. I even made a copy of the basic sweater one with thoughts of actually making it. Then, I found Margaret. Meet Margaret:

Margaret is a Beautiful piece of Knitting. That there is Real Knitting. This jacket has secret words on it - and I think that's the part I like best. It's really a Nobel Peace Jacket... seriously. Here are the sayings: Front - from Martin Luther King Jr "The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek." and from Gandhi: "You must be the change you want to see in the world." Back - from Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

How awesome is that? Very. That's right!

However. And here is where the crack part lives... This is done on size 6 needles (think between skewers and chopsticks) with 10 balls of yarn. I don't know if I would be able to knit 10 balls of anything! Of course I'm po and certainly wouldn't be able to afford 10 balls of nice yarn, so it'd be done in something else. Not Simply Soft since that is pretty slippery and I don't think it would keep it's charm. Wool Ease? Perhaps. I am afraid that I start a project of this caliber that I wouldn't ever finish. I don't think it's HARD particularly, just LONG. Now I have to think on this. Could I possibly ever wear it enough to justify 10 balls of yarn? Even with cheapy Wool Ease it'd still be over $30 and that's a lot for cheap yarn.

What do you think? Is this biting off WAY more than I can chew or is it just being optimistic?

Busy weekend

2009-07-06T07:58:00.001-07:00

I hope that you all had a nice Holiday weekend! Mine was long and productive but tiring. Friday I had the day off with both kids and we went with my MIL to the base to do some shopping. Nice to have a full pantry and not put the dough out for it! Then in the afternoon I put up the Pirate Skull Cap (buy now) pattern for sale and have had 1 sale so far - yay! I also worked on making Stacy's birthday present:

These are Drew's Wine Glass flip flops - they are coasters that "attach" to the wine glasses with the flip flop part. Too cute, and quick and she liked them... especially since they were attached to a bottle of wine.

Saturday I made some cookies and a new spinach dip (I'll share the recipe later) and headed over to the in-laws place. It was a nice time celebrating the holiday and Stacy's b-day with our family and hers. The kids had a blast playing in the pool! I worked on my Meida a little bit and I am almost to the toe. Ok, well I thought I was at the toe but realized (too late) that I had one more repeat to go and I will be tinking a bit before I move on at lunch today. Also on Saturday I sent out Sweet Summertime to the testers (go me for being ahead of schedule).

Sunday I started working on my Quilty Pinwheel Babyghan. I've gotten one block done and I've started on number two. I'm creating a new way to attach it so there is no seaming. So far so good, but I haven't gotten to the fiddly bit yet - we'll see how happy I am about it then!

See.... lots of progress! In today's mail I've gotten my Knitpicks order of bare yarn that is begging to be Cherry Limeade (a lovely blend of red/pink/bright green) and I cannot wait to get to dyeing it! However, I am holding off a little bit since I'm expecting a Vegetable dyeing book from the library any day now. Wouldn't that be cool! We'll see how it goes. This sock yarn is a superwash merino wool/silk blend and it's really nice. I hope it washes better than the last one which was all superwash wool. We'll see.

That's it from me, have a great day!

Pattern For Sale

2009-07-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

I just put my Pirate Skull Cap up for sale on Ravelry. I am so excited! If you have the extra $2 and need a hat to knit, here ya go:

Hey, a gal's gotta get yarn money somehow!

Wow, I've been missing!

2009-07-02T11:36:00.001-07:00

Sorry about that! I have a bunch of pics to show, and some cool news. Today I send off my package to the mag with my Purse pattern and a proposal for the Sweet Summertime top. Yay!
Yesterday I got an email from a yarnshop in OH asking to use my Skull Cap pattern for a class. Yay! Now I need to put it all together and get it up on Ravelry for sale, since right now it's just the chart.
I finished my Grandmother's socks in time by the skin of my teeth. I also finished Mom's mitts although it was done at her house. AND one is bigger than the other. Whoopsy!
I finished my Zoom Zoom socks for me and although I love the pattern, I am not happy that my socks took a spin in the dryer and are now kinda fuzzy. Thank goodness they are superwash and washable but still - not as pretty as the before.
Aside from the Sweet Summertime I just sent off, I have the makings of an afghan in my head - I need to get it out and to the testers but that would require me stepping away from the library books for more that 7 seconds. I swear, it's like an addiction. A FREE addiction, but still.
I have started "Sheldon's" shell twice and frogged it both times - it's harder than I thought and I need to not be watching tv while doing it. So, it shall sit by itself in a project bag and wait until I am bored/brave/tv-free.

Ok, now for pics. Here are Zoom Zoom (in green), Grandma's socks (the done brown ones), my current sock project (called Meida's Socks by Nancy Bush - they are the not done brown ones)which is using the leftovers of Grandma's sock yarn and Mom's Mitts (uh, the mitts).

