Summer Focus

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

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

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

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

"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

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

"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! :)