Memorial Day Weekend

What a wonderful weekend. Our weather has been "iffy" for a week, including the fact that Tuesday evening we had a frost and some of our plants were damaged. But Saturday, the weather started getting sunnier and warmer and by Monday it was 90 degrees.

Saturday, Dave, Z-man, Lindsey and I went to JoAnn's. Much of the stuff was on sale and I had a coupon for 10% off of everything (sale priced items too!). We bought a tree for the family room . . . one that I cannot kill. I picked up some more yarn for the hat for Dave's student who is losing her hair. Lindsey picked up two pairs of flip flops and some funky yarn to decorate them with a friend . . . they had a great time.

Since I can only get Dave into Joann's about once a year, I also wanted to get his input into new fabric for the dining room chairs. The Z-man is getting to the point where I want to get him out of his booster seat but the fabric on his chair is totally worn and disgusting plus all the chairs need to be firmed up a bit better.

The fabric was on sale for 60% off plus the additional 10%. We found a nice floral print that will look great. Funny thing is that when we got home, we discovered that it was almost the same pattern as the chair in our family room but the background was a little darker.

Saturday night, I stayed up until about 3:00 a.m. doing a really bad job on my homework. Shouldn't have done that. It was probably a total waste of time.

On Sunday, Dave, Z-man and I worked in the garden. It was hot and sunny so we took many, many breaks. When Sarah got home from work she joined us. We finished up around 6:00 p.m. and jumped clothes and all into the pool. It was heavenly. My butt and the backs of my legs hurt.

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Sunday night as I watched the news, I had time to reflect about Memorial Day. My youngest sister has two sons in the service. One is in the Marines and is currently in Iraq. The other son is in the Navy and he is currently based out of Florida but cruising someplace. I pray that they both return home safely. I also pray for all those friends and families who have lost loved ones in any conflict on both sides. For everyone who dies, there is a mother and father and others who mourn their loss.

I remembered a Palistinian mother who was very upset when someone called her young son who was a suicidal bomber a "martyr for the cause." She was furious. She said that he wasn't a martyr but a tool used by madmen. Her pain was palatable.

I also remembered the mother and young wife from Brookpark, Ohio, who talked about the sacrifice of their son/husband. Their pain was also palatable.

I have my Dad's picture that was sketched when the USO went through the hospital in the Phillipines during World War II. My Dad was in the hospital for a year and he sent this drawing home to his mother. She framed and hung it in her dining room. I am sure that for her at the time her pain was palatable. He was so sick and she wasn't sure that she would ever see him again.

Memorial Day is a day to honor those who serve and those who have sacrificed. But in many ways it doesn't pay tribute to the mothers who bore and raised these children. Those who made sure that they went to school and learned how to ride a bike, who stood proud when they joined the military even when their heart was breaking. It doesn't pay tribute to the young wife or husband who stays at home and prays that they will return or must receive the folded flag when they don't. They deserve a tribute too.

Honor the troops. Pray for peace.

Organization, organized and distracted

I have just got to get organized. I did buy an organizing binder at Joann's last evening. It is a cloth "binder" that has a number of pockets and such. The whole thing zips closed. I believe all my needles will feet, except the Denise set. But I am also lusting after that bamboo interchangeable needles.

I also want to get a journal or small book thing to record WIP, potential projects, yarns, etc. I did get an excel spreadsheet from somebody on knitty.com but have yet to do anything with it.

I have patterns that I need to work on to. I have the patterns pretty well organized. They are in binders. Usually, I make a working copy of any pattern I am want to do. If the pattern came out of a book, I make a note of what book it came out of. If it is a pamphlet or leaflet or freebie, I put it in a clear sleeve with a working copy. In my ideal world, I would put the patterns with the yarn or at least sort the yarn and put a note in it as to what pattern I am going to use and have a note with the yarn listing the yarn that I have that will work with that pattern.

Now, all I have to do, is organize everything. I have needles here there and everywhere. I also have my yarn stash everywhere. I have some at work, some at home . . . in closets, in bags, in totes. I do believe that part of the reason I don't want to organize all the yarn is that I probably have substantially more than I think I do and by keeping it all separate, I won't be appalled. Plus, my neighbor, Wendy, just gave me two cones of some stuff. She said that the person that gave it to her, said that the one cone is wool and can be used for felting. She isn't sure what the other stuff is.

Lucy bag for Wendy

I am making a Lucy bag for a good friend. It is in black and orange (her sons' school colors) . . . she is the ultimate boosters Mom and is very excited about having a hand-made bag in those colors.

