findingher

errrr....oops.

2006-08-10T21:43:00.000-04:00

I have no idea why, but I thought I posted an entry saying I moved. Apparently I didn't. I moved to typepad a long while ago, it seems. Come on over and read me if you want to!

FindingHer on Typepad

Mom wearing her finished Liesel

2005-12-22T02:02:00.000-05:00

Mom wearing her finished Liesel
Originally uploaded by Jenn Walsh.

Liesel Scarf

2005-12-22T02:00:00.000-05:00

Liesel Scarf
Originally uploaded by Jenn Walsh.

Made this for my mom :)

Flickr

2005-12-22T01:57:00.000-05:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

2005-09-05T15:32:00.000-04:00

After spending the past few days hating my comments system, then installing the blogger comment system, and remembering I hate it because it requires people to be a member, or otherwise all are "annoymous", I switched my blog host. Which makes me pretty sad, but I know I have to. I'll be switching everything in the sidebars over soon, and hopefully I'll get the banner fixed. Till then, come see me at my new home, and add me to your bloglines list!

Come on down!

2005-09-02T00:12:00.000-04:00

It seems like the only thing I'm knitting right now is scarves. I finished one, and the other two are on their way (they're Christmas gifts, so, no hurry).

My friend Dee wanted a scarf like the one Mary Poppins wears, so I made that for her:

Me wearing it

It looks like it's in Harry Potter Gryffindor colors, but it's not. It was just a simple crocheted, chain stitch and slip stitch pattern, in Simply Soft.

What will be a scarf for my sister for Christmas, using a pattern from a Japanese book. It's a drop stitch scarf that isn't that far off from Clapotis, really. Done in Manos Del Uruguay, Woodland. And with my new Denise needles. :)

Scarf for Andy. Pattern is from a Vogue Knitting special magazine for men, called Slanted Rib, in Noro Kureyon. So fun.

That's all the news I've got :)

2005-08-28T18:32:00.000-04:00

A pictures post (and lots)

Some of this post will be of medical stuff. Hope that won't offend!

Andy and I before I went into the hospital. My t-shirt is designed by Steve, who is in another picture in this post...the t-shirt says Organ Donors are Heros in the Making.

(Which makes me also want to add, speaking of Organ Donors- a friend just IM'd me to let me know she's on her way to the hospital for her own double lung transplant :) Keep her in your thoughts, she's an awesome person who deserves a chance at a normal life!)

In the hospital- I can't remember who took this picture, it was either Andy, my dad, or one of the respiratory therapists.

My PICC line after it was put in. PICC lines take the place of IVs, and are more like long term IVs- they can use it to give me meds, and draw blood off of. One stick, for two weeks. Drawback? A PICC line goes from your inner elbow to your heart. Andy said he shivered every time he looked at the thing.

Steve drawing. He comes by the hospital on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to draw for the kids in the hospital. We've become good friends this way, and I'm guarunteed a late night Tuesday and Thursday visitor and some good conversation. Be sure to check out his website to see his t-shirts if you're a Boston Red Sox fan, as a portion of your purchase is given to the Tomorrow Fund, a charity for children with cancer.

Steve was also married to the late Diana Golden-Brosnihan- if you feel sorry for yourself for some reason at this moment, read about her. It's a lesson about what you can do in life.

(In case Steve ever finds himself here through Google- HI! Hope you don't mind me blathering on about you!)

My best friend Dee (who has definitely benefitted from her own double lung transplant- which she received at the age of 18, 19) visiting me.

Judy's shoes. Judy has been decorating her shoes for every month for as long as I've known her. You should see the Christmas shoes :)

The PICC line is gone! It was very. Very. Weird though, as for the first day, there was just this HOLE there. It didn't scab or bleed. Now it has, but EW to before.

Me and my parents' puppy, Holly. I look like I have something wrong with my eye, but really, I'm ok.

My parents. We saw them last night, as it was my birthday, and I GOT MY DENISE NEEDLES! I've been using them ever since, love love love. So nice. So after the gift, we went to an engagement party for my best friend from high school, and his girlfriend Katie. Very fun! Andy and I played badminton for a good half hour or so.

The groom to be is the one in red. Number 24, is my cousin Eric. He's one of the ushers/groomsmen. I didn't manage to get one of Katie, blah.

And now we arrive to craft stuff (finally, I know. I hope no one is on dial up, I might be breaking your PC)

Harry Potter book scarf for my sister's birthday.

Awareness Ribbon Dishcloth- dropped that off at the Gifts of Hope Gift shop on Thursday. Found out while I was there, that the hospital's cancer center has a knitting time from 1-3 on Fridays- so I'm going to be going when I go to the hospital again. Should be fun!

The One Skein Wonder that fits No One. Blah.

And not pictured, is the body of the wedding afghan, completely finished, waiting for its border :)

Right now I'm working on my new needles, a Manos Del Uruguay drop stitch scarf for my sister's Christmas gift. And, that's it for now! This post is pretty chock full at the moment, so I'll sign off.

2005-08-25T23:26:00.000-04:00

Christmas Knitting Plan*

Andy	Gloves, Scarf from Vogue Knitting's Special Men's Issue with Noro Kureyon
Mom	Creatures of the Reef shawl in Zephyr
Dad	Irish Hiking Scarf and matching Hat from Pinguoin wool
Andy's Mom	This scarf in KnitPicks Panache, and Lighthouse socks from Peace Fleece
Andy's Dad	Cabled scarf in Peace Fleece Wool
JoAnn	Scarf from Japanese book in Manos

*probably will be changed often as I go through knitting "moods"

2005-08-25T17:20:00.000-04:00

I forgot my cord for picture uploading at home *fumes*.

But I've gotten SO much done, and have pictures to back it up, but no luck. I finished the body of the Dan & Katie wedding afghan :-D That's the most important news. Now it's just the border, and that doesn't need to be finished until October 15th.

I made an Awareness Ribbon Cloth, in a pink variegated Sugar n Cream Cotton. I'm trying to sell it to the Gifts of Hope gift shop here, which is near the Cancer Center. I'm not sure what I think about the pattern- I like the idea of it, but I think I'd feel weird washing my dishes with an awareness ribbon. I still like how it came out though.

I also made one of the Harry Potter Bookscarves. My sister, JoAnn, is a big Harry Potter fan, so I made it for her birthday, although it's not in time for book 6. Hey, she'll have fun with it in book 7.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a hospital knitting thing- a local yarn shop has knitting classes here on Fridays, and I'm so going. And I'm also going HOME tomorrow. In time for my birthday on Saturday, and also in time for an engagement party. For my birthday, I get my gift, which was some Denise Interchangeables my parents bought me last month and have kept in hiding ever since. Can't. WAIT. :-D

2005-08-22T10:18:00.000-04:00

I've been such a naughty blogger. But I have reasons! I've been pretty sick the last few weeks, one of those colds that don't go away, (I didn't even go to my knitting night because I was always so frickin' tired!), so I had to go back in the hospital, where I am right now. I feel loads better, and should be home at the very least by my birthday on Saturday :) Happy birthday! We're releasing you from the hospital! Good gift if you ask me.

I've been knitting a bit on the Honeymoon Cami, but the gift knitting I have to do always draws me away. I'm working on a Harry Potter book scarf for my sister, who turns 34 an exact week after my birthday. I'm almost finished the body of the Dan and Katie wedding afghan, only 19 more rows to go, and then I'll be in border hell. I hate picking up stitches, even in crochet, because I feel like I'm messing up all the time- always fear there will be a bunch of stitches in one spot, and won't have enough to fill the quota at the end. Blah.

I have some pictures, but haven't been emptying my camera as often, considering I'm still "testing" it. Andy got me a brand new Mintolta digital camera as my birthday gift. It's really a fabulous little camera, instead of a great honkin' big one, which my last one was. He gave it to me early, because we were supposed to be away this weekend at the New York State Fair and a Renaissance fair, but since I probably won't get out until Saturday, that ain't happening. We've been considering going next weekend, but we might just stay home and spend time together, after these last hectic few weeks (hectic for him, because work is difficult right now, hectic for me, because I feel like I'm at "work" 24/7 just being in the hospital).

I'm buying some Zephyr lace weight yarn, to make Fiddlesticks Knitting's Creatures of the Reef shawl for my mom for Christmas. I can't wait to start this project. It looks like a fun knit. I'm buying some Peace Fleece too, soon, to make Rogue at some point this year. Wondering what color to get, I saw a fantastic Rogue in a discontinued color, Snowmaiden. I almost am tempted to put it on my ebay favorites search list, just in case some misguided soul wants to sell it to me.

In other news, almost finished Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (I did this dragging out on purpose, but my god, it's hard to do. I just want to sit and FINISH in one sitting, rather than a chapter a meal like I've been doing while I'm in here). Love, love, love it. I'm so entertained. Every night for the dinners I eat by myself, I go downstairs to the cafeteria, get dinner, then sit and let the world disappear, while I read about Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione and Dumbledore and Snape. Love love love.

Been upset, because although safely TiVo'd at home, I've missed the last two episodes of Six Feet Under. ARRRRRRGH. I want to KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. Oh well. It'll be another birthday gift to me :)

Pictures later!

2005-08-08T15:55:00.000-04:00

New Stash! I can't wait to see what I can do with the Hello Kitty books shown at the bottom. Those were the best to look through.

My snowflake illusion scarf so far. I've put it down so I can work more on the wedding afghan.

The two lone snowflakes I managed to make for the Snowflakes in July along. I did try two others, but I ripped them out because I thought they looked bad, or I messed up.

Isn't she cute?! You'd think it was Christmas around here. I have to stop with the winter themed things.

I'm on row 73 of my 129 row (minus the border) wedding afghan. I can't wait for it to be finished. I hate doing things on deadlines, and I'd really rather be working on something summer oriented. I didn't get a chance to do that at all this summer, it seems. I started on my Honeymoon cami, had to put it aside, and haven't been able to work on any of the other projects I had bought summer yarn for. BLAH! Other people knitting always seems to get in the way. Not too long from now, I'll be doing my Christmas knitting, and then will come birthdays, etc etc. Can't people give me a break? :)

2005-08-05T00:10:00.000-04:00

Worst. Knitting. Designs. EVEEEEEER!

2005-07-28T15:31:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd start off with showing you my new knitting tool kit:

It's a file box, that I found in the Back to School area of Target the other night. It's awesome. I put all of my circulars and straight needles in there, along with my tools on the top-except for my knitting gauges. That's ok, I have a smaller pencilbox like box that holds my DPNs and now, the needle gauges. For ten bucks, I ADORE it.

Now, the snowflake update:

How long my scarf got to be-before I FROGGED IT. It just wasn't looking right, the snowflakes were not popping out at me, so I frogged. :( I've restarted with even smaller needles. I'm using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes with size 4 needles, and am almost finished the first snowflake repeat.

Better- but still eh. I've now decided to try re-working the chart a little bit, to see if I can make it work a bit better. We'll see.

And, while crocheting standing up so Chloe couldn't get to the lurex, I finished my first snowflake!

Unblocked, until I can get some starch. I'm not sure what I think-I think it's going to need some Christmas tree lights, and then I'll adore it.

2005-07-27T16:37:00.000-04:00

Original

I'm from Saturday nights at church just down the road, from sticky hot summers, and buttercup picking
from rocks so large, I pretend they're houses, trees so close together, I pretend they're dooryways
to my rock house, and on the other side, is a long flat rock that serves as my driveway.

I'm from the black, whale sized chalkboard at my doctor's office, so many children, so many names,
etched on its surface.
I'm from buying thrift clothes to play dress up in, making cats be babies, and having a wooden toybox of evening gowned Barbies,
and My Little Ponys that need their hair brushed.
I'm from poison ivy and calamine lotion, the smell of nail polish remover as my mom does her nails on a weekend,
and a "salt and pepper haired" father.

I'm from reading books, a hundred pages a day, and still not getting enough.
I'm from praying before bedtime, and then sleeping till morning, and waking to kitty purrs
I'm from cat whiskers, and meows and playing fetch with cats

I'm from photographs, and yarn, polar bears and Christmas.
I'm from carols sung at midnight, of fresh fallen snow, leaves that almost glow with color, and a rich green carpet of grass every spring.
I'm from New England State Fairs, apple picking, horseback riding, leaf peeping,
and trips on the weekend.

I'm from corn on the cob, company picnics, Italian Ice, watermelon, and dances on Friday nights.

I'm from a small New England mill town.

2005-07-27T09:47:00.000-04:00

Long time, no blog entry.

Last week, in preparing for the , I knit and crocheted as many projects as I could to finish them up to leave the week more or less guilt free in the creating zone. Here's what we got:

One amigurumi puppy who still needs a face. I need to find where my embroidery floss is so I can give him a puppy mouth, and then find some eyes for him. Andy says he feels bad looking at the blind, mute puppy.

And we finished the baby gifts. All that needs finishing on that is to sew in the ends of the ties. I made it into a tunic, instead of a vest, with little crocheted ties. I'm hoping the bows make it more girly, and more likely to be a tunic dress for a baby, a vest for an older child. Also made an umbilical cord hat without the unbilical cord.

In the mail we got:

It's a Boyd's bears Christmas ornament. I love him so. Well, her, it says it's Ingrin "Be Warm" Snowman, but it looks more like a boy to me. I have another knitting ornament coming soon, hopefully I can get it next week.

Silver and blue lurex for snowflakes (more on this in a minute)

So how's the actual knit/crochet along going for me? Not so well.

I started knitting happily on my illusion scarf on Monday, and finished a complete repeat, but...I'm not seeing a snowflake. I'm seeing a few bumps. Blast. So I went down a needle size to see if it improves. Here it is so far:

Then my first attempt at a snowflake came yesterday:

But I ripped that one out, because I just did NOT like it. So I started another one. Was at the last repeat. At this point, Chloe, my cat, woke up, saw the lurex floating in the air conditioning, took a flying leap, pounced and started flapping her paws wildly. I laughed, reached down to untangle her, which frightened her, and she ran off with the lurex in her mouth, breaking the connection between the cone and the snowflake, and she ran under the bed. Knowing that yarn strands can be fatal to a cat, Andy and I ran after her, Andy pulled her out by the scruff of her neck from under the bed (after banging his knee very hard against the corner of the bed), and she had an empty mouth. We think it was a clean break between the pieces of lurex, which we're thankful for. Only problem now, is, Chloe somehow hurt her back leg in all the fuss, so she's limping. She's been fine otherwise, thank god. We just feel so bad watching her limp. And Andy limp, after he banged his knee. So, really, to fit in with my family right now, I have to go and hit my leg on something. I'll be back :)

2005-07-19T02:43:00.000-04:00

Say hello to my dad's finished socks. :) They're done, and I don't have to work on anymore mens' socks! I can maybe make socks FOR ME sometime soon! Maybe.

