Knitting Buddies!

I MET TRISH!!!!! I'm sooooo incredibly excited I can hardly contain myself!



Trish is a regular at the chat site and lives about an hour from me. With her hectic schedule, she still drove all the way across town to meet up with me and knit with the St. Clair Shores knitters.



The St. Clair Shores knitters meet up at the The Galley, a cafe attached to the St. Clair Shores Library, every Thursday night. Along the back wall a local artist is featured. It is rumored that the waiting list to get on the famous wall is 2 years.



Each week, the fiber artists meet up and have ourselves a great time. There are the knitters and crocheters and spinners. One lady even weaves baskets.



There are young knitters and old knitters, beginning knitters and knitters who have knitted their entire lives, knitters that love the fun yarns and those that stick to the classics.

We ate. We talked. We knitted. We pretty much had a great time. I'm looking forward to driving to her side of town to check out the knitting action over there!

Fingerpaints

Tonight was fun filled! It all started when Karolyn and I had ourselves an adventure at JoAnn's.

Originally we went to see if they had any patterns for bassinet covers and sheets.

After dinner we head off to the store and immediately found the pattern I wanted. Then we found the thread isle and then yarn isle and before I knew it I was smack dab in the middle of the fingerpaint isle. Fingerpaints sure have changed alot from when I was a kid. They have special paper and all these cool colors, and glitter paints, and paint pens, and all sorts of fun stuff. So I just HAD to get in on some of this action!



As soon as Karolyn and I got home we tore into that stuff like the dog devours a good steak!



She's telling me to "open" and "help" and I'm opening up the paint jars and getting the paper out and she's getting her little hands all over and around and in that wonderful gooey paint! We had a blast!



3 masterpieces were created tonight before she was tired and needed to get her beauty rest!

New and Exciting

Webrings. Does anyone know what a webring is? I sure don't but it does sound like fun. Especially at 2:30 am while I'm eating some frosting. Nutritional, I know. (Is there anything to go with the frosting? Nope, just the frosting. Vanilla in case you were wondering) Anyway back to the webring. Joan put together a webring so we just have to click on the next button and it will take you to the next site that is also hooked up to the ring. Cool huh?

There isn't much going on this week with the exception of my ever exanding belly. I havn't done much knitting either. I did however finish another border strip and have 1 more to do before I can sew it on to the main part of the blankie.

A friend is having a rough time of things these days so go and give her a hug. She could use one right about now.

Barbara started an iteresting thread on the discussion board dealing with stash sizes. The general consisus was that the poll was simply rediculous. Not the actual poll itself mind you, just the answers. So I created a poll that made more since. You can see it on the side bar. Vote. Its fun!

The Day for the Wearing of the Green

The long awaited day is finally here. Is everyone as excited as I am? I'm wishing everyone good luck!

Help was recruited.



And the winner is...

CONGRATULATIONS TRISH!!!


You won Stephanie's book as well as some earrings I knitted out of Swarovski crystals. I'm hoping that you enjoy your loot!

I'm asking that you send me your addy so I can get this in the mail for you pronto! Congrats again!

Green

In honor of St. Patty's Day, I'm going to host a contest. Up for grabs is one of Stephanie's' books as well as a little something else that I think you will enjoy!

How do you play you ask? Well the rules are quite simple. Leave me a comment and your name will be placed in a bucket with everyone else that left a comment. Karolyn will pick the winning name. Winners will be announced on the day of the wearing of the green!

Knitting News

I have finished the second strip for the baby blanket border. I just have 2 more flying geese strips to go and I can knit up the corner blocks and sew it all together. I'm getting nervous as this border sure is taking quite a bit of time. And did you see the counter at the top? Time's a ticking!!! I better hurry up or this kid won't have a blankie.

Do we have a name for the baby yet? Nope, not yet. However I have been informed that names based on fruits, vegetables and values are most definitely out. I'll keep you posted on other name groups that have been eliminated.

