Thanksgiving recap . . . a little late.

a little late for Thanksgiving but there were only eight of us for dinner.  My sister and her husband and youngest daughter plus Lindsey's boyfriend.  Sarah, Kyle and the girls came over later for dessert and to visit.

Real basic stuff for Thanksgiving dinner, but my hubby (32 years and counting) said it was the best turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes he has ever had.

I didn't stuff the bird, but roasted it breast side down after rinsing it off and sprinkling with poultry seasoning inside and out.  That baby fell apart.  The stuffing is how my Dad always made it:  3 loaves of bread (one each: white, wheat and rye) - cubed and tossed with poultry seasoning, a whole thing of celery chopped but not fine; one large onion pulverized so that my brother-in-law doesn't know that there is onion in the stuffing, one quart of mushrooms sliced and two sticks of butter (not oleo, not olive oil, not unsalted butter . . . just the real stuff), dumped in a huge casserole (or two) with the water from giblets poured over; then we also had corn casserole (my kids request):  corn muffin mix, 1 can each: regular corn (drained) and cream corn (not drained), butter, sour cream and bake.  And the best roasted sweet potatoes (3 slices bacon, cut up and fried crisp), toss with cubed sweet potatoes (2 pounds minimum) and 1 Tbs each of nutmeg and cinnamon and 1/4 tsp each of fresh ground pepper and sea salt.  Roast.

Since I put the turkey in the roaster, everything else goes in the oven (I have six burner stove so I have an awesomely sized oven).  I make my kids help.  We always had to help.  so my 11 year old was grossed out about pulling the giblet bag and neck out of the turkey.  I should have taken a video of his pulling the neck out.  He also had great fun tucking bits of butter under the skin of the bird and doing some of the basting.   The 18 year old was tasked with the corn casserole (her request, she gets to do it).  She also made brownies with a pretzel crust bottom.

Thanks for letting me share.  It reminded me of the fun and laughter we had on Thanksgiving.

For Christmas, we are doing appetizers at noon.  Everyone can then go off and visit with their other families and we put our feet up, pop in a movie or two and doze off.

and again, its been awhile . . .

but it isn't because I've been sitting around doing nothing . . .

I made this:

It is the Oktoberfest shawl.  It is from a facebook KAL.  O/C Knitiot Designs ~ KAL Mystery Shawlette

It used mill ends of yarn . . . I'll have to look it up.

The next one starts in January and is called "New Beginnings" and will be a beaded shawl.

the beads will be added in my most favorite way . . . instead of stringing them, you use a crochet hook.  Great fun.

I gave the Oktoberfest shawl to my sister-in-law's Mom.  She was diagnosed with cancer just as I was starting it, had surgery and is going through chemo.  Since she was on my mind so much of the time while I was working on it, I thought it would be right to give it to her.

Gosh I am barely functional

So, what do you do when you are sick?  Stay home?  Curl up in bed?   Drink plenty of fluids and spend quality time in the bathroom?  Sounds like a plan, doesn't it.

So for the last couple of weeks, my asthma has not been behaving.  I've been miserable with itchy eyes and runny nose and wheezing.  So last week, my wheezing turned into this snuffling icky feeling.

But every weekend in September, we have plans.  This past weekend was a doozy.  The company I have worked at for 40 years, celebrated a major remodeling project and the fact that we have been in this building for 25 years.  The remodeling is part of the reason that my asthma hasn't been very good.

As part of the celebration, the company had a Family Day with tours and face painting and sketches and magicians, etc., and lots and lots of food.

Bubbles the Clown did the facepainting.  She is awesome and this took about 4 minutes for her to do both.  Yes, both!

Zachariah really liked it.  But washed it off before bed because he was concerned about the colors getting all over his hair.

Most of the remodeling was the reception area and conference center.  Here are pics of the reception area:

And then on Sunday, we went to the Wayne County Fair.  I am exhausted.  We walked and walked and walked.  And I forgot my pedometer.  And we walked some more.  By the time we got home, I had a bit of a fever.  We ate dinner and I went to bed.   When I woke this a.m., I felt fine with a bit of a cough.  I now feel terrible.  The cough is back with a vengence and I am so sleepy I could cry.

