miyamojo

Maple Christmas

2011-12-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

Hope to see you soon!

Love, Michele & Wooly

Yes, that would be Maple. I swear I'm losing time. I woke up and realized I didn't have a new sweater to wear. I barely finished her in time for our Christmas card.

Wooly thought we should just bag it, but it makes me so happy to see our friend's cards that I told him we HAVE to spread the joy.

We won't talk about how he almost smashed the camera because he couldn't figure out how to set the self timer... (Here, give it to me! *beep beep click* How'd you do that Michele?) and how he didn't want to find a sweater to wear...(Okay, just put on your coat.) geez! The bonus is that he's smiling. He never smiles in pictures. I just kept smiling at him and he smiled back. Guess my smile is infectious. lol!

Does he look thinner? He lost 20 pounds since 10/28 when I rushed him to urgent care at 2:30am. I won't tell you how many red lights I ran. Turns out it was a kidney stone. Took 3 days to pass. He passed it on Halloween. Mom said it was his Halloween surprise - lol!

Maple - Rowan 50 - Marie Wallin

Rowan Felted Tweed

3mm + 3.25mm needles

Wooly really likes this sweater and said if he was a girl, he would wear it.

I was going to use plain plastic brownish buttons until he told me that using those buttons is like hanging one of those green tree air freshners in your Ferrari. He handed me these metal ones and said, "Here, use these. They're made in Germany...they're metal... silver goes with everything."

I don't recall asking for his input. I don't drive a Ferrari either. What's going on?! lol! :P

"All I want for Christmas... is YOU! And 5 things on my list!"

(Did you watch Glee? Rachel... omg. I could take lessons from her.)

"What am I? An ELF?"

(Tony in NCIS. Wooly laughed so hard.)

Look out! The dragons are gonna get you!

Do you realize that 2012 is The Year of the Dragon?!

We're ready. Bring it on!

Little Ones

2011-10-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

I bought Rowan Lace because I love the cover shawl. After watching videos on how to crochet and taking notes, I grabbed my hook and made the blue flower out of alpaca lace. It's 9cm instead of 6. I bought the recommended hook size US7 and tried again using pink Lacey Lamb. It's the right size, 6cm.

I've seen these flowers before. I'm pretty sure Wooly's grandma Marie made these into a pillow cover or sweater - she was crafty. Marie Wallin updated this little flower into an elegant shawl. I'm super curious about Rowan Fine Lace - 80% baby suri alpaca + 20% fine merino. Modern yarn + modern color... look out! I guess I have to buy some... after I decide which color.... that could take a while. :)

Our favorite soy, Ed Amame is modeling what I got done on Maple (Marie Wallin). I'm doing the back + front panels at the same time. Cute flowers.

Speaking of cute. Here's Mr K and Aaliyah (my cousin's grand daughter). They're both almost 5.

Her family was in town, so we got together for dinner at Brother's house.

She ran up to me yelling, "Auntie! Auntie!" (In Hawaii, you're 'auntie,' no relation required.)
I said, "OH! look at your crown! Are you the QUEEN?!"
She put her fists on her hips and said, "NO! I'm the PRINCESS!!!"
I'm trying not to laugh and manage to say, "OH! Right!"
She starts jumping in place and says, "Auntie! You NEED to come to the PARTY!!! Come on!"

Meanwhile, her little sister, who's Corey's age, is wiggling her hips and yelling, "Poppy!"
Her mom says, "Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
Aaliyah yells, "She's saying PARTY! Come on!"

It was hilarious and lots of fun. I told my friends about her and they think she's my 'mini me'.
I wish they lived closer.

We also got together with the quartet. See Coco the brown dachshund by Wooly's shoe? She knows who's pack leader. Gordon thinks she's her dad reincarnated. She loves bagpipes.

They had to play for their supper. The neighbors all started clapping and yelling when they finished. I thought for a second we were in Canada. Wooly thinks they were glad it was over.

I was impressed. The way Wooly talks, you would think they suck, but they don't.

We had fun and should get together with them more often.

Speaking of little brown dogs... Wooly and I were on our walk and I heard this growl. Then this little brown dog jumps out in front of us and starts running ahead. He was nervous and kept turning around to see if we were still there. Sure enough, he had to poop, so he squats on the grass at the edge of the sidewalk. As we approached, his nose was sniffing at us... we just walked passed him, calm assertive. Now he's behind us, snooping around and running up to us. I guess he wanted to be part of the pack, but not the leader. Wooly is in front and kept turning around to glare at him. I told him to ignore.

Then we hear from behind us, "Is this your dog?" Wooly turns around and here's this beautiful blonde jogger. He says, "No, he's just following us." I look down and now the dog is practically on my shoe. She says, "You need to go home, dog!" and she runs by us. Sure enough, the dog runs and leaps after her. Wooly says, "Now he's your dog." She says, "NO! Dog, you need to go home!" she never breaks stride.

We turn the corner and luckily the dog didn't follow us. He had a collar and license. I told Wooly I hope someone didn't just dump him off. We haven't seen him since, so we hope he found his way home.

I guess I have to be careful what I wish for. I want a dog to find me. But, I want one that's bigger. Like 50 pounds and confidant. In the meantime, Wooly's my rottweiler. :)

I can't believe October is almost over.
Happy Halloween! Are you ready?
I bet Aaliyah will be a Princess.

Happy Knitting! :)

My Queen

2011-09-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

I finished my Queen!

Since my Japanese Iris' are long gone,

I'm taking a pictures of it over my kimono.

In true Ring Shawl tradition, I can slide Wooly's wedding ring through it!

How cool is that?!

The Queen Ring Shawl - Heirloom Knitting

Gossamer Web's Phoenix - Japanese Iris - dyed by me

Merino, silk, cashmere 2/52

2mm needles

72" square

I'm in love with Phoenix. It was easy to dye, easy to knit, and holds it's block like no other.
It's been 2 weeks since I blocked it, and those edge points are still sharp. Love love love.

Harvest Time

We had an Indian summer, so we got ripe tomatoes. They're so sweet.

Here's Ed Amame with the volunteer corn stalk. No actual corn, but it's fun to watch it grow.

Mr K and Corey harvested apples from this tree that's just their size.

"Dad! We need a bigger box!"

How cool is that?! An apple tree just their size.

I can't believe summer is over. It's great knitting weather. Guess I better get busy on Maple.

I'm also thinking about The Wedding Ring shawl. I'll probably use Phoenix...I want it red. Which reminds me, I never did dye anything this summer. I also have turquoise Colourmart cashsilk, which would be cool... "something borrowed, something blue." Decisions decisions...

Happy Knitting! Happy Fall! :)

Summer Focus

2011-08-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

I'm on the 8th center repeat for The Queen. The photo only shows 5. I'm too lazy to take another picture. I'm so close to getting her done! I wish I could stay focused....

Meet Maple. I got my Rowan #50 Knitting Magazine. I have to make it. I got the bottom rib done.

Meet Holly. I ordered yarn (felted tweed) for her too. I'm pretty sure I'll end up looking like a turtle... but don't care. I don't want to make it shorter. I think it would ruin the design.

We went to Seaside Oregon to get away.

We walked on the beach early in the morning. I was looking for sand dollars. It really looks like summer, eh?! We usually just take picture of scenery, so here's proof I was there!

I took this picture from our deck. He's feeding the seagulls cheetos!

Here's Wooly feeding Benny the Mooch. I told him to just be calm, no sudden movements... really! he'll take it from your hand! Cool! People walking along the boardwalk started stopping and staring, so we stopped.

Another cool thing was watching this guy fly his kite. I think he was practicing his routine for the competition. Made me want to learn how to do that.

We also went to the Highland Games in Enumclaw. We were giving Wooly a bad time because he was sitting so close to the judge (who's the only American to win individual gold in Scotland - Wooly says it's a big deal) that he might as well sit with him at the table!

After one of the guys finished, Wooly said, "Wow! What a set of hands!"
Gordon said, "Wow! What a set of pipes!"
I said, "Wow! Did you notice his sporran had a face?!"
Wooly put his hand on his head (so it wouldn't explode) and walked away.
Gordon was laughing.
I said, "Really! It had a face! It's an animal!"

Don't you wish you were there too?! LOL!

Brutus has two red tomatoes! We've had a real mild summer, and a really great tomato plant. Wooly thinks it's borderline abusive to plant Brutus in this weather where he can't really 'give it a go' because it's not tomato weather here. I'm not complaining.

I'm off to enlarge Maple's chart so I can see it and start the pattern.

Maybe next time I'll show you my finished Queen.... or not!

Anyone seen my focus?

Hope you're having a great summer!
Happy Knitting! :)

Confess, Brutus, Awesome

2011-07-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

I'm half way through the center on The Queen. She's got a life of her own and is going to eat Smoothie for lunch.

I was sad that Heirloom Knitting was closing. I knew I should have ordered more yarn. Then they announced that they made a hasty decision and are going to try and stay open - hooray!

I got my Vogue Knitting magazine (early fall 2011) and was happy to see Anne featured! I ran to get my Eshaness cardigan and give her a hug. Anne is teaching Fair Isle knitting on her blog.

I confess, I learned how to knit Fair Isle through her tutorial on her old blog. I'm a visual learner. It worked for me. I can't do it two handed - my right hand is an elitist, and refuses to throw yarn. :) I hold the background color on top and the pattern color on the bottom. I use 3.25mm addis circular needles. I enjoy cutting steeks. I knit the collar and buttonhole edges before I knit the sleeves.

Wooly knew Anne before me. He called her to buy Aran yarn from her shop. He told her that The Wife (me) was going to knit him a sweater. When I got home from work, he showed me her website. "I called her, she's sending yarn so you can make me O'Shaughnessey." I said, "You called her?! We're you nice?!" He said, "I'm always nice." I said, "Good. I might need to order some yarn too!"

That was five years ago. That's how I know her. She's awesome!

Meet Brutus. He's a beefsteak that we bought at Molbak's. He's so big and strong that he's going to eat the topsey turvey! Wooley counted 50 buds.

So far Brutus has 4 tomatoes. We've got high hopes of awesomeness from him and are expecting a bounty of tomatoes.

Speaking of awesomeness...

My mom had her breast cancer surgery on 6/30. I went over to help her the day before and was full of anxiety. I marched through her front door, stormed into the living room and stopped dead in my tracks. Mom says, "You know Pastor Jerry (SIL's dad)..."

"Uh, yeah... WOW! Good thing I didn't say what was on my mind when I walked through the door!" and plopped myself down on the couch next to my mom with my hand on my face.

PJ says, "Why Michele? We can do confession..." and he starts giggling.

Mom says, "He's going to give me a blessing, so my surgery goes well."

I say, "Okay, good." While cursing in my mind how she never tells me who's at her house.

So, after he tells me that maybe I should knock on the door next time (duh) and we get done chatting, he pulls out his black book and holy water. He explains that he's going to read prayers from his book, then pray himself. He dabs his finger in the holy water, places it on mom's forehead and starts in.

I confess. I was thinking, "good thing he's not putting that on me. I would start smoldering. Wooly would actually turn into a ball of fire!!"

After he got done, I confess, I was surprised by how calm I felt. We chatted some more and I realized that this guy is really cool - I already knew that, and do love him, SIL is so lucky, she's cool too.

After I got done helping Mom, I went home and told Wooly about it. Still feeling really calm, like everything is going to be fine. PJ has a sneaky way of making me feel good about myself because he totally believes in me and that I'm awesome in every way. He said nice things about me - I was wondering how he knew, then told myself, "wait. I'm not THAT good! Who's he hearing this shit from?!"

Wooly said, "He's a real holy man..." and told me he experienced that when he heard Doyle Dykes in concert. He's an acoustic guitar player who told of his struggles and just made you feel like everything was going to be okay anyways.

Just by having PJ believe in me, made me want to be better.

I was surprised that I was still calm and in a great mindset the next day. I went to work and nothing phased me. Mom got through the surgery, PJ, SIL, Mr K, Corey & Brother visited her, she stayed the night and the next day when Brother went to pick her up, she marched right out of the hospital. Brother was shocked.

I went over on Saturday with food. She wasn't even home. She was walking to the Post Office to mail a letter and stopped by store to look around. She has a mailbox in front of her house! When she got back, we had lunch. She says, "look Michele, I'm using my hand to to eat!" She's got the drain tube that's suppose to stay in for 2 weeks or so. She's determined to get it out sooner. She's so awesome.

Power of prayer is awesome too. I told Wooly, maybe I need to go back to church. Maybe....

Or maybe I just need someone to believe in me... Maybe I need to believe in myself!!!

I ask friends all the time. "What's your passion? What do you want to do with the time you've got left? Are you doing it?"

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because of my mom, and the reality of how things can change in an instant - she's always saying that. She keeps telling me I should teach knitting. I remind her that I couldn't even teach her to knit because we ended up in a giggle-fest.

So, what I want to do is take the Nihon Vogue Knitting Class from Jean Wong and get my certificate. I want to learn how to knit garments that fit me perfectly and be able to finish professionally.

After that, I want to teach, design knitwear, or not.

I pitched it to Wooly. He wasn't supportive. He doesn't think I would like teaching, or that I need to get a certificate to learn how to knit.

I really got mad. I was surprised how mad I was - that shows some passion!

I reminded him that I supported him through his 3rd degree black belt! He's just doing it for himself! Not teaching! Like I want to do it for myself!!! Who cares if I never teach?!

I want to quit work, go do it, and totally focus.

I want to be awesome. Like Mom, PJ, Anne, Brutus and YOU.

So, now that I've told the whole universe... I'm expecting it to happen! :)

What's your dream?

Mice, Boots & Monsters

2011-05-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

I resurrected The Queen and got one center repeat done. I love it.

Wooly asked why they don't have teeth. I said it's because they're not smiling. I'm going to give these to my friends at work when I leave. Not that I have a last day planned, but I'm hoping if I act like it's happening, it will happen.

The Three Mouse-kateers!

Look who went to Disneyland! They brought me back a Minnie Mouse antenna ball.
Don't you love how Dude is wearing his ears like his old school Mickey on his shirt?

"RACE CAR!... RACE CAR!"

Brother said, "Do you see that? 50 cents? No way! I'm not spending 50 cents for that!"

I said, "Are you serious?! I'm sending Corey a roll of quarters (or two) for his birthday!"

Corey's Brown Shirt Band

"Uncle Wooly came down to our house...

And he brought Auntie Michele (yay!)...

He kicked off his boots...

Cracked open a brew...

And said, "Son, let me tell you a tale..."

We got Mom her annual Mom's Day fuchsia basket. I couldn't find one I liked for the actual day, so I told her I'll get her one later. We found this one this morning at Safeway (grocery store.) Mom said, "Wow, they went crazy making this one! It's got all kinds of flowers in here!" She's holding her card with the ballerina mouse on it. :)

There's lots a pressure here. Her friends tell her how lucky she is that I'm such a good daughter. My friends ask me if I got her her basket. Everyone comes over expecting to see one! I think I outdid myself with this one, even if I was late.

I took her out to lunch and she tells me she found a lump, her breast cancer is back (after 16 years.)
She's going in for a biopsy.

I told Wooly it's a good thing we got her her basket today!

It puts things in perspective for me. I've been so focused on how much I hate my job.

Which reminds me, I do have a story from work...

Yesterday I ran into my friend, who's originally from Texas, and said, "Hey! Look at you cutie! With your flowy black dress and cowboy boots!"

She says, "Well, you know Michele, the shit runs deep around here..."

I laughed so loud that people stood up to see who was making noise.

I told her, "You're gonna get me in trouble!" and walked away.

She said, "Hey Michele! You know tomorrow is the end of the world? Nice knowing you!" and she waved and I waved back.

She's definitely getting a monster.

But, just in case it's true... nice knowing y'all!
Guess my monsters won't get teeth!

Happy Knitting! :)

Just Do It

2011-03-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

I was staring at this spool of tulle. Wooly asks what I'm doing. I said I'm trying to figure out how to make a tutu. He says, "Fold. Sew. Gather." How does he know these things?!

So, Katy Periwinkle has her tutu. Now she wants wings.

"I don't knit is socks." Well, now I can't say that anymore!
After knitting monsters, I realized it's like a sock gone wrong... in a good way.

I've always admired Cookie (from afar) and decided to knit Clandestine. I'm using Cascade Heritage sock yarn because it's cheap and a solid light color.

So, look what happened. I ordered her book and she signed it!
Knit. Sock. Love. Never say never... just do it.

Anastasiya is coming along. I got my tension better now. Those are long rows, maybe that's why knitting socks is appealing.

This is my Mom's orchid from Hawaii. It finally bloomed after 5 years. It's the most beautiful orchid I've seen in a long time. Well worth the wait. It blooms in February and March and it hangs down from the trees. I figure it bloomed for my birthday. I was lying on the carpet taking this picture when Brother says, "Michele, hurry, Mr K is very motivated to play for you for your birthday."

What a treat! The last time he played for us was at Christmas. He and Corey drew me pictures and we played Wii.

This little monster is the middle went to live with Lorraine. She named her Katie the Kitty Killer. I hope nothing happens to Kitten Chow, or I'll never hear the end of it. :)

And Happy St Patty's Day to you all!
It's not easy being green.
Go Monsters!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T12:55:00.000-08:00

"Niobe is red, and Morpheous' hat is blue...

Happy Valentine's Day...

To you and you and you!"

"Hi! I'm Katy Periwinkle... I told mom I needed some bling, so she made me flowers with sparkly beads in the center...Then, I asked for a tutu... she said, 'no.' "

"Anyone seen Gibbs? Where's my caf-pow?! Oh hi! I'm Abby. I told mom I'm not complete without Gibbs... she said I'm not the boss of her... but I saw her ordering yarn... heehee!"

Yes, there's been monster madness going on here. Wooly asked if he left on a motorcycle trip, if there would be 50 monsters when he got back. I said it would depend on how long he was gone. lol! :)

Looks like the brothers are adjusting well at Mr K & Corey's house

When they opened them up for Christmas, they had the biggest smiles. I was so busy imprinting that moment in my brain that I forgot to take a picture. But, how could you not smile, when a monster is smiling at you?!

Scary monster

I got the rib done for Anastasiya, and got 3 rows of the plaid done. Decided I need to catch those floats - they're too long. I'm having flashbacks to Whistler. :)

I got Lidiya done (partial view in first picture.) I love it. Will get good photos later.

I messed up my back yesterday and am in pain. I'm blaming the cold weather and stressful job. Moving slow. Hope it's better soon... like tomorrow morning... yes, I'm impatient. lol!

Happy Valentine's Day!
Go Monsters! :)

Christmas Fun

2010-12-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

You're never too old for FUN!

Unless you're Wooly.

I wanted to do a fun card this year, but not Wooly.
So, I'm doing it my way anyways, and to hell with him.