Home Front News

Karolyn is sick. She woke up this morning with at 101F fever. Ray stayed home with her today and took her to the Dr. He said that she has what every other kid in the area has as well as a sore throat for which he prescribed antibiotics. He also said that one of her ear tubes is working its way out but not to be concerned about it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Devil Made Me Do It

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

If you go and take a look at the side bar, the stash has been enhansed by 25 balls. I just couldn't resist on the Louisa Harding Kashmir offered at Elann a week ago. I didn't actually take it out and play because it was in the original factory sealed bag and I didn't want to mess with that. However, that is not to say that I didn't get a good touch of it. I stuck my finger in one of the holes and experienced pure luxury. This stuff is to die for soft! I was truely tempted to rip that bag open and fondle all of that yummy yarn right then and there but I knew if I did the baby blanket would never get done. I need to be nominated for sainthood for showing such restraint. In addition to the Kashmir, I got my beloved Highland Wool in natural.

The knitting library has been enhansed as well. I ordered "Knitting Without Tears" by EZ and "Knitting from the Top" by BW. Both are books I have been wanting for quite some time now and am quite glad I splurged.

Elizabeth's book is the last book I needed to finish my collection of her books. I'm so glad I got it as it is chalk full of her wonderful prose and great phrases. She just gives such freedom to knitting that no stitch-by-stitch pattern can provide.

Barbara's book is without a doubt simply genious. She is knitting all types of clothing from the top down. Although I have made several raglan garments from the top down, I read through this section first. Mostly because Barbara told me to. Now I'm not very prone to being obedient, just ask my husband, but when Barbara says jump I'm asking how high. This section completely explains the math behind all sorts of raglan type sweaters. Amazing. Next is the secion on set-in-sleeve sweaters from the top down. I'm anxious to see how she masters it.

Knit Simple

I got my Knit Simple magazine this week and I actually like it. This suprises me mostly because I have not been pleased with what the magazines have been publishing lately.

I didn't actually read all of the articles, but they looked interresting. There is an article on knitting and riding, one on reading crochet chart patterns, and one entitled "The Good Stuff." I'm assuming that it is about good yarn but again I didn't read it.


The patterns are all about fun in the sun. Definately geared toward summer! Some are cute and some are not so cute. I really liked this pattern and I'm considering making it out of some Katrina I have marinating in the stash. I was looking at the pattern and am thinking of adapting it to be knitted in the round to the gauge I get with my yarn.



I really liked this cover up! I have a couple of yarns in the stash that I'm thinking would like to become this. There is the Kroy Patons (superwash sock yarn) or the alpaca yarn from the Idaho Alpaca farm. And lets not forget the Sea Silk from Benne. However I do have special plans for the Sea Silk so I'm thinking its out of the runnings for this competition.



There is a section on knitting for your guy which I could have done without. It was quite horrific and I could not imagine Ray ever wearing any of these items. Ever.


Then there is the baby section. Now I'm really partial to baby stuff as I'm pregnant so naturally I found all of the items to be adorable. The booties were especially darling as were the toys. I have added the booties to the list of required knitting for the new baby.

All in all, I think its a good issue!!

Christine!

For awhile now I have been hearing nothing but good comments about the movie "Little Miss Sunshine." It was up for all of those awards and I think it actually got one (I don't actually know as I don't watch the award shows. Mostly cuz I really don't care one way or the other.) Well I finally got it from Netflix last week and just could not stop laughing. And I'm not talking about the chuckle kind of laugh where you just shake your head and do your uummmm hhhhmmmmmm's. I'm talking about a full fledged belly laugh that you have to pause the movie so you don't pee your pants.

The movie is about an extremely dysfunctional family that has to get their daughter to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California. They live 700 miles away. The question of transportation arises and they settle on driving the family's old beat up VW van. They eventually make it to the pageant in the nick of time.

Now being the kind of person that was raised in a family that constantly had car issues, I could appreciate what the family went through. Mostly cuz I went through the same situation. I can't say that the clutch exactly went out on my mint green 1980 Honda Accord but the starter was involved.

My best friend Jody and I were in Christine. At this point I was calling the car Christine cuz I had just finished reading Stephen King's novel "Christine" and I swear, this car knew when pay day was. She knew exactly, right down to the very minute, when the MacDonald's paycheck was deposited into the bank. Cuz at that exact moment, she would decide to not work. And she would continue to not work until I spent at least a hundred bucks on her. God I loved that car!

