A Thanksgiving Blessing

May you have pleasant dreams while napping on the sofa having been lulled to sleep by a full belly and the gentle glow of the television broadcasting football, and may none of your goofball family members snap pictures of said slumber.

Damp Sponge



There's the Sponge, drying. I decided to block it first to even out the wonky stitches before weaving in the ends. I read this suggestion somewhere, I think in Maggie Rhigetti's book. I'm not crazy about my tension on the teeth(too tight), but it will make it easier to weave in the ends and get the tension correct if it is blocked first. And no, you can't see the back once I'm done, it's crap.

I'm also going to give it a proper seaming(mattress). Please to ignore the missing red stitches on the curly thing under his mouth. Those can be easily fixed with a duplicate stitch embroidery.

I hope to have it all done by tomorrow. I know that he'll want to show it off to his SpongeBob lovin' cousins at the gatherin'.

Phoebe



May 1, 1995-November 19, 2007

R.I.P You'll be missed.

A Typical Conversation in My House

The Boy: Hey, Mom, where's Daddy? When's he coming home?

Me: It might be a long time. There was a shooting.(For those of you that don't know, the Husband is the senior police sergeant in a neighborhood bordering a large-ish city.)

The Boy: Hmm. Do you think he'll remember to bring home Ratatouille? Can I call him to remind him?

Me: Weasel, I think he'll be a little busy, and Ratatouille will be low on his list of priorities.

Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?



After a brief hiatus, Spongebob is back. I had lost the original chart I had made(I think it was thrown out in a cleaning frenzy), so I had to make a new one. Which involved going downstairs to use the computer that is connected to the printer rather than the laptop. Yeah, I'm lazy.

But it also involved this really cool website where you can generate your own knitting graph paper to your gauge. Here's the link if you don't already know about it. There is also another very cool site that will generate a graph for you if you aren't comfortable drawing your own. It's here. I've not used it yet, so if you do, let me know how it turns out.

This sweater has to be perfect. Thing 1 is a man(boy) after my own heart. After he received one of his frequent progress reports that he demands on no particular schedule, he told me that when he out grows the S.B. sweater, he is going to save it for one of his children to wear. Thanks, kid. Thanks for the added pressure of knowing I'm making an heirloom.

A Revelation

So I'm browsing through the 'Fibre after 40' forums on Ravelry, this is a group for knitters of a certain age. There is a thread on perimenopause. Perimenopause? I thought it was just 'menopause'.

After a little more research, it turns out I'm drowning in perimenopause! It's a bit of a relief to put a reason, or excuse, to all of those niggly little things that are going on.

Insomnia - check!
Thinning hair - check!
Forgetfulness - check!
Belly weight gain and bloating - check!
Daytime fatigue - check!
Zits - check!
Dry skin - check!
Forgetfulness - che..wait I did that one
Mood swings - check!

I told the Husband a few days ago that I didn't like the person that I was becoming emotionally. I was blaming all on the kids! Now, they are innocent of those charges at least. This doesn't mean that they are innocent of leaving dirty dishes, socks, and underwear all over the house.

It's quite liberating, really. I'm free to speak my mind, yell, cry at the drop of a hat, and just give into the naps all without feeling guilty. If someone starts giving me crap, I got one word for ya' - perimenopause. Except that's too long. I should just call her Perry.

A Life Changing Day

Honeymoon: on the train from Stonehenge

Fourteen years ago today I married the Husband. It was truly a day that changed my life. Before Husband, I was still at home with my folks(I could have moved out, I chose not to. Why move from a large-ish house with off street parking in a good neighborhood close to shopping to a crappy, dingy apartment? Besides, I had good room mates!)

So the day we were married, I became a homeowner, first time on my own person. I'm glad the Husband was there to help me with the transition. He had been on his own for 12 years. It was a big transition for both of us. Back then 'playing house' by cleaning and grocery shopping was fun. Now, it's drudgery.

Thankfully, it's only the little things that have become a grind. I could say that everyday has been fun, but that would be a lie. But, with the Husband by my side, we've weathered those stormy days only to come through stronger and more resilient. Besides, we actually like each other and laugh often.

If it weren't for the Husband, I wouldn't have had the wild ride and 4 kidlets that all look like him. Well, three look like him, the Girl looks like his sister!

Here's to you, hon. I'm counting on you to make the next 14 and beyond as fabulous as the first fourteen.

One Evening at the Kitchen Table

I need a drink...



Much better...



Pretty...uh, where was I?



I'm going to bed, I have a headache.

Rat Bastard

It bears repeating...

I have finished(relatively speaking) the birthday wash cloths for the PD. Two still need weaving. The one on top is from the leftover scraps. Even though they had the same amount of yardage(so the label said), I was only able to get one full cloth out of the variegated colorway. That was the first one, and the one on which I had trouble counting. Maybe I added a few extra rows.



This is the rat bastard part. I am one glorious little inch from completing the back of the Husband's rather large aran sweater. That's not a rat bastard, that fact is the opposite of a rat bastard, a non-rat non-bastard, if you will.

I was knitting happily along last evening, when I saw it. Approximately three inches down from the needles are three groups of travelling stitches in the center celtic knot section all crossed the wrong way. They are going in the correct direction, they're just not latticed.



And to make matters worse, I did the same thing where you see that fabulously(if I may say so) manicured finger. After yelling out the title of this episode, I asked the Husband if he saw anything wrong with the sweater. He (not being a knitter, and a man) said he didn't see a thing wrong with it. I then pointed it out.



That dear sweet man told me there was no need to fix it. His reasoning: it's just the back of the sweater and barely noticeable. Barely noticeable!!??? I think if Salma Hayek were to suddenly grow a big, fat, hairy wart on her chin it would be just as noticeable.

Bless his heart.

The Death of Peter Cottontail

The following post is not for the faint of heart or fluffy bunny lovers.

We had a bit of a carnage here last week. Our usual weekday morning routine was disrupted by a mauling. The usual morning goes something like this: the Husband leaves for work, I wake up the kidlets, and walk outside in the back yard with the large carpet spotter Brunnhilde. She evidently can not be alone even to pee. She will not go outside with out me standing there, unless her dog pal neighbors are outside, then she'll go alone.

This past Tuesday, the Husband called in sick, the Girl felt ill and didn't want to go to school. Brunnhilde was even willing to go outside without me. I should have read the warning signs, but it was early, and my brain was foggy from sleep.

Then I saw why she wanted to go out without waiting for me. She had a rabbit on the run. We have a family of bunnies living in the over grown garden. She occasionally chases them, but they are able to make it out of the gap between the fence and the back gate. It was not to be that day.

This day the bunny wasn't going to make it to the gap and made for the 3 x 5 grid space in the liner of the fence. He got his head through. By the time I got back there, she had made his hind quarters nice and bloody, and he was stuck.

The Husband was not going to help, and didn't appreciate being bothered in his sick bed about a rabbit stuck in the fence. I knew the rabbit wasn't going any where, and he could just wait for my help until the kidlets were on the bus. The only problem were the two cats I saw in the property behind us on the prowl. They had noticed the ruckus and were very interested. So, I posted the Girl on watch to keep the cats away.

After I got the Boy off to school, I realized that I was going to have to cut the stupid rabbit out of the fence. My neighbor had beat me to it. It was obvious that the bunny was dying, and we should put it out of it's misery. I deferred to the neighbor. Having grown up on a farm in North Dakota, I hoped she would be up to the task.

She said, "I've killed rodents by twisting their necks, I've even killed cows, but I don't know what to do with the bunny." Great. We decided on suffocation. So, with an apology to the rabbit, I put him in a plastic garbage bag and tied it up tight.

His body is in temporary holding in the garage. I'm especially looking forward to garbage pick up this week.

Rat Bastard





See that mess? It's supposed to be a washcloth from Mason Dixon. You know the cute one worked in the round with the bobbles and eyelets. Evidently I don't know how to count, at least not while the t.v. is on and the kidlets are home from school.

