Friday Fill Ins!!

And...here we go!

1. I'm a packrat, I'm not a good cook, but I love to try , I LOVE to knit.

2. Why do I have so much yarn and not not enough time to knit it all?

3. How does this computer work, anyway?

4. Every morning, I put a dish of stinky can cat food on my Dryer for Bella to eat so the dog won't get it.

5. I consider myself lucky because I have family that loves me, an ABUNDANCE of friends, a home to live in, food to eat, and a nice yarn stash to knit from.

6. One day we’ll see man land on mars.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, tomorrow my plans include most likely helping hubby with work and Sunday, I want to stay home in my P.J.'s and knit, but will be going to a family birthday party, which is always a good thing!! Everyone knows Birthday Cake has ZERO calories!! LOL!!

Book Review, Socks and Juliet Finds A New Home

Like Elizabeth, I too received an invitation to review Knitting the Threads of Time: Casting Back to the Heart of Our Craft by Nora Murphy. (And be sure to read Elizabeth's review as she is much more eloquent than I am)!

When first thumbing through the book I thought it was going to be an easy, quick read, in a nutshell, the journey of someone knitting a sweater with little "epiphanies" added in along the way. I was wrong!

This book incorporated an INCREDIBLE amount of history, along with so many personal observations.....very interesting....from the first documented date of knitting to present day!! Despite curiosity, there is no way I would have spent the amount of time involved to discover all the facts this book brought to light for me!

A very enlightening history lesson knit together with a story not just about the act of knitting a sweater, but all the lessons learned both with the knitting and the personal reflections of how it correlates to life!!

The local history of Nora Murphys hometown (St. Paul, Minnesota), was also VERY interesting to me as well!!

I'm also with Elizabeth in that I wish the author had included a picture of the finished sweater.

A book worth reading!!

And It Burns, Burns, Burns.......The Ring Of Fire.....The Ring Of Fire..

SOCKS!!

Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Lagoon

I love this pattern!! An easy, quick knit that fits fantastic!!

I think this is my third pair!!

Last but not least, Juliet has left the building.....sent on her merry way to a friend who has been instructed to pass it along once she has HER Juliet knit!!

I have enough yarn in stash to knit another Juliet, but it is Ecowool and I am not sure if I want to re-knit with that yarn or wait until I can get something else......

Deceived by Juliet

SO!!!!!!

I found this pattern and decided since I wanted to knit a sweater, but I'm not a sweater wearing gal, this pattern would be PERFECT for me.

This is what Juliet is SUPPOSED to look like!!



In particular, notice how the edges of the sweater do NOT meet or touch, there is SUPPOSED to be a rather sizeable gap in fact!!



















Unfortunately, MY Juliet is too large (despite my initial thoughts it would be too small). When I initially laid it out to dry/block it was HUGE....and I managed to "scrunch" it down as much as the pic shows....and it doesn't look so huge in the picture. BUT....when I have it own, I can wrap it over like a double breasted coat!!!!




According to the pattern and my bust size I should have knit a large. I wasn't ever able to achieve the size 14 stitch gauge, but got 15, so I went down a size and knit according to the medium rather than large.


I do like this sweater and I have enough ecowool to knit another, just wonder if the yarn had anything to do with it. Once I pulled it from the water it had "bloomed" to seemingly ginormous proportions, or maybe I'm just used to socks!!

Ahhhh.......it's fun to learn from your mistakes!!! (insert sarcasm)!! LOL!!

National Margarita Day!!

Today is NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY!!

REALLY!!

Certified by the Food Channel!!! That's good enough for me!!!

*^%$# SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you see this???

Do you SEE what it is DOING????

Here...look closer!!

Do you SEE ???

What IS IT with these freaky squirrels LICKING the mortar!!?!!

Over the past years, they have licked the very mortar away from the edges of the bricks!!!

Sadly, the cats are even tired of it....barely worthy of a second glance!!

Yeah....not so cute anymore are they??

And to THINK......I used to think squirrels were cute little critters!!!

Friday Fill Ins!!

1. Give me a Margarita and I'll drink it!

2. Whenever I see a yarn store my heart races.

3. I wish we would never lose our loved ones.

4. Homemade Banana Pudding was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.

5. To live in this world is to make some happy and to tick some off! LOL!!

6. Other than this one, Jessi's is the last blog I commented on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to a Mardi Gras Party, tomorrow my plans include, straightening the house a bit, bake a bit and Sunday, I want to KNIT!!!