Anyway Jody and I and Chrisine were going through Wendy's drive through late in the evening during middle of winter. All we ordered was the blizzard we were craving all day. We pulled up to the window and this is when Christine decided that she needed attention. Of course she died and would not start no matter how much I swore at her and turned the key. Jody is laughing with hysterics which causes me to start laughing hysterically. Meanwhile cars behind me are blasting their horns. Jody suggests to jump start the car. So she gets out and starts pushing while I'm holding the clutch down and praying my "Hail Mary's." Christine realizes she better start co-operating and we get enough speed going to pop the clutch. She starts to purr as if nothing at all happened. Of course I can't stop the car and Jody has to make a run for it! Finally she gets into the passenger seat in the nick of time before the Wendy's drive way ends and I'm forced to go out onto the busy street. We laughed all the way home. Payday was the next day and Christine promptly received her usual hundred bucks!

The Border ~ Part 1

Since we have last discussed the baby blanket, I had managed to knit up a tube and then cut it open. Exhilarating fun that was!

Now its time to add the first border. I got a great idea from the Mason-Dixon gals' book. Inside it describes a blanket made out of garter stitch squares and bordered with the flying geese pattern. The results are just spectacular. So I decided to copy them and use this as the first border for the blankie.

Essentially you are knitting 3 triangles: 1 big one and 2 small ones. This will form a rectangle. Then you repeat the process until the cows come home.

The first step is to knit 15 stitches.



Then knit across the the row to the last 2 stitches and then knit 2 together.



Repeat this row until you have 3 stitches remaining. Pass 2 stitches to the right hand needle, knit 1 the pass the 2 slipped stitches over. Bind Off.




Next pick up 11 stitches along one edge of the triangle and repeat the same process of decreasing one stitch every row.





Repeat the process for the other side of the first triangle. Congratulations, you have completed your first flying geese rectangle!



Now we just make like the Energizer bunny and keep going and going and going, until you have a strip long enough for one side of the border.



I ended up needing 13 rectangles. As awesome of a border as this is, it does have its drawbacks.



See all these ends? I would definitely consider this to be a drawback as they all need to be woven in.

I'm gonna need 4 border strips so I'll be making the triangles for awhile. I'm sure the result will be quite worth all the efforts.

The Great Lakes

Here in Michigan we have great diving opportunities in our back yard. The Great Lakes are also known as the second Bermuda Triangle due to all of the shipwrecks. From my husbands research, the whereabouts of about 2000 wrecks are known and he has charted about 1000. He has been on several of the wrecks himself. I have not due to being pregnant but am anxious to get back into diving shape and get a piece of the action!

Now Great Lake diving is not Caribbean diving. Its challenging requiring 7 mm diving suits. Most people prefer to dive dry. Deeper dives require dive lights and other specialized equipment. Visibility is poor providing about 10 to 40 feet on a good day and only inches on a bad day. Furthermore its cold. In the summer time the surface water temperature is about 50-60 degrees F. When you hit a thermocline it is about 40 degrees. Now of course this is all relative to where you are at and what time of the year you are diving.

People here are known to dive all year round. They dive in the summer when its warm and during the winter when it is crazy cold. So cold that the water temperature is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the air is 17 degrees not including the wind chill.

These people include my husbands dive buddies as seen in the video. They are suiting up at Rick's house in their dry suits, walking out on the ice and jump in the water, drift dive a mile down the river, then drive the awaiting car back to Rick's house.

I'm glad that you guys had a great and safe dive. I'll join you after I have the baby and its a bit warmer!

Welcome Home Aaron!

The war in Iraq has been incredibly controversial in the media as well as in our homes. We realize that something needs to be done to rectify the situation in the Middle East but we also want our boys home. Its difficult to discuss current events without it coming up. Most everyone has been effected by the war as well. We all either know someone or have a family member has been there, some of us have lost loved ones and some of us have had some great tearful reunions.



Today I received an email from my sister telling me that her dear husband is finally home after 14 month of deployment in Iraq. This is his second tour. Words can not express how happy I am for her and her family for this joyous homecoming.



Welcome home Aaron and Thank You for all you have done!

The Knitted Apron

I received my IWK magazine this week. What a shocker it was and I don't mean in a good way. The layout changed: it was hard to find out who designed what, patterns are in the back of the book now. Overall, I have to admit that I do not like it and want it changed back.

As far as the designs are concerned, it was not much of a shocker that most of them just plain sucked. I'm starting to think that truely awful designs are the requirement to get published in a magazine.

Magazine: "How about this design?"

Publisher: "Does it suck?"

Magazine: "On the suckiness factor of 1 to 5 I say this gets a solid 4."

Publisher: "Well don't keep me in suspense Bill, what's it supposed to be?"