That's the third go round on the rat bastard. Don't get me wrong, there are parts about it I like so far. The yarn so far. I'm using SWTC's aMaizing. (Should it still be called yarn if it's made from corn? Wouldn't "yearn" be better?)

I had yesterday what at the time seemed like a brilliant idea. The PD's(the Husband's knickname for his sister) birthday is this weekend, and she decided to have her own party at her house. I can't show up empty handed, so a couple of face cloths and some nice soap would fill up my hands.

That was until I was unable to count. I wonder if Ringo Starr is available for tutoring. He once said that he was able to make a decent living simply by counting to eight.

A Few Things I Learned about Myself in 24 Hours

1. I am enabler. This past August while my Massachusetts friend I've known for over 20 years from college was in the area visiting family and friends, I pulled out the toe up sock. She pointed at it and said, "I want to learn how to do that."

So, yesterday while she was back in town we decided to go to the University of Cincinnati vs. Marshall football game. On the way to the game I gifted her with a set of size 10 bamboo needles, 3 balls of Bernat Bamboo(which is really, really soft- so I bought some for me!), and a print out of a lacey rib pattern that would make a really good scarf. She told me that every time she's tried to knit, she's had tension issues. Maybe the gift will give her a little gas to go just one more mile.

2. The UC Band is (still) Damn Good! Last night was the first UC game I had been too since my friend and I graduated from college and hung up our band uniforms. College kids look young! During the game I was thinking about how all those kids feel like they have nothing but opportunity before them, and the world is wide open to them. I was almost envious until I looked down in my hand and saw the beer. Hah! Take that you wrinkle free, non grey haired kids! I'm old enough to drink beer. (Honey, I had two in the space of 5 hours, and finished the last one about an hour before I got in the car to drive.) (The previous was for the benefit of the police officer Husband. He's a bit of a stickler about drinking and driving, rightly so.)

Which brings us to the third thing...

3. I'm too old for this shit! My friend was flying home to MA this morning. She had a 7am flight. She asked for a ride to the airport. We decided that rather than having her spend the night here, waking the 4 kidlets up at 4am to drag them to the airport which is 45 minutes away(the Husband had to work today, so he couldn't hang out with the kidlets) we would just go to the airport after the game, and she would get a room at the hotel.

So by the time I picked the kidlets up from my in law's after the game, dropped them off at my house(which is on the way to the airport), visit with the Husband for a few minutes, drive to the airport and back it was 3 am before I flopped in bed.

The kidlets were up rocking and rolling at 7:30am this morning. I see much caffeine in my immediate future.

It's an embarrassment of riches

What to do, what to do...The husband has one of his rare weekends off this coming Saturday and Sunday(rotating schedule and all that). My two oldest nephews are playing against each other on Saturday. One is on the defensive line. He has played several positions in the past(defensive end, cornerback), the other nephew is a wide receiver(for those of you that didn't have the benefit of growing up with two older brothers and father that spent their fall weekends watching football and you just sort of picked this stuff up by osmosis - a wide receiver is an offensive player).

The kidlets asked me which team to root for. My answer: root for which ever nephew is on the field.

This weekend is also the Celtic Festival at Yeatman's Cove. Having a bagpipe playing husband of Scottish descent, well, it's pretty obvious what he wants to do this weekend.

Also this weekend is the Wool Gathering Festival in Yellow Springs, OH. Seeing as how this is supposed to be a blog about knitting, it's pretty obvious what I want to do this weekend(without the kidlets in tow - I did that last year - it wasn't pretty).

I think that next year the organizers of these events should consult me on scheduling.

Bloody Fantastic!

This has been the fifth best thing that has happened to me in my life - all of the kidlets are finally in school all day.

I have big plans for this school year. Every closet in this house(that's 8, one of which is a walk-in) will be cleaned out and organized. Now that the kids are finally past the coloring on the walls phase, every room will get a new coat of paint.

After nearly 8 years of living in this house, the front room will finally become what it was destined to be - a living room. It will not be a 'toy room', a 'PS2 room', or an 'empty room because we came from a smaller home and didn't have furniture to put in said room' room.

This year the front room will get built in bookcases(I'm trying to convince the Husband that I can build them and save us some money), a new wood looking laminate floor(we have kids and animals), and furniture. I have the furniture. So far I have an antique settee and matching chair(I could have the matching platform rocker, but that is a rather sore spot with me) that came from my grandmother's house. Unfortunately, the settee has been stored in the attic for a gazillion years and the chair had been in the house that is like a really big petri dish(don't ask, that's a post for another day). So, in order to save money, I need to learn how to re-upholster furniture.

So I have the coming 9 months mapped out. But I've taken the first week off, because dammit, I deserve it. I've been doing this,

the Absorba bath mat from Mason-Dixon knitting with Peaches 'n Cream, and some more of the Husband's aran.

I also started my first toe-up sock from the "formula" in the Fall 07 IK. I needed something that I could work on during the 4 soon to be 5 evenings a week I sit at the dojo while the kidlets are doing karate. I had been working on the Husband's aran, but found when I got home that I had made many mistakes(too much gabbing with the other Moms) and had to selectively rip back a few pattern repeats.

I also decided to make them knee socks to eliminate any left overs(Plymouth Dreambaby DK). I hate it when you don't have enough left overs to make another complete meal, and you end up with just a snack.

MMMMMM



A box of red summery goodness, fresh from the farm complete with dirt.

Bleh

In spite of playing on Ravelry, I have done some knitting. But I've mostly ripped. I lost my place on the Husband's aran and couldn't figure out what row I was on in the pattern.

Maybe it was because of the raging headache I've had for the past two days. It's hot as, well you know the cliche, and we are under a smog alert. They have been advising people with respiratory problems to stay indoors. That would be me.

I just found out last week that I have asthma. I've had this annoying non productive cough for weeks now, and last week I was doing some heavy cleaning and stirring up cat hair, dog hair, and dust. My chest felt tight and I was short of breath. While sitting still. Great.

So one inhaler and extra strong allergy medicine later, I'm stuck in the house with a raging headache. I'm not sure if the headache caused the losing of my place, or the losing of my place caused the headache. Hmm, anyone, Bueller?

Woohoo!!!

I'm in! I got my Ravelry invite! I'll be incommunicado for a while. See ya.

30 More Days

That's how many days are left until it is blissfully quiet around the house. I have been looking forward to this day for years. August 27th is the day that all 4 kidlets will be in school all day! No more of the half day for preschool or kindergarten crap! No siree, all blooming day! That thought will be the sustenance that gets me through the next weeks. When you go shopping for office supplies, I'll be the one dancing in front of the two pronged folders.

Not much to show on the knitting. I'm still plugging along on the Husband's aran. I've finished the second sleeve of the Spongebob sweater, and I'm on the ribbing of the front soon to start the face.

I haven't done much knitting this week. I've been busy cleaning the house for the cleaning lady! My sister-in-law set us up with an immigrant(I'm assuming she's legal since she holds down two other jobs that with hold income tax). In order for her to actually see the dirt, I had to pick up all of the crap that was hiding the dirt. This has taken me days. I kid not.

Mt. Laundre has become a mountain range in the laundry room. I'm off to scale the mountain, because it's there and it's the last unconquered frontier! If I'm not back in 3 days, send help.

Lazy Days of Summer?

I don't know about you, but the "lazy days of summer" are a load of crap! Even though the kidlets are out of school(48 more days until school starts!), we've been just as busy as during the school year. Thus, very little knitting has been done.

The kidlets and I spent 5 days camping at Robert Treman State Park near Ithaca, New York. My two best friends and I have been taking a camping trip around the 4th of July for well over 20 years now, and it's evolved over the years to include the spouses and children. The Husband didn't go. Camping isn't his thing. We swim, hike to falls, and taste wine. The Finger Lakes region is beautiful. I have no pictures, the Husband needed the digital camera for the weekend for some free lance work and snatched it out of the car right before I left the driveway.

