Dancing Sheep to Sheep

B06

2010-10-12T10:44:00.002-04:00

So like many bloggers I ran into a pitfall last night. Dead camera battery! But good thing I found out last night and not on friday or saturday when I had no way to charge it. I had the shot all set up too. The good part is I had more time to work on my scarf.

I am starting to get nervous. I am thinking I might not finish it in time. I am sure that it wont matter saturday if it's 60 degrees out but at night I am sure it will be cold. That will be a prime time to show off my new scarf! So keep your fingers cross that my battery is charged when I get home for a nice picture with natural light!

O62

2010-10-11T09:56:00.001-04:00

If you are stopping in to check out my blog cause I am one of your squares for Rhinebeck Bingo than WELCOME! I will be putting up a better post sometime later tonight. Hopefully with a picture. Right now this is a sorry excuse for a blog!

BUT ANYWAY! Can you believe that Rhinebeck is almost here? This weekend?? Are you excited?? I am getting butterflies in my stomach when I think of it. Than I start to get nausea cause I remember I have not finished my scarf yet!! Which would be one of the reasons I haven't been posting. I would rather knit that blog!

Ok be back later......

reversi

2010-05-25T18:11:00.003-04:00

Reversi Socks

Pattern by: Jen Showalter

Ravelry link Here

Made with Knit picks gloss in Dolphin

Ravelry link Here

Mine! Mine! Mine!

2010-01-21T20:29:00.015-05:00

I have finally been able to use my computer. My husband was using it every night for the past week to do homework for a class that he is taking. Somehow his computer blew up (again!) So why not use mine!

Hey that's me! Knitting! My husband did find my tripod in the garage. I swear I looked in there for like 5 minutes and couldn't find it. It's not even cluttered. But I am pretty excited. I have lots of pictures that are in my head that I couldn't do cause I needed my tripod. Now I just have to get a remote shutter release and I will be ready to go

.
I made these ornaments for the girl's teachers for Christmas. I found a get tutorial at this site. I thought that they came out very well. I didn't have enough material to make one for myself so I made these...

It's a retro cupcake. I found the tutorial at whipup.net. Whipup is one of my favorite site for ideas. Thanks Meg!

I also found this ornament tutorial on there. If you couldn't tell cause of the bad photo it's suppose to be a fruit cake!

This was another fun project that I did with my daughters. It's an advent calendar made from paper stocking. I cut the stockings out of card stock and let the girls decorate them (well I did some too) and than added the numbers. I hung them around the door frame with those little self release hooks. Which by the way are the best things EVER!! I added some mini lights. It was really cute. You can also see the paper chain that we made in Christmas colors. That was used to decorate the dining room. Also hung with those cool mini hooks.

And back again....

2010-01-02T21:34:00.003-05:00

I decided that I really need to keep up with my blog. I am going to try to post at least once a week. But it might not always be about knitting. I have been doing lots of other stuff lately like cooking and sewing.

In October a few of us went to the New York Sheep and Wool festival (better know as Rhinebeck).

While there I stopped at the Brook Farm Yarn booth and purchased some Fourplay yarn. It's a blend of merino wool and silk. It's very soft and it came with a free pattern for a marching columns scarf. This scarf has become my favorite project of 2009.

It is amazingly soft and warm. I wear it all the time. I can't give you the pattern link cause they don't have it on the website. This scarf has set me on the path of wanting to make more scarves. Sometimes you make something that just suits you and you have to make more.

Wicked.

2009-04-12T22:31:00.002-04:00

AHHHHHHHH.....

My first adult sweater is finished.

Here is a close up of the cabled neck line.

and here is my Wicked sweater all done!

Let Freedom Ring.

2008-11-04T17:55:00.002-05:00

If you are over 18 than you are considered an adult and I don't think I should have to say Go Vote. As a nation I think most people know how important it is to vote. I did my civic duty and took both of my kids with me. I was surprised that both were really good. I remember the first time that I went to vote. It was the first time that Clinton ran for president. I kept thinking I was going to mess up and my vote wouldn't be counted. I managed to get through it and now I am an old pro!!
More hopefully tomorrow!

crazy trick or treaters!

2008-11-02T21:11:00.002-05:00

Halloween has come and gone! Halloween has got to be my favorite holiday.. But every year some trick or treaters wrecks it. This year is no exception.
My husband went out for a smoke sometime after 11. He turned on the porch light and didn't turn it off when he came back in. Soon after he went upstairs to go to sleep. The monitor started giving out feed back and when I got up to fix it when I noticed that there was car parked on the street with it's lights on right behind my car. If you knew me in real life you would know that my house is like the mecca for weird activity on my street!! So of course I looked out the window to see who or what it was. Something caught the corner of my eye and I looked to my left to see 3 older teenagers ( I assume male by their halloween masks and I assume older cause they were driving a car) standing there with bags waiting for treats! I didn't hear them knock so they must have rung the door bell which doesn't work and it was luck that I had to get up to fix the monitor. But they scared the S**T out of me. One of them had a mike myers mask on and that is the last thing you want to see at 11:30 at night on your porch! ( I know it was 11:30 cause David Letterman had just started)

I yelled Get the F**K off my porch right now and they ran and jump back in their car and took off. And don't say anything about me yelling at them cause that is mild considering some stuff I have done when I feel threaten in my house. But seriously??!! 11:30??!! Did they really think I was still waiting up and giving out candy?? I don't think I should have to keep my light off all night long. If they drove by at 3 AM and the light was on would they have tried then??