I think I'm going to lock my door and take a nap.  

I lied

I HAVE finished Wingspan . . . I have to block it.  This weekend.

I want to make matching mitts . . . either fingerless or regular.  Just trying to find the right pattern that would make use of the red/black combo.

I am still working on the entrelac scarf.   It is in Knitpicks Chroma (fingering).  It is very nice and the people on the bus (where I do most of the knitting) are fascinated with its progress.  I've used one full skein and part of another skein.  I haven't decided how much further I am going with it.  I think I need to rewind from the other end of the skein to figure out how much yarn I have left.  Of course, I still have the unfinished Advent Scarf in the same yarn that I could undue.

I will make matching mitts/gloves/gauntlets.  I believe that there is a gauntlet pattern in this Entrelac book.  Here is a pic of some of the scarf.

More pics to follow.

Addictions

Summer Olympics

Pinterest  (http://pinterest.com/mlj1954/ . . . I would like to thank the people that hooked me on Pinterest)

Words with Friends

. . . well that explains why no knitting is being done . . . nuff said!

Wingspan

I am never going to finish wingspan.  It defies me to finish anything that I am keeping for myself.

Simple Woman's Daybook - August 1

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... The sun is shining, the sky is blue.

I am thinking... I should be getting some work done.

I am thankful...for my husband . . . 32 years and counting.

In the kitchen...too hot to cook.  We've been eating lots of salad but that is good since the garden is coming in gangbusters.

I am wearing...floral shirt, dusty rose short sleeve sweater, black pants and the jewelry from Sarah's wedding

I am creating...last row of Wingspan.  

I am going...to do a minimal amount of personal stuff today.

I am wondering...why the little fairies don't come into my office and clean up the mess.

I am reading...State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

I am hoping...that Zachariah is having a great time at camp

I am looking forward to...seeing Zachariah on Saturday

I am learning... that I should go to bed when I am sleepy

Around the house...going to clean the bathrooms . . . really

I am pondering...why people take advantage of me (or am just imagining that?)

A favorite quote for today...you can't fix stupid

One of my favorite things...my Nook tablet

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . meetings today (yes, I get to say "no" to another vendor), quiet time Thursday and Friday evenings while Dave scores softball, Zachariah on Saturday and nothing (Amen) on Sunday.

A peek into my day...work, meeting, work, lunch, work, bus ride home, dinner, play with Bella, watch the Olympics, news, bed.

Pic for today (I am planning on making some of these.  I have several partial balls of random yarn.  These are preemie caps.

for August, well . . .

For August, I have decided to layoff Pinterest and Facebook.  I spend way too much time on both and I need to start exercising but both of them suck up tons of my time.  So, for August, I am giving them up.  For me.  It will be interesting and a challenge, which is why it is so incredibly wrong that I spend so much time on both.

Besides exercising, I do have a couple of other projects that I should be working on.  For years and years, I have been planning on doing a family cookbook.  Now, keep in mind that I am one of seven.  I have 22 nieces/nephews ranging in age from 46 to 10.  I have 29 great nieces/nephews ranging in age from 22 to 7 months and this doesn't count the great step children, of which there are, I believe six, maybe seven.  And that only includes those who are married and not those who are in long-term loving relationships.  I cannot even imagine.   I have three children and my oldest daughter is married and has three step-daughters.

So I am doing a cookbook.  It is going to be a compilation of family recipes, family stories, family pictures.  One of my co-workers suggested that rather than printing it out, which could be very expensive, that I create it as an e-book.  Not a bad idea.  I may even consider it as an add-on.  While I still like the idea of having a printed copy the cost will be formidable.

