Knitting Guild Afghan Square

So, this pic isn't the best. However, what it does show is that I can do a combination of different patterns and really enjoy it. I had gotten about half way through this and thought I had made a mistake on row 8 . . . went back and reviewed and reviewed the pattern and then read it all the way through to discover that I hadn't. For whatever reason (and it may be that it is designed to be part of an afghan), the first row after the border is knit across. You do the same thing on the last row before the top border.

The only thing that I would have done differently would have been to split the last pattern between the top and the bottom. In order to get a 12" square, there is three full repeats of the center diamond and then you only do 13 rows of the next repeat. I would either split the repeat to have the "top" and/or "bottom" points of the diamond at the top and bottom OR not do the diamond at all but leave the six/seven rows at the top and bottom without any diamond pattern.

The yarn was Plymouth Encore worsted.

Friday Fill in - July 31, 2009

Love one another and you will be happy.

It’s as simple and as difficult as that.
Michael Leunig




1. It's time for really hot weather . . . we need really hot weather . . . it has been seasonally cooler and damp this summer.
2. Bed; it's not a bad place for sleep and other fun stuff.
3. I must be Friday since I am doing Friday fill in.
4. Knitting is the best thing I have ever known to keep my hands busy and my eating controlled
5. My husband is simply a great guy.
6. The last time I laughed really loudly was last night . . . Lindsey was out with her friend, Dave and I had sat outside for a long time and then came in after dark. Lindsey came home and we were still sitting in the dark and scared her! What fun.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending one on one time with Zachariah, tomorrow my plans include having friends over and 4:30 mass with the Youth Liturgy group and Sunday, I want to do minimal stuff but we will be having friends who will spend the night Saturday so I will make breakfast on Sunday, clean Sarah's room, marinate chicken for dinner, welcome Lindsey home and having Janet over for dinner and she too will be spending the night!

Toes and squares

“Fitness―if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body.”
―Cher

So, I went to the podiatrist yesterday. My achilles tendon is much better. Thank goodness. But, I stubbed the big toe on my left foot on Monday morning, cracking the toe nail down the inside and, when he looked at the x-rays, he thinks I chipped the bone on the inside edge. What hurts is the outside edge. Crazy, huh!

Before he took the x-ray, he did this thing with a tuning fork, going all the joints of my toes. No problem, no problem, no problem, no problem . . . holy crap! A tuning fork. I kid you not. I felt it in my teeth. He laughed. Besides digging out the broken nail, he really couldn't and can't do anything for the chipped bone. Eventually, we will do something.

But, this is the kicker. He wants me to lay off riding my bike for two weeks. For one thing, he really thinks that is what caused the achilles problem and secondly, the biking puts too much pressure on the toe joints. Sigh. I can still walk but I really like riding my bike and my other doctor wants me to increase my exercise to an hour a day. It never ends.

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On the knitting front, I did finish the square for the Grindstone Guild's afghan and if blogger ever allows me to, I will post a pic.

I have also finished more cloths. I am enjoying them. Again, someday, I will have pics to show.

Completely pointless

“Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.”
―Bill Watterson

While this past weekend was jam packed with events, it was in many respects completely pointless.

I had taken off from work on Friday. In the morning, we went to Oberlin to visit the Allen Memorial Art Museum. After we left there, we drove to Lodi to get Dave dress pants for school (start with the hubby getting ready for school). On Friday evening, we went to a picnic at his principal's home in Solon. Basically, we put about 180 miles in on Friday.

On Saturday, Zachariah's baseball team was supposed to have their last game (because of rain-outs, they are still playing this week). Since Dave is the coach, we scheduled a picnic at our house for right after the game.

Sunday, we (Sarah, Kyle (and the girls), Lindsey, Andrew (her first beau), Zachariah and I went to the Cuyahoga County Irish Festival. We had a blast. Afterwards (we got home around 5:00), the kids all went swimming and then we had hotdogs for dinner.

It was, basically, a very busy and pointless weekend . . . but great fun.