Every year there is an insane amount of kids who get dropped off by the car load in my neighborhood. They don't care if your light is on or not they are going to knock at your door. We had one kid who was pounding on our door when we pulled into our driveway coming home from my Inlaws. I heard him say to his mother who was standing on the side walk "They are home. The light is on inside" Our porch light was off. Have things changed so much since I was young?? Does anyone have the new rules to trick or treating??

My Inlaws have 350 kids come to their house. We know cause every year we count how much candy or bags of chips we have to give out. They had their light off by 8 and kids were still knocking. I guess free candy really is the greatest kind!!!

Falling for Fall

2008-10-30T10:09:00.003-04:00

I love Fall. It is my favorite time of year. It's the kind of weather that makes me wait to eat heavy foods and knit!!
I have been knitting lately but sadly have been very bad at blogging. I always have some to do that takes up my time. Lately it has been cooking and baking. 2 things that I love to do. So I am going to start blogging about more everyday things and knitting. Maybe than I will have more to blog about and that will mean regular posts. This is kind of like a resolution and I am going to start on Nov. 1st.1

The bottle was a bonus.

2008-09-15T20:59:00.004-04:00

I was in Target today and I remembered that they had Brita water pitcher on sale. We haven't had one in a long time cause somehow we always seem to crack them and than they leak in the fridge. Daughter Uno has been asking for water more and more lately. I, personally, think our public water supply could taste a little better, but what do I know?? Really what are my other options? Buying large bottles of water everytime I go shopping? I am trying to cut down on spending. The pitcher from Target is pink for the support of breast cancer research. Normally it would be called the Grand pitcher. A good cause + Sale + Better tasting water = One happy me!! The other good part is that the pitcher came with a free (probably not really) pink water bottle. (Target link) This bottle is meant for you to fill (of course) with water time and time again. By doing so you cut down on the number of water bottles sent to land fills. You can go to http://www.filterforgood.org/ and find out more. I also have a little pledge button up in the right hand corner. I have to say I never really gave much thought to the bottles that I buy everyday from the cafe at work. They are just so much a part of my daily routine. I even got a reusable bottle for my daughter to take to school for her lunch. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but it will do. I have to say that my water does taste better. It makes me feel good to stop buying water in plastic bottles. Now I must find more things to do that are so simple they are painless to put into my routine. (I already try to use reusable shopping bags when ever I can) I actually drank a whole glass while I was cooking dinner. And it tasted like WATER!! freaky!!! Normally I would drink soda cause again water from tap not tasting so much like water should taste!!

I also took dinner to work with me tonight!! OMG stop me before I hurt myself!

Lazy Summer Days

2008-09-03T21:20:00.002-04:00

Twisted cable scarf
Birthday Cowl
(Ravelry link)

I know that I have been MIA for over a month now. I have no excuse. I have been lazy about blogging. When I get on the computer I just have other stuff I have to get done. I am going to make an effort to be a better blogger!! I did complete some things for the Ravelympics. Above you can see the scarf that I made. I used a stitch repeat from 60 Easy to knit pattern stitches to combine to create sampler afghan.

I love this scarf. I used Colrain from Webs.
I really like this yarn. I love merino and tencel blend. I did find that after soaking the stitches seemed less plump. If that makes sense.
The second thing (actually I finished it first) was the Birthday cowl. What a fast knit. I knit it in Malabrigo worsted. Very soft but a little big for me. I am going to try it again but maybe take out a pattern repeat or two.

Cause July just isn't hot enough.

2008-07-15T20:44:00.003-04:00

I did finish one sock of the three pairs that I am working on but that isn't enough for knitting pictures. So instead I am going to show you some of the stuff that I have been baking. Baking in July is crazy, I know!! But when I get the urge I just have to!!

The bread is a brioche dough from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I saw this book mentioned on Angry Chicken (who, by the way, has a great book herself called Bend The Rules Sewing). She has lots of great things on her blog. I love bread and she had given this book such a good review that I had to get it. I have made a few loaves so far and they have all been good. The Brioche bread is a sweet bread with a soft crusty. It was really tasty with butter and strawberry jam.

The muffins are Oatmeal muffins from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. These muffins were really good. Just slightly sweet. Really good for breakfast. Both daughters liked them so I would say that I will make them again.
The Magnolia Bakery cookbook has a great recipe for a vanilla cupcake. I made them for Daughter Dos's birthday and they were awesome. I love baking! (If you are looking for a great cheesecake recipe... I happen to know a one that I keep top secret! If you ask nicely I might share it with you!)

Birds.... on a stick.

2008-07-10T09:45:00.004-04:00

Things are finally calming down at my house after the long 4th of July weekend. I had planned on taking Daughter Uno to see fireworks for the first time but Daughter Dos decided I would have more fun in the ER. She had a quick febrile seizure due to a high temperature. Final diagnosis is Coxsackie. Better know as hand, foot and mouth disease. YUCK! It's wrapping up and daughter dos is much better. Daughter Uno had something going on the day before this all started. She had a fever and some vomiting but got over it quickly. When my kids get sick they don't hold back!!

I got to go back and do another sleep study. I do have sleep apnea. Who knew? I am getting a little CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine to help me get a good nights sleep. The mask to sleep in is just a special bonus!! Good Times!

Now for some fun stuff. We took the kids to Mystic Aquarium for some fun. Daughter Uno could really care less about going. She is never really excited by fish. Daughter Dos loves it. I, myself, also enjoy a good aquarium. They had an exhibit called the Birds of the Outback. It sounded really exciting and you could buy sticks with seeds on it to feed the birds. I was in!