Next up-finishing the amigurmi puppy :) I made another leg tonight, and his snout. So he only needs ears, a tail, and his nose, and then I can sew him up, find him some eyes, and embroider his mouth. Yay!!

2005-07-17T03:21:00.000-04:00

Whereas before, I was depressed thinking about my lack of finishing, but now I feel like I've gotten my second wind. The closeness to finishing on some, with the promise of new projects, or even more FINISHED projects, soon to come, are driving me to knit and crochet more. I'm trying to think of the order I'd like to do things now, so when the time comes, I can fall back to my MASTER PLAN. Mwuahaha.

Dad's Sock Dad's sock is pretty close to finishing. Only a little more than an inch, and I can start decreasing for the toe. Hopefully finish by Tuesday.
Amigurumi-Along Puppy He needs one more back leg, two ears, a tail, and a nose and some non-hand made eyes, and he's finished, so he's next on the list.
The Boy Turned Girl Baby Tank/Dress Since this seems too big, my friend Steph mentioned it could easily be thought of as a dress if I sewed up the sides a bit more. That's the plan now. (Thanks to Stacey and Lisa for commenting on that one- I am going to keep it, and if I don't do the flower idea, I'm going to try the ribbon) I'm also planning on using the garter stitch that's used to create lines, to create a flower or heart on the chest. Also....
The Replacement Umbilical Hat I made and finished an umbilical cord hat in boy colors, but have bought the same yarn in a different colorway that matches the Tank/Dress. This should be a quick knit, especially since I've made it before, and also because I like the pattern. I don't know, however, if there will be a cord. I'm kind of not in love with the cord flopping around on the head. To me it's kind of weird to see a floppy umbilical cord on a kid's head, call me traditional.
Citrus Moon Tank Can't. Wait. To Be. Done. It's been left along the wayside, and will be the last to be picked up, unfortunately.
The Wedding Afghan Not in a rush, and it's been going smoothly so far.

Ok- now for questions for you all. This winter, I want to try my hand at colorwork, and mittens. I'm looking for Fair Isle, scandenavian, those sort of intricate patterns on gloves and mittens. Suggestions for patterns/books/kits?

Also- any good suggestions for worsted weight booties? Especially ones that you think would look good made with Bernat Cotton Tots? Thanks!!

2005-07-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

You know that baby vest that's half completed? The one for that baby boy? And the shower is on August 6th?

The friend just found out OOPS, it's REALLY A GIRL.

*sighs*

2005-07-14T00:37:00.000-04:00

Although I don't have children, I'm kind of in love with this book.

2005-07-13T03:15:00.000-04:00

What can I make if I knit almost the entire day?

The back of a baby vest for a pregnant friend.

I used a Japanese book pattern, and it took me awhile to figure out gauge, as I'm a bit slow when it comes to the "Maths", as Aunt Purl puts it. But I DID get gauge, and it's dead on. Problem? I DIDN'T WANT IT TO BE. It's more for a toddler, than a baby, and I thought downsizing it might make it baby size. Oh well. The kid will grow into it, right? And it's not like I didn't also make a baby hat already. One knit to fit now, one to grow on. Anyway, yarn is KnitPicks Shine in Green Apple (do you think it's too bright? Andy wasn't sure. He said if it was more pastel, it wouldn't be a great gift for a boy).

ALSO....the front to the commissioned sweater:

Now it just needs some sleeves and some sewin'.

But it's being put aside until fall. Living under that wool, as the sleeves are picked up, so the bulk of it would be in my lap...*shudders*. Tonight for example, it's over 85 in my apartment, with the air conditioner ON.

Now on to the SEX.

Chloe wonders what they could be...(yes, that is me with my pink frog pj pants in the background)

Why, yes Chloe, those ARE the 39 pairs of vintage circular needles I won off of eBay!

I love them. I fell in lust with this set of needles one of the women at my stitching group was using when I first started going...they almost appeared transluscent, and in one piece....not joined like most circlars. So I scoured eBay, found this estate sale lot, and BINGO. There's about 8 or 9 pairs of these in there, perhaps more, and one set is even PINK. They're so dear. All except about 13 pairs are still in their packages. Awesome, awesome find. LOVE LOVE LOVE. And there's even one pair of Addi Turbos, so I can try those, too :-D

I bought Loop-D-Loop from Knitpicks, not pictured here:

I got yarn for my illusion snowflake scarf, a circular row counter, and all the fixings for a magnet board for patterns.

That's about it for now, hopefully during my stitching group tomorrow, I can get more done!

2005-07-09T02:00:00.000-04:00

Hey! Work has still been happening here, just not enough still to really show off pictures. I've mainly worked on Dad's sock

the sweater I was comissioned for, which is almost up to the collar (!!)

Dan and Katie's wedding afghan:

What? What Mom? You don't think I should walk around on gifts?

I've gotten involved in two "alongs"...one is a crochet along, . I LOVE how cute amigurumi things are, and am in the middle of making a puppy.

So far he has 3 legs, a body, and a head. He just needs his snout, nose, another leg, ears, and a tail. Love him! I'm thinking about naming him Lars, or Earl.

The other is a knit/crochet along, . I'm going to be making a snowflake illusion scarf, pattern courtesy of this thread on Craftster

So that's the update folks! More to come, and hopefully, HOPEFULLY, something will get finished at some point :)

2005-07-04T20:20:00.000-04:00

We're home! A bit early too, as we got back yesterday. Why, I'll explain in a bit.

We went to Lancaster, New Hampshire to play on the hills.

Here's our view from the car on the ride up:

When we got there, it wasn't what I was expecting. We checked into the Coos Moter Inn, then went to Bob and Karen's land, which was just that, some land. There was about this one acre of flat land, with cows on either side,

We parked the car, then honked the horn, and Becky came down the hill to get us. And yes, down the hill. At the end of the flat land, is a huge steep hill. We got to the top, and I started taking pictures:

We ate lunch, while some of the other people were off searching for Art, who had been gone for over an hour on an ATV. They found the ATV, but no Art. It was stuck in a mud puddle, so they came back for reinforcements, then went back in search for Art. They found him about a half hour, 45 minutes later. He had been missing for about two hours. He was fine, and made fun of the situation, but damn...that was a weird time.

I sat down with Becky and got some sun, while Andy and Mike played football. Then they all sat down and we vegged out enjoying the view, till Bob came over and asked if I'd ever been on an ATV before that day, and when I said no, he made it his mission to get me on one. I did NOT want to drive down the hill (thank GOD I didn't, I probably would have cried, since it was a steep, steep hill), so he drove me down to the beginner track, where I made my first run around. Oh. My. LORD. SO FUN. Scary, but SO FUN and addictive. I went around and around a lot, and got better. Then I tried some of the more challenging trails in the woods, but got too nervous. I only got stuck there twice, though, but was terrified almost the whole time. But it was a riot. There's just something so fun about it, and I can't wait to do it again.

Andy!

Becky, Kenny, Mike, guy I don't know, and Dennis in the position you'll usually find him...telling a story.

The reason why we left a day early, was after my loads of time on the ATV, and the things Andy was doing, we woke up in a world of hurt. I mean PAIN. I'm still really sore today, and Tylenol is my muscle aching friend. But it was worth it.

And to those wishing me a Happy Birthday, I should explain...my parents wanted to get my gift now so they'd have it when it came to my actual birthday-which isn't until the end of August! August 27th, to be exact. I'll save your birthday wishes up until then. However, this weekend, July 9th, is the birthday of my favorite boy, Andy! I think besides his gift, I'm going to attempt to make him a chocolate peanut butter pie. I'm not the best chef, so we'll see how that turns out...lol.

Happy fourth!

2005-07-02T01:21:00.000-04:00

I bought the knitting robot tee yesterday, after asking the designer to switch the needle position, and she was quite obliging about doing it. So if anyone else wanted the shirt, but were like me, didn't want a robot knitting wrong (I'm so fussy), go for it.

This weekend, we're going to Lancaster, New Hampshire, to where Andy's friends have 81 acres of land, and about $600-1000 dollars worth of fireworks (spent either $300, or 600, at a buy one get one free sale). We're leaving tomorrow, then coming back Sunday night after we light the fireworks. There's going to be ATV riding, and hopefully I can convince someone to go horseback riding with me at the nearby ski lodge. I love horses, and a trail ride sounds like a good weekend to me.

I'm bringing along a sock, and hopefully, will complete my goal of turning the heel by the end of the weekend. My goal for next week is to complete the front of the paid sweater, as I've been calling it. We had a temporary set back on that this weekend, as I realized I skipped two rows accidentally, and it was noticeable (that, and since I got paid, I didn't want mistakes. They didn't pay for me to f#$% up.)

My parents, who are afraid to use their credit cards online, and didn't know where to get me my birthday gift around here, had me go online and buy my birthday present today with my card, while re-imbursing me...HELLO birthday gift. I also bought myself a few new things.

Also got some new stuff at my LYS the other day- they moved recently, into a new building, and the place is GORGEOUS now. Before it was a rickety room, and now it's bright and big. I got two back issues of Interweave, and two new patterns. Found some others I really want, and some new yarn that I want to buy.

Also bidding on a LOT on eBay. Hopefully I'll win. I'll find out on Monday when I get home. Cross your fingers for me! Have a great fourth of July weekend everybody!

2005-06-30T16:30:00.000-04:00

WANT!!!

Scroll down so you can see the knitting one.... :) I'm requesting one, but asking her to change the needle position. I know, I'm a dork.

2005-06-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

Although I really don't have much to update in PROGRESS, as basically everything I'm knitting is unexciting, especially since I have so many projects in rotation at the moment, here's some more exciting happy stuff from blog land.

I got mail today from Knittin' Pretty! She sent a bunch of blog readers little packages, that are so cute. I've really, reeeeeeeeeally been hoping to get stitch markers, and guess what was in the package? My very own stitch markers! I'm really, really excited about that, and can't wait to actually use them. Also sent was tea (not pictured, already used :) ) stationary, (which is a GREAT gift for me, as I love paper and pens to a scary extreme), chocolate!

Notice the cute little monkey post-it!

Love it....thank you Leah!

On another note, I've been picking apart my cross stitch collection to choose things to be put on sale. I have TONS and I do mean TONS of stuff (a few years of Stoney Creek and Stitcher's World magazines plus patterns will do that to you), and am looking to sell it. I'm going to do that on eBay soon, but will probably link here in case anyone's interested. Since it's such a huge amount (about 70 magazines and patterns, that doesn't include the hard cover books), I'm going to do them in lots by magazine. IF you love cross stitch, and want something in particular, Stitcher's World, Stoney Creek, some Just Cross Stitch, or a particular theme (I personally searched mainly for polar bears, Christmas things, wolves, Lizzie Kate, Told In a Garden, etc, and am not offering those up for sale. I don't care if I ever get to them, even just the pictures are enough for me). Anyway, point is, if you've been REALLY searching for something, or just have a hankering, let me know, I'll show what I can, and we can talk deal.

Here's a poor, unfinished project, that I'd love to do before the year is up:

I started my dad's second sock today. Didn't get much finished, but it's started, which was the hardest part. I cast on too tightly and was wrestling with the final five stitches of the first ribbed row when they flew off the needles, and caused me to nearly cry. It UN-cast on, and I did this weird re-cast on, that worked, thankfully. Let me tell you, that royally sucked, to struggle through those tight stitches, see the end in sight, and then FLOOM (actual noise, too, of course), off the needles. I was about to take my five inch dpn and stab myself in the eye.

Much happier times with the sock.

I got quite a bit of progress on the afghan, I've started my second ball of it, and will be ordering more as soon as I get paid again. I bought a huge amount of yarn from Mystical Creation Yarns, and can't wait to get it. I'm almost finished the front of the sweater, and hopefully will have that to show you sometime soon. The Alternate Honeymoon Cami is still pretty much the same, and not worth mentioning. SOON, I will have free needles (I hope).

2005-06-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

Although there is progress on just about everything, I don't think it's NOTICEABLE, earth-shattering progress. But for the sake of the blog, let's take a look, shall we?

Dad's finished first sock, which fit him perfectly :) He demonstrated this on Sunday, by trying on the sock, then plunking his foot on the kitchen table for me to examine, which must have thrilled my mom to no end.

The alternate Honeymoon Cami, up to the bust increases now, hopefully starting that soon.

The sweater I'm getting paid for, up to the chest of the front now.

A closer view of the stitching

Some more rows added to the afghan. About 21 rows in now, of 129.

Part of the problem of having this many works in progress, is I stare longingly at other projects, and think mournfully of all the OTHER stash I have, just waiting to get on the needles. I feel like I have little to no room for more projects, and I kind of find it stifling. Everything feels very far away from finishing. Blah. I have to get started on the second sock, which shouldn't take too long, and if I put enough work and effort into the Alternate Cami or the sweater front, I'm sure they'd be finished before long too.

Tonight is Knitting Night :) I'm excited, hopefully I'll get a lot of work on, er, something. I haven't decided what to bring yet. I'm leaning towards Alternate, but that remains to be seen. I need to figure out the increases before I drag it out in public.

Hopefully I'll have something finished SOON, this is beginning to drag on for me.

2005-06-18T20:47:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm looking through Japanese knit/crochet books again. I swear, the siren call of them drives me mad. Such adorable things, or just all around well MADE things. The creativity and originality in their patterns always astound me. There are so many things that I adore, and would love to sit down and make, even though the usefullness of them is questionable. Take for example, dog sweaters. My parents have a dog, yes. Will they every do more than love the sweaters I might make the dog? Probably not.

Yet, added to my Amazon.co.jp wishlist today? Dog books.

See:

Dog Book Number 1

Dog Book Number 2

And Dog Book Number 3.

I think I might buy #3 first. I'm such a dork (and yes, I do already own American book Dogs in Knits already...but still need the Patons books.

2005-06-17T18:31:00.000-04:00

This has been a pretty good week, fiber wise. I have been working on Dan and Katie's wedding afghan, and have 15 rows done. Yesterday, I actually checked to see the exact amount of days I have to complete this think, and it's 120. I only have 114 rows left. So, if I don't slack, I can have the rows done in 114 days, and use the final six days to slap on the fringe and weave in the ends. That's...IF I DON'T SLACK. HAHAHAHAHA! I think I'll be doubling the amount of rows I do on a few days, to say the least.