Red Queen - Twisted Traditions -Lorraine Condotta

Jamieson's Spindrift

3.25mm needles

"Zion, hear me! I believe... huh? Modeling isn't in my contract. Who's Lidiya?"

"Morpheous thinks he's cooler than me."

"I believe he needs to go back to Zion!"

My knitting mojo has returned. I decided to knit Lidiya and use it as my swatch for Anastasiya. I need a scarf for the next time it snows. I'm knitting 27sts X 30 rows. I need 24sts X 30 rows, so the plan is to knit the medium and I'll end up with a small. I love the colors. Felted Tweed isn't as sticky as Spindrift, reminds me of Dale of Norway Heilo/Falk.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Embrace your inner child... you know I am... I'm eight! lol!

Monsters & Snow

2010-12-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

"Hey! Hey! We're the monsters!

And we're just hanging around...

Soon two of us will be leaving...

And heading across town..."

"Hi! I'm Niobe. Like my curls?!"

"Hi! I'm Morpheous.

Yes, Mom was watching Matrix while making me

and decided I wasn't complete without Niobe.

She really likes her crocheted curls."

"Hi! We'll be heading to Mr K & Corey's house soon.

We hope they give us names!"

These monsters are lots of fun to make. I could have made the whole Matrix crew - lol!

You know how I am! *sigh* Sanity, it's a good thing.

I used Lorna's Laces Green Line Worsted - Pioneer, for Morpheous.

Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted - Icehouse & Lakeview, for the boys.

Lorna's Laces Green Line DK - Red Rover, for Niobe.

First Snow

November 22nd will be a day I never forget. It started snowing in the morning and started sticking in the afternoon. I was at work, totally distracted. I left at 4:30pm to catch the bus with Lynn. We caught the first bus heading to the Park & Ride at 4:40pm. At 5:15pm, Wooly calls me to see where I am - I'm close to Macy's. He says I should be home by 7pm. I laugh. I'll be lucky to be home then.

Then, our regular bus pulls ahead of us and Lynn & I jump off and run after our regular bus. At 7:30pm I call Wooly and tell him we're at 8th & Olive (4 blocks from Macy's). He thinks I'm joking. He thinks I'm at the Park & Ride and want him to come get me.

At 8:05pm we finally get on I-5 and there's heavy traffic heading north, so we're plugging along. The temperature is 23*F, not counting the wind chill. It's like we're in a snow globe & very windy. Lynn says we better get across the bride before they close it. There's hardly anyone heading south.

At 8:50pm we're stuck on the bridge. I call Wooly at 9:30 to tell him we're mid span on the bridge going nowhere. The entertainment is that the guys are jumping off the bus & jumping the barrier to push the cars heading west that lost traction. Wooly freaks out and yells, "I DON'T WANT YOU OUT THERE PUSHING CARS!!!" Dude, I'm not. I'm wishing I had my camera so I could document this trip.

At 10:30pm I report to Wooly that we're still on the bridge. The bus died twice. Now we have no heat. My legs are freezing. I'm wishing I had the Sofia Wrap from Rowan 48. I've got to make that.

At 11:30pm we're still not moving! I can't believe we've been here forever! Wooly tells me that according to the news, I'm in the worst spot.

At 12:05am we're moving! Yippee! I-405 is totally clear. Everyone must be home except us.

At 12:15am we pull up to the Park & Ride and I start digging out my car - with no deicer or scrapper. The only good thing is that it's very bright, the wind died down, it's not snowing, and no one is on the roads now. I assure myself that my car is great in the snow and I will make it down & up the huge hills with no problem and get myself home.

At 12:45am I pull into our driveway! Hooray! Wooly is still awake. I'm cold, tired and beyond hungry = me at my worst. Wooly asks how I made it without peeing for 8 hours?

I'm a camel.

I had the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving, so I just had to make it home.

Here's Wooly and my car. He thought it would be fun to go out the next day. I stayed home. Someone stopped on the hill on the way home and he had to back down and try going up it again. I warned him of the stupid drivers that ruin your day. He was beyond pissed. It snowed again Thanksgiving day. Good thing we weren't going anywhere. I never left the house until Friday.

Mr K and Corey had fun in the snow.

Look out!

So, this last Saturday, Mom calls me and says, "I know we were going out to lunch, but, Mr K called and said he and Corey and Brother are coming over. Why don't you just come over too!" You can see where I rank.

Wooly dropped me off while he went to play with his friends.

Brother said he asked Mr K if he's played Wii at Grandpa's house before. He said, "Yes! Remember, Michele was there!!" Yippee! He knows me! And I was there again!

Notice Mr K's shirt.

Corey was pointing to Mr K's shirt babbling away and Mr K says, "Yeah Corey! I'm wearing my bowling shirt! And I'm bowling!"

I say, "Yeah! Good call Corey!"

Mr K looks at me and says, "Ive got 2 pins and 1 ball."

LOL!

So, I've been in a knitting funk lately and really having a hard time getting motivated about anything. Wooly asked me what my problem was last night and I did my silent scream and he started laughing. I hope my mojo returns soon... or I'll have to make the whole Matrix crew - lol!

Happy Knitting! :)

Pie

2010-11-10T12:34:00.000-08:00

"I fail to see the humor. This defines exploited."

"So, what happens if we lose these mittens?... we get no pie?!"

"Shut up! We're NOT kittens! Don't give her any ideas!"

Is this what 'pooling' means?

These monsters knit up really fast. Now I've just got to stuff & sew them up.

Speaking of pie...

Grandpa had a lemon meringue pie for his birthday. Mr K & Corey put on the candles.

I guess Grandpa is six. Mr K helped blow them out.
Notice the San Francisco place mats, in honor of the Giant's World Series Win.

Mr K loves pie and wasted no time eating his whole piece.

Corey was more interested in the edaname.

Guess what Grandpa got for his birthday? Wii would like to play too, but it was all Mr K.
Poor Corey doesn't know the batteries were removed from his remote.

I asked Mr K what is favorite color is. He said, "blue, green & black."
I asked him if he knew what Corey's favorite color is. He said, "Corey hasn't told me."
I said, "Yeah, he hasn't told me either."
Brother started laughing.

We all had fun and Wooly was happy the boys got use to him (after 3 hours) and he got a high-five from both of them when we left. Yeah, Uncle Wooly is pretty intimidating - big & loud... even without his bagpipes.

Wooly has a re occurring dream that one of them asks him to mentor him in piping. Wooly gives him lessons and takes him to all the games and he ends up being really great. I keep telling him not to hold his breath. You know Brother & SIL aren't into piping. It makes me feel bad for Wooly.

While watching the Giants win the World Series (baseball), I got a lot of knitting time and managed to get the body done for the Red Queen. Now on to the sleeves.

"Mom, you really think your fat head is going to fit through that hole?"
"Smoothie, shut up. That's why you don't get any pie."

geez.

Happy Knitting! :)
I'm looking forward to pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

Unbelievable

2010-10-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

Oh, ribbing, how I love thee.
Life has been unbelievable. Luckily, I've got my Red Queen to keep me sane.

Here's the story.

All of a sudden I could no longer visit Jimmy Bean's Wool. Not that I order a lot from them, I just enjoy looking at all the yarn, watching their videos, reading reviews and clicking on Wool Watcher to see what the special is. The sight still worked at my job, so I thought it was strange that I couldn't access it from home.

I mentioned it to Wooly. He said it's because our internet provider left Washington state, so those 'other people' took over.

I called 'op' and was on the phone for an hour. I ended up talking to the Supervisor, who said, "We've exhausted all of our resources on this end. (translated: Woman, get off my phone!)" I asked if they could bring up the sight on their end. He said they don't have access to the internet. (what?!) It's got to be Jimmy having a problem with their sight." I told them it's not Jimmy that has a problem.

He said, "Do you have a smart phone?"

I said, "No, I've got a stupid phone. And a stupid computer. I guess I'm just going to find something else to do besides knitting, since I can't order yarn from Jimmy because there's no server!"

He said, "No, you can't give up knitting! My mom knits and nothing can get those needles out of her hands!"

I felt better. I guess he kinda understood why I was so exasperated.

I emailed Jimmy, to see if they've been having problem. No problems.

The next day, Wooly called our IT guy and spent 1/2 hour with them. It's not your computer. It's your internet provider (op). Wooly called op and spent an hour with them. They finally said they can sign us up for 'super duper internet help' for $15 per month for a minimum of 1 year and no guarantee that they could fix the problem. Wooly told them where they could stick it.

Meanwhile, we got another email from Jimmy saying that they talked to their host & there are 5 people who have reported the same problem... and gave us a link that explained how to switch servers. We thanked them, and explained our fear of changing anything because we're old & our whole computer might blow up.

Then it happened.

Wooly found a bagpipe sight he couldn't access. Now, THIS is a MAJOR SERIOUS PROBLEM!
Now, he knows how I feel!

"UNBELIEVABLE! LOOK! IZ DID IT!

Just call me Wooly, Computer Genious! Wooly, I.T. conqueror of ALL!"

Yay Wooly! He followed the instructions on the link & it worked! Yippee Yahoo!

We emailed Jimmy and let them know it worked for us and thanked them profusely - they gave us real customer service.

I know what you're thinking. Michele, what did you order?!

I know! Unbelievable! Why?

Cute monsters for my cute monkey monster nephews! Can you believe this is Corey?! I asked Brother what their favorite colors are. He said, "blue & blue," he doesn't know, I found it very funny...

Everyone has their favorite! Kamati likes Pioneer. Turtle likes Icehouse. Smoothie likes Lakeview.

Yep, Christmas presents.

Op called us the other day saying that they heard we wanted to sign up for 'super duper internet help.' Wooly told them where they could stick it (again) and that we didn't need their help, so don't call us.

Unbelievable.

I love my Red Queen. The only sane thing in this unbelievably insane life... and I haven't even told you about my job! Don't worry. I won't dump that on you guys. That's what Wooly is for. :)

Happy Knitting!
Go Monsters! :)

Lotus Rising

2010-09-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

I finished my Challenge sweater! Decided to call it Lotus Rising. See the golden lotus fully enlightened, representing what we're all striving for... to be better people.

I also considered call it Coming Out of the Dance, which is a martial arts term that means you're on automatic and spontaneous, breaking free from the kata, doing your own thing. Like no longer following a pattern, but making your own...

Here's the Barbara Bixby lotus pendant this sweater was inspired by. You can see the beads in the background, rising.

Lotus Rising

Kauni EZ & Evilla natural

size 8 s/l gold AB beads

3mm + 3.5mm needles

And yes, it was quite an enlightenment. Yes, I like it, but think I can do better. I need to take a pattern making class before I design anything else. Seriously.

On to better things. I casted on for the Red Queen. Isn't that Zodiac a pretty purple?!

And, my cute nephews always make me laugh...

How to wear a bowl... or getting ready for their bowl hair cuts! lol!

I love Corey's shirt - My Auntie is #1! Glad he thinks so. We'll ask him again in 10 years! lol!

Happy Knitting!
I know I'm happy, now that I get to follow a pattern again! Yippee! :)

Two In One

2010-09-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

I did a simple neckline for my Challenge sweater. You can see the beads in the background.

I'm doing both sleeves together in the round. Two in one. I like symmetry, and knew doing them separately was too much of a challenge for me. It would drive me crazy...

"Hey! Who are you?! And why do you get sweaters?!"

"She said something about a 'bear burrito' and shoved us in here."

"I thought she said this was two sleeves."

"Hurry and get us outta here!"

"It really does look like two sweaters..."

"Yeah, except that one is two sleeves... or so she says..."

"Heeheehee... I'm the Queen! Take my picture!"

"Poser! Stupid crown! Shut up already!"

Meanwhile, in my real world...

We went to Cameron's house for dinner. It turned out to be Myra's birthday (his wife) and Dave (Wooly's housemate, back in the day) was in town too. So we were killing 3 birds with one stone.

When we got there, Euna (daughter) said, "When Wooly first starting coming over... I was 10!" I gasped and asked how old Wooly was... he was 19! I gasped again. I was born, but not in school. Talk about 'robbing the cradle!' We screamed with laughter. Then Cameron said, "I'm not telling you how old I am!"

Wooly was driving his dark green GTO back then... I would have had a crush on his GTO! :)

I know all the guys because they come over and I see them at The Games, so it was nice to finally meet The Wives. They were all really nice and possessed the 'gift of the gab' so they were easy to be around.

Turns out they really like our photo Christmas cards and keep them. So now the pressure is on for this year's card. Gawd.

Then Neil showed up in his full uniform (kilt), he just got done playing at an event. He's tall, blond & handsome...and my age... let the lusting begin. ;) He's the first of Wooly's piping friends I met. He came to the house and Wooly went downstairs to do something and Neil and I hit it off royal. What a nice guy. We were both young back then. I told Wooly he should be happy I met him first, because, you know, Neil is such a nice guy...

Towards the end, Deb says, "These guys are worst than women... when it comes to bagpipes...can you believe they can go on and on and on about bagpiping?!" It's so true. They're immersed in it. Their whole world is bagpipes. It's all they think about. Vacations are planned around it. It's who they are. Gawd. They're so lucky we put up with it!

Then the pipes came out and Wooly said, "Well, guess we had better stoke these up, eh?!"
Myra, in her perfect Irish accent said, "OH NO YE WON'T!" They all backed down fast. I started giggling because she's this tiny lady. Who knew she could get her hackles up that fast?! So, instead, they did show and tell with their pipes.

We had fun.

Oh, and I was cleaning out my drawers and look what I found! I didn't iron it. It's just a little quilt top I made long ago. I think it's interesting that I still like the colors... deep, dark & mysterious with a splash of orange. I actually thought of making my Challenge sweater in those colors, so it was fun to find this quilt top.

Now I'm really feeling the pressure for our Christmas card. Got to be clever. Got to be a keeper.
Got to get going on my Red Queen...!

But first I've got to get my Challenge sweater done.

Hope to have the armholes & front stitched & cut for next time - so scary!

Happy Knitting! :)
Sure feels like Fall!

Not Bad

2010-08-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm ready to start the neckline for my Challenge sweater. I'm very happy.
I changed to a smaller needle for the solid background. So far this is not bad. :)

I ordered my Jamieson's Spindrift yarn for the Red Queen, just to drive myself nuts. I won't start until I finish my Challenge sweater. The upper left hand skein is Zodiac - a pretty plum, can't tell from my lousy photo.

I also ordered my Rowan Felted Tweed for Anastasiya. Pretty colors, eh?! So soft too. Can't wait to start this one too.

My second favorite in Rowan 48 is the Alisa Wrap, also by Marie Wallin. It's intarsia. I don't do intarsia. Might just have to learn how to do it. I love the flowy flowers and corkscrew fringe.

We've had a bountiful harvest of tomatoes. They're more tasty than the store bought ones. I wish we could grow them all year long. Wooly came in the house with these in his shirt, all smiles, and so excited. Like a kid. I should have gotten a picture of him.

The other day, Wooly suggested that I clean up my hobby room. I said, "Okay, I'll do that tomorrow."

The next day, Wooly asked me what I was going to do. I said, "Clean up my room!" He was shocked.

After coffee, I went up there and started sorting my stuff. The phone rang, and it was Mom.

Mom "Hey, come play with me today!"
Me "I can't. I have to clean my room."
Mom "What?"
Me "Wooly said I have to clean my room and I can't leave it until it's clean."
Mom "Michele, come. play. with. me."
Me "Did you not hear me?! I can't! I have to stay in here until it's clean!"
*Wooly mumbling in the background*
Me "That's garbage... that's recycle... and that's keepers..."
Mom "Who you talking to?"
Me "Wooly. He's helping."
Mom "What?! *laughing* What's Wooly doing to help?"
Me "He's running up and down the stairs taking these piles to the garbage & recycle cans."
Mom "What?! *laughing* How did you get him to do that?!"
Me "He's well trained!"
Mom "*dying of laughter* Maybe you two should come over here and clean my room too!"
Me "No, get Dad to help you. I've got my own room to clean. You didn't know Rottweilers were trainable did you?! Mom, I've really got to go now. I don't want to spend all day in this room."
Mom "*still laughing* Okay. Come play with me later. Bye!"

Wooly "Who has a Rottweiler?"
Me "I do. You're the Rottweiler."
Wooly "I thought I was Wooly."

I learned from the best (my mom) and am just lucky that my Rottweiler is trainable. :)

Wooly is not bad.

I found this Montana Cartwheel in my room. I remember I took a paper piecing class a long time ago and we were piecing this pattern with our own fabrics. I was being my quiet self, working away, but turned around to smile at the ladies behind me, who were hilarious. At the end of the day, the teacher gathered everyone's work and put it up on the wall. I was worried, because mine was bright and bold batiks. Everyone else had pretty pastels and flowery prints. Sure enough, she grabbed one of my squares first and I was trying to make myself small (hide.) We ended up with the coolest quilt. We all gasped. She just wanted to drive home that randomness makes it even better. And that everyone brought something to the party.

Another interesting point is that we all liked everyone else's squares better than our own.

Kind of like knitting. Or designing.

Oh, and yes, my room is now clean and organized.
It didn't take long because my Rottweiler helped. Yay!
And I'm glad I found my Montana Cartwheel squares.
Might have to get back to quilting someday. :)

But, for now, I've got to figure out what kind of neckline I want.

Happy Knitting! :)

Why Try

2010-08-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Got the border done for The Queen. I'm knitting inward, all 4 borders in the round.
After I posted this photo in Ravelry, I realized I took a picture of the back. The sprouts should be pointing to the right. Scared myself into thinking I knit it wrong - lol! :) It's garter stitch, so maybe there is no wrong side. *sigh* Why do I try?

I ordered Kauni - EZ teal/turquoise and Evilla - natural - for my Challenge sweater. Added navy & pink Kauni I have laying around for an accent. Decided I hated the pictured picot edge, so I cut it out and just knit a plain edge and sewed it on. Might add something fancy to the bottom after I'm done.

See the giant XOX? Would it pass as Fair Isle? Probably not - lol! :)
And yes, there are gold beads in the center of the lotus' & blossoms.

I'm not seeing much of a transition in color in the background, but I'm okay with it for now.

I thought it was going to be my Christmas sweater, until I got my Rowan 48 Magazine....

Anastasia from the Russian Doll Collection by Marie Wallin. I absolutely love everything about this tunic. Must make. So what if it has rows with 3 colors. Must make. And, my mom collects those Russian nesting dolls...

Then Lorraine posted her Red Queen modeled my her daughter... Now THAT would make a perfect Christmas card sweater! I would wear it with my black boots. What's Wooly wearing? Who cares! lol! Love those colors and big motifs. I'm into tunics this year.

Why am I wasting my time designing a sweater when I've got Marie & Lorraine to do it for me?! Why try. *sigh* Isn't that terrific?! Don't worry, I'll finish the Challenge sweater, but not going to make it in VY, I've got Anastasia & Red Queen to knit! Yippee! :D

Meanwhile, we got 3 ripe tomatoes! and more on the way! Yummy!