A majority of the birds were parrakeets.

They were still cute. Both of the girls really enjoyed the fact that you could get the birds to sit on the stick to eat.
I had to coax this blue and white one from high up out of a little branch. Later on she was petting a lizard. It was just like she was petting a cat. No fear.

And now for some knitting. I have 3 pairs of socks on the needles for SOS08. A plain stockinette using Socks that Rock mediumweight in Sherbert colorway.
My Reversi socks out of Knit picks Gloss in the Dolphin colorway.
Finally Charades in hand dyed yarn. I am going to rip them out tonight cause I tried them on and they are going to be to small.
I am going to finish one of these pairs before the end of SOS. I just know it!!

My sock is on the can.

2008-06-24T21:39:00.003-04:00

I was hoping to be farther along with my first pair of socks for Summer of Socks 2008. I guess I don't knit as fast as my mind wants me to. I decided to go with the Reversi sock (Ravelry link). This pattern is from Jen at 144 Inches of I-cord. I actually won a copy of the pattern during a contest that she was having on her blog. And I am glad that I did. I am really enjoying this sock. The pattern is simply enough to follow but gives you a nice pattern that really shows up well with the solid sock yarn. I don't think that this pattern would show up very well in a variegated yarn. I am not even finished with the first sock and I can tell that this is a sock that I will make again. I have been looking at the socks that people have finished in the 4 days that SOS started. They have been posted to the ravelry SOS08 group. I like to browse all the pictures and see what other great patterns are out there. I already have over 30 patterns in my ravelry queue that I want to do this summer. I am sure that 30 more won't hurt!!

It's like thunder!

2008-06-16T21:16:00.002-04:00

We just had a thunder storm pass by here and it was pretty strong. There was one crack of thunder that was so loud, it sound like an M-80 went off right outside my window! Made me jump in my seat. I ran upstairs to make sure that neither one of the girls were freaked only to find them both sound asleep. They slept through the whole storm. I guess that is a good thing.

What a weekend we had here! We celebrated Daughter Dos's 2nd birthday. The girls had the balloons soon after I arrived with them. Only one popped before party time. That really amazed me.

(don't mind the table leaning on the wall. We were still setting up)

I can't believe how much she has grown. 2 years went by so fast. She says new words everyday. Which means more battles for me. :)

Everyone had a good time. It was very humid and we ended the day by letting the girls swim (if you can call it that) in their little kiddie pool. They both love the water.

Sunday was spent celebrating Father's day. It was fun but tiring. I was happy when my head hit the pillow that night after a busy weekend.

I am getting pretty excited about summer of sock 2008.
I am going to try some new things like socks on 2 circular needles. I have tried it before but didn't get far. This time I am going to go all way and finish a pair. It's the one goal that I really want to get done. Baby steps....

It's like a vacation but with testing and leads!

2008-06-11T11:51:00.002-04:00

So I get to spend tonight doing a sleep study! I most likely have some kind of sleep apnea or other type of sleep disorder. I go tonight and than return to talk to the doctor at the end of the month for the results. It kind of sucks that I have to wait like 2 weeks to find out if there is a problem. I am pretty sure that there is. I get to sleep in a room that looks kind of like a hotel room only there is a camera mounted on the ceiling! They watch and record you during the night. There is also a flat screen TV in the room. I get to bring stuff that helps me relax. I tend to knit to relax before bed. I am sure that I won't be the first person to knit during the sleep study.

I am looking forward to getting this under control. Lack of sleep can lead to a variety of other health problems. Plus I don't want to be tired all the time!!

It's Thursday.... Again...

2008-06-05T18:48:00.002-04:00

There is not much knitting to report. I have been working on a market bag that came as a kit that I got at Maryland Sheep and Wool in 07. The pattern was easy to follow but keeping the stitches on the needle?? Not so much. I had to rip it back and restart it 6 times. Every time I would be short stitches by the 4th row. I decided to do it in plain stockinette instead. I just have the handles left to do. So now I distract you with some pictures of flowers that I can actually grow in my garden.

My most prized flower. A peony. It was the first thing that I planted in my garden when we moved into the house. Still alive and has more blooms every year.

Oh! The double Dahlia. I found this pretty dark orange one at the new Home Depot by my house.

And the double Impatient. These and regular Impatients are very hardy. I can manage to keep them alive!!

How does your garden grow???

It's just me, myself and I

2008-05-28T11:11:00.002-04:00

I am so lame when it comes to memes. But I have been tagged twice now with the same one. By both Nutmeg Knitter and Jennsquared So here we go

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you have posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was 23 and still in the early stages of dating my now husband. We spent a lot of time going to bars to watch cover bands and basically running a muck! I was working full time and living with my mom. Trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.

2. Five (non-working) things on my to-do list today?
1. Figure out something to cook for dinner
2. Repaint my nails. (very exciting cause my nails have grown long enough to paint)
3. Fill out my paper work for my sleep apnea consult tomorrow.
4. work on my market bag that has been sitting half finished cause I couldn't figure out where I left off so I ripped it out to the bottom and started over again.
5. Get in one hour on my Wii Fit! (more on that after the meme)

3. Snacks I enjoy:
This list could really get out of control. I love food. Some times snacks for me aren't always sweets. I like cookies, cakes, chips, candy, fruit, cheese, oh I could go on and on...