Simple Woman - July 21, 2009

"A life without love is like a year without summer."
—Swedish Proverb

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window... the sun is shining and the weather is FINE!

I am thinking... I wish I were home instead of at work

I am thankful for... the fact that I have a job to go to

From the kitchen... still dieting so nothing much fun going on in the kitchen. I did make cream puffs for my niece's graduation party!

I am creating... Cloths of the Week and really enjoying it. I also have a 12" square I need to do for the Grindstone Knitting Guild. And, we are doing a KAL from the Whoduknit group.

I am going... to do nothing this evening. I have an inflamed achilles tendon and the doctor doesn't want me doing much of anything this week.

I am wearing... black slacks, pink t-shirt and black and white jacket

I am reading... Murder Most Crafty

I am hoping... to finish the 12" square by tomorrow evening, although that would require my focusing on it and frogging it (AGAIN).

I am hearing... people arriving. Work starts in 35 minutes and everyone is beginning to get here. The chatting begins.

Around the house... the kitchen/dining room floor NEEDS to be washed. Hah! Three of them are home all summer and guess who is going to do the floor this Friday when she is taking a day off of work . . . if you guessed me, you would be right!

One of my favorite things... clean windows. Forgetting the previous comment, Dave loves washing windows and usually does them all the first week after school gets out. He also washes the sliding door off the dining room every week. I shouldn't complain.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... not much . . . I am taking Friday off and we are going to a picnic at Dave's principals home that evening. I like most of the teachers and their spouses. I cannot stand the principal but for Dave, I slap a smile on my face and talk her up . . . plus, she just announced that SHE will be teaching the 4th and 5th grade math this year . . . Zachariah will be in 4th grade. Bah humbug. On Saturday, it is Zachariah's last baseball game and, since Dave is the coach, we will be hosting the end-of-season picnic/swim party at our house. Sunday, we will be going to the Irish Festival.

All dressed up nowhere to go

All dressed up nowhere to go
Originally uploaded by mlj1954ohio

The fashion princess . . . Lindsey loves wearing sundresses . . . somethings never change. When she was little, she lived in sundresses, even in winter. She would just layer them. Often she would have a sundress over a turtleneck shirt and sweatpants. If you close at this picture, she has a shirt on underneath this dress too!

Friday Fill In - July 17, 2009

1. Grilled Cheese and tomato soup make a quick and easy dinner.

2. Wizard's First Rule is the book I'm reading right now.

3. July brings back memories of family picnics and get togethers.

4. That it was going to rain today was obvious when I woke with a sinus headache!

5. They say if you tell your dreams they won't come true.

6. Take time to think important decisions over.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to our Church's picnic (we rent the local rec center once a month, people bring picnics and the kids can swim, play on the playground, etc.), tomorrow my plans include a friend's father's funeral in the morning, a wedding in the afternoon and a graduation party for my niece later in the day and Sunday, I want to do nothing, but we will be meeting Sarah for lunch and playing either outdoor games or inside games, depending on the weather!

Another cloth of the week pattern done

This one is one of the 2nd anniversary cloths called Summer Fields. The color in Peaches and Creme is in Apple Green. It is a great color and I like the pattern.

I am still having problems uploading documents from flickr, my computer or directly from the computer. However, photobucket will allow me to do these one at a time. Sigh.

Cloth of the Week, first two

Blogger is once again not letting post pics directly. But, I did get this posted through photobucket.

The orange is double delite and the yellow is C4 Lattice. Both knit up quickly. The orange is Peaches and Creme. The yellow is some of the yarn I received last year as part of a Whoduknit swap.

HAP rectangles

So, what are these strange things???

They are crocheted rectangles for the Whoduknit HAP project. Used Deborah Norville's Serenity yarn. I skein makes four 6"x9" rectangles. This stuff is very nice and very soft. I have another skein in Walnut. My local Joann's didn't have a good variety of colors. This green, which is called "Jade," and the Walnut which is a purplish beige, but the price was right (about $3/skein).