I was going to include a family tree but, trust me when I say, our family is so messed up that it would be impossible.  For example, my two younger sisters are married to brothers.  Then to really muddy it up, each of their oldest son's married sisters (in case, you think that this is incest, which is what my 18 year old keeps coming up with, it isn't . . . Tommy (one of the boy cousins) met and fell in love with and married Michelle.  Michelle has a loverly, sister, Kari.  Tommy and Michael (the other boy cousin) have always been close and refer to each other as "my brother of another mother."  Tommy and Michelle introduced Michael to Kari.  They too fell in love and got married.   Kari and Michelle both have children from previous relationships.

Really, including a family tree would be almost impossible, and while a good thing, I am sure that I would miss someone plus my oldest sister hasn't been in touch so I am not sure about what her kids have been doing (marrying, bearing children, etc.).  Although I do communicate with her oldest daughter.  Actually, I would have to print out a couple of copies for those random people whom we don't see.

As to my knitting.  I am almost done with Wingspan.  I have finished all the "spans" and am now knitting the top (neck edge).  I am doing a row (or maybe two) in the black wool/silk and then finishing it off with the reddish alpaca.  I am planning on using all of the black and red for the neck.  Once it is blocked, I will post pics.

Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival and Seamus

I have not been knitting.  It has been too hot.  Yesterday morning, I left the house at 5:20 a.m. and it was 83 degrees.  Too too hot to knit . . . even with cotton.  We have been playing pinochle in the evenings and since we have a new kitten, we spend time with her too.  

My sisters and I (and a variety of kids and husbands) went to the Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival on Saturday, July 21.  It was hot but fun.  Lots of great music.  

I purchased an aran sweater.  It met all my criteria.  It is wool (not fun to try on when it is 90 degrees).  It is a cardigan.  It has pockets.  And yes, I could have made it.  But, I couldn't have bought the yarn for the $92.00 that it cost me to buy the sweater.  

The highlight for Zachariah was not the music or the food or the tin whistle I purchased him, nor even the private lesson on the bodhran that he and Mary (mostly Mary) received.  It was Seamus.  Seamus is two.  Seamus weighs 195 lbs.  Seamus eats only 3 cups of food a day.  Seamus is an Irish Wolfhound.  Zachariah could have saddled Seamus up and rode him home.

After we got home from the Festival.  We went in the pool.  Jacquie and I had wine.  Zachariah and Mary swam and we kept them from splashing us with the admonishment that if they got water in our wine glasses, they were going to be in serious trouble.

This weekend is Zachariah's championship swim meet and then he leaves for camp on Sunday.  I'm going to miss him.  He starts back to school on August 23.  This summer is flying by!

Simple Woman Daybook - July 17

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... it is hot.  The sun is shining and it is hot and humid.  When I left the house this morning at 5:30, it was 78 degrees.

I am thinking... it has been awhile since I posted on Daybook.  I have missed it.

I am thankful... for Dave.  He is my strength and love.

In the kitchen... not much.  It is too hot.  We are having leftovers from Saturday.  I made a sausage, pasta, vegetable dish and there is enough for leftovers.

I am wearing...black slacks (no surprise there), green/blue/black scoop necked shirt and white cotton sweater (it is, after all, cold in the office)

I am creating...wingspan . . . only ten more rows to go.

I am going... to sit in my office and read at lunch.

I am wondering... whether I could get away with taking my heels off and walking over to get a cup of coffee without them.  My feet hurt

I am reading... Hostage by Robert Crais

I am hoping... to finish Hostage during lunch

I am looking forward to...seeing my sisters this weekend at the Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival

I am learning . . . to say no

Around the house... We've added Bella, the kitten.

I am pondering... wondering why we got a kitten.

A favorite quote for today... Sing Anyway

One of my favorite things... when my hair is long enough to put into a French twist and get it off my neck.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . have a Frontline meeting tomorrow (need to do my "homework" for that, working on Wingspan (just gotta get that baby done) and working at Z's swim meet on Thursday

A peek into my day... work, walking, picking up Lindsey at work.

And here is a pic of Bella and Z . . .