And the coyote returned. I just finished packing my bag for work, looked out the open back door and there he was, eating cherries again. I grabbed my camera and started snapping pictures. I clicked my tongue and he looked right at me... not scared at all. Then Wooly showed up and he jumped into the neighbor's yard and their dog Isis went crazy. Wooly was hoping the coyote would make mince meat of Isis - his nemesis - but, he wasn't scared at all and jumped back into our yard. I told Wooly I just didn't want him to wander into the house, so I was standing by the door.

Told my mom and she said, "You saw him twice? You need to give him a name, Michele..."

I've been calling him Wylie - so original - heehee. I was going to name him Jozi, so it would be 'Jozi and the Feral Cats' - hahaha, get it?! (Josie and the Pussycats) But, I keep calling him Wylie. So, Wylie it is.

I've seen him several times, so I guess we're on his route.

"Can't catch me!"

My cute nephews and brother at the Bon Odori. Love that they're wearing their kimono jackets.

So, now do you know who my brother is? I swear he knows everyone. It's so funny when he introduces me to his friends and they say, "I didn't know you had a sister..." Guess he doesn't talk about me. Maybe that's a good thing, eh?! LOL! I always want to say, "Do you know our brother?..." and really confuse them. LOL!

If he mentions how I eat pizza - tiny bites, chew 100 times like a bunny... don't believe him!
He's made fun of the way I eat forever. Everyone I know makes fun of the way I eat. Hey, I'm enjoying my food, not inhaling it! No, I don't need help, get away! *sigh*

Okay, I'm going to try and focus on my Challenge sweater before I start Anastasia or Red Queen.
Feel like I should order the yarn for Anastasia though. You know how they discontinue colors so fast...

The Queen is just going to be on time out for a while, just not into lace for now.

Happy Knitting!
Why try? Because I can do it! Yes I can!
Rah rah! :)

Seaside Surprise

2010-07-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the Oregon Coast, and for the first time in three visits, saw a sunset!

We stayed on the second floor, with a balcony and ocean view and had the perfect spot for watching the sunset and taking pictures of it.

It was also the perfect spot for feeding the seagulls pizza. You talk about 'survival of the fittest,' the ones that could fly by and hover, got thrown all the pizza. The ones on the lawn got the olives and whatever else fell from the sky. I was so excited cheering them on, that I forgot to take pictures. I'm sure you can see Wooly tossing pizza and me screaming, "Come back! WHOA! YES! WOW! OMG! Come back! YAY! Hey, are you guys down there getting anything? Better learn to fly by..."

Stopped by Coastal Yarns and bought Claudia Hand Painted Yarn (kid mohair) in Thistle, Tranquility & Sea Dreams. I'm so thrilled! You know how hard it is to find anything by Claudia around here?!

The plan is to make Mom a scarf out of the Thistle for Christmas - her favorite color - she'll scream for sure. With the other two I'm going to make this for me and wrapped it around my head & neck and look fabulous going to stinking work. Wait. I'm trying to stay positive. Remove 'stinking.'

You're probably wondering about my Challenge Sweater...?

Well, on the 4th of July (Independence Day) I was sitting there minding my own business, watching the NCIS marathon, when Wooly got his boxers in a bunch about me watching it all day. I said, "Fine. I'll turn it off, but I get to watch it from 2-4pm because those two episodes are when they hook up with NCIS LA."

I jumped on the computer and all of a sudden I get an idea for my pattern. "Click-kity, click click click, copy, paste, copy, flip, click-kity, click click, stare, erase, click click, print, give to Kamati, stare, stare, show Wooly..."

Wooly says, "Hate to mention it, but that thing on top looks like a sergeant's patch, very masculine & military..."

"That's my lotus bulb. Glad you told me. Don't want masculine or military on my sweater."

The next day, I show him again. He says, "You need more contrast, dark & light. And you need to repeat motifs or shapes to make it congruent. "

Third day, I get what I think is perfect. Print it out, run downstairs, burst in on his bagpipe session and show him. He stares. Moves his lips around. "That's the best yet. Are you happy with it?" Like he can't tell. I'm doing my happy dance!! :)

Kamati's been holding it, and I've been staring at it ever since. Still like it, so here's the plan...

It will be knitted Norwegian style. Stranded cardigan with long sleeve. Beaded. Picot edge. Embroidery. Embossed (patterned purl stitches on satin stitch.) With a surprise on the back.

Surprised it's not Fair Isle? Me too.

Now, lets talk yarn...

The Challenge is to use only Virtual Yarn... When I realized my sweater was going to be Norwegian-ish, I was screaming, "Don't tell ME I have to use VY!" I'm thinking I want the background to transition dark to light, ombre style, (like that shawl I'm going to make for myself.)

I'm thinking Mara-Summer Tide-Stabhann for background.

Kittiwake-Solan Goose for the pattern.

Whin & Bogbean for accents.

But, breaking in & out Kauni Yarn, would be fabulous. Maybe I'll make two sweaters and see which I like better. Maybe.

Another surprise, is that I got a picture of this coyote in my neighbor's back yard. I was really zooming in from our back door and surprised I got this picture so clear. He looked young and skinny. He ate some cherries that were on the ground from our tree.

Wooly said that maybe he'll come eat our tomatoes...

Can you believe it?! An orange tomato! It's been so cold over here, that they've been cracking. We threw lots away. It's finally getting warm, so fingers crossed!

Meanwhile, Mr K & Corey are tending to their garden too. Gotta love Corey's 'Got Rice?' shirt. It has a rice cooker on the back. They're so cute!

So, next time, I'll have pictures of The Queen's completed border. I only have 10 rows left. I can smell victory! And hopefully, I'll have my yarn ordered for The Challenge sweater.

Keep an eye out for those surprises! You never know what you'll see!

Happy Knitting!
Surprise!

Challenger

2010-06-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

We went to the Bellingham Games. As you can see, it was a perfect day. Jack called Wooly over and showed him his pipes that he won his individual world gold medal with. Here he is playing them in the professional class. Notice the blue socks.

I've been challenged to design a stranded sweater. I told Wooly that someone would like to see how I view the world. He said, "so your sweater is going to be all black, right? HAhaha!"
Very funny dooshbag.

This is my favorite enhancer. It's a lotus flower that's engraved mother of pearl, blue topaz, sterling silver and gold. I wear it all the time and consider it my signature. It represents the spiritual journey towards enlightenment and cosmic harmony, truth, purity and wisdom. It's designed by Barbara Bixby, whose jewelry is intricate, edgy, and represents ideals that we're all striving for... to become better.

When I first starting wearing this, my friends and family all thought it didn't look like something I would wear. I don't know what the heck that means. Anyways...

Smoothie was very supportive and came up with this. He thinks it looks like bunny ears. I don't see it.

Kamati wanted to give it a go and came up with this. He thinks it's like Africa. I don't see it.

The more I stare, the more I think it would make great wrapping paper... or a quilt.

Then I was looking through my Rowan magazines, looking for sweater shapes that were appealing to me and saw an ad for Kaffe's quilt book. Took it as a sign and typed in "Kaffe Fassett Quilts" in Amazon and saw all his quilt books. The quilt on the cover of his quilt romance book caught my eye. It's the same shape as the lotus rotated 90*. And the quilt on the cover of his country garden is also a glorified lotus.

Maybe I should be quilting instead. I'm going to think about that.

On a recent Tuesday Date Day, Wooly and I ended up at a Dodge dealership. Don't know how that happened. We ended up sitting in a 2010 Challenger SRT8. I've always loved American muscle cars. When we were first watching NCIS LA and that car made it's appearance, both of us jumped up and screamed.

Here it is in red. The one on tv and the one we sat in was all black. Wooly said it was the devil. I told Wooly if I knew I had 6 months to live, I would buy that car, quit work, pack a bag and start driving. He could come too, but I'm driving!

I was at work staring out the window at break and guess what came rolling up in the parking lot across the street?! Yep! The Challenger! I emailed Wooly immediately.

The following week, I was staring out the window again and there it was AGAIN! As I was lusting over it, I had a weird feeling, like Wooly was up to no good.

While we were eating dinner that night, Wooly says, "I bought a set of bagpipes!"

I said, "HAH! I knew it!" I told him about that feeling I got.

He said he emailed Terry (Jack's brother) for photos of a set of pipes he had for sale. Then he called and said, "Let me talk to Terry. This is Wooly in Washington."

"Wooly in Washington, this is Terry in Vancouver...."

"Hey, Terry in Vancouver... send me those pipe!!"

"You got it!!"

The rest is history. Wooly said to me, "Well, we didn't buy the car, so I bought the pipes..."

I'm totally blaming Jack. It's all his fault. Everytime Wooly sees him, he buys a set of pipes.

No, wait. I'm blaming the Challenger. Now Wooly feels like we saved $50,000+.

What kills me, is that last Friday, I took the day off because I hate work so much that I just needed to not be there. Ironically, Barbara Bixby was on QVC for 4 hours, so I sat there and just hung on her every word and never ordered a single thing. I just enjoyed listening to her talk. She's so pretty. She's so inspired. I wish I were inspired. Then I got on the computer and found her website. Now I want the real thing. But I want to see it in person.

Maybe I should buy the Challenger, pack a bag, and drive to her store!!! HAhaha!

Life. What a challenge.

Okay. To end on a happier note...

Mr K is working hard at playing the piano.

Whose hand is that in the lower left corner? Yep, baby brother Corey!

Here they are practicing for their future boy band...

"We like that old time Rock & Roll!"

I want to know why they both have better pajamas than I do.

Happy Knitting!

Vroom Vroom! :)

Tree Catcher

2010-05-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

I'm through row 83 of the border for The Queen. You can see the full miter in the corners and the spiders marching around.

I'm just starting the lace mesh now (top holes.) It still seems like a billion stitches per round but, for me, it's better than knitting 4 separate borders, then sewing them together.

"hear ye, hear ye... all hail the Queen!"

"Poser! I've been wearing the real crown since the beginning!"

"Kamati, your crown doesn't have jewels! You're the poser!"

"Hey! I thought I was next in line for the crown!"

"Smoothie, you're a smurf... I mean surf. You'll never wear the crown."

Yep, everyone wants to be royalty, because royalty rules.
In reality, the crown fits the lamb because she has the biggest head. :)

Tomato News

Look at Topsey! See all the flowers?! AND the huge tomato!!

There are 5 tomatoes and lots of flowers. Can you believe it?!

Not to be outdone, Planter has lots of flowers too, and a tomato!

Can you believe it?! We might get salsa this summer! :)

How to Catch a Tree

Mr K is catching trees at grandma's house. It's a bamboo pole. I think he looks like Brother with that baseball cap on. I'm sure Corey can't wait to catch them too.

It reminds me of when we were little and Dad had us practicing our casting. We had real fishing poles, and never caught a tree. :)

That last picture is your classic pee shot (if you ask me.) lol!

Happy Knitting!
I hope the sunshine has arrived at your house.

Happy Hibiscus

2010-05-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

"Wooly, will you take my picture?"
"Sure, what do I get?"
"You get to take me to lunch... make me lunch... take me shopping?"

Hibiscus Cardigan - Anne Featonby

Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift

3mm + 3.25mm needles

size 6 AB crystal beads

size 38.5"

I knew I had to make this at first sight. Pink & flowers! I added beads to the center of the O's just for fun, It adds a little surprise & shine.

I think this would make a fun first fair isle project. The only shaping is for the neckline. You learn steeking & knitting front bands (no buttonholes) and it's PINK!

Beautiful design, Anne! I love it! :)

Meanwhile...

Wooly and I went to the store and the bill was exactly $10. The cashier said to Wooly, "WOW! I guess you get a hug!" I was thinking, "Hello. Standing right here." Wooly totally missed it because he was staring at the display - '$10.00'

Then the cashier say, "I guess you need to buy a lottery ticket!" Wooly says, "I already have. If I win, I'm coming back and giving you $500. See, we're willing to share, so there's no reason why we shouldn't win." We left giggling because nobody believes us, when we tell them that. I told him to we should give her $1000.

Day after the lottery drawing, Wooly heads back to the store and buys another ticket, picks up more grocery and says to the cashier, "Well, we didn't win. I bought another ticket. 'The Wife' says I get to give you $1000 dollars if we win this time." She says, "I bought one too, so if I win, I'll give you $1000" (notice how she said 'you?' What about me?)

Needless to say, Wooly really likes this girl now and tells me he thinks she's Cuban... Latino.

I tell my Mom this whole story...

A few days later we head to my parent's house to drop off the yearly Mom's Day fuchsia basket and gifts. We're chatting it up with them and I say to Wooly, "Why is there green glitter on your mustache?" Wooly says, "Huh?" and wipes his mouth. Mom says, "Who have you been kissing that's wearing green glitter lipstick?!" Wooly says, "hey, are you really worried about it?" I say, "Aren't you glad I pretend like I'm worried about it?" Wooly says, "HEY..." I say, "Was she Latino?!"

Mom and I died laughing. What I wanted to add is that 'hay is for horses' (right, Malcolm?!) LOL! He really had green glitter on his mustache. *sigh*

Did you know, it was also Auntie Michele's Day?!

Corey is 1 and Mr K is 3. Are they not the cutest ever? OMG.

I celebrated by buying geraniums for my planters. Different shades of pink & coral. Mom gave me 2 red ones. Looks a lot like my Hibiscus Cardigan!

Then again, every day is Michele's Day. ;)

Now I've got the win the lottery...

Happy Knitting!
Next time we'll see who's wearing The Crown... :)

Crowns All Around

2010-04-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

"Take a Crown, pass it around... no wait, it's 'beer'... never mind."

I'm on row 60 of the border now and have Crowns all around. I'm following Q-knitter and doing a Full Miter. She knit her borders separately, then sewed them together. I refuse to sew, and am doing YO, K1(center stitch), YO between borders and knitting all 4 borders at the same time in the round.

I've got a few spiders knitted now (top, looks like eyelets.) Boy are they fun to knit. :)

I'm very happy with how it's going and rather obsessed with it.

I've gotten to row 100 on my Hibiscus. Still adding beads to the center of the O's. Eleven rows away from the neck opening. I love this knit too. :)

What Would You Do?

Wooly is asleep in his chair. I'm watching tv. I see something moving across the carpet and scream. Wooly jumps up, looks at me pointing and screaming, grabs a napkin, dives on the floor and says,

"Holey moley! You could throw a saddle on him and ride him to work!"

"AUGH! Hahaha, ride him to work. That's the hugest spider EVER!!!"

"What would do if I weren't here?!"

"I would grab this ball of yarn (pink Lacey Lamb) and throw it at him!!! (I throw it as hard as I can, right were the spider was, and watch it bounce into the tv stand.)

"But, that wouldn't do anything."

"I would grab my shoe, and wack him with it!!!"

"Then you would have spider goo on the carpet."

"I don't care!!!"

"Would you pick him up and throw him away after you wacked him? or would you just leave him there and wait for me to pick him up?"

"Wait for you!!!"

"Haha! I wonder where he came from?! Under your chair?!"

"I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT!!!! UGH! Good thing you're here."

Tomato Experiment

Wooly saw the Topsey Turvey commercial and decided he wanted to try it. We decided to buy 2 plants and do an experiment - one in a planter & one in the Topsey Turvey. Both plants (Bush Early Girl) were the same size, same planting soil, same fertilizer, same amount of sun & water....

The Topsey Turvey has 2 flowers blooming, but looks terrible. It's trying to lift it's head up. I'm wondering if it can photosynthesize through the underside of it's leaves. It looks stressed out to me.

The Planter has lots of buds, but no flowers blooming. It looks relaxed.

It's fun, because it gives us something to watch. On our walks, we look for other Topsey Turveys. There's a house with strawberry turveys, so we'll see if they get fruit.

I told my friend Tracy that we're just a garden gnome away from being in a trailer park... She died laughing.

I just want some tomatoes...
No spiders. No beer. No garden gnome. Just tomatoes.

And I want to be Queen. Where's my crown? ;)

Happy Knitting! Watch out for spiders.

It's All Looney

2010-04-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

I picked up 1604 stitches for the borders. I find humming a tune helps distract me. I Ktb of each border stitch so their legs would be crossed, like a proper Shetland shawl.

I'm knitting in the round, so knitting odd rows and purling the even row. I was worried about purling in pattern, but found it's just a little slower. Glad I'm doing it this way. I hate sewing pieces together.

Through row 20 of the border. You can see the 'crossed legs' in the middle of the picture. Those are some huge jewels on that crown. Don't be too critical, in the Wise Words of Wooly, "It always looks like shit until you block it..." Gotta love him. :)

It's ALL looney

Wooly has been having his own drama. I kept telling him we don't need drama. That's why I didn't blog on Wednesday... drama! I was relieved to go to work on Thursday until I got on the elevator & Helen told me that we have to stay at our desks unless we're on break & absolutely NO visiting... WTF? Sure enough, opened my email & there it was in black & white. They even have a bitch on patrol. So now I'm getting angry. Deep breaths.

We've been doing monthly furlough & were scheduled for one on Friday. We get an email that there's a 'crisis' so no furlough, you ALL have to be here tomorrow. WTF? Not that I care, I didn't have plans, but some people were heading out of town for the 3 day weekend. Cheryl shows up running her mouth about how we should be thankful we're needed because they could send us all on permanent furlough... Patricia, in her calm voice, was trying to reason with her. I said, "Yeah, you tell her Patricia!" which led to Cheryl wagging her finger in my face while standing over me & bitching me out. I stood up. Threw my pen down. Put my hands on my hips and very calmly ripped her a new one without swearing or raising my voice - yay me! Pauline told Cheryl to leave and Patricia was leading her away and I said, "Yeah, walk away Cheryl. Go back to your desk. I guess the 'no visiting/stay at your desk' rule doesn't apply to everyone!" All the while, she was still running her mouth. My neighbors nervously giggled and said, ""Geez Michele, we've never seen you that mad.... ever! You got my back?!" I said, "Absolutely! Sorry guys! I'm sitting down now." Then I saw a Supervisor walk by & look over at me, I nodded at her and could tell she was going after Cheryl.

Right before we left, we got an email saying there's no crisis, so we get our furlough. Which was great, but too late. I was stressed out. My neck was killing me. I didn't knit that night.

The next day, Wooly hands me this...

I love my friends! I laughed so hard! and still do every time I look at this. Notice how she is very excited but well behaved and he... is not?! HAHAHAA! Kinda looks like me & Wooly, eh?! LOL!

I told them I'm showing this to everyone I know. We all need some levity.

So, don't let the 'turkeys' get you down! The sun it out today!

Love you all! Maybe next time I'll have a crown to show you! :)

Spring Fever

2010-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Just to give it a shiny surprise, I'm adding crystal AB beads (size 6) to the centers of the O's on my Hibiscus.

It makes me smile and the colors are fulfilling my Spring Fever. I wore my capris yesterday and wished I had this sweater done so I could have worn it. :)

"Let's help her!"