Magazine: "An apron I think"

Publisher: "Call up that designer and let them know they are in."

Now why I ask, would anyone knit an apron let alone spend good money on the Collinette yarn it calls for? This question has been driving me crazy. So I came up with a list.

Why I would knit an apron:

1) I need to practice my stockinette stitch.

2) If I put on a strand of pearls and some heals, I'll look just like June Cleaver.

3) I'm substituting the Collinette for the acrylic I have marinating at the bottom of the stash.

4) You mean not everyone wants a knitted apron?

5) Its a great way to hide my voluptious back side.

6) I need a challenge. I'm trying to figure out how to get all of the food stains out of expensive yarn. I call it research.

I'm glad that I came up with the list. I can clearly see why one would find it beneficial to actually knit an apron. However that person is not me!

Butterfly Kisses

For about 2 weeks, every now and again, I have been feeling sensations in my belly. I have been second guessing it. I'm pretty sure its the baby but how can you know for absolute positive certain? Is it maybe gas? Nope, it can't be that cuz I don't have to fart. Is my tummy grumbling? Nope, I just ate.

Then this morning I felt a distinct kick. There was no mistaking it! Just a simple thump on my left side to let me know that he is there but not enough to make a full fledged announcement.

Thanks baby for a great Valentine's Day present.

Cuttin' Cotton

As you all know I'm having a baby! So far this pregnancy is completly different from my first one. You would think that because I have been through this before I would not worry as much but the exact opposite is true. I'm worrying about everything! For example, I have only gained 1 pound in 4 months. Is this a bad thing? I am overweight to begin with but still. Then at the 12 week Dr. visit, we were supposed to hear the heartbeat and didn't. So we had the ultrasound and found out that everything was all good. Then again at 16 weeks we didn't hear the heartbeat (granted I was coughing so much it was hard for the Dr. to actually hear anything), which warrented another quickie ultrasound. Again everything is OK. And then there is this whole being sick thing. I have a bad cold and cough which is getting better thanks to OTC meds. And lets not forget the occasional morning all day sickness.

Well I decided to do something about all of this. I decided to knit the baby a blanket. That will bring good luck right? It just has to.

Now not just any baby blanket will do. It has to be a one of a kind original blankie. One that is really soft and cuddly and that no other baby on the planet has.


I found a poem that I like:

Matthew Mark Luke and John
Bless the bed that I lie on
Four angels round my bed
Two of them stand at my head
Two of them stand at my feet
All will watch me while I sleep

I'm using Knit Picks Shine and I really like this cotton. Its machine washable and soft and cuddly as all get out. I'm gonna use the left overs to make a matching hat.

I decided to knit this in the round as I am more proficient at knitting with colors than with purling. Of course this means that when I'm done, steeking will be involved. Now I hear that it is possible to be successful at cuttin' cotton and I'm going on sheer blind trust here cuz I have not actually done this myself.



Suprisingly enough, the knitting went fast. I think it took about a week.

OK Now let the fun begin!!!



I'm securing the stitches with my handy dandy Brother. Of course I double stitched just to be on the safe side. This is cotton and not wool after all.



After both sides of the knitted stitches are double machined stitched in place we must prepare for the cutting. Right about now I'm really second guessing myself and I'm hoping that I'm right. Isn't there a yoga exercise or pose that can prepare you for this kind of stress? And wouldn't you know it, there isnt any chocolate in the house.



Scream with me now. AAAAAWWWWWWW AAAWWWWWWWAAAAAAWWWWWWW



Holy God that was painful yet successful! I have to say I get a rush every time I cut my knitting. Good God that was fun! I'll have to do that again sometime.

Having Some Fun

I have decided that a change of pace is in order. I have been bitten by the design bug and it sure is fun. However there is a downside to it. I can't be posting pics or talking about what I'm wanting to submit to be published on the off chance that the publishers will want it. This is what is really really hard cuz I'm just dying to tell ya'all about it and say "See? Look what I did!"

Well thats all gonna end right here and now. From now on I have decided to have a bunch of fun with my knitting and let you all in on a piece of the action as well. I'm gonna start posting about the process and then have a free pattern section on the side bar!

Remember that hat that my sister asked me to make for her? Well this is what I came up with and she loves it!