Please go visit Peggy!

its just too hot . . .

to knit.

I have two projects that are just this side of getting done.  Wingspan needs about ten more rows and a neck edging.  The entrelac scarf needs more length . . .

But it is too hot to knit.  In the summer, I will sit on the back porch and knit in the evening.  It isn't too bad, even when its hot.  However, we have a new member in our family:

Bella will NOT leave my knitting alone.  She thinks that her purpose in life is to attack the yarn.  Very funny. Kind of irritating.

So if I am on the porch knitting, she is helping me. Therefore, I am not knitting.  Instead, I play with Bella.

And it is just too hot to knit in the house.  Of course, I could break out some cotton and do cloths or something but instead, I turn on the fans and read.

Just finished "Hostage" by Robert Crais.  It was very very good.  I, by the way, love my Nook Tablet.

busy things . . . lazy days

Busy things . . . lazy days.

An oxymoron, I know . . . we should have been busy all weekend.  We are having company next weekend and leaving on vacation the following weekend.  Dave spent Saturday cutting the grass (an acre of grass takes all day).  Lindsey had class downtown on Saturday, so I drove her down, went to the office, left at 10:00 to go to a memorial service, went back to the office and she called at 3:00 for me to pick her up.  I then dropped her off at a friend's house as they were going to a graduation party.  I then had to go pick her up at 7:00 p.m. because she was going out and needed to be home because she was going to another graduation party.  Not a problem.

On Sunday, Dave said that he was going to weed-wack around our fence, another all day project and wanted to know what I had plans.  Ummm, nothing.  I did reorganize some things in the yarn department, dusted the upstairs and cleaned my bathroom, but that is just a normal occurrence and doesn't count.  I also cleaned the van (not the windows . . . Dave does the windows) but wiped down all the dust, dead bugs, cleaned up the trash, etc.  He then decided that he wasn't going to weed wack the fence but was going to sit outside on the back porch and drink a beer and wanted to know if I wanted to join him.  I love our back porch.  We have three rocking chairs, shades that we put down and lots of trees for additional shade (although you can't tell from this pic).  We also have barn swallows that are nesting on top of one of the shades so we were watching the birds flit in and out of the nest and diving into the pool for water.

Now, anyone who knows my hubby, knows that he rarely just sits.  But sit we did.  Through two beers.  Then I took a nap.  Of course, while I napped, Dave vacuumed the kitchen rugs and put them away for the summer.

For the record, Lindsey can, on a regular basis, say things to me that send me from zero to bitch in 30 seconds flat.  Last week was the last couple days of school for Zachariah and Dave.  Zachariah had school through Wednesday, as did Dave, but Dave had to go in on Thursday to clean his room.  Lindsey had work (noon to five) on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the chlorine levels were whacked and they sent her home by 2:00.  She did go over a neighbors house for an hour or so every morning to calm their dogs (they are getting a new roof).

Once Dave is off from school, I leave the house in the morning to catch the 6:00 a.m. bus.  So on Thursday and Friday, I was in the office by 6:30 a.m. and left at 5:00 p.m.  This past Wednesday, my employer had our quarterly update meeting at the Browns Stadium at lunch time.  It was great fun and I was recognized especially as June 19th is my 40th anniversary of working for the Firm.  Yep 40 years.

So, getting back to Lindsey, after we got home at 7:15 or so, she had gotten dressed for the second party and came downstairs and wanted me to hook a bracelet or something.  I looked at her nails (she does have beautiful nails) but they all were only half polished, laughed and said "considering you knew what you were doing this weekend and that you've been home most of the week, I would have thought you would have fixed your nails."  She informed me that "I worked this week."  Really????  I looked at her and laughed.  To her face, laughed.  Ten hours, maybe?  Aghhh.  I then compounded the grievance and pointed out to her that I worked more than forty hours this week.  Her response was priceless:  "You should.  You are forty years older than me and I have four jobs, you only have one!"  She was indignant.  Seriously??  Pissed me off.  Really!  Zero to bitch in 30 seconds.