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Have more children
Hire a nanny!
make sure all my family was debt free and had a new house if they wanted one.
Make a trust fund for most of the kids in my family and for some friends of ours.
give to charities
travel
build myself a house with a room big enough to hold a yarn store amount of yarn just for me!!
Get a boat.

5. Places I have lived:
This is in order
West Haven, CT
Milford, CT
Turners Falls, MA
Bartlett, NH
North Conway, NH
New Haven, CT

6. Jobs I have had:
Bus person, hostess and waitress all at the same restaurant, worked at D&D, Retail, crew for the Alpine Slide at Attitash Bear peak in NH, a one hour photo lab manager, work at a newspaper doing layout (honestly don't even remember what it was actually called) Billing follow up rep and my big girl job I have now which is a Certified Coding Specialist at a hospital.

7. Peeps I want to know more about
most people have done this already or have already been tagged so I will leave it up to who ever wants to do it..

Last week my husband gave me Wii fit (which I would link to but the site is blocked here) It's lots of fun and really does help you work out. It has yoga, strength training, balance training and aerobics. It's not even like excerise. I can do an hour no problem. I will have a better report after I have played more!!

Let it grow.

2008-05-26T21:57:00.009-04:00

Summer is so close and today was such a beautiful day. I enjoy a nice mild sunny day. Being able to go outside and not have to worry about freezing!

I have been knitting. This is one of two swatches that I have worked on. I like the pattern so I thought that I would share it. It is not the best picture as I am still learning to use my camera.

Every spring I dream of growing beautiful flowers and plants. My mom is an excellent gardener but for some reason that gene skipped me. I can kill a plant like nobody else. But again I tried this year. I had early success but most of the plants died and I couldn't figure out why. I did some google-fu and found that I might have been exposing my little seedlings to much sun right out of the gate or soil if you will. I needed to put them in indirect sun. I had some carrots that looked very promising. I had 5 little green sprouts. I moved them to a spot with more sun and the next day they were dead. I have only had 2 types of flowers survive so far. So I started again. This time I started the seeds in the house. In my attic by a double window. I have planted cucumber seeds but they still look like this.

I still hold out hope for them. I got a kit for my daughter that is aimed at kids. Planting seeds is something that most kids seem to enjoy. I let her put the water in it for the pods and add the seeds. It had a small seed starter house. From left to right: Sunflower, Marigold, Cucumber and Lettuce.

Yeah that is right. The ones that grow the fastest was the cucumbers. It took like 5 days for this growth. So that proves that I need to plant the cucumber seeds in one of those seed starter houses. I have no idea if that is the real name for them or not.

Look! that is lettuce. I have no idea what I am going to do with all these plants but I feel the need to plant all the seeds that come in the pack. I figure it increases my odds of actually having something grow.

We took the kids to the park today and let them run around. Daughter Uno loves to run and climb. Daughter Dos is a big fan of the swings. She had to try all of them. Even the big tire one. All that fun really tired her out cause she couldn't stay awake one more minute before she fell asleep for her nap.

I love moments like these that make me laugh.

I love using my new camera too as you can tell by all the pictures in this post. I couldn't even resist when Daughter Uno wanted me to take a picture of her foot.

When ever I take out my camera she finds something that I need to take a picture of. These are also moments that I enjoy!

It's going to be a long summer.

2008-05-20T19:42:00.003-04:00

may08 032
Originally uploaded by firemanshunny

I have so many things going on in June. It makes me wonder what the rest of the summer will be like. The yarn in the picture is Knit picks Gloss in Dolphin. It is going to be made into Reversi socks from Jen at 144 inches of I-Cord. I won a copy of her pattern in a contest on her blog. I am trying to decide if I want to wait to start them for Summer of Sock '08 or just cast on now. I have reordered my Ravelry queue and put all the socks that I have in there at the top. There are quite a few. I hope to surpass my one pair from last year! It's a good thing that SOS doesn't start till June 21st cause before then I have 2 parties on the same day, a wedding the next weekend and than daughter dos's 2nd birthday party and father's day the weekend after that. On a brighter note I have 3 days off right after the 21st! I think there will be plenty of sock knitting!!

Last night I learned the true greatness of blocking! I made a swatch of a stitch pattern that I wanted to use. I have a few ideas for it. I would have been in some serious trouble if I hadn't blocked the swatch first. It grow quite a bit. I was very surprised with the end result. I used some Knit picks Swish superwash (I swear I buy other yarn brands it just doesn't seem so in this post.) I don't know if it had something to do with the yarn or the size of the needles that I used. The ball band says size 6-9. I went with an 8 cause to be honest it was with in arm's reach and there was no WIP on it. I think the stitches could be tighter so I am trying again with size 6. I am hoping that I can make what is in my head. I know that I am going to have to find someone who has some knowledge to help me make this a reality cause I don't know if I can do it on my own. It's going to be awesome if I can.

(Pretend you don't see the weeds that are growing in my garden under the tree! I am getting to it. I swear the big green mass to the left are actual flowers that will bloom later in the summer.)

Mid-Spring Theory

2008-05-08T21:01:00.009-04:00

Where has the time gone? I know that I haven't posted in over a month. Probably due to the fact that spring is here and there is so much to be done. I was able to sit out on the deck with a glass of wine and knit. It was so peaceful. The air was slightly warm with just a touch of a cool breeze. Spring is a great time of year. As you can see the ants love to walk around on my peonies. This makes me happy cause I know that they are just that much closer to blooming. (the peonies, not the ants) I can't grow much but these peonies always look awesome.