"STEP AWAY from The Queen you two! She's coming!"

I've got 188 of 208 edge points done on The Queen. Twenty more to go... I can smell victory! I'm not looking forward to picking up 1200+ stitches for the border. But, The Princess had ~864 stitches in it's border, so what's ~400 more? Don't answer that! lol :)

I still love this color and Phoenix yarn.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of this

I got my copy of The Wedding Ring Shawl. It came with samples of yarn. I'm really glad I didn't order the Gossamer Cashmere. It's super fine. I'm sure I could snap it just by blinking!

I'm probably going to use Phoenix. I want to dye it myself, so I'm thinking of colors. I'm still in love with Collete's red silk one that she dyed. But, I also love turquoise... and you can't go wrong with a pale lilac... I just know I'm not knitting it in white. I learned my lesson from The Princess - you gotta love the color cuz you'll be staring at it for months! The fun is in the planning and I won't be starting until I get The Queen done, so I've got lots of time. :)

The gargoyle is back. This is Mama. She's the original feral cat that our neighbor brought in pregnant a few years ago. After she delivered four kittens, they got them all fixed. I think it's just Mama and Pachino (black scruffy) left.

I like this photo of her. It reminds me that I need to get off the fence. I can't always be a spectator.

When I moved in with Wooly, I brought my dog with me. She passed away in 2006. Now I want another dog, but Wooly says no, not until you retire... he will be my dog. So, my Rottweiler & I have been walking around the neighborhood 4 times a week. We noticed a lot of houses for sale and found out they're mostly foreclosures. There was a real cute rambler by the park that we've always liked, so we looked in the windows. The next day they were doing an inspection & the following day it was sold.

It's hard to be content. I should be happy I've got my health, my job, my friends/family, my knitting projects, my Rottweiler.... Then again, I think it's all part of the human struggle of always wanting something better. Or maybe, it's just Spring Fever!

Oh, and we saw a coyote in the backyard on Sunday! Urban wildlife. Gotta love it!

Happy Spring!
I gotta go knit some more edge points... :)

Knitting Olympics GOLD!

2010-03-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Dale of Norway Fox Sweater Kit - $$$

Days of 2010 Vancouver Olympics - 17

Virtual Gold Medal - PRICELESS!

Dale of Norway Fox Sweater

Dale of Norway Falk - Black, Copper, Natural, Tartan Green & Flame Red

2.75, 3 & 3.5mm needles

So, you remember Stephanie put out the challenge. She got her crew neck Whistler finished. It made me happy to see her wearing it. :) It was a mad dash for me to get done too. By Sunday night, I had the body finished and was sweating getting 2 sleeves + finishing done. Wednesday night I asked myself if this was fun? (NO!) and if I wanted to quit? (no.) Friday night I had the sleeves done. Saturday I sewed & cut the arm holes, sewed sleeves in & knit the neckband. Sunday I tacked everything down & steamed.

I made the sweater shorter by leaving off the ribbing on the sleeves & bottom. I folded up, like I did on Whistler. I also made it narrow, only have 5 foxes per side. I had to ignore my 'critical eye.' I don't understand why the wrist pattern doesn't match the pattern on the bottom edge of the sweater.

So here are Kamati & I watching the Gold medal hockey game. I know nothing about hockey. How many periods in the game? (3) You broke your stick?! Are you kidding me? (It happens often.) Why are they fighting? (It happens often, you heard the joke... I went to a fight & a hockey game broke out...) How come they're always by our goal? Where's our goalie? Where'd he go? How come no one is helping? (ZZzzzzzz...) I think I wore Wooly out. Did you hear me screaming when we tied it up 2-2?!

Remind me NOT to knit a sweater for the next Olympics. It was a struggle. I want to watch the Olympics, not knit. But, it's done. I got my gold medal (see sidebar). And I think my Fox rocks! LOL! ;)

I'm officially NOT knitting for a week, or two. I got burnt out. I ran Spindrift over my finger & said, "Ewww." Now that's a shame. I do have a shawl I want to make. And want to make Wooly a Dale (I'm forcing it on him.) and was measuring his tummy. He'll have you know his chest is still bigger (by 1/2") ! lol!

Happy Knitting! I'll be joining you soon! :)

Whistler Gold

2010-02-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

My first visit to Canada, I was around 2 yrs old, we were at Stanley Park (Vancouver BC) and I ran around collecting all these maples leafs that were everywhere on the ground. I showed Mom who said, "Wow Michele, those are some big maple leafs! They're bigger than your head! Look at the flag... it has a maple leaf on it. We're in Canada..." My eyes got big... I love Canada! Maple Leafs - YAY!

When the Knit a Norwegian KAL started, Whistler was an obvious choice. Some of the events will be held at Whistler for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics...

Dale of Norway Whistler 2005

Dale of Norway Heilo - Black, Cherry Red, Natural & Goldenrod

2.75mm, 3mm & 3.5mm needles

size small

It is my first Norwegian sweater. It wasn't easy. I called it 'My Project from Hell.'

I had problems with tension. I figure I knitted it twice. It killed my sewing machine, so I had to borrow my Mom's. I ended up with at black collar instead of red because the pattern was wrong - the symbols for red & black are switched. I noticed after I sewed in the zipper & tacked all the facings down. Now I like the black better (do you really want the black plackets pointing at your chin/nose?!)

I need to thank the members of the KAL who were so supportive, encouraging & sympathetic. And my Mom for the use of her sewing machine. Without you, I would have gave up.... instead...

Look at the maple leaf! It's bigger than my head! The hat is a bonus. I love my sweater & hat. :)

My goal was to be finished in time for The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics! YAY me in pajama pants! Why is Kamati guarding the yarn? Why is Smoothie staring me down?

Whoa, now it's getting interesting. What are those things made of? Are they totems?

I joined the 2010 Knitting Olympics. I will be making my Dale of Norway Fox sweater. I get to start when the Olympic Flame is lit and have to be done before it's extinguished - 17 days. Why am I doing this? I'm Going For Gold! The YarnHarlot - Stephanie is putting out the challenge. She will be knitting Whistler! I'm sure she will finish in time. She's super speedy, skilled & Canadian. :)

Yay! The flame is lit! (Wooly went to sleep, so I had to take the picture.) It's past midnight. Why? Because they aired it on a delay. Jerks! So I casted on & went to bed.

This morning I woke up early & got this done.

Going for Gold baby!

Leaf Me Alone

2010-01-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

I got a Maple Leaf!

Whistler front

Whistler back

I can't remember how many times I ripped and re-knitted. Wooly asked what was wrong with me and finally exclaimed, "This is The Project From Hell!" This may be the one and only Norwegian sweater I make, so I'm determined to do it right.

My 'placket buddy' Jewel wrote an excellent blog post on how to do the neck decreased in the round. After reading it, I ripped back to the neck opening and did it like she did. Thanks Jewel! I'm very happy now. :)

So now I started a sleeve...and am in 'sleeve hell.' So far so good, I haven't ripped back, but it's early yet. ;)

Speaking of hell...

I don't know if it's because I'm having problems with this sweater... this month has been hell. Lots of anxiety for me. Work is total chaos. I met with my supervisor & asked if I had anything to worry about. He said, "No, you are 3rd highest in the group and part time... sign here." I was shocked I was doing that well, so I signed. Then everyone was questioning why I signed it... which caused doubt. So I talked to him again & he showed me the stats. I'm just going to continue on. I guess I'm worried about job security... like it exists! lol!

So, I cut my hair.

Then there's another part of life that's been out of my control. It finally got 'settled' yesterday. So I'm back to my old self again. I decided to celebrate and bought myself some tulips.

My parents just came back from Hawaii.
My brother, SIL, Mr K & Corey are heading to Hawaii in a few days.
When are we leaving?!

I told Wooly we should go to the Coast and take our sweaters. We've had a mild winter, so never wore them. I would take Fulmar & Whistler. I want to get away!

I guess I should be happy I got the 'monkey' off my back.

Back to sleeve hell for me. I've been watching skiing & snowboarding on tv. It's getting me excited for the Olympic Games next month. I'm hoping to have Whistler done by then. I'm not holding my breath though.

Happy Knitting! :)

Norway Out

2010-01-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

"Thanks Auntie Michele for my very own hat!

I can take it off all by myself! I'm a big boy!"

"Thanks Auntie Michele for my hat! Will you buy me a car?

No, a real one."

I sent Mr K his hat for his birthday. They sent me a picture of Corey wearing it & it's too big & he looks pissed. So, I made Corey a hat for his birthday. Yes, the guilt worked. ;)

"What is it? I'm scared!"

"Smoothie, don't get too close, it might eat you!"

"Yeah, Mom calls it a 'black hole!' "

"She said, 'Shish Coom Bah, who knew Stockinette could be so blah...'"

"Yeah, then Dad laughed."

The Norwegian KAL started New Year's Day (midnight Oslo time). It's been lots of fun seeing everyone's progress. I'm glad lots of other people were in stockinette hell with me. Wow, I forgot how much I dislike doing it. Now that I'm in the color work, I'm enjoying it. I ripped out the color work twice. Still not thrilled, but hoping blocking evens everything out.

2009 Wrap Up

I was reflecting on 2009 and have to say it was a good year.

I finished The Princess!

Finishing The Princess was definitely a highlight!

Dyeing yarn and having 'beginner's luck' was also a highlight.

Not to mention Corey being born.

I got full range motion back in my right arm & shoulder. Realized my headaches were a result of my neck being out.

The biggest highlight.

I was sitting on my couch, holding the tv remote, half watching tv & half wishing the KAL would hurry & start, when Wooly walks up to me. I held up the remote to give it to him, he motioned me to scoot over. I got scared thinking this either means tickle attack or bad news.

He says, "I want to tell you something... You know, I've been waiting my whole life for this... I'm very happy with where we 'are' right now and have YOU to thank for it."

I say, "What?! WOW! I can't believe it! Say it again!"

Miracle.

You know, we want to know we're loved & appreciated. Men, you need to say it out loud. Eating all your food off your plate isn't enough. Tell your better half that you love & appreciate her. Just do it. Now.

Onward to 2010

New Years Day my amaryllis just started to open up. Today it looks like this.

I'm hoping this year will be a great year too.

I'm looking forward to finishing Whistler (the black hole).

The Wedding Ring Shawl is being reissued. (I'm very curious about the cashmere.)

And I hope to make great progress on The Queen. (I'm still knitting the edge points. Don't know why that's so hard for me! But, I'm over half done.)

So, cheers to 2010!

I've been saying, "Here's to a new decade!"

Wooly corrected me, I guess the new decade starts next year. I still don't get it, but guess it really doesn't matter.

Happy Knitting! :)

Holiday Cheer

2009-12-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

Ready? OK!

I love my comfy sweater.

I love my comfy sweater!

How cute are these boots?

How cute are my boots?!

Forget the jewels and cashmere.

Forget the... wait... no!

Hand knit sweaters.

And cowboy boots!

Sending you holiday cheer!

Best wishes for 2010!

Wooly & Michele :)

This is our holiday card for this year. Inspired by my favorite commercial. Every time it comes on, I drop everything, jump up and down and scream with the girls. Wooly frantically tries to find the remote & hit 'mute' while demanding that I stop. It's hilarious!

I told him, "Okay, one funny photo! Here, hold my leg!"

"What do you mean by funny? Do I have to?"

*click*

YAY! Needless to say, the funny one made it as our card!

It Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas...

"I think these pipes are going to work out!"

*click*

"What was that for? Oh, yeah, I guess it is looking like Christmas..."

Wooly is very happy with his new bagpipes. He already showed all his friends and they agree that he stole them. Now he's busy fussing around with reeds & bags trying to get the perfect tone. He even had me sew on a patch on his bag. He wanted me to show him how to use my sewing machine, but I don't want him messing around with it. It might get broken & I need it for my Norwegian sweater. Priorities man!

I wasn't about to 'forget the jewels...' and not get anything for Christmas. I got myself freshwater pearls this year, 3 different kinds - white is freshwater, middle is Tahitian ringed, right is Autumn keshi. Yes, I wear them all together at once. Kamati likes them too.

"...quiet! Here she comes!"

*click*

"What was that for?"

"What's going on here?"

"Nothing! Honest!"

Yeah, right! I thought the lamb went home... and turtle is still here? Sigh. No good, I tell you.

Wishing you lots of good cheer this holiday season!

Celebrate wholeheartedly... with gusto!

We'll see you next year!

Got your queue ready?

... and to all... a cheery night!

Delphine Amore

2009-12-06T16:43:00.000-08:00

I finished Delphine just in time for the cold weather.
Never mind that face I'm making.

I shortened it by 2 charts because I'm short. Notice the odd pattern? Just before the V. It's a Twisted Tradition's trademark. I love this sweater.

When I showed Wooly, he said, "That's SPECTACULAR!"

I said, "Yep! It's Lorraine, she's spectacular!"

I'm her biggest fan. :)

Delphine by Lorraine Condotta

Jamieson's Spindrift

3mm & 3.25mm needles

size small

St Moritz

I'm going to try something new for the New Year. I've always loved those Dale of Norway sweaters, so when a KAL formed, I jumped in.

Norwegian yarn isn't sticky like Shetland yarn (Jamieson's) and is thicker weight.

I decided it would be a good ideal to knit something small to see if I could get gauge & make the colorwork show up. Mr K's birthday is this month, so what better than a child's hat?!

St Mortiz Child's Hat

Dale of Norway Falk - wool

2.75mm & 3.25mm needles

For Mr K

We won't talk about how many times I started over... or who's evil plan it was to include a row with 3 colors (black + blue + white)... yes, that row in the center of the diamond with the white dot. Falk is heavy duty yarn, surviving all my ripping! I left off the tassel. Mostly because I didn't want to make one. :)

Mr K is going to be three! He's in Pre-preschool and has 3 blonde girlfriends. I wonder if they're Norwegian?! LOL!

I'm showing the inside because I want to share how I attached the edge to the inside.

You know how you cast on, knit so many rows for the edge, purl one row for the fold line and after you're all done making the hat, they tell you to sew the edge inside the hat loosely...

When I made Ruth Sorensen's hat, she has you pick up stitches on your cast on, then knit them together with the stitches you have on your needle. (Like a 3 needle bind off, without the bind off.) You end up with a really nice finished inside. Then you just continue knitting your hat as patterned.

It's Amore

Wooly & I were watching television...

Wooly says, "What's this commercial for? Oh pizza! Yum"

I sang, "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie... it's AMORE!"

Wooly starts belly laughing, red in the face & says, "What?"

Me, "It's AMORE. It's LOVE! It's a real song!"

Wooly, "I know. Eye in your pie... in the sky... it's Maury?"

Me, "No! lol! It's Italian, sing it with me..."

I was so thrilled! I got him to sing! He refuses to sing because he thinks he sounds like an asthmatic bullfrog. I've been hearing him sing it every now & then & it just tickles me!

So, this morning we're eating brunch & Wooly says, "I bought a set of bagpipes... they were on sale... I saved a thousand dollars!... what's wrong with you? You're so mad you can't even look at me! Oh, there we go, the eye roll! What is it? (and he sings) IT'S AMORE!!!"

That did it! I busted out laughing!

So guess what I ordered?

Unconditional Love!

LOL! :)

Okay, so hope you have a wonderful holiday full of laughter & love!

Happy Knitting! :)

Green Dragon

2009-11-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

"DUDE! You're awesome!"

"I know. Hold up, I've gotta do something..."

"C'mon Penguin Boy..."

"I'm coming... I thought I was a cat..."

"Okay you two... for the BLOG!"

"GRRR... Mighty Green Dragon!!"

"Geez... who invited Godzilla?! What's a blog?"

"You know... Auntie Michele... sends stickers..."

"Oh! I got stickers! Anyone want a sticker?

For your shirt, camera, phone, remote, floor, foot..."

I've got the cutest nephews ever...

In Knitting News

Anne's Hibiscus Cardigan is OUT!
I shamelessly begged Village Yarn & Tea to order the pattern.

I showed Mom and she wants one too... :)

Anne use to be my Spindrift yarn supplier. She spoiled me. She's focusing on designing & closed her online shop. She's fairislefanatic in Ravelry

I can't wait to start, but first I'm going to finish Delphine...

One more chart & I'll be at the shoulders!

I realized I wanted it shorter, so I cut out 2 charts.
I'm knitting checkerboard steeks for the armhole & vertical stripes for the neck steek.

This is designed by my buddy Lorraine. She's Knittingham in Ravelry.
I love this sweater & can't wait to wear it.

If you're not in Ravelry, you're missing out. Just saying. I'm glad I joined.

And I started The Queen...

"I want the tiara!"

After much thought, I decided to knit it inward. Work & turn so I garter stitch.
I've got 68/208 edge points done.

This is the Phoenix yarn I dyed this summer & it just happens to match my Japanese Iris. I love knitting with this yarn. Sorry I didn't pin block it, but I'm kinda scared, it's so thin!

I'm being very quiet about this because it's going to take forever & I'm enjoying sweater knitting right now.

So, got Thanksgiving plans?

We got invited to one of Wooly's friend's house last month.
Just now, Wooly's friend informed us that they WON'T be doing Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, we told everyone else who invited us that we already had plans.

The 'cheese' stands alone...

I'm kinda pissed.

Wooly thinks we can just call one of our other friends & tell them we're available... basically invite ourselves over. I hate it when people do that.

I told Wooly we're just going to make our own dinner & have a quiet day by ourselves.... which is really fine with me... no stress... no expectations...

What makes it worse, is this is the second year in a row that this 'friend' did this!

Okay, I'm done venting.

What's on your list for Christmas? I'm thinking better 'friends'. LOL!

Happy Knitting! Peace out! :)

Percy, Get Your Guitar

2009-10-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Percy Shawl hugging Hydrangea

Nuppy goodness! Another chevron block.

The details:

Percy Shawl by Sanne Kalkman

Knit Picks Bare Merino - 53 grams - 467 yds

Jacquard dyed lilac + a touch of hot fuschia by me

Size 8 beads - TR light marine blue with gold luster

Addis Lace needles - US5 or 3.75mm

27" x 52"

Mom's Christmas present

I know why some people skipped Chart B. Purling in pattern took total concentration! Was worth the effort. I also love all the nupps. (No! I'm NOT crazy! *wink*)

Changes I made: On the edge- YO, Ktb, YO on odd rows, on even rows I added the bead using a crochet hook. Learned this from Romi - Bluebird. It makes the beads show in the front. I also Ktb on the Center stitch.

The double stranded cast off used 4 grams of yarn. I love that look.

Road Trip

We went to Ellensburg, WA because Wooly researched and found a Martin J40 guitar there. It was the only one in the USA besides the 2 at Martin. He wanted to play it & find out if it was really as good as everyone says.

He finger picks, early 1900's Blues style

Meanwhile, I was making friends...

"Hey lady, why don't you make yourself useful & rub my belly?

