Bless the bed that I lie on
Two of them stand at my head
All will watch me while I sleep
Friday, May 11, 2007
A Baby's Prayer
Bless the bed that I lie on
Two of them stand at my head
All will watch me while I sleep
Friday, April 27, 2007
Many Thanks
I want to thank everyone for their sympathies. It meant alot to me. The trip to Idaho was wonderful and sad all at the same time. Wonderful because I hardly ever get to see my family and sad because of the circumstances. My brothers and I picked on each other as if no time had passed between seeing them. Karolyn got to spend time with her "papa" and "gramma." Papa took Karolyn for a walk in the back yard where they picked grass. I heard it was fun. What was I doing you ask? Playing a good ol' fashion game of Risk with my brothers and Ray. I was in the process of taking over Asia. Ray was putting a damper on that as he had possession of Siam and was not giving it up. John, my baby brother that is getting married next month, had complete sole possession of North AND South America. Michael, my CSI LV (I'm not even making that up) brother, was trying to maintain control of Europe but kept having this little debacle over Iceland and Greenland with John. We ended up having to call a truce because it was 12:30 am and the plane left the next day. It was wonderful!
I am proud to say that we were not "those" parents on the airplane! You all know what I'm talking about. The parents with the screaming kid that kicks the back of your seat and will just not stop for the life it. Now while my little angel did get fussy at times, she did her colors and read books and ate for the duration of the flights. Even the flight attendants commented on what a good baby she was. Music to momma's ears!
I did manage to get some knitting done. I'll give you some sneak peeks.
Yes this is the baby blanket. All of the flying geese borders have been hand sewn in place. I then added corner sections and picked up stitches all the way around the perimeter of the blankie. Gartered that up a bit until I thought it looked good and then added an applied i-cord for the bind off.
I'll be done soon so you will see her in all her glory then. I'm not gonna spoil it early!
Questions Answered
Marie brings up an excellent point. She commented:
Hmm... you have me a great idea here. 20 gallon tubs instead of 12 gallon tubs. Does that mean I could claim having "less" stash if there is a lower number of tubs? ;-)
After careful thought and consideration I have to agree that this is exactly how it works. Less tubs means less stash. Right? I'm soooooo glad that you all agree with me on this one because this is what came in the mail this week.
10 ball of this stuff is a gift from my fairy yarn mommy. Its a merino/ acrylic blend that is wonderfully soft and just as warm. And you want to know the best part? It's machine washable!!! The girls are gonna have matching cardigans!
And this big box is my great deal from Herrschners! Berroco Hush and Lullaby! Enough for matching sweaters and hats! I'm soooo excited about this.
Thank you again for all of your prayers and concerns for my family! I greatly appreciate it.
I am proud to say that we were not "those" parents on the airplane! You all know what I'm talking about. The parents with the screaming kid that kicks the back of your seat and will just not stop for the life it. Now while my little angel did get fussy at times, she did her colors and read books and ate for the duration of the flights. Even the flight attendants commented on what a good baby she was. Music to momma's ears!
I did manage to get some knitting done. I'll give you some sneak peeks.
Yes this is the baby blanket. All of the flying geese borders have been hand sewn in place. I then added corner sections and picked up stitches all the way around the perimeter of the blankie. Gartered that up a bit until I thought it looked good and then added an applied i-cord for the bind off.
I'll be done soon so you will see her in all her glory then. I'm not gonna spoil it early!
Questions Answered
Marie brings up an excellent point. She commented:
Hmm... you have me a great idea here. 20 gallon tubs instead of 12 gallon tubs. Does that mean I could claim having "less" stash if there is a lower number of tubs? ;-)
After careful thought and consideration I have to agree that this is exactly how it works. Less tubs means less stash. Right? I'm soooooo glad that you all agree with me on this one because this is what came in the mail this week.
10 ball of this stuff is a gift from my fairy yarn mommy. Its a merino/ acrylic blend that is wonderfully soft and just as warm. And you want to know the best part? It's machine washable!!! The girls are gonna have matching cardigans!
And this big box is my great deal from Herrschners! Berroco Hush and Lullaby! Enough for matching sweaters and hats! I'm soooo excited about this.
Thank you again for all of your prayers and concerns for my family! I greatly appreciate it.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Stash Enhancement
In case you have not noticed, the yarn diet is not going so well. I have enhanced the stash by 5 times the amount that I have knitted. I'm glad that I don't gain weight at this rate. Could you imagine?