After returning from NY, the Husband had oral surgery, Thing 2 has had some dental work done(we have another appointment tomorrow at 8am), all four kidlets have eye exam appointments in the next week, and the Girl has an appointment with an orthopedist at Children's. It's nothing serious, her pediatrician just wants to have the duck foot waddle walk she tends to do checked out.

Two weeks ago, while the dishwasher repairman was here, I managed to chart the Spongebob intarsia sweater for Thing 1. After I finished it, I realized that I have the design too close to the neck shaping, so I'm going to move the whole design down a few rows. Sorry, I have no pictures. It's too big to fit in the scanner, and I can't find the camera. I'll post pictures next time.

I'm on sleeve two of the sweater, and I'm not too much farther along on the Husband's aran. In fact, I'm a few rows back. I saw that I had accidentally done a few rows of ribbing in the middle of one of the diamonds and also in the moss stitch section. So rather than dropping back a few stitches to fix just those parts, I ripped back 6 whole rows. I was rather pissed with myself, and ripping was much more emotionally satisfying.

I need a nap...this must be the lazy part.

I have a Deep Dark Secret





Hi, my name is Karen, and I've been crocheting(it's still evil). Last weekend we were at my Dad's house. While the Husband was taking care of fixing some computer problems, I was rummaging around the closets. Don't judge, I used to live there, and I was digging through the closet in the bedroom that had become my Mom's craft room.





I found a baby blanket that Mom had been crocheting for my nephew, who is now 15, and never finished. She had time to finish it while he was a baby, she just never did. Joey was 5 when Mom died. I thought it was a shame that it had never been finished. I immediately made a vow to not let projects go unfinished for years in order for my children to find while cleaning out my closet and wonder why I never finished it.





So, it became my mission to compete the blanket. She had easily 3/4 of the blanket done. The whole thing is done in double crochet. Easy enough.





Except I've not been able to stop crocheting! I've actually walked past the Husband's aran to work on the blanket. I rationalize it this way: The blanket has Mom's mojo so that is why I'm drawn to it(I'm also getting Mom's gauge). Also, it's a dream of mine to open a yarn shop, so I'll need to know how to crochet because I don't want to discriminate against crocheters. So, I also consider this research into the world of crocheting.





There will be no pictures. It's being made from inexpensive acrylic 80's pastel variegated yarn, and I'm still too ashamed to admit that I'm actually crocheting.

The Greatest Generation

We have lost another member of the Greatest Generation. This past Friday, Walter S. of Indiana, passed away. He was the Husband's grandfather. He was 84 years old, married to Dorothy("Mother") for 66 years. He was the father of 5 children, and the total number of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren number close to 50!

He served in the Army Aircorps during WWII and helped to liberate Luzon and the Bismarck Archipelago. He was quick with a smile and laugh, and loved to hunt turtles, fish, and woodworking. We are losing members of this generation at a good clip, and we must never forget their sacrifices for our country. But to hear them talk, it was no sacrifice. You just did what was expected of you at the time. A good tenet for anyone in any time.

I heard many good stories about Papaw Walt after his military burial. My favorite personal memory was when we were together around my in-laws round dining table having a good old country dinner of fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, etc. Mother was sitting next to Walt with a chicken leg on her plate. She had taken two bites of the leg when Walt, with a gleam in his eye, reached over and snatched the chicken from her plate and began eating it.

No one else at the table paid any attention to this, but I looked at Mother with a surprised grin on my face and a little chuckle. She said, "I never get to finish a piece of chicken." Everyone else in the family had seen this move for so many years, they had become used to it.

Walt proceeded to skeletonize that innocent chicken leg, and then broke it open and sucked out the marrow. The Greatest Generation that also lived through the Depression were not wasteful!

Another one is assimilated

Bwahahaha! Several weeks ago we were at a family gathering/cookout. I, of course, brought along the knitting for the after feast stupor sit around and visit time. I didn't realize it at the time, but my 9 year old nephew must have been watching me knit.

Later while said nephew was riding home with us, he asked me to teach him to knit. I told him that learning to knit while in a moving car wasn't the best idea, but I would teach him the next time I saw him.

Several weeks later, we went to a family camp for the weekend(like summer camp for kids, but for families) and said nephew's family was also there. I pulled out the sleeve to Thing 1's sweater and started working on it, when the nephew reminded me that I said I would teach him how to knit. So I gave him his first mini lesson using the sleeve. He was actually interested, and kept it up for a while. I promised him that the next time I saw him I would have yarn and needles that he could keep. Of course I waited until he was out eyeshot to rip out his efforts.

I really want to encourage this, because Nephew has been diagnosed with ADHD, and if you observe him for a while, he just doesn't seem to have the happy-go-lucky attitude a 9 year old should have. I think he has been diagnosed with depression, but don't quote me on that. He's the kid in the family that you just want to grab and hug tightly.

As he was proudly looking at the rows he had accomplished, he requested a turtle sweater. I said, "What like Leonardo?" He said, "No, a box turtle." Thank goodness, I don't think I could stomach another cartoon character. Cowabunga, dude!

Sure, they look innocent now







Don't let them fool you. They'll suck you in with their cuteness, and when they see that glazed look in your eyes - they pounce. This is reason not much knitting is getting done. I'm busy putting out fires. Laundry, picking up, scrubbing, running errands - the stuff of life. There seems to be an inordinate amount of it lately.

I have managed to finish the back of Thing 1's (he's the one on the right)SpongeBob sweater and have started a sleeve. The Husband's aran is only about 3 rows further along. I keep ripping back a few stitches here and there, ala fixing a miscrossed cable, and tweaking wonky looking stitches. I don't trust a good blocking to fix some of the wonkers.

Dadgummit!!!




That's the Husband's aran. I had the perfect atmosphere for working on the aran(no kids, husband, or dogs in the immediate vicinity) and I still screwed it up! I still have the black eye from the knitting goddess' smackdown.

So, I valiantly used a crochet hook to pick up the stitches on the cable I had incorrectly crossed and get them going in the correct direction(a crochet hook's only useful purpose in my opinion), when I noticed that I had $%^&ed up the celtic knot center portion. Some how I had gotten on the wrong row on the chart and was blissfully knitting along for 3 rows before I realized it.

I can fix that I thought. Rather than use a crochet hook(this was too big of a job - 28 stitches with multiple crossings), I used dpn's and reknit it. Although I'm going to give it another go, because I used dpn's way smaller than the 7's I'm using on the sweater.




This left me with a very tight gauge and loops of 'left over' yarn that I don't think a severe blocking will correct. I knit on for a few rows thinking I could tug it into submission. No joy.

In the spirit of random Tuesday...Last evening was the Carpet Spotter's(Brunnhilde the German Shepherd-why am I using a knickname for her like I want to protect her privacy?) first night of training. We were kicked out in the hall for 'talking'!!!!

And we're back...

I'm trying to catch up on my sleep. So far, not so good. The two older kidlets and I arrived back home around 9m last night, and I'm sleepy. The hotel was nice and comfy, but the Girl insisted on sleeping with me. I would rather have slept with an octopus.

At about 1am the first night, I decided that I'd had enough of the random arm flailings and knee kickings to get up and crawl in bed with the Boy. Now at only 11 years the Boy is only a few inches shy of being as tall as me(I don't come from Amazonian sized parents), he was taking up most of the bed as he was stretched out from one corner to the opposite one. Being the self-sacrificing mom that I am, I didn't want to disturb his rest since he was the one that was going to be competing the next day, I pulled the really soft and cushy comforter of the bed that I had just vacated and made a nest on the floor. I figured that the Girl would be fine since it wasn't that cold and she is usually very hot when she sleeps.

I was sleeping very soundly and quite comfortably(surprising since I was on the floor), when I was awoken at 3am by the Girl to tell me she was cold. So I got back in bed with her to be kicked and punched until 5am when the Boy got up and flipped on the flipping t.v.!