I was inspired by Elsebeth Lavold in her Viking Knitting book. There are some gorgeous cables in there. Tons of eye candy! Anyway I'm getting off track. I had some Highland Wool lying around in just the right amount and decided that is what I was going to use. Now I didn't swatch (you would think that I would have learned my lesson by now) but I have used this stuff often enough to know what my gauge is. Next I did the math for how many stitches I needed to fit around a head and worked it all out from there.

I found the cable that I just fell in love with, charted it, then re-charted and then charted again. I didn't use any fancy computer software, just a plain ol' paper and pencil. And you wanna hear something completely crazy? I actually liked the process. It was fun trying to figure out what should cross and where and how and all that stuff!!

When it was all said and done, I have a hat! I'm calling it "Garmisch" because my sister wanted a hat to ski with in Germany. Well Jean often tells us about Garmisch and how much fun she and her family have there! I'm hoping that you like my hat. Now I really need one of these babies for myself considering we are having ourselves a heat wave over here in Michigan. I hear we are supposed to get up to about 8F today! WAAHOO!

A Poem

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you.
It was to me, and it's very well written.
" WINTER "
a poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre


SHIT!
It's Cold !

To Stash Or Not To Stash...

Stashing is a dilemma which many the majority of knitters face. It starts off as a simple skein of yarn. Then it becomes just a basket, then a couple of baskets. One knitter I chat with has an entire room full of yarn. (Lucky girl!)

As intriguing as this is, it got me to thinking while I was hard at work growing rust. Is stashing yarn really all that bad? This led to my list of reasons to stash.

1) One never knows when the next sheep shortage will take place.

2) Helps to pass on a legacy to your children.

3) Yarn is cheaper than cigarettes.

4) Knitting, which requires yarn, helps with the weight loss. If I have some knitting going on, I can't very well be eating can I?

5) Knitting, which requires yarn, is cheaper than therapy.

6) Nothing says "I love you" like a hand knitted sweater.

7) The stash is a great conversation starter.

8) I have always wanted to be the crazy yarn lady.

9) I'd bet Julia Roberts has a great stash.

And last but not least...

10) I consider it saving for retirement. I have absolutely no desire to knit with acrylic.

Socks, Socks, and More Socks

I first started knitting socks shortly after I started knitting. I saw the article in the magazine and all the fun sock yarns on the market and thought "I can figure that out. No problem!"

So I acquired some sock yarn and 4 pointy sticks. Shortly thereafter, I realized it would be much easier to use 5 pointy sticks and adjusted the knitting appropriatly. I should probably mention that this was the first time that I have actually knitted with double pointed needles.


When it was all said and done I ended up with these. My clown socks. I'm extremely proud of my clown socks. There was not a human being on the face of the earth that was able to ridicule them at that moment in time. No mam, I was proud to be able to join in the ranks of hundreds of sock knitting women that came before me.

So why wasn't I wearing them? If truth be told, they really were not all that the magazine article had them cracked up to be. The toes were just to pointy, the heel didn't really fit quite right, and I made the foot section entirely too long.

There just had to be a better way, and decided my next quest in life was to find the perfect sock pattern. Next month another magazine came in the mail with a different way to turn the heel. It was a slight variation on a theme but it created a shaped cradle for my precious heel. (I think that I should mention that I was meticulious about making gauge and it helped the outcome considerably.)


Sweet Success! The slightly different heel made all the difference in the world and I didn't knit the foot length until kingdom come! Nope, I measured my foot and knit until about 2 inches short of the final length just like the instructions said! This seemed to work out great and it produced a sock that was comfortable to wear.

So why wasn't I knitting more of these? Simple. The yarn keeps getting all tangled up, I lose half my stitches cuz the needles keep falling out and I'm tired of dealing with all those stupid pointy sticks.

So I said "Self, there simply must be a better way." And of course that lead to doing more research and I found about the 2-circ method by Cat Bordhi. Now being the cheap thrifty person that I am, I found places on the internet which explained this method in complete detail (later I eventually broke down and got the book). Around this time, another magazine article showed me the Pricilla Gibson-Roberts short-row heel method. Off I went and produced these.


These socks were much easier to make using the 2-circs than dealing with all of those stupid pointy sticks. And did I mention that they are the most comfortable socks to date?

The problem? I keep getting these annoying little holes in the heel. Holy socks. We will not be having any sort thing. Back to the drawing board.