Jake and Nana's birthdays. My boy on his 8th birthday, showing off the geode he picked and cracked open by himself at T-Rex at Downtown Disney, his new golf clubs, Sean trying to golf and Nana's socks.

Had enough? Thought so. More another day. Hopefully soon I'll have awesome news about my afghan project. Have a great 4th!

More done, however.

2009-06-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

I finished Mom's Mitts, and I have pics of those and Grandma's socks and Jake's b-day. I was going to show you these pics. However, I apparently have misplaced my camera. I probably left it at my Moms (which is the last place I remember taking pics) or it fell out of my purse at home or in the car (note to self: check the car). Urg. If it is at Mom's I wont get it for a couple weeks. Maybe she can get the pics off my memory card? I also have to remember to post Jake's 8 year old picture. Hmm.

Today we were supposed to go to lunch for a co-workers birthday (12 days late)but she's out sick. Normally I wouldn't care, and I did have some lunches in the freezer so it's not a big deal but I didn't bring anything yarn related to work on. I have 2 2nd socks in progress, both with only a few inches left on the foot. So I am thisclose to having 2 whole pairs of socks. Oh well. Guess my hands will be idle during All My Children. They can use a rest I suppose, since they are protesting from the abuse they suffered during the rush to finish Grandma's socks.

That's really kinda it.

Done. And then some.

2009-06-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

I finished my Grandmother's socks yesterday. I was a little worried that I wouldn't have them done in time for the b-day celebration today but I did. Then, I wove in the ends of Mom's socks, and wrapped them both by 4. That gave me a chance to work on my Zoom Zoom socks on the way to and from Diz for Jake's birthday dinner at T-Rex. I'll post a couple pics and some video on Monday but we had a really great time even if it was 982 degrees outside.

Last night we were watching the 2nd episode of TruBlood and I worked a bit on the 2nd of Mom's Mitts. I really dont have much left to do on it, but I have a knitting-related injury and really need to stop for a bit. Apparently I stabbed my right pointer with a very sock needle and it HURTS! Especially when I'm knitting with it. Oh, the price we pay! lol.

So, in a bit I'll head to Church, then to my Mom's. We're celebrating Jake's, my Mom's and my Grandma's birthdays. I made some cake. It'll be fun!

More on Monday when I can post pics. Happy Father's day.

Updates and Lots of pics

2009-06-18T07:01:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a while but really I haven't had much to report that didn't require pics. Here are some works in progress, finished baby quilts and my new sock yarn.

Sheldon. Sheldon neeeds his shell and a new "outfit" but even though he is living in my project bag that goes with me everywhere, he's on the back burner. Er, so to speak.

Mom's Mitts. These are almost done and I will give them to her when they are. They are not presents really, just something I thought would be fun to knit and she's the recipient with the coldest hands. They need about 2 inches and a thumb to be done:

Grandma's socks. These need to be done by Sunday. I am concerned. I love them, the yarn is stretchy and great to work with. I have about 4 inches on one and 6 on the other to go. Daunting.

I forgot to take an updated pic of Zoom Zoom (the test knit socks) but here is one done. The other one has about 4" to go:

Here are the finished baby quilts. The mom is having back labor and the twins are 6 lbs a piece but not here yet. Probably in the next day or so I bet. I LOVE how these turned out and I think I will try to crochet something similar.

And finally, my new Smooshy. I LOVE this yarn. I don't know what I'm gonna make with it but it'll be awesome!

A few pics. No really!

2009-06-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

Look what we FINALLY got here! I actually managed to not buy anything. I know, I was impressed too.

Enjoying some watermelon:

The fruit of Jake's labor (he made like 12 of these):

A sock I test knit and really enjoyed!:

That's it for now, I swear I'll start blogging more when I'm back at work! lol. 2 more weeks!

It's a happy day to be a Momma!

2009-05-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

See that, my boy's crocheting. He says "Now can I be the crochet dude?" I hope Drew understands. I'm so proud, I think I have a little tear.

I finished up the pattern for Purse-Onality and it is off to be tested. I swear I was going to start right back with a 2nd sock or the 2nd mitt but I got sidetracked with this little guy:

Meet Sheldon. Hehehe, Shel(l)don. He has clothes too! A Pirate outfit, cowboy outfit, police man, sheep... too cute!!

That's some Good News!

2009-05-24T05:21:00.001-07:00

My Purse-Onality design was bought by the mag and will be published in March. I. Am. So. Excited!! It was for more $ than last time and they bought it without having to see it first. The pattern is almost done and will head to testers shortly. This makes me doubly excited to send Sweet Summertime for the May issue!