I used a whole skein of Cascade in the black and added five rows of orange, then three rows of black. I have to do three rows of orange and the last five rows of black before the handles are done. It is really looking awesome but has just gotten to the point where it is not really portable any more, especially when I have two balls of yarn too. Then, my favorite, the felting. I know that this will be awesome and will post pictures of the before felting and after felting. I just love how the whole thing melds into a wonderfully strong product.

I have to admit that I did not do a whole heck of a lot of knitting this weekend. I'm still feeling punky. My doc called last week to let me know that I have campylobacter which is an infection in my intestines which can cause almost constant diarehha (sp?) which is just a lovely thing and you get really sleepy and fatigued. Therefore, I've been spending lots of time sleeping and not doing too much knitting. Fortunately, it is passing (without resorting to medication).

oh, I went secret pal shopping yesterday!!!!

Yep, on the way to class last evening, I took a little detour to my most favorite local yarn shop, Birds of a Feather, in Avon Lake, Ohio!!! I found some totally awesome lace . . . Cherry Tree Hill's Suri Lace (Alpaca) in Peacock! While I've never done lace and am not sure that I would want to do lace, this stuff is awesome. I am so excited that I decided to get it packed up and ready to go by the first mailing date! Very very cool . . . didn't take any pictures because my camera is not behaving! I also bought a Cherry Tree Hill lace pattern. It is called the Cockle Shell Scarf to go with the Suri Lace.



I also bought some Wildfoote luxury Sock Yarn in "Rock 'N Roll" . . . incredibly appropriate since I am in the Rock 'N Roll city!! This is for my Secret Pal 8. The colors are blues, greens, oranges, reds, yellow and gold. It too will be ready to go.



I also purchased some wool to make the bowls (I think) that are in the One Skein book. I have to think about the size, etc. but I am really impressed with the way they look and others that I have seen made up. The wools I purchased are in green, taupe and beige, so there is lots of flexibility in working them up.

This is soooooo much fun and I hope my recipients enjoy their gifts as much as I enjoyed getting them.

And, by the way, this is a picture of my kiddos (they are 20, 12 and 5):

Toe Up Socks

I fought the socks and the socks won! Or so they thought . . .

When I started this whole relationship thing with knitting, after sooooo many years away, I thought I would just knit a couple of bags and be done with it. Then I decided to make a pair of socks. It got to the point that socks and I hated each other. I tried DPNs, Magic Loop, heavier weight yarn (because what difference would it make no one was ever going to see one anyway). Nothing worked. Nothing, nothing, nothing (see previous post for additional venting).

Then I read a cool little article on Knitty.com(http://www.knitty.com) (which, by the way, is a wonderful place). It talked about toe up socks. Well, slap me silly and call me stupid. I did it! I actually managed to get passed the toe and it is a beautiful thing. I took pictures . . . pretty lame since the only thing you can see really is the four needles and an itsy bitsy bit of knitted yarn, but someday I will post them because I managed to do DPNs and get further along than I ever had before.

Well, I have to go. I have a paper due tomorrow on Human Resource Management and the only thing I have done on it so far is, oh, the cover page. Gee, only ten more pages to go.

Peace and love!

the garden is getting ready

I love Spring. I love the smells of Spring. I love the fact that everything gets really, really green. I love getting the garden ready and I love planting seedlings and seeds.

This past Sunday, we (DH, DS (the Z-man) and DD (the princess or Cinderella, depending on her mood) . . . DD against her better judgment) spent about 90 minutes or so getting the vegetables beds ready for planting. It had been raining since last Thursday and was still sort of drippy Sunday morning. But the damp ground made pulling weeds and overgrown grass mucho easy.

We have seven raised beds for vegetables. DS and I cleaned out, prepped and planted peas in the smallest bed the second Saturday in April. The peas are coming up nicely and the rain this past week will do wonderful things for them.

In the Fall, we generally just let the plants die a natural death and over the winter toss many things on top of the beds. These things include pineapple tops, rotted celery (you know the stuff you find at the bottom of the vegetable drawer that is oozy and icky) and any flowers that had been purchased, vased and died. In the Spring, much of the stuff has been converted to a sort of mulchy mush that gets worked back into the soil.

Next weekend, we will be getting the plants and do the planting.

Besides the bed with the peas, the other six beds will be planted with tomatoes (many varieties included grape), zucchini, cucumbers, peppers (again, many varieties . . . sweet and hot), marigolds. The bed that currently has peas will get more pepper plants and beans (lima and green).