Whiskers On Wednesday!!

(Latest Installment Of Which Is The Superior Cat)

I shall sit upon my throne, underneath the lamp, and stare down upon my LOWLY subjects!!!!

Ahhhh....... tis good to be the Queen!!

Anything YOU can do I can do BETTER!!

No you can't, no you can't, no you CAN'T!!!

(Note the Regal Head Pose)

CRAP!!!!!!!!!

Hee, Hee.....I will not even LOOK at you now, you are dismissed.....not even worthy of a glance!!

Monday Update

Ahhhh........Juliet is OFF the needles!!!

I have got to decide the number of buttons and make the button loops before I block....but Ohhhhh.....I am so darn tickled!!!!

Knit with Cascade Ecowool.....because that was all I had in my stash but I will most DEFINITELY be knitting this again....once I'm off this darn yarn diet!! LOL!!

Suzanne shared some good tips for knitting this particular pattern!! Thanks Girl, you saved me a great deal of time!!!! :) :)

BUT....more important, it is Heidi Approved!!! LOL!!!

We are pretty low keyed around here when it comes to "occasions".....like Valentine's Day, Anniversaries, Birthdays. Valentine's day generally consists of cards exchanged and a special dinner prepared.

In anticipation of a good meal for dinner, we had a light lunch.....ahhhh....but love was in the air even then. Look what I pulled from a bag of chips my DH and I were sharing!!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Friday Fill Ins!!

I'm trying to get back to regular blogging and always enjoy Jessi's Friday Fill In posts so much I decided to be a copy cat!!


And...here we go!

1. It seems like I'm NEVER organized.

2. CLEAN UP when you're done, please?

3. If I thought you would Uh Huh...I'd yes indeedy!!

4. Lucky is what I think of most when I think of you.

5. To me, Valentine's Day means love and chocolate and not necessarily in that order!!

6. God gives me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on Juliet.....tomorrow my plans include contemplating picking up the bits of tree limbs that blew down during a recent storm (note I said CONTEMPLATING, not actually committing).....cooking a special Valentine's dinner for my DH and Sunday, I want to H.O.P.E.F.U.L.L.Y. finish Juliet!!

Whiskers On Wednesday!!

Remember THIS picture?

Heidi has a NEW love in her life!!

Isn't that JUST like a cat??? Loves you one minute....then it's off to someone new the next!!

Miles of Malabrigo

Not REALLY miles of knitting.....but felt like it!!







75 inches pre-blocked.







Malabrigo Worsted, Stonechat, 2 X 2 rib.







Knit by request for my nephew that moved from Ft. Lauderdale to Richmond Virginia......yes.....he's cold!!!










Also knit, the One Row Scarf.

Punta Yarn
Forest Merisoft color.


This yarn is very, very similar to the Malabrigo.


These scarves will be on their way to Virginia today!!


Now I must finish gift socks then it will be time to visit Juliet again!!!

One Of My Favorite Holidays!!!

Ahhhhhh........I thought it would NEVER get here!!!

Two Things You Shouldn't Mix

Two items that perhaps are on your desk at this very moment........glue stick, lip balm.

But two items that should NEVER be placed on the SAME side of your desk, within easy reach.....while working...or otherwise distracted.

Do NOT ask me HOW I know this to be true......

Or as a Professor of mine used to say, "A Hint To The Wise Should Be Sufficient"!! LOL!!

Whiskers On Wednesday!!!

Generally speaking, Bella likes to add her expertise in the kitchen PRIOR to cooking....but apparently the fact that the cookie sheet was warm was more important than the fact that it had FLOUR on it!!

I use a LOT of dish detergent in this house while cooking!! LOL!!

This cat is SOOO cold natured!! Always looking for warmth wherever she can find it!!

Sitting underneath the lamp is another favorite place.

]

And Heidi???

She is something all together different!! LOL!!

Socks On Monday

Finished!!

Finished!!

Burning Rings of Fire

SUCH a fast, easy pattern!!

Two More Pair!!!

Juliet.....ahhhh, sweet Juliet.....I swatched for you and came up a little more than required....but you fooled me!! You are mighty small.....too small I am afraid for these big girls.

I'm going to string you on a lifeline and give you another chance....but better start packing, cause if you don't fit like you said you would......it will be off to the frog pond for you!!!!