I do like the short row method. I actually like it alot and its quite comfortable especially if you short row the toe as well. But the holes have got to go. SO after quite a bit of thought I remembered that I short-row stuff all the time and don't have the hole problem. Well this means that its the way that the short row is being executed. You see, Pricilla has you wrap the yarn around the needle which adds bulk to the that stitch, and when you have to re-wrap the yarn a second time when you are coming back on the return.

Now all this wraping and re-wraping is just way too much work. And its confusing as well. Just way too much to keep track of. So I'm short-rowing like every one in the sweater knitting community short-rows. I'm doing exactly what Elizabeth tells me to do. Just simply slide the stich you are gonna skip to the right hand needle, wrap the yarn, slip the stitch back to the left hand needle, turn the sock, and purl back. Then just keep slipping stitches, wrapping yarn, and either knitting or purling across the row until you have about 1 inch worth of stitches. Now on the increase part, you still have to wrap and turn but there is a trick or the stitches are mis-directed. On the knit side of the fabric, you have to slip, slip, slip, knit. On the purl side you have to purl the 2 wrapped stitches plus the actual stitch through the back loop.

This is my result!


Am I pleased? Extremely!

Crazy Pregnant Woman!

Me: "Honey, I'm cold."

DH: "What can I get you dear?"

Me: "Granny's quilt."

Ten minutes later

Me: "Honey, I'm hungry."

DH: "What can I get you dear?"

Me: "Ice cream with chocolate sauce."

At First Glimpse

"Hi mom!"

I'm Humbled Yet Excited!

Curiosity had got the best of me and I started to wonder. I wondered if anyone actually knit the patterns that were published at Elann. So I Googled it and would you believe that I found someone that knit "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"? Her shawl turned out great as well!!!

Ramblings and Such!

1) Last week I went and bought some kangaroo pouchers, aka mommy pants. I honestly thought that I would have more time in my normal pants but I guess that it is true about popping out sooner with the second baby. I think that I'm as big as I was after being 4 months pregnant but I'm only 3. Crazy huh? I'm feeling like a beached whale. Now of course cuz I'm a short shit I have to alter all of my pants. These are no exception. I got that all taken care of today! Now I don't have to put the rubber band on the normal pants and worry about the zipper coming down every 5 minutes.


2) There has been no knitting taking place to warrent a conversation about. I have been working on the EZ adult suprise jacket every so often. I'll have to take a pic and show you.

3) The resolution has some issues. OK I have some issues. Did you all see what Ann has coming up? I'm OK with everything but the DB Merino. This is merino we are talking about here. I don't happen to have any merino. However I do happen to have a $50 Elann bonus burning a hole in my account. Does it count against me if its essentialy free yarn? Honestly, I EARNED this yarn. I spent enough money to earn the bonus money and Ann really wants me to use it up right? OK I'm trying to justify my way out of adding to the stash and when I get the yarn I'll add it to the count on the sidebar.

I've Been Tagged

It seems that I have been tagged for a meme and while I thought about rebelling and not playing along, I realized all the fun you would miss out on if I didn't.


“THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

1) I startle extremely easily.

2) I have problems falling asleep when I'm not in my own bed or when my DH is not with me.

3) I still like PB&J for lunch!

4) I truely believe that chocolate is its own food group.

5) Rodents gross me out even though I had hamsters when I was a kid.

6) I can eat just butter. I know it sounds gross but I can just slice off a pat of real butter and eat it. Karolyn does the same thing.

I know that I'm supposed to tag 6 more people but I'm gonna rebel and not do it.

New Year Resolutions

New Year Resolutions. We all have them. Usually they consist of loosing weight, taking a trip or doing some sort of home improvement.

Well I'm getting tired of the usual resolutions that usually loose steam about mid February. So this year I'm gonna try something different.

There has been alot of talk about going on a yarn diet and there are all sorts of rules involved. Rules that dictate which yarns are calorie free, meaning you can get as much of that as you want to. And which yarns are strictly forbidden. And how many yards you should knit in a day. The list is endless and everyone has their own variation.

So here is what I'm going to do. Now the point here is to use up what I have and not add to the stash.



1) Count the yardage on the ball bands from last year. The total was a staggering 4913 yds. Now those are some smoking needles!

Saving ball bands is an easy way to keep track of how much you have knitted. When you are finished with the yarn, take the ball band and put it in the "gift with purchase" bag that you get at the make-up counter.