Z-man will also plant his sunflowers. He puts some in pots and some along the fence. Last year, he was on his swing set one early morning while my DH watered the garden and stood and watched as a deer ate his potted sunflowers down to the dirt. He was totally fascinated and my DH thoroughly enjoyed watching Z-man watch the deer!

Spring. I love Spring.

Socks . . . I will conquer you!

Think about this. How hard could it be to make a sock? Seriously? I have all the technical skills to do this. I have used DPNs and Magic Loop on other things (I love Magic Loop by the way . . . what a really neat way to adapt something to what you need to be doing . . . ah, but I digress).

Currently I have enough sock yarn to make enough pairs of matching socks for our entire street much less just my family. I cast on. I frog. I cast on AGAIN. Frog AGAIN. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. HOW HARD COULD this be???

Okay, maybe we'll try a toe up pattern, yes, indeedie, that will be the key to the problem! HAH. Knit, YO, Slip stitch, wrap, Purl, YO, slip stitch, wrap. But why does it look SOOOOOOOOO wrong. Frog, frog, frog.

Poop it . . . I'll just work on Wendy's Lucy bag. I KNOW how to do that . . . and that even starts off like a friggin SOCK on 4 dpns and 16 stitches!

Stupid socks.

Secret Pal 8 Questions/Answers

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I usually knit with wool. I just bought some silk that I want to make a shawl with. I have acrylics around but generally for the kids to use when they want to "knit too."

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Right now all my DPN are in a rigid water bottle that has a screw on cap. It actually works rather well. My straights are bound together and in vase and my circs are hooked together too and in a baggy. I also have Denise's needles which I use a lot.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I learned how to knit when I was eight. Knit for several years at that time. Quit for many more years and started knitting again about four years ago. It has become a passion. I consider myself intermediate but could probably work my way through an advanced project and wouldn't back down if it was something I really wanted to do.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I'm allergic to most scents

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Yes, I have a sweet tooth, boy do I have a sweet tooth. I love Heath bars and Bit-O-Honey.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I don't spin. I do crochet. I also scrapbook and do stamping.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like classic and softrock. My stereo can play MP3s.

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 greens and aquas. Although, right now I am doing a couple of projects using black and red.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married (for 26 years). I have three children, two girls (20 and 12) and a boy (5). We have a cat but she is outside year round because of allergies and she hates being inside, so it works for all.

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

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Right now my passion is felted items.

13. What are you knitting right now? I am knitting a Noni large baguette bag for me and a Lucy bag for a neighbor.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I prefer circular needles. I have winged projects that are supposed to be on DPN onto circs. I prefer bamboo but use Denise alot but if I have a bamboo in the same size that isn't on a WIP, I will use the bamboo.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No. I hand wind my yarn.

17. How did you learn to knit? My grandma. Then my Mom gave me Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears several years ago and I re-embraced that hobby.

18. How old is your oldest UFO? about 8 years.

19. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

20. Is there anything that you collect? Waterglobes . . . I have only about ten but it is the only thing that could be considered a "collection." Oh, and I guess, Christmas ornaments, we have about 1,000.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I don't have any knitting subscriptions although I do belong to the Knitting Guild of America. I would like Vintage Knitted Socks. I got it from the library and would like to get it.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Entrelac just escapes me. and socks, I am currently working on learning how to do a sock from the toe up.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Am not, would like to be. 9-1/2" long; 10-1/2" around

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) October 9

a present to myself

I looked and looked at my current order with knitpicks trying to decide whether or not I really needed any of this stuff. The answer, of course, was no. But what the heck, I pressed the submit button anyway.

Then the very next day, I get an email from them, asking that I call regarding my order. Oh, no, I thought, I God doesn't want me to have all that stuff either . . . oh, woe. But no, it was just that I had put the wrong date on my credit card expiration. I think my order should be here in a day or two.

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I didn't get a lot of knitting done this weekend as I am not feeling very well. Actually, I'm feeling awful. Besides my gut gushing and doing unspeakable things, everything hurts. I ache everywhere. Even my skin hurts. This too shall pass.

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This past Saturday was my college graduation. Didn't make it. No one in my family, except my 12 year old wanted to go and I couldn't imagine leaving her in the crush of people so I didn't go. I should have planned on going anyway by myself. However, as it turned out, I was too ill to go and would have either been miserable or embarrassing.

I did refelt Lucy

After seeing my sister's Lucy bag, I decided to definitely refelt my Lucy bag. It is much tighter and you cannot see any stitch definition, except on the long handle's underside. The other advantage to refelting the bag is that the handles do not stretch as much when I am using it.