Easy now, I'm NOT a dog.

Ohhh, yes... right there" *puurrrrrr & kneading*

This cat is the resident shop cat. He followed me everywhere. Rubbed against my leg, and threw himself down, belly up in front of me. Very dog-like. I kneeled down to pet him. Started humming to Wooly's playing while rubbing his belly & he turned into a purr machine. Then the kneading started. I think he was ready to follow me home.

Then Wooly says, "I'm buying this guitar."

Me: "What?! That was fast!"

Sale guy: "It's an excellent guitar, I don't know why it's still here. We've had it since 2002."

Me: "Bye black kitty..."

Kitty: "dammit. I get you trained & you leave."

Needless to say, Wooly is thrilled to have his perfect guitar. He feels like he stole it from them, it's brand new. It sounded great with old strings and he knew he was buying it after the first strum. Now that it's got new strings, it's even better.

Here's some photos taken on the way back.

The sign says 70mph. We were going 75 & everyone was passing us.

We must be getting old.

Some Fall colors. It was really pretty.

Now Wooly wants to move to Ellensburg. Don't worry, he always wants to move to wherever we visit.

Next time I'll have some Fair Isle sweater knitting to show you.

Until then, happy knitting!

Peace out! :)

Bluebird

2009-09-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

"Look! We're a bluebird!"
"Shut up. It's too hot. Hurry, take the photo."

The details:

Bluebird by Rosemary Hill aka Romi

Knit Picks Gloss Lace - merino & silk - Mermaid

2 skeins = 880yds = 100grams

Size 3.75mm or US5 Addis Lace circular needles

S/L blue green beads - size 8

21"x 72"

I did 30 repeats of the center pattern. I had 2 grams left - like to live dangerously! lol! I remember when I first saw this stole on Romi's blog... I knew I had to make it for Poohla. It was an enjoyable knit and well written pattern.

Swatching

Everytime I look through Haapsalu sall, I love Karukellakiri 1 - page 77.

So, I asked in Ravelry what it means and it's a Pasque Flower - purple.

They have rules about what defines a Happsalu sall. Now that I know, I'll probably break every one of them! lol! :D

I swatched using 2mm needles in Cashwool (left) and got 9x8 cms.

I swatched with Zephyr and 2mm needles (right) and got 10x9.5 cms.

But notice how the nupps show up better in the Cashwool?!

I love that twisty thing in the middle too.

I was so excited, I ran out to Main Street Yarn to buy some Cashwool.

I bought 2 skeins - pale yellow & pink. Brought it home and decided I hated the colors, so I'll overdye them!

The yellow one I dyed with Jacquard lilac & a touch of hot fuchsia.

It ended up being a sad mauve. Wooly said, "This is sad, sick, putrid... You're NOT going to knit with this are you? DO OVER." He doesn't hold back his opinion! lol! So I decided to throw it back in the pot with one package of grape Kool Aid and ended up with the top skein! I love it now and think it looks like lilac flowers.

The pink one I overdyed in one package of orange Kool Aid and got a peach color - lower skein.

I might throw it back in the pot with another package of orange to make it darker. Haven't made up my mind yet.

So, I'm all ready to use the lilac skein for Karukellakiri 1. Then I noticed it's similar to Maikell in Knitted Lace of Estonia - one less nupp. Funny, I have Maikell in my queue. I guess I like what I like!

The Gossamer Web

Fleegle opened her Etsy store, and guess what else I like? Maybe too much!

"They're bigger that me!"

Top 3 are Love Potions 3 (hey, it has 3 in it's name, I had to get 3 of them!)

Left is Poppy (Padma), middle is Violetta (Vesper), right is Tequila Sunset (Fiona)

2/36 merino (35%) cashmere (35%) silk (30%)

They're so soft and have that shine from the silk. They live up to their name - Love Potion 3. I want one in every color! Yes, I gave them names, wouldn't you?! :D

Bottom left is Sheherazade in Ultraviolet.

2/36 camel (50%) cashmere (20%) merino (20%)

I'm calling her Shohreh. Deep, dark & mysterious.

She's my favorite. Who knew camel was soft?!

Bottom right is Vorpal Bunny Ranch in Quince.

2/36 merino (50%) angora (40%) cashmere (10%)

I'm calling her Miyamojo. If I were a color, I would be quince.

I've been looking for that color, so I'm thrilled!

What am I going to make with them? Huh? Can't they be pets?!

Well, I haven't decided. One will be Lerwick. One will be Spring Shawl & one will be Spider Queen. I would love to make The Wedding Ring Shawl out of Poppy, but don't think I have enough, not to mention, I don't have the pattern yet.

Be sure and stop by The Gossamer Web and read her stories/descriptions of Vorpal Bunny Ranch & AK47. She's very funny and a dyeing expert. I'm so thrilled that she's making these luxury yarns available for us. Thanks Fleegle! :)

OH! and look in the sold section. She dyed Phoenix Peacock. I almost died! I love that color! NO, I didn't buy it. I wanted to though.

Can't live by lace alone

And look what else I scored! St Aula in Calluna (dark green) & Pebble Beach.

So, yes, I will be knitting something other than lace in the future.

It's all Brigitte's fault! She showed her St Aula on her blog & I died. That just shoved me over the edge. Hers is blue & green. Beautiful!

I enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars. It's all smiles for me. I record it, so I can race through the commercials. I've got to say that I'm so proud of Kelly Osbourne. What a transformation! Gotta give Louis - her professional partner - alot of credit too, great teacher!

"Jonathan is a Smooth Champion like me... Smoothie!"

"Well, all the professionals have turtle tummies like me... Tale Telling Turtle!"

"SHUT UP you two!"

Okay, so I guess Kamati is tired of the peanut gallery. lol! :D

We're officially in Fall now, so I hope you're all gearing up for the holidays and cooler weather.

Until next time, happy knitting!

Peace out! :)

Red Fall

2009-09-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

"Here comes Smoothie Cottontail...
hopping down the bunny trail...
WHOA! That's the biggest maple leaf ever!"

Blocking shot. I never get tired of these Chevron blocks!

Post blocking. You can really see the beads shining & nupps popping.

The details:

Aeolian Shawl by Elizabeth Freeman

Knit Picks Bare Merino Laceweight - Geranium

(dyed by me using Jacquard Salmon & Fire Red)

S/L Gold beads size 8

3.5mm or US4 Clover circular bamboo needles

32" X 64" inches

I knit 8 yucca + 1 agave & beaded the edge.

It was a total joy to work on and I love everything about it.

I love Estonian Lace!

I'm ready for Fall... bring it on! :)

Speaking of Estonian Lace... look what came in the mail for me!

Direct from Estonia! If you love nupps, you'll love this book. I can't read Estonian, but the photos are breathtaking. It's full of patterns so you can design your own nuppy shawl. I've been hearing about this book via blogs... the final enabling happened in Ravelry.

I thought my nupps were pretty good... until I saw what they are suppose to look like. HAH! I'm always striving for perfection. :D

Now I want to learn Estonian.

More Red

"I wanna be a bagpiper!"

Poohla's second birthday. Can you spot Wooly? He's 5 years old & brother Snotty is 4.

Look! He's wearing this hat! LOL! I love it!

"Hey Merry! Is that YOU with the red ribbon in your hair? Looking pretty feminine! Who knew?!"

"Yes Michele!... That's me!... YEAH! Who knew?!... I was YOUNG once!"

Which poses the question... are bagpipers made or born?

I don't know either.

Wooly was just singing, "I wanna be a COWBOY..."

He's excited for Fall because he gets to wear his cowboy boots & jeans again...

Bluebird

I'm making progress on Bluebird for Poohla. The only blue bird I've seen are Blue Jays. I just happened to have one and he agreed to stand on the edge.

Blue Jays are really noisy, so you always know when they're around. I was standing in the kitchen thinking it would be nice if I had a photo of a real Blue Jay. Then I heard one... then I saw a flash of blue. I grabbed my camera & there he was standing on the fence holding his nut!

I can't believe I got a photo of him! I love that blue. I'm usually saying, "Hey Jay! You're disturbing my calm! What are you squawking about?"

Speaking of squawking...

Did you notice a familiar photo in the July/August Piecework Magazine on page 3?

Someone from Piecework saw that photo on my blog and emailed me and asked it they could use it. I said they could. Then they told me to write something to go with it. So I did. Then I forgot about it.

Early August I get an email from Anne - who's photo of Harry Bear wearing the bonnet she made got me started on this madness. She congrats me on my photo. Then I get an email from Monika - congrats on the photo.

What's funny is that Anne is in Canada & Monika is in Germany and they BOTH knew about it before me! lol! What a small world! So I called around and got 2 copies, one for me & one for Corey. (Hey Corey! Look! Your bonnet!)

I showed Mom and she asked why Corey's photo isn't in there like those 2 other cutie kids. Corey wasn't born when I sent the photo in and they wanted the 3 hats photo.

geez.

So, I hope you're ready for Fall. It was cool and rainy this morning, so I think Summer is over. That's okay with me, I've got my shawl!

Happy Knitting! :)

Dyeing for The Queen

2009-08-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at dyeing yarn ever, in my entire life...
I say I got lucky! Beginner's luck for sure! LOOK!
Same color as my Japanese Iris! I'm calling her my Japanese Iris Queen!
I used Jacquard Lilac + Hot Fuchsia.

My favorite flower... besides my pink peony.

It's 2/52 gossamer yarn. Merino (60%) Cashmere (20%) Silk (20%). It's Fleegle's 'Perfect Yarn' which she has named Phoenix. She bought it in Japan & loved it, then realized she bought the last skein ever. She contacted a mill in China who could reproduce it for her, but the minimum order was 50 kilos. She asked in Ravelry's Heirloom Knitting/Princess group if anyone wanted a cone or 10 skeins (both equal a kilo). I ordered 1 kilo in skeins, with the plan to dye it for my Queen. Fleegle is going to open an online store later this year. She's dyeing yarn like crazy & will have laceweight too. I'm pretty sure she will do well since lots of people know her & she's got a great reputation & an awesome knitter. I'm thrilled to be in on this from the start! I'm usually asleep when great opportunities arise.

I also dyed some Knit Picks Bare Merino laceweight...

and got this! Lilac + touch of Hot Fuchsia. I'm going to make Mom's Christmas present out of this.

I also made what I'm calling Geranium for my Aeolian out of the other skein of KP Bare laceweight. Fire Red + touch of Salmon. I was so anxious, I forgot to take a picture of the skein.

Which is good, because nothing has been thrilling me since I finished The Princess.

I've also started Bluebird for Poohla's Christmas present. This is KP Gloss - Mermaid. It's a little more green than this picture.

I asked Poohla what her favorite color is this year. She said, "Turquoise!" I fell on the floor, because turquoise is MY favorite color. I dug through my stash & took her 5 skein of various blue/greens and asked her which is her idea of turquoise? She chose the Mermaid. Then said, "But that (lacey lamb) is the color of turquoise stones..." which I consider turquoise! Good thing I asked!

I'm going to try and get Christmas knitting & maybe Delphine done before starting The Queen. Last year I was rushing and ended up hurting my shoulder. Don't want to repeat that.

I hope to be dyeing more for myself later too. I still have 8 skeins of Phoenix, which will make 4 more large gossamer shawls. Fun fun fun! Oh! and I found out that you can test the color you made in your pot by dropping in a little yarn. I didn't know that! Like I said, "Beginner's luck!"

Have a great week! Sending some luck your way! :)

My Princess

2009-08-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

"Dreams don't matter, unless you make them come true..."

Look!

Can you believe it?!

Oh My GOD!

I knit this?! Me?! Really?!

Look! I can wear it!

I can fly!

Center feather detail

I'm in love!

Really smitten!

Can't stop smiling!

I can't believe I finished this!

Breathe. Okay. Now the details.

Princess Shawl - Sharon Miller
Heirloom Knitting Gossamer Merino - 220grams
2mm US 0 Knit Pick Circular Needles

70.5" X 109" point to point
140" around upper edge
134" around bottom edge
26" from edge through Border to Center edge
24.5" from edge through border's center feather to Center edge pt
4" edge points

Started 1/1/2008
I took Laritza's advice & knit 72 edge points, picked up 12 sts per point + 1 in the middle = 865 sts.

After Center completed, I knit 2 rows, yo - K3 tog - yo break row to mimic the break row before the Border. Knit 2 rows. Took Seaglass' advice & short rowed, so there was no jog.

On the final edge I ran out of yarn. Ordered more 20 grams.

After I finished, I wasn't thrilled. I thought the Border looked too short & the Center too big. It really looked like Havarti cheese.

Wooly called me out & said, "You need to block it. It always looks like shit before you block it. DO IT NOW!"

I was skeptical. Washed the kitchen sink & let it soak for 30 minutes. Blocking took me 1.5 hours ... I'm anal. Water spray bottle was my friend.

Couldn't believe the transformation! I'm thrilled with it! Love it! Can't stop staring & petting!
Finished & blocked 7/31/09.

Photo shoot 8/1. Almost had a major disaster. Zipper on my dress is NOT my friend! Shawl got hooked on it. Wooly saved the day. No damage. Whew!

Boy, this sure was an emotional roller coaster ride. I'm glad I finished on a high note. Glad I stuck with the wool too. It was really smooth & strong (2ply) and blocked out great. I kinda still wish it was a color other than natural white.

I need to thank everyone for their encouragement, support & advice. I would have never completed this without you. Love you all!

I still can't believe I knit this. ME! *happy dance*

So, what's your dream?

I think I've got a Queen in my future! :)

But don't hold your breath. There's a lot of thinking & planning to do for Her.

Onward & upward! :)

Unplug

2009-07-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

I finished Aeolian for Mom's birthday.
Gotta say, I absolutely love everything about it and wish I could keep it for myself.

I only had 1 skein, so I made the shoulderette with the narrow edge.

Not the true color, but I'm trying to show the beads.

Hand Maiden Sea Silk - 70% silk 30% Seacell - Melon

S/L Transparent Light Amber AB beads - size 8

Clover bamboo needles - 3.5mm US4

23" x 42"

I really want to keep it for myself.
I'll be making a large one for myself soon. I'm not going to edit the beads. The big decision is which yarn to use. I have lots of precious lace yarn... one will be sacrificed for this dream project. :)

Unplug

We decided we needed to 'unplug' and go to Cannon Beach Oregon.

Here we are by Haystack Rock. This will be our Christmas photo. Unless we come up with something better.

Wooly complained about my camera (Nikon) the whole time we were there. When he looked at the photos on the computer, he said, "HEY! Your camera takes NICE photos! I look ALOT better here, than in real life!"

Dude, the camera doesn't lie! He drives me crazy! He wished I had brought the Canon, but I wasn't going to drag it around with me.

We really unplugged and had fun drifting along. We're having post-vacation blues now.

Self timing camera fun.

You know the song... sing it with us!

Getting to know you...

Getting to know all about you...

Getting to like you...

Hoping that you like me...

Getting to know you...

Putting it my way, but nicely... (Wooly's sock!)

You are precisely, my cup of tea!

We went to Brother's house and had dinner with family & friends.

Mr K loves his camera (like brother & I).

I told Brother to look at the photos Mr K took...

Brother: "Who taught Mr K how to do the self timer?" while giving me the evil eye.

Me: "I don't know... Not me!... HONEST!" LOL!

We had the camera on the top of the couch.
Mr K was thrilled that the Wii was in the photos too. :)
I was thrilled that Corey & Wooly joined us... and that we had the giraffe & duck in the photos too.

Spending time with kids is another great way to unplug!

You know, I haven't knitted a stitch this last week. I didn't take knitting to the Coast. Since we've been back, I've been at work, or it's been too hot.

Since I last posted, I got through chart 1 of Genevieve.
I got half way through the final edge of Princess. I'm so ready to be done with Her Highness!

So, until next time, take a break & unplug! :)

Curse Continues

2009-07-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Sure enough! I ran out of yarn on the final edge!
Remember how Unst took me 3 tries?!
The Heirloom Knitting Curse continues!

The good news is that I knit 2 row, knit a break row, knit 2 rows, after I completed the Center... and took Seaglass' advice & short rowed them, so there is no jog.

The Princess has been sitting in her sexy bag...
I got an additional skein...
See it sitting in the bag too...?
There they sit...

Genevieve

While I was waiting for the yarn to arrive,
I decided to test my fate...

I started Genevieve. I ordered the kit from Renaissance Dyeing when it first came out. It's been sitting next to me on my couch ever since. I would pet it & admire the colors daily.

I 'talked' to the dyer via Ravelry & she suggested I get started. LOL! :)

Being the type that doesn't disappoint... I started.

Wouldn't it be funny if I ran out of yarn... NOT! LOL!

Aeolian

For Mom's birthday, I'm knitting her Aeolian.

I'm using Handmaiden Seasilk & S/L Gold AB beads & Bamboo needles.
It's absolute heaven for me.

I think Elizabeth Freeman is a genius. I loved Laminaria & made 2 of them. I'm going to make another Aeolian for myself. It sure has a lot of beads though. Might edit that on mine.

What's Blooming?

My pink Peony is blooming. I wait all year for them to bloom. Love love love them! I didn't get as many as last year. I think it's because it was a tough winter.

Despite lots of stress in my life, my neck & shoulder has stabilized! YAY! And my range of motion for my arm is better than normal! YAAY!

I still have a 'chicken arm' when I put my hand on my hip, and can't put it behind my back. Doc says that's going to take longer, so keep stretching that tendon. Will do!

I took Mom out to lunch & told her about my 'battle.' Poor Mom was biting her fingernails & finally told me I need some peace. Funny, my brother told me, Wooly & I need a spa day. I told him I need to go by myself... he laughed. Wooly is working on being kind to me. I think it's fear aggression... you know, like dogs. He's not use to me being less than 100% and doesn't know how to say, "Hey, I'm worried about you..."

Work has been a real pain in my headache too. I don't know why I can't handle the stress of it all. We get to keep the 11 positions, but all the full time people only work 38 hour weeks through the end of the year. People are pissed. I keep saying that we ALL win, but am concerned about what will happen next year... do they cut hours down to 35?!

Anyways, at least I've got Aeolian to work on! Absolute joy!
OH! and it's sunny!
And I'm on my summer schedule - work 2 days per week!

YAAY!

Have a great week! :)

Nice Dog

2009-06-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

"Hey! Look at the nice dog over there in the truck...
Let's go say 'hi' to the nice dog..."

"How do you know it's a nice dog?!"

"C'mon! Let's go make friends!"

"Yeah, you're a nice dog, aren't you..."

This is a rare moment...

Wooly petting a dog?! Are we in bizzarro world?!
You know I love animals, especially dogs.
Wooly likes to say, "Yeah, I love other people's dogs... I love animals... I love to EAT them!"

Don't worry, he hasn't eaten a dog.