The tree in my front yard had bloomed. I think it is a Dogwood tree. I could be wrong. It's pretty. I have also been working on fixing my grass. I found some grubs. I did manage to grow some new grass in a bare area of my yard. I was thrilled by this. I got myself a push mower. It's great cause the gas mower scares me. Plus the price of gas is so high but with this I don't have to worry about it. The first day I was using it the mailman was walking by and he told me I was his hero cause he remembered using one when he was young and he hated it.

My lilac bush is in bloom. It is by my living room windows so when the breeze is blowing you can smell them. It is such a sweet smell. I have to remember to trim the bush back this year in the fall. It is quite large and probably very over grown.

I have a new theory as to why I don't finish much or let it sit for so long that I don't know where I left off and end up just ripping it out. It's blog posting. It seems when ever I post a project to my blog and say what it is I loose interest in it. It's like a curse. This is a picture of one of the projects I am working on. I am not saying anything more about it and we will see if I finish it.
I did get a new camera as an early Mother's day present. I love it. I am still trying to get use to using it. It's been a while since I have used a SLR camera of any kind.
I took the above 4 pictures with it and so far I think that I have taken some good pictures. I will keep working on it.

Memoir in 6 words.

2008-03-29T20:32:00.008-04:00

The past. Pictures in my mind.

I was tagged by Nutmeg Knitter to do a Six Word Memoir. This is mine.

Here are the guidelines:

Write your own six word memoir. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere. Tag five more blogs with links.

I tag Yarnandmusings, Sunflowerfairyknits, Wildyarn, Peaknit, and anyone else that wants to try. It's harder than it seems to be.

A few nights this week I have been watching a show called The Genius of Photography on Ovation TV. If you like photography or art I recommend it. They are playing them a few times on Sunday 3/29/08. You will have to check the Ovation TV site to see if you get it in your area. They also have a few other programs about photography and photographers that seem interesting too.

Dear Mr. Dryer....

2008-03-10T21:54:00.003-04:00

I really like you a lot. I got you after I decided that I had enough of our hand me down dryer. It had to have been over 25 years old. Mr. New Dryer, You are so shiny and white. You hold way more clothes than Old Mr. Beige dryer. You dry my clothes faster too. But I have a serious question to ask you. See when I put the clothes in Mrs. Washing Machine I check all the pockets. I even check Daughter Dos pockets. So I have to ask.

Where do you keep getting the crayons you melt all over our clothes??

Kicking back and sewing a bit.

2008-03-01T22:03:00.005-05:00

I decided that the table my daughters eat at in the kitchen needed something to jazz it up. Behold! A table cloth!! But wait there's more....
(scroll down a little. I don't know why there is a gap between the pictures. can't seem to fix it)

layered skirt
Originally uploaded by firemanshunny

I made this layered skirt for my daughter. I used the Sew what! skirts book again. I think that if it was longer it would look better. Also a better picture. Maybe when it gets warmer and she can wear it. I know the pajamas are so high fashion but I don't think they work with this skirt. My fashion editor (far right) disagrees, but I make the rules around here!

R.I.P. Little Sweater

2008-02-29T10:24:00.002-05:00

drive thru
Originally uploaded by firemanshunny

See this sweater? I put so much time into it. I had to redo the neck cast off 10 times till it finally fit my younger daughter's head. I was so happy that someone was able to wear it. One time. Here is the conversation I had with my husband about this sweater.

ME: See this sweater?
HIM: Yes.
ME: Don't wash it.
HIM: Okay.
ME: Don't dry it.
HIM: Okay.
ME: If it ends up in the laundry basket just put it to the side on the table in the basement so I can hand wash it.
HIM: Okay.
ME: Got it?
HIM: Got it.
ME: As a matter of fact, don't wash anything I make.
HIM: No problem.
ME: Don't wash this sweater.
HIM: Got it. Don't wash the sweater.

The other day I go into the basement to look for some jeans. There on the drying rack is the sweater. Wet and half felted.

I went back upstairs and asked.
ME: Do you remember that sweater I made? (Describe sweater)
HIM: yeah?
ME: Didn't I tell you not to wash it?
HIM: OHHHH! I thought you said not to dry it. Why what happened to it?
ME: You washed it and now it is half felted and it fits nobody.
HIM: OHHHH. What is felted?

This proves my husband only listens to half of what I say to him!

Muslin fabric is Da Bomb!

2008-02-25T10:53:00.005-05:00

If wasn't for the muslin fabric that I got at Joann's for 1.99 a yard I would probably be up to my armpits in 100 dollars worth of skirts that are perfect triangles. I really like to sew. Probably as much as I like to knit or crochet. I love to make stuff for my girls. When I was little, my mom would sew me clothes all the time. I remember this one dress. It was purple velvet with a doily collar. I loved that dress. I think that sewing is another art form that is dying out. Why sew something you can get so cheap at the store? It's the same reason people knit and crochet. It create! To be proud to tell someone that you MADE that!!

While sewing is not as cost effective as it was in my mom's sewing days, somethings can still be made cheaper. I made a black out shade for daughter dos's room cause it is quite sunny in there in the afternoon. Those can run a pretty penny. But I got the material at Joann's for 5.99 a yard and used the 40% off coupon. I got a few yards. I think four. Plenty of yardage left over if I want to make more. I think that I used about one yard. Maybe a little more.