My neighbor so liked my Lucy bag, that I am knitting her one. She bought the yarn (Cascade 220 in black and orange . . . her sons' school colors). We went shopping on Saturday at Birds of a Feather in Avon, OH (well worth the trip if you are ever in the area). She wants to get "into" quilting and had been shopping at Joann's. I suggested Birds of a Feather. They offer wonderful lessons and have incredible fabrics AND there is always somebody there who knows what they are talking about and can answer your questions. In fact, when my neighbor asked for some kind of notion, the woman working at the store said that they didn't have it because they didn't sell enough and it is easily available at WalMart or Joann's.

Anyway, I am about 1/3 of the way done with her Lucy bag. Once you get past the base (on 5DPN), it goes very fast because it is straight knitting.

I don't need any more books or patterns, maybe

Last week, I had decided that I probably have enough books, pamphlets and patterns to last me for a lifetime and need to cutback. HAH.

First of all, I decided that I needed a good reference book. I have Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears. I also have Knitting and Crocheting for Dummies. Nevertheless, I asked my friends at Knitty.com's coffeeshop what reference books they would recommend. There were a variety of answers BUT the general consensus was the Big Book of Knitting by Katherina Buss and The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie Wiseman. Both of which I purchased from Amazon.com.

But while I was strolling through the Knitty Coffeeshop, I learned of a secret pal swap thing being sponsored by One Skein : 30 Quick Projects to Knit and Crochet by Leigh Radford. What a deal! What an idea! What a Plan!!! I want in. Hence, I also purchased the One Skein book and joined the swap. Life is good.

And what the heck, books are wonderful things.

a friend in need

Well, she wasn't really in need . . . it is just that my friend Wendy had never been to Birds of a Feather in Avon, Ohio (http://www.ebirdsofafeather.com/). Well, we were cropping on Friday night and she mentioned that she wanted to start quilting and had been to Joann's but really needed some more help. I obviously mentioned Birds of a Feather.

So, on Saturday, she, my girls and I went to Birds of a Feather. We were home, oh, a little more than four hours later. The fabrics are fabulous. The yarns are incredible. We sat upstairs and discussed various projects and the qualities of different kinds of yarns. It was a wonderful thing and a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon . . . and substantially better than dusting and vacuuming.

My oldest daughter bought some very nice Cascade 220 to crochet an afghan. Wendy bought some Cascade for a shawl. She, too, crochets. I bought some yarn to make a Lucy bag for Wendy. My youngest daughter bought a kit and extra fabric to make a small quilted wall hanging.

They also had a wonderful, wonderful bag made out of eight fat quarters. Of course, they didn't have the pattern available but will be calling me. I am planning on how it can become the PERFECT knitting tote!

Refelting Lucy

I am going to refelt my Lucy bag. She is only a week old but her handles are already saggy . . . poor old baggy. LOL!

Right now I have three WIP. A pair of socks, well actually only one sock and the speed with which I am not completing it, I will never have one done much less two. I knit, I frog, I knit, I frog. I put it away . . . only to have it call my name in the middle of the knit.

I also have one of the Sassy, Skinny, Tube Bags on-point. I am making the biggest one. Here is the picture

http://newyorkknits.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=752

I am not doing it in pink and green. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am NOT a pink and green person. I am doing it in WoTA in coal and hollyberry with a gray and beige accent. I also have a pattern for at tote thing with a squared bottom that I am doing in the same colors. I am planning on putting a hard bottom in the base of the tote thing so I can use it for school.

I love felting stuff. I thoroughly enjoy making monster things that it is okay to shrink down. I love the feel of the wool.

falling in and out of love

falling in and out of love . . .
with knitting that is . . .
I've always done it. I'll become totally passionate about it and then need to get something done quickly (hat, scarf, afghan) and switch to crocheting . . . or be totally disenfranchised by having to frog a project and will spend a weekend working on scrapbooks or stamping.

But, just like any good love affair, I come back. I've discovered that I love quality yarns. Quality does not mean that it has to be over-the-top expensive. Wool is wonderful and you can get good quality wool without having to go into massive debt. The wool blends are great.

I do have a Kafee Fasset sweater that I was knitting when my Mom got sick and I've never finished it. It is bunches of different textures and fibers. Really, really beautiful. My Mom bought the initial yarns and his book for me. It is knit from the back over the shoulders . . . increasing to add the sleeves and decreasing down the front. Someday.

Here is my Lucy bag. I'm thinking about felting it again so that it is a little tighter.

I just finished and felted this on 4/20/06. It was very easy to do and worked up wonderfully using Cascade.

Here are both of my felted bags. The brown one was the first one that I have ever done. It was an interesting process and actually very fun!