"HOLY MOTHER GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", I said. Although I'm sure it sounded more like, "Hug movr guh, wha'do?". The Boy said he couldn't sleep(though you couldn't tell by his snoring). I said "G'bed, stare seal." Translation: Get in bed and stare at the ceiling.

The next night I debated about just starting off on the floor, because I had found an extra blanket that I wasn't coherent enough to search for the previous night, when the Girl promised me that she wouldn't flop about. I also warned her that I was going to punch and kick back if she so much as crossed over the "line of death" that ran down the middle of the bed.

After pushing her back over the line to her mutterings of "stop it!" and putting the extra blanket on top of her, I was back in my nest on the floor. I was going to get in bed with the Boy, but he had rolled up in his blankets like a burrito. I was later awoken(again, after very comfortably sleeping on the floor) to, "Mom, I'm cold." So I was once again kicked and poked the remainder of the night. Besides that, I had the beginings of a cold, so breathing was not up to par.

Last night I got to sleep in my own bed, and I slept well, but I'm still nodding off at random times this morning. I think one more night ought to do it.

Oh yeah, the Boy came home with a bronze in sparring, and the Girl came home with a silver in sparring(I guess she was practicing on me during the night - had I stayed in bed with her, it may have been a gold).

If Nautical Nonsense be Something You Wish...

This weekend the Boy, the Girl and I are off to Gurnee, Illinois(north of Chicago, almost into Wisconsin) for a regional karate tournament. Those of you in the Chicagoland area will know how excited I am to be going(she says with sarcasm).

Since I'll be driving the 7 hours to get there, this eliminates any possibility of knitting in the car, that and the motion sickness. If anyone has figured out a safe way to drive and knit, I'm listening.

Sitting for 6 hours at the tournament venue and having to pay attention to the competitors(not just my kidlets, but the others from our dojo as well), eliminates working on the Husband's aran. I need something I can knit on autopilot. That would be this...

That's the beginings of Thing 1's Spongebob sweater. I figure that I can work on the back and sleeves while cheering on the competitors, because it's a mindless drop shoulder sweater and also because I haven't charted the front yet. The front is going to be an intarsia version of the Sponge's face.

Drop on the deck and flop like a fish!

So Where Was I?

Oh yeah, the Husband's aran. One fine day while we were out with out the kidlets(they were all in school, and the Husband had the day off), we were running errands. One of the stops was the library which happens to be a short mile or so from the yarn store. I dragged him there, under vehement protests of course, to pick out the yarn for his sweater. I think he didn't want to go there, because it wasn't, well, macho like a hardware store. (Insert manly grunting here.)

I wanted him to go, because I didn't want a repeat of the last sweater I had knit then ripped for him. In that instance, he picked out the stitch pattern but not the yarn(soft enough to be knit into undies, Malabrigo). He liked the softness factor, but he didn't care for the color.

The Husband settled on a yarn that is exclusive to the yarn store. Actually, I picked out the yarn, he just chose the color. It's Yarn Source Sol in grey. It's 100% wool, 100 grams per skein(approximately 220 yards) for $4.50 per skein. in a worsted weight. I think this yarn is excellent. It's nice and soft, and I've had no problems with splitting. It's a good utility yarn at a good price. Christine has lots of fantastic colors. Go on over to her online shop and check it out.

Now that I had the yarn, there was no excuse not to swatch. Besides, I was so excited to be working on something other than the #$% samurai hats, I actually wanted to swatch! For those of you that have an allergic reaction to swatching - get over it!(She says in her motherly "I'm tired of putting up with your nonsense" voice.)

To determine how many stitches to cast on for the Husband's aran, I swatched each panel and measured the width. For example, the diamond pattern panel with moss stitch in the center of the diamonds is worked over 25 stitches and it measured at 4.5" in width. The celtic knot is worked over 28 stitches and measured 4.5"

By adding up the measurements of each panel including the 4 cables I was using to separate each panel, that gave me the width of moss stitch I would need at either side to make up for half of the circumference of the aran(30"). I figured that I would need 5.75" of moss stitch on either side of the seam, which worked out to 26 stitches. I'm putting a lot of ease in this sweater, because the Husband likes them big and he will be able to hide his weapon and badge under it(policemen never go out in public unarmed and they don't like to advertise the fact that they are armed).

I know, I've been rambling, but here's how it worked out...I need a total of 162 stitches for 1/2 of the body.(I chose not to do this in the round so I could have the stability of seams, and I knew that it would be easier for me to keep my place in the pattern if I was only working on half of the sweater at one time.) So my pattern is:

26 stitches of moss stitch,

8 stitches for a 6 stitch right cable(this includes a rev stocking stitch on either side of the cable),

25 stitches for the diamond pattern,

8 stitches for a 6 stitch right cable,

28 stitches for the celtic knot pattern,

8 stitches for a left cable,

25 stitches for the diamond pattern,

8 stitches for a left cable,

and 26 stitches for moss stitch.

Using the EPS, I cast on 10% fewer stitches for the ribbing(2x2 for 2"), increased 16 stitches on the next row in purl stitch(making this the wrong side), and I'm off to the races! I increased in purl so the stitches would recede to the wrong side and that row wouldn't be noticable in the big scheme of things. I could have increased on the last row of ribbing, but quite frankly I didn't think of it. I also added a selvedge stitch to each side to make it easier to seam.

After all that, I think you deserve a picture.

I Failed Miserably

Oh, the shame...I failed to finish all the #$% samurai hats by the deadline. I had until 5pm on Sunday. I was this close to being hysterical when I realized at 3pm that there was no way on God's green earth I was going to have them done.

So I did what any self respecting knitter would do. Rather than save my honor and finish them(better late than never), I cast on for the next project. I'm now working on the Husband's aran.

There has been considerable work on the aran so far. Not knitting work, mind you, but planning and much math.

I can't use published patterns for the Husband's sweaters. I've yet to find a designer that has designed a decent looking sweater for a man that is larger than an XL. The Husband has a 55" chest. The largest published pattern that I have come across is for a finished chest of 54". As unselfconscious as the Husband is about his body, I don't think he wants to look like a 'sweater girl' of the 40's.

I wanted to make sure that the Husband was going to wear this sweater, so he was very involved in the planning stages, whether he wanted to be or not. First I picked his brain on what type of sweater he wanted. Which meant that I had to drag out many books and magazines. We consulted Tara Manning's "Men in Knits" and Debra Mountford's book. We even consulted a handknit aran sweater that I've had for close to 15 years that I purchased(yes, purchased) on a trip to Bath, England.

The Husband decided that he liked a twisty Celtic knot looking pattern for the center panel and a diamond shaped cable with seed stitch centers for the side panels. I decided to add a simple 6 stitch cable to separate the different patterns.

The next step was to chart each individual panel, because the only patterns I could find for them were written out. I've never worked from a chart before, but I figured that this would be the best way to go. I knew that I would be consulting my notes a lot, and it would be easier to keep track of where I was.

After charting the Celtic knot and diamond pattern, it was time to swatch.

Will our heroine faithfully swatch? Will she get the Husband to Lambikins to pick out the yarn? Will she be able to figure out how many stitches to cast on?

Stay tuned.

The List

The following post has nothing what so ever to do with knitting. You've been warned.

Last evening the Husband and I had an unexpected treat. We went to his parent's house for Easter dinner and the Ga-Ga(this is what the oldest grandchild started calling Grandma and it stuck- or sometimes she is known as the Gaggs - the Husband's family is big on nicknames) offered to let the Kidlets spend the night(I use nicknames in order to protect one's privacy). (I promise from here on out to limit the use of paranthesis.)

The Husband needed to go into the police academy to finish up some copying that had to be done by this morning so I went along to help. While on the drive there we started discussing "The List".

The list is a list(obviously)(Damn!-there they are again) of people, that given the opportunity, we would allow our spouse to have a fling with. It is also an unwritten rule that the names on this list must be someone with who(or is it whom? - Dadgummit!)that we have no chance in Hell of ever having a chance meeting.

