Box...Box...BOX

Dish Rag Tag started on Wednesday. I'm waiting for my box! I've got everything all set to go: yarn, pattern, goodies! All I need is my box! I hope it comes today. I get my mail at around noon, so if I get it today and things go good, I might even be able to get it back in the mail today. Probably not, but hey it's good to have a stretch goal! I did a test run on my pattern yesterday - this one - and I completed easily in the afternoon.

GO SKANKS W/HANKS!

Jumping on the bandwagon - late

Okay, I give in. I'll read it! I just starting reading this...

I felt like I was committing some kind of blasphemy by not reading it, so I gave it. I'm about halfway through the first book, and I have to admit - I'm really enjoying it.

On other fronts, Dish Rag Tag is scheduled to start on August 1st! We've by far got the best team! Everyone is geared up and ready to go! Only one person hasn't checked in. Yoo-hoo, Nancy, come out, come out, wherever you are! We don't bite!

GO SKANKS W/HANKS!

Weird

The weirdest thing happened here over the weekend. I went in to my office and looked out in the yard and what do I see? A strange man in my pool! My hubby went out there and the guy was passed out drunk with an empty half gallon of Jack Daniels sitting next to him. Oh yeah, and he was naked!

I called 911 and the operator thought it was hysterical. We had 5 cop cars, the K-9 unit, an ambulance, and a fire truck here. I think everybody just wanted to see this guy! The cops were poking him with a pool noodle to try to wake him up. When that didn't work they starting smacking him with it. When that didn't work they briefly debated when to taser him, but then decided that since he was sitting in a large body of water, that would be a bad idea. They drug him out of the pool; guy's still passed out. Took him to the ambulance; guy's still passed out. He was like in an alcohol induced coma. He just could not be woke up!

Anyway, I found out later that this guy walked out of the CVS down the street from us the night before with the bottle of Jack. A $50 bottle of booze, just walked out of the store with it! Crazy!

I'm still trying to find out what's going on with this. I have a call in to the police to see if they found out who the guy was (he had no ID), if the guy is okay, and then if he is going to be charged with anything! My kids saw this freak, too. Scared the crap out of them!

Anyway! On the knitting side, I started my Mystery Stole 3. I have gotten about the first 28 rows done. I hope to be more done so I can get a pic up soon!

Oh yeah! HAPPY 4TH!

Okay, got to go check the pool for drunk, naked guys!

Lace

Well, I decided to join the Mystery Stole 3. I decided quite spur of the moment. I have never knit a large lace project. The only lace I have knit was a Branching Out scarf. I'm just a little frightened by the bigness of it!

So, I went to the LYS today and bought some yarn. I then happily brought it home with me. I then sat down to wind it in a ball. What the hell was I thinking? There is 1460 yarns of lace weight black yarn! Why didn't I ask to have this wound at the LYS? I don't have a ball winder!

So I took a deep breath and sat down. I placed the yarn around my desk chair to act as a swift, and started winding and winding and winding and winding. I then got the brilliant idea to use my hubby's drill. It worked! But then -- a big ass knot! Holy crap! How does one unknot black lace yarn? Apparently, one doesn't. One cuts it. My yarn has about 4 cuts it in because of knots I just could not untangle. Oh well. Even with the drill, it still took me about 2 hours to wind the yarn.

I'm hoping to get my swatch done tomorrow and then start knitting this weekend. I'll post pics when I have something interesting to show.

Okay, I've been working hard on all this dish rag stuff, maybe too hard. Anyway, I have posted a Frappr map so that Team #6 can add themselves.

I also completed a dish rag yesterday! Started yesterday, completed yesterday! I got the pattern here. I think I must have not been paying attention on one corner though because after I sewed it up, it was a little bit hinkey. Anyway, here is a pic. I used about half a ball of Sugar'n Cream in Westport colorway.