Addendum: Reason number 9,395,832, why I love my husband: While inspecting Juliet, I decided that the yarn just wasn't working for me......and my husband....darling dear that he is....looks at me and says, "Well, if you don't like it, why don't you go get what you DO like and start again!"........be still my heart!!!!

Rings of Fire and Baby It's COLD Outside!!!

Henny Penny is helping display the first Burning Rings of Fire sock.

I really wish I could find the ballband that was with this yarn. It knits like a DREAM!!

I have cast on for the mate as well as another Ring of Fire sock in some STR for a friend of mine. I'll post when I have more of that to show.

That brings a total of 3 socks on my needles.....but the day is young, stay tuned!! LOL!!

It is C.O.L.D. !!!! Heidi has no problem with cold weather, she will paw at the door to go outside...even this morning!! She loves to sit in the cold....of course in addition to her fur coat she has a "blubber" coat so the cold has little to no effect on her. Poor Bella is cold all the time. She is light as a feather and absolutely no fat on her body for insulation. Even to the touch she feels cool......year round. She will follow the sun around the house throughout the day so I decided to help out a bit with a down filled throw for her to use. Needless to say she loves it!!! This may be her new bed!!

The high today here is 31.....I may join Bella before the day is over!!!! BRRRRRR.

Wham Tam Thank You Ma'am!!

The Last FO of 2008!!!

And the first FO of 2009!!!

So very, similar, but ever so slightly different colors.

Strangly enough, the two balls of noro used each looked quite different, yet when knit, look very much alike.

Also on my needles:

SOCKS........(shocking I know!) LOL!!

In digging through my stash I ran across this yarn. I have NO idea what yarn it is, content, etc. as the ballband wasn't with the yarn.

The pattern is the Burning Rings of Fire by Kristen Kapur.

AND.........................

Isn't this CUTE????

That's all I'm saying.....stay tuned!!!!

Whiskers On Wednesday!!!

A few comments from Heidi.


Ahhhhhh......warm sheets from the dryer....nothing could be finer!!!!!!

NO.....I will NOT stay off the wet scarf!!! Laying on the wet scarf will IMPROVE the whole blocking process.....GOT IT???????

LOOK......I can breathe JUST fine.....you gotta have an element of DANGER to make the play better!!!

DUH!!!!!!!!

It's MONDAY!!!

Which of course, means it is WASH DAY!!!

21 pairs of dirty socks to be washed!!!

Heidi just LOVES to sit by patiently while I hang the socks on the rack above the washer/dryer.....wait until I have completed the job and left the room. THEN......she loves to see how many single socks she can knock behind the W/D while leaving it's mate on the hanger!! SOOO glad I can be a source of entertainment for my cat!! My life is complete now.

I have GOT to come up with a better method to dry socks!!!

Happy New Year.........I'm Baaaack!!!

Woo Hoo.....resident Geek Hubby finally got my computer back up and running!! (always good to have a resident geek)!

I would like to say a big thank you to all the many friends that sent EM while my computer was "down and out". It makes me feel very good to know that so many of you care!!

I feel like I have arrived after the ball....I missed all the holiday blog posts!!!

In a Nutshell:



We had the annual baking of the pumpkin pies.....Princess Cupcake made all the pies......she is as tall as I am now and about all I'm good for now is to keep her company while she reads the recipe, gathers the incredients and sets about baking....well....except for the clean up part.....she graciously allows me to do that part!!! LOL!!























Bella still likes to help out in the Kitchen when she can "sneak" the time in!!





Bella loves the tiny bit of warmth given off by the Christmas Lights....so I let her enjoy her time.

It only took Heidi a few days to wrestle an ornament off the tree.....but then she was satisfied.....the tree survived despite the aftermath of needles on the floor!!

Presents were given and well loved!!

Some were easily bored and found new ways to enjoy their toys! (we threw away the bag).

New Year's Eve found Cindy and I spinning the new year in while the guys held down the fort.

Hmmm....this spinning in the new year may have to be a new tradition for us!!

GREAT evening, the food was great as well...but best of all.....the friendship just can't be beat!!

I did get a lot of knitting while my computer was down.....

7 Scarves

3 pairs of Fuzzy Feet

2 Hats

1 Tam

And a Partridge in a pear tree.......(just kidding)! LOL!!

My typical New Year's Day!!!!

Ahhhh............ready for 2009 and hoping it is a great one for everyone!!