Notice the Gemsboks on his shirt? Yes! Like Kamati! :)

Scottish Highland Games

It's that time of year again!
We went to Ferndale WA last Saturday. I went to hear the bands. Wooly wanted to listen to the individual competitions too.

You know my shoulder still hurts, and I'm not suppose to be carrying anything heavy... like a CHAIR! I finally just set my chair down, sat on it.

Wooly comes over & I ask him what he thinks...
"Oh, I can make as many mistakes as they can!" LOL! :)

We had lunch with his friend's family. They have 3 cute grandkids, who were excellent helpers. They brought out & set up all the condiments for the hotdogs & hamburgers & chips.

The oldest child (around 7 yrs old) pointed & yelled out,
"NO dogs allowed! Absolutely, NO dogs!"

We look over, and there's a guy walking this huge black & tan dog.
I say, "Yeah! That's one huge dog!"

All around the park there were signs that said exactly what she said.
It was pretty funny. I tried really hard not to laugh, but it was really funny.
Kids are so funny. :)

SFU World Champions

After lunch it was Pipe Band Competition time - yay!

The RMM grade 3 pipe band (SFU's feeder band) marched up to the line & there was a delay. I looked over at the Judges' table & asked Wooly if we were waiting on a Judge again. He disgustingly said, "Maybe..." Then I look back at the field & Wooly says, "What's Jack doing on the field?" I said, "Isn't that his son that he's yelling at?!" Wooly says, "Yes, his son is the Pipe Major... Holy crap! I've never seen Jack that mad!" Then they started playing a tune. Wooly thinks he was concerned about the pipes going out of tune during the wait.

You know SFU won the World's last year. Wooly thinks that now that they've won it, they want to keep it & make Canada a hub for world piping... lots of pressure. YIKES! I don't need that kind of pressure!

In Knitting News

I'm distracting you from The Princess...

Here's Delphine...
I started this earlier this year, just never blogged about it. I love how the greens read blue. I also love large XOX patterns & that the X's are speckled. Now that I'm immersed in lace, I miss fair isle.

In Princess News, I've got 12 more rows on the Center, and then the Edging, left to do. It's frustrating having a bum shoulder... I'ld be on the Edging by now, dammit. When I work on it, I feel like a Caterpillar making it's cocoon... I don't want to be a caterpillar anymore!! Alright, enough whining for this post.

See, I create my own pressure! :)

What's Blooming?

My white Peony is blooming! YAY! I got 2 flowers this year!

My pink one is still budding.

Speaking of white... Since I've been taking breaks from knitting, I've been watching QVC & buying make up. So, I put my 'face' on and walked into the living room while Wooly was watching Deadliest Catch (Crab) and Wooly says, "Wait, come here, there's something on your face... oh, it's just makeup... I thought you smeared something on your face..."

LOL! That just killed me! He's so use to me being a white face, with no color...like Smoothie!

"MOM! I heard that!"

Hahaha! Smoothie, I love you, relax!

Hey, don't you guys have a song you want to sing?

Tale Telling Turtle, "You put your right arm in, You put your right arm up, You put your right arm on the wall,... and you stretch your shoulder out..."

Smoothie, "You do the hokey pokey,... and you turn yourself around..."

Everyone, "That's what it's all about!"

Kamati, "Um, I'm NOT the wall! I going to poop now...!"

Yikes! Everyone RUN!

Nice white face dog

Okay, I'm off to do the hokey pokey,... er,... stretch my shoulder out.

Have a great week & enjoy the sunshine!

Maybe make a new friend! :)

Sit. Stay. Heal.

2009-05-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

Sit

Sorry for the absence. Lots happening in May.
Look at my buddy at 3+ months! He's so cute!
I look like Scary Auntie, but it's not about me...

Where's my brother?

This was taken at Mother's Day. Remember how the endorphins kicked in & lasted days when I first held him when he was born? Didn't happen this time!

Stay

Monday after Mom's Day, we get an email at work... "Emergency Mandatory Meeting @ 9am."
We all looked at each other... WTF?!

As it turns out, they're laying off 11 people from my group based on 'number of hours worked.'
We were all in shock. You know I only work 3 days a week, right?! Those who's start date was after me, all have more hours worked than me now!

No, I'm not sorry I'm working part time... even though I kinda shot myself in the foot.
They've never let people in my position go... ever. I'll survive this round of layoffs, but feel sick for those who are leaving. They're my friends & really good co-workers. I want everyone to stay.

Are you looking at me?!

These two black cats were yowling on our front stairs. I think the one looking at me is feral - real skittish. The other one has a collar & never looked at me. They both look kinda rough.

I wanted them to stay, but Wooly said he was going to throw water at them, so they left.
Wooly says the feral one is leaving deposits outside his window, by his chair. I reminded him that he IS the Shit Magnet. ;)

Heal

My right shoulder has been giving me pain since December. I was knitting like crazy, trying to get things done for Christmas & not taking breaks. It's been hurting ever since.

I went to my doctor, who blew me off & told me to lean into a corner & stretch out those muscles... I tried it. It hurt both shoulders, so I didn't continue. No, he didn't even do x-rays!

As a result of the stress of layoffs, it really started hurting. I looked in the mirror & couldn't put my hand on my hip, lift my arm straight up over my head or to the side, or put it behind my back.

I showed Wooly. He asked it was my brain misfiring. It's not. It's like my shoulder is locked. Impingement? Maybe, but I don't have full range motion of my arm - damn it! It's your neck. There's nothing wrong with my neck - damn it!

I was frustrated. He told me to call his Chiropractor. I don't like Chiropractors, but was desperate. As it turned out, I felt incredibly relaxed around him. He told me my 6th & 7th vertebrate were out, resulting in my tendons tightening up, everything is compensating for it. Sent me in for x-rays. Sure enough, those vertebrates were out & the ball of my arm was up too high - locked my shoulder - and my shoulder was too far forward & up. That's also why I've been getting headaches & feeling dizzy & lost strength in my right arm. Yes, I felt crippled!

He pushed my neck in. Pushed my shoulder down & back. We're now working on stretching out the tendons. He says the tendons take the longest to heal because so little blood goes through them. After 3 visits, I feel lots better & have my knitting control/tension back. I'm taking lots of breaks now. I didn't want to never knit again!

Hawaiian Sea Turtle telling a tale.

So I feel like I've turned from the speedy smooth rabbit or swift gemsbok, into a tale telling turtle. :)

Oh, and Smoothie is still miffed that the Easter Bunny never showed up. He washed his face & everything. He keeps showing me his tail & saying that someones pants is on fire (liar) for making him think EB was coming here. It wasn't me! He saw it on the evil tv! I told him maybe EB didn't have to come to our house since we have a resident rabbit... That really pissed him off. Oh! The tale telling turtle seems to have calmed him down. Finally, peace in Miyamojo. ;)

Wooly thinks it's so weird that I'm not knitting when he looks over at me during our tv time. I'm learning to take breaks... for my health!

Princess Havarti

Despite the pain (yes, I was in denial!) I managed to get pretty far on the Center.

So close & yet so far

My tension sucked for a while, but I didn't care. I've got 26 stitches left on each side to attach. 52 rows left! YAY! I'm on my last skein. I'm seriously wondering if I'm going to run out. I still have to do the rest of the edging around the bottom corner & along the top.

Humongous Havarti has a life of its own.

What blooming?

My Iris' are finally blooming!

I love these purple & white ones. I have lots of the solid lavender ones too. I keep thinking it would be a nice background for the Princess. I hope something nice is blooming by the time I'm finished with her!

So, take time to tell a tale! Or walk in your yard! Take pictures of your flowers!

For your health!

I'm off to stretch my shoulder.

Peace out! :)

Princess & the Dancing Cowboy

2009-04-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here she is... Princess Havarti!

I've been knitting along thinking she looks like Havarti cheese. Got near the end of the 8th repeat of the center & decided it was photo time. I think there are 13 repeats in all.

What a difference a photo makes. Even after I pin blocked it, I couldn't see her Highness... now I sure can. It's given me the 'oof' to happily give her the attention she needs.

I love the Laurel Leaf pattern, even though it was tedious. The Center even looks nice. I'm glad the stitches stayed on the needle during Her photo session. ;)

Tuesday = Date Day

Wooly & I go on a date every Tuesday.
Yesterday, we decided to go to my favorite Nursery to look at the flowers.

Look what we found! A Princess Plant! I never knew there was such a thing. And it's purple, patio plant. The leaves are kinda fuzzy. It would look great on our patio. We didn't get it because it's not frost friendly & we still have frost in the morning.

These Orchids always make me happy too. I want to try growing one of these. The lady said they bloom for 4 months. That makes it worth the money for me. They remind me of my Grandpa. He had Orchids in his garden in Kona Hawaii. He was a Kona Coffee Farmer. That's probably why I can't give up coffee. :) I'm going to get one as a reward for finishing the Princess.

Wooly wanted to go look at the motorcycles...

Here he is on a Ducati. He loves Italians. This is as close as he's getting if I have any say in the matter! Check out his new cowboy boot. They're African Antelope. Kamati wasn't thrilled. He doesn't think it was a Gemsbok though. Just think of how many different antelope there are.

What's Blooming at my house?

These pink flox are blooming. They brighten up the neighborhood. Wooly asked if they smell. I said, "No, why do you ask?" He said that he saw a guy walking by, cross the street to smell & look at them. A GUY!

Speaking of guys/cowboys. I've just got to say that I'm thrilled that Ty Murray is still on Dancing with the Stars! He's so cute! Just seeing him crack a smile makes me happy.

That's the one show that makes me really happy. I love watching the professionals dance with each other. They're so good & really able to present emotions. I do believe that your emotions affect those around you... but that's another post.

When they interviewed Ty he said that he's been determined from the start to do good.

Yay! Me too! Do good! Git er done!

I'm talking about my Princess... Git er done!

Do good! Peace out! :)

American Beauty Rose

2009-04-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

"A little rose that laughs upon its stem,
one of the sweets with which the gardens teem,
in value soars above an eastern gem - if tendered as a token of esteem."
Allan Cunningham - poet

American Beauty Shawl - by BadCat
JaggerSpun Zephyr - Cassis
S/L Gold AB beads & heart beads size 8/0
3.25mm or US3 Turbo lace needles
65" X 35"

I joined BadCat's KAL for her birthday. She wanted American Beauty Roses for her garden. The real color is a dark magenta. I made mine pink. (Top photo is closest pink)

So, what do I love best about this shawl?

The knit on front side edging?

The rose motif with heart beads?

There's also roses on the shoulders (top photo), where my wings would be.

The lacy bottom edge & shiny beads?

If I had to choose, it would be the last. It's hard to photograph (the human eye is really irreplaceable). It's really lacey & the beads shine & I can't stop touching or looking at it.

You know growing roses takes a lot of effort. This shawl is much easier & you'll have roses all year long.

Thanks BadCat! Another beautiful design! :)

Asian Beauty

Spring has arrived.

The skies are blue, the cherry blossoms & tulips & daffodils are coming out.
Wooly is coming out too.

Saturday morning we were drinking coffee & he jumps up and says,

"OH! I have to tell you what happened at the grocery store!

I was pushing my cart out to the car, when I looked up, and there was the most beautiful Asian woman I've ever seen! She had long flowy black hair... red tube top... and she was STACKED... white short shorts... and the most beautiful, perfect legs I've ever seen! Not a blemish anywhere! OH! and high heels... not too high, but you know, 2 inches. I looked around and everyone in the parking lot was staring at her too. She was with a real normal looking guy, kinda scruffy... I swear, she was an Asian model, you know, the kind in the Asian magazines! I wanted to tell her to wait there, while I go home & get my camera so I could take a photo of her! She's a REAL ASIAN BEAUTY!"

As you can imagine, he was really animated, and so excited about his Asian Beauty sighting.

You all know I'm Asian, right? It's a good thing I was able to laugh at him being so silly.

I went upstairs to get ready for my day, then went back down & found him making breakfast. I put on my pouty face & said, "OH! UGH! I'm no longer your Asian Beauty. Oh! I'm so old. I don't have perfect legs, boohoo..." He consoled me & told me I'm still hot... especially when I'm not wearing my pajamas.

So I went to lunch with my mom. You know my mom... lots of fun & animated too. I told her the whole story, just like I told it here. She was screaming with laughter. At the end, she says, "Michele, you missed your chance! You should have put on your short shorts & come back down the stairs!"

I told her, "I don't have perfect legs... you have better legs than me!" which lead to more screaming with laughter.

I came home & Wooly asked how it went with Mom. I told him I told her about his Asian Beauty sighting. He put his hands on his head & said, "OH NO! You didn't!!!"

So, now I've told the whole world. Neener neener!

He told me who she looked like... I'm not impressed. But, now I'm not cutting my flowy black hair... it's all I've got. :D

Easter Bunny Sighting

What happens when Smoothie sees the Easter Bunny on tv...

"OH! Easter Bunny! What a beauty! *Faint*"

"Bunny! Get up! You're on my leg! Dad! Put that camera down & get bunny off me!"

"Wow, what a beauty! Those long white ears... pink nose..."

"Whatever. You hurt my leg."

Beauty is subjective.

Physical beauty doesn't last... neither do roses.

Enjoy it while it last! :)

Or make yourself a shawl!

In Over My Head?

2009-03-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Princess my love...
The good news:
I got through the 3rd Border Chart & am ready to do the Laurel Leaf pattern.

The headache:

How to continue the edging around the 90* corner and make it look worthy.

There's been a lot of chatter & worry. The consensus is to short row it. (In Ravelry)

Boy, am I glad now that I'm using wool. I have faith in wool & it's forgiving nature. I'm sure it will gracefully curve around that corner. WOW! Thanks again to you all for encouraging me to just continue on with the merino. I love you!

The intimidation:

The members of the Princess Group in Ravelry are very accomplished and able to think outside the pattern.

I'm not.

One person did a provisional cast on & started knitting the border & will do the edging continually around at the end. She's brilliant. I wish I had thought of that! Next time, that's the way I'm doing it, especially if I'm not using pure wool.

After all, we want it to look fabulous after all the hours of concentration... every stitch counts.

The Queen

The good news:

After 13 days of waiting & convincing myself that she's lost & never arriving.... The Queen has made her appearance. I did my celebratory happy dance!

It's separate pages, not a booklet, which is great! I don't need to make copies of the charts. It came with samples of Cashsilk, Shetland Supreme & Gossamer Merino. That blue/gray cone is 2/48 cashmere/silk from Colourmart that I'm thinking of using. It's the same ratio of cashmere (70) to silk (30) as the Cashsilk, but slightly thicker... same weight as the Gossamer Merino (2/48) I'm using for the Princess.

The headache:

The Goddess says that you can complete it in 5 months... at 2 hours per night. HAH! That's so funny! She's a fast knitter. I'm not.

The Queen is made in 5 pieces - 4 borders + center. The Goddess says it took her 10 hours to 'finish/make up/sew' it all together. I hate sewing pieces together! (That's why I love Fair Isle! NO sewing!) UGH! At this point, I laid on the floor & sulked.

While lying there I thought, "Why can't I just knit the bottom border & continue knitting the center... while attaching the left & right border... the same way I have to do the Princess center... that way I just have to sew in the top border & the 45* angles where the borders join?"

I couldn't think of a reason why I couldn't do it that way... but I'm NO EXPERT!

I logged into Ravelry & guess what?! One of the members mentioned that she was going to do it that way too!! But, she's going to do the edging all the way around at the end. I think that doing it as written will be okay, because it's only a 45* angle to curve around & sew up.

I did my celebratory happy dance! I'm learning to think outside the pattern! And someone very experienced thought of the same method! OH HAPPY DAY!

I'm going to use 2mm needles & either the 2 blue/gray cones I have, or I'll order the Cashsilk... not sure what color... kinda liking the viola... the frost blue is pretty too.

Stitch Markers

I use jump rings as stitch markers & was getting frustrated because the gossamer merino was getting caught in the jagged joins. Just what I don't need! Cut yarn! I've noticed that people sell them with beads on the joins & thought, "Hey! I can make those!" so I did. They work great.

Meanwhile in Kamati & Smoothie's world...

"Hey Kamati, whatcha doing?"

"Ssshhh! I'm just looking! Mom said there's going to be gold hearts on the American Beauty Shawl. I don't see them in here..."

"Mom's gonna be mad! You KNOW how she feels about 'if it's NOT yours, DON'T touch it!!!"

"Shut UP! Use your indoor voice! lalaladeedahhh"

"KAMATI! ARE YOU GETTING NOSE JUICE ON MOM'S SHAWL??!!

Wooly caught them in the act & took this photo as evidence. I didn't find any nose juice, no harm... no foul.

The last chart for American Beauty is coming April 1st, so we get a mini break.

Until next time... Knit on!

And take time to celebrate! :)

You can't always get what you want...

2009-03-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

But if you try sometimes you just might find...
You get what you need, ah yes!

What a difference pin blocking makes!

I told Wooly I was going to start over... He said what Carolyn said, "You NEED to listen to Laritza... she won blue ribbons for her lace knitting...!" Laritza told me to just keep going & save my blue yarn for another lace project... there are plenty out there... She's very close to finishing her Princess.

Carolyn is no stranger to blue ribbons... she won them for her fair isle knitting.

I noticed that the photo made it look better than in real life & decided to take another picture on a dark background & carefully pin block it.

Looks like I got some 'feathers' & crowns... looks like a Princess to me!

Thanks to everyone (love you all!) for talking to me about this... I'm my own worst enemy.
Sanity has returned to the Land of Miyamojo. Love has returned for my Princess.

After I made that decision... I discovered that The Queen was released! She's beautiful! I ordered it immediately! Now I really want to finish The Princess!

Meanwhile, in Mr K's World...

"Umm, Aunty, I'm eating this really yummy ice cream sandwich for you... um... yummm... for your birthday... ummmm... it has chocolate ice cream & umm... chocolate cookie... yummmy... ohhh chocolate... yummmm... tell Uncle Wooly to get you one of these! You need to eat if fast... yummm... cuz it will melt on your hands... ummmm...Corey doesn't get any... ummm... cuz he's not a big boy...yummmy!"

"Hi! Corey here! I'm busy lying here, growing as fast as I can, so I can eat an ice cream sandwich for your birthday too..."

"Corey, I found your hat from Aunty..."

"Here... let me put it on you..."

"Get away! I'm talking now! Stop smashing my head! Big Brother! Where are my hands?!"

"Fine! I'll wear it!"

"You'll be sorry!"

"Oy! What?!"

"It doesn't fit me... boooo... I don't wanna be a big boy!"

In my defense... I offered to make a big boy one for Mr K!

Both his Mom & Dad told me not to, because he doesn't like hats!

WTF?!?!?!!

UGH!!!!

So sing with me...

"You can't always get what you want (no, no baby)

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes you just might find

You just might find

You get what you need, ah yes.. "

Have a great week! :)

Live in the Present

2009-03-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

My birthday was last Sunday (3/1)...
Mr K sent me this...