I did forget that yes, she does teach an hour swimming class on Sunday mornings and starting this week, she will be working at another job for about 10.5 hours each week.  And maybe, if they can get their schedules together, she will be teaching another private swimming class three mornings this week, maybe.  So, lets see, if I combine all of her hours and potential hours over the last and next week, she will have worked 40.5 hours.  In two weeks.  Really!

Oh and the coming and going and fetching and carrying for her . . . she is pushing it because, we have told her for years, that she can get her drivers' license when she has saved up a year's worth of insurance, in advance.  At the rate that she goes through money, she will be 40 before she does that AND wouldn't THAT be poetic.

a little more wingspan

A little more wingspan.  The silk is "heftier" than the alpaca.  Or the alpaca is softer.  So I used the alpaca on the first wedge, the black silk on the second wedge.  I am using a red and black wool for the third and will use a solid black wool blend on the fourth and then decide where I am going to go from there.  

As promised, the info from the ball band from the alpaca reads as follows:

Baby Alpaca Yarn w/10% Tencel

2 ply Sport weight 2 oz or 150 yards

Color:  Ameritrust II

Fiber from NE Ohio alpacas, spun locally 

and Hand painted by us.

___________________________________

Alpaca Fiber Studio

www.alpacafiberstudio.com

Robbie Grodin  216-849-8850  rgrodin@roadrunner.com

Donnie Christley  440-285-4251  mmfalpaca@aol.com

The cost per skein was $16.  Worth every penny.  I would like to fill a tub with this stuff and roll in it, but I couldn't afford it.  I wish you could feel this stuff.  Really.  It is fabulous.  I think when I am done with the wedges, I am going to add an border on the top edge in the alpaca so that what is close to my face will be this luscious stuff.

fun weekend . . . might explain the exhaustion

You know when someone calls you or send you an email that starts something like "so, whatcha doing Saturday?" and you cringe.  Its not that you don't want to spend time with them or have really outlandish plans (washing the hair comes to mind), its just that "Saturday?  Really?"  I mean who has time to do "things" on Saturdays?

Well anyway, one of my older sisters, Peg, emailed me Thursday wanting to know if I were busy on Saturday.  "no, not really."  "Good, I'll pick you up at 9:15."  The upside to this is that my swimming class (I do deep water aerobics) was cancelled for Saturday morning.

True to her word, she was at my house at 9:15 and we were on the road by 9:20.  She took me to this wonderful little shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio (about 50 minutes from my house).  It is called Alpaca Fiber Studio and is run by a wonderful woman, Robbie Grodin.  She is an artist in her own right and was setting up for a class of needle felting.

She raises alpaca.  Who wouldn't love this face:

I have fallen head over heals in love with her yarns.  I bought some truly luscious stuff and am going to make wingspan (hopefully).  It was sooooo tough to make a decision but I had limited myself to spending no more than $40 and since she doesn't take credit cards, it is relatively easy to do (especially since my hubby went to do the grocery shopping and took the check book and my sister didn't tell me about the credit card thing until it was too late).  But look at some of this stuff:

oh, and this is just a wee bit of it as she had bins of the stuff because next week is the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster, Ohio and she is going to be there selling her stuff.  I'll definitely remember my checkbook for that little venture.  

In any event, I bought two skeins of this luscious alpaca.  The band is at home and I will update the post tomorrow with the name.  In any event, the wingspan seems to be an easy pattern and is going relatively quickly.  I am using the alpaca (which is the reddish yarn) and black silk that I got at Birds of a Feather . . . another favorite place.

Just a bit more . . . or Oh Crap

I am making the City Tweed Dropped-Stitch Shawl for me.  It needs to be finished today, so that I can block it tonight, so that I can pack it on Saturday to take with me to Texas on Sunday.  Now, some people will wonder why I would feel the need to take a shawl with me to Texas in May and it is simple, when the temp in the evening, it feels really cool.  So I thought that this would be a perfect solution.  I am making it of a fingering weight so it will be light but sufficient to keep my arms warm.  The one place I know for sure I will wear it will be at an evening event that I've attended in the past.  It is outside and we will spend lots of time under the stars.  