In truth I haven't touched yarn in almost 2 weeks. First I got sucked into Twilight, then I had to read the rest of the saga rightnow!!! I finished that a few days ago and felt like I would rather read than sew or knit or crochet so I read Pride & Prejudice and finished last night. Actually it was after 1 so it was this morning. Time to quit the books for now so I can get some sleep! My yarn hiatus has made my fingers so sore, see... NOT over use! Maybe they are also mad at my only using sock yarn for a while. Maybe if I made something with thicker yarn they'd be happy?

Speaking of yarn... I went to the yarn shop last week and they were having a sale!! I spent $18 and got 1 skein of Tofutsies in a purply/pink and 3 (!) skeins of Worsted weight Angora Rabbit/Wool blend. Big skeins too! I now have almost 300 yards of the stuff. I have been thinking on what to make with it, but I haven't decided yet. The normal price on that stuff is $19/skein so it's like I bought 1 and got 2 more plus sock yarn free!! Oh Happy Day. lol.

Sean is Sir Sneezy today, hopefully the allergy meds will kick in so we can go to a friends b-day party. He has also just discovered the wonder that is the yarn winder. He is so funny.

Jake is counting the days until he will be a 3rd grader. 2.5 to go.

Well, that's it for me, more later and pictures, right.

No pics yet but I just HAD to share this:

2009-05-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

I was reading Laurie's blog and I had to share it with you because the video is absolutly hysterical. I have tears in my eyes and yes, I was singing along. (Mom, wait til you get home, you will need speakers).

I finished the girl quilt (it needs a bath but is waiting for it's mate) and I finished sewing together the quilt top minus the border. I have been dreaming up (literally) the quilting edging I will do since I dont think that hearts will do for a boy... I've decided to do little sailboats connected by a wave-y line. Cute, eh?

I also finished the 2nd purse cover after a minor crisis of the couch eating my only K hook, but thankfully I was able to find it inside the couch's rusty innards. I need to add a few bits of hardware to both covers, take pics and have it all put together by Monday. No rush or anything!

I knit a bit on the 2nd mitt and the 2nd sock, but not too much.

I am watching the Knit & Crochet Today granny square episode, with Drew even though I've seen it before. Mostly because I'm bored but also because it amuses me to watch someone on tv that I "know" through the innernets. Also, his granny is much cooler than normal grannys.

Oh, and before I go I wanted to share that my pirate hat pattern from the Knit calendar (according to Ravelry) has 115 people fave'd it and it has 40 projects. Well, 39 since mine is in there too. Cool, eh? I thought so.

Have a great day and I really will try to post more tomorrow with pics.

progress

2009-05-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

I am still pretty bored, but with Travis' weird schedule, I have the kids on the weekends and he's home on Wed/Thur. It's pretty whacky. But, I have managed to have a little time to myself! I am on the binding of the girl baby quilt, I did the quilting and it came out pretty cute. I did a connected hearts thing on the borders and although they are not the MOST perfect hearts in the world, I am still pretty proud of myself. Today during AMC I may start cutting the pieces for the boy baby quilt. The fabrics aren't as cute as the girls but still pretty adorable.

I am about 1/3 done with the 2nd fingerless mit and only a couple inches into the 2nd Brainless sock. I did get a start on the 2nd purse cover, but I am running out of time on that one, so that is where I will concentrate in the next couple days.

My 2 aunts are coming into town in the next couple weeks so that is exciting. It'll be nice to spend some time with them, I just need to work on being ready to drive by then. Doc said 2-3 weeks, today marks the 2 week point so that is promising.

That's really it for me for now. Hopefully next time I'll have some pics to show off.

Lesson learned on day 2 of boredom

2009-04-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

I have heard that you should wash your fabric before turning into a quilt but as we all know, I am lazy. I know I NEED to wash it before the actual quilting so I tossed the 2 quilt tops (the convention quilt and girl twin quilt) and their respective backs into the wash with woolite on gentle (I'm not a COMPLETE idiot! har har). I didn't dry them, just brought them to the living room and started pressing them.

As an aside, I must say it is a nifty feature on ironing boards that they can be adjusted to short so I could iron sitting at the couch. Moving on.

As I started looking at the convention quilt I noticed in a few places where the seam had come undone. Uh oh. Not a good thing at all. I am really not sure how I'm gonna fix it, and thankfully it's only on that quilt and not on the baby one. The backs pressed nicely, so did the girl quilt. Any thoughts? I am thinking of stippling some thread with a backing of scrap fabric and turning under the frayed edges as I go, that way when it's actually quilted it will look like it's supposed to be there. I dont think I'd be able to deepen the seem allowances on just those spaces and have it look normal so I don't think that is an option.

Sigh. Oh... I did finish one of the mits and started on the second, did I mention that already? Boredom = addlebrainedness.