I'm at the toe decreases of my dad's sock, thanks to my first KNITTING NIGHT! I found one at a local library. They hold it one night a week in the children's section. I went Wednesday and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was a magical place, where people KNEW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. If I mentioned a company, a magazine, any of the above, they understood! They knew of it! And they were hooking or poking with needles too, and they ALSO enjoyed it! I swear, that by itself, not including the fact that I managed to get about three inches of my sock finished from those two hours, is enough to make me become addicted.

At some point this past week, I really was getting annoyed with my dad's sock, and needed some instant gratification. So I cast on for the Umbilical Cord Hat from Stitch 'N Bitch with Bernat CottonTots. I really liked that yarn, because of it's softness, and the fact it was a baby yarn, yet worsted weight. The striping of the color I used made the hat look like it's striped, more than variegated. My only problem with this hat is when I got closer to the end, I was planning on using the magic loop method for the first time. I managed to get my needles in the wrong position, had to stop and fix them. Then, I got the hang of magic loop I think-but I found myself stuck, unable to move my needles...I thought it was something I did, but on closer inspection, it appeared that the cord on my needles looked and felt like barbed wire. It was catching on the yarn, and the snags would make it literally impossible to move. And they hurt to touch, too. While usually I would just assume Chloe had been doing some chewing, this was a first time use of those needles that I can remember. They're Inox needles, they shouldn't be so screwed up right out of the package. Blah. Anyway, the hat is finished, but since it's for a friend who might read the blog, I'm going to make it a pop up picture. If you're my friend, and expecting a baby, DO NOT LOOK.

Picture 1

Picture 2

So, hopefully the sock will be finished today, and on Sunday, I'll have my dad try it on. If it fits, I'll start the second sock. If it doesn't, I'll cry, while I rip it out to start over :)

2005-06-10T16:29:00.000-04:00

My tank top is finished, but damn it, the straps are too long. So in the pictures, I had to hunch up my shoulders a bit to try and hide that. Now I'll have to figure out whether to un-weave the ends, shorten the straps, then re-attach, or try to shorten them by just sort of tacking them to where I want them. Any suggestions?

I did mine in KnitPicks Shine...it's airier than the original, so I had to buy a nude camisole to go underneath. All in all, a really, really fun project.

I didn't bother hunching up my shoulders for the back shot:

And I'm still working on my dad's sock: A measely one inch till heel time.

I'm not sure what I think of the yarn. I like how it looks, but when I put it on my hand, it seems to strike me as kind of itchy. Anyone have experiance with Regia Strato?

And, still working on my friends' wedding afghan. While using my PC, I've finished about 11 rows so far, which is above my quota of 1 row a day. Yay!! It'll be good for when I start to fall behind. It's in Caron Simply Soft, and may I say I just LOVE it? The yarn is so freaking nice to my fingers. I'm thinking about doing Glampyre's One Skein Wonder in it as a gift to afriend of mine, in the Brights collection, as she'd love that mint color.

Anyway, off to try to fit in some more blog reading-I'm way behind with something close to 800 posts now. I love blogs, they're just so inspiring, so it's almost fun to look at all that reading material.

2005-06-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

Just to let you all know in case you see the change in your comments....I changed my posting name. Instead of being one in a million Jennifers...I'm going by Jennifa :) It's a nod to my parents, whose accent forced them to call me that my whole life, and to the fact I'm a New Englander. I might not have the accent, but I'm surrounded by people who do.

I promise, actual craft content next post.

2005-06-09T17:36:00.000-04:00

Free Katie!!

This is an important cause, yo.

2005-06-06T22:52:00.000-04:00

First off, I wanted to mention a crocheter who sent me something pretty special while I was in the hospital:

When Heather of Truelove Treasures heard I had a stuffed cow, she knew I'd treat hers well. Isn't that sweet?! What a nice thing to do! Plus, look how CUTE it is. Gotta love cows, and stuffed, homemade huge cows, rock :) That was a really great surprise, and he (she?)'ll have good home here.

Finally, I can write about the yarn stores I visited and the projects I'm currently working on! And post stash p0rn!!

We didn't do much yarn store hopping till the last two days, when we went to three yarn shops in a two days. We had really varied results, even, dare I say it, a not really fun yarn shop? (although, that didn't stop me from buying something from it).

The first one we went to was Ladybug Knitting Shop in Dennis, MA. Besides having a nice setup, I think the best part about this store, if I lived near it, would be the fact that they had a really great knitting group going when I went. There were women sitting around the table, laughing, and having a good old time knitting away. In fact, I thought it would drive Andy away, as he's not big on loud groups of women (then again, what man is?) I bought about 7 skeins of Reynolds Lopi here, in a really gorgeous colorway, that I can't wait to make into a simple bulky sweater. Just to find a pattern. I bought a simple pattern, for bulky yarn, but it's more something I want to use for a gift for one of my parents. The yarn, is for me, so I have to find a good sweater for myself. Perhaps I can search through my winter Rebecca magazines...I bet Aspen is around the same gauge. Anyway. I also bought some Regia Crazy Color sock yarn here, in number 5400, Clematis. I think I sense some sock love in me, as I've been buying quite a bit of sock yarn, and thinking about buying some sock pattern books.

The Ladybug was nice, comfortable, and had good yarn, and good service. My only caveat was that neither of the women on, knew of the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I was hoping to get a nice yarn for the Hourglass sweater, but nothing doing. Considering every knitter I know loves that book, really, how did they not know of it?

The next day, we hit two yarn stores, completely different from each other, COMPLETELY. One I fell in love with, the Blue Heron Yarn Studio. The yarn was displayed exactly as is shown in the pictures of the website, and it's just beautiful to go into. It's this knitter's heaven experiance, at least to me. Neat rows of yarn, well organized patterns, beautiful needles, artistic display of Manos del Uruguay and Mountain Colors yarn on the walls, and what I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of, a very large barn loom. It was just awesome. It turned out the woman working there that day, by some chance, had grown up in our area, and was the grandmother of two people we went to high school with. Here, I bought needles, Manos del Uruguay yarn (my first!) a magic loop book, a Dale of Norway book, and a simple sweater pattern.

I would love to live near that shop. I would go ANY time I needed yarn. Just loved it.

The last yarn shop...blah. The Yarn Basket, in Mashpee, was above a Subway. That was about the best thing going for it. It's not that they didn't carry good yarns, or didn't have a good sized selection of patterns...it was the place itself looked like a storage room. Rather than taking any of the yarn out of the bags, they were priced, then placed in rather varied piles throughout the room. Piles, upon piles of yarn, in some weird maze. It was just a really claustrophobic experiance for me...and I have had MRIs and such done before without a problem. The patterns were all seperated into two sections...baby and non-baby. There was a turning book rack, and two wooden periodical holders, and that was basically it. There was a half hidden stack of the latest Rebecca, Interweave, and Vogue magazines among the middle table of yarn bags.

I bought three back issues of Rebecca, and got the hell out of there. I don't believe the person in charge that day felt I was a serious knitter, so she basically left me alone after asking if I wanted anything in particular. One other thing I didn't quite like about the place, was that she had already knitted stuff hanging everywhere for sale, but nothing to say where the pattern came from, or yarn used. I thought that would at least drum up some business, having samples, but perhaps she thought it'd be competition. Anyway.

I wouldn't go back there. It just wasn't fun for me to wade through. It was like there was no pride in the place, or not enough room to store things, and who wants to go through that just to find some yarn that you want to purchase? Personally, I'm not sure how a yarn shop that looks quite so mixed up has survived so long, when there were alot better organized stores only about 15-20 minutes away.

So if you got this far...pictures of the newly gotten stash! Some of it is stuff I bought off the internet that arrived while I was gone.

The yarn haul...

The pattern haul.

What I worked on while gone:

Citrus Moon

The sweater I'm being paid to make, with the Yankee Knitter design pattern.

What I've started since I got home:

The beginning of Dan and Katie's wedding afghan...design pattern from Leisure Arts Paula Vaughan's Plus and Pretty Afghans, in Caron's Simply Soft in Raspberry. I decided the best way to tackle this is to take the number of rows, and figure out how many I'd have to do a day to get it finished before their wedding. So far, I've already crocheted three, and am starting on four. This needs to be finished before October. So I figure one row a day, then the edging, will be good enough.

This is a sock I'm knitting for my dad as part of his Father's Day gift. It's in Regia Strato. There might not be a finished pair in time for Father's Day, so I bought him a pretty big gift today to make up for it...a telescope. He's always had an interest in astronomy, and no way to look at the stars, so I decided to give him the gift of a new hobby for Father's Day.

2005-06-06T18:51:00.000-04:00

This is where we stayed in West Yarmouth:

We were on the top floor.

It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and the master bathroom even had these jets...oh man. So comfy. Also had two small decks, one at each entrance.

Mini golf is serious, yo.

We went to the Zooquarium! I'm such a dork for anything animal related. This was the Awesome Opposum, that was sadly blind :(

Unhappy Turkeys. There was construction being done nearby, and that pissed this turkey off to no end.

Llama!

Feeding time.

Such a sweetie, but sneaky. He/she'd let me pet it, but under the guise of wanting to eat my sleeve.

2005-06-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

At some point, I'm going to have to update with a few other pictures, and more description of the trip, but for now, here's some stuff from the Cape.

And, of course, there will be a complete, yarn, knitting, crochet (! I know ! it's been so long!), stash enhancement post coming very soon.

This is the only picture I have on this pc of the place we stayed at...the rest are on my laptop and I'm too lazy to resize them and photobucket them tonight. We stayed at Andy's parents' timeshare in West Yarmouth. These pictures are all from the last two days. As the picture shows, we had a lovely working gas fireplace, that we always had on at night.

Those are all taken on the private beach the hotel we were at owned. We only went the last day, as we wouldn't get another opportunity. The first day was warm enough but SOMEBODY, whom I live with, and has big feet and is FUSSY, didn't have flip flops and couldn't find any big enough/that he liked to wear to the beach. Brat.

P-Town!! God, Provincetown is such a blast. Everyone is comfy, and it's nice to see all couples being able to act like, well, couples. It seemed like everyone there owned a dog, which was awesome, as I was petless for the week. Since everyone seemed to own a pet, there were at least four pet-centered stores, and we got Chloe some goodies, as well as my parents' dog.

Also, while in Provincetown, we went on a three hour whale watch.

Let's just say it was cold.

But we did see whales!!!! No tails, but we did see fins and spouts.

On the way out of Provincetown.

Our anniversary dinner, before, and at the resteraunt.

And that's it for now. Being home is SO great, but there's so many people I want to comment on, that it just boggles my mind. I don't know who to start with. I just barely left Mollie a comment, and I don't think I've left any others yet...I'm thinking of everybody, while I try to settle back in. Oh, and of course, pictures of Chloe, who is happy to be home, and is mightily enjoying her catnip filled sleep mat, and catnip filled carrot toy from P-Town.

2005-05-28T23:49:00.000-04:00

Got back home Thursday night, went to The Mango, a local Thai food resteraunt, (YUM!!) for dinner, then went to see Star Wars. I liked it. I did agree with some people that I didn't feel a whole lotta oomph coming from Anakin and Padme, (not even sure if I spelled her name right, so I apologize if it's WAY off), but hey, it was still an interesting movie. I love me some Yoda. I still need to run a poll to decide on who had the best yarn/knit related Yoda quote, and come up with a prize for it. I'll do that after I get back from the Cape.

Last night, we went out only once, and that was to get the Quarter Pounder with cheese, and extra pickles and onions I was craving from McDonalds. (also YUM!!). It was so good, I even had another at the food court at the mall today. Only this time I added a sundae. No wonder I gained five pounds in the hospital, I'm eating everything in sight.

So, not much knit related happening. Everything I'm working on, looks the same, but longer. Hopefully I'll have finished projects to show you when I come home from the Cape. We are leaving tomorrow morning, and coming back Saturday. We were actually supposed to leave today, but I told Andy I am SO not ready to go, as I've missed home badly, and Chloe, of course. I'm sure I'll feel better when we get to the Cape. Till then, last minute, frenzied packing is going on.

I found two yarn shops near where we're staying....YAAAAAAAAY!

2005-05-25T22:02:00.000-04:00

Stolen from A Fistful of Stitches

1. What is your favorite word?

2. What is your least favorite word? Juice. The word just bothers me. The pucker of the mouth, the way it goes off my tongue. I hate the word juice.

3. What turns you on creatively, emotionally, spiritually? A good book. Beautiful yarn. A beautiful pattern. A good journal entry, good words, put to good use. A movie, a song. I guess mainly words and yarn!

4. What turns you off? Ungrateful, rude people. I can't stand it when people with perfectly beautiful lives, complain about their lack of happiness. If you can't see the beauty in your life, then you either need to change your life, or your view. People who treat other people like crap to just teach them a lesson. Immaturity.

5. What is your favorite curse word? Bitch. Andy and I call each other that ALL the time. Then crack up. Yeah, we're adults.

6. What sound or noise do you love? Chloe meowing hello, her little greetings when she walks into a room, and her purrs. Andy coming in from work. Silence.

7. What sound or noise do you hate? Very loud music. I love silence, so anything loud or disrupptive, is very bothersome to me.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? I'd love to be a doctor. But being one that does not get math, I couldn't be. But I LOVE medicine, and how our bodies work.

9. What profession would you not like to do? Undertaker. I couldn't deal with so much raw grief on an ordinary basis.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? I understand. Come in, and we'll talk.

2005-05-25T17:41:00.000-04:00

Dear Tom Cruise-

You're handsome, why can't you not be annoying?

-Yours,
Jennifer

Anyone else see Oprah the other day? BWUAHAHAHAHA! If he knelt down again, I'd probably call for a nurse and ask to be medicated. (Hmm...that sounds fun anyway.)

He was ~~annoying, stupid, I wanted to bang my head in dumb~~ charming. Poor Katie. I think she could do ~~someone less annoying~~ better.