See the hinkey corner? Also I wasn't sure what "garter stitch graft" was. I looked it up, but couldn't find it. So, I used Kitchener . It looks okay, but I don't think that was what I was supposed to use. Anyway, I think I will try it again. I bought this yarn because it matches my mom's kitchen and it was meant to be a cloth for her. But because of the hinkeyness of it, I kept it for myself. I actually used in this morning and it was a very soft, thick cloth! It would be great for dishes, but this morning I used it on this:

This is my son, Matthew. Matthew was covered and I mean COVERED in syrup this morning. I had placed my new cloth by the sink last night after I finished it, and it seemed appropriate that I use it for this particular purpose first.

Map for Dish Rag Tag Team #6

Trying something here - bear with me!

Dish Rag Tag

Okay, well I'm back. I didn't do what I said I was going to, did I? I didn't keep up with my blog. But I did finish my Color Blox Sox! And I haven't really started any new projects - not really. Maybe a dish cloth or two.

Anyway! Well, I joined Dish Rag Tag at Yarn Miracle. I just got the great news that I am going to be a Team Captain! This should be great fun! So, I decided that I should probably keep up on my blog now so that I can keep my team updated on - on - well, on stuff! I know we are going to have a forum at Yarn Miracle, but I think blogs are a great way to keep our teammates updated on the other goings on! (Sounds like the whole point of a blog!)

I am limbering up for the challenge by knitting dish rags (and also getting some Christmas knitting done at the same time). I am so looking forward to meeting my team! See ya all soon!

Unfinished Projects

Hello! It has been forever since I have posted {bad blogger!} I have decided that I would like to start posting again, hopefully someone will want to start reading again!

I have decided this morning that I have way too many projects going on at one time. I need to start finishing some of these up before I start anything else. I also got to thinking that this blog is also an unfinished project, so here I am!

I have posted a list of unfinished knitting projects over there ----> to try and keep me honest about finishing some of them. I have been working diligently on my Color Blox Sox that I started oh back in June 2006. Time to finish them, I think. They are my first pair of toe up socks, and I got a little discouraged after I finished the first one because I had such a hard time getting through it. The second sock has gone much better for me and I am almost finished. Then I will get to cross something off my list!

I do admit that I do have to start a new project soon. I want to knit a lace caplet for my daughter's 1st Communion in May. I will have to start on this soon, but I have been unable to find a pattern that I love.

Well, I don't want to bore anyone (though I am not sure there is anyone out there to bore!) I am going to get some projects done and some pics up soon!

Great to be back!

Never Forget

Secret Pal!

I got my package from my Secret Pal! I am a little late in posting about it, I got it about a week ago! I still can't post from my computer with pictures and I am lazy about getting down into the basement to post.

So, here is a picture of everything that was in the package:
Here's a list:
* 3 colors Wool of the Andes by Knit Picks
* 2 colors of Plymouth Encore
* Trekking XXL sock yarn
* 2 colors of Plymouth Dreambaby in beautiful blues
* Paytons metallic yarn in purple
* Knit Picks shine
* Beautiful and soft hand knit face cloth
* Beautiful handmade stick markers in a cute tin
* 2 tape measures (which is perfect because I am always misplacing mine!)
* A journal
* The hedgehog pattern I really, really wanted!
* A great sock pattern.
* A baby hat and sock pattern
* A book of sticky labels
* 2 wonderful smelling bath gels
* Baby bee balm (which is great for the baby and me!)
* metallic roving
* A very cute decorated yarn jar with froggies and three kids representing my own three monkeys
* Tin of cinnamon mints
* Disk with a collection of patterns
* Cute note cards with a knitting motif

Phew! I'm out of breath! I think I remembered everything in there! It was a great gift from my secret pal Tina!

She has some great pictures up on her bloc that really show off the face cloth that she knit and also of the yarn jar she decorated.

Thank you so much, Tina! You made it worth the wait for that package! It was all I could think about for the whole week! Even now I just want to go on and on about all the great stuff in that box! I can't wait to get started on my hedgehog pattern. I have some wool yarn that I think will felt up for it, but I have to do a test swatch first. I also think that I am going to try dyeing it first with some collate because it is just a boring beige. I'll see how it felts first and then decide.