Tommorow afternoon I watch a little friend so his Mommy can go on a job interview. 5 yr olds are easy peasy so nothing strenuous I'm sure. He'll be happy to bounce on the trampoline I'd wager. Let's keen Jen in our thoughts that she gets a job quickly!

That's it for now, have a great day. I wonder what new and magical things I will learn tomorrow? I did not pray to be taught a lesson! Lol.

Bored already

2009-04-27T07:40:00.001-07:00

I've watched 2 episodes of All my children, I'm on my 4th knit & crochet today, 2 knitty gritty's and a quilt in a day. I have a 24 which I need to watch today before tonight's episode, or I could hold it until tomorrow and watch them both back to back! Hehehe. Back to back Jack. lol. I kill me.

Anyway, surgery went well, I'm just pretty sore and very restless. Even at night taking my happy pills I cannot manage to fall asleep in less than 3 hours without adding my normal sleeping pill. Last night I took both and did fall asleep quickly but was up at 12:30 and it took over an hour to get back to sleep. Maybe it's the percoset and I need to just try to deal with taking the IBs? I'll try that tonight.

In yarny news, I've gotten a few rounds away from finishing th efirst fingerless mit. I like how it's coming out, but I did see how I managed to be unable to count to 4... Oh well, who likes evenly spaced cables anyway? lol. I just need to remember to mirror them on the 2nd mit... maybe then I can call it a "design element"! I have only a couple weeks to get the 2nd bag cover done for the mag and send it out. I keep procrastinating because I feel like I will have SOOOO much time on my hands that I dont want to do everything at once.

In quilty news, well there isn't any. I have all the fabric for the boy blanket, I am not super thrilled with it though. It's pretty average, if that makes sense. I really love how the girl blanket came out and I hate to be disappointed with this one. Too late now since it's not like I can drive my arse over to the fabric store! I think they are due middle of June but with twins I'll be lucky to get to the middle of May. I guess I really need to get a move on, eh? At least the pattern goes quickly.

That's really it for now. Thank you for your well wishes and good thoughts. More later.

Ready of not...

2009-04-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

I went in for pre-op today and the vampires took 7 vials of blood. I got a nifty new green wrist band for blood typing and instructions so I am all set for surgery on Tuesday. Wonder if I can get my doc to hold the sock in progress? Hmmm. I also went in today to meet with the surgeon about the lump and he said it's just dense breast tissue and nothing to be concerned with and see you in 4 months. I am happy with that.

I have started the thumb gusset for my mitt and the round and round bit of the foot on second sock. I have not finished picking fabric for the boy twin's quilt, nor have I gotten the batting for the other 2. Maybe this weekend. I have a May deadline for the the twins and September for Convention so that's a good thing.

Speaking of fabric, I have been undergoing a major project in ironing and folding my bits of fabric and grouping them by color. I dont even have my yarn so organized! This is a good project so that I can actually see that I have 9,000,000 different greens and only 3 blues. Apparently I'm a green person... who knew?

No real plans this weekend but get the house in "guest condition" since I will have guests next week and I will be out of commission. Let's just hope that my 3 days in the hospital wont = tornadic activity on the homestead.

That's it for me, have a great weekend and I will try to post on Monday.

Pictures of done stuff.

2009-04-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

I finished the top for the convention quilt:

I also decided to make baby quilts for my boss who is expecting twin grandbabies - one of each kind! Here's the top for the girl:

I am getting fabric together for the boy quilt. The girl one was easy, I picked the butterfly fabric and the rest fell into place. I will look for a inspiration fabric for the boy one soon. I need to get some batting for all 3, and the girl quilt already has backing and binding strips ready to go. I am still contemplating binding and backing on the convention quilt.

I did get some work done on my newest project - fingerless mits for my mom at her office. I've got about 2 inches done. I was going to keep it a suprise but I have an amazing lack of restraint when it comes to things like this! Those that know me are laughing right now!

I do have a pic to share of Sean. On Friday, he and Jake spent the day with my in-laws. Apparently they were trying to juggle. Sean, being the most graceful child he is succedded in losing an argument with the coffee table:

I am working to get my desk in order and all my poop in a group before I am out for 8 weeks. I will keep blogging from home but will have limited access to pics.

I hope you had a great Easter. More tomorrow, maybe I'll remember to snap a pic of the mits.

A Scheduled outage...

2009-04-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got the call to schedule my surgery, I'll go in on 4/21 and emerge minus some girl parts and on heafty drugs. I am looking forward to the After since this before sucks! I normally dont ask for prayers for myself but I will now, please remember me on that day and couple days after.

Moving on... I didn't take any pictures to show and I didn't finish my quilt blocks - I have 1 more side on each one, then they just need to be sewed together and some borders added. I am still thinking about backing. I have a couple ideas in mind and I am looking forward to playing with them in real life instead of just my head!