We are each allowed five names. My List(in no particular order-AARRGGGH!):

1. Colin Farrell
2. Sam Elliott
3. Kiefer Sutherland
4. Jackie Chan
5. still working on this one - maybe Brendan Fraiser, or LL Cool J, George Clooney, or Johnny Depp

Now, I named my list off rather quickly, and not because I have put a lot of thought into it. I have always liked Sam Elliott. There's just something about the rugged good looks combined with that voice. The same goes for the rest of my list, I've just always liked them.

So, we began to work on the Husband's list. The first name was very easy - Salma Hayak. The husband likes them curvy with a bit of intelligence, which rules out Pam Anderson(The Husband greatly admires Condeleeza Rice because of her intelligence and piano playing ability, but he'd rather just sit and discuss politics and world events with her - I've given in to the power of this form of punctuation). But we were having a hard time coming up with others. It took close to two hours to come up with the next two, Viveca A. Fox and Tia Carrere.

The Husband then pointed out that I had a rather well rounded list of ages and nationalities. Whereas his had so far a good mix, he needed a woman of Anglo-Saxon descent to round it out. We had a very hard time coming up with this name. We finally decided it was because women of Anglo-Saxon, blonde persuasion value skinniness to the point of looking boyish of frame, i.e. Nicole Kidman, Rene Zellweger, Kiera Knightly(not blonde, but very skinny).

Remember when "Bridget Jones' Diary" came out and everyone was making a big deal about Rene Zellweger gaining - gasp!- 20 pounds? The Husband and I thought she looked fantastic with the 'extra' pounds, especially the Vicars and Tarts party scene when she shows up in the bunny costume.

I know that none of these skinny young starlets read this blog, but I have a favor to ask of all of you. If in your travels you come across any of them, please hold them down and force feed them a sandwich. You'll be doing all of us a favor. Those of us that look like Renaissance women will be in vogue, and the Husband will be able to finish his list.

This is Spring?


I spoke too soon in the last post. Today the kidlets are supposed to go to an Easter egg hunt, and there is snow on the ground. Now if we lived in Canada or Maine this wouldn't be a big deal, but this is southern Ohio, for the love of Pete(Rose). This past Monday was the Cincinnati Red's Opening Day which is a rite of spring in these parts and the day was beautiful and warm. Today, not so much.



The brace is off the thumb, it still feels a little stiff but thank goodness it wasn't as bad as Kate's. I've got one week to finish the #$%^ samurai hats and they will be out of my life forever! I can't wait to cast on the Husband's aran. Since even the XL size in most patterns don't accomodate the Husband's chest, I had to come up with a pattern on my own. The Husband was very much involved in the designing of this sweater. I don't want to be 3/4 done with this sweater and have to rip it like I did the Malabrigo that was supposed to be for him.

I checked out all kinds of books from the library, pulled all of the patterns for aran sweaters that I had in my personal library and had him look at all of them to tell me elements that he liked. Then I combined the cable patterns and went from there.

Once I cast on I'll post on the details. I really have to steel my resolve and finish the #$%^ samurai hats.

The Big Smackdown


Several weeks ago, the yarn shop that I frequent was having their spring sale to clear out the bulky winter yarns to make room for the summer weight yarns. I felt obligated to do my part.

So, I thought that since I was almost done with the Girl's hoodie I would pick up some yarn(Plymouth Dreambaby D.K. - very soft and machine washable) for Thing 1's SpongeBob sweater(of my own design). Although I have a pile of yarn waiting to be worked into the Husband's aran, I would now have a project waiting in the wings for those times I became disgusted with all of the mistakes I knew I would make on the aran and toss it aside for a few days.

Naturally the stuff I picked out wasn't on sale. While there I also picked up some yarn for baby booties. A co-worker of the Husband's just had their very own Thing 1 and Thing 2, and some friends of ours just had not only Things 1 and 2, but a 3!

As an added bonus during the sale, with every purchase you got to reach into the 'box of surprises' and grab a gift. Some were for discounts on future purchases, but I grabbed a $25 gift card! Woo-who!

To add to this elation, I finished the Girl's pink hoodie, and she loves it so much that she has worn it to the bus stop every morning, and I have not been able to get a picture of it.

(Finally got a picture since it's 70 degrees this morning, and she didn't need it).

Our weather has finally turned the corner to 'Springsteet'! A sweater is all the Girl needs in the morning. And just yesterday I saw as I was driving the first haze of green on a roadside bush, and a slight shade of yellow on a forsythia! I have crocus blooming in the front yard, and my Bradford pear trees are about to pop open their blooms. I love this time of year, in spite of my allergies.

Just when my heart was so full of silly joy that I felt like I might burst into song like Shirley Jones in "The Music Man" came the big smackdown. Tendonitis in my right thumb. I have a brace on my thumb, an anti-inflamatory prescription in the cabinet, and doctor's orders - no knitting for at least two weeks. Why don't you just tell me not to breathe, doc?


I also found out that D-Day for the #$%^& samurai hats is April 15. I have the knitting done, I just have to assemble. Doc didn't say anything about not assembling for two weeks.

Ready to Go

I've been waiting close to a month for this. The dishwasher was tired. Even though it was only 7 years old I figure in appliance years it was probably 15-20 years old. Here's how I see it: Dishwashers are designed to do one load a day, but our family of 6 ran the dishwasher with a full load at least twice, sometimes 3, times a day, hence tired.

Unfortunately, it decided to start leaking at the same time as the 13 year old fridge and the upstairs bathroom shower. Plus we were having highs of 10F when the Husband said he needed a new winter coat, because the old one just wasn't doing it for him anymore.

So the bathroom leak, coat(a gorgeous black leather number), and fridge repair came first, while I washed dishes by hand. By hand, people! For 6 people that must get a clean glass every time they want a sip of water.

So I sit here waiting for the handsome men(I know they are handsome, because any man that delivers a dishwasher after a month of hand washing is handsome). I'm so excited I could piddle on the floor like the bladder control issue, old spaniel.

I was about to hand wash those dishes in the sink, but then I realized that I need some dirty dishes to test out the new love of my dish cleaning life.

I think I'll make a cake, some cookies and brownies, and roast some big hunk of meat just so I can have more dirty dishes! I'm feeling giddy. I'd better have a lie down so I can get myself under control before they show up, if I don't I may not be able to contain myself.

I've been remiss

I've been remiss in thanking the Husband for the virtual flowers. I think he was a little hurt that the post immediately following the Valentine's post was not a post thanking him. John, I am sorry.

The flowers are beautiful, and the best part...much cheaper than the $60 you would have paid for real ones on Valentine's Day.

John is a fantastic husband that works hard for the family and has made many sacrifices and often gone sleep deprived for us. He is also a terrific father and best of all he gets to be the 'fun' parent.

Thanks, hon. I'll have your aran sweater done by this fall. I promise.

License Revoked

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I should have my knitting license revoked.

I spent this past Saturday sitting on an incredibly hard bleacher for 6 hours at a state karate tournament and didn't once get out the knitting. Please believe me when I tell you that I feel deep shame.

I took the girl's pink hoodie that I had set aside last fall in favor of working on the gazillion samurai hats(that still aren't finished). I only have 3/4 of a sleeve and the hood to go. She could still get some late winter/early spring wear out of it, if I'd only finish the dang thing. It's being knit in the round so I don't even have to stare at it for weeks until I resign myself to sew up the seams.

I'm sure the Blogging Police will probably revoke my blogging license next for not posting pictures.

"But, officer, I have a good excuse. The batteries in my digital camera died, and I don't have anymore here at the house. I'm so scatterbrained anymore that I forget to pick up a pack while I'm standing there staring at the battery display looking for just the right size watch battery for all of the kidlet's Tamogotchis!"

"Tell it to the judge, lady."