I've been knitting so much, my shoulder hurts. I might have to take a break. I found that I can ~~ignore people coming in my room~~ keep my stress down by knitting all day. I started on my Citrus Moon cami on Sunday, or Monday (the days, the meld together), but today was distracted with ~~orgasmic~~ OOH, I can steal Deneen's word! YARNGASMIC yarn! 100% pure wool. How did this come about? Easy. One of the respiratory therapists here is becoming an obsessed knitter in the event of her first grandchild. She's been talking to me about patterns and yarn and all that, and mentioned she'd started making a sweater for her husband years back, but never finished. Today, she brought the sweater in while I was in the shower, and I came back to yarn on my bed and a half made sweater. I thought it was a holy visit from the yarn fairies, and I nearly kneeled down to pray, when she came in to tell me about it. So, no yarn fairies. BUT I STILL BELIEVE! Anyway. She paid me MONEY to work on the sweater, and I GET TO KEEP WHATEVER YARN IS LEFT!

*faints*

Every time I look at the yarn, I think "Rogue". Seriously. If I could, I'd rip away and use all of that luscious wool goodness. But instead, I'll watch for it on ebay (the yarn company doesn't even appear to exist anymore), and then buy ALL of it.

Citrus Moon on Monday

Citrus Moon Today

The piece of the sweater I'm working on

The finished back

The sweater looks very black in the picture, but it's navy. LOVE the yarn.

Tomorrow is go home day!! Two weeks, done. I'm going to sit on my butt in my own home rather than here. Yaaaaay!! And Saturday or Sunday, the Cape! For a week! With the boy! It's actually our two year anniversary on May 31st. He's such a great guy. Andy puts up with my yarn obsession, and will look at yarn colors while he's at work just to give me his opinion. He's a fantastic kitty daddy, he takes care of me, and makes me laugh every day. He's my best friend, and the love of my life. Happy anniversary babe!!

2005-05-22T00:11:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, I lost my IV that I'd had for a week. I was actually kind of happy to have one last a week, but had to suffer to get a new one in...I had to have the nurse try once, she couldn't get it, the nursing supervisor tried four times, she had problems too. Finally, they brought me down to the ER, and stick number 7 was indeed lucky, but it's embedded next to my wrist bone. Which can make it a wee bit awkward to knit, but is do-able. It was funny, I was horribly crass, when the ER nurse said "I think this is a virgin vein- I don't think anyone's been in it before", I answered, "So, not to be crass (but it was), you popped its cherry?" She cracked up and called me "too cute" and the nurses in the room bust out laughing. I told my parents, and my mom laughed, which is surprising, becuase she's very prim and proper, and my dad high fived me. LOL.

But I HAVE been knitting, and here's the proof:

Two finished tank pieces! I was considering having Andy bring in my blocking board, but I really don't think it'll fit in here. Blah. So I'll save that till I get home. Tomorrow I'll cast on for the Citrus Moon tank, finally.

I crocheted something for my mom- my grandmother gave me her sewing box right before she passed away last year, and I hadn't had use for it, till I started my sewing class. I got it from my mom on Mother's Day, and upon closer inspection, found some crochet thread. My mom's really religous, and I knew anything made from Nana's thread would make her happy, but I crocheted her a cross bookmark, sort of following this pattern. I didn't do the edging. I gave it to my mom today, and explained where I had found the thread, and she started to cry. That made me feel bad, but good, because I knew she was happy that I'd thought to do that for her.

Mom's given me some cute things since I got here, but by far, my favorite is my sheep.

This next one, is of something I think she said she got at Hallmark. It's a series of animals made out of vegetables. This, is the sweet potato pig.

Here's some more random pictures:

A boat that I could see outside my room the other day:

Dad hanging out:

Andy hanging out:

That's all for now, and thanks to everyone who's commented. It's been fun reading what you all have to say.

Lori, I hope you're feeling better, I'm just joining the well wishers!

2005-05-18T17:18:00.000-04:00

Listen up! We're going to do a tiny contest here. We NEED a Yoda contest. What yarn/knit related thing is Yoda saying in the picture? Leave a comment, and in the next week, I'll find something to give away for the best caption.

And kudos to Dana, who has so far cracked me up with "Yoda must use the Force for home improvement."

2005-05-18T16:35:00.000-04:00

So, you know how I keep writing the amusing (at least, I think they're amusing) hospital stories? Here's one from the other night.

I sleep with my leg hanging out from under the covers...well, late late last night, around 3 or 4 AM, someone decided it was time for vitals. And they used that bared foot, to wrap the pressure cuff around my ankle, and turn the blood pressure machine on...my foot was asleep or something, and it HURT. So there I am yelling " WHAT THE HELL?!" and she ignored me. She ignored me, not even phased by me swearing, and took my temperature. I have no idea who it was, but I hate them.

I'm almost finished knitting the lace (I sadly only did one lace repeat while watching tv last night).

Andy, the best boyfriend in the world, sent me roses:

And here's another amusing story. Here at the hospital (first some background...CF is considered largly pediatric still, as up until the past ten years, most people died before reaching adulthood. The median life age is now 30 something), Yoda, from Star Wars, lives. He has been here as long as I've been coming here, so about ten years. I love Yoda. You haven't heard this on Entertainment Tonight stories, as Yoda tries to keep it on the downlow. Anyway, he lives here in the hospital's Teen Center. What you FARTHER didn't know, is he has a job at Home Depot. That's right. When not on the set of his movies, Yoda lives a quiet life at the hospital, and works at Home Depot. See?

BUT....look in his pocket! What does Yoda read in his spare time? On break at Home Depot, or at home at the Teen Center?

I wonder if he's a Continental or an English....

2005-05-18T12:03:00.000-04:00

Chloe is in the Purrr-fect Kitty Contest. Go vote for her!! Hey. I'm in the hospital, it's the least you can do :) (And yes, I'm teasing, I'm not THAT opportunistic)

2005-05-17T11:03:00.000-04:00

*entry written yesterday*

Here's an interesting mix of what I've watched today:

Six Feet Under Season 2 Disc 3 (not all of it, but the last two before bed around 1 or 2 AM, which is why I'm counting it as "today"

Days of Our Lives

Garden State (which I was sadly not impressed with. I'm sick of coming of age movies where people learn about themselves, and do all these CRAZY yet cool things. I only accept it in movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.)

Stargate SG-1 part of Season 3, disc 2 (Is it sad I have a slight geek crush on Daniel? I would never talk to him, I'd just do him. Hey, at least I'm not buying my Star Wars tickets yet like SOME people I know and love! :) )

Funny Face (this old Audrey Hepburn/Fred Astaire movie that I USED to adore, but tonight was bored silly, and found the whole thing to be annoying. MEH! MEH I say!)

Weird mix, eh?

Almost finished the lace on the front of my tank. I can't believe how much faster this side is going. I guess knowing what you're doing really DOES make a difference! Who knew?

2005-05-14T23:40:00.000-04:00

So I have gotten a bit of knitting done. I'm one strap away from finishing the back of my tank, so hopefully I'll have something new to wear on the way home :) My parents and Andy visited today, my parents bringing me US magazine goodness (the celebrity gossip, it enthralls me) and YARN AND REBECCA MAGAZINE GOODNESS!! I got Rebecca 28 and the Baby Kids issue. The yarn is for Glampyre's Orangina, in Brown Sheep Cotton Fine Berry something or other. Yeah, that's right. I'm too lazy to go look. (It's across the room. It's amazing how lazy you get when you can only walk with a pole, and you're usually plugged into a wall.)

One of the respiratory therapists here, used to like to tie up my stuffed cow that I slept with when I was a kid (I consider 20 to be a kid, too :) ) He hung that thing from ceilings, strapped it to the wall, ANYTHING he could think of. I think once there was even a cow mummy, a cow caught in a hospital tape spiderweb, all sorts of creative things. He has been complaining lately because I've stopped bringing Mr Cow, so he searched my room for a new victim the other night when I went to the cafeteria for dinner. Here's what he found :

I bet other knitters wouldn't have been so happy to see that happen to THEIR yarn...lol.

Here's my half of the tank top:

Tonight we ordered in pizza, rather than go to the cafeteria, and the nurse brought us their collection of take out menus....this one for a gourmet pizza restaurant puzzled me :

It took me awhile, but I'm guessing that it's supposed to mean the food will set your mouth a-buzzing, but um...why the little people?

And lastly, I leave you pictures of Providence from my room window. You can see me and my room in the glass reflection in one of them, and I decided to put it in the entry because I think it's kind of cool.

2005-05-13T00:19:00.000-04:00

I had to get a chest x-ray after I was admitted. They wheel you down to radiation, and then leave you for the x-ray tech to grab when they're ready for you. The x-ray tech, starts wheeling me toward a room, and while I heard her, I thought she was talking to another tech who was in the hall, so I continued reading my magazine...till she YELLED in the hallway, "ARE YOU WEARING A BRA??!", to which I turned toward her, and said "I LIPREAD, and YOU are BEHIND me!!"

hehe, that was fun. She said that she thought I wasn't paying attention, but seriously, is the best way to grab a person's attention to YELL personal questions? I was afraid next she'd ask the required chest x-ray question "ANY CHANCE YOU MIGHT BE PREGNANT?!" Either way, it totally made me crack up later. One of the therapists here said I should have pulled off my bra and waved it like a flag.

2005-05-12T02:20:00.000-04:00

One of the things I have not previously mentioned too much in here, is hospital stays. I'm a cystic fibrosis patient, so it just comes with the territory. I get lung infections I can't fight off, and need to get rid of to prevent farther scarring of the lung tissue. I've had everything from pnuemonia, to bronchitis, to "I dunno, nothing's showing up, but you're running a fever, so in you go". These hospital visits run from ten days, to a full two weeks, consisting of IV antibiotics, chest physical therapy (that consists of wearing a vibrating vest for twenty minutes, four times a day-YUM), calorie counts (cystics tend to lose weight EXTREMELY easy- when your lungs work harder, you burn more calories) and ~~annoying, dumb~~ kind medical students/residents.

These visits, for me, have been a way of life, usually going in about every three months (count that kids- it's 2 months in the hospital a year). For the past EIGHT MONTHS, I've been hospital free. Don't know why, everything has just been going well. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and I need to head back in and get "tuned up" (and yes, that really IS what it's called). This is really a good thing though, as it means that I'll be able to go on vacation to the Cape at the end of the month with no worries about feeling poorly. YAY!!! :)

Luckily, I love my hospital (ok, perhaps LOVE is not the right word for the hospital, but for the workers, oh yes it's the perfect word). I've been doing the "every three months" thing since I was 17, ( and I'm about to turn 25 in August, so about eight years of this) and was in there every so often from the time I was 7, so I've got some really good friends there. I especially love the respiratory staff, as they know me best. You have to consider they spend about 4 hours in my room a day (between the chest therapy, and breathing treatments, we've gotten to know each other quite well), so the first few days I go in, it's time to catch up. I get to find out how their kids are (some of whom I've known since they were born, and are now in high school!), see who's dating who, who's still working there, and who isn't. It was really strange doing this when I was in high school, as I'd be in school for a few weeks, living school life, and then I'd be stopping that life almost cold turkey (my hospital is 45 minutes from my home), and plopping back down in hospital life. It's a weird, weird, double life to try and deal with at 17.

I'll still be online, as I have a laptop I bring to the hospital, and I bunker down in my room, and just hang out for two weeks. I know it sounds kind of vacation like, but it's really not- it's alot of people coming and going, and zero privacy. Imagine, if you will, 14 days of not going home, and seeing loved ones for only a few hours every few days. You are not alone, as at any moment, someone could come into your room without knocking, and your days are pretty much planned for you- when someone is there to give you treatment, you have to comply with their schedule. You don't get to decide when you eat, when you take your every day meds, or when you shower. It's really kind of humbling.

Gah. I don't mean to make it sound so bad. It really isn't that horrible. Like I said, I have friends there that are like family, and of course, my crafts and books and laptop and DVDs. :)

So, I guess in conclusion, I'll end this with mentioning that this month is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. If you don't know what the disease is, or have questions, please feel free to ask. I'm very good at answering CF questions, as one of my doctors uses me frequently to help teach med students at Brown University Medical School. I like to make people aware of the disease, as I have watched quite a few friends pass away from it. They also pass away while waiting for an organ transplant. I have two friends who have had lung transplants, have watched two pass away waiting, and now have another waiting. If you haven't already, consider making yourself an organ donor, and making your family aware of your decision. Your green sticker on your lisence means nothing if your family says no.

2005-05-10T17:57:00.000-04:00

The first Buffy Blanket Project:

It softened a bit in the wash. I'm probably going to throw it in a few more times, just to soften it a bit more. But obviously, this is going to be a kitten blanket, or at the very least, a small cat.

The Hunchback of Knitty Dame

That is a LOVELY photo of me knitting- Andy took it while I was unawares. That's what happens when you become fascinated with knitting, wear sweats, and don't style your hair (my hair looks amazingly REDDISH in that picture. I have odd, odd hair, that changes its tone with the light. Sometimes I'm blondish, sometimes brownish, sometimes reddish. Mood hair).

Super Chloe!

That's the Kitschy Kerchief from Stitch 'N' Bitch. I used KnitPicks Elegance, and Oh. My. The softness was luxerious.

And since I've been waiting till last night to get the needles I needed for the Citrus Moon honeymoon tank that won the contest...I had to cast on for something else. It wasn't in the vote, but it promises to be fairly quick and it's BEAUTIFUL. It's in Rebecca 25, the Red Wine tank top, except I'm using Knit Picks Shine. The Shine is pretty gorgeous stuff, and feels so nice, but it's been shedding on my fingers like crazy. After knitting a pattern repeat, I'll have all this fuzz on my fingertips, and it's kind of gross. I'll still use the yarn no matter what, as it feels so nice and silky, but don't knit cream yarn while wearing black. You've been warned.

2005-05-08T09:48:00.000-04:00

I started trying to get gauge on a really cute tank from another Rebecca magazine, number 25, the Red Wine tank, with Shine from Knit Picks. On the packaging it says that it's 6 stitches an inch on size 3-5's. In my hands, it's six stitches on size 7's. I need five stitches on size 5's. BLAH! I'm going to try size 9's, but I suppose that'll only make it too airy. I guess I knit tighter than I thought.

From what I've seen, the Honeymoon Alternative is the clear winner of the poll. I'm hoping to pick up the needles tomorrow when I got to sewing class. I can't wait :)

After that though, I will probably be doing the Rebecca eyelet wrap, come rain, come shine.

Happy Mother's Day to anyone who carries the title "Mother", be it to a pet, or a person!

2005-05-05T00:44:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo! Not only did I get on gauge with Tempting with suggested size needles right away, but I at least swatched for the Rebecca eyelet wrap tonight, and it happened AGAIN! I have to admit, I was so pleased with the swatch itself (my first swatch ever. I know. BAD KNITTER) But I was on gauge, and incredibly happy, and loving the color I chose, since it's different than everybody else's.