At lunch I finished the crocheting of my purse cover, but I was not able to sew it up since I didn't have a tapestry needle with me. Tonight that will get done during tv. I also started a pattern that I had intended for my Mom for birthday, having forggoten about the birthday socks and I will see how it goes. Now I'll just tease and say maybe she'll get it, maybe I'll keep it! lol.

Tonight I intend to shampoo my carpets in the living room and dining room. Woo hoo, joy. But, I'd rather it done now than have to stare at dirty carpets for the next 8 weeks!

That's it for now, have a great day!

Over and out

2009-04-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

I finished my brothers quilt and it is on the way to the post office as we speak! I am not thrilled with how it turned out and I hope that I will be able to improve my skills on the quilting portion. For the convention quilt I am researching how much it would be to send it out to be quilted and it looks reasonable, now to convince my boss it's a sound investment!

I brought my purse covers to work on at lunchtime today, but it is kind of freeing to not have a very pressing project to finish rightnow.

Not really much to say today. Maybe tomorrow I'll have some pics or something. Until then, have a great day.

Weekend notes

2009-04-06T07:27:00.001-07:00

This weekend was so much fun. Saturday we had a play date and there were more than 10 kids that showed up. I am waiting for more pics but here are a couple.

Sean on the slide enjoying static cling:

Little ones playing baseball:

I got a lot of work done on the Convention quilt. I only have 1 more color to add, so maybe half hour of work, then borders. I haven't decided on the borders yet, I think I will add some sort of mixture of the fabrics that are already in the quilt, the ones I have leftovers of anyway. Here's a pic of what it will look like once I add the dark blue:

I am trying to get a quote on having it quilted for me since my brother's quilt looks so messy and this IS for a fundraiser. Hopefully it will be reasonable enough for me to get my boss to pay for!

I got most of my first cover done for the purse and I like how it's turning out. I have some ideas for the other one too but I will have to play with it to be sure.

Well that's it for me for now, Have a nice Monday. Tomorrow is my doc's appt so this is my last day to obsess about it~

Play Date, wii fit, quilting

2009-04-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Play date yesterday was so much fun. We had a really good turn out and I think that everyone enjoyed themselves. I got in some exercise running after Sean and pitching baseball. I also got in 30 mins on the wii fit between the hula hoop thing and step classes. I'm pretty sore today so I'm staying away from it. I am really noticing a difference in my energy level (well not today but in general) with getting in some exercise almost every day this week. I am down about 3 lbs this week so I am pretty thrilled... and that is with eating taco bell 2 times!

Today I am going to Jen's church, she's singing a solo and I'm looking forward to it. We'll grab lunch afterwards then I'll head home. Jake is going with my MIL to the base to go shopping so it's just me and Sean.

Maybe this afternoon I'll get out and till up the area for the corn since that really needs to be transplanted soon. I have the area mostly done, I just need to finish up and mix in some soil. Hopefully it shouldn't take me more than an hour.

In quilty news, I have not finished sewing the binding down on my brother's quilt but it's getting closer, just 1 short side left. I did start working on the Convention quilt. It's a log cabin in tan/brown and blue. I got to the 6th side out of 13 (including the center). I really like how it's turning out and it is going pretty quick. Including cutting the strips I probably have 2 hours in it and that is for all 12 squares. I've got a 1 more set of strips not cut but the rest are ready. I am really enjoying it. Now I need to decide if I want to try to do the quilting myself again or have it sent out. Hrm. I have no idea how much something like that costs. It may be worth a little investigating. I'd hate to have it not sell as well because I am a crappy quilter. Decisions decisions.

That's it from me, I'm gonna go get some frosted mini wheats. Have a great Sunday.

A happy place

2009-04-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

I've had a rough few days mentally relating to some strange doctor stuff and I wont really know what's going on until Tuesday when I have a consult. I am the least patient and most paranoid person that I know so this does not sit well with me.

However, yesterday when I was between test appointments I went to Joanns. Joanns is my happy place. I spent over half hour fondling yarn and browsing quilting fabrics. I have needed to go and get some springy yarn for the purse and this was my opportunity. Not rushed, no extra "helpers", it was nice. I chose CotnCorn (a blend of cotton and corn) in a peach and verigated peach/brown/white for one purse and a chunky verigated teal & white for the other. Happy Springy colors and I'm looking forward to working with them.

I also got 4 fabrics for the Convention quilt, differents shades of brown from almost white to really dark chocolate. I also cut most of the strips and did the first round of sewing. I actually got a lot done for the time that I had and I'm pretty proud of myself. I could have been taking a nap but nope! I sewed.

In other yarny news, I had started the 2nd sock of Brainless but at doctors appt #2 yesterday I realized that I was relying on my brain instead of the pattern and had to rip out the 1.5" I had done and restart. Oh well. I've got a teeny tiny bit back to done but not too much.