The girl and boy #1 did well at the tournament. The girl came home with a silver in kata and a gold in kumite. The boy didn't medal, but he was in a much more difficult division. Although he is a brown belt, he was in a division with black belts. I'm very proud of him, he held his own and did his best. That's all we can ask.

I sneaked onto my wife's blog because I have been sick the last couple of days and did not have an opportunity to get her anything for Valentine's Day. She's a great gal who is always there for me and (almost) never complains - even when I forget Valentine's Day.

So Karen, please accept this dozen roses as temporary until I recover from this virus so I can go out and get you something more tangible for Valentine's Day.

Love - John

Holy Crap, it's cold!!


February has never been my favorite month. It's right about this time of year that I get so sick of winter that I just want to hibernate. Even though February is the shortest month, it seems to drag on. It's like sitting through Lawrence of Arabia again, or The English Patient, two movies that are supposed to be great, but make me want to poke my eyeballs out with size 1 double points.


On to knitting news...

I'm still working on the Color on Color scarf from Scarf Style. But that's not the exciting part, this is...(the picture is dark because it's just too bloody cold to take the knitting outside for a good shot)

See that Fair Isle section? The one with the dog hair on it? I did it two handed. That's right, I carried one color in one hand, and the other color in the other hand. It may be no big deal to those of you that knit Continental, but I had never been able to master the Continental style of knitting. It felt awkward and I was never sure of which way to pick up the yarn. The best part about this, I taught myself.

I'd better stop congratulating myself, because I know the big smackdown is coming. It always does.

Random Thoughts

1. I've been stuck in the house, except for a trip to the grocery, for about 6 days. First the Girl was sick with the classic flu. Right about the time she started feeling better, Thing 1 and Thing 2 started with the symptoms. It's their turn to stay home from school. I suppose it's only a matter of time before the Boy gets it. I usually do my running during school hours. Those of you that are parents understand. Consequently, my nails look like this. I didn't blur the photo on purpose. Have you ever tried to take a photo with your left hand while the camera controls are on the right?



It looks like it will be a few more days before I can get them done. It's the one little luxury I allow myself, well, that and the yarn...and the chocolate...and the occassional glass of wine.

2. I ripped the drunken scarf swatch, and started in earnest on the pattern. This is the first thing that I have knit using the exact yarn in the exact colors recommended, and it's still fun. There aren't any tricky techniques or stitches, but it is managing to keep my interest. I'm sure it's because of all of the color changes and constantly turning it this way and that to pick up stitches. This pattern is not for those of you with a 'weaving aversion'.


There's the other hand with the horrid manicure.

3. The other day I was at the Husband's work place(the police academy), and saw a flyer advertising for instructors in various subjects(cardio kick boxing, woodworking, painting, etc). It is for the "adult enrichment" division of the school. I jokingly said, "What, no knitting?" He promptly jumped up, ran into his supervisor's office and told her that I would teach a knitting class! I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut around that man.

Friends don't let Friends Knit Drunk



There it is. Proof that drinking until you are legally drunk(.08) and knitting don't mix.

I was so excited that the Paternayan yarn that I had scored on eBay arrived the afternoon that I was to drink for the good of the community(see previous post). Now I wouldn't have to work on a warshrag(no offense meant Ann and Kay). I could now work on something for me - something that only I would use.

So the Paternayan yarn arrived for the Color on Color scarf from the Scarf Style book, I ran out to get some Addi's in the size needed, (I really need to order the Options set from Knitpicks) and loaded all the needed accessories in the tote bag. I was ready.

So, I arrived at the school, took the base line breathalizer, got my 6oz. of wine(Turning Leaf Sauvignon Blanc, I really wanted the Australian but couldn't justify the higher price - the Husband was expensing this), and started to knit. I decided that even though this was going to be a scarf and size doesn't really matter, I should knit a swatch.

Well, the Paternayan comes in 3 strands and you only need to use 2 for the pattern. So I started off with a tangled mess. Once I got that under control, I began to knit.

This whole time our alcohol intake was being closely monitored by instructors, all of whom are local deputies. We were under a time crunch, because we had to be drunk by a certain time in order for the cadets to 'test' us. So this wasn't a leisurely evening sipping wine like I prefer to do. At one point I was told that if I could still knit, I wasn't drunk enough!

This burly macho deputy obviously knew nothing about knitting! Sure I was knitting, but very badly. See the little dip in the middle? I have no idea what I did. Thank goodness it was only the swatch, and that's where I quit. Even though I was there for 5 hours, only 1 1/2 hours was used for drinking/detangling/knitting.

The remainder of the time I was put through the paces. They divided the class into groups and each group was given a drunk. We, hereafter to be known as "the drunks", were deposited in chairs in a line up- I guess they were afraid we might fall- and each group was told to come up and "grab a drunk"!

We were rotated throughout several groups, because we were all at different levels of drunkeness. I was told by several groups that I was the hardest to determine whether I was drunk, because I found out later that I was just a tad under the legal limit! I try to help whenever I can..

Anyway, after having to do the "follow the pen" routine, walk a straight line for heel to toe for 9 steps-turn around and come back, and hold your foot 6" off the ground for 30 seconds while pointing your toe and counting for the 18th time, I got to go home.

I survived the next morning with only a slight headache, but my legs and toes hurt from trying like hell to keep my balance. I also did something to my right wrist while flapping my arms around trying not to fall that still hurts. But it hasn't stopped me from starting all over on the scarf! I am macho woman! I can knit through the pain, but a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc stopped me dead. I now know my knitting limits, and I have helped in the training of our next crop of wo/men in blue. It was a win/win for all.

An Experiment

Tonight I will be performing an experiment. I will attempt to answer the question: Is it safe to drink and knit?

The husband is the commander of a local police academy and tonight is the unit on field sobriety tests and use of the breathalizer. I selflessly volunteered to help. That means I will be getting a good buzz going so the students can test their skills on a live subject. It's my way of being a good citizen.

So I've rounded up family members to watch the kidlets this evening while I get drunk in order to further the education of these fine young men and women. Yes, there are women in the class. You go, girl!

I will be there for about 5 hours with nothing to do except knit, oh yeah, and drink wine(they provide the wine - I requested a nice Sauvignon Blanc or a Merlot. You can do that when you are married to the commander). Just imagine, five hours of knitting and drinking. I've been thinking about what sort of project I should take with me. Obviously I don't want to take anything too fussy, so the samurai hat is out. Besides, I'm at the finishing point. It wouldn't be practical to block all of the pieces for 3 hats at the academy.

The only other project that I have going at this point is the Daughter's sweater. So, I think I'll take that and some Peaches and Cream that I have on hand and whip out a few dishcloths. Although, this could be a good excuse to go yarn shopping(as if any of us need an excuse!). I have several ideas percolating.

It will be fun to see if there is any difference between my 'sober knitting' and my 'drunk knitting'. I'll let you know as soon as the headache I'm sure to have goes away.

Something I've Never Done Before


I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions. In fact, I've always resolved not make resolutions. Maybe that's my problem.

I'm happy with my looks and weight. Sure I could stand to lose some weight, but I'm just not motivated enough. My extra 20 pounds isn't affecting my health and I don't have to shop for plus sizes, and I'm o.k. with that. I do have some grey hair and that can be easily taken care of. Plus the sweet husband says I'm getting 'hotter' as I get older now that I'm past the frumpy-I-have-very-young-children-or-I'm-pregnant-so-I'm-always-tired-stage.

So this leaves me with personal characteristics. My list will not be as amusing as Franklin's, and these aren't really resolutions they are more like guide lines.

1. I must fight the tendency to be lazy - if I can do this the house will be clean and organized. If the house is clean and organized, I will have time to tackle home improvement projects such as laying down new flooring in the living room, stairs and upstairs hall. Every room will get a new coat of paint and drapes. I will also get the buffet from my great-grandmother cleaned up and looking purty. Which leads me to all of the craft projects that are percolating in my mind...