So far, the Citrus Moon Cami has been the winner in votes, and I'm ok with that- except I realized that it's probably the only pattern that I don't have the needles for. So, till I close the poll (Probably on Monday, unless I finish my other project of the moment), I'll order the needles, and crochet a little something to hold myself off. I'm planning on making five tiny cat cage blankets for the shelter that took Buffy in. I'm going to call it the Buffy Blanket Project. I started the first one tonight, it's smaller than the recommended 18x18 for cage blankets (I just really doubt that it would fit right), so I'm doing 13x13. I might make it longer than it is wide, but we'll see. I'm doing it in something called the Fantail Stitch, and while I like how it looks, it's annoying to memorize. I'm lazy. I like easy to remember patterns. Or perhaps I was just spoiled by Tempting's mindless 2x2 ribbing, so crocheting something that has 4 rows to memorize-well, that takes more brain power than I'm used to.

2005-05-04T19:01:00.000-04:00

I finished Tempting today!!

I used the recommended needles, and got on gauge with GGH Samoa. I started on April 23rd, and finished today. I liked the three needle bind off-someone said it'd be a welcome break to the ribbing, and they were right.

I used the striping instructions given here, only repeated it once, though, and for decreasing instead of eyelets, I knit only two, two and a half inches of yoke, then purled 2 every other purl set, did a straight row of knitting the knits, then purling the purls, then purled 2 the remaining 2 purl sets, then knit 4, purl 1 for a row or two, then Knit 2 together every 8 stitches (or as close as I could get while still purling the remaining purls. Then I bound off.

I would have increased the space between the k2 togethers, like every 14 stitches or so, if I had know it would have made Tempting cropped and cap sleeved, but still, I really really like how it came out.

2005-05-03T22:45:00.000-04:00

I took a picture of Tempting in progress earlier today:

But now it's finished, and I just have to weave in the (3000) ends and do the three needle bind off on the armpit of the sleeves. YAAAY! I tried it on, and some things are good, some bad, but in all, definitely something I will wear, and I will wear on MOTHER'S DAY! WOO HOO!

Now I just have to decide on a new project.

2005-04-30T00:14:00.000-04:00

I was around 2 when we got Buffy. She was a kitten, and the people she lived with had a free kittens ad in the paper. I remember telling them when we met them we'd "take the Mama cat", and "we'll take the Daddy cat". They gave us Buffy instead :) On the way home, my family tried to come up with names for her, and over my made up names that I kept suggesting, my mom came up with Buffy, long before there was any Vampire Slayer lore to go with the name.

Buffy fell in love with my older sister, JoAnn. JoAnn was 9 years older than me, so when she went to college, Buffy was heart broken. She was a one person cat to be sure. Slowly, she transferred to me, and we became very, very good friends. She would follow me when I would go to take my shower every day, and jump on the toliet tank and either bathe herself, or sleep. She liked to bird watch, and could often be heard cackling away at the birds from a favorite window. She loved to be scratched, and would literally drool from pleasure. She had a white tipped tail, and her belly was all white, except for a spot that would be nicknamed her "bellybutton". She liked to be held, and would enjoy being carried around the house to sniff at the things on the wall. At the age of 19, (Buffy was 17 or 16 at that point) I got married to a US Marine, and moved from MA, to CA, and brought Buffy with me. I didn't know that my husband at the time, was not mentally well, and I lived through a few years of emotional abuse. I was very ill, and was advised to go back to MA, and go through liver transplant testing, and try to get on the transplant list. It was December, and there was a no pets in cargo rule for the months of winter, and no pets in carry on, as it was so close to Christmas and so many people flying. Buffy couldn't come back with me, so I had to leave her in CA with my husband, till he could send her to be with me again. Unfortunately, he never did. Despite my pleas, and offers of money to take her to the vet to be approved for flying, and then sent, he said he would pay. Till one day, he said she escaped from the place she was being pet sat. I asked if she had been found every day (as if this was true, she could be either hit by a car, or killed by the coyotes that lived on the base). He said no, till about a month later (I was persistent, I wanted my cat), when he said she'd been found, but with rabies, and he was going to have to bring her to the vet to be put down. I was deveastated (and young and stupid) A year later, a skunk with rabies was found in the yard next door to me, and shot immediately. I knew then, that my husband had lied to me. I knew that cats with rabies wouldn't be allowed to go home for a night, or whatever he said. That left either she had really escaped, or sadly, he had let her starve, or best case scenario, given her away, or brought her to the animal shelter. With those options, I hated myself for the past three years. I had no idea how to investigate what could have happened to her (husband and I have since divorced, thank god, and there was no getting the truth out of him after one of his lies) Till the other night. I found the animal shelter on base, online, and I emailed, and luckily, they did remember my little girl. She was 22, and the pet sitter had brought her in with the "owner's" permission to just drop her off. The shelter didn't want to take her, because she was so old, and it was obvious that she wasn't going to live much longer. They said she was very depressed at the shelter, and only stayed there a few days, before a worker, a very kind worker, took her home. They said at the house, she improved, and went on to live another six months. I'm so grateful to this person who took Buffy in, and didn't put her down. They didn't let her die alone, and they gave her a home. It was more than I ever dared to hope for. I will forever be in debt to the person who emailed me back and gave me peace, and forever in debt to the woman who brought Buffy home. She was my baby. And I loved her. I only wish my ex had given me the chance to take her home, but at least I know now what happened, and am no longer tortured.

After three years of wondering, I took a chance, and will be thankful to God for letting me have peace at last.

2005-04-28T23:14:00.000-04:00

I'm about eight inches into the body of Tempting right now:

While the K2P2 ribbing is a little annoying, it is kind of mindless. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Even when you're SURE you didn't twist your stitches- you still might have.
2. Ripping back after only knitting an inch sure is frustrating, but it's useful if you take that time to "try the piece on" to see how it would fit...and when it fits BADLY, you can go down a size.
3. You can also correct that stupid mistake you made of not having the correct needles- Size US9, 29 inch circs, are NOT appropriate for knitting Tempting. Neither are your US8, 29 inch circs
4. That really made me want to own a set of Denise Interchangeables.
5. In leiu of the Denises, I love me some Inox needles.

Ok, as you can tell, I'm striping my Tempting. I saw a great post on LiveJournal with a striped green and cream colored Tempting, and I fell in love with it. So I changed the main body color to brown, and instead of one colored stripes, went with light baby blue large stripes, and two small cream. The yarn is GGH Samoa, which I really love. And, as much as I love how Tempting looks with the ribbon, I realize I am not a bow girl. (If I was to get married, there'd be no bow on the butt gown for me) I love the Tempting ribbon, but I know I would never wear it. So I'm omitting it, and tightening the neckline a little. And I've set a goal of having this to wear on Mother's Day (and probably just jinxed it, but I WILL have it!!) so wish me luck!

2005-04-27T10:29:00.000-04:00

I promised pictures of the book thong the last time I posted...I decided my Mom's Mother's Day Gifts are going to be themed with a relaxing nature....she can wear her new warm socks while sitting down to a nice book that she got with her Barnes and Noble gift card, with her book thong to hold her place while she gets some hot Adaigo tea (which I bought her earlier this month, so she's already got that)

Holding open a page of Last Minute Knitted Gifts (no, I'm not making that, it was just the page I opened to)

A close up of the beads.

I started Tempting on Monday after I got back from my sewing class...I'm about four inches in, and have made a goal of wearing it on Mother's Day when we visit our families. I'm making a striped version, based on this Tempting.

On my first stripe!!

Lastly, I entered Chloe in the Purrrfect Kitty cat contest that Earth_Mother is running...go vote for her, please!

2005-04-24T22:31:00.000-04:00

Tempting already ran into problems. I cast on excitedly with my favorite type of needles for cotton knitting (Inox metal needles) , only to find the needles were the wrong size. I bought size US9 29 inch circs, when the pattern called for US8 24 inch circs. Oops. So I thought I'd knit off the size 9, to a size 8, and get the 24 inch circs if it was still too tight. It was fine though. I was getting gauge, was thrilled with how it was looking, got the first inch done, stretched out my needles and noticed right then that *something* seemed off. It was twisted. Ripped it while trying not to scream, and then set out to start re-winding the yarn into the center pull ball, but it was way, way too knotted. Andy and I spent about an hour un-knotting (bless that boy for helping me, and not throwing me out of the house for my snippy remarks. His patience is saint-like.)

It was almost a blessing though, because I decided to make sure the sweater would fit, and WHOA. I had probably a 6-7 inch gap between me and the sweater-UNSTRETCHED. So instead of a medium, we're going down to a small. I'm going to have to look around and see if anyone sucessfully made this with cotton...it seems like the cotton, since it doesn't stretch, just laid flat, which is what made it so huge. We'll see.

After the re-winding, we went to see if I could find the 24 inch circs at what's open today (AC Moore and JoAnn's) but neither had them. So I'll wait till my sewing class tomorrow, and pick some up at the Franklin Mill Store. Till then, I'll be antsy.

I finished a second gift for my mom, a book thong. I'll get a picture later.

2005-04-24T03:01:00.000-04:00

I finished Mom's socks today...Please don't tell her I tried them on, as she's really freaked out by the idea of wearing any footwear that's been worn before. I realize I'm a horrible child, but I'm a horrible child who wants the socks to fit, and wants a picture for her blog.

Specs: Knit on size 4 Susan Bates dpn's, these are my first go at socks. I accidentally changed some things (re: Can't read, apparently), like the sock foot is supposed to be done in sl 1, k1, and I just knitted. I'm fine with it. I didn't finish the repeats at the toe decrease (it called for seven, I did four). The pattern confused me the first time, as it said Row 1: Decrease row, Row 2-3: K across Repeat these two rows seven times. Being new to sock knitting, I thought they meant the 2-3 rows, no realizing it was meant to be counted together. Oops. Socks still fit, so I don't care.

Also...This is the first time I've knitted an item, and I'm confident my weaving in the ends is perfect. Hallelujah.

So I cast on for Tempting earlier. I'm doing it in deep brown ggh Samoa, with blue and white stripes, and omitting the eyelets, and probably part of the top, as I don't want it to be all scoopy like I've seen. Off the shoulder is fine, just not scoopy. First sweater! Woo hoo!

2005-04-21T15:34:00.000-04:00

Today was a decidely good mail day. I got Rowan 31 from Great Britain (won it off of eBay, and did a happy dance right after)

I also got the yarn that I bought from Lorien, which has absolutely fabulous prices on Brown Sheep yarn. I got some Cotton Fleece that I can't WAIT to use for the alternative to the Honeymoon Cami.

I finished the first sock for my Mother's Day gift a little while ago. It was funny, I went to one of those lingerie/toy parties on Friday, and I knit on my sock the entire time, while dildos and lingerie passed on either side of me. I'm sure any mother would be so proud. (Hey, I bought nothing, so it's ok somehow)

I still need to weave in that end, obviously, and secure a dropped stitch. I grafted the toe, and wow, was that scary. I got how to do it, but it was 2 AM, and HOT, so I was sweating over a wool sock, praying they loops wouldn't fall off my metal knitting needles. I contemplated death by DPN, but alas, it came out ok, and doesn't look half bad (it actually looks worse in the picture, and I still need to weave in that end)

I'm DYING to finish the second sock so I can make something for myself (Alternate Honeymoon, or Tempting?)

Still no Rebecca 39, yarn for Rebecca eyelet cardi, or Rowan 37. Why? I don't know. Because the yarn store HATES me. I've received everything I've ordered elsewhere in the past month, but not the yarn store from hell.

So that brings me back to the yarn store above I mentioned that sold me the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. Run, don't walk to buy from them. In the light of bigger yarn store that keeps ticking me off, this web site is heaven. I ordered the colors you see above, they were out of stock. They EMAILED to say it was out of stock, and they'd let me know when it came in. It came in about a week later, they emailed they had gotten everything, but the purple I'd ordered, and they suggested ALTERNATIVES, while saying basically, if you want to wait, that's cool with us. I chose a great alternate color, was thrilled, got the yarn about a week later with a bill. They haven't even been paid yet, and they've rocked the yarn house. How cool are they? You can bet I'll go back to them for their great Brown Sheep prices and good service any day over snotty yarn store that can't email me responses ever.

2005-04-20T01:00:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let you all know that have left comments...I have an aol address, and it's been bouncing like bunnies. And not happy angora bunnies. Like unhappy, crack addicted bunnies. Bad. So I had to switch comment emails, but it doesn't change the fact that I feel like a jerk thinking no one was commenting, and I actually SCROLLED DOWN and looked at my site comments today, to see people ARE commenting. And I'm not answering. So if you get an email tonight from a dearstars-AT-gmail. COM ....well, that will be me, groveling at your feet for not noticing this sooner. Thanks!

2005-04-19T13:49:00.000-04:00

What to Say to A Yarn Store that Screws You Over:

Me: How long should I wait before emailing the yarn store, and telling them to take their freaking yarn and shove it so far up their ass, that they'll be breathing out cotton spores for months.
Me: And moths will be trying to sneak in their mouths while they sleep to get the wool.
Andy: lol
Andy: poor honey
Andy: did that feel good to vent?
Me: I want to keep coming up with new ones, so no
Andy: i'm sorry things weren't better
Me: It's better, yes, but I'd like to keep going with yarn related spew
Me: I hope their yarn gets entangled with their arm pitt hair
Andy: well, i hope they don't send it to you after that
Me: I hope their needles come to life and pierce their nasal septum, like some sort of knit bull freak.
Me: ew, gads no
Me: No arm pitt yarn

2005-04-16T19:21:00.000-04:00

Book Review: This Body by Laurel Doud

I took the suggestion to read this book from my friend Mollie, who said it was one of the books on her constant suggestions list for other people to read. I haven't picked up a book in seven months (which is huge, considering my childhood was well marked by books...voraciously read, but then came the internet and it slowed), and was afraid that perhaps...my brain had finally fried, and I would know it when I couldn't understand what I was reading (cause you know, after seven months, it's possible it morphed to jello) or when I couldn't stay interested.

Happily, neither was true (but really, the arguement about my brain having morphed to jello...still up for grabs) and I read this book completely intrigued...

One of my favorite things, is when books have quotes littered throughout...a good quote just resonates through your brain, and that happened several times with the quotes that began the chapters. You find yourself wondering what is really happening in the beginning of the book...did Katharine really die and become drug-addicted Thisby, or is Katharine/Thisby, insane? A 40-something year old woman, dies, and suddenly finds herself in the body of a 20-something...a woman with her life pulled tightly together at the seams, has found herself in another, young body, with no memory of what has happened to the young body...a lisence tells her that she's Thisby Bennett, and from there, the story progresses at sometimes warp speed, and other times staltingly.