In other quilty news, I am almost done with my 3rd side of handquilting Kerry's quilt. One and a little bit to go. Yay!

That's it for me, have a great weekend.

Sean sings the abc's and a quilt block

2009-03-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the other quilt block I finished. I need to re-figure out how I updated my virtul design wall with my done blocks. Maybe tomorrow.

And here's Sean doing his ABC's. He is So funny now! Enjoy and have a great day.

A very news-worthy day...

2009-03-30T13:37:00.001-07:00

I got a note from the Editor of the crochet mag and she likes my design. Yay! However, she would like to push it to the Spring issue instead of the Winter issue, and I'm ok with that. It does mean that I need to re-create it to be Springy. I see some yarn shopping in my future!!

So, I take that as not No but Maybe. And I'm ok with that!

Lots of pictures, none of yarn.

2009-03-30T12:01:00.001-07:00

This weekend went really well. We had fun and I got a lot done. Let's review:

I started and finished a Dear Jane block. My first that was paper pieced. It's B4. I also just finished B1 at lunch but it is pictureless for now.

I also took some pics of sprouts... the tall ones are corn and the short ones are cukes. I took some of the carrots, broccoli, cilantro and chives but they are almost too small to actually see in the pics. Maybe in a few days.

We went Strawberry picking on Saturday. We had a really nice time and came home with 2 of those big blue bowls full plus 2 big onions for the low low price of $5.

And after strawberry picking and cleaning and cleaning and cutting and cutting and storing... we went to Mamaw and Papaw's house. What'd we do?

Jake did this:

And Sean did this:

I got some video and will try to get it on youtube later on. I had my doc visit this morning, just an annual but we had some long discussions about the next couple weeks. We found a lump but he thinks its a cyst. Sono and mamo for that on Thurs morning. My lady issues need to get resolved now so sono for that also on Thurs and surgery consult next Tuesday. I'm praying everything will be ok and if not that I will be strong enough to face my fears.

Jake has SATs this week and I am hoping that he'll do a good job. He did really well on the practice test so hopefully that means he's ready.

That's it for me for now. Have a great day.

a sock picture

2009-03-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my sock mid-lunch knitting. This is an all-over then an "up close" of the cables.

I have knit another inch or so on it since this pic, and I've almost reached the point where I'll add the ribbing. I am thinking of a big 2" ribbing, since I think it'll help make them stay up pretty good.

I didn't have a chance to work on the quilt last night, instead I watched Castle from dvr during Mr. O's speach. Tonight is 2 hours of Idol so I doubt I'll do it then either, unless I can do dinner quick and have a little time to sew then have the 2 Idol hours to hand stitch it down in the back which I figure will take 4.3 years to finish. We'll see how it turns out.

No sprouts in the garden yet but I'll be sure to take some pics when there are.

working on it

2009-03-24T11:50:00.001-07:00

I was home sick yesterday with the blahs, so tired and sore and generally feeling icky. I have not gotten most of the sock done, I have about 3 inches to go and I like it. I dread the second sock, because this isnt an easy one, but I like it anyway. Hopefully I'll not have another singleton. However, I could wear them together... one blue and white and the other pink and purple. Think anyone would notice?

I also got the quilting done on my brothers quilt. BOY do I suck at that! It is not even remotly even in any way. I have the first side of border pinned on, I'll try to work on that while I'm busy ignoring the president.

In gardening news, I got it planted. I do still need to get another tomato so that I can have a pair... we need 2 to tango. All of the seeds that I planted had already sprouted in my little windowsill greenhouse. I used 2 boxes(corn & cukes) that are 3x1ft plus 2 round pots 9-11 inches (tomato & chives / cilantro) and a bigger round pot that is like 2ft across (broccoli / carrot). The carrots and cukes are smaller sizes - pickling cukes and some fancy name for midget carrots so hopefully they wont get too crowded. When the corn gets 6-9 inches tall I'll have to move them to the ground, but I have a little time before that happens.

Lets see... sock, quilt, garden, ok. Still nothing from the mag, but hopefully soon! I'll try to show off my sock tomorrow.

It's really all for you

2009-03-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband found this bit of awesomeness somewhere on the internets and shared it with me. Because I heart you all, I will share with you... because there is nothing that knitters and crocheters love more than sheep!

As for my own progress, I have about finished turning the heel, so working backwards, the heel flap should be next. I'll try to take a pic of it on... since I can do that with toe up socks... to show you. I have a luncheon today so I probably wont get any knitting done then.

This weekend I'll be planting my garden out back. Hopefully I wont kill it before I get some veggies!