I took a peek at the "How Large Is Your Stash" poll on the side bar and noticed that the overwhelming majority has several 20 gallon tubs full of yarn. I too have several 20 gallon tubs full of yarn and I could probably fill up a couple more so the snacking I partook in today really doesn't count much. Besides it was all under $2 a ball and how can anyone refuse that? Its cheaper than Red Heart for the love of God.
Wanna know what I got? OK I'll tell ya, stop twisting my arm. Herrscheners sent me the lovely "weekly sale" email and I fell hard. I only got snacking amounts and its for my girls so does it really count? I think not.
I picked up some Berroco Lullaby in a pale purple. Enough for matching sweaters for the girls. I also got some Berroco Hush in two different colors. Enough for a hat and scarf set for each of the girls.
Other news:
The travel arrangements to go the Grandma's funeral have all been made. Plane tickets, car, and hotel. I'm putting DH in charge of the dog sitter.
I went shopping for suitable clothes for me so I don't look like a monumentally sized pregnant ragga-muffin and spent last night hemming up my pants.
I still need to get snacks for the plane and dressy shoes for Karolyn. DH is all taken care of and his suit fits him perfectly!!!
Tonight I have to finish the laundry and work on cleaning the house so I have a clean house to come home to.
I took a peek at the "How Large Is Your Stash" poll on the side bar and noticed that the overwhelming majority has several 20 gallon tubs full of yarn. I too have several 20 gallon tubs full of yarn and I could probably fill up a couple more so the snacking I partook in today really doesn't count much. Besides it was all under $2 a ball and how can anyone refuse that? Its cheaper than Red Heart for the love of God.
Wanna know what I got? OK I'll tell ya, stop twisting my arm. Herrscheners sent me the lovely "weekly sale" email and I fell hard. I only got snacking amounts and its for my girls so does it really count? I think not.
I picked up some Berroco Lullaby in a pale purple. Enough for matching sweaters for the girls. I also got some Berroco Hush in two different colors. Enough for a hat and scarf set for each of the girls.
Other news:
The travel arrangements to go the Grandma's funeral have all been made. Plane tickets, car, and hotel. I'm putting DH in charge of the dog sitter.
I went shopping for suitable clothes for me so I don't look like a monumentally sized pregnant ragga-muffin and spent last night hemming up my pants.
I still need to get snacks for the plane and dressy shoes for Karolyn. DH is all taken care of and his suit fits him perfectly!!!
Tonight I have to finish the laundry and work on cleaning the house so I have a clean house to come home to.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Big Grandma
As a little girl growing up the only way my siblings and I were able to not confuse our grandmas were to refer to them as "Big Grandma" and "Little Grandma." Little Grandma was my mom's mom, and the shorter of the two. Big Grandma was my dad's mom and the taller grandma, 5'2".
Every Sunday after church, we would go to big grandma's house and have breakfast. This picture of her on her wedding day was always in the same spot. On the far right corner of the china cabinet. A china cabinet that little girls were not allowed to touch. I remember this being my all time favorite picture of my grandma. Just the way my grandpa looked at her is priceless. It says that he is the luckiest guy in the world!
Breakfast was always the same. Dad's famous eggs, bacon, and grease toast. Dad would dice up and fry some onion and potato, then scramble in the eggs. Grandma's job was to cook the bacon. To ensure that nothing went to waste, Auntie Marilyn would dip white bread in the bacon grease, sprinkle sugar over the top and serve it up!
After the dishes were hand washed and put away, we would open up the record player, put on our favorite story, Jack and the Beanstalk, and listen while Grandma flipped the pages in the book.
We laughed at the funny parts and huddled together when the Giant kidnapped the Magic Harp from Happy Valley. We cringed when Jack eased his way down the rope into the Giants' pocket to free the Harp, praying he would not get caught. We then rejoiced when the Harp was returned the fine citizens of Happy Valley and life returned to normal.
After the story was finished, we would put on our coats and drive back home.
My dad called yesterday to let me know that Grandma died. I called my aunt asking when the funural was and she was not certain but thinks it will be next weekend. She could not give specific details as she did not know them herself. As of now, we are planning on going to Idaho for the service.
Thanks for all of the wonderful times and memories. Thanks for being a great Grandma.
Every Sunday after church, we would go to big grandma's house and have breakfast. This picture of her on her wedding day was always in the same spot. On the far right corner of the china cabinet. A china cabinet that little girls were not allowed to touch. I remember this being my all time favorite picture of my grandma. Just the way my grandpa looked at her is priceless. It says that he is the luckiest guy in the world!