Everyone in the Bennett family is named for a character in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and while one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, I have to admit, I sometimes was annoyed by the use of Shakespearean quotes in every day conversation between the family...are there really such people out there that would DO that? Tad obsessed to me.

In the end, Katharine, who managed to pull together everyone in the Bennett family, has lost site of who she really is, and becomes more like the self-destructive Thisby than she would like...the edges fade, and they become one, and Katharine seems like she'll manage to start a new life...one that doesn't belong to anyone but her, the mixture that Katharine/Thisby becomes.

I found it thought provoking, as it brings up many questions of what forms a person...parents, personality, genetics, looks? It was a fascinating read.

2005-04-12T16:25:00.000-04:00

Sephora just sent me an email....Telling me to make my Mom's Mother's Day Beauty-full!! (Oh Sephora! Your puns! Please stop! Seriously.)

So, only because Sephora told me too, I'm tryin'. With SOCK KNITTING BEAUTY!

I started them yesterday, got the ten rows of ribbing done, started the eyelet ribbing, and got to the eyelet row before making a mistake and having to pull everything back! Considering my lack of dexterity on dpns, I'm almost surprised I didn't cry or -worse yet- give up. But here it is, ribbing, and into the second eyelet ribbing repeat. I can't wait to see this done. I like how both of my mother's day gifts are firsts for me...first socks, and first lace project.

Last night was my sewing class, and I finished my knitting bag!

I wanted to be able to have it longer upright, instead of the usual lengthwise. I can't wait to try making other versions of this bag! I'd like to make some more, retro versions of it. I like the way quilted things look, so this was a good choice for me. But I want some that are slightly cooler looking.

Then on to making a knitting needle holder and a dpn holder.... Woo hoo!

Next week, I'm going to try my hand at clothing...a dress. But it's the last week of the class, so from then on, I'll be on my own...I'm not looking forward to that, but I don't think I can afford another 108 dollars to go for another six weeks. Oh well. We'll see what happens.

2005-04-11T10:11:00.000-04:00

Made from the HotPants pattern in Rebecca 27, in navy and white Lion Brand Cotton Ease.

Here's what I'm going to work on next:

Socks for Mom for Mother's Day! If I don't finish in time, I'll just get her something store bought :(

2005-04-09T14:04:00.000-04:00

I finally sewed up the baby booties I was waiting to gift to a hospital worker who just had a baby boy- I finished them last month, but saved the sewing up to last minute. Bad Jenn.

I love those booties so much. They were very quick (once I learned how to pick up stitches)

On Monday night I bought a new blocking board, and re-blocked Airy, but didn't like how it blocked out AGAIN, so I took it, re-wet it, and let it hang from my shower bar.

I still love the blocking board.

Here is my finished Airy:

The shorts from Rebecca are moving along...the pattern is SO hard for me. I never did anything like it before, so I had to sit, read the pattern, figure out the legs, write it out as the only directions for the right leg is to do the opposite of the left, and that would have confused me at some point mid-pattern, so I wrote it out. I finally got it on the circular needles ONLY TO TWIST IT. Blah. So, at the crotch, is where it twisted, so I left it. That's right. I'm lazy. Here they are a few days ago:

Here they are now:

Finished picture so you can tell where I am:

Other problem I had, is with the way they explained their decreases, and where to put the short rows. The pattern calls for 9 rows of the white, then 3 navy, then repeat it...then it says to put the short rows after 9 rows of white...when work measures 20 cm...it's a bit more complicated than how I'm making it sound, but do they mean after the first row of white, or second? So I did it in the 2nd row of white, and hope to god I won't have a saggy ass. I think it's working fine though, and I'm really really pleased.

That's the progress report for now!

2005-04-08T23:43:00.000-04:00

Tell me. What would YOU think of a web store, that has Rebecca 29 advertised as being there, so you buy it, and Rowan's newest, and then, you think you REALLY want to buy the yarn for the Rebecca Wrap Cardi, then you look, and see that they say that any yarn they need to order, will be shipped up to five days after you buy it...and you think HEY! That's awesome! They're in my hometown, so at the most, this will only take a week and a half!

So you buy. And wait. And wait. Two weeks go by. And you ask, Hey, did you send that, and it got lost? And they say "No, we're waiting for a shipment of the yarn and the magazine! Sorry about that! Want us to send Rowan on ahead?" Gee, thanks for telling me about the delay...

And you say no. And ask how much longer it's going to be. And THEY say "Hopefully within the next week or two we'll get the shipment! Bye bye!"

And so you wait. And this was last week. Today you go to the website. And they're on VACATION THIS WEEK. OFF ON FRIGGIN' SPRING BREAK. While you wait. And wait. And wait.

Trouble is, I really like that yarn store. It's conveniently a mail order store in my hometown. I don't want to not use them...but come on. This is freaking ridiculous, and really bad business. They haven't even taken the money out of my account, and if I hadn't heard about how hard it is to find Rebecca 29 already, I'd tell them to shove it up their *BLEEP*.

2005-04-04T15:59:00.000-04:00

I finished Airy today, and it's now starting to block. I say starting, as I ran out of pins. BLAH!

I'm really not big on the color...it seems almost un-dyed, and that's not what I was going for. I was going for YELLOW. Either way, it's lacy, and soft, and airy, and I do think it's pretty, just not quite what I wanted.

This is the other scarf I've been working on, from a Japanese knit and crochet magazine:

It looks better held up to the light than it does on a table, so that's what I did for the picture. I really like how this is coming out, too, and it's pretty fast.

My next knit project:

Rebecca 27 Hot Pants! The first three rows of the left leg are done so far :)

2005-04-01T17:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I spent a good chunk of the day teaching my friend Mollie how to knit...she's expecting a baby in October, and so wants to learn to make it a few things. She did pretty good...really improved a lot over the first few hours, you know? By the end, her tension was looking pretty good.

I finished Wavy, and made a hat too.

Pictures of Chloe, of course:

She looks so annoyed! lol

Must sniff the hat...

Pictures of the projects on me:

Talk about pooling! Grr.

I started on the lacy scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for Andy's mom for mother's day, using yarn I just bought from Knit Picks. The yarn from Knit Picks is surprisingly delicious, but I bought the yarn based on pictures in the catalog, and I think they're off. The Alpaca Cloud lace yarn was more yellow than khaki in the catalog, hence the name "sunshine" and it's not that yellow to me. Either way, Andy and I determined his mom will still like it.

2005-03-30T17:15:00.000-05:00

If anyone who reads lives near Falmouth, MA , can you tell me where a good place to yarn shop is? Andy and I are vacationing down there in late May, and so far are planning to go whale watching and perhaps go to Martha's Vineyard. So since we don't have much planned, we might hit a few yarn shops too :)

2005-03-30T01:09:00.000-05:00

Mr. Andrew got a raise today :)

I have spent the past few months trying to convince him he's GOOD enough to ask for a raise, and he has stubbornly insisted he doesn't think so, and isn't going to ask for one, that THEY have to volunteer to pony up the dough. I KNOW he's good enough, as his best friend also agrees with me, and sees opportunities for Andy to get promoted, and tells him to go for it.

It's great when the company offers the raise themselves, and I get the vindication of saying "I TOLD YOU SO" while kissing his cheeks :) Knew it, knew it, knew it.

Easter was good. We went home after the pub dinner, and sprawled out and enjoyed the rest of our Easter. Dr A called to say he got the poncho I made for his granddaughter (a doctor I used to see for my liver disease that I absolutely adored as a person). His daughter is sending pictures, hopefully. I can't wait.

JoAnn, my sister, visited yesterday, and afterwards I had my sewing class. Started on a knitting tote for me. Unfortunately, towards the last hour, I got a blood sugar low, had no food, and luckily, it was a small low, so I got through it...but GOD, it sucked, as I couldn't concentrate. All I was aware of was how my limbs felt, and how HOT I felt.

Today was ceramics day, but I felt exhausted after yesterday, and Becky is still sick, so I stayed in. Andy had to go to Uxbridge to fix his car.

I'm upset that the knitting store hasn't sent me my order....I don't know what to think, as I have communicated with the owner, because when I first went to check out, I accidentally had Rebecca 28 in my cart, not 29, so I had to ask her to switch it. She said she did, and that's the last I heard, about two weeks ago. It says both the Rebecca I want, and the Rowan magazine are at the store, but it says on the site if your yarn isn't there, it can take up to five days after you order to ship it. Understandable. But um...it shouldn't take this long when she's mailing it to a place in the SAME TOWN. The hell? Grr. So I emailed yesterday, and no response. I wasn't rude, I just asked if it had shipped yet, and if I should be looking for it...and nothin'. I guess I can't be too upset, because they haven't even taken the money from my checking account yet, but I'm counting on making that sweater next month and wearing it throughout spring. (what we have of spring, in New England)

I'm expecting that package, and a KnitPicks package :) CANNOT WAIT! I got other yarn in the mail when I saw my parents on Sunday....

Two bulky yarns I bought on eBay, and the rest is from JoAnn's. I was aiming for the anything over 30 bucks is free shipping, and so I got three things of yarn, and some gold metallic thread (halos for Christmas angels!!) and notions that I've been needing. Plus a pair of dpn's for a knitting project.

Not to let you think I've only been knitting, I've done squares for the afghan (few, as I ran out of yarn near my PC and have been too lazy to go re-stock), and started a crochet scarf out of Red Heart Symphony, using a pattern from the Japanese book I got last month. It's very nice! My only complaint is, lying flat, you can't see the stitch definition, but the second it's held up to some light, WOW! I'll have to take pictures soon. I got quite a bit done on that in one day.

Tomorrow, Wavy should be finished :-D

2005-03-29T00:41:00.000-05:00

1. YOUR PORN STAR NAME: (Name of first pet / Street you live on):
Buffy Oak

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (Name of your favorite snack food / Grandfather's first name):
Candy George

3. YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME: (First word you see on your left / Favorite restaurant):
Xerox 99 (that's pretty cool, actually!)

4. EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS: (Favorite Spice / Last Foreign Vacation Spot):
Garlic Salt Canada (ok, never been further than Canada! Sorry!)

5. SOCIALITE ALIAS: (Silliest Childhood Nickname / Town Where You First Partied):
Jennifa Uxbridge

6. "FLY GIRL/BOY" ALIAS (a la J. Lo): (First Initial / First Two or Three Letters of your Last Name):
J-Wa

7. ICON ALIAS: (Something Sweet Within Sight / Any Liquid in Your Kitchen):
Andi Water (Andy is the sweet thing, but I wanted something more girly...lol)

8. DETECTIVE ALIAS: (Favorite Baby Animal / Where You Went to High School):
Kitten Uxbridge

9. BARFLY ALIAS: (Last Snack Food You Ate / Your Favorite Alcoholic Drink):
Chocolate Cosmo

10. SOAP OPERA ALIAS: (Middle Name / Street Where You First Lived):
Mary Oak

11. ROCK STAR ALIAS: (Favorite Candy / Last Name Of Favorite Musician):
Cadbury Egg McLachlan

12. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: ( First 2 letters of your first name and the first 3 Letters from your last name makes your first name. Take the first 2 letters of your mother's maiden name and the first 3 letters of the city you were born in):
Jewal LeWor (interesting! I almost like it!)

2005-03-24T22:49:00.000-05:00

Article found on BlogDogBlog about crochet fashion...the pictures in the article, although few, are the type of crochet clothing patterns I keep hoping for...Classy, natural, up to date with the fashion world. Trendy, without screaming "GOING TO BE TACKY IN TWO YEARS!!"

I got upset today reading an article saying crochet fashion is being brought back by Martha Stewart. I agree whole heartedly with everybody who said that the poncho's designer, her prison cellmate, should be getting the recognition, not Matha. Well, you know what I find funny about that? Who here (someone will, just because I'm saying it, lol) knows off hand the designer of the poncho that Jessica Simpson made popular? It's weird, but as soon as people see a famous person wearing a piece of hand made clothing they like it becomes "Jessica's shawl" and "Martha's poncho", as if THEY handmade the items themselves. In the designer world, it's a given, that when someone is photographed on the red carpet, credit is given in the captions usually to the designer. You know, "Jennifer Aniston in Ralph Lauren", etc. Is it because it's handmade by an unknown, that people feel the need to be lazy and just say "Martha's poncho"? It may be late, and I'm scrutinizing things.

2005-03-24T16:22:00.000-05:00

My new hat for spring:

Jazz Hands!

Yes, I did dress up for these. I'm bored, ok?

How I really felt about all these pictures of me:

Chloe's new spring hat!

What, you've never seen a cat willingly let her human put a toy mouse on her head, sit there for five minutes, and then let said human take pictures?

"No, Mom, it's not warm enough for my new hat. Not yet."

Especially with the prediction of MORE SNOW! Yay, New England. *blech*

2005-03-24T12:11:00.000-05:00

Stolen shamelessly from Karla

NAME ONE THING .....

that makes you smile ~ Andy and my cat Chloe. When I watch them in the kitchen together, her staring up at him adoringly, him talking to her while he cooks, my heart squeezes. SO cute.

that makes you cry ~ Certain movies...I can't NOT cry at the end of An Affair to Remember.

that you love to do on the weekends ~ Andy and I sit around and unwind while watching what TiVO recorded for us all week, or our WalMart DVD rentals.

that you do for only yourself - Right now, my sewing class.

that you have in your underwear drawer that's NOT underwear ~Socks :)

that you do before going to sleep ~ Eh, I hate going to bed, as going to bed means I have a ton of medical stuff to get done...half hour vest/nebulizer treatment, insulin shot, take my pills, and if I went out that day, I have to wash the makeup off my face.

that's in your purse ~ Hearing aid batteries. Staple of my life.

that you actually LIKE to clean ~ Honestly...there isn't much I HATE to clean...as I really like the results of cleaning.

that you DETEST cleaning ~ toilet
that other people would find odd about you ~ Only some people consider this odd...I consider my parents to be two of my favorite people in this world. They're friends.

that you would buy if I handed you a $100 bill ~ YAAAAAAAAARN! Ok, really? Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needles. And yarn :)

that you feel you HAVE to do before you die ~ I want to horseback ride again. I did when I was in middle school, but had to stop. I miss it. Horses are SO beautiful.

2005-03-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

I finished my first sewn project today!