So, you know when you are tooling along on a knitting project and you are getting close to the end and you keep feeling up the quickly disappearing ball of yarn and know, just know, you will have enough to finish . . . and you get to the end, cast off and have six inches left.  It is a great feeling.  Truly.  

Then there are the times when you are tooling along on a knitting project and you are getting close to the end and you keep feeling up the quickly disappearing ball of yarn and know, just know, you will have enough to finish . . . and you all of a sudden realize that not only are you running out of yarn but you have six more inches of knitting to do.  It is truly a sick feeling.  

So last night I sat with my knitted project and thought "I'll just bind off and be done with it.  It is for me anyway."  And then I realized that I had inches left to knit, probably about twenty rows.  Granted, those our decreaseing rows but it also includes at least four more dropped stitch rows.  

You can see from the pic below from where I cast on (on the left - circled in red) and the matching, oh wait, missing piece on the right (circled in yellow), with the wee bit of yarn that is left.  

Just so that we are clear, this is what I had left on the skein.

But, there is an upside.  I have another full skein of the yarn.  I was going to make fingerless mitts with the other skein but I will have to wait and see exactly how much of it I use up.

Me time. Is that allowed?

Wow, it has been awhile.  I am so busy.  I thought last year was busy but this year is has been busier.  However, and I know this sounds strange, we have been taking time to just do nothing.  Does that make sense?  I think part of the reason that I am busier is that I am carving out "me time."

So, you might ask, "how does that work?" and "how do I get me some of that?"  It is, in many respects, relatively easy.  Because I cannot justify just sitting around or, frankly, doing only one thing at a time, my first stop (as it has been for years and years) is the local library.  We are very lucky in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.  We have one of the best ranked libraries in the country.    Really!!!  For our population, our library is ranked number 1 in 2010 (I don't think the rankings have been published for 2011).  For a point of reference, Cleveland is the county seat for Cuyahoga County.  Yes, Cleveland.  Yes, in Ohio.  Cuyahoga County Public Library is a jewel.  We go there at least once a week.  Currently, the schedule is to go to the library after swimming on Saturday mornings.  Zachariah prowls and usually goes on the computer.  Me, I sit.  I listen to a book on a playaway (book on a little MP3 player thingee . . . it is something you can check out from the library and they are getting more and more books on these things).  Anyway, I sit.  I listen to a book.  I knit.  There is a very nice sitting area in our local library branch, with a fountain and comfy chairs.  We usually spend about 60 to 90 minutes there.

Boom.  60 to 90 minutes of me time.  Just like that!

I take the bus.  Again, on the bus, I listen to playaways and knit.  I think my fellow bus riders enjoy watching my latest projects grow.  I take the park and ride bus.  The park and ride is about ten minutes from my house.  The bus ride in the morning takes about 30 minutes and then I have a seven minute walk to my office.  Going home, I leave work at 5:15 and am usually in my car headed home by 6:10.

Boom.  Approximately two hours of me time.  Oh, yeah!

During the winter, I often spend my lunch hour listening to books (either on CD or a playaway) and knit.  Now that the weather is getting nicer, I will be walking at lunch but, again, I can still listen to a book while I walk.

Boom.  60 minutes of me time.

Now, you may think that I probably had this time before, but while I did, I didn't take advantage of it.  We would zip into the library, grab some books or movies, race out, stop at the store, do more running around etc.

On the bus, I would be checking my blackberry, sending emails, listening to stupid messages, etc., and basically working my way to, well, work.

And at lunch, I often would sit in my office and, again, work.

The funny thing is that I have discovered that I am much more relaxed and don't have a problem grabbing time to just sit and knit and read and taking time to just relax.   The only and I mean the only issue that I have is that when I am not taking time to relax, I am so very very busy.  LOL.

and other knitting

I also forgot about this hat.  I had sent it along to Lindsey without getting pics on a head . . .