My younger sister got me hooked on felting stuff. It is just way too much fun to make these monster sized things and then going against the grain the washing them in very hot water.

What fun!

I'm tired

I didn't knit, crochet or sew yesterday. I have a felted bag that I had been using and then decided it needed to be lined (with pockets) and I need to redo the grommets. Maybe tomorrow.

My sisters and I leave for our girls weekend tomorrow afternoon. We are all bringing a variety of projects. My sister-in-law doesn't knit or crochet but she does incredible needle work. Her eldest daughter does knit. She had just started her freshman year at NYU in mid August 2001. She lived in the building that was closest to the barriers and was, therefore, not evacuated but there were times when they (she and her fellow classmates) were not allowed to leave the building. They did wonderful things like make cookies, cakes and breads for the National Guards that were assigned to the barrier at their doorstep. Many of them tried to volunteer but were basically told that they weren't needed . . . no skills . . . only desire. I recommended that she get some yarn and needles and learn how to knit. Turned out that one of her classmates/roommates knew how to knit and taught a whole bunch of them (including many of the guys that lived in the building) how to knit.

Anyway, she is one of us and even though she is now in law school, she still travels with her knitting wherever she goes. Hopefully, I will have pictures to post after our weekend away.

I got yarn from KnitPicks

Too excited . . . oh, where or where to begin . . .

Three patterns . . . Simple Stripes Fair Isle Socks, although I do have to find the instructions and explanation that someone at knitty.com made for this pattern.

I also got the Rick Rack purse pattern. I am going to do the larger bag. The finished size is supposed to end up 7 inches high but I am going to do it a little higher. I am doing this in Wool of the Andes Hollyberry and Coal.

I also got the 2-Needle Fingerless Gloves

I purchased some sock garden yarn . . in Star Gazer Lily and Zinnia . . . I have to figure out what my ideas where for the yarn . . . I knew when I ordered it. I did get the Crayons Simple Stripes for the Fair Isle Socks.

I also purchased the three wooden cable needles. My Mom had something like these and they disappeared somewhere (I think one of the grandkiddies thought they were toys or something).

We have our girls weekend this weekend and I needed some just plain straight knitting to do so I think the Rick Rack purse wins.

oh, happy day1

My younger sister was the only girl who managed to graduate from high school without taking any home ec classes. Of course, this was 1974 and a very different time. All girls HAD to take Home Ec and all boys had to take Shop. Now, I think it is optional and interchangeable.

In any event, she managed to do this. I think they discovered a month before graduation that she had not taken any Home Ec classes. Of course, she was not interested in sewing or cooking and was, actually, quite proud of the fact that she managed to do this.

Fast forward 25 years later and imagine my surprise when she starts crocheting. Not only crocheting small things but things like afghans. It also wasn't a one shot deal. She made baby afghans and full-size afghans . . . including one for me for Christmas. I was shocked.

Then she started knitting! The nerve! She has now completed several incredible projects and was the person that introduced me to felting! My non-domesticated, non-crafty sister introduced ME to felting. I love the stuff. I have completed one bag (which I am in the process of lining), just completed another which is waiting to be felted and have ordered a pattern and yarn from KnitPicks for yet another https://www.knitpicks.com/books/itemid_50460/books_display.aspx, along with a pair of slippers (http://www.knitpicks.com/Projects/Projects_Display_Yarn.aspx?itemid=50433220&yarnid=5420143). Very cool stuff.

Is "No." a complete sentence

Do you ever find it frustrating when you have said "no" to someone and they just continue on as if you said "Yes."

A friend who thinks I over-volunteer once told me that "No." is a complete sentence. He said that if you say "No, . . ." they have you. Don't pause, don't add a comma, don't add and addendum (i.e., "but if you need . . . "). If you do, they will have you.

It makes me crazed. I don't care if it is a salesman, my hubby (although to be honest, he generally doesn't do this), my kids or friends.

I recently had a discussion with a friend. We work together as volunteers. We were discussing different areas and issues that needed to be addressed and she asked my opinion of something, telling me that she would understand if I said "no." I said "no." I explained why I said "no." She acted like I had instead said "sure, I think it would be a wonderful idea . . . even though it would involve hundreds of hours of work that I don't have."

My kids and I have a concrete rule that deals with "no." If they ask me something and I am in the bathroom, the answer will ALWAYS be "no." If you want to have some real fun, let a 10 year old try and figure out how to get the question they are answering be right so that they answer they want will be "no."

"No." is a complete sentence, I think. The problem is that some people just don't hear it.