Fingers crossed

2009-03-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

I actually finished up the Purse-Onality and took it's pics and sent it off to the mag editor. I really like how it came out and hopefully she will too. In may I'll submit Sweet Summertime then I'll see if something else strikes my fancy. But for now, wish me luck!

I have plans to start my veggie garden this weekend. I have asked my Mom and my friend Jen to come over for some good ole fashioned slave labor with the promise of sharing veggies! Fair, right? I thought so too. I am going to start some seeds to sprout today when I get home.

I haven't touched Kerry's quilt but I am at the heel turn of Brainless. Speaking of, I have pics to show off from the Hockey game.

I went with Travis, Jake and Butch (my father in-law). We had so much fun, even though we lost. I was suprised to see SO many more people rooting for Toronto than Tampa. It was sad really.

Security did not stop me or even look at me funny for my purse contents. I was not able to work on Brainless during actual play (BOY is hockey fast!) but during the halftime (or whatever they call it) and before the game started:

And Cheerleading on ice skates adds a WHOLE other level of difficulty, yes?

Well I'm out for now. Keep your fingers crossed and say your prayers... I'll be stalking my in-box.

Just a quick pic

2009-03-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

On Saturday when I was helping Jen move we passed by this guy and I HAD to take a pic. It is a Beetle with the back end turned into a "truck" and it was towing a dune buggy. Scary stuff.

I am doing pretty ok on the Brainless sock, but I havent taken a pic of it yet. It's mostly brainless but I do keep getting myself mixed up on if I am on the front or back - I blame the circs instead of dpns. No worries, it's still cool.

I had indended to turn in the info for Purse-Onality by the 20th but I really don't have time to finish the pieces and do photos and the proposal in time. I'll be able to do it for the next one.

A good weekend

2009-03-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hey there, hope you are well rested after this nice weekend. It really is starting to feel like Summer here and the ac is running almost non-stop. I'd open the doors more but the oak pollen is out to get us so we remain pent up all hermit-like. It does lead to some good crochet/knit/sew time though.

I gave my grandfather his socks and they fit him well. I teased my mom with her birthday socks because I forgot to take them out of my bag when I went over. I have also been doing well on the Brainless socks and have about 2/3 of the foot done. I have to say that I am nervous about the whole gusset/heel thing but I am looking forward to it. I think it's coming up soon.

I have not spent any real time with my brother's quilt this week and I am disappointed by that. I hope to work on it this week though. It is 8 days late right now and not NEAR done. I did look at Joanns for some fabric for the Convention quilt. I figured out how to show you my screen from EQ so you know my idea:

While we were at my Grandparent's house I took some video that I wanted to share. Sean had found my Grandfather's flashlight and was really enjoying himself playing with it. Off. On. Up. Down. Hey, Look at that thing on the ground, let me get it. Wait a minute, where's it going? I'm gonna chase it! It really was too funny.

Grandfather socks

2009-03-13T11:30:00.001-07:00

Here are my grandfather's "Boot Socks". The turned out pretty well and I think he will be happy with them.

I also wanted to show off my SuperShow socks on the sock blockers:

That's it for me, have a great weekend!

Grandfather socks

2009-03-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

I am on the toe of Pop Pop's socks. Let me just say that re-orientating the stitches when doing the 2 socks on 2 circs is a pain. I thought I had it figured out then NOPE, one of them was backwards. Oh well, it's better now. I have about 5 or 6 rows to go then I'll be done.

I did the hook & eye on the purse, and 3/4 of the handles (I ran out of big hook & eyes). I'll go tomorrow to get some more of them. I would like to make one more purse cover, I am thinking something black and/or sparkly, to go with a set of silver handles that I have for the bag. My goal is 1 bag (check), 2 sets of handles (check), and 2 covers (1 check).

Also, there is only 1 month to go until Easter and my glorious reuniting with Coke. Boy have I missed the caffeine and bubbles and Cokey wonderfulness. What, wonderfulness isn't a word? It is now.

Oh, oh oh, I got a package yesterday!! My Dad made me some sock blockers!!! They are perfect, and are now "wearing" Mom's SuperShow socks. I'll try to remember to take a pic tomorrow, k?

That's it for me, I'm gonna nurse a headache and get back to proofreading. Now that I think about it, I bet the proofreading caused the headache! Have a good one.

Another sock.

2009-03-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

I accidentally cast on for another sock before finishing my grandfather's socks. See I had a doc appt yesterday and didn't want to bring the big bag into that so I needed a smaller project and right now I don't really have any. SO I cast on Brainless by Yarnissima (those not on Ravelry may not be able to see that). This pattern looks so cool, I love the cable and how the cable unravels to do the gusset and goes back together again for more cabling goodness. Also, this is my first toe up sock. I have almost finished the toe, and it looks pretty ok so far. And in my own defense, I AM almost done with his socks. I've got about 3 rounds to go before the toe decreases. So what, MAYBE 3 inches? Hopefully they'll be done so I can hand 'em over this weekend.