(excuse the crappy, in-mirror pictures...and my hair's wet from my shower)

My sewing machine was giving me fits last night, and some of the fabric was wrong, so had to make a trip to the store during class (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh). Finally, happily, finished up today, and I loooove them. Probably destined to be favorite pj pants, not only because I made them, but they're warm, and fit well in all the right places. Nice. :) :) :)

2005-03-20T15:33:00.000-05:00

Since the last time I posted, I helped my mom finish her hat! I went to visit on Thursday, and we spent the day stitching. When she showed me what she'd done after the last time I'd helped her, to then, had to be frogged :( She had gone over the number of rows it needed, and increased, but I loved the result...I thought it looked like a cute little sunhat (albeit in acrylic, not cotton)

We ended up finishing the hat, and here it is on Mom:

Excuse the bad pictures of Mom, it was her day off. Also excuse our excitedness, which led to pictures taken in the bathroom...LOL

It was a fun day, I got to play with their puppy, Holly, for whom some of you may remember I made a sweater for for Christmas (which she has yet to wear, lol)

Think she has enough toys?

I also got to visit with their kitty, Hanna, who was waiting for more cat treats in this picture:

I have also been to my first sewing class! I'm almost finished the pajama pants, will be finished next class, then I'm going to start working on a project bag for my crocheting/knitting. Here's Chloe hiding undermeath my fabric the other day when I was trying to measure it out for the pj pants:

I've been working on my granny squares, albeit slowly. Since I've been interested in knitting lately, I've taken to knitting (which since it's fairly harder for me since I have done it less, I need to pay more attention to it) in front of the tv. I've been doing my granny squares, while I read email, and read my bloglines (check out my sidebar...I read enough blogs to get quite a few squares done when I sit down!)

Chloe modeling a square for you all:

See the unbridled joy?

Here's the work done on my wavy scarf:

I'm more than halfway through now! I finally, finally taught myself to purl Continental. For years, I've known how to knit Continental, but half always purled English. Continental purling just would NOT click. So the other day at my parents, I picked up my mail (I got FOUR books, *squeals*), and one of them was Elizabeth Zimmermman's "Knitting Without Tears", and her description of purling made it FINALLY work for me. Up until then, I had been doing the entire scarf in English, as I just found it really difficult to k3, p3 in two different manners. Switching yarn hands every 3 stitches was a royal pain in my ass.

Andy's mom gave me a new sheep on Thursday night:

He's my only black faced sheep...she said he had to travel all the way from Ireland :) He's cute! She's bought me all my sheep so far, except for the small beanie baby sheep...that one was a gift from me to me. We're going there to celebrate Easter today, as Andy's half brother and his wife, Michelle, are traveling to New York state for Easter at his mother's house. Oh, and the picture in the middle of all the sheep is me and Andy last year in February...we went to the Cystic Fibrosis Gala Dinner in Boston.

We're spending actual Easter with my parents, and my Aunt Sandy's family, which I'm not looking forward to. I love my family, and for my entire life, the only holiday, not including mother's and father's day, we spent at a restraunt with EVERYBODY and their uncle (literally), and it's tiring and frustrating, and I hate eating there because, well, I'm hearing impaired...all the noise in the background makes it difficult to concentrate on anybody, and any one conversation, and it is also really difficult because well...I like my family, especially my parents, sister, and of course, ANDY, but my mom's sister, her husband, daughter, and grandson, are REALLY SUPER ANNOYING. They're kind of helpless, nervous people, unable to do anything for themselves. Aunt Sandy and Uncle Steve are too nervous to drive out of town, Aunt Sandy can't cook, (that one I still don't get...I'm a horrible cook, but I know HOW, and if Andy wasn't so fabulous at it [his mother is a pastry chef, he learned from her], I would be able to survive), so we all have to go to a resteraunt, I guess. Easter was our ONE holiday at home, without them (they come over for Christmas and my mom cooks), and now this holiday is going to be gone too. Blah.

Anyway, on that note, off I go to get ready to leave!

2005-03-16T19:27:00.000-05:00

Vogue Knitting Magazines ebay auction!! Selling my stash! Yaaaaay! lol

2005-03-15T23:37:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Russian crochet dress

If I was braver...LOL

2005-03-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

I finished the baby booties awhile ago, but still haven't seamed them...I'm waiting for an order of stuff to come in from JoAnn's, and in that order is some cute little needles that should work.

I've made a few more squares, but nothing picture worthy for the afghan. I've been rather caught up in knitting this scarf:

The pattern is from the winter issue of Knitty, named Wavy. The yarn, is this variegated Red Heart that I bought about three years ago when I started crocheting, and I was using it to make a rug that never got finished. What with the purchase of my wool winder, I got brave and decided to yank out what I did, because I knew it was a forever UFO. Well, I swear to god, this stuff is SO SOFT. Did Red Heart only become kind of scratchy in the past few years, or does it soften with age? I swear, I keep touching this stuff, not believing it's Red Heart!

(No, I am not a Red Heart hater. I love cheap yarn, because I am cheap. If no one else can tell that I'm cheap when they pass me on the street, that's what I'm striving for)

The thing that has kept me busy today, is cutting out pattern pieces for my first sewing project in about three years. I am starting a sewing class on Monday night, and today, I laid out the pattern, and started cutting. Unfortanately, this has been making Chloe

practicallyl squeal with glee. She keeps jumping on the paper at bad moments, and biting it. Luckily she's declawed, or else I'd be in big trouble. Either way Andy

still had to move her to our bedroom and lock the door.

Here's the fabric for the soon to be pajama pants:

I can't wait!!

I bought a lot of books this week, and I'm still waiting for them to come in. I bought Scarf Style, Easy Knitted Accessories, Candy Babies, and Knitting Without Tears.

I'm waiting for them ~~and damn those jackasses I want them NOW~~ patiently.

I'm planning on making my Christmas gifts from some of those patterns, and am planning massive buying spree from KnitPicks, and a few other online eBay sellers.

And I'm really thinking about more WIP's...there's a hat I'd like to try making for myself for spring...it can be found here under sunhats....I like the black/tan version, and have the yarn to do it. Then, I thought of a very weird hat design the other day for a friend...she loves stegasauruses, and I thought of a neat hat for her...my one problem is, should the stegasaur have a tail? And I need to buy the yarn for it still. I think I have a good idea for the tail, wrapping it around the "body" (which is the hat). Anyway, I think that's it! I'll update Monday night or sometime Tuesday about my sewing class! I'm already dreaming of having a home made dress, and over it a homemade cardigan :)

2005-03-12T00:17:00.000-05:00

Questions for Lisa:

1. What makes you choose a crochet project? Do you choose the yarn or the pattern first?

2. Do you crochet more for yourself, or others?

3. Tell me how you met your husband.

4. What is your favorite yarn, and what are your favorite colors to use in projects?

5. And of course, how did you learn to crochet? What was your first project?

2005-03-10T18:51:00.000-05:00

I'm such a jerk, I completely forgot I asked to be interviewed by Three Olives and Some Yarn...which is actually fun, cause I go online, go to bloglines, and it was like a wonderful surprise! In fact, we should all do something like that, get amnesia, and then be shocked and filled with glee about having something to do!

I'm so boring.

Thanks for the compliments on the background picture!

1. Do you have any addictions? If so what are they ? Stationary, pens, yarn (I'm sure that's a real shock), and block blinkies. The kind that have your name in little blocks. So stupid, but love them. Also SayClub dolls...they're SO adorable. And the internet.

2. Do you knit or crochet more? And why ? I crochet more. I love crocheted things, as they're quicker, and I NEED gratification, or I get bored. I'm also a much better crocheter than knitter. But part of my New Year's Resolution was to knit more, and make a few knitted gifts for Christmas. I have this list of things I would make *if* I knitted. Mostly clothing. So, for the past week, I've been knitting ALOT more.

3. If you could have more pets would you ? And what would they be? Oh yes. I LOVE animals. I'd have more cats, and dogs, too. Andy's not big on dogs, he's a cat person, so that's ok with me, because I love cats. But I used to wish I could have a farm, with cats, dogs, horses (I rode when I was a teenager), chickens (they're incredibly soft to touch, and if you get them used to it, they'll let you hold them), sheep (gee, wonder why?). I think we'd have fish too, and if possible, a parrot. See what I mean? I'd be the crazy animal lady.

4. If you had $1,000 just to spend on you .. What would you buy? Clothing, books, yarn, stash, stationary. Cat things. Not necessarily in that order.

5. What is your favourite pair of shoes? Flip flops. I have this pair, that look like bamboo or something threaded together like a basket weave, and all summer, that's the only pair I wear if I go out. But I also have a love for open toed heels.

The string attached to me being interviewed:

Here are the rules for this Blog-a-thon. I'll offer to interview the next how many ever people to respond to this post that will follow these rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me."

2. I will respond by asking you five questions here. They will be different questions than the ones below.

3. You will update YOUR blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

De-Stashing!

2005-03-10T14:49:00.000-05:00

Posting EVERYWHERE.

DE-STASHING!!! Make an offer, one that includes what you're willing to pay s&h. What you think is fair. Pictures taken in lots, doesn't mean that's how I'm selling them. I'm selling to whoever wants whatever.

Wool Ease Grey Heather, six balls

Wool Ease Blush Heather, four balls

Caron Wintuk in Colonial Blue

Mainstays Home in Fall Splendor, Patons Classic Wool, partially used, not sure what the color is now, and Patons Classic Wool in Aran. The Classic Wool felts really nicely.

Red Heart in Holly & Ivy, Light Raspberry, Light Blue, Pale Plum, Lilac, and Pale Green

Used skeins: The first is a Lion Brand sport weight in a nice shade of red. Following that is a bright red worsted Red Heart, bright pink worsted Red Heart, Red Heart Ocean, and two small amounts of purple shade of Homespun.

Tomorrow I'll probably be listing knitting magazines. I tried to sell them before, but the buyer fell through. Blah.

2005-03-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

How much does this suck: Last night, Andy asked me how many squares I have left on the afghan.

"Well, I finished all of the whole colored squares, and have 5 rows sewn together, so I'm guessing it shouldn't be too much longer", says I.

"Yeah, but how many SQUARES do you have left", the silly man persisted.

And I counted.

I have 160 left out of the 400.

Shoot me.

However, I got my knit booties finished, but I'm having problems with sewing them together. I think I need a metal yarn needle, or something, because the crochet hook gets snagged, and the plastic yarn needle I have, the eye of the needle is just too fat. Any suggestions?

2005-03-07T15:51:00.000-05:00

I haven't asked for anything for charity before, but this strikes a cord in me...there's a girl who lives not too far from me, who has the same illness as me, who is waiting for a living donor double lung transplant. She's fundraising for the costs of her donors' medical care. I know that within the next ten years, I will be in her same position, waiting for transplant. If there's anything you can donate, money, afghans for fundraisers, anything, please do. I'm not a quick crocheter, or I would try to squeeze out an afghan. Instead, I think I 'm going to make some book thongs, if it's ok with Donna. I need to send SOMETHING, even if they're small.

Here is the link to her site: Angels for Amber

Edit: I KNEW it was Donna...but head somehow said Julie. Blah. Chalk it up to posting on little sleep. Sorry Donna!

2005-03-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

For everyone who's asked what book I got the afghan I've been working on from, it's at WalMart for 9 bucks...go here. Remember, if you do buy it, there are mistakes, and Herrschner's will send you the corrections if you write to them.

2005-03-01T15:25:00.000-05:00

I've been fairly busy...I feel like I've been fairly productive! I've worked a LOT on the afghan, and made a bib for one of the people I really like at the hospital. She's due to give birth to a boy in April, so I made her the bib, and to keep to my New Year's resolution to knit more, I knit a bootie. However, the bootie has some mistakes, so I will be remaking it. I'm happy with it though, as I had to learn how to pick up stitches, which I'd never done before, and the first side looked wonky, but the second side looked fairly good! So I think tonight will be put into more bootie making, where as last night was a afghan night ( I got the yarn that Chelle sent!!!!!) and yesterday during the day was a bib day. On to the pictures!

This is the good side of the bootie, and the book I'm making it from. The yarn is just Sugar N Cream, and while I worried it would feel harsh, it feels pretty nice, actually.

This is the bib, made from a Priscilla Hewitt pattern. Her free patterns really are so good. Same Sugar N Cream yarn.

Up to row 5 of the aghan. I really need these pictures, it just seems to spur me on with the progress that slowly, but surely coming along. I can't wait till it's finished though. I keep debating whether I'll do another granny square quilt style afghan, and until I started assembling it, I would have said no. Now, I think I will someday. Not all granny square afghans, after all, are as big as this one. This one, won't be able to fit in my living room. I chose the most open space, and it's almost filled already. After a few more shots, I believe I'm going to have start laying this out on my bed (although it's bigger than my bed too. My parents, and probably my whole extended family could fit under this sucker).

Anyway, hope to show you some finished booties tomorrow!

2005-02-28T10:39:00.000-05:00

Invisible Joining:

Has anyone seen these method? I never have, and thought that maybe some of you haven't either: Russian Join

2005-02-27T23:41:00.000-05:00

I wonder how many of you watched the Academy Awards tonight with crochet hooks/knitting needles in hand...

I DIIIIIIIID!!!

2005-02-27T01:50:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting for yarn reinforcements for my parents' afghan to come in, so have been working busily on other projects, and squares for the afghan that didn't involve the color I'm missing (which, at this point in the afghan, really isn't too many). My mom told me yesterday that the yarn has come in, so now all I have to do is go over to their house and pick it up (THANK YOU SO MUCH, Chelle!

So I made a book thong:

and wound up some yarn with the new wool winder Andy got me for Valentine's Day, while Chloe cat looks on:

And Andy's mom sent the most ADORABLE gift....SHEEP!!

Hope all is well with you!

2005-02-26T00:36:00.000-05:00

My Guilty Pleasures

Just thought it would make for an interesting list.

Days of Our Lives Yes. I am suckered into this every day. There's something about it that keeps dragging me back. Although, a big part of it might be the live journal community I belong to where we post about how stupid everything is and how much it pisses us off. I think we like being pissed off by soaps...although, when it goes BEYOND ridiculous (ie, Passions), that's when I have to stop for a little while (FREE THEM OF THAT STUPID TWIT TONY!!!)

Twinkies, Devil Dogs, and Zebra Cakes I am Hostess's b*tch. I LOVE those fatty little snack cakes. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Buffalo Wings Same as above, except they're not made by Hostess :)

Sitting at the computer for an hour or more just looking at craft blogs and drooling Um...self explainatory.