This is again, the three tams pattern from Knitty.com.

 

 I made it for Lindsey and sent it to her for 18th birthday and told her to be sure and send me some pics.  Ta da . . . 

She even took pics off the head.  Again, I've got to tell you, this is an easy pattern and using solid and variegated gives you lots of color changes and variety and you only have to do a bit of changing yarn.  You just carry the yarn behind as you follow the pattern.

 

Of course, being that she is 18 and has informed us that since she is now an adult and can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, she will probably go back to school and shred the hat . . . or her favorite thing is that she will give it away.  Sigh.

April 15 2012 Swap - from Nate

So, I was very surprised to get a box . . . I looked at the label and it said Nathan Lamirand.  Isn't it funny that when you are so used to think of someone using their nickname that when they use their full name, it causes you (or at least me) to go "who?"

Then it clicked in and I was very excited.  I opened the box and it was bright . . . really, really bright.  This is a perfect bag to carry my knitting or for shopping or taking on vacation with the summer reading that was also included.

Nate also included books by some of my most favorite authors.  Kathy Reichs, James Patterson, Robert Ludlum.  I have to admit that I have already read two of the books BUT the cool thing is that I can share them with my swappee . . . since I haven't finished to put the package together yet . . . I not only have the box to send the stuff in but I have some books to include . . . and they are awesome reads.  Really, really good.

Nate also included two skeins of yarn.  The yarn is very soft.  I like to make hats for our Christmas hat/mitten/scarf tree and these yarns are perfect for that project.  The yarns are soft and the colors are lovely.  

And here is the box unpacked . . . six books, two skeins of yarn and the incredible bag.  I really love the colors in the bag.  

Thanks so much, Nate.  It is a great box.

Oh, look, I've been knitting . . .

I know that it has been awhile but for those of you who think that I've just been sitting around eating bon-bons and watching tv . . . I haven't. 

I cleaned, organized and discarded mucho stuff, including tons of yarn that for whatever reason I had purchased and ended up not liking or couldn't stand working with (i.e., eyelash yarn).  I frogged things that I had started but didn't have a pattern for.  I sorted by yarn type and put things away.  I told the yarn to behave itself and not to get tangled together.  AND, I put a framed note on the cabinets to remind my children that the area is not a dumping ground for their junk . . . the note did not go over well, but I didn't think it would and, frankly don't care.

I also have a friend that gave me yarn when her mom passed away.  It was bright acrylics and I sent it to my son's school for a service project that the students were doing for a local senior center.  They were covering hangers and needed acrylics . . . the brighter the better.

My younger daughter informed me that she wanted a tam.  With a flower on it.  I did make a flower but attached a pin to the back so that she could remove it.  This first and second pic are from that tam.  The pattern came from knitty.com.   It is called three tams.  This was Tam B.

I had so much fun with it, that I made another one for my older daughter.  I liked everything about this pattern.  The corrugated rib (seen in the pic just above), is easy but adds a fun element.  Using a variegated yarn makes the whole thing fun.  The one above had long repeats while the one below did not.  There was a definite difference in how they looked but since I have knitter's adhd, the changing patterns kept me interested.  



then I had some Knitpicks Chromo and started making fetchings.  That pattern too came from Knitty.com.  I've made these in the past with a heavier yarn.  I actually like them better in this lighter yarn.  It would perfect when you are working on your computer (or knitting) and your hands are getting cold.

 And finally, I am using Chromo and making an entrelac scarf.  I LOVE entrelac.  It takes FOREVER but it is fun to do and with this yarn and the changes, just really great fun.

Knitted Jewelry

What I have been doing at lunch.  It is a very slow go.  It is basically thread and beads and size 0 needles.

You string on lots and lots of beads.  The bigger round ones are magnetic.  The stuff to the left is what I have knitted.  The stuff to the right is the string with beads.  And see those wee tiny needles.  My thumbs are sore.