2. A fisherman's sweater for the husband - I was almost finished with a very large Malabrigo sweater for him(60" chest) when he decided he didn't like the color. Thank goodness I hadn't finished the other sleeve and neckband! So rather than have the thing lay in a drawer never to be worn after months of on and off work, I ripped it.

3. A SpongeBob sweater of my own design for Thing 1 - yellow sweater with Bob's face on the front

4. A Patrick sweater of my own design for Thing 2 - Patrick is as some of you may be cursed to know is a pink starfish. The husband has a strong opinion about boys wearing pink, so it will have to be a smallish Patrick motif on some 'manly' background

5. Knit a runner for the front entry

6. Baby blanket for new family member to be born in February - I'd better get a move on. I don't even have the yarn for this one.

7. A quilt made from old jeans cut into squares

8. Finish the #$%^&#%%& samurai hats!

9. Finally, I need to challenge myself so this is the year I would like to attempt a lace shawl for me. Do you see the above list? Not a dang thing on there for me!

Gotta run, I've got carpet to rip up, laundry to fold, a nap to take! Scratch that last.

It's Been a Good Day

The presents have been opened(everyone was nice this year), the breakfast cassarole consumed, the kidlets are playing well together, the husband's napping in the La-Z-Boy, and I'm not upset about the mess on the floor.

I wish you a year filled with good days.

There really hasn't been much exciting knitting going these past weeks. I haven't started a lace stole, my 100th pair of socks, a sweater for me, scarves for teachers, or even a lonely little dishcloth.

I'm still working on this.


That is Samurai Hat Earflap Ni, and Samurai Earflap San. The little black box? It's 'Mommy's little helper'. My new MP3 player. I've been wanting one for a long time so I could 'tune out' the kidlets and their noises. You can only listen to Spongebob(on the t.v. or in dramatic recreation in the family room) for so long before you want to squeeze every last bit of moisture out of his square, pourous annoying yellow body, but only after you've used him to scrub the toilet in the kidlets bathroom that constantly smells like a gas station restroom.

The kid has a sense of humor!

My house is the habitat of 6 people, 4 of whom are 10 and under, two dogs, and a cat. Five of the six people and all of the animals are complete slobs. Only one person in this house gives a damn about the living conditions. I'll let you guess which one. It's pretty obvious.

A few mornings ago, the oldest male kidlet was eating breakfast at the kitchen table of all places(this is not their usual feeding ground) when I decided that I'd had enough of the silver poptart wrappers, the detritus of a craft project, and a box that someone had torn to pieces for reasons unknown. So I grabbed a garbage bag and started picking up.

I tend to rant as I tidy up, and this day was no exception.

"I've just figured out my purpose in life! My purpose in life is to pick up after y'all!"

Silence from the kitchen table.

"The good Lord put me on this earth to pick up after y'all. Y'all have known this all along! I'm so lucky that God has blessed me with four kind, considerate children that show me how much they love me everyday by leaving bits about the house for me to pick up, thus fulfilling my purpose. I should drop down on my knees this instant and praise the Lord! Halleluiah!"

Silence from the kitchen table.

By this time I had filled the bag, and plopped it down so I could tie it up.

"Hey, Kidlet #1, do you know what this is?"

"A bag of garbage?"

"No, it's a Bag o' Love!"

"It's a Bag of Guilt, you mean."

Hello?


Is anyone out there? Or have y'all gone shopping?

I have declared today "jammie day" at our house. I have never seen the appeal of fighting crowds at the crack of dawn for a supposedly good price on something that if I just waited a few more weeks would be an even better price.

So, jammie day involves staying in the aforementioned attire, eating junk, and lounging in front of the t.v., computer, or playstation. This year it will also include dragging out the Christmakwanzakkuh decorations.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 have been bugging me since freakin' Halloween to put up the decorations. I woke up this morning to stockings hanging with care. They decided to get an early start!

I am also going to spend the day cleaning and preparing for Thanksgiving number 3. Yes, number 3. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a Canadian friend in October. Yesterday we drove to Indiana and had Thanksgiving with the husband's extended family.

Saturday we will be having our own immediate family Thanksgiving. Someone suggested yesterday that I was nuts to be 'doing' a big meal again, but it's only once a year. I think I can manage. Besides, it's sort of become a tradition.

Years ago, when my brothers started getting married, they would celebrate Thanksgiving with their in laws on the day of. So, rather than make them go to two dinners in one day, my mother would have her dinner on another night. My mother passed away, Thanksgiving dinner became my responsibility(being the only girl), wives have changed, but the custom has stuck.

This year though, the Connecticut residing sister-in-law couldn't get a long weekend from work, so they won't be here, and the other brother couldn't fit it into his schedule with kid's visitation and kid's play rehearsals.

So, I've got rolls to make(yes, from scratch), pies to bake, and cranberries to relish. The husband is frying the turkey as he does every year.

Don't bother me on Sunday, I'll be in a coma.

Not So Hot Dog



This is Phoebe. She's 11 years old, and cranky, just like some 90 year olds I've known. Yes, I woke her from her endless nap. She's also a cocker spaniel, which means she usually has beautiful, long fur. But I have been a bad pet owner. It's been months(I'm ashamed to say how many) since she has been to the groomer. The spark that finally lit a fire under my arse was a case of dog abuse that made the evening news.

The local animal shelter rescued a cocker spaniel that had 8 pounds of fur that needed to be cut off of her. Eight pounds! Phoebe only weighs 20 pounds, and that's with a reasonable amount of fur(maybe a few ounces). The fur was so matted that it had fused together between her legs, and the poor rescued dog couldn't walk. So, I thought before I was turned in for abuse I had better get Phoebe to the groomer. She had some matting(she was able to walk into the groomers under her own power - I don't want any zealot do-gooder to turn me in!), so the poor thing had to be shaved.

It's getting colder and she needs a sweater. Have you every seen those little white haired ladies walking down the street in August wearing a sweater? I liken Phoebe to one of those dears. She's old, opinionated, and does what she damn well pleases. I figure if she has a nice warm, pretty sweater, she might be coaxed to go outside rather than do her business on the kitchen floor.

I dug into the stash and found some Debbie Bliss merino aran in a pretty lavender, just the thing for an old dear. I think cables ought to do the trick. The only problem is that her bladder tends to let go when she's excited. She'll probably pee on it when I try to put it on her.

And now for something completely different...I read with dismay on Annie Modesitt's blog that she had evidently offended some students in a class she taught here at my LYS last spring. She had stated that the most recent group of students that she taught had picked up the technique quicker than they had when she taught it at my LYS. She also went on to say that it was because the teacher(Annie) hadn't done as good a job the first time.

Because of this brouhaha, Annie says she's going to go on a blogging hiatus for a while. This is too bad for us. I love reading Annie's blog, and love seeing her designs. Incidently, did everyone see her new design in IK? It's not something I would personally wear, but I think it is an innovative and bold design that would look beautiful with a formal skirt(can you wear something like that to a PTA meeting?). Annie, please don't stop what you are doing just because you've stepped on a few toes. Like you said yourself, you can't cry over spilt milk...Nuff said.

Samurai hat crown number 3 done!

Since everyone else is...

I'm still just working on the samurai hats, so I don't really have any interesting knitting to blog about, I thought that I would do this...

1. FIRST NAME? Karen

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Maybe. My mother claims that my father had a girlfriend named Karen.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Can't remember.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Ham.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so, but only if I knit!?

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Nope.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? What, are you nuts!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? It depends on what's on sale and if I have a coupon!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I usually have clogs or slippers on, so, no.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? When I have to be.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Greater's mint chocolate chip. Fortunately for my waist the closest Graeter's is a 15 minute drive away.

14. SHOE SIZE? Used to be 5 1/2. Once I was done pushing out babies, it became a 6.

5. RED OR PINK? Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Physically - the leftover baby pudge. Characteristically - the organization has gone out the window. I blame that on the kidlets also.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. Passed away 9 years ago from breast cancer. Are you doing your monthly self exam? October is breast cancer awareness month after all.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Good heavens, no.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?Permantly stained blue jeans, green long sleeve shirt, green sweater, black socks, and Clarks clogs. I'll be putting on my slippers in a moment since I'm back in the house for the day after running errands this morning.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Twix "fun size" candy bar. I needed chocolate.