I made this circle skirt to fit Daughter Uno. After making about 5 different skirts, this one came out the way that I wanted it to. I didn't finish the bottom hem and the picture is kind of bad cause I had a hard time finding a place to hang the skirt. But you get the idea. I didn't use a paper pattern but the instruction in this book.

I read good review about Sew What! Skirts. and decide to give it a try. I have a hard time spending 5 bucks on a pattern that I will be able to get just one size out of if I use the smallest size. This books teaches you how to make a skirt using your measurements. You can draw the pattern right on the fabric or use some wrapping paper or some other thin paper. I did make a skirt for myself ( never took a picture of it) it came out a little bit to big but it was still wearable. I think that the book is very helpful. If you are more of a beginner sewer, you will need to practice. That is why cheap muslin is such a good thing. I really like the idea of being able to make skirts for my daughters to wear this spring and summer. With Daughter Uno being small for her age it's hard to find bottoms that fit well. Being able to make things for her that fit with out falling down is a dream. I have thoughts of them running through fields of flowers in the skirts I made. But with my kids it will be more likely be rolling around in paint!!

Feds got my money!!

2008-02-23T09:54:00.002-05:00

I just found this on the IRS website. If you have filed your taxes already and are getting a refund from the Feds, You probably want to know when that will arrive for you to save or spend it. You can go to Where's my refund? to find out. You will need to know your social security number, your filing status and the EXACT AMOUNT of your refund to find out. Here's to hoping you are getting and not owing.

Tencel makes it better..

2008-02-13T21:43:00.005-05:00

So some reason I have fizzled on my Cutaway.. I was so happy to start it but I have stalled. I don't know why but I have other projects I want to work on more. Like this log cabin blanket that I started.

I used some Knitpicks Swish superwash that I had. I am sure that I meant for this yarn to become something else but for the life of me, I can't figure out what it was. So here it is. I have a feeling I don't have enough to make a decent sized blanket. Luckly 3 of the colors that I am using are on clearance. I really won't worry about the dye lots matching cause they won't be right next to each other so you probably will never notice if there is a difference in shade.

This is my 3x3 Cable with moss stitch sock from the book Sensational Knitted socks. The yarn that I am using is some undyed merino. I couldn't decide if I should soak the yarn first and let it bloom or just use it off the cone. I made a swatch and decide to just go for it. After my daughters were playing with the swatch tube, it started to come undone. So I took that and frogged it. I decided to soak that yarn and see what it looked like afterwards. The yarn is fuller and it had almost no thin spots. So I am frogging what I have already done (good thing I didn't even complete one repeat) and wind the yarn into a skein and soak it. I think that I will get a nicer looking sock that way. I choose this pattern cause I wanted something with detail that would show up on the solid color. I think this sock is going to be awesome.

Last but not least......

There is something about a Merino/tencel blend sock yarn that I just love! It might be the shine. It just makes the colors really nice. I just got my last shipment of The Loopy Ewe 2007 sock club. It's from Yarntini. AND it's merino/tencel! LOVE IT. The colors are so pretty and its shiny. This has launched a search of this blend of sock yarn from other dyers. I already have my next mark. I was very happy to get into the next round of the sock club over at The Loopy ewe. The 4 colorways that I received from the last one were very nice. There was not one that I didn't like. I like the club cause I get stuff that I probably would never pick. But this last one is probably my favorite. I hope that once I wind it up and get socks going it still looks good.

And can I just tell you that I have had this laptop for about a week and I just found the delete button. I kept looking just never saw it lurking in the right hand corner.....

The light at the end of the tunnel.

2008-02-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

My new laptop is here!! I have been checking it out. It's pretty good. I still have to add some things to it. Like Itunes. I haven't been able to listen to a lot of pod casts that I like for a while. Plus I have to take some pictures of things that I have been working on. It's nice to have a computer again. So many things I can't do from the other one. Ok More tomorrow cause I have to play around with this thing!!

If you build it I will surf the net...

2008-01-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

I finally ordered a new laptop. It should be here on or before 2/6! Very exciting. That means I can started adding photos to my posts again!
I am still swatching for Cutaway. I started a new one last night but kind of fizzled out mid way through. I might finish it tonight but I really need to finish my mom's Irish hiking scarf. I figure I have about 8 more cables and it will be done. I just have to do it. I don't want to say force myself but it's really what I have to do. Hopefully by the time the new laptop gets here I will have made some process on cutaway and will have a picture to show. It will be the first sweater I have ever made for myself. Everyone say OOHHHHHH!! AAHHHHHH!!!

My mind was a terrible thing to waste.....

2008-01-28T11:36:00.001-05:00

I did my gauge swatch. (Hold on while I pat myself on the back). The gauge for the sweater was 22 sts and 30 rows = 4 inches. I was using the needles size (5) that the pattern recommended. I got a gauge of 21 sts and 28 rows = 4 inches. I figured that one change in needle size would get the right gauge. Super!! Now this is where my mind gets a little funky. I got some new needles. Ones that in my mind will give me the correct gauge. Size 6. Yes these will work perfectly.
Off I went to start another swatch. This time I decided to make a smaller one and check to make sure that I got the correct number of stitches first. I knit and knit. Than I get out the tape measure and count. 20 stitches = 4 inches! WTF!! I had to sit back. What was the problem here?? how could this not work?? Than the light went on in the back on my mind.

Must remember.... A bigger needle means less stitches. A smaller one means more. It must have been one of those days...

Off to find some size 4 needles tips. I know I have some..........

seeing the colors through the anti-glare shield..