Breakfast was always the same. Dad's famous eggs, bacon, and grease toast. Dad would dice up and fry some onion and potato, then scramble in the eggs. Grandma's job was to cook the bacon. To ensure that nothing went to waste, Auntie Marilyn would dip white bread in the bacon grease, sprinkle sugar over the top and serve it up!
After the dishes were hand washed and put away, we would open up the record player, put on our favorite story, Jack and the Beanstalk, and listen while Grandma flipped the pages in the book.
We laughed at the funny parts and huddled together when the Giant kidnapped the Magic Harp from Happy Valley. We cringed when Jack eased his way down the rope into the Giants' pocket to free the Harp, praying he would not get caught. We then rejoiced when the Harp was returned the fine citizens of Happy Valley and life returned to normal.
After the story was finished, we would put on our coats and drive back home.
My dad called yesterday to let me know that Grandma died. I called my aunt asking when the funural was and she was not certain but thinks it will be next weekend. She could not give specific details as she did not know them herself. As of now, we are planning on going to Idaho for the service.
Thanks for all of the wonderful times and memories. Thanks for being a great Grandma.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
A Little Distraction
One can only do so many flying geese before one needs a break. So I decided to cast on a very simple yet summery tank top. I'm actually knitting it out of the called for yarn (get out the history books, this hardly ever happens). Echo by Berroco. It happened to be on sale at Webs a while back and I picked some up.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Ideas
Have you ever had a good idea? OK let me rephrase that. Have you ever had an idea that you thought was good? I get them all the time and then I have to admit later that most of them are brain farts.
It all started when I wanted to knit something really really special with my Christmas yarn from a fairy yarnmomma. Something that I would not only enjoy knitting but wear as well. And wear often. Something that I could put on my shoulders as I sat in my adirondack chair on the front porch and knit during the summer. So this made me think of a shawl. The problem is, I'm not really a shawl kind of girl. But I do like stoles. Alot. I think its the triangular shape of the shawl that I'm not all that crazy about. But the rectangle shape? I'm soooo there.
So I go and consult Barbara and found the fir cone pattern. Wanting to keep my options open, I went through all of the books but kept coming back to fir cone.
I charted out the pattern, re-arranged the stitches so I could get the yarn overs to fall in just the right spot. Counted the # of stitches that needs to be casted on and then re-counted them. I figured out how the stole can be knitted in the round and then have a seam in the middle of it. This would allow for the edging to be just perfect and I would not have to add on a knitted edge. I'm feeling pretty good about myself right about now. All this figuring and such, I'm thinking I'm on to something.
Then self says "Libby I really think you should knit a prototype."
Libby: "What? a prototype? I never knit prototypes."
Self: "Yes, but this is some pretty special yarn and we don't really have extra for your messups"
Libby: "Fine, I'll humor you. I'll prototype it in some Elann.com baby cashmere."
And its a good thing I did too. Please don't tell self or I'll never hear the end of it. The stitch count was right on, as was the general plan of it. The problem you ask? Well its not exactly a rectangle. Its more like an elongated square.
I know what I did wrong and if I want a rectangle out of it then I'll have to cast on more stitches for the middle section. So back to the drawing board. I measured the rectangle thing and figured that 8 repeats is about 17 inches. So I'll add 8 or 9 repeats to the middle section which calculates to about 163 - 193 stitch cast on (depending on how many repeats I decide on).
This morning when I showed Ray my latest creation he asked "Is that a baby blanket?"
"Well yes, thats what it is!" (Thats my story and I'm sticking to it)
The baby will have a personalized, made just for her blanket from baby alpaca/cashmere!
It all started when I wanted to knit something really really special with my Christmas yarn from a fairy yarnmomma. Something that I would not only enjoy knitting but wear as well. And wear often. Something that I could put on my shoulders as I sat in my adirondack chair on the front porch and knit during the summer. So this made me think of a shawl. The problem is, I'm not really a shawl kind of girl. But I do like stoles. Alot. I think its the triangular shape of the shawl that I'm not all that crazy about. But the rectangle shape? I'm soooo there.
So I go and consult Barbara and found the fir cone pattern. Wanting to keep my options open, I went through all of the books but kept coming back to fir cone.
I charted out the pattern, re-arranged the stitches so I could get the yarn overs to fall in just the right spot. Counted the # of stitches that needs to be casted on and then re-counted them. I figured out how the stole can be knitted in the round and then have a seam in the middle of it. This would allow for the edging to be just perfect and I would not have to add on a knitted edge. I'm feeling pretty good about myself right about now. All this figuring and such, I'm thinking I'm on to something.