What a cutie! Someone got his haircut! Such a heartbreaker!

Mr C sent me this...

Yeah, my birthday was kinda sucky. At least he wasn't giving me the 'bird!'
Wait for that next year. ;)

In the Bag

So, since this is my birthday post, I'm going to talk about some of my favorite things.

"Live all your dreams in the present"

"What's in the bag Mom?!"

No, you don't have to send the kids away... it's not that exciting...

"Kamati has to stay away! No hoofs or horns!"

No, it's not cheese, but I am going to whine about it.

If I had to choose one type of knitting that's my absolute favorite... it would be Heirloom Knitting. As you remember, I'm definitely cursed.

This is my gossamer merino Princess Shawl. I've only been working on it for over a year and am through row 150 (each row has 860+ stitches) & ready to start the 3rd border chart.

In my defense, when I first started this, I wasn't thrilled about knitting it in white and wanted some silk in it. But, there were few choices, and I didn't want to use Cashsilk because it's too fine - just call it thread.

Well, now, I'm thinking about starting over... (WHAT?!) because I found some 2/48 cashmere/silk in light blue. I don't like the way the merino is looking. I'm waiting for it to arrive so I can swatch and make a final decision. You know blue is my favorite color... and this is a 'before I die' project, and with how much time is invested in this, I might as well love it, right?!

"What's in the shiny bag Mom?"

Another one of my favorite things is Coach purses.

I'm definitely still a tomboy, and never carried a purse until last year when I purchased by first Coach leather purse. I got some birthday money & decided it was time to dethrone the "Queen of Self Deprivation" once and for all. After all, unless you spend it right away on yourself, you end up using it to pay bills, right?!

"Follow the White Rabbit...! We're in the Matrix, right?!"

This pink & silver purse was screaming at me & jumping up & down. I couldn't walk away from it or the white rabbit with the cute fluffy tail. I absolutely love it... and tickled pink! LOL!

When I got it home, I realized that I broke every rule I have about purses... (has to be leather, classic shape & color, in other words - boring.) Ask me if I care!!! I'm living in the present!

Clap your hands... this is huge for me! :)

American Beauty

I didn't get any roses or flowers for my birthday, but I did knit a few.
This is chart B2... now we have 3 roses on each side of the triangular shawl and lots of shiny beads.

One of Wooly's bagpiper friends came over on my birthday. He didn't bring me cake or flowers or gifts or CAKE... so, I almost threw him out. ;) But, he didn't know & came to visit Wooly. I managed to reluctantly put on a bra & shirt, but stayed in my pajama pants. I asked if he wanted something to drink or a sandwich, he told me to "just keep knitting... Wooly is taking care of that." What a Prince!

Finally

Remember last year I wanted Luskentyre for my birthday, but they were sold out?

"ooohhhhh pretty!"

I finally got her! I was worried about the Whin & Golden Clover colors, but I think they're strong enough tones to look good on me (Right Lorraine?) Remember! TOMBOY! That's why everything in my closet is BLUE!

What's revealing is that these are the kits I have... Luskentyre, Abalone & Marina.

Do you see a pattern here? Remember, it's my birthday, so I'm also a Pisces...

All water themes... of the sea... sea shells... my name is Michele... get it?! Weird!

My buddy Bev tagged me for an incredibly long meme. Even though she worships the ground I walk on (her words, not mine... really!) It's my birthday! So I'm passing on it. I couldn't answer any of the questions without being sarcastic. Anyways, I think this post reveals a lot more about me.

So, sing with me... "I just want to CELEBRATE one more day of LIVING! I just want to CELEBRATE one more year of LIFE!" :D

Live in the Present!

Windsor Wonderland

2009-02-24T09:02:00.000-08:00

Princess Michele of Miyamojo,
with her prize winning Gemsbok, Sir Kamati Swifthead

Photo taken by Prince Wooly Bagpiper

Windsor Waistcoat by Lorraine Condotta
Jamieson kit from She Ewe Knits
3mm & 3.25mm needles
size s

You're right! I can wear amber. :)

The only change I made was I didn't increase after the rib. I just continued on with 288 stitches. My Ransom vest had 280 stitches, and fit perfectly.

And I didn't do the back & forth knitting, just continued steeking on top.

The great thing about vests is... no sleeves! (quick knit) And that it shows off the fair isle pattern (because there's no button band.) And perfect for our mild weather.

I love this vest! It looks great with my camel coat & my dark brown coat.
All dressed up & nowhere to go! :D

Back to the Beret

What a difference a good block makes! It's now adult size!

It covers my ears and doesn't feel like it's going to pop off.

Thanks to Halfmaennchen/Monika, who took a photo wearing hers & posted it in Ravelry for me. (I still like hers better!)

Wooly told me I shouldn't post/Ravel my failures...

I told him, "This is real life knitting dude! Not everything turns out perfect every time! Besides, others can learn from my mistakes..."

So, if the pattern says to block it over a plate... let the beret totally dry over the plate before you pull it off! Trust the pattern!

American Beauty

We got Chart B which included a rose pattern. Smoothie is pointing at it with his nose.

"Smoothie! Scat! You're ruining my shot!"

"but.. butt.. Kamati, Mom said to point at the rose!"

"That's 'Sir Kamati' to you... you smurf... I mean surf!.. serf?! you 'not of the royal class bunny'!! I don't want nose juice on my rose cape! Scat! MOM!"

"Okay, BOTH of you need to hold still & stop fighting, or I'll send you both to the dungeon!"

It's not easy being the Princess of Miyamojo.

You don't want to miss out on The Ball & turn into a pumpkin, so get your Twisted Traditions patterns today! Before you have to pay outrageous prices because they're out of print. (You KNOW what I'm talking about!! and YES I'm bitter about it!! Especially now that I'm in Ravelry & able to see what I'm missing!! YARN & BOOKS!!)

Breathe.

Until next week... may all your dreams come true. :)

Feeling Pink

2009-02-18T10:57:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure about this beret...

Am I suppose to wear it like this?

Is it too small?

Or is my head & hair too big?

I need some sunshine!

Selbu Modern

Jamieson's Navy & Spice

2.75mm & 3.25mm

Pink Valentine's Day

Wooly came through with these pink tulips! I love them, they're my favorite color for tulips!

I really didn't want to get dressed up, so I was glad when Wooly said, "How about Mc Donald's?!"

We're such a cheap date...
I had the Chicken Sandwich and Chocolate Sundae & Wooly had two Double Cheeseburgers from the Dollar Menu.

We ate it at home. :)

Knitting Pink

BadCat is doing another KAL. This time it's an American Beauty Rose theme.
She's using Silver lined gold AB beads. I asked what the beads represent...pollen?... why did you choose that color? She said they aren't pollen, she chose that color to make it pretty... like morning dew.

This is my third KAL with her. I've learned that it's important to do what she says! I bought the same beads, but went stash diving & found this Zephyr - wool & silk - in Cassis. So, mine will be a pink rose. I hope you can see the beads. True American Beauty rose is a dark pink, almost red, like what she's using.

I always learn something from her, like this one has a fancy dpn start & you're knitting the edging along the way.

I was going through lace withdrawal, so I'm glad she started this.
You're right, it's not like I don't have any lace in my queue! HAH! :D

Meanwhile in Mr C & Mr K's world...

"Where's my brother? Where's my bonnet?" Day 5

"Everyone in the pool"

Okay, it's not a pool. My Mom uses that to dry her hand wash clothes.

If I were there, I would find all the animals & throw them in the pool with Mr K & Kermit!

Which would result in Mr K screaming & giggling with delight, while throwing all the animals out of the pool! Then Mom would scold me. :)

Speaking of animals...

Wooly was in the kitchen on the phone when he suddenly yells, "HEY Michele! QUICK! There's a coyote in the backyard!"

I dropped my knitting & ran to the back door & saw him leaving.

He was a real good looking one, with a spring to his step.

We haven't seen any coyotes in our yard before... raccoons & cats, but no coyotes!

The next morning, we were drinking coffee & Wooly says, "Do you hear that? They're back! Birds singing!"

I guess Spring is coming! Hooray!

Now that I said that, it'll snow! LOL!

Until Next week... Happy Knitting! :)

Hey Baby!

2009-02-10T12:09:00.001-08:00

He's here! Baby Corey!

I went to visit him on his second day on this earth.

My Mom jumped up & down and gave me a hug...
because I wrapped his bonnet.

"ME open, me open!"

"Yeah, okay Mr K, you can open it."

"Oh! Is this THE hat on your blog?!"

"Nice job Auntie Michele!"

"ohhhh! It fits perfectly! Ear flaps!!!"

*squealing & snickering*

"Mr K, this is your brother Corey... he'll always be your younger brother."

"Silly Grandma! I don't have a brother!

Wait. That hat was for him?! Get away!

Dad's holding ME! Go away NOW!"

"Okay, take my picture with my two grandsons."

"Why. I'm your grandson. Why is he touching me. Get away!

Auntie Michele, STOP putting that camera in my face!"

My Mom says she thought she would never be a Grandma. Then, Mr K came, and that was a miracle. Now, Corey is here too!

I'm just absolutely smitten!

What was funny was when SIL saw the bonnet on Corey, she said,
"OH! He looks like he's wearing a helmet!"

I immediately did my flip back PEZ head laugh!
All I could think of was 'helmet head!'

Good thing SIL's dad (the priest/pastor) wasn't there!

When I got home, Wooly looked at the photos and said, "I wonder if Corey is going to be the piper?! Does he have long fingers?"

Who knows.

Mr K was wide awake & a total flirt from the start.

Corey is very laid back. Never opened his eyes or cried or fussed. The first day, he opened one eye, looked around, then shut his eye.

I told my Mom that I feel very content & happy, now that I saw Corey. Those endorphins really kicked in. Now, if I can only maintain that feeling... you know, like after you had a good workout.

On Sunday, Wooly said, "I see you smiling over there!"
I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Monday morning I woke up to snow. I ran downstairs & turned on the television & found out that the bridge to work was shut down too. The bus was re-routed & I made it to work. I was wondering why everyone was so pissed off & unreasonable. Then, found out it was a full moon.

Today is Tuesday... still smiling! Even though it snowed some more last night. Even ripping back 6 rows on Windsor Waistcoat because I was 'making up' my own pattern - didn't phase me.

Amazing what a baby can do for your attitude.

Especially, when you're the Auntie!

Happy Valentine's day on Saturday to everyone!

I don't wait for anything from Wooly, I just buy my own treats... If he comes through with something... it's a bonus! :)

Knitting photos next week. :)

Hold On

2009-02-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

Wooly's Birthday was last Friday 1/30.

Still full of hot air!

He wants everyone to know that he's NOT happy about being another year older & fighting it all the way.

In Knitting News

I'm working on Windsor Waistcoat. I'm at the point where you cast on steeks for the armholes.

Yes, I left off the bottom chart to make it shorter. I love the colors.

I'm still not sure it's my color, but keeping an open mind.

I'm also working on Selbu Modern, thanks to my friend Monika (Halfmaennchen) who made hers in Jamieson's Light Blue (cloud) & Black. I love hers, but don't want to copy.

Kamati is modeling it in Kauni EL (navy) & EG (pinkish purple). I'm not loving it. I ripped it out.

I'm going to use Jamieson's Navy & Spice. Left overs from my Ransom vest. You can see it on the Ransom inspired Capillifolium hat. Funny how different the colors look from the vest. Something about spacing or putting the colors in different orders.

I don't think I could ever design fair isle. Too many color options & it always looks different knitted up.

Meanwhile in Mr K's world...

"Hold on Elmo! We're going to turn!"

"Okay Mr K! I'm holding on! lalaladeedahhhdah"

"OH NOooo!"

My Brother sent me these photos.

I told him I sure hope Mr K's brother gets to sit in front.

He said he's not sure he wants his son riding with Mr K, unless he learns how to corner.

Wait. Aren't they BOTH your sons?! LOL!

Yes, they're both his.

He got a 'hybrid car with sliding doors' last week.

Wooly said, "What? You mean a Minivan?!! Michele! Did you hear that?! He got a Minivan!" as he did his Pez flip back head laugh.

Me, "What?! Brother! YOU got a Minivan?! HAH!"

Brother, "Yes... Minivan... I want a Sportscar!"

Wooly, "Well son, you're gonna have to wait a long time before you get a sportscar... Michele, lets go buy your Mustang now... c'mon!" ;)

Poor Brother, he's a real family man now. Lots of responsibility. His self image is going to change whether he wants it to or not. :)

The little one is due this Friday 2/6! A week after Wooly! I've got my camera ready!

Hopefully, next week I'll have baby photos. I've got to get one with him wearing the hat!

Until then, Happy Knitting :)

Baby Bonnet Bonkers

2009-01-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

So, you know my nephew Mr K is going to be a big brother in 3 weeks...

And you know how I can get obsessive about things...

Along comes Anne & Harry Bear with Capillifolium...

The rest is bonkers!

Pre-blocking. Modeling by Kamati & Smoothie

"It's Baby Bonnet! NOT Bunny Bonnet! MOM!"
"I fail to see the humor. I like my horns!"

Blocking shot. I used 15" violet pots

"YAY! Now it won't fit us anymore!"

Whoops! Now there's three. Funny how that happens.

Capillifolium Baby Bonnet - Alice Starmore

Piecework Magazine - Jan/Feb 2009

Jamieson's Spindrift from stash

3.25 dpns

For Mr K's brother & newborns yet to arrive

Top for Mr K's brother - Royal, Clyde, Pacific, Fjord, Madder, Crimson, Mustard, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber (Anne's - with subs since I have limited stash)

Bottom Left, in case it's a girl - Navy, Atlantic, Clyde, Sunglow, Coral, Spice
(Ransom left overs, minus Jade)

Bottom Right, more serious - Pine, Admiral, Poppy, Madder, Purple Heather
(Rosarie colors)

It's NOT me!

We went to my parent's house for dinner. Brother & Mr K were there.
I immediately see Paddington Bear & show Wooly who says, "Yes, he's wearing a Duffle Coat..." Not very impressed. Mr K & I start playing... he's a boy... he starts running around the house giggling.

Mom yells out, "Michele! Don't get him all worked up now!"
Me, "I'm not!"

Mr K continues running, like any normal 2 year old would.

Mom, "Michele!"

Me, "What? IT's NOT ME!"

I lie on the floor & play dead. Mr K runs by & looks at me while still giggling. Reaallly not my fault! Though, Mom always said it was a good thing I don't show up while she's baby sitting... it would be madness! I don't know what she's talking about! ;)

I asked Mr K, "Who's going to be in the photo with us?"
He brings the dog & Paddington.

Brother says, "Okay! For the BLOG!" and starts snapping photos.

Lilliputs Unite!

My favorite photo ever! :)

BTW - Mr K turned two in December. He's now a whopping 21 pounds.
So, how much does your cat weigh? If your cat were a little boy... he would be the same size as Mr K! :D

Wooly just asked me if I'm making another bonnet...

NO! But I want to!

Sigh, I'm off to get a life!
Happy Knitting!

Ransom

2009-01-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

My first ever v-neck vest

Ransom by Lorraine Condotta

Jamieson's Spindrift kit - She Ewe Knits

3mm & 3.25mm needles

I left off the last repeat on the shoulders to make it shorter, since I'm short & don't like deep v's.

I'm very happy with this vest & love everything about it. I consider it the standard from which all others will be judged. Are you scared? Me too! :D Great job Lorraine!

I'm moving in!

So, we got together to celebrate Christmas & Merry's (Wooly's mom) birthday - same day! Wasn't her mom clever?!

While we were eating, Poohla (Wooly's sister) hold us this sweater and says, "Hey! Check it out! Grandma Marie made this in the 1940's! Can you believe it? Doesn't it look modern?!"

Snotty (Wooly's brother) says, "It looks like something from the '60's"

Me "Boy was she ahead of her time! I love it! I wish I had made it. I want it!"

Ciss (Snotty's daughter) "I'll fight you for it!!!"

Don't you hate it when your niece has good taste? I could feel my hackles & claws coming up!

Check out those buttons on the sleeve! I asked Ciss what she had on under her sweatshirt... and she gave me a , 'boy is THAT inappropriate' look... I continued with, "Do you have a camisole on? I want to take a photo of you wearing it." She didn't & neither did I, so on the floor!

Poohla showed us her very organized craft room. She kept saying, "I've got so much CRAP!" to which Ciss & I, in unison would reply, "We LOVE crap!" I swear it's like a little craft store with all the neatest stuff. I announced, "I'm moving in!" Ciss said, "Me too! We'll just sleep right here!"

Follow your Feelings

I had the feeling that I needed to go to Village Yarn & Tea, since I hadn't been there in months.

Look what just arrived! Evilla yarn from Estonia! 100% wool in fingering weight with long color changes like Kauni, but cheaper! Approximately 800yds per skein. What am I making? Not sure, but I have Poetry in Stitches & have been wanting to make something from that book.

Meanwhile, in Mr K's world...

"...ready?..."

"... YAHHHH!!!!!...."

Someone got big boy pajamas & a crazy frog puppet for Christmas!

Isn't it nice when the little things make you happy... like Ransom, Marie's sweater & Evilla yarn & your silly nephew Mr K...

Happy New Year! Stay healthy & warm!

Let it SNOW!!

2008-12-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hand knits in front of Poinsettia Tree
(Echaness & Irish Moss)

Let it Snow!

The weather outside is frightful!
(We've been stuck at home for a week! Wooly is going stir crazy. I'm happily knitting in my pajamas. All festivities have been cancelled.)

But the Fair Isle (Ransom) is so delightful!

(...*fake snore*... must sleep! Santa's coming!...)

Since we've no place to go... Let it snow, let is snow, let it snow!

(Go Brother GO... whoo hoo!!)

Our trip to the 'Zoo'

This was after we got our picture taken (before the snow) in front of the Poinsettia Tree.

Wooly & the Lion traded hats...

Wooly really wanted to bring home the Cheetah...
He thought the Hyena - bottom right - was cool too...
(But, can you image the chaos with Kamati & Smoothie?!)

This guy realllly wanted to come home with me!
(I didn't check the price, the Lion was $500, so why ruin the joy?!)

We didn't see any Gemsbok/Oryx (Kamati), so he is truly unique.

Hope you experience as much joy as Mr K in the snow... this holiday season!

We'll have a great time in 2009!
Got your list (Queue) ready?!

Where'd you get that sweater?

2008-12-17T10:42:00.000-08:00

Here's Wooly in his new coat. I called him 'Paddington Bear' and he didn't know what I meant.

He went to the jewelry store dressed like this and the sales lady said, "Wow! Nice sweater!" He said, "You like this sweater?" she said, "Yes! Where'd you get it from?" He said, "My WIFE made me this sweater!!" she said, "*gasp* Your wife made it?" He said, "Yes, she made me 8 sweater!" Then he let her pet his cables.