2008-01-24T13:13:00.001-05:00

My yarn came yesterday. Very exciting. It seems like forever since I received a box that contained yarn. There was also some new Harmony needles in there. I got the size 5 tips and DPNs (both size 1's and the a size 2 set.) I am sure that by now you have all heard the hype about these needles. I really like working with bamboo or wood needles, so I decided to try these. They are pretty and smooth. I did start my Cutaway gauge swatch with the tips. I did a few rows and the needles are nice. Slippery but not too much. I am not in love with them right out the gate. I will report back when Cutaway is done. (that is if I get gauge with these needles) As far as the DPNs? I will report back tomorrow. I am going to give a set a whirl tonight. The finish reminds me of the clover bamboo. I am not expecting to get blown away by these.

While I was very happy to get my yarn, I was kind of shocked. It was black. I thought that I had ordered a dark gray. I don't know why. The colorway is called COAL! And coal is black. I really wanted to make this in dark gray and was having a hard time finding a DK weight wool yarn in a dark gray that I liked. So when I saw this on the knit picks site I was excited. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me making me see the color black as dark gray. Or it could be the anti-glare screen over my computer. I went back today and check. Sure enough it's black. Black as pitch. Black as coal!! But it's all good cause I like black. In the fall and winter I tend to wear a lot of black, dark gray or light gray. So It will fit into my wardrobe. I am just hoping that the dark color won't be a problem finding stitches and such. I can't wait to cast on tonight.

*On a side note. I just wanted to say that up until the end of the post I hadn't noticed that I was spelling gray with an E like in Grey's anatomy. I did go back and fix them all.)

Ahhhh Freak out!

2008-01-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

Another birthday has passed for me and I am now another year older! I really don't mind when my birthday rolls around. I turned 33 but I don't consider that old at all. I am healthy and so is my family and that is really all I can hope for. My laptop on the other hand.. not doing good. It has FREAKED out. It is time to get a new one. I have already started to look but since that happened so soon after christmas most places were sold out of what I wanted. I think that enough time has passed and that If I start looking again there should be a good amount of laptops available to me. I will try to post when I can but there won't be any pictures! :(

On a happy note, I FINALLY ordered the yarn to make Cutaway. I've had the pattern for like 5 months now. Hopefully I will have a new laptop by the time it is finished so that I can show it off!! First I have to wait for the yarn to get here..

Knitting can make your arse smaller!!

2008-01-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

I know that many people make resolutions on New Year's day to do lots of things. I have never been one for making resolutions. As a matter of fact I can't remember every making one. I have made a decision. To change the way that I eat and exercise. I eat very unhealthy. My sweet tooth is massive. I love everything sweet! I like my coffee sweet. soda, chocolate, cookies, cake! If it has sugar in it I am sure that I love it.
I didn't just decide to do it cause it was a new year either. The event that lead to this decision just happened to have happened at the same time as new year's day.
After the birth of Daughter Dos I never really made an effort to lose the "baby" weight. Never considering myself to look over weight or really be over weight, I never did it. I do belong to a gym but never have time to go. I know a lot of people say that. But in my case it really is true. Unless I want to go at 4 in the morning, which let's face it, is NEVER going to happen. I am not a morning person. Anyway. I was in my daughter's room and I was walking past the large mirror that is attached to her dresser and I say myself from about the mid-thigh up. I looked as though I could still be a few months pregnant. It was depressing. I am not looking to be rail thin, just not like that. Tomorrow I am dropping the gym membership and taking the money that I would spend during the year on it for a stationary bike. I do have the time to exercise just not the means to leave the house to go. Cause if I did, I am sure that someone would find out and call DCF for leaving my small children unattended.
The eating part is not going to be so easy! My work is the problem! All day while I was home I was fine. I didn't eat anything bad. I even make a salad to bring to work for dinner. But once I got to work I wanted to eat! Eat everything. I wanted to go to the cafe and get chocolate or chips. When I am home and get bored I can do something. Knit, crochet, sew or even watch TV. At work I am on a computer the whole time. That can get boring and than I want to eat. I guess I have to work on my will power too. Time will tell if I can do this. I think of it this way too. If I lose weight I will wear a smaller size. Smaller sizes mean less yardage. Less yardage equals less money spent to make an object. I think you know where I am going with this. In the end it means more yarn!!

It's a new year.

2008-01-01T20:12:00.000-05:00

I have my computer back. It's pretty bare cause the whole system had to be recovered. All my pictures are gone. But I guess that I will have to get over it cause there is nothing that I can do about that now. I have been knitting and crocheting. I finally finished an afghan for my BIL. I start it last year. It was really big and I double stranded the yarn. Boy was it heavy. I might have carpal tunnel now. I managed to finish the Irish hiking scarf for my FIL. It came out great. I used Debbie Bliss merino aran in a dark forest green color. I also didn't take a picture of it. It literally finished drying after blocking the afternoon before Christmas. Since the whole day I was busy with work and going to see family on Christmas eve, I forgot to take one. But I do have this to show.