Okay, I feel better now. I have been kicking myself in the rear all week to post this because I really wanted to give Tina all the credit she deserved for that! She was a wonderful secret pal and really made my experince in this great!

Now, I have to get my last package done and off to my secret pal!

Gauge!

I am finaly able to post some pics! So here are some pics of my current knitting.

Here is a gauge (!) swatch I did to start my son's sweater. I was going to use the Pea Pod Baby Set from Interweave Knits. It had some great detailing in the bottom ribbing and along the bottom band, but the cabling was beyond me. I have never done cables before and I just didn't understand the directions. So.... I switched over to a simple seed stitch Guernsey pattern. Much better.






I have also been knitting away on some preemie hats. I sent off five sets to The Preemie Project. These are two of my favorites.

This is a ruffled watermelon hat and bootie set I did with Caron Simply Soft. I got the idea for the hat while in my LYS. Basically, I cast on twice the number of stitches that I needed for the hat, knit in the seed stitch for about 6 rows, and then K2tog all the way around to make the ruffle. Then I just knit the hat as normal. It came out very sweet and will fit a 3-5 lb preemie.

This is one that I made with Lion Brand Microspun. There are spiraling rows of purl stitiches in the body of the hat. This one came out very soft! It will also fit a 3-5 lb baby.

Oh, one more thing I have accomplished since the last time I posted, I actually got my Secret Pal package mailed off! I didn't take any pics of the stuff, but after everything is all done and the SP's are revealed, I will link over to my pal who posted some pics on her blog.

I have to get back to work now. Taking a time out to blog and if DH comes in here and sees I'm not working, he's not going to watch those monkeys anymore!

Problems Still!

I just wanted to let you all know that I am still here! I am still having some computer issues and that is why I have not posted in a while.

The computer works great for everything but my work! (I work as a medical transcriptionist from my home.) I just can't get the one program I need to work up and running! I have been working on an loaner from Total Computer Support (thanks, guys!) At least I can work, but man is the thing slow with a Capital "S!" So, I can't load pictures, I can't print, and it is really hard to log onto the net! Sure, I could go downstairs and work on the good computer, but that requires going downstairs! And I'm just too lazy to do that!

On the knitting front, I am just cruising along on my Branching Out now. I have finally gotten the hang of following the pattern. I am almost done. I just have to find some quite time to sit down and finish the last few repeats. Doing a lace pattern with three monkeys running around is just not an option!

I also started on a sweater for Matthew. This is the first time that I have attempted to make a sweater. Well, there was the little tiny one that I made for the Preemie Project, but that was so small I don't think it counts! I picked up some Dream Baby yarn in a shade of blue that really makes his eyes pop. I am about halfway through the back. Maybe one day I will be able to upload pictures again and I can show you!

Other than that, I am still working on my first toe up socks. I am just to turning the heel and have kind of stalled. I'm a little confused as to the process and have put it aside. I have been afraid to pick them back up for fear of having to frog them again. I will get them finished, but right now I really want to finish my Branching Out and get that blocked to see the finished product. I would also like to finish the sweater for Matthew so that he can wear it this winter. I don't have to have to keep it for my first grandchild!

I also want to start on a scarf for my sister with the Detroit Red Wings logo on it. She is a complete Red Wings nut! I think it would be a great Christmas present for her. I have to see if I can find a pattern for this. If any of you have a source, I would love to hear about it!

Okay, that's it for now. Hopefully I will be able to get some pics up soon!

$300 later...

I finally got a working computer again! $300 later! My motherboard and hard drive fried! Went to turn it on and nothing. So, I took it to the repair shop not knowing what else to do. ( I work as a medical transcriptionist and work online. I have to have a computer or I can't work. )

Anyway the guys over at Total Computer Support dropped everything when I came in to diagnose the problem. They discovered that the motherboard was bad. When I told them that everything in the world was on my hard drive, they backed it up for me right away.

Long story short, we decided that it was too much money to fix my old computer and it would be better to fix the other computer we had (one my husband spent many long hours and tons of money building that had been sitting in the basement in non-working order for about 9 months.) It took four days and $300 to get it up and running, but I finally got it back and we are off and running!