In other news I have not worked on Kerry's quilt again but I did buy some quilt pins to help with the basting.

In other, other news I have finished the inside and 1 outside of my purse. I would really like to do another outside, plus do all the weaving in and hardware so that I can submit it next week. If I don't get it finished I can always wait for the May submission, no rush.

That's really it for me. Have a great day!

Show and tell

2009-03-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

I was out of commission on Thursday and Friday being sick and caring for a sick kid - neither was fun and I am not really much better. I have a doc appt tomorrow and hopefully I'll find out whats up. Anywho, I did get some stuff accomplished and such.

First I wanted to show off my Thirty One skirt purse. This is the Julie Stripe and you can see my little silver B dangly thing. I love it!

Next up, Jake had his trophy day for baseball. This is him and trophy and him, trophy, coach and asst coach. I really think he enjoyed Baseball:

Here are the boys playing the piano. They are so cute!

And finally, Kerry's quilt. Top and backing are done, and now it's time to quilt. I had a really cute stencil of a rope that I used on the sashing, and I did 1 rope (probably 10 inches or so) and realized that the backing was REALLY bunchy. I looked back at my quilting book and it said CLEARLY that you should baste first then quilt. Whoopsy. It took me 2 days to get the black thread and small stitches out of the black sashing. So, last night I started basting. I'll baste some more tonight and try the whole quilting thing again. I am so excited, but I am reminded by my calendar that Kerry's birthday was yesterday. Hopefully I'll have something to show the next few days or so.

That's it for me, have a great day!

Fishing

2009-03-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after school, Travis took Jake Fishing. Jake wore Daddy's hat for luck, but thankfully it didn't work since I certainly wasn't going to be cleaning fish. Travis took a pic for "us" to enjoy (he mentioned the blog by name).

As for the quilt, I have decided on light yellow crackle print for the cornerstones and the bottom arrangement. I will play with the borders once I have the rest of the top finished. Also, I didn't realize that the cornerstones would be so hard to put in, maybe I just haven't learned the trick. I could actually READ my copy of Quilting for Dummies, eh?

I am still on the gusset for my grandfather's socks, although I would be further if I had been paying attention when putting sock 1 back on the needles after knitting sock 2's heel turn and picked up the stitches for the gusset. Oh well, it's better now.

I have not dug out the suede yarn because I am lazy. It's MAYBE 2 feet from my bed, on my side even. Sad, sad state of affairs. I really want it done so that I can send the package to the mag instead of just pics becuase I think that if they play with it they will enjoy it more than just looking at pics.

Speaking of purses, I got my order in from Thirty One. I LOVE my skirt purse! Here's a pic of it And yes, that is a ziploc with a sock inside sticking out of the top!

In other news, today I started the Special K Challenge. So far so good, and by the way, Smart Balance fat free milk really does taste like 2%. Yay for small miracles.

That's it for now, have a great day!

Help me decide!

2009-03-02T08:41:00.001-08:00

These are the 2 quilt layouts for Kerry's quilt. Please use your imagination a bit and pretend that the black goes all the way round each block. The backing will be mostly the chilis with some black to balance and make it fit.

Also, please let me know if I should go with cornerstones or not and it they should be tan (like the inside border of the blocks around the chili's) or multi-colored (to match the oranges, yellows and greens of the chilis). Also any thoughts on borders? Tan? Multi-red? Your thoughts? Thanks!

Below is a little tablerunner from The Fat Quarter Shop to illustrate the cornerstones and sashing. The black on the table runner is the sashing and the little tan squares in between are the cornerstones.

Lots of finishing and some making progress.

2009-03-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

I have FINISHED the owl's sweater by adding "eyes". My eyes are bluish pearly beads and they match wonderfully!

I love how it has turned out, even if I realized that I did my top cable wrong and they look more like snowmen than owls. Oh well. I still love it and I will be sure to do mom's right.

I have also finished making all the blocks (pieced and plain) for Kerry's quilt. I have added 1 side of sashing to all of them and I brought them today to lay out and try to figure out how I want to position the pieces. Also in the consideration phase is weather I want colorful corner stones or just surround the blocks in black sashing and no corner stones. Then come borders. I have enough (I think) of the pepper fabric for the whole back, or at least most of the back that when combined with black will be a whole back. I need to figure out the front first then I'll fiddle with the back. Once I have it all laid out this afternoon I'll show you another pic.

I have not made progress on the purse except that I bought handles and promptly forgot the suede at home that I was going to work on today at lunch. No worries, I have Pop Pop's socks and the SuperShow socks with me, and the quilt of course.

That's it for me, have a great Monday.