<>21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The fish tank water filter, the dog chewing on something she probably shouldn't be, and the twin kidlets watching something Disney in the other room.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Yellow.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? freshly mown grass, baking bread and cookies, the top of the kidlet's heads

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The husband.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their sense of humor.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I saw this on several blogs and thought, "why not"? I stole this from Natalie, and we've never met.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Earl Grey tea and coke. Not together.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? I do like to watch the Bengals. Who-Dey!

29. EYE COLOR? Green

30. HAT SIZE? Beats me.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yep. Right now I have my glasses on. I need new contacts and haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. It's that disorganization thing..

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Anything I didn't have to cook or clean up.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Now isn't this ironic? I love summer, because I hate to be cold. Yet I love to make and wear sweaters!

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs, especially from the kidlets.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? I've never met a dessert I didn't like.

38 & 39 Eliminated Due to Blog Context

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, out loud to the older kidlets.

41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? It's one of those generic ones that come from the computer manufacturer.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? I didn't watch t.v. last night. By the time I got the kids home from karate, had dinner, did homework, and read some Harry Potter, it was time for bed. I was just too tired to watch t.v. I know it sounds crazy, but there you have it.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Silence, the kidlets giggling, and the kidlets snoring in their beds.

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Both.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Which is further, England or France?

46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Other than knitting? I can curl my tongue.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Covington, Ky

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it.

I'm Disconnected

I'm having one of those disconnected days. You know what they are like. Your usual Saturday morning routine is disrupted because you went to an elegant wedding last night that children were not wanted for fear of disrupting the ceremony(don't get me started), except for the screaming baby that was the nephew of the bride's(while everyone else was shooting the mother nasty looks - you were smiling and thinking that if you were close to the baby, you'd pinch it and make it scream louder because after all weddings are family affairs and you made sure to invite children to your wedding);and you dutifully found an aunt willing to keep your four kidlets overnight, so you don't have them waking you at daybreak playing the PS2 that's in the room directly under your bedroom. And you just don't know what to do with yourself...

You also feel disconnected, because you're using the Husband's work laptop, because your desktop computer, which could probably be sold under the "antique" heading on eBay, for some reason known only to itself keeps shutting down because you've performed some illegal operation(so arrest me!).

Disconnect Item number 1: I'd like to download pictures of the other 3 samurai hats that I'm working on just to give you something to look at, but I know that the computer police will give me another citation while in the middle of downloading. So, you'll have to settle on the telling of the really boring story. I decided to work the rest of the hats in bits rather than work one hat to completion before working the next hat to completion. This way I can do all of the fiddly dragons in one fell swoop without the dread of knowing that I still have more dragons to do. I'm at a standstill on the hats right now because I ran out of yarn and I'm waiting for the package from Knitpicks to arrive.

Disconnect Item number 2: I received a phone call from a high school friend that I had not talked to in years. She said that she was helping out our class president by calling old friends to let them know about a "get together" for our class at a football game at our alma mater. She said she was getting ready to call some of our gang, so I suggested that she collect email addresses while she had them on the phone. Deb then told me that she was very low tech at her house. She doesn't have internet or a cell phone, in fact she said, "I'm so low tech that I knit!"

After several "no ways" from each of us, it turns out that she learned to knit about 10 years ago while living in Minnesota. Her exact words were, "Everyone there knits." How fun is that to reconnect with an old friend that happens to knit also?!

I'll connect with y'all later.

Thelma and Louise with knitting needles

The Husband thinks I need an intervention before I cross over to the wrong side of the law!


For the love of Pete, please stop, before you give us law-abiding compulsive knitters a bad name!

It's no Rhinebeck

This past weekend I and the kidlets(had to take them, the husband was working, no babysitter) attended A Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs, Ohio(charming little town). I had an o.k. time, it would have been better had I not had to drag the kidlets along. They were relatively well behaved, until the tractor ride melt-down by Thing Two.

There were sheep shearing demos...





There was also a sheep herding dog demo(sorry I didn't get pics) that the kidlets enjoyed. The dogs 'herded' ducks into a wading pool, through a tunnel and over a bridge.

There were also a few alpacas and angora bunnies. And this cute little Shetland sheep.

I liked that many of the vendors in attendance were 'locals'. They all had beautiful yarn, but there was a greater preponderance of roving. Too bad I don't know how to spin. The alpaca fleece from Cupola Alpaca Farm was heavenly. They are having an open house this weekend for anyone interested in starting their own alpaca herd. I'd love to start one, but I'm not sure Brunnhilde would be able to behave herself.

Look what she did to my $15 10.5 Addis.





Amazing that she managed to knaw them in half with out damaging the sweater or dropping a stitch. Stupid mutt. Well, in her defense, I did leave my knitting in her chair.

I was using the Addis on the daughter's hoodie. Luckily I had come to the part where you divide for the armholes and work back and forth so I was able to switch to straights. This is the sweater that I had finished the front and back and decided it was going to be too big. I also decided that I'd rather do it in the round, so I plugged her measurements and the gauge into the Sweater Wizard, and Bob's your uncle, I got a new pattern. No pesky math. I love Sweater Wizard. It's the older version, but I got it on ebay for way less than it would have cost if it were the current version.

Think Pink

The gang at Soulful Knitting Ministries have started a pink ribbon challenge for knitters and crocheters. They are asking for handknit or crochet pink scarves to be donated to the American Cancer Society to let victims of breast cancer that the prayers and good wishes of all the women that made scarves are with them.

You can find more information here.

This is a great opportunity to use up that "leftover" pink yarn in your stash. You know the ones I'm talking about. It's leftover from the sweater that you made your daughter years ago that you can't bring yourself to get rid of because it's YARN dadgummit!

I will have to go buy some yarn, although I do have some pink yarn that I just found at my Dad's house from a project I started 20 some odd years ago that I forgot about(see previous post). I don't think it will make a good scarf for someone going through chemo. I know when my Mom went through chemo her skin was a bit more sensitive.

This is a disease that will eventually touch all of us in some way. I pray that it doesn't, but someone you know will have a fight with breast cancer. Both of my grandmothers, an aunt, and my mother had/have breast cancer. Maybe, I've bettered your odds of not having to deal with this insidious desease. Obviously, this is something I feel strongly about.

I urge you to spend a weekend making up a scarf to let these brave, fantastic, beautiful women know that there are total strangers wishing them all the best, and giving them a hug via scarf.

Stuff


O.k., go ahead, admit it. Those of you that have moved out of your parent's house still have stuff there. I'll admit it, I've been out for almost 13 years and I still have stuff there. But, it's not always a bad thing.

We are in the process of cleaning out my grandparent's house, and oh my Lawd, honey, did they have a lot of stuff! The piece of property that my grandparents lived on has been in the family for several generations, and no one threw anything away! You never know when someone might need that broken tea cup. One a positive note, there are beautiful, old photographs and even lithographs of family ancestors, along with their furniture, quilts, and Bibles dating back to the latter 19th century.

But as this is a big job, and I'm going to have to do it all again sometime in the future(very long in to the future, I hope) at my parent's house, I decided to get a jump on it now and start getting my stuff out of my old room that I didn't deem worthy enough to go with me when I moved out.

So I was digging through my old closet and found a red plastic bag buried at the bottom from a LYS! With great excitement I ripped it open and found this.

I was like Christmas in, er, September! I had been working on a cropped, short sleeve sweater, and I had the back nearly complete. Plus, I found the missing no.5 needle! I can't believe that I had forgotten about this.

I've done it! My stash(stuff) has finally gotten so large that it's possible to forget about some of it only to rediscover it years(years, people) later. Insert evil laughter here.