Anyway, I did get quite a bit of knitting done this past week without having the computer here. I did at least 10 repeats on my Branching Out scarf. I had a real hard time getting started with it knitting and then ripping, knitting and ripping, but I think I have finally got the hang of it. It really gives me an appreciation for you ladies that knit the beautiful lace shawls and such. What a lot of hard work and time go into them! Makes me look at them with an awe and awareness that I didn't have before.

I also worked on my Color Blox Socks from the Six Sox KAL. But then I had to rip some back because I didn't have my computer and couldn't check how to do the heel on the website! I didn't realize that I needed my computer to knit!

Well, I will post some pics as soon as I get the software reloaded for my camera and can upload.

Matthew's 1st Birthday

My little man turned 1 today! It is a sad and exciting thing.

Here are a couple of pics of his party from yesterday. Enjoying his cake (banana with cream cheese frosting)

And one of him opening his presents, with sister Sarah in the background. We had a really beautiful day. The weather was gorgeous, the kids got to enjoy the pool and the sun. All in all a really great day! Still, I am a little sad. He is my baby and I don't think I'll every have another one, so this is the last first birthday I will have for one of my kids. I will have to live vicariously through others from now on!

Happy birthday, little man!

I Love these things!

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by

1 FO and 2 more UFOs!

I finished my sixth sense socks from the Six Sox KAL. I finished them just in the nick of time, 11:58 pm on May 31st, the due date! Unfortunately, I didn't get the picture posted in time so I was not entered in the contest. That's okay though because I know that I finished them on time.

Here they are modeled by my 4-year-old daughter, hence the baggy appearance! They fit me and they are so comfortable. They used a short row garter stitch heel and garter stitch toe. They were very fun to knit! They are only my second pair of socks and I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.

I have already cast on my next pair of Six Sox KAL socks: Color Blox Socks. They are toe up socks. I've never done toe ups before and I am excited to be learning how.

The other project that I cast on is Branching Out with the blue silky wool that I had bought a few months back. I had the hardest time getting started! This is my first lace project and I swear I frogged that dang thing back at least 10 times before I got the pattern right! And this morning I was knitting on it and it took me almost an hour and a half to get 10 rows done -- just one repeat of the pattern! I'd knit and frog, and knit and frog, and knit and frog! AHHHHH!!

I have been scoping out all the LYS's in the area around here. So far I have gone to about 3 in the local area. When I say "local," I mean anywhere between a 20 to 30 minutes drive. And when you have 3 kids, anything longer than 2 minutes gets you a "are we there yet?" at least 10 times every 5 minutes!

I went out to another store yesterday called Right Off the Sheep! What a great store! It was about 35 minutes from my house (about 70 "are we there yet's?") in downtown Birmingham, Michigan. I was super impressed with the store, the yarn, and the two lovely ladies that were working there! They had the biggest selection of sock yarn that I have seen so far.

Well, I went there looking for something for my secret Pal and found some really beautiful Uruguay wool yarn. It is very soft and in warm shades of cinnamon. I hope my secret pal likes it. I think that I might go back and get one more skein of it for her as I am not sure what she could do with just one skein. (And then I'll get an excuse to maybe look around some more, maybe even without my kids!)

I also got myself a couple of things from the clearance rack. And what a steal I got, too. Two skeins of Regia sock yarn 50 g for $2 a piece; one skein of Regia cotton sock 100 g for $5; and one skein of Sirdar Snuggly Poppet 50 g for $2. I also got myself #2 6 inch Plymouth bamboo DPS because I had been knitting with these gigantic 8 inch DPS and I felt like I was knitting with a dang porcupine!

Too Many UFOs!

I have way too many unfinished objects lying around! I have decided that I need to finish some of these things before starting anything else! (Yeah, right)

Here's a pic of just a few of the things I have going on right now.