Then self says "Libby I really think you should knit a prototype."
Libby: "What? a prototype? I never knit prototypes."
Self: "Yes, but this is some pretty special yarn and we don't really have extra for your messups"
Libby: "Fine, I'll humor you. I'll prototype it in some Elann.com baby cashmere."
And its a good thing I did too. Please don't tell self or I'll never hear the end of it. The stitch count was right on, as was the general plan of it. The problem you ask? Well its not exactly a rectangle. Its more like an elongated square.
I know what I did wrong and if I want a rectangle out of it then I'll have to cast on more stitches for the middle section. So back to the drawing board. I measured the rectangle thing and figured that 8 repeats is about 17 inches. So I'll add 8 or 9 repeats to the middle section which calculates to about 163 - 193 stitch cast on (depending on how many repeats I decide on).
This morning when I showed Ray my latest creation he asked "Is that a baby blanket?"
"Well yes, thats what it is!" (Thats my story and I'm sticking to it)
The baby will have a personalized, made just for her blanket from baby alpaca/cashmere!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Diving
I wanted to share with you all my crazy wonderful husbands recent diving picture. They are diving off of Harsens Island where the water temp was at about 35F. Please notice the humongous freighter boat that is really there in the background and was not photoshopped into the picture for effect. Yes fellow knitters, that boat was about 500 feet from the dock (about 1 and a half skeins of yarn). Now is it just me or would you guys also decide to not dive and let the really really big boat pass before you jumped into the slightly above freezing water? I thought so too.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Kiri Pics
Last Christmas I made Kiri for my MIL. At the time, I couldn't post pics or even talk about it because I was not sure if she read the blog or not and wanted to be on the safe side. Well it is certainly past Christmas and I can safely share the results.
Kiri was a delight to knit. Very simple stitch pattern which translates to "easy to memorize." I did however make some modifications. The first being that I substituted yarn. Instead of using Kid Silk Haze the pattern called for, I used Austermann's Acapella, a lovely mohair acrylic blend. Secondly, I added beads to the edge. This addition really enhanced the shawl by leaps and bounds.
This is the first time that I have actually added beads to a knitted item and what a pain in the arse it was. You have to add all of the required beads to your yarn and then keep sliding them down as you need more yarn. In addition to sliding the beads every 3 yds, you have to make sure you are adding them in the correct spot. I chose to add them at the YOs and I couldn't figure out how to get them to be close to the knitted part and not the hole part. Of course I figured out the trick after the border was all the way done. Am I going to remember how I did it if I make this again? Probably not.
Baby Update
The bundle of joy is expected on July 23, 2007. However we are going to be having a scheduled C-section so the baby will most likely be a week early.
She has been kicking quite a bit today!
Ray and I still have not picked out a name. We do like the names: Audry and Joelle. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
Huge Congratulations
CBM deserves a huge congratulations for getting her blog up and running again! Poor thing has been blogless for 504 hours (3 weeks). Glad to have you back!
Kiri was a delight to knit. Very simple stitch pattern which translates to "easy to memorize." I did however make some modifications. The first being that I substituted yarn. Instead of using Kid Silk Haze the pattern called for, I used Austermann's Acapella, a lovely mohair acrylic blend. Secondly, I added beads to the edge. This addition really enhanced the shawl by leaps and bounds.
This is the first time that I have actually added beads to a knitted item and what a pain in the arse it was. You have to add all of the required beads to your yarn and then keep sliding them down as you need more yarn. In addition to sliding the beads every 3 yds, you have to make sure you are adding them in the correct spot. I chose to add them at the YOs and I couldn't figure out how to get them to be close to the knitted part and not the hole part. Of course I figured out the trick after the border was all the way done. Am I going to remember how I did it if I make this again? Probably not.
Baby Update
The bundle of joy is expected on July 23, 2007. However we are going to be having a scheduled C-section so the baby will most likely be a week early.
She has been kicking quite a bit today!
Ray and I still have not picked out a name. We do like the names: Audry and Joelle. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
Huge Congratulations
CBM deserves a huge congratulations for getting her blog up and running again! Poor thing has been blogless for 504 hours (3 weeks). Glad to have you back!
Friday, March 30, 2007
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!
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!
Friday, March 23, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, March 19, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
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!!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
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 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!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, February 23, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
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.
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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.
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Welcome home Aaron and Thank You for all you have done!
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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.
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Welcome home Aaron and Thank You for all you have done!
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