This Irish Hiking Scarf is for my mom. I am making this one in Merino style from Knit Picks. The color is called Frost. I checked the merino style page and they don't have the color listed anymore. I am really liking this scarf. This is the first time that I have done cables and I really like it. Cables are a lot easier than they seem. I would say that anyone that wants to try cables should try this one. This is probably my most favorite thing that I have done so far. It looks so wonderful. I should mention now that I didn't finish this. I had to give it to my mom on the needles. When I started making these 2 scarves in the same pattern, I thought that it would be easy and fast. I mean, come on!! A scarf is the first projects for most beginners! It's the length that gets ya!! When the week before Christmas came I realized that there was no way I was going to have both of them done. I had to choose which one it would be. I decided to finish the one for my FIL cause my mom is a crocheter and would understand the reason why her scarf wasn't finish a bit more. I want to make one for myself now too but I think that I am going to change it up a bit and do the simple hat and scarf from Cables Untangled. When I first found a picture of the set on Ravelry I really wanted to make it but needed to get the book. When I looked in my library on Ravelry I saw that the book was in there. Did I actually already have it? I went looking for it. And there in my closet on my shelves filled with yarn was the book. Saved by Ravelry!! I was very excited and can't wait to get started!!

Keeping the knitting under wraps

2007-12-11T15:39:00.000-05:00

So my computer decided to freak out and dump some of its physical memory. I am writing this post on different computer than my home one. I can't log on at all nor can I find my recovery disc for it. We decided that it was time for us to get a new laptop. The only problem is that I need to get my pictures off the hard drive. I have someone working on it. So for now no pictures of anything.. No draft stoppers... and no pictures of my Irish Hiking scarf.
I plan on giving the scarf to my mother for Christmas. This is the first time that I have ever done cables and I have to say that it is easy. Looking at all the pictures of the ones that have been made made me nervous to try it. But once I got going it was easy. I would recommend it to anyone that wanted to try making cables. It is easy but you end up making a beautiful scarf that looks really hard to make.
This year I decided not to let anyone know that I was making them anything for Christmas. That way if for some chance I didn't finish they wouldn't even know. My MIL had told me that my FIL said he needed a new scarf and that maybe I would end up making him one for Christmas so how could I not? Since he doesn't know that I am working on one, I was able to work on it at their house the other night right in front of him. I also decided to keep the list small. There is nothing worse than trying to cram loads of hand knitted items into the last week of Christmas. I did come up with a plan for next year. If I start right after the new year, I could knit up scarfs for everyone by next Christmas. Maybe that will be my new year's resolution. Cause you need to make one to break it, right???

Tip-toeing through the bedroom??

2007-12-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

I finally took some pictures of the valances. Of course, I remembered right after Daughter Dos fell asleep for her nap. They are a little dark cause I didn't want to use a flash.

Those are butterflies on the fabric. I am very happy with the way that they turned out. I want to make curtains for every room in my house now!! I do have to make one for the window in my hallway. And I have never been happy with the curtains in the kitchen!

I don't know if anyone is really waiting (probably not) but I am redoing the draft stopper cause I think that I have thought of a better way to make it. We will see.
I have been knitting too. Making hats of course. A long list of handmade presents await me!!

2007-11-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

This a zipper wristlet that I made. It came out alot better that I had hoped that it would. I even put in a zipper for the first time. Very exciting.

So the draft stopper is done as you can see from the above photo. The tutorial is harder to put together than I thought that it would be. Most of the pictures came out kind of blurry but you still get the point. I am hoping that I have it all put together soon. I have to make sure that I am explaining every picture right.

So just give me a little more time.

Get what you need

2007-11-24T20:31:00.001-05:00

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We did here. I cooked the turkey and most of the sides. I am happy to report that no one got food poisoning!

One of the good things about doing any kind of craft is that if you can't find something you need or if you can't find it in the right color, You can make it. I had this fabric sitting around for a while waiting to be made into valances for daughter Dos' bedroom. With my new found confidence in sewing I finally got to it.

This is when I was actually sewing them. I haven't take a picture of them on the windows yet. My husband didn't even realize that they were hanging on the windows.

The other thing that I needed was draft stoppers. I guess some people call them draft dodgers. You know, the things you lay in front of your door to keep the drafts out. I know that I could go out and buy some but that wouldn't be fun. I have fabric straps around so I decided that I could just make them myself. I have 4 doors that I need them for. I did a Google search for directions on how to make them but didn't find anything that fit what I was looking for. So I gave it some thought and I figured it out. I just finished sewing up the first one but I don't have anything to fill it with. Tomorrow I am going to the store to get what I need. Hopefully I can put up a quick tutorial on how I did it. It was so easy it's shameful!!

2007-11-20T20:15:00.000-05:00

Hobbies can quickly turn into obsessions. I think more so for those hobbies that involve fabric or fiber. Maybe because those are the ones that I like to do. Recently I took a sewing course and have been sewing all kinds of things. Curtains, PJ pants, blankets, and bags. With my Raynaud's Disease being a problem in the winter, It gives me a way to do some DIY things. Also like knitting and crocheting, I have found 100 millions things that I have to do.
One of the great sites that I have come across ( that I am sure millions already know about) is Sew, Mama, Sew! Lots of cool stuff on this site. There is also a flickr group. And the blog! If you go back to the beginning of November you will see the start of November Handmade Holidays. 30 Days of gifts to sew. Now this is a great thing. There are so many things in there that you can make for gifts. This is some great stuff!! Take November 4th. Lunch bags! How awesome are all of those!! I really like the lunch bag based on a grocery bag! And what could be more perfect for the crafty DIY-er in your life than November 16th??? Gifts for the crafter??
There are like 4 things in that one that I wish someone would make for me so I wouldn't have to do it myself!!
As for knitting?? I haven't been doing to much of that. Nothing is really grabbing me lately and yelling in my ear "Make me!!"
(SHHH... I haven't been on Ravelry in like 2 weeks!! The shame! ) (that will be my next stop)