Let's see there are the piles of fleece and crochet thread for making preemie blankets (buried under all this stuff,) unfinished bears and mother's tears hankies for grieving families; yarn for making scarves for DD's Santa Shop; quilt kit for DS; misc hats, booties, and preemie outfits that must be packaged and sent out to the Preemie Project; satin for DD's pj's; flannel for baby blankets!

That's just the stuff I had out to take a pic of! That doesn't include the socks I have on my needles; all the baby yarn I have bought to make hats, booties, blankets, squares, bereavement outfits, etc. I also have 10 skiens of beautiful natural chocolate brown Alpaca yarn to make myself "something," not sure what; the orange, yellow, and variegated cotton yarn I bought thinking I was going to make socks (but it was too thick so I think I'll make a swimsuit coverup;) blue silky wool that I think I'll make branching out with; on and on and on!

This is mostly just my knitting stuff! This doesn't include the piles of pictures I have yet to scrapbook. I haven't even started my son's scrapbook and he is going to 1-year-old in the next month!

OMG! My head is spinning just thinking about everything that I want to get done, and the fact that I will be lucky to complete about 10% of this!

Okay, just to keep my sanity, here is a FO!

This is a baby blanket made for Sarah's preschool teacher who recently had a baby girl.

Pattern: Sweet Baby of Mine Blanket from Encyclopedia of Knitting

Needles: Clover bamboo size 6 circulars

Yarn: BernatCottonTots 100% cotton

finally, some progress!

Oh, one more thing to put on the to do list: Learn to take better pictures!

Am I the only one?

Did you ever noticed that when you knit something you leave just a little more of yourself behind than you might want to? I am wondering is it only me or do other people have this problem?

What I am talking about is my hair. I am constantly knitting my hair into my projects! I have fairly long hair and I lose a lot of it. As I am knitting, I will notice a hair on my project and go to pluck it off only to discover that I have knit said hair into the project!

Just wondering if I am the only one?

SP8

I have signed up to be part of Secret Pal 8. We all have to fill out a questionnaire so that our secret pals can learn a little about us. Here is mine:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like yarns that are very soft. I have somee alpaca that I love. I would love to try some other kind of natural fiber. The only yarns I don't like are scratchy ones.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a handmade case that I store my straight needles in. I don't have anything but ziplocks for my circulars and dps.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I have been knitting on and off for about 6 years. But I have been really into it for about the past 2 years or so. I would consider myself somewhere between beginner and intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yep

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I like fresh, natural scents, like lavender. I don't like really floral scents, like rose.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a sweet head! I love chocolate!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I scrapbook, bead, sew.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I listen to 80's alternative (Yaz, Eurasure, The Cure, etc.) I also listen to modern alternative (Incubus, theory of a Deadman) stuff they play on the radio.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love color! Just about any color, blues, purples, pinks, yellows, reds, greens. I don't like neon colors. Other than that, just about anything goes.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am married with three children, Emily -7, Sarah 4.5, Matthew Jr. - 10 months. I have one dog and one cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves and hats.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I love to knit baby items, little hats, booties, blankets. And socks, adult socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?
OTN: Baby blanket, socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yep.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer bamboo or other wooden needles. I don't really have a preference to circular or straight. I usually use shorter straight needles and if I need something longer, I use Circular.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope.

17. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself from a book.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?
Um, well, I have a poncho that I started for my oldest daughter about 2 years ago. I don't think That I will ever finish it. I started that project when I was first really learning how to knit something other than a scarf. Lots of mistakes.

19. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas and Halloween

20. Is there anything that you collect?
Elephants

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
There is a pattern from Fiber trends for a hedgehog, #228. I can't find it anywhere around me.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'd like to try the Magic Loop or 2 socks on 2 circulars.

23. Are you a sock knottier? What are your foot measurements?
I love to knit socks. I wear a ladies size 9.5 shoe. Heel to toe is 10 inches, circumference is 10 inches.

24. When is your birthday?
October 4th

You Are Marge Simpson

You're a devoted family member who loves unconditionally. Sometimes, though, you dream about living a wild secret life! You will be remembered for: your good cooking and evading the police Your life philosophy: "You should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head."

The Simpsons Personality Test