He comes home and says, "I've got a great story! It'll make your day!"
It SURE did! Nice to know there are people out there that appreciate hand knits. It would have been even better if it included something shiny from the jewelry store! ;)

Leo's Sweater

This is Wooly's hero Leo Rowsome.
He played Irish Pipes (best ever) and passed away in 1970.
In 1979 Wooly went to Ireland and met his widow Helena and had tea with her. She liked Wooly and let him play Leo's pipes! What an honor! Leo hand made his pipes.

Good 'ole Wooly... I guess having the 'gift of the gab' and more balls than brains can lead to rewards.

Wooly loves Leo's sweater and wanted me to make him one. I told him I wanted 'full participation' from him, so go find the pattern for that cable and I'll make him one.

I mentioned it in Ravelry and our new friend Michael thought it looked like the sweater Martin Storey designed and sent me a photo.

Sure looks close! No?! I showed it to Wooly and was all ready to make him one with 5 cables across. He thought about it... and decided he has enough sweaters.

BOOooooo! Well if he changes his mind, I know where to get it! So, I guess it's 'all about me' for a while!

Ransom

"Smoothie! Stop fooling around! SCAT!!"

"..but... but... it's warm here!"

Here's the pretty rib I promised. I'm telling you, Fair Isle is addictive! You start knitting around... get in your rhythm... oohhh change color! and before you know it... you've got a pretty rib!

See Smoothie's label says, 'Smoothie' ... I don't make these things up!

First snow=December 14.

I made it to work on Monday. It was 12*F in the morning. My gloved fingers were hurting, so I was glad the bus showed up, after waiting 30 minutes. (damn public transportation! since we're trying to keep this happy, I'll stop talking now... )

Kamati & Smoothie want you to sing along, to the tune of Winter Wonderland...

Kamati: " In the morning we will build a SNOWMAN! "

Smoothie: " And pretend that he's a circus CLOWN! "

Kamati: " We'll have lots of fun with MR SNOWMAN! "

Smoothie: " Until KAMATI DECIDES TO KNOCK HIM DOWN! "

Kamati: "Wha..?! THAT does it! MOMmm!

Smoothie: "HAHaa! HEEEeee!! I made a funny! heeheehee!"

All-rightie-then!

I'm off to try and get Kamati to stop pouting.

Hope all's well in your world!

Stop and admire the hand knits! :)

What's Going On?!

2008-12-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

Smoothie: "Kamati, what's going on? Why are Dad's sweater here?"
Kamati : "Cuz Mom's going to take photos of them."
Smoothie: "Why?"
Kamati : "Cuz Mom got herself in Ravelry."
Smoothie: "Why?"
Kamati: "Cuz she 'gave in.'"
Smoothie: "Why?"
Kamati: "She's been asking herself that!"

Yeah, Ravelry... it's a love/hate relationship. I love looking at how projects look different depending on what yarn/color is used (especially with lace shawls!) But I feel like my head is going to explode because there are soooo many projects that I want to knit now! Endless! And I spend waaay too much time looking around, and I get lost, but found that if you 'heart' a project, you can go back & look at it again instead of wasting more time trying to remember where you saw it & all the details!

Are you lost?!

Take a look at who dropped by the other day!

Any idea what kind of bird this is? It's about 12" from head to tail. We've never seen one like this before. He hung around for about 10 minutes and we haven't seen him since.

We think he's a predator that was on his way to California, but stopped here, since it's still warm here (50* at time of sighting). **We think it's a Sharp-Shinned Hawk - thanks Christina!**

Christmas Knitting

Triinu Scarfs - Knitted Lace of Estonia - Nancy Bush

Knit Pick's Alpaca Cloud lace weight - Stream

Zeyphr lace weight -wool & silk - Deep purple

Colourmart - cashmere & cotton 2/33 - Cyclamen

Addis Lace Needle - US4 or 3.5mm

For Christmas gifts

Yep, those are nupps!

Blocking Shot.

I enjoy making nupps. I also like the double stranded bind off and how the edges appear loopy because you bring the yarn in front and slip the first stitch as to purl on every row.

I want to knit the Queen Silvia, Maikell, and Madli's Shawl someday. And the Peacock Tail & Leaf Scarf. All from that book. Like I said, "endless!"

More Confusion

So, what's next? No, not more lace! I'm going to do Fair Isle! After all, winter is sweater making time. Okay, I'm making a vest (instead of a sweater)... or two!

Ransom & Windsor Waistcoat

Merry Christmas to ME!

Here's where it gets confusing. Anne (She Ewe Knits) mailed this yarn kit from Ontario Canada on December 1st. It arrived yesterday! Only 9 days?! What's going on?!

Our post delivery lady is our next door neighbor. I said, "A package?! For me?! From where?? CANADA??!! No Way!!!!" She says Canada Post has gotten lots better. It has for me!

It's so easy for me to order from Anne. I just say, "I want yarn packs for Ransom & Windsor Waistcoat - size small,... Yes, Lorraine sent me the patterns,... Yes, same mailing address,... Yes, Wooly's paying! heh!,... Say 'hi' to Daisy & Caelee!,... What?! It's snowing?! Be careful driving in the snow... wait, you're use to that, never mind!" :)

Oh! I discovered the joy of Etsy shopping! No one told me I would have to open an account! Slippery Slope! Just like Ravelry! I'm loving it!

Okay, I've got to step AWAY from the computer now. Maybe next time I'll have a pretty vest rib to show you... especially if I step AWAY from the computer! ;)

Happy Knitting!

Autumn in NY

2008-11-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

Can you see me? Like my boots?
Like the shawl better?!

Autumn in New York - Badcat Design
Noro Silk Garden Sock - S245
6/0 Crystal AB glass beads
Turbo Addis Lace Needles - US5 or 3.75mm
58" x 27"

BadCat doesn't recommend beading Noro, but you know me, just had to do it! It was a pain in my headache and I wouldn't do it again. I like the multi-colors & shine of the silk & beads & the weight of the shawl. It's very cozy and I will be keeping it for myself. Thanks Badcat! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

In Mr K's world, there's the usual silliness...

"Pumpkin pie?! NOooooo!"

"Gobble gobble..." Turkey imitation

That would be a rice scooper for his beak...
and yes, we spared his pumpkin.
You should have seen him storm off with his pumpkin! heehee!

Sitcom continues...

Here's a story, since I haven't shared any lately.

I was sitting in my chair knitting, minding my own business, when I smelt something and walked into the kitchen to find the stove's back burner red hot. I turned it off, marched down the stairs, opened the door and gave Wooly 'the look.'

He immediately shuts downs his bagpipes and says, "What?! What's wrong?" I say, "You trying to burn the house down again?!"

We march up the stairs while he mutters about how he was burning the grease off the burner.

We get to the stove and I say, "I turned it off for you, but you can see how hot it was..." He says, "Well, I moved everything around it away..." and does his 'gift of the gab routine.'

I smack him on his head.

Wooly says, "What. I couldda had a V8?!"

I start laughing and say, "No, you cannot multi-task! If you turn on the burner, you have to stay in the kitchen until you turn it off! You're lucky I was home to smell it!"

Wooly says, "Well, it happened before, it happened today, and will happen again!!"

(Isn't that just the last thing you want to hear?!)

The next day, I say, "Hey Wooly..."

He's marching up the stairs and says, "What? WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT???!!!!!"

I ask, "What are you yelling at me for?"

Wooly, "Because you're gonna yell at me again!!"

I ask, "Did you do something that deserves being yelled at?"

Wooly, "No, but you yelled at me yesterday...(turns his back to me, does his winey voice and continues gabbing)

When there's finally a pause I ask, "You want some cheese with that wine??!!"

Wooly: (no comment-rare silence)

Me: "Did you get it?"

Wooly: "smurk, heehee! Gawd! Where do you get these things??!!"

HAHAH!
Okay, I never yelled at him.

Oh! and I got myself into Ravelry as Miyamojo. I guess I've got to get a Flicker account to download photos??! Why? Why can't I just download from my computer like Blogger? I don't want another account... no, I don't want any cheese! ;)

Have a great week! I started my Christmas knitting and will share next time. I'm off to do the Thanksgiving feast! :)

Blue Fleet Heat

2008-11-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

Say it with me...

FULMAR! :D

Gotta love that saddle sleeve!

How about all those cables?!

Okay, never mind that serious face. I really do love it!

Fulmar - Alice Starmore - Aran Knitting
Scottish Fleet - 5ply gansey - Navy
2.75mm + 3mm needles

This is the ultimate Aran Gansey (IMHO).
Wooly can't keep his paws off it and wants one too. I keep telling him it's a 'female' sweater! Okay, yes, men can wear it too! SSHhhh! I don't want to make another! It almost killed my hands! ;)

Autumn in New York

I was ready for some color and decided to knit along with BadCat again.

"OOoohh! Shiny!" Smoothie
"This is so my color. It's for me, right?" Kamati

I'm using Noro Silk Garden Sock in the same colorway as BadCat. You know how there's no two exact same skeins of Noro... mine looks totally different from hers, plus I'm following the beaded charts, since I miss knitting with beads. This yarn is testing my 'control' tendencies, because it's morphing from cobweb to chunky. I cut out a section because I knew there was no way I could hook a bead where I needed to. It's suppose to be fingering weight! Whatever!! :b

My Two Favorite Boys

"All you need is pajamas!" Mr K
"All I need is Alhambra!" me
"I need a strong drink!" Wooly

I love is photo! It sums up the evening. We took Dad out for his birthday. All I'm going to say is that things didn't go smoothly, it wasn't easy, and Brother & I both lost sleep over it. The only one who had a great time was Mr K, who was well behaved and lots of fun, like usual. Like my scarf?!

Superman

Hope, not fear

For the record:

Two years ago, when the presidential candidates were emerging, we were with Wooly's family and the question was posed, "Who's going to be the next president?" Everyone had their opinion. I said, "Barack Obama..." and was poo-pooed and shunned.

Neener neener assholes! ;)

His family is very political and news junkies. Ciss (Wooly's niece) and I sit in the back and knit and make bets on how long it's going to take for 'such&such' subject to emerge. Yes, we're the peanut gallery! :D

I do enjoy being with Wooly's family more than my own, but I've been known to be the black sheep (on both sides!)

Mr K calls sheep, 'bahh!' I told him it's very important to know what a sheep is... not to mention wool, yarn, knitting... :)

I like being a black sheep. Baahh... Wooly is a black sheep too. Baahh... Good thing we found each other!

Hope... it's a good thing! :)

Nice Pumpkins!

2008-10-30T17:50:00.001-07:00

Mr K went to the Pumpkin Patch...

"I like big pumpkins and I cannot lie,

you other brothers can't deny..."

After he got done choosing his pumpkin, he decided to be Superman!

"Look out! Here I come to save the world!"

When the weight of the world has got you down...

"Put on your pajamas, and grab your balls!"

Or better yet, put on your favorite scarf!

"Scat Smoothie, your in my shot!"

"No, YOU'RE in MY shot!"

Alhambra - Ann Hanson

Whisper Merino laceweight-Flamingo

US 4 needles

12"x 57"

Mr K is trying to find out what's wrong with the Wii board.

"Why. What?! I see you! Blasted dust bunnies! Come out NOW!"

I told Wooly if his dust bunnies got any bigger, he would have to give them names! He immediately did a bunny roundup.

I sent Mr K a card (black cat) and stickers for Halloween.

"Oh! Nice! I'm putting it on my shirt!"

My Mom called me and asked if I sent him a card... yep... was it a cat... yep!

Mr K was pointing at it and saying, "cat, cat, cat, meeeooowww!"

Then they went on their walk and saw a real cat... he meowed at it. Mom was happy it didn't follow them home, since SIL doesn't like pets. (gasp!)

Did you send stickers too... yep... were they cute monsters... yep!

She said she saw them stuck on their floor!

LOL! hooray! :)
*

As Mr K would say, "all you need is pajamas and balls!"

I would insert 'yarn' before 'balls'! :)

Happy Halloween! Hope you're knitting!

Watch out for the bunnies! :)

Nine Cats

2008-10-15T10:40:00.001-07:00

So, when was the last time you saw a short hair, all white cat...?
Was he waving at you?
Like Maneki Neko, the Beckoning Cat?

Holding a coin to attract money

Holding a Daruma to make wishes come true (success)

How about a Happy Home?

The story my family told about Maneki Neko isn't the traditional one.

We were told that the Samurai were between Masters and riding by, when they spotted a white cat in front of the temple . The leader said, "Hey! Look at that clever cat waving at us! Let's stop and meet the owner of that clever cat." As it turned out, it was the temple's cat, so the monks and villagers fed all the Samurai and made them feel welcome. They decided they were going to spend the night in the temple. That night, the roaming Bandits showed up to rob the temple and village, but to their surprise, the Samurai were staying there and 'saved' the day! Hooray! Thanks Maneki Neko!!

So, it's all about the value of animals and how they reflect their owners, making people feel welcome, and justice (rewarding good behavior!)

My Brother called and said they got a 'good look.' They've got another boy on the way! Mr K is gonna have a little brother to boss around. Oh joy! He's thinking of calling him Wyatt... because it rhymes with Quiet! That cracks me up! :D

I made a baby quilt for him...

Mom (Grandma) picked up these Maneki Neko batiks when she was in Hawaii a long time ago. She thought they would make a cute quilt for her grandchild. Little did I know, that I was going to make it! My Brother & SIL are very simplistic, so I made a simple quilt.

Notice the black one in the middle.

The black ones ward away evil spirits, so kisses to all my black cat friends!

Meanwhile, I think Mr K is in denial. Grandma is teaching him his numbers now...

Nine Roosters

Kamati: "Smoothie, you need to go to Grandma's and learn to count..."

Smoothie: "Bunnies don't count... they MULTIPLY!!!"

Kamati: "That does it! I'm outta here!"

Smoothie: "Wait! Come back Kamati! I made a funny! heehee!"

Yes, Mr. K got a quilt too... His has batik pandas. SIL is half Chinese. Brother took this photo for me, since I couldn't remember what I did for Mr K's quilt.

He was upset when Dad said it was time to put away the quilt. He was having fun lining up his balls in the squares. For crying out loud... let the kid play with his quilt!

I haven't seen any all white short haired cats in real life. I'm sure they're out there somewhere... maybe at the temple! ;)

Kisses to all the cats out there! Attract something good for your owners! :)

My Pink Sweater

2008-10-01T11:28:00.001-07:00

Surprisingly satisfying...

Enjoy. This is as feminine as I get!

Geno by Marie Wallin

Rowan 43

Rowan 4 ply soft (merino) in #395 (fairy)

2.75 + 3mm needles

The whole time I was making this, Wooly kept asking if I was making it for a child. Okay, so I don't wear fitted shirts or pink... tomboy that I am. He asked if I knew what kind of buttons I needed. I said, "yes, half inch, flat, round, little bit pearly..." He says, "Oh, you mean Mother of Toilet Seat? (pearl)" LOL! It's never a dull moment living with him! :)

I wore my pink sweater to work on Monday... My co-workers immediately say, "Oh! Nice pink sweater Michele!" (Remember, I don't wear pink.) I say, "Thanks! I made it!" Their responses ranged from disbelief to, 'of course you did.' Then they asked what the name was for that color pink. I said, "Fairy." They bust out laughing and call me a Fairy Princess. Heh. Okay, so my nickname at work is 'Princess' because they think Wooly spoils me. In reality, he's just well trained. ;) Seriously! I was getting a complex about it and called my Brother, who confirmed I'm NOT a princess... farthest from it... they don't know you at all! Whew! So now I play it up with them and say, "Do I need to put on my tiara?!" when I don't get my way. I have one... and I DO put it on... :)

Speaking of Princess...

SHhhhhh!
I'm being very quiet about this because there are extremely fabulous knitters out there making this and I'm NOT one of them. Many start... few finish... I want to finish... don't hold your breath!

The edging

I'm following Laritza, who came up with a plan to make 72 edge points and pick up 12 stitches per point and one in the middle to get 865 stitches. You know what they say about knowing who to follow... I'm in good hands! I got the break pattern done (holes on top) and am ready to start Chart 1... but I need to psych myself up for that. I'm using Gossamer Merino one of the recommended yarns from Heirloom Knitting. This is one of those 'Before I die..' projects. It took me almost a year to get the edging done! Yikes! ;)

It's Fall... you know what that means...

Last harvest of beans.

Grandma said they picked all the beans. She showed Mr K how to pull out the bean plants since they were 'done' for the year. Mr K had so much fun, he wanted to pull ALL the plants out! He's an 'All or Nothing' kind of guy. :)

School time.

Grandma says he knows all his letters. He's teaching her now. He's a genius in our eyes. ;)

Hey! GrandmaGrandmaGrandma... SWING!

Look at our little pitcher... perfect fastball form with that right foot forward. Grandma DID hit the ball. I told my Brother this photo is priceless, because I'm pretty sure Grandpa was watching a baseball game on the tv. My Brother is pretty thrilled with his new bottom of the line SLR camera.

Hope all is well in your world... Happy Knitting!

Mom's White Sweater

2008-09-17T10:57:00.001-07:00

When I first saw Geno in Rowan 43, I thought it looked like an updated version of the sweater my mom use to wear. Mom doesn't remember having a white sweater...

A month or so later, she called me and said I need to see this photo... boy, did we get old!

See! She's wearing THE WHITE SWEATER! She still doesn't remember it. She remembers that she made that muu muu for me... yeah, I wasn't afraid of color when I was young! :) She said she was going to send this out as our Christmas photo back then. I think it's funny that she has her hair pulled back... I do that now! When I showed Wooly, he didn't know it was us... he says he never knew my mom was so gorgeous... even with her eyes closed.

So, after seeing the photo, I had to make the sweater...

Kamati! Mom's losing it! You have to help get this off me! I can't hear anything! Hurry!!!

I'm using Rowan 4ply soft (merino) #395 (fairy) that I got at Marie's sale (Main Street Yarn.) The original is made from 4ply cotton. I don't like knitting with cotton. Wooly thought the left front was a sleeve because the sides were curling in. Making the back, sure was boring... I caught myself snoozing... that never happens when I knit lace!

Giftie!

I got my second place gift from Bad Cat! I love Lacey Lamb and the color is actually a gray blue with a tinge of purple. Very pretty... I've never seen this color. I'm pretty sure she made that peachy bag... She has directions on how to make it on her blog. She's very crafty. Thanks again Bad Cat!

In Mr K's World...

NO POOL??!! Say that to my face Dad! Go ahead... make my day! I don't care if that's a NEW camera! Pool pool pool!!
Wasting water?! NOT! I'm filling my pool! Why don't you go stand over there!
C'mon! I got the pool filled! You don't need no stinkin swimmies! C'mon! Time's a wasting!

Yep! Mr K is all go go go, all the time! Summer is almost over and he's making the most of every minute. I wish I had that kind of energy! ;)

Fall starts next week... Happy knitting! :)