2) Promise to knit at least 80% of what was knitted last year.

90% = 4422 yds
80% = 3930 yds
70% = 3439 yds
60% = 2947 yds
50% = 2456 yds

I'm going with 80% because I'm gonna have another baby which will most definately cut into knitting time.

3) Yarn purchased counts against me.

So lets say that I knitted 1000 yds and then bought 500 yds of yarn. Then I have to subtract the yarn bought from the yarn knitted to end up with the re-tallied yarn knitted. SO 1000 - 500 = 500 yds knitted. I'm glad that you are following me here!

4) Have a really really good prize. This way I'll want WANT to stay with the program.

I was going to go to a knitting retreat as my reward for being good but I dont know how fesable that will be with a new baby. So I'm gonna have to think of something different. Any suggestions?

Now of course ANY yarn that leaves the stash counts, so if you happen to donate/ get rid of yarn, you can add that yardage.

I'm Home!

This past week has just been a whirl wind of activity. It all started with a 14 hour drive from Detroit to Atlanta. This is one very long drive. Thank God that we purchased a DVD player that attaches to the back of the headrest. It was a lifesaver as it managed to entertain Karolyn for the entire ride down there. We watched Ariel. The Little Mermaid that is. I did get to watch "Eight Below" and a couple of other movies but for the most part it was Ariel.

We stayed with my in-laws and had a wonderful time. We took Karolyn to a winery (more about that in a minute), to the mall, and then to the playground. Many pictures were taken by her grandparents. Were any taken by me? Not so much. I have to say I'm not very good in the picture taking department.

Now about this winery. Its called Chateau Elan. I could hardly believe it myself. My favorite internet yarn source is also a winery! I was elated and felt right at home. The wine is superb of course and DH bought 6 bottles. He says that its OK because you get a discount if you bought 6. I wasn't complaining. Now the tricky part is to convince him not to drink the stuff until after the baby is born and then we can drink all that we want to!


As far as Christmas goodies are concerned, DH thought I needed more diamonds and gave me some earrings. Did I tell you that I love that man? He also got me the KIP bags by Knitpicks, blocking wires, and the magnetic chart holder.

My DMIL gave me the Knitting Calender and Stephanie's book.



My brother John gave me some Alpaca yarn that he traveled all the way to Chile to get. He is in the Airforce and is sent down there quite often. When he is there, he gets me yarn and buttons and other cool things that he finds.


An online friend gave me this wonderful silk yarn. Have you ever seen colors this vibrant?

We stayed with my in-laws for a week and got home last night. We had a wonderful visit and look forward to seeing them again.

As I went to sleep last night I was thinking that as great as it was to be with family for Christmas, it was also great to sleep in my own bed.

I'm hoping that all of you had a wonderful Holiday Season and will have a plentiful new year!

Christmas Questions

Warning: The sergeon general has deamed this post to be blasphemous and quite possibly unaccaptable for Good Christian Eyes. Read at your own risk


I have a question that has actually been on my mind for quite some time now. Coming from a very religious Catholic family and have completely lost the faith, I can't really ask them. Basically cuz they will tell me that I'm going to hell (which has completely lost its effect now, being told that on a regular basis) and then light the candles to pray for my damned soul. I figure since I'm already doomed I may as well enjoy it right? So asked my mom to pray that Satan sits me next to Mr. Daniels and The Captain.

Now on to the question. You all know that song "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Of course you do, EVERYONE knows this song. Well there is a part in the song that goes....

A child, A child shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
let us bring him silver and gold

This is the part I have issues with. First off, if anyone brought my shivering baby silver and gold I'd be pretty upset. A blanket people! The kid is freezing over here. Don't you people have any common sence?

Which brings me to my next question. It is widly known that there were shephards watching their flock by night. Even the Bible says it so I'm not making that part up. But generally shephards watch sheep right? And sheep produce wool right? I'm pretty sure that they knew how to spin wool cuz the Egyptians spun wool and I think that it was common knowledge by that time. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this but I'm just saying that they did have the means to whip up a baby blanket.

So I'm wondering what everyone elses take is on this. Or am I just thinking too much again? I've been accused of that you know and its OK to tell me. I wont take it personal!

Announcement

I would like to take this opportunity to interrupt our regularly scheduled program and announce that there is a new ticker on the blog! Yep you got it, I'm having a baby!!!!!