Shopping and staring at yarn/clothes/house stuff/stuff for my cat, but not buying I find window shopping to be oddly therapeutic. Just the idea of working towards stuff to me is kind of inspiring.

Blinkies Blinkie blocks...for some reason I loooove them. Not the rectangle blinkies, the blocks, like I said. A cute little pixel, and my name in squares, somehow makes me all kinds of happy.

Incredimail Possibly spyware, but I don't care. I love having the choice of stationary like I do when I'm using paper.

Which brings me to my stationary guilty pleasure I love. Stationary. Pens, paper, envelopes, stickers, LOVE. My desk has a Foxwoods Casino change cup FULL of pens, and more stationary than I should have. A LiveJournal friend just recently tried making paper, and surprised me with the results!

Chloe pictures There's got to be tons of pictures of my cat on my PC...between me and Andy, and her cuteness, it's inevitable. She's SO CUTE.

Polar Bears I don't know why. They just make me happy.

Wooden crochet hooks Bamboo, and right now, I'm starting to collect rosewood.

Kool Aid dying Just fun.

Inside the Actor's Studio I have no idea why, but I just ADORE this show.

Sex and the City FUNNY.

Law and Order, Law and Order SVU I think everyone has this one.

Write a list, of a bunch of things that just make you happy, on a consistent basis. I want to see what people come up with!

My Mom Makes Me Proud

2005-02-24T00:02:00.000-05:00

I spent today at my parents' house, picking up my mail, that sort of thing. Mail was good, I got a thank you card from a friend of mine for a pair of baby socks and a hat I made for her newborn son. Brenda is just awesome. When I was 6 years old, starting to go to school, she was 12 or so, and rode the bus with me. You'd think a 12 year old wouldn't have anything to do with the kindegarten kids on the bus, but she did. She fell in love with me and another Jen, and made us her special friends. Almost 20 years later, I still adore her and think she rocks. When she got married, I was happy for her, and was especially happy when she saw my mom a month or two ago and said she was due with her first. She had a son, and I HAD to make something for him. Hopefully I can go visit her sometime soon and meet little Evan.

My mom, has been chomping on the bit to crochet a bit again. She taught me when I was eight to chain and double crochet, but didn't really know anything besides that. When I was 19, I picked it up again out of boredom (I was a stay at home wife on a military base and I didn't drive), and taught myself with the help of a woman whom I would LOVE to find on a message board called something like "askme.com", where you could ask "experts" anything and everything about their specialty. This crocheter, walked me through the pattern code for about ten rows of a thread angel, my first project I chose...*smacks forehead*. That woman deserved an award for her patience. Little does she know what she started. My mom still has that angel that made her for Christmas that year too. Crooked, but really, considering how much I had to learn in such a small amount of time (I think maybe a week or less) in order to make it, I'm damn proud of it.

Anyway. Mom taught me chaining and double crochet. When I was 20, I decided I wanted to learn how to knit, too, and Mom, although a much better knitter than crocheter, could NOT get it into my thick head. I was unteachable. Especially when I picked up the yarn on my left hand all the time. Mom had no clue WHAT I was doing, or why it was working, or seemed to work, so I gave up until I saw a class being offered at the local high school...knitting and crocheting, choose one, come one, come all, pay 40 bucks for six weeks worth of lessons. Oh yeah. I talked Mom into taking crocheting as she had been admiring what I had taught myself, and I went for the knitting. Mom crocheted for about six months, then gave it up again until she plans to retire...lol.

Now, she sees the hats and scarves I've done, and the scarves that Jayme made me in the Crochetville Winter Secret Pals Swap, and she wants to make again. So, I set her up with a pattern, and we worked on the hat for a few hours today. She was four rows from finishing when we put it away, and she was doing so good! I'll post her hat and scarf when she's finished.

In other news...I ran out of yarn last week for my parents' afghan. We went out Saturday, and I thought I'd pick it up then. Not at AC Moore, not at the SUPER YARN MILL I WENT TO (details later :D ) or WalMart. It was a Red Heart color called Raspberry, and it appears to be no more. So I turned to Crochetville, where luckily Chelle is sending me some. THANK GOD. Otherwise, I would have to cry. I've been so excited about finishing that afghan after all these years, that I can't stop. I mean, I'm only at the fourth row as far as joining, but I still have a lot of half squares left to make, but all the whole squares are made. That's something like over 200 squares that I would have had wasted.

So. Saturday. I heard of a yarn store in the area, a mill store, that was really cool, and better yet, neat inside. I have a mill store in my hometown, that is really cool yarn wise, but a mess. Anyway, the yarn store I went to Saturday is also a fabric store. So I'm going to be taking a sewing class there in March! I can't wait! I really enjoy learning new crafty things, and to make clothing...well, sounds like fun to me! It also had an awesome assortment of yarn, and I bought enough Noro for a Christmas scarf Andy wanted. So, yay!

We also went to AC Moore, which is now selling rosewood crochet hooks, so I bought a J hook. It's taking some getting used to, but I'm beginning to really like it. I love my bamboo hooks, and I like having pretty hooks to work with.

Anyway, I think that's it for tonight. I'll be around later, with pictures of a book thong I made with Donna's pattern. Sorry I didn't link tonight, but it's late, and I'm going to bed in a few minutes. I might edit tomorrow, to add the links, we'll see :)

2005-02-22T17:49:00.000-05:00

I found a new crochet blog, with very cute projects to look through...yet she had almost no comments! For shame!! Go visit Blue Crochet and show some love...look at her teddy bear, it's so cute!

2005-02-18T09:47:00.000-05:00

I bought a bunch of Clover bamboo hooks last week. It was sizes E through K, and since I love bamboo hooks, I was excited. When they came in, I was excited. Last night, I took one out, the F hook, to work with it for the first time since I bought it. First one I've used since I bought any of them. And it promptly splintered within the first ten stitches.

Damn it.

2005-02-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

2005-02-17T19:39:00.000-05:00

The book I bought from Amazon.jp

Here is the blog with the finished scarf that inspired me to finally try buying from Amazon.jp: Little Purl of the Orient

I was surprised when I went back looking for the link, as I realize now I've been reading this blog for a long time, and I should have remembered who it was right off the bat. Sometimes having Bloglines is a bad thing...you lose the visual part of the site that helps you associate who is who.

2005-02-17T18:09:00.000-05:00

So, I've done it. I went and created an account on amazon.jp, and ordered a book. I saw a scarf made on someone's blog, and loved it. She said the book was good for accessories, and I love crochet hats and scarves, especially for gifts. So I decided to give it a try. I even have a very small wish list now (considering I can't read or search for anything, blah.

I'll post the blogger's name and the page of the scarf she made when I find the link, as well as the book I ordered.

I ripped my shorts apart :'( It's been a long bad day, so it was almost a perfect ending to that. I found yarn that was tangled, I couldn't get the design I'm working on for my blog to work like I want, so I'll have to remake one of the graphics for it, I found that a bottle of body wash I keep in my bathroom closet had opened up and spilled down the wall (smells really good, but not the point), a friend of mine is acting like a moron who can't read, another one just seems to have disappeared from my life, and it seems most knitters/crocheters think there are more than enough SnB'ers out there, why can't I just go to the one 20-30 minutes away? The boyfriend was testy, and just nothing was going right. Found a lovely mess of crumbs in the kitchen I have to clean up that he lovingly left for me.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!

I feel better :)

2005-02-17T11:11:00.000-05:00

Knitting not going well.

I started shorts from Rebecca 27. Unfortunately, when I finished the first leg, I realized I had done it wrong, but thought that it wouldn't show, because the mistakes were where I would do the sewing together. So I started on the second leg.

And ick. I need to frog it. I made two major mistakes, and I feel the need to grab my knitting reference books for a refresher on decreasing, because I majorly &#*#@^ up somewhere. Bad. Just very...bad.

Question....if it tells you to do something every second row, do you take that to be every OTHER row, or do 1 row, a 2nd row, then do the instruction on the next row? The wording of that is making my head go in circles.

So, today, will definitely be a crochet day...good thing, my afghan was getting bored, it hasn't been worked on for two days.

Knitting...I will conquer you and make you my *BLEEP*.

2005-02-17T01:07:00.000-05:00

I want this.

2005-02-16T18:19:00.000-05:00

This is the afghan I'm trying to make for my parents:

This is what I've got so far:

Squares put together:

Squares waiting to be put together:

This year, since I want to knit more, I'm going to try to crochet and knit alternately every day. I think it'll be hard at first, as I'm a completed project type person...I get adrenaline when I start, and when I'm close to finishing...I LOVE a finished product. The making is fun if it's challenging, but not drawn out. So, alternating projects, it might be hard to give up having finished results quickly, but hopefully it'll be made up by improved knitting skill, meaning, faster knits.

The SnB idea is coming along...the first date is planned, but after, I'm not sure what to do. There's another SnB about a half hour from here, so when I mention one in my area, just about everyone on knitting/crochet boards, say just go to that one. Blah. Oh well, I can start mine for my friends, and offer to let others come when they want.

It's also complicated, as a knitting class that went on hiatus for the holidays, has been meeting in the off time at a local Barnes and Noble...the one I'm hoping will say yes to letting me host our SnB there. We'll see. If they stop, then I won't have to feel like I'm butting in, if they don't, there's some local coffee shops I want to check out.

Chie, you SHOULD start one. I think the idea is awesome, and you seem so naturally warm, people will want to go to yours. Plus, it might jump start your will to knit as well. Otherwise, well, there's always crochet :-D

2005-02-15T02:14:00.000-05:00

Pictures! Finally, eh?

I made this for a doctor who used to take care of me...he just had his first granddaughter. After he's moved away, we still consider each other friends, and I knew I had to do something to celebrate his grandchild.

It's Chelle's Lacy Shells Poncho.

This was a Christmas gift for my friend Steph.

My friend Dan is getting married to my friend Katie this October. I want to make each of my friends one of these garters as they get married. This is the second one I've finished.

My Secret Pal's reveal gift :) It's a beautiful scarf, two balls of Imagine, a photo album, a very cute card, pens, and paper (STATIONARY! I love stationary!), and really cute envelope! It was funny, as soon as I opened the package, and my mom saw the photo album, she squealed and ran off to grab pictures she'd almost forgotten to give me...lol. It served as her reminder.

How I treated myself this Valentine's Day...

and

(Ignore my shower in the background). Kool-aid dying! It was fun...I can't wait to do it again, but I think instead of trying to paint them different colors, I might just dye whole hanks one color.

Andy was good to me too...we had a nice Valentine's Day. Today he wanted to buy me flowers, but instead, I asked he buy me a ball winder...the sign of a true addict. I turned down ROSES for CRAFT SUPPLIES.

I worked on the afghan tonight...I have three completed rows waiting to be sewn up. I've decided instead of doing what I've been doing, which is sewing, then making the next needed square when I get to it, I'm going to crochet the squares, then sew them together when all of that particular row are completed. It's usually less than four squares that need to be finished, anyway.

I sent out the email to invite my friends to the first Stitch'N'Bitch here...hopefully it'll grow :)

2005-02-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

New layout look, complete with current projects :) I'm really happy with this one. It's cool, but, if you're worried about very slight adult content with your kids around, don't open till they're gone (everything's covered, and I probably just made it sound scary).

I'm working on an afghan from Herrschners' Blue Ribbon Afghans book, a quilt look afghan. I've been working on it on and off for years. It started as something for me and my ex-husband, then I decided my parents should get it. I promised it to them as a Christmas gift, probably about two Christmases ago. I'm a horrible child. Be glad you didn't give birth to me :) It's 400 granny squares, so don't be too hard on me. I've got the solid colored squares made, but it's the half and half ones that bug me. So to keep boredom from killing me, I'm sewing each row seperately, making the squares when I come to them, and then I'll just sew the rows together when I'm finished. I have been making progress, so I'm happy.

My winter secret pal revealed herself :) I went to my parents' house yesterday to pick up my mail, and like my mom had told me, I had a cheery looking package waiting for me. It's great, and I'll do a pictures post soon, I promise. Anyway, MY secret pal was Jayme! She rocked, and was a great, secret pal. She surprised me with her gifts, as they were all very unique, and stuff I would buy for myself, or would secretly covet :)

I've had the flu, and hopefully my secret pal won't hold against me the reveal package being late (I also hope she doesn't read this...LOL) but, I bought her a really GREAT gift today, and I cannot WAIT for her to get it. *jumps up and down excitedly*

Now that my flu is gone, I've been very social, which is unlike me. I decided to start a local Stitch N Bitch. For crocheters and knitters. I really want to knit more, as I love alot of knit sweaters, and hats, and while I know how, I just love crochet. So, I think the probably once monthly or so Stitch N Bitch, I'll try to do some there. If anyone is in the central MA area, near Milford, you're welcome to come, just comment with an email :)

2005-02-02T16:38:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't blogged in a REALLY long time. I'm sorry. Just been very, anti-web in some ways right now. In December, I was feeling depressed, as I know some of us are apt to be during the winter months, but that's the first time that's really happened to me. The only thing that's different this year, is it's the first year without my Nana, my mother's mom. Dad's mom died this year as well, but we weren't close.

Anyway, I wanted to say, I haven't stopped crocheting. I've been fairly busy...made another hat, that I gave to my mom, finished my Christmas gifts (On time even!), and just finished making a hat and a pair of socks for a friend's baby boy. The sad part is, I finished the hat and socks and forgot to take my usual post picture, and gave it to my mom to give to the friend already. They're going to take a regular picture, but I won't have my digital picture! :(

Now I'm sick, with something Andy saw fit to bring home to me, lol. When I get better, I promise I'll re-vamp my look and update my projects side bar. Till then, I'm going to go back to reading everyone else's updates, and enjoying the new issue of Crochet Me, which completely ROCKS.

2004-12-23T14:56:00.000-05:00

These are the slippers I made for Andy's mom for Christmas. She has a pair of ballet slipper like slippers, and loved them, and last year, she asked me to try and recreate them. So instead of making them exact, I found a Fibre Arts pattern, that involved felting, and with some Patons Merino Wool and a bit of patience (as I had to make THREE slippers, the first one looked more like a purse when felted. A mini, weird, purse.)

I like how they came out in the end. Although still not perfect, I think they're kind of adorable.

What project should I work on next?
	Lelah
	Rebecca 29 Eyelet Wrap Cardi
	Alternate Honeymoon Cami, Citrus Moon

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